Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cataclysmic response to recent cooling of a natural boreal pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) forest in northern Sweden

summary Instant stand-level dieback occurred in boreal coniferous forests of northern Sweden in 1987. A population of pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and subdominant spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst. ) was analysed with respect to defoliation, age structure, radial increment and soil conditions. Defoliation and mortality were due to frost and drought in response to an early winter with abnormal cold and a thin snow cover. A thick mor humus layer preconditioned ground frost preservation. Annual radial increment had declined steadily over c. 40 years, in variance with climatic cooling and local exposure. Possibly, the growth decline depleted energy reserves and lowered the tolerance to climatic stress during extreme conditions. It is obvious that the structure of northern boreal forests responds perceivably to short-term thermal decline. The outlined mechanism of dieback may prevent the evolution of climax in the absence of other exogenous disturbances. The present event may be a small-scale analogue of forest responses to rapid cooling during, for example, the Younger Dryas period and the Little Ice Age.
[Selected personality traits of nurses and flexibility in coping with stress - a moderating role of age and seniority].

BACKGROUND The results of numerous studies indicate that the nurse profession is burdened with an increased risk of feeling stressed and experiencing professional burnout. Effective coping with stress can protect against professional burnout as well as impact on patient care. These effects may be influenced, e.g., by personality traits. By the study, the authors decided to check whether personality traits such as empathy, impulsiveness and venturesomeness would play a predictive role for flexibility in coping with stress. MATERIAL AND METHODS By the study, the authors analyzed the results obtained from 137 nurses. The following research tools were used: the Impulsiveness-Venturesomeness-Empathy Questionnaire by Eysenck and Eysenck, in the Polish adaptation by Aleksandra Jaworowska, and the Flexibility in Coping with Stress Questionnaire (FCSQ-14) by Małgorzata Basińska et al. Both tools were characterized by satisfactory statistical properties. By addition, the respondents completed a personal survey which allowed collecting basic personal data. RESULTS Venturesomeness positively correlated with flexibility in coping with stress and all its dimensions (strategy repertoire, strategy variability and reflexivity) at the low level. Similar dependencies for empathy and impulsiveness were not shown. Similarly, in assessing the predictive role of selected personality traits for flexibility in coping with stress, only venturesomeness turned out to be an important predictor. Although the model turned out to be statistically significant, it allowed explaining the variability of flexibility only in 7%. CONCLUSIONS There was a low statistically significant relationship between the nurses' venturesomeness and their flexibility in coping with stress. Empathy and impulsiveness did not play a predictive role for flexibility in coping with stress. Med Pr. 2020;71(4).
Association of Event-Free and Distant Recurrence-Free Survival With Individual-Level Pathologic Complete Response in Neoadjuvant Treatment of Stages 2 and 3 Breast Cancer: Three-Year Follow-up Analysis for the I-SPY2 Adaptively Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance Pathologic complete response (pCR) is a known prognostic biomarker for long-term outcomes. The I-SPY2 trial evaluated if the strength of this clinical association persists in the context of a phase 2 neoadjuvant platform trial. Objective To evaluate the association of pCR with event-free survival (EFS) and pCR with distant recurrence-free survival (DRFS) in subpopulations of women with high-risk operable breast cancer treated with standard therapy or one of several novel agents. Design, Setting, and Participants Multicenter platform trial of women with operable clinical stage 2 or 3 breast cancer with no prior surgery or systemic therapy for breast cancer; primary tumors were 2.5 cm or larger. Women with tumors that were ERBB2 negative/hormone receptor (HR) positive with low 70-gene assay score were excluded. Participants were adaptively randomized to one of several different investigational regimens or control therapy within molecular subtypes from March 2010 through 2016. The analysis included participants with follow-up data available as of February 26, 2019. Interventions Standard-of-care neoadjuvant therapy consisting of taxane treatment with or without (as control) one of several investigational agents or combinations followed by doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide. Main Outcomes and Measures Pathologic complete response and 3-year EFS and DRFS. Results Of the 950 participants (median [range] age, 49 [23-77] years), 330 (34.7%) achieved pCR. Three-year EFS and DRFS for patients who achieved pCR were both 95%. Hazard ratios for pCR vs non-pCR were 0.19 for EFS (95% CI, 0.12-0.31) and 0.21 for DRFS (95% CI, 0.13-0.34) and were similar across molecular subtypes, varying from 0.14 to 0.18 for EFS and 0.10 to 0.20 for DRFS. Conclusions and Relevance The 3-year outcomes from the I-SPY2 trial show that, regardless of subtype and/or treatment regimen, including 9 novel therapeutic combinations, achieving pCR after neoadjuvant therapy implies approximately an 80% reduction in recurrence rate. The goal of the I-SPY2 trial is to rapidly identify investigational therapies that may improve pCR when validated in a phase 3 confirmatory trial. Whether pCR is a validated surrogate in the sense that a therapy that improves pCR rate can be assumed to also improve long-term outcome requires further study. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01042379.
Assessment of serum ferritin as a biomarker in COVID-19: bystander or participant? Insights by comparison with other infectious and non-infectious diseases

Abstract Background The 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus has an impact on all aspects of patient care. Serum ferritin generally represents a biomarker of choice when iron deficiency is suspected. However, ferritin is also an acute-phase-protein exhibiting elevated serum concentration in various inflammatory diseases. Here we focus on the role of serum ferritin for diagnostic and clinical management of patients with COVID-19 in comparison with other infectious and non-infectious diseases. Methods We examined scientific articles listed in PubMed reporting on ferritin in various infectious and non-infectious diseases. We then compared these results with nine current COVID-19 ferritin reports published in 2020. Results Several non-infectious, as well as non-COVID-19 infectious diseases, are characterised by a partly dramatic elevation of serum ferritin levels. All COVID-19 studies published between February and May 2020, which documented laboratory serum ferritin, indicate ferritin as a biomarker of COVID-19 severity in hospitalised patients. Conclusions Serum ferritin may be considered both a prognostic and stratifying biomarker that can also contribute to therapeutic decision-making concerning patients with COVID-19. It should be emphasised, however, that most scientific reports refer to cohorts in the Asian region. Further validation in other cohorts is urgently required.
Community phylogenetic diversity and abiotic site characteristics influence abundance of the invasive plant Rhamnus cathartica L.

Aims Theory predicts that the success of introduced species is related to the diversity of native species through trait-based processes. Abiotic site characteristics may also affect a site’s susceptibility to invasion. We quantified resident plant species richness, phylogenetic diversity and several abiotic site characteristics for 24 oak forests in Minnesota, USA, to assess their impact on the abundance of a widespread, introduced terrestrial plant species, common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica L.). Specifically, we asked (1) whether resident species richness and phylogenetic diversity affected the abundance of R. cathartica and (2) what site characteristics explained the overall abundance of R. cathartica. Methods Our survey included 24 oak-dominated stands in Minnesota’s deciduous forests. In each stand, we identified all species in 16 plots. We also measured a series of environmental site characteristics, including canopy openness (a proxy for light availability), percent bare soil, soil pH, percent sand, an index of propagule availability, duff layer thickness (a proxy for earthworm activity), an index of insolation and slope. For all species present in at least one site, we estimated a community phylogeny. We combined all sitelevel characteristics, including phylogenetic diversity of the resident plant species, in a multiple regression model to examine site level drivers of community invasibility. Important Findings Results indicate that sites with higher overall plant phylogenetic diversity harbor less R. cathartica, even though native species richness was not significantly related to R. cathartica abundance. Regression analyses indicated that, in addition to resident species phylogenetic diversity, the most important predictors of R. cathartica abundance were canopy openness and the amount of bare soil, both positively related to the abundance of the invader. By combining the effects of abiotic site characteristics and resident species phylogenetic diversity in a model that predicted the abundance of R. cathartica, we were able to simultaneously account for a wide range of factors that might influence invasibility. Overall, our results suggest that management strategies aimed at reducing disturbances that lead to increased bare soil and light levels may be more successful if they also maximize phylogenetic diversity of the resident plant community.
The effects of the forage-to-concentrate ratio on the conversion of digestible energy to metabolizable energy in growing beef steers.

Metabolizable energy (ME) is calculated from digestible energy (DE) using a constant conversion factor of 0.82. Methane and urine energy losses vary across diets and dry matter intake (DMI) suggesting that a static conversion factor fails to describe the biology. To quantify the effects of the forage-to-concentrate (F:C) ratio on efficiency of conversion of DE to ME, 10 Angus steers were used in a 5 × 5 replicated Latin square. Dry-rolled corn was included in experimental diets at 0, 22.5, 45.0, 67.5, and 83.8% on a DM basis, resulting in a high F:C (HF:C), intermediate F:C (IF:C), equal F:C (EF:C), low F:C (LF:C) and a very low F:C (VLF:C), respectively. Each experimental period consisted of a 23-d diet adaption followed by 5 d of total fecal and urine collections and a 24-h gas exchange collection. Contrasts were used to test the linear and quadratic effects of the F:C. There was a tendency (P = 0.06) for DMI to increase linearly as F:C decreased. As a result, gross energy intake (GEI) increased linearly (P = 0.04) as F:C decreased. Fecal energy loss expressed as Mcal/d (P = 0.02) or as a proportion of GEI (P < 0.01) decreased as F:C decreased, such that DE (Mcal/d and Mcal/kg) increased linearly (P < 0.01) as F:C decreased. As a proportion of GEI, urine energy decreased linearly (P = 0.03) as F:C decreased. Methane energy loss as a proportion of GEI responded quadratically (P < 0.01), increasing from HF:C to IF:C then decreasing thereafter. Efficiency of DE to ME conversion increased quadratically (P < 0.01) as F:C decreased, ranging from 0.86 to 0.92. Heat production (Mcal) increased linearly (P < 0.04) as F:C decreased but was not different as a proportion of GEI (P > 0.22). As a proportion of GEI, retained energy responded quadratically (P = 0.03), decreasing from HF:C to IF:C and increasing thereafter. Dry matter, OM, and NDF digestibility increased linearly (P < 0.01) and starch digestibility decreased linearly (P < 0.01) as the F:C decreased. Total N retained tended to increase linearly as the proportion of concentrate increased in the diet (P = 0.09). In conclusion, the efficiency of conversion of DE to ME increased with decreasing F:C due to decreasing methane and urine energy loss. The relationship between DE and ME is not static, especially when differing forage to concentrate ratios.
Dynamic characteristics of cerebrovascular reactivity or ventilatory response to change in carbon dioxide

What is the central question of this study? What are the dynamic characteristics of cerebrovascular carbon dioxide reactivity and the central respiratory chemoreflex? What is the main finding and its importance? The transfer function gain from the end‐tidal partial pressure of carbon dioxide to cerebral blood flow or ventilation decreased in the high frequency range at rest and during exercise. These findings indicate that the dynamic characteristics of both systems were not constant in all frequency ranges, and this trend was not modified by exercise.
DELAYED ASSESSMENT OF IMMUNOLOGICAL FUNCTION ALLOWING FOR TRANSPORTATION OF LYMPHOID TISSUES TO DISTANT LABORATORY SITES

The immune system is a frequent target for chemical toxicity. Accordingly, a number of immunotoxicological assays are performed during the research and development of new chemical products. One of the most sensitive and commonly used immunoassays is the Hemolytic Antibody-Forming Cell assay (AFC). Although the exposure of laboratory animals tochemicals and the subsequent immunotoxicological evaluation of lymphoid organs are typically conducted at the same research facility, there are instances in which laboratories have either limited assay expertise or limited exposure capabilities. Studies were conducted to ascertain the feasibility of performing the AFC assay up to 24 h following spleen removal, thereby allowing tissue transportation to a distant laboratory for evaluation. Female B6C3F1 mice and Fischer 344 rats were sensitized intravenously with sheep red blood cells. Four days later spleens were aseptically removed and stored at 4 C for up to 24 h until assessed in the AFC assay. Splenocyte viability.
Early Childhood Shigellosis and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Population-Based Cohort Study with a Prolonged Follow-up

Background: Although the short-term neurological complications of Shigella spp. are well described, potential neuropsychiatric outcomes have not been studied yet. We investigated the association between early childhood shigellosis and subsequent ADHD. Methods: This is a retrospective population-based cohort. Using a large Health Maintenance Organization database, the prevalence of ADHD was investigated among children aged 5–18 years who underwent stool culture prior to the age of 3 years. Results: Of 52,761 children with a stool culture examined, 5,269 (9.98%) had Shigella-positive results. The rate of ADHD was 10.6% and 8.6% among children with Shigella-positive and Shigella-negative stool cultures, respectively (p < .001). Adjusted odds ratio for ADHD after controlling for gender and socioeconomic status was 1.21 (CI 1.13–1.29, p < .001). The younger the child was during Shigella gastroenteritis, the higher was the association with ADHD (p < .001). Conclusion: Early childhood shigellosis is associated with an increased rate of long-term ADHD.
Pleiotropic Effects in Transgenic Tobacco Plants Expressing the Oryzacystatin I Gene

A study was undertaken to evaluate possible phenotypic alterations in transgenic tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L. cv. Xanthi) plants expressing the oryzacystatin I gene. Morphophysiologic parameters, such as growth rate, biomass, and leaf, flower, and fruit characteristics were analyzed. Transgenic plants overexpressing the cysteine proteinase inhibitor showed increased growth rate and dry weight, earlier flowering, and increased numbers of flowers and seeds. These pleiotropic effects were correlated with expression level of oryzacystatin I in transgenic lines. The results suggest that oryzacystatin I disrupts the normal activity of cysteine proteinases, which are involved in important physiological processes. transgenic plants might cause undesirable phenotypic alterations. To address this issue, a study was undertaken to examine the pheno- typic characteristics of transgenic tobacco plants overexpressing the oryzacystatin I gene.
The impact of pharmacist/physician care on quality of life in elderly heart failure patients: results of the PHARM‐CHF randomized controlled trial

Patients with heart failure (HF) have impaired quality of life (QoL). The randomized controlled trial PHARM‐CHF investigated whether an interdisciplinary intervention consisting of regular contacts with the community pharmacy and weekly dosing aids improves medication adherence in patients with HF. It is unknown how an intervention involving frequent structured pharmacy visits affects QoL. Our aim was to explore adherence to the intervention and effects on QoL.
IL6, IL8, and IL10 in the distinction of malignant ovarian neoplasms and endometriomas

Studies have shown a relationship between endometriosis and ovarian cancer. Our aims were to evaluate and compare the dosages of cytokines IL‐2, IL‐5, IL‐6, IL‐8, IL‐10, and TNF‐α in serum, intracystic fluid, and peritoneal fluid of patients with ovarian endometrioma, malignant and benign ovarian neoplasms, and non‐neoplastic ovarian tumors; to verify if there is a correlation between the values of these cytokines between ovarian endometrioma and ovarian malignancy; and to determine the best cut‐off point for serum cytokines that can be used to differentiate patients with ovarian malignancy and endometrioma.
Diagnostic Value of Global Cardiac Strain in Patients With Myocarditis.

BACKGROUND Cardiac strain represents an imaging biomarker of contractile dysfunction. PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to investigate the diagnostic value of cardiac strain obtained by feature-tracking cardiac magnetic resonance (MR) in acute myocarditis. MATERIALS AND METHODS Cardiac MR examinations of 46 patients with myocarditis and preserved ejection fraction at acute phase and follow-up were analyzed along with cardiac MR of 46 healthy age- and sex-matched controls. Global circumferential strain and global radial strain were calculated for each examination, along with myocardial edema and late gadolinium enhancement, and left ventricle functional parameters, through manual contouring of the myocardium. Correlations were assessed using Spearman ρ. Wilcoxon and Mann-Whitney U test were used to assess differences between data. Receiver operating characteristics curves and reproducibility were obtained to assess the diagnostic role of strain parameters. RESULTS Global circumferential strain was significantly lower in controls (median, -20.4%; interquartile range [IQR], -23.4% to -18.7%) than patients in acute phase (-18.4%; IQR, -21.0% to -16.1%; P = 0.001) or at follow-up (-19.2%; IQR, -21.5% to -16.1%; P = 0.020). Global radial strain was significantly higher in controls (82.4%; IQR, 62.8%-104.9%) than in patients during the acute phase (65.8%; IQR, 52.9%-79.5%; P = 0.001). Correlations were found between global circumferential strain and global radial strain in all groups (acute, ρ = -0.580, P < 0.001; follow-up, ρ = -0.399, P = 0.006; controls, ρ = -0.609, P < 0.001), and between global circumferential strain and late gadolinium enhancement only in myocarditis patients (acute, ρ = 0.035, P = 0.024; follow-up, ρ = 0.307, P = 0.038). CONCLUSIONS Cardiac strain could potentially have a role in detecting acute myocarditis in low-risk acute myocarditis patients where cardiac MR is the main diagnosing technique.
Recent Trends in Injury Models to Study Skeletal Muscle Regeneration and Repair

Skeletal muscle injuries that occur from traumatic incidents, such as those caused by car accidents or surgical resections, or from injuries sustained on the battlefield, result in the loss of functionality of the injured muscle. To understand skeletal muscle regeneration and to better treat these large scale injuries, termed volumetric muscle loss (VML), in vivo injury models exploring the innate mechanisms of muscle injury and repair are essential for the creation of clinically applicable treatments. While the end result of a muscle injury is often the destruction of muscle tissue, the manner in which these injuries are induced as well as the response from the innate repair mechanisms found in muscle in each animal models can vary. This targeted review describes injury models that assess both skeletal muscle regeneration (i.e., the response of muscle to myotoxin or ischemic injury) and skeletal muscle repair (i.e., VML injury). We aimed to summarize the injury models used in the field of skeletal muscle tissue engineering, paying particular attention to strategies to induce muscle damage and how to standardize injury conditions for future experiments.
Coumestans in lucerne and ovulation in ewes

Abstract Four trials with a total of 1750 Perendale ewes were conducted to determine the effect of feeding lucerne on ovulation rate and lambing performance. Levels of up to 600 ppm coumestans in lucerne leaf, associated with fungal infection, depressed ovnlation rate and lambing by 34% and 14.6% respectively. In the absence of fungal infestation no coumestans were found and stage of regrowth had 110 effect on lambing performance. A negative linear relationship between coumestan ccntent of the diet (x) and ovulation rate (y) was determined (y = 1.382 - O.004x). Levels of coumestans as low as 25 ppm in the diet depressed the ovulation rate of ewes fed lucerne pellets for 35 days. The depression in ovulation rate of ewes fed a high (100 ppm) level of coumestans was overcome by treatment with pregnant mare's serum gonadotrophin. It is suggested that coumestans exert their effect by interference with the release of follicle stimulating hormone from the pituitary gland.
Some properties of l-chloro-2,4-dinitrochlorobenzene linked glutathione S-transferase in dichlorvos resistant and susceptible strains of cotton aphid (Homoptera: Aphididae)

SUMMARY Effects of temperature, hydrogen ion and substrate concentrations on conjugation of l-chloro-2,4-dinitrochlorobenzene by glutathione S-transferase from susceptible and dichlorvos-resistant strains of cotton aphid (Aphis gossypii Glover (Homoptera: Aphididae)) were evaluated. Enzymes from both strains had common optimum temperature and substrate concentration values of 30 °C and 10 mM respectively. Also, while enzyme activity of the susceptible strain peaked at pH 7·2, that of the resistant strain showed complete linear dependency up to pH 8·0. Of four subcellular fractions, the 100 000 g supernatant (soluble fraction) gave the highest enzyme activity in both phosphate and Tris/HCl buffers. There was no linear relationship between insecticide application frequency and production of enzyme activity in the susceptible strain but there was a very high positive correlation between these two parameters in the resistant strain.