Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
2-Methoxyestradiol and 2-Ethoxyestradiol Retard the Progression of Renal Disease in Aged,Obese,Diabetic ZSF_1 Rats

Objective The metabolic syndrome is a main cause for cardiovascular disease and for the accelerating epidemic of chronic renal failure.Previously we have demonstrated that 2-hydroxyestradiol (2HE),an estradiol metabolite with little estrogenic activity,improves metabolic status and attenuates the development of renal disease in young,obese ZSF_1 rats.In vivo,2HE is readily converted to 2-methoxyestra- diol(2ME). The present study examined the effects of 2-methoxyestradiol(2ME)and the synthetic analog 2-ethoxyestradiol(2EE)on hypertension,obesity,and progression of renal disease in 35-week old,obese ZSF_1 rats that fully expressed metabolic syndrome and progressive and severe nephropathy.Methods Ani- mals were treated for 9 weeks with vehicle(PEG-400,0.5l/h),2-ME or 2-EE(18g/kg/h),metabolic and renal function were measured(Week 0,3,6 and 9),and renal hemodynamics and excretory function were assessed(Week 9). Results Obese animals had markedly glyeosylated hemoglobin,glycosuria,hy- pertension and progressive overt proteinuria.2ME and 2EE had no effects on obesity and hypertension,and reduced glycosylated hemoglobin and glucosuria and prevented time-dependent increase in proteinuria.2ME and 2EE significantly increased renal blood flow and glomerular filtration, and reduced renal vascular resist- ance.Immunoblotting of renal cortical tissue samples revealed increased expression of PCNA,NF-kappa B and VEGF in obese animals compared to lean male littermates.2ME and 2EE reduced the expression of PC- NA,NF-kappaB and VEGF.Conclusions This study provides the first evidence that 2ME,a non-estrogen- ic metabolite of estradiol,and 2EE,a synthetic analog of estradiol metabolites,have direct renoprotective effects in nephropathy associated with metabolic syndrome and obesity.
Archive of SID Maternal Carriage and Neonatal Colonization of Streptococcus agalactiae in Tabriz

Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is a major cause of severe systemic and local infections in newborns. This study was performed to evaluate the presence of GBS in pregnant women and their newborns in Tabriz, Iran. Vaginal specimens were collected from 965 women who were candidate for vaginal delivery for bacteriological study of group B streptococci. Several samples trom various sites of the newborns' body (ear canal, nose, navel, and groin) were also obtained to study the colonization rate in newborns after vaginal delivery. Identification of GBS strains was accomplished by bacteriological and serological tests. During the study period, 327 microorganisms were isolated from vaginal specimens of pregnant women from which 5.2% were Streptococcus agalactiae. Serotypes of S. agalactiae strains in our study were la (17.6%), Ib (13.4%), II (14.2%), III (9.5%), IV (8.2%), V (19.5%) and nontypable (17.6%). All of the newborns were followed up for eight weeks. Low carriage rate of GBS in vaginal canal of women in this area and probably lack of more virulent serotypes of GBS may explain the rarity of disease due to Streptococcus agalactiae in our region. Iran J Med Sci 2007; 32(3): 177-181.
Reliability Study of MOS Capacitors Fabricated on 3C-SiC/Si Substrates

3C-SiC technology has advanced a lot in the last decade and the interests in making 3C-SiC power devices are growing again, in research and industry. Despite of that, there has been a lack of knowledge on the reliability of the 3C-SiC MOS structure. In this paper, we investigated the MOS capacitors fabricated on 3C-SiC/Si substrates at room temperature. From the simple I-V characterisation, an effective barrier height as high as 3.65-3.71 eV can be extracted for the fabricated 3C-SiC/SiO2 interface. Reliability test under elevated gate bias which lasts weeks demonstrates an acceptable failure rate (3450 PPM) for these state-of-the-art 3C-SiC MOS capacitors. The failure mechanism study suggests the intrinsic region is still not reached and there is still much room to improve the reliability. Minimising some obvious extrinsic defects which lead to early breakdown alone can reduce the failure rate by 100 times.
A study on anomalous yield drop behaviour in modified beta titanium alloys

ABSTRACT The yield drop phenomenon observed in the Ti–15V-3Al–3Sn-3Cr (Ti–15–3) beta-titanium alloy and its anomalous behaviour in the boron and carbon added Ti–15–3 alloys have been studied. While the base and the carbon containing alloys exhibit yield drop, the boron containing alloy with smaller grain size than base alloy does not appear to show this phenomenon. Tensile tests were interrupted at different stress levels followed by analyses of slip lines and sub-structural characteristics using scanning and transmission electron microscopes to understand this anomalous yield point phenomenon. Infrared thermal imaging technique was used to map the strain localisation and the spatiotemporal evolution of deformation along the gauge length of the specimens during the tensile tests. Deformation in these alloys initiates only in a few grains. Pile-up of dislocations in these grains subsequently triggers the formation of dislocations in other grains and their rapid multiplications. The spreading of deformation by the generation of dislocations from pile up dislocations in one grain to neighbouring un-deformed grains and their rapid multiplication to new regions influence the yield drop phenomenon and its characteristics. It is shown in this study that microscopic instability in the grain level is a necessary, but not the sufficient condition for the manifestation of macroscopic instability during tensile deformation in polycrystalline materials. The presence of boride particles at grain boundaries restricts the slip transfer across the grains as well as the spreading of deformation to new regions, which causes the suppression of yield drop in the boron containing alloy.
Sulphur Fractionation Studies in Soils of Long Term Fertilizer Experiment under Finger Millet – Maize Cropping Sequence

Sulphur is one of the seventeen essential elements and the fourth most important nutrient for crop production after nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. The sulphur deficiency is widespread in Indian soils and it has been emerging as major limitation in increasing crop production and productivity. Intensive cultivation with high yielding varieties of crops and application of high rates of fertilizers devoid of secondary nutrients resulted in depletion of secondary nutrients especially sulphur reserve of soil at faster rate. International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 8 Number 09 (2019) Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas. com
The influence of SYT-SSX fusion gene, E-cadherin and β-catenin on the metastasis of synovial sarcoma

Objective: To study the prognostic significance of the subtype of SYT-SSX fusion gene, E-cadherin, β-Catenin and clinicopathological parameters for the metastasis of synovial sarcomas. Methods: A total of 98 synovial sarcoma patients with complete clinical and follow-up data were reviewed. RT-PCR was used to detect the subtype of SYT-SSX fusion gene. The expression of E-cadherin and β-catenin was detected by immunohistochemistry. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to analyze the influence of the above factors and clinicopathological parameters on the metastasis free survival to explore the factors affecting the metastasis of synovial sarcoma. Results: Of all the patients, 69.4% (68/98) had metastasis during follow-up. The median metastasis free survival was 48 months. The metastasis free 1-, 2-, 3-, 4-, and 5-year survival rate after surgery was 97.5%, 75.5%, 63.5%, 54.0%, and 48.5%, respectively; 31.6% (31/98) patients were found with SYT-SSX1 and 68.4% (67/98) patients with SYT-SSX2. The positive rate of E-cadherin expression was 38.8% (38/98), the positive rate of β-catenin expression was 39.8% (39/98) on cellular membrane and 53.1% (52/98) in cellular nucleus/cytoplasm. Univariate analysis showed that age (P=0.003), mitotic figure (P=0.002), histological grade (P=0.001), the subtype fusion gene of SYT-SSX (P=0.014), E-cadherin expression (P=0.015) and β-catenin expression on cellular membrane (P=0.020) were significantly correlated with metastasis free survival of synovial sarcoma patients. Sex (P=0.190), tumor location (P=0.105), tumor size (P=0.180), histological type (P=0.354), necrosis (P=0.451), β-catenin expression in cell nucleus/cytoplasm (P=0.911), radiotherapy (P=0.193), and chemotherapy (P=0.249) had no significant correlation with metastasis free survival of synovial sarcoma patients. Multivariate analysis revealed that the subtype of SYT-SS×1 fusion gene (RR=2.505, P=0.003), negative expression of E-cadherin (RR=3.282, P=0.000), patient age (RR=2.157, P=0.004), and grade Ⅲ (RR=1.784, P=0.030) were independent risk factors for metastasis of synovial sarco- ma. Conclusion: The subtype of SYT-SSX, expression of E-cadherin, histological grade and the age of patients are important factors for evaluating the metastasis and prognosis of synovial sarcoma.
Water Contact Patterns and Urinary Schistosomiasis Transmission among School Children in Endemic Area of Wudil, Kano, Nigeria

The aim of this study was to ascertain the role and relative importance of water Contact activities in the transmission of Urinary Schistosomiasis during the study period.Different water contact activities were observed and recorded among the subjects in the study area. While on the other hand, 200 Urine samples were collected and examined for the presence of blood in the urine using strip-reagent method as confirmation to Schistosomiasis infection.As well, a sedimentation technique was employed to detect the presence or otherwise of Schistosome ova in the urine samples. Out of these 200 urine samples, 25% (50) were found to be positive with S. haematobium. Male children recorded the highest cases of 88% (44), while female has only 12% (6) of the total samples observed. Children between the ages of 11-14 years have the peak prevalence of 78% (39), while those within 7-10 years of age have 22% (11) respectively.Children who engaged in swimming in water has the highest rates of 68% (34), followed by washing 12% (6) and the least contact patterns was farming with only 8% (4). This result was by far less than what were obtained in the previous studies in some areas and may not be unconnected with the level of awareness by these school children and their limited contact with the water.
Impact of Climate variability and change on agricultural productivity in the three northern regions of Ghana

Agriculture in the three regions of the north is mainly subsistence and rain-fed with very limited irrigation facilities. Traditional approach to agriculture in the region is therefore being threatened by erratic rainfall, high temperature, drought and floods due mainly to a changing climate. This research, therefore, examines the climate in the Upper West, Upper East and Northern regions and its impacts on agriculture productivity. It began with an extensive desktop study and the collection of rainfall and temperature data from 1961-2010 from the three regions. The data was analyzed to determine the rainfall and temperature trends and their significance using XLSTAT software and basic statistical tools and subsequently tested with the Modified Mann-Kendal’s test to confirm the increasing or decreasing trends and their significance. The results showed that the climate is changing with an increasing temperature and decreasing rainfall trends across the three regions. The test also confirmed a significant increase in temperature but no trend in rainfall at 95% level of confidence. The change in the climate is also observed to have significant impact on agriculture. The knowledge in the climate variation and change will be relevant to decision and policy makers, farmers, water users, water providers, NGOs and students as a whole. The research was concluded with suggested strategies as policy options to help improve climate change adaptation and agricultural productivity.
Sensor Response Estimate and Cross Calibration of Paleomagnetic Measurements on Pass‐Through Superconducting Rock Magnetometers

Pass‐through superconducting rock magnetometers (SRMs) enable rapid and precise remanence measurement of continuous samples and are essential for paleomagnetic studies. Due to convolution effect of the SRM sensor response, pass‐through measurements need to be deconvolved to restore accurate and high‐resolution signal. A key step toward successful deconvolution is a reliable estimate of the SRM sensor response. Here, we present new tool URESPONSE for accurate SRM sensor response estimate based on measurements of a well‐calibrated magnetic point source. URESONSE allows sensor response to be estimated for continuous samples with different cross‐section geometry. We estimate sensor responses for an old liquid helium‐cooled SRM (SRM‐old) and a new liquid helium‐free SRM (SRM‐new) at the University of Southampton and compare remanence measurement of a u‐channel on both SRMs before and after deconvolution. For each SRM, sensor response estimates based on data collected using different magnetic point source samples and/or measurement procedures generally yield small differences (std. <~1%), while sensor response estimates for continuous samples with different cross‐section geometry often show larger differences (std. up to ~2%). Compared with SRM‐old, SRM‐new has smaller cross‐axis responses, less negative zones, and significantly broader main axis responses. We demonstrate that normalization of data using a nine‐element “effective length” matrix calculated from sensor response estimate is necessary to minimize differences in measurements on two SRMs. Deconvolution of measurements on two SRMs using accurate sensor response estimates yields highly consistent and high‐resolution results, while deconvolution using inaccurate sensor response data can lead to significant differences especially for data from SRM‐old that has large cross‐axis responses.
Anti-Graffiti Behavior of Oleo/Hydrophobic Nano-Filled Coatings Applied on Natural Stone Materials

In recent years, graffiti writings are increasingly regarded as a form of art. However, their presence on historic building remains a vandalism and different strategies have been developed to clean or, preferably, protect the surfaces. In this study, an experimental nano-filled coating, based on fluorine resin containing SiO2 nano-particles, and two commercial products have been applied on compact and porous calcareous stones, representative of building materials used in the Mediterranean basin, and their anti-graffiti ability has been analyzed. All the tested experimental and commercial coatings exhibited high hydrophobicity and oleophobicity, thus meeting one of the basic requirements for anti-graffiti systems. The effects of staining by acrylic blu-colored spray paint and felt-tip marker were, then, assessed; the properties of the treated stone surfaces after cleaning by acetone were also investigated. Visual observations, contact angle measurements and color evaluations were performed to this aim. It was found that the protective coatings facilitated the spray paint removal; however high oleophobicity or paint repellence did not guarantee a complete cleaning. The stain from the felt-tip marker was confirmed to be extremely difficult to remove. The cleaning with a neat unconfined solvent promoted the movement of the applied polymers (and likely of the paint, as well) in the porous structure of the stone substrate.
THE LEARNING ORGANIZATION: AN EMPIRICAL TEST OF A NORMATIVE PERSPECTIVE

This paper proposes a framework for understanding the concept of a learning organization from a normative perspective. A questionnaire was developed to operationally measure the described management practice attributes of a learning organization. Using a sample of four organizations and 612 subjects, support was found for three a priori predictive hypotheses derived from a conceptual framework. Implications of the results and further empirical research are discussed, especially for linking learning organization attributes to performance using larger samples and multiple measures.
Bounding Global Aerosol Radiative Forcing of Climate Change

Aerosols interact with radiation and clouds. Substantial progress made over the past 40 years in observing, understanding, and modeling these processes helped quantify the imbalance in the Earth's radiation budget caused by anthropogenic aerosols, called aerosol radiative forcing, but uncertainties remain large. This review provides a new range of aerosol radiative forcing over the industrial era based on multiple, traceable, and arguable lines of evidence, including modeling approaches, theoretical considerations, and observations. Improved understanding of aerosol absorption and the causes of trends in surface radiative fluxes constrain the forcing from aerosol‐radiation interactions. A robust theoretical foundation and convincing evidence constrain the forcing caused by aerosol‐driven increases in liquid cloud droplet number concentration. However, the influence of anthropogenic aerosols on cloud liquid water content and cloud fraction is less clear, and the influence on mixed‐phase and ice clouds remains poorly constrained. Observed changes in surface temperature and radiative fluxes provide additional constraints. These multiple lines of evidence lead to a 68% confidence interval for the total aerosol effective radiative forcing of ‐1.6 to ‐0.6 W m−2, or ‐2.0 to ‐0.4 W m−2 with a 90% likelihood. Those intervals are of similar width to the last Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessment but shifted toward more negative values. The uncertainty will narrow in the future by continuing to critically combine multiple lines of evidence, especially those addressing industrial‐era changes in aerosol sources and aerosol effects on liquid cloud amount and on ice clouds.
Novel fiber-reinforced polymer cross wrapping strengthening technique: A comparative study

This article presents a comparative study on behavior of fiber-reinforced polymer–confined concrete in axially loaded circular columns strengthened using three different fiber-reinforced polymer partial wrapping strengthening schemes: the fiber-reinforced polymer ring wrapping, the fiber-reinforced polymer strip helical wrapping, and the novel fiber-reinforced polymer strip cross helical wrapping. The test results show that at an identical confinement ratio, the strength enhancement efficiency of the fiber-reinforced polymer strip helical wrapping is slightly weaker than those of the other two strengthening schemes, while the strain enhancement efficiency of the fiber-reinforced polymer strip helical wrapping is the strongest among the three strengthening schemes. An analysis-oriented stress–strain model is proposed for the confined concrete with fiber-reinforced polymer partial wrapping, and the comparisons show that the model is capable to provide satisfactory predictions on stress–strain behavior of confined concrete with fiber-reinforced polymer partial wrapping.
Long‐Period Astronomical Forcing of Westerlies' Strength in Central Asia During Miocene Climate Cooling

The continental expression of global cooling during the Miocene Climate Transition in Central Asia is poorly documented, as the tectonically active setting complicates the correlation of Neogene regional and global climatic developments. This study presents new geochemical data (CaSO4 content, carbonate δ13C and δ18O) from the endorheic alluvial‐lacustrine Aktau succession (Ili Basin, south‐east Kazakhstan) combined with findings from the previously published facies evolution. Time series analysis revealed long‐eccentricity forcing of the paleohydrology throughout the entire succession, split into several facies‐dependent segments. Orbital tuning, constrained by new laser ablation U‐Pb dates and a preexisting magnetostratigraphy, places the succession in a 5.0 Ma long interval in the middle to late Miocene (15.6 to 10.6 Ma). The long‐term water accumulation in the Ili Basin followed the timing of the Miocene Climate Transition, suggesting increased precipitation in the catchment area in response to climate cooling and stronger westerly winds. This was paced by minima of the 2.4 Ma eccentricity cycle, which favored the establishment of a discharge playa (~14.3 Ma) and a perennial lake (12.6 to 11.8 Ma). Furthermore, low obliquity amplitudes (nodes) caused a transient weakening of the westerlies at ~13.7 to 13.5 Ma and at ~12.7 Ma, resulting in negative hydrological budgets and salinization. Flooding of the windward Ili Basin coeval with aridification in the leeward basins suggests that the Tian Shan was a climate boundary already in the middle Miocene. Our results emphasize the impact of climate fluctuations on the westerlies' strength and thus on Central Asian hydrology.
AIR POLLUTION IN ANCONA HARBOUR, ITALY

Ports have always been communication and trade crossroads and have historically promoted the development of local economies. However, being hubs of activities, they are also major sources of noise and air pollution mainly due to ships, but also to vehicles, appliances, offices, etc. The port of Ancona, like many other Italian ports, is very close to the urban area, therefore it strongly influences the air quality of the city so that prolonged exposure to air pollutants generated by the port may cause adverse health effects on a big part of local population. Reducing air pollution without penalizing the local economy is one of the main objectives of the local authorities. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the contribution of different port emission sources, such as “Roll-on/roll-off Passengers” (Ro-pax) ships and fishing vessels, to Ancona air pollution. Between all, the levels of carbon monoxide (CO), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), nitrogen oxides (NOX), sulphur oxides (SOX), and particulate matter (PM) have been evaluated. The study pointed out that most of the emissions in Ancona harbour are due to “Roll-on/roll-off” (Ro-ro) and Ro-pax maritime activities. Thus we focused on Ro-ro/Ro-pax ships’ different emission scenarios based on different sulphur percentages in ship fuel, annual ships calls, manoeuvring/hotelling schedule, and ship characteristics, such as engine power. SOX denoted a strong dependency not only on the percentage of sulphur but also upon the manoeuvring/hotelling time while all other pollutant emissions mostly depend on timing and ship features. Therefore, it was found necessary to know such data exactly to estimate the emissions so to formulate new scenarios in order to choose the best strategies to reduce air pollution.