Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The long-term success of abdominovaginal sling operations for genuine stress incontinence and a cystocoele - a questionnaire-based study

Abdominovaginal sling surgery is performed in women with genuine stress incontinence. It is not usually a primary operation because of the higher morbidity compared to the colposuspension. Slings are indicated in incontinent women with previous failed surgery, urethral hypermobility, intrinsic sphincter weakness, significant anterior vaginal wall prolapse or those with restricted vaginal mobility. This study was undertaken to assess long-term patient perceived success of abdominovaginal sling surgery in women with genuine stress incontinence (GSI) in the presence of a cystocoele. The case notes were reviewed of all 37 women undergoing sling surgery for GSI in the presence of a significant cystocoele between 1988 and 1999. Patients were sent a questionnaire at a minimum follow-up of 12 months enquiring about urinary symptoms. The mean duration of follow-up was 49 months. Six weeks following surgery 33/37 (89%) were completely dry. Thirty-three women (89%) responded to the questionnaire. Of these 14/33 (42%) were totally dry, 10/33 (30%) had insignificant leakage and 9/33 required regular protection. The mean visual analogue score of improvement in incontinence was 75·3 ( - 30·1). The operation was deemed successful in 24/33 (72%) women. Voiding difficulty was reported in 12% and recurrent prolapse occurred in 15%. Of the failures 8/9 reported urge incontinence and 4/9 stress incontinence. Frequency, urgency and urge incontinence were significantly more common in the women in whom the operation failed. This study demonstrates a 72% long-term success of abdominovaginal sling operations in women with GSI and a significant cystocoele. Development of DI accounted for most of the operative failures.
Performance of growing-finishing pigs fed barley-based diets containing toasted or non-toasted canola meal

Eighty crossbred pigs (28.7 ± 3.9 kg BW) were assigned to one of five dietary treatments in a factorial design experiment (sex × treatment). The control diet was formulated using barley and soybean meal, while four experimental diets were formulated with either toasted or non-toasted canola meal replacing either half or all of the soybean meal in the test diets. The total glucosinolate content of the non-toasted meal was more than 15-fold higher than the to asted meal (1.01 vs. 15.58 µmol g-1). The principal glucosinolates in the non-toasted meal were 3-butenyl (3.05 µmol g-1), 2-OH-3-butenyl (5.47 µmol g-1) and 4-OH-3-methylindoyl (4.68 µmol g-1). Digestibility coefficients for dry matter, crude protein, and gross energy were significantly (P 0.05) in digestibility coefficients between the two canola meals. Digestibility coefficients were higher (P < 0.05) for pi.
Western Mosquitofish Predation on Native Amphibian Eggs and Larvae

ABSTRACT The western mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis) is commonly stocked for mosquito control, but this species has the potential to negatively impact native amphibians through predation on early life stages. We examined predation by western mosquitofish on eggs and larvae of wood frog (Rana sylvatica), American toad (Bufo americanus), eastern tiger salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum tigrinum), and western chorus fiog (Pseudacris triseriata triseriata) using a series of laboratory microcosm experiments. There were no eggs of any amphibian species consumed by western mosquitofish, and only one predation attempt was observed on a western chorus frog egg. No predation was observed on larvae of wood frog or American toad, and there was no significant difference in the percentage of larvae of these two species missing at the end of the experimental trials (11% and 6%, respectively). However, eastern tiger salamander and western chorus fiog larvae experienced significantly higher predation rates than the other two amphibian species, with approximately 59% of tiger salamander and 92% of chorus frog larvae missing at the end of the experiments. Based on these results, we do not recommend stocking western mosquitofish into waterways that contain early life stages of native amphibian species.
A Comparative Demographic Analysis of Clonal Reproduction in a Temperate Soft Coral

In order to evaluate the relative importance of asexual and sexual reproduction to the fitness of a clonal organism, matrix projection models were used to quantify the contributions of each of these reproductive modes to population growth of the soft coral, Alcyonium sp. , a species that undergoes frequent colony fission. The demographic and fitness consequences of eliminating either asexual or sexual reproduction from the life cycle of this species were examined by sensitivity analysis and by altering selected entries in the transition matrices to simulate changes in reproductive allocation. Four populations of Alcyonium sp. were monitored photographically for two years to record colony growth, mortality, fission, sexual reproduction, and larval recruitment, Despite high turnover, population densities remained reasonably constant. The 24—52% mortality was matched approximately by recruitment of daughter colonies produced by fission. Sexual reproduction was infrequent, and no larval recruitment was observe.
Rates of Consumption of Juvenile Salmonids and Alternative Prey Fish by Northern Squawfish, Walleyes, Smallmouth Bass, and Channel Catfish in John Day Reservoir, Columbia River

Abstract Adult northern squawfish Ptychocheilus oregonensis, walleyes Stizostedion vitreum, smallmouth bass Micropterus dolomieu, and channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus were sampled from four regions of John Day Reservoir from April to August 1983–1986 to quantify their consumption of 13 species of prey fish, particularly seaward-migrating juvenile Pacific salmon and steelhead (Oncorhynchus spp.). Consumption rates were estimated from field data on stomach contents and digestion rate relations determined in previous investigations. For each predator, consumption rates varied by reservoir area, month, time of day, and predator size or age. The greatest daily consumption of salmonids by northern squawfish and channel catfish (0.7 and 0.5 prey/predator) occurred in the upper end of the reservoir below McNary Dam. Greatest daily predation by walleyes (0.2 prey/predator) and smallmouth bass (0.04) occurred in the middle and lower reservoir. Consumption rates of all predators were highest in July, concurrent w.
Swimming Activity of Farm Mink (Mustela vison) and its Relation to Stereotypies

Eighty farm mink were used to investigate whether access to swimming water and:or difference in cage size led to a difference in the level of stereotypies. Half of the animals grew up with free access to swimming water, and the other half without. In addition, two different cage sizes were used. Over 2 weeks the animals were scanned a total of 141 times. Animals in small cages had a higher level of stereotypies and were more active than those in large cages. No difference between animals with swimming water and animals with an empty basin was detected. The level of activity was lowest in animals in large cages, although not significantly so when water was present. The results presented here do not offer any support for the claim that farm mink with access to swimming water have a lower level of stereotypies than mink with access to an empty basin. Whether swimming is a behavioural need in farm mink is still debatable.
Risk factors for and perinatal mortality of abruptio placentae in patients hospitalised for early onset severe pre-eclampsia - a case controlled study

We set out to determine which patients admitted for expectant management of early onset severe pre-eclampsia develop abruptio placentae and to compare the perinatal mortality rate of patients who developed abruptio placentae with those who did not have this complication. This was a case controlled study, using gestational age at delivery to select a control group for 69 patients who developed abruptio placentae. The only significant difference on admission was the higher uric acid levels in patients who developed abruptio placentae. Mean admission to delivery intervals were 11.9 and 8.8 days for the control and abruption groups respectively ( P = 0.0083). Fifty-eight per cent of the babies in the abruptio placentae group developed late decelerations, as determined by fetal heart rate monitoring compared with 32% in the control group. Lactate dehydrogenase levels before delivery were significantly higher in the abruption group, but it only became elevated shortly before delivery and in the minority of cases. There were two intrauterine and four neonatal deaths in the abruption group and two neonatal deaths in the control group. Late decelerations detected by frequent fetal heart rate monitoring in patients with early onset severe pre-eclampsia is the only early warning of abruptio placentae.
Expression of Separate Foreign Proteins from the Rotavirus NSP3 Genome Segment Using a Translational 2A Stop-Restart Element

The segmented 18.5-kB dsRNA genome of rotavirus expresses 6 structural and 6 nonstructural proteins. We investigated the possibility of using the recently-developed plasmid-based rotavirus reverse genetics (RG) system to generate recombinant viruses that express a separate foreign protein, in addition to the 12 viral proteins. To address this, we replaced the NSP3 open-reading-frame (ORF) of the segment 7 (pT7/NSP3) transcription vector used in the RG system with an ORF encoding NSP3 fused to a fluorescent reporter protein (i.e., UnaG, mRuby, mKate, or TagBFP). Inserted at the fusion junction was a teschovirus 2A-like self-cleaving element designed to direct the separate expression of NSP3 and the fluorescent protein. Recombinant rotaviruses made with the modified pT7/NSP3 vectors were well growing, generally genetically stable, and expressed NSP3 and a separate fluorescent protein detectable by live cell imaging. NSP3 made by the recombinant viruses was functional, inducing nuclear accumulation of cellular poly(A)-binding protein. Further modification of the NSP3 ORF showed that it was possible to generate recombinant viruses encoding 2 foreign proteins (mRuby and UnaG) in addition to NSP3. Our results demonstrate that, through modification of segment 7, the rotavirus genome can be increased in size to at least 19.8 kB and can be used to produce recombinant rotaviruses expressing a full complement of viral proteins and multiple foreign proteins. The generation of recombinant rotaviruses expressing fluorescent proteins will be valuable for the study of rotavirus replication and pathogenesis by live cell imagining and suggest that rotaviruses may prove useful as expression vectors. Importance Rotaviruses are a major cause of severe gastroenteritis in infants and young children. Recently, a highly efficient reverse genetics system was developed that allows genetic manipulation of the rotavirus segmented double-stranded RNA genome. Using the reverse genetics system, we show that it is possible to modify one of the rotavirus genome segments (segment 7) such that virus gains the capacity to express a separate foreign protein, in addition to the full complement of viral proteins. Through this approach, we have generated wildtype-like rotaviruses that express various fluorescent reporter proteins, including UnaG (green), mRuby (far red), mKate (red), and TagBFP (blue). Such strains will be of value in probing rotavirus biology and pathogenesis by live-cell imagining techniques. Notably, our work indicates that the rotavirus genome is remarkably flexible and able to accommodate significant amounts of foreign RNA sequence, raising the possibility of using the virus as vaccine expression vector.
The calcium binding protein S100β marks Hedgehog-responsive perivascular stem cells that contribute to intimal thickening following iatrogenic flow restriction

A hallmark of subclinical atherosclerosis is the accumulation of vascular smooth muscle cell (SMC)-like cells leading to intimal thickening. While medial SMCs contribute, the participation of hedgehog responsive resident vascular stem cells (vSCs) to lesion formation remains unclear. Using transgenic eGFP mice and genetic lineage tracing of S100β vSCs in vivo, we identified S100β/Sca1 cells derived from a perivascular S100β non-SMC parent population within lesions following iatrogenic flow restriction, an effect attenuated following hedgehog inhibition with cyclopamine. Multipotent S100β/Sca1 vSCs acquired the stable SMC epigenetic H3K4me2 histone mark at the Myh11 locus and underwent myogenic differentiation in response to sonic hedgehog (SHh) in vitro. S100β cells were enriched in human arteriosclerotic lesions while SHh promoted myogenic differentiation of human induced pluripotent stem cell derived S100β neuroectoderm progenitors in vitro. We conclude that hedgehog responsive S100β vSCs contribute to lesion formation and support targeting hedgehog signalling to treat subclinical arteriosclerosis.
Abelson kinase’s intrinsically disordered linker plays important roles in protein function and protein stability

The non-receptor tyrosine kinase Abelson (Abl) is a key player in oncogenesis, with kinase inhibitors serving as paradigms of targeted therapy. Abl also is a critical regulator of normal development, playing conserved roles in regulating cell behavior, brain development and morphogenesis. Drosophila offers a superb model for studying Abl’s normal function, because, unlike mammals, there is only a single fly Abl family member. Abl has multiple roles in embryonic morphogenesis, and we and others have begun to take Abl apart as a machine. This revealed many surprises. For instance, kinase activity, while important, is not crucial for all Abl activities, and the C-terminal F-actin binding domain plays a very modest role. This turned our attention to less well-known feature—the long intrinsically-disordered region (IDR) linking Abl’s kinase and F-actin binding domains. The past decade revealed unexpected, important roles for IDRs in diverse cell functions, by mediating multivalent interactions, enabling assembly of biomolecular condensates via phase separation. Previous work deleting conserved regions revealed an important role for a PXXP motif in the IDR, but did not identify any other essential regions. Here we extend this, deleting the entire IDR. This revealed essential roles for the IDR in embryonic and adult viability, and in cell shape changes and cytoskeletal regulation during embryonic morphogenesis. Strikingly, AblΔIDR acts as dominant negative, worsening the phenotype of the null mutant. AblΔIDR accumulates at >10-fold higher levels than wildtype Abl in both Drosophila embryos and cultured cells, suggesting important roles for the IDR in modulating protein stability.
Irrigation Water Management for Efficient Water Use in Mulched Onion

The effects of mulch and five levels of irrigation on soil evaporation, transpiration, evapotranspiration, and yield of onion were studied in a glasshouse pot experiment during 1996/1997 (December 1, 1996 to May 14, 1997). Five different levels of irrigation were imposed on covered and open clay loam soil surfaces in four replicates. Water losses by evaporation and/or transpiration were measured daily by weighing. Irrigation water was applied once weekly. The amount of irrigation water added to each treatment was determined from weight differences. Increasing applied irrigation water significantly increased evapotranspiration and/or transpiration. With mulch treatments, evapotranspiration was significantly reduced, while transpiration was significantly increased compared with open soil surface treatments. Covering the soil surface reduced the amount of irrigation required water by the onion crop by about 70 % for all irrigation treatments compared with the amount of irrigation water added in the open soil surface treatments, because wet soil surface evaporation was eliminated. Increasing the amount of water applied increased the evaporation–transpiration ratio as a result of an increase in water available for evaporation. In the onion crop, most of the irrigation water (about 1.7 times transpiration) was lost in evaporation. For both covered and open soil surface treatments, the actual measured potential transpiration depth was about 150 mm compared to about 400 mm evapotranspiration depth in the open soil surface treatment. In covered soil surface treatments, onion yields were significantly higher than in open surface treatments at low water levels because of the significant soil evaporation associated with open soil surface treatments. However, onion yields for open and covered soil surfaces became comparable as the total water applied increased. Water use efficiency in the covered soil surface treatment was maximum for the highest water level (W4 = 197 mm irrigation), while in the open soil surface treatment, water use efficiency was maximum for the intermediate water level (W2 = 209 mm irrigation).
Dissemination of Carbapenem-resistance and Plasmids-encoding Carbapenemases in Gram-negative Bacteria Isolated from India

Carbapenem resistance in Gram-negative bacteria is an ongoing public-health problem of global dimensions leaving very few treatment options for severely infected patients. This study focuses on the dissemination of plasmid-borne carbapenemase genes in Gram-negative bacteria in Tamil Nadu, India. A total of 151 non-repetitive isolates belonging to 11 genera were collected from a diagnostic center in Tamil Nadu. E. coli (n=57) isolates were classified as, Enteropathogenic (n=12), Enteroaggregative (n=9), Enterohemorrhagic (n=8), Enterotoxigenic (n=3), Enteroinvasive (n=1) and unclassified E. coli (n=24). Of the 45 Klebsiella species, 14 were K1 whereas 11 were K2 serotype and in 20 Klebsiella serotype could not be determined. Other isolates (n=49) consisted of P. aeruginosa, S. typhi, E. cloacae, A. baumannii, S. marcescens, A. xylosoxidans, P. mirabilis and E. meningoseptica. Of the 151 isolates, 71% (n=107) and 68% (n=103) were found to be resistant to meropenem and imipenem respectively. The most prevalent beta-lactamase gene was blaNDM-1 (21%, 12/57) followed by blaOXA-181 (16%, 9/57), blaGES-9 (n=8), blaOXA-23 (n=7), blaIMP-1 (n=3), blaGES-1 (n=11) and blaOXA-51 (n=9). The unusual presence of blaOXA-23 was seen in E. coli (n=4), and blaOXA-23 and blaOXA-51 (IncA/C) in K. pneumoniae (n=3). Plasmid incompatibility (inc/rep) typing results showed that the plasmids carrying resistance genes (n=11) belonged to IncX, IncA/C, IncFIA-FIB and IncFIIA groups. E. coli and K. pneumoniae were able to transfer plasmid-borne carbapenemase via conjugation. This study highlights the prevalence of carbapenem resistance and the acquisition of plasmid-borne carbapenemase genes in Gram-negative bacteria highlighting the role of plasmid transfer in disseminating resistance.
Effect of Arachis pintoi groundcover on performance of bananas in northern New South Wales

Legume groundcovers have been promoted for controlling soil erosion in hillside banana plantations in northern New South Wales. An experiment was conducted at Alstonville to determine the effect of an Arachis pintoi (Pinto peanut) groundcover on banana productivity. The Arachis groundcover was slow to establish in the first year, but thereafter grew vigorously. While standing dry matter of groundcover was reduced at closer banana plant spacings, it was always more than adequate to control erosion. After 5.5 years many soil chemical parameters had been significantly affected by the presence of groundcover. Organic carbon concentrations to 30 cm depth were 5.6% greater on the groundcover plots (3.94 v. 3.71%), and total nitrogen was 8.5% greater (0.42 v. 0.39%). Other increases were exchangeable potassium 52%, calcium 26%, magnesium 43%, sodium 23%, electrical conductivity 24%, and pH 0.13 units. Banana leaf nutrient concentrations were not affected. Banana plants with groundcover produced 9% fewer bunches than their bare soil counterparts, with 4% fewer fingers per bunch. By the end of the experiment, fingers on the groundcover treatment were 9% lighter; consequently, the weight of marketable fruit (i.e. >120 g/finger) per bunch was reduced by 31% in the final year. The presence of groundcover reduced total fruit production over the whole trial by 16% and marketable fruit by 19%. In the last year of the experiment, total fruit production was reduced by 25%, and marketable fruit production by 40%. Over the whole trial, banana plants with groundcover produced 22% fewer suckers than the bare soil controls, with most of the effect occurring in the first 2 years. Soil temperatures at 20 cm under groundcover were as much as 0.7¦C cooler than the controls in October-January, but similar for the rest of the year. This effect possibly contributed to decreased yields. Although the experiment was irrigated, the irrigation was possibly inadequate for the groundcover treatment, and competition for water between the Arachis and banana plants may also have been responsible for part of the yield depression. Rats fed on the buried Arachis seed each winter.
Resistance to pirimiphos-methyl in West African Anopheles is spreading via duplication and introgression of the Ace1 locus

Vector population control using insecticides is a key element of current strategies to prevent malaria transmission in Africa. The introduction of effective insecticides, such as the organophosphate pirimiphos-methyl, is essential to overcome the recurrent emergence of resistance driven by the highly diverse Anopheles genomes. Here, we use a population genomic approach to investigate the basis of pirimiphos-methyl resistance in the major malaria vectors Anopheles gambiae and A. coluzzii. A combination of copy number variation and a single non-synonymous substitution in the acetylcholinesterase gene, Ace1, provides the key resistance diagnostic in an A. coluzzii population from Côte d’Ivoire that we used for sequence-based association mapping, with replication in other West African populations. The Ace1 and substitution and duplications occur on a unique resistance haplotype that evolved in A. gambiae and introgressed into A. coluzzii, and is now common in West Africa probably due to cross-resistance with previously used insecticides. Our findings highlight the phenotypic value of this complex resistance haplotype and clarify its evolutionary history, providing tools to understand the current and future effectiveness of pirimiphos-methyl based interventions.
Transcriptional Profiling of Immune and Inflammatory Responses in the Context of SARS-CoV-2 Fungal Superinfection in a Human Airway Epithelial Model

Superinfections of bacterial/fungal origin are known to affect the course and severity of respiratory viral infections. An increasing number of evidence indicate a relatively high prevalence of superinfections associated with COVID-19, including invasive aspergillosis, but the underlying mechanisms remain to be characterized. In the present study, to better understand the biological impact of superinfection we sought to determine and compare the host transcriptional response to SARS-CoV-2 versus Aspergillus superinfection, using a model of reconstituted humain airway epithelium. Our analyses reveal that both simple infection and superinfection induce a strong deregulation of core components of innate immune and inflammatory responses, with a stronger response to superinfection in the bronchial epithelial model compared to its nasal counterpart. Our results also highlight unique transcriptional footprints of SARS-CoV-2 Aspergillus superinfection, such as an imbalanced type I/type III IFN, and an induction of several monocyte- and neutrophil associated chemokines, that could be useful for the understanding of Aspergillus-associated COVID-19 and but also management of severe forms of aspergillosis in this specific context.