Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Lack of Concordance Between Reported Lung-Cancer Risk Levels and Occupation-Specific Diesel-Exhaust Exposure

Some epidemiologic studies of occupational groups show associations between surrogates of diesel-exhaust exposure and increased lung cancer, but causality has not been established. For several occupational groups, we compared information on the reported lung-cancer risk with estimated diesel-exhaust concentrations. Although none of the epidemiologic studies had concurrent measurements of diesel-exhaust concentrations, such data are available from more contemporary studies. Measurements of particle concentrations yield three, overlapping “order-of-magnitude” groups: Truck drivers, dock workers, railroad workers (excluding shop workers, hostlers), 5–100 μg/m3. Bus garage workers, railroad shop workers, and hostlers, 50–700 μg/m3. Underground miners, 500–2000 μg/m3. Bhatia et el. (1998) conducted a meta-analysis of lung-cancer risk with occupational exposure to diesel exhaust and found an overall relative risk (RR) value of 1.33, with a range of 1.11 to 1.4 9 in the subanalysis by occupation. If diesel exhaust were causally increasing lung-cancer risk by 50% for low-exposure occupations (for example, truck drivers, RR = 1.49), then the lung-cancer risk in a more heavily exposed population (for example, railroad shop workers) should be much higher; however, the shop workers experienced an RR of around 1.0 (Crump, 1999; HEI, 1999). Similarly, the added lung-cancer risk for bus garage workers (RR = 1.24) is half that of truck drivers, but diesel-exhaust concentrations were considerably higher for garage workers. There is an approximately two orders of magnitude difference in potential diesel-exhaust exposure, yet, the epidemiologic relative risks cluster in a narrow range. Such a lack of concordance between reported lung-cancer risk and estimated exposure argues against a causal role for diesel exhaust in the epidemiologic associations.
The effect of early enteral nutrition on the postoperative immune function and inflammatory indexes in patients with digestive tract cancers

Objective: To observe the effects of early enteral nutrition on the postoperative nutritional status, immune function, and inflammatory response in patients with digestive tract cancers. Methods: This prospective study recruited 108 patients with digestive tract cancer, and they were randomly divided into a control group and an observation group, with 54 cases in each group. The patients in the observation group underwent postoperative early enteral nutrition support, while the patients in the control group underwent routine enteral nutrition support. The nutritional indexes, immune function, intestinal function damage indexes, inflammatory indexes, and perioperative indexes between the two groups were compared. Results: The nutritional indexes in the two groups, including serum transferrin (TFN), albumin (Alb) and prealbumin (PA), were significantly elevated after the treatment (P<0.05). However, the nutritional indexes in the observation group were significantly higher compared with the indexes in the control group, and the food-intake start times and inpatient times in the observation group were shorter than they were in the control group (P<0.05). After treatment, the immune and inflammatory indexes in the two groups, including the CD4+/CD8+ ratios, plasma Diamine Oxidase (DAO), serum C-reactive protein (CRP), and interleukin-6 (IL-6), were lower than they were before treatment (P<0.05). But the improvement of the immune indexes and the decrease of the inflammatory indexes in the observation group were better than they were in the control group (P<0.05). There were no significant differences in the incidences of gastrointestinal complications between the two groups (P>0.05). Conclusion: Postoperative early enteral nutrition in patients with digestive tract cancers can significantly improve their nutritional status and immune function, reduce the inflammatory response and promote patient recovery. Meanwhile, it doesn’t increase the incidence of gastrointestinal adverse reactions.
Determination of charge mobility in He gas from current-voltage measurements in point-plane geometry

In order to clarify whether or not is it possible to extract reliable values of positive and negative mobility for ions and even for electrons in gas when using sharp point-plane geometry, the authors have undertaken a systematic study using He gas. Monitoring the purity level of the same gas filling two different cells (point-plane and plane-parallel), they have compared mobility values deduced from current-voltage curves (mobility K) with time of flight measurements (actual mobility /spl mu/) as a function of gas pressure (0.1-15 MPa) and purity. For negative charge carriers (ions or electrons), they have directly measured K/sup -/ and /spl mu//sup -/ and then compared the results. They observed, as expected, that the measured negative charge carriers mobility was strongly dependent on gas purification. For commercial gas (O/sub 2/ of the order of 100 ppm), K/sup -/ was very close to the data obtained for negative O/sub 2//sup -/ ions (i.e., K/sup -/ /spl cong/ /spl mu/(O/sub 2//sup -/)) but, for better purification level, K/sup -/ increases quickly and can reach electronic values /spl mu//sub e/ (K/sup -/ /spl rarr/ /spl mu//sub e/). For positive ions, in all the range of studied pressure, it was shown that one can extract easily from I(V) measurements, mobility values K/sup +/ in accordance with the values of /spl mu//sup +/ of He/sup +/ previously given in the literature.
Adipogenic differentiation potential of porcine bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells grown in different basal media formulations

Bone marrow-derived porcine mesenchymal stem cells (pMSC) are precursors of multiple lineage cells. However, the differentiation potential of pMSC might vary due to the culture media in which they are isolated and grown. In this study the effects of αMEM, aDMEM, M199, αMEM/M199, aDMEM/M199 and αMEM/aDMEM was determined on pMSC expression of adipogenic marker genes PPARγ, C/EBPα and ApN at passage 5 and 10; and differentiation potential of pMSC at passage 5. Relative expressions of the genes were determined by qPCR assay. Adipogenic differentiation progress was determined by microscopic evaluation and accumulation of lipid vesicles in cells after day 21 differentiation was confirmed by Oil Red-O staining. Results indicated varying expressions of adipogenic marker genes at passage 5 and 10 in pMSC grown in different culture media. Adipogenic differentiation characteristics also varied in different culture media, grown cells depending on the expression of adipogenic marker genes. Classification in order of differentiation potential revealed that the pMSC grown in M199 and αMEM/M199 was the best, followed by aDMEM/M199 and αMEM/aDMEM the intermediate and αMEM and aDMEM the least suitable media. Effect of media interaction analysis indicated that M199 media might have played a significant role in up-keeping of the desired marker gene expression and adipogenic differentiation potential of the pMSC. In conclusion, adipogenic differentiation potential of pMSC varied due to the differences in basal media composition and the M199 played a significant role in skewing pMSC towards adipogenic lineage.
A multi-isotope model for simulating soil organic carbon cycling in eroding landscapes (WATEM_C v1.0)

There is increasing recognition that lateral soil organic carbon (SOC) fluxes due to erosion have imposed an important impact on the global C cycling. Field and experimental studies have been conducted to investigate this topic. It is useful to have a modeling tool that takes into account various soil properties and has flexible resolution and scale options so that it can be widely used to study relevant processes and evaluate the effect of soil erosion on SOC cycling. This study presents a model that is capable of simulating SOC cycling in landscapes that are subjected to erosion. It considers all three C isotopes (12C, 13C and 14C) with flexible time steps and a detailed vertical solution of the soil profile. The model also represents radionuclide cycling in soils that can assist in constraining the lateral and vertical redistribution of soil particles within landscapes. The model gives a three-dimensional representation of soil properties including 137Cs activity, SOC stock, and δ13C and 114C values. Using the same C cycling processes in stable, eroding and depositional areas, our model is able to reproduce the observed spatial and vertical patterns of C contents, δ13C values, and 114C values. This indicates that at the field scale with a similar C decomposition rate, physical soil redistribution is the main cause of the spatial variability of these C metrics.
Diagnosis, Prevention, Treatment and Surveillance of Anthracycline-Induced Cardiovascular Toxicity in Pediatric Cancer Survivors

Advances in pediatric cancer therapies have dramatically improved the likelihood of survival. As survivors are aging, however, we are now understanding that treatment carries a significant risk of cardiovascular toxicity, which can develop immediately, or even many years after completing therapy. Anthracycline derivates are some of the most commonly used agents in pediatric oncology treatment protocols, which have a dose-dependent correlation with the development of cardiac toxicity. As we learn more about the mechanisms of toxicity, we are developing prevention strategies, including improvements in surveillance, to improve early diagnosis of heart disease. Current survivorship surveillance protocols often include screening echocardiograms to evaluate systolic function by measuring the ejection fraction or fractional shortening. However, these measurements alone are not enough to capture early myocardial changes. The use of additional imaging biomarkers, serum biomarkers, electrocardiograms, as well as cholesterol and blood pressure screening, are key to the early detection of cardiomyopathy and cardiovascular disease. Medical treatment strategies are the same as those used for heart failure from other causes, but earlier recognition and implementation can lead to improved long term outcomes.
Cytocompatibility of Graphene Monolayer and Its Impact on Focal Cell Adhesion, Mitochondrial Morphology and Activity in BALB/3T3 Fibroblasts

This study investigates the effect of graphene scaffold on morphology, viability, cytoskeleton, focal contacts, mitochondrial network morphology and activity in BALB/3T3 fibroblasts and provides new data on biocompatibility of the “graphene-family nanomaterials”. We used graphene monolayer applied onto glass cover slide by electrochemical delamination method and regular glass cover slide, as a reference. The morphology of fibroblasts growing on graphene was unaltered, and the cell viability was 95% compared to control cells on non-coated glass slide. There was no significant difference in the cell size (spreading) between both groups studied. Graphene platform significantly increased BALB/3T3 cell mitochondrial activity (WST-8 test) compared to glass substrate. To demonstrate the variability in focal contacts pattern, the effect of graphene on vinculin was examined, which revealed a significant increase in focal contact size comparing to control-glass slide. There was no disruption in mitochondrial network morphology, which was branched and well connected in relation to the control group. Evaluation of the JC-1 red/green fluorescence intensity ratio revealed similar levels of mitochondrial membrane potential in cells growing on graphene-coated and uncoated slides. These results indicate that graphene monolayer scaffold is cytocompatible with connective tissue cells examined and could be beneficial for tissue engineering therapy.
Weather in the Hungarian Lowland from the Point of View of Humans

Weather at different locations in the Hungarian lowland in different seasons (winter, summer) and times of day (morning, noon) is investigated from the human biometeorological point of view. Human thermal load characteristics of weather are described in terms of clothing resistance and operative temperature. Individual human thermal load–thermal sensation relationships have been estimated to study weather variation in the cities of Sopron (cooler part of Hungary) and Szeged (warmer part of Hungary). In the clothing resistance model, the humans are walking at a speed of 1.1 ms−1 in outdoor conditions without sweating. The main findings are as follows. (1) In the early summer mornings, the weather is sensed as “neutral” or “cool”, in these cases the inter-person variation effect is very small. (2) At noon in summer, heat stresses (clothing resistance parameter values less than −2 clo) are registered. In these cases, high temperature and irradiation, as well as low or moderate wind, characterized the atmospheric environment. Then, the inter-person variation effect is clearly visible. (3) The strength of summer heat excess at noon seems to be larger than the strength of winter heat deficit in the early morning. (4) Clothing resistance differences caused by inter-person variations and by weather variations between the cities of Sopron and Szeged are comparable in the majority of cases. When they are not comparable, the site variation effect is much larger than the inter-person variation effect. The clothing resistance model is constructed for individual use and it can be equally applied on both weather and climate data.
Nitrogen Addition Did Not Alter the Relationships Between the Leaf and Root Traits of Machilus Pauhoi seedlings

Leaves and roots are important resource acquisition organs of seedlings and both are sensitive to the environment. However, it is currently unclear whether leaf and root traits have a similar response model to nitrogen (N) deposition. Furthermore, the relationships between the responses of leaf and root traits to N deposition are still unknown.Exogenous nitrogen input experiments were conducted to simulate the effects of nitrogen deposition in Shunchang County, south of China. We measured the biomass, morphological characteristics, and nutrient concentrations (total of 12 functional traits of leaves and roots) of Machilus pauhoi seedlings. The responses of leaf and root traits to N addition were analyzed. In addition, the relationships between paired leaf and root traits were analyzed.We found that the responses of the leaves and roots to short-term nitrogen deposition were not consistent. The specific leaf area (SLA) (specific root length, SRL), tissue density (TD), carbon (C) content, N content, C/N, and N/phosphorus (P) of the leaf and root did not appear to respond to N addition. However, the biomass, P content, and C/P of the leaf and root markedly responded to N addition. The nutrient concentrations of the leaf and root were correlated, while the phenotypic traits were not. Furthermore, short-term N addition did not alter the relationship between the leaves and roots.Our results show that, in the context of global change of nitrogen deposition, the correlation between the leaves and roots of a plant has a certain tolerance for nitrogen deposition, which is of great significance for the efficient cultivation of quality seedlings and understanding how terrestrial forest ecosystems respond to nitrogen deposition.
Contributions by fungi and bacteria to aggregate stability of cultivated soils

SUMMARY Stability changes during ageing (sterile) or incubation (non-sterile) of both natural field aggregates and remoulded aggregates from five soils were studied for periods up to 30 days. Growth of fungal hyphae, estimated by ergosterol measurement, corresponded to temporary stability increases in both types of aggregates during the first 15 days. Thereafter, fungal hyphae disappeared and were replaced by actinomycetes and bacteria. Increased stability due to entanglement by hyphae was comparable to that due to thixotropy in remoulded aggregates. Bacterial growth accompanied the fall in stability associated with fungal decline, but had little direct effect in stabilizing soil aggregates. Destruction of polysaccharides by periodate oxidation greatly diminished aggregate stability. The role of bacterial polysaccharides in soil aggregate stability is discussed.
Hemodialysis plus hemoperfusion on uremia and micro-inflammatory state

Objective: To explore the effect of hemodialysis combined with hemoperfusion on renal function, dialysis efficacy and micro-inflammatory state in uremia patients. Methods: Eighty patients with maintenance hemodialysis were randomly divided into observation group (hemodialysis plus hemoperfusion) and control group (hemodialysis), with 40 patients in each group. Serum creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, glomerular filtration rate, hemoglobin, serum albumin, blood calcium, serum inorganic phosphorus, parathyroid hormone, β2 microglobulin, inflammatory factors and quality of life were compared before treatment and after 3-month treatment. Results: Patients in observation group had decreased blood urea nitrogen and serum creatinine, increased glomerular filtration rate, hemoglobin and serum albumin, reduced serum inorganic phosphorus, parathyroid hormone and β2 microglobulin, elevated blood calcium, lower C-reactive protein, interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α, and better quality of life (reflected in the improved physiological function, role physical, social function, role emotional and bodily pain) compared with control group after treatment (all P<0.05). Conclusion: Hemodialysis combined with hemoperfusion can effectively eliminate toxic substances and inflammatory factors and improve the nutritional status and quality of life of patients, which is worthy of popularization in clinic.
Separating the availability and accessibility of de re and de dicto

The de re/de dicto ambiguity captures the intensional referential properties of DPs. Formal frameworks (e.g. the scope-based theory, the situation pronoun theory, etc.) have actively relied on nuanced judgments data to model the different semantics under de re and de dicto readings. Nevertheless, inconsistent judgments suggest informal judgment collection method is insufficient. We reported three controlled experiments to systemize the truth-value judgment pattern of de re/de dicto readings. Via two quantitative metrics of the judgment distribution, we distinguished two concepts (reading availability vs. reading accessibility) that capture whether the reading is licensed by the semantics of the grammar and whether the reading can be easily obtained under a random context. We concluded that while our data support the availability in the grammar for both the de re and de dicto readings, de re readings overall exhibited bimodal judgments and had lower accessibility rate while the accessibility rate of de dicto was at ceiling; the de re accessibility decreased given more de re terms in the proposition and was also affected by the DP’s syntactic position as well as idiosyncratic contexts. More broadly, the experimental results support the advantage of including quantitative data collection for nuanced semantic judgments.
Pyrazoles. III: N-1 Protected 4-substituted pyrazoles ― synthesis and NMR investigation

Synthese de benzyl-1- et arenesulfonyl-1 pyrazoles substitues en 4 respectivement a partir de benzyl-1 pyrazolecarbaldehyde-4 et de methyl- ou nitro-4 pyrazole. Etude RMN des composes prepares et de benzoyl-1 pyrazoles substitues en 4
THESIS EVALUATION OF A NOVEL ROTATION OF ORGANICALLY PRODUCED FORAGE AND A SPRING PLANTED VEGETABLE CROP Submitted by

of Thesis . iii Acknowledgements . vi List of Tables.ixx List of Figures . xi Chapter 1: Evaluation of a Novel Rotation of Organically Produced Warm-Season Forage and Spring Planted Lettuce . 1 Abstract .
Topical Corticosteroids in Treatment of Atopic Dermatitis: An Overview of Their Current Status

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common skin disease characterized by epidermal changes with immune regulatory abnormalities. The pathogenesis of AD involves skin barrier defects, genetic factors and immune deregulation. The AD therapy includes skin hydration, anti-inflammatory agents, antibacterial medications and treatment of pruritus. Currently, topical corticosteroids (TCs) are the most frequently used drugs for the treatment of AD due to their potent immunosuppressive action. However, TCs are associated with several local and systemic side effects. The topical steroid addiction and phobia are among the major challenges with TC therapy. Over the years, efforts are being made to reduce side effects which involve adjustment of dosing, minimizing use in vulnerable areas, avoiding prolonged drug usage and application of novel drug delivery systems. The present review provides an overview of the current and upcoming delivery systems of TCs along with novel approaches being employed to improve the drug delivery in the treatment of AD.
A COMPARATIVE STU DY OF ANTI OXIDANT PROPERTIES IN COMMON INDIAN SPICES

ABSTRCT The present study reports the anti-oxidant potential of the methanolic extract of three spices Syzygium aromaticum, Elettaria cardamom, Piper nigrum. The total phenolic content was high 36.63 mg GAE/g in the Syzygium aromaticum extract where as flavanoids, proanthocynidins contents was high in Piper nigrum 9.16 mg QE/g, and 3.13 mg CE/g respectively. The Syzygium aromaticum extract exhibited stronger 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical-scavenging activity, ability of chelating ferrous ions and reducing power, whereas Elettaria cardamom extract displayed the striking superoxide anion-scavenging activity. These activities of spices extracts were comparable to the standard antioxidants used. Syzygium aromaticum might be considered as potential antioxidant compared to Elettaria cardamom and Piper nigrum.
Development of an expert system for the interpretation of serial peak expiratory flow measurements in the diagnosis of occupational asthma

If asthma is due to work exposures there must be a relation between these exposures and the asthma. Asthma causes airway hyperresponsiveness and obstruction; the obstruction can be measured with portable meters, which usually measure peak expiratory flow, or sometimes forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1). These can be measured serially (for instance 2 hourly) over several weeks at and away from work. Once occupational asthma develops, the asthma will be induced by many non-specific triggers common to non-occupational asthma. The challenge is to identify changes in peak expiratory flow due to work among other nonoccupational causes. Standard statistical tests have been found to be insensitive or non-specific, principally because of the variable period for deterioration to occur after exposure, and the sometimes prolonged time for recovery to occur, such that days away from work may initially have lower measurements than days at work. A computer assisted diagnostic aid (Oasys) has been developed to separate occupational from non-occupational causes of airflow obstruction. Oasys-2 is based on a discriminant analysis, and achieved a sensitivity of 75% and a specificity of at least 94%; therefore peak expiratory flow monitoring combined with Oasys-2 analysis is better to confirm than to exclude occupational asthma. A neural network version in development has improved on this. Both have been based on expert interpretation of peak flow measurements plotted as daily maximum, mean, and minimum, with the first reading at work taken as the first reading of the day. Oasys has been evaluated with independent criteria against measurements made in a wide range of occupational situations. Oasys is suYciently developed to be the initial method for the confirmation, although less so for exclusion of occupational asthma. (Occup Environ Med 1999;56:758–764) Keywords; occupational asthma; peak expiratory flow;