Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Maslinic acid prevents IL‐1β‐induced inflammatory response in osteoarthritis via PI3K/AKT/NF‐κB pathways

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative joint disease characterized by destruction of articular cartilage. The inflammatory response is the most important factor affecting the disease process. As interleukin‐1β (IL‐1β) stimulates several key mediators in the inflammatory response, it plays a major role in the pathogenesis of OA. Maslinic acid (MA) is a natural compound distributed in olive fruit. Previous studies have found that maslinic acid has an inhibitory effect on inflammation, but its specific role in the progression of OA disease has not been studied so far. In this study, we aim to assess the protective effect of MA on OA progression by in vitro and in vivo experiments. Our results indicate that, in IL‐1β‐induced inflammatory response, MA is effective in attenuating some major inflammatory mediators such as nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin E2, and inhibits the expression of IL‐6, inducible nitric oxide synthase, cyclooxygenase‐2, and tumor necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α) in a concentration‐dependent manner. Also, MA downregulated the expression levels of thrombospondin motif 5 (ADAMTS5) and matrix metalloproteinase 13 in chondrocytes, resulting in reduced degradation of its extracellular matrix. Mechanistically, MA exhibits an anti‐inflammatory effect by inactivating the PI3K/AKT/NF‐κB pathway. In vivo, the protective effect of MA on OA development can be detected in a surgically induced mouse OA model. In summary, these findings suggest that MA can be used as a safe and effective potential OA therapeutic strategy.
Accelerated Aβ Deposition in APPswe/PS1ΔE9 Mice with Hemizygous Deletions of TTR (Transthyretin)

A cardinal pathological lesion of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the deposition of amyloid β (Aβ) in the brain. We previously reported that exposing transgenic mice harboring APPswe/PS1ΔE9 transgenes to an enriched environment resulted in reduced levels of Aβ peptides and deposition, findings that were correlated with an increase in the expression of TTR, encoding transthyretin (TTR). TTR is expressed at high levels in the choroid plexus and known to bind Aβ peptides and modulate their aggregation in vitro and in vivo. To explore the impact of TTR expression on Aβ levels and deposition in vivo, we crossed ceAPPswe/PS1ΔE9 transgenic mice to mice with genetic ablations of TTR. We now report that the levels of detergent-soluble and formic acid-soluble levels of Aβ and deposition are elevated in the brains of ceAPPswe/PS1ΔE9/TTR+/− mice compared with age-matched ceAPPswe/PS1ΔE9/TTR+/+ mice. Moreover, Aβ deposition is significantly accelerated in the hippocampus and cortex of ceAPPswe/PS1ΔE9/TTR+/− mice. Our results strongly suggest that TTR plays a critical role in modulating Aβ deposition in vivo.
Clinical, Pathological and Microbiological Evaluation of Diabetic Foot Syndrome

Background and objectives: Diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) is one of the serious complications of diabetes, being related to frequent and long-term hospitalisation, reduced quality of life of the patient, amputations, a high rate of morbidity and mortality. The bacterial aetiology is complex, sometimes involving more than one pathogen, playing a major role in the infection prognosis and development of microbial resistance. This study evaluated the current state of the aetiology, clinical and pathological characteristics of DFU in a single diabetes centre in order to provide some specific measures to prevent it. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study was conducted on patients with diabetes mellitus (252 individuals diagnosed with DFU) between January 2018–December 2019. All participants were assessed based on their clinical characteristics, including complications of diabetes and pathological and microbiological evaluations. Results: The present research revealed that diabetic foot ulcer prevalence was higher in males than in females and higher in type 2 diabetic patients than in type 1 diabetic patients. The patients with diabetic foot ulcer were older, had a higher body mass index (BMI), longer diabetic duration and had more diabetic complications, such as retinopathy, diabetic polyneuropathy and diabetic kidney disease, than patients without diabetic foot ulceration. Conclusions: Taking into account all factors involved, including the aetiology and the antibiotic susceptibility pattern of these isolates, planning the suitable treatment options of patients is possible.
Diel vertical migration of myctophid fishes (Family Myctophidae) in the transitional waters of the western North Pacific

The diel vertical migration patterns of adult myctophid fishes were determined in the transitional waters of the western North Pacific off Japan, using day–night sampling from 20 to 700 m depths with a commercial otter trawl in the summer of 1995. A total of 12 species belonging to 9 genera were collected. Four patterns were recognized in the diel vertical migration of 11 of the 12 species. (1) Migrants showing clear day–night habitat separation with peak abundance above 200 m at night: Symbolophorus californiensis, Tarletonbeania taylori, Notoscopelus japonicus, Diaphus theta, Ceratoscopelus warmingi, and Diaphus gigas. (2) Semi-migrants, in which part of the population often remains in the daytime habitat at night. The distribution depths of migratory and nonmigratory individuals do not overlap: Stenobrachius leucopsarus. (3) Passive-migrants, in which there is no separation of day–night habitats, but the upper limit of daytime distribution depth shifts to a shallower layer at night, probably as the fish follow migratory prey: Lampanyctus jordani. (4) Nonmigrants: Stenobrachius nannochir, Lampanyctus regalis (> 140 mm SL), and Protomyctophum thompsoni. The day–night habitat temperature ranges are also given for the 11 species. No remarkable east–west differences were seen in the vertical migration patterns compared with previous knowledge of eight of these species in the eastern Pacific. The diel migration patterns are newly described for three other species endemic to the western Pacific. The standing stock of myctophids in the study area was conservatively estimated at 18.5 ± 4.7 g m−2 (avg. ± SD).
Holocentric chromosomes

Holocentric chromosomes possess multiple kinetochores along their length rather than the single centromere typical of other chromosomes [1]. They have been described for the first time in cytogenetic experiments dating from 1935 and, since this first observation, the term holocentric chromosome has referred to chromosomes that: i. lack the primary constriction corresponding to centromere observed in monocentric chromosomes [2]; ii. possess multiple kinetochores dispersed along the chromosomal axis so that microtubules bind to chromosomes along their entire length and move broadside to the pole from the metaphase plate [3]. These chromosomes are also termed holokinetic, because, during cell division, chromatids move apart in parallel and do not form the classical V-shaped figures typical of monocentric chromosomes [4–6]. Holocentric chromosomes evolved several times during both animal and plant evolution and are currently reported in about eight hundred diverse species, including plants, insects, arachnids and nematodes [7,8]. As a consequence of their diffuse kinetochores, holocentric chromosomes may stabilize chromosomal fragments favouring karyotype rearrangements [9,10]. However, holocentric chromosome may also present limitations to crossing over causing a restriction of the number of chiasma in bivalents [11] and may cause a restructuring of meiotic divisions resulting in an inverted meiosis [12].
A facet atlas: Visualizing networks that describe the blends, cores, and peripheries of personality structure

We created a facet atlas that maps the interrelations between facet scales from 13 hierarchical personality inventories to provide a practically useful, transtheoretical description of lower-level personality traits. We generated this atlas by estimating a series of network models that visualize the correlations among 268 facet scales administered to the Eugene-Springfield Community Sample (Ns = 571–948). As expected, most facets contained a blend of content from multiple Big Five domains and were part of multiple Big Five networks. We identified core and peripheral facets for each Big Five domain. Results from this study resolve some inconsistencies in facet placement across instruments and highlight the complexity of personality structure relative to the constraints of traditional hierarchical models that impose simple structure. This facet atlas (also available as an online point-and-click app at tedschwaba.shinyapps.io/appdata/) provides a guide for researchers who wish to measure a domain with a limited set of facets as well as information about the core and periphery of each personality domain. To illustrate the value of a facet atlas in applied and theoretical settings, we examined the network structure of scales measuring impulsivity and tested structural hypotheses from the Big Five Aspect Scales inventory.
EFFECTS OF PHOTOPERIOD AND TEMPERATURE ON DIAPAUSE OF TWO APHEL1NUS SPP. (HYMENOPTERA: APHELINIDAE) PARASITIZING THE RUSSIAN WHEAT APHID

Abstract The effects of photoperiod and temperature on the diapause of Aphelinus varipes (Focrster) from Kazakhstan and Apheiinus near varipes from Alberta, which both attack Russian wheat aphid, were studied in the laboratory. At 20 °C, 50% of A. varipes entered diapause when the photoperiod was between 12.5L:11.5D and 13L:11D whereas 50% of A. nr. varipes entered diapause when the photoperiod was around 14L:10D. Diapause induction was close to 100% at 11.5L:12.5D for both species. Maximum sensitivity to photoperiod occurred 2 days alter parasitization for A. varipes and 3 days after parasitization for A. nr. varipes. At 30 °C, the proportion of wasps entering diapause was reduced to 40 and 72% for A. varipes and A. nr. varipes, respectively. Exposing diapausing mummies to temperatures from 10 to −10 °C for 4–20 weeks shortened the postdiapause developmental time. Survival was lowered by exposing mummies to −10 °C for over 8 weeks. Postdiapause developmental rate was directly temperature dependent. The lower threshold and thermal constant for postdiapause development were estimated to be 10.3 °C and 189 degree-days (DD) for A. varipes and 7.41 °C and 204 DD for A. nr. varipes. Résumé Les effets de la température et de la photopériode sur la diapause d’Aphelinus varipes (Foerster) du Kazakhstan et d’Aphelinus près de varipes d’Alberta, qui attaquent tous deux le Puceron russe du blé. ont été étudiés en laboratoire. A 20°C, 50% des A. varipes entraient en diapause quand la photopériode se situait entre 12,5L : 11,5O et 13L : 11O, alors que 50% des A. près de varipes de l’Alberta entraient en diapause alors que la photopériode était d’environ 14L : 10O. Le déclenchement de la diapause atteignait près de 100% à une photopériode de 11,5L : 12,5O chez les deux espèces. La sensibilité maximale à la photopériode s’est manifestée 2 jours après le début du parasitisme chez A. varipes et 3 jours après le début du parasitisme chez A. près de varipes. À 30°C, la proportion de guêpes entrant en diapause a baissé a 40% dans le cas d’A. varipes et à 72% dans le cas d’A. près de varipes. L’exposition des parasites en diapause à des températures de 10 à −10°C durant 4–20 semaines a provoqué un raccourcissement de la durée du développement après la diapause. La survie avait diminué chez les parasites exposés à −10°C pendant plus de 8 semaines. La vitesse du développement après la diapause s’est avérée directement fonction de la température. Le seuil inférieur de température et la constante thermique reliés au développement suivant la diapause ont été évalués à 10,3°C et 189 degrés-jours dans le cas d’A. varipes et à 7,41°C et 204 degrés-jours dans le cas d’A. près de varipes. [Traduit par la rédaction]
Diagnostic Performance of Baseline 18F-Fluoro-Deoxy- Glucose Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography in Patients with Clinico-Radiological Suspicion of Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma

Background: Morphological features of Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma (PCNSL) have considerable overlap with other common intra-cranial lesions such as high-grade glioma, brain metastasis, and infection/inflammation on Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) rendering pre-operative diagnosis difficult. We hypothesized that significantly higher uptake in PCNSL compared to other lesions on baseline 18F-Flouro-Deoxy-Glucose Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography (FDG-PET/CT) would allow more accurate and reliable diagnosis. Methods: Adult patients with a differential diagnosis of PCNSL on conventional neuro-imaging underwent pre-biopsy whole-body FDG-PET/CT after written informed consent followed by planned neuro-surgical intervention for confirmation of diagnosis at a single institute. All pre-treatment FDG-PET/ CT scans were reviewed and interpreted independently by a senior imaging specialist in an unbiased manner, who reported the ‘likely’ diagnosis on FDG-PET/CT blinded to final histo-pathology. Diagnostic performance of baseline FDG-PET/CT was calculated using pathological diagnosis as the reference standard. Results: Twenty-six of 45 patients were diagnosed as having CNS lymphoma (including 3 with systemic lymphoma), while remaining 19 patients were deemed to have ‘non-lymphomatous’ lesions such as high-grade glioma, brain metastasis, infection/inflammation on pre-treatment FDG-PET/CT. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and overall accuracy of qualitative FDG-PET/CT with 95% confidence interval (95% CI) in the diagnosis of PCNSL (excluding 3 patients with systemic lymphoma) was 77.4% (95% CI=54.6-92.2%); 70% (95% CI=45.7-88.1%), 73.9% (95% CI=58.3-85.2%), 73.7% (95% CI=55.2-86.4%), and 73.8% (95% CI=58-86.1%) respectively. Conclusions: Baseline FDG-PET/CT has acceptable diagnostic accuracy (adjunctive to MRI) in suspected PCNSL, particularly in patients with deep-seated lesions not amenable to a safe neuro-surgical biopsy. region with disproportionate perilesional edema in adjacent brain parenchyma of uncertain etiology. Fused axial FDG-PET/CT image (c) showed no appreciable FDG-uptake in the lesion (hypometabolism) suggesting ‘non- lymphoma’. Malignant cell cytology supplemented with flow-cytometry on a cerebrospinal fluid sample led to the final diagnosis of primary central nervous system lymphoma (false negative).
Genetic relationships between milk fatty acids and fertility of dairy cows

Fertility traits are potentially difficult to measure, they are often not readily available and they have low heritabilities. Consequently, indicators traits are of interest to increase accuracy of estimated breeding values for fertility as long as these traits are easier to measure, have higher heritabilities, and are well correlated with fertility. Previous studies presented the opportunity to use correlated traits in genetic evaluation of fertility such as milk, fat, protein yields, body condition score, or type traits (Wall et al., 2003; de Jong, 2005). Furthermore milk fatty acid (FA) profile has been suggested to be related to energy balance status of dairy cows in early lactation (Stoop et al., 2009) and could therefore be considered as an indicator trait for fertility.
Modification of the Induction of Photosynthesis in Wheat by Glyphosate, an Inhibitor of Amino Acid Metabolism

Ireland, C. R. , Percival, M, P. and Baker, N. R. 1986. Modification of the induction of photosynthesis in wheat by glyphosate, an inhibitor of amino acid metabolism. —J. exp. Bot. 37: 299-308. The effect of the herbicide glyphosate, an inhibitor of amino acid metabolism, upon the kinetics of induction of photosynthesis was investigated in wheat leaves. After treatment with a commercial preparation of glyphosate the induction period for both photosynthetic carbon assimilation and chlorophyll fluorescence emission was increased approximately by 50% after 2 d and by 100% after 5 d. The quenching of chlorophyll fluorescence became a slower process and the S-M transient was diminished. In the steady-state neither the rate of carbon fixation nor the level of fluorescence emission were altered. The changes in induction kinetics preceded the occurrence of visible leaf damage. The fluorescence emission was analysed by a technique which estimates the redox state of the PS2 primary electron acceptor, Q, and the photochemical and non-photochemical components of fluorescence quenching. Glyphosate produced no fundamental change in the relationship between the steady-state values of these parameters until the time when extensive leaf damage occurred. Thus there was no direct effect of glyphosate on the capacity for light capture or on the rate of photosynthetic electron transport. This was confirmed by the absence of any effect on the quantum efficiency of oxygen evolution. The slower rate of fluorescence quenching during induction is attributed to a slower generation of the trans-thylakoid A pH. It is proposed that glyphosate affects photosynthetic induction kinetics by an indirect modification of carbon metabolism which limits photosynthetic rate during this phase. The possibility of screening for rapid effects of non photosynthetic herbicides, such as glyphosate, by monitoring the kinetics of photosynthetic induction, is raised. Key words—Photosynthesis, induction, glyphosate (N-phosphonomethyl-glycine), wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Correspondence to: Department of Biology, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, Essex C04 3SQ, U.K.
Evaluation of a novel discharge reminder tool on pneumococcal vaccination in hospitalized elderly veterans

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommendations for pneumococcal vaccinations include updates on appropriate spacing between the 13‐valent conjugate vaccine (PCV13) and the 23‐valent polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV23). The schedule may confuse providers leading to either vaccine omission or inappropriate vaccination. Numerous facilities have implemented inpatient reminder tools with limited success rates; however, the complexity of vaccine selection is not eliminated with this reminder approach nor does it provide education to the provider on ACIP recommendations. The Veterans Affairs Tennessee Valley Healthcare System implemented a tool to provide patient specific guidance and education on ACIP‐appropriate vaccine selection embedded within a required discharge note called the discharge instruction inpatient note (DIPN). This study evaluates its impact on pneumococcal vaccination rates in hospitalized veterans 65 years of age and older.
Toxicity of some Indigenous Plant Extracts against Tribolium confusum Duval

The efficacy of seven different plant extracts viz. Acorus calamus rhizome, leaves of Datura fastuosa , Datura stramonium and seeds of D. stramonium , Corchorus capsularis , Aphanamixis polystachea and Jatropha curcas on Tribolium confusum adult was studied. Dose mortality experiments were conducted with three solvent (petroleum ether, acetone and methanol) extracts separately but J. curcas seed was tested with petroleum ether extract only. Among three solvents, petroleum ether extract exhibited piquant toxic effect against the beetle at all the intervals although D. fastuosa leaf produces no mortality at 24 hours of treatment. Acetone extract of A. calamus rhizome, D. fastuosa leaf, D. stramonium seed and C. capsularis seed produced mortality at all the intervals but D. stramonium leaf and A. polystachea seed did not show any toxic effect. Methanol extract of C. capsularis seed showed toxicity at all the duration. Key words: Toxic effect, plant extracts, Tribolium confusum. Â doi: 10.3329/jbs.v15i0. 2153 J. bio-sci. 15: 133-138, 2007
How Serendipity Improves User Satisfaction with Recommendations? A Large-Scale User Evaluation

Recommendation serendipity is being increasingly recognized as being equally important as the other beyond-accuracy objectives (such as novelty and diversity), in eliminating the “filter bubble” phenomenon of the traditional recommender systems. However, little work has empirically verified the effects of serendipity on increasing user satisfaction and behavioral intention. In this paper, we report the results of a large-scale user survey (involving over 3,000 users) conducted in an industrial mobile e-commerce setting. The study has identified the significant causal relationships from novelty, unexpectedness, relevance, and timeliness to serendipity, and from serendipity to user satisfaction and purchase intention. Moreover, our findings reveal that user curiosity plays a moderating role in strengthening the relationships from novelty to serendipity and from serendipity to satisfaction. Our third contribution lies in the comparison of several recommender algorithms, which demonstrates the significant improvements of the serendipity-oriented algorithm over the relevance- and novelty-oriented approaches in terms of user perceptions. We finally discuss the implications of this experiment, which include the feasibility of developing a more precise metric for measuring recommendation serendipity, and the potential benefit of a curiosity-based personalized serendipity strategy for recommender systems.
Reduction of Padding Overhead for RLNC Media Distribution With Variable Size Packets

Random linear network coding (RLNC) can enhance the reliability of multimedia transmissions over lossy communication channels. However, RLNC has been designed for equal size packets, while many efficient multimedia compression schemes, such as variable bitrate (VBR) video compression, produce unequal packet sizes. Padding the unequal packet sizes with zeros to the maximum packet size creates an overhead on the order of 20%–50% or more for typical VBR videos. Previous padding overhead reduction approaches have focused on packing the unequal packet sizes into fixed size packets, e.g., through packet bundling or chaining and fragmentation. We introduce an alternative padding reduction approach based on coding macro-symbols (MSs), whereby an MS is a fixed-sized part of a packet. In particular, we introduce a new class of RLNC, namely MS RLNC which conducts RLNC across columns of MSs, instead of the conventional RLNC across columns of complete packets of equal size. Judiciously arranging the source packets into columns of MSs, e.g., through shifting the source packets horizontally relative to each other, supports favorable MS RLNC coding properties. We specify the MS RLNC encoding and decoding mechanisms and analyze their complexity for a range of specific MS arrangement strategies within the class of MS RLNC. We conduct a comprehensive padding overhead evaluation encompassing both previous approaches of packing the unequal size packets into fixed size packets as well as the novel MS RLNC approaches with long VBR video frame size traces. We find that for small RLNC generation sizes that support low network transport delays, MS RLNC achieves the lowest padding overheads; while for large generation sizes, both the previous packing approaches and the novel MS RLNC approaches effectively reduce the padding overhead.