Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hypoglycemic Effects of the Volatile Oil of Nigella sativa Seeds

AbstractThe effects of the volatile oil extracted from Nigella sativa seeds on the levels of glucose and insulin were investigated in the rabbit. The i.p. administration of the volatile oil of N. sativa seeds (50 mg/ kg) to fasting normal and alloxan-diabetic rabbits produced significant hypoglycemic effects. These effects were consistent and time-dependent. In normal animals, 15% and 23% decreases in fasting plasma glucose levels were detected 4 h and 6 h, respectively, after treatment. The same treatment produced 12% and 21% decreases in the fasting glucose levels in diabetic rabbits at the 4 h and the 6 h time intervals, respectively. The administration of the volatile oil was not found to alter basal insulin levels in all animal groups, which might suggest a non-insulin-mediated mechanism of action for the demonstrated hypoglycemic activity. The mode of action of the hypoglycemic effects exhibited by the volatile oil extracted from N. sativa seeds remains to be elucidated.
The Paleognathous Pterygoid-Palatinum Complex. a True Character?

Molecular analyses show that modern birds can be divided into two major taxa, the Paleognathae and the Neognathae. This division was already proposed by Merrem in 1813, based on morphological characters. One of the most prominent discriminating characters is the morphology of the Pterygoid-Palatinum Complex (PPC), which is different in paleognathous and neognathous birds. There are very few other morphological characters that support this division and even the differences in PPC have been under dispute. A discriminant analysis based on quantitative measurements of the PPC shows that a large difference between the two morphologies exists, and that the Tinamidae posses an intermediate form. An evolutionary maximum-likelihood analysis suggests that the PPC of the Paleognathae is more primitive than that of the Neognathae. A functional interpretation of the differences in the PPC between the Paleognathae and the Neognathae indicates that the paleognathous PPC is not, as generally accepted, an adaptation related to rhynchokinesis, but probably contributes to reinforcement of the skull after the loss of both the postorbital and nasal bar.
Cysteine Oxidations in Mitochondrial Membrane Proteins: The Case of VDAC Isoforms in Mammals

Cysteine residues are reactive amino acids that can undergo several modifications driven by redox reagents. Mitochondria are the source of an abundant production of radical species, and it is surprising that such a large availability of highly reactive chemicals is compatible with viable and active organelles, needed for the cell functions. In this work, we review the results highlighting the modifications of cysteines in the most abundant proteins of the outer mitochondrial membrane (OMM), that is, the voltage-dependent anion selective channel (VDAC) isoforms. This interesting protein family carries several cysteines exposed to the oxidative intermembrane space (IMS). Through mass spectrometry (MS) analysis, cysteine posttranslational modifications (PTMs) were precisely determined, and it was discovered that such cysteines can be subject to several oxidization degrees, ranging from the disulfide bridge to the most oxidized, the sulfonic acid, one. The large spectra of VDAC cysteine oxidations, which is unique for OMM proteins, indicate that they have both a regulative function and a buffering capacity able to counteract excess of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) load. The consequence of these peculiar cysteine PTMs is discussed.
Comparison of Ultrasonography Features and K-TIRADS for Isthmic and Lobar Papillary Thyroid Carcinomas: A Single-Center Study

Objective: This study aimed to compare ultrasonography (US) features and the Korean-Thyroid Imaging Reporting and Data System (K-TIRADS) categories for diagnosing isthmic and lobar papillary thyroid carcinomas (PTC). Methods: From January 2009 to December 2012, 163 patients who underwent thyroid surgery and were confirmed with a post-operative histopathological diagnosis of isthmic PTC were retrospectively included. Fifty-nine patients were excluded because their tumor size was <0.5 cm or because of other reasons. The control group comprised of 145 patients who underwent thyroid surgery from January to April 2013 for a classic type of PTC, with the largest diameter being ≥ 0.5 cm and located in the thyroid lobe. A single radiologist retrospectively reviewed the US features and K-TIRADS categories of each nodule using a picture archiving and communication system. Results: Among 104 patients with isthmic PTC, 95 and 9 had primary and secondary cancers, respectively. On the other hand, all 145 patients with lobar PTC had primary cancers. Isthmic PTC showed a lower prevalence of non-parallel orientation than lobar PTC (23.1 and 71%). Nodule orientation was the only US feature statistically different between the two groups (p < 0.0001). However, there was no significant difference in patient age, sex, nodule size, composition, echogenicity, microcalcification, spiculated/microlobulated margin, and K-TIRADS category between the two groups (p > 0.05). Conclusions: K-TIRADS may be useful in the diagnosis of both isthmic and lobar PTC.
Quality and safety of halawa modified with mushroom

Halawa supplemented with 10-120 g mushroom, was evaluated for its acceptability (color, taste, texture, separate oil and overall acceptability by a ten-member panel), protein content (as amino acid content), microbiological safety and quality. Halawa supplemented with both 10 and 20 g mushroom was equally as acceptable as the unsupplemented halawa in most sensory attributes. Results indicated that the low percentage of mushroom in halawa and control samples gave a higher panel score of all organoleptic characteristics than the high percentage of mushroom in halawa samples after 6 months storage at room temperature (25 ◦ C). This result indicated that mushroom addition could prevent defects like oil separation and non-coherence in halawa. It would be logical to expect a strong correlation between the sensory measure (color) of halawa and color parameters obtained by instrumental determination as well as non-enzymatic browning (A420nm). Techniques of regression analysis were used to predict the coefficient of correlation between the visual color score and each of the seven color parameters. The estimated values of RSQ was found to range between 0.97 (in the case of H ∗ )t o 0.98 (in the case of a ∗ ). The results showed that the aerobic plate counts increased during first the 2 months, and then decreased during the storage period for halawa fortified by different percentages of mushroom. Lipolytic microorganisms did not change during storage and remained in low numbers for halawa fortified by mushroom. Results revealed that all samples of halawa fortified by mushroom were free from clostridia, total Enterobacteriaceae count and pathogenic bacteria (Salmonella spp. and Staphylococcus aureus). It was concluded that halawa in the presence of mushroom was useful for minimizing the extent of Maillard browning reaction, maintaining color characteristics and parameters, maintaining quality and reducing water activity, and in increasing shelf-life through inhibiting the bathogenic and reducing the spoilage bacteria.  2006 Society of Chemical Industry
Time Course of Immune Response and Immunomodulation During Normal and Delayed Healing of Musculoskeletal Wounds

Single trauma injuries or isolated fractures are often manageable and generally heal without complications. In contrast, high-energy trauma results in multi/poly-trauma injury patterns presenting imbalanced pro- and anti- inflammatory responses often leading to immune dysfunction. These injuries often exhibit delayed healing, leading to fibrosis of injury sites and delayed healing of fractures depending on the intensity of the compounding traumas. Immune dysfunction is accompanied by a temporal shift in the innate and adaptive immune cells distribution, triggered by the overwhelming release of an arsenal of inflammatory mediators such as complements, cytokines and damage associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) from necrotic cells. Recent studies have implicated this dysregulated inflammation in the poor prognosis of polytraumatic injuries, however, interventions focusing on immunomodulating inflammatory cellular composition and activation, if administered incorrectly, can result in immune suppression and unintended outcomes. Immunomodulation therapy is promising but should be conducted with consideration for the spatial and temporal distribution of the immune cells during impaired healing. This review describes the current state of knowledge in the spatiotemporal distribution patterns of immune cells at various stages during musculoskeletal wound healing, with a focus on recent advances in the field of Osteoimmunology, a study of the interface between the immune and skeletal systems, in long bone fractures. The goals of this review are to (1) discuss wound and fracture healing processes of normal and delayed healing in skeletal muscles and long bones; (2) provide a balanced perspective on temporal distributions of immune cells and skeletal cells during healing; and (3) highlight recent therapeutic interventions used to improve fracture healing. This review is intended to promote an understanding of the importance of inflammation during normal and delayed wound and fracture healing. Knowledge gained will be instrumental in developing novel immunomodulatory approaches for impaired healing.
Nodulation of Pterocarpus officinalis in the swamp forest of Guadeloupe (Lesser Antilles)

Nodulation of Pterocarpus officinalis appears to be widely distributed in the swamp forest of Guadeloupe even under conditions of permanent waterlogging. The large majority of the nodules were found above the water table and as such were located on large aerial buttresses or on root hairs which develop mainly in emerged soil. Further, large trees modify their environment by accumulating litter between the buttresses to the point of ensuring sufficient topographic elevation to keep a volume of soil regularly emerged. Consequently the nodules were concentrated in a small circle (5 m in diameter) around the oldest trees. A few nodules (5%) survived under the water table, provided that healthy root hairs were present, and this kept the rate of nodulation constant over a vertical gradient (0.9 nodule g−1 root DW). The C2H4-evolution rate of P. officinalis, 2.6–5.9 μmol h−1 g−1, appeared to be quite low compared to that of the potted Gliricidia sepium cuttings (19.4 μmol h−1 g−1), but was considerably higher than that of the woody liana Dalbergia monetaria (1.0 μmol h−1 g−1) from the same swamp forest site as P. officinalis. It was concluded that P. officinalis is a N2-fixing tree species under the waterlogged conditions of tropical swamp forests, and was hypothesised that the symbiotic nitrogen fixation on P. officinalis buttresses and root hairs could be considered as an additional adaptation to flooded soil and a contribution to its success in the tropical swamp forests of the Caribbean region.
Study of the genetics of female sex pheromone production and male behavioral response in a moth, Ostrinia orientalis

Inheritance patterns of female sex pheromone production and male behavioral response were studied in Ostrinia orientalis. Results showed that the production of the female sex pheromone in O. orientalis was mainly controlled by a single autosomal factor, while the male behavioral response was controlled by a sex‐linked major gene.
Ingestion of soil by dairy cows

Abstract Analysis of faeces for titanium by the X-ray fluorescence technique is shown to be a rapid and reliable method of determining soil content of faeces. Ingestion of soil by dairy cows has been followed monthly on a herd basis over the 1967–8 season on a limited number of town supply herds in the Kaitoke and Wairarapa districts, and on Nos. 1, 2, and 3 Dairy Units at Massey University. Mean soil ingestion per cow on the private farms ranges from about 400 to 700 lb per year. Soil ingestion at Massey ranges from about 400 lb per year on the lighter-stocked No. 1 Unit (town milk supply) to over 1,000 lb of soil per cow per year on the heavily-stocked No. 3 Unit. Animals wintered on paddocks on No. 3 Unit ingest more soil than do the platform-wintered herd. Ingestion of soil on an individual animal basis at No. 5 Dairy Farm at Ruakura Agricultural Research Centre was followed weekly from individual faeces samples collected over the 1965–6 season. Soil ingestions range from approximately 200 to 800 lb p.
Fish Species Composition and Lake Abiotic Variables in Relation to the Abundance and Size Structure of Cladoceran Zooplankton

Redundancy analysis and a multiple regression approach to analysis of variance and analysis of covariance were used to evaluate the influence of fish species composition and abiotic variables on the numerical density, biomass, and mean length of individual cladoceran taxa from 43 Laurentian Shield lakes. Cladoceran assemblage structure was still associated with fish species composition when potentially confounding effects of abiotic variables were accounted for by partial redundancy analysis. Cladoceran abundances were strongly related to the occurrence of white sucker (Catostomus commersoni) and lake maximum depth; mean lengths were influenced most by white sucker, water transparency, lake volume, and sampling date. The abundance of bosminids and length of Holopedium were strongly related to the occurrence of white sucker even when the influence of abiotic factors was removed by regression. In lakes with white sucker and brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis), Holopedium mean length decreased and bosminid a.
The effect of grazing season length on nitrogen utilization efficiency and nitrogen balance in spring-calving dairy production systems

SUMMARY There is a continual requirement for grass-based production systems to optimize economic and environmental sustainability through increased efficiency in the use of all inputs, especially nitrogen (N). An N balance model was used to assess N use efficiency and N surplus, and to predict N losses from grass-based dairy production systems differing in the length of the grazing season (GS). Data from a 3-year grazing study with a 3×3 factorial design, with three turnout dates (1 February, 21 February and 15 March) and three housing dates (25 October, 10 November and 25 November) were used to generate estimates of N use efficiency and N losses. As the length of the GS increased by a mean of 30 days, milk production, milk solids production and milk N output increased by 3, 6 and 6%, respectively. The increase in milk production as the length of the GS increased resulted in a 2% decline in N surplus and a 5% increase in N use efficiency. Increasing GS length increased the proportion of grazed grass in the diet, which increased N cycling within the system, resulting in an 8% increase in milk solids/ha produced/kg of surplus N. The increased cycling of N reduced the quantity of N partitioned for loss to the environment by 8%. Reducing fertilizer N input by 20% increased N use efficiency by 22% and reduced total N losses by 16%. The environmental and production consequences of increased length of the GS and reduced N loss are favourable as the costs associated with N inputs increase.
Modeling the Effects of Limiting the Number of Visitors on Failure Rates of Seabird Nests

Abstract: Most attempts to manage disturbance by visitors to nature reserves concentrate on limiting visitor access in some way, which is often unpopular with both visitors and managers. In a few nature reserves the daily numbers of visitors are limited, an action that need not necessarily reduce the total number of visitors. As a test of the assumptions that underlie this management practice, we examined the relationship between daily visitor numbers and daily failure rates of nests in two species of seabirds. Daily failure rates for Black‐legged Kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) were weakly correlated with daily visitor numbers but indicated that capping daily visitor numbers slightly reduced overall breeding success. This was not the case for Common Murres (Uria aalge), where failure rate declined seasonally but was not significantly correlated with visitor numbers. For some species, it appears that capping daily visitor numbers may have small conservation costs.
Cell proliferation and renewal in the small intestinal epithelium of metamorphosing and adult Xenopus laevis

Intestinal folds of adult Xenopus laevis are formed by the proliferation of groups of cells in the tadpole epithelium at metamorphosis. As the folds increase in number and in height, mitoses become confined to the troughs and a gradient of decreasing mitotic activity from troughs to crests is formed. This pattern of cell proliferation was confirmed in autoradiographic studies with [3H]thymidine. Migration of cells from the fold troughs to the fold crests was also demonstrated by thymidine autoradiography and the epithelium renewal time was approximately 16 days. Thus cell proliferation and cell specialisation in the small intestinal epithelium of adult X. laevis are inversely correlated.
Microbiological quality and shelf life of cold-smoked salmon from three different processing plants

Abstract Whole fillets and slices of cold-smoked salmon from the same batch were vacuum packed and stored at 5°C for up to 50 days, sampled regularly and analysed for sensory and microbiological changes. The experiment was performed twice with salmon from three different smokehouses. The taste panel rejected sliced salmon after 21–36 days and fillets after 32–49 days of storage with no apparent relation to the microflora or salt content (4.1–6.1% in the water phase). Whole fillets developed the same spoilage characteristics, which included sweet, sour, bitter, faecal, ammonia and cabbage-like off-flavours, as sliced salmon but had a softer texture at the time of rejection. Plate count and Malthus detection times revealed that the microflora varied in numbers and composition among the three smokehouses. The microflora differed between fillets and sliced salmon, indicating the impact of the in-house flora on the size and composition of the microflora. Lactic acid bacteria, Enterobacteriaceae , psychrotrophic marine vibrio and Photobacterium spp. dominated the microflora of spoiled salmon. Use of conductometric measurements (Malthus) calibrated to traditional agar methods was not a suitable rapid microbiological method for determining the size and composition of the microflora, because of the variable microflora.
Adjustments of γδ T Cells in the Lung of Schistosoma japonicum-Infected C56BL/6 Mice

Many kinds of lymphocytes are involved in Schistosoma japonicum (S. japonicum) infection-induced disease. γδ T cells comprise a small number of innate lymphocytes that quickly respond to foreign materials. In this study, the role of γδ T cells in the lung of S. japonicum-infected C56BL/6 mice was investigated. The results demonstrated that S. japonicum infection induces γδ T cell accumulation in the lung, expressing higher levels of CD25, MHCII, CD80, and PDL1, and lower levels of CD127 and CD62L (P < 0.05). The intracellular cytokines staining results illustrated higher percentages of IL-4-, IL-10-, IL-21-, and IL-6-producing γδ T cells and lower percentages of IFN-γ-expressing γδ T cells in the lung of infected mice (P < 0.05). Moreover, the granuloma size in lung tissue was significantly increased in Vδ−/− mice (P < 0.05). In the lung of S. japonicum-infected Vδ−/− mice, both type 1 and type 2 immune responses were decreased significantly (P < 0.05). In addition, the expression of CD80 and CD69 on B cells was decreased significantly (P < 0.05), and the SEA-specific antibody was markedly decreased (P < 0.05) in the blood of infected Vδ−/− mice. In conclusion, this study indicates that γδ T cells could adjust the Th2 dominant immune response in the lung of S. japonicum-infected mice.
Gating and Regulation of KCNQ1 and KCNQ1 + KCNE1 Channel Complexes

The IKs channel complex is formed by the co-assembly of Kv7.1 (KCNQ1), a voltage-gated potassium channel, with its β-subunit, KCNE1 and the association of numerous accessory regulatory molecules such as PIP2, calmodulin, and yotiao. As a result, the IKs potassium current shows kinetic and regulatory flexibility, which not only allows IKs to fulfill physiological roles as disparate as cardiac repolarization and the maintenance of endolymph K+ homeostasis, but also to cause significant disease when it malfunctions. Here, we review new areas of understanding in the assembly, kinetics of activation and inactivation, voltage-sensor pore coupling, unitary events and regulation of this important ion channel complex, all of which have been given further impetus by the recent solution of cryo-EM structural representations of KCNQ1 alone and KCNQ1+KCNE3. Recently, the stoichiometric ratio of KCNE1 to KCNQ1 subunits has been confirmed to be variable up to a ratio of 4:4, rather than fixed at 2:4, and we will review the results and new methodologies that support this conclusion. Significant advances have been made in understanding differences between KCNQ1 and IKs gating using voltage clamp fluorimetry and mutational analysis to illuminate voltage sensor activation and inactivation, and the relationship between voltage sensor translation and pore domain opening. We now understand that the KCNQ1 pore can open with different permeabilities and conductance when the voltage sensor is in partially or fully activated positions, and the ability to make robust single channel recordings from IKs channels has also revealed the complicated pore subconductance architecture during these opening steps, during inactivation, and regulation by 1−4 associated KCNE1 subunits. Experiments placing mutations into individual voltage sensors to drastically change voltage dependence or prevent their movement altogether have demonstrated that the activation of KCNQ1 alone and IKs can best be explained using allosteric models of channel gating. Finally, we discuss how the intrinsic gating properties of KCNQ1 and IKs are highly modulated through the impact of intracellular signaling molecules and co-factors such as PIP2, protein kinase A, calmodulin and ATP, all of which modulate IKs current kinetics and contribute to diverse IKs channel complex function.