Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hydroxypterocarpans with estrogenic activity in Aguaje, the fruit of Mauritia flexuosa (Peruvian moriche palm)

Background: Phytoestrogens in edible plants, including soybean isoflavones and pomegranates, have been used for alleviation of premenopausal/postmenopausal syndromes and osteoporosis. Mauritia flexuosa (moriche palm) is grown in Peru and Brazil for its edible fruit that is said to contain phytoestrogens, but the relevant estrogenic compounds have not been identified. We investigated the constituents of moriche palm fruit extract and evaluated their estrogenic ability.Materials and methods: Ethyl acetate fraction of dried moriche palm was purified by column chromatography and HPLC chromatography. To evaluate estrogenic activity, we performed [1] simulation of binding to the human estrogen receptor (ER), [2] investigation of the proliferative effect on MCF-7 cells, and [3] the estrogen-chemically activated luciferase gene expression (E-CALUX) assay.Results: Two hydroxypterocarpans were isolated including lespeflorin G8 (LF) and 8-hydroxyhomopterocarpan (8-HHP). The binding affinity of LF to ERa was higher than that of 8-HHP, with inhibition constants of 81.9 nM and 1.99 mM, respectively. However, LF and 8-HHP exhibited a similar proliferative effect on MCF-7 cells at 10 mM. The E-CALUX assay demonstrated that LF is a full ER agonist and 8-HHP is a partial agonist.Conclusion: LF was identified as a major estrogenic compound in the fruit of Mauritia flexuosa.Keywords: Mauritia flexuosa, moriche palm, lespeflorin G8, homopterocarpan, estrogenic activity, MCF-7, E-CALUX
MRI contrast agent for targeting glioma: interleukin-13 labeled liposome encapsulating gadolinium-DTPA.

BACKGROUND Detection of glioma with MRI contrast agent is limited to cases in which the blood-brain barrier (BBB) is compromised as contrast agents cannot cross the BBB. Thus, an early-stage infiltrating tumor is not detectable. Interleukin-13 receptor alpha 2 (IL-13Rα2), which has been shown to be overexpressed in glioma, can be used as a target moiety. We hypothesized that liposomes conjugated with IL-13 and encapsulating MRI contrast agent are capable of passing through an intact BBB and producing MRI contrast with greater sensitivity. METHODS The targeted MRI contrast agent was created by encapsulating Magnevist (Gd-DTPA) into liposomes conjugated with IL-13 and characterized by particle size distribution, cytotoxicity, and MRI relaxivity. MR image intensity was evaluated in the brain in normal mice post injection of Gd-DTPA and IL-13-liposome-Gd-DTPA one day apart. The specificity for glioma detection by IL-13-liposome-Gd-DTPA was demonstrated in an intracranial glioma mouse model and validated histologically. RESULTS The average size of IL-13-liposome-Gd-DTPA was 137 ± 43 nm with relaxivity of 4.0 ± 0.4 L/mmole-s at 7 Tesla. No significant cytotoxicity was observed with MTS assay and serum chemistry in mice. The MRI signal intensity was enhanced up to 15% post injection of IL-13-liposome-Gd-DTPA in normal brain tissue following a similar time course as that for the pituitary gland outside of the BBB. MRI enhanced by IL-13-liposome-Gd-DTPA detected small tumor masses in addition to those seen with Magnevist-enhanced MRI. CONCLUSIONS IL-13-liposome-Gd-DTPA is able to pass through the uncompromised BBB and detect an early stage glioma that cannot be seen with conventional contrast-enhanced MRI.
Improved Guidelines for Estimating the Highway Safety Manual Calibration Factors

Crash prediction models can be used to predict the number of crashes and evaluate roadway safety. Part C of the first edition of the Highway Safety Manual (HSM) provides safety performance functions (SPFs). The HSM addendum that includes freeway and ramp chapters consist of severity distribution functions (SDFs) to estimate the crash severity as a function of geometric and traffic characteristics. In order to account for the differences in factors that were not considered or cannot be considered in the development of SPFs and SDFs, it is essential to calibrate them when they are applied to a new jurisdiction. The HSM recommends a one‐size‐fits-all sample size for calibration procedures that require crash data collected from randomly selected sites. However, the recommended sample size is not fully supported by documented studies, and several agencies have initiated SPF calibration efforts. In addition, there are no clear guidelines on when an agency should update their calibration factors (C-factors) and how they should make a decision on the need of region-specific calibration factors. The objectives of this research are to (1) review and document issues with the existing calibrating method in the HSM, (2) identify factors that influence the selection of the sample size for the SPFs calibration (or recalibration), (3) determine how frequently or when an agency should update their calibration factors, (4) determine whether or not having region-specific C-factors are justified and when they are needed, and (5) identify factors that influence the selection of the sample size for the SDFs calibration (or recalibration). The study objectives were accomplished using simulated and observed data. The guidelines included a discussion on (1) the sample size that is required to calibrate SPFs; (2) when the models should be recalibrated; (3) when the region-specific C-factors are recommended; and (4) the sample size that is required to calibrate SDFs.
Increased All-Cause Mortality by Antipsychotic Drugs: Updated Review and Meta-Analysis in Dementia and General Mental Health Care

It is almost ten years since the Banerjee 2009 report established that inappropriate prescribing of antipsychotics in the elderly was occurring in the UK and such patients had an 85% increased risk of adverse events and greater mortality. This report was a critical analysis addressing the outcomes of treatment practices for dementia in UK patients and globally, aimed at reducing prescribing of antipsychotic drugs for dementia. Since 2009, many significant studies worldwide (including several more recent large retrospective studies) provide more extensive longitudinal data for the adverse impacts of antipsychotic drugs in dementia. We have used the data in these studies including from over 380,000 dementia patients, with 85,069 prescribed antipsychotic agents as well as from 359,235 non-dementia antipsychotic drug users to provide an up-dated meta-analysis. This is the first meta-analysis to include evidence from general mental health studies showing that antipsychotic drugs precipitate excessive mortality across the spectrum. Prescribing of antipsychotic drugs for dementia or for other mental health care should be avoided and alternative means sought for handling behavioral disorders of such patients.
Emotional competence and quality of life of children with asthma: The mediating effect of coping strategies

This study explored the mediating effect of coping strategies on the relationship between emotional competence (EC) and quality of life (QOL) among children with asthma. Participants were 87 children (M age = 11.72, SD = 2.58) with controlled and partially controlled asthma, undergoing everyday treatment. They filled in questionnaires assessing EC, coping strategies and QOL. Results showed that the association between some ECs and the QOL of children with asthma was fully mediated by two maladaptive cognitive coping strategies. Among children with asthma, a greater ability to differentiate their emotions, a reduced attention to bodily signals of emotions and a reduced analysis of their current emotional state were related to decreased engagement in two coping strategies (‘Ignoring Asthma’ and ‘Worrying about Asthma’), which in turn increased their QOL. These findings show that EC has an indirect effect on QOL through very specific coping strategies. They also emphasise the importance of screening EC in children with asthma and the importance of developing and using multidisciplinary interventions for them.
Examining the relationship between traumatic growth and psychological resilience in young adult children of parents with and without a mental disorder

AIM AND OBJECTIVES To investigate the relationship between traumatic growth and psychological resilience in young adult children of parents with a mental disorder and to compare them with young adult children of parents without mental disorders. BACKGROUND Negative life experiences that lead to trauma can affect young adults' psychological resilience, either positively or negatively. This study investigates levels of traumatic growth, the characteristics of psychological resilience and the relationship between the former and latter in young adults between the ages of 18-23 who have parents with a mental disorder and who have parents without a mental disorder. DESIGN This study was designed as a cross-sectional, descriptive study and was conducted between June 1 and October 31, 2017. METHODS The sample of the study consisted of young adult children of outpatients with mental disorders who applied to the Psychiatric Polyclinics of Burdur State Hospital (334) and young adult children of parents without mental disorders who applied to different polyclinics (332). A total of 666 individuals participated in the study. RESULTS Comparative analyses showed a significant difference between the participants who had parents with a mental disorder and participants who had parents without mental disorders in terms of the mean scale scores and all subscale scores on the Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory and Resilience Scale for Adults. CONCLUSION It was found that individuals who had parents without a mental disorder were negatively affected after traumatic events and that their psychological resilience was high. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE This study provides data on the characteristics of traumatic growth and psychological resilience levels of not only young adults whose parents have mental disorders but also young adults whose parents do not have mental disorders. In the light of this study's findings, psychiatric nurses may benefit from conducting early screening and intervention programmes to help increase the psychological resilience of young adults whose parents have mental disorders.
Mechanical stability of the cell nucleus – roles played by the cytoskeleton in nuclear deformation and strain recovery

ABSTRACT Extracellular forces transmitted through the cytoskeleton can deform the cell nucleus. Large nuclear deformations increase the risk of disrupting the integrity of the nuclear envelope and causing DNA damage. The mechanical stability of the nucleus defines its capability to maintain nuclear shape by minimizing nuclear deformation and allowing strain to be minimized when deformed. Understanding the deformation and recovery behavior of the nucleus requires characterization of nuclear viscoelastic properties. Here, we quantified the decoupled viscoelastic parameters of the cell membrane, cytoskeleton, and the nucleus. The results indicate that the cytoskeleton enhances nuclear mechanical stability by lowering the effective deformability of the nucleus while maintaining nuclear sensitivity to mechanical stimuli. Additionally, the cytoskeleton decreases the strain energy release rate of the nucleus and might thus prevent shape change-induced structural damage to chromatin. Summary: The viscoelastic parameters of the cell membrane, cytoskeleton and nucleus are decoupled, and the roles played by cytoskeleton in maintaining nuclear mechanical stability are deciphered.
Eggshell Conspicuousness in Ground Nesting Birds: Do Conspicuous Eggshells Signal Nest Location to Conspecifics?

Predators can adversely impact nesting success and therefore the presence of seemingly conspicuous eggshells would appear maladaptive. The ratites, especially the tinamous, exhibit a diverse array of eggshell colours that appear to differ strikingly from their nesting substrate, while most ground-nesting species that do not build a nest lay camouflaged eggs. Surprisingly, there is little research on how these nest contents appear to ecologically-relevant viewers, including conspecifics and predators. Here we use visual modelling to compare eggshell conspicuousness in two distinct avian lineages differing in eggshell colour and breeding biology: ratites and galliformes. Ratites generally lay vibrant, unspeckled eggs directly on the ground, while galliformes tend to lay subtler, speckled eggs on nests built on the ground. We test the hypothesis that eggshell colours in ratites are more conspicuous, from the perspective of an avian conspecific, than those of galliformes. We found that the uniform colour covering the surface of the eggshell colour (hereafter, eggshell background colour) differs noticeably from the nesting substrate in both ratites and galliformes. However, the speckling pattern of galliform eggs often masks their conspicuous eggshell background colour, which contributes to a less conspicuous appearance overall. We tested the hypothesis that eggshell conspicuousness in ratites serves an intraspecific signalling function to advertise nest location to females in communally nesting species. We found no support for this hypothesis, suggesting that selection pressure for communal laying did not result in the diversity of conspicuousness found in avian eggs. Overall, we argue that future investigations of egg coloration should consider egg appearance (eggshell background colour and speckling) in the context of the natural nest substrate, all from the perspective of the relevant visual receiver.
Changes in agricultural cropland areas between a water-surplus year and a water-deficit year impacting food security, determined using MODIS 250 m time-series data and spectral matching techniques, in the Krishna River basin (India)

The objective of this study was to investigate the changes in cropland areas as a result of water availability using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) 250 m time-series data and spectral matching techniques (SMTs). The study was conducted in the Krishna River basin in India, a very large river basin with an area of 265 752 km2 (26 575 200 ha), comparing a water-surplus year (2000–2001) and a water-deficit year (2002–2003). The MODIS 250 m time-series data and SMTs were found ideal for agricultural cropland change detection over large areas and provided fuzzy classification accuracies of 61–100% for various land‐use classes and 61–81% for the rain-fed and irrigated classes. The most mixing change occurred between rain-fed cropland areas and informally irrigated (e.g. groundwater and small reservoir) areas. Hence separation of these two classes was the most difficult. The MODIS 250 m-derived irrigated cropland areas for the districts were highly correlated with the Indian Bureau of Statistics data, with R 2-values between 0.82 and 0.86. The change in the net area irrigated was modest, with an irrigated area of 8 669 881 ha during the water-surplus year, as compared with 7 718 900 ha during the water-deficit year. However, this is quite misleading as most of the major changes occurred in cropping intensity, such as changing from higher intensity to lower intensity (e.g. from double crop to single crop). The changes in cropping intensity of the agricultural cropland areas that took place in the water-deficit year (2002–2003) when compared with the water-surplus year (2000–2001) in the Krishna basin were: (a) 1 078 564 ha changed from double crop to single crop, (b) 1 461 177 ha changed from continuous crop to single crop, (c) 704 172 ha changed from irrigated single crop to fallow and (d) 1 314 522 ha changed from minor irrigation (e.g. tanks, small reservoirs) to rain-fed. These are highly significant changes that will have strong impact on food security. Such changes may be expected all over the world in a changing climate.
Salidroside mediates apoptosis and autophagy inhibition in concanavalin A-induced liver injury

Salidroside (Sal) is a glycoside extract from Rhodiola rosea L. with anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anticancer and cardioprotective properties. The present study explored the protective effects and the possible mechanisms of Sal on concanavalin A (ConA)-induced liver injury in mice. Balb/C mice were divided into five groups: Normal control (injected with normal saline), ConA (25 mg/kg), Sal (10 mg/kg) +ConA, Sal (20 mg/kg) + ConA (Sal injected 2 h prior to ConA injection) and Sal (20 mg/kg) only. The serum levels of liver enzymes, pro-inflammatory cytokines, and apoptosis- and autophagy-associated marker proteins were determined at 2, 8 and 24 h after ConA injection. LY294002 was further used to verify whether the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt pathway was activated. Primary hepatocytes were isolated to verify the effect of Sal in vitro. The results indicated that Sal was a safe agent to reduce pathological damage and serum liver enzymes in ConA-induced liver injury. Sal suppressed inflammatory reactions in serum and liver tissues, and activated the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway to inhibit apoptosis and autophagy in vivo and in vitro, which could be reversed by LY294002. In conclusion, Sal attenuated ConA-induced liver injury by modulating PI3K/Akt pathway-mediated apoptosis and autophagy in mice.
High school teachers' perceptions of safety in rural high schools

School safety continues to be a contentious issue in American society. Teachers employed in two different high schools, one located in Illinois and the other located in Alabama, were surveyed in order to ascertain if the presence of school safety technology and a high frequency of lockdown drills influenced their perceptions of safety. Survey questions consisted of 19 Likert scale questions, as well as three open-ended questions. Fisher’s exact tests and independent t-tests were used to analyze survey results. Openended survey questions were analyzed for trends related to teachers’ perceptions of safety. The results of the analyses showed teachers reported higher perceptions of safety when more school safety technology was present in their schools. The frequency of lockdown drills did not yield statistical significance. A set of recommendations was constructed to assist school leaders in evaluating current school safety plans. The set of recommendations may assist in reducing casualties in the event of an active shooter situation.
On the role of membrane anisotropy in the beading transition of undulated tubular membrane structures

The Helfrich expression for the isotropic membrane bending energy was generalized for the case of anisotropic membranes by taking into account two intrinsic (spontaneous) curvatures, i.e., the intrinsic mean curvature Hm and the intrinsic curvature deviator Dm. Using this generalized expression for the membrane bending energy the shape equation for closed axisymmetric anisotropic membranes is solved numerically for the case of undulated tubular shapes. It is shown that the variation of one of the two intrinsic curvatures, Hm or Dm, may induce the first-order-like shape transitions between the undulated tubular membrane structures. The predicted discontinuous shape transitions were applied to explain the beading transitions without stretching, which were recently observed in nerve fibres.
Optimal angle between instrument shaft and handle for laparoscopic bowel suturing.

OBJECTIVE To determine the optimal angle between the handle and instrument shaft for endoscopic suturing. DESIGN A rocker handle needle driver was used to investigate the 0 degrees, 40 degrees, and 80 degrees handle-to-shaft angles. The standard task entailed closure of a 50-mm enterotomy in a nonliving porcine small-bowel model. Fifty enterotomies were performed with each angle in a random sequence. SETTING Research laboratory in the Surgical Skills Unit at Ninewells Hospital. PARTICIPANTS Ten surgeons with previous experience in laparoscopic surgery. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The execution time (in minutes), leakage pressure (in centimeters of water), and suture error placement score (deviations of the entry and exit points <3 mm or >5 mm from the enterotomy edge or between sutures). RESULTS The 40 degrees handle-to-shaft angle had a higher mean (SD) leakage pressure of 43.8 (20.0) cm H2O compared with the 80 degrees and 0 degrees angles (31.1 [21.0] and 26.3 [19.0] cm H2O, respectively) (P<.001). In addition, the 40 degrees angle had a lower mean (SD) suture error placement score of 13.6 (7.6), compared with the 80 degrees and 0 degrees angles (19.4 [9.4] and 21.1 [8.5], respectively) (P<.001). No significant difference was found in the execution time between the different angles (P =.20). CONCLUSION The best quality of laparoscopic bowel suturing, in terms of the accuracy of suture placement and the integrity of the suture line closure, was obtained with a 40 degrees handle-to-shaft angle.
Defence, Debt and Democracy: The 3D in South Asia

Purpose: South Asian countries are not only ranked as power countries but are also prone to inter and intra country contentions along with political instability. This paper empirically examines the role of defence expenditure and democracy in determining external debt for five South Asian countries. We scrutinized the long run relationship by using large time dimension data from 1972 to 2013 for the selected sample of Asian countries with appropriate variables. Methodology: Econometric precision is fetched by using pooled mean group (PMG) along with mean group (MG), dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS), fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS) among others. Findings: The results confirm the presence of long run relationship between military expenditures and external debt, whereas, there exist a negative relationship between democracy and external debt. Recommendations: Policy recommendations are made on the basis of empirical results.
Shaping the discourse: What has the food industry been lobbying for in the Trans Pacific Partnership trade agreement and what are the implications for dietary health?

Abstract The Trans Pacific Partnership agreement (TPP), emblematic of the new generation of free trade agreements, is a regional agreement among 12 Pacific Rim countries. This paper reports on a study into how the food industry has framed issues in an effort to influence the TPP. We undertook a thematic analysis of the issues raised in publicly available submissions by the food industry to the trade negotiating bodies of four TPP countries: Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States of America (USA). The food industry is an active player in trade negotiations, mainly through food industry associations and other business associations. The submissions assumed that trade liberalization would result in more exports and investment, as well as raise living standards and benefit the economy and country. There was little mention of food as anything other than a commodity, focusing on types and quantities of food traded and what this meant for revenue generation, with no connection to nutritional health. The TPP could affect food systems and population health in ways that are not readily apparent to governments, policy makers or the public. The written submissions mechanism is one way in which the food industry could have shaped the agreement by framing the issues, influencing the content and direction of the TPP negotiations and agreement itself. If coherence between trade and health goals is to be strengthened, the public health community needs to engage with industry arguments and build a strong counter-argument that gives more prominence to health concerns.