Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
TOTAL PHENOLS AND ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITIES OF LEAF AND STEM EXTRACTS FROM CORIANDER, MINT AND PARSLEY GROWN IN SAUDI ARABIA

Leaves and stems of three different herbs from two different families were used to extract phenolic compounds and the bioactivity of the extracts was evaluated by using 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl or DPPH scavenging ability or their antioxidant activities. Extract from leaves of mint, which belongs to Lamiaceae family contained 1.24 mgGAE/100 mL of total phenolic compounds and 34.21% antioxidant activity which were significantly higher than those in extracts from coriander and parsley, both of which belong to Apiaceae family. Extracts of leaves from these herbs showed more quantity of total phenols and higher antioxidant activities than extracts from stem parts, however both leaves and stems of these three herbs grown in Saudi Arabia contained good quantities of total phenols (>1.02 mgGAE/100 mL) and showed more than 18.3% free radical scavenging activity.
Extended release delivery of erlotinib glutathione nanosponge for targeting lung cancer

Abstract Systemic and uncontrolled administration of erlotinib hydrochloride (ETB) is associated with severe toxicity. A novel targeted and extended release nanosponge (NS) was synthesized from glutathione (GHS) by a one-step reaction between β-cyclodextrin and pyromellitic dianhydride at room temperature for delivery of ETB in lung cancer. Characterization studies were performed using sophisticated instruments. In-vitro release study was performed in the presence of incremental concentrations of GHS which was analyzed using HPLC. Cell cytotoxicity study was evaluated on human lung cancer (A549) cell lines. In-vivo tumour inhibition and biodistribution of ETB-loaded GHS-NS (ETB-NS) were performed on BALB/c mice. NS obtained was spherical, size 212 ± 2.45 nm and high drug entrapment (92.34 ± 5.31%) (p < .001). In-vitro extended drug release (76.89 ± 0.1% release at 168 h), which was directly proportional to the concentration of GHS, demonstrated tumour targeting. There was enhanced in-vitro cytotoxicity and 97.5% inhibition in tumour growth on administering NS when compared to plain ETB (48% inhibition) indicating targeting of NS to the tumour site. Biodistribution study and in-vivo tumour growth inhibition study revealed drug release to the cancerous cell, thus preventing unnecessary drug exposure. ETB-NS exhibits extended drug release proportional to the external GSH concentration.
Reoperative Surgery for Early Complications following Abdominal and Abdominothoracic Operations

In-hospital mortality was 9.6% in 3000 abdominal and abdominothoracic operations carried out by me or under my care. Intra-abdominal complications developing during the recovery period required reoperation in 141 patients. The decision to reoperate was a clinical one in 97.8%, although investigations were often helpful in localizing the site of the complicating lesion: the mortality in this group was 42.5%. Technical failure at the first operation could be indicted in 46%. Leaks and bleeding were most frequent and carried a high mortality. Patient selection and preparation, and selection of the simplest effective procedure, are not yet capable of being fully assessed in an individual patient.
Adolescent social networks: general and smoking-specific characteristics associated with smoking.

OBJECTIVE Converging lines of research suggest that adolescents' smoking behaviors are strongly influenced by the characteristics of their social network and the social processes their network facilitates. The primary goal of this study was to conduct a detailed comparison of the social networks of adolescent smokers and nonsmokers to determine what aspects relate the most to smoking status. A secondary goal was to conduct within-group analyses to examine relationships between key measures of behavior-specific social support and (a) smoking susceptibility among nonsmokers, and (b) readiness to quit smoking among smokers. METHOD A matched sample of 190 adolescent smokers and nonsmokers (Mage = 16.8 years; 51% female) completed a questionnaire in which they nominated and reported on up to 10 important people in their lives. This measure allowed us to examine adolescents' overall networks (both peers and family) and to investigate numerous aspects, including general network characteristics (e.g., size of network, average contact with network members), social support (e.g., importance of people in the network), and the pervasiveness of smoking in the network (e.g., percentage of smoking peers). RESULTS The pervasiveness of smoking in adolescents' social network was the strongest distinguisher of smokers versus nonsmokers. In addition, behavior-specific social support was strongly associated with susceptibility to initiate smoking among nonsmokers and readiness to quit among smokers. CONCLUSIONS This research offers insight into potential targets for prevention and early intervention by demonstrating how social networks can both promote and attenuate risk for smoking.
The improvement of LDA: Considering avoiding repetition

Topic models are increasingly studied in summarization and other application of discrete data. Though latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) is one of the widely-used topic models for textual and image data, its Dirichlet distribution does not capture correlations between topics very well. To overcome the drawback, directed acyclic graph (DAG) and other algebra distribution, such as logistic normal distribution, were used to describe the correlations between topics. They are effective but relatively expensive. Avoiding repetition is a regular rule in English document, which was ignored in previous related works. We proposed a less expensive amend LDA model considering the avoiding repetition as a kind of topic correlations. We introduced the principium and concept of amend model based on related basic works at first. Then we describe the additive functions in details. We report the result of the adjusted model in ad hoc IR experiment, which showed that the amend model outperform the basic LDA model. Finally, the influence of some model parameters was analysis briefly.
A differential stain for nucleic acids.

An easily used trichrome stain consisting of orange G, methyl green, and toluidine blue is proposed as a method of differentiating desoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA) in cells. Carnoy's acetic-alcohol is the fixative of choice, though cold acetone is also satisfactory. Photomicrographs taken with ultraviolet and visible light show that the structures containing nucleic acid are exactly those which stain with methyl green and toluidine blue. Studies with nucleases and extraction of nucleic acids with cold and hot perchloric acid further indicate a specificityy of the dyes for DNA and RNA. Present experiments are directed toward using the stain for quantitative estimation of the nucleic acids.
Regression analysis using the imprecise Bayesian normal model

A class of regression models taking into account the lack of sufficient statistical data is proposed. The main ideas of the class are to use the framework of Vapnik's learning theory and to replace a single probability distribution of the noise by a set of probability distributions, which is not the parametric set of distributions. The set of probability distributions is defined by the imprecise Bayesian normal model. A numerical example illustrates the proposed regression models.
Monitoring the Emergence of Hepatitis B Virus Polymerase Gene Variants during Lamivudine Therapy in Human Immunodeficiency Virus Coinfected Patients: Performance of Clip™ Sequencing and Line Probe Assay

Sera from 12 patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus and hepatitis B virus (HBV), on lamivudine as part of an antiretroviral therapy, were retrospectively analysed for the presence of HBV polymerase mutations by the line probe assay, INNO-LiPA HBV DR, and by the direct sequencing assay, TRUGENE™ HBV genotyping kit. Results at codons 180, 204 and 207 were compared for 44 samples. Full concordance was observed for 81.4% of the 129 analysed codons. Discordance involved only mixed populations: LiPA detected additional species in 19 codons and TRUGENE in five. Viral breakthrough occurred in seven patients, 12-33 months after lamivudine initiation. In five cases with close sampling available, both assays detected mutations before the rise in viral load, although earlier by LiPA for three patients. The time interval between the first mutant detection and viral escape ranged from 2 to 22 months. Mutations were detected in four of the five remaining patients: 1) at therapy initiation in a primary non-responder; 2) after 37 months, but replication became undetectable after tenofovir introduction; 3) transiently at 6 months by LiPA but treatment was ceased thereafter; 4) after 23 months but replication levels remained low during a 5-year follow-up. Interestingly, TRUGENE sequencing identified on late samples from three patients a variant carrying rtV173L plus rtL180M plus M204V mutations, having the in vitro characteristics of ‘vaccine escape’ mutants. Both assays appear to be valuable tools for the early detection of mutated HBV strains. The detection of genotypic resistance could improve therapeutic decision-making, although clinical or other virological factors may determine the rapidity of the viral breakthrough.
To reach consensus using uninorm aggregation operator: A gossip‐based protocol

Gossip‐based protocols for group communication have attractive scalability and reliability properties. This paper presents a gossip‐based protocol that enables agents to reach a consensus based on a specific uninorm aggregation operator. We theoretically analyze the convergence, the speed and the randomness features of this protocol as well as its extensions. This model can be used to handle the uncertainty and the fast convergence characteristic of collective decision dynamics. The experimental results show that this protocol is efficient, scalable, and resilient against the failures under various network sizes, and topologies. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
[6-(4-Bromophenyl)-2,2′-bipyridine-κ2 N,N′]bis(triphenylphosphane-κP)copper(I) tetrafluoridoborate

The title compound, [Cu(C16H11BrN2)(C18H15P)2]BF4, is composed of one CuI atom, one 6-(4-bromophenyl)-2,2′-bipyridine (L) ligand, two triphenylphosphane molecules and one tetrafluoridoborate anion. The CuI ion is four-coordinated in a distorted tetrahedral configuration by two N atoms from L and two P atoms from triphenylphosphane ligands. In the L ligand, the two pyridine rings are not coplanar; the mean planes making a dihedral angle of 15.3 (5)°. In the crystal, the ions are linked by weak C—H⋯F interactions.
Overexpression of Aquaporin 1 on cysts of patients with polycystic liver disease.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Polycystic liver disease (PCLD) represents a group of genetic disorders that include autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) and isolated polycystic liver disease (iPCLD). There is currently no definitive treatment except for liver transplantation. The aim of this study was to assess the expression level of aquaporin 1 (AQP1) on the PCLD cysts with different sizes and provide the potential therapeutic target. METHODS We collected 3 normal bile ducts, and recruited 8 patients with simple liver cyst disease, 24 patients with ADPKD, and 17 patients with iPCLD. AQP1 expression in different types of cyst walls and in normal bile ducts was detected using real time quantitative PCR, western blot and immunofluorescence staining. We also compared AQP1 expression levels in cysts of different sizes. Besides, ionic concentrations, pH and osmolality of cyst fluid were analyzed. RESULTS The results showed that AQP1 expression in PCLD cysts was significantly higher than that in simple liver cysts and the normal bile ducts. In addition, a comparable increasing trend was found in cysts of smaller sizes to cysts of larger sizes. pH values, the sodium and chloride concentrations were higher in cyst fluid than that in the serum. CONCLUSIONS AQP1 was overexpressed in cystic cholangiocytes. A tendency of increased AQP1 protein expression in correlation with the cyst size was also found. These observations offered a direction into the molecular mechanisms of cyst expansion and maybe provide new treatment strategies to reduce fluid secretion into liver cysts.
Characterization of two novel yeast strains used in mediated biosensors for wastewater.

After isolation from a pulp mill wastewater treatment facility, two yeast strains, designated SPT1 and SPT2, were characterized and used in the development of mediated biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) biosensors for wastewater. 18S rRNA gene sequence analysis revealed a one nucleotide difference between the sequence of SPT1 and those of Candida sojae and Candida viswanthii. While SPT2 had the highest overall homology to Pichia norvegensis, at only 73.5%, it is clearly an ascomycete, based on BLAST comparisons and phylogenetic analyses. Neighbor-joining dendrograms indicated that SPT1 clustered with several Candida spp. , and that SPT2 clustered with Starmera spp. , albeit as a very deep branch. Physiological tests, microscopic observations, and fatty acid analysis confirmed that SPT1 and SPT2 are novel yeast strains. Physiological tests also indicated that both strains had potential for use in mediated biosensors for estimation of BOD in wastewater. The lower detection limits of SPT1- and SPT2-based K3Fe(CN)6-mediated biosensors for a pulp-mill effluent were 2 and 1 mg BOD/L, respectively. Biosensor-response times for effluents from eight different pulp mills were in the range of 5 min. Reliability and sensitivity of the SPT1- and SPT2-based biosensors were good, but varied with the wastewater.
Burnout and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes: A Prospective Study of Apparently Healthy Employed Persons

Objective: This prospective study was designed to test the extent to which the onset of type 2 diabetes in apparently healthy individuals was predicted by burnout, a unique affective response to combined exposure to chronic stressors. Methods: The study participants were 677 employed men and women who were followed up for 3 to 5 years (mean = 3.6 years) for the onset of diagnosed type 2 diabetes. Burnout was assessed by the Shirom-Melamed Burnout Measure with its three subscales: emotional exhaustion, physical fatigue, and cognitive weariness. Results: The burnout symptoms were remarkably consistent over the follow-up period irrespective of changes in place of work and in employment status. During the follow-up period, 17 workers developed type 2 diabetes. Logistic regression results indicated that burnout was associated with a 1.84-fold increased risk of diabetes (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.19–2.85) even after adjusting for age, sex, body mass index, smoking, alcohol use, leisure time physical activity, initial job category, and follow-up duration. In a subsample of 507 workers, the relative risk of diabetes was found to be much higher after additional control for blood pressure levels (odds ratio = 4.32, 95% CI = 1.75–10.67), available only for this subsample. Conclusions: These findings suggest that chronic burnout might be a risk factor for the onset of type 2 diabetes in apparently healthy individuals. CI = confidence interval; CVD = cardiovascular disease; SMBM = Shirom-Melamed Burnout Measure; HbA1c = glycosylated hemoglobin A1c; VE = vital exhaustion; MI = myocardial infarction; MBI = Maslach Burnout Inventory; BMI = body mass index; SBP = systolic blood pressure; DBP = diastolic blood pressure; OR = odds ratio; APR = acute phase response; CRP = C-reactive protein; HDL = high-density lipoprotein; HPA = hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal.
Kinetic Basis for Activation of CDK2/Cyclin A by Phosphorylation*

The activation of most protein kinases requires phosphorylation at a conserved site within a structurally defined segment termed the activation loop. A classic example is the regulation of the cell cycle control enzyme, CDK2/cyclin A, in which catalytic activation depends on phosphorylation at Thr160 in CDK2. The structural consequences of phosphorylation have been revealed by x-ray crystallographic studies on CDK2/cyclin A and include changes in conformation, mainly of the activation loop. Here, we describe the kinetic basis for activation by phosphorylation in CDK2/cyclin A. Phosphorylation results in a 100,000-fold increase in catalytic efficiency and an approximate 1,000-fold increase in the overall turnover rate. The effects of phosphorylation on the individual steps in the catalytic reaction pathway were determined using solvent viscosometric techniques. It was found that the increase in catalytic power arises mainly from a 3,000-fold increase in the rate of the phosphoryl group transfer step with a more moderate increase in substrate binding affinity. In contrast, the rate of phosphoryl group transfer in the ATPase pathway was unaffected by phosphorylation, demonstrating that phosphorylation at Thr160 does not serve to stabilize ATP in the ATPase reaction. Thus, we hypothesize that the role of phosphorylation in the kinase reaction may be to specifically stabilize the peptide phosphoacceptor group.
MNS16A minisatellite genotypes in relation to risk of glioma and meningioma and to glioblastoma outcome

The human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) gene is upregulated in a majority of malignant tumours. A variable tandem repeat, MNS16A, has been reported to be of functional significance for hTERT expression. Published data on the clinical relevance of MNS16A variants in brain tumours have been contradictory. The present population‐based study in the Nordic countries and the United Kingdom evaluated brain‐tumour risk and survival in relation to MNS16A minisatellite variants in 648 glioma cases, 473 meningioma cases and 1,359 age, sex and geographically matched controls. By PCR‐based genotyping all study subjects with fragments of 240 or 271 bp were judged as having short (S) alleles and subjects with 299 or 331 bp fragments as having long (L) alleles. Relative risk of glioma or meningioma was estimated with logistic regression adjusting for age, sex and country. Overall survival was analysed using Kaplan–Meier estimates and equality of survival distributions using the log‐rank test and Cox proportional hazard ratios. The MNS16A genotype was not associated with risk of occurrence of glioma, glioblastoma (GBM) or meningioma. For GBM there were median survivals of 15.3, 11.0 and 10.7 months for the LL, LS and SS genotypes, respectively; the hazard ratio for having the LS genotype compared with the LL was significantly increased HR 2.44 (1.56–3.82) and having the SS genotype versus the LL was nonsignificantly increased HR 1.46 (0.81–2.61). When comparing the LL versus having one of the potentially functional variants LS and SS, the HR was 2.10 (1.41–3.1). However, functionality was not supported as there was no trend towards increasing HR with number of S alleles. Collected data from our and previous studies regarding both risk and survival for the MNS16A genotypes are contradictory and warrant further investigations. © 2009 UICC
Anisotropic scaling in threshold critical dynamics of driven directed lines.

The dynamical critical behavior of a single directed line driven in a random medium near the depinning threshold is studied both analytically (by renormalization group) and numerically, in the context of a flux line in a type-II superconductor with a bulk current {ital J}{searrow}. In the absence of transverse fluctuations, the system reduces to recently studied models of interface depinning. In most cases, the presence of transverse fluctuations is found not to influence the critical exponents that describe longitudinal correlations. For a manifold with {ital d}=4{minus}{epsilon} internal dimensions, longitudinal fluctuations {ital in} {ital an} {ital isotropic} {ital medium} are described by a roughness exponent {zeta}{sub {parallel}}={epsilon}/3 to all orders in {epsilon}, and a dynamical exponent {ital z}{sub {parallel}}=2{minus}2{epsilon}/9+{ital O}({epsilon}{sup 2}). Transverse fluctuations have a distinct and smaller roughness exponent {zeta}{sub {perpendicular}}={zeta}{sub {parallel}}{minus}{ital d}/2 for an isotropic medium. Furthermore, their relaxation is much slower, characterized by a dynamical exponent {ital z}{sub {perpendicular}}={ital z}{sub {parallel}}+1/{nu}, where {nu}=1/(2{minus}{zeta}{sub {parallel}}) is the correlation length exponent. The predicted exponents agree well with numerical results for a flux line in three dimensions. As in the case of interface depinning models, anisotropy leads to additional universality classes. A nonzero Hall angle, which has no analogue in themore » interface models, also affects the critical behavior. {copyright} {ital 1996 The American Physical Society. }« less
Northern Baja California Indian women's concepts of illness and healing: Implications for public health and clinical practitioners

Abstract Lay health care workers (promotores) interviewed 313 female members of remote Indian groups in northern Baja California, Mexico regarding: (1) common childhood and adult illnesses and endorsement of ‘traditional’ and modern therapies; (2) illness causation beliefs and knowledge of biomedical principles; and (3) the relation of ethnic identity with concepts of effective biomedical and non-biomedical therapy. The most common illnesses/symptoms reported in adults were diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, cold/flu, diarrhoea, low/variable blood pressure and arthritis; and in children, cold/flu, diarrhoea, bronchitis, cough, fever, empacho and dehydration. Of 285 informants, more reported at least one childhood disorder than who reported at least one adult disorder was most helped by traditional therapy [83 (29.1%) versus 44 (15.4%); P<0.0001] and both therapies [81 (28.4%) versus 42 (14.7%); P<0.001]. They reported eight naturalistic and two personalistic illness causes and manifested variable biomedical knowledge. Indian or mixed Indian/Mexican ethnic self-identity predominated, and Indian identity was unrelated to endorsement of traditional therapy. The ‘biocultural synthesis’ is a useful theoretical framework for viewing the findings. The Indians' pluralistic concepts have important implications for public health care workers and biomedical practitioners.
Nationwide firefighter survey: the prevalence of lower back pain and its related psychological factors among Korean firefighters

The main objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of lower back pain (LBP) and clarify the effect of work-related psychological factors on LBP. Nationwide survey data collected from male Korean firefighters (FIFS) were used. To identify the risk factors (work-related psychological factors such as job stress and depression) affecting LBP, the χ2 test and multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted. The prevalence of LBP was 19.3% and was highest in the emergency medical service (31.8%) part of FF job types. Within job stress, an uncomfortable physical environment, high mental job demand and organizational injustice were associated with LBP. However, inadequate social support inversely associated with LBP. Depression and high-risk alcohol drinking were related to LBP. LBP was closely related to job stress, depression and alcohol intake. Proper interventions of psychological factors should therefore be addressed to control LBP in FIFS.