Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of Serum C-Reactive Protein and Natural Antibodies in Cows with Endometritis

The aim of this study is to assess serum natural antibody (NAb) bindings keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) titer and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, two of the most important elements of the natural defense system in the uterus. The study was conducted on 77 Brown Swiss cows (3-7 years of age) with body condition scores (BCS) of 2.6±0.1. The diagnosis of endometritis in cows on day 30-32 postpartum was made by rectal examination, vaginoscopy, ultrasonography and cytobrush technique. Blood samples were collected immediately after the examinations to measure serum NAb titer and CRP concentrations. NAb binding KLH titers were determined using the indirect ELISA method and the CRP level by using the bovine CRP ELISA kit. Mean NAb titers were 5.36±0.16, 7.43±0.15, 8.55±0.19 and 9.64±0.27 respectively in healthy cows (Control, n = 29), cows with mild endometritis (ME, n = 21), cows with moderate endometritis (E, n = 17) and cows with severe endometritis (SE, n = 10). Mean serum CRP concentrations were 48.88±3.92 μg/mL, 82.86±4.28 μg/mL, 98.86±8.2 μg/ mL and 122.34±12.72 μg/mL respectively in groups control, ME, E and SE. NAb binding KLH titer and CRP levels increased significantly in cows with endometritis (P<0.001). BCS did not change serum NAb titer and CRP level (P>0.05). Parity did not cause a significant difference in serum NAb titer and CRP levels (P>0.05), but serum NAb level were higher in multiparous cows with ME (P<0.05). In conclusion, it is thought that serum NAb titer and CRP level can be used effectively as an indicator to determine uterus infections.
Hacia una tipología de narrativas mediáticas identitarias

El presente articulo pone de manifiesto el importante papel de los medios de comunicacion en la configuracion narrativa de las identidades personales y sociales. En primer lugar, se plantea el vinculo entre narracion, comunicacion e identidad. En segundo lugar, se propone que los procesos mediante los cuales los sujetos y los grupos crean el "yo", el "nosotros" y el "ellos" estan muy condicionados por las narrativas que circulan en los medios de comunicacion. Por ultimo, se propone una tipologia de narrativas mediaticas identitarias €“civicas, afectivas y cultuales €“ que evidencia el lugar central de los relatos mediaticos en la construccion del self.
Role of the DPC4 Tumor Suppressor Gene in Adenocarcinoma of the Ampulla of Vater: Analysis of 140 Cases

The K-ras oncogene is activated in approximately 90% of pancreatic adenocarcinomas, and the DPC4 (MADH4/SMAD4) tumor suppressor gene is inactivated in approximately 55% of pancreatic adenocarcinomas. The contributions of these genetic alterations to the development of adenocarcinoma of the ampulla of Vater have not been fully established. One hundred forty surgically resected ampullary adenocarcinomas (76 with associated adenomas with high-grade dysplasia) were immunohistochemically labeled for the DPC4 gene product, and in 85 cases the results were correlated with the status of the K-ras oncogene from previously reported data. The results were correlated with clinical outcome and with other pathologic predictors of prognosis. Complete loss of Dpc4 labeling was identified in 34% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 26%, 43%) of the invasive carcinomas and in none (upper 95% CI: 6%) of the associated adenomas. Focal loss of Dpc4 was seen in three (4%; 95% CI: 1%, 14%) of the areas of high-grade dysplasia. Complete loss of Dpc4 expression was seen in 28/77 intestinal-type tumors, in 17/46 pancreaticobiliary-type tumors, and in 0/10 colloid carcinomas. Activating point mutations in the K-ras gene were identified in 40% of the invasive cancers. There was no correlation between K-ras gene mutations and Dpc4 expression and no correlation between these variables and survival. The overall 5-year survival rate was 38%. Lymph node metastases were associated with shorter survival (P = .03). Loss of Dpc4 expression occurs in approximately one third of invasive ampullary cancers but is not seen in adenomas; thus, loss of Dpc4 expression occurs late in ampullary carcinogenesis. Although ampullary and pancreatic adenocarcinomas share histologic and molecular features, ampullary carcinomas are less likely to show loss of Dpc4 expression or K-ras gene mutations.
Spatial modelling and simulation for disease surveillance

This thesis addresses the application of spatial approaches to disease surveillance and control from three different aspects. First, temporal trends, geographical distribution and spatial pattern of cardiovascular disease admission rates were explored on a national level in Sweden. Global Moran’s I was used to explore the structure of patterns and Anselin’s local Moran’s I was applied to explore the geographical patterns of admission rates. Second, the impact of landscape structure and environmental and socioeconomic conditions on disease elements were used to create susceptibility maps. Machine learning algorithms such as artificial neural networks, logistic regression and fuzzy operators were applied to model Visceral Lesihmaiasis (VL), and generate predictive risk maps for two endemic areas in northwestern Iran and southern Caucasus. Third, the dynamicity of a complex vector-borne disease, Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (CL), were simulated based on the interactions between vectors, hosts and reservoirs using agent-based modeling approaches. A Susceptible-Exposed-Infected-Recovered (SEIR) approach together with Bayesian modeling has been applied in the model to explore the spread of CL. The model is adapted locally for Isfahan Province, an endemic area in central Iran. The results from this thesis demonstrate how spatial approaches facilitate creating road maps for policy making and resource planning processes of healthcare authorities.
A RECIPE TO GENERATE PHYSICALLY CONSISTENT EARTHQUAKE RUPTURE MODELS FOR GROUND MOTION PREDICTION

Accurate predictions of the intensity and variability of ground motions from future large earthquakes depend strongly on our ability to simulate realistic models of the earthquake source. In order to make these simulations more accurate, we have developed a procedure to generate physically consistent earthquake rupture models. We term these models pseudo-dynamic because they are kinematic models that are designed to emulate important characteristics of fullly dynamic rupture models. The user-specified parameters to generate pseudo-dynamic rupture models are the earthquake magnitude and hypocenter, with the option of specifying the fault dimensions as well. We construct pseudo-dynamic models by first generating a slip distribution as a realization of a spatial random field that is consistent in its overall scaling and spatial variability with slip distributions observed in past earthquakes[Mai and Beroza, 2000; Mai and Beroza, 2002]. We compute the static stress drop associated with this slip distribution, which in turn is used to assign the temporal evolution of slip (rupture velocity, rise time, slip-velocity function) by applying a series of empirical relationships derived from the analysis of a set of spontaneous rupture models. A simple energy-budget calculation is used to discard source models that are not realizable as spontaneous ruptures. Our approach is based on the findings of Guatteri et al. [2003], incorporating ideas developed by Mai et al. [2001] and Guatteri et al. [2002] for a source characterization that adequately describe the dynamics of rupture without having to do full dynamic simulations. The pseudodynamic approach circumvents the limits imposed by the extreme computational demand of generating fully dynamic rupture models for simulating multiple realizations of a scenario earthquake for strong-ground motion prediction. While the relationships between source parameters described in this paper are significant simplifications of the true complexity of the physics of the rupture process, they help identify important interactions between source properties that are relevant for strong ground motion prediction.
Identification of bird species from their singing

Biodiversity is one of the mysterious phenomenon that we are understanding more and more as time passes by. Aiding the process of understanding nature is an initiative by BIOTOPE society; an open platform to bring together researchers to retrieve information by identifying bird species from calls or singing of different bird species. The main idea behind this work is to identify bird species from their calls or songs. The work presented in this article explores the automated method to identify bird species based on songs and calls of different bird species. This will help in archiving and identifying new species or subspecies. Moreover, it will help behavioral and ecological studies of birds and aid to the surveillance of bird population. In this work we implement a system that will be able to automatically identify bird species from acoustic recordings. Proposed system's ROC performance analysis shows that using Random Decision Tree we can yield 0.96 area under the curve.
Overproduction and purification of McrC protein from Escherichia coli K-12

The McrC protein, encoded by one of the two genes involved in the McrB restriction system, was produced in Escherichia coli cells by using a T7 expression system. Following sequential DEAE-Sepharose and hydroxylapatite column chromatography, the protein was purified to apparent homogeneity as judged by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The N-terminal amino acid sequence of the purified McrC protein agreed exactly with the one deduced from the DNA sequence by Ross et al. (J. Bacteriol. 171:1974-1981, 1989).
Effect of vehicle on the pharmacokinetics and uptake of four halogenated hydrocarbons from the gastrointestinal tract of the rat

A variety of low molecular weight aliphatic chlorinated hydrocarbons have a history of use in the processing of foods, and their presence in potable water supplies has also been demonstrated. In this study, the relative uptake of four different aliphatic chlorinated hydrocarbons (methylene chloride, dichloroethane, chloroform and trichloroethylene) was studied after administration, by intragastric intubation, at the same dose level as corn‐oil or aqueous solutions. Serial blood samples were collected over a 5‐h period and uptake was assessed as the calculated area under blood concentration‐time curves. A significant decrease in the rate and extent of uptake was observed for the compounds when administered as an oil solution as compared with an aqueous solution. Lower peak concentrations and an increase in the time taken to reach peak concentration, after dosing with corn oil solutons, was also observed.
Distributions of Transposable Elements Reveal Hazardous Zones in Mammalian Introns

Comprising nearly half of the human and mouse genomes, transposable elements (TEs) are found within most genes. Although the vast majority of TEs in introns are fixed in the species and presumably exert no significant effects on the enclosing gene, some markedly perturb transcription and result in disease or a mutated phenotype. Factors determining the likelihood that an intronic TE will affect transcription are not clear. In this study, we examined intronic TE distributions in both human and mouse and found several factors that likely contribute to whether a particular TE can influence gene transcription. Specifically, we observed that TEs near exons are greatly underrepresented compared to random distributions, but the size of these “underrepresentation zones” differs between TE classes. Compared to elsewhere in introns, TEs within these zones are shorter on average and show stronger orientation biases. Moreover, TEs in extremely close proximity (<20 bp) to exons show a strong bias to be near splice-donor sites. Interestingly, disease-causing intronic TE insertions show the opposite distributional trends, and by examining expressed sequence tag (EST) databases, we found that the proportion of TEs contributing to chimeric TE-gene transcripts is significantly higher within their underrepresentation zones. In addition, an analysis of predicted splice sites within human long terminal repeat (LTR) elements showed a significantly lower total number and weaker strength for intronic LTRs near exons. Based on these factors, we selectively examined a list of polymorphic mouse LTR elements in introns and showed clear evidence of transcriptional disruption by LTR element insertions in the Trpc6 and Kcnh6 genes. Taken together, these studies lend insight into the potential selective forces that have shaped intronic TE distributions and enable identification of TEs most likely to exert transcriptional effects on genes.
A British War and Peace? Virginia Woolf Reads Tolstoy

Woolf's reading of Tolstoy in her roles as critic, translator, and novelist, is set in the context of discourse about the nation. The Modernist structure of Mrs. Dalloway suggests that as a novelist Woolf challenged Arnold's and Lubbock's readings of Tolstoy, which as a reviewer of Russian fiction she had at first shared. The most telling result of her reading may be traced in the composition of The Years. Like War and Peace it was to represent the family in the context of wartime representations of national history. The incomplete sentence, by means of which speakers of different national languages may create a single syntax, tropes translation as potential communication beyond the bounds of family, class, and nation.
The Supply Chain Robust Coordination Strategy Based on Data-Driven Approach

The robust coordination of a two-stage supply chain with a risk-averse retailer and a risk-neutral supplier is studied under the condition of only knowing historical demand observation data. An objective function based on conditional value at risk is developed with respect to the risk-averse retailer, and the corresponding coordination mechanism for supply chain is designed with only knowing historical data of demand. A data-driven approach is applied to derive the robust coordination strategy. At last, a numerical calculation is done to verify the effectiveness of designed supply chain robust coordination strategy. The results show that data-driven approach can effectively cope with the supply chain risk deriving form demand uncertainty. Specially, when the distribution information of demand can be known, the supply chain robust coordination strategy based on data-driven can decrease risk-averse retailer's revenue, and to this at the same time it will increase supplier's revenue. However, the yield gap of whole supply chain system will be insignificant, which shows the effectiveness of data-driven approach in accounting for demand uncertainty.
New Insights into the Enterococcus faecalis CroRS Two-Component System Obtained Using a Differential-Display Random Arbitrarily Primed PCR Approach

ABSTRACT Using a modified random arbitrarily primed PCR approach, the operon encoding the Enterococcus faecalis JH2-2 CroRS two-component regulatory system was shown to be repressed during stationary phase, and a CroRS-regulated operon (glnQHMP) was identified. Gel retardation assays showed that the CroR regulator binds specifically to the glnQHMP promoter.
Return to Work after Uncomplicated Myocardial Infarction: A Trial of Practice Guidelines in the Community

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effectiveness of practice guidelines for return to work after acute myocardial infarction when disseminated from a university-based setting to a practice-based setting. DESIGN Randomized clinical trial. PATIENTS A total of 187 patients with uncomplicated acute myocardial infarction. INTERVENTION Patients were randomly assigned to the intervention (n = 95) or to usual care (n = 92). The intervention consisted of a treadmill test, a counseling session based on the test results, and a consultation letter from a cardiologist to the primary care physician. Individualized recommendations for the timing of return to work, contained in the consultation letter, were based on the patient's risk for recurrent cardiac events. MEASUREMENTS Questionnaire, chart review, and a phone interview documented the timing of return to work and the rates of cardiac death, coronary angioplasty, coronary artery surgery, and recurrent myocardial infarction. RESULTS Median intervals between acute myocardial infarction and return to work were similar in both groups (intervention, 54 days; usual care, 67 days; P greater than 0.2). Among patients without myocardial ischemia, however, the interval was shorter in the intervention group than in the usual care group (38 days compared with 65 days, respectively, P = 0.008). Among patients with myocardial ischemia, intervals were similar in both groups (80 days compared with 76 days, respectively, P greater than 0.2). CONCLUSION Practice guidelines developed in a university-based setting were not as successful in hastening return to work after uncomplicated acute myocardial infarction when tested in a practice-based setting. Physicians' reluctance to follow guidelines for patients with myocardial ischemia reflected their concern with prognosis even though medical outcome was good.
Inter-laboratory comparison of CMOS distortion measurements

We describe a measurement comparison of distortion in a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor low-noise device operating under weakly nonlinear conditions. Issues that commonly arise in performing and interpreting nonlinear measurements are discussed, such as power and wave-based representations and the effects of terminating impedance on intermodulation distortion. We demonstrate that the increased confidence provided by a measurement comparison can help to diagnose issues with a device model that was initially derived from DC I/V curves and their derivatives and then compared to RF measurement.
Photoconductive terahertz receivers utilizing single semiconductor nanowires

Summary form only given. We have demonstrated phase sensitive detectors of coherent terahertz radiation that use single nanowires as active elements. The single GaAs/AlGaAs nanowires acted as sensitive photoconductive elements within a gold antenna structure on quartz. The detectors were also implemented in a terahertz time domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) system. Our devices show great promise as near-field terahertz sensors or as components for on-chip terahertz micro-spectrometers.
Variable-temperature neutron diffraction studies of the short, strong N...O hydrogen bonds in the 1:2 co-crystal of benzene-1,2,4,5-tetracarboxylic acid and 4,4'-bipyridyl.

The 1:2 adduct of benzene-1,2,4,5-tetracarboxylic acid and 4,4'-bipyridyl at 100 K has been studied by single-crystal neutron diffraction at 20, 200 and 296 K. The structure contains two short, strong N.O hydrogen bonds: one O-H.N hydrogen bond [O.N 2.6104 (17) A at 20 K] and one short N-H.O hydrogen bond [N.O 2.5220 (17) A at 20 K]. The N-H distance in the N-H.O hydrogen bond changes from 1.207 (3) A at 20 K to 1.302 (4) A at 296 K and the N.O distance increases to 2.5315 (16) A at 296 K. At 200 K the H atom lies in an intermediate position 1.251 (6) A from the N atom with an N.O separation of 2.520 (4) A. The O-H.N hydrogen bond, on the other hand, does not change with temperature.
The treatment and prophylaxis of malaria.

Firstly, may I say what great pleasure it gives me to have been invited to contribute to this issue of the Annals of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology commemorating Brian Maegraith's 80th birthday.If there is one tropical disease that invariably excites emotional, and sometimes even unnecessarily acrimonious, correspondence, it is malaria. I have nonetheless decided to express my personal views based on an experience of over 30 years on three facets of the disease—chemotherapy, management and chemoprophylaxis—and to review the situation as I see it.
A Novel Approach to Saturation Characteristics Modeling and Its Impact on Synchronous Machine Transient Stability Analysis

Saturation in the ferromagnetic core significantly affects the performance of electrical machines. In the performance analysis of electrical machines, an accurate representation of the saturation characteristics in the machine model is important. In this paper, a new trigonometric algorithm is proposed to represent the saturation characteristics of electrical machines based on the measured saturation characteristics data points. This model can be applied to various kinds and sizes of electrical machines. The calculated results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed model. This trigonometric model has been applied to a conventional synchronous machine model and extensive stability performance analysis has been carried out. This further reveals the usefulness of the proposed trigonometric saturation model and the importance of the inclusion of saturation in stability analysis.
Risk Factors for Glaucoma in a Cohort of Patients with Fuchs Heterochromic Iridocyclitis

ABSTRACT Purpose: To describe the incidence and risk factors for ocular hypertension and/or glaucoma in patients with Fuchs heterochromic iridocyclitis (FHC). Methods: Retrospective analysis of 88 patients with FHC. Kaplan–Meier curves estimated the time to develop cataract and ocular hypertension/glaucoma. Possible prognostic factors were investigated in univariate Kaplan–Meier analyses using the Mantel–Cox logrank test. Results: At presentation with FHC, 52% of patients had a cataract and 26% of patients had ocular hypertension/glaucoma. The estimated percentage of patients with a cataract or ocular hypertension/glaucoma by 4 years after presentation was 71% (CI: 58–81%) and 39% (CI: 28–51%), respectively. Patients aged ≥50 years had significantly greater risk of developing glaucoma (p = 0.0065). After adjusting for age-group, having a cataract at presentation was associated with increased risk of glaucoma (p = 0.032). Conclusions: Risk factors for development of ocular hypertension/glaucoma were increasing patient age and having a cataract at presentation with FHC.
Molecular cloning, characterization and tissue expression of prophenoloxidase cDNA from the mosquito Armigeres subalbatus inoculated with Dirofilaria immitis microfilariae

A cDNA encoding mosquito Armigeres subalbatus pro‐phenol oxidase (As‐pro‐PO) was obtained by rapid amplification of cDNA ends‐polymerase chain reaction (RACE‐PCR) after Dirofilaria immitis inoculation. The 2205 bp As‐pro‐PO cDNA contains a 32 bp 5′‐noncoding region, a 2055 bp open reading frame (685 amino acids), and a 118 bp 3′‐noncoding region. Hydrophobic signal peptide for the endoplasmic reticulum targeting is not found in the NH2‐terminal region. Two potential copper‐binding domains, amino acids 197–245 and 345–412, are highly homologous to those of the other insect pro‐POs. A 2.2 kb As‐pro‐PO transcript was identified by Northern blot analysis using D. immitis microfilariae‐inoculated A. subalbatus. Both in situ hybridization and Northern blot analysis demonstrated that As‐pro‐PO mRNA was synthesized in mosquito haemocytes but not in other tissues, i.e. fat bodies, midguts and ovaries, etc.