Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of Chinese herbal mixture on performance, egg quality and blood biochemical parameters of laying hens.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of Chinese herbal mixture (CHM) in laying hen diets on performance, egg quality and egg nutrition components, as well as selected blood biochemical parameters. A total of 270 Lohmann Brown laying hens, 24 week of age, were randomly distributed into three dietary treatments and fed for 6 week. The CHM was used at the levels of 0%, 0.5% and 1.0% in the diets of the control and two treatment groups respectively. Each dietary treatment was divided into five replicates, comprising of 18 hens each. Hens were housed in a 3-tier battery system. Feed and water were provided ad libitum. Blood samples and eggs were collected at the end of the experiment. The results showed that dietary treatments did not affect egg weight, mortality, eggshell thickness, albumen height, Haugh units, eggshell-breaking strength and egg-shape index. Dietary supplementation of CHM significantly improved (p < 0.05) laying rate and the lowest feed conversion ratio were observed with 1.0% CHM supplementation diets. CHM supplementation decreased (p < 0.05) cracked-egg rate, egg yolk cholesterol, blood serum levels of cholesterol, triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and increased blood serum levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). No differences in serum total protein, serum albumen, serum glucose and aspartate amino transferase (AST) were observed in hens fed CHM. In conclusion, dietary supplementation with CHM improved egg production and egg quality and reduced serum cholesterol concentrations in laying hens. Dietary supplementation of 1.0% CHM in layer diets may be a feasible means of producing eggs with lower cholesterol and higher egg yolk phospholipid contents for health conscious consumers.
A knowledge-oriented clustering technique based on rough sets

Presents a knowledge-oriented clustering method based on rough set theory. The method evaluates the simplicity of classification knowledge during the clustering process and produces readable clusters reflecting the global features of objects. The method uses a newly-introduced measure, the indiscernibility degree, to evaluate the importance of equivalence relations that are related to the roughness of the classification knowledge. The indiscernibility degree is defined as the ratio of equivalence relations that gives a common classification to the two objects under consideration. The two objects can be classified into the same class if they have a high indiscernibility degree, even in the presence of equivalence relations which differentiate these objects. Ignorance of such equivalence relations is related to the generalization of knowledge, and it yields simple clusters that can be represented by simple knowledge. An experiment was performed on artificially created numerical data sets. The results showed that objects were classified into the expected clusters if modification was performed, whereas they were classified into many small categories without modification.
UNDERSTANDING THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN SHAREHOLDER RIGHTS AND FIRM VALUE

In this study, I employ a system GMM model that is robust to endogeneity to uncover the dynamic association between firm value and the G index, which is a proxy for shareholder rights. I find that firms with a lower G index are more likely to have a higher firm value. My empirical evidence also shows that using static model specifications to examine the causality, if any, is problematic in this specific area. Further, the following robustness checks indicate that my dynamic model specification is not likely to be engendered by severe reverse causality and nonstationarity problems.
Reduction in blood product usage associated with routine use of mini bypass systems in extracorporeal circulation

Objective: The objective of this study is to investigate the hypothesis that a reduced prime extracorporeal circulation (ECC) system and ensuing reduction in patient hemodilution can affect blood product use. Methods: We performed a prospective, randomized study from a group of 60 consecutive coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) patients, comparing blood product usage and postoperative bleeding in 30 mini bypass systems (n = 30) to 30 conventional systems (n = 30). The patient demographics in terms of patient weight, height, age, preoperative hemoglobin, preoperative hematocrit, BSA, ejection fraction, and NYHA were not statistically significant. Results: Blood product use, including fresh frozen plasma (FFP) and homolgous blood transfusions was tracked through the operating theater and into the intensive care unit. In the mini bypass group, while no homologous blood transfusions were given in the OR, 27% of the patients received at least one unit of homolgous blood. In the control group, 43% of the patients received at least one unit of blood in the OR or in the ICU and there was a stastistically-significant 38% reduction in homologous blood product use (p = 0.05). For the patients who received homologous blood, there was also a significant reduction in transfused volume (0.53±0.90 units blood mini bypass vs 1.3±1.93 units conventional, p <0.05). In terms of FFP, there was also a stastistically significant difference between the two groups (0 units transfused in mini bypass group vs 3 patients receiving one unit FFP in the control group, p<0.001). Cumulative postoperative bleeding during the ICU stay was also evaluated, yielding a significant reduction (365±495 ml mini bypass vs 825± 975 ml conventional, p <0.05). Conclusion: Mini bypass reduces on-pump hemodilution and, therefore, donor blood usage in routine CABG patients as compared to conventional ECC circuits and can reduce postoperative bleeding as compared to a traditional system. The mini bypass system is safe in routine clinical use and can manage easily the same number of anastomoses as a traditional system and should be considered a favorable alternative to conventional ECC in all revascularization cases. Perfusion (2007) 22, 9-14.
Acute Lung Injury-Induced Collagen Deposition is Associated with Elevated Asymmetric Dimethylarginine and Arginase Activity

Evidence suggests that lung structure and function are partly maintained by a balance between the competing arginine-metabolizing enzymes arginase and nitric oxide (NO) synthase. Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) is an endogenous inhibitor of NO synthase. It is metabolized by dimethylarginine dimethylaminohydrolase 2 (DDAH-2), which is oxidant-sensitive. The mechanism that induces excess lung collagen deposition in burned patients has not yet been explored. Our objective was to investigate the role of ADMA and the arginase pathway in acute lung injury. An ovine model for burn and smoke inhalation injury was used to assess excess lung collagen deposition. Sheep were deeply anesthetized during the injury, mechanically ventilated, resuscitated with fluid, and killed after either 2 or 3 weeks. Lungs were assessed histologically and biochemically for collagen content, arginase activity, lipid peroxidation product and antioxidant concentration, and protein concentrations. Plasma was assessed for amino acid and nitrate/nitrite concentrations. Burn and inhalation injury resulted in significantly reduced pulmonary function and increased lung collagen deposition. These physiological changes were associated with significantly increased lung arginase activity, collagen synthesis precursor ornithine aminotransferase, and ornithine decarboxylase, which is associated with cell proliferation. Significant decreases in plasma nitrate/nitrite after injury were associated with increased lung ADMA concentrations and decreased DDAH-2 expression. The decreased DDAH-2 expression was associated with significantly increased lipid peroxidation product and decreased antioxidant content in the lung. These data support that excess lung collagen deposition and reduced pulmonary function in acute lung injury after burn and inhalation injury are mediated through the arginase pathway.
Salivary Cortisol Levels in Students Challenged with a Testing Stressor

OBJECTIVE: The objective was twofold. The focus of the study was primarily to determine if the stress of a particularly difficult exam could cause students to lose the normal diurnal variation seen in human cortisol levels and secondarily, to validate the use of a competitive enzyme immunoassay for salivary cortisol. DESIGN: Physical therapy students enrolled in Research Design were asked to participate in the study by collecting baseline evening and morning salivary cortisols during what was regarded as a relatively stress free time in the Fall of 2009. The following spring, the same students were asked for samples the evening before and morning of their first Kinesiology test, traditionally a stressful time. Method validation was accomplished using instrumentation owned by the Medical Laboratory Science (MLS) Program and analysis was performed by MLS faculty and a second year MLS student. SETTING: Participants were enrolled in the College of Health Sciences at the University of Tennessee in Memphis. Sample collection and testing was performed in the student laboratory of the Medical Laboratory Science Program. PARTICIPANTS: Physical therapy students in their first year of a three-year entry level doctorate program, DPT. RESULTS: This group of students did not lose their diurnal variation of cortisol. However, an unexpected finding was noted: the students' salivary cortisol specimen collected in the morning of the fall semester was significantly higher than the salivary cortisol specimen collected the morning of the test in the spring semester (p = .019). Method validation was successful demonstrating a strong correlation (r = 0.915) when compared to the reference laboratory. CONCLUSIONS: Cortisol diurnal variation was not lost in the study participants, but further studies should be performed due to the low percentage of students completing the study and the lack of demographic diversity. Even though the method validation in the student laboratory setting demonstrates that it is indeed possible to obtain the same excellent correlation as is seen in a clinical setting, the student laboratory is not CLIA certified, so assays can be performed for research use only. ABBREVIATIONS: ACTH-adrenocorticotropic hormone, CRH-corticotrophin-releasing hormone, DPT-Doctorate in Physical Therapy, BS-Baccalaureate of Science, BA-Baccalaureate of Arts, IRB-Internal Review Board, GPA-Grade Point Average, EIA-Enzyme Immunoassay, BMI-Basic Metabolic Index, CLIA-Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments, ND-none detected
Racial discrimination as race-based trauma, coping strategies, and dissociative symptoms among emerging adults.

OBJECTIVE The race-based traumatic stress theory (Carter, 2007) suggests that some racial- and ethnic-minority individuals experience racial discrimination as psychological trauma, as it may elicit a response comparable to posttraumatic stress. In the present study, we examined this further by determining the relation between racial discrimination and dissociation, a common response to trauma exposure. Further, we examined whether active coping strategies specifically employed to cope with racial discrimination related to less dissociative symptomatology. METHOD The predominant racial- and ethnic-minority sample (N = 743) of emerging adults, ages 18-29, recruited from a public university in northeastern United States completed a battery of self-report measures on racial discrimination, responses to racial discrimination, traumatic life events, and dissociative symptoms. RESULTS Frequency of racial discrimination was positively associated with dissociative symptoms in regression analyses adjusted for demographics and other traumatic life events. In addition, more active coping strategies in response to racial discrimination were negatively associated with dissociative symptoms. CONCLUSION Racial- and ethnic-minority emerging adults who experience racial discrimination, possibly as traumatic, may be more vulnerable to dissociative symptoms. However, different strategies of coping with racial discrimination may differentially impact risk for dissociation. (PsycINFO Database Record
High-dose recombinant human erythropoietin for "low-risk" myelodysplastic patients: is more better?

In present issue of the Journal Azzara and Colleagues describe a retrospective series of 133 anemic patients with low/intermediate-1 risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) treated with high-dose (40,000 IU twice a week) of alpha recombinant human erythropoietin (alpha-rHuEPO) (1).
Frequency dependence and gender effects in visual cortical regions involved in temporal frequency dependent pattern processing

Neural response to flickering stimuli has been shown to be frequency dependent in the primary visual cortex. Controversial gender differences in blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) amplitude upon 6 and 8 Hz visual stimulation have been reported. In order to analyze frequency and gender effects in early visual processing we employed a passive graded task paradigm with a dartboard stimulus combining eight temporal frequencies from 0 to 22 Hz in one run. Activation maps were calculated within Statistical Parametric Mapping, and BOLD amplitudes were estimated for each frequency within the striate and extrastriate visual cortex. The BOLD amplitude was found to steadily rise up to 8 Hz in BA 17 and 18 with an activation plateau at higher frequencies. In addition, we observed a laterality effect in the striate cortex with higher BOLD contrasts in the right hemisphere in men and in women. BOLD response rises similarly in men and women up to 8 Hz but with lower amplitudes in women at 4, 8, and 12 Hz (30% lower). No frequency effect above 1 Hz was found in the extrastriate visual cortex. There was also a regional specific gender difference. Men activated more in the right lingual gyrus (BA 18) and the right cerebellum compared with women, whereas women showed more activation in the right inferior temporal gyrus (BA 17). The study indicates that frequency dependent processing at the cortical level is limited to the striate cortex and may be associated with a more global information processing (right hemisphere dominance), particularly in men. The finding of significantly lower BOLD amplitudes in women despite previously shown larger VEP (visual evoked potential) amplitudes might suggest gender differences in cerebral hemodynamics (baseline rCBV, rCBF, or neurovascular coupling). The regional distinction points at additional differences in psychological processing even when using a simple visual stimulus. Hum. Brain Mapping 14:28–38, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
iEnhancer-2L: a two-layer predictor for identifying enhancers and their strength by pseudo k-tuple nucleotide composition

MOTIVATION Enhancers are of short regulatory DNA elements. They can be bound with proteins (activators) to activate transcription of a gene, and hence play a critical role in promoting gene transcription in eukaryotes. With the avalanche of DNA sequences generated in the post-genomic age, it is a challenging task to develop computational methods for timely identifying enhancers from extremely complicated DNA sequences. Although some efforts have been made in this regard, they were limited at only identifying whether a query DNA element being of an enhancer or not. According to the distinct levels of biological activities and regulatory effects on target genes, however, enhancers should be further classified into strong and weak ones in strength. RESULTS In view of this, a two-layer predictor called ' IENHANCER-2L: ' was proposed by formulating DNA elements with the 'pseudo k-tuple nucleotide composition', into which the six DNA local parameters were incorporated. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first computational predictor ever established for identifying not only enhancers, but also their strength. Rigorous cross-validation tests have indicated that IENHANCER-2L: holds very high potential to become a useful tool for genome analysis. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION For the convenience of most experimental scientists, a web server for the two-layer predictor was established at http://bioinformatics.hitsz. edu.cn/iEnhancer-2L/, by which users can easily get their desired results without the need to go through the mathematical details. CONTACT bliu@gordonlifescience.org, bliu@insun.hit. edu.cn, xlan@stanford.edu, kcchou@gordonlifescience.org SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Bordetella bronchiseptica or Brucella: report of one case misidentification and review of the literature about Bordetella bronchiseptica infection

Investigation of a clinical case of Brucella infection, in which the cause initially indicated Bordetella bronchiseptica, using automated identification techniques prompted a retrospective analysis of previously published cases of B. bronchiseptica infections in China and elsewhere. B. bronchiseptica infection is rarely found in humans, but more frequently in animals. Automated microbial identification systems may confuse B. bronchiseptica with Brucella sp. Brucella by contrast causes a notifiable communicable zoonotic disease. We summarize here the pathogenesis, epidemiology, clinical symptoms and microbiological identification of B. bronchiseptica infection in humans.
Using image-based large-eddy simulations to investigate the intracardiac flow and its turbulent nature. (Utilisation de simulations aux grandes échelles à partir d'images médicales pour l'étude de l'écoulement intracardiaque et de sa nature turbulente)

The first objective of this thesis is to generate and analyse CFD-based databases for the intracardiac flow in realistic geometries. To this aim, an image-based CFD strategy is applied to both a pathological and a healthy human left hearts. The second objective is to illustrate how the numerical database can be analysed in order to gain insight about the intracardiac flow, mainly focusing on the unsteady and turbulent features. A numerical framework allowing insight in fluid dynamics inside patient-specific human hearts is first presented. The heart cavities and their wall dynamics are extracted from medical images, with the help of an image registration algorithm, in order to obtain a patient-specific moving numerical domain. Flow equations are written on a conformal moving computational domain, using an Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian framework. Valves are modelled using immersed boundaries. Application of this framework to compute flow and turbulence statistics in both a realistic pathological and a realistic healthy human left hearts is presented. The blood flow is characterized by its transitional nature, resulting in a complex cyclic flow. Flow dynamics is analysed in order to reveal the main fluid phenomena and to obtain insights into the physiological patterns commonly detected. It is demonstrated that the flow is neither laminar nor fully turbulent, thus justifying a posteriori the use of Large Eddy Simulation. The unsteady development of turbulence is analysed from the phase averaged flow, flow statistics, the turbulent stresses, the turbulent kinetic energy, its production and through spectral analysis. A Lagrangian analysis is also presented using Lagrangian particles to gather statistical flow data. In addition to a number of classically reported features on the left heart flow, this work reveals how disturbed and transitional the flow is and describes the mechanisms of turbulence production.
An energy efficient clustering and relay node selection algorithm in wireless sensor networks

Wireless sensor networks utilize large numbers of sensors to perform sensing and forwarding tasks in the monitoring area. Due to the resources constraints of sensors and the energy efficiency QoS requirement, prolonging the network lifetime is a major concern in WSNs. Clustering is an efficient approach to reduce energy consumption since it can reduce data transmission of the network. In most traditional clustering protocols, the cluster heads (CHs) aggregate the coming data from their cluster members (CMs) and send the aggregated data to the remote sink node directly or visa other CHs. However, assigning a node to serve as CHs and relay nodes simultaneously may result in unbalanced energy consumption. An energy efficient overlapping clustering and relay node selection algorithm is proposed, which selects different nodes as CHs and relay node to attain the balancing of energy consumption of the network. A direction fitness metric is designed to select the proper boundary nodes in the overlapping area to serve as relay nodes. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm significantly prolongs the network lifetime.
Viperin is an iron‐sulfur protein that inhibits genome synthesis of tick‐borne encephalitis virus via radical SAM domain activity

Viperin is an interferon‐induced protein with a broad antiviral activity. This evolutionary conserved protein contains a radical S‐adenosyl‐l‐methionine (SAM) domain which has been shown in vitro to hold a [4Fe‐4S] cluster. We identified tick‐borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) as a novel target for which human viperin inhibits productionof the viral genome RNA. Wt viperin was found to require ER localization for full antiviral activity and to interact with the cytosolic Fe/S protein assembly factor CIAO1. Radiolabelling in vivo revealed incorporation of 55Fe, indicative for the presence of an Fe‐S cluster. Mutation of the cysteine residues ligating the Fe‐S cluster in the central radical SAM domain entirely abolished both antiviral activity and incorporation of 55Fe. Mutants lacking the extreme C‐terminal W361 did not interact with CIAO1, were not matured, and were antivirally inactive. Moreover, intracellular removal of SAM by ectopic expression of the bacteriophage T3 SAMase abolished antiviral activity. Collectively, our data suggest that viperin requires CIAO1 for [4Fe‐4S] cluster assembly, and acts through an enzymatic, Fe‐S cluster‐ and SAM‐dependent mechanism to inhibit viral RNA synthesis.
Intrinsic Risk Factors for the Development of Anterior Knee Pain in an Athletic Population: A Two-Year Prospective Study *

Many variables have retrospectively been associated with the presence of anterior knee pain. Very few prospective data exist, however, to determine which of these variables will lead to the development of anterior knee pain. It was our purpose in this study to determine the intrinsic risk factors for the development of anterior knee pain in an athletic population over a 2-year period. Before the start of training, 282 male and female students enrolled in physical education classes were evaluated for anthropometric variables, motor performance, general joint laxity, lower leg alignment characteristics, muscle length and strength, static and dynamic patellofemoral characteristics, and psychological parameters. During this 2-year follow-up study, 24 of the 282 students developed patellofemoral pain. Statistical analyses revealed a significant difference between those subjects who developed patellofemoral pain and those who did not concerning quadriceps and gastrocnemius muscle flexibility, explosive strength, thumb-forearm mobility, reflex response time of the vastus medialis obliquus and vastus lateralis muscles, and the psychological parameter of seeking social support. However, only a shortened quadriceps muscle, an altered vastus medialis obliquus muscle reflex response time, a decreased explosive strength, and a hypermobile patella had a significant correlation with the incidence of patellofemoral pain. We concluded that the latter four parameters play a dominant role in the genesis of anterior knee pain and we therefore deem them to be risk factors for this syndrome.