Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Biochemical and toxicological effects of methanolic extract of Asparagus africanus Lam in Sprague-Dawley rats

Asparagus africanus Lam. is a plant used traditionally to treat different ailments. Currently, scanty information is available on its safety. The aim of this study is to determine the acute toxicity of the methanolic extract on vital organs and its associated biochemical parameters. Fifteen female Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into five groups. Group I served as normal control, groups II, III, IV, and V were orally administered single dose of crude extract dissolved in distilled water at 5 mg/kg BW, 50 mg/kg BW, 300 mg/kg BW and 2,000 mg/kg BW. Rats were observed for 14 days and body weights were recorded. On day 15, the rats were sacrificed and blood samples were collected for biochemical and haematological analyses, while the liver and kidneys were sampled for histopathological examination. Body weight and haematology parameters results showed significance difference (p < 0.05) among means of HGB, RDW, RBC, and MCHC; likewise, (p < 0.001) for WBC and platelet among treated groups. Histopathology result showed that kidneys appeared normal while livers were congested with mildly swollen hepatocytes and occasional binucleation. Focal lobular hepatitis was observed in all treated animals. However, hepatic enzymes were not significantly affected and no histopathological harmful effects were observed in kidney. In conclusion, methanolic extracts of A. africanus are safe up to 2,000 mg/kg BW. The obtained results could be used as a justification for the traditional application of the plant for treatment of various ailments.
Hypothesis Testing with A Privacy Constraint Over A Noisy Channel.

We study a hypothesis testing problem with a privacy constraint over a noisy channel and derive the performance of optimal tests under the Neyman-Pearson criterion. The fundamental limit of interest is the privacy-utility tradeoff (PUT) between the exponent of the type-II error probability and the leakage of the information source subject to a constant constraint on the type-I error probability. We provide exact characterization of the asymptotic PUT for any non-vanishing type-I error probability. In particular, we show that tolerating a larger type-I error probability cannot improve the PUT. Such a result is known as a strong converse or strong impossibility theorem. To prove the strong converse theorem, we apply the recently proposed strong converse technique by Tyagi and Watanabe (TIT 2020) and further demonstrate the generality of the technique. The strong converse theorems for several problems, such as hypothesis testing against independence over a noisy channel (Sreekumar and G\"und\"uz, TIT 2020) and hypothesis testing with communication and privacy constraints (Gilani \emph{et al.}, Entropy 2020), are established or recovered as special cases of our result.
Therapeutic benefits of Sideroxylon obtusifolium (Humb. ex Roem. & Schult.) T.D. Penn., Sapotaceae, in experimental models of pain and inflammation

Sideroxylon obtusifolium (Humb. ex Roem. & Schult.) T.D. Penn. , Sapotaceae, is a plant with analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities used in folk medicine. In order to evaluate the actions of this plant, studies were performed on antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory activities with the ethanol extract (EE) of inner bark (100-400 mg/kg). Oral treatment with the EE elicited inhibitory activity (200 and 400 mg/kg, p<0.01) on acetic acid effect and reduced (100, 200, and 400 mg/kg, p<0.001) the formalin effect at the second-phase, however it did not elicit any inhibitory effect on hot-plate test. Carrageenan-induced oedema formation and leukocyte migration into the peritoneal cavity were reduced with the EE at 100, 200, and 400 mg/kg (p<0.001). In conclusion, the EE of Sideroxylon obtusifolium shows antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory activities, supporting the folkloric usage of the plant to treat pain and various inflammatory diseases.
Simplifying Models with Unlabeled Output Data

We focus on prediction problems with high-dimensional outputs that are subject to output validity constraints, e.g. a pseudocode-to-code translation task where the code must compile. For these problems, labeled input-output pairs are expensive to obtain, but "unlabeled" outputs, i.e. outputs without corresponding inputs, are freely available and provide information about output validity (e.g. code on GitHub). In this paper, we present predict-and-denoise, a framework that can leverage unlabeled outputs. Specifically, we first train a denoiser to map possibly invalid outputs to valid outputs using synthetic perturbations of the unlabeled outputs. Second, we train a predictor composed with this fixed denoiser. We show theoretically that for a family of functions with a discrete valid output space, composing with a denoiser reduces the complexity of a 2-layer ReLU network needed to represent the function and that this complexity gap can be arbitrarily large. We evaluate the framework empirically on several datasets, including image generation from attributes and pseudocode-to-code translation. On the SPoC~pseudocode-to-code dataset, our framework improves the proportion of code outputs that pass all test cases by 3-4% over a baseline Transformer.
Regional Resilience in Times of a Pandemic Crisis: The Case of COVID‐19 in China

Abstract The notion of resilience to analyse how fast systems recover from shocks has been increasingly taken up in economic geography, in which there is a burgeoning literature on regional resilience. Regional resilience is a place‐sensitive, multi‐layered and multi‐scalar, conflict‐ridden and highly contingent process. The nature of shocks is one important impact factor on regional resilience. Arguably, so far, most literature on regional resilience has dealt with the financial crisis in 2008/2009. In this research note, we will analyse both the particular characteristics of the current COVID‐19 crisis, as well as its effects on regional recovery and potential resilience in China, where it started. We conclude that a complex combination of the characteristics of the current COVID‐19 crisis, the institutional experience of dealing with previous pandemic and epidemic crises, government support schemes, as well as regional industrial structures, might potentially affect the recovery and resilience rates of Chinese regions.
Enhanced Chemotherapeutic Efficacy of PLGA-Encapsulated Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG) Against Human Lung Cancer

Purpose Currently, the clinical benefits of tea polyphenols have contributed to the development of efficient systemic delivery systems with adequate bioavailability and stability. In this study, we aimed to establish a nanoparticle model to overcome the shortcomings of epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) in the treatment of lung cancer. Materials and Methods Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles (NPs) loaded with EGCG were prepared by the oil-in-water emulsion solvent evaporation technique. The characteristics of NPs, entrapment efficiency, and in vitro release were systematically evaluated. The cellular uptake, cytotoxic activity, and the effect of the formulation on cellular apoptosis of free-from EGCG and the NPs were compared. The interaction between protein-NF-κB and EGCG was detected by bio-layer interferometry (BLI). NF-κB signaling was evaluated by Western blotting and q-RT-PCR. The efficacy of the optimized nanoformulation was evaluated using a patient-derived tumor xenograft (PDX) model. Results EGCG-loaded NPs (175.8±3.8 nm in size) demonstrated its optimal efficacy, with approximately 86.0% of encapsulation efficiency and 14.2% of loading efficiency. Additionally, EGCG-encapsulated PLGA-NPs offered a 3-4-fold dose advantage compared to free EGCG in terms of exerting antiproliferative effects and inducing apoptosis at lower doses (12.5, 25 μM). Molecular interaction assays demonstrated that EGCG binds to NF-κB with high affnity (KD=4.8×10−5 M). EGCG-NPs were more effective at inhibiting NF-κB activation and suppressing the expression of NF-κB-regulated genes than free EGCG. Furthermore, EGCG-NPs showed superior anticancer activity in the PDX model than free EGCG. Conclusion These findings indicated that the prepared EGCG-NPs were more effective than free EGCG in inhibiting lung cancer tumors in the PDX model.
CMACIONIZE 2.0: a novel task-based approach to Monte Carlo radiation transfer

Context. Monte Carlo radiative transfer (MCRT) is a widely used technique to model the interaction between radiation and a medium. It plays an important role in astrophysical modelling and when these models are compared with observations. Aims. We present a novel approach to MCRT that addresses the challenging memory-access patterns of traditional MCRT algorithms, which prevent an optimal performance of MCRT simulations on modern hardware with a complex memory architecture. Methods. We reformulated the MCRT photon-packet life cycle as a task-based algorithm, whereby the computation is broken down into small tasks that are executed concurrently. Photon packets are stored in intermediate buffers, and tasks propagate photon packets through small parts of the computational domain, moving them from one buffer to another in the process. Results. Using the implementation of the new algorithm in the photoionization MCRT code CMACIONIZE 2.0, we show that the decomposition of the MCRT grid into small parts leads to a significant performance gain during the photon-packet propagation phase, which constitutes the bulk of an MCRT algorithm because memory caches are used more efficiently. Our new algorithm is faster by a factor 2 to 4 than an equivalent traditional algorithm and shows good strong scaling up to 30 threads. We briefly discuss adjustments to our new algorithm and extensions to other astrophysical MCRT applications. Conclusions. We show that optimising the memory access patterns of a memory-bound algorithm such as MCRT can yield significant performance gains.
Reexamination of the pit plugs and the characteristic membranous structures in Porphyra yezoensis (Bangiales, Rhodophyta)

C. Ueki, C. Nagasato, T. Motomura and N. Saga. 2008. Reexamination of the pit plugs and the characteristic membranous structures in Porphyra yezoensis (Bangiales, Rhodophyta). Phycologia 47: 5–11. DOI: 10.2216/07–12.1 Pit plug formation during conchosporogenesis in Porphyra yezoensis Ueda was studied with electron microscopy using freeze substitution. Just after nuclear division, cytokinesis started with furrowing of the septum. During furrowing, small vesicles were produced by projections of the plasma membrane in the space between the plasma membrane and the cell wall material and occasionally formed long chains. Afterwards, the plug core was gradually formed by endoplasmic reticulum, becoming vertical to the septum. The plasma membrane expanded like a loop along the pit plug from both sides of the furrowing septum. Lomasomes were located near the plasma membrane, beside the pit plug. With maturation of conchosporangia, the number of lomasomes increased near the pit plug. P. yezoensis has a characteristic expanding process of the plasma membrane along the pit plug, which is unique in the red algae.
Competition for safe real estate, not food, drives density‐dependent juvenile survival in a large herbivore

Abstract Density‐dependent competition for food reduces vital rates, with juvenile survival often the first to decline. A clear prediction of food‐based, density‐dependent competition for large herbivores is decreasing juvenile survival with increasing density. However, competition for enemy‐free space could also be a significant mechanism for density dependence in territorial species. How juvenile survival is predicted to change across density depends critically on the nature of predator–prey dynamics and spatial overlap among predator and prey, especially in multiple‐predator systems. Here, we used a management experiment that reduced densities of a generalist predator, coyotes, and specialist predator, mountain lions, over a 5‐year period to test for spatial density dependence mediated by predation on juvenile mule deer in Idaho, USA. We tested the spatial density‐dependence hypothesis by tracking the fate of 251 juvenile mule deer, estimating cause‐specific mortality, and testing responses to changes in deer density and predator abundance. Overall juvenile mortality did not increase with deer density, but generalist coyote‐caused mortality did, but not when coyote density was reduced experimentally. Mountain lion‐caused mortality did not change with deer density in the reference area in contradiction of the food‐based competition hypothesis, but declined in the treatment area, opposite to the pattern of coyotes. These observations clearly reject the food‐based density‐dependence hypothesis for juvenile mule deer. Instead, our results provide support for the spatial density‐dependence hypothesis that competition for enemy‐free space increases predation by generalist predators on juvenile large herbivores.
Human ribosomal protein L18a interacts with hnRNP E1

Abstract Heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein E1 (hnRNP E1) is one of the primary pre‐mRNA binding proteins in human cells. It consists of 356 amino acid residues and harbors three hnRNP K homology (KH) domains that mediate RNA‐binding. The hnRNP E1 protein was shown to play important roles in mRNA stabilization and translational control. In order to enhance our understanding of the cellular functions of hnRNP E1, we searched for interacting proteins through a yeast two‐hybrid screening while using HeLa cDNA library as target. One of the cDNA clones was found to be human ribosomal protein L18a cDNA (GenBank accession number BC071920). We demonstrated in this study that human ribosomal protein L18a, a constituent of ribosomal protein large subunit, interacts specifically with hnRNP E1 in the yeast two‐hybrid system. Such an interaction was observed for the first time in this study, and was also verified by biochemical assay.
Effects of feeding rumen–protected amino acids on the performance of feedlot calves

Objective: This study was conducted to produce and evaluate protected amino acids (AAs) against degradation in the rumen with greater bioavalibility and without the problems associated with polymer coating and the effect this has on calf performance. Materials and Methods: In the first step, essential AAs methionine and lysine were reacted with two chemical compounds (Benzaldehyde and Glutaraldehyde) in an attempt to make ligands for producing protected AAs. The physico-chemical characterization, melting point, and mass spectrometric of products were estimated. These products were fed to 36 Holstein dairy calves with 110 ± 0.50 kg of average body weight and an age of 110 ± 10 days. Calves were randomly assigned to six treatments. This study was done with six treatments as a completely randomized one-way design. Results: Feed consumption and average daily gain were less for control animals and those fed methionine and lysine glutaraldehyde compared to other treatments. The largest chewing time was observed for methionine and lysine glutaraldehyde, respectively, and the least was control. There was no difference for energy consumption, dry matter intake, or blood metabolites among the six treatments. The greatest total protein content was related to methionine and lysine glutaraldehyde treatment and the least total protein was observed in control treatment. Conclusion: It can be concluded that the use of chemical methods to protect AAs can be applied and may have some beneficial effects.
Two-component signaling pathways modulate drug resistance of Staphylococcus aureus (Review)

As the issues surrounding antibiotic-resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) are becoming increasingly serious concerns, it is imperative to investigate new therapeutic targets to successfully treat patients with S. aureus infections. The two-component signal transduction system is one of the primary pathways by which bacteria adapt to the external environment, and it serves an important role in regulating virulence gene expression, cell wall synthesis, biofilm formation and bacterial activity. There are 17 two-component signaling pathways in S. aureus, among which WalKR/VicSR/YycGF, AirSR/YhcSR, vancomycin resistance associated regulator/sensor and LytRS have been demonstrated to serve vital roles in regulating bacterial resistance, and are hypothesized to be potential targets for the treatment of S. aureus infections. The present review assesses the mechanism of the two-component signaling pathways associated with the development of S. aureus resistance.
Phylogenetic relationships among date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) cultivars in Syria using RAPD and ISSR markers

Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) is an important fruit tree in Syria. Determination of genetic relationships among date palm cultivars is of major importance for characterization of date palm germplasm, breeding programs, and conservation purposes. Genetic polymorphism in 23 date palm cultivars in Syria representing 18 female and five male cultivars was assessed using RAPD and ISSR markers. Results revealed that the average polymorphism detected by the RAPD assay (58.5%) was higher than that observed for ISSR (50.6%). Since there was a good degree of fit with a 0.82 r matrix correlation value between RAPD and ISSR data, we only analysed the combined data of both techniques for revealing phylogenetic relationships among cultivars and male trees considered. The percent disagreement values
Incidence, sources, and control of food-borne Salmonella spp. in poultry feeds

Transmission of food-poisoning salmonellae in the poultry industry is often associated with a contaminated feed supply. Occurrence of food-borne Salmonella spp. continues to be documented on poultry feeds and feed ingredients. This is in part due to the wide variety of environmental origins for Salmonella spp. and its ability to easily cross-contaminate during feed processing and storage. Since Salmonella spp. have been shown to survive for several months under feed storage conditions, they can remain a persistent problem for poultry production. Limiting Salmonella spp. contamination of poultry feeds requires application of surveillance approaches during feed manufacturing and distribution along with the introduction of effective intervention and hurdle technologies. Representative sampling approaches may be needed to achieve consistent contamination reduction.
Phytochemical analysis and biological activities of selected medicinal plants

Department of Community Health Sciences, College of Applied Medical Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11433, Saudi Arabia. Department of Chemistry, Kohat University of Science and Technology KUST KPK Pakistan. Department of Chemistry, Islamia College University Peshawar, KPK, Pakistan. Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia. Department of Chemistry Government Degree College Ara Khel Jawaki FR Kohat KPK, Pakistan. Department of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering, King Saud University, P. O. Box 800, Riyadh 11421, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. College of Science Research Centre, King Saud University, P. O. Box 2455, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia.
Evaluation of the Efficacy of Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy for Breast Cancer

Abstract Neoadjuvant chemotherapy is increasingly used in breast cancer, especially for downstaging the primary tumor in the breast and the metastatic axillary lymph node. Accurate evaluations of the response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy provide important information on the impact of systemic therapies on breast cancer biology, prognosis, and guidance for further therapy. Moreover, pathologic complete response is a validated and valuable surrogate prognostic factor of survival after therapy. Evaluations of neoadjuvant chemotherapy response are very important in clinical work and basic research. In this review, we will elaborate on evaluations of the efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer and provide a clinical evaluation procedure for neoadjuvant chemotherapy.
Bir Koyun-Keçi Sürüsünde Gözlenen Dermatophilus congolensis İnfeksiyonu

Bursa ili Iznik ilcesinde 120 adet koyun ve kecinin birarada yetistirildigi bir isletmede akut eksudatif dermatitis olgusu gozlendi. Surudeki 50 adet kecinin yaklasik %70’i, 70 adet koyunun ise %25’inde semptomlar gozlendi. Lezyonlarin genellikle bas bolgesinde oldugu saptandi. Deri lezyonlarindan alinan kabuk ornekleri bakteriyolojik ve mikolojik yonden incelendi. Bakteriyoskopide; orneklere Giemsa boyama uygulandi ve ardisik dizili koklar duzensiz, uzun ve buyuk filamentler halinde gozlendi. Kabuklarda %10 KOH ile yapilan incelemede, mikolojik bulguya rastlanmadi. Bakteriyolojik tani amaciyla %5 koyun kanli agara yapilan ekimler 37°C’de, %5-10 CO‘li ortamda 24-48 saat inkube edildi. Inkubasyon suresi sonunda; ilk 24 saatte capi 1 mm’nin altinda olan ince koloniler, 48 saat sonunda ise yaklasik 1 mm capinda β-hemolizli, kuru, agara gomulu koloniler gozlendi. Gram boyama sonucunda koloniler Gram pozitif kokoid formda goruldu. Bakteriyoskopi ve kultur incelemeleri sonucunda yapilan degerlendirmede etken Dermatophilus congolensis olarak
Activity of BC-3781, a Novel Pleuromutilin Compound, Tested against Clinical Isolates of MRSA, Including Molecularly Characterized Community-Acquired and Hospital-Associated Strains

Background: BC-3781 has a unique mode of action which interferes with bacterial protein synthesis without cross-resistance (R) to other antimicrobial classes. Pleuromutilins inhibit protein synthesis by binding the peptidyl transferase component of the 50S subunit of ribosomes. We tested the activity of BC-3781 against a diverse collection of S. aureus. Methods: Antimicrobial activity of BC-3781 and comparators was determined against 924 non-duplicate S. aureus: 671 resistant (MRSA) and 253 susceptible (MSSA) to oxacillin. The MRSA collection includes strains from 2010 (103), 2009 (211), 2008 (110) and 2006 (102) as well as molecularly characterized strains from various years and geographic regions. The strains were cultured predominately from USA and European hospitals and tested for susceptibility against BC-3781 and comparators by the CLSI broth microdilution method (M07-A8). Results: BC-3781 exhibited potent activity against MRSA with a MIC mode of 0.12 µg/mL for all subsets tested. Most MIC values (>98%) were in the range of 0.06 to 0.25 µg/mL. BC-3781 activity remained constant during the study period and was not affected by SCCmec type. USA300 (45) and USA400 (5) MRSA isolates were very susceptible to BC-3781. BC-3781 activity against MRSA was similar to that exhibited for MSSA. Conclusions: BC-3781 demonstrated potent in vitro activity against a large and diverse collection of MRSA. BC-3781 displayed a narrow MIC range and its activity was not adversely influenced by R to other antimicrobial classes. These results indicate that BC-3781 should be further evaluated for treatment of MRSA infections.