Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Long‐distance call evolution in the Felidae: effects of body weight, habitat, and phylogeny

Long-distance calls used for mate attraction and territorial spacing are distinctive signals in the felid vocal repertoire. Their evolution is subject to natural and sexual selection, as well as various constraints. Body size is an important morphological constraint, with the scaling of the spectral characteristics of a species' vocalizations with its body size being established for several vertebrate groups. Alternatively, the structure of long-distance calls may have been optimized for transmission in species' habitats (acoustic adaptation hypothesis). The present study assessed whether the mean dominant frequency of long-distance calls in the Felidae (approximately 70% of all species incorporated) is influenced by the species' body size and/or conforms to the acoustic adaptation hypothesis. After controlling for phylogenetic relationships, we found a significant correlation between mean dominant frequency of a taxon's long-distance calls and conditions for sound transmission in its habitat type (‘open/heterogeneous’ versus ‘dense’), although no significant influence of body size. Taxa living in more open habitat types have long-distance calls with significantly lower mean dominant frequencies than those living in dense habitats. The result obtained in the present analysis is fairly robust against random removal of single or few taxa from the data, and also against the use of different branch-length transformation models in phylogenetic regression. © 2010 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2010, 101, 487–500.
Lipid kinases PIP5K7 and PIP5K9 are required for polyamine‐triggered K+ efflux in Arabidopsis roots

SUMMARY Polyamines, such as putrescine, spermidine and spermine (Spm), are low‐molecular‐weight polycationic molecules present in all living organisms. Despite their implication in plant cellular processes, little is known about their molecular mode of action. Here, we demonstrate that polyamines trigger a rapid increase in the regulatory membrane lipid phosphatidylinositol 4,5‐bisphosphate (PIP2), and that this increase is required for polyamine effects on K+ efflux in Arabidopsis roots. Using in vivo 32Pi‐labelling of Arabidopsis seedlings, low physiological (μm) concentrations of Spm were found to promote a rapid PIP2 increase in roots that was time‐ and dose‐dependent. Confocal imaging of a genetically encoded PIP2 biosensor revealed that this increase was triggered at the plasma membrane. Differential 32Pi‐labelling suggested that the increase in PIP2 was generated through activation of phosphatidylinositol 4‐phosphate 5‐kinase (PIP5K) activity rather than inhibition of a phospholipase C or PIP2 5‐phosphatase activity. Systematic analysis of transfer DNA insertion mutants identified PIP5K7 and PIP5K9 as the main candidates involved in the Spm‐induced PIP2 response. Using non‐invasive microelectrode ion flux estimation, we discovered that the Spm‐triggered K+ efflux response was strongly reduced in pip5k7 pip5k9 seedlings. Together, our results provide biochemical and genetic evidence for a physiological role of PIP2 in polyamine‐mediated signalling controlling K+ flux in plants.
Successful management of a pregnant woman with Kasabach–Merritt syndrome and preeclampsia

Abstract Introduction: Kasabach-Merritt Syndrome (KMS) is an extremely rare disease in adults, which lead to consumptive coagulopathy characterized by severe hypofibrinogenemia and thrombocytopenia. Patient concerns: a 25-year-old Chinese pregnant women complicated by preeclampsia and KMS presented with refractory postpartum hemorrhage and incision bleeding after cesarean section. Diagnosis: The diagnosis of KMS was made based on clinical manifestation of Kaposiform Hemangioendothelioma, severe hypofibrinogenemia and thrombocytopenia. Interventions: After a poor response to massive blood products transfusion for 1 week, corticosteroid treatment was initiated for 3 days. Outcomes: The patient reached a normal platelet count and a mild anemia within 4 weeks. Two months later, all laboratory values had returned to normal, and the incision was healing well. Conclusion: Pregnancy complicated by preeclampsia and surgery may have contributions for the development of Kasabach–Merritt syndrome. Corticosteroid is indicated in the episode of acute Kasabach–Merritt syndrome after the failure of massive blood transfusion.
Femtosecond Laser-Based Integration of Nano-Membranes into Organ-on-a-Chip Systems

Organ-on-a-chip devices are gaining popularity in medical research due to the possibility of performing extremely complex living-body-resembling research in vitro. For this reason, there is a substantial drive in developing technologies capable of producing such structures in a simple and, at the same time, flexible manner. One of the primary challenges in producing organ-on-chip devices from a manufacturing standpoint is the prevalence of layer-by-layer bonding techniques, which result in limitations relating to the applicable materials and geometries and limited repeatability. In this work, we present an improved approach, using three dimensional (3D) laser lithography for the direct integration of a functional part—the membrane—into a closed-channel system. We show that it allows the freely choice of the geometry of the membrane and its integration into a complete organ-on-a-chip system. Considerations relating to sample preparation, the writing process, and the final preparation for operation are given. Overall, we consider that the broader application of 3D laser lithography in organ-on-a-chip fabrication is the next logical step in this field’s evolution.
Particle Size Distribution of Bimodal Silica Nanoparticles: A Comparison of Different Measurement Techniques

Silica nanoparticles (SNPs) belong to the most widely produced nanomaterials nowadays. Particle size distribution (PSD) is a key property of SNPs that needs to be accurately determined for a successful application. Many single particle and ensemble characterization methods are available for the determination of the PSD of SNPs, each having different advantages and limitations. Since most preparation protocols for SNPs can yield bimodal or heterogeneous PSDs, the capability of a given method to resolve bimodal PSD is of great importance. In this work, four different methods, namely transmission electron microscopy (TEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), microfluidic resistive pulse sensing (MRPS) and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) were used to characterize three different, inherently bimodal SNP samples. We found that DLS is unsuitable to resolve bimodal PSDs, while MRPS has proven to be an accurate single-particle size and concentration characterization method, although it is limited to sizes above 50 nm. SAXS was found to be the only method which provided statistically significant description of the bimodal PSDs. However, the analysis of SAXS curves becomes an ill-posed inverse mathematical problem for broad size distributions, therefore the use of orthogonal techniques is required for the reliable description of the PSD of SNPs.
Normative data of neuropsychological tests of attention and executive functions in Ecuadorian adult population

ABSTRACT Objective: The purpose of this study was to generate normative data for five tests of attention and executive functions (M-WCST, Stroop test, TMT, BTA, and SDMT), in a group of 322 Ecuadorian adults from Quito between the ages of 18 and 85. Method: Multiple regression analyzes taking into account age, education, and gender were used to generate the normative data. Results: Age and education were significantly related to test performance such that scores decreased with age and improved as a function of education. An online calculator is provided to generate normative test scores. Conclusions: This is the first study that presents normative data for tests of executive functions and attention in an Ecuadorian adult population. This data will improve the clinical practice of neuropsychology and help to develop the field in the country.
POST-EXERCISE HEART RATE RECOVERY: AN INDEX OF CARDIOVASCULAR FITNESS

Dimkpa U. Post-exercise heart rate recovery: an index of cardiovascular fitness. JEPonline 2009;12(1):19-22. Cardiovascular fitness has traditionally been assessed by such variables as resting heart rate (HR), resting blood pressure (BP), cardiac output, stroke volume (SV), maximum oxygen consumption (VO2max), endurance capacity, HDL cholesterol, body fat, glucose-stimulated insulin, and total cholesterol. Post-exercise heart rate recovery, though a readily obtainable parameter and a powerful and independent predictor of cardiovascular and allcause mortality in healthy adults and in those with cardiovascular diseases, is often overlooked as an indicator of cardiovascula r fitness. Heart rate recovery (HRR) is mainly thought to be due to parasympathetic reactivation and has been shown to be a remarkable complement to a medical and/or physical assessment of an individual. Clinical application of HRR after exercise has been widely studied. A delayed decline of heart rate has been associated with increased risk of cardiovascular mortality, autonomic dysfunction, diabetes, endothelial dysfunction, and metabolic syndrome. Similarly, HRR is associated with some cardiovascular fitness indices such as, maximum oxygen uptake, endurance capacity and central hemodynamic variables like resting heart rate, and resting blood pressure. In conclusion, the post-exercise HRR provides information that is complementary to the traditional cardiovascular fitness indices and should be added to the list of indicators of cardiovascular fitness.
Liver CPT1A gene therapy reduces diet‐induced hepatic steatosis in mice and highlights potential lipid biomarkers for human NAFLD

The prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has increased drastically due to the global obesity pandemic but at present there are no approved therapies. Here, we aimed to revert high‐fat diet (HFD)‐induced obesity and NAFLD in mice by enhancing liver fatty acid oxidation (FAO). Moreover, we searched for potential new lipid biomarkers for monitoring liver steatosis in humans. We used adeno‐associated virus (AAV) to deliver a permanently active mutant form of human carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1A (hCPT1AM), the key enzyme in FAO, in the liver of a mouse model of HFD‐induced obesity and NAFLD. Expression of hCPT1AM enhanced hepatic FAO and autophagy, reduced liver steatosis, and improved glucose homeostasis. Lipidomic analysis in mice and humans before and after therapeutic interventions, such as hepatic AAV9‐hCPT1AM administration and RYGB surgery, respectively, led to the identification of specific triacylglyceride (TAG) specie (C50:1) as a potential biomarker to monitor NAFFLD disease. To sum up, here we show for the first time that liver hCPT1AM gene therapy in a mouse model of established obesity, diabetes, and NAFLD can reduce HFD‐induced derangements. Moreover, our study highlights TAG (C50:1) as a potential noninvasive biomarker that might be useful to monitor NAFLD in mice and humans.
Ethical Coffee Room: An international collaboration in learning ethics digitally

Background: Ethics is a fundamental part of health care professionals’ competence and one of the major quality factors in good nursing care. Research shows challenges in learning and applying ethics. Ethical Coffee Room (ECR) is an electronic platform, where the students, nurses and teachers discuss anonymously ethical issues during students’ clinical practice. ECR offers 1 credit (27 working hours) for the students. This work included reading theoretical material, contributions for discussion of ethical dilemmas and reflection of one’s own learning. Every user – student, nurse supervisor or teacher – could choose her or his own pseudonym. Aim: The aim of this study was to describe how nursing students experience learning ethics with digital learning activity during clinical practice, how usable the Ethical Coffee Room platform is and how this learning activity should be developed further. Research design, participants and context: The study employed a qualitative descriptive design and was an EU project between Finland, Sweden and Latvia. In total, 34 second-year nursing students participated in the study. The data collection methods were semi-structured interviews and written comments in the discussion forum Ethical Coffee Room. The data were analysed using content analysis. Ethical considerations: Ethical approval and research permission were obtained from each partner organization, according to their national standards. Findings: The results are presented under three themes: positive learning experiences of Ethical Coffee Room, challenges in learning during Ethical Coffee Room and practical suggestions for future development of Ethical Coffee Room. The results showed that the Ethical Coffee Room was experienced as a novel type of learning activity and an interesting way to learn ethics. Discussion and conclusion: Ethical Coffee Room seems to be a promising learning activity enhancing students’ ethical competence in clinical practice. However, active participation of the mentor nurses and teachers is essential. Therefore, mentor nurses and teachers need in-depth knowledge of ethical theories and concepts and how to apply them in clinical context.
Pharmacological Survey of Medicinal Plants for Activity at Ligand-Gated Ion Channels: Selective Interaction with 5-HT3 Receptors

The ligand-gated anion-selective ion channels are part of a superfamily of ligand-gated ion channels (LGICs) that are responsible for a majority of inhibitory signaling in the central nervous system and are the targets of numerous therapeutics. Aqueous, organic and alcoholic extracts of 47 Chinese, Bolivian and Pakistani medicinal plants were evaluated for the ability to modulate the activity of GABAA receptors. Extracts were initially screened for their ability to modulate activity of α1β2γ2 GABAA receptors expressed in HEK 293 cells. Based on the initial screen, two extracts derived from members of the Asteraceae family, Xanthium spinosum and Senecio mathewsii, were chosen for more detailed analysis. Xanthium spinosum inhibited GABAA receptor function, with an IC50 of 50 ± 10 µg/ml, while Senecio mathewsii inhibited GABAA receptor activity with an IC50 of 35 ± 3.0 µg/ml. To assess the selectivity of interaction, these extracts were also tested on two other members of the LGIC superfamily a) glycine receptors, a distinct inhibitory neurotransmitter receptor and b) 5-HT3A receptors, a cation-selective receptor. At a concentration of Xanthium spinosum that blocked 70% of GABA-activated current, only 15% of glycine-gated current, recorded from recombinant α1 glycine receptors, was blocked, suggesting a lower affinity of Xanthium spinosum for glycine receptors. Senecio mathewsii had larger inhibitory effects on glycine receptors than Xanthium spinosum, although the apparent affinity still was estimated to be three-fold lower than that seen for GABAA receptors. Xanthium spinosum and Senecio mathewsii also inhibited 5-HT3A receptor functions. Notably, the IC50 of both extracts was seven to ten-fold lower than that observed for GABAA receptors. Thus, the rank order of potency for organic extracts from both Xanthium spinosum and Senecio mathewsii was 5-HT3A receptors > GABAA receptors > glycine receptors. Therefore, these extracts may be a source of novel compounds that may serve as lead molecules for the development of novel 5-HT3 receptor antagonists.
Morphological and genetic data clarify the taxonomic status of Colossendeis robusta and C. glacialis (Pycnogonida) and reveal overlooked diversity

Colossendeis robusta Hoek, 1881, originally described from the Kerguelen shelf, is considered as one of the most widespread Antarctic pycnogonids. However, the taxonomic status of this and similar species has long been unclear, as synonymy of C. glacialis Hodgson, 1907 and several other species with C. robusta has been proposed. Here we test the synonymy of C. robusta and C. glacialis with two independent molecular markers as well as comprehensive morphometric measurements and SEM data of the ovigeral spine configuration. We show that C. robusta and C. glacialis are clearly distinct species, and our results also indicate the existence of another previously unrecognized Antarctic species, C. bouvetensis sp.n. , as well as an Antarctic lineage closely related to the endemic Kerguelen group C. robusta s.str. We find evidence for strong regional differentiation within each species. Our results suggest that diversity of Antarctic pycnogonids is still underestimated.
Differences in the Skull Morphology between Juvenile and Adult Green Turtles: Implications for the Ontogenetic Diet Shift

Abstract: Skull morphology was compared between juvenile and adult green turtles by geometric morphometrics. The size of the orbit and length of the supraoccipital in relation to the centroid size were larger in juveniles than in adults, while the relative sizes of the infratemporal fossae and parietal were larger in the latter than in the former. The difference in the relative length of the supraoccipital did not predict the maintenance of functional equivalence of trophic structures, probably reflecting a functional trophic change with growth.
Hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives isolated from hempseed and their effects on central nervous system enzymes

Abstract New neuroprotective treatments of natural origin are being investigated. Both, plant extracts and isolated compounds have shown bioactive effects. Hempseed is known for its composition of fatty acids, proteins, fibre, vitamins, as well as a large number of phytochemical compounds. After a defatting process of the seeds, hydroxycinnamic acids and its amine derivatives are the majoritarian compounds in an ethyl acetate fraction (EAF). In the present study, we investigated in vitro effect on neuronal enzymes: MAO-A, MAO-B, tyrosinase and acetylcholinesterase. Besides, the effect of EAF on striatal biogenic amines in mice was evaluated. Both, EAF and isolated compounds (N-trans-caffeoyltyramine and N-trans-coumaroyltyramine), showed inhibitory action on MAO-A, MAO-B and tyrosinase. Furthermore, an increasing of biogenic amines was observed in the corpus striatum of the mice, after administration of EAF. These findings show that EAF and the hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives may represent a potential treatment in degenerative neuronal diseases. Graphical Abstract
Intertidal marsh as a source of dissolved inorganic carbon and a sink of nitrate in the Satilla River‐estuarine complex in the southeastern U.S.

Total dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), total alkalinity (TA), pH, and nitrate + nitrite (NOx) data collected during the summer of 1996 in the Satilla River estuary in the southeastern U.S. were used to assess fluxes of DIC and NOx between intertidal marshes and estuarine waters and to model system NOx dynamics. Nitrate and nitrite are produced in the low‐salinity portion of the estuary. The intertidal marshes are sites of intensive respiration that export DIC to the estuary and remove NOx. An integrated view is presented on the nitrification and denitrification processes in the marsh/estuarine complex and their relationship to CO2 generation rates. The distribution of NOx in the marsh and estuarine waters indicates that all NOx generated in the marsh‐estuary system is removed in the intertidal marshes, most likely via denitrification. Model analysis of NOx and river flow data for three seasons indicates that NOx distribution in the estuarine water is also determined by river flow rates. Export fluxes of NOx to the coastal ocean are insignificant in all seasons when compared to NOx production rates in the entire system; however, they are significantly higher than NOx inputs from the river end member in October 1996. Although only a small fraction (~10%) of DIC generated in the marshes is exported to the coastal sea and around 90% is lost to the atmosphere, it represents a nearly threefold increase in riverine DIC flux to the ocean.
Biclustering and Boolean Matrix Factorization in Data Streams

We study clustering of bipartite graphs and Boolean matrix factorization in data streams. We consider a streaming setting in which the vertices from the left side of the graph arrive one by one together with all of their incident edges. We provide an algorithm which after one pass over the stream recovers the set of clusters on the right side of the graph using sublinear space; to the best of our knowledge this is the first algorithm with this property. We also show that after a second pass over the stream the left clusters of the bipartite graph can be recovered and we show how to extend our algorithm to solve the Boolean matrix factorization problem (by exploiting the correspondence of Boolean matrices and bipartite graphs). We evaluate an implementation of the algorithm on synthetic data and on real-world data. On real-world datasets the algorithm is orders of magnitudes faster than a static baseline algorithm while providing quality results within a factor 2 of the baseline algorithm. Our algorithm scales linearly in the number of edges in the graph. Finally, we analyze the algorithm theoretically and provide sufficient conditions under which the algorithm recovers a set of planted clusters under a standard random graph model.
Apoptosis-Inducing Factor, Mitochondrion-Associated 3 (AIFM3) Protein Level in the Sera as a Prognostic Marker of Cholangiocarcinoma Patients

Prognosis of cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) patients is absolutely poor. Since improvement of prognosis and/or response to treatment by personalized and precision treatments requires earlier and precise diagnostic markers, discovery of prognostic markers attracts more attention. Apoptosis-inducing factor, mitochondrion-associated 3 (AIFM3) is highly expressed in several cancers including CCA. The present study investigated whether the serum AIFM3 level can be used as a potential marker for CCA prognosis. For this purpose, we first determined secretory protein nature of AIFM3 using bioinformatic tools. The results show that although AIFM3 lacks signal peptide, it can be secreted into plasma/serum via an unconventional pathway. Then, the AIFM3 levels in the sera of 141 CCA patients and 70 healthy controls (HC) were measured using a semi-quantitative dot blot assay. The results show that the AIFM3 level in the sera of CCA group was significantly higher than that of HC. When correlation between serum AIFM3 levels and the clinicopathological parameters of CCA patients were examined, serum AIFM3 levels correlated significantly with lymph node metastasis, age, and the patients’ overall survival (OS). Higher AIFM3 levels were significantly associated with shorter OS, and only AIFM3 was an independent prognostic marker for CCA. In conclusion, AIFM3 can be used as a prognostic marker for CCA.