Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity of polyphenolic extracts from Lactuca sativa (var. Maravilla de Verano) under different farming methods.

BACKGROUND Besides their nutritional value, vegetables are a source of health-promoting compounds, such as polyphenols, and their content can be influenced by the particular farming method. In this study polyphenolic extracts from Lactuca sativa (var. Maravilla de verano) plants cultivated with different farming methods were chemically characterised and tested in vitro and ex vivo inflammation models. RESULTS The tested extacts (250-2.5 µg mL(-1) ) were able to reduce both the inflammatory and oxidative stress in LPS-stimulated J774A.1 murine monocyte macrophage cells, by lowering the release of nitric oxide (NO) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) and promoting nuclear translocation of nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2; (Nrf2) and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB). In this regard, quantitative profiles revealed different amounts of polyphenols, in particular quercetin levels were higher in plants under mineral fertilised treatment. Those extract showed an enhanced anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity. CONCLUSION Our data showed the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant potential of Maravilla de Verano polyphenolic extracts. The effect of farming methods on polyphenolic levels was highlighted. The higher reduction of inflammatory mediators release in extracts from plants cultivated under mineral fertilisation treatment was correlated to the higher amount of quercetin. These results can be useful for both nutraceutical or agronomic purposes. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.
Environmental durability of PV modules — A model for accelerated testing

Primary critical factors in evaluating the long term environmental durability of photovoltaic modules are heat, light and moisture. In order to accelerate the effects of these stressors on the various degradation mechanisms occurring in PV modules, we use greater ranges of each and attempt to relate them to the effects of smaller variations in the real world. It would be highly desirable to determine the activation energies for each degradation process occurring during the outdoor exposure of PV modules. However, due to both the number of such processes and their interaction during the complex stresses encountered in the daily diurnal cycle, as well as in annual extremes, it has never been possible to accomplish such a feat. Instead, we have been obliged to use simplified models and to test laboratory acceleration practices against the effects anticipated from the field. Field data, however, requires years to obtain, making modeling our primary means of estimating test durations and protocols. In this study, we ignore the effects of humidity, but focus on the thermal effects of heat and light to estimate acceleration factors. Using detailed temperature and radiation data for the outdoor environments, we calculated what we term “equivalent temperatures” for thermal dark cycles and “effective temperatures”, irradiance-weighted average temperatures for light portions of a diurnal cycle to take into account the natural variability of the climatic data. For the accelerated laboratory portion of the data, we implemented an international standard for the weathering of plastics. It was then possible, using the model described, to calculate acceleration factors, dependent upon activation energies and reference locations. Acceleration factors ranging from 12 to 24 were obtained, which compare well with the ranges normally observed in our commercial practice.
Local-Scale Carbon Budgets and Mitigation Opportunities for the Northeastern United States

Economic and political realities present challenges for implementing an aggressive climate change abatement program in the United States. A high-efficiency approach will be essential. In this synthesis, we compare carbon budgets and evaluate the carbon-mitigation potential for nine counties in the northeastern United States that represent a range of biophysical, demographic, and socioeconomic conditions. Most counties are net sources of carbon dioxide (CO2) to the atmosphere, with the exception of rural forested counties, in which sequestration in vegetation and soils exceed emissions. Protecting forests will ensure that the region's largest CO2 sink does not become a source of emissions. For rural counties, afforestation, sustainable fuelwood harvest for bioenergy, and utility-scale wind power could provide the largest and most cost-effective mitigation opportunities among those evaluated. For urban and suburban counties, energy-efficiency measures and energy-saving technologies would be most cost effective. Through the implementation of locally tailored management and technology options, large reductions in CO2 emissions could be achieved at relatively low costs.
Continuous rating of perceived visual-inertial motion incoherence during driving simulation

Motion cueing algorithms (MCA) are used in motion simulation to map the inertial vehicle motions onto the simulator motion space. To increase fidelity of the motion simulation, these MCAs are tuned to minimize the perceived incoherence between the visual and inertial motion cues. Despite time-invariant MCA dynamics the incoherence is not constant, but changes over time. Currently used methods to measure the quality of an MCA focus on the overall differences between MCAs, but lack the ability to detect how quality varies over time and how this influences the overall quality judgement. This paper describes a continuous subjective rating method with which perceived motion incoherence can be detected over time. An experiment was performed to show the suitability of this method for measuring motion incoherence. The experiment results were used to validate the continuous rating method and showed it provides important additional information on the perceived motion incoherence during a simulation compared to an offline rating method.
Use of rpsL for dominance selection and gene replacement in Streptomyces roseosporus

We developed a gene replacement system using the rpsL gene of Streptomyces roseosporus and demonstrated its utility by constructing a deletion in the S. roseosporus glnA gene. A 1.3-kb BamHI fragment that hybridized to the Mycobacterium smegmatis rpsL gene was subcloned from an S. roseosporus cosmid library and sequenced. Plasmid pRHB514 containing the rpsL gene conferred streptomycin sensitivity (Sm(S)) to the Sm(r) S. roseosporus TH149. The temperature-sensitive plasmid pRHB543 containing rpsL and the S. roseosporus glnA gene disrupted with a hygromycin resistance (Hm(r)) gene was introduced into S. roseosporus TH149, and recombinants containing single and double crossovers were obtained after a temperature increase. Southern hybridization analysis revealed that single crossovers occurred in the glnA or rpsL genes and that double crossovers resulted in replacement of the chromosomal glnA gene with the disrupted glnA. Glutamine synthetase activity was undetectable in the recombinant containing the disrupted glnA gene.
Capturing genetic information using non-target species markers in a species that has undergone a population crash

Species conservation has relied on the enormous potential of information that arises from field, laboratory and other tools. When using molecular-based tools, the technology involves a considerable effort to develop, both in resources and time. A long-held practice has been to utilise pre-existing primers developed for other closely related species to evaluate conservation questions. In this study, we present a practical approach on how to utilise pre-existing microsatellite markers in bettong and potoroo species. This information is relevant before, during and after a species crash and the approach we describe could be particularly appropriate when there is an immediate need to retrieve a knowledge-base in order to support management decisions. We determined that cross-species amplification success of microsatellite markers is inversely related to evolutionary distance of the source species although their polymorphism is not. A 'priority-list' of potential markers for potoroids is given for future conservation genetic studies.
New antiplatelet agents for cardiovascular disease

Antiplatelet therapy is a key component in the management of many medical diseases to decrease the risk of cardiovascular events. [1][1] Acetylsalicyclic acid (ASA) is the most common antiplatelet agent used and is usually first-line therapy. Use of clopidogrel, especially in combination with ASA,
The "fallen fragment sign" in the diagnosis of unicameral bone cysts.

Asolitary unicameral bone cyst is a relatively rare skeletal lesion. It consists of a fluid-filled intramedullary cavity,2 or 3 cm in diameter, which is lined by a thin layer of connective tissue. The surrounding cortex is preserved, but markedly attenuated (8). Although the lesion has been encountered in the pelvis, rib cage, calcaneus, and metatarsal, it is usually located in a long bone. The most common sites are the proximal humerus or femur where two-thirds of all reported cases have been discovered (9, 11). It evolves during childhood and usually produces no symptoms until pathological fracture occurs. Since it is clinically occult and causes no physical signs or biochemical aberrations, it can be detected only by radiological means. Thus, it is usually the radiologist who is first aware of its existence, and it is his role to distinguish it from other skeletal lesions on the basis of its roentgen characteristics. Although Virchow described a bone defect with the pathological features of a unicamera.
Automated intensive care unit risk adjustment: results from a National Veterans Affairs study.

CONTEXT Comparison of outcome among intensive care units (ICUs) requires risk adjustment for differences in severity of illness and risk of death at admission to the ICU, historically obtained by costly chart review and manual data entry. OBJECTIVE To accurately estimate patient risk of death in the ICU using data easily available in hospital electronic databases to permit automation. DESIGN AND SETTING Cohort study to develop and validate a model to predict mortality at hospital discharge using multivariate logistic regression with a split derivation (17,731) and validation (11,646) sample formed from 29,377 consecutive first ICU admissions to medical, cardiac, and surgical ICUs in 17 Veterans' Health Administration hospitals between February 1996 and July 1997. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Mortality at hospital discharge adjusted for age, laboratory data, diagnosis, source of ICU admission, and comorbid illness. RESULTS The overall hospital death rate was 11.3%. In the validation sample, the model separated well between survivors and nonsurvivors (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve = 0.885). Examination of the observed vs. the predicted mortality across the range of mortality showed the model was well calibrated. CONCLUSIONS Automation could broaden access to risk adjustment of ICU outcomes with only a small trade-off in discrimination. Broader use might promote valid evaluation of ICU outcomes, encouraging effective practices and improving ICU quality.
Deep Learning for Sampling from Arbitrary Probability Distributions

This paper proposes a fully connected neural network model to map samples from a uniform distribution to samples of any explicitly known probability density function. During the training, the Jensen-Shannon divergence between the distribution of the model's output and the target distribution is minimized. We experimentally demonstrate that our model converges towards the desired state. It provides an alternative to existing sampling methods such as inversion sampling, rejection sampling, Gaussian mixture models and Markov-Chain-Monte-Carlo. Our model has high sampling efficiency and is easily applied to any probability distribution, without the need of further analytical or numerical calculations. It can produce correlated samples, such that the output distribution converges faster towards the target than for independent samples. But it is also able to produce independent samples, if single values are fed into the network and the input values are independent as well. We focus on one-dimensional sampling, but additionally illustrate a two-dimensional example with a target distribution of dependent variables.
Safety, Security, Hygiene and Privacy in Migrant Farmworker Housing

Safety, security, hygiene, and privacy in migrant farmworker housing have not previously been documented, yet these attributes are important for farmworker quality of life and dignity. This analysis describes the safety, security, hygiene, and privacy of migrant farmworker housing and delineates camp characteristics that are associated with these attributes, using data collected in 183 eastern North Carolina migrant farmworker camps in 2010. Migrant farmworker housing is deficient. For example, 73.8 percent of housing had structural damage and 52.7 percent had indoor temperatures that were not safe. Farmworkers in 83.5 percent of the housing reported that they did not feel they or their possessions were secure. Bathing or toileting privacy was absent in 46.2 percent of the housing. Camps with residents having H-2A visas or North Carolina Department of Labor certificates of inspection posted had better safety, security, and hygiene. Regulations addressing the quality of migrant farmworker housing are needed.
Human action identification in videos using descriptor with autonomous fragments and multilevel prediction

—Recent technological advances have provided devices with high processing power and storage capacities. Video cameras are found in several places, such as banks, airports, schools, supermarkets, streets, homes and industries. Despite this technological potential, most of the acquired videos are only stored and never analyzed. The ﬂexibility in the use of cameras and computational tools allows their application in areas such as surveillance, strategic planning, crime prevention, manufacturing, trafﬁc monitoring, among others. Video equipments have continuously improved, achieving high resolution rates and frames per second. However, most of the video analysis tasks are still performed by human operators, whose performance may be inﬂuenced by factors such stress and fatigue. In order to change such current scenario, this work proposes and evaluates the development of a methodology for identifying common human actions in videos by means of a CMSIP descriptor (Cumulative Motion Shape’s Interest Points) applied to a multilevel prediction scheme with retraining. The approach is built by dividing the descriptor into portions that can be considered and interpreted independently by following distinct ways on the classiﬁcation model, such that, in a later step, a central mechanism will be responsible for deciding which action is being observed in the video sequence. Our method has proved to be fast and with accuracy compatible to the state-of-the-art on known public data sets. Furthermore, the developed prototype demonstrated to be a promising tool for real-time applications.
Designing ThinkLets for Convergence

Convergence is a critical activity in group work that lays the foundation for shared understanding and the overall advancement of the group’s task. However, convergence is time consuming and has been shown to be a slow and painful process for groups. The goal of this research is to derive a number of convergence performance criteria from field experiences with commonly used convergence thinkLets. Based on these insights, two new convergence thinkLets are proposed that were designed to overcome some of the limitations of existing thinkLets. To investigate the merits of these thinkLets, a program of study based on the design science paradigm is presented. Finally, the performance criteria are used to forward a selection guide for convergence thinkLets.
β‐D‐galactosidase activity of viable, non‐culturable coliform bacteria in marine waters

The β‐D‐galactosidase activity of viable but non‐culturable (vnc) Escherichia coli cells in seawater was investigated using a rapid fluorimetric enzyme assay. Results from microcosm studies showed that loss of culturability did not necessarily result in loss of the ability to produce the galactosidase enzyme. Even when no culturable cells were detected, a positive enzyme assay response was observed and the activity of the inducible enzyme over time more closely reflected the number of vnc cells present.
Heading South: Why Mexican Immigrants in California Seek Health Services in Mexico

Objectives:To Identify factors that explain why some Mexican immigrants in California use health services in Mexico. Methods:California Health Interview Survey 2001 data were analyzed for medical care, dental care, and/or prescription drug purchases in Mexico in the previous year. Logistic regressions estimated the effect on use of need, availability, accessibility, and acceptability among immigrants from Mexico. Results:An estimated 952,000 California adults used medical, dental, or prescription services in Mexico during the past year, of whom 488,000 were Mexican immigrants. Long-stay Mexican immigrants had the highest rate (15%), followed by short-stay Mexican immigrants (11.5%), US-born Mexican Americans (5.4%), and US-born nonLatino whites (2.1%). Predictors of use by immigrants included need, no insurance, delay seeking care, more recent immigration, limited English, and nonphysician provider use. Living closer to the border increased use, although half of immigrants seeking services lived more than 120 miles from the border. Mexican immigrants with long stays in the US have a somewhat different pattern of predictors from those with short stays. Conclusions:Mexican immigrants are the most likely to seek medical, dental, and prescription services in Mexico. A large number, but small percentages, of US-born nonLatino whites purchase prescription drugs there. Although proximity facilitates use, access and acceptability barriers in the US medical care system encourage immigrants to seek care in Mexico who would be helped by expanded binational health insurance.
Categorising non-interference

Noninterference (see J.A. Goguen and J. Meseguer, 1982) is given an abstract definition in category-theoretic terms. Unwinding theorems are investigated from this starting point. The theorems assume that commands form a monoid. Thus the results do not apply to systems where some sequences of commands are syntactically invalid. The extension to categories would generalize the results to languages where not every string is a syntactically valid program. It is concluded that category theory is a powerful tool for reasoning about noninterference. <<ETX>>
Buffalo Pituitary Gonadotropins: Characterization of Bacterially Expressed Recombinant Alpha and Hormone Specific Beta Subunits

ENGLISH/ANGLAIS] Affiliations: 1 Hormone Research Laboratory, Department of Zoology, University of Delhi, Delhi, INDIA 2 Department of MRDG, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, INDIA * Email Address for Correspondence/ Adresse de courriel pour la correspondance: kambadur@hotmail.com Accepted/Accepte: February 2013 Full Citation: Vashistha N, Panchal M, Dighe R, Muralidhar K. Buffalo pituitary gonadotropins: characterization of bacterially expressed recombinant alpha and hormone specific beta subunits. World Journal Life Science and Medical Research. 2013;3(1):1-7. Buffalo pituitary gonadotropin alpha subunit was expressed in E.coli as a recombinant protein from its cDNA constructed from pituitary RNA. Similarly the beta subunits of buffalo pituitary follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), Luteinizing Hormone (LH) and Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) were cloned and expressed in E.coli. The bacterially expressed non-glycosylated recombinant proteins were purified on Ni-affinity columns and characterized to some extent for physicochemical properties. All the proteins were expressed without their respective signal peptides.
Do Sweat Calcium Losses Affect Bone Mass During Firefighter Training?

Although participation in vigorous exercise is associated with increased bone mass, recent evidence suggests that loss of calcium in sweat may result in a negative calcium balance and, ultimately, a decrease in bone mass. Anthropometric characteristics, habitual physical activity levels, dietary calcium intake, bone mineral content, and bone turnover markers were measured in 42 male recruits before and after 4 months of firefighter training. During two strenuous mid-training sessions, sweat calcium concentrations were measured; they averaged 1.1 mM. Whole body and total hip bone mineral content increased significantly, as did one marker of bone formation, and were not associated with sweat calcium concentration. This study demonstrates that intense physical training sessions that produce high sweat rates do not have an adverse effect on the bone mineral content of healthy young men.
Finite Mixture Model Diagnostics Using Resampling Methods

This paper illustrates the implementation of resampling methods in ﬂexmix as well as the application of resampling methods for model diagnostics of ﬁtted ﬁnite mixture models. Convenience functions to perform these methods are available in package ﬂexmix . The use of the methods is illustrated with an artiﬁcial example and the seizure data set.
Wideband design of sub-arrays in a Q-band partially-corporate fed waveguide slot array

A mesh network composed of the 40 GHz-band Fixed Wireless Access system is very essential to realize outdoor backhauls as well as fronthauls for 5G network. A 20×20-element antenna has been successfully developed in the Q-band. The partially-corporate feeding structure is adopted to divide the whole antenna into 2×2 sub-arrays for wideband operation. To further enhance the bandwidth of input matching, standing-wave fed sub-arrays of both radiating and coupling slots are investigated. By introducing the overloading technique, the bandwidth is improved from 3.1% to 7.7% especially for the sub-array of radiating slots. It is very promising to realize a broadband 20×20-element waveguide slot array by combining those redesigned sub-arrays.
Endocrinology and paracrinology Measurement of luteal and placental gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) binding sites: role of inactivation of GnRH tracer

The ability of radiolabelled gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) and GnRH analogues to bind to homogenates and membranes of rat, rabbit and sheep pituitary and to luteal homogenates and membranes from a number of species was measured. In addition, inactivation of tracer during binding incubation was estimated by measurement of the ability of the unbound tracer fraction to bind to fresh GnRH-receptor or anti-GnRH antibody. Following incubation of rat, sheep and rabbit pituitary gland with a radiolabelled GnRH agonist tracer, appreciable amounts of specific binding of GnRH agonist to fresh rat pituitary or human placental GnRH receptors could still be demonstrated. In contrast, no specific binding of [125I]-labelled GnRH analogues were measured following incubation of the tracer with homogenates or membranes of bovine, sheep and porcine luteal tissue, nor with rabbit and rat placental homogenates. However, during incubation of GnRH tracers with these tissues, almost complete inactivation of GnRH tracers occurred. There was an inverse relationship between binding and inactivation of [125I]-labelled GnRH for a number of human corpora lutea. We conclude that degradation of GnRH tracers may prevent the measurement of specific GnRH binding sites in some tissues.