Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of dietary fiber on intake, milk yield, and digestion by lactating dairy cows during cool or hot, humid weather.

Lactating cows were offered diets with increasing neutral detergent fiber concentrations to determine the effects on intake, milk yield and composition, blood hormones, and nutrient digestion during cool or hot weather conditions. Tifton 85 bermudagrass hay was substituted for corn silage so that the forage portion of diets were: 1) 40% corn silage (control), 2) 32.4% corn silage, 7.6% bermudagrass, 3) 24.8% corn silage, 15.2% bermudagrass, or 4) 17.2% corn silage, 22.8% bermudagrass (dry basis). Dietary neutral detergent fiber concentrations (% dry matter) were 30.2, 33.8, 37.7, and 42.0, respectively. Intake of dry matter declined with increasing dietary neutral detergent fiber during cool and hot periods, but intake adjusted for cool weather treatment differences did not change further during hot weather. Milk yield declined linearly with increasing neutral detergent fiber during cool weather and changed quadratically during hot weather. Milk temperature declined with increasing dietary neutral detergent fiber for the p.m. milking during the cool period and declined with increasing dietary neutral detergent fiber for the a.m. and p.m. milkings during the hot period. Digestibility of neutral detergent fiber improved and ruminal turnover of particulate digesta was increased with greater dietary neutral detergent fiber content. No dietary fiber level by hot weather interaction was observed, suggesting that total energy intake may have and a greater effect on milk yield than dietary fiber content during hot, humid weather.
Aging and changes in health.

OBJECTIVES The study explored changes in the health of aging workers from 1981 to 1992. METHODS Municipal workers [age 55 to 69 (mean 61.6) years in 1992] who filled out questionnaires in both 1981 and 1992 (N = 4534) were studied. The changes in disease prevalence and perceived health were tested with Pearson's chi-square independence test. Improvement and decline in perceived health were analyzed by logistic regression models. RESULTS In 1992, significantly more diseases were reported than in 1981; the musculoskeletal disease rate rose from 38% in 1981 to 53% in 1992 for the women and from 35% to 49% for the men and the cardiovascular disease rate rose from 15% in 1981 to 28% in 1992 for the women and from 19% to 37% for the men. The age differences diminished during the follow-up. Self-assessed health improved in all the age groups among both those still working in 1992 and those retired. The association between illnesses and perceived health changed during the follow-up, 11% of those with no diseases experiencing their health as good in 1981 and over 40% in 1992. The most important factors explaining the improvement appeared to be a low number of physical illnesses and the absence of cardiovascular and musculoskeletal disease. Nonphysical work, frequent physical exercise, and satisfaction with life situation were also significant contributors to good perceived health. CONCLUSIONS The improvement in perceived health during the follow-up may mean that older people have lower criteria for good perceived health than younger people do. The associations between self-assessed health and the presence of disease need further study.
Estimating HIV Incidence in Voluntary Counseling and Testing Clients in Uganda (1992-2003)

Objectives:To estimate HIV incidence from first-time testers among voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) clients in Uganda. Methods:Data on 203,000 VCT clients tested from 1992 through 2003 were adjusted for temporal changes in the testing population. Differential mortality rates by HIV status were used to derive expected prevalence at future times from baseline prevalence within 5-year birth cohorts. Incidence was computed as the proportion of HIV-uninfected persons who seroconverted divided by the proportion negative at baseline. Results:Annual HIV incidence per 100 uninfected persons increased from 0.9 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.8 to 1.1) in 1993 to 2.3 (95% CI: 2.2 to 2.5) in 2003 (χ2 test for trend, P < 0.001). Prevalence decreased from 23% to 13% in 1999 to 2000 and increased to 15% in 2003. Women had a higher incidence. Peak incidence shifted to older age groups over time. Conclusions:Estimating incidence from routine data presents a practical way of tracking HIV incidence and is a useful tool in targeting and evaluating the impact of prevention programs. Our analysis reveals a new phase of the HIV epidemic in Uganda: decreasing prevalence and increasing incidence, especially among middle-aged persons. These findings support the need for intensified prevention interventions among middle-aged persons in Uganda.
Bariatric Surgery in Renal Transplant Patients.

OBJECTIVES The idea of transplanting organs is not new, nor is the disease of obesity. Obese transplant recipients have greater risk of early death than their cohorts, which is not due to increased rejection but due to obesity-related complications, including arterial hypertension, diabetes, and delayed graft function. Here, our aim was to evaluate the effects of bariatric surgery versus lifestyle changes on outcomes of moderate to severely obese renal transplant recipients. MATERIALS AND METHODS Twenty-two morbidly obese patients with stable graft function who underwent bariatric surgery were compared with 44 obese patients on lifestyle management (control group). Both groups were evaluated regarding graft and patient outcomes. RESULTS The studied groups were comparable demographically. In the bariatric study group versus control group, we observed that the mean body mass index was 38.49 ± 9.1 versus 44.24 ± 6 (P = .024) at transplant and 34.34 ± 7.6 versus 44.38 ± 6.7 (P = .002) at 6 months of bariatric surgery. Both groups received a more potent induction immunosuppression, but this was significantly higher in the obese nonbariatric control group (P < .05). There were more patients with slow and delayed graft functions in the same nonbariatric group. The 2 groups were comparable regarding new-onset diabetes after transplant, total patients with diabetes, and graft outcomes (P > .05). CONCLUSIONS Bariatric surgeries are feasible, safe pro cedures for selected obese renal transplant recipients.
The multilingual nature of dopamine neurons 6

The ability of dopamine (DA) neurons to release other transmitters in addition to DA itself has been increasingly recognized, hence the concept of their multilingual nature. A subset of DA neurons, mainly found in the ventral tegmental area, express VGLUT2, allowing them to package and release glutamate onto striatal spiny projection neurons and cholinergic interneurons. Some dopaminergic axon terminals release GABA. Glutamate release by DA neurons has a developmental role, facilitating axonal growth and survival, and may determine in part the critical contribution of the ventral striatum to psychostimulant-induced behavior. Vesicular glutamate coentry may have synergistic effects on vesicular DA filling. Themultilingual transmission of DA neurons across multiple striatal domains and the increasing insight into the role of glutamate cotransmission in the ventral striatum highlight the importance of analyzing DA neuron transmission at the synaptic level. Progress in Brain Research, Volume 211, ISSN 0079-6123, http://dx.doi. org/10.1016/B978-0-444-63425-2.00006-4 © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 141
Emergentist Metaphorical Creativity: Towards a Model of Analysing Metaphorical Creativity in Interactive Talk

Metaphorical creativity does not constitute a static property of discourse. It is an interactive dynamic process created online. There has been a lack of research concerning online produced metaphorical creativity. This paper intends to account for metaphorical creativity in online talk-in-interaction as a dynamic process that emerges as discourse unfolds. It brings together insights from the emergentist approach to the study of metaphor in verbal interactions and insights from conceptual blending approach as a model for analysing online metaphorical constructions to propose a model for studying metaphorical creativity in interactive talk. The model is based on three focal points. First, metaphorical creativity is a dynamic emergent and open-to-change process that evolves in real time as interlocutors constantly blend and re-blend previous metaphorical contributions. Second, it is not a product of isolated individual minds but a joint achievement that is co-constructed and co-elaborated by interlocutors. The third and most important point is that the emergent process of metaphorical creativity is tightly shaped by contextual variables surrounding talk-in-interaction. It is grounded in the framework of interpretation of interlocutors. It is constrained by preceding contributions in a way that creates textual cohesion of the verbal exchange and it is also a goal-oriented process predefined by the communicative intention of each participant in a way that reveals the ideological coherence/incoherence of the entire conversation. Keywords—Communicative intention, conceptual blending, contextual variables, the emergentist approach, ideological coherence, metaphorical creativity, textual cohesion
Self-Awareness and Health-Related Quality of Life After Traumatic Brain Injury

Objective:To investigate the relations among self-awareness (SA), impaired SA, and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Participants:One hundred forty-one adults hospitalized with TBI and their significant others from a cross-sectional multicenter study. Using Glasgow Coma Scale classification, 32 participants had severe injuries, 29 moderate, 44 mild, and 25 complicated mild TBI. Measures:Patient Competency Rating Scale for Neurorehabilitation; Short Form-36 Health Survey; Cognitive Quality of Life; Quality Of Life after Brain Injury; Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale; Profile of Mood States; Glasgow Outcome Scale Extended. Method:Patient Competency Rating Scale for Neurorehabilitation ratings made by participants and their significant others were used to assess SA and discrepancies between the 2 ratings were used to define impaired SA. Results:Significant associations were identified between SA and HRQOL, anxiety, depression, and severity of injury. Participants with and without impaired SA differed in cognitive HRQOL and leisure activities. Using multiple regression, no direct predictors of SA were identified, although interaction effects were observed. Conclusion:After TBI, lower SA is associated with higher estimates of HRQOL, particularly in the cognitive domain. Although the associations are modest, the assessment of SA should play a role in the interpretation of reported HRQOL after TBI.
Discrete-time output integral sliding mode control for a piezo-motor driven linear motion stage

In this work a discrete-time output integral sliding mode control (DOISMC) is developed for precision control of a piezo-motor driven linear motion stage. A new integral type sliding surface is first designed for arbitrary output reference tracking control. To estimate unknown state and disturbance, two observers based on the integral type sliding surface are designed. It is shown in this work through both theoretical analysis and experiments, that the discrete-time output integral sliding mode controller, together with the state and disturbance estimation, achieves an O(T2) tracking precision with respect to the sampling interval T. The superior performance of DOISMC achieved in the control of piezo-motor driven linear motion stage indicates that it is a suitable control method for precision control applications.
Specificity of Neurotensin Metabolism by Regional Rat Brain Slices

Abstract: Regional differences in neurotensin metabolism and the peptidases involved were studied using intact, viable rat brain microslices and specific peptidase inhibitors. Regional brain slices (2 mm X 230 μm) prepared from nucleus accumbens, caudate‐putamen, and hippocampus were incubated for 2 h in the absence and presence of phosphoramidon, captopril, N‐[1(R,S)‐carboxy‐3‐phenylpropyl]‐Ala‐Ala‐Phe‐p‐ aminobenzoate, and o‐Phenanthroline, which are inhibitors of neutral endopeptidase 24.11, angiotensin‐converting enzyme, metalloendopeptidase 24.15, and nonspecific metallopeptidases, respectively. Neurotensin‐degrading proteolytic activity varied by brain region. Significantly less (35.0 ± 1.6%) neurotensin was lost from hippocampus than from caudateputamen (45.4 ± 1.0%) or nucleus accumbens (47.8 ± 1.1%) in the absence of inhibitors. Peptidases responsible for neurotensin metabolism on brain slices were found to be predominantly metallopeptidases. Metalloendopeptidase 24.15 is of major importance in neurotensin metabolism in each brain region studied. The relative contribution of specific peptidases to neurotensin metabolism also varied by brain region; angiotensin‐converting enzyme and neutral endopeptidase 24.11 activities were markedly elevated in the caudate‐putamen as compared with the nucleus accumbens or hippocampus. Interregional variation in the activity of specific peptidases leads to altered neurotensin fragment formation. The brain microslice technique makes feasible regional peptide metabolism studies in the CNS, which are impractical with synaptosomes, and provides evidence for regional specificity of neurotensin degradation.
Output space tracking control for above-knee prosthesis

The control of a knee joint in an active above-knee prosthesis has been designed using the Lyapunov tracking method. Locomotion was simulated to prove that the tracking control in output space is a valuable real-time control method for artificial legs. The data used for simulation were collected from able-bodied subjects while they walked on a powered treadmill. Human volunteers were braced with an ankle splint (limiting dorsi- and plantar flexion) and with a knee cage (limiting knee movements to the lateral plane). The achieved tracking of the prescribed knee motion, deviations of the thigh movement from the prescribed trajectory, maximal angular deviations from the desired trajectory, and the power consumption were studied as functions of a limited maximal knee torque and a damping constant in the knee actuator. It was found that the use of output tracking is suitable for the design of appropriate hardware and for real-time control of an above-knee prosthesis. <<ETX>>
Reexamining the P-Element Invasion of Drosophila melanogaster Through the Lens of piRNA Silencing

Transposable elements (TEs) are both important drivers of genome evolution and genetic parasites with potentially dramatic consequences for host fitness. The recent explosion of research on regulatory RNAs reveals that small RNA-mediated silencing is a conserved genetic mechanism through which hosts repress TE activity. The invasion of the Drosophila melanogaster genome by P elements, which happened on a historical timescale, represents an incomparable opportunity to understand how small RNA-mediated silencing of TEs evolves. Repression of P-element transposition emerged almost concurrently with its invasion. Recent studies suggest that this repression is implemented in part, and perhaps predominantly, by the Piwi-interacting RNA (piRNA) pathway, a small RNA-mediated silencing pathway that regulates TE activity in many metazoan germlines. In this review, I consider the P-element invasion from both a molecular and evolutionary genetic perspective, reconciling classic studies of P-element regulation with the new mechanistic framework provided by the piRNA pathway. I further explore the utility of the P-element invasion as an exemplar of the evolution of piRNA-mediated silencing. In light of the highly-conserved role for piRNAs in regulating TEs, discoveries from this system have taxonomically broad implications for the evolution of repression.
Can the Light Yield Amplification by Laser Significantly Improve the Energy Resolution of a Scintillation Detector?

In 2012, D. K. Wehe and coauthors proposed a method of light yield amplification in scintillation detectors. A trivalent activator ion RE3+ captures an electron produced by an incident particle in a scintillator and becomes a divalent rare earth ion RE2+ . The scintillator is illuminated by laser photons that excite RE2+ ions, which quickly de-excite and generate light photons. By cyclically excitation RE2+ ions, one can obtain many light photons during any chosen accumulation time. Authors suggested that this method could remove the scintillation yield as a limiting factor of the energy resolution of scintillation detectors. This conclusion was based on the rather simplified theoretical examination of the pulse formation process in an amplified scintillator. In this work, the theory of branching cascade processes was applied to the description of the pulse formation process. The formulae for the energy resolution of an amplified scintillation detector and an ordinary scintillation detector were derived. From these formulae, it follows that the relative reduction in the energy resolution of the amplified scintillation detector with reference to the ordinary scintillation detector is less than a few percent.
Recombinant Allergens Promote Expression of Aminopeptidase-N (CD13) on Basophils in Allergic Patients

IgE-dependent activation of basophils is associated with upregulation of several surface molecules. We recently identified the surface enzyme aminopeptidase N (CD13) as a novel activation antigen on human basophils. In the present study, we asked whether CD13 can be employed as a novel marker of allergen-induced activation of basophils in allergic individuals. Patients allergic to major allergens from grass pollen (Phl p 1, Phl p 5), birch pollen (Bet v 1), or house dust mites (Der p 2), were examined. Blood basophils were exposed to various concentrations of recombinant allergens for 15 minutes, and examined for expression of CD13 by multicolor flow cytometry. The allergen-induced upregulation of CD13 was compared with allergen-dependent increases in expression of CD63 and CD203c. Exposure to recombinant allergens resulted in an increase in expression of CD13 on basophils in all sensitized individuals, whereas no increase in CD13 was seen in healthy controls. The effects of the recombinant allergens on CD13-expression were dose- and time-dependent, were not observed in the absence of extracellular calcium, and were counteracted by preincubation of basophils with the PI3-kinase-targeting drugs staurosporin and LY294002. There was a good correlation between allergen-induced upregulation of CD13, CD63, and CD203c on basophils. In aggregate, our data show that recombinant allergens promote expression of CD13 on basophils in sensitized individuals. The functional significance and diagnostic implications of this observation remain to be determined.
A DSPL approach for the development of context-adaptable user interfaces

The development of context-adaptable user interfaces (UI) is a main requirement to handle change in the context of use, ensure user centeredness and improve UI usability. In context-adaptable UIs, context informations are acquired from the end-user. This later can provide informations about his preferences and/or about his environment and the execution platform if sensors do not succeed to detect them automatically. In this paper and in order to develop a family of context-adaptable UIs, we propose, a Dynamic software product lines (DSPL) process. A DSPL process exploits the knowledge acquired in Software Product Line Engineering (SPLE) to develop systems that can be context-aware, or runtime adaptable.
Effectiveness of the Pulse Dye Laser Treatment in a Caucasian Women With Dermatosis Papulosa Nigra

Dermatosis papulosa nigra (DPN) is a group of superficial, benign papules commonly in African-American and Asian persons. DPN is considered to be a form of seborrheic keratosis with a specific localization and it is less frequently described in the white population. Treatment modalities include cryosurgery, curettage, electrosurgery, shave removal, and different laser treatment. Pulsed dye laser (PDL) has traditionally been used to treat vascular lesions, but it has been shown to be effective in treatment of lentigines, ephelides, seborrheic keratosis, and rarely DPN. A 43-year-old white female presents with a 5 year-old history of hyperpigmented papules on malar region, neck and upper trunk. The patient is diagnosed with DPN based on her clinical and histopathological findings. The PDL treatment was used successfully. In our opinion PDL is an effective alternative cure option for DPN.
The Pit-1 Homeodomain and β-Domain Interact with Ets-1 and Modulate Synergistic Activation of the Rat Prolactin Promoter*

Pit-1/GHF-1 is a pituitary-specific, POU homeodomain transcription factor required for development of somatotroph, lactotroph, and thyrotroph cell lineages and regulation of the temporal and spatial expression of the growth hormone, prolactin (PRL), and thyrotropin-β genes. Synergistic interaction of Pit-1 with a member of the Ets family of transcription factors, Ets-1, has been shown to be an important mechanism regulating basal and Ras-induced lactotroph-specific rat (r) PRL promoter activity. Pit-1β/GHF-2, an alternatively spliced isoform containing a 26-amino acid insert (β-domain) within its transcription-activation domain, physically interacts with Ets-1 but fails to synergize. By using a series of Pit-1 internal-deletion constructs in a transient transfection protocol to reconstitute rPRL promoter activity in HeLa cells, we have determined that the functional and physical interaction of Pit-1 and Ets-1 is mediated via the POU homeodomain, which is common to both Pit-1 and Pit-1β. Although the Pit-1 homeodomain is both necessary and sufficient for direct binding to Ets-1 in a DNA-independent manner, an additional interaction surface was mapped to the β-domain, specific to the Pit-1β isoform. Thus, the unique transcriptional properties of Pit-1 and Pit-1β on the rPRL promoter may be due to the formation of functionally distinct complexes of these two Pit-1 isoforms with Ets-1.
Health Literacy from the Perspective of African Immigrant Youth and Elderly: A PhotoVoice Project

Background. This project examines the views of African immigrants on health, access to health resources in the U.S., and perceived barriers to a healthy wellbeing faced by the elderly immigrants in the community. Methods. PhotoVoice methodology was used to evaluate the views of African immigrant youths and elderly drawn from a convenience sample. Participants were trained on the use of cameras and guided by research questions while taking photographs. The photographs were analyzed, coded into themes and presented to community resource representatives at a photo exhibit. Results. Emergent themes were: 1) nutrition, obesity and physical activity; 2) occupational regulation and educational opportunities; 3) feeling of security and public safety; 4) ethno-racial diversity and the health care system; 5) religiosity and social well-being. Discussion. These results have implications for health care professionals and community agencies serving immigrant populations. A deeper look into the health issues affecting this population is essential.