Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Multi-species Cover Crop Biomass Evaluation Using a Hand-held Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) Sensor and Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR) Sensor

Cover crops are essential in agricultural management and especially in organic farming for protecting the soil from erosion, competing with weeds, preventing evaporative losses and improving soil quality and fertility. The choice of cover crop species is crucial in achieving the highest level of weed suppression and soil fertility enhancement. Cover crop systems with rye or mixtures of legumes and grasses were set up in a randomized complete block design in Northern Greece. A hand held sensor was used to measure Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) of the cover crop plots with parallel measurements of light interception with a PAR sensor, and destructive biomass determination. Weed biomass was also determined for each cover crop mixture. Multi-species cover crops produced higher total biomass than single-species cover crop systems. All cover crop systems evaluated were able to suppress weeds. Remote sensing results showed that NDVI could be used to estimate the total biomass of single cover crops but not cover crop mixtures.
Platelet‐derived growth factor‐induced destabilization of smooth muscle alpha‐actin mRNA

We have previously shown that treatment of postconfluent, quiescent rat vascular smooth muscle cells (SMC) with platelet‐derived growth factor (PDGF) dramatically reduced smooth muscle (SM) alpha‐actin synthesis and SM alpha‐actin mRNA abundance, suggesting a role for this mitogen in the control of SMC differentiation. In the present studies, we explored the molecular mechanisms whereby PDGF decreases SM alpha‐actin mRNA levels. Treatment of postcon‐fluent SMC with both platelet PDGF and recombinant PDGF‐BB resulted in a dramatic and concentration‐dependent decrease in SM alpha‐actin mRNA levels. We observed no differences in efficacy between platelet PDGF and PDGF‐BB, indicating that the PDGF‐A chain is not required for the effect. The rate of decrease in SM alpha‐actin mRNA abundance in PDGF‐treated SMC was greater than that observed in cells treated with the transcriptional inhibitor, actinomycin D, with or without PDGF, indicating that PDGF induced a transcriptionally dependent destabilization of the cytosolic SM alpha‐actin mRNA pool. This effect appeared selective for SM alpha‐actin, in that there was no evidence of a similar change in non‐muscle (NM) beta‐actin mRNA stability following PDGF treatment. Results of nuclear run‐on analyses showed no differences in SM alpha‐actin transcription between PDGF‐ and vehicle‐treated SMC at either 4 or 24 hours following treatment, demonstrating that decreases in transcription of the SM alpha‐acti gene did not contribute to PDGF‐induced changes in SM alpha‐actin mRNA abundance, Results of these studies support a possible role for PDGF in regulation of SMC differentiation via a post‐transcriptional control mechanism.
Age-Related Macular Degeneration and Its Risk Factors in North Africans Living in Algeria and Italy

Purpose: To determine the risk factors for age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in Algerians, and compare these data with those on North Africans living in Italy. Methods: All patients over 55 years of age consulting one of the 23 involved Algerian ophthalmologists were invited to participate, and 1,183 patients were included. Data collection was standardized based on the Simplified Théa Risk Assessment Scale (STARS) questionnaire. A similar study was conducted in North Africans living in Italy (n = 1,011). Patients with only soft drusen and/or pigmentary abnormalities were classified as early AMD, and patients with geographic atrophy and/or neovascular AMD were classified as late AMD. Results: In the final multivariate model, risk for early and/or late AMD was significantly increased with older age, family history of AMD, Black ethnicity, atherosclerosis, beer consumption, high fruit consumption, cataract surgery, myopia, and hyperopia. High consumption of green vegetables was associated with lower risk for both early and late AMD. In comparison with North Africans from Italy, Algerians generally had a healthier profile (younger, less obesity, smoking, and cardiovascular diseases, and higher consumption of fruits and vegetables) and a lower risk for AMD. Conclusion: This study documents risk factors for AMD in North-African populations for the first time.
Being in Tune With Life

Complementary therapies are commonly used by the public. Increasingly, complementary therapies are being used in hospices for symptom management; however, little research is available on their effect on patient well-being. Purpose: This study explores experiences of 15 hospice residents who received complementary therapies and describes the hospice cultural patterns where complementary therapies were delivered. Method: Ethnography was used to guide data collection. Data were collected by participant observations, formal and informal interviews, and complementary therapy charts in a residential hospice during 9 months. Findings: Three themes of experiencing complementary therapies, reconnecting to life through caring, and presence in relationship were uncovered during data analysis. Implications: Study results suggest that presence may be more important to the patient’s well-being than the physical responses of complementary therapies. Also, a caring culture may influence staff job satisfaction and retention.
Reversible Watermarking Method Using Optimal Histogram Pair Shifting Based on Prediction and Sorting

To be reversible as a data hiding method, the original content and hidden message should be completely recovered. One important objective of this approach is to achieve high embedding capacity and low distortion. Using predicted errors is very effective for increasing the embedding capacity. Sorting the predicted errors has a good influence on decreasing distortion. In this paper, we present an improved reversible data hiding scheme using upgraded histogram shifting based on sorting the predicted errors. This new scheme is characterized by the algorithm which is able to find the optimum threshold values and manage the location map effectively. Experimental results compared with other methods are presented to demonstrate the superiority of the proposed method.
Comparative Study of Drug Release from Pellets Coated with HPMC or Surelease

The release of metoclopramide hydrochloride (very water soluble cationic drug) and diclofenac sodium (sparingly soluble anionic drug) from pellets coated with hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC; water-soluble polymer) or ethylcellulose aqueous dispersion (Surelease; water-insoluble polymer) at different coating loads was investigated. The release rates of either drug decreased as the coating load of HPMC increased, but overall, the release was fast, and the majority of both drugs released in about 1 hr, even at the highest coating load. The drug release mechanism for either drug was not affected by the coating load of HPMC or by the type of drug used, and it was found to be mainly diffusion controlled. Diclofenac sodium released slightly more slowly than metoclopramide hydrochloride from HPMC-coated pellets. This was attributed to the lower water solubility of the former drug. The release rate of either drug decreased greatly as the coating load of Surelease increased. The release of both drugs was sustained over 12 hr as the coating load of Surelease increased, and only about 70% of either drug was released after this period at the highest coating load (20%). The mechanism of release of metoclopramide hydrochloride was independent of coating load, and it was predominantly diffusion controlled. However, the mechanism of diclofenac sodium release was dependent on the coating load of Surelease. At low coating loads, diffusion of drug was facilitated due to the presence of more pores at the surface of the coated pellets; therefore, the rate of dissolution of the drug particles was the rate-limiting step. However, at high coating loads, drug release was mainly diffusion controlled. Despite its lower water solubility, diclofenac sodium released slightly faster than metoclopramide hydrochloride from Surelease-coated pellets at equivalent coating loads.
Resolution of Holliday intermediates in recombination and DNA repair: indirect suppression of ruvA, ruvB, and ruvC mutations

The ruvA, ruvB, and ruvC genes of Escherichia coli provide activities that catalyze branch migration and resolution of Holliday junction intermediates in recombination. Mutation of any one of these genes interferes with recombination and reduces the ability of the cell to repair damage to DNA. A suppressor of ruv mutations was identified on the basis of its ability to restore resistance to mitomycin and UV light and to allow normal levels of recombination in a recBC sbcBC strain carrying a Tn10 insertion in ruvA. The mutation responsible was located at 12.5 min on the genetic map and defines a new locus which has been designated rus. The rus suppressor works just as well in recBC sbcA and rec+ sbc+ backgrounds and is not allele specific. Mutations in ruvB and ruvC are suppressed to an intermediate level, except when ruvA is also inactive, in which case suppression is complete. In all cases, suppression depends on RecG protein, a DNA-dependent ATPase that catalyzes branch migration of Holliday junctions. The rus mutation activates an additional factor that probably works with RecG to process Holliday junction intermediates independently of the RuvAB and RuvC proteins. The possibility that this additional factor is a junction-specific resolvase is discussed.
Dialect identification through prosodic information: an experimental approach

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether native Greek adults can identify their mother tongue from synthesized stimuli which contain only prosodic - melodic and rhythmic - information. More specifically we are trying to investigate whether Greek native speakers are able to discriminate their mother dialect form another one, also from Greece, only from prosodic information. In the first section we present the main ideas underlie our work, in the second section we present the procedure we followed in order to complete this pilot study, while at the two final sections one can find the results and the conclusions of our experiments.
Aging in India: its socioeconomic and health implications.

Socioeconomic and health consequences of aging in India are analyzed. By the year 2000, India will have the second largest elderly population in the world, according to official projections. The growth rate, sex ratio, and marital, labor, and literacy status of the elderly are predicted to result in a higher dependency ratio by the 2001. Socioeconomic aspects of this aging population will affect government policy and also the family unit, which has traditionally provided care for the elderly.
Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Intake Is Positively Associated with Baseline Triglyceride Concentrations, and Changes in Intake Are Inversely Associated with Changes in HDL Cholesterol over 12 Months in a Multi-Ethnic Sample of Children.

BACKGROUND Intake of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) is linked to greater cardiometabolic risk in adults. Although longitudinal evidence is sparse among children, SSB intake reduction is targeted to reduce cardiometabolic risk factors in this group. OBJECTIVE We investigated characteristics associated with consumption of SSBs in a multi-ethnic sample of children/adolescents and measured cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between SSB intake and plasma HDL cholesterol and triglycerides (TGs) over 12 mo. METHODS In a diverse cohort of children aged 8-15 y, cross-sectional associations (n = 613) between baseline SSB intake and blood lipid concentrations and longitudinal associations (n = 380) between mean SSB intake, changes in SSB intake, and lipid changes over 12 mo were assessed with multivariable linear regression. RESULTS Greater SSB intake was associated with lower socioeconomic status, higher total energy intake, lower fruit/vegetable intake, and more sedentary time. In cross-sectional analysis, greater SSB intake was associated with higher plasma TG concentrations among consumers (62.4, 65.3, and 71.6 mg/dL in children who consumed >0 but <2, ≥2 but <7, and ≥7 servings/wk, respectively; P-trend: 0.03); plasma HDL cholesterol showed no cross-sectional association. In the longitudinal analysis, mean SSB intake over 12 mo was not associated with lipid changes; however, the 12-mo increase in plasma HDL-cholesterol concentration was greater among children who decreased their intake by ≥1 serving/wk (4.6 ± 0.8 mg/dL) compared with children whose intake stayed the same (2.0 ± 0.8 mg/dL) or increased (1.5 ± 0.8 mg/dL; P = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS In a multi-ethnic sample of children, intake of SSBs was positively associated with TG concentrations among consumers, and changes in SSB intake were inversely associated with HDL cholesterol concentration changes over 12 mo. Further research in large diverse samples of children is needed to study the public health implications of reducing SSB intake among children of different racial/ethnic groups. The Daily D Health Study was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01537809.
Titin Transcripts in Thymomas

More than 90% of myasthenia gravis (MG) patients with a thymoma have antibodies against titin. We have identified titin mRNA transcripts in thymomas by RT-PCR and Southern blotting. The transcripts cover the main immunogenic region (MIR) and a central I-band epitope reactive with some MG patients' antibodies. The presence of the central I-band epitope was confirmed by immunohistochemistry as a titin antibody reactive with this part of titin, stained thymoma epithelial cells and a thymoma extract in Western blots. Our findings suggest that the initiation of paraneoplastic titin reactivity is correlated with the expression of titin sequences within the thymoma.
Variation in immune defence as a question of evolutionary ecology

The evolutionary–ecology approach to studying immune defences has generated a number of hypotheses that help to explain the observed variance in responses. Here, selected topics are reviewed in an attempt to identify the common problems, connections and generalities of the approach. In particular, the cost of immune defence, response specificity, sexual selection, neighbourhood effects and questions of optimal defence portfolios are discussed. While these questions still warrant further investigation, future challenges are the development of synthetic concepts for vertebrate and invertebrate systems and also of the theory that predicts immune responses based on a priori principles of evolutionary ecology.
Gastric dysreflexia after acute experimental spinal cord injury in rats

Abstract Gastric reflexes are mediated mainly by vago‐vagal reflex circuits in the caudal medulla. Despite the fact that brainstem vago‐vagal circuitry remains intact after spinal cord injury (SCI), patients with SCI at the cervical level most often present gastric stasis with an increased risk of reflux and aspiration of gastric contents. Using a miniature strain gauge sutured to the gastric surface; we tested gastric motility and reflexive gastric relaxation following oesophageal distension (oesophageal‐gastric relaxation reflex) in animals 3 days after a severe spinal contusion at either the third or ninth thoracic spinal segment (acute T3‐ or T9 SCI, respectively). Both basal gastric motility and the oesophageal‐gastric relaxation reflex were significantly diminished in animals with T3 SCI. Conversely, both basal gastric motility and the oesophageal‐gastric relaxation reflex were not significantly reduced in T9 SCI animals compared to controls. The reduced gastric motility and oesophageal‐gastric reflex in T3 SCI rats was not ameliorated by celiac sympathectomy. Our results show that gastric stasis following acute SCI is independent of altered spinal sympathetic input to the stomach caudal to the lesion. Our data suggest that SCI may alter the sensitivity of vagal reflex function, perhaps by interrupting ascending spinosolitary input to brainstem vagal nuclei.
Does information on health status lead to changes in exercise behavior? The effect of a diabetes diagnosis on exercise frequency and intensity

The purpose of this study is to empirically test whether receiving private health information leads to a change in health behavior. Specifically, we examined whether receiving a diabetes diagnosis leads to a change in physical exercise and, if so, whether responses differ by education and income. Using the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), we employed a regression discontinuity approach to estimate a causal effect of a diabetes diagnosis on changes in exercise frequency and intensity. Results show that subsequent to a diagnosis, individuals increased exercise frequency by engaging in physical activities one more time per week and increased intensity by 2 metabolic equivalents. The increase in frequency was greatest for individuals with a college degree and individuals not in the labor force, 2 and 1.6 more times per week, respectively. By contrast, there were no differences in the response to a diagnosis across subgroups on the exercise intensity margin. This shows that education and time costs have a large impact on exercise behavior in the management of chronic disease which in turn leads to disparities in the prevention of complications from type 2 diabetes. Understanding the role of education and how it interacts with private health information can inform policy regarding the allocation of resources in the treatment and management chronic diseases.
Demystifying the Supply of Capital and Labour in a Nation’s Economic Chain

Public capital has been considered to be the wheels of economic activity in a nation or region. The reverse effect, the contribution of economic growth to public capital, is also worth analysis. The non-structural vector auto-regression (VAR) approach is performed for the Australian economy using yearly data for the 1960-2008 period. The optimal lag is investigated to build the VAR model that is then tested for stability. The impulse response function is further employed to examine the response of one economic variable to the innovation of others and to determine the lagged terms for the maximum absolute value of the other variables’ responses. The results will provide historical evidence for the federal and regional governments of Australia to estimate the effects of these production variables, in particular, the effect of infrastructure spending on the gross domestic product.
Power transformer fault diagnosis under measurement originated uncertainties

This paper addresses the problem of diagnosing the fault symptoms of power transformers with measurement originated uncertainties, which arise from the imprecision of samples (i.e. due to noises and outliers) and the effect of class imbalance (i.e. samples are unequally distributed between different fault types) in a training dataset used to identify different fault types. Two fuzzy support vector machine (FSVM) algorithms namely fuzzy c-means clustering-based FSVM (FCM-FSVM) and kernel fuzzy c-means clustering-based FSVM (KFCM-FSVM) have been applied in this paper to deal with any noises and outliers in training dataset. In order to reduce the effect of class imbalance in training dataset, two approaches including between-class weighting and random oversampling have been adopted and integrated with FCM-FSVM and KFCM-FSVM. The case studies show that KFCM-FSVM algorithm and its variants have consistent tendency to attain satisfied classification accuracy in transformer fault diagnosis using dissolved gas analysis (DGA) measurements.
Consideraciones anestésicas en algunas enfermedades neuromusculares

Introducción: Las enfermedades neuromusculares son poco comunes; sin embargo, no es extraño que algunos pacientes acudan a quirófano para la práctica de estudios diagnósticos, para recibir algún procedimiento anestésico-quirúrgico de una de sus complicaciones o para intervenciones sin relación con su enfermedad de base. Objetivos: Identificar las manifestaciones clínicas de las enfermedades neuromusculares, así como la conducta anestésica en estos pacientes. Desarrollo: Se realizó una revisión de la literatura sobre el tema, en el cual se abordó la problemática de las enfermedades neuromusculares para definir la conducta anestésica en estos pacientes. Conclusiones: El anestesiólogo debe conocer la patogenia de las enfermedades neuromusculares y sus consecuencias con el uso de diferentes técnicas anestésicas, la conducta a seguir durante el período perioperatorio, así como la cinética y la dinámica de los fármacos a utilizar para evitar complicaciones.
Variability and partial synchrony of the cell cycle in the germinal zone of the early embryonic cerebral cortex

Cell cycle parameters were estimated using the cumulative 3H‐thymidine S‐phase labeling and percentage of labeled mitoses methods in the embryonic day 14 and 15 germinal zone of the rat cerebral cortex. The shortest cell cycle time was seen in the dorsal neocortex and the longest in the lateral neocortex and fimbria (the latter also had a low growth fraction). No differences were observed in cell cycle times between the cells in the ventricular and subventricular zone in the same neocortical region. The results suggest gradients of lengthening cell cycle times extending ventrolaterally and ventromedially from the dorsomedial neocortex. Although a majority of proliferating cells in individual cortical regions seem to belong to one population in terms of cell kinetics, several pieces of evidence suggest some heterogeneity: the asymmetric shapes of the percentages of labeled mitoses curves, the small population of cells that become pyknotic. Groups of DNA‐synthesizing nuclei that were ectopically located in the inner half of the ventricular zone also indicate the existence of different subpopulations of neuroepithelial cells. In addition, after a pulse injection of 3H‐thymidine the germinal zone is characterized by alternating clusters of heavily and lightly labeled cell nuclei that may reflect the simultaneous passage of a clusters of clel through the same portion of S‐phase. We suggest that partial cell cycle synchrony within groups of ventricular cells may explain the presence of these iterative cell kinetic patterns in the developing cortex. © 1995 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.