Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Methods and reliability of tissue Doppler imaging for assessment of left ventricular radial wall motion in horses.

BACKGROUND Noninvasive assessment of left ventricular (LV) function is incompletely studied in horses. OBJECTIVES The goals of this study were to investigate the feasibility, techniques, and reliability of tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) for characterization of LV radial wall motion in healthy horses. ANIMALS Three Standardbreds, 3 Thoroughbreds; age 8-14 years; body weight 517-606 kg. METHODS Repeated echocardiographic examinations were performed by 2 observers in unsedated horses using TDI. Test reliability was determined by estimating measurement variability, within-day interobserver variability, and between-day interobserver and intraobserver variability of all echocardiographic variables. Variability was expressed as coefficient of variation (CV) and the absolute value below which the difference between 2 measurements will lie with 95% probability. RESULTS Assessment of LV radial wall motion by TDI was feasible in all horses. Measurement variabilities were very low (CV < 5%) to low (CV 5-15%) for most variables. Within-day interobserver variability as well as between-day interobserver and intraobserver variabilities were low to moderate (CV 16-25%) for most variables. All pulsed-wave TDI variables of systolic LV function showed very low to low variability, whereas some of the variables of LV diastolic and LA function showed moderate to high (CV > 25%) variability. Pulsed-wave TDI variables appeared more reliable than color TDI variables. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE Measurement of TDI indices of LV function is feasible and reliable in adult Standardbred and Thoroughbred horses. The clinical relevance of LV function assessment by TDI remains to be determined.
Obstetric and Neonatology Nurses’ Attitudes, Beliefs, and Practices Related to the Management of Symptoms of Maternal Depression

Although maternal depression is a common emotional disorder, assessment and intervention rates are low. Using a cross-sectional survey design, we examined attitudes, beliefs, and practices of obstetrical and neonatology nurses toward the management of symptoms of maternal depression (SMD). Nurses believed they were responsible to assess for SMD and intervene with women showing SMD. However, only 50% assessed for SMD at least once monthly. Identified barriers to care were: lack of time, training, language, and patient and family beliefs. NICU nurses reported lower confidence, knowledge, and skills, than other nurses who participated in this study. This study shows there is a need to enhance nurses’ confidence in assessing and intervening with SMD, and to clarify the referral process.
Psychiatric Interviewing Techniques V. Experimental Study: Eliciting Factual Information

Summary Four experimental interview styles, each recommended by experts in the field, were compared for their efficiency in eliciting factual information during the initial diagnostic interviews with the mothers of children referred to a psychiatric out-patient clinic. If encouraged to talk freely, mothers tended to mention most (but not all) key issues without the need for standardized questioning on a pre-determined range of topics. However, systematic questioning was essential in order to obtain good quality factual data. Better data were obtained when interviewers were sensitive and alert to factual cues and chose their probes with care. Clinically significant factual information, idiosyncratic to the family and outside the range of standard enquiry was common, but was obtained satisfactorily with all four styles. No one style was generally preferred by informants. The advantages of systematic questioning for obtaining factual information were not associated with any disadvantages with respect to the eliciting of emotions and feelings.
Suckling and sucrose ingestion suppress persistent hyperalgesia and spinal Fos expression after forepaw inflammation in infant rats.

Sweet taste and nonnutritive suckling produce analgesia to transient noxious stimuli in infant rats and humans. The present study evaluated the pain-modulating effects of sucrose and suckling in a rat model of persistent pain and hyperalgesia that mimics the response to tissue injury in humans. Fore- and hindpaw withdrawal latencies from a 30 degrees or 48 degrees C brass stylus were determined in 10-day-old rats following paw inflammation induced by complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA; 1:1 injected s.c. in a 0.01 ml volume). CFA markedly decreased escape latencies to both 48 degrees and 30 degrees C stimulation, thereby demonstrating thermal hyperalgesia and mechanical allodynia. The combination of nonnutritive suckling and sucrose (7.5%, 0.01-0.06 ml/min) infusion markedly increased escape latencies to forepaw stimulation in both CFA-treated and control rats. In contrast, intraoral sucrose and suckling did not increase hindpaw withdrawal latencies in either control or CFA-inflamed rats. The effect was specific to sweet taste because neither water nor isotonic saline infusion affected forepaw escape latencies. Parallel findings were obtained for CFA-induced Fos-like immunoreactivity (Fos-LI), a marker of neuronal activation. Fos-LI was selectively induced in cervical and lumbar regions ipsilateral to forepaw and hindpaw inflammation, respectively. Suckling-sucrose treatment significantly reduced Fos-LI at the cervical but not at the lumbar regions. These findings demonstrate: (i) the development of persistent pain and hyperalgesia in 10-day-old rats that can be attenuated by endogenous pain-modulating systems activated by taste and nonnutritive suckling; (ii) the mediation of the sucrose-suckling analgesia and antihyperalgesia at the spinal level; and (iii) a differential rostrocaudal maturation of descending pain-modulating systems to the spinal cord of 10-day-old rats. These findings may provide new clinical approaches for engaging endogenous analgesic mechanisms in infants following tissue injury and inflammation.
Health Differences in Australia and the United States: The role of Social Expenditures

Health Differences in Australia and the United States: The role of Social Expenditures Ruben Krishnananthan Chair of the Supervisory Committee: Dr. Stephen Bezruchka, Senior Lecturer, Global Health and Health Services The U.S has poorer health despite spending more on healthcare than its peer nations in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). It is often argued that the U.S. cannot be easily compared with other nations due to many factors including geographic size and racial diversity. Australia, an Anglophone immigrant nation of enormous geographic size had similar life expectancy after birth in the 1970’s but has continued to improve, as U.S. health statistics have stagnated. Both Australia and the U.S. spend on social programs not including healthcare, but Australia’s policies have been more effective at improving the social determinants of health. Some of the differences in both health and healthcare in the two nations stems from history; others reflect current socioeconomic reality. As the U.S. debates health and healthcare reform, a focus on the social determinants of health may prove more successful than increasing healthcare expenditure. Adopting and modifying Australian social policies could provide a cost-effective method to improve U.S. health outside of healthcare reform.
Relationship between Time to Flowering and Stalk and Ear Damage by Second Generation Corn Borers

ABSTRACT In the Mediterranean area, the main corn borer species are Sesamia nonagrioides Lefebvre (Mediterranean corn borer) and Ostrinia nubilalis Hübner (European corn borer). In the overall context of integrated pest control, it is possible to reduce the effect of a pest without having a negative effect on the environment by varying the sowing date. Benefits are possible if the most susceptible stages of the crop no longer coincide with the peak of the pest. We used different cycles of selection (0, 6, 8, 10, and 12) of two populations (Purdue A and Purdue B) of maize selected for early flowering to get a more precise estimation of the relationship between maturity of plant tissues and corn borer damage. We found a relationship between the damage produced by corn borers and the number of days from flowering to infestation. We conclude that, after flowering, a later stage of plant development at the moment of the infestation by corn borers reduces the damage caused by the larvae. Based on our results, we recommend to plant as early as possible so the tissues would be as mature as possible at the moment of insect attack.
Studies in Preparation and Evaluation of pH‐Independent Sustained‐Release Matrix Tablets of Verapamil HCl Using Directly Compressible Eudragits

The objective of the present study was to investigate the impact of formulation factors on the properties of a 12h modified‐release formulation of verapamil HCl. A 23 full factorial design was employed to investigate the influence of amount of Eudragit RS PO/RL PO (X1, a matrixing agent), HPMC K4M (X2, an auxiliary matrixing agent cum binder) and PEG 4000 (X3, channelling agent cum plasticizer). The tablets were prepared by direct compression and they were evaluated for in vitro dissolution studies in 0.1 N HCl. The time required for 90% of the drug release (t90) and similarity factor (f2) were used as responses for the selection of most appropriate batches. Swelling and fluid penetration studies were carried out in 0.1 N HCl. Time required for 90% of the drug release (t90) was calculated by using an appropriate kinetic model for each batch. An ideal drug release profile (i.e., 25% in the first hour and a constant drug release thereafter) was considered as a reference release profile for calculation of f2. Multiple regression analysis was adopted to evolve refined models for t90. The required release pattern was shown by batches containing a low level of Eudragit RS PO/RL PO (30% w/w), low level of HPMC K4M (10% w/w), and high level of PEG 4000 (15% w/w). Response surface plots are shown for t90. These formulations showed slower drug release in alkaline medium (pH 7.2). Succinic acid and KH2PO4 were incorporated in the matrix in order to obtain pH‐independent drug release. Swelling of tablets and fluid penetration in the matrix were found to be influenced by the selected independent variables. This study demonstrates that the desired drug release pattern can be obtained by adopting a systematic formulation approach.
Market Prices versus Fair Value Pricing for Fixed Income: Why the Diff?

Market participants are unfailingly amazed that so much of US fixed income is illiquid. Given the sheer number of individual bonds, not every bond trades every day, yet many participants require a price each day for each bond. Consequently, fair value pricing services have arisen to supply a price. This article will show that market prices and fair value pricing are not directly interchangeable and can even have different statistical properties as a result of the illiquidity in the bond market. For the corporate market, this article will show how fair value pricing can be inferred from the likely market price. In the opposite direction, for the mortgage market, this article shows how the most liquid mortgages can influence the generic mortgages held in the benchmarks. To calibrate the appropriate model to the appropriate goal, it is important that quantitative analysts appreciate these relationships.
Fungal biosorption – an alternative to meet the challenges of heavy metal pollution in aqueous solutions

The removal of heavy metal from the environment, especially wastewater, is now shifting from the use of conventional methods to the use of biosorption, which may be defined as the binding and concentration of selected heavy metal ions or other molecules on to certain biological material. Although most biosorption research concerns metal and related pollutants, including radionuclides, the term is now applied for particulates and all manner of organic pollutants as well. Such pollutants can be in gaseous, soluble and insoluble forms. Biosorption is a physical process carried out through mechanisms such as ion exchange, surface complexation and precipitation. It is a property of both living and dead organisms (and their components) and has been heralded as a promising biotechnology for pollutant removal from solution. Various biomasses such as plant products (tree bark, peanut skin, sawdust, plant weeds etc.) have been tested for metal biosorption with very encouraging results. In this comprehensive review, biosorptive ability of fungal biomass toward heavy metals is emphasized. A detailed description of adsorption properties and mode of action of fungal biosorbents is offered in order to explain the heavy metal selectivity displayed by these biosorbents. The cell structure and cell wall of the fungal cell is evaluated in terms of metal sequestration. The parameters influencing the passive uptake of pollutants are analysed. The binding mechanism is discussed, including the key functional groups involved in the process. Quantification of metal–biomass interactions is fundamental to evaluation of potential implementation strategies; hence sorption isotherms and sorption kinetics, as well as models used to characterize fungal biosorbent sorption, are reviewed. Despite the continuing dramatic increase in published research on biosorption, there has been little or no exploitation in an industrial context. Thus, the current status and future directions regarding biosorption at an industrial level are discussed. A systematic comparative review of the literature, based on the metal‐binding capacity of fungal biomass under different conditions, is also provided. The problems associated with fungal biosorption are analysed and suitable remedies are discussed. Thus, this article reviews the achievements and current status of fungal biosorption technology and hopes to provide insights into future research.
Modeling Surface Growth of Escherichia coli on Agar Plates

ABSTRACT Surface growth of Escherichia coli cells on a membrane filter placed on a nutrient agar plate under various conditions was studied with a mathematical model. The surface growth of bacterial cells showed a sigmoidal curve with time on a semilogarithmic plot. To describe it, a new logistic model that we presented earlier (H. Fujikawa et al., Food Microbiol. 21:501-509, 2004) was modified. Growth curves at various constant temperatures (10 to 34°C) were successfully described with the modified model (model III). Model III gave better predictions of the rate constant of growth and the lag period than a modified Gompertz model and the Baranyi model. Using the parameter values of model III at the constant temperatures, surface growth at various temperatures was successfully predicted. Surface growth curves at various initial cell numbers were also sigmoidal and converged to the same maximum cell numbers at the stationary phase. Surface growth curves at various nutrient levels were also sigmoidal. The maximum cell number and the rate of growth were lower as the nutrient level decreased. The surface growth curve was the same as that in a liquid, except for the large curvature at the deceleration period. These curves were also well described with model III. The pattern of increase in the ATP content of cells grown on a surface was sigmoidal, similar to that for cell growth. We discovered several characteristics of the surface growth of bacterial cells under various growth conditions and examined the applicability of our model to describe these growth curves.
3D Computational Morphology

Computational Morphology is the analysis of form by computational means. This discipline typically uses techniques from Computational Geometry and Computer Aided Geometric Design. The present paper is more specifically about the construction and manipulation of closed object boundaries through a set of scattered points in 3D. Original results are developed in three stages of computational morphology:
Randomized Placebo-Controlled Crossover Trial of Tadalafil in Raynaud’s Phenomenon Secondary to Systemic Sclerosis

Objective. Raynaud’s phenomenon (RP) is an important clinical feature of systemic sclerosis (SSc) for which consistently effective therapies are lacking. The study was designed to assess the safety, tolerability, and efficacy of tadalafil, a selective, long acting type V cyclic GMP phosphodiesterase (PDE-5) inhibitor, in this clinical syndrome. Methods. We performed a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study comparing oral tadalafil at a fixed dose of 20 mg daily for a period of 4 weeks versus placebo in women with RP secondary to SSc. Results. Thirty-nine subjects completed the study and were evaluable. There were no statistically significant differences in Raynaud Condition Score (RCS), frequency of RP episodes, or duration of RP episodes between treatment groups. Placebo response was a confounding factor. Tadalafil was well tolerated. Conclusion. Tadalafil appears to be safe and well tolerated but lacks efficacy in comparison to placebo as a treatment for RP secondary to SSc.
Critical Relationship Between TCR Signaling Potential and TCR Affinity During Thymocyte Selection

Whether a developing thymocyte becomes positively or negatively selected is thought to be determined by the affinity/avidity of its TCR for MHC/peptide ligands expressed in the thymus. Presumably, differences in affinity translate into differences in the potency of the ensuing TCR-mediated signals, and these differences in signal strength determine the outcome of thymocyte selection. However, there is little direct evidence establishing a relationship between TCR-ligand affinity and signal strength during positive and negative selection. The TCR complex contains multiple signaling motifs, known as immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motifs (ITAMs) that are required for T cell activation. To examine the effects of TCR signal strength on selection, the signaling potential of the TCR was modified by substituting transgenic TCR ζ-chains containing either three, one, or zero ITAMs for endogenous (3-ITAM) ζ-chain. These ζ-chain variants were then bred into different αβTCR transgenic backgrounds. We report that reductions in TCR signaling potential have distinct effects on the selection of thymocytes expressing different TCRs, and that the requirement for ζ-chain ITAMs critically depends upon the specificity and apparently, affinity, of the TCR for its selecting ligand(s).
Gender Differences in Desire Discrepancy as a Predictor of Sexual and Relationship Satisfaction in a College Sample of Heterosexual Romantic Relationships

The authors examined desire discrepancy and its effect on sexual and relationship satisfaction in a sample of 133 heterosexual couples attending a midsize university. Couples were required to be in a relationship for at least 1 year (M = 4.32 years, SD = 3.13 years); 23.7% of the couples were cohabitating. Hierarchical multiple regression results indicated that higher desire discrepancy scores significantly predicted women's (but not men's) lower sexual satisfaction after controlling for relationship satisfaction. Higher desire discrepancy scores significantly predicted men's (but not women's) lower relationship satisfaction after controlling for sexual satisfaction. The authors assessed gender differences using a mixed model with the dyad and gender as factors and satisfaction as the outcome. Although gender difference patterns appeared in the regression models, the differences were nonsignificant within each couple in the extent to which desire discrepancy affected sexual and relationship satisfaction. These findings suggest moving away from focusing on only one partner with low desire and shifting attention to the dyad's interaction. Also, the way in which desire discrepancy affects sexual and relationship satisfaction deserves consideration. Therapeutic implications and study limitations are discussed.
Getting energy balance right in an obesogenic world

Currently the world is facing an incredibly costly epidemic of obesity. Almost two-thirds of UK adults are either overweight or obese with estimated financial costs to the UK economy alone of £27 billion per year. While fundamentally obesity is a disorder of energy balance, several decades of research has demonstrated that maintaining energy balance is much more complex than the ‘energy in equals energy out’ equation that was once touted. The purpose of the 2018 Nutrition Society Summer Conference, ‘Getting energy balance right’ was to provide insight into the numerous factors influencing energy balance, considering varying needs across the lifespan, while highlighting advances and gaps in knowledge. Papers presented in this issue illustrate the wide range of factors involved in maintaining energy balance, including: epigenetics, the gut microbiome, physical activity and dietary factors including sugar. Given the complexity of energy balance, systems approaches were highlighted as useful for both understanding metabolism and pathophysiology, and for understanding how public health interventions to treat and prevent obesity should be implemented. The meeting concluded that numerous stakeholders, from individuals, to schools, industry and government, have roles to play in fostering a positive food environment that facilitates the maintenance of energy balance throughout the lifespan.
Sonographic Distinction Between Acute Suppurative Appendicitis and Viral Appendiceal Lymphoid Hyperplasia (“Pink Appendix”) With Pathological Correlation

Abstract The viral etiology of mesenteric lymphadenitis may also affect the lymphoid tissue of the appendix in children giving rise to symptomatic appendiceal lymphoid hyperplasia, the so-called “pink appendix. ” The present study used ultrasound (US) to determine if certain sonographic features correlated with appendiceal pathological findings. Our results indicate that a fluid-filled appendix always correlates with a suppurative or mixed pathological appearance that likely merits surgery. A lymphoid predominant pathological appearance occurred only in cases where appendiceal wall thickening alone was seen on US. This pilot project therefore shows that US has the potential to stratify acute appendix patients into different treatment regimens, given that lymphoid hyperplasia could be treated conservatively. Further studies correlating other clinicoradiological parameters with this sonographic appearance are warranted.
Compare motors of Toyota Prius and synchronous reluctance for using in electric vehicle and hybrid electric vehicle

This paper, Parameters of Toyota Prius and synchronous reluctance motors will be compared to each other for using in electric and hybrid vehicles. Parameters are some physical characteristics of two motors such as weight, cost of raw materials, including electrical and magnetic flux density, torque, power losses, efficiency output power and yield. Physical features of two motors can be calculated with different materials regard to the size and bulk density And to calculate the remaining cases has been used of transient finite element method. At the outset will be proved that the weight of the Prius engine is less than reluctance synchronous motor. However, due to the exist a permanent magnet in raw material structure of the Prius motor, the prices of this motor is higher than reluctance synchronous motor. Finally, according to the outputs magnetic of two motors will be proved that the synchronous reluctance motors has appropriate conditions to use in electric and hybrid vehicles is highest.