Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Efficacy of a Dried Colostrum Powder in the Prevention of Disease in Neonatal Holstein Calves

Abstract The efficacy of a dried colostrum powder, DCW Concentrate™, as a colostrum supplement or substitute was tested using four groups of 15 calves. Physical condition and IgG status were examined during the first 30 d of life. Calves were fed the dried colostrum powder (group A), pooled colostrum (group C), or both (groups B and D) 2h after birth. Calves fed 85g of the dried colostrum powder dissolved in 3kg of whole milk (group A) had significantly lower IgG concentrations 24h after birth than calves of the other groups. Administration of 85g of the dried colostrum powder plus 3kg of colostrum (group C) did not lead to significantly higher IgG concentrations 24h after birth than did administration of 3kg of colostrum alone (group B). Calves fed 85g of the dried colostrum powder plus 1.5kg of colostrum (group D) had an IgG concentration at 24h of age that was not significantly different from that of calves given 3kg of colostrum (group B). Morbidity and mortality rates were not significantly different among groups. One calf died in each of groups A and B; no losses occurred in groups C and D. Body weight increase was not significantly different among groups.
Increasing knowledge, skills, and empathy among direct care workers in elder care: a preliminary study of an active-learning model.

PURPOSE We describe the development of a 24-hr curriculum for nonclinical direct care workers in elder care that features active-learning strategies and consumer-directed approaches. DESIGN AND METHODS Our curricular design was based on adult education theory and a survey of 70% of the community's service providers. Training was completed by 88 participants, 90% of whom had no prior formal training in elder care. Questionnaires measured participant knowledge, attitudes, and perceived improvements in understanding, empathy, and skills. A subgroup of participants and employers provided additional feedback through focus groups. RESULTS Participants significantly improved their scores on knowledge and attitude measures. In addition, direct care workers and employers gave the training high marks and identified ways in which the course helped increase workers' competence, empathy toward elders, and self-esteem. Lack of time and funds for training were two major barriers to broader participation. IMPLICATIONS This active-learning curriculum represents a frugal yet effective way to train current and future direct care workers.
CMOS current starved voltage controlled oscillator circuit for a fast locking PLL

Two novel voltage controlled oscillators (CSN-VCO and CSD-VCO) have been proposed in this paper. CSN-VCO has been designed with 20 transistors while CSD VCO with 24 transistors. It has been observed that CSN-VCO could operate in the frequency range from 0.066 to 2.2 GHz, and CSD VCO could operate from 0.047 to 2.5 GHz. Tuning range for these VCOs are determined to be 97 %, and 98.2 % while the values of gain obtained are 8.94 and 10.2 GradV-1 respectively. Phase noise analysis has been performed and the phase noise contribution by CSN-VCO and CSD VCO are found to be -126 and -129 dBc/Hz @ 1 MHz respectively. Prototype has been designed in Cadence virtuoso environment and implemented using GPDK090 library of 180 nm technology with a supply voltage of 1.8 V. Simulation of transfer function of PLL built with the VCOs has been done in MATLAB and the step response has been compared with the circuit simulation results from Cadence. Lock time as low as 355 ns and 313 ns have been achieved for the CSN-VCO and CSD-VCO respectively.
Human Exposure to Dioxin-Like Compounds in Fish and Shellfish Consumed in South Korea

Abstract Dietary intake is the most important source of exposure to dioxins for the general population. This pathway contributes more than 90% of the daily intake for the general population of Korea. The objective of this study was to assess current exposure to dioxin-like compounds in fish and shellfish consumed by the general population in Korea. Residues of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), and dioxin-like, non-, and mono-substituted polychlorinated biphenyls (co-planar PCBs) were quantified in 32 fish and shellfish collected from domestic fisheries markets. The contributions of individual DL-PCB congeners to the total 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) equivalents (TEQ) were greater than 50%. Concentrations of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin equivalents based on the TCDD equivalency factors (TEFs) developed by the World Health Organization (TEQWHO) were compared to guidelines suggested for the protection of human health by the World Health Organization (WHO). The greatest TEQ concentration was observed in herring, followed by that in dried anchovy and Sailfin sandfish. The exposure to dioxin-like compounds from current fish consumption patterns was estimated to be 72 pg TEQWHO/day, which is equal to 1.2 pg TEQWHO/kg, bw/d, a value that is less than the current tolerable daily intake (TDI) guideline in Korea, which is 4 pg TEQWHO/kg, bw/d. The relatively great exposure was determined to be due to greater fish consumption rate in Korea, rather than greater concentrations of residues in food.
Local steroids and dysphagia in anterior cervical discectomy and fusion-does the employment of rhBMP-2 make their use a necessity?

Dysphagia consists one of the most disturbing post-operative symptoms, with reported incidence varying from 1% to approximately 80% of patients undergoing anterior cervical procedures (1). It is also known that despite the high reported rates of early postoperative dysphagia, it has been demonstrated that less than 15% of the patients will finally experience dysphagia one year after surgery (2). Generally, dysphagia is characterized as difficulty in the swallowing process, and it may affect the consumption of both solid food and/or liquids. Many factors have been implicated in the genesis of postoperative dysphagia, such as previous neck surgery, prolonged operative time, multi-level procedure, excessive intraoperative esophageal retraction, employment of rhBMP-2, implantation of anterior cervical plate, and postoperative development of prevertebral soft tissue edema.
Laboratory methods for evaluating the effect of low level laser therapy (LLLT) in wound healing

The basic tenet of laser therapy is that laser radiation has a wavelength dependent capability to alter cellular behaviour in the absence of significant heating. Low intensity radiation can inhibit as well as stimulate cellular activity. Laser therapy typically involves the delivery of 1-4J/cm 2 to treatments sites with lasers having output powers between 10mW and 90mW. There are two major areas of laser therapy research: the laboratory and the clinic. The laboratory presents the least ambiguous results. Here, although unsupported results do appear, the vast majority of published work finds clear evidence that laser irradiation alters cellular processes in a nonthermal, wavelength-dependent manner. Low energy laser irradiation alters the cellular function by effecting protein synthesis, cell growth and differentiation, cell motility, membrane potential and binding affinities, neurotransmitter release, ATP synthesis and prostaglandin synthesis. Laboratory findings provide scientific rati onale of laser therapy and the effect of laser therapy on cellular processes. This review outlines some of the current methods employed in the laboratory to measure the effect of low level laser therapy (LLLT) on cellular and molecular processes in the cell. This review briefly explains the different structural, cellular and molecular parameters and highlights some of the basic principles and protocols including specialized equipment requirements. Keywords : low level laser therapy, wound healing, laboratory, cellular, molecular African Journal of Biomedical Research Vol. 8(1) 2005: 1-14
Delirium Severity and Psychomotor Types: Their Relationship with Outcomes after Hip Fracture Repair

OBJECTIVES: To validate the Memorial Delirium Assessment Scale (MDAS) as a measure of delirium severity in a cohort of patients aged 65 and older; to examine the association between severity of delirium and patient outcomes; and to examine the association between psychomotor variants of delirium and each of those outcomes.
Accommodating a growing population in Javanese agriculture.

An examination of how the island of Java, Indonesia, has accommodated population growth over the past 150 years by a process of agricultural development is presented. A brief review of the literature on the relationship between agricultural development and population growth is first provided. Next, the available data on land area, cultivated area, agricultural production, and employment in Java over the past century are reviewed. The relationship between agricultural development and population growth in Java is then analyzed in terms of the concepts and processes discussed in the theoretical literature.
A comparison of rabbit and mouse antisera to Shigella paradysenteriae.

Agglutinin-titers against the same strains of S. paradysenteriae are higher in rabbit than in mouse antisera. High precipitin and mouse-protective titers are reached in rabbit sera, but they are negligible or low in mouse antisera. Mouse antisera obtained by us against the strains of S. paradysenteriae are more type specific than the corresponding rabbit immune sera.
Self-assessments of patients via Tablet PC in routine patient care: comparison with standardised paper questionnaires

Objective: We evaluated the feasibility of electronic data capture of self-administered patient questionnaires using a Tablet PC for integration in routine patient management; we also compared these data with results received from corresponding paper–pencil versions. Methods: Standardised patient questionnaires (FFbH/HAQ, BASDAI, SF-36) were implemented in our documentation software. 153 outpatients (rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, spondyloarthritis) completed sets of questionnaires as paper–pencil and electronic versions using a Tablet PC. The quality and validity of data obtained using a Tablet PC and the capability of disabled patients to handle it were assigned; patients’ experiences, preferences and computer/internet use were also assessed. Results: Scores obtained by direct data entry on the Tablet PC did not differ from the scores obtained by the paper–pencil questionnaires in the complete group and disease subgroups. No major difficulties using the Tablet PC occurred. 62.1% preferred remote data entry in the future. Seven (4.6%) patients felt uncomfortable with the Tablet PC due to their rheumatic disease. Conclusions: Self-administered questionnaires via Tablet PC are a facile and capable option in patients with rheumatic diseases to monitor disease activity, efficacy and safety assessments continuously. Tablet PC applications offers directly available data for clinical decision-making improves quality of care by effective patient monitoring, and contributes to patients’ empowerment.
A wall-climbing robot for labelling scale of oil tank's volume

A Wall-Climbing Robot (WCR) with magnetic tracks is presented in this paper. The robot is designed for labeling the scale of oil tank.5 The Wall-Climbing Robot (WCR) uses a permanent magnet sucker as its sucking mode, and a track as its moving mode. We designed an elastic brace mechanism, a load-scatter mechanism and parallelogram mechanism to improve the robot's adaptability on the steel wall surface. The control system utilizes two-level computer control systems, achieving control of the robot's moving track and processing data collected by the robot.
High Precision Self-Adaptive Radar Gauging under Clutter Environments

In this paper, a robust self-adaptive radar signal processing method for high precision level measurement is presented. The algorithms include dynamic tracking of multiple reflections and self-adaptive interferometric phase processing. The method has been tested under practical field scenarios, which contain multi-path effects, clutter object interferences and near-field reflections. The radar used in the tests is a Enraf X-band level gauge with frequency range from 9.5 to 10.5 GHz. The result shows that the accuracy of plusmn0.3 mm is obtained from the radar gauge. Under heavy clutter influences of 8-dB signal-to-clutter ratio, the accuracy of plusmn1 mm has been attained in whole measuring range. Furthermore, the gauge has been tested against the worst-case scenario that is the combination of unforeseen interruptions of continuous measurement with multi-path and clutter effects. The test results show that under severe interruptions the method can still maintain its high radar performance in robustness, repeatability and precision
Plasticity in Skeletal, Cardiac, and Smooth Muscle Historical Perspectives: Plasticity of mammalian skeletal muscle

Pette, Dirk. Historical Perspectives: Plasticity of mammalian skeletal muscle. J Appl Physiol 90: 1119‐1124, 2001. —More than 40 years ago, the nerve cross-union experiment of Buller, Eccles, and Eccles provided compelling evidence for the essential role of innervation in determining the properties of mammalian skeletal muscle fibers. Moreover, this experiment revealed that terminally differentiated muscle fibers are not inalterable but are highly versatile entities capable of changing their phenotype from fast to slow or slow to fast. With the use of various experimental models, numerous studies have since confirmed and extended the notion of muscle plasticity. Together, these studies demonstrated that motoneuron-specific impulse patterns, neuromuscular activity, and mechanical loading play important roles in both the maintenance and transition of muscle fiber phenotypes. Depending on the type, intensity, and duration of changes in any of these factors, muscle fibers adjust their phenotype to meet the altered functional demands. Fiber-type transitions resulting from multiple qualitative and quantitative changes in gene expression occur sequentially in a regular order within a spectrum of pure and hybrid fiber types. chronic low-frequency stimulation; cross-reinnervation; exercise training; muscle fiber transformation; neuromuscular activity
The difference between monaural and binaural thresholds.

Although there is considerable agreement on the increase in apparent loudness of auditory stimuli presented binaurally as compared with monaural stimulation at supraliminal intensities, less agreement is found concerning binaural summation at liminal or subliminal intensities. Experimenters in the past have reported the binaural threshold to be (1) the same as that of the “better” ear, (2) lower than that of the “better” ear, or (3) lower than that of the “average” ear. The present paper shows the binaural threshold to be approximately 3 db lower than the “equated” monaural threshold for both pure tones and speech. “Normal” summation occurs when the stimuli presented to both ears are physically equal and the binaural threshold is 1.5 db lower than that of the “better” ear and 4 db lower than that of the “average” ear (average value of 14 frequencies tested). “Maximum” binaural summation occurs when the stimuli presented are functionally equal, i.e. when the stimulus intensities differ according to the dif.
Sleep in family caregivers of patients admitted to hospice: A pilot study

Abstract Objectives: Caring for a dying family member is known to interfere with sleep, yet little is known about caregiver sleep once the patient is admitted to hospice. The aim of this pilot study was to describe the sleep of partners and other family caregivers of patients in hospice. Methods: The pilot study used a cross-sectional, descriptive, and comparative design. Participants included the primary family caregivers of patients recently admitted to a hospice in Norway. Caregiver sleep during the prior month was measured with the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). During the patient's hospice stay, caregiver sleep was measured using wrist actigraphy for four nights and three days. Results: Twenty family caregivers (12 partners and 8 other relatives) completed the study protocol without difficulty. On the PSQI, most caregivers (n = 13) reported clinically significant sleep problems during the prior month. Once the patient was admitted to hospice, actigraphy indicated that 10 caregivers had clinically significant sleep disruption (≥15% wake after sleep onset) and six averaged <7 hours of sleep per night. Partner caregivers reported more trouble falling asleep, and less sleep medication use, in the prior month than other types of family caregivers. However, once the patient was admitted to hospice, and after adjusting for caregiver age, partner caregivers experienced less sleep disruption than other caregivers. Significance of results: Findings demonstrate feasibility of the study protocol and indicate that sleep problems are common for caregivers of dying patients, even after the patient is admitted to hospice. The caregiver's relationship to the patient may be an important factor to consider in future studies.
Effects of long-term oxygen therapy on pulmonary hemodynamics in COPD patients: a 6-year prospective study.

OBJECTIVE To investigate effects of 6 years of domiciliary oxygen therapy on pulmonary hemodynamics in a large group of COPD patients. DESIGN Prospective longitudinal study with serial measurements. SETTING Research institute of pulmonary diseases. PATIENTS Ninety-five patients (72 men, 23 women), mean age 58+/-9 years, had COPD but were free of any other serious disease. Functional characteristics at entry, mean+/-SD, were as follows: FVC=2.24+/-0.51 L; FEV1=0.84+/-0.31 L; PaO2=55+/-6 mm Hg; PaCO2=48+/-9 mm Hg; mean pulmonary arterial pressure (PAP)=28+/-11 mm Hg; and pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR)=353+/-172 dynexsxcm(-5). METHODS Pulmonary hemodynamics were investigated using Swan-Ganz thermodilution catheters. After initial assessment, all patients were started on a regimen of long-term oxygen therapy (LTOT). Follow-up consisted of medical examination, spirometry, and arterial blood gas analysis every 3 months. Pulmonary artery catheterization was repeated every 2 years. RESULTS Seventy-three subjects survived 2 years of LTOT. In 39 subjects catheterized after 2 years, PAP fell from 25+/-8 to 23+/-6 mm Hg (not significant [NS]). From 31 patients who completed 4 years of LTOT, hemodynamic data were obtained in 20. In these 20 patients, PAP averaged 24+/-7 mm Hg at entry, and 23+/-5 and 26+/-6 mm Hg after 2 and 4 years, respectively (NS). In 12 patients who completed 6 years of LTOT, PAP was 25+/-7 at entry, and 21+/-4, 26+/-7, and 26+/-6 mm Hg at 2, 4, and 6 years, respectively (p < 0.01 for 2 vs 6 years). PVR was 313+/-159 dynexsxcm(-5) at entry, and 268+/-110, 344+/-82, and 332+/-205 dynexsxcm(-5) at 2, 4, and 6 years, respectively (NS). During 6 years of follow-up, PaO2 decreased from 61+/-3 to 46+/-9 mm Hg (p < 0.001) and PaCO2 increased from 44+/-13 to 49+/-9 mm Hg (p < 0.01). CONCLUSION LTOT for 14 to 15 h/d resulted in a small reduction in pulmonary hypertension after the first 2 years followed by a return to initial values and subsequent stabilization of PAP over 6 years. The long-term stabilization of pulmonary hypertension occurred despite progression of the airflow limitation and of hypoxemia.
Yeast Transcriptional Regulator Leu3p

Recent work suggests that the masking of the activation domain (AD) of yeast transactivator Leu3p, observed in the absence of the metabolic signal α-isopropylmalate, is an intramolecular event. Much of the evidence came from the construction and analysis of a mutant form of Leu3p (Leu3-dd) whose AD is permanently masked (Wang, D., Hu, Y., Zheng, F., Zhou, K., and Kohlhaw, G. B. (1997) J. Biol. Chem. 272, 19383–19392). In a modified two-hybrid experiment, the ADs of both wild type Leu3p and Leu3-dd were shown to interact with the remainder of the Leu3 protein, in an α-isopropylmalate-dependent manner. The finding that masking and unmasking proceed apparently normally when full-length Leu3p is expressed in mammalian cells is also consistent with the notion of intramolecular masking. Here we report on the identification of nine missense mutations (all of them suppressors of the Leu3-dd phenotype) that cause permanent unmasking of Leu3p. The nine mutations map to three short segments located within a 140-residue-long region of the C-terminal part of the middle region of Leu3p. These segments may be part of a spatial trap for the AD. We also performed “domain swaps” between Leu3p and Cha4p, a serine/threonine-responsive activator that, like Leu3p, belongs to the family of Zn(II)2Cys6 proteins. We show that AD masking and response to the appropriate metabolic signal only occur when a given AD remains attached to its own middle region; middle region swapping results in constitutively active proteins. Finally, we show that the extent to which Leu3p regulates reporter gene expression depends on the intracellular concentration of Leu3p. The possible physiological significance of this observation is discussed in light of the known regulation of Leu3p by Gcn4p.
Fetal developmental change in topographical relationship between the human lateral pterygoid muscle and buccal nerve

In adults, the lateral pterygoid muscle (LPM) is usually divided into the upper and lower heads, between which the buccal nerve passes. Using sagittal or horizontal sections of 14 fetuses and seven embryos (five specimens at approximately 20–25 weeks; five at 14–16 weeks; four at 8 weeks; seven at 6–7 weeks), we examined the topographical relationship between the LPM and the buccal nerve. In large fetuses later than 15 weeks, the upper head of the LPM was clearly discriminated from the lower head. However, the upper head was much smaller than the lower head in the smaller fetuses. Thus, in the latter, the upper head was better described as an ‘anterior slip’ extending from the lower head or the major muscle mass to the anterior side of the buccal nerve. The postero‐anterior nerve course seemed to be determined by a branch to the temporalis muscle (i.e. the anterior deep temporal nerve). At 8 weeks, the buccal nerve passed through the roof of the small, fan‐like LPM. At 6–7 weeks, the LPM anlage was embedded between the temporobuccal nerve trunk and the inferior alveolar nerve. Therefore, parts of the LPM were likely to ‘leak’ out of slits between the origins of the mandibular nerve branches at 7–8 weeks, and seemed to grow in size during weeks 14–20 and extend anterosuperiorly along the infratemporal surface of the prominently developing greater wing of the sphenoid bone. Consequently, the topographical relationship between the LPM and the buccal nerve appeared to ‘change’ during fetal development due to delayed development of the upper head.