Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Is Tumor Necrosis Factor α a Trigger for the Initiation of Endometrial Prostaglandin F2α Release at Luteolysis in Cattle?1

Abstract To determine the physiological significance of tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) in the regulation of luteolytic prostaglandin (PG) F2α release by the bovine endometrium, the effect of TNF-α on PGF2α output by the endometrial tissues in vitro was investigated and compared with the effect of oxytocin (OT). Furthermore, the presence of specific receptors for TNFα in the bovine endometrium during the estrous cycle was determined. Endometrial slices (20–30 mg) taken from six stages of the estrous cycle (estrus: Day 0; early I: Days 2–3; early II: Days 5–6; mid-: Days 8–12; late: Days 15–17; and follicular: Days 19–21), as determined by macroscopic examination of the ovaries and uterus, were exposed to TNFα (0.06–6 nM) and/or OT (100 nM). OT stimulated PGF2α output at the follicular stage and at estrus (P < 0.001), but not at the late luteal stage. On the other hand, the stimulatory effects of TNFα on PGF2α output were observed not only at the follicular stage but also at the late luteal stage (P < 0.001). When the endometrial tissues at late luteal stage were simultaneously exposed to TNFα (0.6 nM) and OT (100 nM), the stimulatory effect on PGF2α output was higher than the effect of TNFα or OT alone (P < 0.05). Specific binding of TNFα to the bovine endometrial membranes was observed throughout the estrous cycle. The concentration of TNF-α receptor at the early I luteal stage was less than the concentrations at other luteal stages (P < 0.01). The dissociation constant (Kd) values of the endometrial membranes were constant during the estrous cycle. The overall results lead us to hypothesize that TNFα may be a trigger for the output of PGF2α by the endometrium at the initiation of luteolysis in cattle.
DIFFERENCES BETWEENTHE QUALITY OF DEFENSES AGAINST DIFFERENT TYPES OF ATTACKS PERFORMED FROM THE STATE OF MOTIONLESSNESS AND THOSE ONES PERFOMED IN THE CONDITIONS OF PHYSIOLOGICAL STRESS

Contemporary civilization courses and urgency of situations make the job of a worker of security affairs very stressful, risky and complex, and it requires their complete mental and physical fi tness. Accordingly, the teaching process within the course of Special Physical Education also needs to be adjusted, modernised, rationalised and brought closer to the realistic life conditions, so the worker of security affairswould be able to make relevant judgements and decisions in very complicated and dangerous situations. In that regard, in this paper we are interested in effectiveness of the defense against different types of attacks in the conditions of motionlessness and in the conditions of physiological stress. The research has been carried out at a sample of 25 respondents, consisting of the students of the fourth year at the Faculty of Security Science in Banja Luka, aged 23 and 24 years (22 male respondents and 3 female respondents). The research has been carried out after fi nishing the program of the course of Special Physical Education, being studied during four semesters. After having carried out the testing, based on the descriptive analysis of the heart rates measured in the morning hours (prior to the daily activities) and the values measured right before the activities, it can be affi rmed that they have increased more than 55%. By the further analysis, the analysis of differences, the existence of statistically signifi cant differences in the heart rates and defenses against a variable attack has been confi rmed, while the existence of statistically signifi cant differences between other observed variables has not been confi rmed.
Vesicle Templated Polymerization, a Review.

Vesicle templated polymerization has developed into a mature research area over the last 35 years. The main purpose of this approach was to produce hollow polymeric nanocapsules from low-cost chemicals, utilizing a simple emulsion polymerization like process. Over the years understanding of the different varieties of the approach has grown. In retrospect, the characterization methods utilized to determine the morphologies are essential to draw the right conclusions. In this review, first, an overview of the earlier attempts to produce nanocapsules with uniformous wall thickness will be given, looking at the results with the current understandings, greatly enhanced by quantification of the different morphologies through cryo-TEM images. The latest approach, reactive oligomer assisted transcriptive synthesis, seems to be able to fulfill the initial purpose and almost 100% of nanocapsule morphologies can be formed under the right conditions.
HSOA Journal of Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine Informing Best Practice for Supportive Housing with care for Older Adults: A Qualitative Investigation of Service Provider Views

The older adult population is increasing, with subsequent socio economic challenges worldwide. Internationally, a well-recognised model that enables healthy ageing is ‘supportive housing with care’ which provides basic care for older adults that require minimal sup port. In Ireland, policy towards public provision of older adult care is nursing home based. To inform policy further, this study explores the views of service providers of supportive housing with care facilities. An instrumental case study methodology was adopted. 28 staff par ticipated in focus group discussions; 6 staff from 4 centres (n=24) and 4 staff from 1 centre (n=4). Focus group participants included kitchen/catering staff, laundry staff/cleaners, multi-task attendants, healthcare assistants, care workers, student nurses and nurses. 5 managers (n=5), one from each centre, were interviewed separately, resulting in 33 participants in total (N=33). Six themes emerged from the focus group and interview data: accessing supportive housing with care; advantages of supportive housing with care; provision of care; governance; older adult care options, and; improving support ive housing with care. Results indicated that supportive housing with care facilities were clearly viewed by staff as providing an essen tial older adult care service. However, participants perceived that supporting residents with increasing dependency levels, regulation, legislation and funding allocation needed to be addressed further when informing the future development of the model for supportive housing with carel.
(S)‐4‐Amino‐5‐phenoxypentanoate designed as a potential selective agonist of the bacterial transcription factor GabR

Addressing molecular recognition in the context of evolution requires pursuing new molecular targets to enable the development of agonists or antagonists with new mechanisms of action. Disruption of transcriptional regulation through targeting transcription factors that regulate the expression of key enzymes in bacterial metabolism may provide a promising method for controlling the bacterial metabolic pathways. To this end, we have selectively targeted a bacterial transcription regulator through the design and synthesis of a series of γ‐aminobutyric acid (GABA) derivatives, including (S)‐4‐amino‐5‐phenoxypentanoate (4‐phenoxymethyl‐GABA), which are based on docking insights gained from a previously‐solved crystal structure of GabR from Bacillus subtilis. This target was selected because GabR strictly controls GABA metabolism by regulating the transcription of the gabT/D operon. These GabR transcription modulators are selective for the bacterial transcription factor GabR and are unable to bind to structural homologs of GabR due to distinct steric constraints. We have obtained a crystal structure of 4‐phenoxymethyl‐GABA bound as an external aldimine with PLP in the effector binding site of GabR, which suggests that this compound is capable of binding and reacting in the same manner as the native effector ligand. Inhibition assays demonstrate high selectivity of 4‐phenoxymethyl‐GABA for bacterial GabR versus several selected eukaryotic enzymes. Single‐molecule fluorescence resonance energy transfer (smFRET) experiments reveal a ligand‐induced DNA distortion that is very similar to that of the native effector GABA, suggesting that the compound functions as a potential selective agonist of GabR.
Pre-Mix and on-site mixing of fumigants

Pre-Mix or On-Site mixing, a common practice with liquid insecticides, has benefits of increased synergy with fumigants. Both Pre-Mix and On-Site mixing have some issues with compatibility (e.g., active ingredient chemical stability; material compatibility; reaction with other ingredients). In addition to its fumigant properties, carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), has a synergistic effect on other fumigants and reduces flammability. The general consensus on the amount of CO 2 to improve efficacy is in the range 5%-20%. The early recognition of the benefits of CO 2 to overcome the flammability of potential fumigants by Jones (1933), initiated safe and more effective fumigant mixtures: examples are ethylene oxide (12.2 vol%), ethyl formate (14.4 vol%) and propylene oxide (8.3 vol%). The main advantage of gaseous phosphine (PH 3 ) use is reduced generation time and uniform PH 3 distribution in hours not days. Other advantages of gaseous PH 3 include accurate metering of PH 3 fumigation levels and reduction of Occupational Health and Safety exposure to PH 3 . Gaseous PH 3 in a Pre-Mix with liquid CO 2 or mixed On-Site with gaseous CO 2 or N 2 +Air to reduce the PH 3 level below Lower Explosive Level of 16,000 ppm. A critical impurity of CO 2 when mixing with PH 3 is oxygen which must be less than 0.01% to avoid the formation of the polymer, (P 2 H 4 CO 2 )n. Large quantities of PH 3 are used to treat grain storage up to 280,000 tonne [CBH, WA] and multiple 30,000 tonne silos at Dalian, China (1.4 Mt facility). Reports indicate synergy with a mixture of propylene oxide (C 3 H 6 O), sulfuryl fluoride (SO 2 F 2 ) and CO 2 . This mixture is an attractive candidate for a Pre-Mix or On-Site mixing of a non-flammable synergized mixture with reported 100% efficacy for all insect life stages. Keywords : Fumigant mixtures, Synergised, Non-flammable, On-site mixing.
Diurnal activity of the prawn Penaeus semisulcatus De Haan

Several authors have reported that penaeid prawns remain active above substratum at night and stay quiet, buried in sand during the day (Fuss, 1964; Fuss and Ogren, 1966 ; Wickham, 1967; Hughes, 1968). Menon and Raman (1961) also suggested increased nocturnal activity in Indian penaeid prawns. Kutty (1967) pointed out the burrowing habit of Penaeus semisculcatus and estimated the metabolism of the buried prawn; his short term observations, however, did not indicate that Penaeus indicus has the burrowing habit. Burrowing methods of Metapenaeus masiersii have been described by Dall (1958) and those of Penaeus duorarunt by Fuss (1964). It appears that the burrowing habits of the penaeid prawns are more or less similar. As evident, precise information on the burrowing behaviour, emergence from the substratum and activity of the Indian prawns are wanting. The authors had occasion to observe the activity rhythm of a group of penaeid prawns, Penaeus semisulcatus reared in the sea water aquarium of the Institute primarily for a series of experiments on metabolic adptations. The present observations, though not strictly planned, appeared to be of interest especially since much is yet to be known about the behaviour of the Indian prawns and are therefore presented here.
Survey of Smart Parking Systems

The large number of vehicles constantly seeking access to congested areas in cities means that finding a public parking place is often difficult and causes problems for drivers and citizens alike. In this context, strategies that guide vehicles from one point to another, looking for the most optimal path, are needed. Most contributions in the literature are routing strategies that take into account different criteria to select the optimal route required to find a parking space. This paper aims to identify the types of smart parking systems (SPS) that are available today, as well as investigate the kinds of vehicle detection techniques (VDT) they have and the algorithms or other methods they employ, in order to analyze where the development of these systems is at today. To do this, a survey of 274 publications from January 2012 to December 2019 was conducted. The survey considered four principal features: SPS types reported in the literature, the kinds of VDT used in these SPS, the algorithms or methods they implement, and the stage of development at which they are. Based on a search and extraction of results methodology, this work was able to effectively obtain the current state of the research area. In addition, the exhaustive study of the studies analyzed allowed for a discussion to be established concerning the main difficulties, as well as the gaps and open problems detected for the SPS. The results shown in this study may provide a base for future research on the subject.
Exploring function of conserved non-coding DNA in its chromosomal context

There is renewed interest in understanding expression of vertebrate genes in their chromosomal context because regulatory sequences that confer tissue-specific expression are often distributed over large distances along the DNA from the gene. One approach inserts a universal sensor/reporter-gene into the mouse or zebrafish genome to identify regulatory sequences in highly conserved non-coding DNA in the vicinity of the integrated reporter-gene. However detailed mechanisms of interaction of these regulatory elements among themselves and/or with the genes they influence remain elusive with the strategy. The inability to associate distant regulatory elements with the genes they regulate makes it difficult to examine the contribution of sequence changes in regulatory DNA to human disease. Such associations have been obtained in favorable circumstances by testing the regulatory potential of highly conserved non-coding DNA individually in small reporter-gene-containing plasmids. Alternative approaches use tiny fragments of chromosomes in Bacterial Artificial Chromosomes, BACs, where the gene of interest is tagged in vitro with a reporter/sensor gene and integrated into the germ-line of animals for expression. Mutational analysis of the BAC DNA identifies regulatory sequences. A recent approach inserts a sensor/reporter-gene into a BAC that is also truncated progressively from an end of genomic insert, and the end-deleted BAC carrying the sensor is then integrated into the genome of a developing animal for expression. The approach allows mechanisms of tissue-specific gene expression to be explored in much greater detail, although the chromosomal context of such mechanisms is limited to the length of the BAC. Here we discuss the relative strengths of the various approaches and explore how the integrated-sensor in the BACs method applied to a contig of BACs spanning a chromosomal region is likely to address mechanistic questions on interactions between gene and regulatory DNA in greater molecular detail.
Fiber curvature sensor based on concave‐heterotypic cascaded fiber Sagnac interferometer

A fiber optical curvature sensor comprising a concave‐heterotypic cascaded fiber structure built into Sagnac loop is demonstrated experimentally. A section of multimode fiber is sandwiched between the single mode fiber and polarization maintaining fiber in order to construct the concave‐heterotypic cascaded fiber structure. The concave structure presented is used to effectively excite guided modes. The spectra of the proposed bending sensor will shift toward long wavelength with curvature. The measured the curvature sensitivity of 11.6 nm/m−1 has been achieved. The proposed curvature sensor characterizes cost‐efficient, simple fabrication process and can be used for health monitoring in civil engineering.
The consequences of compulsion: A 4-year longitudinal study of compulsive internet use and emotion regulation difficulties.

Little is known about how compulsive Internet use (CIU) relates developmentally to different aspects of emotion regulation. Do young people engage in CIU because they have difficulty regulating emotions (the "consequence" model), does CIU lead to emotion regulation problems (the "antecedent" model), or are there reciprocal influences? We examined the longitudinal relations between CIU and 6 facets of difficulties in emotion regulation. Adolescents (N = 2,809) across 17 Australian schools completed measures yearly from Grades 8 (MAge = 13.7) to 11. Structural equations modeling revealed that CIU preceded the development of some aspects of emotion dysregulation, such as difficulties setting goals and being clear about emotions, but not others (the antecedent model). We found no evidence that emotion regulation difficulties preceded the development of increases in CIU (the consequence model). Our findings indicate that teaching adolescents general emotion regulation skills may not be as effective in reducing CIU as more direct approaches of limiting Internet use. We discuss the implications of our findings for interventions designed to reduce CIU and highlight issues for future research. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
Multisite and multispecies measures of overlap, co‐occurrence, and co‐diversity

Several indices measure the association or segregation between two species and the similarity or differentiation between two sets of species. These indices are based on the overlap in the distribution of species (measured with the number of co-occurrences) or on the overlap in species composition of sites (measured with the number of species that are shared between two sites). This paper shows that when evaluating more than two species the number of overlaps and the number of pairwise co-occurrences are not equal, as it is the case for two species. Equivalently, when comparing more than two species assemblages, the number of overlaps differ from the number of instances of species sharing by pairs of sites (the “co-diversities”). Considering this distinction, two different types of multispecies and multisite indices can be derived: indices of general overlap and indices of co-occurrence or co-diversity. Here I present a complete series of the two types of indices that correspond to the popular Jaccard, Sorensen, and Simpson two-species or two-site indices. Indices of general overlap are defined by three parameters (the total number of species, the total number of sites, and the total number of occurrences), whereas indices of co-occurrence or co-diversity depend on those parameters plus an additional one that is defined by the values of species richness or range size. Consequently, the two types of indices respond differently to null models, depending on the parameters that are fixed or randomized. All indices correlate well with the mean of the traditional indices calculated pair by pair, and the correspondence is extremely close for the new indices of co-occurrence and co-diversity. These properties should be useful in clarifying some of the confusion that exists in the current discussion about the advantages and disadvantages of pairwise vs community-wide approaches in the analysis of diversity. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Multiple biomarker approach for the diagnosis and therapy of rheumatoid arthritis

Abstract The lack of specific clinical symptoms for patients in the early stage of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has created strong interest in the laboratory diagnosis of RA. The main laboratory markers of RA, rheumatoid factor (RF) and anti-citrullinated protein antibodies (ACPAs), can be found in patients with other pathologies and in healthy donors. Even today, there is no single laboratory test that can diagnosis RA with high sensitivity and specificity. To improve the diagnosis and treatment of RA, alternative biomarkers, including 14-3-3η protein, connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), antibodies against PAD4, antibodies against BRAF, and anti-acetylated and anti-carbamylated protein antibodies have been studied extensively. The use of a multiple biomarker approach, the simultaneous measurement of a set of biomarkers, is an alternative strategy for the diagnosis of RA and for predicting the therapeutic effect of biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs). However, despite the large number of studies, only a few biomarker combinations have been validated and can be applied in clinical practice. In this article, results of studies focused on the multiple biomarker approach (both multiplex and combined single-analyte assays) to diagnose RA and to predict response to biological drug therapy are reviewed. Additionally, general factors limiting the use of multiplex analysis in RA diagnostics and therapy are discussed.
Host Plant—Ectomycorrhizal Fungus Combination Drives Resource Allocation in Willow: Evidence for Complex Species Interaction from a Simple Experiment

Abstract Root-associated mycorrhizal fungi affect plant growth and resource allocation. Our major aim was to explore the plant-internal mechanisms behind the effects of mycorrhizal colonization on leaf chemistry of willow (Salix spp.). Combinations of 2 willow varieties (Loden, Tora) and 2 ectomycorrhizal fungal species (Hebeloma fastibile, Tricholoma cingulatum) were grown under controlled conditions. Host plant variety and fungal species effects on host resource allocation (biomass and leaf chemistry) varied in a complex way. Shoot biomass growth and allocation was mostly affected by host plant variety, whereas leaf and root biomass allocation were strongly affected by mycorrhizal treatment. Leaf biomass production was affected by willow variety, mycorrhizal treatment, and the interaction between them. The results indicate a strong effect of mycorrhizal colonization on host plant biomass allocation, which can mediate mycorrhizal effects on leaf chemistry. For example, leaf biomass allocation was inversely correlated with foliar concentrations of salicylic acid, suggesting a functional link between the two. However, the apparent complexity of the host plant variety-fungal species interaction makes any prediction of their possible outcome very difficult, especially in an ecological context. Still, fungal species identity seems to be more important for the responses of Salix to mycorrhizal colonization than the amount of fungal biomass.
Assessment of Lean Supply Chain Practices in Indian Automotive Industry

The purpose of this study is to explore the effect of lean practices on performance measures in the automotive industry and identify the lean criteria that can have significant impact on automotive supply chain. The identified lean practices can serve as a template to enhance the performance of a supply chain. The present study offers a multi-criteria decision-making approach to identify the effective performance practices in automotive lean supply chain. The decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) was applied on a matrix of observed values and the actual effect of proposed practices was observed. Further it was confirmed with the help of fuzzy-Vlsekriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje (VIKOR; that means multicriteria optimization and compromise solution, with pronunciation). The criteria which had the most impact are proposed for achieving the future goals of leanness. It was found that among the lean criteria considered, quality management, information management and customer management practices influence the key performance measures more than others. Although DEMATEL and fuzzy-VIKOR were applied for situation leading to setting up of priorities of factors that considered affecting automotive manufacturer, the proposed methodology can be applied in diverse industrial settings. The present study may help decision-makers to device the appropriate strategy in identifying major practices that influence the lean supply chain.