Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Excess manganese differentially inhibits photosystem I versus II in Arabidopsis thaliana

The effects of exposure to increasing manganese concentrations (50–1500 µM) from the start of the experiment on the functional performance of photosystem II (PSII) and photosystem I (PSI) and photosynthetic apparatus composition of Arabidopsis thaliana were compared. In agreement with earlier studies, excess Mn caused minimal changes in the PSII photochemical efficiency measured as Fv/Fm, although the characteristic peak temperature of the S2/3QB – charge recombinations was shifted to lower temperatures at the highest Mn concentration. SDS-PAGE and immunoblot analyses also did not exhibit any significant change in the relative abundance of PSII-associated polypeptides: PSII reaction centre protein D1, Lhcb1 (major light-harvesting protein of LHCII complex), and PsbO (OEC33, a 33kDa protein of the oxygen-evolving complex). In addition, the abundance of Rubisco also did not change with Mn treatments. However, plants grown under excess Mn exhibited increased susceptibility to PSII photoinhibition. In contrast, in vivo measurements of the redox transients of PSI reaction centre (P700) showed a considerable gradual decrease in the extent of P700 photooxidation (P700+) under increased Mn concentrations compared to control. This was accompanied by a slower rate of P700+ re-reduction indicating a downregulation of the PSI-dependent cyclic electron flow. The abundance of PSI reaction centre polypeptides (PsaA and PsaB) in plants under the highest Mn concentration was also significantly lower compared to the control. The results demonstrate for the first time that PSI is the major target of Mn toxicity within the photosynthetic apparatus of Arabidopsis plants. The possible involvement mechanisms of Mn toxicity targeting specifically PSI are discussed.
Adverse health effects of marijuana use.

1. Stein EA, Giugliano RP, Koren MJ, et al. Efficacy and safety of evolocumab (AMG 145), a fully human monoclonal antibody to PCSK9, in hyperlipidaemic patients on various background lipid therapies: pooled analysis of 1359 patients in four phase 2 trials. Eur Heart J 2014 March 4 (Epub ahead of print). 2. Koren MJ, Giugliano RP, Raal FJ, et al. Efficacy and safety of longer-term administration of evolocumab (AMG 145) in patients with hypercholesterolemia: 52-week results from the Open-Label Study of Long-Term Evaluation Against LDL-C (OSLER) randomized trial. Circulation 2014;129:234-43. 3. Dadu RT, Ballantyne CM. Lipid lowering with PCSK9 inhibitors. Nat Rev Cardiol 2014 June 24 (Epub ahead of print). 4. Robinson JG, Nedergaard BS, Rogers WJ, et al. Effect of evolocumab or ezetimibe added to moderateor high-intensity statin therapy on LDL-C lowering in patients with hypercholesterolemia: the LAPLACE-2 randomized clinical trial. JAMA 2014; 311:1870-82.
Strong but flexible: How fundamental social motives support but sometimes also thwart favorable attractiveness biases

Abstract Research corroborates the notion that fundamental social motives play an important role in biases that favor attractive people. Although an adaptationist framework expects favorable social effects of good looks in most situations and contexts, it simultaneously allows for potential negative social reactions and outcomes that may be elicited by physical attractiveness in other contexts. These effects of attractiveness reflect the reproductive opportunities and threats posed by potential mates and rivals.
The RAGE Axis: A Fundamental Mechanism Signaling Danger to the Vulnerable Vasculature [2010;106:842–853] The Promise of Cell-Based Therapies for Diabetic Complications: Challenges and Solutions Oxidative Stress and Diabetic Complications The Polyol Pathway: Implications for Atherosclerosis and Cardi

The discovery of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) in human peripheral blood advanced the field of cell-based therapeutics for many pathological conditions. Despite the lack of agreement about the existence and characteristics of EPCs, autologous EPC populations represent a novel treatment option for complications requiring therapeutic revascularization and vascular repair. Patients with diabetic complications represent a population of patients that may benefit from cellular therapy yet their broadly dysfunctional cells may limit the feasibility of this approach. Diabetic EPCs have decreased migratory prowess and reduced proliferative capacity and an altered cytokine/growth factor secretory profile that can accelerate deleterious repair mechanisms rather than support proper vascular repair. Furthermore, the diabetic environment poses additional challenges for the autologous transplantation of cells. The present review is focused on correcting diabetic EPC dysfunction and the challenges involved in the application of cell-based therapies for treatment of diabetic vascular complications. In addition, ex vivo and in vivo functional manipulation(s) of EPCs to overcome these hurdles are discussed. (Circ Res. 2010;106:854-869.)
Comparison of IVF-ET outcomes in patients with hydrosalpinx pretreated with either sclerotherapy or laparoscopic salpingectomy

Objective Many studies have demonstrated that hydrosalpinx has a detrimental effect on the outcome of IVF. Treating hydrosalpinges prior to the IVF procedure in women with hydrosalpinges is thought to improve the likelihood of successful IVF outcome. Vaginal ultrasound-guided aspiration of hydrosalpinx fluid (HSF) with injection of the sclerosing agent in situ might be simpler than invasive procedures like salpingectomy. Therefore, we carried out a retrospective study on the effects of ultrasound-guided HSF aspiration and injection of the sclerosing agent of ultrasonically diagnosed hydrosalpinx on IVF outcome. Methods In our retrospective study, 97 tubal factor infertile female patients that underwent IVF treatment between January 2005 and December 2012 at the Reproductive Medicine Center of CHA Hospital were divided into two study groups. Fifty-six patients underwent interventional ultrasound sclerotherapy (group 1), and the remaining 41 patients received laparoscopic salpingectomy (group 2) before IVF. We compared the IVF outcomes of the two groups. Results The results showed that ultrasound-guided HSF aspiration and sclerotherapy have IVF outcomes comparable to laparoscopic salpingectomy. Conclusion Interventional ultrasound guided sclerotherapy before IVF is an effective and less invasive prophylactic intervention alternative to salpingectomy with hydrosalpinx.
Musculoskeletal Modeling of the Lumbar Spine to Explore Functional Interactions between Back Muscle Loads and Intervertebral Disk Multiphysics

During daily activities, complex biomechanical interactions influence the biophysical regulation of intervertebral disks (IVDs), and transfers of mechanical loads are largely controlled by the stabilizing action of spine muscles. Muscle and other internal forces cannot be easily measured directly in the lumbar spine. Hence, biomechanical models are important tools for the evaluation of the loads in those tissues involved in low-back disorders. Muscle force estimations in most musculoskeletal models mainly rely, however, on inverse calculations and static optimizations that limit the predictive power of the numerical calculations. In order to contribute to the development of predictive systems, we coupled a predictive muscle model with the passive resistance of the spine tissues, in a L3–S1 musculoskeletal finite element model with osmo-poromechanical IVD descriptions. The model included 46 fascicles of the major back muscles that act on the lower spine. The muscle model interacted with activity-related loads imposed to the osteoligamentous structure, as standing position and night rest were simulated through distributed upper body mass and free IVD swelling, respectively. Calculations led to intradiscal pressure values within ranges of values measured in vivo. Disk swelling led to muscle activation and muscle force distributions that seemed particularly appropriate to counterbalance the anterior body mass effect in standing. Our simulations pointed out a likely existence of a functional balance between stretch-induced muscle activation and IVD multiphysics toward improved mechanical stability of the lumbar spine understanding. This balance suggests that proper night rest contributes to mechanically strengthen the spine during day activity.
First Complete Genome Sequence of Clostridium sporogenes DSM 795T, a Nontoxigenic Surrogate for Clostridium botulinum, Determined Using PacBio Single-Molecule Real-Time Technology

ABSTRACT The first complete genome sequence of Clostridium sporogenes DSM 795T, a nontoxigenic surrogate for Clostridium botulinum, was determined in a single contig using the PacBio single-molecule real-time technology. The genome (4,142,990 bp; G+C content, 27.98%) included 86 sets of >1,000-bp identical sequence pairs and 380 tandem repeats.
Distributed Delay Estimation and Call Admission Control in IEEE 802.11 Wireless LANs

Voice over WiFi (VoWiFi) will soon be the main alternative to cellular phones. Providing a satisfactory user experience remains difficult, however. We focus on Call Admission Control (CAC) for both Constant Bit Rate (CBR) and Variable Bit Rate (VBR) VoIP traffic. Our approach is based on measuring the time between idle times. It requires no infrastructure changes, adds no probing traffic and has low complexity. We demonstrate through extended simulations that our approach achieves very good accuracy for both delay estimation and CAC when only VoIP sources are present and when both VoIP sources and data sources are present. Furthermore, we confirm TBIT performance through experiments.
Human Health Effects of Trichloroethylene: Key Findings and Scientific Issues

Background: In support of the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) completed a toxicological review of trichloroethylene (TCE) in September 2011, which was the result of an effort spanning > 20 years. Objectives: We summarized the key findings and scientific issues regarding the human health effects of TCE in the U.S. EPA’s toxicological review. Methods: In this assessment we synthesized and characterized thousands of epidemiologic, experimental animal, and mechanistic studies, and addressed several key scientific issues through modeling of TCE toxicokinetics, meta-analyses of epidemiologic studies, and analyses of mechanistic data. Discussion: Toxicokinetic modeling aided in characterizing the toxicological role of the complex metabolism and multiple metabolites of TCE. Meta-analyses of the epidemiologic data strongly supported the conclusions that TCE causes kidney cancer in humans and that TCE may also cause liver cancer and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Mechanistic analyses support a key role for mutagenicity in TCE-induced kidney carcinogenicity. Recent evidence from studies in both humans and experimental animals point to the involvement of TCE exposure in autoimmune disease and hypersensitivity. Recent avian and in vitro mechanistic studies provided biological plausibility that TCE plays a role in developmental cardiac toxicity, the subject of substantial debate due to mixed results from epidemiologic and rodent studies. Conclusions: TCE is carcinogenic to humans by all routes of exposure and poses a potential human health hazard for noncancer toxicity to the central nervous system, kidney, liver, immune system, male reproductive system, and the developing embryo/fetus.
Seminal fluid analysis of male partners of infertile couples in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, Nigeria

Context: Procreation is one of the greatest desires of every couple, especially in the developing countries like ours. Male infertility is an important but neglected reproductive health issue, and it appears to contribute significantly to infertility in our environment. Aims: The aim of the study is to review the seminal fluid analysis parameters of male partners of infertile couples attending infertility clinic at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki (FETHA). Materials and Methods: This was a 5-year retrospective study of male partners of couple attending the infertility clinic in FETHA between January 1, 2012, and December 31, 2016. Case notes of couples managed for infertility were reviewed. Information extracted includes the sociodemographic characteristics, duration of infertility, type of infertility, and seminal fluid analysis results with emphasis on the semen volume, sperm morphology, motility, pH, and the microbacterial isolates. Statistical Analysis: Data were entered into an excel spreadsheet on a personal computer, and statistical analysis was performed using Epi Info 7.2. 1 software. Sociodemographic characteristics are presented in frequencies and simple percentages. Means of categorical variables were compared using the Chi-squared test whereas continuous variables were analyzed using Student's t-test. A value of P ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Assessment of semen analysis was done using the 2010 World Health Organization human values for semen parameters. Results: Case records of 922 couples attending the infertility clinic were retrieved; however, 756 folders had semen analysis results. During the study, the contribution of the male partner to infertility was 41.0%. The mean age of the patients was 40.10 ± 10.23; the modal age was 34 years; and most of the patients were traders. Majority had normospermia 380 (50.3%) whereas 376 (49.7%) had abnormal semen parameters. There was a high level of leukocytospermia (≥80%) in this study, and the predominant organism cultured was Staphylococcus aureus 328 (43.4%). Oligospermia was the most frequent (33.0%) derangement in semen analysis results. The age and duration of the infertility were not significantly related to abnormal semen analysis; however, men who are resident in urban areas, or who consume alcohol or tobacco, and those who were managed for primary infertility had a significant relationship with abnormal semen parameters (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Semen analysis remains an indispensable tool in the overall diagnosis of male infertility in our environment. Men who are resident in the urban areas or consume tobacco/alcoholic beverage had a significant risk of abnormal semen parameters.
Video-Based Physiologic Monitoring During an Acute Hypoxic Challenge: Heart Rate, Respiratory Rate, and Oxygen Saturation

BACKGROUND: The physiologic information contained in the video photoplethysmogram is well documented. However, extracting this information during challenging conditions requires new analysis techniques to capture and process the video image streams to extract clinically useful physiologic parameters. We hypothesized that heart rate, respiratory rate, and oxygen saturation trending can be evaluated accurately from video information during acute hypoxia. METHODS: Video footage was acquired from multiple desaturation episodes during a porcine model of acute hypoxia using a standard visible light camera. A novel in-house algorithm was used to extract photoplethysmographic cardiac pulse and respiratory information from the video image streams and process it to extract a continuously reported video-based heart rate (HRvid), respiratory rate (RRvid), and oxygen saturation (SvidO2). This information was then compared with HR and oxygen saturation references from commercial pulse oximetry and the known rate of respiration from the ventilator. RESULTS: Eighty-eight minutes of data were acquired during 16 hypoxic episodes in 8 animals. A linear mixed-effects regression showed excellent responses relative to a nonhypoxic reference signal with slopes of 0.976 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.973–0.979) for HRvid; 1.135 (95% CI, 1.101–1.168) for RRvid, and 0.913 (95% CI, 0.905–0.920) for video-based oxygen saturation. These results were obtained while maintaining continuous uninterrupted vital sign monitoring for the entire study period. CONCLUSIONS: Video-based monitoring of HR, RR, and oxygen saturation may be performed with reasonable accuracy during acute hypoxic conditions in an anesthetized porcine hypoxia model using standard visible light camera equipment. However, the study was conducted during relatively low motion. A better understanding of the effect of motion and the effect of ambient light on the video photoplethysmogram may help refine this monitoring technology for use in the clinical environment.
Bridging faultlines in diverse teams

In studying teams at large companies in Europe and the United States, the authors found that diversity and complexity are becoming the rule. Diverse teams bring to bear a range of experiences and attitudes to tackle companies? hardest challenges. Paradoxically, however, the very nature of team diversity often creates conditions that reduce teams? innovative capacity. The authors observed many failures in collaboration and knowledge-sharing that resulted from faultlines ? subgroups or coalitions that emerge naturally within teams, typically along demographic lines such as age, gender and functional background. Yet the authors found that some teams were able to collaborate and share knowledge despite the presence of faultlines. A defining factor was the behavior of the team leader and, in particular, the extent to which the leader was task-oriented or relationship-oriented. Where it is likely strong faultlines will emerge, many leaders tend to encourage team members to come together. However, simple socializing can make people? s differences more apparent and cause faultlines to solidify. The authors recommend that leaders vary their leadership style according to how long a team has been together. The article outlines four steps for successful functioning of diverse teams. First, leaders should diagnose the likely extent of faultlines in a new team. (The article contains a survey for gauging this probability.) Next, leaders should focus on task orientation when a team is newly formed. They then should consider when a switch in leadership style would be most appropriate. Finally, leaders should build a relationship-oriented style. Switching from task orientation to relationship orientation will be successful only when a team has developed a clear protocol for communication and coordination and an established operational structure.
From craft to science: teaching models and learning processes in entrepreneurship education

Purpose – The aim of this article is to offer a conceptual framework in entrepreneurship education largely inspired by education sciences and discuss its two main levels, the ontological and educational levels. This framework is then used to discuss various types of entrepreneurship teaching programs, focusing on three broad categories of learning processes.Design/methodology/appraoch – This article uses intensive reviews of literature in the fields of education and entrepreneurship. The teaching framework and the derived propositions are intended to provide a bridge between education sciences and the field of entrepreneurship and seeks to stress the scientific legitimacy of entrepreneurship education.Findings – Finds that there is a need to reconsider entrepreneurship education in its wide diversity, both from an ontological and pedagogical point‐of‐view. The range of theoretical choices, objectives, publics, pedagogical methods and institutional context should be approached through the lenses of multipl.
COMPARISON OF CYNMETHEMOGLOBIN METHOD AND DIGITAL HAEMOMETER IN MEASURING HAEMOGLOBIN

Background: Anaemia is a global public health problem which affects both the developing and the developed countries , World-wide, more individuals have iron-deficiency anemia than any other health problem . The present study is to find the prevalence of anemia and to compare the effectiveness of two haemoglobin meter, Cynmethemoglobin and Digital Haemometer (Mission). Methods: For this 60 public people from Puducherry Population, were their blood pressure, lifestyle practise was analysed, haemoglobin was tested in both Cynmethemoglobin Method and Digital Haemometer for all 60 population. Venous blood was collected to test Cynmethemoglobin method and capillary blood was taken to test in Digital Haemometer and the effectiveness was compared. Results: In average 60 adult samples the median haemoglobin concentration using the Digital Haemometer was 12.8 g/dl and 12.0 g/dl with Cynmethemoglobin method. The prevalence of anemia was slightly higher when using Cynmethemoglobin method 73.3% (44) were 58.3 % (35) was seen in Digital Heamometer. Haemoglobin was analysed in both the method were the prevalence anemia the cynmethemoglobin method has higher prevalence of anaemia than the Digital haemometer method.
Upregulation of iHsp70 by mild heat shock protects rabbit myogenic stem cells: involvement of JNK signalling and c‐Jun

iHsp70 [inducible Hsp70 (heat‐shock protein 70)] family members (iHsp70, Hsp72 and Hsp70) are highly conserved proteins that act as molecular chaperones and promote cell survival during various forms of stress. Our data indicate that cultured adult rabbit myoblasts do not express iHsp70 under normal growth conditions, although increased expression was detectable 0.5–72 h following a 42°C heat shock for 15–60 min. The intracellular iHsp70 level reached a maximum 8 h after onset of the heat shock, which correlated with its increased accumulation in nuclei. Inhibition of iHsp70 expression by quercetin showed that sustained activation of JNK (c‐Jun N‐terminal kinase) 2 and suppression of c‐Jun phosphorylation were responsible for myoblast death after heat shock. The data also demonstrate that activation of transcription factor c‐Jun depends mostly on JNK1, whereas JNK2 had higher affinity and was translocated to nuclei together with c‐Jun. We have also shown that the JNK signalling pathway is an upstream effect of iHsp70 expression. These findings provide further in‐depth understanding of the implication of the pro‐survival signalling kinases JNK1 and JNK2 and their target, c‐Jun, in expression of iHsp70 and regulation of myogenic stem cell survival and death mechanisms after heat shock. Mild heat shock before transplantation might be a way of improving myogenic stem cell survival.
Establishment and validation of a 7-microRNA prognostic signature for non-small cell lung cancer

Purpose A series of microRNAs (miRNAs) have been identified as associated with the survival of patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The aim of the present study was to explore whether combination of these experimentally validated individual miRNA biomarkers could be used to further increase their prognostic power in NSCLC. Patients and methods Based on previously validated NSCLC prognostic miRNAs, gene signatures that could discriminate high-risk subgroups with poor clinical outcome in four NSCLC miRNA expression datasets (GSE13937, GSE16025, The Cancer Genome Atlas Lung Adenocarcinoma, and TCGA lung squamous cell carcinoma) were developed using the SurvMicro tool. The potential of the miRNA signature established was validated by quantitative real-time PCR analysis of clinical NSCLC samples, and its prognostic power evaluated using the survivalROC method. Results We developed two miRNA signatures with prognostic significance for NSCLC, comprising 12- and 7-miRNAs. The 7-miRNA signature (miR-148b, miR-365, miR-32, miR-375, miR-21, miR-125b, and miR-155) was a subset of a 12-miRNA set that retained prognostic power across NSCLC cohorts. Compared with previously established miRNA signatures, our 7-miRNA signature has similar potential, while comprising fewer miRNA components. The prognostic ability of the 7-miRNA signature was validated experimentally in an independent NSCLC cohort using real-time PCR (HR=3.4847, 95% CI=1.3693–8.8680, P=0.0092), and this signature, combined with tumor pathological stage, had superior prognostic ability compared with tumor stage alone. Conclusion Our data indicate that the established 7-miRNA signature is simple, robust, and may have greater clinical prognostic utility for patients with NSCLC.