Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
IN VITRO ANTHELMINTIC EFFECTS OF SENNA OCCIDENTALIS (L.) LINK (LEGUMINOSAE) ON RAT TAPEWORM HYMENOLEPIS DIMINUTA

Objective: This study was conducted to evaluate the anthelmintic activity of ethanolic leaf extract of Senna occidentalis on rat tapeworm Hymenolepis diminuta . Methods: Adult H. diminuta worms were obtained from laboratory maintained infection in rats. Different concentrations of crude ethanolic leaf extracts of S. occidentalis were tested in vitro on H. diminuta and praziquantel (PZQ) was used as reference drug. The efficacy of plant was assessed on the basis of motility of the worms. The anthelmintic effects were also evaluated using scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Results: A dose dependent efficacy was observed in all the experiments. At the highest concentration (80 mg/ml), the mortality of worms was recorded in 12.82±0.24 hrs. The scanning electron microscope observations of extract treated worms showed irrevocable destruction all over the body tegument,which was accompanied with sloughing of microthriches and shrinkage of scolex. Whereas, the transmission electron micrography of treated worms revealed destruction of the syncytial layer along with sparse cytoplasmic cytons and depletion of parenchymatous layer. Exposure of basal lamina, decrease in an electron lucency in the nucleus and intense vacuolization was also observed in our study. Conclusion: In view of these observations, S. occidentalis may be regarded as potential anthelmintic plant and it could be exploited further for the development of a novel anthelmintic.
Evaluación del Contenido de Licopeno en Pastas de Tomate Comerciales

Resumen Se ha evaluado el contenido de licopeno y algunas propiedades fisicoquimicas y microbiologicas en cuatro pastas de tomates, tres nacionales y una importada. La metodologia consistio en la extraccion de los compuestos carotenoides presentes en las pastas de tomates con acetona. Los extractos carotenoides se separaron y purificaron por cromatografia de capa fina utilizando como solvente eter de petroleo ligero, y se prepararon soluciones estandares de licopeno. Usando espectrofotometria UV-visible, se determinaron las concentraciones de licopeno. Se determino ademas, los solidos solubles, acidez ionica, acidez titulable y cloruros totales, siguiendo los metodos recomendados por la comision venezolana de normas industriales COVENIN. Se encontro que las pastas de tomate con mayor contenido de licopeno son la importada con 0.1305 ppm y una nacional con 0.1271 ppm, lo que sugiere que el consumo de pasta nacional tambien brinda los beneficios aportados por el licopeno, siendo esta un producto mas barato (relacion 1:7 en Venezuela). En relacion a las propiedades fisicoquimicas, todas las pastas estudiadas satisfacen las especificaciones establecidas por las normas COVENIN. Palabras claves: licopeno, pasta de tomate, cromatografia de capa fina, compuestos carotenoides
PTEN Protects p53 from Mdm2 and Sensitizes Cancer Cells to Chemotherapy*

The PTEN tumor suppressor protein inhibits phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt signaling that promotes translocation of Mdm2 into the nucleus. When restricted to the cytoplasm, Mdm2 is degraded. The ability of PTEN to inhibit the nuclear entry of Mdm2 increases the cellular content and transactivation of the p53 tumor suppressor protein. Retroviral transduction of PTEN into U87MG (PTEN null) glioblastoma cells increases p53 activity and expression of p53 target genes and induces cell cycle arrest. U87MG/PTEN glioblastoma cells are more sensitive than U87MG/PTEN null cells to death induced by etoposide, a chemotherapeutic agent that induces DNA damage. Previously, tumor suppressor proteins have been supposed to act individually to suppress cancers. Our results establish a direct connection between the activities of two major tumor suppressors and show that they act together to respond to stresses and malignancies. PTEN protects p53 from survival signals, permitting p53 to function as a guardian of the genome. By virtue of its capacity to protect p53, PTEN can sensitize tumor cells to chemotherapy that relies on p53 activity. p53 induces PTEN gene expression, and here it is shown that PTEN protects p53, indicating that a positive feedback loop may amplify the cellular response to stress, damage, and cancer.
Management of Trypanosoma cruzi coinfection in HIV-positive individuals outside endemic areas

Purpose of the review Chagas disease has spread beyond the geographical barriers of the American continent in the past decade. Consequently, physicians treating HIV-infected patients in nonendemic countries have to face an opportunistic infection they have little experience with. This review examines the literature on Chagas disease in HIV-infected patients, with special emphasis on recent findings. Recent findings Although infection by Trypanosoma cruzi is a severe opportunistic infection in HIV-infected patients, awareness of this parasitosis in nonendemic countries remains low. Deeply immunosuppressed patients with chronic infection can develop reactivations, which can be very severe and are associated with high mortality. Reactivations mostly affect the central nervous system, followed by the heart, and diagnosis is based on the direct detection of the parasite or histology. There is no reliable method of predicting reactivations. Treatment is based on benzimidazoles, although neither the appropriate treatment schedule nor the need for secondary prophylaxis has been clearly established. Antiretroviral therapy seems to play a fundamental role in the prevention of reactivations and control of relapses; however, more information is needed. Summary Many aspects of T. cruzi–HIV coinfection remain uncertain. Until new data covering the current gaps become available, early diagnosis and prompt antiretroviral therapy seem to be fundamental for avoiding reactivations and improving late visceral involvement.
Processamento Digital de Imagens na Identificação de Variedades de Soja

Hoje em dia sao consumidos no mundo aproximadamente 252,55 milhoes de toneladas de soja por ano. O Brasil possui a segunda maior producao mundial, com uma safra estimada em 69 milhoes de toneladas. A identificacao de variedades de soja em laboratorios de sementes e fundamental em inumeras aplicacoes. Por exemplo, garantir a homogeneidade dos graos ou impedir a presenca de sementes invasoras nas culturas. Laboratorios de sementes sao comumente encontrados em cooperativas. Porem, identificar variedades tem sido de grande dificuldade para os produtores, uma vez que este processo geralmente e realizado atraves de produtos quimicos e testes de DNA nos quais requerem um alto investimento. Uma alternativa mais viavel para a identificacao das variedades e utilizar o Processamento Digital de Imagens (PDI) auxiliado por Redes Neurais Artificiais (RNA). Uma questao importante a ser discutida e a possibilidade de utilizar o fator cor como parâmetro na identificacao, sendo este o principal objetivo do trabalho. A metodologia abordada pode ser dividida em algumas etapas: aquisicao das imagens, pre-processamento, segmentacao, representacao e interpretacao. Para a primeira etapa sera utilizada uma câmera digital para aquisicao das imagens bem como a digitalizacao das amostras. De posse das amostras na forma de imagens digitais, as demais etapas serao efetuadas na plataforma MATLAB. Uma imagem digital colorida no padrao RGB e uma matriz tridimensional onde cada dimensao representa uma banda de cor, ou seja, esta sera dividida em tres imagens em niveis de cinza. A segunda etapa sera o pre-processamento. A funcao chave neste passo sera o melhoramento da imagem de forma a contribuir para o sucesso das etapas posteriores. Sera utilizado um filtro anti-aliasing para eliminar detalhes serrilhados associados as imagens monocromaticas. O proximo estagio trata da segmentacao. Esta divide uma imagem de entrada em partes ou objetos constituintes, isto e, serao detectados de forma isolada os graos de soja que constituem a imagem. Neste trabalho sera utilizado o Metodo de Prewitt na realizacao desta tarefa. A saida do estagio de segmentacao e constituida por dados em forma de pixels (“raw pixel data”), correspondendo tanto a fronteira de uma regiao como a todos os pontos dentro da mesma. Os ultimos estagios envolvem reconhecimento e interpretacao. Reconhecimento e o processo que atribui um rotulo a um objeto, baseado na informacao fornecida pelo seu descritor. A interpretacao envolve a atribuicao de significado a um conjunto de objetos reconhecidos. Sera utilizada uma rede neural feedforward para auxiliar no ultimo estagio. O treinamento desta rede sera realizado atraves do metodo de aprendizagem backpropagation.
Rank order diversity detectors for wireless communications

A novel class of robust detectors, the rank order diversity (ROD) detectors, is proposed. The ROD detectors exploit the diversity inherent in any repetition code by sorting the sampled channel output, weighting each of the sorted samples according to their rank, and summing the weighted order statistics to form the test statistic. The ROD detectors subsume the globally optimal detectors for the short-tailed uniform and the normal distributions, as well as the locally optimal detector for the heavy-tailed double-exponential distribution, suggesting a high efficiency of the ROD detectors over a vast range of possible noise statistics. It is shown that for large sample sizes and under mild conditions on the noise statistics, the ROD detector achieves a probability of error less or equal than that of the linear detector with equality only for the normal distribution. The performance of the ROD detectors is illustrated in a DS-CDMA network.
Ball Speed and Release Consistency Predict Pitching Success in Major League Baseball

Abstract Whiteside, D, Martini, DN, Zernicke, RF, and Goulet, GC. Ball speed and release consistency predict pitching success in Major League Baseball. J Strength Cond Res XX(X): 000–000, 2015—This study aimed to quantify how ball flight kinematics (i.e., ball speed and movement), release location, and variations therein relate to pitching success in Major League Baseball (MLB). One hundred ninety starting MLB pitchers met the inclusion criteria for this study. Ball trajectory information was collected for 76,000 pitches and inserted into a forward stepwise multiple regression model, which examined how (a) pitch selection, (b) ball speed, (c) ball movement (horizontal and lateral), (d) release location (horizontal and lateral), (e) variation in pitch speed, (f) variation in ball movement, and (g) variation in release location related to pitching success (as measured by fielding independent pitching—FIP). Pitch speed, release location variability, variation in pitch speed, and horizontal release location were significant predictors of FIP and, collectively, accounted for 24% of the variance in FIP. These findings suggest that (a) maximizing ball speed, (b) refining a consistent spatial release location, and (c) using varied pitch speeds should be primary foci for the pitching coach. However, between-pitcher variations underline how training interventions should be administered at the individual level, with consideration given to the pitcher's injury history. Finally, despite offering significant predictors of success, these three factors explained only 22% of the variance in FIP and should not be considered the only, or preeminent, indicators of a pitcher's effectiveness. Evidently, traditional pitching metrics only partly account for a pitcher's effectiveness, and future research is necessary to uncover the remaining contributors to success.
The responses of human muscle spindle endings to vibration of non‐contracting muscles.

1. In micro‐electrode recordings from the human peroneal and tibial nerves, the responses of thirty‐two primary spindle endings, thirteen secondary spindle endings and three Golgi tendon organs were studied during vibration of the tendons of the receptor‐bearing muscles in the leg. The amplitude of the applied vibration was 1‐5 mm and the frequency was varied from 20 to 220 Hz. As checked with e.m. g. and torque measurements, the muscles of the leg were relaxed during the sequences analysed. 2. Providing that the vibrator was accurately applied, all endings responded with discharges phase‐locked to the vibration cycles, the discharge rates being at the vibration frequency or at subharmonics of that frequency. The response to vibration was of abrupt onset and offset, was maintained for the duration of vibration, and was not subject to fluctuation with changes in attention or with remote muscle contraction. 3. The maximal discharge rate that could be achieved varied from one ending to the next, and increased with the length of the receptor‐bearing muscle. For endings driven at their maximal rate an increase in vibration frequency produced a decrease in discharge rates as the ending changed to a subharmonic pattern of response. The converse occurred on decreasing vibration frequency. 4. For any given muscle length, primary endings could generally be driven to higher rates than secondary endings but there was a wide range of responsiveness within each group and a significant overlap between the groups. At medium muscle length, the most responsive primary endings could be driven up to 220 Hz but secondary endings did not reach discharge rates higher than 100 Hz. 5. With combined vibration and passive movements, primary endings exhibited maximal vibration responsiveness during the stretching phases, sometimes firing twice per vibration cycle. During the shortening phases, however, they usually ceased responding to the vibratory stimulus. The vibration responsiveness of secondary endings was not potentiated to the same extent by on‐going muscle stretch or reduced to the same extent by on‐going muscle shortening. Thus, during shortening, secondary endings may be more responsive than primary endings. 6. The responses of primary endings to tendon taps were reduced during muscle vibration, a reduction which probably contributes to vibration‐induced suppression of tendon jerks. Additionally, as the muscle shortened after tendon percussion, there was a transient pause in the response to vibration.
Citation segmentation from sparse & noisy data: A joint inference approach with Markov logic networks

This article presents an approach to citation segmentation that addresses special challenges as typically found in Digital Humanities applications. We perform citation segmentation from Optical Character Recognition (OCR) input obtained from volumes of a printed bibliography, the Turkology Annual . This showcase application features serious difficulties for state-of-the-art techniques in citation segmentation: multilingual citation entries , lack of data redundancy , inconsistencies , and noise from OCR input . Our approach is based on Markov logic networks (MLN) (Richardson and Domingos, Markov logic networks. Machine Learning , 62 (1): 107–36, 2006), a framework of statistical relational learning that combines first-order logic with probabilistic modeling. Formalization in first-order logic offers high expressivity and flexibility, and makes it possible to tailor segmentation to specific conventions of a given bibliography. We show that in face of the specific difficulties found with segmenting references from a digitized bibliography, our MLN formalizations outperform state-of-the-art statistical methods. We obtain 88% F1-score for exact field match, a 24.8% increase over a conditional random fields-based system baseline. In contrast to prior work, we address a data set featuring sparse and noisy data. Our method extends Poon and Domingos (Joint Inference in information extraction. In Proceedings of the Twenty-Second National Conference on Artificial Intelligence . Vancouver, Canada: AAAI Press, 2007)’s approach by applying joint inference at the field level . By this move, we are able to cope with the lack of citation redundancy and noise in the data. Our approach can be characterized as knowledge-based and hence does not rely on annotated training data. The rule sets we designed can be adapted to other bibliographies, or further types of digitized sources, such as historical dictionaries or encyclopedias.
Modèles internes et imagerie motrice

L’imagerie motrice (IM) est la representation mentale d’une action, sans production concomitante de mouvement. Les techniques d’enregistrement et de stimulation du systeme nerveux central ont montre au cours de ces trois dernieres decennies que l’IM partageait des sites d’activation corticale et sous-corticale avec l’action reellement executee. Cette similitude, sans pour autant etre parfaitement identique, se retrouve aussi dans les activations peripheriques nerveuses et vegetatives. De plus, le travail mental est un element facilitateur de l’apprentissage, favorisant l’amelioration de la performance. Certains courants de pensee attribuent les mecanismes sous-jacents de l’IM et les benefices de l’entrainement mental aux theories des modeles internes inverses et predictifs, empruntees directement du controle moteur. Ces theories creent un lien direct et indirect entre l’etat du systeme, l’environnement dans lequel evolue la personne et le contexte afin de generer la commande motrice et predire les consequences dynamiques et sensorielles de l’action. Cette revue a donc la volonte de comprendre les processus de l’IM au travers des modeles internes, en presentant dans un premier temps les composantes inverse et predictive du modele d’un point de vue de l’action motrice. Dans une deuxieme partie, nous expliquons les processus de l’IM par les modeles internes, en abordant les correlats neurophysiologiques centraux et peripheriques ainsi que les reponses comportementales.
O MÉTODO DOS ELEMENTOS DE CONTORNO APLICADO À ANÁLISE NÃO-LINEAR DE PLACAS

Neste trabalho, desenvolve-se uma formulacao linear de placas atraves do Metodo dos Elementos de Contorno, baseada na teoria classica de Kirchhoff, onde a integracao numerica, sobre os elementos do contorno, e feita considerando-se a tecnica de subelementos. Estende-se essa formulacao a analise nao-linear de placas de concreto armado, atraves da inclusao de um campo de momentos iniciais, onde as integrais de dominio sao calculadas aproximando-se o campo de momentos iniciais em celulas internas. Consideram-se dois modelos constitutivos para o concreto: um elastoplastico, onde o criterio utilizado e o de Von Mises, sem considerar resistencia a tracao, enquanto que o outro e o modelo de dano de Mazars. A distribuicao das tensoes e aproximada, em uma secao qualquer da placa, por pontos discretos, que seguindo um esquema gaussiano, permite a integracao numerica para o calculo dos esforcos. Em cada ponto, considerado ao longo da espessura, verifica-se o modelo constitutivo adotado. Numa primeira aproximacao, considera-se que a linha neutra e definida pela superficie media da placa e, numa aproximacao seguinte, a posicao da mesma e calculada de tal forma que a forca normal resultante seja nula.
Regulation of Spermatogenesis by Testis-Specific, Cytoplasmic Poly(A) Polymerase TPAP

Spermatogenesis is a highly specialized process of cellular differentiation to produce spermatozoa. This differentiation process accompanies morphological changes that are controlled by a number of genes expressed in a stage-specific manner during spermatogenesis. Here we show that in mice, the absence of a testis-specific, cytoplasmic polyadenylate [poly(A)] polymerase, TPAP, results in the arrest of spermiogenesis. TPAP-deficient mice display impaired expression of haploid-specific genes that are required for the morphogenesis of germ cells. The TPAP deficiency also causes incomplete elongation of poly(A) tails of particular transcription factor messenger RNAs. Although the overall cellular level of the transcription factor TAF10 is unaffected, TAF10 is insufficiently transported into the nucleus of germ cells. We propose that TPAP governs germ cell morphogenesis by modulating specific transcription factors at posttranscriptional and posttranslational levels.
The contribution of non-insulin-dependent diabetes to lower-extremity amputation in the community.

BACKGROUND Despite the significant public health burden of lower-extremity amputations in diabetes mellitus, few data are available on the epidemiology of lower-extremity amputations in diabetes mellitus in the community setting. METHODS A retrospective incidence cohort study based in Rochester, Minn, was conducted. RESULTS Among the 2015 diabetic individuals free of lower-extremity amputation at the diagnosis of diabetes mellitus, 57 individuals underwent 79 lower-extremity amputations (incidence, 375 per 100,000 person-years; 95% confidence interval, 297 to 467). Among the 1826 patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, 52 underwent 73 lower-extremity amputations, and the subsequent incidence of lower-extremity amputation among these residents was 388 per 100,000 person-years (95% confidence interval, 304 to 487). Of the 137 insulin-dependent diabetic patients, four subsequently underwent five lower-extremity amputations (incidence, 283 per 100,000 person-years; 95% confidence interval, 92 to 659). Twenty-five years after the diagnosis of diabetes mellitus, the cumulative risk of one lower-extremity amputation was 11.2% in insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and 11.0% in non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. When compared with lower-extremity amputation rates for Rochester residents without diabetes, patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus were nearly 400 times more likely to undergo an initial transphalangeal amputation (rate ratio, 378.8) and had almost a 12-fold increased risk of a below-knee amputation (rate ratio, 11.8). In this community, more than 60% of lower-extremity amputations were attributable to non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. CONCLUSIONS These population-based data document the magnitude of the elevated risk of lower-extremity amputation among diabetic individuals. Efforts should be made to identify more precisely risk factors for amputation in diabetes and to intervene in the processes leading to amputation.
Sequential Memory with ART: A Self-Organizing Network Capable of Learning Sequences of Patterns

A model which extends the adaptive resonance theory model to sequential memory is presented. This new model learns sequences of events and recalls a sequence when presented with parts of the sequence. A sequence can have repeated events and different sequences can share events. The ART model is modified by creating interconnected sub/ayers within ART's Fz layer. Nodes within Fz learn temporal patterns by forming recency gradients within LTM. Versions of the ART model like ART I, ART 2, and fuzzy ART can be used.
Reduction of Infarct Size Following Coronary Occlusion

Several pharmacological and hemodynamic interventions were found to alter acute ischemic injury of the myocardium and subsequent necrosis following coronary occlusion. Reduction in myocardial damage occurred when myocardial oxygen needs were reduced (beta-blocking agents, intra-aortic balloon counterpulsation. and digitalis in the failing heart), when coronary perfusion was improved (reperfusion. elevation of coronary perfusion pressure). when the provision of energy by means of anaerobic glycolysis was augmented (glucose-insulin-potassium, hypertonic glucose), when the diffusion of oxygen and of substrates to the ischemic cells was improved (hyaluronidase), when the autolytic and heterolytic processes in the myocardium following coronary occlusion were stabilized (hydrocortisone). On the other hand, interventions which increased myocardial oxygen consumption (such as tachycardia, isoproterenol, digitalis, glucagon, and bretylium in the nonfailing heart) and which decreased coronary perfusion, increased myocardial ischemic damage. This concept of reduction in infarct size is being applied to patients in pilot studies, and initial results with hyaluronidase are promising.