Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A longitudinal study of atrazine and 2,4‐D exposure and oxidative stress markers among iowa corn farmers

Reactive oxygen species, potentially formed through environmental exposures, can overwhelm an organism's antioxidant capabilities resulting in oxidative stress. Long‐term oxidative stress is linked with chronic diseases. Pesticide exposures have been shown to cause oxidative stress in vivo. We utilized a longitudinal study of corn farmers and non‐farming controls in Iowa to examine the impact of exposure to the widely used herbicides atrazine and 2,4‐dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4‐D) on markers of oxidative stress. 225 urine samples were collected during five agricultural time periods (pre‐planting, planting, growing, harvest, off‐season) for 30 farmers who applied pesticides occupationally and 10 controls who did not; all were non‐smoking men ages 40–60. Atrazine mercapturate (atrazine metabolite), 2,4‐D, and oxidative stress markers (malondialdehyde [MDA], 8‐hydroxy‐2′‐deoxyguanosine [8‐OHdG], and 8‐isoprostaglandin‐F2α [8‐isoPGF]) were measured in urine. We calculated β estimates and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) for each pesticide‐oxidative stress marker combination using multivariate linear mixed‐effect models for repeated measures. Farmers had higher urinary atrazine mercapturate and 2,4‐D levels compared with controls. In regression models, after natural log transformation, 2,4‐D was associated with elevated levels of 8‐OHdG (β = 0.066, 95%CI = 0.008–0.124) and 8‐isoPGF (β = 0.088, 95%CI = 0.004–0.172). 2,4‐D may be associated with oxidative stress because of modest increases in 8‐OHdG, a marker of oxidative DNA damage, and 8‐isoPGF, a product of lipoprotein peroxidation, with recent 2,4‐D exposure. Future studies should investigate the role of 2,4‐D‐induced oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of human diseases. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. 58:30–38, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
INBOUND AND OUTBOUND TRAFFIC CONTROLLING OF MULTI-HOMED AUTONOMOUS SYSTEM

A multi-homed Autonomous System (AS) usually has two or more BGP border routers connected to the other AS. This border router is the gateway for the AS to connect with other AS. Having more than one gateway is an obstacle for the multi-homed AS when setting their outbound and inbound traffic. The research and observation have been at a multi-homed AS indicating that the BGP Routing Protocol can overcome these obstacles. Multi-homed AS can use the prepend method and set the local_preference attribute to control outbound and inbound traffic.
Who Owns What? Unbundling Web Course Property Rights.

Number 1 2001 • EDUCAUSE QUARTERLY 45 Atug-of-war between faculty and administration over who owns online courses is taking place on our nation’s campuses. Pulling forcefully on one end are those institutions that declare that because they paid faculty to develop e-courses and because they invested in Web-delivery software, supported instructional training and design, and absorbed most other costs, online courses belong to the university. Tugging at the other end are those faculty who say that because they created ecourses, copyright law and academic convention support their right to ownership, no different from on-site courses. Web classes, they argue, belong entirely to the faculty. In a survey I conducted recently,1 about half the schools that offer online courses reported that their institutions have a Web course intellectual property policy in place. At a quarter of these, the schools own all ecourse rights. Just over 10 percent said that their faculty own the rights, while another third reported that faculty and the university share them. Half the schools said they haven’t yet instituted a policy or are in the midst of devising one. As expected, the results show little or no consensus. And no wonder. While the growth of e-learning has taken off, jumping from five percent of the nation’s college and university students in 1998 to a projected 15 percent next year,2 online higher education is just being born. Many institutions haven’t yet decided when to offer online courses, let alone whether to enter a political struggle with faculty over rights. Schools delivering Web-based classes face other hurdles first: selecting the right e-learning software, training Web-savvy instructors, choosing which courses to offer, and calculating how to compensate faculty for developing ecourses and teaching online, among dozens of other difficult tasks. Recognizing that Stevens Institute of Technology’s long-established intellectual property policies failed to account for e-courses, the school appointed a faculty committee to explore online course ownership and to recommend a new policy. Composed of veteran and junior members, the group first met in the summer of 1999.3 As director of WebCampus. Stevens, the graduate school’s e-learning program, I was named chair.
Stability and stabilizability of fuzzy-neural-linear control systems

This paper discusses stability analysis of fuzzy-neural-linear (FNL) control systems which consist of combinations of fuzzy models, neural network (NN) models, and linear models. The authors consider a relation among the dynamics of NN models, those of fuzzy models and those of linear models. It is pointed out that the dynamics of linear models and NN models can be perfectly represented by Takagi-Sugeno (T-S) fuzzy models whose consequent parts are described by linear equations. In particular, the authors present a procedure for representing the dynamics of NN models via T-S fuzzy models. Next, the authors recall stability conditions for ensuring stability of fuzzy control systems in the sense of Lyapunov. The stability criteria is reduced to the problem of finding a common Lyapunov function for a set of Lyapunov inequalities. The stability conditions are employed to analyze stability of FNL control systems. Finally, stability analysis for four types of FNL control systems is demonstrated.
Serum adipokine levels in the obese people

We read the article by Onat et al 1 on the association of serum adiponectin with obesity, hyperinsulinemia, lipoproteins, inflammatory markers and sex hormone binding globulin. In a relatively large population sample, they report some interesting results based mostly on statistical associations that, to our understanding, might not wholly represent the studied population itself. As we know, other than the body fat content, degree of insulin sensitivity and age, there are some more major determinants of circulating adiponectin. First, we clearly know that not only the people with diabetes mellitus but also those with impaired glucose tolerance have lower adiponectin level compared to healthy controls 2. Second, increased blood pressure is a condition with decreased adiponectin concentration 3,4. Third, as the authors noticed in their model, medications for metabolic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension or dyslipidemia significantly alter blood level of adipokines 5-7. The authors state in their paper that blood adiponectin has no association with antidiabetic, antihypertensive or hypolipidmic medications. However, no information was given about the fasting glucose level or glucose tolerance status of the other participants without documented diabetes most of whom were obese. Moreover, it appears that newly diagnosed or insufficiently treated diabetes or hypertension was categorized in the same group with established disease, which needs to be argued further. Therefore, it would be appreciated if the authors could present some more data adjusted for major confounders including fasting glucose, prediabetes and newly diagnosed or untreated diabetes and hypertension. This could provide the readers of the journal clearer information in relation to the link between adiposity, adipokines and insulin sensitivity.
The minimum number of minimal codewords in an [n, k]-code and in graphic codes

We survey some lower bounds on the function in the title based on matroid theory and address the following problem by Dosa, Szalkai, Laﬂamme [9]: Determine the smallest number of circuits in a loopless matroid with no parallel elements and with a given size and rank. In the graphic 3-connected case we provide a lower bound which is a product of a linear function of the number of vertices and an exponential function of the average degree. We also prove that, for p ≥ 38, every 3-connected graph with p vertices has at least as many cycles as the wheel with p vertices.
A Color Image Authentication Method Using Partitioned Palette and Morphological Operations

Image authentication is applied to protect the integrity of the digital image. Conventional image authentication mechanisms, however, are unfit for the palette-based color images. Palette-based color images such as GIF images are commonly used for media communications. This article proposes a palette-based color image authentication mechanism. This novel scheme can guarantee the essentials of general authentication schemes to protect palette-based color images. Morphological operations are adopted to draw out the tampered area precisely. According to the experimental results, the images embedded with the authentication data still can preserve high image quality; specifically, the new scheme is highly sensitive to altered areas.
A comparison of growth, photosynthetic capacity and water stress in Eucalyptus globulus coppice regrowth and seedlings during early development.

Eucalyptus globulus Labill. , a globally significant plantation species, is grown commercially in a multiple rotation framework. Second and subsequent crops of E. globulus may be established either by allowing the cut stumps to resprout (commonly referred to as coppice) or by replanting a new crop of seedlings. Currently, long-term growth data comparing coppice and seedling productivity in second or later rotations in southern Australia is limited. The capacity to predict productivity using these tools is dependent on an understanding of the physiology of seedlings and coppice in response to light, water and nutrient supply. In this study, we compared the intrinsic (independent of the immediate environment) and native (dependent on the immediate environment) physiology of E. globulus coppice and second-generation seedlings during their early development in the field. Coppice not only grew more rapidly, but also used more water and drew on stored soil water to a depth of at least 4.5 m during the first 2 years of growth, whereas the seedlings only accessed the top 0.9 m of the soil profile. During the same period, there was no significant difference between coppice and seedlings in either their stomatal response to leaf-to-air vapour pressure difference (D) or intrinsic water-use efficiency; CO(2)- and light-saturated rates of photosynthesis were greater in seedlings than that in coppice as were the quantum yield of photosynthesis and total leaf chlorophyll content. Thus, at a leaf scale, seedlings are potentially more productive per unit leaf area than coppice during early development, but this is not realised under ambient conditions. The underlying cause of this inherent difference is discussed in the context of the allocation of resources to above- and below-ground organs during early development.
Ownership structure and firm performance in Nigeria's commercial banking industry: a cross-sectional analysis

There is usually a tendency by developing countries to indigenize vital sectors of their economies in order to be able to effectively control the forks with which resources are supplied to basic production processes for growth. This tendency seems to explain the strong drive for the indigenization of the commercial banking system in most African countries in the recent past as dissatisfaction with expatriate banking practices became somewhat unbearable. It was this dissatisfaction that led to the nationalization of com mercial banking firms in Lybia, Sudan, Somalia and Tanzania, and deliberate indigeniza tion of expatriate banks in Malawi, Uganda, Kenya and Zambia1. In the case of Nigeria, the reaction had two dimensions. First, there was a proliferation of indigenous com mercial banks in the 1950s in the attempt to compete with the expatriate banks and provide more reasonable banking services required for the growth of the economy. Se cond, an Indigenization decree was promulgated in 1972 (and re-enacted in 1977) to give 40 per cent indigenous participation by Nigerians in all expatriate-owned banks. In a free enterprise economy, nationalization of industries and indigenization of firms dominated by foreign capital are desirable to the extent that such an economy can brace up to the repercussive effects on inflow of foreign private investment. They are also desirable to the extent that the public sector, in the case of nationalized industries, and the indigenous private enterpreneurs, in the case of highly indigenized firms, have both the requisite skills and resources to maintain the performance level required of the en tities concerned. Otherwise, the resort to economic adjustment programmes in the 1980s in the African context has failed to provide convincing justification for an overzealous indigenization programme. In fact, this paper expresses the view that indigenization reflects the basic weakness of indigenous entrepreneurship or management skills. It need not arise, if indigeno us firms can effectively compete with expatriate-owned firms. This appears to be the situation in commercial banking in Nigeria. Given that both expatriate and indigenous commercial banking firms respond similarly to the relevant market structure and conduct variables that shape the structure of their assets and liabilities portfolios, then the observed differences in performance which are reflected in much higher and stable returns to expatriate banks could be explained by differences in their respective vectors of management skills. The aim of this paper,
Radix-4 adder design with refined carry

Adder is a critical component in arithmetic and logic units (ALUs). Minimizing the power consumption and delay of adder is an important issue. In this paper, we proposed a high performance multiplexer-based radix-4 adder with refined carry to reduce the propagation delay. To achieve high performance, the proposed radix-4 adder adopts multiplexers which are controlled by the carry signal of previous stage to avoid the long carry chain. The drivability of all outputs is strong because all outputs are full voltage swing. The proposed design was simulated by using the TSMC CMOS 45 nm technology. For 32-bit adders, compared with the previous radix-4 adder and 2-bit carry select adder, our design can reduce 16% and 19% delay, respectively; our design also achieves 13% and 66% EDP reduction, respectively.
Solving Multi-object Auctions with LP/IP

In many auctions/markets, the value of an object to a participant depends significantly on what other objects the participant does or does not acquire. This dependence is of two main types: complements and substitutes. For the complements case in particular, there has been some concern that such auctions are too difficult to solve exactly. Some of these problems have even been (inaccurately) described as intractable. We describe the use of linear programming(LP/IP) based methods for solving in reasonable time, such multi-object auctions as encountered in practice.
Bioluminescence Resonance Energy Transfer as a Screening Assay: Focus on Partial and Inverse Agonism

The reported data for compound screening with the bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET2) assay is very limited, and several questions remain unaddressed, such as the behavior of agonists. Eleven β2 adrenergic receptor (β2-AR) agonists were tested for full or partial agonism in an improved version of the receptor/β-arrestin2 BRET2 assay and in 2 cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) assays (column cAMP assay and ALPHAscreen™ cAMP assay). Tested in the highly sensitive ALPHAscreen™ cAMP assay, all selected agonists behaved as full agonists, using isoproterenol as a reference compound. In the less sensitive column cAMP assay, ephedrine and dopamine had a clear partial response. For the BRET2 assay, a highly graded picture was obtained. Moreover, β2-AR antagonists were tested for inverse agonism. Pronounced inverse agonism was detected in the ALPHAscreen™ cAMP assay. Only marginal inverse agonistic responses were seen for alprenolol and pindolol in the column cAMP assay, and no inverse agonism was seen in the BRET2 assay. For the β2-AR, the BRET2 assay may be superior for secondary screening of agonists where a separation of full and partial agonists is needed and the ALPHAscreen™ cAMP assay may be preferred for primary screening of agonists where all receptor activating compounds are desired.
Using retrospective health data from the Gombe chimpanzee study to inform future monitoring efforts

Disease outbreaks, either in isolation or in concert with other risk factors, can pose serious threats to the long‐term persistence of mammal populations, and these risks become elevated as population size decreases and/or population isolation increases. Many chimpanzee study sites are increasingly isolated by loss of habitat due to human encroachment, and managers of parks that contain chimpanzees perceive that disease outbreaks have been and continue to be significant causes of mortality for chimpanzees. Major epidemics at Gombe National Park include suspected polio in 1966; respiratory diseases in 1968, 1987, 1996, 2000, and 2002; and sarcoptic mange in 1997. These outbreaks have led park managers and researchers working in Gombe to conclude that disease poses a substantial risk to the long‐term survival of Gombe's chimpanzee population. We surveyed behavioral data records spanning 44 years for health‐related data and found a combination of standardized and nonstandardized data for the entire period. Here we present the types of data found during the survey, discuss the usefulness of these data in the context of risk assessment, and describe how our current monitoring effort at Gombe was designed based on our findings. Am. J. Primatol. 68:897–908, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Therapeutic Effect of Vitamin D3 in Multiple Sclerosis Patients

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory disease in which the myelin sheaths around the axons of the central nervous system are damaged. The damage leads to demyelination and scarring as well as a broad spectrum of signs and symptoms. The epidemiological data suggest a possible influence of vitamin D as an immunomodulatory agent on multiple sclerosis susceptibility as well as on clinical course of the disease. We investigated the effects of short-term vitamin D3 therapy on Iranian patients with MS. In a prospective randomized controlled trial study, 62 MS patients received 300,000 IU/month vitamin D3 or placebo as intramuscular injection for 6 months. Our results showed no significant difference between the treatment and the control groups in the expanded disability status scale scores and number of gadolinium-enhancing lesions during the 6-month treatment period. After 6 months, the levels of cell proliferation in the vitamin D treatment group were significantly lower than the control group. Also, the levels of transforming growth factor-beta and interleukin-10 in the vitamin D treatment group were significantly higher than the control group. This result suggests that vitamin D therapy may help prevent the development of MS and could be a useful addition to the therapy.
Actinomycetes: Role in Biotechnology and Medicine

Actinomycetes, one of the most diverse groups of filamentous bacteria, are well recognized for their metabolic versatility. The bioactive potential of these bacteria facilitates their survival even in distress and unfavourable ecological conditions. This special issue is dedicated to the importance of multitude of primary and secondary metabolites produced by actinomycetes. The six articles published in this issue balance the biocatalytic and biocidal potential of actinomycetes. The importance of large repertory of enzymes from actinomycetes and their potential in replacing chemical catalysts is discussed. Successful commercialization of these enzymes is an important step towards revolutionizing “green technology. ” Reduction in the cost of enzyme production is demonstrated by production of endoglucanases from Streptomyces sp. on low-cost substrates. Such low-cost production initiatives can be extended to other enzymes and metabolites. Novel properties like thermal and ionic stabilities and a better turnover make these systems infallible and regenerative. The activity of enzymes from actinomycetes is not confined to substrate conversion alone but broadened to biocontrol of quorum-sensing-dependent phytopathogens, as mediated by acyl-homoserine-lactone-degrading enzymes from endophytic actinomycetes. Unexplored environments often appeal to researchers in the hope of accruing novel bacteria, a continuous quest which has actually led to discovery of unusually industrious microbes. Antimicrobial potential of actinobacteria isolated from the integument of Trachymyrmex fungus-growing ants is on par with commercial antimicrobials, clearly manifesting a new explorable niche “actinobacterial symbionts of plants and animals. ” The term “antimicrobials” often leads our thoughts to “medicine-related” but it's “environment-related” applications are less contrived. Streptomyces lunalinharesii produces antimicrobial substances against sulfate-reducing bacteria commonly responsible for corrosion in the petroleum industry, with an ability to replace the existing biocides. Making the best out of the already good can be achieved for actinomycetes by strain improvement. Advanced microarray-driven reverse engineering strategies for the understanding and modulation of independently functioning regulatory pathways can allow these microfactories to overproduce important antibiotics. In a nutshell, actinomycetes offer the most promising synthesizers of many industrially and commercially meaningful metabolites. Novel and unexplored habitats may offer bacterial assemblages not reached hitherto. An integration of newer habitats, screening, and improvement technologies can offer promising candidates for biotechnology and health-related applications. Neelu Nawani Bertrand Aigle Abul Mandal Manish Bodas Sofiane Ghorbel Divya Prakash
A Workshop on Pubertal Hormone Replacement Options in the United States

BACKGROUND The optimal pubertal hormone replacement therapy in females and males is unclear. OBJECTIVE To review hormone replacement options for hypogonadal teenagers and to determine the relevant attitudes and practices of pediatric endocrinologists in the United States. DESIGN/METHODS A workshop on pubertal hormone replacement options was held during the Lawson Wilkins Pediatric Endocrine Society meeting in 2004. A questionnaire was distributed to investigate the audience's attitudes and practices in inducing puberty. RESULTS The majority of respondents used conjugated estrogens to treat hypogonadal girls with the primary aim of treatment being attainment of maximal adult height. The majority of respondents used depot testosterone to treat hypogonadal boys with the primary aim of treatment being pubertal development and virilization. CONCLUSIONS The use of physiological sex hormone replacement to optimize the induction of puberty in hypogonadal adolescents was recommended. The workshop revealed striking differences between US and European pediatric endocrinologists regarding their practices and attitudes regarding the induction of puberty in hypogonadal females. Detailed studies are necessary to develop more uniform guidelines.