Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Global Strategy for the Diagnosis, Management, and Prevention of Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease 2017 Report: GOLD Executive Summary

This Executive Summary of the Global Strategy for the Diagnosis, Management, and Prevention of COPD (GOLD) 2017 Report focuses primarily on the revised and novel parts of the document. The most significant changes include: 1) the assessment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease has been refined to separate the spirometric assessment from symptom evaluation. ABCD groups are now proposed to be derived exclusively from patient symptoms and their history of exacerbations; 2) for each of the groups A to D, escalation strategies for pharmacological treatments are proposed; 3) the concept of de-escalation of therapy is introduced in the treatment assessment scheme; 4) nonpharmacologic therapies are comprehensively presented and; 5) the importance of comorbid conditions in managing COPD is reviewed. Read the executive summary of the new @GOLD_COPD 2017 report in the European Respiratory Journal http://ow.ly/XxfD308BDfc
Emotion-augmented machine learning: Overview of an emerging domain

Emotion has been exposed as a crucial component of intelligent behaviour. Considerations in both neuroscience and psychology have identified emotion as playing a central role in various critical cognitive processes, such as attaining salience from the environment in order to support decision making, exploration-exploitation and broader adaptation. This paper provides an overview of some of the corroborative material in these fields, to then consider how emotion has been translated into machine learning. We identify emotion as being a promising endeavour for machine learning and expose Emotion-augmented Machine Learning (EML) as a frontier field in Artificial Intelligence and Affective Computing.
Revisiting the positive aspects of negative work

[Figure][1] Steven Elmer and Paul LaStayo discuss Abbott et al.'s classic paper ‘The physiological cost of negative work’, published in The Journal of Physiology in 1952. Two bicycles and one chain: with these three components, Bernard ‘Bud’ Abbott, Brenda Bigland and Murdoch
Antioxidant activity of rice plants sprayed with herbicides

Understanding the physiological defense behavior of plants subjected to herbicide application may help to identify products with higher or lower capacity to cause oxidative stress in crops. This study aimed at evaluating the effect of herbicides in the antioxidant activity of rice plants. The experimental design was completely randomized, with six replications. Treatments consisted of the herbicides bentazon (photosystem II inhibitor; 960 g ha -1 ), penoxsulam (acetolactate synthase inhibitor; 60 g ha -1 ), cyhalofop-butyl (acetyl coenzyme-A carboxylase inhibitor; 315 g ha -1 ) and a control. After the herbicides application, samples of rice shoots were collected at 12, 24, 48 and 96 hours after application (HAA). The components evaluated were hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ), lipid peroxidation and activity of the antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT). Bentazon (up to 24 HAA) and penoxsulam (48 and 96 HAA) reduced the CAT activity. Moreover, these herbicides increased the levels of H 2 O 2 , lipid peroxidation and SOD activity, indicating a condition of oxidative stress in rice plants. The cyhalofop-butyl herbicide did not alter the antioxidant activity, showing that it causes less stress to the crop.
Dynamic exercise enhances regional cerebral artery mean flow velocity.

Dynamic exercise enhances regional cerebral artery mean flow velocity. J. Appl. Physiol. 78(1): 12-16, 1995. --Anterior (ACA) and middle (MCA) cerebral artery mean flow velocities (Vmean) and pulsatility indexes were determined using transcranial Doppler in 14 subjects during dynamic exercise after assessment of the carbon dioxide reactivity for both arteries. Right hand contractions provoked an elevation in left MCA Vmean [19% (12-28); P < 0.01], whereas the pulsatility decreased in all four arteries (P < 0.05). During right foot movement, left ACA Vmean increased by 23% (11-37; P < 0.01) with lesser (approximately 10%; P < 0.05) increases in the other arteries, and pulsatility index decreased (P < 0.05). During cycling, ACA and MCA Vmean increased bilaterally by 23% (10-49) and 18% (5-32), respectively (P < 0.01), and the pulsatility was also elevated (P < 0.05). Cerebral artery pulsatility did not demonstrate a focal response but depended did not demonstrate a focal response but depended on the muscle mass involved during exercise. The data demonstrate a significant increase in Vmean for the artery supplying the cortical projection of the exercising limb. Insignificant and marginally significant increases in Vmean may be related to sympathetically mediated vasoconstriction and/or coactivation of untargeted muscle groups.
Comparison of molecular and cellular events during lower jaw regeneration of newt (Cynops pyrrhogaster) and West African clawed frog (Xenopus tropicalis)

When mammals, including humans, lose a major part of their lower jaw, they are unable to regenerate the lost structures. Urodele amphibians, especially newts, can regenerate their lower jaw after amputation, whereas most anuran amphibians, including the West African clawed frog, can not. In the present study, we investigated the difference between newts and frogs during lower jaw regeneration. One difference was the distribution of myosin heavy chain (MHC) mRNA after lower jaw amputation: MHC mRNA was immediately expressed at the tip of the amputated lower jaw in newts but not in frogs. Moreover, there were proliferating cells that expressed Pax7 in newts but not in frogs, although proliferating cells were present in both animals. These results suggest that the difference of the jaw‐regenerating abilities between newts and frogs depends on the expression of MHC mRNA at the tip of the amputated jaw and the contribution of Pax7‐positive cells. Developmental Dynamics 237:354–365, 2008. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Fuel Consumption Optimization for a City Bus

This paper deals with the optimization of the fuel consumption for a city bus of the city of Rouen, in France. This work takes part from the ANGO project, a french PREDIT-ANR project. The aim consists in modelling the bus and its fuel consumption in order to formulate a problem of optimmization of the consumption (criterium definition, constraints, initialized variables, .). Some simulation results are shown under an advisory system to the bus driver and experimental works are presented.
P. falciparum pro-histoaspartic protease (proHAP) protein peptides bind specifically to erythrocytes and inhibit the invasion process in vitro

Abstract Plasmodium falciparum histoaspartic protease (HAP) is an active enzyme involved in haemoglobin degradation. HAP is expressed as an inactive 51-kDa zymogen and is cleaved into an active 37-kDa enzyme. It has been proposed that this kind of protease might be implicated in the parasite's invasion of erythrocytes; however, this protein's role during invasion has still to be determined. Synthetic peptides derived from the HAP precursor (proHAP) were tested in erythrocyte binding assays to identify their possible function in the invasion process. Two proHAP high-activity binding peptides (HABPs) specifically bound to erythrocytes; these peptides were numbered 30609 (101LKNYIKESVKLFNKGLTKKS120) and 30610 (121YLGSEFDNVELKDLANVLSF140). The binding of these two peptides was saturable, presenting nanomolar affinity constants. These peptides interacted with 26- and 45-kDa proteins on the erythrocyte surface; the nature of these receptor sites was studied in peptide binding assays using enzyme-treated erythrocytes. The HABPs showed greater than 90% merozoite invasion inhibition in in vitro assays. Goat serum containing proHAP polymeric peptide antibodies inhibited parasite invasion in vitro.
The Viral Protein A238L Inhibits TNF-α Expression through a CBP/p300 Transcriptional Coactivators Pathway1

African swine fever virus (ASFV) is able to inhibit TNF-α-induced gene expression through the synthesis of A238L protein. This was shown by the use of deletion mutants lacking the A238L gene from the Vero cell-adapted Ba71V ASFV strain and from the virulent isolate E70. To further analyze the molecular mechanism by which the viral gene controls TNF-α, we have used Jurkat cells stably transfected with the viral gene to identify the TNF-α regulatory elements involved in the induction of the gene after stimulation with PMA and calcium ionophore. We have thus identified the cAMP-responsive element and κ3 sites on the TNF-α promoter as the responsible of the gene activation, and demonstrate that A238L inhibits TNF-α expression through these DNA binding sites. This inhibition was partially reverted by overexpression of the transcriptional factors NF-AT, NF-κB, and c-Jun. Furthermore, we present evidence that A238L inhibits the activation of TNF-α by modulating NF-κB, NF-AT, and c-Jun trans activation through a mechanism that involves CREB binding protein/p300 function, because overexpression of these transcriptional coactivators recovers TNF-α promoter activity. In addition, we show that A238L is a nuclear protein that binds to the cyclic AMP-responsive element/κ3 complex, thus displacing the CREB binding protein/p300 coactivators. Taken together, these results establish a novel mechanism in the control of TNF-α gene expression by a viral protein that could represent an efficient strategy used by ASFV to evade the innate immune response.
In : Equine Respiratory Diseases

Recurrent airway obstruction (RAO) is an inflammatory, obstructive airway disease that becomes clinically evident in middle-aged horses. Attacks of airway obstruction are induced by exposure of susceptible animals to organic dust (typically hay dust). Following dust exposure, there is massive influx of neutrophils into the airways. This is accompanied by bronchospasm and mucus accumulation. The obstruction and inflammation resolve when dust exposure is eliminated. Affected horses are susceptible to recurrent bouts of obstruction throughout their lives and therefore need to be carefully managed. RAO-affected horses must be maintained in a low-dust environment, fed low-dust feeds and bedded on low-dust bedding. Administration of corticosteroids, either sytemically or by inhalation, will reduce inflammation and airway obstruction. Bronchodilator drugs should be used as needed to relieve respiratory distress.
Enhancement of Lycopene Extraction from Tomato Peels by Enzymatic Treatment

Four food-grade enzyme preparations (Citrozym CEO and Ultra L, Peclyve EP and LI) with pectinolytic, cellulolytic and hemicellulolytic activities were investigated to assess their suitability for improving lycopene recovery from tomato peels. After a preliminary screening, the influence of solvent type and enzyme incubation time on the extraction efficiency was studied. Under the best conditions (1-h enzyme incubation followed by a 3-h solvent extraction at 40 °C) up to 440 mg of lycopene per 100 g of dry tomato peels were obtained. Experiments on the peel fraction of tomato processing waste confirmed the significant increase in yields resulting from the use of enzymes. Overall, lycopene recovery from the enzymatically treated material was between 70 and 98%, while yields from the untreated peels were in the range of 3–40%.
Serpentinization as a source of energy at the origin of life

For life to have emerged from CO2, rocks, and water on the early Earth, a sustained source of chemically transducible energy was essential. The serpentinization process is emerging as an increasingly likely source of that energy. Serpentinization of ultramafic crust would have continuously supplied hydrogen, methane, minor formate, and ammonia, as well as calcium and traces of acetate, molybdenum and tungsten, to off‐ridge alkaline hydrothermal springs that interfaced with the metal‐rich carbonic Hadean Ocean. Silica and bisulfide were also delivered to these springs where cherts and sulfides were intersected by the alkaline solutions. The proton and redox gradients so generated represent a rich source of naturally produced chemiosmotic energy, stemming from geochemistry that merely had to be tapped, rather than induced, by the earliest biochemical systems. Hydrothermal mounds accumulating at similar sites in today’s oceans offer conceptual and experimental models for the chemistry germane to the emergence of life, although the ubiquity of microbial communities at such sites in addition to our oxygenated atmosphere preclude an exact analogy.
Alveolar collapse and closure of airways: regular effects of anaesthesia

Oxygenation is impaired in almost all subjects during anaesthesia, and hypoxaemia for shorter or longer periods is a common finding. Moreover, postoperative lung complications occur in 3–4% after elective surgery, and up to 20% in emergency operations. Rapid collapse of alveoli on induction of anaesthesia and more widespread closure of airways seem to explain the oxygenation impairment and may also contribute to postoperative pulmonary infection, Causative mechanisms to atelectasis and airway closure seem to be loss of respiratory muscle tone and gas resorption. Avoiding high inspired oxygen fractions during both induction and maintenance of anaesthesia prevents or reduces atelectasis, while intermittent ‘vital capacity’ manoeuvres, recruit atelectatic lung regions.
Availability, And Awareness of Non-Pneumatic Antishock Garment in Tertiary Hospitals of Northern Nigeria.

Background: The (NASG) was introduced as a gadget that can be used for first aid treatment of women in postpartum shock prior to proper investigation and appropriate management of the patient. Purpose of the study: aims at assessing the availability, awareness and utilization of non-pneumatic Antishock garment in tertiary hospitals of Northern Nigeria. That is the North West, North East and North central. Materials and methods: A descriptive design was used . Isaac & Michael, (1981); Smith, (1983) sample size chart revealed that for a given population of 100,000 and above the sample size for such population should be 398. A four point level likert scale questionnaire was structured. The data collected was analysed using one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and with a 0.05 level of confidence to answer the hypotheses. A constant mean of 2.5 was used to ascertain the agreement of the respondents on the questionnaire items. Results of the study, revealed that, NASG is available in the selected hospitals but strictly within the control of the hospitals’ management in Northern Nigeria with an aggregate mean score of 2.32 . Nurses and doctors in tertiary hospitals in Northern Nigeria are aware of the NASG for postpartum haemorrhage with an aggregate mean score of3.18. There is significant difference in the availability and awareness of the NASG for postpartum haemorrahage among nurses and doctors of the selected tertiary hospitals in Northern Nigeria. Conclusion: the NASG is available strictly in tertiary hospitals in Northern Nigeria and doctors and nurses are
Early grade curriculum-based reading measures for students with intellectual disability

The purpose of this study was to extend previous research on the use of curriculum-based measurement (CBM) for students with intellectual disability by having 19 special education teachers monitor weekly reading progress of 38 students with intellectual disability for approximately 15 weeks and examining whether students exhibited gains on the progress monitoring measures. In addition to the weekly CBM, teachers reported the type and duration of daily reading instruction. Data were analyzed to explore relationships between CBM performance and reading instruction. Our results indicate that teachers are capable of administering and scoring CBM on a weekly basis and that CBM does capture reading growth for some students with intellectual disability. Correlations between CBM performance and a teacher report of skills taught during reading instruction indicate that teachers may be differentiating instruction based on students’ reading ability. Directions for future research as well as limitations of the study are discussed.
Replication of the retroviral terminal repeat sequence during in vivo reverse transcription

There is a copy of a short terminal repeat segment, r, at each end of the retroviral RNA genome. During reverse transcription, r is copied from the genomic RNA to form the R component of the long terminal repeat in viral DNA. Although our current model for reverse transcription suggests that the 5' r is copied, it is not known whether the 5' copy, the 3' copy, or part of each r in the genomic RNA serves as the template for the R region in the progeny viral DNA. To assess the relative contribution of the 5' and 3' r templates, we examined the effect of mutations located at the center of the 5' or 3' r of spleen necrosis virus and determined the sequence of the R region in the progeny proviruses after a single round of retroviral replication. In approximately 90% of the proviruses, the 5' r marker was copied, whereas 10% of the proviruses had derived the R marker from the 3' r.
Toll‐like receptor 4 Asp299Gly polymorphism in respiratory syncytial virus epidemics

The respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) antigen serves as ligand for Toll‐like receptor (TLR) 4 that is a transmembrane signaling receptor in macrophages and dendritic cells. According to current evidence single nucleotide polymorphism involving amino acid 299 influences the susceptibility to severe RSV infections. The Asp299Gly allele has been shown to influence the TLR4‐mediated signaling causing conformational change in the extracellular domain that recognizes pathogen‐associated molecular patterns. The aim was to study the association between the TLR4 Asp299Gly polymorphism and the susceptibility to severe RSV bronchiolitis in infants. Altogether 312 cases and 356 controls, selected on the basis place of residence, date of birth, gender, and gestation at birth, were studied. When adjusted for multiple dependent variables, no allele or genotype frequency difference was found between the cases and the controls. Post hoc analysis revealed that during the year 2000 epidemics, the Gly299Gly genotype associated with protection against severe RSV and during 2004 epidemics Gly299Gly genotype and 299Gly allele associated with severe RSV. To conclude, we could not confirm the association of the Gly299 allele with severe RSV. This is consistent with the evidence that the susceptibility to severe RSV infection is principally dependent on environmental and constitutional factors. We propose that the risk of severe RSV infection may additionally depend on the interaction between individual TLR4 genotype and the particular RSV group causing bronchiolitis. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2010; 45:687–692. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Dysbiosis of the faecal microbiota in patients with Crohn's disease and their unaffected relatives

Background and aims A general dysbiosis of the intestinal microbiota has been established in patients with Crohn's disease (CD), but a systematic characterisation of this dysbiosis is lacking. Therefore the composition of the predominant faecal microbiota of patients with CD was studied in comparison with the predominant composition in unaffected controls. Whether dysbiosis is present in relatives of patients CD was also examined. Methods Focusing on families with at least three members affected with CD, faecal samples of 68 patients with CD, 84 of their unaffected relatives and 55 matched controls were subjected to community fingerprinting of the predominant microbiota using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). To analyse the DGGE profiles, BioNumerics software and non-parametric statistical analyses (SPSS V.17.0) were used. Observed differences in the predominant microbiota were subsequently confirmed and quantified with real-time PCR. Results Five bacterial species characterised dysbiosis in CD, namely a decrease in Dialister invisus (p=0.04), an uncharacterised species of Clostridium cluster XIVa (p=0.03), Faecalibacterium prausnitzii (p<1.3×10−5) and Bifidobacterium adolescentis (p=5.4×10−6), and an increase in Ruminococcus gnavus (p=2.1×10−7). Unaffected relatives of patients with CD had less Collinsella aerofaciens (p=0.004) and a member of the Escherichia coli–Shigella group (p=0.01) and more Ruminococcus torques (p=0.02) in their predominant microbiota as compared with healthy subjects. Conclusion Unaffected relatives of patients with CD have a different composition of their microbiota compared with healthy controls. This dysbiosis is not characterised by lack of butyrate producing-bacteria as observed in CD but suggests a role for microorganisms with mucin degradation capacity.
Scheduling Algorithms for Minimizing Age of Information in Wireless Broadcast Networks with Random Arrivals

Age of information is a new network performance metric that captures the freshness of information at end-users. This paper studies the age of information from a scheduling perspective. To that end, we consider a wireless broadcast network where a base-station (BS) is updating many users on random information arrivals under a transmission capacity constraint. For the offline case when the arrival statistics are known to the BS, we develop a structural MDP scheduling algorithm and an index scheduling algorithm, leveraging Markov decision process (MDP) techniques and the Whittle's methodology for restless bandits. By exploring optimal structural results, we not only reduce the computational complexity of the MDP-based algorithm, but also simplify deriving a closed form of the Whittle index. Moreover, for the online case, we develop an MDP-based online scheduling algorithm and an index-based online scheduling algorithm. Both the structural MDP scheduling algorithm and the MDP-based online scheduling algorithm asymptotically minimize the average age, while the index scheduling algorithm minimizes the average age when the information arrival rates for all users are the same. Finally, the algorithms are validated via extensive numerical studies.
Influence of soil water on the physiological and morphological components of plant water balance in Populus trichocarpa, Populus deltoides and their F(1) hybrids.

Patterns of leaf growth, transpiration and whole-plant water balance in Populus trichocarpa, P. deltoides and their F(1) hybrids were studied during a soil drying cycle. Plant responses were analyzed during three distinct stages of dehydration. In stage I, the transpiration rate of drought-stressed plants remained constant and equal to that of well-watered plants even though soil water content declined by more than 40%. Stage II began as soil and plant water deficits induced stomatal closure. When soil water was expressed as a fraction of transpirable soil water, the transition from stage I to stage II occurred at soil water fractions of 0.35, 0.45 and 0.60 for P. trichocarpa, P. deltoides and their F(1) hybrids, respectively. Reductions in leaf growth coincided with the shift from stage I to stage II. As soil water declined further, decreases in relative transpiration and whole-plant leaf area were significantly greater in parental species than in F(1) hybrids. Inherent feedbacks controlling stomatal water loss and the maintenance and growth of leaf tissue appeared to differ between F(1) and parental genotypes in a pattern characteristic of an overdominant mode of inheritance.Stage III began once the ability of stomata to compensate for water loss had been exhausted. Substantial differences were found in plant survival during stage III, with F(1) hybrids surviving longer than parental species. Survival was more strongly correlated with the hydraulic conductivity of xylem tissues than with the dehydration tolerance of leaf tissues. Collectively, these responses suggest that F(1) hybrids were more drought resistant than either parental species and highlight the importance of whole-plant studies of functional relationships between plant growth, water balance and hydraulic conductivity.