Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparative effects of n-hexane and methanol extracts of elecampane (Inula helenium L.) rhizome on growth performance, carcass traits, feed digestibility, intestinal antioxidant status and ileal microbiota in broiler chickens

ABSTRACT In this study, the effects of dietary methanol and n-hexane extracts of elecampane rhizome (MEER and HEER, respectively) on growth performance, apparent ileal nutrient digestibility (AID), ileal microbiota, intestinal morphology and antioxidant status of the intestinal mucosa were compared in broiler chickens. In total, 450 1-d-old male chicks were allotted into five groups in six replicates of 15 chicks each. Dietary treatments included: a control, control plus 500 or 1000 mg MEER per kg diet (MEER500 and MEER1000) and control plus 500 or 1000 mg HEER per kg diet (HEER500 and HEER1000). Broiler performance was not affected by dietary treatments during the starter and grower periods. However, in the finisher (25–42 d) and entire (1–42 d) periods, an increase in body weight gain and a corresponding decrease in feed conversion ratio was noticed when birds received Diets MEER1000 or HEER1000. Also, considering the entire trial, the growth-promoting action of MEER was found to be greater than HEER. When compared with the control, AID of dry matter, organic matter, ether extract (EE) and gross energy (GE) were increased by all treatments, while the AID of EE and GE were also improved by increased extract level. Additionally, HEER groups had significantly increased AID of crude protein. The counts of Escherichia coli and Clostridium spp. were suppressed while the number of Lactobacillus spp. increased in response to an elevated extract level. Meanwhile, the ileum of MEER groups contained lower numbers of Clostridium spp. and greater numbers of Lactobacillus spp. when compared with HEER groups. The duodenal and jejunal structures were not associated with dietary treatments. However, a decreased ileal crypt depth and an increased villus to crypt ratio were observed with addition of extracts, which was more intense with MEER. A lower malondialdehyde content and a higher activity of superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidase were detected in duodenal and jejunal mucosa with increased extract level, and in jejunum, the antioxidant capability of MEER was found to be stronger than HEER. The antioxidant properties of the ileal mucosa were also improved in response to MEER, which was not observed after HEER inclusion. Overall, MEER seems to be a better choice of treatment owing to its more effective benefits on broiler performance, ileal microbiota, gut morphology and antioxidant ability of the intestinal mucosa.
The Removal of Brilliant Green Dye from Aqueous Solution Using Nano Hydroxyapatite/Chitosan Composite as a Sorbent

Nanocomposites of natural bone that show some benefits in terms of both composition and microstructure were synthesized by an in situ precipitation method. Hydroxyapatite (Hap) was prepared from cost-effective precursors within chitosan (CS) dissolved in aqueous acetic acid solution. The nanocomposite was synthesized for the removal of brilliant green dye (BG) from a contaminated water solution. The compositional and morphological properties of the nanocomposite were studied by means of FTIR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), SEM, and TEM analysis. Batch experiments were carried out to investigate the effects of pH, contact time, and initial concentration, as well as the adsorbent dosage and zero point charge for the sorbent to determine a suitable medium for the adsorption process. The sorption models using Mories-Weber, Lagrange, and Bangham equations were used to identify the mechanism and reaction order. The isotherm model was carried out using Langmuir, Freundlich, and Dubinin-Radusekevisch-Kanager equations to calculate the adsorption capacity and type of adsorption. Thermodynamic parameters, enthalpy change (∆Ho), entropy change (∆So), and Gibbs free energy (∆Go) were evaluated. All of the results suggest the feasibility of using nanocomposites as a sorbent for brilliant green dye removal.
Homologous stress adaptation, antibiotic resistance, and biofilm forming ability of Salmonella enterica serovar Heidelberg ATCC8326 on different food‐contact surfaces following exposure to sublethal chlorine concentrations1

Abstract Salmonella enterica serovar Heidelberg (American Type Culture Collection; ATCC 8326) was examined for the ability to adapt to the homologous stress of chlorine through exposure to increasing chlorine concentrations (25 ppm daily increments) in tryptic soy broth (TSB). The tested strain exhibited an acquired tolerance to chlorine in TSB with the tolerant cells growing in concentrations up to 400 ppm. In addition, the chlorine stressed cells displayed rugose morphology on tryptic soy agar (TSA) plates at 37°C. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of chlorine for adapted (rugose and smooth) cells was determined to be 550 ppm and 500 ppm, respectively whereas the MIC for the control was 450 ppm. The biofilm forming ability of the adapted and control cells were examined on both plastic and stainless steel surface at room temperature and 37°C. The rugose variant, in contrast to the smooth (adapted and control) showed the ability to form strong biofilms (P ≤ 0.05) on a plastic surface at room temperature and 37°C. Rugose cells compared to smooth and control attached more (P ≤ 0.05) to steel surfaces as well. The possibility of cross‐adaptation was examined by exposing the adapted and control cells to different antibiotics according to the Clinical & Laboratory Standards Institute guidelines. Adapted cells exhibited reduced susceptibility to some of the antibiotics tested as compared to control. The findings of this study suggest that exposure to sublethal chlorine concentration during the sanitization procedure can result in tolerant Salmonella cells. Chlorine may confer cross‐protection that aids in the survival of the tolerant population to other environmental stresses.
Chromosome 3 status combined with BAP1 and EIF1AX mutation profiles are associated with metastasis in uveal melanoma.

PURPOSE Somatic mutations in GNAQ, GNA11, SF3B1, EIF1AX, and BAP1 have been identified in uveal melanoma (UM). The aim of this study was to determine whether mutations in these genes in primary tumors were associated with metastases in individuals diagnosed with UM. METHODS A total of 63 UM cases who developed a metastasis within 48 months of primary treatment and 53 UM controls who were metastasis-free over a similar time period were selected for the study. Primary UM cases were screened for mutations in GNAQ, GNA11, SF3B1, EIF1AX, and BAP1. The association of these mutations with tumor characteristics, chromosome 3 copy number, and metastatic status was analyzed by logistic regression to estimate the odds of developing metastasis within 48 months. RESULTS As expected, tumor diameter, thickness, cilio-choroidal location, and chromosome 3 monosomy were all significantly (P < 0.02) associated with the presence of metastasis. In univariate analysis, GNA11 (odds ratio [OR] 2.5, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.1-5.5) and BAP1 (OR 6.3, 95% CI 2.7-14.4) mutations were positively associated and EIF1AX mutation (OR 0.13, 95% CI 0.034-0.47) was inversely associated with metastatic status at 48 months after UM treatment. After adjustment for covariates, a chromosome 3 monosomy/BAP1-mutation/EIF1AX-wild-type (WT) mutation profile was strongly associated (OR 37.5, 95% CI 4.3-414) with the presence of metastasis compared with a chromosome 3 disomy/BAP1-WT/EIF1AX mutation profile. CONCLUSIONS The results suggest that knowledge of mutations in BAP1 and EIF1AX can enhance prognostication of UM beyond that determined by chromosome 3 and tumor characteristics. Tumors with chromosome 3 disomy/BAP1-WT/EIF1AX-WT have a 10-fold increased risk of metastasis at 48 months compared with disomy-3/BAP1-WT/EIF1AX mutant tumors.
Detection of endotoxin in plasma of hospitalized diarrheic calves

OBJECTIVES To investigate whether lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is present in plasma of calves with naturally occurring diarrhea. The second objective was to determine whether plasma [LPS] correlates with clinical, hematological, biochemical, and acid-base variables, and whether [LPS] differs between surviving and nonsurviving diarrheic calves. DESIGN Prospective observational study (January 2012-May 2014). SETTING Veterinary teaching hospital. ANIMALS Thirty-four calves <28 days old admitted for diagnosis and treatment of diarrhea and 30 healthy control calves. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Admission demographics, physical examination, blood gas, biochemistry analysis, and outcome data were recorded. Plasma concentration of LPS was determined using a bovine LPS ELISA assay. Plasma [LPS] was detected in both healthy and diarrheic calves. Plasma [LPS] was significantly higher in diarrheic than healthy calves (median: 0.99 ng/mL; Interquartile range (IQR): 0.068, vs 0.88 ng/mL; 0.065 ng/mL, respectively; P < 0.001). Plasma [LPS] was higher in nonsurviving (1.04 ng/mL; 0.07 ng/mL) than in surviving calves (0.98 ng/mL; 0.022 ng/mL; P < 0.001). Plasma [LPS] was higher in beef (1.07 ng/mL; 0.182 ng/mL) than in dairy diarrheic calves (0.99 ng/mL; 0.022 ng/mL; P < 0.001). In diarrheic calves, plasma [LPS] correlated with [l-lactate] (r2 = 0.496; P = 0.002); hypoglycemia (r2 = -0.453; P = 0.007); increased unmeasured strong ions (r2 = 0.332; P = 0.050), [Mg2+ ] (r2 = 0.475; P = 0.004), and [phosphate] (r2 = 0.468; P = 0.005), and increased aspartate aminotransferase activity (r2 = 0.348; P = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS This study highlights a potential role of LPS in the pathogenesis of metabolic derangements such as hyperlactatemia, hypoglycemia, and increased concentration of unmeasured strong anions in diarrheic calves. Further investigation evaluating the effect of LPS on l-lactate and glucose metabolism in diarrheic calves is warranted.
Productivity, reproductive performance, and fat deposition of laying duck breeders in response to concentrations of dietary energy and protein.

This study evaluated the optimal concentrations of dietary ME and CP for the productivity, reproductive performance, and fat deposition in laying duck breeders aged from 29 to 45 wk. Using a 3 × 3 factorial arrangement of treatments, 648 Longyan laying duck breeders with similar BW were randomly assigned to experimental diets of 2,600 (HME = high ME), 2,500 (MME = medium ME), or 2,400 (LME = low ME) kcal of ME/kg, each containing 19% (HCP = high CP), 18% (MCP = medium CP), or 17% (LCP = low CP) CP. Each dietary treatment contained 6 replicates of 12 birds each. Compared with birds fed the LCP diet, the egg production and egg mass were higher in birds fed HCP and MCP (P < 0.01), with better feed conversion (P < 0.01). Interactions were detected between ME and CP levels in egg production, egg mass, and feed conversion ratio as the LMEMCP diet was the best (P < 0.05). The birds fed MME (P < 0.05) had the lowest abdominal fat. The percentage of healthy ducklings was affected by maternal dietary CP (P < 0.05) with the HCP being the highest. The weight of large yellow follicles/ovarian weight was higher in birds fed HCP and MCP (P < 0.05), whereas the weight of small yellow follicles/ovarian weight was higher in birds fed HCP and LCP (P < 0.05). The hepatic transcript abundances of genes for very low density apolipoprotein-II and carnitine palmitoyltransferase-1A (CPT-1A) were lowest in birds fed MCP, whereas the highest abundance of CPT-1A transcripts was found in birds fed MME. These results revealed that the diets containing ME of 12.9 kcal/g protein optimized both egg production and egg mass, while the feed conversion was optimized at 12.8 kcal ME/g protein. Using ME to CP ratio of 12.9 kcal/g protein, i.e., 2,451 kcal ME/kg at 19% CP, maximized the reproductive performance and hatchling outcome of Longyan laying duck breeders.
An actionable performance profiler for optimizing the order of evaluations

The efficiency of programs often can be improved by applying rel- atively simple changes. To find such optimization opportunities, developers either rely on manual performance tuning, which is time-consuming and requires expert knowledge, or on traditional profilers, which show where resources are spent but not how to optimize the program. This paper presents a profiler that provides actionable advice, by not only finding optimization opportunities but by also suggesting code transformations that exploit them. Specifically, we focus on optimization opportunities related to the order of evaluating subexpressions that are part of a decision made by the program. To help developers find such reordering opportuni- ties, we present DecisionProf, a dynamic analysis that automatically identifies the optimal order, for a given input, of checks in logical expressions and in switch statements. The key idea is to assess the computational costs of all possible orders, to find the optimal order, and to suggest a code transformation to the developer only if reordering yields a statistically significant performance improve- ment. Applying DecisionProf to 43 real-world JavaScript projects reveals 52 beneficial reordering opportunities. Optimizing the code as proposed by DecisionProf reduces the execution time of indi- vidual functions between 2.5% and 59%, and leads to statistically significant application-level performance improvements that range between 2.5% and 6.5%.
Ensemble-based Methods to Improve De-identification of Electronic Health Record Narratives

Text de-identification is an application of clinical natural language processing that offers significant efficiency and scalability advantages. Hence, various learning algorithms have been applied to this task to yield better performance. Instead of choosing the best individual learning algorithm, we aim to improve de-identification by constructing ensembles that lead to more accurate classification. We present three different ensemble methods that combine multiple de-identification models trained from deep learning, shallow learning, and rule-based approaches. Each model is capable of automated de-identification without manual medical expertise. Our experimental results show that the stacked learning ensemble is more effective than other ensemble methods, producing the highest recall, the most important metric for de-identification. The stacked ensemble achieved state-of-the-art performance on the 2014 i2b2 dataset with 97.04% precision, 94.45% recall, and 95.73% F1 score.
The association between preterm labour, perinatal mortality and infant death (during the first year) in Bishop Lavis, Cape Town, South Africa.

BACKGROUND We present further analyses from the Safe Passage Study, where the effect of alcohol exposure during pregnancy on sudden infant death syndrome and stillbirth was investigated. OBJECTIVES To describe pregnancy and neonatal outcome in a large prospective study where information on the outcome of pregnancy was known in >98.3% of participants and ultrasound was used to determine gestational age (GA). METHODS As part of the Safe Passage Study of the PASS Network in Cape Town, South Africa, the outcomes of 6 866 singleton pregnancies were prospectively followed from recruitment in early pregnancy until the infant was 12 months old to assess pregnancy outcome. Fetal growth was assessed by z-scores of the birth weight, and GA at birth was derived from early ultrasound assessments. The effects of fetal growth restriction and preterm delivery on pregnancy outcome were determined. RESULTS There were 66 miscarriages, 107 stillbirths at ≥22 weeks' gestation, 66 stillbirths at ≥28 weeks' gestation, 29 and 18 neonatal deaths at ≥22 and ≥28 weeks' gestation, respectively, and 54 post-neonatal deaths (28 days - 12 months). The miscarriage rate was 9.6/1 000 and the infant mortality rate 12.4/1 000. Of the births, 13.8% were preterm. For deliveries at ≥22 and ≥28 weeks, the stillbirth rates were 15.7 and 9.8/1 000 deliveries, respectively. For deliveries at ≥22 and ≥28 weeks, the neonatal death rates were 4.3 and 2.7/1 000 live births, respectively. For these pregnancies the perinatal mortality rates were 20.0/1 000 (≥22 weeks) and 12.5/1 000 (≥28 weeks), respectively. Only 15.9% of stillbirths occurred during labour (in 15.9% of cases it was uncertain whether death had occurred during labour). In the majority of cases (68.2%) fetal death occurred before labour, and 82.2% of stillbirths and 62.1% of neonatal deaths occurred in deliveries before 37 weeks. Including the miscarriages, stillbirths and infant deaths, there were 256 pregnancy losses; 77.3% were associated with deliveries before 37 weeks. Only 1.8% of all the women were HIV-positive, whereas the HIV-positive rate was 3.7% among those who had stillbirths. Birth weight was below the 10th centile in 25.6% of neonatal and post-neonatal deaths compared with 17.7% of survivors. CONCLUSIONS Preterm birth and fetal growth restriction play significant roles in fetal, neonatal and infant losses.
Intuitive eating is connected to self-reported weight stability in community women and men

ABSTRACT Professionals working in eating disorder prevention, treatment, and public health aim to improve eating behaviors to stabilize weight, which is more adaptive for health and well-being than weight variation. However, it is unknown which eating behaviors are linked to weight stability in non-intervention samples. This study examines how intuitive eating and eating restraint (flexible and rigid control) are linked to retrospective reports of weight stability (i.e., maintained weight) and instability (i.e., lost, gained, or cycled weight) during the past year. Community women (n = 192) and men (n = 190) completed online self-report measures of eating behaviors and weight patterns. Intuitive eating was linked to greater weight stability, whereas rigid and flexible control were linked to greater weight instability. Additional research is required to assess the directionality of these associations. Nevertheless, these findings provide preliminary support and clinical implications for the promotion of intuitive eating in prevention and public health contexts.
The role of intentions and outcomes in the foreign language effect on moral judgements

We explore the origin of the foreign language effect on moral judgements by assessing whether language context alters the weight given to intentions and outcomes during moral judgement. Specifically, we investigated whether foreign language contexts, compared with native ones, may lead people to focus more on the outcomes of an action and less on the intentions behind it. We report two studies in which participants read scenarios in which the actor’s intentions and the resulting consequences were manipulated. As previously shown, people considered both the actor’s intentions and the action’s outcomes when assessing the damage, cause, moral wrongness, responsibility, and punishment deserved. However, although the foreign language context reduced the impact of intentions on damage assessment, the overall effect of intention and outcomes on these variables was mainly the same in the foreign and the native language contexts. We conclude that differential weighting of intentions and outcomes is unlikely to account for the impact of foreign language use on moral judgement.
A meta-analysis of the association between poultry and egg consumption and the risk of brain cancer.

Poultry consumption, as well as egg consumption for brain cancer risk remains an important topic. The objective of this meta-analysis is to investigate the role of poultry and egg consumption for brain cancer risk. All articles about poultry and egg consumption for brain cancer were retrieved from PubMed, Web of knowledge and Wan Fang Med Online. The data was analyzed using Stata 12.0 software. Ten articles (6 articles for poultry and 5 articles for egg) were included. For poultry consumption, the summarized relative risk (RR) was 0.901 (95%CI= 0.703-1.154) for brain cancer risk, with high between-study heterogeneity (I2= 60.7%, P=0.018). Four studies reported the association between poultry consumption and glioma risk, yielding a RR of 0.873 (95%CI= 0.737-1.034, I2= 0.0%, P=0.838). The association between egg consumption and brain cancer risk was not significant (RR= 0.998, 95%CI= 0.552-1.805), with significant heterogeneity (I2= 82.6%, P< 0.001). The pooled RR for glioma risk was 1.472 (95%CI= 0.935-2.316). In summary, our results concluded that poultry and egg consumption may be not associated with the risk of brain cancer. Due to the limited quality of evidence currently available, more studies related to poultry and egg consumption for brain cancer is necessary.
L-765,314 Suppresses Melanin Synthesis by Regulating Tyrosinase Activity

Although melanin production is a key self-defense mechanism against ultraviolet radiation (UVR)-induced skin damage, uneven or excessive deposition of melanin causes hyperpigmentary disorders. Currently available whitening agents are unsatisfactory because of issues with efficacy and safety. To develop more effective depigmenting agents, we performed high-throughput melanin content assay screening using the B16F10 melanoma cell line and identified L-765,314 as a drug that suppressed melanin production in cultured melanocytes in a dose-dependent manner as well as cAMP- or 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate (TPA)-stimulated melanin production without cytotoxicity. Interestingly, melanogenic gene expression was not altered by L-765,314. Rather, diminished melanin production by L-765,314 appeared to be caused by downregulation of tyrosinase activity via inhibition of protein kinase C (PKC). Because L-765,314 did not show any adverse effect in melanocytes, altogether our data suggest that L-765,314 could be a potential therapeutic candidate for skin hyperpigmentary disorders and further discovery of selective inhibitors targeting PKC might be a promising strategy for the development of depigmenting agents to treat hyperpigmentary disorders.
An update on EEG in migraine

ABSTRACT Introduction: In the past few years, brain functional analysis has provided scientific evidence supporting the neuronal basis of migraine. The role of electroencephalography (EEG) in detecting subtle dysfunctions in sensory temporal processing has been fully re-evaluated, thanks to advances in methods of quantitative analysis. However, the diagnostic value of EEG in migraine is very low, and migraine diagnosis is completely based on clinical criteria, while the utility of EEG in migraine pathophysiology has only been confirmed in more recent applications. Areas covered: The present review focuses on the few situations in which EEG may provide diagnostic utility, and on the numerous and intriguing applications of novel analysis, based on time-related changes in neuronal network oscillations and functional connectivity. Expert opinion: Although routine EEG is not particularly useful for the clinical assessment of migraine, novel methods of analysis, mostly based on functional connectivity, could improve knowledge of the migraine brain. The application is worthy of promotion and improvement in support of neuroimaging data to shed light on migraine mechanisms and support the rationale for therapeutic approaches.