Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Microbiological quality of organically grown vegetables in Sabah

The microbiological quality of organically grown vegetables in Sabah was determined. A total of 57 samples of organically grown vegetables were sampled from 3 organic shops at the point of sale. Samples were analyzed for total plate counts (fPC), yeast and mold count, Psychrotrophs, Enterobacteriaceae, coliforms, Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus as well as the incidence of selected pathogens including Escherichia coli 0157:H7, Salmonella spp. , Listeria monocytogenes and Vibrio cholerae. Root base and leafy vegetables were heavily contaminated by bacteria with the mean total plate count of 1.9x106 and 2.8x106 CFUg-l respectively. Based on Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point - Total Quality Management (HACCP-TQM) Technical Guidelines, tomato and cheny tomato regarded as "good" in microbiological quality with TPC <104 CFUg-1. Psychrotrophic count for organically grown vegetables ranged from 3 loglo to 6 loglo cfug-1 with the highest mean value found in cabbage. Lowest yeast and mold count found on cucumber while cheny tomato was heavily contaminated with mean value 4.4xl04 CFUg-1. High contamination of Enterobacteriaceae with mean count ranged from 3 loglO to 6 log10 CFUg-l indicates poor hygiene and sanitary practices. Form 57 samples of organically grown vegetables tested, Escherichia coliwas isolated from 25 samples, but 17 of these contamination was suffidently low with count < 100 CFUg-1 that they could be considered to be of acceptable microbiological quality based on PHLS guidelines that require < 100 CFUg-1 of Escherichia coli for the products to be considered as acceptable quality. Occurrence of Staphylococcus aureus was 26.3% in sample analyzed. The highest contamination of Stapy/ococcus aureu was 5.6 x 103 CFU/g, to be found in lettuce. Meanwhile Escherichia coli0157:H7 and Salmonella spp. was isolated in 1.8% of sample. All samples were free from the contamination of Listeria monocytogenes. Vibrio spp. was detected in 21 % of the sample analyzed. Consequently, overall results suggested that microbiological quality of organically grown vegetables produced in Sabah was generally inferior. Organically grown vegetables were heavily contaminated with microbial; contamination with feacel indicators and pathogenic bacteria do occasionally occur.
The Molecular Machinery Critical to the Degradation of Cellular RNA

of a dissertation at the University of Miami. Dissertation supervised by Professor Arun Malhotra. No. of pages in text. (146) Exoribonucleases are indispensable for cellular RNA metabolism. RNA processing, end-turnover, and degradation all require the concerted action of exoribonucleases. In this thesis, two families of exoribonucleases that act in the final steps of RNA decay pathways are explored. The first of these is the RNR superfamily of processive 3’→5’ RNases with major roles in both mRNA and stable RNA degradation. The initial focus of this work is the structural and enzymatic characterization of an unusual RNR family enzyme from the radiation-resistant bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans. This enzyme is demonstrated biochemically to be an RNase II-type enzyme (DrII), based on its sensitivity to secondary structure. Analysis of the DrII Xray structure reveals that a novel, winged-HTH domain has replaced the canonical RNA binding clamp typical of RNR family proteins. The exposed architecture of DrII’s RNA binding surface offers an explanation for the nuclease’s ability to approach within 3-5 nt of a duplex, an important mechanistic difference from the well-studied E. coli RNase II. The open, clamp architecture of DrII may have broader relevance to mechanisms of duplex RNA recognition in the RNR superfamily. RNA decay by processive exonucleases such as RNR family proteins leaves 2-5 nt nanoRNA limit products that are further degraded to mononucleotides by nanoRNases. In E. coli, the DEDD family enzyme Oligoribonuclease (ORN) executes nanoRNA decay and represents the first major family of nanoRNases, with homologs widely conserved in eubacteria and eukaryotes. The B. subtilis NanoRNase A (NrnA), a DHH family phosphoesterase, represents a second major class of nanoRNases, with broad phylogenetic distribution in organisms that lack orn homologs. The second major focus of this thesis is a structural and mechanistic study of this nanoRNase machinery. The atomic structure of the B. subtillis nanoRNase NrnA is described, and unveils a bi-lobal architecture similar to the 5’→3’ DNase RecJ, where the catalytic DHH domain is linked via a partially helical connector to the C-terminal RNA binding domain. NrnA is a highly dynamic molecule, adopting both open and closed conformations. Co-crystallization with several substrates shows that NrnA has a nanoRNA specific substrate-binding patch that offers a structural explanation for its 3’→5’ nanoRNase activity. This RNA binding site feeds substrate to the DHH active site in an orientation opposite to the 5’→3’ path proposed for RecJ. Surprisingly, NrnA also maintains a weak 5’→3’ activity on certain substrates, and thus possesses both 5’→3’ and 3’→5’ exonuclease activities. In conclusion, an overall model is presented for how DHH family exonucleaess can degrade nucleic acids from both the 5’→3’ and 3’→5’ directions. Thus, the studies described in this thesis offer both an atomic and a biochemical view of the macromolecular machinery critical to the degradation of RNA.
The identification of potential cis- and trans-acting factors in the regulation of DARK INDUCIBLE 3 (DIN3) expression during darkness and chilling in Arabidopsis thaliana

Plant responses to environmental stimuli are co-ordinated by a variety of sensing and signalling mechanisms, which bring appropriate internal changes so that plants are able to adapt to a changing environment. It was the aim of this project to investigate the regulation of one gene: DARK INDUCIBLE 3 (DIN3), specifically the cis- and transacting factors. To achieve these aims, the investigative approach centred on gene expression analysis of linker-scan mutation analysis of 50 base-pairs (bp) of the minimal functional promoter of DIN3. To investigate the contribution made by transacting factors, the effects of over-expression of candidate transcription factor genes were analysed. This project determined that in addition to dark-induced expression already described in the literature, the dark-induction of DIN3 expression could be repressed by low temperature. Specific motifs within the crucial 50bp of the DIN3 promoter were found to be necessary for dark-induced expression, which together was hypothesised to constitute a sugar-responsive sequence. No cis-acting regulatory motifs were found to contribute definitely to the cold responsiveness of DIN3. None of the transcription factor genes investigated, were revealed to have a major role in the dark and cold responsiveness of DIN3. The results of this project suggest that there is considerable cross-talk between dark/sugar regulation and low temperature at the cisand trans-acting level.
Pelvic floor muscle function, vaginal symptoms and symptoms of sexual dysfunction in first time mothers: A cohort and a randomised controlled trial

+ + + + + + + 6 Bø et al 2000 + + + + + + + + 7 Brækken et al 2014 + + + + + + + + 7 LiebergallWischnitzer et al, 2012 + + + + + + + 6 Yang et al 2012 + + + + + + + 6
Eecient Local Model-checking for Fragments of the Modal -calculus

This paper develops eecient local model-checking algorithms for expressive fragments of the modal-calculus. The time complexity of our procedures matches that of the best existing global algorithms; however, in contrast to those routines, ours explore a system's state space in a need-driven fashion and do not require its a priori construction. Consequently, our algorithms should perform better in practice. Our approach relies on a novel reformulation of the model-checking problem for the modal mu-calculus in terms of checking whether certain linear-time temporal formulas are satissed by generalized Kripke structures that we call and-or Kripke structures.
Prevalence of chronic kidney disease among antiretroviral naïve human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients

Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is one of the important complications of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. The prevalence of CKD in HIV-infected Nigerians at presentation is currently unknown. Materials and Methods: This was a comparative study of 400 antiretroviral drug naïve HIV-infected patients attending the HIV clinic of a teaching hospital in North Central Nigeria and 140 apparently healthy individuals. CKD was defined as estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) <60 ml/min and/or proteinuria ≥1+ according to standard guidelines. Results: Proteinuria was found in 119 (29.8%) of the HIV group compared to only eight (5.7%) of the control group (P< 0.0001). eGFR <60 ml/min was found in 12 (3%) of the HIV group compared to none of the control group (P< 0.0001). CKD (eGFR < 60 ml/min/+proteinuria) was found in 123 (30.8%) of the HIV group compared to eight (5.7%) in the control group (P< 0.0001). A multivariate analysis showed that male sex, low body mass index, low CD4 + T cell counts, and higher viral load copies in the HIV population correlated independently with CKD. Conclusion: The burden of renal disease in drug naïve HIV-infected patients is high. Early diagnosis and treatment of HIV may stem this tide.
Does prematurity indicate poor prognosis in the treatment of infant ureteropelvic junction obstruction?

Aim: To evaluate the outcomes of management of ureteropelvic junction obstruction in premature patients by comparing them to a group of non-premature. Material and Methods: We reviewed the medical records of 102 patients with isolated hydronephrosis which were referred from pediatric nephrology outpatient clinic or those who admitted directly to pediatric urology clinic under one year of age between the years of 2005 and 2016. Two groups were set up; premature and term. The gestational age, sex, management for ureteropelvic junction obstruction, complications were recorded. Chi-Square, Fisher’s and Mann-Whitney-U tests were used for statistical analyzes. Results: There were 92 patients in the term group and 10 in the premature group. All patients were operated. Preoperative symptoms such as pyonephrosis, renal calculi, and hypertension were relatively common in the premature group. Preoperative low function, postoperative loss of function, and poor outcome were statistically more common in premature patients. Conclusion: In our limited experience, prematurity is an independent factor associated with UPJO, and it may indicate a poor prognosis. We advocate that this issue should be considered in practice.
Caracterização da mutagênese por inserção do retrotransposon Tos17 em genótipos de arroz

The increase of the rice crop potential through genetic improvement is related mainly to the yield, grain quality, and plant disease and insect resistance. In this case, natural genetic variability should be exploited or induced through physical, chemical, or biological mutagens. The advantage of using biological mutagens, like transposons and retrotransposons, is that their insertion interrupts a gene causing a mutation. This retrotransposition provides a tag that enables the molecular identification of the insertion site. In the present work, it was used the strategy of insertional mutations through events of transposition of the retrotransposon Tos17. The analysis of different genotypes of rice is very important to evaluate whether the transposition occurs in a similar fashion among them. Cultivars that have a history of genetic variability in homozygosity, breeding lines derived from crossings with wild species, and ecotypes of red rice were evaluated. Embriogenic callus of all those genotypes were submitted to 6 months of tissue culture. The method chosen to evaluate the number of copies of Tos17 from embryogenic callus was the relative quantification by real time PCR. The identification of the mutated genes by the insertion of retrotransposon was performed by the isolation and amplification of flanking sequences of Tos17 insertions The results of this experiment indicate an increase in the number of copies of Tos17 in 8 out of 21 genotypes. Sequencing DNA fragments flanking the retrotransposon Tos17 insertions indicates high similarity with genomic no coding sequences of rice. Master of Science dissertation in Agronomy, Faculdade de Agronomia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil. (74p.) March, 2006.
Positive Brucella serological findings with incidental arteriovenous malformation: A case report

2018 Abstract Brucellosis is one of the most important zoonosis. It causes significant economic and medical problems in countries throughout the world, including Iran. According to the available literature, brucellosis rarely causes intracranial space-occupying lesions. In this case study, we reported an intracranial mass in a 52-year-old male who were affected with brucellosis. The patient was referred to Vali-e-Asr hospital with right hemiparesis and transient speech impairment. The symptoms had begun sub-acutely and had gradually progressed. His past medical history was completely normal. Moreover, he had not consumed raw meat, had not been exposed to animal bite and slaughter within the recent weeks. In the initial assessment, the results of Wright agglutination and Coombs Wright tests level were 1/640 (a Wright’s titer of less than 1/80 is considered normal in Iran). The serum level of 2-Mercaptoethanol was 1/320 that was higher than the normal value. Brain computer tomography (CT) scan and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were performed due to the inconsistency of neurologic findings with the usual presentations of brucellosis. MRI and CT scan findings showed a 35×35×34 mm heterogeneous mass lesion containing multiple vascular components located in the left paraventricular region along with mild peripheral edema and mass effect. Due to the size and the location of the lesion and the neurosurgery consultation, surgery was avoided and follow-up suggested. Treatment of brucellosis was initiated and completed according to the national protocol with rifampin and doxycycline. Follow up were performed in 6, 12, and 24 months after completion of the treatment. The growth of brain lesion was also controlled and the serologic test results of brucellosis were
Blepharoplasty

Blepharoplasty in 1818 when the technique was used for repairing deformities caused by cancer in the eyelids. The two world wars laid the foundations of modern reconstructive surgery and simultaneously with it with it the other branch i.e. Cosmetic or to put it correctly Aesthetic Surgery evolved. Blepharoplasty can be both a functional and cosmetic procedure designed to restore a more youthful, bright, and energetic appearance to the eyes. The origin of the word is from Greek; Blepharon meaning eyelids and Plastikos meaning to mould.
MILK PRODUCTION POTENTIAL OF PURE BRED HOLSTEIN FRIESIAN AND JERSEY COWS IN SUBTROPICAL ENVIRONMENT OF PAKISTAN

The data on 575 records of 270 Holstein Friesian and 818 records of 326 Jersey cows maintained in Punjab, Pakistan were analyzed. The cows were grouped into imported Holstein Friesian, imported Jersey, Farm born Holstein Friesian and farm born Jersey cows. Lactation milk yield of farm born Holstein Friesian and Jersey cows was significantly (P<0.05) lower than that of imported Holstein Friesian and Jersey cows. Breed group, season of calving and lactation number had significant (P<0.05) effect on lactation milk yield. The highest lactation milk yield was observed in imported and farm born Holstein Friesian cows calved during autumn, while in imported Jersey cows maximum lactation milk yield was observed in cows calved during spring season. The maximum lactation milk yield was observed in the third lactation in imported Holstein Friesian, imported Jersey and farm born Holstein Friesian cows, while in farm born Jersey cows maximum lactation milk yield was observed in the fifth lactation. The milk yield in all breed groups increased with increase in lactation length and service period.
A study on infected non union tibia managed by Ilizarov fixation

INTRODUCTION: Infected non union of tibia is the most common clinical entity occurring as a result of high velocity open tibialfractures.In this study we evaluate the functional outcome of infected non union of tibia by Ilizarov fixation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 20 patients with infected non union of tibia were operated by the ilizarov fixator from august 2013 to august 2015 and were followed up for a period of 2 yrs.The outcome was evaluated using Association for the study and Application of the methods of ilizarov (ASAMI) scoring system. RESULTS: Of the 20 patients, 17 had sustained road traffic accidents,3 had fall from height.The shortest follow up period was 4 months and longest 12 months.Internal bone transport was done in 8 patients.There were 13 excellent, 6 good and 1 poor bone results and 7 excellent , 12 good and 1 fair functional result.95% patients achieved bony union. CONCLUSION: Ilizarov system allows effective weight bearing treatment , decreasing chances of disuse osteoporosis and soft tissue dystrophy. Ilizarov ring fixation is the safest, simplest, most economical and effective method for management of infectednon union tibia. Compliance of the patients is the major factor that influences the result of the study
Tackling SQuAD 2.0 with Ensemble Methods and Data Augmentation

In recent years, machine reading comprehension has become one of the most central tasks for natural language processing and understanding. Thus, given machine reading comprehension’s interesting challenges, for our ﬁnal project, we will be tackling the Stanford Question Answering Dataset (SQuAD 2.0), which is one of the largest question answering datasets whose questions and answers emulate real reading comprehension situations [1]. Speciﬁcally, we will be utilizing the pre-trained BERT base and ALBERT base along with data augmentation and ensembling in order to develop a powerful model that can perform well on the SQuAD 2.0 dataset. In particular we explore augmenting the dataset using a variation of the "EDA: Easy Data Augmentation" algorithm and building different ensemble models composed of ALBERT, BERT, ALBERT/BERT trained with different hyperparameters, and augmented BERT/ALBERT, in order to analyze how they may improve the performance of our question answering model. We have found that augmenting the no answer questions in the SQuAD dataset was able to successfully improve the performance of BERT and utilizing BERT/ALBERT trained on augmented data in ensembles with weighted voting strategies is able to further boost performance. Currently, we are 11th place on the Dev PCE Leader-board and 8th place on the TEST PCE Leaderboard with our best ensemble which utilized weighted voting strategies and multiple ALBERTs, including ALBERT with no answer augmentation.
EFFECTS OF METHANOL EXTRACT OF JATHROPHA CURCAS ROOTS ON TESTOSTERONE- INDUCED BENIGN PROSTATE HYPERPLASIA (BPH) IN MALE ALBINO RATS

Jathropha curcas roots extract have been claimed by traditionalist to have remedial effects on benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH). This study is aimed at evaluating the effects of methanol extract of Jathropha curcas roots on testosterone-induced benign prostate hyperplasia in male albino rats. A total of 15 male albino rats were divided into 5 groups of 3 each. The groups were a normal control, positive control, standard control (Dutasteride 0.5 mg/kg), and two test groups (50 and 100 mg/kg b.w) of the treatment extract. Benign prostate hyperplasia was induced using 25 mg/kg b.w of testosterone propionate subcutaneously for 28 days in all the groups with exception of the normal control group. This was followed by treatment with Jathropha curcas roots extracts at doses of 50 and 100 mg/kg b.w for 2 weeks daily by oral gavage. At the end of the treatment period, the animals were weighed, sacrificed and blood was collected by ocular puncture. Biochemical assays such as liver function test and antioxidant enzymes, MDA, prostate specific antigen (PSA), testosterone and zinc concentration levels were analyzed using standard procedures. Prostate weight (prostate /body weight ratio) was calculated and histological changes in the prostate were examined. The result showed non-significant (p > 0.05) difference in ALT, AST and ALP. There was also non-significant (p > 0.05) difference in MDA and SOD, however CAT significantly (p < 0.05) increased when group 5 was compared with group 2. Prostate specific antigen significant (p < 0.05) decreased when group 4 and 5 were compared with group 2.There was also a significant (p < 0.05) decrease in testosterone level, when group 5 was compared with group 2. Zinc concentration significantly (p < 0.05) increased when group 5 was compared with group 2. The relative prostate weight showed a significant (p < 0.05) decrease when group 5 was compared with group 2 in a dose dependent manner. Histological changes also observed in the ventral lobe of the BPH induced prostate was suppressed following treatment with the plant extract in a dose dependent manner. These results suggest that methanol extract of Jathropha curcas roots may be effectively used in the management of BPH.
Mécanismes de prise en charge du sélénite - Se(IV) - chez l'algue verte unicellulaire Chlamydomonas reinhardtii : bioaccumulation et effets induits sur la croissance et l'ultrastructure

We examined the influence of time, ambient concentration and medium composition on selenite uptake by the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Cells were exposed to selenite labelled with Se in well known simple inorganic media. After a short exposure period (<1 hour), quantities of adsorbed and absorbed selenite were measured using β liquid scintillation. The aims of the performed experiments were: (i) to describe the kinetics of accumulation (ii) to characterise transport capacities (iii) to identify key nutrients influencing absorption (iv) to establish links between speciation and bioavailability. Our results suggested that the adsorbed fraction was negligible compared to the absorbed one. On the short time scale considered, the absorption was linear with time, with an estimated flux of about 0.2 nmol.m. h.nM. The uptake was proportional to ambient levels in a broad range of intermediate concentrations (from nM to μM). However, fluxes were higher at low concentrations (< nM), and then decreased with increasing concentrations (> μM). These results suggest that a specific but rapidly saturated transport could be used at low concentrations, doubled by a non specific one that would only saturate at high ambient concentrations (~mM). The latter could involve transporters used by anionic macronutrients, which is supported by the fact that increasing sulphate and nitrate concentrations induced significant inhibition of selenite uptake. At end, Se(+IV) speciation changes with pH did not induce significant effect on bioavailability.