Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of rumen-protected methionine, lysine or both on milk production and plasma amino acids of high-yielding dairy cows.

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of supplemental lysine (Lys), methionine (Met) or both amino acids added in the form of rumen-protected (RP) tablets with copolymer coating to a diet of dairy cows on yield and composition of milk and concentration of plasma amino acids (AA). The experiment was carried out on four high-yielding lactating Holstein cows with average milk production of 33.5 kg/day in the form of Latin square design. The four treatments were as follows: C - control without AA supplementation, L - control plus supplement of RP Lys, M - control plus supplement of RP Met and ML - control plus supplement of RP Met and Lys. The experiment was divided into 4 periods. Each period (14 days) consisted of 10-day preliminary period and 4-day experimental period. Cows were fed a diet based on maize silage, lucerne hay and supplemental mixture. Average milk yield recorded in ML was 34.18 kg and was higher than that recorded in L or M (32.46 kg and 32.13 kg, respectively P 0.05). The content of protein and casein was higher in L and ML in comparison with C ( P 0.05). Protein yield in ML (1 054 g/day) was higher than that found in C, L or M (990, 998 or 968 g/day, respectively, P 0.05) were also observed in plasma Lys in the L and ML group.
Cloud Computing Benchmarking: A Survey

– Cloud computing gives service-oriented access to computing, storage and networking resource. Often, these resources are virtualized. The prospect of being able to scale computing resources to meet user demand has clearly caught the attention of developers and organizational IT leaders over the recent years. Considering the number of cloud computing providers and the different services each provider offers, cloud users need benchmark information that specifically addresses the unique properties of the cloud computing environment such as dynamic scaling. This paper compares five prominent tools (CloudCmp, CloudStone, HiBench, YCSB, and CloudSuite) that present workloads and/or methods for quantitatively comparing cloud computing offerings.
Sperm-Female Coevolution in Drosophila

Rapid evolution of reproductive traits has been attributed to sexual selection arising from interaction between the sexes. However, little is known about the nature of selection driving the evolution of interacting sex-specific phenotypes. Using populations of Drosophila melanogaster selected for divergent sperm length or female sperm-storage organ length, we experimentally show that male fertilization success is determined by an interaction between sperm and female morphology. In addition, sperm length evolution occurred as a correlated response to selection on the female reproductive tract. Giant sperm tails are the cellular equivalent of the peacock's tail, having evolved because females evolved reproductive tracts that selectively bias paternity in favor of males with longer sperm.
Formal verification of cache systems using refinement relations

A formal verification method for concurrent systems is presented. The technique shows a correspondence between automata representing an implementation and specification behavior. The correspondence is called a refinement relation, and is particularly well-suited for theorem-provers. Since the method does not rely on enumerating all the states, it can be applied to systems with an infinite or unknown number of states. This substantially expands the class of hardware designs that can be formally verified. The method is illustrated by proving the consistency of a concurrent, non-deterministic model of cache memory. The proof is carried out using the HOL (higher-order logic) theorem-prover. <<ETX>>
Brauchen wir eine Zentralbank - und was braucht eine Zentralbank?

Den Zentralbanken kommt zur Aufrechterhaltung von Geldwertstabilität vor allem über die Steuerung der Inflationserwartungen die entscheidende Rolle zu. Damit Zentralbanken aber diese Aufgabe erfüllen können, brauchen sie ein institutionelles Design, dass ihnen unzweifelhaft Unabhängigkeit garantiert und ihnen damit Glaubwürdigkeit verleiht. Ein Vergleich zeigt, dass hier das Eurosystem dem Federal Reserve überlegen ist.
Prediction of Periodontitis Occurrence: Influence of Classification and Sociodemographic and General Health Information

BACKGROUND Prediction of periodontitis development is challenging. Use of oral health-related data alone, especially in a young population, might underestimate disease risk. This study investigates accuracy of oral, systemic, and socioeconomic data on estimating periodontitis development in a population-based prospective cohort. METHODS General health history and sociodemographic information were collected throughout the life-course of individuals. Oral examinations were performed at ages 24 and 31 years in the Pelotas 1982 birth cohort. Periodontitis at age 31 years according to six classifications was used as the gold standard to compute area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). Multivariable binomial regression models were used to evaluate the effects of oral health, general health, and socioeconomic characteristics on accuracy of periodontitis development prediction. RESULTS Complete data for 471 participants were used. Periodontitis classifications with lower thresholds yielded superior predictive power. Calculus, pocket, or bleeding presence at age 24 years separately presented fair accuracy. Accuracy increased using multivariable models; for example, the Beck et al. classification AUC from 0.59 to 0.75 combining proportion of teeth with calculus, bleeding, or pocket with income; number of lost teeth; sex; education; people living in the house; prosthetic needs; or number of decayed, missing, or filled teeth (DMFT). Proportion of teeth with pocket, bleeding, or calculus; number of DMFT; toothbrushing frequency; blood pressure; sex; and income were most frequently associated. CONCLUSIONS Choice of classification might have an impact on accuracy to predict periodontitis occurrence. Regardless of the classification, predictive value for development of periodontitis in young adults might be increased by combining periodontal information, sociodemographic information, and general health history.
The Amino Terminus of Epstein-Barr Virus Glycoprotein gH Is Important for Fusion with Epithelial and B Cells

ABSTRACT Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infects B lymphocytes and epithelial cells. While the glycoproteins required for entry into these two cell types differ, the gH/gL glycoprotein complex is essential for entry into both epithelial and B cells. Analysis of gH protein sequences from three gammaherpesviruses (EBV, marmoset, and rhesus) revealed a potential coiled-coil domain in the N terminus. Four leucines located in this region in EBV gH were replaced by alanines by site-directed mutagenesis and analyzed for cell-cell membrane fusion with B cells and epithelial cells. Reduction in fusion activity was observed for mutants containing L65A and/or L69A mutations, while substitutions in L55 and L74 enhanced the fusion activity of the mutant gH/gL complexes with both cell types. All of the mutants displayed levels of cell surface expression similar to those of wild-type gH and interacted with gL and gp42. The observation that a conservative mutation of leucine to alanine in the N terminus of EBV gH results in fusion-defective mutant gH/gL complexes is striking and points to an important role for this region in EBV-mediated membrane fusion with B lymphocytes and epithelial cells.
Nosocomial infections , Surveillance , Veterinary , Hospitals , MDR

| Nosocomial, or hospital-acquired, infections are well-thought-out to be the most common problem affecting hospitalized human patients as well as veterinary patients. These are of great consequence in veterinary medicine and can have considerable adverse effects on the individual patient as well as on the veterinary hospital as a whole. Different infectious agents like MRSA, Cl. difficile, MDR E. coli, Salmonella spp. and many more are of prodigious significance in causing NIs. A surveillance and control measure for these NIs in veterinary settings needs to be addressed in future. This review consolidates some Nosocomial infections and the strategy for its surveillance in veterinary practice.
The experience of providing care in the early stages of dementia: An interpretative phenomenological analysis

Objectives: Despite a wealth of research on factors affecting the well-being of caregivers for people with dementia, relatively little attention has been given to the issues facing caregivers in the early stages of dementia, and few attempts have been made to explore the subjective experience of caregivers using qualitative methods. This study explores the subjective, psychological experience of spouses or partners of people with early-stage dementia. Method: We conducted semi-structured interviews with 34 spouses or partners of people with a diagnosis of early-stage dementia, recruited through Memory Clinics, in order to elicit the participants’ understanding of, and perspective on, their situation and experience. Transcripts of the interviews were subjected to interpretative phenomenological analysis. Results: Four main themes were identified, relating to difficulties in understanding the nature and meaning of the diagnosis and condition, changes in the relationship, problems and challenges, and ways of coping. Limited understanding of dementia appeared to add considerably to the difficulties faced by caregivers at a time when they were having to respond to major changes in their relationship and interactions, make significant adjustments in their lives and consider the future. Conclusion: This study underlines the importance of helping family members to develop a working understanding of the condition in the early stages.
Biochemical evidence for osteomalacia with carbamazepine therapy

Many anticonvulsants are known to cause osteomalacia, however, carbamazepine has not previously been studied in this regard. We studied 31 patients on carbamazepine (mean dose 758 mg ± s.d. 468 mg per day), as a single drug for epilepsy for a duration of 20.5 ± 10 months. Three patients (10 %) had hypocalcaemia, and serum calcium was significantly lower (P < 0.01)), and serum alkaline phosphatase significantly higher (P < 0.05) than matched control subjects. Serum phosphorus was significantly inversely correlated and serum alkaline phosphatase was positively correlated with both dose and duration, but not blood levels of carbamazepine. These findings are consistent with mild biochemical changes of osteomalacia. None of the patients were symptomatic.
Merging CLU and PSR Methods for Accurate Prototype Selection

Data reduction in data mining is very important when dealing with large dataset. Through data reduction one can increase storage efficiency and reduce the run time of data mining process. One of the methods to reduce the volume of data is to selectively retain a subset of the dataset as the representation of the original dataset. This methods is known as prototype selection. Prototype selection aims to discard the superfluous instances in training set, because superfluous instances will influence the result in data mining. In this study we proposed a hybrid prototype selection method using clustering algorithm and selected the most relevant subset of cluster members. The results showed that the hybrid approach performed better than the original methods used individually.
[Scrapie of sheep and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in Iceland].

OBJECTIVE Scrapie of sheep and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) are both classified as prion diseases. The infectious agents of both diseases are closely related. The objectives of the study was to explore, whether sheep scrapie could be transmitted to humans and cause CJD. MATERIAL AND METHODS The occurrence of CJD was studied in a period of 40 years, 1960 to 2000. The first part of the study, which was started in 1980, was retrospective. Hospital records from the Department of Neurology of the National Hospital from the years 1960-1980 were scrutinised and paraffin blocks from the collection of the Department of Pathology from cases with the diagnosis CJD and some suspect cases were obtained and analysed. The latter part of the study was prospective, which gave the possibility to study codon 129 of PRNP gene and characterise the strain of the infectious agent. Information on the epidemiology of scrapie in Iceland and of the diet of Icelanders was collected. RESULTS Four cases of CJD were detected in the 40 years studied, which corresponds to an incidence of 0.44 per million inhabitants, which is less than half the average incidence in 18 other European countries in the years 1997-2004. CONCLUSION The low incidence of CJD in Iceland does not indicate that sheep scrapie can be transmitted to humans and cause CJD. If this were the case, we would have expected an higher incidence of CJD and possibly atypical cases, as the Icelandic population has been exposed to scrapie for 130 years.
Long-term prognosis in cerebral venous thrombosis. Follow-up of 77 patients.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Very little is known about the long-term outcome of patients with cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT), particularly regarding the risk of residual epilepsy and further thrombotic events. We retrospectively studied 77 patients with CVT diagnosed by angiography and/or MRI. METHODS A cohort of 77 patients aged 18 to 77 (mean, 38.5) years with CVT, evaluated from 1975 through 1990, was followed up for a mean of 77.8 months (range, 14 to 204 months; median, 63 months). Information on death, neurological status, seizures, recurrent CVT, other thrombotic events, and subsequent pregnancies was obtained from direct observation, mail questionnaire, or telephone interviews. RESULTS Sixty-six of 77 patients (85.7%) had no neurological sequelae during follow-up. Eleven patients (14.3%) remained neurologically impaired. Two who initially presented with isolated intracranial hypertension had blindness due to optic atrophy. The other 9 had focal signs at the time of CVT and were left with various cognitive or focal deficits. Four of 28 (14.3%) patients who had seizures at the acute stage had recurrent seizures. One of the 51 patients with lateral sinus thrombosis developed a dural arteriovenous fistula. Nine of the 77 patients (11.7%) suffered a second CVT, all but one in the first year. Noncerebral thrombotic events occurred in 11 patients (14.3%). No recurrence of CVT occurred during later pregnancies, but 1 patient had a postpartum deep vein thrombosis. CONCLUSIONS In the present series, CVT has an essentially good long-term prognosis. The frequency of long-standing epilepsy was low, suggesting that long-term anticonvulsant treatment is not necessary in the majority of cases. A second CVT or another thrombotic episode occurred in 20% of patients, stressing the need in a minority of cases for long-term anticoagulation.
Physical problems admitting Heun-to-hypergeometric reduction

The Heun's equation and its confluent forms emerge in many physical applications. However, the literature related to the mathematical analysis of the Heun's equation is far from complete in comparison with the hypergeometric equation which is known in detail. As a result, studying the reduction methods from Heun to hypergeometric equation is substantial for understanding the physical system better. In this work, Maier's Heun-to-hypergeometric reduction cases are studied for several physical problems.
Regional heterogeneity of EGFR gene amplification and nuclear morphology in glioblastomas. An investigation using laser microdissection and pressure catapulting.

OBJECTIVE To study the regional heterogeneity of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene amplification (EGFR-GA) in glioblastomas, considering the relationship between this mutation and morphology of tumor cell nuclei. STUDY DESIGN Tissue samples gained by laser microdissection and pressure catapulting were used for the performance of differential polymerase chain reaction in 32 morphologically different regions from 7 glioblastomas. Semiquantitative determination of EGFR expression and image analysis of tumor cell nuclei were performed in the same regions. RESULTS Distinct regional differences concerning the degree of EGFR-GA were found in 2 tumor cases. When comparing regions with different degrees of gene amplification within these cases, morphologic differences in tumor cell nuclei were observed. The other tumor cases also showed distinct intratumoral heterogeneity concerning histomorphology but no regional heterogeneity in the degree of EGFR-GA. When comparing regions with a low densitometric EGFR/interferon (INF) band ratio (< 2.19, n = 18) and a high EGFR/IFN band ratio (> 4.39, n = 14), the latter type of region showed a significantly higher percentage of Ki-67--positive tumor cell nuclei and lower values for several shape variables (Fourier amplitudes), indicating a tendency toward a more regular nuclear shape in regions with distinct EGFR-GA. For the EGFR/IFN band ratio, a significant correlation was found with several morphometric variables, especially those of nuclear shape and distances between nuclei. CONCLUSION In glioblastomas showing regional heterogeneity in the degree of EGFR-GA, morphology of tumor cell nuclei has been shown to be different when comparing regions with different degrees of EGFR-GA. Glioblastomas may also show distinct regional heterogeneity of histomorphology without evidence of regional heterogeneity of EGFR-GA. A significant statistical association has been confirmed between the degree of EGFR-GA and quantitative morphology of tumor cell nuclei.
Distinct Involvement of β3 Integrin Cytoplasmic Domain Tyrosine Residues 747 and 759 in Integrin-mediated Cytoskeletal Assembly and Phosphotyrosine Signaling*

We have investigated the structural requirements of the β3 integrin subunit cytoplasmic domain necessary for tyrosine phosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) and paxillin during αvβ3-mediated cell spreading. Using CHO cells transfected with various β3mutants, we demonstrate a close correlation between αvβ3-mediated cell spreading and tyrosine phosphorylation of FAK and paxillin, and highlight a distinct involvement of the NPLY747 and NITY759 motifs in these signaling processes. Deletion of the NITY759motif alone was sufficient to completely prevent αvβ3-dependent focal contact formation, cell spreading, and FAK/paxillin phosphorylation. The single Y759A substitution induced a strong inhibitory phenotype, while the more conservative, but still phosphorylation-defective, Y759F mutation restored wild type receptor function. Alanine substitution of the highly conserved Tyr747 completely abolished αvβ3-dependent formation of focal adhesion plaques, cell spreading, and FAK/paxillin phosphorylation, whereas a Y747F substitution only partially restored these events. As none of these mutations affected receptor-ligand interaction, our results suggest that the structural integrity of the NITY759 motif, rather than the phosphorylation status of Tyr759 is important for β3-mediated cytoskeleton reorganization and tyrosine phosphorylation of FAK and paxillin, while the presence of Tyr at residue 747 within the NPLY747 motif is required for optimal β3post-ligand binding events.
Mannose-resistant adhesion of motile Aeromonas to INT407 cells and the differences among isolates from humans, food and water

SUMMARY Aeromonas has been recognized as an important enteropathogen, but factors related to its virulence have not been clarified. For most enteric pathogens, attachment is a prerequisite for infection and for the effective delivery of toxins to the intestinal epithelial cells. We examined a total of 273 strains isolated from stool, food and environmental specimens by an assay for mannose-resistant adhesion to INT407 cells in vitro. Seventeen of the 102 faecal isolates were adhesive strains with more than 10 bacteria adhering per cell, while only 2 of the 118 isolates from foods and river water adhered to the cells (P < 0·001). It is possible that the adhesion might serve as a marker for discrimination between the pathogenic and nonpathogenic isolates. The 8 highly adhesive strains with more than 20 adhering organisms per cell were scrutinized for the mechanism of adhesion. No correlation was apparent between the adhesion to INT407 cells and hydrophobicity. It was noted that fucose inhibited the adhesion of four strains as well as haemagglutination by them. Electronmicroscopic studies showed the presence of flexible and curvilinear fimbriae in only 2 of the 8 highly adhesive strains.
Computer-aided identification of system vulnerabilities and safeguards during conceptual design

This work presents an approach to helping engineers to begin to address safety risks and to capture information during conceptual design, for use in early hazard analysis. Complex system accidents are hard to understand when they happen and hard to identify before they happen. Our goal is to aid early identification of this type of potential accident. We describe progress in developing a prototype hazard identification tool to help engineers capture design features of systems and components. We describe terminology for classifying and describing system functions, problems, vulnerabilities and safeguards. This terminology can be applied to hardware, software and human factors. Conceptual design information is mapped to a library of component models, to support generation and simulation of system accident scenarios. We describe a strategy for identifying potential system accident scenarios, based on an analysis of types of sequences of events in system accidents. We describe tools for scripting scenarios and mapping to a hybrid simulator. The generic component library of the simulator is used to construct component-connection models whose behavior can include a broad variety of types of performance problems and hazards. We illustrate the strategy with a design case with a biological water processing system.