Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A New Method for Indexing Dairy Bulls

Summary Individual regression of daughters on dams in dairy cattle is of the order of about 0.3 for amount of milk and 0.45 for butterfat test. Group regressions are of the order of 0.5 to 0.6 both in amount of milk and butterfat test. The "Equal-Parent" index is based on a regression of 0.5 for milk and butterfat test, but this fact is perhaps not generally appreciated, nor are the respective breed averages generally used in computing EP indexes. The "Equal-Parent" index formula using normal expectation and breed average is w+2(d-e) where w=breed average, d=daughters' average, e=daughters' expectation = w + dams' ave 2 . A NEW method of indexing, based on normal expectation and breed average, is suggested herein, its formula being w + d – e. The NEW method compares daughters' actual production with their normal expectation rather than with their dams' actual production. The variability of NEW indexes is of the same order as is that of groups of cows. The variability of EP indexes is of the same order as is that of individual cows. Either EP or NEW index method will place bulls in the same order of rank from highest to lowest. The NEW index makes it possible to ascertain a bull's worth from a production standpoint by comparing the index directly with the respective breed averages, so much better or worse than breed average, through its incorporation of "normal expectation"− as a measuring stick of any bull's transmitting performance. Either the EP or NEW index system used in the appropriate manner with the average record of a group of cows will predict the production of future daughters reasonably accurately and perhaps a little more accurately on the average than will the average of an earlier group of daughters. Daughters' records alone, however, are not a safe guide to the genetic level of a bull or at least not as good as indexing, which automatically includes a consideration of the mates' level of production; an important item so far as their daughters' ability is concerned. The NEW method of indexing would appear to make pedigrees look more nearly like what they are genetically than does the EP method. It would provide a measure of conservatism so often and so badly needed in pedigree writing and interpretation.
Benign Hepatic Tumors: From Incidental Imaging Finding to Clinical Management

Benign hepatic tumors (BHTs) are commonly detected as incidental finding mainly due to the frequent utilization of imaging modalities, including ultrasound (US), computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Rigorous clinical evaluation, with a particular focus on chronic liver disease (CLD) or risk factors for CLD, medication history, physical examination for signs of CLD, blood tests, and a review of past liver radiology constitute the initial steps in the evaluation of a new liver lesion. Further, contrast-enhanced imaging using US, CT and MRI, can be used depending on the clinical scenario and their availability. The contrast-enhanced MRI provides detailed tissue assessment while avoiding exposure to radiations, although it is scarcely available and expensive. While the liver tissue-specific protocols ensure precise diagnosis, a biopsy is recommended in selected or doubtful cases. Further, most BHTs, such as hemangiomas, are harmless and do not require special management or follow-up, the hepatic adenomas and large or atypical cases of focal nodular hyperplasia are clinically relevant and require management/follow-up. In such cases, it is favorable to have a multidisciplinary team approach, which includes hepatologist, radiologist, hepatobiliary surgeon, and pathologist. This review aims to elaborate the current understanding of BHTs, and provide a practical guidance for primary care and practitioners of family and internal medicine for the disease evaluation and management.
Identifying Cattle Breed-Specific Partner Choice of Transcription Factors during the African Trypanosomiasis Disease Progression Using Bioinformatics Analysis

African Animal Trypanosomiasis (AAT) is a disease caused by pathogenic trypanosomes which affects millions of livestock every year causing huge economic losses in agricultural production especially in sub-Saharan Africa. The disease is spread by the tsetse fly which carries the parasite in its saliva. During the disease progression, the cattle are prominently subjected to anaemia, weight loss, intermittent fever, chills, neuronal degeneration, congestive heart failure, and finally death. According to their different genetic programs governing the level of tolerance to AAT, cattle breeds are classified as either resistant or susceptible. In this study, we focus on the cattle breeds N’Dama and Boran which are known to be resistant and susceptible to trypanosomiasis, respectively. Despite the rich literature on both breeds, the gene regulatory mechanisms of the underlying biological processes for their resistance and susceptibility have not been extensively studied. To address the limited knowledge about the tissue-specific transcription factor (TF) cooperations associated with trypanosomiasis, we investigated gene expression data from these cattle breeds computationally. Consequently, we identified significant cooperative TF pairs (especially DBP−PPARA and DBP−THAP1 in N’Dama and DBP−PAX8 in Boran liver tissue) which could help understand the underlying AAT tolerance/susceptibility mechanism in both cattle breeds.
Identification and Molecular Characterization of Geranyl Diphosphate Synthase (GPPS) Genes in Wintersweet Flower

Geranyl diphosphate synthase (GPPS) is a plastid localized enzyme that catalyzes the biosynthesis of Geranyl diphosphate (GPP), which is a universal precursor of monoterpenes. Wintersweet (Chimonanthus praecox L.), a famous deciduous flowering shrub with a strong floral scent character, could have GPPS-like homologs that are involved in monoterpenes biosynthesis, but it remains unclear. In the present study, five full-length GPPS and geranylgeranyl diphosphate synthases (GGPPS) genes were identified in the wintersweet transcriptome database. The isolated cDNAs showed high protein sequence similarity with the other plants GPPS and GGPPS. The phylogenetic analysis further classified these cDNAs into four distinct clades, representing heterodimeric GPPS small subunits (SSU1 and SSU2), homodimeric GPPS, and GGPPS. Analysis of temporal expression revealed that all genes have the highest transcript level at the full-open flower stage. From tissue-specific expression analysis, CpGPPS.SSU1 and CpGGPPS1 were predominantly expressed in petal and flower, whereas CpGPPS.SSU2, GPPS, and GGPPS2 showed a constitutive expression. Additionally, the subcellular localization assay identified the chloroplast localization of SSUs and GGPPSs proteins, and the yeast two-hybrid assay showed that both CpGPPS.SSU1 and CpGPPS.SSU2 can interact with the GGPPS proteins. Taken together, these preliminary results suggest that the heterodimeric GPPS can regulate floral scent biosynthesis in wintersweet flower.
Vitamin D3 and Calcipotriol Enhance the Secretion of Transforming Growth Factor-β1 and -β2 in Cultured Murine Keratinocytes

AbstractVitamin D3 and its analogue calcipotriol (MC 903) inhibit the proliferation of cultured keratinocytes and induce their differentiation. Since TGFβs are very potent inhibitors of keratinocyte growth we studied the effects of vitamin D3 and calcipotriol on the secretion of TGFβ in cultured murine keratinocytes. Vitamin D, and calcipotriol (10−6 - 10−9 M) inhibited the DNA-synthesis of mouse keratinocytes by 50–80% in a time and dose-dependent manner as measured by [3H]-thymidine incorporation. Analysis of the conditioned medium of the keratinocytes indicated that the cells secreted into their medium activity that inhibited the growth of indicator Mv1Lu mink lung epithelial cells. Neutralizing antibodies against TGFβ1 and TGFβ2 decreased, and when used together, prevented the observed growth inhibition of the indicator cells. Heat treatment of the conditioned medium, which activates latent forms of TGFβ, revealed higher levels of growth inhibitory activity in the medium from vitamin D3 and calcipotri.
Holy or Not, Israel is a Palaearctic Biodiversity Hotspot

In their rebuttal to my comment, Roll et al. (2011) defend their original conclusion, by questioning the theoretical framework on which I based my analysis. They stress the importance of the statistical prediction limits and the treatment of latitudinal location as a covariate. They also add an additional grid-cell-based analysis. Here, I claim that even if provincial species-area relationships (SPAR) are not parallel, they are still different. While relying on Roll et al.'s (2011) analyses, I show that for each taxon there is at least one other provincial SPAR that lies considerably above the Palaearctic SPAR, making Palaearctic countries less favorable to be identified as a global biodiversity hotspot. I further claim that prediction limits should not be used to answer the question in focus and that adding latitude as a covariate does not alter the results. Finally, I address the grid-cell analyses of Roll et al. (2011), claiming that Israel's diversity lies mainly in the species turnover between cells .
Plant root distribution and water use patterns of some pasture and crop species

Abstract During a summer of lower-than-average rainfall, yield, root distribution, and soil moisture tension were measured for perennial ryegrass, white clover, ryegrass-clover mixture, cocksfoot, wheat, maize, and lucerne growng on a deep free-draining soil. In all species most roots occurred in the top 20 cm of soil, root numbers decreasing down to 100 cm, with smaller variable numbers at the maximum depth sampled. Cocksfoot and perennial ryegrass had the highest root numbers in the top 40 cm, cocksfoot roots continuing to be more numerous to 140 cm. The effective depth of the soil exploited for water by all species except lucerne was approximately 130 cm. Lucerne extracted water from at least 210 cm. Lucerne, maize, and cocksfoot produced at least twice as much dry matter as ryegrass and white clover, both of which had stopped growing by the final harvest. Maize which was not sown until late spring did not begin to deplete the soil water until the pasture species had used much of that which was availab.
Morphological and genetic distinctness of rock and shell-bed dwelling Telmatochromis(Teleostei, Cichlidae) in the south of Lake Tanganyika suggest the existence of two species

Two populations from Wonzye and Nkumbula Island, Lake Tanganyika, containing both rock and shell-bed dwelling individuals of the genus Telmatochromis were analysed by means of comparative morphological and DNA haplotype data from the mitochondrial control region. The data on individuals from rock v. shell-bed habitats allowed a clear discrimination to be made between habitats, while there was no distinction among individuals of the same habitat from Wonzye and Nkumbula. The shell-bed dwellers had small body size, including smaller size at sexual maturity and fewer eggs than rock dwellers. The existence of two distinct species that diversified according to habitat choice is suggested.
Protein profiling in unlocking the basis of varicocele‐associated infertility

Varicocele is one of the major causes of male infertility and has a negative impact on spermatogenesis. The conventional semen analysis does not reveal the underlying subcellular mechanisms associated with defects in spermatozoa. Proteomics and bioinformatics analysis can be used to identify the molecular aetiologies associated with poor semen quality in varicocele patients. Mitochondrial dysfunction has been identified as the main factor affecting normal physiological functions of spermatozoa. This article discusses the proteomic studies of spermatozoa and seminal plasma in varicocele patients. Proteomics can identify potential spermatozoa and seminal plasma biomarkers in varicocele‐mediated male infertility. In future, these protein biomarkers can be useful in the development of noninvasive diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for varicocele patients.
The influence of physiological characteristics on blood pressure estimation using only PPG signals

This paper proposed a novel non-invasive, cuff-less and continuous blood pressure monitoring method to investigate the influence of physiological characteristics. The proposed method, based solely on a photoplethysmography (PPG) signal and machine learning models, has been implemented to investigate a database of 191 subjects. Each subject has PPG signals and 5 physiological characteristics recorded. Therefore, there were 32 types of combinations of physiological characteristics that could serve as inputs to the machine learning models, along with features extracted from PPG signals. The mean absolute error and standard deviation were calculated to test the performance of the machine learning models. Simulation results indicated that the more the physiological characteristics were included, the more accurate the blood pressure estimation of the models.
Temozolomide antagonizes oncolytic immunovirotherapy in glioblastoma

Background Temozolomide (TMZ) chemotherapy is a current standard of care for glioblastoma (GBM), however it has only extended overall survival by a few months. Because it also modulates the immune system, both beneficially and negatively, understanding how TMZ interacts with immunotherapeutics is important. Oncolytic herpes simplex virus (oHSV) is a new class of cancer therapeutic with both cytotoxic and immunostimulatory activities. Here, we examine the combination of TMZ and an oHSV encoding murine interleukin 12, G47Δ-mIL12, in a mouse immunocompetent GBM model generated from non-immunogenic 005 GBM stem-like cells (GSCs. Methods We first investigated the cytotoxic effects of TMZ and/or G47Δ-IL12 treatments in vitro, and then the antitumor effects of combination therapy in vivo in orthotopically implanted 005 GSC-derived brain tumors. To improve TMZ sensitivity, O6-methylguanine DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) was inhibited. The effects of TMZ on immune cells were evaluated by flow cytometery and immunohistochemistry. Results The combination of TMZ+G47Δ-IL12 kills 005 GSCs in vitro better than single treatments. However, TMZ does not improve the survival of orthotopic tumor-bearing mice treated with G47Δ-IL12, but rather can abrogate the beneficial effects of G47Δ-IL12 when the two are given concurrently. TMZ negatively affects intratumor T cells and macrophages and splenocytes. Addition of MGMT inhibitor O6-benzylguanine (O6-BG), an inactivating pseudosubstrate of MGMT, to TMZ improved survival, but the combination with G47Δ-IL12 did not overcome the antagonistic effects of TMZ treatment on oHSV therapy. Conclusions These results illustrate that chemotherapy can adversely affect oHSV immunovirotherapy. As TMZ is the standard of care for GBM, the timing of these combined therapies should be taken into consideration when planning oHSV clinical trials with chemotherapy for GBM.
Wearable Motion Sensor Device to Facilitate Rehabilitation in Patients With Shoulder Adhesive Capsulitis: Pilot Study to Assess Feasibility

Background Adhesive capsulitis (AC) of the shoulder is a common disorder that painfully reduces the shoulder range of motion (ROM) among middle-aged individuals. Although physical therapy with home-based exercises is widely advised to restore ROM in the treatment of AC, clinical results vary owing to inconsistent patient compliance. Objective In this study, we aimed to verify the feasibility of a treatment model that involves applying a wearable motion sensor device to assist patients conduct home-based exercises to improve training compliance and the accuracy of exercises, with the ultimate goal of improving the functional recovery of patients with AC. Methods The motion sensor device was comprised of inertial measurement unit–based sensors and mobile apps for patients and physicians, offering shoulder mobility tracing, home-based exercise support, and progress monitoring. The interrater reliability of shoulder mobility measurement using the motion sensor device on 10 healthy participants and 15 patients with AC was obtained using an intraclass correlation coefficient analysis and compared with the assessments performed by two highly experienced physicians. A pilot prospective control trial was then carried out to allocate the 15 patients with AC to two groups: home-based exercise group and motion sensor–assisted rehabilitation group. Changes in active and passive shoulder ROM, pain and functional scores, and exercise completion rates were compared between the groups during a treatment period of 3 months. Results Shoulder ROM, as measured using the motion sensor device, exhibited good to excellent reliability based on the comparison with the measurements of two physicians (intraclass correlation coefficient range, 0.771 to 0.979). Compared with patients with AC in the home-based exercise group, those in the motion sensor–assisted rehabilitation group exhibited better shoulder mobility and functional recovery and a higher exercise completion rate during and after 3 months of rehabilitation. Conclusions Motion sensor device–assisted home-based rehabilitation for the treatment of AC is a useful treatment model for telerehabilitation that enhances the compliance of patients through training, thus improving functional recovery. This helps overcome important obstacles in physiotherapy at home by providing comprehensible and easily accessible exercise instructions, enhancing compliance, ensuring the correctness of exercise, and monitoring the progress of patients.
Educational impact of the mini-Clinical Evaluation Exercise in resident standardization training: a comparative study between resident and professional degree postgraduate trainees

Objective We aimed to explore differences in the educational impact of the mini-Clinical Evaluation Exercise (mini-CEX) on resident (RE) and professional degree postgraduate (PDPG) trainees, as well as influencing factors, to provide suggestions for hospital managers, trainers, and trainees. Methods We performed a retrospective analysis of all scores among first-year resident standardization training trainees registered during 2017 to 2019 at Xinqiao Hospital of Army Medical University, to identify differences in mini-CEX outcomes between REs and PDPGs. Results We collected data of 154 registered trainees for retrospective analysis, including 57 PDPG trainees and 97 RE trainees. The mean (standard deviation) overall performance score of PDPGs was 84.18 (4.25), which was higher than that of REs (81.48 (3.35)). In terms of domain analysis, PDPG trainees performed significantly better than REs in history taking, physical examination, clinical diagnosis/treatment regimen, and the knowledge examination; communication skills/humanistic care were comparable between the groups. Conclusions PDPGs performed better than REs in overall competency, history taking, physical examination, clinical diagnosis/treatment regimen, and the knowledge examination. A better knowledge base, supervisor-dominated one-to-one teaching mode, higher self-esteem and learning goals, and more sophisticated responses to feedback were potential contributors to a superior educational impact of the mini-CEX.
Effect of genistein and estradiol on the adrenal cortex of the ovariectomized adult female albino rats.

Genistein, a naturally occurring soy isoflavone, attracts interest as an effective and safe alternative to hormone replacement therapy for menopausal proplems. The aim of the current study was to compare between the effect of genistein and estradiol on the adrenal cortex of the ovariectomized adult female albino rats. Twenty rats were used in the current study and divided into 4 groups, five rats in each group; group 1 (control nonovariectomized), group 2 (ovariectomized), group 3 (ovariectomized + genistein) and group 4 (ovariectomized+ estradiol). The rats were sacrificed after 4 weeks. Both adrenal glands were removed for light microscope using Hx & E. stain, ultrastructural study and immunohistochemical examination using PCNA, caspase-3, and ER-β. Ovariectomized rats showed signs of degeneration in all zones of adrenal cortex. On the other hand, Treatment with genistein showed restoration of the adrenal cortex with less proliferative effect than estradiol. So, genistein can be used as effective therapy to decrease the symptoms of menopause without fear of cancer development.
Grouping of Pseudomonas species on the basis of cellular fatty acid composition and the quinone system with special reference to the existence of 3-hydroxy fatty acids.

The cellular fatty acids and the quinone systems were investigated in 46 strains of Pseudomonas species including 14 phytopathogenic Pseudomonas strains, In a total of 75 strains, including 46 strains in this study and 29 strains reported in previous papers, Pseudomonas species showed heterogeneity in fatty acid composition and in the ubiquinone system. They were divided into nine groups according to these characteristics, with special reference to the existence of 3-hydroxy fatty acids. The significance of 3-hydroxy fatty acid composition in the classification of Pseudomonas species is discussed.
A Review of Global Crayfish Introductions With Particular Emphasis On Two North American Species (Decapoda, Cambaridae)

Les auteurs donnent un apercu de l'introduction d'ecrevisses exotiques a travers le monde depuis 1746. Les transplantations constatees par des documents ont une tres large extension geographique et beaucoup d'autres n'ont sans doute jamais ete signalees. Deux especes d'origine nord-americaine ont ete introduites avec un succes particulier: ce sont Orconectes rusticus, qui a ete implante en diverses regions des Etats-Unis et Procambarus clarkii, qui l'a ete sur tous les continents, Antarctique et Australie exceptes. Dans la plupart des cas, quand ces especes ont ete etablies, elles ont entraine des changements drastiques dans la structure des communautes, avec le remplacement ou la reduction des populations d'ecrevisses indigenes. Beaucoup de recherches sont necessaires pour comprendre les mecanismes de remplacement des especes (par exemple, exclusion competitive, recrutement et croissance differentiels, subordination agressive) et leurs implications a long terme en ce qui concerne la structure des ecosystemes aquatiques. Les ecrevisses exotiques fournissent certes de la nourriture pour l'Homme, mais les effets negatifs sont considerables et les transplantations extensives sont a decourager.
Graph Embeddings for One-pass Processing of Heterogeneous Queries

Effective information retrieval (IR) relies on the ability to comprehensively capture a user’s information needs. Traditional IR systems are limited to homogeneous queries that define the information to retrieve by a single modality. Support for heterogeneous queries that combine different modalities has been proposed recently. Yet, existing approaches for heterogeneous querying are computationally expensive, as they require several passes over the data to construct a query answer.In this paper, we propose an IR system that overcomes the computational challenges imposed by heterogeneous queries by adopting graph embeddings. Specifically, we propose graph-based models in which both, data and queries, incorporate information of different modalities. Then, we show how either representation is transformed into a graph embedding in the same space, capturing relations between information of different modalities. By grounding query processing in graph embeddings, we enable processing of heterogeneous queries with a single pass over the data representation. Our experiments on several real-world and synthetic datasets illustrate that our technique is able to return twice the amount of relevant information in comparison with several baselines, while being scalable to large-scale data.