Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cellular Innate Immunity against PRRSV and Swine Influenza Viruses

Porcine respiratory disease complex (PRDC) is a polymicrobial syndrome that results from a combination of infectious agents, such as environmental stressors, population size, management strategies, age, and genetics. PRDC results in reduced performance as well as increased mortality rates and production costs in the pig industry worldwide. This review focuses on the interactions of two enveloped RNA viruses—porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) and swine influenza virus (SwIV)—as major etiological agents that contribute to PRDC within the porcine cellular innate immunity during infection. The innate immune system of the porcine lung includes alveolar and parenchymal/interstitial macrophages, neutrophils (PMN), conventional dendritic cells (DC) and plasmacytoid DC, natural killer cells, and γδ T cells, thus the in vitro and in vivo interactions between those cells and PRRSV and SwIV are reviewed. Likewise, the few studies regarding PRRSV-SwIV co-infection are illustrated together with the different modulation mechanisms that are induced by the two viruses. Alterations in responses by natural killer (NK), PMN, or γδ T cells have not received much attention within the scientific community as their counterpart antigen-presenting cells and there are numerous gaps in the knowledge regarding the role of those cells in both infections. This review will help in paving the way for future directions in PRRSV and SwIV research and enhancing the understanding of the innate mechanisms that are involved during infection with these viruses.
Regulation of GLUT4 translocation in an in vitro cell model using postprandial human serum ex vivo

What is the research question? This study used a new experimental model, in which culture medium is conditioned with human serum ex vivo, to investigate nutrient‐mediated regulation of GLUT4 translocation in skeletal muscle cells in vitro. What is the main finding and importance? Human serum stimulated GLUT4 translocation, an effect differentially modulated by whether the culture medium was conditioned with serum from fasted subjects or with serum collected after feeding of intact or hydrolysed whey protein. Conditioning cell culture medium with human serum ex vivo represents a new approach to elucidate the effects of ingesting specific nutrients on skeletal muscle cell metabolism.
Production Planning and Corporate Productivity Performance in the Nigerian Manufacturing Industry

Production Planning has existed in the Nigerian manufacturing industry over the years but has failed to deliver the promised goods of accelerated development of the economy. This paper investigates the relationship between Production Planning and Corporate Productivity Performance of the Nigerian manufacturing industry In this respect Corporate Productivity Performance is measured in the areas of cost minimization, enhanced equity capital and growth. Three hypotheses were formulated and questionnaire were distributed to eighty respondents in the eighty sampled manufacturing firms from the one hundred in the industry, quoted in the Stock Exchange(Fact Book 2009). Sixty two copies of the questionnaire were retrieved. These with the financial statements of the firms for a period of five years, were used for the analysis. From its findings, the study revealed that production planning has significant impacts on operational efficiency, enhanced equity capital and growth of Nigerian manufacturing industry. This finding implies that production Planning significantly affects the Corporate Productivity Performance of firms. Based on these, the study recommends among others, that the Nigerian manufacturing industry should review their production planning concepts and implementation, in order to restore the industry as the base of all development.
Smoking and Increased White and Red Blood Cells: A Mendelian Randomization Approach in the Copenhagen General Population Study

Objective— Whether tobacco smoking causally affects white and red blood cells and thrombocyte counts is unknown. Using a Mendelian randomization approach, we tested the hypothesis that smoking causes increases in these blood cell indices. Approach and Results— We included 104 607 white Danes aged 20 to 100 years from the Copenhagen General Population Study with information on blood cell indices, smoking habits, and CHRNA3 (alpha 3 nicotinic cholinergic receptor) rs1051730 genotype, where the T allele causes higher tobacco consumption; 41 759 were former smokers and 17 852 current smokers. In multivariable adjusted observational analyses and compared with never smokers, white blood cells were associated with up to 19% increases, thrombocytes with up to 4.7% increases, and red blood cell indices with up to 2.3% increases in former and current smokers. All associations were dose dependent, with tobacco consumption but for white blood cells and thrombocytes also dependent on smoking cessation time in former smokers; highest increases were for <1-year smoking cessation and lowest increases for >10-year smoking cessation. In age- and sex-adjusted genetic analyses, percent differences per T allele increase in current smokers were 1.15% (95% CI, 0.61%–1.68%) for leukocytes, 1.07% (0.38%–1.76%) for neutrophils, 1.34% (0.66%–2.02%) for lymphocytes, 1.50% (0.83%–2.18%) for monocytes, −0.60% (−1.91% to 0.74%) for eosinophils, 0.17% (−0.94% to 1.29%) for basophils, 0.38% (−0.17% to 0.93%) for thrombocytes, 0.04% (−0.14% to 0.23%) for erythrocytes, 0.34% (0.17% to 0.50%) for hematocrit, 0.26% (0.09% to 0.43%) for hemoglobin, and 0.29% (0.18% to 0.41%) for mean corpuscular volume. Conclusions— Smoking causes increased blood leukocytes, neutrophils, lymphocytes, and monocytes, as well as increased hematocrit, hemoglobin, and mean corpuscular volume. The observational smoking relationships were long term for white blood cells and short term for red blood cell indices.
Diet and exercise

EMBO Reports (2019) e47966 Metabolic diseases—a range of conditions associated with abnormal metabolism, notably type‐2 diabetes (T2DB), obesity and irritable bowel disease (IBD)—extract a large societal and economic toll. T2DB is relatively straightforward to diagnose, which has enabled its global prevalence and impact to be accurately quantified: the WHO first Global Report on Diabetes estimates that 422 million adults lived with the condition in 2014, compared to 108 million in 1980 (https://www.who.int/diabetes/global-report/en/). The associated death rate has also been rising to 1.5 million worldwide in 2012 along with an additional 2.2 million from cardiovascular and other diseases caused indirectly by high blood glucose. The report noted that 43% of these 3.7 million deaths occur in people younger than 70, and that during the past decade, the prevalence of T2DB has risen more quickly in low‐ and middle‐income countries as their lifestyles converge with those of more developed nations. > The economic burden of obesity is greater still, already passing the US$2 trillion per year mark in 2014, thus matching the cost of both smoking and armed conflicts. The pattern is very similar for obesity, which often coexists with or precedes T2DB. The global prevalence nearly doubled from 5% of men and 8% of women in 1980 to 10% of men and 14% of women in 2008, the latest year for which worldwide data exists, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). As with T2DB, obesity is now rising fastest in developing countries where 25% of children under the age of 5 are overweight. This is almost certainly attributable to rising affluence and urbanization, leading to more consumption of processed food and in turn higher intakes of salt, fat and sugar. Irritable bowel disease is harder to quantify, because there is no firm medical definition and significant variations in reported levels between countries reflect differences in diagnosis. As …
Are Office-Based Workplace Interventions Designed to Reduce Sitting Time Cost-Effective Primary Prevention Measures for Cardiovascular Disease? A Systematic Review and Modelled Economic Evaluation

Objectives: To assess the cost-effectiveness of workplace-delivered interventions designed to reduce sitting time as primary prevention measures for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in Australia. Methods: A Markov model was developed to simulate the lifetime cost-effectiveness of a workplace intervention for the primary prevention of CVD amongst office-based workers. An updated systematic review and a meta-analysis of workplace interventions that aim to reduce sitting time was conducted to inform the intervention effect. The primary outcome was workplace standing time. An incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) was calculated for this intervention measured against current practice. Costs (in Australia dollars) and benefits were discounted at 3% annually. Both deterministic (DSA) and probabilistic (PSA) sensitivity analyses were performed. Results: The updated systematic review identified only one new study. Only the multicomponent intervention that included a sit-and-stand workstation showed statistically significant changes in the standing time compared to the control. The intervention was associated with both higher costs ($6820 versus $6524) and benefits (23.28 versus 23.27, quality-adjusted life year, QALYs), generating an ICER of $43,825/QALY. The DSA showed that target age group for the intervention, relative risk of CVD relative to the control and intervention cost were the key determinants of the ICER. The base case results were within the range of the 95% confidence interval and the intervention had a 85.2% probability of being cost-effective. Conclusions: A workplace-delivered intervention in the office-based setting including a sit-and-stand desk component is a cost-effective strategy for the primary prevention of CVD. It offers a new option and location when considering interventions to target the growing CVD burden.
First Report of Phytophthora infestans A2 Mating Type in Ecuador.

The tropical highlands of Ecuador are a genetic center for several Solanaceous species, including potato. In 1995 and 1996, severe late blight epidemics occurred in wild Solanum species, e.g., Solanum brevifolium, growing in the transitional area between the highlands and the coastal tropical lowlands near the city of Quito. Sixteen isolates of Phytophthora infestans were collected in 1995 and 36 isolates in 1996. Of these, three from 1995 and four from 1996 were A2 mating type. Extensive and systematic sampling of commercial potato and tomato in Ecuador have failed to reveal the presence of the A2 mating type (G. A. Forbes, X. M. Escobar, C. C. Ayala, J. Revelo, M. E. Ordoñez, B. A. Fry, K. Doucet, and W. E. Fry, Phytopathology, in press.). Apparently the A2 mating type reported for the first time in Ecuador is only associated with wild Solanaceous spp. Further research is required to determine the consequences of this event for management of late blight in both potato and tomato, two important field crops in the Andean highlands.
A Programmable Impedance Tuner with a High Resolution Using a 0.18-um CMOS SOI Process for Improved Linearity

In this paper, a novel coupler/reflection-type programmable electronic impedance tuner combined with switches that were fabricated by a 0.18-um complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) silicon-on-insulator (SOI) process is proposed for replacement of the conventional mechanical tuner in power amplifier (PA) load-pull test. By employing the multi-stacked field-effect transistors (FETs) as a single-branch switch, the proposed tuner has the advantage of precise impedance variation with systematic and magnitude and phase adjustment. Additionally, it led to high standing wave ratio (SWR) coverage and a good impedance resolution with a high power handling capability. Furthermore, the double-branch based on multi-stacked FET was applied to switches for additional enhancement of the intermodulation distortion (IMD) performance through the mitigated drain-source voltage of the single-FET. Drawing upon the measurement results, we demonstrated that SWR changed from 2 to 6 sequentially with a 12–15° phase angle step over a mid/high-band range of a 1.5–2.1 GHz band for 3G/4G handset application. In addition, the PA load-pull measurement results obtained using the proposed tuners verified their practicality and competitive performance with mechanical tuners. Finally, the measured linearity using the double-branch switch demonstrated the good IMD3 performance of −78 dBc, and this result is noteworthy when compared with conventional electronic impedance tuners.
Sunflower: A potential crop for rotating with rice in small farm setting

This experiment investigated the possibility of introducing sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) as a rotating crop with rice to rice farmers and promoting the way in which the yield from sunflower should be utilized by these farmers in the household setting for their daily living. The field trial was conducted in the dry season of 2010 and 2011 and the field test in the farm setting was carried out in 2011. It was found that sunflower hybrid variety could be grown under low-medium input levels by the rice farmers and the seeds from this hybrid could also be collected and used for planting in the following season by these rice farmers with an acceptable yield output. However, synthetic variety was more suitable to introduce to the farmers as the seed from this variety was cheaper and the progeny seeds could be collected for replanting with an acceptable yield potential. The rice yield decreasing affected from the different factors in each farmer’s fields such as pest (The fawn-colored mouse; Mus cervicolor and Sclerotium rolfsii), plot size and soil type. Seeds from harvesting could be extracted to obtain raw sunflower oil (raw sun-oil) in which sunflower meal was obtained for usage as an animal feed. The extraction process of raw sunflower oil by these farmers was primitive, requiring appropriate technical know-how to improve the quality of the oil.
The Importance of Fatty Acids as Nutrients during Post-Exercise Recovery

It is well recognized that whole-body fatty acid (FA) oxidation remains increased for several hours following aerobic endurance exercise, even despite carbohydrate intake. However, the mechanisms involved herein have hitherto not been subject to a thorough evaluation. In immediate and early recovery (0–4 h), plasma FA availability is high, which seems mainly to be a result of hormonal factors and increased adipose tissue blood flow. The increased circulating availability of adipose-derived FA, coupled with FA from lipoprotein lipase (LPL)-derived very-low density lipoprotein (VLDL)-triacylglycerol (TG) hydrolysis in skeletal muscle capillaries and hydrolysis of TG within the muscle together act as substrates for the increased mitochondrial FA oxidation post-exercise. Within the skeletal muscle cells, increased reliance on FA oxidation likely results from enhanced FA uptake into the mitochondria through the carnitine palmitoyltransferase (CPT) 1 reaction, and concomitant AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK)-mediated pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) inhibition of glucose oxidation. Together this allows glucose taken up by the skeletal muscles to be directed towards the resynthesis of glycogen. Besides being oxidized, FAs also seem to be crucial signaling molecules for peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) signaling post-exercise, and thus for induction of the exercise-induced FA oxidative gene adaptation program in skeletal muscle following exercise. Collectively, a high FA turnover in recovery seems essential to regain whole-body substrate homeostasis.
Sustained, delayed, and small increments in glomerular permeability to macromolecules during systemic ET-1 infusion mediated via the ETA receptor.

Emerging evidence indicates that endogenous production of endothelin (ET)-1, a 21-amino acid peptide vasoconstrictor, plays an important role in proteinuric kidney disease. Previous studies in rats have shown that chronic administration of ET-1 leads to increased glomerular albumin leakage. The underlying mechanisms are, however, currently not known. Here, we used size-exclusion chromatography to measure glomerular sieving coefficients for neutral FITC-Ficoll (molecular Stokes-Einstein radius: 15-80 Å, molecular weight: 70 kDa/400 kDa) in anesthetized male Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 12) at baseline and at 5, 15, 30, and 60 min after intravenous administration of ET-1. In separate experiments, ET-1 was given together with the selective ET type A (ETA) or ET type B (ETB) receptor antagonists JKC-301 and BQ-788, respectively. At both 15 and 30 min postadministration, the glomerular sieving coefficient for macromolecular Ficoll (70 Å) was significantly increased to 4.4 × 10-5 ± 0.7 × 10-5 (P = 0.024) and 4.5 × 10-5 ± 0.8 × 10-5 (P = 0.007), respectively, compared with baseline (2.2 × 10-5 ± 0.4 ×10-5). Decreased urine production after ET-1 prevented the use of higher doses of ET-1. Data analysis using the two-pore model indicated changes in large-pore permeability after ET-1, with no changes in the small-pore pathway. Administration of ETA blocker abrogated the permeability changes induced by ET-1 at 30 min, whereas blockade of ETB receptors was ineffective. Mean arterial pressure was only significantly increased at 60 min, being 123 ± 4 mmHg compared with 111 ± 2 mmHg at baseline (P = 0.02). We conclude that ET-1 evoked small, delayed, and sustained increases in glomerular permeability, mediated via the ETA receptor.
Measurement and Modelling of Moisture Sorption Isotherm and Heat of Sorption of Fresh Feces

The drying (or dewatering) of fresh feces and fecal sludge is a productive step in the management of sanitation, waste treatment, and resource recovery services. An improved understanding of fresh feces and fecal sludge drying would contribute to the development and deployment of fecal sludge management services. However, there is a lack of available literature on the fundamental drying characteristics of fresh feces. In response to this gap, this work shares experimental results for equilibrium moisture content of fresh feces at different water activity levels (aw) and proposes the use of the Guggenheim, Anderson, and de Boer (GAB) model for predicting aw, calculating the heat of sorption, and estimating the corresponding energy requirements for drying of fresh feces. This is the first time this work has been done with fresh feces. The total heat of evaporation was significant up to a moisture content of about 0.2 kg water per kg dry solids. In addition to informing drying process design, the sorption isotherm can be used to predict microbial activity, which could improve the management of feces and fecal sludge from a public health perspective. These data in turn will be used to promote access to dignified, safe, and sustainable sanitation.
Road Topology Refinement via a Multi-Conditional Generative Adversarial Network

With the rapid development of intelligent transportation, there comes huge demands for high-precision road network maps. However, due to the complex road spectral performance, it is very challenging to extract road networks with complete topologies. Based on the topological networks produced by previous road extraction methods, in this paper, we propose a Multi-conditional Generative Adversarial Network (McGAN) to obtain complete road networks by refining the imperfect road topology. The proposed McGAN, which is composed of two discriminators and a generator, takes both original remote sensing image and the initial road network produced by existing road extraction methods as input. The first discriminator employs the original spectral information to instruct the reconstruction, and the other discriminator aims to refine the road network topology. Such a structure makes the generator capable of receiving both spectral and topological information of the road region, thus producing more complete road networks compared with the initial road network. Three different datasets were used to compare McGan with several recent approaches, which showed that the proposed method significantly improved the precision and recall of the road networks, and also worked well for those road regions where previous methods could hardly obtain complete structures.
Comorbidity of Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders

The high prevalence of comorbid mental disorders requires psychi­ atric­psychotherapeutic and psychosomatic measures that go be­ yond the original purpose and bio­psychosocial orientation of re­ habilitation. In addition, damage to the CNS can directly affect emotional, cognitive and social functions and thus impair a per­ son’s expressive behavior and coping mechanisms. Unlike other medical disciplines, neurology is characterized by a close intercon­ nection of somatic and psychological functions – as well as recip­ rocal influences [1]. Psychological disturbances in neurologically ill patients have an impact on compliance, length of hospital stay, achievable func­ tional and socio-medical outcome as well as the quality of life [2]. Likewise, there is suggestive evidence that disease risk and mortal­ ity are adversely affected by the presence of psychological disor­ ders [3]. A targeted treatment of mental disorders, including psy­ chotherapeutic measures, is therefore indicated, if only from a purely neurological perspective. Due to their specific competence, neurologists play a role that is both central but neglected in the treatment of mental disorders in neurologically ill patients as well as in clinical practice. Differen­ tiated psychotherapeutic treatment designed to take into account individual neurological findings is rare. The extensive lack of sys­ tematic scientific studies and related well-founded information is an expression of this situation while maintaining it. Therefore this overview is intended to focus attention on activities to improve this situation as well as outline the clinical foundations that facilitate direct integration of psychotherapeutic measures into neuroreha­ bilitation. The results of a literature search using the terms “neu­ rology”, “psychiatric illness”, “neurorehabilitation” and “psycho­ therapy” should serve as an introduction.
Moving Beyond Gleason Scoring.

CONTEXT. — The combination of grading and staging is the basis of current standard of care for prediction for most cancers. D. F. Gleason created the current prostate cancer (PCa) grading system. This system has been modified several times. Molecular data have been added. Currently, all grading systems are cancer-cell based. OBJECTIVE. — To review the literature available on host response measures as reactive stroma grading and stromogenic carcinoma, and their predictive ability for PCa biochemical recurrence and PCa-specific death. DATA SOURCES. — Our own experience has shown that reactive stroma grading and the subsequently binarized system (stromogenic carcinoma) can independently predict biochemical recurrence and/or PCa-specific death, particularly in patients with a Gleason score of 6 or 7. Stromogenic carcinoma has been validated by 4 other independent groups in at least 3 continents. CONCLUSIONS. — Broders grading and Dukes staging have been combined to form the most powerful prognostic tools in standard of care. The time has come for us to incorporate measures of host response (stromogenic carcinoma) into the arsenal of elements we use to predict cancer survival, without abandoning what we know works. These data also suggest that our current definition of PCa might need some revision.