Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prenatal exposure to persistent organic pollutants and changes in infant growth and childhood growth trajectories.

BACKGROUND Children are born with a burden of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) which may have endocrine disrupting properties and have been postulated to contribute to the rise in childhood obesity. The current evidence is equivocal, which may partly because many studies investigate the effects at one time point during childhood. We assessed associations between prenatal exposure to POPs and growth during infancy and childhood. METHODS We used data from two Belgian cohorts with cord blood measurements of five organochlorines [(dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (p,p'-DDE), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB-138, -150, -180)] (N = 1418) and two perfluoroalkyl substances [perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS)] (N = 346). We assessed infant growth, defined as body mass index (BMI) z-score change between birth and 2 years, and childhood growth, characterized as BMI trajectory from birth to 8 years. To evaluate associations between POP exposures and infant growth, we applied a multi-pollutant approach, using penalized elastic net regression with stability selection, controlling for covariates. To evaluate associations with childhood growth, we used single-pollutant linear mixed models with random effects for child individual, parametrized using a natural cubic spline formulation. RESULTS PCB-153 was associated with increased and p,p'-DDE with decreased infant growth, although these results were imprecise. No clear association between any of the exposures and longer-term childhood growth trajectories was observed. We did not find evidence of effect modification by child sex. CONCLUSION Our results suggest that prenatal exposure to PCB-153 and p,p'-DDE may affect infant growth in the first two years, with no evidence of more persistent effects.
Expression of Microsomal Prostaglandin E Synthase in Bovine Endometrium: Coexpression with Cyclooxygenase Type 2 and Regulation by Interferon- (cid:1)

Prostaglandins (PGs) are important regulators of reproduc- tive functions. In ruminants, interferon (IFN)- (cid:1) is the embry-onic signal responsible for recognition of pregnancy. This is effected by a reduction of the production of PGF 2 (cid:2) relative to PGE 2. This may be accomplished by a decrease in PGF 2 (cid:2) pro- duction,butastimulationofPGE 2 viathePGEsynthasemight also be involved. The purpose of the present study was to confirm the presence of PGE synthase (PGES) in the bovine endometrium, identify the factors affecting its expression, and compare it with that of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2). This was done by Northern blot analysis using primary cultures of bovine epithelial and stromal cells of the endometrium and bovine endometrial cell line. PGES mRNA expression was in- creased in the presence of lipopolysaccharides, TNF- (cid:2) , and IFN- (cid:1) in stromal cells and IFN- (cid:1) in epithelial cells. In stromal cells, IFN- (cid:1) induced a rapid increase of PGES and COX-2 mRNA expression. In bovine endometrial cells, phorbol 12- myristate 13-actetate increased PGES mRNA, COX-2 mRNA and PGE 2 production. These results suggest that in endome- trial cells, the expression of PGE synthase is correlated with that of COX-2 and is an important enzyme for the production of PGE 2 . Increasing this production will modulate the PGE 2 / PGF 2 (cid:2) ratio and contribute to establishment of pregnancy. ( Endocrinology 143: 2936–2943, 2002)
Cosmic Influences on Humans, Animals, and Plants: An Annotated Bibliography

This annotated bibliography makes available to the general reader and scholar a broad survey of the scientific literature on alleged cosmic influences on humans, animals, and plants. To be included, a study must involve the collection of data or be a commentary on studies based on data. As some of the topics covered are still quite controversial in nature, while other topics have been scientifically studied to some extent, the terms "alleged," "claimed" or "suggested" are noted in the citations to remind the reader that a particular study has not necessarily been proven to be scientifically valid. The four parts of Cosmic Influences on Humans, Animals, and Plants are organized around alleged effects of solar activity, the moon, the planets, and possible mechanisms for such actions. Some effects that the sun and moon are known to have on our daily lives, such as the cycles of light and dark and the lunar tides have not been included because of their commonality. However, other effects such as those influences the moon has been shown to have over some animals have been included for the sake of completeness. With subject and author indexes.
Improvement of Obtaining Potential Appropriate Respondents to Questions at Q&A Sites by Considering Categories of Answer Statements

: In order to eliminate mismatches between the questioners and respondents at Question and Answer sites, this paper proposes a method of selecting respondents who can appropriately answer a question with the consideration of categories of answer statements. The proposed method uses the number of appearance of respondents and the score based on the distance between the factor scores of a question and an answer already posted. It has experimentally been evaluated by comparing it with the methods based on average scores and distances through precision and recall. There is room for improvement in obtaining precision by considering categories of answer statements. Therefore, finding respondents who can properly answer a newly posted question of the same category is investigated. As a result, considering categories of answer statements leads to the improvement of precision.
A variational derivation of the thermodynamics of a moist atmosphere with rain process and its pseudoincompressible approximation

ABSTRACT Irreversible processes play a major role in the description and prediction of atmospheric dynamics. In this paper, we present a variational derivation for moist atmospheric dynamics with rain process and subject to the irreversible processes of viscosity, heat conduction, diffusion, and phase transition. This derivation is based on a general variational formalism for nonequilibrium thermodynamics which extends Hamilton's principle to incorporate irreversible processes. It is valid for any state equation and thus also includes the treatment of the atmosphere of other planets. In this approach, the second law of thermodynamics is understood as a nonlinear constraint formulated with the help of new variables, called thermodynamic displacements, whose time derivative coincides with the thermodynamic force of the irreversible process. In order to cover the case of atmospheric dynamics, the original variational principle is extended in three directions in this paper: the inclusion of the rain process, the inclusion of phase changes, and the treatment of constraints. The variational formulation is written both in the Lagrangian and Eulerian descriptions and can be directly adapted to oceanic dynamics. The proposed variational formulation yields a general approach for the modelling of thermodynamically consistent models in atmospheric dynamics, thereby extending previous variational methods that were restricted to the reversible Hamiltonian case. We illustrate this point, by deriving a moist pseudoincompressible model with general equations of state and subject to the irreversible processes of viscosity, heat conduction, diffusion, and phase transition.
Visual censuses around drifting fish aggregating devices ( FADs ) : a new approach for assessing the diversity of fish in open-ocean waters

This study provides a baseline measure of pelagic fish species diversity around fish aggregating devices (FADs) in the Western Indian Ocean. Using data from visual censuses made by SCUBA divers around drifting FADs we (1) analysed 11 diversity indices describing 4 main components of pelagic diversity: number of species, evenness, taxonomic diversity and rarity and (2) discussed the viability of using visual censuses around FADs to monitor temporal and spatial changes in diversity patterns of pelagic fishes in the future. Our results not only show that a single index, such as species richness or the Shannon-Wiener index, cannot provide a complete description of pelagic fish diversity around FADs, but also that some components of diversity appear to be multifaceted themselves and require the simultaneous use of several complementary indices in order to be accurately described and monitored. Despite a limited sampling effort, our results suggest that using visual censuses around FADs could provide reproducible ‘relative’ indices of diversity for a welldelimited assemblage of species (intraand extranatant species in the epipelagic domain). In this context, we propose a preliminary ‘short list’ of diversity indices based firstly on their complementarity and secondly on their simplicity. While visual censuses of pelagic fishes at FADs (like any other sampling method) cannot give an exhaustive picture of diversity, they are a fishery-independent survey method that can complement other sampling techniques and provide reproducible information to monitor the diversity of these very difficult-to-access pelagic fish communities.
Phytochemical and Biological Studies of Fennel ( Foeniculum vulgare Mill. ) from the South West Region of Iran (Yasouj)

In this study the chemical composition of essential oils of fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) was identified by GCMS method. Results showed that essential oils of fennel have several organic compounds such as hydrocarbons, alcohols, ketones, aldehydes, ethers, esters and other volatile oil and so on. Essential oil of “fennel” has 32 compounds. T-Anethol, α-pinene, D-limonene, α-fenchone and fenchol were the highest percent of compounds. biological activity of Aqueous extract of fennel was evaluated by disk diffusion method and results showed that it has antibacterial properties against Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, but have not any antifungal activity (Aspergillus oryzae). The results show the extract of fennel was not a good alternative for antibiotics.
Gynecologic Cancer: Types, Causes and Therapeutic Approaches

Inflammatory ovarian masses may be difficult to distinguish preoperatively from ovarian malignancies. We present a case of a 54-year old woman with an ovarian mass, diagnosed during a COVID 19-infection. She underwent surgery because of pain and a challenging differential diagnosis on imaging. The frozen section was inconclusive and the final pathological examination showed no malignancy but only an inflammatory mass. Further extensive investigations revealed sarcoidosis, associated with a specific inflammatory changes. In view of the COVID-19 infection and the signs of a systemic inflammatory syndrome, an association with SARS-CoV-2 infection is plausible. With this case report we hope to alert clinicians for the possibility of new COVID-19related extra pulmonary disease manifestations.
Shear Wave Velocity, Seismic Attenuation, and Thermal Structure of the Continental Lithosphere

Ground truth data provide the opportunity to calibrate regional seismic velocity and Q (inverse attenuation) models. However, in many cases, available wave propagation data are too sparse to characterize seismic velocities and Q everywhere. It is therefore of interest to examine on a global basis the relationship between regional geology and heat flow versus the seismic properties (Vs and Qs) of the upper mantle. To better understand the propagation of seismic waves caused by nuclear explosions, we have developed new, theoretical models of the dissipation of energy in the crystalline rocks typical for the Earth’s mantle. Using laboratory results, we suggest a temperature dependence of attenuation through the activation energy. We therefore compare maps of the thermal structure of the continental lithosphere with the inverse attenuation of seismic shear waves Qs and seismic velocity Vs as determined from surface wave dispersion and amplitudes. Our study is based on recently available global databases. We compare the values of Qs, Vs, and temperature T at the depths of 50, 100, and 150 km in the continental lithosphere. We find that qualitatively (by the sign of the anomaly) the maps of Qs closely correlate with lithospheric temperatures. The best correlation is observed for the depth of 100 km, where the resolution of the attenuation model is the highest. At this depth, the contour of zero attenuation anomaly approximately corresponds to the 1000C contour of lithospheric temperature, in agreement with laboratory data on a sharp change in seismic attenuation and shear velocities in upper mantle rocks at 900-1000C. The correlation between Vs and two other parameters (T and Qs), though present, is less distinct. We find that most cratonic regions show high lithospheric Vs, Qs and low T. Several prominent low Qs regions correlate with high lithospheric temperatures. We calculate that even if temperature variations in the lithosphere are the main cause of seismic velocity and attenuation variations, the relation between temperature and seismic properties is non-linear. 25th Seismic Research Review Nuclear Explosion Monitoring: Building the Knowledge Base
Antimicrobial activity, cytotoxicity and phytochemistry of selected medicinal plants in Meru central district, Kenya

XVI CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION. 1 1.0 BACKGROUND. 1 1.1 RESEARCH PROBLEM AND JUSTIFICATION. 3 1.2 NULL HYPOTHESIS.4 1.3 OBJECTIVES.4 1.3. 1 Overall objective.4 1.3. 2 Specific objectives.5 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW. ,. 6
Seafood ecolabelling : principles and practice

1 Ecolabelling of Seafood: The Basic Concepts. Trevor J. Ward & Bruce Phillips. 2 The Economics of Ecolabelling. Cathy A. Roheim. 3 FAO Guidelines for Ecolabelling in Wild Capture Fisheries. Rolf Willmann, Kevern Cochrane & William Emerson. 4 The Marine Stewardship Council Programme. Rupert Howes. 5 Aquaculture Certification. Daniel Lee. 6 GLOBALGAP-Building Consumer Confidence in Aquaculture Sustainability. Aldin Hilbrands. 7 Advancing the Global Marketplace for Sustainable Seafood: The Seafood Choices Alliance. Michael Boots. 8 Developing an International Standard for the Trade in Live Reef Food Fish. Geoffrey Muldoon & Peter Scott. 9 Market-Based Mechanisms - Improving Fisheries Management? Duncan Leadbitter. 10 Measuring the Success of Seafood Ecolabelling. Trevor J. Ward. 11 Case Study 1: Toothfish - An MSC-Certified Fishery. David Agnew. 12 Case Study 2: The Baja California, Mexico, Lobster Fishery. Bruce Phillips, Luis Bourillon & Mario Ramade. 13 Case Study 3: MSC Certification of the Alaska Pollock Fishery. Jim Gilmore. 14 The Marine Stewardship Council and Developing Countries. Stefano Ponte. 15 Benefits of Certification for Small-scale Fisheries. Meredith Lopuch. 16 New England Aquarium: Supporting Environmentally Responsible Seafood Choices. Heather Tausig, Michael Tlusty, Lydia Bergen, Gregory Stone & Kathleen Szleper. 17 Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch Programme. Jennifer Dianto Kemmerly. 18 The New Zealand Best Fish Guide. Barry Weeber & Cath Wallace. 19 Guiding Australian Consumers to Sustainable Seafood Choices. Craig Bohm. 20 Towards Sustainable Seafood: The Evolution of a Conservation Movement. Michael Sutton & Laura Wimpee. 21 Anecdotes and Lessons of a Decade. Trevor J. Ward & Bruce Phillips
Pros and Cons of Internet Usage between Saudi and Egyptian Teenagers In Relation To Internet Addiction

Nowadays, internet is becoming an integral part of the daily life of the teenagers whom are the most users of internet at home or school. Many studies stated that the users of the internet should be aware of its positive and negative effects on health status. This study aims to identify teenagers’ opinions about pros and cons of Internet Usage in relation to internet addiction. A convenient sample of 668 teenagers who were recruited from intermediate and secondary school from two countries, 331 teenagers from kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and 337 from Arab Republic of Egypt (ARE) were selected using a descriptive correlation design. Two tools were used for data collection: the first one was a questionnaire sheet including participant’s students’ socio-demographic data and their opinions about pros and cons of internet usage; the second was internet addiction test (IAT) by Young (1998). Results showed that teenager's opinion of internet pros, the highest percentage in both Saudi and Egyptian teenagers was to improve their general knowledge, it was 32% and 48.7% respectively, and the second was the developing sport activity, 13.6% for Saudi and 31.4% for Egyptian. While the high teenager's opinion of internet cons went to the moral corruption; it was 34.4% for Saudi and 59.1% for Egyptian. About internet addiction, nearly half of Saudi and Egyptian students had mild and moderate internet addiction (47.7%, 45.3%, and 44.2%, 46.3%) respectively. While severe IA was (0.9%) in Saudi one compared to (0.3%) in Egyptian teenagers. Statistically no significant relation was found between both groups in relation to internet addiction level, p=0.296. A statistically significant relation was found between both groups in relation to their opinions about pros and cons of Internet Usage where P = <0.001, while no statistically significant relation were found in both Saudi and Egyptian teenagers’ opinions about pros and cons of internet usage in relation to the level of internet addiction except in cons of the internet in the Saudi group (P =0.017). The study concluded that the majority of Egyptian teenagers were aware about pros and cons of internet usage compared to the Saudi one with statistical significant differences but nearly both groups were equal in internet addiction level. The researchers recommendedincreasingthe facilities of sport and recreational activities through special programs to attract teenagers and fill their leisure time, andfurther studies to be conducted in this field on larger sample size for both genders to identify the other factors related to internet addiction among teenagers.
A randomized, placebo-controlled phase II trial comparing gemcitabine monotherapy to gemcitabine in combination with AZD 1775 (MK 1775) in women with recurrent, platinum-resistant epithelial ovarian, primary peritoneal, or Fallopian tube cancers: Trial of Princess Margaret, Mayo, Chicago, and Califo

TPS5613 Background: Platinum resistant ovarian cancer (OC) remains a therapeutic challenge. The majority of high grade serous OC (HGSOC) harbor TP53 mutations leading to increased dependency on S- and G2-phase checkpoints. Wee1 inhibition with AZD 1775 (MK 1775) induces G2 checkpoint escape. Gemcitabine is an antimetabolite therapy that kills cells undergoing DNA synthesis and blocks the progression of cells through the G1/S phase boundary. Preclinical data have shown that the addition of AZD 1775 to gemcitabine increased activity in platinum resistant OC cell lines and xenograft models. We propose to evaluate the combination of gemcitabine/AZD 1775 in patients (pts) with platinum resistant OC. Methods: A multicenter 2:1 randomized phase 2 trial was designed to evaluate the progression free survival (PFS) of subjects with recurrent platinum-resistant/refractory OC receiving gemcitabine in combination with AZD 1775 compared to subjects receiving gemcitabine in combination with placebo (NCT02151292). Eligib.
Development of FENSI (Flow Enhanced Signal Intensity) perfusion sequence and application to the characterization of microvascular flow dynamics using MRI

The discoveries, implementations and developments of NMR and MRI have had a major impact in medical imaging. Compared to other imaging modalities (PET, SPECT, CT), current MRI research helps to further and better understand the inner mechanisms of the human body in a less invasive manner. In clinical neuroimaging, perfusion MRI is of spectacular importance to study cerebrovascular diseases and cancer. However, at the moment, there is no perfusion MRI sequence that allows for a complete, non-invasive and precise quantification of microvascular flow dynamics. This work focuses on the use of the recently introduced Flow Enhanced Signal Intensity method (FENSI) to characterize and quantify vasculature at capillary level, at high and ultra high magnetic field (7 and 17.2 tesla). For that purpose, the possible quantification of blood flux with FENSI is explored in vivo. The combination of flux quantification and flow-enhanced signal (compared to Arterial Spin Labeling) can make of FENSI an ideal method to characterize in a complete non-invasive way the brain microvasculature. After removal of magnetization transfer (MT) effects, the blood flow dynamics are studied with FENSI in a very aggressive and propagative rat brain tumor model: the 9L gliosarcoma. The objective is to assess whether FENSI is suitable for a longitudinal non-invasive characterization of microvascular changes associated with tumor growth. The results obtained with FENSI are compared with literature on 9L perfusion and immuno-histochemistry. In the first paper published on FENSI, a first glance was also casted on the potential of the flow enhanced technique when applied to fMRI. The results obtained at the time were contaminated by MT effects. With the implementation of a new MT-free FENSI technique, the possibility to map the brain cerebral functioning based on a quantitative physiological parameter (CBFlux) more directly related to neuronal activity than the usual BOLD signal is within reach. At ultra high field, the influence of different anesthetics on the rat brain microvascular network and BOLD contrast is also considered. After many developments around the FENSI technique, the method is compared to classical ASL and DSC perfusion MRI sequences. The strengths and weaknesses of the FENSI method, its characteristics, ‘precautions for use’, and potential main applications are detailed and discussed.
Sensitivity and Specificity of a Urine Circulating Anodic Antigen Test for the Diagnosis of Schistosoma haematobium in Low Endemic Settings

Background Elimination of schistosomiasis as a public health problem and interruption of transmission in selected areas are key goals of the World Health Organization for 2025. Conventional parasitological methods are insensitive for the detection of light-intensity infections. Techniques with high sensitivity and specificity are required for an accurate diagnosis in low-transmission settings and verification of elimination. We determined the accuracy of a urine-based up-converting phosphor-lateral flow circulating anodic antigen (UCP-LF CAA) assay for Schistosoma haematobium diagnosis in low-prevalence settings in Zanzibar, Tanzania. Methodology A total of 1,740 urine samples were collected in 2013 from children on Pemba Island, from schools where the S. haematobium prevalence was <2%, 2–5%, and 5–10%, based on a single urine filtration. On the day of collection, all samples were tested for microhematuria with reagent strips and for the presence of S. haematobium eggs with microscopy. Eight months later, 1.5 ml of urine from each of 1,200 samples stored at -20°C were analyzed by UCP-LF CAA assay, while urine filtration slides were subjected to quality control (QCUF). In the absence of a true ‘gold’ standard, the diagnostic performance was calculated using latent class analyses (LCA). Principal Findings The ‘empirical’ S. haematobium prevalence revealed by UCP-LF CAA, QCUF, and reagent strips was 14%, 5%, and 4%, respectively. LCA revealed a sensitivity of the UCP-LF CAA, QCUF, and reagent strips of 97% (95% confidence interval (CI): 91–100%), 86% (95% CI: 72–99%), and 67% (95% CI: 52–81%), respectively. Test specificities were consistently above 90%. Conclusions/Significance The UCP-LF CAA assay shows high sensitivity for the diagnosis of S. haematobium in low-endemicity settings. Empirically, it detects a considerably higher number of infections than microscopy. Hence, the UCP-LF CAA employed in combination with QCUF, is a promising tool for monitoring and surveillance of urogenital schistosomiasis in low-transmission settings targeted for elimination.