Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Reduction in midthigh low-density muscle with aerobic exercise training and weight loss impacts glucose tolerance in older men.

CONTEXT Intramuscular lipid content increases with aging and obesity and is directly related to impaired glucose tolerance and insulin resistance. OBJECTIVE Our purpose was to determine the effects of aerobic exercise training (AEX) with and without weight loss (WL) on midthigh low-density muscle (LDM; a measure of im lipid) and whether changes in LDM impact glucose tolerance in sedentary older men. DESIGN Forty-six men (60.4 +/- 1.1 yr) completed 6 months of AEX (n = 34) or AEX + WL (n = 12) and had oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTTs) and computed tomography measures of LDM and regional abdominal and thigh fat depot areas. RESULTS At baseline, LDM area directly correlated with fasting plasma glucose (FPG), 120-min glucose (G(120)), and glucose area under the curve (G(AUC)) during an OGTT (r = 0.44, r = 0.51, and r = 0.54, respectively, P < 0.01). After the interventions, the AEX + WL group had greater decreases in LDM (-13.5 vs. +1.3%, respectively), FPG (-8.3 vs. +2.1%, respectively), G(120) (-22.5 vs. -3.6%, respectively), and G(AUC) (-17.3 vs. - 3.1%, respectively) than the AEX group. In the entire sample, the decreases in LDM correlated with reductions in FPG, G(120), and G(AUC) during an OGTT (r = 0.31, r = 0.34, and r = 0.41, P < 0.05). Changes in other regional fat depots did not independently correlate with glucose tolerance or insulin responses. CONCLUSION AEX + WL is more efficacious than AEX for reducing LDM and glucose tolerance. The improvement in glucose tolerance may be partially mediated by decreases in LDM in older men.
Sliding-mode controller design with internal model principle for systems subject to periodic signals

This paper proposes a sliding-mode control (SMC) scheme based on the internal model principle (IMP) for robust reference tracking and disturbance rejection. The linear IMP controller is known for the capability of perfect tracking and disturbance rejection with an internal model of exogenous signals, while the SMC controller is robust to system perturbations and exogenous signals with unknown dynamics. An SMC design based on IMP is proposed to combine the best feature of these two fundamentally different but effective methods. Furthermore, with the help of the SMC, an initial state of the internal model is determined independently of system perturbations in order that transient performance is greatly improved as compared with that of the linear IMP controller. In addition, by properly assigning the initial state of the internal model, a sliding control law is derived to ensure the existence of a sliding mode during an entire response. This global sliding motion yields excellent robustness of the entire system at the beginning of system response and afterwards. Simulation results show the feasibility of the proposed scheme.
The Complex Nature of Bilinguals' Language Usage Modulates Task-Switching Outcomes

In view of inconsistent findings regarding bilingual advantages in executive functions (EF), we reviewed the literature to determine whether bilinguals' different language usage causes measureable changes in the shifting aspects of EF. By drawing on the theoretical framework of the adaptive control hypothesis—which postulates a critical link between bilinguals' varying demands on language control and adaptive cognitive control (Green and Abutalebi, 2013), we examined three factors that characterize bilinguals' language-switching experience: (a) the interactional context of conversational exchanges, (b) frequency of language switching, and (c) typology of code-switching. We also examined whether methodological variations in previous task-switching studies modulate task-specific demands on control processing and lead to inconsistencies in the literature. Our review demonstrates that not only methodological rigor but also a more finely grained, theory-based approach will be required to understand the cognitive consequences of bilinguals' varied linguistic practices in shifting EF.
1 Productivity , Tradability , and The Great Divergence *

For the first-generation models of very long-run growth, empirical success has been mixed. As growth theory now moves beyond one-sector, one-country models, the “industrial revolution” is typically mapped onto a modern-traditional goods dichotomy with differential productivity in rich and poor countries. We argue for the usefulness of an alternative framework, where goods are differentiated by tradability and productivity. The two characteristics can interact, and can help explain an important, but little noticed stylized fact: that, over time, the Balassa-Samuelson effect is getting stronger and stronger. Previous studies have missed this fact. Theorists have not employed it as a check on the model. Being unnoticed, it has gone unexplained. We employ a Ricardian continuum-of-goods model to explain this fact and find that endogenous tradability allows for theory and history to be consistent under a wide range of underlying productivity shocks. Moreover, this theory could illuminate studies of economic growth both past and present. * Taylor gratefully acknowledges the support of the Chancellor’s Fellowship at the University of California, Davis. We thank David Jacks and Janine Flathmann for excellent research assistance. For helpful comments we thank Stephen Broadberry, Nicholas Crafts, Mark Taylor, and Maurice Obstfeld. All errors are ours.
Protective Role of Cannabinoid Receptor 2 Activation in Galactosamine/Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Acute Liver Failure through Regulation of Macrophage Polarization and MicroRNAs

Acute liver failure (ALF) is a potentially life-threatening disorder without any effective treatment strategies. d-Galactosamine (GalN)/lipopolysaccharide (LPS)–induced ALF is a widely used animal model to identify novel hepato-protective agents. In the present study, we investigated the potential of a cannabinoid receptor 2 (CB2) agonist, JWH-133 [(6aR,10aR)-3-(1,1-dimethylbutyl)-6a,7,10,10a-tetrahydro-6,6,9-trimethyl-6H-dibenzo[b,d]pyran], in the amelioration of GalN/LPS-induced ALF. JWH-133 treatment protected the mice from ALF-associated mortality, mitigated alanine transaminase and proinflammatory cytokines, suppressed histopathological and apoptotic liver damage, and reduced liver infiltration of mononuclear cells (MNCs). Furthermore, JWH-133 pretreatment of M1/M2-polarized macrophages significantly increased the secretion of anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-10 (IL-10) in M1 macrophages and potentiated the expression of M2 markers in M2-polarized macrophages. In vivo, JWH-133 treatment also suppressed ALF-triggered expression of M1 markers in liver MNCs, while increasing the expression of M2 markers such as Arg1 and IL-10. microRNA (miR) microarray analysis revealed that JWH-133 treatment altered the expression of only a few miRs in the liver MNCs. Gene ontology analysis of the targets of miRs suggested that Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling was among the most significantly targeted cellular pathways. Among the altered miRs, miR-145 was found to be the most significantly decreased. This finding correlated with concurrent upregulated expression of its predicted target gene, interleukin-1 receptor–associated kinase 3, a negative regulator of TLR4 signaling. Together, these data are the first to demonstrate that CB2 activation attenuates GalN/LPS-induced ALF by inducing an M1 to M2 shift in macrophages and by regulating the expression of unique miRs that target key molecules involved in the TLR4 pathway.
Cross-reactivity between anti-cardiolipin, anti-high-density lipoprotein and anti-apolipoprotein A-I IgG antibodies in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and primary antiphospholipid syndrome.

OBJECTIVES Atherosclerosis is an important complication of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and primary antiphospholipid syndrome (APS). One suggested mechanism may be the action of autoantibodies directed against plasma lipoproteins. We studied the presence and patterns of cross-reactivity between antibodies directed against cardiolipin, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and apolipoprotein A-I (Apo A-I) in patients with SLE and APS. METHODS Sera from 50 patients (25 SLE and 25 APS) and 10 healthy controls together with three human immunoglobulin G anti-cardiolipin (CL) monoclonal antibodies (IS4, CL1 and CL24) were assessed for the presence of autoantibodies binding cardiolipin, HDL and Apo A-I. Classical inhibition assays were performed to study interference by HDL and Apo A-I in the binding of the human monoclonal antibody to CL. To determine the cross-reactivity patterns between these autoantibodies, sera from 12 patients were incubated on ELISA plates coated with the three different molecules and the captured antibodies were then tested for their activity towards each of the other antigens. RESULTS All three monoclonals bound to CL. IS4 and CL1 also bound to HDL but only IS4 bound to Apo A-I. Anti-cardiolipin titres were higher in patients with APS than SLE and in healthy controls (P<0.03 and P<0.009 respectively). Titres of antibodies to HDL were higher in patients with SLE and APS than in controls (P<0.009 and P<0.03 respectively). There were no significant differences with respect to the presence of antibodies binding to Apo A-I. In the SLE population, anti-HDL antibody titres correlated with anti-Apo A-I (r=0.563, P<0.004), but not in patients with APS. In the cross-reactive assay, 11/12 (91.7%) of the samples containing isolated anti-CL antibodies reacted to HDL and 2/12 (16.7%) to Apo A-I. Samples containing isolated anti-HDL antibodies also reacted with CL and Apo A-I (7/12 and 3/12 respectively). All samples collected after incubation with Apo A-I bound to HDL and 6/12 (50%) to CL. There were no differences in the cross-reactivity patterns between patients with SLE and APS. CONCLUSIONS Patients with SLE and APS have antibodies directed against HDL and Apo A-I. A high percentage of these antibodies cross-react with CL, suggesting the presence of different groups of antibodies with different targets. The study of the interaction between the immune response and the lipoprotein components and the correct characterization of the reactivity patterns of autoantibodies may be of relevance in the study of atherosclerosis in patients with SLE and APS.
Can Visual Field Progression be Predicted by Confocal Scanning Laser Ophthalmoscopic Imaging of the Optic Nerve Head in Glaucoma? (An American Ophthalmological Society Thesis).

PURPOSE To determine whether confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscopic imaging (Heidelberg retinal tomography [HRT]) can predict visual field change in glaucoma. METHODS The study included 561 patients with glaucoma or ocular hypertension whose clinical course was followed at the Mount Sinai Faculty practice. Humphrey visual fields (HVFs) and HRT images were collected on one randomly selected eye per patient. Glaucoma progression was determined by the presence of two sequential statistically significant negative slopes in mean deviation (MD) or visual field index (VFI) at any point during the study period. Trend-based analysis on HRT parameters was used to determine progressive changes and whether these occurred before or after HVF change. Sensitivity and specificity of HRT to predict HVF change were calculated. HVF rate of change was correlated to the rate of change detected by HRT imaging. RESULTS Approximately 17% of patients progressed by either MD or VFI criteria. MD and VFI correlated highly and identified overlapping sets of patients as progressing. HRT global parameters had poor sensitivity (∼42%) and moderate specificity (∼67%) to predict HVF progression. Regional stereometric parameters were more sensitive (69%-78%) but significantly less specific (24%-27%). Sensitivity of global stereometric parameters in detecting HVF change was not significantly affected by the level of visual field damage (P=.3, Fisher exact test). HVF rate of change did not correlate with rate of change of HRT parameters. CONCLUSIONS Trend-based analysis of HRT parameters has poor sensitivity and specificity in predicting HVF change. This may be related specifically to HRT imaging or may reflect the fact that in some patients with glaucoma, functional changes precede structural alterations.
A Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer Survey of Interstellar Molecular Hydrogen in the Small and Large Magellanic Clouds

We describe a moderate-resolution Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) survey of H2 along 70 sight lines to the Small and Large Magellanic Clouds, using hot stars as background sources. FUSE spectra of 67% of observed Magellanic Cloud sources (52% of LMC and 92% of SMC) exhibit absorption lines from the H2 Lyman and Werner bands between 912 and 1120 Å. Our survey is sensitive to N(H2) ≥ 1014 cm-2; the highest column densities are log N(H2) = 19.9 in the LMC and 20.6 in the SMC. We find reduced H2 abundances in the Magellanic Clouds relative to the Milky Way, with average molecular fractions = 0.010 for the SMC and = 0.012 for the LMC, compared with = 0.095 for the Galactic disk over a similar range of reddening. The dominant uncertainty in this measurement results from the systematic differences between 21 cm radio emission and Lyα in pencil beam sight lines as measures of N(H I). These results imply that the diffuse H2 masses of the LMC and SMC are 8 × 106 and 2 × 106 M☉, respectively, 2% and 0.5% of the H I masses derived from 21 cm emission measurements. The LMC and SMC abundance patterns can be reproduced in ensembles of model clouds with a reduced H2 formation rate coefficient, R ~ 3 × 10-18 cm3 s-1, and incident radiation fields ranging from 10-100 times the Galactic mean value. We find that these high-radiation, low formation rate models can also explain the enhanced N(4)/N(2) and N(5)/N(3) rotational excitation ratios in the Clouds. We use H2 column densities in low rotational states (J = 0 and 1) to derive kinetic and/or rotational temperatures of diffuse interstellar gas, and we find that the distribution of rotational temperatures is similar to Galactic gas, with ⟨T01⟩ = 82 ± 21 K for clouds with N(H2) ≥ 1016.5 cm-2. There is only a weak correlation between detected H2 and far-infrared fluxes as determined by IRAS, perhaps as a result of differences in the survey techniques. We find that the surface density of H2 probed by our pencil beam sight lines is far lower than that predicted from the surface brightness of dust in IRAS maps. We discuss the implications of this work for theories of star formation in low-metallicity environments.
Predicting Language Lateralization from Gray Matter

It has long been predicted that the degree to which language is lateralized to the left or right hemisphere might be reflected in the underlying brain anatomy. We investigated this relationship on a voxel-by-voxel basis across the whole brain using structural and functional magnetic resonance images from 86 healthy participants. Structural images were converted to gray matter probability images, and language activation was assessed during naming and semantic decision. All images were spatially normalized to the same symmetrical template, and lateralization images were generated by subtracting right from left hemisphere signal at each voxel. We show that the degree to which language was left or right lateralized was positively correlated with the degree to which gray matter density was lateralized. Post hoc analyses revealed a general relationship between gray matter probability and blood oxygenation level-dependent signal. This is the first demonstration that structural brain scans can be used to predict language lateralization on a voxel-by-voxel basis in the normal healthy brain.
Modeling Photographic Composition via Triangles

The capacity of automatically modeling photographic composition is valuable for many real-world machine vision applications such as digital photography, image retrieval, image understanding, and image aesthetics assessment. The triangle technique is among those indispensable composition methods on which professional photographers often rely. This paper proposes a system that can identify prominent triangle arrangements in two major categories of photographs: natural or urban scenes, and portraits. For the natural or urban scene pictures, the focus is on the effect of linear perspective. For portraits, we carefully examine the positioning of human subjects in a photo. We show that line analysis is highly advantageous for modeling composition in both categories. Based on the detected triangles, new mathematical descriptors for composition are formulated and used to retrieve similar images. Leveraging the rich source of high aesthetics photos online, similar approaches can potentially be incorporated in future smart cameras to enhance a person's photo composition skills.
A comparative study about children's and adults' perception of targeted web search engines

In this paper we describe an eye-tracking study where we compare children's and adults' search behavior and perception of search interface elements on search engine results pages (SERPs) during an informational and a navigational search with Google and a search engine for children. Our first results indicate that children employ an exhaustive scanning strategy combined with cued visual jumps. Then they navigate to the next result page and only then modify their query. Adults only scan the first three results, following the F-shaped strategy, and immediately reformulate the query. Children pay less attention to textual summaries and more to thumbnails than adults do. Children take notice of a navigational menu with categories while adults do not.
Speeding up k-means Clustering by Bootstrap Averaging

K-means clustering is one of the most popular clustering algorithms used in data mining. However, clustering is a time consuming task, particularly with the large data sets found in data mining. In this paper we show how bootstrap averaging with k-means can produce results comparable to clustering all of the data but in much less time. The approach of bootstrap (sampling with replacement) averaging consists of running k-means clustering to convergence on small bootstrap samples of the training data and averaging similar cluster centroids to obtain a single model. We show why our approach should take less computation time and empirically illustrate its benefits. We show that the performance of our approach is a monotonic function of the size of the bootstrap sample. However, knowing the size of the bootstrap sample that yields as good results as clustering the entire data set remains an open and important question.
Spermidine is indispensable in differentiation of 3T3-L1 fibroblasts to adipocytes

Impaired adipogenesis has been shown to predispose to disturbed adipocyte function and development of metabolic abnormalities. Previous studies indicate that polyamines are essential in the adipogenesis in 3T3‐L1 fibroblasts. However, the specific roles of individual polyamines during adipogenesis have remained ambiguous as the natural polyamines are readily interconvertible inside the cells. Here, we have defined the roles of spermidine and spermine in adipogenesis of 3T3‐L1 cells by using (S’)‐ and (R’)‐ isomers of α‐methylspermidine and (S,S’)‐, (R,S)‐ and (R,R’)‐diastereomers of α,ω‐bismethylspermine. Polyamine depletion caused by α‐difluoromethylornithine (DFMO), an irreversible inhibitor of ornithine decarboxylase, prevented adipocyte differentiation by suppressing the expression of its key regulators, peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor γ and CCAAT/enhancer binding protein α. Adipogenesis was restored by supplementation of methylspermidine isomers but not of bismethylspermine diastereomers. Although both spermidine analogues supported adipocyte differentiation only (S)‐methylspermidine was able to fully support cell growth after extended treatment with α‐DFMO. The distinction between the spermidine analogues in maintaining growth was found to be in their different capability to maintain functional hypusine synthesis. However, the differential ability of spermidine analogues to support hypusine synthesis did not correlate with their ability to support differentiation. Our results show that spermidine, but not spermine, is essential for adipogenesis and that the requirement of spermidine for adipogenesis is not strictly associated with hypusine modification. The involvement of polyamines in the regulation of adipogenesis may offer a potential application for the treatment of dysfunctional adipocytes in patients with obesity and metabolic syndrome.
Dyella thiooxydans sp. nov., a facultatively chemolithotrophic, thiosulfate-oxidizing bacterium isolated from rhizosphere soil of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.).

A Gram-negative, aerobic, motile, rod-shaped, thiosulfate-oxidizing bacterium, designated ATSB10(T), was isolated from rhizosphere soil of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.). Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that strain ATSB10(T) was closely related to members of the genera Dyella (96.4-98.1 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity) and Luteibacter (96.4-97.0 %) and Fulvimonas soli LMG 19981(T) (96.7 %) and Frateuria aurantia IFO 3245(T) (97.8 %). The predominant fatty acids were iso-C(16 : 0), iso-C(17 : 1)ω9c and iso-C(15 : 0). The major quinone was Q-8. The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 66.0 mol%. The major polar lipids were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidyldimethylethanolamine, an unknown phospholipid, unknown aminophospholipids and an unknown aminolipid. On the basis of phenotypic properties, phylogenetic distinctiveness and DNA-DNA relatedness, strain ATSB10(T) represents a novel species in the genus Dyella, for which the name Dyella thiooxydans sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is ATSB10(T) (=KACC 12756(T) =LMG 24673(T)).
Effect of Cigarette Smoking on Serum Homocysteine and Vitamin B12Level in Male Population of Udaipur

Cigarette smoking is known to be associated with increased plasma Homocysteine. Both known to be associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease. This study investigated the effect of smoking on serum Homocysteine and vitamin B12 concentration. Serum Homocysteine and vitamin B12 levels were measured in 300 male subjects. Out of which 150 were smokers and 150 non-smokers (controls) with an age range of 50 to 60 years. Only chronic smokers who were smoking for more than 20 years were included in the study. The concentration of Homocysteine in smokers was 17.51 ± 7.44 μmol/L and in non-smokers was 8.61 ± 5.32 μmol/L. Instead the concentration of vitamin B12 in smokers was 346.83 ± 125.76 pg/ml and in non-smokers was 481.43 ± 174.65 pg/ml. There was significant increase in concentration of Homocysteine in serum of chronic smokers as compared to non-smokers while it was inverse in case of vitamin B12. The concentration of vitamin B12 was significantly decreased in serum of chronic smokers as compared to non-smokers. Thus this study concludes that smoking increases Homocysteine levels and decreases vitamin B12 levels leading to increase cardiovascular disease risk among smokers.