Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Apolipoprotein E genotype does not moderate the associations of depressive symptoms, neuroticism and allostatic load with cognitive ability and cognitive aging in the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936

Objectives In this replication-and-extension study, we tested whether depressive symptoms, neuroticism, and allostatic load (multisystem physiological dysregulation) were related to lower baseline cognitive ability and greater subsequent cognitive decline in older adults, and whether these relationships were moderated by the E4 allele of the apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene. We also tested whether allostatic load mediated the relationships between neuroticism and cognitive outcomes. Methods We used data from the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 (n at Waves 1–3: 1,028 [M age = 69.5 y]; 820 [M duration since Wave 1 = 2.98 y]; 659 [M duration since Wave 1 = 6.74 y]). We fitted latent growth curve models of general cognitive ability (modeled using five cognitive tests) with groups of APOE E4 non-carriers and carriers. In separate models, depressive symptoms, neuroticism, and allostatic load predicted baseline cognitive ability and subsequent cognitive decline. In addition, models tested whether allostatic load mediated relationships between neuroticism and cognitive outcomes. Results Baseline cognitive ability had small-to-moderate negative associations with depressive symptoms (β range = -0.20 to -0.17), neuroticism (β range = -0.27 to -0.23), and allostatic load (β range = -0.11 to 0.09). Greater cognitive decline was linked to baseline allostatic load (β range = -0.98 to -0.83) and depressive symptoms (β range = -1.00 to -0.88). However, APOE E4 allele possession did not moderate the relationships of depressive symptoms, neuroticism and allostatic load with cognitive ability and cognitive decline. Additionally, the associations of neuroticism with cognitive ability and cognitive decline were not mediated through allostatic load. Conclusions Our results suggest that APOE E4 status does not moderate the relationships of depressive symptoms, neuroticism, and allostatic load with cognitive ability and cognitive decline in healthy older adults. The most notable positive finding in the current research was the strong association between allostatic load and cognitive decline.
The impact of micronized progesterone on breast cancer risk: a systematic review

Abstract Postmenopausal women with an intact uterus using estrogen therapy should receive a progestogen for endometrial protection. The debate on bioidentical hormones including micronized progesterone has increased in recent years. Based on a systematic literature review on the impact of menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) containing micronized progesterone on the mammary gland, an international expert panel’s recommendations are as follows: (1) estrogens combined with oral (approved) or vaginal (off-label use) micronized progesterone do not increase breast cancer risk for up to 5 years of treatment duration; (2) there is limited evidence that estrogens combined with oral micronized progesterone applied for more than 5 years are associated with an increased breast cancer risk; and (3) counseling on combined MHT should cover breast cancer risk – regardless of the progestogen chosen. Yet, women should also be counseled on other modifiable and non-modifiable breast cancer risk factors in order to balance the impact of combined MHT on the breast.
Modified Odometer Cell to Measure Electrical Resistivity of Clays Undergoing Consolidation Process

Electrical resistivity is used widely to evaluate various soil behavior and properties. Furthermore, it controls the power consumption during the electro-osmosis consolidation process. This paper discusses the modifications made on the conventional odometer test apparatus to measure the electrical resistivity of a clay specimen undergoing consolidation at different vertical effective stress levels using the four-electrode Wenner array method. Extensive numerical calibrations were also conducted to investigate the effect of boundary conditions of the test set up on the electrical resistivity values and, based on the results obtained, a general calibration equation is introduced. The validity of the proposed calibration equation is confirmed experimentally using different materials with known electrical resistivity values. Finally, three different sets of electrical resistivity results during the consolidation process are presented and discussed from the modified odometer cell.
Sleep: An Open-Source Python Software for Visualization, Analysis, and Staging of Sleep Data

We introduce Sleep, a new Python open-source graphical user interface (GUI) dedicated to visualization, scoring and analyses of sleep data. Among its most prominent features are: (1) Dynamic display of polysomnographic data, spectrogram, hypnogram and topographic maps with several customizable parameters, (2) Implementation of several automatic detection of sleep features such as spindles, K-complexes, slow waves, and rapid eye movements (REM), (3) Implementation of practical signal processing tools such as re-referencing or filtering, and (4) Display of main descriptive statistics including publication-ready tables and figures. The software package supports loading and reading raw EEG data from standard file formats such as European Data Format, in addition to a range of commercial data formats. Most importantly, Sleep is built on top of the VisPy library, which provides GPU-based fast and high-level visualization. As a result, it is capable of efficiently handling and displaying large sleep datasets. Sleep is freely available (http://visbrain.org/sleep) and comes with sample datasets and an extensive documentation. Novel functionalities will continue to be added and open-science community efforts are expected to enhance the capacities of this module.
Effect of early nutrient restriction on broiler chickens. 2. Performance and digestive enzyme activities.

An experiment was conducted to determine the effect of two early nutrient restriction programs on performance, selected characteristics of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT), and activities of digestive enzymes of broiler chickens. Three hundred and sixty male broiler (Ross x Ross) chicks kept in floor pens were assigned to three groups. The control group (C) was given ad libitum access to feed from 1 to 48 d of age. Another group was restricted from 11 to 14 d (R4) of age to an energy intake of . 74 x BW.67 kcal ME/d, and a third group was restricted from 7 to 14 d (R7) of age to an energy intake of 1.5 x BW.67 kcal ME/d. Then, both restricted groups were given ad libitum access to feed through 48 d. Body weight and feed intake were determined weekly and selected carcass characteristics were measured at 48 d of age. Broilers also were sampled at 7, 14, 21, and 42 d of age to obtain data on components of the GIT (proventriculus, gizzard, pancreas, and small intestine) and activities of selected digestive enzymes. Feed-restricted groups were lighter in body weight (P < .01) at 14 and 48 d of age than the C group but were superior in overall feed efficiency. No treatment effects were observed for percentage yields of breast meat and abdominal fat pad. Absolute weights of GIT components were significantly reduced at 14 d of age by feed restriction. However, GIT components increased in weight more quickly after refeeding than did the whole body. Restricted groups had reduced (P < .01) specific activities of jejunal alkaline phosphatase and pancreatic trypsin, amylase, and lipase as compared with the C group at 14 d of age but not at 21 and 42 d of age. Relative activities for jejunal maltase and sucrase were greater (P < .01) at 21 d of age in the R4 and R7 groups than in the C group. The present data show that feed restriction results in transient changes in organs and activities of digestive enzymes, suggesting a functional adaptation to feed restriction.
Existence of Molten Globule State in Homocysteine-Induced Protein Covalent Modifications

Homocysteine thiolactone is a toxic metabolite produced from homocysteine by amino-acyl t-RNA synthetase in error editing reaction. The basic cause of toxicity of homocysteine thiolactone is believed to be due to the adduct formation with lysine residues (known as protein N-homocysteinylation) leading to protein aggregation and loss of enzyme function. There was no data available until now that showed the effect of homocysteine thiolactone on the native state structural changes that led to aggregate formation. In the present study we have investigated the time dependent structural changes due to homocysteine thiolactone induced modifications on three different proteins having different physico-chemical properties (cytochrome-c, lysozyme and alpha lactalbumin). We discovered that N-homocysteinylation leads to the formation of molten globule state—an important protein folding intermediate in the protein folding pathway. We also found that the formation of the molten globule state might be responsible for the appearance of aggregate formation. The study indicates the importance of protein folding intermediate state in eliciting the homocysteine thiolactone toxicity.
Cross-Layer Optimization for Data Rate Utility Problem in UWB-based Ad Hoc Networks

There is growing interest in employing ultra-wideband (UWB) communication systems at the physical layer for multihop wireless networks. Recent efforts show that networking problems involving UWB systems should follow a cross-layer approach with consideration at multiple layers. Due to the nonlinear nature of the optimization problem, there are very limited theoretical results for this important problem. In this paper, we address this problem by considering a UWB-based ad hoc network. We study how to maximize capacity (in the form of a data rate utility) for a set of communication sessions. Via a cross-layer approach, we formulate this utility maximization problem into a nonlinear programming (NLP) problem, which takes into consideration routing, scheduling, and power control. We develop a solution procedure based on the so-called branch-and-bound framework. Within this framework, we employ a powerful optimization technique called reformulation linearization technique (RLT). We use numerical results to validate the efficacy of this solution procedure and offer insights on UWB-based ad hoc networks. This work provides a theoretical result for the achievable performance bound for a UWB-based ad hoc network.
IGF1 neuronal response in the absence of MECP2 is dependent on TRalpha 3

Rett syndrome (RTT) is an X-linked neurodevelopmental disorder in which the MECP2 (methyl CpG-binding protein 2) gene is mutated. Recent studies showed that RTT-derived neurons have many cellular deficits when compared to control, such as: less synapses, lower dendritic arborization and reduced spine density. Interestingly, treatment of RTT-derived neurons with Insulin-like Growth Factor 1 (IGF1) could rescue some of these cellular phenotypes. Given the critical role of IGF1 during neurodevelopment, the present study used human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from RTT and control individuals to investigate the gene expression profile of IGF1 and IGF1R on different developmental stages of differentiation. We found that the thyroid hormone receptor (TRalpha 3) has a differential expression profile. Thyroid hormone is critical for normal brain development. Our results showed that there is a possible link between IGF1/IGF1R and the TRalpha 3 and that over expression of IGF1R in RTT cells may be the cause of neurites improvement in neural RTT-derived neurons.
Deep learning for pharmacovigilance: recurrent neural network architectures for labeling adverse drug reactions in Twitter posts

Objective Social media is an important pharmacovigilance data source for adverse drug reaction (ADR) identification. Human review of social media data is infeasible due to data quantity, thus natural language processing techniques are necessary. Social media includes informal vocabulary and irregular grammar, which challenge natural language processing methods. Our objective is to develop a scalable, deep-learning approach that exceeds state-of-the-art ADR detection performance in social media. Materials and Methods We developed a recurrent neural network (RNN) model that labels words in an input sequence with ADR membership tags. The only input features are word-embedding vectors, which can be formed through task-independent pretraining or during ADR detection training. Results Our best-performing RNN model used pretrained word embeddings created from a large, non-domain-specific Twitter dataset. It achieved an approximate match F-measure of 0.755 for ADR identification on the dataset, compared to 0.631 for a baseline lexicon system and 0.65 for the state-of-the-art conditional random field model. Feature analysis indicated that semantic information in pretrained word embeddings boosted sensitivity and, combined with contextual awareness captured in the RNN, precision. Discussion Our model required no task-specific feature engineering, suggesting generalizability to additional sequence-labeling tasks. Learning curve analysis showed that our model reached optimal performance with fewer training examples than the other models. Conclusion ADR detection performance in social media is significantly improved by using a contextually aware model and word embeddings formed from large, unlabeled datasets. The approach reduces manual data-labeling requirements and is scalable to large social media datasets.
Influence of Intensity and Duration of Yoga on Anxiety and Depression Scores Associated with Chronic Illness

Background: Chronic illness is commonly associated with anxiety and depression. Both anxiety and depression respond to yoga. However, there is no report on the association between the intensity and duration of yoga practice with the benefits seen. Aim: The present study was intended to determine whether the daily duration of yoga practice and the duration of experience in months would predict anxiety and depression, associated with chronic illness. Subjects and Methods: Seven hundred and sixty three volunteers with ages between 14 and 86 years (group mean age standard deviation, 50.2 [14.2]) who attended a 7 day residential yoga camp in the north of India were included in this cross sectional study. All participants had chronic illnesses, which were under control with treatment, and which were categorized and are detailed. Participants were assessed for state anxiety scores using State Trait Anxiety Inventory and for anxiety with hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS A), and depression was assessed using HADS D scores of the HADS. Linear multiple regression analyses were performed using PASW SPSS version 18.0 (Armonk, New York, U.S.) to determine how the daily and monthly duration of yoga practice could influence state anxiety, hospital anxiety and depression of the participants. Results: Yoga practice in months and the time spent practicing yoga each day significantly predict the level of state anxiety (P < 0.001, P = 0.03) and HAD A (P < 0.01, P < 0.01). The duration of yoga practice in months alone was a significant predictor of the HAD D (P < 0.01). Conclusions: The results suggest that the duration of yoga practice in months and daily practice in minutes predict anxiety associated with chronic illness. In contrast the duration of yoga practice in months alone, predicted depression scores.
Effect of Silanes on Mechanical and Thermal Properties of Silicone Rubber/EPDM Blends

The effect of four types of silane coupling agents on the mechanical and thermal properties of silicone rubber and ethylene–propylene–diene monomer (M-class) rubber (EPDM) blends is studied, namely, isobutyltriethoxysilane (BUS), acryloxypropyltriethoxysilane (ACS), aminopropyltriethoxysilane (AMS), and vinyltriethoxysilane (VIS). ACS and VIS increase the crosslink density of the blends, which results in higher tensile strength, modulus, and thermal stability, but lower elongation at break compared with the other silanes. However, the blend containing BUS shows highest tanδ in the temperature range of 45°C to 200°C. Thermogravimetric analysis shows two steps of degradation for all the samples, but little difference with the varied silanes.
The effect of environmental temperature on immune response and metabolism of the young chicken. 2. Effect of the immune response to sheep red blood cells on energy metabolism.

We investigated the effect of an immune response, following injection with sheep red blood cells (SRBC) in pullets, on energy balance characteristics and on protein and far gain. Controls were sham-immunized with phosphate buffered saline (PBS). Feed intake, body weight, rate of gain, and metabolizability of gross energy were not significantly (P greater than .10) affected by SRBC-immunization. The magnitude and composition of energy gain were influenced by SRBC-immunization. The SRBC-immunized pullets retained significantly (P less than .01) more energy, deposited significantly (P less than .05) more fat, and had a significantly (P less than .01) lower maintenance requirement of metabolizable energy than PBS-injected pullets during days 1 to 5 after injection. During days 6 to 10 after injection, SRBC-immunized pullets deposited significantly (P less than .05) less fat and significantly (P less than .10) more protein than PBS-injected pullets. Effects of vaccination on metabolic rate and performance characteristics may be comparable with these effects of SRBC-immunization.
Brain catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) inhibition by tolcapone counteracts recognition memory deficits in normal and chronic phencyclidine-treated rats and in COMT-Val transgenic mice

The critical involvement of dopamine in cognitive processes has been well established, suggesting that therapies targeting dopamine metabolism may alleviate cognitive dysfunction. Catechol-O-methyl transferase (COMT) is a catecholamine-degrading enzyme, the substrates of which include dopamine, epinephrine, and norepinephrine. The present work illustrates the potential therapeutic efficacy of COMT inhibition in alleviating cognitive impairment. A brain-penetrant COMT inhibitor, tolcapone, was tested in normal and phencyclidine-treated rats and COMT-Val transgenic mice. In a novel object recognition procedure, tolcapone counteracted a 24-h-dependent forgetting of a familiar object as well as phencyclidine-induced recognition deficits in the rats at doses ranging from 7.5 to 30 mg/kg. In contrast, entacapone, a COMT inhibitor that does not readily cross the blood–brain barrier, failed to show efficacy at doses up to 30 mg/kg. Tolcapone at a dose of 30 mg/kg also improved novel object recognition performance in transgenic mice, which showed clear recognition deficits. Complementing earlier studies, our results indicate that central inhibition of COMT positively impacts recognition memory processes and might constitute an appealing treatment for cognitive dysfunction related to neuropsychiatric disorders.
Influence of selection for egg production and Marek's disease resistance on the incidence of endogenous viral genes in White Leghorns.

The influence of selection on the frequencies of endogenous viral (ev) genes related to the avian leukosis virus was studied in two genetically distinct sets of White Leghorn strains. Each set consisted of four strains: an unselected control strain, two strains selected for egg production traits, and a strain selected for Marek's disease (MD) resistance as well as egg production traits. Eight different ev genes were observed in Set I and seven in Set II, four being common to both sets. Selection for egg production traits resulted in significant changes of the frequency of four ev genes in both sets. In Set I, increased frequencies were observed for ev-4, ev-7, and ev-8; a decreased frequency for ev-9 was observed. The ev-9 gene expresses the viral envelope protein, whereas the others are transcriptionally silent, with the possible exception of ev-7. In Set II, increased frequencies were observed for the transcriptionally silent ev-8 and for ev-15, a gene which consists of a solitary long terminal repeat. Decreased frequencies were observed for ev-18, which codes for infectious endogenous virus, and for a second ev gene of unknown phenotype. In the resistance-selected strains the frequencies of the ev genes were intermediate between those of the control strains and the strains selected for egg production traits with the exception of ev-6, which expresses the viral envelope protein, and ev-3, which expresses internal viral proteins as well as the envelope protein. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Anxiety sensitivity in smokers with indicators of cardiovascular disease

Abstract There is growing recognition of the importance of understanding the nature of the associations between anxiety and cardiovascular disease (CVD), although limited research has examined mechanisms that may explain the anxiety-CVD link. Anxiety sensitivity (fear of anxiety-relevant somatic sensations) is a cognitive-affective risk factor implicated in the development of anxiety psychopathology and various behavioral risk factors for CVD, although has not been examined among individuals with CVD. Adult daily smokers (n = 619; 50.9% female; Mage = 44.0, SD = 13.67) completed an online survey that included the Anxiety Sensitivity Index-3 (ASI-3) and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ). The presence of CVD was assessed via the presence of ≥1 of the following: heart attack, heart murmur, positive stress test, heart valve abnormality, angina, and heart failure. Smokers with CVD indicators (n = 66, 10.7%) had significantly higher scores on the ASI-3 (M = 33.5, SD = 22.15), relative to smokers without CVD (M = 22.0, SD = 17.92; Cohen’s d = .57). Those with CVD were significantly more likely to have moderate or high anxiety sensitivity (66.7%) relative to those without CVD (49.4%). Physical and social concerns about the meaning of somatic sensations were common among smokers with CVD.
Endocardial center motion for quantification of left ventricular discoordination in heart failure using cine MRI

Objective: To compare a novel cardiovascular magnetic resonance technique for the assessment of left ventricular (LV) mechanical discoordination by characterizing the endocardial center motion (ECM) in short-axis cine MRI in healthy volunteers and heart failure patients with left bundle branch block (HF-LBBB). Approach: To evaluate ECM analysis as mechanical discoordination measure, we retrospectively compared spatial and temporal features of the ECM between a group of healthy volunteers (n = 14) and conduction defect patients (HF-LBBB, n = 31). We tracked the center of the endocardial borders on short-axis view MRI cine loops during the cardiac cycle. From the ECM trajectory we calculated the overall traveled distance, the enclosed area, the eccentricity of the trajectory, and the maximum traveled distance. The ECM can be visualized in spatial coordinates as well as by its temporal behavior. We evaluated the classification performance of these measures for LBBB detection. We also quantified the coherence of the ECM on the longitudinal direction by considering the variability of the ECM measures between different short-axis slices. Main results: Patients with LBBB showed significantly higher traveled distance (p < 0.0001), enclosed area (p < 0.002), eccentricity (p < 0.02), and peak displacement (p < 0.02) of the endocardial center. Patients with positive late gadolinium enhancement showed a higher variability of ECM measures across different slices (p < 0.05). Significance: ECM analysis is feasible and it allows the assessment of left ventricular mechanical discoordination. Differences in ECM measures permit one to distinguish between LBBB and healthy volunteers.