Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A symposium and workshop report from the Global Nutrition and Epidemiologic Transition Initiative: nutrition transition and the global burden of type 2 diabetes

The present report summarises the symposium ‘Nutrition Transition and the Global Burden of Type 2 Diabetes’ and a workshop on strategies for dietary interventions to prevent type 2 diabetes held by the Global Nutrition and Epidemiologic Transition Initiative, Boston, MA, USA in November 2011. The objectives of this event were to bring attention to the global epidemic of type 2 diabetes in light of the ongoing nutrition transition worldwide, especially in low- and middle-income countries, and to highlight the present evidence on key dietary risk factors contributing to the global diabetes burden. The meeting put forward ideas for further research on this topic and discussed practical recommendations to design and implement culturally appropriate dietary interventions with a focus on improving carbohydrate quality to help alleviate this growing health problem.
Risk-taking behaviours among UK military reservists.

BACKGROUND Deploying in a combat role negatively impacts risk-taking behaviours, such as drinking, smoking and risky driving in regular UK military personnel. Little is known about the impact of deployment on the risk-taking behaviours of reservists. AIMS To explore the impact of deployment on risk-taking behaviours among reservists. METHODS This was a cross-sectional study. Hazardous drinking, risky driving, physical violence, smoking and attendance at accident and emergency (A&E) departments as a result of risk-taking behaviours were assessed by self-reported questionnaire. RESULTS There were 1710 participants in the study; response rate 51%. The overall prevalence of risk-taking behaviours was: hazardous drinking 46%, smoking 18%, risky driving 11%, attending A&E due to risky behaviours 13% and reporting physical violence 3%. Deployment was significantly associated with risky driving [odds ratio (OR) 1.88, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.25-2.81], smoking (OR 2.02, 95% CI 1.46-2.78) and physical violence (OR 3.63, 95% CI 1.88-7.02). CONCLUSIONS It is important to consider the impact of deployment and military factors on the prevalence of risk-taking behaviours in reservists as greater numbers than ever before will face the prospect of deployment to overseas conflicts.
Intact HLA Not &bgr;2m-free Heavy Chain-Specific HLA Class I Antibodies Are Predictive of Graft Failure

Background. We investigated the effects of intact and &bgr;2m-free heavy chain (HC)-specific human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I antibodies on long-term graft survival. Methods. HLA class I mixed antigen beads were used to detect intact and &bgr;2m-free HC-specific antibodies, whereas elution buffer-treated beads were used to detect antibodies against &bgr;2m-free HC. Donor-specific antibodies (DSAs) were identified using single-antigen beads. Complement-dependent cytotoxicity assays were performed to determine the cytotoxicity of DSA. Results. Three hundred seventy-nine of 994 of patients (38%) had antibodies against intact HLA and &bgr;2m-free HC. There was no survival rate difference between antibody-positive and -negative groups. When the 379 antibody-positive patients were further tested with &bgr;2m-free HC-coated beads, 179 of them with antibodies only against intact form of antigens had a 4-year graft survival rate of 76%, which is significantly lower than that of 200 patients with antibodies against &bgr;2m-free HC of HLA antigens (88%, P=0.0056). Patients with intact antigen specific DSAs had a significantly lower graft survival rate as compared with those with no DSAs (70% vs. 89%, P=0.0073). More patients with strong donor-specific cytotoxic antibodies lost allografts than those with weak-cytotoxic or noncytotoxic antibodies. However, cytotoxic activity of DSA was not correlated to antibody level. Conclusions. We concluded that intact antigen-specific antibodies, especially DSAs, are predictive of graft failure. DSAs were not always cytotoxic. Strong cytotoxic activity of DSA was associated with a higher rate of graft loss but not correlated to the antibody level. Antibodies against &bgr;2m-free HC negatively interfere with the predictive value of intact antigen-specific antibodies.
Adaptive Filter Based on Image Region Characteristics for Optimal Edge Detection

A number of edge detection filters developed recently have included a parameter to reduce noise in an image. Noise reduction depends on the parameter value keyed-in by an operator. Therefore, the detected edge relies on the accuracy of the operator in determining the parameter value. The parameter is also used to reduce noise in the image as a whole. The resulted edge is not optimal, since each region of the image doesn¿t have the same noise disturbance as others. This paper describe the development of adaptive edge detection method based on image region characteristics. Filter¿s parameter is determined automatically for every region according to its noise and blur characters. In other words, filter parameter becomes more adaptive based on image region characteristics. The result of the experiment shows that the adaptive method developed in this paper is more optimal than the previous methods.
Pathogenicity associated with coinfection with very virulent infectious bursal disease and Infectious bursal disease virus strains endemic in the United States

The pathogenicity induced by co-challenge with the rB strain of very virulent Infectious bursal disease virus (vvIBDV) and IBDV pathotypes endemic in the United States was evaluated in specific pathogen–free chickens. Four- and 6-week-old birds were simultaneously challenged with a 105 50% egg infectious dose (EID50) of rB mixed with a 105 EID50 of one of the following viruses: standard classic (STC), subclinical variant (Del-E), subclinical variant (T1), or avirulent serotype 2 (OH). Each challenge group consisted of 5 chickens. The severity of disease was assessed by comparing the 5-day mortality rates, bursal lesions (mean bursal lesion scores), and mean bursal-to-body weight ratios in each of the challenged groups. A mortality of 100% (10/10 and 5/5) was observed in birds inoculated with only the vvIBDV (rB) strain at 4 weeks and 6 weeks of age, respectively. Although the sample sizes were low, a significant reduction in mortality and severity of disease, based on mean bursal lesion scores, was observed in groups co-challenged with rB and the less virulent pathotypes Del-E, T1, or OH at 4 weeks of age. Co-challenge with rB and the antigenically similar STC strain did not result in a significant decrease in mortality compared to challenge with the pathogenic rB strain at 4 weeks of age, but a significant reduction in the mean bursa lesion score was observed. At 6 weeks of age, a significant decrease in mortality and mean bursa lesion score was observed in the rB groups co-challenged with STC, Del-E, or T1 but not OH.
Mitochondrial NHE1: a newly identified target to prevent heart disease

Mitochondrial damage has been associated with early steps of cardiac dysfunction in heart subjected to ischemic stress, oxidative stress and hypertrophy. A common feature for the mitochondrial deterioration is the loss of the mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨ m) with the concomitant irreversible opening of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (MPTP) which follows the mitochondrial Ca2+ overload, and the subsequent mitochondrial swelling. We have recently characterized the expression of the Na+/H+ exchanger 1 (mNHE1) in mitochondrial membranes. This surprising observation provided a unique target for the prevention of the Ca2+-induced MPTP opening, based on the inhibition of the NHE1 m. In this line, inhibition of NHE1 m activity and/or reduction of NHE1 m expression decreased the Ca2+-induced mitochondrial swelling and the release of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in isolated cardiac mitochondria and preserved the ΔΨ m in isolated cardiomyocytes. Mitochondrial NHE1 thus represents a novel target to prevent cardiac disease, opening new avenues for future research.
Bringing Local DNS Servers Close to Their Clients

This paper provides an indication that the distance between clients and their local DNS servers (LDNS) can have a significant negative impact on the performance of content delivery networks (CDNs). Consequently, we propose a novel peer-topeer client-side DNS mechanism that moves LDNS close to their clients while still allowing nearby clients to share the common DNS cache. Through trace-driven simulations and prototype testing, we show that our approach holds significant promise of facilitating better server selection by CDNs.
An Improved Binomial Lattice Method for Multi‐Dimensional Options

A binomial lattice approach is proposed for valuing options whose payoff depends on multiple state variables following correlated geometric Brownian processes. The proposed approach relies on two simple ideas: a log‐transformation of the underlying processes, which is step by step consistent with the continuous‐time diffusions, and a change of basis of the asset span, to transform asset prices into uncorrelated processes. An additional transformation is applied to approximate driftless dynamics. Even if these features are simple and straightforward to implement, it is shown that they significantly improve the efficiency of the multi‐dimensional binomial algorithm. A thorough test of efficiency is provided compared with most popular binomial and trinomial lattice approaches for multi‐dimensional diffusions. Although the order of convergence is the same for all lattice approaches, the proposed method shows improved efficiency.
Integrated fossil and molecular data reconstruct bat echolocation

Molecular and morphological data have important roles in illuminating evolutionary history. DNA data often yield well resolved phylogenies for living taxa, but are generally unattainable for fossils. A distinct advantage of morphology is that some types of morphological data may be collected for extinct and extant taxa. Fossils provide a unique window on evolutionary history and may preserve combinations of primitive and derived characters that are not found in extant taxa. Given their unique character complexes, fossils are critical in documenting sequences of character transformation over geologic time and may elucidate otherwise ambiguous patterns of evolution that are not revealed by molecular data alone. Here, we employ a methodological approach that allows for the integration of molecular and paleontological data in deciphering one of the most innovative features in the evolutionary history of mammals—laryngeal echolocation in bats. Molecular data alone, including an expanded data set that includes new sequences for the A2AB gene, suggest that microbats are paraphyletic but do not resolve whether laryngeal echolocation evolved independently in different microbat lineages or evolved in the common ancestor of bats and was subsequently lost in megabats. When scaffolds from molecular phylogenies are incorporated into parsimony analyses of morphological characters, including morphological characters for the Eocene taxa Icaronycteris, Archaeonycteris, Hassianycteris, and Palaeochiropteryx, the resulting trees suggest that laryngeal echolocation evolved in the common ancestor of fossil and extant bats and was subsequently lost in megabats. Molecular dating suggests that crown-group bats last shared a common ancestor 52 to 54 million years ago.
A Comparison of Two Fem-Based Methods for the Solution of the Nonlinear Output Regulation Problem

The regulator equation is the fundamental equation whose solution must be found in order to solve the output regulation problem. It is a system of first-order partial differential equations (PDE) combined with an algebraic equation. The classical approach to its solution is to use the Taylor series with undetermined coefficients. In this contribution, another path is followed: the equation is solved using the finite-element method which is, nevertheless, suitable to solve PDE part only. This paper presents two methods to handle the algebraic condition: the first one is based on iterative minimization of a cost functional defined as the integral of the square of the algebraic expression to be equal to zero. The second method converts the algebraic-differential equation into a singularly perturbed system of partial differential equations only. Both methods are compared and the simulation results are presented including on-line control implementation to some practically motivated laboratory models.
Cellular plasmid content and cloned‐gene expression: Some useful equations

Cellular plasmid content determines the yield of closed‐gene product, affects plasmid replication, and influences the behavior of the culture by dictating the extent of metabolic burden on the host cell and plasmid segregation at cell division. Hence, it is a variable of primary importance in the study of recombinant cell cultures. In this article, equations are developed to enable the conversion of experimental determinations of cellular plasmid content into theoretically important units. The importance of different units in characterizing plasmid effect on cell response is highlighted. Also, equations that relate cellular plasmid content to cloned‐gene expression are developed and successfully tested on several sets of data from literature.
Prox1 Is a Novel Coregulator of Ff1b and Is Involved in the Embryonic Development of the Zebra Fish Interrenal Primordium

ABSTRACT Steroidogenic factor 1 (SF-1) plays an essential role in adrenal development, although the exact molecular mechanisms are unclear. Our previous work established that Ff1b is the zebra fish homologue of SF-1 and that its disruption by antisense morpholinos leads to a complete ablation of the interrenal organ. In this study, results of biochemical analyses suggest that Ff1b and other Ff1 members interact with Prox1, a homeodomain protein. Fine mapping using site-directed mutants showed that this interaction requires an intact Ff1b heptad 9 and AF2, as well as Prox1 NR Box I. In vivo, this physical interaction led to the inhibition of Ff1-mediated transactivation of pLuc3XFRE, indicating that Prox1 acts to repress the transcriptional activity of Ff1b. In situ hybridization demonstrates that prox1 colocalizes with ff1a and ff1b in the liver and interrenal primordia, respectively. Embryos microinjected with prox1 morpholino displayed a consistent partial reduction of 3β-Hsd activity in the interrenal organ, while ff1b morpholino led to a disappearance of prox1. Based on these results, we propose that during the course of interrenal organogenesis, Prox1 functions as a tissue-specific coregulator of Ff1b and that the subsequent inhibition of Ff1b activity, after its initial roles in the specification of interrenal primordium, is critical for the maturation of the interrenal organ.
Mitochondrial DNA Sequencing of Middle Neolithic Human Remains of Ling-Ding Site II: Implication for the Social Structure and the Origin of Northeast Coast Taiwaneses

There is a consensus that gene flow characterizing modern Mainland Chinese arrived in Taiwan during the last 400 years, mostly from East China. However, primary genetic studies of ancient human remains of the middle Neolithic era, revealing inconsistencies between the archaic genes profile and that of modern Mainland Chinese, raised debates about the time of arrival of modern Chinese in Taiwan. To resolve this problem, this study focuses on the analysis of 3000 years BP human remains excavated from the Neolithic east coast archeological Ling-Ding site II near Hualien in Taiwan. The mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) recovered from five archeological human remains was analyzed to elucidate their genealogy, and to characterize their genetic relationship with the present-day aboriginal and non-aboriginal people of Taiwan. Five mtDNA haplogroups were characterized from the Ling-Ding site II skeletons, C4a2, N9a1, B4c1b2a, Z, and B4b. Except for mtDNA haplogroups B4c1b2a, commonly seen among the present-day central Taiwan Aborigines and scarce in the heavily sinicised Taiwan western plain tribes, all other haplogroups were common to urban Taiwanese and modern Mainland Chinese. It is proposed that a middle Neolithic gene flow, characterizing Modern Mainland East Asians, was introduced to Taiwan by settlers who reached the East coast of Taiwan in Hualien (Ling- Ding site II) and co-habited with Taiwan Mountain tribe Aborigines. The findings of this study may be relevant for the understanding of the middle Neolithic peopling of Taiwan by non-Austronesian speakers.
New Discriminant Method for Identifying the Aggressive Disease Phenotype of Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Objective To detect the aggressive phenotype (AP) of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) based on the initial laboratory data and clinical characteristics. Methods We enrolled 144 patients with histologically proven NAFLD. For the first analysis, 24 NAFLD patients underwent repeat biopsy to establish a discriminant formula for predicting the AP of NAFLD (D-APN). The AP was defined by NAFLD that had been maintained or progressed to a fibrotic stage beyond stage 2. In the second analysis, we analyzed the distribution of the AP in each stage of disease and the incidence of the PNPLA3 rs738409 GG genotype in AP in 120 other patients. Results After the analysis, the following function was found to discriminate the disease phenotype: z=0.150×body mass index (kg/m2)+0.085×age (years)+1.112×ln (AST) (IU/L)+0.127×ln (m-AST)-12.96. A positive result indicates the AP of NAFLD. The discriminant functions had a positive predictive value of 94% and a negative predictive value of 71%. The distribution of the AP and the incidence of the PNPLA3 GG genotype in the AP in each stage of the disease among the 120 patients were as follows: non-alcoholic fatty liver, 30%/33%; non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) stage 1, 53%/26%; stage 2, 71%/70%; stage 3, 92%/57%; and stage 4, 93%/64%; there was a significant increase in the incidence of the AP as the disease progressed (p<0.001). Conclusion The new discriminant formula was useful for predicting disease progression potential in NAFLD patients and the incidence of the PNPLA3 GG genotype was elevated according to the distribution of AP.
Azospirillum plant growth-promoting strains are nonpathogenic on tomato, pepper, cotton, and wheat

Six strains of Azospirillum belonging to five species of plant growth-promoting bacteria (A. brasilense, A. lipoferum, A. amazonense, A. irakense, and A. halopraeference) did not cause visible disease symptoms on the roots or leaves of tomato, pepper, cotton, and wheat, failed to inhibit seed germination, and did not reduce plant dry weight when seven standard techniques for the inoculation of plant pathogens were used. Similar inoculation conditions with plant pathogens (Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato, Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria, Xanthomonas campestris pv. translucens, and Xanthomonas campestris pv. malvacearum) induced typical disease symptoms. None of Azospirillum strains caused the hypersensitive reaction on eggplant, whereas all pathogens did. All Azospirillum strains increased phytoalexin production in all disease-resistant plant species to moderate levels, but the levels were significantly lower than those induced by the compatible pathogens. The various phytoalexins produced in plants had the capacity to inhibit growth of all Azospirillum strains. Azospirillum amazonense, A. irakense, and A. halopraeference had no apparent effect on plant growth, while A. brasilense and A. lipoferum increased the dry weight of all plant species. Under partial mist conditions, all Azospirillum strains were capable of colonizing leaf surfaces (10 3 -10 7 cfu/g dry weight) regardless of the plant species. These results
An estimate of the number of serine protease genes expressed in sheep blowfly larvae (Lucilia cuprina)

A large and diverse family of serine protease genes was identified in first‐instar larval cDNA of the sheep blowfly (Lucilia cuprina). This complex repertoire of genes was identified via a PCR approach using highly degenerate primers based on structurally conserved regions which surround the active site His and Ser residues found in all serine proteases. PCR products from entire first‐instar larval cDNA, or from third‐instar larval salivary glands or cardia, generated using a microscale RT‐PCR method, were cloned into a plas‐mid vector. Comparison of the restriction fragment patterns of PCR products generated from the three different sources suggests a highly diverse tissue‐specific pattern of serine protease expression in this organism. Detailed analysis of the restriction fragment patterns of sixty‐nine randomly selected clones from entire first‐instar larvae revealed forty‐nine different classes of PCR product. Maximum likelihood analysis of these data indicate that between 125 and 220 different serine protease genes are expressed in first‐instar larvae of L. cuprina. DNA sequence analysis of ten randomly‐selected clones, derived from the three tissue sources, indicated that all ten encoded serine protease gene fragments. A frequently occurring PCR product, generated from both first‐instar total cDNA and third‐instar cardia cDNA, showed 73% amino acid identity to a digestive protease expressed in Droso‐phila melanogaster larval gut cells.
Prevention of Rickets and Vitamin D Deficiency in Infants, Children, and Adolescents

Rickets in infants attributable to inadequate vitamin D intake and decreased exposure to sunlight continues to be reported in the United States. There are also concerns for vitamin D deficiency in older children and adolescents. Because there are limited natural dietary sources of vitamin D and adequate sunshine exposure for the cutaneous synthesis of vitamin D is not easily determined for a given individual and may increase the risk of skin cancer, the recommendations to ensure adequate vitamin D status have been revised to include all infants, including those who are exclusively breastfed and older children and adolescents. It is now recommended that all infants and children, including adolescents, have a minimum daily intake of 400 IU of vitamin D beginning soon after birth. The current recommendation replaces the previous recommendation of a minimum daily intake of 200 IU/day of vitamin D supplementation beginning in the first 2 months after birth and continuing through adolescence. These revised guidelines for vitamin D intake for healthy infants, children, and adolescents are based on evidence from new clinical trials and the historical precedence of safely giving 400 IU of vitamin D per day in the pediatric and adolescent population. New evidence supports a potential role for vitamin D in maintaining innate immunity and preventing diseases such as diabetes and cancer. The new data may eventually refine what constitutes vitamin D sufficiency or deficiency.
Comment on Predictors of preterm birth in patients with mild systemic lupus erythematosus by Clowse et al

Clowse et al 1 report that ferritin, oestradiol and uric acid level at mid-gestation may predict preterm delivery in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) with mild-moderate disease activity. This is a well-done study, but we believe that the authors fail to …