Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Grape peel (Syrah var.) jam as a polyphenol‐enriched functional food ingredient

Abstract In this study, we evaluated the effects of the storage time on the physicochemical properties, bioactive compound content, and antioxidant capacity of jam prepared from grape peel extract to explore its potential as a supplementary food and/or functional ingredient. The ethanolic extract from Syrah var. grape peel exhibited high bioactive compound concentrations and antioxidant activity. The jam stability (prepared with 8.9% of extract) at 14°C was evaluated at 0, 15, 30, 45, and 60 days. The jam was found to contain high concentrations of polyphenolic compounds (137.0 ± 3.2 mg of gallic acid equivalent/100 g), total flavonoids (128.5 ± 23.0 mg of equivalent/100 g), and total anthocyanins (92.5 ± 4.0 mg of cyanidin equivalent/100 g). However, a large reduction in the flavonoid (70%–90%), anthocyanin (29%–35%), and phenolic (23%–30%) content was observed during storage. The free radical‐scavenging activity (DPPH−), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), and β‐carotene‐linoleic acid assays revealed the great antioxidant potential of the jam prepared from grape peel extract, which exhibited significant levels of radical‐neutralizing activity, especially as determined by the DPPH method with EC50 values ranging from 2.3 ± 0.1 to 3.9 ± 0.1 µg/ml. High R 2 values (p > 0.90) were obtained for the correlation between the DPPH results and the concentrations of the compounds of interest. In summary, the high bioactive compound contents and antioxidant capacity of the jam produced from grape peel suggest that it may provide health benefits as a source of natural antioxidants upon incorporation to several food industry products.
Interleukin-1 Receptor-1-deficient Mice Show Attenuated Production of Ocular Surface Inflammatory Cytokines in Experimental Dry Eye

Purpose: To compare inflammatory cytokine and defensin expression in response to experimental dry eye (EDE) in interleukin-1 receptor-1 (IL-1R1)-deficient (KO) mice with age-matched wild-type mice (WT). Methods: EDE was induced by subcutaneous scopolamine injection, exposure to low humidity, and an air draft for 5 days in 4- to 6-week-old KO and WT mice. Expression of cytokines IL-1α, IL-1β, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, IL-6, and mouse β-defensins (mBD)-1, mBD-2, and mBD-3 was evaluated by real-time polymerase chain reaction in scraped corneal epithelial cells and whole conjunctival tissues. A multiplex bead assay was performed to quantitate IL-1α, IL-2, IL-4, IL-10, interferon (IFN)-γ, and TNF-α levels in tear fluid, and an enzyme immunoassay was used to quantitate IL-1β levels in tear fluid. Results: EDE significantly increased RNA transcripts for IL-1α and β in the conjunctiva and for TNF-α in the corneal epithelium of WT mice. Levels of IL-1α, IL-1β, and IL-6 were significantly lower in the corneal epithelium and conjunctiva, and TNF-α was significantly lower in the cornea of KO mice after 5 days of EDE than WT mice. Tear fluid IL-1α concentration increased above baseline on days 2-4 of EDE in WT and KO mice. A similar pattern was observed for tear TNF-α. Tear IL-1β increased throughout the 5 days of EDE in WT and KO mice. IFN-γ, IL-2, IL-4, and IL-10 were undetectable in tear fluid of either strain before or after EDE. Corneal mBD-1 mRNA expression was unchanged and conjunctival mBD-1 transcripts decreased in WT and increased in KO mice with EDE. Untreated WT corneas, but not those of KO mice, expressed mBD-2 transcripts, whereas in the conjunctiva, mBD-2 increased in WT and decreased in KO mice with EDE. Corneal mBD-3 mRNA expression was undetected in WT mice, but increased after EDE in KO mice. Conjunctival mBD-3 transcripts were only detected in WT with EDE. Conclusions: These findings indicate that IL-1 signaling is responsible in part for the increased expression of inflammatory cytokines and the changes in mBDs by the ocular surface tissues in response to desiccating stress. These results show the important regulatory aspects of IL-1 on ocular surface epithelial inflammation.
Diagnostic accuracy of temporomandibular disorder pain tests: a multicenter study.

AIMS To estimate the diagnostic accuracy of the Research Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders (RDC/TMD) clinical examination and of the dynamic/static tests for the recognition of TMD pain. Since the diagnosis of TMD pain is especially complicated in persistent orofacial pain patients, the test outcomes in persistent TMD pain patients were contrasted to those in two control groups: a group of persistent dental pain patients and a group of pain-free subjects. METHODS In 125 persistent TMD pain patients, 88 persistent dental pain patients, and 121 pain-free subjects, a blind and standardized clinical examination was performed. RESULTS For the RDC/TMD, sensitivity (88%) was high and specificity was low (pain-free group: 71%; dental pain group: 45%). For the dynamic/static tests, sensitivity was 65% and specificities were 91% and 84%, respectively. Comparing the outcomes of the two examinations showed higher positive likelihood ratios for dynamic/static tests (P < .001), and lower negative likelihood ratios for the RDC/TMD examination (P < .01). CONCLUSION For the confirmation of a suspicion of TMD pain, it is better to rely on positive dynamic/static tests. To confirm the absence of TMD pain, it is better to rely on a negative RDC/TMD examination.
Transposon Tn5supF-based reverse genetic method for mutational analysis of Escherichia coli with DNAs cloned in lambda phage

An efficient method for systematic mutational analysis of the Escherichia coli genome was developed. It entails Tn5supF transposition to lambda-E. coli hybrid phage clones (Kohara library) and then transduction of recipient cells to Sup+. Essential and nonessential genes are distinguished by the ability of insertion mutant phage to form haploid versus only heterozygous partial diploid bacterial recombinants.
DIFFERENTIATION OF SMOOTH AND NONSMOOTH COLONIES OF BRUCELLAE

In studies of variation of Brucella species, the differentiation between smooth and nonsmooth colonies has presented difficulties to inexperienced workers. The methods usually employed are those first described by Henry (J. Infectious Diseases, 52, 374, 1933) and more recently reviewed by Braun (Bact. Revs., 11, 75, 1947). These techniques require considerable skill in recognizing different colony types. It is, moreover, a time-consuming task to search entire plates for a few nonsmooth types among a preponderance of smooth colonies. In work on metabolism and on vaccines of brucellae it is essential to know whether pure smooth, pure nonsmooth, or mixed smooth and nonsmooth cultures are used. A simple method for detecting various colonial types has been devised. Albimi Brucella agar modified to contain 2.5 per cent agar, 1 per cent glucose, and 5 per cent glycerol was used. Plates were poured and dried for 24 hours or longer to reduce surface moisture. Cultures were streaked on the plates, which were then incubated for 96 hours at 37 C. After incubation the plates were flooded with 1: 2,000 aqueous solution of crystal violet for 15 seconds. The excess dye was decanted into a disinfectant and the colonies were then examined under a low-power dissecting microscope with the use of obliquely transmitted light. Smooth colonies appeared light blue-green contrasted to a light violet background, but nonsmooth colonies appeared red to blue-red. Upon standing, smooth colonies took a progressively deeper blue-violet color peripherally, but differentiation from nonsmooth was distinct for as long as 96 hours after the plates were flooded. The test did not interfere with subsequent acriflavine tests (Braun and Bonestell: Am. J. Vet. Research, 8, 386, 1947). Viable cells were obtained from all colony types 96 hours after the plate was flooded with dye. Among the nonsmooths, three distinct color reactions were observed. The typical color for rough colonies was a deep violet-red, which was classified 10.0 P 4/10 on the Munsell charts (Munsell Book of Color, Revised, Munsell Color Co., Inc., Baltimore, Md., 1942). Most mucoid cultures studied thus far appeared lighter blue-red (5.0 P 5/10 on the Munsell charts), and one strain, Huddleson's vaccine strain, which is a mucoid Brucella suis, appeared deep purple-blue (Munsell: 10.0 PB 3/10). The latter strain was also singularly characterized by a cracked appearance of the colony surface following flooding with the dye. Several other dyes were studied, with safranine 0 offering a good differentiation.
Dysfunction of microRNA-32 regulates ubiquitin ligase FBXW7 in multiple myeloma disease

Dysfunction of microRNA (miRNA) expression has been associated with tumor occurrence, progression, and development. The aim of this work was to study the dysfunction of miR-32 – an miRNA that was abnormally regulated in different tumors – in clinical tissues from patients with multiple myeloma (MM). The tumor tissues in which we assessed miR-32 expression levels were collected during our 5 years of clinical practice. Our study found an increase in miR-32 expression in MM tissues. Assessment of F-box and WD repeat domain-containing 7 (FBXW7) in MM tissues showed an inverse relation between the expression of FBXW7 and miR-32. To further investigate the relation between miR-32 and FBXW7, cells were transfected with miR-32 or anti-miR-32. In vitro studies found that cells transfected with miR-32 showed a lower expression of FBXW7 and a higher expression of cancer-related proteins, c-Jun and c-Myc. In contrast, the cells transfected with anti-miR32 showed a relatively higher expression of FBXW7, but a lower expression of c-Jun and c-Myc. This study may offer perceptive insights into developing new strategies for MM cancer detection and therapy.
Oncogenic Osteomalacia Associated with Metastatic Prostate Carcinoma: Case Report and Review of the Literature

umor-induced osteomalacia is a disorder of mineralization caused by neoplasm-induced phosT phaturia. Laboratory features include low serum 1,25(OH)’D, hypophosphatemia, and phosphaturia. Although almost exclusively associated with mesenchymal tumors, an association between prostate cancer and osteomalacia has been described in at least six subjects. ’,’ These six subjects together with the subject of this report, the oldest reported case, represent approximately 10% of all cases.
Correlation Between High-sensitivity C-reactive Protein and Reactive Oxygen Metabolites During A One-year Period Among Asymptomatic Subjects

Background Inflammation and oxidative stress are associated with human health and the disease status. The present study aimed to investigate the longitudinal correlation between the diacron reactive oxygen metabolites (d-ROMs) level, as an oxidative stress-related marker, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), as an inflammatory marker, during a one-year period among asymptomatic subjects. Methods The data, including anthropometric and biochemical markers, were collected at baseline and after the one-year period from 71 participants (male/female = 41/30, mean age 50 years). The correlation between the changes of the d-ROMs and hsCRP levels during the study period was examined. Results A simple correlation analysis showed a significant and positive correlation to exist between the changes of the d-ROMs and hsCRP levels (r = 0.40, P < 0.01). This significant correlation remained independent in a multiple linear regression analysis adjusted for confounding factors. Conclusions The present findings suggest that the relationship between the d-ROMs and hsCRP levels could be prospectively followed, and that monitoring both markers may help to better understand the cooperation of inflammation and oxidative stress in association with health and disease. Further studies are necessary to clarify the biological mechanism(s) responsible for the observed relationship. Keywords Oxidative stress; Oxygen reactive species; Inflammation; CRP
State-dependent differences in the frequency of TMS-evoked potentials

Previous evidence suggests different cortical areas naturally oscillate at distinct frequencies, reflecting tuning properties of each region. The concurrent use of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and electroencephalography (EEG) has been used to perturb cortical regions, resulting in an observed post-stimulation response that is maximal at the natural frequency of that region. However, little is known about the spatial extent of TMS-induced activation differences in cortical regions when comparing resting state (passive) versus active task performance. Here, we employed TMS-EEG to directly perturb three cortical areas in the right hemisphere while measuring the resultant changes in maximal evoked frequency in healthy human subjects during a resting state (N=12) and during an active sensorimotor task (N=12). Our results revealed that the brain engages a higher dominant frequency mode when actively engaged in a task, such that the frequency evoked during a task is consistently higher across cortical regions, regardless of the region stimulated. These findings suggest that a distinct characteristic of active performance versus resting state is a higher state of natural cortical frequencies.
KCNMB1 genotype influences response to verapamil SR and adverse outcomes in the INternational VErapamil SR/Trandolapril STudy (INVEST)

Objectives We sought to determine whether polymorphisms in the large-conductance calcium and voltage-dependent potassium (BK) channel &bgr;1 subunit gene, KCNMB1, are associated with blood pressure response to verapamil SR or adverse outcomes in the GENEtic substudy of the INternational VErapamil SR/trandolapril STudy (INVEST-GENES). Background KCNMB1 is involved in calcium sensitivity and hypertension. The association between variability in KCNMB1 and calcium antagonist response, however, has not been assessed. Methods Genetic samples were collected from 5979 patients in INVEST. Blood pressure response to verapamil SR and time to achieve blood pressure control was assessed in relation to Glu65Lys and Val110Leu genotypes. The primary outcome (all cause mortality, nonfatal myocardial infarction or nonfatal stroke) was compared between genotype groups, and interaction with verapamil SR therapy was assessed. Results Systolic blood pressure response to verapamil SR did not differ by KCNMB1 genotype. Lys65 variant carriers, however, achieved blood pressure control earlier than Glu65Glu individuals [1.47 (interquartile ratio 2.77) versus 2.83 (interquartile ratio 4.17) months, P=0.01] and were less likely to require multiple drugs at the time of blood pressure control (adjusted odds ratio 0.43, 95% confidence interval 0.19–0.95). Leu110 variant carriers had a reduced risk of primary outcome (hazard ratio 0.68, 95% confidence interval 0.47–0.998). Subgroup analysis revealed this finding to be more pronounced in verapamil SR-assigned patients (hazard ratio 0.587, 95% confidence interval 0.33–1.04) compared with atenolol-assigned patients (hazard ratio 0.946, 95% confidence interval 0.56–1.59). No difference was seen in the occurrence of the primary outcome compared by codon 65 genotype. Conclusions Our findings suggest that KCNMB1 genotype influences responsiveness to verapamil SR and risk of adverse cardiovascular outcomes.
Real-time Speech Enhancement Using an Efficient Convolutional Recurrent Network for Dual-microphone Mobile Phones in Close-talk Scenarios

In mobile speech communication, the quality and intelligibility of the received speech can be severely degraded by background noise if the far-end talker is in an adverse acoustic environment. Therefore, speech enhancement algorithms are typically integrated into mobile phones to remove background noise. In this paper, we propose a novel deep learning based framework for real-time speech enhancement on dual-microphone mobile phones in a close-talk scenario. It incorporates a convolutional recurrent network (CRN) with high computational efficiency. In addition, the framework amounts to a causal system, which is necessary for real-time processing on mobile phones. We find that the proposed approach consistently outperforms a deep neural network (DNN) based method, as well as two traditional methods for speech enhancement.
Single Frequency-Based Device-to-Device-Enhanced Video Delivery for Evolved Multimedia Broadcast and Multicast Services

Despite of the undisputed benefits of the long term evolution-advanced (LTE-A) networks, offering support for group-oriented services challenges the evolved multimedia broadcast multicast services (eMBMS) design in LTE-A. This is especially important when delivering video content with high bitrate requirements. The conventional multicast scheme (CMS) is proposed as a radio resource allocation solution for eMBMS to serve all multicast group members with the data rate supported by the receiver with the worst channel conditions. In this paper, we propose a novel radio resource management approach, the device-to-device (D2D)-enhanced CMS with single frequency (D2D-SF). This proposal extends the CMS with additional D2D communications in order to increase the aggregate data rate of the cell, while also maintaining the typical CMS short-term fairness. D2D-SF makes use of one or more mobile subscriber devices as forwarding devices (FD) to retransmit the data received from the base station (BS) over direct local links to other members of the multicast group. The proposed solution supports both high-rate modulation and coding schemes on the downlink from BS to FDs, and reaches cell-edge devices (hence, experiencing worse channel conditions) through high-performing D2D links (improving this experience). Testing shows how the single frequency-based D2D CMS paradigm proposed, complemented by two novel strategies for selecting FDs, achieves significant enhancements of the overall performance when delivering video content compared to both the state-of-the-art multicast solutions and novel solutions that do not employ a single-frequency paradigm.
Evaluations of Dentists on a German Physician Rating Website: An Analysis of the Ratings

Background Physician rating websites have been gaining in importance in both practice and research. However, no evidence is available concerning patients’ ratings of dentists on physician rating websites. Objective The aim of this study is to present a comprehensive analysis of the ratings of dentists on a German physician rating website over a 2-year period. Methods All dentist ratings on a German physician rating website (Jameda) from 2012 and 2013 were analyzed. The available dataset contained 76,456 ratings of 23,902 dentists from 72,758 patients. Additional information included the overall score and subscores for 5 mandatory questions, the medical specialty and gender of the dentists, and the age, gender, and health insurance status of the patients. Statistical analysis was conducted using the median test and the Kendall tau-b test. Results During the study period, 44.57% (23,902/53,626) of all dentists in Germany were evaluated on the physician rating website, Jameda. The number of ratings rose from 28,843 in 2012 to 47,613 in 2013, representing an increase of 65.08%. In detail, 45.37% (10,845/23,902) of dentists were rated once, 43.41% (10,376/23,902) between 2 and 5 times, and 11.21% (2681/23,902) more than 6 times (mean 3.16, SD 5.57). Approximately 90% (21,324/23,902, 89.21%) of dentists received a very good or good overall rating, whereas only 3.02% (721/23,902) were rated with the lowest scores. Better ratings were given either by female or older patients, or by those covered by private health insurance. The best-rated specialty was pediatric dentistry; the lowest ratings were given to orthodontists. Finally, dentists were rated slightly lower in 2013 compared to 2012 (P=.01). Conclusions The rise in the number of ratings for dentists demonstrates the increasing popularity of physician rating websites and the need for information about health care providers. Future research should assess whether social media, especially Web-based ratings, are suitable in practice for patients and other stakeholders in health care (eg, insurance providers) to reflect the clinical quality of care.
Citrate Anticoagulation for Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy in Critically Ill Patients: Success and Limits

Citrate anticoagulation has risen in interest so it is now a real alternative to heparin in the ICUs practice. Citrate provides a regional anticoagulation virtually restricted to extracorporeal circuit, where it acts by chelating ionized calcium. This issue is particularly true in patients ongoing CRRT, when the “continuous” systemic anticoagulation treatment is per se a relevant risk of bleeding. When compared with heparin most of studies with citrate reported a longer circuit survival, a lower rate of bleeding complications, and transfused packed red cell requirements. As anticoagulant for CRRT, the infusion of citrate is prolonged and it could potentially have some adverse effects. When citrate is metabolized to bicarbonate, metabolic alkalosis may occur, or for impaired metabolism citrate accumulation leads to acidosis. However, large studies with dedicated machines have indeed demonstrated that citrate anticoagulation is well tolerated, safe, and an easy to handle even in septic shock critically ill patients.
Inertial support performance of grid connected DFIG

Wind generators (WTGs) can be classified as two types: Fixed speed wind generator (FSWTG) and Variable speed type (VSWTG). The variable speed type has a number of variants such as Doubly Fed Induction Generator (DFIG), Multi-pole Synchronous Generator, and Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generators. DFIGs are already complying with most of the operating requirements set by different markets. The next stage is the inertial energy support during frequency events, particularly during large events. This paper discusses the emulation of inertial response of DFIGs in 3-steps - how the Kinetic energy stored in the rotating blades of variable speed wind generators is extracted by using a supplementary control system. The 3-steps used are 1) only electrical system including WF inertial support, 2) hydro dominated electrical system with WF inertial supports, and 3) multi-bus network with different generators and WF having full model of DFIGs.