Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Vitamin D3: a helpful immuno‐modulator

The active metabolite of vitamin D, 1α, 25‐dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1,25(OH)2D3], is involved in calcium and phosphate metabolism and exerts a large number of biological effects. Vitamin D3 inhibits parathyroid hormone secretion, adaptive immunity and cell proliferation, and at the same time promotes insulin secretion, innate immunity and stimulates cellular differentiation. The role of vitamin D3 in immunoregulation has led to the concept of a dual function as both as an important secosteroid hormone for the regulation of body calcium homeostasis and as an essential organic compound that has been shown to have a crucial effect on the immune responses. Altered levels of vitamin D3 have been associated, by recent observational studies, with a higher susceptibility of immune‐mediated disorders and inflammatory diseases. This review reports the new developments with specific reference to the metabolic and signalling mechanisms associated with the complex immune‐regulatory effects of vitamin D3 on immune cells.
State anxiety, psychological stress and positive well-being responses to yoga and aerobic exercise in people with schizophrenia: a pilot study

Purpose. Worsening of schizophrenia symptoms is related to stress and anxiety. People with schizophrenia often experience difficulties in coping with stress and possess a limited repertoire of coping strategies. A randomised comparative trial was undertaken in patients with schizophrenia to evaluate changes in state anxiety, psychological stress and subjective well-being after single sessions of yoga and aerobic exercise compared with a control condition. Method. Forty participants performed a single 30-min yoga session, 20-min of aerobic exercise on a bicycle ergometre at self-selected intensity and a 20-min no exercise control condition in random order. Results. After single sessions of yoga and aerobic exercise individuals with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder showed significantly decreased state anxiety (p < 0.0001), decreased psychological stress (p < 0.0001) and increased subjective well-being (p < 0.0001) compared to a no exercise control condition. Effect sizes ranged from 0.82 for psychological stress after aerobic exercise to 1.01 for state anxiety after yoga. The magnitude of the changes did not differ significantly between yoga and aerobic exercise. Conclusion. People with schizophrenia and physiotherapists can choose either yoga or aerobic exercise in reducing acute stress and anxiety taking into account the personal preference of each individual.
Association of Bioglass/Collagen/Magnesium composites and low level irradiation: effects on bone healing in a model of tibial defect in rats.

Background and Aims Bioglass (BG) and Magnesium (Mg) composites have been used for bone tissue engineering proposes due to its osteogenic activity and increased mechanical properties respectively. The introduction of Collagen (Col) is a common and efficient approach for bone tissue engineering applications toward cell proliferation. Recently, studies demonstrated that BG/Col/Mg composites presented proper mechanical properties and were non-cytotoxic. Although the osteogenic potential of BG/Col/Mg composites, in specific situations, biomaterials may not be capable of stimulating bone tissue. Therefore, combining biomaterial matrices and effective post-operative therapies (such as low level lasertherapy; LLLT) may be necessary to appropriately stimulate bone tissue. In this context, the aim of this study was to develop intra- and extra-operatively bone regenerative therapeutical strategies, based on the association of Col-enriched BG/Mg composites with LLLT. Materials and Methods Thereby, an in vivo study, using tibial defect in Wistar rats, was performed in order to investigate the bone regenerative capacity. LLLT treatment (Ga-Al-As laser 808 nm, 30 mW, 2.8 J, 94 s) was performed 3 times a week, in non-consecutive days. Histology, histomorphometry, immunohistochemical analysis and mechanical test were done after 15 and 45 days post-implantation. Results The results showed that Col could be successfully introduced into BG/Mg and the association of BG/Mg/Col and LLLT constituted an optimized treatment for accelerating material degradation and increasing bone deposition. Additionally, mechanical tests showed an increased maximal load for BG/Mg + LLLT compared to other groups. Conclusions These results lead us to conclude that the Col enriched BG/Mg composites irradiated with LLLT presented superior biological and mechanical properties, demonstrating to be a promising bone graft.
A genetic algorithm for the non-parametric inversion of strong lensing systems

We present a non-parametric technique to infer the projected mass distribution of a gravitational lens system with multiple strong-lensed images. The technique involves a dynamic grid in the lens plane on which the mass distribution of the lens is approximated by a sum of basis functions, one per grid cell. We used the projected mass densities of Plummer spheres as basis functions. A genetic algorithm then determines the mass distribution of the lens by forcing images of a single source, projected back on to the source plane, to coincide as well as possible. Averaging several tens of solutions removes the random fluctuations that are introduced by the reproduction process of genomes in the genetic algorithm and highlights those features common to all solutions. Given the positions of the images and the redshifts of the sources and the lens, we show that the mass of a gravitational lens can be retrieved with an accuracy of a few percent and that, if the sources sufficiently cover the caustics, the mass distribution of the gravitational lens can also be reliably retrieved. A major advantage of the algorithm is that it makes full use of the information contained in the radial images, unlike methods that minimize the residuals of the lens equation, and is thus able to accurately reconstruct also the inner parts of the lens.
Expression of FOXP2 in the developing monkey forebrain: Comparison with the expression of the genes FOXP1, PBX3, and MEIS2

By using the developing monkey brain as a model for human development, we investigated the expression pattern of the FOXP2 gene, a member of the FOX family of transcription factors in the developing monkey brain, and compared its expression pattern with transcription factors PBX3, MEIS2, and FOXP1. We observed FOXP2 mRNA expression in several brain structures, including the striatum, the islands of Calleja and other basal forebrain regions, the cerebral cortex, and the thalamus. FOXP2 mRNA was preferentially expressed in striosomal compartments during striatal development. The striosomal expression was transient and developmentally down‐regulated in a topographical order. Specifically, during the perinatal state, striosomal FOXP2 expression was detected in both the caudate nucleus and the putamen, although expression was more prominent in the caudate nucleus than in the putamen. Striosomal FOXP2 expression declined during the postnatal period, first in the putamen and later in the caudate nucleus. During the same period, we also detected PBX3 mRNA in the striosomal compartment of the developing monkey striatum. FOXP2, as well as PBX3 and MEIS2, was expressed in the islands of Calleja and other cell clusters of the basal forebrain. FOXP2, in combination with PBX3 and MEIS2, may play a pivotal role in the development of striosomal neurons of the striatum and the islands of Calleja. J. Comp. Neurol. 509:180–189, 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Kinematics of sprint cross-country skiing

The purpose of our study was to characterise the diagonal stride locomotion during a new short sprint race in cross-country skiing. Thirty male cross-country skiers were sagittaly filmed on an uphill portion of the 1.2-km classic race of the world cup (2004) using a digital camera. The main body joints, skis and poles were digitised frame by frame. Results indicated higher SV and SR for similar SL compared to longer distance races with a similar slope. Moreover, significant correlations were observed between SV and SR but not between SV and SL contrary to the other distance races. SL results showed that in spite of the high SR, skiers maintained an effective leg and pole thrusts. The high SR in KO sprint presented a mechanical advantage by minimising the decrease of velocity during the cycle. The importance of SR in the velocity production could be useful for practitioners to optimise the training program for this type of race. It seemed notable that the skiers had to improve temporal factors while conserving a long SL.
A new species of Melanospora on truffles from China

The new species Melanospora subterranea is described from China, based on morphological and phylogenetic analyses. This is the first record of Melanospora species parasitizing Chinese black and white truffles (Tuber indicum and T. huidongense), and its host range indicates that the new species might be a disease threat to commercially exploited European truffles including Tuber melanosporum and Tuber magnatum. Apparent polyphyly within the Ceratostomataceae can be explained at least in part by inadvertent sequencing of the host fungus instead of the parasite.
NLO QCD corrections to tri-boson production

We present a calculation of the NLO QCD corrections for the production of three vector bosons at the LHC, namely ZZZ, W+W−Z, W+ZZ, and W+W−W+ production. The virtual corrections are computed using the recently proposed method of reduction at the integrand level (OPP reduction). Concerning the contributions coming from real emission we used the dipole subtraction to treat the soft and collinear divergences. We find that the QCD corrections for these electroweak processes are in the range between 70 and 100 percent. As such they have to be considered in experimental studies of triple vector boson production at the LHC.
The very 5′ end and the constant region of Ig genes are spared from somatic mutation because AID does not access these regions

Somatic hypermutation (SHM) is restricted to VDJ regions and their adjacent flanks in immunoglobulin (Ig) genes, whereas constant regions are spared. Mutations occur after about 100 nucleotides downstream of the promoter and extend to 1–2 kb. We have asked why the very 5′ and most of the 3′ region of Ig genes are unmutated. Does the activation-induced cytosine deaminase (AID) that initiates SHM not gain access to these regions, or does AID gain access, but the resulting uracils are repaired error-free because error-prone repair does not gain access? The distribution of mutations was compared between uracil DNA glycosylase (Ung)-deficient and wild-type mice in endogenous Ig genes and in an Ig transgene. If AID gains access to the 5′ and 3′ regions that are unmutated in wild-type mice, one would expect an “AID footprint,” namely transition mutations from C and G in Ung-deficient mice in the regions normally devoid of SHM. We find that the distribution of total mutations and transitions from C and G is indistinguishable in wild-type and Ung-deficient mice. Thus, AID does not gain access to the 5′ and constant regions of Ig genes. The implications for the role of transcription and Ung in SHM are discussed.
General Airgap Field Modulation Theory for Electrical Machines

This paper proposes a general field modulation theory for electrical machines by introducing magnetomotive force modulation operator to characterize the influence of short-circuited coil, variable reluctance, and flux guide on the primitive magnetizing magnetomotive force distribution established by field winding function multiplied by field current along the airgap peripheral. Magnetically anisotropic stator and rotor behave like modulators to produce a spectrum of field harmonics and the armature winding plays the role of a spatial filter to extract effective field harmonics to contribute the corresponding flux linkage and induce the electromotive force. The developed field modulation theory not only unifies the principle analysis of a large variety of electrical machines, including conventional dc machine, induction machine, and synchronous machine which are just special cases of the general field modulated machines, thus eliminating the problem of the machine theory fragmentation, but also provides a powerful guidance for inventing new machine topologies.
Secure Hamming distance computation for biometrics using ideal-lattice and ring-LWE homomorphic encryption

ABSTRACT With widespread development of biometrics, concerns about security and privacy are rapidly increasing. Homomorphic encryption enables us to operate on encrypted data without decryption, and it can be applied to construct a privacy-preserving biometric system. In this article, we apply two homomorphic encryption schemes based on ideal-lattice and ring-LWE (Learning with Errors), which both have homomorphic correctness over the ring of integers of a cyclotomic field. We compare the two schemes in applying them to privacy-preserving biometrics. In biometrics, the Hamming distance is used as a metric to compare two biometric feature vectors for authentication. We propose an efficient method for secure Hamming distance. Our method can pack a biometric feature vector into a single ciphertext, and it enables efficient computation of secure Hamming distance over our packed ciphertexts.
Exploration of a Factor Mixture-Based Taxonic-Dimensional Model of Anxiety Sensitivity and Transdiagnostic Psychopathology Vulnerability Among Trauma-Exposed Adults

The aim of this study was to evaluate the associations between a factor mixture-based taxonic-dimensional model of anxiety sensitivity (AS) and posttraumatic stress, panic, generalized anxiety, depression, psychiatric multimorbidity, and quality of life among a young adult sample exposed to traumatic stress (N = 103, n females = 66, M age = 23.68 years, SD age = 9.55). Findings showed support for the conceptual and operational utility of the AS taxonic-dimensional model with respect to concurrent transdiagnostic vulnerability among trauma-exposed adults. Specifically, relative to the low-AS group, the high-AS group demonstrated elevated levels of panic, depressive, and posttraumatic stress symptom severity as well as greater psychiatric multimorbidity and poorer quality of life. Furthermore, past-month MDD, GAD, PTSD, and panic attacks occurred nearly exclusively among the high-AS group. Continuous AS physical and psychological concerns scores were found to be significantly related to levels of panic and posttraumatic stress symptom severity, psychiatric multimorbidity as well as panic attack status only among the high-AS group and not among the low-AS group. Findings are discussed with respect to their implications for the conceptual and operational utility of the FMM-based taxonic-dimensional model of AS, related vulnerability for psychopathology in the context of trauma, and the clinical implications of these findings for assessment and intervention.
Methods of helping patients with behaviour change.

BMJ 1993;307:188-90 Helping patients to change behaviour concerned with eating, drinking, smoking, exercise, or taking medica? tion is a common task in medical consultations. In both hospital and primary care the care of chronically ill people often entails encouraging them to change behaviour. With the emphasis now placed on health promotion in primary care this activity has been given high priority.12 Yet health care practitioners are given little or no training in how to promote behaviour change. We examine the limitations of using the approach of giving advice and identify new concepts and methods which offer the promise of improving the quality and effectiveness of consultations about behaviour change.
Perpendicular pull-out force of locking versus non-locking plates in thin cortical bone using a canine mandibular ramus model.

OBJECTIVE To compare the holding strength of a conventional plate-screw construct with a locking plate-screw construct in the thin cortical bone of the canine mandibular ramus. STUDY DESIGN Mechanical study. ANIMALS Paired cadaveric canine mandibles (n = 10 pairs). METHODS Perpendicular pull-out testing was performed on 2.0-mm limited-contact dynamic compression plate (LC-DCP)-screw constructs and 2.0-mm string-of-pearls (SOP) plate-screw constructs applied to the ramus of the canine mandible. Pull-out force was applied perpendicular to the long axis of the plates. Construct stiffness and load at failure were determined from load-displacement curves and method of failure was determined from high speed digital video recordings. A paired t-test was used to compare mean construct stiffness and load at failure between groups. RESULTS SOP plate-screw constructs had a significantly higher mean construct stiffness and load at failure than did LC-DCP-screw constructs. LC-DCP constructs failed by screw pull-out while bone slicing and fracture were prominent mechanisms of failure for SOP constructs. CONCLUSIONS SOP plate-screw constructs sustained a significantly higher perpendicular load at failure than did LC-DCP-screw constructs.
SEMG classification for upper-limb prosthesis control using higher order statistics

The aim of this paper is to present application of higher order statistics for surface electromyogram (sEMG) signal pattern classification. The new pattern recognition algorithm exploits a multilayer perceptron (MLP) as the classifier and the feature vector is a combination of cumulants of the second-, third- and fourth- orders and integral of absolute (IAV) of two channel sEMG stationary segments. The detected sEMG signals are used in classifying four upper-limb primitive motions, namely, elbow flexion (F), elbow extension (E), wrist supination (S) and wrist pronation (P). The simulation results illustrate the considerable accuracy of the proposed framework in sEMG pattern recognition.
Qualitative Impact of the Endovascular Era on Vascular Surgeons’ Comfort Level and Enjoyment With Open and Endovascular AAA Repairs

Objective: To evaluate the qualitative impact of training in the endovascular era (post-2000) on vascular surgeons’ comfort level and enjoyment with abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repairs. Methods: A sample of vascular surgeons (n = 1754) were sent a survey pertaining to their fellowship training and practice of AAA repair. The influence of training- and practice-related variables on qualitative outcomes was assessed. Results: A total of 382 (22%) surgeons completed the survey. Surgeons who performed more endovascular aneurysm repairs (EVARs) than open AAA repairs were more likely to enjoy EVAR (P < .001). Those completing fellowship after 2000 reported a higher level of procedure-related comfort with EVAR (P = .001) compared to those completing fellowship before 2000. Conversely, surgeons completing fellowship before 2000 reported a higher level of procedure-related comfort with open AAA repair (P = .001). Conclusion: The advent of EVAR has changed fellowship training of AAA repair and has translated into changes in both practice patterns and comfort level.
Thermodynamic functions and critical properties from a cluster-decimation approximation

A simple hybrid of real space renormalisation group theory and finite-lattice calculations is described. The method is based on a lattice-restructuring transformation, with the criterion that the free energies of the original and restructured lattices be equal. The authors approximate the free energy per spin of the infinite lattice by an exact evaluation of the partition function for a small cluster. As a result of this transformation, the coupling constant of the restructured lattice is found to be temperature dependent. The method is illustrated by studying the Ising model in two and three dimensions, and two-dimensional Potts models. The calculations involve little more than is required for a Migdal-Kadanoff transformation, yet, the critical properties are found to be significantly improved in comparison. Detailed comparisons are also made with the global thermodynamic properties calculated within this approximation (free energy, internal energy, specific heat, spontaneous magnetisation) and exact or best known results for the models. The simplicity of the method allows for the study of more complex lattice models, and several possible applications are discussed.
Nano Enhanced Surface Modification of Titanium Dental Implants for Improving Osseointegration and Biocompatibility

Dental implants are prone to bacterial colonisation and infection which subsequently cause dental implant failure. Coating the dental implant with an antibacterial agent and a biocompatible agent can inhibit the bacterial colonisation and infection without disturbing the biocompatibility of the implant. This study aimed to coat medical grade titanium alloy implants with silver and hydroxyapatite (HA) nanoparticles. The reason for using silver was to introduce antibacterial activity to the coated dental implants; and then using HA to preserve biocompatibility and manage the silver exposure of the primary human osteoblast cells. Medical grade titanium alloy discs measuring 15 mm in diameter were polished and silver plated to produce a uniform layer of silver nanoparticles on the surface. The electroplating method was followed by nano or micro HA deposition and curing at 500 °C to produce an HA coating and thereby achieving nano silver plus nano HA (Ag+nHA ), or nano silver plus micro HA (Ag+mHA), coatings on titanium alloy. The coating quality was assessed by electron microscopy. The bonding strength of the coating was investigated by the pull-off test and chemical stability in the cell culture media was studied by conducting dialysis and dissolution experiments. A series of experiments were conducted to investigate the biocompatibility of the coatings with primary human osteoblast cells over 7 days, cell health was assessed using biochemistry and microscopy. A differentiation experiment was conducted for 21 days to investigate the osteoblast cell mineralisation on the coatings and gene expression profile of the cells. Results showed that the specimens were successfully coated with nano silver and HA particles. The pull-off test showed
Kefir and Health: A Contemporary Perspective

Kefir and its related products are renowned nutraceutical dairy products produced through fermentation of yeasts and bacteria naturally present in grains of kefir. The nutritional attributes of this self-carbonated beverage are due to presence of vital nutrients such as carbohydrates, proteins, minerals, vitamins, and some nutraceutical components. Antimicrobial activity, better gut health, anticarcinogenic activity, control on serum glucose and cholesterol, control on lactose intolerance and better immune system can be achieved through its regular consumption. Moreover, on the one side kefir is good dietetic beverage, and of particular interest of athletes, and on the other side the whole kefir is good for feeding small babies and pre-schoolers for good tolerance against disease and quick weight gain. Lots of works have been done on kefir from a health point of view. This study summarizes all the data that have been compiled to date. The purpose of this review is to gather information about microbiological, chemical, nutritional, and therapeutic aspects of kefir and kefir-like products to provide justification for its consumption. This review leads us to conclude that kefir begins a new dawn of food for the mankind.