Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
E-Healthcare Service: An Investigation of the Antecedents, Moderating Roles, and Consequences

The rapid growth of internet usage for acquiring health information has received a great deal of attention. Thus, by empirically investigating the official website of National Cancer Center of South Korea, this study adopted the concept of Elaboration Likelihood Model to examine the integration effects of website quality and perceived credibility on user satisfaction and the intention to use under an e-healthcare context. We also measured the moderating roles of self-efficacy and active control, and their consequences on both user satisfaction and intention to use. The research model was tested using Partial Least Square. The empirical results showed that both, website quality and perceived credibility, influence user satisfaction. Moreover, these three variables jointly influence intention to use. Related to the interaction effects, the results showed mixed supporting factors. In sum, our study showed that the proposed antecedents, incorporated with the moderating variables, affect the user satisfaction and intention to use.
Linguistic and Gait Disturbance in a Child with Laurence-Moon-Biedl Syndrome: Left Temporal and Parietal Lobe Hypoplasia

Chen CL, Chung CY, Cheng PT, Chen CH, Chen MH: Linguistic and gait disturbance in a child with Laurence-Moon-Biedl syndrome: Left temporal and parietal lobe hypoplasia. Am J Phys Med Rehabil 2004;83:69–74.Laurence-Moon-Biedl syndrome is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by retinitis pigmentosa, obesity, polydactyly, hypogenitalism, mental retardation, and renal abnormalities. We report the linguistic and gait disorders in a child with Laurence-Moon-Biedl syndrome associated with left temporal and parietal hypoplasia as determined by magnetic resonance imaging. Our patient was mildly mentally retarded, scoring better on the performance subtest than on the verbal subtest. He received serial assessments for developmental, language, speech, and gait functions, before and after rehabilitation, at age 4.5 and 6 yr, respectively. After comprehensive rehabilitation, the boy achieved improvement in speech, language, fine motor, and gait functions. Early comprehensive rehabilitation programs seem beneficial for improving functional development for children with Laurence-Moon-Biedl syndrome.
Echinochrome A Protects Mitochondrial Function in Cardiomyocytes against Cardiotoxic Drugs

Echinochrome A (Ech A) is a naphthoquinoid pigment from sea urchins that possesses antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and chelating abilities. Although Ech A is the active substance in the ophthalmic and cardiac drug Histochrome®, its underlying cardioprotective mechanisms are not well understood. In this study, we investigated the protective role of Ech A against toxic agents that induce death of rat cardiac myoblast H9c2 cells and isolated rat cardiomyocytes. We found that the cardiotoxic agents tert-Butyl hydroperoxide (tBHP, organic reactive oxygen species (ROS) inducer), sodium nitroprusside (SNP; anti-hypertension drug), and doxorubicin (anti-cancer drug) caused mitochondrial dysfunction such as increased ROS level and decreased mitochondrial membrane potential. Co-treatment with Ech A, however, prevented this decrease in membrane potential and increase in ROS level. Co-treatment of Ech A also reduced the effects of these cardiotoxic agents on mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation and adenosine triphosphate level. These findings indicate the therapeutic potential of Ech A for reducing cardiotoxic agent-induced damage.
Importance of Health Science Education for Personal Fitness Trainers

Using a questionnaire developed for the current study, the Fitness Instructors Knowledge Assessment (FIKA®), we examined relations between commonly used indicators of knowledge (training and experience) and actual knowledge in the five areas of (a) nutrition, (b) health screening, (c) testing protocols, (d) exercise prescription, and (e) general training knowledge regarding special populations. FIKA provided reliable measures of knowledge in these areas, which are of critical importance in developing an optimal fitness program for the client and for avoiding unnecessary injuries. A survey of 115 health fitness professionals revealed that a bachelor's degree in the field of exercise science and possession of American College of Sports Medicine or the National Strength and Conditioning Association certifications as opposed to other certifications were strong predictors of a personal trainer's knowledge, whereas years of experience was not related to knowledge. These findings suggest that personal fitness trainers should have licensing requirements, such as a bachelor's degree in exercise science and certification by an organization whose criteria are extensive and widely accepted, before being allowed to practice their craft.
Is ENSO a cycle or a series of events?

After early ideas that saw El Niños as isolated events, the advent of coupled models brought the conception of ENSO as a cycle in which each phase led to the next in a self‐sustained oscillation. Twenty‐two years of observations that represent the El Niño and La Niña peaks (east Pacific SST) and the memory of the system (zonal mean warm water volume) suggest a distinct break in the cycle, in which the coupled system is able to remain in a weak La Niña state for up to two years, so that memory of previous influences would be lost. Similarly, while the amplitude of anomalies persists from the onset of a warm event through its termination, there is no such persistence across the La Niña break. These observations suggest that El Niños are in fact event‐like disturbances to a stable basic state, requiring an initiating impulse not contained in the dynamics of the cycle itself.
Norovirus Whole-Genome Sequencing by SureSelect Target Enrichment: a Robust and Sensitive Method

ABSTRACT Norovirus full-genome sequencing is challenging due to sequence heterogeneity among genomes. Previous methods have relied on PCR amplification, which is problematic due to primer design, and transcriptome sequencing (RNA-Seq), which nonspecifically sequences all RNA, including host and bacterial RNA, in stool specimens. Target enrichment uses a panel of custom-designed 120-mer RNA baits that are complementary to all publicly available norovirus sequences, with multiple baits targeting each position of the genome, which overcomes the challenge of primer design. Norovirus genomes are enriched from stool RNA extracts to minimize the sequencing of nontarget RNA. SureSelect target enrichment and Illumina sequencing were used to sequence full genomes from 507 norovirus-positive stool samples with reverse transcription–real-time PCR cycle threshold (CT ) values of 10 to 43. Sequencing on an Illumina MiSeq system in batches of 48 generated, on average, 81% on-target reads per sample and 100% genome coverage with >12,000-fold read depth. Samples included genotypes GI.1, GI.2, GI.3, GI.6, GI.7, GII.1, GII.2, GII.3, GII.4, GII.5, GII.6, GII.7, GII.13, GII.14, and GII.17. When outliers were accounted for, we generated >80% genome coverage for all positive samples, regardless of CT values. A total of 164 samples were tested in parallel with conventional PCR genotyping of the capsid shell domain; 164/164 samples were successfully sequenced, compared to 158/164 samples that were amplified by PCR. Four of the samples that failed capsid PCR analysis had low titers, which suggests that target enrichment is more sensitive than gel-based PCR. Two samples failed PCR due to primer mismatches; target enrichment uses multiple baits targeting each position, thus accommodating sequence heterogeneity among norovirus genomes.
ENHANCED DISSOLVED ORGANIC MATTER RECOVERY FROM SALTWATER SAMPLES WITH COUPLED ELECTRODIALYSIS AND SOLID PHASE EXTRACTION

iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my labmates, advisor, and other members of the EAS faculty for providing me with direction and encouragement. Special thanks go to the wonderful people at the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography the crew members of the R/V Savannah for the support and fun times.
Genomewide association study in cervical dystonia demonstrates possible association with sodium leak channel

Dystonia is a common movement disorder. A number of monogenic causes have been identified. However, the majority of dystonia cases are not explained by single gene defects. Cervical dystonia is one of the commonest forms without genetic causes identified. This pilot study aimed to identify large effect‐size risk loci in cervical dystonia. A genomewide association study (GWAS) was performed. British resident cervical dystonia patients of European descent were genotyped using the Illumina‐610‐Quad. Comparison was made with controls of European descent from the Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium using logistic regression algorithm from PLINK. SNPs not genotyped by the array were imputed with 1000 Genomes Project data using the MaCH algorithm and minimac. Postimputation analysis was done with the mach2dat algorithm using a logistic regression model. After quality control measures, 212 cases were compared with 5173 controls. No single SNP passed the genomewide significant level of 5 × 10−8 in the analysis of genotyped SNP in PLINK. Postimputation, there were 5 clusters of SNPs that had P value <5 × 10−6, and the best cluster of SNPs was found near exon 1 of NALCN, (sodium leak channel) with P = 9.76 × 10−7. Several potential regions were found in the GWAS and imputation analysis. The lowest P value was found in NALCN. Dysfunction of this ion channel is a plausible cause for dystonia. Further replication in another cohort is needed to confirm this finding. We make this data publicly available to encourage further analyses of this disorder. © 2013 The Authors. Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.
Pineal arylalkylamine N‐acetyltransferase gene expression is highly stimulated at night in the diurnal rodent, Arvicanthis ansorgei

The different mechanisms underlying the control of diurnal vs. nocturnal activity are still unknown. Regarding the nocturnal synthesis of the pineal hormone, melatonin, experiments performed on diurnal sheep or bovine and on nocturnal rat or hamster revealed important differences in the regulation of the melatonin rate‐limiting enzyme, arylalkylamine N‐acetyltransferase (AA‐NAT). These observations raised the hypothesis that melatonin synthesis may be different in nocturnal vs. diurnal animals. In this study, we cloned the cDNA coding for Aa‐nat and analysed the mechanisms of AA‐NAT enzyme activation in the pineal gland of the diurnal grass rat, Arvicanthis ansorgei, and compared them to those of the nocturnal Wistar rat, Rattus norvegicus. Aa‐nat gene sequences of both species are 86.6% identical. In Arvicanthis, Aa‐nat gene expression is markedly increased at the beginning of the night and is followed by a large increase in AA‐NAT activity and melatonin content. In contrast, at the end of the night, the decrease in AA‐NAT activity and melatonin content precedes that of Aa‐nat mRNA. A β‐adrenergic agonist given at daytime reproduces the nocturnal activation of melatonin synthesis, whereas, a β‐adrenergic antagonist given at night‐time inhibits AA‐NAT activity and melatonin synthesis independently of Aa‐nat mRNA. The day–night regulation of melatonin synthesis in the pineal of the diurnal Arvicanthis, involving a transcriptional activation in early night and a post‐translational inhibition at late night, is very similar to that of the nocturnal Wistar rat. In conclusion, the fundamental differences underlying melatonin synthesis among species rely upon phylogenetic rather than behavioural differences.
Analysis of Audio-Visual Features for Unsupervised Speech Recognition

Research on “zero resource” speech processing focuses on learning linguistic information from unannotated, or raw, speech data, in order to bypass the expensive annotations required by current speech recognition systems. While most recent zero-resource work has made use of only speech recordings, here, we investigate the use of visual information as a source of weak supervision, to see whether grounding speech in a visual context can provide additional beneﬁt for language learning. Speciﬁcally, we use a dataset of paired images and audio captions to supervise learning of low-level speech features that can be used for further “unsupervised” processing of any speech data. We analyze these features and evaluate their performance on the Zero Resource Challenge 2015 evaluation metrics, as well as standard keyword spotting and speech recognition tasks. We show that features generated with a joint audio-visual model contain more discriminative linguistic information and are less speaker-dependent than traditional speech features. Our results show that visual grounding can improve speech representations for a variety of zero-resource tasks.
Tuberculosis of the upper respiratory tract misdiagnosed as Wegener's granulomatosis—an important distinction

Abstract Four cases, two personal, of mis-diagnosis of tuberculosis of the upper respiratory tract as Wegener's granulomatosis have been presented. Greater awareness of this possibility of mis-diagnosis may diminish the possibility of mistreatment. It is suggested that fresh specimens should be sent for bacteriological examination and culture in all relevant upper respiratory tract lesions.
Medial temporal lobe activity during complex discrimination of faces, objects, and scenes: Effects of viewpoint

The medial temporal lobe (MTL), a set of heavily interconnected structures including the hippocampus and underlying entorhinal, perirhinal and parahippocampal cortex, is traditionally believed to be part of a unitary system dedicated to declarative memory. Recent studies, however, demonstrated perceptual impairments in amnesic individuals with MTL damage, with hippocampal lesions causing scene discrimination deficits, and perirhinal lesions causing object and face discrimination deficits. The degree of impairment on these tasks was influenced by the need to process complex conjunctions of features: discriminations requiring the integration of multiple visual features caused deficits, whereas discriminations that could be solved on the basis of a single feature did not. Here, we address these issues with functional neuroimaging in healthy participants as they performed a version of the oddity discrimination task used previously in patients. Three different types of stimuli (faces, scenes, novel objects) were presented from either identical or different viewpoints. Consistent with studies in patients, we observed increased perirhinal activity when participants distinguished between faces and objects presented from different, compared to identical, viewpoints. The posterior hippocampus, by contrast, showed an effect of viewpoint for both faces and scenes. These findings provide convergent evidence that the MTL is involved in processes beyond long‐term declarative memory and suggest a critical role for these structures in integrating complex features of faces, objects, and scenes into view‐invariant, abstract representations. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Pathogenomics of the Virulence Plasmids of Escherichia coli

SUMMARY Bacterial plasmids are self-replicating, extrachromosomal elements that are key agents of change in microbial populations. They promote the dissemination of a variety of traits, including virulence, enhanced fitness, resistance to antimicrobial agents, and metabolism of rare substances. Escherichia coli, perhaps the most studied of microorganisms, has been found to possess a variety of plasmid types. Included among these are plasmids associated with virulence. Several types of E. coli virulence plasmids exist, including those essential for the virulence of enterotoxigenic E. coli, enteroinvasive E. coli, enteropathogenic E. coli, enterohemorrhagic E. coli, enteroaggregative E. coli, and extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli. Despite their diversity, these plasmids belong to a few plasmid backbones that present themselves in a conserved and syntenic manner. Thanks to some recent research, including sequence analysis of several representative plasmid genomes and molecular pathogenesis studies, the evolution of these virulence plasmids and the implications of their acquisition by E. coli are now better understood and appreciated. Here, work involving each of the E. coli virulence plasmid types is summarized, with the available plasmid genomic sequences for several E. coli pathotypes being compared in an effort to understand the evolution of these plasmid types and define their core and accessory components.
Hypolipidemic and Antioxidant Activity of Enoki Mushrooms (Flammulina velutipes)

According to the literatures, Flammulina velutipes contains biologically active components such as dietary fiber, polysaccharide, and mycosterol, whose effects in reducing blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol have been proven. This study used the active components extracted from Flammulina velutipes powder (FVP) and Flammulina velutipes extract (FVE) to investigate the impact of these active components on lipid metabolism of hamsters. The results show that the total dietary fiber content in FVP and FVE is 29.34 mg/100 g and 15.08 mg/100 g, respectively. The total mycosterol content is 46.57 ± 0.37 mg/100 g and 9.01 ± 0.17 mg/100 g, respectively. The male hamsters were subjected to lipid metabolism monitoring by adding 1, 2, and 3% FVP or FVE into their diets for a period of 8 weeks. The animal assay results show that the 3% FVP and FVE groups have the lowest concentration of TC (total cholesterol), TG (triacylglycerol), LDL (low density lipoprotein cholesterol), and LDL/HDL (high density lipoprotein cholesterol) in the serum and liver (P < 0.05). Our results demonstrate that the addition of 3% FVP or FVE has a significant effect on the lipid metabolism in hamsters whose increased level of HDL in the serum was induced by high fat diet.
CeO2 nanoparticles induce DNA damage towards human dermal fibroblasts in vitro

Cerium dioxide nanoparticles have been proposed for an increasing number of applications in biomedicine, cosmetic, as polishing materials and also as byproducts from automotive fuel additives. The aim of this study was to examine the potential in vitro cyto- and genotoxicity of nano-sized CeO2 (7 nm) on human dermal fibroblasts. By combining a physico-chemical and a (geno)toxicological approach, we defined the causal mechanisms linking the physico-chemical properties of nano-CeO2 with their biological effects. Using X-ray absorption spectroscopy, we observed a reduction of 21±4% of the Ce4+ atoms localized at the surface of CeO2 nanoparticles due to the interactions with organic molecules present in biological media. These particles induced strong DNA lesions and chromosome damage related to an oxidative stress. These genotoxic effects occurred at very low doses, which highlighted the importance of a genotoxicological approach during the assessment of the toxicity of nanoparticles.
Tracing spiral density waves in M81

ABSTRACT We use SPITZER IRAC 3.6 and 4. 5µm near infrared data from the Spitzer InfraredNearby Galaxies Survey (SINGS), optical B, V and I and 2MASS K s band data to producemass surface density maps of M81. The IRAC 3.6 and 4. 5µm data, whilst dominatedby emis-sion from old stellar populations, is corrected for small-scale contamination by young starsand PAH emission. The I band data are used to produce a mass surface density map by aB-Vcolour-correction, following the method of Bell and de Jong. We ﬁt a bulge and expo-nential disc to each mass map, and subtract these components to reveal the non-axisymmetricmass surface density. From the residual mass maps we are able to extract the amplitude andphase of the density wave, using azimuthal proﬁles. The resp onse of the gas is observed viadust emission in the 8µm IRAC band, allowing a comparison between the phase of the stellardensity wave and gas shock. The relationship between this angular offset and radius suggeststhat the spiral structure is reasonably long lived and allows the position of corotation to bedetermined.Key words: galaxies:individual:M81–galaxies:spiral–galaxies:st ructure–infrared:galaxies
Improving Soil Moisture Estimation with a Dual Ensemble Kalman Smoother by Jointly Assimilating AMSR-E Brightness Temperature and MODIS LST

Uncertainties in model parameters can easily result in systematic differences between model states and observations, which significantly affect the accuracy of soil moisture estimation in data assimilation systems. In this research, a soil moisture assimilation scheme is developed to jointly assimilate AMSR-E (Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer-Earth Observing System) brightness temperature (TB) and MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) Land Surface Temperature (LST) products, which also corrects model bias by simultaneously updating model states and parameters with a dual ensemble Kalman filter (DEnKS). Common Land Model (CoLM) and a Radiative Transfer Model (RTM) are adopted as model and observation operator, respectively. The assimilation experiment was conducted in Naqu on the Tibet Plateau from 31 May to 27 September 2011. The updated soil temperature at surface obtained by assimilating MODIS LST serving as inputs of RTM is to reduce the differences between the simulated and observed TB, then AMSR-E TB is assimilated to update soil moisture and model parameters. Compared with in situ measurements, the accuracy of soil moisture estimation derived from the assimilation experiment has been tremendously improved at a variety of scales. The updated parameters effectively reduce the states bias of CoLM. The results demonstrate the potential of assimilating AMSR-E TB and MODIS LST to improve the estimation of soil moisture and related parameters. Furthermore, this study indicates that the developed scheme is an effective way to retrieve downscaled soil moisture when assimilating the coarse-scale microwave TB.
CD103+ Conventional Dendritic Cells Are Critical for TLR7/9-Dependent Host Defense against Histoplasma capsulatum, an Endemic Fungal Pathogen of Humans

Innate immune cells shape the host response to microbial pathogens. Here we elucidate critical differences in the molecular response of macrophages vs. dendritic cells (DCs) to Histoplasma capsulatum, an intracellular fungal pathogen of humans. It has long been known that macrophages are permissive for Histoplasma growth and succumb to infection, whereas DCs restrict fungal growth and survive infection. We used murine macrophages and DCs to identify host pathways that influence fungal proliferation and host-cell viability. Transcriptional profiling experiments revealed that DCs produced a strong Type I interferon (IFN-I) response to infection with Histoplasma yeasts. Toll-like receptors 7 and 9 (TLR7/9), which recognize nucleic acids, were required for IFN-I production and restriction of fungal growth in DCs, but mutation of TLR7/9 had no effect on the outcome of macrophage infection. Moreover, TLR7/9 were essential for the ability of infected DCs to elicit production of the critical cytokine IFNγ from primed CD4+ T cells in vitro, indicating the role of this pathway in T cell activation. In a mouse model of infection, TLR7/9 were required for optimal production of IFN-I and IFNγ, host survival, and restriction of cerebral fungal burden. These data demonstrate the critical role of this pathway in eliciting an appropriate adaptive immune response in the host. Finally, although other fungal pathogens have been shown to elicit IFN-I in mouse models, the specific host cell responsible for producing IFN-I has not been elucidated. We found that CD103+ conventional DCs were the major producer of IFN-I in the lungs of wild-type mice infected with Histoplasma. Mice deficient in this DC subtype displayed reduced IFN-I production in vivo. These data reveal a previously unknown role for CD103+ conventional DCs and uncover the pivotal function of these cells in modulating the host immune response to endemic fungi.