Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Preventive Effects of Chitosan Coacervate Whey Protein on Body Composition and Immunometabolic Aspect in Obese Mice

Functional foods containing bioactive compounds of whey may play an important role in prevention and treatment of obesity. The aim of this study was to investigate the prospects of the biotechnological process of coacervation of whey proteins (CWP) in chitosan and test its antiobesogenic potential. Methods. CWP (100 mg·kg·day) was administered in mice with diet-induced obesity for 8 weeks. The animals were divided into four groups: control normocaloric diet gavage with water (C) or coacervate (C-CWP), and high fat diet gavage with water (HF) or coacervate (HF-CWP). Results. HF-CWP reduced weight gain and serum lipid fractions and displayed reduced adiposity and insulin. Adiponectin was significantly higher in HF-CWP group when compared to the HF. The level of LPS in HF-W group was significantly higher when compared to HF-CWP. The IL-10 showed an inverse correlation between the levels of insulin and glucose in the mesenteric adipose tissue in the HF-CWP group. CWP promoted an increase in both phosphorylation AMPK and the amount of ATGL in the mesenteric adipose tissue in HF-CWP group. Conclusion. CWP was able to modulate effects, possibly due to its high biological value of proteins. We observed a protective effect against obesity and improved the inflammatory milieu of white adipose tissue.
High frequency resonant SEPIC converter with wide input and output voltage ranges

This document presents a resonant SEPIC converter and control method suitable for high frequency (HF) and very high frequency (VHF) dc-dc power conversion. The proposed design features high efficiency over a wide input and output voltage range, up-and-down voltage conversion, small size, and excellent transient performance. In addition, a resonant gate drive scheme is presented which provides rapid startup and low-loss at HF and VHF frequencies. The converter regulates the output using an on-off control scheme modulating at a fixed frequency. This control method enables fast transient response and efficient light load operation while providing controlled spectral characteristics of the input and output waveforms. An experimental prototype has been built and evaluated. The prototype converter, built with two commercial vertical MOSFETs, operates at a fixed switching frequency of 20 MHz, with an input voltage range of 3.6 V to 7.2 V, an output voltage range of 3 V to 9 V and an output power rating of up to 3 W. The converter achieves higher than 80% efficiency across the entire input voltage range at nominal output voltage, and maintains good efficiency across the whole operating range.
Risk of Malignant Neoplasm in Patients with Incident Rheumatoid Arthritis 1980–2007 in relation to a Comparator Cohort: A Population-Based Study

Objective. To determine whether the incidence of malignancy is increased in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) compared to a matched comparison cohort and to identify risk for any individual malignancy in RA. Methods. A cohort of 813 Olmsted County, Minnesota, residents who first fulfilled 1987 ACR criteria for RA in 1980–2007 was previously identified by medical record review. Medical records of 813 RA cases and a comparison cohort of age and sex matched Olmsted County residents without RA were evaluated retrospectively for cancer occurrence. Patients in both cohorts were followed until death, migration from Olmsted County, or 12/31/2014. Results. The RA and non-RA cohorts (mean age at incidence/index date: 55.9 [SD: 15.7] years; 68.4% females in both cohorts) were followed on average of 14.1 (SD: 7.7) and 14.9 (SD: 8.1) years, respectively. Prior to RA incidence/index date, 52 RA patients and 66 non-RA subjects had malignancies excluding NMSC (p = 0.21). During follow-up, significantly more malignancies occurred in patients with RA (n = 143) than in comparator subjects (n = 118; hazard ratio: 1.32; p = 0.027). Inclusion of NMSC obviated this difference. Conclusion. After excluding NMSC, there was a small to moderately increased risk of malignancies in patients with RA. Cancer surveillance is imperative in all patients with RA.
Myocardial Necrosis, Fibrosis, and DNA Synthesis in Experimental Cardiac Hypertrophy Induced by Sudden Pressure Overload

The development of myocardial fibrosis as a result of cardiac hypertrophy was studied in 11 cats in which the pulmonary artery was baaded, six rabbits in which the ascending aorta was banded, and eight cats with various congenital cardiac anomalies. HUtological examination of the myocardium revealed multifocal areas of degeneration and necrosis with healing by fibrosis in the right ventricle of cats in which the pulmonary artery was banded and in the left ventricle of rabbits in which the aorta was banded. In five of eight cats with congenital anomalies, myocardial necrosis and fibrosis were not present in spite of heart weight to body weight ratios 2–4 times greater thai in the experimental models. In the other three cats, fibrosis was subendocardlal or diffuse rather than multifocal as in the banded animals. This suggests that the increased connective tissue found la animals with cardiac hypertrophy induced by banding the aorta or pulmonary artery is an artifact of the preparation. Autoradiographic studies of the myocardium of pulmonary artery-banded cats indicated that all newly synthesized DNA in this model is restricted to interstitial cell and endothelial cell proliferation.
"Eosinophilic" peritonitis in continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD).

Three cases of "sterile" peritonitis in CAPD patients are discussed, where the predominant white cell type in the peritoneal dialysis fluid was the eosinophil. No bacterial or fungal organism was isolated on repeated culture of the dialysis fluid and all had a benign course. The eosinophilic response appears to occur very soon after starting CAPD, is relatively asymptomatic and does not require antibiotic therapy. It is suggested that the eosinophilia is related to allergy to some constituent of the peritoneal dialysis system.
The PI3K p110δ Regulates Expression of CD38 on Regulatory T Cells

The PI3K pathway has emerged as a key regulator of regulatory T cell (Treg) development and homeostasis and is required for full Treg-mediated suppression. To identify new genes involved in PI3K-dependent suppression, we compared the transcriptome of WT and p110δD910A Tregs. Among the genes that were differentially expressed was the gene for the transmembrane cyclic ADP ribose hydrolase CD38. Here we show that CD38 is expressed mainly by a subset of Foxp3+CD25+CD4+ T cells originating in the thymus and on Tregs in the spleen. CD38high WT Tregs showed superior suppressive activity to CD38low Tregs, which failed to upregulate CD73, a surface protein which is important for suppression. However, Tregs from heterozygous CD38+/− mice were unimpaired despite lower levels of CD38 expression. Therefore, CD38 can be used as a marker for Tregs with high suppressive activity and the impaired Treg function in p110δD910A mice can in part be explained by the failure of CD38high cells to develop.
Natural outcomes of stage 1, 2, 3, and 4 idiopathic macular holes.

AIMS--A study was carried out to ascertain the natural outcome of each stage of idiopathic macular hole. METHODS--One hundred and fifty four eyes with different stages of idiopathic macular holes were retrospectively studied: stage 1 (40 eyes), 2 (25 eyes), 3 (58 eyes), and 4 (31 eyes). RESULTS--Of 27 of 40 eyes with a stage 1 lesion with posterior vitreous attachment to the macula initially, nine (33%) eyes developed a full thickness macular hole. No stage 1 lesions with posterior vitreous separation from the macula initially progressed to full thickness holes. Twenty one (84%) of 25 eyes with a stage 2 lesion, 32 (55%) of 58 eyes with a stage 3 lesion, and five (16%) of 31 eyes with a stage 4 lesion underwent macular hole enlargement during the median follow up period of 3 years. Visual acuity decreased two or more lines of Snellen equivalent during the follow up period in 12 (30%) eyes with a stage 1 lesion, 17 (68%) eyes with a stage 2 lesion, 17 (29%) eyes with a stage 3 lesion, and four (13%) eyes with a stage 4 lesion. The percentage was significantly higher in eyes with stage 2 lesions than the other stages (p < 0.01). CONCLUSION--The results suggest that the different stages of idiopathic macular holes have different natural outcomes, and the management depends on the stage at presentation.
DISTANCE CUES FOR VIRTUAL AUDITORY SPACE

Recent experiments investigating the acoustic cues that underlie distance perception for nearby sources provide important insights into how distance cues can be incorporated into virtual auditory displays. Potential distance cues considered include overall level, reverberation, and interaural level differences. Perceptual research shows that the relative utility of these cues depends on the type(s) of sound source(s) and the kind of acoustic environment to be simulated as well as the range of distances to be encoded.
Population distribution, effective area and economic growth

The usual measure for the factor land is the total area. But total area is a flawed measure because land is of unequal quality. To account for land quality, we use an alternative measure called effective area. Effective area is based on spatial population distribution which captures both natural conditions and human activity. Theoretically, effective area explains economic growth better than total area that biases the measure of total factor productivity (TFP) growth. Empirically on the basis of 40 years of panel data for the United States, an increase of 10% in effective area is associated with an economic growth of 5%, and the omission of effective area undervalues the growth of TFP by 8.1%.
Secure pervasive social networking based on multi-dimensional trust levels

Mobile Ad Hoc Network (MANET) is becoming a generic platform for pervasive social networking (PSN). It is important to secure communications in PSN for crucial instant social activities. However, both centralized and distributed security solutions for PSN are impractical due to the lack of connection to a central party in urgent situations or heavy traffic and processing load for key management that is caused by the dynamic changes of PSN topology and node trust. Applying pseudonyms for PSN nodes exacerbates this situation. How to automatically control data access in a secure and efficient way is a challenge. For effectively securing PSN, the following two fundamental requirements have to be met: 1) Controlling data access should be based on trust relationships and must be flexible; 2) Key management should be done with sufficiently low computation and communication cost. In this paper, we utilize two dimensions of trust levels either evaluated by a trusted server or individual PSN nodes or both to control PSN data access in a heterogeneous manner on the basis of attribute-based encryption (ABE). We formally prove the security of our scheme based on the security of a distributed ABE scheme by Müller et al. and analyze its performance and computational complexity. Extensive analysis shows that our proposed scheme is highly efficient and provably secure under relevant system and security models.
Concentration and Composition of Lipoproteins in Blood Plasma of the WHHL Rabbit

Lipoproteins in blood plasma have been quantified and characterized in homozygous Watanabe-heritable hyperlipidemic (WHHL) rabbits, an animal model of human familial hypercholesterolemia. Like homozygous human hypercholesterolemics, WHHL rabbits have a severe deficiency of low density lipoprotein (LDL) receptors, a prolonged residence time for LDL, and an increased absolute rate of LDL catabolism. Although lipoproteins containing apolipoprotein B in WHHL rabbits are enriched in cholesteryl esters, their LDL as well as intermediate density lipoproteins (IDL) and very low density lipoproteins (VLDL) also contain a substantial amount of triglycerides and they consistently exhibit hypertrigiyceridemia as well as hypercholesterolemia. The cholesteryl esters accumulating in lipoproteins of WHHL rabbits are rich in cholesteryl linoleate and appear to be produced almost exclusively by lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase. Levels of apolipoprotein B-100 are elevated in VLDL and IDL as well as in LDL of WHHL rabbits and only trace amounts of apolipoprotein B-48 are present. Plasma levels of apolipoprotein E are also substantially increased, and VLDL and IDL are enriched in this protein. The accumulation of lipoproteins with the expected characteristics of remnants of hepatogenous triglyceride-rich lipoproteins contrasts with the efficient hepatic clearance of chylomicron remnants in WHHL rabbits.
On the cost of caching locator/ID mappings

Very recent activities in the IETF and in the Routing Research Group (RRG) of the IRTG focus on defining a new Internet architecture, in order to solve scalability issues related to interdo-main routing. The approach that is being explored is based on the separation of the end-systems' addressing space (the identifiers) and the routing locators' space. This separation is meant to alleviate the routing burden of the Default Free Zone, but it implies the need of distributing and storing mappings between identifiers and locators on caches placed on routers. In this paper we evaluate the cost of maintaining these caches when the distribution mechanism is based on a pull model. Taking as a reference the LISP protocol, we base our evaluation on real Netflow traces collected on the border router of our campus network. We thoroughly analyze the impact of the locator/ID separation, and related cost, showing that there is a trade-off between the dynamism of the mapping distribution protocol, the demand in terms of bandwidth, and the size of the caches.
Graph Manipulations for Fast Centrality Computation

The betweenness and closeness metrics are widely used metrics in many network analysis applications. Yet, they are expensive to compute. For that reason, making the betweenness and closeness centrality computations faster is an important and well-studied problem. In this work, we propose the framework BADIOS that manipulates the graph by compressing it and splitting into pieces so that the centrality computation can be handled independently for each piece. Experimental results show that the proposed techniques can be a great arsenal to reduce the centrality computation time for various types and sizes of networks. In particular, it reduces the betweenness centrality computation time of a 4.6 million edges graph from more than 5 days to less than 16 hours. For the same graph, the closeness computation time is decreased from more than 3 days to 6 hours (12.7x speedup).
Diabetes Mellitus and Prediabetes on Kidney Transplant Waiting List- Prevalence, Metabolic Phenotyping and Risk Stratification Approach

Background Despite a significant prognostic impact, little is known about disturbances in glucose metabolism among kidney transplant candidates. We assess the prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) and prediabetes on kidney transplant waiting list, its underlying pathophysiology and propose an approach for individual risk stratification. Methods All patients on active kidney transplant waiting list of a large European university hospital transplant center were metabolically phenotyped. Results Of 138 patients, 76 (55%) had disturbances in glucose metabolism. 22% of patients had known DM, 3% were newly diagnosed. 30% were detected to have prediabetes. Insulin sensitivity and-secretion indices allowed for identification of underlying pathophysiology and risk factors. Age independently affected insulin secretion, resulting in a relative risk for prediabetes of 2.95 (95%CI 1.38–4.83) with a cut-off at 48 years. Body mass index independently affected insulin sensitivity as a continuous variable. Conclusions The prevalence of DM or prediabetes on kidney transplant waiting list is as high as 55%, with more than one third of patients previously undiagnosed. Oral glucose tolerance test is mandatory to detect all patients at risk. Metabolic phenotyping allows for differentiation of underlying pathophysiology and provides a basis for early individual risk stratification and specific intervention to improve patient and allograft outcome.
A multi-scale computational model of the effects of TMS on motor cortex

The detailed biophysical mechanisms through which transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) activates cortical circuits are still not fully understood. Here we present a multi-scale computational model to describe and explain the activation of different cell types in motor cortex due to transcranial magnetic stimulation. Our model determines precise electric fields based on an individual head model derived from magnetic resonance imaging and calculates how these electric fields activate morphologically detailed models of different neuron types. We predict detailed neural activation patterns for different coil orientations consistent with experimental findings. Beyond this, our model allows us to predict activation thresholds for individual neurons and precise initiation sites of individual action potentials on the neurons’ complex morphologies. Specifically, our model predicts that cortical layer 3 pyramidal neurons are generally easier to stimulate than layer 5 pyramidal neurons, thereby explaining the lower stimulation thresholds observed for I-waves compared to D-waves. It also predicts differences in the regions of activated cortical layer 5 and layer 3 pyramidal cells depending on coil orientation. Finally, it predicts that under standard stimulation conditions, action potentials are mostly generated at the axon initial segment of corctial pyramidal cells, with a much less important activation site being the part of a layer 5 pyramidal cell axon where it crosses the boundary between grey matter and white matter. In conclusion, our computational model offers a detailed account of the mechanisms through which TMS activates different cortical cell types, paving the way for more targeted application of TMS based on individual brain morphology in clinical and basic research settings.
Neuroadaptations in Human Chronic Alcoholics: Dysregulation of the NF-κB System

Background Alcohol dependence and associated cognitive impairments apparently result from neuroadaptations to chronic alcohol consumption involving changes in expression of multiple genes. Here we investigated whether transcription factors of Nuclear Factor-kappaB (NF-κB) family, controlling neuronal plasticity and neurodegeneration, are involved in these adaptations in human chronic alcoholics. Methods and Findings Analysis of DNA-binding of NF-κB (p65/p50 heterodimer) and the p50 homodimer as well as NF-κB proteins and mRNAs was performed in postmortem human brain samples from 15 chronic alcoholics and 15 control subjects. The prefrontal cortex involved in alcohol dependence and cognition was analyzed and the motor cortex was studied for comparison. The p50 homodimer was identified as dominant κB binding factor in analyzed tissues. NF-κB and p50 homodimer DNA-binding was downregulated, levels of p65 (RELA) mRNA were attenuated, and the stoichiometry of p65/p50 proteins and respective mRNAs was altered in the prefrontal cortex of alcoholics. Comparison of a number of p50 homodimer/NF-κB target DNA sites, κB elements in 479 genes, down- or upregulated in alcoholics demonstrated that genes with κB elements were generally upregulated in alcoholics. No significant differences between alcoholics and controls were observed in the motor cortex. Conclusions We suggest that cycles of alcohol intoxication/withdrawal, which may initially activate NF-κB, when repeated over years downregulate RELA expression and NF-κB and p50 homodimer DNA-binding. Downregulation of the dominant p50 homodimer, a potent inhibitor of gene transcription apparently resulted in derepression of κB regulated genes. Alterations in expression of p50 homodimer/NF-κB regulated genes may contribute to neuroplastic adaptation underlying alcoholism.
Varietal Effect on Plant Growth and Soil Moisture Content of Cabbage under Drip Irrigation Levels

An experiment was conducted for two Rabi seasons of year 2021-22 and 2022-23 on four irrigation levels (60 per cent, 80 per cent, 100 per cent and 120 per cent PE) and four varieties of cabbage (Golden Acre, Pusa Mukta, Pusa Cabbage -1 and Pusa Cabbage Hybrid-81) at College of Agriculture, SKRAU, Bikaner. The experiment was laid out in split plot design with three replications. Results showed that irrigation at 100 per cent PE was recorded significantly increased plant height (26.15, 25.66 and 25.91 cm)over 60 per cent and 80 per cent PE. The weight of head with unfolded leaves (1179.06, 1161.40 and 1170.23 g plant-1) and soil moisture content at 60 DAT(11.63, 11.30 and 11.46 per cent) were recorded significantly higher with 120 per cent PE over 60, 80 and 100 per cent PE irrigation levels in 2021-22 and 2022-23 and pooled mean basis, respectively. Among the varieties, plant height (25.62 cm) was recorded significantly higher with Pusa Mukta over the Pusa Cabbage -1 and Pusa Cabbage Hybrid -81 during both the years and pooled mean basis. The significantly maximum weight of head with unfolded leaves (940.65 g plant-1) was recorded under the variety of Pusa Mukta campared to other varieties on pooled mean basis. Soil moisture content was not significantly affected with different cabbage varieties during both the experimental years.
Recasting the Time Map Model as a Multi-Agent System

This paper illustrates how a computational linguistic model of phonology, incorporating statistical phonological/phonetic information, implemented in a multi-agent architecture, can contribute to robustness in speech technology applications. This work represents a novel extension to the Time Map model [1] retaining the main attributes of the model but recasting the architecture in terms of a multi-agent system. The Time Map model employs finite state methodology and an event logic to demonstrate how phonotactic constraints can play a role in speech recognition. These constraints model the permissible combinations of sounds for a language, and are used to interpret multilinear representations of speech utterances. Parsing takes place at both the phonological and phonetic feature levels, differing from mainstream techniques, in that the approach is non-segmental. Recasting the model in terms of a multi-agent system facilitates distributed parallel processing, constraint relaxation and output extrapolation in the case of underspecified utterances, and more elegant parsing.
Development and shelf life study of papaya fruit rollups

Papaya is a promising fruit crop in India which is economically available throughout the year.The present study was conducted to compare thepapaya fruit roll-upsprepared with cabinet dryer and Ezidri food dehydrator. Further study was carried out in order to evaluate the sensory and physico-chemical, microbial attributes at Intial, 6th, 8th and 10th week of storage period at the room temperature using LDPE packaging. The moisture content, TSS, thickness, pH, vitamin C, β-carotene, L* and b* color values ofpapaya fruit roll-ups decreased with increase of storage period at room temperature. The titrable acidity, a* color value and microbial counts were increased during 10 weeks storage. It was concluded that papaya fruit roll-ups dehydrated in Ezidri were superior in sensory, physico-chemical, vitamin C and β-carotene content in comparison with cabinet dried sample during storage.