Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
IRON DEFICIENCY AND IRON-DEFICIENCY ANAEMIA IN PREGNANT WOMEN CORRECTED BY ORAL BOVINE LACTOFERRIN ADMINISTRATION

Iron deficiency and iron – deficiency anaemia represent factors which increase maternal, foetal and neonatal mortality and morbidity. In pregnancy, the failure of oral iron-based therapy in restoring the biological parameters made it necessary to pursue other solutions. Due to its iron-binding properties, bovine lactoferrin has been used in preventing and treating iron – deficiency anaemia in pregnancy. In our study, 406 patients of different ages, parities and gestational ages received oral therapy with bovine lactoferrin, 100 mg twice a day. After 90 days, more than 90% of patients that completed the study had a positive response. These considerations, as well as positive neonatal results, support the claim that the use of bovine lactoferrin re-balances iron levels in pregnant women with iron deficiency and iron-deficiency anaemia.
Increases in activity of proteasome and papain-like cysteine protease in Arabidopsis autophagy mutants: back-up compensatory effect or cell-death promoting effect?

Abstract Autophagy is essential for protein degradation, nutrient recycling, and nitrogen remobilization. Autophagy is induced during leaf ageing and in response to nitrogen starvation, and is known to play a fundamental role in nutrient recycling for remobilization and seed filling. Accordingly, ageing leaves of Arabidopsis autophagy mutants (atg) have been shown to over-accumulate proteins and peptides, possibly because of a reduced protein degradation capacity. Surprisingly, atg leaves also displayed higher protease activities. The work reported here aimed at identifying the nature of the proteases and protease activities that accumulated differentially (higher or lower) in the atg mutants. Protease identification was performed using shotgun LC-MS/MS proteome analyses and activity-based protein profiling (ABPP). The results showed that the chloroplast FTSH (FILAMENTATION TEMPERATURE SENSITIVE H) and DEG (DEGRADATION OF PERIPLASMIC PROTEINS) proteases and several extracellular serine proteases [subtilases (SBTs) and serine carboxypeptidase-like (SCPL) proteases] were less abundant in atg5 mutants. By contrast, proteasome-related proteins and cytosolic or vacuole cysteine proteases were more abundant in atg5 mutants. Rubisco degradation assays and ABPP showed that the activities of proteasome and papain-like cysteine protease were increased in atg5 mutants. Whether these proteases play a back-up role in nutrient recycling and remobilization in atg mutants or act to promote cell death is discussed in relation to their accumulation patterns in the atg5 mutant compared with the salicylic acid-depleted atg5/sid2 double-mutant, and in low nitrate compared with high nitrate conditions. Several of the proteins identified are indeed known as senescence- and stress-related proteases or as spontaneous cell-death triggering factors.
MicroRNAs as Novel Regulators of Neuroinflammation

MicroRNAs are relatively recently discovered class of small noncoding RNAs, which function as important regulators of gene expression. They fine-tune protein expression either by translational inhibition or mRNA degradation. MicroRNAs act as regulators of diverse cellular processes, such as cell differentiation, proliferation, and apoptosis. Their defective biogenesis or function has been identified in various pathological conditions, like inflammation, neurodegeneration, or autoimmunity. Multiple sclerosis is one of the predominated debilitating neurological diseases affecting mainly young adults. It is a multifactorial disorder of as yet unknown aetiology. As far, it is suggested that interplay between genetic and environmental factors is responsible for MS pathogenesis. The role of microRNAs in this pathology is now extensively studied. Here, we want to review the current knowledge of microRNAs role in multiple sclerosis.
Two-dimensional numerical study of fl ow dynamics of a nucleated cell

When blood components (e.g., leukocytes and platelets) adhere to a surface (e.g., blood vessel wall), shear flow causes the elongation of the non-adherent part of the cell membrane forming a long thin cylinder shape (i.e., cell tether). The formation of cell tether is important for regulation of cell adhesion strength and stabilization of cell rolling, and may significantly affect the flow dynamics inside the vessel, as well as the motion of other cells and bioactive molecules. Although significant efforts have been made to reveal mechanisms underlying cell tether formation, the role of nucleus, nucleus/cell volume ratio, nucleus/plasma viscosity ratio and cytoplasm/plasma viscosity ratio remains unknown. As such, we developed a two-dimensional mathematical model, in which leukocytes are regarded as compound viscoelastic capsules with a nucleus. We investigated the effects of several factors on flow dynamic characteristics of tethered cells, including the cell length, the inclination angle, the drag and lift forces acting on the cell. The presence of a nucleus (with nucleus/cell volume ratio of 0.44) led to a decrease of 33.8% in the cell length and an increase of 152%, 113% and 43.6% in the inclination angle, the drag force and lift force respectively compared to those of a cell without nucleus. For a cell with nucleus/cell volume ratio of 0.2, a 10-fold increase in cytoplasm/plasma viscosity ratio resulted in a decrease of 19.3% in the cell length and an increase of 93.9%, 155% and 131% in the inclination angle, the drag force and lift force respectively. These results indicate that nucleus and cytoplasm play a significant role in flow dynamics of nucleated cells tethered under shear flow. The developed mathematical model could be used to further understand the mechanisms of cell-adhesion related bioprocesses and to optimize the conditions for cell manipulation in microfluidics. & 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Differential Regulation of Interleukin (IL)-12 p35 and p40 Gene Expression and Interferon (IFN)-γ–primed IL-12 Production by IFN Regulatory Factor 1

Interleukin (IL)-12 is a heterodimeric cytokine consisting of the p40 and p35 chains encoded on separate chromosomes. Coordinated expression of the two constituent genes is crucial for appropriate immune responses in timing, location, and magnitude. Interferon (IFN)-γ priming of IL-12 production by macrophages represents an important physiological process in vivo for escalated cellular response to microbial infections. We provide evidence that IFN regulatory factor (IRF)-1–deficient macrophages have a selective impairment in mRNA synthesis of IL-12 p35 but not the p40 gene, and a strong deficiency in the production of IL-12 p70 but not p40. We demonstrate that the levels of IL-12 p35 protein stimulated by IFN-γ and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) correspond to those of its mRNA, and that the nuclear factor κB signaling pathway is essential for the induction of IL-12 p35 transcription by LPS. IRF-1 plays a major role in the transcriptional activation of the IL-12 p35 gene, but not of the p40 gene, by physically interacting with an inverted IRF element within the IL-12 p35 promoter upon IFN-γ activation. Moreover, IRF-1–mediated transcriptional activation of the p35 promoter requires the cooperation of two adjacent Sp1 elements. Thus, IRF-1 acts as a critical component of IFN-γ signaling in the selective activation of IL-12 p35 transcription in synergy with LPS-mediated events.
Prediction of restraint in second cast sections of concrete culverts using artificial neural networks

Estimation of restraint is very important for accurately predicting the risk of early thermal and shrinkage cracking in concrete structures. The stress in young concrete is affected by changes in its dimensions during hydration and the restraint imposed by adjoining structures. In concrete culverts, the restraints from existing structures acting upon the first and second casting sections to be cast are different, causing them to exhibit different early cracking behaviour. This work presents a new method for predicting restraint in complex concrete structures using artificial neural networks (ANNs). Finite element calculations were performed to predict restraint in 108 slabs, 324 walls and 972 roofs from second sections of concrete culverts, and the results obtained were used to train and validate ANN models. The ANN models were then used to study the effects of varying selected parameters (the thickness and width of the roof and slab, the thickness and height of the walls, and the length of the culvert section) on the predicted restraint. Mathematical expressions for predicting restraint values in slabs, walls and roofs were derived based on the ANN models’ output and implemented in an Excel spreadsheet that provides a simple way of predicting restraint in practical applications. Restraint values predicted in this way agree well with the results of finite-element calculations.
Host Partitioning by Parasites in an Intertidal Crustacean Community

Abstract Patterns of host use by parasites throughout a guild community of intermediate hosts can depend on several biological and ecological factors, including physiology, morphology, immunology, and behavior. We looked at parasite transmission in the intertidal crustacean community of Lower Portobello Bay, Dunedin, New Zealand, with the intent of: (1) mapping the flow of parasites throughout the major crustacean species, (2) identifying hosts that play the most important transmission role for each parasite, and (3) assessing the impact of parasitism on host populations. The most prevalent parasites found in 14 species of crustaceans (635 specimens) examined were the trematodes Maritrema novaezealandensis and Microphallus sp. , the acanthocephalans Profilicollis spp. , the nematode Ascarophis sp. , and an acuariid nematode. Decapods were compatible hosts for M. novaezealandensis, while other crustaceans demonstrated lower host suitability as shown by high levels of melanized and immature parasite stages. Carapace thickness, gill morphology, and breathing style may contribute to the differential infection success of M. novaezealandensis and Microphallus sp. in the decapod species. Parasite-induced host mortality appears likely with M. novaezealandensis in the crabs Austrohelice crassa, Halicarcinus varius, Hemigrapsus sexdentatus, and Macrophthalmus hirtipes, and also with Microphallus sp. in A. crassa. Overall, the different parasite species make different use of available crustacean intermediate hosts and possibly contribute to intertidal community structure.
D-mannose: a promising support for acute urinary tract infections in women. A pilot study.

OBJECTIVE Urinary tract infections still represent a significant bother for women and result in high costs to the health system. D-mannose is a simple sugar; it seems able to hinder bacteria adhesion to the urothelium. The present study aimed to determine whether D-mannose alone is effective in treating acute urinary tract infections in women and its possible utility in the management of recurrences. PATIENTS AND METHODS This is a pilot study, performed between April 2014 and July 2015 at Department of Gynaecological Obstetrics and Urologic Sciences of "Sapienza" University of Rome. A D-mannose compound was administered twice daily for 3 days and then once a day for 10 days. Changes in patients' symptoms, the therapeutic effects and changes in quality of life (QoL) were evaluated clinically and using a specifically validated questionnaire (UTISA). After described treatment, patients were randomized in receiving or not prophylaxis in the next 6 months. RESULTS Mean UTISA scores recorded after completing the treatment, compared with baseline scores, showed a significant improvement of the majority of symptoms (p < 0.05). D-mannose seemed to have had a significant positive effect on UTIs' resolution and QoL improvement (p = 0.0001). As prophylactic agent administered for 6 months, it showed promising results (4.5% vs. 33.3% recurrences in treated and untreated patients respectively). CONCLUSIONS The results of this study suggest that D-mannose can be an effective aid in acute cystitis management and also a successful prophylactic agent in a selected population; however, more studies will certainly be needed to confirm the results of our pilot study.
Predicting Blood Glucose Dynamics with Multi-time-series Deep Learning

Predicting blood glucose dynamics is vital for people to take preventive measures in time against health risks. Previous efforts adopt handcrafted features and design prediction models for each person, which result in low accuracy due to ineffective feature representation and the limited training data. This work proposes MT-LSTM, a multi-time-series deep LSTM model for accurate and efficient blood glucose concentration prediction. MT-LSTM automatically learns feature representations and temporal dependencies of blood glucose dynamics by jointly sharing data among multiple users and utilizes an individual learning layer for personalized prediction. Evaluations on 112 users demonstrate that MT-LSTM significant outperform conventional predictive regression models.
Geographical variation in the ‘bottom‐up’ control of diversity: fleas and their small mammalian hosts

Aim We searched for signs of the ‘bottom-up’ diversity effect in the association between fleas (Siphonaptera) and their small mammalian hosts (Rodentia, Insectivora and Lagomorpha). We asked (1) whether a strong dependence of flea species richness on host species richness is characteristic for both Palaeoarctic and Nearctic realms; (2) if yes, whether the ratio of host species per flea species along the host diversity gradient is similar between the Palaeoarctic and Nearctic; and (3) whether factors other than host species richness (i.e. geographical position, climate and landscape) might better explain variation in flea species richness than host species richness. Location The study used previously published data on species richness of fleas and their small mammalian hosts from 26 Palaeoarctic and 19 Nearctic regions. Methods We regressed the number of flea species on the number of small mammal species across regions, separately for Palaeoarctic and Nearctic realms, using both non-transformed data as well as data corrected for the confounding effects of host sampling effort and sampling area. To test whether flea species richness is determined by external factors unrelated to the host, we used stepwise multiple regressions of flea species richness against host species richness and parameters describing the geographical position, climate and relief of a region. Results When non-transformed data were analysed, flea species richness was positively correlated with host species richness in both the Palaeoarctic and Nearctic, although the slopes of the two regressions differed significantly. After removal of the confounding effects of host sampling effort and sampling area, Palaeoarctic flea species richness remained strongly positively correlated with host species richness, whereas in the Nearctic, flea species richness appeared to be completely independent of host species richness. Results of the multiple regressions using corrected data demonstrated that in the Palaeoarctic, flea species richness was correlated with both the number of host species and the mean altitude of the region, whereas in the Nearctic, flea species richness only tended to be weakly correlated with latitude (however, this correlation turned out to be non-significant after Bonferroni correction). Main conclusions We found evidence of bottom-up control of flea diversity in the Palaeoarctic regions only, and not in the Nearctic. We explore several potential explanations for the different patterns observed in the two biogeographical realms, including differences in (1) levels of host specialization, (2) history of host‐parasite associations and (3) landscape effects on flea diversification. We conclude that these factors combine to create different macroecological patterns in different biogeographical realms, and that diversity is not governed by the same forces everywhere.
Autism and psychosis expressions diametrically modulate the right temporoparietal junction

ABSTRACT The mentalizing network is atypically activated in autism and schizophrenia spectrum disorders. While these disorders are considered diagnostically independent, expressions of both can co-occur in the same individual. We examined the concurrent effect of autism traits and psychosis proneness on the activity of the mentalizing network in 24 neurotypical adults while performing a social competitive game. Activations were observed in the paracingulate cortex and the right temporoparietal junction (rTPJ). Autism traits and psychosis proneness did not modulate activity within the paracingulate or the dorsal component of the rTPJ. However, diametric modulations of autism traits and psychosis proneness were observed in the posterior (rvpTPJ) and anterior (rvaTPJ) subdivisions of the ventral rTPJ, which respectively constitute core regions within the mentalizing and attention-reorienting networks. Within the rvpTPJ, increasing autism tendencies decreased activity, and increasing psychosis proneness increased activity. This effect was reversed within the rvaTPJ. We suggest that this results from an interaction between regions responsible for higher level social cognitive processing (rvpTPJ) and regions responsible for domain-general attentional processes (rvaTPJ). The observed diametric modulation of autism tendencies and psychosis proneness of neuronal activity within the mentalizing network highlights the importance of assessing both autism and psychosis expressions within the individual.
Parametric Study of Thermal Stability on Continuous Welded Rail

The thermal buckling analysis of curved continuous welded rail (CWR) is studied for the lateral buckling prevention. This study includes a thermal buckling theory which accounts for both thermal and vehicle loading effects in the evaluation of track stability. The parameters include rail size, track lateral resistance, track longitudinal and torsional stiffnesses, initial misalignment amplitude and wavelength, track curvature, tie-ballast friction coefficient and truck center spacing. Parametric studies are performed to evaluate the effects of the individual parameters on the upper and lower critical buckling temperatures. The results show that the upper critical buckling temperature is highly affected by the uplift due to vehicle loads. This study provides a guideline for the improvement of stability for dynamic buckling in curved CWR track.
Multi-frame Quality Enhancement for Compressed Video

The past few years have witnessed great success in applying deep learning to enhance the quality of compressed image/video. The existing approaches mainly focus on enhancing the quality of a single frame, ignoring the similarity between consecutive frames. In this paper, we investigate that heavy quality fluctuation exists across compressed video frames, and thus low quality frames can be enhanced using the neighboring high quality frames, seen as Multi-Frame Quality Enhancement (MFQE). Accordingly, this paper proposes an MFQE approach for compressed video, as a first attempt in this direction. In our approach, we firstly develop a Support Vector Machine (SVM) based detector to locate Peak Quality Frames (PQFs) in compressed video. Then, a novel Multi-Frame Convolutional Neural Network (MF-CNN) is designed to enhance the quality of compressed video, in which the non-PQF and its nearest two PQFs are as the input. The MF-CNN compensates motion between the non-PQF and PQFs through the Motion Compensation subnet (MC-subnet). Subsequently, the Quality Enhancement subnet (QE-subnet) reduces compression artifacts of the non-PQF with the help of its nearest PQFs. Finally, the experiments validate the effectiveness and generality of our MFQE approach in advancing the state-of-the-art quality enhancement of compressed video. The code of our MFQE approach is available at https://github.com/ryangBUAA/MFQE.git.
Mitotic exit: Determining the PP2A dephosphorylation program

In mitotic exit, proteins that were highly phosphorylated are sequentially targeted by the phosphatase PP2A-B55, but what underlies substrate selection is unclear. In this issue, Cundell et al. (2016. J. Cell Biol. http://dx.doi.org/10.1083/jcb.201606033) identify the determinants of PP2A-B55’s dephosphorylation program, thereby influencing spindle disassembly, nuclear envelope reformation, and cytokinesis.
Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs) and Hexabromocyclodecane (HBCD) in Composite U.S. Food Samples

Objectives This study was designed to update previous U.S. market basket surveys of levels and polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) dietary intake calculations. This study also quantifies hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) levels in U.S.-purchased foods for the first time and estimates U.S. dietary intake of HBCD. This is part of a larger market basket study reported in two companion articles, of current levels of certain persistent organic pollutants (POPs) PBDEs, HBCD, perfluorinated compounds, polychlorinated biphenyls, and pesticides in composite food samples collected in 2008–2009. Methods In this study, we measured concentrations of 24 PBDE congeners and total HBCD in composite samples of 31 food types (310 samples). U.S. dietary intake of PBDEs and HBCD was estimated referencing the most current U.S. Department of Agriculture loss-adjusted food availability report. Results Total PBDE concentrations in food varied by food type, ranging from 12 pg/g wet weight (ww) in whole milk to 1,545 pg/g ww in canned sardines and 6,211 pg/g ww in butter. Total HBCD concentrations also varied substantially within and among food groups, ranging from 23 pg/g in canned beef chili to 593 pg/g in canned sardines. HBCD was not detected in any dairy samples. Dietary intake of all PBDE congeners measured was estimated to be 50 ng/day, mostly from dairy consumption but also from meat and fish. HBCD intake was estimated at 16 ng/day, primarily from meat consumption. Conclusion PBDEs and HBCDs currently contaminate some food purchased in the United States, although PBDE intake estimated in this study is lower than reported in our previous market basket surveys. HBCD is in food at higher levels than expected based on previously reported levels in milk and blood compared with PBDE levels and is comparable to European levels.
Monoids over domains

In this paper, we describe three distinct monoids over domains, each with a commutative analog, which define bag domain monoids. Our results were inspired by work by Varacca (Varacca 2003), and they lead to a constructive approach to his Hoare indexed valuations over a continuous poset $P$. We use our constructive approach to describe an analog of the probabilistic power domain, and the laws that characterise it, that forms a Scott-closed subset of Varacca's construct. We call these the Hoare random variables over$P$.