Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Predicted National Productivity Implications of Calorie and Sodium Reductions in the American Diet

Purpose. To model the potential long-term national productivity benefits from reduced daily intake of calories and sodium. Design. Simulation based on secondary data analysis; quantitative research. Measures include absenteeism, presenteeism, disability, and premature mortality under various hypothetical dietary changes. Setting. United States. Subjects. Two hundred twenty-five million adults. Measures. Findings come from a Nutrition Impact Model that combines information from national surveys, peer-reviewed studies, and government reports. Analysis. We compare current estimates of national productivity loss associated with overweight, obesity, and hypertension to estimates for hypothetical scenarios in which national prevalence of these risk factors is lower. Using the simulation model, we illustrate how modest dietary change can achieve lower national prevalence of excess weight and hypertension. Results. We estimate that permanent 100-kcal reductions in daily intake among the overweight/obese would eliminate approximately 71.2 million cases of overweight/obesity. In the long term, this could increase national productivity by $45.7 billion annually. Long-term sodium reductions of 400 mg in those with uncontrolled hypertension would eliminate about 1.5 million cases, potentially increasing productivity by $2.5 billion annually. More aggressive diet changes of 500 kcal and 1100 mg of sodium reductions yield potential productivity benefits of $133.3 and $5.8 billion, respectively. Conclusions. The potential long-term benefit of reduced calories and sodium, combining medical cost savings with productivity increases, ranges from $108.5 billion for moderate reductions to $255.6 billion for aggressive reductions. These findings help inform public health policy and the business case for improving diet.
Expression and Characterization of Recombinant Human UDP-glucuronosyltransferases (UGTs)

Eight human liver UDP-glucuronosyltransferases (UGTs) were expressed in baculovirus-infected insect cells as fusion proteins carrying a short C-terminal extension that ends with 6 histidine residues (His tag). The activity of recombinant UGT1A1, UGT1A3, UGT1A4, UGT1A6, UGT2B4, UGT2B7, and UGT2B15 was almost fully inhibited by 0.2% Triton X-100. In the case of UGT1A9, however, glucuronidation of α-naphthol and scopoletin was resistant to such inhibition, whereas glucuronidation of entacapone and several other aglycones was sensitive. His-tagged UGT1A9 was purified by immobilized metal-chelating chromatography (IMAC). Purified UGT1A9 glucuronidated scopoletin at a high rate, whereas its glucuronidation activity toward entacapone was low and largely dependent on phospholipid addition. Recombinant UGT1A9 in which the His tag was replaced by hemagglutinin antigenic peptide (HA tag) was also prepared. Insect cells were co-infected with baculoviruses encoding both HA-tagged and His-tagged UGT1A9. Membranes from the co-infected cells, or a mixture of membranes from separately infected cells, were subjected to detergent extraction and IMAC, and the resulting fractions were analyzed for the presence of each type of UGT1A9 using tag-specific antibodies. In the case of separate infection, the HA-tagged UGT1A9 did not bind to the column. When co-infected with His-tagged UGT1A9, however, part of the HA-tagged enzyme was bound to the column and was eluted by imidazole concentration gradient together with the His-tagged UGT1A9, suggesting the formation of stable dimers that contain one His-tagged and one HA-tagged UGT1A9 monomers.
Non-malleable Reductions and Applications

Non-malleable codes, introduced by Dziembowski, Pietrzak and Wichs [DPW10], provide a useful message integrity guarantee in situations where traditional error-correction (and even error-detection) is impossible; for example, when the attacker can completely overwrite the encoded message. Informally, a code is non-malleable if the message contained in a modified codeword is either the original message, or a completely "unrelated value". Although such codes do not exist if the family of "tampering functions" cF allowed to modify the original codeword is completely unrestricted, they are known to exist for many broad tampering families cF. The family which received the most attention [DPW10,LL12,DKO13,ADL14,CG14a,CG14b] is the family of tampering functions in the so called (2-part) split-state model: here the message x is encoded into two shares L and R, and the attacker is allowed to arbitrarily tamper with each L and R individually. Despite this attention, the following problem remained open: Build efficient, information-theoretically secure non-malleable codes in the split-state model with constant encoding rate: |L|=|R|=O(|x|). In this work, we resolve this open problem. Our technique for getting our main result is of independent interest. We develop a generalization of non-malleable codes, called non-malleable reductions; show simple composition theorem for non-malleable reductions; build a variety of such reductions connecting various (independently interesting) tampering families cF to each other; construct several new non-malleable codes in the split-state model by applying the composition theorem to a series of easy to understand reductions. Most importantly, we show several "independence amplification" reductions, showing how to reduce split-state tampering of very few parts to an easier question of split-state tampering with a much larger number of parts. In particular, our final, constant-rate, non-malleable code composes one of these reductions with the very recent, "9-split-state" code of Chattopadhyay and Zuckerman [CZ14].
Araneae : Sparassidae ) : a revisionary update with the description of four new species and an updated identification key for all species

The spider genus Cebrennus Simon, 1880 is revised again after thirteen years. Four new species are described: Cebrennus atlas spec. nov. from Morocco (female), C. flagellatus spec. nov. from Afghanistan (male), C. laurae spec. nov. from Canary Islands (male), and C. rechenbergi spec. nov. from Morocco (male and female). Cebrennus clercki (Audouin, 1826) comb. nov. is transferred from Philodromidae to Sparassidae and considered a nomen dubium. The holotype of C. aethiopicus Simon, 1880 is illustrated for the first time. Cebrennus tunetanus Simon, 1885 is re-described by illustrating its copulatory organs and some somatic characters, the internal duct system is shown for the first time supporting its placement in Cebrennus. An updated identification key for all species is provided. New records of Cebrennus species are listed: C. wagae (Simon, 1874) is recorded from Libya and Malta for the first time, the latter representing the first record for the entire genus from Europe. C. kochi (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1872) is recorded from Syria, C. aethiopicus from Sudan for the first time. Records from the Canary Islands and from Afghanistan extend the known generic distribution range further to the West and East. Behavioural aspects (burrowing, escaping, mating) of C. rechenbergi and partly of C. villosus (Jézéquel & Junqua, 1966) are described. Photographs of this behaviour as well as of the habitus of several species are
The role of insulin-like growth factor I and hypoxia inducible factor 1α in vascular endothelial growth factor expression in type 2 diabetes.

BACKGROUND Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) plays an important role in diabetic vascular complications, and its expression is affected directly or indirectly by hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) and insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) in tumors and certain normal cell lines. However, little is known about the role of HIF-1α/ IGF-I in VEGF expression in patients with diabetic vascular complications. The aim of this study was to elucidate the associations between HIF-1α, IGF-I, and VEGF in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients with or without vascular complications. METHODS Sixty patients with T2DM, with(A), and without vascular disease (B) and 26 controls were enrolled. Clinical parameters, HIF-1α, IGF-I and VEGF were assessed in the study and associations among them were analyzed by Spearman rank correlation. RESULTS Serum levels of VEGF, HIF-1α and IGF-I were significantly higher in the diabetic patients than in the controls. Positive correlations existed between VEGF and HIF-1α and between HIF-1α and IL-6 in both groups A and B and in the control group. CONCLUSIONS Our data demonstrate that HIF-1α and IL-6 could regulate VEGF expression, and that higher levels of HIF-1α, IL-6, and VEGF may contribute to the pathogenesis of diabetic micro-angiopathy.
A Clinical and Biochemical Analysis in the Differential Diagnosis of Idiopathic Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus

Introduction Idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) can be misdiagnosed with other neurodegenerative diseases, especially in the early disease stages. Considering the opportunity of the shunt surgery, iNPH should be diagnosed with accuracy. Here, we evaluate the utility of CSF biomarkers and their relationship with clinical features in the diagnosis of iNPH. Methods We performed a multivariate analysis of the CSF levels of Aβ42, t-tau, and p-tau collected from four groups of patients: 14 iNPH, 14 progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), 14 Alzheimer’s disease (AD), 14 controls (CTL). Diagnostic accuracy of biomarkers was determined by the receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. Statistical correlation was calculated between each CSF biomarker and single clinical items of iNPH. Results Aβ42 levels in iNPH were lower than controls, although not as low as in AD. Likewise, CSF t-tau and p-tau were lower in iNPH than in controls. Of interest, t-tau and p-tau were higher in AD than in controls and hence both t-tau and p-tau were significantly lower in iNPH than in AD. No differences were found between iNPH and PSP. CSF biomarkers levels did not correlate to clinical features of iNPH, whereas two significant correlations emerged within clinical parameters: cognitive impairment was related to gait difficulties, while ventricular enlargement correlated with continence disturbances. Conclusion Measurement of CSF biomarker levels may be helpful in the differential diagnosis between iNPH and AD but not between iNPH and PSP. Both Aβ42 and tau levels appear unrelated to main clinical features of iNPH.
Pricing Legal Options: A Behavioral Perspective

Many legal rules can be interpreted as creating options. Option pricing is thus important for understanding the ex ante effects of these rules. And, recognizing that individuals, whose behavior the law aims to influence, are imperfectly rational, a behavioral option pricing model is a potentially helpful tool for legal policy. This paper develops such a model and applies it to a series of legal problems in tort law, contract law, corporate law and criminal law.
Phytoremediation of Pesticide Wastes in Soil

Soils at agrochemical dealer sites often are contaminated with pesticide residues from decades of accidental and incidental spillage. We have determined that prairie grasses native to the Midwestern U.S. are suitable for phytoremediation because they are tolerant of most herbicides and of climatic extremes, such as heat, cold, drought, and flooding. A mixed stand of big bluestem, switch grass, and yellow indiangrass develops a rhizosphere with microflora that can readily detoxify pesticide residues. Specific atrazine-degrading bacteria or the free enzyme atrazine chlorohydrolase also can enhance the rate of biotransformation of atrazine in soil. Metolachlor degradation can be accelerated significantly by the prairie grass/rhizosphere effect. Several grasses used in filter strips have also been evaluated for their pesticidedegradation capabilities. The prairie grasses also have been demonstrated to reduce the rates of leaching of pesticides through intact soil columns, since less water leaches out of vegetated soil columns compared to non-vegetated soil columns. The evaluation of the degree of success of remediation has relied heavily on chemical residue analysis, but recent studies on biological endpoints have shown promise for providing more ecologically relevant indications of the potential exposure of organisms to pesticides in the soil. Earthworm 8-day bioaccumulation assays and root growth assays have shown the value of assessing the bioavailability of the residues. Mass balance experiments have utilized radiolabeled atrazine and metolachlor to ascertain the complete metabolism and binding profile of those two pesticides in phytoremediation studies.
The Papillomavirus E7 Oncoprotein Is Ubiquitinated by UbcH7 and Cullin 1- and Skp2-Containing E3 Ligase

ABSTRACT Recurrent infections with high-risk human papillomaviruses (HPVs) are associated with human cervical cancers. All HPV-associated cancer tissues express the viral oncoproteins E6 and E7, which stimulate cell growth. The expression of E7 is crucial for both the initiation and the maintenance of HPV-associated cancer. Recent studies showed that the level of E7 in cancer cells is regulated by ubiquitin-dependent proteolysis through the 26S proteasome. In this study, we characterized the enzymes involved in the ubiquitin-dependent proteolysis of E7. We show that UbcH7, an E2 ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme, is specifically involved in the ubiquitination of E7. Furthermore, we show that E7 interacts with the SCF (Skp-Cullin-F box) ubiquitin ligase complex containing Cullin 1 (Cul1) and Skp2 and can be ubiquitinated by the Cul1-containing ubiquitin ligase in vitro. Coimmunoprecipitation analyses revealed that E7 interacts with Skp2 and Cul1 in vivo. Finally, the half-life of E7 was found to be significantly longer in Skp2−/− mouse embryo fibroblasts (MEFs) than in wild-type MEFs. Taken together, these results suggest that the Cul1- and Skp2-containing ubiquitin ligase plays a role in the ubiquitination and proteolysis of E7. In HPV type 16-containing cervical carcinoma cell line Caski, E7 localizes to both the cytoplasm and the nucleus. Brief treatment of Caski cells with MG132 (a proteasome inhibitor) causes the accumulation of E7 in discrete nuclear bodies. These nuclear bodies are detergent insoluble and contain polyubiquitinated E7. We suggest that E7 relocates to specific nuclear bodies for proteolysis in HPV-containing epithelial cells.
Automated classification of adverse events in pharmacovigilance

Adverse Events (AEs) are a significant concern in healthcare, since it is among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality[12]. According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), between 2006 and 2014, there was a 232% increase in AE cases reported to have caused mortality[13]. In fact, the volume of all AE cases reported to the FDA has increased by almost five fold since 1997[13]. Pharmaceutical companies are struggling to handle the increased case volume due to manual logging of individual cases. This is not a sustainable solution as we see the volume of AE case logs increase exponentially [12,13]. In this paper, we discuss our work and findings for implementing a pharmacovigilance automation solution. This solution explores machine learning techniques in being able to identify serious vs non-serious adverse event narrative logs. While developing our methodology, we explored both traditional machine learning and deep learning techniques. Our final model achieved a mean F1-Score of 95% and an MCC score of 0.80 on the AE case narratives.1
Serotypes and Virulence Profiles of Non-O157 Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli Isolates from Bovine Farms

ABSTRACT Non-O157 Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) strains are clinically significant food-borne pathogens. However, there is a dearth of information on serotype prevalence and virulence gene distribution, data essential for the development of public health protection monitoring and control activities for the meat and dairy industries. Thus, the objective of this study was to examine the prevalence of non-O157 STEC on beef and dairy farms and to characterize the isolates in terms of serotype and virulence markers. Bovine fecal samples (n = 1,200) and farm soil samples (n = 600) were collected from 20 farms throughout Ireland over a 12-month period. Shiga toxin-positive samples were cultured and colonies examined for the presence of stx 1 and/or stx 2 genes by PCR. Positive isolates were serotyped and examined for a range of virulence factors, including eaeA, hlyA, tir, espA, espB, katP, espP, etpD, saa, sab, toxB, iha, lpfA O157/OI-141, lpfA O113, and lpfA O157/OI-154. Shiga toxin and intimin genes were further examined for known variants. Significant numbers of fecal (40%) and soil (27%) samples were stx positive, with a surge observed in late summer-early autumn. One hundred seven STEC isolates were recovered, representing 17 serotypes. O26:H11 and O145:H28 were the most clinically significant, with O113:H4 being the most frequently isolated. However, O2:H27, O13/O15:H2, and ONT:H27 also carried stx 1 and/or stx 2 and eaeA and may be emerging pathogens.
Psycho-social Determinants of Colorectal Cancer Screening in Iran

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most prevalent cancer among Iranians, and threatens them at younger ages. This study was guided by the theoretical concepts of the preventive health model (PHM) to assess the attitudes and beliefs of Iranians towards CRC screening. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted with participation of 200 individuals aged 50 years or older in a Teaching Hospital in Tehran, Iran. Background characteristics (e.g., age, gender, marital status) were assessed and a validated instrument drawn from the PHM was applied to measure cognitive and psychosocial variables (i.e., self-efficacy, intention to screening, perceived susceptibility, cancer worries, response efficacy, and social support). Data were collected via face-to-face interviews and analyzed using the SPSS version 13.00 for Windows. Results: The age of the participants ranged from 50 years to 83 years (mean 60.13). Most respondents were married (62.5%), unemployed (42%), and had secondary or higher education (44.5%). Overall, 11% of respondents reported prior screening. Individuals obtained relatively poor scores on self-efficacy, intention to screening, perceived susceptibility, cancer worries, response efficacy, and social support. Conclusions: In this study, individuals mostly reported poor attitude in regard to CRC screening. The results of the present study could guide policy makers in designing tailored interventions to increase the participation of individuals in screening programs.
Tissue and Stage-Specific Distribution of Wolbachia in Brugia malayi

Background Most filarial parasite species contain Wolbachia, obligatory bacterial endosymbionts that are crucial for filarial development and reproduction. They are targets for alternative chemotherapy, but their role in the biology of filarial nematodes is not well understood. Light microscopy provides important information on morphology, localization and potential function of these bacteria. Surprisingly, immunohistology and in situ hybridization techniques have not been widely used to monitor Wolbachia distribution during the filarial life cycle. Methods/Principal Findings A monoclonal antibody directed against Wolbachia surface protein and in situ hybridization targeting Wolbachia 16S rRNA were used to monitor Wolbachia during the life cycle of B. malayi. In microfilariae and vector stage larvae only a few cells contain Wolbachia. In contrast, large numbers of Wolbachia were detected in the lateral chords of L4 larvae, but no endobacteria were detected in the genital primordium. In young adult worms (5 weeks p.i.), a massive expansion of Wolbachia was observed in the lateral chords adjacent to ovaries or testis, but no endobacteria were detected in the growth zone of the ovaries, uterus, the growth zone of the testis or the vas deferens. Confocal laser scanning and transmission electron microscopy showed that numerous Wolbachia are aligned towards the developing ovaries and single endobacteria were detected in the germline. In inseminated females (8 weeks p.i.) Wolbachia were observed in the ovaries, embryos and in decreasing numbers in the lateral chords. In young males Wolbachia were found in distinct zones of the testis and in large numbers in the lateral chords in the vicinity of testicular tissue but never in mature spermatids or spermatozoa. Conclusions Immunohistology and in situ hybridization show distinct tissue and stage specific distribution patterns for Wolbachia in B. malayi. Extensive multiplication of Wolbachia occurs in the lateral chords of L4 and young adults adjacent to germline cells.
Sulfur capture and nitrogen oxide reduction on the 6' x 6' atmospheric fluidized bed combustion test facility

An earlier state-of-the-art assessment (EPRI Final Report FP-308) concluded that the existing AFBC data base was inadequate for the design of utility-scale units - that is, the available data were limited in scope, and since they had been derived mainly from laboratory-scale equipment, it was doubtful whether they could be applied to the design of utility boilers. The need for a large, well-instrumented facility capable of long-term testing was clearly indicated. As a result, a 6-foot x 6-foot (6' x 6') AFBC Development Facility was built. A complete description of the facility design details are contained in EPRI Final Report CS-1688. Twenty-three test series have been completed covering over 7100 hours of operation. Data obtained thus far have clearly shown that fly ash recycle can improve combustion efficiency to the level needed for commercial operation. Recycle also improves sorbent utilization, thus reducing the limestone needed for sulfur capture. Measured NO/sub x/ emission levels are well below current EPA limits. However, two-stage combustion tests have shown that NO/sub x/ can be reduced to about 0.15 lb/million Btu. Additional work needs to be completed to improve sulfur capture and combustion efficiency with two-stage combustion. Information obtained thus far has allowed a significantmore » improvement in our understanding of the AFBC process and should prove useful to researchers in this field. Further, design of prototype hardware and other equipment developed and tested on the 6' x 6' should prove useful for commercial design. « less
Acoustic cues for automatic determination of phrasing

This paper proposes a framework of automatic determination of phrasing using acoustic features derived from the speech signal. The feature vectors were defined in a series of analyses investigating the acoustic-phonetic realization of minor and major phrase boundaries and different boundary types. The resulting representation was used to train statistical classifiers to automatically determine phrase boundary position and type. The output of the classifiers can be used to provide speech corpora with phrasing information to enhance the performance of TTS or ASR systems, or to generate a comprehensive feedback in prosody tutoring systems. Apart from providing an efficient means for automatic phrase boundary detection, the study presented in this paper sheds also light on the role of timing and F0 cues in signaling phrase boundaries.