Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Altered Plasma Lysophosphatidylcholines and Amides in Non-Obese and Non-Diabetic Subjects with Borderline-To-Moderate Hypertriglyceridemia: A Case-Control Study

Hypertriglyceridemia (HTG) is a risk factor for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (CVD). We investigated alterations in plasma metabolites associated with borderline-to-moderate HTG (triglycerides (TG) 150-500 mg/dL). Using UPLC-LTQ-Orbitrap mass spectrometry analysis, the metabolomics profiles of 111 non-diabetic and non-obese individuals with borderline-to-moderate HTG were compared with those of 111 age- and sex-matched controls with normotriglyceridemia (NTG, TG <150 mg/dL). When compared to the NTG control group, the HTG group exhibited higher plasma levels of lysophosphatidylcholines (lysoPCs), including C14:0 (q = 0.001) and C16:0 (q = 1.8E-05), and several amides, including N-ethyldodecanamide (q = 2.9E-05), N-propyldodecanamide (q = 3.5E-05), palmitoleamide (q = 2.9E-06), and palmitic amide (q = 0.019). The metabolomic profiles of the HTG group also exhibited lower plasma levels of cis-4-octenedioic acid (q<1.0E-9) and docosanamide (q = 0.002) compared with those of the NTG controls. LysoPC 16:0 and palmitoleamide emerged as the primary metabolites able to discriminate the HTG group from the NTG group in a partial least-squares discriminant analysis and were positively associated with the fasting triglyceride levels. We identified alterations in lysoPCs, amides, and cis-4-octenedioic acid among non-diabetic and non-obese individuals with borderline-to-moderate HTG. These results provide novel insights into the metabolic alterations that occur in the early metabolic stages of HTG. This information may facilitate the design of early interventions to prevent disease progression.
Exosomes in Mesenchymal Stem Cells, a New Therapeutic Strategy for Cardiovascular Diseases?

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are still a major cause of people deaths worldwide, and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) transplantation holds great promise due to its capacity to differentiate into cardiovascular cells and secrete protective cytokines, which presents an important mechanism of MSCs therapy for CVDs. Although the capability of MSCs to differentiate into cardiomyocytes (CMCs), endothelial cells (ECs) and vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) has been well recognized in massive previous experiments both in vitro and in vivo, low survival rate of transplanted MSCs in recipient hearts suggests that therapeutic effects of MSCs transplantation might be also correlated with other underlying mechanisms. Notably, recent studies uncovered that MSCs were able to secret cholesterol-rich, phospholipid exosomes which were enriched with microRNAs (miRNAs). The released exosomes from MSCs acted on hearts and vessels, and then exerted anti-apoptosis, cardiac regeneration, anti-cardiac remodeling, anti-inflammatory effects, neovascularization and anti-vascular remodeling, which are considered as novel molecular mechanisms of therapeutic potential of MSCs transplantation. Here we summarized recent advances about the role of exosomes in MSCs therapy for CVDs, and discussed exosomes as a novel approach in the treatment of CVDs in the future.
European and Turkish voices in favour and against Turkish accession to the European Union

In 2005 the European Commission and the Turkish government started their investigation of the adaptation of Turkish legislation to European law. But public opinion remains sceptical and a thorough discussion among European and Turkish proponents is still needed. Apart from the many beliefs, ideals and prognoses that circulate about the past and future of Europe as well as Turkey, the negotiations continue and different scenarios and time-frames are being developed. In the end, it is the question of the otherness of Turkey to Europe that constitutes the core of the discussion and may offer the start of an answer. To put forward the arguments for and against Turkish accession to the European Union, the University Centre Saint-Ignatius Antwerp organised a two-day academic workshop held in June 2006 in Antwerp. This publication gathers together the opinions of Turkish and European scholars and diplomats about the socio-economic, cultural-religious and political arguments being used in the discussion.
ISO 9001 overall performance dimensions: an exploratory study

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to validate and assess the performance dimensions reflecting ISO 9001 benefits in service companies and to determine their relationships. Design/methodology/approach – A research study was carried out in 198 ISO 9001:2008 certified Greek service companies. Data were obtained through a structured questionnaire and have been analyzed with exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Findings – Four performance dimensions reflecting ISO 9001 benefits are extracted and validated, namely, product/service quality, operational, market and financial performance. Research limitations/implications – The research sample is limited to small and medium-sized enterprises operating in a specific European country. Further research may confirm the findings of this study to other countries as well. Practical implications – By determining and evaluating the performance dimensions and their inter-relationships, the ISO 9001 certified service companies are assisted to select an appropri.
Forward link performance of multiple access schemes in cellular systems

The actual trend towards personal communication systems suggests to devote considerable research efforts to find more efficient multiple access techniques in order to improve the system capacity. The authors compare the system performance of three multiple access techniques used in mobile radio systems: TDMA, CDMA, and the slotted Aloha packet system. The performance of the three protocols has been evaluated in the presence or absence of both antenna diversity and power control, with a focus on the base-to-mobile link. The results obtained show that CDMA and slotted Aloha work much better than TDMA; moreover the performance of slotted Aloha is comparable to CDMA, while exhibiting a virtual insensitivity to propagation conditions.
Are Local Governments Governed by Forward Looking Decision Makers?: An Investigation of Spending Patterns in Swedish Municipalities

In this paper we investigate the extent to which local government consumption in Sweden is determined by permanent rather than current resources. Evidence from a panel of municipalities indicates that most consumption (90-95 percent) is associated with permanent resources. That is, spending decisions on non-durable goods and services in Swedish municipalities are to a very high degree determined by rational, forward looking decision makers. This result contrasts sharply with the common view that local governments do not act intertemporally. One policy implication is that it might be difficult for the central government to conduct stabilization policy by influencing the municipalities' current resources.
Foreign Currency Deposits and the Demand for Money in Developing Countries

This paper examines the relative demands for domestic and foreign currency deposits by residents of developing countries. A dynamic currency substitution model that incorporates forward-looking rational expectations is formulated and then estimated for a group of ten developing countries. The results indicate that the foreign rate of interest and the expected rate of depreciation of the parallel market exchange rate are important factors in the choice between holding domestic money or switching to foreign currency deposits held abroad. From an empirical standpoint, the forward-looking framework adopted here also turns out to be superior to the conventional currency-substitution model.
Multiple partially ordered grammars A case study from Greek SLI

This paper examines variation in language development based on the case study of a Greek-speaking child with Specific Language Impairment in the phonological component. To account for variation, we extend the empirical coverage of partial ordering (Anttila 1997a,b) to language acquisition along the lines of Tzakosta’s (2004) Multiple Parallel Grammars theory. The theoretical gain of the proposed model is that it provides a principled basis to define developmental paths and also draw a distinction between smart and nonsmart paths. This is stated as the Grammar Inclusion Hypothesis: advanced grammars consist of total orders which are proper subsets of early grammars; a smart path is one that subsumes the total order of the target grammar.
Persistent Reversal of Enhanced Amphetamine Intake by Transient CaMKII Inhibition

Amphetamine exposure transiently increases Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) α expression in the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) shell and this persistently increases local GluA1 S831 phosphorylation and enhances behavioral responding to the drug. Here we assessed whether transiently interfering with CaMKII signaling using a dominant-negative CaMKIIα mutant delivered to the NAcc shell with herpes simplex viral vectors could reverse these long-lasting biochemical and behavioral effects observed following exposure to amphetamine. As expected, transient expression of CaMKIIα K42M in the NAcc shell produced a corresponding transient increase in CaMKIIα and decrease in pCaMKIIα (T286) protein levels in this site. Remarkably, this transient inhibition of CaMKII activity produced a long-lasting reversal of the increased GluA1 S831 phosphorylation levels in NAcc shell and persistently blocked the enhanced locomotor response to and self-administration of amphetamine normally observed in rats previously exposed to the drug. Together, these results indicate that even transient interference with CaMKII signaling may confer long-lasting benefits in drug-sensitized individuals and point to CaMKII and its downstream pathways as attractive therapeutic targets for the treatment of stimulant addiction.
Impact of Informal Re-exports between Benin and Nigeria: A CGE analysis

Ever since the end of the Biafra war, re-exportation has become an important economic activity for Benin’s economy. One of the reasons for the existence of this type of commerce resides in the disparity in economic policies between Benin and Nigeria. We model this sector and its interrelations with the remainder of the economy as well as on public finances. A CGE model was developed with data from Benin’s social accounting matrix for 1999. In the model, we distinguished between formal and informal households (households that work in the informal sector) and a distinction was incorporated into the model in regards of the re-exportation industry by dividing the latter into its 8 most important re-export sectors. We simulated a 10% depreciation of the CFA F and a 20% decrease in import tariffs. Our findings demonstrate a great sensitivity of government’s revenues to the activity of this informal sector. For one simulation, public savings dropped by almost 25%, but in both cases, the government’s income was strongly affected.
Polarimetric signatures of sea ice. 1: Theoretical model

Physical, structural, and electromagnetic properties and interrelating processes in sea ice are used to develop a composite model for polarimetric backscattering signatures of sea ice. Physical properties of sea ice constituents such as ice, brine, air, and salt are presented in terms of their effects on electromagnetic wave interactions. Sea ice structure and geometry of scatterers are related to wave propagation, attenuation, and scattering. Temperature and salinity, which are determining factors for the thermodynamic phase distribution in sea ice, are consistently used to derive both effective permittivities and polarimetric scattering coefficients. Polarimetric signatures of sea ice depend on crystal sizes and brine volumes, which are affected by ice growth rates. Desalination by brine expulsion, drainage, or other mechanisms modifies wave penetration and scattering. Sea ice signatures are further complicated by surface conditions such as rough interfaces, hummocks, snow cover, brine skim, or slush layer. Based on the same set of geophysical parameters characterizing sea ice, a composite model is developed to calculate effective permittivities and backscattering covariance matrices at microwave frequencies for interpretation of sea ice polarimetric signatures.
Modelling the Spatial Distribution of Culicoides imicola: Climatic versus Remote Sensing Data

Culicoides imicola is the main vector of the bluetongue virus in the Mediterranean Basin. Spatial distribution models for this species traditionally employ either climatic data or remotely sensed data, or a combination of both. Until now, however, no studies compared the accuracies of C. imicola distribution models based on climatic versus remote sensing data, even though remotely sensed datasets may offer advantages over climatic datasets with respect to spatial and temporal resolution. This study performs such an analysis for datasets over the peninsula of Calabria, Italy. Spatial distribution modelling based on climatic data using the random forests machine learning technique resulted in a percentage of correctly classified C. imicola trapping sites of nearly 88%, thereby outperforming the linear discriminant analysis and logistic regression modelling techniques. When replacing climatic data by remote sensing data, random forests modelling accuracies decreased only slightly. Assessment of the different variables’ importance showed that precipitation during late spring was the most important amongst 48 climatic variables. The dominant remotely sensed variables could be linked to climatic variables. Notwithstanding the slight decrease in predictive performance in this study, remotely sensed datasets could be preferred over climatic datasets for the modelling of C. imicola. Unlike climatic observations, remote sensing provides an equally high spatial resolution globally. Additionally, its high temporal resolution allows for investigating changes in species’ presence and changing environment.
Market States and the Profitability of Momentum Strategies: Evidence from the Taiwan Stock Exchange

This paper examines the impact of market states on the profitability of momentum strategies using weekly data from the Taiwan Stock exchange over the 10-year period 1997-2006. Market states refer to the states of market such as up or down markets. In this paper, the formation period is defined as in an up (down) state if the market return over the six-month period prior to the holding period is nonnegative (negative). The results indicate that market states in the formation period are positively associated with the profitability of the momentum strategies. The results are consistent with the overreaction theory developed in Daniel et al. (2004). Moreover, the empirical results indicate that market states in the holding period are negatively associated with the profitability of the momentum strategies. The holding period is defined as in an up (down) state if the market return in the six-month period following the formation period is nonnegative (negative). The momentum profits appear to be higher in a bearish holding period and lower for a bullish holding period. Thus, the market states in the holding period also provide information regarding the profitability of the momentum strategies.
Generalized Stäckel transform and reciprocal transformations for finite-dimensional integrable systems

We present a multiparameter generalization of the Stäckel transform (the latter is also known as the coupling-constant metamorphosis) and show that under certain conditions this generalized Stäckel transform preserves Liouville integrability, noncommutative integrability and superintegrability. The corresponding transformation for the equations of motion proves to be nothing but a reciprocal transformation of a special form, and we investigate the properties of this reciprocal transformation. Finally, we show that the Hamiltonians of the systems possessing separation curves of apparently very different form can be related through a suitably chosen generalized Stäckel transform.
5-Aminolevulinic Acid Protects against Cisplatin-Induced Nephrotoxicity without Compromising the Anticancer Efficiency of Cisplatin in Rats In Vitro and In Vivo

Background/Aims Nephrotoxicity is a frequent and major limitation in cisplatin (CDDP)-based chemotherapy. 5-Aminolevulinic acid (ALA) is widely distributed in animal cells, and it is a precursor of tetrapyrole compounds such as heme that is fundamentally important in aerobic energy metabolism. The aim of this study is to evaluate the protective role of ALA in CDDP-induced acute kidney injury (AKI). Method We used CDDP-induced AKI rat model and cultured renal tubular cells (NRK-52E). We divided four groups of rats: control, CDDP only, CDDP + ALA(post);(ALA 10 mg/kg + Fe in drinking water) after CDDP, CDDP + ALA(pre & post). Result CDDP increased Cr up to 6.5 mg/dl, BUN up to 230 mg/dl, and ALA significantly reduced these changes. ALA ameliorates CDDP-induced morphological renal damages, and reduced tubular apoptosis evaluated by TUNEL staining and cleaved caspase 3. Protein and mRNA levels of ATP5α, complex(COX) IV, UCP2, PGC-1α in renal tissue were significantly decreased by CDDP, and ALA ameliorates reduction of these enzymes. In contrast, Heme Oxigenase (HO)-1 level is induced by CDDP treatment, and ALA treatment further up-regulates HO-1 levels. In NRK-52E cells, the CDDP-induced reduction of protein and mRNA levels of mitochondrial enzymes was significantly recovered by ALA + Fe. CDDP-induced apoptosis were ameliorated by ALA + Fe treatment. Furthermore, we evaluated the size of transplantated bladder carcinoma to the rat skin, and ALA did not change the anti cancer effects of CDDP. Conclusion These data suggested that the protective role of ALA in cisplatin-induced AKI is via protection of mitochondrial viability and prevents tubular apoptosis. Also there are no significant effects of ALA on anticancer efficiency of CDDP in rats. Thus, ALA has the potential to prevent CDDP nephrotoxicity without compromising its anticancer efficacy.
The Western Australian School Health Project: comparing the effects of intervention intensity on organizational support for school health promotion.

The aim of this study was to evaluate changes in school health promotion practice related to two levels of intervention in the Western Australian School Health (WASH) Project: (1) a low-intensity intervention involving a single mail-out of WASH Project resources, and (2) a high-intensity intervention involving training, planning time and expert support. The schools involved in the study were divided into three groups. Treatment group 1 received the high-intensity intervention, treatment group 2 received the low-intensity intervention and a comparison group received no intervention. Two scales were developed to assess change, i.e. a school organizational scale (Chronbach's alpha = 0.76) and a health promotion activity scale (Chronbach's alpha = 0.79). The results indicate that a high-intensity intervention, such as the WASH Project, which provides training to a critical mass of school community members from each school, ongoing access to an expert in the field, as well as dedicated planning time, is able to increase the comprehensiveness and quality of health strategic planning by schools. Furthermore, the results suggest that a low-intensity mail-out intervention is no more successful in initiating change that providing no intervention at all.
Mask Assisted Object Coding with Deep Learning for Object Retrieval in Surveillance Videos

Retrieving visual object from a large-scale video dataset is one of multimedia research focuses but a challenging task due to imprecise object extraction and partial occlusion. This paper presents a novel approach to efficiently encode and retrieve visual objects, which addresses some practical complications in surveillance videos. Specifically, we take advantage of the mask information to assist object representation, and develop an encoding method by utilizing highly nonlinear mapping with a deep neural network. Furthermore, we add some occluded noise into the learning process to enhance the robustness of dealing with background noise and partial occlusions. A real-life surveillance video data containing over 10 million objects are built to evaluate the proposed approach. Experimental results show our approach significantly outperforms state-of-the-art solutions for object retrieval in large-scale video dataset.
Computer Vision Based Automatic Extraction and Thickness Measurement of Deep Cervical Flexor from Ultrasonic Images

Deep Cervical Flexor (DCF) muscles are important in monitoring and controlling neck pain. While ultrasonographic analysis is useful in this area, it has intrinsic subjectivity problem. In this paper, we propose automatic DCF extractor/analyzer software based on computer vision. One of the major difficulties in developing such an automatic analyzer is to detect important organs and their boundaries under very low brightness contrast environment. Our fuzzy sigma binarization process is one of the answers for that problem. Another difficulty is to compensate information loss that happened during such image processing procedures. Many morphologically motivated image processing algorithms are applied for that purpose. The proposed method is verified as successful in extracting DCFs and measuring thicknesses in experiment using two hundred 800 × 600 DICOM ultrasonography images with 98.5% extraction rate. Also, the thickness of DCFs automatically measured by this software has small difference (less than 0.3 cm) for 89.8% of extracted DCFs.
Relation between aortic stiffness and left ventricular diastolic function in patients with hypertension, diabetes, or both

Objective: To evaluate aortic function and its relation to left ventricular diastolic function in patients with hypertension, diabetes, or both, without coronary artery disease. Methods: Study groups were composed of 27 healthy participants and 25 patients with hypertension, 24 with diabetes, and 18 with hypertension and diabetes. Coronary artery disease was excluded in all of the study participants. Aortic strain and distensibility were calculated from the aortic diameters measured by echocardiography and blood pressure obtained by sphygmomanometry. Results: There were significant differences between the control and the patient groups (hypertensive, diabetic, and diabetic−hypertensive) in aortic strain (mean (SD) 18 (8)% v 11 (7)%, 9 (3)%, and 8 (3)%, respectively, p < 0.001) and distensibility (10 (5.1) v 3.1 (1.5), 5.1 (2.8), and 2 (0.9) cm2/dyn/103, respectively, p < 0.001). In a multivariate analysis, the parameter most closely related to the deceleration time in the control group was aortic distensibility (standardised β coefficient –0.50, p = 0.002, overall R2 = 0.25). In the patient group, the parameter most closely related to deceleration time was also aortic distensibility (standardised β coefficient –0.36, p = 0.009, overall R2 = 0.13). Even though the study group variable was entered in to the multivariate model, aortic distensibility was found to be the parameter most closely related to deceleration time (standardised β coefficient –0.48, p < 0.001, overall R2 = 0.22). Conclusion: Aortic stiffness is increased in patients with hypertension, diabetes, or both even after the exclusion of coronary artery disease. Aortic stiffness and left ventricular diastolic dysfunction are also associated in these patients.