Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of short-TE 1H MRSI for quantification of metabolites in the prostate

Back‐to‐back 1H MRSI scans, using an endorectal and phased‐array coil combination, were performed on 18 low‐risk patients with prostate cancer at 3 T, employing TEs of 32 and 100 ms in order to compare metabolite visualization at each TE. Outer‐volume suppression of lipid signals was performed using regional saturation (REST) slabs and the quantification of spectra at both TEs was achieved with the quantitation using quantum estimation (QUEST) routine. Metabolite nulling experiments in an additional five patients found that there were negligible macromolecule background signals in prostate spectra at TE = 32 ms. Metabolite visibility was judged using the criterion Cramér–Rao lower bound (CRLB)/amplitude < 20%, and metabolite concentrations were corrected for relaxation effects and referenced to the data acquired in corresponding water‐unsuppressed MRSI scans. For the first time, the prostate metabolites spermine and myo‐inositol were quantified individually in vivo, together with citrate, choline and creatine. All five metabolite visibilities were higher in TE = 32 ms MRSI than in TE = 100 ms MRSI. At TE = 32 ms, citrate was visible in 99.0% of lipid‐free spectra, whereas, at TE = 100 ms, no metabolite simulation of citrate matched the in vivo peaks. Spermine, choline and creatine were visualised separately in 30.4% more spectra at TE = 32 ms than at TE = 100 ms, and myo‐inositol in 72.5% more spectra. T2 values were calculated for spermine (53 ± 16 ms), choline (62 ± 17 ms) and myo‐inositol (90 ± 48 ms). Data from the TE = 32 ms spectra showed that the concentrations of citrate and spermine secretions were positively correlated in both the peripheral zone and central gland (R2 = 0.73 and R2 = 0.43, respectively), and that the citrate content was significantly higher in the former at 64 ± 22 mm than in the latter at 32 ± 16 mm (p = 0.01). However, lipid contamination at TE = 32 ms was substantial; therefore, to make clinical use of the greater visualisation of prostate metabolites at TE = 32 ms rather than at TE = 100 ms, three‐dimensional MRSI at TE = 32 ms with effective lipid suppression must be implemented. ©2014 The Authors. NMR in Biomedicine published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Prevalence, characteristics and severity of hypomineralization of the first permanent molars and incisors in children from the northern part of Kosovo and Metohija

Brankica MARTINOVIĆ Živka Davidovića 114/16 11000 Beograd Serbia brankicamartinovic@gmail.com SUMMARY Introduction/Objective Molar-incisor hypomnineralization (MIH) is relatively common developmental anomaly characterized by hypomineralized enamel defects in the first permanent molars and incisors. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of hypomineralization of the first permanent molars and incisors in children aged eight and 10 years who live in the northern part of Kosovo and Metohija. Methods The study included 712 respondents, 289 of whom aged eight (40.6%) and 423 of whom aged 10 years (59.4%). Criteria according to Weerheijm were used for diagnosis of hypomineralization and the severity of changes was determined. Results The frequency of hypomineralized changes in the first permanent molars and incisors of the examined children in this area was 12.2%. It was lower in children aged eight years (10.7%) compared to those aged 10 (13.2%). Demarcated enamel opacity was more common in younger children, whereas both atypical restoration and tooth extraction due to hypomineralization were more common in older children. Mild form is more common in children aged eight years, whereas both severe form and severe form with extracted teeth are more common in children aged 10 years. The results indicate that the first permanent molars were most commonly affected by MIH changes. Conclusion The percentage of the respondents with MIH changes in the northern part of Kosovo and Metohija, which is 12.2%, is not negligible and points to the necessity of early diagnosis in order to prevent and reduce the complications of the condition by timely prevention and treatment.
Performance of a corona ion source for measurement of sulfuric acid by chemical ionization mass spectrometry [Discussion paper]

The performance of an ion source based on corona discharge has been studied. This source is used for the detection of gaseous sulfuric acid by chemical ionization mass spectrometry (CIMS) through the reaction of NO3– ions with H2SO4. The ion source is operated under atmospheric pressure and its design is similar to the one of a radioactive (Americium 241) ion source which has been used previously. Our results show that the detection limit for the corona ion source is sufficiently good for most applications. For an integration time of one minute it is ~6 × 104 molecules of H2SO4 per cm3. In addition, only a small cross-sensitivity to SO2 has been observed for concentrations as high as 1 ppmv in the sample gas. This low sensitivity to SO2 is achieved even without the addition of an OH scavenger. When comparing the new corona ion source with the americium ion source for the same provided H2SO4 concentration, both ion sources yield almost identical values. These features make the corona ion source investigated here favorable over the more commonly used radioactive ion sources for most applications where H2SO4 is measured by CIMS.
Effect of increasing levels of apparent metabolizable energy on laying hens in barn system

Objective This experiment was to investigate the effect of increasing levels of apparent metabolizable energy (AMEn) on the laying performance, egg quality, blood parameters, blood biochemistry, intestinal morphology, and apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of energy and nutrients in diets fed to laying hens. Methods A total of three-hundred twenty 33-week-old Hy-Line Brown laying hens (Gallus domesticus) were evenly assigned to four experimental diets of 2,750, 2,850, 2,950, and 3,050 kcal AMEn/kg in pens with floors covered with deep litter of rice hulls. There were four replicates of each treatment, each consisting of 20 birds in a pen. Results AMEn intake was increased (linear, p<0.05) with inclusion level of AMEn in diets increased. Feed intake and feed conversion ratio were improved (linear, p<0.01), but hen-day egg production tended to be increased with an increasing level of AMEn in diets. During the experiment, leukocyte concentration and blood biochemistry (total cholesterol, triglyceride, glucose, total protein, calcium, asparate aminotransferase, and alanine transferase were not influenced by increasing level of AMEn in diets. Gross energy and ether extract were increased (linear, p<0.01) as the inclusion level of AMEn in diets increased. Conclusion Laying hens fed high AMEn diet (i.e., 3,050 kcal/kg in the current experiment) tended to overconsume energy with a positive effect on feed intake, feed conversion ratio, nutrient digestibility, and intestinal morphology but not on egg production and egg mass.
Ethnic-Specific Obesity Cutoffs for Diabetes Risk: Cross-sectional Study of 490,288 UK Biobank Participants

OBJECTIVE To compare the relationship between adiposity and prevalent diabetes across ethnic groups in the UK Biobank cohort and to derive ethnic-specific obesity cutoffs that equate to those developed in white populations in terms of diabetes prevalence. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS UK Biobank recruited 502,682 U.K. residents aged 40–69 years. We used baseline data on the 490,288 participants from the four largest ethnic subgroups: 471,174 (96.1%) white, 9,631 (2.0%) South Asian, 7,949 (1.6%) black, and 1,534 (0.3%) Chinese. Regression models were developed for the association between anthropometric measures (BMI, waist circumference, percentage body fat, and waist-to-hip ratio) and prevalent diabetes, stratified by sex and adjusted for age, physical activity, socioeconomic status, and heart disease. RESULTS Nonwhite participants were two- to fourfold more likely to have diabetes. For the equivalent prevalence of diabetes at 30 kg/m2 in white participants, BMI equated to the following: South Asians, 22.0 kg/m2; black, 26.0 kg/m2; Chinese women, 24.0 kg/m2; and Chinese men, 26.0 kg/m2. Among women, a waist circumference of 88 cm in the white subgroup equated to the following: South Asians, 70 cm; black, 79 cm; and Chinese, 74 cm. Among men, a waist circumference of 102 cm equated to 79, 88, and 88 cm for South Asian, black, and Chinese participants, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Obesity should be defined at lower thresholds in nonwhite populations to ensure that interventions are targeted equitably based on equivalent diabetes prevalence. Furthermore, within the Asian population, a substantially lower obesity threshold should be applied to South Asian compared with Chinese groups.
A parietofrontal network for spatial awareness in the right hemisphere of the human brain.

Patients with lesions of the right hemisphere often show signs of left-sided unilateral neglect. Left-sided neglect may impair the ability of patients to live independently and entails a poor functional outcome. When exploring a visual scene, patients with left-sided neglect fail to pay attention to left-sided objects. They do not eat from the left part of their dish, they bump their wheelchair into obstacles situated on their left, and they have a tendency to look to right-sided details as soon as a visual scene unfolds, as if their attention were “magnetically” attracted by these details. [1] On visuospatial testing, they fail to cancel or describe left-sided targets in search tasks, deviate rightward when bisecting horizontal lines, and fail to copy the left part of drawings[1,2] (Figure 1). The study of left-sided neglect is important for neuroscientists to understand the brain mechanisms underlying spatial awareness. From the clinical point of view, research on neglect can ameliorate the diagnosis by devising appropriate visuospatial tests, clarify the prognostic factors for individual patients with particular patterns of impairment, and allow the development of rationa strategies of rehabilitation. Despite decades of research, however, the lesional bases of neglect within the right hemisphere still remain controversial.
PRAXLABS: A sustainable framework for user-centered ICT development Cultivating research experiences from Living Labs in the home

In this chapter, we suggest PRAXLABS as a framework to reflect on, and implement, elements of sustainable empirical research and design in Living Lab studies. In recent years the Living Lab approach has widely evolved into a common ground for researchers aiming at practice-based collaborative design. This design approach, amongst others, includes intensive stakeholder and end-user participation as well as long-term orientation in R&D projects. For the explication of the PRAXLABS framework, we present a comparative analysis of three Living Lab projects aiming at different design themes in the domestic domain: home entertainment, energy monitoring, and ambient assisted living. In each project users were involved as co-creators in the research and design of new domestic IT artifacts. By analyzing and comparing these cases, we will specify experiences which may be transferred to other projects located in the domestic context. In addition, we discuss conditions which enable the transfer of insights across the borders of the home domain into other fields of application, e.g. work spaces, public spaces or into the field of mobile applications. Overall, we
Lipid based nutrient supplements (LNS) for treatment of children (6 months to 59 months) with moderate acute malnutrition (MAM): A systematic review

Background Moderate acute malnutrition is a major public health problem affecting children from low- and middle-income countries. Lipid nutrient supplements have been proposed as a nutritional intervention for its treatment. Objectives To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of LNS for the treatment of MAM in infants and children 6 to 59 months of age. Study design Systematic review of randomized-controlled trials and controlled before-after studies. Results Data from nine trials showed that use of LNS, in comparison to specially formulated foods, improved the recovery rate (RR 1.08; 95% CI 1.02–1.14, 8 RCTs, 8934 participants, low quality evidence); decreased the chances of no recovery (RR 0.70; 95% CI 0.58–0.85, 7 RCTs, 8364 participants, low quality evidence) and the risk of deterioration into severe acute malnutrition (RR 0.87; 95% CI 0.73–1.03, 6 RCTs, 6788 participants, low quality evidence). There was little impact on mortality (RR 0.94, 95% CI 0.54–1.52, 8 RCTs, 8364 participants, very-low- quality evidence) or default rate (RR 1.32; 95% CI 0.73–2.4, 7 studies, 7570 participants, low quality evidence). There was improvement in weight gain, weight-for-height z-scores, height-for-age z-scores and mid-upper arm circumference. Subset analyses suggested higher recovery rates with greater amount of calories provided and with ready-to-use therapeutic foods, in comparison to ready-to-use supplementary foods. One study comparing LNS with nutritional counselling (very low quality evidence) showed higher chance of recovery, lower risk of deteriorating into severe acute malnutrition and lower default rate, with no impact on mortality, and no recovery. Conclusions Evidence restricted to the African regions suggests that LNS may be slightly more effective than specially formulated fortified foods or nutritional counselling in recovery from MAM, lowering the risk of deterioration into SAM, and improving weight gain with little impact on mortality or default rate.
Size, chlorophyll retention and protein and oil contents of grains from soybean plants grown in different spatial arrangements.

The spatial arrangement of soybean plants, determined by row spacing and seeding rate, affects the intraspecific competition for water, light, and nutrients, as well as plant architecture and grain development, quality, and chemical composition. The aims of this study were to evaluate the effect of row spacing and seeding rate on the grain size produced, and the influence of these three factors on chlorophyll retention and protein and oil content in grain. Two experiments were conducted in the 2013/14 and 2014/15 growing seasons, using a 4 × 3 factorial randomized block design with three replications. Four different row spacings [20 cm (narrow row), 50 cm (conventional), 20/80 cm (twin rows) and crossed lines (50 cm)] and three seeding rates (150, 300, and 450 thousand viable seeds ha-1) were evaluated. The grains were classified by size using oblong sieves and then the effects of spatial arrangements and size of grain on the percentage of green grains and protein and oil contents were evaluated. Higher plant densities were associated with larger grain size, whereas the effects of spacing between the rows on the grain size varied between growing seasons. The arrangement in cross-rows and high plant density produced a higher percentage of green grains under weather conditions favorable to the development of this attribute. The effects of plant spatial arrangements on the contents of protein and oil in grains were variable, and it was not possible to determine whether the spatial arrangement of plants had an effect on the levels of protein and oil in grains. Larger grains had higher protein content, but oil contents were not affected by grain size.
Xenosurveillance reflects traditional sampling techniques for the identification of human pathogens: A comparative study in West Africa

Background Novel surveillance strategies are needed to detect the rapid and continuous emergence of infectious disease agents. Ideally, new sampling strategies should be simple to implement, technologically uncomplicated, and applicable to areas where emergence events are known to occur. To this end, xenosurveillance is a technique that makes use of blood collected by hematophagous arthropods to monitor and identify vertebrate pathogens. Mosquitoes are largely ubiquitous animals that often exist in sizable populations. As well, many domestic or peridomestic species of mosquitoes will preferentially take blood-meals from humans, making them a unique and largely untapped reservoir to collect human blood. Methodology/Principal findings We sought to take advantage of this phenomenon by systematically collecting blood-fed mosquitoes during a field trail in Northern Liberia to determine whether pathogen sequences from blood engorged mosquitoes accurately mirror those obtained directly from humans. Specifically, blood was collected from humans via finger-stick and by aspirating bloodfed mosquitoes from the inside of houses. Shotgun metagenomic sequencing of RNA and DNA derived from these specimens was performed to detect pathogen sequences. Samples obtained from xenosurveillance and from finger-stick blood collection produced a similar number and quality of reads aligning to two human viruses, GB virus C and hepatitis B virus. Conclusions/Significance This study represents the first systematic comparison between xenosurveillance and more traditional sampling methodologies, while also demonstrating the viability of xenosurveillance as a tool to sample human blood for circulating pathogens.
Nanomechanics of confined polymer systems

Polymers anchored to surfaces play an important role in nature and technology, and regulate diverse interfacial phenomena in areas such as tribology and colloidal stability. Polymers grafted to surfaces at high density form elongated “brushes” with characteristic lengths much larger than free coils in solution. These brushes can reduce interfacial friction and wear as well as impart fouling resistance to surfaces. In light of these functionalities it is important to understand the behaviour of surface-grafted polymers at the molecular and nanoscopic level. An emerging area of interest are polymers attached to nanopores. Theoretical studies predict interesting morphologies and dynamics of such confined brushes in and around nanopores, but nanopore environments have been difficult to study experimentally. In this thesis a unique polymer-functionalized nanopore-like experimental system is presented, functionalized with poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG). Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is employed to probe the PEG brushes with nanometre spatial precision and sub-nanonewton force sensitivity, revealing novel dynamics depending on the local grafting position of PEG with respect to the nanopore geometry. Further, AFM is used together with fluorescence microscopy to show how polymer–protein interactions can be used together with the anti-fouling property of PEG to sort specific biomolecules from complex biological fluids to nanoscale targets. This shows a way how to confer biological recognition and specificity to synthetic nanoscale systems which is important for biosensing and bioseparation applications.
Overcorrection for Social-Categorization Information Moderates Impact Bias in Affective Forecasting

Plural societies require individuals to forecast how others—both in-group and out-group members—will respond to gains and setbacks. Typically, correcting affective forecasts to include more relevant information improves their accuracy by reducing their extremity. In contrast, we found that providing affective forecasters with social-category information about their targets made their forecasts more extreme and therefore less accurate. In both political and sports contexts, forecasters across five experiments exhibited greater impact bias for both in-group and out-group members (e.g., a Democrat or Republican) than for unspecified targets when predicting experiencers’ responses to positive and negative events. Inducing time pressure reduced the extremity of forecasts for group-labeled but not unspecified targets, which suggests that the increased impact bias was due to overcorrection for social-category information, not different intuitive predictions for identified targets. Finally, overcorrection was better accounted for by stereotypes than by spontaneous retrieval of extreme group exemplars.
The Synergy between Palmitate and TNF-α for CCL2 Production Is Dependent on the TRIF/IRF3 Pathway: Implications for Metabolic Inflammation

The chemokine CCL2 (also known as MCP-1) is a key regulator of monocyte infiltration into adipose tissue, which plays a central role in the pathophysiology of obesity-associated inflammation and insulin resistance. It remains unclear how CCL2 production is upregulated in obese humans and rodents. Because elevated levels of the free fatty acid (FFA) palmitate and TNF-α have been reported in obesity, we studied whether these agents interact to trigger CCL2 production. Our data show that treatment of THP-1 and primary human monocytic cells with palmitate and TNF-α led to a marked increase in CCL2 production compared with either treatment alone. Mechanistically, we found that cooperative production of CCL2 by palmitate and TNF-α did not require MyD88, but it was attenuated by blocking TLR4 or TRIF. IRF3-deficient cells did not show synergistic CCL2 production in response to palmitate/TNF-α. Moreover, IRF3 activation by polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid augmented TNF-α–induced CCL2 secretion. Interestingly, elevated NF-κB/AP-1 activity resulting from palmitate/TNF-α costimulation was attenuated by TRIF/IRF3 inhibition. Diet-induced C57BL/6 obese mice with high FFAs levels showed a strong correlation between TNF-α and CCL2 in plasma and adipose tissue and, as expected, also showed increased adipose tissue macrophage accumulation compared with lean mice. Similar results were observed in the adipose tissue samples from obese humans. Overall, our findings support a model in which elevated FFAs in obesity create a milieu for TNF-α to trigger CCL2 production via the TLR4/TRIF/IRF3 signaling cascade, representing a potential contribution of FFAs to metabolic inflammation.
Revision NONINVASIVE ASSESSMENT OF VOCAL FOLD MUCOSAL WAVE VELOCITY USING COLOR DOPPLER IMAGING

The vibratory movement of the vocal folds (VF) plays an important role in normal function of phonation. We developed a noninvasive technique to quantify the human MWV in vivo using color Doppler imaging (CDI). During phonation the motion of mucosa-air interface generates a unique pattern of US color artifacts which assist the identification of true VF location. An in vitro study using vibrating string phantom was conducted to investigate how the CDI displayed a vibrating soft tissue at high frequency. The vibrating amplitude, frequency, mass density and the acoustic impedance of the soft tissues were found to dominate the formation of color artifacts. Based on the model of finite string with fixed ends, we estimated the mean mucosal wave velocity (MWV) for ten adult volunteers (6M 4F, age 34±5) with normal VF function. The mean MWVs for the male subjects were found vary from 2.1 to 10 m/s in frequency range of 85-310 Hz at their comfortable pitch and intensity, while the females typically had higher MWV that varied from 5.0 to 16.5 m/s in frequency range of 180-480 Hz. The MWV increased linearly with the frequency and there was no observable difference in mucosa stiffness due to the effect of gender. The variation in MWV as it propagates vertically can be seen from the color and shape of the artifacts. The VF polyp resulted in abnormal MWV and different CDI vibratory artifacts. The CDI artifacts provide the insight of the dynamics of mucosa structure during phonation, and the method presented is promising for noninvasive monitoring of laryngeal functions clinically.