Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The true cost of in-patient obesity: impact of obesity on inflammatory stress and morbidity

The objective of the present review is to provide an overview of the metabolic effects of pro-inflammatory cytokine production during infection and injury; to highlight the disadvantages of pro-inflammatory cytokine production and inflammatory stress on morbidity and mortality of patients; to identify the influence of genetics and adiposity on inflammatory stress in patients and to indicate how nutrients may modulate the inflammatory response in patients. Recent research has shown clearly that adipose tissue actively secretes a wide range of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines. Paradoxically, although inflammation is an essential part of the response of the body to infection, surgery and trauma, it can adversely affect patient outcome. The metabolic effects of inflammation are mediated by pro-inflammatory cytokines. Metabolic effects include insulin insensitivity, hyperlipidaemia, muscle protein loss and oxidant stress. These effects, as well as being present during infective disease, are also present in diseases with a covert inflammatory basis. These latter diseases include obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Inflammatory stress also increases during aging. The level of cytokine production, within individuals, is influenced by single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in cytokine genes. The combination of SNP controls the relative level of inflammatory stress in both overt and covert inflammatory diseases. The impact of cytokine genotype on the intensity of inflammatory stress derived from an obese state is unknown. While studies remain to be done in the latter context, evidence shows that these genomic characteristics influence morbidity and mortality in infectious disease and diseases with an underlying inflammatory basis and thereby influence the cost of in-patient obesity. Antioxidants and n-3 PUFA alter the intensity of the inflammatory process. Recent studies show that genotypic factors influence the effectiveness of immunonutrients. A better understanding of this aspect of nutrient–gene interactions and of the genomic factors that influence the intensity of inflammation during disease will help in the more effective targeting of nutritional therapy.
Effect of Amygdalin on the treatment and recurrence of endometriosis in an experimental rat study

Background: Endometriosis is an aggressive disorder and associated with infertility, pelvic pain and intra-abdominal adhesions in women of reproductive age. Women with endometriosis has the potential risk of recurrence ranging from 21.5% in two years to 50% in five years after recovery period. Therefore, there is a certain requirement for new drugs as an alternative therapy to the current ones. Aim: The aim of the present study is to compare the effects of amygdalin and leuprolide acetate on endometriosis development and recurrence in rats. Study Design: Animal experiment Methods: A total of 30 adult female rats were enrolled. Induction of endometriosis was performed by implanting endometriotic focci on the peritoneal side of the abdominal wall. Before amygdalin or leuprolide acetate treatment one of the implant was removed for histopathological analysis, and rats were randomly divided into three groups. Saline (Group 1), amygdalin (Group 2), and leuprolide acetate (Group 3) were administered for three weeks. After treatment, one of the remaining three implants was excised for histopathological evaluation, and all treatments were terminated. Estradiol was given after the estradiol induction for the recurrence of endometriosis. Rest of the implanted tissues were removed, then all rats were euthanised. The implant volumes, histopathological injury and fibrosis levels were observed. Results: The endometriotic foci volumes in Group 2 and Group 3 were significantly lower than in Group 1 (p = 0.001, p = 0.002, respectively). The histopathological injury scores and fibrosis levels were not significantly different among the groups (p > 0.05). Conclusion: The present study showed that amygdalin has an evident effect in the treatment of endometriosis.
Suicidal ideation in patients with obstructive sleep apnoea and its relationship with disease severity, sleep-related problems and social support

We aimed to assess the prevalence of suicidal ideation and to examine the relationships between obstructive sleep apnoea severity, sleep-related problems, social support and suicidal ideation in obstructive sleep apnoea patients. We included 149 patients (68% male; mean age, 48.99 ± 9.57 years) with diagnosed obstructive sleep apnoea (Apnoea–Hypopnoea Index ⩾5) based on full-night polysomnography. The prevalence of suicidal ideation among obstructive sleep apnoea patients was 20.1 per cent. Structural equation modelling showed that suicidal ideation in obstructive sleep apnoea was strongly related to poor sleep quality and high fatigue levels. No relationship between social support and suicidal ideation in obstructive sleep apnoea patients was found.
Effects of Medium-Term Amendment with Diversely Processed Sewage Sludge on Soil Humification—Mineralization Processes and on Cu, Pb, Ni, and Zn Bioavailability

The organic fraction of sewage sludge administered to agricultural soil can contribute to slowing down the loss of soil’s organic carbon and, in some cases, can improve the physical and mechanical properties of the soil. One of the main constraints to the agricultural use of sewage sludge is its heavy metals content. In the long term, agricultural administration of sewage sludge to soil could enhance the concentration of soil heavy metals (as total and bioavailable fractions). The aim of this research was to evaluate the effects of medium-term fertilization with diversely processed sewage sludge on the soil’s organic carbon content and humification–mineralization processes, on the physical–mechanical properties of soil and their influence on the pool of potentially bioavailable heavy metals, in order to assess their effectiveness as soil organic amendments. After eight years of sludge administration; an increase in the concentrations of bioavailable form was evidenced in all the heavy metals analyzed; independently of the type of sludge administered. The form of sludge administration (liquid, dehydrated, composted) has differently influenced the soil humification–mineralization processes and the physical–mechanical properties of soil. The prolonged amendment with composted sewage sludge contributed to keeping the soil humification–mineralization process in equilibrium and to improving the physical and mechanical qualities of the treated soil.
New Insights into Mn1−xZnxFe2O4 via Fabricating Magnetic Photocatalyst Material BiVO4/Mn1−xZnxFe2O4

BiVO4/Mn1−xZnxFe2O4 was prepared by the impregnation roasting method. XRD (X-ray Diffractometer) tests showed that the prepared BiVO4 is monoclinic crystal, and the introduction of Mn1−xZnxFe2O4 does not change the crystal structure of BiVO4. The introduction of a soft-magnetic material, Mn1−xZnxFe2O4, was beneficial to the composite photocatalyst’s separation from the liquid solution using an extra magnet after use. UV-vis spectra analysis indicated that Mn1−xZnxFe2O4 enhanced the absorption intensity of visible light for BiVO4. EIS (electrochemical impedance spectroscopy) investigation revealed that the introduction of Mn1−xZnxFe2O4 enhanced the conductivity of BiVO4, further decreasing its electron transfer impedance. The photocatalytic efficiency of BiVO4/Mn1−xZnxFe2O4 was higher than that of pure BiVO4. In other words, Mn1−xZnxFe2O4 could enhance the photocatalytic reaction rate.
A review of the determination of energy release rates for strips in tension and bending. Part I – static solutions

Abstract It is shown that solutions for the energy release rate G may be obtained for a uniform strip by simply considering the change in length. The simplicity of the system enables a wide range of boundary conditions and material properties to be incorporated into the analysis and G may be computed for elastic and elastic-plastic materials. Inextensible flexible strips are considered first as they are useful for modelling peel tests and these results are developed to cover elastic and elastic-plastic behaviour. Elastic strips in tension are also considered and the analysis is developed to include transverse loading which induces bending. General considerations of path and loading history dependence are also included.
Synthesis of zeolitic imidazolate framework-78 molecular-sieve membrane: defect formation and elimination

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are ideal micro- and mesoporous materials for molecular separation. A defect-free MOF membrane supported on a porous substrate is required for high separation performance, however it is rather difficult to eliminate the micro-defects or intercrystalline gaps in the membranes. In this work, a ZIF-78 membrane was synthesized on a porous ZnO support. The defect formation mechanism in the membrane was illustrated by in situ thermal expansion analysis. A novel strategy was proposed to eliminate not only the macroscopic defects but also the intercrystalline gaps in the membrane by controlling the diffusion of solvent molecules through the channels of the ZIF-78 crystal. The ZIF-78 membrane exhibited high performance in separating H2. The ideal selectivity and mixture separation factor of H2–CO2 are 11.0 and 9.5, respectively. The approach reported in this paper offers an efficient and universal strategy for the facile synthesis of high-quality MOF membranes on porous supports.
Effect of metabolic and antioxidant supplementation on sperm parameters in oligo‐astheno‐teratozoospermia, with and without varicocele: A double‐blind placebo‐controlled study

Since sperm require high energy levels to perform their specialised function, it is vital that essential nutrients are available for spermatozoa when they develop, capacitate and acquire motility. However, they are vulnerable to a lack of energy and excess amounts of reactive oxygen species, which can impair sperm function, lead to immotility, acrosomal reaction impairment, DNA fragmentation and cell death. This monocentric, randomised, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled trial investigated the effect of 6 months of supplementation with l‐carnitine, acetyl‐l‐carnitine and other micronutrients on sperm quality in 104 subjects with oligo‐ and/or astheno‐ and/or teratozoospermia with or without varicocele. In 94 patients who completed the study, sperm concentration was significantly increased in supplemented patients compared to the placebo (p = .0186). Total sperm count also increased significantly (p = .0117) in the supplemented group as compared to the placebo group. Both, progressive and total motility were higher in supplemented patients (p = .0088 and p = .0120, respectively). Although pregnancy rate was not an endpoint of the study, of the 12 pregnancies that occurred during the follow‐up, 10 were reported in the supplementation group. In general, all these changes were more evident in varicocele patients. In conclusion, supplementation with metabolic and antioxidant compounds could be efficacious when included in strategies to improve fertility.
High singleton live birth rate following classical ovulation induction in normogonadotrophic anovulatory infertility (WHO 2).

BACKGROUND Medical induction of ovulation using clomiphene citrate (CC) as first line and exogenous gonadotrophins as second line forms the classical treatment algorithm in normogonadotrophic anovulatory infertility. Because the chances of success following classical ovulation induction are not well established, a shift in first-line therapy can be observed towards alternative treatment. The study aim was to: (i) reliably assess the probability of singleton live birth following classical induction of ovulation; and (ii) construct a prediction model, based on individual patient characteristics assessed upon standardized initial screening, to help identify patients with poor chances of success. METHODS A total of 240 consecutive women visiting a specialist academic fertility unit with a history of infertility, oligomenorrhoea or amenorrhoea, and normal FSH and estradiol serum concentrations (WHO group 2) was prospectively followed. The women had not been previously treated with ovulation-inducing agents. All patients commenced with CC. Patients who did not ovulate within three treatment cycles of incremental daily doses up to 150 mg for 5 consecutive days or ovulatory CC patients who did not conceive within six cycles, subsequently underwent gonadotrophin induction of ovulation applying a step-down dose regimen. The main outcome measure was pregnancy resulting in singleton live birth. Cox regression was used to construct a multivariable prediction model. RESULTS Overall, there were 134 pregnancies ending in a singleton live birth (56% of women). The cumulative pregnancy rate after 12 and 24 months of follow-up was 50% and 71% respectively. Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) patients (49%), clearly non-PCOS patients (13%) and the in-between group did not differ in prognosis (P = 0.9). The multivariable Cox regression model contained the woman's age, the insulin:glucose ratio and duration of infertility. With a cut-off value of 30% for low chance, the model predicted probabilities at 12 months lower than this cut-off for 25 out of 240 patients (10.4%). CONCLUSIONS Classical ovulation induction produces very good results in normogonadotrophic anovulatory infertility. Alternative treatment options may not be indicated as first-line therapy in these patients, except for subgroups with poor prognosis. These women can be identified by older age, longer duration of infertility and higher insulin:glucose ratio.
The expressiveness of quasiperiodic and minimal shifts of finite type

We study multidimensional minimal and quasiperiodic shifts of finite type. We prove for these classes several results that were previously known for the shifts of finite type in general, without restriction. We show that some quasiperiodic shifts of finite type admit only non-computable configurations; we characterize the classes of Turing degrees that can be represented by quasiperiodic shifts of finite type. We also transpose to the classes of minimal/quasiperiodic shifts of finite type some results on subdynamics previously known for effective shifts without restrictions: every effective minimal (quasiperiodic) shift of dimension $d$ can be represented as a projection of a subdynamics of a minimal (respectively, quasiperiodic) shift of finite type of dimension $d+1$ .
Effects of strain and rearing dietary regimens on brown-egg pullet growth and strain, rearing dietary regimens, density, and feeder space effects on subsequent laying performance.

The objective of this experiment was to compare the growth and development of two brown-egg strains when grown on three different dietary regimens, i.e., a "normal" step-down protein (SDP) regimen, a step-up protein regimen with a low energy starter (SUPLES), and a step-up protein regimen with a high energy starter (SUPHES). The SUPLES and SUPHES feeding regimens resulted in significantly lower BW and feed conversion, shorter sternum length, and lower tibial breaking strength than the SDP regimen. The weights of the liver, spleen, and fat pad were not different among the three regimens. The high energy starter in the SUPHES regimen significantly reduced FC below that obtained with the SUPLES program. The SUPHES regimen significantly reduced total feed cost compared with the other two feeding regimens. Both step-up protein regimens reduced total protein, energy, Ca, P, lysine, and sulfur amino acid consumption. Because tibial breaking strength was also reduced by the step-up protein regimens, the data suggest that the levels of dietary Ca and P should be increased with these programs to compensate for the reduced consumption associated with them.
Nicotinamide treatment robustly protects from inherited mouse glaucoma

ABSTRACT Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) is a key molecule in several cellular processes and is essential for healthy mitochondrial metabolism. We recently reported that mitochondrial dysfunction is among the very first changes to occur within retinal ganglion cells during initiation of glaucoma in DBA/2J mice. Furthermore, we demonstrated that an age-dependent decline of NAD contributes to mitochondrial dysfunction and vulnerability to glaucoma. The decrease in NAD renders retinal ganglion cells vulnerable to a metabolic crisis following periods of high intraocular pressure. Treating mice with the NAD precursor nicotinamide (the amide form of vitamin B3) inhibited many age- and high intraocular pressure- dependent changes with the highest tested dose decreasing the likelihood of developing glaucoma by ∼10-fold. In this communication, we present further evidence of the neuroprotective effects of nicotinamide against glaucoma in mice, including its prevention of optic nerve excavation and axon loss as assessed by histologic analysis and axon counting. We also show analyses of age- and intraocular pressure- dependent changes in transcripts of NAD producing enzymes within retinal ganglion cells and that nicotinamide treatment prevents these transcriptomic changes.
Towards a Lightweight Multi-Cloud DSL for Elastic and Transferable Cloud-native Applications

Cloud-native applications are intentionally designed for the cloud in order to leverage cloud platform features like horizontal scaling and elasticity - benefits coming along with cloud platforms. In addition to classical (and very often static) multi-tier deployment scenarios, cloud-native applications are typically operated on much more complex but elastic infrastructures. Furthermore, there is a trend to use elastic container platforms like Kubernetes, Docker Swarm or Apache Mesos. However, especially multi-cloud use cases are astonishingly complex to handle. In consequence, cloud-native applications are prone to vendor lock-in. Very often TOSCA-based approaches are used to tackle this aspect. But, these application topology defining approaches are limited in supporting multi-cloud adaption of a cloud-native application at runtime. In this paper, we analyzed several approaches to define cloud-native applications being multi-cloud transferable at runtime. We have not found an approach that fully satisfies all of our requirements. Therefore we introduce a solution proposal that separates elastic platform definition from cloud application definition. We present first considerations for a domain specific language for application definition and demonstrate evaluation results on the platform level showing that a cloud-native application can be transferred between different cloud service providers like Azure and Google within minutes and without downtime. The evaluation covers public and private cloud service infrastructures provided by Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Compute Engine and OpenStack.
Role of T1 mapping as a complementary tool to T2* for non-invasive cardiac iron overload assessment

Background Iron overload-related heart failure is the principal cause of death in transfusion dependent patients, including those with Thalassemia Major. Linking cardiac siderosis measured by T2* to therapy improves outcomes. T1 mapping can also measure iron; preliminary data suggests it may have higher sensitivity for iron, particularly for early overload (the conventional cut-point for no iron by T2* is 20ms, but this is believed insensitive). We compared T1 mapping to T2* in cardiac iron overload. Methods In a prospectively large single centre study of 138 Thalassemia Major patients and 32 healthy controls, we compared T1 mapping to dark blood and bright blood T2* acquired at 1.5T. Linear regression analysis was used to assess the association of T2* and T1. A “moving window” approach was taken to understand the strength of the association at different levels of iron overload. Results The relationship between T2* (here dark blood) and T1 is described by a log-log linear regression, which can be split in three different slopes: 1) T2* low, <20ms, r2 = 0.92; 2) T2* = 20-30ms, r2 = 0.48; 3) T2*>30ms, weak relationship. All subjects with T2*<20ms had low T1; among those with T2*>20ms, 38% had low T1 with most of the subjects in the T2* range 20-30ms having a low T1. Conclusions In established cardiac iron overload, T1 and T2* are concordant. However, in the 20-30ms T2* range, T1 mapping appears to detect iron. These data support previous suggestions that T1 detects missed iron in 1 out of 3 subjects with normal T2*, and that T1 mapping is complementary to T2*. The clinical significance of a low T1 with normal T2* should be further investigated.
Serum Levels of Transforming Growth Factor β1 in Patients With Breast Cancer

Hypothesis Transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1) may be related to breast cancer progression. Design Prospective study. Setting University hospital. Patients Sixty consecutive patients with invasive breast cancer undergoing surgery were prospectively included and evaluated. The control group consisted of 14 patients with benign breast tumors (7 with fibrocystic disease and 7 with fibroadenoma). Intervention Venous blood samples were collected before the surgery. Sera were obtained by centrifugation and stored at –70°C until assayed. Serum concentrations of TGF-β1 were measured by quantitative sandwich enzyme immunoassay. Data on primary tumor stage, age, estrogen receptor status, lymph node status, distant metastases, and TNM staging (according to the Union Internationale Contre le Cancer) were reviewed and recorded. Main Outcome Measures Measurements of preoperative serum TGF-β1 levels in patients with breast cancer. Results The mean ± SD value of serum TGF-β1 in patients with invasive breast cancer was 498.7 ± 249.7 pg/mL and in the control group was 495.2 ± 225.5 pg/mL ( P = .96). However, there were significantly higher serum levels of TGF-β1 in patients with more advanced lymph node status ( P = .04), more advanced TNM stage ( P = .005), and poorer histological grade ( P = .02). In multivariate analysis, TNM staging ( P = .02) was demonstrated to be the independent factor related to significantly higher serum levels of TGF-β1. Conclusions Patients with more advanced TNM stages were shown to have higher serum TGF-β1 levels. Thus, serum TGF-β1 levels may reflect the severity of invasive breast cancer.
Ideal amino acid profile for chicks during the first three weeks posthatching.

Two chick bioassays with chemically defined amino acid (AA) diets were conducted to compare three different AA profiles: the NRC 1984 and NRC 1994 requirement profile and the Illinois Ideal Chick Protein (IICP) AA profile. The two battery studies involved chicks during the 2nd and 3rd wk after hatching. In Assay 1, indispensable AA (including glycine and proline) were ratioed to lysine according to requirement ratios present in NRC 1984 and NRC 1994, with digestible lysine set at either deficient (.80% of diet) or superadequate (1.12% of diet) levels for the purified diet in question. All diets were kept isonitrogenous (2.83% N) by varying the level of L-glutamic acid. At . 80% lysine, chicks fed the NRC 1994 AA profile gained 60% faster (P < .01) than those fed the NRC 1984 AA profile. With excess digestible lysine (1.12%) and all other indispensable AA increased proportionately, chicks fed NRC 1994 still out-gained those fed NRC 1984 by 13% (P < .05). Ratios of AA (with respect to lysine) in NRC 1994 were equal to or higher than those in IICP, except for histidine. This was due to a lower estimated lysine requirement in NRC 1994 than that used for IICP. When NRC 1994 was compared with IICP in a chick bioassay involving isonitrogenous diets (2.36% N) and digestible lysine set at a deficient level of . 90%, weight gain and feed efficiency were similar between diets. This result suggested that most of the indispensable AA in the NRC 1994 AA profile were too high relative to lysine, probably because lysine, the reference AA, was too low relative to the other AA. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)