Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Biomarkers for cognitive impairment in Lewy body disorders: Status and relevance for clinical trials

Biomarkers have the potential to improve diagnosis and prognosis, and guide clinical treatment decisions. In research, biomarkers can be used for patient selection and as outcome measures in clinical trials. A range of biochemical and imaging biomarkers are relevant to patients with Lewy body disorders, including PD, PD dementia, and dementia with Lewy bodies. Dopaminergic imaging is used for differential diagnosis of parkinsonian disorders versus tremor disorders without dopamingeric deficits, and also to differentiate dementia with Lewy bodies from Alzheimer's disease. Markers of underlying Alzheimer's disease pathology have been applied to PD patients experiencing cognitive decline to determine the extent of mixed pathology in these cases. Assessment of alpha‐synuclein species in spinal fluid is possible, and more specific assays attempt to identify alpha‐synuclein aggregates or phosphorylated alpha‐synuclein. While alpha‐synuclein markers are intended to measure the pathology most central to PD dementia and dementia with Lewy bodies, convincing evidence of robust reliability and validity from multiple laboratories is lacking. Similarly, alpha‐synuclein imaging by PET or single‐photon emission computed tomography, while an important research goal, is not yet available. In addition to their uses in the clinic, biomarkers have natural uses in therapeutic trials that target cognitive and neuropsychiatric features of Lewy body disorders. The biomarkers most likely to be incorporated into trials are dopaminergic and amyloid imaging for the purpose of accurate patient selection, and possibly to demonstrate the utility of antiamyloid treatments in Lewy body disorders patients with mixed pathology. © 2018 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society
Cdc123 and Checkpoint Forkhead Associated with RING Proteins Control the Cell Cycle by Controlling eIF2γ Abundance*

Eukaryotic initiation factor 2 (eIF2) is a central regulator of translational initiation in times of growth and times of stress. Here we discovered three new conserved regulators of eIF2 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. cdc123, homolog of mammalian D123, is a new cell division cycle mutant with a G2 delay at permissive temperature and a terminal, mating-proficient G1 arrest point. Cdc123 protein is regulated by nutrient availability. CHF1 and CHF2, homologs of mammalian checkpoint forkhead associated with RING genes, are required for G2 delay and G1 arrest of cdc123-4 and promote G1 delay when over-expressed. Cell cycle delaying activity and the natural instability of Chf1 and Chf2 depend on the integrity of both domains and association with Cdc123. Genetic analysis maps the Chf1 forkhead associated domain-binding site to the conserved Thr-274 of Cdc123, suggesting that mammalian D123 is a key target of Chfr. Gcd11, the γ subunit of eIF2, is an additional Cdc123-interacting protein that is an essential target of the Cdc123 cell cycle promoting and Chf cell cycle arresting activity whose abundance is regulated by Cdc123, Chf1, and Chf2. Loss of cdc123 activity promotes Chf1 and Chf2 accumulation and Gcd11 depletion, accounting for the essentiality of Cdc123. The data establish the Cdc123-Chf-Gcd11 axis as an essential pathway for nutritional control of START that runs parallel to the Tor-Gcn2-Sui2 system of translational control.
Macronutrient Optimization and Seasonal Diet Mixing in a Large Omnivore, the Grizzly Bear: A Geometric Analysis

Nutrient balance is a strong determinant of animal fitness and demography. It is therefore important to understand how the compositions of available foods relate to required balance of nutrients and habitat suitability for animals in the wild. These relationships are, however, complex, particularly for omnivores that often need to compose balanced diets by combining their intake from diverse nutritionally complementary foods. Here we apply geometric models to understand how the nutritional compositions of foods available to an omnivorous member of the order Carnivora, the grizzly bear (Ursus arctos L.), relate to optimal macronutrient intake, and assess the seasonal nutritional constraints on the study population in west-central Alberta, Canada. The models examined the proportion of macronutrients that bears could consume by mixing their diet from food available in each season, and assessed the extent to which bears could consume the ratio of protein to non-protein energy previously demonstrated using captive bears to optimize mass gain. We found that non-selective feeding on ungulate carcasses provided a non-optimal macronutrient balance with surplus protein relative to fat and carbohydrate, reflecting adaptation to an omnivorous lifestyle, and that optimization through feeding selectively on different tissues of ungulate carcasses is unlikely. Bears were, however, able to dilute protein intake to an optimal ratio by mixing their otherwise high-protein diet with carbohydrate-rich fruit. Some individual food items were close to optimally balanced in protein to non-protein energy (e.g. Hedysarum alpinum roots), which may help explain their dietary prevalence. Ants may be consumed particularly as a source of lipids. Overall, our analysis showed that most food available to bears in the study area were high in protein relative to lipid or carbohydrate, suggesting the lack of non-protein energy limits the fitness (e.g. body size and reproduction) and population density of grizzly bears in this ecosystem.
Genetic structure of wild pea (Pisum sativum subsp. elatius) populations in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent reflects moderate cross-pollination and strong effect of geographic but not environmental distance

Knowledge of current genetic diversity and mating systems of crop wild relatives (CWR) in the Fertile Crescent is important in crop genetic improvement, because western agriculture began in the area after the cold-dry period known as Younger Dryas about 12,000 years ago and these species are also wild genepools of the world’s most important food crops. Wild pea (Pisum sativum subsp. elatius) is an important source of genetic diversity for further pea crop improvement harbouring traits useful in climate change context. The genetic structure was assessed on 187 individuals of Pisum sativum subsp. elatius from fourteen populations collected in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent using 18,397 genome wide single nucleotide polymorphism DARTseq markers. AMOVA showed that 63% of the allelic variation was distributed between populations and 19% between individuals within populations. Four populations were found to contain admixed individuals. The observed heterozygosity ranged between 0.99 to 6.26% with estimated self-pollination rate between 47 to 90%. Genetic distances of wild pea populations were correlated with geographic but not environmental (climatic) distances and support a mixed mating system with predominant self-pollination. Niche modelling with future climatic projections showed a local decline in habitats suitable for wild pea, making a strong case for further collection and ex situ conservation.
Development and evaluation of a method to characterize the solubility of high-protein dairy powders using an ultrasonic flaw detector

High-protein dairy powders are added to a variety of products to improve nutritional, functional, and sensory properties. To have the intended properties, the powder must be soluble. The solubility is effected by processing storage, and dissolution conditions, as well as the type of powder. Various tests are used to determine solubility, but they are time-consuming and subjective. Literature has shown that ultrasound spectroscopy can characterize the solubility of high-protein dairy powders, but it requires expensive equipment and skilled technicians. An economical alternative is to use an ultrasonic flaw detector, which is commonly used in the construction industry. For this study, an ultrasonic flaw detector based method was developed to characterize the solubility of high protein dairy powders. To evaluate the method, commercially available milk protein concentrate (MPC) was obtained and stored at 25°C and 40°C and stored for four weeks to produce powders with different dissolution properties. To test the powders, a 5% (w/w) concentration of powder was added to water. A focused beam reflectance measurement (FBRM) and solubility index were used as a reference method. After powder addition, data was collected at regular intervals for 1800s. The FBRM and solubility index showed that the powders lost solubility as the storage time and temperature increased. From the ultrasound data, one parameter was extracted from the relative velocity and three parameters were extracted from the attenuation data. A soluble powder had a low relative velocity standard deviation from 900-1800s, high area under the attenuation curve, low peak time, and high peak height. The ultrasonic flaw detector detected differences in solubility before the solubility index. When testing MPC with protein contents ranging from 85% to 90% and at a dissolution temperature of 40°C and 48°C, data from the ultrasonic flaw detector and FBRM showed that the solubility decreased as the protein content increased and increasing the dissolution temperature improved the solubility of the powder. Overall, the ultrasonic flaw detector can characterize the solubility of high-protein dairy powders.
1 Neuroimaging of Healthy Cognitive Aging

Cognitive aging research and theory has, until recently, been based upon behavioral measures of cognitive performance such as response time and accuracy. Results from behavioral methodologies have indicated a general age-related decline in cognitive functions such as speed of processing, attention, perception, working memory, and cued and free recall—and age invariance when assessing cognitive processes associated with vocabulary and semantic memory. Recently, advances in the area of neuroimaging have allowed for the examination of the relationship between cognitive and neural differences in the aging brain. Given that cognitive processes depend on brain anatomy and physiology, it is natural to expect that previously observed behavioral differences in aging are intimately linked to age-related changes in the integrity of cerebral architecture and function. By using in vivo neuroimaging techniques such as positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), researchers can tap into the neural substrates of cognitive aging linking behavior and function. As this technology has improved over the last two decades, significant advances have been made in the field of functional neuroimaging of cognitive aging. Research has shown us that, despite a common notion that everything declines in aging, neural activity associated with cognitive aging is characterized by both age-related increases as well as age-related decreases in brain activity. Failure on the part of older adults to activate brain regions typically recruited by younger adults during cognitive tasks is usually characterized as neurocognitive decline. However,
The Laboratory Diagnosis of Influenza

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Self-Assembling VO2 Nanonet with High Switching Performance at Wafer-Scale

Technologically controlling nanostructures is essential to tailoring the functionalities and properties of nanomaterials. Various methods free from lithography-based techniques have been employed to fabricate 2D nanostructures; however it is still hard to achieve a well interconnected 2D regular nanostructure. Here, we demonstrate a facile chemical solution method to self-assemble a regular and interconnected VO2 nanonet on the wafer scale. The nanonet shows a well-defined 2D truss network constructed by VO2 nanorods with twinning relationships. The growth direction and crystallographic orientation of nanorods are synchronously controlled, leading to horizontally epitaxial growth of nanorods along three symmetric directions of the (001) single-crystal sapphire substrate. The unique nanonets enable the acquisition of excellent resistance switching properties and dramatic fatigue endurance. A large resistance change of near 5 orders with a 1.7 °C width of the hysteresis loop is characterized comparably to t.
The Semantics of Sentence Subjects

It is proposed that subjects of transitive verbs in English are perceived as belonging to a semantic hierarchy, with human subjects most acceptable and non-human subjects less so. As a test, six semantically defined classes of subjects were systematically interchanged in simple, well-formed sentences: in Experiment I, 25 students rated the resultant sentences for acceptability; in Experiment II, 25 more students altered one word in the same sentences to make more sense. The results affirmed the following hierarchy: human nouns, animal nouns, concrete-count nouns, concrete-mass nouns, abstract-count nouns, and abstract-mass nouns. In Experiment I, a subject higher in the hierarchy was found to replace one lower down more sensibly than the reverse; in Experiment II, the alterations were consistent with these judgments. The results suggest that, linguistically, the features [+Human], [+Animate], and [+Concrete] are canonical or unmarked in the semantic representation of subjects. The consequences of this are discussed for the processes of interpreting and composing sentences.
Characterization of fibers as rockwool for insulation obtained from canary islands basalts

Glass fibers in the shape of wool were obtained at laboratory scale from three samples of basaltic rocks from the Tenerife Island. The rockwool is widely used as thermal and acoustical insulation. The ability of these rocks to be fiberized was studied by means of the viscosity curves and can be quite improved by adding calcium and magnesium. The experimental fibers obtained from the rocks directly or mixed with either CaCO 3 or CaMg(CO 3 ) 2 ye characterized in terms of chemical composition, microstructure and thermal and mechanical properties. These properties were compared with the ones determined for four commercial samples of rockcwool, founding that they are very close. This gives good prospects to these fibers from Canarian basalts as insulation material.
Performance characterization of the dynamic programming obstacle detection algorithm

A computer vision-based system using images from an airborne aircraft can increase flight safety by aiding the pilot to detect obstacles in the flight path so as to avoid mid-air collisions. Such a system fits naturally with the development of an external vision system proposed by NASA for use in high-speed civil transport aircraft with limited cockpit visibility. The detection techniques should provide high detection probability for obstacles that can vary from subpixels to a few pixels in size, while maintaining a low false alarm probability in the presence of noise and severe background clutter. Furthermore, the detection algorithms must be able to report such obstacles in a timely fashion, imposing severe constraints on their execution time. For this purpose, we have implemented a number of algorithms to detect airborne obstacles using image sequences obtained from a camera mounted on an aircraft. This paper describes the methodology used for characterizing the performance of the dynamic programming obstacle detection algorithm and its special cases. The experimental results were obtained using several types of image sequences, with simulated and real backgrounds. The approximate performance of the algorithm is also theoretically derived using principles of statistical analysis in terms of the signal-to-noise ration (SNR) required for the probabilities of false alarms and misdetections to be lower than prespecified values. The theoretical and experimental performance are compared in terms of the required SNR.
The Influence of the Enhanced Vector Meson Sector on the Properties of the Matter of Neutron Stars

This paper gives an overview of the model of a neutron star with non-zero strangeness constructed within the framework of the nonlinear realization of the chiral symmetry. The emphasis is put on the physical properties of the matter of a neutron star as well as on its internal structure. The obtained solution is particularly aimed at the problem of the construction of a theoretical model of a neutron star matter with hyperons that will give high value of the maximum mass.
Explorer In utero exposure to cigarette chemicals induces sex-specific disruption of one-carbon metabolism and DNA methylation in the human fetal liver

Background: Maternal smoking is one of the most important modifiable risk factors for low birthweight, which is strongly associated with increased cardiometabolic disease risk in adulthood. Maternal smoking reduces the levels of the methyl donor vitamin B12 and is associated with altered DNA methylation at birth. Altered DNA methylation may be an important mechanism underlying increased disease susceptibility; however, the extent to which this can be induced in the developing fetus is unknown. Methods: In this retrospective study, we measured concentrations of cobalt, vitamin B12, and mRNA transcripts encoding key enzymes in the 1-carbon cycle in 55 fetal human livers obtained from 11 to 21 weeks of gestation elective terminations and matched for gestation and maternal smoking. DNA methylation was measured at critical regions known to be susceptible to the in utero environment. Homocysteine concentrations were analyzed in plasma from 60 fetuses. Results: In addition to identifying baseline sex differences, we found that maternal smoking was associated with sex-specific alterations of fetal liver vitamin B12, plasma homocysteine and expression of enzymes in the 1-carbon cycle in fetal liver. In the majority of the measured parameters which showed a sex difference, maternal smoking reduced the magnitude of that difference. Maternal smoking also altered DNA methylation at the imprinted gene IGF2 and the glucocorticoid receptor (GR/NR3C1). Conclusions: Our unique data strengthen studies linking in utero exposures to altered DNA methylation by showing, for the first time, that such changes are present in fetal life and in a key metabolic target tissue, human fetal liver. Furthermore, these data propose a novel mechanism by which such changes are induced, namely through alterations in methyl donor availability and changes in 1-carbon metabolism.
Rietveld refinement of the crystal structure of olivenite; a twinned monoclinic structure

The crystal structure of olivenite, Cu2As04(OH), has been refined by the Rietveld method in the space groups Pnnm and P2/n (x axis unique). In the latter refinement, the a angle, 90.088(3)°, is significantly different from 90°, and some atomic positions are significantly different from the ideal positions in a structure with orthorhombic symmetry. Thus olivenite has P2/n symmetry, as indicated by Toman (1977). Examination of previous structural work on libethenite suggests that this mineral may be monoclinic as well.
Regulation of Plasma Membrane Localization of the Na + -taurocholate cotransporting polypeptide (Ntcp) by Hyperosmolarity and Tauroursodeoxycholate

Background: Little is known about the effect of hyperosmotic hepatocyte taurocholate polypeptide Results: Hyperosmolarity induces a Fyn-dependent retrieval of Ntcp, which is reversed by tauroursodeoxycholate via a β 1 -integrin-mediated formation of cAMP. Conclusion: Fyn and β 1 -integrins are novel regulators of Ntcp localization. Significance: The study provides new insights into the regulation of bile salt transport. ABSTRACT In perfused rat liver, hepatocyte shrinkage induces a Fyn-dependent retrieval of the bile salt export pump (Bsep) and multidrug resistance-associated protein 2 (Mrp2) from the canalicular membrane (1) leading to cholestasis. However little is known about the effects of hyperosmolarity on short-term regulation of the Na + -taurocholate cotransporting polypeptide (Ntcp), the major bile salt uptake system at
The incidence of polyneuropthy and its relation with disease parameters in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Objective: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is accompanied by several concomitant conditions due to its systemic effects. Hypoxia and oxidative stress associated with COPD are also believed to contribute to the disease course through the effects of several inflammatory mediators. Major causative agents causing of peripheral neuropathy are age, hypoxia, duration and severity of COPD, hypercapnia and smoking. The present study aimed to investigate the incidence of polyneuropathy and its relation with disease parameters in COPD patients. Methods: Of a total number of 45 patients who had been followed up between January 1, 2015 and December 31, 2016 with a diagnosis of COPD at Ufuk University School of Medicine were enrolled retrospectively . All patients underwent electroneuromyography, arterial blood gas measurements and pulmonary function tests. Patients were divided as those with or without neuropathy, and factors contributing to the development of neuropathy were investigated based on clinical and laboratory findings. Results: Eleven (24.4%) patients were women and 34 (74.6%) were men, and the mean age was 73.2 years. Mean PaO 2 was 58.2 mmHg, pCO 2 was 41.2 mmHg, and FEV1 was 45.3%. Neuropathy was diagnosed in twenty (44.4%) patients. Significant differences were found in pO 2 , pCO 2 , SO 2 , mMRC, smoking status and number of exacerbations per year ( p < 0.05). Conclusions: Patients who experience frequent exacerbations and those with hypoxemia or hypercapnia as demonstrated should be taken into more careful clinical assessments with respect to polyneuropathy.
Analysis of Ultimate Loading Capacity for Circular RPC Filled Steel Tube Stub Columns under Axial Compression

In order to study the axial compressive mechanical performance of reactive powder concrete(RPC) filled steel tube,an experiment on circular RPC filled steel tube stub columns is conducted to test the deformation and the strain under the axial full section load.The test results show that the main deformation is in elastic stage when the load is up to its ultimate loading capacity and then the load declines to be 80%-90% of the ultimate load.The empirical formula of ultimate loading capacity for the RPC filled steel tube stub columns is suggested according to the formula of CECS 104: 99 with the referenced tested data.The strength of the concrete and the coefficient α used for CECS 104: 99 formula are extended in order to apply the empirical formula to the engineering design.The tested data is recalculated with the revised α. The calculated results are in good agreement with the tested data.It satisfies with the engineering requirements.