Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Life-course determinants of bone mass in young adults from a transitional rural community in India: the Andhra Pradesh Children and Parents Study (APCAPS)123

Background: Undernutrition and physical inactivity are both associated with lower bone mass. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the combined effects of early-life undernutrition and urbanized lifestyles in later life on bone mass accrual in young adults from a rural community in India that is undergoing rapid socioeconomic development. Design: This was a prospective cohort study of participants of the Hyderabad Nutrition Trial (1987–1990), which offered balanced protein-calorie supplementation to pregnant women and preschool children younger than 6 y in the intervention villages. The 2009–2010 follow-up study collected data on current anthropometric measures, bone mineral density (BMD) measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, blood samples, diet, physical activity, and living standards of the trial participants (n = 1446, aged 18–23 y). Results: Participants were generally lean and had low BMD [mean hip BMD: 0.83 (women), 0.95 (men) g/cm2; lumbar spine: 0.86 (women), 0.93 (men) g/cm2]. In models adjusted for current risk factors, no strong evidence of a positive association was found between BMD and early-life supplementation. On the other hand, current lean mass and weight-bearing physical activity were positively associated with BMD. No strong evidence of an association was found between BMD and current serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D or dietary intake of calcium, protein, or calories. Conclusions: Current lean mass and weight-bearing physical activity were more important determinants of bone mass than was early-life undernutrition in this population. In transitional rural communities from low-income countries, promotion of physical activity may help to mitigate any potential adverse effects of early nutritional disadvantage.
Patient-reported dyspnea in COPD reliability and association with stage of disease.

BACKGROUND Although questionnaires are used frequently with patients to self-report the severity of dyspnea as related to activities of daily living, the reliability of these instruments has not been established. The two purposes of this study were to examine the test-retest reliability of three widely used dyspnea instruments and to compare dyspnea scores at different stages of disease. METHODS At paired baseline visits, 101 stable patients with COPD were tested; at paired follow-up visits at 3 months, 89 of these patients were tested. At each visit, patients rated dyspnea with three instruments presented in random order and then performed post-bronchodilator therapy lung function tests. RESULTS Patient-reported dyspnea scores and lung function were similar at baseline (interval, 6 +/- 5 days) and follow-up visits (interval, 4 +/- 2 days). Intraclass correlation coefficients at baseline and at follow-up were 0.82 and 0.82, respectively, for the modified Medical Research Council scale; 0.90 and 0.84, respectively, for the self-administered computerized versions of the baseline dyspnea index and transition dyspnea indexes; and 0.95 and 0.89 for the University of San Diego Shortness of Breath Questionnaire results. Dyspnea ratings were significantly related to the stage of disease severity based on percent predicted FEV(1) (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS Test-retest reliability was acceptable for patient-reported dyspnea scores using three clinical instruments at baseline and at the 3-month follow-up. Our results demonstrate for the first time that patient-reported dyspnea ratings are related to the stage of disease severity.
GBCS: A two-step compressive sensing reconstruction based on group testing and basis pursuit

Compressive sensing (CS) reconstruction algorithms can recover a signal from its undersampled random projections given that the signal is sparse or has a sparse representation in some appropriate transform domain. These algorithms are grouped into three main categories: group-testing based, greedy methods, and linear programming based. The two former have lower complexities and lower reconstruction performance compared to the latter. In this paper, we propose group testing basis pursuit CS (GBCS), which exploits the low complexity of the former category and the accuracy of the latter. First, we design an efficient group-testing based CS reconstruction algorithm and then propose to integrate it with a regular basis pursuit (BP) CS reconstruction. We design and analyze GBCS and show that it surpasses existing algorithms for noiseless measurements and absolutely sparse signals. Further, we show that if the number of random projections is large enough our designed group-testing reconstruction fully recovers the signal and the need for BP is eliminated.
Effect of the Human Body on Total Radiated Power and the 3-D Radiation Pattern of Mobile Handsets

We investigate how the user's body affects the radiation characteristics, e.g., radiation pattern and total radiated power (TRP), of mobile phones. We carried out measurements for two Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) 900/1800 phones with two measurement systems: a 3-D far-field pattern measurement system and the Rapid Antenna Measurement System (RAMS). Up to 13 mobile phone users participated in the measurements. The main objectives are to study how much the TRP varies between the users and how large an influence the user's hand, particularly its position on the mobile phone, has on the TRP. The contributions of the head and the hand to the total loss are separately studied as well. The standard deviation of the TRP results between the 13 users in the RAMS measurements was relatively low, i.e., less than 1 dB, when the users held the mobile phone in a predefined talk position on the left side of their heads. The standard deviation of the corresponding result was up to 3 dB when the users were allowed to freely select the way to hold the phone. The TRP results for two phantoms agreed well with the average TRP results for the test persons when only the loss contribution of the head was included. Hence, we conclude that the variable hand position and grip on the mobile phone are the main reasons for the large differences in the TRP between the users.
Students got mail: Do students read semi-tailored emails and what is the impact?

This paper examines the effectiveness of providing personalised email feedback via an automated email application in a large undergraduate introductory accounting course. Over 1,200 students received feedback via emails sent weekly, semi-tailored to each student based on their results in online self-test learning quizzes. We first found that students read the majority of emails distributed. Second, through tracking, using regression analysis, we found that reading emails is related to significantly higher final examination performance in some cases. However, this is moderated by factors relating to diversity in a large cohort exceeding 1,000 students. The results indicate that feedback needs to be readily actionable and aligned with assessed learning outcomes to realise significant impacts on exam performance. This study is relevant to educators who teach large and diverse cohorts and need time-efficient solutions to tailor the learning experience to each student. Implications for practice or policy: Undergraduate students read the majority of weekly emails distributed, indicating emails can be used as an instructor communication device. Emails should specifically encourage activity completion aligning with learning objectives to improve grades. Students who achieve lower grades in tertiary studies, from English-speaking backgrounds and medium to high socio-economic status, high performers at high school and younger students aged 20 or less are positively impacted. Therefore, emails should be used by instructors teaching cohorts with these characteristics.
Pattern of litterfall production and nutrient addition in soil through litterfall by different tree species: A review

Innutrient dynamics, an extremely valuable resource is litterfall. It is crucial to the dynamics of soil nutrients, the characteristics of soil, and the transfer of energy. In an agroforestry system, decomposition and litter fall are the two key processes that contribute to soil enrichment. In addition to affecting soil characteristics and ecology, litter fall in soil has a significant impact on carbon sequestration. The type of tree, the management methods, and the quantity and quality of litter all affect how much the soil is enriched. The complicated ecophysiological process of litterfall is influenced by both internal and external variables. Other significant causes of leaf fall include variations in weather and photoperiod as well as internal plant characteristics like age of leaf or potential endogenous rhythams. Nutrients are converted as a result of decomposition of different components of litter, and their release is influenced by the content of the litter, moisture, activity of microbes, C:N, temperature, and other variables. Litterfall therefore contributes to the long-term maintenance of nutrient levels in forest ecosystems and has been a primary research focus for a better understanding of soil fertility, site productivity, and forest services.
A general framework for analysing system properties in platform-based embedded system designs

We present a framework (real-time calculus) for analysing various system properties pertaining to timing analysis, loads on various components and on-chip buffer memory requirements of heterogeneous platform-based architectures, in a single coherent way. Many previous analysis techniques from the real-time systems domain, which are based on standard event models, turn out to be special cases of our framework. We illustrate this using various realistic examples.
Phenolic Content of Hypodaphnis Zenkeri and Its Antioxidant Effects against Fenton Reactions’ Mediated Oxidative Injuries on Liver Homogenate

Under oxidative stress conditions, endogenous antioxidant defenses are unable to completely inactivate the free radicals generated by an excessive production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). This state causes serious cell damage leading to a variety of human diseases. Natural antioxidants can protect cells against oxidative stress. Hypaodaphnis zenkeri (H. zenkiri) is a plant consumed as a spice in the Cameroonian diet, and its bark has been used in traditional medicine for the treatment of several diseases. The present study aims at investigating the antioxidant activity, which includes free radical scavenging and protective properties of an extract from H. Zenkiri against oxidative damage on a liver homogenate. The free radical assays determined the scavenging activities of 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), hydroxyl (OH), nitrite oxide (NO) and 2,2-azinobis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline)-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) radicals and the enzymes, whose protection was to be considered in the liver homogenate, including superoxide dismutase, catalase, and peroxidase. The antioxidative activities were studied using the ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), reductive activity, and phosphomolybdenum antioxidant power (PAP) methods. In addition, the phenolic contents of the extracts were examined. The results showed that these extracts demonstrated significant scavenging properties and antioxidant activities, with the hydro-ethanolic extract of the bark of H. zenkeri (EEH) being the most potent. This extract had the highest total polyphenol (21.77 ± 0.05 mg caffeic acid (CAE)/g dried extract (DE)) and flavonoids (3.34 ± 0.13 mg quercetin (QE)/g dried extract) content. The same extract had significantly greater protective effects on enzyme activities compared to other extracts. The high performance liquied chromatography (HPLC) profile showed higher levels of caffeic acid, OH-tyrosol acid, and rutin in the leaves compared to the bark of H. zenkeri. In conclusion, the ethanolic and hydro-ethanolic extracts of the bark and leaves from H. zenkeri showed an antioxidant and protective potential against oxidative damage.
Charles A. Dice Center for Research in Financial Economics Why does idiosyncratic risk increase with market risk?

From 1963 through 2015, idiosyncratic risk (IR) is high when market risk (MR) is high. We show that the positive relation between IR and MR is highly stable through time and is robust across exchanges, firm size, liquidity, and market-to-book groupings. Though stock liquidity affects the strength of the relation, the relation is strong for the most liquid stocks. The relation has roots in fundamentals as higher market risk predicts greater idiosyncratic earnings volatility and as firm characteristics related to the ability of firms to adjust to higher uncertainty help explain the strength of the relation. Consistent with the view that growth options provide a hedge against macroeconomic uncertainty, we find evidence that the relation is weaker for firms with more growth options.
Application of a modified bioassay for monitoring serum teicoplanin and vancomycin in febrile neutropenic patients

Teicoplanin is a glycopeptide antibiotic with a mode of action and spectrum of activity similar to those of vancomycin. Its efficacy and tolerability as empiric therapy and its pharmacokinetic properties in neutropenic patients are being studied in a double-blinded, randomized trial in comparison with those of vancomycin. We report here a modified agar diffusion bioassay which is suitable for monitoring levels of either teicoplanin or vancomycin in serum during combination therapy with beta-lactams, aminoglycosides, and amphotericin B. Serum samples spiked with either teicoplanin or vancomycin gave reproducible results (mean coefficient of variation, 8.8%) regardless of the presence of tobramycin, amikacin, piperacillin, ceftazidime, amphotericin B, or their combinations. Among 25 patients who received teicoplanin at a dosing schedule of 6 mg/kg every 24 h intravenously, steady state was reached after 14.2 +/- 4.0 days, and 1-h peak and trough concentrations of teicoplanin in serum at steady state were 40.8 +/- 15.0 and 12.5 +/- 3.2 mg/liter, respectively. In contrast, among 25 patients who received vancomycin at a dosing schedule of 15 mg/kg every 12 h intravenously, steady state was reached by 24 h, and the 1-h peak and trough concentrations in serum were 37.5 +/- 15.6 and 8.3 +/- 3.8 mg/liter, respectively. The elimination half-lives for teicoplanin estimated by two separate approaches agreed closely with each other: 80.5 +/- 21.5 h by an accumulation model (M. Gilbaldi and D. Perrier, Pharmacokinetics, 2nd ed., p. 121, 1982) and 87.3 +/- 19.3 h as predicted from the degree of renal function (M. Rowland, Clin. Pharmacokinetic 18:184-209, 1990). These values were 14- to 15-fold higher than that for vancomycin (5.6 +/- 1.8 h). Since considerable variability was noted in the pharmacokinetic parameters for both teicoplanin and vancomycin among the individual patients, our data further emphasized the need for frequent monitoring of these drugs during empiric therapy of the febrile neutropenic patient.
A Brief Prehospital Stroke Severity Scale Identifies Ischemic Stroke Patients Harboring Persisting Large Arterial Occlusions

Background and Purpose— The Los Angeles Motor Scale (LAMS) is a brief 3-item stroke severity assessment measure designed for prehospital and Emergency Department use. Methods— The LAMS and NIHSS were scored in under-12-hour acute anterior circulation ischemic stroke patients. Stroke severity ratings were correlated with cervicocerebral vascular occlusion on CTA, MRA, and catheter angiography. Receiver operating curves, c statistics, and likelihood ratios were used to evaluate the predictive value for vascular occlusion of stroke severity ratings. Results— Among 119 patients, mean age was 67 (±18), 45% were male. Time from onset to ED arrival was mean 190 minutes (range 10 to 660). Persisting large vessel occlusions (PLVOs) were present in 62% of patients. LAMS stroke severity scores were higher in patients harboring a vascular occlusion, median 5 (IQR 4 to 5) versus 2 (IQR 1 to 3). Similarly, NIHSS stroke severity scores were higher in PLVO patients, 19 (14 to 24) versus 5 (3 to 7). ROC curves demonstrated that the LAMS was highly effective in identifying patients with PLVOs, c statistic 0.854. At the optimal threshold of 4 or higher, LAMS scores showed sensitivity 0.81, specificity 0.89, and overall accuracy 0.85. LAMS performance was comparable to NIHSS performance (c statistic 0.933). The positive likelihood ratio associated with a LAMS score ≥4 was 7.36 and the negative likelihood ratio 0.21. Conclusions— Stroke severity assessed by the LAMS predicts presence of large artery anterior circulation occlusion with high sensitivity and specificity. The LAMS is a promising instrument for use by prehospital personnel to identify select stroke patients for direct transport to Comprehensive Stroke Centers capable of endovascular interventions.
The influence of stratospheric potential vorticity on baroclinic instability

This article examines the dynamical coupling between the stratosphere and troposphere by considering the effect of direct perturbations to stratospheric potential vorticity on the evolution of midlatitude baroclinic instability in a simple extension of an Eady model. A simulation in which stratospheric potential vorticity is exactly zero is used as a control case, and both zonally symmetric and asymmetric perturbations to the stratospheric potential vorticity are then considered, the former representative of a strong polar vortex, the latter representative of the stratospheric state following a major sudden warming. Both types of stratospheric perturbation result in significant changes to the synoptic‐scale evolution of surface temperature, as well as to zonally and globally averaged tropospheric quantities. In the case of a zonally symmetric perturbation, the linear growth rate of all unstable modes decreases with increasing perturbation amplitude. Initial growth rates in cases with significant asymmetric perturbations are also weaker than those of the control case, but final eddy kinetic energy values are much larger due to the growth of low zonal wavenumbers triggered by the initial stratospheric perturbation. A comparison of the zonally symmetric and asymmetric perturbations gives some insight into the possible influence of pre‐ or post‐sudden‐warming conditions on tropospheric evolution. Copyright © 2009 Royal Meteorological Society
Interaction of Alzheimer beta-amyloid peptide(1-40) with lipid membranes.

The beta-amyloid peptide beta AP(1-40), a 40-amino acid residues peptide, is one of the major components of Alzheimer's amyloid deposits. beta AP(1-40) exhibits only a limited solubility in aqueous solution and undergoes a concentration-dependent, cooperative random coil reversible beta-structure transition for Cpep > 10 microM [Terzi, E. , Hölzemann, G. , and Seelig, J. (1995) J. Mol. Biol. 252, 633-642]. In the presence of acidic lipid, the equilibrium is shifted further toward beta-structured aggregates. We have now characterized the lipid-peptide interaction using circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy, lipid monolayers, and deuterium and phosphorus-31 solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). CD spectroscopy revealed a distinct interaction between beta AP(1-40) and negatively charged unilamellar vesicles. In addition to the random coil reversible beta-structured aggregate equilibrium at low lipid-to-peptide (L/P) ratios, a beta-structure -->alpha-helix transition was observed at L/P > 55. beta AP(1-40) was found to insert into acidic monolayers provided the lateral pressure was low (20 mN/m). The extent of incorporation increased distinctly with the content of acidic lipid in the monolayer. However, at a lipid packing density equivalent to that of a bilayer (lateral pressure > or = 32 mN/m), no insertion of beta AP(1-40) was observed. The lipid molecular structure in the presence of beta AP(1-40) was studied with NMR. Phosphatidylcholine (PC) was selectively deuterated at the choline headgroup and at the cis-double bond of the oleic acyl chain and mixed with phosphatidylglycerol (PG). Phosphorus-31 NMR showed that the lipid phase retained the bilayer structure at all lipid-to-protein ratios. Deuterium NMR revealed no change in the headgroup conformation of the choline moiety or in the flexibility and ordering of the hydrocarbon chains upon the addition of beta AP-(1-40). It can be concluded that beta AP(1-40) binds electrostatically to the outer envelope of the polar headgroup region without penetrating between the polar groups. The data suggest a new mechanism of helix formation induced by the proper alignment of five positive charges of beta AP(1-40) on the negatively charged membrane template.
Tuberization in Potato Involves a Switch from Apoplastic to Symplastic Phloem Unloading

Phloem unloading was studied in potato plants in real time during the early stages of tuberization using carboxyfluorescein (CF) as a phloem-mobile tracer, and the unloading pattern was compared with autoradiography of tubers that had transported 14C assimilates. In stolons undergoing extension growth, apoplastic phloem unloading predominated. However, during the first visible signs of tuberization, a transition occurred from apoplastic to symplastic transport, and both CF and 14C assimilates subsequently followed identical patterns of phloem unloading. It is suggested that the switch to symplastic sucrose unloading may be responsible for the upregulation of several genes involved in sucrose metabolism. A detailed analysis of sugar levels and 14C sugar partitioning in tuberizing stolons revealed a distinct difference between the apical region of the tuber and the subapical region. Analysis of invertase activity in nontuberizing and tuberizing stolons revealed a marked decline in soluble invertase in the subapical region of swelling stolons, consistent with the switch from apoplastic to symplastic unloading. However, cell wall–bound invertase activity remained high in the apical 1 to 2 mm of tuberizing stolons. Histochemical analysis of potato lines transformed with the promoter of an apoplastic invertase gene (invGE) linked to a reporter gene also revealed discrete gene expression in the apical bud region. Evidence is presented that the apical and lateral tuber buds function as isolated domains with respect to sucrose unloading and metabolism.
Screening for Metal-Chelating Activity in Potato Protein Hydrolysates Using Surface Plasmon Resonance and Peptidomics

Metal-catalyzed lipid oxidation is a major factor in food waste, as it reduces shelf life. Addressing this issue, our study investigates the potential of hydrolysates derived from potato protein, a by-product of potato starch production, as metal-chelating antioxidants. Through sequential enzymatic hydrolysis using alcalase or trypsin combined with Flavourzyme, we produced various hydrolysates, which were then fractionated using ultrafiltration. Using a combination of peptidomics and bioinformatics, we predicted the presence of metal-chelating and free radical-scavenging peptides across all hydrolysate fractions, with a trend indicating a higher content of antioxidant peptides in lower molecular weight fractions. To validate these predictions, we utilized surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and a 9-day emulsion storage experiment. While SPR demonstrated potential in identifying antioxidant activity, it faced challenges in differentiating between hydrolysate fractions due to significant standard errors. In the storage experiment, all hydrolysates showed lipid oxidation inhibition, though not as effectively as ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA). Remarkably, one fraction (AF13) was not significantly different (p < 0.05) from EDTA in suppressing hexanal formation. These results highlight SPR and peptidomics/bioinformatics as promising yet limited methods for antioxidant screening. Importantly, this study reveals the potential of potato protein hydrolysates as antioxidants in food products, warranting further research.