Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Quercetin's influence on exercise performance and muscle mitochondrial biogenesis.

PURPOSE To determine the influence of 2 wk of quercetin (Q; 1000 mg x d(-1)) compared with placebo (P) supplementation on exercise performance and skeletal muscle mitochondrial biogenesis in untrained, young adult males (N = 26, age = 20.2 +/- 0.4 yr, VO2max = 46.3 +/- 1.2 mL x kg(-1) x min(-1)). METHODS Using a randomized, crossover design with a 2-wk washout period, subjects provided blood and muscle biopsy samples presupplementation and postsupplementation periods and were given 12-min time trials on 15% graded treadmills after 60 min of moderate exercise preloads at 60% VO2max. RESULTS Plasma Q levels rose significantly in Q versus P during the 2-wk supplementation period (interaction P value <0.001). During the 12-min trial, the net change in distance achieved was significantly greater during Q (2.9%) compared with P (-1.2%; 29.5 +/- 11.5 vs -11.9 +/- 16.0 m, respectively, P = 0.038). Skeletal muscle messenger RNA expression tended to increase (range = 16-25%) during Q versus P for sirtuin 1 (interaction effect, P = 0.152), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator-1alpha (P = 0.192), cytochrome c oxidase (P = 0.081), and citrate synthase (P = 0.166). Muscle mitochondrial DNA (relative copy number per diploid nuclear genome) increased 140 +/- 154 (4.1%) with Q compared with -225 +/- 157 (6.0% decrease) with P (P = 0.098). CONCLUSIONS In summary, 1000 mg x d(-1) Q versus P for 2 wk by untrained males was associated with a small but significant improvement in 12-min treadmill time trial performance and modest but insignificant increases in the relative copy number of mitochondrial DNA and messenger RNA levels of four genes related to mitochondrial biogenesis.
Personality Traits of Profoundly Hearing Impaired Adolescents with Cochlear Implants – A Comparison with Normal Hearing Peers

The aim of this study was to compare the personality traits of adolescents with cochlear implants (CIs) to a reference group (normal-hearing peers). In the past, the personality development of hearing impaired adolescents was severely compromised. Improved speech perception with CI significantly increased their perspectives. In addition, differences between the reference group and CI users were investigated on personality traits according to level of speech perception skills (high/low) and level of language comprehension (adequate/poor). A cohort of 59 adolescents was assessed 10 years after CI implantation. Personality traits were measured using the standardized Dutch Personality Questionnaire, which consists of 5 scales: Inadequacy, Social Inadequacy, Recalcitrance (RE), Perseverance, and Dominance. Speech perception and language comprehension were tested with standardized tests. The distributions of personality scores, in the clinical or non-clinical range, for the CI group were compared to the reference group using the Chi-Square test for Goodness of Fit. Adolescents with CI showed normal or favorable distributions on all personality scales except for the RE scale. There was a significant influence of speech perception and language comprehension on this scale. Consequently, adolescents with CI who demonstrated high speech perception and adequate language comprehension scores showed similar distribution patterns as the reference group on all personality scales. In conclusion; personality traits that reflect social relations, self-conscience, and school- and task orientation in adolescents with CI are similar to those in normal-hearing peers. This holds, despite variations in speech perception ability and language comprehension levels, for the CI group. On the RE scale, the adolescents with CI with low speech perception and poor language comprehension scores are more likely to score in the clinical deviant range and are at risk.
Influence of Microfiber Additive Effect on the Self-healing Behavior of Engineered Cementitious Composites

This paper investigates the self-healing behavior of Polyvinyl Alcohol Engineered Cementitious Composites (PVA-ECC) with the addition of other microfibers, including steel fiber and rock wool fiber. Four-point bending tests were used to precrack ECC beams at the age of 7 and 28 days, respectively. The precracked samples were then cured in water to promote the occurrence of self-healing and in air for control. The addition of microfibers helps tighten the crack width greatly, resulting in enhanced flexural stiffness for the water cured samples. Furthermore, the additive effect also promotes larger extent restoration of deflection capacity, despite much lower initial deflection capacity for the mixtures 2a and 3a. The self-healed samples were also examined under light microscope and environmental scanning electrical microscope (ESEM) to reveal the products of self-healing.
Endosonography-guided hepatogastrostomy post-percutaneous biliary drainage in collaboration with interventional radiology

Endoscopic ultrasonography-guided hepatogastrostomy (EUS-HGS) is an effective endoscopic modality for biliary drainage in the setting of concomitant gastric outlet obstruction [1, 2]. EUSHGS however requires a dilated biliary system for technical success. This case report describes the first conversion of a percutaneous transhepatic biliary drain (PTBD) into an HGS in a non-dilated biliary system using EUS and interventional radiology techniques. A 43-year-old man underwent hepatic resection for metastatic colon cancer with full surgical transection of the common bile duct (▶Fig. 1 a); PTBDs were placed. Definitive stable drainage was needed to start adjuvant chemotherapy. Therefore, a decision was taken to perform HGS. Under EUS guidance, a non-dilated left intrahepatic bile duct was punctured with a 19-gauge needle but, given the small ductal caliber, wire passage was not possible. Two occlusive balloons were inserted via the PTBD, with one central and one peripheral to the puncture target (▶Video1). Saline was infused between the balloons, dilating the isolated duct segment. This allowed passage of a 0.035-inch guidewire (▶Fig. 1b); however, the wire traveled peripherally in the bile ducts, but was then successfully grasped with a snare and pulled out of the PTBD track. With control of both ends of the wire achieved, the HGS tract was easily dilated to 6mm with a balloon inserted through the PTBD. During tract dilation, a 10×80-mm partially covered self-expandable metal stent was simultaneously loaded through the endoscope and was advanced through the HGS tract immediately following deflation of the balloon, thereby minimizing the time between dilation and stent insertion and reducing leakage of bile. The stent was deployed, resulting in excellent drainage (▶Fig. 2). The patient was discharged 4 days later after normalization of his bilirubin and removal of the PTBD. We report the first successful conversion of a PTBD to an HGS using EUS and interventional radiology techniques in a nondilated biliary system. This multidisciplinary approach may enhance the safety of HGS.
Cytokine Responses to Novel Antigens in an Indian Population Living in an Area Endemic for Visceral Leishmaniasis

Background There are no effective vaccines for visceral leishmaniasis (VL), a neglected parasitic disease second only to malaria in global mortality. We previously identified 14 protective candidates in a screen of 100 Leishmania antigens as DNA vaccines in mice. Here we employ whole blood assays to evaluate human cytokine responses to 11 of these antigens, in comparison to known defined and crude antigen preparations. Methods Whole blood assays were employed to measure IFN-γ, TNF-α and IL-10 responses to peptide pools of the novel antigens R71, Q51, L37, N52, L302.06, J89, M18, J41, M22, M63, M57, as well as to recombinant proteins of tryparedoxin peroxidase (TRYP), Leishmania homolog of the receptor for activated C kinase (LACK) and to crude soluble Leishmania antigen (SLA), in Indian patients with active (n = 8) or cured (n = 16) VL, and in modified Quantiferon positive (EHC+ve, n = 20) or modified Quantiferon negative (EHC−ve, n = 9) endemic healthy controls (EHC). Results Active VL, cured VL and EHC+ve groups showed elevated SLA-specific IFN-γ, but only active VL patients produced IL-10 and EHC+ve did not make TNF-α. IFN-γ to IL-10 and TNF-α to IL-10 ratios in response to TRYP and LACK antigens were higher in cured VL and EHC+ve exposed individuals compared to active VL. Five of the eleven novel candidates (R71, L37, N52, J41, and M22) elicited IFN-γ and TNF-α, but not IL-10, responses in cured VL (55–87.5% responders) and EHC+ve (40–65% responders) subjects. Conclusions Our results are consistent with an important balance between pro-inflammatory IFNγ and TNFγ cytokine responses and anti-inflammatory IL-10 in determining outcome of VL in India, as highlighted by response to both crude and defined protein antigens. Importantly, cured VL patients and endemic Quantiferon positive individuals recognise 5 novel vaccine candidate antigens, confirming our recent data for L. chagasi in Brazil, and their potential as cross-species vaccine candidates.
On the Price of Security in Large-Scale Wireless Ad Hoc Networks

Security always comes with a price in terms of performance degradation, which should be carefully quantified. This is especially the case for wireless ad hoc networks (WANETs), which offer communications over a shared wireless channel without any preexisting infrastructure. Forming end-to-end secure paths in such WANETs is more challenging than in conventional networks due to the lack of central authorities, and its impact on network performance is largely untouched in the literature. In this paper, based on a general random network model, the asymptotic behaviors of secure throughput and delay with the common transmission range rn and the probability pf of neighboring nodes having a primary security association are quantified when the network size n is sufficiently large. The costs and benefits of secure-link-augmentation operations on the secure throughput and delay are also analyzed. In general, security has a cost: Since we require all the communications operate on secure links, there is a degradation in the network performance when pf <; 1. However, one important exception is that when pf is Ω(1/logn), the secure throughput remains at the Gupta and Kumar bound of Θ(1/√{n log n}) packets/time slot, wherein no security requirements are enforced on WANETs. This implies that even when the pf goes to zero as the network size becomes arbitrarily large, it is still possible to build throughput-order-optimal secure WANETs, which is of practical interest since pf is very small in many practical large-scale WANETs.
Characterization and Comparative Durability Study of Glass/Vinylester, Basalt/Vinylester, and Basalt/Epoxy FRP Bars

AbstractThis paper presents an experimental study that investigated the physical, mechanical, and durability characteristics of three different types of fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) bars made of basalt and glass fibers with vinylester and epoxy resins, namely basalt/vinylester (B/V) FRP bars, glass/vinylester (G/V) FRP bars, and basalt/epoxy (B/E) FRP bars. First, their physical and mechanical properties were assessed. Then, a comparative durability study was performed on the three types of FRP bars under alkaline exposure simulating a concrete environment. The alkaline exposure was achieved by immersing the bars in an alkaline solution for up to 5,000 h at 60°C. Thereafter, the properties were assessed and compared with the unconditioned (reference) values. The test parameters were (1) fiber type (basalt or glass); (2) resin type (vinylester or epoxy); and (3) conditioning time (1,000, 3,000, and 5,000 h). The test results reveal that the G/V composite had the best physical and mechanical properties an.
Influence of shearing history on the rheological properties and processability of branched polymers. II. Optical properties of low‐density polyethylene blown films

An investigation was performed to determine how optical properties of LDPE blown films changed when the material was subjected to extrusion shearing. In this study, shearing histories were given to the materials by designed extrusion shearing. Recognizable variations take place in haze and gloss of the blown film during the extrusion shearing. Such variations were expressed as a function of the processing index (PI), which was introduced in a preceding paper as a measure of the memory effect of shearing histories of LDPE. This means that the variations originate in a certain change in the cohesive state of the polymer molecules attributable to the shearing.
Computational Modelling of Rectangular Sub-Boundary Layer Vortex Generators

Vortex generators (VGs) are increasingly used in the wind turbine manufacture industry as flow control devices to improve rotor blade aerodynamic performance. Nevertheless, VGs may produce excess residual drag in some applications. The so-called sub-boundary layer VGs can provide an effective flow-separation control with lower drag than the conventional VGs. The main objective of this study is to investigate how well the simulations can reproduce the physics of the flow of the primary vortex generated by rectangular sub-boundary layer VGs mounted on a flat plate with a negligible pressure gradient with an angle of attack of the vane to the oncoming flow of β = 18°. Three devices with aspect ratio values of 2, 2.5 and 3 are qualitatively and quantitatively compared. To that end, computational simulations have been carried out using the RANS (Reynolds averaged Navier–Stokes) method and at Reynolds number Re = 2600 based on the boundary layer momentum thickness θ at the VG position. The computational results show good agreement with the experimental data provided by the Advanced Aerodynamic Tools of Large Rotors (AVATAR) European project for the development and validation of aerodynamic models. Finally, the results indicate that the highest VG seems to be more suitable for separation control applications.
Blistering as a Form of Degradation in Adhesive Joints

Abstract Water-filled blisters were observed to form during accelerated aging experiments with aluminum adherends and two structural epoxy adhesives. Both closed adhesive joints and open-face specimens were affected. The blisters grew with time, originated both in the adhesive and at the epoxy-aluminum interface, and were found only at 100% relative humidity at both 65°C and 85°C; blisters were never observed at 85% relative humidity or lower. The same water-soluble ionic species were found in the blister liquid, the two adhesives and water that had been in contact with adhesive samples for an extended period. It is proposed that the blisters grew under the influence of osmosis, originating in water clusters at microscopic voids. Contamination of the aluminum adherends by residual etching solution, although not a necessary precondition for blistering, could facilitate this process by lowering the partial pressure at which water condenses and by creating higher osmotic pressures.
Using smart phone mobility traces for the diagnosis of depressive and manic episodes in bipolar patients

In this paper we demonstrate how smart phone sensors, specifically inertial sensors and GPS traces, can be used as an objective "measurement device" for aiding psychiatric diagnosis. In a trial with 12 bipolar disorder patients conducted over a total (summed over all patients) of over 1000 days (on average 12 weeks per patient) we have achieved state change detection with a precision/recall of 96%/94% and state recognition accuracy of 80%. The paper describes the data collection, which was conducted as a medical trial in a real life every day environment in a rural area, outlines the recognition methods, and discusses the results.
Size structuring and allometric scaling relationships in coral reef fishes

Temperate marine fish communities are often size-structured, with predators consuming increasingly larger prey and feeding at higher trophic levels as they grow. Gape limitation and ontogenetic diet shifts are key mechanisms by which size structuring arises in these communities. Little is known, however, about size structuring in coral reef fishes. Here, we aimed to advance understanding of size structuring in coral reef food webs by examining the evidence for these mechanisms in two groups of reef predators. Given the diversity of feeding modes amongst coral reef fishes, we also compared gape size-body size allometric relationships across functional groups to determine whether they are reliable indicators of size structuring. We used gut content analysis and quantile regressions of predator size-prey size relationships to test for evidence of gape limitation and ontogenetic niche shifts in reef piscivores (n = 13 species) and benthic invertivores (n = 3 species). We then estimated gape size-body size allometric scaling coefficients for 21 different species from four functional groups, including herbivores/detritivores, which are not expected to be gape-limited. We found evidence of both mechanisms for size structuring in coral reef piscivores, with maximum prey size scaling positively with predator body size, and ontogenetic diet shifts including prey type and expansion of prey size. There was, however, little evidence of size structuring in benthic invertivores. Across species and functional groups, absolute and relative gape sizes were largest in piscivores as expected, but gape size-body size scaling relationships were not indicative of size structuring. Instead, relative gape sizes and mouth morphologies may be better indicators. Our results provide evidence that coral reef piscivores are size-structured and that gape limitation and ontogenetic niche shifts are the mechanisms from which this structure arises. Although gape allometry was not indicative of size structuring, it may have implications for ecosystem function: positively allometric gape size-body size scaling relationships in herbivores/detritivores suggests that loss of large-bodied individuals of these species will have a disproportionately negative impact on reef grazing pressure.
Use of lithium in the medically ill.

For more than one hundred years (about 1845-1950), lithium salts were used to treat disorders belonging to 'the uric acid diathesis' ('gouty diseases'). It was introduced into modern psychiatry as an antimanic agent, but its current use is mostly as a prophylactic in bipolar and unipolar manic-depressive illness. In the present context, however, this psychiatric use may, in some instances, create special nonpsychiatric problems such as lithium poisoning, renal diabetes insipidus, and weight gain. Moreover, most lithium patients are outpatients, so that medical complaints caused by the treatment are in most cases presented to the general practitioner, the neurologist, the nephrologist, the cardiologist, etc. rather than to the psychiatrist. Lithium treatment is frequently accompanied by both short-term and long-term side effects and some of these, e.g. the thyroid-depressing effect and leukocytosis, may be medically exploited. Like manic-depressive illness, some medical disorders such as certain types of headache have a periodic course and appear to respond favorably to long-term lithium treatment. Cooperation between researchers in biological psychiatry and nephrologists has resulted in the suggestion that lithium may be used as an indicator of proximal sodium and water reabsorption, which has later led to the suggestion that the renal lithium clearance is an indicator of proximal renal tubular function.
Unique Plastic and Recovery Behavior of Nanofilled Elastomers and Thermoplastic Elastomers (Payne and Mullins Effects)

We have proposed recently that the mechanical properties of nano-filled elastomers are governed by the kinetics of rupture and re-birth of glassy bridges which link neighboring nanoparticles and allow for building large rigid clusters of finite life-times. The latter depend on parameters such as the temperature, the nanoparticle-matrix interaction, and the distance between neighboring fillers. Most importantly these life-times depend on the history of deformation of the samples. We show that this death and re-birth process allows for predicting unusual non-linear and plastic behavior for these systems. We study in particular the behavior after large deformation amplitude cycles. At some point we put the systems at rest under large deformation, and let the stress relax in this new deformed state. During this relaxation process the life-time of glassy bridges increases progressively, even for large deformation states. The systems thus acquire a new reference state, which corresponds to a plastic deformation. The stretching energy of the polymer strands of the rubbery matrix is larger than in the initial undeformed state, but this effect is compensated by a new configuration of glassy bridges, which are much stiffer. For plastic deformations of less than about 10%, the new system acquires mechanical properties around this new reference state which are very close to those of the initial system. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 48: 1495–1508, 2010
Multi-Fidelity Multi-Objective Efficient Global Optimization Applied to Airfoil Design Problems

In this study, efficient global optimization (EGO) with a multi-fidelity hybrid surrogate model for multi-objective optimization is proposed to solve multi-objective real-world design problems. In the proposed approach, a design exploration is carried out assisted by surrogate models, which are constructed by adding a local deviation estimated by the kriging method and a global model approximated by a radial basis function. An expected hypervolume improvement is then computed on the basis of the model uncertainty to determine additional samples that could improve the model accuracy. In the investigation, the proposed approach is applied to two-objective and three-objective optimization test functions. Then, it is applied to aerodynamic airfoil design optimization with two objective functions, namely minimization of aerodynamic drag and maximization of airfoil thickness at the trailing edge. Finally, the proposed method is applied to aerodynamic airfoil design optimization with three objective functions, namely minimization of aerodynamic drag at cruising speed, maximization of airfoil thickness at the trialing edge and maximization of lift at low speed assuming a landing attitude. XFOILis used to investigate the low-fidelity aerodynamic force, and a Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes simulation is applied for high-fidelity aerodynamics in conjunction with a high-cost approach. For comparison, multi-objective optimization is carried out using a kriging model only with a high-fidelity solver (single fidelity). The design results indicate that the non-dominated solutions of the proposed method achieve greater data diversity than the optimal solutions of the kriging method. Moreover, the proposed method gives a smaller error than the kriging method.