Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Diabetes Mellitus and Its Correlates in an Iranian Adult Population

The rising epidemic of diabetes imposes a substantial economic burden on the Middle East. Using baseline data from a population based cohort study, we aimed to identify the correlates of diabetes mellitus (DM) in a mainly rural population from Iran. Between 2004 and 2007, 50044 adults between 30 and 87 years old from Golestan Province located in Northeast Iran were enrolled in the Golestan Cohort Study. Demographic and health-related information was collected using questionnaires. Individuals' body sizes at ages 15 and 30 were assessed by validated pictograms ranging from 1 (very lean) to 7 in men and 9 in women. DM diagnosis was based on the self-report of a physician's diagnosis. The accuracy of self-reported DM was evaluated in a subcohort of 3811 individuals using fasting plasma glucose level and medical records. Poisson regression with robust variance estimator was used to estimate prevalence ratios (PR's). The prevalence of self-reported DM standardized to the national and world population was 5.7% and 6.2%, respectively. Self-reported DM had 61.5% sensitivity and 97.6% specificity. Socioeconomic status was inversely associated with DM prevalence. Green tea and opium consumption increased the prevalence of DM. Obesity at all ages and extreme leanness in childhood increased diabetes prevalence. Being obese throughout life doubled DM prevalence in women (PR: 2.1; 95% CI: 1.8, 2.4). These findings emphasize the importance of improving DM awareness, improving general living conditions, and early lifestyle modifications in diabetes prevention.
Algal Hot Spots in a Changing Arctic Ocean: Sea-Ice Ridges and the Snow-Ice Interface

During the N-ICE2015 drift expedition north-west of Svalbard, we observed the establishment and development of algal communities in first-year ice (FYI) ridges and at the snow-ice interface. Despite some indications of being hot spots for biological activity, ridges are under-studied largely because they are complex structures that are difficult to sample. Snow infiltration communities can grow at the snow-ice interface when flooded. They have been commonly observed in the Antarctic, but rarely in the Arctic, where flooding is less common mainly due to a lower snow-to-ice thickness ratio. Combining biomass measurements and algal community analysis with under-ice irradiance and current measurements as well as light modeling, we comprehensively describe these two algal habitats in an Arctic pack ice environment. High biomass accumulation in ridges was facilitated by complex surfaces for algal deposition and attachment, increased light availability, and protection against strong under-ice currents. Notably, specific locations within the ridges were found to host distinct ice algal communities. The pennate diatoms Nitzschia frigida and Navicula species dominated the underside and inclined walls of submerged ice blocks, while the centric diatom Shionodiscus bioculatus dominated the top surfaces of the submerged ice blocks. Higher light levels than those in and below the sea ice, low mesozooplankton grazing, and physical concentration likely contributed to the high algal biomass at the snow-ice interface. These snow infiltration communities were dominated by Phaeocystis pouchetii and chain-forming pelagic diatoms (Fragilariopsis oceanica and Chaetoceros gelidus). Ridges are likely to form more frequently in a thinner and more dynamic ice pack, while the predicted increase in Arctic precipitation in some regions in combination with the thinning Arctic icescape might lead to larger areas of sea ice with negative freeboard and subsequent flooding during the melt season. Therefore, these two habitats are likely to become increasingly important in the new Arctic with implications for carbon export and transfer in the ice-associated ecosystem.
Learned Vocal Variation Is Associated with Abrupt Cryptic Genetic Change in a Parrot Species Complex

Contact zones between subspecies or closely related species offer valuable insights into speciation processes. A typical feature of such zones is the presence of clinal variation in multiple traits. The nature of these traits and the concordance among clines are expected to influence whether and how quickly speciation will proceed. Learned signals, such as vocalizations in species having vocal learning (e.g. humans, many birds, bats and cetaceans), can exhibit rapid change and may accelerate reproductive isolation between populations. Therefore, particularly strong concordance among clines in learned signals and population genetic structure may be expected, even among continuous populations in the early stages of speciation. However, empirical evidence for this pattern is often limited because differences in vocalisations between populations are driven by habitat differences or have evolved in allopatry. We tested for this pattern in a unique system where we may be able to separate effects of habitat and evolutionary history. We studied geographic variation in the vocalizations of the crimson rosella (Platycercus elegans) parrot species complex. Parrots are well known for their life-long vocal learning and cognitive abilities. We analysed contact calls across a ca 1300 km transect encompassing populations that differed in neutral genetic markers and plumage colour. We found steep clinal changes in two acoustic variables (fundamental frequency and peak frequency position). The positions of the two clines in vocal traits were concordant with a steep cline in microsatellite-based genetic variation, but were discordant with the steep clines in mtDNA, plumage and habitat. Our study provides new evidence that vocal variation, in a species with vocal learning, can coincide with areas of restricted gene flow across geographically continuous populations. Our results suggest that traits that evolve culturally can be strongly associated with reduced gene flow between populations, and therefore may promote speciation, even in the absence of other barriers.
Immunodominant T-cell epitopes of MOG reside in its transmembrane and cytoplasmic domains in EAE

Objective: Studies evaluating T-cell recognition of myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) in multiple sclerosis (MS) and its model, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), have focused mostly on its 117 amino acid (aa) extracellular domain, especially peptide (p) 35-55. We characterized T-cell responses to the entire 218 aa MOG sequence, including its transmembrane and cytoplasmic domains. Methods: T-cell recognition in mice was examined using overlapping peptides and intact full-length mouse MOG. EAE was evaluated by peptide immunization and by adoptive transfer of MOG epitope-specific T cells. Frequency of epitope-specific T cells was examined by ELISPOT. Results: Three T-cell determinants of MOG were discovered in its transmembrane and cytoplasmic domains, p119–132, p181–195, and p186–200. Transmembrane MOG p119-132 induced clinical EAE, CNS inflammation, and demyelination as potently as p35-55 in C57BL/6 mice and other H-2b strains. p119-128 contained its minimal encephalitogenic epitope. p119-132 did not cause disease in EAE-susceptible non-H-2b strains, including Biozzi, NOD, and PL/J. MOG p119-132–specific T cells produced Th1 and Th17 cytokines and transferred EAE to wild-type recipient mice. After immunization with full-length MOG, a significantly higher frequency of MOG-reactive T cells responded to p119-132 than to p35-55, demonstrating that p119-132 is an immunodominant encephalitogenic epitope. MOG p181-195 did not cause EAE, and MOG p181-195–specific T cells could not transfer EAE into wild-type or highly susceptible T- and B-cell–deficient mice. Conclusions: Transmembrane and cytoplasmic domains of MOG contain immunodominant T-cell epitopes in EAE. A CNS autoantigen can also contain nonpathogenic stimulatory T-cell epitopes. Recognition that a myelin antigen contains multiple encephalitogenic and nonencephalitogenic determinants may have implications for therapeutic development in MS.
Low vapor pressure deficit reduces glandular trichome density and modifies the chemical composition of cuticular waxes in silver birch leaves

Cuticular wax layer is the first barrier against the outside environment and the first defense encountered by herbivores and pathogens. The effects of environmental factors on cuticular chemistry, and on the formation of glandular trichomes that account for the storage and secretion of lipophilic compounds to the leaf surface are poorly understood. Low vapor pressure deficit (VPD) has shown to reduce the nitrogen (N) status of plants. Thus, we studied the effects of elevated air humidity, indicated as VPD, and the effect of N fertilization on cuticular waxes and glandular trichome density in silver birch (Betula pendula Roth). Experiments were carried out in growth chambers with juvenile plants and in a long-term field experiment with older trees. Low VPD reduced the glandular trichome density in both experiments, in chamber and in field. The contents of the major triterpenoid and flavonoid aglycones correlated positively with glandular trichome density, which supports the role of trichomes in the exudation of secondary compounds to the leaf surface. A closer examination of the cuticular wax chemistry in the chamber experiment revealed that low VPD and N supply affected the composition of cuticular waxes, but not the total wax content. The deposition of different wax compounds followed a co-ordinated pattern in birch leaves, but different compound groups varied in their responses to N fertilization and low VPD. Low VPD reduced the hydrophobicity of cuticular waxes, as demonstrated by lower alkane content and less hydrophobic flavonoid profile in low VPD than in high VPD. Reduced hydrophobicity of the wax layer is presumed to increase leaf wettability. Together with reduced trichome density in low VPD it may enhance the susceptibility of trees to fungal pathogens and herbivores. High N supply under low VPD reduced the effect of low VPD on the cuticular wax composition. Total fatty acid content and the expression of β-amyrin synthase were lower under high N supply than under moderate N supply irrespective of VPD treatment. Nitrogen availability and decreasing VPD will modify leaf surface properties in silver birch and thereby affect tree defence against abiotic and biotic stress factors that emerge under climate change.
On the simulation of fast settling charge pump PLLs up to fourth order

In this paper, we discuss three different models for the simulation of integer‐N charge‐pump phase‐locked loops (PLLs), namely the continuous‐time s‐domain and discrete time z‐domain approximations and the exact semi‐analytical time‐domain model. The limitations of the two approximated models are analyzed in terms of error in the computed settling time as a function of loop parameters, deriving practical conditions under which the different models are reliable for fast settling PLLs up to fourth order. Besides, output spectral purity analysis methods based upon the time‐domain model are introduced and the results are compared with those obtained by means of the s‐domain model in terms of phase noise and reference spur estimation. As a case study, we use the three models to analyze a fast switching PLL to be integrated in a frequency synthesizer for WiMedia MB‐OFDM UWB systems. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Intraspecific comparison of two complete mitogenome sequences from the Korean water deer (Cervidae: Hydropotes inermis argyropus)

Abstract The complete mitogenome (KP203884) of Hydropotes i. argyropus (SC15) showed 99.7% nucleotide similarity with that of the Chinese H. i. inermis, whereas only 99.1% nucleotide similarity with the known mitogenome of the Korean H. i. argyropus (HC23). Comparison of amino acid sequence also showed that H. i. argyropus (SC15) was more similar to the Chinese H. i. inermis (99.8%) than H. i. argyropus (HC23) (99.5%). Thus, the comparative analyses of the mitogenomes reveal that the Korean water deer H. i. argyropus (SC15) is more closely related to the Chinese water deer H. i. inermis than to the other Korean H. i. argyropus (HC23).
Specificity of, and influence of hemolysis, lipemia, and icterus on serum lipase activity as measured by the v‐LIP‐P slide

BACKGROUND Measurement of pancreatic lipase in serum is being used for the diagnosis of pancreatitis. OBJECTIVES The aims of this study were to measure serum lipase activity by the v-LIP-P slide and serum canine pancreatic lipase immunoreactivity (cPLI) concentration by Spec cPL in dogs with exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI) and in serum samples that were hemolyzed, lipemic, or icteric. METHODS Serum samples from 50 dogs with EPI, 8 samples spiked with canine hemoglobin, Intralipid, or ditaurobilirubin, and 8 samples from dogs with severe hypertriglyceridemia were evaluated using v-LIP-P and Spec cPL assays. RESULTS Serum lipase activity (v-LIP-P) was in the lower 20% of the RI in 58% of EPI dogs, while serum cPLI (as measured by Spec cPL) was in the lower 20% of the RI in 98% of EPI dogs. The mean (±SD) observed-to-expected ratios for serum samples spiked with canine hemoglobin, Intralipid, or ditaurobilirubin were 63.0 ± 25.1%, 489.2 ± 469.7%, and 80.2 ± 11.6% for the v-LIP-P slide, respectively, and 99.3 ± 6.8%, 96.9 ± 9.4%, and 98.7 ± 11.0% for Spec cPL, respectively. However, naturally occurring hypertriglyceridemia did not appear to have a significant effect on serum lipase activity as measured by the v-LIP-P slide. CONCLUSIONS These results show that Spec cPL is specific for pancreatic lipase, while the v-LIP-P slide is not. In addition, hemolysis and lipemia had no effect on Spec cPL, while severe icterus resulted in a slight decrease in Spec cPL. Hemolysis and icterus had a significant effect on the v-LIP-P slide. The effect of lipemia on the v-LIP-P slide cannot be conclusively established based on this study.
Nutraceutical or Pharmacological Potential of Moringa oleifera Lam.

Moringa oleifera Lam. (M. oleifera), which belongs to the Moringaceae family, is a perennial deciduous tropical tree, and native to the south of the Himalayan Mountains in northern India. M. oleifera is rich in proteins, vitamin A, minerals, essential amino acids, antioxidants, and flavonoids, as well as isothiocyanates. The extracts from M. oleifera exhibit multiple nutraceutical or pharmacological functions including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-cancer, hepatoprotective, neuroprotective, hypoglycemic, and blood lipid-reducing functions. The beneficial functions of M. oleifera are strongly associated with its phytochemicals such as flavonoids or isothiocyanates with bioactivity. In this review, we summarize the research progress related to the bioactivity and pharmacological mechanisms of M. oleifera in the prevention and treatment of a series of chronic diseases—including inflammatory diseases, neuro-dysfunctional diseases, diabetes, and cancers—which will provide a reference for its potential application in the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases or health promotion.
Noun and Verb Production in Maternal and Child Language: Continuity, Stability, and Prediction Across the Second Year of Life

ABSTRACT The present study examined continuity/discontinuity and stability/instability of noun and verb production measures in 30 child-mother dyads observed at 16 and 20 months, and predictive relations with the acquisition of nouns and verbs at 24 months. Children exhibited significant discontinuity and robust stability in the frequency of nouns and verbs between 16 and 20 months (over and above the contribution of maternal measures). By contrast, mothers showed small, but significant, increases in the total number of nouns and the percentages of nouns located in the initial and final utterance positions, together with a decrease in the percentage of verbs located in the initial position. After removing the variance explained by child language, mothers’ speech was stable only in the percentages of nouns located in the initial and final utterance positions. Finally, children’s production of nouns at 24 months was predicted by the percentages of nouns located in the initial and final positions of maternal utterances at 16 months. Maternal measures at 20 months did not predict children’s production of nouns nor for verbs at 24 months. Implications for language acquisition are discussed.
Infection of Mice with Mycobacterium bovis–Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) Suppresses Allergen-induced Airway Eosinophilia

It has been proposed that the increase in prevalence and severity of atopic disorders inversely correlates with exposure to infectious diseases such as tuberculosis. We have investigated this issue by combining an intranasal Mycobacterium bovis–Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) infection with a murine model of allergen, (ovalbumin [OVA]) induced airway eosinophilia. BCG infection either 4 or 12 wk before allergen airway challenge resulted in a 90–95 and 60–70% reduction in eosinophilia within the lungs, respectively, compared to uninfected controls. The inhibition of airway eosinophilia correlated with a reduced level of IL-5 production by T cells from the lymph node draining the site of OVA challenge. Interestingly, BCG infection of the lung had no effect on IgG1 and IgE OVA-specific serum immunoglobulin or blood eosinophil levels. Furthermore, BCG-induced inhibition of airway eosinophilia was strongly reduced in interferon (IFN)-γ receptor–deficient mice and could be partially reversed by intranasal IL-5 application. Intranasal BCG infections could also reduce the degree of lung eosinophilia and IL-5 produced by T cells after Nippostrongylus brasiliensis infection. Taken together, our data suggest that IFN-γ produced during the T helper cell (Th)1 immune response against BCG suppresses the development of local inflammatory Th2 responses in the lung. Most importantly, this inhibition did not extend to the systemic immunoglobulin response against OVA. Our data support the view that mycobacterial infections have the potential to suppress the development of atopic disorders in humans.
Commercial scale simulations of surfactant/polymer flooding

The depletion of oil reserves and higher oil prices has made chemical enhanced oil recovery (EOR) methods more attractive in recent years. Because of geological heterogeneity, unfavorable mobility ratio, and capillary forces, conventional oil recovery (including water flooding) leaves behind much oil in reservoir, often as much as 70% OOIP (original oil in place). Surfactant/polymer flooding targets these bypassed oil left after waterflood by reducing water mobility and oil/water interfacial tension. The complexity and uncertainty of reservoir characterization make the design and implementation of a robust and effective surfactant/polymer flooding to be quite challenging. Accurate numerical simulation prior to the field surfactant/polymer flooding is essential for a successful design and implementation of surfactant/polymer flooding. A recently developed unified polymer viscosity model was implemented into our existing polymer module within our in-house reservoir simulator, the Implicit Parallel Accurate Reservoir Simulator (IPARS). The new viscosity model is capable of simulating not only the Newtonian and shear-thinning rheology of polymer solution but also the shear-thickening behavior, which may occur near the wellbore with high injection rates when high molecular weight Partially Hydrolyzed Acrylamide (HPAM) polymers are injected. We have added a full capability of surfactant/polymer flooding to TRCHEM module of IPARS using a simplified but mechanistic and user-friendly approach for modeling surfactant/water/oil phase behavior. The features of surfactant module include: 1) surfactant component transport in porous media; 2) surfactant adsorption on the rock; 3) surfactant/oil/water phase behavior transitioned with salinity of Type II(-), Type III, and Type II(+) phase behaviors; 4) compositional microemulsion phase viscosity correlation and 5) relative permeabilities based on the trapping number. With the parallel capability of IPARS, commercial scale simulation of surfactant/polymer flooding becomes practical and affordable. Several numerical examples are presented in this dissertation. The results of surfactant/polymer flood are verified by comparing with the results obtained from UTCHEM, a three-dimensional chemical flood simulator developed at the University of Texas at Austin. The parallel capability and scalability are also demonstrated.
Schottky barrier height of Au/Aligned ZnO nanorod Arrays/Mg0.3Zn0.7O at various metal depositions ambient

The fabrication of Au/aligned zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorod arraysZMg0.3Zn0. 7O Schottky diode using the chemical bath deposition method is reported. The grown, abundant and closely packed nanorods were improved by Mg0.3Zn0. 7O seed layer, which exhibits the dangling bond state and Zn and/or O vacancy due to the high deep level defect states. Different ambient of Ar, N and O2 were introduced during the metal deposition process resulting in significant differences to a Schottky barrier height (SBH). The use of oxygen during the metal deposition process has affected the initial phase, where the negatively charged oxygen ion bombarded the substrate's surface, which indirectly supplies an in-situ plasma surface pretreatment to the aligned ZnO nanorod arrays. This resulted in an oxygen passivation near the interface which explained the outstanding electrical performance of this Schottky diode.
Teaching self-driving cars to dream: A deeply integrated, innovative approach for solving the autonomous vehicle validation problem

Validating autonomous vehicles is a tough problem that, if not solved in a timely manner, might hinder the release of autonomous vehicles. Standard software testing techniques might not be sufficient to validate such complex systems, which is why, in this paper, we present a novel approach to solve this problem. We introduce a new validation space concept that is based on a network of spatiotemporal state lattices to generate the motion of dynamic traffic participants. This space is sparse and fractured in the beginning but becomes more and more integrated and dense as the vehicles experience new situations. Therefore we propose new testing techniques for efficiency as well as an overall workflow that requires a new safety module to be embedded into the automated vehicle's architecture.
Exploring Anomalous Polarization Dynamics in Organometallic Halide Perovskites

Organometallic halide perovskites (OMHPs) have attracted broad attention as prospective materials for optoelectronic applications. Among the many anomalous properties of these materials, of special interest are the ferroelectric properties including both classical and relaxor‐like components, as a potential origin of slow dynamics, field enhancement, and anomalous mobilities. Here, ferroelectric properties of the three representative OMHPs are explored, including FAPbxSn1–xI3 (x = 0, x = 0.85) and FA0.85MA0. 15PbI3 using band excitation piezoresponse force microscopy and contact mode Kelvin probe force microscopy, providing insight into long‐ and short‐range dipole and charge dynamics in these materials and probing ferroelectric density of states. Furthermore, second‐harmonic generation in thin films of OMHPs is observed, providing a direct information on the noncentrosymmetric polarization in such materials. Overall, the data provide strong evidence for the presence of ferroelectric domains in these systems; however, the domain dynamics is suppressed by fast ion dynamics. These materials hence present the limit of ferroelectric materials with spontaneous polarization dynamically screened by ionic and electronic carriers.