Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Respiratory indices by gas analysis and fat metabolism by indirect calorimetry in normal subjects and triathletes

Background: The effects of exercise on different indices reflecting the metabolism have been of interest for a long time, and a relationship between anaerobic indices and maximal oxygen uptake has been established. The inter‐relationship between different respiratory indices during an exercise test remains to be studied in order to understand differences between individuals. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine three respiratory indices and investigate their inter‐relationship in individuals with highly variable working capacity. A second aim was to investigate the fat metabolism at the VO2 corresponding to the respiratory compensation point (Pq) in the different subjects using indirect calorimetry.
The Relationship Between Multidirectional Jumping and Performance in Change of Direction Tasks

Abstract Bourgeois, FA II, Gamble, P, Gill, ND, and McGuigan, MR. The relationship between multidirectional jumping and performance in change of direction tasks. J Strength Cond Res 32(3): 690–699, 2018—This study investigated the test-retest reliability of 2 change of direction (COD; 180 and 45° COD) sprints and 3 multidirectional jump (MDJ) tests. Variables examined were approach time (sprint before plant-step), exit time (sprint after plant-step), total time (time to completion) and MDJ approach time, and distance, respectively. Second, the ability of MDJ tests to predict performance in COD tests was examined. Twenty men (age: 27.5 ± 5.9 years; height: 1.79 ± 0.1 m; and body mass: 79.1 ± 12.0 kg) performed 5 trials for each assessment, executing left plant-leg (LT) and right plant-leg (RT) steps, on 2 testing occasions separated by 7 days. Between-session and within-session intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) and coefficients of variation (CVs) for all measurements were calculated. Usefulness of COD and MDJ tests was assessed using typical error and smallest worthwhile change (SWC) comparison. Results showed only one MDJ measurement generated unstable between-session reliability. Within-session reliability of approach and exit COD times, and MDJ approach times possessed confidence limits (90% CL) that extended below 0.75 ICC. All COD total times and MDJ distances presented high reliability (ICC = 0.87–0.99) with low CV (0.9–4.1%). Right-leg MDJ distances were predictors of RT COD performances (r = 0.50–0.68, p = 0.001–0.024), whereas LT MDJ distances were predictors of LT180 COD performance (r = 0.67–0.71, p = 0.001). All measurements were useful in detecting SWC in performance. These findings suggest the COD tests and MDJ distances are reliable for assessing and monitoring COD performance in similar cohorts.
Monetary Policy and Sectoral Shocks : Did the FED react properly to the High-Tech Crisis ? 1

This paper presents an identification strategy that allows us to study both the sectoral effects of monetary policy and the role that monetary policy plays in the transmission of sectoral shocks. We apply our methodology to the case of the U.S. and find some significant differences in the sectorial responses to monetary policy. We also find that monetary policy is a significant source of sectoral transfers. In particular, a shock to Equipment and Software investment, which we naturally identify with the hightech crises, induces a response by the monetary authority that generates a temporary boom in Residential Investment and Durable Consumption but has almost no effect on the high-tech sector. Finally, we perform an exercise evaluating what the model predicts regarding the automatic and a more aggressive monetary policy response to a shock similar to the one that hit the U.S. in early 2001. We find that the actual drop in interest rates we have observed is in line with the predictions of the model. JEL Classification Numbers: E43, E44, E52, E58
Morphometry of Hepatic Neoplasms and Altered Foci in the Mummichog, Fundulus heteroclitus

The goal of this study was to intensively sample a small number of livers from a population of mummichog exposed to PAH-contaminated sediments and evaluate them for lesion pathology, distribution, shape, and volume, and the number of histological sections needed to adequately describe the extent of various lesions. Volumetric data for each lesion type from each step section was derived from digitized section images. The total number of hepatic alterations ranged from 10—125 per fish. Alterations included: eosinophilic, basophilic, and clear cell foci; hepatocellular carcinomas; hemangiopericytomas; and cholangiomas. Lesion volumes ranged from 0.00012—64 mm3 and represented 0.21%—67% of total liver volume. There was a tendency for the lesions to be more dorsal-ventrally compressed than spherical or ropelike when observed from longitudinal sections. Periodic subsampling of the data indicated that, on average, 6 evenly spaced, longitudinal histological sections were required to accurately estimate lesion volume and extent in our model population. These data provide a formulation for histological sampling techniques and methodological support for piscine and other cancer study models that observe lesion volume changes over time. Further, this study fosters the development of early quantitative endpoints, rather than using a large number of animals and waiting for tumor progression or death to occur.
Prevalence and Predictors of Diabetes Mellitus in Jalalabad City, Afghanistan-2013

Objective: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a global health problem with significant impact on health and quality of life. There is no national statistics about this disease in Afghanistan. The aim of this study is to evaluate the prevalence of DM and associated factors in adults lived in Jalalabad city, Afghanistan. Materials and Methods : A cross-sectional study was conducted in Jalalabad city in May to June 2013. Multistage random sampling technique was used to choice 1200 adults aged 25-70 years. WHO STEPS approach was used to collect data on demographic and behavioral factors. Physical measurements including height, weight, blood pressure and biochemical blood analysis were done. Bivariate and multivariate analysis was performed using SPSS version.20. Results: The prevalence of diabetes was 11.8%. There was significant difference of diabetes prevalence between female and male (13.4 % vs. 9.4 %). The mean age of diabetic patients was 38.8 ±11 years. The factors such as vegetables consumption (OR:0.48, 95%CI: 0.31 – 0.75), obesity (OR:1.83, 95%CI: 1.11 – 3.03), hypertension (OR:1.99, 95%CI:1.33 – 2.97), total cholesterol (OR:1.64, 95%CI:1.07 – 2.51), and total triglycerides(OR:1.91, 95%CI: 1.16 – 3.16) independently are associated with diseases. Conclusions: The high prevalence of diabetes in working-age is cause of concern. Measures such as raising awareness and changing of lifestyle may help to reduce the burden of DM among Jalalabad adults.
The Joint Biomechanics Change by Different Anterior Cruciate Ligament Constitutive Models Under Axial Torque Load

According to the previous papers, it was demonstrated that anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) played an important role in resisting the coupled anterior-posterior laxity rather than the rotation laxity under axial torque load of knee joint. In the biomechanics simulation research of knee joint, some different ligament constitutive models were presented to describe the ACL material behavior. However, there is few published paper to study the effect of variable ligament constitutive model on the joint biomechanics under axial torque load.In this paper, a 3-dimension finite element model of an intact tibiofemoral joint including all the main anatomical structures was reconstructed and two ACL constitutive models were compared under 10 Nm femur external torque load. The two ACL constitutive models corresponded to an isotropic hyperelastic model and a transversely isotropic hyperelastic model considering fiber effect, respectively. All the ACL material properties of the two constitutive models were defined by fitting the same stress-strain data. Another model with ACL resected was also analyzed under the same load to estimate the function ACL played under joint axial torque load.It was found that the resection of ACL changed the knee joint deformations significantly in all directions except the distal-proximal translation. In the ACL resected joint model, the internal-external rotation, anterior-posterior and medial-lateral translations increased by about 20%, 500% and 600%, respectively. Comparing to the ACL intact joint model, the Mises stress values of medial collateral ligament decreased while that on lateral collateral ligament increased greatly (from 35 MPa to 61 MPa). In the comparison of the two different ACL constitutive models, the internal-external rotation, as the highest deformation of the knee joint, changed by about 11% and the maximal deformation alteration was obtained in the anterior-posterior translation (about 80%). Both the highest stress value and distribution on ACL have altered mostly while the Mises stress distributions of other ligaments and menisci have changed slightly.The alteration of joint kinematics and ligament biomechanics by different ACL constitutive models would be due to the different descriptions of the material transverse behavior and the real complex ACL stress distribution under an axial torque load, although the longitudinal material behaviors described by different ACL constitutive models were almost the same based on the same experiment data.Copyright © 2012 by ASME
Recombinant TgHSP70 Immunization Protects against Toxoplasma gondii Brain Cyst Formation by Enhancing Inducible Nitric Oxide Expression

Toxoplasma gondii is known to cause congenital infection in humans and animals and severe disease in immunocompromised individuals; consequently development of vaccines against the parasite is highly necessary. Under stress conditions, T. gondii expresses the highly immunogenic heat shock protein 70 (TgHSP70). Here, we assessed the protective efficacy of rTgHSP70 immunization combined with Alum in oral ME-49 T. gondii infection and the mechanisms involved on it. It was observed that immunized mice with rTgHSP70 or rTgHSP70 adsorbed in Alum presented a significantly reduced number of cysts in the brain that was associated with increased iNOS+ cell numbers in the organ, irrespective the use of the adjuvant. Indeed, ex vivo experiments showed that peritoneal macrophages pre-stimulated with rTgHSP70 presented increased NO production and enhanced parasite killing, and the protein was able to directly stimulate B cells toward antibody producing profile. In addition, rTgHSP70 immunization leads to high specific antibody titters systemically and a mixed IgG1/IgG2a response, with predominance of IgG1 production. Nonetheless, it was observed that the pretreatment of the parasite with rTgHSP70 immune sera was not able to control T. gondii internalization and replication by NIH fibroblast neither peritoneal murine macrophages, nor anti-rTgHSP70 antibodies were able to kill T. gondii by complement-mediated lysis, suggesting that these mechanisms are not crucial to resistance. Interestingly, when in combination with Alum, rTgHSP70 immunization was able to reduce inflammation in the brain of infected mice and in parallel anti-rTgHSP70 immune complexes in the serum. In conclusion, immunization with rTgHSP70 induces massive amounts of iNOS expression and reduced brain parasitism, suggesting that iNOS expression and consequently NO production in the brain is a protective mechanism induced by TgHSP70 immunization, therefore rTgHSP70 can be a good candidate for vaccine development against toxoplasmosis.
Microscopic-Macroscopic Simulations of Rigid-Rod Polymer Hydrodynamics: Heterogeneity and Rheochaos

Rheochaos is a remarkable phenomenon of nematic (rigid-rod) polymers in steady shear, with sustained chaotic fluctuations of the orientational distribution of the rod ensemble. For monodomain dynamics, imposing spatial homogeneity and linear shear, rheochaos is a hallmark prediction of the Doi–Hess theory [M. Doi, J. Polym. Sci. Polym. Phys. Ed., 19 (1981), pp. 229–243; M. Doi and S. F. Edwards, The Theory of Polymer Dynamics, Oxford University Press, London, New York, 1986; S. Hess, Z. Naturforsch. , 31 (1976), pp. 1034–1037]. The model behavior is robust, captured by second-moment tensor approximations [G. Rienacker, M. Kroger, and S. Hess, Phys. Rev. E (3), 66 (2002), 040702; G. Rienacker, M. Kroger, and S. Hess, Phys. A, 315 (2002), pp. 537–568; M. G. Forest and Q. Wang, Rheol. Acta, 42 (2003), pp. 20–46] and high-order Galerkin simulations of the Smoluchowski equation for the orientational probability distribution function (PDF) [M. Grosso, R. Keunings, S. Crescitelli, and P. L. Maffettone, Phys. Rev.
BH4 improves postprandial endothelial function after a high-fat meal in men and postmenopausal women

Objective: The timing and duration of menopause is important when evaluating the risk for cardiovascular disease in postmenopausal women, likely related in part to nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability. The flow-mediated dilation (FMD) test is a noninvasive assessment of NO bioavailability in humans, and tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) is essential for NO synthesis. A high-fat meal (HFM) has been used to increase lipemia and reduce NO bioavailability. Thus, this study sought to determine if menopausal transition has any impact on the postprandial endothelial function response to a HFM, and evaluate the effect of BH4 on postprandial endothelial function in postmenopausal women and men. Methods: Utilizing a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled design, sex-steroid hormones and FMD were determined in 30 older adults (10 postmenopausal women aged below 3 y [W < 3], 10 postmenopausal women aged above 10 y [W > 10], and 10 men) at baseline and 4 hours after the ingestion of a HFM alone or a HFM with BH4 (HFM + BH4; 5 mg/kg). Results: Data are presented as mean ± SEM. Independent of treatment, postprandial testosterone was significantly (P < 0.05) decreased in men (−64 ± 11 ng/dL), whereas no changes were observed in W < 3 or W > 10 group. In addition, concentrations of progesterone were higher (P = 0.019) and the testosterone/estradiol ratio was lower (P = 0.026) in all groups after the ingestion of HFM + BH4 compared with the ingestion of HFM alone. Overall, an increase in FMD was observed after the ingestion of HFM + BH4 (&Dgr;1.9% ± 0.6%), whereas no change in FMD was observed after the ingestion of HFM alone (&Dgr;−0.7% ± 0.6%). Conclusions: Co-ingestion of BH4 with a HFM not only alters the sex-steroid hormone ratio, it improves postprandial FMD after a HFM regardless of postmenopause status or sex.
Awareness about medico legal aspects and Consumer Protection Act among dentists.

BACKGROUND The practice of medicine in India has undergone considerable change affecting delivery of health in both positive and negative directions. As a result, there was a growing feeling that medical treatment should be made accountable and this led to doctors and dentists becoming subject to the process of law. Patients have become more aware of their right to compensation and as a consequence doctors and dentists should be knowledgeable about the laws that govern them. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES To assess the awareness about Medico legal aspects and Consumer Protection Act [CPA] among Dental professionals. MATERIALS AND METHODS A self-structured validated questionnaire comprising of 20 questions related to medico legal aspects and CPA was designed. A total of 450 dental professionals were surveyed from 4 prime dental institutions in Chennai, India. Of the 450 professionals that were surveyed 150 were MDS faculty, 150 were BDS faculty and 150 were PG students. The data was subjected to SPSS, version 16 and statistically analysed using Chi square test and Fisher's exact test. A- p value less than 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. RESULTS BDS faculty, MDS faculty and PG students were found to possess similar level of understanding and there was no significant difference between the groups. Knowledge was found to be equal between male and female dentists. The young practitioners were found to be more informed about CPA than the senior practitioners. CONCLUSIONS It was found that most of the participants were aware of relevant Medico legal aspects, but were less aware of CPA. This study emphasises the need for education relevant to Medico legal aspects and CPA for dental professionals.
Poststroke agitation and aggression and social quality of life: a case control study

Background and objective: Aggression and agitation are common after a stroke. The association between agitation/aggression following stroke and Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) in stroke survivors is unknown. This study aimed to examine the association between agitation/aggression and HRQoL in Chinese stroke survivors. Methods: Three hundred and twenty-four stroke patients entered this cross-sectional study. Agitation/aggression was assessed using the Chinese version of Neuropsychiatric Inventory (CNPI). HRQoL was measured with the Stroke Specific Quality of Life (SSQoL). Results: Three months after the index stroke, agitation/aggression was found in 60 (18.5%) patients. In the agitation/aggression group, 44 patients (73.3%) showed passive agitation/aggression, whereas 16 (26.7%) displayed passive and active agitation/aggression. No patients showed only active agitation/aggression. Patients with agitation/aggression were more likely to have history of diabetes and greater severity of depression, as well as lower SSQoL total score and Personality Changes and Social Role scores. Controlling for diabetes and depression severity did not alter the above results. The Energy and Thinking scores of the SSQoL were significantly lower in the passive/active agitation/aggression group relative to the passive agitation/aggression group (adjusted for CNPI aggression/agitation score). Conclusion: In this study sample, agitation/aggression was preponderantly of the passive type and was associated with poorer HRQoL independently from depression or medical conditions. Patients with both passive and active agitation/aggression had lower Quality of Life (QoL) than patients with only passive agitation/aggression. The causality of the association between low QoL and agitation/aggression needs to be explored in future studies.
Active Neural Localization

Localization is the problem of estimating the location of an autonomous agent from an observation and a map of the environment. Traditional methods of localization, which filter the belief based on the observations, are sub-optimal in the number of steps required, as they do not decide the actions taken by the agent. We propose "Active Neural Localizer", a fully differentiable neural network that learns to localize accurately and efficiently. The proposed model incorporates ideas of traditional filtering-based localization methods, by using a structured belief of the state with multiplicative interactions to propagate belief, and combines it with a policy model to localize accurately while minimizing the number of steps required for localization. Active Neural Localizer is trained end-to-end with reinforcement learning. We use a variety of simulation environments for our experiments which include random 2D mazes, random mazes in the Doom game engine and a photo-realistic environment in the Unreal game engine. The results on the 2D environments show the effectiveness of the learned policy in an idealistic setting while results on the 3D environments demonstrate the model's capability of learning the policy and perceptual model jointly from raw-pixel based RGB observations. We also show that a model trained on random textures in the Doom environment generalizes well to a photo-realistic office space environment in the Unreal engine.
Generalized logarithmic scaling for high-order moments of the longitudinal velocity component explained by the random sweeping decorrelation hypothesis

Expressions for the logarithmic variations of the normalized turbulent longitudinal velocity (u2p¯+)1/p with normalized distance z/δ from a boundary for high-order (p) moments in the intermediate region of wall bounded flows characterized by thickness δ are derived. The ansatz that (u2p¯+)1/p variation in ln(z/δ) originates from a compound effect of random sweeping and -1 power-law scaling in the longitudinal velocity spectrum Eu(k) is discussed, where k is the wavenumber. Using velocity time series sampled above a uniform ice sheet, an Eu(k) ∼ k−1 scaling is confirmed for kz 1. The data were then used to analyze assumptions required for the utility of the random sweeping decorrelation (RSD) hypothesis connecting the k−1 power-law with log-scaling in (u2p¯+)1/p. It has been found out that while the RSD hypothesis is operationally applicable to scales associated with attached eddies bounded by kz 1, significant interactions among high-order turbulent velocity and velocity incremen.
Carriage of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae in HIV-infected children in Zimbabwe

Background. Antimicrobial resistance is an emerging global health issue. Data on the epidemiology of multidrug‐resistant organisms are scarce for Africa, especially in HIV‐infected individuals who often have frequent contact with healthcare. We investigated the prevalence of extended‐spectrum beta‐lactamase‐producing Enterobacteriaceae (ESBL‐E) carriage in stool among HIV‐infected children attending an HIV outpatient department in Harare, Zimbabwe. Methods. We recruited children who were stable on antiretroviral therapy (ART) attending a HIV clinic from August 2014 to June 2015. Information was collected on antibiotic use and hospitalization. Stool was tested for ESBL‐E through combination disc diffusion. API20E identification and antimicrobial susceptibility was performed on the positive samples followed by whole genome sequencing. Results. Stool was collected from 175/202 (86.6%) children. Median age was 11 [inter‐quartile range (IQR) 9‐12] years. Median time on ART was 4.6 years (IQR 2.4‐6.4). ESBL‐Es were found in 24/175 samples (13.7%); 50% of all ESBL‐Es were resistant to amoxicillin‐clavulanate, 100% to co‐trimoxazole, 45.8% to chloramphenicol, 91.6% to ceftriaxone, 20.8% to gentamicin and 62.5% to ciprofloxacin. ESBL‐Es variously encoded CTX‐M, OXA, TEM and SHV enzymes. The odds of ESBL‐E carriage were 8.5 times (95% CI 2.2‐32.3) higher in those on ART for less than one year (versus longer) and 8.5 times (95% CI 1.1‐32.3) higher in those recently hospitalized for a chest infection. Conclusion. We found a 13.7% prevalence of ESBL‐E carriage in a population where ESBL‐E carriage has not been described previously. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Africa merits further study, particularly given the high HIV prevalence and limited diagnostic and therapeutic options available.