Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A comprehensive and systematic model of user evaluation of Web search engines: I. Theory and background

The project proposes and tests a comprehensive and systematic model of user evaluation of Web search engines. The project contains two parts. Part I describes the background and the model including a set of criteria and measures, and a method for implementation. It includes a literature review for two periods. The early period (1995-1996) portrays the settings for developing the model and the later period (1997-2000) places two applications of the model among contemporary evaluation work. Part II presents one of the applications that investigated the evaluation of four major search engines by 36 undergraduates from three academic disciplines. It reports results from statistical analyses of quantitative data for the entire sample and among disciplines, and content analysis of verbal data containing users' reasons for satisfaction. The proposed model aims to provide systematic feedback to engine developers or service providers for system improvement and to generate useful insight for system design and tool choice. The model can be applied to evaluating other compatible information retrieval systems or information retrieval (IR) techniques. It intends to contribute to developing a theory of relevance that goes beyond topicality to include value and usefulness for designing user-oriented information retrieval systems.
The dynamic-mechanical behavior of epoxy matrix composites reinforced with ramie fibers

The exceptional tensile strength of ramie fiber has motivated investigations on its application as reinforcement in polymeric composites. In this study the temperature variation of the dynamic-mechanical parameters of epoxy matrix composites incorporated with up to 30% in volume of ramie fiber were investigated by DMA tests. The parameters were the storage modulus, loss modulus and tangent delta. The investigation was conducted in the temperature from 20 to 200°C in an equipment operating in its flexural mode at 1 Hz under nitrogen. The results showed that the incorporation of ramie fiber tends to increase the viscoelastic stiffness of the epoxy matrix. It was also observed sensible changes in the structure damping capacity when the fraction of fiber is increased in the composite. These results indicate that the segmental mobility of the epoxy chains is affected by interaction with ramie fibers in the composite.
The Pleiotropic Effects of Simvastatin on Retinal Microvascular Endothelium Has Important Implications for Ischaemic Retinopathies

Background Current guidelines encourage the use of statins to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease in diabetic patients; however the impact of these drugs on diabetic retinopathy is not well defined. Moreover, pleiotropic effects of statins on the highly specialised retinal microvascular endothelium remain largely unknown. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of clinically relevant concentrations of simvastatin on retinal endothelium in vitro and in vivo. Methods and Findings Retinal microvascular endothelial cells (RMECs) were treated with 0.01–10 µM simvastatin and a biphasic dose-related response was observed. Low concentrations enhanced microvascular repair with 0.1 µM simvastatin significantly increasing proliferation (p<0.05), and 0.01 µM simvastatin significantly promoting migration (p<0.05), sprouting (p<0.001), and tubulogenesis (p<0.001). High concentration of simvastatin (10 µM) had the opposite effect, significantly inhibiting proliferation (p<0.01), migration (p<0.01), sprouting (p<0.001), and tubulogenesis (p<0.05). Furthermore, simvastatin concentrations higher than 1 µM induced cell death. The mouse model of oxygen-induced retinopathy was used to investigate the possible effects of simvastatin treatment on ischaemic retinopathy. Low dose simvastatin(0.2 mg/Kg) promoted retinal microvascular repair in response to ischaemia by promoting intra-retinal re-vascularisation (p<0.01). By contrast, high dose simvastatin(20 mg/Kg) significantly prevented re-vascularisation (p<0.01) and concomitantly increased pathological neovascularisation (p<0.01). We also demonstrated that the pro-vascular repair mechanism of simvastatin involves VEGF stimulation, Akt phosphorylation, and nitric oxide production; and the anti-vascular repair mechanism is driven by marked intracellular cholesterol depletion and related disorganisation of key intracellular structures. Conclusions A beneficial effect of low-dose simvastatin on ischaemic retinopathy is linked to angiogenic repair reducing ischaemia, thereby preventing pathological neovascularisation. High-dose simvastatin may be harmful by inhibiting reparative processes and inducing premature death of retinal microvascular endothelium which increases ischaemia-induced neovascular pathology. Statin dosage should be judiciously monitored in patients who are diabetic or are at risk of developing other forms of proliferative retinopathy.
MEK inhibition and immune responses in advanced melanoma

ABSTRACT phase II and III clinical trials demonstrated modest anti- tumor activity of Binimetinib (MEK162) - a potent allosteric inhibitor of MEK1 and MEK2- in patients with advanced NRAS mutant melanoma. The analysis of the NEMO study in NRAS mutated melanoma, has shown that pre-treatment with immunotherapy improved the outcome of binimetinib therapy. We discuss this finding in the context of in vitro and in vivo effects of MEK inhibition on immuno-critical pathways and interactions.
Effects of zinc supplementation on the anthropometric measurements, lipid profiles and fasting blood glucose in the healthy obese adults.

UNLABELLED Purpose : The aim of this study was to assess the effects of zinc supplementation on anthropometric measures, improving lipid profile biomarkers, and fasting blood glucose level in obese people. METHODS This randomized, double- blind clinical trial was carried out on 60 obese participants in the 18-45 age range for one month. The participants were randomly divided into the intervention group, who received 30 mg/d zinc gluconate, and the placebo group who received 30mg/d starch. Anthropometric measurements (body mass index (BMI), weight and waist circumference) were recorded before and at the end of study. Lipid profile biomarkers and fasting blood glucose were determined using enzymatic procedure. Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) test was run to compare the post-treatment values of the two groups, and t-test was conducted to compare within group changes. RESULTS Serum zinc concentration was increased significantly in intervention group (p=0.024). BMI and body weight was significantly decreased (p=0.030 and p=0.020, respectively). Lipid profile biomarkers and fating blood glucose did not change significantly but triglyceride level was significantly decreased (p=0.006) in the intervention group. CONCLUSION The obtained results indicate that zinc supplementation improves BMI, body weight, and triglyceride concentration without considerable effects on lipid profile and glucose level. Zinc can be suggested as a suitable supplementation therapy for obese people, but more studies are needed to verify the results.
FA1 Induces Pro-Inflammatory and Anti-Adipogenic Pathways/Markers in Human Myotubes Established from Lean, Obese, and Type 2 Diabetic Subjects but Not Insulin Resistance

Aims: Delta like 1/fetal antigen 1 (Dlk1/FA1) is a protein secreted by hormone producing cells in adult human and mice that is known to inhibit adipogenesis. Recent studies demonstrated the role of Dlk1/FA1 in inducing insulin resistance in mice. To investigate the involvement of circulating Dlk1/FA1 in insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes in human subjects, we studied the effects of chronic FA1 on the intermediary metabolism in myotubes established from lean, obese, and type 2 diabetic (T2D) subjects. Methods: Myotube cultures were established from lean and obese control subjects, and obese T2D subjects and treated with soluble FA1 for 4 days supplemented with/without palmitate (PA). Lipid- and glucose metabolism were studied with labeled precursors while quantitative expression of genes was analyzed using real-time PCR. Results: Diabetic myotubes express significantly reduced insulin stimulated glucose metabolism compared to lean myotubes and a significantly decreased basal PA oxidation. Chronic FA1 exposure did not affect the intermediary metabolism in myotubes. Insulin sensitivity of glucose and lipid metabolism was not affected by chronic FA1 exposure in myotubes established from lean, obese, and T2D subjects. Instead, chronic FA1 exposure induced pro-inflammatory cytokines expression (IL-6 and CCL2) in association with reducing adipogenic markers (ADD1, AP2, CD36, and PPARg2) in myotubes. Consistent with this observation, addition of FA1 to cultured myotubes was show to significantly inhibit their differentiation into adipocyte. Conclusion: Our results exclude direct effects of FA1 on glucose and lipid metabolism in cultured myotubes established from lean, obese, and T2D subjects. Therefore, the pathogenesis of FA1-induced IR might mainly be mediated via the FA1-induced stimulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines, which on turn inhibit adipogenesis in human myotubes.
Power Allocation for Statistical QoS Provisioning in Opportunistic Multi-Relay DF Cognitive Networks

In this letter, we propose a power allocation scheme for statistical quality-of-service (QoS) provisioning in multi-relay decode-and-forward (DF) cognitive networks (CN). By considering the direct link between the source and destination, the CN first chooses the transmission mode (direct transmission or relay transmission) based on the channel state information. Then, according to the determined transmission mode, efficient power allocation will be performed under the given QoS requirement, the average transmit and interference power constraints as well as the peak interference constraint. Our proposed power allocation scheme indicates that, in order to achieve the maximum throughput, at most two relays can be involved for the transmission. Simulation results show that our proposed scheme outperforms the max-min criterion and equal power allocation policy.
Venous Bleeding During Transsphenoidal Surgery: Its Association with Pre- and Intraoperative Factors and with Cavernous Sinus and Central Venous Pressures

Venous bleeding during transsphenoidal surgery for resection of pituitary tumors is a common problem that interferes with the performance of the surgical procedure.In this study, data were collected prospectively from 50 patients to determine whether there were preor intraoperative factors (e.g., patient demographics, type and grade of pituitary tumor, intraoperative hemodynamics) associated with venous bleeding which might be used to predict its occurrence. In addition, central venous pressure (CVP), and cavernous sinus pressure (CSP) were measured in 13 patients to evaluate the relationship of these pressures to each other and to the severity of venous bleeding. During resection of the pituitary tumor, the severity of venous bleeding was graded as minimal, moderate, or severe, the latter two grades requiring therapeutic intervention. Moderate bleeding requiring intervention occurred in 15 of the 50 patients, and resolved in all cases. Moderate bleeding was not related to CSP or CVP, and no specific associated factor was observed. CSP was not correlated with CVP, and was higher than that predicted from the CVP and the position of the patient or the hydrostatic gravitational pressure gradient. These results suggest that it is not possible to predict in advance which patients will have problems with venous bleeding, but that simple therapeutic maneuvers are effective. (Anesth Analg 1997;84:545-50)
Motion Sickness and Migraine

CASE 1 This 29-year-old-woman has had recurring headaches since the age of 13. She reports a back of the head throbbing with an intensity of 4/10 with light and noise sensitivity but not nausea, with attacks lasting a couple of hours and triggered by stress. Also since the age of 13, always when she is a passenger in a motor vehicle for a trip any longer than 5 minutes, she will get a generalized throbbing headache with an average intensity of 5/10 with nausea, light and noise sensitivity, and occasional vomiting but no aura. With longer trips, the headache will be as intense as 7/10 with nausea and vomiting. Despite having attacks 1 to 2 times weekly, she would continue to be a passenger to watch her children as her husband would drive. The headaches did not occur when she was the driver or a passenger on an airplane. She had never been on a boat. Her mother also had migraines that would occur
Brief report: testing the factorial invariance of the CBCL Somatic Complaints scale as a measure of internalizing symptoms for children with and without chronic illness.

OBJECTIVE To examine the factorial invariance of the Somatic Complaints subscale of the Child Behavior Checklist as a measure of Internalizing Behavior Problems across a sample of children with and without spina bifida. METHODS Multisample confirmatory factor analysis was used to compare mother and father report on the Somatic Complaints subscale across a sample of children with spina bifida and a matched comparison sample of able-bodied children ages 8 through 11 years (N = 68 for mother report in each group; N = 54 for father report in the spina bifida group and 53 for the able-bodied group). RESULTS Although there were no significant between-group differences in the magnitude of factor loadings, significantly more variance in scores on the Somatic Complaints scale was unrelated to Internalizing Behavior Problems for the spina bifida group, compared to the able-bodied group. There were no between-group differences when father data were analyzed, but the latent variable of Internalizing Behavior Problems explained little variance in the Somatic Complaints scale for either group. CONCLUSIONS Maternal report of Somatic Complaints on the CBCL does not appear to measure Internalizing Behavior Problems in the same manner across groups of children with and without spina bifida. This suggests that the Somatic Complaints subscale should be interpreted with caution when measuring Internalizing Behavior Problems within this population.
Maximum aerobic performance in lines of Mus selected for high wheel-running activity: effects of selection, oxygen availability and the mini-muscle phenotype

SUMMARY We compared maximum aerobic capacity during forced exercise (V̇O2max) in hypoxia (PO2=14% O2), normoxia (21%) and hyperoxia (30%) of lines of house mice selectively bred for high voluntary wheel running (S lines) with their four unselected control (C) lines. We also tested for pleiotropic effects of the `mighty mini-muscle' allele, a Mendelian recessive that causes a 50% reduction in hind limb muscle but a doubling of mass-specific aerobic enzyme activity, among other pleiotropic effects. V̇O2max of female mice was measured during forced exercise on a motorized treadmill enclosed in a metabolic chamber that allowed altered PO2. Individual variation in V̇O2max was highly repeatable within each PO2, and values were also significantly correlated across PO2. Analysis of covariance showed that S mice had higher body-mass-adjusted V̇O2max than C at all PO2, ranging from +10.7% in hypoxia to +20.8% in hyperoxia. V̇O2max of S lines increased practically linearly with PO2, whereas that of C lines plateaued from normoxia to hyperoxia, and respiratory exchange ratio (=CO2 production/V̇O2max) was lower for S lines. These results suggest that the physiological underpinnings of V̇O2max differ between the S and C lines. Apparently, at least in S lines, peripheral tissues may sustain higher rates of oxidative metabolism if central organs provide more O2. Although the existence of central limitations in S lines cannot be excluded based solely on the present data, we have previously reported that both S and C lines can attain considerably higher V̇O2max during cold exposure in a He-O2 atmosphere, suggesting that limitations on V̇O2max depend on interactions between the central and peripheral organs involved. In addition, mini-muscle individuals had higher V̇O2max than did those with normal muscles, suggesting that the former might have higher hypoxia tolerance. This would imply that the mini-muscle phenotype could be a good model to test how exercise performance and hypoxia tolerance could evolve in a correlated fashion, as previous researchers have suggested.
Do attributes of persons with chronic kidney disease differ in low-income and middle-income countries compared with high-income countries? Evidence from population-based data in six countries

Kidney biopsies to elucidate the cause of chronic kidney disease (CKD) are performed in a minority of persons with CKD living in high-income countries, since associated conditions—that is, diabetes mellitus, vascular disease or obesity with pre-diabetes, prehypertension or dyslipidaemia—can inform management targeted at slowing CKD progression in a majority. However, attributes of CKD may differ substantially among persons living in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We used data from population or community-based studies from five LMICs (China, urban India, Moldova, Nepal and Nigeria) to determine what proportion of persons with CKD living in diverse regions fit one of the three major clinical profiles, with data from the US National Health Nutrition and Examination Survey as reference. In the USA, urban India and Moldova, 79.0%–83.9%; in China and Nepal, 62.4%–66.7% and in Nigeria, 51.6% persons with CKD fit one of three established risk profiles. Diabetes was most common in urban India and vascular disease in Moldova (50.7% and 33.2% of persons with CKD in urban India and Moldova, respectively). In Nigeria, 17.8% of persons with CKD without established risk factors had albuminuria ≥300 mg/g, the highest proportion in any country. While the majority of persons with CKD in LMICs fit into one of three established risk profiles, the proportion of persons who have CKD without established risk factors is higher than in the USA. These findings can inform tailored CKD detection and management systems and highlight the importance of studying potential causes and outcomes of CKD without established risk factors in LMICs.
8-oxoG DNA Glycosylase-1 Inhibition Sensitizes Neuro-2a Cells to Oxidative DNA Base Damage Induced by 900 MHz Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Radiation

Background/Aims: The purpose of this study was to explore the in vitro putative genotoxicity during exposure of Neuro-2a cells to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMFs) with or without silencing of 8-oxoG DNA glycosylase-1 (OGG1). Methods: Neuro-2a cells treated with or without OGG1 siRNA were exposed to 900 MHz Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) Talk signals continuously at a specific absorption rate (SAR) of 0, 0.5, 1 or 2 W/kg for 24 h. DNA strand breakage and DNA base damage were measured by the alkaline comet assay and a modified comet assay using formamidopyrimidine DNA glycosylase (FPG), respectively. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels and cell viability were monitored using the non-fluorescent probe 2, 7-dichlorofluorescein diacetate (DCFH-DA) and CCK-8 assay. Results: Exposure to 900 MHz RF-EMFs with insufficient energy could induce oxidative DNA base damage in Neuro-2a cells. These increases were concomitant with similar increases in the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Without OGG1 siRNA, 2 W/kg RF-EMFs induced oxidative DNA base damage in Neuro-2a cells. Interestingly, with OGG1 siRNA, RF-EMFs could cause DNA base damage in Neuro-2a cells as low as 1 W/kg. However, neither DNA strand breakage nor altered cell viability was observed. Conclusion: Even if further studies remain conducted we support the hypothesis that OGG1 is involved in the process of DNA base repair and may play a pivotal role in protecting DNA bases from RF-EMF induced oxidative damage.
Reducing veal calves' reactivity to people by providing additional human contact.

We studied the importance of the stockperson's behavior on veal calf behavior using 22 veal calves housed in individual crates. Eleven calves received minimal contact from the stockperson, and the other 11 calves were stroked and allowed to suck the stockperson's fingers after each meal during the entire fattening period (21 wk). The effects of this additional contact with the stockperson on the calves' responses to people was studied, when in their home environment (crate) or outside their home environment (singly in a novel arena). When tested in their home environment, the calves receiving additional contact withdrew less from the approach of humans (familiar or unfamiliar) (P < .05) compared with control calves. When tested outside the home environment with a human (familiar or unfamiliar) standing motionless, calves that had received additional contact interacted more frequently and for a longer time with the humans and defecated less often compared with control calves (P < .05). In conclusion, being stroked and sucking the stockperson's fingers seemed to be experienced as positive by the calf, because they reduced withdrawal from and increased approaches to familiar and unfamiliar humans in familiar and unfamiliar environments. Such a lower reactivity to people could improve ease of handling, animal performance, and animal welfare.
Education and health and well-being: direct and indirect effects with multiple mediators and interactions with multiple imputed data in Stata

Background Previous methods for assessing mediation assume no multiplicative interactions. The inverse odds weighting (IOW) approach has been presented as a method that can be used even when interactions exist. The substantive aim of this study was to assess the indirect effect of education on health and well-being via four indicators of adult socioeconomic status (SES): income, management position, occupational hierarchy position and subjective social status. Methods 8516 men and women from the Tromsø Study (Norway) were followed for 17 years. Education was measured at age 25–74 years, while SES and health and well-being were measured at age 42–91 years. Natural direct and indirect effects (NIE) were estimated using weighted Poisson regression models with IOW. Stata code is provided that makes it easy to assess mediation in any multiple imputed dataset with multiple mediators and interactions. Results Low education was associated with lower SES. Consequently, low SES was associated with being unhealthy and having a low level of well-being. The effect (NIE) of education on health and well-being is mediated by income, management position, occupational hierarchy position and subjective social status. Conclusion This study contributes to the literature on mediation analysis, as well as the literature on the importance of education for health-related quality of life and subjective well-being. The influence of education on health and well-being had different pathways in this Norwegian sample.
The Erlangen slot machine: increasing flexibility in FPGA-based reconfigurable platforms

We present a new concept as well as the implementation of an FPGA based reconfigurable platform, the Erlangen slot machine (ESM). One main advantage of this platform is the possibility for each module to access its periphery independent from its location through a programmable crossbar, allowing an unrestricted relocation of modules on the device. Furthermore, we propose different intermodule communication structures.