Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of the Health Belief Model (HBM)-Based Educational Program on the Nutritional Knowledge and Behaviors of CABG Patients

Background: Reducing blood pressure through diet decreases the possibility of heart attacks, and lowering blood cholesterol can reduce the risk of coronary artery disease. The aim of the present study was to examine the effects of education based on the Health Belief Model on the dietary behavior of patients following coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) at the Heart Surgery Department of Shahid Beheshti Hospital of Qom. Methods: In this semi-experimental clinical trial, data were collected on 64 patients, at an average age of 59.9 ± 7.26 years in the intervention group and 58.5 ± 7.6 years in the control group. Seventy percent of the study subjects were male and 30% were female. Intervention and control groups were given a questionnaire, comprising 56 questions in 5 parts. The educational intervention was aimed at creating perceived susceptibility and perceived severity in the intervention group. After 1 month. Both groups were tested, and the resulting data were analyzed to investigate the effects of the educational intervention on the nutritional knowledge and behavior of the patients. Results: According to the results, educational intervention caused a significant increase in the mean scores of knowledge (p value = 0.001), perceived severity (p value = 0.007), and perceived benefits and barriers (p value = 0.003) in the intervention group but did not cause a significant increase in the mean score of nutritional behavior (p value = 0.390). Conclusion: Education based on the Health Belief Model seems to be effective in improving nutritional knowledge, but more consistent and comprehensive educational programs are necessary in order to change behavior and improve nutritional behavior.
Intricate Evaluation of Association between Dental Caries and Obesity among the Children in Al-Kharj City (Saudi Arabia).

INTRODUCTION Dental caries and obesity are two of the most prevalent health conditions affecting children. Relative decrease in corporeal movements, escalating inactive lifestyles, and changes in dietary factors are strongly linked with the increasing incidence of overweight and obesity. Furthermore, obesity increases the risk of chronic disease and dental caries that significantly affects the quality of life of young children. The present study intends to explore the relationship between dental caries and obesity in children in Al-Kharj city, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. MATERIALS AND METHODS The present descriptive study was designed as a cross-sectional study in which a total of 386 children in the age range of 6 to 12 years from elementary schools of Al-Kharj city and pediatric dental clinics in Prince Sattam Dental College were included. RESULTS Mean decayed filled teeth (DFT) score was found to be considerably higher among obese children. Also, incidence of dental caries in deciduous dentition was found to be notably higher among obese children. CONCLUSION Obesity has a considerable outcome on prevalence of dental caries among primary schoolchildren in Al-Kharj city, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The importance of obesity is limited not only to systemic disorders but also in relation to carious lesions. Hence, educating primary schoolchildren about caries and its related factors is very important. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE High intake of free sugar is a well-established risk factor for dental caries and also for obesity. Therefore, it is speculated that factors that decrease these risk factors have the potential to affect both conditions at the population level to control it competently.
Differentiated layer design to modify the compliance of soft pads for robotic limbs

Most of robotic soft pads studied so far were made with a thick layer of homogeneous material shaped around a rigid core; their behavior has been widely investigated in the literature, mainly under compressive contact load, showing typical non-linear relationship between contact deformation and applied load (the so called power law). This paper proposes differentiated layer design, that is the adoption of a single elastic material, dividing the overall thickness of the pad into layers with different structural design (e.g. a continuous skin layer coupled with an internal layer with voids). The purpose is to modify the actual pad compliance and the resulting power law; in particular, given the material and the allowable pad thickness, to increase the compliance with respect to a non structured pad. Some possible internal layer structures are described, compatible with rapid prototyping manufacturing. Their compressive behaviors are tested and comparatively evaluated showing that the concept can work and be exploited for useful application.
Identification of cholesterol in the receptor site for rickettsiae on sheep erythrocyte membranes

Cholesterol was identified as an essential component of the receptor on the sheep erythrocyte to which Rickettsia prowazeki adsorbs before lysing the cell. Erythrocytes or ghosts, derived by hypotonic lysis, were treated with proteolytic enzymes, sialidase, sulfhydryl reagents, and periodate without affecting their ability to adsorb rickettsiae. Lipid extracts of ghosts and erythrocytes, on the other hand, contained receptor activity. Fractionation of the lipid extracts by silicic acid column chromatogrphy resulted in the isolation of receptor activity in a neutral lipid fraction. The lipid fractions demonstrated receptor acitity at 34 C but not at 0 C. These properties are also characteristic of the receptor activity with erythrocytes and ghosts. Cholesterol, co-lyophilized with palmitic acid, was found to possess receptor activity. Palmitic acid alone, cholesterol-lecithin, cholestane-palmitic acid, and various phospholipids and glycolipids had no receptor activity. Ghosts treated with amphotericin B or digitonin, compounds that bind to cholesterol in the membrane, lost their ability to adsorb rickettsiae.
Biased AC Electrospinning of Aligned Polymer Nanofibers

A new method is reported for minimizing the inherent fiber instability in the electrospinning process. The method, dubbed "biased AC electrospinning", employs a combination of DC and AC potentials and results in highly-aligned mats of polymer or composite polymer fibers. The relationship between specific processing variables such as the AC frequency and the magnitude of the DC offset was investigated and related to the resulting fiber stability and uniformity. For optimum fiber stability, the AC frequency must fall within a relatively narrow range. The upper and lower frequency limits were measured for a small group of polymers and polymer composites and were qualitatively related to solution properties and processing variables. Potential applications of well-ordered nanofiber materials include tissue engineering, filtration, drug delivery, and microelectronics.
Exercise-Induced Skeletal Muscle Adaptations Alter the Activity of Adipose Progenitor Cells

Exercise decreases adiposity and improves metabolic health; however, the physiological and molecular underpinnings of these phenomena remain unknown. Here, we investigate the effect of endurance training on adipose progenitor lineage commitment. Using mice with genetically labeled adipose progenitors, we show that these cells react to exercise by decreasing their proliferation and differentiation potential. Analyses of mouse models that mimic the skeletal muscle adaptation to exercise indicate that muscle, in a non-autonomous manner, regulates adipose progenitor homeostasis, highlighting a role for muscle-derived secreted factors. These findings support a humoral link between skeletal muscle and adipose progenitors and indicate that manipulation of adipose stem cell function may help address obesity and diabetes.
Strong tractability of integration using scrambled Niederreiter points

We study the randomized worst-case error and the randomized error of scrambled quasi-Monte Carlo (QMC) quadrature as proposed by Owen. The function spaces considered in this article are the weighted Hilbert spaces generated by Haar-like wavelets and the weighted Sobolev-Hilbert spaces. Conditions are found under which multivariate integration is strongly tractable in the randomized worst-case setting and the randomized setting, respectively. The e-exponents of strong tractability are found for the scrambled Niederreiter nets and sequences. The sufficient conditions for strong tractability for Sobolev spaces are more lenient for scrambled QMC quadratures than those for deterministic QMC net quadratures.
Alien intracellular calcium chelators attenuate neurotransmitter release at the squid giant synapse

A number of calcium buffers were examined for their ability to reduce evoked transmitter release when injected into the presynaptic terminal of the squid giant synapse. Injection of EGTA was virtually ineffective at reducing transmitter release, even at estimated intracellular concentrations up to 80 mM. Conversely, the buffer 1,2-bis(2- aminophenoxy)ethane-N,N,N′,N′-tetraacetic acid (BAPTA), which has an equilibrium affinity for calcium similar to that of EGTA at pH 7.2, produced a substantial reduction in transmitter release when injected presynaptically. This effect of BAPTA was reversible, presumably because the buffer diffused out of the terminal and into uninjected regions of the presynaptic axon. BAPTA derivatives with estimated intracellular calcium dissociation constants (Kd) ranging from 0.18 to 4.9 microM were effective at reducing transmitter release at similar estimated concentrations. A BAPTA derivative with an estimated intracellular Kd of 31 mM was less effective. BAPTA did not affect presynaptic action potentials or calcium spikes in ways that could explain its ability to reduce transmitter release. The relative effects of presynaptic injections of BAPTA and derivatives are consistent with the calcium-buffering capability of these compounds if the presynaptic calcium transient that triggers release is hundreds of microM or larger. The superior potency of BAPTA compared to EGTA apparently results from the faster calcium-binding kinetics of BAPTA and suggests that the calcium-binding molecule that triggers release binds calcium in considerably less than 200 microsec and is located very close to calcium channels.
Computational models can replicate the capacity of human recognition memory

The capacity of human recognition memory was investigated by Standing, who presented several groups of participants with different numbers of pictures (from 20 to 10 000), and subsequently tested their ability to distinguish between previously presented and novel pictures. The estimated number of pictures retained in recognition memory by different groups when plotted as a logarithmic function of the number of pictures presented formed a straight line, representing a power–law relationship. Here, we investigate if published models of familiarity discrimination can replicate Standing's results. We first consider a simplified assumption that visual stimuli are represented by uncorrelated patterns of firing of visual neurons providing input to the familiarity discrimination network. We show that for this case three models (Familiarity discrimination based on Energy (FamE), Anti-Hebbian and Info-max) can reproduce the observed power–law relationship when their synaptic weights are appropriately initialized. For more realistic assumptions on neural representation of stimuli, the FamE model is no longer able to reproduce the power–law relationship in simulations, while the Anti-Hebbian and Info-max can reproduce it. Nevertheless, the slopes of the power–law relationships produced by the models in all simulations differ from that observed by Standing. We discuss possible reasons for this difference, including separate contributions of familiarity and recollection processes, and describe experimentally testable predictions based on our analysis.
Power and stability in connectivity games

We consider computational aspects of a game theoretic approach to network reliability. Consider a network where failure of one node may disrupt communication between two other nodes. We model this network as a simple coalitional game, called the vertex Connectivity Game (CG). In this game, each agent owns a vertex, and controls all the edges going to and from that vertex. A coalition of agents wins if it fully connects a certain subset of vertices in the graph, called the primary vertices. We show that power indices, which express an agent's ability to affect the outcome of the vertex connectivity game, can be used to identify significant possible points of failure in the communication network, and can thus be used to increase network reliability. We show that in general graphs, calculating the Banzhaf power index is #P-complete, but suggest a polynomial algorithm for calculating this index in trees. We also show a polynomial algorithm for computing the core of a CG, which allows a stable division of payments to coalition agents.
Are Public-Private Partnerships a Source of Greater Efficiency in Water Supply? Results of a Non-Parametric Performance Analysis Relating to the Italian Industry

This article reports the outcome of a performance study of the water service provision industry in Italy. The study evaluates the efficiency of 21 “private or public-private” equity and 32 “public” equity water service operators and investigates controlling factors. In particular, the influence that the operator typology and service management nature - private vs. public - has on efficiency is assessed. The study employed a two-stage Data Envelopment Analysis methodology. In the first stage, the operational efficiency of water supply operators is calculated by implementing a conventional BCC DEA model, that uses both physical infrastructure and financial input and output variables to explore economies of scale. In the second stage, bootstrapped DEA and Tobit regression are performed to estimate the influence that a number of environmental factors have on water supplier efficiency. The results show that the integrated water provision industry in Italy is characterized by operational inefficiencies of service operators, and scale and agglomeration economies may have a not negligible effect on efficiency. In addition, the operator typology and its geographical location affect efficiency.
Universal Structures and the Logic of Forbidden Patterns

Forbidden Patterns Problems (FPPs) are a proper generalisation of Constraint Satisfaction Problems (CSPs). However, we show that when the input is connected and belongs to a class which has low tree-depth decomposition (e.g. structure of bounded degree, proper minor closed class and more generally class of bounded expansion) any FPP becomes a CSP. This result can also be rephrased in terms of expressiveness of the logic MMSNP, introduced by Feder and Vardi in relation with CSPs. Our proof generalises that of a recent paper by Nesetril and Ossona de Mendez. Note that our result holds in the general setting of problems over arbitrary relational structures (not just for graphs).
Notes : Social Networks : Models , Algorithms , and Applications Lecture

Highly pathogenic H5N1 influenza A viruses are now endemic in avian populations in Southeast Asia, and human cases continue to accumulate. Although currently incapable of sustained human-to-human transmission, H5N1 represents a serious pandemic threat owing to the risk of a mutation or reassortment generating a virus with increased transmissibility. Identifying public health interventions that might be able to halt a pandemic in its earliest stages is therefore a priority. The basic reproduction number, R0, quantifies the transmissibility of any pathogen, which is defined as the average number of secondary cases generated by a typical primary case in an entirely susceptible population. A disease can spread if R0 > 1, but if R0 < 1, chains of transmission will inevitably die out. Hence, the goal of control policies is to reduce R0 to below 1. Strategies to reduce R0 at the source: • Reduce contacts between individuals social distance. – Quarantine. – School closure. • Reduce susceptibility. – Usually is done by antiviral prophylaxis. 1 2 – Vaccination. Giving drugs preventively. Targeted. Note that people do not often accept prescribed drugs.
Grain filling rate is limited by insufficient sugar supply in the large-grain wheat cultivar

Wheat grain yield can be limited by source, sink or by both. Inconsistency of the previous results reflects the interactions between genotypes and environments. In north China where the hot, dry wind was frequent during grain filling, new winter wheat cultivars with large grains suffer from loss of grain weight quite often because the grain filling rate (GFR) is low. In the present study, the carbohydrate assimilation and utilization was investigated to possible role of carbon assimilation and utilization in limiting grain filling rate by comparing two winter wheat cultivars, a large-grain cultivar Jing9428 (slow GFR), and a small-grain cultivar CAU3291 (fast GFR). It was shown that there was no significant difference in net photosynthetic rate and leaf area index during grain filling between the two cultivars. However, soluble sugar concentration in stems of Jing9428 decreased much more sharply than CAU3291 when the linear grain growth phase began suggesting an insufficient supply of photosynthates for grain filling. In grains, the ratio of starch to sucrose, glucose and fructose content of Jing9428 was significantly lower than CAU3291. It was suggested that insufficient photosynthate supply rather than weak sink strength was the main reason limiting grain filling rate of the large-grain type wheat cultivars in north China.
Synthesis, Characterization, and the Antioxidant Activity of Double Quaternized Chitosan Derivatives

With the specialty of improving the water solubility of chitosan, quaternary ammonium salts have broadened the application of this polysaccharide in food, medicine and pesticides. To identify the effect of quaternary ammonium salts’ quantity, single quaternized chitosan N-phenmethyl-N,N-dimethyl chitosan (PDCS), double quaternized chitosan N-(1-pyridylmethyl-2-ylmethyl)-N,N-dimethyl chitosan (MP2MDCS), N-(1-pyridylmethyl-3-ylmethyl)-N,N-dimethyl chitosan (MP3MDCS), and N-(1-pyridylmethyl-4-ylmethyl)-N,N-dimethyl chitosan (MP4MDCS) were designed and synthesized successfully through chemical modification of chitosan. Besides, three kinds of antioxidant activities, including hydroxyl radicals, superoxide radicals, and 1,1-Diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radicals were tested in vitro. As shown in this paper, the scavenging ability was ranking in order of MP3MDC > MP4MDCS > MP2MDCS > PDCS > chitosan at 1.6 mg/mL in all assays. All double quaternary ammonium salts were better than chitosan or the single quaternary ammonium salt. In addition, MP3MDCS could scavenge hydroxyl radicals totally at 1.6 mg/mL. MP2MDCS and MP4MDCS with more than 90% scavenging indices both had great scavenging ability on hydroxyl radicals or DPPH radicals. Furthermore, these data demonstrated that the increasing number of the positive charge would improve the antioxidant property of chitosan derivatives, and the N-pyridinium position would influence the scavenging radical ability.
Genome-Wide Association of Lipid-Lowering Response to Statins in Combined Study Populations

Background Statins effectively lower total and plasma LDL-cholesterol, but the magnitude of decrease varies among individuals. To identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) contributing to this variation, we performed a combined analysis of genome-wide association (GWA) results from three trials of statin efficacy. Methods and Principal Findings Bayesian and standard frequentist association analyses were performed on untreated and statin-mediated changes in LDL-cholesterol, total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, and triglyceride on a total of 3932 subjects using data from three studies: Cholesterol and Pharmacogenetics (40 mg/day simvastatin, 6 weeks), Pravastatin/Inflammation CRP Evaluation (40 mg/day pravastatin, 24 weeks), and Treating to New Targets (10 mg/day atorvastatin, 8 weeks). Genotype imputation was used to maximize genomic coverage and to combine information across studies. Phenotypes were normalized within each study to account for systematic differences among studies, and fixed-effects combined analysis of the combined sample were performed to detect consistent effects across studies. Two SNP associations were assessed as having posterior probability greater than 50%, indicating that they were more likely than not to be genuinely associated with statin-mediated lipid response. SNP rs8014194, located within the CLMN gene on chromosome 14, was strongly associated with statin-mediated change in total cholesterol with an 84% probability by Bayesian analysis, and a p-value exceeding conventional levels of genome-wide significance by frequentist analysis (P = 1.8×10−8). This SNP was less significantly associated with change in LDL-cholesterol (posterior probability = 0.16, P = 4.0×10−6). Bayesian analysis also assigned a 51% probability that rs4420638, located in APOC1 and near APOE, was associated with change in LDL-cholesterol. Conclusions and Significance Using combined GWA analysis from three clinical trials involving nearly 4,000 individuals treated with simvastatin, pravastatin, or atorvastatin, we have identified SNPs that may be associated with variation in the magnitude of statin-mediated reduction in total and LDL-cholesterol, including one in the CLMN gene for which statistical evidence for association exceeds conventional levels of genome-wide significance. Trial Registration PRINCE and TNT are not registered. CAP is registered at Clinicaltrials.gov NCT00451828