Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Pain perception and cardiovascular system response among athletes playing contact sports

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to determine whether the contact sports change the perception of pain as assessed by the cold pressor test (CPT), and if the test induces the same reaction of the cardiovascular system in contact athletes and non-athletes. The study involved 321 healthy men; 140 contact athletes and 181 students of the University of Szczecin (control). Pain threshold and pain tolerance were evaluated using CPT. Cardiovascular measurements were made during CPT. The contact athletes showed a much higher tolerance to pain than the control group (median time 120 vs. 94 s, respectively, p = 0.0002). The thresholds of pain in both groups did not differ significantly between the groups. Systolic blood pressure measured before and during the test in all three measurements was statistically significantly higher in athletes compared with the control group. Heart rate and diastolic blood pressure did not differ significantly between the studied groups.
Antibacterial activity of selected glass ionomer cements.

INTRODUCTION The aim of the paper was to determine the antibacterial activity of four glass ionomer cements against bacteria of the genera Streptococcus and Lactobacillus. MATERIAL AND METHODS Four capsulated glass ionomer cements were applied in the study: Fuji Triage (GC), Fuji IX (GC), Ketac Molar (3M Espe) and Ketac Silver (3M Espe). Four standard bacterial strains were used to assess the antibacterial activity of the studied cements: Streptococcus mutans, S. sanguis, S. salivarius and Lactobacillus casei. The antibacterial activity was determined by the agar diffusion method. The bacterial suspension was spread with a cotton swab on TSA plates. For each material six wells (7 mm diameter, 5 mm deep) were made with a cork borer. Each well was then filled with freshly prepared cements. The results were obtained by measuring the bacterial growth inhibition zone after 1, 2, 3 and 7 days. RESULTS Fuji Triage cement inhibited the growth of all bacterial strains. Fuji IX cement demonstrated the most potent antibacterial activity against S. sanguis. Ketac Molar showed antibacterial activity against S. sanguis and S. salivarius, whereas Ketac Silver was efficient against S. mutans as well. Neither of the Ketac cements inhibited growth of the standard L. casei strain. DISCUSSION Antibacterial activity of glass ionomer cements has attracted the interest of scientists in recent years. Most authors, including us, carried out experiments using the agar diffusion method and demonstrated antibacterial activity of glass ionomer cements. Different antibacterial activity of glass ionomer cements, observed in our study and studies of other authors, depended on the evaluated cement, bacterial strain and period of evaluation.
Whole-grain consumption is associated with a reduced risk of noncardiovascular, noncancer death attributed to inflammatory diseases in the Iowa Women's Health Study.

BACKGROUND It has recently been shown that oxidative stress, infection, and inflammation are predominant pathophysiologic factors for several major diseases. OBJECTIVE We investigated the association of whole-grain intake with death attributed to noncardiovascular, noncancer inflammatory diseases. DESIGN Postmenopausal women (n = 41 836) aged 55-69 y at baseline in 1986 were followed for 17 y. After exclusions for cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, colitis, and liver cirrhosis at baseline, 27 312 participants remained, of whom 5552 died during the 17 y. A proportional hazards regression model was adjusted for age, smoking, adiposity, education, physical activity, and other dietary factors. RESULTS Inflammation-related death was inversely associated with whole-grain intake. Compared with the hazard ratios in women who rarely or never ate whole-grain foods, the hazard ratio was 0.69 (95% CI: 0.57, 0.83) for those who consumed 4-7 servings/wk, 0.79 (0.66, 0.95) for 7.5-10.5 servings/wk, 0.64 (0.53, 0.79) for 11-18.5 servings/wk, and 0.66 (0.54, 0.81) for >or=19 servings/wk (P for trend = 0.01). Previously reported inverse associations of whole-grain intake with total and coronary heart disease mortality persisted after 17 y of follow-up. CONCLUSIONS The reduction in inflammatory mortality associated with habitual whole-grain intake was larger than that previously reported for coronary heart disease and diabetes. Because a variety of phytochemicals are found in whole grains that may directly or indirectly inhibit oxidative stress, and because oxidative stress is an inevitable consequence of inflammation, we suggest that oxidative stress reduction by constituents of whole grain is a likely mechanism for the protective effect.
Learning to close loops from range data

In this paper we address the loop closure detection problem in simultaneous localization and mapping ( slam ), and present a method for solving the problem using pairwise comparison of point clouds in both two and three dimensions. The point clouds are mathematically described using features that capture important geometric and statistical properties. The features are used as input to the machine learning algorithm AdaBoost, which is used to build a non-linear classifier capable of detecting loop closure from pairs of point clouds. Vantage point dependency in the detection process is eliminated by only using rotation invariant features, thus loop closure can be detected from an arbitrary direction. The classifier is evaluated using publicly available data, and is shown to generalize well between environments. Detection rates of 66%, 63% and 53% for 0% false alarm rate are achieved for 2D outdoor data, 3D outdoor data and 3D indoor data, respectively. In both two and three dimensions, experiments are performed using publicly available data, showing that the proposed algorithm compares favourably with related work.
Higher maternal plasma docosahexaenoic acid during pregnancy is associated with more mature neonatal sleep-state patterning.

BACKGROUND The effect of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) on the developing fetal central nervous system (CNS) and related functional outcomes in infancy remain unexplored. Sleep and wake states of newborns provide a tool for assessing the functional integrity of the CNS. OBJECTIVE We investigated whether CNS integrity in newborns, measured with sleep recordings, was associated with maternal concentrations of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, especially DHA. DESIGN Plasma phospholipid fatty acid concentrations were measured in 17 women at parturition. On postpartum day 1 (P1) and day 2 (P2), a pressure-sensitive pad under the infants' bedding recorded body movements and respiratory patterns to measure sleep and wake states. RESULTS Maternal plasma phospholipid DHA ranged from 1.91% to 4.5% by wt of total fatty acids. On the basis of previously published data and the median DHA concentration, the women were divided into 2 groups: high DHA (> 3.0% by wt of total fatty acids) and low DHA (</= 3.0% by wt of total fatty acids). Infants of high-DHA mothers had a significantly lower ratio of active sleep (AS) to quiet sleep (QS) and less AS than did infants of low-DHA mothers. Furthermore, the former infants had less sleep-wake transition and more wakefulness on P2. Correlations of maternal DHA status with infant sleep states were consistent with these data. Also, the ratio of maternal n-6 to n-3 fatty acids on P1 was inversely associated with QS and positively associated with arousals in QS. On P2, maternal n-6:n-3 was positively associated with AS, sleep-wake transition, and AS:QS. CONCLUSION The sleep patterns of infants born to mothers with higher plasma phospholipid DHA suggest greater CNS maturity.
Fluctuating Asymmetry as a Bioindicator of Stress: Comparing Efficacy of Analyses Involving Multiple Traits

Researchers have suggested fluctuating asymmetry (FA) as an indicator of environmental stress and have usually tested this assertion by examining relations between FA of single traits and stress. Fluctuating asymmetry stress relations are real but are typically weak and difficult to detect. Researchers would like to maximize the probability of detecting FA‐stress relations when they exist. We assert that analyses based on the FA of multiple traits may provide better methods for detecting stress. In this article, we used computer simulations to compare the ability of six analyses to detect differences in FA between stressed and unstressed populations. We show that the optimal analysis depends upon the underlying form of the FA distributions. We also show that two of the analyses had inflated Type I errors in some situations. Finally, we quantify the advantage of our preferred analysis over those of single‐trait FA in detecting stress.
Acute Phase CD8+ T Lymphocytes against Alternate Reading Frame Epitopes Select for Rapid Viral Escape during SIV Infection

CD8+ T Lymphocytes (CTL) can control AIDS virus replication. However, natural selection favoring viral variants that escape CTL recognition is a common feature of both simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) infection of macaques and HIV infection of humans. Emerging data indicate that CTL directed against alternate reading frame (ARF)-derived epitopes (a.k.a. cryptic epitopes) are important components of the total virus-specific response in SIV and HIV infection but the contributions of these responses during the critical first several weeks of infection have not been determined. We used a focused deep sequencing approach to examine acute phase viral evolution in response to CTL targeting two polypeptides encoded by ARFs of SIVmac239 in SIV-infected rhesus macaques. We report high magnitude CTL responses as early as three weeks post-infection against epitopes within both ARFs, which both overlap the 5′ end of the env gene. Further, mutations accumulated in the epitopes by three to four weeks post infection consistent with viral escape. Interestingly, these mutations largely maintained the primary amino acid sequence of the overlapping Envelope protein. Our data show that high frequency CTL target cryptic epitopes and exert selective pressure on SIV during the acute phase, underscoring the importance of these unique immune responses.
Elevated ambient temperatures and risk of neural tube defects

Objectives The association between ambient heat and neural tube defects has received limited attention, despite imminent climate warming this century. We sought to determine the relationship between elevated outdoor temperatures during neurogenesis and risk of neural tube defects. Methods We carried out a retrospective cohort study of 887 710 fetuses between 3 and 4 weeks postconception from the months of April through September for 1988–2012 in Quebec, Canada. The exposure was maximum daily temperature and the outcome presence of neural tube defects at delivery. We estimated prevalence ratios (PR) and 95% CIs for the association between maximum temperature and neural tube defects in log-binomial regression models adjusted for maternal characteristics. Results Relative to 20°C, exposure to temperatures of 30°C was associated with risk of neural tube defects on day 5 (PR 1.56, 95% CI 1.04 to 2.35) and day 6 (PR 1.49, 95% CI 1.00 to 2.21) of the 4th week postconception, during the time of neural tube closure. The trend was apparent for spina bifida and anencephalus/encephalocoele, the main subtypes of neural tube defects. Temperature during the 3rd week postconception was not associated with neural tube defects. Conclusions Elevated ambient temperatures may be weakly associated with risk of neural tube defects during tube closure.
Novel calcium-gelled, alginate-pectin beverage reduced energy intake in nondieting overweight and obese women: interactions with dietary restraint status.

BACKGROUND Foods containing strong-gelling fibers may provide a safe and efficacious strategy for reducing food intake by stimulating endogenous satiety signaling. OBJECTIVE A novel, 2-part beverage, consisting of alginate-pectin and calcium components, that forms a stable, fibrous gel in the stomach was tested to determine its effects on subjective satiety and food intake in overweight and obese women. DESIGN The investigation was a within-subjects, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Subjects (n = 29) ingested a 2-part beverage twice per day (once before breakfast and once midafternoon) for 7 d. Three alginate-pectin formulations were tested: 1.0 g, 2.8 g, and control (no fiber). Subjective satiety and ad libitum food intake were measured on days 1 and 7 of each 1-wk treatment period with a 1-wk washout between testings. RESULTS A significant reduction in food intake was observed at dinner for both formulations compared with the control formulation. The effects of the gel beverage differed as a function of rigid dietary restraint status. Women in the lower 50th percentile of rigid restraint consumed 12% less energy during the day and 22% less for the evening snack in the 2.8-g condition compared with the control condition. No effect was found for women in the upper 50th percentile of rigid restraint. CONCLUSIONS Consumption of a postingestion, calcium-gelled fiber beverage twice daily reduced energy intake in overweight and obese women with low rigid restraint scores. Use of foods designed to enhance satiety may be an effective adjunctive therapy for weight loss; however, more research is needed to determine how dietary restraint alters this response.
Bond between reinforcing bars and concrete under impact loading

The bond between reinforcing bars and concrete under impact loading was studied for plain, polypropylene fibre reinforced, and steel fibre reinforced concretes. The experimental program included setting up an impact test system, in which an impact load with considerable energy could be generated, and in which the applied loads, accelerations and the strains along the reinforcing bar could be recorded at a rate of 200 microseconds per data point. The experiments consisted of both pull-out tests and push-in tests. For both types of tests the experimental work was carried out for three different types of loading: static, dynamic and impact loading, which covered a stress (bond stress) rate ranging from 0.5 • 10' to 0.5 • 10 -2 MPa/s. The other important variables considered in the experimental study were: two different types of reinforcing bars (smooth and deformed), two different concrete compressive strengths (normal and high), two different fibres (polypropylene and steel), different fibre contents (0.1 %, 0.5% and 1.0% by volume) and surface conditions (epoxy coated and uncoated). All of the test data were processed by computer, and the output included the stress distributions in both the steel and the concrete, the bond stresses and slips, the bond stress-slip relationships, and the fracture energy in bond failure. The energy balance at different stages in the bond process was examined. The internal crack development was also investigated. It was found that for smooth rebars, there existed a linear bond stress-slip relationship under both static and high rate loading. Different loading rates, compressive strengths, types of fibres, and fibre contents were found to have no great influence on
Using tomography images to study the mixing of wheat straw slurries

ABSTRACT Wheat straw is a good renewable source for the production of bioethanol. However, the mixing of wheat straw slurry is a challenging task due to its complex rheology. This type of slurry behaves as a non-Newtonian fluid possessing a yield stress. In mixing operations, the presence of a yield stress creates a region of active motion (cavern) around the impeller and stagnant zones in the remainder of the vessel. In this paper, electrical resistance tomography (ERT) was employed to measure the dimensions of the cavern around the impeller as a function of the wheat straw concentration, fiber size, impeller speed, and impeller type. These data were then utilized to estimate the yield stress of wheat straw slurries. To test the accuracy of this technique, the yield stress of a xanthan gum solution calculated from the tomography method was compared to that achieved using a rheometer. This study is the first novel application of ERT to estimate the yield stress of wheat straw slurries, as opposed to directly measuring it using rheometry. Average yield stresses of 5, 7, and 10 wt% slurries were found to be 1.31 Pa, 4.2 Pa, and 14.8 Pa, respectively, for fiber size of ≤ 2 mm, and 3.4 Pa, 6.8 Pa, and 16.7 Pa, respectively, when fiber size was 8 mm.
Infant plasma trans, n-6, and n-3 fatty acids and conjugated linoleic acids are related to maternal plasma fatty acids, length of gestation, and birth weight and length.

BACKGROUND Arachidonic acid (AA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are important for growth and neural development. trans Fatty acids (TFAs) may inhibit desaturation of linoleic acid (LA) and alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) to AA and DHA, respectively. Conjugated linoleic acids (CLAs) also alter lipid metabolism and body fat. OBJECTIVE We determined the associations of birth outcome with maternal and infant plasma concentrations of TFAs, CLAs, AA, and DHA. DESIGN In healthy women, we sampled maternal blood at 35 wk gestation (n = 58) and umbilical cord blood at birth (n = 70). RESULTS Mean (+/- SEM) TFA concentrations (% by wt) in infant plasma were as follows: triacylglycerol, 2.83 +/- 0.19 (range: 0.63-12.79); phospholipid, 0.67 +/- 0.03 (0.11-1.33); and cholesteryl ester, 2.04 +/- 0.01 (0.86-4.24). LA, AA, DHA, TFA, and CLA concentrations in infant phospholipids correlated with the same fatty acid in maternal plasma phospholipids (n = 44; P < 0.05). Infant plasma cholesteryl ester and triacylglycerol TFAs and cholesteryl ester CLAs (r = -0.33, -0.42, and -0.49, respectively) were significantly inversely related to length of gestation. Triacylglycerol and cholesteryl ester AA were positively related to length of gestation (r = 0.41 and 0.37, respectively) and birth weight (r = 0.27 and 0.23, respectively). Inverse correlations occurred between infant plasma TFA and DHA concentrations in triacylglycerols (r = -0.33) and between TFA and AA concentrations in cholesteryl esters (r = -0.23). CONCLUSION The results suggest possible important effects of TFAs and of AA on fetal growth and length of gestation.
Vitamin D and calcium supplementation reduces cancer risk: results of a randomized trial.

BACKGROUND Numerous observational studies have found supplemental calcium and vitamin D to be associated with reduced risk of common cancers. However, interventional studies to test this effect are lacking. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this analysis was to determine the efficacy of calcium alone and calcium plus vitamin D in reducing incident cancer risk of all types. DESIGN This was a 4-y, population-based, double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled trial. The primary outcome was fracture incidence, and the principal secondary outcome was cancer incidence. The subjects were 1179 community-dwelling women randomly selected from the population of healthy postmenopausal women aged >55 y in a 9-county rural area of Nebraska centered at latitude 41.4 degrees N. Subjects were randomly assigned to receive 1400-1500 mg supplemental calcium/d alone (Ca-only), supplemental calcium plus 1100 IU vitamin D3/d (Ca + D), or placebo. RESULTS When analyzed by intention to treat, cancer incidence was lower in the Ca + D women than in the placebo control subjects (P < 0.03). With the use of logistic regression, the unadjusted relative risks (RR) of incident cancer in the Ca + D and Ca-only groups were 0.402 (P = 0.01) and 0.532 (P = 0.06), respectively. When analysis was confined to cancers diagnosed after the first 12 mo, RR for the Ca + D group fell to 0.232 (CI: 0.09, 0.60; P < 0.005) but did not change significantly for the Ca-only group. In multiple logistic regression models, both treatment and serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations were significant, independent predictors of cancer risk. CONCLUSIONS Improving calcium and vitamin D nutritional status substantially reduces all-cancer risk in postmenopausal women. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00352170.
Differential requirements for DNA repair proteins in immortalized cell lines using alternative lengthening of telomere mechanisms

Cancer cells require telomere maintenance to enable uncontrolled growth. Most often telomerase is activated, although a subset of human cancers are telomerase‐negative and depend on recombination‐based mechanisms known as ALT (Alternative Lengthening of Telomeres). ALT depends on proteins that are essential for homologous recombination, including BLM and the MRN complex, to extend telomeres. This study surveyed the requirement for requisite homologous recombination proteins, yet to be studied in human ALT cell lines, by protein depletion using RNA interference. Effects on ALT were evaluated by measuring C‐circle abundance, a marker of ALT. Surprisingly, several proteins essential for homologous recombination, BARD1, BRCA2, and WRN, were dispensable for C‐circle production, while PALB2 had varying effects on C‐circles among ALT cell lines. Depletion of homologous recombination proteins BRCA1 and BLM, which have been previously studied in ALT, decreased C‐circles in all ALT cell lines. Depletion of the non‐homologous end joining proteins 53BP1 and LIG4 had no effect on C‐circles in any ALT cell line. Proteins such as chromatin modifiers that recruit double‐strand break proteins, RNF8 and RNF168, and other proteins loosely grouped into excision DNA repair processes, XPA, MSH2, and MPG, reduced C‐circles in some ALT cell lines. MSH2 depletion also reduced recombination at telomeres as measured by intertelomeric exchanges. Collectively, the requirement for DNA repair proteins varied between the ALT cell lines compared. In sum, our study suggests that ALT proceeds by multiple mechanisms that differ between cell lines and that some of these depend on DNA repair proteins not associated with homologous recombination pathways.
The RNA-binding protein ATX-2 regulates cytokinesis through PAR-5 and ZEN-4

The mechanisms that mediate the temporal and spatial recruitment of cell division factors to the spindle midzone and midbody remain unclear. Cell division is regulated by the conserved RNA-binding protein, ATX-2/Ataxin-2, which facilitates the targeting of ZEN-4 to the spindle midzone by mediating PAR-5.