Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Upper limb function and activity in people with facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy: a web-based survey

Abstract Purpose To investigate the upper extremity (UE) at the level of impairments and related activity limitations and participation restrictions in people with facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD). Methods The study was conducted using web-based questionnaires that were distributed amongst people with FSHD in the Netherlands. Eighty-eight respondents started the survey, and 71 completed it. The questionnaires covered the following dimensions: Function, Activity and Participation of the International Classification of Functioning Disability and Health. Results More than 40% of the respondents experienced pain in one arm or both the arms. Increased pain and stiffness scores and longer disease duration were associated with increased limitation scores. For basic activities, lifting the arm above shoulder-level was most frequently reported as most limited, coherent with the clinical picture of FSHD. Among the respondents, 50% indicated restrictions at school, 78% indicated restrictions at work and more than 80% indicated restrictions whilst participating in sports, hobbies, household activities and romantic relationships. Conclusions This study has shown that alongside the well-known problem of lifting the arms above shoulder-level, UE activities below shoulder height during vocational and occupational activities are also problematic in patients with FSHD. Alongside disease duration, pain and stiffness are associated with UE activity limitations. Implications for Rehabilitation Attention is needed for pain and experienced stiffness in the upper extremity as it is frequently present in patients with FSHD. Rehabilitation professionals need to be aware that patients with FSHD not only experience problems with activities above shoulder height, but also with activities below shoulder height. At least 50% of the patients with FSHD experience restrictions in participation as a result of limitations in their UE.
Noncontact diffuse correlation tomography of human breast tumor

Abstract. Our first step to adapt our recently developed noncontact diffuse correlation tomography (ncDCT) system for three-dimensional (3-D) imaging of blood flow distribution in human breast tumors is reported. A commercial 3-D camera was used to obtain breast surface geometry, which was then converted to a solid volume mesh. An ncDCT probe scanned over a region of interest on the mesh surface and the measured boundary data were combined with a finite element framework for 3-D image reconstruction of blood flow distribution. This technique was tested in computer simulations and in vivo human breasts with low-grade carcinoma. Results from computer simulations suggest that relatively high accuracy can be achieved when the entire tumor is within the sensitive region of diffuse light. Image reconstruction with a priori knowledge of the tumor volume and location can significantly improve the accuracy in recovery of tumor blood flow contrasts. In vivo imaging results from two breast carcinomas show higher average blood flow contrasts (5.9- and 10.9-fold) in the tumor regions compared to the surrounding tissues, which are comparable with previous findings using diffuse correlation spectroscopy. The ncDCT system has the potential to image blood flow distributions in soft and vulnerable tissues without distorting tissue hemodynamics.
Scott , H . , Rogers , M . F . , Scott , H . L .

We have used transcriptome analysis to identify genes and pathways that are activated during recognition memory formation in the perirhinal cortex. Rats were exposed to objects either repeatedly, so that the objects become familiar, or to novel objects in a bow-tie maze over six consecutive days. On the final day, one hour after the last exposure to the series of objects, RNA from the perirhinal cortex was sequenced to compare the transcriptome of naïve control rats and rats exposed to either novel or familiar stimuli. Differentially expressed genes were identified between group Novel and group Familiar rats. These included genes coding for transcription factors, GDNF receptors and extracellular matrix-related proteins. Moreover, differences in alternative splicing were also detected between the two groups, which suggests that this post-transcriptional mechanism may play a role in the consolidation of object recognition memory. To conclude, this study shows that RNA sequencing can be used as a tool to identify differences in gene expression in behaving animals undergoing the same task but encountering different exposures.
Influence of time-varying talker directivity on the calculation of speech transmission index from speech in a room acoustical context

Standard calculations of the Speech Transmission Index (STI) are most frequently determined using specialised test signals, but methods have also been developed that estimate an STI value by using real speech as the stimulus signal. However, these methods have previously been studied in highly controlled scenarios, and have rarely been tested using real human talkers in real acoustical environments. We conducted a test to study how the natural movements of real talkers within an actual room environment affects the calculation of speech-based STI, by comparing results to those produced by a stationary head and torso simulator. In addition to the challenge of analysing a non-ideally modulated test signal, using a human talker introduces time variance in the transfer function from reference microphone to receiving microphone (due to incidental body movements and time-varying directivity). This paper examines the extent of this effect using a 130 m room with long and short reverberation times.
Depleted iron stores are associated with inspiratory muscle weakness independently of skeletal muscle mass in men with systolic chronic heart failure

Skeletal and respiratory muscle dysfunction constitutes an important pathophysiological feature of heart failure (HF). We assessed the relationships between respiratory muscle function, skeletal muscle mass, and physical fitness in men with HF with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (HFrEF), and investigated the hypothesis of whether iron deficiency (ID) contributes to respiratory muscle dysfunction in these patients.
Novel approach to functional SNPs discovery from genome‐wide data reveals promising variants for colon cancer risk

In the majority of colorectal cancer (CRC) cases, the genetic basis of predisposition remains unexplained. The goal of the study was to assess the regulatory SNPs (rSNPs) in the human genome and to reveal СRC drivers based on the available chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing (ChIP‐Seq, ChIA‐PET) and transcriptional profiling (RNA‐Seq) data. We combined positional (locations within genome regulatory elements) and functional (associated with allele‐specific binding and expression) criteria followed by an analysis using genome‐wide association studies (GWAS) and minor allele frequency (MAF) datasets. DeSeq2 analysis through 70 CRC patients reinforced the regulatory potential. rSNPs (1,476) that were associated with significant (P < 0.01) allele‐specific events resulting in thirty that exhibited a link with CRC according to the MAF and 27, with a risk of malignancy in general according to GWAS. Selected rSNPs may modify the expression of genes for tumor suppressors and the regulators of signaling pathways, including noncoding RNAs. However, the rSNPs from the most represented group affect the expression of genes related to splicing. Our findings strongly suggest that the identified variants might contribute to CRC susceptibility, which indicates that aberrant splicing is one of the key mechanisms for unraveling disease etiopathogenesis and provides useful inputs for interpreting how genotypic variation corresponds to phenotypic outcome.
Monthly variability in surface pCO2 and net air‐sea CO2 flux in the Arabian Sea

[1] Recent studies on biogeochemical cycling of carbon in the Arabian Sea, by Joint Global Ocean Flux Study (JGOFS), revealed that the Arabian Sea is a perennial source of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. The surface pCO2 is governed by physical processes such as water mass transports, upwelling and winter convective mixing, and associated biological processes. Hence surface pCO2 distribution showed significant seasonal and spatial variability. As a result, it is difficult to extrapolate observed data to the entire basin to assess basin-wide fluxes of CO2 to the atmosphere. On the basis of the data collected during Indian, U.S. JGOFS, and Indian Land-Ocean Interactions in the Coastal Zone process study programs in the Arabian Sea, multiple regression equations were developed on a seasonal basis to compute dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) from surface temperature, salinity, and chlorophyll as constraints. Total alkalinity (TA) was computed from surface salinity. On the basis of satellite derived chlorophyll (Coastal Zone Color Scanner) and Levitus surface temperature and salinity climatology, surface TA and DIC were constructed at 1° × 1° grids. Using carbonate dissociation constants, pCO2 levels were computed. The results show the southwest coast of India occupied with very low-pCO2 waters because of inflow from Bay of Bengal low-saline water mass during NE monsoon (December–February). On the other hand, this area is occupied with pCO2-rich (>500 μatm) waters during SW monsoon (June–August) because of coastal upwelling. The highest pCO2 (>700 μatm) were found along the west coast of the Arabian Sea driven by strong upwelling. In the open ocean, higher pCO2 levels were observed in the north (north of 15°N) compared to the southern Arabian Sea round the year, with values higher than those in the atmosphere even in the south. Though no strong physical forcing occurs during spring intermonsoon (March–May), surface pCO2 levels were higher than in the atmosphere. The air-sea flux of CO2 was found to be high during SW monsoon throughout the Arabian Sea. The west coast of the Arabian Sea releases higher quantities of CO2 to the atmosphere per unit area followed by the northern and eastern Arabian Sea. As a whole, the Arabian Sea (north of 10°N) releases about 90 TgC yr−1 to the atmosphere.
Improved Cellular Specificity of Plasmonic Nanobubbles versus Nanoparticles in Heterogeneous Cell Systems

The limited specificity of nanoparticle (NP) uptake by target cells associated with a disease is one of the principal challenges of nanomedicine. Using the threshold mechanism of plasmonic nanobubble (PNB) generation and enhanced accumulation and clustering of gold nanoparticles in target cells, we increased the specificity of PNB generation and detection in target versus non-target cells by more than one order of magnitude compared to the specificity of NP uptake by the same cells. This improved cellular specificity of PNBs was demonstrated in six different cell models representing diverse molecular targets such as epidermal growth factor receptor, CD3 receptor, prostate specific membrane antigen and mucin molecule MUC1. Thus PNBs may be a universal method and nano-agent that overcome the problem of non-specific uptake of NPs by non-target cells and improve the specificity of NP-based diagnostics, therapeutics and theranostics at the cell level.
Three‐dimensional visualization of rat retina by X‐ray differential phase contrast tomographic microscopy

The retina is one of the most tiny and sophisticated tissues of the body. Three dimensional (3D) visualization of the whole retina is valuable both in clinical and research arenas. The tissue has been predominantly assessed by time‐consuming histopathology and optical coherence tomography (OCT) in research and clinical arenas. However, none of the two methods can provide 3D imaging of the retina. The purpose of this study is to give a volumetric visualization of rat retina at submicron resolution, using an emerging imaging technique‐phase‐contrast X‐ray CT. A Sprague‐Dawley (SD) rat eye specimen was scanned with X‐ray differential phase contrast tomographic microscopy (DPC‐microCT) equipped at the Swiss Light Source synchrotron. After scanning, the specimen was subjected to routine histology procedures and severed as a reference. The morphological characteristics and signal features of the retina in the DPC‐microCT images were evaluated. The total retina and its sublayers thicknesses were measured on the DPC‐microCT images and compared with those obtained from the histological sections. The retina structures revealed by DPC‐microCT were highly consistent with the histological section. In this study, we achieved nondestructive 3D visualization of SD rat retina. In addition to detailed anatomical structures, the objective parameters provided by DPC‐microCT make it a useful tool for retinal research and disease diagnosis in the early stage.
Processing of Metallizing Alumina Ceramic with Mo-Mn-Ti-Si-Al System Paint

Two kind of alumina ceramics were metallized by Mo-Mn-Ti-Si-Al system paint.The results of sealing strength indicated that Mo-Mn-Ti-Si-Al system paint was fit for 95% Al2O3 ceramic,but it was not fit for high pure alumina ceramics.And strength of metal-95% Al2O3 ceramic seals reached above 150MPa.By analyzing the microstructure of metal-alumina ceramics seal section,the metallizing mechanism of high pure alumina ceramics was different from that of 95% Al2O3 ceramic.The former was that glassy phase in metallizing layer was reaction with Al2O3 grains on the surface of ceramic.The latter was that glassy phase in metallizing layer migrated to ceramics,and glassy phase in ceramics migrated to metallizing layer.
Influence and variance of a Markov chain: application to adaptive discretization in optimal control

This paper addresses the difficult problem of deciding where to refine the resolution of adaptive discretizations for solving continuous time-and-space deterministic optimal control problems. We introduce two measures, influence and variance of a Markov chain. Influence measures the extent to which changes of some state affect the value function at other states. Variance measures the heterogeneity of the future cumulated active rewards (whose mean is the value function). We combine these two measures to derive a nonlocal efficient splitting criterion that takes into account the impact of a state on other states when deciding whether to split. We illustrate this method on the non-linear, two dimensional "Car on the Hill" and the 4d "space-shuttle" and "airplane-meeting" control problems.
Phylogenetic Approach Reveals That Virus Genotype Largely Determines HIV Set-Point Viral Load

HIV virulence, i.e. the time of progression to AIDS, varies greatly among patients. As for other rapidly evolving pathogens of humans, it is difficult to know if this variance is controlled by the genotype of the host or that of the virus because the transmission chain is usually unknown. We apply the phylogenetic comparative approach (PCA) to estimate the heritability of a trait from one infection to the next, which indicates the control of the virus genotype over this trait. The idea is to use viral RNA sequences obtained from patients infected by HIV-1 subtype B to build a phylogeny, which approximately reflects the transmission chain. Heritability is measured statistically as the propensity for patients close in the phylogeny to exhibit similar infection trait values. The approach reveals that up to half of the variance in set-point viral load, a trait associated with virulence, can be heritable. Our estimate is significant and robust to noise in the phylogeny. We also check for the consistency of our approach by showing that a trait related to drug resistance is almost entirely heritable. Finally, we show the importance of taking into account the transmission chain when estimating correlations between infection traits. The fact that HIV virulence is, at least partially, heritable from one infection to the next has clinical and epidemiological implications. The difference between earlier studies and ours comes from the quality of our dataset and from the power of the PCA, which can be applied to large datasets and accounts for within-host evolution. The PCA opens new perspectives for approaches linking clinical data and evolutionary biology because it can be extended to study other traits or other infectious diseases.
Effect of Azolla Supplementation on Growth, Immunocompetence and Carcass Characteristics of Commercial Broilers

One hundred and twenty, one week old, Cobb 400 broiler chickens were randomly distributed into three dietary treatments having four replicates each with ten birds. The birds of the control group (T1) were fed a basal diet (23.16% CP 1–3 weeks & 19.68% CP 3–6 weeks) while the other two groups were offered the treatment diets (T2& T3) replacing 4.50% or 5.50%, of the dry matter of the basal diet with dry Azolla pinnata powder on dry matter basis, respectively. Feeding azolla meal did not significantly (p>0.05) affect the weekly body weight gain of the birds during the experimental period. Total immunoglobulins and mercaptoethanol sensitive (IgM) antibody titer (log 2) values in response to sheep red blood cells (SRBC) was significantly higher (P<0.05) in the birds fed T3 diet compared to the other two dietary treatments at 6 weeks of age. Cell mediated immune response i.e. in vivo cutaneous basophilic hypersensitivity response to lectin phytohaemagglutinin from Phaseolus vulgaris (PHA-P) determined as foot web index was significantly (p<0.05) higher in the T3 birds compared to the other two dietary treatments. Dressing percentage was significantly higher (P<0.05) in T2 compared to the other two treatment groups. However, there was no significant difference among the treatment groups in the other carcass traits. Thus, it may be inferred that replacement of basal diet with dry Azolla pinnata meal on dry matter basis did not adversely affect the growth and carcass characteristics. Moreover, Azolla pinnata possesses promising immunomodulatory potential in commercial broilers.
EVALUATION OF ELEVATED PLOIDY AND ASEXUAL REPRODUCTION AS ALTERNATIVE EXPLANATIONS FOR GEOGRAPHIC PARTHENOGENESIS IN EUCYPRIS VIRENS OSTRACODS

Transitions from sexual to asexual reproduction are often coupled with elevations in ploidy. As a consequence, the importance of ploidy per se for the maintenance and spread of asexual populations is unclear. To examine the effects of ploidy and asexual reproduction as independent determinants of the success of asexual lineages, we sampled diploid sexual, diploid asexual, and triploid asexual Eucypris virens ostracods across a European wide range. Applying nuclear and mitochondrial markers, we found that E. virens consists of genetically highly differentiated diploid sexual populations, to the extent that these sexual clades could be considered as cryptic species. All sexual populations were found in southern Europe and North Africa and we found that both diploid asexual and triploid asexual lineages have originated multiple times from several sexual lineages. Therefore, the asexual lineages show a wide variety of genetic backgrounds and very strong population genetic structure across the wide geographic range. Finally, we found that triploid, but not diploid, asexual clones dominate habitats in northern Europe. The limited distribution of diploid asexual lineages, despite their shared ancestry with triploid asexual lineages, strongly suggests that the wider geographic distribution of triploids is due to elevated ploidy rather than to asexuality.
Effects of resistance training on performance in previously trained endurance runners: A systematic review

ABSTRACT The aim of this work was to identify, synthesize and evaluate the results of randomized controlled trials examining the effects of resistance training on performance indicators in previously trained endurance runners. A database search was carried out in PubMed, Science Direct, OvidSPMedLine, Wiley, Web of Science, ProQuest and Google Scholar. In accordance with the PRISMA checklist, 18 published articles dated prior to May 2016 involving 321 endurance runners were reviewed using the PEDro scale. Resistance training led to general improvements in muscular strength, running economy, muscle power factors, and direct performance in distances between 1,500 and 10,000 m. Such improvements were not accompanied by a significant increase in body mass or signs of overtraining. However, improvements did not occur in all cases, suggesting that they might depend on the specific characteristics of the resistance training applied. Although current evidence supports the effectiveness of resistance training to improve performance in already trained endurance runners, the methodological inconsistencies identified suggest that the results should be interpreted with caution. Future studies ought to investigate the benefits of resistance training in endurance runners while considering the existence of possible differentiated effects based on the specific characteristics of the resistance training carried out.
COMPARATIVE ESTIMATION AND CHEMICAL STANDARDIZATION OF NEW AND OLD SAMPLE OF CHYAWANPRASH

Objective: The present study was carried out to compare the quality of new and 24 months old sample of Chyawanprash from the same brand. Material and Methods: Total polyphenolics, total reducing sugar, ascorbic acid, hydroxymethyl furfural (HMF), and fibre content were measured in both the new and 24 months old sample of Chyawanprash. Results: Results obtained reveal the reduction in the percentage of total polyphenolics, total reducing sugar and ascorbic acid content while high level of HMF in the old sample as compared with new sample of Chyawanprash. Conclusion: The results indicate that chemical degradation might take place during storage and may result in the loss of therapeutic activity of Chyawanprash.
Cenderitide: structural requirements for the creation of a novel dual particulate guanylyl cyclase receptor agonist with renal-enhancing in vivo and ex vivo actions.

AIMS Cenderitide is a novel dual natriuretic peptide (NP) receptor chimeric peptide activator, which targets the particulate guanylyl cyclase B (pGC-B) receptor and pGC-A unlike native NPs. Cenderitide was engineered to retain the anti-fibrotic properties of C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP)/pGC-B with renal-enhancing actions facilitated by fusion to the carboxyl terminus of Dendroaspis NP (DNP), a pGC-A agonist, to CNP. Here, we address significance of the DNP carboxyl terminus in dual pGC receptor activation and actions of cenderitide compared with CNP on renal function and cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) in vivo and ex vivo in normal canines. METHODS AND RESULTS In vitro, only cenderitide and not CNP or three CNP-based variants was a potent dual pGC-A/pGC-B activator of cGMP production (from 5 to 237 pmol/mL) in human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293 cells overexpressing human pGC-A while in pGC-B overexpressing cells cenderitide increased cGMP production (from 4 to 321 pmol/mL) while the three CNP-based variants were weak agonists. Based upon our finding that the DNP carboxyl terminus is a key structural requirement for dual pGC-A/pGC-B activation, we defined in vivo the renal-enhancing actions of cenderitide compared with CNP. Cenderitide increased urinary cGMP excretion (from 989 to 5977 pmol/mL), net generation of renal cGMP (821-4124 pmol/min), natriuresis (12-242 μEq/min), and glomerular filtration rate (GFR) (37-51 mL/min) while CNP did not. We then demonstrated the transformation of CNP ex vivo into a renal cGMP-activating peptide which increased cGMP in freshly isolated glomeruli eight-fold greater than CNP. CONCLUSION The current study establishes that dual pGC-A and pGC-B activation with CNP requires the specific carboxyl terminus of DNP. In normal canines in vivo and in glomeruli ex vivo, the carboxyl terminus of DNP transforms CNP into a natriuretic and GFR-enhancing peptide. Future studies of cenderitide are warranted in cardiorenal disease states to explore its efficacy in overall cardiorenal homeostasis.