Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
LESS KNOWN VACCINIUM: ANTIOXIDANT AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF SELECTED CAUCASIAN WHORTLEBERRY (Vaccinium arctostaphylos) FRUITS NATIVE TO BLACK SEA REGION OF TURKEY

There is an increasing interest in the commericalization of native fruits for food and medicinal extract utilization. This study was undertaken to determine the antioxidant and chemical properties of selected caucasian whortleberry from the native region of Northeastern Turkey. Caucasian whortleberry (Vaccinium arctostaphylos L.), a close rela- tive to cultivated blueberries, were harvested from various sites of Black sea region of Turkey and were analyzed for their total phenolic (TP), anthocyanin (TA) contents, and their antioxidant capacity by FRAP and TEAC assays. Specific sugar and organic acid composition were also determined by the help of HPLC. ARC-1, and ARC-6 displayed the highest TP contents (5780 and 5754 μg GAE g -1 fw). The TA values were spectropho- tometrically estimated and they were varied between 74.7 (ARC-6) and 194.4 (ARC-4) μg del-3-glu g -1 fresh weight basis. ARC-1 had the highest amount (19.5 and 23.4 μmol TE g -1 fw) of antioxidant capacity for both TEAC and FRAP assays. Fructose and glucose were found to be predominant sugars in all genotypes analyzed. The concentrations of fructose and glucose were averaged at 45.1 and 41.2 g kg -1 fw respectively. The organic acid distribution of berries was dominated by citric acid (mean of 9.85 g kg -1 fw). These results may provide evidence that Caucasian whortleberry has strong antioxidant capacity. Also, results of this study may be used for utilization of selected genotypes in the breed- ing studies of close relative vaccinium plants.
Journey into Bone Models: A Review

Bone is a complex tissue with a variety of functions, such as providing mechanical stability for locomotion, protection of the inner organs, mineral homeostasis and haematopoiesis. To fulfil these diverse roles in the human body, bone consists of a multitude of different cells and an extracellular matrix that is mechanically stable, yet flexible at the same time. Unlike most tissues, bone is under constant renewal facilitated by a coordinated interaction of bone-forming and bone-resorbing cells. It is thus challenging to recreate bone in its complexity in vitro and most current models rather focus on certain aspects of bone biology that are of relevance for the research question addressed. In addition, animal models are still regarded as the gold-standard in the context of bone biology and pathology, especially for the development of novel treatment strategies. However, species-specific differences impede the translation of findings from animal models to humans. The current review summarizes and discusses the latest developments in bone tissue engineering and organoid culture including suitable cell sources, extracellular matrices and microfluidic bioreactor systems. With available technology in mind, a best possible bone model will be hypothesized. Furthermore, the future need and application of such a complex model will be discussed.
Adolescent Consumption of Sports Drinks

National US data reveal a recent increase in adolescents consuming sports drinks, with teenagers with obesity and those who watch lots of TV being of particular concern. BACKGROUND: Sports drinks are aggressively marketed to teenagers to replenish fluids and/or electrolytes. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, typical adolescent physical activity does not require sports drink rehydration. Given US obesity rates and that sugar-sweetened sports drinks add superfluous calories to the diet, it is important to assess adolescent sports drink consumption and changes over time. METHODS: Researchers in the 2015 Youth Risk Behavior Survey and 2010 National Youth Physical Activity and Nutrition Survey collected nationally representative samples of US high school students about sports drink consumption. Respondent characteristics and health behaviors were examined relative to sports drink consumption by using multivariable survey logistic regression. χ2 tests were used to compare the 2 samples and examine changes over time. RESULTS: The 2015 Youth Risk Behavior Survey and 2010 National Youth Physical Activity and Nutrition Survey had national samples of 15 624 and 11 458 respondents, respectively. Sports drink consumption in the previous week increased from 56% (2010) to 57.6% (2015; P = .0002). However, comparisons of daily sports drink consumption revealed reductions for all age groups, sexes, race and/or ethnicity categories, and levels of physical activity. The greatest reductions were for non-Hispanic African Americans and for children with overweight. Daily sports drink consumption did not decrease for children with obesity and increased for children who watched >2 hours per day of television. In 2015, boys, non-Hispanic African Americans, Hispanics, and tobacco users exhibited higher odds of consuming sports drinks daily. CONCLUSIONS: Although daily consumption of sports drinks has decreased overall, sugar-sweetened sports drinks remain popular, with the majority of high school students drinking them at least weekly. Of concern, daily consumption increased among teenagers watching television >2 hours per day. Pediatricians should counsel adolescents about the American Academy of Pediatrics’ recommendations regarding sports drinks.
Superconducting Optoelectronic Neurons V: Networks and Scaling

Networks of superconducting optoelectronic neurons are investigated for their near-term technological potential and long-term physical limitations. Networks with short average path length, high clustering coefficient, and power-law degree distribution are designed using a growth model that assigns connections between new and existing nodes based on spatial distance as well as degree of existing nodes. The network construction algorithm is scalable to arbitrary levels of network hierarchy and achieves systems with fractal spatial properties and efficient wiring. By modeling the physical size of superconducting optoelectronic neurons, we calculate the area of these networks. A system with 8100 neurons and 330,430 total synapses will fit on a 1\,cm $\times$ 1\,cm die. Systems of millions of neurons with hundreds of millions of synapses will fit on a 300\,mm wafer. For multi-wafer assemblies, communication at light speed enables a neuronal pool the size of a large data center comprising 100 trillion neurons with coherent oscillations at 1\,MHz. Assuming a power law frequency distribution, as is necessary for self-organized criticality, we calculate the power consumption of the networks. We find the use of single photons for communication and superconducting circuits for computation leads to power density low enough to be cooled by liquid $^4$He for networks of any scale.
Automated High-Content Live Animal Drug Screening Using C. elegans Expressing the Aggregation Prone Serpin α1-antitrypsin Z

The development of preclinical models amenable to live animal bioactive compound screening is an attractive approach to discovering effective pharmacological therapies for disorders caused by misfolded and aggregation-prone proteins. In general, however, live animal drug screening is labor and resource intensive, and has been hampered by the lack of robust assay designs and high throughput work-flows. Based on their small size, tissue transparency and ease of cultivation, the use of C. elegans should obviate many of the technical impediments associated with live animal drug screening. Moreover, their genetic tractability and accomplished record for providing insights into the molecular and cellular basis of human disease, should make C. elegans an ideal model system for in vivo drug discovery campaigns. The goal of this study was to determine whether C. elegans could be adapted to high-throughput and high-content drug screening strategies analogous to those developed for cell-based systems. Using transgenic animals expressing fluorescently-tagged proteins, we first developed a high-quality, high-throughput work-flow utilizing an automated fluorescence microscopy platform with integrated image acquisition and data analysis modules to qualitatively assess different biological processes including, growth, tissue development, cell viability and autophagy. We next adapted this technology to conduct a small molecule screen and identified compounds that altered the intracellular accumulation of the human aggregation prone mutant that causes liver disease in α1-antitrypsin deficiency. This study provides powerful validation for advancement in preclinical drug discovery campaigns by screening live C. elegans modeling α1-antitrypsin deficiency and other complex disease phenotypes on high-content imaging platforms.
An overview of technical considerations when using quantitative real-time PCR analysis of gene expression in human exercise research

Gene expression analysis by quantitative PCR in skeletal muscle is routine in exercise studies. The reproducibility and reliability of the data fundamentally depend on how the experiments are performed and interpreted. Despite the popularity of the assay, there is a considerable variation in experimental protocols and data analyses from different laboratories, and there is a lack of consistency of proper quality control steps throughout the assay. In this study, we present a number of experiments on various steps of quantitative PCR workflow, and demonstrate how to perform a quantitative PCR experiment with human skeletal muscle samples in an exercise study. We also tested some common mistakes in performing qPCR. Interestingly, we found that mishandling of muscle for a short time span (10 mins) before RNA extraction did not affect RNA quality, and isolated total RNA was preserved for up to one week at room temperature. Demonstrated by our data, use of unstable reference genes lead to substantial differences in the final results. Alternatively, cDNA content can be used for data normalisation; however, complete removal of RNA from cDNA samples is essential for obtaining accurate cDNA content.
Semantic and motor processes in infant perception of object-directed and tool-mediated action

Actions are the translation of internal states such as intentions into overt gestures and goals. Actions are communicative, because by observing another’s overt behaviour we can infer that person’s internal states. Infants’ abilities to execute actions are limited by developing motor processes. Their capacity to make inferences from others’ behaviour is hindered by their inability to engage in perspective-taking and other advanced social cognitive processes. Nonetheless, extensive evidence shows that infants perceive actions as goal-directed sequences that are meaningful, and that they respond to observed actions with motor resonance. The aims of this thesis were to determine how semantic and motor processing of observed action develop in infancy, whether these processes develop separately or in conjunction with one another, and how infants’ abilities to execute and plan actions affects ability to detect semantic and motor differences between actions. These aims were achieved by studying how infants processed grasping actions that varied on different dimensions. In Chapter 1, the literature on infant action perception from social, motor and semantic perspectives is reviewed and the objectives of the thesis are described. In Chapter 2, the ability of 16-month-olds to discriminate between the uses of a novel tool when motor simulation processes are uninformative was investigated. In Chapter 3, the attentional and semantic neural correlates of processing of observed grasps were measured in 9-month-olds, 11.5-month-olds, and adults. In Chapter 4, motor activation in 10-month-old infants in response to motorically similar but semantically distinct grasping actions was related to infants’ action planning skills. The results of these experiments show that there is a complex interplay between motor and semantic constituents of the action processing system, and that this interplay is developmentally dynamic. The implications of the results for understanding action processing in development are considered in Chapter 5.
Dolastane diterpenes from Canistrocarpus cervicornis and their effects in modulation of drug resistance in Staphylococcus aureus

Abstract One new diterpene (4R,7R,14S)-4α,7α-diacetoxy-10-one-14α-hydroxydolasta-1(15),8-diene (1), and five known compounds (4R,7R,14S)-4α,7α-diacetoxy-14α-hydroxydolasta-1(15),8-diene (2), (4R,14S)-4α,14α-dihydroxydolasta-1(15),8-diene (3), (4S,9R,14S)-4α-acetoxy-9β,14α-dihydroxydolasta-1(15),7-diene (4), 4-acetoxy-14-hydroxydolasta-1(15),7,9-triene (5) and isolinearol (6), were isolated from Canistrocarpus cervicornis. In this study, dolastane diterpenes were isolated from the alga C. cervicornis and evaluated as modifiers of antibiotic activity in Staphylococcus aureus: SA-1199B, which overexpresses the norA gene RN-4220, which encodes for the protein efflux of macrolides (MRSA), and IS-58 which has the gene encoding the protein TetK. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) for norfloxacin, tetracycline and erythromycin were determined by the microdilution broth nutrient in the absence and presence of diterpenes at a sub-inhibitory concentration (MIC/4). The extracts of C. cervicornis and isolated diterpenes showed no antibacterial activity, but showed modulatory activity, decreasing the MIC of antibiotics by 4–256 fold. The results indicate that seaweed extracts and diterpenes are potential sources of antibiotic adjuvant, acting as potential inhibitors of efflux pump.
Transcriptomic Analysis of Ciguatoxin-Induced Changes in Gene Expression in Primary Cultures of Mice Cortical Neurons

Ciguatoxins are polyether marine toxins that act as sodium channel activators. These toxins cause ciguatera, one of the most widespread nonbacterial forms of food poisoning, which presents several symptoms in humans including long-term neurological alterations. Earlier work has shown that both acute and chronic exposure of primary cortical neurons to synthetic ciguatoxin CTX3C have profound impacts on neuronal function. Thus, the present work aimed to identify relevant neuronal genes and metabolic pathways that could be altered by ciguatoxin exposure. To study the effect of ciguatoxins in primary neurons in culture, we performed a transcriptomic analysis using whole mouse genome microarrays, for primary cortical neurons exposed during 6, 24, or 72 h in culture to CTX3C. Here, we have shown that the effects of the toxin on gene expression differ with the exposure time. The results presented here have identified several relevant genes and pathways related to the effect of ciguatoxins on neurons and may assist in future research or even treatment of ciguatera. Moreover, we demonstrated that the effects of the toxin on gene expression were exclusively consequential of its action as a voltage-gated sodium channel activator, since all the effects of CTX3C were avoided by preincubation of the neurons with the sodium channel blocker tetrodotoxin.
Learning Generalized Hypergeometric Distribution (GHD) DAG models

We introduce a new class of identifiable DAG models, where each node has a conditional distribution given its parents belongs to a family of generalized hypergeometric distributions (GHD). a family of generalized hypergeometric distributions (GHD) includes a lot of discrete distributions such as Binomial, Beta-binomial, Poisson, Poisson type, displaced Poisson, hyper-Poisson, logarithmic, and many more. We prove that if the data drawn from the new class of DAG models, one can fully identify the graph. We further provide a reliable and tractable algorithm that recovers the directed graph from finitely many data. We show through theoretical results and simulations that our algorithm is statistically consistent even in high-dimensional settings ($n >p$) if the degree of the graph is bounded, and performs well compared to state-of-the-art DAG-learning algorithms.
Rigorous results for the Stigler–Luckock model for the evolution of an order book

In 1964, G.J. Stigler introduced a stochastic model for the evolution of an order book on a stock market. This model was independently rediscovered and generalized by H. Luckock in 2003. In his formulation, traders place buy and sell limit orders of unit size according to independent Poisson processes with possibly different intensities. Newly arriving buy (sell) orders are either immediately matched to the best available matching sell (buy) order or stay in the order book until a matching order arrives. Assuming stationarity, Luckock showed that the distribution functions of the best buy and sell order in the order book solve a differential equation, from which he was able to calculate the position of two prices J − < J+ such that buy orders below J− and sell orders above J+ stay in the order book forever while all other orders are eventually matched. We extend Luckock’s model by adding market orders, i.e., with a certain rate traders arrive at the market that take the best available buy or sell offer in the order book, if there is one, and do nothing otherwise. We give necessary and sufficient conditions for such an extended model to be positive recurrent and show how these conditions are related to the prices J − and J+ of Luckock.
Exercise Therapy Interventions in Patients With Hip Osteoarthritis: Comparison of the Effects of DVD and Website-Based Interventions

Background Prevalence of developmental hip dysplasia is high in Japan. Exercise therapy has been proven effective to treat certain aspects of hip osteoarthritis. Moreover, therapy provided via digital video discs (DVDs) and websites allows patients to exercise in the comfort of their own homes. However, no studies have evaluated the effectiveness of visual instructions in patients with hip disorders. Objective This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of exercise therapy administered via DVD and that administered via a website. Methods We developed a six-step progressive exercise therapy program for patients with hip osteoarthritis, which included three kinds each of open kinetic chain and closed kinetic chain exercises. Once the program was developed, exercise DVDs were produced. In addition to the six-step exercise program, our website was enabled to count the number of exercises performed by each patient and was accessible via the Internet at any time. Patients with hip osteoarthritis for whom surgery was not advised were enrolled by one university hospital in the Kansai area in Japan. Clinical symptoms and hip function were quantified using the Japanese Orthopedic Association Hip Disease Evaluation Questionnaire (JHEQ) and the Oxford Hip Score (OHS). Quality of life was measured using the SF-8 Health Survey, and self-efficacy for continued exercise was measured using the General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES). Questionnaires were completed preintervention and after 6 months. Results At 6-month follow-up, 10 DVD users (1 male, 9 female; mean age 51.3, SD 16.1 years) and 18 website users (2 male, 16 female; mean age 52.4, SD 10.4 years) were reachable. The change in each parameter could not be confirmed a significant improvement. However, most items tended to reflect overall improvement during the 6 months of intervention (P=.05-.94; paired t test). Regarding effect size, we considered a small effect to be greater than 0.2. Little effect was observed for JHEQ pain, SF-8 physical component summary (PCS), and SF-8 mental component summary in the DVD group, as well as OHS, SF-8 (PCS), and GSES in the website group. Conclusions When comparing the effectiveness of exercise therapy between our DVD and website, we found that although both groups tended to improve in physical function, only the website group showed tendency of enhanced self-efficacy.
Bridge Over an Aging Population: Examining Longitudinal Relations Among Human Resource Management, Social Support, and Employee Outcomes Among Bridge Workers

This two-wave complete panel study aims to examine human resource management (HRM) bundles of practices in relation to social support [i.e., leader–member exchange (LMX), coworker exchange (CWX)] and employee outcomes (i.e., work engagement, employability, and health), within a context of workers aged 65+. Based upon the social exchange theory and the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) framework, it was hypothesized that HRM bundles at Time 1 would increase bridge workers' outcomes at Time 2, and that this relationship would be mediated by perceptions of LMX and CWX at Time 2. Using a longitudinal design, hypotheses were tested in a unique sample of Dutch bridge employees (N = 228). Results of several structural equation modeling analyses revealed no significant associations between HRM bundles, and social support, moreover, no significant associations were found in relation to employee outcomes. However, the results of the best-fitting final model revealed the importance of the impact of social support on employee (65+) outcomes over time.
An ID-Based Linearly Homomorphic Signature Scheme and Its Application in Blockchain

Identity-based cryptosystems mean that public keys can be directly derived from user identifiers, such as telephone numbers, email addresses, and social insurance number, and so on. So they can simplify key management procedures of certificate-based public key infrastructures and can be used to realize authentication in blockchain. Linearly homomorphic signature schemes allow to perform linear computations on authenticated data. And the correctness of the computation can be publicly verified. Although a series of homomorphic signature schemes have been designed recently, there are few homomorphic signature schemes designed in identity-based cryptography. In this paper, we construct a new ID-based linear homomorphic signature scheme, which avoids the shortcomings of the use of public-key certificates. The scheme is proved secure against existential forgery on adaptively chosen message and ID attack under the random oracle model. The ID-based linearly homomorphic signature schemes can be applied in e-business and cloud computing. Finally, we show how to apply it to realize authentication in blockchain.