Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Clinical and genetic correlates of growth differentiation factor 15 in the community.

BACKGROUND Growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15), a stress-responsive cytokine produced in cardiovascular cells under conditions of inflammation and oxidative stress, is emerging as an important prognostic marker in individuals with and without existing cardiovascular disease (CVD). We therefore examined the clinical and genetic correlates of circulating GDF15 concentrations, which have not been investigated collectively. METHODS Plasma GDF15 concentrations were measured in 2991 participants in the Framingham Offspring Study who were free of clinically overt CVD (mean age, 59 years; 56% women). Clinical correlates of GDF15 were examined in multivariable analyses. We then conducted a genomewide association study of the GDF15 concentration that included participants in the Framingham Offspring Study and participants in the PIVUS (Prospective Investigation of the Vasculature in Uppsala Seniors) study. RESULTS GDF15 was positively associated with age, smoking, antihypertensive treatment, diabetes, worse kidney function, and use of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), but it was negatively associated with total cholesterol and HDL cholesterol. Clinical correlates accounted for 38% of interindividual variation in the circulating GDF15 concentration, whereas genetic factors accounted for up to 38% of the residual variability (h(2) = 0.38; P = 2.5 × 10(-11)). We identified 1 locus of genomewide significance. This locus, which is on chromosome 19p13.11 and includes the GDF15 gene, is associated with GDF15 concentration (smallest P = 2.74 × 10(-32) for rs888663). Conditional analyses revealed 2 independent association signals at this locus (rs888663 and rs1054564), which were associated with altered cis gene expression in blood cell lines. CONCLUSIONS In ambulatory individuals, both cardiometabolic risk factors and genetic factors play important roles in determining circulating GDF15 concentrations and contribute similarly to the overall variation.
Prognostic significance of tissue and serum HER2 and MUC1 in canine mammary cancer

The aim of our study was to compare serum levels and protein tissue of human epidermal growth factor receptor–2 proto-oncogene (HER2) and mucin 1 (MUC1) using an antigen-capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and immunohistochemistry (IHC) in canine mammary carcinomas and investigate how the 2 markers correlate with dogs with metastasis and without metastasis to a regional lymph node. Forty-eight female dogs were selected, including 14 with non-metastatic cancer, 14 with lymph node metastasis, and 20 healthy animals. Serum samples were collected from all the animals and tissues from 28 dogs with malignant mammary tumor with or without metastasis for evaluated HER2 and MUC1 expression. Tissue sample were evaluated for MUC1 and HER2 immunoexpression by IHC. The results showed measurable serum levels of MUC1 and HER2 in all groups. While serum MUC1 levels were significantly higher in animals with metastasis than the other 2 groups, no increase was observed in HER2 serum levels. The MUC1 IHC results showed that only membrane immunostaining was significantly different between the groups. Statistically, there was an association between immunostaining and the serum HER2 levels. Our results indicate that serum concentrations of HER2 and the IHC staining pattern for HER2 in primary tumor do not correlate with the presence of regional metastasis. However, increased concentrations of MUC1 in the serum of dogs with mammary cancer are associated with the presence of metastasis to regional lymph nodes. A membrane pattern of IHC staining for MUC1 in the primary tumor suggests that metastases to regional lymph node are present.
Repeated Sampling but Not Sampling Hour Affects Plasma Carotenoid Levels

Carotenoid pigments have become a central subject of research on animal signaling systems during the past decade. Thus, measurement of plasma carotenoid levels is widespread in the literature. Many plasma biochemical parameters tend to vary with the hour of sampling, which may be an important source of sampling error. However, little is known about this kind of variation for circulating carotenoids. With a sampling protocol that allowed us to separately analyze the effect of sampling hour and repeated blood extraction at the within‐individual level, we evaluated the effect of these two parameters on plasma carotenoid concentration in captive red‐legged partridges (Alectoris rufa). The hour of sampling did not show a significant influence on carotenoid variability. Nevertheless, carotenoid levels significantly decreased as a result of repeated sampling. In fact, carotenoid variability was positively related to hematocrit values, which also decreased throughout the experiment. Furthermore, the effect was evident from the second sampling event. These results suggest that blood samples for carotenoid analysis may be obtained at random during the daytime with no serious risk of adding variance to data obtained. However, the effect of hemodilution associated with repeated blood extraction should be carefully considered in those studies involving repeated sampling.
An Investigation on the Sandwich Panels with Flexible and Toughened Adhesives under Flexural Loading

The material selection in the design of the sandwich structures is very crucial aspect because of the positive or negative influences of the base materials to the mechanical properties of the entire panel. In the literature, it was presented that the selection of the skin and core materials plays very important role on the behavior of the sandwich. Beside this, the use of the correct adhesive can make the whole structure to show better mechanical results and behavior. In the present work, the static three-point bending tests were performed on the sandwiches having an aluminum alloy foam core, the skins made of three different types of fabrics and two different commercial adhesives (flexible polyurethane and toughened epoxy based) at different values of support span distances by aiming the analyses of their flexural performance in terms of absorbed energy, peak force values and collapse mechanisms. The main results of the flexural loading are: force-displacement curves obtained after the bending tests, peak force and absorbed energy values, collapse mechanisms and adhesion quality. The experimental results presented that the sandwiches with epoxy based toughened adhesive and the skins made of S-Glass Woven fabrics indicated the best adhesion quality and mechanical properties. The sandwiches with toughened adhesive exhibited higher peak force and energy absorption values compared to the sandwiches with flexible adhesive. The use of these sandwich structures can lead to a weight reduction of the transport vehicles, providing an adequate structural strength under operating conditions. Keywords—Adhesive and adhesion, Aluminum foam, Bending, Collapse mechanisms.
Experimental confirmation of the Osipov-Terentjev theory on the viscosity of nematic liquid crystals.

A simple electro-optical technique was developed for measuring the rotational viscosity of nematic liquid crystals. These results were then used to confirm the newly developed Osipov-Terentjev (OT) theory [M. A. Osipov and E. M. Terentjev, Z. Naturforsch. A 44, 785 (1989)]. Another theory frequently used, the Diogo-Martins theory [A. C. Diogo and A. F. Martins, Mol. Cryst. Liq. Cryst. 66, 133 (1981)], is also used for comparison. By comparing the OT theory with experimental results of some Leslie coefficients, the activation energy, mean-field potential, fourth order of the nematic order parameter, and molecular length-to-width ratio of a liquid-crystal compound are obtained. The mean-field coupling constant is found to be about 1.8 ${\mathit{kT}}_{\mathit{c}}$, which is somewhat lower than the Maier-Saupe theoretical value of 4.5 ${\mathit{kT}}_{\mathit{c}}$.
Crocin Bleaching Assay Using Purified Di-gentiobiosyl Crocin (-crocin) from Iranian Saffron

Objective(s) Crocin bleaching assay (CBA) is a new method for determination of antioxidant capacity. In CBA, addition of hydrogen to the conjugated double bonds of crocin results in reduction of crocin and increase in the absorbance at 440 nm, which is considered as a measure of antioxidant potential. Here CBA method was set up using di-gentiobiosyl crocin or α-crocin from Iranian saffron. Then, the antioxidant activity of some known antioxidants i.e. L-ascorbic acid, bilirubin, Trolox, uric acid, and some plasma samples of infants, were tested. The results were compared to that obtained by ferric reducing antioxidant power" (FRAP) as a standard method. Materials and Methods Di-gentiobiosyl crocin was extracted and purified from Iranian saffron as previously described by us. Then, the CBA procedure using α-crocin was done in 2 different aquatic conditions, >50% or >90% of water. Results were analyzed by both the Bors method (calculating the relative rate constants= Krel) and the Tsimidou method (calculating the percent of -crocin bleaching inhibition=% Inh). Results Our results indicated the following order of antioxidant potential for the above mentioned agents: ascorbic acid > uric acid > Trolox. However, these results are very similar to the data reported by others, but they are strongly related to the aqueous condition. In addition, uric acid showed different properties at different concentrations; so that it showed the antioxidant activity at low concentrations but it acted as a prooxidant at higher concentrations. Bilirubin interfered with this test, possibly because its maximum absorbance is close to the crocin. The obtained data for the antioxidant capacity of the serums was comparable with FRAP assay, except for the sample that contains high bilirubin concentration. Conclusion In conclusion, it seems that CBA using the main fraction of crocin (-crocin) is a simple and useful method for determination of antioxidant potential of aqueous samples. In addition, the CBA ability to distinguish the samples that contain bilirubin or high uric acid content is helpful in clinical laboratories.
Toward the Evolutionary Genomics of Gametophytic Divergence: Patterns of Transmission Ratio Distortion in Monkeyflower (Mimulus) Hybrids Reveal a Complex Genetic Basis for Conspecific Pollen Precedence

Abstract Conspecific pollen precedence (CPP) is a major component of reproductive isolation between many flowering plant taxa and may reveal mechanisms of gametophytic evolution within species, but little is known about the genetic basis and evolutionary history of CPP. We systematically investigated the genetic architecture of CPP using patterns of transmission ratio distortion (TRD) in F2 and backcross hybrids between closely related species of Mimulus (Phrymaceae) with divergent mating systems. We found that CPP in Mimulus hybrids was polygenic and was the majority source of interspecific TRD genome-wide, with at least eight genomic regions contributing to the transmission advantage of M. guttatus pollen grains on M. guttatus styles. In aggregate, these male-specific transmission ratio distorting loci (TRDLs) were more than sufficient to account for the 100% precedence of pure M. guttatus pollen over M. nasutus pollen in mixed pollinations of M. guttatus. All but one of these pollen TRDLs were style-dependent; that is, we observed pollen TRD in F1 and/or M. guttatus styles, but not in M. nasutus styles. These findings suggest that species-specific differences in pollen tube performance accumulate gradually and may have been driven by coevolution between pollen and style in the predominantly outcrossing M. guttatus.
Joint Source-Channel Rate Allocation and Client Clustering for Scalable Multistream IPTV

We design a system framework for streaming scalable internet protocol television (IPTV) content to heterogenous clients. The backbone bandwidth is optimally allocated between source and parity data layers that are delivered to the client population. The assignment of stream layers to clients is done based on their access link data rate and packet loss characteristics, and is part of the optimization. We design three techniques for jointly computing the optimal number of multicast sessions, their respective source and parity rates, and client membership, either exactly or approximatively, at lower complexity. The latter is achieved via an iterative coordinate descent algorithm that only marginally underperforms relative to the exact analytic solution. Through experiments, we study the advantages of our framework over common IPTV systems that deliver the same source and parity streams to every client. We observe substantial gains in video quality in terms of both its average value and standard deviation over the client population. In addition, for energy efficiency, we propose to move the parity data generation part to the edge of the backbone network, where each client connects to its IPTV stream. We analytically study the conditions under which such an approach delivers energy savings relative to the conventional case of source and parity data generation at the IPTV streaming server. Finally, we demonstrate that our system enables more consistent streaming performance, when the clients' access link packet loss distribution is varied, relative to the two baseline methods used in our investigation, and maintains the same performance as an ideal system that serves each client independently.
Non-stationary Wiener filtering based on evolutionary spectral theory

We consider solutions to the non-stationary Wiener filtering problem using the evolutionary spectral theory. Two cases of interest result from the fact that the desired signal and the noise is uncorrelated. One constrains the support of the generating kernels of the signals and the other imposes orthogonality on their innovation processes. The latter condition is more general and our solution coincides with the one presented previously by Abdrabbo and Priestley (1969). For the first case, we develop a new solution that depends directly on the Wold-Cramer models of the desired and noisy processes. Implementation is achieved in both cases by estimating the kernels for the Wold-Cramer representations from the spectra using the evolutionary maximum entropy spectral estimation. An example illustrating the filtering is given.
Convergence Insufficiency, Accommodative Insufficiency, Visual Symptoms, and Astigmatism in Tohono O'odham Students

Purpose. To determine rate of convergence insufficiency (CI) and accommodative insufficiency (AI) and assess the relation between CI, AI, visual symptoms, and astigmatism in school-age children. Methods. 3rd–8th-grade students completed the Convergence Insufficiency Symptom Survey (CISS) and binocular vision testing with correction if prescribed. Students were categorized by astigmatism magnitude (no/low: <1.00 D, moderate: 1.00 D to <3.00 D, and high: ≥3.00 D), presence/absence of clinical signs of CI and AI, and presence of symptoms. Analyses determine rate of clinical CI and AI and symptomatic CI and AI and assessed the relation between CI, AI, visual symptoms, and astigmatism. Results. In the sample of 484 students (11.67 ± 1.81 years of age), rate of symptomatic CI was 6.2% and symptomatic AI 18.2%. AI was more common in students with CI than without CI. Students with AI only (p = 0.02) and with CI and AI (p = 0.001) had higher symptom scores than students with neither CI nor AI. Moderate and high astigmats were not at increased risk for CI or AI. Conclusions. With-the-rule astigmats are not at increased risk for CI or AI. High comorbidity rates of CI and AI and higher symptoms scores with AI suggest that research is needed to determine symptomatology specific to CI.
Effects of magnesium sulfate and lidocaine in the treatment of ventricular arrhythmias in experimental amitriptyline poisoning in the rat

ObjectivesAmitriptyline poisoning is associated with ventricular arrhythmias. Standard treatment is sodium bicarbonate but further intervention may be necessary. The present study compared the actions of lidocaine and magnesium sulfate on ventricular tachycardia induced by amitryptline. DesignNonrandomized, controlled, intervention trial. SettingUniversity laboratory. SubjectsThirty male Wistar rats anesthetized with pentobarbital and mechanically ventilated. InterventionsAfter pretreatment with nore-pinephrine, the animals were subjected to a continuous infusion of amitriptyline. After the appearance of ventricular tachycardia, they were treated with magnesium sulfate (45 mg/kg + 15 mg/kg/min) or lidocaine (1 mg/kg + 0.5 mg/kg/ min) or glucose infusion as a control. Measurements and Main ResultsIn the group treated with magnesium sulfate, electrocardiogram tracings demonstrated that nine often animals converted from ventricular tachycardia to sinus rhythm compared with one of ten in both the lidocaine- and glucose-treated groups (p < .001). The animals treated with magnesium sulfate also had a significantly longer total time in sinus rhythm (10.0 ± 1.6 mins) than those rats treated with lidocaine (1.7 ± 1.5 mins) or glucose (1.5 ± 1.5 mins). Magnesium sulfate significantly decreased blood pressure and heart rate, but no severe hemodynamic side effects were observed. ConclusionsMagnesium sulfate is effective in converting ventricular tachycardia in hyperadrenergic amitriptyline poisoning. in contrast, lidocaine had no effect on arrhythmias. (Crit Care Med 1994; 22:494–498)
230% room temperature magnetoresistance in CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB magnetic tunnel junctions

The magnetoresistance ratio of 230% at room temperature is reported. This was achieved in spin-valve type magnetic tunnel junctions using MgO barrier layer and amorphous CoFeB ferromagnetic electrodes fabricated on thermally oxidized Si substrates. The amorphous CoFeB electrodes are of great advantage to the polycrystalline FeCo electrodes in achieving a high homogeneity in small 100 nm-sized MTJs.
Single-Tooth Morse Taper Connection Implant Placed in Grafted Site of the Anterior Maxilla: Clinical and Radiographic Evaluation

The aim of this study was to achieve aesthetically pleasing soft tissue contours in a severely compromised tooth in the anterior region of the maxilla. For a right-maxillary central incisor with localized advanced chronic periodontitis a tooth extraction followed by reconstructive procedures and delayed implant placement was proposed and accepted by the patient. Guided bone regeneration (GBR) technique was employed, with a biphasic calcium-phosphate (BCP) block graft placed in the extraction socket in conjunction with granules of the same material and a resorbable barrier membrane. After 6 months of healing, an implant was installed. The acrylic provisional restoration remained in situ for 3 months and then was substituted with the definitive crown. This ridge reconstruction technique enabled preserving both hard and soft tissues and counteracting vertical and horizontal bone resorption after tooth extraction and allowed for an ideal three-dimensional implant placement. Localized severe alveolar bone resorption of the anterior maxilla associated with chronic periodontal disease can be successfully treated by means of ridge reconstruction with GBR and delayed implant insertion; the placement of an early-loaded, Morse taper connection implant in the grafted site was effective to create an excellent clinical aesthetic result and to maintain it along time.
Plasma levels of soluble CD30, tumour necrosis factor (TNF)‐&agr; and TNF receptors during primary HIV‐1 infection: correlation with HIV‐1 RNA and the clinical outcome

Objectives: The immunological and virological events associated with primary HIV‐1 infection have a major impact on the course of HIV‐1 disease, and the identification of early predictors during primary HIV infection is critical for the therapeutic stratergy. Design and methods: Eighteen consecutive patients with primary HIV infection were followed for a median of 398 days. Clinical status, CD4+ T‐cell counts, and plasma samples were obtained weekly from enrolment until week 6, then at weeks 12, 24 and 52, and every 6 months thereafter. Seroconversion was assessed by anti‐HIV‐1/2 antibodies and Western blot analysis. HIV‐1 RNA in plasma was quantified by Amplicor HIV Monitor test. Samples were assayed for immune complex‐dissociated p24 antigen, tumour necrosis factor (TNF)‐&agr;, soluble TNF receptor (sTNFR)‐1, sTNFR‐II, sCD30 and sCD8 by enzyme immunoassays. Outcome was defined as entering clinical category B or C according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria. As a control group, we included 23 HIV‐1‐negative healthy blood donors. Results: Plasma levels of sCD30, TNF‐&agr; and sTNFR were significantly higher in HIV‐1‐infected patients than in controls, and were positively correlated with each other and with values of HIV‐1 RNA. Patients who developed an outcome (n = 4) had significantly higher levels of sCD30, TNF‐&agr; and sTNFR compared with those who did not. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that sCD30 and TNF‐&agr; were the best predictors of outcome independently of CD4+ T‐cell counts. Conclusions: During primary HIV infection, a persistent immune activation may be associated with a poor clinical outcome. The identification of sCD30 and TNF‐&agr; levels in plasma as early predictors of outcome in primary HIV infection, may direct the implementation of early therapeutic strategies in patients with elevated risk of disease progression.
Role of oxidised low density lipoprotein in atherogenesis.

Overview of the concept ofoxidative modification ofLDL There can be no doubt now that there is a continuum of increasing risk for complications ofatherosclerosis when plasma cholesterol levels exceed 160-180 mg/dl. Many types of experimental and clinical evidence substantiate the "cholesterol hypothesis. " Many primary and secondary prevention trials, including the recent angiographic trials(CLAS andFATS) document that reduction of plasma cholesterol is as powerful as has been predicted in slowing the progression and clinical expression ofcoronary atherosclerosis. However, the cellular and molecular mechanisms linking hypercholesterolemia to atherogenesis and its sequelae remain unclear. Iflowering ofLDL is efficacious in ameliorating the atherogenic process, why then should one bother to understand the mechanisms? Simply because loweringLDL will not be a total solution. Although it may be true that ifcholesterol levels were reduced to < 150 mg/dl there would be little if any coronary artery disease (CAD),' it is not likely that this will occur any time soon. At any given level ofLDL there is great variability in the clinical expression of the disease. Patients with heterozy
Adaptive Distances on Sets of Vectors

Recently, there has been a growing interest in learning distances directly from training data. While the previous works focused mainly on adapting distance measures over vectorial data, it is a well-known fact that many real-world data could not be easily represented as fixed length tuples of constants. In this paper we address this limitation and propose a novel class of distance learning techniques for learning problems in which instances are set of vectors, examples of such problems include, among others, automatic image annotation and graph classification. We investigate the behavior of the adaptive set distances on a number of artificial and real-world problems and demonstrate that they improve over the standard set distances.