Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Apolipoprotein CIII and diabetes. Is there a link?

Apolipoprotein CIII (ApoCIII), a small protein that resides on the surface of lipoprotein particles, is a key regulator of triglyceride metabolism. The inhibition of lipoprotein lipase (LPL), the increased assembly and secretion of very low‐density lipoproteins (VLDL) and the decreased reuptake of triglyceride‐rich lipoproteins (TRLs) by the liver are mechanisms associating elevated serum ApoCIII levels and hypertriglyceridemia. ApoCIII concentration is high in individuals with diabetes mellitus, indicating a possible positive correlation with impairment of glucose metabolism. The aim of this review (based on a Pubmed search until August 2018) is to present the possible mechanisms linking ApoCIII and deterioration of carbohydrate homeostasis. ApoCIII enhances pancreatic β‐cells apoptosis via an increase of the cytoplasmic Ca2+ levels in the insulin‐producing cells. In addition, overexpression of ApoCIII enhances non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease and exacerbates inflammatory pathways in skeletal muscles, affecting insulin signalling and thereby inducing insulin resistance. Moreover, recent studies reveal a possible mechanism of body weight increase and glucose production through a potential ApoCIII‐induced LPL inhibition in the hypothalamus. Also, the presence of ApoCIII on the surface of high‐density lipoprotein particles is associated with impairment of their antiglycemic and atheroprotective properties. Modulating ApoCIII may be a potent therapeutic approach to manage hypertriglyceridemia and improve carbohydrate metabolism.
Fibrosis Microstructure Modulates Reentry in Non-ischemic Dilated Cardiomyopathy: Insights From Imaged Guided 2D Computational Modeling

Aims: Patients who present with non-ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy (NIDCM) and enhancement on late gadolinium magnetic resonance imaging (LGE-CMR), are at high risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD). Further risk stratification of these patients based on LGE-CMR may be improved through better understanding of fibrosis microstructure. Our aim is to examine variations in fibrosis microstructure based on LGE imaging, and quantify the effect on reentry inducibility and mechanism. Furthermore, we examine the relationship between transmural activation time differences and reentry. Methods and Results: 2D Computational models were created from a single short axis LGE-CMR image, with 401 variations in fibrosis type (interstitial, replacement) and density, as well as presence or absence of reduced conductivity (RC). Transmural activation times (TAT) were measured, as well as reentry incidence and mechanism. Reentries were inducible above specific density thresholds (0.8, 0.6 for interstitial, replacement fibrosis). RC reduced these thresholds (0.3, 0.4 for interstitial, replacement fibrosis) and increased reentry incidence (48 no RC vs. 133 with RC). Reentries were classified as rotor, micro-reentry, or macro-reentry and depended on fibrosis micro-structure. Differences in TAT at coupling intervals 210 and 500ms predicted reentry in the models (sensitivity 89%, specificity 93%). A sensitivity analysis of TAT and reentry incidence showed that these quantities were robust to small changes in the pacing location. Conclusion: Computational models of fibrosis micro-structure underlying areas of LGE in NIDCM provide insight into the mechanisms and inducibility of reentry, and their dependence upon the type and density of fibrosis. Transmural activation times, measured at the central extent of the scar, can potentially differentiate microstructures which support reentry.
Stability Analysis of Systems with Time-Varying Delays Using Bessel-Legendre Inequalities

This paper focuses on the problem of delay-dependent stability of linear systems with time-varying delays. Firstly, a new free-matrix-based inequality is proposed, which is an improved version of Bessel-Legendre inequality. This inequality is applicable to time-varying-delay systems. It overcome the drawback the resulting bounds inevitably include the reciprocal convexity when employing the Bessel-Legendre inequality to deal with time-varying-delay systems. Based on the novel inequality proposed and by constructing an appropriate Lyapunov- Krasovskii functional (LKF), improved stability criteria are presented in a sets of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). Numerical examples suggest that the results outperform the state of the art in the literature.
An Aging-Aware GPU Register File Design Based on Data Redundancy

Nowadays, GPUs sit at the forefront of high-performance computing thanks to their massive computational capabilities. Internally, thousands of functional units, architected to be fed by large register files, fuel such a performance. At deep nanometer technologies, the SRAM memory cells that implement GPU register files are very sensitive to the Negative Bias Temperature Instability (NBTI) effect. NBTI ages cell transistors by degrading their threshold voltage <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$V_{th}$</tex-math><alternatives> <inline-graphic xlink:href="valero-ieq1-2849376.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula> over the lifetime of the GPU. This degradation, which manifests when a cell keeps the same logic value for a relatively long period of time, compromises the cell read stability and increases the transistor switching delay, which can lead to wrong read values and eventually exceed the processor cycle time, respectively, so resulting in faulty operation. This work proposes architectural mechanisms leveraging the redundancy of the data stored in GPU register files to attack NBTI aging. The proposed mechanisms are based on data compression, power gating, and register address rotation techniques. All these mechanisms working together balance the distribution of logic values stored in the cells along the execution time, reducing both the overall <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$V_{th}$</tex-math><alternatives> <inline-graphic xlink:href="valero-ieq2-2849376.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula> degradation and the increase in the transistor switching delays. Experimental results show that a conventional GPU register file suffers the worst case for NBTI, since a significant fraction of the cells maintain the same logic value during the entire application execution (i.e., a 100 percent ‘0’ and ‘1’ duty cycle distributions). On average, the proposal reduces these distributions by 58 and 68 percent, respectively, which translates into <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$V_{th}$</tex-math><alternatives><inline-graphic xlink:href="valero-ieq3-2849376.gif"/> </alternatives></inline-formula> degradation savings by 54 and 62 percent, respectively.
Association of PD-1 gene with outcome of hepatitis C virus infection

Primary hepatitis C virus infection might be spontaneously cleared or become chronic. Polymorphisms in immune regulatory genes might influence the outcome. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of genotypes and alleles of PD-1.3 and PD-1.5 gene loci in HCV infected patients and their association with the disease outcome. In this study 167 patients with chronic hepatic C and 42 individuals whose infection was spontaneously cleared, and a healthy control group comprising of 300 participants were included. The presence of chronic or spontaneously cleared infection amongst the participants was determined in advance by serologic and molecular methods. Genomic DNA was extracted using salting out method. PD-1 gene polymorphisms assay was performed using PCR-RFLP method. The frequency of alleles of PD-1.3 gene locus was significantly higher in the spontaneously cleared HCV infected group (P = 0.03) as well as the healthy control group (P = 0.04) in comparison to the chronic infected participants. In the case of PD-1.5 locus, there was no association between the frequency of inherited genotype or alleles and HCV infection outcome amongst the three groups. Haplotype analysis showed no statistically significant differences in the frequencies of different haplotypes between the three studied groups. Our finding collectively inferred that individuals with A allele at PD-1.3 locus might clear HCV infection more frequently than those with T allele. Instead, polymorphisms at PD-1.5 locus as well as haplotypes emerged from PD-1.3 G/A and PD-1.5 C/T might not be significant in the HCV infection outcome.
A Review of Factors Influencing Customer Acceptance of Internet of Things Services

Current studies in the field of Internet of Things (IoT) focus on the technical aspects such as programing, hardware, and software. However, studies from the behavioral aspects of the IoT are still in their infancy. In this article, the authors review and analyze theories and models from the literature and subsequently identify factors that influence customers' acceptance and use of the IoT services. Theories such as technology acceptance model (TAM) and unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) as well as number of existing models have investigated the IoT or similar technologies. Using these models and technologies, this article presents the development of a generic model which can be utilized in different domains and regions to study customer acceptance of the IoT services.
Onset Classification in Hemodynamic Signals Measured During Three Working Memory Tasks Using Wireless Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy

Wireless wearable functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) has attracted growing attention as a candidate for real-life brain monitoring systems. It is important to determine the onsets at which neuronal activation is evoked by cognitive status in real-time analysis. We propose a machine learning approach for the classification of cognitive event onsets (CogEOs) in hemodynamic signals during three cognitive tasks. The approach does not require a threshold to be set or additional measurement for the rest state. A support vector machine is trained by labeled features obtained from the mean amplitude of hemodynamic changes and then predicts the type of onset points. The problems caused by the imbalance between CogEOs and non-event onsets (NonEO) are solved by oversampling the feature samples labeled by cognitive events. By oversampling, the classification accuracy from an average of five classification scores reaches 74%, 77%, and 75% for the simple arithmetic, 1-back, and 2-back tasks. We achieve the best onset classification performance when the NonEOs are randomly distributed and when the subject is performing the 1-back task. Our study extends fNIRS to real-life applications by detecting the time point when brain activation starts among random observations using machine learning without additional triggers or threshold.
More than the sum of its parts: Cumulative risk effects on school functioning in middle childhood.

BACKGROUND Risk factors for poor school functioning rarely occur in isolation, but instead are likely to cluster together. As they accumulate, cumulative risk theory (CRT) predicts that the likelihood of negative outcomes increases, often disproportionately. AIMS We build upon and extend previous research by (i) examining two critical aspects of school functioning (reading attainment and behavioural difficulties); (ii) utilizing a large number of candidate risk factors across multiple ecological domains; (iii) testing the two core assumptions of CRT; and (iv) formally examining the functional form of the risk-outcome relationships. SAMPLE Participants were N = 3084 children aged 6-7 attending 77 mainstream primary schools in England. METHODS Sixteen candidate risk factors (e.g., familial poverty) were modelled using data from the National Pupil Database. Reading attainment and behavioural difficulties data were generated via teachers' reading assessment scores and the Teacher Observation of Children's Adaptation Checklist (disruptive behaviour subscale), respectively. A cumulative risk score was generated for each pupil. Multilevel modelling was utilized for analysis. RESULTS Six risk factors were identified for behaviour and seven for reading attainment. A cumulative risk effect was found for both outcomes, and the two core assumptions of CRT were supported. Quadratic relationships were found for both aspects of school functioning, indicative of a threshold effect. CONCLUSIONS As the number of risk factors increases, difficulties in school functioning increase disproportionately. Consistent with CRT, our results suggest that the number of risks is more important than their nature. This has implications for future risk research and the implementation of school-based interventions.
Relationship between the fatty acid profile of hair and energy availability of lactating primiparous cows

Abstract We hypothesised that a relationship would exist between hair fatty acids, especially C12:0, C14:0 and C16:0, and parameters of energy metabolism such as energy intake, energy mobilisation, and energy requirement for maintenance and milk performance. For this study, 11 primiparous German Holstein cows were available from which hair samples at weeks 6 and 8 of lactation were analysed. The average body weight of these animals was 558 ± 27 kg at calving and milk yield at 100-days in milk was 3,537 ± 529 kg. Feed intake and milk yield were measured daily. Body weight and back fat thickness were measured at calving and in weeks 2, 4, and 8 of lactation. Energy balance and energy utilisation were calculated until week 6 of lactation. Spearman's correlation coefficients were found to be significantly positive for the relationship between the percentage of C12:0 and C14:0 fatty acids in the hair in lactation week 8 and energy intake in weeks 5 and 6 (0.62 < r < 0.65, P < 0.05). If the animals are grouped according to their energy utilisation between weeks 1 and 6 into two groups higher (n = 6) or lower (n = 5) than the median, animals of the high energy utilising group had a higher energy intake. These animals had also higher percentages of the C12:0 fatty acid in their hair fat (week 6: 4.9% vs. 3.1%, P < 0.05; week 8: 4.3% vs. 2.9%, P = 0.05). Our hypothesis is supported, and this study justifies further investigation of the content of medium-chain fatty acids in hair samples as biomarkers for the metabolic status of a cow during early lactation.
Effects of active and passive smoking on salivary cytokines levels in rats: A pilot study

Cigarette smoking is an established risk factor for some oral diseases. As an essential fluid in the oral cavity, saliva is crucial to maintain oral health. Relative to active smoking, there are very few studies assessing the effect of passive smoking on salivary cytokines levels. In the present study, we established the rat models by the means of the intraoral cigarette smoking or whole body cigarette smoke exposure to simulate human active or passive smoking, respectively. The effects of active or passive smoking on salivary cytokines levels were assessed by using ProcartaPlex multiplex immunoassays. The results of the current study indicated that both active and passive smoking diminished the body weights of rats and increased the levels of some blood counts. Intriguingly, active smoking enhanced the salivary levels of IL-6 and IL-12 p70 and passive smoking elevated the salivary IL-6 level. Moreover, active smoking appeared to have a more prominent activation effect on the salivary IL-6 level. It was noted that active or passive smoking had no significant effect on the salivary IFN-γ level. Active or passive smoking could have potential effects on the salivary levels of some pro-inflammatory cytokines.
Study on the Relationship of Guanxi, Knowledge Sharing and Innovation Behavior

Based on the Resource-Based View theory, this paper explore the relationship of Guanxi, knowledge sharing, and innovation behavior, and knowledge sharing, is divided into explicit knowledge sharing and tacit knowledge sharing, as mediated variables, then the mediator role of knowledge sharing is inspected in the relationship of Guanxi and innovation behavior. Results show that Guanxi has significant positive impact on explicit knowledge sharing and tacit knowledge sharing, and explicit knowledge sharing and tacit knowledge sharing are all positive impact on innovation behavior. Results further indicate that explicit knowledge sharing and tacit knowledge sharing play partial intermediary role in the relationship between Guanxi and innovation behavior.
Hierarchical Edge Computing

The computing paradigm based on the giant like DC is replaced by a new paradigm. The urgency of this shift is caused by the requirements of new applications that actively use video, real-time interactivity, new mobile communication technologies, which today cannot be implemented without the usage of cloud computing and virtualization based on SDN&NFV technologies. The paper considers the requirements dictated by these applications, outlines the architecture of this new paradigm which we call Hierarchical Edge Computing (HEC). Attention is focused on the fact that all these applications are distributed, more and more became real-time applications and require guaranteed quality of service in the networking operation. The main scientific problems that need to be solved for implementing this new paradigm are discussed.
Sheep With the Homozygous Lysine-171 Prion Protein Genotype Are Resistant to Classical Scrapie After Experimental Oronasal Inoculation

Scrapie is a fatal neurodegenerative disease of sheep resulting from the accumulation of a misfolded form of the prion protein (PrPSc). Polymorphisms in the host prion protein gene (PRNP) can affect susceptibility to the scrapie agent. Lysine (K) at codon 171 of PRNP is an inadequately characterized, naturally occurring polymorphism in sheep. We inoculated Barbado sheep with PRNP genotypes QQ171, QK171, or KK171 by either the intracranial (IC, n = 2–7 per genotype) or oronasal (ON, n = 5 per genotype) routes with a scrapie isolate to investigate the effect of lysine at codon 171 on susceptibility. When neurologic signs were observed or at the end of the experiment (70 months postinoculation [MPI]), sheep were necropsied and tissue collected for histopathologic, immunohistochemical, enzyme immunoassay and Western blot examination for PrPSc. All genotypes of sheep developed scrapie after IC inoculation. After ON inoculation, sheep with the QK171 genotype had prolonged incubation periods compared to the QQ genotype. During the experiment, 2 of 5 of the ON-inoculated QK genotype sheep developed neurologic signs and had PrPSc in the brain. The other 3 of 5 sheep were asymptomatic at 70 MPI but had detectable PrPSc in peripheral tissues. None of the ON-inoculated sheep of the KK171 genotype developed signs or had detectable PrPSc. Our experiments demonstrate that sheep with the KK171 genotype are resistant to scrapie via oronasal exposure and that sheep with the QK171 genotype have prolonged incubation relative to QQ171 sheep. The K171 prion protein allele may be useful to enhance scrapie resistance in certain breeds of sheep.
Multiobjective Optimization for Demand Response Services from a Battery Storage System

This research analyzes an energy management system installed at an industrial production plant that coordinates a battery storage system in combination with a photovoltaic system for the day-ahead operation. The research quantifies the effect of single objective compared to multiobjective optimization for this photovoltaic-battery storage system using the lexicographic method and real electrical price and electrical demand data from a pilot site installation. The optimization results show a benefit in several metrics for combining multiple grid services using the lexicographic method, but prove the significance of the ranking of the multiple objectives. This ranking has to be done by the decision maker.
Antiviral and Antioxidant Properties of Echinochrome A

The aim of this study was to examine the in vitro antioxidant and antiviral activities of echinochrome A and echinochrome-based antioxidant composition against tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) and herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1). The antioxidant composition, which is a mixture of echinochrome A, ascorbic acid, and α-tocopherol (5:5:1), showed higher antioxidant and antiviral effects than echinochrome A. We suppose that echinochrome A and its composition can both directly affect virus particles and indirectly enhance antioxidant defense mechanisms in the hosting cell. The obtained results allow considering the echinochrome A and the composition of antioxidants on its basis as the promising agents with the both antioxidant and antiviral activities.
HIV-1 RNA Detected in the CNS after Years of Suppressive Antiretroviral Therapy Can Originate from a Replicating CNS Reservoir or Clonally Expanded Cells.

Background HIV-1 populations are detected in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of some people on suppressive antiretroviral therapy (ART). Detailed analysis of these populations may reveal whether they are produced by central nervous system (CNS) reservoirs. Methods We performed a study of 101 asymptomatic participants on stable ART. HIV-1 RNA concentrations were cross-sectionally measured in CSF and plasma. In participants with CSF HIV-1 RNA concentrations sufficiently high to permit analysis, viral populations were genetically and phenotypically characterized over multiple time points. Results For 6% of participants (6 of 101), the concentration of HIV-1 RNA in their CSF was ≥ 0.5 log copies/mL above that of plasma (i.e. CSF escape). We generated viral envelope sequences from CSF of three participants. One had a persistent CSF escape population that was macrophage-tropic, partially drug resistant, genetically diverse and closely related to a minor macrophage-tropic viral lineage present in the blood prior to viral suppression and enriched for after ART. Two participants (one suppressed and one not) had transient CSF escape populations that were R5 T cell-tropic with little genetic diversity. Conclusions Extensive analysis of viral populations in one participant revealed that CSF escape was from a persistently replicating population, likely in macrophages/microglia, present in the CNS over 3 years of ART. CSF escape in two other participants was likely produced by trafficking and transient expansion of infected T cells in the CNS. Our results show that CNS reservoirs can persist during ART, but that CSF escape is not exclusively produced by a replicating CNS reservoir.
A New Cyclic Gradient Method Adapted to Large-Scale Linear Systems

This paper proposes a new gradient method to solve the large-scale problems. Theoretical analysis shows that the new method has finite termination property for two dimensions and converges R-linearly for any dimensions. Experimental results illustrate first the issue of parallel implementation. Then, the solution of a large-scale problem shows that the new method is better than the others, even competitive with the conjugate gradient method.