Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Estimation of energy and nutritional intake of young men practicing aerobic sports.

BACKGROUND Keeping to a balanced diet plays a key role in maximizing the body's efficiency so that sports training becomes more effective. Previous studies have shown that an athletes' diet is often not properly balanced, and can thus negatively affect sporting performance. OBJECTIVES To assess the energy and nutrient intake in young men practicing aerobic sport and compare them with those recommended. MATERIAL AND METHODS Subjects were 25 male athletes, aged 19-25 years, practicing aerobic sports who were students at two Warsaw Universities; The Military University of Technology and University of Physical Education. The average body mass was 80.6 +/- 9.6 kg and average height was 187.0 +/- 7.6 cm, (BMI thus being 23.01 +/- 1.70 kg/m2). Dietary assessment was based on three-day dietary recalls consisting of two weekdays and one day of the weekend. The energy and macro/ micro-nutrient intake were evaluated using the Polish Software 'Energia' package and compared to recommendations and standards. Supplements were absent from the athletes' diets. RESULTS The energy value of diets were too low in most instances; average %-age deficiency was 30.22 +/- 13.76%. Total protein intake, (mean 1.41 +/- 0.36 g per kg body weight) was inadequate in 40% of cases, whilst all showed appropriate intakes of animal protein. Most subjects' carbohydrate intake (84%) was deficient; median 3.28 g/kg body weight. Fibre intake, (median 17.17 g) was also insufficient in 76% cases. Total fat intake, (33.9% +/- 5.7 energy) was too high in 32% of cases. The %-age dietary energy obtained from saturated fatty acids was 12.18% +/- 2.53 and 5.72% +/- 1.43 from polyunsaturated fatty acids, where most subjects' diet (64%) was, as well, high in cholesterol. Furthermore, significant deficiencies were observed in the following: Vitamin A (44% of group below EAR), vitamin C (80% below EAR), vitamin D (92% below EAR), foliate (84% below EAR), calcium (52% below EAR) and magnesium (60% below EAR). Vitamin E intake was however higher than the AI level. Almost all subjects had adequate intakes of vitamins B1, B2, B6, B12, niacin and zinc. CONCLUSIONS The energy value of diet and carbohydrate intake were inadequate to the athletes' requirements. Dietary deficiencies of folate, vitamins C and D, magnesium, calcium and potassium were also observed. There is therefore a need for sports nutrition counselling and education which would help athletes improve their eating habits and health, as well as for optimising their sports training performance.
The performance effect of intellectual capital in the Russian context

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present a comparative analysis of the contribution made by intellectual capital (IC) to company performance at company and industry levels in the Russian context. It examines the performance effect of IC using a multilevel approach. Design/methodology/approach The study combines the resource- and industry-based view. It decomposes performance determinants into two levels of analysis in such a way that it is assumed that IC at industry and company levels has a significant simultaneous impact on company performance. The empirical part of the study uses a database of 1,096 Russian public companies, covering the period of 2004–2014 and divided into 19 industries. The econometric methodology uses hierarchical linear models to estimate the effect of IC in the different levels of analysis. Findings The study confirms that the strength of the performance effect of IC is contingent on the industry. Furthermore, the study reveals that industry-level endowment with regard to intangibles contributes more to company performance in comparison with a company-level endowment, in the context of the transitional economy. Originality/value The study proposes a novel methodological approach to the performance effect of IC in the Russian context, studying the differences between industry and company effect. The study provides insights to better understand the importance of the politics of IC at the different levels (industry and company) and presents a new empirical enquiry into strategic behaviour regarding IC in Russia.
An app to enhance resident education in otolaryngology

Technological change is leading to an evolution in medical education. The objective of our study was to assess the impact of a medical knowledge app, called PulseQD, on resident education within our otolaryngology–head and neck surgery department at Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine (Bronx, NY).
Synergistic action of nikkomycins X and Z with papulacandin B on whole cells and regenerating protoplasts of Candida albicans

Combinations of nikkomycin X (NX) or nikkomycin Z (NZ), known inhibitors of chitin synthesis in fungi, together with papulacandin B (PB), an inhibitor of beta-glucan synthesis, were tested for synergistic activity against four isolates of Candida albicans by using the broth microdilution checkerboard technique and a method to assess the regeneration of cell wall material in protoplasts. The construction of isobolograms from the data generated by the checkerboard determinations revealed a synergistic effect for the two classes of compounds against all strains. The combination of NX and PB was more effective than the combination of NZ and PB, perhaps reflecting the lower Ki value of NX. While the presence of NX and NZ reduced chitin synthesis, as determined by staining with calcofluor white and assaying with a microfluorimeter, cells treated with PB demonstrated an increased synthesis of chitin. Protoplast regeneration experiments using similar concentrations of the two classes of compounds resulted in comparable findings. The combination of NX and PB resulted in a greater inhibition of chitin synthesis than did equivalent combinations of NZ and PB. These data suggest that combinations of agents active against cell wall synthesis in fungi may prove more useful as chemotherapeutic agents than such compounds used singly.
Comparative proteomic analyses reveal that the regulators of G‐protein signaling proteins regulate amino acid metabolism of the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae

The rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae encodes eight regulators of G‐protein (GTP‐binding protein) signaling (RGS) proteins MoRgs1–MoRgs8 that orchestrate the growth, asexual/sexual production, appressorium differentiation, and pathogenicity. To address the mechanisms by which MoRgs proteins function, we conducted a 2DE proteome study and identified 82 differentially expressed proteins by comparing five ∆Morgs mutants with wild‐type Guy11 strain. We found that the abundances of eight amino acid (AA) biosynthesis or degradation associated proteins were markedly altered in five ∆Morgs mutants, indicating one of the main collective roles for the MoRgs proteins is to influence AA metabolism. We showed that MoRgs proteins have distinct roles in AA metabolism and nutrient responses from growth assays. In addition, we characterized MoLys20 (Lys is lysine), a homocitrate synthase, whose abundance was significantly decreased in the ∆Morgs mutants. The ∆Molys20 mutant is auxotrophic for lys and exogenous lys could partially rescue its auxotrophic defects. Deletion of MoLYS20 resulted in defects in conidiation and infection, as well as pathogenicity on rice. Overall, our results indicate that one of the critical roles for MoRgs proteins is to regulate AA metabolism, and that MoLys20 may be directly or indirectly regulated by MoRgs and participated in lys biosynthesis, thereby affecting fungal development and pathogenicity.
Tumor Vasculature Is Regulated by FGF/FGFR Signaling‐Mediated Angiogenesis and Bone Marrow‐Derived Cell Recruitment: This Mechanism Is Inhibited by SSR128129E, the First Allosteric Antagonist of FGFRs

Tumor angiogenesis is accompanied by vasculogenesis, which is involved in the differentiation and mobilization of human bone marrow cells. In order to further characterize the role of vasculogenesis in the tumor growth process, the effects of FGF2 on the differentiation of human bone marrow AC133+ cells (BM‐AC133+) into vascular precursors were studied in vitro. FGF2, like VEGFA, induced progenitor cell differentiation into cell types with endothelial cell characteristics. SSR128129E, a newly discovered specific FGFR antagonist acting by allosteric interaction with FGFR, abrogated FGF2‐induced endothelial cell differentiation, showing that FGFR signaling is essential during this process. To assess the involvement of the FGF/FRGR signaling in vivo, the pre‐clinical model of Lewis lung carcinoma (LL2) in mice was used. Subcutaneous injection of LL2 cells into mice induced an increase of circulating EPCs from peripheral blood associated with tumor growth and an increase of intra‐tumoral vascular index. Treatment with the FGFR antagonist SSR128129E strongly decreased LL2 tumor growth as well as the intra‐tumoral vascular index (41% and 50% decrease vs. vehicle‐treated mice respectively, P < 0.01). Interestingly, SSR128129E treatment significantly decreased the number of circulating EPCs from the peripheral blood (53% inhibition vs. vehicle‐treated mice, P < 0.01). These results demonstrate for the first time that the blockade of the FGF/FGFR pathway by SSR128129E reduces EPC recruitment during angiogenesis‐dependent tumor growth. In this context, circulating EPCs could be a reliable surrogate marker for tumor growth and angiogenic activity. J. Cell. Physiol. 230: 43–51, 2015. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Dietary Calcium Consumption and Astrocytic Glioma: The San Francisco Bay Area Adult Glioma Study, 1991-1995

Previous studies suggest an association between calcium consumption and glioma risk. In the present study, we compare consumption of calcium and other dairy components and foods (cholesterol, fat, protein, calories, milk, and cheese) of 337 astrocytic glioma case patients with 450 controls from the San Francisco Bay Area Adult Glioma Study, 1991-1995. We use unconditional logistic regression models to estimate odds ratios (ORs) by gender controlling for age, education, and income. A statistically significant inverse association [p (trend) = 0.05] was observed for dietary calcium intake for women only [OR = 0.49, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.24-1.03 for highest vs. lowest quartile of consumption]. In addition, we observed elevated ORs for highest vs. lowest quartiles of cholesterol intake among women and men (OR = 2.07, 95% CI = 1.00-4.28 and OR = 1.75, 95% CI = 0.92-3.31, respectively). Calcium may exert a protective effect through its known roles in apoptosis, DNA repair, and inhibition of parathyroid hormone production. Recent evidence suggests that parathyroid hormone may influence growth and dedifferentiation of astrocytoma cells. Finally, circulating estradiol might directly stimulate intestinal absorption of calcium and may therefore explain why the inverse association of calcium intake and glioma is confined to women.
Constructing and Characterizing Covert Channels on GPGPUs

General Purpose Graphics Processing Units (GPGPUs) are present in most modern computing platforms. They are also increasingly integrated as a computational resource on clusters, data centers, and cloud infrastructure, making them possible targets for attacks. We present a first study of covert channel attacks on GPGPUs. GPGPU attacks offer a number of attractive properties relative to CPU covert channels. These channels also have characteristics different from their counterparts on CPUs. To enable the attack, we first reverse engineer the hardware block scheduler as well as the warp to warp scheduler to characterize how co-location is established. We exploit this information to manipulate the scheduling algorithms to create co-residency between the trojan and the spy. We study contention on different resources including caches, functional units and memory, and construct operational covert channels on all these resources. We also investigate approaches to increase the bandwidth of the channel including: (1) using synchronization to reduce the communication cycle and increase robustness of the channel; (2) exploiting the available parallelism on the GPU to increase the bandwidth; and (3) exploiting the scheduling algorithms to create exclusive co-location to prevent interference from other possible applications. We demonstrate operational versions of all channels on three different Nvidia GPGPUs, obtaining error-free bandwidth of over 4 Mbps, making it the fastest known microarchitectural covert channel under realistic conditions. CCS CONCEPTS • Security and privacy → Security in hardware; Hardware attacks and countermeasures; Hardware reverse engineering; • Computer systems organization → Single instruction, multiple data;
Surgical Results, Aesthetic Outcome, and Patient Satisfaction after Microsurgical Autologous Breast Reconstruction following Failed Implant Reconstruction

Background: The majority of breast reconstructions are performed using implant material. Implants have some major long-term disadvantages. Long-term implant-related complications and improved microsurgical techniques have led to an increased number of women requesting conversion of their implant breast reconstruction to autologous breast reconstruction. The aim of this study was to evaluate surgical and aesthetic outcome and patient satisfaction after tertiary autologous breast reconstruction. Methods: Between 2001 and 2007, 42 women underwent 61 tertiary autologous breast reconstructions. Surgical outcome and complications were evaluated. Patient satisfaction was assessed using a study-specific questionnaire. Aesthetic result was rated by an expert panel using standardized photographs. Results: Forty-seven deep inferior epigastric artery perforator, 10 mini–transverse rectus abdominis musculocutaneous, and four transverse musculocutaneous gracilis flaps were performed. Eight patients required reoperation because of complications (19 percent). Total flap loss did not occur. Nineteen patients underwent one or more additional operations to improve aesthetic outcome. Physical discomfort caused by implants and dissatisfaction with the aesthetic result were the main patient motivations to opt for autologous breast reconstruction. Reduction or disappearance of physical discomfort was noted in the vast majority of patients. Most patients were very satisfied with the aesthetic result (mean, 8 of 10), but the mean panel satisfaction score was lower (7 of 10). However, the panel noted a significant improvement of the aesthetic result after conversion to autologous breast reconstruction (from 5 of 10 to 7 of 10). Conclusion: Autologous breast reconstruction after failed implant reconstruction is a technically feasible and reliable procedure that leads to improved physical condition and aesthetic results and a high degree of patient satisfaction.
Behavioral momentum of cocaine self-administration: effects of frequency of reinforcement on resistance to extinction

Persistent drug seeking is a defining property of substance abuse and is generally thought to depend, in part, on exposure to drug-associated contexts. Behavioral momentum theory provides a set of methods and a theoretical framework for understanding how stimulus contexts contribute to the persistence of operant behavior. Earlier research has extended behavioral momentum theory to alcohol self-administration, but not to intravenous drug self-administration. This experiment extended behavioral momentum theory to cocaine self-administration by examining the effects of frequency of cocaine reinforcement in a context on resistance to extinction. Rats self-administered 0.32 mg/kg infusions of cocaine in a multiple schedule of reinforcement arranging two distinct contexts. Responding in a Rich context was reinforced by cocaine infusions at a higher frequency (i.e. variable interval 120 s) and in a Lean context at a lower frequency (variable interval 360 s). After establishment of responding in the two contexts, resistance to extinction was examined. Preextinction response rates for cocaine were similar in the Rich and Lean contexts. Nonetheless, relative resistance to extinction was greater in the Rich context than in the Lean context. The difference in resistance to extinction in the two contexts was well described by a quantitative model of behavioral momentum. These results suggest that the frequency of drug reinforcement in a context contributes to the persistence of drug seeking in that context, and that behavioral momentum theory might be useful for understanding how drug-associated contexts contribute to the persistence of drug seeking.
AT1-receptor blockade, but not renin inhibition, reduces aneurysm growth and cardiac failure in fibulin-4 mice

Aims: Increasing evidence supports a role for the angiotensin II-AT1-receptor axis in aneurysm development. Here, we studied whether counteracting this axis via stimulation of AT2 receptors is beneficial. Such stimulation occurs naturally during AT1-receptor blockade with losartan, but not during renin inhibition with aliskiren. Methods and results: Aneurysmal homozygous fibulin-4R/R mice, displaying a four-fold reduced fibulin-4 expression, were treated with placebo, losartan, aliskiren, or the &bgr;-blocker propranolol from day 35 to 100. Their phenotype includes cystic media degeneration, aortic regurgitation, left ventricular dilation, reduced ejection fraction, and fractional shortening. Although losartan and aliskiren reduced hemodynamic stress and increased renin similarly, only losartan increased survival. Propranolol had no effect. No drug rescued elastic fiber fragmentation in established aneurysms, although losartan did reduce aneurysm size. Losartan also increased ejection fraction, decreased LV diameter, and reduced cardiac pSmad2 signaling. None of these effects were seen with aliskiren or propranolol. Longitudinal micro-CT measurements, a novel method in which each mouse serves as its own control, revealed that losartan reduced LV growth more than aneurysm growth, presumably because the heart profits both from the local (cardiac) effects of losartan and its effects on aortic root remodeling. Conclusion: Losartan, but not aliskiren or propranolol, improved survival in fibulin-4R/R mice. This most likely relates to its capacity to improve structure and function of both aorta and heart. The absence of this effect during aliskiren treatment, despite a similar degree of blood pressure reduction and renin–angiotensin system blockade, suggests that it might be because of AT2-receptor stimulation.
Size and sign asymmetries in house price adjustments

ABSTRACT Long-run mean-reversion in real house prices is determined by the relative strength of fundamental factors against the short-run influences. This article suggests that the adjustment towards the long-run trend in house prices could display non-linear behaviour due to some intrinsic characteristics of the housing market. Accordingly, sign and size asymmetries as well as possible structural breaks are taken into account in a unit root testing exercise for twenty-nine countries. Our results suggest that mean-reversion exists for seventy percent of the countries in our sample. Moreover, the out-of-sample forecasting performance of our non-linear models in predicting house prices is better than a simple auto-regressive benchmark for some countries.
Aldosterone synthase gene (CYP11B2) promoter polymorphism as a risk factor for ischaemic stroke in Tunisian Arabs

Introduction. We investigated the contribution of aldosterone synthase CYP11B2 polymorphism (C—344T) to the age-related changes in blood pressure in stroke patients. Subjects and methods. Study subjects comprised 329 stroke patients (121 normotensive, 208 hypertensive) and 444 healthy controls. Genotyping was done by PCR-RFLP, and the contribution of CYP11B2 polymorphism to the risk of stroke was analysed by regression analysis. Results. The T allele, and CT, TT, and CT + TT genotypes, independently of sex and age, were significantly associated with increased stroke risk. Varied distributions of CYP11B2 genotypes were noted among patients with respect to gender, age and hypertension status, being pronounced in hypertensive patients. Both systolic and diastolic blood pressure were positively correlated with the presence of T allele. Mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure were significantly higher among young (< 60 years) CT and TT genotype carriers. Regression analysis confirmed the positive association of CT and TT genotypes and systolic blood pressure, and the negative association of diastolic blood pressure with odds of stroke development. Taking normotensive patients as reference, regression analysis identified TT genotype, age and female gender to be independently associated with increased odds of stroke. Conclusion. Compared to CC genotype, CT and TT CYP11B2 genotypes are independently associated with increased stroke index.
Premature ejaculation: prevalence and associated conditions in a sample of 12,558 men attending the andrology prevention week 2001--a study of the Italian Society of Andrology (SIA).

INTRODUCTION Premature ejaculation (PE) is the most frequent sexual complaint. AIM To investigate prevalence of PE and its associated conditions. METHODS We analyzed information gathered from men attending a free andrologic consultation in 186 Italian medical centers, in the setting of a project focused on andrologic prevention. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Risk factors for PE. RESULTS Five hundred sixty-nine men suffered from lifelong PE; 1,855 had previously normal ejaculation; and 234 had PE not specified. Men with PE were younger than those without, but after adjusting for concomitant erectile dysfunction the risk of PE significantly decreased with aging. Men more educated, or who had experienced a divorce had a slightly increased risk. Also, lifestyle and occupational status affected the risk of PE. Concerning medical history, a decreased risk of PE emerged in men with treated diabetes, and no association was found with hypertension, cardiopathy, hypercholesterolemia, and peripheral or central neuropathy. CONCLUSIONS The results of the analysis of a large dataset show that subjects with PE who are seeking treatment either have experienced stress-related problems or have a physical condition predisposing to this dysfunction (genital anomalies, prostate inflammation).