Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Thorough characterization and stability of HP-β-cyclodextrin thymol inclusion complexes prepared by microwave technology: A required approach to a successful application in food industry.

BACKGROUND The aims of the present study were to obtain a stable dry powder formulation of cyclodextrins (CDs) encapsulating thymol, for successful use as an ingredient on an industrial scale, and to characterize the thymol-CDs complexes using different techniques. RESULTS Thymol was successfully solubilized in aqueous solutions and the Kc value increased with the pH of the media until the pH was neutral, giving the highest values (2583 ± 176 L mol-1 ) for HP-β-cyclodextrins (HP-β-CDs). The best encapsulation efficiency of thymol in solid complexes was obtained using the microwave (MWI) encapsulation method. The different characterization techniques have demonstrated the affinity of HP-β-CDs for thymol molecules, forming stable complexes. CONCLUSIONS The results support the use of the MWI method in the preparation of solid HP-β-CD-thymol complexes, due to greater encapsulation efficiency and technological and economic advantages for industrial applications. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.
Stimulation of murine cell-mediated immunity by dietary administration of a cell preparation of Enterococcus faecalis strain KH-2 and its possible activity against tumour development in mice

It is well known that dietary lactic acid bacteria (LAB) stimulate cell-mediated immunity such as natural killer (NK) activity in mice. Here, we aimed to assay the immunomodulatory effects of a cell preparation of Enterococcus faecalis strain KH-2 (CPEF). We further evaluated the possibility of antitumour activity caused by CPEF administration, because NK cells actively participate in the prevention of tumour formation. NK cell activity and gene expression of IFN-γ and Perforin 1, which were induced most likely by a synergetic action of their cytotoxic activity, were higher in splenocytes of CPEF-administered mice than they were in control mice. Moreover, unlike those of control mice, the splenocytes of CPEF-administered mice had significantly higher CD28+CD69+/CD4+ and CD28+CD69+/CD8+ ratios that resulted in a survival rate with a tendency toward improvement after 47 days of CPEF administration (p=0.1) in Meth-A fibrosarcoma-bearing mice. In conclusion, we showed that CPEF might be effective in treating Meth-A fibrosarcoma in mice, as it helped increase their survival rate via stimulation of an immune response in splenocytes, which involved systemic cellular immunity processes such as cytotoxic activity, and active T cells.
Plant odor and sex pheromone are integral elements of specific mate recognition in an insect herbivore

Specific mate recognition relies on the chemical senses in most animals, and especially in nocturnal insects. Two signal types mediate premating olfactory communication in terrestrial habitats: sex pheromones, which blend into an atmosphere of plant odorants. We show that host plant volatiles affect the perception of sex pheromone in males of the African cotton leafworm Spodoptera littoralis and that pheromone and plant volatiles are not perceived as independent messages. In clean air, S. littoralis males are attracted to single synthetic pheromone components or even the pheromone of a sibling species, oriental cotton leafworm S. litura. Presence of host plant volatiles, however, reduces the male response to deficient or heterospecific pheromone signals. That plant cues enhance discrimination of sex pheromone quality confirms the idea that specific mate recognition in noctuid moths has evolved in concert with adaptation to host plants. Shifts in either female host preference or sex pheromone biosynthesis give rise to new communication channels that have the potential to initiate or contribute to reproductive isolation.
The effect of exercise training on intrahepatic triglyceride and hepatic insulin sensitivity: a systematic review and meta‐analysis

This systematic review and meta‐analysis determined the impact of structured exercise training, and the influence of associated weight loss, on intrahepatic triglyceride (IHTG) in individuals with non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). It also examined its effect on hepatic insulin sensitivity in individuals with or at increased risk of NAFLD. Analyses were restricted to studies using magnetic resonance spectroscopy or liver biopsy for the measurement of IHTG and isotope‐labelled glucose tracer for assessment of hepatic insulin sensitivity. Pooling data from 17 studies (373 exercising participants), exercise training for one to 24 weeks (mode: 12 weeks) elicits an absolute reduction in IHTG of 3.31% (95% CI: −4.41 to −2.22%). Exercise reduces IHTG independent of significant weight change (−2.16 [−2.87 to −1.44]%), but benefits are substantially greater when weight loss occurs (−4.87 [−6.64 to −3.11]%). Furthermore, meta‐regression identified a positive association between percentage weight loss and absolute reduction in IHTG (β = 0.99 [0.62 to 1.36], P < 0.001). Pooling of six studies (94 participants) suggests that exercise training also improves basal hepatic insulin sensitivity (mean change in hepatic insulin sensitivity index: 0.13 [0.05 to 0.21] mg m−2 min−1 per μU mL−1), but available evidence is limited, and the impact of exercise on insulin‐stimulated hepatic insulin sensitivity remains unclear.
Finding Clues for Your Secrets: Semantics-Driven, Learning-Based Privacy Discovery in Mobile Apps

—A long-standing challenge in analyzing information leaks within mobile apps is to automatically identify the code operating on sensitive data. With all existing solutions relying on System APIs (e.g., IMEI, GPS location) or features of user interfaces (UI), the content from app servers, like user’s Facebook proﬁle, payment history, fall through the crack. Finding such content is important given the fact that most apps today are web applications, whose critical data are often on the server side. In the meantime, operations on the data within mobile apps are often hard to capture, since all server-side information is delivered to the app in the same way, sensitive or not. A unique observation of our research is that in modern apps, a program is essentially a semantics-rich documentation carrying meaningful program elements such as method names, variables and constants that reveal the sensitive data involved, even when the program is under moderate obfuscation. Leveraging this observation, we develop a novel semantics-driven solution for automatic discovery of sensitive user data, including those from the server side. Our approach utilizes natural language processing (NLP) to automatically locate the program elements (variables, methods, etc.) of interest, and then performs a learning-based program structure analysis to accurately identify those indeed carrying sensitive content. Using this new technique, we analyzed 445,668 popular apps, an unprecedented scale for this type of research. Our work brings to light the pervasiveness of information leaks, and the channels through which the leaks happen, including unintentional over-sharing across libraries and aggressive data acquisition behaviors. Further we found that many high-proﬁle apps and libraries are involved in such leaks. Our ﬁndings contribute to a better understanding of the privacy
Construction and evaluation of fibrillar composite hydrogel of collagen/konjac glucomannan for potential biomedical applications

Abstract Konjac glucomannan (KGM) is recognized as a safe material for its health-promoting benefits and thus widely used in various fields including pharmaceutical industry. In recent decades, the combination of collagen and KGM attracts more attentions for biomedical purpose, especially the hybrid films of collagen–KGM or collagen–KGM–polysaccharide. In this study, to further and deeply develop the intrinsic values of both collagen and KGM as biomaterials, a novel kind of composite hydrogel comprising collagen and KGM at a certain ratio was fabricated under mild conditions via fibrillogenesis process of the aqueous blends of collagen and KGM that experienced deacetylation simultaneously. The chemical composition, microcosmic architectures, swelling behavior, biodegradation and dynamic mechanic properties of such resulted composite hydrogels were systematically investigated. Biologic experiments, including cell culture in vitro and hypodermic implantation in vivo, were also conducted on these collagen/KGM composite hydrogels to evaluate their biologic performances. The relevant results prove that, based on collagen self-assembly behavior, this synthesis strategy is efficient to construct a composite hydrogel of collagen/KGM with improved mechanical properties, biodegradability, excellent biocompatibility and bioactivity, which are promising for potential biomedical applications such as tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.
Does your mindfulness benefit others? A systematic review and meta‐analysis of the link between mindfulness and prosocial behaviour

Mindfulness-based meditation practices have received substantial scientific attention in recent years. Mindfulness has been shown to bring many psychological benefits to the individual, but much less is known about whether these benefits extend to others. This meta-analysis reviewed the link between mindfulness - as both a personality variable and an intervention - and prosocial behaviour. A literature search produced 31 eligible studies (N = 17,241) and 73 effect sizes. Meta-analyses were conducted using mixed-effects structural equation models to examine pooled effects and potential moderators of these effects. We found a positive pooled effect between mindfulness and prosocial behaviour for both correlational (d = .73 CI 95% [0.51 to 0.96]) and intervention studies (d = .51 CI 95% [0.37 to 0.66]). For the latter, medium-sized effects were obtained across varying meditation types and intensities, and across gender and age categories. Preliminary evidence is presented regarding potential mediators of these effects. Although we found that mindfulness is positively related to prosociality, further research is needed to examine the mediators of this link and the contexts in which it is most pronounced.
Revisiting Private Stream Aggregation: Lattice-Based PSA

In this age of massive data gathering for purposes of personalization, targeted ads, etc. there is an increased need for technology that allows for data analysis in a privacy-preserving manner. Private Stream Aggregation as introduced by Shi et al. (NDSS 2011) allows for the execution of aggregation operations over privacy-critical data from multiple data sources without placing trust in the aggregator and while maintaining differential privacy guarantees. We propose a generic PSA scheme, LaPS, based on the Learning With Error problem, which allows for a flexible choice of the utilized privacy-preserving mechanism while maintaining post-quantum security. We overcome the limitations of earlier schemes by relaxing previous assumptions in the security model and provide an efficient and compact scheme with high scalability. Our scheme is practical, for a plaintext space of 2 and 1000 participants we achieve a performance gain in decryption of roughly 150 times compared to previous results in Shi et al. (NDSS 2011).
A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: High mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) is a kind of proinflammatory mediator to stimulate the innate and adaptive immune system and participates in a number of acute and chronic inflammatory processes after sterile injury or microbial invasion. HMGB1 has been suggested to be involved in the pathogenesis of many autoimmune diseases. However, the results are contradictory or inconclusive among these findings. The aim of this study was to investigate whether serum/plasma HMGB1 levels are associated with autoimmune diseases by comparing the serum/plasma HMGB1 levels in patients with autoimmune disease and healthy controls and to further evaluate whether serum/plasma HMGB1 levels are associated with disease state. Methods: PubMed, Medline, and Web of science databases (up to October 1, 2017) were used to obtain all relative published literature. Study quality was assessed by the Newcastle–Ottawa scale (NOS). Pooled standard mean difference (SMD) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated by fixed-effects or random-effect model analysis. Results: A total of 23 original articles of autoimmune diseases were finally included in the meta-analysis. Results revealed that the serum/plasma HMGB1 levels were increased in patients with autoimmune disease, compared to healthy controls. Subgroup analysis showed that serum/plasma HMGB1 levels in patients with active disease state were significantly higher than in those with inactive state. In addition, subgroup analysis based on disease type has indicated that the serum/plasma HMGB1 levels in patients with small vessel vasculitis, systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis and sjogren syndrome were significantly higher, compared to healthy controls. Further subgroup analyses by region showed that plasma/serum HMGB1 levels were higher in Asian and European patients with autoimmune diseases. Conclusions:Serum/plasma HMGB1 levels in patients with autoimmune diseases are significantly higher than in healthy controls, and may reflect the disease activity. Abbreviations: AAV = antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis, ACR = American College of Rheumatology, AOSD = adult-onset Still disease, AS = ankylosing spondylitis, BD = Behcet disease, CHCC = Chapel Hill Consensus Conference, ELISA = enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, EMA = European Medicines Agency, GCA = giant cell arteritis, GPA = granulomatosis with polyangiitis, HMGB1 = high mobility group box 1, HSP = Henoch-Schonlein purpura, JIA = juvenile idiopathic arthritis, KD = Kawasaki disease, LVV = large vessel vasculitis, MPA =microscopic polyangiitis, MVV =medium vessel vasculitis, NA = not available, NOS = Newcastle–Ottawa Scale, RA = rheumatoid arthritis, SLE = systemic lupus erythematosus, SMD = standard mean difference, SS = Sjogren syndrome, SVV = small vessel vasculitis, TA = Takayasu arteritis.
Allergic Asthma Favors Brucella Growth in the Lungs of Infected Mice

Allergic asthma is a chronic Th2 inflammatory disease of the lower airways affecting a growing number of people worldwide. The impact of infections and microbiota composition on allergic asthma has been investigated frequently. Until now, however, there have been few attempts to investigate the impact of asthma on the control of infectious microorganisms and the underlying mechanisms. In this work, we characterize the consequences of allergic asthma on intranasal (i.n.) infection by Brucella bacteria in mice. We observed that i.n. sensitization with extracts of the house dust mite Dermatophagoides farinae or the mold Alternaria alternata (Alt) significantly increased the number of Brucella melitensis, Brucella suis, and Brucella abortus in the lungs of infected mice. Microscopic analysis showed dense aggregates of infected cells composed mainly of alveolar macrophages (CD11c+ F4/80+ MHCII+) surrounded by neutrophils (Ly-6G+). Asthma-induced Brucella susceptibility appears to be dependent on CD4+ T cells, the IL-4/STAT6 signaling pathway and IL-10, and is maintained in IL-12- and IFN-γR-deficient mice. The effects of the Alt sensitization protocol were also tested on Streptococcus pneumoniae and Mycobacterium tuberculosis pulmonary infections. Surprisingly, we observed that Alt sensitization strongly increases the survival of S. pneumoniae infected mice by a T cell and STAT6 independent signaling pathway. In contrast, the course of M. tuberculosis infection is not affected in the lungs of sensitized mice. Our work demonstrates that the impact of the same allergic sensitization protocol can be neutral, negative, or positive with regard to the resistance of mice to bacterial infection, depending on the bacterial species.
Opposing roles of IgM and IgD in BCR‐induced B‐cell survival

The B‐cell receptor (BCR) transmits a tonic survival signal in the absence of antigen stimulation and an antigen‐triggered survival signal. Mature B cells express two types of BCR, IgM and IgD, but it remains unclear how B‐cell survival is differentially regulated by these two receptors. We found that, whereas cross‐linking IgM on spleen B cells greatly enhanced their survival, cross‐linking IgD did not enhance, but rather decreased, their survival. Consistently, cross‐linking both IgM and IgD only moderately enhanced B‐cell survival, suggesting that IgM and IgD play opposing roles in B‐cell survival induced by BCR stimulation. Based on these and additional experimental results, we present a mathematical model integrating IgM‐ and IgD‐mediated survival signals. Our model shows that IgD can transmit a tonic survival signal in the absence of antigen stimulation but cross‐linking IgD not only does not generate a survival signal but also disrupts its tonic signal, resulting in inhibition of B‐cell survival. These results suggest that IgD attenuates BCR‐induced survival in mature B cells, presumably to restrain B‐cell response to weak and/or self‐antigens and prevent nonspecific B‐cell activation and autoimmunity.
Representation of Kanaka Maoli (Hawaiian) culture: A case of hula dance

This paper explores representation of Kanaka Maoli (Hawaiian) Hula Dance representation in traditional systems of representation and organization. The paper found baises and diasportization of representation of Hawaiian Culture. Study emphasizes the need to recognize the “inherent beauty in how and why Indigenous people express and fulfill their desire to learn, preserve, organize, and share knowledge” (Metoyer & Doyle, , p. 475) and advocates a decolonizing methodology to promote alternative information structures in Indigenous communities.
Tenovin-1 Induces Senescence and Decreases Wound-Healing Activity in Cultured Rat Primary Astrocytes

Brain aging induces neuropsychological changes, such as decreased memory capacity, language ability, and attention; and is also associated with neurodegenerative diseases. However, most of the studies on brain aging are focused on neurons, while senescence in astrocytes has received less attention. Astrocytes constitute the majority of cell types in the brain and perform various functions in the brain such as supporting brain structures, regulating blood-brain barrier permeability, transmitter uptake and regulation, and immunity modulation. Recent studies have shown that SIRT1 and SIRT2 play certain roles in cellular senescence in peripheral systems. Both SIRT1 and SIRT2 inhibitors delay tumor growth in vivo without significant general toxicity. In this study, we investigated the role of tenovin-1, an inhibitor of SIRT1 and SIRT2, on rat primary astrocytes where we observed senescence and other functional changes. Cellular senescence usually is characterized by irreversible cell cycle arrest and induces senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SA-β-gal) activity. Tenovin-1-treated astrocytes showed increased SA-β-gal-positive cell number, senescence-associated secretory phenotypes, including IL-6 and IL-1β, and cell cycle-related proteins like phospho-histone H3 and CDK2. Along with the molecular changes, tenovin-1 impaired the wound-healing activity of cultured primary astrocytes. These data suggest that tenovin-1 can induce cellular senescence in astrocytes possibly by inhibiting SIRT1 and SIRT2, which may play particular roles in brain aging and neurodegenerative conditions.
Severe Treatment-Related Lymphopenia in Patients with Newly Diagnosed Rectal Cancer

Abstract Background: Although treatment-related lymphopenia (TRL) is common in many cancers no data exists in rectal cancer. Methods: Serial lymphocyte counts were analyzed retrospectively in patients with newly diagnosed rectal cancer, serial blood counts, and complete records at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Results: Fifty-seven patients with normal pretreatment lymphocyte counts were studied. Two months after beginning chemoradiation, 35% of these patients developed grade III-IV lymphopenia [median lymphocyte counts fell from 1590 to 490 cell/mm3 (p < 0.001)] which persisted throughout one year of observation. Conclusion: Severe and prolonged TRL is common in rectal cancer. Further studies are required to determine TRL’s relationship to survival.
Quantified Markov Logic Networks

Markov Logic Networks (MLNs) are well-suited for expressing statistics such as "with high probability a smoker knows another smoker" but not for expressing statements such as "there is a smoker who knows most other smokers", which is necessary for modeling, e.g. influencers in social networks. To overcome this shortcoming, we study quantified MLNs which generalize MLNs by introducing statistical universal quantifiers, allowing to express also the latter type of statistics in a principled way. Our main technical contribution is to show that the standard reasoning tasks in quantified MLNs, maximum a posteriori and marginal inference, can be reduced to their respective MLN counterparts in polynomial time.
A Survey on Sentiment and Emotion Analysis for Computational Literary Studies

Emotions are a crucial part of compelling narratives: literature tells us about people with goals, desires, passions, and intentions. In the past, the affective dimension of literature was mainly studied in the context of literary hermeneutics. However, with the emergence of the research field known as Digital Humanities (DH), some studies of emotions in a literary context have taken a computational turn. Given the fact that DH is still being formed as a field, this direction of research can be rendered relatively new. In this survey, we offer an overview of the existing body of research on sentiment and emotion analysis as applied to literature. The research under review deals with a variety of topics including tracking dramatic changes of a plot development, network analysis of a literary text, and understanding the emotionality of texts, among other topics.
Short Telomere Length Is Related to Limitations in Physical Function in Elderly European Adults

The present study aims to explore the potential influence of leucocyte telomere length (LTL) on both a single indicator and a composite construct of physical functioning in a large European population of elderly men and women across diverse geographical locations. A total of 1,221 adults (65–79 years) were recruited from five European countries within the framework of NU-AGE study. The physical functioning construct was based on the 36-item Short Form Health Survey. Handgrip strength was used as a single indicator of muscle function and LTL was assessed using quantitative real-time PCR. Women had significantly longer (p < 0.05) LTL than men. Participants in Poland had significantly shorter LTL than in the other study centers, whereas participants in the Netherlands had significantly longer LTL than most of the other centers (p < 0.01). An analysis of LTL as a continuous outcome against physical functioning by using linear models revealed inconsistent findings. In contrast, based on an analysis of contrasting telomere lengths (first vs. fifth quintile of LTL), a significant odds ratio (OR) of 1.7 (95% CI: 1.1 – 2.6; p < 0.05) of having functional limitation was observed in those belonging to the first LTL quintile compared to the fifth. Interestingly, having the shortest LTL was still related to a higher likelihood of having physical limitation when compared to all remaining quintiles (OR: 1.5, 95% CI: 1.1 – 2.1; p < 0.05), even after adjustment by study center, age, sex, and overweight status. Collectively, our findings suggest that short LTL is an independent risk factor that accounts for functional decline in elderly European populations. The influence of LTL on functional limitation seems driven by the detrimental effect of having short telomeres rather than reflecting a linear dose-response relationship.