Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Defining nutritional status of women in developing countries

Abstract Objective: To define a de facto reference body mass index (BMI) for women in developing countries and compare its performance with the Quetelet BMI. Design: A logarithmic equation for elite wt/ht references was developed using the weight (wt) and height (ht) of 10 524 non-pregnant elite mothers. Functional outcomes were compared using both BMIs. Setting: Forty-six national surveys from 36 developing countries. Subjects: Mothers 15–49 years old. Results: The de facto reference standard deviation showed 2.2% of elite women were undernourished and 6.3% overnourished; lower and upper limits for ‘ideal’ wt/ht were 73% and 137%, respectively. Compared with the age-based and medium frame standards of the First and Second National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES I & II), the de facto reference defined fewer women as undernourished (5.3% vs. 10.5% and 14.4%, respectively), but more as overnourished (20.4% vs. 13.7% and 15.9%, respectively). In the de facto reference, BMI=wt/ht1.6. Using the age-based and medium-frame-based Quetelet BMI (wt/ht2), 28.5% and 31.7% had a low and 13.0% and 14.7% a high BMI, respectively. For the de facto reference, 18.4% of the elite mothers had a low BMI and 19.3% a high BMI. Applying the de facto reference to all women showed that the distribution of BMI was similar irrespective of the reference used. Functional outcomes were similar for both BMIs. Conclusions: The NHANES I & II growth curves define more women as overnourished than the de facto curve, but the opposite for defining the undernourished. Functional outcomes were similar for both BMIs, suggesting there is no great advantage to using a de facto BMI based on national-level data from these 46 national surveys.
Transparent Runtime Migration of Loop-Based Traces of Processor Instructions to Reconfigurable Processing Units

The ability to map instructions running in a microprocessor to a reconfigurable processing unit (RPU), acting as a coprocessor, enables the runtime acceleration of applications and ensures code and possibly performance portability. In this work, we focus on the mapping of loop-based instruction traces (called Megablocks) to RPUs. The proposed approach considers offline partitioning and mapping stages without ignoring their future runtime applicability. We present a toolchain that automatically extracts specific trace-based loops, called Megablocks, from MicroBlaze instruction traces and generates an RPU for executing those loops. Our hardware infrastructure is able to move loop execution from the microprocessor to the RPU transparently, at runtime, and without changing the executable binaries. The toolchain and the system are fully operational. Three FPGA implementations of the system, differing in the hardware interfaces used, were tested and evaluated with a set of 15 application kernels. Speedups ranging from 1.26 to 3.69 were achieved for the best alternative using a MicroBlaze processor with local memory.
ULTRASOUND—A RESEARCH TOOL IN THE STUDY OF ACCOMMODATION *

Abstract Measurements of the globe were made at different stages of accommodation with Kretz A‐mode ultrasonic equipment. A comparison between the movement of the crystalline lens in two refractive groups appeared to show that the highly myopic lens had to expand more per dioptre of accommodation; in other words, it was less efficient than the near‐emmetropic lens. Also the posterior surface of the lens appeared to move more in highly myopic eyes than in near‐emmetropic eyes.
Cyproheptadine is an effective appetite stimulant in cystic fibrosis

Chronic pulmonary infection and intestinal malabsorption often lead to malnutrition in children and adults with cystic fibrosis (CF). Appetite stimulants, along with provision of adequate calories, may aid in overcoming nutritional deficits, allowing a better prognosis. We undertook a trial of cyproheptadine hydrochloride (CH) to determine its effectiveness as an appetite stimulant in 18 adults and children with CF. This was a 12‐week, randomized, double‐blind, controlled trial of CH vs. placebo. Eighteen subjects with documented CF (sweat or genetics positive), minimum age of 5 years, and ideal body weight for height <100% were entered, and 16 completed the study. Subjects were seen at baseline and every 4 weeks. Measures included baseline demographics, Shwachman score, anthropometrics (weight, height, body mass index, skin folds, and body composition by bioelectric impedance analysis), spirometry, caloric intake, days of oral (PO) and intravenous (IV) antibiotics, and a symptom and satisfaction survey. Subjects in the CH group showed significant increases in weight (mean 3.45 kg vs. 1.1 kg in the placebo group), height, BMI percentiles, ideal body weight/height, weight for age z‐scores, and fat and fat‐free mass. There were no changes or differences in PO or IV antibiotic use or spirometric changes. No significant side effects except transient mild sedation occurred in the CH group. Patient acceptance was good. In conclusion, CH appears to be an effective appetite stimulant with minimal side effects in children and adults with CF. Pediatr Pulmonol. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Development of adenocarcinomas in the stomach

To elucidate the histogenesis of gastric adenocarcinomas, the author looked for smaller carcinomas, and studied their histologic features and the histologic characteristics of the neighboring gastric mucosa. In 325 resected stomachs, 27 microcarcinomas, including initial lesions, were detected. Most of them were typical adenocarcinomas, whose histologic features were different from those of dysplasias. The gastric mucosa around the microcarcinomas was mostly intestinalized. However, the smaller the carcinomas, the less complete was the form of intestinal metaplasia, and the metaplasia was under progression in many gastric tubules. The smallest carcinomas consisted of a few, newly formed glandular complexes, confined to the neck region of the tubules, whereas the upper and the lower part of the tubules were still lined by normal gastric cells. The smallest dysplasia was an in situ lesion, also confined to the neck region of the tubules. These findings indicate that a starting point of adenocarcinomas and dysplasias is in the proliferative cell zone at the neck region. Intestinal metaplasia, dysplasia, and adenocarcinoma arise coincidentally. This implies that no precursor is present for each of them. It appears that most adenocarcinomas arise in gastric tubules when an abnormal differentiation is induced in stem cells after intestinal metaplasia. They are not a consequence of dysplasia, but share a common origin with it. Cancer 57:1528–1534, 1986.
The Speed of Adjustment to Demand Shocks: A Markov-Chain Measurement Using Micro Panel Data

In this paper we measure the speed at which firms adjust to demand shocks using individual firm data. Identification of shocks is achieved by a combination of quantitative and qualitative judgments on capacity utilisation in micro survey data. A novel feature of our approach is the distinction between positive and negative shocks that allows us to also discriminate between the speed of adjustment following either kind of shock. Furthermore, there is no need for using previous data filtering to extract business cycles or equilibrium definitions but only to observe the states of the firms that define their economic situation. One main result is that the firms' adjustment to these two shocks is varying in speed. It should therefore be paid regard to the separation of positive and negative shocks in empirical and theoretical models. The findings of this paper bear implications for monetary policy making and model building alike.
Function of plasma membrane microdomain-associated proteins during legume nodulation

ABSTRACT Plasma membrane microdomains are plasma membrane sub-compartments enriched in sphingolipids and sterols, and composed by a specific set of proteins. They are involved in recognizing signal molecules, transducing these signals, and controlling endocytosis and exocytosis processes. In a recent study, applying biochemical and microscopic methods, we characterized the soybean GmFWL1 protein, a major regulator of soybean nodulation, as a new membrane microdomain-associated protein. Interestingly, upon rhizobia inoculation of the soybean root system, GmFWL1 and one of its interacting partners, GmFLOT2/4, both translocate to the root hair cell tip, the primary site of interaction and infection between soybean and Rhizobium. The role of GmFWL1 as a plasma membrane microdomain-associated protein is also supported by immunoprecipitation assays performed on soybean nodules, which revealed 178 GmFWL1 protein partners including a large number of microdomain-associated proteins such as GmFLOT2/4. In this addendum, we provide additional information about the identity of the soybean proteins repetitively identified as GmFWL1 protein partners. Their function is discussed especially in regard to plant-microbe interactions and microbial symbiosis. This addendum will provide new insights in the role of plasma membrane microdomains in regulating legume nodulation.
A 24-month prospective study on the efficacy and safety of two different monthly regimens of vitamin D supplementation in pre-menopausal women with systemic lupus erythematosus

Background Low vitamin D (vit.D) serum levels are common in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and seem to correlate with higher disease activity. We investigated the effects of different regimens of vit.D supplementation in SLE patients with inactive disease. Methods This 24-month prospective study included 34 SLE women who were randomized to receive, together with their ongoing treatment, a standard regimen (SR) of cholecalcipherol (25,000 UI monthly) or an intensive regimen (IR) (300,000 UI initial bolus followed by 50,000 UI monthly) for one year and then were switched to the other regimen in the second year. Patients were seen quarterly for assessment of 25-OH vit.D levels, disease activity, SLE serology and bone metabolism markers. Results By intra-patient comparison, only the IR was found able to significantly raise vit.D serum levels. After 12 months, values above 30 ng/ml were found in 75% of patients in IR while in only 28% in SR. No significant differences in disease activity and SLE serology were found at any time point between SR and IR. No changes in the mineral metabolism were observed. Conclusions The IR was safe and effective in obtaining sufficient levels of vit.D in most SLE patients. However, both regimens of supplementation did not differently affect disease activity nor SLE serology.
Consequences of Alteration in Leucine Zipper Sequence of Melittin in Its Neutralization of Lipopolysaccharide-induced Proinflammatory Response in Macrophage Cells and Interaction with Lipopolysaccharide*

Background: Bee venom antimicrobial peptide, melittin, neutralizes LPS-induced proinflammatory response in macrophage cells. Results: Alteration in the leucine zipper sequence of melittin impaired its anti-LPS property and interaction with LPS. Conclusion: The leucine zipper sequence of melittin plays a crucial role in maintaining its antiendotoxin properties. Significances: The results suggest an overlap of structural requirements for the cytotoxic and antiendotoxin properties of melittin. The bee venom antimicrobial peptide, melittin, besides showing versatile activity against microorganisms also neutralizes lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced proinflammatory responses in macrophage cells. However, how the amino acid sequence of melittin contributes in its anti-inflammatory properties is mostly unknown. To determine the importance of the leucine zipper sequence of melittin in its neutralization of LPS-induced inflammatory responses in macrophages and interaction with LPS, anti-inflammatory properties of melittin and its three analogues and their interactions with LPS were studied in detail. Two of these analogues, namely melittin Mut-1 (MM-1) and melittin Mut-2 (MM-2), possess leucine to alanine substitutions in the single and double heptadic leucine residue(s) of melittin, respectively, whereas the third analogue is a scrambled peptide (Mel-SCR) that contains the amino acid composition of melittin with minor rearrangement in its leucine zipper sequence. Although MM-1 partly inhibited the production of proinflammatory cytokines in RAW 264.7 and rat primary macrophage cells in the presence of LPS, MM-2 and Mel-SCR were negligibly active. A progressive decrease in interaction of melittin with LPS, aggregation in LPS, and dissociation of LPS aggregates with alteration in the leucine zipper sequence of melittin was observed. Furthermore, with alteration in the leucine zipper sequence of melittin, these analogues failed to exhibit cellular responses associated with neutralization of LPS-induced inflammatory responses in macrophage cells by melittin. The data indicated a probable important role of the leucine zipper sequence of melittin in neutralizing LPS-induced proinflammatory responses in macrophage cells as well as in its interaction with LPS.
Antioxidant activity of Prunus mume extract in cooked chicken breast meat

The antioxidant properties of methanolic extracts from the fruit of Prunus mume were determined in chicken breast meat systems. When P. mume extract (PM) was added to chicken breast meat, 2-thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) value at day 3 was decreased by about 45% of the control. PM did not affect colour of chicken meat compared with the control. The amounts of volatile aldehydes and hydrocarbons were significantly decreased by the addition of PM. Especially, hexanal was the most predominant volatile compound in the control taking up almost more than 50% of the total volatiles and PM reduced the amount into 26% of the control meat at 3 days.
Rice acyl-CoA-binding proteins OsACBP4 and OsACBP5 are differentially localized in the endoplasmic reticulum of transgenic Arabidopsis

Acyl-CoA-binding proteins (ACBPs) are known to bind and transport acyl-CoA esters and phospholipids intracellularly. In our recent paper in the New Phytologist, we reported that the six acyl-CoA-binding proteins (OsACBPs) in rice (Oryza sativa) are distributed across various subcellular compartments in transgenic Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) such as the cytosol (OsACBP1, OsACBP2 and OsACBP3), the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) including the tubules (OsACBP4 and OsACBP5) and the cisternae (OsACBP4), and the peroxisomes (OsACBP6). Localization of OsACBP4::GFP to the peripheral ER cisternae and the central cisternal ER-like structures in transgenic Arabidopsis distinguished it from OsACBP5::GFP. We further report that besides the ER, OsACBP4::GFP and OsACBP5::GFP were also targeted to the membrane of ER bodies and ER-derived spherical structures, respectively, in transgenic Arabidopsis. These findings support our previous conclusion that OsACBP4 and OsACBP5 are not redundant proteins in the ER.
Examining the Intellectual Capital Impact on the Profit Efficiency in Automobile and Parts Manufacturing Industry of Tehran Stock Exchange

The objecdetive of this research is to study the impact of intellectual capital (IC) and its components on profit efficiency as a comprehensive criterion of financial performance. this research utilizes Pulic model in order to measure the IC of 23 companies in automobile and parts manufacturing industry of Tehran stock exchange for the period of 2011-2014. It also uses DEA technique and truncated regression in order to calculate profit efficiency and examine its relationship with IC respectively. the results indicated that human capital efficiency (HCE), capital employed efficiency (CEE), and value added intellectual capital (VAIC TM ) affect significantly and positively performance (profit efficiency) but Structural capital efficiency (SCE) is not associated significantly with performance. Among IC components, the human capital has the most impact on performance. Therefore, it can be asserted that, in automobile and parts industry, IC is capable of having effective role in financial decisions.
Antifungal Activity of Volatiles from Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) and Peppermint (Mentha piperita) Oils Against Some Respiratory Pathogenic Species of Aspergillus

Many of the plant species found that it can be used medically (Ali-Shtayeh and Abu, 1999). Essential oils are aromatic substances which are obtained from various plant parts by steam distillation; many of which exhibit antibacterial (Ozcan et al., 2006), antifungal (Chee and Lee, 2007) and antiviral (Khan et al., 2005) activity. Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) is widely used in traditional medicine in many countries around the world. Among its attributable properties are those related to antibacterial and antifungal activities (Inouye et al., 2001, Inouye et al., 2006; Bansod and Rai, 2008; Revathi et al., 2012), as well as analgesic ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 2 Number 6(2013) pp. 261-272 http://www.ijcmas. com
THE MYTH OF RUNNING SHOE CUSHIONING

The advent of the “Running Boom” in the late 1970’s coincided with the introduction of the first “technical” running shoe products incorporating cushioned soles and features intended to stabilize the foot during ground contact. The sensation of comfort provided by cushioned running shoes appears to have facilitated the participation of many “joggers” who would otherwise not have taken up the sport. The Running Boom also precipitated rapid growth in related scientific research. In both university and corporate laboratories, studies of the physiology of exercise, the biomechanics of running and the mechanics of running shoes became common. Numerous investigators sought to determine a link between running shoe cushioning and the impact loads experienced by the runner. The results of these experiments were generally inconclusive, however. Many researchers reported no differences in peak impact force among different cushioning systems and, in some instances, more compliant cushioning was found to increase impact force. These equivocal results have lead others to hypothesise that running shoe cushioning offers little benefit to athletes. Very compliant cushioning may increase injury risk in some instances, since there is a correlation between cushioning compliance and excessive subtalar joint motion, which has been linked with common running injuries (Clement et al, 1981). Some (e.g. Robbins and Waked (1997)) have interpreted the available data less equivocally, stating bluntly that cushioned athletic shoes are dangerous and that shoe companies offering cushioning as a benefit are guilty of deception. The purpose of this paper is to briefly summarise some of what is known about the mechanics of running shoe cushioning, in an attempt to determine why the expensively engineered shock attenuating systems built into athletic shoe soles apparently fail to attenuate shock.
Measuring What Matters

For nearly eighty years, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) has done its mapping—everything from the surface of the moon to the compound hiding Osama bin Laden—from the city of St. Louis. In 2017, this federal agency pitted three regional sites against each other in the competition to host their new billion-dollar headquarters. Two years later, a site of nearly one hundred acres of “underdeveloped brownfields” in North St. Louis was selected to go from “eyesore to economic boon” as the host of this moated and militarized spy headquarters. 1 This supposedly catalytic development eradicated nearly half of what was left of the St. Louis Place neighborhood following decades of erasure from urban renewal, malignant neglect, and unethical real estate transactions. While the project was touted as a massive win for St. Louis due primarily to preserving city income tax dollars, this essay examines how existing measures of success that conflate economic growth (or even simply economic preservation) with progress fail to capture the real social, environmental, and economic costs that development can bring. It considers how the difficult-to-measure aspects of city sociality—rootedness, optimism, opportunity, and social resilience, for example—are critical in recognizing and elevating the importance of spatial justice in our design decisions and design pedagogy. This paper explores the true costs of the NGA relocation to North St. Louis by measuring a broad range of social and economic factors ignored by the city’s assessment. It also considers a second adjacent project, the proposed Brickline Greenway, and explores how its more inclusive objectives begin taking small steps towards repair. Speculative design work from the Master of Urban Design studio at Washington University in St. Louis provides alternative mapping and design solutions that further this paradigm shift.
Serum matrix metalloproteinase‐9 in head and neck squamous cell carcinomais a prognostic marker

The aim of this study was to determine whether serum matrix metalloproteinase‐9 (MMP‐9) could predict cause‐specific and relapse‐free survival in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck. Furthermore, this study was designed to investigate whether there is an association between MMP‐9 immunohistochemical staining and serum MMP‐9 levels. Pretreatment serum levels of MMP‐9 were quantitatively measured by ELISA assay in 67 patients presenting with a primary head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. The results were compared with the corresponding immunohistochemical staining results, clinical data and the patients' outcome. The follow‐up time for all of the patients was at least 5 years. There was a statistically significant correlation between circulating MMP‐9 and MMP‐9 immunohistochemical staining in the corresponding tumors (p = 0.028). The cause‐specific and relapse‐free survival rates were clearly lower among patients with high MMP‐9 serum levels (> 73 ng/ml). The 5‐year cause‐specific survival‐rate was 40% in a patient group with high serum MMP‐9, and 69% for patients with a low MMP‐9 level (p = 0.027). In the same follow‐up period, the cumulative relapse‐free survival rate was 36% in patients presenting with a high serum MMP‐9 and 66% in those with a low MMP‐9 level. No correlation was found between MMP‐9 serum levels and the traditional clinical or histopathologic factors. The results suggest for the first time that pretreatment serum MMP‐9 level could serve as a prognostic factor in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.