Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Liraglutide improves carotid intima-media thickness in patients with type 2 diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: an 8-month prospective pilot study

Objective: To explore the effects of the glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor analogue liraglutide on subclinical atherosclerosis in diabetic subjects with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Research design and methods: In this 8-month prospective study, 29 subjects with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) and NAFLD (16 men and 13 women, mean age: 61 ± 10 years) were matched for age and gender with 29 subjects with T2DM without NAFLD (16 men and 13 women, mean age: 61 ± 8 years). Liraglutide 0.6 mg/day for 2 weeks, followed by 1.2 mg/day, was given in addition to metformin. Main outcome measures: Anthropometric variables, glucometabolic parameters and carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) using B-mode real-time ultrasound were assessed at baseline and 4 and 8 months. Results: Glycated hemoglobin reduced significantly in both groups. No significant changes were found in body weight, waist circumference and lipids. Carotid IMT decreased significantly in the T2DM patients with NAFLD (from 0.96 ± 0.27 to 0.82 ± 0.17 to 0.85 ± 0.12 mm, p = 0.0325), but not in the T2DM patients without NAFLD (from 0.91 ± 0.23 to 0.88 ± 0.17 to 0.85 ± 0.15 mm, p = 0.4473). Conclusion: Eight months of liraglutide use in patients with T2DM and NAFLD significantly reduced carotid IMT, a surrogate marker of atherosclerosis, independently of glucometabolic changes.
Simultaneously Color-Depth Super-Resolution with Conditional Generative Adversarial Network

Recently, Generative Adversarial Network (GAN) has been found wide applications in style transfer, image-to-image translation and image super-resolution. In this paper, a color-depth conditional GAN is proposed to concurrently resolve the problems of depth super-resolution and color super-resolution in 3D videos. Firstly, given the low-resolution depth image and low-resolution color image, a generative network is proposed to leverage mutual information of color image and depth image to enhance each other in consideration of the geometry structural dependency of color-depth image in the same scene. Secondly, three loss functions, including data loss, total variation loss, and 8-connected gradient difference loss are introduced to train this generative network in order to keep generated images close to the real ones, in addition to the adversarial loss. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed approach produces high-quality color image and depth image from low-quality image pair, and it is superior to several other leading methods. Besides, we use the same neural network framework to resolve the problem of image smoothing and edge detection at the same time.
Heme proteins—Diversity in structural characteristics, function, and folding

The characteristics of heme prosthetic groups and their binding sites have been analyzed in detail in a data set of nonhomologous heme proteins. Variations in the shape, volume, and chemical composition of the binding site, in the mode of heme binding and in the number and nature of heme–protein interactions are found to result in significantly different heme environments in proteins with different functions in biology. Differences are also seen in the properties of the apo states of the proteins. The apo states of proteins that bind heme permanently in their functional form show some disorder, ranging from local unfolding in the heme binding pocket to complete unfolding to give a random coil. In contrast, proteins that bind heme transiently are fully folded in their apo and holo states, presumably allowing both apo and holo forms to remain biologically active resisting aggregation or proteolysis. The principles identified here provide a framework for the design of de novo proteins that will exhibit tight heme ligand binding and for the identification of the function of structural genomic target proteins with heme ligands. Proteins 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Comparison of detection speed and yield in BACTEC NR‐860® and Roche BCB® blood culture systems

Detection speed and yield were compared between BACTEC NR‐860® and Roche BCB® blood culture systems. From a total of 1,550 paired blood cultures inoculated with the same volume of blood, 161 (10.4%) grew 180 organisms from 140 adult patients. Sixty‐six percent of the isolates were clinically significant. The BACTEC® system detected more clinically significant isolates than the BCB® system, 91% vs 76% (p < 0.01), especially Enterobacteriaceae. In 39 paired blood cultures, 42 significant organisms were detected at different times in the two systems. The vast majority (93%) were detected first (on average 1 day faster) by the BACTEC® system (p < 0.05), especially Escherichia coli and streptococci. Generally, detection times were shorter in the BACTEC® system. Three fourths (76%) of all significant organisms were detected within the first incubation day as compared to less than half (42%) in the BCB® system (p < 0.001). Generally, the agitated aerobic resin medium BACTEC 26 Plus® had the fastest detection and highest yield in our study. The contamination rate, below 2% in both systems, was acceptable. The BACTEC NR‐860® system with resin‐containing media proved to be a reliable, sensitive and fast blood culture system, which deserves further investigation.
Monocyte Chemotactic Protein-1 Secreted by Primary Breast Tumors Stimulates Migration of Mesenchymal Stem Cells

Purpose: Major barriers to effective adenovirus-based gene therapy include induction of an immune response and tumor-specific targeting of vectors. The use of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) as systemic delivery vehicles for therapeutic genes has been proposed as a result of their combined ability to home in on the tumor site and evade the host immune response. This study is aimed at investigating factors mediating homing of human MSCs to breast cancer primary cultures and cell lines in vitro and in vivo. Experimental Design: Fluorescently labeled MSCs were given to mice bearing breast cancer xenografts, and tumor tissue was harvested to detect MSC engraftment. MSC migration in response to primary breast tumors in vitro was quantified, and chemokines secreted by tumor cells were identified. The role of monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) in cell migration was investigated using antibodies and standards of the chemokine. Serum MCP-1 was measured in 125 breast cancer patients and 86 healthy controls. Results: Engrafted MSCs were detected in metastatic breast tumors in mice after systemic administration. There was a significant increase in MSC migration in response to primary breast tumor cells in vitro (6-fold to 11-fold increase). Tumor explants secreted a variety of chemokines including GROα, MCP-1, and stromal cell–derived factor-1α. An MCP-1 antibody caused a significant decrease (37-42%) in MSC migration to tumors. Serum MCP-1 levels were significantly higher in postmenopausal breast cancer patients than age-matched controls (P < 0.05). Conclusions: These results highlight a role for tumor-secreted MCP-1 in stimulating MSC migration and support the potential of these cells as tumor-targeted delivery vehicles for therapeutic agents.
Childhood socioeconomic position, adult sense of coherence and tooth retention.

OBJECTIVE To explore the role of sense of coherence (SOC) as a mediator in the relationship between childhood socioeconomic position (SEP) and tooth retention in adulthood. METHODS Data from 5401 dentate adults aged 30 and over who participated in the nationally representative Finnish Health 2000 Survey were analysed. Participants provided information on demographic characteristics (sex and age), childhood SEP (parental education), adulthood SEP (years of education and household income), the SOC scale and oral health-related behaviours (dental attendance, toothbrushing frequency, sugar intake frequency and daily smoking). They also had a clinical oral health examination. Structural equation modelling was used to test a model including adulthood SEP, SOC and oral health-related behaviours as mediators of the relationship between childhood SEP and tooth retention. Multigroup comparison was also conducted to test the hypothesized model within each sex and age group (<45 years, 45-59 years and 60+ years). RESULTS The relationship between childhood SEP and tooth retention in adulthood was to a large extent mediated by adulthood SEP and to a much lesser extent by SOC. There was only a weak association between childhood SEP and adult SOC, but favourable oral health-related behaviours appeared to link a strong SOC with greater tooth retention. The model was invariant across sexes and age groups. CONCLUSIONS SOC is associated with tooth retention through oral health-related behaviours, but contributes little to the relationship between childhood SEP and tooth retention.
The morphological and molecular identity of Longidorus piceicola Lišková, Robbins & Brown, 1997 from Romania (Nematoda, Dorylaimida)

Abstract Longidorus piceicola, a new geographical and host record from Romania, was described and illustrated on the basis of two populations originating from a coniferous and a deciduous forest. The main morphological characters of specimens from Romania correspond very well with the type material collected from the soil around Picea abies L. (Slovakia) except for the shorter body and tail. The D2-D3 fragment of 28S rDNA from both populations was amplified and sequenced, and the sequences were identical to L. piceicola sequence from Slovakia. The partial 18S-ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 rDNA regions from one of the populations were sequenced for the first time. The evolutionary relationships between L. piceicola and the closest species L. intermedius based on D2-D3 sequence divergence and single-nucleotide polymorphisms are discussed. Although having very low sequence dissimilarity (0.3–0.9 %) both species have distinct morphology and biology. Longidorus piceicola differs from L. intermedius in having a much longer odontostyle, body, distance anterior end - guide ring, a wider lip region, more ventromedian supplements (11 vs 5–7) in the male, and develops through four rather than three juvenile stages. Furthermore, L. piceicola occurs more frequently in association with conifers, while L. intermedius is found mainly in oak forests.
Regulation of pyruvate metabolism in chemostat cultures of Kluyveromyces lactis CBS 2359

Regulation of currently identified genes involved in pyruvate metabolism of Kluyveromyces lactis strain CBS 2359 was studied in glucose‐limited, ethanol‐limited and acetate‐limited chemostat cultures and during a glucose pulse added to a glucose‐limited steady‐state culture. Enzyme activity levels of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, pyruvate decarboxylase, alcohol dehydrogenase, acetyl‐CoA synthetase and glucose‐6‐phosphate dehydrogenase were determined in all steady‐state cultures. In addition, the mRNA levels of KlADH1‐4, KlACS1, KlACS2, KlPDA1, KlPDC1 and RAG1 were monitored under steady‐state conditions and during glucose pulses. In K. lactis, as in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, enzymes involved in glucose utilization (glucose‐6‐phosphate dehydrogenase, pyruvate dehydrogenase, pyruvate decarboxylase) showed the highest expression levels on glucose, whereas enzymes required for ethanol or acetate consumption (alcohol dehydrogenase, acetyl‐CoA synthetase) showed the highest enzyme activities on ethanol. In cases where mRNA levels were determined, these corresponded well with the corresponding enzyme activities, suggesting that regulation is mostly achieved at the transcriptional level. Surprisingly, the activity of the K. lactis pyruvate dehydrogenase complex appeared to be regulated at the level of KlPDA1 transcription. The conclusions from the steady‐state cultures were corroborated by glucose pulse experiments. Overall, expression of the enzymes of pyruvate metabolism in the Crabtree‐negative yeast K. lactis appeared to be regulated in the same way as in Crabtree‐positive S. cerevisiae, with one notable exception: the PDA1 gene encoding the E1α subunit of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex is expressed constitutively in S. cerevisiae. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Novel Millimeter Wave Transition From Microstrip Line to Groove Gap Waveguide for MMIC Packaging and Antenna Integration

In this letter, a new microstrip line to groove gap waveguide (GGW) transition has been proposed. The transition is based on a resonant cavity, which efficiently helps to couple the field from microstrip line to GGW. In this transition, the microstrip section is extended into the cavity without any requirement of contact with the GGW. Such contactless transition inside the waveguide is advantageous as it allows easy packaging and integration of millimeter wave circuitry with gap waveguide components such as filters and array antennas. Alumina (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\epsilon _{r}=9.9$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) was used as the microstrip substrate for the proposed transition in this letter. Measured results for the <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$V$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-band transition show a relative bandwidth of 26% for a return loss better than 10 dB. The maximum insertion loss of the manufactured back-to-back prototype is found to be 1.32 dB, which also includes the losses of a 5.45-mm-long microstrip line on an Alumina substrate. After subtracting the losses in the microstrip section, the losses in a single transition are found to be varying between 0.145 and 0.38 dB over the bandwidth.
Foundations and Evaluation: Contexts and Practices for Effective Philanthropy

Tables, Figures, and Exhibits.Foreword (Richard T. Schlosberg III). Preface.The Editors.The Contributors.Introduction: Putting Evaluation to Work for Foundations (Jana Kay Slater, Norman A. Constantine, and Marc T. Braverman). PRESIDENTIAL PERSPECTIVES.Perspective by Hodding Carter III (President and CEO, The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation). Perspective by Michael M. Howe (President, The East Bay Community Foundation). Perspective by Risa Lavizzo-Mourey (President and CEO, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation). PART ONE: UNDERSTANDING FOUNDATIONS AS A CONTEXT FOR EVALUATION.1. Using Evaluation to Advance a Foundation's Mission (Laura C. Leviton and Marian E. Bass). 2. A Historical Perspective on Evaluation in Foundations (Peter Dobkin Hall). 3. Foundations and Evaluation as Uneasy Partners in Learning (Mark R. Kramer and William E. Bickel). 4. Building Strong Foundation-Grantee Relationships (Michael Quinn Patton, John Bare, and Deborah G. Bonnet). 5. Evaluation as a Democratizing Practice (Jennifer C. Greene, Ricardo A. Millett, and Rodney K. Hopson). 6. Integrating Evaluation into Foundation Activity Cycles (Laura C. Leviton and William E. Bickel). PART TWO: BUILDING CAPACITY FOR EVALUATION PRACTICE.7. Making Judgments About What to Evaluate and How Intensely (Melvin M. Mark and William L. Beery). 8. Adapting Evaluation to Accommodate Foundations' Structural and Cultural Characteristics (Ross F. Conner, Victor Kuo, Marli S. Melton, and Ricardo A. Millett). 9. Field-Based Evaluation as a Path to Foundation Effectiveness (Patricia Patrizi and Edward Pauly). 10. Strategies for Smaller Foundations (Marli S. Melton, Jana Kay Slater, and Wendy L. Constantine). 11. Strategies for Comprehensive Initiatives (Debra J. Rog and James R. Knickman). 12. Appraising Evidence on Program Effectiveness (Norman A. Constantine and Marc T. Braverman). 13. Evaluative Thinking for Grantees (E. Jane Davidson, Michael M. Howe, and Michael Scriven). 14. Communicating Results to Different Audiences (Lester W. Baxter and Marc T. Braverman). Index.
Human ageing impairs injury‐induced in vivo expression of tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinases (TIMP)‐1 and ‐2 proteins and mRNA

Proteolysis is an essential component of wound healing but, if uncontrolled, it may lead to degradation of the neo‐matrix and a delay in wound repair. Despite numerous reports of impaired wound healing associated with increasing age, the control of proteolysis is completely unknown. Tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinases (TIMP)‐1 and ‐2 inhibit the activity of matrix metalloproteinases and the pattern of regulation of these molecules determines in part the spatial and temporal regulation of proteolytic activity. This study reports on TIMP‐1 and ‐2 protein localization using immunocytochemistry in healing wounds of healthy subjects of different ages from day 1 to 6 months post‐wounding, and has quantified the mRNA levels for both inhibitors using reverse transcriptase‐polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR). TIMP‐1 and TIMP‐2 proteins are up‐regulated from 24 h post‐wounding, with a decrease in staining intensity by day 7 for TIMP‐2 and by day 14 for TIMP‐1. Steady‐state mRNA levels for both TIMPs were significantly greater in normal young skin than in aged skin. In the young, there was a significant increase in mRNA expression for TIMP‐1 and ‐2 by day 3 post‐wounding, which decreased by day 14 and had returned to basal levels at day 21. In the wounds of the aged subjects, basal levels were observed for TIMP‐1 and ‐2 at all time‐points. These results suggest that intrinsic cutaneous ageing is associated with reduced levels of TIMP mRNA both in normal skin and during acute wound repair. These levels may be instrumental in dermal tissue breakdown in normal skin, retarded wound healing, and the predisposition of the elderly to chronic wound healing states. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Chemical Profiling and Gene Expression Profiling during the Manufacturing Process of Taiwan Oolong Tea “Oriental Beauty”

Oriental Beauty, which is made from tea leaves infested by the tea green leafhopper (Jacobiasca formosana) in Taiwan, has a unique aroma like ripe fruits and honey. To determine what occurs in the tea leaves during the oolong tea manufacturing process, the gene expression profiles and the chemical profiles were investigated. Tea samples were prepared from Camellia sinensis var. sinensis cv. Chin-shin Dah-pang while the tea leaves were attacked by the insect. The main volatile compounds, such as linalool-oxides, benzyl alcohol, 2-phenylethanol, and 2,6-dimethylocta-3,7-diene-2,6-diol, increased during manufacture. The gene expression profiles during manufacture were analyzed by differential screening between fresh leaves and tea leaves of the first turn over. Many up-regulated transcripts were found to encode various proteins homologous to stress response proteins. Accordingly, the endogenous contents of abscisic acid and raffinose increased during manufacture. Thus the traditional manufacturing method is a unique process that utilizes plant defense responses to elevate the production of volatile compounds and other metabolites.
Comparison of Dexmedetomidine and Magnesium Sulfate as Adjuvants with Ropivacaine for Spinal Anesthesia in Infraumbilical Surgeries and Postoperative Analgesia

Introduction: Postoperative pain is a major cause of fear and anxiety in hospitalized patients and so if patients remain pain-free during this period, they can cooperate with the circumstances well, leading to early recovery. Over the last two decades, there has been considerable revival of interest in the use of regional anesthesia techniques for surgery and pain management. As very few studies have been conducted using ropivacaine with dexmedetomidine and magnesium sulfate (MgSO4) as adjuvants, the present study was undertaken with primary aims to compare the hemodynamic stability, onset and duration of sensory and motor block and with secondary aims of the postoperative analgesic effect of dexmedetomidine and MgSO4along with ropivacaine. Materials and Methods: After getting the Institutional Ethics Committee approval, this study was conducted on fifty patients of the American Society of Anesthesiologists physical Status I and II aged between 20 and 65 years of either sex and scheduled to undergo infraumbilical surgeries under spinal anesthesia. They were divided into two groups of 25 each. Group D patients received 3 ml of 0.75% isobaric ropivacaine hydrochloride with 10 μg of dexmedetomidine whereas Group M patients received 75 mg of MgSO4in the place of dexmedetomidine. The quality of surgical analgesia and quality of intraoperative muscle relaxation were assessed and graded. Results: We found out that onset of sensory and motor block was earlier in Group D in comparison to Group M. There was a significant reduction in the time to the first rescue analgesia in group receiving intrathecal dexmedetomidine. Conclusion: It is concluded from our study that ropivacaine plus dexmedetomidine group are better than ropivacaine plus MgSO4in providing early onset of sensory and motor block as well as in providing postoperative analgesia.
Complex Patterns of Genomic Admixture within Southern Africa

Within-population genetic diversity is greatest within Africa, while between-population genetic diversity is directly proportional to geographic distance. The most divergent contemporary human populations include the click-speaking forager peoples of southern Africa, broadly defined as Khoesan. Both intra- (Bantu expansion) and inter-continental migration (European-driven colonization) have resulted in complex patterns of admixture between ancient geographically isolated Khoesan and more recently diverged populations. Using gender-specific analysis and almost 1 million autosomal markers, we determine the significance of estimated ancestral contributions that have shaped five contemporary southern African populations in a cohort of 103 individuals. Limited by lack of available data for homogenous Khoesan representation, we identify the Ju/'hoan (n = 19) as a distinct early diverging human lineage with little to no significant non-Khoesan contribution. In contrast to the Ju/'hoan, we identify ancient signatures of Khoesan and Bantu unions resulting in significant Khoesan- and Bantu-derived contributions to the Southern Bantu amaXhosa (n = 15) and Khoesan ! Xun (n = 14), respectively. Our data further suggests that contemporary ! Xun represent distinct Khoesan prehistories. Khoesan assimilation with European settlement at the most southern tip of Africa resulted in significant ancestral Khoesan contributions to the Coloured (n = 25) and Baster (n = 30) populations. The latter populations were further impacted by 170 years of East Indian slave trade and intra-continental migrations resulting in a complex pattern of genetic variation (admixture). The populations of southern Africa provide a unique opportunity to investigate the genomic variability from some of the oldest human lineages to the implications of complex admixture patterns including ancient and recently diverged human lineages.
Aflatoxin M1 in raw milk in Qazvin Province, Iran: a seasonal study

Occurrence of aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) was determined in 254 samples of raw milk obtained from dairy cow farms of Qazvin Province, Iran. Aflatoxin M1 analysis was carried out by using the competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay technique for screening and high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection for confirmatory purposes. The limit of detection and quantification of the confirmatory method were 0.003 and 0.01 µg/l, respectively. Aflatoxin M1 was detected in 204 analysed samples (80.3%), ranging from 0.011 to 0.321 μg/l, and 144 samples (56.7%) had levels above the Iranian national standard limit of 0.050 μg/l. Considering the seasonal variability, the occurrence and levels of AFM1 in samples obtained in winter were significantly higher (P < 0.05) than those obtained in summer. The results of this survey indicate the usefulness of a monitoring programme to supervise food safety for consumers.