Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Assimilation of cholesterol by yeast strains isolated from infant feces and Feta cheese.

Eight yeast strains isolated from infant feces and the traditional Greek Feta cheese, selected for their probiotic properties, were tested along with a commercially available strain of Saccharomyces boulardii for their ability to remove cholesterol from a growth medium (yeast extract glucose peptone broth) supplemented with 0.3% Oxgall. The amount of cholesterol removed during 72 h of growth at 37 degrees C revealed significant variations among the yeast strains examined. Two isolates from infant feces, namely Saccharomyces cerevisiae KK1 and Isaatchenkia orientalis KK5.Y. 1 and one isolate from Feta cheese, namely S. cerevisiae 832, along with the commercial strain S. boulardii, were able to remove cholesterol from the growth medium after 48 h of incubation at 37 degrees C. However, Saccharomyces strains proved to be able to remove cholesterol even after 24 h of growth at 37 degrees C. The cholesterol removed from the growth medium was not metabolically degraded but was rather assimilated into the yeast cells. The ability to assimilate cholesterol in vitro and to tolerate low pH levels, gastric juice, and bile indicate that S. cerevisiae 832, and especially S. cerevisiae KK1 and I. orientalis KK5.Y. 1 (being more bile and gastric juice tolerant because of their human origin) may be promising candidate strains for use as probiotics.
Proportions of Patients With HIV Retained in Care and Virally Suppressed in New York City and the United States: Higher Than We Thought

Background:The purpose of this analysis is to compare 2 newly developed methods (a “likelihood” method and a “weighting” method) with the widely used method (the “include-all” method) to estimate the proportions of HIV-infected persons retained in care and virally suppressed in New York City (NYC). Methods:The NYC HIV registry data were used for the analysis. The include-all method included all patients in the denominator who were diagnosed and/or receiving care in NYC and not known to be dead by December 31, 2012. The likelihood method included patients in the denominator who were likely to reside in NYC in 2012 based on their length of absence from HIV care. The weighting method included patients in the denominator who were residing in NYC in 2012 by weighting each in-care patient based on their probability of receiving HIV care. Results:The include-all method estimated that 114,926 persons were diagnosed and living with HIV in NYC, 63.7% were retained in care (≥1 care visit in 2012), and 48.9% were virally suppressed (⩽200 copies/mL). The likelihood method and the weighting method produced equivalent estimates with 80,074 and 80,509 persons diagnosed and living with HIV in NYC, 91.5% and 91.0% retained in care, and 70.2% and 71.7% virally suppressed, respectively. Conclusions:Using 2 newly developed methods, we were able to report more accurate estimates of the proportions of patients retained in care and virally suppressed. Other local health jurisdictions should consider using these new methods to measure care outcomes and monitor the National HIV/AIDS Strategy.
The Study of Soil-Roots Strength Performance by Using Pennisetum Setaceum Grass

Vegetation is regarded as a new engineering material contributes to slope stability and reduces superficial soil erosion, both by soil shear reinforcement and influencing soil water content. Yet, it is aware that roots growth occurred below the soil surface and it is considered as dynamic organs that respond to physical, chemical and hydrological induced by surrounding substrate. This study was carried out to investigate the soil shear strength performance by using Pennisetum Setaceum grass at the different planting period up to three months. The grass was planted in a 150 mm × 200 mm × 700 mm test plot with a suitable soil medium. Pull-out strength test was conducted for each plot to determine the soil pull-out strength according to different planting period. The results show that there is an increment in the pullout strength of rooted-soil sample over different planting period with average results of 6.7 kPa, 11.4 kPa and 25.8 kPa for month 1, 2 and 3 respectively. Based on this study, the soil pull-out strength developments for vegetated soil were observed. The higher pull-out strength was recorded for different growth period. Moreover, root weight was increased for different growth period. Based on the tensile test, the diameter of the root affects the rate of resistance against the tensile forces. This indicated that the roots structure growth affects the soil shear strength.
Newer Synthetic Peptide Substrates in Coagulation Testing: Some Practical Considerations for Automated Methods

More than 100 chromogenic and fluorogenic peptide substrates are now available for the evaluation of coagulation and related parameters. Many of these substrates exhibit undesirable physical properties, such as insolubility, surface adsorption, and interaction with endogenous plasma proteins. Some of these substrates are capable of inhibiting serine protease generation during activation in the global assay. In order to develop synthetic chromogenic substrates with desirable physical and biochemical characteristics, modified amino acids, such as CHG, CHT, and Nleu, have been utilized. Similarly, to provide a favorable molecular environment to facilitate enzyme and synthetic substrate interactions, various molecular manipulations, such as the introduction of bulky groups, is helpful in developing substrates for protein Ca and C1-esterase. Substrates for Factor Xa, CH3-O-CO-CHG-Arg-pNA (bovine Xa, Km 2.5 X 10(-4) M; human, Km 3.5 X 10(-4) M); thrombin, H-D-CHT-Ala-Arg-pNA (bovine thrombin, Km 3 X 10(-6) M; human thrombin, Km 6 X 10(-6) M); plasmin, H-D-Nleu-CHT-Lys-pNA (human plasmin, Km 2.2 X 10(-5) M) were found to have identical or superior biochemical characteristics to the earlier substrates. These newer substrates were found to be more soluble (greater than 5 X 10(-4) M) in physiologic buffer, less susceptible to autoamidolysis at reaction conditions, and did not produce opacity of the test solution in final concentrations of 5 X 10(-4) M. Comparable results on normal and pathologic plasma samples were obtained in various laboratory assays that utilize currently available substrates for Factors Xa and IIa, kallikrein, and plasmin (R = greater than 0.9). We propose that prior to the application of a new synthetic substrate in a given assay, a careful biochemical and physical screening of the substrate, the assay conditions, and the interaction of substrates with plasma proteins is highly desirable.
Altered Pain in the Brainstem and Spinal Cord of Fibromyalgia Patients During the Anticipation and Experience of Experimental Pain

Chronic pain associated with fibromyalgia (FM) affects a large portion of the population but the underlying mechanisms leading to this altered pain are still poorly understood. Evidence suggests that FM involves altered neural processes in the central nervous system and neuroimaging methods such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) are used to reveal these underlying alterations. While many fMRI studies of FM have been conducted in the brain, recent evidence shows that the changes in pain processing in FM may be linked to autonomic and homeostatic dysregulation, thus requiring further investigation in the brainstem and spinal cord. Functional magnetic resonance imaging data from 15 women with FM and 15 healthy controls were obtained in the cervical spinal cord and brainstem at 3 tesla using previously established methods. In order to investigate differences in pain processing in these groups, participants underwent trials in which they anticipated and received a predictable painful stimulus, randomly interleaved with trials with no stimulus. Differences in functional connectivity between the groups were investigated by means of structural equation modeling. The results demonstrate significant differences in brainstem/spinal cord network connectivity between the FM and control groups which also correlated with individual differences in pain responses. The regions involved in these differences in connectivity included the LC, hypothalamus, PAG, and PBN, which are known to be associated with autonomic homeostatic regulation, including fight or flight responses. This study extends our understanding of altered neural processes associated with FM and the important link between sensory and autonomic regulation systems in this disorder.
Highway design software as support of a project‐based learning course

Traditionally, practical training of students in highway design has been based on solving geometric problems without using professional highway design software. In a degree of the Technical University of Madrid (UPM), teaching of this subject has been redesigned using a project‐based learning approach. Along the course, the students make a complete project of a highway using professional software and procedures. The highway design software chosen includes a simulator that makes a virtual journey along the highway from the point of view of a driver traveling on it. A detailed description of the course program and the software used is provided. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Comput Appl Eng Educ 20: 468–473, 2012
Identifying College Students at Risk for Learning Disabilities: Evidence for Use of the Learning Difficulties Assessment in Postsecondary Settings.

This article describes research supporting the use of the Learning Difficulties Assessment (LDA), a normed and no-cost, web-based survey that assesses difficulties with reading, writing, spelling, mathematics, listening, concentration, memory, organizational skills, sense of control, and anxiety in college students. Previous research has supported the instrument’s item and factor structure, reliability, and predictive validity for identifying college students at risk for learning disabilities. In the current study, data from a large scale study (n = 775) demonstrate further psychometric evidence for the instrument’s utility as a screening and referral tool for college students at risk for learning disabilities. Recommendations for use of the LDA by postsecondary disability support professionals are discussed as well as limitations of the study and implications for future research.
Acute liver injury associated with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and the role of risk factors.

BACKGROUND Hospitalizations for acute liver injury in the absence of a viral infection or any other well-defined pathologic finding that could have caused it is rare. In this study, we included both outpatients and hospitalized patients with acute liver injury to estimate the risk of clinically important acute liver injury associated with the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and to study the role of certain risk factors. METHODS This was a retrospective cohort study with secondary case-control analysis. The study included 536 general practitioners' practices in England and Wales for the period October 1987 through August 1991. A total of 625,307 persons who received more than 2 million prescriptions for one of 12 NSAIDs were followed up to estimate the risk of newly diagnosed acute liver injury. RESULTS There were 23 cases of acute liver injury. The incidence of acute liver injury was 3.7 per 100,000 NSAID users or 1.1 per 100,000 NSAID prescriptions. None of the cases had a fatal outcome. Sulindac was the only NSAID with a substantially greater risk than that for the overall NSAID group. Users of NSAIDs who had rheumatoid arthritis had a 10-fold increased risk of acute liver injury compared with NSAID-treated patients with osteoarthritis. Concomitant exposure to other hepatotoxic medications also increased the risk. Transient minor increases in liver test values were not a useful predictor of diagnosed NSAID-associated acute liver injury. CONCLUSIONS Although NSAIDs have been found to be associated with acute liver injury in a small number of persons, the risk is sufficiently small as to be of minimal concern for most NSAIDs.
Timing of spoII gene expression relative to septum formation during sporulation of Bacillus subtilis

spoII mutants formed heat-resistant spores when transformed with spo+ DNa near the start of sporulation. Many of the spores formed remained genetically spoII. It is deduced from this result and previous epistasis experiments that the spoII loci are transcribed before the spore septum is formed.
Determinants of Corporate Borrowing: A Behavioral Perspective

This article integrates an earnings-based capital structure model into a simple real options framework to analyze the effects of managerial optimism and overconfidence on the interaction between financing and investment decisions. Several empirical implications follow from solving the model. Notably, my analysis reveals that managerial traits can ameliorate bondholder-shareholder conflicts, such as the debt overhang problem. While debt delays investment inefficiently, mildly biased managers can overcome this problem, even though they tend to issue more debt. Similar properties and results are discussed for other real options, such as the asset stripping or risk-shifting problems.
Redefining Type 2 diabetes: ‘Diabesity’ or ‘Obesity Dependent Diabetes Mellitus’?

Type 2 diabetes is considered by diabetes physicians as a complex and heterogeneous disease with a poorly understood aetiology, apart from the fact that there is a strong genetic propensity that becomes overt when exposed to a typical Western lifestyle. Our clinical targets are now moving from controlling the disease to preventing it. Do we need to await more research on the aetiology and pathophysiology before establishing a preventive strategy? No, the pathophysiology may be poorly understood, but there is now solid evidence that type 2 diabetes is a disease of fatness. New, controlled, clinical trials show that as little as 5% weight loss is sufficient to prevent most obese subjects with impaired glucose tolerance developing type 2 diabetes. Since type 2 diabetes is obesity dependent, and obesity is the main aetiogical cause of type 2 diabetes, we propose the term ‘diabesity’ should be adopted.
Effect of nitric oxide on iron‐mediated oxidative stress in primary rat hepatocyte culture

An iron‐mediated oxidative stress caused by an increase of the intracellular pool of low molecular weight complex of iron (LMWC) can be observed with iron overloading or ethanol metabolism. The aim of this study was to determine whether nitric oxide (NO) behaved as a pro‐oxidant or an antioxidant in such an iron‐mediated oxidative stress in rat hepatocytes. The cells were set up in primary cultures and incubated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and γ‐interferon (IFN) for 18 hours to induce NO synthase and to trigger NO production. Then 20 µmol/L iron or 50 mmol/L ethanol were added. Oxidative stress was evaluated by measuring lipoperoxidation using two markers: malondialdehyde (MDA) and conjugated dienes. Simultaneously, NO production was followed by the quantitation of nitrites in the culture medium, dinitrosyl iron complexes (DNICs) and mononitrosyl iron complexes (MNICs) in intact hepatocytes. DNIC and MNIC, evaluated by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), corresponded to NO bound to iron‐containing molecules and to free NO, respectively. In cultures preincubated with LPS and IFN before iron or ethanol addition, a net decrease of lipid peroxidation induced by either NO, iron, or ethanol was noted. Moreover, an elevation of iron‐bound NO and a decrease of free NO were observed in these cultures compared with the cultures incubated with only LPS and IFN. These data support the idea that there is a relationship between the changes of NO pool and the inhibition of oxidative stress. In addition, using NG‐monomethyl‐L‐arginine (L‐NMMA), a NO synthase inhibitor, NO was shown to be involved in the inhibition of oxidative stress induced by iron or ethanol. Addition of the chelator of LMWC iron, deferiprone, was followed by the inhibition of the increase of iron‐bound NO and the reincrease of lipid peroxidation extent, which was as high as in cultures incubated only with LPS and IFN. Thus LMWC iron appeared to be involved also in the inhibition of oxidative stress induced by NO. All the results favor the conclusion that NO acts as an antioxidant in iron‐mediated oxidative stress in rat hepatocytes. NO reacted with LMWC iron to form inactive iron complexes unable to induce oxidative stress in rat hepatocytes. Thus NO played a critical role in protecting the liver from oxidative stress.
Disruption of reelin signaling attenuates methamphetamine‐induced hyperlocomotion

To clarify whether reelin signaling is involved in dopaminergic neurotransmission in the adult mouse brain, we investigated dopamine function in mice lacking reelin (reeler). We found that methamphetamine‐induced locomotor activity is significantly attenuated in reeler mice. To elucidate the mechanism of this phenomenon, we first investigated presynaptic dopamine release; however, there were no significant differences in wildtype, heterozygous reeler and homozygous reeler mice. Next, we examined the locomotor response to intra‐accumbens injection of dopamine D1 and D2 receptor agonists, and found that lack of reelin signaling results in decreases in both D1 and D2 receptor‐mediated dopaminergic functions. In addition, we measured dopamine receptor binding in the striatum, and found that both D1 and D2 classes of dopamine receptors are reduced in reeler mice. Furthermore, we found that the phosphorylation levels of DARPP‐32 are also changed by lack of reelin signaling. Finally, to distinguish between a developmental role of reelin or an acute role of reelin in adult mouse, we intraventricularly infused CR‐50, a monoclonal antibody against reelin. Interestingly, infusion of CR‐50 also significantly reduced methamphetamine‐induced hyperlocomotion in wildtype mice, showing that reelin has an acute role in the dopaminergic system. These results indicate that reelin signaling plays a pivotal role in the dopaminergic system in adult mice, especially in postsynaptic levels.
Cellular Mechanisms of Inflammaging and Periodontal Disease

Increased age is associated with an increased prevalence of chronic inflammatory diseases and conditions. The term inflammaging has been used to describe the age-related changes to the immune response that results in a chronic and elevated inflammatory state that contributes, in part, to the increased prevalence of disease in older adults. Periodontal disease is a chronic inflammatory condition that affects the periodontium and increases in prevalence with age. To better understand the mechanisms that drive inflammaging, a broad body of research has focused on the pathological age-related changes to key cellular regulators of the immune response. This review will focus on our current understanding of how certain immune cells (neutrophils, macrophages, T cells) change with age and how such changes contribute to inflammaging and more specifically to periodontal disease.
Termination and functional organization of the ventral spino‐olivocerebellar path

1. The spino‐olivocerebellar path ascending through the ventral funiculus (VF‐SOCP) was investigated in decerebrate cats with the cord transected in the third cervical segment except for the left ventral funiculus. The climbing fibre responses evoked in Purkinje cells were studied by recording from single cells and by recording the mass activity at the cerebellar surface or in the molecular layer.
LDPC code-based bandwidth efficient coding schemes for wireless communications

LDPC Code-Based Bandwidth Efficient Coding Schemes for Wireless Communications. (August 2006) Hari Sankar, B. Tech, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. Krishna R. Narayanan This dissertation deals with the design of bandwidth-efficient coding schemes with Low-Density Parity-Check (LDPC) for reliable wireless communications. Code design for wireless channels roughly falls into three categories: (1) when channel state information (CSI) is known only to the receiver (2) more practical case of partial CSI at the receiver when the channel has to be estimated (3) when CSI is known to the receiver as well as the transmitter. We consider coding schemes for all the above categories. For the first scenario, we describe a bandwidth efficient scheme which uses highorder constellations such as QAM over both AWGN as well as fading channels. We propose a simple design with LDPC codes which combines the good properties of Multi-level Coding (MLC) and bit-interleaved coded-modulation (BICM) schemes. Through simulations, we show that the proposed scheme performs better than MLC for short-medium lengths on AWGN and block-fading channels. For the first case, we also characterize the rate-diversity tradeoff of MIMO-OFDM and SISO-OFDM systems. We design optimal coding schemes which achieve this tradeoff when transmission is from a constrained constellation. Through simulations, we show that with a sub-optimal iterative decoder, the performance of this coding scheme is very close to the optimal limit for MIMO (flat quasi-static fading), MIMO-OFDM and SISO-
Relationship Between Taq IB Cholesteryl Ester Transfer Protein Gene Polymorphism and Macrovascular Complications in Japanese Patients With Type 2 Diabetes

Cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) is a key regulating factor of lipid metabolism, and the polymorphism of its gene may therefore be a candidate for modulating the lipid parameters, altering the susceptibility to atherosclerosis in type 2 diabetic subjects. In a group of 443 unrelated Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes, we studied the B1B2 polymorphism at the CETP locus, which is detectable with the restriction enzyme TaqI. Patients were separated into three groups according to genotype and compared based on their clinical characteristics, lipid parameters, and macrovascular complications. The B2 allele was associated in a dose-dependent fashion with higher HDL cholesterol and apolipoprotein AI levels, together with lower CETP concentrations. Furthermore, the prevalence of macrovascular complications, such as coronary heart disease, arteriosclerosis obliterans, and cerebral vascular disease, was significantly higher in subjects with the B1B1 genotype. Multiple logistic regression analysis also showed that the B1 allele of CETP genotype was associated with the incidence of these three complications independently of other risk factors. Thus, in type 2 diabetic patients, the B1B2 polymorphism of CETP gene is likely to be a strong genetic predictor of macrovascular complications. Diabetes 51:871–874, 2002