Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Diet therapy with diacylglycerol oil delays the progression of renal failure in type 2 diabetic patients with nephropathy.

Diet therapy for diabetic nephropathy is important in preventing the progression of renal failure by controlling hyperglycemia, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and obesity (1,2). Edible oil containing mainly diacylglycerol (DAG) oil, compared with conventional triacylglycerol oil, has been reported to possess unique nutritional properties with respect to serum lipids and body fat metabolism (3–6). We previously reported that a 3-month intake of DAG oil significantly reduced fasting serum triglycerides in subjects of type 2 diabetes with hypertriglyceridemia (7). In the present study, we conducted a further clinical study for 6 months with an additional 3-year follow-up period to investigate the long-term effects of DAG oil in dietary therapy in subjects with type 2 diabetes with nephropathy. The subjects were 15 outpatients (aged 47–77 years) at the Itami City Hospital who were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in stage IIIb (macroalbuminuric stage with renal dysfunction; n = 2) and stage IV (renal failure stage; n = 13) according to the classification of diabetic nephropathy (Ministry of Health and Welfare, Japan) (8) who were receiving nutritional counseling for 13 months on average. The duration of diabetes was 18.2 ± 7.8 (range 5–28) years. Subjects were fully …
Factors Associated with Internet Addiction among Adolescents

This research examined factors associated with Internet addiction in adolescence using a population-based cross-sectional survey with self-reported questionnaires. Participants were recruited from high school students, ages 13 to 18 years, registered on the secondary school registry in Guangzhou city using a stratified random sampling technique. Internet addiction was assessed using the Internet Addiction Test (IAT). Information was also collected on demographics, health behaviors, and perception of personal condition. Depression was assessed by the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale. The majority of respondents were classified as normal users of the Internet (n = 1,392, 89.2%), with 158 (10.2%) moderately and 10 (0.6%) severely addicted to the Internet. Results from the multivariate logistic regression analyses suggested a 50% increased odds for males to be addicted to the Internet (OR = 1.5, 95% CI = 1.1-2.2) when compared to females. Other potential risk factors included drinking behavior (OR = 1.7, 95% CI = 1.1-2.8), family dissatisfaction (OR = 2.4, 95% CI = 1.3-4.3), and experience of recent stressful events (OR = 10.0, 95% CI = 6.5-12.2). Stress-related variables were associated with Internet addiction among adolescents as they are also related to other addictions. Clinicians need to be aware of potential comorbidities of other problems such as stress and family dissatisfaction among adolescent Internet addiction patients.
Parenting, Peer Relationships, Academic Self-efficacy, and Academic Achievement: Direct and Mediating Effects

The aim of the present study is to analyze the relation between authoritative and permissive parenting styles with the kinds of adolescent peer relationships (attachment, victimization, or aggression), and of the latter ones, in turn, with academic self-efficacy, and academic performance, in three waves that range from the early-mid adolescence to late adolescence. Five hundred Spanish adolescents, of both sexes, participated in a three-wave longitudinal study in Valencia, Spain. In the first wave, adolescents were either in the third year of secondary school or the fourth year of secondary school. The mean age in the first wave was 14.70 (SD = 0.68; range = 13–16 years). Child Report of Parental Behavior Inventory (Schaefer, 1965; Samper et al., 2006), Peer Attachment (from the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment by Armsden and Greenberg, 1987), Victimization (from the Kit at School, Buhs et al., 2010), Physical and Verbal Aggression Scale (Caprara and Pastorelli, 1993; Del Barrio et al., 2001), items of academic self-efficacy, and items of academic performance were administered. Structural equations modeling—path analysis was employed to explore the proposed models. The results indicated that parenting styles relate to the way the adolescents develops attachments to their peers and to academic self-efficacy. The mother's permissive style is an important positive predictor of aggressive behavior and a negative predictor of attachment to their peers. At the end, peer relations and academic self-efficacy are mediator variables between parenting styles and academic performance.
University of Birmingham Why banker Bob (still) can’t get TLS right: A Security Analysis of TLS in Leading UK Banking Apps

This paper presents a security review of the mobile apps provided by the UK’s leading banks; we focus on the connections the apps make, and the way in which TLS is used. We apply existing TLS testing methods to the apps which only ﬁnd errors in legacy apps. We then go on to look at extensions of these methods and ﬁnd ﬁve of the apps have serious vulnerabilities. In particular, we ﬁnd that two apps pin a TLS root CA certiﬁcate, but do not verify the hostname. In this case, the use of certiﬁcate pinning means that all existing test methods would miss detecting the hostname veriﬁcation ﬂaw. We ﬁnd that three apps load adverts over insecure connections, which could be exploited for in-app phishing attacks. Some of the apps used the users’ PIN as authentication, for which PCI guidelines require extra security, so these apps use an additional cryptographic protocol; we study the underlying protocol of one banking app in detail and show that it provides little additional protection, meaning that an active man-in-the-middle attacker can retrieve the user’s credentials, login to the bank and perform every operation the legitimate user could.
ADAPTATIONS OF RESPIRATORY SYSTEMS OF SPIDERS

One of the striking characteristics of arachnids is the occurrence within the group of localized book lungs as well as tracheae. Some orders' have only book lungs: four pairs in scorpions, two pairs in Uropygi and orthognath spiders (the mygalomorph "tarantulas" of American usage), one pair in Amblypygi and Schizomida. Others have tracheae only: the small pseudoscorpions, the very active wind scorpions (Solifugae), the harvestmen (Opiliones), and the Ricinulei. Book lungs are not found in Palpigradi, Ricinulei, pseudoscorpions, solifuges, opilionids, and mites (Table 1). In the largest group, the spiders, there is great diversity (Fig. 12). Some have book lungs and tracheae, and some have tracheae only. In others, tracheae seem to have little functional importance, and some may lack tracheae entirely, having only book lungs. Some dwarf arachnids, the Palpigradi and many mites lack respiratory organs altogether. It is generally assumed by students of arthropod anatomy that arachnid tracheae are not homologous to those of insects, but that tracheae evolved in at least three or four groups independently. For instance, independent origins are assumed for the pseudotracheae of terrestrial Crustacea (wood lice); for insect and myriapod tracheae, which open through numerous lateral spiracles; for onychophoran tracheae; and for arachnid tracheae, including those on the tibiae of the Eupnoi Opiliones, the long-legged harvestmen. This paper is concerned only with arachnid tracheae and their relationship to book lungs (Figs. 1, 2). The occurrence of lungs and tracheae in different orders has been mentioned. Considering the striking differences in respiratory systems, best illustrated in Kaestner (1965), it is not surprising that attempts have been made to use them in classification. In one of the largest orders, the spiders, presence or absence of book lungs has been used as the basis of classification at the family level.
Validating independent ratings of executive functioning following acquired brain injury using Rasch analysis

Assessment of everyday problems with executive functioning following acquired brain injury (ABI) is greatly valued by neurorehabilitation services. Reliance on self-report measures alone is problematic within this client group who may experience difficulties with awareness and memory. The construct validity and reliability of independent ratings (i.e., ratings provided by a carer/relative) on the Dysexecutive Questionnaire (DEX-I) was explored in this study. Consistent with the results recently reported on the self-rated version of the DEX (DEX-S; Simblett & Bateman, 2011), Rasch analysis completed on 271 responses to the DEX-I revealed that the scale did not fit the Rasch model and did not meet the assumption of unidimensionality, that is, a single underlying construct could not be found for the DEX-I that would allow development of an interval-level measure as a whole. Subscales, based on theoretical conceptualisations of executive functioning (Stuss, 2007) previously suggested for the DEX-S, were able to demonstrate fit to the Rasch model and unidimensionality. Reliability of independent responses to these subscales in comparison to self-reported ratings is discussed. These results contribute to a greater understanding of how assessment of executive functioning can be improved.
Importance of the Needle Bevel During Spinal and Epidural Anesthesia

Background and Objectives. The needle bevel has an important effect on the path that the needle takes as it traverses tissue. Many anesthesiologists, especially trainees, are unaware of the magnitude of this effect. There is a need for a model, constructed from readily available materials, that can be used to demonstrate the bevel effect and to assess various strategies for accurately advancing the needle. Methods. Styrofoam blocks were prepared. The following needles were studied: 25-gauge Quincke, 22-gauge Quincke, 18-gauge Quincke, 24-gauge Sprotte, 25-gauge Whitacre, 22-gauge Tuohy, and 17-gauge Tuohy. The effect of bevel orientation on deflection from midline was measured. Representative results were photographed. Results. The bevel has a significant effect on the path of Quincke and Tuohy needles. The deflection is more pronounced for thinner needles. Pencil-point needles show much less deflection than Quincke needles. Conclusions. Styrofoam blocks provide a model for teaching the basics of spinal and epidural anesthesia. By utilizing styrofoam the trainee can master needle control and gauge the effect of bevel orientation.
Path planning of vehicle based on improved ant colony algorithm

Path planning problem is a key of mobile vehicle transport. To plan an optimal path for vehicle, an improved method based on ant colony algorithm is proposed. Based on the grid method, workspace of vehicle is modeled, and the foraging behavior of ant colony is simulated and applied into the vehicle path planning. Some new strategies are proposed to avoid the boundary problem, scratching obstacle problem and deadlock problem. Simulation results showed that improved method can improve the efficiency of path planning and accuracy, which can find the optimal path quickly, and is effective and feasible.
Skyrmion Racetrack Memory With Random Information Update/Deletion/Insertion

Racetrack memory (RM) has demonstrated great potential as nonvolatile mass storage in future advanced computer architectures. Domain wall (DW)-based RM first proposed in 2008 by IBM, however, suffers from challenges, such as storage density, scalability, and energy consumption. Recently, magnetic skyrmions, topologically protected particle-like spin textures, have expected to replace DWs as new information carriers in the RM design, owing to their superiorities to DWs in terms of topological stability, smaller size, as well as lower driving current density. Extensive investigations have been performed in skyrmion-based RM (Sky-RM) to date. Furthermore, skyrmions exhibits some unique properties that are inaccessible to DWs, thus enabling Sky-RM to explore some new functions that may be inaccessible to DW-RM. In this paper, a novel Sky-RM, capable of random information update/deletion/insertion, is proposed by exploiting the particle-like behaviors of skyrmions. Micromagnetic studies are performed to validate the function and performance of these novel data operations, which may bring performance benefits in data access operations and enable new applications.
Changes in Spirituality and Well-Being in a Medically Based Lifestyle Program

Context: Interventions that influence spirituality are needed if we are to obtain convincing evidence that spirituality has health benefits as suggested by epidemiological studies. There has been little research on identifying or developing such interventions. Objective: To evaluate the extent to which participation in a medically based lifestyle change program resulted in changes in spirituality, and whether changes in spirituality were related to certain components of the program and to changes in well-being, meaning in life, and tendency to become angry. Design: Participants filled out questionnaires at the beginning and end of the program. Setting and Participants: 101 participants in the Rice Diet Program in Durham, North Carolina. Intervention: The program consists of a very low fat diet, exercise, and optional participation in yoga and meditation classes, lectures, and discussion and support groups, including a discussion group on spirituality. Results: Increased spirituality was reported by 51% of the participants. This increase was associated with increased well-being, increased meaning in life, decreased anger, and participation in meditation and yoga classes even though these classes were not presented in a spiritual context. Conclusions: Environments that nurture self-awareness, including activities such as meditation and yoga, may promote fundamental changes in personal values that are spiritual in nature. These changes appear to be a significant aspect of healthy lifestyle change for many persons.
Mesiodens: a clinical and radiographic study.

PURPOSE The term 'mesiodens' refers to a supernumerary tooth present in the midline of the maxilla between the two central incisors. This study seeks to investigate the characteristics of mesiodens among children in Korea. METHODS The study population consisted of 40 children whose ages ranged from 4 to-26-years. The characteristics of mesiodens were obtained from radiographs and clinical examination results, and were confirmed by surgical intervention. RESULTS Results showed that males were affected approximately 4 times as frequendy as females. Twenty-five percent of the patients had more than 1 supernumerary tooth. About 66% of the mesiodens were conical in shape and about 52% of the mesiodens were in the upward position. The age and sex distribution, number of mesiodens per patient, shape, direction, size, and effect on permanent maxillary incisors are also presented in this study. CONCLUSIONS The incidence of mesiodens has been estimated at 0.15% to 1% of the population. It occurs more frequently in boys than in girls, with the ratio being approximately 2:1. In this study, a male:female ratio of 4:1 for the prevalence for mesiodens was found. Ten (25%) out of the 40 patients had 2 mesiodens.
Determination of the mutant allele frequency in patients with neurofibromatosis type 2 and somatic mosaicism by means of deep sequencing

Neurofibromatosis Type 2 (NF2) is an autosomal disorder caused by mutations of the NF2 gene. More than half of all NF2 patients have unaffected parents and carry de novo mutations, which may be of prezygotic or postzygotic origin. The latter can result in mosaicism, which is relatively common in NF2 patients. Previous studies indicated that, in 50% of patients with mosaic NF2 mutations, the mutant allele is only detectable by Sanger sequencing of PCR products amplified from tumor tissue but not from blood samples. In order to establish a highly sensitive method that has the power to detect low levels of NF2 mutant alleles from blood samples of mosaic NF2 patients, we performed ultra deep sequencing and calculated the percentage of mutant and wildtype NF2 alleles. The mutant allele frequencies detected ranged from 2.6% to 19.7%. In three patients, however, the NF2 mutation previously identified in tumor tissue was not identified in blood samples by means of deep sequencing, suggesting absence of mutant cells in the blood. Remarkably, we observed a correlation between the age at onset of the disease and the mutant allele frequency. Our study indicates that ultra deep sequencing is an effective and highly sensitive method to determine the mutant allele frequency in patients with mosaic NF2 gene mutations, which enables extended phenotype/correlations in these patients. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
AL-8810: A Novel Prostaglandin F2α Analog with Selective Antagonist Effects at the Prostaglandin F2α (FP) Receptor

A novel analog of prostaglandin F 2α [AL-8810; (5 Z , 13E)-(9 S ,11 S ,15 R )-9,15-dihydroxy-11-fluoro-15-(2-indanyl)-16,17,18,19,20-pentanor-5,13-prostadienoic acid] has been discovered with uniquely low efficacy ( E max ) at the endogenous prostaglandin F 2α receptors (FP receptors) of A7r5 rat thoracic aorta smooth muscle cells and Swiss mouse 3T3 fibroblasts, as assayed by stimulation of phospholipase C activity. AL-8810 has weak agonist potency (EC 50 ) of 261 ± 44 nM ( n = 3) and E max = 19% (relative to the full FP receptor agonist cloprostenol) in A7r5 cells and EC 50 of 186 ± 63 nM ( n = 3) and E max = 23% in 3T3 fibroblasts. AL-8810 exhibited properties of an apparent competitive antagonist, i.e., produced parallel dextral shifts of the agonist concentration-response curves and no significant suppression of the maximal agonist-induced response, when the potent, selective FP receptor agonist fluprostenol was used. The inhibition parameters of AL-8810 were: pA 2 = 6.68 ± 0.23 and 6.34 ± 0.09 ( n = 3–4) for A7r5 cells and 3T3 cells, respectively, with Schild slopes ranging from 0.80 to 0.92. AL-8810 concentration-dependently antagonized the response to 100 nM fluprostenol ( K i = 426 ± 63 nM; n = 5) in A7r5 cells. However, even at 10 μM concentration, AL-8810 did not significantly inhibit functional responses of TP, DP, EP 2 , EP 4 , receptor subtypes in various cell lines. AL-8810 also did not antagonize the phospholipase C-coupled V 1 -vasopressin receptor in A7r5 cells. These results suggest that AL-8810 is a unique, selective antagonist at the FP receptor, a heretofore unavailable pharmacological tool that should be valuable for studying FP receptor-mediated functional responses in complex biological systems.
Balance Ability, Not Muscle Strength and Exercise Endurance, Determines the Performance of Hemiparetic Subjects on the Timed-Sit-to-Stand Test

Ng SSM: Balance ability, not muscle strength and exercise endurance, determines the performance of hemiparetic subjects on the timed-sit-to-stand test. Objective:To examine the contribution of balance ability, muscle strength, and exercise endurance to performance in the timed-sit-to-stand test among chronic hemiparetic subjects. Design:A cross-sectional study with 68 community-dwelling stroke survivors. Results:By using Pearson correlation coefficient, the five-times-sit-to-stand (FTSTS) test scores showed the highest negative correlation with Berg Balance Scale scores (r = −0.837, P < 0.001), and it showed significant moderate correlation with muscle strength index (r = −0.577, P < 0.001) and distance covered in a 6-min walk test (r = −0.598, P < 0.001). After controlling for demographic factors, significant partial correlation was identified between FTSTS scores and Berg Balance Scale scores only (r = −0.630, P < 0.001). Linear regression model, after accounting for demographics and subjective balance confidence, showed that FTSTS scores were independently associated with Berg Balance Scale scores (&bgr; = −0.630, P < 0.001), whereas muscle strength index and distance covered in the 6-min walk test were not significant predictors of FTSTS scores. The whole model could explain 71% of the variance in FTSTS scores. Conclusions:This is the first study documenting the importance of balance ability, not muscle strength and exercise endurance, as an important determinant of performance on the FTSTS test by community-dwelling stroke patients. These findings suggest that the FTSTS test may be a more appropriate proxy indicator of balance performance in chronic community-dwelling stroke subjects.
Hes 1 triggers epithelial-mesenchymal transition ( EMT )-like cellular marker alterations and promotes invasion and metastasis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Overexpression of the transcriptional factor Hes1 (hairy and enhancer of split-1) has been observed in numerous cancers, but the precise roles of Hes1 in epithelialmesenchymal transition (EMT), cancer invasion and metastasis remain unknown. Our current study firstly revealed that Hes1 upregulation in a cohort of human nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) biopsies is significantly associated with the EMT, invasive and metastatic phenotypes of cancer. In the present study, we found that Hes1 overexpression triggered EMT-like cellular marker alterations of NPC cells, whereas knockdown of Hes1 through shRNA reversed the EMT-like phenotypes, as strongly supported by Hes1-mediated EMT in NPC clinical specimens described above. Gain-of-function and loss-of-function experiments demonstrated that Hes1 promoted the migration and invasion of NPC cells in vitro. In addition, exogenous expression of Hes1 significantly enhanced the metastatic ability of NPC cells in vivo. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays showed that Hes1 inhibited PTEN expression in NPC cells through binding to PTEN promoter region. Increased Hes1 expression and decreased PTEN expression were also observed in a cohort of NPC biopsies. Additional studies demonstrated that Hes1-induced EMT-like molecular changes and increased motility and invasion of NPC cells were mediated by PTEN. Taken together, our results suggest, for what we believe is the first time, that Hes1 plays an important role in the invasion and metastasis of NPC through inhibiting PTEN expression to trigger EMT-like phenotypes.
Inactivation of the Pure Antiestrogen Fulvestrant and Other Synthetic Estrogen Molecules by UDP-Glucuronosyltransferase 1A Enzymes Expressed in Breast Tissue

Fulvestrant (Faslodex) is administered by intramuscular injection and is converted into ketone, sulfate, sulfone and glucuronide metabolites. Glucuronidation, catalyzed by 18 members of the UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT) enzyme family, plays a major role in the elimination of natural estrogens. The present study was aimed at identifying and characterizing human UGT enzymes involved in the glucuronidation of this antiestrogen as well as other synthetic estrogen derivatives with aliphatic chains on the E2 molecule. In contrast to E2, which is conjugated by UGT1A1, -1A3, -1A8, -1A10, and -2B7, fulvestrant is glucuronidated by UGT1A1, -1A3, -1A4, and -1A8. The four UGT1A-fulvestrant conjugating enzymes glucuronidate this substrate at position 3, whereas only UGT1A8 also produces fulvestrant-17-glucuronide. For E2, only UGT1A3 and UGT2B7 are capable to conjugate at 17-hydroxyposition. These observations indicate that addition of an aliphatic chain to the E2 molecule modifies the specificity of the UGT enzymes toward the C18 molecules. To further investigate the specificity of these enzymes, a series of E2 derivatives with aliphatic or phenyl chains at position 2, 7α, and 11β was also tested for its conjugation with human UGT enzymes. It was observed that, in addition to UGT1A3, UGT1A1 and UGT1A8 also played important roles for the glucuronidation of these compounds. This suggests that the basic structure of E2 is one of the major determinants for the glucuronidation catalyzed by this group of enzymes. Considering the high level of UGT1A3 and -1A4 expression in the gastrointestinal tract and mammary gland, our results suggest that fulvestrant can be inactivated both in intestine and in its target tissue.