Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Application of Microwave Treatment for the Plasticisation of Beech Wood (Fagus sylvatica L.) and its Densification for Flooring System Purposes

In this study, the application of microwave treatment for wood plasticisation and its densification for flooring system purposes is presented. Microwave plasticisation was carried out using a continuous laboratory device at a frequency of 2.45 GHz, and the testing samples made from European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) wood were plasticised at different power modes (2 kW, 3.5 kW, and 5 kW). Afterwards, the densification (ratio 50%) of pre-treated samples was performed. The surface temperature (Ts) and average moisture content (MC) of the samples were measured after plasticisation. The results showed the influence of the chosen mode on MC decrease and rapid Ts increase. Thus, the densification of testing samples is affected by different initial conditions that occur during the plasticisation process (MC and Ts). The Brinell hardness (HB) of the densified samples increased by about 57% (2 kW), 103% (3.5 kW), and 83% (5 kW), compared with control samples. These results provide a better understanding of microwave plasticisation usability and its potential optimisation and application in the wood flooring industry.
Evidence that boosters augment the long-term impact of implementation intentions on fruit and vegetable intake

The present study tests the efficacy of a single implementation intention to increase intake over a 6-month period, and investigates whether deploying a second implementation intention at 3 months can sustain the long-term impact, compared with passive and active control groups. Participants (N = 650) completed single-item and FFQ measures of behaviour and motivation at baseline before being randomised to one of six conditions in a between-persons design. Intention to treat analysis revealed that for the single-item measure: (1) a single implementation intention is an effective means of initiating fruit and vegetable increase over a 3-month period, but this effect is not sustained over 6 months; (2) administering a second implementation intention at 3 months was successful in increasing intake over 6 months, and acted as a booster on the initial impact; and (3) neither the passive nor active control condition had any impact on behaviour. However, no effects of the manipulations on fruit and vegetable intake were found when behaviour was assessed by the FFQ measure. Secondary analyses showed that reported increases in intake were not related to demand characteristics. The findings are discussed in relation to their conceptual and practical value.
A Rigorous Approach for the Modeling of Through-Silicon-Via Pairs Using Multipole Expansions

This paper presents a novel multipole expansion method for the rigorous analysis of wave propagation along a through-silicon-via (TSV) pair. TSV models are often constructed using equivalent circuits under the assumption that the interfaces between different media are equipotential. In comparison with that, the proposed method is a rigorous full-wave solution of the propagation mode. It takes advantage of cylindrical wave expansion functions and matches the boundary conditions at both the metal-to-insulator and insulator-to-silicon interfaces exactly. The method is validated against a full-wave finite-element method solver, and analysis examples using the method are demonstrated in a frequency range up to 100 GHz.
MushyPeek: A Framework for Online Investigation of Audiovisual Dialogue Phenomena

Evaluation of methods and techniques for conversational and multimodal spoken dialogue systems is complex, as is gathering data for the modeling and tuning of such techniques. This article describes MushyPeek, an experiment framework that allows us to manipulate the audiovisual behavior of interlocutors in a setting similar to face-to-face human—human dialogue. The setup connects two subjects to each other over a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephone connection and simultaneously provides each of them with an avatar representing the other. We present a first experiment which inaugurates, exemplifies, and validates the framework. The experiment corroborates earlier findings on the use of gaze and head pose gestures in turn-taking.
Correlation of Increased Expression of MicroRNA-155 in Bladder Cancer and Prognosis.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the expression level and clinical significance of microRNA-155 (miR-155) in bladder cancer. METHODS We collected 102 pairs of tissue specimens from patients with primary bladder cancer and adjacent normal bladder specimens between March 2008 and May 2013. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (QRT-PCR) was performed to detect the expression levels of miR-155. We performed univariate survival analyses using the Kaplan-Meier method and assessed statistical significance between survival curves via the log-rank test. RESULTS The mean (SD) level of miR-155 expression in tissues with bladder cancer was 13.78 (4.80), which was significantly higher on average than that in adjacent normal bladder tissues (6.14 [2.26], P <.001). Progression-free survival (PFS) was significantly lower for patients with bladder cancer who had a high expression level of miR-155 (5-year survival rate, 23.0%) than those with a low miR-155 expression level (5-year survival rate, 48.9%; P <.001). CONCLUSIONS We found that elevated expression of miR-155 is correlated with a poor outcome for patients with bladder cancer; this suggests that miR-155 is a potential biomarker for bladder cancer prognosis.
Primary care patients' personal illness models for depression: a preliminary investigation.

BACKGROUND Despite the fact that more than half of depressed persons are treated for this disorder by primary care physicians, depression is often under-recognized or treated inadequately. There is continued emphasis on effective treatment of depression in primary care patients, but little attention has been paid to the role of the depressed person's illness cognitions in coping with this disorder. Given the often recurring and chronic nature of depression, the individual's self-management strategies may be critical to effective treatment, recovery and remaining well. OBJECTIVES The purpose of this pilot study was to determine whether primary care patients' personal illness cognitions for depression are associated with depression coping strategies and treatment-related behaviour. METHODS Forty-one primary care patients with depressive symptoms or disorder completed interviews and questionnaires assessing illness cognitions for depression, depression coping strategies and other treatment-related behaviour. Descriptive statistics are used to present patients' illness cognitions for depression. t-tests and correlational analyses were completed to assess the relationship between illness cognitions, depression coping strategies and treatment-related behaviour. RESULTS Preliminary data describing illness cognitions for depression are presented. Participants' illness cognitions for depression were significantly associated with current and past treatment-seeking behaviour, medication adherence and coping strategies. CONCLUSIONS Although preliminary, these findings indicate that patients' understanding of depression and its consequences are associated with how they manage this illness. Future research is needed to examine the mediating and moderating effects of illness cognitions for depression on medication adherence and other self-management behaviours of depressed primary care patients. Knowledge about primary care patients' personal illness models will aid in the development of adherence interventions, self-management training and support services appropriate to patients' needs in the primary care setting.
Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms in Adiponectin Gene Are Not Directly Associated with Increased Risk of Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome in a Chinese Han Population

Purpose: This study aims to test the possible correlation between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the adiponectin gene and increased risk of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) in a Chinese Han population. Materials and Methods: A total of 266 subjects were enrolled into the study to detect 9 SNPs in the adiponectin gene. Multivariate unconditional logistic regression analysis, adjusted for gender and age, was used to estimate the associations of these SNPs with OSAS risk. Results: No evidence of a direct association was observed between these SNPs and the risk of OSAS in the Chinese Han population. However, the stratified analysis also revealed a remarkable genotype difference for SNP rs6773957 between cases and controls in the overweight subgroup (p < 0.05). In addition, the allele or genotype distributions of rs12495941, rs182052, and rs16861205 had significant differences with regard to the severity of OSAS (p < 0.05). No differences were identified in the other subgroups. Conclusion: The current research demonstrated that the SNPs in the adiponectin gene did not represent susceptibility loci for OSAS in Chinese Han individuals overall. However, variants of rs6773957 have an association with OSAS in overweight individuals. In addition, polymorphisms of rs12495941, rs182052, and rs16861205 are associated with the severity of OSAS.
Divergent Metabolic Regulation of Autophagy and mTORC1—Early Events in Alzheimer’s Disease?

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive disease associated with the production and deposition of amyloid β-peptide (Aβ) aggregates and neurofibrillary tangles, which lead to synaptic and neuronal damage. Reduced autophagic flux has been widely associated with the accumulation of autophagic vacuoles (AV), which has been proposed to contribute to aggregate build-up observed in AD. As such, targeting autophagy regulation has received wide review, where an understanding as to how this mechanism can be controlled will be important to neuronal health. The mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1), which was found to be hyperactive in AD brain, regulates autophagy and is considered to be mechanistically important to aberrant autophagy in AD. Hormones and nutrients such as insulin and leucine, respectively, positively regulate mTORC1 activation and are largely considered to inhibit autophagy. However, in AD brain there is a dysregulation of nutrient metabolism, linked to insulin resistance, where a role for insulin treatment to improve cognition has been proposed. Recent studies have highlighted that mitochondrial proteins such as glutamate dehydrogenase and the human branched chain aminotransferase protein, through metabolism of leucine and glutamate, differentially regulate mTORC1 and autophagy. As the levels of the hBCAT proteins are significantly increased in AD brain relative to aged-matched controls, we discuss how these metabolic pathways offer new potential therapeutic targets. In this review article, we highlight the core regulation of autophagy through mTORC1, focusing on how insulin and leucine will be important to consider in particular with respect to our understanding of nutrient load and AD pathogenesis.
Bdellovibrio Predation in the Presence of Decoys: Three-Way Bacterial Interactions Revealed by Mathematical and Experimental Analyses

ABSTRACT Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus is a small, gram-negative, motile bacterium that preys upon other gram-negative bacteria, including several known human pathogens. Its predation efficiency is usually studied in pure cultures containing solely B. bacteriovorus and a suitable prey. However, in natural environments, as well as in any possible biomedical uses as an antimicrobial, Bdellovibrio is predatory in the presence of diverse decoys, including live nonsusceptible bacteria, eukaryotic cells, and cell debris. Here we gathered and mathematically modeled data from three-member cultures containing predator, prey, and nonsusceptible bacterial decoys. Specifically, we studied the rate of predation of planktonic late-log-phase Escherichia coli S17-1 prey by B. bacteriovorus HD100, both in the presence and in the absence of Bacillus subtilis nonsporulating strain 671, which acted as a live bacterial decoy. Interestingly, we found that although addition of the live Bacillus decoy did decrease the rate of Bdellovibrio predation in liquid cultures, this addition also resulted in a partially compensatory enhancement of the availability of prey for predation. This effect resulted in a higher final yield of Bdellovibrio than would be predicted for a simple inert decoy. Our mathematical model accounts for both negative and positive effects of predator-prey-decoy interactions in the closed batch environment. In addition, it informs considerations for predator dosing in any future therapeutic applications and sheds some light on considerations for modeling the massively complex interactions of real mixed bacterial populations in nature.
THE ROLE OF THE 148 ASP / GLU POLYMORPHISM OF THE APE 1 GENE IN THE DEVELOPMENT AND PROGRESSION OF PRIMARY OPEN ANGLE GLAUCOMA IN THE POLISH POPULATION

Glaucoma is an ocular disorder that is characterized by progressive degeneration of the optic nerve and loss of visual field (VF). Recent data have suggested that the level of oxidative DNA damage in human trabecular meshwork is significantly increased in glaucomatous patients as compared to controls. It was also noted that progressive loss of visual field may by connected with elevated levels of oxidative DNA lesions. This hypothesis may suggest the role of an inefficient base excision repair pathway in primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) pathogenesis. The aim of the study was to evaluate the association of the 148 Asp/Glu APE1 gene polymorphism with the risk of POAG development. One hundred fifty patients with POAG and 190 controls were enrolled in our study. Gene polymorphisms were analyzed by PCRCTPP. We did not observe a statistically significant difference between the frequencies of alleles and genotypes of the 148 Asp/Glu APE1 gene polymorphism in POAG patients and controls. However, the presented study indicated that 148 Asp/Glu of the APE1 gene was associated with decreased risk of progression of POAG with reference to the parameter VF. We suggest that the 148 Asp/Glu APE1 gene polymorphism may decrease the risk of POAG progression.
On the injectivity of the Vassiliev homomorphism of singular Artin monoids

I prove general combinatorial properties which apply to singular Artin monoids and examine their relationship with the Vassiliev homomorphism ≠. I show that ≠ preserves the Intermediate Property, discovered by Corran, which holds in positive singular Artin monoids of finite type. From this it follows that ≠ is injective for a class of monoids which include singular Artin monoids of type I2(p), generalising a result of East.
Efficacy of Once-Daily Darunavir/Ritonavir 800/100 mg in HIV-Infected, Treatment-Experienced Patients With No Baseline Resistance-Associated Mutations to Darunavir

Objective:The objective of this study was to examine the potential of once-daily dosing with darunavir/ritonavir 800/100 mg in a HIV-infected, treatment-experienced patient population with no baseline darunavir resistance-associated mutations (RAMs). Methods:Patients in the randomized controlled POWER 1 and 2 trials were treatment experienced, with ≥1 International AIDS Society-USA primary protease inhibitor (PI) mutation. The virological and immunological responses in patients with no baseline darunavir RAMs receiving darunavir/r 800/100 mg once daily (n = 23), darunavir/r 600/100 mg twice daily (n = 29), or currently available PI(s) (n = 28) plus an optimized background regimen were compared. Results:The proportion of patients achieving HIV RNA <50 copies per milliliter at week 24 was 67% for the group receiving darunavir/r 800/100 mg once daily and 62% for the group receiving darunavir/r 600/100 mg twice daily (P = 0.774); both were superior to control PI(s) (11%; P < 0.0001). Mean HIV RNA change from baseline was 22.39 and 22.35 log10 copies per milliliter for the group receiving darunavir/r 800/100 mg once daily and for the group receiving 600/100 mg twice daily, respectively (P = 0.895); mean CD4 increases were 88 and 111 cells per milliliter, respectively (P = 0.526). Conclusions:Treatment-experienced, HIV-infected patients with no baseline darunavir RAMs achieved similar high responses with darunavir/r 800/100 mg once daily and 600/100 mg twice daily. This suggests that once-daily darunavir/r 800/100 mg therapy, which has been shown effective in treatment-naive patients and is currently being studied in treatment-experienced patients, shows potential in patients with no darunavir RAMs.
Sex ratio of Plasmodium falciparum gametocytes in inhabitants of Dielmo, Senegal

An epidemiological survey was conducted during a 4-month period of intense malaria transmission in Dielmo, a holoendemic Senegalese village. Two thick blood smears per inhabitant were collected weekly. The sex ratio of Plasmodium falciparum gametocytes (gamete precursors) was studied in 50 gametocyte carriers. All age classes were represented (mean 19·7 years; range: 2 months–75 years); 42 (84%) of them did not receive antimalarial treatment. Overall 668 thick smears were examined until 100 gametocytes had been counted or for 40 min. A total of 11 204 gametocytes were observed with a mean sex ratio of 0·346 (95% CI 0·317–0·374), i.e. 2·89 females per 1 male. Among the 284 thick smears in which at least 10 gametocytes were observed, the mean percentage of male gametocytes was 27·8%, with a range of 0–82%. Great variability was observed between gametocyte carriers and also between thick smears from the same gametocyte carrier. A multivariate analysis was performed which highlighted the fact that only 2 variables had a significant effect on the sex ratio. Anaemia was associated with an increased percentage of males (Prevalence Rate Ratio [PPR] of male gametocytes was multiplied by 1·65 if haematocrit rate <32%) and a wave of gametocytes was associated with an increased percentage of female gametocytes (PRR was multiplied by 0·48 during the peak of gametocytaemia and for the 2 weeks following this peak). The variables without significant effect on sex ratio were: age, sex, clinical status and sickle cell trait status of the gametocyte carrier, density of asexual parasites, quinine treatment, and gametocyte density (when taking account of its waves). These results are discussed in regard of possible differential production, mortality or sequestration of one gametocyte sex and selective advantages for the transmission of parasites.
Psychiatric Symptoms Moderate the Effects of Mental Illness Self-management in a Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract Depression has been shown to moderate the effects of physical illness self-management (ISM) programs. We attempted to replicate these findings for a mental ISM intervention. Outpatients with serious mental illness (N = 428) from eight Tennessee communities were randomly assigned to receive a peer-led self-management intervention called Building Recovery of Individual Dreams and Goals Through Education and Support or services as usual. Psychiatric symptoms were assessed with the Brief Symptom Inventory; the outcome of personal empowerment was measured by the Empowerment Scale. Intent-to-treat analysis using mixed-effects random regression found significant interaction effects between study condition and three moderating symptom profiles. Empowerment was greater for the intervention participants with high levels of depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and general symptom distress than for the experimental participants with low symptom levels and the control subjects with high or low levels of symptoms. These results shed light on how mental ISM programs operate and ways these can be improved.
On Secrecy Outage of Relay Selection in Underlay Cognitive Radio Networks Over Nakagami- $m$ Fading Channels

In this paper, the secrecy outage performance of an underlay cognitive decode-and-forward relay network over independent but not necessarily identical distributed Nakagami- ${m}$ fading channels is investigated, in which the secondary user transmitter communicates with the secondary destination via relays, and an eavesdropper attempts to overhear the information. Based on whether the channel state information of the wiretap links is available or not, we analyze the secrecy outage performance with optimal relay selection (ORS) and suboptimal relay selection (SRS) schemes, and multiple relays combining scheme (MRC) scheme is considered for comparison purpose. The exact and asymptotic closed-form expressions for the secrecy outage probability with three different relay selection schemes are derived and verified by Monte-Carlo simulations. The numerical results illustrate that ORS scheme always outperforms SRS and MRC schemes, and SRS scheme is better than MRC scheme in the lower fading parameters scenario. Furthermore, through asymptotic analysis, we find that these three different schemes achieve the same secrecy diversity order, which is determined by the number of the relays, and the fading parameters of the links among the relays and the destination.
THE USE OF THE ENDOTHELIN RECEPTOR ANTAGONIST, TEZOSENTAN, BEFORE OR AFTER RENAL ISCHEMIA PROTECTS RENAL FUNCTION1

Background. Utilization of organs subjected to ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury could expand the donor pool. Endothelin (ET) is implicated in renal I/R injury. Therefore, our study compared the effectiveness of pre- and postischemic administration of the ET receptor antagonist, Tezosentan, in preserving renal function. Methods. In a rat model, a kidney was subjected to 45 min of ischemia along with a contralateral nephrectomy. After 24 hr of reperfusion, renal function was assessed by serum creatinine (Scr), inulin clearance (glomerular filtration rate; GFR), and histology. ET-1 peptide expression was localized using immunohistochemistry. Three groups were studied: I/R untreated (n=17), I/R pretreated (n=11), and I/R posttreated (n=13) with Tezosentan (15 mg/kg, i.v.). Results. Tezosentan significantly decreased ( P <0.05) the rise in Scr from I/R injury (2.0±0.4 mg/dl, before and 2.9±0.4 mg/dl, after treatment) compared with untreated animals (4.2±0.4 mg/dl). GFR was significantly increased ( P <0.05) from 0.13±0.03 ml/min (untreated animals) to 0.74±0.16 and 0.47±0.14 ml/min (pre- and posttreated animals). Untreated animals had significant cortical acute tubular necrosis, which was almost completely prevented by pretreatment with Tezosentan and markedly reduced by posttreatment. Increased ET-1 peptide expression was noted in the renal vasculature and in the cortical tubular epithelium of kidneys exposed to I/R. Conclusions. The purpose of this study was to optimize the function of kidneys exposed to I/R injury. Pretreatment as well as posttreatment with Tezosentan successfully decreased Scr, increased GFR, and maintained renal architecture in kidneys after ischemia. Therefore, ET receptor antagonists may be useful to preserve renal function in the transplantation setting.