Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Advanced End Glycation Products, Advanced Oxidation Protein Products and Ferritin Reducing Ability of Plasma as Markers of Diabetic Retinopathy

Background: Advanced Glycation End-products (AGEs) and Advanced Oxidation Protein Products (AOPP) are able to trigger inflammation, oxidative stress and neovascularization in diabetic retinopathy. The aim of this research was to study AGEs, AOPP and Ferric Reducing Ability of Plasma (FRAP) in different stages of diabetic retinopathy. Methods: A total of 88 patients with T2DM, 29 with Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy (PDR), 30 with Non-Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy (NPDR), 29 without Retinopathy (NDR) and 43 healthy control groups were enrolled in this study. Results: AGEs and AOPP levels were significantly higher in patients with retinopathy, PDR (87.08±14.80%, 156.75±30.36µmol/L respectively) and NPDR (88.55±9.41%, 161.84±20.29µmol/L respectively), compared to patients without retinopathy (57.90±16.3%, 122.39±34.97µmol/L respectively) and control group (44.62±7.08 %, 135.17±13.94µmol/L respectively) (p<0.001) but the difference was not significant between the PDR and NPDR group . FRAP level was significantly lower in PDR (768.68±297.93µmol/L) and NPDR (756.68±266.40µmol/L) group compared to NDR (1317.14±357.8µmol/L) and control group (1000.09±213.94µmol/L) (p=0.001) . FRAP level in control group was lower than NDR group. There was a strongly significant negative correlation between AGEs and FRAP levels in NDR (P=0.001, r=-0.7), NPDR (P=0.001, r=-0.6), PDR group (P=0.004, r=-0.5) and control group (p=0.001, r=-0.8), but there was no correlation between AOPP and FRAP. The Area Under the Curve (AUC) of AGEs, AOPP and FRAP for predicting NPDR and PDR were0.6, 0.6 and 0.3 respectively (p=0.01). Conclusion: Increased levels of AGES and AOPP and decreased levels of FRAP had predictive value in early stages of diabetic retinopathy, suggests that these serum markers can be used to detect and monitor early stages of retinopathy in diabetic patients.
Particle Diffusion in the Radiation Belts

It is commonly accepted that the geomagnetic field holds the radiation belts together, with each particle spiralling smoothly along the field lines. The main loss mechanism is held to be Coulomb scattering by background particles in the exosphere. The scattering effect of small scale magnetic deviations in random directions, superimposed on the geomagnetic field, is considered. Properties of any isotropic scattering process are noted and isotropic magnetic scattering is analyzed. (W.D.M.)
RESEARCH ARTICLE Correlation Between Mammograghic Findings and Clinical/ Pathologic Features in Women with Small Invasive Breast Carcinomas

Background: To study the relationship between mammographic findings and clinical/pathologic features in women with 1-15mm sized invasive breast cancer. Materials and Methods: We investigated a consecutive series of 134 cases diagnosed in Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital in 2007. Mammographic findings were classified into five groups as follows :1) stellate mass without calcification; 2) non-stellate mass without calcification; 3) intermediate suspicious calcification with or without associated mass; 4) higher probability malignant calcification with or without associated mass; 5) focal asymmetry/distortion without associated calcification. Associations between mammographic and clinical/pathological features (menopause status/family history/histologic grade/lymph node status and ER/PR/HER2 status) was analyzed through logistic regression and chi square tests. Results: Compared to the stellate mass without calcification group, higher probability malignant calcification patients were associated significantly with a positive lymph node status, always presenting in patients who were non-menopausal and with a family history of carcinoma. Conclusions: Higher probability malignant calcifications with or without associated tumor masses are associated with clinical/pathologic features of poor prognosis.
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Infection Causes Neuronal Death in the Absence of Encephalitis in Mice Transgenic for Human ACE2 (cid:1)

Infection of humans with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) results in sub- stantial morbidity and mortality, with death resulting primarily from respiratory failure. While the lungs are the major site of infection, the brain is also infected in some patients. Brain infection may result in long-term neurological sequelae, but little is known about the pathogenesis of SARS-CoV in this organ. We previously showed that the brain was a major target organ for infection in mice that are transgenic for the SARS-CoV receptor (human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2). Herein, we use these mice to show that virus enters the brain primarily via the olfactory bulb, and infection results in rapid, transneuronal spread to connected areas of the brain. This extensive neuronal infection is the main cause of death because intracranial inoculation with low doses of virus results in a uniformly lethal disease even though little infection is detected in the lungs. Death of the animal likely results from dysfunction and/or death of infected neurons, especially those located in cardiorespiratory centers in the medulla. Remarkably, the virus induces minimal cellular inﬁltration in the brain. Our results show that neurons are a highly susceptible target for SARS-CoV and that only the absence of the host cell receptor prevents severe murine brain disease.
Optimisation of ﬁ n selection and thermal design of counter-current plate- ﬁ n heat exchangers Applied Thermal Engineering

(cid:1) Standardized basic ﬁ n geometries are treated as continuous variables. (cid:1) C onsidering thermal hydraulic performance of different ﬁn types in optimisation. (cid:1) Fin types and corresponding design parameters are optimised simultaneously. (cid:1) The optimisation objective is to minimise the total volume. (cid:1) A case study shows a very promising result when compared with a published result. A major challenge in designing optimal multi-stream plate- ﬁ n heat exchangers is the large number of combinations of standardised ﬁ n geometries for various ﬁ n types to choose from, which adds discrete aspects to an already complicated design problem. In this work, a new design algorithm is proposed to address this issue. By treating basic ﬁ n geometries such as plate spacing, ﬁ n pitch, ﬁ n length and ﬁ n thickness as continuous variables for all the ﬁ n types, different ﬁ n types are characterised based on the work published by different researchers. Then by taking into account thermal hydraulic performance of different ﬁ n types, optimal ﬁ n types and their corresponding design parameters can be obtained simultaneously by minimising the total volume of heat exchanger. The design parameters can be rounded to the nearest standardised ﬁ n parts for a feasible design. A case study with a comparison of published results is carried out to demonstrate the effectiveness of the method.
Learning as an Inverse Problem in Reproducing Kernel Hilbert Spaces

: Applications of methods from theory of inverse problems to learning from data are studied. It is shown that learning modeled as minimization of error functionals can be reformulated in terms of inverse problems deﬁned by evaluation and inclusion operators. Methods from theory of inverse problems are used to create a theoretical framework for study of behavior of error functionals, to obtain simple proofs of characterizations of their argmin-ima, and to get some insight into an effect of regularization on improving generalization. Moreover, investigation of learning from data in the context of theory of inverse problems shows usefulness of the choice of Hilbert spaces deﬁned by kernels (called reproducing kernel Hilbert spaces) as suitable ambient function spaces.
Sugar supply to embryos in oilseed rape seeds

The seeds has been investigated, by supplying [ 14 C]sucrose to pedicels of detached, developing siliques. The method gives high, sustained rates of lipid synthesis in developing embryos within the silique, comparable with those on the intact plant. At very early developmental stages (three days after anthesis), the liquid fraction that occupies most of the interior of the seed has a very high hexose to sucrose ratio and [ 14 C]sucrose entering the seeds is rapidly converted to hexoses. Between three and 12 days after anthesis the hexose to sucrose ratio of the liquid fraction of the seed remains high, but the fraction of [ 14 C]sucrose converted to hexose falls dramatically. Instead, most of the [ 14 C]sucrose entering the seed is rapidly converted to products in the growing embryo. These data, together with light and NMR microscopy, reveal complex compartmentation of sugar metabolism and transport within the seed during development. The bulk of the sugar in the liquid fraction of the seed is probably contained within the central vacuole of the endosperm. This sugar is not in contact with the embryo, and is not on the path taken by carbon from the phloem to the embryo. These findings have important implications for the “sugar switch” model of embryo development, and for understanding of the relationship between the embryo and the surrounding endosperm. embryo. To test this idea, we fed [ 14 C]Suc to whole, detached siliques then analysed separately the rates of conversion of Suc to hexoses in the liquid fraction of seeds and to storage products in embryos. The results indicate that the environment surrounding the seed has a different sugar content from the bulk endosperm liquid. They are not consistent with the idea that the embryo receives carbon from the bulk endosperm liquid, or that the sugar composition of this liquid has a direct influence on embryo development. They reveal important complexity in the compartmentation of sugars in the developing seed: we used imaging techniques to study this compartmentation further. The implications of these results for understanding of development and nutrition of B. napus embryos are discussed.
EFFECT OF SOYBEAN LECITHIN ON FREEZABILITY AND FERTILIZING POTENTIALS OF BOVINE SPERMATOZOA

Soybean lecithin has been attracted increasing attention and has been used to replace egg yolk in the semen extender. In the present study, effect of soybean lecithin on bovine semen freezability and in vitro fertilizing potentials were evaluated. Semen was cryopreserved in tris-based extender supplemented with different soybean lecithin concentrations (3, 5, 7, 10 and 20%) vs 20% egg yolk (control). Semen post-thawing motility, viability and acrosomal integrity, DNA damage, enzymes leakage, total antioxidant activity (TAC), lipid peroxidation and in vitro fertilizing potentials were assessed. Current results indicated that addition of 7% soybean lecithin to semen extender significantly (P<0.05) improved post-thawing motility, viability
Kam, Karina KW and Uiga, Liis and Lam, Wing-Kai and Capio, Catherine M (2021) The colour we wear: Impact on self-predicted and actual motor

Received: 24.04. 2020 Accepted: 12.08. 2020 Online: 01.02. 2021 The effect of colour on different aspects of performance has been the subject of substantial research interest, and red had been shown to have varying effects on not only performance, but perceptions as well. This study examined the effect of apparel colour on self-predicted and actual motor performance. Thirty-six young adults (18 females, 18 males; 20.4 SD 1.32 years old), who had no experience in football, performed a task consisting of an agility ladder drill and football shooting, in each of three bib colours (red, blue, black). Selfpredicted and actual performances were measured on the dimensions of shooting accuracy and kicking power. A significant effect of colour on self-predicted shooting accuracy was found. Participants expected themselves to shoot less accurately when they were wearing a red bib, compared to when wearing blue and black bibs. No effect of colour on actual performance was found and no significant interaction was found between colour and sex. The findings suggest that wearing red could reduce users’ expectations of their performance in a novel motor task; there is no effect on actual performance.
Physiological Levels of Virion-Associated Human Immunodeﬁciency Virus Type 1 Envelope Induce Coreceptor-Dependent Calcium Flux (cid:1) †

Human immunodeﬁciency virus (HIV) entry into target cells requires the engagement of receptor and coreceptor by envelope glycoprotein (Env). Coreceptors CCR5 and CXCR4 are chemokine receptors that generate signals manifested as calcium ﬂuxes in response to binding of the appropriate ligand. It has previously been shown that engagement of the coreceptors by HIV Env can also generate Ca 2 (cid:1) ﬂuxing. Since the sensitivity and therefore the physiological consequence of signaling activation in target cells is not well understood, we addressed it by using a microscopy-based approach to measure Ca 2 (cid:1) levels in individual CD4 (cid:1) T cells in response to low Env concentrations. Monomeric Env subunit gp120 and virion-bound Env were able to activate a signaling cascade that is qualitatively different from the one induced by chemokines. Env-mediated Ca 2 (cid:1) ﬂuxing was coreceptor mediated, coreceptor speciﬁc, and CD4 dependent. Comparison of the observed virion-mediated Ca 2 (cid:1) ﬂuxing with the exact number of viral particles revealed that the viral threshold necessary for coreceptor activation of signaling in CD4 (cid:1) T cells was quite low, as few as two virions.
Microsoft Word-nwaa278.docx

[summary] The oceanic asthenosphere shows two enigmatic features: low viscosity and high electrical conductivity. Their origins gather wide attention, but remain unsolved. Recent self-diffusivity measurements as a function of H2O content in olivine demonstrated that the H2O-incorporation in olivine cannot soften the asthenosphere, but it enhances the ionic conductivity, and causes the high-conductivity anomaly.
Wrist Arthroplasty Leads to Better Outcomes than Arthrodesis for Treatment of Patients with Advanced Rheumatoid Arthritis of the Wrist: A Review of Literature

Purpose: The aim of this review was to search the literature for evidence comparing outcomes and complications between arthroplasty (joint replacement) and arthrodesis (joint fusion) in treating elderly with advanced rheumatoid arthritis of the wrist, then to critically appraise the evidence, and at the end to assess how the evidence could be implemented in the treatment of these patients. Methods: OVID Medline and Pub Med were the databases used for the search. The inclusion criteria included only studies comparing arthrodesis to arthroplasty in elderly patients with advanced rheumatoid arthritis of the wrist. Time limit of 15 years was made and only studies in English were included. Primary outcomes were functional outcome and symptomatic relief while the secondary outcome was cost of treatment. Results: Pub Med showed the five studies resulted in Medline in addition to another one. None of the studies revealed was a randomized controlled study (RCT). One was a systematic review, another was a retrospective study and one was cost effectiveness. Eligible studies were critically appraised using the Critical Appraisal Skills Program checklists. Conclusion: The review supported the use of wrist arthroplasty as a valid option for treating advanced rheumatoid arthritis of the wrist.
Building Stimulus range bias leads to diferent settings when using luminance adjustment to evaluate discomfort due to glare

Luminance adjustment is widely used to evaluate discomfort due to glare. This paper reports an experiment conducted to investigate two factors of the luminance adjustment procedure, stimulus range bias and direct vs indirect control. Stimulus range bias describes the inluence on subjective evaluations of the range of stimuli available to the test observer, with range being the minimum and maximum available glare source luminance in the current context. For the glare source, an artiicial window, there were three ranges, having maximum lu- minances of 5 106, 7288 and 9469cd/m 2 . The results suggest that luminance range had a signiicant efect on settings made, suicient to change settings by an amount equivalent to one step of a Hopkinson-like discomfort sensation scale. The mean luminance associated with just intolerable discomfort with the low range was less than that associated with just uncomfortable with the high range. Past experiments have used direct control, where the observer makes the adjustment directly, and indirect control, where the observer instructs the experimenter to make the adjustment actions. Both methods were used in the current experiment. It was found that range bias was larger when using direct control than with indirect control. These indings contribute to an understanding of why diferent studies of discomfort glare have reported diferent results and hence proposed diferent discomfort models.
Impact of Ciproﬂoxacin Exposure on Staphylococcus aureus Genomic Alterations Linked with Emergence of Rifampin Resistance (cid:1)

Intensive use of antimicrobial agents in health care settings not only leads to the selection of multiresistant nosocomial isolates of Staphylococcus aureus but may also promote endogenous, resistance-conferring mutations in bacterial genes that encode drug targets. We evaluated the spectrum of rifampin resistance-conferring mutations in cultures of methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) or methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) strains exposed in vitro to sub-MICs of ciproﬂoxacin. Growth of ciproﬂoxacin-susceptible MRSA strain MRGR3 and ciproﬂoxacin-resistant MSSA strain RA1 (a NCTC 8325 derivative) in the presence of 1/2 (cid:1) or 1/4 (cid:1) MIC of ciproﬂoxacin led to higher frequencies of rifampin-resistant mutants on agar supplemented with rifampin (0.25 mg/liter) than under ciproﬂoxacin-free conditions. While rifampin-resistant mutants from ciproﬂoxacin-free cultures essentially showed single-amino-acid substitutions, a signiﬁcant proportion of rifampin-resistant mutants from ciproﬂoxacin-exposed cultures displayed in-frame deletions or insertions in the rpoB gene at several positions of the rifampin resistance cluster I. In-frame deletions or insertions were also recorded in rpoB cluster I of rifampin-resistant mutants from ciproﬂoxacin-exposed cultures of mutS and mutL DNA repair mutants of ciproﬂoxacin-resistant S. aureus strain RA1. Frequencies of rifampin-resistant mutants grown under ciproﬂoxacin-free medium were higher for mutant strains RA1 mutS2 and RA1 mutL , but not RA1 recA , than for their parent RA1. In conclusion, ciproﬂoxacin-mediated DNA damage in S. aureus , as exempliﬁed by the wide diversity of deletions or insertions in rpoB , suggests the occurrence of major, quinolone-mediated disturbances in DNA fork progression and replication repair. Besides promoting antibiotic resistance, accu- mulation of unrepaired DNA replication errors, including insertions and deletions, may also contribute to potentially lethal mutations.
Selective ROCK2 inhibition in focal cerebral ischemia this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters

Objective : Rho-associated kinase (ROCK) is a key regulator of numerous processes in multiple cell types relevant in stroke pathophysiology. ROCK inhibitors have improved outcome in experimental models of acute ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke. However, the relevant ROCK isoform (ROCK1 or ROCK2) in acute stroke is not known. Methods : We characterized the pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic proﬁle, and tested the efﬁcacy and safety of a novel selective ROCK2 inhibitor KD025 (formerly SLx-2119) in focal cerebral ischemia models in mice. Results : KD025 dose-dependently reduced infarct volume after transient middle cerebral artery occlusion. The therapeutic window was at least 3 h from stroke onset, and the efﬁcacy was sustained for at least 4 weeks. KD025 was at least as efﬁcacious in aged, diabetic or female mice, as in normal adult males. Concurrent treatment with atorvastatin was safe, but not additive or synergistic. KD025 was also safe in a permanent ischemia model, albeit with diminished efﬁcacy. As one mechanism of protection, KD025 improved cortical perfusion in a distal middle cerebral artery occlusion model, implicating enhanced collateral ﬂow. Unlike isoform-nonselective ROCK inhibitors, KD025 did not cause signiﬁcant hypotension, a dose-limit-ing side effect in acute ischemic stroke. Interpretation : Altogether, these data show that KD025 is efﬁcacious and safe in acute focal cerebral ischemia in mice, implicating ROCK2 as the relevant isoform in acute ischemic stroke. Data suggest that selective ROCK2 inhibition has a favorable safety proﬁle to facilitate clinical translation. l plates of Opti-Phase scintillation
Islanding detection for reconﬁgurable microgrid with RES

This paper proposes a new islanding detection technique based on the superimposed angle of negative sequence impedance. The proposed technique is designed with the presence of different types of RES (renewable energy sources) in the system. The proposed technique discriminates the islanding events from non-islanding events even at 0% power mismatch. It detects the islanding events within a half-cycle even at the zero power mismatch and also restricts the undesirable tripping due to the several kinds of non-islanding events. The technique is also able to detect islanding under network reconﬁguration. For the range of power mismatches, extensive cases of islanding and non-islanding events have been simulated. The technique has been illustrated on a 7-bus reconﬁgurable microgrid test system with different types of RES in the (RTDS/RSCAD) environment. In this work, islanding has been determined considering each type of RES as targeted DG. The technique has also been demonstrated on a modiﬁed IEEE-34 bus system. A comparison of the obtained results has also been performed.
A Hsu-Robbins-Erd\H{o}s strong law in first-passage percolation

Large deviations in the context of first-passage percolation was first studied in the early 1980s by Grimmett and Kesten, and has since been revisited in a variety of studies. However, none of these studies provides a precise relation between the existence of moments of polynomial order and the decay of probability tails. Such a relation is derived in this paper, and is used to strengthen the conclusion of the shape theorem. In contrast to its one-dimensional counterpart - the Hsu-Robbins-Erd\H{o}s strong law - this strengthening is obtained without imposing a higher-order moment condition.