Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Activities of silymarin and its flavonolignans upon low density lipoprotein oxidizability in vitro

Silymarin, a standardized extract from Silybum marianum, inhibited in vitro the copper‐induced oxidation of human LDL in a concentration‐dependent manner. Silybin, a main flavonolignan of silymarin, appeared to be responsible for this LDL antioxidant effect. Silychristin and silydianin, other flavonolignans of silymarin, acted rather as pro‐oxidants, but with regard to their content in silymarin, it did not contribute significantly to the reduction of the total LDL antioxidant capacity of silymarin. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
PET Quantification of the Norepinephrine Transporter in Human Brain with (S,S)-18F-FMeNER-D2

Norepinephrine transporter (NET) in the brain plays important roles in human cognition and the pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders. Two radioligands, (S,S)-11C-MRB and (S,S)-18F-FMeNER-D2, have been used for imaging NETs in the thalamus and midbrain (including locus coeruleus) using PET in humans. However, NET density in the equally important cerebral cortex has not been well quantified because of unfavorable kinetics with (S,S)-11C-MRB and defluorination with (S,S)-18F-FMeNER-D2, which can complicate NET quantification in the cerebral cortex adjacent to the skull containing defluorinated 18F radioactivity. In this study, we have established analysis methods of quantification of NET density in the brain including the cerebral cortex using (S,S)-18F-FMeNER-D2 PET. Methods: We analyzed our previous (S,S)-18F-FMeNER-D2 PET data of 10 healthy volunteers dynamically acquired for 240 min with arterial blood sampling. The effects of defluorination on the NET quantification in the superficial cerebral cortex was evaluated by establishing a time stability of NET density estimations with an arterial input 2-tissue-compartment model, which guided the less-invasive reference tissue model and area under the time–activity curve methods to accurately quantify NET density in all brain regions including the cerebral cortex. Results: Defluorination of (S,S)-18F-FMeNER-D2 became prominent toward the latter half of the 240-min scan. Total distribution volumes in the superficial cerebral cortex increased with the scan duration beyond 120 min. We verified that 90-min dynamic scans provided a sufficient amount of data for quantification of NET density unaffected by defluorination. Reference tissue model binding potential values from the 90-min scan data and area under the time–activity curve ratios of 70- to 90-min data allowed for the accurate quantification of NET density in the cerebral cortex. Conclusion: We have established methods of quantification of NET densities in the brain including the cerebral cortex unaffected by defluorination using (S,S)-18F-FMeNER-D2. These results suggest that we can accurately quantify NET density with a 90-min (S,S)-18F-FMeNER-D2 scan in broad brain areas.
Towards a cognitive model of hallucinations in the course of alcohol dependence? A source monitoring-based pilot study

Background We investigated whether source-monitoring deficits (here a discrimination between imagined and performed actions) underlie hallucinations among patients with a history of hallucinations in the course of their alcohol dependence. Method We assessed 29 patients with alcohol dependence who had no history of hallucinations during their course of alcoholism and 29 patients with a history of at least one episode of hallucinations of any modality during their course of alcohol dependency. The control group consisted of 24 healthy participants. Participants were assessed with an action memory task. Simple actions were presented to the participants verbally or non-verbally. Some actions were performed physically and others were imagined. In the recognition phase, participants were asked whether the action was presented verbally or non-verbally (action presentation type discrimination) and whether the action was performed or imagined (self-monitoring). A confidence score related to self-monitoring responses was also obtained. Results Alcoholics with a history of hallucinations misremembered imagined actions as perceived ones more frequently than patients without hallucinations, but not the reverse. Only patients with a history of hallucinations committed more errors of this type than healthy subjects. There were no group differences regarding discrimination between an action presentation type. Both clinical groups committed errors with a higher degree of confidence than healthy subjects. Conclusions Our results tentatively suggest that a specific type of source-monitoring deficit (i.e. confusing imagery with reality) may be involved in the hallucinations in patients with alcohol dependence. The findings are discussed in the light of a transdiagnostic approach to hallucinations.
Langerhans cells in human warts

Seventy‐six warts (15 plantar, 38 hand, 16 miscellaneous and seven anogenital lesions) taken from 55 patients, were studied by indirect immunofluorescence with monoclonal antibodies specific for T‐cell subsets, Langerhans cells (LC) and HLA‐DR antigen. The results were related to the presence of viral antigen. Approximately 80% of the lesions showed an infiltrate. Only 19 lesions contained helper/inducer or suppressor/cytotoxic T cells. The distribution of LC was abnormal in 65% of biopsies which contained LC in the dermis, and 29% were devoid of LC in the epidermis. Many lesions had reduced numbers of LC in the epidermis. The disappearance of LC from the epidermis was related to the presence of viral antigen, but not to the presence of particular T‐cell subsets. Infiltrating cells were sometimes HLA‐DR‐positive, whereas basal cells did not express HLA‐DR antigen, irrespective of the density of the infiltrate.
Capillary electrophoresis of proteins 2003–2005

This review article with 304 references describes recent developments in CE of proteins, and covers the two years since the previous review (Hutterer, K., Dolník, V., Electrophoresis 2003, 24, 3998–4012) through Spring 2005. It covers topics related to CE of proteins, including modeling of the electrophoretic migration of proteins, sample pretreatment, wall coatings, improving separation, various forms of detection, special electrophoretic techniques such as affinity CE, CIEF, and applications of CE to the analysis of proteins in real‐world samples including human body fluids, food and agricultural samples, protein pharmaceuticals, and recombinant protein preparations.
Quality of working life: an antecedent to employee turnover intention.

BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to measure the level of quality of work life (QWL) among hospital employees in Iran. Additionally, it aimed to identify the factors that are critical to employees' QWL. It also aimed to test a theoretical model of the relationship between employees' QWL and their intention to leave the organization. METHODS A survey study was conducted based on a sample of 608 hospital employees using a validated questionnaire. Face, content and construct validity were conducted on the survey instrument. RESULTS Hospital employees reported low QWL. Employees were least satisfied with pay, benefits, job promotion, and management support. The most important predictor of QWL was management support, followed by job proud, job security and job stress. An inverse relationship was found between employees QWL and their turnover intention. CONCLUSION This study empirically examined the relationships between employees' QWL and their turnover intention. Managers can take appropriate actions to improve employees' QWL and subsequently reduce employees' turnover.
The potential role of curcumin (diferuloylmethane) in plasma cell dyscrasias/paraproteinemia

Plasma cell dyscrasias, most commonly associated with paraproteinemia, are a diverse group of diseases. Monoclonal gammopathy of undefined significance (MGUS) can precede multiple myeloma, a progressive neoplastic disease. MGUS occurs in association with a variety of other diseases and currently no treatment is recommended but rather “watchful waiting”. Given that the size of the M-protein is a risk factor for disease progression, early intervention with the aim of reducing the paraprotein load would provide an innovative therapeutic tool. Preliminary results from our pilot study show a drop of between 5% and 30% serum paraprotein in patients taking curcumin compared with patients on placebo. Curcumin is a diferuloylmethane present in extracts of the rhizome of the Curcuma longa plant. As a natural product, this has exciting potential in the treatment of plasma cell dyscrasias.
Applications of immune and clonal selection-based techniques to distribution system optimal operational planning

This paper presents a set of results obtained by using immune and clonal selection techniques to enhance the performance of genetic algorithms in solving the optimal operational planning of distribution systems. Various strategies and variants are illustrated and discussed, and the most suitable strategies, able to provide better results with respect to the ones obtained so far for the same problem, are identified. Significant results are presented for a large real urban MV distribution system
Positive and Negative Effects of Adenovirus Type 5 Helper Functions on Adeno-Associated Virus Type 5 (AAV5) Protein Accumulation Govern AAV5 Virus Production

ABSTRACT Full replication of adeno-associated virus type 5 (AAV5) is sustained by adenovirus type 5 (Ad5) helper functions E1a, E1b, E2a, E4Orf6, and virus-associated (VA) RNA; however, their combined net enhancement of AAV5 replication was comprised of both positive and negative individual effects. Although Ad5 E4Orf6 was required for AAV5 genomic DNA replication, it also functioned together with E1b to degrade de novo-expressed, preassembled AAV5 capsid proteins and Rep52 in a proteosome-dependent manner. VA RNA enhanced accumulation of AAV5 protein, overcoming the degradative effects of E4Orf6, and was thus required to restore adequate amounts of AAV5 proteins necessary to achieve efficient virus production.
Automated Extraction of Building Outlines From Airborne Laser Scanning Point Clouds

Automatic extraction of building outlines from airborne laser scanning (ALS) point clouds has been an active topic in the field of photogrammetry, remote sensing, and computer vision. In this letter, a marked point process method is implemented to extract building outlines from ALS point clouds. First, the Gibbs energy model of building objects is defined to describe the building points. Second, the defined Gibbs energy model is sampled within the framework of reversible-jump Markov chain Monte Carlo and optimized to find an optimal energy configuration by simulated annealing. Finally, the detected building objects are refined to eliminate false detections, and the outlines of buildings are derived from the detected building objects by morphological operators. The standard data set provided by ISPRS is used to verify the validity of the proposed method. The method extracted building objects from the standard data sets with an average completeness of 87.3% and correctness of 91.57% at the pixel level, and an average completeness of 77.6% (97.3%) and correctness of 98.1% (97.9%) at the object level.
Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Services and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

OBJECTIVES We examined prereform patterns in insurance coverage, access to care, and preventive services use by race/ethnicity in adults targeted by the coverage expansions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). METHODS We used pre-ACA household data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey to identify groups targeted by the coverage provisions of the Act (Medicaid expansions and subsidized Marketplace coverage). We examined racial/ethnic differences in coverage, access to care, and preventive service use, across and within ACA relevant subgroups from 2005 to 2010. The study took place at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality in Rockville, Maryland. RESULTS Minorities were disproportionately represented among those targeted by the coverage provisions of the ACA. Targeted groups had lower rates of coverage, access to care, and preventive services use, and racial/ethnic disparities were, in some cases, widest within these targeted groups. CONCLUSIONS Our findings highlighted the opportunity of the ACA to not only to improve coverage, access, and use for all racial/ethnic groups, but also to narrow racial/ethnic disparities in these outcomes. Our results might have particular importance for states that are deciding whether to implement the ACA Medicaid expansions.
Methods Used and Topics Addressed in Quantitative Health Research on Gay, Bisexual and Other Men Who Have Sex With Men: A Systematic Review of the Literature

ABSTRACT Research on sexual minority men (gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men) was examined with regard to the measures of sexual orientation used, the methods of research, and the main health outcomes under study. A systematic review of English-language quantitative studies was conducted focused on the health of sexual minority men published in 2010 (n = 250). The results provide a snapshot of the literature and revealed that research on sexual minority men overwhelmingly focused on HIV, STIs, and sexual health for which sexual orientation was most commonly defined behaviorally. For topics of mental health or body/fitness outcomes, sexual orientation was most commonly defined by identity. Most study samples were venue-based, and only 8.8% of published papers drew data from population-based samples. The findings suggest that there exists a need for research on sexual minority men’s health beyond STIs and HIV that will examine mental and physical health outcomes beyond sexual risk, uses probability-based samples, and addresses intersectional concerns related to race/ethnicity and age.
Overcoming Transcription Activator-like Effector (TALE) DNA Binding Domain Sensitivity to Cytosine Methylation*♦

Background: TALE-based technologies are poised to revolutionize the field of biotechnology; however, their sensitivity to cytosine methylation may drastically restrict their ranges of applications. Results: TALE repeat N* proficiently accommodates 5-methylated cytosine. Conclusion: Sensitivity of TALE to cytosine methylation can be overcome by using TALE repeat N*. Significance: Utilization of TALE repeat N* enables broadening the scope of TALE-based technologies. Within the past 2 years, transcription activator-like effector (TALE) DNA binding domains have emerged as the new generation of engineerable platform for production of custom DNA binding domains. However, their recently described sensitivity to cytosine methylation represents a major bottleneck for genome engineering applications. Using a combination of biochemical, structural, and cellular approaches, we were able to identify the molecular basis of such sensitivity and propose a simple, drug-free, and universal method to overcome it.
Insulin and Epidermal Growth Factor Receptors Regulate Distinct Pools of Grb2-SOS in the Control of Ras Activation*

Insulin and epidermal growth factor (EGF) stimulate a rapid but transient increase in the amount of GTP bound to Ras that returns to the basal GDP-bound state within 10-30 min. Although insulin stimulation resulted in a dissociation of the Grb2·SOS complex, EGF did not affect the Grb2·SOS complex but instead induced dissociation of Grb2-SOS from tyrosine-phosphorylated Shc. The dissociation of Grb2-SOS from Shc was not due to dephosphorylation as Shc remained persistently tyrosine-phosphorylated during this time. Furthermore, there was no decrease in the extent of insulin receptor substrate 1, insulin receptor, or EGF receptor tyrosine phosphorylation. Surprisingly, however, despite the EGF-induced decrease in the amount of Grb2-SOS bound to Shc, the extent of Grb2 associated with Shc remained constant, and there was a concomitant increase in the amount of SOS associated with Grb2. In addition, after the insulin-stimulated dissociation of Grb2 from SOS, EGF treatment induced the reassociation of the Grb2·SOS complex. Quantitative immunoprecipitation demonstrated that only a small fraction of the total cellular pool of Grb2 was associated with SOS. Similarly, only a small fraction of SOS and Grb2 were co-immunoprecipitated with Shc. Together, these data suggest the presence of distinct Grb2-SOS pools that are independently utilized by insulin and EGF in their recruitment to tyrosine-phosphorylated Shc.
Applied nutritional investigation Effects of creatine on thermoregulatory responses while exercising in the heat

Objective: We hypothesized that creatine supplementation would interfere with normal body fluid shifts that occur during exercise in a hot environment due to its osmotic effect intracellularly. This study examined the effects of acute creatine loading (20 g/d for 5 d) on the thermoregulatory response of the body during a bout of exercise at 39°C. Methods: Subjects (15 men and 1 woman) performed a cycle test of maximum oxygen consump- tion to determine the proper work rate for the heat-stress test (40 min at 55% maximum oxygen consumption at 39°C) and were assigned to a creatine group (n 8) or a placebo group (n 8) in a double-blind fashion. Each group performed the heat-stress test on two separate occasions: before supplementation and after supplementation (20 g/d of creatine with Gatorade or Solka-floc plus Gatorade). Dependent variables included rectal temperature, mean skin temperature, mean body temperature, and perceived thermal sensation. Results: Repeated measure analysis of variance showed a significant (P 0.05) increase in body weight in the group supplemented with Gatorade. Core temperature was significantly lower after supplementation for both groups combined (before supplementation at 37.85°C and after supple- mentation at 37.7°C), with no difference between groups. A significant three-way interaction (group trial time) was also found for rectal temperature, with both groups having significantly lower rectal temperature after supplementation. Mean body and mean skin temperatures showed no differences.
An efficient algorithm for frequent itemsets in data mining

Mining frequent itemsets is one of the most investigated fields in data mining. It is a fundamental and crucial task. Apriori is among the most popular algorithms used for the problem but support count is very time-consuming. In order to improve the efficiency of Apriori, a novel algorithm, named BitApriori, for mining frequent itemsets, is proposed. Firstly, the data structure binary string is employed to describe the database. The support count can be implemented by performing the Bitwise "And" operation on the binary strings. Another technique for improving efficiency in BitApriori presented in this paper is a special equal-support pruning. Experimental results show the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm, especially when the minimum support is low.
Fruit and vegetable intake and associated factors in older adults in South Africa

Background and objective : Numerous studies support the protective effect of high fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption on chronic disease risk, mainly against cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Compared with younger adults, older people experience additional health, social, and environmental conditions that affect dietary intake. To identify those additional dimensions and examine them in association with FV intake, data on 3,840 participants in the Study of Global Ageing and Adults Health (SAGE) in South Africa were analyzed. Methods : We conducted a national population-based cross-sectional study in 2008 with a sample of 3,840 participants, aged 50 years or older, in South Africa. The questionnaire included questions on socio-demographic characteristics, health variables, anthropometry, and blood pressure measurements. Multivariable regression analysis was performed to assess the associations between socio-demographic factors, health variables, and inadequate FV consumption. Results : Overall prevalence rates of insufficient FV intake were 68.5%, 64.8% among men and 71.4% among women, with a mean intake of 4.0 servings of FV among older adults (50 years and older). In multivariable analysis, coming from the Black African or Colored population group, lower educational level and daily tobacco use were associated with inadequate FV intake. Conclusions : The amount of fruit and vegetables (FVs) consumed by older South African participants was considerably lower than current recommendations (daily intake of at least five servings; 400 g). Public education and campaigns on adequate consumption of FVs should be promoted targeting lower educated and Black African and Colored population groups.
Normalized Radar Cross Section of a cylinder above an ocean-like surface from an efficient fast numerical method

For a two-dimensional problem, this paper presents the Normalized Radar Cross Section (NRCS) of a cylinder above an ocean-like surface. This kind of problem involves a high number of unknowns and can not be solved easily with a classic Method of Moments (MoM). Thus, a recently developed fast numerical method called E-PILE+FB-SA is used. After generating several surface realizations, a Monte-Carlo process is applied on the scattered fields in order to discuss on the NRCS.
Is Xenios Zeus Still Alive? Destination Image of Athens in the Years of Recession

This study examines the evolution of the destination image of Athens from 2005 to 2015, in order to exploit the impact of the recent economic recession on individual perceptions. It uses advanced web content mining to analyze TripAdvisor messages that were posted in Athens Travel Forum. The findings show that the image of Athens has remained positive, facing a significant, but short-term, shift during the first years of the crisis. The findings also reveal that the destination image of Athens is only partially shared by individuals residing inside and outside Greece, and that non-Greek residents have more favorable perceptions toward the destination. The study expands understanding on the destination image literature by demonstrating the normative nature of destination images, which—once established—can be particularly resistant to change, even during sustained crises.
Understanding Field Experiences in Traditional Teacher Preparation Programs in Missouri. REL 2016-145.

A survey about the student teaching experiences of first-year teachers trained in traditional Missouri teacher preparation programs found that: • All teachers reported participating in field experiences and nearly all had student teaching experiences. • Teachers reported spending an average of 16 weeks and 39 hours a week student teaching, for a total estimated average of 631 hours. • Student teaching experiences aligned with teachers’ career teaching plans and first teaching assignments. • Resources and support in field experience schools were perceived positively, and professional collaboration was frequent; parent and community interaction was less frequent. • Cooperating teachers at field experience schools conducted observations and provided feedback frequently, whereas supervising faculty members from the teacher preparation programs did so less frequently. • Aspects of field experiences that varied among first-year teachers with different types of teaching certificates included duration, diversity of settings, alignment between student teaching and first teaching positions, and engagement with families and community members.