Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Longitudinal patterns in physical activity and sedentary behaviour from mid-life to early old age: a substudy of the Whitehall II cohort

Background There are few longitudinal data on physical activity patterns from mid-life into older age. The authors examined associations of self-reported physical activity, adiposity and socio-demographic factors in mid-life with objectively assessed measures of activity in older age. Methods Participants were 394 healthy men and women drawn from the Whitehall II population-based cohort study. At the baseline assessment in 1997 (mean age 54 years), physical activity was assessed through self-report and quantified as metabolic equivalent of task hours/week. At the follow-up in 2010 (mean age 66 years), physical activity was objectively measured using accelerometers worn during waking hours for seven consecutive days (average daily wear time 891±68 min/day). Results Self-reported physical activity at baseline was associated with objectively assessed activity at follow-up in various activity categories, including light-, moderate- and vigorous-intensity activity (all ps<0.04). Participants in the highest compared with lowest quartile of self-reported activity level at baseline recorded on average 64.1 (95% CI 26.2 to 102.1) counts per minute more accelerometer-assessed activity at follow-up and 9.0 (2.0–16.0) min/day more moderate-to-vigorous daily activity, after adjusting for baseline covariates. Lower education, obesity and self-perceived health status were also related to physical activity at follow-up. Only age and education were associated with objectively measured sedentary time at follow-up. Conclusion Physical activity behaviour in middle age was associated with objectively measured physical activity in later life after 13 years of follow-up, suggesting that the habits in adulthood are partly tracked into older age.
A comprehensive analysis of the combined effects of high light and high temperature stresses on gene expression in sunflower.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Although high light (HL) and high temperature (HT) stresses have been extensively investigated, a global analysis of their combined effects on the transcriptome of any plant species has not yet been described. Sunflower is an agronomically important oil crop frequently subjected to these stress factors. Because results in model plants may not always translate well to crop plants, responses of sunflower (Helianthus annuus) to HL, HT and a combination of both stresses were analysed by profiling gene expression in leaves and immature seeds. METHODS Plants were grown in HL (600 microE m(-2) s(-1)), HT (35 degrees C) and a combination of HL and HT (HL + HT), and gene expression in leaves and immature seeds was profiled using cDNA microarrays containing more than 8000 putative unigenes. KEY RESULTS Using two-way analysis of variance, 105, 55 and 129 cDNA clones were identified showing significant changes in steady-state transcript levels, across the two tissues, in response to HL, HT and HL + HT, respectively. A significant number of these transcripts were found to be specific to each stress. Comparing gene expression profiles between leaves and immature seeds revealed that 89, 113 and 186 cDNA clones can be considered as differentially expressed in response to HL, HT and HL + HT, respectively. More than half of the cDNA clones showing significant differences between embryo and leaf tissues in response to HL + HT were specific to this stress. Significant differences between leaves and seeds shared by all three stress treatments were observed for only eight genes. CONCLUSIONS Taken together, these results indicate that vegetative and reproductive tissues employ different transcriptome responses to these stress treatments. Careful examination of the putative functions of these genes revealed novel and specific responses. The potential roles of many of the differentially expressed genes in stress tolerance are mentioned and discussed.
Computerization and Rising Unemployment Duration

With a given unemployment rate, duration of joblessness can vary substantially. The unemployment rate will be the same if four million workers are unemployed for three months on average, as when one million workers loose their jobs for a full year. Yet the consequences for the mental state of the people without jobs, for their behavior, and for the functioning of society are probably far more severe when the average period between jobs is much longer. The authors turn next to their main empirical study, the multivariate regression analysis, to sort out the effects of technological, institutional, and demographic variables on changes in unemployment duration. The analysis is based on aggregate time-series data for the US, covering the period from 1948 to 1997. The duration of unemployment has risen rather dramatically over the last half century. The percentage of unemployed workers out of work 15 or more weeks more than doubled over the same period, while the percentage of the unemployed out of work 27 or more weeks tripled.
The Relationship between Insect Resistance and Tree Age of Transgenic Triploid Populus tomentosa Plants

To explore the stability of insect resistance during the development of transgenic insect-resistant trees, this study investigated how insect resistance changes as transgenic trees age. We selected 19 transgenic insect-resistant triploid Populus tomentosa lines as plant material. The presence of exogenous genes and Cry1Ac protein expression were verified using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) analyses. The toxicity for Clostera anachoreta and Lymantria dispar was evaluated by feeding fresh leaves to first instar larvae after the trees were planted in the field for 2 years and after the sixth year. Results of PCR showed that the exogenous genes had a long-term presence in the poplar genome. ELISA analyses showed significant differences existed on the 6-year-old transgenic lines. The insect-feeding experiment demonstrated significant differences in the mortality rates of C. anachoreta and L. dispar among different transgenic lines. The average corrected mortality rates of C. anachoreta and L. dispar ranged from 5.6–98.7% to 35.4–7.2% respectively. The larval mortality rates differed significantly between the lines at different ages. Up to 52.6% of 1-year-old transgenic lines and 42.1% of 2-year-old transgenic lines caused C. anachoreta larval mortality rates to exceed 80%, whereas only 26.3% of the 6-year-old transgenic lines. The mortality rates of L. dispar exhibited the same trend: 89.5% of 1-year-old transgenic lines and 84.2% of 2-year-old transgenic lines caused L. dispar larval mortality rates to exceed 80%; this number decreased to 63.2% for the 6-year-old plants. The proportion of 6-year-old trees with over 80% larval mortality rates was clearly lower than that of the younger trees. The death distribution of C. anachoreta in different developmental stages also showed the larvae that fed on the leaves of 1-year-old trees were killed mostly during L1 and L2 stages, whereas the proportion of larvae that died in L3 and L4 stages was significantly increased when fed on leaves of 6-year-old trees. Results of correlation analysis showed there was a significant correlation between the larvae mortality rates of trees at different ages, as well as between Cry1Ac protein contents and larvae mortality rates of 6-year-old trees.
Diagnostic value of circulating microRNAs for liver cirrhosis: a meta-analysis

Circulating microRNAs are potential biomarkers for various diseases including liver cirrhosis. We designed a meta-analysis to evaluate the diagnostic value of circulating microRNAs for liver cirrhosis patients. Eligible studies were identified by searching PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library up to July 1, 2017. The diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio (PLR), negative likelihood ratio (NLR), diagnostic odds ratio (DOR), and area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curve were analyzed using a random or fixed effects models based on the between-study heterogeneities. Thirteen studies from 7 articles with 627 patients and 418 healthy controls were included in this meta-analysis. All studies had high quality assessment scores. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, PLR, NLR, DOR and AUROC were 0.83 (95% CI: 0.80–0.86), 0.89 (95% CI: 0.86–0.92), 6.41 (95% CI: 3.93–10.44), 0.22 (95% CI: 0.14–0.33), 35.18 (95% CI: 15.90–77.81) and 0.93 (95% CI: 0.91–0.95), respectively. In conclusion, circulating microRNAs may serve as potential noninvasive biomarkers of liver cirrhosis.
A Risk-prediction Model Based on Lymph-node Metastasis for Incorporation Into a Treatment Algorithm for Signet Ring Cell-type Intramucosal Gastric Cancer

Objective: The aim of the study was to develop a reliable and easy-to-use risk-scoring system (RSS) to predict lymph-node metastasis (LNM) and determine the feasibility of endoscopic submucosal dissection for mucosa-confined signet ring cell carcinomas (SRCs). Background: Fewer LNM and better survival rates have been reported for early gastric SRCs compared with other undifferentiated early gastric cancers (EGCs). Methods: Data from 1544 patients with mucosa-confined SRCs were reviewed. Stepwise logistic regression analysis determined the independent predictors of LNM. Risk scores were based on the final predictive factors for LNM, and performance was internally validated using a split-sample approach. External validation was also performed in an independent dataset (n = 208) to assess the discriminatory power of the RSS. Results: The overall LNM incidence was 3.8% (57/1544). Three risk factors (tumor size ≥1.7 cm, tumors of elevated type, and lymphatic-vascular involvement) were significantly associated with LNM. These factors were incorporated into the RSS, and were assigned scores ranging from 0 to 4. The area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve for predicting LNM after internal and external validation was 0.68 (95% confidence interval, 0.0793–0.2865) and 0.686 (95% confidence interval, 0.618–0.748), respectively. A score of 2 points was the optimal cut-off value for LNM prediction, and the overall diagnostic accuracy was 96%. LNM were found in 2.9% and 23.8% of the low and high-risk groups of the RSS, respectively. Conclusions: A RSS may help to predict LNM and evaluate endoscopic submucosal dissection feasibility in patients with intramucosal SRC.
Antibacterial Evaluation and Virtual Screening of New Thiazolyl-Triazole Schiff Bases as Potential DNA-Gyrase Inhibitors

The global spread of bacterial resistance to drugs used in therapy requires new potent and safe antimicrobial agents. DNA gyrases represent important targets in drug discovery. Schiff bases, thiazole, and triazole derivatives are considered key scaffolds in medicinal chemistry. Fifteen thiazolyl-triazole Schiff bases were evaluated for their antibacterial activity, measuring the growth inhibition zone diameter, the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), and the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC), against Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes) and Gram-negative (Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium, Pseudomonas aeruginosa) bacteria. The inhibition of S. aureus and S. typhimurium was modest. Compounds B1, B2, and B9 showed a similar effect as ciprofloxacin, the antimicrobial reference, against L. monocytogenes. B10 displayed a better effect. Derivatives B1, B5–7, B9, and B11–15 expressed MIC values lower than the reference, against L. monocytogenes. B5, B6, and B11–15 strongly inhibited the growth of P. aeruginosa. All compounds were subjected to an in silico screening of the ADMET (absorption, distribution, metabolism, elimination, toxicity) properties. Molecular docking was performed on the gyrA and gyrB from L. monocytogenes. The virtual screening concluded that thiazolyl-triazole Schiff base B8 is the best drug-like candidate, satisfying requirements for both safety and efficacy, being more potent against the bacterial gyrA than ciprofloxacin.
Formulation and in vivo assessment of terconazole-loaded polymeric mixed micelles enriched with Cremophor EL as dual functioning mediator for augmenting physical stability and skin delivery

Abstract The aim of the current study was to formulate terconazole (TCZ) loaded polymeric mixed micelles (PMMs) incorporating Cremophor EL as a stabilizer and a penetration enhancer. A 23 full factorial design was performed using Design-Expert® software for the optimization of the PMMs which were formulated using Pluronic P123 and Pluronic F127 together with Cremophor EL. To confirm the role of Cremophor EL, PMMs formulation lacking Cremophor EL was prepared for the purpose of comparison. Results showed that the optimal PMMs formulation (F7, where the ratio of total Pluronics to drug was 40:1, the weight ratio of Pluronic P123 to Pluronic F127 was 4:1, and the percentage of Cremophor EL in aqueous phase was 5%) had a high micellar incorporation efficiency (92.98 ± 0.40%) and a very small micellar size (33.23 ± 8.00 nm). Transmission electron microscopy revealed that PMMs possess spherical shape and good dispersibility. The optimal PMMs exhibited superior physical stability when compared with the PMMs formulation of the same composition but lacking Cremophor EL. Ex vivo studies demonstrated that the optimal PMMs formula markedly improved the dermal TCZ delivery compared to PMMs lacking Cremophor EL and TCZ suspension. In addition, it was found that the optimal PMMs exhibited a greater extent of TCZ deposition in the rat dorsal skin relative to TCZ suspension. Moreover, histopathological studies revealed the safety of the optimal PMMs upon topical application to rats. Consequently, PMMs enriched with Cremophor EL, as a stable nano-system, could be promising for the skin delivery of TCZ.
Who's that Knocking at My Door? Neural Bases of Sound Source Identification

When hearing knocking on a door, a listener typically identifies both the action (forceful and repeated impacts) and the object (a thick wooden board) causing the sound. The current work studied the neural bases of sound source identification by switching listeners' attention toward these different aspects of a set of simple sounds during functional magnetic resonance imaging scanning: participants either discriminated the action or the material that caused the sounds, or they simply discriminated meaningless scrambled versions of them. Overall, discriminating action and material elicited neural activity in a left-lateralized frontoparietal network found in other studies of sound identification, wherein the inferior frontal sulcus and the ventral premotor cortex were under the control of selective attention and sensitive to task demand. More strikingly, discriminating materials elicited increased activity in cortical regions connecting auditory inputs to semantic, motor, and even visual representations, whereas discriminating actions did not increase activity in any regions. These results indicate that discriminating and identifying material requires deeper processing of the stimuli than discriminating actions. These results are consistent with previous studies suggesting that auditory perception is better suited to comprehend the actions than the objects producing sounds in the listeners' environment.
The Regulation of TGFβ1 Induced Fibronectin EDA Exon Alternative Splicing in Human Renal Proximal Tubule Epithelial Cells

The EDA+ splice variant of fibronectin (Fn) is an early and important component of the extracellular matrix in renal fibrosis. In this work, we investigate cellular mechanisms of EDA+Fn production in human primary proximal tubule epithelial cells (PTECs). TGFβ1‐induced EDA+Fn production was assessed by immunocytochemistry, PCR, and Western blotting. SRp40 knockdown was achieved by siRNA. The role of the PI3 kinase‐AKT signalling and splicing regulatory protein SRp40 in the production of EDA+Fn was studied by using the chemical inhibitor LY294002 and siRNA targeted to SRp40 respectively. Interaction between PI3 kinase‐AKT signalling and SRp40 were assessed by immunofluorescence and immunoprecipitation. To assess the specificity of SRp40 in regulating the splicing of EDA+ exon, we studied the effect of SRp40 knockdown on TGFβ1 induced splicing of FGF receptor 2. Primary human PTECs expressed EDA+ and EDA‐ Fn. TGFβ1 treatment resulted in increases in the production and deposition of EDA+ Fn as well as an increase in the ratio of EDA+/EDA‐ Fn mRNA. The TGFβ1 induced EDA+ production was dependent on PI3 kinase‐AKT signalling and SRp40 expression. Immunoprecipitation experiments demonstrated direct binding between AKT and SRp40 with an increase in the amount of SRp40 bound to AKT upon TGFβ1 treatment. TGFβ1 treatment resulted in reduction in the FGF receptor2 IIIb splice variant which was unaffected by SRp40 knockdown. In this work, we have presented the first evidence for the regulation of Fn pre‐mRNA splicing by PI3 kinase‐AKT signalling and SRp40 in human PTECs. Targeting the splicing of Fn pre‐mRNA to skip the EDA exon is an attractive option to combat fibrosis. J. Cell. Physiol. 230: 286–295, 2015. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Effect of an education program on decreasing catheter-related bloodstream infections in the surgical intensive care unit

Objective The purpose of the study was to determine whether an education initiative aimed at improving central venous catheter insertion and care could decrease the rate of primary bloodstream infections. Design Pre- and postintervention observational study. Setting Eighteen-bed surgical/burn/trauma intensive care unit (ICU) in an urban teaching hospital. Patients A total of 4,283 patients were admitted to the ICU between January 1, 1998, and December 31, 2000. Interventions A program primarily directed toward registered nurses was developed by a multidisciplinary task force to highlight correct practice for central venous catheter insertion and maintenance. The program consisted of a 10-page self-study module on risk factors and practice modifications involved in catheter-related infections as well as a verbal in-service at staff meetings. Each participant was required to take a pretest before taking the study module and an identical test after its completion. Fact sheets and posters reinforcing the information in the study module were also posted throughout the ICU. Measurements and Main Results Seventy-four primary bloodstream infections occurred in 6874 catheter days (10.8 per 1000 catheter days) in the 18 months before the intervention. After the implementation of the education module, the number of primary bloodstream infections fell to 26 in 7044 catheter days (3.7 per 1000 catheter days), a decrease of 66% (p < .0001). The estimated cost savings secondary to the decreased infection rate for the 18 months after the intervention was between $185,000 and $2.808 million. Conclusions A focused intervention primarily directed at the ICU nursing staff can lead to a dramatic decrease in the incidence of primary bloodstream infections. Educational programs may lead to a substantial decrease in cost, morbidity, and mortality attributable to central venous catheterization.
Mutated IWO Optimized 4-D Array for Femtocell Cognitive Radio

This letter presents the design and optimization of a four-dimensional (4-D) time-modulated linear array to be used in harmonic beamforming-based femtocell cognitive radio network. A novel mutated invasive weed optimization (MIWO) algorithm, where remarkable performance enhancement is achieved especially in the case of problems involving higher dimensional search space through attainment of simultaneous exploration and exploitation, is introduced in this purpose. Moreover, a subarrayed approach is adopted to gain control over beam direction of the main band as well as all the harmonics being used. The reduced search range for each subarray is analytically determined to make the MIWO search faster and more effective.
Remote SoC/FPGA platform configuration for cloud applications

The growing development of Cloud Computing raised the need of making hardware available “as a Service”. Reconfigurable hardware - like FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Arrays) - makes the ideal candidate for being integrated into Cloud systems due to their high flexibility and scalability. This work describes the design and implementation of a remote reconfigurable FPGA-based SoC (System on Chip) with a Service-oriented configuration interface over the Internet, and underlines several solutions in order to meet the specific challenges raised by this type of integration. The FPGA board (that can be at a remote location) is configured by a Web Service linked to a JSP (JavaServer Pages) Web-page where the user can provide a bitstream configuration file for the Programmable Logic (PL). On the SoC/FPGA board, dedicated software has been developed to run on the embedded Processing System (PS), managing the downloaded bitstreams and configuring the PL.
Modeling chaos in on-chip ultra-wideband chaotic oscillator

An ultra-wideband on-chip chaotic oscillator is demonstrated. This consists of a chaotic oscillator and a source follower buffer. Time evolution of output signal is highly aperiodic and frequency spectrum is widespread from DC to 300MHz. To model an inherent chaos in the circuit, CMOS inverter coupled with an electrostatic discharge protection circuit, gate-ground nMOS and gate source pMOS, is designed and fabricated. In the numerical model, three nonlinearities such as electrostatic discharge equivalent capacitance, high dynamic short current in the inverter, and transmission equivalent inductance are included. The results show that coupling between ESD current and supply current, and ESD rectification are the main causes to bring chaos in this structure.
A marine bacterium, Micrococcus MCCB 104, antagonistic to vibrios in prawn larval rearing systems.

A marine bacterium, Micrococcus MCCB 104, isolated from hatchery water, demonstrated extracellular antagonistic properties against Vibrio alginolyticus, V. parahaemolyticus, V. vulnificus, V. fluviallis, V. nereis, V. proteolyticus, V. mediterranei, V cholerae and Aeromonas sp. , bacteria associated with Macrobrachium rosenbergii larval rearing systems. The isolate inhibited the growth of V. alginolyticus during co-culture. The antagonistic component of the extracellular product was heat-stable and insensitive to proteases, lipase, catalase and alpha-amylase. Micrococcus MCCB 104 was demonstrated to be non-pathogenic to M. rosenbergii larvae.
Use of the Hazard Rate to Schedule Follow-Up Exams Efficiently

The problem of surveillance for metastasis in a cancer patient is modeled as an allo cation problem. The hazard rate of metastasis appearing determines the efficient scheduling of follow-up exams. An optimal schedule of follow-up exams is shown to be dependent on the hazard rate, K, and D. K relates the cost of testing to the benefit of early detection. It diminishes as benefit increases or cost diminishes. D is the time by which a metastasis' detection by testing precedes its clinical presentation. Hence it is a direct measure of the effectiveness of testing. The optimal testing frequency = (hazard rate/2K)1/2. Testing may be stopped when the hazard rate drops below 2K/ D2. Tests need never be routinely scheduled if the intervals between tests exceed D in length. (Med Decis Making 3:229-244, 1983)
Charge-Based Modeling of Junctionless Double-Gate Field-Effect Transistors

We derived an analytical model for the junctionless double-gate metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (DG MOSFET) device, the principle of which has been recently demonstrated. Despite some similarities with classical junction-based DG MOSFETs, the charge-potential relationships are quite different and cannot be merely mapped on existing multigate formalisms. This is particularly true for the technological parameters of interest where reported doping densities exceed 1019 cm-3 for 10- and 20-nm silicon channel thicknesses. Assessment of the model with numerical simulations confirms its validity for all regions of operation, i.e., from deep depletion to accumulation and from linear to saturation.