Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Reliability of measurements of total, protein-bound, and unbound estradiol in serum.

Estradiol (E2) circulates in the blood in three states: unbound (U-E2), bound to sex-hormone binding globulin (SHBG-E2), and bound to albumin. There is evidence to support the concept that only U-E2 and albumin-bound E2, are bioavailable (i.e., rapidly extracted by tissues). A case-control study nested within a large cohort of women, in which we are examining the effect of estrogens on breast cancer risk, offered the opportunity to assess the reliability of measurements of E2, the percentage of SHBG-E2, and the percentage of U-E2 based on multiple annual serum specimens. Long-term (1-2 year) reliability, as estimated by the intraclass correlation coefficient, was assessed in a subgroup of 71 premenopausal and 77 postmenopausal controls for whom two or three serum specimens were assayed. In postmenopausal women the intraclass correlation coefficient for a single measurement of total E2 was only 0.51. As for the percentage of SHBG-E2, intraclass correlation coefficients were 0.83 and 0.94, and for U-E2, 0.72 and 0.77 in the premenopausal and postmenopausal groups, respectively. These data suggest that, whereas single determinations of total E2 are insufficient to reliably estimate a woman's true mean level, a single measurement of the percentage of SHBG-E2 or U-E2 is adequate to assess bioavailability of E2 in an epidemiological study, irrespective of day of the menstrual cycle.
Apigenin Inhibits Tumor Necrosis Factor‐Induced Intercellular Adhesion Molecule‐1 Upregulation In Vivo

Objective: Apigenin is a flavonoid that effectively blocks intercellular adhesion molecule‐1 (ICAM‐1) upregulation and leukocyte adhesion in response to cytokines in vitro. In the present study, we characterized the effects of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) on ICAM‐1 expression in different tissues of the rat. We then assessed whether apigenin alters this response.
A total diet study of nickel intake in a Spanish population (Canary Islands)

The aim of this study was to analyse nickel content in foods and beverages most commonly consumed by the Canary Island people to determine the dietary intake of this metal throughout the Canary Islands as a whole and in each of the seven islands. A total of 440 samples were analysed by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. Nickel concentrations ranged between 2.348 ± 1.716 mg/kg in nuts and 0.002 ± 0.002 mg/l in water. Estimated total intake of nickel was 0.093 mg/day for the Canary population, which is far below the tolerable upper intake level (UL) established for adults. Gran Canaria turned out to be the island with the highest nickel intake. Differential analysis of nickel intake by age and sex of the Canary Island community showed that values were below the UL in children as well as in adults. These outcomes were compared with data from other populations at the national and international levels.
On the use of homomorphic encryption to secure cloud computing, services, and routing protocols

The trend towards delegating data processing to a remote party raises major concerns related to privacy violations for both end-users and service providers. These concerns have attracted the attention of the research community, and several techniques have been proposed to protect against malicious parties by providing secure communication protocols. Most of the proposed techniques, however, require the involvement of a third party, and this by itself can be viewed as another security concern. These security breaches can be avoided by following a new approach that depends on data sorted, managed, and stored in encrypted form at the remote servers. To realize such an approach, the encryption cryptosystem must support algebraic operations over encrypted data. This cryptosystem can be effective in protecting data and supporting the construction of programs that can process encrypted input and produce encrypted output. In fact, the latter programs do not decrypt the input, and therefore, they can be run by an un-trusted party without revealing their data and internal states. Furthermore, such programs prove to be practical in situations where we need to outsource private computations, especially in the context of cloud computing. Homomorphic cryptosystems are perfectly aligned with these objectives as they are a strong foundation for schemes that allow a blind processing of encrypted data without the need to decrypt them. In this dissertation we rely on homomorphic encryption schemes to secure cloud computing, services and routing protocols. We design several circuits that allow for the blind processing and management of data such that malicious parties are denied access to sensitive information. We select five areas to apply our models to. These models are easily customized for many other areas. We also provide prototypes that we use to study the performance and robustness of our models.
Cerebral Autoregulation and Outcome in Acute Brain Injury

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between Czosnyka and others’ Pressure Reactivity Index (PRx) and neurologic outcome in patients with acute brain injury, including traumatic brain injury (TBI) and cerebrovascular pathology. PRx measures the correlation between arterial blood pressure and intracranial pressure waves and may reflect cerebral autoregulation in response to blood pressure changes. A negative PRx reflects intact cerebrovascular response, whereas a positive PRx reflects impaired response. Positive PRx has been shown to correlate with poorer outcome in individuals with TBI, but these findings have not been confirmed by replication in other studies, nor have PRx values been reported for individuals with cerebrovascular pathology. In this study, PRx was determined in 52 patients with TBI (n = 27) or cerebrovascular pathology (n = 25). Hierarchical linear regression was used to evaluate the contribution of PRx to outcome, controlling for age and Glasgow Coma Scale score. Analysis of all subjects together did not support the previously reported relationship between PRx and outcome. However, for those with TBI, positive PRx was a significant predictor of negative outcome (P = 0.03). For those with cerebrovascular pathology, the effect was not significant (P = 0.10) and was in the opposite direction. For individuals with TBI, PRx may provide useful information related to cerebral autoregulation that is predictive of outcome. The meaning of PRx in individuals with cerebrovascular pathology is unclear, and further study is needed to examine the paradoxical findings observed.
Music Therapy in Cardiac Health Care: Current Issues in Research

Music therapy is a service that has become more prevalent as an adjunct to medical practice—as its evidence base expands and music therapists begin to join the cardiology team in every phase of care, from the most serious cases to those maintaining good heart health. Although applications of music medicine, primarily listening to short segments of music, are capable of stabilizing vital signs and managing symptoms in the short-term, music therapy interventions by a qualified practitioner are showing promise in establishing deeper and more lasting impact. On the basis of mind–body approaches, stress/coping models, the neuromatrix theory of pain, and entrainment, music therapy capitalizes on the ability of music to affect the autonomic nervous system. Although only a limited number of randomized controlled trials pinpoint the efficacy of specific music therapy interventions, qualitative research reveals some profound outcomes in certain individuals. A depth of understanding related to the experience of living with a cardiovascular disease can be gained through music therapy approaches such as nonverbal music psychotherapy and guided imagery and music. The multifaceted nature of musical responsiveness contributes to strong individual variability and must be taken into account in the development of research protocols for future music therapy and music medicine interventions. The extant research provides a foundation for exploring the many potential psychosocial, physiological, and spiritual outcomes of a music therapy service for cardiology patients.
The Grim Reaper, Hounds of Hell, and Dr. Death: The Role of Storytelling for Palliative Care in Competing Medical Meaning Systems

ABSTRACT Palliative care (PC) is a medical specialty that strives to fulfill the physical, psychosocial, emotional, practical, and spiritual needs of individuals at end of life or in tandem with curative treatment. Although exponentially rising in use and beneficial to patient well-being at end of life, the purpose of PC is often misunderstood and those providing its services frequently report resistance from organizational members. Such resistance can be attributed to tensions between traditional biomedical models of medicine that privilege curative treatment and biosocial models of medicine that holistically care for patients. Thus, this study addresses what tensions PC providers experience in their institutions and what communicative strategies they use at the interpersonal level in managing those tensions. Using structuration theory in tandem with relational dialectics theory, we inductively analyzed semistructured interviews with 24 Circle of Life award-winning PC providers. Findings indicate two dialectics experienced by PC providers in their institutions: the living-dying dialectic and the practicing-advocating dialectic. We conclude that these interpersonal dialectics emerge through interaction in competing medical meaning systems and found that storytelling was a particularly salient form of communication that participants used for management.
Mumps Virus Is Released from the Apical Surface of Polarized Epithelial Cells, and the Release Is Facilitated by a Rab11-Mediated Transport System

ABSTRACT Mumps virus (MuV) is an airborne virus that causes a systemic infection in patients. In vivo, the epithelium is a major replication site of MuV, and thus, the mode of MuV infection of epithelial cells is a subject of interest. Our data in the present study showed that MuV entered polarized epithelial cells via both the apical and basolateral surfaces, while progeny viruses were predominantly released from the apical surface. In polarized cells, intracellular transport of viral ribonucleoprotein (vRNP) complexes was dependent on Rab11-positive endosomes, and vRNP complexes were transported to the apical membrane. Expression of a dominant negative form of Rab11 (Rab11S25N) reduced the progeny virus release in polarized cells but not in nonpolarized cells. Although in this way these effects were correlated with cell polarity, Rab11S25N did not modulate the direction of virus release from the apical surface. Therefore, our data suggested that Rab11 is not a regulator of selective apical release of MuV, although it acts as an activator of virus release from polarized epithelial cells. In addition, our data and previous studies on Sendai virus, respiratory syncytial virus, and measles virus suggested that selective apical release from epithelial cells is used by many paramyxoviruses, even though they cause either a systemic infection or a local respiratory infection. IMPORTANCE Mumps virus (MuV) is the etiological agent of mumps and causes a systemic infection. However, the precise mechanism by which MuV breaks through the epithelial barriers and achieves a systemic infection remains unclear. In the present study, we show that the entry of MuV is bipolar, while the release is predominantly from the apical surface in polarized epithelial cells. In addition, the release of progeny virus was facilitated by a Rab11-positive recycling endosome and microtubule network. Our data provide important insights into the mechanism of transmission and pathogenesis of MuV.
A silviculture application of the glyphosate‐based herbicide VisionMAX to wetlands has limited direct effects on amphibian larvae

Herbicides are commonly used in agriculture and silviculture to reduce interspecific competition among plants and thereby enhance crop growth, quality, and volume. Internationally, glyphosate‐based herbicides are the most widely used herbicides in both of these sectors. Laboratory and mesocosm studies have demonstrated that some formulations are toxic to amphibian larvae below concentrations that approximate predicted maximal or “worst‐case” exposure scenarios. However, field studies have not found evidence of toxicity at these concentrations. The authors conducted a replicated field experiment involving 10 naturalized wetlands split in half with an impermeable plastic barrier to assess the direct toxicity of a glyphosate formulation commonly used in silviculture (VisionMAX™). The herbicide formulation was applied directly to the surface of one side of each wetland at one of two target aqueous exposure rates (high = 2,880, low = 550 µg acid equivalents [a.e.]/L), and the other side was left as an untreated control. The survival and growth of green frog larvae (Lithobates clamitans) were assessed for two years following herbicide treatment. The herbicide did not have a negative impact on survival or growth of L. clamitans larvae at either treatment level. In fact, mean larval abundance was typically greater in the treated sides than in control sides within the year of herbicide application. These results indicate that typical silviculture use of VisionMAX poses negligible risk to larval amphibians, likely because the combined effects of sorption and degradation in natural wetlands limit the exposure magnitude and duration. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 2012; 31: 2375–2383. © 2012 SETAC
A Single Mutation in the Heme 4 Environment ofDesulfovibrio desulfuricans Norway Cytochromec 3 (M r 26,000) Greatly Affects the Molecule Reactivity*

The gene encoding Desulfovibrio desulfuricans Norway cytochrome c 3(M r 26,000), a dimeric octaheme cytochrome belonging to the polyheme cytochrome c 3superfamily, has been cloned and successfully expressed in another sulfate reducing bacteria, D. desulfuricans G201. The gene, named cycD, is monocistronic and encodes a cytochrome precursor of 135 amino acids with an extension at the NH2terminus of 24 amino acids. This extension acts as a signal sequence which allows export across the cytoplasmic membrane into the periplasmic space. Tyrosine 73, which is in a close contact with the histidine sixth axial ligand to the heme 4 iron atom, has been replaced by a glutamate residue using site-directed mutagenesis. The cytochrome mutant when expressed in D. desulfuricans G201, is correctly folded and matured. A global increase of the oxidoreduction potentials of about 50 mV is measured for the Y73E cytochrome. The mutation also has a strong influence on the interaction of the cytochrome with its redox partner, the hydrogenase. This suggests, like the tetraheme cytochrome c 3(M r 13,000), heme 4 is the interactive heme in the cytochrome-hydrogenase complex and that alteration of the heme 4 environment can greatly affect the electron transfer reaction with its redox partner.
Autonomic approaches for enhancing communication QoS in dense Wireless Sensor Networks with real time requirements

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) can be used to monitor hazardous and inaccessible areas. In these situations, the power supply (e.g. battery) in each node can not be easily replaced. One solution is to deploy a large number of sensor nodes, since the lifetime and dependability of the network can be increased through cooperation among nodes. In addition to energy consumption, applications for WSN may also have other concerns, such as, meeting deadlines and maximizing the quality of information. In this paper, two autonomic approaches for dense WSN are presented. The first approach is a Genetic Machine Learning algorithm aimed at applications that make use of trade-offs between different metrics. Simulations were performed on random topologies assuming different levels of faults. GMLA showed a significant improvement when compared with the use of IEEE 802.15. 4 protocol. Moreover, an approach that autonomically provides QoS for dense WSN called VOA ( Variable Offset Algorithm) is presented. Experimental results had showed that VOA can significantly improve communication efficiency in dense WSN.
Reporting Goodness of Fit with RMSEA-P Curve: Structural Equation Modeling in Environmental Sciences

Structural equation models are extensively used in environmental research. To assess Goodness of Fit in structural equation modeling, one can report the upper-bound of RMSEA confidence interval (e.g., .043) at a commonly used probability criterion (e.g., 90% confidence level). Alternatively one can report the p-value using a popular RMSEA close-fit criterion (e.g., .05). In essence both approaches summarize the RMSEA-p curves into some quantities, but with reference to different common standards (RMSEA≤ .05, p ≤ .05 respectively). SAS CNONCT/PROBCHI codes are provided online to search for boundary conditions in which the two approaches may provide different information and conclusion. We differentiate the implicit and explicit roles of substantial knowledge against statistical conclusion and recommend using RMSEA-p curves.
A suspended microstrip fed slot antenna on high impedance surface structure

The microstrip fed slot antenna (MSA) is widely used as an element antenna in conventional phased array antenna due to its low profile, light weight and low cost. It is usually made of a single piece of dielectric substrate with a slot etched on one side and microstrip feed line etched on the other side. On its own, MSA is not an efficient antenna. This is due to its bidirectional radiation pattern behaviour where almost half of the radiated power is wasted in the undesired direction. As a result, the overall performance of the conventional phased array antenna using MSA as an element is normally not satisfactory. To achieve an efficient phased array antenna, it is therefore crucial to design an element antenna that can deliver reasonably high gain and symmetrical radiation patterns in both E and H planes. This paper focuses on solving the bidirectional radiation problem exhibited in MSA and at the same time improving the gain, radiation pattern and return loss performance. This is done by adding a mushroomlike High Impedance Surface (HIS) structure or also known as Artificial Magnetic Conductor (AMC) underneath the MSA structure to form a new generation of MSA antenna called ¿Suspended MSA on HIS structure¿. This HIS structure acts as an efficient reflector that redirects most of the wasted energy from the undesired direction to the desired direction without interfering with the MSA return loss performance. Furthermore this helps to improve the overall radiation pattern of this new antenna in both E and H planes with a maximum gain of 10 dB in the desired direction and a maximum gain of less than ¿3 dB in the undesired direction. An equivalent circuit model of the antenna is also presented in this paper. An effective medium model and the simulation tool ¿Ansoft HFSS¿ [1] are used to aid the design of this antenna.
Static analysis of islanded micro grids: Focus on renewable fraction and cost of energy

The aim of this work is to explore the static conduct of an islanded micorgrid. A technical economic study is performed. Many parameters and aspects such as renewable resources availability, fuel price, microgrid components, and dispatch strategies are examined to see their effect on microgrid operation and cost effectiveness. The study is performed on Desertores Island microgrid example. A comparison is made also with Tunisia using the same system but with Tunisian climate data and fuel price. HOMER (Hybrid Optimization of Multiple Energy Resources) software is very useful to perform such study.
Spatially varying selection shapes life history clines among populations of Drosophila melanogaster from sub‐Saharan Africa

Clines in life history traits, presumably driven by spatially varying selection, are widespread. Major latitudinal clines have been observed, for example, in Drosophila melanogaster, an ancestrally tropical insect from Africa that has colonized temperate habitats on multiple continents. Yet, how geographic factors other than latitude, such as altitude or longitude, affect life history in this species remains poorly understood. Moreover, most previous work has been performed on derived European, American and Australian populations, but whether life history also varies predictably with geography in the ancestral Afro‐tropical range has not been investigated systematically. Here, we have examined life history variation among populations of D. melanogaster from sub‐Saharan Africa. Viability and reproductive diapause did not vary with geography, but body size increased with altitude, latitude and longitude. Early fecundity covaried positively with altitude and latitude, whereas lifespan showed the opposite trend. Examination of genetic variance–covariance matrices revealed geographic differentiation also in trade‐off structure, and QST‐FST analysis showed that life history differentiation among populations is likely shaped by selection. Together, our results suggest that geographic and/or climatic factors drive adaptive phenotypic differentiation among ancestral African populations and confirm the widely held notion that latitude and altitude represent parallel gradients.
Perinatal Mortality in First- and Second-Born Twins in the United States

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prevailing mortality paradox that second-born twins are at higher risk of perinatal mortality than first-born twins. METHODS: We used the 1995–1997 United States “matched multiple birth” data files assembled by the National Center for Health Statistics, for analysis of risk of perinatal mortality in first- and second-born twins (293,788 fetuses). Perinatal mortality was defined to include stillbirths after 20 weeks of gestation and neonatal deaths (deaths within the first 28 days). Gestational age-specific risk of perinatal mortality (per 1,000 total births), stillbirth (per 1,000 total births), and neonatal mortality (per 1,000 livebirths) by order of twin birth were based on the fetuses-at-risk approach. Associations between order of birth and mortality indices were evaluated by fitting multivariable logistic regression models based on the method of generalized estimating equations. These models were adjusted for several potential confounding factors. RESULTS: Perinatal mortality was 37% higher in second-born (26.1 per 1,000 total births) than in first-born (20.3 per 1,000 total births) twins (adjusted relative risk [RR] 1.37; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.32, 1.42). The increased risk of perinatal mortality in second-born twins was chiefly driven by a 2.46-fold (95% CI 2.29, 2.63) increase in the number of stillbirths. However, the risk of neonatal mortality was very similar between first- and second-born twins (RR 0.99, 95% CI 0.95, 1.04). CONCLUSIONS: The increased risk of perinatal death in second-born twins is driven chiefly by increased rates of stillborn second twins. Thus, the increased mortality in second-born over first-born twins probably is an artifact of mortality comparisons. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: II-2