Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Synthesis of Mitochondrial DNA Precursors during Myogenesis, an Analysis in Purified C2C12 Myotubes

Background: In developing muscle, stimulation of mitochondrial biogenesis and mtDNA expansion occur with down-regulation of deoxynucleotide synthesis. Results: siRNA silencing of mitochondrial thymidine or deoxyguanosine kinase impacts myotube differentiation causing depletion of mtDNA and of all four deoxynucleotides. Conclusion: Shortage of even a single deoxynucleotide may upset the regulation of all DNA precursors. Significance: Deoxynucleotide analysis in myotubes unveils unexpected outcomes of synthetic enzyme deficiencies. During myogenesis, myoblasts fuse into multinucleated myotubes that acquire the contractile fibrils and accessory structures typical of striated skeletal muscle fibers. To support the high energy requirements of muscle contraction, myogenesis entails an increase in mitochondrial (mt) mass with stimulation of mtDNA synthesis and consumption of DNA precursors (dNTPs). Myotubes are quiescent cells and as such down-regulate dNTP production despite a high demand for dNTPs. Although myogenesis has been studied extensively, changes in dNTP metabolism have not been examined specifically. In differentiating cultures of C2C12 myoblasts and purified myotubes, we analyzed expression and activities of enzymes of dNTP biosynthesis, dNTP pools, and the expansion of mtDNA. Myotubes exibited pronounced post-mitotic modifications of dNTP synthesis with a particularly marked down-regulation of de novo thymidylate synthesis. Expression profiling revealed the same pattern of enzyme down-regulation in adult murine muscles. The mtDNA increased steadily after myoblast fusion, turning over rapidly, as revealed after treatment with ethidium bromide. We individually down-regulated p53R2 ribonucleotide reductase, thymidine kinase 2, and deoxyguanosine kinase by siRNA transfection to examine how a further reduction of these synthetic enzymes impacted myotube development. Silencing of p53R2 had little effect, but silencing of either mt kinase caused 50% mtDNA depletion and an unexpected decrease of all four dNTP pools independently of the kinase specificity. We suggest that during development of myotubes the shortage of even a single dNTP may affect all four pools through dysregulation of ribonucleotide reduction and/or dissipation of the non-limiting dNTPs during unproductive elongation of new DNA chains.
Developing interpersonal relationships with adolescents with anorexia nervosa

Abstract Anorexia nervosa is a complex eating disorder that usually develops during adolescence. This paper reports how paediatric nurses develop professional interpersonal relationships with adolescent patients with anorexia nervosa. The study used a grounded theory approach to data collection and analysis. Data were collected using in-depth interviews from ten registered nurses who worked on a paediatric ward. The findings revealed two foci of care: ‘interacting with nurses’, and ‘interacting with patients’, with interrelated categories and strategies. A core category highlighted the importance of instigating an individual focus when developing professional interpersonal relationships with patients with anorexia. Contextual factors emphasise the broader influences that modified the way nurses developed relationships with these patients. The findings have implications for clinical practice, education, unit administration, and further research, and these are examined. Nurses who use this approach are better positioned to gain understanding of individuals experiencing the disorder and to develop professional interpersonal relationships.
High-Throughput, In Silico Prediction of Aqueous Solubility Based on One- and Two-Dimensional Descriptors

An aqueous solubility model has been developed. The model is based solely on one- and two-dimensional descriptors and an artificial neural network to ensure fast execution. 63 descriptors expressing physicochemical and topological properties were used. The final model consisted of a training set of 3042 molecules, a test set of 309 molecules and an independent validation set of 307 molecules. The squared correlation coefficients were 0.91 for the training set, 0.89 for the test set and 0.86 for the independent validation set.
Comparison of control solutions for control of four-level converter with flying capacitors

This paper investigates two control platforms combining DSP and FPGA. The first platform is topologically designed as two boards and the second one as a single board. The proposed units are designed to control multilevel converters particularly. Both developed platforms are used in control system for a four level multilevel converter with flying capacitors and their behavior is investigated and evaluated by selected experiments on a converter laboratory prototype with rated power of 30 kVA.
Initial techno-economic results for OMEGA home Gigabit networks

The media richness of the services available to the end consumer has had a constant increase rate over the last century. This leads nowadays to the need of Ultra Broadband at home to handle future services such as 3D video that may reach the Gigabit per second. Moreover, beyond the bandwidth increase, the home network capabilities have to evolve in order to support new usages and to guarantee Quality of Service. This paper describes state of the art issues and typical requirements for the future home network and presents a solution fulfilling these requirements, based on an inter-MAC convergence layer. This solution is developed in the OMEGA FP7 project. It then provides initial results of a techno-economic analysis that studies the case of a hypothetical OMEGA Service Operator (OSO).
Hyperuricemia and risk of increased arterial stiffness in healthy women based on health screening in Korean population

Hyperuricemia is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease and is associated with increased arterial stiffness in high-risk populations. However, given the possible sex-related differences in the prevalence of hyperuricemia, the association between elevated serum uric acid (SUA) level and increased arterial stiffness has yielded conflicting results. We investigated the relationship between SUA and arterial stiffness in asymptomatic healthy subjects who underwent a health examination. Subjects who underwent a comprehensive health examination were enrolled. After exclusion of extensive confounding factors, 2,704 healthy subjects with coronary calcium score < 100 were evaluated in the final analysis. All subjects underwent brachial—ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) to detect arterial stiffness. The SUA was divided into quartiles for its association with arterial stiffness and was analyzed separately for men and women. The mean SUA level was significantly lower in women than in men. The baPWV was significantly elevated in subjects with the highest quartile of SUA in women, but not in men. After adjusting for age, smoking, systolic blood pressure, body mass index, estimated glomerular filtration rate, fasting plasma glucose, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, and coronary artery calcium score, the highest quartile of SUA in women was significantly associated with increased risk of high baPWV compared with the lowest quartile of SUA (OR = 1.7, p = 0.018), whereas in men, SUA level was not associated with high baPWV. Our study showed that elevated SUA is independently associated with increased baPWV in healthy Korean women, but not in men.
Protocoles de sécurité efficaces pour les réseaux de capteurs IP sans-fil et l'Internet des Objets. (Lightweight security protocols for IP-based Wireless Sensor Networks and the Internet of Things)

The Internet of Things (IoT) enables billions of embedded computing devices to connect to each other. The smart things cover our everyday friendly devices, such as, thermostats, fridges, ovens, washing machines, and TV sets. It is easy to imagine how bad it would be, if these devices were spying on us and revealing our personal information. It would be even worse if critical IoT applications, for instance, the control system in nuclear reactors, the vehicle safety system or the connected medical devices in health-care, were compromised. To counteract these security threats in the IoT, robust security solutions must be considered. However, IoT devices are limited in terms of memory, computation and energy capacities, in addition to the lack of communication reliability. All these inconvenients make them vulnerable to various attacks, as they become the weakest links of our information system. In this context, we seek for effective security mechanisms in order to establish secure communications between unknown IoT devices, while taking into account the security requirements and the resource constraints of these devices. To do so, we focus on two major challenges, namely, lightweight security protocols in terms of processing and infrastructure and lightweight key establishment mechanisms, as existing solutions are too much resource consuming. To address this first challenge, we first propose ECKSS - a new lightweight signcryption scheme which does not rely on a PKI. This proposal enables to encrypt and sign messages simultaneously while ensuring the confidentiality and unforgeability of the communication channels. In addition, the message exchanges are authenticated without relying on certificates. Moreover, we also propose OEABE which is a delegation-based mechanism for the encryption of the Ciphertext-Policy Attribute-Based Encryption (CP-ABE). CP-ABE is anattribute-based public key encryption scheme that gives users the flexibility to determine who can decrypt their data at runtime. Our solution enables a resource-constrained device to generate rapidly a CP-ABE ciphertext with authorization access rights to its data. This solution is particularly useful as the volume of data issued from IoT devices grows exponentially every year. To solve the second challenge, we first propose two new key distribution modes for the standard key management protocol MIKEY, based on our signcryption scheme ECKSS. These modes inherit the lightness of ECKSS and avoid the use of PKI. The experimental results, conducted in the Openmote sensor platform, have proven the efficiency of our solutions compared with other existing methods of MIKEY. Then, we propose a new key agreement scheme, named AKAPR. In case the two communicating parties are involved in the key negotiation procedure, AKAPR is very suitable in the context of IoT. As such, it can operate even if the two communicating parties are highly resource-constrained
DNA and RNA: NMR studies of conformations and dynamics in solution

The early NMR research on nucleic acids was of a qualitative nature and was restricted to partial characterization of short oligonucleotides in aqueous solution. Major advances in magnet design, spectrometer electronics, pulse techniques, data analysis and computational capabilities coupled with the availability of pure and abundant supply of long oligonucleotides have extended these studies towards the determination of the 3-D structure of nucleic acids in solution.
Influence of noise type on speech reception thresholds across four languages measured with matrix sentence tests

Objective: To compare speech reception thresholds (SRTs) in noise using matrix sentence tests in four languages: German, Spanish, Russian, Polish. Design: The four tests were composed of equivalent five-word sentences and were all designed and optimized using the same principles. Six stationary speech-shaped noises and three non-stationary noises were used as maskers. Study sample: Forty native listeners with normal hearing: 10 for each language. Results: SRTs were about 3 dB higher for the German and Spanish tests than for the Russian and Polish tests when stationary noise was used that matched the long-term frequency spectrum of the respective speech test materials. This general SRT difference was also observed for the other stationary noises. The within-test variability across noise conditions differed between languages. About 56% of the observed variance was predicted by the speech intelligibility index. The observed SRT benefit in fluctuating noise was similar for all tests, with a slightly smaller benefit for the Spanish test. Conclusions: Of the stationary noises employed, noise with the same spectrum as the speech yielded the best masking. SRT differences across languages and noises could be attributed in part to spectral differences. These findings provide the feasibility and limits of comparing audiological results across languages.
Food security status and vulnerability to anemia among women of reproductive age in pastoralist communities of Somali regional state, Ethiopia: a comparative, community-based, cross-sectional study

Background: Although the impact of food insecurity and anemia has been shown to be more common among women of reproductive age, there is little information available on the issue in relation to women in Fafan Zone, Somali Region, Ethiopia.Objectives: To compare the levels of anemia among women of reproductive age in food-secure versus food-insecure households in Fafan Zone.Methods: A community-based, cross-sectional study design was employed in rural Ethiopia from February to April 2017. In total, 142 women from food-insecure households and 287 women from food-secure households were recruited and their levels of anemia were measured using a HemoCue spectrophotometer, and then compared. Food insecurity was measured using a modified household food insecurity access scale. Data were entered using Epi data 3.1 and analyzed using Stata version 14.0. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses with 95% confidence intervals were used to examine the association between anemia and food security. A p-value of less than 0.05 was statistically significant.Results: The prevalence of anemia among women in food-insecure households was 79.53% and ranged from 42.0% to 90.0%; among women in food-secure households, the prevalence was 20.47% and ranged from 12% to 34%. The observed difference between Food Security (FS) and Food Insecurity (FI) was statistically significant indicating a correlation between the two groups. Women who reported food insecurity were about 1.4 times more likely to suffer from anemia than their food-secure counterparts (AOR=1.4; 95% CI=1.02-2.10). Conclusions and recommendations: It appears that four in five women in food-insecure households had anemia, and that there was an overall positive relationship between food insecurity and anemia. To address the level of anemia in food-insecure households, more nutritional support is required, in addition to implementing a poverty alleviation program and weekly iron folic acid supplementation. [Ethiop.J. Health Dev. 2019; 33(1):28-37]Key words: Food insecurity, anemia in women, Somali Region, Ethiopia
Optimal Design of Passive Resonating Wireless Sensors for Wearable and Implantable Devices

Passive resonating wireless sensors consist of a variable capacitive (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$C_{s}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) sensing element in resonance with a coil (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$L_{s}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) that is inductively coupled with a proximal readout circuit. They have been utilized in a number of medical and contactless industrial applications for their simple, small, battery-less, and wireless capabilities. An external readout coil (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$L_{r}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) detects the changes in the impedance phase spectrum, resulting from the changes in the parameter of interest (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\Delta P$ </tex-math></inline-formula>), such as pressure, humidity, or permittivity. A method of optimization for this class of sensors is presented based on a new figure of merit (FoM) to help designers find optimal geometries for both the sensing and inductive link components of the resonating sensor, leading to maximum signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and sensitivity at a desired reading range. To verify the proposed FoM and optimization algorithm, we fabricated an all-soft resonating wireless sensor prototype for chemical detection with optimal geometry. The phase-dip (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\Delta \varphi _{dip}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) of the sensor at 5-mm interrogation distance is 43°, a 1380% improvement after optimization, at 313.5-MHz operating frequency. The maximum sensitivity, <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\partial (\Delta f_{\mathbf {0}}/f_{\mathbf {0}})/\partial (\Delta P$ </tex-math></inline-formula>), is 9200 ppm, a 24% improvement after optimization, when <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$100~\mu \text{L}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> of methanol (MeOH) is applied on the interdigitated capacitive sensor. The design methodology was also applied to an intraocular pressure (IOP) sensor and an implantable humidity sensor from literature and led to 661% and 41% improvement in the proposed FoM in simulations, respectively.
A Novel Compact High-Voltage Test System Based on a Magnetically Controlled Resonant Transformer

In this paper, a novel compact high-voltage (HV) test system based on a magnetically controlled resonant transformer (MCRT) is proposed. This system is used to perform a power-frequency HV on-site voltage withstanding test. First, the basic principle of the MCRT is introduced. Next, a Fourier analysis based on the equivalent magnetic and electrical circuits of the MCRT is described. This analysis provides a design reference for the basic MCRT parameters. In addition, a finite-element model was constructed to verify the MCRT design. Finally, an MCRT prototype was designed to verify the effectiveness of the test system. Compared with the traditional HV test systems, the proposed test system in this paper has the advantages of compact structure, stable secondary voltage, and wide reactance adjustment range.
Mode switching control for a personal mobility robot based on initial value compensation

The present paper introduces a novel standing-up control strategy using Initial Value Compensation (IVC) for a Personal Mobility Robot (PMR). Personal mobility robots, which are wheeled inverted pendulum type mobility-assist devices, have the advantages of a small turn radius, maintaining a level seating posture on a slope, and a small footprint as compared to conventional electric wheelchairs with four wheels. On the other hand, the user must maintain the posture of the PMR by the use of additional assist wheels on the ground when mounting/dismounting and working from the PMR. In order to achieve these requirements, we propose the following approach. First, the PMR accelerates to lift its assist wheels off the ground and detects whether the assist wheels are in contact with the ground. The feedback controller is then switched to wheeled inverted pendulum mode using the proposed IVC. The proposed IVC is designed to improve the transient responses and suppress the amplitude of the control input and the jerk component for reducing the shock to the driver. The effectiveness of the proposed approach has been verified by numerical simulations and experiments using a prototype PMR.
Two- to 4-Year Follow-up to a Comparison of Home Versus Physical Therapy-Supervised Rehabilitation Programs After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction

Background: There have been no long-term follow-up studies comparing a predominantly home-based rehabilitation program with a standard physical therapy program after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. Demonstrating the long-term success of such a cost-effective program would be beneficial to guide future rehabilitation practice. Purpose: To determine whether there were any differences in long-term outcome between recreational athletes who performed a physical therapy-supervised rehabilitation program and those who performed a primarily home-based rehabilitation program in the first 3 months after ACL reconstruction. Study Design: Randomized clinical trial; Level of evidence, 1. Methods: Patients were randomized before ACL reconstruction surgery to either the physical therapy-supervised (17 physical therapy sessions) or home-based (4 physical therapy sessions) program. Eighty-eight of the original 129 patients returned 2 to 4 years after surgery to assess their long-term clinical outcomes. Primary outcome was the ACL quality of life questionnaire (ACL QOL). Secondary outcomes were bilateral difference in knee extension and flexion range of motion, sagittal plane knee laxity, relative quadriceps and hamstring strength, and objective International Knee Documentation Committee score. Unpaired t tests and a chi-square test were used for the comparisons. Results: The home-based group had a significantly higher mean ACL QOL score (80.0 ± 16.2) than the physical therapy-supervised group (69.9 ± 22.0) a mean of 38 months after surgery (P = .02, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.7, 18.4). The mean change in ACL QOL score from before surgery to follow-up was not significantly different between the groups (physical therapy = 40.0, home = 45.8, P = .26, 95% CI: −15.8, 4.4). There were no significant differences in the secondary outcome measures. Conclusion: This long-term study upholds the short-term findings of the original randomized clinical trial by demonstrating that patients who participate in a predominantly home-based rehabilitation program in the first 3 months after ACL reconstruction have similar 2- to 4-year outcomes compared with those patients who participate in a more clinically supervised program.