Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prematurity is not associated with reduced insulin sensitivity in adulthood.

BACKGROUND In 2005, 12.7% of all babies were born preterm, and the incidence is rising. Nowadays, due to improved survival, an increasing number of children born preterm reach young adulthood. A recent report suggested lower insulin sensitivity in children born preterm, which may put them at risk for the development of type 2 diabetes. It is, however, still unknown whether this reduced insulin sensitivity persists into adulthood. METHODS We determined insulin sensitivity and beta-cell function with frequently sampled iv glucose tolerance tests in 305 young adults (aged 18-24 yr; 169 preterm and 136 term). Adult body composition was measured by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry. We investigated the effect of gestational age, size at birth, and adult body composition on insulin sensitivity. RESULTS In contrast to previous reports, we found no evidence that preterm birth has a deleterious effect on insulin sensitivity in young adulthood. Adult trunk fat and the use of oral contraceptives in women were the most important determinants of insulin insensitivity, independently of size at birth and duration of pregnancy. CONCLUSION Contrary to our hypothesis, preterm birth was not associated with reduced insulin sensitivity in young adulthood.
Low‐Rank Smoothing Splines on Complicated Domains

Summary Smoothing over a domain with irregular boundaries or interior gaps and holes is addressed. Consider the problem of estimating mercury in sediment concentrations in the estuarine waters in New Hampshire. A modified version of low‐rank thin plate splines (LTPS) is introduced where the geodesic distance is applied to evaluate dissimilarity of any two data observations: loosely speaking, distances between locations are not measured as the crow flies, but as the fish swims. The method is compared with competing smoothing techniques, LTPS, and finite element L‐splines.
An RTT-Aware Virtual Machine Placement Method

Virtualization is a key technology for mobile cloud computing (MCC) and the virtual machine (VM) is a core component of virtualization. VM provides a relatively independent running environment for different applications. Therefore, the VM placement problem focuses on how to place VMs on optimal physical machines, which ensures efficient use of resources and the quality of service, etc. Most previous work focuses on energy consumption, network traffic between VMs and so on and rarely consider the delay for end users’ requests. In contrast, the latency between requests and VMs is considered in this paper for the scenario of optimal VM placement in MCC. In order to minimize average RTT for all requests, the round-trip time (RTT) is first used as the metric for the latency of requests. Based on our proposed RTT metric, an RTT-Aware VM placement algorithm is then proposed to minimize the average RTT. Furthermore, the case in which one of the core switches does not work is considered. A VM rescheduling algorithm is proposed to keep the average RTT lower and reduce the fluctuation of the average RTT. Finally, in the simulation study, our algorithm shows its advantage over existing methods, including random placement, the traffic-aware VM placement algorithm and the remaining utilization-aware algorithm.
The Multicast Address-Set Claim (MASC) Protocol

This document describes the Multicast Address-Set Claim (MASC) protocol which can be used for inter-domain multicast address set allocation. MASC is used by a node (typically a router) to claim and allocate one or more address prefixes to that node's domain. While a domain does not necessarily need to allocate an address set for hosts in that domain to be able to allocate group addresses, allocating an address set to the domain does ensure that inter-domain group- specific distribution trees will be locally-rooted, and that traffic will be sent outside the domain only when and where external receivers exist.
Analysis and Refinement of Steganography Techniques

Steganography is an art and technique of hiding data in some media i.e image, audio or video file. For hiding data various steganography techniques are used. This paper is an effort to provide comprehensive comparison of these steganography techniques based on different performance metrics such as PSNR, MSE and Embedding capacity. [16] The embedding capacity of Jpeg-Steganography is very less than spatial domain techniques. The spatial domain techniques provide high PSNR, high perceptual quality and high embedding capacity but these not provide robustness. On the other hand transform domain provide robustness while providing very less embedding capacity, low PSNR and low perceptual quality.
Dolutegravir, abacavir and lamivudine as HIV therapy

Introduction: Antiretroviral therapy has evolved dramatically and more potent, safer and convenient drugs have replaced former compounds. Dolutegravir (DTG) is the most recently approved integrase inhibitor. It displays attractive properties such as one pill once daily (QD) dosing, high barrier to resistance and clean safety profile. Moreover, it is planned to be marketed, co-formulated with abacavir (ABC) and lamivudine (3TC) as a single-tablet regimen (STR). The availability of this QD single pill represents a significant step further for a large number of HIV-infected persons. Areas covered: Updated summary of evidence-based information on efficacy and safety of DTG along with ABC and 3TC. All information available on antiretrovirals in the most advanced stages of clinical development reported in peer-reviewed journals or at international meetings has been reviewed. Expert opinion: The combination of DTG, ABC and 3TC displays a high efficacy, superior to many other antiretroviral combinations, including other convenient STR. The good safety profile, low potential for drug interactions and high resistance barrier of DTG- ABC-3TC are unique features than make this co-formulation the preferred choice as HIV therapy in multiple clinical scenarios, including most treatment-naïve and treatment-experienced patients, as part of switch strategies, and in patients with underlying serious medical conditions such as kidney abnormalities, liver disease, metabolic disturbances or neuropsychiatric conditions.
Differential Epitope Mapping by STD NMR Spectroscopy To Reveal the Nature of Protein–Ligand Contacts

Abstract Saturation transfer difference (STD) NMR spectroscopy is extensively used to obtain epitope maps of ligands binding to protein receptors, thereby revealing structural details of the interaction, which is key to direct lead optimization efforts in drug discovery. However, it does not give information about the nature of the amino acids surrounding the ligand in the binding pocket. Herein, we report the development of the novel method differential epitope mapping by STD NMR (DEEP‐STD NMR) for identifying the type of protein residues contacting the ligand. The method produces differential epitope maps through 1) differential frequency STD NMR and/or 2) differential solvent (D2O/H2O) STD NMR experiments. The two approaches provide different complementary information on the binding pocket. We demonstrate that DEEP‐STD NMR can be used to readily obtain pharmacophore information on the protein. Furthermore, if the 3D structure of the protein is known, this information also helps in orienting the ligand in the binding pocket.
MACROARRAY ANALYSIS REVEALS A STRAIN-INDUCED OXIDANT RESPONSE IN PULMONARY EPITHELIAL CELLS

Mechanical strain initiates a variety of responses in pulmonary epithelial cells. The signaling pathways and molecular alterations leading to these responses remain unclear. To identify novel signal transduction pathways activated by strain, macroarray analysis was performed on strained pulmonary epithelial cells. Glutathione S-transferase (GST) pi, GST mu, and heat shock protein (HSP)-27 were increased by strain. Western blotting verified that increases in cDNA of these redox-related molecules resulted in an increase in protein. Phosphorylation of HSP-27 was increased after strain, further supporting the role of HSP-27 in strain-induced signal transduction. Strain-induced oxidative stress was verified with the oxidant-sensitive dye dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate.
Sadeq Hedayat, his work and his wondrous world

If there are cult figures in literature, Sadeq Hedayat should certainly be considered the most important and most lasting cult figure and his short novel Buf-e Kur (The Blind Owl) the cult book of modern Persian literature, since despite the fact that twentieth century Iran gave rise to many important literary figures and major works of fiction, virtually every novel published is still held up to and measured against Hedayat’s work. By the same token, Hedayat’s work, especially The Blind Owl, has been the subject of a greater number of literary and extra-literary studies in Persian and other languages than the work of any other modern Iranian writer. Adding to this body of critical studies is this volume of thirteen essays edited by Homa Katouzian, who is currently considered an international authority on Sadeq Hedayat. The collection is a compilation of most of the papers presented at the Sadeq Hedyat Centenary Conference held at St. Antony College, Oxford, in March 2003, with contributions by eleven literary critics and social science scholars. In his introductory chapter, within the context of Hedayat’s family background and education, Katouzian, who considers Hedayat “the founder of modernism in Persian fiction,” presents his readers with a portrait of Hedayat that further promotes him as a cult figure. Stating that Hedayat’s life and death “came to symbolize much more than leading writers would normally claim,” he continues:
Influence of muscle fiber type composition on early fat accumulation under high-fat diet challenge

Objective To investigate whether differences in muscle fiber types affect early-stage fat accumulation, under high fat diet challenge in mice. Methods Twelve healthy male C57BL/6 mice experienced with short-term (6 weeks) diet treatment for the evaluation of early pattern changes in muscular fat. The mice were randomly divided into two groups: high fat diet (n = 8) and normal control diet (n = 4). Extra- and intra-myocellular lipid (EMCL and IMCL) in lumbar muscles (type I fiber predominant) and tibialis anterior (TA) muscle (type II fiber predominant) were determined using magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). Correlation of EMCL, IMCL and their ratio between TA and lumbar muscles was evaluated. Results EMCL increased greatly in both muscle types after high fat diet. IMCL in TA and lumbar muscles increased to a much lower extent, with a slightly greater increase in TA muscles. EMCLs in the 2 muscles were positively correlated (r = 0.84, p = 0.01), but IMCLs showed a negative relationship (r = -0.84, p = 0.01). In lumbar muscles, high fat diet significantly decreased type I fiber while it increased type II fiber (all p≤0.001). In TA muscle, there was no significant fiber type shifting (p>0.05). Conclusions Under short-time high fat diet challenge, lipid tends to initially accumulate extra-cellularly. In addition, compared to type II dominant muscle, Type I dominant muscle was less susceptible to IMCL accumulation but more to fiber type shifting. These phenomena might reflect compensative responses of skeletal muscle to dietary lipid overload in order to regulate metabolic homeostasis.
MLL and CREB Bind Cooperatively to the Nuclear Coactivator CREB-Binding Protein

ABSTRACT A fragment of the mixed-lineage leukemia (MLL) gene (Mll, HRX, ALL-1) was identified in a yeast genetic screen designed to isolate proteins that interact with the CREB–CREB-binding protein (CBP) complex. When tested for binding to CREB or CBP individually, this MLL fragment interacted directly with CBP, but not with CREB. In vitro binding experiments refined the minimal region of interaction to amino acids 2829 to 2883 of MLL, a potent transcriptional activation domain, and amino acids 581 to 687 of CBP (the CREB-binding or KIX domain). The transactivation activity of MLL was dependent on CBP, as either adenovirus E1A expression, which inhibits CBP activity, or alteration of MLL residues important for CBP interaction proved effective at inhibiting MLL-mediated transactivation. Single amino acid substitutions within the MLL activation domain revealed that five hydrophobic residues, potentially forming a hydrophobic face of an amphipathic helix, were critical for the interaction of MLL with CBP. Using purified components, we found that the MLL activation domain facilitated the binding of CBP to phosphorylated CREB. In contrast with paradigms in which factors compete for limiting quantities of CBP, these results reveal that two distinct transcription factor activation domains can cooperatively target the same motif on CBP.
Amide proton transfer (APT) contrast for imaging of brain tumors

In this work we demonstrate that specific MR image contrast can be produced in the water signal that reflects endogenous cellular protein and peptide content in intracranial rat 9L gliosarcomas. Although the concentration of these mobile proteins and peptides is only in the millimolar range, a detection sensitivity of several percent on the water signal (molar concentration) was achieved. This was accomplished with detection sensitivity enhancement by selective radiofrequency (RF) labeling of the amide protons, and by utilizing the effective transfer of this label to water via hydrogen exchange. Brain tumors were also assessed by conventional T1‐weighted, T2‐weighted, and diffusion‐weighted imaging. Whereas these commonly‐used approaches yielded heterogeneous images, the new amide proton transfer (APT) technique showed a single well‐defined region of hyperintensity that was assigned to brain tumor tissue. Magn Reson Med 50:1120–1126, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Efficient particle filtering for tracking maneuvering objects

Accurate tracking of elite athletes for performance monitoring allows sports scientists to optimize training to gain a competitive edge. An important challenge in this application is that the maneuverability of the athletes is high and the traditional Kalman filter (KF) will not provide satisfactory tracking accuracy. Further, high update rates, of the order of tens of updates per second for each player, are often required and hence, the tracking algorithm considered should be computationally efficient. In this paper we propose a computationally efficient multiple model particle filter (MM-PF) algorithm for tracking maneuvering objects. It uses a Gaussian proposal density based on the unscented KF and a deterministic sampling technique and provides tracking accuracy similar to that of the augmented MM-PF, but with much lower computational cost. The performance of the proposed algorithm was verified using simulations and data collected in field trials. The trials were conducted with the Australian Institute of Sport using a localization system we have designed.
Care of hospitalized children in Mozambique: nurses’ beliefs and practice regarding family involvement

This study aims to describe nurses’ beliefs and practice regarding family involvement in the care of hospitalized children in Mozambique. Ethnographic fieldwork was used. The data production consisted of field descriptions from observations and interviews with 36 nurses. Through qualitative content analysis the findings show that nurses’ practice of family involvement reflects a society that is poor, hierarchical, family-oriented but at the same time still adaptive. Four themes are identified: family members’ presence in order to assist the nurses in care; nurses’ support and education of family members to be involved in care; nurses’ shielding of family members from family involvement; difficulties and conditional dilemmas in the nurses’ involvement of families. It is concluded that emphasizing culturally congruent nursing care is necessary if families’ way of life is to be accommodated. However, to empower family involvement in everyday practice, the Mozambican nurses themselves need to be empowered.
One the use of invariance in robotics-oriented redundant sensing

Invariant concepts are applied in connection with the redundant sensing of physical quantities in robotics-related applications. It is shown that, by utilizing the properties of invariant quantities associated with physical scalar, vector, and tensor variables, it is possible to verify the compatibility of measurements and, in some cases, to determine the relative orientation of the coordinated frames attached to each of the various sensors. A numerical example was introduced to illustrate the benefits of invariant concepts that led to the determination of the relative orientation of two different coordinate frames attached to the same rigid body by sheer matrix multiplications, thereby eliminating the complexity of nonlinear-equation solving. Invariance is shown to be applicable to compatibility verification and instrument calibration. <<ETX>>
Palaces or minsters? Northampton and Cheddar reconsidered

Since their excavation in the 1950s and early 1960s, the palace buildings at Yeavering (Northumberland) and Cheddar (Somerset) have exemplified the physical impact of kingship on the Anglo-Saxon landscape. When, in 1980—2, massive eighthand ninth-century halls were found at the heart of Northampton, the temptation to recognize a major residence of the Mercian kings was irresistible. Thanks to archaeology, the image of the king's tun as the one fixed point in a shifting, uncertain world, encouraged by poetic sources and adoptedin the firstdetailed studies of Anglo-Saxon local organization, was assuming concrete reality. The importance of royal vills is certain, but there are questions to be asked about their stability. Both Yeavering and its successor at Milfield were shortlived: abandoned in the seventh century, when English settlement was still dispersed, unstable and non-urban, they tell us nothing about the long-term impact of palaces on the developing human landscape. The other potential 'palace' sites recognized as cropmarks also seem to have had relatively short lives, ending before the Viking age. Northampton and Cheddar, by contrast, were stable foci which developed continuously from their Anglo-Saxon roots into high medieval market centres. Yet it is arguable that they have been misread: Northampton because the buildings need not be a palace at all, and Cheddar because the palace was a secondary and peripheral element within an initially monastic complex. This paper, a detailed critique of the evidence from two key sites, is a step towards a broader study of the relationship between royal vills, minsters and towns. Here I make no assumptions regarding the normal character of villae regiae, about which we know less than is often supposed; my aim is to show how closely Northampton and Cheddar conform to the normal topography and planning conventions of minsters, about which we are rapidly learning more.
Bisphosphonates

Abstract: The bisphosphonates (BPs) are well established as the treatments of choice for disorders of excessive bone resorption, including Paget's disease of bone, myeloma and bone metastases, and osteoporosis. There is considerable new knowledge about how BPs work. Their classical pharmacological effects appear to result from two key properties: their affinity for bone mineral and their inhibitory effects on osteoclasts. Mineral binding affinities differ among the clinically used BPs and may influence their differential distribution within bone, their biological potency, and their duration of action. The inhibitory effects of the nitrogen‐containing BPs (including alendronate, risedronate, ibandronate, and zoledronate) on osteoclasts appear to result from their inhibition of farnesyl pyrophosphate synthase (FPPS), a key branch‐point enzyme in the mevalonate pathway. FPPS generates isoprenoid lipids used for the posttranslational modification of small GTP‐binding proteins essential for osteoclast function. Effects on other cellular pathways, such as preventing apoptosis in osteocytes, are emerging as other potentially important mechanisms of action. As a class, BPs share several common properties. However, as with other classes of drugs, there are obvious chemical, biochemical, and pharmacological differences among the various individual BPs. Each BP has a unique profile that may help to explain potential important clinical differences among the BPs, in terms of speed of onset of fracture reduction, antifracture efficacy at different skeletal sites, and the degree and duration of suppression of bone turnover. As we approach the 40th anniversary of the discovery of their biological effects, there remain further opportunities for using their properties for medical purposes.
On the origin of why static or breakloose friction is larger than kinetic friction, and how to reduce it: the role of aging, elasticity and sequential interfacial slip

We discuss the origin of static friction and show how it can be reduced towards kinetic friction by the appropriate design of the sliding system. The basic idea is to use elastically soft solids and apply the external forces in such a way that different parts of the contacting interface start to slip at different times during the (tangential) loading process. In addition, the local slip must be large enough in order to result in a strong drop in the static friction force. We illustrate the theoretical predictions with the results of a simple model experiment.
Integration of spatial and spectral information by means of unsupervised extraction and classification for homogenous objects applied to multispectral and hyperspectral data

This paper presents a method of unsupervised enhancement of pixels homogeneity in a local neighborhood. This mechanism will enable an unsupervised contextual classification of multispectral data that integrates the spectral and spatial information producing results that are more meaningful to the human analyst. This unsupervised classifier is an unsupervised development of the well-known supervised extraction and classification for homogenous objects (ECHO) classifier. One of its main characteristics is that it simplifies the retrieval process of spatial structures. This development is specially relevant for the new generation of airborne and spaceborne sensors with high spatial resolution.
The role of histochemistry in increasing objectivity in histopathology

The techniques of microscopic histochemistry, successfully applied to problems in histopathology, necessarily result in increased objectivity. Combined with procedures for quantification the increase may be such as to remove subjective judgment altogether. Extended to the ultrastructural level the quality of the information derived is greatly enhanced in terms of localization but there is usually no increase in objectivity. Of all branches of technology capable of conferring on histopathology an increase in objectivity, histochemistry must take first place.