Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Agreement and Reliability of Fasted and Oral Glucose Tolerance Test-Derived Indices of Insulin Sensitivity and Beta Cell Function in Boys

Abstract Assessment of plasma insulin and glucose outcomes is important in paediatric studies aimed at reducing future risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The aims of this study are to determine the between-method agreement and the day-to-day reliability of fasting and oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT)-derived estimates of insulin sensitivity and β-cell function in healthy boys. Fasting and OGTT assesments of insulin resistance and β-cell function were performed on 28 boys (12.3±2.9 years). Measurements were repeated after 1 week (fasting, n=28) and 1 day (OGTT, n=8). Agreement between estimates of insulin resistance and β-cell function was examined using Pearson’s correlation coefficient. Reliability was assessed using change in the mean, Pearson’s correlation coefficient, and typical error expressed as a coefficient of variation (CV). The Matsuda index was positively related with QUICKI (r=0.88, P<0.001) and negatively related to HOMA-IR (r=−0.76, P<0.001). The Cederholm index was not significantly related with fasting estimates of insulin resistance (all r<0.40, P>0.05). For reliability, QUICKI had the lowest CV% for the fasting (4.7%) and the Cederholm index for the OGTT (6.4%) estimates. The largest CV% was observed in fasting insulin (30.8%) and insulinogenic index 30’ (62.5%). This study highlights differences in between-method agreement and day-to-day reliability for estimates of insulin resistance in youth. The low CV supports the use of the FGIR (fasting) and Cederholm (OGTT) indices in this population.
Motivators, Barriers, and Beliefs Regarding Physical Activity in an Older Adult Population

Background and Purpose:Regular physical activity (PA) plays an important role in improving and maintaining one's health, especially as one ages. Although many older Americans are aware of the benefits of regular PA, the majority do not participate in regular PA that meets recommended guidelines. The purpose of this study was to gain insight into the motivators, barriers, and beliefs regarding PA of independent-living older adults with easy access to fitness facilities. Methods:In this qualitative design, focus group interviews were used to explore the individual perceptions of physically active and inactive older adults regarding PA and exercise. Thirty-one older adults, over age 60 participated in focus group discussions regarding PA beliefs and behaviors. Groups were homogenous based on current PA behaviors. Demographic information was collected. Discussions were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim and deidentified. Two researchers independently coded for emergent themes. Interrater reliability was established (&kgr; = 0.89). Peer review was used to further ensure trustworthiness and credibility. Results:No significant differences were noted in age, body mass index, or educational levels between the physically active and inactive groups. Differences in perceptions were noted between the groups regarding the construct of PA, barriers to participation in regular PA, and the components of an ideal PA program. Physically inactive persons had much lower fitness expectations of a physically active older adult, more perceived barriers to regular PA, and required individual tailoring of a PA program if they were going to participate. In addition, inactive persons were intimidated by the fitness facilities and concerned about slowing others down in a group exercise setting. Both groups shared similar motivators to participate in PA, such as maintaining health and socialization; however, inactive persons also described PA as needing to be purposeful and fun. Discussion and Conclusion:Physically inactive persons perceived themselves to be physically active, as their perception of PA was grounded in a social context. Although both groups shared some barriers to regular PA participation, physically active individuals developed strategies to overcome them. Issues relating to self-efficacy and stages of change need to be explored to address the individual perceptions and needs of inactive older adults if initiation or long-term adherence to a PA program is to be achieved.
Real time hybrid intrusion detection system using signature matching algorithm and fuzzy-GA

In Internet-based communication, different types of networks are used to provide services to users. Due to exploration of different types of vulnerabilities, day by day threat of attacks in network is increasing. There is possibility of getting system infected by internal or external intruders. Single computer system is shared by multiple users. Users use multiuser system by creating their own account, which is protected by unique id and password. Sometimes, authorized users attack system for some malicious purposes. Internal attacks include deleting some important files or data, altering some important data. For any intrusion detection system, it is very difficult to identify authorized internal intruders. SQL injection is one such attack, which can be launched by internal attacker. The purpose of external intruder is to perform malicious activities in remote system. To avoid these two types of attacks, the robust intrusion detection system is needed. In this paper, we have implemented hybrid intrusion detection system, which includes identification of both internal and external attacks. Signature matching algorithm is implemented to identify internal attacks. Fuzzy genetic algorithm is applied for implementation of external attacks detection. The system is hybrid and compatible in offline as well as online environment. Experimental results show that the accuracy of system is better than some of existing systems.
Evolution of the aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase family and the organization of the Drosophila glutamyl-prolyl-tRNA synthetase gene. Intron/exon structure of the gene, control of expression of the two mRNAs, selective advantage of the multienzyme complex.

In Drosophila, glutamyl-prolyl-tRNA synthetase is a multifunctional synthetase encoded by a unique gene and composed of three domains: the amino- and carboxy-terminal domains catalyze the aminoacylation of glutamic acid and proline tRNA species, respectively, and the central domain is made of 75 amino acids repeated six times amongst which 46 are highly conserved and constitute the repeated motifs [Cerini, C. , Kerjan, P., Astier, M. , Gratecos, D. , Mirande, M. & Sémériva, M. (1991) EMBO J. 10, 4267-4277]. The intron/exon organization of the Drosophila gene reveals the presence of six exons among which four are in the 5'-end encoding glutamic acid activity. Only one exon encodes the repeated motifs. A comparison of introns positions, intron classes and intron/exon boundaries in the Drosophila gene and in its human counterpart is compatible with the intron-early hypothesis presiding, at least in part, to the evolution of the synthetases. The full-length fly protein is encoded by a 6.1-kb mRNA which is expressed throughout development. In addition, a shorter transcript encompasses the 3'-end of the cDNA and it is especially abundant in 5-10-h embryos until the first larval stage. Expression of these two mRNAs seems to be controlled by two independent promoters. The 6.1-kb mRNA promoter is probably localized in the 5'-end of the gene. The small mRNA promoter resides in the 4th intron and evidence is provided that the mRNA encodes only the domain corresponding to prolyl-tRNA synthetase and is functional in vivo. Finally, transgenic flies have been established by using constructs corresponding to the three domains of the protein. Overexpression of the repeated motifs leads to a sterility of the flies that suggests a role of these motifs in linking the multienzyme complex to an, as yet, unknown structure of the protein synthesis apparatus.
Control of parental investment changes plastically over time with residual reproductive value

Evolutionary conflict between parents and offspring over parental resource investment is a significant selective force on the traits of both parents and offspring. Empirical studies have shown that for some species, the amount of parental investment is controlled by the parents, whereas in other species, it is controlled by the offspring. The main difference between these two strategies is the residual reproductive value of the parents or opportunities for future reproduction. Therefore, this could explain the patterns of control of parental investment at the species level. However, the residual reproductive value of the parents will change during their lifetime; therefore, parental influence on the amount of investment can be expected to change plastically. Here, we investigated control of parental investment when parents were young and had a high residual reproductive value, compared to when they were old and had a low residual reproductive value using a cross‐fostering experiment in the burying beetle Nicrophorus quadripunctatus. We found that parents exert greater control over parental investment when they are young, but parental control is weakened as the parents age. Our results demonstrate that control of parental investment is not fixed, but changes plastically during the parent's lifetime.
PR‐39 coordinates changes in vascular smooth muscle cell adhesive strength and locomotion by modulating cell surface heparan sulfate–matrix interactions

PR‐39 is proline‐rich peptide produced at sites of tissue injury. While the functional properties of this peptide have not been fully defined, PR‐39 may be an important regulator of processes related to cell‐matrix adhesion since it reportedly upregulates syndecan‐4, which is a critical determinant of focal adhesion formation. The ability of PR‐39 to modulate the adhesion and chemokinetic migration behavior of arterial smooth muscle cells (SMCs) in a fashion coordinated with syndecan‐4 expression was investigated. Treatment of SMCs with PR‐39 did not alter syndecan‐1 mRNA, but did induce a two‐fold increase in syndecan‐4 mRNA (P < 0.0001) and significantly enhanced cell surface expression of both syndecan‐4 (P < 0.01) and heparan sulfate (HS) (P < 0.05). These observations were consistent with an observed increase in cell‐matrix adhesive strength (P < 0.05) and a reduction in cell speed (P < 0.01) on fibronectin‐coated substrates. Incubation of PR‐39 treated cells with a soluble fibronectin derived heparin‐binding peptide, as a competitive inhibitor of heparan sulfate/matrix interactions, abolished these effects. These data suggest that PR‐39 mediated alterations of cell adhesion and motility may be related, in part, to the increased expression of heparan sulfate glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) that accompany the upregulation of cell surface syndecan‐4. Futhermore, this investigation supports the notion that factors which control syndecan‐4 expression may play an important role in regulating adhesion related cell processes. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Activation of JAK/STAT signalling in neurons following spinal cord injury in mice

The Janus kinase (JAK)/signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) signalling pathway is one of the most important in transducing signals from the cell surface to the nucleus in response to cytokines. In the present study, we investigated chronological alteration and cellular location of JAK1, STAT3, phosphorylated (p)‐Tyr1022/1023‐JAK1, p‐Tyr705‐STAT3, and interleukin‐6 (IL‐6) following spinal cord injury (SCI) in mice. Western blot analysis showed JAK1 to be significantly phosphorylated at Tyr1022/1023 from 6 h after SCI, peaking at 12 h and gradually decreasing thereafter, accompanied by phosphorylation of STAT3 at Tyr705 with a similar time course. ELISA analysis showed the concentration of IL‐6 in injured spinal cord to also significantly increase from 3 h after SCI, peaking at 12 h, then gradually decreasing. Immunohistochemistry revealed p‐Tyr1022/1023‐JAK1, p‐Tyr705‐STAT3, and IL‐6 to be mainly expressed in neurons of the anterior horns at 12 h after SCI. Pretreatment with a JAK inhibitor, AG‐490, suppressed phosphorylation of JAK1 and STAT3 at 12 h after SCI, reducing recovery of motor functions. These findings suggest that SCI at the acute stage produces IL‐6 mainly in neurons of the injured spinal cord, which activates the JAK/STAT pathway, and that this pathway may be involved with neuronal response to SCI.
Tracking paternal genes with DALP markers in a pseudoarrhenotokous reproductive system: biparental transmission but haplodiploid-like inheritance in the mite Neoseiulus californicus

The complexity of some sexual reproductive systems in arthropods still leaves both their genetic and epigenetic determinism and their evolutionary significance poorly understood. Pseudoarrhenotoky is characterized by obligate fertilization and differential inactivation and/or elimination of paternal chromosomes in embryos that develop into males. Here, we investigate how the paternal genome is transmitted in a pseudoarrhenotokous mite, Neoseiulus californicus, using codominant genetic markers detected by DALP (direct amplification of length polymorphism). Transmission patterns of parental alleles through one and two generations are reported at four or five loci corresponding to four linkage groups. Our data provide strong evidence for selective elimination of the paternal genome among male tissues. Sperm contained maternal genes exclusively, whereas some male somatic tissues retained most if not all paternal chromosomes. No recombination between parental genomes prior to paternal genome elimination from the embryonic germ line was observed. These data allow a reinterpretation of previous phenotypic and cytogenetic observations in these mites, from which we suggest some relevant mechanistic and evolutionary implications. In addition, this is the first published study using polymorphic codominant loci detected by the recently developed DALP method.
Initiation of DNA Replication withinoriP Is Dispensable for Stable Replication of the Latent Epstein-Barr Virus Chromosome after Infection of Established Cell Lines

ABSTRACT The 165-kb circularized chromosome of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is replicated in latently infected cells once per cell cycle by host proteins during S phase. Replication initiates at multiple sites on latent EBV chromosomes, including within a 1.8-kb region calledoriP, which can provide both replication and stabilization for recombinant plasmids in the presence of the EBV-encoded protein, EBNA-1. Replication initiates at or near the dyad symmetry component (DS) of oriP, which depends on multiple EBNA-1 binding sites for activity. To test the importance of the replication function of oriP, the DS was deleted from the viral genome. EBV mutants lacking the DS and carrying a selectable gene could establish latent infections in BL30 cells, in which circular, mutant viral chromosomes were stably maintained. Analysis of replication fork movement using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis showed that the deletion of the DS reduced the initiation events to an undetectable level within the oriP region so that this segment was replicated exclusively by forks entering the region from either direction. A significant slowing or stalling of replication forks that occurs normally at the approximate position of the DS was also eliminated by deletion of the DS. The results confirm the DS as both a replication origin and a place where replication forks pause. Since the replication function of oriP is dispensable at least in certain cell lines, the essential role of EBNA-1 for infection of these cell lines is likely to be that of stabilizing the EBV chromosome by associating with the 30-bp repeats of oriP. The results also imply that in established cell lines, the EBV chromosome can be efficiently replicated entirely from origins that are activated by cellular factors. Presumably, initiation of replication at the DS, mediated by EBNA-1, is important for the natural life cycle of EBV, perhaps in establishing latent infections of normal B cells.
Limitations of inductive circuit model representations of meander line antennas

The resonant frequency of meander line antennas can be predicted using an equivalent inductor circuit model representation. As a function of increasing number of meander sections, these models provide a reasonable approximation of the relative change in resonant frequency. Some limitations of these inductor circuit model representations are examined for different meander line antennas having a fixed number of meander sections. These limitations are explained in a broad sense in terms of the equivalent circuit parameters of the meander line geometry.
Event-based non-parametric clustering of team sport trajectories

Strategy design and analysis is important in team sports, such as basketball and soccer. In this paper, we take basketball as an example and study how to cluster movement trajectories in the games to identify the strategies. This problem is challenging in that the trajectories are diverse and that it is unknown how many or what strategies are employed in the games. As a result, traditional parametric clustering methods are not directly applicable to the raw trajectory data. Therefore, we propose to align trajectories around the basket and simplify them based on movement directions and game events, including dribbling, passing, and shooting. Furthermore, we propose a non-parametric density peak (NPDP) method to cluster these simplified event trajectories. Our experiments on an NBA game dataset of 50,000 offenses show that, without parameter tuning, NPDP clusters all trajectories into groups of high similarity and identifies distinguishing movement strategies.
Mycobacterium tuberculosis Pathogenesis and Molecular Determinants of Virulence

SUMMARY Tuberculosis (TB), one of the oldest known human diseases. is still is one of the major causes of mortality, since two million people die each year from this malady. TB has many manifestations, affecting bone, the central nervous system, and many other organ systems, but it is primarily a pulmonary disease that is initiated by the deposition of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, contained in aerosol droplets, onto lung alveolar surfaces. From this point, the progression of the disease can have several outcomes, determined largely by the response of the host immune system. The efficacy of this response is affected by intrinsic factors such as the genetics of the immune system as well as extrinsic factors, e.g., insults to the immune system and the nutritional and physiological state of the host. In addition, the pathogen may play a role in disease progression since some M. tuberculosis strains are reportedly more virulent than others, as defined by increased transmissibility as well as being associated with higher morbidity and mortality in infected individuals. Despite the widespread use of an attenuated live vaccine and several antibiotics, there is more TB than ever before, requiring new vaccines and drugs and more specific and rapid diagnostics. Researchers are utilizing information obtained from the complete sequence of the M. tuberculosis genome and from new genetic and physiological methods to identify targets in M. tuberculosis that will aid in the development of these sorely needed antitubercular agents.
Physiologic and functional outcome correlates of brain tissue hypoxia in traumatic brain injury*

Objective:Assess the prevalence of brain tissue hypoxia in patients with severe traumatic brain injuries (TBI), and to characterize the relationship between brain tissue hypoxia and functional outcome. Design:Retrospective review of severe TBI patients. Setting:Intensive care unit of a level I trauma center. Patients:Twenty-seven patients with severe TBI requiring intracranial pressure (ICP) monitoring. Median age was 22 yrs, and a majority (63%) had traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage. Interventions:Hourly assessments of ICP, brain tissue oxygen, mean arterial pressure, fraction of inspired oxygen (Fio2), partial pressure of arterial carbon dioxide (Paco2), and hemoglobin concentration (hemoglobin) were recorded. Outcome was assessed 6–9 months postinjury. Measurements and Main Results:Mean (sd) ICP and BTpo2 were 13.7 (6.6) cm H2O and 30.8 (13.6) mm Hg. A total of 13.5% (379) of the BTpo2 values recorded were <20 mm Hg, only 86 of which were associated with ICP ≥20 cm H2O. This prevalence was comparable with episodes of ICP elevations above 20 cm H2O (14.1%, 397). Hypoxic episodes were more common when cerebral perfusion pressure was below 60 mm Hg (relative risk = 3.0, p < 0.0001). We did not find an association in hypoxic risk and hemoglobin in the range of 7–12 g/dL or Paco2 in the range of 25–40 mm Hg. Subjects with hourly episodes (epochs) of hypoxia >20% of the time had poorer scores on outcome measures compared with those with fewer hypoxic epochs. Conclusions:Hypoxic episodes are common after severe TBI, and most are independent of ICP elevations. Most episodes of hypoxia occur while cerebral perfusion pressure and mean arterial pressure are within the accepted target range. There is no clear association between Paco2 and hemoglobin with BTpo2. The young age and high prevalence of traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage in this cohort may limit its generalizability. Increased frequency of hypoxic episodes is associated with poor functional outcome.
Comparison of cefoxitin and moxalactam 30 microg disc diffusion methods for detection of methicillin resistance in coagulase-negative staphylococci.

OBJECTIVES To compare cefoxitin and/or moxalactam 30 microg disc diffusion (DD) methods to detect methicillin resistance in coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) using both high- and low-density (HD/LD) inoculum techniques. METHODS A challenge set of 192 CoNS was tested. DD test results were compared with PBP2a detection. RESULTS With the LD inoculum, the sensitivity/specificity of cefoxitin and moxalactam were 94.4%/100% and 100%/92.4%, respectively, using the DD breakpoints of the Comité de l'Antibiogramme de la Société Française de Microbiologie. With the HD inoculum, the sensitivity/specificity of cefoxitin and moxalactam were 93.7%/100% and 100%/96.9%, using the cefoxitin DD breakpoints of the CLSI and a resistant/susceptible breakpoint of < 20 mm/>or=20 mm for moxalactam. Comparison of receiver operating characteristic AUCs did not show significant difference between studied assays, but the overlapping zone where both PBP2a-positive and PBP2a-negative isolates were observed concerned a lower number of strains with moxalactam than with cefoxitin (P < 0.001). Combination of cefoxitin and moxalactam DD methods demonstrated that all isolates with a concordant cefoxitin/moxalactam phenotype were correctly classified. Interestingly, all isolates misclassified by each DD method used alone were cefoxitin-susceptible and moxalactam-resistant. CONCLUSIONS Although all DD methods studied here performed well for detecting methicillin resistance in CoNS, moxalactam had a higher accuracy than cefoxitin to differentiate heteroresistant isolates from PBP2a-negative strains. Identification of isolates that should be submitted to a confirmatory test to conclude on methicillin resistance can be easily obtained by combining cefoxitin and moxalactam DD methods.