Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Discovery of New Stilbene Antioxidants of the Bio-Elicited Peanut Sprout Powder (BPSP) and Longevity Extension of Mice Fed with BPSP-Supplemented Diets

Biosynthesis of peanut stilbenes, including resveratrol as the secondary metabolites, could be enhanced by subjecting the kernels to germination and wound-stress. Investigations of the bio-elicited peanut sprout powder (BPSP) addressed on characterization of the comprising stilbenes and effectiveness in longevity extension deserves intensive research. In this study, peanut kernels were subjected to germination and wound-stress in preparation of BPSP. The methanol extracts of BPSP were medium pressure liquid chromatographic (MPLC) fractionated and semi-preparative HPLC recovered and followed by instrumental identification and biological activity determinations of the isolated stilbenes. In longevity experiments, 16 female 11-mon-old BALB/c mice and both genders of 12-mon-old ICR mice were daily fed with BPSP supplemented diets at doses of 0, 0.1 and 0.5 g BPSP/kg bw for 750 and 762 days, respectively. Based on chemical characterization, enriched quantity of stilbenes in the BPSP up to ca. 1% (w/w) was detected. Two new stilbene compounds, namely, 4, 5’-dihydroxy-6’’-hydroxymethyl, 6’’-methylpyrano [2’’, 3’’: 3’, 4’] stilbene and 3, 4, 5’-trihydroxy-6’’, 6’’-dimethylpyrano [2’’, 3’’: 3’, 4’]stilbene along with 5 known stilbenes were isolated. The 7 stilbenes exhibited potent antioxidative and antiglycative activities and varied with structure-activity nature. Based on the resultant survival curves and average lifespans of both mouse models, basal diets supplemented with BPSP are effective to extend mouse longevity by a dose dependent manner. It is of merit to demonstrate that peanut kernels as a potent producer could be bio-elicited to biosynthesize a broad spectrum of bioactive stilbenes to prepare BPSP which is effective to extend mouse longevity as science-evidenced by the two long-term animal experiments.
Safety and feasibility evaluation of tourniquets for total knee replacement (SAFE-TKR): study protocol

Introduction This study is designed to determine whether a full randomised controlled trial (RCT) examining the clinical effectiveness and safety of total knee replacement surgery with or without a tourniquet is warranted and feasible. Method and analysis Single centre, patient-blinded and assessor-blinded RCT. A computer-generated randomisation service will allocate 50 participants into one of two trial treatments, surgery with or without a tourniquet. The primary objective is to estimate recruitment, crossovers and follow-up of patients. All patients will have an MRI scan of their brain preoperatively and day 1 or 2 postoperatively to identify ischaemic cerebral emboli (primary clinical outcome). Oxford Cognitive Screen, Montreal Cognitive Assessment and Mini-Mental State Examination will be evaluated as outcome tools for measuring cognitive impairment at days 1, 2 and 7 postoperatively. Thigh pain, blood transfusion requirements, venous thromboembolism, revision surgery, surgical complications, mortality and Oxford knee and five-level EuroQol-5D scores will be collected over 12 months. Integrated qualitative research study: 30 trial patients and 20 knee surgeons will take part in semistructured interviews. Interviews will capture views regarding the pilot trial and explore barriers and potential solutions to a full trial. Multicentre cohort study: UK National Joint Registry data will be linked to Hospital Episode Statistics to estimate the relationship between tourniquet use and venous thromboembolic event, length of hospital stay, risk of revision surgery and death. The study will conclude with a multidisciplinary workshop to reach a consensus on whether a full trial is warranted and feasible. Ethics and dissemination National Research Ethics Committee (West Midlands-Edgbaston) approved this study on 27 January 2016 (15/WM/0455). The study is sponsored by University of Warwick and University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire. The results will be disseminated via high-impact peer-reviewed publication. Trial registration number ISRCTN20873088; Pre-results.
Hydrazo-CEST: Hydrazone-Dependent Chemical Exchange Saturation Transfer Magnetic Resonance Imaging Contrast Agents.

The rapid formation of hydrazones under physiological conditions was exploited for the detection of aldehydes through chemical exchange saturation transfer magnetic resonance imaging (CEST-MRI). A metal-free, diamagnetic contrast agent derived from N-amino anthranilic acid was introduced, which selectively "turned-on" upon hydrazone formation through an effect termed Hydrazo-CEST. While the hydrazine form of the probe produced no CEST-MRI signal enhancement, the formation of the aryl hydrazone resulted in >20 % intensity decrease in the bulk water signal through the CEST effect, as measured by 300 MHz 1 H NMR, 3 T and 7 T MRI. Both the electronic contributions of the N-amino anthranilate and the aldehyde binding partner were shown to directly impact the exchange rate of the proton on the ring-proximal nitrogen, and thus the imaging signal. Additionally, the presence of the carboxylic acid moiety ortho to the hydrazine was necessary not only for contrast production, but also for rapid hydrazone formation and prolonged hydrazone product stability under physiological conditions. This work provided the first example of an MRI-based contrast agent capable of a "turn on" response upon reaction with bioactive aldehydes, and outlined both the structural and electronic requirements to expand on Hydrazo-CEST, a novel, hydrazone-dependent subtype of diamagnetic CEST-MRI.
Semi‐supervised Eigenbasis novelty detection

We present a semi‐supervised online method for novelty detection and evaluate its performance for radio astronomy time series data. Our approach uses sparse, adaptive eigenbases to combine (1) prior knowledge about uninteresting signals with (2) online estimation of the current data properties to enable highly sensitive and precise detection of novel signals. We apply Semi‐Supervised Eigenbasis Novelty Detection (SSEND) to the problem of detecting fast transient radio anomalies and compare it to current alternative algorithms. Tests based on observations from the Parkes Multibeam Survey show both effective detection of interesting rare events and robustness to known false alarm anomalies. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Statistical Analysis and Data Mining 6: 195–204, 2013
A randomized controlled clinical trial of psychoanalytic psychotherapy for panic disorder.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of panic-focused psychodynamic psychotherapy relative to applied relaxation training, a credible psychotherapy comparison condition. Despite the widespread clinical use of psychodynamic psychotherapies, randomized controlled clinical trials evaluating such psychotherapies for axis I disorders have lagged. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first efficacy randomized controlled clinical trial of panic-focused psychodynamic psychotherapy, a manualized psychoanalytical psychotherapy for patients with DSM-IV panic disorder. METHOD This was a randomized controlled clinical trial of subjects with primary DSM-IV panic disorder. Participants were recruited over 5 years in the New York City metropolitan area. Subjects were 49 adults ages 18-55 with primary DSM-IV panic disorder. All subjects received assigned treatment, panic-focused psychodynamic psychotherapy or applied relaxation training in twice-weekly sessions for 12 weeks. The Panic Disorder Severity Scale, rated by blinded independent evaluators, was the primary outcome measure. RESULTS Subjects in panic-focused psychodynamic psychotherapy had significantly greater reduction in severity of panic symptoms. Furthermore, those receiving panic-focused psychodynamic psychotherapy were significantly more likely to respond at treatment termination (73% versus 39%), using the Multicenter Panic Disorder Study response criteria. The secondary outcome, change in psychosocial functioning, mirrored these results. CONCLUSIONS Despite the small cohort size of this trial, it has demonstrated preliminary efficacy of panic-focused psychodynamic psychotherapy for panic disorder.
An Economic-Based Analysis of RANKING for Online Bipartite Matching

We give a simple proof showing that the RANKING algorithm introduced by Karp, Vazirani and Vazirani \cite{DBLP:conf/stoc/KarpVV90} is $1-\frac{1}{e}$ competitive for the online bipartite matching problem. Our proof resembles the proof given by Devanur, Jain and Kleinberg [2013], but does not make an explicit use of linear programming duality; instead, it is based on an economic interpretation of the matching problem. In our interpretation, one set of vertices represent items that are assigned prices, and the other set of vertices represent unit-demand buyers that arrive sequentially and choose their most-demanded items.
Assessing the performances of collision driven numerically-simulated implantation in elbow replacement surgery

Total elbow arthroplasty is a common surgical procedure used to replace diseased joints with an implant attempting to restore at least partially the lost functionality of the articulation. Given the relative paucity of studies attempting to simulate implant kinematics during insertion motions, the primary objective of the present study was to assess the feasibility and performances of conventional numerical computer-aided engineering (CAE) techniques in this biomechanical context. The results obtained revealed that while both CAE-driven and experimental navigated implantation techniques will yield comparable FE axis misalignment errors, the numerically-simulated approaches seem to be capable of providing more insight on the motion dynamics/kinematics due to their inherent level of maturity. Based on this, it was concluded that numerically-simulated techniques offer less invasive and more comprehensive means for implant motion control and visualisation, and therefore they should be further perfected for implant design as well as preoperative virtual surgery applications.
Microstructural analysis of biodegradable Mg-0.9Ca-1.2Zr alloy

Magnesium alloys have applications in aerospace and medical applications as biodegradable orthopedic implants. Alloying with biocompatible elements, such as calcium or zirconium contribute to refining the the microstructure and improves corrosion resistance with the formation of an eutectic compound - Mg2Ca at boundary alpha-Mg grains. The purpose of this paper is to present the microstructure throw optical and scanning electron methods and phase and constituents identification with X-ray analysis. The results showed the presence of alpha-Mg grains with formation of a mechanical compound - Mg2Ca and appearance of alpha- Zr phase relatively uniformly distributed in nests.
Plasma Homocysteine and Serum Folate and Vitamin B12 Levels in Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer’s Disease: A Case-Control Study

Homocysteine (Hcy) is a risk factor for brain atrophy, cognitive impairment, and dementia. Vitamin B12 and folate are cofactors necessary for the methylation of Hcy. However, there is some debate regarding the differing levels of plasma Hcy and serum folate and vitamin B12 among healthy controls, patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). This study aimed to evaluate how the levels of plasma Hcy and its biological determinants, folate and vitamin B12, are related to MCI and AD in older Chinese adults. This is a case-control study including 112 subjects with MCI, 89 AD patients and 115 healthy controls. Diagnosis of AD was made according to the NINCDS-ADRDA and MCI with modified Petersen’s criteria. Serum folate and vitamin B12 concentrations were analyzed by radioimmunoassay, and plasma Hcy was assessed by a high-performance liquid chromatography-fluorescence method. Multivariate analysis of regression was used to examine the odds ratio (OR) of MCI or AD with Hcy or vitamin levels. Results have shown that serum folate and vitamin B12 levels were significantly lower, but the plasma Hcy level was higher, in patients with MCI and AD than in healthy controls. Multivariate regression analyses showed that subjects in the lowest folate tertile had significantly higher adjusted ORs for MCI (OR: 3.07; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.12, 8.07) and AD (3.42; 95% CI: 1.15, 8.34) compared to subjects in the highest tertile. The highest Hcy tertile was significantly associated with MCI (adjusted OR: 2.81; 95% CI: 1.15, 4.73) and AD (adjusted OR: 3.64; 95% CI: 1.13, 9.04) compared to the lowest tertile. No association existed between low vitamin B12 levels and AD or MCI (p > 0.05). Low blood levels of folate and vitamin B12 and elevated Hcy levels were associated with MCI and AD in older Chinese adults, and the association was stronger for AD.
Stochastic analysis of handshake-type mechanisms in uniformly random wireless ad hoc networks

In this paper, we determine accurate expressions for the probability of success of handshake-type network mechanisms in a wireless ad hoc network modelled by a Poisson point process. Handshake-type mechanisms form the basis for the implementation of Quality of Service into wireless ad hoc networks (e.g, to guarantee packet delivery). However, to our knowledge, their analysis using a stochastic model has not been yet presented in the literature. In order to address this issue, we consider a deployment model in which the interference situations of both nodes composing a link are defined explicitly. Our results, verified by comparison to simulated data, find applications in the joint design of Medium Access Control and routing protocols for wireless ad hoc networks.
Efficient Hybrid Encryption System Based on Block Cipher and Chaos Generator

In recent years, more and more multimedia data are generated and transmitted in various fields. So, many encryption methods for multimedia content have been put forward to satisfy various applications. However, there are still some open issues. Each encryption method has its advantages and drawbacks. Our main goal is expected to provide a solution for multimedia encryption which satisfies the target application constraints and performs metrics of the encryption algorithm. The Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) is the most popular algorithm used in symmetric key cryptography. Furthermore, chaotic encryption is a new research direction of cryptography which is characterized by high initial-value sensitivity and good randomness. In this paper we propose a hybrid video cryptosystem which combines two encryption techniques. The proposed cryptosystem realizes the video encryption through the chaos and AES in CTR mode. Experimental results and security analysis demonstrate that this cryptosystem is highly efficient and a robust system for video encryption.
Towards a meta-modeling approach for social business process requirements capture

A Social Business Process (SBP) is the result of blending social computing (a.k.a. Web 2.0) with business process (BP). Despite the benefits of SBP to enterprises, several limitations continue to undermine them. In this paper, we address two specific limitations, namely the difficulty of capturing SBP's requirements and the lack of a definition for SBP. Thus, meta-modeling is used to capture requirements from organizational, technological, and management perspectives. In addition, we introduce a definition for SBP by enriching an existing BP meta-model with social concepts. To annotate the SBP model with its requirements, a BPMN extension is proposed. The proposed meta-models are evaluated in terms of completeness and clarity using the Bunge-Wand-Weber ontology.
Estimation of Continuous-Time Markov Processes Sampled at Random Time Intervals

We introduce a family of generalized-method-of-moments estimators of the parameters of a continuous-time Markov process observed at random time intervals. The results include strong consistency, asymptotic normality, and a characterization of standard errors. Sampling is at an arrival intensity that is allowed to depend on the underlying Markov process and on the parameter vector to be estimated. We focus on financial applications, including tick-based sampling, allowing for jump diffusions, regime-switching diffusions, and reflected diffusions. Copyright The Econometric Society 2004.
Uncertainty induced by chest wall thickness assessment methods on lung activity estimation for plutonium and americium: a large population-based study

In vivo lung counting aims at assessing the retained activity in the lungs. The calibration factor relating the measured counts to the worker’s specific retained lung activity can be obtained by several means and strongly depends on the chest wall thickness. Here we compare, for 374 male nuclear workers, the activity assessed with a reference protocol, where the material equivalent chest wall thickness is known from ultrasound measurements, with two other protocols. The counting system is an array of four germanium detectors. It is found that non site-specific equations for the assessment of the chest wall thickness induce large biases in the assessment of activity. For plutonium isotopes or 241Am the proportion of workers for whom the retained activity is within ± 10% of the reference one is smaller than 10%. The use of site-specific equations raises this proportion to 20% and 58% for plutonium and 241Am, respectively. Finally, for the studied population, when site-specific equations are used for the chest wall thickness, the standard uncertainties for the lung activity are 42% and 12.5%, for plutonium and 241Am, respectively. Due to the relatively large size of the studied population, these values are a relatively robust estimate of the uncertainties due to the assessment of the chest wall thickness for the current practice at this site.
Pharmacoeconomic and associated cost savings among women who were prescribed systemic conjugated estrogens therapy compared with those without menopausal therapy

Objective: To explore changes in healthcare costs among postmenopausal women in a commercial population who were prescribed conjugated estrogens for menopausal symptoms. Methods: Using the MarketScan dataset from April 1, 2008 through September 30, 2012, postmenopausal women aged ≥45 years, who were prescribed conjugated estrogen tablets (Premarin), were identified. A comparative cohort of postmenopausal women with vasomotor symptoms without any menopause therapy was also identified. Women included were required to have continuous medical and pharmacy benefits for 6 months before and 12 months after index date, with baseline characteristics compared using chi-square and t tests. The 6 and 12-month change (difference in follow-up and baseline costs) in direct healthcare costs was calculated and a difference-in-differences model was used to compare the incremental change at 6 and 12 months in healthcare costs between the cohorts, adjusting for demographic and clinical characteristics. Results: The study included 1,404 women who were prescribed conjugated estrogens, and 3,096 untreated women. Women prescribed conjugated estrogens were significantly younger (52 vs 54 years; P < 0.0001) and had a lower Charlson comorbidity index score (0.29 vs 0.41; P < 0.001) compared with the untreated women. After adjusting for baseline characteristics, women treated with conjugated estrogens showed a greater difference in the change in total healthcare costs (−$1,601 vs −$503; P = 0.044), including inpatient stay costs (−$1,431 vs −$28; P < 0.0001), between the baseline and follow-up periods compared with untreated women. Conclusions: Women who were prescribed oral conjugated estrogens had a significantly greater reduction in healthcare costs after treatment initiation compared with untreated postmenopausal women.
A Drosophila model of ALS reveals a partial loss of function of causative human PFN1 mutants

Mutations in the profilin 1 (PFN1) gene are causative for familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (fALS). However, it is still not fully understood how these mutations lead to neurodegeneration. To address this question, we generated a novel Drosophila model expressing human wild-type and ALS-causative PFN1 mutants. We show that at larval neuromuscular junctions (NMJ), motor neuron expression of wild-type human PFN1 increases the number of ghost boutons, active zone density, F-actin content, and the formation of filopodia. In contrast, the expression of ALS-causative human PFN1 mutants causes a less pronounced phenotype, suggesting a loss of function of these mutants in promoting NMJ remodeling. Importantly, expression of human PFN1 in motor neurons results in progressive locomotion defects and shorter lifespan in adult flies, while ALS-causative PFN1 mutants display a less toxic effect. In summary, our study provides evidence that PFN1 is important in regulating NMJ morphology and influences survival and locomotion in Drosophila. Furthermore, our results suggest ALS-causative human PFN1 mutants display a partial loss of function relative to wild-type hPFN1 that may contribute to human disease pathogenesis.
Glass Processing Days 2007 Adjustable Mould for Annealing Freely Curved Glass Panes

Architecture shows an increasing demand for uniquely shaped freely double curved panels, especially glass panes. Current production technique of such panes necessitates making a ceramic or steel mould, by milling or by forcing into shape (hammering, pressing) with much manual labour. This production technique offers, especially by milling, high accuracy, but the manufacturing, transport and storage of such moulds are costly. A new reusable and adjustable mould technology greatly reduces production costs.
Design of Autonomous and Manual Driving System for 4WIS4WID Vehicle

In this paper, we propose a driving system consisting of an autonomous and manual system for a four-wheel independent steering and four-wheel independent driving (4WIS4WID) vehicle. The autonomous driving system consists of three applications, lane following, reverse parking, and parallel parking, and is based on machine vision and fuzzy control theory. The vehicle implements these functions by using four webcams to detect lines on the ground and by using related control technologies to command all the server motors. The webcams are installed on all sides of the 4WIS4WID vehicle for all around viewing, but the vehicle still has many blind spots and the view is not wide enough. In additon, a parking space cannot be viewed completely in one image. Therefore, the integrating judgements of vision with the fuzzy control methods is necessary to make sure that the 4WIS4WID vehicle can perform the correct motions. By using the proposed fuzzy rules, the 4WIS4WID vehicle can change its velocity in a timely way under any condition and can successfully move in a narrow and curved lane. Moreover, the manual driving system is designed based on the traditional driving system, so that people can easily adapt to it. In order to verify the feasibility of these applications for the 4WIS4WID vehicle, an indoor real-time experiment is conducted.