Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Fluctuations of lipid and lipoprotein levels in hyperlipidemic postmenopausal women receiving hormone replacement therapy.

BACKGROUND Fluctuations in lipid and lipoprotein levels are encountered quite often in hyperlipidemic patients. We examined the possibility that lipid and lipoprotein levels fluctuate due to the different effects of estrogen and progestogen in postmenopausal hyperlipidemic women receiving combined hormonal replacement therapy. METHODS In an open-label study conducted during 3 consecutive hormonal cycles (3 months), levels of fasting total cholesterol, triglycerides, and low (LDLC)- and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLC) were determined in 36 postmenopausal hyperlipidemic women on day 13 of conjugated equine estrogen (1.25 mg/d) therapy and on day 25 after 12 days of receiving estrogen plus medroxyprogesterone acetate (5 mg/d). RESULTS While receiving estrogen and combined therapies, means +/- SD total cholesterol levels increased from 6.50 +/- 0.97 mmol/L (251 +/- 37 mg/dL) to 6.88 +/- 1.42 mmol/L (266 +/- 54 mg/dL) (P<.001); LDLC levels, from 4.05 +/- 1.14 mmol/L (156 +/- 44 mg/dL) to 4.62 +/- 1.36 mmol/L (178 +/- 52 mg/dL) (P<.001). Mean +/- SD HDLC cholesterol levels decreased from 1.44 +/- 0.32 mmol/L (55 +/- 12 mg/dL) to 1.29 +/- 0.28 mmol/L (50 +/- 10 mg/dL) (P<.001); triglyceride levels, from 2.23 +/- 1.03 mmol/L (197 +/- 91 mg/dL) to 2.06 +/- 1.04 mmol/L (182 +/- 92 mg/dL) (P<.001). CONCLUSIONS Hyperlipidemic postmenopausal women receiving combined sequential estrogen and progestogen replacement therapy demonstrate very significant fluctuations in their lipid and lipoprotein levels. These fluctuations depend on the hormonal phase, ie, estrogen alone or combined with progestogen.
[An experience of application of sterility test of germfree mice and rats recommended by JEARA. (AUTHOR'S TRANSL)].

Cooked Meat Phytone Medium (BBL:以 下CM), Potato Dextrose Agar (BBL:以 下PDA)に 接種 し,37°C および室温で14日 間培養 した。 なお培地調製 にあた り,CMに は0. 1%の 割 に細菌用寒天(栄 研) を添加 した。 またふん便試料 につ いては,塗 抹 グ ラム染 色標本の鏡検 を併用 した。 無菌検査は月1回 の頻度 で定 期的 に行 な うほかに,離 乳時,そ の他の時期に も随時実施 した。 いずれか の培養 方法あ るいは塗 抹鏡検 で菌 の存在が認 められた場合,た とえそれが ごく一部だけであった として も,試 料が採取 され た そ の ア イ ソ レー タは “汚 染 陽 性 ” と判 定 した 。 検 査 成 績 とそ の 解 析:1971年4月 か ら1973年12月 ま で の成 績 を 表2に 要 約 した 。 検 査 を 行 な った ア イ ソ レー タ
HITS Can Converge Slowly, But Not Too Slowly, in Score and Rank

This paper explores the fundamental question of how many iterations the celebrated HITS algorithm requires on a general graph to converge in score and, perhaps more importantly, in rank (i.e. to "get right" the order of the nodes). We prove upper and almost matching lower bounds. We also extend our results to weighted graphs.
Strathprints Institutional Repository Eeg Decoding of Semantic Category Reveals Distributed Representations for Single Concepts

(2011) EEG decoding of semantic category reveals distributed representations for single concepts. Strathprints is designed to allow users to access the research output of the University of Strathclyde. Unless otherwise explicitly stated on the manuscript, Copyright © and Moral Rights for the papers on this site are retained by the individual authors and/or other copyright owners. Please check the manuscript for details of any other licences that may have been applied. You may not engage in further distribution of the material for any profitmaking activities or any commercial gain. You may freely distribute both the url (http://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/) and the content of this paper for research or private study, educational, or not-for-profit purposes without prior permission or charge. Abstract Here we present a collection of advanced data-mining techniques that allows the semantics of individual concepts to be decoded from single trials of EEG data. Neural activity was recorded while participants silently named images of mammals and tools, and category could be detected in single trials with an accuracy well above chance, both when considering data from single participants, and when group-training across participants. The pattern of classifications made by the algorithm confirmed that the neural patterns identified are due to conceptual category, and not any of a series of processing-related confounds. The time intervals, frequency bands and scalp locations that proved most informative for prediction permit physiological interpretation: the widespread activation shortly after appearance of the stimulus (from 100ms) is consistent both with accounts of multi-pass processing, and distributed representations of categories. These methods provide a new alternative to fMRI for fine-grained investigations of the conceptual lexicon.
An Efficient and Information Theoretically Secure Rational Secret Sharing Scheme Based on Symmetric bivariate polynomials

The design of rational cryptographic protocols is a recently created research area at the intersection of cryptography and game theory. In this paper, we propose a new m-out-of-n rational secret sharing scheme requiring neither the involvement of the dealer (except during the initial share distribution) nor a trusted mediator. Our protocol leads to a Nash equilibrium surviving the iterated deletion of weakly dominated strategies for m ≥ 4. Our construction is information theoretically secure and it is immune against backward induction attacks. Contrary to Kol and Naor who used a specific cryptographic primitive in their TCC'08 paper (namely, meaningful/meaningless encryption), the immunity of our scheme is based on the use of bivariate polynomials and one-time pads. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first time that such polynomials have been used for rational secret sharing. Our scheme is efficient and does not require any physical assumptions such as envelopes or ballot boxes. As most of existing rational protocols, our construction requires simultaneous broadcast channels. However, our proposed scheme does not require any computational assumption and it provides information theoretical security.
Providing privacy preserving in cloud computing

People can only enjoy the full benefits of Cloud computing if we can address the very real privacy and security concerns that come along with storing sensitive personal information in databases and software scattered around the Internet. There are many service provider in the internet, we can call each service as a cloud, each cloud service will exchange data with other cloud, so when the data is exchanged between the clouds, there exist the problem of disclosure of privacy. So the privacy disclosure problem about individual or company is inevitably exposed when releasing or sharing data in the cloud service. Privacy is an important issue for cloud computing, both in terms of legal compliance and user trust, and needs to be considered at every phase of design. Our paper provides some privacy preserving technologies used in cloud computing services.
BER analysis of high speed links with nonlinearity

Quest for higher data rates has led to more complex high speed serial links (SerDes) whose design is more challenging, time consuming, and expensive. As such the ability to accurately predict the performance of the link at the early stages of the design is essential. Bit Error Rate (BER) is the ultimate metric of performance. Due to the very low BER requirement (1e-12 or lower), it is not practical to predict the performance solely through simulation as it requires unacceptably long simulations time. Resorting to accurate analytical methods to augment the simulation is the only viable approach. Analytical methods use knowledge of channel models to calculate probability density function (PDF) of signal (Inter Symbol Interference (ISI), crosstalk, jitter etc.) at the decision point, and use tail probability to predict BER. Such methods based on Linear Time Invariant (LTI) system analysis have been studied extensively in the past. However, it is known that a typical high speed system suffers from significant nonlinearity in the signal path. We present a method to modify the PDF to account for nonlinearity in the path. Once the PDF is correctly modified, similar tail probability methods can be used to determine BER. Static, memory-less nonlinearities are modelled by polynomials in this paper. The methodology can also be adapted to deal with the time varying and frequency dependent nonlinearities.
Observations of Energetic Ions from Comet Giacobini-Zinner

During the encounter with comet Giacobini-Zinner, the energetic particle anisotropy spectrometer on the International Cometary Explorer spacecraft observed large fluxes of energetic ions, believed to result principally from ionization of the cometary atmosphere followed by pickup and acceleration by the ambient flow of the solar wind. These heavy cometary ions were observed from approximately 1 day before closest approach to about 2� days afterward. Three regimes of differing ion characteristics have been identified. An outer region with a scale of ∼106 kilometers contains variable fluxes of antisolar-streaming pick-up ions in the undisturbed solar wind. In the middle region, of ∼105 kilometers, fluxes have less large-scale variability and broader angular and energy distributions. This region is separated from the outer zone by a sharp transition. The inner region has a scale of ∼104 kilometers and is characterized by reduced fluxes and complex angular distributions.
Evaluation of periodontal status and effectiveness of non-surgical treatment in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus in Taiwan for a 1-year period.

BACKGROUND The periodontal status and effects of non-surgical periodontal treatment in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and periodontal disease are assessed. METHODS One-hundred patients with type 2 diabetes (mean ± SD hemoglobin (Hb)A1c level: 7.3% ± 0.94%) and periodontal disease were recruited for this study. The group with moderate-to-severe periodontal disease included patients with >1 tooth with a probing depth (PD) ≥5 mm and >2 teeth with a clinical attachment loss (AL) ≥ 6mm, and the group with mild periodontal disease included patients with <1 affected tooth, and >2 affected with a clinical AL ≥ 6mm. Patients (28 patients in the mild group and 72 patients in the moderate-to-severe group) underwent non-surgical periodontal treatments. We analyzed differences in serum concentrations of metabolic parameters (glycated hemoglobin and low-density lipoprotein), inflammatory parameters (interleukin [IL]-1β and C-reactive protein [CRP]), and periodontal parameters between the two groups before treatment and at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months post-therapy. RESULTS Seventy-five patients with diabetes (21 patients in the mild group and 54 patients in the moderate-to-severe group) completed the study. Significant differences in the plaque index (PI), gingival index (GI), PD, and clinical AL at examination times were observed in the whole cohort (P <0.05). We observed significant differences in the PI, GI, and PD in the moderate-to-severe group (P <0.05), whereas there was only a significant difference in PD in the mild group (P <0.05) between baseline and 12 months post-treatment. Both groups experienced improved glycemic control, but the difference was insignificant. CRP and IL-1β levels were significantly different at examination times for the whole cohort (P <0.05). No significant positive association among metabolic and inflammatory parameters at 12 months post-therapy were found. CONCLUSION Non-surgical periodontal treatment improved and maintained the periodontal health of patients with well-controlled diabetes, but no significant reduction of metabolic parameters was observed over a 1-year period.
Lysophosphatidic acid inhibits cholera toxin-induced secretory diarrhea through CFTR-dependent protein interactions

The cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) is a cAMP-regulated chloride channel localized primarily at the apical or luminal surfaces of epithelial cells that line the airway, gut, and exocrine glands; it is well established that CFTR plays a pivotal role in cholera toxin (CTX)-induced secretory diarrhea. Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA), a naturally occurring phospholipid present in blood and foods, has been reported to play a vital role in a variety of conditions involving gastrointestinal wound repair, apoptosis, inflammatory bowel disease, and diarrhea. Here we show, for the first time, that type 2 LPA receptors (LPA2) are expressed at the apical surface of intestinal epithelial cells, where they form a macromolecular complex with Na+/H+ exchanger regulatory factor–2 and CFTR through a PSD95/Dlg/ZO-1–based interaction. LPA inhibited CFTR-dependent iodide efflux through LPA2-mediated Gi pathway, and LPA inhibited CFTR-mediated short-circuit currents in a compartmentalized fashion. CFTR-dependent intestinal fluid secretion induced by CTX in mice was reduced substantially by LPA administration; disruption of this complex using a cell-permeant LPA2-specific peptide reversed LPA2-mediated inhibition. Thus, LPA-rich foods may represent an alternative method of treating certain forms of diarrhea.
Agreement of Two Different Spectral Domain Optical Coherence Tomography Instruments for Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer Measurements

Purpose To determine the agreement between Spectralis and Cirrus spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) measurements of peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness. Methods Suspected or confirmed cases of glaucoma who met the inclusion criteria underwent peripapillary RNFL thickness measurement using both the Spectralis and Cirrus on the same day within a few minutes. Results Measurements were performed on 103 eyes of 103 patients with mean age of 50.4±17.7 years. Mean RNFL thickness was 89.22±15.87 versus 84.54±13.68 µm using Spectralis and Cirrus, respectively. The difference between measurements and the average of paired measurements with the two devices showed a significant linear relationship. Bland-Altman plots demonstrated that Spectralis thickness values were systematically larger than that of Cirrus. Conclusion Spectralis OCT generates higher peripapillary RNFL thickness readings as compared to Cirrus OCT; this should be kept in mind when values obtained with different instruments are compared during follow-up.
In vitro evaluation of avidin antibody pretargeting using 211At‐labeled and biotinylated poly‐L‐lysine as effector molecule

Pretargeting is an approach for enhancing the therapeutic index of radioimmunotherapy by separating the administrations of tumor‐targeting substance and radiolabel. In this study, a pretargeting model system of avidin‐conjugated monoclonal antibody trastuzumab and biotinylated, 211At‐labeled poly‐L‐lysine was constructed and analyzed in vitro.
In vitro multiplication of Peganum harmala--an important medicinal plant.

The frequency of shoot regeneration and multiplication of P. harmala was influenced by the type of explant and kind and concentration of hormones. Of the various seedling explants, cotyledonary node exhibited maximum shoot regeneration frequency from axillary region on MS medium supplemented with 5 microM BAP. Addition of 0.1 microM NAA enhanced the efficacy of BAP for multiple shoot regeneration as well as improved the growth of shoots. BAP (5 microM) in combination with NAA (0.1 microM) was found to be the optimal for inducing an average of 4-5 shoots per explant in 75% of the cultures within 5 weeks. Replacement of BAP with other cytokinins at equimolar concentration of BAP i.e. 5 microM was not effective in inducing multiple shoots. Regenerated shoots were rooted on MS medium containing IBA (8 microM) with 80% efficiency. The plantlets were successfully established in soil where 80% of them developed into morphological normal plants.
Evidence for fast, low-level motor resonance to action observation: An MEG study

Abstract Lateralized magnetic fields were recorded from 12 subjects using a 151 channel magnetoencephalograpy (MEG) system to investigate temporal and functional properties of motor activation to the observation of goal-directed hand movements by a virtual actor. Observation of left and right hand movements generated a neuromagnetic lateralized readiness field (LRF) over contralateral motor cortex. The early onset of the LRF and the fact that the evoked component was insensitive to the correctness of the observed action suggest the operation of a fast and automatic form of motor resonance that may precede higher levels of action understanding.
Prohibitin 1 Modulates Mitochondrial Stress-Related Autophagy in Human Colonic Epithelial Cells

Introduction Autophagy is an adaptive response to extracellular and intracellular stress by which cytoplasmic components and organelles, including damaged mitochondria, are degraded to promote cell survival and restore cell homeostasis. Certain genes involved in autophagy confer susceptibility to Crohn's disease. Reactive oxygen species and pro-inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα), both of which are increased during active inflammatory bowel disease, promote cellular injury and autophagy via mitochondrial damage. Prohibitin (PHB), which plays a role in maintaining normal mitochondrial respiratory function, is decreased during active inflammatory bowel disease. Restoration of colonic epithelial PHB expression protects mice from experimental colitis and combats oxidative stress. In this study, we investigated the potential role of PHB in modulating mitochondrial stress-related autophagy in intestinal epithelial cells. Methods We measured autophagy activation in response to knockdown of PHB expression by RNA interference in Caco2-BBE and HCT116 WT and p53 null cells. The effect of exogenous PHB expression on TNFα- and IFNγ-induced autophagy was assessed. Autophagy was inhibited using Bafilomycin A1 or siATG16L1 during PHB knockdown and the affect on intracellular oxidative stress, mitochondrial membrane potential, and cell viability were determined. The requirement of intracellular ROS in siPHB-induced autophagy was assessed using the ROS scavenger N-acetyl-L-cysteine. Results TNFα and IFNγ-induced autophagy inversely correlated with PHB protein expression. Exogenous PHB expression reduced basal autophagy and TNFα-induced autophagy. Gene silencing of PHB in epithelial cells induces mitochondrial autophagy via increased intracellular ROS. Inhibition of autophagy during PHB knockdown exacerbates mitochondrial depolarization and reduces cell viability. Conclusions Decreased PHB levels coupled with dysfunctional autophagy renders intestinal epithelial cells susceptible to mitochondrial damage and cytotoxicity. Repletion of PHB may represent a therapeutic approach to combat oxidant and cytokine-induced mitochondrial damage in diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease.
A Brief Mindfulness Intervention to Decrease Binge Drinking among College Students: A Controlled Study

The current study is the first controlled evaluation of the effectiveness of a brief mindfulness intervention among college students who are binge drinkers. Participants were 76 undergraduate college students who were randomly assigned to a Mindfulness Group or an assessment only Control Group. Assessments were administered to both groups at the initial intervention and weekly for the subsequent four weeks. The Mindfulness Group received information about mindfulness and participated in a series of mindfulness meditation experiential exercises during the initial intervention. The Mindfulness Group participated in another mindfulness meditation practice two weeks following the initial intervention and was asked to engage in out-of-session mindfulness meditation practice for four weeks. Treatment outcome assessed changes in alcohol-related behaviors and attitudes. Mediators and moderators of treatment outcome were examined as well. Initial efficacy was supported by significantly fewer binge episodes, less consequences of alcohol use and higher self-efficacy among the Mindfulness Group. Results suggested that level of readiness to change and rate of binge episodes prior to the intervention affect response to treatment. Contrary to study hypotheses, the Mindfulness Group did not report changes in overall dispositional mindfulness, thought avoidance or readiness to change. Consistent attendance, low rates of attrition, compliance with out-of-session mindfulness meditation practice and high ratings of satisfaction by participants in the Mindfulness Group demonstrated feasibility of the intervention. Results from this study provide initial support for the effectiveness of a brief mindfulness-based intervention among college students who are binge drinkers.
Visualization of Global Flow Structures Using Multiple Levels of Topology

The technique for visualizing topological information in fluid flows is well known. However, when the technique is used in complex and information rich data sets, the result will be a cluttered image which is difficult to interpet. This paper presents a technique for the visualization of multi-level topology in flow data sets. It provides the user with a mechanism to visualize the topology without excessive cluttering while maintaining the global structure of the flow.
From K Street to Wall Street : Politically Connected Analysts and Stock Recommendations

In this study, we examine whether sell-side security analysts gain inside information from political connections. We measure analysts’ political connections based on political contributions at the brokerage house level. We argue that to the extent brokerages invest in political connections to obtain private information, analysts at politically connected brokerages are more likely to cover firms in general, and especially firms for which this information is more valuable. We use how sensitive the firm is to policy changes (as proxied by their lobbying expenses) to identify situations where this political information is even more valuable. We also predict that analysts at politically connected brokerages issue more profitable stock recommendations. This increased profitability should be more pronounced for politically sensitive stocks. Our evidence is consistent with these predictions. To provide further support, we document that the increased profitability of stock recommendations issued by politically connected brokerages is concentrated when there is high economic policy uncertainty. We also find some evidence that this increased profitability only exists during the times when Congress is in session. Collectively, these results suggest that brokerage houses obtain value-relevant, non-public information from their political connections.
The chemistry and estimation of fibre

Crude fibre determination is commonly used to estimate the quality of foods of plant origin on the premise that it constitutes their least digestible fraction. Therefore, a criterion for evaluating fibre methods is thc recovery of indigestible plant residues. ‘I’he so-called Weende method for fibre estimation was not developed at Weende, but at Moglin after 1806 by Heinrich Einhof, who assumed that the fibrous residue left after sequential extraction with solvent, dilute aqueous acid and dilute alkali, represented the indigestible matter. Binhof calculated estimates of nutritive value of vegetables and forages on this basis (von Thaer, 1809). The deficiencies of Einhof’s method became apparent in the nineteenth century (Henneberg, 1859). Over the years many systems of analysis have been proposed for the replacement of crude fibre, but none have been successful in dislodging it as the official method. The crude fibre as estimate fibre wall