Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Serum and plasma amino acids as markers of prediabetes, insulin resistance, and incident diabetes

Abstract Presently, routine screening misses many cases of prediabetes and early type 2 diabetes (T2D). Therefore, better biomarkers are needed for a simple and early detection of abnormalities of glucose metabolism and prediction of future T2D. Possible candidates for this include plasma or serum amino acids because glucose and amino acid metabolism are closely connected. This review presents the available evidence of this connectivity and discusses its clinical implications. First, we examine the underlying physiological, pre-analytical, and analytical issues. Then, we summarize results of human studies that evaluate amino acid levels as markers for insulin resistance, prediabetes, and future incident T2D. Finally, we illustrate the interconnection of amino acid levels and metabolic syndrome with our own data from a deeply phenotyped human cohort. We also discuss how amino acids may contribute to the pathophysiology of T2D. We conclude that elevated branched-chain amino acids and reduced glycine are currently the most robust and consistent amino acid markers for prediabetes, insulin resistance, and future T2D. Yet, we are cautious regarding the clinical potential even of these parameters because their discriminatory power is insufficient and their levels depend not only on glycemia, but also on other components of the metabolic syndrome. The identification of more precise intermediates of amino acid metabolism or combinations with other biomarkers will, therefore, be necessary to obtain in order to develop laboratory tests that can improve T2D screening.
Physical and Quantitative Analysis of Compact Rectangular Microstrip Antenna with Shorted Non-Radiating Edges for Reduced Cross-Polarized Radiation Using Modifi ed Cavity Model

A straightforward and compact rectangular microstrip antenna with a shorted nonradiating edge was proposed and experimentally investigated for significant suppression of cross-polarized (XP) radiation compared to maximum co-polarized gain, without affecting the co-polarized radiation pattern. The proposed antenna was thoroughly studied using simulation and experimental results. A modified cavity model (MCM) was also demonstrated to understand the behavior of the cross-polarized radiation and the complete resonance behavior for the new structure. The proposed theory helps to germinate a real and clear view of the observed phenomena. The proposed idea was experimentally confirmed with the present structure on three different substrate materials, with different dielectric constants. The new approach presented here provides an insightful visualization-based understanding of cross-polarized suppression with the present structure.
Degradation of Normal mRNA in the Nucleus of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

ABSTRACT A nuclear mRNA degradation (DRN) system was identified from analysis of mRNA turnover rates in nup116-Δ strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae lacking the ability to export all RNAs, including poly(A) mRNAs, at the restrictive temperature. Northern blotting, in situ hybridization, and blocking transcription with thiolutin in nup116-Δ strains revealed a rapid degradation of mRNAs in the nucleus that was suppressed by the rrp6-Δ, rai1-Δ, and cbc1-Δ deletions, but not by the upf1-Δ deletion, suggesting that DRN requires Rrp6p, a 3′-to-5′ nuclear exonuclease, the Rat1p, a 5′-to-3′ nuclear exonuclease, and Cbc1p, a component of CBC, the nuclear cap binding complex, which may direct the mRNAs to the site of degradation. We propose that certain normal mRNAs retained in the nucleus are degraded by the DRN system, similar to degradation of transcripts with 3′ end formation defects in certain mutants.
An efficient procedure for permutation tests in imaging research.

Recent interest in hypothesis testing on functional imaging data has spurred the development of several statistical techniques. The purpose of this paper is to provide a method to reduce the computational intensity associated with randomization tests of positron emission tomography imaging data. We discuss the advantages and disadvantages of traditional distributional hypothesis testing versus the advantages and disadvantages of randomization tests. A method for reducing the computational intensity of randomization uses a conjunction of updating and sequenching and results in significantly reduced processing. The running times of randomization methods are compared.
Effect of fiber on physiochemical properties of digesta and fecal microbial composition in pigs

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of different dietary fiber sources on physicochemical properties of digesta and fecal microbial composition in growing pigs. Seven castrated Yorkshire pigs with an initial weight of 24.8 kg (SD 3.0) fitted with a post valve t-caecum (PVTC) cannula were used in a change-over experiment with four periods and four diets. The diets consisted of a basal part and a fibre part, including either a soluble ((Chicory (CH) and Sugar beet pulp (SBP)) or an insoluble ((Wheat bran (WB) and Grass meal (GM)) fibre source. Each experimental period was two weeks and consisted of one week for adaptation to each diet followed by one collection week. Fecal sampling occurred the four first days of each collection period and the ileal digesta samples were collected during fifth and seventh day of the second week. Overall, the effect of various diets on ileal and fecal pH were significant (P 0.05). The effect of different type of dietary fiber on fecal and ileal dry matter (DM) was significant (P< 0.05). The pigs fed with SBP diet had highest fecal DM followed by pigs fed with WB diet. The pigs fed with GM and CH diets showed similar fecal DM which was lower than SBP and WB diets. The ileal DM was higher in the pigs fed with WB diet than the pigs fed with the other diets. The effect of different type of dietary fiber diet on fecal microbial composition was analyzed by Terminal Restriction Fraction Length Polymorphyism (T-RFLP) and showed significant differences among the diets, however the total diversity did not differ due to diet (P> 0.05). This study showed that pigs fed by CH, have more unique fecal microbial composition compared to the pigs fed with the other diets. TRF 160 and TRF 412 identified as Prevotella had higher relative abundance in pigs fed with the CH diet.TRF 275 identified as Megasphaera elsdenii had the highest relative abundance in pigs fed with WB diets. Generally, the effects of the studied fiber sources on physicochemical properties and gut microbiota seems to be ingredient specific. All animals stayed healthy on all diets which mean that all of our experimental dietary fiber sources can be used in pig nutrition at the inclusion level tested in our experiment.
The self-organized phase of bulk P x Se 1 - x glasses

Modulated Scanning Calorimetry shows the non-reversing heat flow near Tg to display a sharply defined global minimum in the 0.28 < x < 0.40 range, identified with the self-organized phase (SOP) of titled glasses. 31P NMR, Raman scattering and constraint counting algorithms suggest this phase to consist of two distinct global morphologies; a Se-rich backbone that has a dimensionality 2 < d < 3, and P-rich ribbons that have d 1. The ribbons dominate the physical behavior of stressed rigid (0.40 < x < 0.50) glasses with unusual consequences.
Ballistic mobility degradation in scaled-down channel of a MOSFET

The ballistic mobility data by Luskawoski et. al [1] is interpreted by using recently published formalism [2]. The mobility is shown to be ballistic when the ballistic mean free path in a nanoscale transistor exceeds the channel length. This ballistic mobility affects the critical voltage Vc that can be as low as the thermal voltage 2 Vt (0.0518 V at room temperature) for a quasi-2-domensional (Q2D) nanostructure at the onset of nonlinearity in current-voltage relationship. The applied voltage V=0.08 V is higher than the thermal voltage triggering decline of mobility at low channel lengths due to high fields present. The general formalism is in excellent agreement with the experimental data.
Normalization of heart rate variability in post-traumatic stress disorder patients following fluoxetine treatment: preliminary results.

BACKGROUND Spectral analysis of heart rate variability has been shown to be a reliable non-invasive test for quantitative assessment of cardiovascular autonomic regulatory responses, providing a window reflecting the interaction of sympathetic and parasympathetic tone. Alterations in autonomic function are associated with a variety of physiologic and pathophysiologic processes and may contribute substantially to morbidity and mortality. Our previous study shows that patients with post-traumatic stress disorder have significantly lower HRV compared to controls, reflecting a basal autonomic state characterized by increased sympathetic and decreased parasympathetic tone. OBJECTIVES To apply this tool to PTSD patients treated with selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors in order to assess the impact of such treatment on the autonomic dysregulation characterizing these patients. METHODS Standardized heart rate analysis was carried out in nine PTSD patients treated with SSRI agents and compared to that in a matched control group of nine healthy volunteers and in nine untreated PTSD patients, based on a 15 minute resting electrocardiogram. RESULTS Our preliminary results show that the HRV parameters indicating autonomic dysregulation, which characterize PTSD patients at rest, are normalized in responding patients by use of SSRIs. Neither the clinical implications of these findings nor their physiological mechanisms are clear at present, although we presume that they reflect a central effect, since the peripheral autonomic effects of SSRIs are relatively negligible.
Miniature Votive Bowls as the Symbolic Defense of Leviah, an Early Bronze Age Fortified Town in the Southern Levant

Abstract The Early Bronze Age (EBA) fortified town of Leviah was destroyed in a violent conflagration that was most manifest in the eastern gate area. Along with extensive burnt and collapsed remains of the fortifications at this point, were hundreds of sling-stones and some mace heads, indicating that a ferocious battle had taken place, along with two dozen miniature bowls. They were found in clear connection with the fortified gate complex. While quite rare in southern Levant settlement strata during the Early Bronze Age, the large number of such vessels at Leviah, and above all their secure context, may hint at their role as votive objects that were believed to symbolically support the town defenses. The current article explores the symbolic and ideological meaning of miniature votive vessels and their relation to the defenses of Leviah in the face of an approaching danger.
HIGH PERFORMANCE PIN ELECTRONICS WITH GaAs, A CONTRADICTION IN TERMS?

Demand for speed and accuracy in digital test systems is developing dramatically. For the sake of speed, there is no question but to use GaAs, but when it comes to timing accuracy engineers all over the world found that this technology has strange anomalies besides being fairly expensive. So on the first glance the application of GaAs in the pin electronics of a TOP PERFORMANCE and AFFORDABLE digital test system sounds like a contradiction in terms. [ 11
Development and reliability of a system to classify gross motor function in children with cerebral palsy

To address the need for a standardized system to classify the gross motor function of children with cerebral palsy, the authors developed a five‐level classification system analogous to the staging and grading systems used in medicine. Nominal group process and Delphi survey consensus methods were used to examine content validity and revise the classification system until consensus among 48 experts (physical therapists, occupational therapists, and developmental pediatricians with expertise in cerebral palsy) was achieved. Interrater reliability (k) was 0.55 for children less than 2 years of age and 0.75 for children 2 to 12 years of age. The classification system has application for clinical practice, research, teaching, and administration.
Study on the highly pathogenic avian influenza epidemic using land surface temperature from MODIS data

The pandemic disease of avian influenza, which was first recognized in Italy in 1878, outbreaks in most temperate regions such as Southeast Asian, resulting in the death of a paramount number of birds and chicken, even probably infecting the human being, so it is of particular concern. Because the virus of HPAI, i.e. H5N1 is largely dependent on the habitat or the surrounding environment, analysis of the correlation between the land surface temperature (LST) in the infected area of HPAI epidemic and the outbreak of HPAI is becoming more and more pressing. In this paper we successfully verify that there are strong correlation between LST and HPAI. Except that, it is true that the outbreak of HPAI is characterized by the vicinity to the river. This paper mainly addressed the concern about the connection between LST and the infected area associated with the outbreak of HPAI, moreover, It also expounded on the vicinity of river to affected area played a important role in the prevalence of HPAI.
Clustering and variable selection for directional data

It is often sensible to look for a cluster structure in high dimensional data, such as those found in microarray gene expression experiments or data mining, by using correlation as a similarity measure. For such data, it is also recognized that only a subset of the variables explains the presence of distinct groups of individuals. This paper presents a method that carries out clustering by correlation while simultaneously selecting the relevant variables for the clusters. Since using correlation as a similarity measure is equivalent to considering directional data via a simple standardization of the data, we propose a model-based clustering on a unit sphere with unknown dimension. The resulting clustering depends on the amount of correlation between observations given the selected variables. A Bayesian approach is adopted, where the determination of the number of clusters, cluster allocation and variable selection is carried out simultaneously.
Plasmodium yoelii Sporozoites with Simultaneous Deletion of P52 and P36 Are Completely Attenuated and Confer Sterile Immunity against Infection

ABSTRACT Malaria infection starts when sporozoites are transmitted to the mammalian host during a mosquito bite. Sporozoites enter the blood circulation, reach the liver, and infect hepatocytes. The formation of a parasitophorous vacuole (PV) establishes their intracellular niche. Recently, two members of the 6-Cys domain protein family, P52 and P36, were each shown to play an important albeit nonessential role in Plasmodium berghei sporozoite infectivity for the rodent host. Here, we generated p52/p36-deficient Plasmodium yoelii parasites by the simultaneous deletion of both genes using a single genetic manipulation. p52/p36-deficient parasites exhibited normal progression through the life cycle during blood-stage infection, transmission to mosquitoes, mosquito-stage development, and sporozoite infection of the salivary glands. p52/p36-deficient sporozoites also showed normal motility and cell traversal activity. However, immunofluorescence analysis and electron microscopic observations revealed that p52/p36-deficient parasites did not form a PV within hepatocytes in vitro and in vivo. The p52/p36-deficient parasites localized as free entities in the host cell cytoplasm or the host cell nucleoplasm and did not develop as liver stages. Consequently, they did not cause blood-stage infections even at high sporozoite inoculation doses. Mice immunized with p52/p36-deficient sporozoites were completely protected against infectious sporozoite challenge. Our results demonstrate for the first time the generation of two-locus gene deletion-attenuated parasites that infect the liver but do not progress to blood-stage infection. The study will critically guide the design of Plasmodium falciparum live attenuated malaria vaccines.
Cooking effects on iron and proteins content of beans (Phaseolus Vulgaris L.) by GF AAS and MALDI-TOF MS

The effects of domestic cooking on proteins, organic compounds and Fe distribution in beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) were investigated. Sequential extraction with different extractant solutions (mixture of methanol and chloroform 1:2 v/v, water, 0.5 mol L-1 NaCl, 70% v/v ethanol and 0.5 mol L-1 NaOH) were used for extracting lipids, albumins, globulins, prolamins and glutelins, respectively. Iron determination by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GF AAS), proteins by Bradford method and organic compounds by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) were carried out in this work. High concentration of albumins, globulins and glutelins were found in raw beans, while in the cooked beans, albumins and glutelins are main proteins types. The MALDI-TOF MS spectra of raw and cooked beans revealed that the domestic cooking altered the molecular weight of the organic compounds, since that in the cooked beans were found compounds between 2 and 3.5 kDa, which were not presented in the raw beans. Besides this, in cooked beans were also observed the presence of four compounds of high molecular weight (12-16 kDa), being that in the raw grains there is only one (ca. 15.2 kDa). In raw grains is possible to observe that Fe is mainly associated to albumins, globulins and glutelins. For cooked grains, Fe is associated to albumins and globulins.
The best of both worlds: A hybrid approach to solve consensus

It is now well recognized that the consensus problem is a fundamental problem when one has to implement fault-tolerant distributed services in asynchronous distributed systems prone to process crash failures. This paper considers the binary consensus problem in such a system. Following an approach investigated by Aguilera and Toueg, it proposes a simple binary consensus protocol that combines failure detection and randomization. This protocol terminates deterministically when the failure detection mechanism works correctly; it terminates with probability 1, otherwise. A performance evaluation of the protocol is also provided. Last but not least, it is important to note that the proposed protocol is both efficient and simple. Additionally it can be simplified to give rise either to a deterministic failure detector-based consensus protocol or to a randomized consensus protocol.
Children Designing Serious Games for Children from other Cultures

This paper describes a study to investigate to what extent the use of sensitizing techniques can help children design a serious game for a surrogate population. In total 25 children aged 7. 8. and 9 from a UK primary participated in three design activities. The first session was intended to inform (sensitize) the children about life in rural China. The second session briefly taught the children about aspects of food hygiene and then the third session required the children to design a serious game on this subject, for children in rural China. The outputs from the children were analysed and although all the children managed to design a game, only six related this to food hygiene, with three of these having only a single element of food hygiene present. The other nineteen children created games that were unrelated to food hygiene. In addition, only one design showed any evidence of thinking about the cultural differences of the target users, those being children in rural China. More work is required to understand what children can contribute to the general development of serious games and to the specifics of thinking about other populations.
Spectrophotometric determination of palladium in catalysts and carbenicillin with 1-(2-pyridylmethylidene)-5-(salicylidene)-thiocarbohydr azone.

A selective and sensitive method is described for the spectrophotometric determination of palladium using 1-(2-pyridylmethylidene)-5-(salicylidene)thiocarbohydrazone reagent. The orange complex is formed in pH 8.3 EDTA-bicine-borate buffer in a medium containing 32%V/V dimethylformamide, and the absorbance is measured at 505 nm. The molar absorptivity is 16 500 l mol–1 cm–1, and in the determination of 0.75 µg ml–1 of palladium the relative standard deviation is about 2%. The effect of interferences was studied and the selectivity of the reaction was enhanced by using appropriate masking agents. The method was applied to the determination of palladium in synthetic mixtures, hydrogenation catalysts and carbenicillin (semi-synthetic penicillin).
On the independence of statistical randomness tests included in the NIST test suite

Random numbers and random sequences are used to produce vital parts of cryptographic algorithms such as encryption keys and therefore the generation and evaluation of random sequences in terms of randomness are vital. Test suites consisting of a number of statistical randomness tests are used to detect the nonrandom characteristics of the sequences. Construction of a test suite is not an easy task. On one hand, the coverage of a suite should be wide; that is, it should compare the sequence under consideration from many different points of view with true random sequences. On the other hand, an overpopulated suite is expensive in terms of running time and computing power. Unfortunately, this trade-off is not addressed in detail in most of the suites in use. An efficient suite should avoid use of similar tests, while still containing sufficiently many. A single statistical test gives a measure for the randomness of the data. A collection of tests in a suite give a collection of measures. Obtaining a single value from this collection of measures is a difficult task and so far there is no conventional or strongly recommended method for this purpose. This work focuses on the evaluation of the randomness of data to give a unified result that considers all statistical information obtained from different tests in the suite. A natural starting point of research in this direction is to investigate correlations between test results and to study the independences of each from others. It is started with the concept of independence. As it is complicated enough to work even with one test function, theoretical investigation of dependence between many of them in terms of conditional probabilities is a much more difficult task. With this motivation, in this work it is tried to get some experimental results that may lead to theoretical results in future works. As experimental results may reflect properties of the data set under consideration, work is done on various types of large data sets hoping to get results that give clues about the theoretical results. For a collection of statistical randomness tests, the tests in the NIST test suite are considered. Tests in the NIST suite that can be applied to sequences shorter than 38,912 bits are analyzed. Based on the correlation of the tests at extreme values, the dependencies of the tests are found. Depending on the coverage of a test suite, a new concept, the coverage efficiency of a test suite, is defined, and using this concept, the most efficient, the least efficient, and the optimal subsuites of the NIST suite are determined. Moreover, the marginal benefit of each test, which also helps one to understand the contribution of each individual test to the coverage efficiency of the NIST suite, is found. Furthermore, an efficient subsuite that contains five statistical randomness tests is proposed.