Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of Teriparatide [Recombinant Human Parathyroid Hormone (1–34)] on Cortical Bone in Postmenopausal Women With Osteoporosis

Treatment with teriparatide (rDNA origin) injection {teriparatide, recombinant human parathyroid hormone (1–34) [rhPTH(1–34)]}reduces the risk of vertebral and nonvertebral fragility fractures and increases cancellous bone mineral density in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis, but its effects on cortical bone are less well established. This cross‐sectional study assessed parameters of cortical bone quality by peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pQCT) in the nondominant distal radius of 101 postmenopausal women with osteoporosis who were randomly allocated to once‐daily, self‐administered subcutaneous injections of placebo (n = 35) or teriparatide 20 μg (n = 38) or 40 μg (n = 28). We obtained measurements of moments of inertia, bone circumferences, bone mineral content, and bone area after a median of 18 months of treatment. The results were adjusted for age, height, and weight. Compared with placebo, patients treated with teriparatide 40 μg had significantly higher total bone mineral content, total and cortical bone areas, periosteal and endocortical circumferences, and axial and polar cross‐sectional moments of inertia. Total bone mineral content, total and cortical bone areas, periosteal circumference, and polar cross‐sectional moment of inertia were also significantly higher in the patients treated with teriparatide 20 μg compared with placebo. There were no differences in total bone mineral density, cortical thickness, cortical bone mineral density, or cortical bone mineral content among groups. In summary, once‐daily administration of teriparatide induced beneficial changes in the structural architecture of the distal radial diaphysis consistent with increased mechanical strength without adverse effects on total bone mineral density or cortical bone mineral content.
Polydopamine-nanocellulose nanocomposites: physical and electrical properties for biomedical electrodes

Surface-functionalizations are of essential importance for diverse areas from biomedicine to biosensing, nanocomposites, water treatment, and energy harvesting devices. One facile and rapid way to functionalize any materials surface is by mussel inspired polydopamine (PDA) coating. It has been realized that dopamine (DA), the precursor, can be coated virtually on any substrates in presence of a buffer of pH ~ 8.5. Over the past 20 years, an overwhelming interest has been noticed around cellulose based materials specially nanofibers (CNFs) shown due to its many unique characteristics including high stiffness and modulus, great transparency well biodegradability, biocompatibility and low production cost. Despite of the facts, pristine cellulose often suffers from certain characteristic limitations in biomaterial applications due to the lack of appropriate surface functionalities. This research therefore aims to develop cellulose based composite materials suitable for biomedical applications, precisely electrode material for biosensors. The electrodes were made of controlled amount of polydopamine treated cellulose nanofiber composite. When investigated the mechanical properties of the composites, significant improvement was observed. Moreover, the composites exhibited good sensing behaviors under electrochemical investigations, leading them to be a promising material for biosensing applications.
Cortisol and stimulus-induced arousal level differentially impact memory for items and backgrounds

ABSTRACT Most studies examine the effects of stress on memory for visual information test memory for entire scenes. However, arousal levels may differentially influence memory for backgrounds as opposed to items. Participants encoded scenes that included a negative-high-arousal, negative-moderate-arousal, or neutral item on a neutral background. After a 30-minute (Experiment 1) or 48-hour delay (Experiment 2), participants underwent a stressor or control task while heart rate was recorded. A recognition memory task was then given with items and backgrounds presented separately. High-arousal images had a greater detriment in background memory than moderate-arousal images. Further, though there was evidence that change in cortisol level at retrieval was associated with impaired memory for items, it was not associated with detriments in background memory. Increased heart rate was associated with impaired memory for both items and backgrounds. This suggests that the level of sympathetic and cortisol reactivity differentially affects memory for items and backgrounds.
Total body lipid and triglyceride response to energy deficit: relevance to body composition models.

Although the study of human body composition is advancing rapidly, confusion still prevails regarding the molecular-level lipid component. Most molecular-level body composition models are presently based on the overall hypothesis that nontriglyceride lipids constitute an insignificant proportion of total body lipid. A single lipid or "fat" component consisting of triglycerides is thus assumed in most molecular-level body composition models. To test this hypothesis, the present study, carried out in adult rats, was designed to examine two questions: 1) What is the proportion of total lipids as triglycerides? and 2) Is this proportion constant or does it change with negative energy balance and weight loss produced by calorie restriction and increased exercise? Results indicated that with negative energy balance and weight loss there were progressive losses of total body triglyceride and lipid. The proportion of total lipids as triglyceride was 0.83 +/- 0.08 (SD) in control animals, with reductions at 2 and 9 wk of energy restriction [0.82 +/- 0.04 (P = NS vs. control) and 0.70 +/- 0.15 (P = 0.05)] and at 9 wk for energy restriction plus exercise [0.67 +/- 0.09 (P = 0.003)]. Nontriglyceride lipids comprised 2.8% of carcass weight at baseline and decreased to 2.2% by 9 wk of energy restriction and exercise (P = NS). Substantial differences were observed between body composition ratios expressed as percentages of the lipid-free body mass (LFM) and triglyceride-free body mass (TGFM); (e.g., total body water/LFM and TGFM in controls = 72.7 +/- 0.7 and 70.4 +/- 2.2, respectively; P = 0.02). These observations strongly support the existence and importance of nontriglyceride lipids as a body composition component that responds independently from storage triglycerides, with negative energy balance produced by food restriction and exercise.
Global Analysis of Muscle-specific Kinase Signaling by Quantitative Phosphoproteomics*

The development of the neuromuscular synapse depends on signaling processes that involve protein phosphorylation as a crucial regulatory event. Muscle-specific kinase (MuSK) is the key signaling molecule at the neuromuscular synapse whose activity is required for the formation of a mature and functional synapse. However, the signaling cascade downstream of MuSK and the regulation of the different components are still poorly understood. In this study we used a quantitative phosphoproteomics approach to study the phosphorylation events and their temporal regulation downstream of MuSK. We identified a total of 10,183 phosphopeptides, of which 203 were significantly up- or down-regulated. Regulated phosphopeptides were classified into four different clusters according to their temporal profiles. Within these clusters we found an overrepresentation of specific protein classes associated with different cellular functions. In particular, we found an enrichment of regulated phosphoproteins involved in posttranscriptional mechanisms and in cytoskeletal organization. These findings provide novel insights into the complex signaling network downstream of MuSK and form the basis for future mechanistic studies.
Resistance to antiangiogenic therapy is directed by vascular phenotype, vessel stabilization, and maturation in malignant melanoma

Angiogenesis is not only dependent on endothelial cell invasion and proliferation, it also requires pericyte coverage of vascular sprouts for stabilization of vascular walls. Clinical efficacy of angiogenesis inhibitors targeting the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) signaling pathway is still limited to date. We hypothesized that the level of vessel maturation is critically involved in the response to antiangiogenic therapies. To test this hypothesis, we evaluated the vascular network in spontaneously developing melanomas of MT/ret transgenic mice after using PTK787/ZK222584 for anti-VEGF therapy but also analyzed human melanoma metastases taken at clinical relapse in patients undergoing adjuvant treatment using bevacizumab. Both experimental settings showed that tumor vessels, which are resistant to anti-VEGF therapy, are characterized by enhanced vessel diameter and normalization of the vascular bed by coverage of mature pericytes and immunoreactivity for desmin, NG-2, platelet-derived growth factor receptor β, and the late-stage maturity marker α smooth muscle actin. Our findings emphasize that the level of mural cell differentiation and stabilization of the vascular wall significantly contribute to the response toward antiangiogenic therapy in melanoma. This study may be useful in paving the way toward a more rational development of second generation antiangiogenic combination therapies and in providing, for the first time, a murine model to study this.
MICROINSURANCE DECISIONS: EVIDENCE FROM ETHIOPIA

We review experimental evidence collected from a framed microinsurance field experiment using poor subjects in rural Ethiopia. We find the shape of demand for index insurance to be broadly in line with predictions of DARA expected utility theory (EUT), for example by being hump-shaped in wealth. However, the level of demand for index insurance is higher than predicted by EUT. The pattern of demand is consistent with recent experimental evidence from developing countries suggesting an S-shaped probability weighting function, with underweighting of extreme events. Additionally, we find that higher background risk is associated with higher indemnity insurance take-up and that participants choose more insurance cover in the group index and indemnity decision problems than in the individual decision problems. These results have positive implications for the `puzzle' of low demand for actuarially unfair weather index insurance in developing countries, and normative implications for the design and sale of microinsurance products.
Cloning, Expression, and Characterization ofcis-Polyprenyl Diphosphate Synthase from the Thermoacidophilic Archaeon Sulfolobus acidocaldarius

ABSTRACT cis-polyprenyl diphosphate synthases are involved in the biosynthesis of the glycosyl carrier lipid in most organisms. However, only little is known about this enzyme of archaea. In this report, we isolated the gene of cis-polyprenyl diphosphate synthase from a thermoacidophilic archaeon, Sulfolobus acidocaldarius, and characterized the recombinant enzyme.
GUNSHOT RESIDUE INVESTIGATIONS USING TXRF

When a firearm is fired, gunshot residues (GSRs) are dispersed in the area around the shooter. It is very important for a police investigation at a crime scene to gain as much information from such residues as possible. Due to the minute amounts of residue available, total reflection x-ray fluorescence analysis (TXRF) seems well suited for GSR analysis. For this research, three shooting experiments were conducted. For each shot, sample carriers were distributed in the area in front of the shooter and were analyzed afterwards using TXRF. Due to the heterogeneity of the GSRs no reproducible results could be obtained. The elemental composition of the gunshot residue particles as well as the total amount being deposited showed high variation, even when the shot and the position were the same. Because of this variability, these results must be classified as statistically not very reliable. Results found with TXRF in the used configuration can neither be used neither to determine weapon or cartridge specific elemental profiles nor to estimate the shooting distance. Nevertheless Pb from the GSRs could be detected at a distance of up to 8 m from the muzzle.
Neuromorphic Processors with Memristive Synapses

Due to their nonvolatile nature, excellent scalability, and high density, memristive nanodevices provide a promising solution for low-cost on-chip storage. Integrating memristor-based synaptic crossbars into digital neuromorphic processors (DNPs) may facilitate efficient realization of brain-inspired computing. This article investigates architectural design exploration of DNPs with memristive synapses by proposing two synapse readout schemes. The key design tradeoffs involving different analog-to-digital conversions and memory accessing styles are thoroughly investigated. A novel storage strategy optimized for feedforward neural networks is proposed in this work, which greatly reduces the energy and area cost of the memristor array and its peripherals.
Asynchronous BCI and local neural classifiers: an overview of the adaptive brain interface project

In this communication, we give an overview of our work on an asynchronous brain-computer interface (where the subject makes self-paced decisions on when to switch from one mental task to the next) that responds every 0.5 s. A local neural classifier tries to recognize three different mental tasks; it may also respond "unknown" for uncertain samples as the classifier has incorporated statistical rejection criteria. We report our experience with 15 subjects. We also briefly describe two brain-actuated applications we have developed: a virtual keyboard and a mobile robot (emulating a motorized wheelchair).
Transformation Based Learning in the Fast Lane

Transformation-based learning has been successfully employed to solve many natural language processing problems. It achieves state-of-the-art performance on many natural language processing tasks and does not overtrain easily. However, it does have a serious drawback: the training time is often intorelably long, especially on the large corpora which are often used in NLP. In this paper, we present a novel and realistic method for speeding up the training time of a transformation-based learner without sacrificing performance. The paper compares and contrasts the training time needed and performance achieved by our modified learner with two other systems: a standard transformation-based learner, and the ICA system (Hepple, 2000). The results of these experiments show that our system is able to achieve a significant improvement in training time while still achieving the same performance as a standard transformation-based learner. This is a valuable contribution to systems and algorithms which utilize transformation-based learning at any part of the execution.
Lineage analysis by microsatellite loci deep sequencing in mice

Lineage analysis is the identification of all the progeny of a single progenitor cell, and has become particularly useful for studying developmental processes and cancer biology. Here, we propose a novel and effective method for lineage analysis that combines sequence capture and next‐generation sequencing technology. Genome‐wide mononucleotide and dinucleotide microsatellite loci in eight samples from two mice were identified and used to construct phylogenetic trees based on somatic indel mutations at these loci, which were unique enough to distinguish and parse samples from different mice into different groups along the lineage tree. For example, biopsies from the liver and stomach, which originate from the endoderm, were located in the same clade, while samples in kidney, which originate from the mesoderm, were located in another clade. Yet, tissue with a common developmental origin may still contain cells of a mixed ancestry. This genome‐wide approach thus provides a non‐invasive lineage analysis method based on mutations that accumulate in the genomes of opaque multicellular organism somatic cells. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 83: 387–391, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
A novel concept for electronic transport in nanoscale spaces formed by islandic multi-cored nanoparticles

A nanocomposite system consists of nanoscale organic polymer spaces and islandic inorganic nano-particles. In this paper, a concept of quantum dots (QDs) is introduced to explain various dielectric properties of nanocomposites. Nano-particles are regarded as QDs rather than simple carrier traps. QDs exhibit negative permittivity. They also show Coulomb blockade effect, and inversely accept charge injection if they are subjected to high electric field beyond its barrier threshold. This concept can interpret key phenomena appearing in nanocomposites such as the reduction of permittivity, the threshold of space charge formation, the high field conduction and dielectric breakdown. Space charge formation and treeing phenomena are analyzed in more detail. A threshold for charge injection to QDs are obtained as the order of 100 kV/mm from the experimental data associated with both space charge and treeing.
Derivation and validation of a MEDLINE search strategy for research studies that use administrative data.

OBJECTIVE To derive and validate a search strategy that identifies administrative database research (ADR) in the MEDLINE database. DESIGN Analytical survey. METHODS We downloaded all articles published between January 1, 2008 and October 7, 2009 in 20 top journals in internal medicine, cardiovascular medicine, public health, and health services research. These were reviewed to determine whether they were ADR (in which the study cohort, exposure, or outcome was defined using electronic data created for or during the processing of patients through their health care). We used chi-squared recursive partitioning to create a search strategy that maximized sensitivity based on publication type, MeSH headings, and text words. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Sensitivity and positive predictive value of the search strategy for true ADR in three samples: derivation (n=5,513); internal validation (n=2,710); and external validation (n=1,500). RESULTS The prevalence of ADR in the derivation, internal validation, and external validation samples was 2.6, 2.9, and 2.2 percent, respectively. The sensitivity of our search strategy in these samples was 90.9 percent (95 percent confidence interval [CI] 85.0-95.1), 88.5 percent (79.2-94.6), and 100 percent (99.3-100), respectively. The positive predictive value in these samples was 10.7 percent (9.0-12.6), 11.5 percent (9.1-14.4), and 3.3 percent (2.3-4.6), respectively. CONCLUSION We derived and validated a search strategy that is highly sensitive for ADR in MEDLINE.
Effect of aracnotoxin from Latrodectus mactans on bovine sperm function: modulatory action of bovine oviduct cells and their secretions

Latrodectus mactans’ aracnotoxin (Atx) induces changes in sperm function that could be used as a co‐adjuvant in male contraceptive barrier methods. This effect includes the suppression of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), an event necessary for capacitation, chemotaxis and acrosome reaction (AR). The sperm that are not trapped by the barrier method can reach the oviduct before fertilisation and be exposed to the secretions of the oviducts. This study evaluated the effect of bovine tubal explants (TU) and conditioned media (CM) from the ampullar and isthmal regions on spermatozoa exposed to Atx. Thawed bovine sperm were incubated with Atx, TU and CM from the ampullar and isthmal regions for 4 h and then DNA integrity, intracellular ROS and lysophosphatidylcholine‐induced AR were determined. Spermatozoa exposed to Atx and co‐incubated with TU and CM for 4 h produced an increase in sperm DNA damage, a decrease in ROS production and a decrease in %AR, compared with the control. A similar result was obtained from the co‐incubation of spermatozoa with Atx. In conclusion, the effect of Atx is not modified by tubal cells or their secretions and this opens the door to future studies to evaluate the application of synthetic peptides obtained from Atx as a co‐adjuvant of contraceptive barrier methods.
Electrocardiography is a poor screening test to detect left ventricular hypertrophy in children

Background Detection of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is clinically important because it can be predictive of adverse clinical outcome. However, the best method for detecting LVH in clinical practice is unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate electrocardiography (ECG) compared with echocardiography (ECHO) as a screening test to detect LVH in a high risk population. Method In a prospective, double-blinded, single centre analysis of a population of children with chronic kidney disease, LVH detected using standard 12-lead ECG (ECG-LVH) was compared with that detected with 2D-guided M-mode ECHO (ECHO-LVH). Two electrocardiographic methods (A and B) were used to diagnose ECG-LVH and compared with three different indexation methods to define ECHO-LVH. Results 70 consecutively enrolled participants had 107 ECG and ECHO studies performed on the same day. The prevalence of ECHO-LVH ranged from 17% to 55% using different indexation methods. Increased R wave amplitude using recent age and gender specific voltage criteria (ECG method B) demonstrated the highest sensitivity (68–76%) and specificity (43–77%) for detecting ECHO-LVH. The negative predictive value (NPV) for R waves using ECG method B was 52.4% (range 40–68.6%). For all other ECG criteria, sensitivity did not exceed 13% irrespective of the ECG or ECHO method used. Conclusions In children, the standard 12-lead electrocardiogram has low sensitivity and low NPV for detecting LVH. These findings are relevant for physiological LVH and should not be extrapolated to detection of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. In clinical practice, ECHO alone should be used to exclude LVH.
A polymorphism in the histone deacetylase 1 gene is associated with the response to corticosteroids in asthmatics

Background/Aims Recent investigations suggest that histone deacetylase 1 (HDAC1) and HDAC2 may be target molecules to predict therapeutic responses to corticosteroids. We evaluated the effects of variation in HDAC1 and HDAC2 on the response to corticosteroids in asthmatics. Methods Two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were selected after resequencing HDAC1 and HDAC2. For the first analysis, we evaluated the association between those SNPs and asthma severity in 477 asthmatics. For the second analysis, we evaluated the effects of these SNPs on lung function improvements in response to corticosteroid treatment in 35 independent adult asthmatics and 70 childhood asthmatics. Results We found that one SNP in HDAC1 (rs1741981) was significantly related to asthma severity in a recessive model (corrected p = 0.036). Adult asthmatics who were homozygous for the minor allele of rs1741981 showed significantly lower % forced expiratory volume in 1 second (%FEV1) increases in response to systemic corticosteroids treatment compared with the heterozygotes or those homozygous for the major allele (12.7% ± 7.2% vs. 37.4% ± 33.7%, p = 0.018). Similarly, childhood asthmatics who were homozygous for the minor allele of rs1741981 showed significantly lower %FEV1 increases in response to inhaled corticosteroid treatment compared with the heterozygotes or those homozygous for the major allele (14.1% ± 5.9% vs. 19.4% ± 8.9%, p = 0.035). Conclusions The present study demonstrated that rs1741981 in HDAC1 was significantly associated with the response to corticosteroid treatment in asthmatics.