Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The effect of maternal omega-3 (n-3) LCPUFA supplementation during pregnancy on early childhood cognitive and visual development: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

BACKGROUND Maternal fish consumption during pregnancy has been positively associated with cognitive and visual abilities in the offspring, leading to the hypothesis that maternal omega-3 (n-3) long-chain PUFA (LCPUFA) supplementation improves children's neurologic and visual development. OBJECTIVE The objective was to evaluate the effect of maternal omega-3 LCPUFA supplementation in pregnancy on neurologic and visual development in the offspring. DESIGN Five electronic databases were searched. Human randomized controlled trials that supplemented the maternal diet with omega-3 LCPUFAs during pregnancy, or pregnancy and lactation, and that assessed either neurologic or visual development of the offspring were included. Trial quality was assessed, and the results of eligible trials were compared in meta-analyses. RESULTS Eleven RCTs involving 5272 participants were included in the review. Most trials had methodologic limitations. No differences in standardized psychometric test scores for cognitive, language, or motor development were observed between the LCPUFA-supplemented and control groups, except for cognitive scores in 2-5-y-old children, in whom supplementation resulted in higher Developmental Standard Scores (mean difference: 3.92; 95% CI: 0.77, 7.08; n = 156; P = 0.01). However, this effect was from 2 trials with a high risk of bias. Because of the variety of visual assessments and age ranges, it was not possible to combine studies with visual outcomes in a meta-analysis, although 6 of the 8 assessments in 5 trials reported no difference between the supplemented and control groups. CONCLUSION The evidence does not conclusively support or refute that omega-3 LCPUFA supplementation in pregnancy improves cognitive or visual development.
On choosing an effective automatic evaluation metric for microblog summarisation

Popular microblogging services, such as Twitter, are engaging millions of users who constantly post and share information about news and current events each day, resulting in millions of messages discussing what is happening in the world. To help users obtain an overview of microblog content relating to topics and events that they are interested in, classical summarisation techniques from the newswire domain have been successfully applied and extended for use on microblogs. However, much of the current literature on microblog summarisation assumes that the summarisation evaluation measures that have been shown to be effective on newswire, are still appropriate for evaluating microblog summarisation. Hence, in this paper, we aim to determine whether the traditional automatic newswire summarisation evaluation metrics generalise to the task of microblog summarisation. In particular, using three microblog summarisation datasets, we determine a ranking of summarisation systems under three automatic summarisation evaluation metrics from the literature. We then compare and contrast this ranking of systems produced under each metric to system rankings produced through a qualitative user evaluation, with the aim of determining which metric best simulates human summarisation preferences. Our results indicate that, for the automatic evaluation metrics we investigate, they do not always concur with each other. Further, we find that Fraction of Topic Words better agrees with what users tell us about the quality and effectiveness of microblog summaries than the ROUGE-1 measure that is most commonly reported in the literature.
Religious Conflict, Sexual Identity, and Suicidal Behaviors among LGBT Young Adults

This is the first known study to explore how religious identity conflict impacts suicidal behaviors among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) young adults and to test internalized homophobia as a mediator. A secondary analysis of 2,949 youth was conducted using a national dataset collected by OutProud in 2000. Three indicators of identity conflict and an internalized-homophobia scale (mediator), were included in logistic regressions with three different suicide variable outcomes. Internalized homophobia fully mediates one conflict indicator and partially mediates the other two indicators’ relationship with suicidal thoughts. Internalized homophobia also fully mediates the relationship between one conflict indicator and chronic suicidal thoughts. Two indicators were associated with twice the odds of a suicide attempt. LGBT young adults who mature in religious contexts have higher odds of suicidal thoughts, and more specifically chronic suicidal thoughts, as well as suicide attempt compared to other LGBT young adults. Internalized homophobia only accounts for portions of this conflict.
A sketching-oriented design method for information visualization software

The aim of this research is to describe a useful approach for supporting creativity and problem-solving in the design of Information Visualization software. This type of software is useful for helping people to understand large or complex collections of data by making the data easier to see and use. Because it can be so helpful, many people are motivated to create visualization software to address their own unique problems of understanding data. However, the techniques which visualizations use to enhance cognition of data are not widely known. Also, there are currently few resources which comprehensively describe a method for designing novel visualizations. Consequently, people who seek to build new Information Visualization tools are left to consult design examples, guidelines, and reference models, which do not adequately describe the visualization design process. The key question of the research concerns how Information Visualization methodologies should account for representation of the user, existing visualization design knowledge, and sketching. Given that the current methods of Information Visualization design are incomplete and show evidence of significant shortcomings, how can novice visualization design teams bridge these gaps by using methods from other design disciplines to successfully create effective visualizations To investigate this question, several studies were conducted. Also, a design methodology called So Viz was developed. It incorporates a participatory design approach, using sketching and visualization design patterns to support creativity and problem-solving. A prototype was designed using the SoViz approach. The key contributions of this thesis are results which show that Information Visualization designers can benefit from using this method. The thesis presents the results of using SoViz to create an Information Visualization prototype and describes the theoretical consequences for Information Visualization methodology.
Reconstituted HDL Elicits Marked Changes in Plasma Lipids Following Single-Dose Injection in C57Bl/6 Mice

High-density lipoprotein (HDL)-targeting therapies, including reconstituted HDL (rHDL), are attractive agents for treating dyslipidemia and atherosclerosis, as they may increase HDL levels and enhance therapeutic activities associated with HDL, including reverse cholesterol transport (RCT). Using CSL-111, a rHDL consisting of native human apolipoprotein AI (hApoAI) and phospholipids, we characterized the acute effects of rHDL administration in C57Bl/6 mice to (i) further our understanding of the mechanism of action of rHDL, and (ii) evaluate the usefulness of the mouse as a preclinical model for HDL-targeting therapies. After a single injection of CSL-111, there was a dose- and time-dependent increase of hApoAI, human pre-β HDL, total cholesterol, and triglycerides in serum, consistent with the effects of CSL-111 in humans. However, unlike in humans, there was no measurable increase in cholesteryl esters. Evaluated ex vivo, the ATP binding cassette A1 (ABCA1)- and scavenger receptor type BI (SR-BI)-dependent cholesterol efflux capacity of serum from CSL-111-treated mice was increased compared with serum from vehicle-treated animals. Fractionation by size exclusion chromatography of lipoproteins in serum from treated mice revealed hApoAI in particles the size of endogenous HDL and slightly larger, cholesterol-enriched particles of all sizes, including sizes distinct from endogenous HDL or CSL-111 itself, and triglyceride-enriched particles the size of very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL). These results suggest that in mouse blood CSL-111 is remodeled and generates enhanced cholesterol efflux capacity which increases mobilization of free cholesterol from peripheral tissues. Our findings complement the previous reports on CSL-111 in human participants and provide data with which to evaluate the potential utility of mouse models in mechanistic studies of HDL-targeting therapies.
Improving high-level synthesis effectiveness through custom operator identification

It is increasingly common to see custom operators appear in various fields of circuit design. Custom operators that can be implemented in special hardware units make it possible to improve performance and reduce area. In this paper, we propose a design flow for identifying custom operators for high-level synthesis. Experimental results show that our approach achieves on average 19%, and up to 37% area reduction, compared to a traditional high-level synthesis. Meanwhile, the latency is reduced on average by 22%, and up to 59%. In addition, on average 74% and up to 81% code size reduction can be achieved, so synthesis runtime can be reduced.
Assessment of topologies to minimize leakage currents in transformerless PV inverters

Nowadays, the world is facing two challenges: the need for cleaner environment and the incessant increase in power demands. A situation that makes renewable energy sources, and particularly solar photovoltaics, more and more viable. Solar photovoltaic systems can be connected to the grid either with transformers or without transformers. In fact, the transformerless systems have been investigated and found to offer higher efficiency, smaller size and weight as well as more reduced cost. However, when no transformer is used, a common-mode voltage would appear and lead to leakage currents between the PV-array and the ground. This is why the main focus of recent researches is on minimizing or totally avoiding these leakage currents without causing any impact on the whole system efficiency. Accordingly, this paper deals with a comparison of promising solutions to achieve such a crucial goal.
LC-MS/MS-Based Method for the Multiplex Detection of 24 Fentanyl Analogues and Metabolites in Whole Blood at Sub ng mL–1 Concentrations

The United States and numerous other countries worldwide are currently experiencing a public health crisis due to the abuse of illicitly manufactured fentanyl (IMF) and its analogues. This manuscript describes the development of a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry-based method for the multiplex detection of N = 24 IMF analogues and metabolites in whole blood at concentrations as low as 0.1–0.5 ng mL–1. These available IMFs were fentanyl, norfentanyl, furanyl norfentanyl, remifentanil acid, butyryl norfentanyl, remifentanil, acetyl fentanyl, alfentanil, AH-7921, U-47700, acetyl fentanyl 4-methylphenethyl, acrylfentanyl, para-methoxyfentanyl, despropionyl fentanyl (4-ANPP), furanyl fentanyl, despropionyl para-fluorofentanyl, carfentanil, (±)-cis-3-methyl fentanyl, butyryl fentanyl, isobutyryl fentanyl, sufentanil, valeryl fentanyl, para-fluorobutyryl fentanyl, and para-fluoroisobutyryl fentanyl. Most IMF analogues (N = 22) could be easily distinguished from one another; the isomeric forms butyryl/isobutyryl fentanyl and para-fluorobutyryl/para-fluoroisobutyryl fentanyl could not be differentiated. N = 13 of these IMF analogues were quantified for illustrative purposes, and their forensic quality control standards were also validated for limit of detection (0.017–0.056 ng mL–1), limit of quantitation (0.100–0.500 ng mL–1), selectivity/sensitivity, ionization suppression/enhancement (87–118%), process efficiency (60–95%), recovery (64–97%), bias (<20%), and precision (>80%). This flexible, time- and cost-efficient method was successfully implemented at the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office/Miami Valley Regional Crime Laboratory in Dayton, Ohio, where it aided in the analysis of N = 725 postmortem blood samples collected from February 2015 to November 2016.
Lhx2 Selector Activity Specifies Cortical Identity and Suppresses Hippocampal Organizer Fate

The earliest step in creating the cerebral cortex is the specification of neuroepithelium to a cortical fate. Using mouse genetic mosaics and timed inactivations, we demonstrated that Lhx2 acts as a classic selector gene and essential intrinsic determinant of cortical identity. Lhx2 selector activity is restricted to an early critical period when stem cells comprise the cortical neuroepithelium, where it acts cell-autonomously to specify cortical identity and suppress alternative fates in a spatially dependent manner. Laterally, Lhx2 null cells adopt antihem identity, whereas medially they become cortical hem cells, which can induce and organize ectopic hippocampal fields. In addition to providing functional evidence for Lhx2 selector activity, these findings show that the cortical hem is a hippocampal organizer.
Soluble CD 30 Levels in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis

Objective: We aimed to determine serum soluble CD30 (sCD30) levels in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and to analyze their clinical significance in these patients. Materials and Methods: The study group consisted of 49 patients who fulfilled the 1987 American College of Rheumatology diagnostic criteria for RA, and 20 ageand gender-matched healthy controls. Morning stiffness (minutes), pain (visual analog scale, 0-100 mm VAS), fatigue (5-point scale), patient’s and physician’s general health assessment (0-100 mm VAS), number of tender and swollen joints (total 28 joints), disease activity (DAS28 score), and physical function capacity (disability) (Turkish version of the health assessment questionnaire, HAQ) were assessed. Presence of extraarticular manifestations was recorded. Radiographic assessment of hands and feet was evaluated according to the modified Sharp method. Routine laboratory tests, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP), rheumatoid factor, immunoglobulins, and complements levels were determined by nephelometry. Serum sCD30 levels of the patients with RA and healthy controls were measured by ELISA. Results: The mean age was 51.1±13.1 years. The mean disease duration was 7.7±5.1 years. The median DAS28 score was 4.3 (2.3-6.8) and the median HAQ score 1.1 (0-3). The serum levels of sCD30 were significantly increased in RA patients (25.1±18.3 IU/ml) compared to healthy controls (17.2±8.1 IU/ml) (p=0.004). The mean serum level of sCD30 was not different between the low active and moderate/high active patient groups. There was a correlation between sCD30 level and extraarticular involvement (p=0.009, r=0.37) and physician’s general health assessment (p=0.008, r=0.38). Conclusion: The present data suggest a possible involvement of CD30+ T cells in the immune processes of RA. Serum sCD30 levels might be a helpful tool for the evaluation of Th2 activity in RA. However, the relationship between sCD30 and clinical disease activity remains uncertain. Therefore, we suggest the need for further studies to investigate its clinical importance. (Turk J Rheumatol 2009; 24: 131-5)
Hadoop Applications in Bioinformatics

Bioinformatics is in a dilemma that traditional analysis tools work hard on the large-scale data from the high-throughout sequencing. In recent years, the open source Apache Hadoop project, which adopts MapReduce framework and distributed file system, brings bioinformatics researchers opportunities to obtain a scalable, efficient and reliable computing performance on Linux clusters and Cloud Computing Service. In this paper, we present Hadoop-based applications employed in bioinformatics, covering next-generation sequencing and other biological domains. In addition, we discuss obstacles and future works about Hadoop in bioinformatics.
Pulse-Train-Controlled CCM Buck Converter With Small ESR Output-Capacitor

The pulse-train (PT) control technique for switching dc-dc converters is simple to design and benefits from excellent control performance. Up to now, almost all of the works on PT control are focused on switching dc-dc converters operating in discontinuous conduction mode, with few works reported on PT control of switching dc-dc converters operating in continuous conduction mode (CCM). In this paper, a PT-controlled CCM buck converter is studied and a unique low-frequency oscillation phenomenon is revealed, which results in large undesired inductor-current and output-voltage variations. The effect of equivalent series resistance (ESR) output-capacitor on the low-frequency oscillation is examined. The results indicate that such oscillation occurs when the ESR output-capacitor is relatively small and disappears when it is relatively large. However, a larger ESR will result in a large output-voltage ripple. In order to avoid the low-frequency oscillation and, at the same time, to ensure a small output-voltage ripple, the ICRIF circuit is applied. In this way, a small ESR output-capacitor can be used to decrease the output-voltage ripple. Simulation and experimental results are provided to verify the theoretical analysis.
Ion-ion interaction and equation of state of a dense plasma: Application to beryllium.

A recent model treating the structure of ``simple plasmas'' as that of high-temperature liquid metals is used here to calculate the equation of state of dense beryllium plasmas, for values of compression between 0.2 and 6, and temperatures up to 100 eV. This model gets rid of the standard simplified descriptions of ionic distributions (isolated ion sphere, uniform positive background, etc.); it applies when the electronic structure justifies the use of a binary pair interaction. This interaction is calculated, for every density and temperature, using the self-consistent electronic charge density obtained in a density-functional-theory calculation. The statistical mechanics of the ion fluid is treated via a modified hypernetted-chain integral equation. The various contributions to the equation of state are presented and discussed, and comparisons with other theories are made.
STRAIN DIFFERENCES IN THE RESPONSE TO MORPHINE ON INCORPORATION OF 3 H‐LYSINE INTO RAT BRAIN PROTEIN

The effect of morphine on the specific activity (SA) of lysine in the plasma free amino acid (FAA) fraction and in the cerebral cortical FAA and protein fractions, as well as on the specific accumulation and incorporation, was determined in male Sprague‐Dawley and Wistar rats at various time intervals after intravenous injection of drug and amino acid into unanesthetized animals. The lysine SA was higher in Sprague‐Dawley than in Wistar rats in the plasma and brain FAA fraction and in the protein fraction. In the SD strain, morphine decreased the SA of plasma FAA significantly, but had only slight effects in the Wistar strain. In the cortical gray matter, morphine elevated the SA of lysine significantly in both strains, although the rate of decrease of SA with increasing time after injection was different in the two strains. SA of the lysine in cerebral cortical protein increased in both strains with time, but did so more rapidly in the Sprague‐Dawley strain. When the data for the free amino acids were expressed in terms of specific accumulation, the observed rates were higher in the Sprague‐Dawley animals and reached a point of maximal concentration, which was not observed in animals of the Wistar strain. Morphine elevated the levels of specific accumulation of lysine into the cortical free amino acid pool in both strains of rat. However, specific incorporation of lysine into the cerebral gray cortical protein in control animals was essentially similar in both strains. Despite the similarity in specific incorporation of lysine into brain protein in both strains of control rat, morphine treatment caused a much more marked inhibition of incorporation of lysine in the Wistar rats. Thus, it is concluded that Sprague‐Dawley and Wistar rats are not equivalent in relation to the accumulation of an amino acid in the brain FAA pool from the plasma and that the effect of morphine on specific incorporation of lysine into brain protein is greater in Wistar rats.
Fate of coliform bacteria in composted beef cattle feedlot manure.

The link between livestock production, manure management, and human health has received much public attention in recent years. Composting is often promoted as a means of sanitizing manure to ensure that pathogenic bacteria are not spread to a wider environment during land application. In a two-year study (1998 and 1999) in southern Alberta, we examined the fate of coliform bacteria during windrow composting of cattle (Bos taurus) manure from feedlot pens bedded with cereal straw or wood chips. Numbers of total coliforms (TC) and Escherichia coli declined as the composting period progressed. In 1998, TC levels (mean of both bedding types) were log10 7.86 cells g(-1) dry wt. for raw manure on Day 0, log10 3.38 cells g(-1) by Day 7, and log10 1.69 cells g(-1) by Day 14. More than 99.9% of TC and E. coli was eliminated in the first 7 d when average windrow temperatures ranged from 33.5 to 41.5 degrees C. The type of bedding did not influence the numbers of TC or E. coli. Dessication probably played a minor role in coliform elimination, since water loss was low (< 0.07 kg kg(-1)) in the first 7 d of composting. However, total aerobic heterotroph populations remained high (> 7.0 log10 CFU g(-1) dry wt. , where CFU is colony forming units) throughout the composting period, possibly causing an antagonistic effect. Land application of compost, with its nondetectable levels of E. coli compared with raw manure, should minimize environmental risk in areas of intensive livestock production.
On Secure Communication over Wireless Sensor Networks

This paper investigates (perfectly) secure message transmission over a wireless sensor network. Using a layered network architecture and a very simple form of routing, we show how to construct an arbitrarily secure communication channel over a given infrastructure of wireless devices. Our construction is computationally cheap and requires no cryptographic primitive beyond symmetric encryption on the channels. The security of the transmission can be made arbitrarily strong (in an information-theoretic sense).