Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Is two days of intermittent energy restriction per week a feasible weight loss approach in obese males? A randomised pilot study

AIM The 5:2 diet (two non-consecutive days of 2460 KJ (600 calories) and 5 days of ad libitum eating per week) is becoming increasingly popular. This pilot study aimed to determine whether the 5:2 diet can achieve ≥5% weight loss and greater improvements in weight and biochemical markers than a standard energy-restricted diet (SERD) in obese male war veterans. METHODS A total of 24 participants were randomised to consume either the 5:2 diet or a SERD (2050 KJ (500 calorie) reduction per day) for 6 months. Weight, waist circumference (WC), fasting blood glucose, blood lipids, blood pressure and dietary intake were measured at baseline, 3 and 6 months by a blinded investigator. RESULTS After 6 months, participants in both groups significantly reduced body weight (P = <0.001), WC (P = <0.001) and systolic blood pressure (P = 0.001). Mean weight loss was 5.3 ± 3.0 kg (5.5 ± 3.2%) for the 5:2 group and 5.5 ± 4.3 kg (5.4 ± 4.2%) for the SERD group. Mean WC reduction for the 5:2 group was 8.0 ± 4.5 and 6.4 ± 5.8 cm for the SERD group. There was no significant difference in the amount of weight loss or WC reduction between diet groups. There was no significant change in diastolic blood pressure, fasting blood glucose or blood lipids in either dietary group. CONCLUSIONS Results suggest that the 5:2 diet is a successful but not superior weight loss approach in male war veterans when compared to a SERD. Future research is needed to determine the long-term effectiveness of the 5:2 diet and its effectiveness in other population groups.
Asymmetric Information and Volatility of Stock Returns in Nigeria

This paper investigates the effect of asymmetric information on volatility of stock returns in Nigeria using the best-fit Asymmetric Power Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity, APARCH (1,1) model, under the Generalized Error Distribution (GED) at 1% significance level from 3 January 2000 to 29 November 2016. The descriptive statistical results showed that the returns were not normally and linearly distributed, with strong evidence of a heteroskedasticity effect. The results of the analysis also confirmed the effect of asymmetric information on the volatility of stock returns in the Nigerian stock market. The asymmetric parameter (γ) was negative at (-1.00), which is statistically significant at 1% level. This confirms that there is an asymmetric or leverage effect where bad news had a more destabilizing effect on the volatility of stock returns than good news. The total impact of bad news on volatility was explosive at 2.0, during the period under review. Also, the volatility persistence which is measured by the sum of ARCH(α) and GARCH(β) stood at 1.695950. This is above unity and suggests that volatility takes a long time to attenuate in Nigeria. This could be largely ascribed to the persistent effect of the 2008 global financial crisis, which probably eroded investors’ confidence in the market.
Personalized biometric key using fingerprint biometrics

Purpose – This paper aims to address some of the practical and security problems when using fingerhash to secure biometric key for protecting digital contents. Design/methodology/approach – Study the two existing directions of biometric-based key generation approach based on the usability, security and accuracy aspects. Discuss the requisite unresolved issues related to this approach. Findings – The proposed Fingerhashing approach transforms fingerprint into a binary discretized representation called Fingerhash. The Reed Solomon error correction method is used to stabilize the fluctuation in Fingerhash. The stabilized Fingerhash is then XORed with a biometric key. The key can only be released upon the XOR process with another Fingerhash derived from an authentic fingerprint. The proposed method could regenerate an error-free biometric key based on an authentic fingerprint with up to 99.83 percent success rate, leading to promising result of FAR 1⁄4 0 percent and FRR 1⁄4 0.17 percent. Besides, the proposed method can produce biometric keys (1,150 bit length) which are longer in size than the other prevailing biometric key generation schemes to offer higher security protection to safeguard digital contents. Originality/value – Outlines a novel solution to address the issues of usability, security and accuracy of biometric based key generation scheme.
Methodological and Ideological Options Beyond Rationality , Towards Reasonableness : Enriching the Theoretical Foundation of Deliberative Monetary Valuation

Article history: Received 7 July 2016 Received in revised form 10 March 2017 Accepted 14 July 2017 Available online xxxx Economic valuation is often deemed an important source of information for land-use decisions. Stated preference (SP)methods are a particularly potent class of economic valuationmethods, but they are also particularly controversial. In response to accumulating criticism of SP, deliberativemonetary valuation (DMV) has been proposed as an alternative approach and has gained considerable attention in recent years. However, being a combination of elements from two theories – neoclassical welfare economics and theory of deliberative democracy – it lacks a convincing, consistent theoretical foundation. In our paper, we propose some clarifying adjustments regarding rationality assumptions and aggregation issues by drawing upon the work of Amartya Sen. We find that many of his ideas lead to a harmonisation of DMV's theoretical foundations, e.g.meta-rankings of preferences, impartial spectator and the plurality of impartial reasons. © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Phenological change in a spring ephemeral: implications for pollination and plant reproduction

Climate change has had numerous ecological effects, including species range shifts and altered phenology. Altering flowering phenology often affects plant reproduction, but the mechanisms behind these changes are not well‐understood. To investigate why altering flowering phenology affects plant reproduction, we manipulated flowering phenology of the spring herb Claytonia lanceolata (Portulacaceae) using two methods: in 2011–2013 by altering snow pack (snow‐removal vs. control treatments), and in 2013 by inducing flowering in a greenhouse before placing plants in experimental outdoor arrays (early, control, and late treatments). We measured flowering phenology, pollinator visitation, plant reproduction (fruit and seed set), and pollen limitation. Flowering occurred approx. 10 days earlier in snow‐removal than control plots during all years of snow manipulation. Pollinator visitation patterns and strength of pollen limitation varied with snow treatments, and among years. Plants in the snow removal treatment were more likely to experience frost damage, and frost‐damaged plants suffered low reproduction despite lack of pollen limitation. Plants in the snow removal treatment that escaped frost damage had higher pollinator visitation rates and reproduction than controls. The results of the array experiment supported the results of the snow manipulations. Plants in the early and late treatments suffered very low reproduction due either to severe frost damage (early treatment) or low pollinator visitation (late treatment) relative to control plants. Thus, plants face tradeoffs with advanced flowering time. While early‐flowering plants can reap the benefits of enhanced pollination services, they do so at the cost of increased susceptibility to frost damage that can overwhelm any benefit of flowering early. In contrast, delayed flowering results in dramatic reductions in plant reproduction through reduced pollination. Our results suggest that climate change may constrain the success of early‐flowering plants not through plant‐pollinator mismatch but through the direct impacts of extreme environmental conditions.
Primary prevention of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes in patients at metabolic risk: an endocrine society clinical practice guideline.

OBJECTIVE The objective was to develop clinical practice guidelines for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in patients at metabolic risk. CONCLUSIONS Healthcare providers should incorporate into their practice concrete measures to reduce the risk of developing CVD and T2DM. These include the regular screening and identification of patients at metabolic risk (at higher risk for both CVD and T2DM) with measurement of blood pressure, waist circumference, fasting lipid profile, and fasting glucose. All patients identified as having metabolic risk should undergo 10-yr global risk assessment for either CVD or coronary heart disease. This scoring will determine the targets of therapy for reduction of apolipoprotein B-containing lipoproteins. Careful attention should be given to the treatment of elevated blood pressure to the targets outlined in this guideline. The prothrombotic state associated with metabolic risk should be treated with lifestyle modification measures and in appropriate individuals with low-dose aspirin prophylaxis. Patients with prediabetes (impaired glucose tolerance or impaired fasting glucose) should be screened at 1- to 2-yr intervals for the development of diabetes with either measurement of fasting plasma glucose or a 2-h oral glucose tolerance test. For the prevention of CVD and T2DM, we recommend that priority be given to lifestyle management. This includes antiatherogenic dietary modification, a program of increased physical activity, and weight reduction. Efforts to promote lifestyle modification should be considered an important component of the medical management of patients to reduce the risk of both CVD and T2DM.
The Contribution of Life Course Determinants to Early Childhood Caries: A 2-Year Cohort Study

Background: Early childhood caries (ECC) is a serious problem in China. There are few data available on the risk factors contributing to ECC in children under the age of 3 years. In this study we investigate the risk factors for ECC in the life course of a cohort of 8-month-old children. Methods: A total of 225 children aged 8 months were recruited from a rural community in the city of Guangzhou in southern China. Information was collected at baseline and once every 6 months. The questionnaire was designed to collect socioeconomic and behavioural information. Dental caries was recorded by surface and oral hygiene was assessed using the visible plaque index. The presence of Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans) in dental plaque was determined using microbiological tests. The incidence density of ECC was calculated and generalised estimating equation analysis was performed to identify the risk factors. Results: The incidence density among 8 to 14-, 14 to 20-, 20 to 26- and 26 to 32-month-old children was found to be 0, 0.02 ± 0.19, 0.05 ± 0.26 and 0.20 ± 0.59 (surfaces/100 surface-months), respectively. Multivariable analysis showed that mothers who had a low level of education, families with higher monthly income, enamel hypoplasia of the teeth, lower than average height, a high proportion of visible plaque, and the presence of S. mutans were risk predictors for ECC of the children. Conclusions: There appears to be a relationship between socioeconomic, behavioural and biological factors and ECC. Early life factors play an important role in the development of ECC.
Differences in Students' Satisfaction of the Economics and Personal Finance Virtual High School Course Between Students Attending Economically Disadvantaged and Non-Economically Disadvantaged Schools in Virginia ID: 11707

Virtual learning is a mandated high school graduation requirement for students entering high school during the 2013 school year in the state of Virginia. The purpose of this quantitative, causal-comparative study was to analyze the differences of perceived overall satisfaction of high school students enrolled in a virtual course in different socioeconomic status schools, as measured by the e-Learning Student Satisfaction (ELS) instrument. The study participants were high school students enrolled in an Economics and Personal Finance virtual/online high school course in Virginia, n = 249. The study utilized a one-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) to determine if there will be a statistically significant difference in means between the dependent variables, (perceived overall satisfaction, content, learner interface, personalization, and learning community). The independent variable is school’s socioeconomic status (SES) defined as economically disadvantaged or non-economically disadvantaged, which is determined by the published Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) enrollment and demographic report. The researcher did not find a statistically significant difference in perceived overall satisfaction, content, personalization, and learning community. However, the researcher did find a significant difference regarding learner interface.
Regulation of Brassinosteroid Signaling by a GSK3/SHAGGY-Like Kinase

GSK3/SHAGGY is a highly conserved serine/threonine kinase implicated in many signaling pathways in eukaryotes. Although many GSK3/SHAGGY-like kinases have been identified in plants, little is known about their functions in plant growth and development. Here we show that the Arabidopsis BRASSINOSTEROID-INSENSITIVE 2(BIN2) gene encodes a GSK3/SHAGGY-like kinase. Gain-of-function mutations within its coding sequence or its overexpression inhibit brassinosteroid (BR) signaling, resulting in plants that resemble BR-deficient and BR-response mutants. In contrast, reduced BIN2 expression via cosuppression partially rescues a weak BR-signaling mutation. Thus, BIN2 acts as a negative regulator to control steroid signaling in plants.
Divergent perceptions of safety culture between occupational groups

Many multinational organizations now conduct safety culture assessments at the international level. Research indicates, however, that organizational safety culture is closely tied with national culture, which has implications for how the results of international safety culture assessments are analyzed and interpreted. For example, safety culture within an organization may be influenced by national cultural tendencies for power distance, which refers to the perceived ability for how individuals of low status and influence can engage with individuals who have higher status and influence. Here we report how national power distance norms had a negative effect on the safety culture perceptions of managers, controllers, and administrative staff in Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs). Engineers and technical staff, however, were unaffected by national power distance norms. We also show evidence that power distance exacerbates the differences in safety culture perceptions between managers and operations staff. These data have implications for how safety culture interventions in multi-national organizations should be tailored to account for both the national cultures represented within the organization, but also for the different occupational groups that the organization consists of.
Endothelial cell and podocyte autophagy synergistically protect from diabetes-induced glomerulosclerosis

The glomerulus is a highly specialized capillary tuft, which under pressure filters large amounts of water and small solutes into the urinary space, while retaining albumin and large proteins. The glomerular filtration barrier (GFB) is a highly specialized filtration interface between blood and urine that is highly permeable to small and midsized solutes in plasma but relatively impermeable to macromolecules such as albumin. The integrity of the GFB is maintained by molecular interplay between its 3 layers: the glomerular endothelium, the glomerular basement membrane and podocytes, which are highly specialized postmitotic pericytes forming the outer part of the GFB. Abnormalities of glomerular ultrafiltration lead to the loss of proteins in urine and progressive renal insufficiency, underlining the importance of the GFB. Indeed, albuminuria is strongly predictive of the course of chronic nephropathies especially that of diabetic nephropathy (DN), a leading cause of renal insufficiency. We found that high glucose concentrations promote autophagy flux in podocyte cultures and that the abundance of LC3B II in podocytes is high in diabetic mice. Deletion of Atg5 specifically in podocytes resulted in accelerated diabetes-induced podocytopathy with a leaky GFB and glomerulosclerosis. Strikingly, genetic alteration of autophagy on the other side of the GFB involving the endothelial-specific deletion of Atg5 also resulted in capillary rarefaction and accelerated DN. Thus autophagy is a key protective mechanism on both cellular layers of the GFB suggesting autophagy as a promising new therapeutic strategy for DN.
Adaptive Out-of-Core Simplification of Large Point Clouds

With the increasing of data complexity, the needs for out-of-core simplification become evident. However, most of the existing point-based simplification algorithms adopt in-core scheme. We present an adaptive out-of-core algorithm for simplifying point-sampled models. Our approach uses quadric matrix to analyze the detailed regions of the initial simplified model that generated by an out-of-core uniform clustering. And then we use point-pair contraction to further simplify the flat regions and point-split to refine the detailed regions. Since the algorithm is input insensitive, it obtains high quality with low memory requirement.
Phosphorylation of Drosophila Jun by the MAP kinase rolled regulates photoreceptor differentiation.

Drosophila Jun (D‐Jun) is a nuclear component of the receptor tyrosine kinase/Ras signal transduction pathway which triggers photoreceptor differentiation during eye development. Here we show that D‐Jun is a substrate for the ERK‐related Drosophila MAP kinase Rolled, which has previously been shown to be a part of this pathway. A D‐Jun mutant that carries alanines in place of the Rolled phosphorylation sites acts as a dominant suppressor of photoreceptor cell fate if expressed in the eye imaginal disc. In contrast, a mutant in which the phosphorylation sites are replaced by phosphate‐mimetic Asp residues, as well as a VP16‐D‐Jun fusion protein, can promote photoreceptor differentiation. These data implicate Jun phosphorylation in the choice between neuronal and non‐neuronal fate during Drosophila eye development.
Prognostic value of Twist in lung cancer: systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND Twist is identified as an epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) regulator which has been considered to induce metastasis. However, the prognostic value of Twist in patients with lung cancer remains controversial. METHODS A search of database including EMBASE, Medline, ISI Web of knowledge and PubMed was performed. Eligible articles studying on the prognostic significance of Twist were included in this meta-analysis. Pooled hazard ratios (HRs) and their corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were assessed to quantify the prognostic role. RESULTS A total of five studies were included. The pooled HR for Twist was 1.949 (95% CI: 1.408-2.698, I(2)=42.7%, P<0.001), suggesting high Twist expression is associated with poor prognosis in lung cancer patients. Our sensitivity analyses suggested the robustness of the results. Neither Begg's test nor Egger's test found publication bias in any analysis. CONCLUSIONS Overexpressed Twist in lung cancer tissue indicated poor prognosis.
Distribution of REM sleep in entrained 24 hour and free-running sleep--wake cycles.

One hundred thirty sleep episodes of 6 subjects, living on a natural 24 hr day, were compared with 116 sleep times of the same subjects living isolated from external time cues. The polygraphic sleep recordings were analyzed for the distribution of REM sleep under both conditions. Additionally, the relationship between body temperature and REM sleep was analyzed by comparing sleep episodes in which the temperature minimum occurred early in the sleep episode with those in which there was a late temperature minimum. The results show that there is more REM sleep in the beginning of sleep in sleep episodes of free-running rhythms as compared to sleep episodes of entrained 24 hr rhythms. This higher amount of REM sleep is due to a longer first REM episode and shorter first NREM episodes. The comparison of the sleep episodes that differ in the position of the temperature minimum shows similar differences, i.e., more REM sleep in the beginning of sleep episodes in which the temperature minimum occurs earlier as compared to episodes in which the temperature minimum occurs later. It was hypothesized that the amount of REM sleep depends on the phase relationship between sleep and the circadian temperature cycle. From this point of view, the difference in the distribution of REM sleep in the entrained 24 hr rhythm, on the one hand, and the free-running rhythm, on the other hand, can be explained by the different courses of body temperature during sleep. That only the first REM episode is influenced by circadian parameters may indicate an exceptional role for this REM episode in contrast to the following episodes.
Methylation status of the p15 and p16 genes in paediatric myelodysplastic syndrome and juvenile myelomonocytic leukaemia

Aberrant DNA methylation is frequently observed in adults with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), and is recognized as a critical event in the disease's pathogenesis and progression. This is the first report to investigate the methylation status of p15 and p16, cell cycle regulatory genes, in children with MDS (n = 9) and juvenile myelomonocytic leukaemia (JMML; n = 18) by using a methylation‐specific polymerase chain reaction. The frequency of p15 hypermethylation in paediatric MDS was 78% (7/9), which was comparable to that in adult MDS. In contrast, p15 hypermethylation in JMML was a rare event (17%; 3/18). In JMML, clinical and laboratory characteristics including PTPN11 mutations and aberrant colony formation were not different between the three patients with hypermethylated p15 and the others. Aberrant methylation of p16 was not detected in children with either MDS or JMML. Since p15 and p16 genes were unmethylated in two children with JMML, in whom the disease had progressed with an increased number of blasts, a condition referred to as blastic crisis, we infer that the aberrant methylation of these genes is not responsible for the progression of JMML. The results suggest that demethylating agents may be effective in most children with MDS and a few patients with JMML.
Salinosporamide natural products: Potent 20 S proteasome inhibitors as promising cancer chemotherapeutics.

Proteasome inhibitors are rapidly evolving as potent treatment options in cancer therapy. One of the most promising drug candidates of this type is salinosporamide A from the bacterium Salinispora tropica. This marine natural product possesses a complex, densely functionalized γ-lactam-β-lactone pharmacophore, which is responsible for its irreversible binding to its target, the β subunit of the 20S proteasome. Salinosporamide A entered phase I clinical trials for the treatment of multiple myeloma only three years after its discovery. The strong biological activity and the challenging structure of this compound have fueled intense academic and industrial research in recent years, which has led to the development of more than ten syntheses, the elucidation of its biosynthetic pathway, and the generation of promising structure-activity relationships and oncological data. Salinosporamide A thus serves as an intriguing example of the successful interplay of modern drug discovery and biomedical research, medicinal chemistry and pharmacology, natural product synthesis and analysis, as well as biosynthesis and bioengineering.