Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
RyR 1 and RyR 3 isoforms provide distinct intracellular Ca 2 + signals in HEK 293 cells

The endoplasmic reticulum of most eukaryotic cells contains relatively high levels of Ca 2+ and represent an important source for Ca 2+ release into cytosol in response to stimulation of cells by a variety of agonists (Berridge et al., 2000). There are many components involved in the organisation of intracellular Ca 2+ stores. Ca 2+ pumps of the sarcoplasmic endoplasmic reticulum Ca 2+ ATPases (SERCAs) family accumulate Ca 2+ into the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum, where specific Ca 2+-binding proteins (such as calsequestrin and calreticulin) provide an efficient mechanisms of storage, mediated by their high capacity and low affinity for Ca 2+ (Pozzan et al., 1994; Sorrentino and Rizzuto, 2001). Ca 2+ accumulated in the intracellular stores of the endoplasmic reticulum is released into the cytosol through Ca 2+-release-specific channels in connection with intracellular signalling mechanisms. Two distinct families of intracellular Ca 2+-release channels, ryanodine receptors (RyRs) and inositol (1,4,5)-trisphosphate receptors [Ins(1,4,5)P3Rs] are known (Sorrentino et al., 2000; Patel et al., 1999). In cells, like neurons and muscle cells, where Ca 2+-mediated signalling is highly developed, these Ca 2+-release proteins are selectively localised to specific The sarcoplasmic reticulum of skeletal muscle cells is a highly organised network of tubules that is well characterised with respect to the redistribution of proteins involved in Ca 2+
Hathi: durable transactions for memory using flash

Recent architectural trends---cheap, fast solid-state storage, inexpensive DRAM, and multi-core CPUs---provide an opportunity to rethink the interface between applications and persistent storage. To leverage these advances, we propose a new system architecture called Hathi that provides an in-memory transactional heap made persistent using high-speed flash drives. With Hathi, programmers can make consistent concurrent updates to in-memory data structures that survive system failures. Hathi focuses on three major design goals: ACID semantics, a simple programming interface, and fine-grained programmer control. Hathi relies on software transactional memory to provide a simple concurrent interface to in-memory data structures, and extends it with persistent logs and checkpoints to add durability. To reduce the cost of durability, Hathi uses two main techniques. First, it provides split-phase and partitioned commit interfaces, that allow programmers to overlap commit I/O with computation and to avoid unnecessary synchronization. Second, it uses partitioned logging, which reduces contention on in-memory log buffers and exploits internal SSD parallelism. We find that our implementation of Hathi can achieve 1.25 million txns/s with a single SSD.
The (Mis)Reporting of Male Circumcision Status among Men and Women in Zambia and Swaziland: A Randomized Evaluation of Interview Methods

Background To date, male circumcision prevalence has been estimated using surveys of men self-reporting their circumcision status. HIV prevention trials and observational studies involving female participants also collect data on partners' circumcision status as a risk factor for HIV/STIs. A number of studies indicate that reports of circumcision status may be inaccurate. This study assessed different methods for improving self- and partner reporting of circumcision status. Methods/Findings The study was conducted in urban and rural Zambia and urban Swaziland. Men (N = 1264) aged 18–50 and their female partners (N = 1264), and boys (N = 840) aged 13–17 were enrolled. Participants were recruited from HIV counseling and testing sites, health centers, and surrounding communities. The study experimentally assessed methods for improving the reporting of circumcision status, including: a) a simple description of circumcision, b) a detailed description of circumcision, c) an illustration of a circumcised and uncircumcised penis, and d) computerized self-interviewing. Self-reports were compared to visual examination. For men, the error in reporting was largely unidirectional: uncircumcised men more often reported they were circumcised (2–7%), depending on setting. Fewer circumcised men misrepresented their status (0.05–5%). Misreporting by women was significantly higher (11–15%), with the error in both directions. A sizable number of women reported that they did not know their partner's circumcision status (3–8%). Computerized interviewing did not improve accuracy. Providing an illustration, particularly for illiterate participants, significantly improved reporting of circumcision status, decreasing misreporting among illiterate participants from 13% to 10%, although misreporting was not eliminated. Conclusions Study results suggest that the prevalence of circumcision may be overestimated in Zambia and Swaziland; the error in reporting is higher among women than among men. Improved reporting when a description or illustration is provided suggests that the source of the error is a lack of understanding of male circumcision.
Immobilization of Papain on Chitin and Chitosan and Recycling of Soluble Enzyme for Deflocculation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae from Bioethanol Distilleries

Yeast flocculation (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) is one of the most important problems in fuel ethanol production. Yeast flocculation causes operational difficulties and increase in the ethanol cost. Proteolytic enzymes can solve this problem since it does not depend on these changes. The recycling of soluble papain and the immobilization of this enzyme on chitin or chitosan were studied. Some cross-linking agents were evaluated in the action of proteolytic activity of papain. The glutaraldehyde (0.1–10% w·v−1), polyethyleneimine (0.5% v·v−1), and tripolyphosphate (1–10% w·v−1) inactivated the enzyme in this range, respectively. Glutaraldehyde inhibited all treatments of papain immobilization. The chitosan cross-linked with TPP in 5 h of reaction showed the yield of active immobilized enzyme of 15.7% and 6.07% in chitosan treated with 0.1% PEI. Although these immobilizations have been possible, these levels have not been enough to cause deflocculation of yeast cells. Free enzyme was efficient for yeast deflocculation in dosages of 3 to 4 g·L−1. Recycling of soluble papain by centrifugation was effective for 14 cycles with yeast suspension in time perfectly compatible to industrial conditions. The reuse of proteases applied after yeast suspension by additional yeast centrifugation could be an alternative to cost reduction of these enzymes.
Novelty Detection-Based Internal Fingerprint Segmentation in Optical Coherence Tomography Images

Biometric fingerprint scanners scan the external skin features onto a 2-D image. The performance of the automatic fingerprint identification system suffers if the finger skin is wet, worn out, fake fingerprint is used et cetera. In this paper, we present an automatic segmentation of the papillary layer method, in 3-D swept source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) images. The papillary contour represents the internal fingerprint, which does not suffer external skin problems. The slices composing the 3-D image are filtered by the regularized Perona and Malik partial differential equations filter to minimize the effect of speckle noise. Then the corneum stratum is detected, which in turn leads to the extraction of the epidermis using prior knowledge of the epidermis depth. The epidermis is used as the target of the novelty detection that is applied to the image slices. The contour of the papillary layer is segmented as the boundary between the target and rejection classes resulting from novelty detection. The papillary contours are consistent with those segmented manually, with the modified Williams index above 0.9400 on average. The 3-D papillary contour represents an internal fingerprint.
Spoken sentences decoding based on intracranial high gamma response using dynamic time warping

In this study, we explore the discriminability of high gamma activities from speech production cortex during the overt articulation of two sentences. Neural activities were recorded from one intracranial electrode placed approximately over the posterior part of the inferior frontal gyrus. By employing a dynamic time warping (DTW) method to realign single-trial high gamma response during speech productions, averaged temporal activation patterns corresponding to the two spoken sentences were obtained. Single-trial ECoG responses were subsequently classified according to their correlations with these two temporal activation patterns. On average, 77.5% of the trials were correctly classified, which was much higher than the chance-level performance of the SVM classifier without DTW. Our preliminary results shed light on the construction of cortical speech brain-computer interfaces on the sentence level.
Illustrative Molecular Visualization with Continuous Abstraction

Molecular systems may be visualized with various degrees of structural abstraction, support of spatial perception, and ‘illustrativeness. ’ In this work we propose and realize methods to create seamless transformations that allow us to affect and change each of these three parameters individually. The resulting transitions give viewers a dedicated control of abstraction in illustrative molecular visualization and, consequently, allow them to seamlessly explore the resulting abstraction space for obtaining a fundamental understanding of molecular systems. We show example visualizations created with our approach and report informal feedback on our technique from domain experts.
Risk for prolonged QT interval and associated outcomes in children with early restrictive eating patterns

Abstract Aim This study aimed to describe the frequency of QTc prolongation in children with restrictive eating disorders early in the course of disease admitted for inpatient therapy, to determine the frequency of associated ventricular arrhythmia, and to evaluate the relationship between QTc interval and concomitant electrolyte abnormalities and rate of weight loss. Methods This was a retrospective cohort study of patients aged 11–25 years with early restrictive eating disorders. Results In all, 82 patients met the inclusion criteria (84% female). In total, 9.8% had prolonged QTc interval during hospitalisation. Patients with prolonged QTc had significantly higher resting heart rates (p=0.006), but there was no association with hypokalaemia (p=0.31), hypomagnesaemia (p=0.43), hypophosphataemia (p=1), or rate of weight loss (p=1). Conclusion Mild QTc prolongation in patients with restrictive eating disorders is not related to electrolyte abnormalities or rate of weight loss in this population, suggesting that investigation about other potential risk factors of prolonged QTc interval may be warranted.
Laser Processing of Quartz for Microfluidic Device Fabrication

This paper presents a fast fabrication process of microfluidic channels with quartz substrates. Microchannels were ablated on the surface of quartz samples with a CO2 laser. Double sided Pressure Sensitive Adhesive (PSA) was applied to bond the samples with scribed microchannels to flat glass sheets. Dimensions of the fabricated channels were characterised with optical microscopy and laser profilometry. The recorded data was modelled with a BoxBehnken experiment design using Response Surface Methodology. Characterisation included also the measurement of optical transmission through the processed glass and measurement of flow rate through the fabricated channels. With an average width of 165 µm and depth of 280µm, fabricated channels had appropriate dimensions for a range of microfluidic applications. A significant width of the laser processed channels provided 100% transmission for a wide range of the optical spectrum. These fabricated channels were also shown to not significantly retard the fluid flow rate thus making these channels applicable for integration into numerous detection systems for chemical separation applications.
Why do adolescents start smoking? : theories of smoking initiation

Objective The purpose of this study was to summarize the scientific literature on adolescent smoking initiation. Methods The following databases were used: Medline, CINAHL, Ebsco Host, Academic Search Premier, Science Citation Index, PsycINFO, and Ohio Link. The Yahoo! search engine was also used. The Centers for Disease Control, American Legacy Foundation, and Monitoring the Future websites were searched for tobacco literature. Mulford library was also used. Results Seventy articles, three books, five web pages, and thirteen online documents were included in this review. Conclusion Smoking is a serious problem usually initiated during adolescence. Age, grade level, socioeconomic status, relationships with smokers, media, and body image all affect smoking prevalence. Traditional theories of smoking acquisition are Stages of Change, Theory of Reasoned Action, Theory of Planned Behavior, and Cognitive Susceptibility. Newer integrative theories seem very promising. Media campaigns, economic measures, and possibly youth advocacy are effective prevention measures. Evangeline M. Taylor, Scholarly Project Abstract Advisors: Christopher Bork, Ph.D., & Timothy R. Jordan, Ph.D. WHY DO ADOLESCENTS START SMOKING? Theories of Smoking Initiation Objective. There are many theories of smoking initiation. The literature on adolescent smoking initiation was reviewed to provide a synopsis of the major theories. Methods. An extensive literature review was conducted using the MEDLINE, CINAHL, Academic Search Premier, Science Citation Index, and PsycINFO databases as well as the Yahoo! search engine. The Centers for Disease Control, American Legacy Foundation, and Monitoring the Future websites were also searched for tobacco literature. Results. Many factors are involved in adolescent smoking initiation. Experts do not agree on one theory to explain smoking initiation. Conclusion. Age, grade level, socioeconomic status, relationships with smokers, media, and body image all affect smoking prevalence among adolescents. Traditional theories of smoking acquisition are Stages of Change, Theory of Reasoned Action, Theory of Planned Behavior, and Cognitive Susceptibility. Newer integrative theories seem most promising, however. Media campaigns, economic measures, and possibly youth advocacy are effective prevention measures.
Estimation of time‐dependent area under the ROC curve for long‐term risk prediction

Sensitivity, specificity, and area under the ROC curve (AUC) are often used to measure the ability of survival models to predict future risk. Estimation of these parameters is complicated by the fact that these parameters are time‐dependent and by the fact that censoring affects their estimation just as it affects estimation of survival curves or coefficients of survival regression models. The authors present several estimators that overcome these complications. One approach is a recursive calculation over the ordered times of events, analogous to the Kaplan–Meier approach to survival function estimation. Another is to first apply Bayes' theorem to write the parameters of interest in terms of conditional survival functions that are then estimated by survival analysis methods. Simulation studies demonstrate that the proposed estimators perform well in practical situations, when compared with an estimator (c‐statistic, from logistic regression) that ignores time. An illustration with data from a cardiovascular follow‐up study is provided. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Uncaria tomentosa (Willd.) D.C.: cat's claw, uña de gato, or savéntaro.

Recently, Uncaria tomentosa (Willd.) D.C. has become known as a healing plant with an ethnomedicinal background. There have been several reports on its constituents, in particular, oxindole alkaloids. It was found that 2 chemotypes of Uncaria tomentosa with different alkaloid patterns occur in nature. The roots of one type contain pentacyclic oxindoles and the other contains tetracyclic oxindoles. This difference should be considered when the plant is to be used for medicinal applications. Tetracyclic oxindole alkaloids act on the central nervous system, whereas pentacyclic oxindole alkaloids affect the cellular immune system. Recent studies have shown that the tetracyclic alkaloids exert antagonistic effects on the action of the pentacyclic alkaloids. Mixtures of these 2 types of drugs are therefore unsuitable for medicinal uses.
Milk and Dairy Consumption among Men with Prostate Cancer and Risk of Metastases and Prostate Cancer Death

Background: Whether milk and dairy intake after a prostate cancer diagnosis is associated with a poorer prognosis is unknown. We investigated postdiagnostic milk and dairy intake in relation to risk of lethal prostate cancer (metastases and prostate cancer death) among participants in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study. Methods: The cohort consisted of 3,918 men diagnosed with apparently localized prostate cancer between 1986 and 2006, and followed to 2008. Data on milk and dairy intake were available from repeated questionnaires. We used Cox proportional hazards models to calculate HRs and 95% CIs of the association between postdiagnostic milk and dairy intake and prostate cancer outcomes. Results: We ascertained 229 prostate cancer deaths and an additional 69 metastases during follow-up. In multivariate analysis, total milk and dairy intakes after diagnosis were not associated with a greater risk of lethal prostate cancer. Men with the highest versus lowest intake of whole milk were at an increased risk of progression (HR = 2.15, 95% CI: 1.28–3.60; Ptrend < 0.01). Men in the highest versus lowest quintile of low-fat dairy intake were at a decreased risk of progression (HR = 0.62; 95% CI: 0.40–0.95; Ptrend = 0.07). Conclusions: With the exception of whole milk, our results suggest that milk and dairy intake after a prostate cancer diagnosis is not associated with an increased risk of lethal prostate cancer. Impact: This is the first larger prospective study investigating the relation between postdiagnostic milk and dairy intake and risk of lethal prostate cancer. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 21(3); 428–36. ©2012 AACR.
Dietary supplementation with polyunsaturated fatty acid during pregnancy modulates DNA methylation at IGF2/H19 imprinted genes and growth of infants (1120.3)

Epigenetic regulations of imprinted genes are highly plausible explanation for the associations of dietary exposures in early life and the onset of diseases in adulthood. We tested whether prenatal dietary supplementation with docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) during pregnancy may modulate epigenetic states at birth in a randomized intervention trial among Mexican pregnant women supplemented daily with 400 mg of DHA or a placebo from 18 to 22 week of gestation to parturition. We applied quantitative profiling of DNA methylation states at IGF2 promoter 3 (IGF2 P3), IGF2 DMR and H19 DMR in cord blood mononuclear cells of the DHA‐supplemented group (n=131) and the control group (n=130). There were no significant differences between the DHA and the control groups for DNA methylation levels at imprinted genes; however in stratified analyses, we observed a positive association between DNA methylation levels and maternal BMI; IGF2 DMR methylation was higher in the DHA than the control groups in infants from overweight mother (p=0.03) and H19 DMR, methylation levels were significantly lower in the DHA than control groups in infants from normal weight mothers (p=0.01). Prenatal DHA supplementation modulated IGF2/H19 methylation in infants and methylation levels at IGF2/H19 imprinted regions were related with maternal BMI. Epigenetic mechanism may be modulated by DHA with potential impacts on growth and development of children.
Constant-Delay and Constant-Feedback Moving Window Network Coding for Wireless Multicast: Design and Asymptotic Analysis

A major challenge of wireless multicast is being able to support a large number of users while simultaneously maintaining low delay and low feedback overhead. In this paper, we develop a joint coding and feedback scheme named moving window network coding with anonymous feedback (MWNC-AF) that simultaneously achieves constant decoding delay and constant feedback overhead, irrespective of the number of receivers n, without sacrificing either throughput or reliability. We explicitly characterize the asymptotic decay rate of the tail probability of the decoding delay and prove that injecting a fixed amount of information bits into the MWNC-AF encoder buffer in each time slot (called “constant data injection process”) achieves the fastest decay rate, thus showing how to obtain delay optimality in a large deviation sense. We then investigate the average decoding delay of MWNC-AF and show that, when the traffic load approaches capacity, the average decoding delay under the constant injection process is at most one half of that under a Bernoulli injection process. We prove that the per-packet encoding and decoding complexities of MWNC-AF both scale as O(logn) and are thus insensitive to the increase of the number of receivers n. Our simulations further underscore the performance of our scheme through comparisons with existing schemes and show that the delay, encoding, and decoding complexities are low even for a large number of receivers, demonstrating the efficiency, scalability, and ease of implementability of MWNC-AF.
Cognitive and Emotional Predictors of Female Sexual Dysfunctions: Preliminary Findings

The influence of cognitive and emotional variables on specific female sexual dysfunctions was investigated. A total of 207 women (160 without sexual problems and 47 with a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) diagnosis of sexual dysfunction) answered a set of questionnaires assessing cognitive and emotional variables (cognitive schemas activated in sexual context – Questionnaire of Cognitive Schema Activation in Sexual Context (QCSASC); sexual beliefs – Sexual Dysfunctional Beliefs Questionnaire (SDBQ); automatic thoughts and emotions presented during sexual activity – Sexual Modes Questionnaire (SMQ)); and sexual functioning (Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI)). Results indicated that most women with sexual dysfunction activate incompetence schemas when facing unsuccessful sexual situations. Additionally, lack of erotic thoughts and increased attentional focus on failure and disengagement thoughts during sexual activity were also common in the clinical sample. Besides these common factors, results showed that some specific cognitive and emotional factors are associated with different clinical presentations. Sexual conservative beliefs seem to be closely related to hypoactive sexual desire and to a certain extent to arousal difficulties in women. Body image beliefs and automatic thoughts focusing on self-body appearance seem to be strongly associated with orgasmic disorder. Regarding emotions, fear was one of the best predictors of vaginismus, whereas sadness, disillusion, guilt, and lack of pleasure and satisfaction were closely associated to hypoactive sexual desire. Overall, these findings may contribute to the discussion regarding the treatment strategies used for the different female sexual dysfunctions.