Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The impact of the interventionist-participant relationship on treatment adherence and weight loss.

Little is known about the impact of the relationship built between interventionists and their participants on weight loss. Our objective is to determine whether stronger early (i.e., 4 weeks) participant-interventionist bond is associated with significantly greater weight loss success and treatment adherence. Three hundred and ninety-eight participants received an online group behavioral weight control program over 18 months. Weight was measured objectively at baseline and at 6 and 18 months. At 4 weeks, participants completed the Working Alliance Inventory (WAI) bonding subscale, which measures the collaborative bond with the interventionist. Adherence (i.e., session attendance and online self-monitoring diary completion) was recorded by the interventionists. Participant-interventionist bond at 4 weeks was significantly associated with weight loss at 6 months (t(322) = -2.14, p = . 03) but not at 18 months (t(290) = 0.53, p = . 60). The model indicated that participant-interventionist bond at 4 weeks was a significant predictor of adherence at 6 months (b = .063, standard error [SE] = .30, p = .04), and 6 month adherence was a significant predictor of weight loss at 6 months (b = -.594, SE = .049, p < .0001). The indirect effect of the WAI-Bond subscale was significant (b = -.037, p = .03, 95% confidence interval: -.074, -.002) and accounted for 54% of the total effect of participant-interventionist bond on weight loss. However, the total weight loss explained by WAI-Bond subscale was small (0.04 kg). Participant-interventionist bond between participant and interventionist is an early predictor of treatment adherence and weight loss success at 6 months; however, the degree of weight loss explained by participant-interventionist bond is small and was not maintained at 18 months.
Effects of Time of Day and Sleep Deprivation on Motorcycle-Driving Performance

The aim of this study was to investigate whether motorcycle handling capabilities – measured by means of the efficiency of emergency manoeuvres – were dependent on prior sleep deprivation and time of day. Twelve male participants voluntarily took part in four test sessions, starting at 6 a.m., 10 a.m., 2 p.m. , and 6 p.m. , following a night either with or without sleep. Each test session comprised temperature and sleepiness measurements, before three different types of motorcycling tests were initiated: (1) stability in straight ahead riding at low speed (in “slow motion” mode and in “brakes and clutch” mode), (2) emergency braking and (3) crash avoidance tasks performed at 20 kph and 40 kph. The results indicate that motorcycle control at low speed depends on time of day, with an improvement in performance throughout the day. Emergency braking performance is affected at both speeds by time of day, with poorer performance (longer total stopping distance, reaction time and braking distance) in the morning, and also by sleep deprivation, from measurements obtained at 40 kph (incorrect initial speed). Except for a tendency observed after the sleepless night to deviate from the initial speed, it seems that crash avoidance capabilities are quite unaffected by the two disturbance factors. Consequently, some motorcycle handling capabilities (stability at low speed and emergency braking) change in the same way as the diurnal fluctuation observed in body temperature and sleepiness, whereas for others (crash avoidance) the participants were able to maintain their initial performance level despite the high levels of sleepiness recorded after a sleepless night. Motorcycle riders have to be aware that their handling capabilities are limited in the early morning and/or after sleep deprivation. Both these situations can increase the risk of falls and of being involved in a road accident.
Simple and Selective HPLC-UV/Vis Bioanalytical Method to Determine Aluminum Phthalocyanine Chloride in Skin Permeation Studies

Considering the feasibility of the aluminum phthalocyanine chloride (AlPcCl) application in the topical photodynamic therapy of cutaneous tumors and the lack of HPLC methods capable of supporting skin permeation experiments using this compound, the aim of this study was to obtain a simple and selective chromatographic method for AlPcCl determination in skin matrices. A HPLC-UV/Vis method was developed using a normal-phase column operating at 30°C, an isocratic mobile phase of methanol : phosphoric acid (0.01 M) at 1.5 mL/min, and detection at 670 nm. The method exhibited (i) selectivity against various contaminants found in the different skin layers, (ii) high drug extraction capacity from the hair follicle (>70%) and remaining skin (>80%), and (iii) low limits of detection and of quantification (0.03 and 0.09 μg/mL, resp.). The method was also linear in the range from 0.1 to 5.0 µg/mL (r = 0.9994) and demonstrated robustness with regard to experimental chromatographic parameters according to a factorial design. Lastly, the developed method was successfully tested in in vitro skin permeation studies of AlPcCl, proving its effectiveness in the development of pharmaceutical delivery systems containing this drug for topical photodynamic therapy of skin cancers.
Association between sarcopenia and hearing thresholds in postmenopausal women

Background: Given the association between metabolic disturbance and sarcopenia, sarcopenia may be intrinsically associated with the prevalence of HL. However, few studies describe the association between sarcopenia and HL. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical association between sarcopenia and HL in postmenopausal Korean women. Patients and Methods: A total of 4,038 women were ultimately included in this study. All participants were postmenopausal. Participants were divided into two groups based on criteria from the Foundation for the National Institute of Health Sarcopenia Project: a normal group (sarcopenia index ≥ 0.512) and a sarcopenia group (sarcopenia index < 0.512). Low-frequency (Low-Freq), mid-frequency (Mid-Freq), and high-frequency (High-Freq) values were obtained. The average hearing threshold (AHT) was calculated as the pure tone average at the 4 frequencies of 0.5 kHz, 1 kHz, 2 kHz, and 3 kHz. Mild HL was as an AHT of 24 to 40 dB; moderate-to-profound HL was defined as an AHT of 40 dB or greater. Results: Of the 4,038 participants, 272 (6.7%) were allocated to the sarcopenia group, leaving 3,766 (93.3%) in the normal group. The groups differed significantly in terms of having hypertension (775 [20.6%] vs. 108 [39.7%]; P < 0.001) or metabolic syndrome (817 [21.7%] vs. 110 [40.4%]; P < 0.001) in the normal and sarcopenia groups, respectively. Visceral fat area (cm3) in the normal and sarcopenia groups was 99.0 ± 21.9 cm3 and 117.0 ± 21.8 cm3 , respectively (P < 0.001). The hsCRP level was higher in the sarcopenia group than in the normal group. For univariate and multivariate analyses, all 4 hearing thresholds were higher in the sarcopenia group than in the normal group. In addition, linear regression analyses showed Low-Freq, Mid-Freq, and High-Freq to be inversely correlated with the sarcopenia index. The unadjusted OR for mild HL was 2.692 (95% CI, 1.963-3.692; P < 0.001) in the sarcopenia group relative to the normal group, with an adjusted OR of 1.584 (95% CI, 1.131-2.217; P = 0.007). The unadjusted OR for moderate-to-profound HL in the sarcopenia group relative to the normal group was 6.246 (95% CI, 4.530-8.612; P < 0.001); the adjusted OR was 2.667 (95% CI, 1.866-3.812; P < 0.001). Conclusion: Sarcopenia may be associated with HL. It may be beneficial to perform screening audiometry in patients with sarcopenia.
Double abdomen in a short-germ insect: Zygotic control of axis formation revealed in the beetle Tribolium castaneum

Significance One of the first crucial steps of animal development is to distinguish the anterior versus the posterior pole of the embryo, i.e., the AP axis. If this process fails, embryos may develop two mirror image tails or heads. In the fly Drosophila, the mother provides the signals required for AP axis formation, while in vertebrates, gene activity of the embryo is required as well. We identified two genes whose knockdown leads to double-tail phenotypes in the beetle Tribolium, representing the insect-typical short-germ embryogenesis. Intriguingly, embryo polarity depends on zygotic gene activities and Wnt signaling. Hence, short-germ insect axis formation is more similar to vertebrates than the mechanism employed by Drosophila. The distinction of anterior versus posterior is a crucial first step in animal embryogenesis. In the fly Drosophila, this axis is established by morphogenetic gradients contributed by the mother that regulate zygotic target genes. This principle has been considered to hold true for insects in general but is fundamentally different from vertebrates, where zygotic genes and Wnt signaling are required. We investigated symmetry breaking in the beetle Tribolium castaneum, which among insects represents the more ancestral short-germ embryogenesis. We found that maternal Tc-germ cell-less is required for anterior localization of maternal Tc-axin, which represses Wnt signaling and promotes expression of anterior zygotic genes. Both RNAi targeting Tc-germ cell-less or double RNAi knocking down the zygotic genes Tc-homeobrain and Tc-zen1 led to the formation of a second growth zone at the anterior, which resulted in double-abdomen phenotypes. Conversely, interfering with two posterior factors, Tc-caudal and Wnt, caused double-anterior phenotypes. These findings reveal that maternal and zygotic mechanisms, including Wnt signaling, are required for establishing embryo polarity and induce the segmentation clock in a short-germ insect.
Analysis and design of discrete‐time charge domain filters with complex conjugate poles

This paper proposes a discrete‐time charge domain filter that achieves complex conjugate poles in the transfer function of the filter. To achieve complex conjugate poles, local feedbacks are inserted around two successive discrete‐time integrators. The feedback path is implemented through a transconductance cell which applies a continuous time current into the integrators. Analytical models have been proposed to approximate the behavior of the filter. These models confirm that the structure is capable of realizing complex poles and thus can be used to synthesize any type of filter structures such as Butterworth, Chebysheve, etc. To show the effectiveness of the proposed architecture, Butterworth filters of order 2 and 4 operating at 50MS/s are designed and implemented in 180‐nm CMOS technology with 1.8‐V power supply. The effect of circuit nonidealities on the performance of the filter is analyzed and verified through simulations. Simulation results show that a conventional charge domain filter can be simply extended to implement complex conjugate poles while the noise and linearity performance of the filter are also improved. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Metabolomic analysis of 92 pulmonary embolism patients from a nested case–control study identifies metabolites associated with adverse clinical outcomes

Essentials Risk‐stratification often fails to predict clinical deterioration in pulmonary embolism (PE). First‐ever high‐throughput metabolomics analysis of risk‐stratified PE patients. Changes in circulating metabolites reflect a compromised energy metabolism in PE. Metabolites play a key role in the pathophysiology and risk stratification of PE.
Inferring user's search activity using interaction logs and gaze data

Providing an individual user support regarding the current search activity is crucial for adaptive information retrieval systems but requires a reliable identification of user activities. Such a reliable and robust classification would also help to characterize and analyze complex search behavior of users and enable us to build more advanced information-companion technologies that can support users individually in retrieving and organizing information. In order to develop classification models, in this paper we investigate the validity of interaction features and model structures. We provide a methodology for user models utilizing data from interaction logs and eye tracking to classify the two search activities exploratory search and multitasking search. To identify adequate models and features we use a statistical framework that enables us to select relevant parameters that are useful to understand the current search activity while holding discriminative properties between the activities. The model achieved a classification rate of 89.32%.
Novel Aquaporin Regulatory Mechanisms Revealed by Interactomics*

PIP1;2 and PIP2;1 are aquaporins that are highly expressed in roots and bring a major contribution to root water transport and its regulation by hormonal and abiotic factors. Interactions between cellular proteins or with other macromolecules contribute to forming molecular machines. Proteins that molecularly interact with PIP1;2 and PIP2;1 were searched to get new insights into regulatory mechanisms of root water transport. For that, a immuno-purification strategy coupled to protein identification and quantification by mass spectrometry (IP-MS) of PIPs was combined with data from the literature, to build thorough PIP1;2 and PIP2;1 interactomes, sharing about 400 interacting proteins. Such interactome revealed PIPs to behave as a platform for recruitment of a wide range of transport activities and provided novel insights into regulation of PIP cellular trafficking by osmotic and oxidative treatments. This work also pointed a role of lipid signaling in PIP function and enhanced our knowledge of protein kinases involved in PIP regulation. In particular we show that 2 members of the receptor-like kinase (RLK) family (RKL1 (At1g48480) and Feronia (At3g51550)) differentially modulate PIP activity through distinct molecular mechanisms. The overall work opens novel perspectives in understanding PIP regulatory mechanisms and their role in adjustment of plant water status.
On using implied values in EDT-based test compression

On-chip test compression has quickly established itself as one of the mainstream design-for-test (DFT) methodologies. It assumes that a tester delivers test patterns in a compressed form, and on-chip decompressors expand them into actual data loaded into scan chains. This paper presents a new and comprehensive method to boost performance of sequential test compression and ATPG operations. The approach is primarily aimed at reducing CPU time associated with generating and compressing test patterns. It prevents ATPG from assigning specified values to many inputs in order to cut down a time-consuming backtracking process needed to resolve conflicts leading to compression aborts. The proposed scheme efficiently combines test compression constraints with ATPG. Experimental results obtained for industrial designs illustrate feasibility of the proposed scheme and are reported herein.
An alternative approach to multiple testing for methylation QTL mapping reduces the proportion of falsely identified CpGs

INTRODUCTION An increasing number of studies investigates the influence of local genetic variation on DNA methylation levels, so-called in cis methylation quantitative trait loci (meQTLs). A common multiple testing approach in genome-wide cis meQTL studies limits the false discovery rate (FDR) among all CpG-SNP pairs to 0.05 and reports on CpGs from the significant CpG-SNP pairs. However, a statistical test for each CpG is not performed, potentially increasing the proportion of CpGs falsely reported on. Here, we presented an alternative approach that properly control for multiple testing at the CpG level. RESULTS We performed cis meQTL mapping for varying window sizes using publicly available single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and 450 kb data, extracting the CpGs from the significant CpG-SNP pairs ([Formula: see text]). Using a new bait-and-switch simulation approach, we show that up to 50% of the CpGs found in the simulated data may be false-positive results. We present an alternative two-step multiple testing approach using the Simes and Benjamini-Hochberg procedures that does control the FDR among the CpGs, as confirmed by the bait-and-switch simulation. This approach indicates the use of window sizes in cis meQTL mapping studies that are significantly smaller than commonly adopted. DISCUSSION Our approach to cis meQTL mapping properly controls the FDR at the CpG level, is computationally fast and can also be applied to cis eQTL studies. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION An examplary R script for performing the Simes procedure is available as supplementary material. CONTACT e.w. van_zwet@lumc.nl or b.t. heijmans@lumc.nl SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FERTILITY AND SCROTAL-TESTICULAR ULTRASONOGRAMS IN YOUNG EGYPTIAN BUFFALO BULLS

The present study aimed to evaluate some scrotal-testicular ultrasonography measurements in relation with semen quality of buffalo bulls at early ages. A total of 12 buffalo bull calves having 140-160 kg live body weight and aged 11-17 months were used in this study. Three ultrasonography examinations were performed at four age categories (11, 13, 15 and 17 mo) to estimate scrotal circumference (SC) and thickness of testicular mediastinum (MS) using B-mode ultrasound scanner. The testicular ultrasonograms were analyzed with the ultrasound machine using the spot metering technique, then mean pixel intensity values (PV, scale: 0-255) was calculated. Semen was collected at the same age categories and evaluated for ejaculate volume (EV), and percentage of mass motility (MM), dead sperm (DS) and abnormal sperm (AS) as well as sperm concentration (CN), then total sperm output (TSO) was calculated. Correlation coefficients for ultrasonography measurements and semen parameters were calculated. Results showed that SC, MS and PV were not affected significantly by age category, although there was a tendency of increase in SC and MS, and reduction in PV by increasing age category. EV and percentage of MM, DS and AS increased (P 2 mm and PV of >141had better semen quality than those with ≤2 mm and ≤140 as MS and PV, respectively (P>0.05). The strongest correlation was positive between age and pixel value (r = 0.776, P<0.01). Based on the obtained results in the current study, it would be valuable to evidence the relationship between scrotal-testicular ultrasonography examination and future fertility based on developmental parameters measured in the young buffalo bull calves at early postpubertal ages.
Chemical genetic discovery of PARP targets reveals a role for PARP-1 in transcription elongation

Mapping ADP-ribosylation by PARPs During many cell processes, ADP-ribose is transferred from NAD+ onto protein substrates by poly(ADP-ribose) polymerases (PARPs). Gibson et al. developed a method to track ribose transfer events and mapped hundreds of sites of ADP-ribosylation for PARPs 1, 2, and 3 across the proteome and genome. One PARP-1 target is NELF, a protein complex that regulates pausing by RNA polymerase II. If NELF is ribosylated, pausing is released and productive transcription elongation resumes. Science, this issue p. 45 An NAD+ analog-sensitive poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase reveals key proteins and genomic loci ADP-ribosylated by PARPs for gene regulation. Poly[adenosine diphosphate (ADP)–ribose] polymerases (PARPs) are a family of enzymes that modulate diverse biological processes through covalent transfer of ADP-ribose from the oxidized form of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) onto substrate proteins. Here we report a robust NAD+ analog–sensitive approach for PARPs, which allows PARP-specific ADP-ribosylation of substrates that is suitable for subsequent copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition reactions. Using this approach, we mapped hundreds of sites of ADP-ribosylation for PARPs 1, 2, and 3 across the proteome, as well as thousands of PARP-1–mediated ADP-ribosylation sites across the genome. We found that PARP-1 ADP-ribosylates and inhibits negative elongation factor (NELF), a protein complex that regulates promoter-proximal pausing by RNA polymerase II (Pol II). Depletion or inhibition of PARP-1 or mutation of the ADP-ribosylation sites on NELF-E promotes Pol II pausing, providing a clear functional link between PARP-1, ADP-ribosylation, and NELF. This analog-sensitive approach should be broadly applicable across the PARP family and has the potential to illuminate the ADP-ribosylated proteome and the molecular mechanisms used by individual PARPs to mediate their responses to cellular signals.
Regulating the Emission Spectrum of CsPbBr3 from Green to Blue via Controlling the Temperature and Velocity of Microchannel Reactor

The ability to precisely obtain tunable spectrum of lead halide perovskite quantum dots (QDs) is very important for applications, such as in lighting and display. Herein, we report a microchannel reactor method for synthesis of CsPbBr3 QDs with tunable spectrum. By adjusting the temperature and velocity of the microchannel reactor, the emission peaks of CsPbBr3 QDs ranging from 520 nm to 430 nm were obtained, which is wider than that of QDs obtained in a traditional flask without changing halide component. The mechanism of photoluminescence (PL) spectral shift of CsPbBr3 QDs was investigated, the result shows that the supersaturation control enabled by the superior mass and heat transfer performance in the microchannel is the key to achieve the wide range of PL spectrum, with only a change in the setting of the temperature controller required. The wide spectrum of CsPbBr3 QDs can be applied to light-emitting diodes (LEDs), photoelectric sensors, lasers, etc.
Budgeted mini-batch parallel gradient descent for support vector machines on Spark

Mini-batch gradient descent (MBGD) is an attractive choice for support vector machines (SVM), because processing part of examples at a time is advantageous when disposing large data. Similar to other SVM learning algorithms, MBGD is vulnerable to the curse of kernelization when equipped with kernel functions, which results in unbounded linear growth in model size and update time with data size. This paper presents a budgeted mini-batch parallel gradient descent algorithm (BMBPGD) for large-scale kernel SVM training which can run efficiently on Apache Spark. Spark is a fast and general engine for large-scale data processing which is originally intended to deal with iterative algorithms. BMBPGD algorithm has constant space and time complexity per update. It uses removal budget maintenance method to keep the number of support vectors (SVs). The experiment results show that BMBPGD achieves higher accuracy than SVMWithSGD algorithm in MLlib on Spark environment, and it takes much shorter time than LibSVM.