Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Microflora Disturbance during Progression of Glucose Intolerance and Effect of Sitagliptin: An Animal Study

Background. Emerging evidences have shown a close interplay between obesity, diabetes, and intestinal flora disturbance. Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor, exemplified by sitagliptin, is highly efficacious in treating type 2 diabetes (T2DM), yet little is known if sitagliptin exerts beneficial effects on microbiota associated with obesity and T2DM. We evaluated changes of gut microbiota following the induction of obesity and T2DM in a streptozotocin treated high fat/high carbohydrate fed (HF/HC-STZ) rat model and explored the effect of sitagliptin on gut microbiota for HF/HC-STZ rats. Methods. Sitagliptin was administered via oral gavage to diabetic rats. Fecal DNA extraction and 454 pyrosequencing based on analysis of 16S rRNA genes was utilized to determine the overall structure of microbiota in fecal DNA samples. Results. Results showed that, at the level of phylum, there was higher abundance of Firmicutes and Tenericutes and less abundance of Bacteroidetes in obese rats compared to their lean counterparts. At the level of genus, short-chain fatty acid- (SCFA-) producing bacteria, Blautia, Roseburia, and Clostridium, and probiotics Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, and so forth were identified significantly different from each other among conditions. Conclusion. Marked shifts of the gut microbiota structure were observed in the rats during development of glucose intolerance. Intestinal flora changed in the process of glucose intolerance, and treatment of sitagliptin moderately corrected the dysbiosis of microbiota in T2DM.
Optimal Estimation via Nonanticipative Rate Distortion Function and Applications to Time-Varying Gauss-Markov Processes

In this paper, we develop {finite-time horizon} causal filters using the nonanticipative rate distortion theory. We apply the {developed} theory to {design optimal filters for} time-varying multidimensional Gauss-Markov processes, subject to a mean square error fidelity constraint. We show that such filters are equivalent to the design of an optimal \texttt{\{encoder, channel, decoder\}}, which ensures that the error satisfies {a} fidelity constraint. Moreover, we derive a universal lower bound on the mean square error of any estimator of time-varying multidimensional Gauss-Markov processes in terms of conditional mutual information. Unlike classical Kalman filters, the filter developed is characterized by a reverse-waterfilling algorithm, which ensures {that} the fidelity constraint is satisfied. The theoretical results are demonstrated via illustrative examples.
Serum Leptin Concentration is Associated with Incident Frailty in Older Adults

Obesity has been associated with higher risk of frailty in older adults, but the pathophysiological mechanisms are unclear. No previous study has examined the association between leptin, an adipokine, and the risk of frailty in older adults, and whether this association could be explained by insulin resistance or chronic inflammation. Data were taken from 1,573 individuals without diabetes mellitus, aged ≥60 years, from the Seniors-ENRICA cohort. In 2008-2010, leptin, the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and C-reactive protein (CRP) were measured. Study participants were followed-up through 2012 to assess incident frailty, defined as at least two of the following Fried criteria: exhaustion, weakness, low physical activity, and slow walking speed. Analyses were performed with logistic regression and adjusted for the main confounders. Over a median follow-up of 3.5 years, 280 cases of incident frailty were identified. Compared to individuals in the lowest tertile of serum leptin, those in the highest tertile showed an increased risk of frailty (odds ratio [OR]: 2.12; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.47-3.06; p-trend <0.001). Further adjustment for the percentage of body fat led to an OR of 1.69 (95% CI: 1.11-2.61; p-trend=0.01). After additional adjustment for HOMA-IR and CRP, the OR for frailty was 1.59 (95% CI: 1.01-2.52; p-trend=0.04). Results did not vary according to sex, abdominal obesity or the percentage of body fat. Being in the highest versus lowest tertile of leptin was associated with increased risk of exhaustion (OR: 2.16; 95% CI: 1.32-3.55; p-trend=0.001) and muscle weakness (OR: 1.77; 95% CI: 1.25-2.51; p-trend=0.001), in the analyses adjusted for potential confounders and body fat. Higher leptin concentration was associated with greater risk of frailty in older adults. This association was only modestly explained by insulin resistance and chronic inflammation, as measured by CRP.
Dynamic filopodia are required for chemokine-dependent intracellular polarization during guided cell migration in vivo

Cell migration and polarization is controlled by signals in the environment. Migrating cells typically form filopodia that extend from the cell surface, but the precise function of these structures in cell polarization and guided migration is poorly understood. Using the in vivo model of zebrafish primordial germ cells for studying chemokine-directed single cell migration, we show that filopodia distribution and their dynamics are dictated by the gradient of the chemokine Cxcl12a. By specifically interfering with filopodia formation, we demonstrate for the first time that these protrusions play an important role in cell polarization by Cxcl12a, as manifested by elevation of intracellular pH and Rac1 activity at the cell front. The establishment of this polarity is at the basis of effective cell migration towards the target. Together, we show that filopodia allow the interpretation of the chemotactic gradient in vivo by directing single-cell polarization in response to the guidance cue. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.7554/eLife.05279. 001
Logistics Industry Distribution and City E-commerce in the East Coast Area of China in 2006

With the support of Geoda software, the paper visualized the regional distribution of logistics industry in the East Coast Area (ECA) in China by box map, and analyzed the statistical data of China Logistic Industry by Local Indicators of Spatial Association (LISA) map. Then we discussed E-commerce development in relation to the spatial distribution of logistics industry. In ECA 23 cities that ranked within top 25 on logistics industry scale are ranked within the national top 50 on E-commerce maturity. We identified 4 regions where both logistics and E-commerce are highly developed.
A Proposed Interpretivist Framework to Research the Adoption of Learning Management Systems in Universities

This paper proposes a practical research framework based on activity theory as a lens to research the adoption of learning management systems in tertiary education institutions. Following the identification of the interpretivist paradigm as an appropriate research approach, approaches such structuration theory, actor network theory, or activity theory are briefly considered. The paper then argues that activity theory is a natural fit and it was used but reconceptualized for the context of an academic learning environment to propose an analytical research framework for LMS. In particular, e-Learning can be analysed as a teaching-learning work activity with an objective, mediators, actors, actions, mediator tensions, work activity as a transformation, and the activity outcomes.The paper posits teaching and learning through an LMS as an activity object; sees rules, pedagogy, nature of tasks and social contexts as mediators for the e-learning activity; institution, educators & learners as actor; work activity as transformation and quality learning as activity outcomes.
Acil Durumlara/Afetlere Bireysel Hazırlığı Değerlendirmek için Sağlık Inanç Modeli’ne Dayalı Ölçek Geliştirme.

Bu calismada bireylerin acil duruma/afete hazirlik davranislarini, tutumlarini ve inanclarini guvenilir ve gecerli bir bicimde degerlendirebilecek Saglik Inanc Modeli’ne dayali bir olcegin gelistirilmesi ve acil duruma/afete hazirlikla iliskili aciklayici faktorlerin degerlendirilmesi amaclanmistir. Arastirmaci tarafindan, acil duruma/afete hazirlikla ve Saglik Inanc Modeli ile iliskili onceki calismalara dayali 87 maddeden olusan bir form olusturulmustur. Bu form alan uzmanlarinin gorusune sunulmustur ve yapilan degerlendirme sonrasi, son form 60 maddelik olcek taslagina indirilmistir. 60 maddelik olcek taslagi Nisan 2014-Temmuz 2014 tarihleri arasinda Yalova Universitesi’nin 286 akademik ve idari personeline uygulanmistir. Veri analizi SPSS 17.0 ve LISREL 8.7 programi kullanilarak tamamlanmistir. Madde toplam korelasyonlari sonucunda madde sayisi 33’e dusmustur. Olcegin yapi gecerligini belirlemek amaciyla Temel Bilesenler Faktor Analizi kullanilmistir. Faktor analizi sonucunda 6 faktor grubu elde edilmistir. Bu boyutlari, ‘‘Algilanan Duyarlilik’’, ‘‘Algilanan Ciddiyet’’, ‘‘Algilanan Yarar’’, ‘‘Algilanan Engeller’’, ‘‘Eyleme Geciriciler’’ ve ‘‘Oz Yeterlilik’’ olusturmaktadir. Olcek 0.90 Cronbach Alpha katsayisi ile (butun alt boyutlarin >0.70 oldugu) ic tutarlik guvenirliginin yuksek seviyede oldugunu gostermektedir. Olcegin test-tekrar test guvenirligi r=0.72 p<0.001 olarak belirlenmistir. Toplam puan ortalamasi 109,12±16,00 dir. Olcek alt boyut puan ortalamalari ise ‘‘Algilanan Duyarlilik’’ alt boyutunda 26,57±4,04, ‘‘Algilanan Ciddiyet‘’ alt boyutunda 11,53±2,45, ‘‘Algilanan Yarar’’ alt boyutunda 11,93±1,94, ‘‘Algilanan Engeller’’ alt boyutunda 18,58±4,07, ‘‘Eyleme Geciriciler’’ alt boyutunda 15,80±4,59 ve “Oz Yeterlilik” alt boyutunda ise 24,69±6,35’dir. Calisma sonuclari, 33 maddelik olcegin bireylerin acil duruma/afete hazirliga yonelik davranis, tutum ve inanclarini olcmekte kullanilabilir gecerli ve guvenilir bir arac oldugunu gostermektedir. Olcek farkli sosyodemografik gruplara uygulanmalidir.
DGS based mutual coupling reduction between microstrip patch antenna arrays for WIMAX applications

This paper proposes a technique that is used to decrease the mutual coupling between microstrip patch antenna arrays. The proposed technique involves destructing the ground plane of microstrip patch antenna. Destructive ground structure (DGS) helps to absorb the waves which propagate through ground plane. These waves are known as surface waves. A major contribution of mutual coupling is given by these surface waves. DGS technique is one which reduces the interference of these waves with one other. This technique focuses on reduction of coupling for WIMAX applications at an operating frequency of 3.5 GHZ. This technique seems to be most effective to microstrip patch antennas. The proposed technique leads to the reduced mutual coupling to a greater extent and also results in a reduced antenna size.
The Effect of Bilateral Laminotomy Versus Laminectomy on the Motion and Stiffness of the Human Lumbar Spine: A Biomechanical Comparison

Study Design. A cadaveric simulation model of the lumbar spine was used to study the intervertebral motion characteristics of the lumbar spine after bilateral laminotomy and facet-sparing laminectomy. Objective. To assess differences in motion patterns and lumbar spine stiffness after bilateral laminotomy versus laminectomy. Summary of Background Data. Spondylolisthesis after facet-sparing laminectomy has been reported with a frequency of 8% to 31%. Bilateral laminotomies have been shown to be effective in decompressing the spine, without resection of the posterior osteo-ligamentous complex. We hypothesize that bilateral laminotomies induce significantly less iatrogenic hypermobility and less stiffness reduction than a traditional facet-sparing laminectomy in the lumbar spine. Methods. Six fresh frozen human cadaveric lumbar spines (L1–L5) were mounted into a spine motion simulator for testing. With physiologic follower preload, flexion/extension, lateral bending, and axial rotation moments were applied to the lumbar spine in 3 trials: (1) Intact lumbar spine—no surgery, (2) Lumbar spine after bilateral lumbar laminotomies at L2–L5, (3) Lumbar spine after full laminectomies at L2–L5. The lumbar spine kinematics were measured using a Vicon motion tracking system. Total and segmental range of motion and spine stiffness were recorded. Results. In flexion/extension, bilateral laminotomies resulted in an average increase in L2–L5 range of flexion/extension motion of 14.3%, whereas a full laminectomy resulted in an increase of 32.0% (P < 0.05). Analysis per level demonstrated roughly twofold increase in motion with laminectomy compared with bilateral laminotomies (P < 0.05, at every treated level). Stiffness was decreased by an average of 11.8% after the 3-level-laminotomies and by 27.2% (P < 0.05) after the 3-level-laminectomy. Conclusion. These data demonstrate that bilateral laminotomies induce significantly less hypermobility and less stiffness reduction compared with a full laminectomy. The preservation of the central posterior osteo-ligamentous structures may provide a stabilizing effect in preventing postdecompression spondylolisthesis.
Enhancing effect of tangential vibration on human vibrotactile sensitivity

Vibrotactile sensitivity is usually defined by the minimum amplitude when subjects perceive the vibration with a frequency which generates to the perpendicular direction on the skin surface. In this paper, we are interested in how the vibrotactile sensitivity with a frequency is changed under the condition adding the tangential vibration with the other frequency which generates to the tangential direction on the skin surface. Through all of experiments, we found that the vibrotactile sensitivity at the frequency of 8, 10, and 25 Hz is enhanced approximately 30 % with the p-value of below 0.1 %.
Design of irregular quasi-cyclic LDPC codes based on Euclidean geometries

This paper presents an approach to the construction of low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes based on hyperplanes (μ-flats) of different dimensions in Euclidean geometries. Codes constructed by this method have quasicyclic and irregular structure. The degree distributions of these codes are optimized by the curve fitting approach in the extrinsic information transfer (EXIT) charts. By constraining the fraction of degree-2 nodes, we can lower the error floor at the cost of a small increase in the threshold SNR. Simulation results show that these codes perform very well at both of waterfall region and the error floor region with the iterative decoding.
A cluster-based opinion leader discovery in social network

Recently, opinion leader discovery has drawn much attention due to its widespread applicability. By identifying the opinion leader, companies or governments can manipulate the selling or guiding public opinion, respectively. However, mining opinion leader is a challenge task because of the complexity of processing social graph and analyzing leadership quality. In this study, a novel method, TCOL-Miner, is proposed to efficiently find the opinion leaders from a huge social network. We integrate the clustering and semantic analysis methods with some pruning strategies to tackle the influence overlapping issue and the potential leadership of individuals. The experimental results show that the proposed TCOL-Miner can effectively discover the influenced opinion leaders in different real social networks with efficiency.
Predictors of Treatment Completion and Recidivism Among Intimate Partner Violence Offenders

ABSTRACT This study examined the variables that predicted completion of an AMEND-Emerge-based program designed to treat men (n = 202) who had engaged in intimate partner violence and the rates of recidivism among those who completed versus those who failed to complete the program. Data were collected from an archival database that housed historical and demographic data on each participant; recidivism was determined by accessing publicly available court records, and was defined very broadly as any charges filed within a year after participating in the program. Overall recidivism for this sample was low (22.28%). Demographic factors demonstrated to correctly classify post-treatment recidivism included age, race, and relationship status. Whereas those who completed the program had lower recidivism than non-completers, the differences between those groups in age, race, and relationship status suggest that features of the program may not address the needs of younger African Americans who are not married.
Recommendations in Twitter using conceptual fuzzy sets

Recently, though there are a lot of techniques to rank information there are few studies on how to rank users and thus help to form online communities. We propose the use of a system to recommend the user by analyzing his or her interests, and using Conceptual Fuzzy Sets to expand a query. We show the effectiveness of using Conceptual Fuzzy Sets for recommending users. This can be applied to forming communities.
Adaptive Immunity Alters Distinct Host Feeding Pathways during Nematode Induced Inflammation, a Novel Mechanism in Parasite Expulsion

Gastrointestinal infection is often associated with hypophagia and weight loss; however, the precise mechanisms governing these responses remain poorly defined. Furthermore, the possibility that alterations in feeding during infection may be beneficial to the host requires further study. We used the nematode Trichinella spiralis, which transiently inhabits the small intestine before migrating to skeletal muscle, as a biphasic model of infection to determine the cellular and molecular pathways controlling feeding during enteric and peripheral inflammation. Through the infection of genetically modified mice lacking cholecystokinin, Tumor necrosis factor α receptors and T and B-cells, we observed a biphasic hypophagic response to infection resulting from two separate immune-driven mechanisms. The enteroendocrine I-cell derived hormone cholecystokinin is an essential mediator of initial hypophagia and is induced by CD4+ T-cells during enteritis. In contrast, the second hypophagic response is extra-intestinal and due to the anorectic effects of TNFα during peripheral infection of the muscle. Moreover, via maintaining naive levels of the adipose secreted hormone leptin throughout infection we demonstrate a novel feedback loop in the immunoendocrine axis. Immune driven I-cell hyperplasia and resultant weight loss leads to a reduction in the inflammatory adipokine leptin, which in turn heightens protective immunity during infection. These results characterize specific immune mediated mechanisms which reduce feeding during intestinal or peripheral inflammation. Importantly, the molecular mediators of each phase are entirely separate. The data also introduce the first evidence that I-cell hyperplasia is an adaptively driven immune response that directly impinges on the outcome to infection.
Limiting cache-based side-channel in multi-tenant cloud using dynamic page coloring

Multi-tenant cloud, which features utility-like computing resources to tenants in a “pay-as-you-go” style, has been commercially popular for years. As one of the sole purposes of such a cloud is maximizing resource usages to increase its revenue, it usually uses virtualization to consolidate VMs from different and even mutually-malicious tenants atop a powerful physical machine. This, however, also enables a malicious tenant to steal security-critical information such as crypto keys from victims, due to the shared physical resources such as caches. In this paper, we show that stealing crypto keys in a virtualized cloud may be a real threat by evaluating a cache-based side-channel attack against an encryption process. To mitigate such attacks while not notably degrading performance, we propose an approach that leverages dynamic cache coloring: when an application is doing security-sensitive operations, the VMM is notified to swap the associated data to a safe and isolated cache line. This approach may eliminate cache-based side-channel for security-critical operations, yet ensure efficient resource sharing during normal operations. We demonstrate the applicability by illustrating a preliminary implementation based on Xen and its performance overhead.
A treelet transform analysis to relate nutrient patterns to the risk of hormonal receptor-defined breast cancer in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)

Abstract Objective Pattern analysis has emerged as a tool to depict the role of multiple nutrients/foods in relation to health outcomes. The present study aimed at extracting nutrient patterns with respect to breast cancer (BC) aetiology. Design Nutrient patterns were derived with treelet transform (TT) and related to BC risk. TT was applied to twenty-three log-transformed nutrient densities from dietary questionnaires. Hazard ratios (HR) and 95 % confidence intervals computed using Cox proportional hazards models quantified the association between quintiles of nutrient pattern scores and risk of overall BC, and by hormonal receptor and menopausal status. Principal component analysis was applied for comparison. Setting The European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). Subjects Women (n 334 850) from the EPIC study. Results The first TT component (TC1) highlighted a pattern rich in nutrients found in animal foods loading on cholesterol, protein, retinol, vitamins B12 and D, while the second TT component (TC2) reflected a diet rich in β-carotene, riboflavin, thiamin, vitamins C and B6, fibre, Fe, Ca, K, Mg, P and folate. While TC1 was not associated with BC risk, TC2 was inversely associated with BC risk overall (HRQ5 v. Q1=0·89, 95 % CI 0·83, 0·95, P trend<0·01) and showed a significantly lower risk in oestrogen receptor-positive (HRQ5 v. Q1=0·89, 95 % CI 0·81, 0·98, P trend=0·02) and progesterone receptor-positive tumours (HRQ5 v. Q1=0·87, 95 % CI 0·77, 0·98, P trend<0·01). Conclusions TT produces readily interpretable sparse components explaining similar amounts of variation as principal component analysis. Our results suggest that participants with a nutrient pattern high in micronutrients found in vegetables, fruits and cereals had a lower risk of BC.
Scoring of alternative routes using implicit building topologies

Currently navigation in indoor scenarios enjoys a highly increasing popularity. Besides that, there are numerous applications that utilize alternatives to a particular path. Think of a navigation system that proposes a mall's visitor three different routes: the fastest, a route passing restaurants, and a route traversing shops. Thus, the visitor is able to choose a route by personal preference or experience. Further users of alternative routes can be fire fighters, mobile robots, or nonplayer characters in video games. In contrast to navigation in road networks, there are several challenges to solve in indoor scenarios. First, the creation of alternative routes is not much discussed in literature. Second, due to the high degree of freedom there is a large number of alternative routes possible regarding a reference path. Third, there is no proper understanding of how to measure the meaningfulness or quality of an alternative route. This paper is a step towards the evaluation of alternative routes in indoor navigation scenarios and has got two main contributions. First, we propose to use the term congestion probability as a first common understanding to estimate the meaningfulness of alternative routes inside buildings. Most of the indoor use cases are looking for routes that either seek or avoid crowded areas - at least as one of multiple criteria. Additionally, we propose to score alternative routes based on a local and a global perception. The paper's second contribution is an algorithm that scores a set of alternative routes based on an ordinary floor plan. Thus, it compares a formerly non-valuated set of routes and creates a ranking regarding the congestion probability. Basically, the algorithm is based on the assumption that points on a map, that are frequently located on shortest paths, will also be frequently traversed. Due to the lack of appropriate data sets we discuss the algorithm's results in detail by means of four different indoor scenarios.