Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An Interleukin-6 Promoter Variant Is Not Associated with an Increased Risk for Alzheimer’s Disease

Recent studies have implicated interleukin-6 (IL-6) in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Neuro-inflammatory processes surrounding the amyloid plaques contribute to the progression of AD-related neurodegeneration. IL-6 is a multifunctional inflammatory cytokine which possibly acts as a mediator in the local immune response in the brain of AD patients. In this study we investigated whether the risk of developing AD is altered in carriers of the C allele of a G/C polymorphism at position –174. 113 AD patients and 108 age- and gender-matched nondemented control subjects were analysed. Genotyping of IL-6 was performed using standard PCR and restriction fragment length polymorphism methods. The results were adjusted for age, gender and apolipoprotein E Ε4 status. There was no evidence for an association between the polymorphism and the risk of developing AD. No evidence of an earlier age at onset for carriers of the C allele was evaluated. We conclude that IL-6 (–174) polymorphism does not influence the risk of developing AD in our cohort.
Molecular Analysis of Gene Amplification in Tumors

Detection of gene amplification in human cancer cells has both clinical and biological importance. Amplified genes can be classified in one of two categoriesas oncogenes or as genes conferring drug resistance. Both types of gene amplification may alter clinical management of the patient. The basic protocol describes preparation and quantitation of DNA from tumor tissue and the use of conventional Southern blot hybridization analysis to detect and quantify gene amplification. The first alternate protocol provides an approach to quickly screen tumor samples for gene amplification using slot blot hybridization analysis. The second alternate protocol describes the use of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for analyzing tumors that may be difficult to analyze because of degradation or limited amounts of DNA. A explains the proper methods for obtaining, processing, storing, and shipping tumor tissue for DNA analysis.
Toward an Ecologically Optimized N:P Recovery from Wastewater by Microalgae

Global stores of important resources such as phosphorus (P) are being rapidly depleted, while the excessive use of nutrients has led to the enrichment of surface waters worldwide. Ideally, nutrients would be recovered from wastewater, which will not only prevent eutrophication but also provide access to alternative nutrient stores. Current state-of-the-art wastewater treatment technologies are effective in removing these nutrients from wastewater, yet they can only recover P and often in an insufficient way. Microalgae, however, can effectively assimilate P and nitrogen (N), as well as other macro- and micronutrients, allowing these nutrients to be recovered into valuable products that can be used to close nutrient cycles (e.g., fertilizer, bioplastics, color dyes, and bulk chemicals). Here, we show that the green alga Chlorella sorokiniana is able to remove all inorganic N and P present in concentrated toilet wastewater (i.e., black water) with N:P ratios ranging between 15 and 26. However, the N and P uptake by the algae is imbalanced relative to the wastewater N:P stoichiometry, resulting in a rapid removal of P but relatively slower removal of N. Here, we discuss how ecological principles such as ecological stoichiometry and resource-ratio theory may help optimize N:P removal and allow for more effective recovery of N and P from black water.
A 28-/37-/39-GHz Linear Doherty Power Amplifier in Silicon for 5G Applications

This paper presents the first 28-/37-/39-GHz linear Doherty power amplifier (PA) in silicon for broadband fifth-generation (5G) applications. We introduce a new transformer-based on-chip Doherty power combiner that can reduce the impedance transformation ratio (ITR) in power back-off (PBO) and, thus, improve the bandwidth and power-combining efficiency. We also devise a “driver-PA co-design” method that creates power-dependent uneven feeding in the Doherty PA and enhances the Doherty operation without any hardware overhead or bandwidth compromise. For the proof of concept, we implement a 28-/37-/39-GHz PA fully integrated in a standard 130-nm SiGe BiCMOS process, which occupies 1.8 mm<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$^{\mathbf {2}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>. The PA achieves a 52% −3-dB small-signal <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\text{S}_{\mathbf {21}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> bandwidth and a 40% −1-dB large-signal saturated output power (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\text{P}_{\mathbf {sat}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) bandwidth. At 28/37/39 GHz, the PA achieves +16.8−/+17.1−/+17-dBm <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\text{P}_{\mathbf {sat}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>, +15.2−/+15.5−/+15.4-dBm <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\text{P}_{\mathbf {1\,dB}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>, and superior 1.72/1.92/1.62 times efficiency enhancement over class-B operation at 5.9-/6-/6.7-dB PBO. Moreover, the PA demonstrates multi-gigabit-per-second data rates with excellent efficiency and linearity for 64-quadrature amplitude modulation (64-QAM) in three millimeter-wave (mm-wave) 5G bands. This PA advances the state of the art for Doherty, wideband, and 5G silicon PAs in mm-wave bands. It supports drop-in upgrade for current PAs in existing mm-wave systems and opens doors to compact system solutions for future multiband 5G massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) and phased-array platforms.
Luciferase Detection during Stationary Phase in Lactococcus lactis

ABSTRACT The luminescence signal of luxAB-encoded bacterial luciferase strongly depends on the metabolic state of the host cell, which restricts the use of this reporter system to metabolically active bacteria. Here we show that in stationary-phase cells of Lactococcus lactis, detection of luciferase is significantly improved by the addition of riboflavin or flavin mononucleotide to whole-cell assay systems.
Association between a history of falls and the ability to multi-task in community-dwelling older people.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Many older people fall when they perform tasks which require increased attention. The aim of this study was to determine differences in reaction times, during simple-, dual- and triple-task conditions requiring differing levels of motor coordination, balance control and cognitive attention, between groups of fallers and non-fallers in community-dwelling older individuals. METHODS The study involved the recruitment of 87 older individuals living at home, 57 women and 30 men aged 75 to 91 years. Reaction times, measured by pushing a handheld button as quickly as possible in response to a visual stimulus, were measured in four conditions: 1) quiet standing (simple-task); 2) counting backward during quiet standing (dual-task with cognitive demand); 3) stepping in place (dual-task with balance demand); and 4) counting backward while stepping in place (triple-task with cognitive and balance demands). RESULTS Twenty-nine (33.3%) participants had fallen at least once during the past year. There were no statistically significant differences in reaction times between non-fallers and fallers during any of the tasks. Reaction times were significantly longer during the dual- and triple-tasks compared with the simple-task conditions in both groups. The ratio between reaction times during dual-tasks with balance demands (stepping in place) and those in the simple-task condition were significantly related to a history of falls and showed the highest odds ratio (OR 3.16, 95% CI 1.06- 9.45, p=0.04). CONCLUSIONS Relative changes in reaction times during a dual-task with balance demands were related to a history of falls in community-dwelling older individuals. Reaction times in dual-task conditions with a balance demand were more sensitive to past falls than those during a dual-task with cognitive demands.
Validation of Two and Three-Dimensional Radiographic Techniques for Measuring Polyethylene Wear After Total Hip Arthroplasty

Background: Three-dimensional radiographic techniques have been developed to estimate in vivo polyethylene wear of total hip replacements. We are not aware of any published study examining the accuracy of these in vivo methods. Our objective was to validate two radiographic techniques by comparing their results with those obtained directly from retrieved specimens. Methods: A coordinate measuring machine was used to probe the interior bearing surface of seventeen acetabular liners that had been retrieved at revision surgery. Solid models were created to determine volumetric polyethylene loss and linear depth and direction of wear. Two in vivo radiographic techniques (PolyWare and the Martell Hip Analysis Suite) were used to calculate two-dimensional linear, three-dimensional linear, and volumetric wear. The radiographic analysis was done independently, and the results were compared with the known values of polyethylene wear derived with use of the coordinate measuring machine. Results: Correlation coefficients comparing the values for two-dimensional and three-dimensional linear wear and volumetric wear derived with the PolyWare radiographic technique with the values derived with the coordinate measuring machine were r 2 = 0.78, r 2 = 0.75, and r 2 = 0.91, respectively (all p < 0.001), and the correlation coefficients comparing the values derived with the Martell Hip Analysis Suite radiographic technique with those derived with the coordinate measuring machine were r 2 = 0.80, r 2 = 0.84, and r 2 = 0.91, respectively (p < 0.001). The average absolute difference between the radiographic estimates and the results derived with the coordinate measuring machine was approximately 19% (range, 13% to 24%). Conclusions: There was good agreement between the wear estimates made with both in vivo techniques and the measurements of the retrieved polyethylene liners made with the coordinate measuring machine. Two-dimensional wear analysis (based on anteroposterior radiographs) accounted for most of the polyethylene wear, while one technique of three-dimensional wear analysis (PolyWare) demonstrated some additional wear in the lateral plane. Clinical Relevance: The use of two-dimensional measurements, based solely on an anteroposterior radiograph, may suffice in the clinical setting. In this series, these techniques detected relatively large changes in femoral head penetration.
Genótipos de apolipoproteínas e ingestão de macronutrientes em idosas modulam o risco cardiovascular expresso pela lipemia sérica de jejum.

Varios aspectos do metabolismo lipidico sao importantes fatores de risco para a aterogenese, e consequentemente, para o desenvolvimento de doencas cardiovasculares. Dislipidemias estao entre os principais fatores de risco, e estas podem ocorrer devido ingestao inadequada de macronutrientes e/ou predisposicao genetica. Estudos mostram que proteinas responsaveis pelo transporte de lipidios para orgaos-alvo, principalmente apolipoproteinas, podem apresentar polimorfismos genicos que predisponham aos disturbios lipemicos. Esse estudo se destina a investigar se ha associacao de genotipos das apolipoproteinas E, A-V e B e da ingestao de macronutrientes com variaveis lipemicas de idosas brasileiras. Casuistica: estudo transversal, com amostra de 252 idosas (60 anos ou mais), moradoras dos arredores de Brasilia e submetidas a anamnese clinica para exclusao de fatores interferentes (tabagismo, etilismo, reposicao hormonal, deficit cognitivo, pratica de atividade fisica) e a exames laboratoriais para dosagens lipemicas e glicemicas. Registros alimentares foram realizados em 3 dias alternados, e a avaliacao genotipica, conforme metodologia padronizada. Resultados: as frequencias dos genotipos apresentaram-se em proporcoes compativeis com o equilibrio de Hardy-Weinberg. Individuos portadores do alelo e2 manifestaram niveis sericos medios de triglicerideos (182.075.7) significativamente mais elevados que portadores do alelo e4 (136.361.9; p<0.05); portadores do alelo e2 apresentaram niveis sericos medios de VLDL (37.015.1) significativamente mais elevados comparados aos homozigotos do alelo e3 (28.511.8; p<0.01) e portadores de e4 (26.411.3; p<0.005). Ademais, observou-se uma forte interacao gene-dieta tendo em vista que portadores do alelo e4 em regime de ingestao elevada de lipideos totais (TG: 144.867.1; VLDL: 29.013.4) ou sob uma dieta com ingestao proporcionalmente inferior de gordura polinsaturada perderam o efeito protetor para dislipidemias (TG: 139.558.2; VLDL: 27.711.7). Nao foi observado associacao entre os genotipos das apolipoproteinas A-V e B com os niveis lipemicos, independentemente do regime de ingestao de lipideos. Os resultados encontrados sao sugestivos de um fenotipo semelhante a isbetalipoproteinemia na casuistica. Conclusao: nossos resultados demonstram que a isoforma e2 predispoe a hipertrigliceridemia em mulheres pos-menopausadas, conferindo risco a eventos ateroscleroticos neste segmento geriatrico. Em contrapartida, o alelo e4 confere protecao contra este fenotipo, exceto quando seus portadores sao submetidos a uma elevada ingestao de lipideos totais ou a uma dieta relativamente pobre em gorduras insaturadas.
Meta-Analysis of Left Prefrontal Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) to Treat Depression

Introduction Depression is a common and severe disorder for which new treatments are needed. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a promising new treatment. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to determine whether the literature supports the use of left prefrontal rTMS as a treatment option for depression. Methods The literature was searched for randomized sham-controlled trials of left prefrontal rTMS to treat depression using PsycINFO, MEDLINE, and CURRENT CONTENTS as well as two previous meta-analyses of rTMS. Using MetaWin, a Hedges’ d effect size and nonparametric variances were calculated in order to determine a cumulative effect size. Tests for heterogeneity and publication bias were also calculated. Results Twelve of fourteen studies (n = 230) were suitable for analysis. The summary analysis revealed a cumulative effect size of 0.53 (95% CI 0.24–0.82). The test for heterogeneity was not significant (Qtotal = 10.65, df = 11, Prob {χ2} = 0.47). The fail-safe result using the Rosenthal’s method (55.1 non-significant studies) and the Orwin’s method (20.0 non-significant studies) revealed that 20 to 55 studies would have to be unavailable in order to change the cumulative effect to a non-significant result. Discussion The meta-analysis supports the hypothesis that left prefrontal rTMS is an acute antidepressant treatment with statistically significant effect sizes and measurable clinical improvement.
Reliable output feedback control for systems with control input delay and stochastic actuator failure

This paper is concerned with the design of reliable static output feedback controllers (RSOFC) for systems with stochastic actuators failure. A sufficient condition for the existence of reliable RSOFC is presented in terms of a set of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs), which guarantees that the closed-loop system, with consideration of actuators failure, satisfies a desired H∞ disturbance attenuation γ. A numerical example is presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed design method.
Epigenetic Plasticity Regulated by Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 in Human Glioblastoma Running title : Epigenetic plasticity in glioblastoma

Tumor cell plasticity contributes to functional and morphological heterogeneity. To uncover the underlying mechanisms of this plasticity, we examined glioma stem-like cell (GSC) and found that biological interconversion between GSCs and differentiated non-GSCs is functionally plastic and accompanied by gain or loss of polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2)-mediated histone H3 lysine 27 trimethylation on pluripotency or development associated genes (e.g. Nanog, Wnt1, BMP5) together with alterations in the subcellular localization of EZH2, a catalytic component of PRC2. Intriguingly, exogenous expression of EZH2-dNLS, which lacks nuclear localization sequence, impairs the repression of Nanog expression under differentiation condition. Knock-down of EZH2 or pharmacological inhibition of EZH2 has no significant effect on apoptosis and little decrease in BrdU incorporation in GSCs. However, inhibition of EZH2 disrupts the morphological interconversion and impairs GSC integration into the brain tissue, resulting in improved survival of GSC-bearing mice. Pathological examination of the human glioma specimen revealed that the number of tumor cells with nuclear EZH2 is larger around tumor vessels and the invasive front, suggesting that nuclear EZH2 may be involved in the process of reprogramming the tumor cells that are in close proximity to surrounding environmental factors. Our data indicate that epigenetic regulation by PRC2 is a key mediator of tumor cell plasticity, which is required for the adaptation of glioblastoma cells to their microenvironment. PRC2-targeted therapy may reduce tumor cell plasticity and tumor heterogeneity, and provide a new paradigm in glioma treatment. on July 25, 2017. © 2013 American Association for Cancer Research. cancerres.aacrjournals. org Downloaded from Author manuscripts have been peer reviewed and accepted for publication but have not yet been edited. Author Manuscript Published OnlineFirst on May 29, 2013; DOI: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-13-0109
Adaptive Observer-Based Synchronization of Chaotic Systems With First-Order Coder in the Presence of Information Constraints

We analyze the performance of an adaptive chaotic synchronization system under information constraints assuming that some system parameters are unknown and only the system output is measured. Such a problem was studied previously in the absence of information constraints based on an adaptive observer scheme, allowing for its use in message transmission systems. We provide analytical bounds for the closed-loop system performance (asymptotic synchronization error) and conduct a numerical case study for a typical chaotic system, namely the Chua circuit, in the presence of information constraints. It is shown that the time-varying quantizer with one-step memory provides a reasonable approximation of the minimum transmission rate for adaptive state estimation.
Natural Disasters, Cascading Losses, and Economic Complexity: A Multi-layer Behavioral Network Approach

Assessing the short-term socio-economic impacts of climate-led disasters on food trade networks requires new bottom-up models and vulnerability metrics rooted in complexity theory. Indeed, such shocks could generate cascading socio-economic losses across the networks layers where emerging agents? responses could trigger tipping points. We contribute to address this research gap by developing a multi-layer behavioral network methodology composed of multiple spatially-explicit layers populated by heterogeneous interacting agents. Then, by introducing a new multi-layer risk measure called vulnerability rank, or VRank, we quantify the stress in the aftermath of a shock. Our approach allows us to analyze both the supply- and the demand-side dimensions of the shock by quantifying short-term behavioral responses, the transmission channels across the layers, the conditions for reaching tipping points, and the feedback on macroeconomic indicators. By simulating a stylized two-layer supply-side production and demand-side household network model we find that, (i) socio-economic vulnerability to climate-led disasters is cyclical, (ii) the distribution of shocks depends critically on the network structure, and on the speed of supply-side and demand-side responses. Our results suggest that such a multi-layer framework could provide a comprehensive picture of how climate-led shocks cascade and how indirect losses can be measured. This is crucial to inform effective post-disaster policies aimed to build food trade network resilience to climate-led shocks, in particular in more agriculture-dependent bread-basket regions.
The dynamic association between healthy leisure and substance use in South African adolescents: a state and trait perspective

South Africa has an increasing adolescent substance use problem, lack of leisure opportunities and resources and high adolescent discretionary time. How aspects of leisure relate to adolescent substance use is not well understood. Little research has been conducted on the leisure behaviours and experiences of South African adolescents, if and how those behaviours are associated with substance use, and ecological influences on those associations. By applying multi-level models to longitudinal data obtained from youth living in high-risk contexts, this research examines the association between state and trait healthy leisure and adolescent substance use and how perceived parental over-control moderates those associations. Results indicate healthy leisure protects against substance use at state and trait levels, provides empirical support that risk behaviour can be addressed through leisure-based interventions and emphasises the importance of both short- and long-term processes when considering the context-dependent nature of adolescents' leisure experiences.
ℓ0-Regularized Sparsity for Probabilistic Mixture Models

This paper revisits a classical task of learning probabilistic mixture models. Our major goal is to sparsely learn the mixture weights to automatically determine the right number of clusters. The key idea is to use a novel Bernoulli prior on the mixture weights in a Bayesian learning framework, and formalize the task of determining the mixture weights as an `0-regularized optimization problem. By leveraging a specific mathematical structure, we derive a quadratic time algorithm for efficiently solving the non-convex `0-based problem. In experiments, we evaluate the performance of our proposed approach over existing methods in recovery capability and anomaly detection for synthetic as well as realworld data sets.