Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
University of Birmingham Are neuromuscular adaptations present in people with recurrent spinal pain during a period of remission?

, muscle properties, sensorimotor control and neuromuscular performance. ► In accordance with the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation approach, the inclusion of observational studies reduces the quality of evidence. ABSTRACT Introduction The course of spinal pain (neck or low back pain) is often described as episodic and intermittent, with more than one-third of people continuing to experience episodic symptoms 1 year after first onset. Although ongoing neuromuscular adaptations could contribute to recurrent episodes of pain, no systematic review has synthesised evidence of ongoing neuromuscular changes in people with recurrent spinal pain during a period of symptom remission. Methods and analysis This protocol is developed and reported following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta- Analyses-P, the Update of the Cochrane Back and Neck Group guidelines and the Methodological Expectations of Cochrane Intervention Reviews. PubMed, Web of Science, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, ZETOC, Google Scholar, grey literature sources and key journals will be searched up to September 2019. Observational studies investigating neuromuscular changes in people with recurrent spinal pain during a period of remission will be included. Neuromuscular function will be considered under five outcome domains of muscle activity, spine kinematics, muscle properties, sensorimotor control and neuromuscular performance. Two independent reviewers will search, screen studies, extract data and assess risk of bias (Newcastle-Ottawa Scale). Data will be synthesised per outcome domain. Where clinical and methodological homogeneity across studies exists, a random-effects meta-analysis will be conducted. Otherwise, results will be synthesised narratively. The overall quality of evidence will be assessed using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation guidelines. Ethics and dissemination Findings of this review may aid the identification of factors that could contribute to spinal pain recurrence and aid the development of interventions for secondary prevention aimed at the restoration of optimal neuromuscular function. The results will be submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal and presented at conferences. No ethical approval was required.
285. TRENDS IN PRESCRIBING AND MONITORING OF FOLIC ACID SUPPLEMENTATION WITH LOW DOSE METHOTREXATE (MTX) BY RHEUMATOLOGISTS IN THE UK

Fear-avoidance Baseline 39.89(7.97) 40.13(8.15) 38.65(7.66) 6 months 36.51(7.72) 35.69(6.83) 31.02(7.82) 0.001 12 months 33.40(10.21) 35.55(9.18) 31.63(8.13) 0.211 18 months 35.55(8.60) 34.66(8.15) 31.46(8.46) 0.141 Praying/hoping Baseline 17.20(9.26) 17.38(9.77) 15.88(11.13) 6 months 12.00(8.18) 16.06(10.64) 13.75(11.62) 0.029 12 months 12.69(8.58) 17.76(9.83) 12.86(9.88) 0.013 18 months 13.02(8.29) 15.39(10.12) 10.88(9.85) 0.141
Loss of filamentous multicellularity in Cyanobacteria - the extremophile Gloeocapsopsis sp. UTEX B3054 retained multicellular features at the genomic and behavioral level. Journal of Bacteriology.

Multicellularity in Cyanobacteria played a key role in their habitat expansion contributing 25 to the Great Oxidation Event around 2.45–2.32 billion years ago. Evolutionary studies have indicated that some unicellular cyanobacteria emerged from multicellular ancestors, yet 27 little is known about how the emergence of new unicellular morphotypes from multicellular 28 ancestors occurred. Our results give new insights into the evolutionary reversion from 29 which the Gloeocapsopsis lineage emerged. Flow cytometry and microscopy results 30 revealed morphological plasticity, involving patterned formation of multicellular 31 morphotypes sensitive to environmental stimuli. Genomic analyses unveiled the presence 32 of multicellular-associated genes in its genome. Calcein-FRAP experiments confirmed that 33 Gloeocapsopsis sp. UTEXB3054 carry out early emergence of multicellularity in Cyanobacteria ago) entails that some unicellular cyanobacteria reverted from multicellular ancestors. We tested this evolutionary hypothesis by studying the unicellular strain Gloeocapsopsis sp. UTEXB3054, using flow cytometry, genomics and cell-to-cell communication experiments. We demonstrated the existence of a well-defined patterned organization of cells in clusters during growth, which 48 might change triggered by environmental stimuli. Moreover, we found genomic signatures of multicellularity in Gloeocapsopsis genome, giving new insights into the evolutionary history of a Cyanobacterial lineage that has thrived in extreme environments since the early Earth. The potential benefits in terms of resource acquisition and ecological relevance of this transient behavior are discussed.
B.R.N.O. Times of minima

Abstract Paper presents observations of eclipsing binaries acquired by the Variable Star Section of Czech Astronomical Society members (B.R.N.O. group). Paper contains 626 minima timings for 272 eclipsing binaries, obtained by 36 observers during 2007 – 2008 period.We introduce 626 minima timings (41 visual and 585 CCD-based) of 272 eclipsing binaries acquired by 36 observers , members and collaborators of the Variable Star Section of Czech Astronomical Society (“Brno Regional Network of Observers” group; hereafter B.R.N.O.), during 2007 – 2008 period. Each published observation can be viewed in detail following the active link under HJD number. There are available both light curve and reference CCD frame (finding chart for visual observation). Notes by observers can be found there as well. This paper contains only new, unpublished observations.Visual observations have been performed mostly using Nijland - Blazhko method and the minima timings have been determined by tracing paper method. CCD frames were mostly reduced by C-MuniPack code (Motl, 2007), the well-known adaptation of MuniPack code (Hroch, 1998), based on DaoPhot routines (Stetson, 1987, 1991). All frames were dark-frame and flat-field corrected first before application of further reduction steps. Minima timings were mostly determined by Kwee-van Woerden method using proram AVE (Barbera, 1999). The Tintagel, Taranis and SOP neural network based procedures (Gaspani, 1995) were applied in some cases.The CCD-based minima timings already come with corresponding errors, usually determined by observers themselves. The error values depends on used method, data quality and depth of the observed minima.The 5
Energy-efﬁcient Live Migration of I/O-intensive Virtual Network Services Across Distributed Cloud Infrastructures

—Virtual infrastructures and cloud services became more and more important over the past years. The abstraction from physical hardware offered by virtualization supports an increased energy efﬁciency, for example, due to higher utilization of underlying hardware through consolidation, or the ability to geographically move cloud services based on lowest available energy prices and renewable energy. This paper gives an overview on such migration techniques in distributed private cloud environments. The presented OpenStack-based testbed is used to measure migration costs along with the service quality of virtualized network services. The results can be used to evaluate whether network services and virtual resources can be migrated to distant sites to reduce energy costs. Correspondingly, the paper illustrates the impact of high memory and input/output (I/O) load on live migrations of network services and evaluates possible optimization techniques.
Composition of Board of Director in the Indian Nifty 50 Listed Firms: Impact Study from Financial Angle

Purpose: Applying a set of data Nifty-50 listed companies in India; this research paper is an attempt to empirically evaluate the effects financial performance of board of director’s based on their characteristics. Design/methodology/approach: A sample size of 50 listed firms have been used, from the year 2008 to 2016. Time series and cross sectional are the basic features on which the entire study is based upon for panel estimation. Beside it, statistical measures like ordinary least squares (OLS) model of regression and robust regression is applied to mitigate the problems related to endogeneity. Findings: The primary results shows that for financial performance measuring by ROA, ROE, ROCE board of director’s features has positive and relevant effect on financial decision and performance of the firms in our study on Indian Nifty 50 listed firms. The results also points out that in the perspective of nifty 50 listed firms, the leverage and firm size are negatively related with the financial performance of the firms. Limitations and implications of the Research: In accordance with the Indian corporate governance norms and reforms, it is obligatory for the listed companies to appoint independent directors system, by far is successful still, the regulatory and governing authorities should efficiently implement the norms of appointment of independent directors in listed companies to improve corporate governance system in India. Originality/value: Initially, in not similar fashion with the prior studies based on the developing nations, this present study interrogates the impact of features of board of directors on financial performance of Indian Nifty 50 listed firms. Thereafter, while a lot many studies applied a solitary indicator of firm financial performance, this study examines ROA, ROE and ROCE. Using the OLS estimation the present study emphasizes the endogeneity issue between firm performance and board of director’s characteristics, and robust regression for mitigating the exactness of using OLS estimation.
Skin Friction and Heat Transfer in Combined Convection from a Sphere to a Non-Newtonian Fluid

Steady-state laminar combined convection flow of an electrically conducting, non-Newtonian fluid past a sphere is studied numerically. The effects of the power-law index, the mixed convection parameter, the magnetic field parameter and the heat generation or absorption parameter on the skin friction and the heat transfer are illustrated. The skin friction for dilatant fluids is smaller than that for pseudoplastics. Near the stagnation point, the Nusselt number reduces rapidly for pseudoplastics and reaches sharply a maximum value for dilatant fluids. Both the skin friction and the Nusselt number decrease owing to an increase of the magnetic field parameter. Moreover the heat generation produces higher skin friction and lower Nusselt number.
and in Grafts.

Exogenous Lysyl Oxidase-Like 2 Perfusion Culture Induce Collagen Crosslink Formation Osteogenic ABSTRACT Lysyl oxidase (LOX)-mediated collagen crosslinking can regulate osteoblastic phenotype and enhance mechanical properties of tissues, both areas of interest in bone tissue engineering. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of lysyl oxidase-like 2 (LOXL2) on osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) cultured in perfusion bioreactors, enzymatic collagen crosslink formation in the extracellular matrix (ECM), and mechanical properties of engineered bone grafts. We administered exogenous LOXL2 to MSCs seeded in composite scaffolds under perfusion culture for up to 28 days. Constructs treated with LOXL2 appeared brown in color and possessed greater DNA content and osteogenic potential measured by a 2-fold increase in bone sialoprotein gene expression. Collagen expression of LOXL2-treated scaffolds was lower than untreated controls. Functional outputs such as calcium deposition, osteocalcin expression, and compressive modulus were unaffected by LOXL2 supplementation. Excitingly, LOXL2-treated constructs contained 1.8- and 1.4-times more pyridinoline (PYD) crosslinks per mole of collagen and per wet weight, respectively, than untreated constructs. Despite these increases, compressive moduli of LOXL2-treated constructs were similar to untreated constructs over the 28-day culture duration. This is the first report of LOXL2 application to engineered, three-dimensional bony constructs. The results suggest a potentially new strategy for engineering osteogenic grafts with a mature ECM by modulating crosslink formation. This study provides evidence for LOXL2 treatment as a means to regulate enzymatic collagen crosslink formation within MSC-laden engineered bony constructs. While LOXL2 supplementation led to increases in PYD crosslinks, DNA content, and gene expression of osteogenic markers of differentiation, we did not observe increases in functional outputs of differentiation or compressive modulus of engineered constructs. This work introduces exciting new avenues to the field of bone tissue engineering for improving the functional properties of osteogenic grafts.
Dot product graphs and their applications to ecology

iii Public Abstract . iv Acknowledgements . v List of Figures . vii
Intensity-Adjustable Non-Contact Cold Sensation Presentation Based on the Vortex Effect

Cold sensations of varying intensities are perceived when human skin is subject to diverse environments. The accurate presentation of temperature changes is important to elicit immersive sensations in applications such as virtual reality. In this article, we developed a method to elicit intensity-adjustable non-contact cold sensations based on the vortex effect. We applied this effect to generate cold air at approximately 0 $^\circ$C and varied the skin temperature over a wide range. The perception of different temperatures can be elicited by adjusting the volume flow rate of the cold air. Additionally, we introduced a cooling model to relate the changes in skin temperature to various parameters such as the cold air volume flow rate and distance from the cold air outlet to the skin. For validation, we conducted measurement experiments and found that our model can estimate the change in skin temperature with a root mean-square error of 0.16 $^\circ$C. Furthermore, we evaluated the performance of a prototype in psychophysical cold discrimination experiments based on the discrimination threshold. Thus, cold sensations of varying intensities can be generated by varying the parameters. These cold sensations can be combined with images, sounds, and other stimuli to create an immersive and realistic artificial environment.
eDNAssay: A machine learning tool that accurately predicts qPCR cross‐amplification

Environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling is a highly sensitive and cost‐effective technique for wildlife monitoring, notably through the use of qPCR assays. However, it can be difficult to ensure assay specificity when many closely related species co‐occur. In theory, specificity may be assessed in silico by determining whether assay oligonucleotides have enough base‐pair mismatches with nontarget sequences to preclude amplification. However, the mismatch qualities required are poorly understood, making in silico assessments difficult and often necessitating extensive in vitro testing—typically the greatest bottleneck in assay development. Increasing the accuracy of in silico assessments would therefore streamline the assay development process. In this study, we paired 10 qPCR assays with 82 synthetic gene fragments for 530 specificity tests using SYBR Green intercalating dye (n = 262) and TaqMan hydrolysis probes (n = 268). Test results were used to train random forest classifiers to predict amplification. The primer‐only model (SYBR Green results) and full‐assay model (TaqMan probe‐based results) were 99.6% and 100% accurate, respectively, in cross‐validation. We further assessed model performance using six independent assays not used in model training. In these tests the primer‐only model was 92.4% accurate (n = 119) and the full‐assay model was 96.5% accurate (n = 144). The high performance achieved by these models makes it possible for eDNA practitioners to more quickly and confidently develop assays specific to the intended target. Practitioners can access the full‐assay model online via eDNAssay (https://NationalGenomicsCenter.shinyapps.io/eDNAssay), a user‐friendly tool for predicting qPCR cross‐amplification.
Personalized Blood Glucose Prediction for Type 1 Diabetes Using Evidential Deep Learning and Meta-Learning

The availability of large amounts of data from continuous glucose monitoring (CGM), together with the latest advances in deep learning techniques, have opened the door to a new paradigm of algorithm design for personalized blood glucose (BG) prediction in type 1 diabetes (T1D) with superior performance. However, there are several challenges that prevent the widespread implementation of deep learning algorithms in actual clinical settings, including unclear prediction confidence and limited training data for new T1D subjects. To this end, we propose a novel deep learning framework, Fast-adaptive and Confident Neural Network (FCNN), to meet these clinical challenges. In particular, an attention-based recurrent neural network is used to learn representations from CGM input and forward a weighted sum of hidden states to an evidential output layer, aiming to compute personalized BG predictions with theoretically supported model confidence. The model-agnostic meta-learning is employed to enable fast adaptation for a new T1D subject with limited training data. The proposed framework has been validated on three clinical datasets. In particular, for a dataset including 12 subjects with T1D, FCNN achieved a root mean square error of 18.64±2.60 mg/dL and 31.07±3.62 mg/dL for 30 and 60-minute prediction horizons, respectively, which outperformed all the considered baseline methods with significant improvements. These results indicate that FCNN is a viable and effective approach for predicting BG levels in T1D. The well-trained models can be implemented in smartphone apps to improve glycemic control by enabling proactive actions through real-time glucose alerts.
The preoperative management of meibomian gland dysfunction prior to corneal refractive surgery

Purpose of review To describe the significance of meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) in corneal refractive surgery and to describe available approaches to preoperative evaluation and treatment based on current research. Recent findings There are several methods available for the evaluation and treatment of MGD. These are relevant for refractive surgeons to understand, as the presence of MGD preoperatively plays a role in the severity of MGD after corneal refractive surgery. Refractive surgery itself can exacerbate MGD. Treatment of MGD prior to surgery may have a meaningful impact on postoperative MGD. Summary Surgeons should include meibomian gland assessment in the preoperative refractive evaluation and should treat MGD proactively prior to performing refractive surgery. Relevant information in this field is growing; additional prospectively designed studies are needed to further enhance our understanding.
Tissue factor pathway inhibitor 2: A potential diagnostic marker for discriminating benign from malignant ovarian tumors

Carbohydrate antigen 125 (CA125), CA19‐9, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), human epididymis protein 4 (HE4), and the Risk of Ovarian Malignancy Algorithm (ROMA) are widely used as tumor markers and algorithms for the diagnosis of ovarian cancer (OC). Tissue factor pathway inhibitor 2 (TFPI2) has been developed as a potential serodiagnostic marker for OC in Japan. The aim of this study is to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of the six markers alone and in combination to find the best marker for discriminating between benign and malignant ovarian tumors.
Using Tiny-TIM Dissolution and In Silico Simulation to Accelerate Oral Product Development of a BCS Class II Compound

Though oral drug delivery is the most preferred route of administration, there is high drug pharmacokinetic variability associated with the oral route. Change in drug substance particle size distribution, formulation composition, or manufacturing process may impact the dissolution and, hence, the systemic drug absorption in biopharmaceutics classification system class II compounds. In the present research, using a Boehringer Ingelheim investigational drug substance as the model compound, the tiny-TIM in vitro data and in silico pharmacokinetic model were used to establish in vitro–in vivo correlation and to predict the oral bioavailability. The level C in vitro–in vivo correlation between in vivo AUC and in vitro amount dissolved in both fasted and fed states could be established. Furthermore, level A in vitro–in vivo correlation was established between in vivo fraction absorbed and bioaccessibility from tiny-TIM dissolution in both fasted and fed states. Prediction of positive food effect from tiny-TIM dissolution was consistent with conclusion from clinical studies. Such predictive models developed using the minimum clinical data and the in vitro tiny-TIM data have the potential to reduce the animal and human experiments and to expedite the overall drug development process.
Structures of VWF tubules before and after concatemerization reveal a mechanism of disulfide bond exchange

The formation of large von Willebrand factor (VWF) tubules is a critical step in formation and maturation of high-molecular-weight multimers that are required for proper hemostasis. Anderson et al describe the structure of the central tubulation, revealing novel findings about how tubule formation and concatemerization occur. These findings provide clues as to how several von Willebrand disease mutations result in abnormal bleeding.
Molecular properties and tautomeric equilibria of isolated flavins

Flavins are employed as redox cofactors and chromophores in a plethora of flavoenzymes. Their versatility is an outcome of intrinsic molecular properties of the isoalloxazine ring modulated by the protein scaffold and surrounding solvent. Thus, an investigation of isolated flavins with high‐level electronic‐structure methods and with error assessment of the calculated properties will contribute to building better models of flavin reactivity. Here, we benchmarked ground‐state properties such as electron affinity, gas‐phase basicity, dipole moment, torsion energy, and tautomer stability for lumiflavins in all biologically relevant oxidation and charge states. Overall, multiconfigurational effects are small and chemical accuracy is achieved by coupled‐cluster treatments of energetic properties. Augmented basis sets and extrapolations to the complete basis‐set limit are necessary for consistent agreement with experimental energetics. Among DFT functionals tested, M06‐2X shows the best performance for most properties, except gas‐phase basicity, in which M06 and CAM‐B3LYP perform better. Moreover, dipole moments of radical flavins show large deviations for all functionals studied. Tautomers with noncanonical protonation states are significantly populated at normal temperatures, adding to the complexity of modeling flavins. These results will guide future computational studies of flavoproteins and flavin chemistry by indicating the limitations of electronic‐structure methodologies and the contributions of multiple tautomeric states.