Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Antioxidant Supplements Improve Parameters Related to Skin Structure in Humans

In the present study we investigated the influence of two different antioxidant supplements composed of carotenoids, vitamin E and selenium on parameters related to skin health and skin aging. Thirty-nine volunteers with healthy, normal skin of skin type 2 were divided into 3 groups (n = 13) and supplemented for a period of 12 weeks. Group 1 received a mixture of lycopene (3 mg/day), lutein (3 mg/day), β-carotene (4.8 mg/day), α-tocopherol (10 mg/day) and selenium (75 µg/day). Group 2 was supplemented with a mixture of lycopene (6 mg/day), β-carotene (4.8 mg/day), α-tocopherol (10 mg/day) and selenium (75 µg/day). Group 3 was the placebo control. Upon supplementation serum levels of selected carotenoids increased in both verum groups. Skin density and thickness were determined by ultrasound measurements. A significant increase for both parameters was determined in the verum groups. Roughness, scaling, smoothness and wrinkling of the skin were determined by Surface Evaluation of Living Skin (Visioscan). Roughness and scaling were improved by the supplementation with antioxidant micronutrients. In the placebo group no changes were found for any of the parameters.
Trace Explosive Detection in Aqueous Samples by Solid-Phase Extraction Ion Mobility Spectrometry (SPE-IMS)

Law enforcement agencies use ion mobility spectrometers for the detection of explosives, drugs of abuse, and chemical warfare agents. Ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) has the advantages of short analysis times, detections in the parts per billion concentrations, and high sensitivity. On-site environmental analysis of explosives or explosive residues in water is possible with ion mobility spectrometers. Unfortunately, the direct analysis of low levels of explosives in water is difficult. Extraction provides a method for pre-concentrating the analytes and removing interferents. Coupling solid-phase extraction (SPE) with IMS is useful for the identification of trace amounts of explosives in water. Commercially available SPE disks were used. After extraction, the sample disk is inserted into the ion mobility spectrometer, where the analytes are thermally desorbed from the disk. Concentrations as low as one part per trillion were detected with a Barringer Ionscan® 350. An external computer and acquisition software (LabVIEW™, National Instruments) were used to collect data. SIMPLISMA (SIMPLe-to-use-Interactive Self-modeling Mixture Analysis) was applied to the data to resolve features that vary with respect to time.
Reduced platelet activation and thrombosis in extracorporeal circuits coated with nitric oxide release polymers

Objective: To determine whether the use of nitric oxide (NO)‐releasing polymers coated onto the inner surface of extracorporeal circuits can reduce platelet consumption and activation in the absence of systemic heparinization using a rabbit model of venovenous extracorporeal circulation. Design: Prospective, controlled trial Setting: Research laboratory at an academic medical institution. Subjects: New Zealand White Rabbits Interventions: Anesthetized, tracheotomized, and ventilated New Zealand White rabbits were injected with freshly prepared, 111In(oxine)3 labeled single donor platelets through the external jugular vein. After baseline measurements, these animals were placed on venovenous extracorporeal circulation through a 1‐m control circuit or NO test circuit for 4 hrs at a blood flow rate of 109‐118 mL/min via roller pump. Four groups were studied: systemically heparinized control circuits, systemically heparinized NO test circuits, nonheparinized control circuits, and nonheparinized NO test circuits. Platelet counts, fibrinogen levels, and plasma free indium levels were measured hourly. Circuits were rinsed and retained for gamma counting after the 4‐hr run or when the circuit clotted. Four animals, one from each group, did not receive radiolabeled platelets so that the circuits could be preserved for scanning electron microscopic examination after the 4‐hr study. Measurements and Main Results: Platelet consumption was significantly reduced in both the heparinized and nonheparinized NO test groups when compared with the controls (p < .0001 and p < .0004, respectively). Platelet adhesion to the extracorporeal circuits was significantly reduced in the nonheparinized test circuits when compared with the controls (p < .05). Scanning electron microscopic examination of the circuits revealed that in the absence of heparin and in the presence of a NO‐releasing surface, platelets retained their spherical nonactivated shape. Conclusions: The incorporation of NO into the surface of extracorporeal circuits reduces platelet consumption and eliminates the need for systemic heparinization in a rabbit model of extracorporeal circulation.
A Lifetime Estimation Technique for Voltage Source Inverters

This paper presents a method to estimate the inverter lifetime so that we can predict a failure prior to it actually happening. The key contribution of this study is to link the physics of the power devices to a large scale system simulation within a reasonable framework of time. By configuring this technique to a real system, it can be used as a converter design tool or online lifetime estimation tool. In this paper, the presented method is applied to the grid side inverter to show its validity. A power cycling test is designed to gather the lifetime data of a selected insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) module (SKM50GB123D). Die-attach solder fatigue is found out to be the dominant failure mode of this IGBT module under the designed accelerated tests. Furthermore, the crack initiation is found to be highly stress dependent while the crack propagation is almost independent with stress level. Two different damage accumulation methods are used and the estimation results are compared.
Transmembrane exchange of chloride with bicarbonate ion in mammalian red blood cells: evidence for a sulphonamide‐sensitive "carrier".

1. It is well known that red blood cells suspended in isotonic NH4Cl solution swell because penetration of NH3 induces a transmembrane exchange between Cl‐o and OH‐i(or HCO3‐i). The rate of swelling thus depends on the speed of the transmembrane exchanges and on the amount of anions available for exchange. 2. It has been demonstrated in experiments carried out in a CO2‐free medium that OH‐ions are poorly permeating whereas the permeability for HCO3‐is very high. Thus the rate of swelling is largely dependent on the intracellular HCO3‐concentration. In this context the well‐known inhibitory effect of sulphonamides upon swelling can be interpreted, and always has been until now, as being due to the inhibitory action of the drug on the intracellular carbonic anhydrase. However, this inhibitory effect could also result from a direct action of the drug on the transmembrane exchange; it would explain why under conditions of total carbonic anhydrase inhibition we have shown that the inhibition of swelling is far from maximal. 3. A direct experimental evidence of such an effect of carbonic anhydrase inhibitors on the transmembrane exchange of Cl‐with HCO3‐ was obtained with benzolamide (Cl 11,366), Cl 13,580 and ethoxzolamide. Surprisingly enough, however, acetazolamide (Diamox) does not affect the transmembrane exchange process. 4. The inhibitory effect of sulphonamides on HCO3‐transport process is discussed in terms of an interaction of the drug with a transport system common to HCO3‐ and organic anions.
Multiple Imputation and Quantile Regression Methods for Biomarker Data subject to Detection Limits

Biomarkers are increasingly used in biomedical studies to better understand the natural history and development of a disease, identify the patients at high-risk and guide the therapeutic strategies for intervention. However, the measurement of these markers is often limited by the sensitivity of the given assay, resulting in data that are censored either at the lower limit or upper limit of detection. Ignoring censoring issue in any analysis may lead to the biased results. For a regression analysis where multiple censored biomarkers are included as predictors, we develop multiple imputation methods based on Gibbs sampling approach. The simulation study shows that our method significantly reduces the estimation bias as compared to the other simple imputation methods when the correlation between markers is high or the censoring proportion is high. The likelihood based mean regression for repeatedly measured biomarkers often assume a multivariate normal distribution that may not hold for biomarker data even after transformations. We consider a robust alternative, median regression, for censored longitudinal data. We develop an estimating equation approach that can incorporate the serial correlations between repeated measurements. We conduct simulation studies to evaluate the proposed estimators and compare median regression model with the mixed models under various specifications of distributions and covariance structures. Missing data is a common problem with longitudinal study. Under the assumptions that the missing pattern is monotonic and the missingness may only depend on the observed data, we propose a weighted estimating equation approach for the censored quantile regression models. The contribution of each individual to the estimating equation is weighted by the inverse probability of dropout at the given occasion. The resultant regression estimators are consistent when the dropout process is correctly specified. The performance of our estimating procedure is evaluated via simulation study. We illustrate all the proposed methods using the biomarker data of the Genetic and Inflammatory Markers of Sepsis (GenIMS) study. Appropriate handling of censored data in biomarker analysis is of public health importance because it will improve the understanding of the biological mechanisms of the underlying disease and aid in the successful development of future effective treatments.
Development of a safety awareness group intervention for women with diverse disabilities: a pilot study.

OBJECTIVE Describe the development and preliminary evaluation of a safety awareness program for women with disabilities. DESIGN Baseline and postintervention questionnaires administered to a sample of women who completed a safety awareness program. PARTICIPANTS Seven women with diverse disabilities. INTERVENTION Eight interactive sessions designed to increase protective factors. SETTING Community site for persons with disabilities. MAIN OUTCOMES Safety self-efficacy, safety skills, social support/isolation, and safety promoting behaviors. RESULTS Significant increases from baseline to postintervention were found on measures of self-efficacy and safety skills. Although not statistically significant, improvements were also found in safety promoting behavior. CONCLUSION Despite the small sample, findings suggest that participation in a safety awareness program may improve protective factors.
Conservation Return on Investment Analysis: A Review of Results, Methods, and New Directions

Conservation investments are increasingly evaluated on the basis of their return on investment (ROI). Conservation ROI analysis quantitatively measures the costs, benefits, and risks of investments so conservancies can rank or prioritize them. This paper surveys the existing conservation ROI and related literatures. We organize our synthesis around the way studies treat recurring, core elements of ROI, as a guide for practitioners and consumers of future ROI analyses. ROI analyses involve quantification of a consistent set of elements, including the definition and measurement of the conservation objective as well as identification of the relevant baselines, the type of conservation investments evaluated, and investment costs. We document the state of the art, note some open questions, and provide suggestions for future improvements in data and methods. We also describe ways ROI analysis can be extended to a broader suite of conservation outcomes than biodiversity conservation, which is the typical focus.
Endogenous neurotensin down‐regulates dopamine efflux in the nucleus accumbens as revealed by SR‐142948A, a selective neurotensin receptor antagonist

SR‐142948A belongs to the second generation of potent, selective, non‐peptide antagonists of neurotensin receptors. It was used to investigate the role of endogenous neurotensin in the regulation of dopamine efflux in the nucleus accumbens and striatum of anaesthetized and pargyline‐treated rats. All the data were obtained using in vivo electrochemistry. Electrically evoked (20 Hz, 10 s) dopamine efflux was monitored by differential pulse amperometry, whereas variations in basal (tonic) dopamine efflux were monitored by differential normal pulse voltammetry. Like the first‐generation compound SR‐48692, SR‐142948A did not affect the tonic and evoked dopamine efflux, but dose‐dependently enhanced haloperidol (50 µg/kg, i.p.) induced facilitation of the electrically evoked dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens. In contrast to SR‐48692, SR‐142948A dose‐dependently potentiated haloperidol (50 µg/kg, i.p.) induced increase in the basal dopamine level in the nucleus accumbens. This potentiating effect did not appear in the striatum. When dopaminergic and/or neurotensinergic transmissions were modified by a higher dose of haloperidol (0.5 mg/kg, i.p.), apomorphine, amphetamine or nomifensine, SR‐142948A pre‐treatment affected only the effect of apomorphine on the basal dopamine level in the nucleus accumbens. These results strengthen the hypothesis that endogenous neurotensin could exert a negative control on mesolimbic dopamine efflux.
Regression of blood vessels in the ventral velum of Xenopus laevis Daudin during metamorphosis: light microscopic and transmission electron microscopic study

Structural changes of the ventral velum of Xenopus laevis tadpoles from late prometamorphosis (stage 58) to the height of metamorphic climax (stage 62) were examined by light and transmission electron microscopy. Special emphasis was given to the blood vessel regression. Early changes of velar capillaries were formation of luminal and abluminal endothelial cell processes, vacuolation, and cytoplasmic and nuclear chromatin condensation. At the height of metamorphic climax, transmission electron microscopy revealed apoptotic endothelial cells with nuclear condensation and fragmentation, intraluminal bulging of rounded endothelial cells which narrowed or even plugged the capillary, and different stages of endothelial cell detachment (‘shedding’) into the vessel lumen. These changes explain the ‘miniaturisation’ of the velar microvascular bed as well as the typical features found in resin‐casts of regressing velar vessels which have been observed in a previous scanning electron microscopy study of the ventral velum.
A Critical Appraisal of the Radiological Evaluation of Nephrocalcinosis

Background/Aim: The level of agreement concerning the diagnosis of nephrocalcinosis (NC) based on ultrasonography (US), computed tomography (CT) or kidney/ureter/bladder (KUB) X-ray was assessed. Methods: Sequences of KUB+US+CT from 62 patients, 48 with at least one exam suggesting NC and 14 with pelvicalyceal calcifications (nephrolithiasis) were reviewed twice by 3 radiologists (firstly randomized and secondly presenting KUB+US+CT of each patient together). Results: The intraobserver concordance varied from 76 to 90% for KUB, 77 to 85% for US and 82 to 89% for CT. There was a significant change in diagnosis between the 1st and 2nd reviews for observer 1 in KUB and CT, for observer 2 in US, but not for observer 3. Evaluating patients’ exams together did not provide a better agreement. The highest sensitivity and specificity (92 and 89%, respectively) were only attained when 2 exams suggested NC diagnosis, being CT one of them. These enabled us to suggest that 33 out of 48 (62.5%) patients had NC (evidenced in US+CT+KUB (81.8%), US+CT (12.1%) or KUB+CT (6.1%). Conclusion: The low level of concordance renders the radiological diagnosis of NC difficult. Nephrocalcinosis should be confirmed by CT combined with either US or KUB.
Participación de SINAI DW2Vec en TASS 2015

This paper introduces the polarity classification system used by the SINAI-DW2Vec team for the task 1 at the TASS 2015 workshop. Our approach does not follow the Vector Space Model nor applies syntactic or lexical analyses. This solution is based on a supervised learning algorithm over vectors resulting from concatenating two different weighted vectors. Those vectors are computed using two different, yet related, algorithms: Word2Vec and Doc2Vec. The first algorithm is applied so as to generate a word vector from a deep neural net trained over Spanish Wikipedia. For Doc2Vec, the vector is generated with paragraph vectors (instead of word vectors) from a neural net trained over the tweets of the training collection. The experiments show that the combination of both vector distributions leads to better results rather than using them isolated.
A self-sizing framework for adaptive resource allocation in label-switched networks

For adaptive resource allocation to maintain its crucial timing requirements in large-scale networks, fast analysis and synthesis algorithms are required in order to process freshly collected traffic data. In this paper we build on previous work to introduce a general measurement-based self-sizing framework for resource allocation in label-switched networks. Furthermore, we study the scaling behavior of the simulated annealing variant used in the analysis and synthesis algorithm. We propose a hierarchical approach to improve adaptation performance for large networks and include extensive simulation results indicating significant improvement in performance as networks get larger.
Urinary GADD45γ Expression Is Associated with Progression of lgA Nephropathy

Background: Growth arrest and DNA damage-45γ (GADD-45γ) is induced in response to environmental stresses and functions in the regulation of cell cycles. Previous findings by our group suggested that GADD45γ contributed to renal tubular cell damage through induction of inflammatory and fibrogenic molecules. We examined the effects of urinary GADD45γ expression on the decline in renal function with IgA nephropathy in the present study. Methods: Patients (n = 62) were followed for a total of 710.3 ± 287.5 days. The rate of renal function decline was assessed by the slopes of inverse serum creatinine and estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) plotted against time. Renal survival was calculated by Kaplan-Meier analysis and the primary endpoint was an increase in serum creatinine levels by 50% or more. Results: Kidney function declined more rapidly in the GADD45γ-positive group compared to the GADD45γ-negative group. Kidney survival estimates at the end of the study period were 82.9% in the GADD45γ-positive group and 100% in the negative group (p = 0.03). This difference remained significant in the group with GFR values <90 ml/min/1.73 m2 when adjusted to stratification factors. Conclusion: The results suggest that urinary GADD45γ expression is associated with progression of renal disease.
Somatosensory amplification mediates sex differences in psychological distress among cardioverter-defibrillator patients.

OBJECTIVE The present study examined whether female patients with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) report more psychological distress than male patients, and whether somatosensory amplification mediates this relationship. DESIGN Consecutive ICD patients (N = 241; 33% women) participating in the Living with an Implanted Cardioverter-Defibrillator Study, completed a set of psychological questionnaires. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Symptom Checklist-90 and Somatosensory Amplification Scale. RESULTS Univariable linear regression analyses showed that female ICD patients reported more symptoms of anxiety (β = .13, p = .04), phobic anxiety (β = .13, p = .05), and somatic health complaints (β = .15, p = .02), and scored higher on somatosensory amplification (β = .24, p < .001) than men. Multivariable regression analyses, adjusted for demographic and clinical risk factors, revealed that somatosensory amplification was associated with more anxiety (β = .48, p < .001), phobic anxiety (β = .34, p < .001), and somatic health complaints (β = .49, p < .001). Sobel tests indicated that somatosensory amplification mediated the association between sex and these three domains of psychological distress (p = .0005, .002, and .0006, respectively). CONCLUSION Somatosensory amplification mediated the relationship between female sex and heightened anxiety, phobic anxiety, and somatic health complaints in ICD patients. Women may be more likely to misinterpret bodily sensations as indicative of deterioration in their condition. Interventions focusing on modifying these dysfunctional beliefs may reduce their psychological distress.
Assuring fair allocation of excess bandwidth in reservation based core-stateless networks

Assuring guaranteed services and providing fair bandwidth sharing are much sought characteristics in the current network architecture research. The IntServ approaches achieve those characteristics but only at the expense of using per-flow states and signaling, which are not scalable and difficult to implement. Alternatively, the stateless approaches proposed up to now are focused either on providing guaranteed services similar to those offered by IntServ or on ensuring a reasonably fair bandwidth allocation. In this paper we propose a stateless architecture - the fair bandwidth allocation control (Fair-BAC) - that ensures both the adherence to the given throughput guarantees and a fair allocation of the remaining bandwidth between the flows that do not have any reservation and the out-of-profile fraction of the flows with reservation. The capabilities of Fair-BAC are demonstrated in a set of simulations performed for various degrees of congestion and using sources with different conformance levels.
The spoIIJ gene, which regulates early developmental steps in Bacillus subtilis, belongs to a class of environmentally responsive genes

The Bacillus subtilis spoIIJ locus is defined by a Tn917 insertion which leads to an oligosporogenous phenotype. Here we show that this mutation severely decreases transcription of spoIIA, spoIIE, and spoIIG, three operons involved in asymmetric septation, the earliest morphological event of sporulation. A 14.3-kilobase region overlapping the site of the spoIIJ::Tn917 insertion was cloned and the exact location of the spoIIJ gene was defined with various integrative plasmids carrying subfragments of that region. DNA sequencing established that spoIIJ is a monocistronic locus encoding a 606-amino-acid polypeptide which contains a canonical "transmitter" domain, indicating that spoIIJ is a new member of the "sensor" class of signal-transducing systems in bacteria. Thus, spoIIj, which is transcribed during vegetative growth, presumably under the control of sigma H, encodes a protein that could interact with major regulators of early sporulation stages, such as SpoOA and/or SpoOF.