Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Butyrate is only one of several growth inhibitors produced during gut flora-mediated fermentation of dietary fibre sources

Dietary fibre sources are fermented by the gut flora to yield short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) together with degraded phytochemicals and plant nutrients. Butyrate, a major SCFA, is potentially chemoprotective by suppressing the growth of tumour cells and enhancing their differentiation. Conversely, it could lead to a positive selection pressure for transformed cells by inducing glutathione S-transferases (GST) and enhancing chemoresistance. Virtually nothing is known about how butyrate's activities are affected by other fermentation products. To investigate such interactions, a variety of dietary fibre sources was fermented with human faecal slurries in vitro, analysed for SCFA, and corresponding SCFA mixtures were prepared. HT29 colon tumour cells were treated for 72 h with individual SCFA or complex samples. The growth of cells, GST activity, and chemoresistance towards 4-hydroxynonenal were determined. Fermentation products inhibited cell growth more than the corresponding SCFA mixtures, and the SCFA mixtures were more active than butyrate, probably due to phytoprotectants and to propionate, respectively, which also inhibit cell growth. Only butyrate induced GST, whereas chemoresistance was caused by selected SCFA mixtures, but not by all corresponding fermentation samples. In summary, fermentation supernatant fractions contain compounds that: (1) enhance the anti-proliferative properties of butyrate (propionate, phytochemical fraction); (2) do not alter its capacity to induce GST; (3) prevent chemoresistance in tumour cells. It can be concluded that fermented dietary fibre sources are more potent inhibitors of tumour cell growth than butyrate alone, and also contain ingredients which counteract the undesired positive selection pressures that higher concentrations of butyrate induce in tumour cells.
Behaviour of the motoneurone pool in a fatiguing submaximal contraction

Non‐technical summary During a sustained maximal contraction, motoneurones rapidly become less responsive to input. This decrease is ameliorated by a high level of voluntary drive from the cortex. Here, we tested whether the excitability of motor cortical neurones or spinal motoneurones is suppressed during fatigue produced by a sustained submaximal contraction in which only some of the motoneurones are active. We found that motoneurone responses were gradually suppressed as fatigue developed. The results suggest that only the active motoneurones were affected and the decreased responsiveness was less when voluntary drive was present. In contrast, the excitability of the motor cortex appeared unaffected.
The mitogenome of the bed bug Cimex lectularius (Hemiptera: Cimicidae)

Abstract We report the extraction of a bed bug mitogenome from high-throughput sequencing projects originally focused on the nuclear genome of Cimex lectularius. The assembled mitogenome has a similar AT nucleotide composition bias found in other insects. Phylogenetic analysis of all protein-coding genes indicates that C. lectularius is clearly a member of a paraphyletic Cimicomorpha clade within the Order Hemiptera.
An algorithm for multiplex network generation

Multiplex networks have been used to describe multilevel system by the way of combining several layers of sub-networks with one layer representing one sub-level system. For this new network framework, research efforts have been paid on the study of its topological and dynamical properties. However, in these studies the network structures are mostly simple or specific. To systemically study multiplex network, a general multiplex network framework is necessary. In this work, we introduce an algorithm by which we could generate a multiplex network whose degree correlation functions of all its layers, the nodal degree correlation function between the layers, and the size of the resulting network are all tunable. Moreover, we give an upper bound of the average degree of the resulting network when the degree correlation functions introduced above are given. This algorithm may serve as a good candidate of standard technique for multiplex network generation.
Mechanisms of patient health behavior change in a randomized controlled trial of a spouse-assisted intervention

Spouse-assisted interventions can improve health behaviors, but mechanisms of action are unknown. This study evaluated mediators of dietary and physical activity outcomes during a spouse-assisted intervention to improve low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. This is a secondary analysis of data from a randomized controlled trial comparing usual care (n = 128) to a spouse-assisted lifestyle change intervention (n = 127) comprising nine monthly goal setting telephone calls to participants and support planning calls to spouses over 11 months. Structural equation modeling was used to examine if the intervention influenced the putative mediators of participant self-efficacy and perceived spousal support at 6 months (i.e. action test); if changes in putative mediators at 6 months were associated with changes in diet and physical activity outcomes at 11 months (i.e. conceptual test); and if treatment condition effects on outcomes at 11 months were mediated by its effects on the 6-month putative mediators (i.e. indirect effects test). Participants were 94.9% male, 64.9% white and were 61.3 years old on average. The action test showed that the intervention increased dietary self-efficacy (p < .001) and perceived spousal support for diet (p < .001) and physical activity (p < .01) at 6 months. The conceptual test showed that increases in participant physical activity self-efficacy at 6 months were associated with increases in physical activity frequency (p = .01) and duration (p = .04) at 11 months; other putative mediators were not associated with changes in outcomes at 11 months. The indirect effects tests did not support a mediating role for self-efficacy or perceived spousal support. Intervention-induced changes in spousal support and dietary self-efficacy did not translate into behavior change. Other mechanisms may be driving behavior change. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00321789.
Insulin Therapy, Glycemic Control, and Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Young Latin Americans with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Background Type 2 diabetes has been linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular (CV) disease, but this risk has not been well documented in young patients, especially of Latin American descent. Also, the potential CV benefits of insulin therapy have not been evaluated in young patients with type 2 diabetes. The objectives of this study were to determine any gender-related difference in the presence of CV risk factors in young Latin Americans with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes and the effect of intensive insulin therapy on these CV risk factors. Methods and Results Fifty-seven Latin American patients with type 2 diabetes between the ages 18 and 45 years were evaluated at baseline. All women were premenopausal and had regular menstrual periods. The mean body mass index (BMI) was > 30 kg/m2 in both genders. Percent body fat, percent hemoglobin A1c, and lipoprotein profiles were similar between genders. Highly sensitive C-reactive protein (CRP) levels were elevated and similar between genders (p = .4). Leukocyte adhesion molecules (intercellular adhesion molecule 1, vascular adhesion molecule 1, E-selectin) and monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 were elevated, whereas adiponectin levels were below normal in both gender groups. Urinary albumin excretion was similar between genders and did not show any relationship with any of the variables. In women, there was a direct relationship between waist circumference and high-sensitivity CRP levels (rho = .53, p = .01). No other significant relationships were observed. Eighteen Latin American patients with type 2 diabetes completed up to 104 weeks of postintervention with insulin monotherapy. In these patients, glycemic, lipoprotein, and anthropometric measurements were obtained every 12 weeks. Highly sensitive CRP, leukocyte adhesion molecules, and urinary albumin excretion, among other tests, were obtained every 52 weeks. At 52 and 104 weeks, body weight, BMI, waist circumference, and percent body fat increased in a parallel and significant manner. Despite a significant decrease in percent hemoglobin A1c (22.2%; p = < .0001), lipid and lipoprotein profiles, highly sensitive CRP, leukocyte adhesion molecules, and other nontraditional CV risk factors did not change significantly. Conclusions In young, obese, Latino type 2 diabetic patients, improvement in glycemic control with insulin monotherapy was not associated with a parallel improvement in markers of vascular inflammation. Premenopausal Latino women with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes have CV risks comparable to Latino diabetic men of the same age. Obesity and underlying insulin resistance may counteract the potential CV benefits associated with insulin therapy in lean diabetic patients. Weight loss could be a potential therapeutic modality to improve CV risk in Latino type 2 diabetic patients, especially women.
Inhibition of Antigen-Induced Eosinophilia and Late Phase Airway Hyperresponsiveness by an IL-5 Antisense Oligonucleotide in Mouse Models of Asthma

Chronic airway eosinophilia is associated with allergic asthma and is mediated in part by secretion of IL-5 from allergen-specific Th2 lymphocytes. IL-5 is a known maturation and antiapoptotic factor for eosinophils and stimulates release of nascent eosinophils from bone marrow into the peripheral circulation. An antisense oligonucleotide found to specifically inhibit IL-5 expression in vitro was observed to significantly reduce experimentally induced eosinophilia in vivo, in both the murine OVA lung challenge and allergic peritonitis models. Intravenous administration resulted in sequence-dependent inhibition of eosinophilia coincident with reduction of IL-5 protein levels, supporting an antisense mechanism of action. Potent suppression of lung eosinophilia was observed up to 17 days after cessation of oligonucleotide dosing, indicating achievement of prolonged protection with this strategy. Furthermore, sequence-specific, antisense oligonucleotide-mediated inhibition of Ag-mediated late phase airway hyperresponsiveness was also observed. These data underscore the potential utility of an antisense approach targeting IL-5 for the treatment of asthma and eosinophilic diseases.
Gender Digital Divide and Challenges in Undergraduate Computer Science Programs.

Previous research revealed a reduced number of female students registered in computer science studies feeling isolated, having reduced confidence, and underperforming. This article explores differences between female and male students in undergraduate computer science programs in a mid-size university in Ontario. Based on Kelly's (2008) three levels of digital divide (resources, instruction, and culture specific knowledge), we explored gender specific challenges for each level. The research shows that, while the first level of digital divide is difficult to detect and the second layer is easily detectable, the third layer of digital divide is particularly pervasive and has a disconcerting outcome. Key words : digital divide; computer science education; higher education; gender equity.
Systematic treatment of displacements, strains, and electric fields in density-functional perturbation theory

The methods of density-functional perturbation theory may be used to calculate various physical response properties of insulating crystals including elastic, dielectric, Born charge, and piezoelectric tensors. These and other important tensors may be defined as second derivatives of an appropriately defined energy functional with respect to atomic-displacement, electric-field, or strain perturbations, or as mixed derivatives with respect to two of these perturbations. The resulting tensor quantities tend to be coupled in complex ways in polar crystals, giving rise to a variety of variant definitions. For example, it is generally necessary to distinguish between elastic tensors defined under different electrostatic boundary conditions, and between dielectric tensors defined under different elastic boundary conditions. Here, we describe an approach for computing all of these various response tensors in a unified and systematic fashion. Applications are presented for two materials, hexagonal ZnO and rhombohedral $\mathrm{Ba}\mathrm{Ti}{\mathrm{O}}_{3}$, at zero temperature.
EXTRACTION OF EXCITATION INFORMATION FROM SPEECH AND ITS APPLICATIONS FOR EXPRESSIVE SPEECH PROCESSING

Through speech production mechanism, speech with different voice qualities such as phonations, emotions, expressive singing and other paralinguistic sounds are also produced. Most of these sounds demonstrate these features mostly due to the excitation component (vibration of the vocal folds at the glottis) whereas the dynamic vocal tract system primarily conveys the message. Hence, the excitation source processing acquires significance especially for the analysis, detection and representation of expressive voices. Most of the existing excitation source information extraction methods are not reliable especially when applied on expressive voices, mainly due to significant source-system coupling. Hence, there is a need for new signal processing methods that can capture the dynamic variations in excitation source so that different types of sounds can be better analyzed and represented. The objective of this work is to derive new signal processing methods to extract the excitation source information directly from the signal and then investigate the significance of this information for the analysis and detection of various expressive voices. Towards this, some of the excitation source features are extracted using recently proposed signal processing methods and then the significance of these excitation features are studied in emotional speech analysis and recognition. Presently the studies are in progress in representing the excitation source in the form of impulse-like sequence.
Experimental characterization of Si micropillar based evaporator for advanced vapor chambers

Advanced thermal management technologies have become more and more essential in semiconductor industries in order to spread high heat flux from integrated circuits and ensure a reliable operation of the devices. Vapor chamber has been extensively studied since it has superior heat dissipation capabilities in comparison with other cooling techniques. Among the components of a vapor chamber, evaporator has proven to be the governing factor in enhancing the entire vapor chamber's performance. In this paper, silicon based cylindrical micropillar based evaporators were fabricated and characterized inside a vacuum chamber. Geometric influence on the micropillar evaporator's heat transfer performance were investigated. Higher pillar diameter/ pitch ratio, higher aspect ratio and low wick array lengths are required for more efficient heat spreading.
Are regional hospital pharmacies prepared for public health emergencies?

INTRODUCTION In the event of a major chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or explosive (CBRNE) attack or a natural disaster, large quantities of pharmaceuticals and medical supplies may be required with little or no warning. Pharmaceutical surge capacity for immediate response, before Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) supplies become available, remains a significant gap in emergency preparedness. To date, limited attempts have been made to assess collective regional hospital pharmaceutical response capabilities. In this project, we characterized the level of hospital pharmaceutical response preparedness in a major metropolitan region. METHODS The Johns Hopkins Office of Critical Event Preparedness and Response (CEPAR) convened a collaborative partnership to assess hospital pharmaceutical response capabilities. A survey was developed to characterize pharmaceutical response preparedness to CBRNE threats. RESULTS All 22 acute care hospitals in the Maryland region were sent pharmaceutical response surveys, and responses were received from 86% (19/22). Within the past year, 84% (16/19) of hospitals had implemented an exercise with pharmacy participation. More than half of the hospitals expect to receive assistance from the SNS in 48 hours or less. Seventy-four percent (14/19) of the hospitals reported an additional dedicated reserve supply for biological events, 74% (14/19) for chemical events, and 58% (11/19) for radiological events. CONCLUSION Many hospitals in this metropolitan region have taken important steps toward enhancing pharmaceutical preparedness. However, hospitals generally remain underprepared for CBRNE threats and collectively have limited supplies of antibiotics to provide prophylaxis or treatment for hospital staff, their families, and patients in the event of a significant biological incident.
Donor dendritic cell persistence in organ allograft recipients in the absence of immunosuppression

Donor‐derived leukocytes are known to persist in the peripheral blood of organ allograft recipients after withdrawal of all immunosuppressive drug therapy and can exert a donor‐specific veto effect. Antigen‐presenting cells (APC), in particular dendritic cells (DC), have been proposed as a candidate for this veto leukocyte. Myeloid DC were derived from the peripheral blood of two non‐compliant organ transplant recipients: D. S. , a heart transplant recipient, and J. M. , a liver transplant recipient. Donor‐specific signal was enriched in the cultured DC fraction relative to whole blood for both patients. The clinical outcome in each patient was different: D. S. lost his heart allograft due to biopsy‐proven acute and chronic rejection 2.5 years after discontinuing anti‐rejection medication; J. M. continues to maintain adequate liver function. The results have important implications for the planned withdrawal of immunosuppression in tolerance protocols as DC may play a role either in the maintenance of tolerance or immune activation. J. Leukoc. Biol. 66: 301–305; 1999.
Gibbs Sampling for the Probit Regression Model with Gaussian Markov Random Field Latent Variables

We consider a binary probit model where the latent variable follow a Gaussian Markov Random Field (GMRF). Our main objective is to derive an efficient Gibbs sampler for the above model. For this purpose, we first review two Gibbs samplers available for the classical probit model with one latent variable. We find that the joint update of variables increases the rate of convergence. We use these results to derive Gibbs samplers for the probit model with GMRF latent variables. We discuss three different approaches to Gibbs sampling for the above model. The first two approaches are direct extensions of the Gibbs sampler for the classical probit model. The third approach involves a slight modification in the probit model and suggests that it may be possible to block sample all its variables at once.
Conceptually categorizing geographic features from text based on latent semantic analysis and ontologies

ABSTRACT Categorizing geographic features from text is a process of assigning a collection of text documents that describe geographic features to predefined categories. This paper presents a new approach to categorize geographic features from text that begins at the level of the individual document. Using latent semantic analysis, similar geographic features are grouped into predefined categories through capturing the semantic context of text. By incorporating ontologies into latent semantic analysis, the domain knowledge can be incorporated into the categorizing process. The proposed approach can allocate each geographic feature into more than one category and is able to identify a set of key concepts to represent each category. The results from an experimental evaluation using the proposed approach showed promise in categorizing geographic features from text.
Implementing a surface EMG model with accurate parameters and a force output

A surface electromyogram model has been implemented with both electrical and mechanical outputs. The model has been populated with parameter values based on random distributions about experimentally observed averages. Motor unit firing rates and recruitment threshold have been defined independently for type I and type II muscle fibres. This has led to non-linear inputs to the sEMG model. The observed model outputs have been compared with experimental data. Both the electrical and mechanical outputs are shown to increase linearly with force. The rates of increase are comparable between the simulated and experimental data sets. This model is generating life-like sEMG signals and may be used to study the relationship between muscle physiology and the sEMG signal.
Assessing the Risk of Banking Crises – Revisited

Historically, unusually strong increases in credit and asset prices have tended to precede banking crises. Could the current crisis have been anticipated by exploiting this relationship? We explore this question by assessing the out-of-sample performance of leading indicators of banking system distress developed in previous work, also extended to incorporate explicitly property prices. We find that they are fairly successful in providing a signal for several banking systems currently in distress, including that of the United States. We also consider the complications that arise in calibrating the indicators as a result of cross-border exposures, so prominent in the current episode.
DIRTREL : Robust Nonlinear Direct Transcription with Ellipsoidal Disturbances and LQR Feedback

Many critical robotics applications require robustness to disturbances arising from unplanned forces, state uncertainty, and model errors. Motion planning algorithms that explicitly reason about robustness require a coupling of trajectory optimization and feedback design, where the system’s closedloop response to bounded disturbances is optimized. Due to the often-heavy computational demands of solving such problems, the practical application of robust trajectory optimization in robotics has so far been limited. We derive a tractable robust optimization algorithm that combines direct transcription with linear-quadratic feedback to efficiently reason about closed-loop responses to disturbances. In the case of ellipsoidal disturbance sets, the state and input deviations along a nominal trajectory can be computed locally in closed form, thus allowing for fast evaluations of robust cost and constraint functions. The resulting algorithm, called DIRTREL, is an extension of classical direct transcription that demonstrably improves tracking performance over non-robust formulations while incurring only a modest increase in computational cost. We evaluate the algorithm in several simulated robot planning and control tasks.
Symbol and bit error probabilities of orthogonal space-time block codes with antenna selection over keyhole fading channels

The symbol error rate (SER) and the bit error rate (BER) of orthogonal space-time block codes (OSTBCs) with antenna selection over keyhole fading channels are examined. Considered are receive antenna selection, transmit antenna selection, and joint antenna selection at both the transmitter and the receiver. The exact SERs of OSTBCs for M-PSK and square MQAM constellations are obtained using the technique of moment generating function (MGF). By applying the Bonferroni-type bounds, tight lower and upper bounds for both the SER and BER are provided in closed-form expressions with finite-range single integrals. The bounds can be applied to arbitrary constellations and mappings. Numerical results show that the bounds can be used to provide practically the exact SER and BER over a wide range of the signal-to-noise ratio.