Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Early Lifestyle Intervention for Obesity Prevention in Pediatric Survivors of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Patients with pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) experience rapid weight gain during treatment and increases in weight are maintained throughout treatment and beyond. Without prompt interventions, altered dietary and physical activity behaviors may become difficult to reverse, contributing to obesity risk long-term. Fifteen children, aged 3–9 years, diagnosed with pediatric ALL who were on maintenance therapy or within two years of treatment completion (mean BMI percentile: 70.4th) and one parent from each family, were enrolled into a 12-week lifestyle intervention delivered remotely through web-based sessions and phone calls with a lifestyle coach. Outcomes were assessed at baseline and end of the intervention. Thirteen of the 15 enrolled families (86.7%) completed the intervention. Parents reduced the “pressure to eat” feeding practice (change in mean score: −0.60, 95% CI: −1.12 to −0.07; p-value = 0.03) post intervention. Children increased the consumption of milk (0.54 serving/d, 0.02 to 1.07; p-value = 0.04) and percent of calories from protein (2.54%, 0.22 to 4.87%; p-value = 0.04) and reduced the consumption of potatoes (−0.16 serving/d, -0.30 to −0.03; p-value = 0.02). No significant changes were observed for children’s levels of physical activity, BMI, or waist circumference. Results from this pilot support the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of early lifestyle intervention among pediatric ALL survivors.
Use of a Sandwich Plate System in a Virginia Bridge

The deterioration of the nation’s civil infrastructure has prompted the investigation of numerous solutions to the problem. Some of these solutions have come in the form of innovative materials for new construction, whereas others have considered rehabilitation techniques for repairing existing infrastructure. A relatively new system that appears capable of encompassing both of these solution methodologies is the sandwich plate system (SPS), a composite bridge deck system that can be used in both new construction or for rehabilitation applications. SPS consists of steel face plates bonded to a rigid polyurethane core; a typical bridge application utilizes SPS primarily as a bridge deck acting compositely with conventional support girders. As a result of this technology being relatively new to the bridge market, design methods have yet to be established. This research aims to close this gap by investigating some of the key design issues considered to be limiting factors in implementation of SPS. The key issues that will be studied include lateral load distribution, dynamic load allowance, and deck design methodologies. With SPS being new to the market, there has been only one bridge application, limiting the investigations of in-service behavior. The Shenley Bridge, located near Quebec, Canada, was tested under live load conditions to determine in-service behavior with an emphasis on lateral load distribution and dynamic load allowance. Both static and dynamic testing was conducted. Results from the testing allowed for the determination of lateral load distribution factors and dynamic load allowance of an in-service SPS bridge. Results from this study suggest that the behavior of an SPS does differ somewhat from conventional systems, but the response can be accommodated with current AASHTO Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) provisions as a result of their conservativeness. In addition to characterizing global response, a deck design approach was developed in this research project. In this approach, the SPS deck was represented as a plate structure, which allowed for the consideration of the key design limit states within the AASHTO LRFD specification. Based on the plate analyses, it was concluded that the design of SPS decks is stiffness-controlled as limited by the AASHTO LRFD specification deflection limits for lightweight metal decks. These limits allowed for the development of a method for sizing SPS decks to satisfy stiffness requirements.
Photostability of thiol-capped CdTe quantum dots in living cells: the effect of photo-oxidation

The photostability of thiol-capped CdTe quantum dots (QDs) in Euglena gracilis (EG 277) and human embryonic kidney (HEK 293) cells was studied. The photobleaching for the cellular QDs is dependent both on the irradiation power density and the QD local concentration. The photostability of cellular QDs is better than that of chlorophyll in EG 277 cells and of green fluorescence protein (GFP) in HEK 293 cells, and is much better than that of FITC when the local concentration of QDs is not too low. The photobleaching of cellular QDs was remarkably reduced in the nitrogen treated EG 277 cells, indicating that photobleaching in living cells mainly results from photo-oxidation. The effect of photo-oxidation on QD photobleaching was further confirmed by comparing the situations in oxygen treated and nitrogen treated QD aqueous solutions. The photobleaching rate is related to the irradiation power density and the local density of QDs. The higher irradiation power density and oxygen abundance and lower QD concentration will result in a higher photobleaching rate.
Evaluation of a new primer combination to minimize plastid contamination in 16S rDNA metabarcoding analyses of alga-associated bacterial communities.

Plant- and alga-associated bacterial communities are generally described via 16S rDNA metabarcoding using universal primers. As plastid genomes encode 16S rDNA related to cyanobacteria, these datasets frequently contain >90% plastidial sequences, and the bacterial diversity may be under-sampled. To overcome this limitation we evaluated in silico the taxonomic coverage for four primer combinations targeting the 16S rDNA V3-V4 region. They included a forward primer universal to Bacteria (S-D-Bact-0341-b-S-17) and four reverse primers designed to avoid plastid DNA amplification. The best primer combination (NOCHL) was compared to the universal primer set in the wet lab using a synthetic community and samples from 3 macroalgal species. The proportion of plastid sequences was reduced by 99-100% with the NOCHL primers compared to the universal primers, irrespective of algal hosts, sample collection and extraction protocols. Additionally, the NOCHL primers yielded a higher richness while maintaining the community structure. As Planctomycetes, Verrucomicrobia, and Cyanobacteria were underrepresented (70-90%) compared to universal primers, combining the NOCHL set with taxon-specific primers may be useful for a complete description of the alga-associated bacterial diversity. The NOCHL primers represent an innovation to study algal holobionts without amplifying host plastid sequences and may further be applied on other photosynthetic hosts. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Integrating Biological Knowledge Into Case-Control Analysis Through Iterated Conditional Modes/Medians Algorithm

Logistic regression is an effective tool in case-control analysis. With the advanced high throughput technology, a quest to seek a fast and efficient method in fitting high-dimensional logistic regression has gained much interest. An empirical Bayes model for logistic regression is considered in this article. A spike-and-slab prior is used for variable selection purpose, which plays a vital role in building an effective predictive model while making model interpretable. To increase the power of variable selection, we incorporate biological knowledge through the Ising prior. The development of the iterated conditional modes/medians (ICM/M) algorithm is proposed to fit the logistic model that has computational advantage over Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithms. The implementation of the ICM/M algorithm for both linear and logistic models can be found in R package icmm that is freely available on Comprehensive R Archive Network (CRAN). Simulation studies were carried out to assess the performances of our method, with lasso and adaptive lasso as benchmark. Overall, the simulation studies show that the ICM/M outperform the others in terms of number of false positives and have competitive predictive ability. An application to a real data set from Parkinson's disease study was also carried out for illustration. To identify important variables, our approach provides flexibility to select variables based on local posterior probabilities while controlling false discovery rate at a desired level rather than relying only on regression coefficients.
BA 14-2-Ermann

Can music listeners, both experienced and inexperienced, distinguish a double-sloped decay from a Sabine decay? Do they prefer the double slope? A simulated space, based on an actual built coupled-volume hall, was conceived in room acoustics software to create double sloped and classic Sabine auralizations. The simulated decays were compared with in situ measurements taken in a built coupled volume concert hall for validation. The impulse responses generated were convolved with an anechoic musical recording, grouped in pairs, and played for subjects. Participants listened to the recorded pairs over headphones and were asked to determine (1) if the two recordings sounded different, (2) which recording was more likely to have a double slope or had a more dramatic double slope, and (3) which of the two recordings they prefer. The more a recording diverged from a standard Sabine decay, the more likely the respondents were to identify that recording as having a double slope. When asked to identify a preference, subjects were no more likely to select a recording with a double-sloped decay, than a Sabine decay.
Antioxidant properties of soybean with black and yellow kernel coat

The objectives of this study were to characterize black and yellow soybean varieties for the total phenolic, taninn, proanthocyanidin, flavonoid and tocopherol contents, and to examine antioxidant activity. Also, the content of tocopherols (α-, β-, γ-, and δ-) was detected by using HPLC method. The obtained results suggest that kernel extracts of black soybeans has considerable higher level of all the ivestigated phenolic classes and about double amount of the total phenolics. The total tocopherols were significantly higher in black than in yellow soybean varieties. Concentrations ranged from 264.3 to 266.7 μg/g and from 216.3 to 246.7 μg/g in black and yellow soybean varieties, respectively. β+γ-Tocopherol isomers were dominant in all samples. Correlation between total phenolics, phenolic classes, tocopherols and antioxidant activity detected by DPPH radical scavenging test, was found.
Hurdles in investigating UVB damage in the putative ancient asexual Darwinula stevensoni (Ostracoda, Crustacea)

Ostracoda or mussel-shrimps are small, bivalved Crustacea. Because of their excellent fossil record and their broad variety of reproductive modes, ostracods are of great interest as a model group in ecological and evolutionary research. Here, we investigated damage and repair from one of the most important biological mutagens, namely UVB radiation, in the putative ancient asexual ostracod Darwinula stevensoni from Belgium. We applied three different methods: the Polymerase Inhibition (PI) assay, Enzyme-Linked Immuno Sorbent Assay (ELISA) and dot blot. All three techniques were unsuccessful in quantifying UVB damage in D. stevensoni. Previous experiments have revealed that the valves of D. stevensoni provide an average UVB protection of approximate 60%. Thus, UVB damage could be too little to make quantitative experiments work. Additionally, variation between individual ostracods due to season and age most likely contributed further to the failure of the three used experimental approaches to quantify damage. In a second experiment, we investigated the influence of temperature on survival of D. stevensoni during UVB exposure. The estimated relative lethal UVB dose at 4°C was with 50 kJ/m2, significantly lower than at room temperature, with 130 kJ/m2. This could either indicate lack of adaptation to low temperatures and/or the presence of metabolic processes active at room temperature protecting against UVB damage in D. stevensoni. The latter possibility could also explain why the estimated relative lethal UVB dose of D. stevensoni is similar to that of other non-marine ostracods where valves provide around 80% protection, despite the valves of D. stevensoni providing less protection. If such metabolic processes can repair UVB damage quickly, this may provide an alternative explanation why we could not quantify UVB damage in D. stevensoni.
Protective effect of alpha lipoic acid on cisplatin induced hepatotoxicity in rats

ABSTRACT We investigated the protective effect of alpha lipoic acid (ALA) against cisplatin (CIS) induced hepatotoxicity in rats. ALA is an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent that exhibits free radical scavenger properties and direct antioxidant effects on recycling of other cellular antioxidants. We used four equal groups of rats. The control group: saline solution (0.9%) was administered intraperitoneally (i.p.); ALA group: administered a single dose 100 mg/kg ALA i.p. for 10 days; CIS group was administered a single dose 5 mg/kg CIS i.p. on the first day of the study; CIS + ALA group was administered a single dose 5 mg/kg CIS i.p. on the first day of study, then 100 mg/kg ALA i.p. for 10 days. In the CIS group, Bax, caspase3, malondialdehyde (MDA), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels were increased, whereas Bcl-2, superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) levels were decreased compared to the control group. In the CIS + ALA group, Bax, caspase 3, MDA, AST and ALT levels were decreased, whereas Bcl-2, SOD, CAT and GPx levels were increased compared to the CIS group. In the CIS group we found intense perivenule sinusoid dilation, karyomegaly, pyknotic and karyolytic cells, central vein congestion, parenchymal inflammation, mild bile duct proliferation and periportal sinusoid dilation. Histological liver damage was reduced in the CIS + ALA group. ALA may useful for treating CIS induced hepatotoxicity owing to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects.
Rapid multination distribution assessment of a charismatic conservation species using open access ensemble model GIS predictions : Red panda ( Ailurus fulgens ) in the HinduKush Himalaya region

http://dx.doi. org/10.1016/j.biocon. 2014.10. 007 0006-3207/ 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. ⇑ Corresponding author at: 419 Irving 1, University of Alaska-Fairbanks, 99775 Fairbanks, AK, USA. E-mail addresses: kandel.kamal82@gmail.com (K. Kandel), fhuettmann@alaska. edu (F. Huettmann), madanksuwal@gmail.com (M.K. Suwal), regmigr1978@gmail. com (G. Ram Regmi), vnijman@brookes.ac. uk (V. Nijman), anekaris@brookes.ac. uk (K.A.I. Nekaris), sonam.tac@gmail.com (S.T. Lama), thapa.nature@gmail.com (A. Thapa), himalayanhari@gmail.com (H.P. Sharma), tulsi.biologist@gmail.com (T.R. Subedi). Kamal Kandel , Falk Huettmann b,⇑, Madan Krishna Suwal , Ganga Ram Regmi , Vincent Nijman , K.A.I. Nekaris , Sonam Tashi Lama , Arjun Thapa , Hari Prasad Sharma , Tulsi Ram Subedi f
Big Ideas in primary mathematics : issues and directions

This article is located within the literature arguing for attention to Big Ideas in teaching and learning mathematics for understanding. The focus is on surveying the literature of Big Ideas and clarifying what might constitute Big Ideas in the primary Mathematics Curriculum based on both theoretical and pragmatic considerations. This is complemented by an analysis of the evidence for two Big Ideas in South Africa's Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements for Foundation- and Intermediate- Phase Mathematics. This analysis reveals that, while there is some evidence of implicit attention to Big Ideas in the Curriculum, without more explicit attention to these, teachers and, consequently, learners are not likely to develop understanding of Big Ideas and how they connect aspects of mathematics together.
Expression of potassium channel genes predicts clinical outcome in lung cancer

Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer deaths worldwide and several molecular signatures have been developed to predict survival in lung cancer. Increasing evidence suggests that proliferation and migration to promote tumor growth are associated with dysregulated ion channel expression. In this study, by analyzing high-throughput gene expression data, we identify the differentially expressed K+ channel genes in lung cancer. In total, we prioritize ten dysregulated K+ channel genes (5 up-regulated and 5 down-regulated genes, which were designated as K-10) in lung tumor tissue compared with normal tissue. A risk scoring system combined with the K-10 signature accurately predicts clinical outcome in lung cancer, which is independent of standard clinical and pathological prognostic factors including patient age, lymph node involvement, tumor size, and tumor grade. We further indicate that the K-10 potentially predicts clinical outcome in breast and colon cancers. Molecular signature discovered through K+ gene expression profiling may serve as a novel biomarker to assess the risk in lung cancer.
Functionalized Electrospun Nanofibers as Colorimetric Sensory Probe for Mercury Detection: A Review

Mercury is considered the most hazardous pollutant of aquatic resources; it exerts numerous adverse effects on environmental and human health. To date, significant progress has been made in employing a variety of nanomaterials for the colorimetric detection of mercury ions. Electrospun nanofibers exhibit several beneficial features, including a large surface area, porous nature, and easy functionalization; thus, providing several opportunities to encapsulate a variety of functional materials for sensing applications with enhanced sensitivity and selectivity, and a fast response. In this review, several examples of electrospun nanofiber-based sensing platforms devised by utilizing the two foremost approaches, namely, direct incorporation and surface decoration envisioned for detection of mercury ions are provided. We believe these examples provide sufficient evidence for the potential use and progress of electrospun nanofibers toward colorimetric sensing of mercury ions. Furthermore, the summary of the review is focused on providing an insight into the future directions of designing electrospun nanofiber-based, metal ion colorimetric sensors for practical applications.
Seasonal Variations of n-6: n-3 Ratios and Fatty Acid Compositions in Foot and Tissue of Chiton lamyi in a High Primary Productivity Area

Problem statement: Fatty acid content and composition in mollusks is a function of their feeding diversity. Chabahar bay located in the northern part of Oman sea in Indian ocean provides high rates of primary productivity and a diverse food source for mollusks in this area. Identification of fatty acid compositions of Chiton lamyi and study their seasonal changes in the intertidal zone of Chabahar bay. Study the meat quality by n-6: n-3 ratios calculation throughout the year. Approach: Chiton lamyi species analyzed seasonally for its fatty acid compositions in foot and internal tissue separately by GC/MS chromatography. Temperature and nutrients measured monthly for evaluating their effects on investigated seasonal variations of fatty acids. Pearson analysis showed effects of measured environmental factors on studied fatty acids composition. n-6: n-3 ratio calculated seasonally in order to study meat quality. Results: Thirteen fatty acids identified in foot and internal tissue of Chiton lamyi. The major Saturated Fatty Acids (SFAs) were myristic, palmitic and stearic acids. The major Mono-Unsaturated Fatty Acids (MUFAs) were palmitoleic, oleic and 11-eicosenoic acids and Poly-Unsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFAs) were linoleic, eicosapentaenoic and arachidonic acids. Palmitic acid was the most abundant in this species. Fatty acid contents of foot and internal tissue of Chiton lamyi were similar but their seasonal variations were different. Pearson analysis showed correlation among palmitic and oleic acids with silicate; oleic acid with phosphate; Linoleic and arachidonic acids with nitrate in Chiton lamyi internal tissues, but no correlation observed in foot. Although temperature showed correlation with heptadecanoic and methyl-heptadecanoic acids in Chiton lamyi foot, no correlation found in internal tissues. Also, n-6: n-3 ratio calculations showed domination of n-3 fatty acid over n-6 only in spring. Conclusion: Fatty acid variations were not same at different organs and environmental factors could have opposite effects on them in this species. Also, n-6: n-3 ratio showed the lack of food loads throughout the year except in spring for this species. These findings can lead the best exploitation periods for such marine mollusks.
Constraints on post-depositional isotope modifications in East Antarctic firn from analysing temporal changes of isotope profiles

Abstract. The isotopic composition of water in ice sheets is extensively used to infer past climate changes. In low-accumulation regions their interpretation is, however, challenged by poorly constrained effects that may influence the initial isotope signal during and after deposition of the snow. This is reflected in snow-pit isotope data from Kohnen Station, Antarctica, which exhibit a seasonal cycle but also strong interannual variations that contradict local temperature observations. These inconsistencies persist even after averaging many profiles and are thus not explained by local stratigraphic noise. Previous studies have suggested that post-depositional processes may significantly influence the isotopic composition of East Antarctic firn. Here, we investigate the importance of post-depositional processes within the open-porous firn (≳ 10 cm depth) at Kohnen Station by separating spatial from temporal variability. To this end, we analyse 22 isotope profiles obtained from two snow trenches and examine the temporal isotope modifications by comparing the new data with published trench data extracted 2 years earlier. The initial isotope profiles undergo changes over time due to downward advection, firn diffusion and densification in magnitudes consistent with independent estimates. Beyond that, we find further modifications of the original isotope record to be unlikely or small in magnitude (≪ 1 ‰ RMSD). These results show that the discrepancy between local temperatures and isotopes most likely originates from spatially coherent processes prior to or during deposition, such as precipitation intermittency or systematic isotope modifications acting on drifting or loose surface snow.