Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Metabolite Profiles of the Relationship between Body Mass Index (BMI) Milestones and Metabolic Risk during Early Adolescence

Early growth is associated with future metabolic risk; however, little is known of the underlying biological pathways. In this prospective study of 249 boys and 227 girls, we sought to identify sex-specific metabolite profiles that mark the relationship between age and magnitude of the infancy body mass index (BMI) peak, and the childhood BMI rebound with a metabolic syndrome z-score (MetS z-score) during early adolescence (median age 12.8 years). Thirteen consensus metabolite networks were generated between male and female adolescents using weighted correlation network analysis. In girls, none of the networks were related to BMI milestones after false discovery rate (FDR) correction at 5%. In boys, age and/or magnitude of BMI at rebound were associated with three metabolite eigenvector (ME) networks comprising androgen hormones (ME7), lysophospholipids (ME8), and diacylglycerols (ME11) after FDR correction. These networks were also associated with MetS z-score in boys after accounting for age and race/ethnicity: ME7 (1.43 [95% CI: 0.52, 2.34] units higher MetS z-score per 1 unit of ME7), ME8 (−1.01 [95% CI: −1.96, −0.07]), and ME11 (2.88 [95% CI: 2.06, 3.70]). These findings suggest that alterations in sex steroid hormone and lipid metabolism are involved in the relationship of early growth with future metabolic risk in males.
More Efficient Prussian Blue Nanoparticles for an Improved Caesium Decontamination from Aqueous Solutions and Biological Fluids

Any release of radioactive cesium-137, due to unintentional accidents in nuclear plants, represents a dangerous threat for human health and the environment. Prussian blue has been widely studied and used as an antidote for humans exposed to acute internal contamination by Cs-137, due to its ability to act as a selective adsorption agent and to its negligible toxicity. In the present work, the synthesis protocol has been revisited avoiding the use of organic solvents to obtain Prussian blue nanoparticles with morphological and textural properties, which positively influence its Cs+ binding capacity compared to a commercially available Prussian blue sample. The reduction of the particle size and the increase in the specific surface area and pore volume values compared to the commercial Prussian blue reference led to a more rapid uptake of caesium in simulated enteric fluid solution (+35% after 1 h of contact). Then, after 24 h of contact, both solids were able to remove >98% of the initial Cs+ content. The Prussian blue nanoparticles showed a weak inhibition of the bacterial luminescence in the aqueous phase and no chronic detrimental toxic effects.
Vital EKG: a wearable multi-sensor system for medical diagnostics and patient monitoring

Continuous vital signs monitoring is of utmost importance for many people. Consequently, devices able to perform such monitoring, also called Personal Health System (PHS), have been gaining a lot of research and market interest in the last few years. This thesis work deals with the design of a comprehensive PHS able to perform EKG, measure heart rate (HR) and blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) as well as monitoring skin temperature and humidity and tracking activity. Vital EKG has a wrist band form factor. This choice simplifies the management of the device with respect to chest straps; EKG trace and SpO2 and HR readings are offered on demand and require the user to place two fingers on the device. Vital EKG has been designed using off the shelf, modern Surface Mount Technology (SMT) components. The layout of a Semi-Flex Printed Circuit Board (PCB) is also considered to account for assembly in the 3D printed case. HR and SpO2 measurements accuracy have been checked against a professional Vital Sign Simulator; furthermore, real-life tests have been performed and results have been confronted with a professional Fingertip Pulse Oximeter. EKG traces provided by Vital EKG have been tested as well against professional medical equipment. To sum up, further studies could use hardware and firmware developed in this work to provide detailed informations about anomalies of the heart, such as atrial fibrillation.
Effect of Training Phase on Physical and Physiological Parameters of Male Powerlifters

Longitudinal research on training and dietary practices of natural powerlifters is limited. This study investigated the effect of phases of training on physical and physiological parameters in male natural powerlifters. Nine participants completed testing at two time points: (i) preparatory phase (~3 months prior to a major competition) and (ii) competition phase (1–2 weeks from a major competition). No significant changes between training phases were found for muscle strength and power. A trend for significance was found for decreased muscle endurance of the lower body (−24.4%, p = 0.08). A significant increase in leg lean mass was found at the competition phase (2.3%, p = 0.04), although no changes for other body composition measures were observed. No change was observed for any health marker except a trend for increased urinary creatinine clearance at the competition phase (12.5%, p = 0.08). A significant reduction in training volume for the lower body (−75.0%, p = 0.04) and a trend for a decrease in total energy intake (−17.0%, p = 0.06) was observed during the competition phase. Despite modifications in training and dietary practices, it appears that muscle performance, body composition, and health status remain relatively stable between training phases in male natural powerlifters.
Transcriptional Response of Osmolyte Synthetic Pathways and Membrane Transporters in a Euryhaline Diatom During Long‐term Acclimation to a Salinity Gradient

How diatoms respond to fluctuations in osmotic pressure is important from both ecological and applied perspectives. It is well known that osmotic stress affects photosynthesis and can result in the accumulation of compounds desirable in pharmaceutical and alternative fuel industries. Gene expression responses to osmotic stress have been studied in short‐term trials, but it is unclear whether the same mechanisms are recruited during long‐term acclimation. We used RNA‐seq to study the genome‐wide transcription patterns in the euryhaline diatom, Cyclotella cryptica, following long‐term acclimation to salinity that spanned the natural range of fresh to oceanic water. Long‐term acclimated C. cryptica exhibited induced synthesis or repressed degradation of the osmolytes glycine betaine, taurine and dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP). Although changes in proline concentration is one of the main responses in short‐term osmotic stress, we did not detect a transcriptional change in proline biosynthetic pathways in our long‐term experiment. Expression of membrane transporters showed a general tendency for increased import of potassium and export of sodium, consistent with the electrochemical gradients and dependence on co‐transported molecules. Our results show substantial between‐genotype differences in growth and gene expression reaction norms and suggest that the regulation of proline synthesis important in short‐term osmotic stress might not be maintained in long‐term acclimation. Further examination using time‐course gene expression experiments, metabolomics and genetic validation of gene functions would reinforce patterns inferred from RNA‐seq data.
Comparison of BRAF Mutation Screening Strategies in a Large Real-Life Series of Advanced Melanoma Patients

Malignant melanoma (MM) is one of the deadliest skin cancers. BRAF mutation status plays a predominant role in the management of MM patients. The aim of this study was to compare BRAF mutational testing performed by conventional nucleotide sequencing approaches with either real-time polymerase chain reaction (rtPCR) or next-generation sequencing (NGS) assays in a real-life, hospital-based series of advanced MM patients. Consecutive patients with AJCC (American Joint Committee on Cancer) stage IIIC and IV MM from Sardinia, Italy, who were referred for molecular testing, were enrolled into the study. Initial screening was performed to assess the mutational status of the BRAF and NRAS genes, using the conventional methodologies recognized by the nationwide guidelines, at the time of the molecular classification, required by clinicians: at the beginning, Sanger-based sequencing (SS) and, after, pyrosequencing. The present study was then focused on BRAF mutation detecting approaches only. BRAF wild-type cases with available tissue and adequate DNA were further tested with rtPCR (Idylla™) and NGS assays. Globally, 319 patients were included in the study; pathogenic BRAF mutations were found in 144 (45.1%) cases examined with initial screening. The rtPCR detected 11 (16.2%) and 3 (4.8%) additional BRAF mutations after SS and pyrosequencing, respectively. NGS detected one additional BRAF-mutated case (2.1%) among 48 wild-type cases previously tested with pyrosequencing and rtPCR. Our study evidenced that rtPCR and NGS were able to detect additional BRAF mutant cases in comparison with conventional sequencing methods; therefore, we argue for the preferential utilization of the aforementioned assays (NGS and rtPCR) in clinical practice, to eradicate false-negative cases and improve the accuracy of BRAF detection.
Effects of water extract of Cajanus cajan leaves on differentiation and function of primary osteoblasts and osteoclasts in vitro

The effects of water extract of Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp. leaves (WECML) on differentiation and function of primary osteoblasts and osteoclasts were studied. The results indicated that WECML inhibited the proliferation of osteoblasts at higher concentration of 100 μg/mL and the inhibition rate was 12.12%. When its concentration descended to 0.01~10 μg/mL, it turned to stimulate the proliferation of the osteoblasts. The effects of WECML on differentiation of osteoblasts depended on concentrations and time. It promoted the mineralization function of osteoblasts at concentrations of 0.01, 0.1, and 1 μg/mL, but inhibited the mineralization function at concentrations of 10 and 100 μg/mL. It inhibited bone resorption activity as indicated by the dose-dependent reduction in the pit numbers and areas (P < 0.05). This indicates that the WECML may be a potential source of natural anti-osteoporosis products.
Phosphorus, soluble carbohydrates and the competition between two arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonizing subterranean clover.

We investigated the competition between two arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, Glomus sp. [isolate WUM 10(1)] and Scutellospora calospora [isolate WUM 12(3)] during the colonization of subterranean clover at four concentrations of soil phosphorus (P). When the clover seedlings were 4 wks old we collected data for plant growth, P uptake, mycorrhizal colonization and soluble carbohydrate status of the roots. The percent and total colonization by Glomus sp. was reduced to a much greater extent than S. calospora when the soil P status was increased. When both fungi were inoculated together, S. calospora was unaffected by the presence of Glomus sp. or the P status of the soil; Glomus sp. , however, was reduced to a far greater extent when in the presence of S. calospora than compared to when it was inoculated alone, Associated with the decreases in colonization by Glomus sp. , when inoculated alone, with S. calospara and with increases in the level of P applied to the soil, were decreases in the concentration of soluble carbohydrates within the root. We propose that root carbohydrates directly influence the outcome of competition between these two isolates during the colonization of subterranean clover.
Disassembly Evaluation During the Conceptual Design Phase to Ensure a Better Valorisation of Products at the End of Life Cycle

Received: 5 March 2020 Accepted: 16 May 2020 In recent decades, the major preoccupation of industrialists has shifted towards the production of ecological products, given the actual environmental issues on the environment. to overcome this problem, several methodologies have been proposed, notably regarding the valorization of End-of-Life (EoL) products. The study of relevant literature indicates that in order to successfully recover EoL products, a design for an easily disassembled product should be considered from the early design stages. Therefore, the objective of the work reported in this paper is to support designers firstly to evaluate the disassembly from the beginning of the design process notably during the conceptual design, based on the following four criteria: type of disassembly tools, accessibility and operator’s posture during disassembly, disassembly time and the chosen EoL scenarios, and secondly to mark off the field of proposed concepts using the technique of reference concepts, which will help to delimite the scope of feasible alternatives and thus reject unfeasible alternatives from a disassembly point of view. An indicator was proposed to determine distance between a proposed concept and reference concepts, which represent the minimum acceptable. In order to prove the relevance of our approach, we applied it to an industrial case of three different concepts of a solar collector support. The results obtained allowed us to reduce the field of proposed solutions from three alternatives to two. Furthermore, the analysis of obtained results allowed us to extract some relevant recommendations to be made in the EoL strategy, in order to improve the disassembly performance of the rejected alternative. The evaluation results obtained after the modification of the EoL strategy allowed us to keep the alternative initially rejected after improving the criteria which had low scores compared to the reference concepts.
Nuclear export of actin: A biochemical and structural perspective

Macromolecular exchange between the nucleus and the cytoplasm is mainly mediated by the RanGTP-dependent nuclear transport receptors (NTRs) of the Impβ family. NTRs are classified as importins and exportins according to the direction of transport. Exportins carry their cargos from the nucleus to cytoplasm as a ternary export complex together with RanGTP. Impβ-like NTRs are made up of multiple HEAT repeats and share an inherently flexible structure. Nevertheless, structural analyses so far revealed unique cargo recognition mechanisms for each NTR, and even for different cargos recognized by the same receptor. Actin is the well-known constituent of the cytoplasmic microfilaments. Monomeric actin with its small size and globular fold can slowly diffuse into the nucleus. Exportin 6 (Xpo6) is a dedicated export receptor found in vertebrates and insects, whose only known function is to export nuclear actinprofilin back to cytoplasm. In the absence of Xpo6, actin accumulates in the nucleus. Amphibian oocytes exploit this to stabilize their giant nuclei with an intranuclear actin cytoskeleton by blocking Xpo6 expression. On the other hand, nuclear accumulation of actin is also seen in intranuclear rod myopathies (IRM), devastating muscle diseases caused by several mutations of the skeletal alpha actin gene. We hypothesize that these mutations of actin interfere with its recognition and nuclear export by Xpo6, resulting in the characteristic nuclear accumulations. To decipher the cargo recognition by Xpo6 and to understand the mechanisms underlying the IRM, we set out to crystallize the Xpo6*RanGTP*actin*profilin complex. It turned out that the actin export complex is extremely salt sensitive, and muscle and non-muscle actin isoforms differ in their affinity for profilin and hence, for the export complex. We developed a new single-step protocol for purification of profilin*β/γ-actin complexes from cytoplasmic extracts, which enabled us to purify a stable actin export complex. Topological analysis of the actin export complex showed that the Poly-Proline-binding pocket of profilin is accessible in the complex, whereas the binding site for DNaseI on actin overlaps with the Xpo6 binding site. Crystals of cargo-free Xpo6 were obtained in several different conditions. However, the diffraction is currently limited to 7.4 A resolution. Also the actin nuclear export complex was successfully crystallized. These crystals will be the substrates for future structural analyses and will help us to understand the cargo recognition by Xpo6.
Patterns of Adaptive Functioning in Cortical and Subcortical Diagnostic Groups of Dementia.

iv INTRODUCTION . 1 REVIEW OF LITERATURE . 5 Determination of Dementia . 5 Parkinson's Disease . 7 Assessment of Adaptive Functioning . 11 Adaptive and Neuropsychological Functioning . 14 Adaptive Functioning and Mood Status . 17 MATERIALS AND METHODS . 20 Sample Characteristics . 20 Materials . 22 Procedure . 25 Data Analysis . 25 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION . 28 Background Information . 28 Neuropsychological Functioning . 28 Adaptive Functioning. 31 Adaptive Functioning and Mood Status . 3 5 Adaptive Functioning and Neuropsychological Test Performance . 35 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS . 4 0 REFERENCES . 47 APPENDIX A: SUBCORTICAL SYNDROMES . 57 APPENDIX B: SUBCORTICAL CHARACTERISTICS . 58 APPENDIX C: QUESTIONNAIRE. 59 VITA . 62
Nivolumab (NIVO) + low-dose ipilimumab (IPI) in previously treated patients (pts) with microsatellite instability-high/mismatch repair-deficient (MSI-H/dMMR) metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC): Long-term follow-up.

635 Background: In the phase II CheckMate-142 trial, NIVO + low-dose IPI (1 mg/kg) provided meaningful clinical benefit in previously treated MSI-H/dMMR mCRC pts after a median follow-up of 13.4 mo. Here, we present long-term follow-up (median 25.4 mo) of these pts. Methods: Pts received NIVO 3 mg/kg + low-dose IPI Q3W (4 doses) followed by NIVO 3 mg/kg Q2W until disease progression. Primary endpoint was investigator (INV)-assessed objective response rate (ORR; RECIST v1.1). Results: Of 119 treated pts, 76% had ≥ 2 prior lines of therapy. ORR and disease control rates (DCR) were 58 and 81%, respectively (Table). Complete response (CR) rate increased with long-term follow-up from 3 (13.4 mo) to 6% (25.4 mo). Median duration of response (DOR) was not reached, with 68% of responses ongoing at data cutoff. At 24 mo, progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) rates were 60 and 74%, respectively; OS rates were 96, 56, and 29% in pts with CR or partial response (PR), stable disease (SD), and progressive disease (PD), respectively. Grade 3–4 treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) occurred in 31% of pts; 10% (grade 3–4) and 13% (any grade) of pts had TRAEs leading to discontinuation. Conclusions: Long-term follow-up with NIVO + low-dose IPI provides durable clinical benefit with deepening of response and a manageable safety profile with no new safety signals, demonstrating long-term benefit of NIVO + low-dose IPI for previously treated pts with MSI-H/dMMR mCRC. Clinical trial information: NCT02060188. [Table: see text]
The Investigation of Magnetic Field Distribution of Dual Coil Pulsed Magnet

The evaluation of magnetic field distribution of dual coil pulsed magnet has been performed. Coil geometry was found by the simulation of transient electromagnetic, magneto mechanical ant thermodynamic processes using Matlab Simulink and Matlab software. The result of optimization has allowed to determine of coil “life-zone” where the maximum mechanical stress and temperature do not exceed the yield strength and thermal overloads limits. The distance between parts of dual coil has been determined from the minimum field distortion criteria in centre of dual coil. The non-homogeneity of magnetic field does not exceed 0,01% in 10 mm central area. Ill. 5, bibl. 9 (in English; summaries in English, Russian and Lithuanian).
Effect of oleic and conjugated linoleic acid in the diet of broiler chickens on the live growth performances, carcass traits and meat fatty acid profile

Abstract Olive oil and CLA enriched olive oil were compared with each other in a growth trial with broiler chickens, as energy supplements to the diet. A commercial CLA blend was used at the level of 1 kg per 100 kg mixed integrated feed. Two hundred and forty commercial hybrid broilers (Ross 308) were randomly subdivided and allotted to 8 pens of 30 birds each. Four pens of birds were fed the olive oil diet and considered the control group; the other 4 pens were fed the olive oil supplemented with CLA and considered the treated group. The experiment lasted 47 days. The live performance of the treated birds resulted different from the performance of the control ones: the final body weight was slightly lighter (2.544 kg vs 2.639 kg; P≤0.05) with a lower feed intake (4.886 kg feed vs 4.998 kg, P≤0.05) and, of course, an almost perfectly overlapping feed/gain ratio (1.90 vs 1.91). The fatty acid composition of the breast fat of the CLA treated birds resulted enriched by the two major CLA isomers, trans 10 cis 12 and cis 9 trans 11, whereas oleic acid and the linoleic, linolenic and arachidonic polyunsaturated acids showed a decrease (P≤0.05). CLA appears a recommendable ingredient in the diets of broilers as it improves the beneficial characteristics of poultry meat.
The impact of time pressure on cybersecurity behaviour: a systematic literature review

ABSTRACT In today's fast-paced society, users of information technology increasingly operate under high time pressure. Loaded with multiple tasks and racing against deadlines, users experience considerable cognitive load and stress which can detrimentally impact their behaviour. As a result, scholars have shown that the human firewall in cybersecurity is often compromised, with potentially catastrophic consequences for users, the organisations they represent, and their clients. However, despite concerns about the impact of time pressure on human cybersecurity (HCS) behaviour, research on this matter is scant and there is no literature review available that may inform researchers and practitioners about the current body of knowledge. To address this gap, we conducted a systematic literature review of 21 studies in leading outlets. Synthesising the findings of the extant literature, we present an integrative theoretical framework that conceptualises the impact of time pressure on HCS behaviour along the contexts, psychological constructs, consequences, and moderating factors of the phenomenon. For researchers, this framework can serve as a ‘route map’ to conceptualise the role of time pressure in the HCS context and to identify directions for further research. Practitioners can use the framework as a guide for devising effective countermeasures and for designing and provisioning systems.