Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Role of Autonomous and Controlled Motivation in Exercise Intentions of Participants in a Mass Cycling Event

Purpose: This study used self-determination theory to examine the role of participants' autonomous and controlled motivation to exercise and to participate in a challenging mass cycling event and investigated whether the event enhanced intended and actual exercise behavior among the participants. Method: Two hundred and twenty-eight subjects, having participated in the cycling event, completed a questionnaire shortly after the event and again 4 months later. The questionnaire measured self-reported cycling and exercise activity, training in preparation of the event, motivation to participate in the event, motivation to exercise, and future exercise intentions due to the event. Results: Results showed that most participants were very active in cycling and other sports. The expected positive effect of autonomous motivation on exercise intentions and behavior could not be confirmed in our study. Multiple regression analyses revealed that the event had an enhancing effect on exercise intentions shortly after the event among participants that scored higher on controlled motivation to exercise (β = 0.15) and to participate (β = 0.15); also, participants were more satisfied with the event (β = 0.19) and had followed a preparation program before the event (β = 0.15). However, intentions and exercise behavior distinctively dropped 4 months after the event. Conclusions: Events aiming to enhance their participants' exercise behavior need to attract less active participants and need to make additional efforts to prevent relapse in intentions and exercise behavior.
Integration of [U‐13C]glucose and 2H2O for quantification of hepatic glucose production and gluconeogenesis

Glucose metabolism in five healthy subjects fasted for 16 h was measured with a combination of [U‐13C]glucose and 2H2O tracers. Phenylbutyric acid was also provided to sample hepatic glutamine for the presence of 13C‐isotopomers derived from the incorporation of [U‐13C]glucose products into the hepatic Krebs cycle. Glucose production (GP) was quantified by 13C NMR analysis of the monoacetone derivative of plasma glucose following a primed infusion of [U‐13C]glucose and provided reasonable estimates (1.90 ± 0.19 mg/kg/min with a range of 1.60–2.15 mg/kg/min). The same derivative yielded measurements of plasma glucose 2H‐enrichment from 2H2O by 2H NMR from which the contribution of glycogenolytic and gluconeogenic fluxes to GP was obtained (0.87 ± 0.14 and 1.03 ± 0.10 mg/kg/min, respectively). Hepatic glutamine 13C‐isotopomers representing multiply‐enriched oxaloacetate and [U‐13C]acetyl‐CoA were identified as multiplets in the 13C NMR signals of the glutamine moiety of urinary phenylacetylglutamine, demonstrating entry of the [U‐13C]glucose tracer into both oxidative and anaplerotic pathways of the hepatic Krebs cycle. These isotopomers contributed 0.1–0.2% excess enrichment to carbons 2 and 3 and ∼0.05% to carbon 4 of glutamine. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Two New Withanolide Lactones from Flos Daturae

Chemical investigation of the 50% ethanol eluate fraction from a macroporous resin of flowers of Datura metel L. collected in the Jiangsu Province of China resulted in the isolation of two new withanolides, baimantuoluoline G (1) and baimantuoluoside H (2). Their structures were elucidated as (12β,6β,22R)-1,10-seco-6,12,27-trihydroxy-26-oxo-witha-3,5,24-trienolide-1-oic acid-ε-lactone (1) and (5β,6α,12β,22R)-5,6,12,27-tetra-hydroxy-1,26-dioxo-witha-2,24-dienolide-27-O-β-glucopyranoside (2) on the basis of extensive spectroscopic analysis (1D, 2D-NMR and HRESIMS) and chemical studies.
Disruptions of Host Immunity and Inflammation by Giardia Duodenalis: Potential Consequences for Co-Infections in the Gastro-Intestinal Tract

Giardia duodenalis (syn. G. intestinalis, or G. lamblia) is a leading cause of waterborne diarrheal disease that infects hundreds of millions of people annually. Research on Giardia has greatly expanded within the last few years, and our understanding of the pathophysiology and immunology on this parasite is ever increasing. At peak infection, Giardia trophozoites induce pathophysiological responses that culminate in the development of diarrheal disease. However, human data has suggested that the intestinal mucosa of Giardia-infected individuals is devoid of signs of overt intestinal inflammation, an observation that is reproduced in animal models. Thus, our understanding of host inflammatory responses to the parasite remain incompletely understood and human studies and experimental data have produced conflicting results. It is now also apparent that certain Giardia infections contain mechanisms capable of modulating their host’s immune responses. As the oral route of Giardia infection is shared with many other gastrointestinal (GI) pathogens, co-infections may often occur, especially in places with poor sanitation and/or improper treatment of drinking water. Moreover, Giardia infections may modulate host immune responses and have been found to protect against the development of diarrheal disease in developing countries. The following review summarizes our current understanding of the immunomodulatory mechanisms of Giardia infections and their consequences for the host, and highlights areas for future research. Potential implications of these immunomodulatory effects during GI co-infection are also discussed.
Simultaneous targeting of Eph receptors in glioblastoma

Eph tyrosine kinase receptors are frequently overexpressed and functional in many cancers, and they are attractive candidates for targeted therapy. Here, we analyzed the expression of Eph receptor A3, one of the most up-regulated factors in glioblastoma cells cultured under tumorsphere-forming conditions, together with EphA2 and EphB2 receptors. EphA3 was overexpressed in up to 60% of glioblastoma tumors tested, but not in normal brain. EphA3 was localized in scattered areas of the tumor, the invasive ring, and niches near tumor vessels. EphA3 co-localized with macrophage/leukocyte markers, suggesting EphA3 expression on tumor-infiltrating cells of bone marrow origin. We took advantage of the fact that ephrinA5 (eA5) is a ligand that binds EphA3, EphA2 and EphB2 receptors, and used it to construct a novel targeted anti-glioblastoma cytotoxin. The eA5-based cytotoxin potently and specifically killed glioblastoma cells with an IC50 of at least 10−11 M. This and similar cytotoxins will simultaneously target different compartments of glioblastoma tumors while mitigating tumor heterogeneity.
The Abelson tyrosine kinase, the Trio GEF and Enabled interact with the Netrin receptor Frazzled in Drosophila

The attractive Netrin receptor Frazzled (Fra), and the signaling molecules Abelson tyrosine kinase (Abl), the guanine nucleotide-exchange factor Trio, and the Abl substrate Enabled (Ena), all regulate axon pathfinding at the Drosophila embryonic CNS midline. We detect genetic and/or physical interactions between Fra and these effector molecules that suggest that they act in concert to guide axons across the midline. Mutations in Abl and trio dominantly enhance fra and Netrin mutant CNS phenotypes, and fra;Abl and fra;trio double mutants display a dramatic loss of axons in a majority of commissures. Conversely, heterozygosity for ena reduces the severity of the CNS phenotype in fra, Netrin and trio,Abl mutants. Consistent with an in vivo role for these molecules as effectors of Fra signaling, heterozygosity for Abl, trio or ena reduces the number of axons that inappropriately cross the midline in embryos expressing the chimeric Robo-Fra receptor. Fra interacts physically with Abl and Trio in GST-pulldown assays and in co-immunoprecipitation experiments. In addition, tyrosine phosphorylation of Trio and Fra is elevated in S2 cells when Abl levels are increased. Together, these data suggest that Abl, Trio, Ena and Fra are integrated into a complex signaling network that regulates axon guidance at the CNS midline.
Performance of embedded boundary methods for CFD with complex geometry

In this paper, we discuss some of the issues in obtaining high performance for block-structured adaptive mesh refinement software for partial differential equations in complex geometry using embedded boundary/volume-of-fluid methods. We present the design of an adaptive embedded boundary multigrid algorithm for elliptic problems. We show examples in which this new elliptic solver scales to 1000 processors. We also apply this technology to more complex mathematical and physical algorithms for incompressible fluid dynamics and demonstrate similar scaling.
Processing of temperature field in chemical microreactors with infrared thermography

This work is devoted to the first analysis of temperature fields related to chemical microfluidic reactors. The heat transport around and inside a microchannel is both convective and diffusive with spatial distribution of source terms and strong conductive effects in the channel surrounding. With simplified assumptions, it is shown that Infrared thermography and processing methods of the temperature frames allow to estimate important fields for the chemical engineers, such as the heating source distribution of the chemical reaction along the channel. A validation experiment of a temperature field processing method is proposed with Joule effect as calibrated source term and non reactive fluids. From such previous experiment, a Peclet field is estimated and used in a further step in order to study an acid-base flow configuration
Transanal Endoscopic Microsurgery for Patients With Rectal Tumors: A Single Institution's Experience

Purpose The purpose of this study was to look at our complication rates and recurrence rates, as well as the need for further radical surgery, in treating patients with benign and early malignant rectal tumors by using transanal endoscopic microsurgery (TEM). Methods Our study included 130 patients who had undergone TEM for rectal adenomas and early rectal cancer from December 2009 to December 2015 at the Department of Surgical Oncology, National Cancer Institute, Lithuania. Patients underwent digital and endoscopic evaluation with multiple biopsies. For preoperative staging, pelvic magnetic resonance imaging or endorectal ultrasound was performed. We recorded the demographics, operative details, final pathologies, postoperative lengths of hospital stay, postoperative complications, and recurrences. Results The average tumor size was 2.8 ± 1.5 cm (range, 0.5–8.3 cm). 102 benign (78.5%) and 28 malignant tumors (21.5%) were removed. Of the latter, 23 (82.1%) were pT1 cancers and 5 (17.9%) pT2 cancers. Of the 5 patients with pT2 cancer, 2 underwent adjuvant chemoradiotherapy, 1 underwent an abdominoperineal resection, 1 refused further treatment and 1 was lost to follow up. No intraoperative complications occurred. In 7 patients (5.4%), postoperative complications were observed: urinary retention (4 patients, 3.1%), postoperative hemorrhage (2 patients, 1.5%), and wound dehiscence (1 patient, 0.8%). All complications were treated conservatively. The mean postoperative hospital stay was 2.3 days. Conclusion TEM in our experience demonstrated low complication and recurrence rates. This technique is recommended for treating patients with a rectal adenoma and early rectal cancer and has good prognosis.
The Unfolded Protein Response and Diabetic Retinopathy

Diabetic retinopathy, a common complication of diabetes, is the leading cause of blindness in adults. Diabetes chronically damages retinal blood vessels and neurons likely through multiple pathogenic pathways such as oxidative stress, inflammation, and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. To relieve ER stress, the cell activates an adaptive mechanism known as the unfolded protein response (UPR). The UPR coordinates the processes of protein synthesis, protein folding, and degradation to ensure proteostasis, which is vital for cell survival and activity. Emerging evidence suggests that diabetes can activate all three UPR branches in retinal cells, among which the PERK/ATF4 pathway is the most extensively studied in the development of diabetic retinopathy. X-box binding protein 1 (XBP1) is a major transcription factor in the core UPR pathway and also regulates a variety of genes involved in cellular metabolism, redox state, autophagy, inflammation, cell survival, and vascular function. The exact function and implication of XBP1 in the pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy remain elusive. Focusing on this less studied pathway, we summarize recent progress in studies of the UPR pertaining to diabetic changes in retinal vasculature and neurons, highlighting the perspective of XBP1 as a potential therapeutic target in diabetic retinopathy.
Noise robust acoustic signal processing using a Hybrid approach for speech recognition

The paper proposes English digit recognition using a Hybrid approach for both speaker dependent and independent mode in clean and noisy situations. This work uses Discrete Hidden Markov Model for digit recognition where DHMM is modeled with quantized vectors. Mel Frequency Cepstral coefficients is used at feature extraction stage to extract feature vectors of all digits and it also uses filters that operates on cepstrum obtained from MFCC to smoothens signal. This work uses Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD) process for the noises separation from speech signals. The database containing digits from Zero to Nine is used for the work. This works propose that recognition rate of English digits in noisy environment can be improved by applying filters to the cepstrum obtained from MFCC and by using EMD along with Genetic Algorithm for noise removal.
Consumption Moment Risk Factors and Cross-Section of Long-Run Stock Returns

We introduce the multifactor asset pricing model that includes as risk factors the ve Chen et al. (1986) macroeconomic variables along with the rates of change in the rst four cross-sectional consumption moments. The empirical evidence on the pricing of the economic state variables is sensitive to the experimental design, whereas we nd strong evidence that with the limited participation of households in the capital markets the aggregate consumption risk (measured by the rate of change in average consumption) and the background risk in consumption (measured jointly by the rates of change in the higher-order consumption moments) are both signi cantly priced. JEL classi cation: G12
Impact of anaemia on clinical outcome in patients with atrial fibrillation undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention: insights from the AFCAS registry

Objectives Anaemia has an adverse impact on the outcome in the general patient population undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The aim of this study was to analyse the impact of anaemia on the 12-month clinical outcome of patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) undergoing PCI and therefore requiring intense antithrombotic treatment. We hypothesised that anaemia might be associated with a worse outcome and more bleeding in these anticoagulated patients. Setting Data were collected from 17 secondary care centres in Europe. Participants Consecutive patients with AF undergoing PCI were enrolled in the prospective, multicenter AFCAS (Atrial Fibrillation undergoing Coronary Artery Stenting) registry. Altogether, 929 patients participated in the study. Preprocedural haemoglobin concentration was available for 861 (92.7%; 30% women). The only exclusion criteria were inability or unwillingness to give informed consent. Anaemia was defined as a haemoglobin concentration of <12 g/dL for women and <13 g/dL for men. Outcome measures The primary endpoint was occurrence of major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) or bleeding events. Results 258/861 (30%) patients had anaemia. Anaemic patients were older, more often had diabetes, higher CHA2DS2-VASc scores, prior history of heart failure, chronic renal impairment and acute coronary syndrome. Anaemic patients had more MACCE than non-anaemic (29.1% vs 19.4%, respectively, p=0.002), and minor bleeding events (7.0% vs 3.3%, respectively, p=0.028), with a trend towards more total bleeding events (25.2% vs 21.7%, respectively, p=0.059). No difference was observed in antithrombotic regimens at discharge. In multivariate analysis, anaemia was an independent predictor of all-cause mortality at 12-month follow-up (hazard ratio 1.62, 95% CI 1.05 to 2.51, p=0.029). Conclusions Anaemia was a frequent finding in patients with AF referred for PCI. Anaemic patients had a higher all-cause mortality, more thrombotic events and minor bleeding events. Anaemia seems to be an identification of patients at risk for cardiovascular events and death. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov number NCT00596570.
Substance P in Stress and Anxiety

In a previous work it was demonstrated that emotional stressors trigger the in vivo release of the neuropeptide substance P (SP) in brain areas known to be implicated in stress and anxiety mechanisms, such as the amygdala, lateral septum, nucleus accumbens, and locus coeruleus. However, the specific role of SP within the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN), the critical site of the neuroendocrine stress axis, is unclear. Studies performed in neurokinin‐1‐receptor (NK‐1R) knockout mice have provided conflicting results. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to use a pharmacological approach and examine whether intracerebroventricular NK‐1R‐antagonist treatment modulates stress‐induced neuronal activity in key brain areas of the stress circuitry, including the PVN. The elevated plus maze test was used as a mild stressor known to stimulate stress hormone secretion and c‐Fos‐expression in the PVN and simultaneously to obtain behavioral readout for anxiety‐like behavior. Results demonstrate an anxiolytic‐like effect of intracerebral NK‐1R antagonism that is associated with an attenuation of the stress‐induced c‐Fos expression in the PVN and lateral septum. In the amygdala and the bed nucleus of stria terminalis, c‐Fos induction by elevated plus maze exposure was much lower and was not influenced by NK‐1R‐antagonist treatment. Thus, our findings provide clear evidence that central NK‐1R‐blockade reduces neuronal activity in key brain areas of the stress circuitry, which is thought to be associated with attenuation of the neuroendocrine stress response. These findings support the idea that a stress‐sensitive subset of the human psychiatric patients may particularly benefit from a pharmacological approach that interfers with SP transmission.
Continuous Authentication in a real world settings

Continuous Authentication by analysing the user's behaviour profile on the computer input devices is challenging due to limited information, variability of data and the sparse nature of the information. As a result, most of the previous research was done as a periodic authentication, where the analysis was made based on a fixed number of actions or fixed time period. Also, the experimental data was obtained for most of the previous research in a very controlled condition, where the task and environment were fixed. In this paper, we will focus on actual continuous authentication that reacts on every single action performed by the user. The experimental data was collected in a complete uncontrolled condition from 52 users by using our data collection software. In our analysis, we have considered both keystroke and mouse usages behaviour pattern to avoid a situation where an attacker avoids detection by restricting to one input device because the continuous authentication system only checks the other input device. The result we have obtained from this research is satisfactory enough for further investigation on this domain.
Forensic speaker verification using formant features and Gaussian mixture models

A new method for speaker verification based on formant features is presented. A UBM-GMM verification system is applied to semi-automatically extracted formant features. Speakerspecific vocal tract configurations, including the speakers’ variability, are incorporated in the speaker models. Speaker comparisons are expressed as likelihood ratios (the ratio of similarity to typicality). F1, F2 and F3 values all enable speakers to be distinguished with a low error rate. The corresponding bandwidths further lower the error rate.
General maximum likelihood empirical Bayes estimation of normal means

We propose a general maximum likelihood empirical Bayes (GMLEB) method for the estimation of a mean vector based on observations with i.i. d. normal errors. We prove that under mild moment conditions on the unknown means, the average mean squared error (MSE) of the GMLEB is within an infinitesimal fraction of the minimum average MSE among all separable estimators which use a single deterministic estimating function on individual observations, provided that the risk is of greater order than (log n) 5 /n. We also prove that the GMLEB is uniformly approximately minimax in regular and weak l p balls when the order of the length-normalized norm of the unknown means is between (log n) k1 /n 1/(p^2) and n/(log n) k2 . Simulation experiments demonstrate that the GMLEB outperforms the James―Stein and several state-of-the-art threshold estimators in a wide range of settings without much down side.
Quantification of Heart Rate Variability: A Measure based on Unique Heart Rates

(cid:3) Abstract — It is established that the instantaneous heart rate (HR) of healthy humans keeps on changing. Analysis of heart rate variability (HRV) has become a popular non invasive tool for assessing the activities of autonomic nervous system. Depressed HRV has been found in several disorders, like diabetes mellitus (DM) and coronary artery disease, characterised by autonomic nervous dysfunction. A new technique, which searches for pattern repeatability in a time series, is proposed specifically for the analysis of heart rate data. These set of indices, which are termed as pattern repeatability measure and pattern repeatability ratio are compared with approximate entropy and sample entropy. In our analysis, based on the method developed, it is observed that heart rate variability is significantly different for DM patients, particularly for patients with diabetic foot ulcer.
Tourism and Food Service

The hospitality industry, particularly its food-service component, is an important sector of many nations' economies. Developing nations should take steps to encourage development of hotels and restaurants. Those steps include improving training, offering tax incentives, and clearing up questions about land ownership. By the same token, restaurant and hotel operators should seek to make the best possible use of local resources, for example, by serving locally produced foods when possible. By setting up a five-year plan for tourism development, national governments can gain the advantages of international tourism. One source of development will undoubtedly be United States-based food-service chains, which are now expanding internationally. As an example, the food-service industry is an important part of the U.S. economy and with proper assistance can become vital to other nations' economies.