Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Genetic association of PON 2 polymorphisms with susceptibility to preterm birth

Target: The objective of this study was to investigate the association of paraoxonase 2 (PON2) Ala148Gly (A148G) and Ser311Cys (S311C) polymorphisms with the susceptibility to preterm birth. Methods: In this casecontrol study, we genotyped PON2 A148G and S311C polymorphisms of 110 premature infants and 121 normal infants using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method. The control group was matched with the case group by maternal gestational age. The distribution differences of genotypes and alleles between the two groups were checked by χ2 test which was also used to evaluate the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE). Odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were used to represent the relative risk of preterm birth. Results: The genotypes distributions of PON2 A148G and S311C polymorphisms in the control group accorded with HWE. The genotype frequency of AA in A148G polymorphism was significantly higher in cases, compared with AG/GG (P=0.011); CC genotype of S311C polymorphism in infant obviously increased the risk of preterm birth and its genotype frequency was 2.169 times higher than the common genotype SS (OR=2.169, 95% CI=1.016-4.630). What’s more, birth weight was associated with preterm birth and A148G polymorphism had an influence on birth weight obviously (P<0.05). Conclusions: In PON2 gene, AA common genotype of A148G polymorphism and CC mutant genotype of S311C were associated with the risk of preterm birth development. In addition, A148G polymorphism plays an important in infant birth weight, but not S311C.
International Medical Case Reports Journal the Antiphospholipid Antibody Syndrome: a Case Report

Antiphospholipid antibody syndrome is defined by the presence of thromboembolic complications and/or pregnancy morbidity in the presence of persistently increased titers of antiphospholipid antibodies. Its clinical presentation can be diverse and any organ can be involved, with a current impact in most surgical and medical specialties. The authors present the case of a 43-year-old man who, over a 13-year period of follow-up, presented with thrombosis of the mesenteric vein, inferior vena cava, and axillary and subclavian veins in a setting where diagnostic and therapeutic options are limited and costly. Through this case report, the authors aim to describe the evolution of this complex pathology, which to date has not been described in the authors' milieu – probably because of its challenging diagnosis and the limited treatment options available. The authors conclude that clinicians need to have a high index of suspicion of APS in patients who present with a thrombotic episode – clinicians should investigate for the presence of antiphospholipid antibodies, as early diagnosis may influence the course of the disease. Furthermore, resources for the detection of antiphospholipid antibodies should be made readily available in resource-limited settings. Finally, patient education on the importance of drug compliance, periodic monitoring, and prevention of thrombosis is indispensable, especially as mortality could be associated with the effects of vascular thrombosis and/or the effects of bleeding due to anticoagulants.
Two Alternative Translation Mechanisms Are Responsible for the Expression of the HCV ARFP/F/Core+1 Coding Open Reading Frame*

HCV-1 produces a novel protein, known as ARFP, F, or core+1. This protein is encoded by an open reading frame (ORF) that overlaps the core gene in the +1 frame (core+1 ORF). In vitro this protein is produced by a ribosomal frameshift mechanism. However, similar studies failed to detect the ARFP/F/core+1 protein in the HCV-1a (H) isolate. To clarify this issue and to elucidate the functions of this protein, we examined the expression of the core+1 ORF by the HCV-1 and HCV-1a (H) isolates in vivo, in transfected cells. For this purpose, we carried out luciferase (LUC) tagging experiments combined with site-directed mutagenesis studies. Our results showed that the core+1-LUC chimeric protein was efficiently produced in vivo by both isolates. More importantly, neither changes in the specific 10-A residue region of HCV-1 (codons 8-11), the proposed frameshift site for the production of the ARFP/F/core+1 protein in vitro, nor the alteration of the ATG start site of the HCV polyprotein to a stop codon significantly affected the in vivo expression of the core+1 ORF. Furthermore, we showed that efficient translation initiation of the core+1 ORF is mediated by internal initiation codon(s) within the core/core+1-coding sequence, located between nucleotides 583 and 606. Collectively, our data suggest the existence of an alternative translation initiation mechanism that may result in the synthesis of a shorter form of the core+1 protein in transfected cells.
Research on the Discharge Properties of the Direct Carbon Fuel Cell with a Molten Metal Anode

In order to research the discharge properties of the direct carbon fuel cell (DCFC) with a molten metal anode, the experimental system with a reactor is designed and constructed. The reaction mechanisms at both anode and cathode are analyzed. The molten Sn and Sb are used as the anodic material for comparison. The cell performance of DCFC is tested before and after discharging in the battery mode and the carbon fuel mode, respectively. In the battery mode, due to the different states of metallic oxides, the current density is not degraded after discharging with the molten Sb anode, but sharply decreases with the molten Sn anode. On the contrary, the cell performance with Sb is much worse than that with Sn after discharging in the carbon fuel mode, which is result from the volatility of Sb together with the reduction of its oxide. The above studies will help to thoroughly understand the underlying mechanism of DCFC with a molten metal anode.
Lagrangian interpolation at the Chebyshev points xn, [ngr][equiv]cos([ngr][pgr]/n), [ngr]=0(1) n; some unnoted advantages

Besides many applications of the Chebyshev points xnv = cos (i>7r/n),v = 0(l)n, in approximation, interpolation by Chebyshev series, numerical integration and numerical differentiation, there are advantages in their use in the barycentric form of the Lagrange interpolation formula and in checking by divided differences. When n = 2, we obtain x2m^ with less than half the number of square roots that are required to find the other Chebyshev points x\m,v = cos [(2v — 1) 77/2 ], v = l(l)2. Also, the barycentric interpolation formula may be applied to the solution of a near-minimax problem so as to avoid extensive calculation of auxiliary polynomials, and in a numerical differentiation procedure that conveniently by-passes direct differentiation of the interpolation polynomial.
Plasma levels of receptor for advanced glycation end products, blood transfusion, and risk of primary graft dysfunction.

RATIONALE The receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) is an important marker of lung epithelial injury and may be associated with impaired alveolar fluid clearance. We hypothesized that patients with primary graft dysfunction (PGD) after lung transplantation would have higher RAGE levels in plasma than patients without PGD. OBJECTIVES To test the association of soluble RAGE (sRAGE) levels with PGD in a prospective, multicenter cohort study. METHODS We measured plasma levels of sRAGE at 6 and 24 hours after allograft reperfusion in 317 lung transplant recipients at seven centers. The primary outcome was grade 3 PGD (Pa(O(2))/Fi(O(2)) < 200 with alveolar infiltrates) within the first 72 hours after transplantation. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Patients who developed PGD had higher levels of sRAGE than patients without PGD at both 6 hours (median 9.3 ng/ml vs. 7.5 ng/ml, respectively; P = 0.028) and at 24 hours post-transplantation (median 4.3 ng/ml vs. 1.9 ng/ml, respectively; P < 0.001). Multivariable logistic regression analyses indicated that the relationship between levels of sRAGE and PGD was attenuated by elevated right heart pressures and by the use of cardiopulmonary bypass. Median sRAGE levels were higher in subjects with cardiopulmonary bypass at both 6 hours (P = 0.003) and 24 hours (P < 0.001). sRAGE levels at 6 hours were significantly associated with intraoperative red cell transfusion (Spearman's rho = 0.39, P = 0.002 in those with PGD), and in multivariable linear regression analyses this association was independent of confounding variables (P = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS Elevated plasma levels of sRAGE are associated with PGD after lung transplantation. Furthermore, plasma sRAGE levels are associated with blood product transfusion and use of cardiopulmonary bypass.
An Eye Detection Based Multi-modal "E-Supervisor" in Distant Education

This paper presents a system, called E-supervisor that detects a student's state of attention and provides appropriate feedback. The system uses an eye detection based method and provides multi-mode feedback such as screen alerting, chair vibration, scent emitting and music playing to make participants aware whenever they are not paying attention. An evaluation shows that supervision by the E-Supervisor can improve learning and attention. Furthermore perceived usefulness is judged high by the evaluation participants, with the vibrant feedback being the preferred feedback modality.
Effect of nanoparticle additives on the tribological behavior of oil under boundary lubrication

In this study, three different nanoparticles (CuO, WC, WS2) of comparable nominal diameter, were added to a Polyalphaolefin (PAO) base oil to evaluate tribological response in the boundary lubrication regime. The concentration of particles was fixed at 1% by weight for this study and different surfactants (Oleic acid, polyisobutylene succinimide) and dispersion methods were employed to determine the impact on agglomeration and the observed tribological response. The results showed that of the methods studied, adding 10 % Oleic acid (OA) while sonicating the particles for 30 minutes reduced the agglomeration the most and adding 1% Oleic acid while sonicating the particles for 120 minutes produced a more uniform dispersion. Furthermore, this study investigates the effect of the surface treatment of MoS2 and WS2 on their tribological behavior in boundary lubricant regime The nanoparticles were dispersed in Polyalphaolefin (PAO) using the following techniques: 1) 60 minutes sonication without using a stabilizing agent, 2) 60 minutes sonication with 1% of weight Oleic acid (OA), and 3) functionalizing the nanoparticles using polyvinylpyrrolidone. The size distribution of the dispersed nanoparticles in PAO was measured by dynamic light scattering. The nanoparticles functionalized using Polyvinylpyrrolidone resulted in the most stable particles size and homogeneous mixture dispersion. Friction studies show that the introduction of nanoparticles additives does not appreciably impact the friction of the
Critical role for cochlear hair cell BK channels for coding the temporal structure and dynamic range of auditory information for central auditory processing

Large conductance, voltage‐ and Ca2+‐activated K+ (BK) channels in inner hair cells (IHCs) of the cochlea are essential for hearing. However, germ‐line deletion of BKα, the pore‐forming subunit KCNMA1 of the BK channel, surprisingly did not affect hearing thresholds in the first postnatal weeks, even though altered IHC membrane time constants, decreased IHC receptor potential alternating current/direct current ratio, and impaired spike timing of auditory fibers were reported in these mice. To investigate the role of IHC BK channels for central auditory processing, we generated a conditional mouse model with hair cell‐specific deletion of BKα from postnatal day 10 onward. This had an unexpected effect on temporal coding in the central auditory system: neuronal single and multiunit responses in the inferior colliculus showed higher excitability and greater precision of temporal coding that may be linked to the improved discrimination of temporally modulated sounds observed in behavioral training. The higher precision of temporal coding, however, was restricted to slower modulations of sound and reduced stimulus‐driven activity. This suggests a diminished dynamic range of stimulus coding that is expected to impair signal detection in noise. Thus, BK channels in IHCs are crucial for central coding of the temporal fine structure of sound and for detection of signals in a noisy environment. —Kurt, S. , Sausbier, M. , Rüttiger, L. , Brandt, N. , Moeller, C. K. , Kindler, J., Sausbier, U. , Zimmermann, U. , van Straaten, H. , Neuhuber, W. , Engel, J., Knipper, M. , Ruth, P., Schulze, H. Critical role for cochlear hair cell BK channels for coding the temporal structure and dynamic range of auditory information for central auditory processing. FASEB J. 26, 3834–3843 (2012). www.fasebj. org
Bio-Inspired Image Processing for Vision Aids

We present in this paper a system conceived to perform a bioinspired image processing and different output encoding schemes, oriented to the development of visual aids for the blind or for visually-impaired patients. We remark some of its main features, as the possibility of combining different image processing modalities (colour, motion, depth, etc.) and different output devices (Head Mounted Displays, headphones, and microelectrode arrays), as well as its implementation on a reconfigurable chip (FPGA) or a specific VLSI chip, which allows working in real time on a portable equipment. A software design environment has been developed for the simulation and the automatic synthesis of the processing models into a hardware platform.
Cell Viability and Functionality of Probiotic Bacteria in Dairy Products

Probiotic bacteria, according to the definition adopted by the World Health Organization in 2002, are live microorganisms, which when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit to the host. Recent studies show that the same probiotic strain produced and/or preserved under different storage conditions, may present different responses regarding their susceptibility to the adverse conditions of the gastrointestinal tract, its capacity to adhere to the intestinal epithelium, or its immunomodulating capacity, the functionality being affected without changes in cell viability. This could imply that the control of cell viability is not always enough to guarantee the functionality (probiotic capacity) of a strain. Therefore, a new challenge arises for food technologists and microbiologists when it comes to designing and monitoring probiotic food: to be able to monitor the functionality of a probiotic microorganism throughout all the stages the strain goes through from the moment it is produced and included in the food vehicle, until the moment of consumption. Conventional methodological tools or others still to be developed must be used. The application of cell membrane functionality markers, the use of tests of resistance to intestinal barriers, the study of surface properties and the application of in vivo models come together as complementary tools to assess the actual capacity of a probiotic organism in a specific food, to exert functional effects regardless of the number of viable cells present at the moment of consumption.
Generalization properties of spiking neurons trained with ReSuMe method

In this paper we demonstrate the generalization property of spiking neurons trained with ReSuMe method. We show in a set of experiments that the learning neuron can approximate the input-output transformations defined by another - reference neuron with a high pre- cision and that the learning process converges very quickly. We discuss the relationship between the neuron I/O properties and the weight distri- bution of its input connections. Finally, we discuss the conditions under which the neuron can approximate some given I/O transformations.
The quality of health information on the internet

This week's theme issue attempts to provide a framework for thinking about the quality of health information on the internet—a source of anxiety almost since its first appearance. Five years ago Impicciatore and colleagues reviewed website advice on managing fever in children and concluded that it varied widely in terms of accuracy, completeness, and consistency.1 Pick any medical problem today, and the chances are you'll find the same. With at least 80 studies reporting similar findings (G Eysenbach, personal communication), we need no more convincing that the quality of information on the web varies as widely as it does in other media. In 1997 Gagliardi and Jadad identified 47 instruments for measuring healthcare quality on the internet. Four years later, they found another 51—all of them unvalidated (p 569). 2 Generating yet more unproved instruments looks like another activity that researchers could usefully stop. However, the proliferation of tools for assessing quality continues unabated, fuelled by anxieties about patient harm. As our international roundup shows (pp 566-7), countries now seem poised to get in on the act, although little beyond urban myths exists to justify the level of their concerns. …
Dynamic Refraction Stereo

In this paper we consider the problem of reconstructing the 3D position and surface normal of points on an unknown, arbitrarily-shaped refractive surface. We show that two viewpoints are sufficient to solve this problem in the general case, even if the refractive index is unknown. The key requirements are 1) knowledge of a function that maps each point on the two image planes to a known 3D point that refracts to it, and 2) light is refracted only once. We apply this result to the problem of reconstructing the time-varying surface of a liquid from patterns placed below it. To do this, we introduce a novel “stereo matching” criterion called refractive disparity, appropriate for refractive scenes, and develop an optimization-based algorithm for individually reconstructing the position and normal of each point projecting to a pixel in the input views. Results on reconstructing a variety of complex, deforming liquid surfaces suggest that our technique can yield detailed reconstructions that capture the dynamic behavior of free-flowing liquids.
Coordinated Transmissions to Direct and Relayed Users in Wireless Cellular Systems

The ideas of wireless network coding at the physical layer promise high throughput gains in wireless systems with relays and multi--way traffic flows. This gain can be ascribed to two principles: (1) joint transmission of multiple communication flows and (2) usage of a priori information to cancel the interference. In this paper we use these principles to devise new transmission schemes in wireless cellular systems that feature both users served directly by the base stations (direct users) and users served through relays (relayed users). We present four different schemes for coordinated transmission of uplink and downlink traffic in which one direct and one relayed user are served. These schemes are then used as building blocks in multi--user scenarios, where we present several schemes for scheduling pairs of users for coordinated transmissions. The optimal scheme involves exhaustive search of the best user pair in terms of overall rate. We propose several suboptimal scheduling schemes, which perform closely to the optimal scheme. The numerical results show a substantial increase in the system--level rate with respect to the systems with non--coordinated transmissions.
TOWARD A FISHERIES ECOSYSTEM PLAN FOR THE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA CURRENT

We have witnessed changes in the landscape around us with the advent of technology evolved from the axe and the plow. We should expect equally profound ecological changes from modern, large-scale uses of the hook and the net. ABSTRACT Recently the congressionally established Ecosystem Principles Advisory Panel issued a report on how best to amend single-species management. A major recommendation was that fisheries management councils develop a fisheries ecosystem plan (FEP) for every ecosystem under their jurisdiction. This document would be an umbrella document containing detailed information on the structure and function of the ecosystem under consideration. The U.S. portion of the northern California Current ecosystem (NCCE) may be an appropriate test case to develop some of the key elements of a draft FEP. Fishing pressure in the NCCE has been intense for decades, and the possibhty of consequent large-scale ecosystem changes is large. Although fisheries science in this region has considerably advanced our understanding of the intricate linkages between fisheries production and large-scale oceanographic and atmospheric climate forcing, fisheries management efforts throughout the region niay be insufficient for assessing the ecological impacts associated with fishing. We use Ecopath models to assess the state of the NCCE in the 1960s during a cool regime with low exploitation rates and high rates of zooplank-ton production, and also in the 1990s during a warin regime characterized by low productivity, declining stocks, and intense exploitation. We compile population parameters and diet data for 34 species/species assein-blages for both time periods to generate a food web of basic trophic interactions. These models are in agreement with the general consensus that this system has been functioning at lower levels of productivity since the 1977 regime shift. More work is needed to understand the status of inany NCCE populations, but stock assessnients and fisheries data suggest that the observed fluctuations in many harvested populations niay be rapid, highly variable, and increasingly undesirable.
Online and offline effects of cerebellar transcranial direct current stimulation on motor learning in healthy older adults: a randomized double‐blind sham‐controlled study

The aim of this randomized double blinded sham‐controlled study was to determine the effect of cerebellar anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (a‐tDCS) on online and offline motor learning in healthy older individuals. Thirty participants were randomly assigned in experimental (n = 15) or sham tDCS (n = 15) groups. Participants in experimental group received 2 mA cerebellar a‐tDCS for 20 min. However, the tDCS was turned off after 30 seconds in sham group. Response time (RT) and error rate (ER) in serial RT test were assessed before, during 35 minutes and 48 h after the intervention. Reduction of RT and ER following the intervention session was considered as short‐term (35 min post intervention) and long‐term offline learning (48 h post intervention), respectively. Online RT and ER reduction were similar in both groups (P > 0.05). RT was significantly reduced 48 hours post intervention in cerebellar a‐tDCS group (P = 0.03). Moreover, RT was significantly increased after 35 minutes and 48 hours in sham tDCS group (P = 0.03, P = 0.007), which indicates a lack of short‐term and long‐term offline learning in older adults. A‐tDCS on cerebellar region produced more short‐term and long‐term offline improvement in RT (P = 0.014, P = 0.01) compared to sham tDCS. In addition, online, short‐term and long‐term (48 h) offline error reduced in cerebellar a‐tDCS as compared to sham‐control group, although this reduction was not significant (P > 0.05). A deficit suggests that a direct comparison to a younger group was made. The findings suggested that cerebellar a‐tDCS might be useful for improvement of offline motor learning in older individuals.
Change in sleep Temperamental traits Substance use Misuse and dependence Antidepressant use Environmental factors Abuse and maltreatment Conflictual family

developing BD should include repeated measures of putative biomarkers. Staging models have been developed as an integrative approach to specify the individual level of risk based on clinical (e.g. prodromal symptoms and familial history of BD) and non-clinical (e.g. biomarkers and neuroimaging) data. However, there is still a lack of empirically validated studies that measure the benefits of using these models to design preventive intervention programmes.