Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
FODMAPs alter symptoms and the metabolome of patients with IBS: a randomised controlled trial

Objective To gain mechanistic insights, we compared effects of low fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides and monosaccharides and polyols (FODMAP) and high FODMAP diets on symptoms, the metabolome and the microbiome of patients with IBS. Design We performed a controlled, single blind study of patients with IBS (Rome III criteria) randomised to a low (n=20) or high (n=20) FODMAP diet for 3 weeks. Symptoms were assessed using the IBS symptom severity scoring (IBS-SSS). The metabolome was evaluated using the lactulose breath test (LBT) and metabolic profiling in urine using mass spectrometry. Stool microbiota composition was analysed by 16S rRNA gene profiling. Results Thirty-seven patients (19 low FODMAP; 18 high FODMAP) completed the 3-week diet. The IBS-SSS was reduced in the low FODMAP diet group (p<0.001) but not the high FODMAP group. LBTs showed a minor decrease in H2 production in the low FODMAP compared with the high FODMAP group. Metabolic profiling of urine showed groups of patients with IBS differed significantly after the diet (p<0.01), with three metabolites (histamine, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, azelaic acid) being primarily responsible for discrimination between the two groups. Histamine, a measure of immune activation, was reduced eightfold in the low FODMAP group (p<0.05). Low FODMAP diet increased Actinobacteria richness and diversity, and high FODMAP diet decreased the relative abundance of bacteria involved in gas consumption. Conclusions IBS symptoms are linked to FODMAP content and associated with alterations in the metabolome. In subsets of patients, FODMAPs modulate histamine levels and the microbiota, both of which could alter symptoms. Trial registration number NCT01829932.
Poster: Receiver-Driven Semi-Broadcast for Vehicular Applications

Broadcasting/multicasting offers a potential benefit for delay-sensitive applications in vehicular networks, since information could be delivered to multiple receivers simultaneously by a single transmission. However, conventional broadcasting schemes suffer from a problem of reliability, since they cannot go along with ACK and RTS/CTS mechanism at the MAC layer. In this paper, we design a novel receiver-driven semi-broadcast scheme for vehicular applications, where receivers request broadcasting to their neighbors and data is broadcasted as a response. Via the simulation study, it is shown that the proposed scheme allows to 1) receive data without contention, 2) control contention, and 3) mitigate hidden node effects.
Preventive role of chamomile flowers and fennel seeds extracts against liver injury and oxidative stress induced by an immunosuppressant drug in rats

Aim: The present study was conducted to investigate the protective effect of chamomile flowers methanolic extract (CFME) and fennel seeds methanolic extract (FSME) on azathioprine (AZA), an immunosuppressant drug, which induced a liver injury and oxidative stress in rats. Methods: Rats were divided into 6 groups (8 rats each) and treated orally for 28 consecutive days as follows. Group 1: rats were given normal saline and used as controls; group 2: rats treated with CFME (200 mg/kg); group 3: rats treated with FSME (200 mg/kg); group 4: rats treated with AZA (25 mg/kg); and groups 5 and 6: rats treated with CFME (200 mg/kg) or FSME (200 mg/kg) 15 min prior to AZA (25 mg/kg) treatment. At the end of experimental period, blood and liver samples were collected from all groups for biochemical analysis and histological examination. Results: The obtained data revealed that AZA-induced hepatic injury in the rats as evidenced by the significant increase in serum aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, cholesterol, and direct bilirubin as well as hepatic malondialdehyde level accompanied with significant decrease in reduced glutathione content and total antioxidant capacity in the liver. Moreover, body weight gain showed the significant decrease and relative liver weight showed the significant increase on AZA treatment. The sequential significant changes in biochemical parameters were accompanied by severe histological changes in the liver tissue, including hepatocytes disorganization with pyknotic nuclei, fatty degeneration, congestion, fibrosis, and bile duct necrosis around the portal tract. The areas of hemorrhages in blood vessels and in between hepatocytes were also seen. However, the results showed the potential hepatoprotective effects of CFME and FSME against AZA-induced liver injury and oxidative stress. They succeeded in restoring the biochemical parameters and improving the histological picture of the liver. This improvement was more pronounced in the rats pretreated with FSME. Conclusion: It could be concluded that CFME and FSME have hepatoprotective potentials against AZA probably due to their antioxidant properties and radical scavenging activity.
Was Arthur Andersen Different?: An Empirical Examination of Major Accounting Firm Audits of Large Clients

Enron and other corporate financial scandals focused attention on the accounting industry in general and on Arthur Andersen in particular. Part of the policy response to Enron, the criminal prosecution of Andersen, eliminated one of the few major audit firms capable of auditing many large, public corporations. This article explores whether Andersen's performance, as measured by frequency of financial restatements, measurably differed from that of other large auditors. Financial restatements trigger significant negative market reactions and their frequency can be viewed as a measure of accounting performance. We analyze the financial restatement activity of approximately 1,000 large, public firms from 1997 through 2001. After controlling for client size, region, time, and industry, we find no evidence that Andersen's performance significantly differed from that of other large accounting firms.
Comprehensive Evaluation of the MBT STAR-BL Module for Simultaneous Bacterial Identification and β-Lactamase-Mediated Resistance Detection in Gram-Negative Rods from Cultured Isolates and Positive Blood Cultures

Objective: This study evaluated the capability of a MALDI Biotyper system equipped with the newly introduced MBT STAR-BL module to simultaneously perform species identification and β-lactamase-mediated resistance detection in bacteremia -causing bacteria isolated from cultured isolates and patient-derived blood cultures (BCs). Methods: Two hundred retrospective cultured isolates and 153 prospective BCs containing Gram-negative rods (GNR) were collected and subjected to direct bacterial identification, followed by the measurement of β-lactamase activities against ampicillin, piperacillin, cefotaxime, ceftazidime, and meropenem using the MBT STAR-BL module. The results and turnaround times were compared with those of routine microbiological processing. All strains were also characterized by beta-lactamase PCR and sequencing. Results: Using the saponin-based extraction method, MALDI-TOF MS correctly identified bacteria in 116/134 (86.6%) monomicrobial BCs. The detection sensitivities for β-lactamase activities against ampicillin, piperacillin, third-generation cephalosporin and meropenem were 91.3, 100, 97.9, and 100% for cultured isolates, and 80.4, 100, 68.8, and 40% for monomicrobial BCs (n = 134) respectively. The overall specificities ranged from 91.5 to 100%. Furthermore, the MBT STAR-BL and conventional drug susceptibility test results were concordant in 14/19 (73.7%) polymicrobial cultures. Reducing the logRQ cut-off value from 0.4 to 0.2 increased the direct detection sensitivities for β-lactamase activities against ampicillin, cefotaxime and meropenem in BCs to 85.7, 87.5, and 100% respectively. The MBT STAR-BL test enabled the reporting of β-lactamase-producing GNR at 14.16 and 47.64 h before the interim and final reports of routine BCs processing, respectively, were available. Conclusion: The MALDI Biotyper system equipped with the MBT STAR-BL module enables the simultaneous rapid identification of bacterial species and β-lactamase-mediated resistance from BCs and cultured isolates. Adjustment of the logRQ cut-off value to 0.2 significantly increased the detection sensitivities for clinically important drug-resistant pathogens.
Effects of foaming through leaching on the electrical behavior of polystyrene/carbon nanotube composites

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of foaming on the electrical properties of carbon nanotube (CNT)-reinforced polystyrene (PS). A pseudo-three-dimensional (3D) model based on random walk simulation was developed for predicting the electrical properties of CNT nanocomposites. The electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness (EMI SE) of foamed PS/CNT composites was also studied through a network analyzer, measuring the EMI SE of specimens through reflection and absorption mechanisms. Six types of nanocomposites, including foamed and nonfoamed PS/CNT composites with a CNT loading of 2.1 vol% and different void contents, were manufactured using compression molding and leaching techniques. To realize the effects of foaming on the electrical conductivity of PS/CNT composites, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy analyses were carried out and compared with the pseudo-3D model. We also found that foaming via the leaching method improved the EMI shielding properties of the composites up to 24%.
BJUT at TREC 2016: LiveQA Track

The paper presents the BJUT’s liveQA system participating the TREC 2016. The Trec LiveQA track continues to use the last year’s instruction, requiring that the system is able to answer the questions which had not been solved in one minutes based on Yahoo! Answers. Our work: (1) The key words are abstracted from the questions, so that more relevant questions will be returned. (2) The system searches in a larger scope on Ya-hoo! Answers to ﬁnd the most accurate answers. (3) The answers should be detect whether they are more suitable for answering the given questions. The experiment results are presented at the end of the paper.
Dissociated Time Course of Recovery Between Strength and Power After Isoinertial Resistance Loading in Rugby Union Players

Abstract Kennedy, RA and Drake, D. Dissociated time course of recovery between strength and power after isoinertial resistance loading in rugby union players. J Strength Cond Res 32(3): 748–755, 2018—There is a substantial amount of research on the responses to isometric and eccentric loading. However, only a paucity of literature exists on the responses to isoinertial loading, especially in trained athletic populations using realistic loading protocols. The purpose of this study was to examine the acute neuromuscular response to a bout of isoinertial resistance loading in elite rugby players. Seventeen male (age: 19.5 ± 2.3 years) rugby union players performed a conventional maximal isoinertial resistance loading protocol. Countermovement jump (CMJ) and maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVC) squat performance were measured on 3 occasions: at baseline, immediately post, and 48 hour post. The results indicated that the decrease in MVC (9.7%) is greater than or comparable with the CMJ output variables (4.2–10.3%), immediately postexercise. Although isometric strength had demonstrated a full recovery at 48 hour post, many of the key CMJ output variables were still impaired (p ⩽ 0.05). Similar findings were observed in the normalized CMJ curves. Complete recovery of the ability to rapidly produced force may require more than 48 hours in many athletes. Individual responses should, therefore, be monitored to help plan acute and chronic training loads. It is recommended that future fatigue studies should incorporate temporal phase analyses to consider the power-, force-, velocity-, and displacement-time curves.
A Multi-Phase Coupled FE Analysis Using an Elasto-Viscoplastic Model for Unsaturated Soil

The present study addresses an elasto-viscoplastic constitutive model which considers the effect of suction in unsaturated clayey soil and a soil-water-air three-phase coupled analysis using the elasto-viscoplastic model. The proposed constitutive model adopts the average skeleton stress for the effective stress from mixture theory. Hence, it has become possible to construct a model for unsaturated soils starting with a model for a saturated soil by substituting the average skeleton stress for the effective stress and introducing for the suction effect into the constitutive model. Furthermore, the collapse behavior, which is brought about by a decrease in suction can be described by the shrinkage of the overconsolidation boundary surface, the static yield surface, and the viscoplastic potential surface. A numerical analysis for multiphase materials is conducted within the framework of a continuum mechanics approach through the use of the theory of porous media. The theory is a generalization of Biot's two-phase mixture theory for saturated soil. A soil-water-air three-phase coupled finite element method has been developed in the present study using the governing equations for multi-phase soil based on the non-linear finite deformation theory. The average skeleton stress is defined as the difference between the total stress and the average pressure of the two fluids and is used in the proposed elasto-viscoplastic constitutive model. A van Genuchten (1980) type of equation is employed as the constitutive equation between the liquid saturation and the suction pressure. Numerical simulations of unexhausted-undrained compression are conducted under plane strain conditions, and the applicability of the proposed method is evaluated with respect to strain localization and the effect of suction.
Natural Variation in the Drosophila melanogaster Clock Gene Period Modulates Splicing of Its 3′-Terminal Intron and Mid-Day Siesta

Drosophila melanogaster exhibits circadian (≅24 hr) regulated morning and evening bouts of activity that are separated by a mid-day siesta. Increases in daily ambient temperature are accompanied by a progressively longer mid-day siesta and delayed evening activity. Presumably, this behavioral plasticity reflects an adaptive response that endows D. melanogaster with the ability to temporally optimize daily activity levels over a wide range of physiologically relevant temperatures. For example, the shift in activity towards the cooler nighttime hours on hot days might minimize the risks associated with exposure to mid-day heat, whereas on cold days activity is favored during the warmer daytime hours. These temperature-induced shifts in the distribution of daily activity are partly based on the thermal sensitive splicing of an intron found in the 3′ untranslated region (UTR) of the circadian clock gene termed period (per). As temperature decreases, splicing of this 3′-terminal intron (termed dmpi8) is gradually increased, which is causally linked to a shorter mid-day siesta. Herein we identify several natural polymorphisms in the per 3′ UTR from wild-caught populations of flies originating along the east coast of the United States. Two non-intronic closely spaced single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) modulate dmpi8 splicing efficiency, with the least efficiently spliced version associated with a longer mid-day siesta, especially at lower temperatures. Although these SNPs modulate the splicing efficiency of dmpi8 they have little to no effect on its thermal responsiveness, consistent with the notion that the suboptimal 5′ and 3′ splice sites of the dmpi8 intron are the primary cis-acting elements mediating temperature regulation. Our results demonstrate that natural variations in the per gene can modulate the splicing efficiency of the dmpi8 intron and the daily distribution of activity, providing natural examples for the involvement of dmpi8 splicing in the thermal adaptation of behavioral programs in D. melanogaster.
Sensing the Presence and Transport of Engineered Nanoparticles in Saturated Porous Media using Spectral Induced Polarization (SIP) Method

Laboratory column experiments were conducted to investigate the sensitivity of the spectral induced polarization (SIP) measurements to the presence and transport of Silver (Ag) and Zero Valent Iron (ZVI) nanoparticles with particle diameters of 90-250 nm in saturated quartz sand packed column. SIP measurements were obtained between 0.1 to 10000 Hz using the dynamic signal analyzer (DSA) National Instruments (NI) – 4461. The impedance magnitude |σ| and the phase shift φ of the sample were measured relative to a high-quality resistor. The real (σʹ′) and imaginary (σʺ′′) parts of the sample complex conductivity were calculated. The first experiment measured the SIP response to the mixture of one pore volume of the nanoparticle suspension with the porous medium. The same procedure was repeated with the two nanoparticles using different nanoparticle concentrations (0-20 mg/ml). At frequencies above 1 Hz, the magnitudes of the phase and imaginary conductivity increased with increasing concentration of the nanoparticle concentration. The magnitudes of the phase and imaginary conductivity of the ZVI were two times the magnitude of the Ag. The transport experiment was conducted using a 12 mg/mL concentration nanoparticle suspension. A peristaltic pump with flow at 1 mL/minute was used to introduce the suspension into the sand columns. Effluent samples of the suspensions from the sand columns and SIP measurements were collected every five minutes for 180 minutes. The optical density of the nanoparticles in the effluent samples were determined at 430 nm wavelength using a spectrophotometer and then converted into concentrations using relationships determined from the linear correlation between concentrations of nanoparticle suspensions and their measured optical densities. A breakthrough curve (BTC) was obtained by plotting the normalized outlet nanoparticle concentration as a function of time. A similar procedure was followed for the SIP parameters. The BTC of normalized outlet Ag was higher in magnitude compared to the BTC of the normalized ZVI, suggesting retention of ZVI in the sand column was higher than Ag. Higher retention of ZVI was reflected in higher magnitudes for the normalized phase and imaginary conductivity component. Interestingly, the trend of the BTC of the normalized imaginary conductivity component was similar to the BTC trends of normalized outlet nanoparticle concentration. These results demonstrate the sensitivity of the SIP technique to nanoparticles and their transport in saturated porous media.
N-Methyl-d-Aspartate (NMDA) Receptor Blockade Prevents Neuronal Death Induced by Zika Virus Infection

ABSTRACT Zika virus (ZIKV) infection is a global health emergency that causes significant neurodegeneration. Neurodegenerative processes may be exacerbated by N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR)-dependent neuronal excitoxicity. Here, we have exploited the hypothesis that ZIKV-induced neurodegeneration can be rescued by blocking NMDA overstimulation with memantine. Our results show that ZIKV actively replicates in primary neurons and that virus replication is directly associated with massive neuronal cell death. Interestingly, treatment with memantine or other NMDAR blockers, including dizocilpine (MK-801), agmatine sulfate, or ifenprodil, prevents neuronal death without interfering with the ability of ZIKV to replicate in these cells. Moreover, in vivo experiments demonstrate that therapeutic memantine treatment prevents the increase of intraocular pressure (IOP) induced by infection and massively reduces neurodegeneration and microgliosis in the brain of infected mice. Our results indicate that the blockade of NMDARs by memantine provides potent neuroprotective effects against ZIKV-induced neuronal damage, suggesting it could be a viable treatment for patients at risk for ZIKV infection-induced neurodegeneration. IMPORTANCE Zika virus (ZIKV) infection is a global health emergency associated with serious neurological complications, including microcephaly and Guillain-Barré syndrome. Infection of experimental animals with ZIKV causes significant neuronal damage and microgliosis. Treatment with drugs that block NMDARs prevented neuronal damage both in vitro and in vivo. These results suggest that overactivation of NMDARs contributes significantly to the neuronal damage induced by ZIKV infection, and this is amenable to inhibition by drug treatment. IMPORTANCE Zika virus (ZIKV) infection is a global health emergency associated with serious neurological complications, including microcephaly and Guillain-Barré syndrome. Infection of experimental animals with ZIKV causes significant neuronal damage and microgliosis. Treatment with drugs that block NMDARs prevented neuronal damage both in vitro and in vivo. These results suggest that overactivation of NMDARs contributes significantly to the neuronal damage induced by ZIKV infection, and this is amenable to inhibition by drug treatment.
A novel lane feature extraction algorithm implemented on the TMS320DM6437 DSP platform

This paper presents an implementation of a novel lane edge feature extraction algorithm based on digital interpolation. The method is based on the observation that by zooming towards the vanishing point, the positions and the sizes of the lanes will not change significantly while other objects will. Comparing the zoomed image with the original image allows us to remove most of the unwanted features from the lane feature map. The proposed algorithm shows outstanding performance on extracting features belonging solely to the lanes embedded in severe noise environment. The algorithm runs in real-time on the TMS320DM6437 DSP platform from Texas Instruments. The system implemented can achieve at least 23 fps, without performing any code optimisation but only considering memory management.
Cell-derived microparticles in haemostasis and vascular medicine

Summary Considerable interest for cell-derived microparticles has emerged, pointing out their essential role in haemostatic response and their potential as disease markers, but also their implication in a wide range of physiological and pathological processes. They derive from different cell types including platelets – the main source of microparticles – but also from red blood cells, leukocytes and endothelial cells, and they circulate in blood. Despite difficulties encountered in analyzing them and disparities of results obtained with a wide range of methods, microparticle generation processes are now better understood. However, a generally admitted definition of microparticles is currently lacking. For all these reasons we decided to review the literature regarding microparticles in their widest definition, including ectosomes and exosomes, and to focus mainly on their role in haemostasis and vascular medicine.
Polyp shape estimation from endoscopy video using EKF monocular SLAM with SFS model prior

In this paper, a new approach to recover 3D shape of a polyp from the endoscopic video is proposed. For this, a point light source of illumination, perspective projection and six-degree motion of the endoscope are considered. Previous approaches attempted to recover polyp shape with the help of extended Kalman filter (EKF) and monocular simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) from a static scene. Our approach uses iterative data acquisition approach with the existing EKF Monocular SLAM and the intensity model prior. Our method constructs a dense 3D model of polyp by utilizing sparse data, which are collected by a Monocular EKF SLAM and a base model prior. Experimental results show the efficacy of our proposed method.
Prevalence of vulval lichen planus in a cohort of women with oral lichen planus: an interdisciplinary study

Background Lichen planus (LP) is a mucocutaneous inflammatory dermatosis that frequently involves the oral and genital mucosae. Patients with LP affecting these sites are often seen by oral medicine specialists or gynaecologists who work in isolation and depend heavily on histopathologists to help them in confirming the diagnosis. There are few studies in the literature combining the experiences of these specialists who share the care of patients with both oral and genital LP.