Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of dietary composition on energy expenditure during weight-loss maintenance.

CONTEXT Reduced energy expenditure following weight loss is thought to contribute to weight gain. However, the effect of dietary composition on energy expenditure during weight-loss maintenance has not been studied. OBJECTIVE To examine the effects of 3 diets differing widely in macronutrient composition and glycemic load on energy expenditure following weight loss. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS A controlled 3-way crossover design involving 21 overweight and obese young adults conducted at Children's Hospital Boston and Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, between June 16, 2006, and June 21, 2010, with recruitment by newspaper advertisements and postings. INTERVENTION After achieving 10% to 15% weight loss while consuming a run-in diet, participants consumed an isocaloric low-fat diet (60% of energy from carbohydrate, 20% from fat, 20% from protein; high glycemic load), low-glycemic index diet (40% from carbohydrate, 40% from fat, and 20% from protein; moderate glycemic load), and very low-carbohydrate diet (10% from carbohydrate, 60% from fat, and 30% from protein; low glycemic load) in random order, each for 4 weeks. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Primary outcome was resting energy expenditure (REE), with secondary outcomes of total energy expenditure (TEE), hormone levels, and metabolic syndrome components. RESULTS Compared with the pre-weight-loss baseline, the decrease in REE was greatest with the low-fat diet (mean [95% CI], -205 [-265 to -144] kcal/d), intermediate with the low-glycemic index diet (-166 [-227 to -106] kcal/d), and least with the very low-carbohydrate diet (-138 [-198 to -77] kcal/d; overall P = .03; P for trend by glycemic load = .009). The decrease in TEE showed a similar pattern (mean [95% CI], -423 [-606 to -239] kcal/d; -297 [-479 to -115] kcal/d; and -97 [-281 to 86] kcal/d, respectively; overall P = .003; P for trend by glycemic load < .001). Hormone levels and metabolic syndrome components also varied during weight maintenance by diet (leptin, P < .001; 24-hour urinary cortisol, P = .005; indexes of peripheral [P = .02] and hepatic [P = .03] insulin sensitivity; high-density lipoprotein [HDL] cholesterol, P < .001; non-HDL cholesterol, P < .001; triglycerides, P < .001; plasminogen activator inhibitor 1, P for trend = .04; and C-reactive protein, P for trend = .05), but no consistent favorable pattern emerged. CONCLUSION Among overweight and obese young adults compared with pre-weight-loss energy expenditure, isocaloric feeding following 10% to 15% weight loss resulted in decreases in REE and TEE that were greatest with the low-fat diet, intermediate with the low-glycemic index diet, and least with the very low-carbohydrate diet. TRIAL REGISTRATION clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00315354.
Basic Fibroblast Growth Factor Stimulates Matrix Metalloproteinase-13 via the Molecular Cross-talk between the Mitogen-activated Protein Kinases and Protein Kinase Cδ Pathways in Human Adult Articular Chondrocytes*

Excessive release of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) during loading and/or injury of the cartilage matrix may contribute to the onset or progression of osteoarthritis. This pathological role may be related to the ability of bFGF to decrease proteoglycan synthesis and to antagonize the activity of anabolic growth factors in cartilage such as insulin-like growth factor-1 and bone morphogenetic protein 7 (BMP7 or OP-1). Matrix metalloproteinase-13 (MMP-13), a catabolic cartilage-degrading enzyme, is dramatically up-regulated by inflammatory cytokines or by fibronectin fragments in articular chondrocytes. In this study, we investigated MMP-13 production by bFGF using human articular chondrocytes. Endogenous concentration of bFGF in synovial fluids collected from arthritis patients and asymptomatic subjects showed a good linear correlation with the endogenous levels of MMP-13. bFGF stimulation of MMP-13 was mediated at the transcriptional level and, at least in part, by stimulation of interleukin-1 production. Also, our findings suggest that bFGF stimulation of MMP-13 required the activation of multiple MAPKs (ERK, p38, and JNK) by bFGF, and more importantly, bFGF activation of protein kinase C (PKC) δ played a key role in the MMP-13 stimulation. Indeed, PKCδ is the only isoform associated with MMP-13 stimulation among the PKC isoforms tested. PKCδ controls the bFGF response by regulating multiple MAPK pathways. Our results suggest that PKCδ activation is a principal rate-limiting event in the bFGF-dependent stimulation of MMP-13 in human adult articular chondrocytes. We propose that deregulation of cross-talk between MAPK and PKCδ signaling may contribute to the etiology of osteoarthritis in human patients.
Using Electoral Cycles in Police Hiring to Estimate the Effect of Policeon Crime

Previous empirical studies have typically uncovered little evidence that police reduce crime. One problem with those studies is a failure to adequately deal with the simultaneity between police and crime: while police may or may not reduce crime, there is little doubt that expenditures on police forces are an increasing function of the crime rate. In this study, the timing of mayoral and gubernatorial elections is used to identify the effect of police on crime. This paper first demonstrates that increases in the size of police forces disproportionately occur in mayoral and gubernatorial election years, a relationship that had previously gone undocumented. After controlling for changes in government spending on other social programs, there is little reason to think that elections will be otherwise correlated with crime, making elections ideal instruments. Using a panel of large U.S. cities from 1970-1992, police are shown to reduce crime for six of the seven crime categories examined. Each additional police officer is estimated to eliminate eight to ten serious crimes. Existing estimates of the costs of crime suggest that the social benefit of reduced crime is approximately $100,000 per officer per year, implying that the current number of police is below the optimal level.
An attempt to improve current collocation analysis

Our goal is to review the main stream of research on collocation analysis and try to overcome some of its intrinsic problems, such as the optimal span and the reason for undesired collocates (statistically significant collocates, though lexically and semantically not related with the node word). The idea is not just to calculate significant collocates of a chosen node word or to elucidate which is the best statistical procedure to achieve this goal. However, we shall focus on the way words socialise with other words, forming complex network-like structures or units: lexical constellations; something that cannot be explained using current collocation analyses.
Association of p 16 gene methylation with prostate cancer risk : a meta-analysis

lenced and inactivated by hypermethylation in human cancers, including prostate cancer. However, the association between the methylation status of p16 and prostate cancer risk remains ambiguous. This study aimed to assess the association of p16 methylation with prostate cancer risk by a comprehensive metaanalysis. Methods: Relevant studies were identified by searching PubMed, Embase and Web of Science databases before October 2014 with no restrictions. The strength of the association between p16 methylation and prostate cancer risk was assessed by combined odds ratio (OR) and 95 % confidence interval (CI). The between-study heterogeneity and the contributions of single studies to the final results were tested by chi-square-based Q test and sensitivity analyses, respectively. Publication bias was evaluated by funnel plots. Results: A total of 1,296 samples from 12 independent studies were enrolled in the present metaanalysis. Overall, a significant association was observed between p16 methylation and prostate cancer risk (OR=3.06; 95% CI:1.346.98;p=0.008). Stratified analyses by ethnic groups further revealed that prostate cancer risk was increased for individuals carrying the methylated p16 compared with those with unmethylated p16 in Caucasian populations (OR=2.51;95% CI:1.01-6.26;p=0.047) and Asian populations (OR=9.50;95% CI:1.78-50.61;p=0.008). Conclusions: This study identified a strong association of p16 methylation with prostate cancer risk and suggested that p16 methylation might be a potential biomarker for prostate cancer.
Prostaglandin D2 acts through the Dp2 receptor to influence male germ cell differentiation in the foetal mouse testis

Through intercellular signalling, the somatic compartment of the foetal testis is able to program primordial germ cells to undergo spermatogenesis. Fibroblast growth factor 9 and several members of the transforming growth factor β superfamily are involved in this process in the foetal testis, counteracting the induction of meiosis by retinoic acid and activating germinal mitotic arrest. Here, using in vitro and in vivo approaches, we show that prostaglandin D2 (PGD2), which is produced through both L-Pgds and H-Pgds enzymatic activities in the somatic and germ cell compartments of the foetal testis, plays a role in mitotic arrest in male germ cells by activating the expression and nuclear localization of the CDK inhibitor p21Cip1 and by repressing pluripotency markers. We show that PGD2 acts through its Dp2 receptor, at least in part through direct effects in germ cells, and contributes to the proper differentiation of male germ cells through the upregulation of the master gene Nanos2. Our data identify PGD2 signalling as an early pathway that acts in both paracrine and autocrine manners, and contributes to the differentiation of germ cells in the foetal testis.
Future changes to the Indonesian Throughflow and Pacific circulation: The differing role of wind and deep circulation changes

Climate models consistently project a substantial decrease in the Indonesian Throughflow (ITF) in response to enhanced greenhouse warming. On interannual timescales ITF changes are largely related to tropical Pacific wind variability. However, on the multidecadal timescales investigated here we demonstrate that regional winds and associated changes in the upper ocean circulation cannot explain the projected ITF decrease. Instead, the decrease is related to a weakening in the northward flow of deep waters entering the Pacific basin at ~40°S and an associated reduction in the net basin‐wide upwelling to the north of the southern tip of Australia. This can be traced back to consistent changes in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and Southern Ocean overturning, although questions still remain as to the ultimate drivers. In contrast to the ITF decrease, substantial projected changes to the upper ocean circulation of the Pacific basin are well explained by robust changes in the surface winds.
Stochastic independence with respect to upper and lower conditional probabilities deined by Hausdorff outer and inner measures

A new model of coherent upper conditional prevision is proposed in a metric space. It is defined by the Choquet integral with respect to the s-dimensional Hausdorff outer measure if the conditioning event has positive and finite Hausdorff outer measure in its dimension s. Otherwise if the conditioning event has Hausdorff outer measure in its dimension equal to zero or infinity it is defined by a 0-1 valued finitely, but not countably, additive probability. If the conditioning event has positive and finite Hausdorff outer measure in its dimension the coherent upper conditional prevision is proven to be monotone, comonotonically additive, submodular and continuous from below. Given a coherent upper conditional prevision the coherent lower conditional prevision is defined as its conjugate. In Doria (2007) coherent upper and lower conditional probablities are obtained when only 0-1 valued random variables are considered. The aim of this chapter is to introduce a new definition of stochastic independence with respect to coherent upper and lower conditional probabilities defined by Hausdorff outer and inner measures. A concept related to the definition of conditional probability is stochastic independence. In a continuous probability space where probability is usually assumed equal to the Lebesgue measure, we have that finite, countable and fractal sets (i.e. the sets with non-integer Hausdorff dimension) have probability equal to zero. For these sets the standard definition of independence given by the factorization property is always satisfied since both members of the equality are zero. The notion of s-independence with respect to Hausdorff outer and inner measures is introduced to check probabilistic dependence for sets with probability equal to zero, which are always independent according to the standard definition given by the factorization property. Moreover s-independence is compared with the notion of epistemic independence with respect to upper and lower conditional probabilities (Walley, 1991). The outline of the chapter is the following. In Section 2 it is proven that a conditional prevision defined by the Radon-Nikodym derivative may be not coherent and examples are given. 6
Classifying LandCover Using Texture Statistics

We present a method for labeling the land-cover in an aerial image using image texture statistics and a trained neural network to interpret the texture data. The introduction includes a brief discussion of land-cover mapping and the types of land-cover classes we would like to identify. There is a section describing the texture statistics used and the Gray Level Cooccurrence Matrix (GLCM) for calculating them. There is also a section describing neural networks and the specific parameters used for our neural networks. The results section contains the images used for training the neural network, example images for the texture statistics, and labeled aerial images.
Vetoes for inspiral triggers in LIGO data

Presented is a summary of studies by the LIGO Scientific Collaboration's Inspiral Analysis Group on the development of possible vetoes to be used in the evaluation of data from the first two LIGO science data runs. Numerous environmental monitor signals and interferometer control channels have been analysed in order to characterize the interferometers' performance. The results of studies on selected data segments are provided in this paper. The vetoes used in the compact binary inspiral analyses of LIGO's S1 and S2 science data runs are presented and discussed.
Information, storytelling and attractions: TV journalism in three modes of communication

The competition for the attention of potential audiences, and the problem of audience appeal, has become an increasingly important aspect of TV journalism. The aim of this article is to present a conceptual framework for studies of TV journalism as communication; including different intentions, strategies applied to appeal to viewers, processes of production, bases for audience involvement, roles and relations. I differentiate three modes of communication: information, storytelling and attractions, and argue that this trichotomy is more fruitful and analytically developed, compared to other conceptualizations such as the dichotomy: information and entertainment. The article describes and conceptualizes the specific characteristics of information, storytelling and attractions; and presents empirical examples of TV journalism communicating within these modes of communication.
New Method for Calculating Ground Resistance of Grounding Grids Buried in Horizon Two-Layer Soil

With the development of ultra high voltage AC and DC power system, fault current of power plants, substations and convertor station are great than before. Larger grounding grids are needed to meet the safety regulation. Grounding grids usually located in horizon multilayer or vertical multilayer soil structure which parameters such as thickness, resistivity of each layer can be estimated. This paper presents a new method for calculating ground resistance of grounding grid buried in horizon two-layer soil. It is consisting of three chapters. In the first part, simulations were done to obtain ground resistance of grounding grid in horizon two-layer soil and uniform soil. Then, results were preprocessed to two variables, one is the ratio of resistance of grid in horizon two-layer soil to uniform soil, the other is the ratio of soil resistivity about the top layer to the borrow layer. The relationship curve between the two ratios was plotted out. In the second part, an engineering estimation formula was simplified for calculating ground resistance in horizon two-layer soil. Results of the formula proposed are compared with results of simulation software and its error is acceptable. In the last part, examples of how to use this formula are illustrated.
An examination of factors contributing to student satisfaction in Armenian higher education

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate factors that affect student satisfaction in college environment in Armenian Higher Educational Institutions (AHEIs). Design/methodology/approach – This study used an ex-post facto, non-experimental approach to investigate factors that affected student satisfaction in college environment in AHEIs. Data were collected through a self-reported questionnaire from students in nine public and three private institutions located in different rural and urban areas of Armenia. The sample consisted of 372 respondents from 12 institutions that geographically covered the whole country in order to have a comparatively complete picture. Factors investigated in relation to student satisfaction included: demographics, faculty services, academic experience, students support facilities, campus life, and social integration. Findings – The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences software was used to analyze the data. Results of ANOVA indicated significant main effects f.
Involvement in sport and social connectedness

This paper explores the relationship between involvement in sport and non-sport community organisations and social connectedness. Data were collected on types of community involvement, selected demographic variables and social connectedness. The findings support the contention that involvement in sport organisations is associated with increased levels of social connectedness. Sport involvement was found to be a predictor of social connectedness, while involvement in non-sport community organisations was not. The study also found that the tenure and intensity of involvement in organisations were not significantly associated with social connectedness scores.
Two Distinct E3 Ubiquitin Ligases Have Complementary Functions in the Regulation of Delta and Serrate Signaling in Drosophila

Signaling by the Notch ligands Delta (Dl) and Serrate (Ser) regulates a wide variety of essential cell-fate decisions during animal development. Two distinct E3 ubiquitin ligases, Neuralized (Neur) and Mind bomb (Mib), have been shown to regulate Dl signaling in Drosophila melanogaster and Danio rerio, respectively. While the neur and mib genes are evolutionarily conserved, their respective roles in the context of a single organism have not yet been examined. We show here that the Drosophila mind bomb (D-mib) gene regulates a subset of Notch signaling events, including wing margin specification, leg segmentation, and vein determination, that are distinct from those events requiring neur activity. D-mib also modulates lateral inhibition, a neur- and Dl-dependent signaling event, suggesting that D-mib regulates Dl signaling. During wing development, expression of D-mib in dorsal cells appears to be necessary and sufficient for wing margin specification, indicating that D-mib also regulates Ser signaling. Moreover, the activity of the D-mib gene is required for the endocytosis of Ser in wing imaginal disc cells. Finally, ectopic expression of neur in D-mib mutant larvae rescues the wing D-mib phenotype, indicating that Neur can compensate for the lack of D-mib activity. We conclude that D-mib and Neur are two structurally distinct proteins that have similar molecular activities but distinct developmental functions in Drosophila.
Modulation of Adult Mesenchymal Stem Cells Activity by Toll-Like Receptors: Implications on Therapeutic Potential

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are of special interest as therapeutic agents in the settings of both chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Toll-like receptors (TLR) ligands have been linked with the perpetuation of inflammation in a number of chronic inflammatory diseases due to the permanent exposure of the immune system to TLR-specific stimuli. Therefore, MSCs employed in therapy can be potentially exposed to TLR ligands, which may modulate MSC therapeutic potential in vivo. Recent results demonstrate that MSCs are activated by TLR ligands leading to modulation of the differentiation, migration, proliferation, survival, and immunosuppression capacities. However inconsistent results among authors have been reported suggesting that the source of MSCs, TLR stimuli employed or culture conditions play a role. Notably, activation by TLR ligands has not been reported to modulate the “immunoprivileged” phenotype of MSCs which is of special relevance regarding the use of allogeneic MSC-based therapies. In this review, we discuss the available data on the modulation of MSCs activity through TLR signalling.
The blue-C (poster session): integrating real humans into a networked immersive environment

In this paper, we report ongoing work in a new project, The Blue-C. The goal of this project is to build a collaborative, immersive virtual environment which will eventually integrate real humans, captured by a set of video cameras. Two Blue-C.s will be interconnected via a high-speed network. This will allow for bi-directional collaboration and interaction between two persons sharing virtual spaces. The video streams are used for both texture and geometry extraction. We will generate a 3-D light field inlay enriched with the reconstructed geometry, which will be integrated into the virtual environment. The design and construction of the Blue-C. environment, including both hardware and software, is an interdisciplinary effort with participants from the departments of computer science, architecture, product development, and electrical engineering. Parallel to the development of the core system, we are designing new applications in the areas of computer aided architectural design, product reviewing, and medicine, which will highlight the versatility of the Blue-C.
The Activation Status of Neuroantigen-specific T Cells in the Target Organ Determines the Clinical Outcome of Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis

The clinical picture of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) is critically dependent on the nature of the target autoantigen and the genetic background of the experimental animals. Potentially lethal EAE is mediated by myelin basic protein (MBP)–specific T cells in Lewis rats, whereas transfer of S100β- or myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG)–specific T cells causes intense inflammatory response in the central nervous system (CNS) with minimal disease. However, in Dark Agouti rats, the pathogenicity of MOG-specific T cells resembles the one of MBP-specific T cells in the Lewis rat. Using retrovirally transduced green fluorescent T cells, we now report that differential disease activity reflects different levels of autoreactive effector T cell activation in their target tissue. Irrespective of their pathogenicity, the migratory activity, gene expression patterns, and immigration of green fluorescent protein+ T cells into the CNS were similar. However, exclusively highly pathogenic T cells were significantly reactivated within the CNS. Without local effector T cell activation, production of monocyte chemoattractants was insufficient to initiate and propagate a full inflammatory response. Low-level reactivation of weakly pathogenic T cells was not due to anergy because these cells could be activated by specific antigen in situ as well as after isolation ex vivo.