Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effectiveness of selenium supplements in a low-selenium area of China.

BACKGROUND Selenium is an essential micronutrient with a recommended dietary allowance for adults of 55 mug/d. It functions as an essential constituent of selenoproteins. Although there is no evidence of selenium deficiency in the United States, people in many other areas of the world are selenium deficient, with the consequence that they are unable to express their selenoproteins fully. OBJECTIVE We carried out a supplementation trial in a selenium-deficient population in China to assess the requirement for selenium as selenite and as selenomethionine. DESIGN One hundred twenty subjects with an average selenium intake of 10 mug/d were randomly assigned and administered tablets containing no selenium or amounts as high as 66 mug Se/d for 20 wk. Plasma was sampled before supplementation and at 4-wk intervals during supplementation and was assayed for the 2 plasma selenoproteins, glutathione peroxidase and selenoprotein P. RESULTS Full expression of glutathione peroxidase was achieved with 37 mug Se/d as selenomethionine and with 66 mug/d as selenite. Full expression of selenoprotein P was not achieved at the highest doses of either form. CONCLUSIONS Full expression of selenoprotein P requires a greater selenium intake than does full expression of plasma glutathione peroxidase. This suggests that selenoprotein P is a better indicator of selenium nutritional status than is glutathione peroxidase and that the recommended dietary allowance of selenium, which was set with the use of glutathione peroxidase as the index of selenium status, should be revised. Selenium as selenomethionine had nearly twice the bioavailability of selenium as selenite.
Modeling cytokinesis of eukaryotic cells driven by the actomyosin contractile ring

A three‐dimensional (3D) hydrodynamic model for cytokinesis of eukaryotic cells is developed, in which we model dynamics of actomyosins in the cell cortex, in particular, along the cytokinetic ring formed in the cortex and in the neighborhood of the cell's division plane explicitly. Specifically, the active force actuated by the actomyosin's activity along the cytokinetic ring is modeled by a surface force whose strength is proportional to the actomyosin concentration while the cell morphology is tracked by a phase field model. The model is then solved in 3D space and time using a finite difference method on graphic processing units. Dynamical morphological patterns of eukaryotic cells during cytokinesis are numerically simulated with the model. These simulated morphological patterns agree quantitatively with experimental observations. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Regulating Cdc42 and Its Signaling Pathways in Cancer: Small Molecules and MicroRNA as New Treatment Candidates

Despite great improvements in the diagnosis and treatment of neoplasms, metastatic disease is still the leading cause of death in cancer patients, with mortality rates still rising. Given this background, new ways to treat cancer will be important for development of improved cancer control strategies. Cdc42 is a member of the Rho GTPase family and plays an important role in cell-to-cell adhesion, formation of cytoskeletal structures, and cell cycle regulation. It thus influences cellular proliferation, transformation, and homeostasis, as well as the cellular migration and invasion processes underlying tumor formation. Cdc42 acts as a collection point for signal transduction and regulates multiple signaling pathways. Moreover, recent studies show that in most human cancers Cdc42 is abnormally expressed and promoting neoplastic growth and metastasis. Regarding possible new treatments for cancer, miRNA and small molecules targeting Cdc42 and related pathways have been recently found to be effective on cancer. In this review, we analyze the newly recognized regulation mechanisms for Cdc42 and Cdc42-related signal pathways, and particularly new treatments using small molecules and miRNAs to inhibit the abnormal overexpression of Cdc42 that may slow down the metastasis process, improve cancer therapy and lead to novel strategies for development of antineoplastic drugs.
NITROUS OXIDE SOURCES IN AEROBIC SOILS : NITRIFICATION , DENITRIFICATION AND OTHER BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES

Nitrous oxide (NrO) production in aerobic, intact soil cores collected from two forest sites was partitioned into different sources of N,O by subjecting soils to specitlc inhibitors during short-term incubations. We used acetylene (IO Pa) to selectively inhibit N,O production by nitrifiers, 100 kPa (100% v/v) 0, to inhibit N,O production by denitrifiers, and sterilixed soil to evaluate chemical sources of N,O. Individual soil cores were incubated in a recirculating atmosphere system under air, 100 kPa 0,. and air + IO Pa C,H, atmospheres for Gt h under each condition. Rates of N,O production in air ranged from 2.8 to 8.5 ng N g-t h-i in soils from the Rose Lake site and from 0.1 to 0.94 ng N g-i h-i in soils from Warren Woods. The importance of specific N,O sources in these soils varied among soil cores within each site. in the recently disturbed, more fertile Rose Lake site nitrifiers and denitrigers were both important N,O sources, but in many cores a si~i~nt portion of the N,O Run was inhibited by neither acetylene nor 0,. impiying an alternate N,O source. Sterilixed soil produced little N,O, which suggests that the alternate source is biological. In the old-growth Warren Woods site nitritiers were significant but relatively unimportant sources of N,O. Or consistently stimulated rather than inhibited NrO production in cores from this site. suggesting (a) that denitrifiers in this site are a sink for N,O produced by other sources, and (b) that most of the N,O produced in this site is from sources other than nitritication and denit~~tion, Biological sources of N,O other than nitrifiers and denit~fiers were not further identified, although low soil pH values suggest that fungi may be important.
EFFECT OF FLY ASH ADDITION ON INORGANIC WATER SLUDGE CONDITIONING

This study evaluates the feasibility of using power plant fly ash to improve the dewaterability of inorganic water sludge. The dewatering characteristics of conditioned sludge in terms of specific resistance to filtration (SRF) and capillary suction time (CST) were investigated. Experimental results indicate that inorganic water sludge, physically conditioned with fly ash, can effectively decrease its SRF and CST values. Sludge conditioning with the combination of polymer and fly ash, called dual conditioning, not only improves dewaterability further, but also reduces polymer dosages considerably, when compared with purely chemical conditioning. Two laboratory-scale mechanical dewatering devices, including a centrifuge and belt press, were used by this study to verify that dual conditioning was more effective than chemical conditioning. Mechanical dewatering studies have demonstrated that dual conditioning, in contrast to chemical conditioning, offers advantages of reducing required chemical dosage and markedly increasing cake solid content. Furthermore, SRF and CST can be used as operational tools to determine the optimal polymer dosage for the centrifuge, but not for the belt press.
Distributed synchronization of noisy non-identical double integrators

In this paper we present a novel synchronization protocol to synchronize a network of controlled discrete-time doubl e integrators which are non-identical, with unknown model parameters andsubject to additive measurement and process noise. This framework is m otivated by the typical problem of synchronizing a network of clocks whose speeds are non-identical and are subject to variations. This synchronization protocol is formally studied in its synchronous implementation. In particular, we provide a completely distributed strategy that guaranteesconvergence for any undirected connected communication graph, and we also p ropose an optimal convex design strategy when the underlaying commun ication graph is known. Moreover, this protocol can be readily used t o study the effect of noise and external disturbances on the steady-sta te performance. Finally, some simulations including also asynchronous imp lementation of the proposed algorithm are presented.
Brain–Computer Interface Spellers: A Review

A Brain–Computer Interface (BCI) provides a novel non-muscular communication method via brain signals. A BCI-speller can be considered as one of the first published BCI applications and has opened the gate for many advances in the field. Although many BCI-spellers have been developed during the last few decades, to our knowledge, no reviews have described the different spellers proposed and studied in this vital field. The presented speller systems are categorized according to major BCI paradigms: P300, steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP), and motor imagery (MI). Different BCI paradigms require specific electroencephalogram (EEG) signal features and lead to the development of appropriate Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs). The purpose of this review is to consolidate the most successful BCI-spellers published since 2010, while mentioning some other older systems which were built explicitly for spelling purposes. We aim to assist researchers and concerned individuals in the field by illustrating the highlights of different spellers and presenting them in one review. It is almost impossible to carry out an objective comparison between different spellers, as each has its variables, parameters, and conditions. However, the gathered information and the provided taxonomy about different BCI-spellers can be helpful, as it could identify suitable systems for first-hand users, as well as opportunities of development and learning from previous studies for BCI researchers.
Addition-invariant FO and regularity ( Full Version )

We consider formulas which, in addition to the symbols in the vocabulary, may use two designated symbols≺ and + that must be interpreted as a linear order and its associated addition. Such a formula is called addition-invariant if, for each fixed interpretation of the initial vocabulary, its result is independent of the particular interpretation of ≺ and +. This paper studies the expressive power of addition-invariant first-order logic, +-inv-FO, on the class of finite strings. Our first main result gives a characterization of the regular languages definable in +-inv-FO: we show that these are exactly the languages definable in FO with extra predicates, denoted by “lm” for short, for testing the length of the string modulo some fixed number. Our second main result shows that every language definable in +-inv-FO, that is bounded or commutative or deterministic context-free, is regular. As an immediate consequence of these two main results, we obtain that +-inv-FO is equivalent to FO(lm) on the class of finite colored sets. Our proof methods involve Ehrenfeucht-Fraı̈ssé games, tools from algebraic automata theory, and reasoning about semi-linear sets.
Comparison of the efficacy of wheat-based snacks fortified with ferrous sulfate, electrolytic iron, or hydrogen-reduced elemental iron: randomized, double-blind, controlled trial in Thai women.

BACKGROUND Although elemental iron powders are widely used to fortify cereal products, little data exist on their efficacy in humans. OBJECTIVE We compared the efficacy of wheat-based snacks fortified with ferrous sulfate, electrolytic iron, or hydrogen-reduced iron in Thai women with low iron stores. DESIGN A double-blind intervention was conducted in 18-50-y-old women (n = 330) randomly assigned into 4 groups to receive either no fortification iron or 12 mg Fe/d for 6 d/wk for 35 wk as ferrous sulfate, electrolytic iron, or hydrogen-reduced iron in a baked, wheat-flour-based snack. Snacks were not consumed with meals, and consumption was monitored. At baseline, 20 wk, and 35 wk, hemoglobin status and iron were measured and the groups were compared. RESULTS Between baseline and 35 wk, geometric mean serum ferritin (SF) increased significantly in all 3 groups receiving iron (P < 0.01), and geometric mean serum transferrin receptor (TfR) decreased significantly in the groups receiving ferrous sulfate and electrolytic iron (P < 0.05). Calculated mean (+/-SD) body iron stores increased from 1.5 +/- 2.8 to 5.4 +/- 2.9 mg/kg in the ferrous sulfate group, from 1.5 +/- 3.5 to 4.4 +/- 3.6 mg/kg in the electrolytic iron group, and from 1.3 +/- 3.2 to 3.2 +/- 4.3 mg/kg in the hydrogen-reduced iron group (P < 0.01 for all 3 groups) but did not change significantly in the control group. CONCLUSIONS Ferrous sulfate, electrolytic iron, and hydrogen-reduced iron, fortified into wheat-based snacks, significantly improved iron status. On the basis of the change in body iron stores during the 35-wk study, the relative efficacy of the electrolytic and hydrogen-reduced iron compared with ferrous sulfate was 77% and 49%, respectively.
cosystem services along a management gradient in Michigan ( USA ) ropping systems

To assess tradeoffs and synergies among different services provided by major ecosystems in agricultural landscapes, we examined agricultural yield, aboveground net primary productivity, global warming impact, soil quality, water conservation, water quality, and plant diversity in eight replicated ecosystems along a management intensity gradient on the same soil type in SW Michigan, USA. Ecosystems included four annual grain systems in a maize–soybean–wheat rotation, two perennial crops (alfalfa and hybrid poplar trees), an early successional community, and a late-successional deciduous forest. The annual grain systems included tilled and no-till treatments both managed with conventional chemical inputs; and reduced input and biologically based treatments both managed with tillage for weed control and leguminous winter cover crops for nitrogen. Radar diagrams illustrated the suite of services provided by o-till iversity each system. We found 13 significant interactions between ecosystem service indicators, seven being positive and six negative. Numerous trade-offs with grain yield were found, suggesting that by focusing on grain yield in these systems, land managers may be neglecting other ecosystem services. Management of nitrogen fertilizer, cover crops, and tillage (no-till) were particularly important determinants for the delivery of multiple ecosystem services.
Soluble ST2 protein in chronic heart failure is independent of traditional factors

Introduction ST2 protein is the interleukin 33 (IL-33) receptor, whose serum level depends on the biomechanical strain of cardiac myocytes. The aim of this study was to analyse the relationship between soluble ST2 (sST2) level and traditional factors in patients with chronic heart failure. Material and methods Sixty-six patients (mean age 62 years, 75% males) in stable NYHA class I-III with left ventricular ejection fraction < 45% were included in the study. Clinical, biochemical, electrocardiographic, echocardiographic and angiographic data were analysed. Patients were divided into groups depending on sST2 median: > 0.28 ng/ml (n = 31) vs. ≤ 0.28 ng/ml (n = 35). sST2 was measured using a quantitative ELISA kit. In order to define factors associated with sST2 levels uni- and multivariate regression analysis was performed. Results There was no relationship between sST2 levels and age (p = 0.67), body mass index (p = 0.19), hsTnT (p = 0.7) or other analysed parameters (all p > 0.05), except for N-terminal prohormone B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP). A significant positive correlation between sST2 and NT-proBNP was found (p = 0.013, R = 0.395). Multivariate analysis revealed that the stage of coronary artery disease and NT-proBNP were independent factors associated with sST2 concentration (p = 0.04). Intriguing is the fact that the fewer the sclerotic changes present in arteries, the higher was the sST2 level (β = –0.381, p = 0.04). Conclusions sST2 protein is independent of traditional factors which usually affect levels of NT-proBNP. In chronic heart failure, sST2 protein may be of greater importance in idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy than in ischaemic aetiology, which seems to be associated with the molecular mechanism (biomechanical strain) related to sST2.
Episodic Sexual Transmission of HIV Revealed by Molecular Phylodynamics

Background The structure of sexual contact networks plays a key role in the epidemiology of sexually transmitted infections, and their reconstruction from interview data has provided valuable insights into the spread of infection. For HIV, the long period of infectivity has made the interpretation of contact networks more difficult, and major discrepancies have been observed between the contact network and the transmission network revealed by viral phylogenetics. The high rate of HIV evolution in principle allows for detailed reconstruction of links between virus from different individuals, but often sampling has been too sparse to describe the structure of the transmission network. The aim of this study was to analyze a high-density sample of an HIV-infected population using recently developed techniques in phylogenetics to infer the short-term dynamics of the epidemic among men who have sex with men (MSM). Methods and Findings Sequences of the protease and reverse transcriptase coding regions from 2,126 patients, predominantly MSM, from London were compared: 402 of these showed a close match to at least one other subtype B sequence. Nine large clusters were identified on the basis of genetic distance; all were confirmed by Bayesian Monte Carlo Markov chain (MCMC) phylogenetic analysis. Overall, 25% of individuals with a close match with one sequence are linked to 10 or more others. Dated phylogenies of the clusters using a relaxed clock indicated that 65% of the transmissions within clusters took place between 1995 and 2000, and 25% occurred within 6 mo after infection. The likelihood that not all members of the clusters have been identified renders the latter observation conservative. Conclusions Reconstruction of the HIV transmission network using a dated phylogeny approach has revealed the HIV epidemic among MSM in London to have been episodic, with evidence of multiple clusters of transmissions dating to the late 1990s, a period when HIV prevalence is known to have doubled in this population. The quantitative description of the transmission dynamics among MSM will be important for parameterization of epidemiological models and in designing intervention strategies.
Prospective validation of a low-back disorder risk model and assessment of ergonomic interventions associated with manual materials handling tasks

The evaluation of low-back disorder risk associated with materials handling tasks can be performed using a variety of assessment tools. Most of these tools vary greatly in their underlying logic, yet few have been assessed for their predictive ability. It is important to document how well an assessment tool realistically reflects the job's injury risk, since only valid and accurate tools can reliably determine whether a given ergonomic intervention will result in a future reduction in back injuries. The goal of this study was to evaluate how well a previously reported lowback disorder (LBD) risk assessment model (Marras et al. 1993) could predict changes in LBD injury rates as the physical conditions to which employees are exposed were changed. Thirty-six repetitive materials handling jobs from 16 different companies were included in this prospective cohort study. Of these 36 jobs, 32 underwent an ergonomic intervention during the observation period, and four jobs in which no intervention occurred served as a comparison group. The trunk motions and workplace features of 142 employees performing these jobs were observed both before and after workplace interventions were incorporated. In addition, the jobs' LBD rates were documented for these pre- and post-intervention periods. The results indicated that a statistically significant correlation existed between changes in the jobs' estimated LBD risk values and changes in their actual low-back incidence rates over the observation period.Linear and Poisson regression models also were developed to predict a change in a job's incidence rate and the number of LBD on a job respectively, as a function of the job's risk change using this assessment model. Finally, this prospective study showed which ergonomic interventions consistently reduced the jobs' mean low-back incidence rates. These results support use of the LBD risk model to assess accurately a job's potential to lead to low-back injuries among its employees.
Cognitive Impacts of Estrogen Treatment in Androgen-Deprived Males: What Needs to be Resolved

Background: Many prostate cancer (PCa) patients are on androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) as part of their cancer treatments but ADT may lead to cognitive impairments. ADT depletes men of both androgen and estrogen. Whether estradiol supplementation can improve cognitive impairments in patients on ADT is understudied. Objective: To summarize data on the effects of estradiol treatment on cognitive function of androgen-deprived genetic male populations (PCa patients and male-to-female transsexuals) and castrated male animals. Method: Publications were identified by a literature search on PubMed and Google Scholar. Results: While some studies showed that estradiol improves cognitive function (most notably, spatial ability) for castrated rats, what remains uninvestigated are: 1) whether estradiol can improve cognition after long-term androgen deprivation, 2) how estradiol affects memory retention, and 3) how early vs. delayed estradiol treatment after castration influences cognition. For androgen-deprived genetic males, estradiol treatment may improve some cognitive functions (e.g., verbal and visual memory), but the findings are not consistent due to large variability in the study design between studies. Conclusion: Future studies are required to determine the best estradiol treatment protocol to maximize cognitive benefits for androgen-deprived genetic males. Tests that assess comparable cognitive domains in human and rodents are needed. What particularly under-investigated is how the effects of estradiol on cognitive ability intersect with other parameters; sleep, depression and physical fatigue. Such studies have clinical implications to improve the quality of life for both PCa patients on ADT as well as for male-to-female transsexuals.
Erythorbic acid is a potent enhancer of nonheme-iron absorption.

BACKGROUND Erythorbic acid, a stereoisomer of ascorbic acid with similar physicochemical properties, is widely used as an antioxidant in processed foods. OBJECTIVES The aims of the present study were to evaluate the effect of erythorbic acid on iron absorption from ferrous sulfate at molar ratios of 2:1 and 4:1 (relative to iron) and to compare the effect of erythorbic acid directly with that of ascorbic acid at a molar ratio of 4:1. DESIGN Iron absorption from iron-fortified cereal was measured in 10 women on the basis of erythrocyte incorporation of stable iron isotopes ((57)Fe or (58)Fe) 14 d after administration. Each woman consumed 4 ferrous-sulfate-fortified test meals (containing 5 mg Fe/meal) with or without added erythorbic or ascorbic acid. The data were evaluated by use of paired t tests, and the results are presented as geometric means. RESULTS Iron absorption from the test meal without any added enhancer was 4.1%. The addition of erythorbic acid (at molar ratios of 2:1 and 4:1 relative to iron) increased iron absorption 2.6-fold (10.8%; P < 0.0001) and 4.6-fold (18.8%; P < 0.0001), respectively. The addition of ascorbic acid (molar ratio of 4:1) increased iron absorption 2.9-fold (11.7%; P = 0.0004). At a molar ratio of 4:1, erythorbic acid was 1.6-fold (P = 0.0002) as potent an enhancer of iron absorption as was ascorbic acid. CONCLUSION Although erythorbic acid is a potent enhancer of iron absorption, its lack of antiscorbutic activity limits its usefulness in iron-fortification programs. However, it may play a major role in enhancing iron bioavailability from mixed diets that include foods preserved with erythorbic acid.