Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Fat distribution and metabolic changes in patients with HIV infection.

Recent reports of localized areas of increased fat deposition and fat loss in HIV-infected patients, as well as changes in serum levels of metabolites and hormones, have led to the proposal that a lipodystrophy syndrome is occurring. Although the lipodystrophy syndrome is often attributed to the use of HIV protease inhibitor (PI) agents, there is no standard definition of the syndrome, attribution is often by self-report, and prevalence estimates vary widely. In addition, the association of lipodystrophy with use of PI, as well as the interrelationship of body composition changes with metabolic abnormalities, have been challenged. In this review we describe prevalence estimates derived from a review of the English language medical literature with regard to regional increases in fat (lipohypertrophy: 1-56%), regional loss of fat (lipoatrophy; 1-24%), and pooled 'lipodystrophy' syndromes (2-83%). The wide range of prevalence estimates may be due to differing definitions, methods (e.g. self-report versus objective measurements) and patient populations. The relationship of changes in body composition to use of PI is increasingly less clear, and analysis reveals multiple other potential contributing factors such as other classes of antiretroviral agents, duration of antiretroviral therapy, change in viral load, body weight, age, and gender. There are few data on the association of individual changes in fat redistribution with each other. Moreover, the association between fat distribution and metabolic changes such as hyperlipidemia and insulin resistance is also increasingly questioned; PI may play an independent role in metabolic changes. Future studies must examine each localized abnormality in fat distribution discretely, using objective measurements rather than subjective report. Discernment of contributing cofactors is critical and must include, among others, complete medication history, viral load, body weight, age and gender. Because some of the reported changes occur in non-HIV-infected individuals, it is important to calculate the excess prevalence above control populations. The association of individual changes with each other and with contributing factors must be analyzed first, before the definition of a syndrome or of multiple syndromes can be made.
Reproductive Hormone Levels in Men Exposed to Persistent Organohalogen Pollutants: A Study of Inuit and Three European Cohorts

Objective Persistent organohalogen pollutant (POP) exposure may have a negative impact on reproductive function. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of POP exposure on the male hypothalamo–pituitary–gonadal axis. Participants Participants included 184 Swedish fishermen and spouses of pregnant women from Greenland (n = 258), Warsaw, Poland (n = 113), and Kharkiv, Ukraine (n = 194). Evaluations/measurements Serum levels of 2,2′,4,4′,5,5′-hexachlorobiphenyl (CB-153) and dichlorodiphenyl dichloroethene (p,p′-DDE) were determined in the four populations, showing different exposure patterns: Swedish fishermen, high CB-153/low p,p′-DDE; Greenland, high CB-153/high p,p′-DDE; Warsaw, low CB-153/moderate p,p′-DDE; Kharkiv, low CB-153/high p,p′-DDE. Serum was also analyzed for testosterone, estradiol, sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), inhibin B, luteinizing hormone (LH), and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). Free testosterone levels were calculated based on testosterone and SHBG. Results We found significant center-to-center variations in the associations between exposure and the outcomes. The most pronounced effects were observed in Kharkiv, where statistically significant positive associations were found between the levels of both CB-153 and p,p′-DDE and SHBG, as well as LH. In Greenland, there was a positive association between CB-153 exposure and LH. In the pooled data set from all four centers, there was positive association between p,p′-DDE and FSH levels [β = 1.1 IU/L; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.0–1.1 IU/L]. The association between CB-153 levels and SHBG was of borderline statistical significance (β = 0.90 nmol/L; 95% CI, −0.04 to 1.9 nmol/L). Conclusions Gonadotropin levels and SHBG seem to be affected by POP exposure, but the pattern of endocrine response is the subject of considerable geographic variation.
Robust design of sub-threshold flip-flop cells for wireless sensor network

As a major sequential logic element, D flip-flop is an indispensible cell in logic cell library. In this paper, we proposed two improved sub-threshold D flip-flop circuits (mTGMS and emC2MOS D flip-flop) after conducting robustness analysis of several typical flip-flop circuits. Using SMIC 0.18um CMOS technology, the simulation results show that the minimum work voltage of our proposed mTGMS and emC2MOS is 0.19V and 0.18V, the minimum average power is 13.2pW and 14.1pW, while the minimum Power Delay Product (PDP) is 13aJ and 4.35aJ respectively.
Novel stability analysis of direct MRAC with redundant inputs

In this paper a novel stability proof for direct Model Reference Adaptive Control is presented. Especially the case of redundant inputs is taken into account in order to consider actuator failures and even change in the control direction. To this end, a weaker assumption than positive definiteness of the control effectiveness matrix is formulated. Furthermore, it is shown that with a special choice of parameter initial values, the parameter set can be reduced avoiding overparameterization. The control law is applied to a hexarotor example and simulation results show the performance.
Injective and projective Heyting algebras

The determination of the injective and projective members of a category is usually a challenging problem and adds to knowledge of the category. In this paper we consider these questions for the category of Heyting algebras. There has been a lack of uniformity in terminology in recent years. In [6] Heyting algebras are referred to as pseudo-Boolean algebras, and in [1] they are called Brouwerian lattices. We would argue for retaining the name Heyting algebras for the reasons given in [2, p. 162], reserving the name Brouwerian algebras for the algebras dual to Heyting algebras. The fundamental paper on Brouwerian algebras (and therefore Heyting algebras) is [4]. We shall show that a Heyting algebra is injective if and only if it is a complete Boolean algebra. The determination of projective Heyting algebras is, as usual, more difficult. We shall characterize all projective Heyting algebras which are finite or are chains. Some other results on projective algebras are given.
Effect of mercury addition on plasmid incidence and gene mobilizing capacity in bulk soil

Two methods of exogenous plasmid isolation were used to evaluate and compare the plasmid incidence and gene mobilizing capacity of eight soils before and after the addition of mercury. Biparental matings (BM) were performed using Pseudomonas putida UWC1 as recipient to obtain conjugative mercury resistance (HgR) plasmids. To obtain mobilizing plasmids, the transfer of the IncQ vector pMOL187 from Escherichia coli into Ralstonia eutropha was selected in triparental matings (TM). The numbers of donor, helper and recipient cells used in the matings were kept the same for each soil sample, which provided a way to compare plasmid incidence and gene mobilizing capacity on the basis of the numbers of transconjugants obtained. Using BM prior to mercury addition, plasmids that confer HgR were obtained only from 1 of 8 soils. However, following the addition of mercury to these soils, HgR transconjugants were obtained from 5 of the 8 soils, and among these broad (BHR) and narrow-host-range (NHR) plasmids were found at variable ratios. Similarly, these same five soils were the only ones to yield mobilizing plasmids by using TM; all of which were found to confer HgR and to be BHR plasmids. This suggests that HgR plasmids were the main cause of the increased mobilizing capacity observed in the mercury treated soils. Notably, there were three soils in which no plasmids that confer mercury resistance were obtained although the soils had at least 105 HgR cfu g soil−1, indicating that resistance to mercury may not be encoded on plasmids that could be transferred to the recipients used. Plasmids from 177 transconjugants obtained by BM and TM could be classified into 20 groups based on size and restriction fragment patterns, and none belonged to known classes of BHR plasmids. This indicates that there are diverse replicons capable of mediating the dissemination of mercury resistance.
Osseointegration of Ti–6Al–4V Alloy Implants with a Titanium Nitride Coating Produced by a PIRAC Nitriding Technique: A Long-Term Time Course Study in the Rat

Abstract This study examined bone tissue responses to Ti–6Al–4V alloy implants with a hard TiN coating applied by an original powder immersion reaction-assisted coating (PIRAC) nitriding method. Progression of implant fixation in the distal epiphysis and within the medullary cavity of the rat femur was evaluated between 3 days and 6 months postimplantation by scanning electron microscopy, oxytetracycline incorporation, and histochemistry. After 6 months, successful osseointegration was achieved in both epiphyseal and diaphyseal sites. Throughout, implant portions located within the epiphysis remained in close contact with bone trabeculae that gradually engulfed the implant forming a bone collar continuous with the trabecular network of the epiphysis. In the diaphysis, woven bone was first formed within the marrow cavity around the implant and later was replaced by a shell of compact bone around the implant. In general, higher osseointegration rates were measured for TiN-coated versus the uncoated implants, both in the epiphysis and in the diaphysis. In conclusion, our findings indicate an excellent long-term biocompatibility of TiN coatings applied by the PIRAC nitriding technique and superior osteoinductive ability in comparison with uncoated Ti–6Al–4V alloy. Such coatings can, therefore, be considered for improving the corrosion and wear resistance of titanium-based orthopedic implants.
Stability analysis of snake robot locomotion based on averaging theory

This paper investigates the controllability and stability properties of a planar snake robot influenced by anisotropic viscous ground friction. An analysis of the model shows that any asymptotically stabilizing control law for the robot to an equilibrium point must be time-varying. Furthermore, the analysis shows that the snake robot (with four links) is strongly accessible from almost any equilibrium point, except for certain singular configurations, and that the robot does not satisfy sufficient conditions for small-time local controllability (STLC). Averaging theory is employed to model the average velocity of the snake robot during lateral undulation. It is proven that the average velocity will converge exponentially fast to a steady state velocity, and an analytical expression for calculating the steady state velocity of the robot with an arbitrary number of links is presented. The paper presents simulation results that support the theoretical findings.
Homeopathy in Dentistry and Oral Medicine: A review

Received: 10.10. 2016 Accepted: 08.12. 2016 Abstract Objectives: Homeopathy is the most important field of alternative medicine. At present, over 3000 organic medications have been registered in the homeopathy pharmacopeia; out of which, 70% have herbal, 20% have mineral and the remaining have animal origins. Evidence shows that homeopathy may be beneficial in dentistry and oral medicine. However, this is a less known field for dentists. Therefore, this study aimed to do a review on the most common homeopathy medicines used for oral and dental problfems and to present it in a simple and practical way for general dental practitioners. Review of Literature: Google Scholar and PubMed data bases were searched for any article related to both homeopathy and dentistry. Several recent meta-analyses, randomized control trials, animal and laboratory trials, and other interventional papers were studied. Homeopathy drugs are basically produced from natural origin; they have less side effects in comparison with chemical drugs. In this method, only small doses of medications with low cost are used. The positive effects of homeopathy drugs on several oral conditions have been emphasized. Conclusion: Homeopathy may be a suitable adjunct to conventional medicine for management of many conditions since it is affordable, effective and uplifting for patients.
Changes in blood insulin resistance, GLUT4 & AMPK after continuous and interval aerobic training in normal and diabetic rats.

a Full Professor, Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, University of Birjand, Birjand, Iran. b Ph.D Student in Exercise Physiology, University of Birjand, Birjand, Iran. c Assistant Professor, Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Gonabad University of Medical Sciences, Gonabad, Iran. d Assistant Professor, Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, University of Birjand, Birjand, Iran .
The ompB Operon Partially Determines Differential Expression of OmpC in Salmonella typhi andEscherichia coli

ABSTRACT Expression of the Escherichia coli OmpC and OmpF outer membrane proteins is regulated by the osmolarity of the culture media. In contrast, expression of OmpC in Salmonella typhi is not influenced by osmolarity, while OmpF is regulated as in E. coli. To better understand the lack of osmoregulation of OmpC expression in S. typhi, we compared the expression of theompC gene in S. typhi and E. coli, using ompC-lacZ fusions and outer membrane protein (OMP) electrophoretic profiles. S. typhi ompC expression levels in S. typhi were similar at low and high osmolarity along the growth curve, whereas osmoregulation of E. coli ompC inE. coli was observed during the exponential phase. Both genes were highly expressed at high and low osmolarity when present inS. typhi, while expression of both was regulated by osmolarity in E. coli. Complementation experiments with either the S. typhi or E. coli ompB operon in an S. typhi ΔompB strain carrying theompC-lacZ fusions showed that both S. typhi andE. coli ompC were not regulated by osmolarity when they were under the control of S. typhi ompB. Interestingly, in the same strain, both genes were osmoregulated under E. coli ompB. Surprisingly, in E. coli ΔompB, they were both osmoregulated under S. typhi or E. coli ompB. Thus, the lack of osmoregulation of OmpC expression inS. typhi is determined in part by the ompBoperon, as well as by other unknown trans-acting elements present in S. typhi.
Hypothalamic Preproghrelin Gene Expression Is Repressed by Insulin via Both PI3-K/Akt and ERK1/2 MAPK Pathways in Immortalized, Hypothalamic Neurons

The gut peptide ghrelin is expressed within neurons of the hypothalamus. Using a hypothalamic cell line, mHypoE-38 neurons, the effect of insulin on preproghrelin gene expression was assayed. These cells contain neuron-specific markers, preproghrelin and the insulin receptor. We determined that insulin has direct effects on preproghrelin gene expression. Insulin (10 nM) stimulated protein kinase B (Akt) and extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1 and 2 (ERK1/2) phosphorylation from 5 to 60 min and 5 min, respectively, and led to repression of preproghrelin gene expression at 2 h. Pharmacological inhibitors to phosphoinositide-3-kinase (PI3-K; LY294002) and MEK (PD98059) demonstrated that basal ghrelin gene expression is regulated by the PI3-K pathway and requires the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway for insulin-stimulated preproghrelin repression. These results demonstrate that insulin has a direct effect on hypothalamic neurons to decrease preproghrelin gene expression through classic insulin pathways.
Global Standards and Emerging Markets: The Institutional-Investment Value Chain and the CalPERS Investment Strategy

Institutional investors, particularly pension funds, based in developed Anglo-American capital markets are increasingly investing in international markets, including emerging markets, in an effort to capitalize on the rapid growth rates of these markets. But investment in far-flung jurisdictions carries with it risk and uncertainty, particularly when the corporate standards of firms in emerging markets are below those found in these investors' home countries. In order to mitigate the risks posed by poor corporate standards of behaviour, institutional investors increasingly apply nonfinancial criteria not only to individual firms in emerging markets, but to the corporate practices of whole countries. Though countries and their regulatory regimes are central to external capital-investment decisions, we find convergence to global standards occurs when key actors in the investment value chain demand levels of corporate and social behavior greater than those currently consistent with countries' own regulatory frameworks. We test this hypothesis using the decision of the California Public Employees Retirement System to screen out several emerging-market countries from their investment portfolio on the basis of a variety of nonfinancial criteria.
Pathway‐Guided Identification of Gene‐Gene Interactions

Assessing gene‐gene interactions (GxG) at the gene level can permit examination of epistasis at biologically functional units with amplified interaction signals from marker‐marker pairs. While current gene‐based GxG methods tend to be designed for two or a few genes, for complex traits, it is often common to have a list of many candidate genes to explore GxG. We propose a regression model with pathway‐guided regularization for detecting interactions among genes. Specifically, we use the principal components to summarize the SNP‐SNP interactions between a gene pair, and use an L1 penalty that incorporates adaptive weights based on biological guidance and trait supervision to identify important main and interaction effects. Our approach aims to combine biological guidance and data adaptiveness, and yields credible findings that may be likely to shed insights in order to formulate biological hypotheses for further molecular studies. The proposed approach can be used to explore the GxG with a list of many candidate genes and is applicable even when sample size is smaller than the number of predictors studied. We evaluate the utility of the proposed method using simulation and real data analysis. The results suggest improved performance over methods not utilizing pathway and trait guidance.
Faint galaxies close to QSOs with damped Lyman α absorption systems

We have obtained very deep near-infrared images in the fields of 10 QSOs whose spectra contain damped Lyman-alpha absorption (DLA) systems with 1.7<z_abs <2.5. The main aim of our investigation is to provide new constraints on the properties of distant galaxies responsible for the DLA absorption. After subtracting the point spread function associated with the QSO light, we have detected galaxies very close to the QSO line of sight (projected distance 1.2-1.3arcsec) in two fields. These sources therefore represent promising candidate galaxies responsible for the DLA absorption. Placed at the absorber's redshift, the impact parameter is 10h_50^-1kpc and the luminosity is close to L_K^*. Such parameters are consistent with the hypothesis, verified for metallic systems at lower redshift, that slowly-evolving massive galaxies produce at least some of the absorption systems of high column density in QSO spectra out to beyond z=2. In addition to detecting these candidate DLA galaxies, the radio-loud QSOs in our sample show a significant excess of sources on larger scales (theta=7arcsec); this excess is not present in the radio-quiet QSO sightlines. We calculate that such an excess could be produced by luminous galaxies in the cores of clusters associated with radio-loud QSOs. Both results confirm that deep imaging of selected QSOs can be a powerful method of finding samples of likely z~2 galaxies. Follow-up near-infrared spectroscopy is required to secure galaxy redshifts and star formation rates, while deep HST imaging can determine sizes and morphologies, providing valuable information on galaxy properties at large look-back times.
Average-case fine-grained hardness

We present functions that can be computed in some fixed polynomial time but are hard on average for any algorithm that runs in slightly smaller time, assuming widely-conjectured worst-case hardness for problems from the study of fine-grained complexity. Unconditional constructions of such functions are known from before (Goldmann et al., IPL '94), but these have been canonical functions that have not found further use, while our functions are closely related to well-studied problems and have considerable algebraic structure. Based on the average-case hardness and structural properties of our functions, we outline the construction of a Proof of Work scheme and discuss possible approaches to constructing fine-grained One-Way Functions. We also show how our reductions make conjectures regarding the worst-case hardness of the problems we reduce from (and consequently the Strong Exponential Time Hypothesis) heuristically falsifiable in a sense similar to that of (Naor, CRYPTO '03). We prove our hardness results in each case by showing fine-grained reductions from solving one of three problems - namely, Orthogonal Vectors (OV), 3SUM, and All-Pairs Shortest Paths (APSP) - in the worst case to computing our function correctly on a uniformly random input. The conjectured hardness of OV and 3SUM then gives us functions that require n2-o(1) time to compute on average, and that of APSP gives us a function that requires n3-o(1) time. Using the same techniques we also obtain a conditional average-case time hierarchy of functions.
Glutamate Promotes Proliferation of Striatal Neuronal Progenitors by an NMDA Receptor-Mediated Mechanism

Increasing evidence suggests that classical neurotransmitters play important roles in the development of the mammalian CNS. We usedin vivo and in vitro models to identify a novel role for glutamate in striatal neurogenesis mediated by NMDA receptors. In utero exposure to NMDA receptor antagonists during striatal neurogenesis caused a dramatic reduction in the total number of adult striatal neurons. In contrast, embryos exposed to NMDA receptor antagonists immediately after the main period of neurogenesis showed no significant change in neuronal number in the adult striatum. In addition, examination of embryos shortly after NMDA receptor blockade revealed reduced proliferation in the lateral ganglionic eminence (LGE). In culture, dividing neuronal progenitors derived from the embryonic LGE showed marked reduction in 5′-bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) uptake when exposed to NMDA receptor antagonists, indicating reduced DNA synthesis. Low concentrations of NMDA significantly increased proliferation, whereas high concentrations were toxic. AMPA–KA receptor antagonists had no significant effect on striatal neuroblast proliferation either in vivo or in vitro. These results support the hypothesis that glutamate plays a novel role during early development of the ventral telencephalon, promoting proliferation of striatal neuronal progenitors by an NMDA receptor-dependent mechanism. In contrast, previous findings suggest that proliferation of cortical progenitors derived from the dorsal telencephalon is regulated by activation of AMPA–KA but not NMDA receptors. Heterogeneous responses to glutamate in different germinal zones of the telencephalon may be an important mechanism contributing to generating neuronal diversity in the forebrain.
Understanding the Meta-experience of Casual Games

In this position paper, we argue that casual gamers can be segmented by “meta-experiences” into a typology that could inform game platform design. These metaexperiences include out-of-game immersion, social layering, and game discovery. We discuss the interviews and video diaries that have helped shape the typology.