Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Gender Differences in the Control of Energy Homeostasis

The world is experiencing an epidemic of obesity and its concomitant health problems. One implication is that the normally robust negative feedback system that controls energy homeostasis must be responding to different inputs than in the past. In this review we discuss the influence of gender on the efficacy of adiposity hormones as they interact with food intake control systems in the brain. Specifically, the levels of insulin and leptin in the blood are correlated with body fat, insulin being related mainly to visceral fat and ieptin to subcutaneous fat. Since females carry more fat subcutaneously and males carry more fat viscerally, leptin correlates better with total body fat in females and insulin correlates better in males. High visceral fat and plasma insulin are also risk factors for the complications of obesity, including type-2 diabetes, cardiovascular problems, and certain cancers, and these are more prevalent in males. Consistent with these systemic differences, the brains of females are more sensitive to the catabolic actions of low doses of leptin whereas the brains of males are more sensitive to the catabolic action of low doses of insulin. The implications of this are discussed.
Evaluation of Disinfection Techniques in the Treatment of Advanced Primary Treated Wastewater for Ciudad Juárez, México

The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of alternative disinfection techniques at the bench‐scale level using wastewater from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, as model feed. This paper presents findings on the effectiveness of UV radiation, peracetic acid (PAA), chlorine dioxide (ClO2), and hypochlorous acid (HOCl) as disinfectants for advanced primary treatment (APT) plant effluent. Wastewater samples for bench‐scale testing were collected from an agua negra (“black water”) ditch that is part of the combined sewer system in Ciudad Juarez. Bench‐scale simulations of the APT process used in Ciudad Juarez were run using a jar test apparatus and aluminum sulfate [Al2(SO4)3] as the coagulant. Jar test effluent from the bench system was used for disinfection testing. The Mexican discharge quality standard for total coliforms is 10 000/100 mL. Ultraviolet radiation met this standard at a dose of 47.5 mW‐s/cm2. Ultraviolet disinfection proved reliable and effective despite the presence of suspended solids, and UV dose effectiveness expressed as a total coliforms survival ratio was best explained by a linear regression model. The ClO2 dose ranged from 10 to 20 mg/L and was only effective under ambient temperature conditions found during the winter months; PAA disinfection never met Mexican standards. Chlorine disinfection was effective at a dose range of 8 to 10 mg/L on samples collected at low temperature conditions. Since the completion of this research, Ciudad Juarez has discontinued the use of chlorine disinfection because of its high cost and ineffectiveness.
Bacteraemia from an unrecognized source (occult bacteraemia) occurring during Clostridium difficile infection

Abstract Background: The purpose of this investigation was to determine if disruption of the colonic epithelium during Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is associated with bacteraemia due to secondary bacterial invasion by enteric organisms. Methods: We reviewed the medical records of 505 randomly selected individuals from a database of patients who tested positive for C. difficile toxin and identified bacteraemias that occurred in 2 periods—the pre-CDI and post-CDI periods. Medical records were reviewed to determine a source for each case of bacteraemia. Staphylococcal bacteraemias were excluded from the analysis. Results: In the pre-CDI period, 28 of 505 (5.5%) patients had non-staphylococcal bacteraemia. A focus of infection was found in 24 of 28 (85.7%) cases. During CDI, 30 of 505 (5.9%) patients had non-staphylococcal bacteraemia; in the majority (19 cases, 63.3%) a focus of infection was not identified (p < 0.001). In the pre-CDI period, 16 of 28 (57.1%) blood cultures yielded Gram-negative pathogens compared to 9 of 30 (30%) in the CDI period (p = 0.04). Seven of 28 (25%) blood cultures in the pre-CDI period yielded enterococci compared to 15 of 30 (50%) in the CDI period (p = 0.05). Conclusions: The incidence of non-staphylococcal bacteraemias in the pre- and post-CDI periods was nearly the same. Cases of bacteraemias in the CDI period more frequently involved organisms of unknown source and uncertain pathogenicity, and were usually not found to require antimicrobial therapy. The data favour the assumption that CDI-associated bacteraemia may be associated with bacterial invasion of the damaged colonic epithelium.
Guanidine hydrochloride induced equilibrium unfolding studies of colicin B and its channel-forming fragment.

The conformational stabilities of full-length colicin B and its isolated C-terminal domain were studied by guanidine hydrochloride induced unfolding. The unfolding/refolding was monitored by far-UV CD and intrinsic tryptophan fluorescence spectroscopies. At pH 7.4, the disruption of the secondary structure of full-length colicin B is monophasic, while changes in tertiary structure occur in two separate transitions. The intermediate species, which is well-populated around 2.2 M guanidine hydrochloride, exhibits secondary and tertiary structures distinct from both native and unfolded states. Whereas the domain structure of native full-length colicin B is reflected in its DSC profile, the folding intermediate of the same protein exhibits a single unresolved peak. These observations have led us to propose an unfolding model for full-length colicin B where the first transition between 0 and 2.5 M GuHCl with an associated free energy of 3 kcal/mol correlates with the partial unfolding of the R/T domain. The stability of full-length colicin B is weakened due to the presence of the R/T domain in both the native [Ortega, A. , Lambotte, S. , and Bechinger, B. (2001) J. Biol. Chem. 276 (17), 13563-13572] and the intermediate states. The second transition between 2.5 and 5 M GuHCl involves unfolding of the C-terminal domain (Delta = 7 kcal/mol). The isolated colicin B C-terminal domain consists of two subdomains, and the two parts of this protein fragment unfold sequentially through the formation of at least one intermediate. The significance of these results for membrane insertion of colicin B is discussed.
Catalogue of abrupt shifts in Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change climate models

Significance One of the most concerning consequences of human-induced increases in atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations is the potential for rapid regional transitions in the climate system. Yet, despite much public awareness of how “tipping points” may be crossed, little information is available as to exactly what may be expected in the coming centuries. We assess all Earth System Models underpinning the recent 5th Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report and systematically search for evidence of abrupt changes. We do find abrupt changes in sea ice, oceanic flows, land ice, and terrestrial ecosystem response, although with little consistency among the models. A particularly large number is projected for warming levels below 2°. We discuss mechanisms and include methods to objectively classify abrupt climate change. Abrupt transitions of regional climate in response to the gradual rise in atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations are notoriously difficult to foresee. However, such events could be particularly challenging in view of the capacity required for society and ecosystems to adapt to them. We present, to our knowledge, the first systematic screening of the massive climate model ensemble informing the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, and reveal evidence of 37 forced regional abrupt changes in the ocean, sea ice, snow cover, permafrost, and terrestrial biosphere that arise after a certain global temperature increase. Eighteen out of 37 events occur for global warming levels of less than 2°, a threshold sometimes presented as a safe limit. Although most models predict one or more such events, any specific occurrence typically appears in only a few models. We find no compelling evidence for a general relation between the overall number of abrupt shifts and the level of global warming. However, we do note that abrupt changes in ocean circulation occur more often for moderate warming (less than 2°), whereas over land they occur more often for warming larger than 2°. Using a basic proportion test, however, we find that the number of abrupt shifts identified in Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 8.5 scenarios is significantly larger than in other scenarios of lower radiative forcing. This suggests the potential for a gradual trend of destabilization of the climate with respect to such shifts, due to increasing global mean temperature change.
The adoption and effects of international telecommunication trends in South Africa: Technology and market perspectives

The evolution of the telecommunication industry, from both technology and market perspectives, is increasing at a rapid rate. At the forefront of this evolution are the telecommunication standards organisations and vendors. However, the evolution of the telecommunication standards is based on international norms formed by the market requirements of developed countries. The evolution of the telecommunication technology standards, as dominated by the developed countries, poses a definite challenge for emerging economies that hasn't been effectively managed till date. Similarly, it is imperative for the South African telecommunication industry to align definite market requirements with the technology deployed in the service provider networks. The objective of this research paper is to address the effects and required alignment activities between technology evolution (in terms of South African network operator involvement in standardisation) and the actual South African telecommunication market requirements. The main contribution of this research paper is to highlight that the South African network operators should be actively involved in contributing to international telecommunication standards and establishing the required forums to address the concern of technology evolution for developing countries. This will consequently lead to the desired alignment between deployed technologies and market requirements in the telecommunication industry.
Enhance OS security by restricting privileges of vulnerable application

Restricting vulnerable process and its file I/O behaviors is important for securing an embedded device against intrusions, malware infection and information leakage. On embedded device like Smart TV, user can connect to internet using Web Browser process and can download many applications and games. These applications or games may have viruses or vulnerable code. If attacker with root privilege is able to launch new process (using fork () in Linux system) then the downloaded virus program will also get root privileges and hence vulnerable application with root user privileges may corrupt the whole system. This paper proposes a new method to protect the system from this kind of security threats. For experiment and result verification, proposed method uses LSM framework and TOMOYO module. It implements the LSM hook in fork/exec system call path to control the privileges of vulnerable application/binary. Android addresses this problem by writing a wrapper to fork system call in their framework, which modifies credential of new process. However they leave security hole, if application directly calls fork () system call.
Endocrine Dysfunctions in Patients with Inherited Metabolic Diseases

Objective: Inherited metabolic diseases (IMDs) can affect many organ systems, including the endocrine system. There are limited data regarding endocrine dysfunctions related to IMDs in adults, however, no data exist in pediatric patients with IMDs. The aim of this study was to investigate endocrine dysfunctions in patients with IMDs by assessing their demographic, clinical, and laboratory data. Methods: Data were obtained retrospectively from the medical reports of patients with IMDs who were followed by the division of pediatric metabolism and nutrition between June 2011 and November 2013. Results: In total, 260 patients [139 males (53%) and 121 females (47%)] with an IMD diagnosis were included in the study. The mean age of the patients was 5.94 (range; 0.08 to 49) years and 95.8% (249 of 260 patients) were in the pediatric age group. Growth status was evaluated in 258 patients and of them, 27 (10.5%) had growth failure, all cases of which were attributed to non-endocrine reasons. There was a significant correlation between growth failure and serum albumin levels below 3.5 g/dL (p=0.002). Only three of 260 (1.1%) patients had endocrine dysfunction. Of these, one with lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase deficiency and another with Kearns-Sayre syndrome had diabetes, and one with glycerol kinase deficiency had glucocorticoid deficiency. Conclusion: Endocrine dysfunction in patients with IMDs is relatively rare. For this reason, there is no need to conduct routine endocrine evaluations in most patients with IMDs unless a careful and detailed history and a physical examination point to an endocrine dysfunction.
Power quality & reliability assessment of distribution system considering voltage interruptions and sags

The assessment of customer power quality & reliability is an important issue for future Smart Grid research in general and the operation and planning of distribution system in particular. Based on the failure modes and effects analysis framework (FMEA), the paper presents a non-sequential Monte-Carlo method (FMEA-NSMC) for distribution system reliability assessment considering sustained interruptions, momentary interruptions and voltage sags which are the main power disturbances involved in the operating continuity of customer equipments or processes. The deterministic and stochastic data are relatively independent in the framework of FMEA-NSMC. A case study is used to show the effectiveness of the method where different indices chosen for the convergence test are checked. The convergence speed is faster when the coefficient of variation (CV) of the frequency index of sags is chosen for the convergence test than CV of the frequency index of sustained interruptions, and also than CV of the frequency index of momentary interruptions.
Optimal aggregated charging analysis for PEVs based on driving pattern model

Large-scale deployment of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) will have a significant impact on the power grid due to the increase in electricity consumption. In this paper, daily driving pattern models are provided and the profile of minimum-cost-least-fluctuation (MCLF) charging load is achieved to evaluate the impact of PEVs on the regional distribution grid. In the daily driving pattern models, four major elements including departure time, arrival time, number of daily trips and trip distance, which have a great influence on charging behavior, are considered. Driving distance of each trip is well approximated by a truncated power-law. Based on these daily driving pattern models, an optimal aggregated charging strategy, which ensures the least fluctuation of charging load at the lowest cost under TOU price, can be established through a two-level optimization model. The two major factors which affect the lower bound of maximum charging load are analyzed. The results show that 7 hours may be a reasonable length of off-peak time to limit the impact of PEV charging.
Ischemic preconditioning by brief extremity ischemia before flap ischemia in a rat model.

Ischemic preconditioning is a protective endogenous mechanism to reduce ischemia/reperfusion injury and is defined as a brief period of ischemia the authors term "preclamping. " This is followed by tissue reperfusion and is believed to increase the ischemic tolerance. The objective of this study was to determine whether acute remote ischemic preconditioning, which has been reported to be successful for other organs, such as the heart, kidney, intestine, and liver, will also result in an enhancement of survival in flaps, and whether remote ischemic preconditioning is as effective as preclamping. Forty male Wistar rats were divided into four experimental groups. An extended epigastric adipocutaneous flap (6 x 10 cm) was raised, based on the left superficial epigastric artery and vein. In the control group, a 3-hour flap ischemia was induced. In the preclamping group, a brief ischemia of 10 minutes was induced by clamping the flap pedicle, followed by 30 minutes of reperfusion. Ischemia of the right hind limb was induced in the femoral ischemia group by clamping the femoral artery and vein for 10 minutes after flap elevation. The limb was then reperfused for 30 minutes. Thereafter, flap ischemia was induced as in the control group. A similar protocol was used in the tourniquet group. A tourniquet was used to induce hind-limb ischemia. The experiment was then performed as in the femoral ischemia group. Mean flap necrosis area was assessed for all groups on the fifth postoperative day using planimetry software. Average flap necrosis area was 68.2 +/- 18.1 percent in the control group, 11 +/- 8.38 percent in the preclamping group, 12.5 +/- 5.83 percent in the femoral ischemia group, and 24 +/- 11.75 percent in the tourniquet group. All preconditioned animals demonstrated a significantly lower area of flap necrosis than the control group (p < 0.001, one-way analysis of variance, post hoc Tukey's test). The data show that ischemic preconditioning and enhancement of flap survival can be achieved not only by preclamping of the flap pedicle but also by induction of an ischemia/reperfusion event in a body area distant from the flap before harvest. These findings indicate that remote ischemic preconditioning is a systemic phenomenon, leading to an enhancement of flap survival. The exact mechanism is not yet completely understood. The data suggest that remote ischemic preconditioning could be performed simultaneously with flap harvest in the clinical setting, resulting in an improved flap survival without prolongation of the operation. This may decrease the rate of partial flap loss or fat necrosis, especially in high-risk groups such as smokers, those with irradiated tissues, and obese patients.
Study of Sleep Habits and Sleep Problems Among Medical Students of Pravara Institute of Medical Sciences Loni, Western Maharashtra, India

Background: Good quality sleep and adequate amount of sleep are important in order to have better cognitive performance and avoid health problems and psychiatric disorders. Aim: The aim of this study was to describe sleep habits and sleep problems in a population of undergraduates, interns and postgraduate students of Pravara Institute of Medical Sciences (Deemed University), Loni, Maharashtra, India. Subject and Methods: Sleep habits and problems were investigated using a convenience sample of students from Pravara Institute of Medical Sciences (Deemed University), Loni, Maharashtra, India. The study was carried out during Oct. to Dec. 2011 with population consisted of total 150 medical students. A self-administered questionnaire developed based on Epworth Daytime Sleepiness Scale and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index was used. Data was analyzed by using Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS) version 16.0. Results: In this study, out of 150 medical students, 26/150 (17.3%) students had abnormal levels of daytime sleepiness while 20/150 (13.3%) were border line. Sleep quality in females was better than the male. Conclusion: Disorders related to poor sleep qualities are significant problems among medical students in our institution. Caffeine and alcohol ingestion affected sleep and there was high level of daytime sleepiness. Sleep difficulties resulted in irritability and affected lifestyle and interpersonal relationships.
A novel approach to inhibit intracellular vitamin B6‐dependent enzymes: proof of principle with human and plasmodium ornithine decarboxylase and human histidine decarboxylase

Pyridoxal‐5'‐phosphate (vitamin B6)‐dependent enzymes play central roles in the metabolism of amino acids. Moreover, the synthesis of polyamines, which are essential for cell growth, and of biogenic amines, such as histamine and other signal transmitters, relies on these enzymes. Certain B6 enzymes thus are prime targets for pharmacotherapeutic intervention. We have devised a novel, in principle generally applicable strategy for obtaining small‐molecule cell‐permeant inhibitors of specific B6 enzymes. The imine adduct of pyridoxal‐5'‐phosphate and the specific amino acid substrate, the first intermediate in all pyridoxal‐5'‐phosphate‐dependent reactions of amino acids, was reduced to a stable secondary amine. This coenzyme‐substrate‐conjugate was modified further to make it membrane‐permeant and, guided by structure‐based modeling, to boost its affinity to the apoform of the target enzyme. Inhibitors of this type effectively decreased the respective intracellular enzymatic activity (IC50 in low micromolar range), providing lead compounds for inhibitors of human ornithine decarboxylase (hODC), plasmodium ornithine decarboxylase, and human histidine decarboxylase. The inhibitors of hODC interfere with the metabolism of polyamines and efficiently prevent the proliferation of tumor cell lines (IC50~25 μM). This approach to specific inhibition of intracellular B6 enzymes might be applied in a straightforward manner to other B6 enzymes of emerging medicinal interest. —Wu, F. , Christen, P., Gehring, H. A novel approach to inhibit intracellular vitamin B6‐dependent enzymes: proof of principle with human and plasmodium ornithine decarboxylase and human histidine decarboxylase. FASEB J. 25, 2109‐2122 (2011). www.fasebj. org
Apurinic/Apyrimidinic Endonuclease 2 Regulates the Expansion of Germinal Centers by Protecting against Activation-Induced Cytidine Deaminase–Independent DNA Damage in B Cells

Activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) initiates a process generating DNA mutations and breaks in germinal center (GC) B cells that are necessary for somatic hypermutation and class-switch recombination. GC B cells can “tolerate” DNA damage while rapidly proliferating because of partial suppression of the DNA damage response by BCL6. In this study, we develop a model to study the response of mouse GC B cells to endogenous DNA damage. We show that the base excision repair protein apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease (APE) 2 protects activated B cells from oxidative damage in vitro. APE2-deficient mice have smaller GCs and reduced Ab responses compared with wild-type mice. DNA double-strand breaks are increased in the rapidly dividing GC centroblasts of APE2-deficient mice, which activate a p53-independent cell cycle checkpoint and a p53-dependent apoptotic response. Proliferative and/or oxidative damage and AID-dependent damage are additive stresses that correlate inversely with GC size in wild-type, AID-, and APE2-deficient mice. Excessive double-strand breaks lead to decreased expression of BCL6, which would enable DNA repair pathways but limit GC cell numbers. These results describe a nonredundant role for APE2 in the protection of GC cells from AID-independent damage, and although GC cells uniquely tolerate DNA damage, we find that the DNA damage response can still regulate GC size through pathways that involve p53 and BCL6.