Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
World Health Organization Systematic Review of Screening Tests for Preeclampsia

OBJECTIVE: We sought to assess the usefulness of clinical, biophysical, and biochemical tests in the prediction of preeclampsia. DATA SOURCES: The sources of data we used to conduct this review included the computerized databases MEDLINE (1966 to February 2003), EMBASE, Popline, CINAHL, and LILACS plus reference lists, conference proceedings, textbooks, and contact with experts. METHODS OF STUDY SELECTION: All cohort or cross-sectional studies reporting data on the relationship between a predictive test that was performed during pregnancy and the development of preeclampsia were eligible for inclusion, whereas case–control studies were excluded. Eighty-seven (211,369 women) of 7,191 potentially relevant articles met inclusion criteria. We evaluated the methodologic quality for each included study. TABULATION, INTEGRATION, AND RESULTS: Using a standardized protocol, one reviewer selected and extracted data on study characteristics, quality, and accuracy. Data abstracted from each study were arranged in 2 × 2 tables to construct receiver operating characteristics plots (sensitivity against 1 − specificity) and pooled to produce summary likelihood ratios for positive and negative tests results. Moderate predictive accuracy of anticardiolipin antibodies, the presence of bilateral diastolic notches during Doppler ultrasonography, and urinary kallikrein were found in women at low risk of developing preeclampsia. Nevertheless, because the pretest probability of preeclampsia with a positive result was but minimally increased, the clinical use of these tests is limited. Other ultrasonography characteristics and the measurement of fetal and placental peptides showed low predictive accuracy. In populations that were deemed at high risk for preeclampsia, the use of Doppler ultrasonography had low predictive accuracy. No definitive conclusions were possible in the case of many other tests, because the number of studies that met the minimal inclusion criteria was limited. CONCLUSION: As of 2004, there is no clinically useful screening test to predict the development of preeclampsia. Further prospective, longitudinal studies are needed. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: III
A Thought on the Biological Activities of Black Tea

Tea is the most widely used ancient beverage in the world and black tea possesses many biological effects on the organisms. It acts as an effective antioxidant because of its free radical-scavenging and metal-chelating ability. Due to this, it is active against inflammation, clastogenesis, and several types of cancer. Tea reduces DNA damage and mutagenesis due to oxidative stress or the presence of pro-mutagens through antioxidant function, blocking activation pathways of mutagens, suppressing transcription of enzymes involved etc. Inhibition of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) peroxidation, suppression of fatty acid synthase etc., suggest that tea may have a role in preventing cardiovascular diseases. Some epidemiological studies support the protective role of black tea against cardiovascular diseases but some do not. Besides, black tea has beneficial effects on the gastrointestinal tract; it affects motility, absorption, microflora etc., by influencing the hormonal balance and antioxidant function black tea improves bone mineral density. It is also antiviral due to its enzyme-inhibiting and receptor-blocking properties. Although its role in cancers of the gastrointestinal tract, liver, and prostate is confirmed, its effect against urinary tract cancer is uncertain and further studies are required. Apart from these, excess consumption may lead to the formation of a stained pellicle layer on teeth, which is difficult to eliminate, inhibits trypsin, influences mineral absorption, causes convulsions etc. Excess caffeine intake may have adverse effects on selected organs as reported in studies on some organisms. These reports indicate that there is a wide scope of further research for the efficient use of black tea active conserves/isolates to reap health benefits.
Tiotropium use and pulmonary function in patients with constrictive bronchiolitis

foi demonstrado que o tiotropio foi capaz de atenuar o remodelamento de vias aereas promovido pelo TGF-β. Alem disso, ja foi demonstrada a resposta aguda a associacao de salbutamol e tiotropio em portadores de bronquiolite constritiva (BC) secundaria a doenca do enxerto contra o hospedeiro apos transplante de medula ossea, sendo observada variacao significativa no VEF
Nox/Duox family of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (phosphate) oxidases

Reactive oxygen species are classically described as occurring as an accidental byproduct of respiration, and are generally thought to be deleterious to biologic systems. The phagocyte nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase provides an example of deliberate reactive oxygen species generation, but the function of this enzyme is to oxidatively modify bacteria as part of bactericidal mechanisms. The discovery of a family of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (phosphate) oxidases related to the phagocyte oxidase, the Nox/Duox family, provides additional examples of deliberate generation of reactive oxygen species. This article describes this new family of enzymes and considers hypotheses for their function. Potential roles of Nox/Duox in generation of reactive oxygen species that function in cell signaling (related to growth and angiogenesis), immune function, hypoxic response, and oxidative modification of extracellular matrix proteins are discussed.
Capture of shrinking targets with realistic shrink patterns

Previous research [Hoffmann, E. R. 2011. “Capture of Shrinking Targets. ” Ergonomics 54 (6): 519–530] reported experiments for capture of shrinking targets where the target decreased in size at a uniform rate. This work extended this research for targets having a shrink-size versus time pattern that of an aircraft receding from an observer. In Experiment 1, the time to capture the target in this case was well correlated in terms of Fitts' index of difficulty, measured at the time of capture of the target, a result that is in agreement with the ‘balanced’ model of Johnson and Hart [Johnson, W. W. , and Hart, S. G. 1987. “Step Tracking Shrinking Targets. ” Proceedings of the human factors society 31st annual meeting, New York City, October 1987, 248–252]. Experiment 2 measured the probability of target capture for varying initial target sizes and target shrink rates constant, defined as the time for the target to shrink to half its initial size. Data of shrink time constant for 50% probability of capture were related to initial target size but did not greatly affect target capture as the rate of target shrinking decreased rapidly with time. Practitioner Summary: Shrinking targets occur in applications such as gunnery, computer games and game shooting, where the object to be shot or captured moves away from an observer. Times for capture of shrinking targets are developed in terms of a modified form of Fitts' law.
Data-driven distributed optimization using Wasserstein ambiguity sets

This paper considers a general class of stochastic optimization problem for multiagent systems. We assume that the probability distribution of the uncertain parameters is unknown to the agents and instead, each agent gathers a certain number of samples of it. The objective for the agents is to cooperatively find, using the available data, a solution that has performance guarantees for the stochastic problem. To this end, we formulate a data-driven distributionally robust optimization (DRO) problem using Wasserstein ambiguity sets that has the desired performance guarantees. With the aim of solving this optimization in a distributed manner, we identify a convex-concave modified Lagrangian function whose saddle points are in correspondence with the optimizers of the DRO problem. We then design our distributed algorithm as the gradient descent in the convex variable and gradient ascent in the concave variable of this Lagrangian function. Our convergence analysis shows that the trajectories of this dynamics converge asymptotically to an optimizer of the DRO problem. Simulations illustrate our results.
Trustworthiness and Analysis of Sentiment of user's Semantic Feedbacks in E- Commerce

While Shopping Online Buyers mostly depend on reviews from users available on various websites. Trust is an important factor in any sort of relationship. A buyer can often see both the seller and the product, verify its quality, negotiate and bargain with the seller in traditional commerce. But in the context of online shopping, there is a absence of this face to face trust assessment. Absence of trust is always considered as an hurdle in online transactions. Ratings are available online. However those ratings are not always truthful. Then, they can falsify the weight and the scores . Semantic feedbacks make more sense than single scores. Our System aims at creating trust in online communities while giving action taking results . Those results such as trust weight, scores and the results of Sentiment Analysis help users to make a decision about purchasing particular product or not from an e-commerce application. Proposed design will use both ratings and semantic feedbacks to calculate trust weight and to classify comments and users.
Non‐Competitive Inhibition by Active Site Binders

Classical enzymology has been used for generations to understand the interactions of inhibitors with their enzyme targets. Enzymology tools enabled prediction of the biological impact of inhibitors as well as the development of novel, more potent, ones. Experiments designed to examine the competition between the tested inhibitor and the enzyme substrate(s) are the tool of choice to identify inhibitors that bind in the active site. Competition between an inhibitor and a substrate is considered a strong evidence for binding of the inhibitor in the active site, while the lack of competition suggests binding to an alternative site. Nevertheless, exceptions to this notion do exist. Active site–binding inhibitors can display non‐competitive inhibition patterns. This unusual behavior has been observed with enzymes utilizing an exosite for substrate binding, isomechanism enzymes, enzymes with multiple substrates and/or products and two‐step binding inhibitors. In many of these cases, the mechanisms underlying the lack of competition between the substrate and the inhibitor are well understood. Tools like alternative substrates, testing the enzyme reaction in the reverse direction and monitoring inhibition time dependence can be applied to enable distinction between ‘badly behaving’ active site binders and true exosite inhibitors.
Análise do Nível de Conhecimento dos Odontopediatras sobre Prevenção de Traumatismos Relacionados a Esportes 1 Pedodontists' Knowledge on Prevention of Sports Injuries

A grande incidencia de injurias orofaciais e intraorais em criancas e adolescentes tem como maior fator a pratica de esportes competitivos e recreativos. Evidencias indicam que o uso de protetores bucais, durante a pratica de esportes de contato, reduz a frequencia e a severidade da maioria dos traumas. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar o conhecimento e atitudes dos odontopediatras em relacao a injurias orofaciais e praticas esportivas. Um questionario foi aplicado aos profi ssionais da cidade de Salvador, BA, abordando questoes como injurias traumaticas e sua prevencao pela indicacao de protetores bucais. Um grande numero de Cirurgioes-dentistas possui conhecimento sobre protetores bucais (92,9%), porem poucos indicam ou sabem como confecciona-lo. Quase 80% nao sabem a respeito de todas as funcoes dos mesmos, demonstrando despreparo dos Odontopediatras em relacao a prevencao de traumas em esportes.
A 41-phase switched-capacitor power converter with 3.8mV output ripple and 81% efficiency in baseline 90nm CMOS

This work presents a switched-capacitor power converter (SCPC) with a power density of 38.6mW/mm2 at 81% efficiency and 3.8mV output voltage ripple (ΔV0) in baseline 90nm CMOS. The design implements two different conversion ratios to maximize efficiency for a wide range of input voltages, and the use of 41 phases results in a very low output voltage ripple and low input current spikes.
Oxidative stress, antioxidant defences and aging

Apoptosis and aging share common mechanisms in oxidative stress and mitochondrial involvement. Treatment of cultured neuroblastoma cells with a radical initiator induced apoptosis; raise in hydrogen peroxide and release of cytochrome c from mitochondria preceded collapse of mitochondrial potential and cell death. In rat hepatocytes treated with adriamycin incubation with exogenous Coenzyme Q10 counteracted the drug‐induced increase of hydrogen peroxide and the fall of the mitochondrial potential, thus demonstrating the quinone antioxidant effect.
1.55-μm Dilute Nitride SOAs with low temperature sensitivity for coolerless on-chip operation

The temperature dependence of GaAs and InP SOA materials is investigated experimentally in this work. The direct comparison study verified that Dilute Nitrides are less temperature sensitive showing enhanced thermal stability on ASE spectrum and gain measurements in CW mode. Wavelength Conversion experiment at 10 Gb/s verified that GaAs SOA keeps up with the fast gain dynamics and the proper data processing at elevated temperatures while the performance of InP material is drastically degraded by heating the SOA device.
Role of the paraventricular nucleus microenvironment in stress integration *

The hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus is the primary controller of hypothalamo‐pituitary–adrenocortical glucocorticoid release. In performing this function, the paraventricular nucleus summates a variety of information from both external and internal sources into a net secretory signal to the adrenal cortex. In this review, we will provide an overview of neuronal circuit mechanisms governing activation and inhibition of hypophysiotrophic neurons, highlight recent developments in our understanding of nonsynaptic mechanisms regulating paraventricular cellular activity, including dendritic neuropeptide release, direct steroid feedback, cytokine cascades and gaseous neurotransmission, and illustrate the capacity for hypophysiotrophic, neurohypophysial and preautonomic paraventricular effector pathways to work together in control of glucocorticoid release. The current state of knowledge reveals the paraventricular nucleus to be a dynamic entity, capable of integrating diverse classes of signals into control of adrenocortical activation.
Gut microbiota as a regulator of energy homeostasis and ectopic fat deposition: mechanisms and implications for metabolic disorders

Purpose of review To examine the role of gut microbiota in the regulation of host energy homeostasis and its role in the pathogenesis of obesity, diabetes and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) Recent findings Experimental models highlight several mechanisms connecting gut microbiota to host energy metabolism: increased energy harvesting from the diet, regulation of appetite through gut peptide, secretion, regulation of tissue-free fatty acid composition and uptake, storage and oxidation, modulation of intestinal barrier by glucagon-like peptide-2 secretion, activation of innate immunity and hepatic fibrogenesis through the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)–toll-like receptor-4 axis. Gut microbiota manipulation through antibiotics, prebiotics and probiotics yields encouraging results for the treatment of obesity, diabetes and NAFLD in animal models, but data in humans are currently scarce. Summary Gut microbiota manipulation yielded encouraging results for the treatment of different metabolic disorders in experimental models. However, changing intestinal microbiota may be more difficult in free-living individuals compared to standardized laboratory models, and its long-term consequences are unknown. To safely and effectively change human gut microflora, future research should highlight the complex hormonal, immunomodulatory and metabolic mechanisms underlying microbiota–host interactions in different tissues and candidate treatments should be evaluated in well designed trials with patient-oriented end-points.
Human-Induced Disturbance Alters Pollinator Communities in Tropical Mountain Forests

Mountain forest ecosystems in the Andes are threatened by deforestation. Increasing fire frequencies lead to fire-degraded habitats that are often characterized by a persistent fern-dominated vegetation. Little is known about the consequences of these drastic changes in habitat conditions for pollinator communities. In a rapid diversity assessment, we collected individuals of two major groups of insect pollinators (bees and butterflies/moths) with pan traps and compared pollinator diversities in a spatial block design between forest interior, forest edge and adjacent fire-degraded habitats at eight sites in the Bolivian Andes. We found that bee species richness and abundance were significantly higher in fire-degraded habitats than in forest habitats, whereas species richness and abundance of butterflies/moths increased towards the forests interior. Species turnover between forest and fire-degraded habitats was very high for both pollinator groups and was reflected by an increase in the body size of bee species and a decrease in the body size of butterfly/moth species in fire-degraded habitats. We conclude that deforestation by frequent fires has profound impacts on the diversity and composition of pollinator communities. Our tentative findings suggest shifts towards bee-dominated pollinator communities in fire-degraded habitats that may have important feedbacks on the regenerating communities of insect-pollinated plant species.
Gene expression profiles during hepatic stellate cell activation in culture and in vivo.

BACKGROUND & AIMS Following hepatic injury, hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) transdifferentiate to become extracellular matrix-producing myofibroblasts and to promote hepatic fibrogenesis. In this study, we determine gene expression changes in 3 different models of HSC activation and investigate whether HSC culture activation reproduces gene expression changes of HSC in vivo activation. METHODS HSCs were isolated by density centrifugation and magnetic antibody cell sorting from normal mice, CCl(4)-treated mice, and mice that underwent bile duct ligation (BDL). Gene expression was analyzed by microarray and confirmed by polymerase chain reaction and Western blot analysis. RESULTS Two thousand seventy-three probe sets were differentially expressed in at least 1 of 3 models of HSC activation, including novel genes that encode proinflammatory and antiapoptotic mediators; transcription factors; cell surface receptors; and cytoskeleton components such as CXCL14, survivin, septin 4, osteopontin, PRX1, LMCD1, GPR91, leiomodin, and anillin. BDL- and CCl(4)-activated HSCs showed highly correlated gene expression patterns, whereas culture activation only partially reproduced the gene expression changes observed during BDL- and CCl(4)-induced activation. Coculture with Kupffer cells or lipopolysaccharide treatment during culture activation shifted the expression of most examined genes toward the pattern observed during in vivo activation, suggesting a role for these factors in the microenvironment that drives HSC activation. CONCLUSIONS The almost identical HSC gene expression patterns after BDL or CCl(4) treatment indicate that HSCs exert similar functions in different types of liver injury. Because culture activation does not properly regulate gene expression in HSCs, in vivo activation should be considered the gold standard for the study of HSC biology.
'What about bullying?' An experimental field study to understand students' attitudes towards bullying and victimization in Italian middle schools.

BACKGROUND Attitudes towards bullying at school are influential in understanding and preventing bullying behaviour but they should be measured with reference to the particular conditions under which bullying takes place. AIMS To establish how far positive and negative judgments of bullying and victims and blaming of the victim vary according to the gender of observers, gender of bullies and of victims and whether the bullying took place alone or in group. SAMPLE Participants were 117 students (49 boys and 68 girls), aged 11-12, recruited from a middle school in Italy randomly allocated to one of four independent groups according to experimental condition: bullying alone among girls, bullying alone among boys, bullying in groups among girls, bullying in groups among boys. METHOD Participants watched one of four versions of a video according to experimental condition showing a brief standardized bullying episode taking place at a school; they then had to fill in a self-report questionnaire measuring the dependent variables: respondents' positive or negative judgments towards the bully and the victim shown in the video and how far the victim was blamed for what had happened. RESULTS Overall, results indicate students have positive attitudes towards the victims of bullying and tend not to blame them for what has happened. However, same gender identification lead girls to blame male victims more than female victims and the reverse applies in case of boys providing their judgments. A bully acting alone is considered stronger and braver than when acting in a group. CONCLUSIONS The limits and potential of the study are presented with special attention to implications for intervention strategies in school by focusing on the role observers could play in supporting the victims and discouraging the bullies.
Natural coagulants at pilot scale

Crushed seeds of the tree Moringa oleifera Lam. (M.oleifera) are a viable alternative to aluminium sulphate as a coagulant for water treatment applications in the developing world. Supporting cases, in both technical and economic terms are presented based on a recently completed field study in Malawi. A pilot scale treatment works operating at a flow rate of 16.51 min-1 reduced raw water turbidity from 1000 NTU to below 1 NTU (header/ mixer tank, gravel bed flocculator, sedimentation tank and rapid gravity filter). The filter was operated as a contact flocculator -filter during periods of low raw water turbidity. 20 NTU inlet values were reduced to below 1 NTU with this treatment unit. Successful M.oleifera plantation trials are briefly reported as is an economic analysis of establishing M.oleifera as a 'coagulant crop' in the Malawi context.
Deco: False data detection and correction framework for participatory sensing

Participatory sensing enables to collect a vast amount of data from the crowd by allowing a wide variety of sources to contribute data. However, the openness of participatory sensing exposes the system to malicious and erroneous participations, inevitably resulting in poor data quality. This brings forth the important issues of false data detection and correction in participatory sensing. Furthermore, data collected by participants normally include considerable missing values, which poses challenges for accurate false data detection. In this work, we propose DECO, a general framework to detect false values for participatory sensing in the presence of missing data. By applying a tailored spatio-temporal compressive sensing technique, DECO is able to accurately detect the false data and estimate both false and missing values for data correction. We validate our design through an experimental case study.