Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Exercise and cognition in older adults: is there a role for resistance training programmes?

In recent years, there has been a strong interest in physical activity as a primary behavioural prevention strategy against cognitive decline. A number of large prospective cohort studies have highlighted the protective role of regular physical activity in lowering the risk of cognitive impairment and dementia. Most prospective intervention studies of exercise and cognition to date have focused on aerobic-based exercise training. These studies highlight that aerobic-based exercise training enhances both brain structure and function. However, it has been suggested that other types of exercise training, such as resistance training, may also benefit cognition. The purpose of this brief review is to examine the evidence regarding resistance training and cognitive benefits. Three recent randomised exercise trials involving resistance training among seniors provide evidence that resistance training may have cognitive benefits. Resistance training may prevent cognitive decline among seniors via mechanisms involving insulin-like growth factor I and homocysteine. A side benefit of resistance training, albeit a very important one, is its established role in reducing morbidity among seniors. Resistance training specifically moderates the development of sarcopenia. The multifactorial deleterious sequelae of sarcopenia include increased falls and fracture risk as well as physical disability. Thus, clinicians should consider encouraging their clients to undertake both aerobic-based exercise training and resistance training not only for “physical health” but also because of the almost certain benefits for “brain health”.
Intake of essential and non-essential elements from consumption of octopus, cuttlefish and squid

Total concentrations of essential (Cu, Zn, Se and Cr) and non-essential (Hg, Cd, Pb and As) trace elements were measured in the flesh and hepatopancreas of Octopodidae (Eledone moschata, Eledone cirrhosa, Octopus salutii), Sepiidae (Sepia elegans, Sepia orbignyana) and Loliginidae (Illex coindeti, Loligo vulgaris) from the Mediterranean Sea. As expected, the hepatopancreas showed higher metal concentrations than flesh; the only exceptions were Hg and As, which were equally distributed in the two tissues. Regarding the edible portion, the highest toxic metal concentrations were in Octopodidae (Hg: 0.44, Cd: 0.49, Pb: 0.10 µg g−1 wet weight) and Sepiidae (Hg: 0.27, Cd: 0.50, Pb: 0.12 µg g−1 wet weight), while Loliginidae tended to accumulate less metal, especially Hg (Hg: 0.11, Cd: 0.30, Pb: 0.05 µg g−1 wet weight). The other elements showed a heterogeneous distribution among the different cephalopod families. Loliginidae showed the highest Se concentrations (1.18 µg g−1 wet weight), Octopodidae of Cu (37.37 µg g−1 wet weight) and Zn (42.00 µg g−1 wet weight) and Sepiidae of As (61.43 µg g−1 wet weight), while Cr was uniformly distributed among the various families (0.38–0.43 µg g−1 wet weight). In these seafoods, the concentrations of essential and non-essential elements were within the prescribed limits set by various authorities, except for Cu and As. Health risks posed by toxic elements to humans via dietary intake of these mollusks were assessed on the basis on Provisional Tolerable Weekly Intake (PTWI), while the estimated intakes of essential elements were compared to Dietary Reference Intakes (RDIs). A 70-g serving of these mollusks was shown to provide a large contribution to Cd intake (0.89 µg kg−1 body weight), corresponding to 35.6% of PTWI. Concerning the essential elements, the consumption of these mollusks made an important contribution to daily dietary intake of Se, Cu and Zn.
DeutschDiachronDigital - A Diachronic Corpus of German

There are many digitized historical German texts from all periods (Old High German to Modern German). It is, however, difficult to carry out diachronic research because o there are differences in digitzation source (original or edition) o there are differences in digitization quality o the texts are stored in different (and, sometimes, incompatible) formats o many texts are not publicly available o very often, header data is missing or not encoded according to standards o very often, there is no linguistic annotation o often, documentation is not sufficient o corpus design differs for the different linguistic periods. Because of this situation, scholars from 15 universities and research institutions in Germany together with several international partners decided to form the DDD initiative to build a homogeneous diachronic corpus of German for all textual sciences (linguistics, literature, philology, history etc.).
Apoptosis and its relationship with cell proliferation, p53, Waf1p21, bcl-2 and c-myc in esophageal carcinogenesis studied with a high-risk population in northern China.

AIM:To determine the extent of apoptosis and its possible relationship with the changes of p53, Waflp21, bcl-2, and c-myc at different stages of esophageal carcinogenesis.METHODS:Two hundred and forty-one esophageal biopsy samples from symptom-free subjects and 38 surgically resected esophageal carcinoma tissues from a high-risk population for esophageal cancer in Henan, China were used in this study.Apoptotic cells and apoptotic bodies were identified by well-established morphological criteria. The extent of apoptosis and its possible relationship with the rate of cell proliferation (PCNA) and changes of p53, Waf1p21, bcl-2,and c-myc were analyzed in samples with esophageal precancerous and cancerous lesions.RESULTS:The apoptotic cells, identified morphologically, were located in the same proliferative compartment of hyperproliferative cell population in the esophageal epithelia as the cells immunostaining-positive for p53, bcl-2, c-myc and PCNA.The apoptotic indices (total number of apoptotic cells and apoptotic bodies per mm(2) of the tissue section) were low in the normal epithelia,and increased significantly as the lesions progressed from BCH to DYS and to SCC.The extent of apoptosis correlated well with the cell proliferation indices based on PCNA. The total number of positive cells for p53 stain was much higher than that of apoptotic cells. No difference in apoptotic indices was found between p53-positive and p53-negative samples. Waf1p21-positive cells resided in cell layers were higher in number than p53 and PCNA-positive cells. The number of immunostaining positive cells for Waflp21 increased slightly from normal to BCH,but decreased in DYS and SCC. Positive staining samples for bcl-2 and c-myc increased as the lesions progressed from BCH to DYS and to SCC. No apparent correlation between apoptosis and Waf1p21, bcl-2 or c-myc expression was observed.CONCLUSION:The extent of apoptosis was low in normal esophageal epithelium and increased as the lesions progressed. The apoptotic cells were located in the same hyperproliferative cell compartment as cells immunostaining-positive for p53, bcl-2,c-myc and PCNA,but no apparent correlation between apoptosis and these parameters was observed,possibly due to the complexities of molecular changes in esophageal carcinogenesis.
Antibody response to influenza vaccine in adults vaccinated with identical vaccine strains in consecutive years

Fifty seven hospital workers received influenza vaccine in November 2003, and the serum HI antibody titer was determined before, 2 and 4 weeks after the vaccination. Thirty seven were vaccinated in November, 2002 consecutively (the repeated vaccination group), and the remaining 20 had not been vaccinated in the previous year (the single vaccination group). Six of the repeated vaccination group received both influenza and hepatitis B vaccination in September, 2004 and the antibody responses were examined 2 weeks later. Two and four weeks after the 2003‐vaccination, the HI antibody titers to A/H1N1, A/H3N2, and B in the repeated vaccination group were significantly lower than in the single vaccination group (P < 0.05). This phenomenon had no relation to the pre‐vaccination HI antibody titer. The antibody response was low to repeated influenza vaccination, but normal to hepatitis B vaccine in six subjects who had a second vaccination in 2004, showing that this depressed response was influenza‐specific. These results suggest that the decreased HI antibody response to repeated influenza vaccination was affected mainly by the previous vaccination per se rather than by the pre‐existing antibody titer. J. Med. Virol. 79:320–325, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Extra virgin olive oil phenolics: absorption, metabolism, and biological activities in the GI tract

Olive oil, a typical ingredient of the Mediterranean diet, possesses many beneficial health effects. The biological activities ascribed to olive oil consumption are associated in part to its phenolics constituents, and mainly linked to the direct or indirect antioxidant activity of olive oil phenolics and their metabolites, which are exerted more efficiently in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, where dietary phenolics are more concentrated when compared to other organs. In this regard, we present a brief overview of the metabolism, biological activities, and anticancer properties of olive oil phenolics in the GI tract.
Population density‐dependent regulation of the Bradyrhizobium japonicum nodulation genes

The nodulation genes of Bradyrhizobium japonicum are essential for infection and establishment of a nitrogen‐fixing symbiosis. Here, we demonstrate that plant‐produced isoflavones induce nodulation gene expression in a population density‐dependent fashion. Nodulation gene induction is highest at a low population density and significantly reduced in more dense cultures. A quorum signal molecule in the conditioned medium of B. japonicum cultures mediates this repression. Repression in response to the quorum signal results from the induction of NolA which, in turn, induces NodD2 leading to inhibition of nod gene expression. Consistent with this, nolA–lacZ and nodD2–lacZ expression increased with increasing population density. Unlike the wild type, the ability to induce nodY–lacZ expression did not decline with population density in a NolA mutant. Normally, nod gene expression is repressed in planta (i.e. within nodules). However, expression of a nodY–GUS fusion was not repressed in a NolA mutant, suggesting that quorum‐sensing control may mediate in planta repression of the nod genes. Addition of conditioned medium to cultures significantly reduced nod gene expression. Treatment of inoculant cultures with conditioned medium also reduced the ability of B. japonicum to nodulate soybean plants.
The NADPH-oxidase-associated H+ channel is opened by arachidonate.

The H+ channel associated with the generation of O2. - by NADPH oxidase and the oxidase itself must both be activated in response to stimuli (e.g. phorbol esters, chemotactic peptides, certain fatty acids). We have investigated the effects of membrane potential, an imposed pH gradient and a combination of the two (the protonmotive force) on the H+ conductivity of the cytoplast membrane. H+ conductivity was observed only in the presence of arachidonate and not in its absence. In the presence of arachidonate, H+ movement was determined by the protonmotive force. The effect of arachidonate was probably on a channel, since this fatty acid did not significantly increase the H+ permeability of artificial phospholipid membranes. It appears, therefore, that arachidonate is required both for the activation of O2. - production and the associated H(+)-channel-mediated efflux.
Molecular-orbital approach to the Fröhlich bipolaron.

It is shown that the Froehlich bipolaron is feasible in a two-center molecular-orbital approach. The binding energy comes out stronger than the corresponding Heitler-London approach. The critical value [eta][sub [ital c]] of [eta]=[var epsilon][sub [infinity]]/[var epsilon], below which the bipolaron is realizable, is found to be 0.14, which is the best value, otherwise obtained, in the literature.
Spatial-frequency-scanning data transmission for mmW multi-user wireless communication systems

An E-band point-to-multipoint wireless data transmission adopting a spatial-frequency-scanning diversity concept is demonstrated. A 7-channel multi-carrier QPSK modulated signal is generated and transmitted on a link realized by a wideband Tx-Rx frontend in combination with a frequency scanning substrate-integrated slotted waveguide antenna. The antenna transmits each sub-carrier, i.e. channel, with a different angle of departure and with a gain variation in the range of 1.6 to 10.5 dBi in the frequency range of 72.8 to 78.8 GHz. The sub-carrier frequency spacing of 1 GHz and modulation bandwidth of 100 and 200 MBd per channel are optimized for high unwanted channel leakage suppression according to the antenna's radiation pattern. Data rates of 200 and 400 Mbps are transmitted at each of the 7 channels, which are received at different locations of a 4 m link with an angular spacing of 12.5°. The error vector magnitude of the transmitted channel at each angle of departure is determined and analyzed, obtaining values in the range of 8.1 and 19.6 %. The power channel suppression for the unwanted channels transmitted at each angle of departure is measured with values from 5.3 to 30.1 dB.
Iron, Haptoglobin Phenotype, and HIV‐1 Viral Load: A Cross‐Sectional Study Among Pregnant Zimbabwean Women

Background: Viral load is a determinant of HIV‐1 progression and transmission. Iron status and the phenotype of haptoglobin, a heme‐binding acute phase reactant, may be determinants of viral load. We aimed to describe the effect of iron status, haptoglobin phenotype (Hp), and other predictors on HIV‐1 viral load. Methods: Based on a cross‐sectional study among 1669 antenatal care attenders (22‐35 weeks) in Zimbabwe, 526 (31.5%) were found to be HIV infected. The role of season, age, gravidity, gestational age, malaria parasitemia, Hp, and elevated serum &agr;1‐antichymotrypsin (ACT) as well as serum ferritin, folate, retinol, and &bgr;‐carotene on HIV viral load among the 526 HIV‐infected women was assessed using multiple linear regression analysis. Results: The distribution of Hp 1‐1 (32%), Hp 2‐1 (48%), and Hp 2‐2 (20%) was not different from that of 53 uninfected women. Mean viral load was 3.85 log10 (95% CI: 3.77‐3.93) genome equivalents (geq)/mL, ranging from 3.77 (95% CI: 3.64‐3.90) geq/mL in women with Hp 1‐1 to 4.05 (95% CI: 3.81‐4.21) geq/mL in women with Hp 2‐2. With elevated serum ACT controlled for, women with Hp 2‐2 had viral loads twice (95% CI: 1.4‐4.0, p = .002) that of women with Hp 1‐1, whereas those with serum ferritin <6 &mgr;g/L had viral loads less than one third (95% CI: 0.13‐0.53, p = .013) that of women with serum ferritin >24 &mgr;g/L. Viral loads were also higher in women enrolled in the early rainy season compared with the dry season, in gravidae 4+ compared with gravidae 1 through 3, and in those with moderately elevated compared with low serum &agr;1‐antichymotrypsin, but neither age, gestational age, serum folate, serum retinol, nor serum &bgr;‐carotene were predictors. Conclusion: Storage iron, Hp 2‐2, and elevated ACT are independent positive predictors of HIV‐1 viral load. The positive relationship between serum ferritin and viral load was not the result of an acute phase response or iron accumulation with advanced HIV infection. A possible detrimental role of iron in HIV infection would have serious public health implications.
Improved Detection of Incident HIV Infection and Uptake of PMTCT Services in Labor and Delivery in a High HIV Prevalence Setting

Objective:To maximize prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) effectiveness and increase identification of HIV status in maternity units in Swaziland. Design:With a quasi-experimental design, 3 maternity units were randomly assigned to the training intervention and 3 units were controls. Methods:Targeted on-site training was provided to nurse-midwives in intervention sites. HIV status was recorded with testing offered to women presenting with unknown and distant negative status. Cord blood was obtained and tested for HIV antibodies and presence of nevirapine as a marker of PMTCT intervention coverage. Contingency tables and χ2 tests were used to test for associations between frequencies of events. Results:Of the 2444 enrolled women, 215 (9%) arrived in maternity with unknown status and 1398 (58%) had tested HIV negative in antenatal clinic. Significantly more HIV-negative women (45%) and women with unknown status (96%) in intervention sites were tested compared with similar women in control sites, 14% and 65%, respectively (P < 0.0001 for both). Nevirapine coverage in HIV-positive cord blood was significantly higher in intervention sites (80%) than in control sites (69%, P < 0.0001). Cumulative HIV incidence was 4% with an incidence rate of 16.8 per 100 person-years. Antiretroviral prophylaxis coverage in seroconverters was significantly higher in intervention sites 54% (13 of 24) than the control group [26% (9 of 34), P = 0.03]. Conclusions:In high HIV prevalence settings, such as Swaziland, the incidence of HIV during pregnancy is high. An on-site training intervention for maternity nurses significantly increases the identification of HIV infection and maximizes the provision of PMTCT interventions.
Measurement of rubella antibody by hemagglutination inhibition. I. Variables affecting rubella hemagglutination.

The variables which affect the qualitative and quantitative aspects of the interaction between fowl erythrocytes and rubella virus were defined and evaluated. The sensitivity of the hemagglutination reaction is at least tenfold greater at pH 6.0 to 6.5 than it is at pH 7.2, the pH of dextrose-gelatin-Veronal which is widely used as diluent for rubella hemagglutination (HA) and hemagglutination inhibition (HAI) tests. In the presence of 0.001 M Ca ++ ion the reaction is two to eight times more sensitive than it is in the absence of Ca ++ ion. The development of agglutinated and non-agglutinated RBC patterns that are stable and clearly distinguishable from one another is critically dependent upon the concentrations of gelatin and/or albumin in the diluent. The diluents employed in previously published HAI test procedures differ widely with respect to pH, Ca ++ , gelatin and/or albumin concentration. The lack of comparability of HAI test results among laboratories may in part reflect these differences in diluent composition. In an effort to correct such difficulties, optimal conditions for the agglutination of fowl RBC by rubella virus were defined. A 0.14 M NaCl solution buffered with N-2-hydroxyethylpiperazine-N9-29-ethanesulfonic acid (HEPES) at pH 6.05 to 6.15, containing 0.001 M CaCl 2 , 1.0% bovine serum albumin and 0.00025% gelatin was shown to provide conditions for a maximally sensitive, stable and clear test. Under these conditions the outcome of the hemagglutination test is solely a function of the concentration of hemagglutinin in the test specimen.
Index of myocardial performance using Doppler-derived parameters in the evaluation of left ventricular function in patients with essential hypertension.

We analyzed Doppler echocardiographic data in 120 subjects with normal sinus rhythm; normals (NL, n = 60, ages 54.1 +/- 15.1) and essential hypertensive patients (HT, n = 60, ages 57.3 +/- 10.2). The IMP was calculated as follows: IMP = (ICT + IRT)/ET, ICT; isovolumic contraction time, IRT; isovolumic relaxation time, ET; ejection time. There were no significant differences in ejection fraction (EF), stroke volume index (SVI), cardiac index (CI), ET and ICT between NL and HT. There were, however, significant differences in deceleration time (DT), E/A ratio, IRT and the IMP between the two groups (199.5 +/- 45.6 msec vs 222.3 +/- 54.3 msec, p < 0.01; 1.4 +/- 0.7 vs 0.9 +/- 0.2, p < 0.01; 113.6 +/- 30.2 msec vs 134.2 +/- 29.6 msec, p < 0.01; 0.6 +/- 0.1 vs 0.8 +/- 0.3, p < 0.05). In HT, there were no differences in EF, SVI, CI, E/A ratio and DT between the NYHA I (Gp I, n = 36) and II (Gp II, n = 24) groups. However, ET of Gp II was significantly shorter than that of Gp I (259.4 +/- 43.5 msec vs 297.8 +/- 33.6 msec, p < 0.01). ICT, IRT and the IMP were significantly increased in Gp II, compared to those of Gp I (64.4 +/- 23.9 msec vs 89.4 +/- 46.2 msec, p < 0.05; 120.3 +/- 21.0 msec vs 155.2 +/- 28.5 msec, p < 0.001; 0.6 +/- 0.2 vs 1.0 +/- 0.4, p < 0.001). There were no differences in heart rate and mean blood pressure between Gp I and Gp II (70.9 +/- 11.4/min vs 66.3 +/- 11.4/min, p > 0.05; 138.4 +/- 21.2 mmHg vs 131.3 +/- 19.9 mmHg, p > 0.05). These data suggest that the IMP may be a useful parameter and an early indicator of left ventricular dysfunction in essential hypertensive patients with normal systolic function.
Association of a polymorphism of the ecNOS gene with myocardial infarction in a subgroup of Turkish MI patients

In this study we examined a possible association between a 27 base pair (bp)‐repeat polymorphism in intron 4 of the ecNOS gene and myocardial infarction (MI) in a subgroup of the Turkish population. We compared MI and control groups for the frequencies of the ecNOS alleles and their genotypes. The frequency of the ecNOS 4a/a and 4a/b genotypes was found to be significantly higher in the MI group than in the control group. Interestingly, the frequency of the ecNOS 4a/b polymorphism was found to be significantly higher in the selected MI group (patients with no known secondary risk factors) than in the control and non‐selected MI group. We found that the patients with MI had the frequency of the a/a genotype 4.3%, of the a/b genotype 26.6% and the b/b genotype 69.1%. The controls, however, showed only 0.6% for a/a, 18.0% for a/b and 81.4% for the b/b genotype (P < 0.001; χ2 = 13.626). In this study, we show that myocardial infarction is associated with one subtype of ecNOS gene polymorphism.
Leading instruction: The distribution of leadership for instruction

Dans le cadre de l'implementation de nouvelles reformes, quels sont les facteurs necessaires a la reussite d'un tel projet, notamment au niveau local, dans la prise en compte de la dimension hierarchique de l'institution scolaire. Quels sont les roles des differents acteurs de la vie pedagogique d'un etablissement ? L'article insiste sur l'importance d'une interaction et d'une intercomprehension entre enseignants et le personnel administratif, charge de veiller a l'implementation des reformes.
Using an MST based Value for ε in DBSCAN Algorithm for Obtaining Better Result

In this paper, an objective function based on minimal spanning tree (MST) of data points is proposed for clustering and a density-based clustering technique has been used in an attempt to optimize the specified objective function in order to detect the ―natural grouping‖ present in a given data set. A threshold based on MST of data points of each cluster thus found is used to remove noise (if any present in the data) from the final clustering. A comparison of the experimental results obtained by DBSCAN (Density Based Spatial Clustering of Applications with Noise) algorithm and the proposed algorithm has also been incorporated. It is observed that our proposed algorithm performs better than DBSCAN algorithm. Several experiments on synthetic data set in and show the utility of the proposed method. The proposed method has also found to provide good results for two real life data sets considered for experimentation. Note that -means is one of the most popular methods adopted to solve the clustering problem. This algorithm uses an objective function that is based on minimization of squared error criteria. Note that it may not always provide the ―natural grouping‖ though it is useful in many applications.