Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Activity profiles and physical demands of elite women's water polo match play

Abstract The aim of this study was to quantify the movement patterns of contemporary elite women's water polo match play. Thirty-three player matches (centre, n = 15 and perimeter, n = 18) were analysed using video-based time-motion analysis. Frequency and duration of individual movements and distance swum were assessed. Mean match time and playing time were 69:48 ± 04.30 min:s and 33:14 ± 14:40 min:s, respectively. Players performed 330 ± 158 discrete movements per match, representing a change in movement every 6.2 s. There were 54 ± 25 high-intensity activities per match, or one every 38.4 s. These findings characterise women's water polo as a high-intensity intermittent sport. Total distance swum per match was 699.3 ± 296.8 m. Positional differences showed a predominance of wrestling in centre players (4:13 vs. 1:53 min:s; P < 0.001) and sprint swimming in perimeter players (2:09 vs. 0:52 min:s; P < 0.001). Players performed 6.7 ± 3.5 repeated high-intensity activity bouts per match, suggesting that this facet of play is important in water polo. Overall, exercise intensity decreased as a match progressed, suggesting the likelihood of fatigue during the latter stages. These findings provide important information for the planning and monitoring of training in women's water polo.
Topics and Transitivity Choices in Iranian Learners’ English Writings

Halliday (2004) considered three meta-functions for language: interpersonal, ideational, and textual. From the ideational perspective, language helps individuals build a bridge between their experience and their mental images of the world that surrounds them. The system that facilitates this process is called transitivity which includes three types of processes: (a) material, (b) mental, and (c) relational. One of the most important means that contribute to transferring our experience into verbal expression is writing. Through writing, issues like cognition, social, and linguistic materials can combine with each other perfectly and might lead to a problem-solving theory. As an international language, English deserves to receive its due attention in Iran’s education curriculum. In Iran, students learn English as a foreign language through traditional examoriented methods by focusing on grammar, reading, and translation and the grammar translation method still persists in many classrooms in Iran (Ghorbani, 2009). This long-established approach not only is inadequate but also highlights the need for further study to achieve the desired results.
Conserved E Boxes Function as Part of the Enhancer in Hypersensitive Site 2 of the β-Globin Locus Control Region

The human β-globin gene cluster is regulated in part by a distal locus control region that is required for opening a chromatin domain in erythroid cells and enhancing expression of the β-like globin genes at the correct developmental stages. One part of the locus control region, called hypersensitive site 2 (HS2), functions as a strong enhancer. Matches to the consensus binding sites for basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) proteins (E boxes) are well conserved within the HS2 core. We show that mutations of the HS2 core that alter an invariant E box cause a 3.5-fold reduction in enhancement of expression of an ε-globin reporter gene in transiently transfected K562 cells, both before and after induction. Mutations of the HS2 core that alter a less-highly conserved E box cause a more modest reduction in enhancement. Footprint analysis shows binding of erythroid nuclear proteins in vitro to the invariant E box as well as an adjacent CAC/GTG box. Probes containing the E box regions form sequence-specific complexes with proteins from both K562 and MEL nuclear extracts; these are disrupted by the same mutations that decrease enhancement. Some of these latter complexes contain known bHLH proteins, as revealed by specific loss of individual complexes when treated with antibodies against TAL1 and USF. Interaction between the E boxes and the bHLH proteins, as well as other binding proteins, could account for the role of these sites in enhancement by HS2.
Survivors of ventricular fibrillation have persistent cardiovascular risk factors late in follow-up

Objective: Implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) prevent arrhythmic death, but do not modify disease progression. The prevalence of persistent cardiovascular risk factors in patients receiving an ICD and their adherence to optimal pharmacological therapy at late follow-up is unknown. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of cardiovascular and specific sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) risk factors, and the pharmacological treatment in ICD recipients who survived SCA caused by ventricular fibrillation (VF). Design: Cross-sectional study. A total of 100 consecutive ICD patients who survived SCA due to documented VF, not due to a transient or reversible cause or an arrhythmogenic disease, were interviewed and examined at the routine outpatient clinic. Results: The mean age of the patients was 60 ± 11 years, and they were analysed at a median interval of 1092 days after SCA. The majority of patients had coronary artery disease. The New York Heart Association class at the time of implantation was ≥II in 62%. A single chamber device was used in 49% and a resynchronization device in 12%. At the routine control, the most prevalent risk factors were overweight or obesity (63%), hypertension (41%), and smoking (16%). Pharmacological therapy was suboptimal in 18 –32% of the patients. Eight per cent of the patients had known diabetes and 29% had elevated HbA1c levels. While only 7% had pre-existing overt heart failure, 43% had N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide levels ≥100 pmol/l. High sensitivity C-reactive protein was ≥3 mg/l in 52% of the patients. Family history was positive for sudden cardiac death (SCD) in 46% of the patients. Conclusions: Despite regular medical consultation, a large proportion of the patients had persistent cardiovascular risk factors and were often suboptimally treated. Unexpectedly, latent heart failure and unrecognized diabetes are observed in a large proportion of the patients, as well as elevated inflammatory markers. Genetic analysis may be rewarding, as 46% of the patients had a family history of SCD. Full medical attention, optimizing drug therapy, and counselling of these patients is necessary.
Prognostic values of the miR‐17‐92 cluster and its paralogs in colon cancer

MicroRNAs have been shown to offer great potential in both the diagnosis and prognosis of cancer. Despite the well‐established role of the miR‐17‐92 in cancer formation and progression, the contribution of each individual miRNA remains to be characterized. Thus, we investigated whether deregulation of the miR‐17‐92 associated with colon cancer prognosis.
Relative affinity of the human parainfluenza virus type 3 hemagglutinin-neuraminidase for sialic acid correlates with virus-induced fusion activity

The ability of enveloped viruses to cause disease depends on their ability to enter the host cell via membrane fusion events. An understanding of these early events in infection, crucial for the design of methods of blocking infection, is needed for viruses that mediate membrane fusion at neutral pH, such as paramyxoviruses and human immunodeficiency virus. Sialic acid is the receptor for the human parainfluenza virus type 3 (HPF3) hemagglutinin-neuraminidase (HN) glycoprotein, the molecule responsible for binding of the virus to cell surfaces. In order for the fusion protein (F) of HPF3 to promote membrane fusion, the HN must interact with its receptor. In the present report, two variants of HPF3 with increased fusion-promoting phenotypes were selected and used to study the function of the HN glycoprotein in membrane fusion. Increased fusogenicity correlated with single amino acid changes in the HN protein that resulted in increased binding of the variant viruses to the sialic acid receptor. These results suggest that the avidity of binding of the HN protein to its receptor regulates the level of F protein-mediated fusion and begin to define one role of the receptor-binding protein of a paramyxovirus in the membrane fusion process.
Effectiveness of Surface Potential Fluctuation for Representing Inversion-Layer Mobility Limited by Coulomb Scattering in MOFETs

In this letter, the effectiveness of surface potential fluctuation (σ<sub>s</sub>), experimentally extracted from the conductance method, in representing the mobility limited by Coulomb scattering (μ<sub>coulomb</sub>) due to MOS interface charges has been experimentally examined in Si MOSFETs. It is found that μ<sub>coulomb</sub> can be described as a universal line proportional to σ<sub>s</sub><sup>-2</sup>, irrespective of the conditions of MOS interface charges, even under the coexistence of positive and negative charges, where threshold voltage shift (ΔV<sub>th</sub>) cannot represent μ<sub>coulomb</sub>. This result can be explained by considering that σ<sub>s</sub><sup>2</sup> more directly corresponds to the total amount of Coulomb scattering centers.
Scalable Passive Sleep Monitoring Using Mobile Phones: Opportunities and Obstacles

Background Sleep is a critical aspect of people’s well-being and as such assessing sleep is an important indicator of a person’s health. Traditional methods of sleep assessment are either time- and resource-intensive or suffer from self-reporting biases. Recently, researchers have started to use mobile phones to passively assess sleep in individuals’ daily lives. However, this work remains in its early stages, having only examined relatively small and homogeneous populations in carefully controlled contexts. Thus, it remains an open question as to how well mobile device-based sleep monitoring generalizes to larger populations in typical use cases. Objective The aim of this study was to assess the ability of machine learning algorithms to detect the sleep start and end times for the main sleep period in a 24-h cycle using mobile devices in a diverse sample. Methods We collected mobile phone sensor data as well as daily self-reported sleep start and end times from 208 individuals (171 females; 37 males), diverse in age (18−66 years; mean 39.3), education, and employment status, across the United States over 6 weeks. Sensor data consisted of geographic location, motion, light, sound, and in-phone activities. No specific instructions were given to the participants regarding phone placement. We used random forest classifiers to develop both personalized and global predictors of sleep state from the phone sensor data. Results Using all available sensor features, the average accuracy of classifying whether a 10-min segment was reported as sleep was 88.8%. This is somewhat better than using the time of day alone, which gives an average accuracy of 86.9%. The accuracy of the model considerably varied across the participants, ranging from 65.1% to 97.3%. We found that low accuracy in some participants was due to two main factors: missing sensor data and misreports. After correcting for these, the average accuracy increased to 91.8%, corresponding to an average median absolute deviation (MAD) of 38 min for sleep start time detection and 36 min for sleep end time. These numbers are close to the range reported by previous research in more controlled situations. Conclusions We find that mobile phones provide adequate sleep monitoring in typical use cases, and that our methods generalize well to a broader population than has previously been studied. However, we also observe several types of data artifacts when collecting data in uncontrolled settings. Some of these can be resolved through corrections, but others likely impose a ceiling on the accuracy of sleep prediction for certain subjects. Future research will need to focus more on the understanding of people’s behavior in their natural settings in order to develop sleep monitoring tools that work reliably in all cases for all people.
Impact of sarcopenia on long-term mortality and cardiovascular events in patients undergoing hemodialysis

Background/Aims A high body mass index (BMI) is known to correlate with better survival in patients on hemodialysis (HD). However, the impacts of body composition and sarcopenia on survival have not been well studied in this population. Methods One hundred and forty-two prevalent HD patients were recruited and followed prospectively for up to 4.5 years. Low muscle mass (measured using a portable, whole-body, bioimpedance spectroscopic device) was defined as a lean tissue index (LTI) two standard deviations (SD) or more below the normal gender-specific mean for young people. Low muscle strength was a handgrip strength (HGS) of less than 30 kg in males and less than 20 kg in females. Sarcopenia was considered present when both LTI and HGS were reduced. Results The mean age was 59.8 ± 13.1 years; 57.0% were male and 47.2% had diabetes. Forty-seven patients (33.1%) had sarcopenia. During follow-up, 28 patients (19.7%) died, and low LTI (adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 2.77; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.10 to 6.97) and low HGS (HR 5.65; 95% CI, 1.99 to 16.04) were independently associated with mortality. Sarcopenia was a significant predictor for death (HR, 6.99; 95% CI, 1.84 to 26.58; p = 0.004) and cardiovascular events (HR, 4.33; 95% CI, 1.51 to 12.43; p = 0.006). Conclusions Sarcopenia was strongly associated with long-term mortality and cardiovascular events in HD patients. Assessment of muscle strength and muscle mass may provide additional prognostic information to survival in patients with end-stage renal disease.
Stressful Life Events and Coping Methods in Mental-Illness and -Wellness Behaviors

A descriptive comparative study examined not only the relationship between stressful life events and mental-illness and -wellness behaviors but also the coping methods used by individuals exhibiting each behavior. Data collection included the use of the Holmes and Rahe Social Readjustment Rating Scale and an 18-item coping scale administered to experimental and control samples. The experimental group consisted of 30 psychiatric inpatients in three general hospitals who were oriented in three spheres. Control group subjects had no history of psychiatric illness, were currently not receiving medical treatment, and were adequately functioning in socially accepted roles. They were randomly selected to match the patient on the basis of age, sex, and county of residence. The experimental group reported that significantly more stressful life events had occurred in the last six months and significantly more short-term than long-term coping methods had been used when compared with the control group. Sex and age differences were noted. A significant association was found between high stress scores and short-term coping methods for subjects in both groups. The concept of change as it relates to stress and its effect on health is an important consideration for health care professionals whose goals are health maintenance and illness prevention.
Carbon‐Nanotube/Silver Networks in Nitrile Butadiene Rubber for Highly Conductive Flexible Adhesives

An adhesive with high conductivity, flexibility, cyclability, oxidation resistance, and good adhesion is developed using microscale silver flakes, multiwalled carbon nanotubes decorated with nanoscale silver particles, and nitrile butadiene rubber. Light-emitting-diode chips are attached to the conductive, flexible adhesive pattern on a poly(ethylene terephthalate) substrate as a visual demonstration. The brightness is invariant during bending tests.
Early life risk factors in cancer: The relation of birth weight to adult obesity

The intrauterine environment appears to play a role in the development of adult diseases, including several prominent cancers. Our study aims to characterize the relationship between birth weight, a measure of the intrauterine environment, and adult obesity. A population‐based sample of women aged 50–79, living in the states of Massachusetts, New Hampshire or Wisconsin, were randomly selected from lists of licensed drivers and Medicare beneficiaries to participate as controls in a case‐control study of breast cancer. Information on birth weight, adult height and adult weight were collected through structured telephone interviews from 1992–1995. Our analysis was based on 1,850 interviews. A U‐shaped relationship between birth weight and adult BMI was observed. Median adult BMI for the birth weight categories (in kilograms) <2.3, 2.3<2.5, 2.5<3.2, 3.2<3.9, 3.9<4.5 and ≥4.5 were 26.6, 24.4, 25.1, 25.5, 25.4 and 26.6 kg/m respectively. Compared to women 2.5<3.2 kg at birth, women in highest birth weight category (≥4.5 kg) had an odds ratio of 1.99 (95% CI 1.13–3.48) of being obese (≥30 kg/m2) as adults. The odds ratio for women in the <2.3 kg birth weight category was 1.67 (95% CI 1.01–2.76). These data suggest that both low and high birth weights are associated with higher adult BMI and support the hypothesis that fetal experience may influence adult obesity with potential consequences for risk of several major cancers. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Rhizobium japonicum USDA 191 has two nodD genes that differ in primary structure and function

Several Rhizobium genes (designated nod genes) are involved in early steps in nodule formation. Here we present the results of DNA sequence and functional analysis of two nodD genes from the symbiotic plasmid of USDA 191, a fast-growing strain that forms nitrogen-fixing nodules on soybeans. Both genes encoded full-length nodD-related polypeptides, which were 69% homologous to each other. One of these genes, nodD1, complemented a Rhizobium trifolii nodD::Tn5 mutant for clover nodulation; the other gene, nodD2, did not. The nodD1 coding region was preceded by a conserved DNA sequence previously noted in other rhizobia, but no such sequence was found in front of nodD2. Plants inoculated with a nodD1 insertion mutant appeared to be nitrogen starved and had a greatly reduced nodule number. Plants inoculated with a nodD2 mutant had a partially nitrogen-starved appearance and normal nodule number, were slightly delayed in nodule formation, and formed nodules that contained reduced levels of nodulin-35 and had fewer bacteroids per infected plant cell. Thus, both of these genes are involved in symbiosis. USDA 191 carrying extra copies of nodD2 on a plasmid vector had an altered colony morphology that suggested inhibition of exopolysaccharide synthesis. The predicted gene products of nodD1 and nodD2 both showed homology to LysR, an E. coli regulatory protein. We conclude that nodD1 probably has the same function as nodD in temperate rhizobia, namely, activation of nodABC transcription in the presence of plant signals. nodD2 may be involved in regulation of exopolysaccharide synthetic genes.
Penile Length of Newborns in Singapore

Micropenis is an important sign in congenital hypopituitarism and various disorders. Documented norms for penile length exist only for babies of Caucasian and Middle-Eastern origin. This study was carried out to establish such norms for Asian newborns. We studied 228 male live births within their first three days of life. Stretched penile lengths were marked off on unmarked wooden spatulas, which were placed vertically along the dorsal aspect of the penis, with one rounded end on the pubic bone. The mean penile length +/- S.D. for the full-term Asian baby was 3.6 +/- 0.4 cm. Race had a significant effect: Chinese 3.5 cm, Malay 3.6 cm and Indian 3.8 cm. Penile length correlated with birth weight and gestational age. Asian babies thus have similar norms to Caucasian babies. An Asian newborn whose penis measures less than 2.6 cm has micropenis and may need prompt investigation for underlying endocrine disorders.
Permanent congenital hypothyroidism with blood spot thyroid stimulating hormone <10 mU/L

Background The UK recommended lower threshold for neonatal blood spot thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) screening for congenital hypothyroidism (CHT) is 10.0 mU/L. Some laboratories use lower thresholds. This will lead to referral of mildly or unaffected infants but some will require thyroxine therapy. Methods Laboratory referrals with a first or repeat capillary TSH between 8.0 and <10.0 mU/L were identified (January 2004 to March 2014). The outcome of these cases was examined. Results 26 infants had one or more blood spot TSH values between 8.0 and 9.99 mU/L; 65% had transient elevated neonatal TSH while one is awaiting diagnostic challenge. The remaining eight (31%) have permanent CHT; three with dyshormonogenesis, two with thyroid ectopia and the others met the criteria for definite CHT. Two out of three with dyshormonogenesis presented with decompensated hypothyroidism. Conclusions Infants with permanent and occasionally severe CHT may have a screening TSH below the UK recommended lower cut-off.
Connective tissue growth factor inhibits metastasis and acts as an independent prognostic marker in colorectal cancer.

BACKGROUND & AIMS Connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) has been shown to be implicated in tumor development and progression. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of CTGF in progression of colorectal cancer (CRC). METHODS Immunohistochemical staining of specimens from 119 patients with CRC was performed. Liposome-mediated transfection was used to introduce a CTGF expression vector into CRC cell lines. Transfectants were tested in invasive ability and experimental hepatic metastasis in BALB/c mice. Furthermore, a FOPflash/TOPflash reporter assay was performed to investigate CTGF on the beta-catenin/T-cell factor signaling pathway. RESULTS Patients with stage II and stage III CRC whose tumors displayed high CTGF expression had a significantly higher overall survival and a disease-free advantage over patients with CRC with low CTGF expression. Alterations in the CTGF level in CRC cell lines modulated their invasive ability with an inverse correlation. In addition, a reduction in the CTGF level of CT26 cells after stable transfection with antisense CTGF resulted in increased liver metastasis in BALB/c mice. The activity of the beta-catenin/T-cell factor signaling pathway and its downstream effector gene matrix metalloproteinase 7 in these CTGF-transfected cells was strongly attenuated. Blockage of matrix metalloproteinase 7 with its neutralizing antibodies inhibited increased invasiveness in antisense CTGF-transfected CT26 cells. CONCLUSIONS Our results implicate CTGF as a key regulator of CRC invasion and metastasis, and it appears to be a useful and better prognosis factor for patients with stage II and stage III CRC.
A Novel Tricomplex of BRCA1, Nmi, and c-Myc Inhibits c-Myc-induced Human Telomerase Reverse Transcriptase Gene (hTERT) Promoter Activity in Breast Cancer*

Germ-line mutations in BRCA1 predispose individuals to breast and ovarian cancers. We observed a novel endogenous association of BRCA1 with Nmi (N-Myc-interacting protein) in breast cancer cells. Nmi was found to interact specifically with BRCA1, both in vitro and in vivo, by binding to two major domains in BRCA1, amino acid residues 298–683 and 1301–1863. Homodimerization of Nmi enhanced its association with BRCA1. Nmi functioned as an adaptor molecule to recruit c-Myc to a complex containing Nmi·c-Myc·BRCA1. Because c-Myc can activate transcription of the human telomerase reverse transcriptase gene (hTERT), we addressed the role of BRCA1 and Nmi in modulating c-Myc-induced hTERT promoter activity. Although Nmi or BRCA1 alone had no effect on c-Myc induced hTERTpromoter activity, BRCA1 together with Nmi significantly inhibited this c-Myc induced hTERT promoter activity (∼75% inhibition). Two mutated forms of BRCA1, a missense (A1708E) and a nonsense (Y1853X) that have been identified in familial breast cancers, associated with Nmi and c-Myc but failed to suppress c-Myc-induced hTERTpromoter activity. These results demonstrate a novel pathogenic mechanism whereby mutations in BRCA1, via a novel transcription factor complex containing BRCA1, c-Myc, and Nmi, impair inhibition of c-Myc-induced hTERT promoter activity, which allows sustained activation of telomerase, a key enzyme in carcinogenesis.