Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
trans-Palmitoleic acid, other dairy fat biomarkers, and incident diabetes: the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA).

BACKGROUND Dairy consumption is linked to a lower risk of type 2 diabetes, but constituents responsible for this relation are not established. Emerging evidence suggests that trans-palmitoleate (trans 16:1n-7), a fatty acid in dairy and also partially hydrogenated oils, may be associated with a more favorable metabolic profile and less incident diabetes. OBJECTIVE We investigated the association of trans-palmitoleate with metabolic risk and incident diabetes in a multiethnic US cohort. DESIGN Phospholipid fatty acids and metabolic risk factors were measured in 2000-2002 among 2617 adults in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA), a cohort of white, black, Hispanic, and Chinese Americans. In 2281 participants free of baseline diabetes, we also prospectively assessed the risk of new-onset diabetes (205 cases) from baseline to 2005-2007. RESULTS trans-Palmitoleate concentrations correlated positively with self-reported consumption of whole-fat dairy, butter, margarine, and baked desserts and with other circulating biomarkers of both dairy fat and partially hydrogenated oil consumption, which suggested mixed dietary sources. After multivariable adjustment, trans-palmitoleate concentrations were associated with higher LDL cholesterol (quintile 5 compared with quintile 1: +6.4%; P-trend = 0.005), lower triglycerides (-19.1%; P-trend < 0.001), lower fasting insulin (-9.1%; P-trend = 0.002), and lower systolic blood pressure (-2.4 mm Hg; P-trend = 0.01). In prospective analyses, trans-palmitoleate was independently associated with lower incident diabetes (P-trend = 0.02), including a 48% lower risk in quintile 5 compared with quintile 1 (HR: 0.52; 95% CI: 0.32, 0.85). All findings were similar between men and women and between different race-ethnic subgroups. CONCLUSIONS Circulating trans-palmitoleate is associated with higher LDL cholesterol but also with lower triglycerides, fasting insulin, blood pressure, and incident diabetes in a multiethnic US cohort. Our findings support the need for further experimental and dietary intervention studies that target circulating trans-palmitoleate. The MESA trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00005487.
The Goulstonian Lectures on the Localisation of Cerebral Disease

(Ecker); the ascending parietal, orPostertor central(Ecker), with its superior continuation, termed the postero-parietal or ru,perior paietal (Ecker) lobule; together with the internal aspect of the same, which by our French brethren is generally called theparacentral lobule. (See fig. I.) The homologous regions of the brain of the monkey and man are sufficientlyevident not to require my taking up valuable time with anydetailed anatomical description. Inthis region are situated certain definable areas stimulation of which by the electric current gives rise to certain definite movements on the opposite side-viz., of the leg and hand, facial, oral, and lingual muscles; and destmction of which causes para. lysis of all those movements (exe. exc.) if the entire region be destroyed; limited or dissociated paralysis, if individual areas only be destroyedthe paralysis in this case being confined to those movements which are
Performance-Intensity Functions for Normal-Hearing Adults and Children Using Computer-Aided Speech Perception Assessment

Objectives: The Computer-Aided Speech Perception Assessment (CASPA) is a clinical measure of speech recognition that uses 10-item, isophonemic word lists to derive performance intensity (PI) functions for adult listeners. Because CASPA was developed for adults, the ability to obtain PI functions in children has not been evaluated directly. This study sought to evaluate PI functions for adults and four age groups of children with normal hearing to compare speech recognition as a function of age using CASPA. Comparisons between age groups for scoring by words and phonemes correct were made to determine the relative benefits of available scoring methods in CASPA. Design: Speech recognition using CASPA was completed with 12 adults and four age groups of children (5- to 6-, 7- to 8-, 9- to 10-, and 11- to 12-yr olds), each with 12 participants. Results were scored by the percentage of words, phonemes, consonants, and vowels correct. All participants had normal hearing and age-appropriate speech production skills. Results: Differences in speech recognition were significant across all age groups when responses were scored by the percentage of words correct. However, only differences between adults and the two youngest groups of children were significant when results were scored by the number of phonemes correct. Speech recognition scores decreased as a function of signal to noise ratio for both children and adults. However, the magnitude of degradation at poorer signal to noise ratios did not vary between adults and children, suggesting that mean differences could not be explained by interference from noise. Conclusions: Obtaining PI functions in noise using CASPA is feasible with children as young as 5 yrs. Statistically significant differences in speech recognition were observed between adults and the two youngest age groups of children when scored by the percentage of words correct. When results were scored by the percentage of phonemes correct, however, the only significant difference was between the youngest group of children and the adults. These results suggest that phoneme scoring may help to minimize differences between recognition scores of adults and children because children may be more likely to provide responses that are phonemic approximations when words are outside their lexicon.
Informing multisource decoding in robust automatic speech recognition

Listeners are remarkably adept at recognising speech in natural multisource environments, while most Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) technology fails in these conditions. It has been proposed that this human ability is governed by Auditory Scene Analysis (ASA) processes, in which a sound mixture is segregated into perceptual packages, called ‘streams’, by a combination of bottom-up and top-down processing. This thesis examines a novel ASR framework based on the ASA account, Speech Fragment Decoding (SFD). A ‘fragment’ is a spectro-temporal region where energy from a single sound source dominates. SFD employs techniques developed from knowledge about the auditory system to identify fragments. A decoding process using statistical speech models is applied to the fragment representation to simultaneously identify speech evidence and recognise speech. In this study three techniques for improving SFD are investigated. Firstly, explicit duration modelling is exploited to combat the corruption of acoustic data which often causes the decoder to produce word matches with unrealistic durations. Secondly, it is argued that the top-down information in recognition models may be insufficient to mediate the speech identification. Knowledge that can assist the decoder in the choice of speech evidence is investigated. Thirdly, pitch cues derived from structure in the correlogram are used in the fragment generation process. A range of small-vocabulary speech recognition experiments are conducted for evaluation. The improved SFD system is able to produce word error rates significantly lower than conventional ASR, and is relatively insensitive to a range of noise conditions. In conclusion, the framework provides some progress towards finding a general solution to the robust ASR problem in multisource environments.
Hybrid model of self-organizing map and kernel auto-associator for internet intrusion detection

Purpose – The task of internet intrusion detection is to detect anomalous network connections caused by intrusive activities. There have been many intrusion detection schemes proposed, most of which apply both normal and intrusion data to construct classifiers. However, normal data and intrusion data are often seriously imbalanced because intrusive connection data are usually difficult to collect. Internet intrusion detection can be considered as a novelty detection problem, which is the identification of new or unknown data, to which a learning system has not been exposed during training. This paper aims to address this issue.Design/methodology/approach – In this paper, a novelty detection‐based intrusion detection system is proposed by combining the self‐organizing map (SOM) and the kernel auto‐associator (KAA) model proposed earlier by the first author. The KAA model is a generalization of auto‐associative networks by training to recall the inputs through kernel subspace. For anomaly detection, the SOM.
Autosomal recessive Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease

Over the past decade the genetics behind the majority of cases of Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease have been revealed with speed and accompanying astonishment. The findings have been so interesting, and provided so many paradigms, that they are studied by all students of molecular genetics down to undergraduate level. The dominant disorder CMT1 provided the first well documented example of a large scale DNA rearrangement, mediated by flanking long repeat sequences, resulting in a disease causing gene duplication of the myelin protein PMP-22. CMT1 was split into the subclasses a and b, after the identification of mutations in P0, providing an early and excellent example of the “positional candidate gene” approach to gene identification …
The Polarizers: Postwar Architects of Our Partisan Era

In The Polarizers: Postwar Architects of Our Partisan Era, Sam Rosenfeld offers a historical account of how polarisation transformed from being a perceived cure to a poison in US politics, starting with the Presidential election of 1952. This is a thorough and detailed study that introduces readers to the myriad figures who contributed to the development of what Rosenfeld deems the ‘polarization without responsibility’ of our present times, finds Matthew C. Simpson.
Marine Conservation and Fisheries Management

Overfishing has occasioned the collapse of many coastal and marine ecosystems globally. With these collapses come increased pollution and a degradation of water quality that can have adverse effects on human health. In addition, significant numbers of people rely on marine ecosystems for their livelihood, either from extractive uses, such as fishing, or from tourism. Diverse policy approaches have been used in order to combat marine degradation, including marine protected areas, ecotourism, catch shares, and community-based marine conservation. This bibliography reviews relevant literature regarding current threats to marine ecosystems, approaches to marine conservation policy, and fisheries management approaches aimed at sustainable fisheries development.
Demonstration of multi-agent potential fields in real-time strategy games

Bots for Real Time Strategy (RTS) games provide a rich challenge to implement. A bot controls a number of units that may have to navigate in a partially unknown environment, while at the same time search for enemies and coordinate attacks to fight them down. Potential fields is a technique originating from the area of robotics where it is used in controlling the navigation of robots in dynamic environments. Although attempts have been made to transfer the technology to the gaming sector, assumed problems with efficiency and high costs for implementation have made the industry reluctant to adopt it. Our demo shows the use of Multi-agent Potential Fields (MAPF) in an open source RTS game. We will demonstrate both the potential fields as such, and the coordination of the agents.
Predictors of Anemia among Haitian Children Aged 6 to 59 Months and Women of Childbearing Age and Their Implications for Programming

Background The Haitian National Nutrition Policy prioritizes prevention and treatment of anemia among mothers and young children, but there are few available data to support planning for scale-up of anemia interventions. Objective To describe the prevalence and predictors of anemia among Haitian women (15 to 49 years) and children (6 to 59 months) and to draw implications for national nutrition programming. Methods Descriptive and univariate analyses and multivariate logistic regression models were performed using data from the nationally representative Haitian Demographic Health Survey 2005/06. Results The prevalence of mild (hemoglobin 11.0 to 11.9 g/dL), moderate (hemoglobin 8.0 to 10.9 g/dL), and severe (hemoglobin < 8.0 g/dL) anemia was 19.2%, 21.7%, and 4.4%, respectively, among women aged 15 to 49 years and 22.9%, 33.9%. and 2.2% among children aged 6 to 59 months. Unexpectedly, anemia was more prevalent in urban women (54.4 %) and children (65.1%) than in rural women (43.1%, p < .001) and children (55.7%, p = .004). In multivariate regression models, factors associated with anemia among urban women (birth spacing, p = .027; overweight BMI, p < .001; education level, p = .022) were different from those in rural women (wealth quintile, p < .05; employment, p = .003). Anemia in urban and rural children aged 6 to 59 months increased with child age (p < .05) and maternal anemia status (p = .004; p < .001). Female sex (p = .007) and maternal overweight (p = .009) were associated with reduced risk of anemia in rural children only. Conclusions Anemia among Haitian young children and women of childbearing age is a severe public health problem. The findings suggest the need for context-specific rural and urban strategies, reinforcement of anemia prevention in health services reaching women of childbearing age, and targeted interventions for young children.
Who Says Man Wasn't Meant to Fly: History of Air Jordan Advertising, Portrayal and Race from 1984-2003

Michael Jordan became one of the most influential figures in history through his success in basketball and from his endorsements. The most significant of those endorsements was his partnership with Nike in the formation of the Air Jordan brand. During the height of his prominence and success, the United States was going through an era of racial tensions and violence. The friction allowed for the rise of many outspoken African-American figures. Other individuals of the era gained popularity through their negative press or controversy. Michael Jordan represented a different model then other African-American individuals who were prominent in the news cycle. He was apolitical and quiet on issues and in demeanor, and presented a family friendly and positive role model. Nike promoted Air Jordan by making the sneaker represent Jordan himself, meaning Michael Jordan became the product. Through the analysis of Air Jordan advertising, Nike presented Jordan as a “counter model” against many of the era’s figures and in representing Jordan and his brand in this matter they were able to allow for a wider consumption of their product.
Membrane ATPase from the aceticlastic methanogen Methanothrix thermophila

A new isolate of the aceticlastic methanogen Methanothrix thermophila utilizes only acetate as the sole carbon and energy source for methanogenesis (Y. Kamagata and E. Mikami, Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. 41:191-196, 1991). ATPase activity in its membrane was found, and ATP hydrolysis activity in the pH range of 5.5 to 8.0 in the presence of Mg2+ was observed. It had maximum activity at around 70 degrees C and was specifically stimulated up to sixfold by 50 mM NaHSO3. The proton ATPase inhibitor N,N'-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide inhibited the membrane ATPase activity, but azide, a potent inhibitor of F0F1 ATPase (H(+)-translocating ATPase of oxidative phosphorylation), did not. Since the enzyme was tightly bound to the membranes and could not be solubilized with dilute buffer containing EDTA, the nonionic detergent nonanoyl-N-methylglucamide (0.5%) was used to solubilize it from the membranes. The purified ATPase complex in the presence of the detergent was also sensitive to N,N'-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide, and other properties were almost the same as those in the membrane-associated form. The purified enzyme revealed at least five kinds of subunits on a sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel, and their molecular masses were estimated to be 67, 52, 37, 28, and 22 kDa, respectively. The N-terminal amino acid sequences of the 67- and 52-kDa subunits had much higher similarity with those of the 64 (alpha)- and 50 (beta)-kDa subunits of the Methanosarcina barkeri ATPase and were also similar to those of the corresponding subunits of other archaeal ATPases. The alpha beta complex of the M. barkeri ATPase has ATP-hydrolyzing activity, suggesting that a catalytic part of the Methanothrix ATPase contains at least the 67- and 52-kDa subunits.
Herpes simplex virus-specific polypeptides studied by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of immune precipitates.

Summary Antisera raised in rabbits against RK13 cells infected with herpes simplex virus type 1 were capable of specifically precipitating proteins synthesized after infection of BHK-21 cells with the virus. Analysis of these immune precipitates by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis demonstrated ≧ 15 polypeptides with mol. wt. from 25 to 100000. A number of these polypeptides were not detected in purified preparations of virus particles. Precipitates formed with two ‘monoprecipitin’ antisera were also analysed. Antiserum to the structural antigen Band II precipitated a major polypeptide of mol. wt. 47000, which was glycosylated, and corresponded in mobility to a minor component polypeptide of the herpes virus particle. The other monoprecipitin antiserum, to the herpes-specified thymidine kinase, precipitated a polypeptide with a mol. wt. of 44000. The thymidine kinase polypeptide was not glycosylated.
White Matter Ischemia or Endogenic, Senile Neurodegenerative Process?

Knowledge of the pathogenesis of coronary artery disease enables associate it with one of possible interrelationships of CAD with the cognitive impairment in the elderly. The chain of atherosclerotic transformations can be the same both in coronary and cerebral vessels. These changes begin from increased endothelial permeability, leucocytes migration into the arterial walls, adherence and aggregation of platelets and lipid infiltration.
A genetic algorithm with a mutation mechanism based on a Gaussian and uniform distribution to minimize addition chains for small exponents

The purpose of this research is to minimize the length of an addition chain. Addition chains are employed to reduce the number of multiplications involved in modular exponentiation in public key cryptographic algorithms, such as RSA. Different heuristic methods have been used to optimize this length for a given exponent e. Among the main related works are: genetic algorithms (GA), evolutionary programming and particle swarm optimization. The related works based on GA have the common characteristic of using a uniform distribution to select the mutation point of a given individual in the population. The method proposed in this work includes a mutation mechanism based on a uniform and/or a Gaussian distribution within the mutation operator of the GA. For small exponents, we found experimentally that a scheme of this type generate results that are at least competitive with those produced by the state-of-the-art.
Tbx4 interacts with the short stature homeobox gene Shox2 in limb development

Background: The short stature homeodomain transcription factors SHOX and SHOX2 play key roles in limb formation. To gain more insight into genes regulated by Shox2 during limb development, we analyzed expression profiles of WT and Shox2−/− mouse embryonic limbs and identified the T‐Box transcription factor Tbx4 as a potential downstream target. Tbx4 is known to exert essential functions in skeletal and muscular hindlimb development. In humans, haploinsufficiency of TBX4 causes small patella syndrome, a skeletal dysplasia characterized by anomalies of the knee, pelvis, and foot. Results: Here, we demonstrate an inhibitory regulatory effect of Shox2 on Tbx4 specifically in the forelimbs. We also show that Tbx4 activates Shox2 expression in fore‐ and hindlimbs, suggesting Shox2 as a feedback modulator of Tbx4. Using EMSA studies, we find that Tbx4/TBX4 is able to bind to distinct T‐box binding sites within the mouse and human Shox2/SHOX2 promoter. Conclusions: Our data identifies Tbx4 as a novel transcriptional activator of Shox2 during murine fore‐ and hindlimb development. Tbx4 is also regulated by Shox2 specifically in the forelimb bud possibly via a feedback mechanism. These data extend our understanding of the role and regulation of Tbx4 and Shox2 in limb development and limb associated diseases. Developmental Dynamics 243:629–639, 2014. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Dysfunction of M2-muscarinic receptors in pulmonary parasympathetic nerves after antigen challenge.

The effect of antigen challenge on the function of neuronal M2-muscarinic autoreceptors in the lungs was studied in anesthetized guinea pigs. Guinea pigs were injected intraperitoneally with saline (control group) or ovalbumin (10 mg/kg) on days 1, 3, and 5. One group of sensitized animals was challenged on days 20-25 with aerosolized ovalbumin for 5 min/day (challenged group), while another group of the sensitized animals was not challenged (sensitized group). On day 26 the animals were anesthetized, paralyzed, tracheostomized, and artificially ventilated. Pulmonary inflation pressure (Ppi), tidal volume, blood pressure, and heart rate were recorded. Both vagus nerves were cut, and electrical stimulation of the distal portions caused bronchoconstriction (measured as an increase in Ppi) and bradycardia. In the control group, pilocarpine (1-100 micrograms/kg iv) attenuated vagally induced bronchoconstriction by stimulating inhibitory M2-muscarinic receptors on parasympathetic nerves in the lungs. Conversely, blockade of these receptors with the antagonist gallamine (0.1-10 mg/kg iv) produced a marked potentiation of vagally induced bronchoconstriction. These results confirm previous findings. In the challenged guinea pigs, pilocarpine did not inhibit vagally induced bronchoconstriction. Furthermore, gallamine did not potentiate vagally induced bronchoconstriction to the same degree as in the controls. In the group of animals that was sensitized but not challenged, the potentiation of vagally induced bronchoconstriction by gallamine was identical to the controls. There was no increase in baseline Ppi in the sensitized or challenged animals compared with the controls. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Complete Multi-partite Cutsets in Minimal Imperfect Graphs

Abstract We show that a minimal imperfect graph G cannot contain a cutset C which induces a complete multi-partite graph unless C is a stable set and G is an odd hole. This generalizes a result of Tucker, who proved that the only minimal imperfect graphs containing stable cutsets are the odd holes. It is also a special case of a conjecture of Chvatal.
Success Factors in Process Performance Management for Services -- Insights from a Multiple-Case Study

Process Performance Management (PPM) comprises the planning, monitoring, and control of process performance. Even though numerous methods and concepts for managing process performance do exist, many service companies develop their own PPM approaches and systems to monitor and control their service processes. However, they are often unaware of the factors which really are important when applying PPM. Therefore this paper aims to identify which factors are critical for the successful application of PPM for services. The findings of a multiple-case study research provide a first understanding of the causal relationships and, as a result, 'process knowledge/models' and 'information quality' appear to be important success factors of PPM for services.