Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Protein Malnutrition and Brain Development

Malnutrition is one of the major factors affecting brain development. In particular, protein malnutrition can result in abnormal development with behavioral consequences. Protein malnutrition reduces brain size, dendritic arborization and cell maturation. In addition, perinatal low protein diet produces changes on neurotransmitters and oxidative status of the brain. As a consequence, failure in normal development produces social and behavioral disabilities that persist during the adult life. The duration and point of onset of dietary restriction is important to comprehend the detrimental effects of low protein diet on brain function. Although during last decades a lot of effort has been done to understand the long lasting effects of perinatal malnutrition, several questions are still unsolved. The present review is focused on neuroanatomical, neurochemical and functional changes observed in rodent models of perinatal malnutrition as well as the future directions of the field.
Tumor-Associated Antigens in Rheumatoid Arthritis Interstitial Lung Disease or Malignancy?

Objectives This study aims to evaluate the serum tumor-associated antigen levels and the possible association between these markers and interstitial lung disease (ILD) or malignancy in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. Patients and methods The study included 83 RA patients (20 males, 63 females; mean age 59.3±12.1 years; range 25 to 83 years), 43 with ILD (13 males, 30 females; mean age 60.1±11.5 years; range 25 to 83 years) and 40 without ILD (7 males, 33 females; mean age 58.5±12.7 years; range 28 to 78 years). Clinical symptoms, pulmonary function test, chest X-ray, and high-resolution computed tomography were used for the diagnosis of ILD. Age, sex, history of smoking, acute-phase reactants, rheumatoid factor, anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide, carcinoembryonic antigen, cancer antigen (CA) 15-3, CA 125, and CA 19-9 were evaluated. The relationship between parameters in RA patients with/without ILD was assessed by t-test and Mann-Whitney U test. Results Five RA patients (11.6%) with ILD had carcinoembryonic antigen levels above the upper limit. The numbers of RA-ILD patients with above the upper limit of CA 19-9, CA 15-3, and CA 125 levels were 10 (23.2%), 13 (30.2%), and five (11.6%), respectively. Rates of RA patients without ILD with tumor-associated antigens exceeding the upper limit were 15% for carcinoembryonic antigen, 2.5% for CA 19-9, 7.5% for CA 15-3, and 7.5% for CA 125. No evidence of any malignancy was detected by medical history, physical examination, and laboratory and imaging methods in patients who had high levels of serum tumor-associated antigen. CA 15-3 (p=0.001), CA 125 (p=0.040), and CA 19-9 (p=0.018) levels were statistically significantly different in RA patients with ILD compared to those without ILD. Rheumatoid factor, anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide, and tumor-associated antigens were higher in RA patients with ILD than those without ILD. Conclusion There is a relationship between ILD and tumor marker levels in connective tissue diseases. Elevated tumor markers may not be associated with hidden tumor or malignancy in RA patients. These antigens may be used as predictive biomarkers particularly in RA patients with ILD.
Head Losses in Junction Manholes for Free Surface Flows in Circular Conduits

Former studies on combining flows resulted in an efficient layout of sewer junctions operated under supercritical approach flow conditions. Straight extensions allowed a reduction in the shock wave heights generated by the merging flows, so that the global discharge capacity was significantly increased. Herein, an extensive experimental campaign is presented on a physical model with the aforementioned layout, although with generalized geometrical conditions now including various conduit diameters. The effects of the main parameters governing the energy losses for combining flows were ascertained to enhance the information available from the literature. The results and their analysis provide a basis for the prediction of energy losses at junction manholes with different upstream and lateral conduit diameters and various flow conditions.
Re–Os isotopic study of komatiitic volcanism and magmatic sulfide formation in the Southern Abitibi Greenstone Belt, Ontario, Canada

We have investigated the Re–Os isotope geochemistry of 2.7-Ga metakomatiitic flows and associated Ni–Cu sulfide deposits from Alexo, Texmont and Hart in the Abitibi greenstone belt of Ontario in order to refine the thermal erosion model and evaluat e the superimposed effects of metamorphism and hydrothermal alteration on ore environments and non-ore environments. Although the geochemical characteristics of these komatiites have led to the belief that these lavas were uncontaminated, radioge nic Os isotopic compositions (Os = +20.2 and +33.2) obtained from well-preserved komatiites and olivine separates suggest that the Alexo flow has been contaminated by crust-derived material. These data are compatible with the trace-element enrichment observed in melt inclusions trapped within olivine. Redistribution of Os and Re did occur at least at the mineral scale and most likely during the Grenville orogeny. Hydrothermal fluids were channeled along the contact between the komatiites and their basement, and were responsible for the remobilization of Re or Os (or both) within the sulfides at Alexo and Hart. Matrix and disseminate d sulfides from Texmont are located within the pile of cumulates and seem to have escaped this localized alteration. Although the Abitibi sulfides have experienced various degrees of metamorphism (from prehnite–pumpellyite to low amphibolite facies), the initial Re–Os isotopic composition of the flows appears to have been preserved at the whole-rock scale. Re–Os isotopic heterogeneity of the Abitibi sulfides is best explained by variable R-factor of the sulfides. Re and Os concentrations and Os isotopic heterogeneity of the Abitibi sulfides are consistent with the current model of nickel sulfide formation, which implies that the assimilation of sulfidic sedimentary rocks was the trigger for sulfide saturation.
Developmental Insights into Osteoarthritis Increase the Applicability of New Animal Models

Osteoarthritis (OA) is an increasingly common degenerative joint condition, estimated to affect more than 100 million people worldwide and more than 40% of people over 70 years of age. There is currently no pharmacological cure. The genetic contribution to osteoarthritis is estimated at between 39 and 60% in knee and hip OA respectively and a number of Genome Wide association studies have identified a number of alleles and loci that confer increased susceptibility to OA. In the last few years a number of key studies have demonstrated that genes known to play a role in the normal skeletal developmental processes of endochondral ossification, chondrocyte hypertrophy and joint formation are reactivated during osteoarthritis progression. Significantly, in some cases modification of these developmental genes can modulate osteoarthritis severity. The high levels of genetic contribution make osteoarthritis an ideal target for both forward genetic screening efforts focused on identifying novel genes involved in chondrocyte differentiation and hypertrophy, which are likely to be involved in osteoarthritis progression and reverse genetics focused on modulation of genes involved in developmental skeletogenesis in later life. The functional study of genes associated with aging can be problematic in part because of the limited availability of animal models and the high costs associated with keeping aged animals. Therefore, the developmental aspect opens up the prospect of using chemical screens, such as those commonly performed in the zebrafish and frogs, to identify potential pharmaceutical modifiers of disease phenotypes. Here, we explore the current models for OA and compare genes, including mechanosensitive genes, involved in developmental joint formation and osteoarthritis.
Isokinetic Assessment of Muscle Imbalances and Bilateral Differences between Knee Extensores and Flexores' Strength in Basketball, Footbal, Handball and Volleyball Athletes

The imbalance of muscle strength indicators is harmful for elite sport and, in case of significant asymmetries, it increases the probability of muscular injuries or the deterioration of the athletic performance. So it's essential the evaluation of these imbalances in Handball, Basketball, Soccer and Volleyball athletes'. Objective: The aim of this study was to verify the existence of Isokinetic muscle imbalances in the profile of professional athletes from various modalities and examine their relationship with the sport practiced. Design: Through an observational, analytical and cross study were evaluated 86 athletes (Handball=14; Basketball=27; Football=25; Volleyball=20) using an isokinetic dynamometer Biodex Medical System 4 ®. The evaluated parameters were the Bilateral Differences and Hamstrings/Quadriceps Ratio at angular velocities of 60 °/s (4 repetitions) and 180 °/s (6 repetitions). Results: The Bilateral Differences (found) between the lower limbs are within the respected normal values (<10%). The Hamstrings / Quadriceps Ratio were higher in Football athletes and were lower in Volleyball athletes comparatively to other modalities. Conclusion: However, the motor skills of each sport do not seem to induce to significant muscular imbalances but each sport requires a specific isokinetic profile.
Multivariate Nonparametric Tests of Independence

New test statistics are proposed for testing whether two random vectors are independent. Gieser and Randles, as well as Taskinen, Kankainen, and Oja have introduced and discussed multivariate extensions of the quadrant test of Blomqvist. This article serves as a sequel to this work and presents new multivariate extensions of Kendall's tau and Spearman's rho statistics. Two different approaches are discussed. First, interdirection proportions are used to estimate the cosines of angles between centered observation vectors and between differences of observation vectors. Second, covariances between affine-equivariant multivariate signs and ranks are used. The test statistics arising from these two approaches appear to be asymptotically equivalent if each vector is elliptically symmetric. The spatial sign versions are easy to compute for data in common dimensions, and they provide practical, robust alternatives to normal-theory methods. Asymptotic theory is developed to approximate the finite-sample null distributions as well, as to calculate limiting Pitman efficiencies. Small-sample null permutation distributions are also described. A simple simulation study is used to compare the proposed tests with the classical Wilks test. Finally, the theory is illustrated by an example.
AN OVERVIEW OF ISOLATION IMPROVEMENT TECHNIQUES IN RF SWITCH

In this paper, five techniques to improve isolation of RF switch are reviewed which are material with fabrication process design, circuit design, resonant circuit, transmission line and resonator. Most of these isolation improvement techniques are applied in RF switch designs such as single pole single throw (SPST) and single pole multi throw (SPMT). Several solid-state devices are used for switching element such as PIN diode, MEMS, FET, HBT and HEMT. They are commonly used in satelite communication, radar system, instrumentation and base station applications.
IMPLICATIONS OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE : THE CHALLENGE OF CHANGE

Economic value additions to knowledge and demand provide practical, embedded and extensible meaning to philosophizing cognitive systems. Evaluation of a cognitive system is an empirical matter. Thinking of science in terms of distributed cognition (interactionism) enlarges the domain of cognition. Anything that actually contributes to the specific quality of output of a cognitive system is part of the system in time and/or space. Cognitive science studies behavior and knowledge structures of experts and categorized structures based on underlying structures. Knowledge representation through understanding of ‘epistemic cultures’ is an evolutionary stage. But cognition goes beyond knowledge representation. Notwithstanding the importance of epistemology of phenomena, the practicability cum philosophical aspects of machine learning needs to be seen in dynamic behavior in socio-economic-technical value additions if human machine interaction processes that are context specific are incorporated into Strong Artificial Intelligent Systems. Cognitive Science is also studied both from computational and biological angles. Evolution of interactive forms of reasoning through understanding of meta-language of computations or biological learning processes is possible. But the limitation of historical cultures predefines the role of interactive processes in user-networks beyond technology networks. Despite this limitation, inclusive development notions of a heterogeneous national society like India or Europe can be tested and incorporated. (201 words)
Theoretical examination of long-range energy propagation in nano-engineered light-harvesting antenna arrays

Excitation energy transport in a biomimetic molecular nanoarray constructed from LH2 antenna complexes is investigated by a master equation approach including the effect of coherent hopping. Calculated stationary and transient fluorescence signals upon incidence of a diffraction-limited light pulse are compared with measurements. Energy transport was established from the influence of active energy-guiding layers on the observed fluorescence emission. Energy migration occurs as a result of efficient coupling between many hundreds of LH2 complexes. We obtain an analytical expression of stationary fluorescence distribution solving the master equations of the system. The time-dependent fluorescence intensity is derived using the same formalism. The numerical results show a reasonable consistency with the experimental result in the engineered nanoarray of LH2 complexes. In addition, our results show that quantum coherence mechanism is necessary to explain the long distance energy transport. These results demon.
In Vitro Hypoxic Preconditioning of Bone Marrow Stromal Cells Triggers ERK-Mediated Signaling and Growth of L 363 Myeloma Cells

Multiple myeloma (MM) remains incurable, therefore th nature of events linked to disease progression still needs to be deciphered. Objective: We sought to investigate whether hypoxia [low oxyg en (O2) pressure] and bone marrow (BM) stroma, well-documented factors wi th substantial role in tumor maintenance, can funct ionally mimic myeloma microenvironment in vitro. Materials and methods: L363 MM cells were cultured for 24/72 hours under different settings. Normoxia (21% O 2), extreme (1.5% O 2) and moderate (6.2% O 2) hypoxia and BM stromal cells were tested for their impact on L363 cell viability, proliferation and intracellular pho spho(p)-ERK expression, either individually, or in combination. All parameters under study were analyzed by flow c ytometry and compared to standard L363 cultures (no stroma, no hypoxia). Results: When used as independent factors, neither hypoxia, nor the presence of BM stroma sign ificantly affected the viability, proliferation or expression level of p-ERK in L363 cell cultures (24 hours). Ne vertheless, when combined, the viability of L363 ce lls was restored to the levels recorded in paired standard cu ltures, proliferation significantly accelerated (p= 0.0083), and p-ERK expression significantly augmented (p=0.014). This last effect was observed only when moderate h ypoxia was used in combination with BM stroma. Our finding s suggest that hypoxic preconditioning activate the bone marrow stroma and consequently enhance L363 cell gr owth through ERK-mediated intracellular signaling. Conclusion: Suitable combination of culture settings provided substantial growth benefits to MM cells in our stud y. Hypoxic conditions bring about an indirect magnifyi ng growth signal to L363 cells by promoting a stimu latory stromal microenvironment.
An old man with swollen right leg

A 72-year-old man with a history of hypertension presented to the emergency department with increasing swelling and redness of right lower limb for one week. He had a gradually growing mass over right inguinal area for six months. We arranged computed tomography (CT) scans and revealed diffuse enlarged lymph nodes in para-aortic region, right iliac chain (especially right external iliac chain) and right inguinal region, accompanied with right leg swelling and subcutaneous stranding. The Ga-67 citrate whole body scan showed lymphoma involving the right iliac chain and right inguinal regions. Peripheral venous ultrasound revealed external compression over the proximal iliac veins without venous thrombosis. The diagnosis of a diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) with lymphedema was confirmed by bone marrow biopsy. He tolerated the chemotherapy well and discharged in good condition one week later. *Correspondence to: Yu-Jang Su, MD, Department of Emergency Medicine, Mackay Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan and Department of Oral Hygiene, College of Oral Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan, E-mail: yjsu.5885@mmh.org. tw
A collagen-binding protein produced by A erom onas h ydrop hila

The gastrointestinal pathogen Aeromonas hydrophila strain A186 produces a collagenbinding protein (CNBP) which is found extracellularly and loosely associated with the cell surface. The cell-associated CNBP was purified by sequential ammonium sulphate precipitation, size-exclusion chromatography and ion-exchange chromatography, or by sequential ammonium sulphate precipitation and affinity chromatography with collagenSepharose. The purified CNBP was homogeneous in SDS-PAGE, and had a mol.wt of c. 98 kDa. Cyanogen bromide cleavage of the CNBP destroyed collagen-binding activity; however, enzymic digestion with Staphylococcus aureus V8 protease generated > 10 polypeptide fragments, from which a 30-kDa polypeptide contained the strongest collagen-binding activity. Binding of collagen by the CNBP was restricted to the a1 (I) chain of the collagen molecule and binding seemed to involve both the carbohydrate moieties and certain peptide sequences on the collagen. Collagen-saccharides generated by alkaline hydrolysis inhibited collagen binding by A. hydrophila. Also, glycosidase digestion and chemical alteration of the carbohydrate residues of collagen reduced its ability to be bound by the CNBP. Collagen-homologous synthetic peptides inhibited binding of 1251-collagen by the bacteria.
Chapter 9 Piezoelectric Materials in RF Applications

The development of several types of mobile objects requires new devices, such as high‐performance filters, microelectromechanical systems and other components. Pie‐ zoelectric materials are crucial to reach the expected performance of mobile objects because they exhibit high quality factors and sharp resonance and some of them are compatible with collective manufacturing technologies. We reviewed the main piezo‐ electric materials that can be used for radio frequency (RF) applications and herein report data on some devices. The modelling of piezoelectric plates and structures in the context of electronic circuits is presented. Among RF devices, filters are the most critical as the piezoelectric material must operate at RF frequencies. The main filter structures and characterisation methods, in accordance with such operating condi‐ tions as high frequencies and high power, are also discussed.
Fall 1997 Optimization Analysis of the U . S . Aggregate Consumption : A Goodness-ofFit Approach

ThIS paper exammes the hypothesIs of optlmlzmg behavIOr of the U S. consumers usmg quarterly and seasonally adjusted senes on real consumer expenditures on eIght commodIty groups. clothIng, durable goods, energy, food, hOUSIng, medIcal care, transportatIon, and other~ for the perIod of 1947 I through 1993 I. FolloWIng the Weak AXIom of Revealed Preference (W ARP), a money-metnc utIlIty functIon is derIved to calculate an effIcIency mdex to determme the percentage dIfference between the obscl ved cost of consumptIon and the optImum cost of consumption m each penod of the sample The empmcal resulb provide eVidence that the allocativc effiCIency 111 the U S ha~ improved only slIghtly due to the wave of deregulatlom m the early 1980s. Our results are COTI5lstent with the predIctIOns of the general theory of second best m showmg that gams In the allocattve effiCiency may be mll1lmal a~ long as many sectors of the economy remam partially or totally regulated
Type I Diabetes and the Role of Inflammatory-Related Cellular Signaling

Type 1 (T1DM) proceeds from a complete absence of insulin due to an autoimmuneassociated degradation of the insulin-secreting pancreatic ┚-cell. An islet autoimmune response seems to be regulated by the T-helper lymphocyte and its cytokine products including IL-2, IFN-┛, and TNF-┚, causing a cascade of inflammatory processes, known as insulitis and consequently gradual ┚-cell degradation (Rabinovitch and Suarez-Pinzon 2003). Therefore, T1DM etiology follows two stages. First, insulitis appears when various leukocytes attack the pancreas islets. Second, diabetes develops when most ┚-cells have been degraded, and there is no longer adequate insulin secretion to regulate blood glucose levels, leading to hyperglycemia (Mathis, Vence et al. 2001). Chronic hyperglycemia is believed to cause insulin resistance in T1DM (Patti, Maffettone et al. 1999). Thus, people can have concealed insulitis for years before it finally induces overt diabetes. Although most of diabetic patients suffer from T2DM, compelling evidence demonstrated that a proportion of people initially diagnosed with T2DM may in fact have a gradually progressing and less severe category of T1DM (Bell and Polonsky 2001). People affected by T1DM are constrained to insulin administration on a regular basis either through injections, pumps, or by inhalation. Outwardly, T1DM patients appear predominantly healthy; however failure to adhere to the appropriate treatment to effectively control blood glucose levels could lead to increased fatigue, neuropathies and long-term organ damages. The consequences of the autoimmunological destruction of pancreatic ┚-cells are clear, the causes are not, and the identification of the environmental factors that induce this destruction in genetically susceptible children, adolescents, and even adults still eludes us (Mathis, Vence et al. 2001).