Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Altered Expression of Complement Regulatory Proteins CD35, CD46, CD55, and CD59 on Leukocyte Subsets in Individuals Suffering From Coronary Artery Disease

Studies conducted in animal models have suggested that membrane complement regulatory proteins play an important role in the pathophysiology of coronary artery disease (CAD). In this study, a total of 100 individuals, with stable CAD and 100 healthy controls, both groups predominantly male, were recruited. We evaluated the plasma levels of complement regulatory proteins (Cregs) CD35, CD46, CD55, and CD59 and their surface expression on granulocytes, lymphocytes, and monocytes by flow cytometry. The mRNA expression of these Cregs in total leukocytes was determined by quantitative PCR. The soluble forms of Cregs, C3c, Mannose binding protein-associated serine protease 2 (MASP-2), Platelet activating factor-acetyl hydrolase (PAF-AH), and inflammatory cytokines were quantified by ELISA. High plasma levels of C3c, indicative of complement activation, in addition to significantly low levels of Cregs, were observed in CAD patients. A significantly lower expression of CD46 and CD55 on the surface of lymphocytes, monocytes, and granulocytes and higher surface expression of CD35 and CD59 on granulocytes (p < 0.0001) was seen in CAD patients as compared to healthy donors. The high expression of CD59 on granulocytes positively correlated with the severity of disease and may serve as a potential marker of disease progression in CAD.
Sleep Restriction Effects on BP: Systematic Review & Meta-analysis of RCTs

This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to examine the effect of sleep restriction on blood pressure (BP) among healthy adults. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) using partial sleep deprivation were included. The pooled effect size was calculated by the inverse variance method, and forest plot was used. Six studies were included (n = 10–43). Only one study obtained continuous BP readings. Overall, sleep restriction did not result in significant changes in systolic blood pressure (SBP) or diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and heart rate (HR). The respective weighted mean difference (MD) was 1.0 mmHg (95%CI, -2.3–4.2; p = 0.57), -0.4 mmHg (95%CI, -3.2–2.4; p = 0.80), and 2.0 bpm (95%CI, -2.2–6.2; p = 0.34). There is preliminary evidence suggesting that sleep restriction might affect sympathetic/parasympathetic modulation of cardiac autonomy and the inflammatory system. In this review, we did not find significant effects of sleep restriction on BP or HR measured by cross-sectional methods. More studies are warranted to confirm these findings by using continuous monitoring.
A Method for Comparable Mining from Comparative Questions

The process of comparing one thing with another thing is a typical part in human decision making process. Whenever we plan to buy a product, we usually check all the products in the market then compare the products and purchase the best one. But it is a typical task to select a single product by comparing multiple products and address a best product. In order to reduce this difficulty, we address a novel way to automatically mine comparable entities from comparative questions that users request. To ensure high precision and high recall, we develop a bootstrapping method for comparative question identification and comparable key word entity extraction. This method significantly determines the best comparative question and comparable entity to select a best product.
The impact of task difficulty on the lateralization of processing in the human auditory cortex

Perception of complex auditory stimuli like speech requires the simultaneous processing of different fundamental acoustic parameters. The contribution of left and right auditory cortex (AC) in the processing of these parameters differs. In addition, activity within the AC can vary positively or negatively with task performance depending on the type of task. This might affect the allocation of processing to the left and right AC. Here we studied with functional magnetic resonance imaging the impact of task difficulty on the degree of involvement of the left and right AC in two tasks that have previously been shown to differ in hemispheric involvement: categorization and sequential comparison of the direction of frequency modulations (FM). Task difficulty was manipulated by changing the speed of modulation and by that the frequency range covered by the FM. To study the impact of task‐difficulty despite covarying the stimulus parameters, we utilized the contralateral noise procedure that allows comparing AC activation unconfounded by bottom‐up driven activity. The easiest conditions confirmed the known right AC involvement during the categorization task and the left AC involvement during the comparison task. The involvement of the right AC increased with increasing task difficulty for both tasks presumably due to the common task component of categorizing FM direction. The involvement of left AC varied with task difficulty depending on the task. Thus, task difficulty has a strong impact on lateralized processing in AC. This connection must be taken into account when interpreting future results on lateralized processing in the AC.
New Proposed Fusion between DCT for Feature Extraction and NSVC for Face Classification

Abstract Feature extraction is an interactive and iterative analysis process of a large dataset of raw data in order to extract meaningful knowledge. In this article, we present a strong descriptor based on the Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT), we show that the new DCT-based Neighboring Support Vector Classifier (DCT-NSVC) provides a better results compared to other algorithms for supervised classification. Experiments on our real dataset named BOSS, show that the accuracy of classification has reached 99%. The application of DCT-NSVC on MIT-CBCL dataset confirms the performance of the proposed approach.
In Vitro Methods for Diagnosing Allergy and Directing Therapy

Allergy and concomitant respiratory disease present an enormous and steadily growing healthcare burden. Early and accurate diagnosis is essential for best patient care. Knowledge of specific allergen sensitization enables physicians to administer appropriate immunotherapy and helps them to educate their patients in lifestyle changes that can halt progression of allergic disease. Several testing methods are available. Skin testing and food challenge are usually performed only by trained allergists, while in vitro blood testing can be requested by any physician. In vitro testing carries fewer risks and discomfort for the patient, and has been shown to be comparable in sensitivity and specificity to skin testing. Recombinant and/or highly purified molecular antigens have improved in vitro testing specificity, and provide greater insight into the molecular basis of allergic sensitization. Component-resolved testing can help identify exact antigens responsible for allergic sensitization, identifying patients at the greatest risk for severe reaction and/or anaphylaxis.
Multifaceted Regulation of PTEN Subcellular Distributions and Biological Functions

Phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10 (PTEN) is a tumor suppressor gene frequently found to be inactivated in over 30% of human cancers. PTEN encodes a 54-kDa lipid phosphatase that serves as a gatekeeper of the phosphoinositide 3-kinase pathway involved in the promotion of multiple pro-tumorigenic phenotypes. Although the PTEN protein plays a pivotal role in carcinogenesis, cumulative evidence has implicated it as a key signaling molecule in several other diseases as well, such as diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, and autism spectrum disorders. This finding suggests that diverse cell types, especially differentiated cells, express PTEN. At the cellular level, PTEN is widely distributed in all subcellular compartments and organelles. Surprisingly, the cytoplasmic compartment, not the plasma membrane, is the predominant subcellular location of PTEN. More recently, the finding of a secreted ‘long’ isoform of PTEN and the presence of PTEN in the cell nucleus further revealed unexpected biological functions of this multifaceted molecule. At the regulatory level, PTEN activity, stability, and subcellular distribution are modulated by a fascinating array of post-translational modification events, including phosphorylation, ubiquitination, and sumoylation. Dysregulation of these regulatory mechanisms has been observed in various human diseases. In this review, we provide an up-to-date overview of the knowledge gained in the last decade on how different functional domains of PTEN regulate its biological functions, with special emphasis on its subcellular distribution. This review also highlights the findings of published studies that have reported how mutational alterations in specific PTEN domains can lead to pathogenesis in humans.
A Comparative Study of Burnout, Stress, and Resilience among Emotional Workers

Objective To investigate associations between stress, resilience, and burnout in three emotional job sectors. Methods We conducted a multi-group comparative study using structural equation modeling and latent mean analysis. In total, 806 participants (403 call center consultants, 270 mental health workers, and 133 school counselors) completed self-administered questionnaires including the Perceived Stress Scale, Korean version of the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, and Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey. Results Stress had significant direct effects on resilience and burnout, and resilience had significant direct effects on burnout in all groups. Resilience partially mediated these relationships among call center consultants and school counselors. Stress and burnout were highest in call center consultants, followed, in order, by mental health workers and school counselors. Resilience was highest in school counselors, followed, in order, by mental health workers and call center consultants. The effect size of the latent mean difference was highest for burnout, followed, in order, by resilience and stress. Conclusion Our findings suggest that stress caused by emotional labor can contribute to burnout. Interventions targeted at different sectors are needed to reduce burnout.
Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Exhibit a More Mineralized Deep Cartilage Layer Compared with Nondiabetic Controls: A Pilot Study

Objective To assess differences in biochemical composition of the deep cartilage layer in subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and nondiabetic controls using UTE (ultra-short echo time) T2* mapping and to investigate the association of vascular health and UTE T2* measurements. Design Ten subjects with T2DM matched for age, sex, and body mass index with 10 nondiabetic controls. A 3D UTE sequence with 6 echo times was acquired using 3T magnetic resonance imaging of the knee. For UTE T2* analysis, the deep cartilage layer was segmented and analyzed in 5 compartments (patella, medial, and lateral femur and tibia). The ankle brachial index (ABI) was obtained in all subjects. Linear regression analyses were used to assess associations of T2DM and UTE T2* relaxation times and the associations of ABI measurements and UTE measurements. Results Compared with nondiabetic controls, T2DM subjects had significantly lower mean T2*-UTE in the patella (mean difference 4.87 ms; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.09-8.65; P = 0.015), the lateral tibia (mean difference 2.26 ms; 95% CI 0.06-4.45; P = 0.045), and the lateral femur (mean difference 4.96 ms; 95% CI 0.19-9.73; P = 0.043). Independent of diabetic status, subjects with higher ABI values, indicating better vascular health, had higher T2*-UTE of the patella (coefficient 15.2; 95% CI 3.3-21.4; P = 0.017), the medial tibia (coefficient 9.8; 95% CI 1.0-18.6; P = 0.031), and the lateral femur (coefficient 18.8; 95% CI 3.3-34.3; P = 0.021). Conclusions T2*-UTE measurements of the deep cartilage layer were consistently lower in subjects with T2DM and in subjects with impaired vascular health, likely indicating increased mineralization of this layer.
Relation of Surface Roughness and Photo-induced Charge Trapping of Porous Si Nanowires

The porous silicon etching creates a thin layer of nanowires that enhances the absorption and reduces the reflectance of light. In this work we present porous silicon nanowires were fabricated on doublesided of n-type Si (111) wafers with 525 μm thickness using a single step metal assisted chemical etching process. Two different resistivity (Ω=50-100 cm, Ω= >3000 cm) of wafer was involved in this study with different etching time (10, 20, 30, 40 min). The properties of porous silicon structure changed with increase time of etching. The investigation of the porous silicon nanowires structure revealed that the formation of nanowires depends on the doping concentration of the wafers. We make a preliminary determination as the light trapping properties for samples with etching time 10 min for low resistivity and 20 min for high resistivity. A different mechanism of slow charge trapping was observed using Kelvin Probe measurement. We show conclusively that the charge generated at the interface charge occurs by illumination on short length of nanowires (<405nm) and low surface roughness (<35 nm) for both resistivity of the wafers. Key-Words: morphology, topography, silicon nanowires, scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, Kelvin probe
Exercise and cardiovascular load in workers with high occupational physical activity

Abstract This study investigated the association between exercise and cardiovascular load in Korean mail carriers with high occupational physical activity (OPA). A total of 36 subjects completed a questionnaire, and their heart rates were measured for 3 consecutive days. Treadmill tests were used determine maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max). The subjects’ relative heart rate (RHR) was 25.6%±4.5%, which was higher than the recommended RHR (24.5%). Daily working hours were 11.1 ± 0.9 hours, which was longer than the maximum acceptable work time (7.8 ± 1.7 hours). Multiple regression analysis showed that daily working hours were positively associated with RHR, but exercise did not show any significant association. According to the results of this study, exercise may not be of benefit to workers with high OPA, suggesting that exercise should be cautiously considered for workers with high OPA.
Microsurgical Breast Reconstruction in the Obese: A Better Option Than Tissue Expander/Implant Reconstruction?

BACKGROUND Obesity has reached epidemic proportions, with 72 million people in the United States classified as obese in 2010. This significant increase in obese patients is reflected in the breast cancer population seeking breast reconstruction. Previous studies demonstrated increased complication rates and decreased satisfaction in obese patients undergoing breast reconstruction. This study aims to directly compare prosthetic and autologous reconstruction in the obese population by evaluating surgical outcomes and patient satisfaction. METHODS In an institutional review board-approved study, a retrospective chart review was conducted on patients with a body mass index of 30.0 kg/m or greater who underwent breast cancer reconstruction after mastectomy with either free tissue transfer from the abdomen or prosthetic reconstruction over a 3-year period. The authors identified 96 patients with 141 reconstructions. Demographic, intraoperative, and postoperative variables were collected. All patients were sent the BREAST-Q questionnaire by means of mail to study the impact and effectiveness of breast surgery from the patient's perspective. Statistical analysis was completed with Fisher's exact test, Mantel-Haenszel chi-square test, Pearson chi square test, or Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon test. RESULTS Prosthetic-based breast reconstruction was associated with increased major breast complications (p < 0.001), mastectomy skin flap necrosis (p = 0.009), infection (0.006), and overall reconstructive failure (p < 0.0001) compared with autologous reconstruction. When evaluating the results of the BREAST-Q studies, the autologous reconstruction group had improved satisfaction with breasts (p < 0.0001), satisfaction with outcome (p = 0.01), psychosocial well-being (p = 0.007), and sexual well-being (p = 0.006). CONCLUSION In the obese population, reconstruction with free tissue transfer from the abdomen resulted in decreased complications of the breast reconstruction site and improved patient satisfaction with outcomes compared with prosthetic reconstruction. CLINICAL QUESTION/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Therapeutic, III.
Stimuli-Responsive Lyotropic Liquid Crystalline Nanosystems with Incorporated Poly(2-Dimethylamino Ethyl Methacrylate)-b-Poly(Lauryl Methacrylate) Amphiphilic Block Copolymer

There is an emerging need to evolve the conventional lyotropic liquid crystalline nanoparticles to advanced stimuli-responsive, therapeutic nanosystems with upgraded functionality. Towards this effort, typically used stabilizers, such as Pluronics®, can be combined or replaced by smart, stimuli-responsive block copolymers. The aim of this study is to incorporate the stimuli-responsive amphiphilic block copolymer poly(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate)-b-poly(lauryl methacrylate) (PDMAEMA-b-PLMA) as a stabilizer in lipidic liquid crystalline nanoparticles, in order to provide steric stabilization and simultaneous stimuli-responsiveness. The physicochemical and morphological characteristics of the prepared nanosystems were investigated by light scattering techniques, cryogenic-transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and fluorescence spectroscopy. The PDMAEMA-b-PLMA, either individually or combined with Poloxamer 407, exhibited different modes of stabilization depending on the lipid used. Due to the protonation ability of PDMAEMA blocks in acidic pH, the nanoparticles exhibited high positive charge, as well as pH-responsive charge conversion, which can be exploited towards pharmaceutical applications. The ionic strength, temperature and serum proteins influenced the physicochemical behavior of the nanoparticles, while the polymer concentration differentiated their morphology; their micropolarity and microfluidity were also evaluated. The proposed liquid crystalline nanosystems can be considered as novel and attractive pH-responsive drug and gene delivery nanocarriers due to their polycationic content.
MOLDRAW: Molecular graphics on a personal computer

MOLDRAW is a simple and easy to learn molecular graphics program running on personal computers, which allows drawing and manipulation of any molecular structure. In this article the program functions and examples of its application are presented. The user-friendly interface and the simple but powerful underlying logic are the main reasons for the widespread diffusion of MOLDRAW in the crystallographic and chemical community
Revealing Protected Malware Behaviors Using Optimized Binary Analysis

Binary analysis finds loop holes /vulnerabilities and defects in binary code such executables or deployed applications, so that one can analyze third party applications or libraries without the need to their application's source code. But these analytics fail In case of binary file obfuscations which happen to be the current trend of new generation malwares and prior implementations all fail in handling them. Although a new approach using CipherXRay prototype has satisfactory workarounds to handle such malware binary obfuscations its ability is contained to block cipher operations only. So we propose to extend its capability to support stream ciphers using a key scheduling algorithm and assess and acquires internal state information of obfuscated binary file to reveal stream ciphers that can be useful for binary analytics. Combined with Key scheduling for stream ciphers, CipherXRay attains the ability to scan through a binary file that is obfuscated using either a stream or blocked cipher. And this sort of early detections prevents the propagation of malware and a demonstrational prototype validates our claim.
Mechatronische Systeme

Integrierte mechanisch-elektronische Systeme entstehen durch eine geeignete Kombination von Mechanik, Elektronik und Informationsverarbeitung. Dabei beeinflussen sich diese Bereiche wechselseitig. Man beobachtet zunächst eine Verlagerung von Funktionen der Mechanik zur Elektronik, dann die Hinzunahme von erweiterten und neuen Funktionen. Schließlich entwickeln sich Systeme mit gewissen intelligenten bzw. autonomen Eigenschaften. Für dieses Gebiet der integrierten mechanisch-elektronischen Systeme wird seit einigen Jahren der Begriff ,,Mechatronik" verwendet. Im folgenden wird zunächst die Entwicklung vom mechanischen zum mechatronischen System beschrieben. Es ergeben sich mehrere Aufgabenstellungen, verschiedene Integrationsformen von Prozeß und Elektronik und verschiedene Arten der Informationsverarbeitung. Hierzu sind auch die Entwicklungen bei der Sensorik, Aktorik und der Mikroelektronik von grundsätzlicher Bedeutung. Die einzelnen Entwurfsschritte mechatronischer Systeme werden zusammengefaßt und einige-Entwurfswerkzeuge zitiert. Schließlich wird noch ein Ausblick auf mikromechatronische Systeme gegeben.
Metatranscriptomic and metabolite profiling reveals vertical heterogeneity within a Zygnema green algal mat from Svalbard (High Arctic)

Summary Within streptophyte green algae Zygnematophyceae are the sister group to the land plants that inherited several traits conferring stress protection. Zygnema sp. , a mat‐forming alga thriving in extreme habitats, was collected from a field site in Svalbard, where the bottom layers are protected by the top layers. The two layers were investigated by a metatranscriptomic approach and GC–MS‐based metabolite profiling. In the top layer, 6569 genes were significantly upregulated and 149 were downregulated. Upregulated genes coded for components of the photosynthetic apparatus, chlorophyll synthesis, early light‐inducible proteins, cell wall and carbohydrate metabolism, including starch‐degrading enzymes. An increase in maltose in the top layer and degraded starch grains at the ultrastructural levels corroborated these findings. Genes involved in amino acid, redox metabolism and DNA repair were upregulated. A total of 29 differentially accumulated metabolites (out of 173 identified ones) confirmed higher metabolic turnover in the top layer. For several of these metabolites, differential accumulation matched the transcriptional changes of enzymes involved in associated pathways. In summary, the findings support the hypothesis that in a Zygnema mat the top layer shields the bottom layers from abiotic stress factors such as excessive irradiation.