Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Obesogenic environments – aspects on measurement and indicators

Abstract Background The focus in understanding the causes of and preventing obesity has broadened from the individual level to include the obesogenic environment. Proving a causal relationship between environmental factors and eating patterns poses a great challenge because randomised controlled trials are seldom possible or feasible to conduct. Interactions between the environment and individuals are beginning to be explored in multilevel studies and qualitative and sociological research. Aim The aim is to give an overview of the wider environmental determinants of diet such as the national food supply, food availability and accessibility in different settings as well as the economic food environment and in relation to socio-economic status. Results The indicators suggested are based on the amount of data available in the scientific literature and the potential for intervention. They can be used to monitor societal interventions or evaluate ‘natural’ changes in the food environment. The indicators are of relevance to the Second WHO European Action Plan for Food and Nutrition Policy 2007–2012. Conclusion The relatively weak empirical evidence does not imply the absence of causal relationships between environmental factors and diet. Potentially relevant factors have not been evaluated due to the complexity of the task and to lack of political will to change the food environment in a more healthy direction by use of legislation or economic instruments. Future intervention research, targeting the wider environmental determinants of diet, will give us better evidence to propose societal actions to counteract obesity and to strike the right balance between individual and societal action.
1-Deoxy-d-xylulose-5-phosphate Synthase, a Limiting Enzyme for Plastidic Isoprenoid Biosynthesis in Plants*

The initial step of the plastidic 2C-methyl-d-erythritol 4-phosphate (MEP) pathway that produces isopentenyl diphosphate is catalyzed by 1-deoxy-d-xylulose-5-phosphate synthase. To investigate whether or not 1-deoxy-d-xylulose-5-phosphate synthase catalyzes a limiting step in the MEP pathway in plants, we produced transgenic Arabidopsis plants that over- or underexpress this enzyme. Compared with non-transgenic wild-type plants, the transgenic plants accumulate different levels of various isoprenoids such as chlorophylls, tocopherols, carotenoids, abscisic acid, and gibberellins. Phenotypically, the transgenic plants had slight alterations in growth and germination rates. Because the levels of several plastidic isoprenoids correlate with changes in 1-deoxy-d-xylulose-5-phosphate synthase levels, we conclude that this enzyme catalyzes one of the rate-limiting steps of the MEP biosynthetic pathway. Furthermore, since the product of the MEP pathway is isopentenyl diphosphate, our results suggest that in plastids the pool of isopentenyl diphosphate is limiting to isprenoid production.
Observer-based robust H/sub /spl infin// control for fuzzy systems using two-step procedure

This paper investigates both robust H/sub /spl infin// analysis and synthesis problems involving observer-based fuzzy control via linear matrix inequality methods for which efficient optimization techniques are available. The observer and controller are capable of disturbance-rejection in the presence of unknown but bounded disturbance. We present results in a unified fashion applicable to both continuous- and discrete-time problems with or without uncertainty. Finally, the validity and applicability of the approach are demonstrated by examples.
UvA-DARE (Digital Academic Repository) Multi-emotion detection in user-generated reviews

Expressions of emotion abound in user-generated content, whether it be in blogs, reviews, or on social media. Much work has been devoted to detecting and classifying these emotions, but little of it has acknowledged the fact that emotionally charged text may express multiple emotions at the same time. We describe a new dataset of user-generated movie reviews annotated for emotional expressions, and experimentally validate two algorithms that can detect multiple emotions in each sentence of these reviews.
O quanto podemos exigir das unidades motoras nas doenças neuromusculares

*Programa de Mestrado em Ciências Aplicadas à Saúde, Universidade Severino Sombra, Vassouras/RJ e Ciências da Reabilitação, UNISUAM/RJ, **Instituto Federal do Rio de Janeiro, IFRJ, ***Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, ****Universidade do Rio de Janeiro UNIRIO, *****Departamento de Doenças Neuromusculares da Universidade Federal de São Paulo, ******Departamento de Fisioterapia da Universidade Federal do Piaui, *******Departamento de Neurologia da Universidade Federal Fluminense
Interleukin‐10 expressed at early tumour sites induces subsequent generation of CD4+ T‐regulatory cells and systemic collapse of antitumour immunity

We investigated the relationship between transforming growth factor‐β (TGF‐β)‐secreting T‐regulatory (Tr) cells and anti‐B16 melanoma immunity, and studied the association of early cytokines expressed at tumour sites with the generation of Tr cells. A large number of CD4+ Tr cells producing interleukin (IL)‐4, IL‐10 and TGF‐β accumulated with functionally depressed CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) at tumour sites on day 20 after subcutaneous (s.c.) inoculation of B16 tumour cells. Tr cells consisted of two populations, which were termed T helper 3 (Th3) and Tr1 cells. B16‐infiltrating Tr cells strongly inhibited the generation of B16‐specific T helper 1 (Th1) cells in a TGF‐β‐dependent manner and were assumed to suppress effective generation of CTLs. In addition, B16 cells markedly progressed in mice transferred adoptively by the cultured B16‐infiltrating Tr cells compared with untreated mice. The capacity of these Tr cells to produce TGF‐β was hampered by neutralizing anti‐IL‐10 and partly anti‐IL‐4 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) injected intralesionally during the early development of B16 tumours, and this treatment markedly attenuated B16 growth. Furthermore, a lesional injection of recombinant mouse IL‐10 at an early tumour site resulted in the vigorous progression of B16 tumours. These results provide evidence that Tr cells, belonging to the T helper 3/T‐regulatory 1 (Th3/Tr1) type, are activated in B16‐bearing hosts under the influence of T helper 2 (Th2) cytokines, mainly IL‐10 (produced at early tumour lesions), and that this regulatory T‐cell population functions as a suppressor of anti‐B16 immunity.
Survival benefit of nephrologic care in patients with diabetes mellitus and chronic kidney disease.

BACKGROUND The association of nephrologic care and survival in patients with diabetes mellitus and chronic kidney disease is unknown. METHODS Using data from 1997 to 2000, we conducted a retrospective cohort study of Veterans Health Administration clinic users having diabetes mellitus and stage 3 or 4 chronic kidney disease. The baseline period was 12 months and median follow-up was 19.3 months. Degree of consistency of visits to a nephrologist, defined as the number of calendar quarters in which there was 1 visit or more (range, 0-4 quarters), and covariates were calculated from the baseline period. The outcome measure was dialysis-free death. RESULTS Of 39,031 patients, 70.0%, 22.4%, and 7.6% had early stage 3, late stage 3, and stage 4 chronic kidney disease, respectively, and 3.1%, 9.5%, and 28.2%, respectively, visited a nephrologist. Dialysis-free mortality rates were 9.6, 14.1, and 19.4, respectively, per 100 person-years. More calendar quarters with visits to a nephrologist were associated with lower mortality: adjusted hazard ratios were 0.80 (95% confidence interval, 0.67-0.97), 0.68 (95% confidence interval, 0.55-0.86), and 0.45 (95% confidence interval, 0.32-0.63), respectively, when the groups having 2, 3, and 4 visits were compared with those who had no visits. One visit only was not associated with a difference in mortality when compared with no visits (adjusted hazard ratio,1.02; 95% confidence interval, 0.89-1.16). CONCLUSIONS The consistency of outpatient nephrologic care was independently associated in a graded fashion with lower risk of deaths in patients with diabetes and moderately severe to severe chronic kidney disease. However, only a minority of patients had any visits to a nephrologist.
HeyL promotes neuronal differentiation of neural progenitor cells

Members of the Hes and Hey families of basic helix‐loop‐helix transcription factors are regarded as Notch target genes that generally inhibit neuronal differentiation of neural progenitor cells. We found that HeyL, contrary to the classic function of Hes and Hey factors, promotes neuronal differentiation of neural progenitor cells both in culture and in the embryonic brain in vivo. Furthermore, null mutation of HeyL decreased the rate of neuronal differentiation of cultured neural progenitor cells. HeyL binds to and activates the promoter of the proneural gene neurogenin2, which is inhibited by other Hes and Hey family members, and HeyL is a weak inhibitor of the Hes1 promoter. HeyL is able to bind other Hes and Hey family members, but it cannot bind the Groucho/Tle1 transcriptional corepressor, which mediates the inhibitory effects of the Hes family of factors. Furthermore, although HeyL expression is only weakly augmented by Notch signaling, we found that bone morphogenic protein signaling increases HeyL expression by neural progenitor cells. These observations suggest that HeyL promotes neuronal differentiation of neural progenitor cells by activating proneural genes and by inhibiting the actions of other Hes and Hey family members. ©2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Mekansal İktisat ve Mekansal Kompleksite Üzerine Bir Değerlendirme

Bu calismanin amaci, mekansal iktisada yeni ekonomik cografya yaklasimi ve mekansal kompleksite yaklasimi ile bir bakis sunmaktir. Bu kapsamda mekansal etilesimlere ve kendi kendine organize olmaya bagli toplasma sureci ve kendi kendine organizasyon yaratan modeller ele alinmaktadir. Ayrica mekansal iktisatta teorik ve ampirik arastirma yontemleri ile karsilasilan baslica zorluklar tartisilmaktadir.
Managing Casual Spoken Dialogue Using Flexible Schemas , Pattern Transduction Trees , and Gist Clauses

We describe an approach to managing casual spoken dialogues in a virtual human dialogue partner, designed to enable the user to practice basic dialogue skills. We use script-like schemas to loosely guide the dialogue, where the steps of a schema are specified in a declarative language that allows for both explicit and abstract description of speech acts. The steps become particularized and can be added to or omitted as the dialogue proceeds. Internally, the dialogue manager casts its own contributions and those of the user as gist clauses – simple, explicit, context-independent versions of what was actually said. Both gist clause computation, and generation of responses, is enabled by hierarchical pattern transduction. These methods show promise in the implementations we have so far developed.
Chapter 3 Special Considerations in Asian Knee Arthroplasty

Human body is a unique correlation between anatomy and physiology. It is mandatory to have adequate knowledge on this issue former to perform any kind of surgery. As in all parts of human body, there are several variations in human knee concerning middle-eastern and Asian ethnicity, which should be considered for performing total knee arthroplasty among these races. These differences involve both in anatomical and physiological features, causing variations in a wide spectrum from metabolic syndromes to morphology of knee components.
"Eye Array" Sound Source Localization

In this paper we present a novel signal processing algorithm and array for sound source localization in an enclosed area. This method, which has some similarity to the human eye structure, consists of a novel hemispherical microphone array with microphones on the shell and one microphone in the sphere center. A signal processing scheme utilizes parallel creation of a special closeness functions for each microphone direction on the shell in the time domain. By choosing microphone directions corresponding to the highest closeness function values and implementing a linear weighted spatial averaging on those directions we estimate the sound source direction.
Relative radiosensitivity of different phases in the life cycle of L-P59 mouse fibroblasts and ascites tumor cells.

The radiosensitivity of different stages in the life cycle of mouse L cells growing in vitro, and mouse ascites tumor cells growing both in vivo and in vitro, was determined by analyzing the cells for chromosomal damage at anaphase during the first division postirradiation. For the L cells the effect of irradiation on different stages of the life cycle was also studied in terms of cell multiplication and mitotic delay. Data are presented graphically. (auth)
Opportunistic jammer selection for secure degrees of freedom

In this paper, we propose two opportunistic jammer selection schemes for secure communications aided by jammers using the concept of interference alignment. Because jamming signals are interference to both a legitimate receiver and a eavesdropper, the legitimate receiver selects two jammers whose jamming signals are the most aligned in a small dimensional subspace. The alignment is measured by either interference-to-noise ratio (INR) or chordal distance for the opportunistic jammer selection. We find the achievable secure degrees of freedom (DoF) by the proposed jammer selection schemes when the number of jammers goes to infinity and find the computational complexity of each scheme.
Clear Visual Separation of Temporal Event Sequences

Extracting and visualizing informative insights from temporal event sequences becomes increasingly difficult when data volume and variety increase. Besides dealing with high event type cardinality and many distinct sequences, it can be difficult to tell whether it is appropriate to combine multiple events into one or utilize additional information about event attributes. Existing approaches often make use of frequent sequential patterns extracted from the dataset, however, these patterns are limited in terms of interpretability and utility. In addition, it is difficult to assess the role of absolute and relative time when using pattern mining techniques. In this paper, we present methods that addresses these challenges by automatically learning composite events which enables better aggregation of multiple event sequences. By leveraging event sequence outcomes, we present appropriate linked visualizations that allow domain experts to identify critical flows, to assess validity and to understand the role of time. Furthermore, we explore information gain and visual complexity metrics to identify the most relevant visual patterns. We compare composite event learning with two approaches for extracting event patterns using real world company event data from an ongoing project with the Danish Business Authority.
Apolipoprotein E Isoform-Specific Differences in Outcome from Focal Ischemia in Transgenic Mice

Apolipoprotein E (apoE), a 34-kD glycosylated lipid-binding protein, is expressed as three common isoforms in humans (E2, E3, or E4). Clinical evidence suggests that the apoE genotype (APOE) may be a risk factor for poor outcome after acute central nervous system injury. This was examined further in transgenic mice constructed with the human APOE3 or APOE4 gene under the control of human promoter and tissue expression elements. Presence of human apoE3 and apoE4 proteins in brains of human APOE homozygous transgenic mice was confirmed by Western blotting. APOE3 (n = 12) and APOE4 (n = 10) mice underwent 60 minutes of middle cerebral artery occlusion. After 24-hour recovery, infarct size was measured. Infarct volumes (mean ± standard deviation) were smaller in the APOE3 group (cortex: APOE3 = 18 ± 4 mm3; APOE4 = 30 ± 11 mm3, P = 0.04; subcortex: APOE3 = 12 ± 4 mm3; APOE4 = 18 ± 4 mm3, P = 0.003). Hemiparesis was less severe in APOE3 mice (P = 0.02). These data indicate that human isoform-specific effects of apoE are relevant to acute pathomechanisms of focal ischemic brain damage when examined in the mouse. APOE transgenic mice may provide an appropriate model to examine the mechanistic basis for the differential effects of human apoE isoforms in acute central nervous system injury.
Utilização da Coluna de Winogradsky para a Demonstração do Efeito dos Metais Pesados na Microbiota Oxidante de Enxofre em Ambientes Aquáticos: Uma Abordagem Experimental

O presente estudo teve por objetivo determinar o efeito dos metais pesados: mercúrio, cádmio, chumbo e cromo VI, na população de sulfobactérias presentes em colunas de Winogradsky. As colunas foram preparadas com água e sedimento do córrego Secades (Volta Redonda/RJ), para avaliar a contribuição potencial na disponibilidade destes metais pesados nesta população microbiana. Na avaliação do efeito dos metais pesados na população de sulfobactérias, foi comparada a diversidade das colônias desenvolvidas nas colunas contaminadas com metais pesados com uma coluna contendo apenas amostra e sedimento do manancial. Os resultados permitiram observar que a presença dos diferentes metais pesados causou alteração da diversidade biológica presente na coluna de Winogradsky. O estudo também revelou que o experimento pode ser aplicado nas aulas práticas de Microbiologia Ambiental, pois permite simular as condições reais da interação das sulfobactérias com os metais pesados.
Heterologous GPCR Expression: A Bottleneck to Obtaining Crystal Structures

G protein‐coupled receptors (GPCRs) are an important, medically relevant class of integral membrane proteins. Laboratories throughout all disciplines of science devote time and energy into developing practical methods for the discovery, isolation, and characterization of these proteins. Since the crystal structure of rhodopsin was solved 6 years ago, the race to determine high‐resolution structures of more GPCRs has gained momentum. Since certain GPCRs are currently produced at sufficient levels for X‐ray crystallography trials, it is speculated that heterologous expression of GPCRs may no longer be a bottleneck in obtaining crystal structures. This Review focuses on the current approaches in heterologous expression of GPCRs and explores the problems associated with obtaining crystal structures from GPCRs expressed in different systems. Although milligram amounts of certain GPCRs are attainable, the majority of GPCRs are still either produced at very low levels or not at all. Developing reliable expression techniques for GPCRs is still a major priority for the structural characterization of GPCRs.
Identification of the Components Involved in Cyclic Di-AMP Signaling in Mycoplasma pneumoniae

Bacteria often use cyclic dinucleotides as second messengers for signal transduction. While the classical molecule c-di-GMP is involved in lifestyle selection, the functions of the more recently discovered signaling nucleotide cyclic di-AMP are less defined. For many Gram-positive bacteria, c-di-AMP is essential for growth suggesting its involvement in a key cellular function. We have analyzed c-di-AMP signaling in the genome-reduced pathogenic bacterium Mycoplasma pneumoniae. Our results demonstrate that these bacteria produce c-di-AMP, and we could identify the diadenylate cyclase CdaM (MPN244). This enzyme is the founding member of a novel family of diadenylate cyclases. Of two potential c-di-AMP degrading phosphodiesterases, only PdeM (MPN549) is active in c-di-AMP degradation, whereas NrnA (MPN140) was reported to degrade short oligoribonucleotides. As observed in other bacteria, both the c-di-AMP synthesizing and the degrading enzymes are essential for M. pneumoniae suggesting control of a major homeostatic process. To obtain more insights into the nature of this process, we have identified a c-di-AMP-binding protein from M. pneumoniae, KtrC. KtrC is the cytoplasmic regulatory subunit of the low affinity potassium transporter KtrCD. It is established that binding of c-di-AMP inhibits the KtrCD activity resulting in a limitation of potassium uptake. Our results suggest that the control of potassium homeostasis is the essential function of c-di-AMP in M. pneumoniae.
Large sample properties of maximum entropy histograms

The large sample properties of a new class of histogram estimators whose derivation is based on an information theory criterion--the maximum entropy principle, which preserves the observed mass and mean--are studied. The pointwise strong consistency, the point-wise asymptotic normality, and the rate of convergence to normality are investigated. The asymptotic mean square error (MSE) of these estimates is also compared relative to the histogram based on spacings, the classical k -nearest neighbor, the kernel estimator, and the generalized k -nearest neighbor density estimator.
Desenvolvimento de um Jogo Eletrônico Educativo Para a Nomenclatura de Compostos Químicos

Este trabalho aborda a criacao de um jogo digital para ensino de conceitos sobre compostos quimicos que podera ser utilizado em sala de aula como uma estrategia de apoio ao ensino. Os jogos proporcionam uma metodologia inovadora e atraente para ensinar de forma mais prazerosa e interessante. No ensino medio a falta de motivacao e uma das principais causas do desinteresse dos alunos, a falta de interesse por parte do estudante muitas vezes e acarretada pela metodologia utilizada pelo professor ao repassar os conteudos. Jogos digitais apresentam uma forma diferenciada para trabalhar os conteudos das disciplinas, visualiza-se que os aspectos de aprendizado da nomenclatura de compostos quimicos poderao ser melhor trabalhados pelo professor e ter uma compreensao melhor por parte do aluno atraves da utilizacao do jogo desenvolvido neste trabalho. Pensou-se no jogo como uma ferramenta que facilite a proximidade do aluno com o conteudo, ele enfoca a pratica de atividades ludicas dentro da sala de aula, auxiliando tanto o aluno quanto o professor a conquistar seus objetivos, de forma dinâmica, evitando que a aula seja exaustiva e monotona.
Aerosol optical depth increase in partly cloudy conditions

[1] Remote sensing observations of aerosol from surface and satellite instruments are extensively used for atmospheric and climate research. From passive sensors, the apparent cloud-free atmosphere in the vicinity of clouds often appears to be brighter than further away from the clouds, leading to an increase in the retrieved aerosol optical depth (τ). Mechanisms contributing to this enhancement or increase, including contamination by undetected clouds, hygroscopic growth of aerosol particles, and meteorological conditions, have been debated in recent literature, but the extent to which each of these factors influence the observed enhancement (Δτ) is poorly known. Here we used 11 years of daily global observations at 10 × 10 km2 resolution from the MODIS on the NASA Terra satellite to quantify τ as a function of cloud fraction (CF). Our analysis reveals that, averaged over the globe, the clear sky τ is enhanced by Δτ = 0.05 in cloudy conditions (CF = 0.8–0.9). This enhancement in Δτ corresponds to relative enhancement of 25% in cloudy conditions (CF = 0.8–0.9) compared with relatively clear conditions (CF = 0.1–0.2). Unlike the absolute enhancement Δτ, the relative increase in τis rather consistent in all seasons and is 25–35% in the subtropics and 15–25% at mid and higher latitudes. Using a simple Gaussian probability density function model to connect cloud cover and the distribution of relative humidity, we argue that much of the enhancement is consistent with aerosol hygroscopic growth in the humid environment surrounding clouds. Consideration of these cloud-dependentτeffects will facilitate understanding aerosol-cloud interactions and reduce the uncertainty in estimates of aerosol radiative forcing by global climate models.