Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Is 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Associated with Glycosylated Hemoglobin in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Saudi Arabia? A Population Based Study

Background: Saudi Arabia has a high burden of diabetes mellitus and vitamin D deficiency. The objective of this study was to explore the association between glycosylated hemoglobin and 25-hydroxyvitamin D in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Methods: An interview based cross-sectional study was conducted on 606 patients with type 2 diabetes, aged 30–75 years, visiting primary health care centers. Blood samples were collected for measuring HbA1c, 25(OH)D and bone and lipid markers. Multivariable linear regression analysis was conducted to explore the association between HbA1c and 25(OH)D. Results: The mean (±SD) levels for HbA1c and 25(OH) D were 7.69 (±1.77) and 44.28 (±23.06), respectively. Around 55% of patients had uncontrolled HbA1c (>7.0), whereas vitamin D deficiency (<50 nmol/L) was found in 52.3% (=317). Multiple linear regression analysis found that a unit increase in vitamin D levels and parathyroid hormone levels was associated with −0.17 (−0.02, −0.01, p < 0.001) and −0.20 (−2.66, −1.18, p < 0.001) unit decrease in levels of HbA1c, respectively. Similarly, increasing age was associated with −0.15 (−0.01, −0.04, p = 0.002) unit decrease in HbA1c levels, whereas unit increases in serum alkaline phosphatase, calcium and diabetes duration were associated with 0.22 (0.01, 0.02, p < 0.001), 0.14 (1.03, 3.88, p = 0.001) and 0.26 (0.42, 0.78, p < 0.001) unit increase in HbA1c levels, respectively. Conclusion: HbA1c levels are associated with 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels. For better control of HbA1c levels, it is important to maintain 25-hydroxyvitamin D level and bone markers within normal range.
Distribution of Organic 125I and 127I in the Rat Thyroid Gland During Equilibrium Labeling as Determined by Autoradiography1

Autoradiographs of organic radioiodine in rat thyroids were obtained at various times during the equilibration of thyroidal iodine with dietary iodine labeled with 125I. Organic radioiodine was almost entirely located in colloid at all times. Most lumens were homogeneously labeled. At early times during the equilibration the concentration of organic radioiodine in such lumens was higher the smaller the follicle. As the equilibration progressed the concentration became similar in almost all lumens, independent of follicle size. Concentration became independent of size first among smaller follicles and then among progressively larger ones. At 99 days the specific activity in the thyroid had closely approached that in the diet; at that time, therefore, the concentration of radioiodine closely approached being proportional to the concentration of stable iodine. Thus, the autoradiographs were interpreted as showing that organic stable iodine was located almost entirely in colloid, that the luminal concentratio.
Properties of SmB6 Doped with Eu and Gd

SmB6 behaves as a nonmagnetic semiconductor at low temperatures. Gd‐ and Eu doped samples have been prepared. The paramagnetic behavior of the doped materials shows that Eu remains divalent and consequently it does not alter the low‐temperature electrical properties appreciably. Gd, on the other hand, increases the electrical conductivity and the paramagnetic behavior corresponds to the trivalent Gd ion. The paramagnetic susceptibility flattens out below 0.1°K indicating a magnetic ordering of the Eu samples in contrast to the pure SmB6.
Effect of Oxygen on Some Electrical Properties of Selenium

It is established several, previously obscure, properties of selenium are due to the presence of oxygen and to oxygen complex formation. The properties include the appearance of an extremum in the curves of the concentration dependence of electroconductivity (σ), thermoelectromotive force (θ), thermal conductivity (λ), density (Q), mechanical strength, activation energy during self diffusion (λE), and microhardness (H). Other properties are the shift of the second maximum in the photoconductivity curve during the introduction of different admixtures, the decrease of σ and θ during melting, and the instability of the parameters of selenium instruments. [Russian Text Ignore].
Radical Homopolymerization of Vinylidene Fluoride Initiated by tert-Butyl Peroxypivalate. Investigation of the Microstructure by 19F and 1H NMR Spectroscopies and Mechanisms

The radical polymerization in solution of vinylidene fluoride (VDF) initiated by different peroxides (tert-butyl peroxide and tert-butyl peroxypivalate) and by azo-tert-butane is presented. Various reaction temperatures and times and solvents were chosen to monitor the polymerization in terms of initiating radical generated from these initiators and transferring agents. Homopolymers thus obtained were characterized by 19F and 1H NMR spectroscopies. Different VDF telomers were synthesized (e.g., C4F9(CH2CF2)3H, C6F13CH2CF2CH2CH3, and CH3CF2(CH2CH2)2I) as models to explain the microstructure of these PVDFs. They enable one to identify without any ambiguity most different signals observed in 1H and 19F NMR spectra of PVDFs. From those assignments, an overall reactional mechanism was proposed that allows one to explain each step of polymerization of VDF. In particular, an interpretation of the polymer microstructures and of end groups arising from the radical initiator and from eventual transfers is suggested.
Polyphenol Content and Total Antioxidant Potential of Selected Italian Wines

The total antioxidant activity (TAA) of 13 typical Italian wines was determined (average 12.3 and 1.6 mM Trolox equivalents for red and white wines, respectively), and the resulting values were correlated with total phenols (1365−3326 and 96−146 mg/L for red and white wines, respectively), flavanols (203−805 and 11−49 mg/L, for red and white wines, respectively), and flavonols. Only the red wines contained appreciable amounts of flavonols (average 15.3 mg/L), with quercetin and rutin being the most abundant, followed by myricetin, kaempferol, and isorhamnetin accounting for only 0.7−3% of TAA. The TAA of investigated wines are well correlated with phenol (r = 0.9902) and flavanol (r = 0.9270) content. These results confirm that red wine polyphenols are in vitro significant antioxidants and may explain the beneficial effects of a moderate daily intake of red wines, probably through a sparing action of highly bioavailable vitamins C, E, and β-carotene. Keywords: Wine; antioxidant; phenols; flavanols; flavonols
Influencing Factors of Acceptance and Use Behavior of Mobile Health Application Users: Systematic Review

Purpose/Significance: Mobile health applications provide a convenient way for users to obtain health information and services. Studying the factors that influence users’ acceptance and use of mobile health applications (apps or Apps) will help to improve users’ actual usage behavior. Method/Process: Based on the literature review method and using the Web of Science core database as the data source, this paper summarizes the relevant research results regarding the influencing factors of the acceptance and use behavior of mobile health application users and makes a systematic review of the influencing factors from the perspectives of the individual, society, and application (app or App) design. Result/Conclusion: In terms of the individual dimension, the users’ behavior is influenced by demographic characteristics and motivations. Social attributes, source credibility, and legal issues all affect user behavior in the social dimension. In the application design dimension, functionality, perceived ease of use and usefulness, security, and cost are the main factors. At the end of the paper, suggestions are given to improve the users’ acceptability of mobile health applications and improve their use behavior.
Transcriptional Changes in Potato Sprouts upon Interaction with Rhizoctonia solani Indicate Pathogen-Induced Interference in the Defence Pathways of Potato

Rhizoctonia solani is the causer of black scurf disease on potatoes and is responsible for high economical losses in global agriculture. In order to increase the limited knowledge of the plants’ molecular response to this pathogen, we inoculated potatoes with R. solani AG3-PT isolate Ben3 and carried out RNA sequencing with total RNA extracted from potato sprouts at three and eight days post inoculation (dpi). In this dual RNA-sequencing experiment, the necrotrophic lifestyle of R. solani AG3-PT during early phases of interaction with its host has already been characterised. Here the potato plants’ comprehensive transcriptional response to inoculation with R. solani AG3 was evaluated for the first time based on significantly different expressed plant genes extracted with DESeq analysis. Overall, 1640 genes were differentially expressed, comparing control (−Rs) and with R. solani AG3-PT isolate Ben3 inoculated plants (+Rs). Genes involved in the production of anti-fungal proteins and secondary metabolites with antifungal properties were significantly up regulated upon inoculation with R. solani. Gene ontology (GO) terms involved in the regulation of hormone levels (i.e., ethylene (ET) and jasmonic acid (JA) at 3 dpi and salicylic acid (SA) and JA response pathways at 8 dpi) were significantly enriched. Contrastingly, the GO term “response to abiotic stimulus” was down regulated at both time points analysed. These results may support future breeding efforts toward the development of cultivars with higher resistance level to black scurf disease or the development of new control strategies.
Diachronically like-minded user community detection

Study of users’ behaviour, interests, and influence is of interest within the realm of online social networks due to its wide range of applications, such as personalized recommendations and marketing campaigns. However, the proposed approaches are not always scalable to a large number of users and a huge amount of user-generated content. Community-level studies are introduced to facilitate scalability, among other characteristics, highlighting the main properties of the network at a higher collective level. Prior work is mainly focused on the identification of online communities that are formed based on shared links and/or similar content. However, there is little literature on detecting communities that simultaneously share topical and temporal similarities. To extract diachronically like-minded user communities who have similar temporal dispositions according to their topics of interest from social content, we put forward two approaches: i) multivariate time series analysis, and ii) neural embeddings. In the former approach, we model users’ temporal topics of interest through multivariate time series, and inter-user affinities are calculated based on pairwise cross-correlation. While simple and
Exchange of H2S between air and water

The overall exchange coefficient expressed on a gas phase basis, Kg, for the transfer of H2S from water to air was measured in the laboratory by using radioactive H2S. The exchange coefficient showed a strong dependence on solution pH that was found to be related to enhancement by ionisation of H2S to HS−. At low pH values, where this enhancement had no effect, the value of Kg was 2.3×10−2 cm s−1. At sea water pH, Kg increased to 0.13 cm s−1 leading to the conclusion that at pH<5 liquid phase resistance dominates the exchange while with increasing pH gas phase resistance becomes increasingly important.
Robust Cluster Synchronization in Dynamical Networks With Directed Switching Topology via Averaging Method

This article investigates a bounded cluster synchronization problem of dynamical systems, which can be of the generic linear type or Lipschitz nonlinear type, over directed switching network. Each cluster is equipped with a virtual leader which produces the desired trajectory for the agents to track. It is required only a fraction of systems is influenced by the leader. The interaction topology, which describes the information exchange among the dynamical systems as well as the virtual leaders, is allowed to be time varying with a well-defined average over an infinite horizon. That is, each augmented cluster, consisting of the agents as well as the corresponding virtual leader, in the time-average network topology is required to have a directed spanning tree. We then transform the cluster synchronization problem into a stability problem via the averaging method. It is proved that the convergence property for both types of dynamical systems is exclusively determined by the averaging system if the network topology switches sufficiently fast compared to original systems. Finally, it is concluded that if the intracluster coupling strength of the time-average topology is stronger than a threshold, then bounded cluster synchronization can be realized for a fast switching linear or nonlinear systems. Two examples are provided to verify our results.
Passivity-Based Nonlinear Control Approach for Tracking Task of an Underactuated CMG

This article proposes a passivity-based nonlinear control approach to deal with the tracking task of a control moment gyroscope (CMG), which is an underactuated nonlinear MIMO system with coupled dynamics, where the main goal is the tracking of the unactuated states in a wide range of operation. To overcome this underactuation, the proposed nonlinear controller employs the CMG intrinsic reaction torques. The closed-loop system stability is analyzed by invoking the Lyapunov stability and Matrosov's theorem. Numerical simulations and real-time practical experiments with the real plant are performed to validate the proposed nonlinear controller, as well as its performance is analyzed by contrasting the experiment results with the ones obtained by authors’ previous established nonlinear controllers.
ATLAS University College Twente: a novel approach in interdisciplinary engineering education

ATLAS University College Twente offers a residential, interdisciplinary engineering program that aims at educating the ‘New Engineer. ’ The program has embraced the concept of self-directed learning, meaning that students attain most of the program’s learning goals in their own way. ATLAS is organized in semesters, each with their own specific learning goals. These so-called semester goals define a framework that allows students to build their own academic profile as New Engineers and, at the same time, safeguards that all students reach the intended learning outcomes of the program itself. One of the core values of the program is integration. Students follow mandatory courses in the domains of mathematics, natural and social sciences, and work in interdisciplinary projects. ATLAS also offers interdisciplinary electives, designed and executed by teachers with different disciplinary backgrounds. Moreover, students are encouraged to use their extensive elective space to further build up their interdisciplinary profile as New Engineers. The program was successfully accredited in 2018 and is in a continuous state of development and innovation. This contribution discusses the set-up of the curriculum, its interdisciplinary components, its radical educational approach, assessment method, and future program developments and challenges.
The investigation of NMR spectra of dihydropyridones derived from Curcumin

1 H and 13 C NMR spectra of dihydropyridones derived from curcumin were discussed and their structures were elucidated accordingly. Both one dimensional, HOMO-and HETERO-COSY spectra were used in this study. Computational calculations using B3LYP/6-311G(d,p) level of theory were undertaken to predict the structural properties of one molecule. The optimized structure was then used to calculate the NMR chemical shifts at the B3LYP/6-311G(d,p) level using the GIAO method. The calculated 1 H and 13 C chemical shifts were compared with the experimental data. The calculated chemical shifts are in compliance with the experimental findings.
Whole-Genome Sequencing and Characterization of Buffalo Genetic Resources: Recent Advances and Future Challenges

Simple Summary Recent advancements in high-throughput technologies like whole-genome sequencing, genome-wide association study (GWAS), gene expression profiling, next-generation sequencing (RNA and DNA), and genome-wide CHIP-seq scanning are used to detect genetic variants and study gene regulation, gene functioning, and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) ordering resources. These techniques offer a wide range of whole-genome data and high coverage to genomic, epigenomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic information related to cellular interactions, functioning, and behavior. In buffaloes, candidate gene studies use the available genetic resources to uncover the functional candidate genes and their interactions associated with buffalo productivity, including production, adaptation, and disease resistance. Thus, the whole-genome and candidate gene approach to next-generation data could help elucidate the inheritance of complex traits, full genomic coverage, and the genetic dissection of productivity-related attributes, which could ultimately help accelerate genetic progress in buffaloes. Abstract The buffalo was domesticated around 3000–6000 years ago and has substantial economic significance as a meat, dairy, and draught animal. The buffalo has remained underutilized in terms of the development of a well-annotated and assembled reference genome de novo. It is mandatory to explore the genetic architecture of a species to understand the biology that helps to manage its genetic variability, which is ultimately used for selective breeding and genomic selection. Morphological and molecular data have revealed that the swamp buffalo population has strong geographical genomic diversity with low gene flow but strong phenotypic consistency, while the river buffalo population has higher phenotypic diversity with a weak phylogeographic structure. The availability of recent high-quality reference genome and genotyping marker panels has invigorated many genome-based studies on evolutionary history, genetic diversity, functional elements, and performance traits. The increasing molecular knowledge syndicate with selective breeding should pave the way for genetic improvement in the climatic resilience, disease resistance, and production performance of water buffalo populations globally.
Effect of Hydrogen Addition into Methane-Air Mixture on Combustion Pressure

To get the effect of hydrogen addition under different initial pressures, different initial temperatures and different initial equivalence ratios on combustion pressure, relevant tests of methane-hydrogen-air mixture have been carried out in constant volume combustion bomb. The results showed that higher initial temperature and lower initial pressure is helpful to get higher flame propagation velocity while other initial conditions keep invariable; as hydrogen blend ratio increases, both maximum combustion pressure and maximum rate of pressure rise increase, with the appearance time obviously earlier and cycle-to-cycle variation obviously lower.
Sugar content and organic acid profiles of local apple cultivars recovered from mountain zones

* Corresponding author Summary Ancient apple cultivars grown in local areas have so far been largely unexplored and may attract a large share of consumers oriented towards natural foods evoking ancient flavors. In this work, 34 traditional apple cultivars of the Pyrenees were analyzed in terms of sugar and acidity profile and their relation, as alternative fruits for a growing demand in society regarding quality and nutritional properties. The results show a wide range between cultivars of analyzed variables, especially in terms of acid, pH and soluble solids, with high standard deviation values. The results were higher than in other similar studies of commercial apple cultivars, as well as higher values related to other local accessions. The large differences between cultivars can be attributed to the origin of the plant material, since all cultivars were grown under the same geographical conditions and with the same applied agronomic practices. The associations found in this study provide information about the nutritional content of the analyzed apples and their organoleptic and physicochemical qualities, and could be useful in targeting specific consumer requirements. In conclusion, this study highlights the suitability of these local accessions recovered in the Pyrenees as key genetic resources to be used in future breeding programs, as well as its potential use for different products which would open the door to new varieties and new consumption alternatives.
AN ALL-FIBER GAS SENSING SYSTEM USING HOLLOW-CORE PHOTONIC BANDGAP FIBER AS GAS CELL

An all-fiber compact gas sensing system using a hollow-core photonic bandgap fiber (HC-PBF) as a gas cell is proposed in this paper. Compared with the present reported microstructured optical-fiber gas cells, the HC-PBF gas cell proposed here has relatively lower transmission loss and much simpler construction. The total transmission loss through the HC-PBF gas cell is demonstrated experimentally to be as low as 1.5 dB and the time taken for gas to get into the 90-cm-cell, under the free diffusion condition, is approximately 11 min. Combining the HC-PBF gas cell with a tunable fiber laser, an all-fiber gas sensing system is developed. The properties of the proposed system are demonstrated experimentally by detection of carbon monoxide (CO) and acetylene (C2H2). Approximately linear relationships between the system responses and the concentrations of the detected gases are experimentally demonstrated. The minimal detectable concentration of CO of 300 ppm and C2H2 of 5 ppm are also achieved respectively by the experiments.
Expansion and Diversification of Fluorescent Protein Genes in Fifteen Acropora Species during the Evolution of Acroporid Corals

In addition to a purple, non-fluorescent chromoprotein (ChrP), fluorescent proteins (FPs) account for the vivid colors of corals, which occur in green (GFP), cyan (CFP), and red (RFP) FPs. To understand the evolution of the coral FP gene family, we examined the genomes of 15 Acropora species and three confamilial taxa. This genome-wide survey identified 219 FP genes. Molecular phylogeny revealed that the 15 Acropora species each have 9–18 FP genes, whereas the other acroporids examined have only two, suggesting a pronounced expansion of the FP genes in the genus Acropora. The data estimates of FP gene duplication suggest that the last common ancestor of the Acropora species that survived in the period of high sea surface temperature (Paleogene period) has already gained 16 FP genes. Different evolutionary histories of lineage-specific duplication and loss were discovered among GFP/CFPs, RFPs, and ChrPs. Synteny analysis revealed core GFP/CFP, RFP, and ChrP gene clusters, in which a tandem duplication of the FP genes was evident. The expansion and diversification of Acropora FPs may have contributed to the present-day richness of this genus.