Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Associations between angiotensinogen gene variants and left ventricular mass and function in the HyperGEN study.

BACKGROUND The angiotensinogen M235T polymorphism is positively associated with plasma angiotensinogen, hypertension, and coronary heart disease. However, the association of M235T polymorphism with left ventricular (LV) mass and function is not well defined at the population level. We investigated whether 2 tightly linked polymorphisms of angiotensinogen gene, M235T and G-6A, are associated with LV mass and function in a large population-based sample, composed mostly of patients with hypertension. METHODS Two-dimensional guided M-mode and pulsed Doppler scan echocardiograms were performed in 605 participants. The angiotensinogen M235T was analyzed with a standard polymerase chain reaction test, and the G-6A variant was measured with mass spectrophotometry. RESULTS The association of angiotensinogen gene to LV mass and LV mass indexed to body surface area (LVMI) differed significantly between subjects with normotensive and hypertensive conditions with respect to the direction of association (P <.005). The methionine-threonine/threonine-threonine genotype was negatively associated with LV mass and LVMI in patients with hypertension after adjustment for blood pressure, antihypertensive medication use, weight, and other covariates (P <.001), and patients with normotensive conditions with the methionine-threonine/threonine-threonine genotype had higher LV mass and LVMI (P =.04, for LV mass; P =.14, for LVMI). The association in patients with normotensive conditions was not influenced by blood pressure but was partly confounded by weight. CONCLUSION Variation in the angiotensinogen gene was modestly associated with LV mass independently of covariates in patients with hypertensive conditions. The direction of the association was opposite to that observed in patients with normotensive conditions, probably because of the influence of other risk factors or antihypertensive medication use or both.
Robust Long-Term Predictive Adaptive Video Streaming Under Wireless Network Uncertainties

Recent research on predictive video delivery promised optimal resource utilization and quality of service (QoS) satisfaction to both dynamic adaptive streaming over HTTP (DASH) providers and mobile users. These gains were attained while presuming an idealistic environment with perfect predictions. Thus, a robust QoS-aware predictive-DASH (P-DASH) is of paramount importance to handling the practical uncertainty implied in predicted information. In this paper, we propose a stochastic QoS-aware robust predictive-DASH (RP-DASH) scheme over future wireless networks that takes into account imperfect rate predictions. The objective is to achieve long-term quality fairness among the DASH users while capping the probability of service degradation by an operator predefined level. A deterministic formulation is then obtained using the scenario approximation, which adopts the probability density function (PDF) of predicted rates. A linear conservative approximation is introduced to provide an NP-complete formulation, which can be optimized by commercial solvers. Since exact PDF might not be available, Gaussian approximation is adopted by the introduced scheme to provide a closed form less complexity formulation. To support real-time implementations, a guided heuristic algorithm is devised to obtain near-optimal resource allocations and quality selections, while satisfying the predefined QoS level. Previous non-robust P-DASH schemes are evaluated in this paper, while considering typical error models in predicted rates. Such schemes resulted in increased QoS and the quality of experience degradations with the network load, which was avoided by the introduced RP-DASH. Results further revealed the ability of RP-DASH to reach optimal and fair QoS satisfactions.
A color‐code for glycosaminoglycans identification by means of polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis stained with the cationic carbocyanine dye Stains‐all

Cationic dyes such as toluidin blue are commonly employed to visualize glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) on electrophoresis gels; however, the carbocyanine‐based dye Stains‐all have been increasingly used to stain the non‐sulfated hyaluronic acid and other GAGs in submicrogram quantities. In this short communication, we demonstrate that Stains‐all is able to stain the most common GAGs on polyacrylamide gels with distinct and contrasting colors in a reproducible manner. We also show that this staining method is useful to identify GAGs present both in mixtures and in submicrogram quantities. Therefore, Stains‐all has shown to be useful in identifying GAGs on polyacrylamide gels with basis on their specific colors, at least on screening level.
An active queue management based deterministic denial of service prevention

Denial of Service (DoS) attacks are one of the major threats to the security of networks and online servers. Active Queue Management (AQM) is an effective mechanism to prevent DoS attacks at edge routers. However, some DoS flows may have low bit rates, as they do not consume more than a fair share to avoid being detected by an AQM. AQM schemes also fall short of detecting DoS attacks conducted through IP spoofing. This paper proposes a novel AQM scheme, called Deterministic DoS Prevention (DDP) to avoid low-rate DoS attacks on infrastructure and application levels, attacks caused by unresponsive or responsive flows using IP spoofing, and the attacks having high bit rates. The performance of DDP is evaluated in comparison with an eminent AQM based DoS prevention scheme. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of DDP in effectively detecting IP spoofing and filtering malicious flows that orchestrate high-rate and low-rate DoS attacks.
Meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies of HDL cholesterol response to statins

Background In addition to lowering low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), statin therapy also raises high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels. Inter-individual variation in HDL-C response to statins may be partially explained by genetic variation. Methods and results We performed a meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) to identify variants with an effect on statin-induced high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) changes. The 123 most promising signals with p<1×10−4 from the 16 769 statin-treated participants in the first analysis stage were followed up in an independent group of 10 951 statin-treated individuals, providing a total sample size of 27 720 individuals. The only associations of genome-wide significance (p<5×10−8) were between minor alleles at the CETP locus and greater HDL-C response to statin treatment. Conclusions Based on results from this study that included a relatively large sample size, we suggest that CETP may be the only detectable locus with common genetic variants that influence HDL-C response to statins substantially in individuals of European descent. Although CETP is known to be associated with HDL-C, we provide evidence that this pharmacogenetic effect is independent of its association with baseline HDL-C levels.
Antimicrobial photodynamic therapy of S. mutans biofilms attached to relevant dental materials

Antimicrobial Photodynamic therapy (aPDT) has demonstrated efficacy in situations where conventional antibiotic therapies can be challenged such as biofilms, gram‐negative bacteria, and antimicrobial resistant organisms. Surface characteristics can affect biofilm adherence and integrity and so may modify the effectiveness of aPDT. This study investigates the killing efficacy of aPDT on S. mutans biofilms grown on relevant dental substrata, examining the killing efficacy and specifically the effects of aPDT on the biofilm matrix architecture.
Adherence to the 2013 Blood Cholesterol Guidelines in Patients With Diabetes at a PCMH

Purpose The purpose of this study is to assess adherence to the 2013 blood cholesterol guideline in a population with diabetes based on the atherosclerotic cardiovascular (ASCVD) risk. Methods Patients with diabetes were assessed to see whether they received the appropriate intensity statin therapy via chart review. Patients seen by a physician or pharmacist at CommUnityCare, a PCMH, from December 2013 to October 2014 were included in this retrospective study. The ASCVD risks were calculated to determine if the patients received appropriate intensity statin. Results A total of 583 patients met the inclusion criteria; there were 475 in the physician only group and 108 with additional pharmacist visits. Statin therapy was prescribed in 71% of patients in the physician group and 88% of patients in the pharmacist/physician group. The appropriate intensity statin was prescribed in 32% of patients in the physician group and 35% of patients in the pharmacist/physician group. The appropriate intensity statin in statin naïve patients was prescribed in 45% of the physician group and 50% of patients in the pharmacist/physician group. Conclusion The proportion of patients prescribed an appropriate intensity statin did not differ between patients managed by physicians alone compared to those managed by pharmacists and physicians. Overall adherence to the 2013 blood cholesterol guidelines was 33%, and this measure can be used as a baseline assessment of current adherence with the guidelines.
Increased high-risk coronary plaque burden is associated with arterial stiffness in patients with type 2 diabetes without clinical signs of coronary artery disease: a computed tomography angiography study

Objectives: Arterial stiffness and subclinical coronary atherosclerosis may yield valuable information on cardiovascular risk. We aimed to characterize coronary atherosclerosis in asymptomatic patients with type 2 diabetes and healthy controls and to investigate the association between baseline arterial stiffness and coronary plaque volumes after 5-year follow-up. Methods: Data from 45 patients and 61 matched controls were available for coronary plaque assessment. For analysis including carotid–femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV), 43 patients and 55 controls were available. At follow-up, mean (SD) age of participants was 63 ± 10 years, and mean diabetes duration (SD) in the patient group was 7.8 ± 1.4 years. Arterial stiffness (PWV) was assessed by tonometry at both visits. Total, calcified, noncalcified, low-density noncalcified coronary plaques volumes and other plaque characteristics were assessed by coronary computed tomography angiography at follow-up. Results: Despite of similar or better blood pressure and plasma lipid control, patients had, compared with controls, a higher number of plaques with spotty calcifications (P < 0.01) and remodeling index more than 1.1 (P < 0.05), larger calcified plaque volumes [patients vs. controls: 11 (0–65) vs. 3 (0–30) &mgr;l (P = 0.03)] and higher PWV [patients vs. controls at baseline: 9.1 ± 2.2 vs. 7.9 ± 1.4 m/s (P < 0.01), at follow-up: 9.3 ± 2.3 vs. 8.4 ± 1.8 m/s (P = 0.02)]. Baseline PWV was associated with volumes of all plaque types in crude analysis (P < 0.01) and with low-density noncalcified plaque volume in analysis adjusted for age, sex, diabetes and blood pressure (P = 0.01). Conclusion: Coronary plaques with unfavorable characteristics are more prevalent in well controlled asymptomatic patients with type 2 diabetes compared with healthy controls and independently associated with arterial stiffness. Clinical trials registration number: NCT02001532.
Simultaneous recording of cervical and ocular vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials

Objective To increase clinical application of vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials (VEMPs) by reducing the testing time by evaluating whether a simultaneous recording of ocular and cervical VEMPs can be achieved without a loss in diagnostic sensitivity and specificity. Methods Simultaneous recording of ocular and cervical VEMPs on each side during monaural stimulation, bilateral simultaneous recording of ocular VEMPs and cervical VEMPs during binaural stimulation, and conventional sequential recording of ocular and cervical VEMPs on each side using air-conducted sound (500 Hz, 5-millisecond tone burst) were compared in 40 healthy participants (HPs) and 20 patients with acute vestibular neuritis. Results Either simultaneous recording during monaural and binaural stimulation effectively reduced the recording time by ≈55% of that for conventional sequential recordings in both the HP and patient groups. The simultaneous recording with monaural stimulation resulted in latencies and thresholds of both VEMPs and the amplitude of cervical VEMPs similar to those found during the conventional recordings but larger ocular VEMP amplitudes (156%) in both groups. In contrast, compared to the conventional recording, simultaneous recording of each VEMP during binaural stimulation showed reduced amplitudes (31%) and increased thresholds for cervical VEMPs in both groups. Conclusions The results of simultaneous recording of cervical and ocular VEMPs during monaural stimulation were comparable to those obtained from the conventional recording while reducing the time to record both VEMPs on each side. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT03049683.
Genetic Origins of Tetralogy of Fallot

Due to improved survival and clinical outcomes, congenital heart disease (CHD) is an area of growing importance within the medical community. As these patients reach adulthood and have children, there has been a growing appreciation for the increased risk of CHD among their offspring, strongly implying a genetic element. Given the growing wealth of genetic data available and these clinical implications, this review serves to reexamine the role of genetics within CHD, using Tetralogy of Fallot as a model pathology. Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) is one of the oldest documented CHDs, with a growing prevalence of adult patients, and thus serves as an excellent model for this review. Given the complex nature of cardiac development, it is not surprising that multiple transcription factors and signaling molecules responsible for cardiogenesis have been implicated in TOF, with additional, previously nonimplicated genes being routinely reported within the literature. This review focuses on the well-characterized genes gata4, nkx2.5, jag1, foxc2, tbx5, and tbx1, which have been previously implicated in TOF. Furthermore, this article will attempt to summarize the specific clinical implications associated with the affected genes, such as right-sided aortic arches, associated syndromic presentations, and parental carrier states.
Removal of evidential motion-contaminated and poorly fitted image data improves IVIM diffusion MRI parameter scan–rescan reproducibility

Background It has been reported that intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan–rescan reproducibility is unsatisfactory. Purpose To study IVIM MRI parameter reproducibility for liver parenchyma after the removal of motion-contaminated and/or poorly fitted image data. Material and Methods Eighteen healthy volunteers had liver scans twice in the same session to assess scan–rescan repeatability, and again in another session after an average interval of 13 days to assess reproducibility. Diffusion-weighted images were acquired with a 3-T scanner using respiratory-triggered echo-planar sequence and 16 b-values (0–800 s/mm2). Measurement was performed on the right liver with segment-unconstrained least square fitting. Image series with evidential anatomical mismatch, apparent artifacts, and poorly fitted signal intensity vs. b-value curve were excluded. A minimum of three slices was deemed necessary for IVIM parameter estimation. Results With a total 54 examinations, six did not satisfy inclusion criteria, leading to a success rate of 89%, and 14 volunteers were finally included for the repeatability/reproducibility study. A total of 3–10 slices per examination (mean = 5.3 slices, median = 5 slices) were utilized for analysis. Using threshold b-value = 80 s/mm2, the coefficient of variation and within-subject coefficient of variation for repeatability were 2.86% and 3.36% for Dslow, 3.81% and 4.24% for perfusion fraction (PF), 18.16% and 24.88% for Dfast; and those for reproducibility were 2.48% and 3.24% for Dslow, 4.91% and 5.38% for PF, and 21.18% and 30.89% for Dfast. Conclusion Removal of motion-contaminated and/or poorly fitted image data improves IVIM parameter reproducibility.
The importance of gene-environment interactions in human obesity.

The worldwide obesity epidemic has been mainly attributed to lifestyle changes. However, who becomes obese in an obesity-prone environment is largely determined by genetic factors. In the last 20 years, important progress has been made in the elucidation of the genetic architecture of obesity. In parallel with successful gene identifications, the number of gene-environment interaction (GEI) studies has grown rapidly. This paper reviews the growing body of evidence supporting gene-environment interactions in the field of obesity. Heritability, monogenic and polygenic obesity studies provide converging evidence that obesity-predisposing genes interact with a variety of environmental, lifestyle and treatment exposures. However, some skepticism remains regarding the validity of these studies based on several issues, which include statistical modelling, confounding, low replication rate, underpowered analyses, biological assumptions and measurement precision. What follows in this review includes (1) an introduction to the study of GEI, (2) the evidence of GEI in the field of obesity, (3) an outline of the biological mechanisms that may explain these interaction effects, (4) methodological challenges associated with GEI studies and potential solutions, and (5) future directions of GEI research. Thus far, this growing body of evidence has provided a deeper understanding of GEI influencing obesity and may have tremendous applications in the emerging field of personalized medicine and individualized lifestyle recommendations.
Neuronal lysosome accumulation in degrading synapses of sensory-motor and limbic subsystems in the duck Anas platyrhynchos: indication of rearrangements during avian brain development?

Brains of developing duck embryos and ducklings were analysed daily by light microscopy after complete serial brain sectioning and lysosome staining (Gallyas technique), providing insight into synaptic degradation and degeneration during short periods of synaptogenesis. Both regional and temporal shifting pattern of lysosome accumulation (LA) in degraded synapses were detected in sensory-motor pathways during the course of development. LA occurred in sensory projections of embryos, and proceeded from forebrain sensory fields toward limbic regions and finally motor projections. LA disappeared from these structures at the age of 4-6 weeks. LA was analysed ultrastructurally in selected sensory, limbic and motor regions indicating that lysosomes selectively accumulated in transient synapses, leaving parts of either pre- or postsynaptic elements untouched. In no case did denervated neurons exhibit any signs of cell death. Apparently, the LA phenomenon seems critical in terms of both irreversible elimination and remodelling of persisting synapses. Thus, neuronal rearrangement mediated by lysosomal degradation, i.e. degeneration of synaptic components, is supposed to be an integral constituent of synaptogenesis during adaptive processes in sensory-motor systems. These results are discussed with regard to developing brain functions during behavioural adaptation of this precocious bird.
Assessing the performance of self-consistent hybrid functional for band gap calculation in oxide semiconductors

In this paper we assess the predictive power of the self-consistent hybrid functional scPBE0 in calculating the band gap of oxide semiconductors. The computational procedure is based on the self-consistent evaluation of the mixing parameter α by means of an iterative calculation of the static dielectric constant using the perturbation expansion after discretization method and making use of the relation α=1/ϵ∞. Our materials dataset is formed by 30 compounds covering a wide range of band gaps and dielectric properties, and includes materials with a wide spectrum of applications such as thermoelectrics, photocatalysis, photovoltaics, transparent conducting oxides, and refractory materials. Our results show that the scPBE0 functional provides better band gaps than the non self-consistent hybrids PBE0 and HSE06, but scPBE0 does not show significant improvement on the description of the static dielectric constants. Overall, the scPBE0 data exhibit a mean absolute percentage error of 14% (band gaps) and 10% (ϵ∞). For materials with weak dielectric screening and large excitonic biding energies scPBE0, unlike PBE0 and HSE06, overestimates the band gaps, but the value of the gap becomes very close to the experimental value when excitonic effects are included (e.g. for SiO2). However, special caution must be given to the compounds with small band gaps due to the tendency of scPBE0 to overestimate the dielectric constant in the proximity of the metallic limit.
Modulation of Presbycusis: Current Status and Future Directions

Literature and ideas are reviewed concerning the modulation of presbycusis – the influence of variables that can alter the severity and/or time course of presbycusis or counteract its negative aspects. Eleven topics are identified: variables related to biological aging; genetics; noise-induced hearing loss; moderately augmented acoustic environment; neural plasticity and the central auditory system; neural plasticity and hearing aids; socioeconomic and cultural barriers to hearing aid use; lifestyle (diet, exercise, etc.); medical variables; pharmaceutical interventions for presbycusis, and cognitive variables. It is concluded that the field of otogerontology will best be served by a comprehensive, integrative interaction among basic researchers and clinical scientists who will continue to learn how the auditory problems associated with presbycusis can be intentionally modulated in beneficial ways.
Cattle and rainfall affect tick abundance in central Kenya

SUMMARY East Africa is a global hot spot for the diversity of ixodid ticks. As ectoparasites and as vectors of pathogens, ticks negatively affect the well-being of humans, livestock and wildlife. To prevent tick infestations, livestock owners and managers typically treat livestock with acaricides that kill ticks when they attempt to feed on livestock hosts. Because of the costs of preventing and mitigating tick parasitism, predicting where and when ticks will be abundant is an important challenge in this region. We used a 7-year monthly record of tick abundance on large experimental plots to assess the effects of rainfall, wildlife and cattle on larvae, nymphs and adults of two common tick species, Rhipicephalus pulchellus and Rhipicephalus praetextatus. Nymphal and adult ticks were more abundant when there had been high cumulative rainfall in the prior months. They were less abundant when cattle were present than when only large wild mammals were. Larval abundance was not affected by the presence of cattle, and larvae did not appear to be sensitive to rainfall in prior months, though they were less abundant in our surveys when rainfall was high in the sampling month. The challenges of managing ticks in this region are being exacerbated rapidly by changes in rainfall patterns wrought by climate change, and by overall increases in livestock, making efforts to predict the impacts of these drivers all the more pressing.