Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Infusion of long-chain or medium-chain triglycerides inhibits peripheral glucose metabolism in men.

To investigate whether increased availability of lipids affects glucose metabolism in healthy postabsorptive men when lipid and glucose are infused in amounts used in parenteral nutrition, we infused glucose (4 mg/kg.min-1) for 6 hours and clamped plasma glucose at basal level during the first 3 hours. After 3 hours, either long-chain triglycerides (LCTs) (0.07 g/kg.h-1) (n = 7) or a mixture of LCTs and medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) (MCTs/LCTs, 50/50%, 0.07 g/kg.h-1) (n = 7) was administered, and the infusion rates of glucose and insulin were unchanged compared with the first 3 hours. In a control study, glucose was infused for a period of 6 hours without the lipid infusion (n = 5). After 6 hours, the plasma glucose concentration and glucose tissue uptake were not affected by LCT or MCT/LCT infusion. Nonetheless, glucose oxidation decreased in the LCT group (from 6.42 +/- 1.04 to 2.31 +/- 0.85 mumol/kg.min-1, p < .001) and in the MCT/LCT group (from 7.62 +/- 1.50 to 5.50 +/- 0.76 mumol/kg.min-1, p < .01) but not in the control group. Concentrations of the glucoregulatory hormones were not different among the three groups. In conclusion, MCTs/LCTs administered concomitantly with glucose infusion, in amounts similar to those used in total parenteral nutrition, inhibit glucose oxidation without affecting glucose tissue uptake, just as LCTs do.
Molecular epidemiology of Salmonella enteritidis phage type 1b and 6a isolates in Portugal

Salmonella enterica serotype Enteritidis is an important serovar comprising 76% of salmonella isolates in Portugal in 2001. For better understand the epidemiology of salmonellosis, a total of 47 isolates of S. Enteritidis phage type (PT) 1b and 6a were analysed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and genomic DNA was subjected to macro restriction with XbaI. For PT1b isolates, only three different patterns were observed, and PT6a showed a total of 10 digestion patterns. Curiously, the main pattern among PT1b isolates seams quite similar to main pattern of PT6a isolates, but when the two patterns were analysed with Bionumerics, we observed that they exhibited some differences. It was concluded that, in 2001, there was one predominant pattern for PT1b and PT6a and, possibly, we were in presence of clonal strains that exists all over the country.
CINNA: An R package for deciphering Central Informative Nodes in Network Analysis

Nowadays, reconstructed networks originated from various contexts become more complex and larger, which make them more difficult to figure out. Recognizing influential nodes helps us to comprehend these huge networks in a convenient way. To identify these nodes, several centrality measures based on the network properties are proposed. However, excessive variation of centrality measures complicates the process of choosing appropriate centrality measure for a given network. Therefore, a simple pipeline for comparing these measures and distinguishing which one rightfully points at the central nodes is required. The CINNA R package conveniently has brought together all required methods for net-work centrality analysis. It contains network component segregation, calculation and prioritizing centralities, along with clustering and visualization functions. CINNA package is freely available from the R project at http://cran.r-project.org/, http://jafarilab-pasteur.com/content/software/CINNA.html
CoMFA Modeling of Enzyme Kinetics: Km Values for Sulfation of Diverse Phenolic Substrates by Human Catecholamine Sulfotransferase SULT1A3

Three-dimensional QSAR models were developed for predicting kinetic Michaelis constant (K(m)) values for phenolic substrates of human catecholamine sulfating sulfotransferase (SULT1A3). The K(m) values were correlated to the steric and electronic molecular fields of the substrates utilizing Comparative Molecular Field Analysis (CoMFA). The evaluated SULT1A3 substrate data set consisted of 95 different substituted phenols, catechols, catecholamines, steroids, and related structures for which the K(m) values were available. The data set was divided in three different subgroups in the initial analysis: (1). for the first CoMFA model substrates with only one reacting hydroxyl group were selected (n = 51), (2). the second model was build with structurally rigid substrates (n = 59), and (3). finally all substrates of the data set were included in the analysis (n = 95). Substrate molecules were aligned using the aromatic ring and the reacting hydroxyl group as a template. After the initial analysis different substrate alignment rules based on the existing knowledge of the SULT1A3 active site structure were evaluated. After this optimization a final CoMFA model was built including all 95 substrates of the data set. Cross-validated q(2) values (leave-one-out and leave-n-out) and coefficient contour maps were calculated for all derived CoMFA models. All four CoMFA models were statistically significant with q(2) values up to 0.624. These predictive QSAR models will provide us information about the factors that affect substrate binding at the active site of human catecholamine sulfotransferase SULT1A3.
Robust MIMO-OFDM System for Frequency-Selective Mobile Wireless Channels

This paper presents a novel technique to enhance the robustness of space-frequency block coded (SFBC) orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) systems. The proposed system shapes the channel matrix of a frequency-selective fading channel into a piecewise flat fading over each block of two adjacent subcarriers. Analytical and simulation results show that the proposed scheme substantially outperforms the conventional SFBC in frequency-selective fading channels, which assumes that the channel parameters are equal over the duration of the codeword. Moreover, we demonstrate that the proposed system offers a superior performance in fast time-varying channels where the interference that results from the channel variations acts only as an additive noise. In addition to its superior performance, the proposed system has low computational complexity, because it is based on the short-block-length Walsh-Hadamard transform.
Psychiatric Phenomena in Dementia of the Alzheimer Type

Psychiatric symptoms and behavioral disturbances are of importance in dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT) but have been relatively neglected by researchers. The main psychiatric symptoms are disorders of thought content (delusions and paranoid ideation), disorders of perception (hallucinations and misidentifications) and disorders of affect (depressed and elevated mood). They occur commonly in DAT, and there is evidence that they may indicate subtypes of the disorder in view of their demographic, structural, and prognostic correlates. Personality changes are very common, and these may be the earliest manifestation of dementia. Behavioral disturbances tend to be associated with advanced dementia and are particularly disruptive to caregivers. Structural correlates suggest that some behaviors are a direct result of brain damage. Psychiatric and behavioral features in DAT are important, as they may serve as a model for symptomatology in functional psychiatric disorders.
Labor Induction and the Risk of a Cesarean Delivery Among Nulliparous Women at Term

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the association of labor induction with the risk of a cesarean delivery for nulliparous women presenting at term at a regional hospital. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study of cesarean delivery among nulliparous women delivering a live, singleton, vertex pregnancy at term. We used clinical data from electronic hospital obstetric records at a large, regional, obstetric hospital, approximating a population-based cohort. Multivariable logistic regression was used to explore risk factors associated with cesarean delivery, and the fraction of cesarean deliveries attributable to the use of labor induction was estimated. RESULTS: From a cohort of 24,679 women, 7,804 met inclusion criteria. Labor induction was used in 43.6% of cases, 39.9% of which were elective. Use of labor induction was associated with an increased odds of cesarean delivery (crude odds ratio 2.67, 2.40–2.96) and the association remained significant (adjusted odds ratio 1.93, 1.71–2.2) after adjustment for maternal demographic characteristics, medical risk, and pregnancy complications. The contribution of labor induction to cesarean delivery in this cohort was estimated to be approximately 20%. CONCLUSION: Labor induction is significantly associated with a cesarean delivery among nulliparous women at term for those with and without medical or obstetric complications. Reducing the use of elective labor induction may lead to decreased rates of cesarean delivery for a population. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: II
Effects of rifampin on biliary lipids in humans

Because the action of rifampin induces hepatic microsomal enzymes, a study was carried out in four patients to determine whether this drug alters the composition of biliary lipids. Several different measurements were made while patients were both on and off rifampin therapy for various infective processes. These measurements included multiple determinations of lipid composition of gallbladder bile, the relative proportions f individual bile acids, and kinetics of cholic acid and chenodeoxycholic acid. In all four patients, the saturation of gallbladder bile increased during rifampin treatment, and the bile consistently became supersaturated. The relative portions of chenodeoxycholic acid and cholic acid were essentially unchanged by treatment, but total synthesis of bile acids increased in three tested patients with rifampin therapy. These results indicate that rifampin increases saturation of bile with cholesterol, but this increase is not due to a reduction in bile acid production.
Increased risk of human parvovirus B19 infection in day-care employees: a cohort study among pregnant workers during an epidemic in Finland

Background Human parvovirus B19 (B19V) infection during early pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage. Studies have inconsistently shown an elevated risk of infection among women with occupational contacts with children. Methodological differences, particularly in defining occupational exposure and in the type of reference group, may explain the conflicting findings. Methods This cohort study compared B19V infections in pregnant day-care employees and healthcare professionals during a B19V epidemic in Finland. Women were identified from the files of nationwide trade unions and the National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health. Early-pregnancy maternal B19V IgG was analysed in 3710 women, and infections were defined as seroconversions after analysing in parallel the available umbilical cord blood samples of the 847 seronegative mothers. Independently of the serological status, the actual employment during pregnancy was assessed using registered information on employment history. Results B19V infections were more common among day-care employees (22/331, 6.6%), than among those working in healthcare (12/326, 3.7%). The adjusted HRs of B19V infection, using proportional hazard regression, was 2.63 (95% CI 1.27 to 5.46) among all women and 5.59 (95% CI 1.40 to 22.4) among nulliparous women. Conclusions Day-care employees are at an increased risk of B19V infection, which warrants preventive measures.
The Malonate Decarboxylase Operon of Acinetobacter calcoaceticus KCCM 40902 Is Regulated by Malonate and the Transcriptional Repressor MdcY

ABSTRACT A regulatory gene-like open reading frame oriented oppositely to mdcL, coined mdcY, was found upstream from the structural genes of the mdcLMACDEGBH operon in Acinetobacter calcoaceticus KCCM 40902. To elucidate the function of this gene,mdcY was expressed in Escherichia coli, and the MdcY protein was purified to homogeneity. Its DNA binding activity and binding site were examined by gel retardation and footprinting assays in vitro and by site-directed mutagenesis of the binding sites in vivo. The regulator bound target DNA regardless of the presence of malonate, and the binding site was found centered at −65 relative to themdcL transcriptional start site and contains a 12-bp palindromic structure (5′-ATTGTA/TACAAT-3′). Using a promoter fusion to the reporter gene luc, we found that the promoter PmdcY is negatively regulated by MdcY independent of malonate. However, the promoter PmdcL recovered its activity in the presence of malonate. When mdcY was introduced into A. calcoaceticus KCCM 40902 in which the gene is inactivated by an IS3 family element, malonate decarboxylase was significantly repressed in cultures growing in acetate, succinate, or Luria-Bertani medium. However, in cells growing in malonate, malonate decarboxylase was induced, indicating that MdcY is a transcriptional repressor and that malonate or a product resulting from malonate metabolism should be the intracellular inducer of the mdcoperon.
Transcrestal sinus floor elevation: a retrospective study of 46 patients up to 16 years.

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical outcomes and radiographic data of transcrestal sinus floor elevation (TSFE) of residual alveolar bone ≤3 mm. METHODS Forty-six patients, edentulous in one or both maxillary posterior segments, were enrolled in this study. The residual alveolar ridge was measured. TSFE without bone grafting was performed. Three months after the first surgery procedure, 66 implants were placed without grafting material. A presurgical distance from the alveolar crest to the floor of the maxillary sinus and the amount of new radiopacity between the sinus floor and alveolar crest were measured from the mesial and distal surfaces of each dental implant surface. RESULTS After a mean follow-up period of 10.43 ± 5.01 years (ranged from 5 to 16 years), a survival rate of 95.45% was reported. Mean bone levels at implant placement were 7.12 ± 0.90 mm and, after 1 year, were 13.28 ± 1.23 mm. They were stable over time, reporting an up to 16 years' value of 13.07 ± 2.63 mm. CONCLUSIONS The results of this retrospective clinical study confirmed the reliability of the TSFE procedure and the maintenance of bone levels without grafting procedures over time.
The CED-3/ICE-like Protease Mch2 Is Activated during Apoptosis and Cleaves the Death Substrate Lamin A*

Phylogenetic analysis of the CED-3/ICE family of cysteine proteases suggests the existence of a subfamily most related to the Caenorhabditis elegans death gene ced-3 and includes Yama (CPP32, apopain), LAP3 (Mch3, CMH1), and Mch2. Here, we show that Mch2 is processed from its zymogen form to a proteolytically active dimeric species during execution of the apoptotic program and by the cytotoxic T cell death protease granzyme B. Additionally, like Yama and LAP3, Mch2 functions downstream of the death inhibitors Bcl-2, Bcl-xL, and CrmA. Importantly, Mch2, but not Yama or LAP3, is capable of cleaving lamin A to its signature apoptotic fragment, indicating that Mch2 is an apoptotic laminase.
The Tragedy of the Commons: Using Computer Games to Analyze Behavior in Social Dilemmas

For our research study, we modeled a social dilemma using the computer roleplaying game Neverwinter Nights. Our goal was to examine player identity strategies in the game and understand both how they differed from real-world identity strategies and how the game playing affected choices made in a realworld scenario. We found that although players tried alternate strategies when playing the game, their game playing did not appear to affect their real life choices. Game playing did appear to promote deeper thinking about real-world social dilemmas.
Ultrafast FBG Interrogator Based on Time-Stretch Method

We demonstrate an experimental realization of the time-stretch configured fiber Bragg grating (FBG) interrogator with an ultrafast speed. The interrogator consists of a home-made ultrabroadband fiber laser, an FBG sensor array, and two dispersive elements (single mode fibers). A time-stretch method is employed to convert the wavelength shift of the FBG sensor array to time shift via the principle of wavelength-to-time mapping. It is theoretically and experimentally demonstrated that the wavelength-related time shift suffers no influence although the Bragg wavelength and bandwidth of the strained FBG might be different. The interrogator works in real time, so that a single-shot measurement without carrying out any averaging is feasible.
Rapid Degeneration of Noncoding DNA Regions Surrounding SlAP3X/Y After Recombination Suppression in the Dioecious Plant Silene latifolia

Silene latifolia is a dioecious plant with heteromorphic XY sex chromosomes. Previous studies of sex chromosome–linked genes have suggested a gradual divergence between the X-linked and the Y-linked genes in proportion to the distance from the pseudoautosomal region. However, such a comparison has yet to be made for the noncoding regions. To better characterize the nonrecombining region of the X and Y chromosomes, we sequenced bacterial artificial chromosome clones containing the sex chromosome–linked paralogs SlAP3X and SlAP3Y, including 115 kb and 73 kb of sequences, respectively, flanking these genes. The synonymous nucleotide divergence between SlAP3X and SlAP3Y indicated that recombination stopped approximately 3.4 million years ago. Sequence homology analysis revealed the presence of six long terminal repeat retrotransposon-like elements. Using the nucleotide divergence calculated between left and right long terminal repeat sequences, insertion dates were estimated to be 0.083–1.6 million years ago, implying that all elements detected were inserted after recombination stopped. A reciprocal sequence homology search facilitated the identification of four homologous noncoding DNA regions between the X and Y chromosomes, spanning 6.7% and 10.6% of the X chromosome–derived and Y chromosome–derived sequences, respectively, investigated. Genomic Southern blotting and fluorescence in situ hybridization showed that the noncoding DNA flanking SlAP3X/Y has homology to many regions throughout the genome, regardless of whether they were homologous between the X and Y chromosomes. This finding suggests that most noncoding DNA regions rapidly lose their counterparts because of the introduction of transposable elements and indels (insertion–deletions) after recombination has stopped.
Expression and purification of the DNA-binding domain of the human transcription factor E2F1.

The DNA-binding domain of the human transcription factor E2F1 was expressed in Escherichia coli. Through a single purification step using a Ni2+ column, 40-50 mg of the highly purified recombinant protein was obtained from 1 liter of bacterial culture. In addition, it was shown that the recombinant protein had higher stability and solubility under acidic conditions than at a neutral or alkaline pH. The gel shift assay showed that the recombinant E2F1 DNA-binding domain was active in binding a fragment containing E2F sites. Circular dichroism measurements revealed that the recombinant protein approximately contains 33% alpha-helix, 11% beta-sheet, 5% turn, and 51% random coil at pH 7.0, and there was no obvious change for the secondary structure of the recombinant protein between pH 4.0 and pH 9.0. A 3D model was obtained by comparative protein modeling with a homologous protein whose structure was known by program Modeller 4. With the program DSSP, the predicted secondary structure content of the model was consistent with the result of circular dichroism spectrum.
Derivation of urine output thresholds that identify a very high risk of AKI in patients with septic shock.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES To promote early detection of AKI, recently proposed pretest probability models combine sub-Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) AKI criteria with baseline AKI risk. The primary objective of this study was to determine sub-KDIGO thresholds that identify patients with septic shock at highest risk for AKI. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS This was a retrospective analysis of 390 adult patients admitted to the medical intensive care unit (ICU) of a tertiary, academic medical center with septic shock between January 2008 and December 2010. Hourly urine output was collected from the time of septic shock recognition (hour 0) to hour 96, urine catheter removal, or ICU discharge (whichever occurred first). All available serum creatinine (SCr) measurements were collected until hour 96. The AKI pretest probability model was assessed during the first 12 hours of resuscitation and included the initial episode of oliguria, increase from baseline to peak SCr level, and Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) III score in a multivariable receiver-operator characteristic (ROC) analysis. The primary outcome was the incidence of stage II or III (stage II+) AKI defined by KDIGO criteria. Secondary outcomes included the need for RRT and 28-day mortality. RESULTS Ninety-eight (25%) patients developed stage II+ AKI after septic shock recognition. APACHE III score and increase in SCr level in the first 12 hours were not statistically associated with stage II+ AKI in multivariable ROC analysis. Consecutive oliguria for 3 hours had fair predictive ability for achieving stage II+ AKI criteria (area under ROC curve, 0.73; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 0.68 to 0.78), and oliguria for 5 hours demonstrated optimal accuracy (82%; 95% CI, 79% to 86%). CONCLUSIONS Three to 5 hours of consecutive oliguria in patients with septic shock may provide a valuable measure of AKI risk. Further validation to support this finding is needed.
Serological investigation of chlamydial infection among ruminants in Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh , India

Chlamydiae are gram negative, obligatory intracellular pathogens, which are responsible abortions in animals, birds and humans. Infection occurs by ingestion of elementary bodies from aborted fetus, uterine discharge and placenta from infected animals or via contaminated feed and water. Lack of specific clinical signs and pathological lesions most often leads to difficulty in diagnosing chlamydial infections at the field level. In Andhra Pradesh, a study based on ELISA was conducted to assess the seroprevalence of chlamydiosis among ruminants, which revealed seropositivity of 68.18% in cattle, 33.76% in buffaloes with an overall prevalence of 41.41% in large ruminants. 35.38% of sheep and 25% of goat were found positive for chlamydial antibodies.
Blind Image Quality Assessment Using Natural Scene Statistics in the Gradient Domain

An efficient, general-purpose, blind/no-reference image quality assessment (NR-IQA) algorithm based on natural image statistics in the gradient domain is proposed in this letter. We call it REFIINGS (REFerrenceless Image Integrity Notator using Gradient Statistics). The gradient of an image describes its geometric features which can be easily captured by the human visual system (HVS). In the literature, gradient-relevant methods have gotten big success in full-reference (FR) IQA and reduced-reference (RR) IQA. Inspired by these, we extend it to NR-IQA. REFIINGS utilizes the parameters of generalized Laplace distribution as part of its features, and the parameters are directly computed using given formulas which avoid parameters estimation. REFIINGS is computationally quite efficient which makes it an attractive option for the use in real-time blind assessment of visual quality. When tested on the benchmark image database, our method is quite promising.