Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
DNA Hypomethylation as a Potential Link between Excessive Alcohol Intake and Cardiometabolic Dysfunction in Morbidly Obese Adults

A large percentage of obese patients in the United States suffer a comorbid substance use disorder, mainly alcohol use. Alcohol consumption interferes with the absorption of dietary methyl donors such as folate required for the one-carbon metabolism pathway and subsequently for DNA methylation. In this study, we assessed the association between alcohol consumption and DNA methylation in obese subjects. We obtained visceral adipose tissue (VAT) biopsies from bariatric patients. DNA methylation of 94 genes implicated in inflammation and immunity were analyzed in VAT in relation to alcohol consumption data obtained via questionnaires. Vasoreactivity was measured in the brachial artery and the VAT-isolated arterioles. Pro-inflammatory genes were significantly hypomethylated in the heavy drinking category correlating with higher levels of circulating inflammatory cytokines. Alcohol consumption correlated positively with body mass index (BMI), fat percentage, insulin resistance, impaired lipid profile, and systemic inflammation and negatively with plasma folate and vitamin B12, inflammatory gene DNA methylation, and vasoreactivity. In conclusion, these data suggest that alcohol intake is associated with lower DNA methylation and higher inflammation and cardiometabolic risk in obese individuals.
Identification of Early Salt-Stress-Responsive Proteins in In Vitro Prunus Cultured Excised Roots

Fruit-tree rootstock selection is a challenge under a scenario of growing environmental stresses in which the soil and climate are greatly affected. Salinization is an increasing global process that severely affects soil fertility. The selection of rootstocks with the ability to tolerate salt stress is essential. Excised root cultures may be an excellent experimental approach to study stress physiology and a predictive tool to assess possible tolerance. In this study, we show how protein changes in response to salt stress evaluated in excised root cultures of Prunus cerasus (moderate salt-sensitive cultivar) could be representative of these changes in the roots of whole plants. The 2D electrophoresis of root extracts and subsequent spot identification by MALDI-TOF/TOF-MS show 16 relevant proteins differentially expressed in roots as a response to 60 mM NaCl. Cytoplasmic isozyme fructose 1,6-bisphosphate aldolase shows relevant changes in its relative presence of isoforms as a response to saline stress, while the total level of enzymes remains similar. Ferredoxin-NADP+ reductase increases as a response to salinity, even though the measured activity is not significantly different. The observed changes are congruent with previous proteomic studies on the roots of whole plants that are involved in protection mechanisms against salt stress.
Talking about Health: A Topic Analysis of Narratives from Individuals with Schizophrenia and Other Serious Mental Illnesses

Individuals with schizophrenia have higher mortality and shorter lifespans. There are a multitude of factors which create these conditions, but one aspect is worse physical health, particularly cardiovascular and metabolic health. Many interventions to improve the health of individuals with schizophrenia have been created, but on the whole, there has been limited effectiveness in improving quality of life or lifespan. One potential new avenue for inquiry involves a more patient-centric perspective; understanding aspects of physical health most important, and potentially most amenable to change, for individuals based on their life narratives. This study used topic modeling, a type of Natural Language Processing (NLP) on unstructured speech samples from individuals (n = 366) with serious mental illness, primarily schizophrenia, in order to extract topics. Speech samples were drawn from three studies collected over a decade in two geographically distinct regions of the United States. Several health-related topics emerged, primarily centered around food, living situation, and lifestyle (e.g., routine, hobbies). The implications of these findings for how individuals with serious mental illness and schizophrenia think about their health, and what may be most effective for future health promotion policies and interventions, are discussed.
Interferon Gamma sebagai Deteksi Awal Infeksi yang Disebabkan oleh Toxoplasma gondii

Diagnosis dini infeksi Toxoplasma gondii penting untuk efektifitas pengobatan. Obat yang tersedia tidak dapat membunuh bradizoit yang terkandung dalam kista, obat tersebut hanya dapat membunuh pada stadium takizoit. Semakin cepat infeksi T.gondii terdeteksi maka semakin besar kemungkinan infeksi dapat dihentikan dan keberhasilan pengobatan tercapai. Saat ini tes serologi berbasis antibodi menjadi metode diagnostik yang paling sering digunakan untuk mendeteksi T. gondii. Namun, tes serologi diketahui memiliki beberapa keterbatasan. Berdasarkan penelitian terakhir, Interferon-gamma release assay (IGRA) yang merupakan pemeriksaan berbasis sel T diperkenalkan sebagai uji in vitro untuk mendeteksi infeksi T. gondii. Baik infeksi akut dan kronis bisa dideteksi dengan IGRA, IGRA dapat mendeteksi infeksi pada hari ke 3, sementara serum IgM dan IgG terdeteksi pada hari ke 9 dan 13 pasca infeksi. IGRA secara akurat dapat membedakan individu yang terinfeksi dan yang tidak terinfeksi dengan menunjukkan aktivasi limfosit yang kuat setelah distimulasi secara in vitro oleh antigen T. gondii, bahkan pada hari pertama kehidupan. IGRA adalah suatu metode tes yang mudah dan murah untuk mengukur sel mediasi imunitas terhadap T. gondii. Oleh karena itu, IGRA memiliki potensi untuk menjadi alat diagnostik deteksi dini untuk infeksi T.gondii.
A population receptive field modeling framework of sensory suppression in human visual cortex

: When presenting multiple visual items simultaneously in the receptive field, the neurophysiological response is surprisingly lower than presenting the identical items sequentially. However, the underlying computations of this suppression effect are not well-understood. Here, we leveraged population receptive field (pRF) models to computationally test how linear, compressive spatial, or compressive spatiotemporal summation contributes to suppression at the voxel level. We collected two fMRI experiments in 10 subjects: (i) retinotopy to estimate pRFs and (ii) an experiment with simultaneous or sequential stimuli, both varying in duration and size. In V1, there was no simultaneous suppression and responses were larger for bigger stimuli. This was well- predicted by linear pRFs. However, the linear model failed to capture larger responses in V1 for brief vs long durations. In V2 and high-level areas, responses were lower for simultaneous vs sequential stimuli, larger for brief vs long durations, and did not increase much with size. Both compressive pRF models predicted simultaneous suppression and the effect of stimulus size, but only the compressive spatiotemporal model predicted the effect of duration. Our results suggest that compressive spatiotemporal pRFs are necessary to predict responses in visual cortex to simultaneous vs sequential stimuli and underscore the power of pRF models for providing new insights into spatiotemporal computations of sensory suppression.
The Joule Heating Effect of a Foldable and Cuttable Sheet Made of SWCNT/ANF Composite

A foldable and cuttable sheet heater was fabricated using single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) and aramid nanofibers (ANFs). SWCNTs are particularly well suited for Joule heating based on their high thermal stability, electrical properties, high current density, and aspect ratio. When the SWCNT/ANF composite reaches a high temperature during Joule heating, ANFs will endure this temperature due to their impressive thermal stability, derived from aramid fibers. With the aim of achieving a synergistic effect between the SWCNTs and ANFs, 0–100 wt% SWCNT/ANF composite sheets were fabricated by tip-type sonication and vacuum filtration. After assessing the thermal stability and electrical properties of the composite sheets, the Joule heating effect was analyzed. TGA showed that our sheet had high thermal stability in an air condition up to around 500 °C. The electrical conductivity of the composite sheet was improved as the amount of SWCNT added rose to 790.0 and 747.5 S/cm in the 75 and 100_SWCNTs/ANF, respectively. The maximum heating temperature, up to 280 °C, reached by Joule heating was measured as a function of SWCNT content and input voltage, and the relationship among SWCNT content, input voltage, heating temperature, and electric power was described. Mechanical properties were also measured in a temperature range similar to the heating temperature of 300 °C reached by Joule heating. Ultimately, we obtained a foldable and cuttable composite sheet with a stretchable structure, capable of being molded into a variety of shapes. This energy-efficient material can potentially be employed in any device in which a heater is required to deliver high temperatures.
Vertically Polarized Planar Transition for Hollow-Dielectric-Waveguide-Based 5G/6G High-Speed mm-Wave Interconnect

Hollow dielectric waveguide (HDW) is a highly anticipated solution for extremely low-loss and high-speed millimeter-wave (mm-wave) interconnect. However, the method for endfire power transition from HDW to planar backplane systems is limited to horizontal polarization in the literature. That is, the potentially available capacity of the HDW within the other polarization is idle and wasted. In this letter, the first vertically polarized (V-pol), endfire transition from tubular HDW to the printed circuit board (PCB) is proposed. The experimental result shows that the minimum calibrated transition loss is only 0.48 dB. And a wideband transition can be designed to achieve a fractional bandwidth of 20%. And a maximum data rate of 34 Gb/s over the proposed 1-m interconnect is demonstrated with 16 quadrature amplitude modulation (16QAM). For the endless race of data rate in 5G/6G communication, this technique provides a new direction for a low-loss and high-speed HDW-based interconnect between planar backplane systems.
Efficacy of intranasal insulin in improving cognition in mild cognitive impairment or dementia: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background Insulin regulates many aspects of brain function related to mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia, which can be delivered to the brain center via intranasal (IN) devices. Some small, single-site studies indicated that intranasal insulin can enhance memory in patients with MCI or dementia. The pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and diabetes mellitus (DM) overlap, making insulin an attractive therapy for people suffering from MCI or dementia. Objective The goal of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness of IN insulin on cognition in patients with MCI or dementia. Methods We searched the electronic database for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that verified the effects of insulin on patients with MCI or dementia.16 studies (899 patients) were identified. Results The pooled standard mean difference (SMD) showed no significant difference between IN insulin and placebo groups; however, statistical results suggested a difference between study groups in the effects of ADCS-ADL; AD patients with APOE4 (-) also showed improved performance in verbal memory; other cognitions did not improve significantly. Conclusion In view of IN insulin's promising potential, more researches should be conducted at a larger dose after proper selection of insulin types and patients. Systematic review registration http://www.crd. york.ac. uk/PROSPERO/, identifier CRD42022353546.
Innowacyjność restauracji działających w wybranych polskich miastach w ocenie ich menedżerów

W obliczu rosnącej konkurencji na rynku usług gastronomicznych w Polsce właściciele i/lub menedżerowie placówek oferujących ten rodzaj usług szukają innowacji jako sposobu zwiększenia przychodów i zysków, budowania przewagi konkurencyjnej czy poprawy wizerunku. Do tej pory problematyka innowacyjności branży gastronomicznej nie była przedmiotem wielu badań, szczególnie w Polsce. Badanie przedstawione w artykule stanowi próbę wypełnienia tej luki, chociaż wyłącznie w odniesieniu do restauracji, które są ważnym segmentem rynku gastronomicznego. Celem badania była ocena aktywności innowacyjnej restauracji działających w największych miastach naszego kraju. Podstawą oceny jest analiza opinii menedżerów tych placówek na temat wdrażania przez nich innowacji produktowych, marketingowych i procesowych. Dane zebrano w trakcie wywiadów CAWI realizowanych przy użyciu interaktywnego kwestionariusza, zaś do oceny aktywności innowacyjnej badanych restauracji wykorzystano metodę drzew klasyfikacyjnych, służącą do analizy danych wielowymiarowych.
Thermal conduction in AlxGa1−xN alloys and thin films

We report on experimental and theoretical investigation of thermal conduction in AlxGa1−xN alloys. A focus of this study is on understanding the effect of the Al mass fraction x and temperature on thermal conductivity in AlxGa1−xN thin films. The thermal conductivity of a set of AlxGa1−xN thin films as well as a pure GaN sample was measured using the differential 3ω technique in the temperature range from 80 to 400 K. Application of the virtual-crystal model allowed us to elucidate the strength of the mass-difference and strain-field-difference phonon scattering in AlxGa1−xN alloy system. The obtained thermal-conductivity temperature dependence indicates the high degree of disorder in the system. The measured variation of the thermal conductivity with the Al fraction x is in good agreement with the theory predictions. The measured data and calculation procedure are useful for evaluating the self-heating effect in AlxGa1−xN/GaN heterostructure field-effect transistors and for the device structure optimization.
Improving OFDR Distributed Fiber Sensing by Fibers With Enhanced Rayleigh Backscattering and Image Processing

This article investigates using optical fibers with enhanced backscattering profiles to improve distributed fiber sensor performance and reduce instrumentation costs. Using a femtosecond (fs) laser direct writing technique, the Rayleigh backscattering profile of a standard telecom fiber was enhanced by more than 40 dB to improve the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for optical frequency domain reflectometry (OFDR). The enhanced backscattering signals enable effectively distributed strain measurements using a low-cost tunable laser (TL). Median filtering is applied to denoise cross correlation results to further improve measurement outcomes. Results presented in this article show that a TL with a 1-nm tuning range, which is far less than the tuning range used in commercial OFDR interrogators, can perform effectively distributed strain measurements using sensing fibers with enhanced backscattering profiles. The sensing fiber with over 40-dB backscattering enhancement achieved 4.8-cm spatial resolution in strain measurements with a root mean square accuracy of less than 2.70 $\mu \varepsilon $ when 10–50 $\mu \varepsilon $ were exerted to the sensing fiber. Results presented in this article reveal both the potential and limitations of sensing fibers with enhanced backscattering for OFDR-based distributed fiber sensors.
A beetle antennae search optimized recurrent extreme learning machine for battery state of charge estimation

The extreme learning machine (ELM) is a single‐hidden layer feedforword neural network (FNN) without training hidden layer weights/biases. By constructing a recurrent extreme learning machine (Recurrent‐ELM) with time delay lines to model battery dynamic characteristics, a beetle antennae search based recursive least squares (BAS‐RLS) method is explored to online realize the state of charge (SOC) estimation. The contents include: (1) To decrease the computational burden, the ELM model with fixed hidden layer weights is adopted to model battery SOC, and a RLS algorithm is studied to online estimate SOC by using the sampled terminal voltages and currents; (2) To solve the modeling accuracy problem, a Recurrent‐ELM model with past/present voltages and currents, and past SOC as inputs is constructed by adding time delay lines to capture battery dynamic characteristics, so as to promote the battery modeling accuracy; (3) To determine suitable neuron numbers in the hidden layer, the BAS method is introduced to find the optimal neuron number in the hidden layer to promote intelligence of the Recurrent‐ELM based RLS algorithm. Simulation results indicate that the proposed model and method has high precision in SOC estimation compared with traditional method.
Design and Analysis of Low Power Bio-amplifier with Current Mirror Topology at CMOS 45nm Technology Node

The ion sensitive bio-potential amplifier is the critical block in the biomedical instrument. Electrical parameters depend on material properties such as dielectric constants, charge carriers and presence of positive and negative ions. Multiple architectures are available in the literature, have a primary limitation of power consumption, bandwidth, and noise. The different circuit topologies of internal components are capable to provide acceptable value. In this work, 4 topologies of the current mirror have been explored with the primary motivation of reduction in power consumption towards nw. Simulation result of operational transconductance amplifier (OTA) with mod-Wilson current mirror combination attains the minimum power of 437 nW and achieves the input-referred noise to 2. 55μV/√Hz which is minimum among different topology of the current mirror. Input referred noise found maximum with simple current mirror 2. 9655μV/√Hz. The circuit has been optimized with supply voltage ±0.5V for a mid-band gain.
Stimulating Suspense in Gamified Virtual Reality Sports: Effect on Flow, Fun, and Behavioral Intention

Abstract In this study, the effect of sense of suspense on flow experience, perceived fun in sports, and intention to use virtual reality platforms for the sport participation were examined. An experiment was implemented to compare gamified virtual reality experiences where a sense of suspense was stimulated by outcome uncertainty. Virtual reality sports content programmed with artificial intelligence was developed for experimentation. A multivariate analysis of covariance analysis was conducted to test established hypotheses. The experimental group with a higher sense of suspense presented higher flow, fun, and usage intention. While most studies have centered on one’s response to the entity that stimulates suspense, this study emphasizes the significance of gamification using suspense to induce targeted behavioral intentions. The authors further discuss the implications to scholars and practitioners.
Free-Floating Bike Sharing in Jiangsu: Users’ Behaviors and Influencing Factors

In order to explore the factors affecting users’ behaviors in a free-floating bike sharing (FFBS) system in China, a survey was conducted in Jiangsu province, China in 2017, and the travel characteristics of FFBS users were analyzed. A binary logistic model was applied to quantify the impact of various variables regarding residents’ usage preference based on 30401 valid questionnaires. The findings show that (1) FFBS was mainly used for short-distance travel in cities, especially for commuting and schooling, and the time period of travel in FFBS coincided with the rush-hour in urban areas; (2) a higher level of education, a higher daily transportation cost, the convenience of picking up and parking, and the contribution to users’ health could promote the usage of FFBS, while malfunctioning bicycles and limited regulations were major obstacles restricting the development of FFBS; (3) interestingly, people with high-incomes rather than those with low-incomes showed an inclination for FFBS owing to the charge mode. This research provides empirical evidence to facilitate the formulation of urban transportation policies and to improve the management of FFBS for the operators.
Family Visiting Restrictions and Postoperative Clinical Outcomes: A Retrospective Analysis

In the last two years, all hospitals have adopted restricted visitation policies due to the coronavirus disease 2019. The objective of this study was to assess the consequences of hospital visitation restrictions on the most common outcome measures on adult patients who underwent surgery. A retrospective study design was conducted according to the STrengthening the Reporting of OBservational studies in Epidemiology statements in 2021. Forty patients exposed to a no-visitors policy and forty unexposed patients (1:1) were enrolled. Patients who were not allowed to receive family visits were more likely to report disorientation/agitation episodes (n = 25, 62.5% vs. n = 12, 30.0%; p < 0.01), spend more sleepless nights (n = 10, 25.0% vs. n = 1, 2.5%; p < 0.01), be restrained (n = 8, 20.0% vs. n = 1, 2.5%; p = 0.02), incur device-removal incidents (n = 14, 35.0% vs. n = 5, 12.5%; p = 0.01) compared to unexposed patients. Conversely, pain episodes were significantly more frequent in the unexposed group (n = 7.1, SD = 7.9 vs. n = 2.4, SD = 2.8; p < 0.01), and there was lower clinical deterioration risk (NEWS of 0–4 average 19.5, SD = 12.2 evaluations vs. 12.3, SD = 8.6; p < 0.01) compared to exposed patients. According to the results, family visiting restrictions should be measured against their possible advantages in order to prevent negative outcomes for surgical patients and to improve the quality of care.
Transcriptome Analysis to Identify Genes Related to Flowering Reversion in Tomato

Flowering reversion is a common phenomenon in plant development in which differentiated floral organs switch from reproductive growth to vegetative growth and ultimately form abnormal floral organs or vegetative organs. This greatly reduces tomato yield and quality. Research on this phenomenon has recently increased, but there is a lack of research at the molecular and gene expression levels. Here, transcriptomic analyses of the inflorescence meristem were performed in two kinds of materials at different developmental stages, and a total of 3223 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were screened according to the different developmental stages and trajectories of the two materials. The analysis of database annotations showed that these DEGs were closely related to starch and sucrose metabolism, DNA replication and modification, plant hormone synthesis and signal transduction. It was further speculated that tomato flowering reversion may be related to various biological processes, such as cell signal transduction, energy metabolism and protein post-transcriptional regulation. Combined with the results of previous studies, our work showed that the gene expression levels of CLE9, FA, PUCHI, UF, CLV3, LOB30, SFT, S-WOX9 and SVP were significantly different in the two materials. Endogenous hormone analysis and exogenous hormone treatment revealed a variety of plant hormones involved in flowering reversion in tomato. Thus, tomato flowering reversion was studied comprehensively by transcriptome analysis for the first time, providing new insights for the study of flower development regulation in tomato and other plants.