pinecone/core-2020-05-10-deduplication huggingface dataset:
Barefoot vs common footwear: A systematic review of the kinematic, kinetic and muscle activity differences during walking

AbstractHabitual footwear use has been reported to influence foot structure with an acute exposure being shown to alter foot position and mechanics. The foot is highly specialised thus these changes in structure/position could influence functionality. This review aims to investigate the effect of footwear on gait, specifically focussing on studies that have assessed kinematics, kinetics and muscle activity between walking barefoot and in common footwear. In line with PRISMA and published guidelines, a literature search was completed across six databases comprising Medline, EMBASE, Scopus, AMED, Cochrane Library and Web of Science. Fifteen of 466 articles met the predetermined inclusion criteria and were included in the review. All articles were assessed for methodological quality using a modified assessment tool based on the STROBE statement for reporting observational studies and the CASP appraisal tool. Walking barefoot enables increased forefoot spreading under load and habitual barefoot walkers have anatomically wider feet. Spatial-temporal differences including, reduced step/stride length and increased cadence, are observed when barefoot. Flatter foot placement, increased knee flexion and a reduced peak vertical ground reaction force at initial contact are also reported. Habitual barefoot walkers exhibit lower peak plantar pressures and pressure impulses, whereas peak plantar pressures are increased in the habitually shod wearer walking barefoot. Footwear particularly affects the kinematics and kinetics of gait acutely and chronically. Little research has been completed in older age populations (50+ years) and thus further research is required to better understand the effect of footwear on walking across the lifespan
Caged Fluorescent Haptens Reveal the Generation of Cryptic Epitopes in Allergic Contact Dermatitis

Allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) is the most prevalent form of human immunotoxicity. It is caused by skin exposure to haptens, i.e., protein-reactive, low-molecular-weight chemical compounds, which form hapten–protein complexes (HPCs) in the skin, triggering the immune system. These immunogenic HPCs are elusive. In this study a series of thiol-reactive caged fluorescent haptens, i.e., bromobimanes, were deployed in combination with two-photon fluorescence microscopy, immunohistochemistry, and proteomics to identify possible hapten targets in proteins in human skin. Key targets found were the basal keratinocytes and the keratins K5 and K14. Particularly, cysteine 54 of K5 was found to be haptenated by the bromobimanes. In addition, elevated levels of anti-keratin antibodies were found in the sera of mice exposed to bromobimanes in vivo. The results indicate a general mechanism in which thiol-reactive haptens generate cryptic epitopes normally concealed from the immune system. In addition, keratinocytes and keratin seem to have an important role in the mechanism behind ACD, which is a subject for further investigations
Population dynamical behavior of Lotka–Volterra system under regime switching

AbstractIn this paper, we investigate a Lotka–Volterra system under regime switching dx(t)=diag(x1(t),…,xn(t))[(b(r(t))+A(r(t))x(t))dt+σ(r(t))dB(t)], where B(t) is a standard Brownian motion. The aim here is to find out what happens under regime switching. We first obtain the sufficient conditions for the existence of global positive solutions, stochastic permanence and extinction. We find out that both stochastic permanence and extinction have close relationships with the stationary probability distribution of the Markov chain. The limit of the average in time of the sample path of the solution is then estimated by two constants related to the stationary distribution and the coefficients. Finally, the main results are illustrated by several examples
Four-wave mixing in a non-degenerate four-level diamond configuration in
  the hyperfine Paschen-Back regime

We present an experimental study of seeded four-wave mixing (4WM) using a
diamond excitation scheme (with states from the 5S$_{1/2}$, 5P$_{1/2}$,
5P$_{3/2}$ and 5D$_{3/2}$ terms) in a thermal vapour of $^{87}$Rb atoms. We
investigate the 4WM spectra under the application of a strong magnetic field
(0.6 T). The Zeeman interaction is strong enough to realise the hyperfine
Paschen-Back regime, which has the effect of separating the optical transitions
by more than the Doppler width, thereby significantly simplifying the spectral
features. We show that this facilitates a quantitative comparison, even in the
regime of strong dressing, between experimental data and a simple theoretical
model based only on four-level optical Bloch equations.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figure
Evolution of the anti-truncated stellar profiles of S0 galaxies since
  $z=0.6$ in the SHARDS survey: I - Sample and Methods

The controversy about the origin of the structure of S0--E/S0 galaxies may be
due to the difficulty of comparing surface brightness profiles with different
depths, photometric corrections and PSF effects (almost always ignored). We aim
to quantify the properties of Type-III (anti-truncated) discs in a sample of S0
galaxies at 0.2<z<0.6. In this paper, we present the sample selection and
describe in detail the methods to robustly trace the structure in their
outskirts and correct for PSF effects. We have selected and classified a sample
of 150 quiescent galaxies at 0.2<z<0.6 in the GOODS-N field. We perform a
quantitative structural analysis of 44 S0-E/S0 galaxies. We corrected their
surface brightness profiles for PSF distortions and analysed the biases in the
structural and photometric parameters when the PSF correction is not applied.
Additionally, we have developed Elbow, an automatic statistical method to
determine whether a possible break is significant - or not - and its type and
made it publicly available. We found 14 anti-truncated S0-E/S0 galaxies in the
range 0.2<z<0.6 (~30% of the final sample). This fraction is similar to the
those reported in the local Universe. In our sample, ~25% of the Type-III
breaks observed in PSF-uncorrected profiles are artifacts, and their profiles
turn into a Type I after PSF correction. PSF effects also soften Type-II
profiles. We found that the profiles of Type-I S0 and E/S0 galaxies of our
sample are compatible with the inner profiles of the Type-III, in contrast with
the outer profiles. We have obtained the first robust and reliable sample of 14
anti-truncated S0--E/S0 galaxies beyond the local Universe, in the range
0.2<z<0.6. PSF effects significantly affect the shape of the surface brightness
profiles in galaxy discs even in the case of the narrow PSF of HST/ACS images,
so future studies on the subject should make an effort to correct them.Comment: Accepted for publishing in Astronomy & Astrophysics. 75 pages, 57
  figure
Changes in IgE sensitization and total IgE levels over 20 years of follow-up

Cross-sectional studies have reported a lower prevalence of sensitization in older adults, but few longitudinal studies have examined whether this is an aging or a year-of-birth cohort effect.; We sought to assess changes in sensitization and total IgE levels in a cohort of European adults as they aged over a 20-year period.; Levels of serum specific IgE to common aeroallergens (house dust mite, cat, and grass) and total IgE levels were measured in 3206 adults from 25 centers in the European Community Respiratory Health Survey on 3 occasions over 20 years. Changes in sensitization and total IgE levels were analyzed by using regression analysis corrected for potential differences in laboratory equipment and by using inverse sampling probability weights to account for nonresponse.; Over the 20-year follow-up, the prevalence of sensitization to at least 1 of the 3 allergens decreased from 29.4% to 24.8% (-4.6%; 95% CI, -7.0% to -2.1%). The prevalence of sensitization to house dust mite (-4.3%; 95% CI, -6.0% to -2.6%) and cat (-2.1%; 95% CI, -3.6% to -0.7%) decreased more than sensitization to grass (-0.6%; 95% CI, -2.5% to 1.3%). Age-specific prevalence of sensitization to house dust mite and cat did not differ between year-of-birth cohorts, but sensitization to grass was most prevalent in the most recent ones. Overall, total IgE levels decreased significantly (geometric mean ratio, 0.63; 95% CI, 0.58-0.68) at all ages in all year-of-birth cohorts.; Aging was associated with lower levels of sensitization, especially to house dust mite and cat, after the age of 20 years
The VLT/NaCo large program to probe the occurrence of exoplanets and brown dwarfs at wide orbits. IV. Gravitational instability rarely forms wide, giant planets

Understanding the formation and evolution of giant planets (≥1 M[SUB]Jup[/SUB]) at wide orbital separation (≥5 AU) is one of the goals of direct imaging. Over the past 15 yr, many surveys have placed strong constraints on the occurrence rate of wide-orbit giants, mostly based on non-detections, but very few have tried to make a direct link with planet formation theories. In the present work, we combine the results of our previously published VLT/NaCo large program with the results of 12 past imaging surveys to constitute a statistical sample of 199 FGK stars within 100 pc, including three stars with sub-stellar companions. Using Monte Carlo simulations and assuming linear flat distributions for the mass and semi-major axis of planets, we estimate the sub-stellar companion frequency to be within 0.75-5.70% at the 68% confidence level (CL) within 20-300 AU and 0.5-75 M[SUB]Jup[/SUB], which is compatible with previously published results. We also compare our results with the predictions of state-of-the-art population synthesis models based on the gravitational instability (GI) formation scenario with and without scattering. We estimate that in both the scattered and non-scattered populations, we would be able to detect more than 30% of companions in the 1-75 M[SUB]Jup[/SUB] range (95% CL). With the threesub-stellar detections in our sample, we estimate the fraction of stars that host a planetary system formed by GI to be within 1.0-8.6% (95% CL). We also conclude that even though GI is not common, it predicts a mass distribution of wide-orbit massive companions that is much closer to what is observed than what the core accretion scenario predicts. Finally, we associate the present paper with the release of the Direct Imaging Virtual Archive (DIVA), a public database that aims at gathering the results of past, present, and future direct imaging surveys. Based on observations collected at the European Southern Observatory, Chile (ESO Large Program 184.C-0157 and Open Time 089.C-0137A and 090.C-0252A).Peer reviewe
Search for neutral color-octet weak-triplet scalar particles in proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 8 TeV

A search for pair production of neutral color-octet weak- triplet scalar particles (Theta) is performed in processes where one Theta decays to a pair of b quark jets and the other to a Z boson plus a jet, with the Z boson decaying to a pair of electrons or muons. The search is performed with data collected by the CMS experiment at the CERN LHC corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.7 inverse femtobarns of proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 8 TeV. The number of observed events is found to be in agreement with the standard model predictions. The 95% confidence level upper limit on the product of the cross section and branching fraction is obtained as a function of the Theta mass. The 95% confidence level lower bounds on the Theta mass are found to be 623 and 426 GeV, for two different octo-triplet theoretical scenarios. These are the first direct experimental bounds on particles predicted by the octo- triplet model
Numerical Simulations of Magnetoacoustic–Gravity Waves in the Solar Atmosphere

We investigate the excitation of magnetoacoustic–gravity waves generated from localized pulses in the gas pressure as well as in the vertical component of velocity. These pulses are initially launched at the top of the solar photosphere, which is permeated by a weak magnetic field. We investigate three different configurations of the background magnetic field lines: horizontal, vertical, and oblique to the gravitational force. We numerically model magnetoacoustic–gravity waves by implementing a realistic (VAL-C) model of the solar temperature. We solve the two-dimensional ideal magnetohydrodynamic equations numerically with the use of the FLASH code to simulate the dynamics of the lower solar atmosphere. The initial pulses result in shocks at higher altitudes. Our numerical simulations reveal that a small-amplitude initial pulse can produce magnetoacoustic–gravity waves, which are later reflected from the transition region due to the large-temperature gradient. The cavities in the lower solar atmosphere are found to have the best conditions to act as a resonator for various oscillations, including their trapping and leakage into the higher atmosphere. Our numerical simulations successfully model the excitation of such wave modes, their reflection and trapping, as well as the associated plasma dynamics
Cell sourcing for bone tissue engineering : amniotic fluid stem cells have a delayed, robust differentiation compared to mesenchymal stem cells

Cell based therapies for bone regeneration are an exciting emerging technology, but the availability of osteogenic cells is limited and an ideal cell source has not been identified. Amniotic fluid-derived stem (AFS) cells and bone-marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) were compared to determine their osteogenic differentiation capacity in both 2D and 3D environments. In 2D culture, the AFS cells produced more mineralized matrix but delayed peaks in osteogenic markers. Cells were also cultured on 3D scaffolds constructed of poly-e-caprolactone for 15 weeks. MSCs differentiated more quickly than AFS cells on 3D scaffolds, but mineralized matrix production slowed considerably after 5 weeks. In contrast, the rate of AFS cell mineralization continued to increase out to 15 weeks, at which time AFS constructs contained 5-fold more mineralized matrix than MSC constructs. Therefore, cell source should be taken into consideration when used for cell therapy, as the MSCs would be a good choice for immediate matrix production, but the AFS cells would continue robust mineralization for an extended period of time. This study demonstrates that stem cell source can dramatically influence the magnitude and rate of osteogenic differentiation in vitro
Caenorhabditis elegans HUS-1 is a DNA damage checkpoint protein required for genome stability and EGL-1-mediated apoptosis.

BACKGROUND: The inability to efficiently repair DNA damage or remove cells with severely damaged genomes has been linked to several human cancers. Studies in yeasts and mammals have identified several genes that are required for proper activation of cell cycle checkpoints following various types of DNA damage. However, in metazoans, DNA damage can induce apoptosis as well. How DNA damage activates the apoptotic machinery is not fully understood. RESULTS: We demonstrate here that the Caenorhabditis elegans gene hus-1 is required for DNA damage-induced cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. Following DNA damage, HUS-1 relocalizes and forms distinct foci that overlap with chromatin. Relocalization does not require the novel checkpoint protein RAD-5; rather, relocalization appears more frequently in rad-5 mutants, suggesting that RAD-5 plays a role in repair. HUS-1 is required for genome stability, as demonstrated by increased frequency of spontaneous mutations, chromosome nondisjunction, and telomere shortening. Finally, we show that DNA damage increases expression of the proapoptotic gene egl-1, a response that requires hus-1 and the p53 homolog cep-1. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that the RAD-5 checkpoint protein is not required for HUS-1 to relocalize following DNA damage. Furthermore, our studies reveal a new function of HUS-1 in the prevention of telomere shortening and mortalization of germ cells. DNA damage-induced germ cell death is abrogated in hus-1 mutants, in part, due to the inability of these mutants to activate egl-1 transcription in a cep-1/p53-dependent manner. Thus, HUS-1 is required for p53-dependent activation of a BH3 domain protein in C. elegans
The biology of PGC-1alpha and its therapeutic potential

In eukaryotes, cellular and systemic metabolism is\ud
primarily controlled by mitochondrial activity. The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1alpha (PGC-1alpha) is an important regulator of mitochondrial biogenesis and function. Furthermore, PGC-1alpha controls many of the phenotypic adaptations of oxidative tissues to external and internal perturbations. By contrast, dysregulated metabolic plasticity is involved in the etiology of numerous diseases. Accordingly, modulation of PGC-1alpha levels and activity has recently been proposed as a therapeutic option for several pathologies. However, pharmacological interventions aimed at PGC-1alpha have to overcome inherent limitations of targeting a coactivator protein. Here, I focus on the recent breakthroughs in the identification of physiological and pathophysiological contexts involving PGC-1alpha. In addition, perspectives regarding the therapeutic importance of PGC-1alpha controlled cellular and systemic metabolism are outlined
Modelling biodiversity

This study uses a sample of 71 countries and nonparametric quantile and partial regressions to model a number of threatened species (reptiles, mammals, fish, birds, trees, plants) in relation to various economic and environmental variables (GDPc, CO¬2 emissions, agricultural production, energy intensity, protected areas, population and income inequality). From the analysis and due to high asymmetric distribution of the dependent variables it seems that a linear regression is not adequate and cannot capture properly the dimension of the threatened species. We find that using OLS instead of non-parametric techniques over- or under-estimates the parameters which may have serious policy implications.
The Role of Credit in Great Moderation: a Multivariate GARCH Approach

During the Great Moderation, financial innovation in the U.S. increased the size and scope of credit flows supporting the growth of wealth. We hypothesize that spending out of wealth came to finance a wider range of GDP components such that it smoothed GDP. Both these trends combined would be consistent with a decrease in the volatility of output. We suggest testable implications in terms of both growth of credit and output and volatility of growth. In a multivariate GARCH framework, we test this view for home mortgages and residential investment. We observe unidirectional causality in variance from total output, residential investment and non-residential output to mortgage lending before, but not during the Great Moderation. These findings are consistent with a role for credit dynamics in explaining the Great Moderation.
Maximally selected chi-square statistics for at least ordinal scaled variables

The association between a binary variable Y and a variable X with an at least ordinal measurement scale might be examined by selecting a cutpoint in the range of X and then performing an association test for the obtained 2x2 contingency table using the chi-square statistic. The distribution of the maximally selected chi-square statistic (i.e. the maximal chi-square statistic over all possible cutpoints) under the null-hypothesis of no association between X and Y is different from the known chi-square distribution. In the last decades, this topic has been extensively studied for continuous X variables, but not for non-continuous variables with an at least ordinal measurement scale (which include e.g. classical ordinal or discretized continuous variables). In this paper, we suggest an exact method to determine the distribution of maximally selected chi-square statistics in this context. This novel approach can be seen as a method to measure the association between a binary variable and variables with an at least ordinal scale of different types (ordinal, discretized continuous, etc). As an illustration, this method is applied to a new data set describing pregnancy and birth for 811 babies.
Analysis of optical density wave propagation and cell movement in the cellular slime mould Dictyostelium discoideum

We have studied optical density wave propagation during aggregation of the cellular slime mould Dictyostelium discoideum in a quantitative manner by digital image analysis. The waves are mostly single ended spiral waves starting from an aggregation center. We can measure a variety of parameters such as oscillation frequency, wave propagation velocity and wave shape. This allows the construction of dispersion curves under a variety of experimental conditions. During later development where the optical density waves are no longer visible we have started to measure movement of fluorescently labelled cells. Our main conclusions from these measurements are that the cells continue to move chemotactically to periodic signlas both in aggregates and in slugs. There is a dramatic difference in the movement pattern of prestalk and prespore cells: Prestalk cells move perpendicular to the long axis of the slug, they are most likely organized by a scroll wave. Prespore cells seem to move almost perpendicular to the prestalk cells, in the direction of the tip. This behaviour is explained on the basis of different relay properties of prespore and prestalk cells.
Search for leptophobic Z' bosons decaying into four-lepton final states in proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 8 TeV

A search for heavy narrow resonances decaying into four-lepton final states has been performed using proton–proton collision data at collected by the CMS experiment, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.7. No excess of events over the standard model background expectation is observed. Upper limits for a benchmark model on the product of cross section and branching fraction for the production of these heavy narrow resonances are presented. The limit excludes leptophobic bosons with masses below 2.5 within the benchmark model. This is the first result to constrain a leptophobic resonance in the four-lepton channel
Planck intermediate results. XI. The gas content of dark matter halos: the Sunyaev-Zeldovich-stellar mass relation for locally brightest galaxies

We present the scaling relation between Sunyaev-Zeldovich (SZ) signal and stellar mass for almost 260,000 locally brightest galaxies (LBGs) selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). These are predominantly the central galaxies of their dark matter halos. We calibrate the stellar-to-halo mass conversion using realistic mock catalogues based on the Millennium Simulation. Applying a multi-frequency matched filter to the Planck data for each LBG, and averaging the results in bins of stellar mass, we measure the mean SZ signal down to M∗ ~ 2 × 1011 M⊙, with a clear indication of signal at even lower stellar mass. We derive the scaling relation between SZ signal and halo mass by assigning halo properties from our mock catalogues to the real LBGs and simulating the Planck observation process. This relation shows no evidence for deviation from a power law over a halo mass range extending from rich clusters down to M500 ~ 2 × 1013 M⊙, and there is a clear indication of signal down to M500 ~ 4 × 1012 M⊙. Planck's SZdetections in such low-mass halos imply that about a quarter of all baryons have now been seen in the form of hot halo gas, and that this gas must be less concentrated than the dark matter in such halos in order to remain consistent with X-ray observations. At the high-mass end, the measured SZ signal is 20% lower than found from observations of X-ray clusters, a difference consistent with the magnitude of Malmquist bias effects that were previously estimated for the X-ray sample. © 2013 ESO