BACKGROUND We previously reported that serum N1-methylnicotinamide (me-Nam), an indicator of nicotinamide N-methyltransferase activity, is associated with obesity and diabetes mellitus in Chinese patients. However, whether nicotinamide N-methyltransferase plays a role in human coronary artery disease (CAD) remains to be elucidated. We aim to investigate the associations of serum me-Nam with CAD...

Keeping order in the classroom, modifying students’ behavioral problems, and implementing regulations codified at schools are among the issues in education involving the minds of headmasters and teachers. Following adolescence appropriate behavioral patterns plays a key role in bringing about the adolescents’ positive social behavior. This study aimed to investigate the predictors o...

In this study, the use of silicon NAM (Non-Audible Murmur) microphone in automatic speech recognition is presented. NAM microphones are special acoustic sensors, which are attached behind the talker’s ear and can capture not only normal (audible) speech, but also very quietly uttered speech (non-audible murmur). As a result, NAM microphones can be applied in automatic speech recognition systems...

A non-audible murmur (NAM), a very weak whisper sound produced without vocal fold vibration, has been researched in the development of a silent-speech communication tool for functional speech disorders as well as human-to-human/machine interfaces with inaudible voice input. The NAM can be detected using a specially designed microphone, called a NAM microphone, attached to the neck. However, the...

Following exit from meiosis I, mammalian oocytes immediately enter meiosis II without an intervening interphase, accompanied by rapid reassembly of a bipolar spindle that maintains condensed chromosomes in a metaphase configuration (metaphase II arrest). Here we study the effect of nicotinamide (NAM), a non-competitive pan-sirtuin inhibitor, during meiotic maturation in mouse oocytes. Sirtuins ...

Sodium metam (NaM), a dithiocarbamate, is a general agricultural biocide applied prior to planting for the elimination of nematodes, soil pathogens, and weeds. There is a remarkable paucity of information about the mechanism of action and the risk that dithiocarbamates may pose to developing vertebrates. We have characterized NaM toxicity during early life stage exposure in zebrafish. Zebrafish...

The chrysidid genus Loboscelidia is reviewed and 11 new species are described, including Loboscelidia cinnamonea (Borneo), Loboscelidia fulgens (Viet Nam), Loboscelidia fulva (Thailand), Loboscelidia incompleta (India), Loboscelidia kafae (Borneo), Loboscelidia laminata (Viet Nam), Loboscelidia meifungae (Borneo), Loboscelidia nasiformis (Thailand), Loboscelidia nitidula (Thailand), Loboscelidi...

We investigate a novel method for speaker verification with non-audible murmur (NAM) segments. NAM is recorded using a special microphone placed on the neck and is hard for other people to hear. We have already reported a method based on a support vector machine (SVM) using NAM segments to use a keyword phrase effectively. To further exploit keyword-specific features, we introduce a global alig...

Graphene has been shown much interest, both in academics and industry due to its extraordinary physical, chemical, and biological proprieties. It shows great promises in biotechnological and biomedical applications as an antibacterial and anticancer agent, nanocarrier, sensor, etc. However, many studies demonstrated the toxicity of graphene in several cell lines, which is an obstacle to its use...