Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Metabolic Risk and Health Behaviors in Minority Youth at Risk for Type 2 Diabetes

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of sex and race/ethnicity on metabolic risk and health behaviors in minority youth. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS A total of 173 seventh graders (46% male and 54% female; 49% Hispanic and 51% African American) with BMI ≥85th percentile and a family history of diabetes were assessed with weight, height, BMI, percent body fat, and waist circumference measures. Laboratory indexes included 2-h oral glucose tolerance tests with insulin levels at 0 and 2 h, fasting A1C, and lipids. Insulin resistance was estimated by homeostasis model assessment (HOMA-IR). Youth also completed questionnaires evaluating health behaviors. RESULTS Average BMI (31.6 ± 6.4 kg/m2) and percent body fat (39.5 ± 10.6%) were high. All participants demonstrated insulin resistance with elevated HOMA-IR values (8.5 ± 5.2). Compared with African American youth, Hispanic youth had higher triglycerides and lower HDL cholesterol despite similar BMI. Hispanic youth reported lower self-efficacy for diet, less physical activity, and higher total fat intake. Male youth had higher glucose (0 and 2 h) and reported more physical activity, more healthy food choices, and higher calcium intake than female youth. CONCLUSIONS Screening high-risk youth for insulin resistance and lipid abnormalities is recommended. Promoting acceptable physical activities and healthy food choices may be especially important for Hispanic and female youth.
Further Development and Validation of the Affordances in the Home Environment for Motor Development–Infant Scale (AHEMD-IS)

Background Affordances in the home environment may play a significant role in infant motor development. Objective The purpose of this study was to further develop and validate the Affordances in the Home Environment for Motor Development–Infant Scale (AHEMD-IS), an inventory that measures the quantity and quality of motor affordances in the home. Design A cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate criteria for content validity, reliability, internal consistency, floor and ceiling effects, and interpretability of the instrument. Methods A pilot version of the inventory with 5 dimensions was used for expert panel analysis and administered to parents of infants (N=419). Data were analyzed with Cronbach alpha, intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs), ceiling and floor effects, and item and dimension interpretability analyses for creation of a scoring system with descriptive categories for each dimension and total score. Results Average agreement among the expert panel was 95% across all evaluation criteria. Cronbach alpha values with the 41-item scale ranged between . 639 and . 824 for the separate dimensions, with a total value of . 824 (95% confidence interval [95% CI]=.781, .862). The ICC values were . 990 for interrater reliability and . 949 for intrarater reliability. There was a ceiling effect on 3 questions for the Inside Space dimension and on 3 questions for the Variety of Stimulation dimension. These results demonstrated the need for reduction in total items (from 41 to 35) and the combination of space dimensions. After removal of questions, internal consistency was . 766 (95% CI=.729, .800) for total score. Overall assessment categories were created as: less than adequate, moderately adequate, adequate, and excellent. Limitations The inventory does not determine specific use (time, frequency) of affordances in the home, and it does not account for infants' out-of-home activities. Conclusions The AHEMD-IS is a reliable and valid instrument to assess affordances in the home environment that promote infant motor development.
Real-Time Implementation of New Adaptive Beamformer Sensor Array For Speech Enhancement in Hearing Aid

The objective of this paper is to provide improved real-time noise canceling performance while keeping the high quality of enhanced speech by using new robust adaptive beamformer. The proposed beamformer uses a new adaptive blocking matrix, which consists of linear prediction error filters (LPEFs). It also employ a multi-channel noise canceller with adaptive noise estimation filters (ANEFs) used for inverse modeling. The entire proposed system has been implemented in real-time in a real environment using National Instruments NI- PXI-1042Q controller system and data acquisition card NI-PXI-4472. Practical results show that the proposed beamformer produces results that are significantly favorable than standard GSC beamformer.
Non-Classical P38 Map Kinase Functions: Cell Cycle Checkpoints and Survival

The p38 MAPK kinase pathway is activated in response to a wide range of cellular stress stimuli and cytokines. Our understanding of the important functions of p38 MAPK in the process of differentiation and cell death has grown considerably in the recent years and is now relatively established. Here we discuss the role of p38 MAPK in the mediation of cell cycle checkpoints and cell survival, processes that have received less attention. We describe how p38 MAPK regulates both the G2/M as well as a G1/S cell cycle checkpoint in response to cellular stress such as DNA damage. While p38 MAPK has classically been associated with the induction of apoptosis, we discuss that p38 MAPK can also mediate cell survival in specific situations, such as in response to DNA damage. It is important to recognize these less appreciated functions of p38 MAPK when considering the potential use of pharmacological inhibitors of p38 MAPK in therapeutic treatments for disease.
Graph scaling cut with L1-norm for classification of hyperspectral images

In this paper, we propose an L1 normalized graph based dimensionality reduction method for Hyperspectral images, called as ‘L1-Scaling Cut’ (L1-SC). The underlying idea of this method is to generate the optimal projection matrix by retaining the original distribution of the data. Though L2-norm is generally preferred for computation, it is sensitive to noise and outliers. However, L1-norm is robust to them. Therefore, we obtain the optimal projection matrix by maximizing the ratio of between-class dispersion to within-class dispersion using L1-norm. Furthermore, an iterative algorithm is described to solve the optimization problem. The experimental results of the HSI classification confirm the effectiveness of the proposed L1-SC method on both noisy and noiseless data.
CD40 Gene Polymorphisms Associated with Susceptibility and Coronary Artery Lesions of Kawasaki Disease in the Taiwanese Population

Background. Kawasaki disease (KD) is characterized by systemic vasculitis of unknown etiology. Our previous studies showed expression of CD40 ligand on CD4+ T cells correlated to the coronary artery lesion (CAL) and disease progress in KD. Other studies from Japan suggested the role of CD40L in the pathogenesis of CAL, and this might help explain the excessive number of males affected with KD but cannot be reproduced by Taiwanese population. This study was conducted to investigate the CD40 polymorphism in KD and CAL formation. Methods. A total of 950 subjects (381 KD patients and 569 controls) were investigated to identify 2 tagging single-nucleotide polymorphisms (tSNPs) of CD40 (rs4810485 and rs1535045) by using the TaqMan allelic discrimination assay. Results. A significant association was noted with regards to CD40 tSNPs (rs1535045) between controls and KD patients (P = 0.0405, dominant model). In KD patients, polymorphisms of CD40 (rs4810485) showed significant association with CAL formation (P = 0.0436, recessive model). Haplotype analysis did not yield more significant results between polymorphisms of CD40 and susceptibility/disease activity of KD. Conclusions. This study showed for the first time that polymorphisms of CD40 are associated with susceptibility to KD and CAL formation, in the Taiwanese population.
Global and local frameworks for vehicle state estimation using temporally previewed mapped lane features

This paper proposes a method for using a forward-looking monocular camera along with previewed road geometry from a high-fidelity, low-dimensional map to estimate lateral planar vehicle states by measuring the vehicle's temporally anticipated reference trajectory. Theoretical estimator performance from a steady-state Kalman Filter implementation of the estimation framework is calculated for various look-ahead distances and vehicle speeds. Application of this filter structure to real driving data is also briefly discussed. The use of temporally previewed measurements of a vehicle's reference path is shown to greatly improve the accuracy of vehicle planar state estimates, and shows promise for use in closed-loop lane keeping and driver assist applications.
Dispersity Routing

In this work a novel routing mechanism for store-andforward date communications networks will be presented. Unlike conventional directory routing procedures, which route a message along a particular path between the source and destination, this routing mechanism sub-divides the message and disperses it through the maze of paths comprising the network. Therefore, the mechanism is referred to as dispersity routing. In a recent analysis[? ], conditions have been found under which dispersity routing systems provide the following advantages over conventional directory procedures:
Adiponectin and cardiovascular health: an update

The global epidemic of obesity is accompanied by an increased prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD), in particular stroke and heart attack. Dysfunctional adipose tissue links obesity to CVD by secreting a multitude of bioactive lipids and pro‐inflammatory factors (adipokines) with detrimental effects on the cardiovascular system. Adiponectin is one of the few adipokines that possesses multiple salutary effects on insulin sensitivity and cardiovascular health. Clinical investigations have identified adiponectin deficiency (hypoadiponectinaemia) as an independent risk factor for CVD. In animals, elevation of plasma adiponectin by either pharmacological or genetic approaches alleviates obesity‐induced endothelial dysfunction and hypertension, and also prevents atherosclerosis, myocardial infarction and diabetic cardiomyopathy. Furthermore, many therapeutic benefits of the peroxisome‐proliferator activated receptor gamma agonists, the thiazolidinediones, are mediated by induction of adiponectin. Adiponectin protects cardiovascular health through its vasodilator, anti‐apoptotic, anti‐inflammatory and anti‐oxidative activities in both cardiac and vascular cells. This review summarizes recent findings in the understanding of the physiological role and clinical relevance of adiponectin in cardiovascular health, and in the identification of the receptor and postreceptor signalling events that mediate the cardiovascular actions of adiponectin. It also discusses adiponectin‐targeted drug discovery strategies for treating obesity, diabetes and CVD.
Prognostic analysis for treatment modalities in hepatocellular carcinomas with portal vein tumor thrombi.

OBJECTIVE To assess prognostic aspects of treatment modalities for cases of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with portal vein tumor thrombi (PVTT). METHOD 121 treated cases were retrospectively divided into five groups: 1 (liver transplantation); 2 (transcatheter arterial chemoembolization); 3 (hepatectomy plus thrombectomy); 4 (hepatectomy plus thrombectomy combined with adjuvant chemobiotherapy via portal vein); and 5 (conservative treatment). The Kaplan-Meier method with difference in survival estimated by Log-rank test was used to compare between groups. RESULT Groups 1-5 had a significantly differing median survival times of 7, 7, 10, 16, 3 months (P<0.05), respectively. One- and three-year survival rates were 30.0% and 10.0%, 20.0% and 0.0%, 47.0% and 22.0%, 70% and 20%, and 12% and 4%. CONCLUSION Surgical resection combined with adjuvant chemotherapy via the portal vein is an effective and safe treatment modality for hepatocellular carcinoma with portal vein tumor thrombi.
Cytosolic Hsp90α and its mitochondrial isoform Trap1 are differentially required in a breast cancer model

The Hsp90 family of molecular chaperones includes the cytosolic isoforms Hsp90a and Hsp90β and the mitochondrial isoform Trap1. Hsp90a/βsupport a large number of client proteins in the cytoplasm and the nucleus whereas Trap1 regulates oxidative phosphorylation in mitochondria. Many of the associated proteins and cellular processes are relevant to cancer, and there is ample pharmacological and genetic evidence to support the idea that Hsp90a/βand Trap1 are required for tumorigenesis. However, a direct and comparative genetic test in a mouse cancer model has not been done. Here we report the effects of deleting the Hsp90a or Trap1 genes in a mouse model of breast cancer. Neither Hsp90a nor Trap1 are absolutely required for mammary tumor initiation, growth and metastasis induced by the polyoma middle T-antigen as oncogene. However, they do modulate growth and lung metastasis in vivo and cell proliferation, migration and invasion of isolated primary carcinoma cells in vitro. Without Hsp90a, tumor burden and metastasis are reduced, correlating with impaired proliferation, migration and invasion of cells in culture. Without Trap1, the appearance of tumors is initially delayed, and isolated cells are affected similarly to those without Hsp90a. Analysis of expression data of human breast cancers supports the conclusion that this is a valid mouse model highlighting the importance of these molecular chaperones.
'Sacred psychoanalysis' : an interpretation of the emergence and engagement of religion and spirituality in contemporary psychoanalysis

From the 1970s the emergence of religion and spirituality in psychoanalysis is a unique development, given its traditional pathologizing stance. This research examines how and why ‘sacred psychoanalysis’ came about and whether this represents a new analytic movement with definable features or a diffuse phenomena within psychoanalysis that parallels developments elsewhere. After identifying the research context, a discussion of definitions and qualitative reflexive methodology follows. An account of religious and spiritual engagement in psychoanalysis in the UK and the USA provides a narrative of key people and texts, with a focus on the theoretical foundations established by Winnicott and Bion. This leads to a detailed examination of the literary narratives of religious and spiritual engagement understood from: Christian; Natural; Maternal; Jewish; Buddhist; Hindu; Muslim; Mystical; and Intersubjective perspectives, synthesized into an interpretative framework of sacred psychoanalysis. Qualitative interviews were then undertaken with leading experts focusing on the lived experience of contemporary psychoanalysts. From a larger sample, eleven interviews were selected for a thematic narrative analysis and from within this sample, six interviews were then the focus of a reflexive intersubjective analysis, utilizing psychoanalytic techniques. This research concludes that three forms of sacred psychoanalysis can be identified embracing a generic framework for theoretical and clinical understanding; a framework for intersubjective presence; and a framework for spiritual/sacred encounter.
Spleen-Dependent Immune Protection Elicited by CpG Adjuvanted Reticulocyte-Derived Exosomes from Malaria Infection Is Associated with Changes in T cell Subsets' Distribution

Reticulocyte-derived exosomes (rex) are 30–100 nm membrane vesicles of endocytic origin released during the maturation of reticulocytes to erythrocytes upon fusion of multivesicular bodies with the plasma membrane. Combination of CpG-ODN with rex obtained from BALB/c mice infected with the reticulocyte-prone non-lethal P. yoelii 17X malaria strain (rexPy), had been shown to induce survival and long lasting protection. Here, we show that splenectomized mice are not protected upon rexPy+CpG inmunizations and that protection is restored upon passive transfer of splenocytes obtained from animals immunized with rexPy+CpG. Notably, rexPy immunization of mice induced changes in PD1− memory T cells with effector phenotype. Proteomics analysis of rexPy confirmed their reticulocyte origin and demonstrated the presence of parasite antigens. Our studies thus prove, for what we believe is the first time, that rex from reticulocyte-prone malarial infections are associated with splenic long-lasting memory responses. To try extrapolating these data to human infections, in vitro experiments with spleen cells of human transplantation donors were performed. Plasma-derived exosomes from vivax malaria patients (exPv) were actively uptaken by human splenocytes and stimulated spleen cells leading to changes in T cell subsets.
LATER COURSE AND PROGNOSIS OF OPTIC NEURITIS

The study was a re‐examination of 176 patients with optic neuritis. The follow‐up period was for 38 patients, 6–12 months, for 52 patients, 1–5 years and for 86 patients, 6–24 years from the initial attack of optic neuritis. In 66% of the involved eyes visual acuity had again become good or excellent, but in 25% it was poor. The visual field was normal in only 38%, in 30% there was an absolute or relative central defect and in 31% a paracentral or peripheral defect.
CAIR: Using Formal Languages to Study Routing, Leaking, and Interception in BGP

The Internet routing protocol BGP expresses topological reachability and policy-based decisions simultaneously in path vectors. A complete view on the Internet backbone routing is given by the collection of all valid routes, which is infeasible to obtain due to information hiding of BGP, the lack of omnipresent collection points, and data complexity. Commonly, graph-based data models are used to represent the Internet topology from a given set of BGP routing tables but fall short of explaining policy contexts. As a consequence, routing anomalies such as route leaks and interception attacks cannot be explained with graphs. In this paper, we use formal languages to represent the global routing system in a rigorous model. Our CAIR framework translates BGP announcements into a finite route language that allows for the incremental construction of minimal route automata. CAIR preserves route diversity, is highly efficient, and well-suited to monitor BGP path changes in real-time. We formally derive implementable search patterns for route leaks and interception attacks. In contrast to the state-of-the-art, we can detect these incidents. In practical experiments, we analyze public BGP data over the last seven years.
Rainbow trout myocardium does not exhibit a slow inotropic response to stretch

SUMMARY Mammalian myocardial studies reveal a biphasic increase in the force of contraction due to stretch. The first rapid response, known as the Frank-Starling response, occurs within one heartbeat of stretch. A second positive inotropic response occurs over the minutes following the initial stretch and is known as the slow force response (SFR). The SFR has been observed in mammalian isolated whole hearts, muscle preparations and individual myocytes. We present the first direct study into the SFR in the heart of a non-mammalian vertebrate, the rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). We stretched ventricular trabecular muscle preparations from 88% to 98% of their optimal length and individual ventricular myocytes by 7% of their slack sarcomere length (SL). Stretch caused an immediate increase in force in both preparations, indicative of the Frank-Starling response. However, we found no significant effect of prolonged stretch on the force of contraction in either the ventricular trabecular preparations or the single myocytes. This indicates that rainbow trout ventricular myocardium does not exhibit a SFR and that, in contrast to mammals, the piscine Frank-Starling response may not be associated with the SFR. We speculate that this is due to the fish myocardium modulating cardiac output via changes in stroke volume to a larger extent than heart rate.
Inductive Influences of Demineralized Dentin and Bone Matrix on Pulp Cells: an Approach of Secondary Dentinogenesis

The effects of demineralized dentin and bone matrix on dental ectomesenchymal cells were evaluated after observation periods of twa or three weeks. Autogenous dentin and bone matrix, obtained from the crowns of primary molars or maxillary cortical bone, respectively, were demineralized with 3% acetic acid and implanted into pulpal or papilla sites of erupting dog teeth: first molars, fourth premolars, and canines. Dentin histogenesis associated with odontoblastic arrangement was demonstrated in relation to all dentin implants in pulpal sites. Deposition of osteodentin, followed in some areas by tubular predentin formation, was observed in contact with bone implants in pulpal sites. In papilla sites, the dentin implantation exhibited bone-like matrix formation, while bone implants were encapsulated by connective tissue. The interactions of pulp cells with demineralized dentin matrix constitute a model for experimental inductian of secondary dentinogenesis and odontoblast-like cell differentiation.
Contribution of the PD‐1 ligands/PD‐1 signaling pathway to dendritic cell‐mediated CD4+ T cell activation

Dendritic cells (DC) are extremely proficient inducers of naïve CD4+ T cell activation due to their high expression level of peptide‐MHC and an array of accessory molecules involved in cell migration, adhesion and co‐signaling, including PD‐1 ligand 1 (PD‐L1) and PD‐1 ligand 2 (PD‐L2). Whether PD‐L1 and PD‐L2 have a stimulatory or inhibitory function is a matter of debate, and could be partially dependent on the model system used. In this study we examined the role of PD‐L1 and PD‐L2 expressed by DC in naïve CD4+ T cell activation in a more physiologically relevant model system, using OVA‐specific T cells in combination with various levels of TCR stimulation. Overexpression of PD‐L1 or PD‐L2 by DC did not inhibit T cell proliferation, even when B7–1 and B7–2 mediated costimulation was absent, although IL‐2 production was consistently decreased. Surprisingly, blocking PD‐L1 and PD‐L2 with soluble programmed death‐1 (sPD‐1) also inhibited T cell activation, probably via reverse signaling via PD‐L1 and/or PD‐L2 into DC, leading to reduced DC maturation. This study suggests a relatively minor contribution of PD‐1 ligands in DC‐driven CD4+ T cell activation and provides evidence for reverse signaling by PD‐L1 and PD‐L2 into DC, resulting in a suppressive DC phenotype.
The Moderating Effects of Age and Education on Gender Differences on Gender Role Perceptions

Individual differences in gender role perceptions have been described copiously in the psychological literature. The effects of education and gender have been established cross-culturally. The joint effects of education and gender have not however been discussed adequately, especially among African populations where there are strong expectations of these effects. In the current study, we explored these known effects among a heterogeneous urban population. Four hundred and seventy-six (476) respondents made up of high and low education groups were selected for this study. We examined the extent to which men and women will adopt traditional/egalitarian gender role attitudes and if age and education moderate established gender differences in gender role attitudes using Williams and Best‘s (1990) traditional and modern gender role scale. We found differences on traditional gender role perceptions based on education. We also found that while there was no gender difference on the traditional component, education seemed to minimise females‘ perceptions of traditional roles but not males. We did observe that both females and young adults endorsed more modern perceptions of gender roles. The results seemed to support the notion that males are less likely to change from socialisation practices that encourage male hegemony. Implications of the findings are discussed. Keywords: Educational effects, gender differences, gender role perception, Ghana Gender & Behaviour , 10(2), December 2012