Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Clinical effectiveness and safety of vildagliptin in >19 000 patients with type 2 diabetes: the GUARD study

The present GUARD study was a prospective, non‐interventional study evaluating the clinical effectiveness, safety and tolerability of vildagliptin with or without metformin in adult patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) studied in routine clinical practice. Patients were enrolled from countries across four geographical regions. The primary endpoint was change in glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) concentration from baseline after 24 weeks of treatment with vildagliptin with or without metformin. Of 19 331 patients analysed, 3511 received vildagliptin and 15 820 received vildagliptin plus metformin. At week 24, the mean HbA1c was reduced significantly from baseline by −1.27% (vildagliptin: −1.17%; vildagliptin plus metformin: −1.29%; p < 0.0001). Significant reductions in HbA1c from baseline were consistently reported regardless of patient age, body mass index (BMI) or baseline HbA1c. Weight and BMI were also significantly reduced from baseline. Vildagliptin treatment with or without metformin was generally well tolerated. It provided clinically relevant glycaemic and weight control, and was well tolerated in a large multi‐ethnic population of patients with T2DM studied in routine clinical practice.
A Nonpeptide Angiotensin II Type 2 Receptor Agonist Prevents Renal Inflammation in Early Diabetes

Abstract: We hypothesized that direct AT2R stimulation improves albuminuria in diabetes by preventing renal inflammation and improving oxidative stress. Normoglycemic controls (NCs) and streptozotocin-induced diabetes Sprague–Dawley rats (DM) were treated for 4 weeks with vehicle (V) or the AT2R agonist Compound 21 (C21). At the end of study, we evaluated blood pressure, urinary albumin to creatinine ratio (UACR), renal interstitial fluid (RIF) levels of tumor necrosis factor-&agr; (TNF-&agr;), interleukin 6 (IL-6), nitric oxide (NO), cGMP, and 8-isoprostane, and renal expression of TNF-&agr;, IL-6, and AT2R. There were no significant differences in blood pressure between different treatments. DM rats demonstrated increased UACR, RIF TNF-&agr;, IL-6 and 8-isoprostane, and messenger RNA (mRNA) for TNF-&agr; and IL-6. DM rats also had reduced RIF NO and cGMP. C21 treatment of DM rats limited the increase in UACR, normalized RIF TNF-&agr;, IL-6 and 8-isoprostane, and in mRNA for TNF-&agr; and IL-6, and increased RIF NO and cGMP. In NC rats, C21 treatment did not change these parameters. AT2R mRNA and protein expressions increased in DM rats compared with NC but were not influenced by C21 treatment. We conclude that direct AT2R stimulation in diabetic rats improves diabetic albuminuria through the prevention of renal inflammation and improved production of NO and cGMP.
An Experimental Study of the Effects of External Physiological Parameters on the Photoplethysmography Signals in the Context of Local Blood Pressure (Hydrostatic Pressure Changes)

A comprehensive study of the effect of a wide range of controlled human subject motion on Photoplethysmographic signals is reported. The investigation includes testing of two separate groups of 5 and 18 subjects who were asked to undertake set exercises whilst simultaneously monitoring a wide range of physiological parameters including Breathing Rate, Heart Rate and Localised Blood Pressure using commercial clinical sensing systems. The unique finger mounted PPG probe equipped with miniature three axis accelerometers for undertaking this investigation was a purpose built in-house version which is designed to facilitate reproducible application to a wide range of human subjects and the study of motion. The subjects were required to undertake several motion based exercises including standing, sitting and lying down and transitions between these states. They were also required to undertake set arm movements including arm-swinging and wrist rotation. A comprehensive set of experimental results corresponding to all motion inducing exercises have been recorded and analysed including the baseline (BL) value (DC component) and the amplitude of the oscillation of the PPG. All physiological parameters were also recorded as a simultaneous time varying waveform. The effects of the motion and specifically the localised Blood Pressure (BP) have been studied and related to possible influences of the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) and hemodynamic pressure variations. It is envisaged that a comprehensive study of the effect of motion and the localised pressure fluctuations will provide valuable information for the future minimisation of motion artefact effect on the PPG signals of this probe and allow the accurate assessment of total haemoglobin concentration which is the primary function of the probe.
VSX1 Gene and Keratoconus: Genetic Analysis in Korean Patients

Purpose: The visual system homeobox 1 (VSX1) gene variants have recently been shown to be associated with keratoconus. To replicate this finding, we performed a genetic analysis of the VSX1 gene in a Korean case–control sample. Methods: Patients with keratoconus and healthy control subjects were recruited from Seoul National University Hospital. A diagnosis of keratoconus was made based on clinical examinations and the presence of characteristic topographic features. For all patients and controls, the whole coding region and the exon–intron junctions of the VSX1 gene were analyzed by direct sequencing. Results: Fifty-three patients with keratoconus and 100 healthy volunteers were included. We observed 2 novel missense substitutions (Leu17Val and Val199Leu) and 1 previously reported substitution (Gly160Val) in 6 of the 53 affected probands. Because these substitutions have been identified in unaffected individuals, they were not considered to be pathogenic. No intragenic polymorphism was associated with a significantly increased risk of keratoconus. Conclusions: We cannot confirm the previously reported association of the VSX1 gene variants with keratoconus. Our results suggest that the VSX1 gene and its mutations with amino acid changes do not play a major role in the pathogenesis of keratoconus.
Balanced Cultural Identities Promote Cognitive Flexibility among Immigrant Children

The acculturation complexity model suggests that immersion into dissonant cultures promotes cognitive skills in biculturals (Tadmor and Tetlock, 2006). In the present study, we examined links between identity acculturation and executive functioning (EF). Turkish-German immigrant origin children (N = 225; M = 11 years, SD = 1.6 years, 99 males) were given questions about their identification with Turks and Germans to capture bicultural involvement and a Dot Task (using Hearts and Flowers) to measure EF. Results showed that Turkish-German bicultural children who endorse both cultures with equal strength did not have a cognitive advantage in working memory and inhibition compared to their peers who more clearly preferred one culture over the other. However, bicultural children who endorse both cultures with equal strength performed significantly better on a switching task that required cognitive flexibility. The study highlights the potential cognitive benefits associated with biculturalism.
Turnover of 45 S RNA of regenerating liver and Walker tumor.

Summary The rate of disappearance of the 45 S peak in the sucrose density gradient sedimentation profile of nuclear and nucleolar RNA of regenerating liver of rats treated with actinomycin D shows that the average half-lives of 45 S RNA of the nuclei and nucleoli are 8 and 4.7 min, respectively. Similar determinations based on the rate of transfer of radioactivity from the 45 S peaks to more slowly sedimenting RNA peaks indicate that the average half-lives of nuclear and nucleolar RNA of regenerating liver are 4.1 and 3.7 min, respectively. These results indicate that the nucleolar RNA in regenerating liver turns over at a faster rate than the whole nuclear RNA. The rates of disappearance of the 45 S peak and that of the radioactivity in the 45 S peak of nucleolar RNA of Walker tumor cells after actinomycin D treatment show that the average halflife of 45 S RNA of the tumor nucleoli is 6.8 min. Calculations from these data and the pool sizes of 45 S RNA in nucleoli indicate that the rates of synthesis of 45 S RNA in normal liver nucleoli, nucleoli of regenerating liver, and the nucleoli of the Walker tumor are 4, 16, and 32 femtograms (10 -15 gm)/min, respectively.
Dopamine, cognitive function, and gamma oscillations: role of D4 receptors

Cognitive deficits in individuals with schizophrenia (SCZ) are considered core symptoms of this disorder, and can manifest at the prodromal stage. Antipsychotics ameliorate positive symptoms but only modestly improve cognitive symptoms. The lack of treatments that improve cognitive abilities currently represents a major obstacle in developing more effective therapeutic strategies for this debilitating disorder. While D4 receptor (D4R)-specific antagonists are ineffective in the treatment of positive symptoms, animal studies suggest that D4R drugs can improve cognitive deficits. Moreover, recent work from our group suggests that D4Rs synergize with the neuregulin/ErbB4 signaling pathway, genetically identified as risk factors for SCZ, in parvalbumin (PV)-expressing interneurons to modulate gamma oscillations. These high-frequency network oscillations correlate with attention and increase during cognitive tasks in healthy subjects, and this correlation is attenuated in affected individuals. This finding, along with other observations indicating impaired GABAergic function, has led to the idea that abnormal neural activity in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) in individuals with SCZ reflects a perturbation in the balance of excitation and inhibition. Here we review the current state of knowledge of D4R functions in the PFC and hippocampus, two major brain areas implicated in SCZ. Special emphasis is given to studies focusing on the potential role of D4Rs in modulating GABAergic transmission and to an emerging concept of a close synergistic relationship between dopamine/D4R and neuregulin/ErbB4 signaling pathways that tunes the activity of PV interneurons to regulate gamma frequency network oscillations and potentially cognitive processes.
The Allocation of Carbon Intensity Reduction Target by 2020 among Industrial Sectors in China

In order to realize the national carbon intensity reduction target, China has decided to establish a unified national carbon emissions trading market in 2017. At the initial stage, eight industrial sectors will be covered in the carbon market and the other industrial sectors will be included gradually. The aim of this paper is to study the issue of how to allocate the carbon emissions quotas among different industrial sectors fairly and effectively. We try to provide theoretical support for how to determine the coverage scope and access order of the carbon market. In this paper, we construct a comprehensive reduction index based on indicators of equity and efficiency principle. We adopt entropy method to get the objective weights of the three indicators. Then, an allocation model is developed to determine each sector’s reduction target for the year of 2020. The result shows that our allocation scheme based on entropy method is more reasonable, and our allocation method will promote the equity of carbon quotas allocation and the efficiency of carbon emissions. With consideration of China’s current economic situation and industrial background, we discuss some policy implications regarding the construction of carbon market.
Micro-mechanics of 3D architectured metals synthesized by electrodeposition

Cellular metallic materials have emerged as a new promising class of materials due to their lightweight porous structures and advanced multi-functional properties. Originally limited to random metallic foams, modern lithography techniques have enabled the design of hierarchical cellular structures with tailored mechanical properties. In addition, the mechanical properties of micro-cellular metals can be further improved by taking advantage of the properties of metals, which are size-sensitive at this length scale. It is therefore expected that the combination of architectured cellular designs with size effects in metals would result in materials with unprecedented mechanical properties. The present thesis aims at investigating and understanding the influence of size effects on the mechanical properties of three-dimensional micro-architectured metal structures synthesized using advanced lithography techniques and electrochemical deposition of metals. Electrodeposited copper films with engineered microstructures and nickel-based hierarchical micro-cellular structures were manufactured and tested under uniaxial loading conditions. The results of the tests were used to evaluate the contribution of the size effects and/or architecture to the change in mechanical properties and deformation behavior. The influence of the intrinsic size effect was first demonstrated in electrodeposited pure copper films. Using nanoscale twins to engineer the grain boundaries, it was possible to produce copper films with high strength and significantly tune the mechanical properties by adjusting the twin orientation. The combination of size effects was then investigated for two types of micro-architecture. The first type of metal micro-architecture was obtained by plating nanocrystalline Ni inside a self-assembled colloidal crystal of microspheres in order to produce a regular inverse opal. The second type was fabricated by metallizing a 3D polymer template produced by 3D laser lithography with an amorphous NiB coating. Results show that there is a complex interaction iii
ASTRO-F, super-IRAS, the All-Sky Infrared Survey

We review the next-generation Japanese infrared space mission, ASTRO-F. ASTRO-F will be the first survey of the entire sky at infrared wavelengths since the IRAS mission almost 20 years ago. ASTRO-F will survey the entire sky in four far-infrared bands from 50 to 200 μm and two mid-infrared bands at 9 and 20 μm to sensitivities 10-1000 times deeper than the IRAS satellite at angular resolutions of 25-45 arcsec (cf. 2-5 arcmin for IRAS). ASTRO-F can be considered as a super-IRAS. Using the galaxy evolution model of Pearson, we produce expected numbers of sources under three different cosmological world models. We predict that ASTRO-F will detect of the order of tens of millions of sources in the far-infrared wavelength bands, most of which will be dusty luminous infrared/ultraluminous infrared galaxies, of which as many as half will lie at redshifts greater than unity. We produce number-redshift distributions, flux-redshift and colour-colour diagrams for the survey and discuss various segregation and photometric redshift techniques. Furthermore, we investigate the large-scale structure scales that will be accessed by ASTRO-F, discovering that ASTRO-F and SIRTF-SWIRE probe both different scales and redshift domains and concluding that the two missions will supplement rather than supplant one another.
Primary progressive aphasia

Objective: Primary progressive aphasia (PPA) has been proposed to comprise 3 discrete clinical subtypes: semantic, agrammatic/nonfluent, and logopenic. Recent consensus recommendations suggest a diagnostic framework based primarily on clinical and neuropsychological findings to classify these variants. Our objective was to evaluate the extent to which patients with PPA would conform to the proposed tripartite system and whether the clustering pattern of elements of the linguistic profile suggests discrete clinical syndromes. Methods: A total of 46 patients with PPA were prospectively recruited to the Cambridge Longitudinal Study of PPA. Sufficient data were collected to assess all consensus-proposed diagnostic domains. By comparing patients' performances against those of 30 age- and education-matched healthy volunteers, z scores were calculated, and values of 1.5 SDs outside control participants' means were considered abnormal. Raw test scores were used to undertake a principal factor analysis to identify the clustering pattern of individual measures. Results: Of the patients, 28.3%, 26.1%, and 4.3% fitted semantic, nonfluent/agrammatic, and logopenic categories respectively, and 41.3% did not fulfill the diagnostic recommendations for any of the 3 proposed variants. There was no significant between-group difference in age, education, or disease duration. Furthermore, the outcome of the factor analysis was in keeping with discrete semantic and nonfluent/agrammatic syndromes but did not support a logopenic variant. Conclusion: Taken together, the results of this prospective data-driven study suggest that although a substantial proportion of patients with PPA have neither the semantic nor the nonfluent variants, they do not necessarily conform to a discrete logopenic variant.
The Observed Impacts of Wind Farms on Local Vegetation Growth in Northern China

Wind farms (WFs) can affect the local climate, and local climate change may influence underlying vegetation. Some studies have shown that WFs affect certain aspects of the regional climate, such as temperature and rainfall. However, there is still no evidence to demonstrate whether WFs can affect local vegetation growth, a significant part of the overall assessment of WF effects. In this research, based on the moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) vegetation index, productivity and other remote-sensing data from 2003 to 2014, the effects of WFs in the Bashang area of Northern China on vegetation growth and productivity in the summer (June–August) were analyzed. The results showed that: (1) WFs had a significant inhibiting effect on vegetation growth, as demonstrated by decreases in the leaf area index (LAI), the enhanced vegetation index (EVI), and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) of approximately 14.5%, 14.8%, and 8.9%, respectively, in the 2003–2014 summers. There was also an inhibiting effect of 8.9% on summer gross primary production (GPP) and 4.0% on annual net primary production (NPP) coupled with WFs; and (2) the major impact factors might be the changes in temperature and soil moisture: WFs suppressed soil moisture and enhanced water stress in the study area. This research provides significant observational evidence that WFs can inhibit the growth and productivity of the underlying vegetation.
Accuracy of CPT evaluation and management coding by family physicians.

BACKGROUND Limited data are available on physicians' accuracy in coding for their services. The purpose of this study was to determine the current procedural terminology (CPT) evaluation and management coding accuracy of family physicians and define demographic variables associated with coding accuracy. METHODS Six hundred randomly selected active members of the Illinois Academy of Family Physicians were sent six hypothetical progress notes of office visits along with a demographic survey. The study group assigned CPT evaluation and management codes to each of the progress notes and completed the demographic survey. Five expert coders also assigned codes to each of the cases. The accuracy of family physicians in determining CPT E/M codes was determined relative to that of expert coders. RESULTS Family physicians agreed with the experts' CPT evaluation and management codes for 52% of established patient progress notes, the most common error being undercoding. In contrast, for new patient progress notes, family physicians agreed with the experts only 17% of the time, the predominant error being overcoding. No surveyed demographic variable was associated with coding accuracy. CONCLUSIONS The error rate for physician CPT coding is substantial and occurs more commonly with new patients. The complexity of the CPT coding guidelines, along with limited physician training in CPT coding, likely account for these results.
Calcium in Red Blood Cells—A Perilous Balance

Ca2+ is a universal signalling molecule involved in regulating cell cycle and fate, metabolism and structural integrity, motility and volume. Like other cells, red blood cells (RBCs) rely on Ca2+ dependent signalling during differentiation from precursor cells. Intracellular Ca2+ levels in the circulating human RBCs take part not only in controlling biophysical properties such as membrane composition, volume and rheological properties, but also physiological parameters such as metabolic activity, redox state and cell clearance. Extremely low basal permeability of the human RBC membrane to Ca2+ and a powerful Ca2+ pump maintains intracellular free Ca2+ levels between 30 and 60 nM, whereas blood plasma Ca2+ is approximately 1.8 mM. Thus, activation of Ca2+ uptake has an impressive impact on multiple processes in the cells rendering Ca2+ a master regulator in RBCs. Malfunction of Ca2+ transporters in human RBCs leads to excessive accumulation of Ca2+ within the cells. This is associated with a number of pathological states including sickle cell disease, thalassemia, phosphofructokinase deficiency and other forms of hereditary anaemia. Continuous progress in unravelling the molecular nature of Ca2+ transport pathways allows harnessing Ca2+ uptake, avoiding premature RBC clearance and thrombotic complications. This review summarizes our current knowledge of Ca2+ signalling in RBCs emphasizing the importance of this inorganic cation in RBC function and survival.
Efficient Use of Ferrate(VI) for the Remediation of Wastewater Contaminated with Metal Complexes

Remediation of wastewater contaminated with metal(II)-complexed species (Cu(II)-NTA (NTA: nitrilotriacetic acid), Cu(II)-EDTA (EDTA: ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid) and Cd(II)-EDTA is attempted using the potential applicability of ferrate(VI). Kinetics of pollutant degradation is obtained with the removal of ferrate(VI) studied at wide range of pH (8.0 ~ 10.0) and the concentration of metal(II)-complexed species (0.3 to 15.0 mmol/L) employing a constant dose of ferrate(VI) i.e., 1.0 mmol/L. Pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order rate constants were obtained in the reduction of ferrate(VI) which was then employed to obtain the overall rate constants of the pollutant degradation. The mineralization of NTA and EDTA was obtained with the change in TOC (total organic carbon) values collected by the ferrate(VI) treated pollutant samples. Decrease in pH and molar pollutant concentrations was greatly favored the percent mineralization of NTA or EDTA by the ferrate(VI) treatment. The treated pollutant samples were filtered and subjected for AAS (atomic absorption spectrophotometric) analysis to assess the simultaneous removal of copper and cadmium from aqueous solutions at the studied pH as well at the elevated pH 12.0. Results show that an enhanced removal of cadmium or copper was achieved at pH 12.0. Overall, ferrate(VI) possesses multifunctional application in wastewater treatment as it oxidizes the degradable impurities and removes metallic impurities by coagulation process.