Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The relationship of fasting plasma glucose values and other variables to 2-h postload plasma glucose in Japanese subjects.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the relationship between fasting plasma glucose (FPG) values and other variables (e.g., age, sex, and BMI) to 2-h post-75-g oral glucose load glycemia (PG) in Japanese subjects. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Subjects included 13,694 Japanese subjects between 20 and 83 years of age (10,677 men and 3,017 women) who were undergoing a 75-g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) during a health screening performed at our hospital. The influences of age for 2-h PG at a fixed fasting plasma glucose (FPG) level of 126 mg/dl were analyzed. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed using a model in which the dependent variable was 2-h PG using the following explanatory variables: FPG, age, sex, BMI, blood pressure, plasma cholesterol, and triglyceride (TG) levels. RESULTS The 2-h PG at a fixed FPG of 126 mg/dl increased by 0.94 mg/dl per year in patients aged between 30 and 78 years (r = 0.68, P < 0.0001). In multiple regression, five explanatory variables (FPG, age, BMI, plasma TG levels, and systolic blood pressure levels) were all positively associated with 2-h PG. The percentages of patients with 2-h diabetes (isolated postchallenge hyperglycemia [IPH]) versus fasting plus 2-h diabetes by the World Health Organization criteria significantly (P = 0.005) increased as the patients' decades increased, whereas the impact of BMI on the percentages was significant only in young patients (P = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS Aging was found to be the second best predictor of 2-h PG on multiple regression. Therefore, OGTT should be performed especially in elderly patients because they show IPH more frequently.
A Continuous-Time Modulator With 88-dB Dynamic Range and 1 . 1-MHz Signal Bandwidth

This paper presents the design and experimental results of a continuous-time modulator for ADSL applications. Multibit nonreturn-to-zero (NRZ) DAC pulse shaping is used to reduce clock jitter sensitivity. The nonzero excess loop delay problem in conventional continuous-time modulators is solved by our proposed architecture. A prototype third-order continuous-time modulator with 5-bit internal quantization was realized in a 0.5m double-poly triple-metal CMOS technology, with a chip area of 2.4 2.4 mm. Experimental results show that the modulator achieves 88-dB dynamic range, 84-dB SNR, and 83-dB SNDR over a 1.1-MHz signal bandwidth with an oversampling ratio of 16, while dissipating 62 mW from a 3.3-V supply.
NR4A Orphan Nuclear Receptors Modulate Insulin Action and the Glucose Transport System

After observing that expression of two NR4A orphan nuclear receptors, NR4A3 and NR4A1, was altered by insulin in cDNA microarray analyses of human skeletal muscle, we studied whether these receptors could modulate insulin sensitivity. We found that both NR4A3 and NR4A1 were induced by insulin and by thiazolidinedione drugs (pioglitazone and troglitazone) in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Furthermore, gene expression of NR4A3 and NR4A1 was reduced in skeletal muscles and adipose tissues from multiple rodent models of insulin resistance. To determine whether NR4A3 could modulate insulin sensitivity, 3T3-L1 adipocytes were stably transduced with NR4A3 or LacZ (control) lentiviral vectors. Compared with LacZ expressing cells, hyperexpression of NR4A3 increased the ability of insulin to augment glucose transport activity, and the mechanism involved increased recruitment of GLUT4 glucose transporters to the plasma membrane. NR4A3 hyperexpression also led to an increase in insulin-mediated tyrosine phosphorylation of insulin receptor substrate-1 as well as Akt phosphorylation. Suppression of NR4A3 using lentiviral short hairpin RNA constructs reduced the ability of insulin to stimulate glucose transport and phosphorylate Insulin receptor substrate-1 and Akt. Thus, NR4A3 and NR4A1 are attractive novel therapeutic targets for potential amelioration of insulin resistance, and treatment and prevention of type 2 diabetes and the metabolic syndrome.
Transdermal Wound Oxygen Therapy on Pressure Ulcer Healing: A Single-Blind Multi-Center Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: Although healthcare quality has considerably improved in many countries, pressure ulcer is still a major health challenge worldwide. Objectives: The current study aimed to evaluate the effects of TWOT on the healing of pressure ulcers. Patients and Methods: This study was a randomized controlled trial, and the convenient sample including 100 patients hospitalized in two university-affiliated medical-surgical intensive care units and one neurology unit located in Qazvin, Iran were studied. Patients with stage II-IV pressure ulcer on the sacral or ischial areas were randomly assigned to either the control or the experimental groups. The experimental group received a 12-day transdermal wound oxygen therapy. Wound status was assessed seven times before the intervention, as well as two, four, six, eight, ten, and twelve days after the intervention. Results: After 12 days of wound oxygen therapy, the number of patients with complete wound healing in the experimental group was significantly greater than that of the control group. Moreover, the total mean of wound area in the experimental group was significantly lower than that of the control group. Conclusions: Transdermal wound oxygen therapy can effectively promote wound healing in patients with pressure ulcers.
Observation of the superconducting proximity effect in the surface state of SmB6 thin films

The proximity effect at the interface between a topological insulator (TI) and a superconductor is predicted to give rise to chiral topological superconductivity and Majorana fermion excitations. In most TIs studied to date, however, the conducting bulk states have overwhelmed the transport properties and precluded the investigation of the interplay of the topological surface state and Cooper pairs. Here, we demonstrate the superconducting proximity effect in the surface state of SmB6 thin films which display bulk insulation at low temperatures. The Fermi velocity in the surface state deduced from the proximity effect is found to be as large as 10^5 m/s, in good agreement with the value obtained from a separate transport measurement. We show that high transparency between the TI and a superconductor is crucial for the proximity effect. The finding here opens the door to investigation of exotic quantum phenomena using all-thin-film multilayers with high-transparency interfaces.
A Decline in p38 MAPK Signaling Underlies Immunosenescence in Caenorhabditis elegans

The decline in immune function with aging, known as immunosenescence, has been implicated in evolutionarily diverse species, but the underlying molecular mechanisms are not understood. During aging in Caenorhabditis elegans, intestinal tissue deterioration and the increased intestinal proliferation of bacteria are observed, but how innate immunity changes during C. elegans aging has not been defined. Here we show that C. elegans exhibits increased susceptibility to bacterial infection with age, and we establish that aging is associated with a decline in the activity of the conserved PMK-1 p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway, which regulates innate immunity in C. elegans. Our data define the phenomenon of innate immunosenescence in C. elegans in terms of the age-dependent dynamics of the PMK-1 innate immune signaling pathway, and they suggest that a cycle of intestinal tissue aging, immunosenescence, and bacterial proliferation leads to death in aging C. elegans.
An application of the two-source capture–recapture method to estimate the completeness of the Tuscany Cancer Registry, Italy

The purpose of this study was to apply a two-way capture–recapture method to estimate the Tuscany Cancer Registry completeness, taking into account the presence of dependence between sources. Cases incident during 1995–1996 were flagged according to three sources of information: clinical notes, pathological reports and death certificates. For each group of cases notified by one source the dependence between the other two has been quantified and the completeness has been estimated by a two-way capture–recapture method. When only two (or substantially two) sources are dependent on each other it is possible to correct for it by pooling the two sources in a single group and comparing it with the remainder source by a two-way capture–recapture method. The capture–recapture method has been applied to the overall 12 387 incident cases and to 1569 female breast and 1443 lung cancer cases. After correction for the greatest dependence among the three couples of sources of information, the estimates of completeness were 97.4% for the whole case series, 88.7% for female breast and 99.6% for lung cancer. With the limit of multiple strong dependence between sources, the two-way capture–recapture method seems a simple and useful tool for estimating the completeness of cancer registration.
Influence of paced maternal breathing on fetal–maternal heart rate coordination

Pregnant mothers often report a special awareness of and bonding with their unborn child. Little is known about this relationship although it may offer potential for the assessment of the fetal condition. Recently we found evidence of short epochs of fetal–maternal heart rate synchronization under uncontrolled conditions with spontaneous maternal breathing. Here, we examine whether the occurrence of such epochs can be influenced by maternal respiratory arrhythmia induced by paced breathing at several different rates (10, 12, 15, and 20 cycles per minute). To test for such weak and nonstationary synchronizations among the fetal–maternal subsystems, we apply a multivariate synchronization analysis technique and test statistics based on twin surrogates. We find a clear increase in synchronization epochs mostly at high maternal respiratory rates in the original but not in the surrogate data. On the other hand, fewer epochs are found at low respiratory rates both in original and surrogate data. The results suggest that the fetal cardiac system seems to possess the capability to adjust its rate of activation in response to external—i.e., maternal—stimulation. Hence, the pregnant mothers' special awareness to the unborn child may also be reflected by fetal–maternal interaction of cardiac activity. Our approach opens up the chance to examine this interaction between independent but closely linked physiological systems.
Perfusion-diffusion Mismatch Predicts Early Neurological Deterioration in Anterior Circulation Infarction without Thrombolysis

Perfusion-diffusion mismatch in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) represents the non-core hypoperfused area in acute ischemic stroke. The mismatch has been used to predict clinical response after thrombolysis in acute ischemic stroke, but its role for predicting early neurological deterioration (END) in acute ischemic stroke without thrombolysis has not been clarified yet. In this study, we prospectively recruited 54 patients with acute non-lacunar ischemic stroke in anterior circulation without thrombolysis. All patients received the first perfusion MRI within 24 hours from stroke onset. Target mismatch profile was defined as a perfusion-diffusion mismatch ratio ≥ 1.2. END was defined as an increase of ≥ 4 points in the National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score within 72 hours. There were 13 (24.1%) patients developing END, which was associated with larger infarct growth (p = 0.002), worse modified Rankin Scale (p = 0.001) and higher mortality rate at 3 months (p = 0.025). Target mismatch profiles measured by Tmax ≥ 4, 5 and 6 seconds were independent predictors for END after correcting initial NIHSS score. Among the 3 Tmax thresholds, target mismatch measured by Tmax ≥ 6 seconds had the highest odd’s ratio in predicting END (p < 0.01, odd’s ratio = 17), with an 80% sensitivity and a 79.5% specificity. In conclusion, perfusion-diffusion mismatch could identify the patients at high risk of early clinical worsening in acute ischemic stroke without thrombolysis.
Optimization and the Price of Anarchy in a Dynamic Newsboy Model

This paper examines a dynamic version of the newsboy problem in which a decision maker must maintain service capacity from several sources to attempt to meet uncertain demand for a perishable good, subject to the cost of providing sufficient capacity, and penalties for not meeting demand. A complete characterization of the optimal outcome is obtained when normalized demand is modeled as Brownian motion. The centralized optimal solution is a function of variability in demand, production variables, and the cost of insufficient capacity. A closed form expression is obtained for the unique (state dependent) market clearing prices that allows the decentralized market to sustain the centralized optimal solution. The prices are a non-smooth function of normalized demand and reserves. Consequently, prices show extreme volatility in the efficient decentralized market outcome. Standard policy designs are examined to improve the behavior of the decentralized market, including price caps and partial decentralization where the buyer owns a portion of the total service capacity. It is shown that these remedies fail: The market outcome in a partially decentralized model is shown to be inefficient even if the buyer owns I-K.C. is with the Department of Economics, University of Illinois, 1206 S. 6th Street, Champaign, IL 61820 USA. inkoocho@uiuc.edu, http://www.business. uiuc.edu/inkoocho Coordinated Science Laboratory and Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Illinois, 1308 W. Main Street, Urbana, IL 61801 USA. meyn@control.csl.uiuc.edu, http://www.black. csl.uiuc.edu/~meyn.
Mechanical Properties of Khaya and Albizia Films Intended for Pharmaceutical Coating

The mechanical properties of khaya and albizia films have been studied to assess their suitability for pharmaceutical coating. The two gums were initially characterized in terms of their physicochemical properties. The mechanical properties evaluated were tensile strength, elastic modulus, and elongation at break, strain and area under the curve (AUC). Films prepared with khaya gum alone were hard, brittle and lacked flexibility while that of albizia were hard, tough, flexible and elastic. Addition of albizia improved the film forming properties of khaya gum and imparted increasing toughness, flexibility and elasticity to the films. Albizia thus appear to be a better film coating material than khaya gum. The hardness of the films was not significantly affected by increase in albizia concentration. Inclusion of HPMC in khaya/albizia blended gels enhanced the film forming, hardness, elasticity, and toughness of the films. HPMC increased the strain values of the films which is predictive of high mechanical performance of the films during coating processes. Albizia and Khaya/albizia film formulations thus have the potential for use in pharmaceutical coating by possessing the requisite mechanical properties of hardness, flexibility and toughness. These essential properties of film coats were greatly enhanced by the inclusion of HPMC in the films. Journal of the Ghana Science Association Vol. 9 (2) 2007: pp. 43-53
Spectroscopic study of surface effects in polymer waveguides generated by ionizing radiation related to guiding properties

Samples of PMMA have been modified by ionizing radiation in order to generate regions of increased refractive index for the use as optical waveguides in a surface layer. To get a better understanding of the formation of these guides the chemical processes which are responsible for the increase of the refractive index were studied using different spectroscopic methods. It is shown that the thickness as well as the refractive index profile of the layer at the surface depends on the irradiation dose. In this paper also the guiding properties of the waveguides in dependence of these parameters are discussed. The waveguiding structures were used to build optical polarizers simply by varying the exposure time. The spectral absorption behavior of different strip waveguides for different exposure doses were studied.
A few good topics: Experiments in topic set reduction for retrieval evaluation

We consider the issue of evaluating information retrieval systems on the basis of a limited number of topics. In contrast to statistically-based work on sample sizes, we hypothesize that some topics or topic sets are better than others at predicting true system effectiveness, and that with the right choice of topics, accurate predictions can be obtained from small topics sets. Using a variety of effectiveness metrics and measures of goodness of prediction, a study of a set of TREC and NTCIR results confirms this hypothesis, and provides evidence that the value of a topic set for this purpose does generalize.
Introducing a modular activity monitoring system

In this paper, the idea of a modular activity monitoring system is introduced. By using different combinations of the system's three modules, different functionality becomes available: 1) a coarse intensity estimation of physical activities 2) different features based on HR-data and 3) the recognition of basic activities and postures. 3D-accelerometers — placed on lower arm, chest and foot — and a heart rate monitor were used as sensors. A dataset with 8 subjects and 14 different activities was recorded to evaluate the performance of the system. The overall performance on the intensity estimation task, relying on the chest-worn accelerometer and the HR-monitor, was 94.37%. The overall performance on the activity recognition task, using all three accelerometer placements and the HR-monitor, was 90.65%. This paper also gives an analysis of the importance of different accelerometer placements and the importance of a HR-monitor for both tasks.
Runtime Support for Advanced Component Concepts

Component-based development has become a recognized technique for building large scale distributed applications. Although the maturity of this technique, there appears to be quite a significant gap between (a) component systems that are rich in advanced features (e.g., component nesting, software connectors, versioning, dynamic architectures), but which have typically only poor or even no runtime support, and (b) component systems with a solid runtime support, but which typically possess only a limited set of the advanced features. In our opinion, this is mainly due to the difficulties that arise when trying to give proper semantics to the features and reify them in development tools and an runtime platform. In this paper, we describe the implementation of the runtime environment for the SOFA 2.0 component model. In particular, we focus on the runtime support of the advanced features mentioned above. The described issues and the solution are not specific only to SOFA 2.0, but they are general and applicable to any other component system aiming at addressing such features.
A DNA vaccine delivered by dermal electroporation fully protects cynomolgus macaques against Lassa fever

ABSTRACT Lassa virus (LASV) is an ambisense RNA virus in the Arenaviridae family and is the etiological agent of Lassa fever, a severe hemorrhagic disease endemic to West and Central Africa.1,2 There are no US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-licensed vaccines available to prevent Lassa fever.1,2 in our previous studies, we developed a gene-optimized DNA vaccine that encodes the glycoprotein precursor gene of LASV (Josiah strain) and demonstrated that 3 vaccinations accompanied by dermal electroporation protected guinea pigs from LASV-associated illness and death. Here, we describe an initial efficacy experiment in cynomolgus macaque nonhuman primates (NHPs) in which we followed an identical 3-dose vaccine schedule that was successful in guinea pigs, and a follow-on experiment in which we used an accelerated vaccination strategy consisting of 2 administrations, spaced 4 weeks apart. In both studies, all of the LASV DNA-vaccinated NHPs survived challenge and none of them had measureable, sustained viremia or displayed weight loss or other disease signs post-exposure. Three of 10 mock-vaccinates survived exposure to LASV, but all of them became acutely ill post-exposure and remained chronically ill to the study end point (45 d post-exposure). Two of the 3 survivors experienced sensorineural hearing loss (described elsewhere). These results clearly demonstrate that the LASV DNA vaccine combined with dermal electroporation is a highly effective candidate for eventual use in humans.
ATCE: an analytics tool to trace the creation and evaluation of inclusive and accessible open educational resources

The creation of Inclusive and Accessible Open Educational Resources (IA-OERs) is a challenge for teachers because they have to invest time and effort to create learning contents considering students' learning needs and preferences. An IA-OER is characterized by its alignment with the Universal Design Learning (UDL) principles, the quality on its contents and the web accessibility as a way to address the diversity of students. Creating an IA-OER with these characteristics is not a straightforward task, especially when teachers do not have enough information/feedback to make decisions on how to improve the learning contents. In this paper we introduce ATCE - an Analytics Tool to Trace the Creation and Evaluation of IA-OERs. This tool focuses in particular on the accessibility and quality of the IA-OERs. ATCE was developed as a module within the ATutor Learning Management System (LMS). An analytics dashboard with visualizations related to the teachers' competences in the creation and evaluation of IA-OERs was included as part of the tool. This paper also presents a use case of the visualizations obtained from the creation and evaluation of one IA-OER after using our analytics tool.
An introduction to using mark-recapture analysis for monitoring threatened species

Accurate and reliable monitoring is necessary for effective management of threatened species in New Zealand. Mark-recapture studies are a powerful tool for conservation managers, and can be used in any situation where animals can be marked (or otherwise identified) and detected later by capture or sighting. In addition to estimating population size and survival rates, mark-recapture methods can be used to evaluate impacts of threats on survival, record population trends, collect information for population viability analyses, set performance targets against which responses to management can be measured, and highlight areas where further research is necessary. This report has three main sections. The first section introduces the basic principles of markrecapture methodology that conservation managers need to understand to design effective mark-recapture studies. In the second section, specific guidelines for estimating abundance, survival and population growth rates are provided. We show which methods are appropriate for different situations, how field studies should be designed to avoid violating assumptions of markrecapture methods, and how to get started on analysing the data. In the final section, we review a case study involving long-tailed bats (Chalinolobus tuberculatus), and use this to illustrate some problems that may be encountered in mark-recapture studies.