Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Asthma Control and Its Relationship with Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) in Older Adults

Background/Objectives. Asthma in older individuals is poorly understood. We aimed to characterize the older asthma phenotype and test its association with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Design. Cross-sectional. Setting. Pulmonary and Asthma/Allergy clinics. Participants. 659 asthma subjects aged 18–59 years (younger) and 154 aged 60–75 (older). Measurements. Sleep Apnea scale of Sleep Disorders Questionnaire (SA-SDQ), asthma severity step (1–4, severe if step 3 or 4), established OSA diagnosis, continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) use, and comorbidities. Results. Older versus younger had worse control, as assessed by asthma step, lung function, and inhaled corticosteroid use. Among older subjects, after controlling for known asthma aggravators, OSA diagnosis was the only factor robustly associated with severe asthma: on average, OSA was associated with nearly 7 times greater likelihood of severe asthma in an older individual (OR = 6.67). This relationship was of greater magnitude than in younger subjects (OR = 2.16). CPAP use attenuated the likelihood of severe asthma in older subjects by 91% (P = 0.005), much more than in the younger asthmatics. Conclusion. Diagnosed OSA increases the risk for worse asthma control in older patients, while CPAP therapy may have greater impact on asthma outcomes. Unrecognized OSA may be a reason for poor asthma control, particularly among older patients.
Insights from Dividing 3D Goal-Directed Movements into Meaningful Phases

A new method for analyzing 3D goal-directed movements provides more insights than existing approaches by dividing them into meaningful phases. An experiment applying a simple 3D task, resembling a standardized 2D multidirectional pointing task, yielded insights that can help researchers better identify input devices' and interaction techniques' strengths and weaknesses.
Detection of Invariants by Haptic Touch across Age Groups: Rod Length Perception

This study examined the development in the detection of maximum eigenvalues and static moment as invariants, through a task of perceiving rod length without visual information by haptic touch. 34 participants ages 6 to 83 years participated in the experiment. Their exploratory behavior and perceptions of rod length were analyzed by age group (Children: 6 to 12 years old; Young Adult: 21 to 25 years old; Middle Age: 31 to 56 years old; and Older: 65 to 83 years old). A behavior analysis indicated that use of vertical swinging increased for the Young Adult group and decreased with age for the Older group, whereas Children frequently held the rod without wielding. Analysis showed that, by age, differences in coefficients on the maximum eigenvalue and static moment were parallel with an exploratory behavioral change. Finally, the effect of different exploratory behaviors on length perception was discussed.
Lack of megalin expression in adult human terminal ileum suggests megalin‐independent cubilin/amnionless activity during vitamin B12 absorption

Cubilin plays an essential role in terminal ileum and renal proximal tubules during absorption of vitamin B12 and ligands from the glomerular ultrafiltrate. Cubilin is coexpressed with amnionless, and cubilin and amnionless are mutually dependent on each other for correct processing to the plasma membrane upon synthesis. Patients with defects in either protein suffer from vitamin B12‐malabsorption and in some cases proteinuria. Cubilin lacks a transmembrane region and signals for endocytosis and is dependent on a transmembrane coreceptor during internalization. Amnionless has been shown to be able to mediate internalization of cubilin in a cell‐based model system. Cubilin has additionally been suggested to function together with megalin, and a recent study of megalin‐deficient patients indicates that uptake of cubilin ligands in the kidney is critically dependent on megalin. To further investigate the potential role of amnionless and megalin in relation to cubilin function in terminal ileum and vitamin B12 uptake, we initiated a study of CUBN/cubilin, AMN/amnionless, and LRP2/megalin expression in adult human terminal ileum. Our study is the first to reveal the expression pattern of cubilin, amnionless, and megalin in adult human terminal ileum, where cubilin and amnionless localize to the epithelial cells. Surprisingly, we did not detect any megalin protein in adult terminal ileum and consistently, only extremely low amounts of LRP2 mRNA. Our data therefore advocate that cubilin and amnionless act independently of megalin in adult terminal ileum and that the cubilin‐megalin interdependency accordingly should be considered as tissue and ligand specific.
Field and laboratory studies reveal interacting effects of stream oxygenation and warming on aquatic ectotherms

Aquatic ecological responses to climatic warming are complicated by interactions between thermal effects and other environmental stressors such as organic pollution and hypoxia. Laboratory experiments have demonstrated how oxygen limitation can set heat tolerance for some aquatic ectotherms, but only at unrealistic lethal temperatures and without field data to assess whether oxygen shortages might also underlie sublethal warming effects. Here, we test whether oxygen availability affects both lethal and nonlethal impacts of warming on two widespread Eurasian mayflies, Ephemera danica, Müller 1764 and Serratella ignita (Poda 1761). Mayfly nymphs are often a dominant component of the invertebrate assemblage in streams, and play a vital role in aquatic and riparian food webs. In the laboratory, lethal impacts of warming were assessed under three oxygen conditions. In the field, effects of oxygen availability on nonlethal impacts of warming were assessed from mayfly occurrence in 42 293 UK stream samples where water temperature and biochemical oxygen demand were measured. Oxygen limitation affected both lethal and sublethal impacts of warming in each species. Hypoxia lowered lethal limits by 5.5 °C (±2.13) and 8.2 °C (±0.62) for E. danica and S. ignita respectively. Field data confirmed the importance of oxygen limitation in warmer waters; poor oxygenation drastically reduced site occupancy, and reductions were especially pronounced under warm water conditions. Consequently, poor oxygenation lowered optimal stream temperatures for both species. The broad concordance shown here between laboratory results and extensive field data suggests that oxygen limitation not only impairs survival at thermal extremes but also restricts species abundance in the field at temperatures well below upper lethal limits. Stream oxygenation could thus control the vulnerability of aquatic ectotherms to global warming. Improving water oxygenation and reducing pollution can provide key facets of climate change adaptation for running waters.
Therapeutic Efficacy of Artemether-Lumefantrine (Coartem®) in Treating Uncomplicated P. falciparum Malaria in Metehara, Eastern Ethiopia: Regulatory Clinical Study

Background As per the WHO recommendation, the development of resistance by P. falciparum to most artemisinin combination therapies (ACTs) triggered the need for routine monitoring of the efficacy of the drugs every two years in all malaria endemic countries. Hence, this study was carried out to assess the therapeutic efficacy of Artemether-Lumefantrine (Coartem®) in treating the uncomplicated falciparum malaria, after 9 years of its introduction in the Metehara, Eastern Ethiopia. Method This is part of the therapeutic efficacy studies by the Federal Ministry of Health Ethiopia, which were conducted in regionally representative sentinel sites in the country from October 2014 to January 2015. Based on the study criteria set by WHO, febrile and malaria suspected outpatients in the health center were consecutively recruited to study. A standard six-dose regimen of AL was administered over three days and followed up for measuring therapeutic responses over 28 days. Data entry and analysis was done by using the WHO designed Excel spreadsheet and SPSS version 20 for Windows. Statistical significant was considered for P-value less than 0.05. Result Of the 91 patients enrolled, the day-28 analysis showed 83 adequate clinical and parasitological responses (ACPRs). Per protocol analysis, PCR-uncorrected & corrected cure rates of Coartem® among the study participants were 97.6% (95%CI: 93.6–99.5) and 98.8% (CI: 93.5–100%), respectively. No parasite detected on day 3 and onwards. Fever clearance was above 91% on day-3. Mean hemoglobin was significantly increased (P<0.000) from 12.39 g/dl at day 0 to 13.45 g/dl on day 28. No serious adverse drug reactions were observed among the study participants. Conclusion This study showed high efficacy of AL in the study area, which suggests the continuation of AL as first line drug for the treatment of uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria in the study area. This study recommends further studies on drug toxicity, particularly on repeated cough and oral ulceration.
Localization of the K (cid:49) Lock-In and the Ba 2 (cid:49) Binding Sites in a Voltage-gated Calcium-modulated Channel Implications for Survival of K (cid:49) Permeability

Using Ba 2 (cid:49) as a probe, we performed a detailed characterization of an external K (cid:49) binding site located in the pore of a large conductance Ca 2 (cid:49) -activated K (cid:49) (BK Ca ) channel from skeletal muscle incorporated into planar lipid bilayers. Internal Ba 2 (cid:49) blocks BK Ca channels and decreasing external K (cid:49) using a K (cid:49) chelator, ( (cid:49) )-18-Crown-6-tetracarboxylic acid, dramatically reduces the duration of the Ba 2 (cid:49) -blocked events. Average Ba 2 (cid:49) dwell time changes from 10 s at 10 mM external K (cid:49) to 100 ms in the limit of very low [K (cid:49) ]. Using a model where external K (cid:49) binds to a site hindering the exit of Ba 2 (cid:49) toward the external side (Neyton, J., and C. Miller. 1988. J . Gen . Physiol . 92:549–568), we calculated a dissociation constant of 2.7 (cid:109) M for K (cid:49) at this lock-in site. We also found that BK Ca channels enter into a long-lasting nonconductive state when the external [K (cid:49) ] is reduced below 4 (cid:109) M using the crown ether. Channel activity can be recovered by adding K (cid:49) , Rb (cid:49) , Cs (cid:49) , or NH 4 (cid:49) to the external solution. These results suggest that the BK Ca channel stability in solutions of very low [K (cid:49) ] is due to K (cid:49) binding to a site having a very high afﬁnity. Occupancy of this site by K (cid:49) avoids the channel conductance collapse and the exit of Ba 2 (cid:49) toward the external side. External tetraethylammonium also reduced the Ba 2 (cid:49) off rate and impeded the channel from entering into the long-lasting nonconductive state. This effect requires the presence of external K (cid:49) . It is explained in terms of a model in which the conduction pore contains Ba 2 (cid:49) , K (cid:49) , and tetraethylammonium simultaneously, with the K (cid:49) binding site located internal to the tetraethylammonium site. Altogether, these results and the known potassium channel structure (Doyle, D.A., J.M. Cabral, R.A. Pfuetzner, A. Kuo, J.M. Gulbis, S.L. Cohen, B.T. Chait, and R. MacKinnon. 1998. Science. 280:69–77) imply that the lock-in site and the Ba 2 (cid:49) sites are the external and internal ion sites of the selectivity ﬁlter, respectively.
The influence of vitamins of the B complex on the induction of epithelial tumors in mice.

Summary The influence of variations in the amount of vitamins of the B complex and of unknown nutritive factors on the formation of tumors induced by applications of carcinogenic hydrocarbons on the skin of mice was investigated. The food intake was controlled at isocaloric levels within each experiment. The various diets tested can be characterized as follows: 1. control; 2. all vitamins high; 3. all vitamins low; 4. thiamine and riboflavin low; 5. pyridoxine low; 6. niacin and pantothenic acid low; 7. the remaining 5 crystalline B vitamins low; 8. pteroyltriglutamic acid substituted for pteroylglutamic acid; 9. whole wheat-whole milk powder; 10. rice; and 11. a highly purified diet. The rate of tumor induction was not influenced by these various regimens with the exception of diet number 3. This diet resulted in a lower tumor incidence and an acrodynia in the mice which was relieved by the administration of pyridoxine.
The expression of vascular endothelial growth factor-C correlates with lymphatic microvessel density and lymph node metastasis in prostate carcinoma: An immunohistochemical study

Aim: To evaluate the expression of two different lymphatic vascular density (LVD) markers (D2-40 and LYVE-1) and a lymphangiogenic cytokine (Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor-C, [VEGF-C]) in prostate carcinoma and to investigate their relationship with the lymph node status. Settings and Design: Archival material study of 92 non-consecutive radical prostatectomy specimens. Materials and Methods: The mean LVD was assessed immunohistochemically in 24 prostate carcinoma specimens from patients with clinically localized disease, who were found to have nodal metastasis (pN1), and was compared with 68 pN0 cases. Furthermore, the mean LVD, VEGF-C expression, and lymphatic invasion were examined in relation to lymph node involvement. Results: Peritumoral (but not intratumoral) mean LVD assessed by D2-40 was higher in pN1 tumors (P = 0.015). LYVE-1 expression was limited and not associated with lymph node status. The VEGF-C expression was higher in the N1 cases and also correlated with the increased mean LVD in both the peri- and intratumoral compartments. Lymphatic invasion was strongly associated with nodal metastasis and higher VEGF-C expression. Conclusions: Our results indicate that increased peritumoral (but not intratumoral) LVD in the tumor specimen is associated with lymph node metastasis. Increased expression of VEGF-C is associated with higher LVD (in both intratumoral and peritumoral compartments) and with positive lymph node status, indicating a possible dual role in both lymphangiogenesis and lymphatic vessel invasion.
Scheduling for Network-Coded Multicast

We consider multicasting using random linear network coding over a multihop wireless network in the bandwidth limited regime. We address the associated medium access problem and propose a scheduling technique that activates hyperarcs rather than links, as in classical scheduling approaches. We encapsulate the constraints on valid network configurations in a conflict graph model and formulate a joint optimization problem taking into account both the network coding subgraph and the schedule. Next, using Lagrangian relaxation, we decompose the overall problem into two subproblems, a multiple-shortest-paths problem and a maximum weighted stable set (MWSS) problem. We show that if we use a greedy heuristic for the MWSS part of the problem, the overall algorithm is completely distributed. We provide extensive simulation results for both the centralized optimal and the decentralized algorithms. The optimal algorithm improves performance by up to a factor of two over widely used techniques such as orthogonal or two-hop-constrained scheduling. The decentralized algorithm is shown to buy its distributed operation with some throughput losses. Experimental results on randomly generated networks suggest that these losses are not large. Finally, we study the power consumption of our scheme and quantify the tradeoff between power and bandwidth efficiency.
Phosphatidylinositol 3‐kinases inhibitor LY294002 potentiates the cytotoxic effects of doxorubicin, vincristine, and etoposide in a panel of cancer cell lines

Many novel therapeutic approaches to overcome chemoresistance have involved targeting specific signaling pathways such as the phosphatidylinositol 3‐kinase (PI3K) pathway. PI3K is a known stress response pathway which is involved in the regulation of cell survival, apoptosis, and growth. Inhibition of this pathway may possibly restore or augment the effectiveness of chemotherapy. Using three human malignant cell lines, we examined the effects of LY294002 (PI3K inhibitor) on chemotherapeutic agent‐induced apoptosis and cytotoxicity. An antimicrotubule agent vincristine, a topoisomerase II inhibitor etoposide, and a DNA cross‐linking agent doxorubicin were used accompanied with LY294002. Cell viability was determined by MTT assay, and the induction of apoptosis was assessed by immunoblotting of caspase‐3. Blocking the PI3K/Akt cascade with a PI3K inhibitor LY294002 (10 μM) increased the cytotoxic effect of vincristine and doxorubicin on SK‐OV‐3 cell line. Furthermore, LY294002 showed a greater promoting effect in etoposide‐ and doxorubicin‐induced cytotoxicity on MDA‐MB‐468 and A549 cells. The quantity of cleaved caspase‐3 in cancer cells that had combination therapy was increased compared with that in the cells treated with each drug alone. We suggest that inhibitors of the PI3K/Akt pathway in combination with chemotherapeutic agents may induce cell death effectively and be a potent modality to treat various types of cancer. The effectiveness of such combination therapy is depending to the used cell line and class of anticancer drug.
Identification of 14-series sulfido-conjugated mediators that promote resolution of infection and organ protection

Significance Inability of the body to contain infections may lead to collateral organ damage resulting from unchecked innate immune responses. Here we investigated the chemical signals produced by immune cells to expedite clearance of bacteria and promote organ repair and tissue regeneration. We identified molecules produced during self-limited infections and in human milk that promote clearance of bacteria as well as accelerate tissue regeneration. In addition, these molecules also protected organs from exuberant inflammatory responses by limiting select white blood cell recruitment and up-regulating the expression of proteins involved in tissue repair. Therefore, these results identify new resolution moduli that regulate phagocytes to clear bacteria and activate the regeneration milieu. Upon infection and inflammation, tissue repair and regeneration are essential in reestablishing function. Here we identified potent molecules present in self-limited infectious murine exudates, regenerating planaria, and human milk as well as macrophages that stimulate tissue regeneration in planaria and are proresolving. Characterization of their physical properties and isotope tracking indicated that the bioactive structures contained docosahexaenoic acid and sulfido-conjugate (SC) of triene double bonds that proved to be 13-glutathionyl, 14-hydroxy-docosahexaenoic acid (SCI) and 13-cysteinylglycinyl, 14-hydroxy-docosahexaenoic acid (SCII). These molecules rescued Escherichia coli infection-mediated delay in tissue regeneration in planaria, improving regeneration intervals from ∼4.2 to ∼3.7 d. Administration of SCs protected mice from second-organ reflow injury, promoting repair via limiting neutrophil infiltration, up-regulating Ki67, and Roof plate-specific spondin 3. At nanomolar potencies these conjugates also resolved E. coli infections by limiting neutrophil infiltration and stimulating bacterial phagocytosis and clearance as well as efferocytosis of apoptotic cells. Together, these findings identify previously undescribed conserved chemical signals and pathways in planaria, mouse, and human tissues that enhance host responses to contain infections, stimulate resolution of inflammation, and promote the restoration of function.
Rehabilitation of scapular dyskinesis: from the office worker to the elite overhead athlete

The scapula functions as a bridge between the shoulder complex and the cervical spine and plays a very important role in providing both mobility and stability of the neck/shoulder region. The association between abnormal scapular positions and motions and glenohumeral joint pathology has been well established in the literature, whereas studies investigating the relationship between neck pain and scapular dysfunction have only recently begun to emerge. Although several authors have emphasised the relevance of restoring normal scapular kinematics through exercise and manual therapy techniques, overall scapular rehabilitation guidelines decent for both patients with shoulder pain as well as patients with neck problems are lacking. The purpose of this paper is to provide a science-based clinical reasoning algorithm with practical guidelines for the rehabilitation of scapular dyskinesis in patients with chronic complaints in the upper quadrant.
From Income to Capital Breeding: When Diversified Strategies Sustain Species Coexistence

There is empirical evidence of many diversified ways for energy to be acquired and allocated to reproduction, notably with strategies ranging from strict income breeding (females fueling their gametes with energy gained concomitantly during reproduction) to strict capital breeding (females storing nutrients prior reproduction). Until now, the question of whether diversification of these strategies might impact the way communities are organized has not been considered. Here, we suggest that diversified resource allocation strategies among competing species may contribute to their coexistence. We examined this hypothesis by focusing on communities composed of four phytophagous insect species that coexist and compete for egg-laying sites. From wild-caught females, we determined precisely the breeding period of each species and we described their resource acquisition and allocation to reproduction dynamics. We quantified in each species the total amount of larval energy stored by newly-emerging females and then monitored the total energy budget of females caught in the field before and throughout their breeding period. We found that the four sibling weevil species are markedly segregated along the income-capital-breeding continuum, which is correlated with clear time partitioning in their laying activity. Our results suggest that diversified resource allocation strategies might contribute to time partitioning of plant resources exploitation and thus indirectly to their coexistence. This work should further encourage studies examining the extent to which competitive coexistence might be affected by diversification of income-capital breeding strategies together with the intensity of interspecific competition, and considering the divergent evolution of these strategies.
Phase and amplitude pre-emphasis techniques for low-power serial links

A novel approach to equalization of high-speed serial links combines both amplitude pre-emphasis to correct for intersymbol interference and phase pre-emphasis to compensate for deterministic jitter, in particular, data-dependent jitter. Phase pre-emphasis augments the performance of low power transmitters in bandwidth-limited channels. The transmitter circuit is implemented in a 90-nm bulk CMOS process and reduces power consumption by pushing CMOS static logic to the output stage, a 4:1 output multiplexer. The received signal jitter over a cable is reduced from 16.15 ps to 10.29 ps with only phase pre-emphasis at the transmitter. The jitter is reduced by 3.6 ps over an FR-4 backplane interconnect. A transmitter without phase pre-emphasis consumes 18 mW of power at 6Gb/s and 600mVpp output swing, a power budget of 3mW/Gb/s, while a transmitter with phase pre-emphasis consumes 24mW, a budget of 4 mW/Gb/s.
Concrete Members Under Combined Torsion and Shear

The behaviour of reinforced concrete members subjected to combined torsion and shear is studied in this investigation. An analysis is developed for predicting the deformations at all levels of load and for predicting the strength of the members under combined torsion and shear. Twelve specimens were tested in the experimental portion and the test results are presented and compared with the theoretical predictions.