Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Serum copeptin as a new biomarker in the early diagnosis of decline in renal function of type 2 diabetes mellitus patients.

OBJECTIVE This study aimed to investigate the correlation between serum copeptin and glomerular filtration rate (GFR) in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients and to investigate the role of serum copeptin in the diagnosis of early DN in T2DM patients. METHODS 120 T2DM inpatients were recruited and divided into 2 groups according to 24-h urine albumin excretion (UAE): normal UAE group (UAE<30 mg/24 h) and microalbuminuria group (30 mg/24 h≤UAE≤300 mg/24 h). RESULTS Decline in GFR was found in 6.1% of patients in normal UAE group and 26.4% in microalbuminuria group. However, serum copeptin was comparable between two groups. Serum copeptin was negatively related to GFR (r=-0.586, P<0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed, after adjustment for age and gender, the OR of copeptin, 24-h UAE was 1.234 (95% CI: 1.003-1.456) (P<0.05) and 1.068 (95% CI: 1.005-1.187) (P<0.05), respectively. Univariate analysis of ROC showed the sensitivity of copeptin and 24-h UAE was 78.9% and 63.2%, respectively and the specificity was 88.9% and 89.7%, respectively in the diagnosis of DN, but the area under ROC of copeptin in combination with 24-h UAE was 0.90 (95% CI: 0.82-0.99) with the sensitivity of 80.9% and specificity of 91.1%. CONCLUSION Serum copeptin is an independent risk factor of decline in renal function of T2DM patients. Copeptin in combination with 24-h UAE are helpful for the early diagnosis of DN. The causative relationship between serum copeptin and GFR is required to be further studied in long-term follow up.
Plasma flow channels with ULF waves observed by Cluster and Double Star

On 14 August 2004 a large-scale magnetic structure was observed by Double Star TC-1 in the southern lobe and by Cluster in the northern lobe of the magnetotail. The structure has the signature of a (localized) dipolarization, decreasing B x accompanied by an increasing B z and a strong earthward flow. The propagation direction of this structure, however, seems to be more in the dawnward direction than earthward. The structure is accompanied by ULF waves with a period of ~5 min, which are simultaneously observed by the ground magnetometer station DIK, at the magnetic footpoints of the spacecraft. We interprete these waves as modes driven by the plasma flow and propagating in the flow channel.
Strategic Orientation of the Firm and New Product Performance

The authors seek to understand which of three different strategic orientations of the firm (customer, competitive, and technological) is more appropriate, when, and why it is so in the context of developing product innovations. They propose a structural model of the impact of the strategic orientation of the firm on the performance of a new product. The results provide evidence for best practices as follows: (1) A firm wishing to develop an innovation superior to the competition must have a strong technological orientation; (2) a competitive orientation in high-growth markets is useful because it enables firms to develop innovations with lower costs, which is a critical element of success; (3) firms should be consumer- and technology-oriented in markets in which demand is relatively uncertain—together, these orientations lead to products that perform better, and the firm will be able to market innovations better, thereby achieving a superior level of performance; and (4) a competitive orientation is useful to market innovations when demand is not too uncertain but should be de-emphasized in highly uncertain markets.
Proteins Connecting the Nuclear Pore Complex with the Nuclear Interior

While much has been learned in recent years about the movement of soluble transport factors across the nuclear pore complex (NPC), comparatively little is known about intranuclear trafficking. We isolated the previously identified Saccharomyces protein Mlp1p (myosin-like protein) by an assay designed to find nuclear envelope (NE) associated proteins that are not nucleoporins. We localized both Mlp1p and a closely related protein that we termed Mlp2p to filamentous structures stretching from the nucleoplasmic face of the NE into the nucleoplasm, similar to the homologous vertebrate and Drosophila Tpr proteins. Mlp1p can be imported into the nucleus by virtue of a nuclear localization sequence (NLS) within its COOH-terminal domain. Overexpression experiments indicate that Mlp1p can form large structures within the nucleus which exclude chromatin but appear highly permeable to proteins. Remarkably, cells harboring a double deletion of MLP1 and MLP2 were viable, although they showed a slower net rate of active nuclear import and faster passive efflux of a reporter protein. Our data indicate that the Tpr homologues are not merely NPC-associated proteins but that they can be part of NPC-independent, peripheral intranuclear structures. In addition, we suggest that the Tpr filaments could provide chromatin-free conduits or tracks to guide the efficient translocation of macromolecules between the nucleoplasm and the NPC.
Survival Assessment of Mouse Preimplantation Embryos After Exposure to Cell Phone Radiation

Background: Using cellular phone has rapidly increased all over the world. Also, the concern on the possible health hazards of electromagnetic fields (EMF) induced from cell phones to reproduction has been growing in many countries. The aim of this study was to assess the consequences and effects of exposure to the cell phone radiation on the quality and survival rates of preimplantation embryos in mice. Methods: A total of 40 mice (20 females and 20 males), 6 weeks old and sexually mature BALB/c, were used for control and experimental groups. The ovary burses were removed and the zygotes were dissected in the morning after mating. Next, 2-cell embryos were divided into two groups of control (n=150) and experimental (n=150). EMF (900–1800 MHz) was used for four days in experimental group for 30 min/day in culture at 37°C in a CO 2 incubator. The quality of embryos was recorded daily and the fluorescent staining was used for identification of viable blastocysts. All data were compared by Student’s t-test and Mann-Whitney test (p<0.05). Results: The rate of embryo survival to the blastocysts stage was similar in both groups. However, the percentage of dead embryos at the 2-cell stage was significantly higher in EMF-exposed group compared with controls (p=0.03). Also, the loss of cell viability significantly increased in experimental blastocysts (p=0.002). Conclusion: The normal embryonic development up to the blastocyst stage indicates that EMF-exposure commonly did not have adverse effect on embryo development in mice. But, it caused loss of blastocysts cell viability.
Fragmentectomy versus Conventional Microdiscectomy in Single-Level Lumbar Disc Herniations : Comparison of Clinical Results and Recurrence Rates

Objective This retrospective study aimed to compare clinical outcomes in terms of pain relief and recurrence rate between fragmentectomies and conventional microdiscectomies in patients with lumbar disc herniation (LDH). Methods Between January 2008 and May 2011, a total of 175 patients met the inclusion criteria of this study. The visual analogue scale (VAS) scores of back and radicular pains were recorded before surgery, 2 and 6 weeks after surgery. Recurrence was defined when a patient had the same pattern of preoperative symptoms and was confirmed with magnetic resonance imaging. Results Seventy-four patients (42.3%) were suitable for fragmentectomy, and 101 patients underwent conventional microdiscectomy. There were no significant differences in VAS scores between the fragmentectomy and conventional microdiscectomy groups 2 and 6 weeks after surgery. During the follow-up period, 3 patients (4.05%) in the fragmentectomy group and 7 patients (6.93%) in the conventional microdiscectomy group relapsed. Conclusion If patients are selected according to well-defined criteria, fragmentectomy can be a good surgical option for LDH, in the physiological aspect of preserving healthy intervertebral disc materials.
Determinants for Sustained Use of an Activity Tracker: Observational Study

Background A lack of physical activity is considered to cause 6% of deaths globally. Feedback from wearables such as activity trackers has the potential to encourage daily physical activity. To date, little research is available on the natural development of adherence to activity trackers or on potential factors that predict which users manage to keep using their activity tracker during the first year (and thereby increasing the chance of healthy behavior change) and which users discontinue using their trackers after a short time. Objective The aim of this study was to identify the determinants for sustained use in the first year after purchase. Specifically, we look at the relative importance of demographic and socioeconomic, psychological, health-related, goal-related, technological, user experience–related, and social predictors of feedback device use. Furthermore, this study tests the effect of these predictors on physical activity. Methods A total of 711 participants from four urban areas in France received an activity tracker (Fitbit Zip) and gave permission to use their logged data. Participants filled out three Web-based questionnaires: at start, after 98 days, and after 232 days to measure the aforementioned determinants. Furthermore, for each participant, we collected activity data tracked by their Fitbit tracker for 320 days. We determined the relative importance of all included predictors by using Random Forest, a machine learning analysis technique. Results The data showed a slow exponential decay in Fitbit use, with 73.9% (526/711) of participants still tracking after 100 days and 16.0% (114/711) of participants tracking after 320 days. On average, participants used the tracker for 129 days. Most important reasons to quit tracking were technical issues such as empty batteries and broken trackers or lost trackers (21.5% of all Q3 respondents, 130/601). Random Forest analysis of predictors revealed that the most influential determinants were age, user experience–related factors, mobile phone type, household type, perceived effect of the Fitbit tracker, and goal-related factors. We explore the role of those predictors that show meaningful differences in the number of days the tracker was worn. Conclusions This study offers an overview of the natural development of the use of an activity tracker, as well as the relative importance of a range of determinants from literature. Decay is exponential but slower than may be expected from existing literature. Many factors have a small contribution to sustained use. The most important determinants are technical condition, age, user experience, and goal-related factors. This finding suggests that activity tracking is potentially beneficial for a broad range of target groups, but more attention should be paid to technical and user experience–related aspects of activity trackers.
Tension-dependent structural deformation alters single-molecule transition kinetics

We analyze the response of a single nucleosome to tension, which serves as a prototypical biophysical measurement where tension-dependent deformation alters transition kinetics. We develop a statistical-mechanics model of a nucleosome as a wormlike chain bound to a spool, incorporating fluctuations in the number of bases bound, the spool orientation, and the conformations of the unbound polymer segments. With the resulting free-energy surface, we perform dynamic simulations that permit a direct comparison with experiments. This simple approach demonstrates that the experimentally observed structural states at nonzero tension are a consequence of the tension and that these tension-induced states cease to exist at zero tension. The transitions between states exhibit substantial deformation of the unbound polymer segments. The associated deformation energy increases with tension; thus, the application of tension alters the kinetics due to tension-induced deformation of the transition states. This mechanism would arise in any system where the tether molecule is deformed in the transition state under the influence of tension.
An Integrated 40 Gbit/s Optical Costas Receiver

In this paper, a highly-integrated widely-tunable optical homodyne receiver is reported with 40 Gbaud/s data rate. By using photonic and electronic integration, the receiver is realized within a size of 10 × 10 mm2, and the system is very robust and resistive to environmental changes. An integrated photonic coherent receiver circuit is demonstrated with 35 GHz photodetector bandwidth, and the integrated local oscillator (LO) laser covers a 40 nm range. The electronic IC (EIC) has a working frequency up to 50 GHz. The feedback loop is carefully analyzed and designed, and the experimental results show > 1.1 GHz loop bandwidth, which matches the design. The hold-in range is measured to be > 15 GHz. The phase noise of the transmitting laser has been cloned to the LO laser quite well, and both the linewidth measurement and phase noise measurement show no observable cross talk between binary phase shift keying (BPSK) data and the optical phase-locked loop (OPLL). Error free ( bit error rate <; 10-12) is achieved up to 35 Gbit/s. The system consumes 3 Watts of power.
Results from a Randomized Clinical Trial of Coadministration of RotaTeq, a Pentavalent Rotavirus Vaccine, and NeisVac-C, a Meningococcal Serogroup C Conjugate Vaccine

ABSTRACT RotaTeq (Merck & Co. Inc./Sanofi Pasteur MSD) is a three-dose, oral pentavalent rotavirus vaccine for the immunization of infants from 6 weeks of age for the prevention of rotavirus gastroenteritis. The primary objective of the present trial was to demonstrate that RotaTeq can be coadministered with meningococcal serogroup C conjugate vaccine (MenCC; NeisVac-C; Baxter Healthcare) to healthy infants without impairing the protective immune responses to MenCC. This was an open-label, randomized, comparative study conducted in Finland. The study was designed to assess concomitant versus sequential administration of RotaTeq and MenCC on the immune response to both vaccines. Healthy infants (n = 247), aged 6 to 7 weeks, were recruited. Coadministration of MenCC with RotaTeq was noninferior to sequential administration for the seroprotection rate against meningococcal serogroup C (the proportion of infants with a serum bactericidal antibody titer using baby rabbit complement of ≥8 was 100% in both groups). The other responses to MenCC (titer of ≥1:128, ≥4-fold increase in titer, and geometric mean titers [GMTs]) and the responses to RotaTeq (IgA and SNA response to G1 to G4 and P1A[8], GMTs, and ≥3-fold increase in titer) were comparable between groups, including a ≥3-fold IgA increase in >96% of the infants in both groups. Concomitant administration of the first doses of MenCC, diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and acellular pertussis vaccine, inactivated poliovirus vaccine, and Haemophilus influenzae type b conjugate vaccine (DTaP-IPV-Hib), and RotaTeq was associated with a higher rate of vomiting and diarrhea than concomitant administration of MenCC and DTaP-IPV-Hib, but that was not observed after the second concomitant administration. The convenience of concomitant administration of RotaTeq and MenCC may, however, outweigh the additive effect of mostly mild adverse events reported after the individual administration of each vaccine. These results support the coadministration of RotaTeq and MenCC.
Assessment of metallothionein and antibodies to metallothionein in normal and autistic children having exposure to vaccine‐derived thimerosal

Allergic autoimmune reaction after exposure to heavy metals such as mercury may play a causal role in autism, a developmental disorder of the central nervous system. As metallothionein (MT) is the primary metal‐detoxifying protein in the body, we conducted a study of the MT protein and antibodies to metallothionein (anti‐MT) in normal and autistic children whose exposure to mercury was only from thimerosal‐containing vaccines. Laboratory analysis by immunoassays revealed that the serum level of MT did not significantly differ between normal and autistic children. Furthermore, autistic children harboured normal levels of anti‐MT, including antibodies to isoform MT‐I (anti‐MT‐I) and MT‐II (anti‐MT‐II), without any significant difference between normal and autistic children. Our findings indicate that because autistic children have a normal profile of MT and anti‐MT, the mercury‐induced autoimmunity to MT may not be implicated in the pathogenesis of autism.
No Benefit of Hemodiafiltration over Hemodialysis in Lowering Elevated Levels of Asymmetric Dimethylarginine in ESRD Patients

Background: It has been suggested that hemodiafiltration (HDF) is more efficient than hemodialysis (HD) in lowering plasma levels of the endogenous nitric oxide synthase inhibitor asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), which is a strong and independent predictor of overall mortality in ESRD patients. Methods/Patients: Twenty ESRD patients (11 women) were studied during both a single online HDF session and a single HD session. In each patient, ADMA, L-arginine, SDMA, β2-microglobulin and urea were measured at several time points. Results: Although HDF was clearly superior to HD in decreasing plasma β2-microglobulin, there was no difference in the elimination characteristics of ADMA. However, HDF but not HD eliminated the nitric oxide synthase substrate L-arginine, making HD superior in increasing the L-arginine/ADMA ratio. Conclusion: Neither HD nor HDF sufficiently removes the putative uremic toxin ADMA. The clinical significance of HD better improving the L-arginine/ADMA ratio (parameter of NO production) as compared to HDF needs to be determined.
A Lipid Raft Environment Enhances Lyn Kinase Activity by Protecting the Active Site Tyrosine from Dephosphorylation*

The plasma membrane contains ordered lipid domains, commonly called lipid rafts, enriched in cholesterol, sphingolipids, and certain signaling proteins. Lipid rafts play a structural role in signal initiation by the high affinity receptor for IgE. Cross-linking of IgE-receptor complexes by antigen causes their coalescence with lipid rafts, where they are phosphorylated by the Src family tyrosine kinase, Lyn. To understand how lipid rafts participate in functional coupling between Lyn and FcϵRI, we investigated whether the lipid raft environment influences the specific activity of Lyn. We used differential detergent solubility and sucrose gradient fractionation to isolate Lyn from raft and nonraft regions of the plasma membrane in the presence or absence of tyrosine phosphatase inhibitors. We show that Lyn recovered from lipid rafts has a substantially higher specific activity than Lyn from nonraft environments. Furthermore, this higher specific activity correlates with increased tyrosine phosphorylation at the active site loop of the kinase domain. Based on these results, we propose that lipid rafts exclude a phosphatase that negatively regulates Lyn kinase activity by constitutive dephosphorylation of the kinase domain tyrosine residue of Lyn. In this model, cross-linking of FcϵRI promotes its proximity to active Lyn in a lipid raft environment.
Abnormal Metabolism of Glycogen Phosphate as a Cause for Lafora Disease*

Lafora disease is a progressive myoclonus epilepsy with onset in the teenage years followed by neurodegeneration and death within 10 years. A characteristic is the widespread formation of poorly branched, insoluble glycogen-like polymers (polyglucosan) known as Lafora bodies, which accumulate in neurons, muscle, liver, and other tissues. Approximately half of the cases of Lafora disease result from mutations in the EPM2A gene, which encodes laforin, a member of the dual specificity protein phosphatase family that is able to release the small amount of covalent phosphate normally present in glycogen. In studies of Epm2a–/– mice that lack laforin, we observed a progressive change in the properties and structure of glycogen that paralleled the formation of Lafora bodies. At three months, glycogen metabolism remained essentially normal, even though the phosphorylation of glycogen has increased 4-fold and causes altered physical properties of the polysaccharide. By 9 months, the glycogen has overaccumulated by 3-fold, has become somewhat more phosphorylated, but, more notably, is now poorly branched, is insoluble in water, and has acquired an abnormal morphology visible by electron microscopy. These glycogen molecules have a tendency to aggregate and can be recovered in the pellet after low speed centrifugation of tissue extracts. The aggregation requires the phosphorylation of glycogen. The aggregrated glycogen sequesters glycogen synthase but not other glycogen metabolizing enzymes. We propose that laforin functions to suppress excessive glycogen phosphorylation and is an essential component of the metabolism of normally structured glycogen.
Periprosthetic Anesthetic for Postoperative Pain After Laparoscopic Ventral Hernia Repair: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

IMPORTANCE Laparoscopic ventral hernia repair (LVHR) using mesh is a well-established intervention for ventral hernia, but pain control can be challenging. OBJECTIVE To determine whether instillation of a long-acting local anesthetic between the mesh and the peritoneum after LVHR reduces pain or narcotic requirements. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS A prospective, double-blind, randomized clinical trial with data collection during a brief hospital stay in a tertiary care, community teaching hospital over 3 years between December 15, 2011, and March 28, 2014. Of 120 screened patients undergoing LVHR in this intention-to-treat analysis, 99 eligible patients were randomized. Forty-two patients received the study drug, and 38 patients received placebo. Patients with a history of chronic narcotic use were excluded. INTERVENTION After mesh placement, a long-acting local anesthetic (bupivacaine hydrochloride, 0.50%) or placebo (0.9% normal saline) was injected between the mesh and the peritoneum. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Postoperative pain (on a standard scale ranging from 0 to 10), and narcotic medication use (intravenous morphine equivalents). There were no adverse events. RESULTS Baseline and operative characteristics were similar except that the treatment group was older (61.8 vs 52.3 years, P = .001). After surgery, pain scores in the recovery room (3.2 vs 4.7, P = .003), interval total narcotic use (6.7 vs 12.5 mg, P = .003 at <4 hours and 0 vs 2.7 mg, P = .01 at 8-12 hours), and total intravenous narcotic use (9.2 vs 17.2 mg of morphine sulfate equivalents, P = .03) were significantly less in the treatment group. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Administration of a long-acting local anesthetic between the mesh and the peritoneum significantly reduces postoperative pain and narcotic use after LVHR. TRIAL REGISTRATION clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT01530815.