Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Targeting Nocturnal Hypertension in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Several studies in different populations have suggested that nighttime blood pressure (BP) is a stronger predictor of cardiovascular events than daytime BP. Consequently, treatment strategies to target nighttime BP have come into focus. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of change of administration time of antihypertensive drugs. We included 41 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and nocturnal hypertension (nighttime systolic BP >120 mm Hg) in an open-label, crossover study. Patients were randomized to 8 weeks of either morning or bedtime administration of all of the individual’s once-daily antihypertensive drugs, followed by 8 weeks of switched dosing regimen. Bedtime administration of antihypertensive drugs resulted in a significant reduction in nighttime (7.5 mm Hg; P<0.001) and 24-hour (3.1 mm Hg; P=0.014) systolic BP, with a nonsignificant reduction in daytime (1.3 mm Hg; P=0.336) systolic BP. We did not find morning BP surge to be different between dosing regimens. Levels of C-reactive protein were significantly lower with bedtime administration, which may indicate an effect on low-grade inflammation. We found no difference in urinary albumin excretion, regardless of albuminuria status. Urinary sodium/creatinine was significantly increased and urinary osmolality significantly reduced with bedtime administration, which can be interpreted as increased nocturnal natriuresis. In patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and nocturnal hypertension, administration of once-daily antihypertensive drugs at bedtime may be favorable. The increased nocturnal natriuresis may reflect increased effect of bedtime-administered thiazides and renin–angiotensin system inhibitors, suggesting a potential mechanism of the observed effects on BP with chronotherapeutic intervention.
Polymeric Display of Immunogenic Epitopes from Herpes Simplex Virus and Transmissible Gastroenteritis Virus Surface Proteins on an Enteroadherent Fimbria

ABSTRACT The strong immunogenicity of bacterial fimbriae results from their polymeric and proteinaceous nature, and the protective role of these immunogens in experimental or commercial vaccines is associated with their capacity to induce antiadhesive antibodies. Fimbria-mediated intestinal colonization by enteropathogens typically leads to similar antibody responses. The possibility of taking advantage of these properties was investigated by determining whether enteroadhesive fimbriae, like the 987P fimbriae of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli, can serve as carriers for foreign antigens without losing their adhesive characteristics. Random linker insertion mutagenesis of the fasA gene encoding the major 987P subunit identified five different mutants expressing wild-type levels of fimbriation. The linker insertion sites of these mutants were used to introduce three continuous segments of viral surface glycoproteins known to be accessible to antibodies. These segments encode residues 11 to 19 or 272 to 279 of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) glycoprotein D [gD(11–19) and gD(272–279), respectively] or residues 379 to 388 of the transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV) spike protein [S(379–388)]. Studies of bacteria expressing fimbriae incorporating mutated FasA subunits alone or together with wild-type FasA subunits (hybrid fimbriae) indicated that foreign epitopes were best exported and displayed on assembled fimbriae when they were inserted near the amino terminus of FasA. Fimbriated bacteria expressing FasA subunits carrying the HSV gD(11–19) or the TGEV S(379–388) epitope inserted between the second and third residues of mature FasA elicited high levels of foreign epitope antibodies in all rabbits immunized parenterally. Antibodies against the HSV epitope were also shown to recognize the epitope in the context of the whole gD protein. Because the 987P adhesive subunit FasG was shown to be present on mutated fimbriae and to mediate bacterial attachment to porcine intestinal receptors, polymeric display of foreign epitopes on 987P offers new opportunities to test the potential beneficial effect of enteroadhesion for mucosal immunization and protection against various enteric pathogens.
Personality and executive functioning as explanatory variables in media technology use and responsiveness to media technology

The current thesis investigates how personality traits of forensic interest – narcissism, psychopathy and trait aggression – drive engagement, interaction and responsiveness to different forms of media. Firstly, the thesis compares the impact of viewing real and fantasy violence on attitudes to violence and perceptions of the consequences of violence whilst controlling for the moderating influence of trait aggression and psychopathy. The impact of media violence on executive functioning, as measured by the Stroop Test, is also considered. The second part of the thesis investigates how overt and covert narcissism are manifest on social networking sites (SNS), their relation to self-reported self-esteem, and how narcissistic subtypes are manifest in different online behaviours. The general conclusion from all studies is that viewing violent media or use of social networking sites may not enhance antisocial acts. However, personality traits of forensic interest interacting with such media – narcissism and trait aggression – may result in violence / aggression to others and being subject to hostile and domineering relationships. However, for the covert narcissist, SNS use may accrue them a greater sense of self-worth. The findings presented herein are limited by a lack of power and the use of student samples to research aggression and executive functioning.
From Life Cycle Costing to Economic Life Cycle Assessment—Introducing an Economic Impact Pathway

Economic activities play a key role in human societies by providing goods and services through production, distribution, and exchange. At the same time, economic activities through common focus on short-term profitability may cause global crisis at all levels. The inclusion of three dimensions—environment, economy, and society—when measuring progress towards sustainable development has accordingly reached consensus. In this context, the Life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA) framework has been developed for assessing the sustainability performance of products through Life cycle assessment (LCA), Life cycle costing (LCC), and Social life cycle assessment (SLCA). Yet, the focus of common economic assessments, by means of LCC, is still on financial costs. However, as economic activities may have a wide range of positive and negative consequences, it seems particularly important to extend the scope of economic assessments. Foremost, as the limitation to monetary values triggers inconsistent implementation practice. Further aspects like missing assessment targets, uncertainty, common goods, or even missing ownership remain unconsidered. Therefore, we propose economic life cycle assessment (EcLCA) for representing the economic pillar within the LCSA framework, following the requirements of ISO 14044, and introducing an economic impact pathway including midpoint and endpoint categories towards defined areas of protection (AoPs). We identify important target ratios by means of economic AoPs, which drive economic activities on the macro- and microeconomic level. Furthermore, we provide suggestions for midpoint and endpoint indicators representing the defined categories. With the presented EcLCA framework, a first step towards the inclusion of economic impacts within LCSA has been made. Relations between economic activities and resulting consequences are displayed, going beyond the cost-driven view of classical LCC. Further research and fine-tuning of the identified midpoint and endpoint categories and related indicators is, however, needed to enable a valid and consistent assessment basis for fostering the practical implementation of EcLCA and LCSA.
BioShell Threader: protein homology detection based on sequence profiles and secondary structure profiles

The BioShell package has recently been extended with a web server for protein homology detection based on profile-to-profile alignment (known as 1D threading). Its aim is to assign structural templates to each domain of the query. The server uses sequence profiles that describe observed sequence variability and secondary structure profiles providing expected probability for a certain secondary structure type at a given position in a protein. Three independent predictors are used to increase the rate of successful predictions. Careful evaluation shows that there is nearly 80% chance that the query sequence belongs to the same SCOP family as the top scoring template. The Bioshell Threader server is freely available at: http://www.bioshell. pl/threader/.
Compensation of hysteresis in piezoelectric actuator with iterative learning control

This paper presents the application of iterative learning control (ILC) to compensate hysteresis in a piezoelectric actuator. The proposed controller is a hybrid of proportional-integral-differential (PID) control, whose main function is for trajectory tracking, and a chatter-based ILC, whose main function is for hysteresis compensation. Stability analysis of the proposed ILC is presented, with the PID included in the dynamic of the piezoelectric actuator. The performance of the proposed controller is analysed through simulation and verified with experiment with a piezoelectric actuator.
Evaluating Primary Prevention: The California “Winners” Alcohol Program

The “Winners” program was a three year primary prevention effort sponsored by the California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs. The demonstration attempted to alter drinking behavior through the use of paid mass media messages and community-based educational and organizational strategies. The evaluation design included three communities: a media plus community organization and education site; a media only site; and, a comparison site. This article describes the “Winners” program and presents some results of the evaluation. The findings are discussed in terms of their implications for prevention efforts in general.
The Seventh Generation: Native Students Speak about Finding the Good Path.

Roots of Survival: Native American Storytelling and the Sacred. Golden, Colo. : Fulcrum Pub. , 1996. Carvell, Marlene. Sweetgrass Basket. New York: Dutton Childrens Books! 2005. Conley, Robert J. The Long Way Home. New York: Doubleday, 1994. n_. Mountain Windsong. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1992. Echo-Hawk, Roger C. and Walter R. Echo-Hawk. Battlefields and Burial Grounds. Minneapolis: Lerner, 1994. Hirschfelder, Arlene, and Beverly R. Singer. Rising Voices: Writings of Young Native Americans. New York: Ivy Books, 1993. Hogan, Linda. Dwellings. New York: W.W. Norton, 1995. n_. Red Clay. Greenfield Center: Greenfield Review Press, 1991. Johnston, Basil. The Bear-Walker and Other Stories. Toronto: Royal Ontario Museum, 1995. ---. The Star-Man and Other Tales. Toronto! Onto : Royal Ontario Museum, 1997. Johnson! Troy. Alcatraz: Indian Land Forever. Los Angeles: American Indian Studies Center, 1994.
Impact of Silicone Hydrogel Lenses and Solutions on Corneal Epithelial Permeability

Purpose The primary purpose of this pilot study was to compare epithelial barrier function (EBF) and staining in a small group of participants using a silicone hydrogel (SH) lens worn on a daily basis with two different care regimens. Secondarily, the aim was to see if there was any correlation between corneal staining and EBF. Methods The corneal EBF of 10 non–lens wearers (control) and 15 age-matched asymptomatic SH contact lens wearers (test) were assessed using fluorophotometry. Biomicroscopy was performed to assess corneal staining after the EBF was measured. The lens wearers wore PureVision (FDA group V) SH lenses for two consecutive 1-month periods while using either Alcon Opti-Free Express or Renu Fresh using a randomized, investigator-masked, crossover design. Control subjects were assessed on one occasion, and lens wearers were examined before fitting with lenses and after 7, 14, and 28 days of lens wear, with each combination. Results Compared with the control group, both study groups had an increase in epithelial permeability at baseline (p ⩽ 0.04). There were no changes in EBF during the treatment period for either solution (p = 0.87). A significant difference in EBF was found between the test groups during the treatment period (p = 0.02), with greater permeability in the Renu Fresh–disinfected lenses. There was poor correlation between corneal staining and EBF (r = 0.35, p > 0.05) because of large individual variations. Conclusions Daily wear of highly oxygen-permeable SH lenses increases corneal epithelial permeability to fluorescein probably because of increased mechanical effects. In addition, certain lens-solution interactions can add to this effect, as seen in this study. Despite having a low amount of central corneal staining in the Renu Fresh group, staining and EBF did not prove to be well correlated. The presence of central corneal staining is a confounding factor when measuring EBF.
The impact of crime on birth weight: exploring the definition of residential environment

Low birth weight is a prime indicator for infant mortality, is strongly correlated with several life course diseases, and is indicative of future cognitive, developmental and behavioral problems. Furthermore, there is a significant racial disparity for this health outcome, such that Black women are nearly twice as likely as White women to deliver a low birth weight baby. Fear of crime has each been hypothesized to induce maternal stress, which has been shown to impact the growth of the fetus, resulting in low birth weight. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of reported crime on birth weight across two different definitions maternal proximate residential environments (PREs). Specifically, a comparison between the standard, census-defined PRE is compared to that of a distance-defined PRE. The distance-defined PRE is centered at the face-block on which a mother resides, and includes structural and contextual measures of the environment at both an eighth-mile and quarter-mile radius from that center. The iv purpose of such a definition is to provide a more comprehensive view of the mother’s residential environment than can be provided by a standard census defined environment. To fully examine the impact of crime on this birth weight, measures of crime are examined at a high-level of geographic resolution and at various time intervals prior to birth. Results from linear regression models do not support the hypothesis that reported crime influences birth weight in either the distance-defined or census defined PRE model. However, while measures of model fit are comparable across PRE definitions, non-nested model specification tests suggest that the distance-defined model outperforms the census-defined model in predicting birth weight.
Mental health of Chinese primary care patients with lower urinary tract symptoms

The aim of this study was to evaluate the mental health of Chinese primary care patients with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). This was a cross-sectional observational study. Five hundred and nineteen subjects with LUTS completed a structured questionnaire containing the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-Short Form, the International Prostate Symptom Score, the adapted International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-Urinary Incontinence Short Form and questions about socio-demographics. Overall, 17.7% of subjects reported depressive symptoms, 24.3% anxiety symptoms and 9.6% stress symptoms. In males, demographic factors associated with poorer mental health included being not married; clinical factors included higher LUTS severity, weak stream, straining and mixed urinary incontinence. In females, demographic factors associated with poorer mental health included being younger, not married and lower household income; clinical factors included higher LUTS severity, incomplete bladder emptying, urgency and weak stream. Chinese primary care patients with LUTS appear to be an at-risk group for poorer mental health with increased prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms and may require routine screening to identify those who may require more tailored interventions to address both their urinary symptoms and psychological distress.
Lateralized human hippocampal activity predicts navigation based on sequence or place memory

The hippocampus is crucial for both spatial navigation and episodic memory, suggesting that it provides a common function to both. Here we adapt a spatial paradigm, developed for rodents, for use with functional MRI in humans to show that activation of the right hippocampus predicts the use of an allocentric spatial representation, and activation of the left hippocampus predicts the use of a sequential egocentric representation. Both representations can be identified in hippocampal activity before their effect on behavior at subsequent choice-points. Our results suggest that, rather than providing a single common function, the two hippocampi provide complementary representations for navigation, concerning places on the right and temporal sequences on the left, both of which likely contribute to different aspects of episodic memory.
Dopamine and Consolidation of Episodic Memory: Timing Is Everything

Memory consolidation underpins adaptive behavior and dopaminergic networks may be critical for prolonged, selective information storage. To understand the time course of the dopaminergic contribution to memory consolidation in humans, here we investigate the effect of dopaminergic medication on recall and recognition in the short and longer term in Parkinson disease (PD). Fifteen people with PD were each tested on or off dopaminergic medication during learning/early consolidation (Day 1) and/or late consolidation (Day 2). Fifteen age-matched healthy participants were tested only once. On Day 1 participants learned new information, and early episodic memory was tested after 30 min. Then on Day 2, recall and recognition were retested after a 24-hr delay. Participants on medication on Day 1 recalled less information at 30 min and 24 hr. In contrast, patients on medication on Day 2 (8–24 hr after learning) recalled more information at 24 hr than those off medication. Although recognition sensitivity was unaffected by medication, response bias was dependent on dopaminergic state: Medication during learning induced a more liberal bias 24 hr later, whereas patients off medication during learning were more conservative responders 24 hr later. We use computational modeling to propose possible mechanisms for this change in response bias. In summary, dopaminergic medication in PD patients during learning impairs early consolidation of episodic memory and makes delayed responses more liberal, but enhances late memory consolidation presumably through a dopamine-dependent consolidation pathway that may be active during sleep.
Assessment of Quality of Life in Menopausal Periods: A Population Study in Kashan, Iran

Background Menopause is a physiological process in women's life. The aim of this study was to assess QOL and related factors among menopausal women in Kashan city in Iran. Methods Seven hundred women aged 40–60 years were assessed using cluster sampling. Women with mental and physical problems or systemic diseases were excluded. Data were collected by standard questionnaire of quality of life in the menopause. Results The mean menopausal age was 47.6±4.1 years. 55.6% of women had been postmenopausal for less than 5 years. The overall mean scores obtained for each domain was 2.82±1.64 for vasomotor, 2.71±1.2 for psychosocial, 2.46±0.99 for physical and 2.89±1.73 for sexual domains. Conclusion Age, working status, physical activity, educational level, duration of menopause, income satisfaction, marriage satisfaction and the number of children in those living with family had influence on quality of life in menopausal women.
Sponsorship-linked marketing: The role of articulation in memory

Corporate sponsorship of events contributes significantly to marketing aims, including brand awareness as measured by recall and recognition of sponsor‐event pairings. Unfortunately, resultant advantages accrue disproportionately to brands having a natural or congruent fit with the available sponsorship properties. In three cued‐recall experiments, the effect of articulation of sponsorship fit on memory for sponsor‐event pairings is examined. While congruent sponsors have a natural memory advantage, results demonstrate that memory improvements via articulation are possible for incongruent sponsor‐event pairings. These improvements are, however, affected by the presence of competitor brands and the way in which memory is accessed.
SEGMENTATION OF POINT CLOUDS USING SMOOTHNESS CONSTRAINT

For automatic processing of point clouds their segmentation is one of the most important processes. The methods based on curvature and other higher level derivatives often lead to over segmentation, which later needs a lot of manual editing. We present a method for segmentation of point clouds using smoothness constraint, which finds smoothly connected areas in point clouds. It uses only local surface normals and point connectivity which can be enforced using either k-nearest or fixed distance neighbours. The presented method requires a small number of intuitive parameters, which provide a tradeoff between underand over-segmentation. The application of the presented algorithm on industrial point clouds shows its effectiveness compared to curvature based approaches.
Gender-specific distribution of selenium to serum selenoproteins: associations with total selenium levels, age, smoking, body mass index, and physical activity.

The epidemiology of selenium (Se) is mainly based on the determination of total serum selenium levels (TSe) which by many aspects is an inadequate marker of Se status. In this study we applied a recently developed LC-ICP-MS method, for the determination of the selenium content of the three main serum selenium-containing proteins, in a subcohort of the ATTICA study. This enables us to investigate whether the selenium distribution to selenoproteins may correlate with demographic (age, gender) and lifestyle variables (smoking, physical activity) that are crucial for the development of chronic diseases. A sub-sample from the ATTICA Study, consisted of 236 males (40 ± 11 years) and 163 females (38 ± 12 years), was selected. The selenium content of glutathione peroxidase (GPx-3), selenoprotein P (SelP) and selenoalbumin (SeAlb) was determined in serum by LC-ICP/MS method. We found that 26% of TSe is found in GPx-3, 61% in SelP and 13% in SeAlb. We have assessed the different ratios of selenoproteins' selenium content (Se-GPX-3/Se-SelP, Se-GPX-3/Se-SeAlb, Se-SelP/Se-SeAlb), showing that people with similar TSe may have different distribution of this selenium to selenoproteins. Total selenium levels and gender are the variables that mostly affect selenium distribution to selenoproteins while age, smoking, physical activity and BMI do not significantly influence selenium distribution. In conclusion, the simultaneous determination of the selenium content of serum selenium-containing selenoproteins is necessary for a thorough estimation of selenium status. The ratio of the Se content between selenoproteins may be proven a novel, valid marker of selenium status.