Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Polymorphic Microsatellite Loci from an Indigenous Asian Fungus-Growing Termite, Macrotermes gilvus (Blattodea: Termitidae) and Cross Amplification in Related Taxa

ABSTRACT The fungus- growing termite, Macrotermes gilvus (Hagen), an indigenous species from Southeast Asia distributed from Myanmar to Indonesia and the Philippines, offers great potential as an ecological model system to elucidate the effects of geography on gene flow within this region. We used next generation sequencing (Roche 454 pyrosequencing) to identify microsatellite markers from the genomic DNA of M. gilvus. A modest sequencing volume generated 34,122 reads, with 1,212 (3.6%) reads contains microsatellites with di-, tri-, tetra-, penta-, and hexa-nucleotide repeat motifs. Thirtyseven loci were selected for primer development and tested for polymorphism across 22 colonies of M. gilvus. Eleven loci were found to be polymorphic with 2–4 alleles per locus. Observed and expected heterozygosities ranged between 0.091–0.727 and 0.090–0.540, respectively. Cross taxa amplification was successful across a panel of four related termite species and four multiplex groups were designed for future population genetic studies. These markers will open new avenues for the study of phylogeography and population genetics of this fungus-growing termite. This study also has effectively demonstrated the use of 454 pyrosequencing for the rapid development of informative microsatellite markers from a termite genome.
Segmental resection of anterior uterine wall in cases with placenta percreta: a modified technique for fertility preserving approach

Abstract Aim: The aim of this study was to introduce a modified form of fertility preserving approach in cases with placenta percreta. Methods: Eleven pregnant women with anterior placenta previa and suspected to have placenta percreta underwent cesarean section between 2015 and 2016 in Zeynep Kamil Women and Children’s Health Training and Research Hospital. In all cases, following confirmation of placenta percreta diagnosis, a modified minimal invasive form of uterine preserving surgery was performed. Results: During the present study period, 11 pregnant women who were confirmed to have placenta previa and placenta percreta underwent modified form of segmental resection. In all cases, modified form of segmental resection was successful except for the two cases. There were significant statistical differences between pre–postoperative hemoglobin and hematocrit levels (p = .003). There was a significant correlation between the volume of resected segment and number of transfusions (r = .760, p = .047). Postoperative blood transfusion was not needed in 4 cases. No maternal mortality or other postoperative complication was observed in any case. Conclusion: A modified minimal invasive form of uterine preserving surgery seems to be safe and result in more cosmetic results with minimal blood loss.
Duality Between Prefetching and Queued Writing with Parallel Disks

Parallel disks promise to be a cost effective means for achieving high bandwidth in applications involving massive data sets, but algorithms for parallel disks can be difficult to devise. To combat this problem, we define a useful and natural duality between writing to parallel disks and the seemingly more difficult problem of prefetching. We first explore this duality for applications involving read-once accesses using parallel disks. We get a simple linear time algorithm for computing optimal prefetch schedules and analyze the efficiency of the resulting schedules for randomly placed data and for arbitrary interleaved accesses to striped sequences. Duality also provides an optimal schedule for the integrated caching and prefetching problem, in which blocks can be accessed multiple times. Another application of this duality gives us the first parallel disk sorting algorithms that are provably optimal up to lower order terms. One of these algorithms is a simple and practical variant of multiway merge sort, addressing a question that has been open for some time.
Cocoa polyphenols enhance positive mood states but not cognitive performance: a randomized, placebo-controlled trial

This study aimed to examine the acute and sub-chronic effects of cocoa polyphenols on cognition and mood. In a randomized, double-blind study, healthy middle-aged participants received a dark chocolate drink mix standardized to contain 500 mg, 250 mg or 0 mg of polyphenols (placebo) in a parallel-groups design. Participants consumed their assigned treatment once daily for 30 days. Cognition was measured with the Cognitive Drug Research system and self-rated mood with the Bond–Lader Visual Analogue Scale. Participants were tested at baseline, at 1, 2.5 and 4 h after a single acute dose and again after receiving 30 days of treatment. In total, 72 participants completed the trial. After 30 days, the high dose of treatment significantly increased self-rated calmness and contentedness relative to placebo. Mood was unchanged by treatment acutely while cognition was unaffected by treatment at all time points. This randomized controlled trial is perhaps the first to demonstrate the positive effects of cocoa polyphenols on mood in healthy participants. This provides a rationale for exploring whether cocoa polyphenols can ameliorate the symptoms associated with clinical anxiety or depression.
Type 1 diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease: a scientific statement from the American Heart Association and American Diabetes Association.

Despite the known higher risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in individuals with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM), the pathophysiology underlying the relationship between cardiovascular events, CVD risk factors, and T1DM is not well understood. Management approaches to CVD reduction have been extrapolated in large part from experience in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), despite the longer duration of disease in T1DM than in T2DM and the important differences in the underlying pathophysiology. Furthermore, the phenotype of T1DM is changing. As a result of the findings of the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT), which compared intensive glycemic control with usual care, and its follow-up observational study, Epidemiology of Diabetes Interventions and Complications (EDIC), intensive management of diabetes mellitus (DM) has become the standard of care and has led to increasing longevity. However, our understanding of CVD in T1DM comes in large part from the previous era of less intensive glycemic control. More intensive glycemic control is associated with significant risk of weight gain, which may be magnified by the obesity epidemic. There is growing interest in better understanding the adverse effects of glycemia, the prevalence and type of lipid abnormalities in T1DM, the prognostic role of albuminuria and renal insufficiency, and the role of blood pressure (BP) in CVD. Obesity-associated metabolic abnormalities such as the proinflammatory state likely modify CVD risk in T1DM; however, the effect may be different from what is seen in T2DM. These concepts, and how they may affect management, have not been fully explored. The present review will focus on the importance of CVD in patients with T1DM. We will summarize recent observations of potential differences in the pathophysiology of T1DM compared with T2DM, particularly with regard to atherosclerosis. We will explore the implications of these concepts for treatment of CVD risk factors in patients with …
Perspectives on intellectual disability in Taiwan: epidemiology, policy and services for children and adults

Purpose of review The present review examines the most recent published references to epidemiology, healthcare needs and utilization and social and health policy relating to people with intellectual disability in Taiwan. Method Electronic searches of Medline, PubMed and PsychInfo literature using the key terms of epidemiology, etiology, welfare policy, health policy, health services, intellectual disability, learning disability and mental retardation as well as a thorough manual search for relevant literature. Recent findings The administrative prevalence of intellectual disability was 0.318–0.396%, and men accounted for a higher percentage of cases than women in Taiwan. Institutionalized care still dominates disability services provided in this society, and the number of institutions and staff working therein has increased steadily in recent years. Many studies also identify the high risk for ill health accompanied by physical/mental diseases in people with intellectual disability, with this group also requiring more healthcare services than the general population in Taiwan. There are still many barriers to accessibility and availability of health and social services confronting people with intellectual disability and their caregivers under the National Health Insurance scheme in Taiwan. Summary As a result of this review process, this paper suggests that future study should focus on an evaluation of the efficacy of current health and social policies related to people with intellectual disability, and that supportive health environments be initiated for this group of people living in institutions or in the community.
Medical and Nursing Students ’ Smoking Habits , Nicotine Dependence Levels , and Contributing Factors

Results: It was determined that 25% of medical and nursing students participated in survey were smoking. It was determined that 18% of female students and 40% of male students were smokers. Significant correlations were found between male gender, older age, medical students, low school performance and smoking habits (p=0.000, p=0.050, p=0.006, p=0.011, respectively). Of the students who smoke, 71% were found to have low nicotine dependence levels, 10% had moderate levels and 19% had high levels of nicotine dependence. The study identified statistically significant correlations between nicotine dependence levels and age, years of study, and the smoking habits of both family and friends (p=0.002, p=0.038, p=0.005, p=0.007, respectively).
Measured and Modeled Snow Cover Properties across the Greenland Ice Sheet

Abstract. The Greenland ice sheet (GrIS) is known to be contributing to sea level rise in a warming climate. The snow cover on the ice sheet is the direct link between a potentially warmer atmosphere and the ice itself. However, little is known about the microstructure and especially about the spatial and temporal variability of the snow cover, except from indirect evidence from remote sensing. The detailed snowpack stratigraphy is relevant for processes such as the albedo feedback, water infiltration and firn densification. During a field campaign in 2015, spatially distributed snow observations of the GrIS were gathered at stations belonging to the Greenland Climate Network (GC-Net). High-resolution snow profiles of density, specific surface area and hardness were measured. Hardness was measured with the SnowMicroPen, which was also used to assess the spatial variability of the snow density with depth. The snow cover model SNOWPACK was forced with reanalysis data from the model NHM-SMAP. The measured mean density of the upper snow cover was in good agreement with the simulations using constant densities for snow accumulation, i.e. new snow, depending on the geographical location on the GrIS. However, the observed stratigraphy in terms of density and SSA could not be reproduced. We found that for a one-dimensional snowpack model it is difficult to parameterize for snowpacks undergoing multiple erosion and redeposition events, as is typical for the GrIS and other perennial polar snowpacks. This limitation may be a drawback to understanding past and future changes of the snow, and the associated processes.
Development of Time Sensitivity and Information Processing Speed

The aim of this study was to examine whether age-related changes in the speed of information processing are the best predictors of the increase in sensitivity to time throughout childhood. Children aged 5 and 8 years old, as well adults, were given two temporal bisection tasks, one with short (0.5/1-s) and the other with longer (4/8-s) anchor durations. In addition, the participants' scores on different neuropsychological tests assessing both information processing speed and other dimensions of cognitive control (short-term memory, working memory, selective attention) were calculated. The results showed that the best predictor of individual variances in sensitivity to time was information processing speed, although working memory also accounted for some of the individual differences in time sensitivity, albeit to a lesser extent. In sum, the faster the information processing speed of the participants, the higher their sensitivity to time was. These results are discussed in the light of the idea that the development of temporal capacities has its roots in the maturation of the dynamic functioning of the brain.
Globally stable adaptive formation control of Euler-Lagrange agents via potential functions

This paper proposes a formation control strategy for uncertain Euler-Lagrange mobile agents based on artificial potential functions and robust adaptive control. A desired kinematic model is derived from a given potential function. The system parametric uncertainties and external disturbances are compensated by a robust adaptive control algorithm named binary adaptive control which combines the good transient properties and robustness of Sliding Mode Control with the desirable steady-state properties of parameter adaptive systems. For a given communication graph, conditions for global stability of the multiagent system are established using a conveniently shaped Lyapunov function for centralized and partially decentralized control schemes.
The role of visual, vestibular, and somatosensory systems in postural balance

We recommend the thesis prepared under our supervision by The integration of visual, vestibular, and somatosensory components are used to maintain one's postural balance. Postural control changes over time and body sway increases with age. The different sensory systems begin to develop and refine starting when children are young, while in older adults it begins to decline. Hence, it is important to study the changes that occur in postural balance. There is very little known about balance of younger adults. If balance issues are identified early in adult life it is possible to prevent exacerbation of balance decline as one ages. If nurse practitioners are aware of what dominant sensory systems for balance young adults use, perhaps strategies to preserve these can avoid falls as they age. The purpose of the study is to examine what sensory system predominates to maintain balance (e.g., visual, vestibular, and somatosensory) among people in their twenties and thirties. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Climatological perspectives on fog from the Hibernia platform

Frequent advection fog exerts a significant impact on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland and poses a significant hazard to marine and aviation activities. Improved understanding of regional fog processes, climatology, and predictability could offer significant economic and safety benefits. Although this regional fog issue has been recognized for generations, efforts to fully assess the scope of the issue and reduce its impacts have been limited by a lack of long-term, reliable observations of the ocean environment. The advent of offshore oil platforms can help us address this data gap. These platforms provide stationary offshore observations, as they are required to collect visibility data in support of the marine and air traffic that service them. Currently, platform records provide cover 1998 to present. These reports form the primary source of data for our research, and have been used to establish a baseline climatology of fog within the Grand Banks, including descriptions of seasonality and diurnal variability. By treating low visibility events as a point process, the climatology of fog event characteristics including event duration, persistence of fog cover, and coincident weather conditions is further examined. These considerations help identify and classify distinct fog event types and inform preliminary analyses of synoptic climatology. Results are currently being used to guide parallel efforts to develop fog identification and prediction tools for the Grand Banks region.
Efficacy of Early Treatment with Carbamazepine in Prevention of Neuropathic Pain in Patients with Spinal Cord Injury

Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate whether early treatment with carbamazepine decreases the incidence of neuropathic pain (NP) or its intensity in patients with spinal cord injury. Design This study was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial at a third-level university hospital involving patients older than 18 yrs with a diagnosis of spinal cord injury sustained within 2 wks before enrollment and without evidence of NP. The patients received either carbamazepine up to 600 mg/day or placebo for 1 mo. Pain intensity was measured with a 10-cm visual analog scale and the SF-36 bodily pain subscale; quality-of-life, with the Short Form 36 (SF-36) Scale; and depression, with the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale. Measurements were carried out at the start of the randomized trial and at the 1-, 3-, and 6-month follow-up assessments. Results Twenty-one of 46 patients developed NP. At the 1-, 3-, and 6-month follow-up assessments, NP was present in 4, 11, and 10 patients of the carbamazepine group and in 8, 9, and 8 patients of the placebo group, respectively. At 1 mo, two patients in the carbamazepine group vs. eight patients in the placebo group reported moderate/intense pain (visual analog scale, ≥4.0; P = 0.024). At the 3- and 6-month follow-up appointments, moderate/intense pain was reported by eight vs. six (P = 0.498) and six vs. eight patients (P = 0.298), carbamazepine and placebo group, respectively. There was no difference in the depression ratings or in any of the SF-36 scales. Conclusions Early intervention with carbamazepine decreased NP incidence at the 1-month but not at the 3- and 6-month follow-ups in the group of patients with acquired spinal cord injury.
Multifaceted intervention to optimize antibiotic use for intra-abdominal infections.

OBJECTIVES Implementing evidence-based practice guidelines is challenging. We used a multifaceted, continuous educational approach to disseminate an up-to-date internal guideline adapted from published guidelines for management of intra-abdominal infections (IAI). PATIENTS AND METHODS The intervention consisted of continuing educational sessions, internal guideline pocket cards and posters with collaboration among all key stakeholders starting in December 2010. We emphasized risk stratification and the use of ceftriaxone/metronidazole for treatment of low-risk IAI, and discouraged the use of fluoroquinolones due to the high local resistance rates. We then compared patients with IAI before the intervention (April-November 2010) to those after implementation of the guideline (April-November 2011) in a surgical unit at a tertiary care teaching hospital in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Antibiotic use was measured in in-hospital days of antibiotic therapy (DOT) per 1000 patient days (PD). RESULTS 152 and 145 patients with IAI were included in the pre- and post-intervention periods, respectively. There was a significant reduction in the proportion of patients who received ciprofloxacin therapy from 74% to 34% (OR 0.18, 95% CI 0.11-0.31) and in DOT/1000 PD from 221 to 74 (OR 0.3, 95% CI 0.2-0.3). Also, a reduction in the DOT/1000 PD for piperacillin/tazobactam was seen (from 116 to 67; OR 0.6, 95% CI 0.5-0.7). There was an increase in the use of ceftriaxone from 1.3% to 53% of patients (OR 85, 95% CI 20-515) and from 6 to 92 DOT/1000 PD (OR 17, 95% CI 10-25). This change in practice was sustained over >2 years since the end of the active intervention, as shown in the unit-wide antimicrobial utilization data. CONCLUSIONS A multifaceted intervention aimed at all key stakeholders resulted in a high adherence to evidence-based treatment guidelines for IAI and has initiated a sustained culture change in prescribing of antibiotics.
GMRT observations of the group Holmberg 124: Evolution by tidal forces and ram pressure?

We report new radio continuum and 21 cm HI observations using the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) of the group Holmberg 124 ( Ho 124) comprising four late-type galaxies, namely NGC 2820, Mrk 108, NGC 2814 and NGC 2805. The three galaxies, NGC 2820, Mrk 108 and NGC 2814 which are closely located in the sky plane have clearly undergone tidal interactions as seen from the various morphological tidal signatures and debris. Moreover we note various features in the group members which we believe might be due to ram pressure. In this paper, we describe four interesting results emerging from our observations: a) detection of the tidal radio continuum bridge at 330 MHz connecting the galaxies NGC 2820+ Mrk 108 with NGC 2814. The radio bridge was discovered at 1465 MHz by van der Hulst & Hummel ( 1985, A& A, 150, 17). We find that the bridge has a fairly steep spectrum with a spectral index alpha(S proportional to nu(alpha)) of - 1.8(-0.2)(+0.3) which is much steeper than the - 0.8 quoted by van der Hulst & Hummel ( 1985); b) detection of other tidal features like the tilted HI and radio continuum disk of NGC 2814, a HI streamer and a radio continuum tail arising from the south of NGC 2814. We also report the detection of a possible tidal dwarf galaxy in HI; c) sharp truncation in the HI distribution in the south of NGC 2820 and in the HI and radio continuum distribution in the north of NGC 2814. The optical disks in both the cases look undisturbed. As pointed out by Davis et al. ( 1997, AJ, 114, 613), ram pressure affects different components of the interstellar medium to varying degrees. Simple estimates of pressure in different components of the interstellar medium ( radio continuum, Ha and HI) in NGC 2820 indicate that ram pressure will significantly influence HI; d) detection of a large one-sided HI loop to the north of NGC 2820. No radio continuum emission or Ha emission is associated with the HI loop. We discuss various scenarios for the origin of this loop including a central starburst, ram pressure stripping and tidal interaction. We do not support the central starburst scenario since the loop is not detected in ionized gas. Using the upper limit on X-ray luminosity of Ho 124 (Mulchaey et al. 2003, ApJS, 145, 39), we estimate an upper limit on the intragroup medium (IGrM) density of 8.8 x 10(-4) cm(-3). For half this electron density, we estimate the ram pressure force of the IGrM to be comparable to the gravitational pull of the disk of NGC 2820. Since tidal interaction has obviously influenced the group, we suggest that the loop could have formed by ram pressure stripping if tidal effects had reduced the surface density of HI in NGC 2820. From the complex observational picture of Ho 124 and the numerical estimates, we suggest that the evolution of the Ho 124 group may be governed by both tidal forces due to the interaction and the ram pressure due to motion of the member galaxies in the IGrM and that the IGrM densities should not be too low (i.e. >= 4 x 10(-4)). However this needs to be verified by further observations.
Short-circuit robustness of SiC Power MOSFETs: Experimental analysis

This paper proposes a thorough experimental characterization of the performance of commercially available SiC Power MOSFETs under short-circuit conditions. The purpose is to assess and understand the degradation process and the failure mechanisms that limit device reliability to identify optimal routes for subsequent technology development. This paper complements electro-thermal functional tests with structural characterization offering deeper insight into device technology related aspects.