Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of long-term bronchodilators in bronchiectasis patients with airflow limitation based on bronchodilator response at baseline

Purpose The association between positive bronchodilator response (BDR) at baseline and the effect of long-term bronchodilator therapy has not been well elucidated in patients with bronchiectasis. The aims of our study were to explore the association between positive BDR at baseline and lung-function improvement following long-term (3–12 months) bronchodilator therapy in bronchiectasis patients with airflow limitation. Materials and methods The medical records of 166 patients with clinically stable bronchiectasis who underwent baseline pre- and postbronchodilator spirometry and repeated spirometry after 3–12 months of bronchodilator therapy were retrospectively reviewed. For analysis, patients were divided into two groups, responders and poor responders, based on achievement of at least 12% and 200 mL in forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) following bronchodilator therapy from baseline FEV1. Results A total of 57 patients (34.3%) were responders. These patients were more likely to have positive BDR at baseline than poor responders (38.6% [22 of 57] vs 18.3% [20 of 109], P=0.004). This association persisted after adjustment for other confounding factors (adjusted odds ratio 2.298, P=0.034). However, we found FEV1 improved significantly following long-term bronchodilator therapy, even in patients without positive BDR at baseline (change in FEV1 130 mL, interquartile range −10 to 250 mL; P<0.001). Conclusion Positive BDR at baseline was independently associated with responsiveness to long-term bronchodilator therapy in bronchiectasis patients with airflow limitation. However, FEV1 improvement was also evident in bronchiectasis patients without positive BDR at baseline, suggesting that these patients can benefit from long-term bronchodilator therapy.
Cannabis Involvement and Nonsuicidal Self-Injury: A Discordant Twin Approach.

OBJECTIVE Cannabis use, particularly at an early age, has been linked to suicidal thoughts and behavior, but minimal work has examined the association between cannabis use and lifetime nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI). The current study aims to characterize the overlap between lifetime and early cannabis use and NSSI and to examine genetic and environmental mechanisms of this association. METHOD Adult male and female twins from the Australian Twin Registry (N = 9,583) were used to examine the odds of NSSI associated with lifetime cannabis use and early cannabis use (i.e., <17 years of age). These associations were also examined within monozygotic (MZ) twins discordant for cannabis use and MZ twins discordant for early cannabis use. Analyses were replicated in an independent sample of female twins (n = 3,787) accounting for the age at onset of cannabis use and NSSI. RESULTS Lifetime cannabis use (odds ratio [OR] = 2.84, 95% CI [2.23, 3.61]) and early cannabis use were associated with increased odds of NSSI (OR = 2.15, 95% CI [1.75, 2.65]), and this association remained when accounting for covariates. The association was only significant, however, in MZ twin pairs discordant for early cannabis use (OR = 3.20, 95% CI [1.17, 8.73]). Replication analyses accounting for the temporal ordering of cannabis use and NSSI yielded similar findings of nominal significance. CONCLUSIONS Results suggest that NSSI is associated with cannabis involvement via differing mechanisms. For lifetime cannabis use, the lack of association in discordant pairs suggests the role of shared genes and family environment. However, in addition to such shared familial influences, person-specific and putatively causal factors contribute to the relationship between early cannabis use and NSSI. Therefore, delaying the onset of cannabis use may reduce exposure to influences that exacerbate vulnerabilities to NSSI.
Diabetes, Pancreatogenic Diabetes, and Pancreatic Cancer

The relationships between diabetes and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) are complex. Longstanding type 2 diabetes (T2DM) is a risk factor for pancreatic cancer, but increasing epidemiological data point to PDAC as also a cause of diabetes due to unknown mechanisms. New-onset diabetes is of particular interest to the oncology community as the differentiation of new-onset diabetes caused by PDAC as distinct from T2DM may allow for earlier diagnosis of PDAC. To address these relationships and raise awareness of the relationships between PDAC and diabetes, a symposium entitled Diabetes, Pancreatogenic Diabetes, and Pancreatic Cancer was held at the American Diabetes Association’s 76th Scientific Sessions in June 2016. This article summarizes the data presented at that symposium, describing the current understanding of the interrelationships between diabetes, diabetes management, and pancreatic cancer, and identifies areas where additional research is needed.
Distributed leadership as administrative practice in Finnish early childhood education and care

In this article, we describe the professional development towards distributed leadership among different organizational levels in Finnish day care centres within the Helsinki metropolitan area. The aim of the study was to monitor the progress of professional development between educational administration and practitioners. The data was based on descriptions of reflective practices used in the development projects of each research day care centre. Participants were asked to describe developing practices and reflect on their own contributions to the process as both individuals and together as working teams during the two years of the development project. The researchers collected these reflections, analysed them to produce results and then delivered this evidence to participants for utilization in reflection and further processing of working practices with the support of the mentor. Directors and mentors viewed distributed leadership as a good way to encourage development practices and brought out the role of staff as important agents in the development process. The distribution of leadership seems to be best realized among the participants at the lowest and middle hierarchical levels.
COMPARISON OF MEAN VARIANCE LIKE STRATEGIES FOR OPTIMAL ASSET ALLOCATION PROBLEMS

We determine the optimal dynamic investment policy for a mean quadratic variation objective function by numerical solution of a nonlinear Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman (HJB) partial differential equation (PDE). We compare the efficient frontiers and optimal investment policies for three mean variance like strategies: pre-commitment mean variance, time-consistent mean variance, and mean quadratic variation, assuming realistic investment constraints (e.g. no bankruptcy, finite shorting, borrowing). When the investment policy is constrained, the efficient frontiers for all three objective functions are similar, but the optimal policies are quite different.
Rac1-Dependent Lamellipodial Motility in Prostate Cancer PC-3 Cells Revealed by Optogenetic Control of Rac1 Activity

The lamellipodium, an essential structure for cell migration, plays an important role in the invasion and metastasis of cancer cells. Although Rac1 recognized as a key player in the formation of lamellipodia, the molecular mechanisms underlying lamellipodial motility are not fully understood. Optogenetic technology enabled us to spatiotemporally control the activity of photoactivatable Rac1 (PA-Rac1) in living cells. Using this system, we revealed the role of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) in Rac1-dependent lamellipodial motility in PC-3 prostate cancer cells. Through local blue laser irradiation of PA-Rac1-expressing cells, lamellipodial motility was reversibly induced. First, outward extension of a lamellipodium parallel to the substratum was observed. The extended lamellipodium then showed ruffling activity at the periphery. Notably, PI(3,4,5)P3 and WAVE2 were localized in the extending lamellipodium in a PI3K-dependent manner. We confirmed that the inhibition of PI3K activity greatly suppressed lamellipodial extension, while the ruffling activity was less affected. These results suggest that Rac1-induced lamellipodial motility consists of two distinct activities, PI3K-dependent outward extension and PI3K-independent ruffling.
Modeling 2.5D Plants from Ink Paintings

Chinese ink painting, known as sumi-e, is a traditional art form based on careful placement of expressive brush strokes. To extend such brush strokes from their paper form, we propose a system that can digitize and transform such paintings into 2.5D sprites, while preserving the artist's unique style. We apply our paintstroke-extraction technique to plants, the most traditional subject of sumi-e, and one where CG modeling is fairly hard, but procedural or simulated animation techniques can subsequently be brought to bear. Instead of forcing artists to use pressure-sensitive digital tablets, we address the problem of how to non-invasively decompose a real painting of a plant into semantically meaningful components, like leaves and petals. Webcam filming of the artist at work provides valuable cues. This part of our system needs no human interaction and no prior training, and achieves its goal solely by analyzing the video timeline to find even intersecting brush strokes. Afterwards, it constructs a model of the plant and textures it with the extracted brush strokes, inpainting when necessary.
Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor Activation is Associated with Altered Plasma One-Carbon Metabolites and B-Vitamin Status in Rats

Plasma concentrations of metabolites along the choline oxidation pathway have been linked to increased risk of major lifestyle diseases, and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) have been suggested to be involved in the regulation of key enzymes along this pathway. In this study, we investigated the effect of PPAR activation on circulating and urinary one-carbon metabolites as well as markers of B-vitamin status. Male Wistar rats (n = 20) received for 50 weeks either a high-fat control diet or a high-fat diet with tetradecylthioacetic acid (TTA), a modified fatty acid and pan-PPAR agonist with high affinity towards PPARα. Hepatic gene expression of PPARα, PPARβ/δ and the enzymes involved in the choline oxidation pathway were analyzed and concentrations of metabolites were analyzed in plasma and urine. TTA treatment altered most biomarkers, and the largest effect sizes were observed for plasma concentrations of dimethylglycine, nicotinamide, methylnicotinamide, methylmalonic acid and pyridoxal, which were all higher in the TTA group (all p < 0.01). Hepatic Pparα mRNA was increased after TTA treatment, but genes of the choline oxidation pathway were not affected. Long-term TTA treatment was associated with pronounced alterations on the plasma and urinary concentrations of metabolites related to one-carbon metabolism and B-vitamin status in rats.
Effects of fear-relevant stimuli on attention: Integrating gaze data with subliminal exposure

The phenomenon of an attentional bias has been found for threatening stimuli, such as snakes, when presented simultaneously with neutral stimuli. This priority attentional bias effect regarding snakes has been shown through reaction time- or response accuracy-based paradigms. Many studies suggested a preattentive attentional capture of threatening stimuli based on inferences from reaction time data, which might as well be caused by the same rather slow elaborated cognitive processing for threatening stimuli as for neutral stimuli, but more strong motor preparation for source of potential threat. To overcome this ambiguity in the outcomes from reaction time data, eye movements recording can be an alternative approach. The aim of the present study was to examine exogenous spatial attentional orienting when snakes were competing subliminally with neutral stimuli while presenting a video clip. In a free-viewing task, the eye movements of 50 female volunteers were continuously recorded. Twenty trials with subliminal pairs of images (1/60 s duration) were presented while a video was displayed for 4 minutes. The results revealed that the proportion of ocular saccades into the areas where snakes were presented was higher in comparison to control stimuli immediately after the subliminal presentation. A facilitating effect for the fear of snakes was found, which is in line with the assumption that a predisposition to fear has an effect on ocular and attentional behavior, which may act as a vulnerability factor for developing anxiety disorders. The integration between subliminal exposure in video and gaze tracking has showed to be a reliable methodology to detected ban attentional orientation bias toward threat while watching videos, contributing to potential clinical applications with respect to assessment and their use as a desensitization technique to overcome specific phobias.
Resonant modes of circular microstrip patches over ground planes with circular apertures in multilayered substrates containing anisotropic and ferrite materials

In this paper, the authors analyze how the resonant modes of circular microstrip patch resonators are affected by the presence of circular apertures in the ground plane located under the patches. A rigorous full-wave analysis in the Hankel transform domain (HTD) is carried out in order to obtain the resonant frequencies, quality factors, and radiation patterns of the circular microstrip patch resonators over ground planes with circular apertures. With the use of suitable Green's functions in the HTD, the analysis is performed for the case where the circular patches, as well as the ground planes containing the apertures are embedded in a multilayered substrate consisting of isotropic dielectrics, uniaxial anisotropic dielectrics, and/or magnetized ferrites. The numerical results obtained are compared with experimental results, and good agreement is found. The results show that the circular apertures significantly affect the resonant frequencies of circular microstrip patches.
SOFT ICT AND INNOVATION PERFORMANCE : AN EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION

The limited number of previous empirical investigations of the effect of information and communication technologies (ICT) on innovation focus mainly on the ‘hard’ dimensions of ICT (i.e. firm’s ICT equipment). This paper presents an empirical investigation of the effect of five important ‘soft’ dimensions of ICT at firm level (ICT structure, personnel, skills, strategy, processes) on firm’s innovation performance (concerning both products/services and processes innovation). It is based on firm-level data collected through a survey of 271 Greek firms, which have been used for estimating regressions of product/service innovation and process innovation on measures of the hard ICT, the above five soft dimensions of ICT, and also four important ‘traditional’ innovation determinants identified from the long previous research in this area (demand expectation, price and non-price competition, market concentration). It is concluded that four of the examined soft dimensions of ICT (ICT personnel, skills, strategy and processes) have positive effects on firm’s innovation performance. Our results indicate that the soft dimensions of ICT at firm level are strong drivers of innovation, which increase considerably the positive contribution of ICT to firms’ innovation performance.
Star clusters with primordial binaries – III. Dynamical interaction between binaries and an intermediate-mass black hole

We present the first study of the dynamical evolution of an isolated star cluster that combines a significant population of primordial binaries with the presence of a central black hole. We use equal-mass direct N-body simulations, with N ranging from 4096 to 16 384 and a primordial binary ratio of 0-10 per cent; the black hole mass is about 1 per cent of the total mass of the cluster. The evolution of the binary population is strongly influenced by the presence of the black hole, which gives the cluster a large core with a central density cusp. Starting from a variety of initial conditions (Plummer and King models), we first encounter a phase, that last approximately 10 half-mass relaxation times, in which binaries are disrupted faster compared to analogous simulations without a black hole. Subsequently, however, binary disruption slows down significantly due to the large core size. The dynamical interplay between the primordial binaries and the black hole thus introduces new features with respect to the scenarios investigated so far, where the influence of the black hole and of the binaries have been considered separately. A large core to half-mass radius ratio appears to be a promising indirect evidence for the presence of an intermediate-mass black hole in old globular clusters.
Metagenomic Insights into the Bioaerosols in the Indoor and Outdoor Environments of Childcare Facilities

Airborne microorganisms have significant effects on human health, and children are more vulnerable to pathogens and allergens than adults. However, little is known about the microbial communities in the air of childcare facilities. Here, we analyzed the bacterial and fungal communities in 50 air samples collected from five daycare centers and five elementary schools located in Seoul, Korea using culture-independent high-throughput pyrosequencing. The microbial communities contained a wide variety of taxa not previously identified in child daycare centers and schools. Moreover, the dominant species differed from those reported in previous studies using culture-dependent methods. The well-known fungi detected in previous culture-based studies (Alternaria, Aspergillus, Penicillium, and Cladosporium) represented less than 12% of the total sequence reads. The composition of the fungal and bacterial communities in the indoor air differed greatly with regard to the source of the microorganisms. The bacterial community in the indoor air appeared to contain diverse bacteria associated with both humans and the outside environment. In contrast, the fungal community was largely derived from the surrounding outdoor environment and not from human activity. The profile of the microorganisms in bioaerosols identified in this study provides the fundamental knowledge needed to develop public health policies regarding the monitoring and management of indoor air quality.
Long-term Experience With Combination Antiretroviral Therapy That Contains Nelfinavir for up to 7 Years in a Pediatric Cohort

OBJECTIVE. We sought to provide long-term data on the clinical, immunologic, and virologic response to highly active antiretroviral therapy in infants and children who are naive to protease inhibitors. METHODS. HIV-1–infected children who were naive to protease inhibitors were treated with a combination of nelfinavir and 2 nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (stavudine and lamivudine) in an observational, prospective, single-center study. Virologic failure-free survival was assessed by Kaplan-Meier analyses. The increase in CD4+ T cells during follow-up was estimated with a generalized linear model incorporating repeated measurements. RESULTS. Thirty-nine HIV-1–infected children were included and followed for a median period of 227 weeks (interquartile range: 108–275 weeks). The virologic failure-free survival rate was 74%, 66%, 58%, and 54% after 48, 96, 144, and 240 weeks, respectively. Children who experienced virologic failure in 48 weeks (or 96 weeks) were younger at baseline compared with the responders (0.8 vs 5.3 years). Eighteen children remained on the regimen for >5 years. All children, including the nonresponders, showed a sustained immunologic response. Grades 3 to 4 toxicity was observed in 2 patients only. Eleven developed clinically evident lipodystrophy. CONCLUSION. Combination therapy can be used safely in infants and children over a long period. Young age is strongly associated with virologic failure. Although the virologic response declined, immunologic parameters and clinical improvement were sustained up to 7 years, at the expense of lipodystrophy.
Satisfaction in Romantic Relationship among Adolescents: Inputs to Guidance Program

Romantic relationship among adolescents are common everywhere however not all of us are true natural born, hopeful romantics. Yet there are those who struggle with the whole concept. It is not because they don't want to enjoy it with their partner but has more to do with their never having understood it. No relationships-themed resource would be complete without some helpful insights regarding the subject of romance. This study was conducted to discover whether or not there is an association between the profile and involvement in a romantic relationship among adolescent. It also outlined the timing of romantic attachment formation and its implications for relationship stability. Fifty high school students attending Batangas National High School were surveyed. Approximately one hundred percent of those surveyed were involved in a relationship. Results showed that adolescents are generally satisfied with their romantic relationships. The respondents are already confident in establishing romantic relationship. The relationship between the length of the romantic relationship and the level of satisfaction was found to be positive.
Data management for mobile computing

Mobile Computing is a new emerging computing paradigm of the future. Data Management in this paradigm poses many challenging problems to the database community. In this paper we identify these new challenges and plan to investigate their technical significance. New research problems include management of location dependent data, wireless data broadcasting, disconnection management and energy efficient data access.
Self-chaperoning of the Type III Secretion System Needle Tip Proteins IpaD and BipD*

Bacteria expressing type III secretion systems (T3SS) have been responsible for the deaths of millions worldwide, acting as key virulence elements in diseases ranging from plague to typhoid fever. The T3SS is composed of a basal body, which traverses both bacterial membranes, and an external needle through which effector proteins are secreted. We report multiple crystal structures of two proteins that sit at the tip of the needle and are essential for virulence: IpaD from Shigella flexneri and BipD from Burkholderia pseudomallei. The structures reveal that the N-terminal domains of the molecules are intramolecular chaperones that prevent premature oligomerization, as well as sharing structural homology with proteins involved in eukaryotic actin rearrangement. Crystal packing has allowed us to construct a model for the tip complex that is supported by mutations designed using the structure.
Control of variant surface glycoprotein gene‐expression sites in Trypanosoma brucei

Trypanosoma brucei has 20 similar telomeric‐expression sites for variant surface glycoprotein genes. Expression sites appear to be controlled at the level of transcription initiation, resulting in only one site being active at any time. Switching between expression sites occurs at a low rate. To analyse the switching mechanism, we used trypanosomes with two expression sites tagged with two different drug‐resistance genes and selected these on agarose plates containing both drugs. Double‐resistant clones arose at a low frequency of 10−7 per cell, but these behaved as if they rapidly switched between the two tagged expression sites and lost double resistance in the absence of selection. Using in situ hybridization we found that only 10% of the double‐resistant cells had two fluorescent spots corresponding to transcribed expression sites. Our results suggest that: (i) a double expressor is not a stable intermediate in expression site switching; (ii) expression sites are not independently switched on and off; and (iii) expression sites can be in a ‘pre‐active’ silent state from which they can be readily activated.