Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Delay of gratification in old age: assessment, age-related effects, and clinical implications

Delay of gratification (DoG), the ability to reject immediately available smaller rewards in favor of later larger rewards, has been a topic of continuous research interest for almost 60 years. Although numerous studies have explored this construct and its effects on wellbeing, social behavior, cognitive abilities, and academic success in children, DoG studies in adulthood and old age are scarce. Instead, delay discounting (DD), that is, the degree to which individuals devalue delayed rewards, has been used in samples of adults and older individuals, and is of particular interest in clinical studies. Findings from DD research suggest that the preference for delayed rewards increases from childhood to early adulthood, and then decreases from middle age to old age. The main aim of this review is to elucidate the importance of DoG in adulthood and old age. First, the review explores the theoretical status of DoG by specifying the relationships and distinctions between DoG and related constructs. Second, it provides an overview of DoG measurements, from traditional to novel. Third, the effects of DoG on development and wellbeing are explored. Fourth, age-related differences in DoG are summarized. Lastly, the review closes with conclusions, clinical implications, and the outlook for possible further research directions.
The Response of Lactococcus lactis to Membrane Protein Production

Background The biogenesis of membrane proteins is more complex than that of water-soluble proteins, and recombinant expression of membrane proteins in functional form and in amounts high enough for structural and functional studies is often problematic. To better engineer cells towards efficient protein production, we set out to understand and compare the cellular consequences of the overproduction of both classes of proteins in Lactococcus lactis, employing a combined proteomics and transcriptomics approach. Methodology and Findings Highly overproduced and poorly expressed membrane proteins both resulted in severe growth defects, whereas amplified levels of a soluble substrate receptor had no effect. In addition, membrane protein overproduction evoked a general stress response (upregulation of various chaperones and proteases), which is probably due to accumulation of misfolded protein. Notably, upon the expression of membrane proteins a cell envelope stress response, controlled by the two-component regulatory CesSR system, was observed. Conclusions The physiological response of L. lactis to the overproduction of several membrane proteins was determined and compared to that of a soluble protein, thus offering better understanding of the bottlenecks related to membrane protein production and valuable knowledge for subsequent strain engineering.
Parametric scattering models for bistatic synthetic aperture radar

Parametric scattering center models match to radar scene attributes, aiding in automatic target recognition (ATR) and scene visualization. In this paper, we develop parametric models of canonical shapes for bistatic synthetic aperture radar (SAR). We generalize geometric theory of diffraction solutions for scattering mechanisms in a plane to develop three-dimensional models for six canonical shapes: a rectangular plate, dihedral, trihedral, cylinder, top-hat, and sphere. The proposed models provide physically relevant yet compact scattering solutions that are easily implemented for radar signal processing and ATR applications. The derived models are shown to agree with results obtained from high-frequency, asymptotic scattering simulations.
Gastric Penetration of Amoxicillin in a HumanHelicobacter pylori-Infected Xenograft Model

ABSTRACT The delivery of antibiotics into Helicobacter pylori-infected human stomachs is still poorly understood. Human embryonic gastric xenografts in nude mice have recently been proposed as a new model for the study of H. pylori infection. Using this model, we compared the penetration of amoxicillin, after intraperitoneal administration of a dose of 20 mg/kg of body weight, into the gastric mucosae of infected and uninfected xenografts. The concentrations of this drug in serum and superficial gastric mucosae were determined at 20 min and 1 and 3 h after injection. Ten mice with H. pylori-infected grafts (n = 5) or uninfected grafts (n = 5) were studied. Mucosal samples were obtained by cryomicrotomy. The concentrations in serum were similar to those obtained in the serum of humans after oral administration of 1 g of amoxicillin. The mean area under the tissue concentration-versus-time curve from 0 to 3 h obtained for mice with infected grafts was significantly higher than that obtained for the animals with uninfected grafts (P = 0.01). These results suggest that the penetration of amoxicillin into the superficial gastric mucosa may be substantially increased in the case of H. pylori infection. Thus, human xenografts in nude mice represent a new, well-standardized model for investigation of systemic delivery of drugs into H. pylori-infected gastric mucosa.
K antigen and serum sensitivity of rough Escherichia coli

We prepared bacterial hybrids which express both K1 and K27 antigens and examined the relative contributions of these capsules to serum resistance. Escherichia coli Hfr strain F639 (rough, K27+, serum sensitive) was conjugated with E. coli recipient strain E412 (rough, K1+, His- Trp- Strr, serum resistant). Transconjugants which inherited both the his and trp linked genes for K27 antigen synthesis were analyzed. These hybrids retained and expressed the K1 antigen since the K1 locus is nonallelic with K27 gene loci. Hybrid strains which express both K1 and K27 antigens exhibit serum resistance, but not at the level of the K1+ parental strain. An isogenic K1 derivative of a hybrid which expressed only K27 antigen was serum sensitive (greater than 99% kill, 60 min). These findings indicate that the presence of the K1 capsular antigen can protect some rough strains of E. coli from serum bactericidal activity, whereas K27 and perhaps other K antigens fail to provide such a protective effect.
QOS Based Service Search and Composition Algorithm

Service Oriented applications are becoming very popular due to ease of Web services Usage. A significant amount of work has been done by industries, universities and individual researchers to locate a web service and compose them. But still there is a space to fill out for particular requirements. There is a need of a strategy to locate web services across multiple heterogeneous registries which still is a challenging task because it has issues like performance, flexibility, reliability. We have using Google Custom Search API for service search and then matrix match making for composition.
Structural and Optical Characterization of Nitrogen-doped TiO2 Thin Films Deposited by Spray Pyrolysis on Fluorine Doped Tin Oxide (FTO) Coated Glass Slides

Undoped and nitrogen-doped titanium dioxide (TiO2) thin films of 400 nm thick deposited by spray pyrolysis were structurally and optically characterized. The effect of substrate temperature on the optical properties of the films was also investigated. Structural studies of the films were undertaken by X-ray diffraction (XRD). Energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectrum analysis was used to confirm the presence of nitrogen atoms in the film after doping. The optical properties such as refractive index (n), energy band gap (Eg) and Urbach energy (Eu) were determined from spectrophotometric measurements of reflectance and transmittance for both undoped and doped films. The Undoped films had an energy band gap of 3.25 eV while the doped films had band gap of 2.90 eV. The Urbach energy increased from 1.00 eV for undoped films to 1.04 eV for the nitrogen-doped films. The reduction in energy band gap and increase in Urbach energy was attributed to the introduction of nitrogen impurity tail states on either the conduction band or the valence band of the titanium dioxide.
A Retrospective TDM Database Analysis of Interpatient Variability in the Pharmacokinetics of Lopinavir in HIV-infected Adults

Lopinavir is one of the most-widely used protease inhibitors in the treatment of HIV-1 infected patients. Concentration-effect relationships have been described for both antiviral activity and toxicity. Less is known about patient characteristics that may determine interpatient variability in lopinavir plasma concentrations. A database was created containing all Therapeutic Drug Monitoring (TDM) results collected at our Department. Patients were included if they were using lopinavir twice daily for at least two weeks; subjects who were known to be nonadherent (based on either a lopinavir concentration <0.2 mg/L or suspected by the physician) were excluded. Demographic data were collected from TDM application forms and patient charts. Patients attending one of the 22 HIV treatment centers in The Netherlands. The Department of Clinical Pharmacy is a national referral center for TDM of antiretroviral agents. Lopinavir concentration ratios (CRs) were calculated for each patient by dividing the individual plasma concentration by the time-adjusted population value. Relationships with lopinavir CRs were tested using regression analysis and analysis of variance. A total of 802 patients were included (607 males; 150 females; 45 unknown). The age and body weight of the patients ranged from 18 to 74 years (mean 42) and 42 to 121 kg (mean 72), respectively. Race was known for 756 persons: Caucasian 76%, African 18% and Asian 6%. The median (+ interquartile range, IQR) lopinavir CR was 0.98 (IQR: 0.67-1.31). Body weight showed an inverse relationship with lopinavir CR (F = 23.1; P < 0.001). Age was not related with lopinavir CR (P = 0.99). Female patients had a significantly higher lopinavir CR than males: 1.18 vs. 1.03 (P = 0.005); race was not associated with differences in lopinavir CR. In a multivariate regression analysis body weight, but not gender, remained significantly related to lopinavir CR. Body weight is the only demographic factor that could be related to lopinavir exposure; clinicians should be alert for an increased risk of suboptimal antiviral efficacy in patients with high body weight, and for an increased risk of toxicity in patients with a low body weight.
Enhancement of Working Memory in Aged Monkeys by a Sensitizing Regimen of Dopamine D1 Receptor Stimulation

A natural consequence of aging is a loss of dopamine function and associated deficits in working memory in both human and nonhuman primates. Specifically, deficiency of D1 receptor signaling has been implicated in age-related cognitive decline. Here, we report that an intermittent, sensitizing regimen of the D1 dopamine agonist ABT-431 dramatically enhances working memory performance in aged rhesus monkeys, while either producing impairment or having little effect on performance in young adult monkeys. Importantly, cognitive enhancement in the aged monkeys was still evident for >1 year after cessation of D1 treatment. Because intermittent exposure to low doses of amphetamine and other stimulants has been shown to enhance responsiveness to subsequent stimulant exposure, our findings suggest that sensitization of D1 signaling may provide a novel neurobiological mechanism for improving a core cognitive process in conditions in which dopamine function has deteriorated, such as in normal aging and Parkinson's disease.
Treatment of Stress Fractures in Athletes With Intravenous Pamidronate

Objective:To determine if the use of a second-generation biphosphonate, pamidronate, is an effective treatment option for stress fractures in intercollegiate athletes. Pamidronate is successfully used to increase bone mass in patients with Charcot arthropathy and osteoporosis. Design:Case series. Setting:Academic sports medicine clinic with primary responsibility for intercollegiate athletics. Participants:Five intercollegiate female athletes. Interventions:Intravenous pamidronate administered weekly for a total of 5 treatments. Main Outcome Measurement:Athletes' ability to continue training without restrictions. Results:Four of 5 treated athletes were able to continue training and competition within 1 week of treatment. Conclusions:Pamidronate may be a useful adjunct to the treatment of stress fractures.
Hemorrhagic versus ischemic stroke: Who can best benefit from blended conventional physiotherapy with robotic-assisted gait therapy?

Background Contrary to common belief of clinicians that hemorrhagic stroke survivors have better functional prognoses than ischemic, recent studies show that ischemic survivors could experience similar or even better functional improvements. However, the influence of stroke subtype on gait and posture outcomes following an intervention blending conventional physiotherapy with robotic-assisted gait therapy is missing. Objective This study compared gait and posture outcome measures between ambulatory hemorrhagic patients and ischemic patients, who received a similar 4 weeks’ intervention blending a conventional bottom-up physiotherapy approach and an exoskeleton top-down robotic-assisted gait training (RAGT) approach with Lokomat. Methods Forty adult hemiparetic stroke inpatient subjects were recruited: 20 hemorrhagic and 20 ischemic, matched by age, gender, side of hemisphere lesion, stroke severity, and locomotor impairments. Functional Ambulation Category, Postural Assessment Scale for Stroke, Tinetti Performance Oriented Mobility Assessment, 6 Minutes Walk Test, Timed Up and Go and 10-Meter Walk Test were performed before and after a 4-week long intervention. Functional gains were calculated for all tests. Results Hemorrhagic and ischemic subjects showed significant improvements in Functional Ambulation Category (P<0.001 and P = 0.008, respectively), Postural Assessment Scale for Stroke (P<0.001 and P = 0.003), 6 Minutes Walk Test (P = 0.003 and P = 0.015) and 10-Meter Walk Test (P = 0.001 and P = 0.024). Ischemic patients also showed significant improvements in Timed Up and Go. Significantly greater mean Functional Ambulation Category and Tinetti Performance Oriented Mobility Assessment gains were observed for hemorrhagic compared to ischemic, with large (dz = 0.81) and medium (dz = 0.66) effect sizes, respectively. Conclusion Overall, both groups exhibited quasi similar functional improvements and benefits from the same type, length and frequency of blended conventional physiotherapy and RAGT protocol. The use of intensive treatment plans blending top-down physiotherapy and bottom-up robotic approaches is promising for post-stroke rehabilitation.
Serum Lutein Response Is Greater from Free Lutein Than from Esterified Lutein during 4 Weeks of Supplementation in Healthy Adults

Background: Current data suggest great variability in serum response following lutein ingestion from various sources. Objective: To compare the relative serum response during supplementation with free lutein (fL) and lutein esters (Le). Methods: 72 volunteers (23–52 years; body mass index [BMI] >20 and <30 kg/m2; baseline serum lutein <20 µg/dL [<352 nmol/L]) were identified. Subjects, matched for gender, age, and BMI, were randomly assigned to the fL or Le group. fL and Le capsules contained 12.2 mg of free lutein or 27 mg of lutein ester (equivalent to 13.5 mg free lutein), respectively. Fasting blood was obtained at baseline and after 7, 14, 21, and 28 days of supplementation. Supplements were consumed with standard portions of dry, ready-to-eat cereal and 2% cow's milk. Results: Absolute changes in serum lutein, per mg daily dose, were significantly greater in fL vs. Le after 21 days (p = 0.0012) and remained so after 28 days (p = 0.0011) of supplementation. Serum lutein Area Under the Curve [AUC(day 0-28)] response was 17% greater for fL vs. Le (p = 0.0187). Regression models were used and determined that (1) baseline serum lutein levels and (2) the form of lutein ingested (fL > Le) influence the serum lutein response during supplementation, while subject age, gender, BMI, and serum lipids do not affect serum response. Conclusions: These results suggest that the relative serum lutein response will be significantly greater from supplements containing free lutein than from supplements containing lutein esters. These findings should be useful for future clinical trials exploring the effectiveness of lutein supplementation in the prevention of or protection against age-related macular degeneration and/or cataracts.
Genealogies of regular exchangeable coalescents with applications to sampling

This article considers a model of genealogy corresponding to a regular exchangeable coalescent (also known as Xi-coalescent) started from a large finite configuration, and undergoing neutral mutations. Asymptotic expressions for the number of active lineages were obtained by the author in a previous work. Analogous results for the number of active mutation-free lineages and the combined lineage lengths are derived using the same martingale-based technique. They are given in terms of convergence in probability, while extensions to convergence in moments and convergence almost surely are discussed. The above mentioned results have direct consequences on the sampling theory in the Xi-coalescent setting. In particular, the regular Xi-coalescents that come down from infinity (i.e., with locally finite genealogies), have an asymptotically equal number of families under the corresponding infinite alleles and infinite sites models. In special cases, quantitative asymptotic formulae for the number of families that contain a fixed number of individuals can be given.
Decision‐tree‐based methods for differential diagnosis of β‐thalassemia trait from iron deficiency anemia

Several discrimination indices have been proposed to distinct between β‐thalassemia trait (βTT) and iron deficiency anemia (IDA). This study is the first application of tree‐based methods for differential diagnosis of βTT from IDA. One hundred forty‐four patients with hypochromic microcytic anemia aged 18–40 years old from Ayat Hospital of Tehran were recruited. Classification and Regression tree, CHi‐squared Automatic Interaction Detector (CHAID), Exhaustive CHi‐squared Automatic Interaction Detector (E‐CHAID), Quick, Unbiased, Efficient Statistical Tree (QUEST), Classification Rule with Unbiased Interaction Selection and Estimation (CRUISE), and Generalized, Unbiased, Interaction Detection and Estimation (GUIDE) have been used to discriminate the diagnosis. Mean corpuscular volume (MCV) was found as the main predictor in discrimination. All the mentioned tree‐based methods showed acceptable sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, Youden's index, false positive and negative rate, positive and negative predictive values and AUC in differential diagnosis of βTT from IDA. However, Classification Rule with Unbiased Interaction Selection and Estimation revealed more precise classification with an area under the curve value of 0.99. Decision‐tree‐based methods can be used to develop sensitive and accurate diagnostic methods for differentiating βTT from IDA.
The Effect of Oral Contraceptive Pills on the Macula, the Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer, and Choroidal Thickness

Background The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of oral contraceptive pills (OCP) on the macula, the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL), and choroidal thickness (CT). Material/Methods A total of 24 healthy women taking monophasic OCP (3 mg drospirenone and 0.03 mg ethinylestradiol) for contraception only for at least one year were compared with a control group of 24 healthy women who were not taking an OCP. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) was used to evaluate the posterior ocular segments, and measurements were taken in the follicular phase (day 3) of the cycle in all women. Results No disparity in terms of age and body mass index between the groups was observed (p=0.436, p=0.538, respectively). In comparison of the macular region and CT between groups, we found that all variables except foveal center thickness and CT were significantly thinner in the OCP group. Nasal and temporal inferior parts of the RNFL and average RNFL were significantly slimmer in the study group versus the control group (p=0.013, p=0.018, and p<0.001, respectively). Conclusions OCP resulted in several structural changes in the posterior ocular segment. Thus, women using OCP for more than one year may have some eye problems. Therefore, it OCT should be performed for these women. Further clinical trials researching long-period effect of OCP on the eyes are needed.
Contingent Negative Variation in Patients with Chronic Daily Headache

The aim of this study was the investigation of amplitude and habituation of contingent negative variation (CNV) in migraine and chronic daily headache (CDH) patients in order to describe possible neurophysiological features responsible for the clinical transformation and worsening of the headache. Fifteen females suffering from migraine without aura and 15 females diagnosed with CDH evolved from migraine without aura with interparoxysmal chronic tension-type headache (transformed migraine), underwent CNV recording. Fifteen healthy females matched for age served as controls. CNV was obtained from C3 and C4 using the standard reaction time paradigm and 3 sec ISI. The amplitudes and habituation of total CNV, early and late components, and of post-imperative negative variation (PINV) were calculated. The migraine patients were characterized by significantly more pronounced negativity of the early component and total CNV, compared to CDH sufferers and controls. CDH patients demonstrated significantly reduced negativity of the late component and pronounced PINV compared to the other groups. The early component of CNV did not habituate in migraine or CDH patients. However, the impaired habituation in CDH was related to significantly lower amplitudes. These results support the diagnostic and scientific value of habituation in migraine research and therapy. Late components of CNV and PINV can be considered as predictive variables for transformation of migraine. The results are discussed in terms of the relationship between late CNV, PINV, environment control abilities and susceptibility for development of depression.
Initial assessment of voltage-led demand response from UK residential loads

One way of unlocking aggregated demand response without directly managing customers is to exploit the positive correlation between voltage and demand. This work presents an initial assessment of the potential residential response in UK primary substations (e.g., 33/11 or 33/6.6 kV) as part of the trial “Customer Load Active System Services (CLASS)” run by the distribution network operator Electricity North West Limited (ENWL). Two load modelling methodologies, time independent and time varying, are presented and applied to a single primary substation and then extended to the ENWL area. For the latter, the results considering the time-varying model, purely residential load, and 3% voltage reduction during a winter day show that it could be possible to achieve an aggregated peak reduction exceeding 150 MW (>3%). Although the two load models have shown strong agreement the latter is a more accurate alternative when demand response throughout the day is of particular interest.