Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparison of the efficacy of 5% topical spironolactone gel and placebo in the treatment of mild and moderate acne vulgaris: a randomized controlled trial

Abstract Background: Topical spironolactone may be effective for the treatment of acne patients with increased sebum secretion. Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of 5% spironolactone gel in the treatment of mild to moderate acne vulgaris. Methods: This study was a double-blind clinical trial, performed randomly in two demographically equivalent groups. In this study, 78 patients with mild to moderate acne vulgaris participated. The patients, as groups of cases (38 patients) and controls (40 patients), took 5% spironolactone gel and placebo, respectively. The response to treatment was evaluated by the total acne lesions (TLC) and acne severity index (ASI). Results: The mean age of the case patients was 21.5 ± 4.2 years and of the control patients was 22.2 ± 4.06 years. The difference in TLC was statistically significant between the two groups (p = 0.007), but no statistically significant difference was seen between the two groups for ASI (p = 0.052). Conclusion: The 5% spironolactone topical gel resulted in a decrease in the TLC in acne vulgaris, while it had no significant efficacy in the ASI.
Generating natural motion in an android by mapping human motion

One of the main aims of humanoid robotics is to develop robots that are capable of interacting naturally with people. However, to understand the essence of human interaction, it is crucial to investigate the contribution of behavior and appearance. Our group's research explores these relationships by developing androids that closely resemble human beings in both aspects. If humanlike appearance causes us to evaluate an android's behavior from a human standard, we are more likely to be cognizant of deviations from human norms. Therefore, the android's motions must closely match human performance to avoid looking strange, including such autonomic responses as the shoulder movements involved in breathing. This paper proposes a method to implement motions that look human by mapping their three-dimensional appearance from a human performer to the android and then evaluating the verisimilitude of the visible motions using a motion capture system. This approach has several advantages over current research, which has focused on copying a person's moving joint angles to a robot: (1) in an android robot with many degrees of freedom and kinematics that differs from that of a human being, it is difficult to calculate which joint angles would make the robot's posture appear similar to the human performer; and (2) the motion that we perceive is at the robot's surface, not necessarily at its joints, which are often hidden from view.
Topological Determinants and Consequences of Adventitial Responses to Arterial Wall Injury

Arteries are composed of 3 concentric tissue layers which exhibit different structures and properties. Because arterial injury is generally initiated at the interface with circulating blood, most studies performed to unravel the mechanisms involved in injury-induced arterial responses have focused on the innermost layer (intima) rather than on the outermost adventitial layer. In the present review, we focus on the involvement of the adventitia in response to various types of arterial injury leading to vascular remodeling. Physiologically, soluble vascular mediators are centrifugally conveyed by mass transport toward the adventitia. Moreover, in pathological conditions, neomediators and antigens can be generated within the arterial wall, whose outward conveyance triggers different patterns of local adventitial response. Adventitial angiogenesis, immunoinflammation, and fibrosis sequentially interact and their net balance defines the participation of the adventitial response in arterial pathology. In the present review we discuss 4 pathological entities in which the adventitial response to arterial wall injury participates in arterial wall remodeling. Hence, the adventitial adaptive immune response predominates in chronic rejection. Inflammatory phagocytic cell recruitment and initiation of a shift from innate to adaptive immunity characterize the adventitial response to products of proteolysis in abdominal aortic aneurysm. Adventitial sprouting of neovessels, leading to intraplaque hemorrhages, predominates in atherothrombosis. Adventitial fibrosis characterizes the response to mechanical stress and is responsible for the constrictive remodeling of arterial segments and initiating interstitial fibrosis in perivascular tissues. These adventitial events, therefore, have an impact not only on the vessel wall biology but also on the surrounding tissue.
The Circumstellar Disk of HD 141569 Imaged with NICMOS

Coronagraphic imaging with the Near-Infrared Camera and Multiobject Spectrometer on the Hubble Space Telescope reveals a large, ~400 AU (4'') radius, circumstellar disk around the Herbig Ae/Be star HD 141569. A reflected light image at 1.1 μm shows the disk oriented at a position angle of 356° ± 5° and inclined to our line of sight by 51° ± 3°; the intrinsic scattering function of the dust in the disk makes the side inclined toward us, the eastern side, brighter. The disk flux density peaks 185 AU (1.″85) from the star and falls off to both larger and smaller radii. A region of depleted material, or a gap, in the disk is centered 250 AU from the star. The dynamical effect of one or more planets may be necessary to explain this morphology.
Chinese Guanxi: An Integrative Review and New Directions for Future Research

Abstract In this article we review research on Chinese guanxi and social networking in the past twenty years and identify the major perspectives, theories, and methodologies used in guanxi research at micro and macro levels. We summarize the main findings of over 200 journal articles on guanxi research in terms of its conceptual definitions and measurements, its antecedents and consequences, and its dynamics and processes. Furthermore, we identify the gaps between different levels of guanxi research and discuss future directions to advance our understanding of the complex and intricate guanxi phenomenon.
Disability and psychiatric disorders in an urban community: measurement, prevalence and outcomes

Background. The purpose of this analysis was to examine: (1) the prevalence of psychiatric disorders among disabled people, using seven different measures of disability; (2) variation in disability between and within psychiatric diagnostic categories; and (3) relationship of diagnosis and disability to health service utilization. Method. Data were drawn from Phase I and Phase II of the Eastern Baltimore Mental Health Survey, part of the Epidemiologic Catchment Area Program (ECA) conducted in 1980–1 to survey mental morbidity within the adult population. A total of 810 individuals received both a household interview and a standardized clinical psychiatric evaluation. Estimated prevalence rates were computed using appropriate survey sampling weights. Results. Prevalence of disability ranged from 2·5 to 19·5%, varying with specific disability measure. Among those classified as disabled by any of the measures examined, 56 to 92% had a psychiatric disorder and serious chronic medical conditions were present in the majority of these cases (54 to 78%). Disability was expressed differently among the various diagnostic groups. Diagnostic category and disability were significant independent predictors of medical service utilization and receipt of disability payments. Conclusions. The majority of disabled adults living in the community have diagnosable psychiatric disorders, with the majority of these individuals suffering from significant chronic medical conditions as well, thus making co-morbidity the norm.
Idiopathic membranous nephropathy and IgG4: an interesting relationship

Idiopathic membranous nephropathy (iMN) is a single-organ autoimmune disease characterized by subepithelial deposition of immune complexes containing IgG4 resulting in proteinuria, nephrotic syndrome, and, in some, end-stage renal disease. The pathogenesis involves a chronic IgG4 response against specific podocyte antigens which have now been at least partially defined in the neonatal, early childhood, and adult varieties. More has recently been learned about the genetic predisposition as well. This review discusses the pathophysiology of iMN in light of these discoveries and what is known about the genesis and potential clinical ramifications of an antigen-specific IgG4 response.
Coordinated Control of a Doubly-Fed Induction Generator-Based Wind Farm and a Static Synchronous Compensator for Low Voltage Ride-through Grid Code Compliance during Asymmetrical Grid Faults

This paper aims to explore a viable solution for a doubly-fed induction generator (DFIG)-based wind farm to meet the reactive support requirement of the low voltage ride-through (LVRT) grid code with safe grid-connected operation during asymmetrical grid faults. First, the control scheme for the DFIG-based wind energy conversion system (WECS) is designed. Then, the controllability issue is analyzed by means of an optimal method, and the derived controllable regions indicate that the DFIG-based WECS can only remain controllable under mild asymmetrical fault situations. Afterwards, the static synchronous compensator (STATCOM) is introduced as extra equipment to ensure that the DFIG-based wind farm remains controllable under severe asymmetrical fault situations. For this purpose, a voltage compensation control scheme and a corresponding capacity matching method for the STATCOM are proposed. The simulation results verify that, with the proposed coordinated control between the DFIG-based wind farm and the STATCOM, the required positive-sequence reactive current can be supplied to support the power grid. The oscillations on the electromagnetic torque and direct current (DC)-link voltage of the DFIG-based WECS can also be eliminated. Therefore, the control scheme can be helpful to improve the reliability of both the wind farm and the power system during grid faults.
Attention Orienting in Response to Non-conscious Hierarchical Arrows: Individuals with Higher Autistic Traits Differ in Their Global/Local Bias

One aspect of the social communication impairments that characterize autism spectrum disorder (ASD) include reduced use of often subtle non-verbal social cues. People with ASD, and those with self-reported sub-threshold autistic traits, also show impairments in rapid visual processing of stimuli unrelated to social or emotional properties. Hence, this study sought to investigate whether perceptually non-conscious visual processing is related to autistic traits. A neurotypical sample of thirty young adults completed the Subthreshold Autism Trait Questionnaire and a Posner-like attention cueing task. Continuous Flash Suppression (CFS) was employed to render incongruous hierarchical arrow cues perceptually invisible prior to consciously presented targets. This was achieved via a 10 Hz masking stimulus presented to the dominant eye that suppressed information presented to the non-dominant eye. Non-conscious arrows consisted of local arrow elements pointing in one direction, and forming a global arrow shape pointing in the opposite direction. On each trial, the cue provided either a valid or invalid cue for the spatial location of the subsequent target, depending on which level (global or local) received privileged attention. A significant autism-trait group by global cue validity interaction indicated a difference in the extent of non-conscious local/global cueing between groups. Simple effect analyses revealed that whilst participants with lower autistic traits showed a global arrow cueing effect, those with higher autistic traits demonstrated a small local arrow cueing effect. These results suggest that non-conscious processing biases in local/global attention may be related to individual differences in autistic traits.
Prostaglandin A1 inhibits rotenone‐induced apoptosis in SH‐SY5Y cells

The degeneration of nigral dopamine neurons in Parkinson's disease (PD) reportedly involves a defect in brain mitochondrial complex I in association with the activation of nuclear factor‐κB (NF‐κB) and caspase‐3. To elucidate molecular mechanisms possibly linking these events, as well as to evaluate the neuroprotective potential of the cyclopentenone prostaglandin A1 (PGA1), an inducer of heat shock proteins (HSPs), we exposed human dopaminergic SH‐SY5Y cells to the complex I inhibitor rotenone. Dose‐dependent apoptosis was preceded by the nuclear translocation of NF‐κB and then the activation of caspase‐3 over the ensuing 24 h. PGA1 increased the expression of HSP70 and HSP27 and protected against rotenone‐induced apoptosis, without increasing necrotic death. PGA1 blocked the rotenone‐induced nuclear translocation of NF‐κB and attenuated, but did not abolish, the caspase‐3 elevation. Unexpectedly, the caspase‐3 inhibitor, Ac‐DEVD.CHO (DEVD), at a concentration that completely prevented the caspase‐3 elevation produced by rotenone, failed to protect against apoptosis. These results suggest that complex I deficiency in dopamine cells can induce apoptosis by a process involving early NF‐κB nuclear translocation and caspase‐3 activation. PGA1 appears to protect against rotenone‐induced cell death by inducing HSPs and blocking nuclear translocation of NF‐κB in a process that attenuates caspase‐3 activation, but is not mediated by its inhibition.
Incidence and risk factors for tenofovir-associated nephrotoxicity among human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients in Korea

Background/Aims Little is known about tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF)-induced nephrotoxicity in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients in Korea. The objective of this study was to evaluate the incidence and risk factors of TDF-associated nephrotoxicity among HIV-infected patients in Korea. Methods A single-center retrospective cohort study was conducted on HIV-infected patients in Korea. We included patients who had started TDF or abacavir (ABC)-based antiretroviral therapy (ART) between October 2006 and December 2014. Estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was estimated using the Chronic Kidney Disease-Epidemiology Collaboration equation. Renal dysfunction was defined as > 25% decrease of baseline eGFR. A propensity matched case-control study was conducted to compare renal dysfunction rates between the two groups. The risk factors of nephrotoxicity were analyzed by Cox regression analysis. Results A total of 210 HIV-infected patients were included in the study, of which, 108 were TDF-based ART group and 102 were ABC-based ART group. Renal dysfunction occurred in 16 patients (14.8%) in the TDF group and 11 (10.8%) in the ABC group. Incidence of renal dysfunction of TDF and ABC group was 9.66 per 100 person-years (PYs) and 5.14 per 100 PYs, respectively (p = 0.176). In propensity-score-matched analysis, renal dysfunction rates were TDF 13.3% versus ABC 13.3% (p > 0.999). In multivariable analysis, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention clinical category C was a significant risk factor for renal dysfunction. Conclusions Approximately, 13% of HIV-infected patients treated with TDF had renal dysfunction. Advanced stage of HIV infection was a significant risk factor for renal dysfunction.
A Conceptual Model of Leisure and Spiritual Well-Being

The author proposes a conceptual model of the relationship between leisure and spiritual well-being based on current theoretical speculation and empirical study. The development of a model that relates leisure and spiritual well-being is important as spiritual wellness may be viewed as a benefit of leisure. It is possible that recreation and park practitioners in the areas of therapeutic recreation, camping, public land management, outdoor/experiential/adventure/environmental education, tourism, and community recreation could contribute to the spiritual wellness of recreators if they had a better understanding of the relationships between leisure and spirituality. The proposed model of leisure and spiritual well-being is based on the assumption that leisure experiences may either consciously or unconsciously provide opportunities for “grounding” or “working through” spiritual difficulties as well as “sensitizing” one to the spiritual. Leisure experiences, which involve an interplay of time, activity, motivation and setting, can provide contexts in which the spiritual is explored rather than repressed, and where spiritual preoccupation due to a spiritual emergency can be addressed, while a leisure style provides repeated opportunities to translate leisure experiences of a spiritual nature into spiritual development. In addition to the techniques of “grounding,” “working through” and “sensitizing,” the model of leisure and spiritual well-being incorporates a number of theories that suggest processes that may link leisure and spiritual well-being. Leisure and well-being theories (personal growth, “keeping idle hands busy,” buffer and coping, identity affirmation) offer suggestions of how leisure may influence spiritual development. Restorative environments theory is helpful in explaining how specific activities and settings may move a person toward spiritual well-being. The proposed model suggests that leisure may play both a positive and a negative role in spiritual well-being and development. This model provides a conceptual framework for future research and theory development as well as for recreation practice. Practical implications include the importance of recognizing: the complexity of leisure and spiritual well-being relationships; individual differences in spiritual wellbeing; the role of all the dimensions of leisure style (activity, motivation, setting, time) in enhancing spiritual well-being; the variety of ways that leisure may enhance spiritual well-being; the effect of different leisure experiences on different characteristics of spiritual well-being; how consistent patterns of leisure experiences, or leisure style, may have a greater influence on spiritual development than an individual leisure experience; and that some of the ways that leisure may enhance spiritual well-being are also associated with other dimensions of well-being.
Link Quality Estimation for Data-Intensive Sensor Network Applications

The efficiency of multi-hop communication is a function of the time required for data transfer, or throughput. A key determinant of throughput is the reliability of packet transmission, as measured by the packet reception rate. We follow a data-driven statistical approach to dynamically determine a link quality estimate (LQE), which provides a good predictor of packet reception rates. Our goal is to enable efficient multi-hop communication for applications characterized by data-intensive, bursty communication in large sensor networks. Statistical analysis and experiments carried out on a network of 20 Imote2 sensors under a variety of environmental conditions show that the metric is a superior predictor of throughput for bursty data transfer workloads.
Monitoring Cellular Responses to Listeria monocytogenes with Oligonucleotide Arrays*

Listeria monocytogenes is a pathogenic intracellular microorganism whose infection induces pleiotropic biological changes associated with host cell gene expression regulation. Here we define the gene expression profiles of the human promyelocytic THP1 cell line before and after L. monocytogenes infection. Gene expression was measured on a large scale via oligonucleotide microarrays with probe sets corresponding to 6,800 human genes. We assessed and discussed the reproducibility of the hybridization signatures. In addition to oligonucleotide arrays, we also performed the large scale gene expression measurement with two high-density membranes, assaying for 588 and 18,376 human genes, respectively. This work allowed the reproducible identification of 74 up-regulated RNAs and 23 down-regulated RNAs as a consequence ofL. monocytogenes infection of THP1. The reliability of these data was reinforced by performing independent infections. Some of these detected RNAs were consistent with previous results, while some newly identified RNAs encode gene products that may play key roles inL. monocytogenes infection. These findings will undoubtedly enhance the understanding of L. monocytogenes molecular physiology and may help identify new therapeutic targets.
Personality and the Fate of Organizations

Contents: Preface. What Is Personality Psychology: Defining the Key Issues and Concepts. The Personality Wars: A Brief History of Modern Personality Psychology. Who Shall Rule: Leadership and Personality. Lives in Public: Personality and Team Performance. The Secret Life of Organizations: Personality and Organizational Theory. The Psychology of Managerial Incompetence. How to Fix Incompetence.
Study of Top and Bottom Photonic Gratings on GaN LED With Error Grating Models

The gallium nitride (GaN) light-emitting-diode (LED) top-bottom (or transmission-reflection) grating simulation results with error grating model are presented. The microstructure GaN bottom hole and top pillar gratings are calculated and compared with the non-grating (flat) case. Grating shapes simulated are either conical or cylindrical. A direct comparison of 181 different combined transmission-reflection grating cases using the finite difference time domain method is presented. The simulation results show that simple or direct combinations of the optimized top grating with the optimized bottom grating only produce a 42% light extraction improvement compared to the non-grating case, which is much lower than that of an optimized single grating case. This is due to the mismatch of grating parameters with the direct addition of the second grating structure, which changes the optical field distribution in the LEDs. Therefore, it is very important to optimize both top and bottom gratings simultaneously for the double-grating design. We also show the optimization of a double grating structure can achieve better performance than a single grating. Finally, transmission-reflection error gratings are also presented. It is also the first time to present randomization in GaN LED grating design and its effects in fabrication. Our data shows that the favorable light extraction improvement is at approximately 10-15% randomization. The randomization can achieve 230% improvement over the original grating at a randomization intensity factor of 12.8%.
Biweekly rituximab, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, non-pegylated liposome-encapsulated doxorubicin and prednisone (R-COMP-14) in elderly patients with poor-risk diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and moderate to high ‘life threat’ impact cardiopathy

This Phase II study assessed feasibility and efficacy of a biweekly R‐COMP‐14 regimen (rituximab, cyclophosphamide, non‐pegylated liposome‐encapsulated doxorubicin, vincristine and prednisone) in untreated elderly patients with poor‐risk diffuse large B‐cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and moderate to high ‘life threat’ impact NIA/NCI cardiac comorbidity. A total of 208 courses were delivered, with close cardiac monitoring, to 41 patients (median age: 73 years, range: 62–82; 37% >75 years) at a median interval of 15·6 (range, 13–29) days; 67% completed all six scheduled courses. Response rate was 73%, with 68% complete responses (CR); 4‐year disease‐free survival (DFS) and time to treatment failure (TTF) were 72% and 49%, respectively. Failures were due to early death (n = 3), therapy discontinuations (no‐response n = 2; toxicity n = 6), relapse (n = 6) and death in CR (n = 3). Incidence of cardiac grade 3–5 adverse events was 7/41 (17%; 95% confidence interval: 8–31%). Time to progression and overall survival at 4‐years were 77% and 67%, respectively. The Age‐adjusted Charlson Comorbidity Index (aaCCI) correlated with failures (P = 0·007) with patients scoring ≤7 having a longer TTF (66% vs. 29%; P = 0·009). R‐COMP‐14 is feasible and ensures a substantial DFS to poor‐risk DLBCL patients who would have been denied anthracycline‐based treatment due to cardiac morbidity. The aaCCI predicted both treatment discontinuation rate and TTF.