Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Alterations of Urinary Microbiota in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus with Hypertension and/or Hyperlipidemia

Evidence shows urine specimens from different women have different populations of bacteria. The co-occurrence of hypertension and hyperlipidemia in those with diabetes may alter the composition of urine and the microenviroment of the bladder in which bacteria live. The aim of this study was to characterize the urinary microbiota in women with type 2 diabetes mellitus only and those with diabetes plus hypertension and/or hyperlipidemia, and to explore whether the composition of the urinary microbiota is affected by fasting blood glucose, blood pressure, and blood lipids. We enrolled 28 individuals with diabetes only, 24 with diabetes plus hypertension, 7 with diabetes plus hyperlipidemia, and 11 with diabetes plus both hypertension and hyperlipidemia. Modified midstream urine collection technique was designed to obtain urine specimens. Bacterial genomic DNA was isolated using magnetic beads and the urinary microbiota was analyzed using the Illumina MiSeq Sequencing System based on the V3-V4 hypervariable regions of the 16S rRNA gene. Among the four cohorts, the diabetes plus hypertension cohort had the highest relative abundance of Proteobacteria. In contrast, the diabetes plus hyperlipidemia cohort had the lowest relative abundance of Proteobacteria. In addition, Escherichia and Gardnerella were not found in the diabetes plus hyperlipidemia cohort but they were found in all of the other cohorts. Cetobacterium was only present in the diabetes plus hypertension cohort. The most abundant bacteria in the diabetes only and diabetes plus hyperlipidemia cohorts was Lactobacillus, while Prevotella was the most abundant bacteria in the diabetes plus hypertension and diabetes plus hypertension and hyperlipidemia cohorts. Moreover, the relative abundance of Lactobacillus was significantly lower in the diabetes plus hypertension cohort than in the diabetes only and diabetes plus hyperlipidemia cohorts. Several bacteria were correlated with the participants' fasting blood glucose, blood pressure, and blood lipids. In conclusion, hypertension and/or hyperlipidemia and other patient factors can affect the composition of the urinary microbiota in those with diabetes. The insights from this study could be used to develop microbiota-based treatment for comorbid conditions, including urinary tract infections, in those with diabetes.
Quantitative detection of DNA labeled with magnetic nanoparticles using arrays of MgO-based magnetic tunnel junction sensors

We have demonstrated the detection of 2. 5μM target DNA labeled with 16nm Fe3O4 nanoparticles (NPs) using arrays of magnetic tunnel junction sensors with (001)-oriented MgO barrier layers. A MTJ sensor bridge was designed to detect the presence of magnetic NPs bonded with target DNA. A raw signal of 72μV was obtained using complementary target DNA, as compared with a nonspecific bonding signal of 25μV from noncomplementary control DNA. Our results indicate that the current system’s detection limit for analyte DNA is better than 100nM.
Metabolic response to sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibition in type 2 diabetic patients.

BACKGROUND Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors lower glycemia by enhancing urinary glucose excretion. The physiologic response to pharmacologically induced acute or chronic glycosuria has not been investigated in human diabetes. METHODS We evaluated 66 patients with type 2 diabetes (62 ± 7 years, BMI = 31.6 ± 4.6 kg/m(2), HbA1c = 55 ± 8 mmol/mol, mean ± SD) at baseline, after a single dose, and following 4-week treatment with empagliflozin (25 mg). At each time point, patients received a mixed meal coupled with dual-tracer glucose administration and indirect calorimetry. RESULTS Both single-dose and chronic empagliflozin treatment caused glycosuria during fasting (median, 7.8 [interquartile range {IQR}, 4.4] g/3 hours and 9.2 [IQR, 5.2] g/3 hours) and after meal ingestion (median, 29.0 [IQR, 12.5] g/5 hours and 28.2 [IQR, 15.4] g/5 hours). After 3 hours of fasting, endogenous glucose production (EGP) was increased 25%, while glycemia was 0.9 ± 0.7 mmol/l lower (P < 0.0001 vs. baseline). After meal ingestion, glucose and insulin AUC decreased, whereas the glucagon response increased (all P < 0.001). While oral glucose appearance was unchanged, EGP was increased (median, 40 [IQR, 14] g and 37 [IQR, 11] g vs. 34 [IQR, 11] g, both P < 0.01). Tissue glucose disposal was reduced (median, 75 [IQR, 16] g and 70 [IQR, 21] g vs. 93 [IQR, 18] g, P < 0.0001), due to a decrease in both glucose oxidation and nonoxidative glucose disposal, with a concomitant rise in lipid oxidation after chronic administration (all P < 0.01). β Cell glucose sensitivity increased (median, 55 [IQR, 35] pmol • min(-1) • m(-2) • mM(-1) and 55 [IQR, 39] pmol • min(-1) • m(-2) • mM(-1) vs. 44 [IQR, 32] pmol • min(-1) • m(-2) • mM(-1), P < 0.0001), and insulin sensitivity was improved. Resting energy expenditure rates and those after meal ingestion were unchanged. CONCLUSIONS In patients with type 2 diabetes, empagliflozin-induced glycosuria improved β cell function and insulin sensitivity, despite the fall in insulin secretion and tissue glucose disposal and the rise in EGP after one dose, thereby lowering fasting and postprandial glycemia. Chronic dosing shifted substrate utilization from carbohydrate to lipid. Trial registration. ClinicalTrials.Gov NCT01248364 (EudraCT no. 2010-018708-99). Funding. This study was funded by Boehringer Ingelheim.
Vortex Merger in Oceanic Tripoles

AbstractA new type of vortex merger is experimentally reported and numerically investigated. The merging process of two anticyclones under the influence of a cyclone (a three-vortex interaction) was observed in sea surface height (SSH) altimetry maps south of the Canary Islands. This three-vortex interaction is investigated using a process-oriented three-dimensional (3D), Boussinesq, and f-plane numerical model that explicitly conserves potential vorticity (PV) on isopycnals. The initial conditions consist of three static and inertially stable baroclinic vortices: two anticyclones and one cyclone. The vortex cores form a triangle in a configuration similar to that found south of the Canary Islands. The numerical results show, in agreement with SSH observations, that two corotating vortices, sufficiently close to each other and in presence of a third counterrotating vortex, merge, leading to a new elongated vortex, which couples with the counterrotating vortex, forming a dipole. Thus, the merging process o.
Routine cognitive screening in older patients admitted to acute medicine: abbreviated mental test score (AMTS) and subjective memory complaint versus Montreal Cognitive Assessment and IQCODE

Introduction: routine cognitive screening for in-patients aged ≥75 years is recommended, but there is uncertainty around how this should be operationalised. We therefore determined the feasibility and reliability of the Abbreviated mental test score (AMTS/10) and its relationship to subjective memory complaint, Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA/30) and informant report in unselected older admissions. Methods: consecutive acute general medicine patients aged ≥75 years admitted over 10 weeks (March–May 2013) had AMTS and a question regarding subjective memory complaint (if no known dementia/delirium). At ≥72 h, the 30-point Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and Informant Questionnaire for Cognitive Decline in the Elderly (IQCODE) were done. Cognitive impairment was defined as AMTS < 9 or MoCA < 26 (mild impairment) and MoCA < 20 (moderate/severe impairment) or IQCODE ≥ 3.6. Results: among 264 patients (mean age/SD = 84.3/5.6 years, 117 (44%) male), 228 (86%) were testable with AMTS. 49/50 (98%) testable patients with dementia/delirium had low AMTS compared with 79/199 (44%) of those without (P < 0.001). Subjective memory complaint agreed poorly with objective cognitive deficit (39% denying a memory problem had AMTS < 9 (kappa = 0.134, P = 0.086)) as did informant report (kappa = 0.18, P = 0.15). In contrast, correlation between AMTS and MoCA was strong (R2 = 0.59, P < 0.001) with good agreement between AMTS < 9 and MoCA < 20 (kappa = 0.50, P < 0.01), although 85% of patients with normal AMTS had MoCA < 26. Conclusions: the AMTS was feasible and valid in older acute medicine patients agreeing well with the MoCA albeit with a ceiling effect. Objective cognitive deficits were prevalent in patients without known dementia or delirium but were not reliably identified by subjective cognitive complaint or informant report.
Antisocial Personality Disorder among Drug Abusers: Relations to Other Personality Diagnoses and the Five-Factor Model of Personality

Antisocial personality disorder among drug abusers has been associated with poor drug abuse treatment outcome and greater human immunodeficiency virus infection risk compared with drug abusers without the disorder. Despite this, less is known about the personality trait dimensions of antisocial drug abusers, or about the prevalence of axis comorbidity among this group. Similarly, little is known about the personality trait dimensions of antisocial drug abusers compared with those with axis II diagnoses other than antisocial or those with no personality diagnosis. The present study compared the personality traits of 203 outpatient opioid drug abusers categorized into either a pure antisocial group (i.e., antisocial diagnosis only), mixed antisocial group (i.e., antisocial plus another axis II diagnosis), other axis II group (i.e., axis II diagnosis other than antisocial), or a non-axis II group. Psychiatric diagnoses were made using a structured interview and personality traits of the four groups were compared using a self-report measure of the five-factor model of personality. As predicted, the mixed group was significantly more prone to neuroticism compared with the pure group, with higher scores on the vulnerability to stress and hostility facets. The mixed group also had a greater score on the neuroticism domain compared with the non-axis II group, with higher scores on five of the six facets. Significant differences were also found on agreeableness. The mixed group had lower scores on this domain (i.e., had higher interpersonal antagonism) compared with the non-axis II group. Somewhat surprisingly, the agreeableness score for the pure group was not significantly different from those of the remaining three groups. Also, no significant differences were found on the personality domains of extraversion, openness to experience, or conscientiousness among any of the four groups.
Diurnal and seasonal variations of iodocarbons (CH2ClI, CH2I2, CH3I, and C2H5I) in the marine atmosphere

[1] Four iodocarbons, chloroiodomethane (CH2ClI), diiodomethane (CH2I2), methyl iodide (CH3I), and ethyl iodide (C2H5I), were measured with an automated preconcentration gas chromatography–mass spectrometry system at two remote marine sites, Hateruma Island (24.05°N, 123.8°E) in the East China Sea and Cape Ochiishi (43.15°N, 145.5°E) on the eastern coast of Hokkaido, for 17 months, giving the first full-year high-frequency data sets for all these compounds. CH2ClI and CH2I2, which are highly photolyzed, showed remarkable diurnal variation in all seasons, with lower concentrations in the daytime, whereas CH3I and C2H5I showed no significant diurnal changes. At Cape Ochiishi, all of the iodocarbons showed clear seasonal variations and were highest in summer and autumn, which are characterized by algal blooms in the adjacent ocean. At Hateruma Island, which is surrounded by subtropical oligotrophic waters, the seasonal variations were not significant, but C2H5I and CH2I2 showed lower mixing ratios in summer. The nighttime mixing ratio of CH2ClI was strongly and positively correlated with wind speed throughout the observation period at Hateruma Island, suggesting the ubiquitous presence of CH2ClI sources, probably nonbiogenic, in the subtropical ocean. CH3I and C2H5I mixing ratios occasionally increased at Hateruma Island concurrently with winter and spring pollution events from the Asian continent, indicating possible continental anthropogenic sources or emissions from seawater off the continental coast. A rise in the CH3I baseline mixing ratio was also observed at Hateruma Island, when the air mass origin became more southerly, compared with the earlier, easterly source area, suggesting higher concentrations in equatorial regions.
Access to improved water source and satisfaction with services: Evidence from rural Ethiopia

In recent years access to safe and reliable water supplies has received increased government attention in Ethiopia. As a result, the national coverage rate for this service has gradually improved. Yet millions of people in rural areas still do not get drinking water from an improved water source. While expanding improved water source schemes is generally essential, it is equally important to ensure that the schemes have increased users' satisfaction with water quality and availability for everyday use. Using household survey data and employing univariate and bivariate probit models, this paper attempts to investigate the effect of access to an improved water source on users' satisfaction with both quality and availability of water. The study findings suggest that access to an improved water source significantly raised household satisfaction with both quality and availability of water. However, the effect of the improved water source on users' satisfaction was slightly lower for water availability than for water quality.
Analysis of instabilities and mesoscale motion in a terrain-following coordinate ocean model

We perform a combined potential vorticity analysis and energy analysis to analyze instabilities and mesoscale motion in a continuously stratiﬁed, terrain-following coordinate ocean model. Care is exercised to ensure that the potential vorticity is conserved along isopycnals in the absence of sources and sinks. We also derive expressions for the energy components and the associated conversion terms suitable for a terrain-following coordinate ocean model. To demonstrate the usefulness of the new combined analysis tool for detection of instabilities, we analyze results from a numerical model experiment in which the ocean model is contained in a long, rectangular channel closed at one end. The model is forced by a uniform along-channel wind towards the closed end. We analyze the model response in two different sub-domains. The ﬁrst is far from both the open boundary and the bight and resembles an open channel with upwelling at one side and downwelling at the other. The second is near the closed end, and represents a dynamically new, and as it turns out, different area. The analysis for the upwelling side of the open channel domain gives results that compare favorably with previous studies and shows that an upwelling front is indeed unstable. The analysis of the results from the downwelling side corroborates earlier suggestions that a downwelling front is stable. The analysis of the bight area reveals that it is more or less similar to the downwelling area of the open channel domain due to propagation of Kelvin waves from the downwelling boundary to the upwelling boundary via the closed end. In summary the application of the combined analysis to the results from the numerical experiment provides an excellent example of how well a potential vorticity and energy analysis complement each other.
Improved treatment response with basiliximab immunoprophylaxis after liver transplantation: Results from a double‐blind randomized placebo‐controlled trial

Basiliximab, a high‐affinity chimeric monoclonal antibody, is effective in reducing acute rejection episodes in renal allograft recipients. We assessed the ability of this antibody to similarly improve the outcome in liver transplant recipients. Adult recipients of a primary cadaveric liver transplant were randomized to treatment, stratified by hepatitis C virus (HCV) seropositivity. Patients were administered 40 mg of basiliximab (n = 188) or placebo (n = 193) as two 20‐mg bolus injections days 0 and 4, plus cyclosporine and steroids. Primary efficacy variables were biopsy‐confirmed acute rejection and its composite end point, including death or graft loss, and were assessed at 6 and 12 months and by HCV cohort. Because of differential efficacy responses between HCV‐positive and HCV‐negative cohorts, an additional analysis incorporating HCV recurrence as a component of treatment failure, termed problem‐free transplant, was introduced. Safety and tolerability were monitored over the 12 months of the study. All 381 patients were assessable, and no meaningful differences in background characteristics were apparent between treatment groups. Biopsy‐confirmed acute rejection rates 6 months after transplantation were 35.1% in the basiliximab group versus 43.5% in the placebo group. For death, graft loss, or first biopsy‐confirmed acute rejection, rates were 44.1% versus 52.8%, respectively. The reduction in rejection episodes was concentrated in the HCV‐negative cohort (14.5% relative to placebo; P = .034), with a much smaller difference (2.9%) in the HCV‐positive cohort. For HCV‐positive patients, problem‐free transplant was shown at 12 months in 26.6% of the basiliximab group versus 11.6% in the placebo group (P = .020) and for all patients at 12 months in 39.7% of the basiliximab group versus 30.1% in the placebo group (P = .035). The incidence of infection and other adverse events was similar across the two treatment groups. There were 56 deaths (25 deaths, basiliximab group; 31 deaths, placebo group) over the 12‐month study. The intravenous bolus injection was well tolerated. Immunoprophylaxis with 40 mg of basiliximab, in combination with cyclosporine and steroids, reduces the incidence of acute rejection episodes with no clinically relevant safety or tolerability concerns. The influence of HCV recurrence on efficacy results can be accounted for in future trials by using the concept of problem‐free transplant, incorporating recurrence as a component of treatment failure.
SHRIMP U‐Pb Dating of Zircons of a Dark Eclogite and a Garnet‐bearing Gneissic Granitic Rock from Bixiling, Eastern Dabie Area, Anhui Province: Isotope Chronological Evidence of Neoproterozoic UHP Metamorphism

The paper reports SHRIMP U‐Pb zircon data of a dark eclogite and a post‐eclogite garnet‐bearing gneissic granitic rock from the Bixiling area, Yuexi County, Anhui Province, in the eastern Dabie Mountains. The eclogite, which is metamorphosed basic tuff, contains very scarce zircons in omphacite or garnet, but more zircons in quartz. They usually exhibit a double‐layered texture, as shown clearly in cathodoluminescence images. Their inner main parts give a 206Pb/238U age of 757±7 Ma, representing the approximate age of the high‐pressure (HP)‐ ultrahigh‐pressure (UHP) metamorphic event during which the eclogite was formed. The outer peripheral parts of the zircons, which have been modified by late‐stage fluids, give an age of 223±3 Ma. The granitic rock contains more zircons of anatectic origin found mostly in feldspar and quartz and usually also showing a similar composite texture. The inner main parts of the anatectic zircons with oscillatory zoning give a 206Pb/238U age of 727±15 Ma for the approximate age of the emplacement of the granitic rock, and their outer parts, an age of 219±3 Ma for a similar or even the same fluid event. It is thus suggested that the HP‐UHP metamorphism of the Bixiling eclogite facies rocks took place during the Neoproterozoic Jinningian, and the Indosinian age values may only represent a late event in the nature of fluid activity.
The miR-17-92 cluster counteracts quiescence and chemoresistance in a distinct subpopulation of pancreatic cancer stem cells

Objective Cancer stem cells (CSCs) represent the root of many solid cancers including pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, are highly chemoresistant and represent the cellular source for disease relapse. However the mechanisms involved in these processes still need to be fully elucidated. Understanding the mechanisms implicated in chemoresistance and metastasis of pancreatic cancer is critical to improving patient outcomes. Design Micro-RNA (miRNA) expression analyses were performed to identify functionally defining epigenetic signatures in pancreatic CSC-enriched sphere-derived cells and gemcitabine-resistant pancreatic CSCs. Results We found the miR-17-92 cluster to be downregulated in chemoresistant CSCs versus non-CSCs and demonstrate its crucial relevance for CSC biology. In particular, overexpression of miR-17-92 reduced CSC self-renewal capacity, in vivo tumourigenicity and chemoresistance by targeting multiple NODAL/ACTIVIN/TGF-β1 signalling cascade members as well as directly inhibiting the downstream targets p21, p57 and TBX3. Overexpression of miR-17-92 translated into increased CSC proliferation and their eventual exhaustion via downregulation of p21 and p57. Finally, the translational impact of our findings could be confirmed in preclinical models for pancreatic cancer. Conclusions Our findings therefore identify the miR-17-92 cluster as a functionally determining family of miRNAs in CSCs, and highlight the putative potential of developing modulators of this cluster to overcome drug resistance in pancreatic CSCs.
A geochemical approach to the problem of bauxite genesis in British Guiana

"It is concluded that the bauxite resulted from the removal of silica and iron by leaching when kaolinitic clays, developed from aluminarich bedrock, were subjected to a change in drainage conditions. It is proposed that the bauxite belt of the Guianas represents an old shoreline along which there existed swampy regions, and the suggestion is made that it is the existence together of these swamps with suitable sub-surface material which has resulted in the ultimate formation of the bauxites via an intermediate kaolinitic stage. "
DC/DC converter integrated architecture for 48V supplies in micro/mild hybrid vehicle electrical engine control module

The paper shows the design in low-cost HV-CMOS technology of an integrated DC/DC converter for a 48 V electrical belt system generator-alternator used in micro/mild hybrid vehicles. Aiming at interfacing the 48 V power domain with a lower voltage domain, but without using cumbersome inductors and transformers, difficult to integrate in CMOS technology, the DC/DC converter exploits a multi stage architecture. Each stage is a switched capacitor unit. Multiple voltage outputs are supported with a configurable regulation factor, so that the same converter acts in step down or step up mode sustaining an input voltage variation from 6 V (in case of cranking) up to 60 V.
Oblique flow over dredged channels. II : Sediment transport and morphology

A three-dimensional (3D) investigation of sediment transport processes across long, straight channels exposed to an oblique incoming current is presented. For this purpose, a detailed mathematical flow and sediment transport model is applied. The governing flow and sediment transport equations are solved in a curvilinear coordinate system. The sediment transport model is composed of bed and suspended load, applying a convection-diffusion equation for the latter. As the flow crosses a channel obliquely, it is refracted toward the channel alignment. The effect of the current refraction on the sediment transport is studied using both 2D (depth-averaged) and 3D models. Shortcomings of models based on depth-averaged descriptions are underlined through comparison with the 3D model. A reliable description of the backfilling process requires a flow and sediment transport model capable of capturing the following aspects: the direction and magnitude of the bed-shear stress, and the adaptation of suspended sediment to local sediment transport capacities. Calculations of the morphological development of small-scale excavations, such as pipeline trenches, exposed to an oblique incoming current are presented.