Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Diabetes and associated cardiovascular risk factors in Iran: the Isfahan Healthy Heart Programme.

INTRODUCTION Diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the major health problems worldwide. The aim of this study was to detect the prevalence of DM and its associated risk factors in Iran. MATERIALS AND METHODS This cross-sectional study was performed in 3 cities in the central part of Iran on participants over the age of 19 years. Sampling was conducted by multi-stage randomised cluster method. Initially, a questionnaire consisting of demographic information, drug intake and smoking status was filled out. Later, a physical examination was performed, including the measurement of systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP), body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR). Fasting blood sample was drawn and analysed for sugar, total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG) and 2-hour postprandial glucose. A fasting blood sugar (FBS) of >126 mg/dL or a 2-hour plasma glucose of over 200 mg/dL was considered an indication of diabetes. The impaired glucose tolerance test (IGTT) was defined with 2-hour plasma glucose of 140 to 200 mg/dL and FBS <126 mg/dL. The collected data were analysed with Student's t-test, chi-square test and multiple logistic regression analysis. RESULTS This study was performed on 12,514 subjects (48.9% males and 51.1% females). The total prevalence of DM was 6.7% and 5.3% in urban and rural areas and 5.4% and 7.1% in males and females, respectively. The mean blood glucose rose with age in both sexes, and blood glucose was higher in females and in urban areas. IGTT, known and new DM heightens as age increased and more than half of the diabetes cases in all age groups were newly diagnosed. The mean blood pressure, age, BMI, waist circumference and serum lipids were higher in people with DM and IGTT especially in females. Obesity, a family history of DM, high blood pressure, high WHR and ageing were associated with a higher probability of DM, but sex had no effect on this probability. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION Considering the high prevalence of DM in the central regions of Iran, providing vast educational programme to prevent this disease is essential and screening FBS tests, especially for obese subjects and those with a family history of DM, should be taken into account.
Regulation of drug-metabolizing enzymes by local and systemic liver injuries

ABSTRACT Introduction: Drug metabolism and disposition are critical in maintaining the chemical and functional homeostasis of xenobiotics/drugs and endobiotics. The liver plays an essential role in drug metabolism and disposition due to its abundant expression of drug-metabolizing enzymes (DMEs) and transporters. There is growing evidence to suggest that many hepatic and systemic diseases can affect drug metabolism and disposition by regulating the expression and/or activity of DMEs and transporters in the liver. Areas covered: This review focuses on the recent progress on the regulation of DMEs by local and systemic liver injuries. Liver ischemia and reperfusion (I/R) and sepsis are used as examples of local and systemic injury, respectively. The reciprocal effect of the expression and activity of DMEs on animals’ sensitivity to local and systemic liver injuries is also discussed. Expert opinion: Local and systemic liver injuries have a major effect on the expression and activity of DMEs in the liver. Understanding the disease effect on DMEs is clinically important due to the concern of disease-drug interactions. Future studies are necessary to understand the mechanism by which liver injury regulates DMEs. Human studies are also urgently needed in order to determine whether the results in animals can be replicated in human patients.
White Organic Light-Emitting Diode With Linearly Polarized Emission

An organic light emitting diode (OLED) with a linearly polarized white light emission is demonstrated using a nanograting structure. The aluminum based grating structure is fabricated by laser interference lithography and formed on the back side of the glass substrate of the OLED. The nanograting structure functions as a polarizer to select the transverse magnetic wave in the wavelength range of 400-700 nm. The polarization characteristics are studied experimentally and theoretically in detail. The experimental results agree well with the simulation by a rigorous coupled wave analysis. The polarization ratio of the polarizer can reach as high as 93.4%.
DIRECTION GÉNÉRALE DES ÉTUDES ET DES RELATIONS INTERNATIONALES TRENDS AND CYCLES: AN HISTORICAL REVIEW OF THE EURO AREA

We analyze the euro area business cycle in a medium scale DSGE model where we assume two stochastic trends: one on total factor productivity and one on the in ation target of the central bank. To justify our choice of integrated trends, we test alternative speci cations for both of them. We do so, estimating trends together with the model's structural parameters, to prevent estimation biases. In our estimates, business cycle uctuations are dominated by investment speci c shocks and preference shocks of households. Our results cast doubts on the view that cost push shocks dominate economic uctuations in DSGE models and show that productivity shocks drive uctuations on a longer term. As a conclusion, we present our estimation's historical reading of the business cycle in the euro area. This estimation gives credible explanations of major economic events since 1985. JEL-classi cation : E32;
Dynamic Nucleotide-Binding Site and Leucine-Rich Repeat-Encoding Genes in the Grass Family1[C][W][OA]

The proper use of resistance genes (R genes) requires a comprehensive understanding of their genomics and evolution. We analyzed genes encoding nucleotide-binding sites and leucine-rich repeats in the genomes of rice (Oryza sativa), maize (Zea mays), sorghum (Sorghum bicolor), and Brachypodium distachyon. Frequent deletions and translocations of R genes generated prevalent presence/absence polymorphism between different accessions/species. The deletions were caused by unequal crossover, homologous repair, nonhomologous repair, or other unknown mechanisms. R gene loci identified from different genomes were mapped onto the chromosomes of rice cv Nipponbare using comparative genomics, resulting in an integrated map of 495 R loci. Sequence analysis of R genes from the partially sequenced genomes of an African rice cultivar and 10 wild accessions suggested that there are many additional R gene lineages in the AA genome of Oryza. The R genes with chimeric structures (termed type I R genes) are diverse in different rice accessions but only account for 5.8% of all R genes in the Nipponbare genome. In contrast, the vast majority of R genes in the rice genome are type II R genes, which are highly conserved in different accessions. Surprisingly, pseudogene-causing mutations in some type II lineages are often conserved, indicating that their conservations were not due to their functions. Functional R genes cloned from rice so far have more type II R genes than type I R genes, but type I R genes are predicted to contribute considerable diversity in wild species. Type I R genes tend to reduce the microsynteny of their flanking regions significantly more than type II R genes, and their flanking regions have slightly but significantly lower G/C content than those of type II R genes.
Inhibitory interaction of cannabinoid CB1 receptor and dopamine D2 receptor agonists on voltage-gated currents of goldfish cones

Dopamine is a light-adaptive signal that desensitizes the retina, while cannabinoids reportedly increase photosensitivity. The presynaptic membrane of goldfish retinal cones has dopamine D2 receptors and cannabinoid CB1 receptors. This work focused on whether dopamine D2 receptor agonist quinpirole and cannabinoid CB1 receptor agonist WIN 55212-2 (WIN) interacted to modulate voltage-dependent membrane currents of cones. A conventional patch-clamp method was used to record depolarization evoked whole-cell outward currents (Iout) and an inward calcium current (ICa) from the inner segment of cones in goldfish retinal slices. WIN had biphasic actions: low concentrations (<1 μM) increased the currents via Gs, while higher concentrations (>1 μM) decreased the currents via Gi/Go. Neither dopamine nor the D2 agonist quinpirole (1–20 μM) had a significant effect on either Iout or ICa. Quinpirole at 50 μM had a mild suppressive (∼20%) effect on Iout. However, quinpirole (<10 μM) completely blocked the enhancement of both currents seen with 0.7 μM WIN. The effect of quinpirole was blocked by sulpiride and by pertussis toxin, indicating that quinpirole was acting via a D2 receptor-Gi/o coupled mechanism. The suppressive action of 50 μM quinpirole (∼20%) was not additive with the suppressive effect of 3 μM WIN (∼40%). D2 agonists via Gi/o oppose the action of low concentrations of CB1 agonists acting via Gs to modulate cone membrane currents, suggesting a role in shaping the cone light response and/or sensitivity to changes in ambient light conditions. The nonadditive effect of high concentrations of WIN and quinpirole suggests that both decrease membrane currents via the same transduction pathway, Gi/Go protein kinase A (PKA).
Diffusion Tensor MRI-Based Fiber Tracking of the Human Tibialis Anterior Muscle: Demonstration of Pennation Heterogeneity

-weighted anatomical MRI and DT-MRI data were acquired of the TA muscle. Fibers were tracked from the TA’s aponeurosis by following the principal eigenvector. The orientations of the aponeurosis and muscle fiber tracts in the laboratory frame of reference and the orientation of the fiber tracts with respect to the aponeurosis (
Systemic insulin‐like growth factor‐I administration prevents cognitive impairment in diabetic rats, and brain IGF regulates learning/memory in normal adult rats

Diabetic patients have impaired learning/memory, brain atrophy, and two‐fold increased risk of dementia. The cause of cognitive disturbances that progress to dementia is unknown. Because neurotrophic insulin‐like growth factor (IGF) levels are reduced in diabetic patients and rodents, and IGF can cross the blood‐central nervous system barrier (B‐CNS‐B), the hypothesis was tested that IGF administered systemically can prevent cognitive disturbances, independently of hyperglycemia and a generalized catabolic state. Latency to escape to a hidden platform in the Morris Water Maze is used widely to test spatial memory, a hippocampus‐dependent task. Adult rats were rendered diabetic with streptozotocin and implanted 4 weeks later with subcutaneous pumps that released either vehicle (D + Veh) or 20 μg/day IGF‐I (D + IGF). Latency to escape to the hidden platform was prolonged in (D + Veh) versus non‐diabetic rats (P < 0.003) 10.5 weeks after the onset of diabetes. Such prolongation was prevented in (D + IGF) versus (D + Veh) rats (P < 0.03). The data show that IGF‐I can act across the B‐CNS‐B to prevent loss of cognition‐related performance in the water maze independently of ongoing hyperglycemia and reduction in brain (P < 0.001) and whole body weight (P < 0.001) in diabetic rats. The hypothesis that brain IGF contributes to learning/memory was tested. An anti‐IGF antibody, or preimmune serum, was infused into the lateral ventricles in non‐diabetic rats. Learning in a passive avoidance task was impaired significantly in the IGF antibody versus preimmune serum‐treated groups on test Days 1, 2, and 3 (P = 0.04, 0.02 and 0.004, respectively). The data together are consistent with a model in which brain IGF is essential for learning/memory, and a loss of IGF activity due to diabetes may contribute to cognitive disturbances. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Compartmental Differences in NK Cell Responsiveness to IL-12 During Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis Virus Infection1

Some, but not all, viral infections induce endogenous IL-12 to drive NK cell IFN-γ production and downstream antiviral defenses during innate immune responses. Even though lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) can be sensitive to IFN-γ-mediated antiviral effects, infections with this agent do not elicit IL-12 or early IFN-γ in immunocompetent hosts. Studies presented here demonstrate that LCMV infections of mice not only fail to induce IL-12, but also modify responsiveness to exogenous IL-12 for IFN-γ production. IFN-γ responses induced by IL-12 administration were greatly diminished in splenic populations, but significantly increased in serum and hepatic leukocytes, during the early course of LCMV infections. The IFN-γ production was NK cell dependent, and the compartmental dichotomy between spleen and liver was also demonstrated in response to in vitro IL-12 stimulation. Although infections did increase proportions and numbers of liver NK cells, changes in responsiveness for IFN-γ expression could not be explained by cell redistribution. Corroborating changes in proportions of NK cells induced to express intracellular IFN-γ protein within the compartments were observed. The reduction in ability of splenic populations to produce IL-12-induced IFN-γ after infection by LCMV was associated with decreased efficacy of administered IL-12 for promoting IFN-γ-dependent antiviral effects in the spleen. Concomitantly, the maintenance of hepatic population IFN-γ production was associated with preserved efficacy of administered IL-12 to elicit IFN-γ-dependent antiviral effects in the liver. Taken together, these results demonstrate modifications of compartmental responses to IL-12 by viral infections and the consequences of these changes for efficacy of cytokine therapy.
On the Need for a Framework for Attentive Groupware Systems

In this paper we present a combined perspective over groupware systems and attentive user interfaces to address the balance between the rising needs for collaboration with the rising costs of not paying attention and being interrupted. We introduce a framework that derives attentive devices from groupware information flows to take into account attentional phenomena. Finally, we demonstrate the framework’s role in an attentive brainstorming tool and provide preliminary results from a pilot experiment.
Reaction Pathways and Site Requirements for the Activation and Chemical Conversion of Methane on Ru−Based Catalysts

Kinetic and isotopic tracer and exchange measurements were used to determine the identity and reversibility of elementary steps required for CH4 reforming reactions on Ru-based catalyst. These studies provide a simple mechanistic picture and a unifying kinetic treatment for CH4/CO2 and CH4/H2O reforming reactions and CH4 decomposition. Forward kinetic rates were measured from net rates by correcting for the approach to equilibrium, after ruling out transport artifacts using pellet and bed dilution tests. The kinetic processes involved are exclusively limited by C−H bond activation, and CH4 reaction rates are unaffected by the identity or the concentration of co-reactants (H2O, CO2). Similar normal kinetic isotopic effects (kC-H/kC-D = 1.40−1.51) were measured for CO2 reforming, H2O reforming, and CH4 decomposition, consistent with kinetically relevant C−H bond activation steps. The ratio of CH4/CD4 cross-exchange to methane chemical conversion rates during the reaction of CO2 reforming with CH4−CD4 mixtur.
Using Quadtree-Based Semantic Link Network for Image Classification

Bag-of-words model is widely utilized for representing images in a semantic intermediate manner. However traditional visual words are orderless without information with regard to co-occurrences of them as well as their spatial distributions. Spatial pyramid matching provides an effective way to preserve partly spatial information within images, but ignores geometric relations between visual words. By means of quadrant division, this paper proposed a novel methodology called quadtree-based Semantic Link Network(qt-SLN) to represent images in the form of semantic network to keep the structural and topological information of an image. The task of image classification then becomes one of classifying graphs which can be implemented with graph kernels defined on different structured data. In addition, co-occurrences of visual words are also modeled using Pointwise Mutual Information(PMI), which is exploited as a substitution matrix in approximate graph matching after normalization. The experimental results show that incorporating structural relations and co-occurrences of visual words allows for a more semantical framework of classification task.
Probing the β2 Adrenoceptor Binding Site with Catechol Reveals Differences in Binding and Activation by Agonists and Partial Agonists*

The β2 adrenergic receptor (β2AR) is a prototypical family A G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) and an excellent model system for studying the mechanism of GPCR activation. The β2AR agonist binding site is well characterized, and there is a wealth of structurally related ligands with functionally diverse properties. In the present study, we use catechol (1,2-benzenediol, a structural component of catecholamine agonists) as a molecular probe to identify mechanistic differences between β2AR activation by catecholamine agonists, such as isoproterenol, and by the structurally related non-catechol partial agonist salbutamol. Using biophysical and pharmacologic approaches, we show that the aromatic ring of salbutamol binds to a different site on the β2AR than the aromatic ring of catecholamines. This difference is important in receptor activation as it has been hypothesized that the aromatic ring of catecholamines plays a role in triggering receptor activation through interactions with a conserved cluster of aromatic residues in the sixth transmembrane segment by a rotamer toggle switch mechanism. Our experiments indicate that the aromatic ring of salbutamol does not activate this mechanism either directly or indirectly. Moreover, the non-catechol ring of partial agonists does not interact optimally with serine residues in the fifth transmembrane helix that have been shown to play an important role in activation by catecholamines. These results demonstrate unexpected differences in binding and activation by structurally similar agonists and partial agonists. Moreover, they provide evidence that activation of a GPCR is a multistep process that can be dissected into its component parts using agonist fragments.
Finding System-Level Information and Analyzing Its Correlation to FPGA Placement

One of the more popular placement algorithms for Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) is called Simulated Annealing (SA). This algorithm tries to create a good quality placement from a flattened design that no longer contains any high-level information related to the original design hierarchy. Unfortunately, placement is an NP-hard problem and as the size and complexity of designs implemented on FPGAs increases, SA does not scale well to find good solutions in a timely fashion. As modern FPGAs can be used to implement Systems- and Networks-on-Chip, designers are required to spend an increasing amount of time waiting for place and route tools to complete that is not being matched by an increase in the power of computing work stations. In this paper, we investigate if system-level information can be reconstructed from a flattened netlist and evaluate how that information is realized in terms of its locality in the final placement. If there is a strong relationship between good quality placements and system-level information, then it may be possible to divide a large design into smaller components and improve the time needed to create a good quality placement. Our preliminary results suggest that the locality property of the information embedded in the system-level HDL structure (i.e. “module”, “always”, and “if” statements) is greatly affected by both the designer and the design itself. A reconstructive algorithm, called affinity propagation, is also considered as a possible method of generating a meaningful coarse grain picture of the design.
State-of-the Art and Practice of Concrete Structures Reinforced with FRP Bars

Fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) bars have been widely used in civil engineering used as a substitute for steel reinforcement because it has many advantage such as high strength, light weight and no corrosion. Moreover, the productive technology becomes more and more mature and industrialized so that FRP has become one economic and competitive structure material. Based on the recent researches, this paper mainly introduces progress in the studies on concrete structures reinforced with FRP bars. These contents in this paper include the bond performance of FRP bars in concrete, shear resistance, flexural behavior and ductility of concrete structure reinforced with FRP bars in the past few years in the world.
Extended X-ray emission at high redshifts: radio galaxies versus clusters

Most old, distant radio galaxies should be extended X-ray sources because of inverse Compton scattering of cosmic microwave background (CMB) photons. Such sources can be an important component in X-ray surveys for high-redshift clusters, because of the increase with redshift of both the CMB energy density and the radio source number density. We estimate a lower limit to the space density of such sources and show that inverse Compton scattered emission may dominate above redshifts of 1 and X-ray luminosities of 10 44 erg s −1 , with a space density of radio galaxies >10 −8 Mpc −3 . The X-ray sources may last longer than the radio emission and so need not be associated with what is seen to be a currently active radio galaxy. Ke yw ords: galaxies: active ‐ galaxies: clusters: general ‐ X-ray: galaxies: clusters.
High CD21 expression inhibits internalization of anti-CD19 antibodies and cytotoxicity of an anti-CD19-drug conjugate

CD19 and CD21 (CR2) are co‐receptors found on B‐cells and various B‐cell lymphomas, including non‐Hodgkin lymphoma. To evaluate their suitability as targets for therapy of such lymphomas using internalization‐dependent antibody‐drug conjugates [such as antibody‐4‐(N‐maleimidomethyl)cyclohexane‐1‐carboxylate, (N2′‐deacetyl‐N2′‐(3‐mercapto‐1‐oxopropyl)‐maytansine) (MCC‐DM1) conjugates, which require lysosomal degradation of the antibody moiety for efficacy], we examined uptake of antibodies to CD19 and CD21 in a panel of B‐cell lines. Anti‐CD21 antibodies were not sufficiently internalized even in the highest CD21‐expressing Raji cells, resulting in lack of efficacy with anti‐CD21‐MCC‐DM1 conjugates. Anti‐CD19 antibody uptake was variable, and was unexpectedly negatively correlated with CD21 expression. Thus, high CD21‐expressing Raji, ARH77 and primary B‐cells only very slowly internalized anti‐CD19 antibodies, while CD21‐negative or low expressing cells, including Ramos and Daudi, rapidly internalized these antibodies in clathrin‐coated vesicles followed by lysosomal delivery. Anti‐CD19‐MCC‐DM1 caused greater cytotoxicity in the faster anti‐CD19‐internalizing cell lines, implying that the rate of lysosomal delivery and subsequent drug release is important. Furthermore, transfection of Ramos cells with CD21 impeded anti‐CD19 uptake and decreased anti‐CD19‐MCC‐DM1 efficacy, suggesting that CD21‐negative tumours should respond better to such anti‐CD19 conjugates. This may have possible clinical implications, as anti‐CD21 immunohistochemistry revealed only approximately 30% of 54 diffuse large B‐cell lymphoma patients lack CD21 expression.