Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Race and Ethnic Variation in the Disablement Process

Objectives:This analysis examines ethnoracial group differences in the transition from health to disability. Methods:Using data from the AHEAD study, the authors examine the relative influence of each stage in the disablement process in the evolution of ethnoracial group differences in basic and instrumental disability. Results: Predisposing factors account for disability differences between Whites and other Latinos, whereas excess disability among African Americans stems from their higher level of cognitive limitation. The excess disability of Mexican Americans arises from their higher level of physical limitations. The data also reveal a larger impact of medical conditions and physical limitations on acquisition of disability among African Americans andMexican Americans. This article demonstrates the importance of cognitive status in the disablement process, especially in ethnoracial group differences. Discussion:The authors discuss the practical implications for health care delivery to non-White elders and the theoretical implications for understanding the complexities of disablement.
Mechanisms of visual plasticity: Hebb synapses, NMDA receptors, and beyond.

Article de synthese sur les mecanismes de plasticite visuelle : plasticite des interactions binoculaires chez les chats et les singes ; plasticite de la selectivite dans le cortex visuel ; plasticite compensatrice apres privation de la vision ; mecanisme de la plasticite synaptique
Local staging of prostatic carcinoma: comparison of transrectal sonography and endorectal MR imaging.

OBJECTIVE We compared the results of transrectal sonography and endorectal MR imaging in the local staging of prostatic carcinoma. SUBJECTS AND METHODS 56 patients (mean age, 61.1 +/- 7.3 years) with the diagnosis of prostate cancer who by transrectal sonography had no evidence of gross extracapsular extension underwent endorectal coil MR imaging prior to radical prostatectomy. Imaging findings prospectively evaluated in each patient were cancer laterality, extracapsular extension, and seminal vesicle invasion. Twenty-one of 56 (38%) patients had extracapsular extension on final pathology. A total of 100 sides and five seminal vesicles were involved with cancer, and 27 sides (21 patients, six with bilateral extracapsular extension) demonstrated extracapsular extension. Imaging results were correlated with step-sectioned, radical prostatectomy pathologic data, and statistical analysis was expressed at a p = . 05 level of significance. Retrospective readings of the images were used to construct receiver operating characteristic curves for the detection of extracapsular extension. RESULTS For tumor laterality, transrectal sonography was compared with endorectal coil MR imaging for sensitivity (70% versus 97%; p < .001), specificity (58% versus 58%), positive predictive value (93% versus 95%) and negative predictive value (18% versus 70%). For extracapsular extension, transrectal sonography was compared with endorectal coil MR imaging for the entire prostate and individually for each side of the prostate. The respective results for sensitivity (48% versus 91%, p < .01 and 37% versus 78%, p < .005), specificity (71% versus 49% and 87% versus 73%), positive predictive value (50% versus 51% and 48% versus 48%), and negative predictive value (69% versus 90% and 81% versus 91%). The receiver operating characteristic analysis of retrospective data demonstrated endorectal coil MR imaging to be superior to transrectal sonography in the detection of extracapsular extension. The small number of seminal vesicles involved by cancer (n = 5) precluded meaningful comparisons between the imaging techniques. CONCLUSIONS Endorectal coil MR imaging is more sensitive but less specific than transrectal sonography for detecting extracapsular extension of carcinoma of the prostate. Both procedures have low positive predictive values yet similarly high negative predictive values when each side of the prostate is assessed independently for extracapsular extension.
Prognostic Value of Tubulointerstitial Lesions, Urinary N-Acetyl-β-d-Glucosaminidase, and Urinary β2-Microglobulin in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes and Biopsy-Proven Diabetic Nephropathy.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Some biomarkers of renal tubular injury are reported to be useful for predicting renal prognosis in the early stage of diabetic nephropathy (DN). Our study compared predictions of the renal prognosis by such biomarkers and by histologic tubulointerstitial damage. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS Among 210 patients with type 2 diabetes and biopsy-proven DN managed from 1985 to 2011, 149 patients with urinary N-acetyl-β-d-glucosaminidase (NAG) and urinary β2-microglobulin (β2-MG) data at the time of renal biopsy were enrolled. The primary outcome was a decline in eGFR of ≥50% from baseline or commencement of dialysis for ESRD. RESULTS The median follow-up period was 2.3 years (interquartile range, 1.1-5.3), and the primary outcome was noted in 94 patients. Mean eGFR was 46.3±23.2 ml/min per 1.73 m(2), and 132 patients (89%) had overt proteinuria at baseline. Cox proportional hazards analysis revealed that the association of urinary NAG and β2-MG with the outcome was attenuated after adjustment for known promoters of progression (+1 SD for log NAG: hazard ratio [HR], 1.14; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 0.84 to 1.55; +1 SD for log β2-MG: HR, 1.23; 95% CI, 0.94 to 1.62). In contrast, the interstitial fibrosis and tubular atrophy (IFTA) score was still significantly correlated with the outcome after adjustment for the same covariates (+1 for IFTA score: HR, 2.31; 95% CI, 1.56 to 3.43). Moreover, adding the IFTA score to a model containing known progression indicators improved prediction of the outcome (increase of concordance index by 0.02; 95% CI, 0.00 to 0.05; category-free net reclassification improvement by 0.54; 95% CI, 0.03 to 1.05; and relative integrated discrimination improvement by 0.07; 95% CI, -0.08 to 0.22). CONCLUSIONS Adding urinary NAG and β2-MG excretion to known promoters of progression did not improve prognostication, whereas adding the IFTA score did. The IFTA score may be superior to these tubulointerstitial markers for predicting the renal prognosis in advanced DN.
Altropane, a SPECT or PET imaging probe for dopamine neurons: III. Human dopamine transporter in postmortem normal and Parkinson's diseased brain

Increasing evidence suggests that the dopamine transporter is situated almost exclusively on dopamine neurons. Accordingly, it is an valuable marker for Parkinson's disease and other pathological states of dopamine neurons. We previously demonstrated that the potent dopamine transport inhibitor [125I]altropane (IACFT:E‐N‐iodoallyl‐2β‐carbomethoxy‐3β‐(4‐fluorophenyl)tropane) is a high affinity selective probe for the dopamine transporter in monkey brain and an effective SPECT imaging agent in nonhuman primate brain. We now report the binding properties of [125I]altropane in postmortem tissue of normal human brain and compare the findings to Parkinson's diseased brain. In homogenates of human brain putamen, [125I]altropane bound with high affinity (KD: 4.96 ± 0.38 nM, n = 4) and site density (BMAX: 212 ± 41.1 pmol/g original wet tissue weight) well within the density range reported previously for the dopamine transporter in this brain region. Drugs inhibited [125I]altropane binding with a rank order of potency that corresponded closely to their rank order for blocking dopamine transport (r 0.98, P < 0.001). In postmortem Parkinson's diseased brain, bound [125I]altropane (1 nM) was markedly reduced (89%, 99% in putamen, depending on measures of nonspecific binding) compared with normal aged‐matched controls (normal putamen: 49.2 ± 8.1 pmol/g; Parkinson's diseased putamen: 0.48 ± 0.33 pmol/g; n = 4). In vitro autoradiography, conducted in tissue sections at a single plane of the basal ganglia, revealed high levels of [125I]altropane binding the caudate nucleus and putamen, but lower levels (73% of the caudate‐putamen) in the nucleus accumbens (n = 7). In Parkinson's diseased brains (n = 4), [125I]altropane binding was 13% of the levels detected in normal putamen, 17% of normal values in the caudate nucleus, and 25% of normal levels in nucleus accumbens. The association of [125I]altropane to the dopamine transporter in human postmortem tissue, the marked reduction of [125I]altropane binding in Parkinson's diseased brains, its rapid entry into brain and highly localized distribution in dopamine‐rich brain regions, support its use as a probe for monitoring the dopamine transporter in vitro and in vivo by SPECT imaging. Synapse 29:116–127, 1998. © 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Bioequivalence of vildagliptin/metformin fixed-dose combination tablets and a free combination of vildagliptin and metformin in healthy subjects.

OBJECTIVE To assess the bioequivalence of vildagliptin/metformin fixed-dose combination tablets (at doses of 50/500, 50/850 and 50/1,000 mg) with free combination of the individual drugs in healthy subjects. METHODS The pharmacokinetics of vildagliptin and metformin following administration of a fixed-dose combination tablet of vildagliptin/metformin at doses of 50/500 mg (Study I), 50/850 mg (Study II) and 50/1,000 mg (Study III) compared with administration of the individual drugs as free combinations were investigated. All three studies were open-label, single-center, randomized, two-period, two-treatment crossover studies in healthy subjects. RESULTS Pharmacokinetic parameters (AUC(0-infinity), C(max), t(max), t(1/2) and CL/F) for vildagliptin and metformin across the three studies were similar whether vildagliptin and metformin were administered as a single fixed-dose combination tablet (vildagliptin/metformin 50/500, 50/850 or 50/1,000 mg) or as the respective individual tablets. The point estimates and 90% CI of the geometric mean ratios for vildagliptin and metformin C(max), AUC(0-t), and AUC(0-infinity) were all within the predefined bioequivalence range of 0.80 - 1.25. Administration of the vildagliptin/metformin combination tablets was well tolerated; the incidence of adverse events was similar to that observed with the respective free combinations of vildagliptin and metformin, and the most common individual adverse events were mild gastrointestinal events, which are commonly observed with metformin treatment. CONCLUSIONS The fixed-dose combination tablet of vildagliptin/metformin is bioequivalent to administration of the individual drugs as a free combination at dose levels of 50/500, 50/850 and 50/1,000 mg and is well tolerated. Consequently, the fixed-dose combination tablets are considered therapeutically equivalent and exchangeable to the free combination in clinical practice. Furthermore, the fixed-dose combination tablets are expected to enhance convenience and thereby improve compliance and improve glycemic control for patients with Type 2 diabetes on both medications.
Effect of Dietary Yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) Supplementation on Performance, Carcass Characteristics and Some Metabolic Responses of Broilers

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of feeding graded levels of yeast on broiler performance, carcass characteristics and some hematological indices. One day old Hubbard broiler chicks (n=160) were randomly allocated to five dietary treatments. Each treatment consisted of 4 replicates of 8 broilers each. The dietary treatments contained 0% yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) as a negative control diet, 0% yeast + 30 ppm Oxytetracyline as a positive control, 1%, 2% and 3% yeast in the starter and finisher diets. During the experimental periods of 6 weeks, feed intake, body weight gain and feed conversion ratio values were calculated. At the end of the experimental period (6 weeks of age), some biochemical and hematological indices, carcass characteristics traits and internal organs weights were recorded. Growth performance parameters were significantly (P≤0.05) affected by experimental diets. Chicks fed either 0 or 3% yeast recorded the highest (P≤0.05) feed intake, however, the best (P≤0.05) body weight gain was obtained by birds fed 0 or 1% dietary yeast compared to the positive control diet. The highest (P≤0.05) feed conversion ratio was reported for birds fed the positive control diet and 3% dietary yeast compared to the negative control diet. The inclusion of different dietary treatments had no significant (P≥0.05) effects on dressing percentage, hot base and relative weights of heart, gizzard and abdominal fat. Nevertheless, birds fed 3% dietary yeast showed significant (P≤0.05) decrease in the relative weight of the liver compared to the negative control diet. Relative weights of breast and thigh were significantly (P≤0.05) higher in birds fed 1% yeast than those fed 3% yeast. There were linear decreases in serum cholesterol and albumin of broilers fed graded levels of dietary yeast. It is concluded that yeast can be included in broiler diet at 1% without detrimental effects on performance, and could therefore serve as a natural substitute for antibiotics.
Erratum to: RegIV expression showing specificity to gastrointestinal tract and its potential role in diagnosing digestive tract neuroendocrine tumor

Regenerating gene IV (RegIV), a member of the regenerating gene family discovered in 2001, has been found to be involved in malignancy in several different organs including the stomach, colorectum, pancreas and prostate, but the overall expression profile of RegIV has not been reported. To learn more about RegIV, we evaluated its distribution by immunohistochemistry (IHC) in a total of 360 samples including 24 types of normal tissue, 40 benign and malignant lesions, and 18 neuroendocrine tumors. We found that in normal tissues, in addition to its relative specificity for the gastrointestinal tract, RegIV was detected in the adrenal gland and mammary gland. Among all the malignancies of various histological types under evaluation, RegIV was found mostly in adenocarcinomas. Studies on additional sets of colorectal tumor samples showed that RegIV expression was predominant in colorectal adenoma (87.5%) and peritumoral tissue (100%) but not in cancer tissue (30.8%). Among neuroendocrine tumors, RegIV had a relatively restricted expression to those of digestive system.
Extensive Nanotwinning: Origin of High Current Density to High Fields in Preform-Optimized Infiltration-Growth-Processed $\hbox{YBa}_{2}\hbox{Cu}_{3}\hbox{O}_{7 - \delta}$  Superconductor

The origin of high current densities to very high magnetic fields (better than 103 A · cm-2 to 6.5 T at 77 K) in YBa2Cu3O7-δ superconductor fabricated by the preform-optimized infiltration-growth process (POIGP) is investigated. The main techniques used in the paper are field-emission scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). An electron-backscattered-diffraction study of the samples is also carried out. A comparison between the microstructures of the optimized sample with the nonoptimized ones show that extensive twinning on a nanometer scale with crossing twins occurring near the optimally separated Y2BaCuO5 precipitates can be the origin of the observed high Jc (H) in the POIGP sample. The TEM study reveals the presence of very fine defects starting from the twin boundaries. The observed defect spacing and densities account for the uniformly high current densities observed to high fields.
Good news for women living with HIV.

Early in the epidemic of AIDS, when we were just recognizing its existence and transmission patterns—as well as not so early, during the long years before truly effective therapy was developed—many women with HIV infection or AIDS were told by their physicians that it would be immoral for them to become pregnant, because there was an ∼25% risk of transmitting their illness to their infants. The official recommendation was that women “delay” childbearing [1]. At the time, we did not know whether a woman’s own HIV disease would progress more rapidly because of pregnancy, but we—and she— could be nearly certain that, if she were symptomatic because of HIV infection, she herself would not live past the child’s early years. We have traveled a long road since then. Our understanding of HIV pathophysiology, our ability to identify the predictors of mother-to-child transmission (MTCT), and, most importantly, our ability to prevent or reverse HIV-induced immunodeficiency in those infected and to prevent MTCT have favorably have altered many aspects of HIV infection, including its impact on women’s and couples’ decision making regarding childbearing. Motherhood is of great importance to
1-D and 2-D Geometry Effects in Uniaxially-Strained Dual Etch Stop Layer Stressor Integrations

We report, for the first time, on the 2D boundary effects in a high performance 65nm SOI technology with dual etch stop layer (dESL) stressors. 1D geometry effects, such as poly pitch dependence, and the implications on SPICE models and circuit design are also discussed. It will be shown that PMOS and ring oscillator performance can be significantly enhanced by optimizing the transverse and lateral placement of the dESL boundary
Experiences in disaster-related mental health relief work: An exploratory model for the interprofessional training of psychological relief workers

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to begin to generate an exploratory model of the disaster-related mental health education process associated with the training experiences of psychological relief workers active during the Sichuan earthquake in China. The data consisted of semi-structured interviews with 20 psychological relief workers from four different professions (social workers, psychiatric nurses, psychiatrists, and counsellors) regarding their experiences in training and ideas for improvement. The model explains the need to use a people-centred community interprofessional education approach, which focuses on role-modelling of the trainer, caring for relief workers, paying attention to the needs of the trainee, and building systematic interprofessional education strategies. The proposed model identifies areas for the comprehensive training of relief workers and aims to address the importance of people-centred mental health service provisions, ensure intentional and strategic training of relief workers using interprofessional concepts and strategies, and use culturally attuned and community-informed strategies in mental health training practices.
Building Energy Consumption Prediction: An Extreme Deep Learning Approach

Building energy consumption prediction plays an important role in improving the energy utilization rate through helping building managers to make better decisions. However, as a result of randomness and noisy disturbance, it is not an easy task to realize accurate prediction of the building energy consumption. In order to obtain better building energy consumption prediction accuracy, an extreme deep learning approach is presented in this paper. The proposed approach combines stacked autoencoders (SAEs) with the extreme learning machine (ELM) to take advantage of their respective characteristics. In this proposed approach, the SAE is used to extract the building energy consumption features, while the ELM is utilized as a predictor to obtain accurate prediction results. To determine the input variables of the extreme deep learning model, the partial autocorrelation analysis method is adopted. Additionally, in order to examine the performances of the proposed approach, it is compared with some popular machine learning methods, such as the backward propagation neural network (BPNN), support vector regression (SVR), the generalized radial basis function neural network (GRBFNN) and multiple linear regression (MLR). Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method has the best prediction performance in different cases of the building energy consumption.
Large-scale copy number variants (CNVs) detected in different ethnic human populations

The large-scale copy-number variations (CNVs) in the human genome are associated with developmental disorders and susceptibility to diseases. More importantly, CNVs may represent a major genetic component of our phenotypic diversity. Following the development of methodologies and introduction of new research platforms, accumulation of the nature and pattern of CNVs from normal populations has progressed. The examination of relatively large numbers of specific ethnic groups has recently started. Although the results are not always consistent, it is likely that different human populations bear different CNVs, as is the case for single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and insertion-deletion (indel) polymorphisms. We review recent publications about the nature of inter-population, especially inter-ethnic group, differences of CNVs.
Root architecture remodeling induced by phosphate starvation

Plants have evolved efficient strategies for utilizing nutrients in the soil in order to survive, grow, and reproduce. Inorganic phosphate (Pi) is a major macroelement source for plant growth; however, the availability and distribution of Pi are varying widely across locations. Thus, plants in many areas experience Pi deficiency. To maintain cellular Pi homeostasis, plants have developed a series of adaptive responses to facilitate external Pi acquisition, limit Pi consumption, and adjust Pi recycling internally under Pi starvation conditions. This review focuses on the molecular regulators that modulate Pi starvation-induced root architectural changes.
The dynamic pattern of glucocorticoid receptor‐mediated transcriptional responses in neuronal PC12 cells

The aim of the current study was (i) to examine the overlap in the pattern of glucocorticoid receptor (GR)‐mediated transcriptional responses between different neuronal substrates and (ii) to assess the nature of these responses by differentiating between primary and downstream GR‐responsive genes. For this purpose, nerve growth factor‐differentiated catecholaminergic PC12 cells were used in which endogenous GRs were activated briefly with a high dose of corticosterone followed by gene expression profiling 1 and 3 h afterwards using Affymetrix GeneChips. The results revealed a strikingly similar temporal pattern to that which was reported previously in hippocampus, with only down‐regulated genes 1 h after GR activation and the majority of genes up‐regulated 3 h after GR activation. Real‐time quantatitive PCR of transcripts in cycloheximide‐treated cells showed that all five GR‐responsive genes selected from the 1‐h time point were primary responsive, whereas all four GR‐responsive genes selected from the 3‐h time point were downstream responsive. At the level of individual genes, the overlap with the previously generated hippocampal data sets was small, illustrating the cell‐type specifity of GR‐mediated genomic responses. Finally, we identified a number of interesting genes, such as SWI/SNF, synaptosomal‐associated protein 25 and certain Rab proteins which may play a role in the effects of glucocorticoids on catecholaminergic neuronal functioning.
Tbit/s optical interconnects based on low linewidth quantum-dash lasers and coherent detection

We demonstrate Tbit/s transmission with a Q-Dash mode-locked laser using coherent detection. The aggregate capacity achieved with PDM-QPSK was 1.8Tb/s over 50km of SSMF, using 36 channels from the 34.5GHz FSR Q-Dash PMLL.