Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluating the accuracy of continuous glucose-monitoring sensors: continuous glucose-error grid analysis illustrated by TheraSense Freestyle Navigator data.

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to introduce continuous glucose-error grid analysis (CG-EGA) as a method of evaluating the accuracy of continuous glucose-monitoring sensors in terms of both accurate blood glucose (BG) values and accurate direction and rate of BG fluctuations and to illustrate the application of CG-EGA with data from the TheraSense Freestyle Navigator. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We approach the design of CG-EGA from the understanding that continuous glucose sensors (CGSs) allow the observation of BG fluctuations as a process in time. We account for specifics of process characterization (location, speed, and direction) and for biological limitations of the observed processes (time lags associated with interstitial sensors). CG-EGA includes two interacting components: 1) point-error grid analysis (P-EGA) evaluates the sensor's accuracy in terms of correct presentation of BG values and 2) rate-error grid analysis (R-EGA) assesses the sensor's ability to capture the direction and rate of BG fluctuations. RESULTS CG-EGA revealed that the accuracy of the Navigator, measured as a percentage of accurate readings plus benign errors, was significantly different at hypoglycemia (73.5%), euglycemia (99%), and hyperglycemia (95.4%). Failure to detect hypoglycemia was the most common error. The point accuracy of the Navigator was relatively stable over a wide range of BG rates of change, and its rate accuracy decreased significantly at high BG levels. CONCLUSIONS Traditional self-monitoring of BG device evaluation methods fail to capture the important temporal characteristics of the continuous glucose-monitoring process. CG-EGA addresses this problem, thus providing a comprehensive assessment of sensor accuracy that appears to be a useful adjunct to other CGS performance measures.
A Nested Case-Control Study of Prostate Cancer and Atrazine Exposure

Elevated prostate cancer incidence was found at a plant producing atrazine that had an intensive prostate screening program. This study tested the relationship among atrazine exposure, prostate cancer, and the screening program. Twelve cases and 130 control subjects were selected from the original cohort. Prostate screening and occupational histories were abstracted from company records and atrazine exposures were estimated. Hire date was comparable for cases and control subjects. Nearly half of the control subjects and no cases left before the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening program. Cases had more PSA tests than control subjects (odds ratio for ≥1 test, 8.54; 95% confidence interval, 1.69–82.20). There was no association between atrazine exposure and prostate cancer when those with ≥1 test were compared. There was no evidence for an association between atrazine and prostate cancer.
Community-based aquatic exercise and quality of life in persons with osteoarthritis.

PURPOSE To evaluate the effectiveness of a community-based aquatic exercise program for improved quality of life among persons with osteoarthritis. METHOD Two hundred forty-nine adults with osteoarthritis were enrolled in a 20-wk randomized controlled trial of a preexisting community-based aquatic exercise program versus control. Intervention group participants (n = 125) were asked to attend at least two aquatic exercise sessions per week. Control group participants (n = 124) were asked to maintain their usual activity levels. Demographics were collected at baseline, and patient-reported outcomes were collected at baseline and after 10 and 20 wk. Depressive symptoms, self-efficacy for pain and symptom control, physical impairment, and activity limitation were tested as potential mediators of the relationship between aquatic exercise and perceived quality of life (PQOL). Body mass index (BMI), ethnicity, self-rated health, and comorbidity were tested as possible moderators. RESULTS Aquatic exercise had a positive impact on PQOL scores (P < 0.01). This effect was moderated by BMI (P < 0.05) such that benefits were observed among obese participants (BMI >or= 30), but not among normal weight or overweight participants. None of the tested variables were found to mediate the relationship between aquatic exercise and PQOL scores. CONCLUSIONS Given the availability of existing community aquatics programs, aquatic exercise offers a therapeutic and pragmatic option to promote quality of life among individuals who are living with both obesity and osteoarthritis. Future investigation is needed to replicate these findings and develop strategies to increase long-term participation in aquatics programs.
Nanomechanical Properties of Facial Sutures and Sutural Mineralization Front

The mechanical properties of craniofacial sutures have rarely been investigated. Three facial sutures—the pre-maxillomaxillary (PMS), the nasofrontal (NFS), and the zygomaticotemporal (ZTS)—and their corresponding sutural mineralization fronts in 8 young New Zealand White rabbits were subjected to nano-indentation with atomic force microscopy as a test of the hypothesis that they have different mechanical properties. The average elastic modulus of the PMS was 1.46 ± 0.24 MPa (mean ± SD), significantly higher than both the ZTS (1.20 ± 0.20) and NFS (1.16 ± 0.18). The average elastic moduli of sutural mineralization fronts 30 μm away were significantly higher than their corresponding sutures and had the same distribution pattern: the PMS (2.07 ± 0.24 MPa) significantly higher than both the ZTS (1.56 ± 0.29) and NFS (1.71 ± 0.22). Analysis of these data suggests that facial sutures and their immediately adjacent sutural mineralization fronts have different capacities for mechanical deformation. The elastic properties of sutures and sutural mineralization fronts are potentially useful for improving our understanding of their roles in development.
Investigating regional white matter in schizophrenia using diffusion tensor imaging

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) was used to investigate regional white matter in vivo in patients with schizophrenia. DTI is capable of providing information about the organization of white matter tracts and has only recently been used to study schizophrenia. In this study, a voxel based analysis of DTI maps in 14 patients and 19 controls did not reveal any areas of significant differences in DTI measures in white matter. The findings suggest that the structural integrity of white matter in these patients was not disrupted. These results are discussed in relation to previous studies reporting positive findings. It is concluded that further studies using DTI in larger samples, improved and standardised methods of data acquisition and analysis are needed.
SERUM ALBUMIN, SERUM ANTIPROTEASES AND POLYMORPHONUCLEAR LEUCOCYTE NEUTRAL COLLAGENOLYTIC PROTEASE IN THE TEAR FLUID OF PATIENTS WITH CORNEAL ULCERS

Using a micro‐electroimmune assay, the concentration of polymorphonuclear leucocyte neutral collagenolytic protease, serum‐albumin, α‐1‐antitrypsin and α‐2‐macroglobulin were measured in the tear fluid from 18 eyes of 16 patients with severe, melting corneal ulcers. By this method, PML‐c‐ase was the first time detected in tear fluid. All proteins normalized during healing of the ulcer. The findings are indicative of an important role for PML‐proteases in the degradation of the corneal stroma, and of a regulative effect of the serum antiproteases leaking into the tear fluid from inflamed conjunctival vessels.
Myocardial Bridging: Evaluation Using Single- and Dual-Source Multidetector Cardiac Computed Tomographic Angiography

Objective: To evaluate the prevalence and characteristics of myocardial bridging in patients who underwent single- or dual-source multidetector cardiac computed tomographic angiography (MDCTA). Methods: Retrospective review of the imaging characteristics of 57 myocardial bridges in 53 patients who underwent cardiac MDCTA examinations was performed. Results: The prevalence of myocardial bridges was 10.4%, most of which were located in the mid-left anterior descending coronary artery. The average myocardial bridge length was 23.4 mm, and the average tunneled artery depth was 2.6 mm. Conclusions: Myocardial bridges are commonly found in patients who undergo cardiac multidetector computed tomographic angiograms on both single- and dual-source computed tomographic scanners and are most frequently located in the mid-left anterior descending coronary artery. Increasing utilization of cardiac MDCTA for noninvasive evaluation of coronary artery disease permits recognition, characterization, and functional assessment of this entity in a single examination.
Acceptance Factors of Mobile Apps for Diabetes by Patients Aged 50 or Older: A Qualitative Study

Background Mobile apps for people with diabetes offer great potential to support therapy management, increase therapy adherence, and reduce the probability of the occurrence of accompanying and secondary diseases. However, they are rarely used by elderly patients due to a lack of acceptance. Objective We investigated the question “Which factors influence the acceptance of diabetes apps among patients aged 50 or older? ” Particular emphasis was placed on the current use of mobile devices/apps, acceptance-promoting/-inhibiting factors, features of a helpful diabetes app, and contact persons for technical questions. This qualitative study was the third of three substudies investigating factors influencing acceptance of diabetes apps among patients aged 50 or older. Methods Guided interviews were chosen in order to get a comprehensive insight into the subjective perspective of elderly diabetes patients. At the end of each interview, the patients tested two existing diabetes apps to reveal obstacles in (first) use. Results Altogether, 32 patients with diabetes were interviewed. The mean age was 68.8 years (SD 8.2). Of 32 participants, 15 (47%) knew apps, however only 2 (6%) had already used a diabetes app within their therapy. The reasons reported for being against the use of apps were a lack of additional benefits (4/8, 50%) compared to current therapy management, a lack of interoperability with other devices/apps (1/8, 12%), and no joy of use (1/8, 12%). The app test revealed the following main difficulties in use: nonintuitive understanding of the functionality of the apps (26/29, 90%), nonintuitive understanding of the menu navigation/labeling (19/29, 66%), font sizes and representations that were too small (14/29, 48%), and difficulties in recognizing and pressing touch-sensitive areas (14/29, 48%). Furthermore, the patients felt the apps lacked individually important functions (11/29, 38%), or felt the functions that were offered were unnecessary for their own therapy needs (10/29, 34%). The most important contents of a helpful diabetes app were reported as the ability to add remarks to measured values (9/28, 32%), the definition of thresholds for blood glucose values and highlighting deviating values (7/28, 25%), and a reminder feature for measurement/medication (7/28, 25%). The most important contact persons for technical questions were family members (19/31, 61%). Conclusions A lack of additional benefits and ease of use emerged as the key factors for the acceptance of diabetes apps among patients aged 50 or older. Furthermore, it has been shown that the needs of the investigated target group are highly heterogeneous due to varying previous knowledge, age, type of diabetes, and therapy. Therefore, a helpful diabetes app should be individually adaptable. Personal contact persons, especially during the initial phase of use, are of utmost importance to reduce the fear of data loss or erroneous data input, and to raise acceptance among this target group.
Motion, deformation, and interaction of blood cells and plasma during flow through narrow capillary tubes.

The microrheological characteristics of human blood cell suspensions flowing through very narrow glass capillaries (I.D. 5-12 microns) have been investigated using a traveling capillary method. In addition, red cell shape during flow was studied after cell fixation during capillary passage. The observations and measurements indicate the following: 1. The deformed shape of human red cells is not axisymmetrical and develops from an edge-on-oriented biconcave disc shape. 2. Red cells tend to travel in groups rather than equally spaced, presumably due to interindividual differences in size, shape, and deformability. 3. Red cell rotation in 8-12 microns capillaries occurs only if the flow forces are too small to induce cell deformation; during rotation of biconcave discs a substantial fraction of orbiting times is spent in an edge-on orientation; rotation is more frequently observed if the deformability of the erythrocytes is reduced. 4. Hematocrit-dependent transition from single-file to multi-file ('zipper') flow is observed in tubes whose inner diameter exceeds approximately 6 microns. 5. The flow pattern in the larger capillaries (8-12 microns) is characterized by significant variation of both radial and axial velocity of individual cells, as well as by concomitant changes of cell shape. However, cell-to-cell interactions and changes of cell orientation become progressively less significant in even smaller capillary tubes. 6. The bolus motion of intercellular plasma can be demonstrated by using microspheres or single platelets flowing between red cells as indicators. 7. Single platelets flowing between erythrocytes exhibit considerable variation in axial velocity in addition to rapid rotation.
Raloxifene, Estrogen, and Alendronate Affect the Processes of Fracture Repair Differently in Ovariectomized Rats

We investigated the effects of inhibitors of bone resorption (estrogen, raloxifene, and alendronate) on the processes of fracture repair in ovariectomized (OVX) rats. One hundred forty female Sprague‐Dawley rats at 3 months of age were either OVX or sham‐operated and divided into five groups: sham control, OVX control, estrogen (17α‐ethynyl estradiol [EE2], 0.1 mg/kg), raloxifene (Rlx, 1.0 mg/kg), and alendronate (Aln, 0.01 mg/kg) groups. Treatment began immediately after the surgery. Four weeks postovariectomy, prefracture controls were killed and bilateral osteotomies were performed on the femoral midshafts and fixed with intramedullary wires. Treatment was continued and fracture calluses were excised at 6 weeks and 16 weeks postfracture for evaluation by X‐ray radiography, quantitative computed tomography (QCT,) biomechanical testing, and histomorphometry. At 6 weeks postfracture, Aln and OVX had larger calluses than other groups. Sham and OVX had higher ultimate load than EE2 and Rlx, with Aln not different from either control. Aln calluses also contained more mineral (bone mineral content [BMC]) than all other groups. By 16 weeks postfracture, OVX calluses were smaller than at 6 weeks and the dimensions for Aln had not changed. Aln had higher BMC and ultimate load than OVX, EE2, and Rlx. EE2 and Rlx had similar biomechanical properties, which were similar to sham. Interestingly, OVX and Aln animals were heavier than other groups at all time points; therefore, ultimate load was normalized by body weight to show no significant differences in strength of the whole callus between groups at either 6 weeks or 16 weeks postfracture. However, Aln strongly suppressed remodeling of the callus, resulting in the highest content of woven bone, persistent visibility of the original fracture line, and lowest content of lamellar bone, compared with other groups. Therefore, the larger Aln callus appeared to be a remarkable, morphological adaptation to secure the fracture with inferior material. In conclusion, OVX‐stimulated bone turnover resulted in the fastest progression of fracture repair that was most delayed with Aln treatment, consistent with marked suppression of bone resorption and formation activity. Estrogen and Rlx had similar effects that were generally similar to sham, indicating that mild suppression of bone turnover with these agents has insignificant effects on the progression of fracture repair.
Cefamandole: Antimicrobial Activity In Vitro of a New Cephalosporin

Cefamandole, a new cephalosporin derivative, was found to have a broad spectrum of activity against a cross-section of both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria isolated from clinical material. Gram-positive cocci, except for Streptococcus faecalis, were very susceptible. Penicillin G-resistant Staphylococcus aureus also was susceptible to cefamandole. Minimal bactericidal concentrations for gram-positive cocci approximated the minimal inhibitory concentrations. Strains of Haemophilus influenzae were very susceptible to the drug. Most strains of Escherichia coli, Klebsiella sp. , and Proteus sp. were inhibited by low concentrations. Increasing resistance occurred with larger inocula. Strains of Pseudomonas sp. were resistant to cefamandole.
High Performance Coordinate Descent Matrix Factorization for Recommender Systems

Coordinate descent (CD) has been proved to be an effective technique for matrix factorization (MF) in recommender systems. To speed up factorizing performance, various methods of implementing parallel CDMF have been proposed to leverage modern multi-core CPUs and many-core GPUs. Existing implementations are limited in either speed or portability (constrained to certain platforms). In this paper, we present an efficient and portable CDMF solver for recommender systems. On the one hand, we diagnose the baseline implementation and observe that it lacks the awareness of the hierarchical thread organization on modern hardware and the data variance of the rating matrix. Thus, we apply the thread batching technique and the load balancing technique to achieve high performance. On the other hand, we implement the CDMF solver in OpenCL so that it can run on various platforms. Based on the architectural specifics, we customize code variants to efficiently map them to the underlying hardware. The experimental results show that our implementation performs 2x faster on dual-socket Intel Xeon CPUs and 22x faster on an NVIDIA K20c GPU than the baseline implementations. When taking the CDMF solver as a benchmark, we observe that it runs 2.4x faster on the GPU than on the CPUs, whereas it achieves competitive performance on Intel MIC against the CPUs.
Variation in complex olfactory stimuli and its influence on odour recognition

Natural olfactory stimuli are often complex and highly variable. The olfactory systems of animals are likely to have evolved to use specific features of olfactory stimuli for identification and discrimination. Here, we train honeybees to learn chemically defined odorant mixtures that systematically vary from trial to trial and then examine how they generalize to each odorant present in the mixture. An odorant that was present at a constant concentration in a mixture becomes more representative of the mixture than other variable odorants. We also show that both variation and intensity of a complex olfactory stimulus affect the rate of generalization by honeybees to subsequent olfactory stimuli. These results have implications for the way that all animals perceive and attend to features of olfactory stimuli.
Beginning IVF Treatments After Age 30 Increases the Risk of Breast Cancer: Results of a Case–Control Study

Abstract: The long‐term risks of in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment remain unclear. This study was designed to determine breast cancer risk factors in women who underwent IVF, and to establish characteristics of these tumors. Records of 7,162 consecutive women who underwent IVF at a single center between 1984 and 2002 were linked with the Israel Cancer Registry to identify women who developed breast cancer. IVF‐related parameters were compared between 28 breast cancer patients who had undergone IVF (IVF BC) and for whom complete IVF data were available with 140 women who underwent IVF and did not develop breast cancer (IVF non‐BC). Tumor parameters were compared between 38 patients who developed breast cancer after IVF and 114 age‐matched breast cancer patients who did not undergo IVF (non‐IVF BC). Age over 30 at the time of first IVF treatment, even after controlling for age at first birth, was the only parameter significantly associated with increased breast cancer risk (RR = 1.24, p = 0.02, 95% CI = 1.03–1.48). There were no differences between IVF‐BC and IVF non‐BC patients in all other IVF‐related parameters. The only statistically significant difference in tumors developing in IVF‐BC patients compared with non‐IVF BC patients was in grade distribution, particularly for grade II tumors. However, the significance of such a difference is unclear. Women who start IVF after the age of 30 appear to be at increased risk of developing breast cancer. The characteristics of breast tumors in women who underwent IVF are no different than in patients without previous exposure to IVF.
The crucial role of surface magnetic fields for the solar dynamo

Sunspot cycle driven by linked fields Sunspots indicate magnetic flux emerging at the Sun's surface. Sunspots change over an 11-year time scale, which depends on the behavior of the probable magnetic dynamo within. Cameron et al. suggest that the flux revealed by sunspot activity is effectively driven by the magnetic field strength at the Sun's poles. Their mathematical reasoning explains why the polar field activity can predict the sunspot cycle. Science, this issue p. 1333 Whether poloidal magnetic flux crosses the Sun’s surface determines its effect on the toroidal field flux at lower latitudes. Sunspots and the plethora of other phenomena occurring in the course of the 11-year cycle of solar activity are a consequence of the emergence of magnetic flux at the solar surface. The observed orientations of bipolar sunspot groups imply that they originate from toroidal (azimuthally orientated) magnetic flux in the convective envelope of the Sun. We show that the net toroidal magnetic flux generated by differential rotation within a hemisphere of the convection zone is determined by the emerged magnetic flux at the solar surface and thus can be calculated from the observed magnetic field distribution. The main source of the toroidal flux is the roughly dipolar surface magnetic field at the polar caps, which peaks around the minima of the activity cycle.
Effects of ambient sulfur oxides and suspended particles on respiratory health of preadolescent children.

Reported here are the results from an ongoing study of outdoor air pollution and respiratory health of children living in six cities in the eastern and midwestern United States. The study enrolled 10,106 white preadolescent children between 1974 and 1977 in 3 successive annual visits to each city. Each child received a spirometric examination, and a parent completed a standard questionnaire. Of this cohort, 8,380 children were seen for a second examination 1 yr later. An air pollution monitoring program was begun in each community at about the time of the first examination. For this report, measurements of total suspended particulates (TSP), the sulfate fraction of TSP (TSO4), and sulfur dioxide (SO2) concentrations at study-affiliated outdoor stations were combined with measurements at other public and private monitoring sites to create a record of TSP, TSO4, and SO2 concentrations in each of 9 air pollution regions during the 1-yr period preceding each examination and, for TSP, during each child's lifetime up to the time of testing. Across the 6 cities, frequency of cough was significantly associated with the average of 24-h mean concentrations of all 3 air pollutants during the year preceding the health examination (p less than 0.01). Rates of bronchitis and a composite measure of lower respiratory illness were significantly associated with average particulate concentrations (p less than 0.05). In analyses restricted to lifetime residents, these outcomes were significantly associated with measures of lifetime mean TSP concentration. Within the cities, however, temporal and spatial variation in air pollutant concentrations and illness and symptom rates were not positively associated. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)