Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ethnic Background and Television Viewing Time Among 4-Year-Old Preschool Children: The Generation R Study

Objective: Children's television viewing has been associated with an increased risk of overweight and obesity. This study aims to assess the associations of ethnic background and acculturation characteristics with television viewing time in 4-year-old preschool children. Method: The authors analyzed data from 3452 preschool children and their parents enrolled in the Generation R Study, a large, multiethnic, prospective birth cohort study in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to estimate odds ratios of watching television ≥2 hours/day and ≥1 hour/day for Turkish, Moroccan, and Surinamese children (reference group: native Dutch children), adjusted for family socioeconomic position. Effect modification by family socioeconomic position was also assessed. Results: After adjustment for family socioeconomic position, Turkish children (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 2.27; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.56–3.30), Moroccan children (aOR, 1.68; 95% CI, 1.03–2.76), and Surinamese children (aOR, 3.12; 95% CI, 2.16–4.50) were significantly more likely to watch television ≥2 hours/day compared with native Dutch children. Stratified analyses showed greater disparity between ethnic minority groups and native Dutch children at higher educational levels. There were no significant associations between acculturation characteristics (i.e., generational status, age at immigration, and Dutch language skills) and children's television viewing time. Conclusion: Children from ethnic minority groups are at an increased risk for high levels of television viewing compared with native Dutch children, independent of family socioeconomic position. Interventions aimed to reduce television viewing time should target all children from ethnic minority groups.
Co-delivery of PLGA encapsulated invariant NKT cell agonist with antigenic protein induce strong T cell-mediated antitumor immune responses

ABSTRACT Antitumor immunity can be enhanced by the coordinated release and delivery of antigens and immune-stimulating agents to antigen-presenting cells via biodegradable vaccine carriers. So far, encapsulation of TLR ligands and tumor-associated antigens augmented cytotoxic T cell (CTLs) responses. Here, we compared the efficacy of the invariant NKT (iNKT) cell agonist α-galactosylceramide (α-GalCer) and TLR ligands (R848 and poly I:C) as an adjuvant for the full length ovalbumin (OVA) in PLGA nanoparticles. We observed that OVA+α-GalCer nanoparticles (NP) are superior over OVA+TLR-L NP in generating and stimulating antigen-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes without the need for CD4+ T cell help. Not only a 4-fold higher induction of antigen-specific T cells was observed, but also a more profound IFN-γ secretion was obtained by the addition α-GalCer. Surprisingly, we observed that mixtures of OVA containing NP with α-GalCer were ineffective, demonstrating that co-encapsulation of both α-GalCer and antigen within the same nanoparticle is essential for the observed T cell responses. Moreover, a single immunization with OVA+α-GalCer NP provided substantial protection from tumor formation and even delayed the growth of already established tumors, which coincided with a prominent and enhanced antigen-specific CD8+ T cell infiltration. The provided evidence on the advantage of antigen and α-GalCer coencapsulation should be considered in the design of future nanoparticle vaccines for therapeutic purposes.
Molecular correlates of the M‐current in cultured rat hippocampal neurons

M‐type K+ currents (IK(M)) play a key role in regulating neuronal excitability. In sympathetic neurons, M‐channels are thought to be composed of a heteromeric assembly of KCNQ2 and KCNQ3 K+ channel subunits. Here, we have tried to identify the KCNQ subunits that are involved in the generation of IK(M) in hippocampal pyramidal neurons cultured from 5‐ to 7‐day‐old rats. RT‐PCR of either CA1 or CA3 regions revealed the presence of KCNQ2, KCNQ3, KCNQ4 and KCNQ5 subunits. Single‐cell PCR of dissociated hippocampal pyramidal neurons gave detectable signals for only KCNQ2, KCNQ3 and KCNQ5; where tested, most also expressed mRNA for the vesicular glutamate transporter VGLUT1. Staining for KCNQ2 and KCNQ5 protein showed punctate fluorescence on both the somata and dendrites of hippocampal neurons. Staining for KCNQ3 was diffusely distributed whereas KCNQ4 was undetectable. In perforated patch recordings, linopirdine, a specific M‐channel blocker, fully inhibited IK(M) with an IC50 of 3.6 ± 1.5 μM. In 70 % of these cells, TEA fully suppressed IK(M) with an IC50 of 0.7 ± 0.1 mm. In the remaining cells, TEA maximally reduced IK(M) by only 59.7 ± 5.2 % with an IC50 of 1.4 ± 0.3 mm; residual IK(M) was abolished by linopirdine. Our data suggest that KCNQ2, KCNQ3 and KCNQ5 subunits contribute to IK(M) in these neurons and that the variations in TEA sensitivity may reflect differential expression of KCNQ2, KCNQ3 and KCNQ5 subunits.
Modeling Hydro Power Plants and Tuning Hydro Governors as an Educational Guideline

Appropriate modeling of components and related controllers are very significant in studying dynamic performance of power systems. In this paper, an educational procedure for modeling, simulation, and governor tuning of hydro power plants is presented. Different existing dynamic models of hydro plant components are reviewed. The procedure for calculating the required parameters from real plant data is also presented. Application and performance of reviewed models is discussed as well. In addition, appropriate methods for tuning different types of hydro governors are studied and a classical method is used for PID governors. Inclusion of the nonlinearity and elasticity of the detailed turbine-penstock model, and studying the effect of the servo transfer functions are the main aspects of the proposed tuning method. The paper is written in a way to be useful for an electrical engineering student or a novice engineer to model, simulate, and analyze a hydro power plant dynamic behavior, and finally tune its governor. This work can be used as a primitive guideline for educational and practical purposes. Copyright © 2012 Praise Worthy Prize S.r. l. All rights reserved.
Diagnostic efficacy and safety of MRI of the liver with superparamagnetic iron oxide particles (SH U 555 A)

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy and safety of an intravenous injection of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agent, SH U 555 A, in adult patients with known focal liver lesions. Pre‐ and post‐contrast image sets were obtained in 19 patients after injection of SH U 555 A as a part of a phase III clinical trial (patients <60 kg body weight received 0.9 mL and patients >60 kg received 1.4 mL). Three blinded readers evaluated the post‐contrast images. Blood pressure and heart rate were recorded and laboratory tests were performed at baseline, during and immediately after the procedure, and four and 24 hours after the MR procedure. On post‐contrast MRI, there was statistically significant improvement in diagnostic confidence, visualization, delineation, and contrast between the lesions and the healthy parenchyma in comparison to precontrast. Twenty more lesions were detected on post‐contrast images. The management in six patients (31.7%) was changed after post‐contrast imaging. Changes in vital signs and laboratory tests were minimal and did not affect the patients' clinical condition. Only a moderate allergic reaction (diffuse erythematous rash) was recorded. SH U 555 A is an effective and safe contrast agent for MRI of the liver. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2001; 14:595–601. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Expression of Asialoglycoprotein Receptor 1 in Human Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most common cancer in the world. Currently, surgical resection is the only effective treatment for HCC if the tumor is resectable. Small molecule, biologics and siRNA anti-cancer drugs have been explored for the treatment of HCC. Selective targeting to tumor tissue rather than normal liver in HCC patients is still a challenge. Galactosamine-mediated targeting delivery of anti-cancer drugs in the liver has been tested because its receptor, asialoglycoprotein receptor 1 (ASGPR1), is expressed in the liver and not in other human tissues. We examined ASGPR1 expression levels by immunohistochemistry in HCC with different grades. Guidance for a targeting delivery strategy for anti-cancer drugs to HCC is suggested in this report.
Condition-dependent signaling affects male sexual attractiveness in field crickets, Gryllus campestris

The condition dependence of sexually selected traits is an important assumption of sexual selection theory. Several laboratory studies have documented a positive relationship between food availability, body condition, and sexual display. However, these studies might not reflect the resource allocation between body maintenance, reserves, and the sexually selected trait under natural conditions. Further, the effect of condition-dependent signaling on female mate choice has hardly been investigated experimentally in the field. We therefore investigated the effect of food availability on body condition, calling behavior, and sexual attractiveness of male field crickets, Gryllus campestris, under field conditions. Food availability was manipulated for individual males by supplementing food in a confined area close to the burrow. Food-supplemented males showed a significant increase in body condition, whereas the opposite was found in the control males. Males receiving extra food called more frequently, whereas the calling-song characteristics were not affected by the treatment. Further, food-supplemented males attracted more females than did control males, and their higher attractiveness was partly explained by their superior calling rate. Our study thus indicates condition-dependent signaling as an important determinant of the sexual attractiveness of males to females under natural condition. Copyright 2003.
Cognitive remediation in ADHD: Effects of periodic non-contingent alerts on sustained attention to response

Few studies have attempted direct cognitive remediation of attention deficits in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The present study investigated the efficacy of periodic non-informative alerting cues for improving sustaining attention in ADHD. This technique is known to improve sustained attention in right frontal injury patients and may be effective in ADHD, given that this disorder has also been linked with right frontal dysfunction. Fifteen children with ADHD and 15 matched controls completed four blocks of a modified version of the Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART). Eight random non-contingent alerts were introduced on two of these blocks as a cue for participants to adopt a more supervisory stance to their performance. While the alerting cues did not alter the total number of commission errors committed by ADHD children over a task block, they did produce a significant short-term reduction in commission errors in the period immediately following an alerting cue. Our data demonstrate that sustained attention performance can be enhanced in children with ADHD using a simple cognitive training strategy. Methods from the field of cognitive rehabilitation may be viably applied to the remediation of attention deficits in ADHD.
TUMOUR AND PLASMA ACTH CONCENTRATIONS IN PATIENTS WITH AND WITHOUT THE ECTOPIC ACTH SYNDROME

Bioactive and immunoreactive corticotrophin (ACTH) concentrations in seventeen tumours from patients with the ectopic ACTH syndrome were compared with those in fourteen ‘control’tumours from patients without the syndrome. Each of the ‘control’tumours showed ACTH activity greater than in non‐tumorous tissue and the range of concentrations overlapped with the ‘ectopic ACTH’group. The presence of significant ACTH activity in every tumour studied suggests that hormone production may be a common feature of neoplasia in the absence of clinically obvious sequelae of excess circulating hormone. Tumours associated with the ectopic ACTH syndrome showed a wide range of ACTH activities: bronchial carcinoid tumours generally contained higher levels than oat cell carcinomas of the bronchus and more C‐ than N‐terminal ACTH activity. In twenty‐four patients with the clinical syndrome the plasma ACTH levels were not clearly related to tumour type; the levels ranged between 100 and 10,000 pg/ml, showed an abnormal nyctohemeral rhythm, and fell following successful removal of the tumour.
Are Mathematics Disabilities Due to a Domain-General or a Domain-Specific Working Memory Deficit?

The relationship between verbal and visual-spatial working memory and mathematical computation skill was examined in children and adults with and without disabilities in mathematics. A hierarchical regression analysis showed that, when partialing for the influence of reading ability, age, and gender, mathematical computation was better predicted by verbal than by visual-spatial working memory. Furthermore, the results showed that the relationship between mathematics ability and working memory were not significantly moderated by age but were stable across a broad age span. We concluded that, regardless of age, deficits in mathematics are mediated by both a domain-general and a domain-specific working memory system.
The Logical Dynamics of Gossip: an analysis in Dynamic Epistemic Logic

This thesis gives a formal logical analysis of a social phenomenon; gossip. Gossip can be used to serve many goals. The Sherlock Holmes’ of our society -always looking for an explanationmight use gossip to find an explanation for a surprising observation. Also for the agents that are not so eager to find the truth, for those who are more concerned about their social position instead, gossip might be helpful. Gossip can be used as a tool to exclude or include a specific person from a group. Further, gossip can help to increase or decrease the social bonding within a group. An agent might start to gossip in order to reach any of these goals. Each of them gives the gossip conversation a different structure. This work formally describes and models the epistemic and social sides of gossip and proceeds by giving formal protocols that correspond to a number of different conversation structures. In the formal part we use dynamic epistemic logic, which is able to model the changes in the knowledge and beliefs of agents. In order to deal with the changes in the network relations, we add a social network structure to each epistemic state as well as actions that change those network structures.
Performance of cognitive radio networks under ON/OFF and Poisson primary arrival models

In this paper, the performance of cognitive radio networks (CRNs) considering either Poisson or ON/OFF models for the primary users' arrivals is evaluated and compared. These primary arrival models have been commonly used for the teletraffic analysis of CRNs in the literature. However, the performance of CRNs under these arrivals models has not been compared in the open literature yet. This is the subject under discussion in this work. In order to provide a fair basis of comparison for the ON/OFF and Poisson arrival models, similar average primary channel occupancy characteristics are considered. Specifically, performance comparison is carried out considering both the same resource utilization factor and the same mean white space duration in both arrival models. In addition, different traffic scenarios (i.e., probability distributions of the channel holding time for primary users) are considered to provide deep insights into the performance behavior of CRNs under these arrival models. Our numerical results show the relevance of the adequate characterization of the primary channel occupancy to accurately evaluate the performance of CRNs. In particular, system performance results obtained with the Poisson model are more pessimistic than those obtained with the ON/OFF model. This is due to the fact that the variance of the white space duration is greater in the Poisson model. Finally, it is observed that performance metrics (i.e., call blocking and forced termination probabilities) for the CRN are practically insensitive to the distribution type of the channel holding time in the primary network.
The effects of pole walking on arm lymphedema and cardiovascular fitness in women treated for breast cancer: a pilot and feasibility study

Abstract The benefit of exercise for breast cancer-treated women is well documented. However, studies of cardiovascular fitness training for women with breast cancer-related arm lymphedema are rare. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of intensive pole walking on arm lymphedema in women treated for breast cancer. Thirty-five women with unilateral lymphedema were included and twenty-three completed an eight-week exercise intervention consisting of pole walking 3–5 times per week, for 30–60 min, at 70%–80% of their maximum heart rate, preceded by a two-week control period. Measurements of arm lymphedema (water displacement method), body weight, cardiovascular fitness (sub-maximal bicycle ergometer test) and subjective assessments (disability of the arm, shoulder and hand (DASH) questionnaire; heaviness and tightness using a visual analogue scale (VAS); and well-being) were performed before the control period and before and after the exercise intervention. The results indicated a significant reduction in total arm volume of the lymphedema arm (p = 0.001), in lymphedema absolute volume (p = 0.014) and lymphedema relative volume (p = 0.015). Significant decreases of heart rate (p = 0.004), DASH score (p = 0.053) and rating of tightness in the arm (p = 0.043) were found. Positive and negative influences on well-being were reported. The conclusion of this study is that pole walking is feasible for breast cancer-treated women with arm lymphedema.
Modeling dynamics of tundra plant communities on the Yamal Peninsula, Russia, in response to climate change and grazing pressure

Understanding the responses of the arctic tundra biome to a changing climate requires knowledge of the complex interactions among the climate, soils and biological system. This study investigates the individual and interaction effects of climate change and reindeer grazing across a variety of climate zones and soil texture types on tundra vegetation community dynamics using an arctic vegetation model that incorporates the reindeer diet, where grazing is a function of both foliar nitrogen concentration and reindeer forage preference. We found that grazing is important, in addition to the latitudinal climate gradient, in controlling tundra plant community composition, explaining about 13% of the total variance in model simulations for all arctic tundra subzones. The decrease in biomass of lichen, deciduous shrub and graminoid plant functional types caused by grazing is potentially dampened by climate warming. Moss biomass had a nonlinear response to increased grazing intensity, and such responses were stronger when warming was present. Our results suggest that evergreen shrubs may benefit from increased grazing intensity due to their low palatability, yet a growth rate sensitivity analysis suggests that changes in nutrient uptake rates may result in different shrub responses to grazing pressure. Heavy grazing caused plant communities to shift from shrub tundra toward moss, graminoid-dominated tundra in subzones C and D when evergreen shrub growth rates were decreased in the model. The response of moss, lichen and forbs to warming varied across the different subzones. Initial vegetation responses to climate change during transient warming are different from the long term equilibrium responses due to shifts in the controlling mechanisms (nutrient limitation versus competition) within tundra plant communities.
Outcomes of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in elderly patients.

BACKGROUND Elderly patients have become an increasingly prevalent proportion of the intensive care unit population. Outcomes of patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) have been improving in recent years, but studies of ARDS rarely include substantial numbers of elderly patients. Historically, the mortality rate for ARDS has been 69% to 80% among elderly patients. We reviewed our experience with ARDS to determine whether outcomes were improving over time, and in particular whether outcomes were equally favorable among our elderly patients aged 65 years or older. METHODS Patients who developed ARDS in a university surgical intensive care unit from 1993 to 2003 were identified and their data were collected prospectively. Data collected included age, gender, cause of ARDS, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) III score (AIII), initial Pao2:FIO2, lung injury score (LIS), maximum positive end-expiratory pressure, multiple organ dysfunction pulmonary and nonpulmonary organ dysfunction scores (MODnp), vasopressor dependence, and development of ventilator-associated pneumonia. Outcomes of patients >65 years old with ARDS were compared with those of patients <65 years old. RESULTS In the study period, 343 patients developed ARDS, 210 of whom were >65 years old. Overall, age was 65.2 +/- 0.2 years, with a mean APACHE III score of 83.4 +/- 2.0 points. Sixty-six percent were men. The initial Pao2:FIO2 for the entire group was 104.3 +/- 4.1, and was less in younger patients. Maximum positive end-expiratory pressure was 15.6 +/- 0.5 cm H2O, and mean LIS was 3.3 +/- 0.6 points; these values did not differ between cohorts. Elderly patients had a mortality of 51.9% when compared with 41.7% for younger patients (p = not significant). By logistic regression analysis, factors predicting mortality included APACHE III score (each point, odds ratio [OR], 1.022; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.008-1.035; p < 0.01) and nonpulmonary multiple organ dysfunction score (each point, OR, 1.366; 95% CI, 1.223-1.526; p < 0.0001), but neither age (p = 0.37), LIS (p = 0.49), multiple organ dysfunction pulmonary (p = 0.90), nor year of treatment (p = 0.74) had any effect on mortality. CONCLUSIONS The mortality rate for elderly patients with ARDS is lower in our experience when compared with historical series, even though illness severity may be higher, and comparable to that of other patients. Careful hemodynamic monitoring and resuscitation combined with other strategies to ameliorate nonpulmonary organ dysfunction achieved good outcomes in high-risk patients and could contribute in the future to further improved outcomes of elderly patients with ARDS.
Comparison of chemical properties of food products processed by conventional and ohmic heating

The effect of ohmic and conventional heat processing of different food products on their chemical and physical parameters was studied. Depending on the food being analysed, parameters such as pH, total solids, ash, titratable acidity, ascorbic acid, total sugars, total fatty acids, total phenolic compounds, and anthocyanins content were determined before and after ohmic and conventional pasteurization techniques and the results were compared using one-way analysis of variance. In goat milk samples treated by ohmic technology the pH value (6.58) and total fatty acids content in milk fat (86.5 mass %) were comparable to those found in milk treated by conventional process, however, ohmically treated samples presented a lower content of lactic acid, 0.13 %. In cloudberry jam samples treated by ohmic technology the results of some of the main parameters tested, such as total sugar content 46.1 mass %, ascorbic acid content 2.83 mass %, and titratable acidity 6.01 mass % (as citric acid) did not show significant differences when compared with samples treated by conventional technology.