Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Increased serum concentrations of persistent organic pollutants among prediabetic individuals: potential role of altered substrate oxidation patterns.

CONTEXT There is a need for a better understanding of the potential role of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes. OBJECTIVE Our objective was to determine the association of serum concentrations of POPs with early signs of type 2 diabetes in regard to glucose and lipid metabolism. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS In this cross-sectional study, we used recent studies of 148 Danish middle-aged normoglycemic, prediabetic, and diabetic individuals examined by the euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamp technique with indirect calorimetry; 66 of these individuals also had an i.v. glucose tolerance test. Concentrations of POPs were analyzed in banked serum from the participants. Associations with basal and insulin-stimulated glucose and lipid metabolism were assessed after adjustment for age, sex, and body fat percentage. RESULTS Individuals with prediabetes and diabetes had higher serum concentrations of several POPs compared with normoglycemic individuals. In the nondiabetic population, higher POPs levels were associated with elevated fasting plasma glucose concentrations as well as reduced glucose oxidation, elevated lipid oxidation, and elevated serum concentrations of free fatty acids (P < 0.05). We found no associations of POPs with first-phase insulin secretion, hepatic or peripheral insulin sensitivity, or nonoxidative glucose metabolism. CONCLUSIONS Diabetic and prediabetic individuals have elevated serum concentrations of POPs. In nondiabetic individuals, POPs exposure is related to altered substrate oxidation patterns with lower glucose oxidation and higher lipid oxidation rates. These findings indicate that POPs may affect peripheral glucose metabolism by modifying pathways involved in substrate partitioning rather than decreasing insulin-dependent glucose uptake.
SecA: a tale of two protomers

Bacteria, Archaea and Eukaryotes have evolved a plethora of mechanisms to translocate proteins across their various membranes. The bacterial Sec pathway is ubiquitous and essential for cell viability and is used by most proteins destined for the inner membrane, the periplasm or beyond. In bacteria, Sec system components include the heterotrimers SecY/SecE/SecG and SecD/SecF/YajC and the peripherally associated ATPase motor SecA. SecA in solution is mainly dimeric. Unexpectedly, structures of SecA dimers from different or even the same bacterium do not have a consistent dimerization interface. Analysis of the functional assembled translocase complexes blurs the picture even further as the functional quaternary state of the SecYEG channel is also disputed. Several experimental approaches tried to define the oligomeric state of SecA during preprotein ‘pushing’ through SecYEG. One high‐resolution SecA–SecYEG complex has been visualized. This snapshot might be a step closer to the actual translocating machinery. Nevertheless, because of the use of detergent, the true quartenary state of the translocase might have been disturbed. Hence, even after this and other studies, several issues remain puzzling. New approaches must be combined with current tools to gain insight into the functionally relevant quartenary states of SecA and SecYEG during preprotein translocation.
Preconditioning and protection against ischaemia‐reperfusion in non‐cardiac organs: a place for volatile anaesthetics?

&NA; There is an increasing body of evidence that volatile anaesthetics protect myocardium against ischaemic insult by a mechanism termed ‘anaesthetic preconditioning’. Anaesthetic preconditioning and ischaemic preconditioning share several common mechanisms of action. Since ischaemic preconditioning has been demonstrated in organs other than the heart, anaesthetic preconditioning might also apply in these organs and have significant clinical applications in surgical procedures carrying a high risk of ischaemia‐reperfusion injury. After a brief review on myocardial preconditioning, experimental and clinical data on preconditioning in non‐cardiac tissues will be presented. Potential benefits of anaesthetic preconditioning during non‐cardiac surgery will be addressed.
Measurements of the production and transport of helium ash in the TFTR tokamak.

Helium ash production and transport have been measured in TFTR deuterium-tritium plasmas using charge-exchange recombination spectroscopy. The helium ash confinement time, including recycling effects, is 6--10 times the energy confinement time and is compatible with sustained ignition in a reactor. The ash confinement time is dominated by edge pumping rates rather than core transport. The measured evolution of the local thermal ash density agrees with modeling, indicating that alpha particle slowing-down calculations used in the modeling are reasonable.
Dispersion in Analyst Forecasts and the Profitability of Earnings Momentum Strategies

This paper shows that the dispersion in analysts’ consensus forecasts contains incremental information to predict future stock returns. Consistent with prior research, stock prices in the German market underreact to news about future earnings and drift in the direction suggested by analysts’ forecasts revisions. Even higher abnormal returns can be achieved by applying such an earnings momentum strategy to stocks with a low dispersion in analyst forecasts. These results support one of the recent behavioural models in which investors underweight new evidence and conservatively update their beliefs in the right direction, but by too little in magnitude with respect to more objective information.
Interaction of Lyme disease spirochetes with cultured eucaryotic cells

The association of the Lyme disease spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi, with cultured human endothelial cells was investigated. Attachment was time and temperature dependent, with optimal adherence occurring after 4 h of incubation at 37 degrees C. Pretreatment of borreliae with heat, immune human serum, or monoclonal antibodies directed against outer surface protein B (OspB) reduced the attachment of organisms to host cell monolayers. These results suggest that the adherence of B. burgdorferi may be mediated, at least in part, by borrelial surface proteins.
Device sensitivity of field-plated polysilicon high-voltage TFTs and their application to low-voltage operation

The device sensitivity to the offset length variations in the recently proposed field-plated (FP) polysilicon high-voltage thin-film transistor (HVTFT) has been studied. The device characteristics of the new FP-HVTFTs are found to be much more immune to misalignment errors; this is a very desirable feature, especially for large-area applications. FP-HVTFTs also exhibit lower leakage current than their conventional counterparts for up to 100-V operation. At typical low-voltage operation (e.g. 20 V), an improvement of about three orders of magnitude in the on/off current ratio can be readily achieved. These features, together with the simpler processing and improved turn-on characteristics reported earlier, make the FP-TFT a very promising device architecture for large-area microelectronics. <<ETX>>
Determinants of participation of youth with acquired brain injury: A systematic review

Abstract Objectives: Participation is considerably restricted in children and adolescents with acquired brain injury (ABI) as compared to their healthy peers. This systematic review aims to identify which factors are associated with participation in children and adolescents with ABI. Methods: A systematic search in Medline and various other electronic databases from January 2001–November 2014 was performed. All clinical studies describing determinants of participation at least 1 year after the diagnosis of ABI by means of one or more pre-defined instruments in patients up to 18 years of age were included. Extracted data included study characteristics, patient characteristics, participation outcome and determinants of participation (categorized into: health conditions (including characteristics of ABI), body functions and structures, activities, personal factors and environmental factors). The methodological quality of the studies was evaluated based on three quality aspects (selection, information and statistical analysis bias) and scored as low, moderate or high. Results: Eight studies using an explicit participation outcome measure were selected after review, including a total of 1863 patients, with a follow-up ranging from 1 up to 288 months. Three studies included patients with a traumatic or a non-traumatic brain injury (TBI or NTBI) and five studies with only TBI patients. Factors consistently found to be associated with more participation restrictions were: greater severity of ABI, impaired motor, cognitive, behavioural and/or sensory functioning, limited accessibility of the physical environmentand worse family functioning. Fewer participation problems were associated with a supportive/nurturing parenting style, higher household income, acceptance and support in the community and availability of special programmes. The overall methodological quality of the included studies was high in two and moderate in six studies. Conclusion: This systematic review shows that only a few, moderate quality, studies on the determinants of participation after paediatric ABI using recommended explicit measurement instruments are available. Various components of the ICF model: health condition, body functions and structures and environmental factors were consistently found to be associated with participation. More methodologically sound studies, using the recommended explicit outcome measures, a standardized set of potential determinants and long-term follow-up are suggested to increase the knowledge on participation in children and youth with ABI.
Risk of Facilitated Invasion Depends Upon Invader Identity, Not Environmental Severity, Along an Aridity Gradient

Positive interactions can drive the assembly of desert plant communities, but we know little about the species-specificity of positive associations between native shrubs and invasive annual species along aridity gradients. These measures are essential for explaining, predicting, and managing community-level responses to plant invasions and environmental change. Here, we measured the intensity of spatial associations among native shrubs and the annual plant community—including multiple invasive species and their native neighbors—along an aridity gradient across the Mojave and San Joaquin Deserts, United States. Along the gradient, we sampled the abundance and species richness of invasive and native annual species using 180 pairs of shrub and open microsites. Across the gradient, the invasive annuals Bromus madritensis ssp. rubens (B. rubens), B. tectorum, B. diandrus, Hordeum murinum, and Brassica tournefortii were consistently more abundant under shrubs than away from shrubs, suggesting positive effects of shrubs on these species. In contrast, abundance of the invasive annual Schismus spp. was greater away from shrubs than under shrubs, suggesting negative effects of shrubs on this species. Similarly, native annual abundance (pooled) and native species richness were greater away from shrubs than under shrubs. Shrub-annual associations were not influenced by shrub size or aridity. Interestingly, we found correlative evidence that B. rubens reduced native abundance (pooled), native species richness, and exotic abundance (pooled) under, but not away from shrubs. We conclude that native shrubs have considerable potential to directly (by increasing invader abundance) and indirectly (by increasing negative impacts of invaders on neighbors) facilitate plant invasions along broad environmental gradients, but these effects may depend more upon invader identity than environmental severity.
Clinical and immunological responses of dust mite sensitive, atopic dogs to treatment with sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT).

BACKGROUND Sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) has been reported to be beneficial in people with atopic dermatitis (AD) and dust mite sensitivity. Evaluation of this therapy has not been reported in spontaneous canine AD. OBJECTIVES The objective of this study was to preliminarily evaluate the effectiveness of an established SLIT protocol, as used in human patients, in dogs with AD. ANIMALS Ten dust mite sensitive dogs with spontaneous AD. METHODS Dogs underwent a 6 month open trial of SLIT concurrently with decreasing dose oral methylprednisolone. Clinical evaluations and quantitative serum anti-mite IgE and IgG levels were performed every 2 months. RESULTS Mean methylprednisolone use from the first 2 months of the study to the final 2 months declined from 10.2 to 4.3 mg/kg/2 months (P < 0.001, Student's paired t-test); at 6 months, four dogs required no oral corticosteroid administration. Over the course of the study, median Canine Atopic Dermatitis Extent and Severity Index (CADESI)-03 scores declined from 76.5 to 59; median pruritus scores declined from 65 to 37 (P < 0.02 and P < 0.01, respectively; Wilcoxon signed-rank test). Pre- and post-SLIT intradermal test scores for mite allergen were not significantly different over time. Median Dermatophagoides farinae (DF)-specific IgE levels declined significantly from 150.2 × 10(3) AU/mL to 3.6 × 10(3) AU/mL (P < 0.05). Concurrently, median DF-specific IgG levels increased from 18.5 × 10(6) AU/mL to 3923.4 × 10(6) AU/mL (P < 0.05; Wilcoxon signed-rank tests). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE SLIT treatment produced clinical improvement in dogs with dust mite-associated AD and was associated with serological changes supporting this improvement. Further studies in larger numbers of dogs and those with polysensitization are warranted.
A new Italian dataset of parallel acoustic and articulatory data

In this paper we introduce a new Italian dataset consisting of simultaneous recordings of continuous speech and trajectories of important vocal tract articulators (i.e. tongue, lips, incisors) tracked by Electromagnetic Articulography (EMA). It includes more than 500 sentences uttered in citation condition by three speakers, one male (cnz) and two females (lls, olm), for approximately 2 hours of speech material. Such dataset has been designed to be large enough and phonetically balanced so as to be used in speech applications (e.g. speech recognition systems). We then test our speaker-dependent articulatory Deep-Neural-Network Hidden-Markov-Model (DNN-HMM) phone recognizer on the set of data recorded from the cnz speaker. We show that phone recognition results are comparable to the ones that we previously obtained using two well-known British-English datasets with EMA data of equivalent vocal tract articulators. That suggests that the new set of data is a equally useful and coherent resource. The dataset is the session 1 of a larger Italian corpus, called Multi-SPeaKing-style-Articulatory (MSPKA) corpus, including parallel audio and articulatory data in diverse speaking styles (e.g. read, hyperarticulated and hypoarticulated speech). It is freely available at http://www.mspkacorpus. it for research purposes. In the immediate future the whole corpus will be released.
Automated Spectral Characterization of Wheezing in Asthmatic Children

Breath sounds were recorded in normal and asthmatic children over the chest and trachea. The power spectra of the sounds were analyzed for peaks of high amplitude and high frequency as indications of wheezing. The percent of inspiration and expiration spent wheezing was used as an indication of the severity of bronchial obstruction. Wheezing was found to be strongly dependent upon air flow, and generally followed the changes in pulmonary function as indicated by the forced expiratory volume at 1 s (FEV1). The trachea was found to be a better location for analyzing wheezes than the lung.
New Criteria for Histologic Grading of Colorectal Cancer

Conventional tumor grading systems based on the degree of tumor differentiation may not always be optimal because of difficulty in objective assessment and insufficient prognostic value for decision making in colorectal cancer (CRC) treatment. This study aimed to determine the importance of assessing the number of poorly differentiated clusters as the primary criterion for histologic grading of CRC. Five hundred consecutive patients with curatively resected stage II and III CRCs (2000 to 2005) were pathologically reviewed. Cancer clusters of ≥5 cancer cells and lacking a gland-like structure were counted under a ×20 objective lens in a field containing the highest number of clusters. Tumors with <5, 5 to 9, and ≥10 clusters were classified as grade (G)1, G2, and G3, respectively (n=156, 198, and 146 tumors, respectively). Five-year disease-free survival rates were 96%, 85%, and 59% for G1, G2, and G3, respectively (P<0.0001). Poorly differentiated clusters affected survival outcome independent of T and N stages and could help in more effective stratification of patients by survival outcome compared with tumor staging (Akaike information criterion, 1086.7 vs. 1117.0; Harrell concordance index, 0.73 vs. 0.67). The poorly differentiated cluster-based grading system showed a higher weighted &kgr; coefficient for interobserver variability (5 observers) compared with conventional grading systems (mean, 0.66 vs. 0.52; range, 0.55 to 0.73 vs. 0.39 to 0.68). Our novel histologic grading system is expected to be less subjective and more informative for prognostic prediction compared with conventional tumor grading systems and TNM staging. It could be valuable in determining individualized postoperative CRC treatment.
Relationship of traffic fatality rates to maximum state speed limits

ABSTRACT Objectives: The objective of this study was to examine the safety effects of increases in U.S. state maximum speed limits during the period 1993–2013. Methods: Poisson regression was used to model state-by-state annual traffic fatality rates per mile of travel as a function of time, the unemployment rate, the percentage of the driving age population that was younger than 25, per capita alcohol consumption, and the maximum posted speed limit on any road in the state. Separate analyses were conducted for all roads, interstates and freeways, and all other roads. Results: A 5 mph increase in the maximum state speed limit was associated with an 8% increase in fatality rates on interstates and freeways and a 4% increase on other roads. In total, there were an estimated 33,000 more traffic fatalities during the years 1995–2013 than would have been expected if maximum speed limits had not increased. In 2013 alone, there were approximately 1,900 additional deaths—500 on interstates/freeways and 1,400 on other roads. Conclusions: There is a definite trend of increased fatality risk when speed limits are raised. As roadway sections with higher speed limits have become more ubiquitous, the increase in fatality risk has extended beyond these roadways. The increase in risk has been so great that it has now largely offset the beneficial effects of some other traffic safety strategies. State policy makers should keep this trade-off in mind when considering proposals to raise speed limits.
Thin-film GaInAsP/InP lateral current injection type Fabry-Perot laser — Improved quantum efficiency operation

Based on a theoretical analysis of internal quantum efficiency of a thin-film GaInAsP/InP lateral current injection type Fabry-Perot laser prepared on the semi-insulating InP substrate, its fabrication process was modified. As the results, the internal quantum efficiency was improved by a factor of 2 and the waveguide loss was reduced to 2/3 in comparison with previously reported devices. A threshold current of 11 mA and an external differential quantum efficiency of 33% were obtained for the device with 720 µm-long cavity and 1.7 µm-wide stripe under a room temperature continuous-wave condition.
Phase 1 oncology trials and informed consent

Ethical concerns have been raised about the quality of informed consent by participants in phase 1 oncology trials. Interview surveys indicate that substantial proportions of trial participants do not understand the purpose of these trials—evaluating toxicity and dosing for subsequent efficacy studies—and overestimate the prospect of therapeutic benefit that they offer. In this article we argue that although these data suggest the desirability of enhancing the process of information disclosure and assessment of comprehension of the implications of study participation, they do not necessarily invalidate consent by phase 1 trial participants.
"Push and park": an alternative strategy for management of embolic complication during balloon angioplasty.

Introduction popliteal embolectomy and the final patient was sucessfully treated with conservative management (Table Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) is an 1). established technique in the management of arterial 5000 IU of Heparin are given routinely prior to disease. The incidence of distal embolisation in our angioplasty through the catheter and Aspirin institution during both subintimal angioplasty and 75–150 mg OD, following the procedure. This protocol transluminal angioplasty is 3.5%. This compares to is not modified following successful aspiration or recently published complication rates of transluminal pushing and parking of emboli. angioplasty of 3.7% and a 2.5% rate of occlusive An 8 French embolectomy non-tapered teflon coated complications in a larger series of 1141 patients. Concatheter is used to attempt removal of embolus by ventionally the options for embolectomy would be to aspiration in the first instance. The technique involves consider aspiration, thrombolysis or surgical readvancing the catheter over a guidewire to the level moval. We have employed an alternative technique of the embolus until free back bleeding has ceased. in the event of failure to aspirate an embolus, which Suction is then applied with the use of a 50 ml syringe. involves pushing the embolus distally. Suction is maintained whilst the catheter is moved to and fro in the artery to aid engagement of the embolic material. The catheter is then withdrawn to the sheath with constant suction maintained and finally extracted, Technique with the haemostasis valve removed to prevent dislodgement. The technique was employed in six patients (four However, in some cases the applied suction fails to male), age range 62 to 85, between February 1997 engage the embolus. In these cases when there is more and August 1999. Of the six patients, PTA was being than one runoff vessel, the technique of ‘‘push and performed for critical ischaemia in five and inpark’’ becomes applicable. The same 8F non-tapered termittent claudication in one. One thousand and catheter without the wire is used to push the embolus. twenty-seven angioplasties were performed during The favoured straight path usually lands the embolus this period. In patients with thromboembolic cominto the peroneal artery. The aim is to leave at least plications, aspiration was successful in 68% of attempts one remaining vessel with free flow. Placing the wire with the technique of push and park used in 21%. Of the remaining 11%, two patients went on to have into the artery with the poorest distal circulation may below knee amputations, one patient had a surgical allow selection of the vessel into which the embolus is pushed and has been adopted for future cases. Modifying the technique in this way would have the ∗ Please address all correspondence to: A. Higginson, Department of Radiology, Leicester Royal Infirmary, Leicester LE1 5WW, U.K. added advantage of avoiding pushing the catheter