Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Pulsatile insulin secretion accounts for 70% of total insulin secretion during fasting.

The purpose of the present study was to determine the contributions of discrete insulin secretory bursts vs. basal insulin release to total insulin secretion in vivo. Quantification of the partitioning of pulsatile and basal insulin secretion is complicated by physiological delivery of these pulses into the portal vein and the absence of validated methods of measuring the rates of pulsatile and basal insulin secretion in vivo. We therefore 1) developed a canine model with chronically implanted portal vein catheters, 2) validated an established deconvolution technique as well as a novel direct catheterization technique (Clustcath) for measurement of pulsatile and nonpulsatile insulin secretion rates in this model, and 3) applied these methods to study insulin secretion in the overnight-fasted dog in vivo to determine the contribution of pulsatile vs. basal insulin secretion to total rates of endogenous insulin secretion. Rates of total, pulsatile, and nonpulsatile endogenous insulin secretion measured by Cluscath closely parallel those measured by deconvolution analysis (54 +/- 15 vs. 51 +/- 11, 38 +/- 12 vs. 36 +/- 11, and 16 +/- 4 vs. 14 +/- 4 pmol/min, respectively). Clustcath and deconvolution indicated that the majority of insulin was secreted as pulses (70 +/- 6 and 66 +/- 7%, respectively). These data infer that any process that selectively decreases the pulsatile component of insulin secretion (e.g., diabetes mellitus) will likely have a major impact on total insulin secretion.
Temporal Adjustments in the Evaluation of Events: The "Rosy View"

In a series of three investigations we examined people's anticipation of, actual experiences in, and subsequent recollection of meaningful life events: a trip to Europe, a Thanksgiving vacation, and a 3-week bicycle trip in California. The results of all three studies supported the hypothesis that people's expectations of personal events are more positive than their actual experience during the event itself, and their subsequent recollection of that event is more positive than the actual experience. The "rosy view" phenomenon is associated with an increase in the number of negative thoughts during the event which seem to be caused by distractions, disappointment, and a less positive view of the self. However, these effects are short-lived; within days after the event, people have much more positive evaluations of the event. We discuss alternative interpretations for our findings and implications for group and organizational settings.
Object recognition, identification and classification for intelligent surveillance and reconnaissance platforms

We research solutions to enable intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance by means of near-real-time target recognition, identification and classification. The cloud services, intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance are of importance for the C4+iSTAR systems. These platforms are expected to ensure high-level cognitive autonomy to accomplish complex missions and tasks in rapidly-changing adverse environments. We research and apply deep learning concepts and algorithms to enable high-confidence awareness and advance situational analysis. We examine engineering solutions for object identification and classification. Our findings ensure sufficient level of fidelity on the object recognition and classification likelihood with high identification probability, processing latency on low-power ARM CPUs, and, integration capabilities. Advanced concepts on moving target recognition and object classification using fly data are researched with low-fidelity experimental substantiations. We modify the YOLOv3 object detection method to detect bounding boxes for arbitrary orientation angle, angle of view and corner shapes which are of importance in aerial applications. Our results demonstrate adequate detection capability while maintaining fast computational performance of the original YOLOv3 architecture. The proposed algorithms and computing schemes are supported by codes in C++.
Purification and characterization of macrodontain I, a cysteine peptidase from unripe fruits of Pseudananas macrodontes (Morr.) harms (Bromeliaceae).

A new papain-like cysteine peptidase isolated from fruits of Pseudananas macrodontes (Morr.) Harms, a species closely related to pineapple (Ananas comosus L.), has been purified and characterized. The enzyme, named macrodontain I, is the main proteolytic component present in fruit extracts and was purified by acetone fractionation followed by anion-exchange chromatography. Separation was improved by selecting both an adequate pH value and a narrow saline gradient. Optimum pH range (more than 90% of maximum activity with casein) was achieved at pH 6.1-8.5. Homogeneity of the enzyme was confirmed by bidimensional electrophoresis and mass spectroscopy (MS). Molecular mass of the enzyme was 23,459 (MS) and its isoelectric point was 6.1. The alanine, glutamine, and tyrosine derivatives were strongly preferred when the enzyme was assayed on N-alpha-CBZ-l-amino acid p-nitrophenyl esters. The N-terminal sequence of macrodontain (by comparison with the N-terminus of 30 plant proteases with more than 50% homology) showed a great deal of sequence similarity to the other pineapple-stem-derived cysteine endopeptidases, being 85.7, 85. 2, and 77.8% identical to comosain, stem bromelain, and ananain, respectively. It seems clear that the Bromeliaceae endopeptidases are more closely related to each other than to other members of the papain family, suggesting relatively recent divergence.
Rapid and widespread de novo evolution of kin discrimination

Significance Relatedness-dependent behavior modification is common among social organisms and has been a major feature of social evolution theory for decades. However, the evolutionary causes of kin discrimination are often unclear. Here, we document many spontaneous origins of kin discrimination in a social microbe that appear to arise as indirect byproducts of adaptation at other traits and we show that kin discrimination evolves by diverse genetic mechanisms. Diverse forms of kin discrimination, broadly defined as alteration of social behavior as a function of genetic relatedness among interactants, are common among social organisms from microbes to humans. However, the evolutionary origins and causes of kin-discriminatory behavior remain largely obscure. One form of kin discrimination observed in microbes is the failure of genetically distinct colonies to merge freely upon encounter. Here, we first use natural isolates of the highly social bacterium Myxococcus xanthus to show that colony-merger incompatibilities can be strong barriers to social interaction, particularly by reducing chimerism in multicellular fruiting bodies that develop near colony-territory borders. We then use experimental laboratory populations to test hypotheses regarding the evolutionary origins of kin discrimination. We show that the generic process of adaptation, irrespective of selective environment, is sufficient to repeatedly generate kin-discriminatory behaviors between evolved populations and their common ancestor. Further, we find that kin discrimination pervasively evolves indirectly between allopatric replicate populations that adapt to the same ecological habitat and that this occurs generically in many distinct habitats. Patterns of interpopulation discrimination imply that kin discrimination phenotypes evolved via many diverse genetic mechanisms and mutation-accumulation patterns support this inference. Strong incompatibility phenotypes emerged abruptly in some populations but strengthened gradually in others. The indirect evolution of kin discrimination in an asexual microbe is analogous to the indirect evolution of reproductive incompatibility in sexual eukaryotes and linguistic incompatibility among human cultures, the commonality being indirect, noncoordinated divergence of complex systems evolving in isolation.
Absolute stabilization of discrete-time systems with a sector bounded nonlinearity under control saturations

This paper presents some results on absolute stabilization of nonlinear discrete-time systems under control saturations. The studied control law consists of the feedback of both the states and of the nonlinearity present in the dynamics of the controlled system. Saturations are taken into account by modelling the nonlinear saturated system through deadzone nonlinearities satisfying a modified sector condition. Thus, as for continuous-time systems, LMI absolute stabilization conditions are proposed for the design of the feedback gains, both in the local and global stability contexts. Some relations of the proposed results with the dissipativity and passivity theory are included and a numerical example is reported
Current and past cigarette smoking significantly increase risk for microscopic colitis

Background: Cigarette smoking is an important environmental factor affecting inflammatory bowel disease. The role of smoking has not been rigorously studied in microscopic colitis (MC). The aim of this study was to compare the association of cigarette smoking in individuals with MC compared to a control population without MC. Methods: We reviewed the records of patients with a clinical and histologic diagnosis of collagenous colitis (CC) or lymphocytic colitis (LC). Clinical history, including alcohol and smoking status at the time of diagnosis of MC, were reviewed. In this case–control study, age‐ and gender‐matched patients without diarrhea presenting for outpatient colonoscopy served as the control population. Results: We analyzed a total of 340 patients with MC: 124 with CC and 216 with LC. Overall, any smoking status (former or current) was associated with MC (odds ratio [OR] 2.12, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.56–2.88). This risk was more prominent in current smokers (adjusted OR 5.36, 3.81, and 4.37 for CC, LC, and all MC, respectively, 95% CI all greater than 1). The association of smoking was not significantly affected by gender or average alcohol consumption. Conclusions: In our study population, cigarette smoking is a risk factor for the development of both forms of microscopic colitis. There were no significant differences between LC and CC, and current smoking and the development of microscopic colitis affected men and women similarly. We feel that these data are sufficient to discuss the potential risks of tobacco use in patients with microscopic colitis. (Inflamm Bowel Dis 2012)
Tympanosclerosis: Long-Term Hearing Results after Ossicular Reconstruction

OBJECTIVE: The study goal was to analyze long-term hearing results and factors likely to affect outcome after ossicular reconstruction in patients with tympanosclerosis, particularly tympanosclerotic stapes fixation. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective chart review of the past 10 years. The short- and long-term (up to 9 1/2 years) hearing results of first-stage and second-stage operations for middle ear tympanosclerosis in 203 consecutive patients, performed in a tertiary referral otologic private practice, are presented. There were 160 tympanoplasties and 43 tympanoplasties with mastoidectomy performed, with ossicular fixation secondary to tympanosclerosis in 135 cases. Of these 203, 42.9% were primary cases, with the majority being planned second-stage or revision procedures. RESULTS: The average preoperative air-bone gap (ABG) was 30.9 dB. The average short-term postoperative ABG was 17.4 dB with closure of the ABG within 20 dB in 64.6%. The success rate (ABG ≤ 20 dB) for patients with ossicular fixation was 65.3%. Partial sensorineural hearing loss occurred in 1.0% of the patients, and none experienced profound sensorineural hearing loss (dead ears). There was no statistically significant change from short-term to long-term follow-up in either ABG or air PTA, with mean differences of only 0.3 and 2.0 dB, respectively. The mean time to the last follow-up was 1.6 years. CONCLUSION: Ossicular reconstruction in individuals with tympanosclerosis can yield satisfactory, lasting hearing results with a low incidence of complications and no dead ears.
DNA damage during the G0/G1 phase triggers RNA-templated, Cockayne syndrome B-dependent homologous recombination

Significance Unrepaired DNA strand breaks at transcriptionally active sites are expected to be more deleterious than elsewhere in the genome because the integrity of the coding regions is likely to be compromised. The commonly recognized homologous recombination (HR) process occurs in the G2/M phase and depends on the presence of sister chromatids as a donor template. Our data demonstrate a Cockayne syndrome protein B- and RNA-dependent mechanism of transcription-associated HR in the G0/G1 phase and offer insight into double strand break repair at sites of active transcription. The data suggest that a deficiency in this repair mechanism might explain why neurodegeneration as well as tumorigenesis may be associated with seemingly stable, terminally differentiated (G0) cell populations. Damage repair mechanisms at transcriptionally active sites during the G0/G1 phase are largely unknown. To elucidate these mechanisms, we introduced genome site-specific oxidative DNA damage and determined the role of transcription in repair factor assembly. We find that KU and NBS1 are recruited to damage sites independent of transcription. However, assembly of RPA1, RAD51C, RAD51, and RAD52 at such sites is strictly governed by active transcription and requires both wild-type Cockayne syndrome protein B (CSB) function and the presence of RNA in the G0/G1 phase. We show that the ATPase activity of CSB is indispensable for loading and binding of the recombination factors. CSB counters radiation-induced DNA damage in both cells and zebrafish models. Taken together, our results have uncovered a novel, RNA-based recombination mechanism by which CSB protects genome stability from strand breaks at transcriptionally active sites and may provide insight into the clinical manifestations of Cockayne syndrome.
Plasticity in central olfactory processing and pheromone blend discrimination following interspecies antennal imaginal disc transplantation

The antennal imaginal disc was transplanted between premetamorphic male larvae of two different Lepidopteran moth species. Following adult eclosion, electrophysiological recordings were made from 33 central olfactory neurons in the antennal lobes of both Helicoverpa zea donor to Heliothis virescens recipient (Z‐V) and reciprocal (V‐Z) transplants. Under the influence of sensory neuron input derived from the transplanted antennal imaginal disc, most antennal lobe projection neurons (29/33) were classified as belonging to physiological categories encountered previously in donor species males. Furthermore, when stained many of these neurons had dendritic arbors restricted to donor‐induced glomerular locations predicted by their physiology. However, some neurons with unexpected physiological profiles were also identified (4/33), but only in V‐Z transplants. These profiles help to explain why some V‐Z bilateral transplants were able to respond to both pheromone blends in flight tunnel bioassays, an unforeseen result counter to the assumption that a donor antenna develops a normal donor antennal olfactory receptor neuron complement. Stainings of several neurons in V‐Z transplant males also revealed unusual morphological features including multiglomerular dendritic arbors and “incorrect” glomerular locations. These results indicate a developmental plasticity in the final dendritic arborization pattern of central olfactory neurons, including an ability to colonize and integrate inputs across topographically novel donor glomeruli, different from those found in the normal recipient antennal lobe. J. Comp. Neurol. 491:141–156, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
On the Adaptive Accuracy of Directional Asymmetry in Insect Wing Size

Abstract Subtle left–right biases are often observed in organisms with an overall bilateral symmetry. The evolutionary significance of these directional asymmetries remains uncertain, however, and scenarios of both developmental constraints and adaptation have been suggested. Reviewing the literature on asymmetry in insect wings, we analyze patterns of directional asymmetry in wing size to evaluate the possible adaptive significance of this character. We found that directional asymmetry in wing size is widespread among insects, with left- and right-biased asymmetries commonly observed. The direction of the asymmetry does not appear to be evolutionarily conserved above the species level. Overall, we argue that the very small magnitude of directional asymmetry, 0.7% of the wing size on average, associated with an extremely imprecise expression, precludes directional asymmetry from playing any major adaptive role.
Low magnesium levels are a strong negative predicting factor in patients on dialysis , leading to smooth muscle cell ossification and atherosclerosis

Albeit low magnesium levels are a known mortality factor in dialysis patients, low (0.5 mmol/l Mg) dialysate magnesium is routinely used. The apprehension that hypermagnesemia will be induced by higher dialysate magnesium prevents its use. How high patients′ magnesium levels actually are is mostly unknown, since magnesium levels are not even routinely measured. Thus, we determined the predialytic magnesium levels in 205 outpatients, dialysed with a magnesium concentration of 0.5 mmol/l and found them lower compared to age matched non dialysis patients. In another group of 54 patients we demonstrated that dialysis itself causes a significant loss of magnesium. We tested different magnesium substitutions and found higher dialysate magnesium levels of 0.75 mmol/l convenient to handle. To study the safety of such dialysate magnesium levels, we utilized a dialysate magnesium of 0.75 mmol/l in 34 patients over 30 months and heeded for complications due to hypermagnesemia. Before substitution, magnesium levels were in the low range of 0.53 mmol/l. The elevated magnesium dialysate increased serum levels to 0.63 mmol/l and was not associated to any apparent side effects or significant changes in calcium, phosphate or iPTH levels. In summary, a higher dialysate magnesium concentration is safe and averts the loss of magnesium during dialysis. *Corresponding author: Claudius Küchle, Department of Nephrology, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Ismaninger Straße 22, 81675 München, Germany E-mail: claudius.kuechle@mri.tum. de Reviewing editor: Udo Schumacher, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany Additional information is available at the end of the article
The Comovement of Investor Attention

Prior literature has documented that investor attention and constraints on that attention are associated with the pricing of stocks. We introduce the concept of attention comovement, which is the extent to which investor attention for a firm is explained by attention paid to the firm’s industry and the market in general. We find that attention comovement is non-trivial for the average firm and is related to firm characteristics, such as size and visibility. We also find that the comovement of investor attention has market consequences, in that it is positively associated with excess stock return comovement. Finally, we show that a firm’s earnings announcement contributes to the transfer of attention from one firm to its peer firms. Our results provide insights about the information flows underlying return comovement and aid in understanding the micro- and macro-nature of investor attention.
Withdrawal, apathy and lack of vigor in late life depression: Factorial validity and relationship to diagnosis

Withdrawal, apathy and lack of vigor (WAV) describe a pattern of lack of vitality and dropping of interests and activities in later life, which may or may not indicate depression. This study examines (a) whether the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) contains a measure of this symptom cluster, and if so, (b) whether the presence of WAV leads to more false positive predictions by the GDS. A total of 444 Chinese older persons responded to the GDS and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), and were independently assessed by psychiatrists for depression and other diagnoses. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that six WAV symptoms formed a distinct cluster on the GDS. WAV was positively correlated with age and MMSE but most other symptom clusters measured on the GDS were not. Nonetheless, the ROC curves were essentially the same, regardless of whether the WAV items were included or not. Further analysis revealed that the optimal cutoff for the GDS without WAV produced fewer false positives, but also missed more true cases, than the full scale. The extent to which false positives become an issue depends on the specific threshold chosen (which entails a tradeoff with sensitivity) rather than the presence of WAV items.
Hesitation Phenomena as Sources of Perceptual Errors for Non-Native Speakers

The object of the study is an analysis of the perceptual problems of non-native speakers of English. Of particular interest is the influence of the hesitation phenomena normal in spontaneous speech on the perception process. Twenty-two subjects were asked to (ortho-graphically) transcribe a stretch of spontaneous speech. These transcripts were analysed and compared with a standardized version. The results support the view that perception resembles a matching process between the listener's projection and the incoming acoustic information. No typical differences were found between the perception strategies of native speakers and non-native speakers. Hesitation phenomena were found to be important sources of perceptual problems for the non-native speakers.
Clinical nursing leaders' perceptions of nutrition quality indicators in Swedish stroke wards: a national survey.

AIM To describe nursing leaders' perceptions of nutrition quality in Swedish stroke wards. BACKGROUND A high risk of undernutrition places great demand on nutritional care in stroke wards. Evidence-based guidelines exist, but healthcare professionals have reported low interest in nutritional care. The Donabedian framework of structure, process and outcome is recommended to monitor and improve nutrition quality. METHOD Using a descriptive cross-sectional design, a web-based questionnaire regarding nutritional care quality was delivered to eligible participants. RESULT Most clinical nursing leaders reported structure indicators, e.g. access to dieticians. Among process indicators, regular assessment of patients' swallowing was most frequently reported in comprehensive stroke wards compared with other stroke wards. Use of outcomes to monitor nutrition quality was not routine. Wards using standard care plans showed significantly better results. CONCLUSION Using the structure, process and outcome framework to examine nutrition quality, quality-improvement needs became visible. To provide high-quality nutrition, all three structure, process and outcome components must be addressed. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT The use of care pathways, standard care plans, the Senior Alert registry, as well as systematic use of outcome measures could improve nutrition quality. To assist clinical nursing leaders in managing all aspects of quality, structure, process and outcome can be a valuable framework.
Modeling and Estimation of LCD Noise Modulation for Radio Frequency Interference

A liquid crystal display baseband noise, whose spectrum is much lower than RF bands, is modulated with the carrier signal of cellular communication and interferes with an Rx receiver resulting in a desensitization problem. The modulation phenomenon is modeled with impedance parameters and a modulation coefficient. The coupled noise on the embedded cellular antenna is experimentally validated in both small- and large-frequency offset cases. In addition, to estimate the modulated noise coupling to the antenna earlier in the development process, a numerical simulation method considering the impedance of display drive IC is proposed successfully validated.