Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Insulin resistance in the first-degree relatives of persons with type 2 diabetes.

BACKGROUND Type 2 diabetes is characterized by impaired insulin secretion and insulin resistance. Both genetic and environmental factors are thought to play a role in the pathogenesis of this disease. Obesity is associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes, but some metabolic abnormalities may also be present in lean, predisposed subjects. The aim of the present study was to assess insulin sensitivity in lean normoglycemic offspring of parents with type 2 diabetes. MATERIAL/METHODS We examined 17 lean offspring (BMI<25 kg x m-2) whose parents had type 2 diabetes, and 17 age, sex and BMI-matched subjects without family history of diabetes as controls. Anthropometric and biochemical measurements, oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), and euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp were performed. RESULTS The subjects did not differ in anthropometric measurements, and all had normal glucose tolerance according to WHO criteria. Offspring of type 2 diabetic parents were markedly more hyperinsulinemic (p<0.05) and insulin resistant (p<0.005). The ratio of the increase in insulin to the increase in glucose during the first 30 minutes of the OGTT, a crude index of first-phase insulin secretion, did not differ between groups. Insulin sensitivity was negatively related to fasting plasma insulin (r=-0.67, p<0.001) and non-esterified fatty acids (r=-0.43, p<0.02). CONCLUSIONS Insulin resistance is present even in young lean subjects at high risk to develop type 2 diabetes. Our data suggest that insulin resistance may be a primary abnormality in the pathogenesis of this disease.
Formation of the calcarine sulcus: a potential marker to predict the progression in utero of isolated mild fetal ventriculomegaly

Abstract Our previous study confirmed the negative association between the development of calcarine sulcus and the width of lateral ventricles. The purpose of current study was to evaluate the reliability of calcarine sulcus depth in the 2nd trimester to predict the prenatal enlargement of lateral ventricle in fetuses with isolated mild fetal ventriculomegaly (IMVM). This study used a retrospective cohort study design. A total of 97 pregnant women with IMVM diagnosed between 20 and 26 weeks’ gestation returned for a 2nd examination at 30 to 32 weeks. Lateral ventricular size and calcarine sulcus depth were acquired from ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, respectively. Progression was defined as the process of developing from a lower group toward a higher (<10 mm, 10–12 mm, 13–15 mm, and ≥16 mm). Significant correlation was observed between calcarine sulcus depth and ventricular measurements at the 2nd scan (r = −0.71, P < .0001). Receiver-operating characteristic curves showed that calcarine sulcus depth (area under curve [AUC] = 0.83, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.74–0.92) had the best diagnostic performance in predicting the prenatal progression, as compared with lateral ventricle width (AUC = 0.69, 95%CI = 0.54–0.84) and gestational age (AUC = 0.70, 95%CI = 0.57–0.83) at the initial scan. The cutoff value for calcarine sulcus depth was 3.3 mm, with the corresponding sensitivity and specificity were 75.0% and 81.3%, respectively. Multivariate analyses showed that calcarine sulcus depth ≥3.3 mm (odds ratio = 0.09, 95%CI = 0.02–0.38, P = .001) was an independent predictor of the prenatal progression. For IMVM, calcarine sulcus depth might be a powerful marker to identify subjects at higher risk for worse prenatal progression.
Detection of unruptured cerebral artery aneurysms by MRA at 3.0 tesla: comparison with multislice helical computed tomographic angiography

Background Computed tomographic angiography (CTA) has become the primary non-invasive method for detection of cerebral artery aneurysms in many neurovascular centers. Purpose To compare MR-angiography at a 3.0 tesla (3T) scanner to CTA in the detection of unruptured intracranial aneurysms. Material and Methods CTA and 3T MRA data from 60 patients were evaluated. CTA was obtained with a 4–16-row helical CT-scanner after administration of 120 cc intravenous contrast agent, MRA was performed by a 3T MR-scanner using time-of-flight pulse sequence. Results Fifty-five cerebral artery aneurysms were detected by MRA and 47 aneurysms by CTA. Most of the aneurysms detected by MRA but not by CTA were small internal carotid artery (ICA) aneurysms. Bone structures and venous enhancement deteriorated CTA accuracy, especially in skull base. In one patient a fairly large anterior communicating artery aneurysm was not visible in MRA due to spin saturation, although it was clearly visualized in CTA. After contrast injection the aneurysm was also seen in MRA. Although the overall image quality of MRA and CTA were comparable, MRA was more susceptible to artifacts and thus re-formatted surface-shaded volume rendered 3-dimensional images of aneurysms from MRA were inferior compared to those from CTA. Conclusion MRA at 3T appears to be at least as sensitive as CTA in the detection of unruptured cerebral artery aneurysms, however image quality control is crucial and contrast agent enhances visualization of complex and large aneurysms.
Social networks and concurrent sexual relationships – a qualitative study among men in an urban South African community

Abstract The aim was to explore and describe characteristics of males’ social and sexual networks in a South African peri-urban community. Twenty in-depth interviews were conducted with men participating in a larger quantitative study where the median age of the men was 28.7 years and almost 56% had some high-school education, 17.2% were unemployed and 94.7% were not married. A Thematic Question Guide with open-ended questions was used for the interviews. A thematic content analysis was conducted to explore the characteristics and dynamics of social and sexual relationships among these men. A high number of temporary and stable concurrent female sexual partners, geographic mobility and high levels of unprotected sex were common. Increased status as a man and lack of trust in women's fidelity were given as important reasons for concurrent female sexual relationships. Strong social networks within male core groups provided economic and social support for the pursuit and maintenance of this behaviour. Concurrent sexual relationships in combination with high viral loads among newly infected individuals unaware of their HIV status create an extremely high-risk environment for the spread of HIV in this population. Interventions targeting men at high risk of HIV need to challenge current societal norms of masculinity to help promote individual sexual risk reduction strategies. Such strategies should go beyond increasing condom use, to include a reduction in the number of concurrent sexual partners.
ECG Feature Extraction Based on Multiresolution Wavelet Transform

In this work, we have developed and evaluated an electrocardiogram (ECG) feature extraction system based on the multi-resolution wavelet transform. ECG signals from Modified Lead II (MLII) are chosen for processing. The result of applying two wavelet filters (D4 and D6) of different length on the signal is compared. The wavelet filter with scaling function more closely to the shape of the ECG signal achieved better detection. In the first step, the ECG signal was de-noised by removing the corresponding wavelet coefficients at higher scales. Then, QRS complexes are detected and each complex is used to locate the peaks of the individual waves, including onsets and offsets of the P and T waves which are present in one cardiac cycle. We evaluated the algorithm on MIT-BIH Database, the manually annotated database, for validation purposes. The proposed QRS detector achieved sensitivity of 99.18% plusmn 2.75 and a positive predictivity of 98.00% plusmn 4.45 over the validation database
Mental Health Outcomes of Discrimination among College Students on a Predominately White Campus: A Prospective Study

Racial discrimination is a social stressor harmful to mental health. In this paper, we explore the links between mental health and interpersonal discrimination-related social events, exposure to vicarious racism via social media, and rumination on racial injustices using a daily diary design. We utilize data from a racially diverse sample of 149 college students with 1,489 unique time observations at a large, predominantly white university. Results show that interpersonal discrimination-related social events predicted greater self-reported anger, anxiety, depressive symptoms, and loneliness both daily and on average over time. Vicarious racism from day to day was associated with increased anxiety symptoms. In contrast, rumination was not associated with negative mental health outcomes. These findings document an increased day-to-day mental health burden for minority students arising from frustrating and alienating social encounters experienced individually or learned about vicariously.
Limited Maternal Fuel Availability due to Hyperinsulinemia Retards Fetal Growth and Development in the Rat

ABSTRACT. We rendered pregnant rats chronically hyperinsulinemic to determine the effect of reduced maternal metabolic fuel availability on fetal growth and development. We implanted osmotically driven insulin loaded minipumps on day 14 (term 21.5 days) in pregnant rats. This significantly increased maternal plasma concentrations of insulin and reduced glucose from day 15 until term. From day 17 until birth, fetal growth was significantly less for hyperinsulinemic mothers (term birth weight 4.53 ± 0.07 versus 5.64 ± 0.06 g, p < 0.001). In fetuses of hyperinsulinemic mothers plasma glucose and insulin concentrations were significantly reduced while glucagon concentrations were increased. Total plasma amino acids were significantly reduced in maternal rats and their fetuses from days 17 to 19 while arteriovenous blood gas tensions and pH did not differ between fetuses of hyperinsulinemic and control mothers. Small for gestational age newborn pups of hyperinsulinemic mothers were hypoglycemic for the first 240 min of life as a result of limited hepatic glycogen stores and a delay in the normally expected induction of hepatic cytosolic phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase. This occurred despite significant increases in neonatal plasma glucagon concentrations. These data indicate that limitation of maternal glucose and amino acids with normal placental gaseous exchange retards fetal growth, limits hepatic glycogen deposition, and delays neonatal phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase induction. Limited fetal insulin secretion resulting from diminished maternal fuel availability may have also been a factor in retarding growth. The delay in phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase induction despite enhanced glucagon secretion during fetal and neonatal life suggests a specific “resistance” to this hormone in the rat growth retarded by limited metabolic fuel availability.
Gradient Coding From Cyclic MDS Codes and Expander Graphs

Gradient coding is a technique for straggler mitigation in distributed learning. In this paper we design novel gradient codes using tools from classical coding theory, namely, cyclic MDS codes, which compare favorably with existing solutions, both in the applicable range of parameters and in the complexity of the involved algorithms. Second, we introduce an approximate variant of the gradient coding problem, in which we settle for approximate gradient computation instead of the exact one. This approach enables graceful degradation, i.e., the $\ell _{2}$ error of the approximate gradient is a decreasing function of the number of stragglers. Our main result is that normalized adjacency matrices of expander graphs yield excellent approximate gradient codes, which enable significantly less computation compared to exact gradient coding, and guarantee faster convergence than trivial solutions under standard assumptions. We experimentally test our approach on Amazon EC2, and show that the generalization error of approximate gradient coding is very close to the full gradient while requiring significantly less computation from the workers.
Regulatory framework of mergers and acquisitions

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present various institutional laws that refer to mergers and acquisitions (M & As) in India and recommend a few guidelines for institutions and multinational managers participating in foreign investment and acquisition deals. Design/methodology/approach – The study is intended to review, summarize and discuss the legal framework that adheres to M & As, takeovers and foreign investment. Findings – Major observations from the comprehensive review include the fact that higher-valuation inbound deals have been delayed or have failed because of a weak financial infrastructure, erratic nature of government officials and political intervention, and the newly elected government has aimed to attract higher inflow of investments from other developed and emerging markets by easing investment rules and offering tax holidays. Research limitations/implications – This paper, indeed, reflects unseen empirical observation with regard to the characteristics of the market for acquis.
Min-Max Fair Power Flow Tracing for Transmission System Usage Cost Allocation: A Large System Perspective

Power flow tracing has been suggested as an approach for evaluating 1) transmission system usage (TSU) cost and 2) loss (MW) cost for generator and load entities in the system. Recently, optimal power flow tracing methods have been proposed to “explicitly” model fairness constraints in the tracing framework. This paper, further, strengthens the tracing-compliant min-max fair cost allocation approach. The min-max model proposed in this paper is robust. It addresses concerns like scalability, numerical stability and termination in a finite number of steps while searching the optimal solution. We also propose a methodology to model DISCOMs and GENCOs as coalition within min-max framework. Case studies on an all India network of 1699 nodes and comparison with average participation and marginal participation methods bring out the better conflict resolution feature of the proposed approach. A method to model HVDC lines within the marginal participation scheme is also proposed. Quantitative and qualitative comparison of various TSU cost allocation methods on such a large system is another noteworthy contribution of the paper.
The Role of University in Seniors' Education: A Romanian Perspective

The continuous education of university professors gets new valences and supplementary elements of quality and innovation, if it is studied from the perspective of the university mission to initiate, organize, and launch seniors' education projects. In this study, using the method of comprehensive interviews, we analyzed the state of the art of the cooperation between universities and seniors education providers in Romania with the aim of identifying the best practices and suggesting new ways of approaching this field, unjustly ignored in education sciences literature. The conclusions highlight the fact that, although the educational infrastrucure may be available to seniors, consistent efforts must be done in the direction of stregthening the cooperation between seniors' education stakeholders, at both European and Romanian level.
Aspartyl proteinase, phospholipase, esterase and hemolysin activities of clinical isolates of the Candida parapsilosis species complex.

Candida parapsilosis is considered as an important emerging fungal pathogen and was recently found to be a complex that include three species, i.e., Candida parapsilosis sensu stricto, Candida orthopsilosis and Candida metapsilosis. The aim of this study was to determine the in vitro aspartyl proteinase, phospholipase, esterase and hemolysin activities of 65 clinical isolates of the C. parapsilosis complex, which had been previously identified by RFLP-BanI analysis. Of the enzymes evaluated, aspartyl proteinase was the least produced by the C. parapsilosis species complex. Phospholipase and esterase were strongly expressed by C. orthopsilosis (67% of isolates), while 10% and 13% of C. parapsilosis sensu stricto isolates were strong producers, respectively, of these two enzymes. In contrast, high production of both enzymes was not detected in C. metapsilosis. Hemolysin activity was significantly more abundant in C. orthopsilosis (87%) than C. parapsilosis sensu stricto (67%). Overall, C. orthopsilosis isolates were statistically associated with the production of hemolysins (P= 0.048) and phospholipases (P< 0.0001) compared to isolates of C. parapsilosis sensu stricto or C. metapsilosis. Furthermore, a statistical association was found between isolates recovered from blood and phospholipase production (P= 0.017). The distribution of isolates obtained from blood was 30% of C. parapsilosis sensu stricto, 67% of C. orthopsilosis and 20% of C. metapsilosis.
Advantages of Maize-Cowpea Intercropping over Sole Cropping through Competition Indices

Different mix-proportions and planting patterns of maize (Zea mays L.) and cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.) were compared with the sole cropping of each crop during 2010 and 2011 growing seasons under the southern Guinea savanna conditions in Nigeria. The experiment comprised of 6 treatments: sole maize (51,282 plants ha-1), sole cowpea (61,538 plants ha-1) and 4 maize-cowpea intercropping mixproportion: 100 maize:100 cowpea, 50 maize:50 cowpea, 60 maize:40 cowpea and 40 maize:60 cowpea, using randomized complete block design with three replications. Evaluation of the intercropping patterns was performed on basis of several intercropping indices such as land equivalent ratio (LER), relative crowding coefficient (K), aggressivity (A), competitive ratio (CR), actual yield loss (AYL), and intercropping index (IA). The study revealed that the mix-proportion of 50 maize: 50 cowpea, gave a similar grain yield compared to other intercropped plots, better land use efficiency, significantly (p≤ 0.05) lowest actual yield loss of 23 % and a significantly (p≤ 0.05) higher intercropping advantage of +574.66. The study also revealed that intercropping systems could be an eco-friendly approach for reducing weed problems through non-chemical methods, mix-proportion of 50 maize: 50 cowpea, planted on alternate rows could be a better intercropping pattern.
Are Europeans ready for a more democratic European Union? New evidence on preference heterogeneity, polarisation and crosscuttingness

Some scholars and policy makers argue in favour of increasing democratic contestation for leadership and policy at the European level, for instance by having European-wide parties campaign for competing candidates for President of the European Commission ahead of European Parliament elections. But do such changes put the survival of the European Union at risk? According to the consociational interpretation of the EU, the near absence of competitive and majoritarian elements has been a necessary condition for the stability of the EU political system given its highly diverse population. This article contributes to the debate in two ways. First, it develops a more precise understanding of ‘problematic’ diversity by examining how three variables – the heterogeneity, polarisation and crosscuttingness of citizen preferences over public polices – affect the risk of democratic contestation generating persistent and systematically dissatisfied minorities. Second, it uses opinion surveys to determine whether the degree of diversity of the European population is problematically high compared to that of established democratic states. It is found that the population of the EU is slightly more heterogeneous and polarised than the population of the average Member State, although policy preferences in several Member States are more heterogeneous and polarised than the EU as a whole. Strikingly, however, policy preference cleavages are more crosscutting in the EU than in nearly all Member States, reducing the risk of persistent minorities. Moreover, policy preferences tend to be less heterogeneous and polarised, and nearly as crosscutting, in the EU as a whole as in the United States. For observers worried about how high polarisation and low crosscuttingness in policy preferences may combine to threaten democratic stability, these findings should be reassuring.
A human cytomegalovirus early gene has three inducible promoters that are regulated differentially at various times after infection

The long inverted repeat and the adjacent sequences are major early transcription sites of the human cytomegalovirus genome (M. W. Wathen and M. F. Stinski, J. Virol. 41:462-477, 1982). An early transcription unit which flanks the large terminal repeat was analyzed by RNA mapping at various times after infection. Three unspliced, overlapping RNAs were transcribed from different initiation sites and terminated at the same 3' end. Individual promoters were isolated for all three transcripts. These promoters were activated in trans by viral immediate-early (IE) regulatory proteins after either infection with virus or cotransfection with IE2 alone or IE1 plus IE2 genes. DNA sequence analysis detected TATA and CAAT boxes plus multiple-dyad symmetries in the promoter-regulatory region. Deletion analyses showed that the maximum inducible promoter activity lay in a 230-base-pair region. When in the viral genome, the three promoters were regulated differentially during the course of infection. The upstream promoter was used only at late times after infection. Possible reasons for viral RNAs with multiple 5' ends at different times after infection and the recognition of the upstream promoter at only late times after infection are discussed.
Long-term evolution of cardiomyopathy in dialysis patients.

BACKGROUND Left ventricular enlargement is very common at the inception of dialysis therapy, and highly predictive of future cardiac morbidity and mortality. It is not known whether cardiac size increases further while on dialysis therapy and whether potentially reversible risk factors for later progression can be identified. METHODS; Baseline and yearly echocardiograms were performed in a prospective inception cohort of 433 dialysis patients. The mean patient follow-up was 41 months; 29 patients had four consecutive echocardiograms at yearly intervals. RESULTS The patient subset with four echocardiograms was older (58 vs. 51 years, P = 0.02) and had a lower mass ventricular mass index (128 vs. 149 g/m2, P = 0.02) than the parent group. Using repeated measures analysis of variance, applied to those with four echocardiograms, there were progressive increases over time in posterior wall thickness (P = 0.015), left ventricular end-diastolic diameter, left ventricular mass index (P = 0.001), and cavity volume index (P = 0. 001). Mass-to-volume ratios did not change. The biggest changes in mass (18 g/m2 - 14%)and volume index (13 ml/m2 - 18%) occurred between baseline and year 1, although increases in both were seen after year 1. Hemodialysis versus peritoneal dialysis (41 g/m2, P = 0.008) and anemia (10 g/m2 per 1 g/dl drop in hemoglobin, P = 0.02) were associated with progressive left ventricular enlargement, but only within the first year of dialysis therapy. The left ventricular enlargement seen after year 1 was independent of anemia, blood pressure, serum albumin and mode of dialysis. CONCLUSIONS Progressive cardiac enlargement, particularly left ventricular dilation with compensatory hypertrophy, continues after starting dialysis therapy. Most of the additional cardiac enlargement seems to occur in the first year of dialysis therapy, suggesting that intervention beyond one year may be relatively ineffective.