Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
In older men an optimal plasma testosterone is associated with reduced all-cause mortality and higher dihydrotestosterone with reduced ischemic heart disease mortality, while estradiol levels do not predict mortality.

CONTEXT Testosterone (T) levels decline with age and lower T has been associated with increased mortality in aging men. However, the associations of its metabolites, dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and estradiol (E2), with mortality are poorly defined. OBJECTIVE We assessed associations of T, DHT, and E2 with all-cause and ischemic heart disease (IHD) mortality in older men. PARTICIPANTS Participants were community-dwelling men aged 70 to 89 years who were residing in Perth, Western Australia. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Plasma total T, DHT, and E2 were assayed using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry in early morning samples collected in 2001 to 2004 from 3690 men. Deaths to December 2010 were ascertained by data linkage. RESULTS There were 974 deaths (26.4%), including 325 of IHD. Men who died had lower baseline T (12.8±5.1 vs 13.2±4.8 nmol/L [mean±SD], P=.013), DHT (1.4±0.7 vs 1.5±0.7 nmol/L, P=.002), and E2 (71.6±29.3 vs 74.0±29.0 pmol/L, P=.022). After allowance for other risk factors, T and DHT were associated with all-cause mortality (T: quartile [Q] Q2:Q1, adjusted hazard ratio [HR]=0.82, P=.033; Q3:Q1, HR=0.78, P=.010; Q4:Q1, HR=0.86, P>.05; DHT: Q3:Q1, HR=0.76, P=.003; Q4:Q1, HR=0.84, P>.05). Higher DHT was associated with lower IHD mortality (Q3:Q1, HR=0.58, P=.002; Q4:Q1, HR=0.69, P=.026). E2 was not associated with either all-cause or IHD mortality. CONCLUSIONS Optimal androgen levels are a biomarker for survival because older men with midrange levels of T and DHT had the lowest death rates from any cause, whereas those with higher DHT had lower IHD mortality. Further investigations of the biological basis for these associations including randomized trials of T supplementation are needed.
Mental Health Outcomes in Police Personnel After Hurricane Katrina

Objective:We examined symptoms of depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) personnel who provided law enforcement and relief services to affected communities following Hurricane Katrina. Methods:We conducted a cross-sectional survey of mental health outcomes related to personal and work-related exposures of police personnel 8 weeks after the Hurricane. Results:Of the 912 police personnel who completed the questionnaire, 227 (26%) reported symptoms consistent with depression and 170 (19%) reported symptoms consistent with PTSD. Risk factors associated with PTSD include recovery of bodies, crowd control, assault, and injury to a family member. Depressive symptoms were associated with rare family contact, uninhabitable home, isolation from the NOPD, assault, and injury to a family member. Conclusions:Police personnel reported symptoms of PTSD and depression associated with work-related and personal factors following Hurricane Katrina.
Salidroside exerts angiogenic and cytoprotective effects on human bone marrow‐derived endothelial progenitor cells via Akt/mTOR/p70S6K and MAPK signalling pathways

With the increase of age, increased susceptibility to apoptosis and senescence may contribute to proliferative and functional impairment of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs). The aim of this study was to investigate whether salidroside (SAL) can induce angiogenic differentiation and inhibit oxidative stress‐induced apoptosis in bone marrow‐derived EPCs (BM‐EPCs), and if so, through what mechanism.
Phase II double-blind placebo-controlled randomized study of armodafinil for brain radiation-induced fatigue.

BACKGROUND Common acute-term side effects of brain radiotherapy (RT) include fatigue, drowsiness, decreased physical functioning, and decreased quality of life (QOL). We hypothesized that armodafinil (a wakefulness-promoting drug known to reduce fatigue and increase cognitive function in breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy) would result in reduced fatigue and sleepiness for patients receiving brain RT. METHODS A phase II, multi-institutional, placebo-controlled randomized trial assessed feasibility of armodafinil 150 mg/day in participants receiving brain RT, from whom we obtained estimates of variability for fatigue, sleepiness, QOL, cognitive function, and treatment effect. RESULTS From September 20, 2010, to October 20, 2012, 54 participants enrolled with 80% retention and 94% self-reported compliance. There were no grade 4-5 toxicities, and the incidence of grade 2-3 toxicities was similar between treatment arms, the most common of which were anxiety and nausea (15%), headaches (19%), and insomnia (20%). There were no statistically significant differences in end-RT or 4 week post-RT outcomes between armodafinil and placebo in any outcomes (Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy [FACIT]-Fatigue, Brief Fatigue Inventory, Epworth Sleepiness Scale, FACT-Brain, and FACIT-cognitive function). However, in participants with more baseline fatigue, those treated with armodafinil did better than those who received the placebo on the end-RT assessments for several outcomes. CONCLUSION Armodafinil 150 mg/day was well tolerated in primary brain tumor patients undergoing RT with good compliance. While there was no overall significant effect on fatigue, those with greater baseline fatigue experienced improved QOL and reduced fatigue when using armodafinil. These data suggest that a prospective, phase III randomized trial is warranted for patients with greater baseline fatigue.
Natural Resources and Reforms

The authors use a sample of 133 countries to investigate the link between the abundance of natural resources and micro-economic reforms. Previous studies suggest that natural resource abundance gives rise to governments that are less accountable to the public and states that are oligarchic, and that it leads to the erosion of social capital. These factors are likely to hamper economic reforms. The authors test this hypothesis using data on micro-economic reforms from the World Bank's Doing Business database. The results provide a robust support for the"resource curse"view: a move from the 75th percentile to the 25th percentile on resource abundance equals 10.9 percentage points more reform. This is a large effect given that the mean probability of reform in the sample is 57.1 percent.
The Online Shopping Profile in the Cross-National Context

Abstract A study of online shopping in five nations (Austria, Canada, Iran, Taiwan, and the USA) demonstrates the utility of the 7-facet “online shopping profile” (OSP), beyond the unidimensional indices widely employed in investigations of the adoption/use of online shopping. Further, the roles of domain-specific innovativeness and of two dimensions of perceived newness of the innovation (novelty and recency of introduction) are examined. Findings indicate that domain-specific innovativeness is a highly effective predictor of many facets of OSP in each nation's sample, but call into question whether domain-specific innovativeness represents innovativeness as traditionally defined. Implications for behavioral/marketing scientists and for practitioners are discussed.
Undergraduate Knowledge of Aging

Abstract This study assesses undergraduate knowledge of aging, distinguishing between types of deficits (ignorance vs. misinformation) and content areas as delineated by a biopsychosocial framework. Knowledge is examined as an outcome oftaking an aging elective, while accounting for course rating and knowledge retention. A diverse body of UCLA undergraduate students who took an aging course (n = 349) and a stratified random comparison group (n = 430) took Palmore's Facts on Aging Quiz and scored 14 and 12 items correct, respectively. Undergraduates (n = 779) showed a good knowledge of aging in the psychological-cognitive domain, but consistent with previous findings, they exhibited deficits primarily in the social-demographic realm. Taking an aging course was significantly related to better overall knowledge of aging (correct) (p ⩽ .0001), and fewer don't know responses (p ⩽ .0001). Course rating and shorter timing until testing were also significantly related to better knowledge.
BIAXIAL SHEAR/TENSION FAILURE CRITERIA OF SPECTRA SINGLE FIBERS

Sun, Jianzhuo. M.S.A.A. , Purdue University, May 2014. Biaxial Shear/Tension Failure Criteria of Spectra single fibers. Major Professor: Weinong Chen. An experimental study was conducted to develop the biaxial failure surface criteria of single Spectra 130d and 100d filaments in a torsion-tension environment. The crosssectional profiles of single Spectra fibers were investigated using scanning electron microscopy and X-ray computed tomography. A pin-gripping method to fix the ends of a polyethylene single fiber was developed. Effects of pin diameter on failure stress for both Spectra 130d and 100d were characterized. It was found that the perturbed stress field effect can be neglected when the pin diameter is larger than 0.8 mm. Additionally, the effect of the sample’s gage length on fiber tensile strength was investigated. The gage length of 5.5 mm was determined as an appropriate length for single fiber samples under stress-wave loading. A twisting apparatus was built for a single fiber to achieve specific degrees of shear strains. Quasi-static experiments were conducted using an MTS servo-hydraulic system to apply tensile loads on pre-twisted Spectra fibers. A tension Kolsky bar was employed to study the biaxial shear/tensile behavior of Spectra fibers at high strain rates. A decreasing trend of tensile strength, with increasing torsional strain, for Spectra fibers was observed. Furthermore, a torsional pendulum apparatus was developed to determine the torsional shear stresses in fibers at various levels of axial loading. The relationship between apparent
PU.1-dependent regulation of UCH L1 expression in B-lymphoma cells

Elevated levels of ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase L1 (UCH L1) have been detected in a variety of malignancies, and recent studies show the oncogenic capacity of overexpressed UCH L1 in vivo in animal models. Here we demonstrate that expression of endogenous UCH L1 is significantly higher in B-lymphoma cells than in transformed cells of epithelial and fibroblastic origin. The specific hematopoietic transcription factor PU.1 induces UCH L1 expression through direct activation of the uch l1 promoter. Using chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays and direct mutagenesis we identified PU.1 binding sites on the uch l1 promoter, at least three of which are involved in this activation. We also show that the viral transcriptional co-activator EBNA2 dramatically increases PU.1-dependent up-regulation of endogenous UCH L1 expression. Finally, inhibition of PU.1 expression with specific shRNA resulted in reduction of UCH L1 mRNA and protein levels in Epstein–Barr virus (EBV)-transformed B-cells. We propose that the ubiquitin-editing enzyme UCH L1 is a multifunctional pro-oncogenic factor involved in development and progression of certain lymphoid malignancies, including EBV-associated lymphomas.
Automaticity , Control , and the Social Brain

The social world is good at keeping the human brain busy, posing cognitive challenges that are complex, frequent, and enormously important to our well-being. In fact, the computational demands of the social world may be the principal reason why the human brain has evolved to its present form and function relative to other primates (Dunbar, 1993). Importantly, the human brain is often able to make sense of the social world without having to do too much work. This is because many of its processes are automatically initiated by the presence of relevant social stimuli and run to completion without much, if any, conscious intervention (Bargh & Chartrand, 1999; Gilbert, Pelham, & Krull, 1988). Not surprisingly, then, the idea that mental processes vary in their level of automaticity has had a powerful influence on theories of social cognition (Chaiken & Trope, 1999). In the past two decades, the rapid development of methods for peering into the working human brain has made it possible to study the operation of the brain as it confronts and reflects on social information. As a result, we now know a great deal about the neuroanatomical correlates of social cognition. Although automaticity and control have been invoked to describe the operation of the social brain (cf. Lieberman, Gaunt, Gilbert, & Trope, 2002; Lieberman, 2007; Morris & Mason, 2009), there appears to be no consensus regarding what these constructs mean in terms of brain function or how they should be investigated using the methods of social neuroscience (but see Satpute & Lieberman, 2006). Hence, we begin this chapter by broadly considering how the construct of automaticity should be understood and investigated in social neuroscience. Next, we narrow our focus to social neuroscience research, to a fundamental topic in social cognition, in which questions of automaticity have historically had a large influence: causal attribution of observed behavior. Such research has identified two large-scale systems in the human brain that are reliably associated with dissociable functions in the causal attribution of behavior: the socalled mirror neuron and mentalizing systems. Now that these systems have been identified, social neuroscience has reached a point that questions about the automaticity of social causal attribution can be tackled by investigating the operating characteristics of the brain systems with which that process is reliably associated. Based on existing research, we propose an identification– attribution (I-A) model of these two systems’ contributions to the causal explanation of behavior, with the mirror neuron system supporting relatively automatic behavior identification and the mentalizing system C H A P T E R 19
Influence of Daily Consumption of Probiotic and Conventional Yoghurt on the Plasma Lipid Profile in Young Healthy Women

Background: A number of studies have found conflicting results concerning the modulation of plasma lipids induced by probiotics. Therefore, the aim of this study was to verify and compare the effects of probiotic and conventional yoghurt on the plasma lipid profile of normocholesterolemic women. Methods: In this study, female volunteers consumed 100 g/day of probiotic (n = 17) or conventional yoghurt (n = 16) for 2 weeks (T1–T2) and 200 g/day for further 2 weeks (T2–T3). A washout phase lasting 2 weeks followed (T4). Total and HDL cholesterol and triglycerides were determined by enzymatic methods; LDL cholesterol was calculated using the Friedewald formula. Results: The average concentration of total cholesterol was consistent throughout the whole study in the control group, but decreased significantly (p < 0.01) in the probiotic group consuming 200 g yoghurt/day (T2–T3). During the period of daily yoghurt intake (T1–T3) the mean HDL cholesterol level increased significantly (p < 0.05) in the probiotic group, resulting in a significant (p < 0.05) improvement of the total/HDL cholesterol ratio. The significant (p < 0.01) reduction of the average plasma LDL cholesterol values found in this period (T1–T3) in the probiotic and the control groups was associated with a significant (p < 0.05) improvement of the LDL/HDL cholesterol ratios in both tested groups. Conclusion: Although several lipid parameters changed during the study in both the probiotic and the control group, no significant differences between the groups were observed. Therefore, it can be concluded that the regular consumption of both probiotic and conventional yoghurt for 4 weeks had a positive effect on the lipid profile in plasma of healthy women.
Comparison of three estimators of species richness in parasite component communities.

Comparisons of species richness between parasite component communities are often confounded by uneven sampling effort and the possibility that rare species have been missed from some component communities. The use of nonparametric estimators of species richness could potentially alleviate this problem by allowing the number of missing species to be extrapolated from the observed data. The performance of 3 estimators and their sensitivity to true species richness and the frequency of rare species, i.e., species with low prevalence, were tested using computer-simulated parasite communities. When the number of hosts examined in a sample is large, the observed species richness is an accurate estimate of true richness; no extrapolation is necessary even when rare species make up a large part of the community. At small sample sizes, observed species richness is a poor underestimate of true richness. The jackknife estimator and Chao's estimator both improve the estimate of species richness, but they are imprecise and can seriously overshoot the true richness value when the community includes many rare species. The bootstrap estimator. on the other hand, gives a better estimate than observed richness. Bootstrap estimates are also less variable and less likely to overestimate true richness, independently of how frequent rare species are in the community. This estimator provides a better, but conservative, estimate of true richness than observed richness and should be used to correct for inadequate host sampling. Data from natural communities suggest that the use of richness estimators is often justified, and that many parasite species may regularly escape detection.
Local Recurrence Following Initial Resection of NSCLC: Salvage Is Possible with Radiation Therapy

PURPOSEAfter surgical resection of non-small cell lung cancer, local/ regional recurrence is observed in 20% to 50% of patients, often without evidence of distant metastases. This retrospective study evaluates the utility of salvage radiation therapy in this setting. MATERIALS AND METHODSBetween 1991 and 2003, 29 consecutive patients were treated with definitive radiotherapy (N= 14) or chemoradio-therapy (N = 15) for recurrent non–small cell lung cancer after surgical resection at Duke University Medical Center. The median time from date of surgery to date of recurrence was 18 months (range, 2–151). At the time of recurrence, most patients had mediastinal adenopathy (N = 19), but seven patients had disease confined to the surgical stump and three had hilar adenopathy with (N= 2) or without (N= 1) a stump recurrence. The median radiation therapy dose was 66 Gy (range, 46–74). Local control and overall survival were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. A univariate regression analysis was performed to evaluate the effect of several patient- and treatment-related factors on local control and overall survival. RESULTSMedian survival after radiation therapy was 17 months. Of the 29 patients, five are alive without evidence of disease 22, 28, 34, 54, and 158 months since completing radiation therapy. Actuarial local control and overall survival at 2 years were 62% and 38%, respectively. There was a trend toward improved survival with younger age and a longer disease-free interval between surgery and local recurrence, but these findings were not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONSRadiation therapy, with or without chemotherapy, produced a 2-year survival of 38% in our series of patients with local/regional recurrence of non–small cell lung cancer after resection. Aggressive therapy in this population of patients is warranted.
Characterization of the duplicate ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase genes and cbb promoters of Alcaligenes eutrophus

Autotrophic CO2 fixation via the Calvin carbon reduction cycle in Alcaligenes eutrophus H16 is genetically determined by two highly homologous cbb operons, one of which is located on the chromosome and the other on megaplasmid pHG1 of the organism. An activator gene, cbbR, lies in divergent orientation only 167 bp upstream of the chromosomal operon and controls the expression of both cbb operons. The two 5'-terminal genes of the operons, cbbLS, coding for ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase, were sequenced. Mapping of the 5' termini of the 2.1-kb cbbLS transcripts by primer extension and by nuclease S1 treatment revealed a single transcriptional start point at the same relative position for the chromosomal and plasmid-borne cbb operons. The derived cbb operon promoter showed similarity to sigma 70-dependent promoters of Escherichia coli. For the 1.4-kb transcripts of cbbR, the transcriptional start points were different in autotrophic and heterotrophic cells. The two corresponding cbbR promoters overlapped the cbb operon promoter and also displayed similarities to sigma 70-dependent promoters. The deficient cbbR gene located on pHG1 was transcribed as well. A newly constructed double operon fusion vector was used to determine the activities of the cbb promoters. Fusions with fragments carrying the cbb intergenic control regions demonstrated that the cbb operon promoters were strongly regulated in response to autotrophic versus heterotrophic growth conditions. In contrast, the cbbR promoters displayed low constitutive activities. The data suggest that the chromosomal and plasmid-borne cbb promoters of A. eutrophus H16 are functionally equivalent despite minor structural differences.
An IO-efficient parallel implementation of an R2 viewshed algorithm for large terrain maps on a CUDA GPU

A rapid and flexible parallel approach for viewshed computation on large digital elevation models is presented. Our work is focused on the implementation of a derivate of the R2 viewshed algorithm. Emphasis has been placed on input/output (IO) efficiency that can be achieved by memory segmentation and coalesced memory access. An implementation of the parallel viewshed algorithm on the Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA), which exploits the high parallelism of the graphics processing unit, is presented. This version is referred to as r.cuda. visibility. The accuracy of our algorithm is compared to the r.los R3 algorithm (integrated into the open-source Geographic Resources Analysis Support System geographic information system environment) and other IO-efficient algorithms. Our results demonstrate that the proposed implementation of the R2 algorithm is faster and more IO efficient than previously presented IO-efficient algorithms, and that it achieves moderate calculation precision compared to the R3 algorithm. Thus, to the best of our knowledge, the algorithm presented here is the most efficient viewshed approach, in terms of computational speed, for large data sets.
Role of ATP-sensitive K+ channels in CGRP-induced dilatation of basilar artery in vivo.

Stimulation of adenylate cyclase appears to activate ATP-sensitive K+ channels in the basilar artery. We tested the hypothesis that calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), which increases intracellular adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) levels, activates ATP-sensitive K+ channels and thereby causes vasodilatation. Using a cranial window in anesthetized rats, we examined responses of the basilar artery to CGRP in vivo. We also examined responses of the artery to another vasoactive peptide, vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP). Topical application of CGRP (10(-11) to 10(-8) M) increased diameter of the basilar artery. Responses of the basilar artery to CGRP were almost abolished by a CGRP1 receptor antagonist, CGRP-(8-37). Vasodilatation in response to VIP was much smaller than that produced by CGRP. Dilator responses of the basilar artery to 10(-9) and 10(-8) M CGRP were inhibited by glibenclamide (10(-6) M), a selective inhibitor of ATP-sensitive K+ channels, by 69 +/- 19 and 41 +/- 9%, respectively. NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (10(-5) M), an inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase, did not attenuate dilator response to 10(-8) M CGRP but inhibited responses to 10(-9) M CGRP by 34 +/- 12%. Indomethacin did not alter dilator responses to CGRP. These findings suggest that a minor component of CGRP-induced dilatation of the basilar artery is mediated by endothelium-derived relaxing factor. Vasodilatation in response to CGRP appears to be mediated primarily by direct activation of CGRP1 receptors on vascular muscle. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)