Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hydration status does not influence peritoneal equilibration test ultrafiltration volumes.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES The peritoneal equilibration test (PET) was developed some 25 yr ago and has been used to help prescribe peritoneal dialysis. However, PET is affected by several factors, including diabetes and inflammation. It was speculated that extracellular fluid overload would increase PET ultrafiltration volumes, and therefore the usefulness of the PET in routine clinical practice was audited. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS Data from 211 consecutive patients attending a university teaching hospital for a standard PET who had multifrequency bioimpedance performance were analyzed to determine which factors affected net PET ultrafiltration volumes. RESULTS Net PET ultrafiltration volume was independent of gender, age, diabetes, residual renal function, peritoneal dialysis prescriptions (modes and dialysates), extracellular fluid volume, or C-reactive protein (CRP). There was an inverse regression with serum albumin and sodium on multiple logistical regression analysis (F = 13.4, P < 0.001 and F = 10.1, P = 0.001, respectively) and a positive regression with 24-h net peritoneal ultrafiltration volumes (F = 15.5, P < 0.001). As expected, there was a strong correlation with net sodium losses (r = 0.99, P < 0001). CONCLUSIONS It was found that PET test ultrafiltration volume in routine clinical practice was not affected by CRP, hyperglycemia, or extracellular fluid volume overload. Ultrafiltration volumes were increased in those patients with reduced serum sodium and albumin, most likely because of inflammation and protein malnutrition.
Structure of a histidine-X4-histidine zinc finger domain: insights into ADR1-UAS1 protein-DNA recognition.

The solution structure for a mutant zinc finger peptide based on the sequence of the C-terminal ADR1 finger has been determined by two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy. The mutant peptide, called PAPA, has both proline residues from the wild-type sequence replaced with alanines. A nonessential cysteine was also replaced with alanine. The behavior of PAPA in solution implicates the prolines in the conformational heterogeneity reported earlier for the wild-type peptide [Xu, R. X. , Horvath, S. J., & Klevit, R. E. (1991) Biochemistry 30, 3365-3371]. The solution structure of PAPA reveals several interesting features of the zinc finger motif. The residue immediately following the second cysteine ligand adopts a positive phi angle, which we propose is a common feature of this class of zinc fingers, regardless of whether this residue is a glycine. The NMR spectrum and resulting solution structure of PAPA suggest that a side-chain to side-chain hydrogen bond involving an arginine and an aspartic acid analogous to one observed in the Zif268 protein-DNA cocrystal structure exists in solution in the absence of DNA [Pavletich, N. P., & Pabo, C. O. (1991) Science 252, 809-817]. A model for the interaction between the two ADR1 zinc fingers and their DNA binding sites was built by superpositioning the refined solution structures of PAPA and ADR1b onto the Zif268 structure. This model offers structural explanations for a variety of mutations to the ADR1 zinc finger domains that have been shown to affect DNA-binding affinity or specificity.
An e-mail delivered CBT for sleep-health program for college students: effects on sleep quality and depression symptoms.

STUDY OBJECTIVES We examined the effects of a cognitive behavioral self-help program (Refresh) to improve sleep, on sleep quality and symptoms of depression among first-year college students. METHODS Students in one residence hall (n = 48) participated in Refresh and students in another residence hall (n = 53) participated in a program of equal length (Breathe) designed to improve mood and increase resilience to stress. Both programs were delivered by e-mail in 8 weekly PDF files. Of these, 19 Refresh program participants and 15 Breathe program participants reported poor sleep quality at baseline (scores ≥ 5 on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index [PSQI]). Participants completed the PSQI and the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D) at baseline and post-intervention. RESULTS Among students with poor sleep (PSQI > 5) at baseline, participation in Refresh was associated with greater improvements in sleep quality and greater reduction in depressive symptoms than participation in Breathe. Among students with high sleep quality at baseline there was no difference in baseline to post-intervention changes in sleep (PSQI) or depressive symptom severity (CES-D). CONCLUSIONS A cognitive behavioral sleep improvement program delivered by e-mail may be a cost effective way for students with poor sleep quality to improve their sleep and reduce depressive symptoms. An important remaining question is whether improving sleep will also reduce risk for future depression.
Solving the find-path problem: a complete and less complex approach using the BIE methodology

Although significant progress has been made in the area of robot motion planning, many issues still need to be addressed. These include the computational complexity of navigation algorithms, their adaptability to different environments, and their sensitivity to changes in the environment. By capitalizing on the known properties of harmonic potential functions, this work develops a new approach towards model-based path planning which is intuitive, complete (goal attainability is guaranteed), free from local traps (local minima) and computationally less complex than many existing methods. Extending the advantages of hill-climbing method, which have low space and time complexity, to a global (model-based) path planning algorithm marks one of the major contributions of this work. Furthermore, the algorithm presented here is able to handle arbitrary geometries and does not require a geometrical or topological approximation at the environment representation level.
The Long-Term Leaching Behaviour of 137Cs, 60Co and 152Eu Radionuclides Incorporated in Mortar Matrices Made from Natural Aggregates and Recycled Aggregates

Abstract—During the interim storage or final disposal of low level waste, migration/diffusion of radionuclides can occur when the waste comes in contact with water. The long-term leaching behaviour into surrounding fluid (demineralized water) of 137Cs, 60Co and 152Eu radionuclides, artificially incorporated in mortar matrices made from natural aggregates (river sand) and recycled radioactive concrete was studied. Results presented in this work are obtained in two years of mortar testing and will be used for the safety increasing in the storage of low level radioactive waste. The study involved the influence of curing time, type and size distribution of the aggregates on leaching behaviour. The mortar samples were immersed in distilled water for 30 days. The leached activity of the mortar samples was measured on samples from the immersing water and analyzed through a gammaray spectrometry method using an HPGe detector with a GESPECOR code for efficiency evaluation. The long-term leaching behaviour of the radionuclides was evaluated from the leaching data calculating the apparent diffusion coefficient.
Exploratory textual analysis of consumer health languages for people who are D/deaf and hard of hearing

In this paper, we compared the differences of the consumer health language use between people who are D/deaf and hard of hearing (D/hh), and the public. Due to their relatively limited e-health literacy, D/hh people might use less complex health texts than the general public in their online communication. To test the hypothesis, we utilized text mining and readability measurements to compare the language use of online health discussions of two groups. We collected health data from AllDeaf and Yahoo! Answers, representing online communities for deaf people and the public, respectively. Flesch Kincaid Grade and professional health vocabulary coverage were utilized to compare their health writing complexity. The results showed that the public did not use significantly more complex health texts and health vocabularies than D/hh people. Further explorations are needed to analyze other readability metrics and clarify the influence of platforms on health writing complexity.
Complications in treating chronic hepatitis B in patients with HIV

The management of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) poses specific problems in the presence of HIV infection, as therapeutic approaches have to consider both HBV and HIV. There are currently four drugs approved for the treatment of chronic HBV: IFN-α, lamivudine, adefovir and entecavir. Furthermore, the dual antiviral activity against HIV and HBV of antiretrovirals such as tenofovir and emtricitabine broadens the armamentarium against HBV in the HIV-coinfected population. Nucleotide analogues adefovir and tenofovir have the advantage of a higher genetic barrier for resistance when compared with the nucleoside analogues lamivudine and emtricitabine. Fortunately, the two families do not share resistance mutations, allowing salvage therapy and the consideration of combination therapy for drug-naive individuals. Although response to IFN-α is poorer in HBV/HIV-coinfected patients compared with HBV-monoinfected individuals, the more potent pegylated forms of IFN-α have brought new hopes.
The Effect of Including a Series of Isometric Conditioning Contractions to the Rowing Warm-Up on 1,000-M Rowing Ergometer Time Trial Performance

Abstract Feros, SA, Young, WB, Rice, AJ, and Talpey, SW. The effect of including a series of isometric conditioning contractions to the rowing warm-up on 1,000-m rowing ergometer time trial performance. J Strength Cond Res 26(12): 3326–3334, 2012—Rowing requires strength, power, and strength-endurance for optimal performance. A rowing-based warm-up could be enhanced by exploiting the postactivation potentiation (PAP) phenomenon, acutely enhancing power output at the beginning of a race where it is needed most. Minimal research has investigated the effects of PAP on events of longer duration (i.e. 1,000-m rowing). The purpose of this research was to investigate the effects of PAP on 1,000-m rowing ergometer performance through the use of 2 different warm-up procedures: (a) a rowing warm-up combined with a series of isometric conditioning contractions, known as the potentiated warm-up (PW), and (b) a rowing warm-up only (NW). The isometric conditioning contractions in the PW were performed by “pulling” an immovable handle on the rowing ergometer, consisting of 5 sets of 5 seconds (2 seconds at submaximal intensity, and 3 seconds at maximal intensity), with a 15-second recovery between sets. The 1,000-m rowing ergometer time trial was performed after each warm-up condition, whereby mean power output, mean stroke rate, and split time were assessed every 100 m. Ten Australian national level rowers served as the subjects and performed both conditions in a counterbalanced order on separate days. The PW reduced 1,000-m time by 0.8% (p > 0.05). The PW improved mean power output by 6.6% (p < 0.01) and mean stroke rate by 5.2% (p < 0.01) over the first 500 m; resulting in a reduction of 500-m time by 1.9% (p < 0.01), compared with the NW. It appears that the inclusion of isometric conditioning contractions to the rowing warm-up enhance short-term rowing ergometer performance (especially at the start of a race) to a greater extent than a rowing warm-up alone.
Envelope Locally Weighted Best Estimate on multibeam echosounding error and X-NLMF denoising

In order to extract the regular interference contained in the multibeam echosounding and eliminate random noise, the novel Envelope Locally Weighted Best Estimation (ELWBE) and the improved NLMF (X-metric non local-mean filter, X-NLMF) methods are proposed. The experimental results show that ELWBE and X-NLMF can not only eliminate the random noise but also give the local optimal estimation on preserving details. Through the experiment, we discover a neglected interference existing in the local area of the central line of the heading. Such interference comes from the heaving and dipping errors, induced fluctuation errors caused by rolling and pitch and some unidentified error sources. The proposed methods lay a good foundation for the further offset correction.
Innovating with technology in team contexts: A trait activation theory perspective

Noting the limited research on technology exploration in team contexts, we draw on trait activation theory to understand what drives users to experiment with new technology. We identify personal innovativeness in IT (PIIT) as an important situation- specific trait that influences individual-level efforts to try to innovate with technology. We also identify team learning behavior as an important team-level intervention that levels the playing field for trying to innovate with technology. We test our cross-level model in a one-year field study of 268 employees embedded in 48 organizational work teams. The results of our analysis show that (1) PIIT predicts trying to innovate with technology, (2) team learning behavior has a cross-level direct effect on trying to innovate with technology, and (3) team learning behavior has a cross-level moderating influence on the relationship between PIIT and trying to innovate with technology. We discuss the implications of our findings for research and practice.
Evaluation of the Performances of Two Wearable Systems for Gait Analysis: A Pilot Study

Wearable sensor systems to perform human motion analysis are receiving increasing attention in different application fields. Among wearable sensors, inertial sensors have promising features. However, before they can be employed routinely in clinical applications, it is important to evaluate their reliability. Gait analysis was performed on one male volunteer: data were simultaneously collected with HGait System, based on magnetic and inertial measurement sensor units system, and with STEP32, a commercial electromechanical system already used in clinics. Spatio temporal parameters and joint kinematics in the sagittal plane obtained with H-Gait and STEP32 are compared. The MIMUs system provides a reliable estimation of spatiotemporal parameters, and acceptable hip and knee kinematic curves, while ankle joint measurements must be improved to be clinically useful.
Expression of hepatitis C virus proteins does not interfere with major histocompatibility complex class I processing and presentation in vitro

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection takes a chronic course in the majority of patients. The mechanisms underlying the evasion of the host immune response and viral persistence are poorly understood. In this context, we investigated interactions of HCV proteins with major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I processing and presentation pathways using cell lines that allow the tetracycline‐regulated expression of viral structural and nonstructural proteins. These well‐characterized inducible cell lines were found to efficiently process and present endogenously synthesized HCV proteins via MHC class I. Functional MHC class I cell‐surface expression and intracellular proteasome activity were not affected by the expression of HCV proteins. These results suggest that viral evasion of the host immune response does not involve interactions of HCV with MHC class I processing and presentation. Other mechanisms, such as interference with the interferon system, may be operative in HCV infection, leading to viral persistence. (HEPATOLOGY 2001;33:1282‐1287.)
Formal thought disorder in schizophrenics and their twins.

The present study was designed to determine whether formal thought disorder is less or more heritable than the global diagnosis of schizophrenia, and to examine relations among formal thought disorder and psychiatric diagnosis, stage of illness, and severity of psychiatric history. Interviews recorded in the Gottesman-Shields twin series (17 pairs of identical twins, 14 pairs of fraternal same-sex twins, and 12 unpaired twins) were assessed for the presence and severity of formal thought disorder, using a modified version of the Scale for the Assessment of Thought, Language, and Communication Disorders. No evidence of genetic influence on thought disorder was found. A factor analysis of the thought disorder scales revealed two interpretable factors reflecting verbosity and discontinuities in the form of speech. Scales with high loadings on the verbosity factor showed signs of familial influence and were significantly correlated with severity of psychiatric history. Scales with high loadings on the discontinuity factor were associated with the florid psychotic phase of illness. Despite numerous studies that have demonstrated a strong genetic component in the etiology of schizophrenia (see Gottesman & Shields, 1976, 1982; Kessler, 1980, for reviews), we do not yet know whether any specific behavioral manifestations of the disorder are genetically influenced. This difficulty has arisen, at least in pan, because schizophrenia is a disjunctive category. It is possible for two individuals to be diagnosed as schizophrenics even though they exhibit few, if any, common symptoms. The inability to specify a common underlying factor in schizophrenia has led some investigators to question whether the global diagnosis of schizophrenia is the
The switching losses between Continuous and discontinuous space vector modulation drive a permanent magnet synchronous motor

This paper describe two pulsewidth modulation, Continuous and discontinuous space vector modulation used for driving permanent magnet synchronous motors, the continuous space vector modulation(SVPWM) with lower harmonic which is widely used for motor control, but SVPWM generate more switching losses. The discontinuous space vector modulation (DPWM) with higher harmonic, but it has lower switching losses. Under the same switching losses condition, the switching frequency can be increased by 50% based on DPWM compared with SVPWM. To validate the conclusion, numerical simulation studies and experiments have been carried out and presented.
Localization of Apoptotic Cells in the Human Epidermis by an In Situ DNA Nick End-labeling Method Using Confocal Reflectant Laser Microscopy

We describe an immunohistochemical method that allows the detection of apoptotic cells in human epidermis by use of confocal laser reflectance and antibody-immunogold-silver complexes. For this purpose, the site of free 3′-OH DNA ends was detected by the reflectance from heavy metal products (anti-digoxigenin antibody-immunogold-silver complexes) instead of 3, 3′ -diaminobenzidine (DAB) reaction products in the conventional in situ nick end-labeling of DNA strand breaks (ISEL) technique. Localization of double-stranded DNA was demonstrated by the autofluorescence of methyl green. The ISEL technique using confocal reflectant laser microscopy (CRLM) clearly showed the most intense reflectance in the nuclei of granular cells, in contrast to only a weaker reflectance in those of basal cells. On the other hand, the extent of autofluorescence of methyl green was significantly more intense in the nuclei of basal cells and showed a reciprocal relation to that of the reflectance. Therefore, granular cells were most prone to apoptosis and did not contain double-stranded DNA, as indicated by the lack of stainability with methyl green. In addition, this method demonstrating the simultaneous localization of both free 3′-OH DNA ends and double-stranded DNA proved to have a wide range of applications, including the study of other DNA autolytic processes.
Efficacy of pamidronate in reducing skeletal events in patients with advanced multiple myeloma. Myeloma Aredia Study Group.

BACKGROUND Skeletal complications are a major clinical manifestation of multiple myeloma. These complications are caused by soluble factors that stimulate osteoclasts to resorb bone. Bisphosphonates such as pamidronate inhibit osteoclastic activity and reduce bone resorption. METHODS Patients with stage III multiple myeloma and at least one lytic lesion received either placebo or pamidronate (90 mg) as a four-hour intravenous infusion given every four weeks for nine cycles in addition to antimyeloma therapy. The patients were stratified according to whether they were receiving first-line (stratum 1) or second-line (stratum 2) antimyeloma chemotherapy at entry into the study. Skeletal events (pathologic fracture, irradiation of or surgery on bone, and spinal cord compression), hypercalcemia (symptoms or a serum calcium concentration > or = 12 mg per deciliter [3.0 mmol per liter]), bone pain, analgesic-drug use, performance status, and quality of life were assessed monthly. RESULTS Among 392 treated patients, the efficacy of treatment could be evaluated in 196 who received pamidronate and 181 who received placebo. The proportion of patients who had any skeletal events was significantly lower in the pamidronate group (24 percent) than in the placebo group (41 percent, P < 0.001), and the reduction was evident in both stratum 1 (P = 0.04) and stratum 2 (P = 0.004). The patients who received pamidronate had significant decreases in bone pain and no deterioration in performance status and quality of life. Pamidronate was tolerated well. CONCLUSIONS Monthly infusions of pamidronate provide significant protection against skeletal complications and improve the quality of life of patients with stage III multiple myeloma.
Testing the functional assessment of mentation: A mobile application based assessment of mental status.

BACKGROUND Altered mental status is a significant predictor of mortality in hospitalized patients and a prerequisite component to the diagnosis of delirium. However, the detection of altered mental status is often incomplete, inaccurate, and resource intensive. OBJECTIVE To identify the clinical utility and feasibility of the Functional Assessment of Mentation (FAM(TM) ), a mobile application for evaluating attention and recall. DESIGN Prospective observational pilot study. SETTING Tertiary care medical center. PARTICIPANTS Nine hundred thirty-one adult subjects (612 nonhospitalized and 319 hospitalized). MEASUREMENTS Score distribution and time to FAM(TM) completion were compared between nonhospitalized and hospitalized subjects (as well as between hospitalized subjects discharged home and those not discharged home). Additionally, in the hospitalized subgroup, FAM(TM) was compared to the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), using the Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire (SPMSQ) as our criterion standard for altered mental status assessment. RESULTS Median time to completion of FAM(TM) was 55 seconds (interquartile range [IQR], 45-67 seconds). Our data identified a graded reduction in score comparing nonhospitalized subjects to hospitalized subjects discharged home and not discharged home (median 5 [IQR 4-7] vs 5 [IQR 3-6] vs 3 [IQR 1-5]; P < 0.001). In the hospitalized subset, FAM(TM) scores were more highly correlated to SPMSQ (Spearman ρ = 0.27, P < 0.001) compared to GCS (Spearman ρ = 0.05, P = 0.40). CONCLUSIONS FAM(TM) is a rapid and clinically feasible tool that can identify minor alterations in mental status often missed by GCS. Journal of Hospital Medicine 2016;11:463-466. 2016 Society of Hospital Medicine.
Local linear transformation for voice conversion

Many popular approaches to spectral conversion involve linear transformations determined for particular acoustic classes and compute the converted result as a linear combination between different local transformations in an attempt to ensure a continuous conversion. These methods often produce over-smoothed spectra and parameter tracks. The proposed method computes an individual linear transformation for every feature vector based on a small neighborhood in the acoustic space thus preserving local details. The method effectively reduces the over-smoothing by eliminating undesired contributions from acoustically remote regions. The method is evaluated in listening tests against the well-known Gaussian Mixture Model based conversion, representative of the class of methods involving linear transformations. Perceptual results indicate a clear preference for the proposed scheme.