Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Emodin Regulates Glucose Utilization by Activating AMP-activated Protein Kinase*

Background: AMPK activation improves glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity. Results: Emodin increases glucose uptake in skeletal muscle and lowers blood glucose levels via AMPK activation. Conclusion: Administration of emodin leads to increased glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity in vivo. Significance: Our results highlight the potential value of emodin as a drug for the treatment of diabetes. AMP-activated protein kinase has been described as a key signaling protein that can regulate energy homeostasis. Here, we aimed to characterize novel AMP-activated kinase (AMPK)-activating compounds that have a much lower effective concentration than metformin. As a result, emodin, a natural anthraquinone derivative, was shown to stimulate AMPK activity in skeletal muscle and liver cells. Emodin enhanced GLUT4 translocation and [14C]glucose uptake into the myotube in an AMPK-dependent manner. Also, emodin inhibited glucose production by suppressing the expression of key gluconeogenic genes, such as phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase and glucose-6-phosphatase, in hepatocytes. Furthermore, we found that emodin can activate AMPK by inhibiting mitochondrial respiratory complex I activity, leading to increased reactive oxygen species and Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase kinase activity. Finally, we confirmed that a single dose administration of emodin significantly decreased the fasting plasma glucose levels and improved glucose tolerance in C57Bl/6J mice. Increased insulin sensitivity was also confirmed after daily injection of emodin for 8 days using an insulin tolerance test and insulin-stimulated PI3K phosphorylation in wild type and high fat diet-induced diabetic mouse models. Our study suggests that emodin regulates glucose homeostasis in vivo by AMPK activation and that this may represent a novel therapeutic principle in the treatment of type 2 diabetic models.
Bistatic Radar Based on DAB Illuminators: The Evolution of a Practical System

Digital audio broadcasting (DAB) has massive potential for the development of passive bistatic radar. A project to build DAB based radar is described, together with its advantages and disadvantages. Several serious obstacles need to be overcome in order to make the system a reality. Most importantly, these include the removal of direct signal interference and the extraction of the illuminating signal in a form suitable for detections. Progress towards the solution of these problems will be described. In addition, some real aircraft detections are included to prove the viability of a practical system.
An Exploratory Study of Web-Based Supports for Occupational Therapy Students During Level II Fieldwork

SUMMARY Occupational therapy students often experience high levels of anxiety about transitioning from the academic student role to the fieldwork student role. The separation from their classmates and the geographical relocation may isolate some students. Additionally, the quality and quantity of on-site supports available to individual students vary with each placement. A web-based resource was designed to assist occupational therapy students from the University of South Alabama with the transition from student role in an academic environment to level II fieldwork in off-campus work environments. Participation was voluntary and no grades were assigned. Students were invited to participate as needed with their classmates for support and information sharing. Resources were provided asynchronously so students could access them whenever and wherever they could gain access to the Internet. Quantitative and qualitative analysis of the data was conducted. Data analysis included frequency of web-based communication, analysis of emerging themes based on the communication, outcome of student fieldwork performance, and students' perceptions based on their participation. The information gained during this exploratory study could be useful to other faculty in developing similar web-based resources to promote student success. Additionally, the technology skills gained by the students are hoped to improve their confidence to participate in web-based professional list serves and distance education opportunities in the future.
Formative evaluation and user engagement: A model to ensure value from e-government

Governments are investing in e-government to enhance public sector efficiency. It has been argued by e-government scholars that citi zens’ d emand for e-government does not meet expectations; hence governments might not achieve the expected benefits. This study investigates formative evaluation as a method to ensure e-government benefits realization. The case is ex-post evaluation of value from digital communication in a citizen service center at a Danish municipality and was conducted as Action Research. Barriers to adoption were revealed, addressed and eliminated during the formative evaluation process. Clear expectations from top management, assessments and disclosure of workers' behavior and commitment from managers proved pivotal in the benefits realization process. Further research into the internal e-government adoption processes and the impact from external factors is needed in order to understand more profoundly the challenges for realizing benefits from e-government.
Network Coding-Based Block ACK for Wireless Relay Networks

This paper considers block acknowledgement (BACK) mechanisms in wireless regenerative relay networks. Conventionally, a total of $(2N+1)$ BACK packets are required in wireless regenerative $N$-relay networks to acknowledge the data transmission between the source and destination via the relays. In this paper, based on network coding (NC) we propose an efficient BACK scheme to significantly reduce the required acknowledgement load by $N$ BACK packets. Importantly, by deriving the error probability of the determination of the packets to be retransmitted at the source or relays, it is found that the utilised NC helps improve the reliability of BACK transmissions. Furthermore, some asymptotic scenarios of the forward links are considered and a general expression of error probability in multi-relay networks is derived for each scenario. Finally, simulation results are shown to verify the analytical findings.
Delay of Adequate Empiric Antibiotic Therapy Is Associated with Increased Mortality among Solid‐Organ Transplant Patients

Empiric antibiotic therapy is often prescribed prior to the availability of bacterial culture results. In some cases, the organism isolated may not be susceptible to initial empiric therapy (inadequate empiric therapy or IET). In solid‐organ transplant recipients, the overall incidence and clinical importance of IET is unknown. We performed a retrospective cohort study of patients admitted from 2002 to 2004. Multiple logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine associations between potential determinants and mortality. IET was administered in 169/312 (54%) patients, with a hospital mortality rate that was significantly greater than those receiving adequate therapy (24.9% vs. 7.0%; relative risk [RR] 3.55; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.85–6.83; p < 0.001). Regression analysis demonstrated that an increasing duration of IET (adjusted odds ratio [OR] at 24 h: 1.33; 95% CI: 1.15–1.53; p < 0.001), ICU‐associated infections (adjusted OR: 6.27; 95% CI: 2.79–14.09; p < 0.001), prior antibiotic use (adjusted OR: 3.56; 95% CI: 1.51–8.41; p = 0.004) and increasing APACHE‐II scores (adjusted OR: 1.26; 95% CI: 1.16–1.34; p < 0.001) were independently correlated with hospital mortality. IET is common and appears to be associated with an increased hospital mortality rate in the solid‐organ transplant population.
Npp106p, a Schizosaccharomyces pombe nucleoporin similar to Saccharomyces cerevisiae Nic96p, functionally interacts with Rae1p in mRNA export

To identify components of the mRNA export machinery in Schizosaccharomyces pombe, a screen was developed to identify mutations that were synthetically lethal with the conditional mRNA export allele rae1-167. Mutations defining three complementation groups were isolated, and here we report the characterization of npp106 (for nuclear pore protein of 106 kDa). This gene encodes a predicted protein that has significant similarity to the Nic96p nucleoporin of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Consistent with Npp106p being a nucleoporin, a functional green fluorescent protein (GFP)-tagged Npp106p localized to the nuclear periphery. In contrast to NIC96, the npp106 gene is not essential. Moreover, a delta npp106 mutant did not show cytoplasmic mislocalization of a simian virus 40 nuclear localization signal-GFP-LacZ reporter protein, and a fraction of cells had accumulation of poly(A)+ RNA in the nucleus. A consequence of the synthetic lethality between rae1-167 and npp106-1 was the accumulation of poly(A)+ RNA in the nucleus when cells were grown under synthetic lethal conditions. In addition to npp106-1, which is a nonsense mutation that truncates the protein at amino acid 292, the delta npp106 mutation was synthetically lethal with rae1-167, suggesting that the synthetic lethality is a consequence of the loss of a function of npp106. We further demonstrate that a region between amino acids 74 and 348 of Npp106p is required for complementation of the synthetic lethality. These results uncover a potential direct or indirect involvement of Npp106p in mRNA export.
CONDITIONAL EXTREME VALUES THEORY AND TAIL-RELATED RISK MEASURES: EVIDENCE FROM LATIN AMERICAN STOCK MARKETS

The purpose of this work is to extend McNeil and Frey´s (2000) methodology by combining two component GARCH models and extreme value theory to evaluate the performance of the value at risk (VaR) and expected shortfall (ES) measures in the Latin American stock markets. In-sample analysis, the results of the backtesting indicate that there is no a model that predominates to the others in the estimation of VaR at any confidence level. However, the P-values of the Kupiec test confirm the out-of-sample predictive ability of the CGARCH-EVT models to estimate the VaR for long and short financial positions from Argentina and Mexico, although their performance is insufficient to provide accurate estimates of the ES. The modeling of fat tails, asymmetry and long memory have important implications for risk management, and hedging strategies in volatile stock markets.
The fraud rule in the law of letters of credit : a comparative study

1. The Letter of Credit and its Legal Framework. The Nature of Letters of Credit. The Legal Framework of Letters of Credit. Summary. 2. The Fraud Rule: An Overview. Meaning and Rationale. Historical Development. The Fraud Rule in the United States. The Fraud Rule in Other Jurisdictions. The Fraud Rule in ICC Rules. The Fraud Rule under the UNCITRAL Convention. Summary. 3. The Standard of Fraud. The Position in the US. The Position in the UK. The Position in Canada. The Position in Australia. The Position under the UNCITRAL Convention. Summary. 4. The Locus of Fraud. The Controversy. Case Studies. The Solution. Commentary. 5. Identity of the Fraudulent Party. Statutory Provisions. Applicant Fraud. Third Party Fraud: The Case of United City Merchants. Summary. 6. Presenters Immune from the Fraud Rule. Preliminary Observations. Likely Presenters. Conclusion. 7. The Fraud Rule in the People's Republic of China. The Legal System of the PRC. The Fraud Rule in the PRC.
Venlafaxine in neuropathic pain following treatment of breast cancer

Amitriptyline effectively relieves neuropathic pain following treatment of breast cancer. However, adverse effects are a major problem. Venlafaxine has no anticholinergic effects and could have a better compliance. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of venlafaxine in neuropathic pain. The study was a randomized, double‐blind, crossover comparison of venlafaxine and inactive placebo. The study lasted 10 weeks. The number of tablets (18.75 mg) taken daily was increased by one at a 1 week interval. Pain intensity and pain relief were registered daily by a diary and by a questionnaire and a computer program (Painscreen™) on each visit. Adverse effects were evaluated with the diaries and a 10‐item list on each visit. Also, anxiety and depression were measured on each visit. Venous blood samples were collected before the treatment and at 4 weeks for the determination of the serum levels of venlafaxine and its three metabolites. Thirteen patients were analysed. The average daily pain intensity as reported in the diary (primary outcome) was not significantly reduced by venlafaxine compared with placebo. However, the average pain relief (diary) and the maximum pain intensity (retrospective assessment by the computer program) were significantly lower with venlafaxine compared with placebo. Anxiety and depression were not affected. Adverse effects did not show significant differences between treatments. The two poor responders had low venlafaxine concentrations whereas the two slow hydroxylizers had high venlafaxine concentrations and excellent pain relief. Thus, higher doses could be used in order to improve pain relief. © 2002 European Federation of Chapters of the International Association for the Study of Pain
The Linker Domain of Stat1 Is Required for Gamma Interferon-Driven Transcription

ABSTRACT Upon binding of gamma interferon (IFN-γ) to its receptor, the latent transcription factor Stat1 becomes phosphorylated, dimerizes, and enters the nucleus to activate transcription. In response to IFN-α, Stat1 binds to Stat2 in a heterodimer that recruits p48, an IRF family member, to activate transcription. A number of functional domains of the STATs, including a C-terminal transactivation domain, a dimerization domain, and an SH2 domain, are known. However, the highly conserved residues between the DNA binding and SH2 domains (463 to 566), recently christened the linker domain on the basis of crystallographic studies, have remained without a known function. In the present study, we report that KE544-545AA point mutants in Stat1 abolish transcriptional responses to IFN-γ but not to IFN-α. We further show that this mutant Stat1 undergoes normal phosphorylation, nuclear translocation, and DNA binding. Taken together with recent structural evidence, these results suggest that the linker domain acts as a critical contact point during the construction of a Stat1-driven transcriptional complex.
[Nutritional status in Chilean school children according to NCHS and WHO 2007 reference].

BACKGROUND In 2007, WHO published a new reference for assessing the nutritional status of children and adolescents aged 5 to 19 years, including body mass index (BMI) by sex and age. OBJECTIVE To compare the nutritional assessment by BMI in schoolchildren and adolescents using the actual Chilean Ministry of Health norm (NCHS) and the new WHO reference 2007. MATERIAL AND METHODS Retrospective cohort study of 117,745 newborns, with nutritional assessment on first year of basic education (1997) and later in high education (2005). We analyzed the nutritional status according to BMI for age in relation to the NCHS references and WHO 2007, in standard deviations (SD) and percentiles. We analyzed the agreement between the different references with the Kappa index. RESULTS There were small differences in the nutritional classification in first grade (6,4 ± 0,3 years) between the three references. Underweight prevalence was slightly higher with both WHO references, overweight with WHO in standard deviation and obesity with WHO percentiles, at first grade of high school (14,4 ± 0,3 years). The main difference was in relation to classification of obesity (≥ percentile 95), where 43,9% of obese by WHO percentiles were considered overweight with NCHS (87,3% concordance Kappa 0,75). CONCLUSIONS The diagnostic concordance between the three criteria was the order of 90%. There are some differences between NCHS and WHO, and between both WHO reference, depending on the cutoff point used. The adoption of one or other reference should depend on the biological hazards associated with it.
A novel continuous finite-time disturbance observer design and its application

In this paper, we will investigate the problem of continuous finite-time disturbance observer (CFTDO) design and its application in the finite-time control (FTC) for systems subject to non-vanishing disturbances. First of all, based on the homogeneous domination approach and state saturation technique, a CFTDO design approach is proposed such that the disturbance can be precisely estimated in finite time. Then, the proposed CFTDO design approach is used to solve the finite-time stabilization problem for a class nonlinear circuit systems subject to non-vanishing disturbance. Finally, a composite controller consisting of a baseline FTC law and a feedforward compensation term based on the estimation of CFTDO is constructed for the nonlinear circuit system. It is shown that under the proposed composite controller the nonlinear circuit system can be stabilised. The proposed CFTDO and control strategy are confirmed by simulation results.
Context-dependent modelling of deep neural network using logistic regression

The data sparsity problem of context-dependent acoustic modelling in automatic speech recognition is addressed by using the decision tree state clusters as the training targets in the standard context-dependent (CD) deep neural network (DNN) systems. As a result, the CD states within a cluster cannot be distinguished during decoding. This problem, referred to as the clustering problem, is not explicitly addressed in the current literature. In this paper, we formulate the CD DNN as an instance of the canonical state modelling technique based on a set of broad phone classes to address both the data sparsity and the clustering problems. The triphone is clustered into multiple sets of shorter biphones using broad phone contexts to address the data sparsity issue. A DNN is trained to discriminate the biphones within each set. The canonical states are represented by the concatenated log posteriors of all the broad phone DNNs. Logistic regression is used to transform the canonical states into the triphone state output probability. Clustering of the regression parameters is used to reduce model complexity while still achieving unique acoustic scores for all possible triphones. The experimental results on a broadcast news transcription task reveal that the proposed regression-based CD DNN significantly outperforms the standard CD DNN. The best system provides a 2.7% absolute WER reduction compared to the best standard CD DNN system.
Impact of an extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) precoating on the initial adhesion of Burkholderia cepacia and Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) significantly influence bacterial adhesion to solid surfaces, but it is difficult to elucidate the role of EPS on bacterial adhesion due to their complexity and variability. In the present study, the effect of EPS on the initial adhesion of B. cepaciaepacia PC184 and P. aeruginosa PAO1 on glass slides with and without an EPS precoating was investigated under three ionic strength conditions. The surface roughness of EPS coated slides was evaluated by atomic force microscopy (AFM), and its effect on initial bacterial adhesion was found to be trivial. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) studies were performed to determine the elemental surface compositions of bacterial cells and substrata. The results showed that an EPS precoating hindered bacterial adhesion on solid surfaces, which was largely attributed to the presence of proteins in the EPS. This observation can be attributed to the increased steric repulsion at high ionic strength conditions. A steric model for polymer brushes that considers the combined influence of steric effects and DLVO interaction forces is shown to adequately describe bacterial adhesion behaviors.
Cytokine and Growth Factor mRNA Expression Patterns Associated with the Hypercontracted, Hyperpigmented Healing Phenotype of Red Duroc Pigs: A Model of Abnormal Human Scar Development?

BackgroundSkin wounds in red Duroc pigs heal with the formation of hypercontractile, hyperpigmented scars, similar in some respects to human hypertrophic scars.ObjectiveThe goal of this study was to characterize the mRNA expression patterns for a subset of relevant cytokines, growth factors, receptors, and transcription factors involved in the red Duroc scarring phenotype.MethodsFull-thickness and deep dermal wounds were created on the backs of juvenile female red Duroc pigs. Samples were taken every two weeks postwounding and total RNA and DNA were extracted and quantified. RT-PCR was performed using porcine gene-specific primers for 15 relevant molecules.ResultsThe majority of molecules examined exhibited a biphasic pattern of expression, with peaks of expression at days 14 and 56 postinjury.ConclusionsThe molecular expression pattern observed correlates well with the gross healing phenotype and matrix molecule expression patterns previously reported in red Duroc pigs. These findings enhance our understanding of the processes associated with fibroproliferative scar-formation. AntécédentsLes lésions cutanées chez les cochons rouges Duroc guérissent grâce à la formation de cicatrices hypercontractiles et hyperpigmentées, similaires à certains égards aux cicatrices hypertrophiques chez les sujets humains. ObjectifsCaractériser I’expression de I’ARNm d’un sous-ensemble de cytokines, de facteurs de croissance, de récepteurs et de facteurs de transmission sous-jacents aux phénotypes des cicatrices chez le cochon rouge Duroc. MéthodesDes blessures cutanées profondes ont été créées sur le dos de jeunes femelles du cochon rouge Duroc. Des échantillons ont été prélevés toutes les deux semaines et I’ADN et I’ARN ont été tirés et quantifiés. Une RT-PCR a été pratiquée sur 15 molécules au moyen d’amorces spécifiques aux génes porcins. RésultatsLa majorité des molécules examinées ont révélé un schéma d’expression biphasique, avec une intensification de l’expression aux journées 14 et 56 suivant la blessure.ConclusionsLe schéma d’expression moléculaire observé correspond aux schémas d’expression des molécules de la matrice et des phénotypes de cicatrisation déjà rapportés chez les cochons rouges Duroc. Ces résultats améliorent notre compréhension du processus de formation des cicatrices fibroproliferatives.
Experiences with using information and communication technology to build a multi-municipal support network for informal carers

This multi-municipal intervention study explored whether informal carers of frail older people and disabled children living at home made use of information and communication technology (ICT) to gain knowledge about caring and to form informal support networks, thereby improving their health. Seventy-nine informal carers accessed web-based information about caring and an e-based discussion forum via their personal computers. They were able to maintain contact with each other using a web camera and via normal group meetings. After the first 12 months, 17 informal carers participated in focus group interviews and completed a short questionnaire. Four staff members were also interviewed. Participant carers who had prior experiences with a similar ICT-based support network reported greater satisfaction and more extensive use of the network than did participants with no such prior experience. It seems that infrequent usage of the service may be explained by too few other carers to identify with and inappropriate recruitment procedures. Nevertheless, carers of disabled children reported that the intervention had resulted in improved services across the participant municipalities. To achieve optimal effects of an ICT-based support network due attention must be given to recruitment processes and social environment building for which care practitioners require training and support.