Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Long sleep duration in elders without dementia increases risk of dementia mortality (NEDICES)

Objective: To determine in a population-based study whether long sleep duration was associated with increased risk of dementia mortality. Methods: In this prospective, population-based study of 3,857 people without dementia aged 65 years and older (NEDICES [Neurological Disorders in Central Spain]), participants reported their daily sleep duration. The average daily total sleep duration was grouped into 3 categories: ≤5 hours (short sleepers), 6–8 hours (reference category), and ≥9 hours (long sleepers). Community-dwelling elders were followed for a median of 12.5 years, after which the death certificates of those who died were examined. Results: A total of 1,822 (47.2%) of 3,857 participants died, including 201 (11.0%) deaths among short sleepers, 832 (45.7%) among long sleepers, and 789 (43.3%) among those participants in the reference category. Of 1,822 deceased participants, 92 (5.1%) had a dementia condition reported on the death certificate (49 [53.3%] were long sleepers, 36 [39.1%] reported sleeping between 6 and 8 hours, and 7 [7.6%] were short sleepers). In an unadjusted Cox model, risk of dementia-specific mortality was increased in long sleepers (hazard ratio for dementia mortality in long sleepers = 1.58, p = 0.04) when compared with the reference group. In a Cox model that adjusted for numerous demographic factors and comorbidities, the hazard ratio for dementia mortality in long sleepers was 1.63 (p = 0.03). Conclusions: Self-reported long sleep duration was associated with 58% increased risk of dementia-specific mortality in this cohort of elders without dementia. Future studies are required to confirm these findings.
Center-Specific Factors Associated with Peritonitis Risk—A Multi-Center Registry Analysis

♦ Background: Previous studies have reported significant variation in peritonitis rates across dialysis centers. Limited evidence is available to explain this variability. The aim of this study was to assess center-level predictors of peritonitis and their relationship with peritonitis rate variations. ♦ Methods: All incident peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients treated in Australia between October 2003 and December 2013 were included. Data were accessed through the Australia and New Zealand Dialysis and Transplant Registry. The primary outcome was peritonitis rate, evaluated in a mixed effects negative binomial regression model. Peritonitis-free survival was assessed as a secondary outcome in a Cox proportional hazards model. ♦ Results: Overall, 8,711 incident PD patients from 51 dialysis centers were included in the study. Center-level predictors of lower peritonitis rates included smaller center size, high proportion of PD, low peritoneal equilibration test use at PD start, and low proportion of hospitalization for peritonitis. In contrast, a low proportion of automated PD exposure, high icodextrin exposure and low or high use of antifungal prophylaxis at the time of peritonitis were associated with a higher peritonitis rate. Similar results were obtained for peritonitis-free survival. Overall, accounting for center-level characteristics appreciably decreased peritonitis variability among dialysis centers (p = 0.02). ♦ Conclusion: This study identified specific center-level characteristics associated with the variation in peritonitis risk. Whether these factors are directly related to peritonitis risk or surrogate markers for other center characteristics is uncertain and should be validated in further studies.
An accurate low-power DAC for SAR ADCs

A highly energy-efficiency switching procedure for the capacitor-splitting digital-to-analog converter (DAC) is presented for successive approximation register (SAR) analogue-to-digital converters (ADCs). In this procedure, the MSB capacitor is divided into its binary constituents. All output digital bits, except the least significant bit (LSB), is determined using reference voltage (Vref), while the common-mode voltage (Vcm) is used to determine the LSB. Therefore, the precision of the proposed SAR ADC is independent of the precision of Vcm except in the LSB. This method reduces the area by 75% compared to the conventional binary weighted DAC and reduces the switching energy by 96.89%.
Wideband Multiple Diversity Tensor Array Processing

This paper establishes a tensor model for wideband coherent array processing including multiple physical diversities. A separable coherent focusing operation is proposed as a preprocessing step in order to ensure the multilinearity of the interpolated data. We propose an alternating least squares algorithm to process tensor data, taking into account the noise correlation structure introduced by the focusing operation. We show through computer simulations that the estimation of direction of arrival and polarization parameters improves compared to existing narrowband tensor processing and wideband MUltiple SIgnal Classification. The performance is also compared to the Cramér-Rao bounds of the wideband tensor model.
Reconfigurable small antenna for mobile phone using MEMS tunable capacitor

In this paper we present a tunable PIFA which can be used in a mobile terminal. A NanoMech™ process enabled MEMS digital variable capacitor has been used as a capacitive load to the antenna. The antenna occupies a volume of just 1.3 cc and is targeted to be placed at the bottom corner of the device. With the help of tunability the antenna is able to cover from 704-960MHz in the low-band and 1710-2170MHz in the high-band, thus covering a wide range of frequency bands required for GSM/WCDMA/LTE systems. The MEMS device has an equivalent series inductance of less than 0.1nH hence the variation in the capacitance value with respect to frequency is less than 10%up to 5GHz. Further, the equivalent series resistance (ESR) of the digital variable capacitor is <;0. 4Ω across the whole frequency range of interest, hence causing very low insertion loss to the antenna. The tunable antenna is characterized by measuring it in 3D anechoic chamber. The measured total efficiency of the antenna varies from -4 to -2dB for 700MHz-960MHz and -3dB to -2dB for 1710-2170MHz.
Endocytosis Via Caveolae

Caveolae are flask‐shaped invaginations present in the plasma membrane of many cell types. They have long been implicated in endocytosis, transcytosis, and cell signaling. Recent work has confirmed that caveolae are directly involved in the internalization of membrane components (glycosphingolipids and glycosylphosphatidylinositol‐anchored proteins), extracellular ligands (folic acid, albumin, autocrine motility factor), bacterial toxins (cholera toxin, tetanus toxin), and several nonenveloped viruses (Simian virus 40, Polyoma virus). Unlike clathrin‐mediated endocytosis, internalization through caveolae is a triggered event that involves complex signaling. The mechanism of internalization and the subsequent intracellular pathways that the internalized substances take are starting to emerge.
A question of integrity: Variants of Bt cotton, pesticides, and productivity in Pakistan

Bt cotton remains one of the most widely grown biotech crops among smallholder farmers in lower income countries, and numerous studies attest to its advantages. However, the effectiveness of Bt toxin, which depends on many technical constraints, is heterogeneous. In Pakistan, the diffusion of Bt cotton occurred despite a weak regulatory system and without seed quality control; whether or not many varieties sold as Bt are in fact Bt is also questionable. We utilize nationally representative sample data to test the effects of Bt cotton use on productivity. Unlike previous studies, we invoke several indicators of Bt identity: variety name, official approval status, farmer belief, laboratory tests of Bt presence in plant tissue, and biophysical assays measuring Bt effectiveness. Only farmer belief affects cotton productivity in the standard production model, which does not treat Bt appropriately as damage-abating. In the damage control framework, all Bt indicators reduce damage from pests. Biophysical indicators have the largest effect and official approval has the weakest. Findings have implications for impact measurement. For policymakers, they suggest the need, on ethical if not productivity grounds, to improve variety information and monitor variety integrity closer to point of sale.
Evaluation of Database Replication Techniques for Cloud Systems

Cloud computing is becoming one of the preferred paradigms to deploy highly available and scalable systems. These systems usually demand the management of huge amounts of data, which cannot be solved with traditional database systems. Traditional replication protocols are not scalable enough for a cloud environment. This paper evolves different static replication techniques to achieve transactional support providing high availability and scalability as needed in cloud systems. This proposal offers different consistency levels according to the demands of client applications using a replication strategy based on a combination of traditional replication techniques with asynchronous epidemic updates. We have run several simulations that show this is an interesting approach to provide transactional support to clients with different consistency guaranties while leveraging the resources used.
Imprecision of creatinine-based GFR estimates in uninephric kidney donors.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES To ensure long-term safety of living kidney donors, it is now recommended that they be followed for at least 2 years after donation and that serum creatinine levels be monitored. Such levels are often subjected by clinical laboratories to estimating equations and are reported as estimated GFR (eGFR). The accuracy of such equations in uninephric living donors has yet to be validated. This is especially important in older living donors, who often have senescence-related depression of GFR. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS We compared urinary creatinine clearance, four-variable Modification of Diet in Renal Disease estimating equation (eGFR), and the recently reported CKD-EPI GFR estimating equation with true GFR measured by the urinary iothalamate clearance (iGFR) in 64 subjects after kidney donation. RESULTS Creatinine clearance overestimated iGFR. Both creatinine-based estimating equations were poorly correlated with and underestimated iGFR. More than half of kidney donors had eGFR <60 ml/min per 1.73 m(2) after donation, a level that categorized them as having stage 3 chronic kidney disease by our current laboratory reporting, whereas only 25% had iGFR <60 ml/min per 1.73 m(2). This misclassification disproportionately affected older donors age > or =55 years, of whom 80% had eGFR <60 ml/min per 1.73 m(2). Neither significant albuminuria nor hypertension was observed. CONCLUSIONS The current practice of reporting eGFR after donation commonly leads to a misclassification of chronic kidney disease, particularly in older donors. To ensure long-term well-being of living kidney donors, more precise estimates of GFR are required, particularly among older potential donors.
Techniques for detecting chromosomal aberrations in myelodysplastic syndromes

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are a group of heterogeneous hematologic diseases. Chromosomal aberrations are important for the initiation, development, and progression of MDS. Detection of chromosomal abnormalities in MDS is important for categorization, risk stratification, therapeutic selection, and prognosis evaluation of the disease. Recent progress of multiple techniques has brought powerful molecular cytogenetic information to reveal copy number variation, uniparental disomy, and complex chromosomal aberrations in MDS. In this review, we will introduce some common chromosomal aberrations in MDS and their clinical significance. Then we will explain the application, advantages, and limitations of different techniques for detecting chromosomal abnormalities in MDS. The information in this review may be helpful for clinicians to select appropriate methods in patient-related decision making.
VLSI compressor design with applications to digital neural networks

A key problem for implementing high-performance, high-capacity digital neural networks (DNN) is to design effective VLSI compressors to reduce the impact of carry propagation of large data matrix. In this paper, such a compressor design based on complex complementary pass-transistor logic (C/sup 2/PL) is presented. Some types of 3-2 compressors in C/sup 2/PL are implemented and a number of experiments are conducted to optimize their performance. Two typical building blocks, 4-2 and 7-3 compressors, are developed and their DNN applications are discussed. Compared with the complementary pass-transistor logic (CPL) and the conventional direct logic (CDL), our simulations show that the C/sup 2/PL compressors have the best performance in power, delay and number of transistors.
Improving detection probabilities for pests in stored grain.

BACKGROUND The presence of insects in stored grain is a significant problem for grain farmers, bulk grain handlers and distributors worldwide. Inspection of bulk grain commodities is essential to detect pests and thereby to reduce the risk of their presence in exported goods. It has been well documented that insect pests cluster in response to factors such as microclimatic conditions within bulk grain. Statistical sampling methodologies for grain, however, have typically considered pests and pathogens to be homogeneously distributed throughout grain commodities. In this paper, a sampling methodology is demonstrated that accounts for the heterogeneous distribution of insects in bulk grain. RESULTS It is shown that failure to account for the heterogeneous distribution of pests may lead to overestimates of the capacity for a sampling programme to detect insects in bulk grain. The results indicate the importance of the proportion of grain that is infested in addition to the density of pests within the infested grain. It is also demonstrated that the probability of detecting pests in bulk grain increases as the number of subsamples increases, even when the total volume or mass of grain sampled remains constant. CONCLUSION This study underlines the importance of considering an appropriate biological model when developing sampling methodologies for insect pests. Accounting for a heterogeneous distribution of pests leads to a considerable improvement in the detection of pests over traditional sampling models.
Impact of Relaxation Training According to Yoga in Daily Life® System on Perceived Stress After Breast Cancer Surgery

The purpose of this pilot study was to gather information on the immediate and short-term effects of relaxation training according to Yoga In Daily Life® (YIDL) system on the psychological distress of breast cancer patients. 32 patients at the Institute for Oncology of Ljubljana were randomized to the experimental (N = 16) and to the control group (N = 16). Both groups received the same standard physiotherapy for 1 week, while the experimental group additionally received a group relaxation training sessions according to YIDL® system. At discharge the experimental group was issued with audiocassette recordings containing the similar instructions for relaxation training to be practiced individually at home (for further 3 weeks). An experimental repeated measures design was used to investigate the differences over 1 month period in stress levels, changes in mental health and psychological parameters. Measures were obtained at three time points during the study period: baseline, at 1 week, and at 4 weeks, by blinded investigators using standardized questionnaires General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12), Rotterdam Symptom Checklist (RSCL) psychological subscale, Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). Patients who received relaxation training reported feeling significantly less distressed during hospitalization and after discharge-period than did the controls that did not receive relaxation training. The results indicate that relaxation training according to Yoga in Daily Life® system could be useful clinical physiotherapy intervention for breast cancer patients experiencing psychological distress. Although this kind of relaxation training can be applied to clinical oncology in Slovenia, more studies need to be done.
High-level tetracycline resistance resulting from TetM in strains of Neisseria spp., Kingella denitrificans, and Eikenella corrodens

Similar to Neisseria gonorrhoeae, tetracycline-resistant isolates of N. meningitidis, Kingella denitrificans, and Eikenella corrodens contained 25.2-megadalton plasmids carrying the TetM determinant. In contrast, tetracycline-resistant N. subflava biovar perflava-N. sicca and N. mucosa isolates carried the TetM determinant in the chromosome.
Distinctive Microbial Community Structure in Highly Stratified Deep-Sea Brine Water Columns

ABSTRACT Atlantis II and Discovery are two hydrothermal and hypersaline deep-sea pools in the Red Sea rift that are characterized by strong thermohalo-stratification and temperatures steadily peaking near the bottom. We conducted comprehensive vertical profiling of the microbial populations in both pools and highlighted the influential environmental factors. Pyrosequencing of the 16S rRNA genes revealed shifts in community structures vis-à-vis depth. High diversity and low abundance were features of the deepest convective layers despite the low cell density. Surprisingly, the brine interfaces had significantly higher cell counts than the overlying deep-sea water, yet they were lowest in diversity. Vertical stratification of the bacterial populations was apparent as we moved from the Alphaproteobacteria-dominated deep sea to the Planctomycetaceae- or Deferribacteres-dominated interfaces to the Gammaproteobacteria-dominated brine layers. Archaeal marine group I was dominant in the deep-sea water and interfaces, while several euryarchaeotic groups increased in the brine. Across sites, microbial phylotypes and abundances varied substantially in the brine interface of Discovery compared with Atlantis II, despite the near-identical populations in the overlying deep-sea waters. The lowest convective layers harbored interestingly similar microbial communities, even though temperature and heavy metal concentrations were very different. Multivariate analysis indicated that temperature and salinity were the major influences shaping the communities. The harsh conditions and the low-abundance phylotypes could explain the observed correlation in the brine pools.
Two Styles of Acupuncture for Treating Painful Diabetic Neuropathy – a Pilot Randomised Control Trial

In a pilot study, we evaluated the clinical and mechanistic effects of two styles of acupuncture, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Japanese acupuncture, for the treatment of painful diabetic neuropathy. Out of seven patients enrolled, three received Traditional Chinese acupuncture while four received Japanese style acupuncture. Treatments were delivered once a week for 10 weeks. Acupuncturists were permitted to select the needle interventions. Substantial differences in diagnostic techniques, choice of acupuncture points, and needle manipulation were observed between TCM and Japanese acupuncturists. Clinically, patients allocated to Japanese acupuncture reported decreased neuropathy-associated pain according to the daily pain severity score, while the group allocated to the TCM acupuncture reported minimal effects. Both acupuncture styles, however, lowered pain according to the McGill Short Form Pain Score. The TCM style improved nerve sensation according to quantitative sensory testing while the Japanese style had a more equivocal effect. No evident changes were observed in glucose control or heart rate variability in either group.
On the Planning and Design Problem of Fog Networks

Fog computing is a paradigm of geographically distributed computing residing at the edge of the network. Fog computing is made up of fog nodes providing compute, storage and networking services to end users. In this thesis, we propose an exact model for the planning and design problem of fog networks. The model simultaneously determines the optimal location, the capacity and the number of fog node(s) as well as the interconnection between the installed fog nodes and the cloud, while minimizing the delay in the network and the amount of traffic going to the cloud. To address this multiobjective problem, three multiobjective optimization methods (weighted sum, hierarchical and trade-off) are evaluated. The CPLEX solver was used to optimize the model for the three methods with different problem sizes and the results are analyzed. The results show that, as the input size increases, the delay and the traffic also increase in a linear form; whereas the solution time increases in non-polynomial time. The weighted sum method was able to achieve the best trade-off results for the delay and the traffic, whereas the hierarchical method was able to return minimum delay but with worse traffic going to the cloud. As the model considers realistic edge device traffic parameters and constraints, it can be helpful in deploying fog networks in the current cloud computing architecture.
Interplay Between the Oxidoreductase PDIA6 and microRNA-322 Controls the Response to Disrupted Endoplasmic Reticulum Calcium Homeostasis

Depletion of Ca2+ in the endoplasmic reticulum favors activation of a stress response involving IRE1α. Responding the Right Way to Cellular Stress Some proteins must be folded correctly in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to function properly. Various stress conditions can cause the buildup of unfolded proteins in the ER, which can cause cell death. There are multiple ways in which cells can respond to deal with the buildup of unfolded proteins. Groenendyk et al. investigated how cells deal with the stress of depletion of calcium ions from the ER and identified a pathway involving a microRNA and an oxidoreductase in the ER. They found that depletion of calcium from the ER resulted in the decreased abundance of a microRNA, which enabled a target mRNA and the oxidoreductase it encoded to accumulate. The oxidoreductase then activated a specific stress response. The authors showed that this pathway could be present in mice and nematodes. The disruption of the energy or nutrient balance triggers endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, a process that mobilizes various strategies, collectively called the unfolded protein response (UPR), which reestablish homeostasis of the ER and cell. Activation of the UPR stress sensor IRE1α (inositol-requiring enzyme 1α) stimulates its endoribonuclease activity, leading to the generation of the mRNA encoding the transcription factor XBP1 (X-box binding protein 1), which regulates the transcription of genes encoding factors involved in controlling the quality and folding of proteins. We found that the activity of IRE1α was regulated by the ER oxidoreductase PDIA6 (protein disulfide isomerase A6) and the microRNA miR-322 in response to disruption of ER Ca2+ homeostasis. PDIA6 interacted with IRE1α and enhanced IRE1α activity as monitored by phosphorylation of IRE1α and XBP1 mRNA splicing, but PDIA6 did not substantially affect the activity of other pathways that mediate responses to ER stress. ER Ca2+ depletion and activation of store-operated Ca2+ entry reduced the abundance of the microRNA miR-322, which increased PDIA6 mRNA stability and, consequently, IRE1α activity during the ER stress response. In vivo experiments with mice and worms showed that the induction of ER stress correlated with decreased miR-322 abundance, increased PDIA6 mRNA abundance, or both. Together, these findings demonstrated that ER Ca2+, PDIA6, IRE1α, and miR-322 function in a dynamic feedback loop modulating the UPR under conditions of disrupted ER Ca2+ homeostasis.