Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Do Non-Glycaemic Markers Add Value to Plasma Glucose and Hemoglobin A1c in Predicting Diabetes? Yuport Health Checkup Center Study

Background Many markers have been indicated as predictors of type 2 diabetes. However, the question of whether or not non-glycaemic (blood) biomarkers and non-blood biomarkers have a predictive additive utility when combined with glycaemic (blood) biomarkers is unknown. The study aim is to assess this additive utility in a large Japanese population. Methods We used data from a retrospective cohort study conducted from 1998 to 2002 for the baseline and 2002 to 2006 for follow-up, inclusive of 5,142 men (mean age of 51.9 years) and 4,847 women (54.1 years) at baseline. The cumulative incidence of diabetes [defined either as a fasting plasma glucose (FPG) ≥7.00 mmol/l or as clinically diagnosed diabetes] was measured. In addition to glycaemic biomarkers [FPG and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c)], we examined the clinical usefulness of adding non-glycaemic biomarkers and non-blood biomarkers, using sensitivity and specificity, and the area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristics. Results The AUCs to predict diabetes were 0.874 and 0.924 for FPG, 0.793 and 0.822 for HbA1c, in men and women, respectively. Glycaemic biomarkers were the best and second-best for diabetes prediction among the markers. All non-glycaemic markers (except uric acid in men and creatinine in both sexes) predicted diabetes. Among these biomarkers, the highest AUC in the single-marker analysis was 0.656 for alanine aminotransferase (ALT) in men and 0.740 for body mass index in women. The AUC of the combined markers of FPG and HbA1c was 0.895 in men and 0.938 in women, which were marginally increased to 0.904 and 0.940 when adding ALT, respectively. Conclusions AUC increments were marginal when adding non-glycaemic biomarkers and non-blood biomarkers to the classic model based on FPG and HbA1c. For the prediction of diabetes, FPG and HbA1c are sufficient and the other markers may not be needed in clinical practice.
Improved Opponent Modeling in Poker

The game of poker has many properties that make it an interesting topic for arti cial intelligence (AI). It is a game of imperfect information, which relates to one of the most fundamental problems in computer science: how to handle knowledge that may be erroneous or incomplete. Poker is also one of the few games to be studied where deriving an accurate understanding of each opponent's style is an essential element to success. In developing a strong poker program, the opponent modeling method has always been a central component of the system. As other aspects of the program were improved, the techniques for modeling once again became a limiting factor to the overall level of play. As a result, the topic has been revisited. This paper reports on recent progress achieved by improved statistical methods, which were suggested by experiments using arti cial neural networks.
Microstructure and mechanical properties of the T23 steel after long-term ageing at elevated temperature

The paper presents the results of research on the microstructure and mechanical properties of T23 steel after long-term ageing up to 70 000 h at the temperature of 550 and 600 °C. It has been shown that the main mechanisms of degradation of the T23 steel microstructure were: recovery of the matrix, disintegration of the bainitic microstructure, growth of carbide diameter and precipitation of M6C carbides. These processes were more advanced in the steel aged at higher temperature. The changes in the microstructure resulted in a 10–15% decrease in mechanical properties (YS, TS) and hardness HV10, and a 30–40% decrease in the impact energy kV. A greater fall of impact strength occurred in the steel aged at the lower temperature. This was ascribed to the segregation of phosphorus to grain boundaries, which has a well-known adverse effect on ductility of low-alloy steels.
Social Science

TRANSFER MAJOR REQUIREMENTS in Social Science are available in the Counseling Center. In all cases, students should consult with a counselor for specific transfer requirements. Positions for which fouryear graduates in Social Science are qualified include: civil service entry level management, entry into teacher training, entry into law school, entry into professional social work training and entry-level work in social service agencies.
Recombinant production of eukaryotic cytochrome P450s in microbial cell factories

Cytochrome P450s (P450s) comprise one of the largest known protein families. They occur in every kingdom of life and catalyze essential reactions, such as carbon source assimilation, synthesis of hormones and secondary metabolites, or degradation of xenobiotics. Due to their outstanding ability of specifically hydroxylating complex hydrocarbons, there is a great demand to use these enzymes for biocatalysis, including applications at an industrial scale. Thus, the recombinant production of these enzymes is intensively investigated. However, especially eukaryotic P450s are difficult to produce. Challenges are faced due to complex cofactor requirements and the availability of a redox-partner (cytochrome P450 reductase, CPR) can be a key element to get active P450s. Additionally, most eukaryotic P450s are membrane bound which complicates the recombinant production. This review describes current strategies for expression of P450s in the microbial cell factories Escherichia coli, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and Pichia pastoris.
Internalized Gold Nanoparticles Do Not Affect the Osteogenesis and Apoptosis of MG63 Osteoblast-Like Cells: A Quantitative, In Vitro Study

The long-term toxicity effects of gold nanoparticles (GNPs) on the proliferation and differentiation of a progenitor cell line, MG63 osteoblast-like cells, was investigated. These cells were treated for 20 hours with two media that contained 10 nm GNPs at concentrations of 1 ppm and 10 ppm. The mitosis of the GNP-treated MG63 was observed after at least 21 hours using dark-field and fluorescence microscopy. The TEM, LSCM and dark-field hyperspectral images indicated that the late endosomes in cells that contained aggregated GNPs were caused by vesicle fusion. Subsequently, after 21 days of being cultured in fresh medium, the specific nodule-like phenotypes and bone-associated gene expression of the treated MG63 cells exhibited the same behaviors as those of the control group. Statistically, after 21 days, the viability of the treated cells was identical to that of the untreated ones. During the cell death program analysis, the apoptosis and necrosis percentages of cells treated for 8 or fewer days were also observed to exhibit no significant difference with those of the untreated cells. In summary, our experiments show that the long-term toxicity of GNPs on the osteogenetic differentiation of MG63 is low. In addition, because of their low toxicity and non-biodegradability, GNPs can potentially be used as biomarkers for the long-term optical observation of the differentiation of progenitor or stem cells based on their plasmonic light-scattering properties.
Of neoliberalism and global health: human capital, market failure and sin/social taxes

Abstract This article tells a different but equally important story about neoliberalism and global health than the narrative on structural adjustment policies usually found in the literature. Rather than focus on macroeconomic structural adjustment policies, this story draws our attention to microeconomic taxation policies on tobacco, alcohol and sugar now widely recognised as the best strategy to control the global non-communicable disease epidemic. Structural adjustment policies are the product of the shift from statist to market-based development models, which was brought about by neoliberal thinkers like Peter Blau and Deepak Lal. In contrast, taxation policies are the result of a different epistemological rupture in international development: the move from economies and physical capital to people and human capital, advocated by Gary Becker and others. This move was part of wider change, which saw Chicago School economists, under the influence of rational choice theory, redefine the object of their discipline, from the study of markets to individual choices. It was this concern with people and their choices that made it possible for Becker and others to identify the importance of price for the demand for tobacco, alcohol and sugar. The same concern also made it easier for them to recognise that there were inefficiencies in the tobacco, alcohol and sugar markets that required government intervention. This story, I suggest, shows that structural adjustment policies and pro-market ideology do not exhaust the relationship between neoliberalism and global health and should not monopolise how we, as political and social scientists, conceive it.
A review on big data protection of Hadoop

Trusted processing and security of administrations is a standout amongst the most difficult points today and is the distributed computing center innovation that is presently the concentration of worldwide IT universe. Hadoop, as an open-source distributed computing and huge information system, is progressively utilized as a part of the business world, while the shortcoming of security instrument now winds up noticeably one of the fundamental issues deterring its improvement. This paper initially portrays the Hadoop venture and its present security instruments, at that point examines the security issues and dangers of it, considering a few techniques to improve its trust and security lastly in light of past depictions, and finishes up hadoop security challenges.
A Constitutive Model for Arbitrary Fiber-Reinforced Composite Materials Having Micro-cracks Based on Continuum Damage Mechanics

A continuum damage mechanics model for composites having micro-cracks consisting of an isotropic matrix reinforced by independent and inextensible two families of arbitrarily fibers is proposed. The composite medium is assumed to be incompressible, having micro-cracks and showing linear elastic behavior. The reaction of the composite material subject to external loads is expressed in stress tensor and strain-energy density release rate. The matrix material made of elastic material involving an artificial anisotropy due to fibers reinforcing by arbitrary distributions and the existence of micro-cracks has been assumed as an isotropic medium. The theory is formulated within the scope of continuum damage mechanics. As a result of thermodynamic constraints, it has been determined that, the stress potential function is dependent on the deformation tensor, the damage tensor; the fiber fields vectors and the temperature. It is expressly understood from obtained constitutive relations that the stress and the strain energy density release rate are derived from the stress potential. To determine arguments of the stress potential, findings relating to the theory of invariants have been used as a method because of that isotropy constraint is imposed on the material. Finally the constitutive equations of stress and strain-energy density release rate have been written in terms of material coordinate description.
Dissecting the Structure–Activity Relationship of Galectin–Ligand Interactions

Galectins are β-galactoside-binding proteins. As carbohydrate-binding proteins, they participate in intracellular trafficking, cell adhesion, and cell–cell signaling. Accumulating evidence indicates that they play a pivotal role in numerous physiological and pathological activities, such as the regulation on cancer progression, inflammation, immune response, and bacterial and viral infections. Galectins have drawn much attention as targets for therapeutic interventions. Several molecules have been developed as galectin inhibitors. In particular, TD139, a thiodigalactoside derivative, is currently examined in clinical trials for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Herein, we provide an in-depth review on the development of galectin inhibitors, aiming at the dissection of the structure–activity relationship to demonstrate how inhibitors interact with galectin(s). We especially integrate the structural information established by X-ray crystallography with several biophysical methods to offer, not only in-depth understanding at the molecular level, but also insights to tackle the existing challenges.
Are Children Perceived to Be Morally Exceptional? Different Sets of Psychological Variables Predict Adults’ Moral Judgments About Adults and Young Children

Conceptual analyses of moral cognition suggest that different variables may influence moral judgments depending upon the target’s age. Five experiments (total N = 1,733) tested the implications for moral judgments about adults and young children. Results show that adults who were perceived to be more cognitively capable were judged to have greater moral rights and their transgressions were judged less harshly, but young children who were perceived to be more cognitively capable were judged to have fewer moral rights and their transgressions were judged more harshly. In addition, the perceived intentionality and disgustingness of transgressions had weaker effects on judgments about child transgressors than about adult transgressors. Perceivers’ care-giving motives also had diverging effects on moral judgments, predicting more lenient judgments about children’s transgressions and harsher judgments about adults’ transgressions. These results have novel implications—both conceptual and practical—for moral judgments regarding adults and children.
Bridging from Brain to Tumor Imaging: (S)-(−)- and (R)-(+)-[18F]Fluspidine for Investigation of Sigma-1 Receptors in Tumor-Bearing Mice †

Sigma-1 receptors (Sig1R) are highly expressed in various human cancer cells and hence imaging of this target with positron emission tomography (PET) can contribute to a better understanding of tumor pathophysiology and support the development of antineoplastic drugs. Two Sig1R-specific radiolabeled enantiomers (S)-(−)- and (R)-(+)-[18F]fluspidine were investigated in several tumor cell lines including melanoma, squamous cell/epidermoid carcinoma, prostate carcinoma, and glioblastoma. Dynamic PET scans were performed in mice to investigate the suitability of both radiotracers for tumor imaging. The Sig1R expression in the respective tumors was confirmed by Western blot. Rather low radiotracer uptake was found in heterotopically (subcutaneously) implanted tumors. Therefore, a brain tumor model (U87-MG) with orthotopic implantation was chosen to investigate the suitability of the two Sig1R radiotracers for brain tumor imaging. High tumor uptake as well as a favorable tumor-to-background ratio was found. These results suggest that Sig1R PET imaging of brain tumors with [18F]fluspidine could be possible. Further studies with this tumor model will be performed to confirm specific binding and the integrity of the blood-brain barrier (BBB).
Protocol for a 1-year prospective, longitudinal cohort study of patients undergoing Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and sleeve gastrectomy: the BARI-LIFESTYLE observational study

Introduction Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and sleeve gastrectomy are the two most common bariatric surgery performed in the UK that result in comparable weight loss and remission of obesity-associated comorbidities. However, there is a paucity of studies examining the impact of these procedures on body composition, physical activity levels, sedentary behaviour, physical function and strength, dietary intake, health-related quality of life and costs. Methods and analysis The BARI-LIFESTYLE observational study is a 1-year prospective, longitudinal cohort study within a real-world routine clinical care setting aiming to recruit 100 patients with severe obesity undergoing either primary Roux-en-Y gastric bypass or sleeve gastrectomy from two bariatric centres in London, UK. Participants will be followed up four times during the study period; presurgery baseline (T0) and at 3 (T1), 6 (T2) and 12 months (T3) postsurgery. In addition to the standard follow-up investigations, assessments including dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry scan, bioelectric impedance analysis, 6 min walk test, sit-to-stand test and handgrip test will be undertaken together with completion of questionnaires. Physical activity levels and sedentary behaviour will be assessed using accelerometer, and dietary intake will be recorded using a 3-day food diary. Outcome measures will include body weight, body fat mass, lean muscle mass, bone mineral density, physical activity levels, sedentary behaviour, physical function and strength, dietary intake, health-related quality of life, remission of comorbidities, healthcare resource utilisation and costs. Ethics and dissemination This study has been reviewed and given a favourable ethical opinion by London-Dulwich Research Ethics Committee (17/LO/0950). The results will be presented to stakeholder groups locally, nationally and internationally and published in peer-reviewed medical journals. The lay-person summary of the findings will be published on the Centre for Obesity Research, University College London website (http://www.ucl.ac.uk/obesity).
University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository

Image-based modeling and rendering is currently one of the most challenging topics in Computer Vision and Photogrammetry. The key issue here is building a set of dense correspondence points between two images, namely dense matching or stereo matching. Among all dense matching algorithms, Semi-Global Matching (SGM) is arguably one of the most promising algorithms for real-time stereo vision. Compared with global matching algorithms, SGM aggregates matching cost from several (eight or sixteen) directions rather than only the epipolar line using Dynamic Programming (DP). Thus, SGM eliminates the classical “streaking problem” and greatly improves its accuracy and efficiency. In this paper, we aim at further improvement of SGM accuracy without increasing the computational cost. We propose setting the penalty parameters adaptively according to image edges extracted by edge detectors. We have carried out experiments on the standard Middlebury stereo dataset and evaluated the performance of our modified method with the ground truth. The results have shown a noticeable accuracy improvement compared with the results using fixed penalty parameters while the runtime computational cost was not increased.
Metrics for Electronic-Nursing-Record-Based Narratives: cross-sectional analysis

Summary ObjectivesWe aimed to determine the characteristics of quantitative metrics for nursing narratives documented in electronic nursing records and their association with hospital admission traits and diagnoses in a large data set not limited to specific patient events or hypotheses. MethodsWe collected 135,406,873 electronic, structured coded nursing narratives from 231,494 hospital admissions of patients discharged between 2008 and 2012 at a tertiary teaching institution that routinely uses an electronic health records system. The standardized number of nursing narratives (i.e., the total number of nursing narratives divided by the length of the hospital stay) was suggested to integrate the frequency and quantity of nursing documentation. ResultsThe standardized number of nursing narratives was higher for patients aged ≥ 70 years (median = 30.2 narratives/day, interquartile range [IQR] = 24.0–39.4 narratives/day), long (≥ 8 days) hospital stays (median = 34.6 narratives/day, IQR = 27.2–43.5 narratives/day), and hospital deaths (median = 59.1 narratives/day, IQR = 47.0–74.8 narratives/day). The standardized number of narratives was higher in “pregnancy, childbirth, and puerperium” (median = 46.5, IQR = 39.0–54.7) and “diseases of the circulatory system” admissions (median = 35.7, IQR = 29.0–43.4). ConclusionsDiverse hospital admissions can be consistently described with nursing-documentderived metrics for similar hospital admissions and diagnoses. Some areas of hospital admissions may have consistently increasing volumes of nursing documentation across years. Usability of electronic nursing document metrics for evaluating healthcare requires multiple aspects of hospital admissions to be considered. Citation: Kim K, Jeong S, Lee K, Park H-A, Min YH, Lee JY, Kim Y, Yoo S, Doh G, Ahn S. Metrics for electronicnursing-record-based narratives: cross-sectional analysis.
Adaptive remodeling of skeletal muscle energy metabolism in high-altitude hypoxia: Lessons from AltitudeOmics

Metabolic responses to hypoxia play important roles in cell survival strategies and disease pathogenesis in humans. However, the homeostatic adjustments that balance changes in energy supply and demand to maintain organismal function under chronic low oxygen conditions remain incompletely understood, making it difficult to distinguish adaptive from maladaptive responses in hypoxia-related pathologies. We integrated metabolomic and proteomic profiling with mitochondrial respirometry and blood gas analyses to comprehensively define the physiological responses of skeletal muscle energy metabolism to 16 days of high-altitude hypoxia (5260 m) in healthy volunteers from the AltitudeOmics project. In contrast to the view that hypoxia down-regulates aerobic metabolism, results show that mitochondria play a central role in muscle hypoxia adaptation by supporting higher resting phosphorylation potential and enhancing the efficiency of long-chain acylcarnitine oxidation. This directs increases in muscle glucose toward pentose phosphate and one-carbon metabolism pathways that support cytosolic redox balance and help mitigate the effects of increased protein and purine nucleotide catabolism in hypoxia. Muscle accumulation of free amino acids favor these adjustments by coordinating cytosolic and mitochondrial pathways to rid the cell of excess nitrogen, but might ultimately limit muscle oxidative capacity in vivo. Collectively, these studies illustrate how an integration of aerobic and anaerobic metabolism is required for physiological hypoxia adaptation in skeletal muscle, and highlight protein catabolism and allosteric regulation as unexpected orchestrators of metabolic remodeling in this context. These findings have important implications for the management of hypoxia-related diseases and other conditions associated with chronic catabolic stress.
Second-harmonic Generation Spectroscopy from Time-dependent Density-functional Theory

We have developed very recently an ab initio formalism based on Time-Dependent DensityFunctional Theory for the calculation of the second-order susceptibility ! (2) in solids (Luppi et al. J. Chem. Phys. 132, 241104 (2010)). We apply this formalism to the calculation of secondharmonic generation spectra of the semiconductors: hexagonal SiC polytypes, ZnGeP2 (ZGP) and GaP. Starting from the independent-particle approximation, we include manybody effects, such as quasiparticle via the scissors operator, crystal local fields and excitons. In particular, we consider two different types of kernels: the ALDA and the “long-range” kernel. We analyze the effects of the different electron-electron descriptions in the spectra, finding good agreement with other theoretical calculations and experiments.