Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Preclinical Characterization of Recombinant Human Tissue Kallikrein-1 as a Novel Treatment for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Modulation of the kallikrein-kinin system (KKS) has been shown to have beneficial effects on glucose homeostasis and several other physiological responses relevant to the progression of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D). The importance of bradykinin and its receptors in mediating these responses is well documented, but the role of tissue kallikrein-1, the protease that generates bradykinin in situ, is much less understood. We developed and tested DM199, recombinant human tissue kallikrein-1 protein (rhKLK-1), as a potential novel therapeutic for T2D. Hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp studies suggest that DM199 increases whole body glucose disposal in non-diabetic rats. Single-dose administration of DM199 in obese db/db mice and ZDF rats, showed an acute, dose-dependent improvement in whole-body glucose utilization. Sub-acute dosing for a week in ZDF rats improved glucose utilization, with a concomitant rise in fasting insulin levels and HOMA1-%B scores. After cessation of sub-acute dosing, fasting blood glucose levels were significantly lower in ZDF rats during a drug wash-out period. Our studies show for the first time that DM199 administration results in acute anti-hyperglycemic effects in several preclinical models, and demonstrate the potential for further development of DM199 as a novel therapeutic for T2D.
Terminology for classifying swine herds by porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus status

Die Beschreibung des Status von Schweineherden bezuglich der Infektion mit dem porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) bedarf einer standardisierten Terminologie, um die Kommunikation zwischen Tierarzten, Schweineproduzenten, Zuchtunternehmen und anderen an der Schweineproduktion beteiligten Personenkreisen zu erleichtern. Diese ist auch fur die Durchfuhrung von Masnahmen zur Bekampfung und Eradikation des PRRSV auf regionaler und nationaler Ebene erforderlich. Ziel dieses Artikels ist die Vorstellung eines Systems zur Klassifizierung des PRRSV-Status von Herden, dessen Definitionen sich an den Eigenschaften des PRRSV orientieren. Die Definitionen wurden von einem Ausschuss festgelegt (bestehend aus der American Association of Swine Veterinarians [AASV] sowie dem United States Department of Agriculture PRRS-Coordinated Agricultural Project) und am 9. Marz 2010 vom AASV Board of Directors bestatigt. Der Ausschuss setzte sich aus praktizierenden und in der Industrie tatigen Tierarzten, Wissenschaftlern sowie Vertretern der AASV und des National Pork Board zusammen. Zuchtherden mit oder ohne Ferkelaufzucht bzw. angeschlossene Mast im gleichen Betrieb werden anhand der Virusausscheidung in der Herde sowie des Expositionsstatus als positiv-instabil (Kategorie I), positiv-stabil (Kategorie II), provisorisch negativ (Kategorie III) oder negativ (Kategorie IV) eingestuft. Aufzuchtbestande, die ausschlieslich Ferkel und/oder Mastschweine halten, konnen der Kategorie positiv oder negativ angehoren. Die empfohlenen Testverfahren und die Entscheidungsregeln fur die Herdenklassifikation werden im Detail beschrieben.
Part D and dually eligible patients with mental illness: medication access problems and use of intensive services.

OBJECTIVE This study examined the occurrence of medication access problems and use of intensive mental health services after the transition in January 2006 from Medicaid drug coverage to Medicare Part D for persons dually eligible for Medicaid and Medicare benefits. METHODS Psychiatrists randomly selected from the American Medical Association's Physicians Masterfile reported on experiences of one systematically selected dually eligible patient (N=908) in the nine to 12 months after Part D implementation. Propensity score matching was used to compare use of psychiatric emergency department care and inpatient care between individuals who experienced a problem accessing a psychiatric medication after Part D and those who did not. RESULTS Approximately 44% of dually eligible patients were reported to have experienced a problem accessing medications. The likelihood of visiting an emergency department was significantly higher for those who experienced an access problem than for those who did not (mean odds ratio=1.75, mean p=.003). There was no difference in number of emergency department visits or hospitalizations for those who had at least one. CONCLUSIONS Many dually eligible patients had difficulty accessing psychiatric medications after implementation of Part D. These patients were significantly more likely to visit psychiatric emergency departments than patients who did not experience difficulties. These findings raise concerns about possible negative effects on quality of care. Additional study is needed to understand the full effects of Part D on outcomes and functioning as well as treatment costs for this population.
Fast Word Recognition for Noise channel-based Models in Scenarios with Noise Specific Domain Knowledge

Word recognition is a challenging task faced by many applications, specially in very noisy scenarios. This problem is usually seen as the transmission of a word through a noisy-channel, such that it is necessary to determine which known word of a lexicon is the received string. To be feasible, just a reduced set of candidate words are selected. They are usually chosen if they can be transformed into the input string by applying up to k character edit operations. To rank the candidates, the most effective estimates use domain knowledge about noise sources and error distributions, extracted from real use data. In scenarios with much noise, however, such estimates, and the index strategies normally required, do not scale well as they grow exponentially with k and the lexicon size. In this work, we propose very efficient methods for word recognition in very noisy scenarios which support effective edit-based distance algorithms in a Mor-Fraenkel index, searchable using a minimum perfect hashing. The method allows the early processing of most promising candidates, such that fast pruned searches present negligible loss in word ranking quality. We also propose a linear heuristic for estimating edit-based distances which take advantage of information already provided by the index. Our methods achieve precision similar to a state-of-the-art approach, being about ten times faster.
Long‐term follow‐up results of hyperfractionated cyclophosphamide, vincristine, doxorubicin, and dexamethasone (Hyper‐CVAD), a dose‐intensive regimen, in adult acute lymphocytic leukemia

Modern intensive chemotherapy regimens have improved the prognosis for patients with adult acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL). With these regimens, the complete response rates are now reported to be > 80%, and the long‐term survival rates range from 30% to 45%. The current analysis updated the long‐term results with the original hyperfractionated cyclophosphamide, vincristine, doxorubicin, and dexamethasone (Hyper‐CVAD) program, with a median follow‐up time of 63 months.
Barriers to Facilitating an Existing Certified Nature Explore Outdoor Classroom

Barriers to Facilitating an Existing Certified Nature Explore Outdoor Classroom by Shelley Easler MA, Texas Woman’s University, 1984 BS, Texas Woman’s University, 1980 Doctoral Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education Higher Education and Adult Learning Walden University December 2015
Cysteine protease inhibition by nitrile-based inhibitors: a computational study

Cysteine protease enzymes are important for human physiology and catalyze key protein degradation pathways. These enzymes react via a nucleophilic reaction mechanism that involves a cysteine residue and the proton of a proximal histidine. Particularly efficient inhibitors of these enzymes are nitrile-based, however, the details of the catalytic reaction mechanism currently are poorly understood. To gain further insight into the inhibition of these molecules, we have performed a combined density functional theory and quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics study on the reaction of a nitrile-based inhibitor with the enzyme active site amino acids. We show here that small perturbations to the inhibitor structure can have dramatic effects on the catalysis and inhibition processes. Thus, we investigated a range of inhibitor templates and show that specific structural changes reduce the inhibitory efficiency by several orders of magnitude. Moreover, as the reaction takes place on a polar surface, we find strong differences between the DFT and QM/MM calculated energetics. In particular, the DFT model led to dramatic distortions from the starting structure and the convergence to a structure that would not fit the enzyme active site. In the subsequent QM/MM study we investigated the use of mechanical vs. electronic embedding on the kinetics, thermodynamics and geometries along the reaction mechanism. We find minor effects on the kinetics of the reaction but large geometric and thermodynamics differences as a result of inclusion of electronic embedding corrections. The work here highlights the importance of model choice in the investigation of this biochemical reaction mechanism.
Plasmid comparison and molecular analysis of Klebsiella pneumoniae harbouring bla(KPC) from New York City and Toronto.

OBJECTIVES This study examined Klebsiella pneumoniae clinical isolates and their bla(KPC) plasmids to determine potential relatedness of the isolates and their plasmids harbouring carbapenem resistance mechanisms. METHODS K. pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC)-producing K. pneumoniae from New York City (NYC) (n = 19) and Toronto (n = 2) were typed by PFGE and multilocus sequence typing (MLST). bla(KPC)-harbouring plasmids were transformed into Escherichia coli DH10B(TM), restricted using EcoRI and analysed for bla content and replicon (rep) type. Susceptibility profiles for clinical and transformed strains were determined by automated microbroth dilution using CLSI breakpoints. Outer membrane protein (OMP) genes were analysed by sequencing of ompk35 and ompk36. RESULTS PFGE analysis identified 17 related strains (≥ 80% similarity; 11 KPC-2, 6 KPC-3) where ST258 was the dominant clonal type. All clinical isolates contained both bla(SHV) and bla(TEM-1) and, with the exception of one isolate, were multidrug resistant (MDR). Transformed KPC plasmids (n = 21) carried TEM-1 (n = 18) and were MDR (n = 5). Three plasmid clusters, repFIIA (n = 10), repR (n = 3) and an unknown type (n = 3), were observed. repFllA plasmids were observed from both NYC and Toronto strains. OMP gene analysis revealed premature stop codons in ompk35 and numerous deletions and insertions in ompk36. CONCLUSIONS The dissemination of bla(KPC) is due both to carriage of similar KPC-harbouring plasmids within genetically distinct K. pneumoniae and to clonal spread of K. pneumoniae with unrelated KPC plasmids.
Developing the Transliteration Interface for Arabic Text

In the Arabic-English and English-Arabic translation activities, the interface is very significant. For translation in the Arabic language, many issues need to be addressed. The existing systems have some problems and research has been initiated to improve. Transliteration is an important component of the translation. We in this study propose a system of interface for Arabic transliteration. The interface shows significance and we do hope to improve further in the forthcoming studies.
Adaptive Dynamic Congestion Avoidance with Master Equation

This paper proposes an adaptive variant of Random Early Detection (RED) gateway queue management for packet-switched networks via a discrete state analog of the non-stationary Master Equation i.e. Markov process. The computation of average queue size, which appeared in the original RED algorithm, is altered by introducing a probability $P(l,t)$, which defines the probability of having $l$ number of packets in the queue at the given time $t$, and depends upon the previous state of the queue. This brings the advantage of eliminating a free parameter: queue weight, completely. Computation of transition rates and probabilities are carried out on the fly, and determined by the algorithm automatically. Simulations with unstructured packets illustrate the method, the performance of the adaptive variant of RED algorithm, and the comparison with the standard RED.
Regulation of the expression of components of the exocytotic machinery of insulin-secreting cells by microRNAs

Abstract Fine-tuning of insulin secretion from pancreatic β-cells participates in blood glucose homeostasis. Defects in this process can lead to chronic hyperglycemia and diabetes mellitus. Several proteins controlling insulin exocytosis have been identified, but the mechanisms regulating their expression remain poorly understood. Here, we show that two non-coding microRNAs, miR124a and miR96, modulate the expression of proteins involved in insulin exocytosis and affect secretion of the β-cell line MIN6B1. miR124a increases the levels of SNAP25, Rab3A and synapsin-1A and decreases those of Rab27A and Noc2. Inhibition of Rab27A expression is mediated by direct binding to the 3′-untranslated region of Rab27A mRNA. The effect on the other genes is indirect and linked to changes in mRNA levels. Over-expression of miR124a leads to exaggerated hormone release under basal conditions and a reduction in glucose-induced secretion. miR96 increases mRNA and protein levels of granuphilin, a negative modulator of insulin exocytosis, and decreases the expression of Noc2, resulting in lower capacity of MIN6B1 cells to respond to secretagogues. Our data identify miR124a and miR96 as novel regulators of the expression of proteins playing a critical role in insulin exocytosis and in the release of other hormones and neurotransmitters.
IQ Is Irrelevant to the Definition of Learning Disabilities

The purpose of this article was to examine the logic and the empirical data supporting the proposition that intelligence tests are not necessary for the definition of a learning disability. Four assumptions of the use of IQ test scores in the definition of learning disabilities were examined. These assumptions were (a) IQ tests measure intelligence; (b) intelligence and achievement are independent, and the presence of a learning disability will not affect IQ scores; (c) IQ scores predict reading, and children with low IQ scores should be poor readers; and (d) reading disabled children with different IQ scores have different cognitive processes and information skills. It was argued that IQ scores measure factual knowledge, expressive language abilities, and short-term memory, among other skills, and that because children with learning disabilities have deficits in these areas, their scores may be spuriously low. It was also shown that some children with low IQ scores can be good readers, indicating that low IQ scores do not necessarily result in poor reading. Empirical evidence was presented that poor readers at a variety of IQ levels show similar reading, spelling, language, and memory deficits. On logical and empirical grounds, IQ test scores are not necessary for the definition of learning disabilities.
Genetic variation within the Chrna7 gene modulates nicotine reward‐like phenotypes in mice

Mortality from tobacco smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death in the world, yet current cessation therapies are only modestly successful, suggesting new molecular targets are needed. Genetic analysis of gene expression and behavior identified Chrna7 as potentially modulating nicotine place conditioning in the BXD panel of inbred mice. We used gene targeting and pharmacological tools to confirm the role of Chrna7 in nicotine conditioned place preference (CPP). To identify molecular events downstream of Chrna7 that may modulate nicotine preference, we performed microarray analysis of α7 knock‐out (KO) and wild‐type (WT) nucleus accumbens (NAc) tissue, followed by confirmation with quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and immunoblotting. In the BXD panel, we found a putative cis expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) for Chrna7 in NAc that correlated inversely to nicotine CPP. We observed that gain‐of‐function α7 mice did not display nicotine preference at any dose tested, whereas conversely, α7 KO mice demonstrated nicotine place preference at a dose below that routinely required to produce preference. In B6 mice, the α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR)‐selective agonist, PHA‐543613, dose‐dependently blocked nicotine CPP, which was restored using the α7 nAChR‐selective antagonist, methyllycaconitine citrate (MLA). Our genomic studies implicated a messenger RNA (mRNA) co‐expression network regulated by Chrna7 in NAc. Mice lacking Chrna7 demonstrate increased insulin signaling in the NAc, which may modulate nicotine place preference. Our studies provide novel targets for future work on development of more effective therapeutic approaches to counteract the rewarding properties of nicotine for smoking cessation.
Association of different cognitive domains with the lifetime history of psychosis and reported antipsychotic- treatment adverse events in bipolar disorders.

Agnieszka Kalwa1, Agnieszka Magdalena Pirog-Balcerzak2, Łukasz Świecicki3 : 1Addiction Prevention and Treatment Unit IPiN, 2Childhood and Adolescence Psychiatry Unit, IPiN, 3Affective Disorders Unit, 2nd Department of Psychiatry, IPiN. Correspondence address: Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology (IPiN), Sobieskiego Street 9, 02-957 Warszawa. Email: kalwa@ipin.edu. pl No external funds have been used Association of different cognitive domains with lifetime history of psychosis and reported antipsychotic-treatment adverse events in bipolar disorders
Compact Coaxial Probe-Fed CP Substrate Integrated Waveguide Cavity-Backed Antenna Utilizing Slot Split Ring

A circularly polarized (CP) substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) cavity-backed slot antenna is proposed. A slot split ring (SSR) etched on the top metal surface of an SIW resonator is employed to generate the right-handed circularly polarized (RHCP) wave. The proposed antenna is excited directly by a coaxial probe with a proper distance from the symmetric axis of the SSR resonator. A prototype of the proposed CP antenna at the center frequency of 10 GHz is manufactured. As a result, the proposed antenna exhibits the advantages of both conventional planar antennas and metallic cavity backed antennas, including simple structure, compact size of 15.8×15.8 mm 2 , light weight, easy fabrication, high gain and wide axial ratio bandwidth. It is proved by experiment that an impedance bandwidth of 10.2% for the reflection coefficient less than −10 dB, an axial ratio (AR) bandwidth of 1.72% for AR less than 3 dB, and a RHCP gain 5.5 dBi have been obtained.
Helping Our Own: Text Massaging for Computational Linguistics as a New Shared Task

In this paper, we propose a new shared task called HOO: Helping Our Own. The aim is to use tools and techniques developed in computational linguistics to help people writing about computational linguistics. We describe a text-to-text generation scenario that poses challenging research questions, and delivers practical outcomes that are useful in the first case to our own community and potentially much more widely. Two specific factors make us optimistic that this task will generate useful outcomes: one is the availability of the ACL Anthology, a large corpus of the target text type; the other is that CL researchers who are non-native speakers of English will be motivated to use prototype systems, providing informed and precise feedback in large quantity. We lay out our plans in detail and invite comment and critique with the aim of improving the nature of the planned exercise.
A STUDY OF OCCUPATIONAL STRESS AND COPING STRATEGIES AMONG WORKING WOMEN IN RELATION TO THEIR FEELING OF WELL-BEING

Occupational stress is a growing problem globally at workplaces and may be a problem of particular magnitude for working women, in part because of sex-specific job stressors (sex discrimination or difficulties combining work and family). Although such stressors have received little research attention until recent years, some research indicates that these stressors may have a negative impact on health and well-being. A number of stress-reduction strategies have been studied to be useful for working women focused on reducing the occupational stress. This article examines the relations between occupational stress in working women, strategies to cope up with stress and feeling of well-being. For this one hundred working women in the age range of 25 to 45 years from middle job strata working in government organizations of district Haridwar were undertaken through the purposive sampling technique. Occupational Stress Index, Coping Checklist and PGI-Well-being scales were used to measure the work related stress, coping strategies and feeling of well-being of such people. Critical analysis of data revel that working women were high on role overload, role conflict, unreasonable group and political pressure, under participation, strenuous working conditions of occupational stress. On the other hand they were high on use of coping strategies like positive cognitive and distraction. Wellbeing of working women significantly and negatively correlated with role over-load, role ambiguity, unreasonable group and political pressure, and intrinsic impoverishment.
Decision Tree-Based Online Voltage Security Assessment Using PMU Measurements

Voltage collapse is a critical problem that impacts power system operational security. Timely and accurate assessment of voltage security is necessary to detect post-contingency voltage problems in order to prevent a large scale blackout. This paper presents an online voltage security assessment scheme using synchronized phasor measurements and periodically updated decision trees (DTs). The DTs are first trained offline using detailed voltage security analysis conducted using the past representative and forecasted 24-h ahead operating conditions. The DTs are also updated every hour by including newly predicted system conditions for robustness improvement. The associated synchronized critical attributes are obtained in real time from phasor measurement units (PMUs) and compared with the offline thresholds determined by the DTs to assess security. This approach is tested on the American Electric Power (AEP) system and properly trained DTs perform well in assessing voltage security. Several new ideas to improve DT performance are also introduced.
Constraint-based specification of hybrid position-impedance-force tasks

This work aims to extend the application field of the constraint-based control framework called iTaSC (instantaneous task specification using constraints) toward tasks where physical interaction between the robot and the environment, or a human, is contemplated. iTaSC, in its original formulation, allows for a systematic derivation of control schemes from task descriptions; tasks are defined as constraints enforced on outputs (e.g. distances, angles), and the iTaSC control takes care to fulfil such constraints by computing desired velocities to be commanded to the robot(s) joints. This approach, being based on a velocity resolution scheme, principally addresses tasks where positioning is the main issue. However, tasks that involve contacts with the environment or with the user, either desired or accidental, can be considered as well, taking advantage of impedance control, when position is controlled, or with force control. This paper describes the implementation of force tasks, and, by the combination of conflicting force and position tasks, impedance control, within the iTaSC formalism. This result is achieved by taking advantage of an approximate physical modelling of the robotic system and the environment. The proposed control scheme is tested by means of experiments where constraints on forces and/or positions described in cylindrical coordinates are imposed on a Kuka LWR arm.