Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Rat Notochordal Cells Undergo Premature Stress-Induced Senescence by High Glucose

Study Design In vitro cell culture. Purpose The purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of high glucose on premature stress-induced senescence of rat notochordal cells. Overview of Literature Glucose-mediated increase of oxidative stress is a major causative factor for the development of diseases associated with diabetes mellitus such as senescence. However, no information is available for the effect of high glucose on premature stress-induced senescence of rat notochordal cells. Methods Notochordal cells were isolated from 4-week-old rats, cultured and placed in either 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS, normal control) or 10% FBS plus two high glucose concentrations (0.1 M and 0.2 M, experimental conditions) for 1 and 3 days. We identified and quantified the mitochondrial damage (mitochondrial transmembrane potential), reactive oxygen species (ROS) and antioxidants, such as manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) and catalase, for each condition. We also identified and quantified senescence and telomerase activity. Finally, we determined the expression of proteins related to replicative senescence (p53-p21-pRB) and stress-induced senescence (p16-pRB) pathways. Results Two high glucose concentrations enhanced the disruption of mitochondrial transmembrane potential and excessive generation of ROS in notochordal cells for 1 and 3 days, respectively. The expressions of MnSOD and catalase were increased in notochordal cells treated with both high glucose concentrations at 1 and 3 days. The telomerase activity declined at 1 and 3 days. Two high glucose concentrations increased the occurrence of stress-induced senescence of notochordal cells by p16-pRB pathways at 1 and 3 days. Conclusions Despite compensatory expression of antioxidants, high glucose-induced oxidative stress accelerates stress-induced senescence in rat notochordal cells. This may result in dysfunction of notochordal cells, leading to accelerated premature disc degeneration. The prevention of excessive generation of oxidative stress by strict blood glucose control is important to prevent or to delay premature disc degeneration in young patients with diabetes mellitus.
PREVALENCE OF DELIRIUM IN GERIATRIC HOSPITALIZED GENERAL MEDICAL POPULATION

The present study was carried out on the hospitalised geriatric general medical patients. The assessment of the patients was carried out within 24 hours of admission and on every fourth day thereafter using Mini Mental Status Examination (MMSE), Confusion Assessment Method (CAM), Delirium Symptom Interview (DSI) and ICD-10-Diagnostic Criteria of Research for delirium. An overall rate of delirium of 27% was found in the 100 patients who constituted the sample. 19% was the rate of ‘prevalent’ delirium and 8% was the rate of ‘incident’ delirium. It is observed that the CAM is a useful screening method with high sensitivity for diagnosis of delirium at the bedside.
Glypicans shunt the Wingless signal between local signalling and further transport

The two glypicans Dally and Dally-like have been implicated in modulating the activity of Wingless, a member of the Wnt family of secreted glycoprotein. So far, the lack of null mutants has prevented a rigorous assessment of their roles. We have created a small deletion in the two loci. Our analysis of single and double mutant embryos suggests that both glypicans participate in normal Wingless function, although embryos lacking maternal and zygotic activity of both genes are still capable of transducing the signal from overexpressed Wingless. Genetic analysis of dally-like in wing imaginal discs leads us to a model whereby, at the surface of any given cell of the epithelium, Dally-like captures Wingless but instead of presenting it to signalling receptors expressed in this cell, it passes it on to neighbouring cells, either for paracrine signalling or for further transport. In the absence of dally-like, short-range signalling is increased at the expense of long-range signalling (reported by the expression of the target gene distalless) while the reverse is caused by Dally-like overexpression. Thus, Dally-like act as a gatekeeper, ensuring the sharing of Wingless among cells along the dorsoventral axis. Our analysis suggests that the other glypican, Dally, could act as a classical co-receptor.
Material classification based on thermal and surface texture properties evaluated against human performance

Effective robotic grasping and manipulation requires knowledge about the surface properties of an object and the environment in which it is located. Physical contact with materials using tactile sensors can enable the retrieval of detailed information about the material, i.e. compressibility, surface texture and thermal properties. This paper describes a system used to classify a wide range of materials based on their thermal properties and surface texture. Following acquisition of data from a sophisticated tactile sensor, the system uses principal component analysis (PCA) to extract features from the data which are used to train an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) to classify materials, first into groups and then as individual materials. The system is compared with human performance and the results demonstrate that the proposed system performed better than humans by almost 10%.
Annual Report of Malaysian Public Universities: The Extent of Compliance and Accountability

The study intends to evaluate the extent of public universities’ annual report disclosure in complying with the Malaysia Government Treasury Circular No. 4/2007 and in disclosing accountability information. Then, it compares the degree of annual report disclosure between established and new universities in Malaysia. Content analysis using two disclosure indexes was under taken. Mean disclosure index was computed to examine the disclosure levels. Malaysian public universities have not fully complied with the minimum disclosure requirements and more importantly, the degree of accountability information disclosure is lower. Additionally, although established universities group is better off in terms of accountability information disclosure it is reported to have lower degree of compliance to the minimum disclosure requirements. Greater enforcement from the government authority is required to ensure greater compliance of the universities in disclosing information in their annual report. Keywords: annual report, accountability, public universities, Malaysia
A Pilot Study to Assess the Feasibility of the Spanish Diabetes Self-Management Program in the Basque Country

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility of the Spanish Diabetes Self-Management Program (SDSMP) in the primary care setting of the Basque Health Service and offer initial estimations of the randomized controlled trial (RCT) effects. Methods. Ten health centers (HCs) participated in a single-arm pilot study with a 6-month follow-up period between February 2011 and June 2012. Recruitment was performed via invitation letters, health professionals, and the local media. Each intervention group consisted of 8–15 people. The ability of each HC in forming up to 2 groups, participants' compliance with the course, and coordination and data collection issues were evaluated. Glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) was the main outcome variable. Secondary outcomes were cardiovascular risk factors, drugs consumption, medical visits, quality of life, self-efficacy, physical exercise, and diet. Results. Two HCs did not organize a course. A total of 173 patients initiated the program, 2 dropped out without baseline data, and 90% completed it. No pre-post HbA1c differences existed. Certain improvements were observed in blood pressure control, self-efficacy, physical activity, and some dietary habits. Conclusion. The SDSMP is feasible in our setting. Our experience can be of interest when planning and conducting this program in similar health settings. The trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT01642394.
Robust adaptive motion control for Remotely Operated Vehicles with velocity constraints

In this paper, robust adaptive control strategies are designed for Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) with velocity constraints in the presence of uncertainties and disturbances. First, robust control strategies are investigated for ROVs, and then adaptive robust control strategies are further presented with online parameter estimation. To prevent the velocity constraint violation, the Barrier Lyapunov Function (BLF) is employed in Lyapunov synthesis. By ensuring the boundedness of the BLF, we also guarantee that the velocity constraints are not transgressed. The stability analysis of the closed-loop system is provided and all closed-loop signals are ensured to be bounded. Simulation results for 5-DOF ROV demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.
Architecting as decision making with patterns and primitives

The application of patterns is used as a foundation for many central design decisions in software architecture, but because of the informal nature of patterns, these design decisions are usually not precisely documented in the models. In our earlier work, we had proposed pattern primitives as a solution to precisely model the patterns in the corresponding architectural views. Building upon that approach, this paper introduces a pattern-based architecting process that aims at inexpensively documenting design decisions in the architectural views alongside the natural flow of design. The decisions that are made explicit, concern the selection of patterns, their variants and the corresponding primitives, as well as the resolution of inconsistencies between the architectural views. The approach is demonstrated in the domain of process-driven SOA for two architectural views: Component-and-Connector and Process Flow.
Heterogeneities in confined water and protein hydration water

We report recent efforts to understand a broad range of experiments on confined water and protein hydration water, many initiated by a collaboration between workers at the University of Messina and MIT—the editors of this special issue. Preliminary calculations are not inconsistent with one tentative interpretation of these experiments as resulting from the system passing from the high-temperature high-pressure ‘HDL’ side of the Widom line (where the liquid might display non-Arrhenius behavior) to the low-temperature low-pressure ‘LDL’ side of the Widom line (where the liquid might display Arrhenius behavior). The Widom line—defined to be the line in the pressure–temperature plane where the correlation length has its maximum—arises if there is a critical point. Hence, interpreting the Messina–MIT experiments in terms of a Widom line is of potential relevance to testing, experimentally, the hypothesis that water displays a liquid–liquid critical point.
Untangling Locality and Orientation Constraints in the L2 Acquisition of Anaphoric Binding: A Feature-Based Approach

This study offers a Minimalist analysis of the L2 acquisition of binding properties whereby cross-linguistic differences arise from the interaction of anaphoric feature specifications and operations of the computational system (Reuland 2001, 2011; Hicks 2009). This analysis attributes difficulties in the L2 acquisition of locality and orientation properties in binding to problems reanalyzing the features responsible for reflexivization in the target language. Such an approach is shown to predict, in contrast to previous accounts, that if the locality and orientation behavior of English reflexives arise due to syntactic operations on their features (Agree), acquisition of locality cannot be achieved unless orientation is also acquired; a picture verification task completed by 70 Korean L2 speakers of English fully bears out this prediction. We show that for independent reasons, Korean speakers could still behave apparently nativelike for locality (by means of L1 transfer), but not for orientation. Crucially, this analysis can explain how two properties traditionally subsumed under the same Universal Grammar (UG) principle can appear to pose different learning difficulties to L2 speakers.
Deep Learning Approximation for Stochastic Control Problems

Many real world stochastic control problems suffer from the "curse of dimensionality". To overcome this difficulty, we develop a deep learning approach that directly solves high-dimensional stochastic control problems based on Monte-Carlo sampling. We approximate the time-dependent controls as feedforward neural networks and stack these networks together through model dynamics. The objective function for the control problem plays the role of the loss function for the deep neural network. We test this approach using examples from the areas of optimal trading and energy storage. Our results suggest that the algorithm presented here achieves satisfactory accuracy and at the same time, can handle rather high dimensional problems.
Choosing a Champion: Party Membership and Policy Platform

We introduce endogenous political parties into the Hotelling-Downs voting framework to model the selection of candidates. First, activists choose which party to join, if at all. Second, party members select a champion for the general election. Third, the electorate median voter determines the (stochastic) general election outcome. Although party members trade off win probabilities candidate location preferences, in equilibrium they vote sincerely, so champions are at party medians. Minimum differentiation is only attained when valence uncertainty vanishes. Otherwise, the electorate median voter is in neither party. Despite asymmetric party and policy positions in equilibrium, electoral successes remain roughly equal.
Toward a General Framework for Words and Pictures

This is a report on activities as part of the JHU-CLSP summer workshops 2011. The report is followed by three papers currently in submission based on work during the summer and continuing work over the following semester. Two future paper submissions and a grant proposal are expected in addition to other follow-on activities.
On-Line Path Generation for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Using B-Spline Path Templates

The problem of generating a smooth reference path, given a finite family of discrete, locally optimal paths, is investigated. A finite discretization of the environment results in a sequence of obstacle-free square cells. The generated path must lie inside the channel generated by these obstacle-free cells, while minimizing certain performance criteria. Two constrained optimization problems are formulated and solved subject to the given geometric (linear) constraints and boundary conditions in order to generate a library of B-spline path templates offline. These templates are recalled during implementation and are merged together on the fly in order to construct a smooth and feasible reference path to be followed by a closed-loop tracking controller. Combined with a discrete path planner, the proposed algorithm provides a complete solution to the obstacle-free path-generation problem for an unmanned aerial vehicle in a computationally efficient manner, which is suitable for real-time implementation.
Extract of Wax Gourd Peel Prevents High-Fat Diet-Induced Hyperlipidemia in C57BL/6 Mice via the Inhibition of the PPARγ Pathway

Wax gourd is a popular vegetable in East Asia. In traditional Chinese medicine, wax gourd peel is used to prevent and treat metabolic diseases such as hyperlipidemia, hyperglycemia, obesity, and cardiovascular disease. However, there is no experimental evidence to support these applications. Here, we examined the effect of the extract of wax gourd peel (EWGP) on metabolic disorders in diet-induced C57BL/6 obese mice. In the preventive experiment, EWGP blocked body weight gain and lowered serum total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c), liver TG and TC contents, and fasting blood glucose in mice fed with a high-fat diet. In the therapeutic study, we induced obesity in the mice and treated with EWGP for two weeks. We found that EWGP treatment reduced serum and liver triglyceride (TG) contents and fasting blood glucose and improved glucose tolerance in the mice. Reporter assay and gene expression analysis showed that EWGP could inhibit peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) transactivities and could decrease mRNA levels of PPARγ and its target genes. We also found that HMG-CoA reductase (HMGCR) was downregulated in the mouse liver by EWGP. Our data suggest that EWGP lowers hyperlipidemia of C57BL/6 mice induced by high-fat diet via the inhibition of PPARγ and HMGCR signaling.
Hotdogs and Beer: Dietary Nitrosamine Exposure Exacerbates Neurodevelopmental Effects of Ethanol in Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder

In the immature brain, ethanol impairs insulin, insulin-like growth factor (IGF) and other trophic factor signaling, increases cellular stress, and impairs neuronal and glial functions. However, given the phenotypic heterogeneity of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), which is not always ethanol dose-dependent, we hypothesized that cofactors modulate spectrum and severity of disease. Herein, we determined if N-nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA) exposures could mimic or exacerbate ethanol's effects on cerebellar development; NDEA is present in processed foods, inhibits insulin signaling, and promotes oxidative injury. Rat pups were binge ethanol (2 g/kg) or vehicle exposed on postnatal day 3 (P3), P5, P7, and P9; and treated with vehicle or NDEA (2 mg/kg) on P7. Ethanol and NDEA disrupted cerebellar foliation and white matter integrity, inhibited expression of oligodendrocyte and astrocyte proteins, and increased expression of ER stress genes. Combined exposures had qualitatively additive effects. Therefore, cofactor exposures can either mimic or influence the phenotypic features of FASD.
Omega-3 Fatty Acid Augmentation of Citalopram Treatment for Patients With Major Depressive Disorder

Objective The objective of this study was to explore the efficacy of combination therapy with citalopram plus omega-3 fatty acids versus citalopram plus placebo (olive oil) in the initial treatment of individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD). We hypothesized that combination therapy would lead not only to greater efficacy but also to a more rapid onset of therapeutic response. Methods Forty-two subjects participated in this 9-week randomized, masked, placebo-controlled study of combination therapy (two 1 g capsules containing a blend of 900 mg of eicosapentaenoic acid, 200 mg of and docosahexaenoic acid, and 100 mg of other omega-3 fatty acids twice daily plus citalopram) versus monotherapy (two 1 g capsules of olive oil per day plus citalopram) treatment of MDD. Results The combination therapy demonstrated significantly greater improvement in Hamilton Depression Rating scale scores over time (F = 7.32; df 1,177; P = 0.008) beginning at week 4 (t = −2.48; df 177; P = 0.014). Conclusions Combination therapy was more effective than monotherapy in decreasing signs and symptoms of MDD during the 8 weeks of active treatment; however, combination therapy did not seem to enhance the speed of the initial antidepressant response. These findings suggest that there may be an advantage to combining omega-3 fatty acids with a selective serotonin uptake inhibitor in the initial treatment of individuals with MDD. A larger definitive study is warranted.
Implementation and Evaluation of a TDMA Based Protocol for Wireless Sensor Networks

When evaluating MAC layer network protocols for wireless sensor networks, performing simulations of a protocol’s operation can provide great insight into the performance of the protocol. In order to prove that a protocol will work in a real setting and not just at the theoretical level, however, there is no substitute for evaluation with a physical implementation. This thesis discusses a physical implementation and evaluation of the Many-to-One-Sensor-to-Sink (MOSS) MAC layer protocol for sink based wireless sensor networks using the MAC Layer Architecture for TinyOS. MOSS is a Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) based protocol first proposed in an earlier work. MOSS aims to utilize the strengths and alleviate the weaknesses of TDMA. In addition to discussing and evaluating the physical MOSS implementation, the process of developing MAC layer protocol implementations with MLA is also discussed.
Paying a Premium on Your Premium? Consolidation in the U.S. Health Insurance Industry

We examine whether and to what extent consolidation in the U.S. health insurance industry is leading to higher employer-sponsored insurance premiums. We make use of a proprietary, panel dataset of employer-sponsored healthplans enrolling over 10 million Americans annually between 1998 and 2006 to explore the relationship between premium growth and changes in market concentration. We exploit the differential impact of a large national merger of two insurance firms across local markets to estimate the causal effect of concentration on market-level premiums. We estimate real premiums increased by approximately 7 percentage points (in a typical market) due to the rise in concentration during our study period. We also find evidence that consolidation facilitates the exercise of monopsonistic power vis a vis physicians, whose absolute employment and relative earnings decline in its wake.
Effects of Extending the Time Window of Thrombolysis to 4.5 Hours: Observations in the Swedish Stroke Register (Riks-Stroke)

Background and Purpose— The European Cooperative Acute Stroke Study (ECASS) III trial and Safe Implementation of Thrombolysis in Stroke–International Stroke Thrombolysis Register (SITS-ISTR) data were published in 2008. Riks-Stroke, the Swedish Stroke Register, was used to explore how thrombolysis in the 3- to 4.5-hour window has been spread in different hospitals and patient groups and what effects this has had on treatment within 3 hours. Methods— All 76 hospitals in Sweden admitting patients with acute stroke participate in Riks-Stroke. During the study period, January 2003 to June 2010, 92 150 18- to 80-year-old patients were hospitalized for acute ischemic stroke. Results— After the publication of the ECASS III results in the third quarter of 2008, thrombolysis in the 3- to 4.5-hour window increased from 0.5% before publication to 2.1% in 2010. Thrombolysis in the 3- to 4.5-hour window spread somewhat faster in men than women (P=0.04) but at a similar rate in different age groups. The use of thrombolysis within 3 hours after onset of symptoms increased successively from 0.9% in 2003 to 6.6% in late 2008 and then it stabilized at 6%. The median time from arrival to the hospital to start of treatment remained unchanged at 66 to 69 minutes before and after 2008 (P=0.06). Conclusions— Since the end of 2008, there has been a rapid nationwide dissemination of thrombolysis in the 3- to 4.5-hour window, whereas rates in the <3-hour window have leveled off. The extended time window has not affected door-to-needle time.