Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Pharmacy Students ' Care Improved HBA 1 c Levels and Quality of Life of Patients with Diabetes

The objective of the current study was to examine the pharmacy student care effect on HbA1c levels and quality of life (QoL) of T2DM patients. For this purpose pharmacy students received an academic course on theoretical and clinical aspects of T2DM management. Students carried out a psycho-educational intervention among T2DM patients. T2DM patients (n=135) participated in two projects. Within each project a random allocation to intervention group (IG) or control group (CG) was conducted. In the first project, HbA1c levels were taken from patients' medical files before the intervention commenced (t1), after half a year (t2) and after one year (t3). In the second project, HbA1c levels and QoL values were measured pre-intervention (t1) and after one year (t2). In both projects, the results showed that HbA1c levels declined at t2 among participants in the IG group only. In the second project, IG patients exhibited improvement on the physical and psychological QoL scales compared to no improvement among CG. It was therefore concluded that Integrative intervention by pharmacy students decreased HBA1c levels and improved aspects of quality of life among T2DM patients. Practically, pharmacy students play an important role in bridging the gap between physician recommendations and patients’ optimal metabolic-control, by conducting continuous psycho-educational interventions.
Modulation of human cytomegalovirus immediate‐early gene enhancer by mitogen‐activated protein kinase kinase kinase‐1

The immediate‐early (IE) promoter of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) constitutes a primary genetic switch, which determines the progression of viral infection. Earlier reports by others have shown mitogen‐activated protein kinase kinase kinase‐1 (MEKK1) to be able to up‐regulate HCMV‐IE promoter through downstream mitogen‐activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways. However, we noticed that the activation of the HCMV‐IE promoter by constitutively active MEKK1 (MEKK1‐TRU) might not be through the MAPK pathways. Using a HCMV‐IE enhancer/promoter (− 522 to + 72) driving a luciferase reporter, we demonstrated that the downstream MAPK activation actually repressed the up‐regulation of the promoter by MEKK1 in CHO‐K1 and human 293 cells. We further found that the up‐regulation of HCMV‐IE promoter by MEKK1 could be in great extent suppressed by over‐expression of IκBα. Deletion of the NFκB/rel sites in the HCMV‐IE enhancer region by mutagenesis proportionally reduced the transcriptional activation by MEKK1‐TRU, whereas deletion of the ATF/CREB binding sites or cyclic AMP response elements (CRE) had no effects. Furthermore, the NFκB/rel deletion mutant also showed repression on the basic transcription activity of the HCMV‐IE promoter. Our results indicate that the NFκB/rel sites are not only responsible for the modulation of HCMV‐IE enhancer activity by MEKK1 but also control the basic transcription activity of the HCMV‐IE promoter. On the other hand, the four consensus CRE sites were found to have no function in the activation of the promoter by MEKK1. J. Cell. Biochem. 83: 563–573, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
egoComp: A node-link-based technique for visual comparison of ego-networks

Analysis of ego-networks is a critical research problem when analyzing large-scale social networks, as an ego-network represents the social circle a person actually contacts with. One of the core tasks in ego-network analysis is visual comparison, which includes edge comparison and node comparison. Although various works have been done to support comparing normal networks and ego-networks, intuitive node comparison of two ego-networks is still challenging. In this article, we propose egoComp, an intuitive and expressive visualization technique, to analyze the node difference between two ego-networks. To preserve the latent structure of ego-network and lay emphasis on intuitiveness, our design is node-link-based (radial tree layout) and uses a side-by-side method to compare ego-networks. We design a novel storyflow-like graph layout to reveal the relationship of two ego-networks at the individual node level. Furthermore, three different layout algorithms, including origin, greedy, and assignment algorithms, are proposed to meet different user requirements. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our system through case studies and a user study and then discuss the limitations thoroughly as well as the possible solutions and potential future work.
Analysis of SNP-expression association matrices

High throughput expression profiling and genotyping technologies provide the means to study the genetic determinants of population variation in gene expression variation. In this paper we present a general statistical framework for the simultaneous analysis of gene expression data and SNP genotype data measured for the same cohort. The framework consists of methods to associate transcripts with SNPs affecting their expression, algorithms to detect subsets of transcripts that share significantly many associations with a subset of SNPs, and methods to visualize the identified relations. We apply our framework to SNP-expression data collected from 49 breast cancer patients. Our results demonstrate an overabundance of transcript-SNP associations in this data, and pinpoint SNPs that are potential master regulators of transcription. We also identify several statistically significant transcript-subsets with common putative regulators that fall into well-defined functional categories.
Demography, not inheritance, drives phenotypic change in hunted bighorn sheep

Significance Understanding the consequences that selective harvest has on a targeted trait, such as body size, is a great challenge. This is principally because it is difficult to evaluate the relative importance of the evolutionary and demographic factors that underlie a change in the distribution of a selected trait in a hunted population. Here we use a novel and recently developed two-sex integral projection model to tease apart the underlying demographic and evolutionary mechanisms of trait change in a trophy-hunted bighorn sheep population. We find that body size is weakly inherited and that subsequently demographic change, and not evolutionary change, as previously thought, is the principle driver of trait shifts in hunted bighorn sheep. Selective harvest, such as trophy hunting, can shift the distribution of a quantitative character such as body size. If the targeted character is heritable, then there will be an evolutionary response to selection, and where the trait is not, then any response will be plastic or demographic. Identifying the relative contributions of these different mechanisms is a major challenge in wildlife conservation. New mathematical approaches can provide insight not previously available. Here we develop a size- and age-based two-sex integral projection model based on individual-based data from a long-term study of hunted bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) at Ram Mountain, Canada. We simulate the effect of trophy hunting on body size and find that the inheritance of body mass is weak and that any perceived decline in body mass of the bighorn population is largely attributable to demographic change and environmental factors. To our knowledge, this work provides the first use of two-sex integral projection models to investigate the potential eco-evolutionary consequences of selective harvest.
Constructing Acoustic Distances Between Subwords and States Obtained from a Deep Neural Network for Spoken Term Detection

The detection of out-of-vocabulary (OOV) query terms is a crucial problem in spoken term detection (STD), because OOV query terms are likely. To enable search of OOV query terms in STD systems, a query subword sequence is compared with subword sequences generated using an automatic speech recognizer against spoken documents. When comparing two subword sequences, the edit distance is a typical distance between any two subwords. We previously proposed an acoustic distance defined from statistics between states of the hidden Markov model (HMM) and showed its effectiveness in STD [4]. This paper proposes an acoustic distance between subwords and HMM states where the posterior probabilities output by a deep neural network are used to improve the STD accuracy for OOV query terms. Experiments are conducted to evaluate the performance of the proposed method, using the open test collections for the “Spoken&Doc” tasks of the NTCIR-9 [13] and NTCIR-10 [14] workshops. The proposed method shows improvements in mean average precision.
Advances in the Techniques for the Prediction of microRNA Targets

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small, non-coding, endogenous RNA molecules that play important roles in a variety of normal and diseased biological processes by post-transcriptionally regulating the expression of target genes. They can bind to target messenger RNA (mRNA) transcripts of protein-coding genes and negatively control their translation or cause mRNA degradation. miRNAs have been found to actively regulate a variety of cellular processes, including cell proliferation, death, and metabolism. Therefore, their study is crucial for the better understanding of cellular functions in eukaryotes. To better understand the mechanisms of miRNA: mRNA interaction and their cellular functions, it is important to identify the miRNA targets accurately. In this paper, we provide a brief review for the advances in the animal miRNA target prediction methods and available resources to facilitate further study of miRNAs and their functions.
BDNF reduces miniature inhibitory postsynaptic currents by rapid downregulation of GABAA receptor surface expression

Changes in neurotransmitter receptor density at the synapse have been proposed as a mechanism underlying synaptic plasticity. Neurotrophic factors are known to influence synaptic strength rapidly. In the present study, we found that brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) acts postsynaptically to reduce γ‐aminobutyric acid (GABA)‐ergic function. Using primary cultures of rat hippocampal neurons, we investigated the effects of BDNF on GABAergic miniature inhibitory postsynaptic currents (mIPSCs) and on the localization of GABAA receptors. Application of BDNF (100 ng/mL) led within minutes to a marked reduction (33.5%) of mIPSC amplitudes in 50% of neurons, recorded in the whole‐cell patch‐clamp mode, leaving frequency and decay kinetics unaffected. This effect was blocked by the protein kinase inhibitor K252a, which binds with high affinity to trkB receptors. Immunofluorescence staining with an antibody against trkB revealed that about 70% of cultured hippocampal pyramidal cells express trkB. In dual labelling experiments, use of neurobiotin injections to label the recorded cells revealed that all cells responsive to BDNF were immunopositive for trkB. Treatment of cultures with BDNF reduced the immunoreactivity for the GABAA receptor subunits‐α2, ‐β2,3 and ‐γ2 in the majority of neurons. This effect was detectable after 15 min and lasted at least 12 h. Neurotrophin‐4 (NT‐4), but not neurotrophin‐3 (NT‐3), also reduced GABAA receptor immunoreactivity, supporting the proposal that this effect is mediated by trkB. Altogether the results suggest that exposure to BDNF induces a rapid reduction in postsynaptic GABAA receptor number that is responsible for the decline in GABAergic mIPSC amplitudes.
Exploring Query Expansion for Entity Searches in PubMed

Identifying relevant studies from the entire scientific literature is an important task in biomedical research. Past efforts have incorporated semantically recognized biological entities and medical ontologies into biomedical literature search. However, semantic relations are largely overlooked by biomedical search engines. In this work, we aim to discover synonymous biomedical semantic relations between entities and explore their uses in query (semantics) understanding for improved retrieval performance. Specifically, we discover synonymous semantic relations from PubMed queries and apply them to query expansion and specification. In these two real-world scenarios, better PubMed retrieval effectiveness, in terms of recall and precision, can be achieved, demonstrating the utility of our proposed approach.
Automated Cloud Computing Approach for the Simulation of Chemo-Hydrodynamic Problems

Studying the interplay between hydrodynamic instabilities and chemical reactions is attracting increasing interest because of its transversal impact ranging from fundamental to applied science. Depending on the case of study, the exploration of Reaction-Diffusion-Convection (RDC) dynamics over a significant spatio-temporal domain can be computationally expensive and convergence issues may arise in the presence of steep gradients of the chemical or the hydrodynamic fields. Cloud automation techniques allow to create in an easy and dynamical way an arbitrarily large number of virtual nodes, tailored on the specific problem at hands. In this work we show the first steps towards a fully automated and flexible platform for the simulation of chemo-hydrodynamic problems in a cloud environment.
Building smart cameras on mobile tablets for hand gesture recognition

Mobile tablets have become very popular due to their portability and the wide diversity of the applications available. The touch screens and built-in accelerometers facilitate different forms of input instead of keyboards and mice. Nowadays, high-resolution cameras become a standard feature in a mobile device. Nevertheless, this camera is seldom considered to serve as a form of user inputs to the application, although similar technology is realized in some home entertainment systems. This paper describes our experience on making a smart camera on an iPad that can recognize pre-defined hand gestures. We study the time performance of performing image processing on an iPad. We find that due to the limited computational power of the mobile device, recognition results may not be available fast enough for a real-time application. We explore applying cloud computing to solve the problem. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study on recognizing hand gestures on an iPad. Our results facilitate the development of a brand new type of applications that require smart cameras.
Preserving the Impossible: Conservation of Soft-Sediment Hominin Footprint Sites and Strategies for Three-Dimensional Digital Data Capture

Human footprints provide some of the most publically emotive and tangible evidence of our ancestors. To the scientific community they provide evidence of stature, presence, behaviour and in the case of early hominins potential evidence with respect to the evolution of gait. While rare in the geological record the number of footprint sites has increased in recent years along with the analytical tools available for their study. Many of these sites are at risk from rapid erosion, including the Ileret footprints in northern Kenya which are second only in age to those at Laetoli (Tanzania). Unlithified, soft-sediment footprint sites such these pose a significant geoconservation challenge. In the first part of this paper conservation and preservation options are explored leading to the conclusion that to ‘record and digitally rescue’ provides the only viable approach. Key to such strategies is the increasing availability of three-dimensional data capture either via optical laser scanning and/or digital photogrammetry. Within the discipline there is a developing schism between those that favour one approach over the other and a requirement from geoconservationists and the scientific community for some form of objective appraisal of these alternatives is necessary. Consequently in the second part of this paper we evaluate these alternative approaches and the role they can play in a ‘record and digitally rescue’ conservation strategy. Using modern footprint data, digital models created via optical laser scanning are compared to those generated by state-of-the-art photogrammetry. Both methods give comparable although subtly different results. This data is evaluated alongside a review of field deployment issues to provide guidance to the community with respect to the factors which need to be considered in digital conservation of human/hominin footprints.
Protective Meningococcal Capsular Polysaccharide Epitopes and the Role of O Acetylation

ABSTRACT Previous studies with group C meningococcal polysaccharide-tetanus toxoid (GCMP-TT) conjugates had suggested that the GCMP O-acetyl group masked the protective epitope for group C meningococci through steric hindrance or altered conformations. For this report, we confirmed this phenomenon and performed comparative studies with group Y meningococcal polysaccharide (GYMP)-TT to determine whether it might extend to other serogroups. The de-O-acetylated (dOA) polysaccharides (PSs) resulted in higher serum bactericidal activities (SBA) towards the O-acetylated (OA) meningococcal strains from the respective serogroups. High-resolution H-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy at 500 MHz and competitive inhibition serum bactericidal assays were used to characterize the nature of the protective epitope. In head-to-head comparisons with OA PSs as SBA inhibitors, the dOA PSs provided 10 to 1,000 times better inhibition for GCMP in human and mouse antisera and 6 to 13 times better inhibition for GYMP in mouse antisera, using OA strains in all assays. In addition, the SBA for OA strains was highly correlated with dOA PS-specific immunoglobulin G (r = 0.72 to 0.98) for both GCMP and GYMP. The results suggest that there may be a generalized role for the O-acetyl group to provide an epitope of misdirected immunogenicity for meningococcal PS capsules, enabling escape from immune surveillance. In addition to greater chemical consistency, the dOA forms of GCMP and GYMP conjugate vaccines endow greater immunologic competence to the PSs, rendering them capable of eliciting higher levels of functional antibodies toward the protective epitopes.
Modeling Electric Field Induced Effects in PLZT EO Devices

PLZT 8.8-9.5/65/35 electrooptic (EO) devices subject to electric fields on the order of 1 V m μ can become highly scattering and depolarizing as well as exhibit high-order EO effects. We describe a method of modeling EO modulators that encounters for these effects. Utilizing these characteristics in simulating surface electrode devices we compare our model to measurements of a fabricated device and find excellent correlation.
Plasma lipids, genetic variants near APOA1, and the risk of infantile hypertrophic pyloric stenosis.

IMPORTANCE Infantile hypertrophic pyloric stenosis (IHPS) is a serious condition in which hypertrophy of the pyloric sphincter muscle layer leads to gastric outlet obstruction. Infantile hypertrophic pyloric stenosis shows strong familial aggregation and heritability, but knowledge about specific genetic risk variants is limited. OBJECTIVES To search the genome comprehensively for genetic associations with IHPS and validate findings in 3 independent sample sets. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS During stage 1, we used reference data from the 1000 Genomes Project for imputation into a genome-wide data set of 1001 Danish surgery-confirmed samples (cases diagnosed 1987-2008) and 2371 disease-free controls. In stage 2, the 5 most significantly associated loci were tested in independent case-control sample sets from Denmark (cases diagnosed 1983-2010), Sweden (cases diagnosed 1958-2011), and the United States (cases diagnosed 1998-2005), with a total of 1663 cases and 2315 controls. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Association of genetic variation with the presence of infantile hypertrophic pyloric stenosis. RESULTS We found a new genome-wide significant locus for IHPS at chromosome 11q23.3. The single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) with the lowest P value at the locus, rs12721025 (odds ratio [OR], 1.59; 95% CI, 1.38-1.83; P = 1.9 × 10(-10)), is located 301 bases downstream of the apolipoprotein A-I (APOA1) gene and is correlated (r2 between 0.46 and 0.80) with SNPs previously found to be associated with levels of circulating cholesterol. For these SNPs, the cholesterol-lowering allele consistently was associated with increased risk of IHPS. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE This study identified a new genome-wide significant locus for IHPS. Characteristics of this locus suggest the possibility of an inverse relationship between levels of circulating cholesterol in neonates and IHPS risk, which warrants further investigation.
ORIGINAL RESEARCH—ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION Overactive Bladder Is Associated with Erectile Dysfunction and Reduced Sexual Quality of Life in Men

Introduction. The prevalence of sexual dysfunction, including erectile dysfunction (ED), is greater in men with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), including overactive bladder (OAB), than in men without LUTS. Aim. To evaluate the prevalence of ED, the impact of urinary symptoms on sexual activity and sexual enjoyment, and sexual satisfaction in men with OAB. Methods. A nested case-control analysis was performed on data from a subset of men with (cases) and without (controls) OAB frequency-matched for age (5-year age strata) and country from the EPIC study. Respondents were asked about OAB symptoms (using the 2002 International Continence Society (ICS) definitions) and sexual activity. Sexually active respondents were asked about ED, sexual enjoyment, and overall satisfaction with their sex lives. Conditional logistic regression was used to assess factors associated with ED. Main Outcome Measures. The percentage of cases and controls reporting ED, a reduction in the frequency of sexual activity or enjoyment of sexual activity because of urinary symptoms, and overall satisfaction with their sex lives was determined for cases and controls. Results. A total of 502 cases and 502 controls were matched for age strata and country. Significantly more cases (14%) reported reduced sexual activity because of urinary symptoms compared with controls (4%; P 0.05). Among sexually active respondents, cases were significantly more likely to have ED than were controls (prevalence odds ratio, 1.5; 95% confidence interval, 1.1-2.2); the prevalence of ED was similar to that for men with hypertension or diabetes. Significantly more cases (15%) reported decreased enjoyment of sexual activity because of urinary symp- toms relative to controls (2%; P 0.05), and significantly fewer cases were satisfied with their sex lives (81% vs. 90%; P 0.05). Conclusions. OAB, as defined by the ICS, was significantly associated with increased prevalence of ED, reduced sexual activity and sexual enjoyment because of urinary symptoms, and reduced sexual satisfaction. Irwin DE,
An Efficient Power-Factor Correction Scheme for Plasma Display Panels

This paper presents an efficient power-factor correction (PFC) scheme for plasma display panels (PDPs) to reduce harmonic currents and power consumption. A high-efficiency interleaved boost converter is proposed, which can reduce the conduction losses and diode reverse-recovery problems in the continuous-conduction-mode operation. A zero-current switching (ZCS) condition is obtained to solve the reverse-recovery problems of the output diodes. In addition, a control strategy is suggested for the use of the proposed converter in a practical design. A high power factor can be achieved without sensing the input voltage. The analysis of the proposed converter and its design considerations are presented in detail. The experimental results based on a 600-W prototype are discussed to evaluate the proposed converter for a PFC circuit in a 50-in PDP power supply unit.