Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Efficacy, safety and tolerability of tesaglitazar when added to the therapeutic regimen of poorly controlled insulin-treated patients with type 2 diabetes

This randomised, double-blind, parallel-group study assessed the effects of addition of the dual peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) α/γ agonist, tesaglitazar, for 24 weeks to the therapeutic regimen of 392 poorly controlled (glycosylated haemoglobin [HbA1C] 7.5-10%) insulin-treated, type 2 diabetes patients. At 24 weeks, tesaglitazar 0.5 mg resulted in a 0.66% (95% confidence intervals: −0.85, −0.47; p<0.0001) reduction from baseline in HbA1C, and reduced fasting plasma glucose (p<0.0001) and daily insulin dose (p=0.014) versus placebo. After 24 weeks, tesaglitazar caused greater improvements from baseline in triglyc-erides (p<0.0001), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) (p<0.001), non-HDL-C (p<0.05), apolipopro-tein (apo)A-I (p<0.05) and apoB levels (p<0.01) than placebo. Tesaglitazar was generally well tolerated but was associated with a greater increase in serum creatinine level than placebo. The clinical development of tesaglitazar is no longer continuing; its effects on the glucose and lipid abnormalities of type 2 diabetes suggest that the concept of dual PPARα/γ agonism is worthy of further investigation.
Universal quantum circuit for N-qubit quantum gate: a programmable quantum gate

Quantum computation has attracted much attention, among other things, due to its potentialities to solve classical NP problems in polynomial time. For this reason, there has been a growing interest to build a quantum computer. One of the basic steps is to implement the quantum circuit able to realize a given unitary operation. This task has been solved using decomposition of unitary matrices in simpler ones till reach quantum circuits having only single-qubits and CNOTs gates. Usually the goal is to find the minimal quantum circuit able to solve a given problem. In this paper we go in a different direction. We propose a general quantum circuit able to implement any specific quantum circuit by just setting correctly the parameters. In other words, we propose a programmable quantum circuit. This opens the possibility to construct a real quantum computer where several different quantum operations can be realized in the same hardware. The configuration is proposed and its optical implementation is discussed.
Multistage Stochastic Planning Models Using Piecewise Linear Response Functions

Abstract : Random outcomes can often produce significant effects on planning decisions that consider several time periods. Multistage stochastic programs can model these decisions but implementations are generally restricted to a limited number of scenarios in each period. We present an alternative approximation scheme that can obtain lower and upper bounds on the optimal objective value in these stochastic programs. The method is based on building response functions to future outcomes that depend separably on the variation of random parameters around the limited set of scenarios that is initially provided. For stochastic linear programs, the resulting optimization problem involves an objective with a limited number of nonlinear terms subject to linear constraints. The method can be incorporated into various alternative procedures for solving multistage stochastic linear programs with finite numbers of scenarios. Section 2 discusses the basic model and alternative approaches. Section 3 then discusses the basic properties of piecewise linear response functions. The fourth section presents a basic model for a single scenario and randomness restricted to constraint levels. The fifth section extends this to multiple scenarios with varying scenario ranges and to possibilities for randomness among the constraint vectors.
Powerful LDPC Codes for Broadband Wireless Networks: High-performance Code Construction and High-speed Encoder/Decoder Design

This paper discusses high-performance code construction and high-speed encoder and decoder designs for low density parity check (LDPC) codes. Thanks to their nice structures, LDPC codes constructed from shifted identity matrices have been emphasized. Several techniques in code constructions have been proposed to lower the bit error floor down to 10-10. Characterized by a parity check matrix in a triangular plus dual-diagonal form, these structured LDPC codes can be encoded in linear time using a layered encoding algorithm. To increase the throughput of decoders, a joint row-column decoding algorithm has been proposed and parallel decoding architectures have been used. The implementation results into field programmable gate array (FPGA) devices indicate that the encoder for these high-performance LDPC codes attains a throughput of up to 115 Gbits/sec and the decoder attains a throughput of up to 1 Gbits/sec. The proposed codes are suitable for high-speed and high-performance applications which demand relatively low error floor, including application in broadband wireless networks.
Controllability and Fault Observability in Modular Combinational Circuits

An extension of a methodology based on Boolean equations to fault detection in modular combinational networks is described. The resulting method allows for the use of cataloged module tests, and it is applicable under the single-faulty-module constraint. The conceptual and computational framework is rather simple, and it is independent of any particular data structure for representing Boolean functions.
Evaluation of the Selection of the Initial Seeds for K-Means Algorithm

Clustering method is divided into hierarchical clustering, partitioning clustering, and more. K-Means algorithm is one of partitioning clustering methods and is adequate to cluster a lot of data rapidly and easily. The problem is it is too dependent on initial centers of clusters and needs the time of allocation and recalculation. We compare random method, max average distance method and triangle height method for selecting initial seeds in KMeans algorithm. It reduces total clustering time by minimizing the number of allocation and recalculation.
Expression and biophysical characterization of voltage-gated sodium channels in axons and growth cones of the regenerating optic nerve.

PURPOSE Successful regeneration and re-establishment of synaptic connections in the adult central nervous system is a complex process determined by both the exterior environment and the endogenous neural activity of the regenerating growth cones. The purpose of this study was to determine the expression and properties of voltage-gated sodium channels (Na(v)) expressed by regenerating growth cones. METHODS Na(v) channels were studied in an organotypic explant culture of the adult rat retina by immunocytochemistry and whole-cell, patch-clamp recordings. RESULTS Regenerating axons and growth cones, but not glial processes, expressed Na(v) channels. Whole-cell, current-clamp recordings from growth cones displayed a high input resistance of 1.29 GOmega and a resting membrane potential of -69.0 mV. All growth cones responded to depolarizing voltage steps with fast, transient, inward currents mediated by Na(+) ions, followed by slow, sustained outward K(+) currents. Half-maximum activation clustered in two groups, suggesting the presence of at least two Na(v) channel isoforms. Steady state inactivation and recovery from fast inactivation were characterized by a half-maximum value of -69.7 mV and by a time constant of 3.64 ms, respectively. Injection of depolarizing current steps larger than threshold (-29.3 mV) consistently induced a single action potential, whereas ganglion cell bodies responded to above-threshold stimulation with a series of fast, all-or-none action potentials. CONCLUSIONS These experiments describe for the first time the biophysical properties of Na(v) channels recorded from the growth cones of regenerating retinal ganglion cells and contrast their properties with those of adult retinal ganglion cells.
A low maternal protein diet during pregnancy and lactation has sex‐ and window of exposure‐specific effects on offspring growth and food intake, glucose metabolism and serum leptin in the rat

Extensive epidemiological and experimental evidence indicates that a sub‐optimal environment during fetal and neonatal development in both humans and animals may programme offspring susceptibility to later development of chronic diseases including obesity and diabetes that are the result of altered carbohydrate metabolism. We determined the effects of protein restriction during pregnancy and/or lactation on growth, serum leptin, and glucose and insulin responses to a glucose tolerance test in male and female offspring at 110 days postnatal life. We fed Wistar rats a normal control 20% casein diet (C) or a restricted diet (R) of 10% casein during pregnancy. Female but not male R pups weighed less than C at birth. After delivery, mothers received the C or R diet during lactation to provide four offspring groups: CC (first letter maternal pregnancy diet and second maternal lactation diet), RR, CR and RC. All offspring were fed ad libitum with C diet after weaning. Relative food intake correlated inversely with weight. Offspring serum leptin correlated with body weight and relative, but not absolute, food intake in both male and female pups. Serum leptin was reduced in RR female pups compared with CC and increased in RC males compared with CC at 110 days of age. Offspring underwent a glucose tolerance test (GTT) at 110 days postnatal life. Female RR and CR offspring showed a lower insulin to glucose ratio than CC. At 110 days of age male RR and CR also showed some evidence of increased insulin sensitivity. Male but not female RC offspring showed evidence of insulin resistance compared with CC. Cholesterol was similar and triglycerides (TG) higher in male compared with female CC. Cholesterol and TG were higher in males than females in RR, CR and RC (P < 0.05). Cholesterol and TG did not differ between groups in females. Cholesterol and TG were elevated in RC compared with CC males. Nutrient restriction in lactation increased relative whole protein and decreased whole lipid in both males and females. RC females showed decreased relative levels of protein and increased fat. We conclude that maternal protein restriction during either pregnancy and/or lactation alters postnatal growth, appetitive behaviour, leptin physiology, TG and cholesterol concentrations and modifies glucose metabolism and insulin resistance in a sex‐ and time window of exposure‐specific manner.
An evaluation of the diagnostic utility of anthropometric and body composition cut-off values in assessing elevated fasting blood sugar and blood pressure.

OBJECTIVE High blood pressure and diabetes mellitus account for over 50% of annual visits to health facilities in Trinidad and Tobago. This study investigates the ability of various absolute and relative body composition variables to predict elevated fasting blood sugar (FBS) and blood pressure (BP). SUBJECTS AND METHODS Participants had overnight fasting finger-stick blood glucose analysed with a hand-held automated glucometer (Basic One-touch Ultra). Two blood pressure tests were taken on the right arm after ten minutes of rest in the sitting position using an automated blood pressure (Omron HEM 712C). Participation in the study was voluntary. Waist, height and weight circumferences were measured using standard procedure. Percentage body fat (%BF) was measured with a foot-to-foot bioelectric body fat analyser (Tanita UM026). RESULTS One hundred and fifty-seven persons (90 females and 67 males) participated in the investigation. Approximately 23% of participants had BP, FBS and waist circumference levels that were above recommended cut-offs. In correlation, analyses controlling for ethnicity and age-adjusted FBS were significantly positively correlated with waist circumference, BMI, weight, fat mass and %BF. Receiver-operator curve analyses suggest that cut-off values based on BMI, waist circumference and waist-height ratio were significant predictors of elevated FBS among females while those based on waist circumference and %BF were significant predictors of elevated FBS among males. CONCLUSION The findings suggest similar predictive ability among the various absolute and relative body composition measures in predicting FBS and BP.
Predicting Advertising success beyond Traditional Measures: New Insights from Neurophysiological Methods and Market Response Modeling

In the past decade, there has been a tremendous increase in the use of neurophysiological methods to better understand marketing phenomena among academics and practitioners. However, the value of these methods in predicting advertising success remains underresearched. Using a unique experimental protocol to assess responses to 30-second television ads, the authors capture many measures of advertising effectiveness across six commonly used methods (traditional self-reports, implicit measures, eye tracking, biometrics, electroencephalography, and functional magnetic resonance imaging). These measures have been shown to reliably tap into higher-level constructs commonly used in advertising research: attention, affect, memory, and desirability. Using time-series data on sales and gross rating points, the authors attempt to relate individual-level response to television ads in the lab to the ads’ aggregate, market-level elasticities. The authors show that functional magnetic resonance imaging measures explain the most variance in advertising elasticities beyond the baseline traditional measures. Notably, activity in the ventral striatum is the strongest predictor of real-world, market-level response to advertising. The authors discuss the findings and their significant implications for theory, research, and practice.
Blood progesterone concentrations in pregnant and non-pregnant mares.

SUMMARY Peripheral blood progesterone concentrations during the oestrous cycle were in the same range as those found by previous workers, the luteal phase being 14 days long. Short cycles (16–17 days) had short luteal phases (9–11 days) and were associated with endometritis. Progesterone values for the first 14 days of pregnancy were similar to those of the oestrous cycle, but were thereafter maintained. There was a decrease approaching the 30th day after conception. Average blood progesterone values varied between 2 ng/ml and 10 ng/ml during the first 5 months of pregnancy. Although there was no fall in progesterone values just before conceptual loss in two cases, these pregnancies had been accompanied by lower than average blood progesterone concentrations. RESUME Les concentrations de progesterone dans le sang peripherique au cours du cycle oestral sont du meme ordre que celles trouvees par de precedents chercheurs. La phase luteale est de 14 jours. Les cycles courts (16/17 jours) ont une breve periode luteale (9/11 jours) et ont paru etre associes a des endometrites. Les taux de progesterone pour les 14 premiers jours de la gestation ont ete semblables a ceux du cycle oestral, mais se sont ensuite maintenus. On constata une diminution vers le 30° jour suivant la conception. Les taux moyens de progesterone variaient entre 2 ng/ml et 10 ng/ml durant les 5 premiers mois de la gestation. Dans deux cas d'avortement on ne constata point de baisse dans le taux de progesterone juste avant l'avortement mais ces gestations etaient caracterisees par des concentrations sanguines de progesterone inferieures a la normale. ZUSAMMENFASSUNG Die peripheren Blutkonzentrationen von Progesteron wahrend des Oestruscyclus bewegten sich in einem Bereich, den fruhere Arbeiten festgelegt hatten. Die luteale Phase dauerte 14 Tage. Kurze Cyclen (16–17 Tage) wiesen kurze luteale Phasen auf (9–11 Tage) und waren verbunden mit Endometritis. Die Progesteronwerte fur die ersten 14 Trachtigkeitstage waren denjenigen des Oestruscyclus ahnlich, wurden aber in der Folge aufrechterhalten. Die durchschnittlichen Progesteronkonzentrationen schwankten zwischen 2 und 10 ng/ml wahrend der ersten 5 Trachtigkeitsmonate. Obgleich in zwei Fallen kein Progesteronspiegelabfall kurz vor dem Abort festgestellt werden konnte, zeichnete sich diese Trachtigkeiten doch durch unter dem Durchschnitt liegende Blutkonzentrationen von Progesteron aus.
Ship Collision Avoidance by Distributed Tabu Search

More than 90% of world trade is transported by sea. The size and speed of ships is rapidly increasing in order to boost economic efficiency. If ships collide, the damage and cost can be astronomical. It is very difficult for officers to ascertain routes that will avoid collisions, especially when multiple ships travel the same waters. There are several ways to prevent ship collisions, such as lookouts, radar, and VHF radio. More advanced methodologies, such as ship domain, fuzzy theory, and genetic algorithm, have been proposed. These methods work well in one-on-one situations, but are more difficult to apply in multiple-ship situations. Therefore, the authors proposed the Distributed Local Search Algorithm (DLSA) to avoid ship collisions as a precedent study. DLSA is a distributed algorithm in which multiple ships communicate with each other within a certain area. DLSA computes collision risk based on the information received from neighboring ships. However, DLSA suffers from Quasi-Local Minimum (QLM), which prevents a ship from changing course even when a collision risk arises. In their study, the authors developed the Distributed Tabu Search Algorithm (DTSA). DTSA uses a tabu list to escape from QLM that also exploits a modified cost function and enlarged domain of next-intended courses to increase its efficiency.They conducted experiments to compare the performance of DLSA and DTSA. The results showed that DTSA outperformed DLSA.
Morphine-like insomnia from heroin in nondependent human addicts.

1 This study was performed because dose-related effects of heroin on human sleep had not been described previously, and to discover if heroin produces a morphine-like insomnia. 2 After three adaptation nights, the sleep of seven male nondependent opiate addicts was studied following i.m. doses of heroin (3, 6, 12 mg/70 kg), morphine (10, 20 mg/70 kg) or placebo at weekly intervals in a randomized double-blind crossover design. 3 Heroin produces a dose-related increase in wakefulness, drowsiness episodes, muscle tension, and shifts in sleep-waking states. 4 Heroin produces a dose-related decrease in total sleep, sleep efficiency, delta sleep and REM sleep (REMS). 5 Heroin is about twice as potent as morphine in producing this type of insomnia. 6 'Morphine insomnia' appears to be a characteristic initial effect of several opioids, at least in nondependent opiate addicts, and might serve as a model insomnia for evaluation of hypnotics.
Expression of CD58 in normal, regenerating and leukemic bone marrow B cells: implications for the detection of minimal residual disease in acute lymphocytic leukemia.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES CD58, a member of the Ig superfamily, is expressed by hematopoietic and non- hematopoietic cells. It has been demonstrated to be over-expressed in precursor-B acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) blasts when compared to in their normal counterparts, suggesting its potential use in the detection of minimal residual disease (MRD) by flow cytometry (FC). To assess the reliability and accuracy of CD58 for this purpose, we studied its expression in a large series of normal and ALL bone marrow (BM) samples using quantitative FC. DESIGN AND METHODS We studied 180 precursor-B ALL BM samples at diagnosis (8 pro-B, 164 early-B, 8 mature-B ALL) and 123 follow-up BM samples (n=54 at day +15 and n=69 at day +78), as well as 51 normal BM samples and 7 regenerating BM samples from patients with T-ALL at week 12. We used four-color quantitative FC, focusing analysis on CD58 expression. In follow-up samples from day +78, the MRD level was simultaneously evaluated by real time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RQ-PCR) amplification of antigen receptor genes. RESULTS CD58 expression was significantly higher in ALL blasts than in normal B lymphocytes, while no significant differences between regenerating and normal B lymphocytes were observed. CD58 was expressed in 99.4% of the precursor-B ALL cases and 93.5% of these showed over-expression compared to normal. No significant modulation of CD58 expression during remission induction therapy was noted. Finally, 66 (95.6%) of 69 BM samples simultaneously analyzed using both FC and RQ-PCR at day +78 showed concordant results regarding MRD. INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSIONS Our results confirm and further evidence the role of CD58 in the diagnosis and monitoring of precursor-B ALL. In particular, we demonstrated its stability and accuracy in MRD detection at clinically relevant time points. These findings indicate that CD58 is a powerful tool for MRD detection in precursor-B ALL.
Developing Context and Background Underlying Cognitive Intervention/Training Studies in Older Populations.

Underlying the attempt to change behavior or improve performance by virtue of intervention or training is the notion that change is possible and that plasticity, life-course malleability, and compensation are well-recognized concepts of life-span development. The cognition and aging literature reveals that there are a growing number of context and background variables against which the effectiveness of intervention/training can be judged beyond the intrinsic motivations for change. In this introductory article to a special issue on cognitive intervention and training, we briefly discuss several of these background variables.
The challenge of routine follow-up in e-mental health services

Information about the relationship between personality disorder and ethnicity or migration is sparse. The few studies regarding the prevalence of borderline personality disorder (BPD) in immigrants compared to an indigenous population are inconsistent. Castaneda and Franco (1985) found no ethnic group differences in rates of BPD, whereas the study of Pascual et al. (2008) showed that immigrants in a psychiatric emergency service had a lower likelihood of being diagnosed with BPD. The aim of the present study was to compare the frequency of borderline personality disorder in psychiatric inpatients with an immigrant background vs. the indigenous group. A total of 2494 consecutive patients over a three-year period at a psychiatric university hospital were reviewed. Data included socio-demographic and clinical variables and also information about an immigrant background, although no specific data of the provenance of the individual migrant patient were obtainable. The psychiatric diagnosis was limited to information available from the digital documentation system of the psychiatric clinic and additionally from discharge letters. The diagnosis of borderline personality disorder was based on ICD-10 criteria. Of the study population 374 individuals (15%) had an immigrant background. The rates of BPD were 6.5% in the indigenous group (n=2120) vs. 3.5% in the immigrant group (n=374). The difference between the indigenous and the immigrant group regarding the rates of BPD-diagnoses was statistically significant (chi2=5,02, df=1, p=0,025). In accordance to the findings of Pascual et al. (2008) and challenging the results of Castaneda and Franco (1985), our findings suggest that in a clinical sample BPD was diagnosed less frequently in the immigrant group than in the indigenous group. Therefore, our results do not support the concept of immigration as a risk factor for BPD. Possible explanations for our finding are a true lower prevalence of BPD amongst the immigrant group, or ethnic variations in the symptomatology of BPD (Selby and Thomas, 2009), or a cross-cultural bias in the diagnostic process. However, future investigations with a prospective study design and at epidemiological levels need to be conducted in order to get more precise information about the true prevalence of BPD in different immigrant groups and to derive an explanation for the apparent discrepancy in prevalence, and the influence of a cross-cultural setting on the diagnostic process.