Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Necessary and discretionary activities in knee osteoarthritis: do they mediate the pain-depression relationship?

OBJECTIVE This study examined direct vs indirect associations of pain and physical function with depression in 369 older adults with osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee. A key focus was the distinction of functional disability in necessary tasks (basic and instrumental activities of daily living) from discretionary, leisure activities. DESIGN A naturalistic longitudinal study examined effects of demographic variables, indicators of arthritis status, general health, pain, and several measures of functional disability upon depressive symptoms at baseline and 1 year later. SETTING AND PATIENTS Participants with diagnosed knee OA were recruited from rheumatological and general geriatric outpatient clinics, as well as public service announcements. OUTCOME MEASURE Depressive symptoms, measured with the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale. RESULTS At baseline, the relationships of depression with functional disability and activity limitation were wholly mediated by pain. In contrast, activity participation was independently linked with depression, even controlling health and demographic variables. A 1-year follow-up revealed that depressive symptoms increased with increasing health problems, and with reduction in activity participation over time. Having and retaining favorite pastimes were also associated with reduced depressive symptomatology at baseline and follow-up, respectively. CONCLUSIONS These data highlight the disease-specific nature of paths among depression, pain, and disability, and the importance of considering discretionary as well as necessary activities in evaluating effects of pain upon quality of life.
Efficient Overlay Multicast Protocol in Mobile Ad hoc Networks

Overlay multicast protocols in mobile ad hoc networks (MANET) have advantages that are low overhead and robustness in dynamic network topology by using the unicast routing protocol between group members. However, overlay data paths in overlay multicast can remain static even though the underlying physical topology is changing. Overlay multicast may lead to sub-optimal overlay data paths, since the communicating group members are not aware of the underlying physical topology. Therefore, overlay multicast protocols requires periodic control messages for the overlay data path management in dynamic environment. In this paper, we propose an efficient overlay multicast protocol (EOMP) using unicast routing information. Multicast state information of each group member in EOMP is created by its unicast routing table. Therefore, multicast data packets between group members are delivered through the overall optimal paths in physical networks. Meanwhile, the overlay data path in EOMP can be managed without periodic control messages in the dynamic environment. Finally, we evaluate EOMP performance with other multicast protocols proposed for ad hoc networks. Simulations show enhanced results of proposed protocols
A flexible distributed framework for realising electric and plug-in hybrid vehicle charging policies

Motivated by the problems of charging a number of electric vehicles via limited capacity infrastructure, this article considers the problem of individual load adjustment under a total capacity constraint. For reasons of scalability and simplified communications, distributed solutions to this problem are sought. Borrowing from communication networks (AIMD algorithms) and distributed convex optimisation, we describe a number of distributed algorithms for achieving relative average fairness whilst maximising utilisation. We present analysis and simulation results to show the performance of these algorithms. In the scenarios examined, the algorithm's performance is typically within 5% of that achievable in the ideal centralised case, but with greatly enhanced scalability and reduced communication requirements.
Data storage considered modular

Modularity is used in many software systems to increase code readability and reusability; it also brings additional configurability and extensibility. This dissertation focuses on layered modularity: systems divided into fine-grained, interacting modules. A layered system builds desired behavior from the combination of simple feature modules, making it easy for users to change behavior by layering modules or writing new ones. Despite the benefits of this sort of modularity, data storage systems, and in particular file systems and databases, are generally not designed in this way. For instance, existing systems cannot simply add metadata journaling to an arbitrary file system by connecting a journaling module to it; neither can they add on-disk data compression to an arbitrary database table format by connecting a compression module. One primary reason for this inflexibility may lie in the difficulty of achieving consistency in layered modules without harming performance. Consistency, in this context, is the property that the data on stable storage is at all times in a "good" state, for some definition of "good. " This work investigates two major types of data storage software systems, file systems and databases, and explores ways in which each can be made more modular while preserving the essential property of consistency. Two different approaches are taken: first, in a new file system implementation architecture, a new first-class object is introduced that allows modules to communicate write ordering requirements between each other while remaining only loosely coupled. Second, in a new database back end, all writing in the system is isolated to a small handful of dedicated modules, allowing most modules to deal exclusively with read-only data and to themselves be divided into read-only and create- only parts. These approaches have both been successful, and can even offer performance benefits by giving users and system designers more flexibility and control over their data. These prototype systems demonstrate that storage systems can be decomposed into layered modular components while sacrificing neither consistency nor performance. This modularity also makes them much easier to reconfigure and customize, providing performance improvements and useful new features with minimal incremental effort.
Surface diffusion currents and the universality classes of growth.

We show, through simulations of a variety of one- and two-dimensional solid-on-solid models, that nonequilibrium surface diffusion processes in the presence of a deposition flux are generically characterized by a nonvanishing inclination-dependent mass current along the surface. The current stabilizes the surface, leading to Edwards-Wilkinson scaling for the surface fluctuations, if it is a decreasing function of inclination, but induces a growth instability otherwise. Both types of behavior generally occur for the same system at different surface orientations.
Subspace Matching Pursuit for Sparse Unmixing of Hyperspectral Data

Sparse unmixing assumes that each mixed pixel in the hyperspectral image can be expressed as a linear combination of only a few spectra (endmembers) in a spectral library, known a priori. It then aims at estimating the fractional abundances of these endmembers in the scene. Unfortunately, because of the usually high correlation of the spectral library, the sparse unmixing problem still remains a great challenge. Moreover, most related work focuses on the l1 convex relaxation methods, and little attention has been paid to the use of simultaneous sparse representation via greedy algorithms (GAs) (SGA) for sparse unmixing. SGA has advantages such as that it can get an approximate solution for the l0 problem directly without smoothing the penalty term in a low computational complexity as well as exploit the spatial information of the hyperspectral data. Thus, it is necessary to explore the potential of using such algorithms for sparse unmixing. Inspired by the existing SGA methods, this paper presents a novel GA termed subspace matching pursuit (SMP) for sparse unmixing of hyperspectral data. SMP makes use of the low-degree mixed pixels in the hyperspectral image to iteratively find a subspace to reconstruct the hyperspectral data. It is proved that, under certain conditions, SMP can recover the optimal endmembers from the spectral library. Moreover, SMP can serve as a dictionary pruning algorithm. Thus, it can boost other sparse unmixing algorithms, making them more accurate and time efficient. Experimental results on both synthetic and real data demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed algorithm.
Extracts of Cynomorium songaricum protect SK‐N‐SH human neuroblastoma cells against staurosporine‐induced apoptosis potentially through their radical scavenging activity

In traditional Chinese medicine a number of herbs are used to alleviate the symptoms of aging, among them the stems of Cynomorium songaricum, Cynomoriaceae. This study evaluated the protective effect of different extracts of C. songaricum on staurosporine‐induced apoptotic cell death in SK‐N‐SH neuroblastoma cells. Staurosporine (100 nm) reduced cell viability to about 55%. The ethyl acetate fraction of C. songaricum significantly attenuated staurosporine‐induced cell death at concentrations of 100 and 10 µg/mL. On the other hand, the dichloromethane as well as water fractions showed no protective effects. In order to further analyse the protective mode of action, the superoxide anion scavenging activity of two extracts was evaluated in a xanthine/xanthine oxidase system. In this system, the EtOAc extract showed a good scavenging activity (IC50 value 2.9 µg/mL) without inhibition of xanthine oxidase. In conclusion, the results prove the neuroprotective activity of C. songaricum extracts in vitro, thus supporting its traditional use. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Dose-dependency in pleiotropic effects of atorvastatin

Statins are recognized as the principal and most effective class of drugs for reducing serum cholesterol levels and, therefore, significantly reducing cardiovascular events and mortality. Statins may have a wide range of beneficial biological effects in addition to lipid lowering, a phenomenon commonly termed a 'pleiotropic effect'. However, the dose-dependency of these effects remains unclear. The present study evaluated whether atorvastatin, a potent statin, ameliorates the serum markers of pleiotropic effects, with a focus on dose-dependency. The pleiotropic effects of treatment with atorvastatin 5 mg/day and 10 mg/day for six months each in 15 patients with primary hypercholesterolemia were assessed in a prospective, randomized, open-label, crossover, single-centre study. Atorvastatin treatment dose-dependently decreased a serum marker of oxidative stress as well as the serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol level. However, serum markers of inflammation and fibrinolysis decreased independently of dose. In conclusion, the dose-dependency of atorvastatin's pleiotropic effects differs among individual biological effects.
BRCA 1 expression serves a role in vincristine resistance in colon cancer cells

The present study aimed to investigate the association between breast cancer susceptibility gene 1 (BRCA1) expression and drug resistance in colon cancer, with the specific aim of elucidating the underlying molecular mechanisms of vincristine (VCR) resistance in tumor cells. The HCT-8 human colon cancer cell line was used to establish the VCR‐resistant HCT‐8/V line by gradually increasing the concentration of VCR during cell culture. The relative mRNA and protein expression levels of BRCA1 in these colon cancer cell lines was assessed by reverse transcriptase-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) analysis and western blotting, respectively. Resistance to VCR was established in the HCT-8/V colon cancer cells, and RT‐qPCR and western blot analysis revealed the expression of BRCA1 to be significantly higher in the VCR‐resistant cells compared with their drug‐sensitive counterparts (P<0.05). The decreased BRCA1 expression in these VCR‐resistant cells may be associated with the drug resistance frequently observed in colon cancer.
Impairment of olfactory identification ability in individuals at ultra-high risk for psychosis who later develop schizophrenia.

OBJECTIVE Previous investigation has revealed stable olfactory identification deficits in neuroleptic-naive patients experiencing a first episode of psychosis, but it is unknown if these deficits predate illness onset. METHOD The olfactory identification ability of 81 patients at ultra-high risk for psychosis was examined in relation to that of 31 healthy comparison subjects. Twenty-two of the ultra-high-risk patients (27.2%) later became psychotic, and 12 of these were diagnosed with a schizophrenia spectrum disorder. RESULTS There was a significant impairment in olfactory identification ability in the ultra-high-risk group that later developed a schizophrenia spectrum disorder but not in any other group. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that impairment of olfactory identification is a premorbid marker of transition to schizophrenia, but it is not predictive of psychotic illness more generally.
The cerebellum of the bullfrog tadpole (Rana catesbeiana)

The cerebellum of the premetamorphic bullfrog tadpole differs from the cerebellum of other frog species in its morphology and maturational state. The cell mass beneath the floor of the lateral recess and bordering its lateral wall that has been reported to form the auricular lobe in other species is absent, the auricular lobe abutting the medial wall of the lateral recess instead and is continuous with the corpus cerebelli. The corpus cerebelli, although immature and yet to acquire an external granular layer, is already massive and displays an incipient molecular, Purkinje cell and granular layers.
Mutations at Four Distinct Regions of the rpoB Gene Can Reduce the Susceptibility of Helicobacter pylorito Rifamycins

ABSTRACT The transformation of a panel of rpoB mutations (codons 525 to 586) from rifampin-resistant donor strains intoHelicobacter pylori 2802A confirmed the MICs associated with the respective mutations. RpoB V149X random mutations were generated and induced different levels of resistance, depending on the replacement amino acid. Mutagenesis of the rpoB gene at codon position 701 (R701H) induced low-level resistance.
In vitro plant regeneration via somatic embryogenesis through cell suspension cultures of horsegram [Macrotyloma uniflorum (Lam.) verdc.]

SummaryIn vitro regeneration of plants via somatic embryogenesis through cell suspension culture was achieved in horsegram. Embryogenic calluses were induced on leaf segments on solid Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium with 9.0 μM 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D). Differentiation of somatic embryos occurred when the embryogenic calluses were transferred to liquid MS medium containing 2,4-D. Maximum frequency (33.2%) of somatic embryos was observed on MS medium supplemented with 7.9 μM 2,4-D. Cotyledonary-torpedo-shaped embryos were transferred to liquid MS medium without growth regulators for maturation and germination. About 5% of the embryos germinated into plants, which grew further on solid MS medium. The plants were hardened and established in soil. Effects of various auxins, cytokinins, carbohydrates, amino acids, and other additives on induction and germination of somatic embryos were also studied. A medium supplemented with 7.9 μM 2,4-D, 3.0% sucrose, 40 mg l−1L-glutamine, and 1.0 μM abscisic acid was effective to achieve a high frequency of somatic embryo induction, maturation, and further development.
Antihypertensive efficacy of angiotensin receptor blockers as monotherapy as evaluated by ambulatory blood pressure monitoring: a meta-analysis.

AIMS Angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) are available in different dosages and it is common clinical practice to uptitrate if blood pressure goal is not achieved with the initial dose. Data on the incremental antihypertensive efficacy with uptitration are scarce. It is also unclear if antihypertensive efficacy of losartan is comparable with other ARBs. METHODS AND RESULTS We systematically reviewed PubMed/EMBASE/Cochrane databases for all randomized clinical trials until December 2012 reporting 24 h ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) for most commonly available ARBs in patients with hypertension. Reduction in ABP with ARBs was evaluated at 25% of the maximum (max) dose, 50% of the max dose, and at the max dose. Comparison was made between 24 h BP-lowering effect of losartan 50 and 100 mg and other ARBs at 50% max dose and the max dose, respectively. Sixty-two studies enrolling 15 289 patients (mean age 56 years; 60% men) with a mean duration of 10 weeks were included in the analysis. Overall, the dose-response curve with ARBs was shallow with decrease of 10.3/6.7 (systolic/diastolic), 11.7/7.6, and 13.0/8.3 mmHg with 25% max dose, 50% max dose, and with the max dose of ARBs, respectively. Losartan in the dose of 50 mg lowered ABP less well than other ARBs at 50% max dose by 2.5 mmHg systolic (P < 0.0001) and 1.8 mmHg diastolic (P = 0.0003). Losartan 100 mg lowered ABP less well than other ARBs at max dose by 3.9 mm Hg systolic (P = 0.0002) and 2.2 mmHg diastolic (P = 0.002). CONCLUSION In this comprehensive analysis of the antihypertensive efficacy of ARBs by 24 h ABP, we observed a shallow dose-response curve, and uptitration marginally enhanced the antihypertensive efficacy. Blood pressure reduction with losartan at starting dose and at max dose was consistently inferior to the other ARBs.
Improved Helix and Kink Characterization in Membrane Proteins Allows Evaluation of Kink Sequence Predictors

Although the α-helical secondary structure of proteins is well-defined, the exact causes and structures of helical kinks are not. This is especially important for transmembrane (TM) helices of integral membrane proteins, many of which contain kinks providing functional diversity despite predominantly helical structure. We have developed a Monte Carlo method based algorithm, MC-HELAN, to determine helical axes alongside positions and angles of helical kinks. Analysis of all nonredundant high-resolution α-helical membrane protein structures (842 TM helices from 205 polypeptide chains) revealed kinks in 64% of TM helices, demonstrating that a significantly greater proportion of TM helices are kinked than those indicated by previous analyses. The residue proline is over-represented by a factor >5 if it is two or three residues C-terminal to a bend. Prolines also cause kinks with larger kink angles than other residues. However, only 33% of TM kinks are in proximity to a proline. Machine learning techniques were used to test for sequence-based predictors of kinks. Although kinks are somewhat predicted by sequence, kink formation appears to be driven predominantly by other factors. This study provides an improved view of the prevalence and architecture of kinks in helical membrane proteins and highlights the fundamental inaccuracy of the typical topological depiction of helical membrane proteins as series of ideal helices.
Effect of Electroless Plating Conditions on Toluene Catalytic Combustion Performance of Palladium-Based Catalyst

Catalytic combustion of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is a high efficient and low-polluted technique. In this paper, the palladium-based combustion catalysts on cordierite honeycomb ceramics (CHC) substrate without interlayer film — Pd/CHC, were prepared by electroless plating method, and the effect of preparing conditions for the catalysts on the catalytic performance of toluene combustion was mainly studied. The optimal conditions were confirmed as follows: plating bath temperature is 60°C, plating time is 30min, palladium salt concentrationis 0.2g/L, and calcination temperature after plating is 500°C. Finally, the stability test further indicated that the Pd/CHC catalyst prepared by the optimal electroless plating conditions has good catalytic stability.
Application of hybrid neural networks combined with comprehensive learning particle swarm optimization to short-term load forecasting

: Short term load forecasting is one of the key components for economical and safe operation of power systems. In competitive environment of electricity market, electricity utilities require more accurate load forecasting strategies to make better decisions on purchasing or generating electricity. This article offers a new method based on machine learning short-term load forecasting which is made up of a two-level feature selection technique and a new forecast engine. The feature selection part uses irrelevancy and redundancy filters to select best sets of input features. The proposed forecast engine is composed of a support vector regression machine, hybrid neural network and comprehensive learning particle swarm optimization. By applying comprehensive learning particle swarm optimization along with hybrid neural networks, the accuracy of forecasting is improved and its error decreases effectively. The proposed strategy is tested on PJM and AEMO electricity markets. The numerical results show the effectiveness and robustness of this method in comparison with recent short-term load forecasting methods.
Electron transport in silicon nanowires: The role of acoustic phonon confinement and surface roughness scattering

We investigate the effects of electron and acoustic phonon confinements on the low-field electron mobility of thin, gated, square silicon nanowires (SiNWs), surrounded by SiO2. We employ a self-consistent Poisson–Schrodinger–Monte Carlo solver that accounts for scattering due to acoustic phonons (confined and bulk), intervalley phonons, and the Si/SiO2 surface roughness. The wires considered have cross sections between 3×3 and 8×8 nm2. For larger wires, the dependence of the mobility on the transverse field from the gate is pronounced, as expected. At low transverse fields, where phonon scattering dominates, scattering from confined acoustic phonons results in about a 10% decrease in the mobility with respect to the bulk phonon approximation. As the wire cross section decreases, the electron mobility drops because the detrimental increase in both electron-acoustic phonon and electron-surface roughness scattering rates overshadows the beneficial volume inversion and subband modulation. For wires thinner th.
Pulsewidth modulations for the comprehensive capacitor voltage balance of n-level diode-clamped converters

In the previous literature, the introduction of the virtual space vector concept for the three-level three-leg neutral-point-clamped converter has led to the definition of pulsewidth modulation (PWM) strategies guaranteeing the dc-link capacitor voltage balance under any type of load, with the only requirement being that the addition of the three phase currents equals zero. This paper presents the definition of the virtual space vectors for the general case of an n-level converter, suggests guidelines for designing virtual-space-vector PWM strategies, and provides the expressions of the phase duty-ratio waveforms corresponding to this family of PWMs. Modulations defined upon these vectors enable the use of diode-clamped topologies with passive front-ends. The performance of these converters operated with the proposed PWMs is compared to the performance of alternative designs through analysis, simulation and experiments.