Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Four‐channel surface coil array for 300‐MHz pulsed EPR imaging: Proof‐of‐concept experiments

Time‐domain electron paramagnetic resonance imaging is currently a useful preclinical molecular imaging modality in experimental animals such as mice and is capable of quantitatively mapping hypoxia in tumor implants. The microseconds range relaxation times (T1 and T2) of paramagnetic tracers and the large bandwidths (tens of MHz) to be excited by electron paramagnetic resonance pulses for spatial encoding makes imaging of large objects a challenging task. The possibility of using multiple array coils to permit studies on large sized object is the purpose of the present work. Toward this end, the use of planar array coils in different configurations to image larger objects than cannot be fully covered by a single resonator element is explored. Multiple circular surface coils, which are arranged in a plane or at suitable angles mimicking a volume resonator, are used in imaging a phantom and a tumor‐bearing mouse leg. The image was formed by combining the images collected from the individual coils with suitable scaling. The results support such a possibility. By multiplexing or interleaving the measurements from each element of such array resonators, one can scale up the size of the subject and at the same time reduce the radiofrequency power requirements and increase the sensitivity. Magn Reson Med 71:853–858, 2014. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Ecological modeling and eutrophication—A review

During the several last decades, environmental scientists use numerical modeling as a tool in their studies and investigations of aquatic systems. Ecological and hydrodynamic models are developed in parallel regarding their complexity, uncertainty, and computational power. Ecological models have been used to assess ecosystem processes and interactions, simulate future scenarios, evaluate remedial practices in response to eutrophication etc. This review paper deals with the progress in ecological modeling related to eutrophication processes, specifically in models that describe the trophic state dynamics of hypoxic/anoxic aquatic ecosystems. Nine dynamic ecological models coupled or noncoupled with hydrodynamic models have been discussed based upon their history, complexity, limitations, recent detailed modeling applications, and their important results. The advantages and disadvantages of these models are presented along with their application areas.
Handgrip strength and mortality in the oldest old population: the Leiden 85-plus study

Background: Poor muscular strength has been shown to be associated with increased morbidity and mortality in diverse samples of middle-aged and elderly people. However, the oldest old population (i.e., over 85 years) is underrepresented in such studies. Our objective was to assess the association between muscular strength and mortality in the oldest old population. Methods: We included 555 participants (65% women) from the Leiden 85-plus study, a prospective population-based study of all 85-year-old inhabitants of Leiden, Netherlands. We measured the handgrip strength of participants at baseline and again at age 89 years. We collected baseline data on comorbidities, functional status, levels of physical activity, and adjusted for potential confounders. During the follow-up period, we collected data on mortality. Results: During a follow-up period of 9.5 years (range 8.5–10.5 years), 444 (80%) participants died. Risk for all-cause mortality was elevated among participants in the lowest tertile of handgrip strength at age 85 years (hazard ratio [HR] 1.35, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.00–1.82, p = 0.047) and the lowest two tertiles of handgrip strength at age 89 years (HR 2.04, CI 1.24–3.35, p = 0.005 and HR 1.73, CI 1.11–2.70, p = 0.016). We also observed significantly increased mortality among participants in the tertile with the highest relative loss of handgrip strength over four years (HR 1.72, CI 1.07–2.77, p = 0.026). Interpretation: Handgrip strength, a surrogate measurement of overall muscular strength, is a predictor of all-cause mortality in the oldest old population and may serve as a convenient tool for prognostication of mortality risk among elderly people.
Comparative economic value added on Southeast Asian banking industry

This study analyses the bank's performance comparison across countries in some ASEAN members which are listed in the stock exchange, as well as to analyse the influence of Economic Value Added (EVA) and some financial ratios on the company stock return. Analysis suggests some results. In Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines, the movement of EVA follows the movement of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This study also finds that Earning per Share (EPS), only in Singapore, and Return on Equity (ROE) and Return on Assets (ROA), only in the Philippines, have an influence on stock return. Only in the Philippines where EVA together with ROA has an effect on stock return.
Proxy Evaluation of Health-Related Quality of Life: A Conceptual Framework for Understanding Multiple Proxy Perspectives

Proxy assessment of health-related quality of life (HRQL) may be sought to substitute for, or to complement, patient self-assessment. The viewpoint from which the proxy is asked to assess the patient is a subtle yet important aspect of proxy assessment. Proxy assessments can be elicited by asking a proxy to assess the patient as they think the patient would respond (ie, proxy-patient perspective) or for the proxy to provide their own perspective on the patient's HRQL (ie, proxy-proxy perspective). In this article, we introduce a framework for differentiating between and understanding HRQL assessments according to rater viewpoint. The difference between patient self-assessment and the proxy-patient perspective is defined as the inter-rater gap, whereas the difference between the proxy-patient and proxy-proxy perspective is described as the intra-proxy gap. The inter-rater gap represents the difference between patient self-assessed HRQL and the proxy ability to comprehend the patient view. The extent to which the proxy-proxy perspective is informative will depend upon the proxy's ability to provide reinforcing or complementary information, ie, represented by the intra-proxy gap, on the HRQL of the patient. We refer to the framework to emphasize the importance of delineating between proxy perspectives in study design and HRQL measurement and to guide inquiries into the validity and interpretation of the meaningfulness of the proxy HRQL assessments from each viewpoint. Future research and use of proxy raters of HRQL in clinical trials, population health monitoring, resource allocation, and clinical management can be informed by explicit consideration of the suggested framework.
A new stock-price bubble with stochastically deflating trajectories

ABSTRACT We propose a new, rational stock-price bubble that is able to generate recurringly explosive and stochastically deflating trajectories. Our flexible bubble process entails stock-price volatility dynamics that are consistent with real-world data. To demonstrate this, we fit our bubble specification to NASDAQ data and analyse the volatility dynamics.
Surface Channeling in Aberration-Corrected Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy of Nanostructures

Abstract The aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscope can provide information on nanostructures with sub-Ångström image resolution. The relatively intuitive interpretation of high-angle annular dark-field (HAADF) imaging technique makes it a popular tool to image a variety of samples and finds broad applications to characterizing nanostructures, especially when combined with electron energy-loss spectroscopy and X-ray energy-dispersive spectroscopy techniques. To quantitatively interpret HAADF images, however, requires full understanding of the various types of signals that contribute to the HAADF image contrast. We have observed significant intensity enhancement in HAADF images, and large expansion of lattice spacings, of surface atoms of atomically flat ZnO surfaces. The surface-resonance channeling effect, one of the electron-beam channeling phenomena in crystalline nanostructures, was invoked to explain the observed image intensity enhancement. A better understanding of the effect of electron beam channeling along surfaces or interfaces on HAADF image contrast may have implications for quantifying HAADF images and may provide new routes to utilize the channeling phenomenon to study surface structures with sub-Ångström spatial resolution.
Doppler indices from inferior vena cava and ductus venosus in predicting pH and oxygen tension in umbilical blood at cordocentesis in growth‐retarded fetuses

The objective of this study was to assess the value of Doppler indices calculated from the inferior vena cava and ductus venosus in the identification of acidemia and hypoxemia as determined by pH and gas analysis of fetal blood obtained by cordocentesis in growth‐retarded fetuses. Doppler measurements were performed in the inferior vena cava and ductus venosus in 209 normally grown fetuses and in 89 growth‐retarded fetuses. All growth‐retarded fetuses were free from structural and chromosomal abnormalities, and uteroplacental insufficiency characterized by Doppler changes in the umbilical and middle cerebral arteries was the most likely etiology of the growth defect. In this group of fetuses, Doppler recordings were performed immediately before cordocentesis. Ten different indices were calculated from venous velocity waveforms, and reference limits for gestation were constructed by the cross‐sectional analysis of data from normally grown fetuses. Logistic regression and receiver operator characteristic curve analysis were performed to examine the relationship between Doppler indices and acid‐base status. The pre‐load index (peak velocity during atrial contraction/peak velocity during systole) in the inferior vena cava was the best explanatory variable for acidemia (χ2 = 48.33; p ≤ 0.001). Hypoxemia was predicted less well by venous indices and the best results were achieved by the S/A ratio in the ductus venosus (χ2 = 9.46; p ≤ 0.005). In conclusion, our data suggest that acidosis in growth‐retarded fetuses may be non‐invasively identified by Doppler measurements of the inferior vena cava and that a higher efficiency can be achieved by the use of the pre‐load index. Copyright © 1996 International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology
Latent Classes of Neuropsychiatric Symptoms in NACC Controls and Conversion to Mild Cognitive Impairment or Dementia.

BACKGROUND A number of studies have linked neuropsychiatric symptoms to increase risk of dementia. OBJECTIVE To determine if risk of conversion to mild cognitive impairment or dementia among healthy controls varied as a function of their pattern of neuropsychiatric symptoms. METHOD We studied individuals in the National Alzheimer Coordinating Center dataset collected from 34 Alzheimer Disease Centers between 2005 and 2013. The analysis included 4,517 volunteers who were ≥60 years old, cognitively normal, and had complete Neuropsychiatric Inventory data at their baseline visit, and had at least one follow-up. We used latent class analysis to identify four classes based on patterns of NPI symptoms. We used a Cox proportional hazards model to determine if time to MCI or dementia varied by baseline latent class membership. RESULTS We identified four latent classes of neuropsychiatric symptoms: irritable, depressed, complex (depression, apathy, irritability, and nighttime behaviors) and asymptomatic. 873 participants converted to MCI or dementia. Hazard ratios for conversion by class were 1.76 (95% CI: 1.34, 2.33) for the irritable class, 3.20 (95% CI: 2.24, 4.58) for the complex class, and 1.90 (95% CI: 1.49, 2.43) for the depressed class, with the asymptomatic class as the reference. CONCLUSIONS Membership in all three symptomatic classes was associated with greater risk of conversion to MCI or dementia; the complex class had the greatest risk. Different patterns of neuropsychiatric symptoms may represent different underlying neuropathological pathways to dementia. Further work imaging and pathology research is necessary to determine if this is the case.
Inhibition of human CYP1A2 activity in vitro by methylxanthines: potent competitive inhibition by 8-phenyltheophylline

1. Humans are exposed in vivo to methylxanthines by dietary ingestion, as well as from their use as therapeutic agents. The inhibitory effect of a series of these compounds on high-affinity phenacetin O-deethylase activity in the human liver microsomal fraction, a measure of CYP1A2 activity, has been evaluated. 2. Paracetamol, the product of phenacetin O-deethylase activity, was analysed by gas chromatography/negative-ion mass spectrometry using a novel bistrifluoromethylbenzoyl/ trimethylsilyl derivative, and incubation conditions for assessing high-affinity phenacetin O-deethylase activity were examined and optimized. 3. 1-Methylxanthine, caffeine, theophylline, 8-methylxanthine, pentoxyfylline and 3- isobutyl-1-methylxanthine caused moderate inhibition with IC50 = 260, 140, 120, 100, 62 and 36 μM respectively. 4. 8-Phenyltheophylline was a potent competitive inhibitor of high-affinity phenacetin O-deethylase activity with an IC50 = 0.7 μM and Ki = 0.11 μM. 5. The specificity of inhibition by 8-phenyltheophylline was assessed by measuring its effect on debrisoquine 4-hydroxylase (CYP2D6), terfenadine hydroxylase (CYP3A4), chlorzoxazone 6-hydroxylase (CYP2E1) and tolbutamide 4-hydroxylase (CYP2C9) activities in human liver microsomal fraction. No inhibition of any of these activities was observed. 6. The potency and specificity of 8-phenyltheophylline as an inhibitor of human hepatic CYP1A2 indicate that the compound may be useful as a chemical inhibitor of this enzyme for further in vitro studies.
The autocorrelation matrix probing biochemical relationships after metabolic fingerprinting with CE

Fingerprinting together with statistical analysis is often employed to compare samples in metabonomic studies of a disease. Correlation algorithms can aid by extracting information based on the variation patterns of key metabolites. This information can be linked to metabolite identification or to specific up/down‐regulated biochemical pathways. Matlab‐based software employing the Pearson's correlation algorithm was applied to urine electropherograms from 20 mice infected with the schistosoma parasite. The fingerprints were the sum of electropherograms analysed with normal and reverse polarity, in two different modes MEKC and CZE and with two different capillaries (uncoated and polyacrylamide coated) to provide a broad picture of the samples. Hippurate, a metabolite that was depleted in the infected group and is present in both polarities, was chosen as a test variable; it correlated with itself to a p value of <0.000. Phenylacetylglycine, a metabolite shown as over expressed in the disease, was positively correlated to three metabolites in its same pathway with a correlation coefficient of 0.7 and p<0.000 to phenylalanine, 0.7 and p<0.000 to 2‐hydroxyphenylacetic and 0.55 and p<0.003 to phenylacetate. The study shows that the autocorrelation matrix is able to provide extra information from data files acquired by CE analyses. It underlined an up‐regulated metabolic path by association in the schistosoma infection model.
Dynamic Activation of Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator by Type 3 and Type 4D Phosphodiesterase Inhibitors

The diseases of cystic fibrosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and chronic bronchitis are characterized by mucus-congested and inflamed airways. Anti-inflammatory agents that can simultaneously restore or enhance mucociliary clearance through cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) activation may represent new therapeutics in their treatment. Herein, we report the activation of CFTR-mediated chloride secretion by phosphodiesterase (PDE) 4 inhibitors in T84 monolayer using 125I anion as tracer. In the absence of forskolin, the iodide secretion was insensitive to PDE4 inhibitor L-826,141 [4-[2-(3,4-bis-difluoromethoxyphenyl)-2-[4-(1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoro-2-hydroxypropan-2-yl)phenyl]-ethyl]-3-methylpyridine-1-oxide], roflumilast, or to PDE3 inhibitor trequinsin. However, these inhibitors potently augmented iodide secretion after forskolin stimulation, with efficacy coupled to the activation states of adenylyl cyclase. The iodide secretion from PDE3 or PDE4 inhibition was characterized at first by a prolonged efflux duration, followed by progressively elevated peak efflux rates at higher inhibitor concentrations. Paralleled with an increased phosphor-cAMP response element-binding protein formation, the CFTR activation dissociated from a global cAMP elevation and was blocked by H89 [N-[2-((p-bromocinnamyl)amino)ethyl]-5-isoquinolinesulfonamide]. 2-(4-Fluorophenoxy)-N-[(1S)-1-(4-methoxyphenyl)ethyl]nicotinamide, a stereoselective PDE4D inhibitor, augmented iodide efflux more efficiently than its less potent (R)-isomer. The peak efflux from maximal PDE4 and PDE3 inhibition matched that from full adenylyl cyclase activation. These data suggest that PDE3 and PDE4 (mainly PDE4D) form the major cAMP diffusion barrier in T84 cells to ensure a compartmentalized CFTR signaling. Together with their potent anti-inflammatory properties, the potentially enhanced airway mucociliary clearance from CFTR activation may have contributed to the efficacy of PDE4 inhibitors in COPD and asthmatic patients. PDE4 inhibitors may represent new opportunities to combat cystic fibrosis and other respiratory diseases in future.
Shareholder response to mass shootings in the United States firearms industry

Abstract Mass shootings are an all too common event in the United States. While these tragedies are universally condemned, the extent to which they affect markets is less understood. Using event study methodology, this study analyzes how three publicly traded small arms companies, Smith & Wesson, Sturm Ruger, and the Brazilian manufacturer Taurus, react in the aftermath of six mass shootings from 2007 to 2013. Taurus is included in the sample given its heavy dependence on the US market, as well as to increase sample size given the dearth of publicly traded arms companies worldwide. The aggregate results suggest that these events do significantly disrupt returns in the arms industry, suggesting that shareholders are influenced by these events. The evidence for market disruptions is particularly strong when the sample is limited to the deadliest Virginia Tech and Sandy Hook shootings.
Robust THP Transceiver Design for MIMO Interference Channel

This letter focuses on robust Tomlinson-Harashima precoding (THP) transceiver optimization for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) interference channel, where a bounded channel error model is assumed. Two optimization problems are formulated as minimizing the maximum per-user mean square error (MSE) and sum MSE with per-transmitter power constraint, respectively. Since both optimization problems are not convex, a sub-optimal alternating optimization method is proposed to iteratively update the transmit feedback matrix, precoding matrix and receive equalization matrix of THP transceiver until convergence. We show that the two problems of three matrix variables can be formulated as semidefinite program (SDP) when any two of three matrices are fixed, thus making the problems computationally tractable. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed THP transceivers can improve the performance over the linear transceivers and are robust to the imperfect channel state information (CSI).
Video-Rate Molecular Imaging in Vivo with Stimulated Raman Scattering

Skin-Deep Raman Spectroscopy Raman spectroscopy allows for molecular identification via vibrational spectra at optical wavelengths. However, if the optical signal is scattered, as occurs when trying to image tissue, the signal becomes very weak, and it becomes difficult to image a sample with high time resolution. Saar et al. (p. 1368) now show that by improving the optics and electronics of the acquisition of the backscattered signal, stimulated Raman scattering spectroscopy can be performed at video rates on human skin, which should enable label-free studies of tissues and, for example, the tracking of the delivery of a drug. Raman spectra can be acquired rapidly from samples that would otherwise scatter the usable signal. Optical imaging in vivo with molecular specificity is important in biomedicine because of its high spatial resolution and sensitivity compared with magnetic resonance imaging. Stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) microscopy allows highly sensitive optical imaging based on vibrational spectroscopy without adding toxic or perturbative labels. However, SRS imaging in living animals and humans has not been feasible because light cannot be collected through thick tissues, and motion-blur arises from slow imaging based on backscattered light. In this work, we enable in vivo SRS imaging by substantially enhancing the collection of the backscattered signal and increasing the imaging speed by three orders of magnitude to video rate. This approach allows label-free in vivo imaging of water, lipid, and protein in skin and mapping of penetration pathways of topically applied drugs in mice and humans.
Physical Function and Mental Health in Trauma Intensive Care Patients: A 2-Year Cohort Study

Objectives:This study was designed to examine changes in function over time after injury and to identify factors associated with long-term recovery that may be amenable to change through intervention. Design:Prospective cohort study. Setting:Intensive care in a tertiary hospital in Queensland, Australia. Patients:Adult (n = 123) admitted to intensive care for treatment of injury. Interventions:Data were collected prior to hospital discharge and 1, 6, 12, and 24 months post injury. Data included demographics, preinjury health, injury characteristics, acute care factors, psychosocial measures, and health status. Linear mixed-effects models were used to identify factors associated with physical function and mental health over time. Measurements and Main Results:Physical function and mental health improved over time; however, the averages remained below Australian norms at 24 months. Optimistic perception of illness and greater self-efficacy were potentially modifiable factors associated with improved mental health and physical function over time. Greater perceived social support, also potentially modifiable, was associated with improved mental health. Injury insurance and income were significant nonmodifiable factors for mental health, with mental health gains associated with higher income. Hospital length of stay and injury insurance were nonmodifiable factors linked with physical function. Conclusions:Improvements in physical function and mental health are evident in the 24 months following injury, but most patients remain below Australian population norms. Factors that were associated with physical function and mental health outcomes over time that are potentially amenable to change include illness perception, self-efficacy, and perceived social support.