Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Moderately intense physical activities and high levels of cardiorespiratory fitness reduce the risk of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus in middle-aged men.

BACKGROUND Physical activity has been advocated as an important factor in the primary prevention of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM), but information concerning the specific intensities and durations that are protective has been unavailable. OBJECTIVE To examine prospectively the association between self-reported levels of the intensity and duration of physical activities, and cardiorespiratory fitness (assessed by respiratory gas exchange) and incident cases of NIDDM (assessed by the oral glucose tolerance test) in a population-based sample of 897 middle-aged Finnish men. RESULTS After adjustment for age, baseline glucose values, body mass index, serum triglyceride levels, parental history of diabetes, and alcohol consumption, moderately intense physical activities (> or = 5.5 metabolic units) that were undertaken for at least a 40-minute duration per week were associated with a reduced risk of NIDDM (odds ration [OR], 0.44; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.22-0.88). Activities with less than an intensity of 5.5 metabolic units, regardless of their duration, were not protective. Cardiorespiratory fitness levels greater than 31.0 mL of oxygen per kilogram per minute were protective against NIDDM (OR, 0.26; 95% CI, 0.08-0.82). A subgroup of men at high risk of NIDDM, because they were overweight and were hypertensive and had a positive parental history of NIDDM, who engaged in moderately intense physical activities above the 40-min/wk duration reduced their risk of NIDDM by 64% compared with men who did not participate in such activities. CONCLUSIONS After adjustment for age, baseline glucose levels, and known risk factors, physical activities with an intensity of 5.5 metabolic units or greater and a duration of 40 minutes or greater per week protected against the development of NIDDM. These protective effects were even more pronounced in a subgroup of men who were at high risk for the development of the disease.
Venous Thromboembolism Is Associated With Adverse Outcomes in Hospitalized Patients With Acute Pancreatitis: A Population-Based Cohort Study

Objectives The systemic inflammatory cascade and vascular stasis in hospitalized patients with acute pancreatitis (AP) serve as a milieu for development of venous thromboembolism (VTE). Our aim was to estimate the prevalence and risk factors of VTE in AP and to evaluate its impact on clinical outcomes of AP. Methods The Nationwide Inpatient Sample (2002–2011) was reviewed to identify all patients hospitalized with AP. Patients with a concomitant diagnosis of VTE were compared with those without. The primary clinical outcome (inpatient mortality) and secondary resources outcomes (length of stay and total hospital charges) were analyzed using univariate and multivariate comparisons. Results Among 2,382,426 patients with AP, 22,205 (0.93%) had VTE. Multivariate analysis showed patients with greater comorbidity (odds ratio [OR], 1.47), white race (OR, 1.11), acute kidney injury (OR, 1.08), acute respiratory failure (OR, 1.40), pseudocyst (OR, 1.41), total parenteral nutrition (OR, 1.28), and central venous catheter placement (OR, 3.01) were associated with a diagnosis of VTE. Venous thromboembolism was also independently associated with increased mortality (OR, 1.31) and prolonged duration of hospitalization by 6.5 days (P < 0.001) and contributed to an excess $44,882 (P < 0.001) in hospitalization costs. Conclusions Venous thromboembolism is adversely associated with mortality and health care resource utilization in AP.
Using RFID-capable cell phones for creating an extended navigation assistance

This paper offers an RFID-based indoor navigation application which utilizes cell phones with an RFID extension and distributed RFID tags fixed to interior equipment. This combination creates a special navigation environment which helps pedestrians to orient oneself in new respectively unknown environments. Therefore, each RFID tag contains information about the current position, location or an unknown environment. Thus, the current position can be determined, which is the basic for navigation. A further advantage of this application is the availability of additional graphical data stored on the RFID tags. This additional graphical data contains global information about the indoor environment and also local graphical information about the near environment of the RFID tag. This yields to an RFID-based navigation system, that not only shows the current position but also the near environment surrounding that specific location. Therefore, this systems grants navigation assistance by leading the user step-by-step or rather tag-by-tag to the final destination.
The role of intolerance of uncertainty in the repeated exposure to cancer information

ABSTRACT Cancer information acquisition is beneficial for cancer prevention. However, for some people, information exposure brings about greater uncertainty and anxiety, which prompt them to engage in subsequent exposure. This study tested whether intolerance of uncertainty (IU), a strong predictor of information exposure, can be used to identify such people in the cancer context. A longitudinal survey in South Korea (N = 1,130 at Wave 1 and 813 at Wave 2) revealed that the effect of past information exposure about cancer on future exposure is stronger for people with high IU. The results suggest that those with high IU feel greater cancer-related anxiety, resulting from the past exposure, and more eagerly engage in future exposure. Although highly correlated with IU, trait anxiety did not moderate the relationship between past and future exposure, suggesting that the role of IU in the cancer context is distinct from other neurotic traits.
Dual Servo Control of a High-Tilt 3-DOF Microparallel Positioning Platform

This paper presents a precise positioning control of a microparallel positioning platform using a dual-stage servo system. The result of the research can be applied to dual-stage-type parallel machines for improving the positioning accuracy. The proposed platform adopts a dual-stage system that consists of three coarse actuators and three fine actuators to realize 3 degrees of freedom (DOF) motion. The 3-DOF motion of the end-effector is measured by a set of three linear sensors. Dynamic models for the coarse and fine actuators are derived by the system identification approach. The gain-scheduled multi-input multi-output (MIMO) controllers are synthesized based on the modeling. The MIMO controller is designed with a mixed-sensitivity criterion on tracking performance and positioning capability, and the design of the gain scheduler is based on the kinematics change. By integrating the controllers for two kinds of actuators, a dual servo controller can be developed based on the master-slave with decoupling structure. An antiwindup controller and a feedforward compensator are adopted to improve the performance. The successful performance of the synthesized dual servo controller is validated through experiments on tracking to guarantee submicrometer accuracy.
Sentiment analysis of social network posts in Slovak language

In this paper we tackle the issue of sentiment analysis of social network posts in a not well targeted language — Slovak. There is a significant lack of research in this area for minor languages, as they often introduce additional language-specific issues for text processing. In case of Slovak, common issues are high flection, complex morphology and syntax. User-generated content of social networks introduces additional challenges (variability of diacritics, inconsistent style, high error rate) that make the task even harder. In this paper, we propose a method for sentiment analysis of social network posts on Facebook. The proposed method is based on machine learning and incorporates multilevel text pre-processing aiming to deal with specifics of user-generated social content. The evaluation in a real-word setting employing data from Facebook pages of multiple well-known companies shows accuracy of our method comparable with approaches for major world languages.
The Anthropocene Working Group and its (inter-)disciplinarity

Abstract This article investigates the internal dynamics of the Anthropocene Working Group (AWG), an expert body tasked with evaluating the stratigraphic case of the Anthropocene. The investigation focuses on the role of interdisciplinarity and disciplinarity in the AWG. The article draws on surveys and interviews with AWG members to characterize interdisciplinary collaboration in the AWG and discusses the relationship of the AWG to the stratigraphic community. The results reveal that the exchanges between disciplines in the AWG are ‘multidisciplinary’ and of limited scope. While social scientists in the group take a non-scientific role, the involvement of natural scientists in research activities is guided by the objectives of stratigraphy. Moreover, a lack of communication and trust had shaped the relationship between the AWG and the stratigraphic community until they devised pragmatic working arrangements that led the AWG to adapt its research practice and rationale. Despite calls to reform stratigraphic practice, the disciplinarity of the AWG prevails over innovative research practices inspired by interdisciplinary exchanges. In terms of theory, the study confirms that disciplines continue to provide the context in which interdisciplinary endeavors need to position themselves. Notwithstanding the pull of interdisciplinarity, the AWG’s main point of reference remains the stratigraphic community.
Queuosine modification in tRNA and expression of the nitrate reductase in Escherichia coli.

In eubacteria the modified nucleoside queuosine is present in tRNAAsn, tRNAAsp, tRNAHis and tRNATyr. A precursor of queuine, pre‐queuine, is synthesized from GTP, inserted into the first position of the anticodon of the corresponding tRNAs by a specific tRNA‐guanine transglycosylase and further modified to queuosine. Isogenic pairs of Escherichia coli, containing or lacking the tRNA‐transglycosylase (JE 7335, tgt+ lacZ+ and JE 7337, tgt‐ lacZ+; JE 7334, tgt+ lacZ‐ and JE 7336, tgt‐ lacZ‐), have been employed to study the function of queuosine in tRNA. Compared with the tgt+ strain (JE 7335), the tgt‐ mutant (JE 7337) grown under anaerobic conditions, is defective with respect to the nitrate respiration system, in which electrons are transported from D(‐)‐lactate via quinone and cytochrome bNO3‐(556) to nitrate. Low temperature cytochrome spectra of the anaerobically grown tgt‐ mutant show a lowered amount of type b cytochromes involving the spectrum of cytochrome bNO3‐(556). In the case of the anaerobically grown tgt‐ mutant three proteins are missing in the protein pattern of cytoplasmic membranes. Their mol. wts. correspond to those of the subunits of the nitrate reductase complex. In contrast to the tgt+ strains (JE 7334, JE 7335) both tgt‐ mutants (JE 7336, JE 7337) cannot grow on lactate under anaerobic conditions with nitrate offered as electron acceptor and NO3‐ is not reduced to NO2‐. A possible link between Q‐modification of tRNAs, the synthesis of proteins of the nitrate reductase complex and the synthesis of menaquinone or ubiquinone is discussed.
Melatonin restores impaired contractility in aged guinea pig urinary bladder

Abstract: Urinary bladder disturbances are frequent in the elderly population but the responsible mechanisms are poorly understood. This study evaluates the effects of aging on detrusor myogenic contractile responses and the impact of melatonin treatment. The contractility of bladder strips from adult, aged and melatonin‐treated guinea pigs was evaluated by isometric tension recordings. Cytoplasmatic calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) was estimated by epifluorescence microscopy of fura‐2‐loaded isolated detrusor smooth muscle cells, and the levels of protein expression and phosphorylation were quantitated by Western blotting. Aging impairs the contractile response of detrusor strips to cholinergic and purinergic agonists and to membrane depolarization. The impaired contractility correlates with increased [Ca2+]i in response to the stimuli, suggesting a reduced Ca2+sensitivity. Indeed, the agonist‐induced contractions in adult strips were sensitive to blockade with Y27362, an inhibitor of Rho kinase (ROCK) and GF109203X, an inhibitor of protein kinase C (PKC), but these inhibitors had negligible effects in aged strips. The reduced Ca2+ sensitivity in aged tissues correlated with lower levels of RhoA, ROCK, PKC and the two effectors CPI‐17 and MYPT1, and with the absence of CPI‐17 and MYPT1 phosphorylation in response to agonists. Interestingly, melatonin treatment restored impaired contractility via normalization of Ca2+ handling and Ca2+ sensitizations pathways. Moreover, the indoleamine restored age‐induced changes in oxidative stress and mitochondrial polarity. These results suggest that melatonin might be a novel therapeutic tool to palliate aging‐related urinary bladder contractile impairment.
Physical activity and its associations with sociodemographic characteristics, dietary patterns, and perceived academic stress in students attending college in Puerto Rico.

OBJECTIVE The academic environment usually generates stress in students. Increasing physical activity (PA) is one of the stress-coping strategies for students; however, students usually reduce their PA while enrolled in college. OBJECTIVE To determine the association between PA, self-perceived academic load and stress, and dietary patterns in students attending college in Puerto Rico. METHODS A proportional stratified sample of 275 students from UPR-MSC completed a self-administered questionnaire on socioeconomic status, academic load and stress, body composition, dietary patterns, and PA. Chi2 was used to assess the association between variables. RESULTS Most of the participants were female (68%), were aged 21 to 30 years (88%), and had low annual household incomes ($0-$24,999) (43%). Women reported higher levels of stress (p < 0.001) than did men. Overweight and obesity was found in 35.4%, while most students reported a light PA level (46.5%), which was higher among women (p < 0.001). During periods of greater stress, most students increased sedentary activities (68%), and -30% reported a decrease in moderate and vigorous activities; however, 60% reported that PA was an effective coping strategy and 66% would use it again. There was a negative association between PA and stress: those with higher levels of stress had lower PA levels (p = 0.06). No significant associations were found between PA and the others variables studied (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION Most students reported sedentary lifestyles during periods of greater stress. High level of stress were positively associated with a light PA level.
Mechanical design and kinematic analysis of the AH1N1 humanoid robot

In this paper the mechanical design and kinematic analysis of a humanoid robot are presented. This robot is designed to perform as a soccer player, according to the current structure and dimensions restrictions stated by the International RoboCup Federation for the Kid-Size league in the RoboCup competition. The corresponding mechanism has 26 degrees-of-freedom (dof). It is composed by two legs (6 dof each), two arms (5 dof each), a torso (2 dof waist) and a head (2 dof). The direct and inverse kinematic analysis were carried out by means of applying the Denavit-Hartenberg methodology and using Screw Theory. The last one led to an analytical solution to the inverse kinematic problem, given that the mechanical design was correctly planned. As a future work, these mathematical models will be used in the elaboration of a simulator that permits to analyze the robot's movement and to generate adequate gait patterns.
Automatic Motion and Noise Artifact Detection in Holter ECG Data Using Empirical Mode Decomposition and Statistical Approaches

We present a real-time method for the detection of motion and noise (MN) artifacts, which frequently interferes with accurate rhythm assessment when ECG signals are collected from Holter monitors. Our MN artifact detection approach involves two stages. The first stage involves the use of the first-order intrinsic mode function (F-IMF) from the empirical mode decomposition to isolate the artifacts' dynamics as they are largely concentrated in the higher frequencies. The second stage of our approach uses three statistical measures on the F-IMF time series to look for characteristics of randomness and variability, which are hallmark signatures of MN artifacts: the Shannon entropy, mean, and variance. We then use the receiver-operator characteristics curve on Holter data from 15 healthy subjects to derive threshold values associated with these statistical measures to separate between the clean and MN artifacts' data segments. With threshold values derived from 15 training data sets, we tested our algorithms on 30 additional healthy subjects. Our results show that our algorithms are able to detect the presence of MN artifacts with sensitivity and specificity of 96.63% and 94.73%, respectively. In addition, when we applied our previously developed algorithm for atrial fibrillation (AF) detection on those segments that have been labeled to be free from MN artifacts, the specificity increased from 73.66% to 85.04% without loss of sensitivity (74.48%-74.62%) on six subjects diagnosed with AF. Finally, the computation time was less than 0.2 s using a MATLAB code, indicating that real-time application of the algorithms is possible for Holter monitoring.
The 2000 Parliamentary Election in South Korea

The parliamentary election held in South Korea on April 13, 2000, was of great importance to both the government and opposition parties. For the ruling Millennium Democratic Party (MDP), winning a majority in the election was imperative if the Kim Dae-Jung government was to push ahead with its political and economic reform programs. A defeat in the April election would not only weaken the government's ability to control the legislative agenda but also turn the reformist regime into a lame duck one. For its part, the leading opposition party, the Grand National Party (GNP), defined the election as a de facto referendum on the Kim government; the GNP thus saw achieving a favorable result as a means of repudiating the government's misdeeds and ineptitude in dealing with a number of political and economic issues. Furthermore, the GNP regarded winning a majority in the National Assembly as essential in order to check what it saw as the government's abuse of power. Finally, for both the government and the opposition, the 2000 election had added significance in that it was regarded as a major precursor to the next presidential election, scheduled for December 2002. Thus, the stakes were high. In the end, the election produced what has been termed a yoso yadae (small government party and large opposition) situation. This article will examine South Korea's 2000 parliamentary election with an emphasis on analyzing the factors that contributed to bringing about the yoso yadae result. In addition, the article will explore the implications that the election results may have for the future of South Korean politics in general and party politics in particular.
Induced sputum matrix metalloproteinase‐9 correlates with lung function and airway inflammation in children with cystic fibrosis

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) degrade extracellular matrix and are implicated in causing airway damage in chronic inflammatory lung diseases, including cystic fibrosis (CF). Our primary objective was to examine the relationship between matrix metalloproteinase‐9 (MMP‐9) and pulmonary function, as measured by forced expiratory volume in 1 sec (FEV1), in children with CF. We measured MMP‐9 and its natural tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase‐1 (TIMP‐1) in induced sputum from 18 clinically stable CF children with normal to mildly abnormal lung function and 7 healthy control children. Measures of airway inflammation from induced sputum included cell counts and differentials, interleukin‐8 (IL‐8), neutrophil elastase, MMP‐9, and TIMP‐1. Infection was assessed through quantitative bacterial counts. Induced sputum levels of MMP‐9 and TIMP‐1 were significantly increased in children with CF compared with healthy controls. Also, the MMP‐9/TIMP‐1 molar ratio was higher in the CF group. Among CF children, there was a significant inverse relationship between MMP‐9 and FEV1. In addition, sputum MMP‐9 and TIMP‐1 concentrations significantly correlated with total white cells and neutrophils, IL‐8, and neutrophil elastase. Neither MMP‐9 nor TIMP‐1 correlated with airway infection. We conclude that clinically stable CF children with normal to mildly abnormal lung function have an increased burden of MMP‐9 in their airways. The observed relationships of MMP‐9 with lung function and other measures of airway inflammation suggest that this enzyme may be a useful marker of airway injury and airflow obstruction in persons with CF. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2005; 39:224–232. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Role of STAT4 and STAT6 Signaling in Allograft Rejection and CTLA4-Ig-Mediated Tolerance1

STAT4−/− mice have impaired type 1 T cell differentiation, whereas STAT6−/− mice fail to generate type 2 responses. The role of type 1 and type 2 T cell differentiation in acute cardiac allograft rejection and in the induction of tolerance was examined in wild-type, STAT4−/−, and STAT6−/− recipients. All recipients rejected the grafts promptly. Analysis of in situ cytokine gene expression in the allografts confirmed decreased levels of IFN-γ in STAT4−/− recipients and undetectable levels of IL-4 and IL-5 in STAT6−/− mice. Blockade of the CD28/B7 costimulatory pathway prolonged cardiac graft survival for >100 days in 100% of wild-type and STAT4−/− mice. However, 14% of CTLA4-Ig-treated STAT6−/− mice rejected their grafts between 20 and 100 days. Moreover, of those animals followed past 100 days, 60% of the STAT6−/− mice rejected their grafts. Splenocytes harvested on day 145 posttransplant from CTLA4-Ig-treated rejecting STAT6−/− recipients were transfused into syngeneic SCID mice transplanted with donor or third party cardiac allografts. Both donor and third party grafts were rejected, indicating that the initial graft loss may be due to an immunological rejection. In contrast, when splenocytes from CTLA4-Ig-treated wild-type or nonrejecting STAT6−/− mice were transferred into SCID recipients, donor allografts were accepted, but third party hearts were rejected. Thus, long-term prolongation of cardiac allograft survival by CTLA4-Ig is STAT4-independent but, at least in part, STAT6-dependent. These data suggest that the balance of type 1 and type 2 T lymphocyte differentiation is not critical for acute rejection but influences the robust tolerance induced by CD28/B7 blockade in this model.