Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Socio-environmental correlates of physical activity in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

Background Study of the causes of the reduced levels of physical activity in patients with COPD has been scarce and limited to biological factors. Aim To assess the relationship between novel socio-environmental factors, namely dog walking, grandparenting, neighbourhood deprivation, residential surrounding greenness and residential proximity to green or blue spaces, and amount and intensity of physical activity in COPD patients. Methods This cross-sectional study recruited 410 COPD patients from five Catalan municipalities. Dog walking and grandparenting were assessed by questionnaire. Neighbourhood deprivation was assessed using the census Urban Vulnerability Index, residential surrounding greenness by the satellite-derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, and residential proximity to green or blue spaces as living within 300 m of such a space. Physical activity was measured during 1 week by accelerometer to assess time spent on moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and vector magnitude units (VMU) per minute. Findings Patients were 85% male, had a mean (SD) age of 69 (9) years, and post-bronchodilator FEV1 of 56 (17) %pred. After adjusting for age, sex, socio-economic status, dyspnoea, exercise capacity and anxiety in a linear regression model, both dog walking and grandparenting were significantly associated with an increase both in time in MVPA (18 min/day (p<0.01) and 9 min/day (p<0.05), respectively) and in physical activity intensity (76 VMU/min (p=0.05) and 59 VMUs/min (p<0.05), respectively). Neighbourhood deprivation, surrounding greenness and proximity to green or blue spaces were not associated with physical activity. Conclusions Dog walking and grandparenting are associated with a higher amount and intensity of physical activity in COPD patients. Trial registration number Pre-results, NCT01897298.
Chondrocytes in agarose culture synthesize a mechanically functional extracellular matrix

The ability of chondrocytes from calf articular cartilage to synthesize and assemble a mechanically functional cartilage‐like extracellular matrix was quantified in high cell density (∼ 107 cell/ml) agarose gel culture. The time evolution of chondrocyte proliferation, proteoglycan synthesis and loss to the media, and total deposition of glycosaminoglycan (GAG)‐containing matrix within agarose gels was characterized during 10 weeks in culture. To assess whether the matrix deposited within the agarose gel was mechanically and electromechanically functional, we measured in parallel cultures the time evolution of dynamic mechanical stiffness and oscillatory streaming potential in uniaxial confined compression, and determined the intrinsic equilibrium modulus, hydraulic permeability, and electrokinetic coupling coefficient of the developing cultures. Biosynthetic rates were initially high, but by 1 month had fallen to a level similar to that found in the parent calf articular cartilage from which the cells were extracted. The majority of the newly synthesized proteoglycans remained in the gel. Histological sections showed matrix rich in proteoglycans and collagen fibrils developing around individual cells. The equilibrium modulus, dynamic stiffness, and oscillatory streaming potential rose to many times (>5X) their initial values at the start of the culture; the hydraulic permeability decreased to a fraction (∼1/10) that of the cell‐laden porous agarose at the beginning of the culture. By day 35 of culture, DNA concentration (cell density), GAG concentration, stiffness, and streaming potential were all ∼25% that of calf articular cartilage. The frequency dependence of the dynamic stiffness and potential was similar to that of calf articular cartilage. Together, these results suggested the formation of mechanically functional matrix.
Dynamic, Sex-Differential STAT5 and BCL6 Binding to Sex-Biased, Growth Hormone-Regulated Genes in Adult Mouse Liver

ABSTRACT Sex-dependent pituitary growth hormone (GH) secretory patterns determine the sex-biased expression of >1,000 genes in mouse and rat liver, affecting lipid and drug metabolism, inflammation, and disease. A fundamental biological question is how robust differential expression can be achieved for hundreds of sex-biased genes simply based on the GH input signal pattern: pulsatile GH stimulation in males versus near-continuous GH exposure in females. STAT5 is an essential transcriptional mediator of the sex-dependent effects of GH in the liver, but the mechanisms that underlie its sex-dependent actions are obscure. Here we elucidate the dynamic, sex-dependent binding of STAT5 and the GH/STAT5-regulated repressor BCL6 to mouse liver chromatin genome wide, revealing a counteractive interplay between these two regulators of sex differences in liver gene expression. Our findings establish a close correlation between sex-dependent STAT5 binding and sex-biased target gene expression. Moreover, sex-dependent STAT5 binding correlated positively with sex-biased DNase hypersensitivity and H3-K4me1 and H3-K4me3 (activating) marks, correlated negatively with sex-biased H3-K27me3 (repressive) marks, and was associated with sex-differentially enriched motifs for HNF6/CDP factors. Importantly, BCL6 binding was preferentially associated with repression of female-biased STAT5 targets in male liver. Furthermore, BCL6 and STAT5 common targets but not BCL6 unique targets showed strong enrichment for lipid and drug metabolism. These findings provide a comprehensive, genome-wide view of the mechanisms whereby these two GH-regulated transcription factors establish and maintain sex differences affecting liver physiology and disease. The approaches used here to characterize sex-dependent STAT5 and BCL6 binding can be applied to other condition-specific regulatory factors and binding sites and their interplay with cooperative chromatin binding factors.
Modeling and noise analysis of a fence structure micromachined capacitive accelerometer system

We analyze the effects of possible noise sources on a fence structure micromachined capacitive accelerometer system by modeling and simulation to improve its performance. Simulation results show that a mismatch between the two initial sensing capacitors of the accelerometer or a mismatch between the two capacitance-voltage conversion circuits has a great effect on the output noise floor. When there is a serious mismatch, the noise induced by a sinusoidal carrier is the major noise source. When there is no or only a slight mismatch, the differential capacitance-voltage conversion circuits become the main noise source. The simulation results were validated by experiments and some effective approaches are proposed to improve the system resolution.
Stratigraphic record of Holocene coseismic subsidence, Padang, West Sumatra

[1] Stratigraphic evidence is found for two coseismic subsidence events that underlie a floodplain 20 km south of Padang, West Sumatra along the Mentawai segment (0.5°S–0.3°S) of the Sunda subduction zone. Each earthquake is marked by a sharp soil-mud contact that represents a sudden change from mangrove to tidal flat. The earthquakes occurred about 4000 and 3000 cal years B.P. based on radiocarbon ages of detrital plant fragments and seeds. The absence of younger paleoseismic evidence suggests that late Holocene relative sea level fall left the floodplain too high for an earthquake to lower it into the intertidal zone. Our results point to a brief, few thousand year window of preservation of subsidence events in tidal-wetland stratigraphic sequences, a result that is generally applicable to other emergent coastlines of West Sumatra.
Phase II study of extended-dose temozolomide in patients with melanoma.

PURPOSE We conducted a phase II trial of extended-dose temozolomide (TMZ) in patients with melanoma to test the hypothesis that the approximately 30% response rate observed in patients treated with extended-dose TMZ with antiangiogenic agents was caused by TMZ alone. We hypothesized that expression of methylguanine methyltransferase (MGMT) in the tumor would correlate with drug resistance to TMZ. PATIENTS AND METHODS Patients with stage IV or unresectable stage III melanoma were treated with TMZ 75 mg/m(2)/d for 6 weeks followed by a 2-week rest period. Cycles were repeated until progression. Patients were stratified by M1c disease or not. The primary end point was objective response proportion. MGMT expression was assessed by methylation-specific pyrosequencing of the promoter and by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS Forty-nine patients (25 with M1c disease) were assessable. Three patients (12.5%) in each cohort experienced partial responses; there were no complete responses. Ten patients (21%) had stable disease lasting more than 24 weeks. Median time to progression was 3.3 months. Median survival was 10.1 months; survival was similar in the two cohorts. The estimated 18-month survival was 27%. There was no correlation between response and either immunohistochemistry staining for MGMT or for MGMT promoter methylation. Seventy-five percent of patients developed CD4(+) lymphopenia after three cycles. CONCLUSION Extended-dose TMZ therapy did not result in a 30% responses rate, which has been observed using extended-dose TMZ with antiangiogenic agents. Response did not correlate with MGMT expression or promoter methylation as a continuous variable, suggesting that other resistance mechanisms are important.
Infinite continuous adaptivity for incompressible SPH

In this paper we introduce a novel method to adaptive incompressible SPH simulations. Instead of using a scheme with a number of fixed particle sizes or levels, our approach allows continuous particle sizes. This enables us to define optimal particle masses with respect to, e.g., the distance to the fluid's surface. A required change in mass due to the dynamics of the fluid is properly and stably handled by our scheme of mass redistribution. This includes temporally smooth changes in particle masses as well as sudden mass variations in regions of high flow dynamics. Our approach guarantees low spatial variations in particle size, which is a core property in order to achieve large adaptivity ratios for incompressible fluid simulations. Conceptually, our approach allows for infinite continuous adaptivity, practically we achieved adaptivity ratios up to 5 orders of magnitude, while still being mass preserving and numerically stable, yielding unprecedented vivid surface detail at comparably low computational cost and moderate particle counts.
Regulation of Voltage-Gated Ca2+ Channels by Calmodulin

Calmodulin, a highly versatile and ubiquitously expressed Ca2+ sensor, regulates the function of many enzymes and ion channels. Both Ca2+-dependent inactivation and Ca2+-dependent facilitation of the voltage-gated Ca2+ channels Cav1.2 and Cav2.1 are regulated through an interaction with Ca2+-bound calmodulin. This review addresses the functional regulation of Cav1.2 and Cav2.1 by calmodulin and discusses how Ca2+ binding to a single calmodulin molecule can regulate opposing functions of the voltage-gated Ca2+ channels. The length of time that a voltage-dependent channel stays open can have a profound impact on the functional consequences of its opening. Together, Ca2+ and the Ca2+-binding protein calmodulin regulate the closing (Ca2+-dependent inactivation) and facilitate the opening (Ca2+-dependent facilitation) of voltage-gated Ca2+ channels. This review describes the features of calmodulin and its binding sites on voltage-gated Ca2+ channels that are likely to contribute to its ability to drive these opposing effects on channel activity.
An O(log N log log N) time RMESH algorithm for the simple polygon visibility problem

In this paper we consider the simple polygon visibility problem: Given a simple polygon P with N vertices and a point z in the interior of the polygon, find all the boundary points of P that are visible from z. We present an O(logN loglogN) time algorithm that solves the simple polygon visibility problem on a /spl radic/N/spl times//spl radic/N RMESH. Previously, the best known algorithm for the problem on a /spl radic/N/spl times//spl radic/N RMESH takes O(log/sup 2/ N) time. <<ETX>>
Ein multisektoraler Sammelindikator für die Schweizer Konjunktur

Der multisektorale Sammelindikator fur die Schweizer Gesamtkonjunktur weist gegenuber eine Reihe von methodischen Innovationen auf und berucksichtigt eine vergleichsweise grosse Anzahl von Indikatorreihen. Fur den Stutzbereich von 1991 bis 2002 erhalten wir auf Quartalsbasis einen stabilen Vorlauf von zwei Quartalen vor der Referenzreihe Vorjahreswachstumsrate des BIP, und auch die Niveaus der Wachstumsrate werden gut getroffen. Der neue Sammelindikator zeigt auch gute "out of sample" Prognoseeigenschaften, und zwar sowohl bezuglich des Vorlaufs als auch hinsichtlich der Niveaus der Referenzreihe.
Early virological response to HIV treatment: can we predict who is likely to experience subsequent treatment failure? Results from an observational cohort study, London, UK

Introduction: For people living with HIV, the first antiretroviral treatment (ART) regimen offers the best chance for a good virological response. Early identification of those unlikely to respond to first‐line ART could enable timely intervention and increase chances of a good initial treatment response. In this study we assess the extent to which the HIV RNA viral load (VL) at 1 and 3 months is predictive of first‐line treatment outcome at 6 months.
Aberrations in Particle Distribution Functions Near e-POP Particle Sensors

Simulation results are presented to assess the effect of the electrostatic sheath surrounding enhanced Polar Outflow Probe and its geometry on the distribution function of particles entering the two sensors. The sensors considered are the imaging and rapid-scanning ion mass spectrometer (IRM) and the suprathermal electron imager (SEI). IRM is a boom-mounted ion imager with a 360° circular aperture. It has an electrostatic toroidal deflector capable of selecting the angle θ of incident ions with respect to the boom axis, which effectively enables 3-D measurements of ion distribution functions over approximately half the 4π steradians of the sphere in velocity space. SEI, also boom-mounted opposite IRM, is used to measure 2-D distribution functions in the plane of its 360° aperture perpendicular to the boom axis. Due to the strength and finite thickness of the sheath surrounding sensors, there result aberrations in the angular distribution functions at both apertures. Comparisons are made between the calculation of these aberrations using a simple thin sheath model and a fully kinetic calculation, and it is found that the thin sheath model should provide a good approximation of sheath effects over a broad range of parameters. The effects of finite electron gyroradii and the relative position of the sensor with respect to the spacecraft body are also considered for the electron velocity distribution function at different positions around the SEI sensor. Occlusion of gyrating electrons by the spacecraft is shown to lead to holes in velocity distributions at certain locations around the SEI aperture, thus leading to aberrations in measured distribution functions.
Joint Offloading Framework to Support Communication and Computation Cooperation

In order to support communication and computation cooperation, we propose MC-RAN architecture, which consists of mobile cloud (MC) as the computation provision platform and radio access network (RAN) as the communication interface. The MC-RAN aims to undertake the following tasks: (1) to increase user equipments' computing capacity by triggering offloading action, especially for those UEs which cannot complete the computations locally; (2) to reduce the energy consumption for all the UEs by considering limited computing and communication resources; (3) to decrease the whole MC-RAN's energy consumption. To achieve the above tasks, uplink offloading framework is proposed. To reduce the signaling between UE and MC-RAN, decentralized local decision algorithm (DLDA) is firstly proposed for each UE to estimate the local execution and offloading energy and decide if offloading is in its interest. Then, centralized access control algorithm (CACA) is conducted by MC-RAN with the global information to decide the offloading set. Based on the offloading set, centralized resource allocation algorithm (CRAA) is employed to optimize the offloading power of each UE, corresponding receive beamforming vectors in MC-RAN and the active RRH and fronthaul pairs, with the objective of minimizing the energy consumption of the whole system including MC-RAN and UEs.
Current Scenario of Spurious and Substandard Medicines in India: A Systematic Review

Globally, every country is the victim of substandard or spurious drugs, which result in life threatening issues, financial loss of consumer and manufacturer and loss in trust on health system. The aim of this enumerative review was to probe the extent on poor quality drugs with their consequences on public health and the preventive measures taken by the Indian pharmaceutical regulatory system. Government and non-government studies, literature and news were gathered from journals and authentic websites. All data from 2000 to 2013 were compiled and interpreted to reveal the real story of poor quality drugs in India. For minimizing spurious/falsely-labelled/falsified/counterfeit drugs or not of standard quality drugs, there is urgent requirement of more stringent regulation and legal action against the problem. However, India has taken some preventive steps in the country to fight against the poor quality drugs for protecting and promoting the public health.
Ultrasound‐Assisted Synthesis of Novel α‐Aminophosphonates and Their Biological Activity

The synthesis of a series of novel α‐aminosubstituted phosphonates was accomplished by the reaction of various substituted aldehydes with an amine amlodipine (3‐ethyl 5‐methyl (±)2‐((2‐aminoethoxy)methyl)‐4‐(2‐chlorophenyl)‐6‐methyl‐1,4‐dihydropyridene‐3,5‐dicarboxylate) followed by diethylphosphite/dibutylphosphite in ethanol using SnCl2.2H2O as a Lewis acid catalyst, under conventional and ultrasonic irradiation. Their structures were established by analytical and spectral data. The title compounds showed good antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral activity depending on the nature of the bioactive groups at the α‐carbon.
Scheduling Precedence Constrained Task Graphs with Non-Negligible Intertask Communication onto Multiprocessors

The multiprocessor scheduling problem is the problem of scheduling the tasks of a precedence constrained task graph (representing a parallel program) onto the processors of a multiprocessor in a way that minimizes the completion time. Since this problem is known to be NP-hard in the strong sense in all but a few very restricted eases, heuristic algorithms are being developed which obtain near optimal schedules in a reasonable amount of computation time. We present an efficient heuristic algorithm for scheduling precedence constrained task graphs with nonnegligible intertask communication onto multiprocessors taking contention in the communication channels into consideration. Our algorithm for obtaining satisfactory suboptimal schedules is based on the classical list scheduling strategy. It simultaneously exploits the schedule-holes generated in the processors and in the communication channels during the scheduling process in order to produce better schedules. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our algorithm by comparing with two competing heuristic algorithms available in the literature. >
Novel Hybrid  ${\hbox{Au}}/{\hbox{Fe}}_{3}{\hbox{O}}_{4}$ Magnetic Octahedron-like Nanoparticles with Tunable Size

Octahedron-like Au/Fe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub> magnetic nanoparticles are synthesized using decomposition of FeO(OH) and HAuCl<sub>4</sub> with the presence of oleic acid in 1-octadecene solvent. In the octahedron-like hybrid particles, Fe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub> mainly displayed the octahedral morphology and spherical Au nanoparticles partially embedded into one side of Fe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub> octahedron. The size of particle could be tuned from 25 to 240 nm for the whole particle (mainly for Fe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub>) and 10 to 40 nm for Au by changing the proportion of the starting materials. The hybrid particles showed the magnetic properties of Fe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub> with dependence on the size of Fe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub> octahedron composite and the proportion of Fe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub> to Au. Coercivity is observed in the hybrid Au/Fe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub> octahedron-like nanoparticles (55 Oe for 25 nm, 135 Oe for 100 nm, and 159 Oe for 240 nm) at room temperature. These size-controllable hybrid Au/Fe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub> magnetic octahedron-like particles, inheriting the advantages of Au and Fe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub> nanoparticles, may evolve as useful building blocks for nano- and micro-electronic applications.
The VM already knew that: leveraging compile-time knowledge to optimize gradual typing

Programmers in dynamic languages wishing to constrain and understand the behavior of their programs may turn to gradually-typed languages, which allow types to be specified optionally and check values at the boundary between dynamic and static code. Unfortunately, the performance cost of these run-time checks can be severe, slowing down execution by at least 10x when checks are present. Modern virtual machines (VMs) for dynamic languages use speculative techniques to improve performance: If a particular value was seen once, it is likely that similar values will be seen in the future. They combine optimization-relevant properties of values into cacheable “shapes”, then use a single shape check to subsume checks for each property. Values with the same memory layout or the same field types have the same shape. This greatly reduces the amount of type checking that needs to be performed at run-time to execute dynamic code. While very valuable to the VM’s optimization, these checks do little to benefit the programmer aside from improving performance. We present in this paper a design for intrinsic object contracts, which makes the obligations of gradually-typed languages’ type checks an intrinsic part of object shapes, and thus can subsume run-time type checks into existing shape checks, eliminating redundant checks entirely. With an implementation on a VM for JavaScript used as a target for SafeTypeScript’s soundness guarantees, we demonstrate slowdown averaging 7% in fully-typed code relative to unchecked code, and no more than 45% in pessimal configurations.