Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Meta-Analysis of Lipid-Lowering Therapy in Maintenance Dialysis Patients

Background/Aims: The use of lipid-lowering therapy (LLT) in patients on chronic dialysis is contentious. Here we present an aggregate data meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) comparing long-term LLT versus placebo in dialysis patients. Method: A search of Medline, Google Scholar, COCHRANE database, EMBASE, and cardiovascular and nephrology society proceedings was performed. Criteria for inclusion were RCTs of LLT versus placebo, in which LLT was demonstrated to significantly reduce low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, >12 months of follow-up, and at least one cardiovascular or mortality endpoint in an independently reported dialysis population. Meta-analysis was performed for atherosclerotic cardiovascular events, stroke and mortality using a random-effects method for odds ratio (OR) of risk. Results: Three studies were included with 7,051 patients (3,541 treatment and 3,510 placebo). Twenty-five percent of the LLT patients suffered an atherosclerotic cardiovascular event versus 27% for placebo. The OR was 0.89 (95% CI: 0.80-0.99, p = 0.04). For stroke (haemorrhagic and non-haemorrhagic combined), the figures were 6.2% (LLT) versus 5.7% (placebo) [OR = 1.11 (95% CI: 0.85-1.46, p = 0.45)]. For all-cause mortality, the figures were 40 versus 42% [OR = 0.97 (95% CI: 0.88-1.06, p = 0.49)]. Conclusion: There was an overall significant reduction in risk for atherosclerotic cardiovascular events in dialysis patients treated with LLT compared to placebo. There was a numerical but not a statistical reduction in mortality. There was no statistically significant increase in risk of stroke as has been previously reported.
9 The Science, Technology, and Applications of Aluminum and Aluminum Alloys

The technology of aluminum seems to grow stronger with competition, stronger in the physical properties of the alloys themselves, and stronger in the dominant role they play in a variety of performance-critical and nonperformance critical applications. Aluminum alloys have been the primary material of choice for the structural components of aircraft since the 1930s and continue to be an outstanding choice for the performance-critical structures of commercial airliners, military cargo, and transport aircraft. Well-established performance characteristics, known fabrication costs, sound and established experience and practices in design, and established manufacturing methods and facilities are the reasons for continued confidence in aluminum alloys that will ensure their sustained use in the years ahead. In the preliminary stages of alloy development, they were developed by trial and error. However, time has resulted in significant advances in our understanding of the relationships between composition, processing, microstructural development, properties, and performance. This knowledge base led to continuous efforts to achieve improvements in properties that are essential for a spectrum of applications. This chapter covers the basic science, availability, production, types, temper designation, physical metallurgy, mechanical behavior with specific reference to microstructural influences on properties, and recent developments in emerging alloys. Finally, engineered products from aluminum alloys and classification of the product forms are discussed.
No Acute Effects of Cannabidiol on the Sleep-Wake Cycle of Healthy Subjects: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Crossover Study

Cannabidiol (CBD) is a component of Cannabis sativa that has a broad spectrum of potential therapeutic effects in neuropsychiatric and other disorders. However, few studies have investigated the possible interference of CBD on the sleep-wake cycle. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of a clinically anxiolytic dose of CBD on the sleep-wake cycle of healthy subjects in a crossover, double-blind design. Twenty-seven healthy volunteers that fulfilled the eligibility criteria were selected and allocated to receive either CBD (300 mg) or placebo in the first night in a double-blind randomized design (one volunteer withdrew from the study). In the second night, the same procedure was performed using the substance that had not been administered in the previous occasion. CBD or placebo were administered 30 min before the start of polysomnography recordings that lasted 8 h. Cognitive and subjective measures were performed immediately after polysomnography to assess possible residual effects of CBD. The drug did not induce any significant effect (p > 0.05). Different from anxiolytic and antidepressant drugs such as benzodiazepines and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, acute administration of an anxiolytic dose of CBD does not seem to interfere with the sleep cycle of healthy volunteers. The present findings support the proposal that CBD do not alter normal sleep architecture. Future studies should address the effects of CBD on the sleep-wake cycle of patient populations as well as in clinical trials with larger samples and chronic use of different doses of CBD. Such studies are desirable and opportune.
Macrophage dysfunction initiates colitis during weaning of infant mice lacking the interleukin-10 receptor

Infants with defects in the interleukin 10 receptor (IL10R) develop very early onset inflammatory bowel disease. Whether IL10R regulates lamina propria macrophage function during infant development in mice and whether macrophage-intrinsic IL10R signaling is required to prevent colitis in infancy is unknown. Here we show that although signs of colitis are absent in IL10R-deficient mice during the first two weeks of life, intestinal inflammation and macrophage dysfunction begin during the third week of life, concomitant with weaning and accompanying diversification of the intestinal microbiota. However, IL10R did not directly regulate the microbial ecology during infant development. Interestingly, macrophage depletion with clodronate inhibited the development of colitis, while the absence of IL10R specifically on macrophages sensitized infant mice to the development of colitis. These results indicate that IL10R-mediated regulation of macrophage function during the early postnatal period is indispensable for preventing the development of murine colitis. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.7554/eLife.27652. 001
Multispectral image characterization by partial generalized covariance

A general method is presented for the assessment of data attribute variability, which plays an important role in initial screening of multi- and high-dimensional data sets. Instead of the commonly used sec- ond centralized moment, known as variance, the proposed method allows a mathematically rigorous characterization of attribute sensitivity given not only Euclidean distances but partial data comparisons by general sim- ilarity measures. Depending on the choice of measure dierent spectral
Video Based Face Recognition By Support Vector Machines

In this paper a video based face recognition system by support vector machines is presented. Stereovision is used to coarsely segment face area from its background, and then multiple-related template matching method is used to locate and track the face area in the video finely to generate face samples of that particular person. Face recognition algorithms are based on Support Vector Machines of which both “1 vs. many” and “1 vs. 1” strategies are discussed. Experimental results over a database of 100 clients are reported.
Overexpression screen reveals transcription factors involved in lipid accumulation in Yarrowia lipolytica

Yarrowia lipolytica is a non-conventional oleaginous yeast that displays high lipid titers and yields; its production capacity holds significant promise for industrial biolipid applications. While its lipid metabolism has been widely studied, little is known about its transcriptional regulatory network. Deciphering the role of transcriptional regulators is crucial for understanding lipid accumulation, a complex phenomenon. To identify the transcription factors involved in lipid metabolism, we developed a systematic overexpression approach for 148 putative transcription factors. Analyses of overexpressing transformants revealed that 38 had an impact on lipid accumulation under at least one of the growth conditions tested. For most of these factors, our results provide the first experimentally determined functional annotation. Our data suggest that the regulation network differs depending on the carbon source, which is critical information when carrying out industrial bioprocesses. These results will therefore help guide further rational metabolic engineering for improving biolipid production by Y. lipolytica. Moreover, this work has created the largest collection of Y. lipolytica overexpressing strains to date, which will be useful in phenotype screening.
Growth and characterization of gallium nitride nanowire LEDs for application as on-chip optical interconnects

Gallium nitride (GaN) nanowires have potential as nanoscale optoelectronic building blocks that can be functionally integrated with silicon MEMS and IC devices. This dissertation presents an overview of the synthesis, characterization, and application of GaN nanowire lightemitting-diodes (LEDs) grown by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). Specifically, this research demonstrates discrete axial p-n junction nanowires that produce ultra-violet (UV) electroluminescence at ~40 nW optical power. It further demonstrates that a two-nanowire optical interconnect device can be fabricated from axial p-n junction nanowires with lightemitting and photoconductive capabilities. The nanowire structures obtained from MBE growth were found to depend sensitively on the morphology and crystallographic polarity of the underlying Aluminum Nitride (AlN) nucleation layer. These observations were enabled by piezoresponse force microscopy, which was developed and validated against polarity sensitive etching using uniform and mixed polarity AlN layers. The polarity and overall morphology of the AlN layers could be controlled by the V/III flux ratio and substrate temperature during MBE growth. GaN nanowires were observed to propagate the structural characteristics and crystallographic polarity of the underlying AlN layer, and in some cases a differential growth rate with respect to polarity was observed. iv Band-edge electroluminescence was obtained in axial p-n junction nanowires that incorporated a thin AlGaN electron blocking layer in the p-region of the device. Electroluminescence was below detection limits for p-n junction nanowires with no blocking layer, despite diode-like I-V characteristics and optically measured internal quantum efficiencies (IQEs) of ~1 %. I-V measurements of the p-regions in p-n junction nanowires, as well as nanowires doped with Mg only, indicate low p-type conductivity and asymmetric Schottky-like p-contacts. These observations, in conjunction with device models, suggest that imbalanced carrier injection from the junction and p-contact can produce significant non-radiative losses. The role of the blocking layer in these devices is attributed to a reduction in the electron overflow current, which permits larger biasing and increased hole injection at the p-contact. This dissertation also discusses the fabrication, device characteristics, and optical coupling of a two-nanowire device comprising GaN nanowires with light-emitting and photoconductive capabilities. Axial p-n junctions were transferred to a non-native substrate, and selectively contacted to form discrete optical source or detector nanowire components. The performance of the individual nanowires was characterized by electroluminescence measurements and spectrally-resolved photoconductivity measurements, which were then compared with the
An Evaluation of Function of Multicopy Noncoding RNAs in Mammals Using ENCODE/FANTOM Data and Comparative Genomics

Abstract Mammalian diversification has coincided with a rapid proliferation of various types of noncoding RNAs, including members of both snRNAs and snoRNAs. The significance of this expansion however remains obscure. While some ncRNA copy‐number expansions have been linked to functionally tractable effects, such events may equally likely be neutral, perhaps as a result of random retrotransposition. Hindering progress in our understanding of such observations is the difficulty in establishing function for the diverse features that have been identified in our own genome. Projects such as ENCODE and FANTOM have revealed a hidden world of genomic expression patterns, as well as a host of other potential indicators of biological function. However, such projects have been criticized, particularly from practitioners in the field of molecular evolution, where many suspect these data provide limited insight into biological function. The molecular evolution community has largely taken a skeptical view, thus it is important to establish tests of function. We use a range of data, including data drawn from ENCODE and FANTOM, to examine the case for function for the recent copy number expansion in mammals of six evolutionarily ancient RNA families involved in splicing and rRNA maturation. We use several criteria to assess evidence for function: conservation of sequence and structure, genomic synteny, evidence for transposition, and evidence for species‐specific expression. Applying these criteria, we find that only a minority of loci show strong evidence for function and that, for the majority, we cannot reject the null hypothesis of no function.
The study of electrical characteristics of heterojunction based on ZnO nanowires using ultrahigh-vacuum conducting atomic force microscopy

The electrical performances of the heterojunction of n-ZnO nanowires with p-Si substrate at the nanometer scale have been characterized using an ultrahigh-vacuum conducting atomic force microscopy. Compared with the expected values of 1.0–2.0 reported in p-n junction in the previous studies, the abnormally high diode ideality factor 2 was obtained. It elucidates that a ZnO–Si p-n junction can be modeled by a series of diodes, the actual ZnO–Si junction diode and two Schottky diodes at the metal/ZnO and metal/Si junctions. The tunneling across p-n junction would also play a role in the externally measured high ideality factor. © 2007 American Institute of Physics. DOI: 10.1063/1.2821831
Impact of Metformin on Endothelial Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury in Humans In Vivo: A Prospective Randomized Open, Blinded-Endpoint Study

Introduction Large prospective studies in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus have demonstrated that metformin treatment improves cardiovascular prognosis, independent of glycemic control. Administration of metformin potently limits infarct size in murine models of myocardial infarction. This study examined, for the first time in humans, whether metformin limits ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury in vivo using a well-validated forearm model of endothelial IR-injury. Methods Twenty-eight healthy volunteers (age 41±6 years, 10 male/16 female) were randomized between pretreatment with metformin (500 mg three times a day for 3 days) or no treatment in a Prospective Randomized Open Blinded Endpoint study. Brachial artery flow mediated dilation (FMD) was measured before and after 20 minutes of forearm ischemia and 20 minutes of reperfusion. FMD analysis was performed offline by investigators blinded for the treatment arm. Results Baseline FMD did not differ between metformin pretreatment and no pretreatment (6.9±3.6% and 6.1±3.5%, respectively, p = 0.27, n = 26). FMD was significantly lower after forearm IR in both treatment arms (4.4±3.3% and 4.3±2.8%, respectively, P<0.001 in both conditions). A linear mixed model analysis revealed that metformin treatment did not prevent the decrease in FMD by IR. Conclusion A 3 day treatment with metformin in healthy, middle-aged subjects does not protect against endothelial IR-injury, measured with brachial artery FMD after forearm ischemia. Further studies are needed to clarify what mechanism underlies the cardiovascular benefit of metformin treatment. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01610401
Graphene‐Based MicroRNA Transfection Blocks Preosteoclast Fusion to Increase Bone Formation and Vascularization

The objective of this study is to design a graphene‐based miRNA transfection drug delivery system for antiresorptive therapy. An efficient nonviral gene delivery system is developed using polyethylenimine (PEI) functionalized graphene oxide (GO) complex loaded with miR‐7b overexpression plasmid. GO‐PEI complex exhibits excellent transfection efficiency within the acceptable range of cytotoxicity. The overexpression of miR‐7b after GO‐PEI‐miR‐7b transfection significantly abrogates osteoclast (OC) fusion and bone resorption activity by hampering the expression of an essential fusogenic molecule dendritic cell‐specific transmembrane protein. However, osteoclastogenesis occurs without cell–cell fusion and preosteoclast (POC) is preserved. Through preservation of POC, GO‐PEI‐miR‐7b transfection promotes mesenchymal stem cell osteogenesis and endothelial progenitor cells angiogenesis in the coculture system. Platelet‐derived growth factor‐BB secreted by POC is increased by GO‐PEI‐miR‐7b both in vitro and in vivo. In treating osteoporotic ovariectomized mice, GO‐PEI‐miR‐7b significantly enhances bone mineral density, bone volume as well as bone vascularization through increasing CD31hiEmcnhi cell number. This study provides a cell–cell fusion targeted miRNA transfection drug delivery strategy in treating bone disorders with excessive osteoclastic bone resorption.
An algorithm for risk stratification of preterm infants

Preterm infants have a higher incidence of life-threatening events including apnea (cessation of breathing), bradycardia (slowing of heart rate) and hypoxemia (oxygen de-saturation). In Neonatal Intensive Care Units, clinicians face a demanding task of assessing the risk of these infants based on their physiological signals. In this study, we propose an algorithm of heart rate dynamics that could potentially be employed for risk stratification of preterm infants. We collected and analysed heart rate (HR) measures in beats per minute (bpm) in 18 preterm infants for 24 hours during oxygen therapy. We investigated whether the HR fluctuations in the first one hour could predict the number of bradycardia events N (i.e. HR below 100 bpm) in the subsequent 23 hours. Since RR intervals estimated from HR (i.e. RR = 60/HR) in seconds follow a lognormal distribution, we employed an algorithm based on a point process modelling framework to capture HR fluctuations. We found that the instantaneous variance σ2(t) calculated by the point process model for the first 1-hour correlates significantly with N. We also found that σ2(t) correlates with number of hypoxemia in the subsequent 23 hours. Thus, we conclude that the fluctuations in the HR data captured using a point process model can be used to predict life threatening events.
Supportive and Intrusive Parenting During Early Childhood: Relations With Children’s Fear Temperament and Sex

The current study examined the extent to which child sex and fear reactivity were linked to mothers’ observed use of supportive and intrusive parenting behaviors. Two dimensions of observed fear reactivity were considered: distress (i.e., fearfulness) and approach (i.e., fearlessness). The sample consisted of 160 predominantly African American, low-income families that included mothers, 1 sibling approximately 2 years old, and the closest age older sibling who was approximately 4 years old. Results from fixed-effects within-family models indicated that above and beyond the main effect of child engagement on observed parenting behaviors, child sex moderated associations between 2 dimensions of fear reactivity and mothers’ observed parenting. Specifically, mothers were observed to be less supportive during interactions with girls rated as high on fear approach and more intrusive during interactions with girls rated as high on fear distress. These patterns suggest that during early childhood, girls’ individual characteristics may be more closely linked to mothers’ parenting quality than are boys’ characteristics.
Off - forward quark distributions of the nucleon in the large N(c) limit

We study the off-forward quark distributions (OFQD's) in the chiral quark-soliton model of the nucleon. This model is based on the large-${N}_{c}$ picture of the nucleon as a soliton of the effective chiral Lagrangian and allows one to calculate the leading twist quark and antiquark distributions at a low normalization point. We demonstrate the consistency of the approach by checking various sum rules for the OFQD's. We present numerical estimates of the isosinglet distribution $H(x,\ensuremath{\xi},{\ensuremath{\Delta}}^{2})$. In contrast with other approaches we find a strong qualitative dependence on the longitudinal momentum transfer, $\ensuremath{\xi}$. In particular, $H(x,\ensuremath{\xi},{\ensuremath{\Delta}}^{2})$ as a function of $x$ exhibits fast crossovers at $|x|=\ensuremath{\xi}/2$. Such behavior could lead to a considerable enhancement of the deeply virtual Compton scattering cross section.
Reducing Specific Phobia/Fear in Young People with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) through a Virtual Reality Environment Intervention

Anxiety is common in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), with specific fears and phobias one of the most frequent subtypes. Specific fears and phobias can have a serious impact on young people with ASD and their families. In this study we developed and evaluated a unique treatment combining cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) with graduated exposure in a virtual reality environment (VRE). Nine verbally fluent boys with an ASD diagnosis and no reported learning disability, aged 7 to 13 years old, were recruited. Each had anxiety around a specific situation (e.g. crowded buses) or stimulus (e.g. pigeons). An individualised scene was recreated in our ‘wrap-around’ VRE. In the VRE participants were coached by a psychologist in cognitive and behavioural techniques (e.g. relaxation and breathing exercises) while the exposure to the phobia/fear stimulus was gradually increased as the child felt ready. Each child received four 20–30 minute sessions. After participating in the study, eight of the nine children were able to tackle their phobia situation. Four of the participants completely overcame their phobia. Treatment effects were maintained at 12 months. These results provide evidence that CBT with VRE can be a highly effective treatment for specific phobia/fear for some young people with ASD. Trial Registration Controlled-Trials.com ISRCTN58483069.
Genomic Signatures of Reinforcement

Reinforcement is the process by which selection against hybridization increases reproductive isolation between taxa. Much research has focused on demonstrating the existence of reinforcement, yet relatively little is known about the genetic basis of reinforcement or the evolutionary conditions under which reinforcement can occur. Inspired by reinforcement’s characteristic phenotypic pattern of reproductive trait divergence in sympatry but not in allopatry, we discuss whether reinforcement also leaves a distinct genomic pattern. First, we describe three patterns of genetic variation we expect as a consequence of reinforcement. Then, we discuss a set of alternative processes and complicating factors that may make the identification of reinforcement at the genomic level difficult. Finally, we consider how genomic analyses can be leveraged to inform if and to what extent reinforcement evolved in the face of gene flow between sympatric lineages and between allopatric and sympatric populations of the same lineage. Our major goals are to understand if genome scans for particular patterns of genetic variation could identify reinforcement, isolate the genetic basis of reinforcement, or infer the conditions under which reinforcement evolved.