Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Reduction in duration of hypoglycemia by automatic suspension of insulin delivery: the in-clinic ASPIRE study.

BACKGROUND The efficacy of automatic suspension of insulin delivery in induced hypoglycemia among subjects with type 1 diabetes was evaluated. SUBJECTS AND METHODS In this randomized crossover study, subjects used a sensor-augmented insulin pump system with a low glucose suspend (LGS) feature that automatically stops insulin delivery for 2 h following a sensor glucose (SG) value ≤70 mg/dL. Subjects fasted overnight and exercised until their plasma glucose (measured with the YSI 2300 STAT Plus™ glucose and lactate analyzer [YSI Life Sciences, Yellow Springs, OH]) value reached ≤85 mg/dL on different occasions separated by washout periods lasting 3-10 days. Exercise sessions were done with the LGS feature turned on (LGS-On) or with continued insulin delivery regardless of SG value (LGS-Off). The order of LGS-On and LGS-Off sessions was randomly assigned. YSI glucose data were used to compare the duration and severity of hypoglycemia from successful LGS-On and LGS-Off sessions and to estimate the risk of rebound hyperglycemia after pump suspension. RESULTS Fifty subjects attempted 134 sessions, 98 of which were successful. The mean±SD hypoglycemia duration was less during LGS-On than during LGS-Off sessions (138.5±76.68 vs. 170.7±75.91 min, P=0.006). During LGS-On compared with LGS-Off sessions, mean nadir YSI glucose was higher (59.5±5.72 vs. 57.6±5.69 mg/dL, P=0.015), as was mean end-observation YSI glucose (91.4±41.84 vs. 66.2±13.48 mg/dL, P<0.001). Most (53.2%) end-observation YSI glucose values in LGS-On sessions were in the 70-180 mg/dL range, and none was >250 mg/dL. CONCLUSIONS Automatic suspension of insulin delivery significantly reduced the duration and severity of induced hypoglycemia without causing rebound hyperglycemia.
Melanin from the Nitrogen-Fixing Bacterium Azotobacter chroococcum: A Spectroscopic Characterization

Melanins, the ubiquitous hetero-polymer pigments found widely dispersed among various life forms, are usually dark brown/black in colour. Although melanins have variety of biological functions, including protection against ultraviolet radiation of sunlight and are used in medicine, cosmetics, extraction of melanin from the animal and plant kingdoms is not an easy task. Using complementary physicochemical techniques (i.e. MALDI-TOF, FTIR absorption and cross-polarization magic angle spinning solid-state 13C NMR), we report here the characterization of melanins extracted from the nitrogen-fixing non-virulent bacterium Azotobacter chroococcum, a safe viable source. Moreover, considering dihydroxyindole moiety as the main constituent, an effort is made to propose the putative molecular structure of the melanin hetero-polymer extracted from the bacterium. Characterization of the melanin obtained from Azotobacter chroococcum would provide an inspiration in extending research activities on these hetero-polymers and their use as protective agent against UV radiation.
Magnetism from conductors and enhanced nonlinear phenomena

We show that microstructures built from nonmagnetic conducting sheets exhibit an effective magnetic permeability /spl mu//sub eff/, which can be tuned to values not accessible in naturally occurring materials, including large imaginary components of /spl mu//sub eff/. The microstructure is on a scale much less than the wavelength of radiation, is not resolved by incident microwaves, and uses a very low density of metal so that structures can be extremely lightweight. Most of the structures are resonant due to internal capacitance and inductance, and resonant enhancement combined with compression of electrical energy into a very small volume greatly enhances the energy density at critical locations in the structure, easily by factors of a million and possibly by much more. Weakly nonlinear materials placed at these critical locations will show greatly enhanced effects raising the possibility of manufacturing active structures whose properties can be switched at will between many states.
Do international non-governmental organizations inhibit globalization? The case of capital account liberalization in developing countries

Why do countries liberalize capital controls? The literature identifies a range of possible reasons. Yet, despite considerable advances, the impact of international non-governmental organizations has yet to be considered. In fact, surprisingly, systematic analysis of the role of international non-governmental organizations in the diffusion of economic openness, financial or otherwise, has not been pursued previously. We offer the first such analysis by advancing the idea of ‘climatic mimesis,’ which refers to the cultural climate for policymaking that results from country ties to international non-governmental organizations. International non-governmental organizations shape capital account regulation by altering the cultural climate in a country such that liberalization becomes a more problematic policy choice. Our statistical analysis of data from developing countries reveals that international non-governmental organization ties inhibited liberalization, as did relatively high public debt and concentrated domestic banking sectors. The presence of an International Monetary Fund program and liberalization by economic competitors encouraged it. We suggest that these findings have important implications for understanding the potential for convergence and divergence in an era of globalization.
Microcosms of Democracy? A Study of the Internal Governance of International NGOs in Kenya1

An assumption prevails within the international development community that direct exposure to democracy within civil society is a necessary condition for democratic political culture and hence democratic consolidation. International non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are considered key players in providing this direct exposure through the associational opportunities they provide and the democratic values they espouse. Yet, there is little empirical research on the internal governance of these organizations. Have they the potential to act as ‘schools of democracy’ as postulated by de Tocqueville? Or do their governance structures reflect patterns of domination within the societies in which they are embedded? This article presents the internal governance structures of 36 international NGOs in Kenya. Survey results show that the majority of NGOs occupy authoritarian or mid-range positions on a democracy/authoritarianism scale. This has wide implications for the democratic socialization possibilities of NGOs as well as the development paradigm in general.
Performance analysis of comercial simulation-based optimization packages: OptQuest and Witness Optimizer

The objective of this study is to evaluate and compare two commercial simulation-based optimization packages, OptQuest and Witness Optimizer, to determine their relative performance based on the quality of obtained solutions in a reasonable computational effort. Two well-known benchmark problems, the pull manufacturing system and the inventory system, are used to evaluate and compare the performance of OptQuest and Witness Optimizer. Significant validation efforts are made to ensure that simulation models developed in Arena and Witness are identical. The experimental results indicate that both optimization packages have good performance on the given problems. Both packages found near-global optimal (or satisfactory) solutions in an acceptable computation time.
A field study of the effects of rating purpose on the quality of multisource ratings.

Using a field sample of peers and subordinates, the current study employed generalizability theory to estimate sources of systematic variability associated with both developmental and administrative ratings (variance due to items, raters, etc.) and then used these values to estimate the dependability (i.e., reliability) of the performance ratings under various conditions. Results indicated that the combined rater and rater-by-ratee interaction effect and the residual effect were substantially larger than the person effect (i.e., object of measurement) for both rater sources across both purpose conditions. For subordinates, the person effect accounted for a significantly greater percentage of total variance in developmental ratings than in administrative ratings; however, no differences were observed for peer ratings as a function of rating purpose. These results suggest that subordinate ratings are of significantly better quality when made for developmental than for administrative purposes, but the same is not true for peer ratings.
Manual rotation training improves direction-estimations in a virtual environmental space

This study investigated in a virtual environment, whether the training of a small-scale ability, i.e., manual or mental rotation, has an influence on the large-scale ability to estimate a direction. Ninety-six participants completed a direction estimation task as a pretest and then received either a manual rotation or a mental rotation training or played a nonspatial computer game. After that they completed the direction estimation task once again. The results showed that the direction estimation error decreased from the pre- to posttest only for the manual rotation training group. For that, the small-scale spatial ability was at least partially related to the large-scale ability, which supports the Partial Dissociation Model.
Towards understanding teachers’ beliefs and affects about mathematical modelling

Work in progress on a framework aiming at capturing teachers’ beliefs about mathematical models and modelling is presented. It is suggested that the belief structure of mathematical models and modelling as perceived by teachers fruitfully might be explored as partly constituted of the teachers’ beliefs about the real world, the nature of mathematics, school mathematics, and applying and applications of mathematics. Some aspects of the suggested framework are explored using two case study interviews. It is found that the two teachers do not have any well formed beliefs about mathematical models and modelling, and that the interpreted beliefs structure of the teachers contain inconsistencies which are made explicit within the framework. The empiric findings also suggest some modifications of the framework.
Vessel scale-selection using MRF optimization

Many feature detection algorithms rely on the choice of scale. In this paper, we complement standard scale-selection algorithms with spatial regularization. To this end, we formulate scale-selection as a graph labeling problem and employ Markov random field multi-label optimization. We focus on detecting the scales of vascular structures in medical images. We compare the detected vessel scales using our method to those obtained using the selection approach of the well-known vesselness filter (Frangi et al 1998). We propose and discuss two different approaches for evaluating the goodness of scale-selection. Our results on 40 images from the Digital Retinal Images for Vessel Extraction (DRIVE) database show an average reduction in these error measurements by more than 15%.
Managing the ambiguous and conflicting identities of `upline' and `downline' in a network marketing firm

This is a study of how ambiguous identities are interactionally managed in network marketing discourse. Network marketing, as an enterprise `using' friendship to promote products, has been notorious for its exploitative use of interpersonal meaning. In this study, the interactions between supervisors (known as `uplines') and subordinates (known as `downlines') in network marketing firms have been studied and their relationship was found to be ambiguous and conflicting. On the one hand, they are `friends' because of the strong emphasis on rapport and harmony in the philosophy of network marketing; on the other hand, the supervisors have to regulate their downlines, which unfortunately lacks the legitimacy found in traditional business firms, as neither of them is an employee of their company. These ambiguous and conflicting identities motivate the participants to mobilize pertinent identities so as to manage conflicts, justify themselves and resume control. Previous research has shown that identities are both interactionally and retrospectively constructed. This study adds to our understanding that identities are not only products of interactions but that they are also interactional resources, which can be mobilized by participants to achieve their goals, although the identity mobilization does not always result in harmony owing to the inherent incompatiblity of the identities invoked. Implications for identity formation in contemporary firms are also drawn.
The Effect of Adding Dexmedetomidine to Levobupivacaine for Interscalene Block for Postoperative Pain Management After Arthroscopic Shoulder Surgery

Objective:Arthroscopic subacromial decompression may cause substantial postoperative pain. We undertook a randomized controlled trial to examine whether adding dexmedetomidine to the local anesthetic in an interscalene brachial plexus block and subsequent patient-controlled interscalene analgesia (PCIA) regime improved postoperative pain scores, patient satisfaction, rescue analgesic requirement, and local anesthetic consumption. Methods:A total of 48 patients aged between 18 and 65 years undergoing arthroscopic subacromial decompression were enrolled and randomized into 1 of the 2 groups. Group L (n=25) received levobupivacaine and epinephrine, whereas Group LD (n=23) received levobupivacaine, epinephrine, and dexmedetomidine through an interscalene catheter. Four hours after surgery, a PCIA regime was commenced. In Group L patients were administered levobupivacaine and in Group LD levobupivacaine and dexmedetomidine. Demographic and hemodynamic data, duration of motor and sensory blocks, pain VAS, side effects, PCIA demand and delivery values, consumption of lornoxicam as a rescue analgesic, and patient satisfaction were recorded for 24 hours after surgery. Results:PCIA demand and delivery, and pain VAS values were significantly lower, and patient satisfaction was significantly higher in the dexmedetomidine group (P=0.004, 0.001, 0.004, and 0.002, respectively). The side effect profile was similar between the groups. Levobupivacaine consumption was significantly lower in Group LD (P=0.009). In the first 24 postoperative hours, Group LD consumed significantly less lornoxicam (P=0.01). Discussion:Addition of dexmedetomidine to levobupivacaine for interscalene brachial plexus block decreases pain scores and increases patient satisfaction after arthroscopic subacromial decompression.
Hierarchical Landmark Charting

In this paper, we propose Hierarchical Landmark Charting (HLC) for discovering low-dimensional structures underlying high-dimensional data sets with large numbers of data objects. The ﬁrst step of the algorithm is to partition the input data in a multi-resolution based on the geodesic distances between the points. Each data partition can be embedded individually by classical multidimensional scaling (MDS) algorithm and then aligned into a single embedding. The HLC algorithm has an advantage over Landmark MDS (LMDS) in term of storage since its memory requirements are independent of the number of data sets. We demonstrate HLC by applying it to various Swiss roll data sets ranging between 500 and 500,000 points.
Hepatocellular Carcinoma in the Elderly: Clinical Characteristics, Treatment, Survival Analysis in Korean Patients Older than 70 Years

The prevalence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has increased in recent years. However, HCC remains poorly characterized in elderly patients, and comprehensive data are limited. This study aimed to investigate the clinical characteristics, prognostic features and survival outcome of elderly HCC patients. We retrospectively analyzed 992 HCC patients treated at Dongsan Hospital from January 2003 to December 2007. The patients were divided into two age groups: < 70 yr (n = 813) and ≥ 70 yr (n = 179). Elderly HCC patients, compared to younger patients, had significantly higher incidence of females (31.3% vs 18.9%, P = 0.001), hepatitis C-related disease (HCV antibody positivity 26.3% vs 9.2%, P = 0.001) and comorbid condition (53.6% vs 32.1%), but lower rates of hepatitis B-related disease (HBs antigen positivity 31.3% vs 69.4%, P = 0.001). There were no significant differences in underlying liver function, stage and survival outcomes. Factors significantly influencing the prognosis of HCC were Child-Pugh grade, number of HCC, level of alpha-fetoprotein, presence of metastasis. The survival outcome of older patients with HCC was not different from that of younger patients. There were no differences between groups in independent factors influencing the prognosis of HCC. Therefore, determining the optimal management strategy for elderly HCC patients is important to improve survival and long-term outcomes.
Optimized mtDNA Control Region Primer Extension Capture Analysis for Forensically Relevant Samples and Highly Compromised mtDNA of Different Age and Origin

The analysis of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) has proven useful in forensic genetics and ancient DNA (aDNA) studies, where specimens are often highly compromised and DNA quality and quantity are low. In forensic genetics, the mtDNA control region (CR) is commonly sequenced using established Sanger-type Sequencing (STS) protocols involving fragment sizes down to approximately 150 base pairs (bp). Recent developments include Massively Parallel Sequencing (MPS) of (multiplex) PCR-generated libraries using the same amplicon sizes. Molecular genetic studies on archaeological remains that harbor more degraded aDNA have pioneered alternative approaches to target mtDNA, such as capture hybridization and primer extension capture (PEC) methods followed by MPS. These assays target smaller mtDNA fragment sizes (down to 50 bp or less), and have proven to be substantially more successful in obtaining useful mtDNA sequences from these samples compared to electrophoretic methods. Here, we present the modification and optimization of a PEC method, earlier developed for sequencing the Neanderthal mitochondrial genome, with forensic applications in mind. Our approach was designed for a more sensitive enrichment of the mtDNA CR in a single tube assay and short laboratory turnaround times, thus complying with forensic practices. We characterized the method using sheared, high quantity mtDNA (six samples), and tested challenging forensic samples (n = 2) as well as compromised solid tissue samples (n = 15) up to 8 kyrs of age. The PEC MPS method produced reliable and plausible mtDNA haplotypes that were useful in the forensic context. It yielded plausible data in samples that did not provide results with STS and other MPS techniques. We addressed the issue of contamination by including four generations of negative controls, and discuss the results in the forensic context. We finally offer perspectives for future research to enable the validation and accreditation of the PEC MPS method for final implementation in forensic genetic laboratories.
Global Mapping of the Yeast Genetic Interaction Network

A genetic interaction network containing ∼1000 genes and ∼4000 interactions was mapped by crossing mutations in 132 different query genes into a set of ∼4700 viable gene yeast deletion mutants and scoring the double mutant progeny for fitness defects. Network connectivity was predictive of function because interactions often occurred among functionally related genes, and similar patterns of interactions tended to identify components of the same pathway. The genetic network exhibited dense local neighborhoods; therefore, the position of a gene on a partially mapped network is predictive of other genetic interactions. Because digenic interactions are common in yeast, similar networks may underlie the complex genetics associated with inherited phenotypes in other organisms.
Production of Alkaline Cellulase by Fungi Isolated from an Undisturbed Rain Forest of Peru

Alkaline cellulase producing fungi were isolated from soils of an undisturbed rain forest of Peru. The soil dilution plate method was used for the enumeration and isolation of fast growing cellulolytic fungi on an enriched selective medium. Eleven out of 50 different morphological colonies were finally selected by using the plate clearing assay with CMC as substrate at different pH values. All 11 strains produced cellulases in liquid culture with activities at alkaline pH values without an apparent decrease of them indicating that they are true alkaline cellulase producers. Aspergillus sp. LM-HP32, Penicillium sp. LM-HP33, and Penicillium sp. LM-HP37 were the best producers of FP cellulase (>3 U mL−1) with higher specific productivities (>30 U g−1 h−1). Three strains have been found suitable for developing processes for alkaline cellulase production. Soils from Amazonian rain forests are good sources of industrial fungi with particular characteristics. The results of the present study are of commercial and biological interest. Alkaline cellulases may be used in the polishing and washing of denim processing of the textile industry.
A Decline in the Quality of Debate? The Evolution of Cognitive Complexity in Swiss Parliamentary Debates on Immigration (1968–2014)

This article explores the evolution of debate quality in the Swiss parliament. Focusing on immigration debates, we employ a psychological construct—cognitive complexity (CC)—which captures both epistemic and accommodative dimensions of political argumentation. We find a decrease in CC in parliamentary immigration debates over time, but this decrease was driven by the rise of the SVP (Swiss People's Party). However, there was almost no “spillover” of this new communication style to other parties. Moreover, we also find a constant difference between the Standerat and the Nationalrat, with the former scoring higher on CC and thus asserting its role as a “chambre de reflexion” in immigration debates. Our diachronic focus on the quality of political debate takes a novel perspective on the dynamics of consensus democracy as well as on elite political culture. While our results indicate that the rise of the SVP has transformed the traditional consensual and deliberative pattern of Swiss policy-making style into one which is geared towards less accommodation and a higher simplicity of political talk, there is still remarkable resilience against this new style of political interaction.