Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Insulin Resistance in End Stage Renal Disease

1 Postgraduate, Department of General Medicine, Rajarajeswari Medical College and Hospital, Bangalore 2 Professor, Department of General Medicine, Rajarajeswari Medical College and Hospital, Bangalore Abstract Introduction: Insulin resistance (IR) is a risk factor for Cardiovascular mortality in ESRD patients. This study measured IR in patients with ESRD using homeostasis model assessment (HOMA)–IR model, and then derived insulin sensitivity (HOMA-%S) and beta cell function (HOMA-%B). Material: The study was done between December 2016 and May 2017. Participants were divided into 2 groups: CKD stage V not on dialysis (CKDV-ND) and CKD V on hemodialysis (CKDVD). Fasting blood glucose, fasting insulin level and c-peptide were measured and IR, HOMA-%S, HOMA-%B were calculated by HOMA using Insulin level (IR-Ins) and C-peptide (IR-cp) level. GFR<15ml/min/1.73m2 was used to define ESRD. Observations: The study included 20 patients in CKDV-ND and 22 patients in CKDVD group. The mean HOMA scores of IR-Ins were 0.56 ± 0.1 and 1.37 ± 0.9, while mean IR-cp were 5.1 ± 2.1 and 3.2 ± 1.7 in CKDVD and CKDVND groups respectively (p<0.01). Mean fasting plasma insulin levels were 9.8 ± 6.3 μU/mL in CKDV-ND, and 4.35 ± 0.7 μU/mL in CKDVD group (p<0.001). The HOMA-%B values were not statistically significant between groups (p=0.16), but HOMA-%S levels were significantly higher in the CKDVD group (P<0.001). The HOMA-%B using c-peptide was significantly higher in the CKDVD group (p<0.001). The IR-ins showed significant association with CRP levels in both the groups (p<0.05). IR-cp was significantly higher in the both the groups compared to IR-Ins (p<0.001), and was higher in the CKDVD group (p<0.001). Conclusion: IR-Ins was decreased in CKDVD group compared to CKDV-ND, while IR-cp was higher in the dialysis group. Insulin sensitivity and beta cell function were also better in the dialysis group. This could reflect altered insulin dynamics or better control of uremia with dialysis. Measurement of IR using c-peptide could be a better method in patients with CKD.
Intrarural Variation in Mental Health Status and Help-Seeking of Veterans in the Upper Midwest

Rural-urban disparities in the prevalence of mental disorders and in access to mental health care among veterans have been documented, but no consistent pattern has emerged. Mixed research findings may be because of broad distinctions between rural and urban that mask intrarural variation in veteran mental health. This study explored the extent to which location and veteran status predict lifetime prevalence of mental illness (depression and anxiety or panic attacks), delayed help seeking for an emotional problem, binge drinking, and general health. We analyzed survey data from a regionally representative survey of residents of 9 counties in northeastern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin (N = 4,050). Generalized linear models were used to analyze the effects of veteran status, location, and an interaction term on 5 dependent variables. Veterans in the sample (n = 124) were more rural, older, and more male than nonveterans. Within the subgroup of veterans, those who lived in the most rural areas reported the lowest lifetime prevalence of depression and the best general health. Compared with nonveterans, veterans living in the least rural areas reported poorer general health and significantly higher lifetime rates of depression. Our findings show a health advantage for the most rural veterans, extending previous research by analyzing intrarural variation in a community-based sample of veterans. Analyses of more refined geographic categories are needed to identify meaningful disparity patterns and inform community-based interventions to promote veteran mental health.
Disease outcome of oral and oropharyngeal squamous cellcarcinoma based on virological risk stratification.

Introduction: Oral Cancer is the 9th most common cancer worldwide among men; it is the 6th most common cancer in the developing nations. Oral cancer ranks 2nd most common cancer among men in the South Central Asia region of which India is a part. In Chennai, head and neck cancers form about 20% of the cancer burden among men and a little less than 10% among women. The incidence rates of Oropharyngeal and Oral Cancers for men, of the total head and neck cancers, were 10% and 45% respectively. Traditional aetiology for head and neck cancers included tobacco and alcohol usage. But recently, infection with HPV was found to be an aetiological agent. Aims and Objectives The aim of our study was to study the relationship of HPV infection to oral and oropharyngeal cancers. We wished to study the association between risk factors of HNSCC and HPV positivity, to evaluate the occurrence of premalignant lesions associated with HPV and to study the effect of HPV positivity on the aggressiveness of the disease and response to treatment. Methods and Materials Based on the literature, we chose to divide the patients into 2 groups – HPV positive and negative. Sample size was calculated to be 18 in each group. All patients who were proven squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity and the oropharynx, treatment naive and who did not have distant metastasis were included in the study. Patients with recurrence/metastasis were excluded from the study. Association of premalignant conditions of leukoplakia, erythroplakia and submucous fibrosis were looked at in relation to HPV infection. Various factors such as tobacco/alcohol use, HPV infection and response to therapy were looked at in oral/oropharyngeal cancers. Results 49 patients were available for HPV analysis, of which 2 patients’ samples tested positive for HPV. There was no association found between HPV positivity and response to therapy. Also, both patients who were HPV positive had used tobacco. One patient who was HPV positive had associated Submucous Fibrosis. Conclusion There is need to do more research in this field to clarify the role of HPV in Oral/Oropharyngeal Cancers in the Indian setting. Future studies looking at HPV would require having strict inclusion criteria. Molecular profiling of these cancers based on p16 and p53 may further shed light on this emerging area of research.
BIO015859 452..460

The Deleted in liver cancer 1 (Dlc1) gene codes for a Rho GTPaseactivating protein that also acts as a tumour suppressor gene. Several studies have consistently found that overexpression leads to excessive cell elongation, cytoskeleton changes and subsequent cell death. However, none of these studies have been able to satisfactorily explain the Dlc1-induced cell morphological phenotypes and the function of the different Dlc1 isoforms. Therefore, we have studied the interacting proteins associated with the three major Dlc1 transcriptional isoforms using a mass spectrometric approach in Dlc1 overexpressing cells. We have found and validated novel interacting partners in constitutive Dlc1-expressing cells. Our study has shown that Dlc1 interacts with non-muscle myosin heavy chain II-A (Myh9), plectin and spectrin proteins in different multiprotein complexes. Overexpression of Dlc1 led to increased phosphorylation of Myh9 protein and activation of Rac1 GTPase. These data support a role for Dlc1 in induced cell elongation morphology and provide some molecular targets for further analysis of this phenotype.
Impact d’un programme de réadaptation sur la condition physique de patients coronariens

Au Canada, les maladies cardiovasculaires (MCV) representent la 2e cause de mortalite apres le cancer. En 2008, du nombre total de mortalites liees aux MCV, 54 % etaient attribuables aux maladies coronariennes. Plusieurs programmes de readaptation cardiaque ont ete developpes et leurs impacts sur la sante globale des patients sont indiscutables. Il semble egalement qu’une bonne condition physique soit associee a un meilleur pronostic chez les patients coronariens. Cette etude avait pour objectif d’evaluer l’impact du programme de phase 1 de Cardi-O-Forme sur la condition physique des patients coronariens. L’echantillon etait compose de 23 patients coronariens ayant complete le programme de phase 1 de Cardi-O-Forme. Les donnees du programme ont ete recueillies dans le dossier medical des sujets au service des archives du CIUSSS du Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean. Chaque sujet avait prealablement complete les 8 a 12 semaines prevues a l’intervention. Les donnees anthropometriques et la condition physique des participants ont ete mesures au debut et a la fin de la phase 1 du programme de Cardi-O-Forme. Bien que le poids corporel des participants soit demeure stable, on note une diminution significative de la circonference de taille apres le programme d’intervention. La capacite cardiorespiratoire des participants a augmente de facon significative entre le debut et la fin du programme. Les resultats de la presente etude demontrent que le programme de phase 1 de Cardi-O-Forme permet d’ameliorer la condition physique des participants. Par consequent, nous pouvons supposer que le programme est efficace et qu’il permet d’ameliorer le pronostic des participants. In Canada, cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the second cause of mortality close behind cancer. Considering all CVD mortality in 2008, 54 % were caused by coronary heart disease (CHD). For many years, many cardiac rehabilitation programs have been developed and their impact on health is well recognized. Also, it seems that an increased in cardiorespiratory fitness could be associated with a better cardiovascular risk factors. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of a regional cardiac rehabilitation program (named as Cardi-O-Forme) on exercise capacity in patients with CHD. A total of 23 subjects with a clinical diagnosis of CHD were included in this study. Patients enrolled in the Cardi-O-Forme program trained for 8 to 12 weeks. Data were collected at the Chicoutimi hospital. Anthropometric parameters, lipids profile and physical fitness were collected before and after the completion of the Cardi-O-Forme program. Waist circumference was significantly decreased after the Cardi-O-Forme program. Cardiorespiratory fitness was also significantly improved after the cardiac rehabilitation program. Results of the present study demonstrate that exercise training in Cardi-OForme program significantly improved exercise capacity. As improvement in exercise capacity is associated with a decreased in predicted mortality, we hypothesised that the Cardi-O-Forme program may improve the prognostic of the patients.
Use of emotion regulation strategies across family systems

Abstract Family is an exclusive institution for the development of healthy or unhealthy emotion management skills of its members. The present study aimed to compare emotion regulation strategies used by the adolescents from nuclear and joint family systems. For this cross-sectional study 400 adolescents, 12–18 years of age were involved through purposive sampling. The scale used for the present study was Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ) and a demographic data sheet. For result analysis, SPSS version 21 was used to apply t-test. There were 200 (50%) males and 200 (50%) females with a mean age of 15 ± 2.16 years. The family structure descriptive analysis revealed that 181 (45.3%) were from joint family structure, 193 (48.3%) from nuclear family structure, and 26 (6.5%) from extended family structure. T-test indicated that the Mean values of cognitive reappraisal for joint and nuclear family structures were 29.30 ± 7.44 and 29.57 ± 6.28, respectively, and the difference was insignificant. The mean values for expressive suppression for the two family structures were 15.82 ± 6.41 and 17.61 ± 6.31, respectively, with significant difference between the means (p < 0.01). In nuclear families, the adolescents use expressive suppression. The more the family members, the more attention will be paid to the development of children as in the joint family system. The joint families, having the traditional values can cater the emotional needs better than the nuclear families.
Rho-Rho-associated coiled-coil containing protein kinase 2 (ROCKII) and glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β) signaling pathways, resulting in inhibition of axonal regeneration in the CNS (5,6). Therefore, the Rho-ROCKII and/or GSK-3β signaling pathways may be targeted in order to recover the regener

Previous studies have reported that the Rho-associated coiled-coil containing protein kinase 2 (ROCKII) and glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK)-3β signaling pathways are involved in axonal regeneration. The present study investigated the effects of the combined application of Y27632 (a ROCKII inhibitor) and 4-benzyl-2-methyl-1,2,4-thiadiazolidine-3,5-dione (TDZD-8; a GSK-3β inhibitor) on neurite outgrowth and functional recovery in rats with spinal cord injury (SCI). A total of 90 female Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly allocated into six groups, and the SCI rats received daily administration of 1.6 mg/kg Y27632 for 2 weeks and/or 1 mg/kg TDZD-8 for 3 weeks via a catheter. Cellular apoptosis in the injured spinal cords was measured at each time point using a terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling assay. The expression levels of growth-associated protein-43 (GAP-43) were determined by immunohistochemical staining. In addition, an anterograde tracer was used to analyze axonal regeneration, the Basso Beattie Bresnahan locomotor rating scale (BBB) was analyzed, and the somatosensory evoked potential (SEP) test was conducted. The results demonstrated that SCI upregulated the number of apoptotic cells, increased GAP-43 expression and enhanced the latent periods of SEP, as compared with in mice that underwent a sham operation. Furthermore, SCI decreased the BBB scores and the SEP amplitudes. These injuries in the spinal cord were reduced following treatment with Y27632, TDZD-8, or their combined application, as detected by decreased apoptosis, the induction of axonal regeneration, and the promotion of functional recovery of the lower limbs. Although the BBB scores, and SEP amplitudes and latent periods were not significantly different among the three drug treatment groups, the combined application of Y27632 and TDZD-8 resulted in stronger axonal regenerative potency and a greater protective effect on secondary SCI. These results indicated that the combined application of Y27632 and TDZD-8 may more effectively protect against secondary SCI by inhibiting cellular apoptosis, enhancing GAP-43 expression and promoting neurite outgrowth in SCI rats, compared with Y27632 or TDZD-8 alone.
Mécanismes et impact de l’activité physique et de la sédentarité sur les facteurs de risque biologiques de l’instabilité de plaque d’athérosclérose carotidienne

L'atherosclerose est une maladie cardiovasculaire complexe affectant la paroi arterielle ou le developpement et la progression de la plaque sont fortement favorises par une inflammation chronique. L'instabilite de la plaque carotidienne peut conduire a de potentiels evenements ischemiques majeurs tels que l'accident vasculaire cerebral (AVC) dont le caractere imprevisible rend la prevention primaire tres compliquee. Ainsi, il n'existe pas a l'heure actuelle de biomarqueurs predictifs efficaces de la rupture de plaque. Neanmoins, il est maintenant clairement etabli que l'hemorragie intraplaque (IPH), la neovascularisation et l'accumulation excessive de macrophages sont les principaux facteurs d'instabilite de la plaque. Sur la base de travaux precedents, l'objectif de cette these etait d'evaluer de maniere independante les effets de l'activite physique (AP) et de la sedentarite, premierement sur les parametres histologiques d'instabilite de plaque, et deuxiemement, sur les facteurs de risque secondaires de l'atherosclerose, que sont l'inflammation, le stress oxydant et le profil hemorheologique de patients asymptomatiques a risque d'AVC traites chirurgicalement. La 1ere etude a montre que l'AP reguliere etait associee a une prevalence d'IPH diminuee, et etait l'unique facteur protecteur de l'IPH. Cette etude a egalement suggere un effet benefique de l'AP sur le stress oxydant, ainsi que sur l'accumulation de macrophages. Dans une 2eme etude, nous avons caracterise l'etat fonctionnel de proteines potentiellement impliquees dans les dysfonctions du systeme immunitaire, et l'implication des cellules inflammatoires dans ces mecanismes. Nous avons alors identifie une cytokine pro-inflammatoire jouant un role determinant dans les processus inflammatoires de destabilisation de plaque. L'etude 3 nous a permis de caracteriser l'effet du niveau d'AP sur la reponse monocytaire chez des patients avec plaque d'atherosclerose, et d'identifier une chimiokine qui pourrait avoir un role dans la modulation de la reponse monocytaire par l'AP. Enfin, la 4eme etude demontre l'alteration de parametres hemorheologiques chez des patients atteints de maladie carotidienne severe, et comment l'AP permet de limiter cette alteration via la diminution de l'agregation erythrocytaire. Ce travail de these apporte des informations quant a la pratique de l'AP dans la prevention primaire de l'atherosclerose. Des etudes complementaires seront toutefois necessaires afin de confirmer ces resultats, en proposant notamment une approche interventionnelle en activite physique
Sentinel lymph node biopsy in head and neck cutaneous melanomas

Abstract Background: Head and neck melanomas (HNMs) behave differently from cutaneous melanomas in other sites, and the efficacy of sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) for patients with HNMs remains controversial. Methods: Studies on prognosis following SLNB were included. The prognostic role of SLNB and other potential predictors were analyzed using pooled relative risk (RR) or hazard ratio (HR). Results: Pooled statistics showed that SLNB improved overall survival of HNMs patients (HR = 0.845; 95% CI: 0.725–0.986; P = .032). The positive status of SN was proved as a risk factor of poor prognosis in HNMs (HR = 3.416; 95% CI: 1.939–6.021; P < .001). SLNB did not have significant correlation with lower recurrences (RR = .794; 95% CI: 0.607–1.038; P = .091). Conclusions: SLNB is associated with better overall survival and the SN status is a promising risk factor of poor prognosis for HNMs patients.
Predicting the short-term success of human influenza virus variants with machine learning

Seasonal influenza viruses are constantly changing and produce a different set of circulating strains each season. Small genetic changes can accumulate over time and result in antigenically different viruses; this may prevent the body’s immune system from recognizing those viruses. Due to rapid mutations, in particular, in the haemagglutinin (HA) gene, seasonal influenza vaccines must be updated frequently. This requires choosing strains to include in the updates to maximize the vaccines’ benefits, according to estimates of which strains will be circulating in upcoming seasons. This is a challenging prediction task. In this paper, we use longitudinally sampled phylogenetic trees based on HA sequences from human influenza viruses, together with counts of epitope site polymorphisms in HA, to predict which influenza virus strains are likely to be successful. We extract small groups of taxa (subtrees) and use a suite of features of these subtrees as key inputs to the machine learning tools. Using a range of training and testing strategies, including training on H3N2 and testing on H1N1, we find that successful prediction of future expansion of small subtrees is possible from these data, with accuracies of 0.71–0.85 and a classifier ‘area under the curve’ 0.75–0.9.
Genetic architecture of a key reproductive isolation trait differs between sympatric and non-sympatric sister species of Lake Victoria cichlids

One hallmark of the East African cichlid radiations is the rapid evolution of reproductive isolation that is robust to full sympatry of many closely related species. Theory predicts that species persistence and speciation in sympatry with gene flow are facilitated if loci of large effect or physical linkage (or pleiotropy) underlie traits involved in reproductive isolation. Here, we investigate the genetic architecture of a key trait involved in behavioural isolation, male nuptial coloration, by crossing two sister species pairs of Lake Victoria cichlids of the genus Pundamilia and mapping nuptial coloration in the F2 hybrids. One is a young sympatric species pair, representative of an axis of colour motif differentiation, red-dorsum versus blue, that is highly recurrent in closely related sympatric species. The other is a species pair representative of colour motifs, red-chest versus blue, that are common in allopatric but uncommon in sympatric closely related species. We find significant quantitative trait loci (QTLs) with moderate to large effects (some overlapping) for red and yellow in the sympatric red-dorsum × blue cross, whereas we find no significant QTLs in the non-sympatric red-chest × blue cross. These findings are consistent with theory predicting that large effect loci or linkage/pleiotropy underlying mating trait differentiation could facilitate speciation and species persistence with gene flow in sympatry.
Evaluation of grinding surface roughness based on color component difference of image

The current machine vision-based measurement of surface roughness of workpiece is mainly the evaluation index of gray image, while ignoring the characteristics of richer color information and strong sensitivity, this paper proposes a kind of information difference index of each color component of image to evaluate the grinding surface roughness. According to the different quality of virtual image of color blocks that are formed on grinding surfaces with different roughness, a reference image and a distortion image are selected, and the difference of each color channel information of the two images is calculated to measure the distortion degree of the image, so as to achieve the purpose of measuring the surface roughness. The experimental results show that the proposed indicators have certain feasibility and the method is simple.
Research on dynamic model and control strategy of lead-acid battery

With the development of lead-acid batteries in micro-grid energy storage technology, it has important significance to investigate the dynamic characteristics of lead-acid batteries and its charging and discharging accuracy. In this paper, we propose a third-order dynamic model of the lead-acid battery, the characteristics such as non-linearity, accuracy, and effectiveness are also analyzed. Furthermore, the accuracy of the charging and discharging process is verified by MATLAB/Simulink simulation software, and the corresponding conclusions are drawn based on the simulation waveform. Finally, the control strategy of the energy storage unit of the storage battery is briefly analyzed and concluded. The photovoltaic DC micro-grid system studied in this paper does not require the front and back stage electrical isolation. A bidirectional half-bridge Buck/Boost converter is selected to control the charging and discharging of the energy storage unit.
The Composite-File File System

The design and implementation of traditional file systems typically use the one-to-one mapping of logical files to their physical metadata representations. File system optimizations generally follow this rigid mapping and miss opportunities for an entire class of optimizations. We designed, implemented, and evaluated a composite-file file system, which allows many-to-one mappings of files to metadata. Through exploring different mapping strategies, our empirical evaluation shows up to a 27% performance improvement under web server and software development workloads, for both disks and SSDs. This result demonstrates that our approach of relaxing file-to-metadata mapping is promising.