Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Renal cortical stiffness is markedly increased in pre-diabetes mellitus and associated with albuminuria.

INTRODUCTION We aimed to investigate changes in renal cortical stiffness (CS) in Type II diabetes mellitus (DM) and pre-DM patients compared to subjects with normal glucose metabolism (NGM), as well as the usefulness of renal CS to determine the presence of nephropathy. METHODS This study included 125 individuals with NGM, pre-DM and Type II DM. Routine laboratory data was obtained, and micro- and macrovascular involvement were investigated. Urinary albumin-creatinine ratio (ACR) was measured for urinary albuminuria detection. In addition to routine renal ultrasonography, CS was measured using renal elastography. RESULTS Among the included patients, 42, 40 and 43 patients had NGM, pre-DM and Type II DM, respectively, with prevalence of nephropathy of 5%, 15% and 33%, respectively. Carotid and aortic intima-media thickness (IMT), renal width, and CS were found to be higher in the pre-DM and Type II DM groups than the NGM group. Aortic-IMT, renal width and urinary ACR levels were independently associated with CS. Patients with nephropathy were found to have a higher CS value than those without nephropathy (8.72 ± 1.67 kPa vs. 10.60 ± 1.74 kPa, p = 0.001). In ROC analysis, when the cutoff value for CS was taken as 9.2 kPa, renal CS predicted the possibility of nephropathy with 78.9% sensitivity and 71.4% specificity. CONCLUSION CS values are significantly higher in patients with impaired glucose metabolism. We recommend CS measurement as part of routine screening of nephropathy in patients with pre-DM and newly diagnosed Type II DM.
Literature review on thermo-mechanical behavior of components for LED system-in-package

• A submitted manuscript is the author's version of the article upon submission and before peer-review. There can be important differences between the submitted version and the official published version of record. People interested in the research are advised to contact the author for the final version of the publication, or visit the DOI to the publisher's website. • The final author version and the galley proof are versions of the publication after peer review. • The final published version features the final layout of the paper including the volume, issue and page numbers.
Dependence of aerosol-precipitation interactions on humidity in a multiple-cloud system

This study examines the dependence of aerosolprecipitation interactions on environmental humidity in a mesoscale cloud ensemble (MCE) which is composed of convective and stratiform clouds. The author found that increases in aerosol concentration enhance evaporative cooling, which raises not only the intensity of vorticity and entrainment but also that of downdrafts and low-level convergence. The increase in vorticity tends to suppress precipitation. The increase in low-level convergence tends to enhance precipitation by generating more secondary clouds in a muptiple-cloud system simulated here. At high humidity, the effect of the increased vorticity on cloud-liquid mass and, thus, precipitation is outweighed by that of the increased low-level convergence. This leads to the precipitation enhancement induced by the increase in aerosol concentration. When humidity lowers to mid humidity, the effect of aerosol on low-level convergence still dominates that on entrainment, leading to the precipitation enhancement with the increased aerosol concentration. With the lowest humidity in the current work, the effect of aerosol on entrainment dominates that on low-level convergence, leading to the precipitation suppression with the increased aerosol concentration. Hence, there is not only a competition between the effect of evaporation on vorticity and that on low-level convergence at a given humidity level but also the variation of the competition with the varying humidity. This competition and variation are absent in a single-cloud system where the effect of low-level convergence on secondary clouds is absent. This exemplifies a difference in the mechanism which controls aerosol-precipitation interactions between a singlecloud system and a multiple-cloud system. Correspondence to: S. S. Lee (seoungl@umich.edu)
Apelin protects against abdominal aortic aneurysm and the therapeutic role of neutral endopeptidase resistant apelin analogs

Significance Vascular diseases remain a major health burden, and AAAs lack effective medical therapy. We demonstrate a seminal role for APLN in AAA pathogenesis based on loss-of-function and gain-of-function approaches and included human vascular SMCs and AA tissue obtained from patients. We identified NEP as a dominant inactivating enzyme for native APLN-17. This allowed us to design and synthesize a stable and bioactive APLN analog resistant to NEP degradation that showed profound therapeutic effects against AAA. Our study clearly defines the APLN pathway as a central node in the pathogenesis of AAA and elucidate a therapeutic strategy of enhancing the APLN pathway by using a stable APLN analog to treat AAA. Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) remains the second most frequent vascular disease with high mortality but has no approved medical therapy. We investigated the direct role of apelin (APLN) in AAA and identified a unique approach to enhance APLN action as a therapeutic intervention for this disease. Loss of APLN potentiated angiotensin II (Ang II)-induced AAA formation, aortic rupture, and reduced survival. Formation of AAA was driven by increased smooth muscle cell (SMC) apoptosis and oxidative stress in Apln−/y aorta and in APLN-deficient cultured murine and human aortic SMCs. Ang II-induced myogenic response and hypertension were greater in Apln−/y mice, however, an equivalent hypertension induced by phenylephrine, an α-adrenergic agonist, did not cause AAA or rupture in Apln−/y mice. We further identified Ang converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), the major negative regulator of the renin-Ang system (RAS), as an important target of APLN action in the vasculature. Using a combination of genetic, pharmacological, and modeling approaches, we identified neutral endopeptidase (NEP) that is up-regulated in human AAA tissue as a major enzyme that metabolizes and inactivates APLN-17 peptide. We designed and synthesized a potent APLN-17 analog, APLN-NMeLeu9-A2, that is resistant to NEP cleavage. This stable APLN analog ameliorated Ang II-mediated adverse aortic remodeling and AAA formation in an established model of AAA, high-fat diet (HFD) in Ldlr−/− mice. Our findings define a critical role of APLN in AAA formation through induction of ACE2 and protection of vascular SMCs, whereas stable APLN analogs provide an effective therapy for vascular diseases.
Video and the Analysis of Social Interaction. An interview with Christian Heath

Christian Heath is Professor at King’s College London and co-director of the Work, Interaction and Technology Research Centre. Drawing on Ethnomethodology and Conversation Analysis, he specialises in fine grained, video-based field studies of social interaction. He is currently undertaking research in settings that include auctions, control centres, operating theatres, and museums and galleries. His previous research involves a range of projects UK Research Councils and the European Commission in areas that include command and control, health care, the cultural industries, and advanced telecommunications. He has held positions at the Universities of Manchester, Surrey, and Nottingham and visiting positions at Universities and industrial research laboratories in the UK and abroad. He is an Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences (AcSS), a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Art Scholars and in 2015 was given the EUSSET-IISI Lifetime Achievement Award presented to scholars for an outstanding contribution to the reorientation of the fields of computing and Informatics. His publications include: “The Dynamics of Auction: Social Interaction and the Sale of Fine Art and Antiques” (Cambridge 2013: awarded the Best Book Award in 2014 by the International Society for Conversation Analysis), “Video in Qualitative Research: Analysing Social Interaction in Everyday Life” (Sage with Hindmarsh, J. and P. Luff, 2010), “Technology in Action” (with P. Luff, Cambridge 2000), “Workplace Studies: Recovering Work Practice and Informing System Design” (Cambridge with Luff, P. and J. Hindmarsh 2000), “Body Movement and Speech in Medical Interaction” (Cambridge 1986) and numerous articles in journals and books. With Roy Pea and Lucy Suchman he is editor of the book series published by Cambridge University Press, Learning and Doing: Social, Cognitive and Computational Perspectives.
Systematic review and meta-analysis of 50 years of coral disease research visualized through the scope of network theory

Coral disease research encompasses five decades of undeniable progress. Since the first descriptions of anomalous signs, we have come to understand multiple processes and environmental drivers that interact with coral pathologies. In order to gain a better insight into the knowledge we already have, we explored how key topics in coral disease research have been related to each other using network analysis. We reviewed 719 papers and conference proceedings published from 1965 to 2017. From each study, four elements determined our network nodes: 1) studied disease(s); 2) host genus; 3) marine ecoregion(s) associated with the study site; and 4) research objectives. Basic properties of this network confirmed that there is a set of specific topics comprising the majority of research. The top five diseases, genera, and ecoregions studied accounted for over 48% of the research effort in all cases. The community structure analysis identified 15 clusters of topics with different degrees of overlap among them. These clusters represent the typical sets of elements that appear together for a given study. Our results show that while some coral diseases have been studied considering multiple aspects, the overall trend is for most diseases to be understood under a limited range of approaches, e.g. bacterial assemblages have been considerably studied in Yellow and Black band diseases while immune response has been better examined for the aspergillosis Gorgonia system. Thus, our challenge in the near future is to identify and resolve potential gaps in order to achieve a more comprehensive progress on coral disease research.
Human activity is altering the world’s zoogeographical regions

Human activity leading to both species introductions and extinctions is widely known to influence diversity patterns on local and regional scales. Yet, it is largely unknown whether the intensity of this activity is enough to affect the configuration of biodiversity at broader levels of spatial organization. Zoogeographical regions, or zooregions, are surfaces of the Earth defined by characteristic pools of species, which reflect ecological, historical, and evolutionary processes acting over millions of years. Consequently, it is widely assumed that zooregions are robust and unlikely to change on a human timescale. Here, however, we show that human-mediated introductions and extinctions can indeed reconfigure the currently recognized zooregions of amphibians, mammals, and birds. In particular, introductions homogenize the African and Eurasian zooregions in mammals; reshape boundaries with the reallocation of Oceania to the New World zooregion in amphibians; and divide bird zooregions by increasing biotic heterogeneity. Furthermore, the combined effect of amphibian introductions and extinctions has the potential to divide two zooregions largely representing the Old and the New World. Interestingly, the robustness of zooregions against changes in species composition may largely explain such zoogeographical changes. Altogether, our results demonstrate that human activities can erode the higher-level organization of biodiversity formed over millions of years. Comparable reconfigurations have previously been detectable in Earth’s history only after glaciations and mass extinction events, highlighting the profound and far-reaching impact of ongoing human activity and the need to protect the uniqueness of biotic assemblages from the effects of future species introductions and extinctions.
Optimization of Alkali Extraction and Properties of Polysaccharides from Ziziphus jujuba cv. Residue

Ziziphus jujuba cv. Muzao is a plant widely cultivated in the Yellow River Basin of China. It has nutritional and healthcare functions, in which polysaccharides are the main components of its bio-functions. In order to make effective use of Ziziphus jujuba cv. Muzao residue resources and explore new functional food ingredients, the polysaccharide (ZJRP) from Ziziphus jujuba cv. Muzao residues were extracted by sodium hydroxide, and the optimal extraction conditions of ZJRP were obtained by the response surface method. The basic composition and antioxidant effects of ZJRP were determined. The results showed that ZJRP has significant antioxidant activity, mainly reflected in the high DPPH radical scavenging rate, which may be related to their high content of galacturonic acid and the extraction method. In addition, the rheological and thermal properties of ZJRP were respectively determined by a rheometer and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), indicating that they have shear thinning properties and good thermal stability. Results showed that the alkaline extraction method can be used as a potential technique for extracting ZJRP with high antioxidant activity, and ZJRP can be further explored as a functional food ingredient.
ACelebration of Space Apr 30 th , 1 : 30 PM-5 : 00 PM Paper Session IBA Virtual Test Bed Environment for Spaceports

Virtual test bed environments are the next S-curve of the computer-aided design (CAD) systems. These “advanced” CAD environments will combine not only the 3D solid modeling capabilities of the current CAD systems but will also seamlessly integrate models that represent the different stages of the life-cycle of a system. Virtual Test Bed environments are more adequate to study complex systems. One interesting characteristic of a complex system is that it is by default a system of systems. This system of systems is non-linear in nature and the interactions among the different components bring interesting emergent properties that are very difficult to visualize and/or study by using the traditional approach of decomposition. Spaceports are complex systems. Therefore, it seems logical to think that a virtual test bed is needed to host the different models that represent different systems and elements of a spaceport. These models in the virtual test bed will work in an integrated fashion synthesizing in a holistic view and becoming together a Virtual Spaceport. This Virtual Spaceport can be utilized to test new decision-making technologies and new operational processes. This presentation discusses current efforts at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and Ames Research Center (ARC) to bring the concept of a virtual test bed to reality.
Trauma Symptoms Resulting From Sexual Violence Among Undergraduate Students: Differences Across Gender and Sexual Minority Status

Experiencing sexual violence is an important risk factor for trauma symptoms, and these symptoms significantly impair psychosocial functioning. Sexual and gender minority university students are more likely than their heterosexual and cisgender peers to experience sexual violence (e.g., sexual harassment, unwanted sexual contact, or sexual coercion) while attending university, but research on the consequences of these experiences is needed to inform service provision to these vulnerable populations. Using a large-scale study of university-based sexual violence in Quebec, the current study examined how gender and sexual minority status were associated with the severity of trauma symptoms among students who experienced sexual violence (N = 1,196). Findings indicated that compared with their cisgender peers, gender minority students experienced significantly higher levels of trauma symptoms as a result of sexual violence, controlling for the severity of sexual violence behaviors experienced and other variables. Among cisgender women, but not cisgender men, sexual minority identity was also associated with higher levels of trauma symptoms, controlling for severity of sexual violence behaviors experienced and other variables. Furthermore, gender of perpetrator and amount of sexual violence moderated the associations between sexual identity and trauma symptoms among cisgender women. These findings not only suggest that gender minority and some sexual minority university students are more likely to experience sexual violence, but that they are also more likely to experience negative psychological sequelae as a consequence of these experiences. Ultimately, these findings may suggest the need for services that are more supportive of the specific needs of gender and sexual minority students with regard to sexual violence.
Obsessed with grasses?: The case of mara Dolichotis patagonum(Caviidae: Rodentia)

En este trabajo se describe la dieta de mara (Dolichotis patagonum Zimmeraman 1780) en el Parque Nacional Sierra de las Quijadas (San Luis, Argentina). Los estudios realizados sobre su dieta indican que se alimenta de varias especies de gramineas y arbustos. Sin embargo, existe cierta controversia acerca de la proporcion en que se presentan estos itemes, y si las mismas varian estacionalmente. En base al tamano corporal de mara, y a sus caracteristicas anatomicas y fisiologicas se propone que, mara consume una mayor proporcion de gramineas que de otras hierbas no graminiformes y dicotiledoneas en general. Ademas esperamos una variacion estacional de la dieta, correlacionada a una posible variacion estacional en los recursos alimentarios asociada a las precipitaciones. Se colectaron muestras de heces correspondientes a cuatro estaciones en el parque, dos estaciones secas y dos lluviosas. Mediante analisis microhistologico se determino la proporcion de cada item medido como frecuencia de aparicion en las heces. Los resultados apoyan la hipotesis de un consumo preferencial de gramineas por parte de mara. Las gramineas aparecen en mayor proporcion en la dieta a pesar de estar en menor disponibilidad en el habitat y sin que el regimen de precipitacion tenga algun efecto Se discuten las caracteristicas de la dieta de mara y las implicancias ecologicas relacionadas con esta especie
Optional Web-Based Videoconferencing Added to Office-Based Care for Women Receiving Psychotherapy During the Postpartum Period: Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

Background Depression and anxiety during the postpartum period are common, with psychotherapy often being the preferred method of treatment. However, psychological, physical, and social barriers prevent women from receiving appropriate and timely psychotherapy. The option of receiving psychotherapy through videoconferencing (VC) during the postpartum period presents an opportunity for more accessible and flexible care. Objective The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effectiveness of optional VC added to usual office-based psychotherapy, with a psychotherapist during the postpartum period. Methods We conducted a pilot randomized controlled trial with 1:1 randomization to office-based care (treatment as usual; TAU) or office-based care with the option of VC (treatment as usual plus videoconferencing; TAU-VC) for psychotherapy during the postpartum period. We assessed the ability to recruit and retain postpartum women into the study from an urban perinatal mental health program offering postpartum psychotherapy, and we evaluated the uptake, acceptability, and satisfaction with VC as an addition to in-person psychotherapy. We also compared therapy attendance using therapist logs and symptoms between treatment groups. Symptoms were assessed at baseline and 3 months postrandomization with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item, and Parental Stress Scale. Furthermore, 3-month scores were compared between groups with intention-to-treat linear mixed-effects models controlling for baseline score. Results We enrolled 38 participants into the study, with 19 participants in each treatment group. Attendance data were available for all participants, with follow-up symptom measures available for 25 out of 38 participants (66%). Among the 19 TAU-VC participants, 14 participants (74%) utilized VC at least once. Most participants were highly satisfied with the VC option, and they reported average savings of Can $26 and 2.5 hours in travel and childcare expenses and time per appointment. There were no significant differences between the 2 groups for psychotherapy attendance or symptoms. Conclusions The option of VC appears to be an acceptable method of receiving psychotherapy for postpartum women, with benefits described in costs and time savings. On the basis of this small pilot sample, there were no significant differences in outcomes between office-based care with or without the option of VC. This study has demonstrated the feasibility of such a program in an urban center, which suggests that a larger study would be beneficial to provide evidence that is more conclusive.
The relationship experiences of professional nurses with nurse managers

This qualitative study was undertaken to explore and describe the experiences of professional nurses in their relationships with nurse managers. Opsomming Hierdie kwalitatiewe studie is onderneem om die belewenisse van professionele verpleegkundiges ten opsigte van hulle verhoudings met verpleegbestuurders te verken en te beskryf. *Please note: This is a reduced version of the abstract. Please refer to PDF for full text.
High spatial resolution optical imaging of the multiple T Tauri system LkHα 262/LkHα 263

We report high spatial resolution i' band imaging of the multiple T Tauri system LkH$\alpha$ 262/LkH$\alpha$ 263 obtained during the first commissioning period of the Adaptive Optics Lucky Imager (AOLI) at the 4.2 m William Herschel Telescope, using its Lucky Imaging mode. AOLI images have provided photometry for each of the two components LkH$\alpha$ 263 A and B (0.41 arcsec separation) and marginal evidence for an unresolved binary or a disc in LkH$\alpha$ 262. The AOLI data combined with previously available and newly obtained optical and infrared imaging show that the three components of LkH$\alpha$ 263 are co-moving, that there is orbital motion in the AB pair, and, remarkably, that LkH$\alpha$ 262-263 is a common proper motion system with less than 1 mas/yr relative motion. We argue that this is a likely five-component gravitationally bounded system. According to BT-settl models the mass of each of the five components is close to 0.4 M$_{\odot}$ and the age is in the range 1-2 Myr. The presence of discs in some of the components offers an interesting opportunity to investigate the formation and evolution of discs in the early stages of multiple very low-mass systems. In particular, we provide tentative evidence that the disc in 263C could be coplanar with the orbit of 263AB.