Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Modem transmission of glucose values reduces the costs and need for clinic visits.

OBJECTIVE To determine whether modem technology allows for effective management of type 1 diabetes when used in lieu of a clinic visit. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS A total of 70 adolescent patients with diabetes were prospectively randomized to either a control group or a modem group. Control group patients continued the standard of care of quarterly clinic visits, and modem group patients were instructed to transmit blood glucose data every 2 weeks for 6 months instead of a usual quarterly clinic visit. Health care providers analyzed the data received by modem and contacted patients to discuss diabetes treatment changes. GHbA(1c) levels were determined at 0 and 6 months, and the number of high and low blood glucose levels and adverse events were tracked. Clinic visit costs, patient expenses, and health care provider times were tracked for cost analysis for both groups. RESULTS A total of 63 patients (33 control, 30 modem) completed the 6-month study. The GHbA(1c) values significantly decreased in both groups, with no statistically significant difference between groups (P = 0.96). The occurrence of mild-to-moderate hypoglycemic events were similar in the two groups, and there were no severe hypoglycemic events. The average cost of care for a clinic visit was $305.00, whereas the cost for 6 months of modem transmission was $163.00. CONCLUSIONS This study shows that electronic transmission of blood glucose levels and other diabetes data every 2 weeks-in lieu of a clinic visit-results in a similar level of glucose control and incidence of acute diabetes complications when compared with current standard care.
Sphingosine 1-Phosphate Has Dual Functions in the Regulation of Endothelial Cell Permeability and Ca2+ Metabolism

Ca2+ signaling plays an important role in endothelial cell (EC) functions including the regulation of barrier integrity. Recently, the endogenous lipid derivative, sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P), has emerged as an important modulator of EC barrier function. We investigated the role of endogenously generated S1P in Ca2+ metabolism and barrier function in human umbilical endothelial cells (HUVECs) stimulated by thrombin, histamine, or other agonists. Barrier function was assessed by dextran diffusion through HUVEC monolayers, and Ca2+ transients were measured using a fluoroprobe. Thrombin or histamine increased Ca2+ release from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and Ca2+ entry through store-operated channels (SOCs) that was accompanied by increased EC permeability. Inhibition of S1P synthesis by a specific sphingosine kinase inhibitor (SKI) decreased thrombin or histamine-induced increased permeability and decreased Ca2+ entry via SOC in a concentration-dependent fashion. SKI had minuscule effects on thrombin or histamine-induced Ca2+ release from ER. SKI also inhibited thapsigargin or ionomycin-induced Ca2+ entry via SOC without affecting Ca2+ release from the ER. In contrast to the effects of endogenously generated S1P, when S1P was administered externally, it initiated Ca2+ release from ER similar to thrombin and histamine while decreasing EC permeability. These observations indicate that after agonist-induced conditions, endogenously generated S1P functions as a positive modulator of Ca2+ entry via SOC and a mediator of increased cell permeability. In contrast, extracellular exposure to S1P has different signaling mechanisms and effects. Thus, the potential dual roles of endogenous and exogenous S1P on EC function need to be considered in pharmacological studies targeting sphingosine metabolism.
Characterization of the G Protein-coupled Receptor Kinase GRK4

A novel human G protein-coupled receptor kinase was recently identified by positional cloning in the search for the Huntington's disease locus (Ambrose, C., James, M., Barnes, G., Lin, C., Bates, G., Altherr, M., Duyao, M., Groot, N., Church, D., Wasmuth, J. J., Lehrach, H., Housman, D., Buckler, A., Gusella, J. F., and MacDonald, M. E.(1993) Hum. Mol. Genet. 1, 697-703). Comparison of the deduced amino acid sequence of GRK4 with those of the closely related GRK5 and GRK6 suggested the apparent loss of 32 codons in the amino-terminal domain and 46 codons in the carboxyl-terminal domain of GRK4. These two regions undergo alternative splicing in the GRK4 mRNA, resulting from the presence or absence of exons filling one or both of these apparent gaps. Each inserted sequence maintains the open reading frame, and the deduced amino acid sequences are similar to corresponding regions of GRK5 and GRK6. Thus, the GRK4 mRNA and the GRK4 protein can exist as four distinct variant forms. The human GRK4 gene is composed of 16 exons extending over 75 kilobase pairs of DNA. The two alternatively spliced exons correspond to exons II and XV. The genomic organization of the GRK4 gene is completely distinct from that of the human GRK2 gene, highlighting the evolutionary distance since the divergence of these two genes. Human GRK4 mRNA is expressed highly only in testis, and both alternative exons are abundant in testis mRNA. The four GRK4 proteins have been expressed, and all incorporate [3H]palmitate. GRK4 is capable of augmenting the desensitization of the rat luteinizing hormone/chorionic gonadotropin receptor upon coexpression in HEK293 cells and of phosphorylating the agonist-occupied, purified β-adrenergic receptor, indicating that GRK4 is a functional protein kinase.
IMU aided RGB-D SLAM

In recent years, a low-cost range sensing technology (such as Kinect) has attracted many researchers in vision community. Despite being promising for indoor navigation, continuous operation in a challenging environments is still a fundamental problem. This paper presents a real-time approach of combining range-color (RGB-D) cues with inertial information in a loosely-coupled framework for Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM). The method handles the degenerate cases arises in the RGB-D approaches i.e limited range of Kinect (approx. 4m), texture-less/planar environmental ambiguities. Experimental results are provided for indoor lab environment and evaluated against a centimeter-level accurate ground truth data. We showed that the proposed approach significantly reduces error in RGB-D pose estimation by bounding the errors implicitly by the inertial gravity vectors and accelerometer data.
AlGaN-GaN double-channel HEMTs

We present the design, fabrication, and characterization of AlGaN-GaN double-channel HEMTs. Two carrier channels are formed in an AlGaN-GaN-AlGaN-GaN multilayer structure grown on a sapphire substrate. Polarization field in the lower AlGaN layer fosters formation of a second carrier channel at the lower AlGaN-GaN interface, without creating any parasitic conduction path in the AlGaN barrier layer. Unambiguous double-channel behaviors are observed at both dc and RF. Bias dependent RF small-signal characterization and parameter extraction were performed. Gain compression at a high current level was attributed to electron velocity degradation induced by interface scattering. Dynamic IV measurement was carried out to analyze large-signal behaviors of the double-channel high-electron mobility transistors. It was found that current collapse mainly occurs in the channel closer to device surface, while the lower channel suffers minimal current collapse, suggesting that trapping/detrapping of surface states is mainly responsible for current collapse. This argument is supported by RF large-signal measurement results.
In Vitro Evaluation of Magnetic Resonance Imaging at 3.0 Tesla on Clonogenic Ability, Proliferation, and Cell Cycle in Human Embryonic Lung Fibroblasts

Objectives:We investigated the influence of magnetic resonance (MR) at 3.0 T on clonogenic ability, proliferation, and cell cycle in an embryonic human cell line. Materials and Methods:Cells (human lung fibroblasts Hel 299) were exposed to the static magnetic field (3.0 T) of a magnetic resonance imager (MRI) and to a turbo spin echo sequence at 3.0 T within clinical limitations (specific absorption rate 0.92 W/kg). A special MR-compatible incubation system was used. A control group (sham-exposed) and a MRI group (exposed) were set up. We investigated 3 biologic endpoints: colony forming, cell cycle, and proliferation ability. The exposure time was 2 hours in each experiment. Results:In the statistical analysis, none of these tests showed relevant differences between the exposed and sham-exposed group. Conclusions:No influences of the static field alone as well as a turbo spin echo sequence at 3.0 T on clonogenic ability, proliferation, or cell cycle in eugenic human lung fibroblasts were found.
The Practical Modelling of Context‐Dependent Causal Processes – A Recasting of Robert Rosen's Thought

This paper is a critical recasting of some of Robert Rosen's thought. It is argued that a lot of the thrust of Rosen's work can be better understood when recast in terms of the context dependency of causal models. When recast in this way, I seek to highlight how his thought does not lead to the abandonment of formal modelling and a descent into relativism, but a more careful and rigours science of complex systems. This also sheds light on several aspects of modelling, including the need for multiple models, the nature of modelling noise, and why adaptive systems cause particular problems to modellers. In this way, I hope to decrease researchers fear that, by taking Rosen's criticisms seriously, they would have to abandon the realm of acceptable science.
A least-movement topology repair algorithm for partitioned wireless sensor-actor networks

In Wireless Sensor-Actor Networks (WSANs), sensors probe their surroundings and send their data to more capable actor nodes. The actors' response requires them to coordinate their operation. Therefore, a strongly connected inter-actor topology is necessary and tolerance of an actor failure becomes a design requirement. Autonomous repositioning of actors has been deemed as an effective recovery strategy. In this paper, we present a distributed network recovery scheme called Least-Movement Topology Repair (LeMoToR). To restore connectivity, LeMoToR relies on the local view of a node about the network and strives to relocate the least number of nodes. It also reduces the total travelled distance and overall inter-node communication complexity. LeMoToR does not impose pre-failure communication overhead and utilises existing path discovery activities in the network to know the structure of the topology. The performance of LeMoToR is validated analytically and through simulation. The validation results demonstrate the effectiveness of LeMoToR.
Detection of Cardiac Right‐to‐Left Shunts by Contrast‐Enhanced Harmonic Carotid Duplex Sonography

Paradoxical embolization by cardiac right‐to‐left shunts (RLS) is increasingly recognized as an important factor for embolic stroke. Contrast‐enhanced transcranial Doppler sonography (ce‐TCDS) is an established diagnostic tool for RLS detection but is frequently limited because of an inadequate temporal acoustic bone window. The purpose of this study was to determine whether extracranial sonography (ECS) using harmonic frequencies improves detection of RLS.
Combinatorics&#8211;Based Recursive Closed Form Discrete Time Domain Green's Function for Soft and Hard boundaries

In this paper, combinatorial formulations are further developed using efficient recursive formulas, both for hard and soft boundary conditions. The resultant discrete Green's functions were verified by comparing them to numerical and frequency domain analytical results. Simulations of propagating pulses also show that the results produced directly over large distances indeed coincide with straightforward finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) calculations
Outcomes Analysis of Biologic Mesh Use for Abdominal Wall Reconstruction in Clean-Contaminated and Contaminated Ventral Hernia Repair

BackgroundRepair of grade 3 and grade 4 ventral hernias is a distinct challenge, given the potential for infection, and the comorbid nature of the patient population. This study evaluates our institutional outcomes when performing single-stage repair of these hernias, with biologic mesh for abdominal wall reinforcement. MethodsA prospectively maintained database was reviewed for all patients undergoing repair of grade 3 (potentially contaminated) or grade 4 (infected) hernias, as classified by the Ventral Hernia Working Group. All those patients undergoing repair with component separation techniques and biologic mesh reinforcement were included. Patient demographics, comorbidities, and postoperative complications were analyzed. Univariate analysis was performed to define factors predictive of hernia recurrence and wound complications. ResultsA total of 41 patients underwent single-stage repair of grade 3 and grade 4 hernias during a 4-year period. The overall postoperative wound infection rate was 15%, and hernia recurrence rate was 12%. Almost all recurrences were seen in grade 4 hernia repairs, and in those patients undergoing bridging repair of the hernia. One patient required removal of the biologic mesh. Those factors predicting hernia recurrence were smoking (P = 0.023), increasing body mass index (P = 0.012), increasing defect size (P = 0.010), and bridging repair (P = 0.042). No mesh was removed due to perioperative infection. Mean follow-up time for this patient population was 25 months. ConclusionsSingle-stage repair of grade 3 hernias performed with component separation and biologic mesh reinforcement is effective and offers a low recurrence rate. Furthermore, the use of biologic mesh allows for avoidance of mesh explantation in instances of wound breakdown or infection. Bridging repairs are associated with a high recurrence rate, as is single-stage repair of grade 4 hernias.
The Rac GEF ZizB regulates development, cell motility and cytokinesis in Dictyostelium

Dock (dedicator of cytokinesis) proteins represent a family of guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs) that include the well-studied Dock180 family and the poorly characterised zizimin family. Our current understanding of Dock180 function is that it regulates Rho small GTPases and thus has a role in a number of cell processes, including cell migration, development and division. Here, we use a tractable model for cell motility research, Dictyostelium discoideum, to help elucidate the role of the related zizimin proteins. We show that gene ablation of zizA causes no change in development, whereas ablation of zizB gives rise to an aberrant developmental morphology and a reduction in cell directionality and velocity, and altered cell shape. Fluorescently labelled ZizA protein associates with the microtubule-organising centre (MTOC), whereas ZizB is enriched in the cortex. Overexpression of ZizB also causes an increase in the number of filopodia and a partial inhibition of cytokinesis. Analysis of ZizB protein binding partners shows that it interacts with Rac1a and a range of actin-associated proteins. In conclusion, our work provides insight into the molecular and cellular functions of zizimin GEF proteins, which are shown to have a role in cell movement, filopodia formation and cytokinesis.
Induction of neonatal sodium channel II and III α‐isoform mRNAs in neurons and microglia after status epilepticus in the rat hippocampus

Sodium channels (NaChs) regulate neuronal excitability in both physiological and pathological conditions, including epilepsy and are therefore an important target for antiepileptic drugs. In the present study, we examined the distribution of mRNAs encoding neonatal NaChs II and III α‐isoforms in control rat hippocampus and after electrically‐induced status epilepticus (SE), using nonradioactive in situ hybridization (ISH). Only weak expression of neonatal NaCh II and III mRNAs was observed in control hippocampus. By contrast, increased expression of neonatal NaCh II and III mRNAs was observed 4 h after the induction of SE in neurons of CA1–CA3 and the dentate granule cell layer. These changes were detected only in rats in which SE was successfully induced and persisted, although less intense, for up to 3 months, when rats display spontaneous seizures. Strong expression of neonatal NaCh α‐isoforms was observed 1 week after SE in microglial cells, as confirmed by double labelling, combining ISH with immunocytochemistry for microglia markers. The increased expression of neonatal isoforms of the NaCh in both neurons and microglial cells may represent a critical mechanism for modulation of neuronal excitability, glial function and pharmacological response to antiepileptic drugs in the course of epileptogenesis.
Equity and quality mathematics education within schools: findings from TIMSS data for Ghana

Abstract In 2003, about 50 countries including Ghana participated in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). This is the first time that Ghana has participated in an international mathematics assessment that has provided the reliable data to examine equity and the quality of mathematics education within schools in Ghana. In the TIMSS assessment, the average Ghanaian student scored 276 compared to the international average of 466. This paper employed a multilevel framework to explore the schooling processes that provide opportunities for Ghanaian students to successfully learn mathematics. My analysis indicates that there is a significant variation among schools in their students' mathematics outcomes. The most successful students are males with highly educated parents. These students have high academic expectation, like mathematics and are confident learning mathematics. They attend schools that are often located in towns but not in villages or remote areas. In these schools, the parents of students are highly educated, and the mathematics teachers do not frequently use calculators but often provide students the opportunity to explain their mathematical ideas. These findings demonstrate that efforts to improve the quality of mathematics education and ensure equity in mathematics outcomes would require a comprehensive and holistic approach involving students, parents, and teachers
Inverse Scattering Homogenization method for conformal metamaterial structures

The composite nature of metamaterial structures, made up of metallic and dielectric parts, repeated and modulated in a certain order in the space, increases the numerical complexity of electromagnetic analysis: homogenizing such structures with a continuous dielectric model that achieves the same global electromagnetic response could be challenging, but it could give more information about the physical mechanism of wave propagation through it. The idea developed in this paper is to associate an equivalent permittivity to a novel metamaterial architecture (i.e. the microstrip-line-based metamaterial), solving an Inverse Scattering Problem (ISP). The expected global electromagnetic response involves the cloaking effect, artificially created by the radiation of surface waves propagating around the periodic structure. In the proposed Inverse Scattering Homogenization method (ISHM), the equivalent permittivity results exhibit values between zero and one, further tested in a Forward Scattering Problem (FSP), in order to establish a one-to-one correspondance between heterogeneous (physical) and homogeneous (mathematical) model.
Root Exudate-Induced Promoter Activity in Pseudomonas fluorescens Mutants in the Wheat Rhizosphere

Tn5-B20 (lacZ as reporter gene) transcriptional fusion mutants of Pseudomonas fluorescens R2f were screened for their response to wheat root exudate. Several mutants showed (beta)-galactosidase activity under the influence of wheat root exudate. In one such mutant, RIWE8, gene expression was specifically induced by proline but not by 125 other substrates. This mutant also showed reporter gene induction, albeit to a lesser extent, by exudate of maize and grass roots but not by that of clover roots. In situ promoter activity of RIWE8 was found in Flevo silt loam soil amended with proline but not in water-, arginine-, glutamic acid-, or malic acid-amended soils. Reporter gene expression in RIWE8 was triggered in a model rhizosphere-soil system in the presence of wheat, maize, and grass roots but not in the presence of clover roots or in root-free (bulk) soil. The induction of expression of the reporter gene in soil, using this approach, is suggestive that promoter activity in RIWE8 may be useful for the construction of organisms with rhizosphere-controlled beneficial genes.
A Muscleblind Knockout Model for Myotonic Dystrophy

The neuromuscular disease myotonic dystrophy (DM) is caused by microsatellite repeat expansions at two different genomic loci. Mutant DM transcripts are retained in the nucleus together with the muscleblind (Mbnl) proteins, and these abnormal RNAs somehow interfere with pre-mRNA splicing regulation. Here, we show that disruption of the mouse Mbnl1 gene leads to muscle, eye, and RNAsplicing abnormalities that are characteristic of DM disease. Our results support the hypothesis that manifestations of DM can result from sequestration of specific RNAbinding proteins by a repetitive element expansion in a mutant RNA.
Shunt Active Power Filter for 3-phase 3-wire nonlinear load under unbalanced and distorted PCC voltage using Notch Adaptive Filter

In this paper, the 3-phase 3-wire Shunt Active Power Filter (ShAPF) dealing with non-ideal PCC voltage will be presented. The instantaneous power theory is applied to design the APF controller which shows reliable performances. The Adaptive Notch Filter (ANF) is proposed to deal with those unbalanced and distorted PCC voltage. The Matlab/SimpowerSystems tool has proved that the ANF successful facilitates the ShAPF in terms of compensating harmonics current of nonlinear loads even without balance voltage circumstance.
Exploration of Supraventricular Conduction with respect to Atrial Fibrillation. Methodological Aspects on Selected Techniques

Atrial fibrillation is the most common cardiac arrhythmia that demands medical attention. Computer-based detailed analysis of cardiac electrical signals from healthy subjects and patients with a history of atrial fibrillation has become an important tool in the further clarification of this disease. The aim of this study was to explore supraventricular conduction using the following selected techniques, to present some results, and to clarify methodological aspects. Heart rate-stratified RR interval histograms were used to non-invasively assess the characteristics of the atrioventricular node during atrial fibrillation. An RR interval distribution with two distinct peaks was seen in most recordings, believed to represent the dual pathway physiology of the atrioventricular node. Atrial activation patterns were analyzed using signal-averaged P waves, a technique that can extract repetitive signals from uncorrelated noise. Using several different templates, a variability of P wave morphology was identified. In a modeling experiment, a mathematical algorithm was used to automatically classify different P wave morphologies. Different sets of parameters were tested, with the best results seen when using a decimated P wave morphology as input. A mathematical transform was used to derive vectorcardiograms from recorded 12-lead electrocardiograms. A comparison was made between P waves extracted from derived and recorded vectorcardiograms, illustrating that parameters used to describe morphology were preserved on a group basis, but with less accurate results in the individual case. Left atrial activation was studied using electrograms recorded from a coronary sinus catheter. Correlation function analysis was used to find similarity and time delay between pairs of electrograms. An organized and reproducible atrial conduction pattern was seen in signals recorded during sinus rhythm as well as during atrial fibrillation. The selected methods for studying atrial fibrillation have each contributed with genuine information concerning the mechanism of this common arrhythmia. The present methodological evaluation further reinforces these results. (Less)