Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Plasma Leptin Concentrations Do Not Appear to Decrease Insulin-Mediated Glucose Disposal or Glucose-Stimulated Insulin Secretion in Women With Normal Glucose Tolerance

The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that plasma leptin concentrations contributed to the pathophysiology of NIDDM by decreasing both insulin-mediated glucose disposal and glucose-stimulated insulin secretion. The study was performed in 60 women with normal oral glucose tolerance. Differences in insulinmediated glucose disposal were determined by comparing the steady-state plasma glucose (SSPG) concentrations attained at the end of a 180-min constant infusion of somatostatin, glucose, and insulin, while comparisons of glucose-stimulated insulin secretion were based on the incremental increase in insulin concentration 30 min after an oral glucose challenge (ΔIns) as compared with the fasting value. The results showed that the higher the fasting plasma leptin concentration, the greater the degree of insulin resistance (r = 0.47, P < 0.01). Furthermore, multiple regression analysis indicated that the relationship between leptin and SSPG was independent of age and degree of obesity as estimated by BMI. However, since the total integrated plasma insulin response was highly correlated with both SSPG (r = 0.80, P < 0.001) and leptin (r = 0.55, P < 0.01), multiple regression analysis was repeated, adding total insulin response to the model. When this was done, the significant relationship between leptin and SSPG disappeared, whereas both BMI (P < 0.03) and insulin response (P < 0.001) were correlated with SSPG. A significant relationship between leptin and AIns was seen, but it was a positive one (r = 0.31, P < 0.02), not a negative one as would be expected if circulating levels of leptin inhibited glucose-stimulated insulin secretion. Furthermore, multiple regression analysis could only confirm an independent relationship between AIns and SSPG, but not between AIns and leptin. The results of these studies do not support the view that circulating leptin has a primary effect on either insulin action or secretion in normal female volunteers. It seems more likely that chronic hyperinsulinemia in insulin-resistant individuals acts to increase adipose tissue leptin synthesis and secretion, leading to higher ambient leptin concentrations.
Target selection for antisense oligonucleotide induced exon skipping in the dystrophin gene

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is an X‐linked recessive muscle wasting disorder characterised by the absence of the protein dystrophin. Antisense oligonucleotides have been used to re‐direct dystrophin pre‐mRNA processing by blocking sequences crucial to pre‐mRNA splicing, thereby inducing skipping of specific exons. We wished to determine which splicing motifs are most amenable as targets for antisense oligonucleotide induction of efficient and specific skipping of selected exons.
Control over Additive White Gaussian Noise Channels: Bode-Type Integrals, Channel Blurredness, Negentropy Rate, and Beyond

Abstract This paper aims at developing Bode-type integrals for control systems over additive white Gaussian noise channels, by way of deriving information theoretic equalities and inequalities. The integrals characterize the fundamental performance trade-offs of such networked feedback systems with linear time-invariant plants and causal stabilizing controllers. We propose two new notions to facilitate our development: channel blurredness and negentropy rate. The channel blurredness provides an alternative measure for the quality of communication channels to the conventional notion of channel capacity. The negentropy rate, on the other hand, relates the entropy rate of a stochastic process to its power spectrum. Both notions are shown to be closely relevant to networked feedback systems. Indeed, the Bode-type integrals developed herein are seen to depend on the channel blurredness of the communication channel, as well as the negentropy of the exogenous disturbances.
Research on Retailer's Ordering Decision under bank financing

For small and medium-sized retailer, the optimal-ordering policy is often limited by its cash flow. On one hand, many research assume that retailers have enough cash to obtain the optimal-order quantity; on the other hand, research that considers the retailer's capital constraint usually assumes the market demand is certain. In this paper, we study the two-period optimal ordering decisions of the retailer who has cash flow concern under stochastic market demand. Based on the newsvendor model, we solve the problem backward from the second period to the first period to maximize the retailer's cash level on hand in the second period, and then discuss the relationship between the optimal ordering and the initial capital level. We show that the retailer's optimal inventory level increases by the initial capital level. And the retailer's ordering policy is decided not only by his initial cash level, but also by the profit margin of the product. For smaller profit margin, the structure of the retailer's optimal order policy can be characterized by five intervals of the initial cash level; but for a larger profit margin, the optimal order policy can be characterized by three intervals.
Assembly of laminin isoforms by triple- and double-stranded coiled-coil structures.

Assembly of laminin isoforms by tripleand double-stranded coiled-coil structures Jurgen Engel,* Irene Hunter,* Therese Schulthess,* Konrad Beck,t Tony W. Dixon,$ and David A. D. Parry$ *Department of Biophysical Chemistry, Biozentrum of the University of Basel, CH-4056 Basel, Switzerland; tlnstitute for Biophysics, University of Linz, A-4040 Linz, Austria and $Department of Physics and Biophysics, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand 839
Total Lung Deposition of Ultrafine Particles in Elderly Subjects During Controlled Breathing

Abstract Ultrafine particulate matter (PM) in the air may be harmful to health, particularly in elderly subjects. From the dosimetry point of view, it is not known if the elderly subjects are more susceptible to exposure to ultrafine PM. We measured the total deposition fraction (TDF) of ultrafine PM (NMD = 0.04–0.1 μm in number median diameter) in the lungs of healthy, elderly subjects (age = 69 ± 5yr) and compared the results with those obtained from young adults (age = 31 ± 4 yr) in an earlier study. Subjects inhaled the aerosols with six different breathing patterns: three different tidal volumes (Vt = 500, 750, and 1000 ml) and two flow rates (Q) for each Vt. TDF was measured breath by breath in situ by measuring aerosol concentrations on inhalation and exhalation using an ultrafine condensation particle counter. Mean TDF (±SD) of the elderly subjects was 0.43 ± 0.03, 0.36 ± 0.04, 0.31 ± 0.03, and 0.27 ± 0.02for NMD = 0.04, 0.06, 0.08, and 0.1 μm, respectively, for Vt = 500ml and Q = 250ml/s. These and all other results were very similar to those of young adults. The results suggest that healthy, elderly subjects are not subjected to a greater respiratory dose of ultrafine PM than young adults under the same exposure conditions.
Improved Draft Genome Sequence of Clostridium pasteurianum Strain ATCC 6013 (DSM 525) Using a Hybrid Next-Generation Sequencing Approach

ABSTRACT We present an improved draft genome sequence for Clostridium pasteurianum strain ATCC 6013 (DSM 525), the type strain of the species and an important solventogenic bacterium with industrial potential. Availability of a near-complete genome sequence will enable strain engineering of this promising bacterium.
Dutch guidelines for economic evaluation: ‘from good to better’ in theory but further away from pharmaceuticals in practice?

Economic evaluation (EE) is still a historically young discipline in healthcare. Originally started as a technique for assessing investments in the public sector, EE has been applied to healthcare since the last decades of the previous century and disseminated rapidly to many countries, thanks partly to a successful English manual, which was later translated into many other languages. The first edition of the manual mainly referred to EE on health procedures, services or programmes, and not to products like drugs. Then, very soon, the Canadian State of Ontario and Australia issued the first pharmacoeconomic guidelines for drugs reimbursement, followed later by many Western European countries (e.g. The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and Sweden). Last year the Dutch National Health Care Institute issued new guidance for EE in healthcare. Although the latest guidelines (Box 1) go beyond drugs (differently from the past), covering five further areas (prevention, diagnostics, medical devices, longterm care and forensics), pharmaceuticals are still the main field of application. Several elements of novelty reflect the methodological developments in EEs, two of which have been judged the most important recommendations for drugs: value of information analysis and indirect medical costs. Both concern EE ‘borderline’ subjects coping with uncertainty. The first is a statistical tool intended to be useful for assessing uncertainty related to the consequences of inappropriate decision-making in healthcare; the second concerns the unrelated future medical costs induced during the life years gained indirectly from a technology which prolongs the life of patients. In general, although we do not dispute that the new Dutch guidelines can be considered a scientific step forward in improving the requirements for EEs in healthcare, moving from good to better recommendations and still open to further improvement in the future, we still feel that health decisionmakers should be fully aware of the general intrinsic limits of EE that have been underlined in the last two decades, moving from theory to practice. Thus, here we critically analyse the main key points for conducting an EE, underlining the main weaknesses of EE as pragmatic tools for public decision-making, particularly in the perspective of pharmaceutical pricing and reimbursement.
On Unifying Deep Generative Models : Supplementary Materials

ADA aims to transfer prediction knowledge learned from a source domain with labeled data to a target domain without labels, by learning domain-invariant features. Let Dφ(x) = qφ(y|x) be the domain discriminator. The conventional formulation of ADA is as following: maxD LD = Ex=G(z),z∼p(z|y=1) [logD(x)] + Ex=G(z),z∼p(z|y=0) [log(1−D(x))] , maxG LG = Ex=G(z),z∼p(z|y=1) [log(1−D(x))] + Ex=G(z),z∼p(z|y=0) [logD(x)] . (1)
Improved Student Achievement Using Personalized Online Homework for a Course in Material and Energy Balances

184 “Digital natives” is a term describing the majority of students in higher education today. [1-4] These students have had access to computers and the Internet from early in childhood. Being connected to technology is considered normal with Smartphones and iPods always within reach. Educating technology-savvy students necessitates a more dynamic process than the standard lecture-homework-exam paradigm used at most universities during the 20th century. [4] Technology in the classroom is one way to engage the current generation of students (e.g., clickers, Tablet PCs, YouTube Fridays). [5-7] Using technology in a classroom setting is a form of active learning that successfully connects students and learning. [8] Of specific interest here, online homework is an out-of-class technology that challenges students and personalizes the learning experience.
The pyramidal neuron in occipital, temporal and prefrontal cortex of the owl monkey (Aotus trivirgatus): regional specialization in cell structure

Recent studies have revealed marked regional variation in pyramidal cell morphology in primate cortex. In particular, pyramidal cells in human and macaque prefrontal cortex (PFC) are considerably more spinous than those in other cortical regions. PFC pyramidal cells in the New World marmoset monkey, however, are less spinous than those in man and macaques. Taken together, these data suggest that the pyramidal cell has become more branched and more spinous during the evolution of PFC in only some primate lineages. This specialization may be of fundamental importance in determining the cognitive styles of the different species. However, these data are preliminary, with only one New World and two Old World species having been studied. Moreover, the marmoset data were obtained from different cases. In the present study we investigated PFC pyramidal cells in another New World monkey, the owl monkey, to extend the basis for comparison. As in the New World marmoset monkey, prefrontal pyramidal cells in owl monkeys have relatively few spines. These species differences appear to reflect variation in the extent to which PFC circuitry has become specialized during evolution. Highly complex pyramidal cells in PFC appear not to have been a feature of a common prosimian ancestor, but have evolved with the dramatic expansion of PFC in some anthropoid lineages.
Modeling and Querying Uncertainty in Data Cleaning

Data quality problems such as duplicate records, missing values, and violation of integrity constrains frequently appear in real world applications. Such problems cost enterprises billions of dollars annually, and might have unpredictable consequences in missioncritical tasks. The process of data cleaning refers to detecting and correcting errors in data in order to improve the data quality. Numerous efforts have been taken towards improving the effectiveness and the efficiency of the data cleaning. A major challenge in the data cleaning process is the inherent uncertainty about the cleaning decisions that should be taken by the cleaning algorithms (e.g., deciding whether two records are duplicates or not). Existing data cleaning systems deal with the uncertainty in data cleaning decisions by selecting one alternative, based on some heuristics, while discarding (i.e., destroying) all other alternatives, which results in a false sense of certainty. Furthermore, because of the complex dependencies among cleaning decisions, it is difficult to reverse the process of destroying some alternatives (e.g., when new external information becomes available). In most cases, restarting the data cleaning from scratch is inevitable whenever we need to incorporate new evidence. To address the uncertainty in the data cleaning process, we propose a new approach, called probabilistic data cleaning, that views data cleaning as a random process whose possible outcomes are possible clean instances (i.e., repairs). Our approach generates multiple possible clean instances to avoid the destructive aspect of current cleaning systems. In this dissertation, we apply this approach in the context of two prominent data cleaning problems: duplicate elimination, and repairing violations of functional dependencies (FDs). First, we propose a probabilistic cleaning approach for the problem of duplicate elimination. We define a space of possible repairs that can be efficiently generated. To achieve this goal, we concentrate on a family of duplicate detection approaches that are based on parameterized hierarchical clustering algorithms. We propose a novel probabilistic data model that compactly encodes the defined space of possible repairs. We show how to efficiently answer relational queries using the set of possible repairs. We also define new types of queries that reason about the uncertainty in the duplicate elimination process.
Review on Various Architectural Models in Mobile Crowdsensing

: Sensors are the basic components of various wireless sensor networks. They are used in many devices like smart phones, music players and in vehicle sensing devices as application. This may lead to the evolution of Internet of Things. In this survey we examine the mobile crowd sensing where a group of mobile crowd sensing application users may sense and collectively share information. Further we present the features and characteristics of the MCS and their application. Also, we compare the existing mobile crowd sensing applications such as Vita and Medusa a programming framework for MCS application.
Maternal parental self-efficacy in newborn care and social support needs in Singapore: a correlational study.

AIM AND OBJECTIVE To examine the correlation between maternal parental self-efficacy and social support as well as predictors of self-efficacy in the early postpartum period. BACKGROUND Maternal parental self-efficacy is important for mothers' adaptation to motherhood. Lack of support could result in decreased maternal parental self-efficacy in newborn care. Limited studies have focused on maternal parental self-efficacy in the postpartum period in Asia and none in Singapore. STUDY DESIGN A correlational study design was adopted. METHODS Data were collected from both primiparas and multiparas during the first to third days postpartum in a public hospital, using the Perceived Maternal Parental Self-efficacy and Perinatal Infant Care Social Support Scales. The data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. RESULTS Maternal parental self-efficacy in newborn care and the level of social support that mothers received were moderate. In terms of the social support subscales, informational and instrumental support was lower than emotional and appraisal support. Informal support from husbands, parents and parents-in-law was the main source of support. A significant correlation was found between maternal parental self-efficacy and total social support in addition to the informational, instrumental and appraisal subscales of functional support. The predictors of maternal parental self-efficacy were parity, social support and maternal age. CONCLUSION The findings highlight the predictors and correlates of maternal parental self-efficacy in newborn care and the social support needs of mothers in the early postpartum period. Healthcare professionals could provide more information and instrumental support and involve family members to enhance maternal parental self-efficacy. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE Because maternal parental self-efficacy and social support in the early postpartum period are interrelated components, they could be assessed to identify at-risk mothers. There is a need to develop perinatal educational programmes to provide culturally competent individualised support to mothers in need.
A Structural and Immunological Comparison of Rickettsial HSP60 Antigens with Those of Other Species a , b

At a cellular level, the physiological responses of plants, animals, and both eukaryotic and prokaryotic microorganisms to a rapid increase in temperature (heat shock) are remarkably universal. ' Generally, a select subset of proteins is produced in greatly increased amounts while the majority of other proteins decline in content. The proteins which are hyperinduced are known as heat-shock proteins (HSPS). ~ Heat-shock proteins are thought to have an important role in protection of the cell against heat as well as the physiological stresses, including exposure to heavy metal ions or other toxins, ultraviolet light, or ethanol, which also induce synthesis of heat-shock proteins. Seventeen HSP have been identified in Escherichia cok3 Under heat-shock conditions, a number of very different bacteria have been shown to synthesize a set of proteins with molecular weights remarkably similar to those of the HSP initially found in E. ~ o l i . ~ * Strikingly, by DNA sequence analysis of genes encoding HSP, by comparison of physical properties of the proteins themselves, and, indirectly, by demonstration of conserved antigenic domains with monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies, a number of these proteins have also been shown to be highly conserved between eukaryotes and prokaryotes. Such conservation has most lnotably been observed for proteins related to the E. coli DnaK protein {equivalent to the eukaryotic HSP70 family of
Dynamic Taxonomies: A Model for Large Information Bases

A novel taxonomic model for structuring and accessing large heterogeneous information bases is presented. The model is designed to simplify both classification and access by computer-illiterate people. It defines simple and intuitive operations to access large information bases at the conceptual level and at different levels of abstraction, in a totally assisted way, through a simple, yet effective visual interface. The model can also be used to summarize result sets computed by other query methods, such as information retrieval, shape retrieval, etc., and to provide user maps for complex hypermedia networks. The experience gained by applying this model to commercial applications is reported.
Quantitative Measurement of Crack Parameters Using Microwave Eddy-Current Techniques

The objectives of this work were to develop an electromagnetic scattering model that can be used to predict the microwave scattering from a crack in a metallic surface, and to evaluate the potential of using microwave scattering measurements to determine the dimensions of the crack. The . initial approach to this problem has been to model the surface crack as a section of rectangular waveguide shorted at one end. Theoretical and experimental results are presented for this case, and the potential for obtaining a quantitative evaluation of the crack dimensions is discussed.
Isolation of Burkholderia cepacia complex genomovars from waters.

The aim of this study was to develop a selective enrichment broth as an aid for the isolation of Burkholderia cepacia complex (Bcc) bacteria from water. To allow growth of all nine genomovars, mixtures of two carbon sources had to be used, i.e. L-arabinose/D-cellobiose or L-arabinose/L-threonine. Selectivity was provided by polymyxin B and 9-chloro-9-(4-diethylaminophenyl)-10-phenylacridan (C-390). Following enrichment, Bcc bacteria were isolated on a diagnostic O/F agar supplemented with gentamicin. A preliminary bio-diversity study on 28 surface waters yielded five different genomovars, i.e. B. cepacia (genomovar I), B. multivorans, B. cenocepacia, B. vietnamiensis and B. anthina. Drinking waters did not contain Bcc bacteria. However, the genomovar pattern from a given sample varied with the enrichment broth used.
Dynamic behavior of electronics package and impact reliability of BGA solder joints

Clarifies the dynamic behavior of BGA or CSP packaging subjected to an impact loading, and establishes a simple analytical method of impact reliability assessment for solder joints. In order to take dynamic material properties into account, a high deformation speed tension test and a vibration test were carried out to obtain the strain rate dependence of yield stress and Young's modulus of solder materials and PCB. A 3-D analytical model of PCB mounted with a BGA chip was used to simulate the impact behavior of BGA packaging, and explicit-based FEM code LS-DYNA was used to carry out the dynamic analysis. It was found that the impact reliability of solder joints is greatly affected by the falling posture. However, it was found that fine meshing of solder joints causes a rapid augmentation of calculation cost. In this study, the authors proposed a new method of transient response analysis by utilizing implicit-based FEM code NASTRAN to drop the calculation cost of impact study. It was shown that the present method can accurately simulate the dynamic behavior of BGA packaging including the time histories of the deformations and stresses, and it can drop the CPU time to about one tenth of that of LS-DYNA analysis.
A framework for cell movement image analysis

This article describes an image analysis framework for the characterization and analysis of cell trajectories considering the following three biologically relevant parameters: (a) the behavior of each individual cell; (b) interactions between each pair of cells; and (c) interactions between each cell and its environment. The potential of the overall framework is illustrated with respect to real cell displacement data.