Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Changes in Ponderal Index and Body Mass Index across Childhood and Their Associations with Fat Mass and Cardiovascular Risk Factors at Age 15

Background Little is known about whether associations between childhood adiposity and later adverse cardiovascular health outcomes are driven by tracking of overweight from childhood to adulthood and/or by vascular and metabolic changes from childhood overweight that persist into adulthood. Our objective is to characterise associations between trajectories of adiposity across childhood and a wide range of cardiovascular risk factors measured in adolescence, and explore the extent to which these are mediated by fat mass at age 15. Methods and Findings Using data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, we estimated individual trajectories of ponderal index (PI) from 0–2 years and BMI from 2–10 years using random-effects linear spline models (N = 4601). We explored associations between PI/BMI trajectories and DXA-determined total-body fat-mass and cardiovascular risk factors at 15 years (systolic and diastolic blood pressure, fasting LDL- and HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides, C-reactive protein, glucose, insulin) with and without adjustment for confounders. Changes in PI/BMI during all periods of infancy and childhood were associated with greater DXA-determined fat-mass at age 15. BMI changes in childhood, but not PI changes from 0–2 years, were associated with most cardiovascular risk factors in adolescence; associations tended to be strongest for BMI changes in later childhood (ages 8.5–10), and were largely mediated by fat mass at age 15. Conclusion Changes in PI/BMI from 0–10 years were associated with greater fat-mass at age 15. Greater increases in BMI from age 8.5–10 years are most strongly associated with cardiovascular risk factors at age 15, with much of these associations mediated by fat-mass at this age. We found little evidence supporting previous reports that rapid PI changes in infancy are associated with future cardiovascular risk. This study suggests that associations between early overweight and subsequent adverse cardiovascular health are largely due to overweight children tending to remain overweight.
DEVELOPMENT OF AN AXIAL - TORSION BIAXIAL FATIGUE TESTING MACHINE

The experimental evaluation of incremental plasticity models and multiaxial fatigue life prediction require the use of multiaxial testing machines. In this paper, an axial-torsion biaxial machine is developed and applied to perform multiaxial fatigue tests. This innovative electromechanical system uses two DC motors connected to gearboxes to generate axial and/or torsion loads. The design of the axial-torsion machine comprises the analysis of its structural integrity, component dimensioning and fatigue life prediction, complete modeling of the resulting dynamic system, development of a control technique, and finally its construction and testing. The control technique applied is a PID sliding control, which combines the advantages of a PID and sliding control. The optimal values of control parameters (proportional, integral, derivative) allow reaching the desired control response and avoid overshoot. The proposed sliding mode controller is chosen to ensure the stability of this electromechanical system. The controller is able to independently specify the axial force and torque load to be applied, being implemented in LabVIEW software running in a cRIO-NI control system. The inputs for both control systems are the error values of each load to be applied to the test specimen. The tension-torsion machine is designed to meet the requirements of a wide range of multiaxial fatigue tests, with a maximum axial force capacity of ±200kN and ±1300N.m torque capacity. The performance of the electromechanical system is experimentally evaluated from stress-strain multiaxial test results.
Impact of pharmacist management of pain, agitation, and delirium in the intensive care unit through participation in multidisciplinary bundle rounds.

PURPOSE A two-phase program to increase pharmacist involvement in management of pain, agitation and delirium (PAD) at a large community teaching hospital is described. SUMMARY Florida Orlando Hospital implemented a two-phase initiative to decrease intensive care unit (ICU) length of stay (LOS), ventilator use, sedative use, and hospital expenditures while advancing pharmacists' scope of practice. Phase 1 of the initiative involved a pilot project to evaluate pharmacist management of sedative therapy for mechanically ventilated patients. Using a newly developed PAD order set, a pharmacist performed daily sedation management in a cohort of patients; relative to physician-managed standard care, pharmacist-directed sedation management resulted in fewer hours of patient exposure to continuous sedation, with an overall 46% reduction in continuous infusions of sedatives and reductions in both ICU and total hospital LOS, resulting in estimated savings of $1.2 million in direct hospital costs and $183,216 in drug costs. In phase 2 of the project, an expanded group of pharmacists collaborated with interprofessional teams to manage PAD using an integrated "ABCDE bundle" to promote early mobility and weaning from sedatives and analgesics. A retrospective comparison of data on a cohort of medical ICU patients managed using the ABCDE bundle approach (n = 436) and a standard-care cohort (n = 499) demonstrated improvements in several outcomes, including mean ventilator days per patient, ICU LOS, and mortality. CONCLUSION The provision of proactive critical care pharmacist services directed at PAD management is an innovative approach to fostering interprofessional collaboration and optimizing clinical outcomes.
Smoke-Free Universities Help Students Avoid Establishing Smoking by Means of Facilitating Quitting

Background: This study aimed to clarify whether smoke-free policies affect the initiation or the quitting of smoking among young adults. Methods: In this natural quasi-experiment study, three universities with different enforcement of smoke-free policies were considered in Kazan City, Russian Federation. Exposure data were collected in 2008-2009 through measurement of particulate matter concentrations in typical sets of premises in each university to distinguish smoke-free universities (SFU) and those not smoke-free (NSFU). All present third year students were surveyed in class in April-June 2011. Number of valid questionnaires equaled 635. The questionnaire was adapted from the Health Professions Students Survey and contained questions on smoking initiation, current tobacco use, willingness to quit, quit attempts, perception of smoke-free policies enforcement, and the demographic data. Results: Among students of SFU, the percentage of current smokers was smaller than in NSFU: 42% vs. 64% in men and 32% vs. 43% in women. Prevalence of daily smoking was 11-12% in SFU, 26% in NSFU overall and 42% among male students. No advantage of SFU in limiting smoking initiation was found. Percentage of former smokers in SFU was 33% vs. 10% in NSFU. Among current smokers, 57% expressed willingness to quit in SFU and only 28% in NSFU. About 60% of current smokers in SFU attempted to quit within a year and only 36% did so in NSFU with 23% vs. 3% having done three or more attempts. Conclusion: Smoke-free universities help young adults to avoid establishing regular smoking by means of facilitating quitting smoking.
A combined phenotypic and genotypic method for the detection of Mex efflux pumps in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

BACKGROUND Mex efflux pumps contribute to multidrug resistance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Evidencing their expression in clinical isolates would help in rationalizing antibiotic selection. METHODS We have developed a combined phenotypic and genotypic approach for the differential diagnosis of resistance mediated by four major transporters (MexAB-OprM, MexCD-OprJ, MexEF-OprN, MexXY-OprM). The methodology was validated using reference strains harbouring only one specific transporter and its applicability evaluated towards seven selected clinical isolates, the resistance mechanisms of which could not be assigned by conventional techniques. Phenotypic detection used MIC measurements with reporter antibiotics [carbenicillin (MexAB-OprM); erythromycin (MexCD-OprJ); norfloxacin and imipenem (MexEF-OprN); gentamicin (MexXY-OprM)] with and without Phe-Arg-beta-naphthylamide. Genotypic detection was made by semi-quantitative reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) for mexC and mexE, and by quantitative competitive RT-PCR and real-time PCR for mexA and mexX (correlation between both methods: > 88 % ; overexpression levels ranging between 4.8 and 8.1). RESULTS Convergence between phenotypic and genotypic methods was observed in control strains for all pumps. For clinical isolates, convergence was obtained in 6 of 7 strains for MexXY-OprM and MexEF-OprM, and in 5 of 7 for MexAB-OprM and MexCD-OprJ, mostly due to hard to interpret phenotypic data. CONCLUSIONS The data plead for combining phenotypic and genotypic approaches in the diagnosis of efflux-mediated resistance in P. aeruginosa.
Calcification, Storm Damage and Population Resilience of Tabular Corals under Climate Change

Two facets of climate change–increased tropical storm intensity and ocean acidification–are expected to detrimentally affect reef-building organisms by increasing their mortality rates and decreasing their calcification rates. Our current understanding of these effects is largely based on individual organisms’ short-term responses to experimental manipulations. However, predicting the ecologically-relevant effects of climate change requires understanding the long-term demographic implications of these organism-level responses. In this study, we investigate how storm intensity and calcification rate interact to affect population dynamics of the table coral Acropora hyacinthus, a dominant and geographically widespread ecosystem engineer on wave-exposed Indo-Pacific reefs. We develop a mechanistic framework based on the responses of individual-level demographic rates to changes in the physical and chemical environment, using a size-structured population model that enables us to rigorously incorporate uncertainty. We find that table coral populations are vulnerable to future collapse, placing in jeopardy many other reef organisms that are dependent upon them for shelter and food. Resistance to collapse is largely insensitive to predicted changes in storm intensity, but is highly dependent on the extent to which calcification influences both the mechanical properties of reef substrate and the colony-level trade-off between growth rate and skeletal strength. This study provides the first rigorous quantitative accounting of the demographic implications of the effects of ocean acidification and changes in storm intensity, and provides a template for further studies of climate-induced shifts in ecosystems, including coral reefs.
tRNA structure and evolution and standardization to the three nucleotide genetic code

ABSTRACT Cloverleaf tRNA with a 75 nucleotide (nt) core is posited to have evolved from ligation of three 31 nt minihelices followed by symmetric internal deletions of 9 nt within ligated acceptor stems. Statistical tests strongly support the model. Although the tRNA anticodon loop and T loop are homologs, their U-turns have been treated as distinct motifs. An appropriate comparison, however, shows that intercalation of D loop G19 between T loop bases 4 and 5 causes elevation of T loop base 5 and flipping of T loop bases 6 and 7 out of the 7 nt loop. In the anticodon loop, by contrast, loop bases 3–7 stack tightly to form a stiff connection to mRNA. Furthermore, we identify ancient repeat sequences of 3 (GCG), 5 (UAGCC) and 17 nt (∼CCGGGUUCAAAACCCGG) that comprise 75 out of 75 nts of the tRNA cloverleaf core. To present a sufficiently stiff 3-nt anticodon, a 7-nt anticodon loop was necessary with a U-turn between loop positions 2 and 3. Cloverleaf tRNA, therefore, was a radical evolutionary innovation essential for the 3-nt code. Conservation of GCG and UAGCC repeat sequences indicates that cloverleaf tRNA is at the interface between a strange RNA repeat world and the first evolution of molecules that fold to assume biologic functions. We posit that cloverleaf tRNA was the molecular archetype around which translation systems evolved.
A comparison of submucosal tunneling endoscopic resection and endoscopic full-thickness resection for gastric fundus submucosal tumors.

AIM Both submucosal tunneling endoscopic resection (STER) and endoscopic full-thickness resection (EFTR) are effective methods for gastric fundus submucosal tumors (SMTs). However, there is little data that compares the two methods. The aim of this study was to compare the safety and efficacy of STER and EFTR for the treatment of SMTs in the gastric fundus. METHODS Clinical data was retrospectively collected from patients with gastric fundus SMTs who underwent STER or EFTR at our hospital from April 2011 to May 2016. Epidemiological data (gender, age), tumor size, procedure-related parameters, complications, postoperative hospital stay, cost and follow-up data were compared. RESULTS A total of 43 patients were enrolled: 15 underwent STER and the remaining 28 cases underwent EFTR. There were no significant differences between the two groups with regard to gender, age, tumor size, en bloc resection rate, operation time, pathohistological results and cost (p > 0.05). However, patients who underwent EFTR had a longer suture time, required a larger number of clips for closure and a prolonged postoperative hospital stay (p < 0.05). No recurrence was noted in either the STER or the EFTR group during a mean follow-up of 12.1 and 22.8 months, respectively. CONCLUSIONS The treatment efficacy of STER and EFTR for the treatment of gastric fundus SMTs was comparable. However, STER has some advantages over EFTR in terms of suture time, the number of clips required for closure and postoperative hospital stay.
Stable Isotope Biogeochemistry of Seabird Guano Fertilization: Results from Growth Chamber Studies with Maize (Zea Mays)

Background Stable isotope analysis is being utilized with increasing regularity to examine a wide range of issues (diet, habitat use, migration) in ecology, geology, archaeology, and related disciplines. A crucial component to these studies is a thorough understanding of the range and causes of baseline isotopic variation, which is relatively poorly understood for nitrogen (δ15N). Animal excrement is known to impact plant δ15N values, but the effects of seabird guano have not been systematically studied from an agricultural or horticultural standpoint. Methodology/Principal Findings This paper presents isotopic (δ13C and δ15N) and vital data for maize (Zea mays) fertilized with Peruvian seabird guano under controlled conditions. The level of 15N enrichment in fertilized plants is very large, with δ15N values ranging between 25.5 and 44.7‰ depending on the tissue and amount of fertilizer applied; comparatively, control plant δ15N values ranged between −0.3 and 5.7‰. Intraplant and temporal variability in δ15N values were large, particularly for the guano-fertilized plants, which can be attributed to changes in the availability of guano-derived N over time, and the reliance of stored vs. absorbed N. Plant δ13C values were not significantly impacted by guano fertilization. High concentrations of seabird guano inhibited maize germination and maize growth. Moreover, high levels of seabird guano greatly impacted the N metabolism of the plants, resulting in significantly higher tissue N content, particularly in the stalk. Conclusions/Significance The results presented in this study demonstrate the very large impact of seabird guano on maize δ15N values. The use of seabird guano as a fertilizer can thus be traced using stable isotope analysis in food chemistry applications (certification of organic inputs). Furthermore, the fertilization of maize with seabird guano creates an isotopic signature very similar to a high-trophic level marine resource, which must be considered when interpreting isotopic data from archaeological material.
Direct interactive visualization of locally refined spline volumes for scalar and vector fields

We present a novel approach enabling interactive visualization of volumetric Locally Refined B-splines (LR-splines). To this end we propose a highly efficient algorithm for direct visualization of scalar and vector fields given by an LR-spline. In both cases, our main contribution to achieve interactive frame rates is an acceleration structure for fast element look-up and a change of basis for efficient evaluation. To further improve the efficiency, we present a heuristic for adaptive sampling distance for the numerical integration. A comparison with existing adaptive approaches is performed. The algorithms are designed to fully utilize modern graphics processing unit (GPU) capabilities. Important applications where LR-spline volumes emerge are given for instance by approximation of large-scale simulation and sensor data, and Isogeometric Analysis (IGA). We showcase interactive rendering achieved by our approach on different representative use cases, stemming from simulations of wind flow around a telescope, Magnetic Resonance (MR) imaging of a human brain, and simulations of a fluidized bed used for mixing and coating particles in industrial processes.
A User Anonymous Mutual Authentication Protocol

Widespread use of wireless networks has drawn attention to ascertain confidential communication and proper authentication of an entity before granting access to services over insecure channels. Recently, Truong et al. proposed a modified dynamic ID-based authentication scheme which they claimed to resist smart-card-theft attack. Nevertheless, we find that their scheme is prone to smart-card-theft attack contrary to the author’s claim. Besides, anyone can impersonate the user as well as service provider server and can breach the confidentiality of communication by merely eavesdropping the login request and server’s reply message from the network. We also notice that the scheme does not impart user anonymity and forward secrecy. Therefore, we present another authentication scheme keeping apart the threats encountered in the design of Truong et al.’s scheme. We also prove the security of the proposed scheme with the help of widespread BAN (Burrows, Abadi and Needham) Logic.
Hydrogen peroxide and hydroxyl radical involvement in the activation of caspase-3 in chemically induced apoptosis of HL-60 cells

Apoptosis of HL-60 cells induced by actinomycin D, H7, or daunorubicin was shown to involve the activation of caspase-3-like protease, 2 h after the addition of these drugs, based on microassay of enzyme activity by high-performance liquid chromatography. Catalase and a spin trap, N-t-butyl-a-phenylnitrone, which effectively inhibited the apoptosis induced by these drugs, also inhibited the activation of caspase-3-like protease. These results suggest that hydrogen peroxide and the hydroxyl radical are common mediators of caspase-3 activation caused by these chemicals, with apparently different functional mechanisms. Based on mitochondrial activity determined by oxygen consumption, complexes I, II, and IV were inhibited by actinomyCMLS, Cell. Mol. Life Sci. 58 (2001) 485–491 1420-682X/01/030485-07 $ 1.50 + 0.20/0 © Birkhäuser Verlag, Basel, 2001 CMLS Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences * Corresponding author. cin D. H7 inhibited complexes I and IV, 1 and 1.5 h respectively, after the addition of the drug to HL-60 cells. Daunorubicin inhibited complex IV, 1.5 h after the addition of the drug to HL-60 cells. Inhibition of complex IV by actinomycin D, H7, and daunorubicin were almost fully restored by the addition of cytochrome c. The release to the cytosol of cytochrome c by these drugs was also demonstrated by Western blot analysis. Addition of catalase inhibited the depression of complex IV activity induced by actinomycin D and H7. These observations indicate a direct relationship between hydrogen peroxide and the release of cytochrome c during apoptosis caused by actinomycin D, H7, and daunorubicin.
Methods on Parathyroid Protection in Thyroid Surgery, Present and Future

Thyroid surgery is a widely performed operation in recent two decades with complication rate less than 5% [1]. Parathyroid damage is most frequent complication of thyroid surgery because parathyroid is near to or even inside of thyroid gland, and because it is a challenge to distinguish by naked eyes. It has been reported that the incidental rate of parathyroidectomy in thyroid surgery ranges between 6.4~31% [2]. Incidental parathyroidectomy can cause mild to serious hypocalcemia which in turn impair quality of patient’s life. So it is important to protect parathyroid and to keep its’ normal function in thyroid surgery. There are several methods, which identify and protect the parathyroid glands in thyroid surgery, have been developed in the past several years and have being developed in recent years.
Out of the Pacific and Back Again: Insights into the Matrilineal History of Pacific Killer Whale Ecotypes

Killer whales (Orcinus orca) are the most widely distributed marine mammals and have radiated to occupy a range of ecological niches. Disparate sympatric types are found in the North Atlantic, Antarctic and North Pacific oceans, however, little is known about the underlying mechanisms driving divergence. Previous phylogeographic analysis using complete mitogenomes yielded a bifurcating tree of clades corresponding to described ecotypes. However, there was low support at two nodes at which two Pacific and two Atlantic clades diverged. Here we apply further phylogenetic and coalescent analyses to partitioned mitochondrial genome sequences to better resolve the pattern of past radiations in this species. Our phylogenetic reconstructions indicate that in the North Pacific, sympatry between the maternal lineages that make up each ecotype arises from secondary contact. Both the phylogenetic reconstructions and a clinal decrease in diversity suggest a North Pacific to North Atlantic founding event, and the later return of killer whales to the North Pacific. Therefore, ecological divergence could have occurred during the allopatric phase through drift or selection and/or may have either commenced or have been consolidated upon secondary contact due to resource competition. The estimated timing of bidirectional migration between the North Pacific and North Atlantic coincided with the previous inter-glacial when the leakage of fauna from the Indo-Pacific into the Atlantic via the Agulhas current was particularly vigorous.