Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Disability Mediates the Impact of Common Conditions on Perceived Health

Background We examined the extent to which disability mediates the observed associations of common mental and physical conditions with perceived health. Methods and Findings WHO World Mental Health (WMH) Surveys carried out in 22 countries worldwide (n = 51,344 respondents, 72.0% response rate). We assessed nine common mental conditions with the WHO Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI), and ten chronic physical with a checklist. A visual analog scale (VAS) score (0, worst to 100, best) measured perceived health in the previous 30 days. Disability was assessed using a modified WHO Disability Assessment Schedule (WHODAS), including: cognition, mobility, self-care, getting along, role functioning (life activities), family burden, stigma, and discrimination. Path analysis was used to estimate total effects of conditions on perceived health VAS and their separate direct and indirect (through the WHODAS dimensions) effects. Twelve-month prevalence was 14.4% for any mental and 51.4% for any physical condition. 31.7% of respondents reported difficulties in role functioning, 11.4% in mobility, 8.3% in stigma, 8.1% in family burden and 6.9% in cognition. Other difficulties were much less common. Mean VAS score was 81.0 (SD = 0.1). Decrements in VAS scores were highest for neurological conditions (9.8), depression (8.2) and bipolar disorder (8.1). Across conditions, 36.8% (IQR: 31.2–51.5%) of the total decrement in perceived health associated with the condition were mediated by WHODAS disabilities (significant for 17 of 19 conditions). Role functioning was the dominant mediator for both mental and physical conditions. Stigma and family burden were also important mediators for mental conditions, and mobility for physical conditions. Conclusions More than a third of the decrement in perceived health associated with common conditions is mediated by disability. Although the decrement is similar for physical and mental conditions, the pattern of mediation is different. Research is needed on the benefits for perceived health of targeted interventions aimed at particular disability dimensions.
Suppression of PKC causes oncogenic stress for triggering apoptosis in cancer cells

Gain of functional mutations in ras occurs in more than 30% of human malignancies and in particular 90% of pancreatic cancer. Mutant ras, via activating multiple effector pathways, not only promote cell growth or survival, but also apoptosis, depending upon cell types or circumstances. In order to further study the mechanisms of apoptosis induced by oncogenic ras, we employed the ras loop mutant genes and demonstrated that Akt functioned downstream of Ras in human pancreatic cancer or HPNE cells ectopically expressing mutated K-ras for the induction of apoptosis after the concurrent suppression of PKC α and β. In this apoptotic process, the redox machinery was aberrantly switched on in the pancreatic cancer cells as well as prostate cancer DU145 cells. p73 was phosphorylated and translocated to the nucleus, accompanied with UPR activation and induction of apoptosis. The in vitro results were corroborated by the in vivo data. Thus, our study indicated that PKC α and β appeared coping with oncogenic Ras or mutated Akt to maintain the balance of the homeostasis in cancer cells. Once these PKC isoforms were suppressed, the redox state in the cancer cells was disrupted, which elicited persistent oncogenic stress and subsequent apoptotic crisis.
A genetic algorithm for optimized reconstruction of quantized signals

This paper describes a genetic algorithm that evolves optimized sets of coefficients for one-dimensional signal reconstruction under lossy conditions due to quantization. Beginning with a population of mutated copies of the set of coefficients describing a standard wavelet-based inverse transform, the genetic algorithm systemically evolves a new set of coefficients that significantly reduces mean squared error (relative to the performance of the selected wavelet) for various classes of one-dimensional signals. The evolved transforms also outperform wavelets when subsequently tested against random signals from the same class
Sensitivity of Soil Moisture Analyses to Contrasting Background and Observation Error Scenarios

Soil moisture is a crucial variable for numerical weather prediction. Accurate, global initialization of soil moisture is obtained through data assimilation systems. However, analyses depend largely on the way observation and background errors are defined. In this study, a wide range of short experiments with contrasted specifications of the observation error and soil moisture background were conducted. As observations, screen-level variables and brightness temperatures from the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) mission were used. The region of interest is North America, given the good availability of in situ observations and mixture of different climates, making it a good test for global applications. The impact of these experiments on soil moisture and the atmospheric layer near the surface were evaluated. The results highlighted the importance of assimilating observations sensitive to soil moisture for air temperature and humidity forecasts. The benefits on predicting the soil water content were more noticeable with increasing the SMOS observation error, and with the introduction of soil texture dependency in the soil moisture background error.
Population Screening Using Sewage Reveals Pan-Resistant Bacteria in Hospital and Community Samples

The presence of pan-resistant bacteria worldwide possesses a threat to global health. It is difficult to evaluate the extent of carriage of resistant bacteria in the population. Sewage sampling is a possible way to monitor populations. We evaluated the presence of pan-resistant bacteria in Israeli sewage collected from all over Israel, by modifying the pour plate method for heterotrophic plate count technique using commercial selective agar plates. This method enables convenient and fast sewage sampling and detection. We found that sewage in Israel contains multiple pan-resistant bacteria including carbapenemase resistant Enterobacteriacae carrying blaKPC and blaNDM-1, MRSA and VRE. blaKPC carrying Klebsiella pneumonia and Enterobacter cloacae were the most common Enterobacteriacae drug resistant bacteria found in the sewage locations we sampled. Klebsiella pneumonia, Enterobacter spp. , Escherichia coli and Citrobacter spp. were the 4 main CRE isolated from Israeli sewage and also from clinical samples in our clinical microbiology laboratory. Hospitals and Community sewage had similar percentage of positive samplings for blaKPC and blaNDM-1. VRE was found to be more abundant in sewage in Israel than MRSA but there were more locations positive for MRSA and VRE bacteria in Hospital sewage than in the Community. Therefore, our upgrade of the pour plate method for heterotrophic plate count technique using commercial selective agar plates can be a useful tool for routine screening and monitoring of the population for pan-resistant bacteria using sewage.
The Functional Network of the Arabidopsis Plastoglobule Proteome Based on Quantitative Proteomics and Genome-Wide Coexpression Analysis1[C][W][OA]

Plastoglobules (PGs) in chloroplasts are thylakoid-associated monolayer lipoprotein particles containing prenyl and neutral lipids and several dozen proteins mostly with unknown functions. An integrated view of the role of the PG is lacking. Here, we better define the PG proteome and provide a conceptual framework for further studies. The PG proteome from Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) leaf chloroplasts was determined by mass spectrometry of isolated PGs and quantitative comparison with the proteomes of unfractionated leaves, thylakoids, and stroma. Scanning electron microscopy showed the purity and size distribution of the isolated PGs. Compared with previous PG proteome analyses, we excluded several proteins and identified six new PG proteins, including an M48 metallopeptidase and two Absence of bc1 complex (ABC1) atypical kinases, confirmed by immunoblotting. This refined PG proteome consisted of 30 proteins, including six ABC1 kinases and seven fibrillins together comprising more than 70% of the PG protein mass. Other fibrillins were located predominantly in the stroma or thylakoid and not in PGs; we discovered that this partitioning can be predicted by their isoelectric point and hydrophobicity. A genome-wide coexpression network for the PG genes was then constructed from mRNA expression data. This revealed a modular network with four distinct modules that each contained at least one ABC1K and/or fibrillin gene. Each module showed clear enrichment in specific functions, including chlorophyll degradation/senescence, isoprenoid biosynthesis, plastid proteolysis, and redox regulators and phosphoregulators of electron flow. We propose a new testable model for the PGs, in which sets of genes are associated with specific PG functions.
Group-based Motion Detection for Energy-Efficient Localisation

Long-term outdoor localization remains challenging due to the high energy profiles of GPS modules. Duty cycling the GPS module combined with inertial sensors can improve energy consumption. However, inertial sensors that are kept active all the time can also drain mobile node batteries. This paper proposes duty cycling strategies for inertial sensors to maintain a target position accuracy and node lifetime. We present a method for duty cycling motion sensors according to features of movement events, and evaluate its energy and accuracy profile for an empirical data trace of cattle movement. We further introduce the concept of group-based duty cycling, where nodes that cluster together can share the burden of motion detection to reduce their duty cycles. Our evaluation shows that both variants of motion sensor duty cycling yield up to 78% improvement in overall node power consumption, and that the group-based method yields an additional 20% power reduction during periods of low mobility.
Hidden Staphylococcus aureus Carriage: Overrated or Underappreciated?

ABSTRACT Staphylococcus aureus is a persistent companion bacterial species in one-third of humankind. Reservoirs include the nasal and nasopharyngeal cavities, skin, and gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Despite earlier claims that colonization of individuals is caused by clonal organisms, next-generation sequencing (NGS) has revealed that resident type heterogeneity is not exceptional. Carriage, whether overt or hidden, is correlated with a risk of autoinfection. In a recent article in mBio, it was shown that, based on staphylococcal genome sequencing, low-level GI persistence may cause long-term nosocomial outbreaks [L. Senn et al., 7(1):e02039-15, 2016, doi:10.1128/mBio.02039-15]. Institutional endemicity with methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) sequence type 228 (ST228) is shown to originate not from high-level nasal carriage or poor compliance with infection control practice but from low-grade asymptomatic GI colonization. This shows the power of NGS in elucidating staphylococcal epidemiology and, even more important, demonstrates that (drug-resistant) microorganisms may possess stealthy means of persistence. Identifying these persistence mechanisms is key to successful infection control.
The Veterans Health Administration : Quality , Value , Accountability , and Information as Transforming Strategies for Patient-Centered Care

The Veterans Health Administration (VHA), one of three administrations within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), is the largest integrated health system in the United States. Suffering deservedly or not during the 1980s and early 1990s from a tarnished reputation of bureaucracy, inefficiency, and mediocre care, the VA sought to reinvent itself beginning in 1995 as a model system characterized by patient-centered, high-quality, high-value healthcare. This reinvention mandated structural and organizational changes, rationalization of resource allocation, measurement and active management of quality and value (and clear accountability for quality and value), and an information infrastructure that would increasingly support the needs of patients, clinicians, and administrators. Although predating the US Institute of Medicine’s recent recommendations for a more ideal health system, the VA’s improvement using strategies remarkably similar to those enunciated in the report provides increasing evidence for the utility of the recommendations in closing the “quality chasm. ” Through adoption of evidence-based practices, proactive approaches to patient safety, and use of advanced technologies (eg, a fully deployed electronic health record, bar-coded medication administration), the VA’s success in improving quality, safety, and value have allowed it to emerge as an increasingly recognized leader in healthcare. HISTORY OF THE VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION
Sulfiredoxin‐1 protects PC12 cells against oxidative stress induced by hydrogen peroxide

Oxidative stress results in protein oxidation and is implicated in cerebral disease, such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, and ischemic stroke. Sulfiredoxin‐1 (Srxn1) is an endogenous antioxidant protein that has neuroprotective effects. The mechanisms of Srxn1 in oxidative stress have not been well studied, however. This study used 180 μM H2O2 exposure for 24 hr to model oxidative stress. This experimental design allowed us to explore the protective effects and underlying mechanisms of Srxn1 in PC12 cells. To investigate Srxn1's role in oxidative stress protection, transient knockdowns of Srxn1 in PC12 cells were performed prior to treatment with 180 μM H2O2 for 24 hr. Knockdown of Srxn1 resulted in decreased cell viability and increased cellular damage as determined by 3‐(4,5‐dimethylthiazol‐2‐yl)−2,5‐diphenyl tetrazolium bromide and lactate dehyrogenase analysis, respectively. Intracellular superoxide dismutase and glutathione are important indexes of oxidative stress; these were reduced in Srxn1 knockdown PC12. We further found that the decreased Srxn1 correlated with a reduction in 2‐Cys Prdxs activity. Moreover, 2‐Cys Prdxs protein levels were increased in the H2O2‐dosed cells, as measured by RT‐PCR and immunoblot analysis. These results suggested that Srxn1 can protect PC12 cells from H2O2‐induced oxidative stress and are involve in Prdxs activity. Srxn1 play a protective role against oxidative injury and demonstrates potential as a target for neuroprotective intervention in oxidative stress. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
First-order logic Davis-Putnam-Logemann-Loveland procedure

The Davis-Putnam-Logemann-Loveland procedure (DPLL) was introduced in the early 1960s as a proof procedure for first-order logic. Nowadays, only its propositional logic core component is widely used in efficient propositional logic provers and respective applications. This success has motivated lifting DPLL to the first-order logic level in a more contemporary way, by exploiting successful first-order techniques like unification. Following this idea, in this chapter, a first-order logic version of DPLL, FDPLL, is presented.While propositional DPLL is based on a splitting rule for case analysis with respect to ground and complementary literals, FDPLL uses a lifted splitting rule--that is, the case analysis is made with respect to nonground and complementary literals now. To make this work, a new way of treating variables is employed. It comes together with a compact way of representing and reasoning with first-order logic interpretations, much like propositional DPLL reasons about propositional truth assignments. As a nice consequence, FDPLL naturally decides the class of Beruays-Schonfinkel formulas, which is notoriously difficult for most other calculi.
Estimation of Heavy-Ion LET Thresholds in Advanced SOI IC Technologies From Two-Photon Absorption Laser Measurements

The laser energy thresholds for SEU for SOI 1-Mbit SRAMs built in Sandia's 0.35-μm SOI technology were measured using carrier generation by two-photon absorption. The laser measurements were correlated to heavy-ion threshold LET measurements to determine an empirical relationship between laser energy threshold and heavy-ion threshold LET. This empirical relationship was used to estimate the threshold LETs for other circuits built in Sandia's 0.35-μm SOI technology and SRAMs built in IBM's 45 and 65-nm SOI technologies. For an ASIC built in Sandia's 0.35-μm SOI technology the estimated threshold from laser measurements was close to the measured heavy-ion threshold LET. However, for a dual-port SRAM also built in Sandia's 0.35-μm SOI technology and for the 45- and 65-nm IBM SOI SRAMs, the threshold LETs estimated from laser measurements did not correlate to the measured heavy-ion threshold LETs. For the IBM SRAMs, the likely cause of the discrepancy between the threshold LETs estimated from laser measurements and the threshold LETs measured by heavy-ion testing is due to the laser pulse simultaneously injecting charge into multiple transistors within a memory cell and/or in adjacent memory cells. This is due to the relatively large size of the laser spot size compared to the size of the SEU sensitive volume of the IBM SOI devices. The hardness assurance implications of these results are discussed.
Respiratory status that facilitates subclavian venous catheterization

baseline values was observed with the administration of the dexmedetomidine loading dose, with a maximum of 120/79. Heart rate decreased over this time period from a peak of 180 bpm (following glycopyrrolate administration) to 132 bpm. We opted to use dexmedetomidine in this infant with generalized hypotonia because it provides sedation and analgesia without compromising respiratory drive. While sedation with dexmedetomidine may attenuate airway reflexes, we chose to accept the resultant potentially increased risk of aspiration over the risk of encountering a difficult intubation with a rapid sequence or modified-rapid sequence technique. The Shikani Optical Stylet offered specific advantages in this patient. Intubation with the Shikani Optical Stylet can be performed without advancing the scope through the vocal cords. Additionally, compared with a flexible fiberoptic scope, the rigid optical stylet more readily displaces soft tissue, is easier to stabilize and is therefore less subject to movement from the tongue (1). Recently, total intravenous anesthesia with dexmedetomidine as a single agent in infants undergoing laryngoscopy and bronchoscopy was reported (2). The case presented here demonstrates a novel use of this drug to facilitate tracheal intubation with the Shikani Optical Stylet in an infant with anticipated difficult tracheal intubation.
Object and place memory in the macaque entorhinal cortex.

Lesions of the entorhinal cortex in humans, monkeys, and rats impair memory for a variety of kinds of information, including memory for objects and places. To begin to understand the contribution of entorhinal cells to different forms of memory, responses of entorhinal cells were recorded as monkeys performed either an object or place memory task. The object memory task was a variation of delayed matching to sample. A sample picture was presented at the start of the trial, followed by a variable sequence of zero to four test pictures, ending with a repetition of the sample (i.e., a match). The place memory task was a variation of delayed matching to place. In this task, a cue stimulus was presented at a variable sequence of one to four "places" on a computer screen, ending with a repetition of one of the previously shown places (i.e., a match). For both tasks, the animals were rewarded for releasing a bar to the match. To solve these tasks, the monkey must 1) discriminate the stimuli, 2) maintain a memory of the appropriate stimuli during the course of the trial, and 3) evaluate whether a test stimulus matches previously presented stimuli. The responses of entorhinal cortex neurons were consistent with a role in all three of these processes in both tasks. We found that 47% and 55% of the visually responsive entorhinal cells responded selectively to the different objects or places presented during the object or place task, respectively. Similar to previous findings in prefrontal but not perirhinal cortex on the object task, some entorhinal cells had sample-specific delay activity that was maintained throughout all of the delay intervals in the sequence. For the place task, some cells had location-specific maintained activity in the delay immediately following a specific cue location. In addition, 59% and 22% of the visually responsive cells recorded during the object and place task, respectively, responded differently to the test stimuli according to whether they were matching or non-matching to the stimuli held in memory. Responses of some cells were enhanced to matching stimuli, whereas others were suppressed. This suppression or enhancement typically occurred well before the animals' behavioral response, suggesting that this information could be used to perform the task. These results indicate that entorhinal cells receive sensory information about both objects and spatial locations and that their activity carries information about objects and locations held in short-term memory.
Global morphology and physical relations between the stars, gas and dust in the disc and arms of M100

We study star formation processes in the disc of the weakly barred grand design spiral galaxy M100 (NGC 4321) from a variety of images tracing recent massive star formation, old and young stars, dust, and neutral hydrogen. Differences between arm and interarm regions are specifically studied by decomposing the images into arm and non-arm zones. We find from a comparison of the morphology in H�, H i and dust that while the first two are coincident over most of the disc, they are offset from the dust lanes especially along the inner parts of the spiral arms: a picture which is indicative of a density wave shock moving through the arms. H i is formed near the young massive stars as a result of photo-dissociation. From radial profiles we find that in the region of the star-forming spiral arms the exponential scale lengths for H�, blue and near-infrared light, and 21 cm radio continuum are equal within the fitting errors. The scale lengths for the interarm region are also equal for all these tracers, but the arm scale lengths are significantly longer. This points to a common origin of the profiles in star formation, with little or no influence from radial population gradients or dust in the disc of this galaxy. The longer arm scale lengths are equivalent to an outwardly increasing arm-interarm contrast. We argue that the radial profiles of radio continuum and H i, as well as CO, are also directly regulated by star formation, and discuss the possible implications of this result for the interpretation of observed CO intensities in and outside spiral arms. We discuss the radial atomic hydrogen profile in some detail. Its almost perfectly flat shape in the region of the star-forming spiral arms may be explained by photodissociation and recombination processes in the presence of a limited quantity of interstellar dust, controlling the equilibrium between the molecular and atomic form of hydrogen. Over most of the inner part of the disc, Hi seems to be a product of the star formation processes, rather than the cause of enhanced star formation.
Disease severity in children and adults with Pompe disease related to age and disease duration

Information about 255 children and adults with Pompe disease was gathered through a questionnaire. Disease severity was associated with disease duration and not with age; an early manifestation of the disease implied earlier wheelchair or ventilator dependency. The patient group under age 15 included a subgroup with a more severe and rapid course of the disease. They require more intensive follow-up and early intervention, before irreversible damage has occurred.