Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
What Is the Clinical Significance of Insulin Resistance?

Insulin resistance is a frequent phenomenon and a marker of increased risk for non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) and atherosclerosis. According to recent estimations, not only individuals with obesity, NIDDM, and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) but also one fourth of the “healthy” glucose tolerant and the majority of the hypertensive population are insulin resistant. Insulin resistance describes a tissue- and pathway-specific defect of glucose metabolism that is compensated for by hyperinsulinemia, leading to a cluster of undesirable hypertensiogenic, diabetogenic, and atherogenic processes. The initial defect can be directly measured by glucose clamp and other sophisticated techniques; the clinical syndrome may be derived from a network of related variables known to be associated with reduced in- sulin action. Because neither clamps nor serum insulin screenings will be available on a widespread basis, early diagnosis based on clinical criteria is crucial. A new interpretation of the “thrifty” genotype hypothesis may explain why insulin resistance, which formerly apparently represented an advantage in the evolutionary selection process, is such a frequent phenomenon. Improvement of impaired insulin action as a therapeutic principle may play a future central role in an integrated lifestyle approach of primary prevention of noncommunicable diseases such as NIDDM, hypertension, and atherosclerosis
Genetic Variants in Meiotic Program Initiation Pathway Genes Are Associated with Spermatogenic Impairment in a Han Chinese Population

Background The meiotic program initiation pathway genes (CYP26B1, NANOS1 and STRA8) have been proposed to play key roles in spermatogenesis. Objective To elucidate the exact role of the genetic variants of the meiosis initiation genes in spermatogenesis, we genotyped the potential functional genetic variants of CYP26B1, NANOS1 and STRA8 genes, and evaluated their effects on spermatogenesis in our study population. Design, Setting, and Participants In this study, all subjects were volunteers from the affiliated hospitals of Nanjing Medical University between March 2004 and July 2009 (NJMU Infertile Study). Total 719 idiopathic infertile cases were recruited and divided into three groups according to WHO semen parameters: 201 azoospermia patients (no sperm in the ejaculate even after centrifugation), 155 oligozoospermia patients (sperm counts <20×106/ml) and 363 infertility/normozoospermia subjects (sperm counts >20×106/ml). The control group consisted of 383 subjects with normal semen parameters, all of which had fathered at least one child without assisted reproductive technologies. Measurements Eight single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in CYP26B1, NANOS1 and STRA8 genes were determined by TaqMan allelic discrimination assay in 719 idiopathic infertile men and 383 healthy controls. Results and Limitations The genetic variant rs10269148 of STRA8 gene showed higher risk of spermatogenic impairment in the groups of abnormospermia (including azoospermia subgroup and oligozoospermia subgroup) and azoospermia than the controls with odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals of 2.52 (1.29–4.94) and 2.92 (1.41–6.06), respectively (P = 0.006, 0.002 respective). Notably, larger sample size studies and in vivo or in vitro functional studies are needed to substantiate the biological roles of these variants. Conclusions Our results provided epidemiological evidence supporting the involvement of genetic polymorphisms of the meiotic program initiation genes in modifying the risk of azoospermia and oligozoospermia in a Han-Chinese population.
EFFECTS OF TROLOX ON NERVE DYSFUNCTION, THERMAL HYPERALGESIA AND OXIDATIVE STRESS IN EXPERIMENTAL DIABETIC NEUROPATHY

1 Diabetic neuropathy is one of the most common complications of diabetes and oxidative stress has been implicated to play a major role in its pathophysiology. 2 In the present study, we targeted oxidative stress using trolox, an anti‐oxidant, in streptozotocin‐induced diabetic neuropathy in rats. 3 Compared with control rats, diabetic rats showed significant deficits in motor nerve conduction velocity (MNCV; 49.91 ± 1.94 vs 42.77 ± 1.39 m/s, respectively) and nerve blood flow (NBF; 107.98 ± 8.22 vs 38.9 ± 2.7 arbitarary perfusion units, respectively) after 8 weeks of diabetes. Tail flick latencies for cold and hot immersion tests were also significantly reduced in diabetic rats, indicating thermal hyperalgesia. These observations indicate development of diabetic neuropathy. 4 A significant decrease in the activity of anti‐oxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase and catalase) and an increase in lipid peroxidation were observed in sciatic nerves from diabetic rats compared with age‐matched control rats. Alterations in the activity of anti‐oxidant enzymes and lipid peroxidation in diabetic rats indicate oxidative stress in diabetic neuropathy. 5 Two weeks treatment with trolox (10 and 30 mg/kg, i.p.) started on completion of the 6th week of diabetes significantly improved MNCV, NBF and inhibited thermal hyperalgesia. Trolox treatment also improved the activity of anti‐oxidant enzymes and inhibited lipid peroxidation in sciatic nerves of diabetic rats. 6 The results of the present study suggest the beneficial effects of trolox in experimental diabetic neuropathy.
Organizing successful new service development: a literature review

Organizing new service development is an important topic for decision makers in service firms, since continuous innovation is expected to pay off. Although the literature on organizing new service development has grown rapidly over the last decade, the numerous publications are highly fragmented, each concentrating on a small piece of the complex innovation puzzle. This paper classifies current literature on organizing new service development (NSD) into two evolutionary stages: managing key activities in the NSD process, and creating a climate for continuous innovation. For both stages its consequences for the initiation and implementation of new services are discussed. The paper ends with limitations and suggestions for future research.
Proteinmorphosis: A Mechanical Model for Protein Conformational Changes

Proteinmorphosis is a physically-based interactive modeling system for simulating large or small conformational changes of proteins and protein complexes. It takes advantage of the cross-linked one-dimensional nature of protein chains. The user can, based on her chemical knowledge, pull pairs of points (lying either on a single protein or on different molecules) together by specifying geometric distance constraints. The resulting conformation(s) of the molecule(s) of interest is computed by an efficient finite element formalism taking into account elasticity of the protein backbone, van der Waals repulsions, hydrogen bonds, salt bridges and the imposed distance constraints. The conformational change is computed incrementally and the result can be visualized as an animation; complete interactivity is provided to position and view the proteins as desired by the user. Physical properties of regions on the protein can also be chosen interactively. The conformational change of calmodulin upon peptide binding is examined as a first experiment. It is found that the result is satisfactory in reproducing the conformational change that follows on peptide binding. We use Proteinmorphosis to study the cooperative hemoglobin oxygen binding mechanism in a second, more sophisticated, experiment. Different modeling strategies are designed to understand the allosteric (cooperative) binding process in this system and the results are found to be consistent with existing hypotheses.
Differences between Men and Women Enrolling in Smoking Cessation Programs Using Yoga as a Complementary Therapy

This study compares the characteristics of men and women, respectively, participating in two randomized controlled pilot studies whose primary aims were to test the feasibility of yoga as a complementary therapy for smoking cessation. Participants were aged 18-65, generally healthy and were daily smokers. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and chi-square tests examined gender differences in smoking rate, potential treatment mediators, and covariates (e.g., smoking history, health status, weight concerns, mood, and prior withdrawal symptoms). A total of 55 women and 38 men participated in the study. Differences between men and women at enrollment included: women reported significantly greater withdrawal (p<0.005), anxiety (p=0.032), and depression (p=0.027) symptoms than men. More women than men (91% vs. 66%) reported having been told by their doctor to quit smoking (p=0.003), had an existing smoking-related illness (33% vs. 13%; p=0.032), and reported smoking for weight control (15% vs. 0%; p=0.014). Results showed good feasibility for recruiting both men and women into a study using yoga as a complementary therapy for smoking cessation. Results also indicate that interventions may need to be tailored to meet different needs (e.g., addressing co-morbid depression) between men and women.
Androgenesis from Festuca pratensis × Lolium multiflorum amphidiploid cultivars in order to select and stabilize rare gene combinations for grass breeding

Androgenesis using amphidiploid cultivars of Festuca pratensis × Lolium multiflorum as parents, overcame earlier problems that gave rise to widespread plant sterility amongst androgenic Festulolium populations. Two Festuca pratensis × Lolium multiflorum (2n=4x=28) cultivars, Sulino and Felopa, were highly amenable to androgenesis and 10% of plants, including some novel androgenic genotypes, had sufficient fertility to produce progeny and further generations. The genomes of amphidiploid cultivars, which represent the F8 generation, were the result of considerable intergeneric chromosome recombination. Moreover, during cultivar development, natural and breeders’ selection pressures had led to the assembly of gene combinations that conferred good growth characters and fertility with the removal of putative deleterious gene combinations. Over 80% of the androgenic plants derived from the amphidiploid F. pratensis × L. multiflorum (2n=4x=28) had 14 chromosomes and were likely to be dihaploids with a single genome of Lolium and of Festuca. In contrast, hybrids of F. pratensis × L. multiflorum (2n=2x=14) found naturally are invariably sterile. Structural reorganization within the genomes of the androgenic Festulolium plants had restored fertility in genotypes expected to contain the haploid genome of Lolium and Festuca. This provided opportunities for their future incorporation in breeding programmes and the development of fertile diploid Lolium–Festuca hybrids. Amongst the androgenic plants, Festulolium genotypes were recovered that conferred excellent drought resistance or freezing tolerance and were thought to be highly suitable for entry into plant breeding programmes.
Isolation, and Virulence Profiles, of Aeromonas hydrophila Implicated in an Outbreak of Food Poisoning in Sweden

A case of food poisoning outbreak involving Aeromonas hydrophila is reported in this study. A group of 27 people consumed a typical Swedish food “landgång” which is a type of smörgåsbord containing shrimps with mayonnaise, liver paté, ham, sausage, and legume salad which was purchased from a food store. Twenty‐two of the 27 persons became ill within 20‐34 hr of consumption of the food and reported the symptoms ranging from severe acute diarrhea, abdominal pain, headache, fever and vomiting. One person also fainted. The symptoms lasted for a couple of days. Of the remaining 5 healthy persons who consumed the left‐over food the next day, 2 became ill with similar symptoms. The bacteriological examination of left‐over food samples resulted in the isolation of A. hydrophila from shrimps with mayonnaise, smoked sausage, liver paté and boiled ham. The total number of A. hydrophila in these foods were log 106 to log >107 organisms per gram of food sample. A. hydrophila was however, not isolated from legume/mayonnaise salad samples. All the food samples tested showed low numbers of other expected food contaminating organisms such as coliforms at 37 C and 44 C, fecal streptococci, Staphylococcus aureus, fungi and yeast etc., while Bacillus cereus, Clostridium perfringens and Salmonella spp. were not detected in the food samples. Investigations of the virulence profiles of the A. hydrophila isolates showed their capacity to produce β‐hemolysin, cytotoxins, cytotonic toxins, enterotoxins, and adhesion to and invasion of human intestinal (Henle 407) cells in culture.
Observations On Compressed Pattern-Matching with Ranked Variables in Zimin Words

Zimin words are very special finite words which are closely related to the pattern-avoidability problem. This problem consists in testing if an instance of a given pattern with variables occurs in almost all words over any finite alphabet. The problem is not well understood, no polynomial time algorithm is known and its NP-hardness is also not known. The pattern-avoidability problem is equivalent to searching for a pattern (with variables) in a Zimin word. The main difficulty is potentially exponential size of Zimin words. We use special properties of Zimin words, especially that they are highly compressible, to design efficient algorithms for special version of the patternmatching, called here ranked matching. It gives a new interpretation of Zimin algorithm in compressed setting. We discuss the structure of rankings of variables and compressed representations of values of variables.
The effects of cisapride on antroduodenal co-ordination and gastric emptying.

Five studies have shown that cisapride increased the antral motility index in the interdigestive and digestive states and three of these studies showed a stimulation of duodenal motility index and increased antroduodenal coordination. In normal volunteers and in patients with dyspepsia (223 subjects), both solid and liquid emptying is speeded by cisapride compared with placebo, and cisapride was as good as, or better than, metoclopramide at the same dosage. In studies in 37 diabetics with gastroparesis, both solid and liquid emptying were speeded and returned to normal, and cisapride was superior to metoclopramide. Solid emptying was speeded in patients with anorexia nervosa, chronic pseudo-obstruction and systemic sclerosis and the delay in gastric emptying induced by both morphine and dopamine was reversed. The effect of cisapride on bile reflux is still uncertain. Eight different methods of measuring gastric emptying were employed in these studies and they all gave similar results; the doses ranged from 2.5-10 mg i.v. , and up to 20 mg orally.
Neural network tracking control of ocean surface vessels with input saturation

In this paper, robust adaptive tracking control is proposed for ocean surface vessels based on neural network. In the tracking control design, parametric uncertainties, unknown disturbances and input saturation are explicitly considered. Using neural network (NN) approximation and backstepping control techniques, full state feedback control and output feedback control are investigated to tackle system uncertainties and control input saturation. An auxiliary design system is presented to analyze the effect of input saturation, and states of auxiliary design system are utilized to develop the tracking control. Under the both of developed tracking control approaches, semi-global uniform boundedness of all closed-loop signals are guaranteed via Lyapunov analysis. Simulation studies are given to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed tracking control.
The UIP : An Unbiased and Efficient Estimator

This paper examines the uncovered interest rate parity condition at long and short run horizons (low and high frequency). An asymptotically unbiased and an efficient nonlinear dynamic least square estimator is used to estimate the long-run coefficients. Conditional on cointegration, short-run relationships over the cycles are then examined. There is evidence in favor of UIP. [JEL # F31, F41, C13] 1 The author is an advisor at the Economics Department of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand. Contact address is Reserve Bank of New Zealand, P. O. Box 2498, Wellington, New Zealand, e-mail razzakw@rbnz.govt. nz. Views expressed in this paper do not necessarily reflect those of the Reserve Bank. This work has benefited greatly from discussions and close work with Francisco Nadal De Simone. I am grateful to Peter Phillips, Nelson Mark, Robert Flood, Andrew Rose, Yin Wong Cheung, Menzie Chinn, John McDermott and participants of New Zealand Economic Meeting in Christchurch 1997 and the Far Eastern Meeting of the Econometric Society 1999 for their generous comments.
Technology Transfer Through FDI in Top-10 Transition Countries: How Important are Direct Effects, Horizontal and Vertical Spillovers?

The paper exploits a large set of more than 8,000 firms for ten advanced transition countries in order to uncover the importance of different channels of technology transfer through FDI and its impact on productivity growth of local firms. In addition to direct effects, we also distinguish between intra-industry (horizontal) and inter-industry (vertical) spillovers from foreign owned firms to local firms. After correcting for foreign investment selection bias and controlling for endogeneity of input demand (using a dynamic system GMM approach), direct FDI effects were found to provide by far the most important productivity effect for local firms in transition countries. Direct effects of FDI are found to provide on average an impact on firm? s productivity that is larger by factor 50 than the impact of backward linkages and by factor 500 larger than the impact of horizontal spillovers.
Retracts in Simply Typed -calculus

In this paper retractions existing in all models of simply typed-calculus are studied, relating them to other relations among types as isomorphisms, surjec-tions and injections. A formal system to deduce the existence of such retractions is shown to be sound and complete with respect to retractions deenable by linear terms , and results aiming to a system complete w.r. t. the \provable retractions" tout court are established .
Successful Use of mRNA-Nucleofection for Overexpression of Interleukin-10 in Murine Monocytes/Macrophages for Anti-inflammatory Therapy in a Murine Model of Autoimmune Myocarditis

Background Overexpression of interleukin-10 (IL-10) in murine CD11b+ monocytes/macrophages via GMP-adapted mRNA-nucleofection was expected to improve clinical outcome and reduce adverse side effects in autoimmune myocarditis. This study represents the proof of principle for a novel anti-inflammatory therapy using overexpression of IL-10 in murine monocytes/macrophages by mRNA-nucleofection for the treatment of autoimmune myocarditis. Methods and Results Autoimmune myocarditis was induced in A/J mice by subcutaneous immunization with troponin I. CD11b+ monocytes/macrophages were isolated from the peritoneum and IL-10 was overexpressed by mRNA-nucleofection. These cells were injected intravenously. Myocardial inflammation was assessed via histological and immunohistochemical examinations. Myocardial fibrosis was analyzed with Masson's trichrome staining. Antitroponin I antibodies were determined within the serum. Physical performance was evaluated using a running wheel and echocardiography. In vitro overexpression of IL-10 in CD11b+ monocytes/macrophages resulted in a 7-fold increased production of IL-10 (n=3). In vivo higher levels of IL-10 and less inflammation were detected within the myocardium of treated compared with control mice (n=4). IL-10–treated mice showed lower antitroponin I antibodies (n=10) and a better physical performance (n=10). Conclusions Application of IL-10–overexpressing CD11b+ monocytes/macrophages reduced inflammation and improved physical performance in a murine model of autoimmune myocarditis. Thus, the use of genetically modified monocytes/macrophages facilitated a targeted therapy of local inflammation and may reduce systemic side effects. Because the nucleofection technique is GMP adapted, an in vivo use in humans seems basically feasible and the transfer to other inflammatory diseases seems likely.
Memory of relative magnitude judgments informs absolute identification

The question of whether people store absolute magnitude information or relative local comparisons of magnitudes has remained unanswered despite persistent efforts over the last three decades to resolve it. Absolute identification is one of the most rigorous experimental benchmarks for evaluating theories of magnitude representation. We characterize difficulties with both absolute and relative accounts of magnitude representation and propose an alternative account that potentially resolves these difficulties. We postulate that people store neither long-term internal referents for stimuli, not binary comparisons of size between successive stimuli. Rather, they obtain probabilistic judgments of size differences between successive stimuli and encode these for future use, within the course of identification trials. We set up a Bayesian ideal observer model for the identification task using this representation of magnitude and propose a memory-sampling based approximation for solving it. Simulations suggest that the model adequately captures human behavior patterns in absolute identification.
Clinical and economic outcomes in an observational study of COPD maintenance therapies: multivariable regression versus propensity score matching

Purpose To investigate equivalency of results from multivariable regression (MR) and propensity score matching (PSM) models, observational research methods used to mitigate bias stemming from non-randomization (and consequently unbalanced groups at baseline), using, as an example, a large study of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) initial maintenance therapy. Methods Patients were 32,338 health plan members, age ≥40 years, with COPD initially treated with fluticasone propionate/salmeterol combination (FSC), tiotropium (TIO), or ipratropium (IPR) alone or in combination with albuterol. Using MR and PSM methods, the proportion of patients with COPD-related health care utilization, mean costs, odds ratios (ORs), and incidence rate ratios (IRRs) for utilization events were calculated for the 12 months following therapy initiation. Results Of 12,595 FSC, 9126 TIO, and 10,617 IPR patients meeting MR inclusion criteria, 89.1% (8135) of TIO and 80.2% (8514) of IPR patients were matched to FSC patients for the PSM analysis. Methods produced substantially similar findings for mean cost comparisons, ORs, and IRRs for most utilization events. In contrast to MR, for TIO compared to FSC, PSM did not produce statistically significant ORs for hospitalization or outpatient visit with antibiotic or significant IRRs for hospitalization or outpatient visit with oral corticosteroid. As in the MR analysis, compared to FSC, ORs and IRRs for all other utilization events, as well as mean costs, were less favorable for IPR and TIO. Conclusion In this example of an observational study of maintenance therapy for COPD, more than 80% of the original treatment groups used in the MR analysis were matched to comparison treatment groups for the PSM analysis. While some sample size was lost in the PSM analysis, results from both methods were similar in direction and statistical significance, suggesting that MR and PSM were equivalent methods for mitigating bias.
A novel approach to the design and implementation of dual-band compact planar 90/spl deg/ branch-line coupler

This paper presents the design of a novel branch-line coupler that can operate at two arbitrary frequencies. The proposed circuit also features compact size and planar structure. Explicit design formulas of the proposed dual-band coupler are analytically derived. Moreover, practical issues such as the realization of branch-line impedance and optimum choice of circuit topologies are addressed. For verification purposes, both simulated and measured results of a microstrip branch-line coupler operating at 900/2000 MHz are included.