Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
[Familial clustering of obesity and the role of lifestyle factors among children in Beijing].

OBJECTIVE To investigate the correlation between lifestyle factors, parental obesity and adiposity in children, in order to provide theoretical evidence for public health policy establishment. METHODS A cross-sectional observation study was conducted among approximately 20 thousand children aged 2 - 18 years old in urban and rural regions of Beijing, by using stratified randomization clustering sampling methods. Familial environmental risk factors of children adiposity and parental obesity were assessed with standardized questionnaire. Anthropometric measurements, including height and weight, were conducted. SPSS 13.0 software was applied to analyze the data, including general description, chi(2) trend test and non-condition logistic analyse. RESULTS With IOTF obesity references, the prevalence of obesity in 21,198 children aged 2 - 18 years old was 5.6%. The behavioral characters (for example, smoking and drinking) and children obesity showed significant familial aggregation. In groups including "both parents not smoke", "only one parent smoke" and "both parents smoke", the smoking rates of offsprings were 1.50%, 2.93% and 6.01%, respectively (chi(trend)(2) = 107.009, P < 0.01). A similar pattern was found for offsprings' alcohol consumption rates (5.85%, 9.12% and 13.96%; chi(trend)(2) = 107.009, P < 0.01). Based on parents' BMI status, in groups including "both parents had normal weight", "father was obese", "mother was obese" and "both parents were obese", the prevalence of obesity in children were 3.29%, 11.48%, 9.12% and 27.01%, respectively (chi(trend)(2) = 293.404, P < 0.01). After controlling for sex and ages, factors such as physical exercises, sleeping times per day, fat intakes, watching TV, drinking alcohol were impact factors of children obesity. After controlling of confounding factors, such as children gender, age, birth weight, puberty, smoking history, drinking history, fat intakes, soft drink, physical exercises, education experiences of parents, smoking history, drinking history, family income and so on, maternal obesity had a greater influence on daughters than on sons (OR = 5.93, 95% CI: 3.57 - 9.84), and paternal obesity showed similar influence on sons (OR = 4.29, 95% CI: 3.21 - 5.72). Comparing to parents with normal weight, obese parents had more powerful impact on daughters (OR = 28.51, 95% CI: 15.13 - 53.72) than on sons (OR = 7.21, 95% CI: 4.07 - 12.75), regarding to 2 - 5 years group and 10 - 12 years group versus other age group (OR = 18.67, 95% CI: 1.49 - 234.46; OR = 22.25, 95% CI: 10.62 - 46.59). CONCLUSION Parental obesity is an independent risk factor of adiposity in children; gender and age affect this association. The lifestyle patterns of parents should have great impact on children. When prevention or intervention with children obesity, familial environmental factors should be emphasized.
IONIC MECHANISMS REGULATING SODIUM ENTRY INTO VASCULAR SMOOTH MUSCLE

1. Na+/H+ exchange, an ethylisopropylamiloride (EIPA)‐sensitive Na+ and HCO3‐ dependent system and a diisothio‐cyanatostilbenedisulphonic acid (DIDS)‐sensitive Na+ and HCO3‐ transporter, contribute to sodium influx and intracellular pH (pHi) regulation in vascular smooth muscle.
The Effects of Antenatal Corticosteroids on Short- and Long-Term Outcomes in Small-for-Gestational-Age Infants

Aim: To evaluate the effect of antenatal corticosteroids (ANS) on short- and long-term outcomes in small-for-gestational age (SGA) infants. Methods: A retrospective database analysis was performed. A total of 1,931 single infants (birth weight <1,500 g) born at a gestational age between 22 weeks and 33 weeks 6 days who were determined to be SGA registered in the Neonatal Research Network Database in Japan between 2003 and 2007 were evaluated for short-term outcome and long-term outcome. Results: ANS was administered to a total of 719 infants (37%) in the short-term outcome evaluation group and 344 infants (36%) in the long-term outcome evaluation group. There were no significant differences between the ANS group and the no-ANS group for primary short-term outcome (adjusted odds ratio (OR) 0.73; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.45-1.20; P-value 0.22) or primary long-term outcome (adjusted OR 0.69; 95% CI 0.40-1.17; P-value 0.17). Conclusions: Our results show that ANS does not affect short- or long-term outcome in SGA infants when the birth weight is less than 1500 g. This study strongly suggests that administration of ANS resulted in few benefits for preterm FGR fetuses.
Nitric Oxide Synthase-Dependent Nitric Oxide Production Is Associated with Salt Tolerance in Arabidopsis1[OA]

Nitric oxide (NO) has emerged as a key molecule involved in many physiological processes in plants. To characterize roles of NO in tolerance of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) to salt stress, effect of NaCl on Arabidopsis wild-type and mutant (Atnoa1) plants with an impaired in vivo NO synthase (NOS) activity and a reduced endogenous NO level was investigated. Atnoa1 mutant plants displayed a greater Na+ to K+ ratio in shoots than wild-type plants due to enhanced accumulation of Na+ and reduced accumulation of K+ when exposed to NaCl. Germination of Atnoa1 seeds was more sensitive to NaCl than that of wild-type seeds, and wild-type plants exhibited higher survival rates than Atnoa1 plants when grown under salt stress. Atnoa1 plants had higher levels of hydrogen peroxide than wild-type plants under both control and salt stress, suggesting that Atnoa1 is more vulnerable to salt and oxidative stress than wild-type plants. Treatments of wild-type plants with NOS inhibitor and NO scavenger reduced endogenous NO levels and enhanced NaCl-induced increase in Na+ to K+ ratio. Exposure of wild-type plants to NaCl inhibited NOS activity and reduced quantity of NOA1 protein, leading to a decrease in endogenous NO levels measured by NO-specific fluorescent probe. Treatment of Atnoa1 plants with NO donor sodium nitroprusside attenuated the NaCl-induced increase in Na+ to K+ ratio. Therefore, these findings provide direct evidence to support that disruption of NOS-dependent NO production is associated with salt tolerance in Arabidopsis.
AN EFFICIENT, HARDWARE-ACCELERATED, LEVEL- OF-DETAIL RENDERING TECHNIQUE FOR LARGE TERRAINS

A molded plastic spool for the shipping, storage and handling of a substantial weight of wire which comprises bottom and top end flanges at respective bottom and top ends of a tubular barrel. A radially inwardly extending end plate at the top end of the barrel has two pairs of generally U-shaped finger-receiving handles formed integrally therewith for two-handed manual lifting of the spool.
Long-term outcomes of invasive ipsilateral breast tumor recurrences after lumpectomy in NSABP B-17 and B-24 randomized clinical trials for DCIS.

BACKGROUND Ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence (IBTR) is the most common failure event after lumpectomy for ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). We evaluated invasive IBTR (I-IBTR) and its influence on survival among participants in two National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) randomized trials for DCIS. METHODS In the NSABP B-17 trial (accrual period: October 1, 1985, to December 31, 1990), patients with localized DCIS were randomly assigned to the lumpectomy only (LO, n = 403) group or to the lumpectomy followed by radiotherapy (LRT, n = 410) group. In the NSABP B-24 double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial (accrual period: May 9, 1991, to April 13, 1994), all accrued patients were randomly assigned to LRT+ placebo, (n=900) or LRT + tamoxifen (LRT + TAM, n = 899). Endpoints included I-IBTR, DCIS-IBTR, contralateral breast cancers (CBC), overall and breast cancer-specific survival, and survival after I-IBTR. Median follow-up was 207 months for the B-17 trial (N = 813 patients) and 163 months for the B-24 trial (N = 1799 patients). RESULTS Of 490 IBTR events, 263 (53.7%) were invasive. Radiation reduced I-IBTR by 52% in the LRT group compared with LO (B-17, hazard ratio [HR] of risk of I-IBTR = 0.48, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.33 to 0.69, P < .001). LRT + TAM reduced I-IBTR by 32% compared with LRT + placebo (B-24, HR of risk of I-IBTR = 0.68, 95% CI = 0.49 to 0.95, P = .025). The 15-year cumulative incidence of I-IBTR was 19.4% for LO, 8.9% for LRT (B-17), 10.0% for LRT + placebo (B-24), and 8.5% for LRT + TAM. The 15-year cumulative incidence of all contralateral breast cancers was 10.3% for LO, 10.2% for LRT (B-17), 10.8% for LRT + placebo (B-24), and 7.3% for LRT + TAM. I-IBTR was associated with increased mortality risk (HR of death = 1.75, 95% CI = 1.45 to 2.96, P < .001), whereas recurrence of DCIS was not. Twenty-two of 39 deaths after I-IBTR were attributed to breast cancer. Among all patients (with or without I-IBTR), the 15-year cumulative incidence of breast cancer death was 3.1% for LO, 4.7% for LRT (B-17), 2.7% for LRT + placebo (B-24), and 2.3% for LRT + TAM. CONCLUSIONS Although I-IBTR increased the risk for breast cancer-related death, radiation therapy and tamoxifen reduced I-IBTR, and long-term prognosis remained excellent after breast-conserving surgery for DCIS.
An Eigenvalue Characterization of Antipodal Distance Regular Graphs

Let be a regular (connected) graph with n vertices and d + 1 distinct eigenvalues. As a main result, it is shown that is an r-antipodal distanceregular graph if and only if the distance graph d is constituted by disjoint copies of the complete graph Kr, with r satisfying an expression in terms of n and the distinct eigenvalues.
The Effects of Cognitive Reserve on the Rate of Cognitive Decline in Persons with Mild Cognitive Impairment

BACKGROUND: The cognitive reserve theory posits that innate intelligence or certain aspects oflife experiences may provide a reserve against Alzheimer's disease (AD) development. The theory hypothesizes that when dementia symptoms emerge in people with high cognitive reserve, disease pathology is at its severe stages. Clinical progression will be more rapid in these individuals than those with low cognitive reserve. OBJECTIVE: To examine the influence of education and occupation on the rate of cognitive decline in older adults with MCI over a two-year period. HYPOTHESIS: Older adults with MCI who have higher education and occupation levels will display a more rapid cognitive decline over a two-year span than those with lower education and occupations. PARTICIPANTS: Two-hundred and sixty-one MCI participants from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI). METHODS: The independent variables were years of education and occupation during most of working career. Gender, age, and marital status were utilized as covariates. Scores from the screening/baseline, 6-month, and 24-month Mini-Mental Status Examinations (MMSE) and Alzhemer's Disease Assessment Scale Cognitive Subscale (ADAS-Cog) were used to assess cognition. MAIN ANALYSIS: Orthogonal contrasts in a repeated measures (RM) multivariate ANOV A (MANOV A) and multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) were performed to determine the extent of cognitive decline. RESULTS: Highly educated MCI participants had slower rates of cognitive decline on the MMSE than persons with medium (F(1,255) = 4.395,p = . 037) and low (F(1,255) = 4.430,p = . 036) education. A faster cognitive decline occurred on the MMSE in the high than the low occupation category over a two-year period (F(1 ,252) = 3.886, p = . 050). Education and occupation levels had no effect on ADAS-Cog performance during the same time (p > .05). CONCLUSION: Higher education may have a protective effect against cognitive decline in MCI while high occupation may have a reverse effect. These effects are test dependent and data limitations significantly limit the generalizability of the findings.
Electrocorticography of Spatial Shifting and Attentional Selection in Human Superior Parietal Cortex

Spatial-attentional reorienting and selection between competing stimuli are two distinct attentional processes of clinical and fundamental relevance. In the past, reorienting has been mainly associated with inferior parietal cortex. In a patient with a subdural grid covering the upper and lower bank of the left anterior and middle intraparietal sulcus (IPS) and the superior parietal lobule (SPL), we examined the involvement of superior parietal cortex using a hybrid spatial cueing paradigm identical to that previously applied in stroke and in healthy controls. In SPL, as early as 164 ms following target onset, an invalidly compared to a validly cued target elicited a positive event-related potential (ERP) and an increase in intertrial coherence (ITC) in the theta band, regardless of the direction of attention. From around 400–650 ms, functional connectivity [weighted phase lag index (wPLI) analysis] between SPL and IPS briefly inverted such that SPL activity was driving IPS activity. In contrast, the presence of a competing distracter elicited a robust change mainly in IPS from 300 to 600 ms. Within superior parietal cortex reorienting of attention is associated with a distinct and early electrophysiological response in SPL while attentional selection is indexed by a relatively late electrophysiological response in the IPS. The long latency suggests a role of IPS in working memory or cognitive control rather than early selection.
Integrating Social Networking Technologies in Education:  A Case Study of a Formal Learning Environment

The concept of Internet-facilitated social networking is not new - we have evidence of the development of the concept and the technologies over decades. However, Web 2.0 technologies and the emergence of social networking sites has expanded accessibility and use beyond levels that may have been thought imaginable just two or three years ago. These developments have been accompanied with calls to integrate the new technologies and experiences of social networks within formal education. Yet, there is limited research on the potential or outcomes of such initiatives. This paper presents a case study that examines the technology and experience in a formal education context.
Regulation of the human organic cation transporter hOCT1

The human organic cation transporter type 1 (hOCT1) is an important transport system for small organic cations in the liver. Organic cation transporters are regulated by different signaling pathways, but the regulation of hOCT1 has not yet been studied. In this work, we have for the first time investigated the regulation of hOCT1. hOCT1 was expressed in Chinese hamster ovary cells (CHO‐hOCT1) and in human embryonic kidney cells (HEK293‐hOCT1). Its activity was monitored using microfluorimetry with the fluorescent organic cation 4‐(4‐(dimethylamino)styryl)‐N‐methylpyridinium (ASP+) as substrate. hOCT1 expressed in CHO‐cells was inhibited by protein kinase A (PKA) activation (1 µM forskolin, −58 ± 6%, n = 12), calmodulin inhibition (0.1 µM calmidazolium, −68 ± 3%, n = 6; 10 µM ophiobolin A, −48 ± 10%, n = 7), calmodulin‐dependent kinase II inhibition (1 µM KN62, −78 ± 4%, n = 12), and inhibition of p56lck tyrosine kinase (10 µM aminogenistein, −35 ± 7%, n = 12). The apparent affinities for TEA+ were lower in CHO‐hOCT1 than in HEK293‐hOCT1, while those for TPA+ and quinine were almost identical; the rank order of EC50 values (TPA+ > quinine > TEA+) was independent of the expression system. EC50 values for TEA+ in CHO‐hOCT1 or HEK293‐hOCT1 were increased under calmidazolium incubation (6.3 and 1.4 mM, respectively). hOCT1 was inhibited by PKA and endogenously activated by calmodulin, calmodulin‐dependent kinase II, and p56lck tyrosine kinase. Regulation pathways were the same in the two expression systems. Since apparent substrate affinities depend on activity of regulatory pathways, the expression system plays a role in determining the substrate affinities. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The Future Role of Residential Schools for Visually Handicapped Children

During a meeting at the American Foundation for the Blind in early 1979, representatives from the federal Bureau of Education for the Handicapped, and from public and private residential schools for visually handicapped children discussed the impact of Public Law 94-142. * Given the philosophy of the new administration in Washington, D.C., the possible elimination of P.L. 94-142, the impact of individual state legislation (which still follows the dictates of federal legislation), and the ever changing needs of the population they serve, residential schools must continually examine new roles and responsibilities for themselves. Because the law requires state and local educational agencies, residential schools, and other organizations dealing with handicapped children to work together to provide a continuum of services, the participants concluded that residential schools would continue to play a vital role in the education of handicapped children. Consequently the participants agreed that unless monitered carefully, the major impact of the federal legislation would be to make residential school programs responsible solely for multiply handicapped visually impaired children. They also agreed that least restrictive environment must not be construed as the physical boundaries to an educational institution, but rather as that setting in which the child will be least restricted in attaining his or her potential for educational growth.
Advances in Computational Stereo

Extraction of three-dimensional structure of a scene from stereo images is a problem that has been studied by the computer vision community for decades. Early work focused on the fundamentals of image correspondence and stereo geometry. Stereo research has matured significantly throughout the years and many advances in computational stereo continue to be made, allowing stereo to be applied to new and more demanding problems. We review recent advances in computational stereo, focusing primarily on three important topics: correspondence methods, methods for occlusion, and real-time implementations. Throughout, we present tables that summarize and draw distinctions among key ideas and approaches. Where available, we provide comparative analyses and we make suggestions for analyses yet to be done.
A non‐iterative implementation of Tango's score confidence interval for a paired difference of proportions

For matched‐pair binary data, a variety of approaches have been proposed for the construction of a confidence interval (CI) for the difference of marginal probabilities between two procedures. The score‐based approximate CI has been shown to outperform other asymptotic CIs. Tango's method provides a score CI by inverting a score test statistic using an iterative procedure. In this paper, we propose an efficient non‐iterative method with closed‐form expression to calculate Tango's CIs. Examples illustrate the practical application of the new approach. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Participation of NMDA and non‐NMDA excitatory amino acid receptors in the mediation of spinal reflex potentials in rats: an in vivo study

1 The effect of various intravenously administered excitatory amino acid (EAA) antagonists on the dorsal root stimulation‐evoked, short latency (up to 10 ms) spinal root reflex potentials of chloralose‐urethane anaesthetized C1 spinal rats was studied, in order to gain information on the involvement of non‐NMDA (AMPA/kainate; AMPA = α‐amino‐3‐hydroxy‐5‐methyl‐isoxazole‐4‐propionate) and NMDA (N‐methyl‐d‐aspartate) receptors in their mediation. The competitive non‐NMDA antagonist, 2,3‐dihydroxy‐6‐nitro‐7‐sulphamoyl‐benzo(F)quinoxaline (NBQX; 1–32 mg kg−1), the non‐competitive non‐NMDA antagonist, 1‐(amino)phenyl‐4‐methyl‐7,8‐methylendioxy‐5H‐2,3‐benzodiazepine (GYKI 52466; 0.5–8 mg kg−1), the competitive NMDA antagonist 3‐((±)‐2‐carboxypiperazin‐4‐yl)‐propyl‐1‐phosphonic acid (CPP, 2‐8mg kg−1) and two non‐competitive NMDA antagonists: MK‐801 (0.5–2 mg kg−1) and ketamine (2–32 mg kg−1) were used as pharmacological tools.
An Optimized Chloroplast DNA Extraction Protocol for Grasses (Poaceae) Proves Suitable for Whole Plastid Genome Sequencing and SNP Detection

Background Obtaining chloroplast genome sequences is important to increase the knowledge about the fundamental biology of plastids, to understand evolutionary and ecological processes in the evolution of plants, to develop biotechnological applications (e.g. plastid engineering) and to improve the efficiency of breeding schemes. Extraction of pure chloroplast DNA is required for efficient sequencing of chloroplast genomes. Unfortunately, most protocols for extracting chloroplast DNA were developed for eudicots and do not produce sufficiently pure yields for a shotgun sequencing approach of whole plastid genomes from the monocot grasses. Methodology/Principal Findings We have developed a simple and inexpensive method to obtain chloroplast DNA from grass species by modifying and extending protocols optimized for the use in eudicots. Many protocols for extracting chloroplast DNA require an ultracentrifugation step to efficiently separate chloroplast DNA from nuclear DNA. The developed method uses two more centrifugation steps than previously reported protocols and does not require an ultracentrifuge. Conclusions/Significance The described method delivered chloroplast DNA of very high quality from two grass species belonging to highly different taxonomic subfamilies within the grass family (Lolium perenne, Pooideae; Miscanthus×giganteus, Panicoideae). The DNA from Lolium perenne was used for whole chloroplast genome sequencing and detection of SNPs. The sequence is publicly available on EMBL/GenBank.
Hille-Kneser-type criteria for second-order dynamic equations on time scales

We consider the pair of second-order dynamic equations, (r(t)(xΔ)γ)Δ + p(t)xγ(t) = 0 and (r(t)(xΔ)γ)Δ + p(t)xγσ(t) = 0, on a time scale , where γ > 0 is a quotient of odd positive integers. We establish some necessary and sufficient conditions for nonoscillation of Hille-Kneser type. Our results in the special case when involve the well-known Hille-Kneser-type criteria of second-order linear differential equations established by Hille. For the case of the second-order half-linear differential equation, our results extend and improve some earlier results of Li and Yeh and are related to some work of Došlý and Řehák and some results of Řehák for half-linear equations on time scales. Several examples are considered to illustrate the main results.
Association between Toll-Like Receptor 9-1237T/C Polymorphism and the Susceptibility of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases: A Meta-Analysis

Purpose The -1237T/C polymorphism of the Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) gene has been implicated in the susceptibility of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs), but the results remain conflicting. We further investigated this association via meta-analysis. Materials and Methods Multiple electronic databases were extensively searched until February, 2015. The strength of association was evaluated by calculating the pooled odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results A total of 2987 cases and 2388 controls from eight studies were analyzed. Overall, association was found between TLR9 -1237T/C polymorphism and the risk of IBDs when all the studies were pooled (recessive model, OR: 1.59, 95% CI: 1.02-2.47, p=0.04; homozygote comparison, OR: 1.62, 95% CI: 1.04-2.52, p=0.03; allele model, OR: 1.13, 95% CI: 1.00-1.27, p=0.05). Stratification by ethnicity indicated an association between TLR9 -1237T/C polymorphism and IBDs risk in Caucasians (recessive model, OR: 1.59, 95% CI: 1.02-2.47, p=0.04; homozygote comparison, OR: 1.62, 95% CI: 1.04-2.52, p=0.03; allele model, OR: 1.12, 95% CI: 1.00-1.27, p=0.05). When stratified by disease type, significant correlation were only found in the Crohn's disease subgroup (recessive model, OR: 1.69, 95% CI: 1.05-2.73, p=0.03; homozygote model, OR: 1.74, 95% CI: 1.07-2.82, p=0.02; allele model, OR: 1.15, 95% CI: 1.01-1.32, p=0.04). Conclusion The present study suggested that the TLR9 -1237T/C polymorphism might act as a risk factor in the development of IBDs, particularly in Caucasians.