Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Metabolic syndrome in childhood

Abstract The so-called epidemic of childhood obesity has increased the interest in the metabolic syndrome (MS) due to the potential projection into adulthood. Prevalence of the MS in adolescents has been estimated to be 6.7% in young adults and 4.2% in adolescents. Figures rise up to 28.7% in overweight and obese adolescents. The most widely accepted hypothesis links the syndrome to obesity. In the Bogalusa study, the best predictors were obesity and being in the upper quartile of basal insulin levels. Ethnic and genetic factors play a role in order to explain the syndrome in the non-obese population and the differences of interobesity. The relationship between MS and type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease is well established in adults. This association can be suggested in children as well, although the syndrome in childhood urgently needs to be clearly defined. In this age group, it is also of great interest to identify diagnosis criteria of the so-called pre-MS. Detection of the syndrome focuses mainly on obese and overweight young people. Other population groups such as newborns with low or high birth weight, infants with accelerated growth, or children of obese or with gestational diabetes mothers are at a higher risk of developing peripheral insulin resistance. The measurement of abdominal circumference can be a useful screening tool. Physical exercise and restriction of saturated and trans fatty acids are basic for treatment. If reducing weight is necessary, a reduction of carbohydrate intake, especially for refined sugars, must be emphasised. Dietary fibre improves insulin sensitivity.
Single muscle fiber proteomics reveals unexpected mitochondrial specialization

Mammalian skeletal muscles are composed of multinucleated cells termed slow or fast fibers according to their contractile and metabolic properties. Here, we developed a high‐sensitivity workflow to characterize the proteome of single fibers. Analysis of segments of the same fiber by traditional and unbiased proteomics methods yielded the same subtype assignment. We discovered novel subtype‐specific features, most prominently mitochondrial specialization of fiber types in substrate utilization. The fiber type‐resolved proteomes can be applied to a variety of physiological and pathological conditions and illustrate the utility of single cell type analysis for dissecting proteomic heterogeneity.
Harmonic Training and the Formation of Pitch Representation in a Neural Network Model of the Auditory Brain

Attempting to explain the perceptual qualities of pitch has proven to be, and remains, a difficult problem. The wide range of sounds which elicit pitch and a lack of agreement across neurophysiological studies on how pitch is encoded by the brain have made this attempt more difficult. In describing the potential neural mechanisms by which pitch may be processed, a number of neural networks have been proposed and implemented. However, no unsupervised neural networks with biologically accurate cochlear inputs have yet been demonstrated. This paper proposes a simple system in which pitch representing neurons are produced in a biologically plausible setting. Purely unsupervised regimes of neural network learning are implemented and these prove to be sufficient in identifying the pitch of sounds with a variety of spectral profiles, including sounds with missing fundamental frequencies and iterated rippled noises.
A Longitudinal Study of the Influence of Intellectual Human Capital on Firm Exploratory Innovation

This research seeks to extend the current understanding of the relationship between intellectual human capital and exploratory innovation within organizations. In particular, this study explores the direct and facilitating roles played by three kinds of intellectual human capital: 1) pure scientists; 2) bridging scientists; and 3) pure inventors, for the two dimensions of firms' exploratory innovation: 1) recombinatory innovation and 2) pioneering innovation. The research model is tested using the patent, publication, and financial data of biotechnology firms from around the world.
Atomistic modelling and prediction of glass forming ability in bulk metallic glasses

Atomistic modeling was conducted to investigate kinetics, thermodynamics, structure, and bonding in Ni-Al and Cu-Zr metallic glasses. This work correlates GFA with the nature of atomic-level bonding and vibrational properties, with results potentially extensible to the Transition Metal – Transition Metal and Transition Metal – Metalloid alloy classes in general. As a first step in the development of a liquid-only GFA tuning approach, an automated tool based on molecular dynamics has also been created for the broad compositional sampling of liquid and glassy phase properties in multicomponent alloy systems. Its application to the Cu-Zr alloy system shows promising results, including the successful identification of the two highest GFA compositions, Cu50Zr50 and Cu64Zr36. Overall, the findings of this work highlight the critical importance of incorporating more complex alloy-specific information regarding the nature of bonding and ordering at the atomic level into such an approach.
Evaluating the Effect of Three Water Management Techniques on Tomato Crop

The effects of three water management techniques were evaluated on subsurface drip irrigated tomatoes. The three techniques were the intermittent flow (3 pulses), the dual-lateral drip system (two lateral lines per row, at 15 and 25cm below soil surface), and the physical barrier (buried at 30 cm below soil surface). Field experiments were established for two successive seasons. Water movement in soil was monitored using continuously logging capacitance probes up to 60 cm depth. The results showed that the dual lateral technique positively increased the yield up to 50%, water use efficiency up to 54%, while the intermittent application improved some of the quality measures (fruit size, TSS, and Vitamin C), not the quantity of the yield that decreased in one season, and not affected in the other. The physical barrier has no significant effect on any of the important growth measures. The soil water patterns showed that the dual lateral method lead to uniform wetting pattern with depth up to 45 cm, the physical barrier appeared to increase lateral and upward water movement, while the intermittent application kept the wetting pattern at higher moisture level for longer time. The cost analysis showed also that the economic treatments were the dual lateral followed by the intermittent technique, while the physical barrier is not economical. The study recommends researching the effect of the dual lateral method on the root growth and performance. The intermittent application may be recommended to improve tomato quality but not quantity. The physical barrier is not recommended unless in high permeable soils.
A collaborative tagging system for learning resources sharing

An illuminating device for illuminating a background surface of a surface display has a frame with inner reflecting surfaces. A circuit board with leads closes off the interior of the frame. The circuit board is made of a light-transmissive material and serves as the background surface to be illuminated. The circuit board comprises leads and light-emitting diode chips connected to the leads so as to be controllable. A scattering body in the form of a light-transmissive potting compound containing scattering centers is filled into the interior of the frame. The circuit board is preferably a circuit board with a cover layer of a non-light-transmissive material from which the coating of non-light-transmissive material has been removed by etching. The scattering centers are preferably in the form of glass particles.
Errorless learning of computer-generated words in a patient with semantic dementia

This study explores the effectiveness and feasibility of an errorless learning approach administered via a computer-based treatment for anomia to CS, an individual with semantic dementia. Using a multiple baseline across behaviours design, we explored treatment specific effects, maintenance and generalisation of gains derived from the MossTalk Words® therapy programme. CS was treated on three lists of words, each containing items for which CS retained some semantic knowledge and some for which he did not. CS was tested immediately after therapy, and one and three months later. Improved naming was maintained on all lists at all testing intervals. In addition, among those words for which CS retained some semantic knowledge, he maintained the ability to name all practised words, but only half of the not practised words. This study underscored the feasibility of computer-based treatments for anomia in progressive disorders, demonstrated the effectiveness of an errorless approach in semantic dementia in re-training lost words, and provided justification for training words that patients still have in their daily vocabulary. The results are discussed in relation to other treatment studies in progressive aphasia and in the context of factors necessary for therapeutic success in semantic dementia.
Fatigue crack propagation under in‐phase and out‐of‐phase biaxial loading

Fatigue damage characteristics of aluminium alloy under complex biaxial loads such as in-phase and out-of-phase loading conditions and different biaxiality ratios have been investigated. The effects of microscale phenomena on macroscale crack growth were studied to develop an in-depth understanding of crack nucleation and growth. Material characterization was conducted to study the microstructure variability. Scanning electron microscopy was used to identify the second phase particles, and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy was performed to analyse their phases and elements. Extensive quasi-static and fatigue tests were conducted on Al7075-T651 cruciform specimens over a wide range of load ratios and phases. Detailed fractography analysis was conducted to understand the crack growth behaviour observed during the fatigue tests. Significant differences in crack initiation and propagation behaviour were observed when a phase difference was applied. Primarily, crack retardation and splitting were observed because of the constantly varying mode mixity caused by phase difference. The crack growth behaviour and fatigue lives under out-of-phase loading were compared with those under in-phase loading to understand the effect of mixed-mode fracture.
Quantitative genetic analysis of acid detergent fibre content in barley grain

Acid detergent fibre (ADF) in cultivated barley (Hordeum vulgare vulgare L.) grain, a major indicator of digestibility, negatively affects feed quality, especially of non-ruminant livestock and poultry. Genetic studies of barley grain ADF content have been very limited. The objectives of this study were to map quantitative trait loci (QTLs) affecting ADF content to a molecular marker linkage map in barley, and to determine interactions among the QTLs identified. A population of 150 doubled haploid lines (DHLs) derived from a cross of ‘Steptoe’/‘Morex’ was used for mapping. A total of five QTLs were identified; three with relatively large effects mapping adjacent to one another on chromosome 2H and one each on chromosomes 4H and 1H (5). The five QTLs explained 64.5% of total variation. Steptoe contributed high ADF alleles at all QTLs identified. In order to confirm that the three adjacent QTLs on chromosome 2H are distinct genetic units, three DHLs representing each QTL were selected for backcrossing to Morex. Analysis of F2 ADF data from these three crosses showed that the three QTLs are distinct heritable genetic units. Additivity among the three major QTLs on chromosome 2H and the QTL on chromosome 1H (5) were observed. q 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
The Effect of Acute Bladder Filling on Plasmatic Antidiuretic Hormone Production in Healthy Adult Volunteers

Objective : To assess the existence of a vesical hypothalamic reflex by evaluating the changes of plasmatic ADH levels during acute bladder filling in healthy adult volunteers. Materials and Methods : Twenty normal male subjects aged between 19 and 40 years (average age 31.6 years) were evaluated. All subjects signed informed consent. The subjects had no pathologic blood and urine examination, no cardiovascular, hepatic, renal disease, they were no smokers and they did not take drugs which may interfere with plasmatic ADH levels. A blood sampling at rest condition (time 0) and successively during cystometry in the presence of first sensation, normal and strong desire was carried out. Plasmatic ADH was measured on extracted samples by radioimmunoassay. A one-factor repeated measures analysis of variance was employed to verify the effect of time on ADH levels. The Greenhouse-Geisser and Huynh-Feldt adjustments were adopted to protect against the case of violation of homogeneity of covariance. Results : Statistical analysis did not show significant differences of plasmatic ADH levels between rest condition and bladder filling. Conclusions : We exclude the existence of a vesical hypothalamic reflex and we suppose that extravesical factors may interfere with the plasmatic ADH production during the night.
Pharmacist Interventions Improve Fluid Balance in Fluid-Restricted Patients Requiring Parenteral Nutrition

Many intensive care unit (ICU) patients require parenteral nutrition (PN) and fluid restriction, making delivery of adequate nutrition difficult. We studied the effects of pharmacist interventions on fluid balance in fluid-restricted ICU patients requiring PN. Twenty patients were randomized to the treatment group (dextrose 70% injection [D70W] plus 15% amino acids for PN, 25-mL piggybacks, selected drugs added to the PN solution) or the control group (D70W plus 10% amino acids, 50- or 100-mL piggybacks). Each group contained 10 patients and they were not significantly different for age, gender, weight, hospital days, and serum albumin concentration. The duration (9.3 ± 1.2 vs. 9.7 ± 2.4 d) and doses of PN (29 ± 6.8 vs. 28.7 ± 6.9 kcal/kg/d; 1.1 ± 0.3 vs. 1.1 ± 0.4 g/kg/d protein) were similar between treatment and control groups. Mean fluid intake (3112 ± 1146 vs. 3498 ± 1111 mL/d), fluid balance (146 ± 1581 vs. 708 ± 1402 mL/d), and cumulative fluid balance (1358 vs. 6867 mL) were all significantly lower in the treatment group. Mean fluid output was similar between the two groups. Pharmacist interventions can significantly decrease intake and result in a better fluid balance in fluid-restricted ICU patients who require PN.
Variable Step Search MLP Training Method

The MLP training process is analyzed and a variable step search-based algorithm (VSS) that does not require gradient information is introduced. This algorithm finds rough position of the minima in each single weight direction, and successively updates the weights. Only a small fragment of the network is analyzed for each update, making the method computationally efficient. The VSS algorithm is simpler to program than backpropagation, yet the quality of results and the speed of convergence are at the level of state-of-the-art Levenberg-Marquardt and scaled conjugate gradient algorithms.
Prognostic Nomogram for Prediction of Axillary Pathologic Complete Response After Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in Cytologically Proven Node-Positive Breast Cancer

AbstractTo develop a nomogram predicting probability of axillary pathologic complete response (pCR) in patients with cytologically proven axillary node-positive breast cancer who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). The current management of axillary intervention in node-positive breast cancer patients who received NAC is axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) regardless of axillary pCR.We reviewed the records of 415 patients with cytologically proven node-positive breast cancer that were treated with NAC followed by surgery between 2008 and 2012 at Severance Hospital, Yonsei University Health System. Baseline patient and tumor characteristics, chemotherapy regimen, and tumor and nodal responses were analyzed. A nomogram was developed using a binary logistic regression model with a training cohort and validated in an independent cohort of 110 patients.Axillary pCR was achieved in 38.8% of the patients who underwent ALND after NAC. Axillary pCR was associated with initial clinical nodal status, negative estrogen receptor status, positive human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) status with trastuzumab, and clinical nodal and tumor responses. A nomogram was developed based on the clinical and statistically significant predictors. It had good discrimination performance (AUC 0.82, 95% CI, 0.78–0.86) and calibration fit. The nomogram was independently validated, indicating the good predictive power of the model (AUC 0.80, 95% CI, 0.72–0.88). Our nomogram might help predict axillary pCR after NAC in patients with initially node-positive breast cancer. Patients with a high probability of achieving axillary pCR could be spared ALND, avoiding postoperative morbidity.
Encoding Plans in Propositional Logic

In recent work we showed that planning problems can be efficiently solved by general propositional satisfiability algorithms (Kautz and Selman 1996). A key issue in this approach is the development of practical reductions of planning to SAT. We introduce a series of different SAT encodings for STRIPS-style planning, which are sound and complete representations of the original STRIPS specification, and relate our encodings to the Graphplan system of Blum and Furst (1995). We analyze the size complexity of the various encodings, both in terms of number of variables and total length of the resulting formulas. This paper complements the empirical evaluation of several of the encodings reported in Kautz and Selman (1996). We also introduce a novel encoding based on the theory of causal planning, that exploits the notion of “lifting” from the theorem-proving community. This new encoding strictly dominates the others in terms of asymptotic complexity. Finally, we consider further reductions in the number of variables used by our encodings, by compiling away either statevariables or action-variables.
Superior resistive switching memory and biological synapse properties based on a simple TiN/SiO2/p-Si tunneling junction structure

In this study, a simple TiN/SiO2/p-Si tunneling junction structure was fabricated via thermal oxidation growth on a Si substrate annealed at 600 °C. After electroforming, the number of cycle times for the SiO2-based tunneling junction device can reach an order of magnitude of greater than 105. The resistances at low and high resistance states and the threshold voltage of the device fluctuated in a very narrow range. More interestingly, excitatory and inhibitory postsynaptic current phenomena (EPSC and IPSC) were observed during the pulse mode measurements, indicating that the device can be used in biological synapse applications. At different measurement temperatures and electric fields, direct, Fowler–Nordheim, and trap-assisted tunneling were responsible for the intrinsic conductance mechanism of the device before and after electroforming. This study provides a convenient approach to prepare simple tunneling junction structures for resistive random access memory applications with superior properties.
Hydrostatyczne i graniczne smarowanie stawów - natura smaru granicznego Hydrostatic and Boundary Lubrication of Joints - Nature of Boundary Lubricant

STRESZCZENIE Wystepowanie w stawach bardzo niskiego wspolczynnika tarcia powoduje trudności w jednoznacznym okreś leniu sposobu smarowania chrząstek stawowych. Artykul przedstawia dominujące obecnie w piśmiennictwie, dwa uzupelniające sie poglądy wyjaśniające mechanizm smarowania stawow. Pierwszy mechanizm, określony smarowaniem hydrostatycznym, uwzglednia role wyciskania plynu miedzykomorkowego z chrząstki i jego znaczenia dla tworzeniu warstwy rozdzielającej obciązane powierzchnie. Drugi, zwany smarowaniem granicz nym zaklada istnienie substancji wiązącej sie z powierzchnią chrząstki, trwale oddzielającej trące elementy. Nie jest jednoznacznie określone, ktore z wystepujących w plynie stawowym substancji mogą pelnic funkcje smaru granicznego. Przedstawiamy krotką fizykochemiczną charakterystyke lubrycyny, powierzchniowo aktywnych fosfolipidow oraz kwasu hialuronowego, z uwzglednieniem ich roli w smarowaniu granicznym. Slowa kluczowe: chrząstka, smarowanie hydrostatyczne, smarowanie graniczne, lubrycyna, powierzchniowo aktywne fosfolipidy, kwas hialuronowy SUMMARY A very low coefficient of friction in joints makes it difficult to define clearly the mechanism of cartilage lubrication. The present paper describes the two currently predominant and mutually complementary views aiming to elucidate this mechanism. The first mechanism, referred to as hydrostatic lubrication, involves in terstitial fluid pressurization from the cartilage and its importance for the formation of a layer separating the weight-bearing surfaces. The second mechanism, called boundary lubrication, assumes the existence of a sub stance that binds to the cartilage surface, permanently separating the friction elements. It has not been clearly determined which substances occurring in the synovial fluid function as boundary lubricants. The authors briefly describe the physicochemical properties of lubricin, surface-active phospholipids and hyaluronic acid, including their role in boundary lubrication.
On the effect of op-amp finite gain in delta-sigma modulators

The effect of finite gain of op-amps in both discrete-time (switched-capacitor) and continuous-time (G/sub m/-C) implementations of delta-sigma modulators is studied. It is shown that a continuous-time realization is less sensitive to finite gain of op-amps. Specifying a maximum admissible drop in the SNR due to the finite gain of op-amps, the values of these gains for each of the delta-sigma integrating stages can be determined. The results are obtained using the linear model for the quantizer and are validated by performing direct simulations of the delta-sigma modulators.
Verification of the Accuracy of a Nutritive-Value Calculator Based on Food Name Selection

We verified the accuracy of a website that supports health by calculating nutritive value according to the selection of a food name. As a result, since the error in the quantity of fat or salt was large, it became clear that it is not suitable for those who need strict meal control. However, such a system is useful to help users identify dietary tendencies and improve eating habits.
How effective are interventions with caregivers? An updated meta-analysis.

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of interventions for family caregivers of older adults. DESIGN AND METHODS Meta-analysis was used to synthesize the effects of 78 caregiver intervention studies for six outcome variables and six types of interventions. RESULTS The combined interventions produced a significant improvement of 0.14 to 0.41 standard deviation units, on average, for caregiver burden, depression, subjective well-being, perceived caregiver satisfaction, ability/knowledge, and care receiver symptoms. Intervention effects were larger for increasing caregivers' ability/knowledge than for caregiver burden and depression. Psychoeducational and psychotherapeutic interventions showed the most consistent short-term effects on all outcome measures. Intervention effects for dementia caregivers were smaller than those for other groups. The number of sessions, the setting, care receiver age, caregiver age, gender, type of caregiver-care receiver relationship (spouse vs adult child), initial burden, and study characteristics moderated the observed effects. IMPLICATIONS Caregiver interventions are effective, but some interventions have primarily domain-specific effects rather than global effects. The differences between intervention types and moderators suggest ways of optimizing interventions.