Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Health Care Use and Costs for Participants in a Diabetes Disease Management Program, United States, 2007-2008

Introduction The Disease Management Association of America identifies diabetes as one of the chronic conditions with the greatest potential for management. TRICARE Management Activity, which administers health care benefits for US military service personnel, retirees, and their dependents, created a disease management program for beneficiaries with diabetes. The objective of this study was to determine whether participation intensity and prior indication of uncontrolled diabetes were associated with health care use and costs for participants enrolled in TRICARE's diabetes management program. Methods This ongoing, opt-out study used a quasi-experimental approach to assess program impact for beneficiaries (n = 37,370) aged 18 to 64 living in the United States. Inclusion criteria were any diabetes-related emergency department visits or hospitalizations, more than 10 diabetes-related ambulatory visits, or more than twenty 30-day prescriptions for diabetes drugs in the previous year. Beginning in June 2007, all participants received educational mailings. Participants who agreed to receive a baseline telephone assessment and telephone counseling once per month in addition to educational mailings were considered active, and those who did not complete at least the baseline telephone assessment were considered passive. We categorized the diabetes status of each participant as "uncontrolled" or "controlled" on the basis of medical claims containing diagnosis codes for uncontrolled diabetes in the year preceding program eligibility. We compared observed outcomes to outcomes predicted in the absence of diabetes management. Prediction equations were based on regression analysis of medical claims for a historical control group (n = 23,818) that in October 2004 met the eligibility criteria for TRICARE's program implemented June 2007. We conducted regression analysis comparing historical control group patient outcomes after October 2004 with these baseline characteristics. Results Per-person total annual medical savings for program participants, calculated as the difference between observed and predicted outcomes, averaged $783. Active participants had larger reductions in inpatient days and emergency department visits, larger increases in ambulatory visits, and larger increases in receiving retinal examinations, hemoglobin A1c tests, and urine microalbumin tests compared with passive participants. Participants with prior indication of uncontrolled diabetes had higher per-person total annual medical savings, larger reduction in inpatient days, and larger increases in ambulatory visits than did participants with controlled diabetes. Conclusion Greater intensity of participation in TRICARE's diabetes management program was associated with lower medical costs and improved receipt of recommended testing. That patients who were categorized as having uncontrolled diabetes realized greater program benefits suggests diabetes management programs should consider indication of uncontrolled diabetes in their program candidate identification criteria.
The effect of one additional driver mutation on tumor progression

Tumor growth is caused by the acquisition of driver mutations, which enhance the net reproductive rate of cells. Driver mutations may increase cell division, reduce cell death, or allow cells to overcome density‐limiting effects. We study the dynamics of tumor growth as one additional driver mutation is acquired. Our models are based on two‐type branching processes that terminate in either tumor disappearance or tumor detection. In our first model, both cell types grow exponentially, with a faster rate for cells carrying the additional driver. We find that the additional driver mutation does not affect the survival probability of the lesion, but can substantially reduce the time to reach the detectable size if the lesion is slow growing. In our second model, cells lacking the additional driver cannot exceed a fixed carrying capacity, due to density limitations. In this case, the time to detection depends strongly on this carrying capacity. Our model provides a quantitative framework for studying tumor dynamics during different stages of progression. We observe that early, small lesions need additional drivers, while late stage metastases are only marginally affected by them. These results help to explain why additional driver mutations are typically not detected in fast‐growing metastases.
Social Support, Health Behaviors, and Academic Success in College Students

The purpose of this study was to examine whether perceived social support was associated with self-efficacy for health promoting behaviors and whether self-efficacy for health promoting behaviors predicts academic success for college students. Gender differences in perceived social support were also examined. Participants were undergraduate students at a large public university in the Southeast enrolled in an introductory psychology course. Data collection was completed through the use of a demographic form the Interpersonal Support Evaluation List-College Version (Cohen Mermelstein Kamarck & Hoberman 1985) The Self-Reported Abilities for Health Practices Scale (Becker Stuifbergen Oh & Hall 1993) and the acquisition of participants' college GPA from official university records. Perceived social support was found to have a significant positive association with self-efficacy for health promoting behaviors. Significant positive associations accounting for at least 10% of the variance in the dependent variable were found between the total score of perceived social support and the mean composite score of self-efficacy for health promoting behaviors perceived belonging support and self-efficacy for exercise perceived appraisal support and self-efficacy for psychological well-being and perceived appraisal support and self-efficacy for responsible health practices. Gender differences in perceived social support were also found with females reporting greater perceived social support. Females reported greater perceived appraisal tangible belonging and self-esteem support. No relationship was found in this study between self-efficacy for health promoting behaviors and academic success. The results from this study may be useful to college students looking to improve their health and for health professionals working to promote health in the college student population. Choosing a social support intervention is likely to increase self-efficacy for health promoting behaviors which have been linked to their actual implementation (Von Ah Ebert Ngamvitroj Park & Duck-Hee 2004).
The Impact of Immigration on the British Labour Market

Using data from the British Labour Force Survey this article provides an empirical investigation of the way immigration affects labour market outcomes of native born workers in Britain, set beside a theoretical discussion of the underlying economic mechanisms. We discuss problems arising in empirical estimation, and how to address them. We show that the overall skill distribution of immigrants is remarkably similar to that of the native born workforce. We find no strong evidence that immigration has overall effects on aggregate employment, participation, unemployment and wages but some differences according to education.
Sterol-rich plasma membrane domains in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe

Sterol-rich membrane domains exist in unicellular and multicellular eukaryotes. They are thought to provide a structural framework for interactions among a subset of proteins by selectively incorporating some proteins while excluding others. Although most studies have focused on the biophysical and biochemical properties of sterol-rich membrane domains and incorporated proteins, relatively little is known about their intracellular distribution. Using a cytological approach we show here that in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, sterols are enriched in the plasma membrane at the growing cell tips and at the site of cytokinesis. The distribution of sterols is regulated in a cell-cycle-dependent manner and requires a functional secretory pathway. By manipulating the integrity of sterol-rich membrane domains using sterol sequestering agents and genetic means, we show that these domains are important for multiple processes regulating cytokinesis. In these cells, defects in proper maintenance of the actomyosin ring and/or its attachment to the overlying plasma membrane were observed. Furthermore, the stability of a plasma membrane protein that colocalises with sterol-rich membrane domains was compromised. Taken together, our studies establish S. pombe as a genetically tractable model organism in which to study the role(s) of sterol-rich membrane domains in cell polarity and cytokinesis.
Identification of control-oriented thermal models of rooms in multi-room buildings

Model-based control for improving energy efficiency of buil dings has been a popular topic of late. Smart control requires a predictive mode l of the building’s thermal dynamics. Due to the complexity of the underlying physic al processes, usually system identification techniques are used to identify p arameters of a physicsbased grey-box model. We investigate questions of required mo el structure and identification techniques for parameter estimation of a sin gle zone model through a combination of analysis and experiments. Our results indi cate that a secondorder model can reproduce the input-output behavior of a ful l-scale model with 13 states. We also show that data collected during usual oper ation leads to poor parameter estimates that may nevertheless appear to predic t the temperature well. The error becomes apparent when there is sufficient differen c among various inputs and the output. We propose an algorithm to overcome th ese issues that involve specific forced-response tests. The results of this investigation are expected to provide guidelines on do’s and don’t’s in modeling a d identification of buildings for control.
The Hourglass Nebulae of Sher 25 and SN 1987A: Two of a Kind?

We have performed a detailed study of the morphology and kinematics of the hourglass-shaped nebula around the blue supergiant Sher 25 in the galactic giant H II region NGC 3603. Near-infrared high-resolution adaptive optics images in the Brγ line and HST/NICMOS images in the He I 1.08 μm line were compared with isovelocity maps in the Hα and [N II] lines. The adaptive optics observations clearly resolved the width of the ring (0.″9, i.e., 0.027 pc), yielding δR/R = 1/8. We show that the Hα and [N II] lines trace the entire silhouette of the hourglass. The bipolar lobes of the hourglass expand at 70 km s-1, whereas the ring around the waist of the hourglass expands at 30 km s-1. Both the ring and the bipolar lobes have about the same dynamical age, indicating a common origin and a major outburst and mass-loss event 6630 yr ago. The ionized mass within the hourglass is between 0.3 and 0.6 M☉—quite comparable to the total mass suggested for the expanding (presupernova) shell around SN 1987A. The hourglass structure around Sher 25 is similar to that of SN 1987A in spatial extent, mass, and velocity. The major differences between these two nebulae might arise from environmental effects. Both internal and external ionization sources are available for Sher 25's nebula. Furthermore, Sher 25 and its hourglass-shaped nebula appear to be moving to the southwest with respect to the ambient interstellar medium, and ram pressure has apparently deformed the hourglass. We conclude that the circumstellar nebulae around SN 1987A and Sher 25 are very similar and define a new class of nebulae around blue supergiants in their final evolutionary stage.
The Histidine Kinase-Related Domain of Arabidopsis Phytochrome A Controls the Spectral Sensitivity and the Subcellular Distribution of the Photoreceptor1[W][OA]

Phytochrome A (phyA) is the primary photoreceptor for sensing extremely low amounts of light and for mediating various far-red light-induced responses in higher plants. Translocation from the cytosol to the nucleus is an essential step in phyA signal transduction. EID1 (for EMPFINDLICHER IM DUNKELROTEN LICHT1) is an F-box protein that functions as a negative regulator in far-red light signaling downstream of the phyA in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). To identify factors involved in EID1-dependent light signal transduction, pools of ethylmethylsulfonate-treated eid1-3 seeds were screened for seedlings that suppress the hypersensitive phenotype of the mutant. The phenotype of the suppressor mutant presented here is caused by a missense mutation in the PHYA gene that leads to an amino acid transition in its histidine kinase-related domain. The novel phyA-402 allele alters the spectral sensitivity and the persistence of far-red light-induced high-irradiance responses. The strong eid1-3 suppressor phenotype of phyA-402 contrasts with the moderate phenotype observed when phyA-402 is introgressed into the wild-type background, which indicates that the mutation mainly alters functions in an EID1-dependent signaling cascade. The mutation specifically inhibits nuclear accumulation of the photoreceptor molecule upon red light irradiation, even though it still interacts with FHY1 (for far-red long hypocotyl 1) and FHL (for FHY1-like protein), two factors that are essential for nuclear accumulation of phyA. Degradation of the mutated phyA is unaltered even under light conditions that inhibit its nuclear accumulation, indicating that phyA degradation may occur mostly in the cytoplasm.
Constant-Time Distributed Scheduling Policies for Ad Hoc Wireless Networks

We propose two new distributed scheduling policies for ad hoc wireless networks that can achieve provable capacity regions. Known scheduling policies that guarantee comparable capacity regions are either centralized or need computation time that increases with the size of the network. In contrast, the unique feature of the proposed distributed scheduling policies is that they are constant-time policies, i.e., the time needed for computing a schedule is independent of the network size. Hence, they can be easily deployed in large networks
Variability of peptidoglycan structural parameters in gram-negative bacteria.

Muropeptide composition of peptidoglycan from the Gram-negative bacteria Aeromonas sp. , Acinetobacter acetoaceticus, Agrobacterium tumefaciens, Enterobacter cloacae, Proteus morganii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Pseudomonas putida, Vibrio parahaemolyticus Yersinia enterocolitica and Escherichia coli, was analyzed by HPLC. In all instances peptidoglycan was built up from the same subunits. A wide disparity in the relative abundance of muropeptides and all structural parameters was observed. The contribution of LD-A2pm-A2pm cross-linked muropeptides was extremely variable; from 1 to 45% of cross-linked muropeptides. Muropeptides with the dipeptides Lys-Lys or Arg-Lys, indicative of murein-bound (lipo)proteins, were detected in all instances although abundance was very variable.
A descriptive analysis of alexithymia among patients with chronic back pain

Chronic back pain is a pervasive and debilitating phenomenon contributing to staggering health costs and a host of psychological, medical, vocational, and social consequences. The etiology of chronic back pain remains unclear and traditional biomedical, psychological, and interdisciplinary treatments have not been completely effective at eliminating pain or restoring long-term functionality. Psychodynamic models of chronic back pain have not been fully explored due to methodological difficulties. Explorations of psychodynamic-related constructs such as alexithymia (i.e., lack of emotional awareness) may offer vital clues to help increase the understanding of chronic back pain. The purpose of this study was to serve as a preliminary descriptive analysis of alexithymia among patients seeking interdisciplinary treatment for chronic back pain. First, the prevalence of alexithymia in an interdisciplinary treatment seeking sample of patients with chronic back pain and comparisons to other chronic pain and psychosomatic samples were addressed. Second, the relationship between alexithymia and somatic complaints, pain, anxiety, depression, and health-related quality of life was explored. Finally, a meditational analysis was conducted to examine if the relationship between alexithymia and somatic complaints was mediated by negative affect. Eighty-one patients seeking interdisciplinary treatment for chronic back pain participated in the study. Analyses revealed that 14.8% patients met criteria for alexithymia, which was similar to other chronic pain samples but not significantly different from general medical samples. Higher alexithymia scores were found to be associated with higher levels of somatic complaints, negative affect, and mental-health
On the Energy of Unitary Cayley Graphs

In this note we obtain the energy of unitary Cayley graph $X_{n}$ which extends a result of R. Balakrishnan for power of a prime and also determine when they are hyperenergetic. We also prove that ${E(X_{n})\over 2(n-1)}\geq{2^{k}\over 4k}$, where $k$ is the number of distinct prime divisors of $n$. Thus the ratio ${E(X_{n})\over 2(n-1)}$, measuring the degree of hyperenergeticity of $X_{n}$, grows exponentially with $k$.
Detection of SGI1/PGI1 Elements and Resistance to Extended-Spectrum Cephalosporins in Proteae of Animal Origin in France

Proteae, and especially Proteus mirabilis, are often the cause of urinary tract infections (UTIs) in humans. They were reported as carriers of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) genes, and recently of carbapenemases, mostly carried by the Salmonella genomic island 1 (SGI1) and Proteus genomic island 1 (PGI1). Proteae have also lately become an increasing cause of UTIs in companion animals, but antimicrobial susceptibility data in animals are still scarce. Here, we report the characterization of 468 clinical epidemiologically unrelated Proteae strains from animals collected between 2013 and 2015 in France. Seventeen P. mirabilis strains (3.6%) were positive for SGI1/PGI1 and 18 Proteae (3.8%) were resistant to extended-spectrum cephalosporins (ESC). The 28 isolates carrying SGI1/PGI1 and/or ESC-resistance genes were isolated from cats, dogs, and horses. ESBL genes were detected in six genetically related P. mirabilis harboring blaV EB-6 on the SGI1-V variant, but also independently of the SGI1-V, in 3 P. mirabilis strains (blaVEB-6 and blaCTX-M-15) and 1 Providencia rettgeri strain (blaCTX-M-1). The AmpC resistance genes blaCMY -2 and/or blaDHA-16 were detected in 9 P. mirabilis strains. One strain presented both an ESBL and AmpC gene. Interestingly, the majority of the ESBL/AmpC resistance genes were located on the chromosome. In conclusion, multiple ESC-resistance genetic determinants are circulating in French animals, even though SGI1-V-carrying P. mirabilis seems to be mainly responsible for the spread of the ESBL gene blaVEB-6 in dogs and horses. These results are of public health relevance and show that companion animals in close contact with humans should be regarded as a potential reservoir of ESC-resistant bacteria as well as a reservoir of ESC-resistance genes that could further disseminate to human pathogens.
Local motion planning for manipulators based on shrinking and growing geometry models

A new approach to motion planning for manipulators is presented. A collision-free path is initially obtained by shrinking the robot's geometry model, and this path is modified to remain collision-free while the robot is re-inflated. For this purpose, a measure based on the factor needed to shrink the robot's geometry model in a certain configuration to get it free of collisions is defined. This measure serves as a potential and is used to modify whole trajectories. The planning information is evaluated locally, no preprocessing or global potential diffusion is required. To overcome local minima, the planner is embedded in a random global exploration algorithm. Simulation results demonstrate the power of this approach.
Aortic Intima-Media Thickness and Aortic Diameter in Small for Gestational Age and Growth Restricted Fetuses

Objective The objective of this study is to measure aortic intima-media thickness (aIMT) and aortic diameter (AD) in appropriate for gestational age (AGA) fetuses, small for gestational age (SGA) fetuses, and intrauterine growth restricted (IUGR) fetuses. Methods Case-control study performed between June 2011 and June 2012. Forty-nine AGA fetuses, 40 SGA fetuses, and 35 IUGR fetuses underwent concomitant measurement of aIMT and AD at a mean gestational age of 34.4 weeks. Results Median aIMT was higher in fetuses with IUGR (0.504 mm [95%CI: 0.477-0.530 mm]), than in SGA fetuses (0.466 mm [95% CI: 0.447–0.485 mm]), and AGA fetuses (0.471 mm [95% CI: 0.454-0.488 mm]) (p = 0.023). Mean AD was significantly lower in fetuses with IUGR (4.451 mm [95% CI: 4.258–4.655 mm]), than in AGA fetuses (4.74 mm [95% CI: 4.63-4.843 mm]) (p = 0.028). Conclusions Growth restricted fetuses have a thicker aortic wall than AGA and SGA fetuses, which possibly represents preclinical atherosclerosis and a predisposition to later cardiovascular disease.
Nucleotide sequence of the Streptococcus pneumoniae hexB mismatch repair gene: homology of HexB to MutL of Salmonella typhimurium and to PMS1 of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The Hex mismatch repair system of Streptococcus pneumoniae acts both during transformation (a recombination process that directly produces heteroduplex DNA) to correct donor strands and after DNA replication to remove misincorporated nucleotides. The hexB gene product is one of at least two proteins required for mismatch repair in this organism. The nucleotide sequence of a 2.7-kilobase segment from the S. pneumoniae chromosome that includes the 1.95-kilobase hexB gene was determined. The gene encodes a 73.5-kilodalton protein (649 residues). The spontaneous hex Rx chromosomal mutant allele with which a mutator phenotype has been associated is shown to result from a single base substitution (TAC to TAA) leading to a truncated HexB polypeptide (484 residues). The HexB protein is homologous to the MutL protein, which is required for methyl-directed mismatch repair in Salmonella typhimurium and Escherichia coli, and to the PMS1 gene product, which is likely to be involved in a mismatch correction system in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The conservation of HexB-like proteins among procaryotic and eucaryotic organisms indicates that these proteins play an important common role in the repair process. This finding also suggests that the Hex, Mut, and PMS systems evolved from a common ancestor and that functionally similar mismatch repair systems could be widespread among procaryotic as well as eucaryotic organisms.
Speech Acts-Enhanced SIP Communication

In workplaces, phone calls constitute a very common way of communication. However, the callee typically has no means to know what the caller wants to talk about. This can be counterproductive if the callee is busy performing a task that is more important and/ or urgent than the conversation that is about to be initiated by the caller. The present article addresses this issue and comes up with a new enhanced communication service. First, a communication model based on speech acts is proposed. Speech acts are used by the caller to indicate the call intention or subject to the callee in the most clear and unambiguous possible way. Then, an Internet telephony implementation of the speech acts-based model is designed to fit the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP). The solution is validated through a case study.