Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Preexisting Cognitive Impairment and Mild Cognitive Impairment in Subjects Presenting for Total Hip Joint Replacement

Background:The prevalence of preexisting cognitive impairment (PreCI) is documented before cardiac surgery, but there is less information before noncardiac surgery. In addition, the prevalence of mild cognitive impairment, defined by different cognitive criteria and subjective complaints, and which may progress to Alzheimer disease, is unknown in these subjects. Because anesthesia and surgery have been implicated in Alzheimer disease pathology, we prospectively measured PreCI and mild cognitive impairment in subjects scheduled for total hip joint replacement surgery in an observational study. Methods:One hundred fifty-two subjects 60 y of age and older who were scheduled for total hip joint replacement surgery underwent assessment, including neuropsychologic testing, 1 week before surgery. Test results were compared with published norms. PreCI was defined as impairment in two or more of seven cognitive tests, for which impairment in an individual test was defined as ≥2 SD below norms for that test. Amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) was defined as impairment ≥1.5 SD below norms for results of the immediate and/or delayed Auditory Verbal Learning Test plus a subjective complaint. Results:Subjects performed worse compared with normative data on five of seven neuropsychologic tests. Thirty (20% [95% CI, 13–26%]) subjects were classified as having PreCI. Thirty-four (22% [95% CI, 16–29%]) were classified as having aMCI. Ten (7%) subjects were classified as having both PreCI and aMCI, representing 33% of the 30 subjects with PreCI. Conclusions:The prevalence of aMCI in subjects scheduled for total hip joint replacement surgery is similar to that in the general community. PreCI and aMCI tend to identify different subjects. Because aMCI is known to progress to Alzheimer disease, future studies that track cognition before and after anesthesia and surgery should document the presence or absence of aMCI so that the rate of conversion to Alzheimer disease after anesthesia and surgery can be compared with the rate in the nonsurgical population.
Differential regulation of EGF-like growth factor genes in human keratinocytes.

ErbB signaling increases protein levels of multiple EGF-like growth factors in epithelial cells. To better understand this process, we examined the effects of EGF receptor stimulation on the transcription and mRNA stability of TGF-alpha, amphiregulin (AR), and heparin-binding EGF-like growth factor (HB-EGF) in human keratinocytes. EGF stimulation increased transcription of TGF-alpha, AR, and HB-EGF by 3- to 4-fold within 1 to 2 h. However, AR and HB-EGF mRNA levels peaked at 2 h and then rapidly declined, whereas TGF-alpha transcripts remained elevated for at least 6 h. Actinomycin D decay experiments yielded the rank order of transcript stability TGF-alpha > AR > HB-EGF. Interestingly, ligand treatment appeared to stabilize TGF-alpha and AR mRNAs, whereas HB-EGF transcripts were destabilized. These data demonstrate that gene-specific alterations in gene transcription and mRNA stability play important roles in the temporal regulation of EGF-like growth factor gene expression.
Adaptive Submodular Maximization in Bandit Setting

Maximization of submodular functions has wide applications in machine learning and artificial intelligence. Adaptive submodular maximization has been traditionally studied under the assumption that the model of the world, the expected gain of choosing an item given previously selected items and their states, is known. In this paper, we study the setting where the expected gain is initially unknown, and it is learned by interacting repeatedly with the optimized function. We propose an efficient algorithm for solving our problem and prove that its expected cumulative regret increases logarithmically with time. Our regret bound captures the inherent property of submodular maximization, earlier mistakes are more costly than later ones. We refer to our approach as Optimistic Adaptive Submodular Maximization (OASM) because it trades off exploration and exploitation based on the optimism in the face of uncertainty principle. We evaluate our method on a preference elicitation problem and show that non-trivial K-step policies can be learned from just a few hundred interactions with the problem.
Research Paper: Controlled Trial of Direct Physician Order Entry: Effects on Physicians' Time Utilization in Ambulatory Primary Care Internal Medicine Practices

OBJECTIVE Direct physician order entry (POE) offers many potential benefits, but evidence suggests that POE requires substantially more time than traditional paper-based ordering methods. The Medical Gopher is a well-accepted system for direct POE that has been in use for more than 15 years. The authors hypothesized that physicians using the Gopher would not spend any more time writing orders than physicians using paper-based methods. DESIGN A randomized controlled trial of POE using the Medical Gopher system in 11 primary care internal medicine practices. MEASUREMENTS The authors collected detailed time use data using time motion studies of the physicians and surveyed their opinions about the POE system. RESULTS The authors found that physicians using the Gopher spent 2.2 min more per patient overall, but when duplicative and administrative tasks were taken into account, physicians were found to have spent only 0.43 min more per patient. With experience, the order entry time fell by 3.73 min per patient. The survey revealed that the physicians believed that the system improved their patient care and wanted the Gopher to continue to be available in their practices. CONCLUSIONS Little extra time, if any, was required for physicians to use the POE system. With experience in its use, physicians may even save time while enjoying the many benefits of POE.
Antibacterial activity of lactoferrin and a pepsin-derived lactoferrin peptide fragment

Although the antimicrobial activity of lactoferrin has been well described, its mechanism of action has been poorly characterized. Recent work has indicated that in addition to binding iron, human lactoferrin damages the outer membrane of gram-negative bacteria. In this study, we determined whether bovine lactoferrin and a pepsin-derived bovine lactoferrin peptide (lactoferricin) fragment have similar activities. We found that both 20 microM bovine lactoferrin and 20 microM lactoferricin release intrinsically labeled [3H]lipopolysaccharide ([3H]LPS) from three bacterial strains, Escherichia coli CL99 1-2, Salmonella typhimurium SL696, and Salmonella montevideo SL5222. Under most conditions, more LPS is released by the peptide fragment than by whole bovine lactoferrin. In the presence of either lactoferrin or lactoferricin there is increased killing of E. coli CL99 1-2 by lysozyme. Like human lactoferrin, bovine lactoferrin and lactoferricin have the ability to bind to free intrinsically labeled [3H]LPS molecules. In addition to these effects, whereas bovine lactoferrin was at most bacteriostatic, lactoferricin demonstrated consistent bactericidal activity against gram-negative bacteria. This bactericidal effect is modulated by the cations Ca2+, Mg2+, and Fe3+ but is independent of the osmolarity of the medium. Transmission electron microscopy of bacterial cells exposed to lactoferricin show the immediate development of electron-dense "membrane blisters. " These experiments offer evidence that bovine lactoferrin and lactoferricin damage the outer membrane of gram-negative bacteria. Moreover, the peptide fragment lactoferricin has direct bactericidal activity. As lactoferrin is exposed to proteolytic factors in vivo which could cleave the lactoferricin fragment, the effects of this peptide are of both mechanistic and physiologic relevance.
Gait, Quality of Life, and their Association Following Total Hip Arthroplasty

Purpose: Total hip arthroplasty (THA) surgery is one of the most common orthopedic procedures performed on individuals with end‐stage osteoarthritis of the hip. This study: (1) compared temporal spatial gait parameters and quality of life (QOL) scores of individuals with unilateral total hip arthroplasty (THA) to those of healthy older adults ages 65 to 85 years and (2) explored the relationship between the variables. Methods: Three dimensional motion analysis was used to calculate walking velocity, cadence, stride length, single support time, and double support time. All participants completed the Medical Outcome Survey Short Form 36 Health Survey (SF 36®) to measure health related QOL subscales. Results: The individuals with THA walked slower (P = .005) with a longer double support phase (P = .02) and rated physical functioning (P < .0001) and role physical scores (P = .001) lower than the healthy older adults. For all subjects combined, a positive correlation was identified between walking velocity and physical functioning (P = .001), rolephysical scores (P = .001) and bodily pain (P = .001); a negative correlation was identified between double support time and role physical score (P = .002) and bodily pain (P =.002). Conclusion: Individuals who undergo THA surgery have gait deficits that relate to physical subscales of the SF36®. These findings provide guidance for physical therapy interventions focused on gait performance after THA.
Correlates of cognitive functioning in independent elderly patients discharged home from the emergency department after a minor injury

ABSTRACT Background: The objective of this study was to explore correlates of cognitive functioning of older adults visiting the emergency department (ED) after a minor injury. Methods: These results are derived from a large prospective study in three Canadian EDs. Participants were aged ≥ 65 years and independent in basic activities of daily living, visiting the ED for minor injuries and discharged home within 48 hours (those with known dementia, confusion, and delirium were excluded). They completed the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). Potential correlates included sociodemographic and injury variables, and measures of psychological and physical health, social support, mobility, falls, and functional status. Results: Multivariate analyses revealed that male sex, age ≥ 85 years, higher depression scores, slower walking speed, and self-reported memory problems were significantly associated with lower baseline MoCA scores. Conclusions: These characteristics could help ED professionals identify patients who might need additional cognitive evaluations or follow-ups after their passage through the ED. Obtaining information on these characteristics is potentially feasible in the ED context and could help professionals alter favorably elderly's trajectory of care. Since a significant proportion of elderly patients consulting at an ED have cognitive impairment, the ED is an opportunity to prevent functional and cognitive decline.
Loss of ALS2/Alsin Exacerbates Motor Dysfunction in a SOD1H46R-Expressing Mouse ALS Model by Disturbing Endolysosomal Trafficking

Background ALS2/alsin is a guanine nucleotide exchange factor for the small GTPase Rab5 and involved in macropinocytosis-associated endosome fusion and trafficking, and neurite outgrowth. ALS2 deficiency accounts for a number of juvenile recessive motor neuron diseases (MNDs). Recently, it has been shown that ALS2 plays a role in neuroprotection against MND-associated pathological insults, such as toxicity induced by mutant Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD1). However, molecular mechanisms underlying the relationship between ALS2-associated cellular function and its neuroprotective role remain unclear. Methodology/Principal Findings To address this issue, we investigated the molecular and pathological basis for the phenotypic modification of mutant SOD1-expressing mice by ALS2 loss. Genetic ablation of Als2 in SOD1H46R, but not SOD1G93A, transgenic mice aggravated the mutant SOD1-associated disease symptoms such as body weight loss and motor dysfunction, leading to the earlier death. Light and electron microscopic examinations revealed the presence of degenerating and/or swollen spinal axons accumulating granular aggregates and autophagosome-like vesicles in early- and even pre-symptomatic SOD1H46R mice. Further, enhanced accumulation of insoluble high molecular weight SOD1, poly-ubiquitinated proteins, and macroautophagy-associated proteins such as polyubiquitin-binding protein p62/SQSTM1 and a lipidated form of light chain 3 (LC3-II), emerged in ALS2-deficient SOD1H46R mice. Intriguingly, ALS2 was colocalized with LC3 and p62, and partly with SOD1 on autophagosome/endosome hybrid compartments, and loss of ALS2 significantly lowered the lysosome-dependent clearance of LC3 and p62 in cultured cells. Conclusions/Significance Based on these observations, although molecular basis for the distinctive susceptibilities to ALS2 loss in different mutant SOD1-expressing ALS models is still elusive, disturbance of the endolysosomal system by ALS2 loss may exacerbate the SOD1H46R-mediated neurotoxicity by accelerating the accumulation of immature vesicles and misfolded proteins in the spinal cord. We propose that ALS2 is implicated in endolysosomal trafficking through the fusion between endosomes and autophagosomes, thereby regulating endolysosomal protein degradation in vivo.
Evaluating equilibrium and non‐equilibrium transport of ammonium in a loam soil column

Release of nitrogen compounds into groundwater, particularly those compounds from excessive agricultural fertilization, is a major concern in an aquifer recharge. Among the nitrogen compounds, ammonium ( NH4+ ) is a common one. In order to assess the risk of agricultural fertilizer contamination to an aquifer through infiltration, NH4+ adsorption onto a loamy agricultural soil profile (0–0.60 m depth) was studied using a soil column experiment and modelling simulation. The soil used in the experiment was drawn from an agricultural field in Xinzhen, Fangshan district, Beijing, China, and reconstituted in laboratory soil columns. Column experiments were conducted using bromide (conservative tracer) and NH4+ ‐bearing aqueous solutions. The ammonium concentrations in the soil water samples were measured, and their values were plotted as the NH4+ breakthrough curves. The chemical's soil–water distribution coefficients (Kd) were calculated using breakthrough curves. Then the retardation factor (R) in saturated soil was calculated. For the NH4+ ‐bearing aqueous solutions, the strongest NH4+ adsorption occurred at the soil depth of 0.30–0.45 m. The convection–dispersion equation model and chemical non‐equilibrium model in Hydrus‐1D were used to simulate NH4+ transport in the loamy soil. The two‐site chemical non‐equilibrium model in Hydrus‐1D was best to simulate NH4+ transport through the soil column. Parameter sensitivity study was conducted to investigate the influences of solute transport by Kd, the fraction of exchange sites assuming to be in equilibrium with the solution phase (f), the longitudinal dispersivity (λ), and the first‐order rate coefficients (ω). The sensitivity analysis results indicate Kd is the most critical parameter.
Historical geochemistry of tropical Africa

I welcome the honor of giving rhis Kilham Lecture because for a few good years Peter Kilham was a graduate srudent in my laboratory. His mood varied from elation to despair, bur his predominant social trait was contagious enthusiasm. His working method combined reading, thinking, argumentation and an uncanny abiliry to see the underlying generaliry in messy data sets. He was a splendid field man, unfazed by danger or privation, who could operate happily for months almost or quite alone, and a prodigious laboratory analyst who entered freely and generously into collaboration with the people aroundhim. While drawing these remarks together I tried to put myself in a Kilham frame of mind but, alas, my own mood runs more to despair than elation, and I could not capture at sevenry rhe brash ebullience of Peter Kilham at twenry-five. We must content ourselves today with the paler after-glow of an age Peter did nor live to enjoy.
Distributed Cache Management in Information-Centric Networks

The main promise of current research efforts in the area of Information-Centric Networking (ICN) architectures is to optimize the dissemination of information within transient communication relationships of endpoints. Efficient caching of information is key to delivering on this promise. In this paper, we look into achieving this promise from the angle of managed replication of information. Management decisions are made in order to efficiently place replicas of information in dedicated storage devices attached to nodes of the network. In contrast to traditional off-line external management systems we adopt a distributed autonomic management architecture where management intelligence is placed inside the network. Particularly, we present an autonomic cache management approach for ICNs, where distributed managers residing in cache-enabled nodes decide on which information items to cache. We propose four on-line intra-domain cache management algorithms with different level of autonomicity and compare them with respect to performance, complexity, execution time and message exchange overhead. Additionally, we derive a lower bound of the overall network traffic cost for a certain category of network topologies. Our extensive simulations, using realistic network topologies and synthetic workload generators, signify the importance of network wide knowledge and cooperation.
Sensitization by Pulmonary Reactive Oxygen Species of Rat Vagal Lung C-Fibers: The Roles of the TRPV1, TRPA1, and P2X Receptors

Sensitization of vagal lung C-fibers (VLCFs) induced by mediators contributes to the pathogenesis of airway hypersensitivity, which is characterized by exaggerated sensory and reflex responses to stimulants. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are mediators produced during airway inflammation. However, the role of ROS in VLCF-mediated airway hypersensitivity has remained elusive. Here, we report that inhalation of aerosolized 0.05% H2O2 for 90 s potentiated apneic responses to intravenous capsaicin (a TRPV1 receptor agonist), α,β-methylene-ATP (a P2X receptor agonist), and phenylbiguanide (a 5-HT3 receptor agonist) in anesthetized rats. The apneic responses to these three stimulants were abolished by vagatomy or by perivagal capsaicin treatment, a procedure that blocks the neural conduction of VLCFs. The potentiating effect of H2O2 on the apneic responses to these VLCF stimulants was prevented by catalase (an enzyme that degrades H2O2) and by dimethylthiourea (a hydroxyl radical scavenger). The potentiating effect of H2O2 on the apneic responses to capsaicin was attenuated by HC-030031 (a TRPA1 receptor antagonist) and by iso-pyridoxalphosphate-6-azophenyl-2′,5′-disulphonate (a P2X receptor antagonist). The potentiating effect of H2O2 on the apneic responses to α,β-methylene-ATP was reduced by capsazepine (a TRPV1 receptor antagonist), and by HC-030031. The potentiating effect of H2O2 on the apneic responses to phenylbiguanide was totally abolished when all three antagonists were combined. Consistently, our electrophysiological studies revealed that airway delivery of aerosolized 0.05% H2O2 for 90 s potentiated the VLCF responses to intravenous capsaicin, α,β-methylene-ATP, and phenylbiguanide. The potentiating effect of H2O2 on the VLCF responses to phenylbiguanide was totally prevented when all antagonists were combined. Inhalation of 0.05% H2O2 indeed increased the level of ROS in the lungs. These results suggest that 1) increased lung ROS sensitizes VLCFs, which leads to exaggerated reflex responses in rats and 2) the TRPV1, TRPA1, and P2X receptors are all involved in the development of this airway hypersensitivity.
Binding and uptake of H-ferritin are mediated by human transferrin receptor-1

Ferritin is a spherical molecule composed of 24 subunits of two types, ferritin H chain (FHC) and ferritin L chain (FLC). Ferritin stores iron within cells, but it also circulates and binds specifically and saturably to a variety of cell types. For most cell types, this binding can be mediated by ferritin composed only of FHC (HFt) but not by ferritin composed only of FLC (LFt), indicating that binding of ferritin to cells is mediated by FHC but not FLC. By using expression cloning, we identified human transferrin receptor-1 (TfR1) as an important receptor for HFt with little or no binding to LFt. In vitro, HFt can be precipitated by soluble TfR1, showing that this interaction is not dependent on other proteins. Binding of HFt to TfR1 is partially inhibited by diferric transferrin, but it is hindered little, if at all, by HFE. After binding of HFt to TfR1 on the cell surface, HFt enters both endosomes and lysosomes. TfR1 accounts for most, if not all, of the binding of HFt to mitogen-activated T and B cells, circulating reticulocytes, and all cell lines that we have studied. The demonstration that TfR1 can bind HFt as well as Tf raises the possibility that this dual receptor function may coordinate the processing and use of iron by these iron-binding molecules.
Infants' development of object permanence: a refined methodology and new evidence of Piaget's hypothesized ordinality.

To investigate Piaget's theory of object concept development, a series of 6 tasks was administered in a combined longitudinal/cross-sectional design incorporating a number of methodological controls. The tasks spanned the entire sensorimotor period and included single versus sequential displacements combined with visible or invisible hidings. 36 infants from 5 to 32 months of age at initial testing were drawn equally from day-care and home settings. All infants received the 6 tasks during each of 3 testing sessions over a 6-month period. Clear evidence was obtained for task ordinality as proposed by Piaget, with ordinality coefficients ranging from . 71 to . 82 for the 3 testing sessions. Performance changes across the 3 sessions were also ordinal in 80% of the cases. Expected age, task, and session effects and accompanying interactions were also obtained.
Congestion-driven transmission planning considering the impact of generator expansion

This paper presents a multi-year transmission expansion planning (TEP) model which considers the transmission congestion and the impact of generation investment cost in the planning horizon. The Benders decomposition approach is utilized which decomposes TEP into a master problem and two subproblems representing security and optimal operation. The operation cost due to congestion (OCC) is considered in the proposed model given that the congestion level is a proper criterion for measuring the degree of competitiveness in an electricity market. The model evaluates sensitivity of the optimal TEP to congestion level, planning horizon, and financial constraints. Regulators can utilize the proposed results to provide long-term TEP to market players and to develop incentive mechanisms to trigger generation investments. The proposed approach is applied to a hypothetical system and Turkish power system.
A meeting browser evaluation test

We introduce a browser evaluation test (BET), and describe a trial run application of the test. BET is a method for assessing meeting browser performance using the number of observations of interest found in the minimum amount of time as the evaluation metric, where observations of interest are statements about a meeting collected by independent observers. The resulting speed and accuracy scores aim to be objective, comparable and repeatable.