Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The prevalence of reduced glomerular filtration rate in older hypertensive patients and its association with cardiovascular disease: a report from the Antihypertensive and Lipid-Lowering Treatment to Prevent Heart Attack Trial.

BACKGROUND The prevalence of reduced glomerular filtration rate (GFR) in older hypertensive patients and the relationship between level of GFR and cardiovascular disease (CVD) and its risk factors are not well known. METHODS We evaluated baseline renal function in 40 514 hypertensive patients 55 years or older who were enrolled in the Antihypertensive and Lipid-Lowering Treatment to Prevent Heart Attack Trial (ALLHAT). We used the simplified Modification of Diet in Renal Disease study equation to estimate GFR and examined the prevalence of CVD in patients with different levels of GFR. RESULTS Fifty-seven percent of patients had mild (60-89 mL/min per 1.73 m(2)), 17.2% had moderate (30-59 mL/min per 1.73 m(2)), and 0.6% had severe (<or=29 mL/min per 1.73 m(2)) reductions in GFR. Compared with patients with normal or mildly reduced GFR, patients with moderate or severe reductions in GFR were more likely to have had a prior myocardial infarction or stroke (19.2% and 23.4% vs 28.7% and 26.9%, respectively), have ischemic changes on electrocardiography (ECG) (16.0% and 18.9% vs 24.6% and 34.1%, respectively), and have left ventricular hypertrophy on ECG (ECG-LVH) (3.9% and 4.2% vs 6.0% and 11.2%, respectively). A decrease in GFR of 10 mL/min per 1.73 m(2) was independently associated with a 6% higher risk for CVD and 14% higher risk for ECG-LVH. The increase in risk was marked at a GFR of approximately 60 to 70 mL/min per 1.73 m(2). CONCLUSIONS The prevalence of reduced GFR is high in older hypertensive patients. Patients with moderate or severe reduction in GFR are more likely to have a history of CVD and ECG-LVH. Even modest reductions in GFR are independently associated with a higher prevalence of CVD and ECG-LVH.
GROUP GUIDED IMAGERY AND MUSIC FOR ADULTS IN ADDICTION TREATMENT: A PILOT RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIAL FEASIBILITY STUDY

This randomized control trial assessed the feasibility of adding a Guided Imagery and Music (GIM) group into a residential addiction treatment facility. Either group GIM or an unstructured leisure condition was assigned to 42 adult participants. The study found that adding Group GIM to a structured treatment program was feasible and well received by participants and staff. Assessments included the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Sense of Coherence Scale (SOC), and Importance, Confidence, Readiness (ICR) motivational ruler. There were reductions in BDI and SOC scores for both groups and the ICR motivational level scores remained essentially the same. Retention in treatment was better for the experimental group. The study findings support the feasibility of integrating music therapy into inpatient treatment for addictions.
Transmission of Information in Neoplasia by Extracellular Vesicles

Paracrine interactions among neoplastic and nonneoplastic cells in the immediate tumor microenvironment are important for tumor growth and metastatic spreading. Most of the studies in the past decade addressing these cellular interactions have focused on tumor cell-derived soluble molecules. Recently, these studies and interest have shifted to nanosized extracellular vesicles (EVs) and especially ectosome and exosome-associated molecules [1]. They contain not only proteins, but also lipids, mRNA, and microRNA [1], which can regulate gene expression in their target cells in a much more pleiotropic manner [1]. While exosomes originate by a sequential process of inward budding of late endosomes, producing multivesicular bodies (MVBs), followed by release of internal microvesicles into the microenvironment by fusion of the MVBs with the plasma membrane [1, 2], ectosomes bud from plasma membrane, particularly from plasma membrane protrusions (e.g., microvilli) [1]. However, difficulties in obtaining homogeneous exosomal and ectosomal preparations result in incomplete understanding of their formation, composition, and functions [3]. Trafficking of biological materials across cellular membranes is part of any normal cell homeostasis, to maintain proper compartmentalization of important molecules. The physiological functions of EVs are extremely diverse (e.g., cell-cell communication, cellular differentiation, immunity, and inflammation) [4–8]. However, in pathological states, such as cancer, aberrant activity of the export machinery results in expulsion of a number of key proteins and microRNA that modify the tumor microenvironment, in turn stimulating the release of EVs from stromal and immune-competent cells. In cancers, such vehicles might play a role in carcinogenesis and disease progression and promote formation of the premetastatic niche [9–11]. In the present special issue on transmission of information in neoplasia by extracellular vesicles, review articles and research paper illustrate the relevance of EVs to cancer growth and metastasis.
Enhancing Performance Portability of MPI Applications through Annotation-Based Transformations

MPI is the de facto standard for portable parallel programming on high-end systems. However, while the MPI standard provides functional portability, it does not provide sufficient performance portability across platforms. We present a framework that enables users to provide hints about communication patterns used within MPI applications. These annotations are then used by an automated program transformation system to leverage different MPI operations that better match each system's capabilities. Our framework currently supports three automated transformations: coalescing of operations in MPI one-sided communications, transformation of blocking communications to nonblocking, which enables communication-computation overlap, and selection of the appropriate communication operators based on the cache-coherence support of the underlying platform. We use our annotation-based approach to optimize several benchmark kernels, and we demonstrate that the framework is effective at automatically improving performance portability for MPI applications.
Combined TRAF6 Targeting and Proteasome Blockade Has Anti-myeloma and Anti-Bone Resorptive Effects

TNF receptor–associated factor 6 (TRAF6) has been implicated in polyubiquitin-mediated IL1R/TLR signaling through activation of IκB kinase (IKK) to regulate the NF-κB and JNK signaling pathways. Here, TRAF6 protein was determined to be overexpressed in bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMMC) from patients with multiple myeloma. TRAF6 expression in BMMCs from patients with progressive disease is significantly elevated as compared with individuals in complete remission, with monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance, or healthy subjects. Furthermore, TRAF6 dominant–negative (TRAF6dn) peptides were constructed which specifically reduced TRAF6 signaling and activation of IKK. TRAF6 not only reduced cellular growth but also increased the apoptosis of multiple myeloma tumor cells in a concentration-dependent fashion. Because TRAF6 activates IKK through polyubiquitination, independent of its proteasome activity, a TRAF6dn peptide was combined with the proteasome inhibitors bortezomib or carfilzomib to treat multiple myeloma. Importantly, targeting of TRAF6 in the presence of proteasome inhibition enhanced anti–multiple myeloma effects and also decreased TLR/TRAF6/NF-κB–related signaling. Finally, TRAF6dn dose dependently inhibited osteoclast cell formation from CD14+ monocytes, induced with RANKL and mCSF, and markedly reduced bone resorption in dentin pits. In all, these data demonstrate that blocking TRAF6 signaling has anti–multiple myeloma effects and reduces bone loss. Implications: The ability to target TRAF6 signaling and associated pathways in multiple myeloma suggests a promising new therapeutic approach. Mol Cancer Res; 15(5); 598–609. ©2017 AACR.
Pengaruh Peran Core Self-Evaluation Dan Empowering Leadership Terhadap Employee Creativity Melalui Knowladge Sharing

This research examines the employees of UKM Batik Lasem Sekar Mulyo, Rembang. This research aims to determine the influence of the role of core self-evaluation and empowering leadership on employee creativity through knowledge sharing. The research method in this research is a quantitative research method. The population in this study were all employees with a total of 95 employees who worked at UKM Batik Lasem Sekar Mulyo, Rembang, while the sample in this study was 95 respondents. Determining the sample size used a non-probability sampling technique because the population was relatively small, so the technique taken was saturated sampling (census). Data analysis in this research used the SmartPLS version 3 program. The data analysis technique used was the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) equation model. The results of the analysis and discussion show that the quality perception variable influences Core Self-Evaluation and influences Employee Creativity, Empowering Leadership influences Employee Creativity, Core Self-Evaluation influences Knowledge Sharing, Empowering Leadership influences Knowledge Sharing, Knowledge sharing influences Employee Creativity, Core Self-Evaluation has an effect on Employee Creativity, partially mediated by Knowledge sharing, and Empowering Leadership has an effect on Employee Creativity in Employees of UKM Batik Lasem Sekar Mulyo, Rembang, which is partially mediated by Knowledge sharing.
Insect Symbioses: A Case Study of Past, Present, and Future Fungus-Growing Ant Research*

ABSTRACT Fungus-growing ants (Attini: Formicidae) engage in an obligate mutualism with fungi they cultivate for food. Although biologists have been fascinated with fungus-growing ants since the resurgence of natural history in the modern era, the early stages of research focused mainly on the foraging behavior of the leaf-cutters (the most derived attine lineage). Indeed, the discovery that the ants actually use leaf fragments to manure a fungus did not come until the 1800s. More recently, three additional microbial symbionts have been described, including specialized microfungal parasites of the ant's fungus garden, antibiotic-producing actinobacteria that help protect the fungus garden from the parasite, and a black yeast that parasitizes the ant-actinobacteria mutualism. The fungus-growing ant symbiosis serves as a particularly useful model system for studying insect-microbe symbioses, because, to date, it contains four well-characterized microbial symbionts, including mutualists and parasites that encompass micro-fungi, macro-fungi, yeasts, and bacteria. Here, we discuss approaches for studying insect-microbe symbioses, using the attine ant-microbial symbiosis as our framework. We draw attention to particular challenges in the field of symbiosis, including the establishment of symbiotic associations and symbiont function. Finally, we discuss future directions in insect-microbe research, with particular focus on applying recent advances in DNA sequencing technologies.
Detection of Anti-Listeriolysin O in Dairy Cattle Experimentally Infected with Listeria Monocytogenes

A dot-blot assay and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to detect listeriosis in dairy cattle were developed that detected anti-listeriolysin O antibodies in the serum of cows experimentally infected with Listeria monocytogenes. The tests utilized purified listeriolysin O (LLO) as the detection antigen and streptolysin O (SLO) to absorb cross-reacting antibodies. The two tests were compared with an agglutination test that used formalin-killed whole L. monocytogenes cells. Blood samples were collected periodically from 17 cows after intramammary gland infection, and the development of anti-LLO antibodies was followed by an agglutination test, the dot-blot test, and the ELISA. In general, an agglutination titer of >640 was needed for a positive dot-blot anti-LLO test for nonpregnant cows. However, I pregnant cow with an agglutination titer of 20 was positive in the dot-blot test. The ELISA was as sensitive as the dot-blot assay but gave a quantitative measurement to distinguish serum samples of positive reactors from cross-reactors. The specificity of the LLO-based tests was further evaluated using serum from cows that had been experimentally infected with Staphylococcus aureus, 17 of which had agglutination titers for L. monocytogenes >640. These elevated agglutination titers were probably due to cross-reacting bacterial antigens because serum from 9 of 17 of these animals did not react to the purified LLO antigen. A positive response to the LLO-based dot-blot and ELISA assays is indicative of previous or current infection with L. monocytogenes.
Glucagon‐like peptide‐1 receptor agonists compared with basal insulins for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus: a systematic review and meta‐analysis

Since 2005, several glucagon‐like peptide‐1 receptor agonists (GLP‐1 RAs) have been approved to treat people with type 2 diabetes. These agents are considered for use at the same point in the treatment paradigm as basal insulins. A comprehensive comparison of these drug classes, therefore, can help inform treatment decisions. This systematic review and meta‐analysis assessed the clinical efficacy and safety of GLP‐1 RAs compared with basal insulins.
Pediatric Invasive Pneumococcal Disease in the United States in the Era of Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccines

SUMMARY Invasive infections caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae continue to be a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, especially in children under 5 years of age. In the United States, 90% of invasive pneumococcal infections in children are caused by 13 serotypes of S. pneumoniae. The licensure (in 2000) and subsequent widespread use of a heptavalent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7) have had a significant impact on decreasing the incidence of serious invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) in all age groups, especially in children under 2 years of age. However, the emergence of replacement non-PCV7 serotypes, especially serotype 19A, has resulted in an increase in the incidence of serious and invasive infections. In 2010, a 13-valent PCV was licensed in the United States. However, the impact that this vaccine will have on IPD remains to be seen. The objectives of this review are to discuss the epidemiology of serious and invasive pneumococcal infections in the United States in the PCV era and to review some of the pneumococcal vaccines that are in development.
Opioid-Induced Hyperalgesia

Opioids are a fundamental part in the treatment of pain especially within the perioperative setting. While opioids are routinely administered by nurse anesthetists for the treatment of pain, they can be associated with several undesirable side effects including opioidinduced hyperalgesia (OIH). OIH is a complex phenomenon that has a significant impact on the successful treatment of pain in a surgical setting. While there have been many advances in recent years into the topic of OIH, the mechanisms are complex and remain incompletely understood. OIH is believed to occur from changes in both the peripheral and central nervous systems that lead to sensitization of nociceptive pathways. A number of specific mechanisms have been postulated including peripheral secondmessenger systems, the release of excitatory aminoacid neurotransmitters from primary afferents and activation of n-methyl-d-aspartate receptors (NMDA) receptors, enhanced spinal expression of dynorphin, spinal prostaglandins, and spinal cytokines, and neuroplastic changes to the descending facilitatory pathways within the rostral ventromedial medulla. There is sufficient evidence that OIH exists in humans and that it can develop within the perioperative period. While several opioids have been implicated in causing OIH, remifentanil is one of the most widely studied opioids in relation to OIH and has been shown to cause OIH at higher doses. This hyperalgesia may extend well beyond the postoperative period and can lead to the development of chronic pain persisting for months. Current recommendations involve using remifentanil at lower doses, rotating opioids, utilizing alternative analgesics and multimodal analgesia, and utilizing adjuvant therapies to prevent the development of and treat OIH should it occur. OPIOIDINDUCED HYPERALGESIA 3
High Protein- and High Lipid-Producing Microalgae from Northern Australia as Potential Feedstock for Animal Feed and Biodiesel

Microalgal biomass can be used for biodiesel, feed, and food production. Collection and identification of local microalgal strains in the Northern Territory, Australia was conducted to identify strains with high protein and lipid contents as potential feedstock for animal feed and biodiesel production, respectively. A total of 36 strains were isolated from 13 samples collected from a variety of freshwater locations, such as dams, ponds, and streams and subsequently classified by 18S rDNA sequencing. All of the strains were green microalgae and predominantly belong to Chlorella sp. , Scenedesmus sp. , Desmodesmus sp. , Chlamydomonas sp. , Pseudomuriella sp. , Tetraedron caudatum, Graesiella emersonii, and Mychonastes timauensis. Among the fastest growing strains, Scenedesmus sp. NT1d possessed the highest content of protein; reaching up to 33% of its dry weight. In terms of lipid production, Chlorella sp. NT8a and Scenedesmus dimorphus NT8e produced the highest triglyceride contents of 116.9 and 99.13 μg mL−1 culture, respectively, as measured by gas chromatography–mass spectroscopy of fatty acid methyl esters. These strains may present suitable candidates for biodiesel production after further optimization of culturing conditions, while their protein-rich biomass could be used for animal feed.
CD4:CD8 lymphocyte ratio as a quantitative measure of immunologic health in HIV-1 infection: findings from an African cohort with prospective data

In individuals with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection, CD4:CD8 lymphocyte ratio is often recognized as a quantitative outcome that reflects the critical role of both CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells in HIV-1 pathogenesis or disease progression. Our work aimed to first establish the dynamics and clinical relevance of CD4:CD8 ratio in a cohort of native Africans and then to examine its association with viral and host factors, including: (i) length of infection, (ii) demographics, (iii) HIV-1 viral load (VL), (iv) change in CD4+ T-lymphocyte count (CD4 slope), (v) HIV-1 subtype, and (vi) host genetics, especially human leukocyte antigen (HLA) variants. Data from 499 HIV-1 seroconverters with frequent (monthly to quarterly) follow-up revealed that CD4:CD8 ratio was stable in the first 3 years of infection, with a modest correlation with VL and CD4 slope. A relatively normal CD4:CD8 ratio (>1.0) in early infection was associated with a substantial delay in disease progression to severe immunodeficiency (<350 CD4 cells/μl), regardless of other correlates of HIV-1 pathogenesis (adjusted hazards ratio (HR) = 0.43, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.29-0.63, P < 0.0001). Low VL (<10,000 copies/ml) and HLA-A*74:01 were the main predictors of CD4:CD8 ratio >1.0, but HLA variants (e.g., HLA-B*57 and HLA-B*81) previously associated with VL and/or CD4 trajectories in eastern and southern Africans had no obvious impact on CD4:CD8 ratio. Collectively, these findings suggest that CD4:CD8 ratio is a robust measure of immunologic health with both clinical and epidemiological implications.
Transductive Optimization of Top k Precision

Consider a binary classification problem in which the learner is given a labeled training set, an unlabeled test set, and is restricted to choosing exactly $k$ test points to output as positive predictions. Problems of this kind---{\it transductive precision@$k$}---arise in information retrieval, digital advertising, and reserve design for endangered species. Previous methods separate the training of the model from its use in scoring the test points. This paper introduces a new approach, Transductive Top K (TTK), that seeks to minimize the hinge loss over all training instances under the constraint that exactly $k$ test instances are predicted as positive. The paper presents two optimization methods for this challenging problem. Experiments and analysis confirm the importance of incorporating the knowledge of $k$ into the learning process. Experimental evaluations of the TTK approach show that the performance of TTK matches or exceeds existing state-of-the-art methods on 7 UCI datasets and 3 reserve design problem instances.
SKIP+: A Self-Stabilizing Skip Graph

Peer-to-peer systems rely on a scalable overlay network that enables efficient routing between its members. Hypercubic topologies facilitate such operations while each node only needs to connect to a small number of other nodes. In contrast to static communication networks, peer-to-peer networks allow nodes to adapt their neighbor set over time in order to react to join and leave events and failures. This article shows how to maintain such networks in a robust manner. Concretely, we present a distributed and self-stabilizing algorithm that constructs a (slightly extended) skip graph, SKIP+, in polylogarithmic time from any given initial state in which the overlay network is still weakly connected. This is an exponential improvement compared to previously known self-stabilizing algorithms for overlay networks. In addition, our algorithm handles individual joins and leaves locally and efficiently.
Impact of applied silvicultural systems on spatial pattern of hornbeam-oak forests

Abstract The spatial pattern of forest closely affects tree competition that drives the most of processes in forest ecosystems. Therefore, we focused on evaluation of the horizontal structure of high forest, coppice with standards and low forest in hornbeam-oak forests in the Protected Landscape Area Český kras (Czech Republic). The horizontal structure of tree layer individuals with crown projection centroids and natural regeneration was analysed for durmast oak (Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl. ), European hornbeam (Carpinus betulus L.) and small-leaved linden (Tilia cordata Mill.) stands. Horizontal structure of the tree stems of the studied tree species in high forest was random, in oak it was moderately regular. In coppice with standards it was random in oak, in hornbeam and linden it was aggregated within 3 – 5 m and random up to a larger spacing. In low forest at a distance of 4 – 6 m the horizontal structure of the three studied tree species was aggregated while it was random at a larger spacing. The horizontal structure of natural regeneration was aggregated in all forest types. In coppice with standards and high forest, parent stand had significant negative effect on the natural regeneration at smaller distance (to 1.4 m from the stem). Crown centroids were more regularly distributed than tree stems, especially in low forest (2.0 m) and in linden (2.3 m). Our results contribute to existing knowledge about silvicultural systems and their impact on hornbeam-oak forests with implications for forest management and nature protection.
Assessment of the Viability of Reuse of Secondary Effluent from STP

Population growth, urbanization, water resources pollution, environmental awareness, uneven distribution of water resources and water scarcity these factors have resulted in reuse of water especially from sewage treatment in water scare countries. In this work secondary effluent from Shirdi STP were collected and analyzed for physical, chemical and biological characteristics to assess the viability of water reuse. Available water reuse criteria for different reuse options were used to characterize the WWTPs secondary effluent for agricultural reuse. Some of the water quality parameters of the effluents from this plant were non-compliant to the requirements for maybe reuse for industries. However, the use of advance treatment technologies as part of the treatment train would address the water quality issues. From the analysis it is stated that the water is suitable for agriculture use as all its parameters are within the limit.