Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A 1α,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3 Analog Enhances Regulatory T-Cells and Arrests Autoimmune Diabetes in NOD Mice

Type 1 diabetes is a chronic progressive autoimmune disease characterized by mononuclear cell infiltration, dominated by interleukin-12 (IL-12)-dependent Th1 cells, of the pancreatic islets, with subsequent destruction of insulin-producing -cells. Here, we demonstrate that treatment of adult nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice with an analog of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3, an immunomodulatory agent preventing dendritic cell maturation, decreases lipopolysaccharide-induced IL-12 and -interferon production, arrests Th1 cell infiltration and progression of insulitis, and inhibits diabetes development at nonhypercalcemic doses. Arrest of disease progression is accompanied by an enhanced frequency in the pancreatic lymph nodes of CD4CD25 regulatory T-cells that are able to inhibit the T-cell response to the pancreatic autoantigen insulinoma-associated protein 2 and to significantly delay disease transfer by pathogenic CD4CD25 cells. Thus, a short treatment of adult NOD mice with an analog of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 inhibits IL-12 production, blocks pancreatic infiltration of Th1 cells, enhances CD4CD25 regulatory cells, and arrests the progression of type 1 diabetes, suggesting its possible application in the treatment of human autoimmune diabetes. Diabetes 51:1367‐1374, 2002
‘If only I'd known about this years ago stress and time management workshops for people recovering from mental illness

Abstract This paper, in reporting a series of successful workshops in stress and time management offered to people recovering from mental illness considers reasons why such training can be helpful. The membership and content of the workshops, as well as consumer feedback are described and discussed. The suggestion is that such training could become part of social work practice.
Comparison of the glycemic control of insulin and triple oral therapy in type 2 diabetes mellitus

To compare the glycemic control of triple oral therapy with sulfonylurea, metformin and acarbose with insulin in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients. This was a prospective observational study, carried out in Sardjito Hospital in Yogyakarta Indonesia, from May 2007 - September 2008. The target population in patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes who failed with oral antidiabetic medications. At baseline and at 3 -month intervals, level of HbA1C, fasting plasma glucose (FPG), postprandial plasma glucose (PPG), hypoglycemic episodes, and adverse events were evaluated. Test for differences between the two groups were performed by Chi-Square test for categorical variables and by independent-samples t-test for continuous variables. Paired t-test was performed for pre-post measurements. All tests were performed using a two-tailed test at a significance level of 0.05. One hundred and fifthteen patients (58 men and 57 women), aged 62.35 ± 8.88, and diabetes duration of 12.53 ± 6.97 years were studied. Over the 6 -month treatment period, HbA1c levels decreased from 8.85 ± 2.02 to 8.33 ± 1.94% with insulin group (P = 0.011) and increased from 8.08 ± 1.89 to 8.73 ± 2.37% with triple oral therapy (P = 0.041). FPG and PPG levels decreased from 169.42 - 138.44 mg/dl (P = 0.002) and 238.26 - 197.97 mg/dl (P = 0.001) with insulin and increased from 160.39 - 170.71 mg/dl (P = 0.183) and 210.31 - 218.67 mg/dl (P = 0.458) with triple oral therapy, respectively. Addition of insulin in poorly controlled type 2 diabetic patients on metformin/sulfonylurea achieved a significantly greater reduction in HbA1c, fasting plasma glucose, and postprandial plasma glucose versus those treated with sulfonylurea, metformin, and acarbose.
Oxidative stress effects on endothelial cells treated with different athletes' sera.

PURPOSE Exercise training is a nonpharmacological intervention that improves cardiovascular function and enhances endothelial homeostasis in patients with cardiovascular diseases. However, the amount of benefit achieved varies widely depending on the type and duration of exercise. Moreover, data about the long-term effects of physical activity are scarce. METHODS In this study, endothelial cells, exposed or not to oxidative stress, were conditioned with sera from athletes regularly participating in sports classified as "aerobic" (triathlon), "mixed aerobic-anaerobic" (soccer), and "anaerobic" (sprint running). RESULTS Functional and hemodynamic variables did not differ between groups of athletes, whereas there were dramatic changes in serum markers for oxidative stress. Lipid peroxidation assessed by the thiobarbituric acid reactive substances assay and catalase activity were the lowest and nitric oxide availability was the highest in sera of triathletes. Endothelial cells cultured in serum from triathletes (T-endothelial cells) had the highest survival, evaluated by viability assay, BrdU incorporation, and senescence-associated β galactosidase assays, and preserved the endothelial appearance before and after stress in contrast to the cells grown in sera from the other athletes. T-endothelial cells also had the highest catalase messenger RNA expression and, after stress, the highest catalase activity of all the endothelial cells. Moreover, poststress activity of Sirt1, a NAD(+)-dependent deacetylase involved in cellular stress resistance and a key regulator of longevity, was significantly increased in T-endothelial cells. CONCLUSIONS Different types of exercise training induced different molecular effects in terms of survival, morphology, and antioxidant system efficiency. The in vitro technique used herein may help to shed light on the molecular basis of effects of long-term physical activity in humans.
Investigating models of adult safeguarding in England - A mixed-methods approach

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe the methodology being used in a study exploring the organisation of adult safeguarding. Design/methodology/approach – A mixed-methods study is presented which describes how the research team is seeking to identify models of adult safeguarding and then compare them using a quasi-experimental study design. Findings – Close examination of this study’s methodology highlights the potential value of mixed-method research approaches. Research limitations/implications – Anticipated study challenges include difficulties with gaining agreement from study sites and recruitment of people who have been the subject of a safeguarding referral. Originality/value – This will be the first study in England to identify and compare different models of adult safeguarding in depth. Outlining and discussing current methodology is likely to be of interest to practitioners, managers and other researchers and policy makers.
Reducing branch divergence in GPU programs

Branch divergence has a significant impact on the performance of GPU programs. We propose two novel software-based optimizations, called iteration delaying and branch distribution that aim to reduce branch divergence. Iteration delaying targets a divergent branch enclosed by a loop within a kernel. It improves performance by executing loop iterations that take the same branch direction and delaying those that take the other direction until later iterations. Branch distribution reduces the length of divergent code by factoring out structurally similar code from the branch paths. We conduct a preliminary evaluation of the two optimizations using both synthetic benchmarks and a highly-optimized real-world application. Our evaluation shows that they improve the performance of the synthetic benchmarks by as much as 30% and 80% respectively, and that of the real-world application by 12% and 16% respectively.
Language Remediation in a Case of Wernickeâs Aphasia Post HerpesSimplex Virus Type 1 Viral Encephalitis

Objective: This report aims to disseminate a successful language remediation in a case of Wernicke’s aphasia following encephalitis caused by herpes simplex virus type 1. Methods: A female patient was referred two months post onset of Herpes Simplex Encephalitis (HSE) with severe Wernicke’s aphasia, confusion, environmental disorientation, and dependence in activities of daily living. Non-standardized portions of the Porch Index of Communicative Ability (PICA) was administered in speech-language assessment. A treatment program following the Context-Based Therapy was applied on an intensive schedule, with emphasis on the auditory system. PICA’s multidimensional scoring system was used to monitor patient’s progress. Results: Sixteen months post onset of Wernicke’s aphasia, patient was able to perform auditory comprehension/ memory tasks with gestural/ visual augmentation and demonstrate no deficits on a non-standardized PICA, other than occasional delays and self-corrections. Patient became independent and functional in activities of daily living. Conclusion: There is no proven method for rehabilitation of the Wernicke’s aphasia. The successful rehabilitation including language remediation in this case suggests that a treatment program following the Context-Based Therapy may be helpful in rehabilitation of Wernicke’s aphasia caused by HSE when administered on an intensive schedule.
Multimodal instantiation of assistance services

Our research focuses in a multimodal model of services for the dynamic composition of interactive features in multimedia. These services primarily do complex multimedia compositions in pervasive semantics systems. We propose a new protocol to enhance UPnP [14] and Bonjour [15] device descriptions with semantic multimodal descriptions and to extend the service discovery to high-level SOA services. This protocol bases on the upper-level ontology DOLCE+DnS Ultralite in conjunction with OWL-S and provides a flexible mean for multimodal rich media composition and context-aware presentation in a SOA architecture based on W3C's Multimodal interaction framework (MMIF).
Relationship between physical activity and brain atrophy progression.

INTRODUCTION Brain atrophy is associated with impairment in cognitive function and learning function. The aim of this study was to determine whether daily physical activity prevents age-related brain atrophy progression. METHODS The participants were 381 men and 393 women who had participated in both the baseline and the follow-up surveys (mean duration = 8.2 yr). Magnetic resonance imaging of the frontal and temporal lobes was performed at the time of the baseline and follow-up surveys. The daily physical activities and total energy expenditures of the participants were recorded at baseline with uniaxial accelerometry sensors. Multiple logistic regression models were fit to determine the association between activity energy expenditure, number of steps, and total energy expenditure variables and frontal and temporal lobe atrophy progression while controlling for possible confounders. RESULTS In male participants, the odds ratio of frontal lobe atrophy progression for the fifth quintile compared with the first quintile in activity energy expenditure was 3.408 (95% confidence interval = 1.205-9.643) and for the number of steps was 3.651 (95% confidence interval = 1.304-10.219). Men and women with low total energy expenditure were at risk for frontal lobe atrophy progression. There were no significant differences between temporal lobe atrophy progression and physical activity or total energy expenditure. CONCLUSION The results indicate that physical activity and total energy expenditure are significant predictors of frontal lobe atrophy progression during an 8-yr period. Promoting participation in activities may be beneficial for attenuating age-related frontal lobe atrophy and for preventing dementia.
Drug Utilization Patterns

We review methodological challenges in the observational studies of the patterns and outcomes of drug utilization. First, we address issues related to design and data collection in different studies that rely on administrative databases, discuss their limitations in accounting for clinical indication bias, and outline new opportunities created by the emergence of the integrated electronic patient records. Then, we focus on the different analytical issues related to such complexities as prescriber effects, assessing the impact of policy changes on drug utilization, description and classification of longitudinal patterns of medication use, alternative methods of measuring time-dependent exposure status and medication dose, use of nonparametric modeling to represent time-varying, lagged and/or nonlinear effects of exposure. Keywords: observational studies; administrative databases; longitudinal trajectories; survival analysis; time-dependent covariates; nonparametric modeling; Cox model; time-dependent effects; nonlinear effects; confounding; clinical indication bias; linked electronic patient records; prescription claims; policy change; interrupted time series; clustering; sensitivity analyses
Optimal Management of Heart Failure with Preserve Ejection Fraction

More than 50% of patients who are diagnosed with heart failure have preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), and they have an equally poor prognosis when compared to patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). However, a comprehensive understanding and awareness of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction is still limited and there are currently no optimized treatments to improve morbidity and mortality in these patients. This review summarizes the differences in the epidemiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis, and prognosis between HFpEF and HFrEF. We also review current management strategies of HFpEF patients according to evidence-based treatment guidelines. (Korean J Med 2015;88:135-141)
Effect of race distance on muscle oxygenation in short-track speed skating.

PURPOSE Previous work identified an asymmetry in tissue desaturation changes in the left and right quadriceps muscles during on-ice skating at maximal speed in males. The effect of changing race distance on the magnitude of desaturation or leg asymmetry is unknown. METHODS Six elite male skaters (age = 23 ± 1.8 yr, height = 1.8 ± 0.1 m, mass = 80.1 ± 5.7 kg, midthigh skinfold thickness = 7 ± 2 mm) and four elite female skaters (age = 21 ± 4 yr, height = 1.6 ± 0.1 m, mass = 65.2 ± 4.3 kg, midthigh skinfold thickness = 10 ± 1 mm) were studied. Subjects completed time trials over three race distances. Blood lactate concentration and O2 uptake measurements were combined with near-infrared spectroscopy measures of muscle oxygenation (TSI) and blood volume (tHb) in the right and left vastus lateralis. RESULTS Neither race distance nor gender had a significant effect on the magnitude of maximal muscle desaturation (ΔTSI(max)). Pattern of local changes in tHb during individual laps was dependent upon subtle differences in skating technique used for the different race distances. Linear regression analysis revealed asymmetry between the right and left leg desaturation in males during the final stages of each race distance, but not in females. At all race distances, local muscle desaturation reached maximal values much more quickly than global VO(2peak). CONCLUSION The use of wearable near-infrared spectroscopy devices enabled measurement of muscle oxygenation during competitive race simulation, thus providing unique insight into the effects of velocity and technique changes on local muscle oxygenation. This may have implications for training and race pacing in speed skating.
How does Facebook browsing affect self-awareness and social well-being: the role of narcissism

Social networking sites such as Facebook have become extremely popular recently. In this research, we studied how Facebook browsing affects self-awareness and social well-being. Our results show that after Facebook browsing, individuals high in narcissism raised their public self-awareness while those low in narcissism reduced their public self-awareness. We also found that individuals low in narcissism perceived their friends' lives to be better than their own and consequently experienced negative social well-being and emotion. However, this effect did not occur for individuals high in narcissism.
Estratégias para prevenção da obesidade em crianças e adolescentes

Few studies on treatment or prevention of obesity have shown significant results. Theoretically, in children and adolescents as compared to adults, prevention of excessive weight gain should be easy due to the energy expended during growth, associated with more time spent in leisure-time activities. However, numerous factors that stimulate overeating and sedentary behaviors are difficult to overcome. Additionally, most intervention studies have focused on a minor portion of the many factors associated with obesity. Important aspects of the obesity epidemic such as the role of the food industry, fast food chains, advertising, and a lifestyle that limits children to sedentary activities and overeating cannot be explored by a traditional clinical trial design. At any rate, among the published interventions, those including the family in weight-reduction strategies have shown the best results, as compared to children-centered approaches. Meanwhile, studies on specific nutrient or dietary composition (such as calcium, protein, or glycemic index) related to prevention or treatment of obesity have failed to yield good results. Reducing the intake of high-sugar carbonated drinks and juices has shown promising but still inconclusive results.
Use and safety of KAATSU training:Results of a national survey

KAATSU training is a novel training, which is performed under conditions of restricted blood flow. It can induce a variety of beneficial effects such as increased muscle strength, and it has been adopted by a number of facilities in recent times. The purpose of the present study is to know the present state of KAATSU training in Japan and examine the incidence of adverse events in the field. The data were obtained from KAATSU leaders or instructors in a total of 105 out of 195 facilities where KAATSU training has been adopted. Based on survey results, 12,642 persons have received KAATSU training (male 45.4%, female 54.6%). KAATSU training has been applied to all generations of people including the young ( 80 years old). The most popular purpose of KAATSU training is to strengthen muscle in athletes and to promote the health of subjects, including the elderly. It has been also applied to various kinds of physical conditions, cerebrovascular diseases, orthopedic diseases, obesity, cardiac diseases, neuromuscular diseases, diabetes, hypertension and respiratory diseases. In KAATSU training, various types of exercise modalities (physical exercise, walking, cycling, and weight training) are used. Most facilities have used 5-30 min KAATSU training each time, and performed it 1-3 times a week. Approximately 80% of the facilities are satisfied with the results of KAATSU training with only small numbers of complications reported. The incidence of side effects was as follows; venous thrombus (0.055%), pulmonary embolism (0.008%) and rhabdomyolysis (0.008%). These results indicate that the KAATSU training is a safe and promising method for training athletes and healthy persons, and can also be applied to persons with various physical conditions.
An interactive multi-touch sketching interface for diffusion curves

Diffusion curves are effective 2D vector-graphics primitives, for creating smoothly-shaded drawings with rich colors and unique styles. Conventional drawing systems for diffusion curves often require users to successively layout curve geometry and then specify colors, which is rather tedious for complex drawings. This paper proposes a novel multi-touch sketching interface for efficient design of 2D vector graphics with diffusion curves. In sharp contrast to previous interfaces, we develop a family of multi-touch gestures, allowing users to simultaneously sketch multiple diffusion curves and also to interactively edit and tune curve geometry and colors. Our experiments show that this not only brings novel painting experience to users but also provides a practical and effective tool for vector graphics design, useful for styles like silk painting, Disney cartoon, art poster, and photo-realistic effects. Lastly, we conduct a user study to explore the interface's intuitive and efficient drawing capability with both professional 2D artists and novice users.
Genetic predisposition scores associate with muscular strength, size, and trainability.

INTRODUCTION The number of studies trying to identify genetic sequence variation related to muscular phenotypes has increased enormously. The aim of this study was to identify the role of a genetic predisposition score (GPS) based on earlier identified gene variants for different muscular endophenotypes to explain the individual differences in muscular fitness characteristics and the response to training in patients with coronary artery disease. METHODS Two hundred and sixty coronary artery disease patients followed a standard ambulatory, 3-month supervised training program for cardiac patients. Maximal knee extension strength (KES) and rectus femoris diameter were measured at baseline and after rehabilitation. Sixty-five single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in 30 genes were selected based on genotype-phenotype association literature. Backward regression analysis revealed subsets of SNP associated with the different phenotypes. GPS were constructed for all sets of SNP by adding up the strength-increasing alleles. General linear models and multiple stepwise regression analysis were used to test the explained variance of the GPS in baseline and strength responses. Receiver operating characteristic curve analyses were performed to discriminate between high- and low-responder status. RESULTS GPS were significantly associated with the rectus femoris diameter (P < 0.01) and its response (P < 0.0001), the isometric KES (P < 0.05) and its response (P < 0.01), the isokinetic KES at 60° · s (P < 0.05) and 180° · s (P < 0.001) and their responses to training (P < 0.0001), and the isokinetic KES endurance (P < 0.001) and its change after training (P < 0.0001). The GPS was shown as an independent determinant in baseline and response phenotypes with partial explained variance up to 23%. Receiver operating characteristic analysis showed a significant discriminating accuracy of the models, including the GPS for responses to training, with areas under the curve ranging from 0.62 to 0.85. CONCLUSION GPS for muscular phenotypes showed to be associated with baseline KES, muscle diameter, and the response to training in cardiac rehabilitation patients.
Post-traumatic stress disorder in older people

Research into post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among older people is in its ascendancy. Several reviews have been published to capture the main arguments of the studies from 1994 to 2000. This article aims to review published studies from 2000 onwards on PTSD among older people. These studies show that following their exposure to different types of traumas, older people have been shown to develop PTSD symptoms, a range of psychiatric comorbidity and cognitive and biological changes. On the whole, PTSD reactions do not vary across age groups, although this finding is not entirely conclusive. There seems to be evidence demonstrating ethnic differences in terms of PTSD reactions. Despite some anecdotal evidence, research has not focused on evaluating therapeutic interventions for older people with PTSD.