Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Asthma phenotypes and endotypes

Purpose of review It is increasingly clear that asthma is not a single disease, but a disorder with vast heterogeneity in pathogenesis, severity, and treatment response. In this review, we discuss the present understanding of different asthma phenotypes and endotypes, and the prospects of personalized medicine for asthma. Recent findings The recognition of diverse biological backgrounds in which asthma, and particularly severe asthma, can manifest has prompted the search for refined phenotypes and endotypes in asthma. Such appreciation of the heterogeneity in asthma is also prompting clinical trials to focus on specific subgroups of asthma, as demonstrated by the clinical trial of lebrikizumab. Summary Patients with severe asthma have asthma symptoms that are difficult to control, require high dosages of medication, and continue to experience persistent symptoms, asthma exacerbations or airflow obstruction even with aggressive therapy. Although asthma is traditionally viewed as an eosinophilic inflammatory disorder associated with a T-helper cell type 2 (Th2) immune response, recent studies have identified involvement of other effector cells, nonclassical Th2 cytokines and non-Th2 cytokines in severe asthma pathogenesis. Results of several clinical trials of anticytokine antibodies demonstrated the effectiveness of tailoring asthma treatment on the basis of an individual's biology.
Entrepreneurship in the rural context: Practical reflection on success and innovation

Given the important role that entrepreneurship plays in the economy, it is desirable that entrepreneurs succeed. However, there is a noticeable trend of rural entrepreneurs migrating to urban areas. This study aims to ascertain the factors that contribute to entrepreneurial success. Using quantitative methods fifty respondents participated and data was collected using questionnaires. The collected data was analysed and presented both descriptively and inferentially. The study found that the majority of entrepreneurs agree that factors that positively impact innovation include good customer service; hard work; social skills; a good product at a competitive price and maintenance of accurate records. Appropriate training for entrepreneurs also helps to avoid mistakes made by other entrepreneurs. The study, therefore, recommends that government as well as the private sector offer greater support to entrepreneurs. Key words: Entrepreneurs, finance, performance.
Steady state heat transfer using Galerkin finite element method

The finite-element methods (FEMs) have become one of the major strategies for solving partial differential equations. Galerkin method is one of widely used FEM technique to solve the problems in heat transfer, fluid mechanics and mechanical systems. The objective of this paper is to perform error analysis for different types of heat flow vectors using Galerkin method for triangular elements. The heat flow vectors applied in this article include constant, exponential, sinusoidal and polynomial functions. On the basis of simulation results some guidelines has been suggested for each category of these heat flow vector focusing on method accuracy.
Microleakage of Class II restorations with different tracers--comparison with SEM quantitative analysis.

PURPOSE (1) To compare SEM quantitative marginal analysis data with the depth of penetration (DP) of the three most commonly used tracers for microleakage in Class II fillings in vitro; (2) based on the obtained results to calculate the discriminatory power of a sample size of 12. MATERIALS AND METHODS Standardized large cavities (mesially 1 mm above the CEJ, distally 1 mm below the CEJ, intercuspal distance 70%) were prepared into 36 extracted caries-free first mandibular molars and filled with Tetric EvoCeram/AdheSE, the resin being applied in horizontal layers 2 mm thick. Each increment was light cured for 20 s (1200 mW/cm2). Finishing was performed with fine diamond burs and disks. All teeth were subjected to occlusal loading (1,200,000 cycles, 49 N/1.7 Hz) and simultaneous thermocycling (3000 cycles at 5 degrees C/55 degrees C). The percentage of continuous margin of the cervical dentin and enamel was evaluated on replicas using SEM. The teeth were subjected to tracer penetration with either 0.5% basic fuchsin (24 h, 37 degrees C), 2% methylene blue (24 h, 37 degrees C) or 50% silver nitrate solution (4 h, 37 degrees C, followed by 8-h exposure to a photodeveloping solution and overnight fluorescent light). The teeth were mesiodistally sectioned twice. The depth of tracer penetration was measured with a stereomicroscope and averaged for each site. Due to data inhomogeneity and abnormal distribution, both SEM and DP data were transformed. Sample size calculations were performed based on standard deviation and statistical error estimates. RESULTS For the dentin margin, there was an acceptable correlation between SEM data and both fuchsin penetration (Pearson: -0.74, p < 0.01) and silver nitrate penetration (Pearson: -0.79, p < 0.01), but not between methylene blue and SEM data. For enamel margins, no significant correlation between SEM and DP data was found for the three tracers. There was statistically no significant difference in tracer penetration between the three tracers (Kruskal Wallis, p > 0.05). For all three tracers, statistically significantly higher penetration occurred at the dentin than at the enamel margin (Wilcoxon, p < 0.05). A sample size of 12 makes it possible to discriminate between materials only when they differ in tracer penetration in the range of 1 mm for enamel and 2 mm for dentinal margins. CONCLUSION Tracer penetration with fuchsin or silver nitrate showed a moderate correlation with SEM quantitative marginal analysis data at dentinal margins, but not at enamel margins.
Trends in cancer incidence among Singapore Malays: a low-risk population.

INTRODUCTION Inspection of trends in cancer incidence in ethnically or geographically diverse populations is important for the understanding of cancer patterns and also to provide clues for aetiologic studies. There is little information on cancer incidence among Malays, a low-risk population. The population-based cancer registration system in Singapore offers the opportunity in this regard. MATERIALS AND METHODS A review of all newly diagnosed cancer cases among Singapore Malay residents in the period 1968 to 1997 was conducted to determine the time trends using data from Singapore Cancer Registry. Age-standardised incidence rates and average annual percentage change, using Poisson regression, were calculated. RESULTS During the 30-year study period, a total of 9101 incident cases of cancer were diagnosed among Malays in Singapore. The 3 most common sites of cancer were lung, liver and colorectum in males; and breast, colorectum and ovary in females in the period 1983 to 1997. Leukaemia was among the top 10 cancer sites in both sexes. Malays generally experienced lower cancer incidence rates compared to Chinese, but rates have been increasing at 1.5% to 2% annually. Statistically significant increases in incidence were observed for most of the cancer sites. The incidence of nasopharyngeal carcinoma increased, while there were no significant changes in the general population. CONCLUSION The relatively lower cancer risk among Singapore Malays might be attributed to genetic factors or closer adherence to a more traditional lifestyle. This study provides a baseline for comparisons with other populations with diverse cancer risk patterns in order to obtain a better understanding of possible aetiologic factors.
Continuity of care for older patients in family practice: how important is it?

OBJECTIVE To examine the evidence that continuity of primary care is important for older people with chronic diseases. DATA SOURCES MEDLINE, EMBASE and CINAHL were searched from January 1970 to June 2005 for original articles in English that examined the relationship between interpersonal continuity of patient care and health outcomes of people 50 years old and older. Articles found were reviewed and analyzed by both authors to assess the strength of study design and the quality of the evidence provided. STUDY SELECTION We used the search terms "continuity of patient care," "elderly," "primary care," and "outcomes. " Criteria from the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care were used to assess the quality of studies; only studies providing levels I to III evidence were included in this review. SYNTHESIS Of 7563 articles found, we chose 99 studies (and 27 other studies cited in them) by studying their abstracts. Assessment of these 126 studies indicated that only 5 were of good quality and relevant to the inquiry. Two of these 5 were randomized controlled trials, and 3 were observational studies. CONCLUSION Although the literature on continuity of care generally suggests that continuity of interpersonal primary care is important and beneficial, specific evidence that it is beneficial for elderly people is scanty. There is a need for well designed studies to investigate this issue.
Aesthetics of interaction design on the mobile-based university website

Aesthetics is a branch of science that discusses about the philosophy of beauty and harmony among design elements. Discussion on the domain of aesthetics are often produce subjective result, where every user has their own opinion. Website is the first gateway of any universities to introduce themself. Based on aesthetics concept, the quality of a university website can only be measured well when users are involved in the design process. Users are involved as subject that play role as person who measure several relevant existed website. Result of the measurement is mental model which can be used to produce interaction design (IxD). IxD is a design concept where focus lies on the quality of the interaction between system and its users. In this research, IxD was obtained based on the measurement on the user's expectation. User expectations can be measured utilizing Kansei Engineering (KE). Twenty website are selected based on their characteristic. Characteristics of the selected websites represent three aspects, information architecture, navigation design, and user interface. The result of this research are IxD, represented by several element which can be used to develop the mobile-based design of university's website.
Successful Stem Cell Therapy Using Umbilical Cord Blood‐Derived Multipotent Stem Cells for Buerger's Disease and Ischemic Limb Disease Animal Model

Buerger's disease, also known as thromboangiitis obliterans, is a nonatherosclerotic, inflammatory, vasoocclusive disease. It is characterized pathologically as a panangiitis of medium and small blood vessels, including both arteries and adjacent veins, especially the distal extremities (the feet and the hands). There is no curative medication or surgery for this disease. In the present study, we transplanted human leukocyte antigen‐matched human umbilical cord blood (UCB)‐derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) into four men with Buerger's disease who had already received medical treatment and surgical therapies. After the stem cell transplantation, ischemic rest pain suddenly disappeared from their affected extremities. The necrotic skin lesions were healed within 4 weeks. In the follow‐up angiography, digital capillaries were increased in number and size. In addition, vascular resistance in the affected extremities, compared with the preoperative examination, was markedly decreased due to improvement of the peripheral circulation. Because an animal model of Buerger's disease is absent and also to understand human results, we transplanted human UCB‐derived MSCs to athymic nude mice with hind limb ischemia by femoral artery ligation. Up to 60% of the hind limbs were salvaged in the femoral artery‐ligated animals. By in situ hybridization, the human UCB‐derived MSCs were detected in the arterial walls of the ischemic hind limb in the treated group. Therefore, it is suggested that human UCB‐derived MSC transplantation may be a new and useful therapeutic armament for Buerger's disease and similar ischemic diseases.
Differential RNA Sequencing Implicates Sulfide as the Master Regulator of S0 Metabolism in Chlorobaculum tepidum and Other Green Sulfur Bacteria

ABSTRACT The green sulfur bacteria (Chlorobiaceae) are anaerobes that use electrons from reduced sulfur compounds (sulfide, S0, and thiosulfate) as electron donors for photoautotrophic growth. Chlorobaculum tepidum, the model system for the Chlorobiaceae, both produces and consumes extracellular S0 globules depending on the availability of sulfide in the environment. These physiological changes imply significant changes in gene regulation, which has been observed when sulfide is added to Cba. tepidum growing on thiosulfate. However, the underlying mechanisms driving these gene expression changes, i.e., the specific regulators and promoter elements involved, have not yet been defined. Here, differential RNA sequencing (dRNA-seq) was used to globally identify transcript start sites (TSS) that were present during growth on sulfide, biogenic S0, and thiosulfate as sole electron donors. TSS positions were used in combination with RNA-seq data from cultures growing on these same electron donors to identify both basal promoter elements and motifs associated with electron donor-dependent transcriptional regulation. These motifs were conserved across homologous Chlorobiaceae promoters. Two lines of evidence suggest that sulfide-mediated repression is the dominant regulatory mode in Cba. tepidum. First, motifs associated with genes regulated by sulfide overlap key basal promoter elements. Second, deletion of the Cba. tepidum 1277 (CT1277) gene, encoding a putative regulatory protein, leads to constitutive overexpression of the sulfide:quinone oxidoreductase CT1087 in the absence of sulfide. The results suggest that sulfide is the master regulator of sulfur metabolism in Cba. tepidum and the Chlorobiaceae. Finally, the identification of basal promoter elements with differing strengths will further the development of synthetic biology in Cba. tepidum and perhaps other Chlorobiaceae. IMPORTANCE Elemental sulfur is a key intermediate in biogeochemical sulfur cycling. The photoautotrophic green sulfur bacterium Chlorobaculum tepidum either produces or consumes elemental sulfur depending on the availability of sulfide in the environment. Our results reveal transcriptional dynamics of Chlorobaculum tepidum on elemental sulfur and increase our understanding of the mechanisms of transcriptional regulation governing growth on different reduced sulfur compounds. This report identifies genes and sequence motifs that likely play significant roles in the production and consumption of elemental sulfur. Beyond this focused impact, this report paves the way for the development of synthetic biology in Chlorobaculum tepidum and other Chlorobiaceae by providing a comprehensive identification of promoter elements for control of gene expression, a key element of strain engineering.
Miniaturized SiP supply board based on TPVD charge pump ICs for high-voltage biomedical applications

A miniaturized System-in-Package (SiP) high-voltage (HV) supply board (2.7 cm × 0.7cm) based on full-custom two-phase voltage doubler (TPVD) charge pump ICs connected in a 2-stage cascade configuration is presented. An accurate mathematical model has been used to set up and select the value of the charge pump IC design/application parameters in order to fullfil the output voltage and load current requirements. The model has been validated with two different HV integration technologies (I2T100 BCD 0.7 μm from ON semiconductor and 0.8 μm 5/20V CMOS-DMOS from DALSA semicoductor). The proposed HV supply board includes a skipping-based regulation system built with commercial discrete ICs that allows the generation of regulated fractional output voltage values different from the expected 2× factor per stage and improves the power efficiency of the whole system over a wide range of working loads (especially at lighter loads). Experimental results show that our system is capable to obtain different unregulated/regulated output voltages under several working load conditions ranging from 7.6 V @ 7.27 mA of load current (55.2 mW) to 12.98 V @ 150 μA (1.94 mW). The designed charge pump IC has been integrated using the high-voltage I2T100 0.7 μm BCD smart power technology.
A Influência da Taxa de Câmbio e Renda Mundial Sobre as Exportações Brasileiras de Soja (2000-2015)

Resumo: Este trabalho propõe-se a testar a possível existência de uma relação de longo prazo entre as variáveis taxa de câmbio e renda mundial sobre o desempenho das exportações brasileiras de soja. Para este fim, estima-se um modelo econométrico capaz de descrever o nível de sensibilidade (elasticidade) das variáveis explicativas entre janeiro de 2000 e dezembro de 2015. A estratégia empírica adotada foi o uso dos métodos de séries temporais, teste de raiz unitária, teste de cointegração de Johansen, modelo vetorial autorregressivo (VAR) mais completo, denominado modelo vetor de correção de erros (VECM), a função impulso-resposta e a decomposição dos erros de previsão da variância. Os resultados demonstraram que apenas a variável renda mundial mostrou-se relevante para explicar as oscilações ocorridas ao longo do tempo na variável dependente exportação de soja, revelando a importância da conjuntura internacional para as vendas brasileiras da commodity. A variável taxa de câmbio apresentou sinal contrário à teoria econômica; contudo, registrou um coeficiente significativo. Na análise de curto prazo, observou-se que existe certa defasagem de tempo para que os desequilíbrios ocorridos no curto prazo sejam corrigidos no longo prazo.
Quantification of Electromyographic Activity During Sleep: A Phasic Electromyographic Metric

Summary: Recording of electromyographic (EMG) activity is considered essential for defining rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and for quantifying certain types of movements in sleep, such as periodic leg movements in sleep (PLMS). However, routine analyses of EMG activity beyond such purposes is performed rarely and quantified seldom, and normative data are lacking. In this study, the authors examined systematic application of a visual scoring system for short-duration (approximately 100-millisecond) phasic EMG activity recorded from five different muscle groups (submentalis, left/right anterior tibialis, left/right brachioradialis) recorded from two different age groups of normal subjects and a group of patients with Parkinson's disease. Quantification of this activity was labeled as a phasic electromyographic metric (PEM). PEM data were compiled separately by REM and non-REM sleep. Results indicated that PEM is a normal part of REM sleep in all muscle groups, more specifically constituting about 5% (SD = 3.1%) of 2.5-second intervals of REM sleep in the mentalis in healthy young adults. It occurs at higher rates in patients with Parkinson's disease, and its quantification in the legs may be influenced to some degree by the presence of PLMS. PEM may be a useful metric amenable to quantification with digital techniques. It may have particular relevance for the identification of neurodegenerative conditions in which disinhibition of midbrain dopaminergic pathways results in excessive motor discharge during sleep.
Whole Body De Novo Amino Acid Synthesis in Type I (Insulin-dependent) Diabetes Studied With Stable Isotope-labeled Leucine, Alanine, and Glycine

Dynamic aspects of whole body alanine and glycine metabolism have been explored in insulin-dependent (type I) diabetic subjects. Using a primed, continuous intravenous (i.v.) infusion of [2H3]alanine and [15N] glycine given simultaneously with [1-13C] leucine, whole body alanine and glycine fluxes and their rates of de novo synthesis were measured in 6 diabetic young men. Subjects were studied in the postabsorptive state, after blood glucose was clamped overnight at 15.2 ± 0.3 mM, and then, on the following night, at 5.9 ± 0.2 mM (insulin infusion rates of 0.24 ± 0.09 and 1.65 ± 0.20 U/h, respectively). In the normoglycemic state, leucine, alanine, and glycine fluxes averaged 88 ± 4, 378 ± 39, and 155 ± 8 μmol · kg−1 · h−1 respectively. Based on the leucine flux, alanine and glycine de novo synthesis rates were 264 ± 36 and 67 ± 8 ftmol · kg−1 · h−1. In the hyperglycemic state, leucine flux increased 23% (P < 0.01), alanine flux rose slightly (+ 5%) but significantly (P < 0.05), while alanine de novo synthesis and glycine flux remained unchanged and glycine de novo synthesis decreased by 33% (P < 0.001). These results show that small alterations in peripheral alanine inflow in the hyperglycemic state reflect increased proteolysis and suggest that increased circulating plasma glucose does not contribute to de novo alanine synthesis in the absence of adequate insulin effect and/or augmented glucose tissue uptake. These observations also reveal the importance of insulin in the maintenance of whole body leucine economy, since a lower rate of insulin administration was associated with an increased rate of leucine oxidation.
Involvement of Lipoxygenase-dependent Production of Fatty Acid Hydroperoxides in the Development of the Hypersensitive Cell Death induced by Cryptogein on Tobacco Leaves*

Lipid peroxidation was investigated in relation with the hypersensitive reaction in cryptogein-elicited tobacco leaves. A massive production of free polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) hydroperoxides dependent on a 9-lipoxygenase (LOX) activity was characterized during the development of leaf necrosis. The process occurred after a lag phase of 12 h, was accompanied by the concomitant increase of 9-LOX activity, and preceded by a transient accumulation of LOX transcripts. Free radical-mediated lipid peroxidation represented 10% of the process. Inhibition and activation of the LOX pathway was shown to inhibit or to activate cell death, and evidence was provided that fatty acid hydroperoxides are able to mimic leaf necrotic symptoms. Within 24 h, about 50% of leaf PUFAs were consumed, chloroplast lipids being the major source of PUFAs. The results minimize the direct participation of active oxygen species from the oxidative burst in membrane lipid peroxidation. They suggest, furthermore, the involvement of lipase activity to provide the free PUFA substrates for LOX. The LOX-dependent peroxidative pathway, responsible for tissue necrosis, appears as being one of the features of hypersensitive programmed cell death.