Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Performance-based physical function and future dementia in older people.

BACKGROUND The association of physical function with progression to dementia has not been well investigated. We aimed to determine whether physical function is associated with incident dementia and Alzheimer disease (AD). METHODS We performed a prospective cohort study of 2288 persons 65 years and older without dementia. Patients were enrolled from 1994 to 1996 and followed up through October 2003. Main outcome measures included incident dementia and AD. RESULTS During follow-up 319 participants developed dementia (221 had AD). The age-specific incidence rate of dementia was 53.1 per 1000 person-years for participants who scored lower on a performance-based physical function test at baseline (< or = 10 points) compared with 17.4 per 1000 person-years for those who scored higher (> 10 points). A 1-point lower performance-based physical function score was associated with an increased risk of dementia (hazard ratio, 1.08; 95% confidence interval, 1.03-1.13; P < .001), an increased risk of AD (hazard ratio, 1.06; 95% confidence interval, 1.01-1.12; P = .01), and an increased rate of decline in the Cognitive Ability Screening Instrument scores (0.11 point per year; 95% confidence interval, 0.08-0.14; P < .001) after adjusting for age, sex, years of education, baseline cognitive function, APOE epsilon4 allele, family history of AD, depression, coronary heart disease, and cerebrovascular disease. CONCLUSIONS Lower levels of physical performance were associated with an increased risk of dementia and AD. The study suggests that poor physical function may precede the onset of dementia and AD and higher levels of physical function may be associated with a delayed onset.
Anaerobic bioventing of unsaturated zone contaminated with DDT and DNT.

Initial degradation of highly chlorinated compounds and nitroaromatic compounds found in munition waste streams is accelerated under anaerobic conditions followed by aerobic treatment of the degradation products. The establishment of anaerobic environment in a vadose zone can be accomplished by feeding appropriate anaerobic gas mixture, i.e., "anaerobic bioventing". The gas mixture contains an electron donor for the reduction of these compounds. Lab scale study was conducted to evaluate potential of anaerobic bioventing for the treatment of an unsaturated zone contaminated with 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethane (DDT) and 2,4-dinitrotoluene (DNT). Hydrogen was used as the electron donor. Using the soil columns innoculate with anaerobic microorganisms, it was observed that by feeding a gas mixture of 1% hydrogen, 1% carbon dioxide and nitrogen, methanogenic conditions were established and DDT was reductively dechlorinated. 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethane (DDD) accumulated as the intermediate product. The half life of DDT was calculated to be 8.5 months. DNT completely disappeared after six months of operation and no intermediates could be detected.
Process parameter optimization for computer numerical control turning on En36 alloy steel

In this investigation we have considered EN36 alloy steel matterial for optimization of process parameters. Turning En36 takes more time to machine with maintaining good quality of surface roughness. So material removal rate (MRR) and surface roughness (SR) is considered as response parameter and input parameters are speed, feed, depth of cut (DOC). Taguchi and ANOVA tool is used for optimization.
Meanings of Menopause

Attitudes and sociocultural perceptions provide the context within which women experience menopause. Cultural influences greatly affect how women perceive and manage their menopausal symptoms. Cultures may be categorized based on way of life, including traditional, immigrant, and modern. Varying perceptions and symptom experiences are described, including modifiable and nonmodifiable factors that affect the level of distress women feel with menopause. Helping women actively participate in management of menopausal symptoms including self-care strategies will contribute to feelings of control of menopausal symptoms and overall health. By using the highest levels of evidence regarding management of menopause, becoming familiar with the cultural and psychosocial influences of menopause and then empowering women to make decisions regarding management, health care providers can improve their care of perimenopausal and menopausal women.
Collaboration is needed to co-ordinate European birth cohort studies.

Epidemiological research shows that disease aetiology often has to be evaluated with a life-course perspective,1 starting as close to the time of conception as possible2 and, furthermore, that genetic predisposition, environmental exposures, and social context have to be considered simultaneously. Several birth cohorts have been established in Europe in the last decades and more are being planned. In total, the established birth cohorts encompass approximately 300 000 children and their parents. There are at least three reasons why these cohorts should work closely together and facilitate the use of these data on a collaborative basis. The first and most obvious reason is to increase statistical power. The second is efficient design since a large study population in many countries will allow selective sampling by exposure or outcome. The third is replication of results which is a crucial aspect of epidemiology, especially in the area of genetic epidemiology. We now have the opportunity of building in the close future a mega birth cohort in Europe (probably designed as a virtual European Birth Cohort), that together with existing cohorts could cover more than half a million children. Exposures during the prenatal and postnatal period have implications for children’s health and may also have implications for morbidity occurring later in life, including asthma and allergy, cancer, mental illnesses, delayed neurodevelopment, cardiovascular diseases, and more. Exposures during early life are of concern since children are more susceptible than adults, partly because of their size and higher relative exposure levels, and probably also because critical periods of exposure may exist with respect to health later in life as a consequence of periods of rapid development. Long-term health effects may occur through various pathways including ‘programming’, pathophysiological changes beginning early in life, and lifestyle factors that track into adulthood. Historical observational studies have made important contributions to our understanding of the role of early exposures, but most of these studies lack actual exposure data and are based upon surrogate measures such as birth weight or other anthropometric measures. To advance our discipline we need more than surrogate measures for early exposures and nutritional factors. Birth cohorts in the EU: fait accompli
Analysis of phase distribution in phase-change nonvolatile memories

The phase transformation in chalcogenide-based nonvolatile memories is studied by cell electrical characterization. The cell state (amorphous, crystalline, or mixed) is changed by applying electrical pulses, then the cell resistance R and the current-voltage characteristics are measured. From the analysis of the electrical parameters of the cell, we provide evidence for a stacked-like phase distribution in the active layer. Results are discussed with reference to the thermal profile during the program pulse in the chalcogenide layer.
PRODUCTION AND PARTIAL CHARACTERIZATION OF LIPASE BY BACILLUS SP ISOLATED FROM VELLAR ESTUARY SEDIMENT

Marine microorganisms have been attracting more and more attention as a resource for new enzymes, because the microbial enzymes are relatively more stable and active. In this study, a new lipolytic strain was isolated from estuary sediment sample. On measurement of biochemical test information, the strain was identified as Bacillus sp BM1. The maximum zone of hydrolysis (9.8 mm) and specific lipase activity (86.15 U/mg) was noticed for crude lipase production by the strain. For the lipase purification steps, 60% ammonium sulphate saturation was proved to be effective for maximum specific activity of 60.97U/mg with purification fold 14%. Among the different sources optimization conditions 4% NaCl, 45°C, pH7, xylose and yeast extract shows higher enzyme production. SDS-PAGE analysis showed a single band of partial purified lipase with a size of 54 kDa. From this study, it’s evident that the enzyme has the property to tolerate a wide range of different sources which make it attractive towards industrial applications.
A d-Amino Acid Peptide Inhibitor of NF-κB Nuclear Localization Is Efficacious in Models of Inflammatory Disease

The transcription factor NF-κB regulates many genes involved in proinflammatory and immune responses. The transport of NF-κB into the nucleus is essential for its biologic activity. We describe a novel, potent, and selective NF-κB inhibitor composed of a cell-permeable peptide carrying two nuclear localization sequences (NLS). This peptide blocks NF-κB nuclear localization, resulting in inhibition of cell surface protein expression, cytokine production, and T cell proliferation. The peptide is efficacious in vivo in a mouse septic shock model as well as a mouse model of inflammatory bowel disease, demonstrating that NF-κB nuclear import plays a role in these acute inflammatory disease models.
Inflammation in renal transplantation.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Renal transplant recipients experience premature cardiovascular disease and death. The association of inflammation, all-cause mortality, and cardiovascular events in renal transplant recipients has not been examined in a large prospective controlled trial. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS ALERT was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of the effect of fluvastatin on cardiovascular and renal outcomes in 2102 renal transplant recipients. Patients initially randomized to fluvastatin or placebo in the 5- to 6-yr trial were offered open-label fluvastatin in a 2-yr extension to the original study. The association between inflammation markers, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), and IL-6 on cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality was investigated. RESULTS The baseline IL-6 value was 2.9 +/- 1.9 pg/ml (n = 1751) and that of hsCRP was 3.8 +/- 6.7 mg/L (n = 1910). After adjustment for baseline values for established risk factors, the hazard ratios for a major cardiac event and all-cause mortality for IL-6 were 1.08 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.01 to 1.15, P = 0.018] and 1.11 (95% CI, 1.05 to 1.18, P < 0.001), respectively. The adjusted hazard ratio for hsCRP for a cardiovascular event was 1.10 (95% CI, 1.01 to 1.20, P = 0.027) and for all-cause mortality was 1.15 (95% CI, 1.06 to 1.1.25, P = 0.049). CONCLUSIONS The inflammation markers IL-6 and hsCRP are independently associated with major cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality in renal transplant recipients.
Cutting tool wear monitoring with the use of impedance layers

Nadzor trosenja reznog alata upotrebom otpornih slojeva Prethodno priopcenje Clanak se bavi problemima nadzora procesa rezanja u stvarnom vremenu. Usmjeren je na trosenje alata pomocu otpornih slojeva primjenjenih na keramickim plocicama. U eksperimentalnom dijelu postupak rezanja se prati pomocu mjerenja elektricnog otpora. Rezultati su uspoređeni i verificirani pomocu mjerenja temperature rezanja i trosenja alata. Ispitivanje impedancijskih slojeva je prihvatljivo uglavnom za dijagnostiku rezne ostrice. Sirina tog sloja određuje dodatak zbog trosenja (trosenje stražnje povrsine). Pretjerano trosenje uzrokuje znacajno smanjenje tog sloja, a time i znacajan porast elektricnog otpora, sto je znak upozorenja na kraj trajnosti rezne ostrice. Kljucne rijeci: keramicka plocica, otporni sloj, trosenje alata, tokarenje
MCI theory: a critical discussion

In this paper, we critically review MCI theory and the evidence supporting it. MCI theory typically posits that religious concepts violate what we call deep inferences, intuitions stemming from our evolved cognitive architecture rather than shallow inferences that are specific and flexible informational units also used for inference-making. We point to serious problems facing the approach, and propose a few corrective measures, avenues for further research, and an alternative view.
Eating Disorders: Relations with Inconsistent Discipline, Anxiety, and Drinking among College Women

Since as many as 20% of all college women report symptoms of eating disorders, the present study examined the relationship between self-reported eating disorder symptoms, anxiety, drinking, and retrospective reports of inconsistent parenting during childhood. 101 college women, 85% Euro-Americans of mean age 19 yr. , completed an anonymous survey including questions from the Eating Disorder Index-1, the Retrospective Family Unpredictability Scale, the Trait Anxiety Scale, and measures of drinking in the previous month. Eating disorder symptoms correlated with self-reported drinking quantity, anxiety, and retrospective ratings of inconsistent discipline. This appears to be the first time eating disorder symptoms have been associated with inconsistent discipline. Implications for etiology and treatment of eating disorders are discussed.
Cardiomyopathy Presenting as Severe Fatigue in a Person With Chronic Spinal Cord Injury

Abstract Background/Objective: To describe a case of fatigue associated with cardiomyopathy in a man with spinal cord injury. Study Design: Case report. Subject: An obese 35-year-old man with long-term ASIA A L2 paraplegia, accompanied by a 2-year history of progressive severe fatigue. Methods: Physical examination showed obesity, hypertension, tachycardia, and pitting edema. An echocardiogram showed a 20% ejection fraction, severe dilation, and global hypokinesis in the left ventricle and mild to moderate mitral regurgitation. Results: Symptoms improved after treatment with furosemide, warfarin, ramipril, and continuous positive airway pressure for obstructive sleep apnea. Conclusion: Severe progressive fatigue in a patient with chronic SCI may signal cardiomyopathy. Diagnostic studies may be warranted in patients with progressive fatigue.
Using Advice in Model-Based Reinforcement Learning

When a human is mastering a new task, they are usually not limited to exploring the environment, but also avail themselves of advice from other people. In this paper, we consider the use of advice expressed in a formal language to guide exploration in a model-based reinforcement learning algorithm. In contrast to constraints, which can eliminate optimal policies if they are not sound, advice is merely a recommendation about how to act that may be of variable quality or incomplete. To provide advice, we use Linear Temporal Logic (LTL), which was originally proposed for the verification of properties of reactive systems. In particular, LTL formulas can be used to provide advice to an agent about how they should behave over time by defining a temporal ordering of state properties that the agent is recommended to avoid or achieve. LTL thus represents an alternative to existing methods for providing advice to a reinforcement learning agent, which explicitly suggest an action or set of actions to use in each state. We also identify how advice can be incorporated into a model-based reinforcement learning algorithm by describing a variant of R-MAX which uses an LTL formula describing advice to guide exploration. This variant is guaranteed to converge to an optimal policy in deterministic settings and to a near-optimal policy in non-deterministic environments, regardless of the quality of the given advice. Experimental results with this version of R-MAX on deterministic grid world MDPs demonstrate the potential for good advice to significantly reduce the number of training steps needed to learn strong policies, while still maintaining robustness in the face of incomplete or misleading advice.
A two-stage invasive weed optimization algorithm for distributed assembly permutation flowshop problem

Distributed assembly permutation flowshop scheduling problem (DAPFSP) has important applications in modern assembly systems. In this paper, we address the DAPFSP with total flowtime minimization. According to the problem knowledge, we present a two-level representation which consists of product permutation and job sequences. A two-stage discrete invasive weed optimization (DIWO) algorithm is proposed for optimizing product permutations and job sequences, respectively. A parameter is introduced to balance the product permutation based search and job sequence based search. The problem knowledge based operators, local search procedures, and heuristics are utilized to improve the DIWO. We carry out a comprehensive computational campaign based on the 900 benchmark instances in the literature. The numerical experiments show that the presented DIWO algorithm performs much better than the existing algorithms in the literature for solving the DPFSP with the total flowtime criterion.
Resolving confusion of tongues in statistics and machine learning: A primer for biologists and bioinformaticians

Bioinformatics is the field where computational methods from various domains have come together for analysis of biological data. Each domain has introduced its own specific jargon. However, in closely related domains, e.g. machine learning and statistics, concordant and discordant terminology occurs, the later can lead to confusion. This article aims to help solve the confusion of tongues arising from these two closely related domains, which are frequently used in bioinformatics. We provide a short summary of the most commonly applied machine learning and statistical approaches to data analysis in bioinformatics, i.e. classification and statistical hypothesis testing. We explain differences and similarities in common terminology used in various domains, such as precision, recall, sensitivity and true positive rate. This primer can serve as a guide to the terminology used in these fields.
The performance of dynamic source routing protocol to path loss models at carrier frequencies above 2 GHz

In this paper, we describe a simulation study of the impact of wireless channel on Dynamic Source Routing (DSR) protocol performance at microwave carrier frequencies above 2 GHz. Simulation results show that at microwave carrier frequencies above 2 GHz, when the two-slope path loss model is used for channel modelling, the breakpoint distance affect the end-to-end throughput of the DSR protocol in Mobile Wireless Ad Hoc Network (MANET), whilst at frequencies below 2 GHz the end-to-end throughput for the free space and the two-slope path loss model was the same.
Could MYC Induction of Mitochondrial Biogenesis be linked to ROS Production and Genomic Instability?

MYC has been linked separately to genomic instability and to reactive oxygen species production, but the connection between these two processes has not been firmly established. Our recent study along with previous reports demonstrate that Myc induces nuclear encoded mitochondrial gene expression and mitochondrial biogenesis, thereby directly associating Myc’s transcriptional properties, to the production of mitochondrial ROS and the promotion of genomic oxidative damage and genomic instability 1.
Cell Cycle Synchronization of Porcine Fetal Fibroblasts: Effects of Serum Deprivation and Reversible Cell Cycle Inhibitors1

Abstract The success of somatic nuclear transfer critically depends on the cell cycle stage of the donor nucleus and the recipient cytoplast. In this study we tested serum deprivation as well as two reversible cell cycle inhibitors, aphidicolin and butyrolactone I, for their ability to synchronize porcine fetal fibroblasts at either G0 stage or G1/S or G2/M transition. The synchronization efficiency of the various protocols was determined by fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS), cell proliferation assays, and semiquantitative multiplex reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction detection of the cell cycle-regulated porcine Polo-like kinase mRNA (Plk-p). FACS measurements revealed that 66.6–73.3% of the porcine fetal fibroblasts were in G0/G1 stage (2C DNA content) in serum-supplemented medium. Short periods of 24–72 h of serum deprivation significantly increased the proportion of cells at G0/G1 phase to 77.9–80.2%, and mitotic activity had already terminated after 48 h. Prolonged culture in serum-deprived medium induced massive DNA fragmentation. Aphidicolin treatment led to an accumulation of 81.9 ± 4.9% of cells at the G1/S transition. Butyrolactone I arrested 81.0 ± 5.8% of the cells at the end of G1 stage and 37.0 ± 6.8% at the G2/M transition. The effects of both chemical inhibitors were fully reversible, and their removal led to a rapid progression in the cell cycle. The measurement of Plk-p expression allowed discrimination between the presumptive G0 phase induced by serum deprivation and the G1/S transition arrest achieved by chemical inhibitors. These data indicate that porcine fetal fibroblasts can be effectively synchronized at various cell cycle stages without compromising their proliferation capacity.
Digital Native Identity Development in Virtual Worlds

In the transition from childhood to adolescence, teens are engaged in defining who they are and finding a place in the wide world creates insecurity. Digital natives are growing up as part of digital generation where technology is ubiquitous in a young person’s life. One online technology commonly used by digital natives are virtual worlds. Increasingly, they have come to rely on this digital media to help them navigate the challenges and issues they face in this period of life. This paper presents a research framework designed to provide a road map for the IS community in conducting research into this new and exciting area of virtual worlds and their impact on digital native identity development.
Transcriptional Regulation of Telomerase Activity

Abstract: Telomerase maintains telomeres to preclude cell senescence. It remains elusive how telomerase activity is repressed in differentiated cells, but retained at high levels in stem cells and cancer. Recent studies suggest that the Ets transcription factor family, downstream of the mitogen signaling pathways of MAP kinase, regulates telomerase activity at the gene transcription level of human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT). Several Ets transcription factors are involved in regulating hTERT gene expression, both directly and indirectly through the proto‐oncogene c‐myc. ER81 may mediate telomerase activation in telomerase‐negative fibroblasts stimulated by oncogenes Her2/Neu, Ras, and Raf. Ets2 may also play an important role in regulating the hTERT gene; but further studies are required to decipher the mechanisms in the regulation of telomerase activity.
WDM transmission at 6-Tbit/s capacity over transatlantic distance, using 42.7-Gb/s differential phase-shift keying without pulse carver

We report the transmission of a record 6 Tbit/s capacity over 6120 km distance, involving channels modulated at 42.7-Gb/s bit-rate with differential phase-shift keying (DPSK). The performance is found similar to DPSK with subsequent pulse carving, namely RZ-DPSK.