Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Telehealth-assisted care coordination of older veterans with type 2 diabetes lowers coronary heart disease risk despite clinical inertia.

BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of a telehealth care coordination (T-Care) program on coronary heart disease (CHD) risk in older adults with type 2 diabetes (T2D). METHODS Forty-one patients with T2D, 68.7 (±8.9) years old, were enrolled in the T-Care program and followed up for 2 years. Data were collected on blood pressure (BP), lipids, and medications. CHD risk or Framingham risk score (FRS) was estimated by using the calculation for 10-year CHD risk based on the risk estimates derived from the experience of the Framingham Heart Study. Clinical inertia was defined as the lack of dose adjustment or new medication for BP or lipid management when appropriate, per standard-of-care guidelines. RESULTS After 2 years of T-Care intervention, significant reductions were demonstrated in FRS (23.4 ± 13.5 to 18.2 ± 10.4, P = 0.007), systolic BP (140 ± 22.7 to 128.2 ± 18.5 mm Hg, P = 0.05), and diastolic BP (74 ± 13.8 to 68.7 ± 13.9 mm Hg, P = 0.07), but not low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (100.2 ± 30.1 to 91.2 ± 26.6 mg/dL, P = 0.7). Clinical inertia for lipids was found in 17.1% of our patients; only those without clinical inertia showed significant reduction in the LDL cholesterol component of the FRS. In contrast, clinical inertia for BP was documented in 12.2% of our patients, but reduction in the BP component of the FRS was independent of the presence of clinical inertia. CONCLUSION Participation in a T-Care program may lead to significantly reduced CHD risk among older patients with T2D, despite clinical inertia.
Environmental Niche Modeling Reveals Climatic Differences among Breeding Ranges of Orchard Oriole Subspecies

Abstract Environmental niche parameters of breeding ranges for two subspecies in the Orchard Oriole complex (Icterus spurius spurius and I. s. fuertesi) were characterized via ecological niche modeling. Niche models formulated from museum specimen collections largely agree with published breeding ranges of both taxa. Furthermore, our findings identify likely suitable habitat of migratory double breeding in I. s. spurius. Models successfully identify suitable habitat as illustrated by threshold dependent and independent statistical tests and overlap very little in geographic space. Principal component analysis (PCA) identifies two axes explaining 99.0% of variation in the climate data and reveals that each breeding range exhibits unique ecological characteristics, as they occur in nonoverlapping PCA space. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) identifies significant differences along both axes (PC1, P < 0.0001; PC2, P < 0.0001). A newly formulated metric for niche similarity (I) agrees with PCA and ENM results and, further, indicates that environmental niche differences are more likely a result of differences in habitat availability than habitat preference. Our results may indicate rapid change in environmental niche within the Orchard Oriole group as these taxa have been diverging for approximately 200,000 y. The Orchard Oriole group provides an example of niche lability that contrasts with evidence of niche conservatism between many other Mexican species pairs.
Clinical Care Pathways: Decreasing Resource Utilization in head and Neck Surgical Patients

In this era of decreasing reimbursement, health systems have been forced to become more efficient and decrease resource utilization to remain financially viable. One of the methods of internal cost control has been the use of clinical pathways. Given the complexity of treatment of head and neck cancer patients, clinical pathways can help to standardize decision making and introduce uniformity in resource utilization. The objective of this study is to compare resource utilization and outcomes before and after implementation of a clinical pathway for head and neck surgical patients. We observed significant decreases in hospital costs as well as shorter lengths of stay after pathway implementation. It is our belief that a uniform management tool is beneficial in this complex disease.
Adjusting Single-/Multi-writer to False Sharing in Software DSMs

Two approaches are employed to deal with false sharing in software DSMs. Although single-writer is simple, it causes the ping-pong effect of the data page thrashing. In other hand, multiple-writer approach, which is eeective in re-duing the amount of page transfer, suuers from the high cost. This paper proposes a new approach to handle multiple writers in software DSMs called limited multiple-writer (LMW). It automatically distinguishes two kinds of multiple-writer with lock-based and barrier-based form, and deals with them with diierent policies. Twinning and diing in traditional multiple-writer approach are likely to be discarded and the implementation of multiple-writer is simpliied in this way. The implementation of LMW in CVM is introduced in this paper. Evaluating results show that for some applications such as SOR, LU, FFT, and IS, LMW provides a signiicant reduction in execution time (11%, 16%, 33% and 46%) compared to traditional multiple-writer approaches on our platform.
SWOG S0354: A phase II trial of CNTO328, a monoclonal antibody against interleukin-6 (IL-6), in chemotherapy pretreated patients (pts) with castration- resistant prostate cancer (CRPC).

5143 Background: IL-6 facilitates cancer cell survival via pleiotrophic effects on proliferation, apoptosis, angiogenesis, differentiation, and chemo-resistance. A multicenter phase II study of CNTO328 in chemo pretreated CRPC pts was conducted. METHODS Eligible pts had one prior chemotherapy, Zubrod performance status 0-2, and adequate end-organ function. Regimen: CNTO328 6 mg/kg IV q2 weeks x 12 cycles. Response assessment was q6 weeks. Primary endpoint was PSA response rate (RR) defined as ≥50% reduction. Accrual was completed in 2 stages, with planned accrual of 20 eligible pts in the first stage and 40 overall. Plasma cytokines were measured by Luminex in 44 pts. RESULTS Of 62 pts, 54 were eligible; all had received prior taxane therapy. Two (3.7%; 95% CI: 0.5%, 12.8%) had PSA response. Of 47 pts evaluable by RECIST, none had a response and 10 (21%) had stable disease (SD). With median follow-up of 6.6 months, median progression-free survival is 1.6 months (95% CI: 1.6, 1.7). Grade 4 toxicity included 1 case of DIC and 1 CNS ischemia; grade 3 toxicities included elevated AST (1), gastritis/esophagitis (2), thrombocytopenia (2), pain (2), leucopenia (1), and neuropathy (2). Median baseline IL-6 levels were 12.5 pg/mL (IQR: 2.5, 41.5). Pts with levels >12.5 pg/mL had worse 6-month survival vs. < 12.5 pg/mL (53% vs 94%, p = 0.02). Post-cycle 1, IL-6 levels were > 250-fold higher, indicating antibody-target complex formation. 33/39 pts had a decline in C-reactive protein (CRP) plasma levels at 6 weeks. CONCLUSIONS CNTO328 was well-tolerated and resulted in a PSA RR of 3.7% and RECIST SD rate of 21%. Declining CRP levels during treatment reflect biologic activity. Elevated baseline IL-6 levels portend a poor prognosis. Additional translational studies will be presented. Additional study of CNTO328 in combination may be warranted. [Table: see text].
Charged Residues at the 2′ Position of Human GABAC ρ1 Receptors Invert Ion Selectivity and Influence Open State Probability*

The ability of members of the nicotinicoid superfamily of ligand-gated ion channels to selectively conduct anions or cations is critical to their function within the central nervous system. Recent work has demonstrated that residues at the intracellular end of the second transmembrane domain, between the –3′ and 2′ positions, form the ion selectivity filter of these receptors. In this study, the proline residue at the 2′ position (Pro-2′) at the intracellular end of the second transmembrane domain of the γ-aminobutyric acid type C ρ1 subunit was mutated to glutamate (ρ1P2′E) and arginine (ρ1P2′R). Dilution potential experiments indicated that the charge selectivity of the ρ1P2′E receptor channels had been inverted, with the channels now becoming predominantly cation selective, indicating the ability of negatively charged residues at this 2′ position to control charge selectivity. The mutation was also seen to have significantly decreased agonist potency and intrinsic efficacy. In contrast, the ρ1P2′R receptor channels were anion-selective but were now found to be constitutively open with high holding currents (inhibited by low γ-aminobutyric acid doses and the competitive antagonist, 1,2,5,6-tetrahydropyridine-4-yl)methylphosphinic acid alone) and increased agonist activity. Hill coefficients of both mutants were decreased, but competitive antagonist studies indicated that their binding sites were not significantly affected.
A novel perturbation arrangement for dual-mode resonators and its dual-band bandpass filter applications

In this paper, by using microstrip resonators having dual-mode characteristics, a novel dual-band bandpass filter is presented. Designed resonator structures have been formed by placing a couple of open-circuited stubs to the corner points of a square loop resonator. By means of movement of the gaps between the open ends to obtain a perturbation effect, two degenerate modes are excited, mode frequencies and transmission zeros can be controlled. A novel perturbation arrangement without using an extra perturbation element is formed. On the other hand, location of these gaps allows for creating either an elliptical or a linear filter characteristic in the related passband without shifting the center frequency and changing the bandwidth. Two resonators which represent two different passbands are fed by only one feed-line. Designed dual-band microstrip filters have totally 14.2mm × 14.2mm surface area and so, such a configuration has been satisfied a compact structure. Four dual-band filters using dual-mode resonators are demonstrated with their simulation and measurement results.
Metodología de diseño de robots de asistenciales. Aplicación al robot portátil ASIBOT

El envejecimiento extraordinario de la poblacion provoca la necesidad de desarrollar ayudas tecnicas que asistan tanto a personas discapacitadas como a ancianos. Si bien, el campo de la robotica asistencial lleva mas de 25 anos en desarrollo, todavia no se ha llegado a soluciones utiles y eficientes en cuanto al ratio beneficio-coste para el conjunto de la sociedad, y las actuales soluciones, se limitan a cubrir nichos de mercado. Esta tesis propone una metodologia para el diseno de robots asistenciales, que ha de partir de un equipo de diseno multidisciplinar e incluir a los usuarios en el proceso de diseno. Permite analizar, con enfoque global y no solo cientifico, como influyen en la toma de decisiones los factores relacionados con el entorno, las tareas, el usuario y su seguridad. Plantea el diseno con el objetivo de desarrollar productos que llegan a todos y por tanto sean potencialmente economicos. La aplicacion de esta metodologia ha dado lugar al desarrollo de un sistema modular asistencial portatil, capaz de integrarse facilmente en un entorno adaptado y de responder satisfactoriamente a las necesidades de un amplio espectro de personas con movilidad reducida. ____________________________________________
Multivalent Fusion DNA Vaccine against Brucella abortus

As an alternative brucellosis prevention method, we evaluated the immunogenicity induced by new multivalent DNA vaccines in BALB/c mice. We constructed the vaccines by fusion of BAB1_0273 and/or BAB1_0278 open reading frames (ORFs) from genomic island 3 (GI-3) and the Brucella abortus 2308 sodC gene with a link based on prolines and alanines (pV273-sod, pV278-sod, and pV273-278-sod, resp.). Results show that immunization with all tested multivalent DNA vaccines induced a specific humoral and cellular immune response. These novel multivalent vaccines significantly increased the production of IgM, IgG, and IgG2a antibodies as well as IFN-γ levels and the lymphoproliferative response of splenocytes. Although immunization with these multivalent vaccines induced a typical T-helper 1- (Th1-) dominated immune response, such immunogenicity conferred low protection levels in mice challenged with the B. abortus 2308 pathogenic strain. Our results demonstrated that the expression of BAB1_0273 and/or BABl_0278 antigens conjugated to SOD protein can polarize mice immunity to a Th1-type phenotype, conferring low levels of protection.
Operationalizing Memory Impairment for Elderly Persons: The Guild Memory Test

This paper presents a research criterion for memory impairment in aged persons based on the Guild Memory Test. Normative data for the test were collected from 228 community residents between 60 and 80 yr. of age. Separate norms were established for individuals aged 60 to 69 yr. and those beyond age 70 and, within both age groups, for persons at different levels of performance on the WAIS Vocabulary subtest. Discussion concerns the utility of the criterion.
The Pain Recovery Inventory of Concerns and Expectations: A Psychosocial Screening Instrument to Identify Intervention Needs Among Patients at Elevated Risk of Back Disability

Objective: To reduce a full psychosocial test battery to a brief screening questionnaire to triage return-to-work strategies among patients with low back pain (LBP). Methods: Workers (N = 496) with acute, work-related LBP completed multiple psychosocial measures at intake, then a 3-month follow-up of pain, function, and work status. A sensitivity analysis was conducted to reduce the number of items while maintaining scale reliability, preserving associations with outcomes, and maintaining separation between patient subgroups. Results: The pool of items was trimmed from 129 to 46 items, describing elements of emotional distress, pain beliefs, organizational support, and activity limitation. A confirmatory cluster analysis replicated previous findings of three risk subgroups: distressed, avoidant, and lacking employer support. Conclusions: The reduced measure is a reliable and valid screening measure that can be used to identify early intervention needs among working adults with LBP.
Proposition d'un modèle générique pour l'implémentation d'une famille de systèmes de classeurs

Classifiers systems are adapted tools to learn interactions between an autonomous agent and its environment. However, there are many kinds of classifiers systems which differ by numerous subtle technical features. There is no systematic rule to choose among them according to a given problem. This article analyzes the major kinds of classifiers systems in order to suggest a generic model common to all of them. This model and some of its specificities are presented. It has been developped for different applications which are also described.
Ellagic Acid and Natural Sources of Ellagitannins as Possible Chemopreventive Agents Against Intestinal Tumorigenesis in the Min Mouse

Abstract: Ellagic acid has been shown to have chemopreventive effects in various experimental cancer models. We wanted to see whether pure ellagic acid and natural ellagitannins from cloudberry (Rubus chamaemorus) seed and pulp have any effect on adenoma formation in Apc-mutated Min mice. From the age of 5 wk, the mice were fed either a control diet, a diet containing pure ellagic acid at 1,564 mg/kg, or diets containing 4.7% (wt/wt) cloudberry seeds or 5.3% cloudberry pulp. The concentrations of ellagitannins and free ellagic acid in the seed diet were 807 and 42 mg/kg and in the pulp diet 820 and 34 mg/kg, respectively. After the 10-wk feeding period, ellagic acid had no effect on the number or size of adenomas in the distal or total small intestine, but it increased adenoma size in the duodenum when compared with the control diet (1.50 ± 0.29 vs. 1.16 ± 0.31 mm; P = 0.029). Neither cloudberry seed nor pulp diets had any effect on the adenoma formation. Chemopreventive effects and mechanisms of whole cloudberry and other similar sources of phenolic compounds should, however, be studied, further taking into account food matrix and interactions with other dietary constituents that may be involved in the bioavailability and metabolism of ellagitannins.
Factors Influencing the Intention to Redeem Coffee Shop Coupons in Korea

The three primary objective of this study are to 1) provide an overview of the Korean coffee shop market and apply previous coupon models to the redemption behavior of coffee shop patrons; 2) verify the hypothesized causal relationships among the expiration date, coupon value, brand loyalty, and the intention to redeem coupons; and 3) examine the effect of the expiration date on the consumer’s coupon redemption intention and review the implications for practitioners.
How learners share and construct metacognition in social interaction?

The aim of this exploratory study was to examine how the six matched triads of pre-service teachers share and construct metacognition in mathematical problem solving in WorkMates learning environment having or having not a stimulated recall group interview. More specifically, we examined socially shared metacognition and we performed the qualitative content analysis of the discussion forum data from metacognition point of view. The results showed metacognition becoming shared and metacognition becoming visible but not shared in discussions.
An 80%-efficiency switched-capacitor step-down DC-DC converter with switch-width and digital capacitance modulation

This paper presents a switched-capacitor step-down DC-DC converter using switch-width modulation (SWM) and digital capacitance modulation (DCM), to maintain the converter efficiency for various load currents. The proposed SWM technique dynamically selects the proper switch sizes to efficiently balance the switching and conductance losses, and hence, maintain the efficiency when the load current varies. This converter is simulated in a 180 nm CMOS technology. The peak of efficiency for Vin = 1.8 V and Vout = 0.85 V is 80%, while the maximum load current is 1.5 mA. The switching frequency is constant for different load currents and is equal to 10MHz. The output ripple is smaller than 35mV.
β function and asymptotic freedom in QCD Lecture notes Modave Summer School in Mathematical Physics June 2005

Prerequistes for the lectures were a first course on quantum field theory including the path integral representation for Green’s functions. The aim of the course was a selfcontained computation of the 1-loop β in QCD and the interpretation of this result in terms of the high energy behavior of quarks. These lecture notes highlight the main results and serve as a guide to standard literature where all the intermediate steps of the computations can be found. ∗ Maı̂tre de Recherches du Fonds National Belge de la Recherche Scientifique
Epipolar line estimation and rectification for stereo image pairs

The assumption that epipolar lines are parallel to image scan lines is made in many algorithms for stereo analysis. If valid, it enables the search for corresponding image features to be confined to one dimension and, hence, simplified. An algorithm that generates a vertically aligned stereo pair by warped resampling is described. The method uses grey scale image matching between the components of the stereo pair but confined to feature points.
2 Signal Transduction andMammalian Cell Growth : Problems and Paradigms

To divide or to differentiate, to attach or to move, to survive or to die—these are among the key decisions cells must make during the development and adult life of a metazoan organism. Such decisions must be accurate and well coordinated and are dictated both by factors external to the cell and by internal cues. The process by which cells carry out these decisions is termed signal transduction. This chapter reviews emerging principles that govern signaling pathways germane to cell growth and division, with particular emphasis on the role of protein–protein interactions. In so doing, the crucial role of such protein interactions in mitogenic signal transduction, and the importance of emerging technology for their detection, will become apparent. Mitogenic signaling pathways are complicated. With the completion of the human genome sequence, the number of recognizable signaling proteins will certainly increase, and the models of these pathways are apt to become more complicated still. Although many signaling pathways seem formidably complex when viewed as a whole, at closer inspection these pathways often can be described in terms of a series of simple interactions of one protein with another. Indeed, so fundamental are these interactions that it is not an exaggeration to say that they form the basis of all signal transduction machinery. Why are protein–protein interactions so important in mitogenic signaling? The binding of one signaling protein to another can have a number of consequences. For one, such binding can serve to recruit a signaling protein to a location where it is activated and/or where it is needed to
Learning Modifies Odor Mixture Processing to Improve Detection of Relevant Components

Honey bees have a rich repertoire of olfactory learning behaviors, and they therefore are an excellent model to study plasticity in olfactory circuits. Recent behavioral, physiological, and molecular evidence suggested that the antennal lobe, the first relay of the olfactory system in insects and analog to the olfactory bulb in vertebrates, is involved in associative and nonassociative olfactory learning. Here we use calcium imaging to reveal how responses across antennal lobe projection neurons change after association of an input odor with appetitive reinforcement. After appetitive conditioning to 1-hexanol, the representation of an odor mixture containing 1-hexanol becomes more similar to this odor and less similar to the background odor acetophenone. We then apply computational modeling to investigate how changes in synaptic connectivity can account for the observed plasticity. Our study suggests that experience-dependent modulation of inhibitory interactions in the antennal lobe aids perception of salient odor components mixed with behaviorally irrelevant background odors.
Concordia discors: duality in the origin of the vertebrate tail

The vertebrate tail is an extension of the main body axis caudal to the anus. The developmental origin of this structure has been a source of debate amongst embryologists for the past century. Some view tail development as a continuation of the morphogenetic processes that shape the head and trunk (i.e. gastrulation). The alternative view, secondary development, holds that the tail forms in a manner similar to limb development, i.e. by secondary induction. Previous developmental studies have provided support for both views. Here I revisit these studies, describing caudal morphogenesis in select vertebrates, the associated genes and developmental defects, and, as a relevant aside, consider the developmental and evolutionary relationships of primary and secondary neurulation. I conclude that caudal development enlists both gastrulation and secondary induction, and that the application of recent high‐resolution cell labelling technology may clarify how these discordant programmes interact in building the vertebrate tail.