Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Is Jewishness Related to How American Jewish Women Age?

Abstract:Jewish exceptionalism has been considered from many different perspectives. One perspective that has been neglected is whether Jewish Americans age differently than other Americans, and whether any difference that is observed can be attributed to their religion or religiosity, or to other characteristics such as socioeconomic status (e.g., higher education and relative affluence) and family characteristics (e.g., fewer divorces, fewer children). In the current paper, Jewish women ages 50–74 are compared to similarly aged women of non-Jewish religions and of no religion in terms of objective health and subjective aging, controlling for educational attainment, objective and subjective house-hold income, work status, volunteer activity, family status, number of children, social support, and religiosity. Jewishness does not have significant relationships with objective health or subjective aging when age, education, socio-economic status, work status, volunteer activity, family variables, supportive relationships and religiosity are controlled. Moreover, religiosity does not have a significant relationship with Jewish women’s objective health or subjective perception of their aging when these other variables are controlled, in contrast to non-Jewish women.
Drug-Induced Behavioral Changes: Using Laboratory Observations to Predict Field Observations

Behavioral assays constitute important research tools when assessing how fish respond to environmental change. However, it is unclear how behavioral modifications recorded in laboratory assays are expressed in natural ecosystems, a limitation that makes it difficult to evaluate the predictive power of laboratory-based measurements. In this study, we hypothesized that exposure to a benzodiazepine (i.e., oxazepam) increases boldness and activity in laboratory assays as well as in field assays – that is, laboratory results can be used to predict field results. Moreover, we expected the modified behavior to affect other important ecological measures such as habitat selection and home range. To test our hypothesis, we exposed European perch (Perca fluviatilis) to oxazepam and measured subsequent changes in behavioral trials both in laboratory assays and in a lake ecosystem populated with a predatory fish species, pike (Esox lucius). In the lake, the positions of both perch and pike were tracked every three minutes for a month using acoustic telemetry. In the laboratory assay, the oxazepam-exposed perch were bolder and more active than the non-exposed perch. In the lake assay, the oxazepam-exposed perch were also more bold and active, had a larger home range, and used pelagic habitats more than the non-exposed perch. We conclude that ecotoxicological behavioral assays are useful for predicting the effects of exposure in natural systems. However, although individual responses to exposure were similar in both the laboratory and field trials, effects were more obvious in the field study, mainly due to reduced variability in the behavior measures from the lake. Hence, short-term behavioral assays may fail to detect all the effects expressed in natural environments. Nevertheless, our study clearly demonstrates that behavior modifications observed in laboratory settings can be used to predict how fish perform in aquatic ecosystems.
Foot plantar pressure monitoring system using EMED®-A: Preliminary results

The aim of this study was to assess the repeatability of the EMED®-A and identify the repeatability of data for different types of measurements (walking without load, walking with load, standing without load, and standing with load). Each load weighing 1.5 kg must be hold at left and right hands. Contact area (CA), maximum force (F), peak pressure (PP) were calculated. In addition, coefficient of variation (CV) is calculated for repeatability of EMED®-A. In conclusion, the EMED®-A foot plantar pressure monitoring system was found to be repeatable and can be used as valuable tool for plantar pressure distribution assessment.
Adherence to Treatment Guidelines for Ovarian Cancer as a Measure of Quality Care

OBJECTIVES: To validate National Comprehensive Cancer Network ovarian cancer guideline adherence as a quality process measure associated with improved survival, and to identify structural health care characteristics predictive of adherence to National Comprehensive Cancer Network guideline care. METHODS: Consecutive patients with epithelial ovarian cancer diagnosed between 1 January 1999 and 31 December 2006 were identified from the California Cancer Registry. Adherence to National Comprehensive Cancer Network guideline care was defined by stage-appropriate surgical procedures and recommended chemotherapy. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to identify characteristics predictive of National Comprehensive Cancer Network guideline adherence and ovarian cancer–specific survival. RESULTS: A total of 13,321 patients were identified. Overall, 37.2% of patients received National Comprehensive Cancer Network guideline–adherent care. Guideline-adherent care was associated with high-volume hospitals (20 or more cases per year; 50.8% compared with 34.1%; P<.001) and high-volume physicians (10 or more cases per year; 47.6% compared with 34.5%; P<.001). After controlling for other factors, both low-volume hospitals (odds ratio [OR] 1.83, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.66–2.01) and low-volume physicians (OR 1.19, 95% CI 1.07–1.32) were independently associated with deviation from National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines. On multivariable survival analysis, nonadherence to National Comprehensive Cancer Network guideline care was associated with decreased disease-specific survival (hazard ratio [HR] 1.33, 95% CI 1.26–1.41). Both low-volume hospitals (HR 1.08, 95% CI 1.01–1.16) and low-volume physicians (HR 1.18, 95% CI 1.09–1.28) were associated with decreased disease-specific survival after adjusting for National Comprehensive Cancer Network guideline–adherent care. CONCLUSIONS: Adherence to National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines for treatment of ovarian cancer is correlated with improved survival and may be a useful process measure of quality cancer care. Ovarian cancer case volume correlates with a higher likelihood of recommended care and improved survival and may be a useful structural quality measure. Increased efforts to concentrate ovarian cancer care are warranted. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: II
Treatment of latent TB: first do no harm

Treatment of latent TB infection (LTBI) prevents active disease and is an essential component of TB control in low-incidence countries. Because only a minority of latently infected individuals go on to develop active disease, the decision to treat latent TB requires careful consideration of the long-term benefits of prevention versus the immediate risk of therapy-associated adverse events. This article will summarize the current state of latent TB management, highlighting recent advances and future directions. Treatment of LTBI can reduce morbidity, mortality and healthcare costs [1,2]. People with LTBI are neither symptomatic nor contagious, and the majority will never develop active disease. Recommended treatment is lengthy and has the potential for serious adverse effects. Hence, the risk should be weighed carefully against the potential benefit of preventing active disease. Current guidelines recommend treating people with LTBI that are at increased risk of development of active disease [1,3,101]. Risk factors for reactivation include recent TB infection, comorbid conditions and medications that impair host immune responses (e.g., HIV infection, solid organ transplant, diabetes mellitus, chronic hemodialysis, certain cancers, smoking, glucocorticoids and TNF-a inhibitors), low bodyweight (BMI ≤20) and radiographic abnormalities typical of prior TB infection [1,3,101]. Among latently infected persons that are at low risk of adverse events from treatment, if they have any risk factor that confers an increased risk of reactivation, then treatment is warranted. The decision to treat is more difficult when patients with LTBI possess risk factors for reactivation and also for therapy-associated adverse events. A thorough understanding of LTBI treatment options and their sideeffect profiles will guide clinicians in the management of such cases.
OBJECT-ORIENTED DESIGN PATTERNS FOR PROCESS FLOW SIMULATIONS

Although simulators capable of dealing with the different kinds of processes in the simulation of semiconductor device fabrication are widely available, the combination of several of them to a whole process flow is still a complicated endeavor. This paper points out the difficulties arising in data exchange between simulators and we present as a solution theWAFER-STATE SERVER. Our WAFER-STATE SERVER is implemented as an object-oriented software package which allows the coupling of various tools of different vendors. The package also contains support for TechnologyCAD (TCAD) analysis tasks like optimization of the electrical characteristics of a semiconductor device or inverse modeling of doping profiles.
Relationship of finite proliferative lifespan, senescence, and quiescence in human cells

Cell hybrids were formed between human diploid fibroblasts (HDF) and carcinogen‐transformed HDF to determine the relationship among: (1) finite proliferative lifespan, which we define as an age‐related failure of a population to achieve one population doubling in 4 weeks; (2) arrest in a senescent state, which we define as cessation of DNA synthesis in a viable culture that is at the end of its lifespan by the above definition; and (3) arrest in a quiescent state, which we define as cessation of DMA synthesis in a young culture that is crowded or mitogen‐deprived. HDF express all three of these phenotypes, which we have abbreviated FPL+, S+, and Q+, respectively. Carcinogen‐transformed HDF are transformed to immortality (FPL−) and inability to achieve quiescence (Q−). They have no S phenotype because, by definition, this phenotype only exists in FPL+ cells. Fusion of FPL+, Q+, S+ HDF × FPL−, Q− carcinogen‐transformed HDF produced hybrid clones that were FPL+, Q−, and S−, where the S− phenotype means that individual cells continued to synthesize DNA in cultures that had reached the end of their lifespan by our definition. These results are consistent with our hypothesis that senescent HDF and quiescent HDF may share a common mechanism for arrest in G1 phase. We have suggested that this could occur if the aging mechanism that is responsible for the FPL+ phenotype is a progressive decrease in the ability of cells to recognize or respond to mitogenic growth factors. If so, then cells would become physiologically mitogen‐deprived at the end of their lifespan, which would cause them to arrest in the senescent state by the same mechanism that causes young cells to arrest in the quiescent state when they are mitogen‐deprived. This hypothesis predicts that the FPL+ phenotype can be separated from the S+ phenotype–i.e., FPL+ cells can be S+ or S− –and that the Q and S phenotypes are linked‐i.e., FPL+ cells are either Q+ and S+ or Q− and S−. Both these predictions are supported by the present data.
Delivery of Soluble Heme Oxygenase 1 Cell-Penetrating Peptide into Liver Cells in in vitro and ex vivo Models of Cold Ischemia

Background/Purpose: Liver transplantation is the treatment of choice in patients with end-stage liver disease. During liver transplantation, ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) occurs, which is an inevitable consequence of the transplantation process. To reduce the extent of cellular injury, one of the proteins that have been extensively investigated is heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1), which plays an important role in protecting the organs against IRI. The aim of this study was to introduce an active and functional HO-1 protein conjugated to a cell-penetrating peptide (CPP) in vitro and ex vivo into liver cells in hypothermic and anoxic conditions and to assert its cytoprotective effects. Methods: We generated an enzymatically active soluble (s)HO-1-CPP recombinant protein. The ability of the sHO-1-CPP protein to penetrate McA-RH7777, Clone 9, and Hep G2 cells, primary hepatocytes, and Kupffer and human umbilical vein endothelial cells in vitro, as well as its ability to penetrate a whole liver ex vivo under hypothermic and anoxic conditions, was assessed. An in vitro hypoxia-reoxygenation (HR) model was used to determine the cytoprotective effect of the sHO-1-CPP protein. Results: We showed that our recombinant protein sHO-1-CPP can cross cell membranes into rodent and human liver cells in vitro, and the results were further validated ex vivo, where rodent livers were perfused with an organ preservation solution supplemented with sHO-1-CPP under anoxic and hypothermic conditions. Immunohistochemistry revealed an intracellular localization of sHO-1-CPP in zones 1-3 of the perfused livers. The CPP did not exert any significant toxicity on the cells. Treating cells with sHO-1-CPP showed significant cytoprotection in the in vitro HR model. Conclusions: Our findings show that the recombinant protein sHO-1-CPP can be successfully delivered to cells of a whole organ in an ex vivo hypothermic and anoxic perfusion model and that it provides cytoprotection to hepatocytes in an in vitro HR model. These results hold great potential for future repair and protection of donor organs. Future experiments are planned to confirm these data in in vivo models of IRI.
Phlegmasia cerulea dolens complicated by methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase genetic mutation

Introduction: Deep venous thrombosis (DVt) is the formation of a blood clot within a deep vein. Phlegmasia cerulea dolens (PcD) represents a critical acute consequence of DVt. the PcD is a condition caused by massive iliofemoral thrombosis that produces severe venous congestion and obstruction of arterial flow; eventually, causing ischemia in the affected extremity. the treatment goals of PcD are to restore venous outflow by removing thrombus burden, prevent additional thrombus formation, and maintain collateral circulation. However, no therapeutic algorithms exist for PcD. case report: We report PcD in a 55-year-old male with a significant past medical history for multiple venous thromboembolisms, requiring placement of an inferior vena cava filter and lifetime anticoagulation. clinical presentation and accompanying venous duplex results led to the diagnosis of PcD. the 9th American college of chest Physicians consensus conference on Antithrombotic and thrombolytic therapy created guidelines for treatment of acute DVt in the absence of gangrene. Guidelines advise to withhold thrombolysis and percutaneous
Changes of endothelin concentration in cerebrospinal fluid and plasma of patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage

To investigate the clinical significance of endothelin (ET), a potent vasoconstrictor peptide, in subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) and SAH‐related cerebral vasospasm, we measured the ET‐like immunoreactivity (ETLI) in plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) obtained serially from patients with SAH due to ruptured cerebral aneurysm who underwent aneurysmal surgery. The normal ET–LI levels in plasma and CSF (n = 24) were 12.4±2.0 (mean±s.d.) and 9.1±1.2 pg·ml‐1, respectively. Plasma ET‐LI levels in patients with SAH before surgery (16.8±7.8 pg·ml‐1, n = 8) were higher than the normal values (P<0.05), and became further elevated after surgery (22.5±9.4 pg·ml‐1). ET‐LI levels in plasma and CSF one day after surgery were 18.7±5.5 and 18.4±6.8 pg·ml‐1 (P<0.01 vs. normal values), respectively, and declined thereafter. The plasma and CSF ET‐LI levels in patients who showed symptomatic vasospasm became concomitantly elevated again. These results suggest that ET is involved in SAH‐related vasospasm and raise the possibility that surgical stress influences the vasospasm.
Genetic association of cyclooxygenase-2 gene polymorphisms with Parkinson's disease susceptibility in Chinese Han population.

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to explore the genetic association of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX2) gene promoter region polymorphisms with Parkinson's disease (PD) susceptibility in Chinese Han population. METHODS The genotyping of COX2 gene polymorphisms was conducted by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) in 122 patients with PD and 120 healthy persons. The association strength of gene polymorphism with disease was measured by odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) calculated using χ(2) test which also evaluated the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) of gene polymorphism in controls. The linkage disequilibrium and haplotype were also analyzed as evidence in the analysis of association. RESULTS On condition that the genotypes distributions of COX2 -1290A>G, -1195G>A, -765G>C in the control group all conformed to HWE, however, only the homozygous genotype AA of -1195G>A polymorphism showed an association with PD (OR=0.432, 95% CI=0.196-0.950). In addition, in haplotype analysis, G-A-C haplotype frequency in cases was significantly lower than the controls, compared with the common haplotype A-G-G (P=0.031, OR=0.375, 95% CI=0.149-0.940). CONCLUSIONS COX2 -1195G>A polymorphism might play a protective role in the onset of PD and G-A-C haplotype in this three promoter region polymorphisms also showed a negative association.
Experimental study on control strategy of clamping force of pneumatic flexible finger

This paper has firstly designed a type of flexible finger based on the bidirectional active bending joint we have developed before; then we regard the finger as the actuator, and do the flexible clamping force experiments on the finger with loading the air pressure using the idea of the master-slave control based on computer; consequently, we acquire the influence on impact force under different control strategies, which is valuable for the dynamic analysis and motion accuracy control of the flexible robot hand.
Gray level image enhancement using dual mutation differential evolution

Differential Evolution (DE) is one of the latest evolutionary algorithm applied to a continuous optimization problem. DE is a simple and well-organized scheme which outperforms other evolutionary algorithms in terms of robustness and convergence speed over real world applications. DE performance rely on its parameter setting. During the entire search space, these parameters remain constant, so setting them accurately is not a simple task and depends completely on the problem characteristic. A number of methods have been proposed to overcome this challenge by fine tuning the parameters. In this paper, a variation of dual mutation DE for application of image contrast enhancement is introduced. The objective of proposed work is to enhance the contrast and details of the image by increasing the fitness criterion. Here fitness criterion considers entropy and edge information of the image. Results are compared with other enhancement techniques, viz. Histogram Equalization (HE), Linear Contrast Stretching (LCS) and Differential Evolution (DE) based techniques in terms of fitness function value, the number of pixels in the edges, DV, BV which showed that the proposed DE yields better results.
Indoor navigation assistance with a Smartphone camera based on vanishing points

Indoor navigation assistance is a highly challenging task that is increasingly needed in various types of applications such as visually impaired guidance, emergency intervention, tourism, etc. Many alternative techniques to GPS have been explored to deal with this challenge like pre-installed sensor networks (Wifi, Ultra Wide Band, Bluetooth, Radio Frequency IDentification etc), inertial sensors or camera. This paper presents an indoor navigation system on Smartphone that was designed taking into consideration low cost, portability and the lightweight of the used algorithm in terms of computation power and storage space. The proposed solution relies on embedded vision. Robust and fast camera orientation (3 dof) is estimated by tracking three orthogonal vanishing points in a video stream acquired with the camera of a free-handled Smartphone. The developed algorithm enables indoor pedestrian localization in two steps: an off-line learning step defines a reference path by selecting key frames along the way using saliency extraction method and computing the camera orientation in these frames. Then, in localization step, an approximate but realistic position of the walker is estimated in real time by comparing the orientation of the camera in the current image and that of reference to assist the pedestrian with navigation guidance. Unlike SLAM, this approach does not require to build 3D mapping of the environment. Online walking direction is given by Smartphone camera which advantageously replaces the compass sensor since it performs very poorly indoors due to electromagnetic noise. Experiments, executed online on Smartphone, that show the feasibility and evaluate the accuracy of the proposed positioning approach for different indoor paths.
Improved Matching-Pursuit Implementation for LTE Channel Estimation

An implementation of a reduced complexity matching pursuit channel estimator for LTE is presented. The design contains an FFT/IFFT module with non-radix-2 units and a core estimator. The module is flexible enough to perform FFT and IFFT at different resolutions needed, using the same hardware. Based on prior work the needed internal word lengths are found. Internal shifts are employed to maximize the use of available resources. The design is implemented in a 65 nm low power process from STMicroelectronics. The total area of the implementation is 1 mm2 design, including input pads and extra control logic. The algorithmic improvements reduce the complexity by up to 56% compared to prior art. At the same time estimator shows great improvement in speed, allowing over 6 times the number of estimations in the same time. Power consumption of the estimator is simulated to ~ 20 mW, running at 70 MHz.