Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Impact of walking upon medical care expenditure in Japan: the Ohsaki Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND Physical activity is expected to reduce medical costs by lowering the risk for a variety of chronic diseases. However, little is known about the actual magnitude of medical cost saved by physical activity. We attempted to quantify the association between time spent walking and medical care costs, based on a 4-year prospective observation of National Health Insurance (NHI) beneficiaries in rural Japan. METHODS In 27 431 Japanese men and women, aged 40-79 years, who had no functional limitation or conditions interfering with physical activity at the baseline survey in 1994, we ascertained all hospitalizations, outpatient visits, and the costs through computerized linkage with NHI claims history files between January 1995 and December 1998. RESULTS Medical costs significantly reduced with longer time spent walking. Per capita medical cost was pound 111.80 per month (95% CI: 109.3, 114.2) in those who walked for < or =30 minutes/day, pound 108.10 (95% CI: 105.7, 110.5) in those who walked for 30 minutes-1 hour, and pound 97.30 (95% CI: 95.5, 99.0) in those who walked for > or =1 hour, after multivariate adjustment of potential confounders. CONCLUSIONS This prospective study in Japan indicated that time spent walking was significantly associated with lower medical costs.
Characterization of a Cytosolic and a Luminal Ca2+ Binding Site in the Type I Inositol 1,4,5-Trisphosphate Receptor*

To study the Ca2+ regulation of the inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor (InsP3R) at the molecular level, we expressed various cytosolic and luminal regions of the mouse type I InsP3R as glutathione S-transferase fusion proteins. 45Ca2+ and ruthenium red overlay studies and Stains-all spectra and staining revealed both a cytosolic and a luminal Ca2+ binding site. The luminal Ca2+ binding site was mapped to the nonconserved acidic subregion of the luminal loop between amino acids 2463 and 2528. A K0.5 of 0.3 μM and a Hill coefficient of 1.1 were determined by 45Ca2+ overlay by quantification of 45Ca2+ binding on blots. The cytosolic Ca2+ binding site was localized in a region just preceding the transmembrane domain M1. The Ca2+ binding was mapped to a 23-amino acid stretch between amino acids 2124 and 2146. This cytosolic region showed a single high affinity site for Ca2+, with a K0.5 of 0.8 μM and a Hill coefficient of 1.0. Neither of the identified Ca2+ binding regions contained an EF-hand motif. We conclude that the type I InsP3R has at least two quite distinct types of Ca2+ binding sites, which are localized in different structural regions of the protein.
Elementi per una rilettura dell’articolo di Paolo Sylos Labini: ‘Inflazione, disoccupazione e banca centrale: temi per una riconsiderazione critica’ (Notes on Paolo Sylos Labini’s ‘Inflation, Unemployment and Central Bank: Themes for a Critical Reconsideration’)

The author proposes a critical reading of Paolo Sylos Labini’s article “Inflation, unemployment and central bank: themes for a critical reconsideration”. Text of the speech given at the conference "Paolo Sylos Labini e la politica delle riforme", held at Sapienza University of Rome on 04 December 2015, organized by the Accademia dei Lincei with Economia Civile.
Personality and psychological factors: Effects on dental beliefs

Background: Dental treatment can be highly unpleasant for anxious patients. Despite all advancements, dental anxiety continues to upset the dentist-patient relationship. The psychological factors like individual personality and familial and peer influence may alter the dental beliefs of a patient. Aim: A cross-sectional questionnaire study was conducted among young adolescents to investigate the relationship among various psychological factors and the dental beliefs of an individual. Materials and Methods: A self-administered questionnaire was distributed among higher secondary school children, aged 15−17 years in Udupi district. The dental anxiety of the participants was measured using Modified Dental Beliefs scale and the personality traits were assessed using the Ten-Item Personality Inventory. Pearson′s correlation and chi-square analysis were performed among these scales. Independent t-test was performed to compare dental anxiety scores with different socio-demographic and psychological characteristics. Results: In all 198 students, with a mean age of 16.6 years, completed the questionnaire. A majority of the participants had lower MDBS scores. The personality traits like Emotional Stability and Openness to New Experiences showed a negative correlation with the Dental Belief scores. Apart from these, the experience at first dental visit and peer support also affected the dental beliefs of the adolescents. Conclusion: Various psychological traits of adolescents influence their dental anxiety.
Strategic Foundation for the Tail Expectation in Limit Order Book Markets

In an environment with noise traders and informed traders trading on news, we model competition in schedules by liquidity suppliers quoting on a limit order book. We show that there is an equilibrium featuring quoters using mixed strategies; each quoter employs a step function, offering the same quantity of shares at random prices (and, of course, random bid prices). These random prices with their associated quantities form the market quotes and the depth of book, or price schedule. There are equilibria with a smaller number of quoters quoting a larger number of shares and equilibria with a larger number of quoters quoting a smaller number of shares. Considering a sequence of equilibria with the number of quoters becoming large, we establish that the stochastic equilibrium price schedule converges to the zero-profit deterministic competitive price schedule.
Autosomal dominant inheritance of infantile myofibromatosis

We present three families with infantile myofibromatosis (IM; OMIM no. 228550) inherited in an autosomal dominant (AD) manner. These three pedigrees prompted re‐assessment of pedigrees available within the genetic, oncologic, surgical, and pathologic literature, which suggest autosomal recessive (AR) inheritance. All familial IM may be interpreted as AD or, alternatively, there may be genetic heterogeneity for IM. As most nodules tend to regress spontaneously, familial history may be difficult to obtain and/or confirm. Clinical diagnosis and establishment of inheritance pattern can be important for prognosis and the recognition that other family members may be affected. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Variety of Quality Experiences on Web-Based Courses

Web-based learning environments with 25 web-based courses were evaluated at Tampere University of Technology (TUT) in Finland. During the evaluation process over 200 students answered a web survey which included questions on computer skills, attitudes towards learning and web-based learning, collaboration, learning experience, experience of the usefulness as well as quality of web-based learning environments. The K-means cluster analysis was used to form groups among students. Five groups of students were set up: 1. Web students, 2. Students needing technical support, 3. Dropout students, 4. Disappointed students and 5. Conscientious students. Quality experiences of web-based learning environments and realization of added value differ between the groups. The results of the research help understand how and why different learners prefer different properties of web-based courses and why students' feedback differs on quality issues. The results help designers to make prioritized decisions for developing the quality of web-based teaching and learning environments.
Degassed Liquids to Prevent/Treat Decompression Sickness

Recompression and oxygen breathing constitute the primary treatments for decompression sickness (DCS). Increasing the volume of distribution of dissolved gas with high-volume liquid therapy represents an alternative strategy to prevent or treat DCS. Furthermore, degassing of ingested and infused liquids would increase their potential to keep supersaturated tissue gases in solution after decompression. We hypothesize that administration of degassed liquids will prevent or reverse mild-moderate DCS by increasing the volume of distribution of dissolved gas in DCS victims. Degassed perfluorocarbon ingestion offers particularly attractive potential: one liter theoretically dissolves 300 ml of N2 in vivo at 1 atm. One could speculate that degassed liquids may adequately treat mild DCS in lieu of recompression, particularly DCS expressed in ‘fast compartment’ (well-perfused) tissues. Furthermore, degassed liquid administration should prove to be even more effective adjunct therapy for severe DCS than present gas-saturated liquids. a 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Endogenous Nitric Oxide Mediates Pancreatic Exocrine Secretion Stimulated by Secretin and Cholecystokinin in Rats

Nitric oxide (NO) is one of the important biologic mediators in regulation of gastrointestinal (GI) functions, but the influence of NO on the release of secretin and cholecystokinin (CCK) and exocrine pancreatic secretion has not been adequately investigated in the rat. The aim of this study was to determine the role of NO on endogenous and exogenous secretin-or CCK-stimulated pancreatic exocrine secretion both in anesthetized and conscious rats. Experiments were carried out in four different groups of rats with duodenal pancreatobiliary cannulas and jugular vein catheters. Group 1: During duodenal infusion of 0.05N HCl or 15% casein (pH 7.0), N-nitro-l-arginine (NNA), an inhibitor of NO-synthase in graded doses (2.5, 5, 10 mg/kg/h), was infused intravenously. Group 2: One hour after starting intravenous secretin at 5 pmol/kg/h or intravenous CCK-8 at 0.06 &mgr;g/kg/h, NNA in graded doses was administered intravenously. Group 3: In conscious rats, NNA (5 mg/kg/h) was given intravenously for 1 hour after a meal. Group 4: l-Arginine at 100 mg/kg/h was infused intravenously during the period of NNA (5 mg/kg/h) infusion in groups 1, 2, and 3. Pancreatic juice was collected at 30-minute intervals to measure volume, as well as output of bicarbonate and protein. At the end of the experiment, plasma secretin, vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) and CCK levels were determined by radioimmunoassay (RIA). NNA dose dependently inhibited the pancreatic secretion of fluid and bicarbonate stimulated by duodenal acidification, exogenous secretin, and a meal. NNA dose dependently inhibited the pancreatic secretion of protein stimulated by duodenal infusion of casein, exogenous CCK, and a meal. l-Arginine significantly reversed the NNA-induced inhibition of pancreatic secretion in all experiments. NNA did not alter significantly the plasma levels of secretin, VIP, and CCK. Our results indicated that endogenous NO plays a significant role in the regulation of pancreatic exocrine secretion stimulated by secretin and CCK. However, NO does not influence the release of secretin, VIP, or CCK in the rat.
Partial purification of the Escherichia coli K-12 mec+ deoxyribonucleic acid-cytosine methylase: in vitro methylation completely protects bacteriophage lambda deoxyribonucleic acid against cleavage by R-EcoRII

A procedure is described for the partial purification of the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)-cytosine methylases controlled by the RII plasmid and by the Escherichia coli mec+ gene. The two enzymes exhibit similar but distinct chromatographic behavior on diethylaminoethyl-cellulose and phosphocellulose. Preliminary studies on the two methylases indicate that they are indistinguishable with respect to their Km for S-adenosylmethionine and their pH (in tris (hydroxymethyl)aminomethane buffer) and NaCl concentration optima. In vitro methylation of various phage lambda DNA substrates by the mec'r RII enzyme modifies the DNA to a form that is completely resistant to double-stranded cleavage by the RII restriction endonuclease (R-EcoRII). These results are consistent with our earlier proposal that the mec8ethylase recognizes RII host specificity sites.
A low-voltage design of controller-based ADPLL for implantable biomedical devices

A low-voltage controller-based all-digital phase-locked loop (ADPLL) utilized in the medical implant communication service (MICS) frequency band is designed. The controller-based loop topology is used to control the phase and frequency for reliable handling of the ADPLL output signal. The digitally-controlled oscillator with the delta-sigma modulator is employed to achieve high frequency resolution. The phase error is reduced by the phase selector with 64-phase signal from the phase interpolator. Fabricated in a 130-nm CMOS process, the ADPLL has an active area of 0.64 mm2. It consumes 840 μW from a 0.7-V supply voltage and has a settling time of 80 μs. The measured phase noise is -114.6 dBc/Hz at 200 kHz offset frequency.
Short clinical crowns (SCC) – treatment considerations and techniques

When the clinical crowns of teeth are dimensionally inadequate, esthetically and biologically acceptable restoration of these dental units is difficult. Often an acceptable restoration cannot be accomplished without first surgically increasing the length of the existing clinical crowns; therefore, successful management requires an understanding of both the dental and periodontal parameters of treatment. The complications presented by teeth with short clinical crowns demand a comprehensive treatment plan and proper sequencing of therapy to ensure a satisfactory result. Visualization of the desired result is a prerequisite of successful therapy. This review examines the periodontal and restorative factors related to restoring teeth with short clinical crowns. Modes of therapy are usually combined to meet the biologic, restorative, and esthetic requirements imposed by short clinical crowns. In this study various methods for treating short clinical crowns are reviewed, the role that restoration margin location play in the maintenance of periodontal and dental symbiosis and the effects of violation of the supracrestal gingivae by improper full-coverage restorations has also been discussed. Key words:Short clinical crown, surgical crown lengthening, forced eruption, diagnostic wax up, alveoloplasty, gingivectomy.
Sirtuins as modifiers of Parkinson's disease pathology

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the most common movement disorder associated with the elderly which, other than symptomatic therapies, has no effective treatment or preventive measures. Sirtuins and their pharmacological activators/inhibitors have been associated with a range of neuroprotective effects, and a large body of work on sirtuins' influence on PD pathology has accumulated over the past decade. Here, evidence for sirtuins' activities as modifiers of PD pathology and how the mammalian sirtuin paralogues may have conflicting impacts on PD pathogenesis and disease progression is reviewed. The possible cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying sirtuin activities in PD are discussed in the light of current knowledge with reference to autophagy, mitochondrial homeostasis, and microtubule dynamics. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Truncated PrPc in mammalian brain: interspecies variation and location in membrane rafts

Abstract A key molecular event in prion diseases is the conversion of cellular prion protein (PrPc) into an abnormal misfolded conformer (PrPsc). The PrPc N-terminal domain plays a central role in PrPc functions and in prion propagation. Because mammalian PrPc is found as a full-length and N-terminally truncated form, we examined the presence and amount of PrPc C-terminal fragment in the brain of different species. We found important variations between primates and rodents. In addition, our data show that the PrPc fragment is present in detergent-resistant raft domains, a membrane domain of critical importance for PrPc functions and its conversion into PrPsc.
Alpha‐1 Adrenoceptor Involvement in the Control of Melatonin Secretion in the Golden Hamster

The nocturnal peak in pineal and serum melatonin content was reduced following administration of the selective alpha‐1 adrenoceptor antagonist prazosin in a dose of 0.25 mg/kg. The effect was pronounced one hour post treatment during the late dark phase of the daily photocycle. These data confirm the reported findings that the hamster pineal sensitivity to adrenergic challenge is confined to the second part of the dark phase and indicate that postsynaptically located alpha‐1 adrenoceptors are also involved in the physiological control of melatonin synthesis and/or release in that species.
Income and Wealth in America

I’m going to go relatively quickly because I think the discussions are always the best part. We’ve talked a lot about the top 1 percent. I’m not going to talk about the top 1 percent. I’m going to talk about the other 99 percent almost entirely. Before I start with the facts, I want to make sure that we’re all thinking about it the same way. Th e most important thing, when we talk about wages and talk about inequality, is to realize that we’re talking about prices. At least when you talk about wages, it’s the price of labor that’s being determined in some marketplace out there. I think that we sometimes tend to forget that. Prices matter. For example, what happens when you see the price of something go up? Why did it happen? Maybe demand went up or supply went down. How is the market going to respond? If there’s more demand for something than there was last year, people are going to produce more of it. Th ese are the natural kinds of supply-and-demand responses that we expect to see in the market place. Th at’s the perspective that I think is very important when thinking about the labor market. One thing at which I
Control of grid connected photovoltaic system using dual three-level stage conversion

This paper presents the control of a photovoltaic distributed generation system based on dual-stage topology of three level DC-DC boost converter (3LBC) and three-level neutral-point-clamped (NPC) voltage source inverter (VSI). Decoupling control strategy of three-level VSI is proposed to control the current injected into the grid, reactive power compensation, and DC-link voltage. The resulting system is able to extract the maximum power from photovoltaic generator, to achieve sinusoidal grid currents, and to ensure reactive power compensation. The design and the selection of 3LBC are based not only on boosting up the photovoltaic generator (PVG) voltage but also to ensure equal balancing of the DC-link voltage capacitors. Moreover, they do not change the conventional three-level space vector modulation witch required heavy computational capability to implement the neutral point balance control algorithm. The proposed system performance is investigated at different operating conditions.
Complementary Distributions of Amyloid-β and Neprilysin in the Brains of Dogs and Cats

Neprilysin is an amyloid-β-degrading enzyme localized in the brain parenchyma. The involvement of neprilysin in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease has recently received much attention. We examined the localization of neprilysin and amyloid-β, as well as the activity of neprilysin, in the brains of dogs and cats of various ages to clarify the relationship between neprilysin activity and amyloid-β deposition. The distribution of neprilysin was almost identical in dogs and cats, being high in the striatum, globus pallidus, and substantia nigra, but very low in the cerebral cortex. The white matter and hippocampus were negative. Neprilysin activity in the brain regions in dogs and cats was ranked from high to low as follows: thalamus/striatum > cerebral cortex > hippocampus > white matter. Amyloid-β deposition was first detected at 7 and 10 years of age in dogs and cats, respectively, and both the quantity and frequency of deposition increased with age. In both species, amyloid-β deposition appeared in the cerebral cortex and the hippocampus. In summary, the localization of neprilysin and neprilysin activity, and that of amyloid-β, were complementary in the brains of dogs and cats.
Chromosome damage induced by herpes simplex virus type 1 in early infection.

The chromosome damage induced by herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) in vitro was examined up to 6 h after infection using HT-1080 cells. Initial damage occurring within 3 h was specific, involving uncoiling of chromosome 1q12-21 and to a lesser extent the pericentric regions of chromosomes 9, 16 and satellited chromosomes. For the initial unwinding, synthesis of the immediate early class of HSV proteins needed to occur as was demonstrated using HSV-1 temperature-sensitive mutants tsK and tsB7 and two viral inhibitors, beta-propiolactone and psoralen plus long wavelength u.v. light. Later damage included chromatid breaks, acentric fragments and pulverization which did not take place until synthesis of delayed early proteins had begun.
Consumption, unemployment and the Great Recession: Does it matter who is unemployed and for how long?

Purpose - – The purpose of this paper is to test whether households with members that experience job loss shocks are able to protect their previous level of consumption. The paper also tests whether consumption protection is affected when spells persist through time. Design/methodology/approach - – The paper estimates an intertemporal consumption model, where households try to smooth their marginal utility over time. For that purpose it analyses Spanish household budget surveys that span a long period, 1999-2012, including the Great Recession. Unlike most consumption datasets, this microdata is designed as a panel and provides detailed information for all consumption categories as well as household members’ labour status. Findings - – The paper finds that consumption smoothing is dependent on the household member facing the unemployment transition. In particular, only main breadwinner’s unemployment transitions affects consumption smoothing. It also shows that the consumption drop persists beyond the period of the job loss for ongoing spells, although it follows a decreasing pattern. Finally, the estimation results are stable over the business cycle. Practical implications - – The results suggest that Spanish households are not capable of fully insuring against main breadwinner’s unemployment shocks. Further, the results show that this effect remains up to two years for ongoing unemployment spells. Thus these results highlight a welfare loss by Spanish households with unemployed members. Originality/value - – The paper extends the usual analysis of job loss shocks by the main breadwinner to include the cases of both the spouse and the rest of household members, who tend to account for most unemployment. Further, it tests for unemployment persistence. Finally, it checks the sensitivity of the results to the business cycle, including the Great Recession.
Comparing Parameter Identification Strategies for a Saturated Model of an Induction Motor

Parameter identification for the dynamic model of an induction motor is evaluated, taking into account the magnetic saturation curve. The identification scheme is based on a Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm to fit the motor and model startup stator currents curves. Two different strategies are compared. The first one adds the saturation effects on the magnetizing inductance after using a linear inductance model in the identification process, the second one includes the magnetic saturation curve through the model identification process. The resultant models are tested in a variable flux motor control system. Results show differences in the dynamic response for the magnetizing current.