Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
CALL FOR PAPERS Integrative and Translational Physiology: Integrative Aspects of Energy Homeostasis and Metabolic Diseases Mg supplementation attenuates ritonavir-induced hyperlipidemia, oxidative stress, and cardiac dysfunction in rats

Mg supplementation attenuates ritonavir-induced hyperlipidemia, oxidative stress, and cardiac dysfunction in rats. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 305: R1102–R1111, 2013. Use of protease inhibitors (PI) in HIV patients is associated with hyperlipidemia and increased risk of coronary heart disease. Chronic systemic and cardiac effects of ritonavir (RTV), a universal PI booster, and Mg supplementation were examined. RTV was administered (75 mg·kg (cid:1) 1 ·day (cid:1) 1 po) to Lewis (cid:2) Brown-Norway hybrid (LBNF1) rats for up to 8 wk; signiﬁcant increases in plasma triglyceride and cholesterol occurred from 8 days to 8 wk. At 5 wk, the expression of selected hepatic genes ( CYP7A1 , CITED2 , G6PC , and ME-1 ), which are key to lipid catabolism/synthesis, were altered toward lipogenesis. Dietary Mg supplementation (six-fold higher) completely reversed the altered expression of these genes and attenuated both hypertriglyceridemia and hypercholesterolemia. Neutrophils isolated from the RTV-treated rats displayed a three-fold higher basal and a twofold higher stimulated superoxide production; plasma isoprostane and red blood cell (RBC) GSSG levels were elevated two-to three-fold. All oxidative indices were normalized by Mg supplementation. After 5 wk, RTV caused signiﬁcant decreases in cardiac left ventricular (LV) shortening fraction and LV ejection fraction; mitral valve early/late atrial ventricular ﬁlling (E/A) ratio was reduced accompanied by LV posterior wall thinning. Immunohistochemical staining revealed signiﬁcant white blood cell (WBC) inﬁltration (5 wk) and prominent ﬁbrosis (8 wk) in the RTV hearts. Mg supplementation attenuated RTV-induced declines in systolic and diastolic (improved mitral valve E/A ratio) function ( (cid:3) 70%), lessened LV posterior wall thinning (by 75%), and substantially decreased the pathological markers. The known clinical hyperlipidemia effects of RTV can be mimicked in the LBNF1 rats; in association, systemic oxidative stress and progressive cardiac dysfunction occurred. Remarkably, Mg supplementation alone suppressed RTV-mediated hyperlipidemia, oxidative stress, and cardiac dysfunction.
Factors predicting a home death among home palliative care recipients

Abstract Awareness of factors affecting the place of death could improve communication between healthcare providers and patients and their families regarding patient preferences and the feasibility of dying in the preferred place. This study aimed to evaluate factors predicting home death among home palliative care recipients. This is a population-based study using a national representative sample retrieved from the National Health Insurance Research Database. Subjects receiving home palliative care, from 2010 to 2012, were analyzed to evaluate the association between a home death and various characteristics related to illness, individual, and health care utilization. A multiple-logistic regression model was used to assess the independent effect of various characteristics on the likelihood of a home death. The overall rate of a home death for home palliative care recipients was 43.6%. Age; gender; urbanization of the area where the patients lived; illness; the total number of home visits by all health care professionals; the number of home visits by nurses; utilization of nasogastric tube, endotracheal tube, or indwelling urinary catheter; the number of emergency department visits; and admission to intensive care unit in previous 1 year were not significantly associated with the risk of a home death. Physician home visits increased the likelihood of a home death. Compared with subjects without physician home visits (31.4%) those with 1 physician home visit (53.0%, adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 3.23, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.93–5.42) and those with ≥2 physician home visits (43.9%, AOR: 2.23, 95% CI: 1.06–4.70) had higher likelihood of a home death. Compared with subjects with hospitalization 0 to 6 times in previous 1 year, those with hospitalization ≥7 times in previous 1 year (AOR: 0.57, 95% CI: 0.34–0.95) had lower likelihood of a home death. Among home palliative care recipients, physician home visits increased the likelihood of a home death. Hospitalizations ≥7 times in previous 1 year decreased the likelihood of a home death.
Statistical variable length Markov chains for the parameterization of stochastic user models from sparse data

This paper presents an algorithm for the parameterization of variable length Markov chains (VLMC). The disadvantages of the conventional algorithms especially in the application field of stochastic use models are discussed. The algorithm proposed in this paper eliminates these disadvantages by the usage of statistical methods to decide which states are accepted for the model. The benefit of this procedure is two-fold. First, the resulting models perform better in respect to prediction quality even they contain fewer states. Second, each state gets a more significant meaning. This makes the algorithm suitable for analyzing user-traces. An example for this application is described.
A randomized study of how physicians interpret research funding disclosures.

BACKGROUND The effects of clinical-trial funding on the interpretation of trial results are poorly understood. We examined how such support affects physicians' reactions to trials with a high, medium, or low level of methodologic rigor. METHODS We presented 503 board-certified internists with abstracts that we designed describing clinical trials of three hypothetical drugs. The trials had high, medium, or low methodologic rigor, and each report included one of three support disclosures: funding from a pharmaceutical company, NIH funding, or none. For both factors studied (rigor and funding), one of the three possible variations was randomly selected for inclusion in the abstracts. Follow-up questions assessed the physicians' impressions of the trials' rigor, their confidence in the results, and their willingness to prescribe the drugs. RESULTS The 269 respondents (53.5% response rate) perceived the level of study rigor accurately. Physicians reported that they would be less willing to prescribe drugs tested in low-rigor trials than those tested in medium-rigor trials (odds ratio, 0.64; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.46 to 0.89; P=0.008) and would be more willing to prescribe drugs tested in high-rigor trials than those tested in medium-rigor trials (odds ratio, 3.07; 95% CI, 2.18 to 4.32; P<0.001). Disclosure of industry funding, as compared with no disclosure of funding, led physicians to downgrade the rigor of a trial (odds ratio, 0.63; 95% CI, 0.46 to 0.87; P=0.006), their confidence in the results (odds ratio, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.51 to 0.98; P=0.04), and their willingness to prescribe the hypothetical drugs (odds ratio, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.49 to 0.94; P=0.02). Physicians were half as willing to prescribe drugs studied in industry-funded trials as they were to prescribe drugs studied in NIH-funded trials (odds ratio, 0.52; 95% CI, 0.37 to 0.71; P<0.001). These effects were consistent across all levels of methodologic rigor. CONCLUSIONS Physicians discriminate among trials of varying degrees of rigor, but industry sponsorship negatively influences their perception of methodologic quality and reduces their willingness to believe and act on trial findings, independently of the trial's quality. These effects may influence the translation of clinical research into practice.
Seroprevalence of Kaposi Sarcoma–associated Herpesvirus and Other Serologic Markers in the Brazilian Amazon

To determine the presence of Kaposi sarcoma–associated herpesvirus (KSHV) and other serologic markers, we tested serum specimens of 339 Amerindians, 181 rural non-Amerindians, and 1,133 urban blood donors (13 Amerindians) in the Brazilian Amazon. High KSHV seroprevalence in children and inverse association with herpes simplex virus type 2 indicates predominant nonsexual transmission among Amerindians.
Effects of paclitaxel on proliferation and apoptosis in human acute myeloid leukemia HL-60 cells.

AIM To investigate the regulatory effect of paclitaxel on proliferation and apoptosis in human acute leukemia HL-60 cells. METHODS HL-60 cell growth was measured by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tertrazolium bromide (MTT) colorimetric assay. Cell cycle kinetics and apoptosis were analyzed by flow cytometry and microscopic examination. In addition, DNA microarrays containing 14,400 EST elements were used to investigate the gene expression pattern of HL-60 cells exposed to paclitaxel 1 micromol/L. RESULTS Paclitaxel inhibited HL-60 cell growth significantly in a dose-dependent and time-dependent manner (P<0.01). Marked cell accumulation in G2/M phase and multinucleated cells were also observed after treatment with paclitaxel 0.1 and 1 micromol/L. Among 14400 EST elements, 277 genes were found to be markedly up- or down-expressed in the HL-60 cells treated with paclitaxel 1 micromol/L for 0.5 h, comprising 210 known genes and 67 unknown genes. CONCLUSION Paclitaxel suppresses the growth of HL-60 cells in vitro by causing cell-cycle arrest and apoptosis. The results of microarray suggest that paclitaxel initiates apoptosis through multiple mechanisms.
Digital Controller for Multi-Phase DC-DC Converters with Logarithmic Current Sharing

This paper describes a novel current-program mode digital controller and a multiphase dc-dc converter with non-uniform current sharing that optimize converter efficiency over the full range of operation. The converter phases are operated as binary-weighted constant current sources, i.e. scaled in a binary-logarithmic fashion. To minimize the system size and provide fast dynamic response, the phases switch at different frequencies and their components are selected so that the most efficient operating points correspond to the set currents. The digital controller operates on a modification of the "phase dropping" principle. Depending on the output load, the number of active phases is dynamically changed. The new architecture of the controller does not require an analog-to-digital converter for current measurement and is suitable for high-frequency low-power converters. An experimental 4-phase buck converter utilizing the digital control architecture with logarithmic current sharing was built. A comparison of the efficiency with an equivalent uniform current shared converter shows that, at medium and light loads, the presented system results in the efficiency improvements of up to 6% and 25 %, respectively.
Electricity load forecasting based on weather variables and seasonalities: A neural network approach

Three models are presented to forecast electricity load based on weather variables, represented by heating degree days (HDD) and cooling degree days (CDD), and weekly and monthly seasonalities, expressed by the day of the week, a holiday, and the month of the year. The first model is a classical linear regression model that serves as a benchmark for this study. The second model is a feedforward neural network model, and the third is a nonlinear autoregressive time-lagged (NARx) neural network model for day-ahead electricity load forecasting. The results based on the mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) show that the third model outperforms the other two in forecasting day-ahead electricity load.
Oxygen delivery through high-flow nasal cannulae increase end-expiratory lung volume and reduce respiratory rate in post-cardiac surgical patients.

BACKGROUND High-flow nasal cannulae (HFNCs) create positive oropharyngeal airway pressure, but it is unclear how their use affects lung volume. Electrical impedance tomography allows the assessment of changes in lung volume by measuring changes in lung impedance. Primary objectives were to investigate the effects of HFNC on airway pressure (P(aw)) and end-expiratory lung volume (EELV) and to identify any correlation between the two. Secondary objectives were to investigate the effects of HFNC on respiratory rate, dyspnoea, tidal volume, and oxygenation; and the interaction between BMI and EELV. METHODS Twenty patients prescribed HFNC post-cardiac surgery were investigated. Impedance measures, P(aw), ratio, respiratory rate, and modified Borg scores were recorded first on low-flow oxygen and then on HFNC. RESULTS A strong and significant correlation existed between P(aw) and end-expiratory lung impedance (EELI) (r=0.7, P<0.001). Compared with low-flow oxygen, HFNC significantly increased EELI by 25.6% [95% confidence interval (CI) 24.3, 26.9] and P(aw) by 3.0 cm H(2)O (95% CI 2.4, 3.7). Respiratory rate reduced by 3.4 bpm (95% CI 1.7, 5.2) with HFNC use, tidal impedance variation increased by 10.5% (95% CI 6.1, 18.3), and ratio improved by 30.6 mm Hg (95% CI 17.9, 43.3). A trend towards HFNC improving subjective dyspnoea scoring (P=0.023) was found. Increases in EELI were significantly influenced by BMI, with larger increases associated with higher BMIs (P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS This study suggests that HFNCs reduce respiratory rate and improve oxygenation by increasing both EELV and tidal volume and are most beneficial in patients with higher BMIs.
Learning word meanings and grammar for verbalization of daily life activities using multilayered multimodal latent Dirichlet allocation and Bayesian hidden Markov models

Intelligent systems need to understand and respond to human words to enable them to interact with humans in a natural way. Several studies attempted to realize these abilities by investigating the symbol grounding problem. For example, we proposed multilayered multimodal latent Dirichlet allocation (mMLDA) to enable the formation of various concepts and inference using grounded concepts. We previously reported on the issue of connecting words to various hierarchical concepts and also proposed a simple preliminary algorithm for generating sentences. This paper proposes a novel method that enables a sensing system to verbalize an everyday scene it observes. The method uses mMLDA and Bayesian hidden Markov models (BHMM) and the proposed algorithm improves the word inference of our previous work. The advantage of our approach is that grammar learning based on BHMM not only boosts concept selection results but enables our method to process functional words. The proposed verbalization algorithm produces results that are far superior to those of previous methods. Finally, we developed a system to obtain multimodal data from human everyday activities. We evaluate language learning and sentence generation as a complete process under this realistic setting. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of our method. Graphical Abstract
Partial response and nonresponse to antidepressant therapy: current approaches and treatment options.

BACKGROUND Response to antidepressant drug therapy is less than optimal for a considerable proportion of depressed patients; at present, however, few data exist to guide their rational therapeutic management. This review describes general principles for the management of such patients. This review is the result of an expert roundtable meeting convened to review published clinical data and clinical experience and provide clinicians with evidence-based principles on the management of patients who fail to respond optimally to initial antidepressant therapy. ROUNDTABLE FINDINGS Failure to respond may be defined as a < 25% decrease on an accepted symptom rating scale such as the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) or the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D) in a patient who has received an adequate dosage for 4 weeks. In these patients, a neuropharmacologic rationale exists to switch to an agent with a different mode of action or a dual action. Partial response may be defined as 6 to 8 weeks at an adequate dosage and 25% to 50% decrease in MADRS or HAM-D score. In these patients, dose escalation should be considered, followed by augmentation and switching strategies. For augmentation, knowledge of neuropharmacology may allow prediction of which second agent will potentiate or complement the action of the first agent; it may also permit the prediction of potential safety concerns. CONCLUSIONS OF THE PANEL On the basis of a review of the medical literature and clinical experience regarding patients with partial response or nonresponse to antidepressant drug therapy, it appears that simultaneous targeting of both the noradrenergic and serotonergic systems is one of the most effective augmentation strategies. Switching to an agent of a different class is probably optimal for those patients who fail to respond to first-line therapy.
Influence of metal thickness on phase velocity and thermal sensitivity of SAW devices

Most surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices exhibit a very small sensitivity to thermal effects. However, even on intrinsically compensated crystal cuts, the deposition of metal strips at the surface (transducers or reflectors) induces important changes in the thermoelastic properties of the device. A theoretical approach based on the Sinha-Tiersten perturbation method is proposed to model the influence of metallization on SAW properties on (ST, X) quartz, namely the temperature stability of the phase velocity of Rayleigh waves. Because this perturbation method only gives access to the first-order temperature coefficient of frequency (TCF), it is combined with a conventional calculation of the second-order TCF to predict the evolution of the turnover temperature. The proposed calculation also requires temperature derivatives of the elastic constants of the metal, which can be calculated for different materials. Finally, theoretical results are compared with experimental data measured on SAW devices on (ST, X) quartz, using aluminum gratings.
Learning in Later Life: Benefits and Challenges for Volunteers and Agencies.

BACKGROUND Older adults in most societies are keen volunteers in a myriad of contexts for the betterment of individuals and for the agencies in which they volunteer. This article discusses how volunteerism among older adults may enhance their learning and the kinds of benefits and challenges they encounter in their work for employing authorities. It also considers how agencies can be better attuned to the lifelong learning aspirations of older volunteers. METHODS Research related to older adults, lifelong learning and the character of volunteerism is reviewed with examples provided from New Zealand and Australia of older adults' participation in volunteerism and consequential impact. RESULTS While volunteerism is normally viewed as a "win-win" situation for the volunteers and the organisations in which knowledge is further developed for varied purposes (economic sufficiency; personal development; active citizenship; social inclusion), there are nevertheless challenges for both parties. The article explores salient factors which function as enhancers or limitations for older volunteers in their work and learning. CONCLUSION It is important that the motives of volunteers for participation are fully transparent and understood by the older adults themselves and by the relevant agencies. Organisations can provide considerable opportunities for older people to engage in continuing learning/ education but they need to be aware of effective recruitment and retention strategies; older people can provide a much needed labour resource where their previous life experiences can be drawn upon and they should be fully cognisant of the organisation's mission and how they can help to enhance it.
Empirical essays on labor economics and digitization

This dissertation analyzes how two major events during the last three decades in Germany affect overall societal outcomes. These events are first the digitization of the economy and society through broadband internet and second the Reunification of East with West Germany. Both can be characterized as historical quasi-natural experiments at the macroeconomic level with profound impacts on individuals. The thesis covers two aspects of the economics of digitization: the effects of the introduction of broadband internet on crime, in particular sex crime and murder, and on the employment prospects among unemployed individuals. First, in a single-authored chapter, I show that broadband internet and sex crime are substitutes. The substitution effect operates through child sex abuse, whereas broadband internet has no effect on rape and murder. Second, in a joint chapter with Nicole Gurtzgen, Laura Pohlan and Gerard van den Berg, we show that high-speed internet leads to shorter unemployment durations. This effect is especially pronounced for unemployed males. Moreover, we document a positive effect on wages for male job seekers. The last chapter of the thesis covers one aspect in the field of transition economics. In a joint chapter with Nicole Gurtzgen we show that individuals at the lower end of the wage distribution under the socialistic regime of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) have a higher probability of low-wage employment during the first years after Reunification with West Germany. Already in the mid-1990s the effect reverses - formerly low-wage workers are catching up in terms of low-wage employment probability - and becomes essential zero thereafter.
The importance of spirometry in the assessment of childhood asthma.

OBJECTIVE To assess the pulmonary function of children with asthma at the time of a routine follow-up visit when they were judged to be clinically well. DESIGN Pulmonary function tests were performed on children with a previous diagnosis of asthma. None had had any symptoms for at least 6 weeks. All had normal Wright peak flow rates and normal findings at physical examination. SETTING General pediatric and pediatric pulmonary clinic at a municipal hospital in the Bronx, NY. PATIENTS Sixty-five children with asthma who fit the above criteria. All were able to perform spirometry adequately. Their mean (+/- SD) age was 11 +/- 3 years, and their median age was 10 years. SELECTION PROCEDURES All clinic patients were screened as possible participants. The 65 patients were deemed eligible, and were willing and able to perform spirometry. INTERVENTIONS None. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS The group's mean (+/- SD) forced expiratory volume in 1 second/forced vital capacity ratio was 80% +/- 8%, and their mean mid-maximal expiratory flow was 66% +/- 23% of the predicted value. Of the 65 patients, 11 (17%) had forced expiratory volume in 1 second/forced vital capacity ratios of less than 72%, and 35 (54%) had a mid-maximal expiratory flow of less than 65% of the predicted value. CONCLUSION Failure to perform spirometry in children with asthma results in underdiagnosis of airflow obstruction. This may result in obstruction persisting into adulthood and/or progression to hyperinflation.
Aggressive Organ Donor Management Protocol

As of August 2007, 96 900 people are awaiting organ transplantation in the United States, while only 28 930 transplants were performed in 2006. With such a large gap between organ need and organ availability, it is inevitable that many will die while awaiting transplantation. This organ shortage has become a national public health crisis, and as a response, the United States Department of Health and Human Services launched the Organ Donation Breakthrough Collaborative, an ambitious campaign to dramatically increase the number of transplantable organs. One of the suggested strategies involves maximizing the number of organs obtained from the available cadaveric ``brain dead'' donor pool by using donor management protocols that optimize and treat the profound physiological disturbances that are associated with brain death. The use of these standardized and aggressive donor management protocols has been shown to increase the number of transplanted organs and prevent the number of donors lost due to medical failures. A protocol-driven approach by a dedicated organ donor management team should be considered a key component of any program designed to bridge the gap between organ supply and demand.