Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Factors associated with food insecurity among U.S. elderly persons: importance of functional impairments.

OBJECTIVES The authors examined factors associated with the food insecurity of elderly persons in the United States and particularly how functional impairments were associated with food insecurity. METHODS Data were from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1988-94) and the Nutrition Survey of the Elderly in New York State (1994). The authors used multiple logistic regression and a hierarchical logistic regression analyses to examine how functional impairments as well as sociodemographic and economic factors contributed to food insecurity in elderly persons. RESULTS Low income, low education, minority status, food assistance program participation, and social isolation were significantly related with food insecurity. Functional impairments were significantly related with food insecurity among elderly persons even after those factors were controlled. DISCUSSION Food security in elderly persons is associated with functional impairments, suggesting that food insecurity in elderly persons comprises not only limited food affordability, availability, and accessibility but also altered food use. Food-insecure elderly persons experience multiple problems that prevent them from achieving nutritional well-being and seeking food assistance programs. Nutrition services should recognize and provide services to cover those needs.
Fundusautofluoreszenz-Imaging

Zusammenfassung Die Fundusautofluoreszenz-Bildgebung (FAF-Bildgebung) wird zur nicht invasiven Beurteilung von Veränderungen auf Ebene des retinalen Pigmentepithels/Fotorezeptorkomplexes und der Makulapigmentverteilung eingesetzt. Dieses bildgebende Verfahren beruht auf der Darstellung von intrinsischen Fluorophoren und kann einfach und schnell in der klinischen Routine eingesetzt werden. Hauptanwendungen schließen degenerative Erkrankungen der äußeren Netzhaut wie die altersabhängige Makuladegeneration, hereditäre und erworbene Netzhauterkrankungen ein. Besonders hilfreich ist die FAF-Bildgebung hier zur Differenzialdiagnose, zum Erkennen des Ausmaßes von beteiligten Netzhautarealen, zur Korrelation von strukturellen und funktionellen Veränderungen sowie zum Monitoring über die Zeit. Weiterentwicklungen umfassen neben der zunächst eingeführten FAF-Bildgebung mit kurzwelligem Licht („blaue“ FAF-Bildgebung) die Verwendung von anderen Wellenlängenbereichen („grüne“ oder „nahinfrarote“ FAF-Bildgebung), die Weitwinkel-FAF-Bildgebung zur Darstellung von peripheren Netzhautarealen und die quantitative FAF-Bildgebung.
Singular profile of diabetics

The therapeutic monitoring of patients at home produces a mass of data that requires new methods for analyzing and processing. The main challenge of medical data processing is the management of high intra-subject and inter-subject variabilities. The need for specific dashboards for both the patient and the group of patients with similar therapeutic behaviors is another difficulty. This paper describes a new way to analyze such medical data through the use of singular profiles of elderly patients in a population with type 2 diabetes. Our goal is to develop a methodology of data processing for following the insulin therapy at home. The first step of processing consists in the fuzzification of the attributes within the data samples to ensure the robustness of the method. The singularity index we propose assesses the fuzzy attributes relative to each patient. This index is obtained by computing the power of the fuzzy set associated with each attribute. The singularity of the attributes permits us to give the singular profile of each patient. The visualization step leads us to propose empirical rules to obtain three kinds of different profiles. This robust approach also permits us to highlight three clusters of elderly diabetics. The three clusters appear very similar as the ones obtained when using classical automated methods of clustering such as the k-medoids. By extending this approach, the ultimate goal of our future developments is the design of a recommender system for type 2 diabetics with insulin therapy.
Spring Creek Cave, Wyoming

Abstract Spring Creek Cave, a single-component, habitation site in the Big Horn Basin near Ten Sleep, Wyoming, yielded an assemblage of stone artifacts diagnostic of the Late Middle Prehistoric period in context with a considerable variety of hitherto undescribed perishable items. Charcoal produced a radiocarbon date of A.D. 225 ± 200. The Spring Creek material considerably amplifies present knowledge of Late Middle period technology and economy in the Northwestern Plains and provides opportunities for comparison of Late Middle period perishable items with similar items in Basketmaker assemblages of the Southwest and in other assemblages from various parts of the Basin-Plateau region.
Genetics of melanoma progression: the rise and fall of cell senescence

There are many links between cell senescence and the genetics of melanoma, meaning both familial susceptibility and somatic–genetic changes in sporadic melanoma. For example, CDKN2A, the best‐known melanoma susceptibility gene, encodes two effectors of cell senescence, while other familial melanoma genes are related to telomeres and their maintenance. This article aimed to analyze our current knowledge of the genetic or epigenetic driver changes necessary to generate a cutaneous metastatic melanoma, the commonest order in which these occur, and the relation of these changes to the biology and pathology of melanoma progression. Emphasis is laid on the role of cell senescence and the escape from senescence leading to cellular immortality, the ability to divide indefinitely.
The role of Thiobacillus albertis glycocalyx in the adhesion of cells to elemental sulfur.

Thiobacillus albertis, a newly characterized acidophilic Thiobacillus sp. , was found not to be dependent on physiological conditions such as pH, cellular energy, or peripheral cell envelope sulfhydryl groups for attachment to elemental sulfur (S0). Heat-killed cells or those pretreated with sulfhydryl reagents (iodoacetate or iodoacetamide) were able to adhere to S0 in comparable numbers as assayed by epifluorescence microscopy. In addition, iodoacetate and iodoacetamide were found to be bactericidal, the former more potent than the latter. Sodium lauryl sulfate was found to cause nearly complete detachment of T. albertis cells from glass slides implicating its glycocalyx for this cell-glass attachment. In addition scanning electron microscopy visually revealed T. albertis cellular adhesion to S0 was due to the organism's threadlike glycocalyx material interacting with the sulfur surface. It was concluded that T. albertis glycocalyx plays an important role in the attachment to solid surfaces (glass or S0). In addition T. albertis was shown to colonize S0 surfaces by microcolonies.
Boosting quantum evolutions using Trotter-Suzuki algorithms on GPUs

The evolution calculation of quantum systems represents a great challenge nowadays. Numerical implementations typically scale exponentially with the size of the system, demanding high amounts of resources. General Purpose Graphics Processor Units (GPGPUs) enable a new range of possibilities for numerical simulations of quantum systems. In this work we implemented, optimized and compared the quantum Trotter-Suzuki algorithm running on both CPUs and GPUs.
Left atrial size and risk for all-cause mortality and ischemic stroke

Background: Limited data are available on the relation between left atrial size and outcome among patients referred for clinically indicated echocardiograms. Our aim was to assess the association of left atrial size with all-cause mortality and ischemic stroke in a large cohort of patients referred for echocardiography. Methods: Left atrial diameter was measured in 52 639 patients aged 18 years or older (mean age 61.8 [standard deviation (SD) 16.3] years; 52.9% men) who underwent a first transthoracic echocardiogram for clinical reasons at our institution between April 1990 and March 2008. The outcomes were all-cause mortality and nonfatal ischemic stroke. Results: Based on the criteria of the American Society of Echocardiography, 50.4% of the patients had no left atrial enlargement, whereas 24.5% had mild, 13.3% had moderate and 11.7% had severe left atrial enlargement. Over a mean follow-up period of 5.5 (SD 4.1) years, 12 527 patients died, and 2314 patients had a nonfatal ischemic stroke. Cumulative 10-year survival was 73.7% among patients with normal left atrial size, 62.5% among those with mild enlargement, 54.8% among those with moderate enlargement and 45% among those with severe enlargement (p < 0.001). After adjustment in multivariable Cox proportional hazard analysis, left atrial diameter remained a predictor of all-cause mortality in both sexes (hazard ratio [HR] per 1-cm increment in left atrial size 1.17, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.12–1.22, p < 0.001 in women, and HR 1.09, 95% CI 1.05–1.13, p < 0.001 in men) and of ischemic stroke in women (HR 1.25, 95% CI 1.14–1.37, p < 0.001). Interpretation: Left atrial diameter has a graded and independent association with all-cause mortality in both sexes and with ischemic stroke in women.
Combining study outcome measures using dominance adjusted weights

Weighting of studies in meta‐analysis is usually implemented by using the estimated inverse variances of treatment effect estimates. However, there is a possibility of one study dominating other studies in the estimation process by taking on a weight that is above some upper limit. We implement an estimator of the heterogeneity variance that takes advantage of dominance adjusted weights. The performance of this estimator is compared with that of the commonly used estimator in meta‐analysis, the DerSimonian–Laird estimator. Two test procedures for the overall treatment effect are proposed that are based on the quadratic form associated with the proposed heterogeneity variance estimator. An example is given to illustrate the application of these procedures. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Crosses among Homokaryons from Commercial and Wild-Collected Strains of the Mushroom Agaricus brunnescens (= A. bisporus)

A new technique for the production of hybrid strains of the cultivated mushroom Agaricus brunnescens is described. Homokaryons were recovered from regenerated protoplasts obtained from several heterokaryotic strains. A total of 16 novel hybrids were produced in 63 attempted crosses between paired homokaryons. Recovery of both homokaryons and hybrids was verified by analysis of restriction fragment length polymorphisms. Three of four hybrids fruited in small-scale tests, further confirming that the isolates were true hybrids. Colony morphology alone was found to be a poor indicator of hybrid status. In two instances, three homokaryons crossed successfully in all combinations, suggesting that there are at least three alleles at the putative mating-type locus. Crosses between homokaryons from commercial and wild-collected isolates indicated that these strains belong to the same biological species.
High-Intensity Zone, Intradiscal Electrothermal Therapy, and Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Magnetic resonance imaging changes to the symptomatic intervertebral disc following intradiscal electrothermal therapy were determined in this prospective study. Magnetic resonance images before the intradiscal electrothermal therapy procedure were compared with those taken at 6 months postprocedure in 10 patients. The presence and absence of high-intensity zone, the disc height and hydration, and Modic changes were determined from the images. In six of the 10 patients, a high-intensity zone was present on the magnetic resonance images of the disc before the intradiscal electrothermal therapy procedure. In all six patients, a high-intensity zone was still present after the procedure. In all 10 patients, there were no changes to other disc parameters assessed. Our findings question the clinical relevance of the high-intensity zone. They also suggest that the main mechanism of action of intradiscal electrothermal therapy may be other than that of sealing the anular tear.
Chronic hepatitis B in children after e antigen seroclearance: Final report of a 29‐year longitudinal study

Chronic hepatitis B is usually a benign disease in Caucasian children; however, the long‐term prognosis remains unsettled. This report describes the results of a 29‐year longitudinal study including 99 white children with chronic hepatitis B, mainly acquired horizontally: 91 were hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) positive (4 had cirrhosis), and 8 were HBeAg negative at presentation. Of the 91 HBeAg‐positive children, 89 underwent HBeAg seroconversion after a mean period of 5.2 ± 4.0 years and were included in the study. Of the 85 children without cirrhosis, one had HBeAg‐negative hepatitis and the other 84 became inactive carriers. During a mean follow‐up of 14.5 ± 6.1 years after HBeAg seroclearance, 4 carriers experienced reactivation, and 3 of them had HBeAg‐negative hepatitis at the last follow‐up. Of the 8 initially HBeAg‐negative children, 2 had HBeAg‐negative hepatitis, and 6 were inactive carriers. Of the 4 children with cirrhosis, 2 had hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and remained alive and 2 lost the histological features of cirrhosis in adulthood. Two patients with HBeAg‐negative hepatitis and 1 with cirrhosis had experienced drug abuse. At the end of follow‐up, 15 of the 89 initially HBeAg‐positive patients and 2 of 8 initially HBeAg‐negative children had cleared hepatitis B surface antigen. In conclusion, the overall prognosis for chronic hepatitis B in horizontally infected Caucasian children is favorable; however, some patients progress to HCC and HBeAg‐negative hepatitis. Long‐term monitoring is important, as is counseling on cofactors of liver damage, such as alcohol and drug abuse. (HEPATOLOGY 2006;43:556–562.)
A Collective Neurodynamic System for Distributed Optimization with Applications in Model Predictive Control

A collective neurodynamic system is presented to distributed convex optimization subject to linear equality and box constraints in framework of an autonomous multiagent network. The overall objective to be minimized takes an additive form of multiple local objective functions. Agents in the system, each of which is modeled by a recurrent neural network, cooperatively, and autonomously develop their dynamic behaviors based on real-time interactions with their neighbors. In specific, each recurrent neural network has knowledge on a local objective only with no access to the overall objective function. It exchanges neuronal state with neighboring agents via a predefined communication topology. Guided by their individual neurodynamics and the collective efforts, all agents reach consensus at the global optimal solution to the distributed convex optimization. Illustrative examples are provided to substantiate the theoretical properties. A case study on model predictive control is reported to further validate the collective neurodynamic system.
Causal Analysis for Thermal Comfort Votes

To analyze the causal relationship between comfort environment vote and thermal sensation votes (of face, chest, hands, buttocks, and soles of the foot), this paper presents how three methods work in experimentation: multiple regression analysis, conjoint analysis and structural equation modeling (SEM). The samples for the experimentation consisted of 1,584 (22 subjects x 9 conditions x 8 times) questionnaire data. Our main interest is whether there are any differences in the causal relationship among subjects, conditions or methods. Paying attention to preprocessing, we found the following: (1) the importance of each thermal sensation vote differed not only according to subject but also according to the analysis method; (2) SEM is the most suitable method to explain the causal relationship; and (3) the lower body is more important than the upper body in controlling thermal comfort.
Major complications after radio-frequency thermal ablation of hepatic tumors: spectrum of imaging findings.

Although radio-frequency (RF) ablation has been accepted as a promising and safe technique for treatment of unresectable hepatic tumors, investigation of its complications has been limited. According to the multicenter (1,139 patients in 11 institutions) survey data of the Korean Study Group of Radiofrequency Ablation, a spectrum of complications occurred after RF ablation of hepatic tumors. The prevalence of major complications was 2.43%. The most common complications were hepatic abscess (0.66%), peritoneal hemorrhage (0.46%), biloma (0.20%), ground pad burn (0.20%), pneumothorax (0.20%), and vasovagal reflex (0.13%). Other complications were biliary stricture, diaphragmatic injury, gastric ulcer, hemothorax, hepatic failure, hepatic infarction, renal infarction, sepsis, and transient ischemic attack. One procedure-related death (0.09%) occurred (due to peritoneal hemorrhage). Three important strategies for decreasing the rate of complications are prevention, early detection, and proper management. A physician who performs RF ablation of hepatic malignancies should be aware of the broad spectrum of major complications so that these strategies can be used.
Are Wildfire Mitigation and Restoration of Historic Forest Structure Compatible? A Spatial Modeling Assessment

Abstract In response to catastrophic wildfires, wide-reaching forest management policies have been enacted in recent years, most notably the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003. A key premise underlying these policies is that fire suppression has resulted in denser forests than were present historically in some western forest types. Therefore, although reducing the threat of wildfire is the primary goal, forest managers commonly view fuel treatments as a means to restore historic forest structure in those forest types that are outside of their historic range of variation. This study evaluates where both wildfire mitigation and restoration of historic forest structure are potentially needed in the ponderosa pine–dominated montane forest zone of Boulder County, Colorado. Two spatial models were overlain: a model of potential fireline intensity and a model of historic fire frequency. The overlay was then aggregated by land management classes. Contrary to current assumptions, results of this study indicate that both wildfire mitigation and restoration of historic forest structure are needed in only a small part of the study area, primarily at low elevations. Furthermore, little of this land is located on Forest Service land where most of the current thinning projects are taking place. We question the validity of thinning as a means both to reduce the threat of wildfire and to restore historic forest structure in the absence of site-specific data collection on past and present landscape conditions.
Flexor tendon repair in zone III

There is a paucity of the literature on the outcome of zone III flexor tendon injuries. In this paper, we report on the results of zone III flexor tendon repair in 35 consecutive adult patients with clean cut lacerations of both flexor tendons in 42 fingers. There were 25 men and 10 women with an average age of 32 years. Repair of both flexor tendons was performed using ‘figure of eight’ core sutures and a continuous epitendinous suture. Postoperatively, an immediate active range of motion protocol was applied to ensure full active extension of the interphalangeal joints. The results were assessed using the Strickland–Glogovac grading system. There were no ruptures. One patient with two injured fingers developed complex regional pain syndrome and the final outcome was fair in both fingers. In the remaining 34 patients (40 fingers), 33 patients (38 fingers) had an excellent outcome and the remaining patient (two fingers) had a good outcome.
Symbolic Regression for Constructing Analytic Models in Reinforcement Learning

Reinforcement learning (RL) is a widely used approach for controlling systems with unknown or time-varying dynamics. Even though RL does not require a model of the system, it is known to be faster and safer when using models learned online. We propose to employ symbolic regression (SR) to construct parsimonious process models described by analytic equations for real-time RL control. We have tested our method with two different state-of-the-art SR algorithms which automatically search for equations that fit the measured data. In addition to the standard problem formulation in the state-space domain, we show how the method can also be applied to input-output models of the NARX (nonlinear autoregressive with exogenous input) type. We present the approach on three simulated examples with up to 14-dimensional state space: an inverted pendulum, a mobile robot, and a biped walking robot. A comparison with deep neural networks and local linear regression shows that SR in most cases outperforms these commonly used alternative methods. We demonstrate on a real pendulum system that the analytic model found enables RL to successfully perform the swing-up task, based on a model constructed from only 100 data samples.
Reconstruction of Daily Sea Surface Temperature Based on Radial Basis Function Networks

A radial basis function network (RBFN) method is proposed to reconstruct daily Sea surface temperatures (SSTs) with limited SST samples. For the purpose of evaluating the SSTs using this method, non-biased SST samples in the Pacific Ocean (10°N–30°N, 115°E–135°E) are selected when the tropical storm Hagibis arrived in June 2014, and these SST samples are obtained from the Reynolds optimum interpolation (OI) v2 daily 0.25° SST (OISST) products according to the distribution of AVHRR L2p SST and in-situ SST data. Furthermore, an improved nearest neighbor cluster (INNC) algorithm is designed to search for the optimal hidden knots for RBFNs from both the SST samples and the background fields. Then, the reconstructed SSTs from the RBFN method are compared with the results from the OI method. The statistical results show that the RBFN method has a better performance of reconstructing SST than the OI method in the study, and that the average RMSE is 0.48 °C for the RBFN method, which is quite smaller than the value of 0.69 °C for the OI method. Additionally, the RBFN methods with different basis functions and clustering algorithms are tested, and we discover that the INNC algorithm with multi-quadric function is quite suitable for the RBFN method to reconstruct SSTs when the SST samples are sparsely distributed.
Ineffective use of psychoactive drugs. Methadone treatment is no exception.

The provision of ineffective methadone doses and the premature termination of methadone maintenance treatment have been well-recognized problems for many years in the treatment of opioid addiction. In 1980, 41% of the approximately 64 000 patients receiving methadone maintenance treatment had their dosages stabilized at less than 40 mg/d. Concern over the clinical implications of these treatment data was See also p 253. a major reason my colleagues and I at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) in 1983 asked a group of drug abuse researchers and clinicians to review the wealth of drug abuse treatment research data compiled over the previous 15 years. 1 The issue of appropriate methadone dose was reviewed in detail. The review resulted in a consensus that the dose of methadone should be individualized for each patient and that, for the majority, the most effective dose is between 50 and 100 mg. Furthermore, the