Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Serum homocysteine and folate but not vitamin B12 are predictors of CHD mortality in older adults

Aims: The associations of serum levels of homocysteine (tHcy), vitamin B12, and folate with risk of all-cause and coronary heat disease (CHD) mortality is controversial, and the evidence in older adults is limited. The aim of this study was to examine whether serum folate, vitamin B12, and tHcy independently predict risk of CHD-related and all-cause mortality in older adults. Methods and results: Serum concentrations of folate, vitamin B12, and tHcy were determined from blood samples obtained from 3010 Blue Mountains Eye Study participants (1997–99), aged ≥55 years. CHD and all-cause mortality was confirmed using the Australian National Death Index. Results: Persons in the highest quartile of serum tHcy had increased risk of CHD mortality compared to those in the lowest quartile (multivariable-adjusted hazard ratio, HR, 2.45, 95% CI 1.30–4.62). A significant continuous association was observed between serum tHcy and CHD mortality (HR per SD ( = 4.8 µmol/l) increase in serum tHcy 1.25, 95% CI 1.08–1.45), after multivariable-adjustment. A significant association between folate deficiency and CHD-mortality was found (multivariable-adjusted HR 1.53, 95% CI 1.01–2.29). Hyperhomocysteinaemia (>15 µmol/l) was a significant predictor of all-cause mortality (multivariable-adjusted HR 1.47, 95% CI 1.18–1.83). A significant interaction was observed between hyperhomocysteinaemia and folate deficiency for all-cause and CHD mortality (p for interaction = 0.03 and p for interaction = 0.05, respectively). Conclusion: Serum tHcy and folate were independent predictors of CHD and all-cause mortality, while vitamin B12 was not associated. As raised tHcy levels and folate deficiency are associated with poorer lifestyle, changes to a more healthful lifestyle among older adults may minimize the adverse vascular effects of elevated tHcy.
Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase‐positive cells in trephine biopsies following bone marrow or peripheral stem cell transplantation reflect vigorous B‐cell generation

Aims : Bone marrow is the major site of B‐cell generation in humans. While in early childhood a high number of B‐cell precursors is found in the bone marrow, only very few such cells are usually detectable in adult bone marrow. To assess the number of immature B cells present after haematopoietic cell transplantation the number of terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT)‐positive cells in regenerating bone marrow of adult patients was analysed.
Endoscopic ultrasound-guided hepaticogastrostomy and antegrade clearance of biliary lithiasis in patients with surgically-altered anatomy

Abstract Background and study aims Endoscopic retrograde cholangiography (ERC) in patients with complex surgically-altered anatomy (SAA) is technically demanding and has limitations. Developments in EUS-guided procedures allow alternative approaches for patients with altered gastrointestinal anatomy and biliary lithiasis. Patients and methods Single-center, retrospective review of prospectively entered patients with SAA who underwent EUS-guided hepaticogastrostomy (HGS) followed by an interval antegrade endoscopic clearance of biliary lithiasis. Results 9 patients with Roux-en-Y anatomy underwent HGS to allow clearance of biliary lithiasis after a mean of 2.5 procedures. Technical success was achieved in 100 % of patients utilizing subsequent antegrade endoscopic techniques after HGS including: balloon sweep (9), transpapillary balloon dilation (8), cholangioscopy with electrohydraulic lithotripsy (4), and mechanical lithotripsy (1). HGS stents were removed in all patients. 1 adverse event (cholangitis) occurred after cholangioscopy and prolonged intraductal electrohydraulic lithotripsy. Conclusion EUS-guided antegrade therapy for the management of biliary lithiasis in patients with altered gastrointestinal anatomy appears efficacious with a low risk of adverse events. These preliminary results suggest this approach should be considered at centers with available expertise.
EpCom: A parallel community detection approach for epidemic diffusion over social networks

Detecting community structure in epidemics networks is crucial for the assessment of epidemic dynamics and effective control of disease spread by targeting at the individuals bridging communities. Common community detection models (e.g., cut-criteria and modularity-criteria based model) are efficient in optimal quality of network partitions. However, most of the approaches fail to consider the dynamic infected possibility in person-to-person interactions. In addition, they present high computational complexity, which was limited by the scale of networks and the performance of hardware platform. In this paper, we propose a Jaccard distance based community detection model by considering both the quality of network partitions and the dynamics of infected interacts (i.e., edges) between two individuals in epidemic diffusion. Then, we design a novel parallel approach based on the high parallism of GPU, called EpCom, for boosting the performance and scalability of parallel community detection over large-scale epidemic networks. From the evaluation results, the proposed GPU-based implementation EpCom exhibits great performance and achieves maximum 604 million TEPS (traversed edges per second), which corresponds to up to 54.2 times and 15.6 times than CPU-based NCut and Louvain approaches separately.
Interleaving optimization in synchronous rectified DC/DC converters

Interleaving in synchronous rectifiers can lead to reduced losses in both the active and passive components. However, this depends on selecting the correct number of phases and the correct phase inductance for a particular application and requirements. In this paper optimizing the number of phases and the phase inductance is considered to maximize the interleaved synchronous rectifiers efficiency over the desired operating range. To do this, the RMS currents and losses in the bus capacitors, the phase inductances and the switching devices as a function of the number of phases and duty cycle are considered. Generic equations are presented and used to predict the RMS currents in the passive components with some non-intuitive results especially concerning the bus capacitors. It is shown in the paper, that the optimum number of phases is dependent on the converter parameters such as the phase inductance and operating requirements. Practical results are presented confirming the synchronous rectifier loss model.
Estimation of a time-varying parameter GARCH model based on Google Trends

In this paper, I propose to include a ‘bad news’ index based on Google search volume in a GARCH model. The resulting specification allows its parameters to vary with the level of the index via a logistic transition function. In a simulation study, I then illustrate the model’s dynamics and justify the use of maximum likelihood estimation, as well as the validity of a Likelihood Ratio Test to verify the explanatory power of the exogenous information. On a set of S&P 500 returns the test indicates that including Google search volume improves the fit significantly for the periods during and after the global financial crisis in 2008. A comparison to other GARCH specifications, including an extended GARCH and spline-GARCH, shows that the proposed model yields accurate Value-at-Risk predictions but the difference of its variance forecasts to a realized variance proxy rank behind a standard GARCH(1,1) model in both an in-sample and out-of-sample setting. Keywords: GARCH model, varying parameters, Google Trends, Likelihood Ratio Test, Realized Variance, Value-at-Risk
Comparison of chemokine and receptor gene expression between Wharton's jelly and bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells.

BACKGROUND AIMS Because of their multilineage differentiation capacity, immunomodulatory role and homing ability, mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) are emerging as a new therapeutic strategy for treating a variety of disorders. Although bone marrow (BM) is the best characterized source of MSC, Wharton's jelly (WJ) of the umbilical cord holds great promise as an alternative. As delivery direct to the site of injury is not always feasible, efficient homing of MSC to the site of injury is critical for inducing tissue repair and regeneration. MSC express a wide variety of growth factors, chemokines and receptors that are important for cell migration, homing and re-establishment of blood supply for recovery of damaged tissues. METHODS Detailed chemokine and receptor gene expression profiles of WJ MSC were established, and subsequently compared with those of BM-derived MSC using a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) array. Secretion of growth factors was analyzed and evaluated using culture supernatant from WJ and BM MSC. RESULTS Our results revealed a differential expression pattern of the chemokines and their receptors between WJ- and BM-derived MSC. Several Glutamic acid-Leucine-Arginine; ELR-positive CXC chemokine genes and secretion of growth factors, which promote angiogenesis, were found to be up-regulated in WJ MSC. CONCLUSIONS To understand better the localization and mechanism of tissue repair by transplanted WJ MSC, we attempted chemokine and their receptor transcription profiling, followed by analysis of growth factors secreted by WJ MSC, and compared them against those of BM MSC. The data suggest that MSC from different sources can be explored for distinct therapeutic roles.
Narrow-band imaging endoscopy to assess mucosal angiogenesis in inflammatory bowel disease: a pilot study.

AIM To investigate whether narrow band imaging (NBI) is a useful tool for the in vivo detection of angiogenesis in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients. METHODS Conventional and NBI colonoscopy was performed in 14 patients with colonic inflammation (8 ulcerative colitis and 6 Crohn's disease). Biopsy samples were taken and CD31 expression was assayed immunohistochemically; microvascular density was assessed by vessel count. RESULTS In areas that were endoscopically normal but positive on NBI, there was a significant (P < 0.05) increase in angiogenesis (12 +/- 1 vessels/field vs 18 +/- 2 vessels/field) compared with areas negative on NBI. In addition, in areas that were inflamed on white light endoscopy and positive on NBI, there was a significant (P < 0.01) increase in vessel density (24 +/- 7 vessels/field) compared with NBI-negative areas. CONCLUSION NBI may allow in vivo imaging of intestinal angiogenesis in IBD patients.
Low jitter design for ring oscillator in Serdes

A new configuration of delay cell used in voltage controlled oscillators is presented. Jitter comparison between source-coupled differential delay cell and the proposed voltage-controlled-oscillator configuration is given. Loop parameter based on low-jitter optimization in PLL is also introduced. A low-jitter 1.25 GHz SerDes is implemented in a 0.35 mum standard 2P3M CMOS process. The result shows that, RJ rms (random jitter) of high speed series output is 2.3 ps (0.0015UI) and RJ (1sigma) is 0.0035 UI. Phase noise measure shows -120 dBc/Hz at 100 kHz.
Systems- and Molecular-Level Elucidation of Signaling Processes Through Chemistry

New techniques take advantage of chemistry to investigate signal transduction mechanisms in the cell. Complete understanding of the molecular mechanisms of signal transduction is a major focus of research in the postgenomic era. Efforts to realize this goal have benefited from interdisciplinary approaches, specifically through the development of new technologies. Several groups have now described new chemical strategies to probe signaling with broadly different degrees of focus. The first report employs an enzymatic tagging strategy to monitor global proteolytic cleavage events that occur during apoptosis. The second study illustrates a general method to functionally characterize a specific kinase through the identification of its substrates. Finally, the third report describes a synthetic route to generate ubiquitinated proteins and demonstrates the utility of protein chemistry in understanding the detailed biochemical mechanisms of signaling. Together, these papers highlight the power of chemical tools to examine specific networks, thereby expanding our understanding of signaling pathways.
Cocaine increases medial prefrontal cortical glutamate overflow in cocaine‐sensitized rats: a time course study

Excitatory amino acid transmission within mesocorticolimbic brain pathways is thought to play an important role in behavioural sensitization to psychomotor stimulants. The current studies evaluated a time course of the effects of cocaine on extracellular glutamate levels within the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) following increasing periods of withdrawal from repeated cocaine exposure. Male Sprague–Dawley rats underwent stereotaxic surgeries and were pretreated daily with saline (1 mL/kg/day × 4 days, i.p.) or cocaine (15 mg/kg/day × 4 days, i.p.) and withdrawn for 1, 7 or 30 days. After withdrawal rats were challenged with the same dose of saline or cocaine and in vivo microdialysis of the mPFC was conducted with concurrent analysis of locomotor activity. Animals that were withdrawn from repeated daily cocaine for 1 day and 7 days displayed an augmentation in cocaine‐induced mPFC glutamate levels compared to saline and acute control subjects, which were similarly unaffected by cocaine challenge. At the 7 day time point, a subset of animals that received repeated cocaine did not express behavioural sensitization, nor did these animals exhibit the enhancement in mPFC glutamate in response to cocaine challenge. In contrast to these early effects, 30 days of withdrawal resulted in no significant changes in cocaine‐induced mPFC glutamate levels regardless of the pretreatment or behavioural response. These data suggest that repeated cocaine administration transiently increases cocaine‐induced glutamate levels in the mPFC during the first week of withdrawal, which may play an important role in the development of behavioural sensitization to cocaine.
The resting membrane potential of white muscle from brown trout (Salmo trutta) exposed to copper in soft, acidic water.

Previously, the distribution of ammonia between the intracellular and extracellular compartments has been used to predict a significant depolarisation of the resting membrane potential (E(M)) of white muscle from brown trout (Salmo trutta) exposed to a sub-lethal combination of copper and low pH. However, this prediction is based upon two assumptions (i) a relatively high membrane permeability for the ammonium ion with respect to that for ammonia gas and (ii) that this is unaltered by exposure to copper and low pH. Since there is conflicting evidence in the literature of the validity of these assumptions, in the present study E(M) was directly measured in white muscle fibres of trout exposed to copper and low pH (E(M)=-52.2+/-4.9 mV) and compared with that of unexposed, control animals (E(M)=-86.5+/-2.9 mV) (means +/- s.e.m., N=6). In confirming the predicted depolarisation, these data support the hypothesis of electrophysiological impairment as a factor in the reduction in the swimming performance of trout exposed to these pollutants. In addition, the results of this study support the role of a significant permeability of the muscle membrane to NH(4)(+) in determining the distribution of ammonia in fish.
Negative Symptoms and Affective Disturbance in Schizophrenia and Related Disorders

Objective: To review the data and discuss clinical recommendations for treating negative symptoms of schizophrenia. Negative symptoms (e.g., poverty of thought, affective blunting) have been regarded as part of schizophrenia since Kraepelin's early descriptions, although they remain a subject of controversy. For example, it is unclear if negative symptoms are distinct from other psychiatric symptoms such as depression, or are in actuality depression within schizophrenia. Recent evidence suggests that negative symptoms are independent of depression. Method: Factor analytic studies have suggested that a negative factor (loss of affect, volition, poverty of thinking) may be distinguished from other components and is separable from a depression factor. Experimental use of vignettes have also been useful in the assessment of negative symptoms. A second controversial area is whether or not the presence or absence of affect is the fundamental issue separating schizophrenia from other psychoses. Results: A continuum of psychosis has been hypothesized, with unipolar psychotic depression at one pole and schizophrenia with defect state at the other. Within this proposed continuum, negative symptoms are associated only with schizophrenia without affect and with defect state schizophrenia. As such, variation in affect could be a primary determinant of the type of psychosis. Conclusion: It appears that negative symptoms are a distinct aspect of schizophrenia and may aid in our understanding of psychotic disorders.
The cyclophilin repertoire of the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe

The cyclophilin repertoire of the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe is comprised of nine members that are distributed over all three of its chromosomes and range from small single‐domain to large multi‐domain proteins. Each cyclophilin possesses only a single prolyl‐isomerase domain, and these vary in their degree of consensus, including at positions that are likely to affect their drug‐binding ability and catalytic activity. The additional identified motifs are involved in putative protein or RNA interactions, while a novel domain that is specific to SpCyp7 and its orthologues may have functions that include an interaction with hnRNPs. The Sz. pombe cyclophilins are found throughout the cell but appear to be absent from the mitochondria, which is unique among the characterized eukaryotic repertoires. SpCyp5, SpCyp6 and SpCyp8 have exhibited significant upregulation of their expression during the meiotic cycle and SpCyp5 has exhibited significant upregulation of its expression during heat stress. All nine have identified members in the repertoires of H. sapiens, D. melanogaster and A. thaliana. However, only three identified members in the cyclophilin repertoire of S. cerevisiae with SpCyp7 identifying a fourth protein that is not a member of the recognized repertoire due to its possession of a degenerate prolyl‐isomerase domain. The cyclophilin repertoire of Sz. pombe therefore represents a better model group for the study of cyclophilin function in the higher eukaryotes. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Costs of Potential Complications of Care for Major Surgery Patients

We examined computerized hospital discharge ab stract data from 372,680 major surgery patients admit ted to 404 California acute care hospitals in 1988 to identify potential complications of care. At least one potential in-hospital complication occurred for 10.8% of patients. Patients with complications were older and more likely to die in-hospital (9.4% compared to 1.0%, P < 0.0001). On average, patients with complications had longer stays (13.5 versus 5.4 days, p < 0.0001) and higher total charges ($30,896 versus $9,239,p < 0.0001). After adjusting for demographic, clinical, and hospital factors, patients with potential complications averaged $16,023 higher total hospital charges than uncompli cated patients. Complications were associated with 96.6% (95% confidence interval = 95.2%, 98.0%) higher hospital charges after adjusting for these factors. Across all patients, complications were related to over $647 million in additional total hospital charges for these major surgery patients.
Synergistic effect of PANI–ZrO2 composite as antibacterial, anti-corrosion, and phosphate adsorbent material: synthesis, characterization and applications

ABSTRACT The increasing number of bacteria-related problems and presence of trace amounts of phosphate in treated wastewater effluents have become a growing concern in environmental research. The use of antibacterial agents and phosphate adsorbents for the treatment of wastewater effluents is of great importance. In this study, the potential applications of a synthesized polyaniline (PANI)–zirconium dioxide (ZrO2) composite as an antibacterial, phosphate adsorbent and anti-corrosion material were systematically investigated. The results of an antibacterial test reveal an effective area of inhibition of 14 and 18 mm for the Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus bacterial strains, respectively. The antibacterial efficiency of the PANI–ZrO2 composite is twice that of commercial ZrO2. In particular, the introduction of PANI increased the specific surface area and roughness of the composite material, which was beneficial to increase the contact area with bacterial and phosphate. The experimental results demonstrated that phosphate adsorption studies using 200 mg P/L phosphate solution showed a significant phosphate removal efficiency of 64.4%, and the maximum adsorption capacity of phosphate on the solid surface of PANI–ZrO2 is 32.4 mg P/g. Furthermore, PANI–ZrO2 coated on iron substrate was tested for anti-corrosion studies by a natural salt spray test (7.5% NaCl), which resulted in the formation of no rust. To the best of our knowledge, no works have been reported on the synergistic effects of the PANI–ZrO2 composite as an antibacterial, anti-corrosion, and phosphate adsorbent material. PANI–ZrO2 composite is expected to be a promising comprehensive treatment method for water filters in the aquaculture industry and for use in water purification applications.
Personality: bridging the literatures from human psychology and behavioural ecology

The concept of personality has recently begun to attract a great deal of interest in behavioural ecology. However, there is also a large and mature literature on personality within human psychology. These two bodies of work have developed independently and at present make rather little reference to one another. The current paper has two main objectives. First, we seek to acquaint behavioural ecologists with the principal ideas and issues found in the human personality psychology literature. Second, we explore how ideas from the behavioural ecology literature might help advance research in human personality psychology. We suggest strong potential for convergence between the two literatures in the near future. Common themes of this future unified science of personality include the conception of personality traits as reaction norms, a commitment to the importance of direct measurement of behaviour, investigation of both proximate and ultimate explanations for personality variation, and a concern with the impact of personality variation on survival and reproductive success.