Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Social deprivation and the causes of stillbirth and infant mortality

AIMS To investigate the relation between social deprivation and causes of stillbirth and infant mortality. METHODS Stillbirths and infant deaths in 6347 enumeration districts in Wales were linked with the Townsend score of social deprivation. In 1993–98 there were 211 072 live births, 1147 stillbirths, and 1223 infant deaths. Poisson regression analysis was used to estimate the magnitude of effect for associations between the Townsend score and categories of death by age and the causes of death. The relative risk of death between most and least deprived enumeration districts was derived. RESULTS Relative risk of combined stillbirth and infant death was 1.53 (95% CI 1.35 to 1.74) in the most deprived compared with the least deprived enumeration districts. The early neonatal mortality rate was not significantly associated with deprivation. Sudden infant death syndrome showed a 307% (95% CI 197% to 456%) increase in mortality across the range of deprivation. Deaths caused by specific conditions and infection were also associated with deprivation, but there was no evidence of a significant association with deaths caused by placental abruption, intrapartum asphyxia, and prematurity. CONCLUSIONS Collaborative public health action at national and local level to target resources in deprived communities and reduce these inequalities in child health is required. Early neonatal mortality rates and deaths from intrapartum asphyxia and prematurity are not significantly associated with deprivation and may be more appropriate quality of clinical care indicators than stillbirth, perinatal, and neonatal mortality rates.
c-E10 Is a Caspase-recruiting Domain-containing Protein That Interacts with Components of Death Receptors Signaling Pathway and Activates Nuclear Factor-κB*

Members of the tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily induce apoptosis via interaction with FADD and regulate cell growth and differentiation through TRADD and TRAFs molecules. While screening for molecules involved in the regulation of death receptor signaling, we identified a novel protein, c-E10. c-E10 contains an amino-terminal caspase-recruiting domain (CARD) and shares a sequence homologous with E10, a viral CARD-containing protein that binds to c-E10. In transfection experiments c-E10 oligomerizes, binds to the cytoplasmic portion of TRAIL receptor 1 (DR4) and coprecipitates with TRADD. Expression of c-E10 under the control of a doxycycline-dependent transcriptional transactivator results in NF-κB activation, which is inhibited by dominant negative forms of TRAF2 and NIK kinase. Thus, our results suggest that c-E10 is an adapter protein that activates NF-κB through a molecular pathway involved in death receptor signaling.
Variance-Mismatched Fixed-Rate Scalar Quantization of Laplacian Sources

The paper investigates the mean-squared error (MSE) distortion of a variance-mismatched fixed-rate scalar quantizer that is optimal or asymptotically optimal in the minimum MSE sense for a Laplacian density with standard deviation σ<sub>q</sub> but is applied to another with standard deviation σ<sub>p</sub>. A Nitadori-like formula is discovered for an optimal quantizer when ρ(<sup>△</sup>= σ<sub>p</sub>/σ<sub>q</sub>) = 1/2. Also it is shown that the distortion expressions derived rigorously for asymptotically optimal quantile quantizers essentially confirm the heuristically obtained previous result that the distortion decreases as 1/ N<sup>3/ρ</sup> for the heavy mismatch of ρ >; 3/2, as lnN/ N<sup>2</sup> for the critical mismatch of ρ = 3/2, and as 1/N<sup>2</sup> for the mild mismatch of ρ <; 3/2, where N is the number of quantization points. These asymptotic behaviors agree surprisingly well with Bennett's integral even in the critical and heavy mismatched cases. Thus, in the case of nonuniform quantizers, the long-conjectured convergence of the MSE distortion to zero at a rate other than 1/N<sup>2</sup> is confirmed rigorously. In addition, optimal uniform quantizers are found to be heavily mismatched when ρ >; 1 and the resulting distortion decreases as (In N/N<sup>2</sup>)<sup>1/p</sup>.
Non Diphtheritic Corynebacteria (NDC) and Their Clinical Significance: Clinical Microbiologist’s Perspective

Aerobic, Gram positive, catalase positive and non-spore forming bacilli, which are morphologically similar to Corynebacterium diphtheriae are described as either diphtheroids or coryneform bacteria, resembling C diphtheriae. Corynebacteria are a group of bacteria placed under the family corynebacteriaceae, which come under the phylum, Actinobacteria. Among the members of genus Corynebacterium, only C diphtheriae is considered as a pathogen but other species are present either as normal flora in human or as saprophytes in the environment and have rarely been associated with human infections. Of late, there have been increased reports of both new species of genus Corynebacterium and their occurrence in various human infections. It is now imperative that clinical microbiologists and clinicians understand the potential role of NDC in human infections. Only few studies globally have characterized the human clinical isolates of NDC and their antimicrobial susceptibility patterns. This review tries toexamine? the potential pathogenic nature of NDC, which warrants their identification and prompt reporting when isolated from human clinical specimens.
Hormone receptor‐like in 96 and Broad‐Complex modulate phenobarbital induced transcription of cytochrome P450 CYP6D1 in Drosophila S2 cells

Phenobarbital (PB) is a prototypical inducer for studies of xenobiotic responses in animals. In mammals, the nuclear receptors constitutive androstane receptor (CAR) and pregnane X receptor (PXR) have been identified as key transcription factors regulating PB induced transcription of xenobiotic responsive genes. In insects, much less is known about the transcription factors involved in regulating PB induced transcription, although CAR and PXR have a single orthologue hormone receptor‐like in 96 (HR96) in Drosophila melanogaster. Using dual luciferase reporter assays in Drosophila Schneider (S2) cells, constructs containing variable lengths of the promoter of the PB inducible cytochrome P450 CYP6D1 were evaluated in the presence and absence of PB. The promoter region between −330 and −280 (relative to the position of transcription start site, +1) was found to be critical for PB induction. Putative binding sites for Drosophila Broad‐Complex (BR‐C) and deformed (Dfd) were identified within this promoter region using TFsearch. RNA interference (RNAi) treatment of S2 cells in conjunction with CYP6D1 promoter assays showed that suppression of Drosophila HR96 and BR‐C transcription in S2 cells resulted in a significant decrease and increase, respectively, of PB induction. Effects of HR96 and BR‐C in mediating PB induction were PB specific and PB dependent. This represents new functional evidence that Drosophila HR96 and BR‐C can act as an activator and repressor, respectively, in regulating PB induced transcription in insects.
A propensity-score matched analysis on the impact of postoperative atrial fibrillation on the early and late outcomes after concomitant aortic valve replacement and coronary artery bypass graft surgery

Background Postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) is a known complication of cardiac surgery. There is a paucity of data on the effects of POAF on short-term and long-term outcomes after concomitant aortic valve replacement and coronary artery bypass grafting (AVR–CABG ). Methods We retrospectively reviewed data on patients without preexisting arrhythmia who underwent isolated first-time AVR–CABG between June 2001 and December 2009 using the Australasian Society of Cardiac and Thoracic Surgeons National Cardiac Surgery Database Program. Preoperative characteristics, early postoperative outcomes and late survival were compared between patients who developed POAF and those who did not. Propensity score matching was performed to account for the differences between the two groups. Results Isolated AVR–CABG surgery was performed in 2028 patients without preexisting arrhythmias at 18 Australian institutions, of whom 894 (44.1%) developed POAF. POAF patients were generally older (mean age, 75 vs. 73 years, P < 0.001). From the initial study population, 715 propensity-matched patient-pairs were derived; the overall matching rate was 80.0%. In the matched groups, 30-day mortality was similar in both groups (3.5 vs. 2.1%, P = 0.16). Patients with POAF, however, were more likely to develop perioperative complications, including new renal failure, prolonged ventilation (>24 h), multisystem failure and readmission within 30 days of surgery (all P < 0.05). Patients with POAF also had a significantly greater length of hospital stay (P < 0.001). Seven-year survival was not significantly different between the two groups (72 vs. 75%, P = 0.11). Conclusion POAF was not associated with an increased risk of early or late mortality. It is, however, associated with poorer perioperative outcomes. It is important to evaluate potential treatment strategies for POAF.
Draft Genome size variation in the genus Avena

Complete List of Authors: Yan, Honghai; Triticeae Research Institute of Sichuan Agricultural University, Martin, Sara; Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Bekele, Wubishet; Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Latta, Robert; Dalhousie University, Department of Biology Diederichsen, Axel; Plant Gene Resources of Canada, Agriculture and AgriFood Canada Peng, Yuanying; Triticeae Research Institute of Sichuan Agricultural University Tinker, Nicholas; Eastern Cereal and Oilseed Research Centre
Gender inequities in sexual risks among youth with HIV in Kigali, Rwanda

Understanding the experiences of youth living with HIV (YLH) is necessary for implementing interventions that mitigate HIV transmission. We conducted a survey of sexual behaviours and sources of knowledge among 107 youths aged 16–24 attending two HIV clinics in Kigali, Rwanda. Respondents were 72% women and 28% men, with median age 18 years. Of those sexually active in the past six months, 56% reported inconsistent condom use; 53% of sexually active respondents reported having sexually transmitted infection (STI) symptoms in the past six months. The median age difference between respondent and first sex partner was nine years for women, and 0.5 years for men (P = 0.006). Women more frequently reported being forced to have sex (29% girls versus 6.5% boys, P = 0.011) and exchanging sex for money (66% girls versus. 17% boys, P = 0.033). Strengthening female YLH's financial and material resources may reduce the number of sexual partners, asymmetries within partnerships and risk of HIV transmission.
A global study of relationships between leaf traits, climate and soil measures of nutrient fertility

Aim This first global quantification of the relationship between leaf traits and soil nutrient fertility reflects the trade-off between growth and nutrient conservation. The power of soils versus climate in predicting leaf trait values is assessed in bivariate and multivariate analyses and is compared with the distribution of growth forms (as a discrete classification of vegetation) across gradients of soil fertility and climate. Location All continents except for Antarctica. Methods Data on specific leaf area (SLA), leaf N concentration (LNC), leaf P concentration (LPC) and leaf N:P were collected for 474 species distributed across 99 sites (809 records), together with abiotic information from each study site. Individual and combined effects of soils and climate on leaf traits were quantified using maximum likelihood methods. Differences in occurrence of growth form across soil fertility and climate were determined by one-way ANOVA. Results There was a consistent increase in SLA, LNC and LPC with increasing soil fertility. SLA was related to proxies of N supply, LNC to both soil total N and P and LPC was only related to proxies of P supply. Soil nutrient measures explained more variance in leaf traits among sites than climate in bivariate analysis. Multivariate analysis showed that climate interacted with soil nutrients for SLA and area-based LNC. Mass-based LNC and LPC were determined mostly by soil fertility, but soil P was highly correlated to precipitation. Relationships of leaf traits to soil nutrients were stronger than those of growth form versus soil nutrients. In contrast, climate determined distribution of growth form more strongly than it did leaf traits. Main conclusions We provide the first global quantification of the trade-off between traits associated with growth and resource conservation ‘strategies’ in relation to soil fertility. Precipitation but not temperature affected this trade-off. Continuous leaf traits might be better predictors of plant responses to nutrient supply than growth form, but growth forms reflect important aspects of plant species distribution with climate.
Metabolism of N-Acylated-Dopamine

N-oleoyl-dopamine (OLDA) is a novel lipid derivative of dopamine. Its biological action includes the interaction with dopamine and the transient receptor potential vanilloid (TRPV1) receptors. It seems to be synthesized in a dopamine-like manner, but there has been no information on its degradation. The aim of the study was, therefore, to determine whether OLDA metabolism proceeds the way dopamine proper does. We addressed the issue by examining the occurrence of O-methylation of exogenously supplemented OLDA via catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) under in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo conditions using rat brain tissue. The results show that OLDA was methylated by COMT in all conditions studied, yielding the O-methylated derivative. The methylation was reversed by tolcapone, a potent COMT inhibitor, in a dose-dependent manner. We conclude that OLDA enters the metabolic pathway of dopamine. Methylation of OLDA may enhance its bioactive properties, such as the ability to interact with TRPV1 receptors.
Translational diffusion of lipids in liquid crystalline phase phosphatidylcholine multibilayers. A comparison of experiment with theory.

A systematic study of the translational diffusion of the phospholipid derivative N-(7-nitro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazol-4-yl)phosphatidylethanolamine (NBD-PE) has been undertaken in liquid crystalline phase phosphatidylcholine bilayers by using the fluorescence recovery after photobleaching technique. This work was done with the intention of comparing the experimental results with the predictions of theoretical models for diffusion in membranes. The following is shown. For NBD-PE, the dependence of the translational diffusion coefficient (Dt) upon the acyl chain length of the diffusant is not that predicted by continuum fluid hydrodynamic models for diffusion in membranes [Saffman, P.G. , & Delbrueck, M. (1975) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 72, 3111-3113; Hughes, B. D. , Pailthorpe, B. A. , & White, L. R. (1981) J. Fluid Mech. 110, 349-372]. Plots of Dt vs. 1/T (Arrhenius plots) are nonlinear in dilauroyl-phosphatidylcholine (DLPC), dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC), dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC), and 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoylphosphatidylcholine (POPC) bilayers where the acyl chain composition of the NBD-PE is matched with that of the host bilayer lipid. This suggests that a "free volume" model may be appropriate for the description of lipid diffusion in lipid bilayers. In bilayers of phosphatidylcholines with saturated acyl chains at the same "reduced temperature", the magnitude of Dt follows the order distearoylphosphatidylcholine greater than DPPC greater than DMPC greater than DLPC. This is the inverse of what may be expected from the hydrodynamic model but is in agreement with the free volume in these bilayers. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
A multicenter mortality prediction model for patients receiving prolonged mechanical ventilation*

Objective:Significant deficiencies exist in the communication of prognosis for patients requiring prolonged mechanical ventilation after acute illness, in part because of clinician uncertainty about long-term outcomes. We sought to refine a mortality prediction model for patients requiring prolonged ventilation using a multicentered study design. Design:Cohort study. Setting:Five geographically diverse tertiary care medical centers in the United States (California, Colorado, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Washington). Patients:Two hundred sixty adult patients who received at least 21 days of mechanical ventilation after acute illness. Interventions:None. Measurements and Main Results:For the probability model, we included age, platelet count, and requirement for vasopressors and/or hemodialysis, each measured on day 21 of mechanical ventilation, in a logistic regression model with 1-yr mortality as the outcome variable. We subsequently modified a simplified prognostic scoring rule (ProVent score) by categorizing the risk variables (age 18–49, 50–64, and ≥65 yrs; platelet count 0–150 and >150; vasopressors; hemodialysis) in another logistic regression model and assigning points to variables according to &bgr; coefficient values. Overall mortality at 1 yr was 48%. The area under the curve of the receiver operator characteristic curve for the primary ProVent probability model was 0.79 (95% confidence interval 0.75–0.81), and the p value for the Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit statistic was . 89. The area under the curve for the categorical model was 0.77, and the p value for the goodness-of-fit statistic was . 34. The area under the curve for the ProVent score was 0.76, and the p value for the Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit statistic was . 60. For the 50 patients with a ProVent score >2, only one patient was able to be discharged directly home, and 1-yr mortality was 86%. Conclusion:The ProVent probability model is a simple and reproducible model that can accurately identify patients requiring prolonged mechanical ventilation who are at high risk of 1-yr mortality. (Crit Care Med 2012; 40:–1176)
Load balancing for term-distributed parallel retrieval

Large-scale web and text retrieval systems deal with amounts of data that greatly exceed the capacity of any single machine. To handle the necessary data volumes and query throughput rates, parallel systems are used, in which the document and index data are split across tightly-clustered distributed computing systems. The index data can be distributed either by document or by term. In this paper we examine methods for load balancing in term-distributed parallel architectures, and propose a suite of techniques for reducing net querying costs. In combination, the techniques we describe allow a 30% improvement in query throughput when tested on an eight-node parallel computer system.
Mobility driven energy detection based spectrum sensing framework of a cognitive radio

A cognitive radio opportunistically accesses spectrum bands under the constrain that it does not interfere with the licensed users. Cognitive radio performs spectrum sensing to find spectrum opportunities. Although a large number of spectrum sensing algorithms are available in literature; majority of them addressed static cognitive radios. In this paper, we study the energy detection based local spectrum sensing in the presence of user mobility. We show that CR mobility improves spectrum sensing performance by exploiting spatial diversity. We propose a framework for local spectrum sensing in which a cognitive radio do multiple spectrum measurements and makes a decision about the existence of the licensed user. An optimal fusion rule based on likelihood ratios is derived and based on test statistics a suitable detector and functional architecture of a cognitive radio is proposed. A closed form expression for the number of spectrum measurement cycles is also derived in this paper under given performance constraints.
Evanescent-field-controlled nano-pattern transfer and micro-manipulation

Utilizing evanescent fields (optical near field), we demonstrate a novel processing beyond the diffraction limits of lights. One is relating to a pattern transfer in a nano-scale dimension. The other is a manipulation of micro-objects. The nano-scaled patterns beyond the diffraction limits were successfully transferred by using evanescent field generated near metal slits. For this purpose, masks having the metal slits and apertures were fabricated by using an electron beam (EB) and an atomic force microscope (AFM). AFM-based fabrication method was applied to fabricate nano-apertures of which diameters are below 50 nm. UV was irradiated using a mercury lamp keeping the mask in contact with a wafer on which conventional photo-resist was coated. For obtaining a small pattern, it is required to come the mask into contact with the substrate completely. Deformable silicon membrane was effective for this purpose. The nano-scale patterns having a size below 200 nm were successfully obtained by transferring the mask pattern onto the conventional photo-resist. On the other hands, fundamental experiments about the manipulation of particles with the evanescent field were made by using a patterned thin metal. It was confirmed experimentally that the evanescent field created on the metal-slits and thin metal film gives the particles a force. By using this force, trappings, arrangements and movements were demonstrated.
Mechanical properties of Cu-Ni-Be system alloys

The effects of addition of 0.17wt%Zr, 0.1wt%Mg and 0.1wt%Co on the mechanical properties of a Cu-1.2wt%Ni-0.2wt%Be alloy have been investigated. Adding Zr, Co or Mg to the Cu-Ni-Be alloy brings about the improvement in strength and stress relaxation property. The Zr, Co or Mg addition decreases the inter-precipitate spacing of γ" precipitates, resulting in the increase in strength. The higher resistance to the stress relaxation of the Zr- or Co-added alloy is attributed to the lower density of mobile dislocations. The improvement of stress relaxation property by the Mg addition is explained by the viscous glide motion of dislocations dragging Mg atoms, in addition to the lower density of mobile dislocations.
Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cells Die by the CD8 T Cell–Dependent Perforin Pathway during Acute Nonviral Inflammation

Regulation of the inflammatory response involves the control of dendritic cell survival. To our knowledge, nothing is known about the survival of plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDC) in such situation. pDC are specialized in type I IFN (IFN-I) secretion to control viral infections, and IFN-I also negatively regulate pDC survival during the course of viral infections. In this study, we asked about pDC behavior in the setting of virus-free inflammation. We report that pDC survival was profoundly reduced during different nonviral inflammatory situations in the mouse, through a mechanism independent of IFN-I and TLR signaling. Indeed, we demonstrated that during inflammation, CD8+ T cells induced pDC apoptosis through the perforin pathway. The data suggest, therefore, that pDC have to be turned down during ongoing acute inflammation to not initiate autoimmunity. Manipulating CD8+ T cell response may therefore represent a new therapeutic opportunity for the treatment of pDC-associated autoimmune diseases, such as lupus or psoriasis.
Error Vector Magnitude Analysis in Generalized Fading With Co-Channel Interference

In this paper, we derive the data-aided error vector magnitude (EVM) in an interference limited system when both the desired channel and interferers experience independent and nonidentically distributed <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\kappa - \mu $ </tex-math></inline-formula> shadowed fading. Then, it is analytically shown that the EVM is equal to the square root of number of interferers when the desired channel and interferers do not experience fading. Furthermore, the EVM is derived in the presence of interference and noise, when the desired channel experiences <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\kappa - \mu $ </tex-math></inline-formula> shadowed fading and the interferers experience independent and identical Nakagami fading. Moreover, using the properties of the special functions, the derived EVM expressions are also simplified for various special cases.