Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Accuracy of Mothers' Retrospective Reports of Smoking During Pregnancy: Comparison with Twin Sister Informant Ratings

Abstract Retrospective assessment of maternal smoking or substance use during pregnancy is sometimes unavoidable. The unusually close relationship of twin sister pairs permits comparison of self-report data versus co-twin informant data on substance use during pregnancy. Information about smoking during pregnancy has been gathered from a series of mothers from an Australian volunteer twin panel (576 women reporting on 995 pregnancies), supplemented in many cases by independent ratings of their smoking by twin sister informants (821 pregnancies). Estimates of the proportion of women who had never smoked regularly (56–58%), who had smoked but did not smoke during a particular pregnancy (16–21%), or who smoked throughout the pregnancy (16–18%), were in good agreement whether based on selfreport or twin sister informant data. However, informants underreported cases who smoked during the first trimester but then quit (1–3% versus 7–9% by self-report). Women who smoked throughout pregnancy (by informant report) rarely denied a history of regular smoking (< 1%), although a small proportion of apparent false negative cases were identified where they either denied smoking during a pregnancy (9%) or denied smoking beyond the first trimester (10%). We conclude that retrospective smoking data can safely be used to identify potential associations of later child outcomes with maternal smoking during pregnancy.
Oxidative Damage to Nucleic Acids and Benzo(a)pyrene-7,8-diol-9,10-epoxide-DNA Adducts and Chromosomal Aberration in Children with Psoriasis Repeatedly Exposed to Crude Coal Tar Ointment and UV Radiation

The paper presents a prospective cohort study. Observed group was formed of children with plaque psoriasis (n=19) treated by Goeckerman therapy (GT). The study describes adverse (side) effects associated with application of GT (combined exposure of 3% crude coal tar ointment and UV radiation). After GT we found significantly increased markers of oxidative stress (8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine, 8-hydroxyguanosine, and 8-hydroxyguanine), significantly increased levels of benzo[a]pyrene-7,8-diol-9,10-epoxide (BPDE) DNA adducts (BPDE-DNA), and significantly increased levels of total number of chromosomal aberrations in peripheral lymphocytes. We found significant relationship between (1) time of UV exposure and total number of aberrated cells and (2) daily topical application of 3% crude coal tar ointment (% of body surface) and level of BPDE-DNA adducts. The findings indicated increased hazard of oxidative stress and genotoxic effects related to the treatment. However, it must be noted that the oxidized guanine species and BPDE-DNA adducts also reflect individual variations in metabolic enzyme activity (different extent of bioactivation of benzo[a]pyrene to BPDE) and overall efficiency of DNA/RNA repair system. The study confirmed good effectiveness of the GT (significantly decreased PASI score).
The Simple View of Reading in Bilingual Language-Minority Children Acquiring a Highly Transparent Second Language

ABSTRACT The present study evaluated which components within the simple view of reading model better predicted reading comprehension in a sample of bilingual language-minority children exposed to Italian, a highly transparent language, as a second language. The sample included 260 typically developing bilingual children who were attending either the first 2 years (n = 95) or the last 3 years (n = 165) of primary school and who had Italian as an instructional language. Children were administered a comprehensive battery for the assessment of decoding skills, listening comprehension, and reading comprehension latent variables. Results showed that, in both groups, listening comprehension was the most powerful predictor of reading comprehension, followed, only for younger children, by reading accuracy. Reading speed was not a significant predictor. These results confirmed the primary role of listening comprehension in predicting reading comprehension in bilinguals and added important evidence regarding the role of reading accuracy as a predictor of reading comprehension.
Exogenous and endogenous angiotensin‐II decrease renal cortical oxygen tension in conscious rats by limiting renal blood flow

Our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the role of hypoxia in the initiation and progression of renal disease remains rudimentary. We have developed a method that allows wireless measurement of renal tissue oxygen tension in unrestrained rats. This method provides stable and continuous measurements of cortical tissue oxygen tension (PO2) for more than 2 weeks and can reproducibly detect acute changes in cortical oxygenation. Exogenous angiotensin‐II reduced renal cortical tissue PO2 more than equi‐pressor doses of phenylephrine, probably because it reduced renal oxygen delivery more than did phenylephrine. Activation of the endogenous renin–angiotensin system in transgenic Cyp1a1Ren2 rats reduced cortical tissue PO2 ; in this model renal hypoxia precedes the development of structural pathology and can be reversed acutely by an angiotensin‐II receptor type 1 antagonist. Angiotensin‐II promotes renal hypoxia, which may in turn contribute to its pathological effects during development of chronic kidney disease.
Post‐Dispersal Seed Removal and Germination Selected Tree Species Dispersed by Cebus capucinus on Barro Colorado Island, Panama 1

Dispersal quality, an important component of seed disperser effectiveness, may strongly affect the rate of plant recruitment. Here we evaluated the quality of Cebus monkey dispersal by comparing the secondary removal fate and germination of fresh and Cebus‐ingested seeds of nine tree species on Barro Colorado Island, Panama. Overall, rates of secondary seed removal by vertebrates were low, with most Cebus defecations remaining undisturbed for extended periods on the forest floor. Only four of 30 feces were completely buried by dung beetles, and we found significantly higher vertebrate removal of defecated seeds than control seeds for only one species, Cordia bicolor. Seed germination varied greatly between plant taxa. Seeds of 3 out of 9 species showed significantly higher percent germination after monkey gut passage than control fresh seeds. Germination times tended to be shorter for defecated than for control seeds but were significantly different only for one of nine species, Cecropia insignis. Low rates of seed removal from Cebus feces, coupled with high germination probabilities, suggest high dispersal effectiveness for Cebus and contrasts strongly with patterns of post‐dispersal seed fate recorded for other primate species.
Bolstering White American's Ethnic Identity Resiliency: Self-Affirmation, Authentic Best-Self Reflection, and Mindfulness Meditation

Domestic and international current events have highlighted a need for improved recognition of racial, ethnic, and religious discrimination by dominant groups, such as American Whites. Building upon Adams, Tormala, & O’Brien’s (2006) demonstration that self-affirmation increases White American’s recognition of discrimination against minorities, we compared the efficacy of self-affirmation, best-self reflection, and mindfulness meditation in increasing White American’s recognition of prejudice in everyday events and outcomes. We further investigated potential processes of eudaimonic wellbeing and temporal focus. Results of a study involving 359 White American adults include indirect effects of both self-affirmation and best-self reflection on increased recognition of prejudice against American minorities only through eudaimonic well-being. A brief mindfulness meditation did not facilitate recognition of prejudice against American minorities, through eudaimonic well-being or through focus on the present moment. Implications for intergroup relations and interventions to bolster resiliency against identity threats are discussed.
EXPLORING THE ROLE OF SELF-EFFICACY IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF SELF-ASSESSMENT FOR ENGLISH WRITING

Many researchers have pointed out that the use of self-assessment gives positive effect on students’ writing performance. However, some other factors, such as students’ self-efficacy which may also play a role for students’ success in writing is still rarely studied. Both self-assessment and self-efficacy share linear effect on students’ writing performance. Thus, observing students with high and low self-efficacy while they are using self-assessment in writing is considerably noteworthy to study. This research is interested in investigating the role of high and low self-efficacy in the implementation of self-assessment for English writing. The design of the research was Pre-experimental Design of One-Shot Case Study with the sample of 42 students. The data were collected by using self-efficacy questionnaire and writing competency scoring rubric. The data were analyzed by using t-test. The result shows that there is a significant difference between students with high and low self-efficacy on the implementation of self-assessment for English writing.
A 5 - year surveillance of wound infections at a rural tertiary hospital in Nigeria.

BACKGROUND Wound infections are associated with increased morbidity and mortality. OBJECTIVES To determine the prevalence, aetiology and susceptibility profile of bacterial agents of wound infection among in- and- out patients at a rural tertiary hospital in Nigeria, within a 5 year period. METHODS Wound swabs collected from 156 out-patients and 353 in-patients were, cultured and microbial isolates identified using standard methods. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was done on bacterial isolates. RESULTS The prevalence of wound infection in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 was 71.4%, 76.2%, 74.5%, 61.5%, and 67.0% respectively. The overall prevalence of wound infection was 70.1%. In all the years studied, out-patients had a higher prevalence of wound infection, but this was significant in 2007, 2009, and 2010 only. Staphylococcus aureus was the most prevalent pathogen in both in- and out - patients with the exception of 2009 where both Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa had the same prevalence (24.4%) among in - patients. The flouroquinolones were the most potent antimicrobial agents against bacterial isolates from both in - and out -patients. CONCLUSION Staphylococcus aureus was the most predominant etiologic agent of wound infection among in and out patients. A generally higher resistance pattern was observed among nosocomial bacterial pathogens. Prudent use of antibiotics is recommended.
Assigning prosodic structure for speech synthesis: a rule-based approach

This paper presents a model that assigns prosodic structure to unrestricted text. The model is linguistically motivated and also uses constraints on phrase length. For the implementation an XML-pipeline is used as a data-architecture. The output can be processed by a text-to-speech synthesiser for determining the locations of phrase breaks. The model outperforms another rule-based approach, and achieves either comparable results as a statistical model or comes close to those results, while being psychologically more plausible.
Minor changes largely restore catalytic activity of archaeal RNase P RNA from Methanothermobacter thermoautotrophicus

The increased protein proportion of archaeal and eukaryal ribonuclease (RNase) P holoenzymes parallels a vast decrease in the catalytic activity of their RNA subunits (P RNAs) alone. We show that a few mutations toward the bacterial P RNA consensus substantially activate the catalytic (C-) domain of archaeal P RNA from Methanothermobacter, in the absence and presence of the bacterial RNase P protein. Large increases in ribozyme activity required the cooperative effect of at least two structural alterations. The P1 helix of P RNA from Methanothermobacter was found to be extended, which increases ribozyme activity (ca 200-fold) and stabilizes the tertiary structure. Activity increases of mutated archaeal C-domain variants were more pronounced in the context of chimeric P RNAs carrying the bacterial specificity (S-) domain of Escherichia coli instead of the archaeal S-domain. This could be explained by the loss of the archaeal S-domain's capacity to support tight and productive substrate binding in the absence of protein cofactors. Our results demonstrate that the catalytic capacity of archaeal P RNAs is close to that of their bacterial counterparts, but is masked by minor changes in the C-domain and, particularly, by poor function of the archaeal S-domain in the absence of archaeal protein cofactors.
Induction, Regulation, Degradation, and Biological Significance of Mammalian Metallothioneins

MTs are small cysteine-rich metal-binding proteins found in many species and, although there are differences between them, it is of note that they have a great deal of sequence and structural homology. Mammalian MTs are 61 or 62 amino acid polypep-tides containing 20 conserved cysteine residues that underpin the binding of metals. The existence of MT across species is indicative of its biological demand, while the conservation of cysteines indicates that these are undoubtedly central to the function of this protein. Four MT isoforms have been found so far, MT-1, MT-2, MT-3, and MT-4, but these also have subtypes with 17 MT genes identified in man, of which 10 are known to be functional. Different cells express different MT isoforms with varying levels of expression perhaps as a result of the different function of each isoform. Even different metals induce and bind to MTs to different extents. Over 40 years of research into MT have yielded much information on this protein, but have failed to assign to it a definitive biological role. The fact that multiple MT isoforms exist, and the great variety of substances and agents that act as inducers, further complicates the search for the biological role of MTs. This article reviews the current knowledge on the biochemistry, induction, regulation, and degradation of this protein in mammals, with a particular emphasis on human MTs. It also considers the possible biological roles of this protein, which include participation in cell proliferation and apoptosis, homeostasis of essential metals, cellular free radical scavenging, and metal detoxification.
Evidence of convective rolls in a sunspot penumbra

Aims. We study the recently discovered twisting motion of bright penumbral filaments with the aim of constraining their geometry and the associated magnetic field. Methods. A large sunspot located 40 ◦ from disk center was observed at high resolution with the 1-m Swedish Solar Telescope. Inversions of multi-wavelength polarimetric data and speckle reconstructed time series of continuum images were used to determine proper motions, as well as the velocity and magnetic structure in penumbral filaments. Results. The continuum movie reveals apparent lateral motions of bright and dark structures inside bright filaments oriented parallel to the limb, confirming recent Hinode results. In these filaments we measure upflows of ≈1. 1k m s −1 on their limbward side and weak downflows on their centerward side. The magnetic field in them is significantly weaker and more horizontal than in the adjacent dark filaments. Conclusions. The data indicate the presence of vigorous convective rolls in filaments with a nearly horizontal magnetic field. These are separated by filaments harbouring stronger, more vertical fields. Because of reduced gas pressure, we see deeper into the latter. When observed near the limb, the disk-centerward side of the horizontal-field filaments appear bright due to the hot wall effect known from faculae. We estimate that the convective rolls transport most of the energy needed to explain the penumbral radiative flux.
Hepatitis E virus: Western Cape, South Africa

AIM To conduct a prospective assessment of anti-hepatitis E virus (HEV) IgG seroprevalence in the Western Cape Province of South Africa in conjunction with evaluating risk factors for exposure. METHODS Consenting participants attending clinics and wards of Groote Schuur, Red Cross Children’s Hospital and their affiliated teaching hospitals in Cape Town, South Africa, were sampled. Healthy adults attending blood donor clinics were also recruited. Patients with known liver disease were excluded and all major ethnic/race groups were included to broadly represent local demographics. Relevant demographic data was captured at the time of sampling using an interviewer-administered confidential questionnaire. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) status was self-disclosed. HEV IgG testing was performed using the Wantai® assay. RESULTS HEV is endemic in the region with a seroprevalence of 27.9% (n = 324/1161) 95%CI: 25.3%-30.5% (21.9% when age-adjusted) with no significant differences between ethnic groups or HIV status. Seroprevalence in children is low but rapidly increases in early adulthood. With univariate analysis, age ≥ 30 years old, pork and bacon/ham consumption suggested risk. In the multivariate analysis, the highest risk factor for HEV IgG seropositivity (OR = 7.679, 95%CI: 5.38-10.96, P < 0.001) was being 30 years or older followed by pork consumption (OR = 2.052, 95%CI: 1.39-3.03, P < 0.001). A recent clinical case demonstrates that HEV genotype 3 may be currently circulating in the Western Cape. CONCLUSION Hepatitis E seroprevalence was considerably higher than previously thought suggesting that hepatitis E warrants consideration in any patient presenting with an unexplained hepatitis in the Western Cape, irrespective of travel history, age or ethnicity.
Topographic Contribution of Early Visual Cortex to Short-Term Memory Consolidation: A Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Study

The neural correlates for retention of visual information in visual short-term memory are considered separate from those of sensory encoding. However, recent findings suggest that sensory areas may play a role also in short-term memory. We investigated the functional relevance, spatial specificity, and temporal characteristics of human early visual cortex in the consolidation of capacity-limited topographic visual memory using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). Topographically specific TMS pulses were delivered over lateralized occipital cortex at 100, 200, or 400 ms into the retention phase of a modified change detection task with low or high memory loads. For the high but not the low memory load, we found decreased memory performance for memory trials in the visual field contralateral, but not ipsilateral to the side of TMS, when pulses were delivered at 200 ms into the retention interval. A behavioral version of the TMS experiment, in which a distractor stimulus (memory mask) replaced the TMS pulses, further corroborated these findings. Our findings suggest that retinotopic visual cortex contributes to the short-term consolidation of topographic visual memory during early stages of the retention of visual information. Further, TMS-induced interference decreased the strength (amplitude) of the memory representation, which most strongly affected the high memory load trials.
FORMATIVE INFRASTRUCTURE FOR ICT-ADOPTION IN SMES - A STUDY OF CONDITIONS FOR PROGRESS

The focus in this paper is on conditions for ICT use in SMEs expressed as formative infrastructure. Questions concern needs for infrastructure among SMEs, actors roles, and concepts constituting a formative infrastructure for ICT-adoption and use. Few – if any – studies, take the perspective of SMEs’ needs for infrastructure concerning use of ICT. A formative ICT infrastructure is constituted by the identified needs among SMEs, and it contains three parts; (1) sensemaking, (2) sensegiving, and (3) service infrastructures. In SMEs there is less of infrastructure and less of overhead services and these are to be found outside the SME. The adoption processes in SMEs differ from the ones in larger enterprises. ICT adoption is the process where the formative infrastructure is maintained as well as changed by actors enacting this context. SMEs rely more on external relations in a public infrastructure. In dividing ICT infrastructure into two major areas – hard and formative infrastructure, the results indicate that, both are important, but formative ICT infrastructure in SMEs is a less known and a less elaborated concept. When analyzing the need for formative ICT infrastructure, three types, emerge – sensemaking infrastructure, sensegiving infrastructure, and service infrastructure, as three cornerstones of a formative ICT-infrastructure.
Particle Swarm Optimization for Parameter Optimization of Support Vector Machine Model

Support Vector Machine (SVM) is a type of learning machine which has been proved to be available in solving the problems of nonlinear regression. The decision of SVM parameters is essential. In this paper a new SVM model based on particle swarm optimization (PSO) for parameter optimization has been proposed. PSO algorithm has extensive capability of global optimization. Once the PSO finds the optimal parameters of SVM, the model can be optimized. This new model is applied in short-term load forecasting of electric power system. The history load dada are the training data and the forecasting error is taken as the optimization objective. The simulation results show that both precision and efficiency have been improved by using PSO-SVM model than by using the single SVM model. The new model provides an alternative for forecasting electricity load due to its practicality and efficiency.
Bmc Medical Informatics and Decision Making the Feasibility of a Web-based Counselling Program for Occupational Physicians and Employees on Sick Leave Due to Back or Neck Pain

Background: The objective of this feasibility study was to gain insight into occupational physicians' (OPs) and employees' use of, and attitudes towards, 'Snelbeter' (Get Well Fast), a new web-based counselling program for employees on sick leave due to non-specific back or neck pain and their OPs.
Scaling of Stochasticity in Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever Epidemics

In this paper we analyze the stochastic version of a minimalistic multi-strain model, which captures essential differences between primary and secondary infections in dengue fever epidemiology, and investigate the interplay between stochasticity, seasonality and import. The introduction of stochasticity is needed to explain the fluctuations observed in some of the available data sets, revealing a scenario where noise and complex deterministic skeleton strongly interact. For large enough population size, the stochastic system can be well described by the deterministic skeleton gaining insight on the relevant parameter values purely on topological information of the dynamics, rather than classical parameter estimation of which application is in general restricted to fairly simple dynamical scenarios.