Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prevalence and Co-Occurrence of Heavy Drinking and Anxiety and Mood Disorders Among Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Heterosexual Canadians.

OBJECTIVES To investigate the prevalence and co-occurrence of heavy drinking, anxiety, and mood disorders among Canadians who self-identified as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or heterosexual. METHODS Pooled data from the 2007 to 2012 cycles of the Canadian Community Health Survey (n = 222 548) were used to fit logistic regression models controlling for sociodemographic characteristics. RESULTS In adjusted logistic regression models, gay or lesbian respondents had greater odds than heterosexual respondents of reporting anxiety disorders, mood disorders, and anxiety-mood disorders. Bisexual respondents had greater odds of reporting anxiety disorders, mood disorders, anxiety-mood disorders, and heavy drinking. Gay or lesbian and bisexual respondents had greater odds than heterosexuals of reporting co-occurring anxiety or mood disorders and heavy drinking. The highest rates of disorders were observed among bisexual respondents, with nearly quadruple the rates of anxiety, mood, and combined anxiety and mood disorders relative to heterosexuals and approximately twice the rates of gay or lesbian respondents. CONCLUSIONS Members of sexual minority groups in Canada, in particular those self-identifying as bisexual, experience disproportionate rates of anxiety and mood disorders, heavy drinking, and co-occurring disorders.
Incremental Forming of Titanium Ti6Al4V Alloy for Cranioplasty Plates—Decision-Making Process and Technological Approaches

Ti6Al4V titanium alloy is considered a biocompatible material, suitable to be used for manufacturing medical devices, particularly cranioplasty plates. Several methods for processing titanium alloys are reported in the literature, each one presenting both advantages and drawbacks. A decision-making method based upon AHP (analytic hierarchy process) was used in this paper for choosing the most recommended manufacturing process among some alternatives. The result of AHP indicated that single-point incremental forming (SPIF) at room temperature could be considered the best approach when manufacturing medical devices. However, Ti6Al4V titanium alloy is known as a low-plasticity material when subjected to plastic deformation at room temperature, so special measures had to be taken. The experimental results of processing parts from Ti6Al4V titanium alloy by means of SPIF and technological aspects are considered.
Improved Demultiplexing Algorithm for Hardware Simplification of Sensored Vector Control Through Frequency-Domain Multiplexing

Frequency-domain multiplexing was proposed to reduce the number of signals to be digitized in vector control using a resolver as position sensor. Signals from resolver and current sensors can be multiplexed through analog adders. This approach has many advantages over using analog switches. On the other hand, the conventional demultiplexing system involves filtering and delay compensation, while the rotor angle is obtained after the signal demultiplexing. However, this conventional approach is difficult to implement because the required filters must have good stopband rejection, without adding a significant phase delay. This paper proposes an improved demultiplexing system whose structure is simpler than the conventional approach. A type-III angle tracking observer estimates the rotor angle and the resolver outputs directly from the multiplexed signals. The estimated resolver outputs and stopband filters are used to get the current signals. Thus, the demultiplexing of resolver signals and the delay compensators used in the conventional approach were eliminated. Experimental results prove that the proposed approach gives accurate estimations of the rotor angle and current signals. Besides, conditions for the resolver excitation frequency, the inverter switching frequency, and for current synchronous sampling were defined for the application of frequency-domain multiplexing.
Response to exercise and mechanical efficiency in non‐ischaemic stunning, induced by short‐term rapid pacing in dogs: a role for calcium?

Rapid pacing (RP) is a regularly used model to induce heart failure in dogs. The aim of the study was to evaluate Ca2+ handling, left ventricular (LV) contractile response during Ca2+ administration compared to exercise, as well as oxygen consumption and mechanical efficiency after 48 h of RP.
Race, ethnicity, sex and temporal differences in Barrett’s oesophagus diagnosis: a large community-based study, 1994–2006

Objective: To evaluate the demographics and incidence of Barrett’s oesophagus diagnosis using community-based data. Design: Observational study. Setting: Kaiser Permanente, Northern California healthcare membership, 1994–2006. Patients: Members with an electronic diagnosis of Barrett’s oesophagus. Main outcome measures: Incidence and prevalence of a new Barrett’s oesophagus diagnosis by race, sex, age and calendar year. Results: 4205 persons met the study definition for a diagnosis of Barrett’s oesophagus. The annual incidence in 2006 was highest among non-Hispanic whites (39/100 000 race-specific member-years, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 35 to 43), with lower rates among Hispanics (22/100 000, 95% CI 16 to 29), Asians (16/100 000, 95% CI 11 to 22), and blacks (6/100 000, 95% CI 2 to 12). The annual incidence was higher among men than women (31 vs 17/100 000, respectively, year 2006; p<0.01). The incidence increased with age from 2 per 100 000 for persons aged 21–30 years, to a peak of 31 per 100 000 member-years for persons aged 61–70 years (year 2006). There was no increase in the incidence of new diagnoses until the last two observation years, which coincided with changes in data collection methods and may be due to bias. The overall prevalence among active members increased almost linearly to 131/100 000 member-years by 2006. Conclusions: The demographic distributions of Barrett’s oesophagus differ markedly by race, age and sex and were comparable to those for oesophageal adenocarcinoma. Thus, demographic disparities in oesophageal adenocarcinoma risk may arise partly from the risk of having Barrett’s oesophagus, rather than from differing risks of progression from Barrett’s oesophagus to cancer. There has been an almost linear increase in the prevalence of diagnosed disease.
Treatment of viral hepatitis B in children

Importance of the field: Treatment of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) in children is aimed at reducing viral replication and at minimizing liver injury and related consequences in children with chronic active viral liver infection. Areas covered in this review: In this review, treatment options available for both adults and children are summarized, together with suggestions from our own experience. The most relevant works published between 1982 and 2009 on PubMed/Medline database search were used. What the reader will gain: At present, standardized treatment is available in only a few therapeutic options, such as IFN-α and lamivudine; it is hoped that these will be complemented in the future by new, encouraging drugs still under study in pediatric age patients. Moreover, current treatment approaches have their limitations: although IFN-α has been shown to be effective in patients with non-vertically-transmitted infection, HBeAg clearance while on treatment is similar to spontaneous seroconversion after long-term follow-up. IFN-α-induced side effects are frequent rarely severe in children. Lamivudine achieves similar results in children with active viral replication. However, despite good compliance to oral administration, this treatment can lead to the development of drug-resistant mutations. Take home message: In conclusion, the decision to treat CHB in children demands that the possibility of favorable spontaneous viral clearance has been considered and must be made on the bases of the extent of liver damage.
Assessment of human health risk for heavy metals in fish and shrimp collected from Subarnarekha river, India

Five fish species and one shrimp species from the Subarnarekha river were analyzed for heavy metals using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. The geometric mean concentration of As, Cd, Cu, Fe, Pb, Ni, Zn, Cr, Co, and Sr for all the samples was found to be 0.248, 0.031, 5.16, 104.9, 0.121, 4.68, 52.2, 0.784, 0.207, and 42.86 mg kg−1fresh, respectively. The concentrations of metals in the fish and shrimp exceed the limits of Indian and FAO standards for food for As, Cu, Ni, Cd, and Zn in many samples. The mean target hazard quotient (THQ) values for the 10 metals were below one for all the samples; however, the maximum THQ was more than one for shrimp in case of As, Cu, and Cr. The results indicate that the concentration of metals in some species, especially shrimp, at some locations is alarming and do present an appreciable hazard risk on human health.
A framework for flexible clustering of multiple evolving data streams

In this paper, we propose a framework supporting clustering over different portions of continuous data streams at all possible time points. The framework is divided into two phases. Online statistics maintenance phase provides an approximation method for online statistics collection and a compact multi-resolution hierarchy for statistics maintenance. Once a clustering request is submitted, offline clustering phase abstracts statistics for approximating the user desired subsequences as precisely as possible from statistics hierarchies, and outputs the results of clustering over these statistics. Our performance experiments over real and synthetic data sets illustrate the effectiveness, efficiency of our approach.
Subliminal Copresence Systems

Telepresence research has focused on the ideal of recreating face-to-face conversations via remote mediated channels – maximising what has been termed social presence. A mostly overlooked aspect of communication is the simple sense of being together; the ability to be close to someone without necessarily having to interact consciously. Goffman described this as copresence. We propose a class of systems to specifically support this mode of communication over a distance which we call subliminal copresence systems (SCS); they fulfil the definition of calmness as coined by Weiser. We think such systems have the potential to fill a gap that was left during the increase in technologically mediated communication as a consequence of the rise in long-distance relationships in recent decades and the rapidly growing importance of computer-based media in social interactions such as e-mail and especially online social networks. In this work, we explore SCS in terms of their user acceptance, their effectiveness to convey information, their potential to influence and create feelings of connectedness and presence, and their ability to do so without being annoying or distracting. To this end, we implemented two proof-of-concept subliminal copresence systems called feelabuzz and upstairs. In feelabuzz, two unmodified smartphones are used to constantly transmit one user’s movements to another user as vibration of the phone and vice versa. In upstairs, two remote rooms are virtually stacked so that it sounds as if Room A were located above Room B and conversely, Room B were above Room A. For this, contact microphones are used to transduce the structure-borne sounds of the floor. Three user studies were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of these systems. Firstly, feelabuzz was shown to recognisably confer basic activity types. Feelabuzz and upstairs were then tested in two related, longitudinal studies to evaluate the systems’ capabilities to evoke a sense of copresence over a distance. Both systems were shown to create copresence to a significantly larger extent than social presence. User acceptance was higher for upstairs than for feelabuzz and upstairs incurred a significantly smaller amount of cognitive load on its users. To address remaining acceptance and cognitive load issues brought up in these studies, we investigate the introduction of automatic filters to reduce the necessity of interpretation by the users. We explore context recognition in the area of subliminal copresence systems and present two such systems – one using instant messaging clients and another using mobile phones. Both achieved good recognition rates but worrying about user acceptance of such black box systems whose subsymbolic models are incomprehensible even for experts, we present a system that ex- tracts symbolic rules from these models. We compare existing methods for the extraction of such rules and also discuss different ways to present rule sets to the users in order for them to modify them and feed them back into the system. A partial prototype of one such system was implemented and is also discussed.
High‐sensitivity C‐reactive protein for identification of disease phenotype, active disease, and clinical relapses in Crohn's disease: A marker for patient classification?

Background: C‐reactive protein (CRP) is a traditional nonspecific marker of inflammation, with Crohn's disease (CD) being associated with a strong CRP response. Thus far, no clear cutoff values have been determined. The authors' aim was to investigate whether high‐sensitivity (hs)‐CRP is useful for the identification disease phenotype, active disease, and relapse during follow‐up, using a classification based on the hs‐CRP value at diagnosis. Methods: In all, 260 well‐characterized, unrelated, consecutive CD patients (male/female: 120/140; duration: 7.0 ± 6.1 years), with a complete clinical follow‐up, were included. Hs‐CRP, clinical activity according to the Harvey–Bradshaw Index, and clinical data (disease phenotype according to the Montreal Classification, extraintestinal manifestations, smoking habits, medical therapy, and surgical events) were prospectively collected between January 1, 2008 and June 1, 2010. Medical records prior to the prospective follow‐up period were analyzed retrospectively. Results: In all, 32.3% of CD patients had normal hs‐CRP at diagnosis. Elevated hs‐CRP at diagnosis was associated with disease location (P = 0.002), noninflammatory disease behavior (P = 0.058), and a subsequent need for later azathioprine/biological therapy (P < 0.001 and P = 0.024), respectively. The accuracy of hs‐CRP for identifying patients with active disease during prospective follow‐up was good (area under the curve [AUC]: 0.82, cutoff: 10.7 mg/L). AUC was better in patients with an elevated hs‐CRP at diagnosis (AUC: 0.92, cutoff: 10.3 mg/L). In Kaplan–Meier and Cox‐regression analyses, hs‐CRP was an independent predictor of 3‐ (P = 0.007) or 12‐month (P = 0.001) clinical relapses for patients in remission who had elevated hs‐CRP at diagnosis. In addition, perianal involvement (P = 0.01) was associated with the 12‐month relapse frequency. Conclusions: Our data suggest that hs‐CRP positivity at diagnosis is associated with disease location and behavior, and in patients who are hs‐CRP positive at diagnosis, is an accurate marker of disease activity and a predictor of short‐ and medium‐term clinical flare‐ups during follow‐up. (Inflamm Bowel Dis 2012)
Role of Activated Rac1/Cdc42 in Mediating Endothelial Cell Proliferation and Tumor Angiogenesis in Breast Cancer

Angiogenesis is a well-established target in anti-cancer therapy. Although vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-mediated angiogenesis apparently requires the Rho GTPases Rac1 and Cdc42, the relevant mechanisms are unclear. Here, we determined that activated Rac1/Cdc42 in MCF-7 breast cancer cells could decrease p53 protein levels and increase VEGF secretion to promote proliferation and tube formation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). However, these effects are reversed after ubiquitin-proteasome breakage. In exploring potential mechanisms for this relationship, we confirmed that activated Rac1/Cdc42 could enhance p53 protein ubiquitination and weaken p53 protein stability to increase VEGF expression. Furthermore, in a xenograft model using nude mice that stably express active Rac1/Cdc42 protein, active Rac1/Cdc42 decreased p53 levels and increased VEGF expression. Additionally, tumor angiogenesis was inhibited, and p53 protein levels were augmented, by intratumoral injection of the ubiquitin-proteasome inhibitor MG132. Finally in 339 human breast cancer tissues, our analyses indicated that Rac1/Cdc42 expression was related to advanced TNM staging, high proliferation index, ER status, and positive invasive features. In particular, our data suggests that high Rac1/Cdc42 expression is correlated with low wt-p53 and high VEGF expression. We conclude that activated Rac1/Cdc42 is a vascular regulator of tumor angiogenesis and that it may reduce stability of the p53 protein to promote VEGF expression by enhancing p53 protein ubiquitin.
Nanofoaming of Polyamide Desalination Membranes To Tune Permeability and Selectivity

Recent studies have documented the existence of discrete voids in the thin polyamide selective layer of composite reverse osmosis membranes. Here we present compelling evidence that these nanovoids are formed by nanosized gas bubbles generated during the interfacial polymerization process. Different strategies were used to enhance or eliminate these nanobubbles in the thin polyamide film layer to tune its morphology and separation properties. Nanobubbles can endow the membrane with a foamed structure within the polyamide rejection layer that is approximately 100 nm in thickness. Simple nanofoaming methods, such as bicarbonate addition and ultrasound application, can result in a remarkable improvement in both membrane water permeability and salt rejection, thus overcoming the long-standing permeability–selectivity trade-off of desalination membranes.
Concurrency Oriented Programming in Erlang

Using essentially sequential programming languages to write concurrent programs is difficult and leads to the notion that concurrent programming is difficult; indeed writing concurrent programs in a languages like Java or C++ which were designed for sequential programming is very difficult. This is not due to the nature of concurrency itself, but rather to the way in which concurrency is implemented in these languages.
Recursives in the wild: engineering authoritative DNS servers

In Internet Domain Name System (DNS), services operate authoritative name servers that individuals query through recursive resolvers. Operators strive to provide reliability by operating multiple name servers (NS), each on a separate IP address, and by using IP anycast to allow NSes to provide service from many physical locations. To meet their goals of minimizing latency and balancing load across NSes and anycast, operators need to know how recursive resolvers select an NS, and how that interacts with their NS deployments. Prior work has shown some recursives search for low latency, while others pick an NS at random or round robin, but did not examine how prevalent each choice was. This paper provides the first analysis of how recursives select between name servers in the wild, and from that we provide guidance to operators how to engineer their name servers to reach their goals. We conclude that all NSes need to be equally strong and therefore we recommend to deploy IP anycast at every single authoritative.
Causal Reasoning in Graphical Time Series Models

We propose a definition of causality for time series in terms of the effect of an intervention in one component of a multivariate time series on another component at some later point in time. Conditions for identifiability, comparable to the back-door and front-door criteria, are presented and can also be verified graphically. Computation of the causal effect is derived and illustrated for the linear case.
Model of very fast (> 75 Hz) network oscillations generated by electrical coupling between the proximal axons of cerebellar Purkinje cells

Very fast oscillations (VFO; > 75 Hz) occur transiently in vivo, in the cerebellum of mice genetically modified to model Angelman syndrome, and in a mouse model of fetal alcohol syndrome. We recently reported VFO in slices of mouse cerebellar cortex (Crus I and II of ansiform and paramedian lobules), either in association with gamma oscillations (∼40 Hz, evoked by nicotine) or in isolation [evoked by nicotine in combination with γ‐aminobutyric acid (GABA)A receptor blockade]. The experimental data suggest a role for electrical coupling between Purkinje cells (blockade of VFO by drugs reducing gap junction conductance and spikelets in some Purkinje cells); and the data suggest the specific involvement of Purkinje cell axons (because of field oscillation maxima in the granular layer). We show here that a detailed network model (1000 multicompartment Purkinje cells) replicates the experimental data when gap junctions are located on the proximal axons of Purkinje cells, provided sufficient spontaneous firing is present. Unlike other VFO models, most somatic spikelets do not correspond to axonal spikes in the parent axon, but reflect spikes in electrically coupled axons. The model predicts gating of VFO frequency by gNa inactivation, and experiments prolonging this inactivation time constant, with β‐pompilidotoxin, are consistent with this prediction. The model also predicts that cerebellar VFO can be explained as an electrically coupled system of axons that are not intrinsic oscillators: the electrically uncoupled cells do not individually oscillate (in the model) and axonal firing rates are much lower in the uncoupled state than in the coupled state.
Earlier diagnosis and survival in lung cancer

In a controlled investigation the survival prospects of lung cancer in a population of men aged 40 and over who had been offered six-monthly chest radiographs over a period of three years were compared with lung cancer in a similar population without such x-ray facilities. The five-year survival rate of lung cancer in the study series was 15%, and in cases discovered by six-monthly examination 23%, compared with 6% in the control series. The average expectation of life after diagnosis was 2·5 years for the test cases and 1·2 for the control cases. Survival declined with age. Of resected lung cancer, 32% survived five years in the test series and 23% in the control series. The five-year survival rate for squamous carcinoma and adenocarcinoma in the test series was 28% and 25% respectively, compared with 15% and nil in the control series. On the basis of these results it is concluded that through earlier radiological detection a modest improvement in the prognosis of lung cancer can be achieved.
How Do the Nurses Cope with Job Stress? A Study with Grounded Theory Approach

Introduction: Due to the adverse effects of job stress on health of nurses and the importance of coping process of nurses in management of job stress, the present study was carried out with the aim of exploring the experiences of the nurses in order to reveal the original coping process of the nurses in the case of encountering occupational stress. Methods: This qualitative study was conducted with grounded theory approach. Research participants were 15 clinical nurses and four directors of nursing. Sampling method of study were purposive and theoretical sampling. Data collection done with unstructured interviews and field notes and continued until data saturation. Data analysis was performed using the Strauss and Corbin 1998 constant comparative method. Results: The results of the analysis led to four axial concepts: "feeling stress at nursing work", "situational coping", "and the effect of personal and environmental factors in coping with job stress" and "Grey outcome of coping". The core variable in the nurse’s process of coping with job stress was "comprehensive effort to calm stressed condition". Conclusion: Explaining the basic and original psychosocial process of nurses to cope with job stress, revealed context-based nature of the coping processes that nurses adopt, which that can help in taking appropriate measures to lighten up the grey consequences of coping of nurses.