Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Age at birth of first child and coronary heart disease risk factors at age 53 years in men and women: British birth cohort study

Objective: To assess the associations between parental age at birth of first child and coronary heart disease (CHD) risk factors in men and women. To investigate whether the associations are explained by childhood predictors of age at parenthood or adult lifestyle factors related to child rearing. Methods: Data from 2540 men and women, with CHD risk factors measured at age 53 years, from a birth cohort study of individuals born in Britain in 1946 (Medical Research Council National Survey of Health and Development) and followed up regularly throughout life, were analysed. Results: Younger age at birth of first child in both men and women was associated with poorer mean body mass index (BMI), waist–hip ratio, blood pressure (BP), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglyceride and glycated haemoglobin levels. Mean BMI decreased from 28.0 kg/m2 (95% CI 27.2 to 28.8) in the teenage motherhood group to 26.8 kg/m2 (25.9 to 27.7) in the oldest motherhood group (⩾30 years). For men, the equivalent mean values were 28.5 kg/m2 (27.3 to 29.8) and 27.1 kg/m2 (26.7 to 27.6). Associations with adiposity, lipid measures and glycated haemoglobin were largely explained by childhood antecedents and adult social and lifestyle variables. Associations with BP remained robust to adjustment: systolic blood pressure remained highest in teenage parents (7.5 mmHg (1.0 to 13.9) difference in women and 8.6 mmHg (0.4 to 16.8) difference in men between the youngest and the oldest parenthood groups) Conclusions: Lifestyle factors, rather than the biological impact of pregnancy, explain the relationship between age at motherhood and CHD risk factors. Family-based lifestyle interventions targeted at young parents may improve their future CHD risk.
A new clinical tool for assessing numerical abilities in neurological diseases: numerical activities of daily living

The aim of this study was to build an instrument, the numerical activities of daily living (NADL), designed to identify the specific impairments in numerical functions that may cause problems in everyday life. These impairments go beyond what can be inferred from the available scales evaluating activities of daily living in general, and are not adequately captured by measures of the general deterioration of cognitive functions as assessed by standard clinical instruments like the MMSE and MoCA. We assessed a control group (n = 148) and a patient group affected by a wide variety of neurological conditions (n = 175), with NADL along with IADL, MMSE, and MoCA. The NADL battery was found to have satisfactory construct validity and reliability, across a wide age range. This enabled us to calculate appropriate criteria for impairment that took into account age and education. It was found that neurological patients tended to overestimate their abilities as compared to the judgment made by their caregivers, assessed with objective tests of numerical abilities.
Effect of Nursing Education on Positioning of Infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Purpose To determine the effect of different forms of education on nurses’ abilities to position neonates in a developmentally supportive way and to determine nurses’ perceptions of effectiveness of educational methods to enhance their positioning abilities. Method In a one-group, repeated-measures, alternating-treatment design, the effectiveness of nurses’ abilities to position neonates in the context of developmentally supportive care before and after different education approaches was scored using an instrument designed for this study. A self-administered survey was conducted with nurses to examine perceptions of positioning-related issues. Results Formal education methods such as in-services and workshops improved nurses’ abilities to position neonates in developmentally supportive positions; however, improvements declined in the absence of ongoing education. Nurses perceived workshops, physical therapy in-services, and bedside consultation to be more useful than audiovisual resources, independent reading, or general hospital in-services. Conclusion The results suggest that the physical therapist’s role as a consultant is important to ensure continued performance of developmentally supportive care with respect to positioning of infants in the neonatal intensive care unit.
Organizational social structures for software engineering

Software engineering evolved from a rigid process to a dynamic interplay of people (e.g., stakeholders or developers). Organizational and social literature call this interplay an Organizational Social Structure (OSS). Software practitioners still lack a systematic way to select, analyze, and support OSSs best fitting their problems (e.g., software development). We provide the state-of-the-art in OSSs, and discuss mechanisms to support OSS-related decisions in software engineering (e.g., choosing the OSS best fitting development scenarios). Our data supports two conclusions. First, software engineering focused on building software using project teams alone, yet these are one of thirteen OSS flavors from literature. Second, an emerging OSS should be further explored for software development: social networks. This article represents a first glimpse at OSS-aware software engineering, that is, to engineer software using OSSs best fit for the problem.
Enhancing the Early Differential Diagnosis of Plateau Iris and Pupillary Block Using A-Scan Ultrasonography

Purpose To distinguish the frequently misdiagnosed plateau iris eyes from pupillary block group and normal group, we compared the ocular biometrical parameters of them by A-scan ultrasongraphy. Methods In total, we retrospectively reviewed general characteristics and ocular findings including ocular biometric measurements of 71 normal, 39 plateau iris, and 83 pupillary block eyes. Results The normal controls, plateau iris group and pupillary block group were significantly different in age, but not in gender. The anterior chamber depth tended to decrease and the lens thickness tended to increase from normal to plateau iris to pupillary block eyes. Compared to those of plateau iris group, the pupillary block group had significantly shallower anterior chamber depth (2.90mm vs. 2.33mm; p<0.001), thicker lens (4.77mm vs. 5.11mm; p<0.001), shorter axial length (23.16mm vs. 22.63mm; p<0.001), smaller relative lens position (2.28 vs. 2.16; p<0.001) and larger lens/axial length factor (2.06 vs. 2.26; p<0.001). However, when comparing plateau iris and normal eyes, only axial length and lens/axial length factor were significantly different (23.16 vs. 23.54; p<0.05 and 2.06 vs. 1.96; p<0.05). Conclusions Measured by A-scan ultrasonography, the ocular biometrics of plateau iris were significantly different from those of pupillary block eyes. However, our A-scan ultrasongraphy generally found no significant biometric differences between plateau iris and normal eyes. These findings suggest that while A-scan ultrasonography might be used as a practical tool for differentiating plateau iris and papillary block eyes, a more meticulous gonioscopy and other assessments may be necessary to distinguish plateau iris from normal eyes.
Cav1.3 Channel Voltage Dependence, Not Ca2+ Selectivity, Drives Pacemaker Activity and Amplifies Bursts in Nigral Dopamine Neurons

Cav1.3 (α1D) L-type Ca2+ channels have been implicated in substantia nigra (SN) dopamine (DA) neuron pacemaking and vulnerability to Parkinson's disease. These effects may arise from the depolarizing current and cytoplasmic Ca2+ elevation produced by Cav1.3 channels at subthreshold membrane potentials. However, the assumption that the Ca2+ selectivity of Cav1.3 channels is essential has not been tested. In this study the properties of SN DA neuron L-type Ca2+ channels responsible for driving pacemaker activity in juvenile rat brain slices were probed by replacing native channels blocked with the dihydropyridine nimodipine with virtual channels generated by dynamic clamp. Surprisingly, virtual L-type channels that mimic native and recombinant Cav1.3 channels supported pacemaker activity even though dynamic clamp currents are not carried by Ca2+. This effect is specific because pacemaker activity could not be restored by tonic current injection, virtual nonselective leak channels or virtual NMDA receptors, which share with L-type channels a negative slope conductance region in their current–voltage (I–V) curve. Altering virtual channels showed that the production of pacemaker activity depended on the characteristic voltage dependence of DA neuron L-type channels, while activation kinetics and reversal potential were not critical parameters. Virtual L-type channels also supported slow oscillatory potentials and enhanced firing rate during evoked bursts. Thus, Cav1.3 channel voltage dependence, rather than Ca2+ selectivity, drives pacemaker activity and amplifies bursts in SN DA neurons.
Expression profiling of potato germplasm differentiated in quality traits leads to the identification of candidate flavour and texture genes

Quality traits such as flavour and texture are assuming a greater importance in crop breeding programmes. This study takes advantage of potato germplasm differentiated in tuber flavour and texture traits. A recently developed 44 000-element potato microarray was used to identify tuber gene expression profiles that correspond to differences in tuber flavour and texture as well as carotenoid content and dormancy characteristics. Gene expression was compared in two Solanum tuberosum group Phureja cultivars and two S. tuberosum group Tuberosum cultivars; 309 genes were significantly and consistently up-regulated in Phureja, whereas 555 genes were down-regulated. Approximately 46% of the genes in these lists can be identified from their annotation and amongst these are candidates that may underpin the Phureja/Tuberosum trait differences. For example, a clear difference in the cooked tuber volatile profile is the higher level of the sesquiterpene α-copaene in Phureja compared with Tuberosum. A sesquiterpene synthase gene was identified as being more highly expressed in Phureja tubers and its corresponding full-length cDNA was demonstrated to encode α-copaene synthase. Other potential ‘flavour genes’, identified from their differential expression profiles, include those encoding branched-chain amino acid aminotransferase and a ribonuclease suggesting a mechanism for 5′-ribonucleotide formation in potato tubers on cooking. Major differences in the expression levels of genes involved in cell wall biosynthesis (and potentially texture) were also identified, including genes encoding pectin acetylesterase, xyloglucan endotransglycosylase and pectin methylesterase. Other gene expression differences that may impact tuber carotenoid content and tuber life-cycle phenotypes are discussed.
Empirical Generalizations of Demand and Supply Dynamics for Movies

High financial risks in production and marketing, the hedonic nature of products, and the global cultural relevance of movies have encouraged a substantial number of researchers to analyze the success drivers of movies. This research provides empirical generalizations in managing the supply and demand of motion pictures. Prior empirical research either ignored the endogeneity of box office and screen allocation or was based on selective samples, ignoring the large amount of smaller movies released to the market. Using two large and unique samples of all movies released in two major movie markets, the US (2000-2010; n=2,098) and Germany (2002-2010; n=1,360), we extend prior research and present empirical generalizations and new fields of research.
Neural Network Based Foreground Segmentation with an Application to Multi-Sensor 3D Modeling

This paper presents a technique for foreground/background segmentation using either color images or a combination of color and range images. In the case of images captured from a single 2D camera, a hybrid experience-based foreground segmentation technique is developed using a neural network and graph cut paradigm. This gives an advantage over methods that are based on color distribution or gradient information if the foreground/background color distributions are not well separated or the boundary is not clear. The system can segment images more effectively than the latest technology of graph cut, even if the foreground is very similar to the background. It also shows how to use the method for multi-sensor based 3D modeling by segmenting the foreground of each viewpoint in order to generate 3D models
Energy and exergy analysis of chemical looping combustion technology and comparison with pre-combustion and oxy-fuel combustion technologies for CO 2 capture

Carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted from conventional coal-based power plants is a growing concern for the environment. Chemical looping combustion (CLC), pre-combustion and oxy-fuel combustion are promising CO2 capture technologies which allow clean electricity generation from coal in an integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power plant. This work compares the characteristics of the above three capture technologies to those of a conventional IGCC plant without CO2 capture. CLC technology is also investigated for two different process configurations—(i) an integrated gasification combined cycle coupled with chemical looping combustion (IGCC–CLC), and (ii) coal direct chemical looping combustion (CDCLC)—using exergy analysis to exploit the complete potential of CLC. Power output, net electrical efficiency and CO2 capture efficiency are the key parameters investigated for the assessment. Flowsheet models of five different types of IGCC power plants, (four with and one without CO2 capture), were developed in the Aspen plus simulation package. The results indicate that with respect to conventional IGCC power plant, IGCC–CLC exhibited an energy penalty of 4.5%, compared with 7.1% and 9.1% for precombustion and oxy-fuel combustion technologies, respectively. IGCC–CLC and oxy-fuel combustion technologies achieved an overall CO2 capture rate of 100% whereas pre-combustion technology could capture 94.8%. Modification of IGCC–CLC into CDCLC tends to increase the net electrical efficiency by 4.7% while maintaining 100% CO2 capture rate. A detailed exergy analysis performed on the two CLC process configurations (IGCC–CLC and CDCLC) and conventional IGCC process demonstrates that CLC technology can be thermodynamically as efficient as a conventional IGCC process. ã 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
On the Prospects of Chaos Aware Traffic Modeling

In this paper the chaotic properties of the TCP congestion avoidance mechanism are investigated. The analysis focuses on the origin of the complex behavior appearing in deterministic TCP/IP networks. From the traffic modeling point of view the understanding of the mechanism generating chaos is essential, since present models are unable to cope with this phenomena. Using the basic tools of chaos theory in our study, the main characteristics of chaotic dynamics are revealed. The dynamics of packet loss events is studied by a simple symbolic description. The cellular structure of the phase space of congestion windows is shown. This implies periodic behavior for large time scales. Chaotic behavior in short time scales and periodicity for larger times makes it necessary to develop models that account for both. Thus a simple model that describes the congestion window dynamics according to fluid equations, but handles the packet loss events separately is introduced. This model can reproduce the basic features observed in realistic packet level simulations.
c-Fos is required for excision repair of UV-light induced DNA lesions by triggering the re-synthesis of XPF

Cells deficient in c-Fos are hypersensitive to ultraviolet (UV-C) light. Here we demonstrate that mouse embryonic fibroblasts lacking c-Fos (fos−/−) are defective in the repair of UV-C induced DNA lesions. They show a decreased rate of sealing of repair-mediated DNA strand breaks and are unable to remove cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers from DNA. A search for genes responsible for the DNA repair defect revealed that upon UV-C treatment the level of xpf and xpg mRNA declined but, in contrast to the wild type (wt), did not recover in fos−/− cells. The observed decline in xpf and xpg mRNA is due to impaired re-synthesis, as shown by experiments using actinomycin D. Block of xpf transcription resulted in a lack of XPF protein after irradiation of fos−/− cells, whereas the XPF level normalized quickly in the wt. Although the xpg mRNA level was reduced, the amount of XPG protein was not altered in c-Fos-deficient cells after UV-C, due to higher stability of the XPG protein. The data suggest a new role for c-Fos in cells exposed to genotoxic stress. Being part of the transcription factor AP-1, c-Fos stimulates NER via the upregulation of xpf and thus plays a central role in the recovery of cells from UV light induced DNA damage.
Power-Geometric Operators and Their Use in Group Decision Making

The power-average (PA) operator and the power-ordered-weighted-average (POWA) operator are the two nonlinear weighted-average aggregation tools whose weighting vectors depend on the input arguments. In this paper, we develop a power-geometric (PG) operator and its weighted form, which are on the basis of the PA operator and the geometric mean, and develop a power-ordered-geometric (POG) operator and a power-ordered-weighted-geometric (POWG) operator, which are on the basis of the POWA operator and the geometric mean, and study some of their properties. We also discuss the relationship between the PA and PG operators and the relationship between the POWA and POWG operators. Then, we extend the PG and POWG operators to uncertain environments, i.e., develop an uncertain PG (UPG) operator and its weighted form, and an uncertain power-ordered-weighted-geometric (UPOWG) operator to aggregate the input arguments taking the form of interval of numerical values. Furthermore, we utilize the weighted PG and POWG operators, respectively, to develop an approach to group decision making based on multiplicative preference relations and utilize the weighted UPG and UPOWG operators, respectively, to develop an approach to group decision making based on uncertain multiplicative preference relations. Finally, we apply both the developed approaches to broadband Internet-service selection.
The effect of using templates on the information included in histology reports on specimens of uterine cervix taken by loop excision of transformation zone (LETZ)

I should again like to congratulate Dr Al-Nafussi and her colleagues for providing us with an interesting and stimulating paper1 and to take the opportunity to add some comments of my own. Following earlier correspondence in the journal,2,3 I have sought to develop a system of standardised phrases that are used in reporting the features listed in the paper by Reid et al . 1 …
Retrospective Analysis of Nonepileptic Patients With Isolated Epileptiform Discharges Treated With Anticonvulsants

Many antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) have been tested on nonepileptic patients with a variety of diagnoses. The Food and Drug Administration has only approved certain AEDs for a small number of psychiatric conditions. There are few studies of nonepileptic patients that recommend an empirical trial of AEDs when isolated epileptiform discharges (IEDs) are identified in the electroencephalogram (EEG). However, no trials have been published. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the outcome of treating nonepileptic patients with AEDs when IEDs are present. Refractory cases were reviewed from a multidisciplinary practice whose EEG readings contained IEDs and were subsequently medicated with anticonvulsants by the clinic’s psychiatrist. The psychiatrist’s progress notes were assessed to determine the impact of adding anticonvulsants based on parent reports, teacher reports, and clinical observation. The final sample was composed of 76 refractory cases. Of the 76 patients treated with anticonvulsants, the majority were found to be improved in follow-up progress notes: 65 improved (85.53%), 6 unchanged (7.89%), and 5 more severe (6.58%). These observational findings suggest that further studies will be needed to show that IEDs may predict positive treatment outcome to anticonvulsant medication and act as a step toward an evidence-based treatment. Also, EEG screening may prove to be useful for refractory cases regardless of age, gender, or diagnosis.
Structure and function of rat liver polysome populations. II. Characterization of polyadenylate-containing mRNA associated with subpopulations of membrane-bound particles

Poly(A)+RNA fractions prepared from free and loosely and tightly membrane-bound polysome populations (poly(A)+RNAfree, poly(A)+RNAloose, and poly(A)+RNAtight) were used to drive cDNA in homologous and heterologous hybridization reactions. A large fraction by mass of sequences was shared among the three poly(A)+RNA populations, but shared sequences exhibited distinct frequency distributions within the different populations. 13-15 in vitro translation products of poly(A)+RNAfree and poly(A)+RNAloose detected by gel electrophoresis were shared. Most of these were produced in different relative quantities by the two RNA populations. Five or six higher mol wt polypeptides were produced by poly(A)+RNAloose that were not detected as products of either poly(A)+free or poly(A)+RNAtight. We suggest that loosely bound polysomes may not be artifactually derived as reflected in their quantitatively distinct poly(A)+RNA population. Two tightly membrane-bound RNP fractions were prepared from rat liver on the basis of their release from or retention on purified rough microsomes or a crude membrane fraction after in vitro disaggregation of polysomes with high-salt and puromycin. Homologous and heterologous hybridizations involving their poly(A)+RNA fractions revealed that a large portion by mass of sequences was shared but that these sequences exhibited distinct frequency distributions in the two fractions. The RNA fractions produced exhibited distinct frequency distributions in the two fractions. The RNA fractions produced an identical set of in vitro translation products but individual polypeptides were produced in different relative quantities. This indicates that the two RNP fractions do not arise by any random artifactual process and suggests that they may represent functionally distinct populations.