Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparing Sexual Harassment Subtypes Among Black and White Women by Military Rank: Double Jeopardy, the Jezebel, and the Cult of True Womanhood

Drawing upon feminist analyses of double jeopardy and the cult of true womanhood, we examine race, rank, sexual harassment frequency, and psychological distress for Black and White female military personnel (N = 7,714). Results indicated that White women reported more overall sexual harassment, gender harassment, and crude behavior, whereas Black women reported more unwanted sexual attention and sexual coercion; enlisted women reported higher rates of each subtype than officers. Black enlistees reported more sexual coercion than White enlistees, and enlistees reported more than officers, but there were no racial differences across officers. Black women reported more psychological distress following gender harassment than White women, and enlisted women reported more distress following gender harassment, unwanted sexual attention, and sexual coercion than officers. Although Black officers were less distressed at low levels of sexual coercion, as coercion became more frequent, their distress increased significantly, and at high levels, all groups were similarly distressed.
Trends in MODIS and AERONET derived aerosol optical thickness over Northern Europe

Abstract Long-term Aqua and Terra MODIS (MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) Collections 5.1 and 6.1 (c051 and c061, respectively) aerosol data have been combined with AERONET (AERosol RObotic NETwork) ground-based sun photometer observations to examine trends in aerosol optical thickness (AOT, at 550 nm) over Northern Europe for the months April to September. For the 1927 and 1559 daily coincident measurements that were obtained for c051 and c061, respectively, MODIS AOT varied by 86 and 90%, respectively, within the predicted uncertainty of one standard deviation of the retrieval over land (ΔAOT = ±0.05 ± 0.15·AOT). For the coastal AERONET site Gustav Dalen Tower (GDT), Sweden, larger deviations were found for MODIS c051 and c061 (79% and 75%, respectively, within predicted uncertainty). The Baltic Sea provides substantially better statistical representation of AOT than the surrounding land areas and therefore favours the investigations of trends in AOT over the region. Negative trends of 1.5% and 1.2% per year in AOT, based on daily averaging, were found for the southwestern Baltic Sea from MODIS c051 and c061, respectively. This is in line with a decrease of 1.2% per year in AOT at the AERONET station Hamburg. For the western Gotland Basin area, Sweden, negative trends of 1.5%, 1.1% and 1.6% per year in AOT have been found for MODIS c051, MODIS c061 and AERONET GDT, respectively. The strongest trend of –1.8% per year in AOT was found for AERONET Belsk, Poland, which can be compared to –1.5% per day obtained from MODIS c051 over central Poland. The trends in MODIS and AERONET AOT are nearly all statistically significant at the 95% confidence level. The strongest aerosol sources are suggested to be located southwest, south and southeast of the investigation area, although the highest prevalence of pollution events is associated with air mass transport from southwest.
Environmental and Endogenous Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor γ Agonists Induce Bone Marrow B Cell Growth Arrest and Apoptosis: Interactions between Mono(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate, 9-cis-Retinoic Acid, and 15-Deoxy-Δ12,14-prostaglandin J21

The common commercial use of phthalate esters has resulted in significant human exposure to these bioactive compounds. The facts that phthalate ester metabolites, like endogenous PGs, are peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) agonists, and that PPARγ agonists induce lymphocyte apoptosis suggest that phthalate esters are immunosuppressants that could act together with PGs to modulate early B cell development. In this study we examined the effects of a metabolite of one environmental phthalate, mono(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (MEHP), and 15-deoxy-Δ12,14-PGJ2 (15d-PGJ2), on developing B cells. MEHP inhibited [3H]thymidine incorporation by primary murine bone marrow B cells and a nontransformed murine pro/pre-B cell line (BU-11). Cotreatment with a retinoid X receptor α ligand, 9-cis-retinoic acid, decreased [3H]thymidine incorporation synergistically, thereby implicating activation of a PPARγ-retinoid X receptor α complex. These results were similar to those obtained with the natural PPARγ ligand 15d-PGJ2. At moderate MEHP concentrations (25 or 100 μM for primary pro-B cells and a pro/pre-B cell line, respectively), inhibition of [3H]thymidine incorporation resulted primarily from apoptosis induction, whereas at lower concentrations, the inhibition probably reflected growth arrest without apoptosis. Cotreatment of bone marrow B cells with 15d-PGJ2 and MEHP significantly enhanced the inhibition of [3H]thymidine incorporation seen with MEHP alone, potentially mimicking exposure in the bone marrow microenvironment where PG concentrations are high. Finally, MEHP- and 15d-PGJ2-induced death does not result from a decrease in NF-κB activation. These data demonstrate that environmental phthalates can cooperate with an endogenous ligand, 15d-PGJ2, to inhibit proliferation of and induce apoptosis in developing bone marrow B cells, potentially via PPARγ activation.
A Review of Time-Motion Analysis and Combat Development in Mixed Martial Arts Matches at Regional Level Tournaments

Mixed martial arts (MMA) have become a fast-growing worldwide expansion of martial arts competition, requiring high level of skill, physical conditioning, and strategy, and involving a synthesis of combat while standing or on the ground. This study quantified the effort-pause ratio (EP), and classified effort segments of stand-up or groundwork development to identify the number of actions performed per round in MMA matches. 52 MMA athletes participated in the study (M age = 24 yr., SD = 5; average experience in MMA = 5 yr., SD = 3). A one-way analysis of variance with repeated measurements was conducted to compare the type of action across the rounds. A chi-squared test was applied across the percentages to compare proportions of different events. Only one significant difference (p<.05) was observed among rounds: time in groundwork of low intensity was longer in the second compared to the third round. When the interval between rounds was not considered, the EP ratio (between high-intensity effort to low-intensity effort plus pauses) was 1:2 to 1:4. This ratio is between ratios typical for judo, wrestling, karate, and taekwondo and reflects the combination of ground and standup techniques. Most of the matches ended in the third round, involving high-intensity actions, predominantly executed during groundwork combat.
Glomerular density in renal biopsy specimens predicts the long-term prognosis of IgA nephropathy.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES An early histopathologic predictor of the renal prognosis, before the occurrence of advanced glomerular sclerosis/interstitial fibrosis and/or apparent renal dysfunction, remains to be established in IgA nephropathy (IgAN). This study aimed to determine whether the glomerular density (GD; nonsclerotic glomerular number per renal cortical area) of biopsy specimens obtained at an early stage of IgAN could predict the long-term renal outcome. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS The predictive value of the factors at biopsy, including the GD, on the renal outcome was retrospectively analyzed for 98 patients who had IgAN with an estimated GFR of > or =60 ml/min per 1.73 m(2) at biopsy (87 ml/min per 1.73 m(2) on average). RESULTS The individual value of GD in biopsy ranged from 1.2 to 8.1/mm(2) (i.e., approximately a seven-fold variation), and the GD showed a close inverse correlation with mean glomerular volume. Among the various clinicopathologic factors involved, both a cellular/fibrocellular crescent and the GD were found to be significant predictors of progression in multivariate analyses. A low GD in the biopsy specimens was frequently associated with a steeper slope of the renal function and a synergistically enhanced risk for progression with the presence of cellular/fibrocellular crescent. The renal function, proteinuria, degrees of glomerulosclerosis, and interstitial fibrosis at biopsy were not independent predictors of the prognosis in these patients. CONCLUSIONS A strong predictive relationship of low GD with progression observed in this study suggests that GD may serve as an early histopathologic marker of long-term renal prognosis in IgAN.
Orthostatic haemodynamics may be impaired in frailty.

BACKGROUND orthostatic hypotension (OH) is a physical sign that reflects a final common pathway of various forms of disordered physiology, which is the hallmark of geriatric frailty. Fried et al. recognise three increasing frailty phenotypes in older people, based on measurements of weight loss, exhaustion, grip strength, walking speed and physical activity. Orthostatic haemodynamics have not been considered as markers of frailty in older people. OBJECTIVE to classify a community sample of older people into three increasing frailty phenotypes and compare their orthostatic haemodynamics. DESIGN cross-sectional study. SETTING geriatric research clinic. SUBJECTS a total of 442 subjects (mean age 72, 72% females) without dementia or risk factors for autonomic neuropathy. METHODS the sample was classified according to modified Fried criteria. Orthostatic systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and heart rate (HR) responses were monitored during an active stand with Finometer®. RESULTS one hundred and ninety-eight subjects (44.8%) were classified as non-frail, 213 (48.2%) as pre-frail, and 31 (7.0%) as frail. Across groups, there was a significant increasing gradient in baseline HR (P = 0.008) and decreasing gradients in Delta HR (i.e. maximum HR within 30 s-baseline HR) (P < 0.001) and maximum HR by 30 s (P < 0.001). On average, by 30 s after stand, non-frail subjects had recovered 98% of their baseline SBP, while pre-frail and frail subjects had recovered 95 and 92%, respectively (P for trend = 0.064). CONCLUSIONS the orthostatic HR response and, to a lesser extent, SBP recoverability, appear impaired in frailty. Orthostatic haemodynamics may be useful markers of frailty.
Contour Motion Estimation for Asynchronous Event-Driven Cameras

This paper compares image motion estimation with asynchronous event-based cameras to Computer Vision approaches using as input frame-based video sequences. Since dynamic events are triggered at significant intensity changes, which often are at the border of objects, we refer to the event-based image motion as “contour motion. ” Algorithms are presented for the estimation of accurate contour motion from local spatio-temporal information for two camera models: the dynamic vision sensor (DVS), which asynchronously records temporal changes of the luminance, and a family of new sensors which combine DVS data with intensity signals. These algorithms take advantage of the high temporal resolution of the DVS and achieve robustness using a multiresolution scheme in time. It is shown that, because of the coupling of velocity and luminance information in the event distribution, the image motion estimation problem becomes much easier with the new sensors which provide both events and image intensity than with the DVS alone. Experiments on synthesized data from computer vision benchmarks show that our algorithm on combined data outperforms computer vision methods in accuracy and can achieve real-time performance, and experiments on real data confirm the feasibility of the approach. Given that current image motion (or so-called optic flow) methods cannot estimate well at object boundaries, the approach presented here could be used complementary to optic flow techniques, and can provide new avenues for computer vision motion research.
Bleeding during warfarin and aspirin therapy in patients with atrial fibrillation: the AFASAK 2 study. Atrial Fibrillation Aspirin and Anticoagulation.

BACKGROUND Treatment with warfarin sodium is effective for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation but many physicians hesitate to prescribe it to elderly patients presumably because of the associated risk for bleeding and the inconvenience of frequent blood tests for the patients. METHODS In the Second Copenhagen Atrial Fibrillation, Aspirin, and Anticoagulation (AFASAK 2) Study, we studied the rate of bleeding events associated with the incidence of thromboembolic events in patients receiving warfarin sodium, 1.25 mg/d; warfarin sodium, 1.25 mg/d, plus aspirin, 300 mg/d; aspirin, 300 mg/d; or adjusted-dose warfarin therapy aiming at an international normalized ratio of the prothrombin time ratio (INR) of 2.0 to 3.0. The study was scheduled for 6 years from May 1, 1993, but owing to evidence of inefficiency of low-intensity therapy plus aspirin from another study it was prematurely terminated on October 2, 1996. Minor and major bleeding events were recorded prospectively. The rate of bleeding was calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method and risk factors were identified by the Cox proportional hazards model. RESULTS Of 677 included patients, 130 (median age, 77 years; range, 67-89 years) experienced bleeding. One woman and 12 men experienced major bleeding. Four had intracranial bleeding: 2 cases were fatal and 2 were nonfatal. During treatment with mini-dose warfarin, warfarin plus aspirin, aspirin, and adjusted-dose warfarin, the annual rate of major bleeding was 0.8%, 0.3%, 1.4%, and 1.1%, respectively (P = .20). After 3 years of treatment the cumulative rate of any bleeding was 24.7%, 24.4%, 30.0%, and 41.1% (P = .003), respectively. Increasing INRvalue (P<.001) and prior myocardial infarction (P = .001) were independent risk factors for bleeding, whereas increasing age was not. CONCLUSIONS Fixed mini-dose warfarin and aspirin alone or in combination were associated with both minor and major bleeding. The small number of major bleeding events in patients receiving adjusted-dose warfarin therapy as compared with those receiving less intensive antithrombotic treatments and the finding of no significant influence of age on the risk for bleeding indicate that even elderly patients with atrial fibrillation tolerate adjusted-dose warfarin therapy (INR, 2.0-3.0).
Structural Basis of the Enhanced Pollutant-Degrading Capabilities of an Engineered Biphenyl Dioxygenase

ABSTRACT Biphenyl dioxygenase, the first enzyme of the biphenyl catabolic pathway, is a major determinant of which polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners are metabolized by a given bacterial strain. Ongoing efforts aim to engineer BphAE, the oxygenase component of the enzyme, to efficiently transform a wider range of congeners. BphAEII9, a variant of BphAELB400 in which a seven-residue segment, 335TFNNIRI341, has been replaced by the corresponding segment of BphAEB356, 333GINTIRT339, transforms a broader range of PCB congeners than does either BphAELB400 or BphAEB356, including 2,6-dichlorobiphenyl, 3,3′-dichlorobiphenyl, 4,4′-dichlorobiphenyl, and 2,3,4′-trichlorobiphenyl. To understand the structural basis of the enhanced activity of BphAEII9, we have determined the three-dimensional structure of this variant in substrate-free and biphenyl-bound forms. Structural comparison with BphAELB400 reveals a flexible active-site mouth and a relaxed substrate binding pocket in BphAEII9 that allow it to bind different congeners and which could be responsible for the enzyme's altered specificity. Biochemical experiments revealed that BphAEII9 transformed 2,3,4′-trichlorobiphenyl and 2,2′,5,5′-tetrachlorobiphenyl more efficiently than did BphAELB400 and BphAEB356. BphAEII9 also transformed the insecticide dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) more efficiently than did either parental enzyme (apparent kcat/Km of 2.2 ± 0.5 mM−1 s−1, versus 0.9 ± 0.5 mM−1 s−1 for BphAEB356). Studies of docking of the enzymes with these three substrates provide insight into the structural basis of the different substrate selectivities and regiospecificities of the enzymes. IMPORTANCE Biphenyl dioxygenase is the first enzyme of the biphenyl degradation pathway that is involved in the degradation of polychlorinated biphenyls. Attempts have been made to identify the residues that influence the enzyme activity for the range of substrates among various species. In this study, we have done a structural study of one variant of this enzyme that was produced by family shuffling of genes from two different species. Comparison of the structure of this variant with those of the parent enzymes provided an important insight into the molecular basis for the broader substrate preference of this enzyme. The structural and functional details gained in this study can be utilized to further engineer desired enzymatic activity, producing more potent enzymes.
X-Stream: edge-centric graph processing using streaming partitions

X-Stream is a system for processing both in-memory and out-of-core graphs on a single shared-memory machine. While retaining the scatter-gather programming model with state stored in the vertices, X-Stream is novel in (i) using an edge-centric rather than a vertex-centric implementation of this model, and (ii) streaming completely unordered edge lists rather than performing random access. This design is motivated by the fact that sequential bandwidth for all storage media (main memory, SSD, and magnetic disk) is substantially larger than random access bandwidth. We demonstrate that a large number of graph algorithms can be expressed using the edge-centric scatter-gather model. The resulting implementations scale well in terms of number of cores, in terms of number of I/O devices, and across different storage media. X-Stream competes favorably with existing systems for graph processing. Besides sequential access, we identify as one of the main contributors to better performance the fact that X-Stream does not need to sort edge lists during preprocessing.
Breaking Symmetries in Graph Representation

There are many complex combinatorial problems which involve searching for an undirected graph satisfying a certain property. These problems are often highly challenging because of the large number of isomorphic representations of a possible solution. In this paper we introduce novel, effective and compact, symmetry breaking constraints for undirected graph search. While incomplete, these prove highly beneficial in pruning the search for a graph. We illustrate the application of symmetry breaking in graph representation to resolve several open instances in extremal graph theory.
Spatio-Temporal Characteristics of the Extreme Climate Events and their Potential Effects on Crop Yield in Ethiopia

Abstract: Extreme climate events exhibit an increasing spatio-temporal trend globally, and the increasing intensity and frequency may have severe impacts on the human society and natural ecosystems. This study analyzed the extreme temperature and precipitation variability from 1956 to 2016, and evaluated their potential effects on crop yield in Ethiopia. Relative extreme temperature indices exhibited a decreasing trend with low-temperature events, but a significantly upward trend with extreme high temperature events. The frequency of annual warm nights increased to a greater degree than that of cold days. The total annual wet-day precipitation decreased significantly at a rate of -46 mm/decade. Further, the succession of dry days gradually increased by 5.6 day/decade, while an opposite trend of wet days was found with a decline of 1.4 day/ decade. The correlation between annual precipitation and crop production was 0.422, indicating that extreme precipitation indices may have higher explanatory power than extreme temperature indices in the crop yield variations. Moreover, the extreme climate changes have induced significant adverse impacts on crops yield particularly in Ethiopia where no proper adaptation measures have been implemented.
Conservation Voltage Reduction with feedback from Advanced Metering Infrastructure

Dominion Virginia Power's Conservation Voltage Reduction program has demonstrated energy savings of up to 4% by optimizing off-peak voltage. The key innovation is incorporating end-of-line voltage data from every customer meter, which eliminates the need to maintain an electrical model of the feeder. CVR is accomplished via DMS control of the load tap changer based on voltage feedback from AMI meter data. Analysis of AMI voltage data determines a subset of meters representing the lowest customer voltages; these meters are read every 15 minutes and used to determine the optimal feeder voltage. A statistical evaluation of pilot feeders shows a CVR factor of 0.92% reduction in energy for each 1% reduction in voltage. In addition, customer voltage monitoring identifies operational issues prior to customer calls. The program is projected to save an average of 2.8% of annual energy when applied system-wide, and may be expanded to accomplish on-peak demand reduction.
Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and its receptors

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a highly specific mitogen for vascular endothelial cells. Five VEGF isoforms are generated as a result of alternative splicing from a single VEGF gene. These isoforms differ in their molecular mass and in biological properties such as their ability to bind to cell‐surface heparan‐sulfate proteoglycans. The expression of VEGF is potentiated in response to hypoxia, by activated oncogenes, and by a variety of cytokines. VEGF induces endothelial cell proliferation, promotes cell migration, and inhibits apoptosis. In vivo VEGF induces angiogenesis as well as permeabilization of blood vessels, and plays a central role in the regulation of vasculogenesis. Deregulated VEGF expression contributes to the development of solid tumors by promoting tumor angiogenesis and to the etiology of several additional diseases that are characterized by abnormal angiogenesis. Consequently, inhibition of VEGF signaling abrogates the development of a wide variety of tumors. The various VEGF forms bind to two tyrosine‐kinase receptors, VEGFR‐1 (flt‐1) and VEGFR‐2 (KDR/flk‐1), which are expressed almost exclusively in endothelial cells. Endothelial cells express in addition the neuropilin‐1 and neuropilin‐2 coreceptors, which bind selectively to the 165 amino acid form of VEGF (VEGF165). This review focuses on recent developments that have widened considerably our understanding of the mechanisms that control VEGF production and VEGF signal transduction and on recent studies that have shed light on the mechanisms by which VEGF regulates angiogenesis. —Neufeld, G. , Cohen, T. , Gengrinovitch, S. , Poltorak, Z. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and its receptors. FASEB J. 13, 9–22 (1999)