Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Voluntary associations, churches, and social participation theories of turnout

This study reviews the uneven history of research on nonreligious and religious group involvement in U.S. voting participation. It uses previously unmined data to examine the influence of voluntary association and church involvement on turnout over time. It tests theories that group involvement mobilizes voters through the byproducts of increasing predispositions to vote (political interest, efficacy, knowledge, and civic duty) and civic leadership skills; and that group leaders and issues mobilize voters directly. This research uses General Social Surveys to test the effect of voluntary association and church involvement on presidential-election turnout from 1972 to 1992. It uses the 1996 National Election Study (NES), supplemented by 1984, 1988, and 1992 NESs, to test the byproduct and direct mobilization theories. Both nonreligious and religious group activity are moderately important predictors of turnout in all elections. Increases in civic skills do not explain group effects, and the group effects of participatory predispositions and of direct mobilization are weak. We need additional theories to explain the relationship between voluntary and religious group involvement and turnout. An increase in sense of community may explain how group involvement stimulates turnout, or group activity and turnout may be manifestations of the same underlying social participation construct
Self-injurious thoughts and behaviors as risk factors for future suicide ideation, attempts, and death: a meta-analysis of longitudinal studies

Background A history of self-injurious thoughts and behaviors (SITBs) is consistently cited as one of the strongest predictors of future suicidal behavior. However, stark discrepancies in the literature raise questions about the true magnitude of these associations. The objective of this study is to examine the magnitude and clinical utility of the associations between SITBs and subsequent suicide ideation, attempts, and death. Method We searched PubMed, PsycInfo, and Google Scholar for papers published through December 2014. Inclusion required that studies include at least one longitudinal analysis predicting suicide ideation, attempts, or death using any SITB variable. We identified 2179 longitudinal studies; 172 met inclusion criteria. Results The most common outcome was suicide attempt (47.80%), followed by death (40.50%) and ideation (11.60%). Median follow-up was 52 months (mean = 82.52, s.d. = 102.29). Overall prediction was weak, with weighted mean odds ratios (ORs) of 2.07 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.76–2.43] for ideation, 2.14 (95% CI 2.00–2.30) for attempts, and 1.54 (95% CI 1.39–1.71) for death. Adjusting for publication bias further reduced estimates. Diagnostic accuracy analyses indicated acceptable specificity (86–87%) and poor sensitivity (10–26%), with areas under the curve marginally above chance (0.60–0.62). Most risk factors generated OR estimates of <2.0 and no risk factor exceeded 4.5. Effects were consistent regardless of sample severity, sample age groups, or follow-up length. Conclusions Prior SITBs confer risk for later suicidal thoughts and behaviors. However, they only provide a marginal improvement in diagnostic accuracy above chance. Addressing gaps in study design, assessment, and underlying mechanisms may prove useful in improving prediction and prevention of suicidal thoughts and behaviors.
A quasi linear-time b-Matching algorithm on distance-hereditary graphs and bounded split-width graphs

We present a quasi linear-time algorithm for Maximum Matching on distance-hereditary graphs and some of their generalizations. This improves on [Dragan, WG'97], who proposed such an algorithm for the subclass of (tent,hexahedron)-free distance-hereditary graphs. Furthermore, our result is derived from a more general one that is obtained for b-Matching. In the (unit cost) b-Matching problem, we are given a graph G = (V, E) together with a nonnegative integer capacity b v for every vertex v ∈ V. The objective is to assign nonnegative integer weights (x e) e∈E so that: for every v ∈ V the sum of the weights of its incident edges does not exceed b v , and e∈E x e is maximized. We present the first algorithm for solving b-Matching on cographs, distance-hereditary graphs and some of their generalizations in quasi linear time. For that, we use a decomposition algorithm that outputs for any graph G a collection of subgraphs of G with no edge-cutsets inducing a complete bipartite subgraph (a.k.a., splits). The latter collection is sometimes called a split decomposition of G. Furthermore, there exists a generic method in order to design graph algorithms based on split decomposition [Rao, DAM'08]. However, this technique only applies to " localized " problems: for which a " best " partial solution for any given subgraph in a split decomposition can be computed almost independently from the remaining of the graph. Such framework does not apply to matching problems since an augmenting path may cross the subgraphs arbitrarily. We introduce a new technique that somehow captures all the partial solutions for a given union of subgraphs in a split decomposition, in a compact and amenable way for algorithms — assuming some piecewise linear assumption holds on the value of such solutions. The latter assumption is shown to hold for b-Matching. Doing so, we prove that solving b-Matching on any pair G, b can be reduced in quasi linear-time to solving this problem on a collection of smaller graphs: that are obtained from the subgraphs in any split decomposition of G by replacing every vertex with a constant-size module. In particular, if G has a split decomposition where all subgraphs have order at most a fixed k, then we can solve b-Matching for G, b in O((k log 2 k)·(m+n)·log ||b|| 1)-time. This answers an open question of [Coudert et al., SODA'18].
Understanding electronic government research and smart city: A framework and empirical evidence

Smart cities have been evolving since their early appearance in late 1990s from metropolitan-wide Information and Communication Technology (ICT) based solutions to today’s innovations –not necessarily based on ICTthat utilize city resources and improve local everyday life. This paper attempts to answer two research questions: (a) Does e1 Corresponding author
Mathematics Interventions for Children with Special Educational Needs

This article presents the results of a meta-analysis of 58 studies of mathematics interventions for elementary students with special needs. Interventions in three different domains were selected: preparatory mathematics, basic skills, and problemsolving strategies. The majority of the included studies described interventions in the domain of basic skills. In general, these interventions were also the most effective. Furthermore, a few specific characteristics were found to influence the outcomes of the studies. In addition to the duration of the intervention, the particular method of intervention proved important: Direct instruction and self-instruction were found to be more effective than mediated instruction. Interventions involving the use of computerassisted instruction and peer tutoring showed smaller effects than interventions not including these supports.
Effect of fungicide on Fusarium verticillioides mycelial morphology and fumonisin B 1 production

The effect of fludioxonil + metalaxyl-M on the mycelial morphology, sporulation and fumonisin B 1 production by Fusarium verticillioides 103 F was evaluated. Scanning electron microscopy analysis showed that the fungicide caused inhibition of hyphal growth and defects on hyphae morphology such as cell wall disruption, withered hyphae, and excessive septation. In addition, extracellular material around the hyphae was rarely observed in the presence of fludioxonil + metalaxyl-M. While promoting the reduction of mycelial growth, the fungicide increased sporulation of F. verticillioides compared to the control, and the highest production occurred on the 14 th day in the treatments and on the 10 th day in the control cultures. Fumonisin B 1 production in the culture media containing the fungicide (treatment) was detected from the 7 th day incubation, whereas in cultures without fungicide (control) it was detected on the 10 th day. The highest fumonisin B 1 production occurred on the 14 th day, both for the control and for the treatment. Fludioxonil + metalaxyl - M can interfere in F. verticillioides mycelial morphology and sporulation and increase fumonisin B 1 levels. These data indicate the importance of understanding the effects of fungicide to minimize the occurrence of toxigenic fungi and fumonisins.
Impact of preeclampsia and gestational hypertension on birth weight by gestational age.

The predominant etiologic theory of preeclampsia is that reduced uteroplacental perfusion is the unique pathogenic process in the development of preeclampsia. Decreased uteroplacental blood flow would result in lower birth weights. To date, no study has assessed the effect of preeclampsia on birth weight by gestational age. Thus, the authors conducted a retrospective cohort study based on 97,270 pregnancies that resulted in delivery between 1991 and 1996 at 35 hospitals in northern and central Alberta, Canada. Differences in mean birth weight between women with preeclampsia and normotensive women ranged from -547.5 g to 239.5 g for gestational age categories ranging from < or = 32 weeks to > or = 2 weeks. The birth weights were statistically significantly lower among mothers with preeclampsia who delivered at < or = 37 weeks, with an average difference of -352.5 g. However, the birth weights were not lower among preeclamptic mothers who delivered after 37 weeks (average difference of 49.0 g). In Alberta, 61.2% of preeclamptic patients gave birth after 37 weeks of gestation. The authors conclude that babies born to mothers with preeclampsia at term have fetal growth similar to that of babies born to normotensive mothers. This finding does not endorse the currently held theory that reduced uteroplacental perfusion is the unique pathophysiologic process in preeclampsia.
Effect of chlorhexidine gel containing saccharin or aspartame in deaf children highly infected with mutans streptococci

Aim: Since deaf children are unable to comprehend or cooperate with dental treatment due to lack of communication, preventive measures may be an important way to control the high prevalence of dental caries in these patients. The aim of the this study was to evaluate the effect of an intensive treatment with chlorhexidine (CHX) gel, containing either saccharin or aspartame, in deaf children highly infected with mutans streptococci (MS). Methods: Eighteen children were randomly divided into two groups, according to the sweetener used to improve the CHX gel bitter taste: saccharin or aspartame. Before CHX treatment, saliva samples were collected to establish baseline microbial data for MS. CHX gel was applied on two consecutive days, four times the first day and three times the second day. Saliva samples were then taken after 7, 30, 60, 90 and 120 days to evaluate MS oral recolonization. Results: CHX gel containing saccharin was not effective on the reduction of MS levels, while the gel containing aspartame decreased significantly MS levels after treatment (P<.05). Conclusions: Although a new CHX application may be necessary after 60 days to control caries risk and MS levels, CHX treatment should be individually controlled because of variations in the response of subjects.
Epidemiological surveillance of leishmaniasis in the European Union: operational and research challenges.

Surveillance and outbreak reports Re-emergence of leishmaniasis in Spain: community outbreak in Madrid, Spain, 2009 to 2012 5 by A Arce, A Estirado, M Ordobas, S Sevilla, N Garcia, L Moratilla, S de la Fuente, AM Martinez, AM Perez, E Aranguez, A Iriso, O Sevillano, J Bernal, F Vilas Imported leishmaniasis in the Netherlands from 2005 to 2012: epidemiology, diagnostic techniques and sequence-based species typing from 195 patients 14 by A Bart, PP van Thiel , HJ de Vries, CJ Hodiamont, T Van Gool
Grapevine yellows diseases in Spain:eight year survey of disease spread and molecular characterization of phytoplasmas involved

Among grapevine yellows phytoplasma diseases in Europe, flavescence doree (FD) is the most devastating and in the last decade has reached Spanish vineyards, mainly in Catalonia. An eight-year survey was carried out in the areas where the disease has spread (Alt Emporda, Catalonia, Northern Spain) and in the remaining vine-growing areas of Catalonia. Sequence analyses of a portion of the 16S-23S ribosomal DNA cistron, from selected grapevine samples from Catalonia, showed that the phytoplasmas involved in grapevine yellows belong to 16S ribosomal subgroups V-D (flavescence doree, FD) and XII-A (bois noir, BN). A set of Spanish FD isolates collected during these years were further studied by RFLP analyses of the 16S-23S ribosomal DNA fragment, as well as the rpS3 and SecY genes. All the FD phytoplasma strains studied were related to phytoplasmas belonging to ribosomal protein subgroup rp-E.
Complete genome sequence of Syntrophobacter fumaroxidans strain (MPOBT)

Syntrophobacter fumaroxidans strain MPOBT is the best-studied species of the genus Syntrophobacter. The species is of interest because of its anaerobic syntrophic lifestyle, its involvement in the conversion of propionate to acetate, H2 and CO2 during the overall degradation of organic matter, and its release of products that serve as substrates for other microorganisms. The strain is able to ferment fumarate in pure culture to CO2 and succinate, and is also able to grow as a sulfate reducer with propionate as an electron donor. This is the first complete genome sequence of a member of the genus Syntrophobacter and a member genus in the family Syntrophobacteraceae. Here we describe the features of this organism, together with the complete genome sequence and annotation. The 4,990,251 bp long genome with its 4,098 protein-coding and 81 RNA genes is a part of the Microbial Genome Program (MGP) and the Genomes to Life (GTL) Program project.
Endocrine and Paracrine Regulation of Renal Microcirculations

Perfusion of the renal medulla plays a significant role in the control of salt and water balance. Blood is supplied to the medulla largely by descending vasa recta (DVR), which are derived from the efferent arterioles of the juxtamedullary glomeruli. In addition, some blood is directed to the medulla via periglomerular shunts. Renal microcirculation is modulated by various endocrine and paracrine agents. Through various methods including, in vitro microperfusion and the juxtamedullary nephron preparation, actions of vasoactive agents have been identified. Hormones such as vasopressin and angiotensin II (AngII) regulate salt and water excretion and affect perfusion of the renal medulla. The paracrine agents, nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandins (PG), and arachidonic acid metabolites provide tightly regulated regional control over renal blood flow. Collectively, these endocrine and paracrine agents provide a complex and highly regulated mechanism for the control of renal perfusion.
Pushing the Limits of Unconstrained Face Detection: a Challenge Dataset and Baseline Results

Face detection has witnessed immense progress in the last few years, with new milestones being surpassed every year. While many challenges such as large variations in scale, pose, appearance are successfully addressed, there still exist several issues which are not specifically captured by existing methods or datasets. In this work, we identify the next set of challenges that requires attention from the research community and collect a new dataset of face images that involve these issues such as weather-based degradations, motion blur, focus blur and several others. We demonstrate that there is a considerable gap in the performance of state-of-the-art detectors and real-world requirements. Hence, in an attempt to fuel further research in unconstrained face detection, we present a new annotated Unconstrained Face Detection Dataset (UFDD) with several challenges and benchmark recent methods. Additionally, we provide an in-depth analysis of the results and failure cases of these methods. The UFDD dataset as well as baseline results, evaluation code and image source are available at: www.ufdd. info/
Molecular Recognition of the Neurotransmitter Acetylcholine by an Acetylcholine Binding Protein Reveals Determinants of Binding to Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors

Despite extensive studies on nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) and homologues, details of acetylcholine binding are not completely resolved. Here, we report the crystal structure of acetylcholine bound to the receptor homologue acetylcholine binding protein from Lymnaea stagnalis. This is the first structure of acetylcholine in a binding pocket containing all five aromatic residues conserved in all mammalian nAChRs. The ligand-protein interactions are characterized by contacts to the aromatic box formed primarily by residues on the principal side of the intersubunit binding interface (residues Tyr89, Trp143 and Tyr185). Besides these interactions on the principal side, we observe a cation-π interaction between acetylcholine and Trp53 on the complementary side and a water-mediated hydrogen bond from acetylcholine to backbone atoms of Leu102 and Met114, both of importance for anchoring acetylcholine to the complementary side. To further study the role of Trp53, we mutated the corresponding tryptophan in the two different acetylcholine-binding interfaces of the widespread α4β2 nAChR, i.e. the interfaces α4(+)β2(−) and α4(+)α4(−). Mutation to alanine (W82A on the β2 subunit or W88A on the α4 subunit) significantly altered the response to acetylcholine measured by oocyte voltage-clamp electrophysiology in both interfaces. This shows that the conserved tryptophan residue is important for the effects of ACh at α4β2 nAChRs, as also indicated by the crystal structure. The results add important details to the understanding of how this neurotransmitter exerts its action and improves the foundation for rational drug design targeting these receptors.
Interleukin 10 (IL10) proximal promoter polymorphisms beyond clinical response in classical Hodgkin lymphoma: Exploring the basis for the genetic control of the tumor microenvironment

ABSTRACT Interleukin-10 (IL10) is an immune regulatory cytokine. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in IL10 promoter have been associated with prognosis in adult classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL). We analyzed IL10 SNPs −1082 and −592 in respect of therapy response, gene expression and tumor microenvironment (TME) composition in 98 pediatric patients with cHL. As confirmatory results, we found that −1082AA/AG; −592CC genotypes and ATA haplotype were associated with unfavourable prognosis: Progression-free survival (PFS) was shorter in −1082AA+AG (72.2%) than in GG patients (100%) (P = 0.024), and in −592AA (50%) and AC (74.2%) vs. CC patients (87.0%) (P = 0.009). In multivariate analysis, the −592CC genotype and the ATA haplotype retained prognostic impact (HR: 0.41, 95% CI 0.2–0.86; P = 0.018, and HR: 3.06 95% CI 1.03–9.12; P = 0.044, respectively). Our analysis further led to some new observations, namely: (1) Low IL10 mRNA expression was associated with −1082GG genotype (P = 0.014); (2) IL10 promoter polymorphisms influence TME composition;−1082GG/−592CC carriers showed low numbers of infiltrating cells expressing MAF transcription factor (20 vs. 78 and 49 vs. 108 cells/mm2, respectively; P< 0.05); while ATA haplotype (high expression) associated with high numbers of MAF+ cells (P = 0.005). Specifically, −1082GG patients exhibited low percentages of CD68+MAF+ (M2-like) intratumoral macrophages (15.04% vs. 47.26%, P = 0.017). Considering ours as an independent validation cohort, our results give support to the clinical importance of IL10 polymorphisms in the full spectrum of cHL, and advance the concept of genetic control of microenvironment composition as a basis for susceptibility and therapeutic response.
Temporal Answer Set Programming on Finite Traces

Abstract In this paper, we introduce an alternative approach to Temporal Answer Set Programming that relies on a variation of Temporal Equilibrium Logic (TEL) for finite traces. This approach allows us to even out the expressiveness of TEL over infinite traces with the computational capacity of (incremental) Answer Set Programming (ASP). Also, we argue that finite traces are more natural when reasoning about action and change. As a result, our approach is readily implementable via multi-shot ASP systems and benefits from an extension of ASP's full-fledged input language with temporal operators. This includes future as well as past operators whose combination offers a rich temporal modeling language. For computation, we identify the class of temporal logic programs and prove that it constitutes a normal form for our approach. Finally, we outline two implementations, a generic one and an extension of the ASP system clingo. Under consideration for publication in Theory and Practice of Logic Programming (TPLP)
Recruitment of mitofusin 2 into “lipid rafts” drives mitochondria fusion induced by Mdivi-1

The regulation of the mitochondrial dynamics and the balance between fusion and fission processes are crucial for the health and fate of the cell. Mitochondrial fusion and fission machinery is controlled by key proteins such as mitofusins, OPA-1 and several further molecules. In the present work we investigated the implication of lipid rafts in mitochondrial fusion induced by Mdivi-1. Our results underscore the possible implication of lipid “rafts” in mitochondrial morphogenetic changes and their homeostasis.
Predictors of Intention to Prepare for Volcanic Risks in Mt Merapi, Indonesia

This article is about modelling causal-relationship factors related to disaster preparedness. A model identifying the relationships between person- and community-level factors and intention to prepare for volcanic risks is tested in communities surrounding the Mt Merapi volcano, Indonesia. The analysis extends the test of a model developed by one of the authors in an individualistic culture, New Zealand, to members of a collectivistic culture. Using the data obtained from communities situated around Mt Merapi (n = 322), analysis revealed that community-level (collective efficacy and community participation) and variables describing the quality of the relationship between community members and civic agencies played significant roles in predicting intentions to prepare for volcanic hazards. The analysis also revealed that individual-level variables (outcome expectancy) were less influential compared with studies applying the model in individualistic countries. Some policy implications related to the findings are discussed.