Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Antidepressant medication treatment patterns in Asian patients with major depressive disorder

Purpose To describe pharmacological treatment patterns in Asian patients with major depressive disorder (MDD), including duration of treatment, reasons for medication discontinuation, rate of medication nonadherence, factors associated with medication nonadherence, and impact of medication nonadherence on depression outcomes. Patients and methods Data were from a prospective, observational 3-month study of East Asian MDD inpatients from 40 sites in six East Asian countries who initiated antidepressant treatment at baseline (n=569). Assessments included the Clinical Global Impression-Severity scale (CGI-S), 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD-17), painful physical symptoms, response and remission, employment status, quality of life (QoL) (EuroQOL Questionnaire-5 Dimensions [EQ-5D]) and health state using the visual analog scale, adherence by clinician opinion, and patient self-report. Cox proportional hazards modeling, Kaplan–Meier survival analysis, and regression modeling were employed. Results Median time to discontinuation for any reason was 70 days (95% confidence interval: 47; 95). Reasons for discontinuation were inadequate response in 64.1%, nonadherence in 6.2%, and adverse events in 4.1%; 25.6% who discontinued experienced an adequate response to treatment. In those patients who had an adequate response, age and country were significantly associated with time to medication discontinuation. Patient-reported nonadherence was 57.5% and clinician-reported nonadherence was 14.6% (62/426). At 3 months, nonadherent patients had significantly higher disease severity (CGI-S, P=0.0001; HAMD-17, P<0.0001), lower QoL ratings (EQ-5D tariff, P=0.0007; EQ-5D visual analog scale, P=0.0024), and lower response and remission rates (both P<0.0001) compared with adherent patients. The odds of response and remission were greater among adherent patients. Conclusion Early discontinuation of antidepressants among Asian MDD patients was high. A total of 25.6% who discontinued prematurely were experiencing an adequate response to treatment. Nonadherent patients had significantly higher disease severity, lower QoL ratings, and lower response and remission rates compared with adherent patients.
Fabrication and viscoelastic characteristics of waste tire rubber based magnetorheological elastomer

In this study, waste tire rubber (WTR) was successfully converted into magnetorheological (MR) elastomer via high-pressure and high-temperature reclamation. The physical and rheological properties of WTR based MR elastomers were assessed for performance. The revulcanization process was at the absence of magnetic fields. Thus, the magnetizable particles were allowed to distribute randomly. To confirm the particle dispersion in the MR elastomer matrix, an observation by scanning electron microscopy was used. The magnetization saturation and other magnetic properties were obtained through vibrating sample magnetometer. Rheological properties including MR effect were examined under oscillatory loadings in the absence and presence of magnetic fields using rotational rheometer. The WTR based MR elastomer exhibited tunable intrinsic properties under presentation of magnetic fields. The storage and loss modulus, along with the loss factor, changed with increases in frequency and during magnetization. Interestingly, a Payne effect phenomenon was seen in all samples during dynamic swept strain testing. The Payne effect was significantly increased with incremental increases in the magnetic field. This phenomenon was interpreted as the process of formation–destruction–reformation undergone by the internal network chains in the MR elastomers.
Trait Emotional Intelligence and the Dark Triad Traits of Personality

This study presents the first behavioral genetic investigation of the relationships between trait emotional intelligence (trait EI or trait emotional self-efficacy) and the Dark Triad traits of narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy. In line with trait EI theory, the construct correlated positively with narcissism, but negatively with the other two traits. Generally, the correlations were consistent across the 4 factors and 15 facets of the construct. Cholesky decomposition analysis revealed that the phenotypic associations were primarily due to correlated genetic factors and secondarily due to correlated nonshared environmental factors, with shared environmental factors being nonsignificant in all cases. Results are discussed from the perspective of trait EI theory with particular reference to the issue of adaptive value.
Concrete-filled square FRP tubes under axial compression

Existing studies have proven the effectiveness of using fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composites for retrofitting concrete columns. FRP composites also offer potential for use in new column construction in the form of concrete-filled FRP tubes, where the tubes fulfill multiple functions of: i) stay-in-place formwork, ii) confinement reinforcement, iii) protective shell against weathering and chemical attacks. This paper presents results of an experimental study on the behavior of concrete-filled square FRP tubes under concentric compression. The FRP tubes were designed as column confinement reinforcement and were manufactured using unidirectional carbon fiber sheets with fibers oriented in the hoop direction. The effects of the thickness and the corner radius of tubes on the axial behavior of concrete-filled FRP tubes were investigated experimentally. The test results indicate that FRP confinement may substantially improve the ductility of square columns. The confinement may also improve the axial load-carrying capacity of columns if the confinement effectiveness is sufficiently high. The results also indicate that the confinement effectiveness increases with the thickness and the corner radius of tubes.
Experiments with transitive dictionary translation and pseudo-relevance feedback using graded relevance assessments

Research on cross-language information retrieval (CLIR) has typically been restricted to settings using binary relevance assessments. In this paper, we present evaluation results for transitive dictionary-based CLIR using graded relevance assessments in a best match retrieval environment. A text database containing newspaper articles and a related set of 35 search topics were used in the tests. Source language topics (in English, German, and Swedish) were automatically translated into the target language (Finnish) via an intermediate (or pivot) language. Effectiveness of the transitively translated queries was compared to that of the directly translated and monolingual Finnish queries. Pseudo-relevance feedback (PRF) was also used to expand the original transitive target queries. CLIR performance was evaluated on three relevance thresholds: stringent, regular, and liberal. The transitive translations performed well achieving, on the average, 85-93% of the direct translation performance, and 66-72% of monolingual performance. Moreover, PRF was successful in raising the performance of transitive translation routes originally performing worse. a Corresponding author
Investigation of Relationship Between Blend Ratio and Yarn Twist on Yarn Properties of Bamboo, Cotton, Polyester, and its Blends

ABSTRACT In this study, a series of blended yarns consisting of 80:20 bamboo/cotton, 67:33 bamboo/cotton, 50:50 bamboo/cotton, 33:67 bamboo/cotton, 20:80 bamboo/cotton, 80:20 bamboo/polyester, 67:33 bamboo/polyester, 50:50 bamboo/polyester, 33:67 bamboo/polyester, and 20:80 bamboo/polyester were produced from blends consisting of bamboo/cotton and bamboo/polyester. Besides these, 100% bamboo, 100% cotton, and 100% polyester were also produced. All the yarns were produced with two levels of twist per meter (TPM) 76 and 90. It can be found that the yarn unevenness characteristic was affected by the blended ratio of cotton, polyester, and regenerated bamboo fiber. The drop in tenacity of blended yarns in comparison to the constituents is generally lower which is attributed to the elongation at break of the yarns. The variability in tenacity in respect of 100% polyester yarn is quite high in comparison with other yarns. The yarn elongation at break of bamboo/cotton-blended yarns is found to be lower than those of bamboo/polyester-blended yarns. The variability in the work of rupture is found to be lower for bamboo/cotton-blended yarns. Yarn friction values of the yarns noticed that polyester exhibits the highest value at the TPM of 76. The yarn torque values from which it is noticed that 100% polyester yarns spun with the TPM of 76 have a higher torque in both the wet and dry states. The quality characters of yarn depend upon the ratio of bamboo, cotton, and polyester in the blend ratio.
Motivation for everyday social participation in cognitively able individuals with autism spectrum disorder

Objective The purpose of the present study was to examine motivation for the contextual nature of motivations for social participation in cognitively able adolescents and adults with autism spectrum disorder, using self-determination theory as a theoretical framework. Methods Fourteen Australians and 16 Taiwanese (aged 16–45 years) with Asperger’s syndrome and high functioning autism were asked to carry a device which prompted them seven times/day for 7 days, to record what they were doing, with whom, perceived difficulty and social reciprocity, and the reasons for engaging in a situation, which were then coded into degree of self-determination. Results Multilevel analyses showed that participants were more likely to be self-determined while engaging in “solitary/parallel leisure” and “social activities” than in other types of activities. Interactions with “family members” and “casual/intimate friends” were also positively associated with self-determined motivation. Further, participants were more likely to perceive higher levels of being listened to during interaction with casual/intimate friends than in interaction with other people. Global social anxiety served as a moderator for their perceptions of difficulty and social reciprocity during social engagement. Conclusion The findings highlight the context-dependent motivations for social engagement of cognitively able individuals with autism spectrum disorder.
Effects of different treatment regimens of methylprednisolone on rat diaphragm contractility, immunohistochemistry and biochemistry.

Systemic corticosteroid therapy may affect diaphragm structure and function. We postulated that functional, immunohistochemical and biochemical characteristics of rat diaphragm were less affected by alternate-day methylprednisolone (MP) administration, and more by repeated bursts of MP, in comparison to daily s.c MP. Sixty adult rats were randomized into four groups: saline s.c. ; MP continuously (MP-C), 1 mg.kg-1 daily, MP alternate-day therapy (MP-A), 2 mg.kg-1 every other day; or MP in bursts (MP-B), MP 2 mg.kg-1 daily for 2 weeks, saline for 4 weeks, MP 2 mg.kg-1 daily for 2 weeks. The total treatment period was 8 weeks. Contractile properties of isolated diaphragm strips were measured. Antibodies reactive with type I, IIa, IIx and IIb myosin heavy chains were used for immunohistochemical analysis. Biochemical evaluation included markers of fast energy supply, glycogenolytic activity, beta-oxidation capacity and oxidative capacity. The force-frequency curve was depressed in all MP groups. Fibre type I, IIx and IIb cross-sectional area (CSA) decreased in all MP groups. Burst therapy decreased the contribution of type IIb fibres to total diaphragm muscle area. MP-A affected glycogenolytic activity less than MP-C. Burst MP therapy reduced creatine kinase (CK) activity and beta-oxidation capacity compared to MP-C. Oxidative capacity was increased in all MP groups. In conclusion, although the methylprednisolone treatment regimens affected diaphragm muscle morphology and bioenergetic enzyme activities in different ways, force generation decreased in all methylprednisolone treated groups to the same extent.
Low serum vitamin D levels and tuberculosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE To explore the association between low serum vitamin D and risk of active tuberculosis in humans. DESIGN Systematic review and meta-analysis. DATA SOURCES Observational studies published between 1980 and July 2006 (identified through Medline) that examined the association between low serum vitamin D and risk of active tuberculosis. RESULTS For the review, seven papers were eligible from 151 identified in the search. The pooled effect size in random effects meta-analysis was 0.68 with 95% CI 0.43-0.93. This 'medium to large' effect represents a probability of 70% that a healthy individual would have higher serum vitamin D level than an individual with tuberculosis if both were chosen at random from a population. There was little heterogeneity between the studies. CONCLUSIONS Low serum vitamin D levels are associated with higher risk of active tuberculosis. Although more prospectively designed studies are needed to firmly establish the direction of this association, it is more likely that low body vitamin D levels increase the risk of active tuberculosis. In view of this, the potential role of vitamin D supplementation in people with tuberculosis and hypovitaminosis D-associated conditions like chronic kidney disease should be evaluated.
Herbal Highs: Review on Psychoactive Effects and Neuropharmacology

Background: A new trend among users of new psychoactive substances’ the consumption of “herbal highs”: plant parts containing psychoactive substances. Most of the substances extracted from herbs, in old centuries were at the centre of religious ceremonies of ancient civilizations. Currently, these herbal products are mainly sold by internet web sites and easily obtained since some of them have no legal restriction. Objective: We reviewed psychoactive effects and neuropharmacology of the most used “herbal highs” with characterized active principles, with studies reporting mechanisms of action, pharmacological and subjective effects, eventual secondary effects including intoxications and/or fatalities Method: The PubMed database was searched using the following key.words: herbal highs, Argyreia nervosa, Ipomoea violacea and Rivea corymbosa; Catha edulis; Datura stramonium; Piper methysticum; Mitragyna speciosa. Results: Psychoactive plants here reviewed have been known and used from ancient times, even if for some of them limited information still exist regarding subjective and neuropharmacological effects and consequent eventual toxicity when plants are used alone or in combination with “classical” drugs of abuse. Conclusion: Some “herbal highs” should be classified as harmful drugs since chronic administration has been linked with addiction and cognitive impairment; for some others taking into consideration only the recent trends of abuse, studies investigating these aspects are lacking.
Diverse Cis-Regulatory Mechanisms Contribute to Expression Evolution of Tandem Gene Duplicates

Abstract Pairs of duplicated genes generally display a combination of conserved expression patterns inherited from their unduplicated ancestor and newly acquired domains. However, how the cis-regulatory architecture of duplicated loci evolves to produce these expression patterns is poorly understood. We have directly examined the gene-regulatory evolution of two tandem duplicates, the Drosophila Ly6 genes CG9336 and CG9338, which arose at the base of the drosophilids between 40 and 60 Ma. Comparing the expression patterns of the two paralogs in four Drosophila species with that of the unduplicated ortholog in the tephritid Ceratitis capitata, we show that they diverged from each other as well as from the unduplicated ortholog. Moreover, the expression divergence appears to have occurred close to the duplication event and also more recently in a lineage-specific manner. The comparison of the tissue-specific cis-regulatory modules (CRMs) controlling the paralog expression in the four Drosophila species indicates that diverse cis-regulatory mechanisms, including the novel tissue-specific enhancers, differential inactivation, and enhancer sharing, contributed to the expression evolution. Our analysis also reveals a surprisingly variable cis-regulatory architecture, in which the CRMs driving conserved expression domains change in number, location, and specificity. Altogether, this study provides a detailed historical account that uncovers a highly dynamic picture of how the paralog expression patterns and their underlying cis-regulatory landscape evolve. We argue that our findings will encourage studying cis-regulatory evolution at the whole-locus level to understand how interactions between enhancers and other regulatory levels shape the evolution of gene expression.
EDM with an Air-Assisted Multi-Hole Rotating Tool

In the present research work, an extensive experimental study of air-assisted rotary electrical discharge machining (AAEDM) of high chromium, high carbon die steel has been made. Investigations have been performed to study the process factor effect namely pulse-on time, discharge current, duty cycle, tool rotation, and air pressure on material removal rate (MRR) and electrode wear ratio (EWR). A comparative analysis of solid rotary tool electrode electrical discharge machining (REDM) and AAEDM has been presented. It was found that a high MRR and low EWR occurred in AAEDM as compared to the REDM process, under the same processing conditions. Use of a multi-hole tool provided better circulation of dielectric in the discharge gap, thus it improved the flushing efficiency of the process. The results showed that the application of compressed air has a favorable influence on MRR and EWR.
Performance of the 20-minute whole blood clotting test in detecting venom induced consumption coagulopathy from Russell’s viper (Daboia russelii) bites

Summary The 20-minute whole blood clotting test (WBCT20) is used as a bed-side diagnostic test for coagulopathic snake envenoming. We aimed to assess the performance of the WBCT20 in diagnosis of venom induced consumption coagulopathy (VICC) in Russell’s viper envenoming. Adult patients admitted with suspected snake bites were recruited from two hospitals. WBCT20 and prothrombin time (PT) test were performed on admission. WBCT20 was done by trained clinical research assistants using 1 ml whole blood in a 5 ml borosilicate glass tube with a 10 mm internal diameter. The PT was measured by a semi-automated coagulation system and international normalised ratio (INR) calculated. VICC was defined as present if the INR was >1.4. The diagnostic utility of WBCT20 was determined by calculating the sensitivity and specificity of the WBCT20 on admission for detecting VICC. There were 987 snake bites where both WBCT20 and PT were done on admission samples. This included 79 patients (8 %) with VICC. The WBCT20 was positive in 65/79 patients with VICC (sensitivity 82 %; 95 % confidence interval [CI]: 72–90 %) and was falsely positive in 13/908 with no coagulopathy. The WBCT20 was negative in 895/908 snake bites with no coagulopathy (specificity: 98 % 95 % CI: 97–99 %) and was falsely negative in 14/79 with VICC. Using trained clinical staff, the WBCT20 test had a relatively good sensitivity for the detection of VICC, but still missed almost one fifth of cases where antivenom was potentially indicated. Supplementary Material to this article is available online at www.thrombosis-online.com.
Characterization of clinically used oral antiseptics as quadruplex-binding ligands

Abstract Approaches to characterize the nucleic acid-binding properties of drugs and druglike small molecules are crucial to understanding the behavior of these compounds in cellular systems. Here, we use a Small Molecule Microarray (SMM) profiling approach to identify the preferential interaction between chlorhexidine, a widely used oral antiseptic, and the G-quadruplex (G4) structure in the KRAS oncogene promoter. The interaction of chlorhexidine and related drugs to the KRAS G4 is evaluated using multiple biophysical methods, including thermal melt, fluorescence titration and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) assays. Chlorhexidine has a specific low micromolar binding interaction with the G4, while related drugs have weaker and/or less specific interactions. Through NMR experiments and docking studies, we propose a plausible binding mode driven by both aromatic stacking and groove binding interactions. Additionally, cancer cell lines harbouring oncogenic mutations in the KRAS gene exhibit increased sensitivity to chlorhexidine. Treatment of breast cancer cells with chlorhexidine decreases KRAS protein levels, while a KRAS gene transiently expressed by a promoter lacking a G4 is not affected. This work confirms that known ligands bind broadly to G4 structures, while other drugs and druglike compounds can have more selective interactions that may be biologically relevant.
Dissecting HIV Virulence: Heritability of Setpoint Viral Load, CD4+ T-Cell Decline, and Per-Parasite Pathogenicity

Pathogen strains may differ in virulence because they attain different loads in their hosts, or because they induce different disease-causing mechanisms independent of their load. In evolutionary ecology, the latter is referred to as “per-parasite pathogenicity”. Using viral load and CD4+ T cell measures from 2014 HIV-1 subtype B infected individuals enrolled in the Swiss HIV Cohort Study, we investigated if virulence — measured as the rate of decline of CD4+ T cells — and per-parasite pathogenicity are heritable from donor to recipient. We estimated heritability by donor-recipient regressions applied to 196 previously identified transmission pairs, and by phylogenetic mixed models applied to a phylogenetic tree inferred from HIV pol sequences. Regressing the CD4+ T cell declines and per-parasite pathogenicities of the transmission pairs did not yield heritability estimates significantly different from zero. With the phylogenetic mixed model, however, our best estimate for the heritability of the CD4+ T cell decline is 17% (5%–30%), and that of the per-parasite pathogenicity is 17% (4%–29%). Further, we confirm that the set-point viral load is heritable, and estimate a heritability of 29% (12%–46%). Interestingly, the pattern of evolution of all these traits differs significantly from neutrality, and is most consistent with stabilizing selection for the set-point viral load, and with directional selection for the CD4+ T cell decline and the per-parasite pathogenicity. Our analysis shows that the viral genetype affects virulence mainly by modulating the per-parasite pathogenicity, while the indirect effect via the set-point viral load is minor.