Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Risk factors associated with neural tube defects in infants referred to western Iranian obstetrical centers; 2013–2014

Background Neural tubes defects (NTDs) are known to be the second most prevalent congenital disorder worldwide whose risk factors have not been explicitly addressed yet. Aim To determine the risk factors affecting NTDs among infants who referred to obstetrical centers in Kurdistan, a western province of Iran. Methods This prospective case-control study was conducted in the form of prospective case-control. Sample population included all women (27,153 cases) who referred to obstetrical centers in Kurdistan for either delivery or abortion during 2013 and 2014. Inclusion criterion was the presence of a known NTD in infants, and exclusion criterion was the reluctance of patients to participate in the study. Accordingly, 46 cases participated in the study as the case group, and 138 cases (three times higher than case group) were selected to be the control group. Case and control groups were matched in terms of the number of pregnancies and place of birth. The variables investigated in the present study were as follows: age, occupation, BMI, abortion history, family relation with husband, fetus’ sex, number of twins, history of previous children with NTD, receiving prenatal surveillance, consumption of folic acid and multivitamins, smoking, alcohol drinking, passive smoking, and suffering from such diseases as epilepsy and diabetes. Data were analyzed using various statistical tests, including chi-square, Fishers’ exact test, multiple logistic regression analysis using SPSS version 20. In the study group, inclusion criteria included all women who had an infant with tube defects that their total number was 46 individuals. In the control group inclusion criteria included mothers with healthy infants who were similar to the study group in terms of birth place and frequency of pregnancy. Results The results of the present study demonstrated that prenatal surveillance (p<0.002), multivitamin consumption (p<0.001), history of having a child with NTD (p<0.001), alcohol drinking (p<0.014), and passive smoking were related to NTDs (p<0.001). Conclusion Before fertilization and during pregnancy, mothers should be examined in terms of exposure to harmful agents, diet, and nutritional status in order to identify possible risk factors and find opportunities to prevent NTDs in infants.
PR39 Inhibits Apoptosis in Hypoxic Endothelial Cells: Role of Inhibitor Apoptosis Protein-2

Background—PR39 is a proline- and arginine-rich peptide implicated in wound healing and myocardial ischemia protection. To determine the potential mechanisms of PR39 in ischemia, we examined the role of PR39 in hypoxia-induced apoptosis in vascular endothelial cells. Methods and Results—Hypoxia results in an increase of apoptosis in bovine aortic endothelial cells (BAECs), as determined by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase–mediated dUTP biotin nick-end labeling (TUNEL) analysis and caspase-3 activity. Hypoxia induced 66.2±2.7% TUNEL-positive cells, whereas in the presence of synthesized PR39 peptide, TUNEL-positive cells were reduced to 29.6±1.9% (P <0.05). After 24 hours of hypoxia, the addition of PR39 reduced caspase-3 activity to 3.17±0.47 pMol/min from 10.52±0.55 pMol/min in hypoxic BAECs. Moreover, PR39 increased inhibitor of apoptosis protein-2 (IAP-2) gene and protein expression by 3-fold in a time- and dose-dependent manner. The induction of IAP-2 by PR39 conferred an increase in IAP-2 gene transcription and IAP-2 mRNA stability. Furthermore, inhibiting IAP-2 with second mitochondria-derived activator of caspase (Smac) and with small interfering RNA targeting IAP-2 abrogated the ability of PR39 to reduce caspase-3 activity. Conclusions—We provide the first direct evidence for PR39 as an antiapoptotic factor in endothelial cells during hypoxia. These data suggest that PR39 inhibits hypoxia-induced apoptosis and decreases caspase-3 activity in endothelial cells through an increase of IAP-2 expression.
Reduced Serum Levels of Triglyceride, Very Low Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol and Apolipoprotein B in Parkinson’s Disease Patients

Background Previous studies have shown a lower incidence of stroke in Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients. The role of the lipids and lipoproteins as risk factors for stroke is uncertain in the lower prevalence of stroke in PD patients. Objectives To explore the lipids and lipoproteins serum levels in PD patients. Methods A retrospective study was performed on 110 PD patients (PD group), 130 controls with non-cerebrovascular neurological diseases (OD group), 140 acute intracerebral hemorrhage patients (ICH group) and 140 acute cerebral infarction patients (CI group). The records about serum levels of lipids and lipoproteins were analyzed. Results There were significant differences for the serum level of triglyceride (F = 5.031, p=0.002), very low density lipoprotein cholesterol (F = 5.313, p=0.001), apolipoprotein B (F = 16.038, p<0.0001) in the four groups. PD group had a significantly lower serum level of triglyceride (TG) than the OD (p=0.032), ICH (p=0.00047) and CI (p=0.001) groups. Very low density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL-C) serum level was significantly lower in PD group than in OD (p=0.039), ICH (p=0.00021) and CI (p=0.001) groups. There was a significantly lower serum level of apolipoprotein B (apo B) in PD group than in OD (p=0.002), ICH (p<0.0001) and CI (p<0.0001) groups. Conclusions There are reduced serum levels of TG, VLDL-C and apo B in PD patients, which may be related to the decreased prevalence of stroke in PD patients.
System-level power/performance analysis of portable multimedia systems communicating over wireless channels

This paper presents a new methodology for system-level power and performance analysis of wireless multimedia systems. More precisely, we introduce an analytical approach based on concurrent processes modeled as Stochastic Automata Networks (SANs) that can be effectively used to integrate power and performance metrics in system-level design. We show that 1) under various input traces and wireless channel conditions, the average-case behavior of a multimedia system consisting of a video encoder/decoder pair is characterized by very different probability distributions and power consumption values and 2) in order to identify the best trade-off between power and performance figures, one must take into consideration the entire environment (i.e., encoder, decoder and channel) for which the system is being designed. Compared to using simulation, our analytical technique reduces the time needed to find the steady-state behavior by orders of magnitude, with some limited loss in accuracy compared to the exact solution. We illustrate the potential of our methodology using the MPEG-2 video as the driver application.
The parapineal mediates left-right asymmetry in the zebrafish diencephalon

The dorsal diencephalon (or epithalamus) of larval zebrafish displays distinct left-right asymmetries. The pineal complex consists of the pineal organ anlage and an unpaired, left-sided accessory organ – the parapineal. The neighboring brain nuclei, the left and right dorsal habenulae, show consistent differences in their size, density of neuropil and gene expression. Mutational analyses demonstrate a correlation between the left-right position of the parapineal and the laterality of the habenular nuclei. We show that selective ablation of the parapineal organ results in the loss of habenular asymmetry. The left-sided parapineal therefore influences the left-right identity of adjacent brain nuclei, indicating that laterality of the dorsal diencephalon arises in a step-wise fashion.
Conflicting responses: the experiences of fathers of infants diagnosed with severe congenital heart disease.

PURPOSE To explore the experiences of fathers of infants newly diagnosed with severe congenital heart disease. DESIGN An analysis of qualitative data collected as part of a larger longitudinal study of parenting the medically fragile infant. PARTICIPANTS Eight fathers whose infants were hospitalized for severe congenital heart disease, were technology dependent at time of enrollment, and were expected to have serious chronic health problems at discharge. DATA COLLECTION MEASURES: Semistructured interviews in the hospital and the home until the child reached 15 months adjusted age. RESULTS Findings indicate that fathers experience four interrelated conflicting reactions: the joy of seeing the child born and becoming a father, plus the sadness and loss associated with the baby's illness; the challenge of becoming attached while dealing with fears about the infant's vulnerability and potential death; the need to try to maintain control while feeling a loss of control; and the struggle to remain strong for others while hiding their intense emotions. These findings extend the previous limited research about fathers by identifying the unique conflicts fathers of seriously ill infants experience in coping with the child's diagnosis and treatment. Findings have implications for intervening with fathers during the early diagnostic phase of a serious illness, particularly serious congenital heart disease.
Chapter 5: Quantitative Methods for Studying Social Context in Multilevels and Through Interpersonal Relations

KENNETH A. FRANK Michigan State University The connection between a volume on the social organization of learning and a chapter with a title that begins with the words "Quantitative methods . " may not seem obvious, especially in view of the fact that so much of our recent socially grounded educational inquiry has been conducted within a qualitative or interpretive paradigm. In this chapter, I attempt to make as strong a case as possible for the importance of quantitative methods in understanding the social organization of learning. I want to argue that both at the level of macroanalysis (considering the effects of different levels of social organization, such as the district, school, and classroom) and at the level of microanaly sis (examining relations among individuals in their primary social settings), quantitative methods can help us achieve important insights and understanding about the nature, causes, and consequences of social relations. Schooling is a complex process because teachers, students, and administrators operate in a diverse set of social contexts. Although they may appear to be isolated in their classroom practices (Cusick, 1983; Hargreaves, 1993; Lortie, 1977), teachers are affected by their social contexts, as they are influenced by others' orientations to teaching and classroom practices (e.g., Rowan, 1990; Trent, 1992; Wilson & Ball, 1991; Zeichner & Gore, 1989). Although principals may make many of the official decisions regarding school policies and practices (Callahan, 1962; Greenfield, 1975; Ingersoll, 1994; Levine & Lezotte, 1990; Smith, Prunty, & Dwyer, 1981), institutional contexts defined across most schools determine the parameters of decision making (Meyer & Rowan, 1977; Rowan, 1995), and relations among faculty and students help generate the organizational context in which many decisions are made (Bidwell & Quiroz, 1991; Firestone & Wilson, 1985; Fuller & Izu, 1986; Johnson, 1990; Lightfoot, 1983; Little, 1984; Rosenholtz, 1989). And though a school may have general policies or structures (Coleman et al., 1966; Peshkin, 1986; Shedd & Bacharach, 1991), the experience of each student, teacher, and administrator is unique, because each person's social context is uniquely defined within and outside the school's walls (Bidwell & Kasarda, 1980; Dreeben & Gamoran, 1986; Pallas, 1988; Sorensen & Hallinan, 1976). The social contexts are complex because they are defined at multiple levels (Barr & Dreeben, 1977, 1983; Bidwell & Kasarda, 1980; Bray & Thomas, 1995; Keeves & Sellin, 1988; Oosthoeck & van den Eeden, 1984) and through relations among a variety of people in a common setting (Barr & Dreeben, 1983; Bidwell
Big or Little: A Study of Mobile Interactive Applications on an Asymmetric Multi-core Platform

This paper characterizes a commercial mobile platform on an asymmetric multi-core processor, investigating its available thread-level parallelism (TLP) and the impact of core asymmetry on applications. This paper explores three critical aspects of asymmetric mobile systems, asymmetric hardware platform, application behavior, and the impact of scheduling and power management. First, this paper presents the performance and energy characteristics of a commercial asymmetric multi-core architecture with two core types. The comparison between big and little cores shows the potential benefit of asymmetric multi-cores for improving energy efficiency. Second, the paper investigates the available thread-level parallelism and core utilization behaviors of mobile interactive applications. Using popular mobile applications for the Android system, this paper analyzes the distinct TLP and CPU usage patterns of interactive applications. Third, the paper explores the impact of power governor and CPU scheduler on the asymmetric system. Multiple cores with heterogeneous core types complicate scheduling and frequency scaling schemes, since the scheduler must migrate threads to different core types, in addition to traditional load balancing. This study shows that the current mobile applications are not fully utilizing the asymmetric multi-cores due to the lack of TLP and low computational requirement for big cores.
Determining species differences in numbers of cortical areas and modules: The architectonic method needs supplementation

We review the evidence for the concept of the "initial" or prototype brain. We outline four possible modes of brain evolution suggested by our new findings on the evolutionary status of the dolphin brain. The four modes involve various forms of deviation from and conformity to the hypothesized initial brain type. These include examples of conservative evolution, progressive evolution, and combinations of the two in which features of one or the other become dominant. The four types of neocortical organization in extant mammals may be the result of selective pressures on sensory/motor systems resulting in divergent patterns of brain phylogenesis. A modular "modification/multiplication" hypothesis is proposed as a mechanism of neocortical evolution in eutherians. Representative models of the initial ancestral group of mammals include not only extant basal Insectivora but also Chiroptera; we have found that dolphins and large whales have also retained many features of the archetypal or initial brain. This group evolved from the initial mammalian stock and returned to the aquatic environment some 50 million years ago. This unique experiment of nature shows the effects of radical changes in environment on brain-body adaptations and specializations. Although the dolphin brain has certain quantitative characteristics of the evolutionary changes seen in the higher terrestrial mammals, it has also retained many of the conservative structural features of the initial brain. Its neocortical organization is accordingly different, largely in a quantitative sense, from that of terrestrial models of the initial brain such as the hedgehog.
Chapter 8. Understanding worldview transformation in members of mutual help groups

Summary Over the past 20 years a small number of researchers have advocated for the study of change in worldview among members of mutual help groups. Yet little research of this nature has been reported. Our purpose here is threefold: to reassert the importance of attending to worldview change in the study of mutual help groups; to discuss conceptual and methodological issues in the study of worldview including the use of naturalistic and narrative approaches; and to present a framework for exploring worldview change based on empirical studies. The proposed framework consists of four specific domains of belief: self, relationships with others, universal order and problem area. Examples from naturalistic studies of two 12 step mutual help groups are used to illustrate the four domains.
Sparsity with sign-coherent groups of variables via the cooperative-Lasso

We consider the problems of estimation and selection of parameters endowed with a known group structure, when the groups are assumed to be sign-coherent, that is, gathering either nonnegative, nonpositive or null parameters. To tackle this problem, we propose the cooperative-Lasso penalty. We derive the optimality conditions defining the cooperative-Lasso estimate for generalized linear models, and propose an efficient active set algorithm suited to high-dimensional problems. We study the asymptotic consistency of the estimator in the linear regression setup and derive its irrepresentable conditions, which are milder than the ones of the group-Lasso regarding the matching of groups with the sparsity pattern of the true parameters. We also address the problem of model selection in linear regression by deriving an approximation of the degrees of freedom of the cooperative-Lasso estimator. Simulations comparing the proposed estimator to the group and sparse group-Lasso comply with our theoretical results, showing consistent improvements in support recovery for sign-coherent groups. We finally propose two examples illustrating the wide applicability of the cooperative-Lasso: first to the processing of ordinal variables, where the penalty acts as a monotonicity prior; second to the processing of genomic data, where the set of differentially expressed probes is enriched by incorporating all the probes of the microarray that are related to the corresponding genes.
Drug therapies for HIV-related metabolic disorders

ABSTRACT Introduction: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has become a chronic disease often associated with dyslipidaemia and insulin resistance. Combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) may contribute to metabolic disturbances, eventually leading to increased cardiovascular disease (CVR) in this population. Escalating interventions to decrease CVR include promoting a healthy lifestyle, such as quitting smoking, diet and regular exercise. If they do not achieve the goals, a change of cART should be considered, followed by or used concomitantly with the use of chemical therapies. Areas covered: The aim of this article is to review the available drug therapies for the treatment of metabolic disorders in HIV-infected patients and to examine their safety and effectiveness in this population. A review of the literature was conducted, highlighting the most relevant articles. Expert opinion: Switching strategies can be useful but its expected benefit is not high. Therefore, chemical intervention is often needed. Statins have been proven to reduce CVR in the general population and in HIV-infected patients. Simvastatin is contraindicated in patients treated with boosted PI due to interactions; atorvastatin is safe at submaximal dose and needs close monitoring, while pravastatin lacks lipid-lowering potency, and rosuvastatin and pitavastatin are safe. Ezetimibe and fibrates are also safe and effective in HIV-infected patients and can be used in combination with statins. The management of glucose homeostatic disorders in HIV-infected patients follows the same guidelines as in the general population. However, there are specific considerations with respect to the interactions of particular medications with cART. When drug therapy is needed, metformin is the first-line drug. Decisions regarding second- and third-line drugs should be carefully individualized.
Adult Outcomes of Adolescent Conventional and Agentic Orientations:

The impact of early adolescent conventional attitudes and friendships, positive goals, and drug use on age-appropriate developmental behaviors was assessed using the theoretical paradigm of the Erikson developmental stages of identity, intimacy, and generativity. Assessment points at Years 1, 13, and 21 from a longitudinal community study (N = 477) were used. Outcomes examined when the participants were in their 20s and 30s included agency and efficacy, satisfying personal and intimate relationships, life satisfaction, and drug use. Conventional friendships at early adolescence predicted positive relationships with friends, family, and intimate partners. Agentic motivations in adolescence predicted more efficacy and better relationships in Year 13. Healthy identity formation in early adolescence facilitated the development of greater intimacy in young adulthood. Successful intimacy formation in young adulthood encouraged the development of a successful dyadic relationship and predicted greater life satisfaction in later adulthood.
Challenges facing religious education and research in Africa: the Ghana case1

This paper gives a sketch of religious education in Ghanaian schools from colonial and missionary times to the present. It makes some comments on the current Government policy, and advocates that religious and moral education should be given at all levels of the educational ladder. Difficulties facing religious education and the relative marginalistion of the subject are discussed, and some suggestions made to overcome them. The importance and relevance of religion in society is reiterated.
Efficient copying of nonhomologous sequences from ectopic sites via P-element-induced gap repair

P-element-induced gap repair was used to copy nonhomologous DNA into the Drosophila white locus. We found that nearly 8,000 bp of nonhomologous sequence could be copied from an ectopic template at essentially the same rate as a single-base substitution at the same location. An in vitro-constructed deletion was also copied into white at high frequencies. This procedure can be applied to the study of gene expression in Drosophila melanogaster, especially for genes too large to be manipulated in other ways. We also observed several types of more complex events in which the copied template sequences were rearranged such that the breakpoints occurred at direct duplications. Most of these can be explained by a model of double strand break repair in which each terminus of the break invades a template independently and serves as a primer for DNA synthesis from it, yielding two overlapping single-stranded sequences. These single strands then pair, and synthesis is completed by each using the other as a template. This synthesis-dependent strand annealing (SDSA) model as a possible general mechanism in complex organisms is discussed.
Oral Administration of Red Ginseng Extract Promotes Neurorestoration after Compressive Spinal Cord Injury in Rats

Red ginseng and its active ingredients have been shown to decrease neuron death after brain ischemia in experimental animals. However, little is known about the effects of orally administered ginseng extract on spinal cord injury. We orally gave red ginseng extract (RGE) to rats with compressed spinal cord injury (SCI). Open-field locomotor scores were measured as indices of motor function. Histopathological changes and cytokine expressions in situ after SCI were evaluated. Compared to vehicle treatment, RGE treatment (350 mg/kg/day) significantly improved locomotor score up to levels close to those pre-SCI, prevented neuron loss, and facilitated the restoration of white matter in the spinal cord at 14 days after SCI. Treatment with RGE caused less aggregation of Iba-1-positive microglia in grey and white matter at 7 days after SCI, upregulated the expression levels of VEGF and Bcl-xL, and reduced IL-1β and TNFα expressions in the spinal cord at 7 and 14 days after SCI. We concluded that oral administration of RGE facilitates almost complete functional recovery from motor and behavioral abnormalities in rats with SCI and prevents neuron death in situ, possibly through inhibition of inflammation and upregulation of neuroprotective factors in the injured spinal cord.