Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Parental Substance Abuse As an Early Traumatic Event. Preliminary Findings on Neuropsychological and Personality Functioning in Young Drug Addicts Exposed to Drugs Early

Parental substance use is a major risk factor for child development, heightening the risk of drug problems in adolescence and young adulthood, and exposing offspring to several types of traumatic events. First, prenatal drug exposure can be considered a form of trauma itself, with subtle but long-lasting sequelae at the neuro-behavioral level. Second, parents' addiction often entails a childrearing environment characterized by poor parenting skills, disadvantaged contexts and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), leading to dysfunctional outcomes. Young adults born from/raised by parents with drug problems and diagnosed with a Substance Used Disorder (SUD) themselves might display a particularly severe condition in terms of cognitive deficits and impaired personality function. This preliminary study aims to investigate the role of early exposure to drugs as a traumatic event, capable of affecting the psychological status of young drug addicts. In particular, it intends to examine the neuropsychological functioning and personality profile of young adults with severe SUDs who were exposed to drugs early in their family context. The research involved three groups, each consisting of 15 young adults (aged 18–24): a group of inpatients diagnosed with SUDs and exposed to drugs early, a comparison group of non-exposed inpatients and a group of non-exposed youth without SUDs. A neuropsychological battery (Esame Neuropsicologico Breve-2), an assessment procedure for personality disorders (Shedler-Westen Assessment Procedure-200) and the Symptom CheckList-90-Revised were administered. According to present preliminary results, young drug addicts exposed to drugs during their developmental age were characterized by elevated rates of neuropsychological impairments, especially at the expense of attentive and executive functions (EF); personality disorders were also common but did not differentiate them from non-exposed youth with SUDs. Alternative multi-focused prevention and intervention programs are needed for children of drug-misusing parents, addressing EF and adopting a trauma-focused approach.
Regional Mu Opioid Receptor Regulation of Sensory and Affective Dimensions of Pain

The endogenous opioid system is involved in stress responses, in the regulation of the experience of pain, and in the action of analgesic opiate drugs. We examined the function of the opioid system and μ-opioid receptors in the brains of healthy human subjects undergoing sustained pain. Sustained pain induced the regional release of endogenous opioids interacting with μ-opioid receptors in a number of cortical and subcortical brain regions. The activation of the μ-opioid receptor system was associated with reductions in the sensory and affective ratings of the pain experience, with distinct neuroanatomical involvements. These data demonstrate the central role of the μ-opioid receptors and their endogenous ligands in the regulation of sensory and affective components of the pain experience.
Chromosomal Location and Comparative Genomics Analysis of Powdery Mildew Resistance Gene Pm51 in a Putative Wheat-Thinopyrum ponticum Introgression Line

Powdery mildew (PM) is a very destructive disease of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Wheat-Thinopyrum ponticum introgression line CH7086 was shown to possess powdery mildew resistance possibly originating from Th. ponticum. Genomic in situ hybridization and molecular characterization of the alien introgression failed to identify alien chromatin. To study the genetics of resistance, CH7086 was crossed with susceptible genotypes. Segregation in F2 populations and F2:3 lines tested with Chinese Bgt race E09 under controlled conditions indicated that CH7086 carries a single dominant gene for powdery mildew resistance. Fourteen SSR and EST-PCR markers linked with the locus were identified. The genetic distances between the locus and the two flanking markers were 1.5 and 3.2 cM, respectively. Based on the locations of the markers by nullisomic-tetrasomic and deletion lines of ‘Chinese Spring’, the resistance gene was located in deletion bin 2BL-0.89-1.00. Conserved orthologous marker analysis indicated that the genomic region flanking the resistance gene has a high level of collinearity to that of rice chromosome 4 and Brachypodium chromosome 5. Both resistance specificities and tests of allelism suggested the resistance gene in CH7086 was different from previously reported powdery mildew resistance genes on 2BL, and the gene was provisionally designated PmCH86. Molecular analysis of PmCH86 compared with other genes for resistance to Bgt in the 2BL-0.89-1.00 region suggested that PmCH86 may be a new PM resistance gene, and it was therefore designated as Pm51. The closely linked flanking markers could be useful in exploiting this putative wheat-Thinopyrum translocation line for rapid transfer of Pm51 to wheat breeding programs.
Salinity effects on the bioavailability of aqueous metals for the estuarine killifish Fundulus heteroclitus

Estuarine organisms experience varying salinity conditions on a daily and seasonal basis, and these fluctuations could influence the amount of metal accumulated from the aqueous phase. The present study experimentally assessed the role of salinity (0, 2, 6, 12, and 25 ppt) on the uptake of As, Cd, Cr, inorganic Hg [Hg(II)], and methylmercury (MeHg) into the euryhaline killifish (Fundulus heteroclitus) from the aqueous phase using gamma‐emitting radioisotopes. Patterns of metal uptake as a function of salinity varied by metal. Chromium showed no relationship with salinity; Cd, which was most affected by salinity, showed an inverse relationship; and As, Hg(II), and MeHg uptake increased as salinity increased from 0 ppt to 25 ppt. Arsenic (salinities ≤ 6 ppt) and Cr were regulated by the fish, whereas Cd, Hg(II), and MeHg were not. Cadmium, Hg(II), and MeHg are chloro‐complexed, increasing bioavailability for Hg(II) and MeHg, and reducing bioavailability for Cd. Concentration factors (CFs) were >1 at all salinities for Cd, Hg(II), and MeHg, indicating that the fish were more enriched in the metal than the surrounding water, whereas As and Cr CFs were <1 at all salinities. Uptake rate constants (k us) were highest for MeHg (0.79–2.29 L g−1 d−1), followed by Hg(II), Cd, Cr, and lowest for As (0.0004–0.0008 L g−1 d−1). Tissue distribution of each metal was determined by dissections. Data for Cd showed that as salinity increased, the concentration of this metal increased in the viscera, whereas it decreased in the head and gills, suggesting that drinking to osmoregulate may account for a portion of Cd uptake from the aqueous phase in marine fish. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 2011;30:2107–2114. © 2011 SETAC
Effect of tobacco deprivation on the attentional blink in rapid serial visual presentation

When two targets are imbedded in rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP), identification of the second target (T2) is impaired if it occurs within 500 ms of the first target (T1). This attentional blink (AB) is thought to involve interference of resources in processing T1 and T2. The deleterious effect of tobacco deprivation on attention has been documented, but no studies have examined the AB. Nonsmokers (n = 30), 12‐h tobacco‐deprived smokers (n = 30), and nondeprived smokers (n = 30) were randomly assigned to perform the RSVP with one of three stimulus‐duration conditions (96, 113, or 130 ms). Participants completed 48 RSVP trials. Each trial consisted of 16 individually presented words (T1, T2, and 14 distractors), and T2 lagged T1 at serial positions 1—8. Participants verbalized T1 and T2 in order immediately after each trial. Identification of T2 (for correct T1 trials) was impaired at early versus late lag positions, which was especially pronounced in the most difficult (96 ms) condition. There was no evidence for group differences on the AB; however, deprived smokers were worse identifying T1 in the 113‐ms condition. These results suggest that the AB is influenced by stimulus duration, but not by 12 h of tobacco deprivation. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
ETHICAL, LEGAL, AND SOCIAL ISSUES

This track invites contributions that enhance understanding of Ethical, Legal and Social Issues (ELSI) around information and communication technology in crisis response and management. The aim is to inform high quality transformative, careful and responsible innovation. We seek papers that explore ELSI at the juncture of lived practice with organisational, technological, policy and social innovation.
Incompatibility and Competitive Exclusion of Genomic Segments between Sibling Drosophila Species

The extent and nature of genetic incompatibilities between incipient races and sibling species is of fundamental importance to our view of speciation. However, with the exception of hybrid inviability and sterility factors, little is known about the extent of other, more subtle genetic incompatibilities between incipient species. Here we experimentally demonstrate the prevalence of such genetic incompatibilities between two young allopatric sibling species, Drosophila simulans and D. sechellia. Our experiments took advantage of 12 introgression lines that carried random introgressed D. sechellia segments in different parts of the D. simulans genome. First, we found that these introgression lines did not show any measurable sterility or inviability effects. To study if these sechellia introgressions in a simulans background contained other fitness consequences, we competed and genetically tracked the marked alleles within each introgression against the wild-type alleles for 20 generations. Strikingly, all marked D. sechellia introgression alleles rapidly decreased in frequency in only 6 to 7 generations. We then developed computer simulations to model our competition results. These simulations indicated that selection against D. sechellia introgression alleles was high (average s = 0.43) and that the marker alleles and the incompatible alleles did not separate in 78% of the introgressions. The latter result likely implies that most introgressions contain multiple genetic incompatibilities. Thus, this study reveals that, even at early stages of speciation, many parts of the genome diverge to a point where introducing foreign elements has detrimental fitness consequences, but which cannot be seen using standard sterility and inviability assays.
High Aldehyde Dehydrogenase Activity: A Novel Functional Marker of Murine Prostate Stem/Progenitor Cells

We have shown previously that prostatic stem/progenitor cells can be purified from isolated prostate ducts, based on their high expression of the Sca‐1 surface antigen. We now report that high levels of aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) activity are present in a subset of prostate epithelial cells that coexpress a number of antigens found on stem/progenitor cells of other origins (CD9, Bcl‐2, CD200, CD24, prominin, Oct 3/4, ABCG2, and nestin). Almost all of these cells expressing high levels of ALDH activity also express Sca‐1 and a third of them express high levels of this antigen. The cells with high levels of ALDH activity have greater in vitro proliferative potential than cells with low ALDH activity. Importantly, in an in vivo prostate reconstitution assay, the cells expressing high levels of ALDH activity were much more effective in generating prostatic tissue than a population of cells with low enzymatic activity. Thus, a high level of ALDH activity can be considered a functional marker of prostate stem/progenitor cells and allows for simple, efficient isolation of cells with primitive features. The elucidation of the role of ALDH in prostate stem/progenitor cells may lead to the development of rational therapies for treating prostate cancer and benign prostatic hyperplasia. STEM CELLS 2009;27:2220–2228
PSEUDODIFFERENTIAL OPERATORS ON MANIFOLDS WITH FIBRED BOUNDARIES

Let X be a compact manifold with boundary. Suppose that the boundary is fibred, : @X! Y, and let x2C 1 (X) be a boundary defining function. This data fixes the space of 'fibred cusp' vector fields, consisting of those vector fields V on X satisfying V x = O(x 2 ) and which are tangent to the fibres of ; it is a Lie algebra and C 1 (X) module. This Lie algebra is quantized to the 'small calculus' of pseudodierential operators (X). Mapping properties including boundedness, regularity, Fredholm condition and symbolic maps are discussed for this calculus. The spectrum of the Laplacian of an exact fibred cusp' metric is analyzed as is the wavefront set associated to the calculus.
Regional patterns of atrophy on MRI in Alzheimer’s disease: Neuropsychological features and progression rates in the ADNI cohort

Background: Discrete clinical and pathological subtypes of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) with variable presentations and rates of progression are well known. These subtypes may have specific patterns of regional brain atrophy, which are identifiable on MRI scans. Methods: To examine distinct regions which had distinct underlying patterns of cortical atrophy, factor analytic techniques applied to structural MRI volumetric data from cognitively normal (CN) (n = 202), amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) (n = 333) or mild AD (n = 146) subjects, in the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) database was applied. This revealed the existence of two neocortical (NeoC-1 and NeoC-2), and a limbic cluster of atrophic brain regions. The frequency and clinical correlates of these regional patterns of atrophy were evaluated among the three diagnostic groups, and the rates of progression from aMCI to AD, over 24 months were evaluated. Results: Discernable patterns of regional atrophy were observed in about 29% of CN, 55% of aMCI and 83% of AD subjects. Heterogeneity in clinical presentation and APOE e4 frequency were associated with regional patterns of atrophy on MRI scans. The most rapid progression rates to dementia among aMCI subjects (n = 224), over a 24-month period, were in those with NeoC-1 regional impairment (68.2%), followed by the Limbic regional impairment (48.8%). The same pattern of results was observed when only aMCI amyloid positive subjects were examined. Conclusions: The neuroimaging results closely parallel findings described recently among AD patients with the hippocampal sparing and limbic subtypes of AD neuropathology at autopsy. We conclude that NeoC-1, Limbic and other patterns of MRI atrophy may be useful markers for predicting the rate of progression of aMCI to AD and could have utility selecting individuals at higher risk for progression in clinical trials.
Enjoyment as a mediator in the relationship between task characteristics and work effort: An experience sampling study

We studied the mediating role of enjoyment in the relationship between task characteristics and work effort. To this end, an experience sampling study was implemented in which 50 employees reported on the characteristics of the task they were performing, their level of enjoyment, and their level of work effort five times a day for five working days. Results revealed that, at the concurrent level, task characteristics related to changes in task enjoyment, and that these changes were related to changes in work effort. Moreover, the relationships did not disappear when controlling for the three critical psychological states of the job characteristics model (i.e., experienced meaningfulness, experienced responsibility, and knowledge of the results). No cross-lagged relationships were found between enjoyment and work effort. Implications for studies on effort and motivation as well as practical implications are discussed.
Disgust in fear appeal anti-smoking advertisements: The effects on attitudes and abstinence motivation

Abstract Aims: The use of fear appeals with disgusting graphical content is part of current practice in health campaigns. Previous studies have suggested both a detrimental and a beneficial effect of disgust in fear appeals on different types of outcome measures. We were interested in whether disgust in anti-smoking messages decreases or increases persuasion as measured by motivation to abstain from smoking and attitudes towards smoking. Methods: In two online experiments (total N = 1045), smokers (26%) and non-smokers were randomly assigned to watch fear appeal anti-smoking ads that elicited high versus moderate levels of disgust but similar levels of fear. Smokers reported motivation to quit, while non-smokers reported motivation to not start smoking. All participants reported explicit attitudes toward smoking and performed an Implicit Association Test that measures implicit attitudes toward smoking and cigarettes. Findings: There were no differences between these conditions, except on a measure of implicit attitudes. However, this effect was not replicated in the second study, and analyses across studies revealed no substantial difference between the conditions. Conclusions: In the current context, there were no or potentially very small benefits of using disgust elements when level of fear was held constant (i.e. compared to other means of inducing negative emotions).
AIS Electronic Library (AISeL) Developing An Agile It Capability Accompanying Business's Fast Growing ： A Case Study On A Chinese E-Commerce Company

IT capability is critical significant to build enterprise agility and promote organizational performance. However, IT capability is always treated as the causal factor already existing and there are few studies on how IT capability is developed. To address this research question, we choose M company, one of the largest fast growing entrepreneurial e-commerce enterprise in China, and conduct a single case study to analyze how IT capability is formed accompanying business’s fast growing. We find that M company has designed and implemented many specific mechanisms in order to tackle the problems caused by business’s fast growing. For a specific problem, what M company has done could be categorized into three periods, respectively pre-event, during-the-event and post-event. M company has obtained an agile IT capability composed of scientific planning capability, improvisation capability and timely feedback capability in the three periods individually by tackling different problems flexibly. We also summarize a process model to illustrate the approach of how IT capability is formed. Finally, the theoretical and practical implications are also discussed.
Hypertension and Obesity in Dakar, Senegal

Background Cardiovascular disease is a major public health problem in many sub-Saharan African countries, but data on the main cardiovascular risk factors–hypertension and obesity–are almost nonexistent in Senegal. The aims of this study were therefore (i) to report the prevalence, awareness, treatment and control of hypertension among adults in Dakar, (ii) to assess the prevalence of general and central obesity, and (iii) to analyze the association between hypertension and general and central obesity. Methods A cross-sectional survey was carried out in 2015 on a representative sample of 1000 dwellers of the Senegalese capital aged 20–90. Results The overall prevalence of hypertension was 24.7%. Among hypertensive respondents, 28.4% were aware of their condition; 16.0% were on antihypertensive medication; 4.9% had controlled blood pressure. The frequency of doctor visits was a significant predictor of awareness (OR = 2.16; p<0.05) and treatment (OR = 2.57; p<0.05) of hypertension. The prevalence of underweight, overweight and general obesity were 12.6%, 19.2% and 9.7% respectively. The prevalence of central obesity was 26% by WC and 39.8% by WHtR. General obesity and central obesity by WHtR significantly predicted HTN among men and women, but not central obesity by WC. Conclusions This study has demonstrated a high prevalence of hypertension in Dakar and a high prevalence of obesity among women–particularly among older women. The awareness, treatment, and effective control of hypertension are unacceptably low. The blood pressure of women with general obesity, and men with central obesity, in the community should be monitored regularly to limit the burden of cardiovascular disease in Senegal.
Effects of the Reread-Adapt and Answer-Comprehend (RAAC) Intervention on the Reading Achievement of Students with Reading and Behavioral Difficulties.

The Reread-Adapt and Answer-Comprehend (RAAC) intervention has been demonstrated to improve the reading achievement of students with reading disabilities. This case study examines the impact of the RAAC intervention on two students with reading and behavioral difficulties. Results indicate that the RAAC intervention has the potential to be effective for students with behavioral difficulties. Its effectiveness may be enhanced with the addition of a behavioral or motivational instructional component.
Action of Polymyxin B on Bacterial Membranes: Phosphatidylglycerol- and Cardiolipin-Induced Susceptibility to Polymyxin B in Acholeplasma laidlawii B

To identify the polymyxin receptor molecules in the membranes of living microorganisms, fusion of intact Acholeplasma laidlawii B with lipid vesicles was investigated according to the procedure of Grant and McConnell (1973). The naturally polymyxin-resistant A. laidlawii B was treated with phospholipid vesicles prepared from purified phospholipids of the polymyxin-susceptible Salmonella typhimurium G30. A. laidlawii B absorbed between 15 and 45% of its own lipid content of the added tritium-labeled phospholipids without loss of viability. Association with the acidic components phosphatidylglycerol and cardiolipin produced a 10- to 30-fold increase in polymyxin susceptibility, which was not obtained with egg-phosphatidylcholine and mixed phosphatidylcholine-phosphatidylethanolamine vesicles. The polymyxin-sensitized cells bound 12 times more radioactive antibiotic than resistant cells. The phosphatidylglycerol-induced susceptibility was abolished by serum fraction V (Cohn) proteins.
Genotoxicity evaluation of domestic sewage in a municipal wastewater treatment plant

An evaluation of the genotoxicity of domestic sewage was carried out in a municipal wastewater treatment plant. The study was carried out using Allium cepa root tip cells through cytological parameters such as aberrant cells in anaphase-telophase and the mitotic index, and the fish species Oreochromis niloticus and Tilapia rendalli, through the index of micronuclei in peripheral erythrocytes. In the Allium test, each of the four stages of the wasterwater treatment routine was analyzed, i.e., crude sewage, primary effluent, secondary effluent, and tertiary effluent. O. niloticus and T. rendalli specimens were maintained in an aquarium continuously receiving the final effluent, in an open system, before being discharged into Lake Paranoa. For micronuclei analysis, blood samples were drawn after 7, 21, 60, 102 and 142 days, respectively, in controlled conditions. The numbers of aberrant cells found in the Allium test did not differ among the four stages tested, nor when compared with the control. At all stages, the most concentrated sample was more toxic than the respective diluted samples, as demonstrated by the decreased mitotic index. Different sampling of the same group of fish revealed no increase in the micronuclei frequency, regardless of the period of exposure. A correlation between long-term exposure and micronuclei induction was not found either.