Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Polymorphism of XRCC1, XRCC3, and XPD Genes and Risk of Chronic Myeloid Leukemia

The genetic polymorphisms of X-ray repair cross complementing group 1 (XRCC1), X-ray repair cross complementing group 3 (XRCC3), and xeroderma pigmentosum complementation group D (XPD) repair genes may lead to genetic instability and leukemogenesis. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the association between XRCC1 Arg399Gln, Arg280His and Arg194Trp, XRCC3 Thr241Met, and XPD Lys751Gln polymorphisms and the risk of developing CML in Romanian patients. A total of 156 patients diagnosed with CML and 180 healthy controls were included in this study. We found no association between CML and XRCC1 or XRCC3 variant genotypes in any of the investigated cases. A significant difference was observed in the variant genotype frequencies of the XPD Lys751Gln polymorphism between the patients with CML and control group (for variant homozygous genotypes, OR = 2.37; 95% CI = 1.20–4.67; P value = 0.016 and for combined heterozygous and variant homozygous genotypes, OR = 1.72; 95% CI = 1.10–2.69; P value = 0.019). This was also observed when analyzing the variant 751Gln allele (OR = 1.54; 95% CI = 1.13–2.11; P value = 0.008). Our results suggest that the XPD Lys751Gln variant genotype increases the risk of CML.
Teaching Strategies that Motivate English Language Adult Literacy Learners to Invest in their Education: A Literature Review

Canadian English language programs have seen a recent increase in enrolment by English as a Second Language adult literacy learners. To date, minimal research has been conducted with these learners, leaving literacy teachers with little guidance. In our literature review we found that, because learners often lose motivation due to their lack of or limited education, building motivation and investment must be at the heart of lesson design when teaching adult literacy learners. Thus, we adopted a transformative and post-structuralist framework to extend proven sociocultural theories to the adult literacy learner population. Our article reviewed past literature, incorporated the autobiographical narratives of experienced literacy teachers and provided six teaching strategies for increasing investment and motivation in adult literacy learners: providing relevance, addressing settlement needs, incorporating life experiences, encouraging learner autonomy, promoting collaborative learning, and building self-efficacy. Our article will demonstrate that further research is required in the arena of adult low literacy English language learners. Keywordsmotivation, investment, post-structuralist and transformative framework, teaching strategies, ESL adult literacy learners, limited formal education, English language learner, literature review.
Clustering-based anomaly detection in multi-view data

This paper proposes a simple yet effective anomaly detection method for multi-view data. The proposed approach detects anomalies by comparing the neighborhoods in different views. Specifically, clustering is performed separately in the different views and affinity vectors are derived for each object from the clustering results. Then, the anomalies are detected by comparing affinity vectors in the multiple views. An advantage of the proposed method over existing methods is that the tuning parameters can be determined effectively from the given data. Through experiments on synthetic and benchmark datasets, we show that the proposed method outperforms existing methods.
THE ARECIBO LEGACY FAST ALFA SURVEY. V. THE H i SOURCE CATALOG OF THE ANTI-VIRGO REGION AT δ = +27°

We present a second catalog of H i sources detected in the Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA Survey. We report 488 detections over 135 deg2, within the region of the sky having 22 h < α < 03 h and +26° < δ < +28°. We present here the detections that have either (a) S/N>6.5, where the reliability of the catalog is better than 95% or (b) 5.0 < S/N < 6.5 and a previously measured redshift that corroborates our detection. Of the 488 objects presented here, 49 are high-velocity clouds or clumps thereof with negative heliocentric recession velocities. These clouds are mostly very compact and isolated, while some of them are associated with large features such as Wright's Cloud or the northern extension of the Magellanic Stream. The remaining 439 candidate detections are identified as extragalactic objects and have all been matched with optical counterparts. Five of the six galaxies detected with M☉ are satellites of either the NGC672/IC1727 nearby galaxy pair or their neighboring dwarf irregular galaxy NGC784. The data of this catalog release include a slice through the Pisces–Perseus foreground void, a large nearby underdensity of galaxies. We report no detections within the void, where our catalog is complete for systems with masses of 108 M☉. Gas-rich, optically-dark galaxies do not seem to constitute an important void population, and therefore do not suffice for producing a viable solution to the void phenomenon.
Cadmium interferes with auxin physiology and lignification in poplar

Cadmium (Cd) is a phytotoxic heavy metal that causes rapid growth reduction. To investigate if Cd interferes with the metabolism of auxin, a major growth hormone in plants, poplars (Populus×canescens) expressing a heterologous GH3::GUS reporter gene were exposed to 50 μM Cd in hydroponic solutions. Growth, photosynthetic performance, lignification, peroxidase activity, auxin concentration, and GUS staining were determined in order to record the activities of GH3 enzymes in the stem apex, the elongation zone, wood in the zone of radial growth, and in roots. Cd-induced growth reductions were tissue-specific decreasing in the order: roots>wood>shoot elongation and leaf initiation, whereas Cd concentrations increased in the order: leaves<wood<roots. Cd almost abolished the GH3 signal in the stem apex but caused strong increases in the vascular system of roots as well as in parenchymatic cells in the xylem. These changes were accompanied by increases in lignin and peroxidase activities and decreases in auxin concentrations. Since GH3 enzymes remove auxin from the active pool by conjugation and act as mediators between growth and defence, our data suggest that Cd stress triggered increases in GH3 activities which, in turn, depleted auxin in wood and thereby shunted the metabolism to enhanced formation of lignin.
Anomalous temporoparietal activity in individuals with a family history of alcoholism: studies from the Oklahoma Family Health Patterns Project.

BACKGROUND Individuals with a family history of alcoholism (FH+) are at enhanced risk of developing alcohol or other substance use disorders relative to those with no family history (FH-). Alcoholics and FH+ subjects have greater interference scores on the Stroop color-word task, suggesting these impairments may be a component of the cognitive phenotype of at-risk individuals. METHODS In this study, we examined whole-brain activations in 24 FH+ and 28 FH- young adults performing the counting Stroop task, a variant of the Stroop task adapted for neuroimaging studies. RESULTS Across all subjects, incongruent versus congruent comparisons showed activations in regions including parietal lobe areas, frontal eye fields, premotor areas, the anterior cingulate cortex, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and bilateral insula, indicating typical regions of activation involved in conflict resolution tasks. Compared with FH- participants, FH+ participants had greater activations in the left superior parietal lobule and precuneus (BA 7 and 19), inferior parietal lobule (BA 40), and middle temporal gyrus (BA 39 and 19), indicating a predominance of greater left hemisphere activity among FH+ in temporoparietal regions. There were no regions showing greater activations in the FH- group compared with the FH+ group. CONCLUSIONS These results are consistent with less efficient cognitive functioning potentially due to poorer communication over long pathways connecting temporoparietal regions to prefrontal brain regions that participate in a distributed network involved in cognitive processing and working memory necessary for conflict resolution.
Wetting failure and contact line dynamics in a Couette flow

Liquid–liquid wetting failure is investigated in a two-dimensional Couette system with two immiscible fluids of arbitrary viscosity. The problem is solved exactly using a sharp interface treatment of hydrodynamics (lubrication theory) as a function of the control parameters – capillary number, viscosity ratio and separation of scale – i.e. the slip length versus the macroscopic size of the system. The transition at a critical capillary number, from a stationary to a non-stationary interface, is studied while changing the control parameters. Comparisons with similar existing analyses for other geometries, such as the Landau–Levich problem, are also carried out. A numerical method of analysis is also presented, based on diffuse interface models obtained from multiphase extensions of the lattice Boltzmann equation. Sharp interface and diffuse interface models are quantitatively compared, indicating the correct limit of applicability of the diffuse interface models.
Ruptures and repairs of group therapy alliance. An untold story in psychotherapy research

Although previous studies investigated the characteristics of therapeutic alliance in group treatments, there is still a dearth of research on group alliance ruptures and repairs. The model by Safran and Muran was originally developed to address therapeutic alliance in individual therapies, and the usefulness of this approach to group intervention needs to be demonstrated. Alliance ruptures are possible at member to therapist, member to member, member to group levels. Moreover, repairs of ruptures in group are quite complex, i.e., because other group members have to process the rupture even if not directly involved. The aim of the current study is to review the empirical research on group alliance, and to examine whether the rupture repair model can be a suitable framework for clinical understanding and research of the complexity of therapeutic alliance in group treatments. We provide clinical vignettes and commentary to illustrate theoretical and research aspects of therapeutic alliance rupture and repair in groups. Our colleague Jeremy Safran made a substantial contribution to research on therapeutic alliance, and the current paper illustrates the enduring legacy of this work and its potential application to the group therapy context.
Electric load forecasting: Literature survey and classification of methods

A review and categorization of electric load forecasting techniques is presented. A wide range of methodologies and models for forecasting are given in the literature. These techniques are classified here into nine categories: (1) multiple regression, (2) exponential smoothing, (3) iterative reweighted least-squares, (4) adaptive load forecasting, (5) stochastic time series, (6) ARMAX models based on genetic algorithms, (7) fuzzy logic, (8) neural networks and (9) expert systems. The methodology for each category is briefly described, the advantages and disadvantages discussed, and the pertinent literature reviewed. Conclusions and comments are made on future research directions.
Upregulation of Unc-51-Like Kinase 1 by Nitric Oxide Stabilizes SIRT1, Independent of Autophagy

SIRT1 is central to the lifespan and vascular health, but undergoes degradation that contributes to several medical conditions, including diabetes. How SIRT1 turnover is regulated remains unclear. However, emerging evidence suggests that endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) positively regulates SIRT1 protein expression. We recently identified NO as an endogenous inhibitor of 26S proteasome functionality with a cellular reporter system. Here we extended this finding to a novel pathway that regulates SIRT1 protein breakdown. In cycloheximide (CHX)-treated endothelial cells, NONOate, an NO donor, and A23187, an eNOS activator, significantly stabilized SIRT1 protein. Similarly, NO enhanced SIRT1 protein, but not mRNA expression, in CHX-free cells. NO also stabilized an autophagy-related protein unc-51 like kinase (ULK1), but did not restore SIRT1 protein levels in ULK1-siRNA-treated cells or in mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEF) from Ulk1−/− mice. This suggests that ULK1 mediated the NO regulation of SIRT1. Furthermore, adenoviral overexpression of ULK1 increased SIRT1 protein expression, while ULK1 siRNA treatment decreased it. Rapamycin-induced autophagy did not mimic these effects, suggesting that the effects of ULK1 were autophagy-independent. Treatment with MG132, a proteasome inhibitor, or siRNA of β-TrCP1, an E3 ligase, prevented SIRT1 reduction induced by ULK1-siRNA. Mechanistically, ULK1 negatively regulated 26S proteasome functionality, which was at least partly mediated by O-linked-GlcNAc transferase (OGT), probably by increased O-GlcNAc modification of proteasomal subunit Rpt2. The NO-ULK1-SIRT1 axis was likely operative in the whole animal: both ULK1 and SIRT1 protein levels were significantly reduced in tissue homogenates in eNOS-knockout mice (lung) and in db/db mice where eNOS is downregulated (lung and heart). Taken together, the results show that NO stabilizes SIRT1 by regulating 26S proteasome functionality through ULK1 and OGT, but not autophagy, in endothelial cells.
Nutrition Therapy Recommendations for the Management of Adults With Diabetes

There is no standard meal plan or eating pattern that works universally for all people with diabetes. In order to be effective, nutrition therapy should be individualized for each patient/client based on his or her individual health goals; personal and cultural preferences; health literacy and numeracy; access to healthful choices; and readiness, willingness, and ability to change. Nutrition interventions should emphasize a variety of minimally processed nutrient dense foods in appropriate portion sizes as part of a healthful eating pattern and provide the individual with diabetes with practical tools for day-to-day food plan and behavior change that can be maintained over the long term.
Compactly supported tight frames associated with refinable functions

Abstract It is well known that in applied and computational mathematics, cardinal B-splines play an important role in geometric modeling (in computer-aided geometric design), statistical data representation (or modeling), solution of differential equations (in numerical analysis), and so forth. More recently, in the development of wavelet analysis, cardinal B-splines also serve as a canonical example of scaling functions that generate multiresolution analyses of L2(−∞,∞). However, although cardinal B-splines have compact support, their corresponding orthonormal wavelets (of Battle and Lemarie) have infinite duration. To preserve such properties as self-duality while requiring compact support, the notion of tight frames is probably the only replacement of that of orthonormal wavelets. In this paper, we study compactly supported tight frames Ψ={ψ1,…,ψN} for L2(−∞,∞) that correspond to some refinable functions with compact support, give a precise existence criterion of Ψ in terms of an inequality condition on the Laurent polynomial symbols of the refinable functions, show that this condition is not always satisfied (implying the nonexistence of tight frames via the matrix extension approach), and give a constructive proof that when Ψ does exist, two functions with compact support are sufficient to constitute Ψ, while three guarantee symmetry/anti-symmetry, when the given refinable function is symmetric.
Structure Discovery in Bayesian Networks by Sampling Partial Orders

We present methods based on Metropolis-coupled Markov chain Monte Carlo (MC3) and annealed importance sampling (AIS) for estimating the posterior distribution of Bayesian networks. The methods draw samples from an appropriate distribution of partial orders on the nodes, continued by sampling directed acyclic graphs (DAGs) conditionally on the sampled partial orders. We show that the computations needed for the sampling algorithms are feasible as long as the encountered partial orders have relatively few down-sets. While the algorithms assume suitable modularity properties of the priors, arbitrary priors can be handled by dividing the importance weight of each sampled DAG by the number of topological sorts it has|we give a practical dynamic programming algorithm to compute these numbers. Our empirical results demonstrate that the presented partial-order-based samplers are superior to previous Markov chain Monte Carlo methods, which sample DAGs either directly or via linear orders on the nodes. The results also suggest that the convergence rate of the estimators based on AIS are competitive to those of MC3. Thus AIS is the preferred method, as it enables easier large-scale parallelization and, in addition, supplies good probabilistic lower bound guarantees for the marginal likelihood of the model.
A Century of Firm Bank Relationships: Did Banking Sector Deregulation Spur Firms to Add Banks and Borrow More?

We study how firm-bank relationships and corporate financing evolved during the Twentieth century in Britain. We document a remarkable transition from single to multiple relationships. Transparent, larger, and global companies were more likely to add a bank, especially when located in more competitive local banking markets. Deregulation and intensifying competition in the banking sector during the 1970s spurred banks to supply credit through multilateral arrangements. Firms that added a bank following deregulation borrowed more than similar firms that did not add a bank, and their bank debt expanded while their trade credit and share issuance contracted.
Mutual coupling in RF powered wireless communication networks for health monitoring

Simultaneous wireless information and power transfer (SWIPT) can be an essential technology for health monitoring. In this paper, the mutual coupling effect for SWIPT is presented with mathematical analysis and simulation results. With two dipole antennas arranged, the total received power for energy harvesting can be maximized as much as 5.6825 μW, which is 1.34 times as large as the uncoupled total received power. With more than two dipole antennas arranged, analytical results show that the received power with the coupling effect into account depends on the spacing of antennas and can increase by more than 50%, compared to the uncoupled case. In single-input multiple-out systems, the channel capacity fluctuates as the interval of antennas is changed. Our analysis shows that the channel capacities of the coupled and the uncoupled case converge because the impact of mutual coupling decreases as the spacing of antennas increases.
Activation of Serotonin 2A Receptors Underlies the Psilocybin-Induced Effects on α Oscillations, N170 Visual-Evoked Potentials, and Visual Hallucinations

Visual illusions and hallucinations are hallmarks of serotonergic hallucinogen-induced altered states of consciousness. Although the serotonergic hallucinogen psilocybin activates multiple serotonin (5-HT) receptors, recent evidence suggests that activation of 5-HT2A receptors may lead to the formation of visual hallucinations by increasing cortical excitability and altering visual-evoked cortical responses. To address this hypothesis, we assessed the effects of psilocybin (215 μg/kg vs placebo) on both α oscillations that regulate cortical excitability and early visual-evoked P1 and N170 potentials in healthy human subjects. To further disentangle the specific contributions of 5-HT2A receptors, subjects were additionally pretreated with the preferential 5-HT2A receptor antagonist ketanserin (50 mg vs placebo). We found that psilocybin strongly decreased prestimulus parieto-occipital α power values, thus precluding a subsequent stimulus-induced α power decrease. Furthermore, psilocybin strongly decreased N170 potentials associated with the appearance of visual perceptual alterations, including visual hallucinations. All of these effects were blocked by pretreatment with the 5-HT2A antagonist ketanserin, indicating that activation of 5-HT2A receptors by psilocybin profoundly modulates the neurophysiological and phenomenological indices of visual processing. Specifically, activation of 5-HT2A receptors may induce a processing mode in which stimulus-driven cortical excitation is overwhelmed by spontaneous neuronal excitation through the modulation of α oscillations. Furthermore, the observed reduction of N170 visual-evoked potentials may be a key mechanism underlying 5-HT2A receptor-mediated visual hallucinations. This change in N170 potentials may be important not only for psilocybin-induced states but also for understanding acute hallucinatory states seen in psychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia and Parkinson's disease.
Phonological constraints in speech segmentation processes: investigating levels of implementation

Recent data have been considered as evidence for a role of phonological constraints in speech segmentation processes. A distributional analysis of consonant sequences in the French lexicon shows that these results may be accounted for by lexical competition or by transitional probability models in which no claim is made about the usefulness of phonology in speech perception.
A Specific Role for NR2A-Containing NMDA Receptors in the Maintenance of Parvalbumin and GAD67 Immunoreactivity in Cultured Interneurons

Several lines of evidence suggest that a hypoglutamatergic condition may induce a phenotypic loss of cortical parvalbumin (PV)-positive GABAergic interneurons, such as that observed in brain tissue of schizophrenic subjects. However, it is not known whether the loss of PV interneurons is a consequence of the hypoglutamatergic condition or a secondary aspect of the disease. We characterized the signaling and subunit expression of NMDA receptors in cultured cortical PV interneurons and determined whether a hypoglutamatergic condition, created by direct application of sublethal concentrations of ketamine or subunit-selective NMDA receptor antagonists, can affect the expression of the GABAergic markers as observed in vivo. Real-time PCR performed on mRNA isolated from single neurons showed that PV interneurons present a fivefold higher NR2A/NR2B ratio than pyramidal neurons. Brief, nontoxic, exposure to NMDA led to an increase in ERK1/2 (extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2) and cAMP response element-binding protein phosphorylation in PV interneurons, and this increase was blocked by the NR2A-selective antagonist NVP-AAM077. Application of the nonselective NMDA receptor antagonist ketamine, at sublethal concentrations, induced a time and dose-dependent decrease in parvalbumin and GAD67 immunoreactivity specifically in PV interneurons. These effects were reversible and were also observed with the NR2A-selective antagonist, whereas the NR2B-selective antagonist Ro-25-6981 only partially reduced GAD67 immunoreactivity. Coexposure to the calcium channel opener BayK, or the group I metabotropic glutamate receptor agonist DHPG [(RS)-3,5-dihydroxyphenylglycine] attenuated the decrease in GAD67 and parvalbumin induced by the NMDA receptor antagonists. These results suggest that the activity of NR2A-containing NMDA receptors play a pivotal role in the maintenance of the GABAergic function of PV interneurons.