Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Instrumental variable methods for causal inference

A goal of many health studies is to determine the causal effect of a treatment or intervention on health outcomes. Often, it is not ethically or practically possible to conduct a perfectly randomized experiment, and instead, an observational study must be used. A major challenge to the validity of observational studies is the possibility of unmeasured confounding (i.e., unmeasured ways in which the treatment and control groups differ before treatment administration, which also affect the outcome). Instrumental variables analysis is a method for controlling for unmeasured confounding. This type of analysis requires the measurement of a valid instrumental variable, which is a variable that (i) is independent of the unmeasured confounding; (ii) affects the treatment; and (iii) affects the outcome only indirectly through its effect on the treatment. This tutorial discusses the types of causal effects that can be estimated by instrumental variables analysis; the assumptions needed for instrumental variables analysis to provide valid estimates of causal effects and sensitivity analysis for those assumptions; methods of estimation of causal effects using instrumental variables; and sources of instrumental variables in health studies. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Interplay of host specificity and biogeography in the population structure of a cosmopolitan endoparasite: microsatellite study of Ligula intestinalis (Cestoda)

Organisms with wide geographical or phenotypic diversity often constitute assemblages of genetically distinct species or lineages. Within parasites, an emergence of host‐specific lineages is assumed to create such cryptic variability; however, empirical evaluation of these processes is scarce. Here, we analyse populations of a parasite with a complex life cycle, wide host spectrum and global distribution, with the aim to reveal factors underlying the evolution of host‐ or geography‐dependent lineages. Using 15 microsatellite loci, deep genetic distances were observed between populations from distant geographical areas. On the local scale, host‐mediated genetic structure was found among sympatric samples. Two lineages differing in the spectrum of infected hosts co‐occurred in the Euro‐Mediterranean area, and two distinct lineages were recovered from Lake Tana in Ethiopia. Although sampled across several host taxa and multiple localities, a lack of marked genetic structure was seen in the populations belonging to one of the European lineages. Only weak genetic differentiation between sympatric samples from two host species was found. Complexity of the parasite life‐cycle contributed to such a stratified pattern. Differences in the immune response between fish hosts were suggested as the factor diversifying the populations locally; conversely, high mobility of the parasite due to migration with its bird (definitive) host were assessed to homogenize populations across the area of distribution. However, despite the high mobility, large bodies of salt water prevent the parasite from long‐distance migrations, as was demonstrated in an example of the Mediterranean Sea which represented an effective barrier to gene flow.
Applied Pluralism in the Evaluation of Employee Counselling.

Abstract The method and major findings of a complex, ‘pluralist’ evaluation, which investigated the effectiveness of the counselling provision of an employee support and counselling service in a local authority education department over 22 months, are outlined. Reference is made to the underlying philosophical approach of integrated pluralist evaluation, which may represent a significant step forward from the accepted methods of triangulation. In addition to achieving predicted high satisfaction rates from clients, counsellors and clients both indicated significant improvements in all measures used. These were maintained at follow-up which took place at intervals from 1 to 18 months after counselling had ended. Reduction in absenteeism post-counselling suggested the possibility of very substantial revenue savings. Responses also indicated the acute, and often chronic, need for employee counselling provision in the education system.
Emotional intelligence, social coping, and psychological distress among Chinese gifted students in Hong Kong

The relationships among emotional intelligence, social coping, and psychological distress were investigated in a sample of 624 Chinese gifted students in Hong Kong. A mediation‐effect model specifying that emotional intelligence had an effect on psychological distress mediated by social coping was hypothesized and tested using structural equation modeling procedures. For comparison, a direct‐effect model and a direct‐and‐mediation‐effect model were also fitted to the data. The results indicated that the mediation‐effect model provided an adequate and good fit, suggesting that the effects of self‐relevant and other‐relevant emotional intelligence on psychological distress were mediated by avoidant coping and social‐interaction coping, respectively. Implications of the findings for enhancing emotional intelligence of students and in promoting the use of adaptive social coping strategies for their psychological well‐being are discussed.
Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring in Australia: 2011 consensus position statement

Objective: Although most national guidelines for the diagnosis and management of hypertension emphasize that the initiation and modification of blood pressure (BP)-lowering treatment should be related to absolute cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, there is only limited information on how to incorporate ambulatory BP (ABP) monitoring into this framework. The objective of this initiative is to provide ABP equivalents for BP cut-points for treatment initiation and targets to be included into guidelines. Methods: A critical analysis of the best available evidence from clinical trials and observational studies was undertaken to develop a new consensus statement for ABP monitoring. Results: ABP monitoring has an important place in defining abnormal patterns of BP, particularly white-coat hypertension (including in pregnancy), episodic hypertension, masked hypertension, labile BP and nocturnal or morning hypertension. This consensus statement provides a framework for appropriate inclusion of ABP equivalents for low, moderate and high CVD risk patients. The wider use of ABP monitoring, although justified, is limited by its availability and cost due to the lack of medical subsidy in Australia. However, cost–benefit analysis does suggest a cost-saving in reduced numbers of inappropriate antihypertensive treatments. Conclusion: Although clinic measurement of BP will continue to be useful for screening and management of suspected and true hypertension, ABP monitoring provides considerable added value toward accurate diagnosis and the provision of optimal care in uncomplicated hypertension, as well as for patients with moderate or severe CVD risk.
The PHD-finger module of the Arabidopsis thaliana defense regulator EDM2 can recognize triply modified histone H3 peptides

Recently we reported that the Arabidopsis thaliana PHD-finger protein EDM2 (enhanced downy mildew 2) impacts disease resistance by affecting levels of di-methylated lysine 9 of histone H3 (H3K9me2) at an alternative polyadenylation site in the immune receptor gene RPP7. EDM2-dependent modulation of this post-translational histone modification (PHM) shifts the balance between full-length RPP7 transcripts and prematurely polyadenylated transcripts, which do not encode the RPP7 protein. Our previous work genetically linked, for the first time, PHMs to alternative polyadenylation and established EDM2 as a critical component mediating PHM-dependent polyadenylation control. However, how EDM2 is recruited to its genomic target sites and how it affects H3K9me2 levels is unknown. Here we show the PHD-finger module of EDM2 to recognize histone H3 bearing certain combinations of 3 distinct PHMs. Our results suggest that targeting of EDM2 to specific genomic regions is mediated by the histone-binding selectivity of its PHD-finger domain.
Multiscale Modeling and Simulation of the Cardiac Fiber Architecture for DMRI

Cardiac fiber architecture plays an important role in the study of mechanical and electrical properties of the wall of the human heart, but still remains to be elucidated. This paper proposes to investigate, in a multiscale manner, how the arrangement patterns and morphological heterogeneity of cardiac myocytes influence the fibers orientation. To this end, different virtual cardiac fiber structures are modeled, and diffusion tensor imaging at multiple scales are simulated using the Monte Carlo method. The results show that the proposed modeling and simulation allow us to quantitatively describe the variation of the measured tissue properties (fiber orientation and fractional anisotropy) as a function of the observation scale.
G but not g: In search of the evolutionary continuity of intelligence

Abstract Conceptualizing intelligence in its biological context, as the expression of manifold adaptations, compels a rethinking of measuring this characteristic in humans, relying also on animal studies of analogous skills. Mental manipulation, as an extension of object manipulation, provides a continuous, biologically based concept for studying G as it pertains to individual differences in humans and other species.
Shipping the good tequila out: Investment, domestic unit values and entry of multi-product plants into export markets

This study uses Mexican plant-product level data for the 1994-2003 period to examine plant behavior preceding an expansion into foreign markets. A novelty is that we focus on domestic unit values of products that will be exported in the future and on plants’ investment behavior. Our findings are consistent with the predictions of the theoretical literature. First, we find that producers who export a particular product variety tend to obtain a price premium for their domestic sales of this variety. Second, we show that manufacturers that will export a particular product in the future experience an increase in the domestic unit value obtained for this variety two years before exporting starts. Interestingly, three years before exporting takes place, their product is indistinguishable in terms of unit values from varieties sold by other producers. This is suggestive of a close link between changes in product attributes and exporting, especially as we find that increases in product unit value coincide with increased investment in physical capital and (to a lesser extent) technology licensing. 1
Person‐Centred Approaches and Quality of Life

This mainly conceptual paper summarises the current conceptualisation of personalisation as it applies to people with learning disabilities. It goes on to map out how the drive towards the personalisation of services, its most recent iterations of person‐centred planning, person‐centred funding and person‐centred action, contributes to a better quality of life for people with intellectual disabilities, using the domains and indicators of quality of life set out in the Schalock et al (2002) international consensus. In doing so it describes what you would see in services where person‐centred approaches were being successfully implemented.
Low natural killer cell activity in patients with malignant lymphoma

Natural killer (NK) cell activity was found decreased (mean value: 27.5%) in peripheral blood lymphocytes from 59 untreated patients with malignant lymphoma, when compared to 112 healthy subjects (46.3%) and to 75 cancer patients with nonlymphoid tumors (43.7%) (P > 0.001). NK cell values were similar in patients with Hodgkin's disease (25.5%) and with non‐Hodgkin's lymphoma (28.2%). Decreased NK cell activity was not correlated with age, lymphoma extension or leukocyte counts. A physiological role for NK cells in the immune surveillance against lymphoid neoplasias is discussed.
Are α9α10 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors a Pain Target for α-Conotoxins?

The synthetic α-conotoxin Vc1.1 is a small disulfide bonded peptide currently in development as a treatment for neuropathic pain. Unlike Vc1.1, the native post-translationally modified peptide vc1a does not act as an analgesic in vivo in rat models of neuropathic pain. It has recently been proposed that the primary target of Vc1.1 is the α9α10 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR). We show that Vc1.1 and its post-translationally modified analogs vc1a, [P6O]Vc1.1, and [E14γ]Vc1.1 are equally potent at inhibiting ACh-evoked currents mediated by α9α10 nAChRs. This suggests that α9α10 nAChRs are unlikely to be the molecular mechanism or therapeutic target of Vc1.1 for the treatment of neuropathic pain.
MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE LABORATORY and CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL AND COMPUTATIONAL LEARNING DEPARTMENT OF BRAIN AND COGNITIVE SCIENCES

Various studies of asset markets have shown that traders are capable of learning and transmitting information through prices in many situations. In this paper we replace human traders with intelligent software agents in a series of simulated markets. Using these simple learning agents, we are able to replicate several features of the experiments with human subjects, regarding (1) dissemination of information from informed to uninformed traders, and (2) aggregation of information spread over di erent traders. Copyright c Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1998 This report describes research done within the Center for Biological and Computational Learning in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. This research is sponsored by a grant from the National Science Foundation under contract ASC-9217041.
Reactive Effects of Self-Assessment and Self-Recording on Attention to Task and Academic Productivity

In two experiments, the effects of self-assessment and self-recording were compared as treatments for increasing on-task behavior and academic productivity. In Experiment 1, both procedures caused increases in attention to task and academic productivity for one student, but neither procedure was more effective than the other. In Experiment 2, self-assessment by itself was neither effective in increasing the students' on-task behavior nor their academic productivity. However, the introduction of self-recording after a period of self-assessment resulted in increased on-task behavior, but not increased productivity. Based on these results, self-recording appears to be a more effective procedure than self-assessment for increasing attention to task.
Thrombin Activates NF‐κB through Thrombin Receptor and Results in Proliferation of Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells: Role of Thrombin in Atherosclerosis and Restenosis

We investigated the role of thrombin in the pathogenesis in atherosclerosis and restenosis. First we examined the effect of thrombin on cultured human vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC). We showed that thrombin acts as a mitogen on VSMC through thrombin receptor. The expression of thrombin receptor was increased in the cell lines of VSMC established from directional coronary atherectomy (DCA). This is more pronounced in the cells from patients with restenosis after PTCA. Next we investigated the signaling pathway from thrombin/thrombin receptor. Thrombin activates thrombin receptor resulting in the exposing of the agonist peptide domain (thrombin receptor agonist peptide, TRAP). The signal from thrombin/thrombin receptor activated protein C kinase, tyrosine kinase, and MAP kinase and resulted in NF-kappa B activation. Furthermore, treatment of the cells with antisense p65 oligodeoxynucleotides of NF-kappa B inhibited the thrombin-stimulated growth of VSMC in vitro. These results suggest that thrombin may have a role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and restenosis after PTCA through the thrombin receptor.
MiR-10 Represses HoxB1a and HoxB3a in Zebrafish

Background The Hox genes are involved in patterning the anterior-posterior axis. In addition to the protein coding Hox genes, the miR-10, miR-196 and miR-615 families of microRNA genes are conserved within the vertebrate Hox clusters. The members of the miR-10 family are located at positions associated with Hox-4 paralogues. No function is yet known for this microRNA family but the genomic positions of its members suggest a role in anterior-posterior patterning. Methodology/Principal Findings Using sensor constructs, overexpression and morpholino knockdown, we show in Zebrafish that miR-10 targets HoxB1a and HoxB3a and synergizes with HoxB4 in the repression of these target genes. Overexpression of miR-10 also induces specific phenotypes related to the loss of function of these targets. HoxB1a and HoxB3a have a dominant hindbrain expression domain anterior to that of miR-10 but overlap in a weaker expression domain in the spinal cord. In this latter domain, miR-10 knockdown results in upregulation of the target genes. In the case of a HoxB3a splice variant that includes miR-10c within its primary transcript, we show that the microRNA acts in an autoregulatory fashion. Conclusions/Significance We find that miR-10 acts to repress HoxB1a and HoxB3a within the spinal cord and show that this repression works cooperatively with HoxB4. As with the previously described interactions between miR-196 and HoxA7 and Hox-8 paralogues, the target genes are located in close proximity to the microRNA. We present a model in which we postulate a link between the clustering of Hox genes and post-transcriptional gene regulation. We speculate that the high density of transcription units and enhancers within the Hox clusters places constraints on the precision of the transcriptional control that can be achieved within these clusters and requires the involvement of post-transcriptional gene silencing to define functional domains of genes appropriately.
A Modification of the Functional Theory of Social Stratification

SOCIOLOGISTS know a great deal about what social stratification consists of and L how it operates, but little attention has been given to determining why this persistent phenomenon is found in every known society and why it assumes such varied forms. Davis and Moore have put forth a systematic theory to answer these questions, but some students have questioned the assumptions on which their theory rests and its adequacy to account for all the known facts of stratification. ' In this paper we shall consider some of the objections to the Davis-Moore theory and propose a modification of it designed to account for the facts more adequately on the basis of more tenable assumptions. The Davis-Moore theory may be summarized as follows: Stratification is a "device by which societies insure that the most important positions are conscientiously filled by the most qualified persons" and "those positions convey the best reward, and hence have the highest rank, which (a) have the greatest importance for the society and (b) require the greatest training or talent. "2 Great effort and sacrifice are entailed in medical training, for example; and doctors must receive high rewards or else no one will want to fill the socially important position of doctor. Garbage collecting, while important, requires little training; so garbagemen need not be offered high rewards. There is no scarcity of potential garbagemen, but there is a scarcity of qualified physicians. The adequacy of this theory and its assumptions can be questioned on several grounds: (1) The importance of a position is difficult if not impossible to evaluate. (2) Some positions exist and are rewarded which do not seem to contribute to society at large; for example, the valet or the kept woman. (3) Some positions are given greater rewards than appear warranted by either their importance to society or the difficulty of training for them; for example, motion picture stars. (4) The theory implies an assumption that any scheme of stratification is somehow the best that could be had, that the prevailing distribution of rewards comes into being somehow because it is "functionally necessary. " The following section will consider these objections to the functional theory of stratification, and the remainder of the paper will propose a modification of the theory which will take them into account.
Viral characteristics of transmitted HIV

Purpose of reviewTo summarize our current understanding of the restricted diversity and biological characteristics of newly transmitted HIV-1 variants. Recent findingsTransmission of HIV-1 involves a reduction in viral diversity, supporting the concept of a genetic bottleneck. In most cases, transmission appears to be mediated by a single infectious unit. Transmission of multiple variants has also been observed and is associated with factors that compromise the genital mucosa. The biological characteristics of the newly transmitted variants are influenced by the mode of transmission and perhaps the viral subtype. For sexual transmission, the integrity of the mucosal barrier is likely to impose a major restriction on the infecting virus, whereas mother-to-child transmission is also influenced by the presence of maternal antibody. SummaryTransmission of HIV-1 is complex, multimodal, and poorly understood, but one common feature appears to be a window of opportunity when the infection is localized and viral diversity is limited; at this time the virus is at its most vulnerable. A better understanding of the restrictions inflicted upon transmitting HIV-1 should therefore lead to improved biomedical interventions that have the potential to protect against HIV infection.
A Critical Look at Deriving Monthly Aerosol Optical Depth From Satellite Data

Satellite-derived aerosol data sets, such as those provided by NASA's Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instruments, are greatly improving our understanding of global aerosol optical depth (AOD). Yet, there are sampling issues. MODIS' specific orbital geometry, convolved with the need to avoid bright surfaces (glint, desert, clouds, etc.), means that AOD can be under- or over-sampled in places. When deriving downstream products, such as daily or monthly gridded AOD, one must consider the spatial and temporal density of the measurements relative to the gradients of the true AOD. Additionally, retrieval confidence criteria should be considered. Averaged products are highly dependent on choices made for data aggregation and weighting, and sampling errors can be further propagated when deriving regional or global ldquomeanrdquo AOD. Different choices for aggregation and weighting result in estimates of regional and global means varying by 30% or more. The impacts of a particular averaging algorithm vary by region and surface type and can be shown to represent different tolerance for clouds and retrieval confidence.