Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Urbanization, ageing and migration: some evidence from African settlements in Cape Town

This paper is based on secondary analysis of data obtained from the 1995 Western Cape Community Housing Trust study on the demographic and socio-economic dynamics of the African population in the Metropolitan Cape Town area (WCCHT, 1995). The sample consisted of 807 households, of which 113 sheltered at least one person aged 60 years and over (elderly households). Statistical information on household composition, housing and infrastructure, standard of living items, household economy, migration and mobility, community integration and perceived quality of life are drawn together for elderly and young households. A comparison of their profiles shows that elderly households in the metropolitan area tend to be larger, more prone to the exigencies of unemployment, and more likely to be sheltered. In formal houses and the established townships of Langa, Guguletu and Nyanga than young households. This geographical distribution coincides with better housing infrastructure and more consumer durables. Nevertheless, in terms of income elder households tend to be significantly poorer than their younger counterparts. The WCCHT data indicate that social pensioners in urban areas - as with their rural counterparts - act as magnets for economically weaker persons and that pensions are thus important redistributive mechanisms which enable the survival of structurally vulnerable families in urban settings. Contrary to common belief, older citizens have participated in the recent mobility upsurge, albeit on a somewhat smaller scale. This holds good for intra-urban as well as for rural-urban/urban-rural movements. It appears that elderly urban households are often part of an integrated urban/rural nexus. Considering the policy relevance of this finding and the paucity of knowledge about later-life migration, further quantitative and qualitative studies are called for.
Asymptotic Regulation of Time-Delay Nonlinear Systems With Unknown Control Directions

This paper studies the problem of global state regulation with stability for time-delay nonlinear systems with unknown control directions. Using a dynamic gain-based method for counteracting time-delay nonlinearity and the Nussbaum-gain function for dealing with unknown control directions, we develop a dynamic state feedback control strategy that solves the problem. A novel construction of Lyapunov–Krasovskii functionals is presented and plays a key role in handling nonlinearity with delayed states and unknown control directions simultaneously. The proposed dynamic state feedback compensators are shown to guarantee 1) global asymptotic convergence of the system state to the origin and 2) global boundedness of the resulting closed-loop systems.
Role of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) Inhibitors and Radiation in the Management of Brain Metastases from EGFR Mutant Lung Cancers.

The growth of genotype-directed targeted therapies, such as inhibitors of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), has revolutionized treatment for some patients with oncogene-addicted lung cancer. However, as systemic control for these patients has improved, brain metastases remain an important source of morbidity and mortality. Traditional treatment for brain metastases has been radiotherapy, either whole-brain radiation or stereotactic radiosurgery. The growing availability of drugs that can cross the blood-brain barrier and have activity in the central nervous system (CNS) has led to many studies investigating whether targeted therapy can be used in combination with or in lieu of radiation. In this review, we summarize the key literature about the incidence and nature of EGFR-mutant brain metastases (EGFR BMs), the data about the activity of EGFR inhibitors in the CNS, and whether they can be used as front-line therapy for brain metastases. Although initial use of tyrosine kinase inhibitors for EGFR BMs can often be an effective treatment strategy, multidisciplinary evaluation is critical, and prospective studies are needed to clarify which patients may benefit from early radiotherapy. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE Management of brain metastases in epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutant lung cancer is a common clinical problem. The question of whether to start initial therapy with an EGFR inhibitor or radiotherapy (either whole-brain radiotherapy or stereotactic radiosurgery) is controversial. The development of novel EGFR inhibitors with enhanced central nervous system (CNS) penetration is an important advance in the treatment of CNS disease. Multidisciplinary evaluation and evaluation of extracranial disease status are critical to choosing the best treatment option for each patient.
The Negative Symptoms of Schizophrenia: Category or Continuum?

Negative symptoms have been considered to be specific to schizophrenia or a subtype of schizophrenia: the deficit syndrome. In other words, these symptoms have been considered to be categorically different from other forms of human behavior and experience, whether they occur in healthy persons or patients with other psychiatric disorders. In this paper, we advocate a dimensional approach to negative symptoms, which is supported by two main arguments. First, enduring negative symptoms can even be observed in a variety of psychiatric disorders and they are not specific to schizophrenia. Second, we review evidence that negative symptoms show a continuous distribution from apparently healthy subjects to those with a fully developed clinical syndrome. Although the evidence does not allow for a definite decision concerning the dimensional distribution of negative symptoms, it certainly justifies exploring a dimensional approach with respect to its clinical and scientific utility. Understanding negative symptoms as a variation of normal mental processes will strengthen the development of neurocognitive models and treatment approaches.
Design and Performance of a Two-Dimensional Tactile Slip Display

We introduce a novel two-degree-of-freedom haptic display capable of reproducing the sensation of sliding contact on a fingertip. The modular device can be attached to a PHANTOM haptic interface and generates tactile sensations by actuating a ball positioned under the user's index finger. Specifications for the device and mechanical design considerations are presented. Integration of the slip display, PHANTOM, and a virtual environment results in a system capable of generating both tactile and kinesthetic haptic sensations. We also present the results of two psychophysical experiments, detection of slip angle and slip velocity variation, on human perception of sliding contact. These experiments demonstrate that, despite design and manufacturing tolerance limitations, the functional performance of the device is sufficient for realistic display of sliding contact.
Anthropogenic influences on the physical state of submicron particulate matter over a tropical forest

Abstract. The occurrence of nonliquid and liquid physical states of submicron atmospheric particulate matter (PM) downwind of an urban region in central Amazonia was investigated. Measurements were conducted during two intensive operating periods (IOP1 and IOP2) that took place during the wet and dry seasons of the GoAmazon2014/5 campaign. Air masses representing variable influences of background conditions, urban pollution, and regional- and continental-scale biomass burning passed over the research site. As the air masses varied, particle rebound fraction, an indicator of physical state, was measured in real time at ground level using an impactor apparatus. Micrographs collected by transmission electron microscopy confirmed that liquid particles adhered, while nonliquid particles rebounded. Relative humidity (RH) was scanned to collect rebound curves. When the apparatus RH matched ambient RH, 95 % of the particles adhered as a campaign average. Secondary organic material, produced for the most part by the oxidation of volatile organic compounds emitted from the forest, produces liquid PM over this tropical forest. During periods of anthropogenic influence, by comparison, the rebound fraction dropped to as low as 60 % at 95 % RH. Analyses of the mass spectra of the atmospheric PM by positive-matrix factorization (PMF) and of concentrations of carbon monoxide, total particle number, and oxides of nitrogen were used to identify time periods affected by anthropogenic influences, including both urban pollution and biomass burning. The occurrence of nonliquid PM at high RH correlated with these indicators of anthropogenic influence. A linear model having as output the rebound fraction and as input the PMF factor loadings explained up to 70 % of the variance in the observed rebound fractions. Anthropogenic influences can contribute to the presence of nonliquid PM in the atmospheric particle population through the combined effects of molecular species that increase viscosity when internally mixed with background PM and increased concentrations of nonliquid anthropogenic particles in external mixtures of anthropogenic and biogenic PM.
The Impact of Various Time Intervals on the Supragingival Plaque Dynamic Core Microbiome

Objective The aim of this study was to examine the influence of various time intervals on the composition of the supragingival plaque microbiome, especially the dynamic core microbiome, and to find a suitable observation interval for further studies on oral microbiota. Methods and Materials Eight qualified volunteers whose respective age ranges from 25 to 28 years participated in the present study. The supragingival plaque was collected from the buccogingival surface of the maxillary first molar at eight time slots with different intervals (day 0, 1 day, 3 days, 1 week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks, 1 month, and 3 months). Bioinformatic analyses was performed based on 16S rDNA pyrosequencing (454 sequencing platform) targeting at the hypervariable V4–V5 region, in order to assess the diversity and variation of the supragingival plaque microbiome. Results A total of 359,565 qualified reads for 64 samples were generated for subsequent analyses, which represents 8,452 operational taxonomic units identified at 3% dissimilarity. The dynamic core microbiome detected in the current study included five phyla, 12 genera and 13 species. At the genus level, the relative abundance of bacterial communities under the “1 day,” “1 month,” and “3 months” intervals was clustered into sub-category. At the species level, the number of overlapping species remained stable between the “1 month” and “3 months” intervals, whereas the number of dynamic core species became stable within only 1 week. Conclusions This study emphasized the impact of different time intervals (days, weeks and months) on the composition, commonality and diversity of the supragingival microbiome. The analyses found that for various types of studies, the time interval of a month is more suitable for observing the general composition of the supragingival microbiome, and that a week is better for observing the dynamic core microbiome.
Metabolism of lactic acid isomers in the rumen of silage-fed sheep

1. Four mature sheep were offered perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne, cv. S23) silage (885 g dry matter/d) at hourly intervals. The silage was well fermented with a pH of 4.0, a lactic acid content of 139 g/kg dry matter and an organic matter digestibility of 0.766. 2. Continuous intraruminal infusions of 14C-labelled sodium salts of [U-14C]acetic acid, [2-14C]propionic acid, [2-14C]butyric acid and D- and L-[U-14C]lactic acid and an intravenous infusion of [U-14C]glucose were made on separate occasions to estimate the fluxes of rumen acetate, propionate, butyrate and lactate as well as plasma glucose. The data were resolved by the use of appropriate four-compartment (rumen) and three-compartment (rumen-plasma) models. 3. Irreversible loss rate (g C/h) of rumen acetate (5.32 g C/h) was considerably greater than values obtained for propionate (2.58), butyrate (2.80) and lactate (2.91). 4. Total flux of lactate (1.83 mol/d) exceeded the amount of lactate consumed in the diet (1.37 mol/d) indicating a net synthesis of 0.46 mol lactate/d. Approximately 0.90 of total lactate flux was metabolized in the rumen, with 1.00 mol/d converted to acetate, 0.57 to propionate and 0.08 to butyrate. The flux to acetate was significantly (P < 0.05) greater than that to propionate. Both the D- and L-isomers appeared to have similar metabolic fates. 5. Lactate appeared to make no direct contribution to glucose flux in the animal, but 0.10 of total lactate was converted to glucose through propionate. 6. The results are discussed in relation to overall lactate metabolism, and it is suggested that almost 0.30 of ruminally digested organic matter may be fermented via lactate.
High expression of long non-coding RNA ANRIL is associated with poor prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma.

INTRODUCTION long non-coding RNA ANRIL (lncRNA ANRIL) has been demonstrated to play a crucial role in cancer progression. However, its effects in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) have not been explored. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical significance of lncRNA NRIL in human HCC. METHODS In this study, we determined for the first time the expression of lncRNA ANRIL in human HCC by quantitative Real-time-PCR analysis. Kaplan-Meier curves and multivariate Cox proportional models were used to study the impact on clinical outcome. Small interfering RNA (siRNA) was used to silence lncRNA ANRIL and to explore the effects of reduced lncRNA ANRIL expression on cell growth and metastasis. RESULTS lncRNA ANRIL expression in HCC tissues was significantly higher than in the adjacent non-tumor tissues (P<0.05). The expression of lncRNA ANRIL was remarkably associated with the histologic grade and TNM stage of HCC patients (P<0.05). In addition, HCC patients with higher lncRNA ANRIL expression had significantly poorer overall survival (P<0.05). Multivariate analysis suggested that high lncRNA ANRIL expression was an independent predictor of poor prognosis (P<0.05). Moreover, in vitro assays revealed that the decreased expression of lncRNA ANRIL could suppress the cell proliferation, migration and invasion HCC cells. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that lncRNA ANRIL may serve as an efficient clinical biomarker and a therapeutic target for HCC patients.
Genetic variants in the nucleotide excision repair pathway genes and gastric cancer susceptibility in a southern Chinese population

Background Potentially functional polymorphisms can modulate protein activities and host’s DNA repair capacity, thereby influencing cancer susceptibility. The association of the polymorphisms in the nucleotide excision repair core pathway genes and gastric cancer susceptibility remains largely unknown. Methods Here, we systematically analyzed the associations between nine polymorphisms in four key genes (XPA, ERCC1, ERCC2, and ERCC4) in the nucleotide excision repair pathway and gastric cancer risk in a Chinese population including 1142 patients and 1173 controls. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to estimate the risk associations. Results We observed that ERCC1 rs2298881 CA variant genotype was associated with an increased gastric cancer risk (CA vs. CC: adjusted OR [AOR]=1.33, 95% CI=1.09–1.62; dominant model: AOR=1.32, 95% CI=1.10–1.60). However, ERCC1 rs3212986 AA variant genotype was identified as a protective factor for gastric cancer (AA vs. CC: AOR=0.73, 95% CI=0.54–0.98; recessive model: AOR=0.72, 95% CI=0.54–0.96). Genotype-based mRNA expression analysis further indicated that the rs2298881 A allele was associated with decreased ERCC1 mRNA expression. Conclusion In all, these results indicated that the ERCC1 polymorphisms may affect the risk of gastric cancer in the Chinese Han population.
Clinicopathological Characteristics and Mutations Driving Development of Early Lung Adenocarcinoma: Tumor Initiation and Progression

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, with lung adenocarcinoma representing the most common lung cancer subtype. Among all lung adenocarcinomas, the most prevalent subset develops via tumorigenesis and progression from atypical adenomatous hyperplasia (AAH) to adenocarcinoma in situ (AIS), to minimally invasive adenocarcinoma (MIA), to overt invasive adenocarcinoma with a lepidic pattern. This stepwise development is supported by the clinicopathological and molecular characteristics of these tumors. In the 2015 World Health Organization classification, AAH and AIS are both defined as preinvasive lesions, whereas MIA is identified as an early invasive adenocarcinoma that is not expected to recur if removed completely. Recent studies have examined the molecular features of lung adenocarcinoma tumorigenesis and progression. EGFR-mutated adenocarcinoma frequently develops via the multistep progression. Oncogene-induced senescence appears to decrease the frequency of the multistep progression in KRAS- or BRAF-mutated adenocarcinoma, whose tumor evolution may be associated with epigenetic alterations and kinase-inactive mutations. This review summarizes the current knowledge of tumorigenesis and tumor progression in early lung adenocarcinoma, with special focus on its clinicopathological characteristics and their associations with driver mutations (EGFR, KRAS, and BRAF) as well as on its molecular pathogenesis and progression.
New data on distribution of Demodex huttereri Mertens, Lukoschus et Nutting, 1983 and topical specificity and topography of demodectic mites in striped field mouse Apodemus agrarius

Localization of three species of mites belonging to Demodecidae family (Acari, Prostigmata) in striped field mouse Apodemus agrarius (Pallas, 1771) was analyzed. Occurrence of Demodex agrarii Bukva, 1994, D. arvicolae apodemi Hirst, 1918 and D. huttereri Mertens, Lukoschus et Nutting, 1983 was established. This is the first time when D. huttereri was found in Poland. Earlier cases of occurrence of that particular species were only recorded for striped field mice in Germany. Out of these three species, the predominant one was D.a. apodemi found in 78% of studied mice. This species inhabited hair follicles of common hairs; however, D.a. apodemi significantly demonstrated topographical preferences, and its occurrence was mostly limited to the head (74%) and genital-anal region (18%). In the remaining hairy body parts, only individual specimens were observed. D. agrarii, which has been associated solely with external auditory meatus, was observed in the ear region in 8% of the hosts. D. huttereri, which inhabits Meibomian glands, was observed in the region of eyelids in 6% hosts. In striped field mouse, demodectic mites demonstrate significant topographical preferences that are conditioned not only by tissue/topical specificity, but also by transmission ways between hosts.
The Effects of English-Speaking in the Household and Immigrant Heritage on Eating Disorder Symptomatology Among Canadian Women & Men

English-speaking in the household and immigrant heritage were investigated as predictors of eating disorder symptomatology. Subsamples of immigrants (n = 72) and native-born Canadians (n = 314) were analyzed. Each subsample had approximately equal numbers of men and women. Respondents in English-speaking households reported a higher tendency to think about dieting than respondents in non-English-speaking households. Immigrant men reported a higher tendency to think about dieting and a higher tendency to feel satisfied with the shape of their body than native-born Canadian men. Immigrant women, however, showed the opposite trend. They reported thinking about dieting to a lesser degree than native-born Canadian women. In contrast to immigrant men, immigrant women appear to be 'insulated' from Western cultural body ideals and standards. This study increases our understanding of factors that might affect the health of Canadian women and men, particularly immigrants, raises important implications for health promotion research, practice and policy.
Freesurfer-initialized large deformation diffeomorphic metric mapping with application to Parkinson's disease

We apply a recently developed automated brain segmentation method, FS+LDDMM, to brain MRI scans from Parkinson's Disease (PD) subjects, and normal age-matched controls and compare the results to manual segmentation done by trained neuroscientists. The data set consisted of 14 PD subjects and 12 age-matched control subjects without neurologic disease and comparison was done on six subcortical brain structures (left and right caudate, putamen and thalamus). Comparison between automatic and manual segmentation was based on Dice Similarity Coefficient (Overlap Percentage), L1 Error, Symmetrized Hausdorff Distance and Symmetrized Mean Surface Distance. Results suggest that FS+LDDMM is well-suited for subcortical structure segmentation and further shape analysis in Parkinson's Disease. The asymmetry of the Dice Similarity Coefficient over shape change is also discussed based on the observation and measurement of FS+LDDMM segmentation results.
Detachable fiber optic tips for use in thulium fiber laser lithotripsy

Abstract. The thulium fiber laser (TFL) has recently been proposed as an alternative to the Holmium:YAG (Ho:YAG) laser for lithotripsy. The TFL’s Gaussian spatial beam profile provides higher power transmission through smaller optical fibers with reduced proximal fiber tip damage, and improved saline irrigation and flexibility through the ureteroscope. However, distal fiber tip damage may still occur during stone fragmentation, resulting in disposal of the entire fiber after the procedure. A novel design for a short, detachable, distal fiber tip that can fit into an ureteroscope’s working channel is proposed. A prototype, twist-lock, spring-loaded mechanism was constructed using micromachining methods, mating a 150-μm-core trunk fiber to 300-μm-core fiber tip. Optical transmission measuring 80% was observed using a 30-mJ pulse energy and 500-μs pulse duration. Ex vivo human calcium oxalate monohydrate urinary stones were vaporized at an average rate of 187 μg/s using 20-Hz modulated, 50% duty cycle 5 pulse packets. The highest stone ablation rates corresponded to the highest fiber tip degradation, thus providing motivation for use of detachable and disposable distal fiber tips during lithotripsy. The 1-mm outer-diameter prototype also functioned comparable to previously tested tapered fiber tips.
Age-Related Decline of Precision and Binding in Visual Working Memory

Working memory declines with normal aging, but the nature of this impairment is debated. Studies based on detecting changes to arrays of visual objects have identified two possible components to age-related decline: a reduction in the number of items that can be stored, or a deficit in maintaining the associations (bindings) between individual object features. However, some investigations have reported intact binding with aging, and specific deficits arising only in Alzheimer’s disease. Here, using a recently developed continuous measure of recall fidelity, we tested the precision with which adults of different ages could reproduce from memory the orientation and color of a probed array item. The results reveal a further component of cognitive decline: an age-related decrease in the resolution with which visual information can be maintained in working memory. This increase in recall variability with age was strongest under conditions of greater memory load. Moreover, analysis of the distribution of errors revealed that older participants were more likely to incorrectly report one of the unprobed items in memory, consistent with an age-related increase in misbinding. These results indicate a systematic decline with age in working memory resources that can be recruited to store visual information. The paradigm presented here provides a sensitive index of both memory resolution and feature binding, with the potential for assessing their modulation by interventions. The findings have implications for understanding the mechanisms underpinning working memory deficits in both health and disease.