Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mental Health Services and Public Safety: Substance Abuse Outpatient Visits Were Associated with Reduced Crime Rates in a Swedish Cohort

Substance abuse is related to offending and substance abuse treatment has been associated with reductions in criminal behavior. This cohort study aimed to explore the relationship between participation in substance abuse interventions and general criminal recidivism among offenders with a combination of mental health problems and substance use problems. In total, 150 Swedish offenders with self-reported mental health and substance use problems were followed for approximately three years with regard to participation in substance abuse interventions and criminal recidivism. Participants with at least three planned visits to specialized outpatient substance abuse clinics had a substantially reduced risk of reoffending as compared to those with fewer than three such visits (HR = 0.47, 95% CI 0.29–0.77). For those with at least three planned visits, general criminal recidivism was reduced by 75% during periods of participation in outpatient visits, as compared to periods of non-participation (HR = 0.25, 95% CI 0.11–0.60). For offenders with mental health problems and substance use problems, outpatient substance abuse interventions could be regarded as important from a clinical risk management perspective, and be encouraged.
Clostridium difficile toxin A triggers human colonocyte IL-8 release via mitochondrial oxygen radical generation.

BACKGROUND & AIMS Clostridium difficile toxin A causes mitochondrial dysfunction resulting in generation of oxygen radicals and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) depletion. We investigated whether mitochondrial dysfunction is involved in nuclear factor kappaB (NF-kappaB) activation and interleukin (IL)-8 release from toxin A-exposed enterocytes. METHODS NF-kappaB activation and IL-8 release in response to toxin A were correlated with reactive oxygen intermediate (ROI) generation and ATP production in HT-29 monolayers or HT-29 cells exposed to ethidium bromide (EB) to inhibit mitochondrial function. RESULTS HT-29 cells exposed to EB showed damaged mitochondria and diminished resting levels of ATP. ROI production in EB-treated cells exposed to toxin A for 30 minutes was significantly reduced. Exposure of wild-type HT-29 cells to toxin A resulted in increased oxygen radical generation and IL-8 production (P < 0.01 vs. control) that was inhibited by antioxidant pretreatment. Degradation of IkappaB was observed within 30 minutes of toxin exposure, before ras homologue (Rho) glucosylation, and was followed by nuclear translocation of NF-kappaB. Toxin A did not increase IL-8 levels in EB-treated cells, whereas IL-8 release in response to IL-1beta was not affected. CONCLUSIONS Our data support an early role for mitochondria-derived ROIs in stimulation of IL-8 release from colonocytes by toxin A. ROI generation is independent of Rho inactivation and involves nuclear translocation of NF-kappaB before release of IL-8.
T4-Like Genome Organization of the Escherichia coli O157:H7 Lytic Phage AR1

ABSTRACT We report the genome organization and analysis of the first completely sequenced T4-like phage, AR1, of Escherichia coli O157:H7. Unlike most of the other sequenced phages of O157:H7, which belong to the temperate Podoviridae and Siphoviridae families, AR1 is a T4-like phage known to efficiently infect this pathogenic bacterial strain. The 167,435-bp AR1 genome is currently the largest among all the sequenced E. coli O157:H7 phages. It carries a total of 281 potential open reading frames (ORFs) and 10 putative tRNA genes. Of these, 126 predicted proteins could be classified into six viral orthologous group categories, with at least 18 proteins of the structural protein category having been detected by tandem mass spectrometry. Comparative genomic analysis of AR1 and four other completely sequenced T4-like genomes (RB32, RB69, T4, and JS98) indicated that they share a well-organized and highly conserved core genome, particularly in the regions encoding DNA replication and virion structural proteins. The major diverse features between these phages include the modules of distal tail fibers and the types and numbers of internal proteins, tRNA genes, and mobile elements. Codon usage analysis suggested that the presence of AR1-encoded tRNAs may be relevant to the codon usage of structural proteins. Furthermore, protein sequence analysis of AR1 gp37, a potential receptor binding protein, indicated that eight residues in the C terminus are unique to O157:H7 T4-like phages AR1 and PP01. These residues are known to be located in the T4 receptor recognition domain, and they may contribute to specificity for adsorption to the O157:H7 strain.
Birth weight discordance in multiple gestations: Occurrence and outcomes

Summary This paper reviews the patterns of occurrence, measurement and the effect of birth weight discordance on fetal and neonatal mortality in multiple pregnancies (twins and triplets). Birth weight discordance is fairly common among multiple pregnancies, and about one-quarter of the twin deliveries are affected by a birth weight discordance of 15%, while nearly 5% of twin gestations experience severe discordance (≥ 35%). Factors influencing birth weight discordance are exaggerated in triplet deliveries. Approximately 20% of triplet sets experience a birth weight discordance of 25 – 35% and nearly 10% experience severe forms of discordance. Frequencies of discordant sets at >25% discordance along the range of birth weight deciles show an inverse logarithmic relationship in twins, while the best-fit function in triplets is polynomial. Birth weight discordance is significantly associated with both fetal and neonatal mortality. Neonatal demise among the severely discordant smaller twin is significantly more frequent than in a non-discordant smaller twin. The magnitude of the effect is greater when one or both of the discordant twins are concomitantly small for gestational age.
Spousal Communication, Changes in Partner Attitude and Contraceptive Use Among the Yorubas of Southwest Nigeria

Abstract The paper highlights the relevance of spousal communication on male attitude towards their partners’ contraceptive use. Data for the study were obtained from a survey carried out in three Oyo, Osun and Ondo states, mainly inhabited by the Yorubas. The results show that men have significant role to play in the adoption of contraception. Communication between husband and wife on reproductive matters was also recognized as a factor that may influence men participation in family planning. The results therefore suggest that men involvement in family planning should be encouraged through interspousal communication.
Using prior knowledge to accelerate online least-squares policy iteration

Reinforcement learning (RL) is a promising paradigm for learning optimal control. Although RL is generally envisioned as working without any prior knowledge about the system, such knowledge is often available and can be exploited to great advantage. In this paper, we consider prior knowledge about the monotonicity of the control policy with respect to the system states, and we introduce an approach that exploits this type of prior knowledge to accelerate a state-of-the-art RL algorithm called online least-squares policy iteration (LSPI). Monotonic policies are appropriate for important classes of systems appearing in control applications. LSPI is a data-efficient RL algorithm that we previously extended to online learning, but that did not provide until now a way to use prior knowledge about the policy. In an empirical evaluation, online LSPI with prior knowledge learns much faster and more reliably than the original online LSPI.
Physiological Modification of the Host Feeding Site by Cereal Aphids (Homoptera: Aphididae)

Abstract Indole-3-acetic acid-1-14C and 14C-sucrose labels were used to study the effects of greenbugs, Schizaphis graminum (Rondani), and Russian wheat aphids, Diuraphis noxia (Mordvilko), on phloem function of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Greenbug feeding significantly reduced translocation from the immediate feeding site; however, phloem integrity was not impeded. In contrast, Russian wheat aphids had little effect on vein loading or phloem translocation at the feeding site. Similar results were obtained when resistant and susceptible wheats were infested with three different greenbug biotypes. Greenbugs fed artificial diets containing 14C-sucrose injected salivary material that was translocated to both root and shoot systems. The accumulation of salivary constituents in the roots of wheat seedlings fed upon by greenbugs may account for the significant reductions in root biomass that have previously been reported.
Physiologically Motivated Methods For Audio Pattern Classification

DEDICATION To my parents and to Parag, for their support, faith, and selfless love ACKNOWLEDGMENT First and foremost, I would like to thank my parents for everything they have done for me. My gratitude for their kindness and love cannot be expressed in words. My journey as a graduate student would not have begun without the constant encouragement and inspiration from my brother, Dr. Parag Ravindran. He has often been the calming influence during the frustrations of missed deadlines and failed experiments. I am forever indebted to him. for his guidance, patience, and support. His wonderful ability to balance guidance and exploratory learning has made this journey a valuable experience. I would also like to express my gratitude to my thesis committee members, Dr. in papers and his drive for improving a paper have been the cause of many sleepless nights, but also a wonderful learning experience that I would not trade for anything. The work environment often shapes a person and I would like to acknowledge the contribution of the excellent research and social atmosphere of the ESP lab. Time spent with my colleague and good friend, Dr. Tyson Hall, has been educational and enriching. I would like to thank Sunil and Sanmati Kamath for their counsel and for their friendship. I would also like to thank the other research group members for all their support and companionship, they made my stay at Georgia Tech an enjoyable one. I would like to thank the many faculty members who have impacted my life during my undergraduate and graduate studies. In particular, I would like to thank Prof. Narendra, for his ability to inspire students to dream the impossible. His love for signal processing is infectious. Last but certainly not the least, I would like to thank Pam Halverson and Janet Myrick for their great administrative support. Table 1 Empirical conditional entropy measures for MFCC and NRAF for a 4-class, 4-cluster case. It is seen that NRAF has better class discrimination ability. 30 Table 2 Comparison between root compressed MFCC and NRAF. Since the added noise is white, mean and variance normalization removes most of the noise, making the performance of the two features similar.
Space environmental effects on graphite-epoxy compressive properties and epoxy tensile properties

This study characterizes the effects of electron radiation and temperature on a graphite-epoxy composite material. Compressive properties of the T300/934 material system were obtained at -250 F (-157 C), room temperature, and 250 F (121 C). Tensile specimens of the Fiberite 934 epoxy resin were fabricated and tested at room temperature and 250 F (121 C). Testing was conducted in the baseline (nonirradiated) and irradiated conditions. The radiation exposure was designed to simulate 30 year, worst-case exposure in geosynchronous Earth orbit. Mechanical properties tended to degrade at elevated temperature and improve at cryogenic temperature. Irradiation generally degraded properties at all temperatures.
Caspofungin Therapy of Neonates With Invasive Candidiasis

Background: Invasive candidiasis is an increasing problem in neonatal intensive care units worldwide and is an important cause of morbidity, mortality and prolongation of hospital stay. Despite administration of amphotericin B, invasive candidiasis in neonates is sometimes complicated by persistent fungemia and refractory invasive candidiasis. The problem has been augmented by the increasing prevalence of non-albicans species that often are resistant to fluconazole and to amphotericin B. Population and Methods: The population consisted of 1 term and 9 premature neonates with invasive candidiasis caused by Candida albicans (n = 4), Candida parapsilosis (n = 3), Candida tropicalis (n = 2) and Candida glabrata (n = 1). Despite initial therapy with deoxycholate amphotericin B, blood cultures remained positive in all patients for 13–49 days. Invasive candidiasis progressed to meningitis and enlarging renal Candida bezoars in the kidney of one patient and an enlarging atrial vegetation in another. Another patient developed severe hypokalemia refractory to potassium supplementation. Two of the C. albicans and all of the non-albicans Candida isolates were resistant to fluconazole; the C. glabrata isolate was resistant to amphotericin B. Amphotericin B was discontinued and caspofungin initiated in all patients in a dosage of 1 mg/kg/d for 2 days followed by 2 mg/kg/d. Results: All positive blood cultures cleared between 3 and 7 days after initiation of caspofungin, the atrial vegetation resolved and the renal Candida bezoars disappeared. Renal and hepatic function tests did not show any values above normal throughout caspofungin therapy. There were no attributable clinical adverse events during the administration of caspofungin in any of the patients. Conclusions: Caspofungin was effective, safe and well-tolerated as an alternative therapy for persistent and progressive candidiasis in those neonates who were unresponsive to or intolerant of deoxycholate amphotericin B.
More Than the Win: The Relation between Appetitive Competition Motivation, Socialization, and Gender Role Orientation in Women's Football

The ability to produce peak performance plays a decisive role in the success of athletes in competitive contest situations. Levels of appetitive competition motivation (ACM), i.e., the desire to defeat an opponent independent of secondary reinforcing factors, were assessed in professional female football/soccer players in the premier and regional leagues, using club level as the measurement of sport success. Furthermore, the influence of social environments predominantly encouraging masculine and competitive play behavior and the players' perceptions of their own gender role orientations were investigated. Ninety female football players from the German premier league (44) and regional leagues (46) participated (age: M = 24, SD = 5 years). Questionnaires ascertaining ACM and self-perceptions of gender via gender-role stereotypes, childhood play behavior and style of upbringing were utilized. Premier league athletes showed a significantly greater inclination toward direct sporting confrontations. Almost 50% of the variance in ACM between the premier and regional league athletes was determined by modern upbringing style and the development of gender roles not corresponding to classic female gender stereotypes. The results emphasize the significance of ACM as an important facet in competitive sports and illustrate the influence of socialization on athletic performance.
An integrative computational analysis provides evidence for FBN1-associated network deregulation in trisomy 21

Summary Although approximately 50% of Down Syndrome (DS) patients have heart abnormalities, they exhibit an overprotection against cardiac abnormalities related with the connective tissue, for example a lower risk of coronary artery disease. A recent study reported a case of a person affected by DS who carried mutations in FBN1, the gene causative for a connective tissue disorder called Marfan Syndrome (MFS). The fact that the person did not have any cardiac alterations suggested compensation effects due to DS. This observation is supported by a previous DS meta-analysis at the molecular level where we have found an overall upregulation of FBN1 (which is usually downregulated in MFS). Additionally, that result was cross-validated with independent expression data from DS heart tissue. The aim of this work is to elucidate the role of FBN1 in DS and to establish a molecular link to MFS and MFS-related syndromes using a computational approach. To reach that, we conducted different analytical approaches over two DS studies (our previous meta-analysis and independent expression data from DS heart tissue) and revealed expression alterations in the FBN1 interaction network, in FBN1 co-expressed genes and FBN1-related pathways. After merging the significant results from different datasets with a Bayesian approach, we prioritized 85 genes that were able to distinguish control from DS cases. We further found evidence for several of these genes (47%), such as FBN1, DCN, and COL1A2, being dysregulated in MFS and MFS-related diseases. Consequently, we further encourage the scientific community to take into account FBN1 and its related network for the study of DS cardiovascular characteristics.
Detection and confirmation of web robot requests for cleaning the voluminous web log data

Web robots are software applications that run automated tasks over the internet. They traverse the hyperlink structure of the World Wide Web so that they can retrieve information. There are many reasons to distinguish web robot requests and user requests. Some tasks of web robots can be harmful to the web. Firstly, Web robots are employed for assemble business intelligence at e-commerce sites. In such a state of affairs, the e-commerce site may need to detect robots. Secondly, many e-commerce sites carry out Web traffic scrutiny to deduce the way their customers have accessed the site. Unfortunately, such scrutiny can be erroneous by the presence of Web robots. Thirdly, Web robots often consume considerable network bandwidth and server resources at the expense of other users. A web log file is a web server file automatically created and maintained by a web server to check the activity performed by it. It maintains a history of page requests on its site. In this paper we have used four methods together to detect and finally confirm requests as a robot request. Experiments have been performed on the log file generated from the server of an operational web site named vtulife.com which contains data of march-20l3. In our research results o.f web robot detection using various techniques have been compared and an integrated approach is proposed for the confirmation of the robot request.
α-Synuclein Dimers Impair Vesicle Fission during Clathrin-Mediated Synaptic Vesicle Recycling

α-Synuclein is a presynaptic protein that regulates synaptic vesicle (SV) trafficking. In Parkinson’s disease (PD) and several other neurodegenerative disorders, aberrant oligomerization and aggregation of α-synuclein lead to synaptic dysfunction and neurotoxicity. Despite evidence that α-synuclein oligomers are generated within neurons under physiological conditions, and that altering the balance of monomers and oligomers contributes to disease pathogenesis, how each molecular species of α-synuclein impacts SV trafficking is currently unknown. To address this, we have taken advantage of lamprey giant reticulospinal (RS) synapses, which are accessible to acute perturbations via axonal microinjection of recombinant proteins. We previously reported that acute introduction of monomeric α-synuclein inhibited SV recycling, including effects on the clathrin pathway. Here, we report the effects of α-synuclein dimers at synapses. Similar to monomeric α-synuclein, both recombinant α-synuclein dimers that were evaluated bound to small liposomes containing anionic lipids in vitro, but with reduced efficacy. When introduced to synapses, the α-synuclein dimers also induced SV recycling defects, which included a build up of clathrin-coated pits (CCPs) with constricted necks that were still attached to the plasma membrane, a phenotype indicative of a vesicle fission defect. Interestingly, both α-synuclein dimers induced longer necks on CCPs as well as complex, branching membrane tubules, which were distinct from the CCPs induced by a dynamin inhibitor, Dynasore. In contrast, monomeric α-synuclein induced a buildup of free clathrin-coated vesicles (CCVs), indicating an inhibition of clathrin-mediated endocytosis at a later stage during the clathrin uncoating process. Taken together, these data further support the conclusion that excess α-synuclein impairs SV recycling. The data additionally reveal that monomeric and dimeric α-synuclein produce distinct effects on clathrin-mediated endocytosis, predicting different molecular mechanisms. Understanding what these mechanisms are could help to further elucidate the normal functions of this protein, as well as the mechanisms underlying PD pathologies.
Effect of folic acid supplementation on genomic DNA methylation in patients with colorectal adenoma

Background and aims: A low dietary folate intake can cause genomic DNA hypomethylation and may increase the risk of colorectal neoplasia. The hypothesis that folic acid supplementation increases DNA methylation in leucocytes and colorectal mucosa was tested in 31 patients with histologically confirmed colorectal adenoma using a randomised, double blind, placebo controlled, parallel design. Methods: Subjects were randomised to receive either 400 μg/day folic acid supplement (n = 15) or placebo (n = 16) for 10 weeks. Genomic DNA methylation, serum and erythrocyte folate, and plasma homocysteine concentrations were measured at baseline and post intervention. Results: Folic acid supplementation increased serum and erythrocyte folate concentrations by 81% (95% confidence interval (CI) 57–104%; p<0.001 v placebo) and 57% (95% CI 40–74%; p<0.001 v placebo), respectively, and decreased plasma homocysteine concentration by 12% (95% CI 4–20%; p = 0.01 v placebo). Folic acid supplementation resulted in increases in DNA methylation of 31% (95% CI 16–47%; p = 0.05 v placebo) in leucocytes and 25% (95% CI 11–39%; p = 0.09 v placebo) in colonic mucosa. Conclusions: These results suggest that DNA hypomethylation can be reversed by physiological intakes of folic acid.
Lack of evidence of hepatitis in patients with oral lichen planus in China: A case control study

Background China has been one of the countries with high prevalence of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) liver disease. And lichen planus is an extrahepatic manifestation of patients with chronic HCV infection. This case-control study was conducted to investigate the relationship between oral lichen planus (OLP) and HBV/HCV infection in China. Material and Methods A total of 776 patients, including 150 patients with OLP (Group OLP), 429 inpatients from the Trauma Ward of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Department (Group A), 110 patients with other oral mucosal diseases, but without a reported association with HCV infection (Group B) and 87 patients with oral lichenoid lesion (Group OLL), were compared with their seroprevalence of anti-HCV antibody (HCVAb), hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and the parameters of liver functions. Moreover, the clinical characteristics of OLP were also observed, such as gender, age, chief complaint, course of the disease, clinical type, sites involved and so on. Results The positive rates of HCVAb and HBsAg in OLP patients were 0.7% and 4%, respectively. Neither HCVAb nor HBsAg was associated with OLP as demonstrated by both the univariate and the multivariate analyses. The clinical features and liver functions of OLP patients with negative or positive HBsAg were nearly the same. Conclusions Our findings verify that there is no association between OLP and hepatitis and there is no need to run a screening test for HCV or HBV in OLP patients in China. Key words:Oral lichen planus, hepatitis C virus, hepatitis B virus.