Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Behavioural consequences of vaccination recommendations: An experimental analysis

Annual vaccination is the most effective way to prevent seasonal influenza. However, globally, the recommendations vary from country to country, ranging from universal recommendations, risk-group-specific recommendations, to no recommendation at all. Due to high diversity both in recommendation practice and country-specific preconditions, it is difficult to determine the effect of different recommendations on vaccine uptake. This incentivised laboratory experiment (N = 288) tests the behavioural consequences of different recommendations in a repeated interactive vaccination game. The participants are part of heterogeneous groups, comprised of low- and high-risk type of players. They receive either a universal, risk-group-specific or no recommendation prior to their vaccination decisions. Results show that individuals are sensitive to the recommendations. In detail, a risk-group-specific recommendation increases vaccine uptake of high-risk types. However, at the same time, it decreases vaccine uptake of low-risk types. The results imply that when the proportion of low-risk types in a population is considerably larger than the high-risk group, a risk-group-specific (vs. universal) recommendation comes at the cost of decreased social benefit of vaccination due to the overall lower vaccine uptake. Policy decision-making should therefore complement epidemiological considerations with potential positive and negative behavioural consequences of vaccination recommendations.
Astigmatism correction with toric IOL: analysis of visual performance, position, and wavefront error.

PURPOSE To evaluate astigmatism correction, visual performance, intraocular lens (IOL) position, and wavefront error after implantation of toric IOLs in patients with cataract. METHODS This prospective study comprised 30 eyes of 30 patients with cataract who were candidates for phacoemulsification and implantation of the AcrySof toric IOL (Alcon Laboratories, Inc., Fort Worth, TX). Mean preoperative corneal keratometric and subjective refractive cylinder were 2.10 ± 0.47 and 2.17 ± 0.41 diopters (D), respectively. RESULTS The refractive cylinder decreased significantly from 2.17 ± 0.41 to 0.73 ± 0.45 D (P = .001) at 180 days postoperatively. The difference between preoperative corneal astigmatism and postoperative refractive astigmatism was statistically significant (P < .05). At 180 days postoperatively, the uncorrected distance visual acuity was 0.20 logMAR (Snellen 20/32) in 100% of patients and 0.0 logMAR (Snellen 20/20) in 64% of patients. The root mean square of internal coma and trefoil aberrations showed a trend toward reduction; internal spherical aberration significantly decreased, whereas corneal trefoil aberration significantly increased (P < .05). A low amount of IOL decentration and tilt were detected at 30 and 180 days postoperatively, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Toric IOL implantation is an effective procedure for correction of preexisting corneal astigmatism, improving visual performance, and inducing a low amount of higher-order aberrations. Moreover, the toric IOLs is well positioned early after surgery and stable over time.
Evaluation of Burned Aspen Communities in Jackson Hole, Wyoming

Aspen has been declining in Jackson Hole for many years, a condition generally attributed to the fact that lightning fires have been aggressively suppressed since the early 1900s. It is also believed that burning will successfully regenerate aspen stands despite high elk numbers. To test this hypothesis, I evaluated 467 burned and 495 adjacent, unburned aspen stands at eight different locations within Jackson Hole. Aspen suckering was stimulated by burning, but most aspen stands still failed to produce new stems greater than 2 m tall where ungulate use was moderate or high. Only when elk use was low were burned aspen stands able to successfully regenerate. At those locations, however, unburned aspen stands also successfully regenerated. Evidence suggests that a combination of fire and continued elk use may eliminate many aspen clones. Introduction The relationship between vegetation and ungulates in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, has long been a subject of conflicting opinions and intense debate (Anderson 1958; Boyce 1989). Until the 1960s, it was thought that (1) Jackson Hole was not historic elk (Cervus elaphus) winter range; (2) European settlement forced elk to winter in the valley; and (3) supplemental feeding permitted the growth of an abnormally large elk herd; which (4) caused substantial damage to the winter range and a marked decline of aspen (Populus tremuloides) (Preble 1911; Murie 1951; Anderson 1958; Krebill 1972; Beetle 1974, 1979; Basile 1979; DeByle 1979; Weinstein 1979). However, federal and state biologists now believe that (1) large numbers of elk have wintered in Jackson Hole for the last several thousand years; (2) feedlots have only replaced winter range lost to human developments; (3) therefore, today’s elk population is not unnaturally high, although the distribution of wintering animals may have changed; (4) serious elk-induced range damage has not occurred (Cole 1969; Gruell 1979; Gruell 1980a,b; Boyce 1989); and (5) the elk herd would “naturally regulate” if sport hunting were terminated (Boyce 1989). Under this interpretation, aspen is thought to be a seral species maintained by fire, and human suppression of lightning fires is believed to be primarily responsible for the observed decline in aspen, not ungulate browsing (Loope and Gruell 1973; Gruell and Loope 1974). Gruell and Loope (1974:19–20) and Gruell (1980a:2) indicated that aspen stands burned in Jackson Hole were able to successfully regenerate, defined as producing new stems >2 m tall, despite heavy browsing—a claim similar to that made by the Park Service in Yellowstone (Kay 1990). According to Houston (1982:127), “data from [Yellowstone’s] northern range and adjacent areas showed that aspen often reproduced successfully when burned in the presence of ungulate populations. ” While Despain et al. (1986:107) stated that “data from some locations on the northern range have proven that aspen, when
Child Temperament and Gender Differences

The aim of this study was to analyze studies about the effect of temperament and gender on child development, from birth to school age. A systematic search was performed through PubMed, PsycInfo, Web of Science, LILACS and SciELO. The keywords temperament and gender or sex differences were used to identify empirical studies published between 2004 and April/ 2009. The results showed that studies about child sample with typical development, boys outperformed girls in the dimensions of Negative Emotionality, Impulsivity, Activity and Approaching Behavior, whereas girls outperformed boys in the dimensions of Fear, Cooperation and Positive Mood. Effortful Control was studied in children at biological and psychosocial risks where the girls outperformed boys. In conclusion, there were differences in temperament traits on developmental pathway of children from birth to school-age associated with gender variable.
Differentiating local and regional sources of Chinese urban air pollution based on the effect of the Spring Festival

Abstract. The emission of pollutants is extremely reduced during the annual Chinese Spring Festival (SF) in Shenzhen, China. During the SF, traffic flow drops by ∼ 50 % and the industrial plants are almost entirely shut down in Shenzhen. To characterize the variation in ambient air pollutants due to the Spring Festival effect , various gaseous and particulate pollutants were measured in real time in urban Shenzhen over three consecutive winters (2014–2016). The results indicate that the concentrations of NOx, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), black carbon (BC), primary organic aerosols, chloride, and nitrate in submicron aerosols decrease by 50–80 % during SF periods relative to non-Spring Festival periods, regardless of meteorological conditions. This decrease suggests that these pollutants are mostly emitted or secondarily formed from urban local emissions. The concentration variation in species mostly from regional or natural sources, however, is found to be much less, such as for bulk fine particulate matter (PM2. 5). More detailed analysis of the Spring Festival effect reveals an urgent need to reduce emissions of SO2 and VOCs on a regional scale rather than on an urban scale to reduce urban PM2. 5 in Shenzhen, which can also be useful as a reference for other megacities in China.
Electronic Structure of the Metastable Epitaxial Rock-Salt SnSe {111} Topological Crystalline Insulator

Topological crystalline insulators have been recently predicted and observed in rock-salt structure SnSe $\{111\}$ thin films. Previous studies have suggested that the Se-terminated surface of this thin film with hydrogen passivation, has a reduced surface energy and is thus a preferred configuration. In this paper, synchrotron-based angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, along with density functional theory calculations, are used to demonstrate conclusively that a rock-salt SnSe $\{111\}$ thin film epitaxially-grown on \ce{Bi2Se3} has a stable Sn-terminated surface. These observations are supported by low energy electron diffraction (LEED) intensity-voltage measurements and dynamical LEED calculations, which further show that the Sn-terminated SnSe $\{111\}$ thin film has undergone a surface structural relaxation of the interlayer spacing between the Sn and Se atomic planes. In sharp contrast to the Se-terminated counterpart, the observed Dirac surface state in the Sn-terminated SnSe $\{111\}$ thin film is shown to yield a high Fermi velocity, $0.50\times10^6$m/s, which suggests a potential mechanism of engineering the Dirac surface state of topological materials by tuning the surface configuration.
Rosiglitazone and delayed onset of proliferative diabetic retinopathy.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate whether rosiglitazone maleate, an oral peroxisome-proliferating activated receptor gamma agonist and oral insulin sensitizing agent with potential antiangiogenic activity, delays onset of proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR). METHODS Longitudinal medical record review of all patients treated with rosiglitazone receiving both medical and ophthalmic care at the Joslin Diabetes Center from May 1, 2002, to May 31, 2003 (N = 124), and matched control patients not taking a glitazone drug (N = 158). The mean duration of follow-up was 2.8 years (range, 0.3-9.0 years). RESULTS Baseline characteristics and final hemoglobin A(1c) values (7.6% and 7.8%, respectively) were similar in the rosiglitazone and control groups (P = .10). In eyes with severe nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy at baseline (rosiglitazone group, 14 eyes; control group, 24 eyes), progression to PDR over 3 years occurred in 19.2% in the rosiglitazone group and 47.4% in the control group, representing a 59% relative risk reduction (Wilcoxon, P = .045; log-rank, P = .059). Fewer eyes in the rosiglitazone group experienced 3 or more lines of visual acuity loss (P = .03). The incidence of diabetic macular edema was similar in both groups. CONCLUSIONS Rosiglitazone may delay the onset of PDR, possibly because of its antiangiogenic activity. Future clinical investigations should consider analysis of this potential benefit along with ongoing evaluation of potential cardiac risk in studies where the risk-benefit profiles are deemed appropriate.
The Jena Diversity-Dynamic Global Vegetation Model (JeDi-DGVM): a diverse approach to representing t

Terrestrial biosphere models typically abstract the immense diversity of vegetation forms and functioning into a relatively small set of predefined semi-empirical plant functional types (PFTs). There is growing evidence, however, from the field ecology community as well as from modelling studies that current PFT schemes may not adequately represent the observed variations in plant functional traits and their effect on ecosystem functioning. In this paper, we introduce the Jena Diversity-Dynamic Global Vegetation Model (JeDiDGVM) as a new approach to terrestrial biosphere modelling with a richer representation of functional diversity than traditional modelling approaches based on a small number of fixed PFTs. JeDi-DGVM simulates the performance of a large number of randomly generated plant growth strategies, each defined by a set of 15 trait parameters which characterize various aspects of plant functioning including carbon allocation, ecophysiology and phenology. Each trait parameter is involved in one or more functional trade-offs. These trade-offs ultimately determine whether a strategy is able to survive under the climatic conditions in a given model grid cell and its performance relative to the other strategies. The biogeochemical fluxes and land surface properties of the individual strategies are aggregated to the grid-cell scale using a mass-based weighting scheme. We evaluate the simulated global biogeochemical patterns against a variety of field and satellite-based observations following a protocol established by the Carbon-Land Model Intercomparison Project. The land surface fluxes and vegetation structural properties are reasonably well simulated by JeDi-DGVM, and compare favourably with other state-ofthe-art global vegetation models. We also evaluate the simulated patterns of functional diversity and the sensitivity of the JeDi-DGVM modelling approach to the number of sampled strategies. Altogether, the results demonstrate the parsimonious and flexible nature of a functional trade-off approach to global vegetation modelling, i.e. it can provide more types of testable outputs than standard PFT-based approaches and with fewer inputs. The approach implemented here in JeDi-DGVM sets the foundation for future applications that will explore the impacts of explicitly resolving diverse plant communities, allowing for a more flexible temporal and spatial representation of the structure and function of the terrestrial biosphere.
Curcumin protects against myocardial infarction-induced cardiac fibrosis via SIRT1 activation in vivo and in vitro

Curcumin, a polyphenolic compound derived from turmeric, protects against myocardial injury by alleviating oxidative stress, inflammation, apoptosis, and fibrosis. However, the role of curcumin and its mechanism of action on interstitial fibrosis after myocardial infarction (MI) are poorly understood. To clarify, MI was induced by a permanent ligation of the left anterior descending coronary artery in adult mice, and the effects of curcumin were evaluated 4 weeks after the MI event. In vitro, we treated cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) with Ang II, and investigated the anti-fibrotic mechanism of curcumin. Our results showed that curcumin significantly attenuated collagen deposition in vivo and inhibited CF proliferation and migration, and MMP expression. In addition, we found that the down-regulation of SIRT1 after MI was attenuated by curcumin pretreatment, which indicated that the activation of SIRT1 might be involved in the protective action of curcumin. This hypothesis was confirmed by genetic inhibition of SIRT1 (siRNA-SIRT1) in Ang II-treated CFs. Our results provide new insights into the mechanism underlying the anti-fibrotic effects of curcumin in the heart.
Autologous menstrual blood-derived stromal cells transplantation for severe Asherman's syndrome.

STUDY QUESTION Does autologous transplantation of menstrual blood-derived stromal cells (menSCs) regenerate endometrium to support pregnancy in patients with severe Asherman's syndrome (AS)? SUMMARY ANSWER Autologous menSCs transplantation significantly increases endometrial thickness (ET) for women with severe AS. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY AS is a major cause of secondary infertility in women. Cell transplantation has been tried in a few clinical cases with encouraging results. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION In this experimental, non-controlled and prospective 3-year clinical study involving seven patients with AS, autologous menSCs were isolated and cultured from menstrual blood of each patient within ~2 weeks and then transplanted back into their uterus. Endometrial growth and pregnancy were assessed after cell therapy. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHOD Infertile women, aged 20-40 years, diagnosed with severe AS (Grade III-V) by hysteroscopy and with menstrual fluid were recruited at the Shengjing Hospital affiliated to China Medical University. Autologous menSCs transplantation was conducted followed by HRT. Endometrial thickness was monitored with frozen embryo transfer (FET) as needed. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE We successfully cultured menSCs from seven patients and transferred the autologous cells back to their uterus. Our results showed that the ET was significantly (P = 0.0002) increased to 7 mm in five women, which ensured embryo implantation. Four patients underwent FET and two of them conceived successfully. One patient had spontaneous pregnancy after second menSCs transplantation. LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION Limited sample size, lack of rigorous controls or knowledge of underlying mechanism. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS Autologous menSCs transplantation is a potential option for treating women with severe AS. STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTERESTS This study was supported by Liaoning Provincial Science and Technology Program. The sponsor and authors declare no conflicts of interest. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER Registered in the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR-ONB-15007464).
Highly diastereoselective and enantioselective olefin cyclopropanation using engineered myoglobin-based catalysts.

Using rational design, an engineered myoglobin-based catalyst capable of catalyzing the cyclopropanation of aryl-substituted olefins with catalytic proficiency (up to 46,800 turnovers) and excellent diastereo- and enantioselectivity (98-99.9%) was developed. This transformation could be carried out in the presence of up to 20 g L(-1) olefin substrate with no loss in diastereo- and/or enantioselectivity. Mutagenesis and mechanistic studies support a cyclopropanation mechanism mediated by an electrophilic, heme-bound carbene species and a model is provided to rationalize the stereopreference of the protein catalyst. This work shows that myoglobin constitutes a promising and robust scaffold for the development of biocatalysts with carbene-transfer reactivity.
Aeroelastic analysis of a flexible membrane wing

Author: Isaac N. Wanjohi Title: Aeroelastic Analysis of a Flexible Membrane Wing Institution: Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach Fl. Degrees: Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering Year: 2004 The focus of this research proposal is the investigation of the aeroelastic effects of a flexible lift augmentation system (LAS) wing. This research involves characterization of the forced vibration response of a wing appendage used to augment short field take off and landing (STOL) operations. Although flutter theory is now well understood, the LAS presents the complications of a highly deformable airfoil shape as well as larger structural damping values compared to metal wings. The proposed research will involve derivation of the equations of motion aided by experimental data from nodal excitation of the wing; stiffness and rigidity modeling from static wing loading and collection of flight test data to characterize the potential flow around the membrane wing. The knowledge gained from this research will be of critical importance in assuring the safety of flight by identifying the critical flutter speeds, as well as establishing a good basis for the structural design of future lift augmentation structures.
Understanding the relation between socioeconomic position and inflammation in post-menopausal women: education, income and occupational prestige

Background The role of occupational prestige, a direct measure of the perceived status of job and job holder, in inflammation is unknown. To contribute to understanding the pathways by which socioeconomic position (SEP) is associated with inflammation, we aimed to estimate the direct effects of education, income and occupational prestige on C-reactive protein (CRP) and to describe the relationship between these markers and CRP. Methods The study was based on 2026 post-menopausal women enrolled in the Women's Health Initiative-Observational Study. Occupational prestige was determined by linking a text description of longest held occupation with a social status item from the Occupational Information Network. Path analysis was employed to estimate direct and mediated effects. Results The study suggests that higher levels of education, income, and occupational prestige are associated with 8% (95% CI as percentage change -12, -4), 5% [95% CI (-8, -2) and 4% (95% CI - 7, -1)] lower levels of CRP, respectively. The inverse association between education and CRP was explained by the effect of education on income and occupational prestige. The effect of occupational prestige on CRP was independent of mediators in the model. Conclusions The findings indicate that education may work to influence CRP primarily through increasing income and occupational prestige and provides evidence that occupational prestige captures a unique aspect of SEP.
Using experimentation to understand the 10‐year snowshoe hare cycle in the boreal forest of North America

Population cycles have long fascinated ecologists from the time of Charles Elton in the 1920s. The discovery of large population fluctuations in undisturbed ecosystems challenged the idea that pristine nature was in a state of balance. The 10-year cycle of snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus Erxleben) across the boreal forests of Canada and Alaska is a classic cycle, recognized by fur traders for more than 300 years. Since the 1930s, ecologists have investigated the mechanisms that might cause these cycles. Proposed causal mechanisms have varied from sunspots to food supplies, parasites, diseases, predation and social behaviour. Both the birth rate and the death rate change dramatically over the cycle. Social behaviour was eliminated as a possible cause because snowshoe hares are not territorial and do not commit infanticide. Since the 1960s, large-scale manipulative experiments have been used to discover the major limiting factors. Food supply and predation quickly became recognized as potential key factors causing the cycle. Experiments adding food and restricting predator access to field populations have been decisive in pinpointing predation as the key mechanism causing these fluctuations. The immediate cause of death of most snowshoe hares is predation by a variety of predators, including the Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis Kerr). The collapse in the reproductive rate is not due to food shortage as was originally thought, but is a result of chronic stress from predator chases. Five major issues remain unresolved. First, what is the nature of the predator-induced memory that results in the prolonged low phase of the cycle? Second, why do hare cycles form a travelling wave, starting in the centre of the boreal forest in Saskatchewan and travelling across western Canada and Alaska? Third, why does the amplitude of the cycle vary greatly from one cycle to the next in the same area? Fourth, do the same mechanisms of population limitation apply to snowshoe hares in eastern North American or in similar ecosystems across Siberia? Finally, what effect will climatic warming have on all the above issues? The answers to these questions remain for future generations of biologists to determine.