Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Substance use disorder among older adults in the United States in 2020.

AIMS This study aimed to project the number of people aged 50 years or older with substance use disorder (alcohol/illicit drug dependence or abuse) in the United States in 2020. DESIGN Logistic regression models were applied to estimate parameters predicting past-year substance use disorder using the 2002-06 National Survey on Drug Use and Health data. We applied these parameters to the projected US 2020 population to estimate the number of adults aged 50 or older with substance use disorder in 2020. SETTING Non-institutionalized US residences. PARTICIPANTS Representative sample of the US civilian, non-institutionalized population. MEASUREMENTS Substance use disorder is classified based on criteria in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition. FINDINGS Due to the large population size and high substance use rate of the baby-boom cohort, the number of adults aged 50 or older with substance use disorder is projected to double from 2.8 million (annual average) in 2002-06 to 5.7 million in 2020. Increases are projected for all examined gender, race/ethnicity and age groups. CONCLUSIONS Our estimates provide critical information for policymakers to allocate resources and develop prevention and treatment approaches to address future needs of the US older adult population with substance use disorder.
Views from the blackboard: neoliberal education reforms and the practice of teaching in Ontario, Canada

This article discusses findings from two case studies examining the impact of neoliberal education reform on the classroom practice of teachers and adult educators in Ontario, Canada. We asked educators to comment on the impacts of 20 years of policy shifts in their classrooms. Teachers in public schools and adult literacy programmes echoed each other on issues of managerialism, privatisation and punitive accountability mechanisms. Both schoolteachers and adult educators made references to a reduction in autonomy and to an emerging ‘culture of fear’ in educational institutions and programmes. The experience of teachers highlights contradictions between the promises of neoliberalism and the ground-level impact of policy.
AusMoho: the variation of Moho depth in Australia

SUMMARY Since 2004 more than 7000 km of full-crustal reflection profiles have been collected across Australia to give a total of more than 11000 km, providing valuable new constraints on crustal structure. A further set of hitherto unexploited results comes from 150 receiver functions distributed across the continent, mostly from portable receiver sites. These new data sets provide a dramatic increase in data coverage compared with previous studies, and reveal the complex structure of the Australian continent in considerable detail. A new comprehensive model for Moho depth across Australia and its immediate environment is developed by utilizing multiple sources of information. On-shore and off-shore refraction experiments are supplemented by receiver functions from a large number of portable stations and the recently augmented set of permanent stations, and Moho picks from the full suite of reflection transects. The composite data set provides a much denser sampler of most of the continent than before, though coverage remains low in the remote areas of the Simpson and Great Sandy deserts. The various data sets provide multiple estimates of the depth to Moho in many regions and the consistency between the different techniques is high. In a number of instances, differences in estimates of Moho depth can be associated with the aspects of the structure highlighted by the particular methods. The new results allow considerable refinement of the patterns of Moho depth across the continent. Some of the thinnest crust lies beneath the Archean cratons in the Pilbara and the southern part of the Yilgarn. Thick crust is encountered beneath parts of the Proterozoic in Central Australia, and beneath the Palaeozoic Lachlan fold belt in southeastern Australia. The refined data indicate a number of zones of sharp contrast in depth to Moho, notably in the southern part of Central Australia.
Epitope of the Vaccine-Type Bordetella pertussis Strain 186 Lipooligosaccharide and Antiendotoxin Activity of Antibodies Directed against the Terminal Pentasaccharide-Tetanus Toxoid Conjugate

ABSTRACT Lipooligosaccharides (LOS) isolated from Bordetella pertussis strains 186 and 606 were analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and high-resolution magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonsnace (NMR). These analyses distinguished between the LOS of strains 186 and 606, suggesting that the structure of LOS in B. pertussis is heterogeneous. The pentasaccharide was selectively cleaved from LOS of B. pertussis strain 186, purified, and covalently linked to a monomer fraction of tetanus toxoid. Injection of rabbits with the neoglycoconjugate emulsified in complete Freund's adjuvant yielded immunoglobulin G antibodies that were reactive with the LOS. These antibodies reacted strongly with B. pertussis LOS possessing the complete dodecasaccharide, as determined by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, immunoblotting, and flow cytometry with intact, live bacterial cells. The binding epitope within the pentasaccharide was investigated by saturation transfer difference (STD) NMR spectroscopy. Protons H-1 and H-4 of the terminal α-d-GlcpNAc and proton H-6 and protons of an N-methyl group at H-4 of 3-substituted β-l-FucpNAc4NMe exhibited the largest saturation transfers. STD NMR experiments confirmed that the immunodominant epitope recognized by the antineoglycoconjugate antibodies is located predominantly in the distal trisaccharide of B. pertussis 186 LOS. The antipentasaccharide antibodies induced by the conjugate inhibited the secretion of tumor necrosis factor alpha, interleukin-6, and NO by LOS-stimulated J774A.1 cells.
Xenophobia, Criminality and Violent Entrepreneurship: Violence against Somali Shopkeepers in Delft South, Cape Town, South Africa

ABSTRACT Violence against Somali shopkeepers is often cited as evidence of xenophobic attitudes and violence in South Africa. However, as argued in this article, it is not necessarily the case that such violence is driven by anti-foreigner sentiment. Instead, as illustrated in the case of Delft, a poor, mixed-race area in the City of Cape Town, violence against spaza shopkeepers may also be explained in terms of criminal activities and economic competition in the form of ‘violent entrepreneurship’. This argument is made drawing on a survey of over 100 spaza shopkeepers, a household survey, police statistics, and interviews and focus groups with key stakeholders living in Delft. The key insight is that despite a recent history of intense economic competition in the spaza market in which foreign skopkeepers have come to dominate, levels of violent crime against foreign shopkeepers, 80 per cent of whom are Somali, are not significantly higher than against South African shopkeepers. In addition, while South African shopkeepers openly resent the Somali advent, most consumers remain indifferent to their presence and certainly prefer the lower prices. While our findings cannot be generalised beyond this case, they do alert us to the importance of locating arguments about xenophobia in the wider context of crime and violence in South Africa, as well as paying close attention to the local particularities that can turn general sentiment into xenophobic action.
Lithium poisoning: Is determination of the red blood cell lithium concentration useful?

Introduction. Despite a narrow therapeutic index, lithium remains a cornerstone for the treatment of bipolar disease. As lithium poisoning may result in life-threatening neurotoxicity, measurement of the lithium concentration is mandatory in drug monitoring as well as for the diagnosis and prognostic evaluation of lithium poisoning. However, toxic symptoms do not always correlate with plasma concentrations. Therefore, more reliable indicators have been proposed, including measurement of the red blood cell (RBC) lithium concentration and the RBC-to-plasma lithium ratio. Plasma and RBC lithium concentrations. Few studies have reviewed the relative utility of these measurements both in monitoring therapy and in poisoning, and they have involved only small numbers of subjects. Moreover, factors influencing plasma and RBC lithium concentrations are numerous, including gender, age, dosage, treatment duration, co-medications, and underlying diseases. In treated patients, investigated using in vivo magnetic resonance spectroscopy, there is a significant correlation between plasma and brain lithium concentrations in steady-state conditions. In contrast, lithium transport across erythrocytes markedly differs from its transport into the central nervous system, questioning the relevance of measuring the RBC lithium concentration. In poisoned patients, plasma and RBC lithium concentrations follow a parallel decline irrespective of the type of poisoning. Conclusions. Based on present evidence, measurement of the RBC lithium concentration and the calculation of the RBC-to-plasma lithium ratio offer no important clinical advantage over the measurement of the plasma lithium concentration, which remains the most important variable to monitor in lithium-treated or lithium-poisoned patients.
Multi‐sensory storytelling as an aid to assisting people with profound intellectual disabilities to cope with sensitive issues: a multiple research methods analysis of engagement and outcomes

The importance of storytelling in social, cultural and educational contexts is well established and documented. The extension of storytelling to people with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (PIMD) has in recent years been undertaken with an emphasis on the value of sensory experience and the context storytelling provides for social interaction. The present study builds on earlier curriculum orientated research with a view to describe patterns of social and story‐oriented interaction during storytelling. The stories dealt with sensitive topics raised by family carers who wished the young person with PIMD to understand. Behavioural observation during storytelling sessions explored changes in engagement while semi‐structured interviews with parents and professionals explored the extent to which the experience had benefitted the young person with respect to the sensitive topic. Positive changes in engagement with the story were shown for seven of the eight participants. For six of the seven, a parent and a professional agreed that the outcome of the experience positively enabled the participant to cope better with the sensitive topic. The specific multi‐sensory storytelling factors leading to these outcomes are discussed, as is the issue of proxy reporting and determining the nature of understanding in people with PIMD.
Cohesive versus Flexible Evolution of Functional Modules in Eukaryotes

Although functionally related proteins can be reliably predicted from phylogenetic profiles, many functional modules do not seem to evolve cohesively according to case studies and systematic analyses in prokaryotes. In this study we quantify the extent of evolutionary cohesiveness of functional modules in eukaryotes and probe the biological and methodological factors influencing our estimates. We have collected various datasets of protein complexes and pathways in Saccheromyces cerevisiae. We define orthologous groups on 34 eukaryotic genomes and measure the extent of cohesive evolution of sets of orthologous groups of which members constitute a known complex or pathway. Within this framework it appears that most functional modules evolve flexibly rather than cohesively. Even after correcting for uncertain module definitions and potentially problematic orthologous groups, only 46% of pathways and complexes evolve more cohesively than random modules. This flexibility seems partly coupled to the nature of the functional module because biochemical pathways are generally more cohesively evolving than complexes.
What can education teach child mental health services? Practitioners' perceptions of training and joint working

The importance of joint working between educational and child mental health professionals is well documented but there are numerous challenges and only limited training models. While the evidence base and training programmes for educationalists regarding child mental health is growing, training mental health professionals about education is more limited. This study presents the views of 36 child mental health and education professionals from four service localities in England regarding their experiences of joint working and perceptions of training, including a preliminary evaluation of a training programme designed to bridge this gap. The findings indicate that participants perceived that a degree of knowledge in education matters is important, and reported that this could be acquired through the development of relationships with educational professionals, setting up link posts and joint training; they also described challenges related to building experience and to resource constraints. Participants were generally positive about the training package and reported that there was a clear training need in this area.
Testing a Model of Participant Retention in Longitudinal Substance Abuse Research

Longitudinal substance abuse research has often been compromised by high rates of attrition, thought to be the result of the lifestyle that often accompanies addiction. Several studies have used strategies including collection of locator information at the baseline assessment, verification of the information, and interim contacts prior to completing the follow-up to minimize attrition, however it is unclear whether these strategies are equally effective for participants struggling with varying levels of housing stability, support for sobriety, and substance abuse severity. The current study extends research supporting the effectiveness of follow-up strategies with a focus on locator form completion and continual verification contacts. Results indicated that each additional piece of locator form information and verification contact significantly and independently increased the odds for completing a follow-up interview, and that these effects were not moderated by participant characteristics. Practical and theoretical implications for longitudinal substance abuse research are discussed.
Click here Terms of use : Click here Design and numerical characterization of a new leg exoskeleton for motion assistance

Robotica / FirstView Article / April 2015, pp 1 16 DOI: 10.1017/S0263574714002069, Published online: 05 August 2014 Link to this article: http://journals.cambridge. org/abstract_S0263574714002069 How to cite this article: Cristian Copilusi, Marco Ceccarelli and Giuseppe Carbone Design and numerical characterization of a new leg exoskeleton for motion assistance. Robotica, Available on CJO 2014 doi:10.1017/S0263574714002069 Request Permissions : Click here
The importance of sample size for the estimation of F wave latency parameters in the ulnar nerve

responses resulting in discrepan- cies of the normal values among different labora- tories. More irnportant, however, is the potential risk of producing false negative or false positive results that an inadequate sample size promotes. Another aspect, which has received little attention, is the possibility that different sample sizes may be required for nornial subjects and neuropathic pa- tients. 'lhe purpose of the present study was to inves- tigate the effects of various
Generic edgelet-based tracking of 3D objects in real-time

This paper addresses the challenging issue of real-time camera localization relative to any object that have texture or not, sharp edges or occluding contours. 3D contour points, dynamically extracted from a CAD model by Analysis-by-Synthesis on the graphics hardware, are combined with a keyframe-based SLAM algorithm to estimate camera poses. Our tracking solution is accurate, robust to sudden motions and to occlusions, as demonstrated on synthetic and real data. This solution is also easy to deploy since it only uses an RGB camera and a CAD model of the object of interest, requires no manual intervention on this model and runs on a consumer tablet at a frequency of 40Hz on a HD video-stream. Videos are available as supplemental material.
Efficacy of surgical preparation solutions in lumbar spine surgery.

BACKGROUND Postoperative spinal wound infections are relatively common and are often associated with increased morbidity and poor long-term patient outcomes. The purposes of this study were to identify the common bacterial flora on the skin overlying the lumbar spine and evaluate the efficacy of readily available skin-preparation solutions in the elimination of bacterial pathogens from the surgical site following skin preparation. METHODS A prospective randomized study was undertaken to evaluate 100 consecutive patients undergoing elective lumbar spine surgery. At the time of surgery, the patients were randomized to be treated with one of two widely used, and Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved, surgical skin-preparation solutions: ChloraPrep (2% chlorhexidine gluconate and 70% isopropyl alcohol) or DuraPrep (0.7% available iodine and 74% isopropyl alcohol). Specimens for aerobic and anaerobic cultures were obtained prior to skin preparation (pre-preparation), after skin preparation (post-preparation), and after wound closure (post-closure). A validated neutralization solution was used for each culture to ensure that the antimicrobial activity was stopped immediately after the sample was taken. Positive cultures and specific bacterial pathogens were recorded. RESULTS Coagulase-negative Staphylococcus, Propionibacterium acnes, and Corynebacterium were the most commonly isolated organisms prior to skin preparation. The overall rate of positive cultures prior to skin preparation was 82%. The overall rate of positive cultures after skin preparation was 0% (zero of fifty) in the ChloraPrep group and 6% (three of fifty) in the DuraPrep group (p = 0.24, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.006 to 0.085). There was an increase in positive cultures after wound closure, but there was no difference between the ChloraPrep group (34%, seventeen of fifty) and the DuraPrep group (32%, sixteen of fifty) (p = 0.22, 95% CI = 0.284 to 0.483). Body mass index (BMI), duration of surgery, and estimated blood loss did not a show significant association with post-closure positive culture results. CONCLUSIONS ChloraPrep and DuraPrep are equally effective skin-preparation solutions for eradication of common bacterial pathogens on the skin overlying the lumbar spine.
Compassion Fade: Affect and Charity Are Greatest for a Single Child in Need

Charitable giving in 2013 exceeded $300 billion, but why do we respond to some life-saving causes while ignoring others? In our first two studies, we demonstrated that valuation of lives is associated with affective feelings (self-reported and psychophysiological) and that a decline in compassion may begin with the second endangered life. In Study 3, this fading of compassion was reversed by describing multiple lives in a more unitary fashion. Study 4 extended our findings to loss-frame scenarios. Our capacity to feel sympathy for people in need appears limited, and this form of compassion fatigue can lead to apathy and inaction, consistent with what is seen repeatedly in response to many large-scale human and environmental catastrophes.
Vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGF) and VEGF receptor expression as predictive biomarkers for benefit with bevacizumab in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC): Analysis of the phase III MAX study.

3531 Background: Bevacizumab (B) in combination with chemotherapy prolongs progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with mCRC. However, the subgroup that derives greatest benefit with B is not known. Since B only targets VEGF A and given the redundancy within biologic family members, we hypothesized that overexpression of other VEGF ligands could constitute a mechanism of resistance. We tested this hypothesis using tumor samples from patients in the MAX study. METHODS We analyzed tumor samples from 268 of 471 patients (56.9%) who were randomly assigned to capecitabine (C), or C and B (CB), or C, B, and mitomycin (CBM). We examined expression of VEGF A, B, C, D, R1 and R2 by immunohistochemistry using tissue microarrays. We assessed whether expression of these biomarkers (grade 0,1 vs 2 vs 3) was predictive for B for PFS and overall survival (OS) using interactions between biomarker expression and treatment. RESULTS When each biomarker was examined singly, lower expression of VEGF D was associated with greater B benefits on PFS and OS (Table) and was the only significant factor biomarker in a step-down multivariate analysis for PFS. When examined singly, lower expression of VEGFR1 was associated with greater B benefits for OS (p=0.001 for treatment-biomarker interaction) but not PFS. VEGFR1 was the remaining significant biomarker in a step-down multivariate analysis for OS. CONCLUSIONS High expression of VEGF D is predictive of resistance to B, particularly in terms of PFS. This finding is biologically plausible but requires confirmation in other trials. Selection of patients with mCRC for B treatment based on VEGF D expression may have the potential to increase absolute benefits and improve cost-effectiveness. [Table: see text].
New Product Development: How Cost Information Precision Affects Designer Focus and Behavior in a Multiple Objective Setting

The development of new products that satisfy customer needs in a costeffective manner is key to survival for many organizations. The role that cost information plays in new product development (NPD), such as its effect on designers' focus and crucial NPD performance measures, is unclear. This experimental study extends existing accounting NPD research by investigating the effect of two levels of cost information precision (specific versus relative) and new products (radical versus incremental) on designers' focus and two common NPD performance measures: product cost and product features. The results indicate that compared to relative cost information, specific cost information increases designers' focus on cost minimization for incremental but not radical products. However, providing designers with specific cost information results in more cost‐effective designs for both types of products. In addition, contrary to expectations, more cost‐effective designs do not come at the expense of reduced product feat.
Aging of Acute Deep Vein Thrombosis Measured by Radiolabeled 99mTc-rt-PA

In previous studies, 99mTc-recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) imaging has had a high sensitivity and specificity for the detection of deep vein thrombosis (DVT). In this technique, the plasminogen activation site of rt-PA undergoes inactivation but fibrin binding is retained. Uptake of 99mTc-rt-PA into DVT relies on binding of C-terminal lysine residues on fibrin. It is postulated that as the thrombus ages, fewer fibrin sites are available for 99mTc-rt-PA and that there should be a progressive decrease in 99mTc-rt-PA uptake in old thrombi as compared with fresh thrombi. The ability to differentiate fresh from old thrombus would have significant clinical implications in the objective diagnosis of recurrent DVT. Our aim was to examine the relative uptake of 99mTc-rt-PA in acute DVT over the first 30 d after diagnosis. Methods: Seventy-four patients with acute symptomatic DVT were entered into the study. Patients underwent ultrasound and 99mTc-rt-PA imaging on days 1, 7, and 30. Results: Residual thrombus was detected by ultrasonography in 46 (84%) of 55 patients on day 7 and in 29 (66%) of 44 patients on day 30. Of the persisting thrombi on day 7, 72% (33/46) showed 99mTc-rt-PA uptake. Of the persisting thrombi on day 30, 0% (0/29) showed 99mTc-rt-PA uptake. Conclusion: Uptake of 99mTc-rt-PA into DVT was absent 30 d after diagnosis. This finding suggests that this imaging technique can distinguish fresh from old thrombus.