Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Contributions of Race, Individual Socioeconomic Status, and Neighborhood Socioeconomic Context on the Self-Rated Health Trajectories and Mortality of Older Adults

Drawing on four waves of the Americans' Changing Lives Study, we examine the contributions of individual and neighborhood socioeconomic status to explain racial disparities in self-rated health trajectories over time, among Black and White older adults in the United States. Primary results of three-level growth curve analyses of self-rated health change, and multinomial logistic regression of mortality and attrition, indicate that (1) racial and socioeconomic disparities in health persist into old age, (2) Black older adults have greater declines in self-rated health over time than White older adults, and these disparities are explained by individual and neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES), (3) individual and neighborhood SES contribute to persisting self-rated health disparities at older ages, but may not contribute significantly to further declines in self-rated health at older ages, (4) Black disadvantage in mortality exists at older ages, and persists net of individual and neighborhood SES, and (5) individual SES is a significant predictor of 16-year mortality among older adults. Our results suggest that we should continue to be concerned about the existence and persistence of racial and socioeconomic disparities in self-rated health and mortality throughout old age, and the contribution of individual and neighborhood socioeconomic context in perpetuating these disparities.
Status and Likabiiity: Can the “Mindful” Woman Have It All?1

A total of 182 college students in The Netherlands participated in a study assessing the effects of a college teacher's gender, term of address (title vs. first name), and mindfulness (i.e., openness to novelty, awareness of both context and content of information; Langer, 1989) on perceptions of the teacher's status, likabiiity, and femininity. Participants read and answered questions about a fictional transcript of a class session taught by either a male or female teacher addressed by first name or title and acting in a mindful or mindless manner. As predicted, teachers were perceived to hold higher status if male and if addressed by title. Mindful teachers were rated higher than mindless teachers on both femininity and accessibility, but not status.
Effect of glimepiride on serum adiponectin level in subjects with type 2 diabetes.

Sulfonylurea is known to lower glucose levels by stimulating pancreatic insulin secretion. Glimepiride, a new agent of sulfonylurea, is unique in that the glucose-lowering efficacy is similar but the ability to stimulate insulin secretion is lower in comparison with conventional sulfonylureas such as glibenclamide, glipizide, and gliclazide (1). Thus, glimepiride is hypothesized to have greater extrapancreatic effect, such as an improvement in insulin resistance (1). The previous report by Muller et al. (1) supports the hypothesis that insulin-resistant diabetic KK-Ay mice can be well controlled by glimepiride, but not by glibenclamide and gliclazide. Glimepiride is reported to increase insulin-stimulated glycogen synthesis in cultured human skeletal muscle cells. Very recently, Tsunekawa et al. (2) clearly demonstrated that glimepiride actually increases insulin sensitivity in type 2 diabetic patients. They also proposed that the increase in insulin sensitivity might be associated with increased adiponectinemia. Here we report our data regarding the effects of glimepiride on insulinemia, insulin sensitivity, and serum adiponectin …
Domino Treewidth

We consider a special variant of tree-decompositions, calleddomino tree-decompositions, and the related notion ofdomino treewidth. In a domino tree-decomposition, each vertex of the graph belongs to at most two nodes of the tree. We prove that for everyk,d, there exists a constantck,dsuch that a graph with treewidth at mostkand maximum degree at mostdhas domino treewidth at mostck,d. The domino treewidth of a tree can be computed inO(n2logn) time. There exist polynomial time algorithms that? for fixedk? decide whether a given graphGhas domino treewidth at mostk. Ifkis not fixed, this problem is NP-complete. The domino treewidth problem is hard for the complexity classesWt for allt? N, and hence the problem for fixedkis unlikely to be solvable inO(nc) time, wherecis a constant, not depending onk.
Structure and inhibition of herpesvirus DNA packaging terminase nuclease domain

During viral replication, herpesviruses package their DNA into the procapsid by means of the terminase protein complex. In human cytomegalovirus (herpesvirus 5), the terminase is composed of subunits UL89 and UL56. UL89 cleaves the long DNA concatemers into unit-length genomes of appropriate length for encapsidation. We used ESPRIT, a high-throughput screening method, to identify a soluble purifiable fragment of UL89 from a library of 18,432 randomly truncated ul89 DNA constructs. The purified protein was crystallized and its three-dimensional structure was solved. This protein corresponds to the key nuclease domain of the terminase and shows an RNase H/integrase-like fold. We demonstrate that UL89-C has the capacity to process the DNA and that this function is dependent on Mn2+ ions, two of which are located at the active site pocket. We also show that the nuclease function can be inactivated by raltegravir, a recently approved anti-AIDS drug that targets the HIV integrase.
Xq chromosome duplication in males: Clinical, cytogenetic and array CGH characterization of a new case and review

Males with duplications within the long arm of the X chromosome are rare and most cases are inherited from a maternal heterozygote. We report a male with a de novo Xq duplication and review of the literature. The proband was ascertained prenatally after an abnormal expanded alpha‐fetoprotein (AFP) screen and abnormal ultrasound findings. Chromosome analysis on amniocyte and subsequent peripheral blood lymphocyte cultures showed a male karyotype containing additional material on the long arm of the X chromosome. Fluorescence in situ hybridization with an X chromosome whole chromosome paint probe showed that the additional material was derived from the X chromosome, interpreted as a dup(X)(q13.3q24). Further characterization of the duplication by array CGH showed a duplication size between 30–44 Mb as determined by the map position of the flanking clones on the array, and refined the breakpoints of the duplicated region to Xq21.32 → Xq25. At birth, the proband had multiple craniofacial abnormalities, musculoskeletal anomalies, bilateral cryptorchidism with scrotal hypoplasia, conductive hearing loss, and profound generalized hypotonia despite normal birthweight, length, and head circumference. Although data regarding Xq duplications in males are limited, a clear pattern of characteristic features can be discerned as illustrated in the present case and confirmed in our literature review. Mental, psychomotor and growth retardation, as well as, craniofacial anomalies, muscle hypotonia, hypoplastic genitalia, cryptorchidism, feeding difficulties, and endocrine dysfunction are all significant issues in these individuals. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
50 Years of Stereoblindness: Reconciliation of a Continuum of Disparity Detectors With Blindness for Disparity in Near or Far Depth

Whitman Richards (1932–2016) discovered some 50 years ago that about 30% of observers from the normal population exhibit stereoblindness: the disability to process binocular disparities in either far or near depth. We review the literature on stereoblindness entailing two insights. First, contemporary scholars in stereopsis undervalue the comprehension that disparity processing studies require precise assessments of observers’ stereoblindness. We argue that this frequently leads to suboptimal interpretations. Second, there is still an open conundrum: How can the established finding that disparity is processed by a continuum of detectors be reconciled with the disability of many observers to process a whole class of far or near disparities? We propose, based upon integration of literature, that an asymmetry between far and near disparity detection at birth—being present for a variety of reasons—can suppress the typical formation of binocular correlation during the critical period for the development of stereopsis early in life, thereby disabling a whole class of far or near disparities.
Auditory Evoked Potentials under Active and Passive Hearing Conditions in Adult Cochlear Implant Users

Objectives Speech perception abilities, which vary widely among cochlear implant (CI) users, are considered to be associated with the integrity of the central auditory pathways from the auditory nerve to the cortex. Therefore, auditory evoked potentials (AEPs) are used to evaluate central auditory processing, which is thought to contribute to speech perception in CI subjects. In AEPs, the P300 component reflects the cognitive ability of subjects to detect and respond to stimuli and has most frequently been used and investigated in CI subjects. Other studies have used mismatched negativity (MMN) to examine central auditory processing. It is important to compare MMN and P300 and examine the auditory processing mechanisms involved in these components. Our study therefore aimed to investigate the relationship between P300 and MMN using both active and passive hearing paradigms in CI and normal hearing (NH) subjects. Methods Our subjects consisted of 3 CI subjects and 3 NH subjects. An oddball paradigm was used to deliver the stimuli on both components. The frequent stimuli were 1,000-Hz tone bursts, whereas the rare stimuli were 1,500, 2,000, and 4,000-Hz. Results As the frequency contrasts increased, the P3 latencies increased in the CI subjects. However, the latency in NH subjects did not change significantly across the frequency contrast conditions. MMNs were identified for both the CI and NH subjects; the latencies in the CI subjects were longer than those in the NH subjects. However, there were no differences in the latencies of either the CI or NH subjects in the 3 frequency contrast tasks. Conclusion Our results indicated that different auditory processing pathways are involved in the active and passive hearing conditions based on the P300 and MMN data and that a combination of both responses plays an important role in the comprehension of auditory processing mechanisms in CI subjects.
Recursive space-time trellis codes for turbo coded modulation

Space-time coding schemes are focused on merging antenna diversity with appropriate channel coding in order to exploit benefits of spatial and temporal diversity. We propose the concept of recursive space-time trellis codes for parallel-concatenated space-time turbo coded modulation. The newly proposed scheme was designed to preserve the maximum transmit diversity gain but simultaneously enhance the coding gain as compared to Tarokh et al. (see IEEE Trans. Inf. Th., vol.44, no.2, 1998) space-time trellis codes. Puncturing the outputs of component codes enabled a considerable improvement in power efficiency to be obtained with no cost in bandwidth efficiency. A good performance was reported already with extremely short input information frames of 130 bits.
Vivre en famille ou en pension : stratégies résidentielles et réseaux d’accueil

Nombreux sont les moralistes du tournant du xxe siecle qui critiquent la presence de pensionnaires payant pour etre loges et nourris au sein des menages prives. Ce serait le signe de la desagregation des reseaux familiaux d’entraide. Cet article compare les caracteristiques des pensionnaires a celles des personnes apparentees qui se joignent aux menages de la ville de Quebec au moment des recensements canadiens de 1891 et 1901. La comparaison cherche a mettre de l’avant les reseaux de solidarite ayant pu se deployer par le partage de la residence. Elle a aussi pour objectif de verifier le suppose delaissement de l’hebergement des parents au profit des pensionnaires. Cette demarche permet de revoir quelques problemes poses par l’utilisation des recensements pour capter ces populations flottantes.
Internal Visibility of External Supplier Risks and the Dynamics of Risk Management Silos

This paper investigates the factors behind silo-based risk management practices in organizations. Based on interviews with different actors working with the supply management processes within and across different organizational levels in a major multinational manufacturing corporation, it reveals how silos of risk management activities are formed. The findings show that there are profound differences in risk visibility between different actors due to differences in their hierarchical levels, organizational positions, and business contexts. Drawing on the theoretical lenses of bounded rationality and contingency theory, the paper reveals how these differences in visibility create silo-based risk management processes and discusses the pros and cons of such configurations. It concludes that silo-based behaviors are inherent features of any complex organization and that the implications of managing risks in silos are strongly influenced by the types of dependences (positive or negative) among risks. Therefore, it is elemental for organizations to be aware of this phenomenon and configure their risk management processes accordingly based on the dependences among the various risks to which the organizations are exposed.
‘Merguez Capitale’: The merguez sausage as a discursive construction of cosmopolitan branding, colonial memory and local flavour in Marseille

Official cultural sectors increasingly deploy cosmopolitan branding efforts, based on the diversity of migrant populations, to market a city as attractive and open. These strategies, meanwhile, continue to coexist with attachments to place as well as a sense of local identification and belonging. In this paper I refer to the way food, and in particular the merguez sausage, is used as a marker to evoke both the cosmopolitan and the local specificities of the city of Marseille, once celebrated as the gateway to France’s empire. This work examines cultural initiatives, city streets, film and published Pied-Noir testimonials to argue that the merguez, a spicy sausage associated with North African cuisine, is used as a discursive construction of cosmopolitan branding, attached to a colonial memory, notably Algerian, while coexisting with the formation of local specificities in Marseille.
‘Unqualified˚s mature students at the University of Sheffield

ABSTRACT This is a study of ‘unqualified˚s mature applicants to the University of Sheffield who succeeded in gaining a place by means of the Joint Matriculation Board special scheme in 1975, 1976 and 1977. For purposes of comparison, successful ‘unqualified˚s applicants in 1976 to the Universities of Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester (who also participate in the Joint Matriculation Board special scheme) are considered. Subjects selected, rates of pre-course withdrawal, dropout, final degree results and problems encountered by the mature students are discussed.
Mitochondrial p38β and Manganese Superoxide Dismutase Interaction Mediated by Estrogen in Cardiomyocytes

Aims While etiology behind the observed acceleration of ischemic heart disease in postmenopausal women is poorly understood, collective scientific data suggest cardioprotective effects of the endogenous female sex hormone, estrogen. We have previously shown that 17β-estradiol (E2) protects cardiomyocytes exposed to hypoxia-reoxygenation (H/R) by inhibiting p38α - p53 signaling in apoptosis and activating pro-survival p38β mitogen activated protein kinase (p38β MAPK), leading to suppression of reactive oxygen species (ROS) post H/R. However, little is known about the mechanism behind the antioxidant actions of E2-dependent p38β. The aim of this study is to determine whether the cytoprotection by estrogen involves regulation of manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD), a major mitochondrial ROS scavenging enzyme, via cardiac p38β. Methods and Results We identified mitochondrial p38β by immunocytochemistry and by immunoblotting in mitochondria isolated from neonatal cardiomyocytes of Sprague-Dawley rats. E2 facilitated the mitochondrial localization of the active form of the kinase, phosphorylated p38β (p-p38β). E2 also reduced the H/R-induced mitochondrial membrane potential decline, augmented the MnSOD activity and suppressed anion superoxide generation, while the dismutase protein expression remained unaltered. Co-immunoprecipitation studies showed physical association between MnSOD and p38β. p38β phosphorylated MnSOD in an E2-dependent manner in in-vitro kinase assays. Conclusion This work demonstrates for the first time a mitochondrial pool of active p38β and E2-mediated phosphorylation of MnSOD by the kinase. The results shed light on the mechanism behind the cytoprotective actions of E2 in cardiomyocytes under oxidative stress.
First principles studies of an Si tip on an Si(100)2 × 1 reconstructed surface

We present a systematic study of the interaction between a silicon tip and a reconstructed Si(100)2 × 1 surface by means of total energy calculations using density functional theory. We perform geometry optimization to obtain the reconstructed Si surface using the local density approximation and the generalized gradient approximation methods and compare our results with those obtained experimentally. We then study the effects of the tip of a scanning probe of an atomic force microscope (AFM) on the behaviour of atoms on the reconstructed surface when the tip translates at distances close to it. Our results show that at certain positions of the tip relative to the surface and depending on the direction of the scan, the Si dimer on the surface flips, resulting in a local reconstruction of the surface into p(2 × 2) or c(4 × 2) configurations. These configurations exhibit energies lower by 0.05 eV/dimer than the Si(100)2 × 1 structure.
Analysis of Hidden Markov Models and Support Vector Machines in Financial Applications

This paper presents two approaches in helping investors make better decisions. First, we discuss conventional methods, such as using the Efficient Market Hypothesis and technical indicators, for forecasting stock prices and movements. We will show that these methods are inadequate, and thus, we need to rethink the issue. Afterwards, we will discuss using artificial intelligence, such as Hidden Markov Models and Support Vector Machines, to help investors gather and compute enormous amount of data that will enable them to make informed decisions. We will leverage the Simlio engine to train both the HMM and SVM on past datasets and use it to predict future stock movements. The results are encouraging and they warrant future research on using AI for market forecasts. Simlio LLC is a startup co-founded by Jerry Hong. It is currently a stock research platform on the web that enables users to draw graphs at ease as well as perform intensive formula calculations to see how well an idea would profit over time.
The Interactive Effect of Blame Attribution With Characteristics of Child Sexual Abuse on Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Abstract The present study examined the role of attributions of blame for child sexual abuse (CSA) in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. The interactive effects of attribution of blame with characteristics of abuse on PTSD were studied. A sample of 151 female victims of CSA participated in the study. Self-blame and family blame were related to higher PTSD scores, whereas perpetrator blame was not related to PTSD. The strength of the relationship between blame and PTSD score was higher in cases of more severe, isolated, and extrafamilial abuse. The findings suggest that diminishing self-blame attributions may be particularly advantageous in cases of isolated and extrafamilial CSA, whereas diminishing family blame would be more advantageous in cases of severe abuse.
An Extended Stem-Loop 1 Is Necessary for Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 2 Replication and Affects Genomic RNA Encapsidation

ABSTRACT Genomic RNA encapsidation in lentiviruses is a highly selective and regulated process. The unspliced RNA molecules are selected for encapsidation from a pool of many different viral and cellular RNA species. Moreover, two molecules are encapsidated per viral particle, where they are found associated as a dimer. In this study, we demonstrate that a 10-nucleotide palindromic sequence (pal) located at the 3′ end of the ψ encapsidation signal is critical for human immunodeficiency virus type 2 (HIV-2) replication and affects genomic RNA encapsidation. We used short-term and long-term culture of pal-mutated viruses in permissive C8166 cells and their phenotypic reversion to show the existence of a structurally extended SL1 during HIV-2 replication, formed by the interaction of the 3′ end of the pal within ψ with a motif located downstream of SL1. The stem extending HIV-2 SL1 is structurally similar to stem B described for HIV-1 SL1. Despite the high degree of phylogenetic conservation, these results show that mutant viruses are viable when the autocomplementary nature of the pal sequence is disrupted, but not without a stable stem B. Our observations show that formation of the extended SL1 is necessary during viral replication and positively affects HIV-2 genomic RNA encapsidation. Sequestration of part of the packaging signal into SL1 may be a means of regulating its presentation during the replication cycle.
Post-Keynesianism meets feminist economics

This article explores the relationships between post-Keynesian economics and feminist economics. It distinguishes three key concepts in each tradition that recommend serious attention in the other tradition: gender, the household and unpaid work and caring as key concepts in feminist economics; uncertainty, market power and endogenous dynamics as core concepts in post-Keynesian economics. This article will show, with reference to the literature in which such cross-fertilisation has been explored already, how both traditions can be enriched from a stronger mutual engagement. Copyright The Author 2008. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Cambridge Political Economy Society. All rights reserved. , Oxford University Press.
Aging Prisoners' Concerns toward Dying in Prison

Prison populations are experiencing rapid increases and many more offenders are dying in prison. This study investigated key variables associated with death anxiety among a group of aging prisoners. For this research, 102 respondents residing in a maximum security prison with a mean age of 59 completed Templer's Death Anxiety Scale. A regression analysis showed that age, inmate social supports, and a number of health related variables were important predictors of death fear. The findings revealed that fear of death is slightly higher among older prisoners than for similar age groups in the community. Qualitative information based on personal narratives found that some inmates see death as an escape, while others expressed fears of dying in prison or the stigma associated with imprisonment.