Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Replication of Association Between 53 Single-Nucleotide Polymorphisms in a DNA-Based Diagnostic Test and AIS Progression in Chinese Han Population

Study Design. A case-only study. Objective. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association of the 53 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in a prognostic test with curve progression in Chinese adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) patients. Summary of Background Data. “ScoliScore” was the first diagnostic kit developed for curve progression of AIS in the white population. To date, there is still a paucity of validation of ScoliScore in Chinese Han population. Methods. A total of 670 AIS patients were included in the study, with 313 patients assigned to the nonprogression group and the other 357 patients assigned to the progression group. A panel of 53 SNPs encompassed in ScoliScore were genotyped using the PCR-based Invader assay. The allele frequencies were compared between AIS patients with progressive curve and those with nonprogressive curve. Results. SNP rs9945359 and rs17044552 are the only 2 SNPs that had significantly different allele frequencies between the 2 groups. Allele A of rs9945359 was significantly higher in the progression group than in the nonprogression group (25.7% vs 19.5%, P = 0.01), and allele A of rs17044552 was significantly lower in the progression group (11.5% vs 16.4%, P = 0.01). The odds ratio (OR) of these 2 SNPs were 1.42 [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.09–1.88] and 0.65 (95% CI 0.47–0.91), respectively. As for the allele frequencies of the other 51 SNPs, no significant difference was found between the 2 groups. Conclusion. ScoliScore could not be able to predict the curve progression of AIS in Chinese Han population. However, the role of this test in other populations cannot be totally excluded, and additional replication studies in other ethnic groups are warranted to evaluate the significance of these SNPs. Level of Evidence: 4
Use of Alcohol and Alcohol-Related Morbidity in Finnish Former Elite Athletes

Introduction The effect of a history of competitive sports on later use of alcohol and occurrence of alcohol-related diseases is poorly known. We investigated how a history of elite level sports was associated with alcohol consumption in middle-age and with alcohol-related morbidity and mortality. Methods The occurrence of alcohol-related diseases and deaths were followed using national registers from 1970 to 2008 among Finnish male former elite athletes (n = 2202) and matched controls (n = 1403) alive in 1970 (mean age = 45.1 yr). Hazard ratios were calculated by Cox proportional hazards model. In 1985, surviving participants questionnaire-reported their alcohol consumption and engagement in physical activity/sports. Results The risk of any alcohol-related diseases or deaths did not differ between former athletes and controls (hazard ratio = 0.93, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.73–1.20, P = 0.59), although the risk was higher among both combat sports athletes and weightlifters compared with endurance sports athletes, shooters or jumpers, and hurdlers (P < 0.05). In 1985, athletes consumed more alcohol (417 g·month−1, 95% CI = 386–447) compared with controls (397 g·month−1, 95% CI = 355–441) (P < 0.05). Consumption was lower among endurance sports athletes than among controls (P < 0.05). Team sports athletes consumed more alcohol (P < 0.05), especially beer (P < 0.01), compared with other athletes and controls. Athletes no longer engaged in leisure-time sports consumed more alcohol than those who continued to be physically active (P < 0.05). Conclusions Overall, former athletes reported higher alcohol consumption than controls. There was no difference in alcohol-related morbidity, but the risk varied between different sports groups. Alcohol consumption after top sports career was greater if participation in leisure-time sports was discontinued.
Physiological functioning moderates infants’ sensory sensitivity in higher conflict families

Children exposed to parent conflict may be at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders by becoming sensitized to conflict cues in their environments. This study explored possible precursors to negative child outcomes associated with parent conflict by examining the relation between parent conflict and infants' (N = 36; 23-42 weeks; 44% female) behavioral sensitivity to general sensory stimuli (e.g., loud noises, physical touch). To determine whether infants' characteristic autonomic arousal and regulation moderated this association, infant baseline skin conductance (SC) and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) were measured. Parents reported levels of parent conflict, and mothers reported infants' behavioral sensory sensitivity. The association between parent conflict and lower threshold for sensory sensitivity was strongest for infants with higher physiological arousal (higher SC) and lesser capacity for physiological regulation (lower RSA). Children may become more sensitive to environmental stimuli as a function of parent conflict during infancy, though this appears to depend on characteristic physiological arousal and regulation.
Priming Sexual and Romantic Representations in Two Media Environments: Sex Encourages and Romance Discourages Sexual Permissiveness … Sometimes

Two experiments (Ns = 314, 447) were used to evaluate the effectiveness of sexual cues in temporarily increasing young adults’ self-reported sexual permissiveness, as well as the effects of romantic cues in temporarily decreasing permissiveness. Participants were exposed to sexual or romantic cues embedded as a theme-defining component of an online game (Study 1) or in advertisements peripheral to the online game (Study 2). Sexual and romantic conditions were compared against a control condition. As hypothesized, participants in the romantic conditions rated themselves lower in sexual permissiveness, compared to participants in the sexual and control conditions, particularly when participants positively evaluated the online game experience. Findings suggest that exposure to entertaining media depictions of two people, as a committed couple, expressing love, as well as lust, for each other might deter young adults from considering engagement in casual sexual encounters indicative of “hookup culture. ”
Maternal diet during pregnancy in relation to eczema and allergic sensitization in the offspring at 2 y of age.

BACKGROUND Maternal diet during pregnancy might be one of the factors that influences fetal immune responses associated with childhood allergy. OBJECTIVE We analyzed the association between maternal diet during the last 4 wk of pregnancy and allergic sensitization and eczema in the offspring at 2 y of age. DESIGN Data from 2641 children at 2 y of age were analyzed within a German prospective birth cohort study (LISA). Maternal diet during the last 4 wk of pregnancy was assessed with a semiquantitative food-frequency questionnaire, which was administered shortly after childbirth. RESULTS High maternal intake of margarine [adjusted odds ratio (aOR): 1. 49; 95% CI: 1.08, 2.04] and vegetable oils (aOR: 1.48; 95% CI: 1.14, 1.91) during the last 4 wk of pregnancy was positively associated and high maternal fish intake (aOR: 0.75; 95% CI: 0.57, 0.98) was inversely associated with eczema during the first 2 y in the offspring. High celery (aOR: 1.85; 95% CI: 1.18, 2.89) and citrus fruit (aOR: 1.73; 95% CI: 1.18, 2.53) intakes increased the risk of sensitization against food allergens. In turn, sensitization against inhalant allergens was positively related to a high maternal intake of deep-frying vegetable fat (aOR: 1.61; 95% CI: 1.02, 2.54), raw sweet pepper (aOR: 2.16; 95% CI: 1.20, 3.90), and citrus fruit (aOR: 1.72; 95% CI: 1.02, 2.92). CONCLUSIONS We suggest that the intake of allergenic foods and foods rich in n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids during pregnancy may increase and foods rich in n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids may decrease the risk of allergic diseases in the offspring.
Regions of the human brain affected during a liquid-meal taste perception in the fasting state: a positron emission tomography study.

BACKGROUND The sensation of taste provides reinforcement for eating and is of possible relevance to the clinical problem of obesity. OBJECTIVE Positron emission tomography (PET) was used to explore regions of the brain that were preferentially affected during the taste perception of a liquid meal by 11 right-handed, lean men in the fasting state. DESIGN After subjects had fasted for 36 h, 2 measurements of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) obtained immediately after subjects retained and swallowed 2 mL of a flavored liquid meal (the taste condition) were compared with 2 measurements of rCBF obtained immediately after subjects retained and swallowed 2 mL of water (the baseline condition). RESULTS Compared with the baseline condition, taste was associated with increased rCBF (P < 0.005) in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and superior temporal gyrus; the right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, supramarginal gyrus, and anterior thalamus; and bilaterally in the hippocampal formation, posterior cingulate, midbrain, occipital cortex, and cerebellum. Taste was also associated with decreased rCBF (P < 0.005) in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, superior temporal gyrus, and supplementary motor area, and bilaterally in the medial prefrontal cortex and inferior parietal lobule. CONCLUSIONS This exploratory study provides additional evidence that the temporal cortex, thalamus, cingulate cortex, caudate, and hippocampal formation are preferentially affected by taste stimulation. The asymmetric pattern of activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and superior temporal gyrus may contribute to the taste perception of a liquid meal perceived as pleasant. Additional studies are required to determine how these regions are affected in patients with obesity or anorexia.
Seagrass meadows as a globally significant carbonate reservoir

Abstract. There has been growing interest in quantifying the capacity of seagrass ecosystems to act as carbon sinks as a natural way of offsetting anthropogenic carbon emissions to the atmosphere. However, most of the efforts have focused on the particulate organic carbon (POC) stocks and accumulation rates and ignored the particulate inorganic carbon (PIC) fraction, despite important carbonate pools associated with calcifying organisms inhabiting the meadows, such as epiphytes and benthic invertebrates, and despite the relevance that carbonate precipitation and dissolution processes have in the global carbon cycle. This study offers the first assessment of the global PIC stocks in seagrass sediments using a synthesis of published and unpublished data on sediment carbonate concentration from 403 vegetated and 34 adjacent un-vegetated sites. PIC stocks in the top 1 m of sediment ranged between 3 and 1660 Mg PIC ha−1, with an average of 654 ± 24 Mg PIC ha−1, exceeding those of POC reported in previous studies by about a factor of 5. Sedimentary carbonate stocks varied across seagrass communities, with meadows dominated by Halodule, Thalassia or Cymodocea supporting the highest PIC stocks, and tended to decrease polewards at a rate of −8 ± 2 Mg PIC ha−1 per degree of latitude (general linear model, GLM; p
Parameters Identification of Induction Motor Using the Slime Mould Algorithm

This research work focuses on estimating the parameters of an induction motor (IM) using recent algorithm: The slime mould algorithm (SMA). The SMA algorithm shows the stability of this algorithm to search large areas with a high accuracy. Compared to the particle swarm optimization (PSO), the simulation results indicate that the performance of SMA in terms of both accuracy and convergence speed makes it the algorithm of choice for estimating IM parameters.
A Randomized Control Study on Psycho-Education Group on Improving Health-Related Quality of Life of Chinese Persons with Major Neurocognitive Disorder

ABSTRACT Objectives: People with a major neurocognitive disorder (PwND) are found to have a lower health related quality of life (HRQoL) than those without neurocognitive disorder. This research study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a psycho-education group in improving the HRQoL of Chinese PwND. Methods: By adopting randomized control trial (RCT), Chinese PwND were randomly assigned to either a 10-session psycho-education group or the control group. Family caregivers of treatment group were encouraged to take part in two sessions focusing on the caring and communication skills. Control group and their family caregivers received standardized educational materials on basic information on neurocognitive disorder for them to read at home. Standardized assessment was conducted both with PwND and their caregivers independently to give the self-rated and caregiver-rated HRQoL of PwND in the pre- and post- treatment periods by a research assistant who was blind to the group assignment of the participants. Moreover, qualitative interviews were also conducted for ten participants and five family caregivers of the treatment group to identify those group elements relating to its effectiveness. Results: 2 × 2 repeated measures ANCOVA demonstrated that the treatment group (n = 32) was significantly more effective than the control group (n = 32) in improving the caregiver-rated HRQoL (F[1, 61] = 4.35, p = .04 < .05) with a moderate effect size, but not self-rated HRQoL, Qualitative analysis suggested several group elements relating to its effectiveness. Conclusions: This present RCT shows that the psycho-education group significantly improves caregiver-rated HRQoL of PwND, supporting the feasibility and effectiveness of the psycho-education group.
A comparison of peri-implant strain generated by different types of implant supported prostheses

Aims and Objective: To find out and compare peri implant strain developed in four different types of implant supported prostheses i.e., cement retained splinted, cement retained non splinted, screw retained splinted, screw retained non splinted. Methodology: Four implant analogues were placed in a polyurethane mandibular model at the position of left and right first and second molar. Abutments were fixed to the implant at a torque of 25Ncm.Two such models were made. Four different prostheses were placed on abutment of each model i.e screw retained splinted, screw retained nonsplinted, cement retained splinted, cement retained non splinted. Four strain gauges were attached on the model, two on the buccal and two on the lingual aspect of each implant. Static load of 400N was applied on the prosthesis using universal testing machine.Load application was done ten times for each model and peri implant strain was measured. Results: The mean peri implant strain (±SD) generated was found to be highest in non-splinted screw retained (1397.70 ± 44.47 microstrains and 1265.90 ± 42.76 microstrains) and least in splinted cement retained (630.70 ± 31.98 microstrains and 519.60 ± 32.48 microstrains) in both 1st and 2nd molars respectively. Conclusions: Splinted crowns produce less peri implant strain when compared to non splinted crowns. Cement retained prosthesis produce less peri implant strain when compared to screw retained prosthesis. Least strain was observed in cement retained splinted crowns.
Did the Job Ladder Fail after the Great Recession?

We study employment reallocation across employers through the lens ofa dynamic job ladder model. Workers always agree on a ranking ofemployers at all points in time and search for better jobs both offand on the job. A parsimonious version of the model fits well the timeseries of gross worker flows by employer size from newly available USdata from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. Focusing on the US experience in and around the Great Recession, our evidence indicates that the job ladder stopped working then and has not fully resumed yet.
Financing and Managing Public Services: An Assessment

Public services can be, and are, delivered according to a variety of different arrangements. The public sector can finance and provide a service itself, or contract with the private sector to participate in provision, or its role may be limited to regulating a private provider. In this paper we examine the features determining the effectiveness of public-service delivery, including incentives for employees and teams within organizations providing public services, the structure of the organization and the competitive framework that it faces, and the role of the private sector. We assess the reform programme in the UK, which has involved substantial reorganization of public services and increasing involvement of the private sector. Reforms focus on the improvement of incentives; but while incentives are critical, the special characteristics of public services (and the people who provide them) must be recognized in the implementation of new structures and incentive schemes.
Image forgery localization through the fusion of camera-based, feature-based and pixel-based techniques

We propose an image forgery localization technique which fuses the outputs of three complementary tools, based on sensor noise, machine-learning and block-matching, respectively. To apply the sensor noise tool, a preliminary camera identification phase was required, followed by estimation of the camera fingerprint, and then forgery detection and localization. The machine-learning is based on a suitable local descriptor, while block-matching relies on the PatchMatch algorithm. A decision fusion strategy is then implemented, based on suitable reliability indexes associated with the binary masks. The proposed technique ranked first in phase 2 of the first Image Forensics Challenge organized in 2013 by the IEEE Information Forensics and Security Technical Committee (IFS-TC).
Individualisation of speed thresholds does not enhance the dose-response determination in football training

ABSTRACT This study examined the utility of a range of approaches used to develop player-dependent speed zones in time-motion analysis (TMA), in determining the dose-response (internal load) of daily football training. Daily external (10 Hz GPS) and internal load (heart rate metrics, ratings of perceived exertion [RPE], wellness ratings) measures were tracked for 22 International women’s football players during a 21-day training camp. High-speed (HSR) and very high speed running (VHSR) were determined according to arbitrary speed thresholds, as well as using a range of different individualization approaches that included the velocities corresponding to the heart rate deflection point, maximal aerobic speed, YYIR1 performance, and maximal sprint speed (MSS). Within-player correlations between the TMA approaches versus internal load measures quantified the dose-response to training. Correlations between HSR and VHSR vs. RPE were large (r = 0.53–0.67), with the exception of VHSR for the MSS technique (moderate; r = 0.44). HSR was very-largely associated with heart rate indices (r = 0.72–0.78), again with the exception of MSS (large; r = 0.60–0.67). Using a range of different fitness characteristics to individualise speed thresholds did not enhance the dose-response determination to daily fluctuations in external load, and was worsened with MSS per se.
Population-specific gene expression responses to hybridization between farm and wild Atlantic salmon

Because of intrinsic differences in their genetic architectures, wild populations invaded by domesticated individuals could experience population‐specific consequences following introgression by genetic material of domesticated origin. Expression levels of 16 000 transcripts were quantified by microarrays in liver tissue from farm, wild, and farm‐wild backcross (i.e. F1 farm‐wild hybrid × wild; total n = 50) Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) raised under common environmental conditions. The wild populations and farm strain originated from three North American rivers in eastern Canada (Stewiacke, Tusket, and Saint John rivers, respectively). Analysis of variance revealed 177 transcripts with different expression levels among the five strains compared. Five times more of these transcripts were differentiated between farmed parents and Tusket backcrosses (n = 53) than between Stewiacke backcrosses and their farmed parents (n = 11). Altered biological processes in backcrosses also differed between populations both in number and in the type of processes impacted (metabolism vs immunity). Over‐dominant gene expression regulation in backcrosses varied considerably between populations (23% in Stewiacke vs 44% in Tusket). Hence, the consequences of introgression of farm genetic material on gene expression depended on population‐specific genetic architectures. These results support the need to evaluate impacts of farm‐wild genetic interactions at the population scale.
Glycemic index, glycemic load, and dietary fiber intake and incidence of type 2 diabetes in younger and middle-aged women.

BACKGROUND Increasing evidence suggests an important role of carbohydrate quality in the development of type 2 diabetes. OBJECTIVE Our objective was to prospectively examine the association between glycemic index, glycemic load, and dietary fiber and the risk of type 2 diabetes in a large cohort of young women. DESIGN In 1991, 91249 women completed a semiquantitative food-frequency questionnaire that assessed dietary intake. The women were followed for 8 y for the development of incident type 2 diabetes, and dietary information was updated in 1995. RESULTS We identified 741 incident cases of confirmed type 2 diabetes during 8 y (716 300 person-years) of follow-up. After adjustment for age, body mass index, family history of diabetes, and other potential confounders, glycemic index was significantly associated with an increased risk of diabetes (multivariate relative risks for quintiles 1-5, respectively: 1, 1.15, 1.07, 1.27, and 1.59; 95% CI: 1.21, 2.10; P for trend = 0.001). Conversely, cereal fiber intake was associated with a decreased risk of diabetes (multivariate relative risks for quintiles 1-5, respectively: 1, 0.85, 0.87, 0.82, and 0.64; 95% CI: 0.48, 0.86; P for trend = 0.004). Glycemic load was not significantly associated with risk in the overall cohort (multivariate relative risks for quintiles 1-5, respectively: 1, 1.31, 1.20, 1.14, and 1.33; 95% CI: 0.92, 1.91; P for trend = 0.21). CONCLUSIONS A diet high in rapidly absorbed carbohydrates and low in cereal fiber is associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes.
Postconditioning effects of argon or xenon on early graft function in a porcine model of kidney autotransplantation

Ischaemia–reperfusion injury is inevitable during renal transplantation and can lead to delayed graft function and primary non‐function. Preconditioning, reconditioning and postconditioning with argon and xenon protects against renal ischaemia–reperfusion injury in rodent models. The hypothesis that postconditioning with argon or xenon inhalation would improve graft function in a porcine renal autotransplant model was tested.