Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Child maltreatment polyvictimization: Rates and short-term effects on adjustment in a representative Hong Kong sample

Objective: This article examines the unique effects of multiple forms of victimization, namely child abuse and neglect (CAN) and exposure to parental intimate partner violence (IPV), on children's self-blame, feelings of being threatened, self-esteem, and ability to control anger. Method: The cross-sectional study recruited a population-based sample of 2,062 children aged 12–17 years in Hong Kong. Structured questionnaires were used to collect data from the children. The prevalence rate of the co-occurrence of exposure to IPV and CAN in the Chinese population, and the unique impacts of exposure to IPV and CAN on children were examined. Results: The results show that 13.1% of the children had experienced CAN, and 6.5% had witnessed parental IPV. Among those families characterized by IPV, 61.1% were involved in child abuse in the preceding year of the study. Participants who had experienced both CAN and exposure to parental IPV reported lower levels of self-esteem and higher rates of being aggressive and violent, and feeling threatened. These children also reported the highest levels of feeling that their well-being was threatened and of blaming themselves for parental violence and parental discipline. Conclusions: The findings reemphasize the important need for public policy on child and youth victimization that encourages social workers and Child Protective Services to screen for child polyvictimization in cases of suspected/reported child abuse. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)
CYSTM, a Novel Non-Secreted Cysteine-Rich Peptide Family, Involved in Environmental Stresses in Arabidopsis thaliana

The cysteine-rich transmembrane module (CYSTM) is comprised of a small molecular protein family that is found in a diversity of tail-anchored membrane proteins across eukaryotes. This protein family belongs to novel uncharacteristic non-secreted cysteine-rich peptides (NCRPs) according to their conserved domain and small molecular weight, and genome-wide analysis of this family has not yet been undertaken in plants. In this study, 13 CYSTM genes were identified and located on five chromosomes with diverse densities in Arabidopsis thaliana. The CYSTM proteins could be classified into four subgroups based on domain similarity and phylogenetic topology. Encouragingly, the CYSTM members were expressed in at least one of the tested tissues and dramatically responded to various abiotic stresses, indicating that they played vital roles in diverse developmental processes, especially in stress responses. CYSTM peptides displayed a complex subcellular localization, and most were detected at the plasma membrane and cytoplasm. Of particular interest, CYSTM members could dimerize with themselves or others through the C-terminal domain, and we built a protein-protein interaction map between CYSTM members in Arabidopsis for the first time. In addition, an analysis of CYSTM3 overexpression lines revealed negative regulation for this gene in salt stress responses. We demonstrate that the CYSTM family, as a novel and ubiquitous non-secreted cysteine-rich peptide family, plays a vital role in resistance to abiotic stress. Collectively, our comprehensive analysis of CYSTM members will facilitate future functional studies of the small peptides.
Chromophore concentration effect on holographic grating formation efficiency in novel azobenzene‐functionalized polymers

Optically active photochromic poly(amideimide)s containing azobenzene side groups in the repeating unit were prepared. The polymers were designed and synthesized specifically for this work in order to evaluate chromophore concentration effect on holographic grating recording. The poly(amideimide)s with mono- and bis-azobenzene moieties were obtained via direct high temperature polycondensation and compared with respect to their ability of diffraction grating formation due to the light-induced optical anisotropy effects. Holographic gratings were fabricated in polymer films upon exposure to an interference pattern of two polarized Ar+ laser beams at 514.5 nm wavelength. Different geometries of laser beams polarization were applied. It should be emphasized that although the azobenzene moieties are rigidly connected to the polymers backbone, some of polymers exhibited the unusually high light diffraction efficiency of around 40%. The created surface relief gratings (SRGs) were successfully observed using the atomic force microscopy (AFM). AFM images show regularly defined and aligned grating structures. It should be stressed that the SRGs with maximum of relief height up to 260 nm in polyimide derivatives with side azobenzene group were observed for the first time. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2008. © 2008 Society of Plastics Engineers
Finite-Time and Fixed-Time Cluster Synchronization With or Without Pinning Control

In this paper, the finite-time and fixed-time cluster synchronization problem for complex networks with or without pinning control are discussed. Finite-time (or fixed-time) synchronization has been a hot topic in recent years, which means that the network can achieve synchronization in finite-time, and the settling time depends on the initial values for finite-time synchronization (or the settling time is bounded by a constant for any initial values for fixed-time synchronization). To realize the finite-time and fixed-time cluster synchronization, some simple distributed protocols with or without pinning control are designed and the effectiveness is rigorously proved. Several sufficient criteria are also obtained to clarify the effects of coupling terms for finite-time and fixed-time cluster synchronization. Especially, when the cluster number is one, the cluster synchronization becomes the complete synchronization problem; when the network has only one node, the coupling term between nodes will disappear, and the synchronization problem becomes the simplest master–slave case, which also includes the stability problem for nonlinear systems like neural networks. All these cases are also discussed. Finally, numerical simulations are presented to demonstrate the correctness of obtained theoretical results.
Treatment of facial telangiectasia with narrow-band intense pulsed light in Chinese patients

ABSTRACT Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of narrow-band intense pulsed light (DPL) in treating facial telangiectasia. Method: Thirty patients with facial telangiectasia underwent five sessions of treatment with DPL (500 nm～600 nm) at 4-week interval. The erythema index (EI), temperature, transepidermal water loss (TEWL), and lightness of the skin (L) were measured before each treatment session and at each follow-up. Result: Thirty cases completed treatment and follow-ups. Twenty-seven cases (90%) got more than 50% clearance post-treatment and among them eight cases (27%) got more than 75% clearance. The average of the mean EI value decreased with the number of treatment sessions; the EI observed after two treatment sessions was significantly different from that observed before treatment (P = 0.012, P < 0.05). The decrease in skin temperature and TEWL values post-treatment was statistically significant (P = 0.000, P = 0.027, P < 0.05), while the L value increased significantly (P = 0.025, P < 0.05). Thirty percent cases had reccurence at 6-month follow-up. While burning sensation, erythema, and swelling were usually seen during the treatment, no severe side effects were observed during treatment and follow-ups. Conclusion: Narrow-band intense pulsed light DPL is effective and safe in treating facial telangiectasia.
Recruitment and Comfort of BION Implanted Electrical Stimulation: Implications for FES Applications

Restoration of motor function to paralyzed limbs by functional electrical stimulation (FES) has been hampered by the lack of precise and gradual control over muscle recruitment. A suitable interface should provide selective stimulation of individual muscles with graded recruitment of force. The BION was developed to enable neuromuscular stimulation through a miniature, self-contained implant designed to be injected in or near muscles and peripheral nerves. In this study, recruitment properties and comfort of the BION implanted electrical stimulation were systematically evaluated in subjects who participated in a clinical trial. Recruitment properties were qualitatively similar to other methods of implanted neuromuscular stimulation: thresholds and steepness of recruitment were negatively correlated and depended on stimulus charge (product of pulse current and duration). Perceived comfort was not affected by the choice of stimulus parameters, thus their choice can be based purely on technical considerations such as efficiency or resolution of recruitment.
Position of the egocenter in the perception of peri-personal space using haptics

Spatial representations of peri-personal space formed from haptics are known to show non-veridical characteristics, which have been suggested to be the result of the egocentric reference frame. The current study investigated the position of the egocenter when perceiving space through haptics in order to understand how positions in space are encoded and whether there are positions in space that are easily perceived with arm movements. Understanding of human characteristics in the perception of space using haptics will shed light into user friendly designs of interfaces which are manipulated using the hands.
Preschool Daily Patterns of Physical Activity Driven by Location and Social Context.

BACKGROUND Preschool children are recommended to spend at least 15 minutes/hour (25% time) in light-to-vigorous physical activity (total physical activity, TPA). Preschool provider practices, such as whether children are put in small group or whole-group activities, are likely to affect children's TPA levels during preschool. The current study characterized the pattern of physical activity across the preschool day, and examined the relationship of location and social arrangement to TPA. METHODS Fifteen days from 8 preschool classrooms in 2 preschool centers were video-recorded, and children (N = 73, age = 3-6 years, M = 4.36 ± 0.85, Boys = 47%) wore accelerometers for the duration of the preschool day. We observed contextual variables of time (ie, morning or afternoon), location (ie, indoor or outdoor), and for a subsample, social arrangement (ie, activity centers, small group, whole group). RESULTS Across the whole day, children spent 69.5 ± 12.4% time sedentary/inactive and 30.5 ± 13.5% time in TPA. Children spent a significantly greater percentage of time in TPA outdoors, compared to indoors (t = 10.00, p < .001), and while in small groups compared to whole groups (t = 3.35, p = .009). CONCLUSION Children spent approximately 30% of the preschool day in TPA. Providing more time outdoors and restructuring preschool activities from whole group to small group could increase the amount of TPA that children accumulate during preschool.
The clinical characteristics of Kleine–Levin syndrome according to ethnicity and geographic location

ABSTRACT Purpose: Kleine–Levin syndrome (KLS) is a rare, relapsing-remitting, debilitating sleep disorder. Examining KLS characteristics in different ethnic populations may help elucidate the genetic basis of the disorder. No studies have examined KLS in Arabs. Therefore, we compared the clinical characteristics of Saudi Arabian KLS patients to those in other published cohorts to determine whether Arab patients have a distinct phenotype. Methods: This study included all patients who were diagnosed with KLS at our center between June 2003 and July 2016 (P = 12; Six familial cases). All participants completed the Stanford KLS questionnaire. Anxiety and depression were assessed using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale; eating attitudes were assessed with the Eating Attitudes Test-26. We compared the clinical characteristics of our patients to those in other published cohorts. Results: Saudi Arabian patients with KLS had similar features to those in patients from different countries and ethnic backgrounds, with only minor differences in sleep duration during disease episodes (2–3 h shorter). However, between episodes, Saudi Arabian KLS patients reported worse sleep, greater daytime sleepiness and higher levels of baseline depression, which may be related to KLS or to local cultural practices. Ankylosing spondylitis was present in five of the six familial patients. Conclusion: Saudi Arabian patients with KLS exhibited similar clinical characteristics during episodes compared to patients with KLS of different ethnicities. However, a new and interesting finding is that KLS patients may have inter-episode behavioral and pathophysiological changes, which may suggest that KLS is not necessarily a static disorder.
Verapamil Targets Membrane Energetics in Mycobacterium tuberculosis

ABSTRACT Mycobacterium tuberculosis kills more people than any other bacterial pathogen and is becoming increasingly untreatable due to the emergence of resistance. Verapamil, an FDA-approved calcium channel blocker, potentiates the effect of several antituberculosis (anti-TB) drugs in vitro and in vivo. This potentiation is widely attributed to inhibition of the efflux pumps of M. tuberculosis, resulting in intrabacterial drug accumulation. Here, we confirmed and quantified verapamil's synergy with several anti-TB drugs, including bedaquiline (BDQ) and clofazimine (CFZ), but found that the effect is not due to increased intrabacterial drug accumulation. We show that, consistent with its in vitro potentiating effects on anti-TB drugs that target or require oxidative phosphorylation, the cationic amphiphile verapamil disrupts membrane function and induces a membrane stress response similar to those seen with other membrane-active agents. We recapitulated these activities in vitro using inverted mycobacterial membrane vesicles, indicating a direct effect of verapamil on membrane energetics. We observed bactericidal activity against nonreplicating “persister” M. tuberculosis that was consistent with such a mechanism of action. In addition, we demonstrated a pharmacokinetic interaction whereby human-equivalent doses of verapamil caused a boost of rifampin exposure in mice, providing a potential explanation for the observed treatment-shortening effect of verapamil in mice receiving first-line drugs. Our findings thus elucidate the mechanistic basis for verapamil's potentiation of anti-TB drugs in vitro and in vivo and highlight a previously unrecognized role for the membrane of M. tuberculosis as a pharmacologic target.
Application of an acellular dermal matrix to a rabbit model of oral mucosal defects

Acellular dermal matrices (ADMs) are increasingly used for the restoration of soft-tissue defects of the oral cavity due to their ability to facilitate faster healing and reduce scar formation without rejection. However, few studies have focused on the histopathology and biological mechanisms involved in their use. The aim of the present study was to observe tissue growth, histopathologic changes and altered biomolecular signatures that occur during the repair of oral defects in rabbit models over time, either with or without the employment of ADM. Animals were sacrificed 1, 2 and 4 weeks following surgery and histological changes were evaluated using hematoxylin and eosin staining. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and western blot analysis were used to determine changes in the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1). It was demonstrated that wounds treated with ADM exhibited a weak inflammatory reaction and faster epithelialization and revascularization compared with untreated wounds. This may have been caused by the elevated levels of VEGF and GLUT1 protein detected in the ADM-treated defects. Thus, treating wounds of the oral mucosa with an ADM improves pathological responses compared with those with an untreated wound. The current study demonstrates the underlying mechanisms by which ADM promotes wound healing in defects of the oral mucosa and the results provide further evidence for the use of ADM in clinical settings for the repair of mucosal defects.
Depressive Symptoms and Suicidal Ideation among Irish Undergraduate College Students

ABSTRACT This study examined the prevalence of depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation among 220 first year undergraduate university students in Ireland. Data were collected using the Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale and the Suicidal Behaviours Questionnaire. Findings indicated that 59% of participants experienced depressive symptoms and 28.5% had suicidal ideation. Financial stress and poor relationships with both parents, increased the odds of experiencing depressive symptoms. Sexual orientation, financial stress, and poor relationships with fathers, increased the odds of experiencing suicidal ideation. Suicidal ideation was also higher in those who had sought help in the past from mental health professionals. Nurses need to be aware of the factors associated with mental ill-health in this population.
Reliability and degradation of semiconductor lasers and LEDs

Basics of semiconductor LEDs and lasers reliability in LEDs and lasers basic degradation mechanisms and enhancement factors reliability and degradation of AIGaAs/GaAs light sources reliability and degradation of InGaAs/InP surface emitting type LEDs reliability and degradation of InGaAsP/InP laser diodes degradation of MBE- and MOVPE-grown lasers degradation of bonds and heat sinks degradation modes and lifetime of semiconductor LEDs and lasers.
Impact of CSI Uncertainty on MCIK-OFDM: Tight Closed-Form Symbol Error Probability Analysis

This paper proposes a novel framework to analyze the symbol error probability (SEP) for multicarrier index keying orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (MCIK-OFDM) systems. Considering two different types of detections such as the maximum likelihood (ML) and low-complexity greedy detectors (GD), we derive tight closed-form expressions for the average SEPs of MCIK-OFDM in the presence of channel state information (CSI) uncertainty. We undertake an asymptotic performance analysis with respect to three CSI conditions, which ensures to provide a comprehensive insight into the achievable diversity and coding gains as well as the impact of various CSI uncertainties on the SEP performance. The SEP performance comparison between the ML and GD is obtained under different CSI uncertainties. This interestingly reveals that the GD can achieve nearly optimal error performance as the $M$ -ary modulation size is large or even outperforms the ML under certain CSI conditions. Finally, the theoretical and asymptotic analysis are verified via simulation results, obtaining the high accuracy of the derived SEP.
Burnout in U.S. Military Orthopaedic Residents and Staff Physicians.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to measure the prevalence of burnout among military orthopaedic residents and staff surgeons at the U.S. Army Medical Center. METHODS 37 residents and 21 staff surgeons of a military orthopaedic residency program were asked to voluntarily complete an anonymous electronic survey. The survey consisted of two parts: first, a demographic section including questions about relationship status, work hours, deployment history, medical education debt, mentorship, and job satisfaction and second, the Maslach Burnout Inventory. RESULTS 27 residents and 11 staff completed the survey for a 67% response rate. The rate of burnout among military orthopaedic surgeons in our study was 7.7% (3.7% of residents and 16.7% of staff surgeons). In addition, 25.6% of surgeons (33% of residents and 8.3% of staff) were found to be at risk of burnout. CONCLUSIONS Future studies should focus on causal relationships among specific aspects of the work environment and possible preventive or protective measures. Expanding future studies to include multiple study sites would improve the quality and generalizability of the results.
A 58.9-dB ACR, 85.5-dB SBA, 5–26-MHz Configurable-Bandwidth, Charge-Domain Filter in 65-nm CMOS

A configurable-bandwidth charge-domain filter (CDF) with bandwidth calibration and clock-pulse modulation (CPM) is proposed. The bandwidth calibration scheme controls the insertion loss at a pre-specified frequency by modulating the feedback gain and delay; this helps the CDF to suppress the sinc distortion and thus achieve near-ideal brick-wall filtering. For multi-frequency compensation, a multi-stage CDF architecture is utilized to organize the feedback delay. Together with non-decimation filtering, the noise folding effect as well as the chip area can be reduced. On the other hand, to provide a stable gain under variable channel bandwidth, a CPM scheme is proposed; it adjusts the clock period with a fixed pulse width by zero-insertion. Implemented in a 65-nm CMOS technology, the proposed CDF achieves 58.9-dB adjacent-channel rejection (ACR), 85.5-dB stop-band attenuation (SBA), 41-dB conversion gain, and 19.5-MHz channel bandwidth at 320-MS/s input-sampling rate. Furthermore, for input-sampling rates range from 300 to 480 MS/s, the channel bandwidth can be configured from 5 to 26 MHz. At 1.2-V supply, the chip consumes 8.4-mW power and occupies 0.52-mm2 area.
Refinement of a Conceptual Model for Adolescent Readiness to Engage in End-of-Life Discussions

Background: Adolescents living with incurable cancer require ongoing support to process grief, emotions, and information as disease progresses including treatment options (phase 1 clinical trials and/or hospice/palliative care). Little is known about how adolescents become ready for such discussions. Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore the process of adolescent readiness for end-of-life preparedness discussions, generating a theoretical understanding for guiding clinical conversations when curative options are limited. Methods: We explored 2 in-depth cases across time using case-study methodology. An à priori conceptual model based on current end-of-life research guided data collection and analysis. Multiple sources including in-depth adolescent interviews generated data collection on model constructs. Analysis followed a logical sequence establishing a chain of evidence linking raw data to study conclusions. Synthesis and data triangulation across cases and time led to theoretical generalizations. Initially, we proposed a linear process of readiness with 3 domains: a cognitive domain (awareness), an emotional domain (acceptance), and a behavioral domain (willingness), which preceded preparedness. Results: Findings led to conceptual model refinement showing readiness is a dynamic internal process that interacts with preparedness. Current awareness context facilitates the type of preparedness discussions (cognitive or emotional). Furthermore, social constraint inhibits discussions. Conclusions: Data support theoretical understanding of the dynamism of readiness. Future research that validates adolescent conceptualization will ensure age-appropriate readiness representation. Implications for Practice: Understanding the dynamic process of readiness for engaging in end-of-life preparedness provides clinician insight for guiding discussions that facilitate shared decision making and promote quality of life for adolescents and their families.