Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
We Have Never Been Modern

What makes us modern? This is a classic question in philosophy as well as in political science. However it is often raised without including science and technology in its definition. The argument of this book is that we are modern as long as we split our political process in two - between politics proper, and science and technology. This division allows the formidable expansion of the Western empires. However it has become more and more difficult to maintain this distance between science and politics. Hence the postmodern predicament - the feeling that the modern stance is no longer acceptable but that there is no alternative. The solution, advances one of France's leading sociologists of science, is to realize that we have never been modern to begin with. The comparative anthropology this text provides reintroduces science to the fabric of daily life and aims to make us compatible both with our past and with other cultures wrongly called pre-modern.
Experiences of Childhood Sexual Abuse among Visually Impaired Adults in Norway: Prevalence and Characteristics

This study compared the prevalence of childhood sexual abuse among visually impaired children and sighted children in Norway. Visually impaired women and men aged 18–65 who lost their sight before age 18 reported sexual abuse with contact before age 18 more often than did the sighted group, and the abuse of the visually impaired children was more severe. Implications for parents and teachers are presented, and the need for adapted sexual education is stressed.
COMPARING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF “INDIVIDUAL-LOSS” AND “FAMILY-LOSS” MESSAGES IN PROMOTING MAMMOGRAPHY

Xiaokun Qian: Comparing the effectiveness of " individual-loss " and " family-loss " messages in promoting mammography (Under the direction of Brian Southwell) The study compared the effectiveness of two loss-framed messages, namely, graphics and text therein with individual-loss or family-loss theme, in increasing women's intention to take and talk about mammogram, and level of negative emotions such as sadness. Moderating effect of number of children living in the family, age of the youngest child, and women's marital status was also assessed. Two hundred females were randomly assigned to view either the individual-loss or family-loss message and completed a questionnaire assessing the aforementioned outcomes. After controlling for confounders, multiple regression revealed no significant difference in intention to take or talk about mammogram between the two groups. However, family-loss message induced significantly more sadness compared to the individual-loss message. Multiple regression with interaction indicated that number of children living in the family is a moderator for group effect on intention to talk about mammogram. These results may guide future design of mammogram promotion materials. iv To my beloved mother who passed away from cancer at the age of 56.
Ultrastructural analysis of pancreatic acinar cells from mice fed on genetically modified soybean

No direct evidence that genetically modified (GM) food may represent a possible danger for health has been reported so far; however, the scientific literature in this field is quite poor. Therefore, we investigated the possible effects of a diet containing GM soybean on mouse exocrine pancreas by means of ultrastructural, morphometrical and immunocytochemical analyses. Our observations demonstrate that, although no structural modification occurs in pancreatic acinar cells of mice fed on GM soybean, quantitative changes of some cellular constituents take place in comparison to control animals. In particular, a diet containing significant amount of GM food seems to influence the zymogen synthesis and processing.
Investigating Information Dynamics in Living Systems through the Structure and Function of Enzymes

Enzymes are proteins that accelerate intracellular chemical reactions often by factors of 105−1012s−1. We propose the structure and function of enzymes represent the thermodynamic expression of heritable information encoded in DNA with post-translational modifications that reflect intra- and extra-cellular environmental inputs. The 3 dimensional shape of the protein, determined by the genetically-specified amino acid sequence and post translational modifications, permits geometric interactions with substrate molecules traditionally described by the key-lock best fit model. Here we apply Kullback-Leibler (K-L) divergence as metric of this geometric “fit” and the information content of the interactions. When the K-L ‘distance’ between interspersed substrate pn and enzyme rn positions is minimized, the information state, reaction probability, and reaction rate are maximized. The latter obeys the Arrhenius equation, which we show can be derived from the geometrical principle of minimum K-L distance. The derivation is first limited to optimum substrate positions for fixed sets of enzyme positions. However, maximally improving the key/lock fit, called ‘induced fit,’ requires both sets of positions to be varied optimally. We demonstrate this permits and is maximally efficient if the key and lock particles pn, rn are quantum entangled because the level of entanglement obeys the same minimized value of the Kullback-Leibler distance that occurs when all pn ≈ rn. This implies interchanges pn ⇄ brn randomly taking place during a reaction successively improves key/lock fits, reducing the activation energy Ea and increasing the reaction rate k. Our results demonstrate the summation of heritable and environmental information that determines the enzyme spatial configuration, by decreasing the K-L divergence, is converted to thermodynamic work by reducing Ea and increasing k of intracellular reactions. Macroscopically, enzyme information increases the order in living systems, similar to the Maxwell demon gedanken, by selectively accelerating specific reaction thus generating both spatial and temporal concentration gradients.
Effect of Rosiglitazone Treatment on Nontraditional Markers of Cardiovascular Disease in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Background—Markers of systemic inflammation (eg, C-reactive protein [CRP] and interleukin-6 [IL-6]) have been proposed to be “nontraditional” risk factors for cardiovascular disease in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of atherosclerotic plaque rupture, which raises the possibility of the use of MMP-9 levels as a marker for future myocardial infarction or unstable angina. In vitro and animal studies suggest that thiazolidinediones can reduce the expression of these markers. The purpose of this analysis was to determine whether rosiglitazone alters serum concentrations of CRP, IL-6, MMP-9, and white blood cell count (WBC) and to examine the relationship of these effects with demographic and disease variables. Methods and Results—CRP, IL-6, MMP-9, and WBC were analyzed from stored frozen serum samples obtained from patients with type 2 diabetes who completed a 26-week randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. After 26 weeks of rosiglitazone treatment, the percentage reductions in mean CRP, MMP-9, and WBC levels were statistically significant compared with baseline and placebo (P <0.01). The percentage reduction in mean IL-6 was small and similar in the rosiglitazone and placebo groups. The change in each inflammatory marker from baseline to week 26 was significantly correlated (P <0.05) with each of the other markers, as well as with the homeostasis model assessment estimate of insulin resistance. Conclusions—Rosiglitazone reduces serum levels of MMP-9 and the proinflammatory marker CRP in patients with type 2 diabetes, which indicates potentially beneficial effects on overall cardiovascular risk.
The Logic of Appropriateness

The logic of appropriateness is a perspective that sees human action as driven by rules of appropriate or exemplary behavior, organized into institutions. Rules are followed because they are seen as natural, rightful, expected, and legitimate. Actors seek to fulfill the obligations encapsulated in a role, an identity, a membership in a political community or group, and the ethos, practices and expectations of its institutions. Embedded in a social collectivity, they do what they see as appropriate for themselves in a specific type of situation. The paper is divided into five parts. First, we sketch the basic ideas of rule-based action. Second, we describe some characteristics of contemporary democratic settings. Third, we attend to the relations between rules and action, the elements of slippage in executing rules. Fourth, we examine the dynamics of rules and standards of appropriateness. And, fifth, we discuss a possible reconciliation of different logics of action, as part of a future research agenda for students of democratic politics and policy making.
Characterization of enhanced low dose rate sensitivity (ELDRS) effects using Gated Lateral PNP transistor structures

The high and low dose rate responses of bipolar transistors in a bipolar linear circuit process technology have been studied with specially designed gated lateral pnp test transistors that allow for the extraction of the oxide trapped charge (N/sub ot/) and interface trap (N/sub it/) densities. The buildup of N/sub ot/ and N/sub it/ with total dose is investigated as a function of the irradiation gate voltage at 39 rad/s and 20 mrad/s for three variations of the final passivation layer (all variations had the same oxide covering the active region of the devices). The three variations in final passivation were selected to exhibit minimal degradation at high and low dose rate (no passivation), significant degradation at high and low dose rate (p-glass/nitride) and enhanced low dose rate sensitivity (ELDRS) (p-glass only). It is shown that the increase in base current is dominated by increased N/sub it/ and the "true" low dose rate enhancement in the ELDRS parts occurs for zero and negative gate voltage, but is eliminated for large positive gate voltage and elevated temperature irradiation. Implications for ELDRS models are discussed.
Characterization of Mutations, Including a Novel Regulatory Defect in the First Intron, in Bruton’s Tyrosine Kinase Gene from Seven Korean X-Linked Agammaglobulinemia Families1

In this report, we describe seven mutations, including a novel single base pair substitution in intron 1, of the Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (Btk) gene found in 12 Korean patients with X-linked agammaglobulinemia. Various mutations, including three novel genetic alterations, were discovered using single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis and direct DNA sequencing. The effect of the intron 1 point mutation (intron 1 +5G→A) was further evaluated using reporter constructs. Using luciferase assay experiments, we showed that the transcriptional activity of the mutant was significantly lower than in normal counterparts, indicating that the intronic mutation was functional. In addition, DNase I footprinting analysis showed that a single protected region spanning the position +3 to +15 bp hybridized with a mutant-specific probe, but not with a wild-type probe. EMSA indicated that a distinct nuclear protein has the ability to bind the mutant oligonucleotides to produce a new DNA-protein complex. We also observed decreased expression of Btk proteins in monocytes of patients having the point mutation in intron 1. Taken together with the functional analysis, our results strongly suggest the existence of a novel cis-acting element, which might be involved in the down-regulation of Btk gene transcription. Precise definition of the regulatory defect in the Btk intron 1 may provide valuable clues toward elucidating the pathogenesis of X-linked agammaglobulinemia.
Two-axis control of a singlet–triplet qubit with an integrated micromagnet

Significance Qubits, the quantum-mechanical analog of classical bits, are the fundamental building blocks of quantum computers, which have the potential to solve some problems that are intractable using classical computation. This paper reports the fabrication and operation of a qubit in a double-quantum dot in a silicon/silicon–germanium (Si/SiGe) heterostructure in which the qubit states are singlet and triplet states of two electrons. The significant advance over previous work is that a proximal micromagnet is used to create a large local magnetic field difference between the two sides of the quantum dot, which increases the manipulability significantly without introducing measurable noise. The qubit is the fundamental building block of a quantum computer. We fabricate a qubit in a silicon double-quantum dot with an integrated micromagnet in which the qubit basis states are the singlet state and the spin-zero triplet state of two electrons. Because of the micromagnet, the magnetic field difference ΔB between the two sides of the double dot is large enough to enable the achievement of coherent rotation of the qubit’s Bloch vector around two different axes of the Bloch sphere. By measuring the decay of the quantum oscillations, the inhomogeneous spin coherence time T2* is determined. By measuring T2* at many different values of the exchange coupling J and at two different values of ΔB, we provide evidence that the micromagnet does not limit decoherence, with the dominant limits on T2* arising from charge noise and from coupling to nuclear spins.
Amplitude-modulated stimuli reveal auditory-visual interactions in brain activity and brain connectivity

The temporal congruence between auditory and visual signals coming from the same source can be a powerful means by which the brain integrates information from different senses. To investigate how the brain uses temporal information to integrate auditory and visual information from continuous yet unfamiliar stimuli, we used amplitude-modulated tones and size-modulated shapes with which we could manipulate the temporal congruence between the sensory signals. These signals were independently modulated at a slow or a fast rate. Participants were presented with auditory-only, visual-only, or auditory-visual (AV) trials in the fMRI scanner. On AV trials, the auditory and visual signal could have the same (AV congruent) or different modulation rates (AV incongruent). Using psychophysiological interaction analyses, we found that auditory regions showed increased functional connectivity predominantly with frontal regions for AV incongruent relative to AV congruent stimuli. We further found that superior temporal regions, shown previously to integrate auditory and visual signals, showed increased connectivity with frontal and parietal regions for the same contrast. Our findings provide evidence that both activity in a network of brain regions and their connectivity are important for AV integration, and help to bridge the gap between transient and familiar AV stimuli used in previous studies.
Functional Avidity: A Measure to Predict the Efficacy of Effector T Cells?

The functional avidity is determined by exposing T-cell populations in vitro to different amounts of cognate antigen. T-cells with high functional avidity respond to low antigen doses. This in vitro measure is thought to correlate well with the in vivo effector capacity of T-cells. We here present the multifaceted factors determining and influencing the functional avidity of T-cells. We outline how changes in the functional avidity can occur over the course of an infection. This process, known as avidity maturation, can occur despite the fact that T-cells express a fixed TCR. Furthermore, examples are provided illustrating the importance of generating T-cell populations that exhibit a high functional avidity when responding to an infection or tumors. Furthermore, we discuss whether criteria based on which we evaluate an effective T-cell response to acute infections can also be applied to chronic infections such as HIV. Finally, we also focus on observations that high-avidity T-cells show higher signs of exhaustion and facilitate the emergence of virus escape variants. The review summarizes our current understanding of how this may occur as well as how T-cells of different functional avidity contribute to antiviral and anti-tumor immunity. Enhancing our knowledge in this field is relevant for tumor immunotherapy and vaccines design.
Cybercrime victimization among young people: a multi-nation study

This study examines cybercrime victimization, what some of the common characteristics of such crimes are and some of the general predictors of cybercrime victimization among teenagers and young adults. A combined four-country sample (Finland, US, Germany and UK; n = 3,506) is constructed from participants aged between 15 and 30 years old. According to the findings, online crime victimization is relatively uncommon (aggregate 6.5% of participants were victims). Slander and threat of violence were the most common forms of victimization and sexual harassment the least common. Male gender, younger age, immigrant background, urban residence, not living with parents, unemployment and less active offline social life were significant predictors for cybercrime victimization.
Substance Use Trajectories From Early Adolescence Through the Transition to College.

OBJECTIVE The transition to college is an important developmental period for the development of alcohol, marijuana, and hard drug (cocaine, opiates, inhalants, stimulants, hallucinogens, Ecstasy, club drugs) use. The current study explored specific changes in substance use patterns during and after the transition to college through the use of trajectory analyses. METHOD Participants were 526 students who reported retrospectively and prospectively on their substance use from age 13 through the junior year of college. Group-based trajectory modeling was used to estimate developmental trajectory groups for alcohol, marijuana, and hard drug use during this period. RESULTS Results supported a five-group model of alcohol use, a four-group model of marijuana use, and a four-group model of hard drug use. Although three of the five alcohol trajectories indicated high escalation throughout adolescence, one of these groups decreased in alcohol use dramatically during the freshman and sophomore years, a trend also found for hard drug use. Trajectories demonstrated significant differences in terms of gender, race, and impulsive personality characteristics. CONCLUSIONS These results indicate that the start of college is an important developmental transition in terms of polysubstance use, and that despite the homogeneity of this undergraduate sample, there is considerable divergence in trajectories during college.
Mechanisms of Chronic State of Inflammation as Mediators That Link Obese Adipose Tissue and Metabolic Syndrome

The metabolic syndrome is a cluster of cardiometabolic alterations that include the presence of arterial hypertension, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, and abdominal obesity. Obesity is associated with a chronic inflammatory response, characterized by abnormal adipokine production, and the activation of proinflammatory signalling pathways resulting in the induction of several biological markers of inflammation. Macrophage and lymphocyte infiltration in adipose tissue may contribute to the pathogenesis of obesity-mediated metabolic disorders. Adiponectin can either act directly on macrophages to shift polarization and/or prime human monocytes into alternative M2-macrophages with anti-inflammatory properties. Meanwhile, the chronic inflammation in adipose tissue is regulated by a series of transcription factors, mainly PPARs and C/EBPs, that in conjunction regulate the expression of hundreds of proteins that participate in the metabolism and storage of lipids and, as such, the secretion by adipocytes. Therefore, the management of the metabolic syndrome requires the development of new therapeutic strategies aimed to alter the main genetic pathways involved in the regulation of adipose tissue metabolism.
Altered Local Spontaneous Brain Activity in Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy: A Preliminary Resting-State fMRI Study

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the regional synchronization of brain in patients with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME). Methods. Resting-state fMRI data were acquired from twenty-one patients with JME and twenty-two healthy subjects. Regional homogeneity (ReHo) was used to analyze the spontaneous activity in whole brain. Two-sample t-test was performed to detect the ReHo difference between two groups. Correlations between the ReHo values and features of seizures were calculated further. Key Findings. Compared with healthy controls, patients showed significantly increased ReHo in bilateral thalami and motor-related cortex regions and a substantial reduction of ReHo in cerebellum and occipitoparietal lobe. In addition, greater ReHo value in the left paracentral lobule was linked to the older age of onset in patients. Significance. These findings implicated the abnormality of thalamomotor cortical network in JME which were associated with the genesis and propagation of epileptiform activity. Moreover, our study supported that the local brain spontaneous activity is a potential tool to investigate the epileptic activity and provided important insights into understanding the pathophysiological mechanisms of JME.
Cerebral Perfusion and Blood Pressure Do Not Affect Perihematoma Edema Growth in Acute Intracerebral Hemorrhage

Background and Purpose— The pathogenesis of perihematoma edema in intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is unknown but has been hypothesized to be ischemic. In the ICH Acutely Decreasing Arterial Pressure Trial (ICH ADAPT), perihematoma cerebral blood flow (CBF) was reduced but was unaffected by blood pressure (BP) reduction. Using ICH ADAPT data, we tested the hypotheses that edema growth is associated with reduced CBF and lower systolic BP. Methods— Noncontrast computed tomographic scans in patients with ICH were obtained at baseline, 2 hours, and 24 hours after randomization to target systolic BPs of <150 or <180 mm Hg. Computed tomography perfusion imaging was performed at 2 hours, and mean relative CBF was calculated in visibly edematous perihematoma tissue. Edema volumes were measured using a Hounsfield unit threshold of 5 to 23 at each time-point. Results— Patients were randomized at a median (interquartile range) of 7.4 (12.8) hours after onset. Treatment groups (n=34, <150 and n=33, <180 target) were balanced with respect to baseline systolic BP and acute ICH volume. Relative edema growth at 24 hours in the <150 group (0.11±0.19) was similar to that in the <180 group (0.09±0.16 mL; P=0.727). Absolute CBF was lower in the edematous region (35.67±13.1 mL/100 g per minute) when compared with that in the contralateral tissue (43.7±11.7 mL/100 g per minute; P<0.0001). Linear regression indicated that neither systolic BP change (&bgr;=–0.022; 95% confidence interval, –0.002 to 0.001) nor perihematoma relative CBF (&bgr;=–0.144; 95% confidence interval, –0.647 to 0.167) predicted edema growth. Conclusions— Lower perihematoma CBF and BP treatment do not exacerbate edema growth. These data do not support a cytotoxic edema pathogenesis. Clinical Trial Registration— URL: http://www.clinicaltrials. gov. Unique identifier: NCT00963976.