Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The association between benzo[a]pyrene-DNA adducts and body mass index, calorie intake and physical activity

Abstract Prior work suggests that body size and fat content may influence carcinogen-DNA adduct levels measured in white blood cells. Here we consider energy balance more broadly by assessing the impact of body mass index (BMI), physical activity and calorie intake on the presence of benzo[a]pyrene-DNA (BP-DNA) adducts in white blood cell DNA. Our cross-sectional study employed subjects from a separately conducted intervention trial. Physical activity and food intake data were collected at 12 and 15 months of follow-up, respectively. BP-DNA adducts were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) in white blood cell samples collected at 12 months of follow-up. Complete data on all variables were available from 143 subjects. Logistic regression showed that BMI was inversely associated with the presence of detectable adducts (OR = 0.90, p=0.02), and that hours of moderate-intensity physical activity were positively associated with the presence of detectable adducts (OR = 1.04, p=0.04). These results provide further evidence that body fat content influences carcinogen-DNA adduct levels, probably by altering the distribution of the lipophilic parent compound.
Predictors of Fear of Criminal Victimization at School among Adolescents

Adolescent crime at school, as well as adolescent fear of crime at school, have increasingly become serious social problems. Although many studies have been conducted examining the predictors of fear of crime among adults in various settings, fear of criminal victimization among adolescents at school has been practically ignored. Using a representative sample of 742 high school students from a southeastern state, this study examined the predictors of adolescent fear of crime at school in an attempt to determine whether they are similar to predictors of adult fear of crime. Results indicate that, although the predictors of fear among adolescents are, in many cases, similar to those of adults, there are important differences. As expected, youths with lower levels of perceived safety at school and youths who perceive their neighborhoods as exhibiting signs of incivility were more likely to be fearful of criminal victimization at school. Interestingly, however, there were important differences between adolesc.
Preschoolers’ and adults’ scale translation and reconstruction of spatial information acquired from maps

This research investigated the ability of preschoolers (ages 4 and 5) and adults to memorize the configuration of objects depicted on simple maps and to reconstruct the configurations from memory, in a room. Successful performance required that subjects both mentally represent the spatial relations on the maps and coordinate the scale relation between the maps and the room. The task therefore provided information about children's representational skills and undertstanding and use of scale relations. The reconstructions of most subjects were systematically related to the specific configurations that were depicited on the maps; subjects demonstrated knowledge of the angular relations among objects in the configurations. However, children were significantly more likely than adults to commit scale errors, which involved systematically reconstructing a configuration at a size that was larger or smaller than the target configuration. Taken together, the results suggest that preschoolers' reconstructions can preserve important elements of the original configuration, but that knowledge and use of scale relations may develop later than the ability to represent the relations among a set of objects in a configuration.
Suggestions to Improve Social Work Journal Editorial and Peer-Review Processes: The San Antonio Response to the Miami Statement

Interest in and concern about scholarly communications through social work journals seem to have increased recently. One indicator of this concern was the publication of the Miami statement. A Society for Social Work and Research Presidential Task Force was created to continue work on these issues. This article discusses the work of one subcommittee of that task force. This subcommittee developed a set of suggestions pertaining to the processes of submitting social work manuscripts to journals and to the system of editorial review and processing. The authors view these suggestions as expanding on the Miami statement.
Impacts of Reclassified Brown Coal Reserves on the Energy System and Deep Decarbonisation Target in the Czech Republic

In 2015, a 24-year-long prohibition of coal mining within some territories in the North Bohemia coal basin was lifted and as a consequence mining a part of the brown coal reserves might well be resumed. This paper analyses the impacts of maintaining the ban versus three options for a less environmentally stringent policy on the Czech energy system; fuel- and technology-mix, the costs of generating energy, emissions and related external costs up to 2050. We find that overall the effect of lifting the ban, on coal usage, air pollutant emissions and hence externalities is rather small, up to 1–2% compared to the level of keeping the ban. The small difference in the impacts remains even if changes in the prices of fossil fuels and European Emission Allowances or different development in nuclear power usage are assumed. In fact, changing these assumptions will result in more pronounced differences in the impacts than the four policy options might deliver. Maintaining the ban would not achieve the European Energy Roadmap 2050 target and the newly adopted policy and the other two counter-environmental proposals would miss the 80% reduction target to an even greater degree. The environmental and external health costs attributable to emissions of local air pollutants stemming from power generation are in a range of €26–32 billion over the whole period and decline from about 0.5% of gross domestic product in 2015 to 0.1% in 2050.
The two faces of narcissism : Personality dynamics of body esteem

This study examines the influence of neuroticism and narcissism on body esteem, and whether the nature of these relationships differs between high-level exercising women (n = 84)-who tend to have heightened body focus-and a control group of non-exercising women (n = 81). Results indicated a significant interaction between neuroticism and narcissism on body esteem although the 3-way interaction with exercise was not significant. High narcissism is only associated with good body esteem when neuroticism levels are low. As neuroticism increases, body esteem decreases at every level of narcissism, but most steeply among highly narcissistic individuals. Out results demonstrate clearly the adaptive as well as the maladaptive sides of narcissism. On the one hand, narcissism can enhance psychological well-being; however, in the setting of an emotionally unstable personality, it appears to have the opposite effect.
Dopamine in socioecological and evolutionary perspectives: implications for psychiatric disorders

Dopamine (DA) transmission in brain areas such as the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and nucleus accumbens (NAcc) plays important roles in cognitive and affective function. As such, DA deficits have been implicated in a number of psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Accumulating evidence suggests that DA is also involved in social behavior of animals and humans. Although most animals organize and live in social groups, how the DA system functions in such social groups of animals, and its dysfunction causes compromises in the groups has remained less understood. Here we propose that alterations of DA signaling and associated genetic variants and behavioral phenotypes, which have been normally considered as “deficits” in investigation at an individual level, may not necessarily yield disadvantages, but even work advantageously, depending on social contexts in groups. This hypothesis could provide a novel insight into our understanding of the biological mechanisms of psychiatric disorders, and a potential explanation that disadvantageous phenotypes associated with DA deficits in psychiatric disorders have remained in humans through evolution.
Long-Term Follow-Up of Choroidal Neovascularization due to Angioid Streaks with pro re nata Intravitreal Anti-VEGF Treatment

Purpose: To evaluate the long-term outcomes of intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) drugs with a pro re nata (PRN) regimen for the treatment of choroidal neovascularization (CNV) secondary to angioid streaks (AS). Methods: This is a retrospective, multicenter, noncomparative case series of consecutive AS eyes affected by treatment-naïve CNV. A complete ophthalmologic examination was performed every 30-45 days after the loading phase, including fluorescein angiography and/or optical coherence tomography. Results: In all, 52 eyes of 39 patients were treated with intravitreal bevacizumab and/or ranibizumab and followed up for a mean of 33.8 months. The best corrected visual acuity at baseline was 20/40, and it deteriorated by an average of 6.8 ETDRS letters per year (p < 0.001). We performed an average of 5.1, 6.5, and 6.8 injections at the 1-, 2-, and 3-year follow-up, respectively. Conclusions: Intravitreal anti-VEGF drugs in a PRN regimen with close monitoring appear to slow the progression of CNV in AS, but they do not prevent the affected eyes from progressive visual loss.
Lesion of the Area Postrema Region Attenuates Hypertension in Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats

To determine whether the area postrema contributes to the development of hypertension in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), sham or electrolytic lesions of the area postrema (AP) were made in 4-week-old SHR and Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) controls. From weeks 5 through 16, systolic pressure was measured via tail plethysmography. While blood pressure rose markedly in sham-operated SHR, increases in pressure were small in AP-ablated SHR and similar to those seen in all WKY. Subsequent direct measurements of mean arterial pressure in the same rats showed a significant correlation (r=0.87, p<0.01) with the pressure data acquired via weekly tail-cuff measurement, thereby confirming that hypertension in AP-ablated SHR had indeed been attenuated. Analysis of several hundred computer-acquired measurements of mean arterial pressure from each rat showed that AP ablation shifted the distribution of mean arterial pressure to a lower range in SHR but not WKY. Ablation of the AP also decreased resting heart rate in SHR but not WKY. Suppression of heart rate in response to intravenous phenylephrine was equivalent in sham-operated and AP-ablated rats, suggesting that baroreflex-mediated slowing of heart rate was not impaired. In response to intravenous angiotensin II, suppression of heart rate was similar in sham and AP-ablated SHR, and actually was enhanced in AP-ablated WKY. Histological evaluation of the lesions indicated that visible damage to the adjacent nuclei of the solitary tracts was confined to a small portion of the commissurel nucleus. Although we cannot rule out the possibility of damage to the remaining nuclei of the solitary tracts, gross functional damage (which would be revealed by increased lability of arterial pressure and/or decreased baroreflex sensitivity) was undetectable in the baroreflex and lability data. We conclude that ablation of the area postrema region markedly attenuates the development of hypertension in the SHR model.
HOUSEHOLD USE OF SOLID FUELS 225 3 . Studies of Cancer in Experimental Animals

A series of animal and human studies of cancer were begun in China in the 1980s due to the generally high concentrations of air pollution from burning coal for fuel. Coal was widely used in China; in fact, in Xuan Wei County, Yunnan Province, mortality from lung cancer is among the highest in China and could not be accounted for by tobacco or occupational exposures. The emissions from smoky coal that were collected indoors in homes where it was used for cooking and heating without chimney ventilation contained a large proportion of submicron particles with a high concentration of PAHs. These studies evaluated the carcinogenicity of emissions from several types of coal (e.g. smoky coal and smokeless coal), wood smoke and, in several studies, particles from different cities in China were compared (e.g. Xuan Wei, Beijing and Tai Yuan) (Mumford et al., 1987).
Prostate biopsy and anaesthesia: An overview

Objective. To evaluate the efficacy of different methods for decreasing pain and discomfort in men undergoing transrectal ultrasound-guided prostate biopsies and to propose a clinical standard useful for pain relief. Material and methods. A MEDLINE search using the search terms “anaesthesia” and “prostate biopsy” was performed in November 2004. The search yielded 198 papers, 45 of which were found to relate to the subject and were in the English language. Results. Intravenously administered sedoanalgesia seems to be effective but is cumbersome to handle in everyday practice. In one study, i.v. tramadol has been shown to be effective, and the same goes for diclofenac 100 mg given as a suppository 1 h prior to the biopsy. Inhaled nitrous oxide (Entonox®) works well but is not widely available. A rectally administered gel containing local anaesthetic seems to have very limited efficacy. Periprostatic injection of a local anaesthetic was used in most studies, nearly all of which showed that it was effective in comparison with placebo or rectal gel. A minimum of 10 cm3 seems to be necessary for optimal effect. Conclusion. At the present time, perirectal injection of a local anaesthetic is the preferred method of pain relief in conjunction with transrectal prostate biopsies.
The semantic secrecy rate of the lattice Gaussian coding for the Gaussian wiretap channel

In this paper, we investigate the achievable semantic secrecy rate of existing lattice coding schemes, proposed in [6], for both the mod-Λ Gaussian wiretap and the Gaussian wiretap channels. For both channels, we propose new upper bounds on the amount of leaked information which provide milder sufficient conditions to achieve semantic secrecy. These upper bounds show that the lattice coding schemes in [6] can achieve the secrecy capacity to within ½ln e/2 nat for the mod-Λ Gaussian and to within ½(1 - ln (1 + SNRe / SNRe+1)) nat for the Gaussian wiretap channels where SNRe is the signal-to-noise ratio of Eve.
A Design Framework for Scalar Feedback in MIMO Broadcast Channels

Joint linear beamforming and scheduling are performed in a system where limited feedback is present at the transmitter side. The feedback conveyed by each user to the base station consists of channel direction information (CDI) based on a predetermined codebook and a scalar metric with channel quality information (CQI) used to perform user scheduling. In this paper, we present a design framework for scalar feedback in MIMO broadcast channels with limited feedback. An approximation on the sum rate is provided for the proposed family of metrics, which is validated through simulations. For a given number of active users and average SNR conditions, the base station is able to update certain transmission parameters in order to maximize the sum-rate function. On the other hand, the proposed sum-rate function provides a means of simple comparison between transmission schemes and scalar feedback techniques. Particularly, the sum rate of SDMA and time division multiple access (TDMA) is compared in the following extreme regimes: large number of users, high SNR, and low SNR. Simulations are provided to illustrate the performance of various scalar feedback techniques based on the proposed design framework.
Place and Special Places: Innovations in Conservation Practice in Northern Ireland

The ‘sense of place’ that relates human beings to their environment is under threat from the rising tide of ‘placelessness’ which can result from potentially positive forces such as urban regeneration as well as negative ones such as incremental degradation. The concept of ‘sense of place’, and the need to protect and enhance ‘special places’, has underpinned UK conservation legislation and policy in the post-war era. In Northern Ireland, due to its distinctive settlement tradition, its troubled political circumstances and its centralised administrative system, a unique hierarchy of ‘special places’ has evolved, involving ‘areas of townscape and village character’ as well as conventional ‘conservation areas’. For the first time a comprehensive comparative survey of the townscape quality of most of these areas has been carried out in order to test the hypothesis that too many conservation area designations may ‘devalue the conservation coinage’. It also assesses the contribution that ‘areas of townscape character’ can make in this situation, as potential conservation areas or as second-level local amenity designations. Its findings support the initial hypothesis: assessment of townscape quality on the basis of consistent criteria demonstrates a decline in the quality of more recent conservation area designations, and hence some ‘devaluation of the coinage’. However, the need for local discretion in the protection of local amenity supports the concept of ‘areas of townscape and village character’ as an additional and distinct designation. This contradicts recent policy recommendations from the Northern Ireland Planning Commission and contains valuable lessons for conservation policy and practice in other parts of the UK.
Prospects for Trade in Intermediates and Trade in Services: What Does the Gravity Model of Bilateral Trade Tell Us?

This study uses product-level international bilateral trade panel data for the period 1995 to 2009, covering 40 countries from the recently released World Input-Output Database (WIOD). Constructing this dataset into a standard gravity model, this paper aims to compare the magnitude of coefficients across two pairs of equations with different dependent variables: trade in intermediates in comparison with trade in final products, and total trade in goods as opposed to total trade in services. So as to investigate these differences further, this study also analyzes the models by sector. This paper applies the sample selection model in order to account for the zero trade flows. Estimation results confirm that trading partners in East Asia engage much more in both trade in intermediate inputs and assembled final products, especially the former, compared to EU and NAFTA blocs. Trade in services presents remarkable resilience to the current financial crisis. Intermediate services trade, in particular, is affected less by trade costs and market size. By liberalizing trade and increasing economic freedom, there will be a highly significant, positive effect on nearly all kinds of trade flows.
Effects of stilbene components of the roots of Polygonum cuspidatum Sieb. et Zucc. on lipid metabolism.

The effects of the roots of Polygonum cuspidatum SIEB. et ZUCC. ("Kojo-kon" or "Itadori-kon" in Japanese) and its stilbene components (resveratrol and piceid) on lipid metabolism in rats and mice (higher animals) were investigated. Resveratrol and piceid inhibited the deposition of triglyceride and cholesterol in the liver of rats fed corn oil-cholesterol-cholic acid mixture. Piceid reduced the serum triglyceride and low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-ch) levels, and atherogenic index [total cholesterolhigh density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-ch)/HDL-ch] in the oil mixture-fed rats. It was found that intraperitoneal or oral administration of resveratrol or piceid reduced triglyceride synthesis from 14C-palmitate in the liver of mice. In contrast, these stilbene components did not affect hormone-induced lipolysis in fat cells from rat eqididymal adipose tissue.
Relationship between morphology and chromosomal constitution in human preimplantation embryo

In in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures, morphologic embryo grading is the sole criteria for selection of embryos transferable in utero. Cytogenetic analysis of preimplantation embryos was performed to investigate the relationship between chromosomal status and morphologic quality of preimplantation eggs. Aneuploidy was the most frequently observed abnormality. In addition, various types of aberrations such as polyploidy, haploidy, mosaicism, and fragmentation were also found. Our results, pooled with data drawn from previous reports, demonstrated the prognostic value of the embryo grading system as a means for eliminating chromosomally abnormal embryos. In contrast, data suggested that some aspects of the IVF process might be responsible for the occurrence of these abnormalities. © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Intracellular pH regulation in the S3 segment of the rabbit proximal tubule in HCO3- -free solutions

We used the absorbance spectrum of 4',5'-dimethyl-5-(and 6) carboxyfluorescein to measure intracellular pH (pHi) in the isolated, perfused S3 segment of the rabbit proximal tubule. Experiments were conducted in HCO3- -free solutions. pHi recovered from an acid load imposed by an NH4+ prepulse, indicating the presence of one or more active acid-extrusion mechanisms. Removal of Na+ from bath and lumen caused pHi to decrease by approximately 0.6, whereas Na+ readdition caused complete pHi recovery. Removal of Na+ from the bath caused only a slow pHi decrease that was enhanced about fourfold when Na+ was subsequently removed from the lumen also. Similarly, the pHi recovery produced by the readdition of Na+ to the bath and lumen was about ninefold faster than when Na+ was returned to the bath only. Amiloride (1-2 mM) inhibited the pHi recovery that was elicited by returning 15 or 29 mM Na+ to lumen by only approximately 30%. However, in the absence of external acetate (Ac-), 1 mM amiloride inhibited approximately 66% of the pHi recovery induced by the readdition of 29 mM Na+ to the lumen only. The removal of external Ac- reduced the pHi recovery rate from an NH4+-induced acid load by approximately 47%, and that elicited by Na+ readdition, by approximately 67%. Finally, when bilateral removal of Na+ was maintained for several minutes, pHi recovered from the initial acidification, slowly at first, and then more rapidly, eventually reaching a pHi approximately 0.1 higher than the initial one. This Na+-independent pHi recovery was not significantly affected by lowering [HEPES]o from 32 to 3 mM or by adding N'N'-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (10(-4) M) to the lumen, but it was reduced approximately 57% by iodoacetate (0.5 mM) plus cyanide (1 mM). We conclude that in the nominal absence of HCO3-, three transport systems contribute to acid extrusion by S3 cells: (a) a Na+-independent mechanism, possibly an H+ pump; (b) a Na-H exchanger, confined primarily to the luminal membrane; and (c) an Ac- and luminal Na+- dependent mechanism. The contribution of these three mechanisms to total acid extrusion, assessed by the rapid readdition of Na+, was approximately 13, approximately 30, and approximately 57%, respectively.