Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Vitamin D Intake and Risk of Skin Cancer in US Women and Men

Previous studies suggested a protective effect of vitamin D against skin cancer development. However, epidemiologic studies on orally taken vitamin D and risk of skin cancer (basal cell carcinoma [BCC], squamous cell carcinoma [SCC], and melanoma) are few. We prospectively evaluated whether total, dietary and supplemental vitamin D intake were associated with skin cancer risk based on 63,760 women in the Nurses' Health Study (1984–2010) and 41,530 men in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (1986–2010). Dietary information on vitamin D intake was assessed every 2 to 4 years during the follow-up and cumulative averaged intake was used. We used Cox proportional hazard models to compute the hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Pooled HR of cohort-specific results were calculated using a random-effects model. During the follow-up, we documented 20,840 BCC, 2,329 SCC and 1,320 melanoma cases. Vitamin D consumption was not associated with the risk of SCC or melanoma but was modestly positively associated with BCC; the pooled HRs of BCC for extreme quintiles of vitamin D intake were 1.10 (95%CI = 1.05–1.15; Ptrend = 0.05) for total vitamin D and 1.13 (95% CI = 1.07 to 1.20; Ptrend <0.01) for dietary vitamin D. Stratified analysis according to sun exposure related factors showed similar results. In conclusion, vitamin D intake was positively associated with risk of BCC, while null associations were found with SCC and melanoma. Our data do not support a beneficial role of orally taken vitamin D on skin cancer carcinogenesis.
BIOSORPTION OF COPPER, CADMIUM AND LEAD BY COPPERRESISTANT BACTERIA ISOLATED FROM MOGPOG RIVER, MARINDUQUE

Many mechanisms of resistance are known in bacteria for maintaining intracellular homeostasis of metal ions (Silver 1996; Nies 1999). Two of which are the metabolicallyindependent binding of these ions unto the cell surface (Binkley & Simpson 2003) and metabolic production of binding proteins (Samuelson et al. 2000). The cell walls of gram-positive bacteria naturally carry a negative charge because of their phosphate groups and teichoic acids that bind and regulate the movement of cations across the membrane. Also, the outer membrane of gramnegative bacteria, which consists of lipopolysaccharides, lipoproteins, and phospholipids carries a strong negative Isolation and selection of copper-resistant bacteria were carried out from a collected water sample of Mogpog River. The sample was analyzed for copper (Cu), Cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) content for simulation purposes. The selected most copper-resistant bacteria, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, was exposed to 50, 10, and 20 ppm of Cu, Cd, and Pb, respectively, in primary (single metal) and ternary (mixed metals) solutions. Bacterial cells were separated from solutions by centrifugation and the supernatants were analyzed for remaining metals in solution using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry. Biosorption profile was determined to be Cu>Pb>Cd and Pb>Cu>Cd in primary and ternary solutions, respectively. Biosorption of the three heavy metals was higher in primary solutions than in ternary solutions. Approximately 22 % of Cu, 24% of Cd, and 42.75% of Pb were removed from primary solutions; 16% of Cu, 8% of Cd, and 35% of Pb, were removed from ternary solutions by S. maltophilia.
Validating Self-Reported Turnout by Linking Public Opinion Surveys with Administrative Records

Although it is widely known that the self-reported turnout rates obtained from public opinion surveys tend to substantially overestimate actual turnout rates, scholars sharply disagree on what causes this bias. Some blame overreporting due to social desirability, whereas others attribute it to nonresponse bias and the accuracy of turnout validation. While we can validate self-reported turnout by directly linking surveys with administrative records, most existing studies rely on proprietary merging algorithms with little scientific transparency and report conflicting results. To shed light on this debate, we apply a probabilistic record linkage model, implemented via the open-source software package fastLink, to merge two major election studies—the American National Election Studies and the Cooperative Congressional Election Survey—with a national voter file of over 180 million records. For both studies, fastLink successfully produces validated turnout rates close to the actual turnout rates, leading to public-use validated turnout data for the two studies. Using these merged data sets, we find that the bias of self-reported turnout originates primarily from overreporting rather than nonresponse. Our findings suggest that those who are educated and interested in politics are more likely to overreport turnout. Finally, we show that fastLink performs as well as a proprietary algorithm.
Generation of fundamental frequency contours for Thai speech synthesis using tone nucleus model

報告番号: ; 学位授与日: 2013-03-25 ; 学位の種別: 修士 ; 学位の種類: 修士（情報理工学） ; 学位記番号: ; 研究科・専攻: 情報理工学系研究科・電子情報学専攻
Meta-analysis of emotion recognition deficits in major depressive disorder

Background. Many studies have explored associations between depression and facial emotion recognition (ER). However, these studies have used various paradigms and multiple stimulus sets, rendering comparisons difficult. Few studies have attempted to determine the magnitude of any effect and whether studies are properly powered to detect it. We conducted a meta-analysis to synthesize the findings across studies on ER in depressed individuals compared to controls. Method. Studies of ER that included depressed and control samples and published before June 2013 were identified in PubMed and Web of Science. Studies using schematic faces, neuroimaging studies and drug treatment studies were excluded. Results. Meta-analysis of k = 22 independent samples indicated impaired recognition of emotion [k = 22, g = −0.16, 95% confidence interval (CI) −0.25 to −0.07, p < 0.001]. Critically, this was observed for anger, disgust, fear, happiness and surprise (k's = 7–22, g's = −0.42 to −0.17, p's < 0.08), but not sadness (k = 21, g = −0.09, 95% CI −0.23 to +0.06, p = 0.23). Study-level characteristics did not appear to be associated with the observed effect. Power analysis indicated that a sample of approximately 615 cases and 615 controls would be required to detect this association with 80% power at an alpha level of 0.05. Conclusions. These findings suggest that the ER impairment reported in the depression literature exists across all basic emotions except sadness. The effect size, however, is small, and previous studies have been underpowered.
Pharmacokinetics of rifampicin in adult TB patients and healthy volunteers: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract Objectives The objectives of this study were to explore inter-study heterogeneity in the pharmacokinetics (PK) of orally administered rifampicin, to derive summary estimates of rifampicin PK parameters at standard dosages and to compare these with summary estimates for higher dosages. Methods A systematic search was performed for studies of rifampicin PK published in the English language up to May 2017. Data describing the Cmax and AUC were extracted. Meta-analysis provided summary estimates for PK parameter estimates at standard rifampicin dosages. Heterogeneity was assessed by estimation of the I2 statistic and visual inspection of forest plots. Summary AUC estimates at standard and higher dosages were compared graphically and contextualized using preclinical pharmacodynamic (PD) data. Results Substantial heterogeneity in PK parameters was evident and upheld in meta-regression. Treatment duration had a significant impact on the summary estimates for rifampicin PK parameters, with Cmax 8.98 mg/L (SEM 2.19) after a single dose and 5.79 mg/L (SEM 2.14) at steady-state dosing, and AUC 72.56 mg·h/L (SEM 2.60) and 38.73 mg·h/L (SEM 4.33) after single and steady-state dosing, respectively. Rifampicin dosages of at least 25 mg/kg are required to achieve plasma PK/PD targets defined in preclinical studies. Conclusions Vast inter-study heterogeneity exists in rifampicin PK parameter estimates. This is not explained by the available modifying variables. The recommended dosage of rifampicin should be increased to improve efficacy. This study provides an important point of reference for understanding rifampicin PK at standard dosages as efforts to explore higher dosing strategies continue in this field.
Robot placement based on reachability inversion

Having a representation of the capabilities of a robot is helpful when online queries, such as solving the inverse kinematics (IK) problem for grasping tasks, must be processed efficiently in the real world. When workspace representations, e.g. the reachability of an arm, are considered, additional quality information such as manipulability or self-distance can be employed to enrich the spatial data. In this work we present an approach of inverting such precomputed reachability representations in order to generate suitable robot base positions for grasping. Compared to existing works, our approach is able to generate a distribution in SE(2), the cross-space consisting of 2D position and 1D orientation, that describes potential robot base poses together with a quality index. We show how this distribution can be queried quickly in order to find oriented base poses from which a target grasping pose is reachable without collisions. The approach is evaluated in simulation using the humanoid robot ARMAR-III [1] and an extension is presented that allows to find suitable base poses for trajectory execution.
BL-MLE: Block-Level Message-Locked Encryption for Secure Large File Deduplication

Deduplication is a popular technique widely used to save storage spaces in the cloud. To achieve secure deduplication of encrypted files, Bellare et al. formalized a new cryptographic primitive named message-locked encryption (MLE) in Eurocrypt 2013. Although an MLE scheme can be extended to obtain secure deduplication for large files, it requires a lot of metadata maintained by the end user and the cloud server. In this paper, we propose a new approach to achieve more efficient deduplication for (encrypted) large files. Our approach, named block-level message-locked encryption (BL-MLE), can achieve file-level and block-level deduplication, block key management, and proof of ownership simultaneously using a small set of metadata. We also show that our BL-MLE scheme can be easily extended to support proof of storage, which makes it multi-purpose for secure cloud storage.
Noncommunicable Disease Prevention and Control Situation in a Primary Health Care Setting of Bangladesh: Design and Baseline Findings of an Intervention

Background: Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs) have been increasing in Bangladesh. It is necessary to examine the capacity of the Primary Health Care (PHC) system and its response to an intervention to strengthen NCD control measures. Current paper presents the initial finding of the assessment of capacity of PHC system in dealing with NCD prevention and control through a basic minimum intervention in an Upazila of Bangladesh. Methods: The assessment of the capacity of PHC was done in Debhata upazila of Satkhira district using interviews, record reviews and observations using check lists and questionnaires. A basic minimum intervention was done to see its appropriateness in a view to detect, prevent and manage NCDs, and to generate evidence to substantiate control measures. The intervention included such components as (a) strengthening health system through training and supply of equipment and medicines; (b) promoting medical information system and evidence generation, and (c) creation of public awareness through observance of NCD related days and campaigns. Results: Doctors, nurses, technologists and filed level workers were present as per approved post and providing services. Relevant medicines, as per WHO essential drug list, were either supplied inadequate quantities or not supplied at all. Newly established NCD corner was not able to function adequately. The attendance of patients with NCDs was also poor (only 427 patients in 2013). Detection and referral of cases from field by the health workers were absent. Training of people and supply of essential equipment/logistics have improved functions substantially. With a short training and provision of equipment, health assistants could conducts NCD risk factor survey with satisfactory quality. Conclusion: Relevant backbone for NCD prevention and control is already existent at PHC level. Strengthening skills of personnel and provision of essential medicines and technologies can improve capacity of PHC system to deal with NCDs.
A history of the gamma-ray burst flux at the Earth from Galactic globular clusters

Nearby gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are likely to have represented a significant threat to life on the Earth. Recent observations suggest that a significant source of such bursts is compact binary mergers in globular clusters. This link between globular clusters and GRBs o ers the possibility to find time intervals in the past with higher probabilities of a nearby burst, by tracing globular cluster orbits back in time. Here we show that the expected flux from such bursts is not flat over the past 550 Myr but rather exhibits three broad peaks, at 70, 180 and 340 Myr ago. The main source for nearby GRBs for all three time intervals is the globular cluster 47 Tuc, a consequence of its large mass and high stellar encounter rate, as well as the fact that it is one of the globular clusters which comes quite close to the Sun. Mass extinction events indeed coincide with all three time intervals found in this study, although a chance coincidence is quite likely. Nevertheless, the identified time intervals can be used as a guide to search for specific signatures of GRBs in the geological record around these times.
Sediment transport modelling : Relaxation schemes for Saint-Venant – Exner and three layer models

In this note we are interested in the modelling of sediment transport phenomena. We mostly focus on bedload transport and we do not consider suspension sediment processes. We rst propose a numerical scheme for the classical Saint-Venant { Exner model. It is based on a relaxation approach for the whole system and it works with all sediment ux function. The stability of the scheme is investigated and some numerical tests are proposed. We exhibit that this coupled approach is more stable than the splitting approach that is mostly used in industrial softwares. Then we derive an original three layers model in order to overcome the diculties that are encountered when using the classical Exner approach and we present a related relaxation model.
Attribution of climate forcing to economic sectors

A much-cited bar chart provided by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change displays the climate impact, as expressed by radiative forcing in watts per meter squared, of individual chemical species. The organization of the chart reflects the history of atmospheric chemistry, in which investigators typically focused on a single species of interest. However, changes in pollutant emissions and concentrations are a symptom, not a cause, of the primary driver of anthropogenic climate change: human activity. In this paper, we suggest organizing the bar chart according to drivers of change—that is, by economic sector. Climate impacts of tropospheric ozone, fine aerosols, aerosol-cloud interactions, methane, and long-lived greenhouse gases are considered. We quantify the future evolution of the total radiative forcing due to perpetual constant year 2000 emissions by sector, most relevant for the development of climate policy now, and focus on two specific time points, near-term at 2020 and long-term at 2100. Because sector profiles differ greatly, this approach fosters the development of smart climate policy and is useful to identify effective opportunities for rapid mitigation of anthropogenic radiative forcing.
Scaling relations for implantation of size-selected Au, Ag, and Si clusters into graphite.

The deposition of size-selected clusters represents a new route to the fabrication of truly nanometer-scale surface architectures, e.g., nanopores. We report a systematic experimental study, coupled with molecular dynamics simulations, of the implantation depths of size-selected Au7, Ag7, and Si7 clusters in the model graphite substrate. For impact energies between 1.0 and 5.5 keV, we find that the implantation depth scales linearly with the momentum of the clusters for all three types of cluster. This "universal" behavior is consistent with a (viscous) retarding force proportional to the velocity of the cluster, akin to Stokes's law.
Lipid peroxidation and non-enzymatic antioxidants status in hypertension in diabetic and non-diabetic patients in Nigeria: a comparative study.

A combination of hypertension and diabetes mellitus is known to be accompanied by higher oxidative stress than that observed in the individual disorder alone. The aim of this study is to measure the antioxidant vitamins vitamin C, vitamin E levels and lipid peroxidation status in hypertensive patients and diabetic hypertensive patients receiving vitamin supplements, insulin and lipid lowering drugs. The parameters where correlated with systolic and diastolic blood pressure of the patients. Lipid peroxidation was determined by measurement of Thiobarbituric reactive substance (TBARS) in the serum of patients. The antioxidant status was estimated by determining the levels of vitamin C and vitamin E in serum. A significant (p<0.05) increase in TBARS-MDA level was noticed in the hypertensive patients compared with the normotensive patients. Vitamin E status in hypertensive and diabetic patients were also significantly (p<0.05) lower than that of normotensive patients. However, a significant (p<0.05) decrease in TBARS-MDA levels was observed in the diabetic hypertensive patients compared with the hypertensive patients as well as normotensive patients while the vitamin C level significantly (p<0.05) increased in hypertensive and diabetic hypertensive patients. The present study showed that lipid peroxidation and oxidative stress are altered in hypertension and diabetic hypertension; there are reports that vitamin supplementation and lipid lowering drugs can reverse the effects of these alterations, however, there is no evidence to show that the reactive oxygen species initiated the alterations.
An Investigation into EFL Learners’ Perception towards L2 Pragmatic Instruction

The present study investigated EFL students’ perception toward the pragmatic instruction provided as a part of regular English curricula. A total of 52 university students from various majors participated in the study. The treatment was given for nine weeks during the regular class hours in terms of four speech acts, compliments, apologies, requests, and refusals, with the goal of enhancing the learners’ pragmatic awareness as well as pragmatic competence. A questionnaire and the learners’ reflection journals were adopted as data collection instruments, and an eclectic design was adopted to analyze their perception. Both the intermediate and low groups showed positive perception in terms of the four major categories—interest, usefulness, importance, and motivation, yet more than half of the learners from the low group found that learning L2 pragmatics was difficult due to the complexity and length of some of the sentence patterns of formulaic expressions. Further, there were significant differences between subjects regarding the category of difficulty for each speech act. Nevertheless, the learners expressed that pragmatic instruction facilitated their communication skills, enhanced their pragmatic awareness on intercultural differences, as well as instilled confidence in English interactions. These findings imply learners’ motivation and needs for learning L2 pragmatic features.
Increased platelet aggregation and serum thromboxane levels in aspirin-treated patients with prior myocardial infarction

Summary The antiplatelet effect of aspirin displays considerable inter-individual variability. We investigated the antiplatelet effect of aspirin in patients with coronary artery disease on aspirin mono-therapy with and without prior myocardial infarction (MI). Further, we investigated whether the effect of aspirin differed between patients with and without aspirin use at the time of MI onset. We performed a study on 231 patients, including 171 with prior MI. Among patients with only one prior MI (116 patients), 59 patients were on aspirin at the time of MI onset. All patients received 75 mg aspirin as mono-therapy. Platelet aggregation was assessed by multiple electrode aggregometry (Multiplate®) and Verify -Now®, and platelet activation was evaluated by soluble P-selectin. Furthermore, we measured serum thromboxane B2. MI patients had higher median platelet aggregation levels than patients without prior MI when evaluated by Multiplate® (parachidonic acid<0.0001, pcollagen=0.20). This was not supported by VerifyNow®. Furthermore, MI patients had higher median serum thromboxane B2 levels than patients without prior MI (p=0.01). Patients on aspirin before MI onset had significantly higher median aggregation levels compared with MI patients not on aspirin when evaluated by Multiplate® (pcollagen=0.02) and VerifyNow® (p<0.0001). In conclusion, patients with prior MI had higher platelet aggregation levels than patients without prior MI when evaluated by Multiplate®, despite same aspirin dose and optimal compliance. Serum thromboxane B2 levels were higher in MI patients than in patients without prior MI. Finally, patients on aspirin before MI onset had higher aggregation levels compared with patients not on aspirin.
MACIFAC: A Model of Si~ i~ ari~-~ s~ Retrieval

We present a model of similarity-based retrieval that attempts to capture three seemingly contradictory psychological phenomena: (a) structural commonalities are weighed more heavily than surface commonalities in similarity judgments for items in working memory: (b) in retrieval, superficial similarity is more important than structural sirnjlarj~: ond yet (c) purely structural (analogical) remindings e sometimes experienced. Our model, MAUFAC, explains these phenomena in terms of o two-stage process. The first stage uses a computationolly cheap, nonstructural matcher to filter candidate long-term memory items. It uses content vectors, a redundant encoding of structured representations whose dot product estimotes how well the corresponding structural representations will match. The second stage uses SME (structure-mapping engine) to compute structural matches on the hondful of items found by the first stoge. We show the utility of the MAClFAC model through o series of computational experiments: (a) We demonstrate thot MAC/FAC can model patterns of access found in psychological data: (b) we argue via sensitivity analyses that these simulation results rely on the theory: and (c) we compare the performance of MAUFAC with ARCS, an alternate model of similarity-based retrieval, and demonstrate that MAUFAC explains the data better than ARCS. Finally, we discuss limitations and possible extensions of the model, relationships with other recent retrieval models, and place MACiFAC in the context of other recent work on the nature of similarity.