Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Depression in Older People: Visual Impairment and Subjective Ratings of Health

Purpose. The aim of this study was to establish the prevalence of depression in a sample of older adults with impaired vision and investigate associations between physical and visual disability and depression. Methods. We analyzed cross-sectional baseline data from 391 participants aged ≥75 years with visual acuity of 6/24 (20/80) or less, recruited for a randomized controlled trial of interventions to prevent falls (the VIP trial). Measures included the geriatric depression scale (GDS-15), the state-trait anxiety index, activities of daily living (Nottingham extended ADL scale), physical activity (human activity profile), an index of visual functioning (VF-14), health-related quality of life (SF-36), objective measures of physical ability, and a measure of visual acuity. Regression models were developed to investigate the association between depression scores and physical, psychological, and visual disability. Results. About 29.4% (115 of 391) of participants were identified as potentially depressed (GDS-15 score >4). Physical function, physical activity, physical ability, visual function, anxiety, and self-reported physical and mental health were significantly worse for those with depressive symptomatology. Physical, visual, and psychological factors collectively explained 41% of the variance in the depression score in a linear regression model (R2 = 0.421, adjusted R2 = 0.410, F (7,382) = 39.680, p < 0.001). Depression was not related to age, gender, living situation, ethnicity, or number of prescription or antidepressant medications taken. Conclusions. Depression was common in this population of older adults with severe visual impairment. Impaired visual and physical functions were associated with symptoms of depression. The effect of visual disability was independent of the effect of physical disability. The strength of this relationship, and the results of the regression analyses, indicate that a person who is visually or physically disabled is more likely to suffer from depression.
Gender (In)equality and the Future of Work

In June 2003, the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) launched an investigation into gender segregation. The focus of the investigation, which is being funded by the European Social Fund (ESF), is on Modern Apprenticeships (MAs), which are currently the main training route into work for young people in Britain. It also concentrates on five occupational sectors where there are skill shortages: construction, plumbing, engineering, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and childcare. This study was commissioned in December 2003 and is the fifth in a series of research studies that the EOC has set up to support the investigation. This study aims to: understand the obstacles women have encountered in entering non-traditional training/employment; explore how they negotiated and managed those experiences; identify the factors that enabled them to succeed and what else would have helped; identify how more women can be enabled to enter non-traditional occupations and succeed; highlight good practice for women in non-traditional skills training/employment; and provide recommendations, which can be fed into the EOC investigation into occupational segregation.
A Dynamic Attribute-Based Group Signature Scheme and its Application in an Anonymous Survey for the Collection of Attribute Statistics

Recently, cryptographic schemes based on the user's attributes have been proposed. An Attribute-Based Group Signature (ABGS) scheme is a kind of group signature schemes, where a user with a set of attributes can prove anonymously whether she has these attributes or not. An access tree is applied to express the relationships among some attributes. However, previous schemes do not provide the changing an access tree. In this paper, we propose a Dynamic ABGS scheme that enables an access tree to be changed. Our ABGS is efficient in that re-issuing of the attribute certificate previously issued for each user is not necessary. Moreover, calculations depending on the number of attributes are calculated on the domain of a pairing. Therefore, the number of calculations in a pairing does not depend on the number of attributes associated with a signature. Finally, we discuss how our ABGS can be applied to an anonymous survey for collection of attribute statistics.
Homoplantaginin Inhibits Palmitic Acid-induced Endothelial Cells Inflammation by Suppressing TLR4 and NLRP3 Inflammasome

Abstract: Palmitic acid (PA)-induced vascular endothelial inflammation plays a pivotal role in the occurrence and development of vascular diseases. The present study was conducted to examine the effect of homoplantaginin, a main flavonoid from a traditional Chinese medicine Salvia plebeia R. Br. , on PA-treated human umbilical vein endothelial cells inflammation and the underlying molecular mechanism. Firstly, we found that homoplantaginin (0.1, 1, 10 &mgr;M) dose-dependently reduced expression of toll-like receptor-4 evoked by PA (100 &mgr;M). The inhibitory effect of homoplantaginin was further confirmed under lipopolysaccharide challenge. In addition, downstream adapted proteins including myeloid differentiation primary response gene 88, toll/interleukin-1 receptor-domain containing adaptor-inducing interferon-&bgr; and tumor necrosis factors receptor associated factor-6 were successfully inhibited by homoplantaginin under PA treatment. Also, we found that homoplantaginin tightly controlled PA-induced reactive oxygen species to prevent nucleotide-binding domain-like receptor 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome activation by suppressing reactive oxygen species-sensitive thioredoxin-interacting protein, NLRP3, and caspase-1. Meanwhile, protein and mRNA levels of inflammatory mediators (interleukin-1&bgr;, intercellular cell adhesion molecule-1, and monocyte chemotactic protein-1) were decreased by homoplantaginin. Furthermore, homoplantaginin restored PA-impaired nitric oxide generation. Taken together, these results indicated that homoplantaginin protected endothelial cells from ameliorating PA-induced endothelial inflammation via suppressing toll-like receptor-4 and NLRP3 pathways, and restoring nitric oxide generation, suggesting it may be a potential candidate for further development in the prevention and treatment of vascular diseases.
Asymptotic quasinormal frequencies of different spin fields in spherically symmetric black holes

1550-7998=20 We consider the asymptotic quasinormal frequencies of various spin fields in Schwarzschild and Reissner-Nordström black holes. In the Schwarzschild case, the real part of the asymptotic frequency is ln3 for the spin 0 and the spin 2 fields, while for the spin 1=2, the spin 1, and the spin 3=2 fields it is zero. For the nonextreme charged black holes, the spin 3=2 Rarita-Schwinger field has the same asymptotic frequency as that of the integral spin fields. However, the asymptotic frequency of the Dirac field is different, and its real part is zero. For the extremal case, which is relevant to the supersymmetric consideration, all the spin fields have the same asymptotic frequency, the real part of which is zero. For the imaginary parts of the asymptotic frequencies, it is interesting to see that it has a universal spacing of 1=4M for all the spin fields in the single-horizon cases of the Schwarzschild and the extreme ReissnerNordström black holes. The implications of these results to the universality of the asymptotic quasinormal frequencies are discussed.
Vehicle Yaw Control via Second-Order Sliding-Mode Technique

The problem of vehicle yaw control is addressed in this paper using an active differential and yaw rate feedback. A reference generator, designed to improve vehicle handling, provides the desired yaw rate value to be achieved by the closed loop controller. The latter is designed using the second-order sliding mode (SOSM) methodology to guarantee robust stability in front of disturbances and model uncertainties, which are typical of the automotive context. A feedforward control contribution is also employed to enhance the transient system response. The control derivative is constructed as a discontinuous signal, attaining an SOSM on a suitably selected sliding manifold. Thus, the actual control input results in being continuous, as it is needed in the considered context. Simulations performed using a realistic nonlinear model of the considered vehicle show the effectiveness of the proposed approach.
Interannual variability of winter precipitation in the European Alps: relations with the North Atlantic Oscillation.

Abstract. The European Alps rely on winter precipitation for various needs in terms of hydropower and other water uses. Major European rivers originate from the Alps and depend on winter precipitation and the consequent spring snow melt for their summer base flows. Understanding the fluctuations in winter rainfall in this region is crucially important to the study of changes in hydrologic regime in river basins, as well as to the management of their water resources. Despite the recognized relevance of winter precipitation to the water resources of the Alps and surrounding regions, the magnitude and mechanistic explanation of interannual precipitation variability in the Alpine region remains unclear and poorly investigated. Here we use gridded precipitation data from the CRU TS 1.2 to study the interannual variability of winter alpine precipitation. We found that the Alps are the region with the highest interannual variability in winter precipitation in Europe. This variability cannot be explained by large scale climate patterns such as the Arctic Oscillation (AO), North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) or the East Atlantic/West Russia (EA/WR), even though regions below and above the Alps demonstrate connections with these patterns. Significant trends were detected only in small regions located in the Eastern part of the Alps.
An Overview of Pharmacological Approaches for Management and Repair of Spinal Cord Injuries

Spinal cord injury (SCI) leads to loss of nervous tissue and consequently to catastrophic neurological deficits. Up to now there is no definite treatment available that restores the loss of function to a degree that an independent life can be guaranteed. This justifies the cost of research into the new modalities for a treatment of SCIs. In current paper, recent developments and new approaches in pharmacological therapy have been reviewed
A QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF THE EFFECT OF MATHEMATICS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ON STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT

Over the past couple of decades, teacher effectiveness has become a major focus to improve students’ mathematics learning. Teacher professional development (PD), in particular, has been at the center of efforts aimed at improving teaching practice and the mathematics learning of students. However, empirical evidence for the effectiveness of PD for improving student achievement is mixed and there is limited research-based knowledge about the features of effective PD not only in mathematics but also in other subject areas. In this quasi-experimental study, I examined the effect of a Math and Science Partnership (MSP) PD on student achievement trajectories. Results of hierarchical growth models for this study revealed that content-focused (Algebra1 and Geometry), ongoing PD was effective for improving student achievement (relative to a matched comparison group) in Algebra1 (both for high and low performing students) and in Geometry (for low performing students only). There was no effect of PD on students’ achievement in Algebra2, which was not the focus of the MSP-PD. By demonstrating an effect of PD on student achievement, this study contributes to our growing knowledge base about features of PD programs that appear to contribute to their effectiveness. Moreover, it provides a case study showing how the research design might contribute in important ways to the ability to detect an effect of PD -if one exists- on student achievement. For example, given the data I had from the district, I was able to examine student growth within all Algebra 1, Geometry and Algebra 2 courses, while matching classrooms on aggregate student characteristics and school contexts. This allowed me to eliminate the potential confound of curriculum and to utilize longitudinal models to examine PD effects on students’ growth (relative to a comparison sample) for matched classrooms. Findings of this study have implications for educational practitioners and policymakers in their efforts to design and support effective PD programs in mathematics, and these features likely transfer to the design of PD in all subject areas. Moreover, for educational researchers this study suggests potential strategies for demonstrating robust research-based evidence for the effectiveness of PD on student learning.
“Fundamental Causes” of Social Inequalities in Mortality: A Test of the Theory∗

Medicine and epidemiology currently dominate the study of the strong association between socioeconomic status and mortality. Socioeconomic status typically is viewed as a causally irrelevant “confounding variable” or as a less critical variable marking only the beginning of a causal chain in which intervening risk factors are given prominence. Yet the association between socioeconomic status and mortality has persisted despite radical changes in the diseases and risk factors that are presumed to explain it. This suggests that the effect of socioeconomic status on mortality essentially cannot be understood by reductive explanations that focus on current mechanisms. Accordingly, Link and Phelan (1995) proposed that socioeconomic status is a “fundamental cause” of mortality disparities—that socioeconomic disparities endure despite changing mechanisms because socioeconomic status embodies an array of resources, such as money, knowledge, prestige, power, and beneficial social connections, that protect health no matter what mechanisms are relevant at any given time. We identified a situation in which resources should be less helpful in prolonging life, and derived the following prediction from the theory: For less preventable causes of death (for which we know little about prevention or treatment), socioeconomic status will be less strongly associated with mortality than for more preventable causes. We tested this hypothesis with the National Longitudinal Mortality Study, which followed Current Population Survey respondents (N = 370,930) for mortality for nine years. Our hypothesis was supported, lending support to the theory of fundamental causes and more generally to the importance of a sociological approach to the study of socio-economic disparities in mortality.
Gastric pH and motility in a porcine model of acute lung injury using a wireless motility capsule

Summary Background Evaluation of gastric pH and motility in a porcine model of acute lung injury using a novel, wireless motility capsule. Material/Methods A motility capsule was applied into the stomach of 7 Pietrain pigs with acute lung injury induced by high volume saline lavage. Wireless transmission of pH, pressure and temperature data was performed by a recorder attached to the animal’s abdomen. Gastric motility was evaluated using pH and pressure values, and capsule location was confirmed by autopsy. Results Gastric pH values were statistically significantly different (P<0.003) in the animals over time and ranged from 1.15 to 9.94 [5.73±0.47 (mean ±SD)] with an interquartile range of 0.11 to 2.07. The capsule pressure recordings ranged from 2 to 4 mmHg [2.6±0.5 mmHg (mean ±SD)]. There was no change in pressure patterns or sudden rise of pH >3 pH units during 24 hours. All animals had a gastroparesis with the capsules located in the stomach as indicated by the pressure and pH data and confirmed by necropsy. Conclusions The preliminary data show that Pietrain pigs with acute lung injury have a high variability in gastric pH and severely disturbed gastric motility.
Dissolution of Microcrystalline Cellulose in Phosphoric Acid—Molecular Changes and Kinetics

In this study, we aimed to dissolve microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) with phosphoric acid to obtain high-quality fermentable saccharides. MCC was directly dissolved in phosphoric acid (the concentration was 83%) for 10 hours at temperatures of 30, 50, and 70 °C. The structural changes of MCC were determined in detail with X-ray powder diffraction, solid-state cross-polarization magic angle spinning 13C-NMR, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The kinetics of MCC decrystallization during treatment with phosphoric acid was also compared at 30, 50, and 70 °C. With the assumption of first order kinetics, the Arrhenius parameters of K, A0 and Ea were calculated. The rate constants of decrystallization reaction (K) were 0.06, 0.17, and 0.12 h-1 respectively. The pre-exponential factor (A0) was 1.2 × 106 h-1, and the activation energy (Ea) was 42.4 k J/mol.
Independent Segregation of the Two Arms of the Escherichia coli ori Region Requires neither RNA Synthesis nor MreB Dynamics

ABSTRACT The mechanism of Escherichia coli chromosome segregation remains elusive. We present results on the simultaneous tracking of segregation of multiple loci in the ori region of the chromosome in cells growing under conditions in which a single round of replication is initiated and completed in the same generation. Loci segregated as expected for progressive replication-segregation from oriC, with markers placed symmetrically on either side of oriC segregating to opposite cell halves at the same time, showing that sister locus cohesion in the origin region is local rather than extensive. We were unable to observe any influence on segregation of the proposed centromeric site, migS, or indeed any other potential cis-acting element on either replication arm (replichore) in the AB1157 genetic background. Site-specific inhibition of replication close to oriC on one replichore did not prevent segregation of loci on the other replichore. Inhibition of RNA synthesis and inhibition of the dynamic polymerization of the actin homolog MreB did not affect ori and bulk chromosome segregation.
Rapid identification of Vibrio parahaemolyticus isolated from shellfish, sea water and sediments of the Khnifiss lagoon, Morocco, by MALDI‐TOF mass spectrometry

We establish the presence of Vibrio parahaemolyticus and deepen the comparison of isolates using MALDI‐TOF MS for the typing of isolates originating from the Khnifiss lagoon (Morocco). Amongst 48 samples from sea water, sediment and shellfish isolated from different sites of Khnifiss lagoon, Morocco, we obtained 22 isolates of V. parahaemolyticus identified by Vitek 2™ System (bioMérieux) and MALDI Biotyper™ (Bruker Daltonics). All isolates were highly resistant to ampicillin and ticarcillin, moderately resistant to cefalotin, but sensitive to 16 other antimicrobials tested. MALDI‐TOF MS was used to discriminate between closely related environmental strains of V. parahaemolyticus. A clustering and distribution based on MALDI‐TOF spectra were generated using the BioTyper 1.1™ software. Despite low diversity in regard to the biochemical characteristics and antimicrobial resistance, the isolates evoke a larger biodiversity when analysed through mass spectra of abundant proteins. Different evaluations of a cut‐off value showed that, when placed at a 10% threshold of the whole diversity, isolates differed by at least three mass peaks.
Retaining homeless veterans in outpatient care: a pilot study of mobile phone text message appointment reminders.

OBJECTIVES We examined the feasibility of using mobile phone text messaging with homeless veterans to increase their engagement in care and reduce appointment no-shows. METHODS We sent 2 text message reminders to participants (n = 20) before each of their outpatient appointments at an urban Veterans Affairs medical center. Evaluation included pre- and postsurvey questionnaires, open-ended questions, and review of medical records. We estimated costs and savings of large-scale implementation. RESULTS Participants were satisfied with the text-messaging intervention, had very few technical difficulties, and were interested in continuing. Patient-cancelled visits and no-shows trended downward from 53 to 37 and from 31 to 25, respectively. Participants also experienced a statistically significant reduction in emergency department visits, from 15 to 5 (difference of 10; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.2, 17.8; P = .01), and a borderline significant reduction in hospitalizations, from 3 to 0 (difference of 3; 95% CI = -0.4, 6.4; P = .08). CONCLUSIONS Text message reminders are a feasible means of reaching homeless veterans, and users consider it acceptable and useful. Implementation may reduce missed visits and emergency department use, and thus produce substantial cost savings.
Preliminary multiplex microarray IgG immunoassay for the diagnosis of toxoplasmosis and rubella

BACKGROUND During pregnancy, toxoplasmosis and rubella can cause serious damage to the mother and the foetus through vertical transmission. Early diagnosis enables implementation of health measures aimed at preventing vertical transmission and minimising damage caused by these diseases. OBJECTIVE Here, we report the development of a multiplex assay for simultaneous detection of IgG antibodies produced during toxoplasmosis and rubella infection. METHODS This assay is based on xMap technology. Initially, by singleplex assays, we evaluated the following antigens: one Toxoplasma gondii lysate; two antigenic extracts of T. gondii (TOX8131 and TOX8122); fragments of T. gondii antigens [SAG-1 (amino acids 45-198), GRA-7 (24-100), GRA-1 (57-149), ROP-4, and MIC-3 (234-306)]; two chimeric antigens composed of fragments of SAG-1, GRA-7, and P35 (CTOX and CTOXH); and fragments of Rubella virus antigens [E-1 (157-176, 213-239, 374-390), E-2 (31-105), and C (1-123)]. FINDINGS A multiplex assay to simultaneously diagnose toxoplasmosis and rubella was designed with the best-performing antigens in singleplex and multiplex assays, which included CTOXH, T. gondii lysate, TOX8131, E-1, and E-2. The multiplex assay showed 100% sensitivity and specificity for anti-T. gondii IgG detection and 95.6% sensitivity and 100% specificity for anti-R. virus IgG detection. MAIN CONCLUSIONS We found that, despite the difficulties related to developing multiplex systems, different types of antigens (extracts and recombinant proteins) can be used to develop high-performance diagnostic tests. The assay developed is suitable to screen for prior T. gondii and R. virus infections, because it is a rapid, high-throughput, low-cost alternative to the current standard diagnostic tools, which require multiple individual tests.
Relationship between Climatic Factors and the Distribution of Higher Fungi in Byeonsanbando National Park, Korea

Abstract From April 2009 to October 2011, we surveyed the higher fungi in the Byeonsanbando National Park, Korea. In total, we identified 2 kingdoms, 3 divisions, 7 classes, 22 orders, 63 families, 149 genera, and 313 species (including 6 undocumented taxa: 2 families, 2 genera, and 2 species). Seventeen 17 orders, 49 families, 128 genera, and 286 species belonged to Basidiomycota; 7 orders, 9 families, 15 genera, and 21 species were of Ascomycota; and 4 orders, 5 families, 6 genera, and 6 species of primordial fungi. Among the Basidiomycota, Agaricomycetes were represented by 47 families, 126 genera, and 282 species. The most common fungi were Boletaceae (33 species), followed by Russulaceae (30), Agaricaceae (27), and Amanitaceae (24). Various species of most of the higher fungi occurred during periods with average temperatures of 23~24.9°C, maximum temperatures of 28~31.9°C, minimum temperatures of 22~23.9°C, > 82% relative humidity, and > 200 mm precipitation.