Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A randomized trial of an avatar-hosted multiple behavior change intervention for young adult smokers.

BACKGROUND Young adulthood is a critical transition period for the development of health behaviors. We present here the results of a randomized controlled trial of an online avatar-hosted personal health makeover program designed for young adult smokers. METHODS We conducted a three-group randomized trial comparing delivery of general lifestyle content (Tx1), personally tailored health information (Tx2), and personally tailored health information plus online video-based peer coaching (Tx3) as part of a 6-week online health program. Participants were asked to set weekly goals around eating breakfast, exercise, alcohol use, and cigarette smoking. Eligibility criteria included age (18-30 years) and smoking status (any cigarette use in the previous 30 days). The primary outcome was self-reported 30-day abstinence measured 12 weeks postenrollment. RESULTS Participant (n = 1698) characteristics were balanced across the groups (72% women, mean age 24, 26% nonwhite, 32% high school education or less, and 50% daily smokers). Considering intention to treat, 30-day smoking abstinence rates were statistically significantly higher in the intervention groups (Tx1 = 11%, Tx2 = 23%, Tx3 = 31%, P < .001). Participants in the intervention groups were also more likely to reduce their number of days spent on binge drinking and increase their number of days eating breakfast and exercising. Overall, intervention group participants were much more likely to make positive changes in at least three or four of the target behaviors (Tx1 = 19%, Tx2 = 39%, Tx3 = 41%, P < .001). CONCLUSIONS This online avatar-hosted personal health makeover "show" increased smoking abstinence and induced positive changes in multiple related health behaviors. Addition of the online video-based peer coaching further improved behavioral outcomes.
Winter warming and summer monsoon reduction after volcanic eruptions in Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 5 (CMIP5) simulations

Though previous studies have shown that state‐of‐the‐art climate models are rather imperfect in their simulations of the climate response to large volcanic eruptions, the results depend on how the analyses were done. Observations show that all recent large tropical eruptions were followed by winter warming in the first Northern Hemisphere (NH) winter after the eruption, with little such response in the second winter, yet a number of the evaluations have combined the first and second winters. We have looked at just the first winter after large eruptions since 1850 in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 5 historical simulations and find that most models do produce a winter warming signal, with warmer temperatures over NH continents and a stronger polar vortex in the lower stratosphere. We also examined NH summer precipitation responses in the first year after these large volcanic eruptions and find clear reductions of summer monsoon rainfall.
Approximate Projection Methods for Decentralized Optimization With Functional Constraints

We consider distributed convex optimization problems that involve a separable objective function and nontrivial functional constraints, such as linear matrix inequalities. We propose a decentralized and computationally inexpensive algorithm, which is based on the concept of approximate projections. Our algorithm is one of the consensus-based methods in that, at every iteration, each agent performs a consensus update of its decision variables followed by an optimization step of its local objective function and local constraints. Unlike other methods, the last step of our method is not a Euclidean projection onto the feasible set, but instead a subgradient step in the direction that minimizes the local constraint violation. We propose two different averaging schemes to mitigate the disagreements among the agents’ local estimates. We show that the algorithms converge almost surely, i.e., every agent agrees on the same optimal solution, under the assumption that the objective functions and constraint functions are nondifferentiable and their subgradients are bounded. We provide simulation results on a decentralized optimal gossip averaging problem, which involves semidefinite programming constraints, to complement our theoretical results.
Riesz measures and Wishart laws associated to quadratic maps

We introduce a natural definition of Riesz measures and Wishart laws associated to an $\Omega$-positive (virtual) quadratic map, where $\Omega \subset \real^n$ is a regular open convex cone. We give a general formula for moments of the Wishart laws. Moreover, if the quadratic map has an equivariance property under the action of a linear group acting on the cone $\Omega$ transitively, then the associated Riesz measure and Wishart law are described explicitly by making use of theory of relatively invariant distributions on homogeneous cones.
The Escherichia coli FtsH protein is a prokaryotic member of a protein family of putative ATPases involved in membrane functions, cell cycle control, and gene expression

The ftsH gene is essential for cell viability in Escherichia coli. We cloned and sequenced the wild-type ftsH gene and the temperature-sensitive ftsH1(Ts) gene. It was suggested that FtsH protein was an integral membrane protein of 70.7 kDa (644 amino acid residues) with a putative ATP-binding domain. The ftsH1(Ts) gene was found to have two base substitutions within the coding sequence corresponding to the amino acid substitutions Glu-463 by Lys and Pro-587 by Ala. Homology search revealed that an approximately 200-amino-acid domain, including the putative ATP-binding sequence, is highly homologous (35 to 48% identical) to the domain found in members of a novel, eukaryotic family of putative ATPases, e.g., Sec18p, Pas1p, CDC48p, and TBP-1, which function in protein transport pathways, peroxisome assembly, cell division cycle, and gene expression, respectively. Possible implications of these observations are discussed.
Impact of tricuspid valve regurgitation in surgical high-risk patients undergoing MitraClip implantation: results from the TRAMI registry.

AIMS We sought to assess the impact of tricuspid regurgitation (TR) severity on patient outcome in a collective with relevant mitral regurgitation undergoing MitraClip implantation. METHODS AND RESULTS From August 2010 to July 2013, 766 patients (age 75.3±8.5 years, 61% male, median EuroSCORE 24.3%±18.4) were prospectively enrolled in the TRAMI registry and stratified by echocardiography into no/mild, moderate and severe TR. Overall, the mean number of implanted MitraClips was higher in patients with severe TR but increasing TR severity was not associated with procedural success. In-hospital and one-year mortality as well as MACE and MACCE (death, myocardial infarction±stroke) rates were higher with increasing TR severity. Kaplan-Meier curves indicated a significant difference for mortality (p<0.0001), but not for rehospitalisation for heart failure. After multivariate Cox regression, severe TR proved to be a predictor for one-year mortality (HR 2.01, 95% CI: 1.25-3.26, p=0.004). Higher rates of severe bleeding were more frequent with increasing TR grades. CONCLUSIONS In patients with MitraClip implantation, increasing TR severity is associated with adverse outcome, higher bleeding rates and decreased survival rates.
Surgical Occlusion of Anterior Choroidal Arteries in Parkinsonism

SINCE OCCLUSION of one or both anterior choroidal arteries was introduced for the amelioration of parkinsonism by various investigators have explored the effects of occluding this artery in man and in primates. As a result of these investigations, further information has been presented concerning the pattern of arterial circulation of certain of the basal ganglia and their associated and neighboring structures, as well as the neural mechanism which causes alternating rest tremor. In a previous paper: early results of surgical occlusion of the anterior choroidal artery in four parkinsonian patients were presented. The present report deals with the follow-up clinical and neuropathologic observations on these four patients as well as one additional patient, all five of whom were refractory to medical treatment.
Personal Values and Medical Preferences: Postmaterialism, Spirituality, and the Use of Complementary Medicine

Background: The use of complementary medicine is increasing in the countries of the West. To find out the reason for this, research concentrated on the patients' demands for these methods, on their dissatisfaction with conventional medicine, and on their health conceptions. Quantitative research into the influence of attitudes and convictions in a broader sense on the use of complementary medicine are lacking, but would be of interest. Questions:This article aims to throw light on the specific question of whether materialistic or postmaterialistic values and spiritual preferences correlate with the use of unconventional medical methods. Method:Within the framework of the Swiss National Research Programme 34: 'Complementary Medicine', 3,077 and 2,276 Swiss residents were interviewed by telephone in 1995 and 1996, respectively, about their use of the medical system as well as about their attitudes towards materialism and spirituality. Results:Hypotheses were confirmed: Attitudes and convictions influence the use of complementary medicine. Postmaterialists and interviewees who tended to agree with neoreligious statements used complementary medicine significantly more frequently than materialists and interviewees who tended to disagree with neoreligiosity or who tended towards traditional Christian values. Conclusions:Further research should concentrate on the interaction of different attitudes and convictions in order to learn more about the background of the growing trend towards complementary medicine. Another important conclusion is that the so-called health market is not simply subject to supply and demand, and cannot be regulated by marketing means alone.
Environmental risk factors for allergy and socioeconomic status in a birth cohort (BAMSE)

Associations between parental educational level and possible risk factors for atopic disease during the first months of life were explored in a cohort of 4089 neonate children born 1994–96 in Stockholm, Sweden. Reports concerning a number of life style factors during pregnancy and after the baby was born were obtained by questionnaire. There was a strong negative association between duration of education and maternal smoking during pregnancy, parental smoking after the baby was born and keeping of cat and dog (p‐trend < 0.001), respectively. For example, smoking during pregnancy was reported by 6.7% (95% CI 5.5–7.9) of mothers with college or university degree and by 22.2% (95% CI 20.1–24.5) of those with the shortest education. Indicators of dampness and poor ventilation were also more common in homes of those with the shortest education. The results show that the educational level has an influence on risk factors for development of atopic disease in childhood and indicates a need of deeper understanding of life style in different socioeconomic groups. The data also indicate that various possible confounding factors need to be thoroughly investigated when analysing studies of risk factors for allergic disease in childhood.
Interpreting the developmental dance of the megakaryocyte: a review of the cellular and molecular processes mediating platelet formation

Platelets are essential for haemostasis, and thrombocytopenia (platelet counts <150 × 109/l) is a major clinical problem encountered across a number of conditions, including immune thrombocytopenic purpura, myelodysplastic syndromes, chemotherapy, aplastic anaemia, human immunodeficiency virus infection, complications during pregnancy and delivery, and surgery. Circulating blood platelets are specialized cells that function to prevent bleeding and minimize blood vessel injury. Platelets circulate in their quiescent form, and upon stimulation, activate to release their granule contents and spread on the affected tissue to create a physical barrier that prevents blood loss. The current model of platelet formation states that large progenitor cells in the bone marrow, called megakaryocytes, release platelets by extending long, branching processes, designated proplatelets, into sinusoidal blood vessels. This review will focus on different factors that impact megakaryocyte development, proplatelet formation and platelet release. It will highlight recent studies on thrombopoeitin‐dependent megakaryocyte maturation, endomitosis and granule formation, cytoskeletal contributions to proplatelet formation, the role of apoptosis, and terminal platelet formation and release.
Acculturation strategy and its impact on job satisfaction: the case of professional Chinese immigrants in the Australian workplace

This study tested the individual differences of professional Chinese immigrants' (PCIs) attitudes toward acculturation strategies, and explored the effects of these strategies on job satisfaction. Based on Berry’s seminal work on the acculturation process, the study recruited 214 PCIs in the Australian workplace to complete the questionnaires. Results of cluster analysis revealed that the PCIs have a predominant preference to maintain their home culture, with most of them adopting Separation strategy and Integration strategy. Furthermore, results supported the relationship between acculturation strategies and job satisfaction: PCIs adopted the Assimilation strategy have the highest level of job satisfaction and Separation as the lowest. The paper also presents directions for future research.
Predictors of institutionalization in an older population during a 13-year period: the effect of urge incontinence.

BACKGROUND Longitudinal data on predictors of institutionalization in random older populations are limited. The aim here was to identify predictors of institutionalization in an unselected older population during a period of 13 years with a special focus on the prognostic value of urge incontinence. METHODS A population-based prospective survey was conducted involving 366 men and 409 women aged 60 years and older. Age-adjusted and multivariate Cox proportional hazards models were used to examine the predictive association of urge incontinence, living arrangements, neurological, cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, and other chronic diseases, activities of daily living (ADL) disability, and depressive symptoms with institutionalization separately in men and women. RESULTS Adjusted for age, ADL disability and other chronic diseases predicted institutionalization in both men and women. Urge incontinence and depressive symptoms in men and living alone and cardiovascular diseases in women were also significant predictors. In multivariate analyses where all potential predictors were included simultaneously, age (RR [relative risk] 1.15; 95% CI [confidence interval] 1.10-1.19), urge incontinence (RR 3.07; 95% CI 1.24-7.59), and depressive symptoms (RR 1.22; 95% CI 1.00-1.48) remained significant predictors of institutionalization in men. In women, age (RR 1.15; 95% CI 1.12-1.19) and living alone (RR 2.02; 95% CI 1.27-3.21) were independent predictors. CONCLUSIONS In addition to age, urge incontinence and depressive symptoms in men and living alone in women are significant prognostic indicators of institutionalization. The greater prognostic value of urge incontinence in men compared with women emphasizes the importance of interventions aimed at promoting continence and coping with the problem both at the individual and caregiver levels especially among older men.
Lesions of an avian forebrain nucleus prevent changes in protein kinase C levels associated with deafening‐induced vocal plasticity in adult songbirds

We investigated the participation of protein kinase C (PKC) in the regulation of vocal plasticity in songbirds. Deafening of adult Bengalese finches causes initial song alteration, followed by stabilization. In parallel, the expression of PKC β1 increases transiently 2 weeks after deafening, and then decreases gradually in the robust nucleus of the arcopallium (RA) of Bengalese finches, similar to the pattern observed during developmental song learning. First, we showed that in adult zebra finches, whose songs change more gradually after auditory deprivation than those of Bengalese finches, PKC in RA also increased to an equal degree 2 weeks after deafening, despite the species difference. Second, double‐labeling with an anterograde tracer and PKC immunofluorescence revealed that PKC immunoreactivity in RA was detected on the synaptic terminals from a high premotor vocal nucleus (HVC), but not from the lateral magnocellular nucleus of the anterior nidopallium (LMAN). To determine what causes deafening‐induced PKC increases, we blocked signals from LMAN, the final output nucleus to RA in the anterior forebrain pathway (AFP), by a unilateral LMAN lesion prior to auditory deprivation of adult Bengalese finches. The PKC immunoreactivity increased in RA of the intact hemisphere; however, in RA on the lesioned side, it was less intense than that of the unlesioned side. Thus, the deafening‐induced PKC expression was suppressed by lesioning of LMAN. These results suggest that an output signal from the AFP via LMAN induces the increase in PKC activity on HVC‐RA synapses that may regulate song plasticity.
Native tissue second harmonic imaging improves endocardial and epicardial border definition in dobutamine stress echocardiography.

AIMS Native tissue second harmonic imaging (SHI) implemented in two-dimensional (2D) echocardiography was found to improve left ventricular (LV) endocardial border delineation. Dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE) depends on the ability to adequately visualize these borders. We analysed whether SHI, compared to fundamental imaging (FI), can improve echogenicity qualitatively and quantitatively, as well as looking at the diagnostic accuracy of the stress test. METHODS AND RESULTS Fifty consecutive patients with suspected or known coronary artery disease (history of myocardial infarction and/or coronary artery bypass grafting) underwent DSE sequentially by SHI as well as FI 3 days before or after quantitative coronary angiography. Regional mean echogenicity scores (0=uninterpretable; 4=excellent imaging) for SHI and FI at peak dobutamine titration were 1.8 +/- 0.8 and 1.0 +/- 0.6 (P=0.0020) for the anterior region, 2.3 +/- 0.8 and 1.5 +/- 0.7 (P=0.0002) laterally, 2.7 +/- 1.0 and 1.9 +/- 0.8 (P=0.0001) posteriorly, 2.9 +/- 0.8 and 2.2 +/- 0.7 (P<0.0006) inferiorly, 3.0 +/-0.7 and 2.2 +/- 0.7 (P=0.0001) septally, and 3.1 +/- 1.0 and 2.1 +/-0.8 (P=0.0001) anteroseptally, respectively. Medians [upper; lower quartiles] of a global endocardial visualization index (calculated analogously with the wall motion score index based on a 16-segment model recommended by the American Society of Echocardiography) for the harmonic and the fundamental techniques were 2.59 [2.91; 2.22] and 1.87 [2.19; 1.53] (P=0.0001) at rest, 2.62 [2.94; 2.13] and 1.84 [2.19; 1.50] (P=0.0001) at low dose dobutamine, 2.51 [3.00; 2.13] and 1.74 [2.00; 1.44] (P=0.0001) at peak dose dobutamine, and 2.52 [2.94; 2.19] and 1.76 [2.19; 1.38] (P=0.0001) at recovery, respectively. For repeated quantitative LV volumetry in the harmonic and fundamental modality by the same observer, coefficients of variation were 4.4 +/- 0.4 vs. 6.0 +/- 0.5 (P<0.0001) for end-diastolic volume, 7.4 +/- 0.8 vs. 9.2 +/- 1.1 (P<0.0001) for end-systolic volume, and 5.2 +/- 1.1 vs. 8.2 +/- 1.3 (P<0.0001) for ejection fraction, respectively. Sensitivity and specificity related to coronary angiography for both methods were 80% and 60% as well as 90% and 93%, respectively. CONCLUSION Native tissue SHI enhances LV image quality in all stress stages of DSE in unselected patients. This translates into beneficial effects on not only qualitative but also quantitative testing and diagnostic accuracy. SHI should be recommended as a standard tool in DSE and extends its applicability to difficult-to-image patients previously deemed unsuitable.
Evolutionary Conservation in Biogenesis of β-Barrel Proteins Allows Mitochondria to Assemble a Functional Bacterial Trimeric Autotransporter Protein*

Background: β-Barrel proteins are found in the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria, mitochondria, and chloroplasts. Results: Mitochondria are able to assemble the bacterial trimeric autotransporter YadA in a functional form. Conclusion: The lipoproteins of the BAM machinery are not absolutely required for the biogenesis of autotransporter protein. Significance: The evolutionary link of mitochondria to bacteria allows the former to process even prokaryotic-specific proteins. Yersinia adhesin A (YadA) belongs to a class of bacterial adhesins that form trimeric structures. Their mature form contains a passenger domain and a C-terminal β-domain that anchors the protein in the outer membrane (OM). Little is known about how precursors of such proteins cross the periplasm and assemble into the OM. In the present study we took advantage of the evolutionary conservation in the biogenesis of β-barrel proteins between bacteria and mitochondria. We previously observed that upon expression in yeast cells, bacterial β-barrel proteins including the transmembrane domain of YadA assemble into the mitochondrial OM. In the current study we found that when expressed in yeast cells both the monomeric and trimeric forms of full-length YadA were detected in mitochondria but only the trimeric species was fully integrated into the OM. The oligomeric form was exposed on the surface of the organelle in its native conformation and maintained its capacity to adhere to host cells. The co-expression of YadA with a mitochondria-targeted form of the bacterial periplasmic chaperone Skp, but not with SurA or SecB, resulted in enhanced levels of both forms of YadA. Taken together, these results indicate that the proper assembly of trimeric autotransporter can occur also in a system lacking the lipoproteins of the BAM machinery and is specifically enhanced by the chaperone Skp.
Exaggeration Index for an Expanded Version of the Auditory Verbal Learning Test: Robustness to Coaching

Recent research suggests that effort detection measures based on patterns of neuropsychological performance may be more robust to coaching than traditional effort detection measures. In the present study, we evaluated the Exaggeration Index for an extended version of the Auditory Verbal Learning Test (EI-AVLTX), a recently developed effort detection instrument based on patterns of performance on the AVLT using a simulated malingering paradigm. In two independent samples, the EI-AVLTX was1 found to be relatively sensitive and specific to malingering, and robust to the effects of a warning about malingering detection.
Passive testing and applications to network management

An important aspect of network management is fault management-determining, locating, isolating and correcting faults in the network. The paper deals with the algorithms for detecting faults, i.e., behavior of the network different from specifications. It is important for communication networks to detect faults "in-process" i.e., while the network is in its normal operation. Thus, we detect faults by examining the input-output behavior without forcing the system to specialized inputs explicitly for testing. Such testing is commonly called passive testing. We model the network as a finite state machine and develop procedures for passive testing including the required data structure, efficient implementations and the complexity of our procedures. We start with fully observable and deterministic machines and then study more realistic models: partially observable and nondeterministic machines. We also discuss extensions to communicating finite state machines and machines extended with parameters and variables. We apply our techniques to management of a signaling network operating under the Signaling System 7 (SS7) and report experimental results, which show the feasibility of applying passive testing to practical systems.