Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Activities on Facebook Reveal the Depressive State of Users

Background As online social media have become prominent, much effort has been spent on identifying users with depressive symptoms in order to aim at early diagnosis, treatment, and even prevention by using various online social media. In this paper, we focused on Facebook to discern any correlations between the platform’s features and users’ depressive symptoms. This work may be helpful in trying to reach and detect large numbers of depressed individuals more easily. Objective Our goal was to develop a Web application and identify depressive symptom–related features from users of Facebook, a popular social networking platform. Methods 55 Facebook users (male=40, female=15, mean age 24.43, SD 3.90) were recruited through advertisement fliers distributed to students in a large university in Korea. Using EmotionDiary, the Facebook application we developed, we evaluated depressive symptoms using the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression (CES-D) scale. We also provided tips and facts about depression to participants and measured their responses using EmotionDiary. To identify the Facebook features related to depression, correlation analyses were performed between CES-D and participants’ responses to tips and facts or Facebook social features. Last, we interviewed depressed participants (CES-D≥25) to assess their depressive symptoms by a psychiatrist. Results Facebook activities had predictive power in distinguishing depressed and nondepressed individuals. Participants’ response to tips and facts, which can be explained by the number of app tips viewed and app points, had a positive correlation (P=.04 for both cases), whereas the number of friends and location tags had a negative correlation with the CES-D scale (P=.08 and P=.045 respectively). Furthermore, in finding group differences in Facebook social activities, app tips viewed and app points resulted in significant differences (P=.01 and P=.03 respectively) between probably depressed and nondepressed individuals. Conclusions Our results using EmotionDiary demonstrated that the more depressed one is, the more one will read tips and facts about depression. We also confirmed depressed individuals had significantly fewer interactions with others (eg, decreased number of friends and location tagging). Our app, EmotionDiary, can successfully evaluate depressive symptoms as well as provide useful tips and facts to users. These results open the door for examining Facebook activities to identify depressed individuals. We aim to conduct the experiment in multiple cultures as well.
Detection of Frequent Alarm Patterns in Industrial Alarm Floods Using Itemset Mining Methods

The presence of alarm floods is identified as the main reason for low efficiency of alarm systems and the leading cause of many industrial accidents. In practice, a commonly used technique to deal with alarm floods is dynamic alarm suppression, which temporally suppresses predefined groups of alarms following unplanned events that are not relevant or meaningful to the operator. However, determining what alarms to suppress from a pool of thousands of configured alarm variables remains a challenging problem. This paper proposes a data-driven method to find such alarm groups by detecting frequent patterns in alarm floods from historical alarm data. Main contributions of this study are: 1) the identification and extraction of alarm floods are formulated; 2) frequent alarm patterns are defined and itemset mining methods are adapted to discover meaningful patterns in alarm floods; and 3) new visualization techniques are proposed based on exiting plots to show alarm floods and alarm patterns. The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated by application to real industrial data.
Characterization of a Xenopus laevis CXC chemokine receptor 4: implications for hemato‐poietic cell development in the vertebrate embryo

Previous reports have shown that the Gi‐protein‐coupled CXC chemokine receptor 4 is activated by stromal cell‐derived factor 1 (SDF‐1). The receptor is present in many cell types and regulates a variety of cellular functions, including chemotaxis, adhesion, hematopoiesis, and organogenesis. To examine the role of CXCR4 as a regulator of organogenesis in the vertebrate embryo, we have isolated a cDNA encoding the Xenopus laevis homologue of CXCR4 (xCXCR4). The encoded polypeptide was functionally reconstituted with recombinant Gi2 in baculovirus‐infected insect cells. Although xCXCR4 shares only 42% of its extracellular residues with mammalian CXCR4, it is indistinguishable from human CXCR4 in terms of its activation by human SDF‐1α and SDF‐1β. The fact that only 19 of these residues are specifically present in the extracellular portions of CXCR4 suggests that these residues may be involved in recognizing SDF‐1 and/or mediating CXCR4 activation by SDF‐1. Xenopus CXCR4 mRNA expression was up‐regulated during early neurula stages and remained high during early organogenesis. Whole mount in situ hybridization analysis showed abundant expression of xCXCR4 mRNA in the nervous system, including forebrain, hindbrain, and sensory organs, and in neural crest cells. xCXCR4 mRNA was also detected in the dorsal lateral plate, the first site of definitive hematopoiesis in the amphibian embryo corresponding to aorta‐gonad‐mesonephros or para‐aortic splanchnopleura in mammals. This observation suggests that SDF‐1 and CXCR4 are involved in regulating the migratory behavior of hematopoietic stem cells colonizing the larval or fetal liver. The hematopoietic defects observed in mice lacking SDF‐1 or CXCR4 may, at least in part, be explained by a disturbance of this migration.
Inhibition of melanoma development in the Nras(Q61K)::Ink4a−/− mouse model by the small molecule BI‐69A11

To date, there are no effective therapies for tumors bearing NRAS mutations, which are present in 15–20% of human melanomas. Here we extend our earlier studies where we demonstrated that the small molecule BI‐69A11 inhibits the growth of melanoma cell lines. Gene expression analysis revealed the induction of interferon‐ and cell death‐related genes that were associated with responsiveness of melanoma cell lines to BI‐69A11. Strikingly, the administration of BI‐69A11 inhibited melanoma development in genetically modified mice bearing an inducible form of activated Nras and a deletion of the Ink4a gene (Nras(Q61K)::Ink4a−/−). Biweekly administration of BI‐69A11 starting at 10 weeks or as late as 24 weeks after the induction of mutant Nras expression inhibited melanoma development (100 and 36%, respectively). BI‐69A11 treatment did not inhibit the development of histiocytic sarcomas, which constitute about 50% of the tumors in this model. BI‐69A11‐resistant Nras(Q61K)::Ink4a−/− tumors exhibited increased CD45 expression, reflective of immune cell infiltration and upregulation of gene networks associated with the cytoskeleton, DNA damage response, and small molecule transport. The ability to attenuate the development of NRAS mutant melanomas supports further development of BI‐69A11 for clinical assessment.
Outer-membrane protein and lipopolysaccharide serotyping of Neisseria meningitidis by inhibition of a solid-phase radioimmunoassay

A new procedure involving inhibition of a solid-phase radioimmunoassay was developed for specific determination of the outer-membrane protein and the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) serotypes of meningococci. Antigen was allowed to bind to the wells of a polyvinyl microtiter plate and then reacted with a limiting amount of homologous antibody which had been preincubated with buffer or a standard concentration of inhibiting antigen. The amount of antibody bound per well was quantitated by incubation with excess 125I-labeled goat anti-rabbit immunoglobulin. Typing sera for detecting eight LPS antigens and 18 protein antigens were made in rabbits by use of both the group C and group B bactericidal serotyping strains. Reactions between unabsorbed sera and purified LPS were inhibited in the LPS typing system, whereas reactions between absorbed sera and outer-membrane complex were inhibited in the protein typing system. Outer-membrane complex was used as the inhibiting antigen in both cases. Approximately 97% of the 80 group B and C strains tested were LPS typable, and 80% were protein typable. Of 51 group A strains tested, however, only 22% were LPS typable and 14% were protein typable. Several nonreciprocal correlations between the occurrence of particular LPS and protein serotype antigens on the same strain were observed, but in general the protein and LPS serotype antigens appeared to occur independently.
Anti-inflammatory activity of clove (Eugenia caryophyllata) essential oil in human dermal fibroblasts

Abstract Context: Clove (Eugenia caryophyllata Thunb. [Myrtaceae]) essential oil (CEO) has been shown to possess antimicrobial, antifungal, antiviral, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anticancer properties. However, few studies have focused on its topical use. Objective: We investigated the biological activity of a commercially available CEO in a human skin disease model. Materials and methods: We evaluated the effect of CEO on 17 protein biomarkers that play critical roles in inflammation and tissue remodelling in a validated human dermal fibroblast system, which was designed to model chronic inflammation and fibrosis. Four concentrations of CEO (0.011, 0.0037, 0.0012, and 0.00041%, v/v) were studied. The effect of 0.011% CEO on genome-wide gene expression was also evaluated. Results and discussion: CEO at a concentration of 0.011% showed robust antiproliferative effects on human dermal fibroblasts. It significantly inhibited the increased production of several proinflammatory biomarkers such as vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1), interferon γ-induced protein 10 (IP-10), interferon-inducible T-cell α chemoattractant (I-TAC), and monokine induced by γ interferon (MIG). CEO also significantly inhibited tissue remodelling protein molecules, namely, collagen-I, collagen-III, macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF), and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 2 (TIMP-2). Furthermore, it significantly modulated global gene expression and altered signalling pathways critical for inflammation, tissue remodelling, and cancer signalling processes. CEO significantly inhibited VCAM-1 and collagen III at both protein and gene expression levels. Conclusions: This study provides important evidence of CEO-induced anti-inflammatory and tissue remodelling activity in human dermal fibroblasts. This study also supports the anticancer properties of CEO and its major active component eugenol.
Ten years’ experience of screening patients with Barrett’s oesophagus in a university teaching hospital

Background—Barrett’s metaplasia is a premalignant condition for which screening is recommended. Aims/methods—Annual screening endoscopies have been performed on all subjects suitable for surgery for many years. To examine the benefits to patients of continuing this policy 10 years’ experience of screening for Barrett’s oesophagus was reviewed. Results—Of the 29 374 endoscopies performed over this period, Barrett’s metaplasia was present in 1.4%. There was an approximate equal sex distribution with the majority of cases being identified in patients over 50 years old. Thirty five per cent of these patients were suitable to enter a yearly screening programme. During screening, the length of oesophagus involved did not vary over time. As a result of 379 endoscopies performed for screening purposes, only one patient was identified as developing carcinoma solely as a result of the screening programme. Two further patients had carcinoma identified as a result of progressive dysphagia requiring additional endoscopies. All three patients who developed carcinoma while in the screening programme had “long segment” (>8 cm) regions of Barrett’s metaplasia with a stricture present at the initial endoscopy. Conclusions—The poor yield from this screening programme suggests that the policy should be reconsidered. Resources may be better spent on focusing on patients who present with ulceration or stricture in addition to Barrett’s metaplasia.
Sperm competition experiments between lines of crickets producing different sperm lengths

Sperm numbers can be important determinants of fertilization success in sperm competition. However, the importance of variation in sperm size is less well understood. Sperm size varies significantly both between and within species and comparative studies have suggested that some of this variance can be explained by sperm competition. In this study we examine whether variation in sperm length has consequences for fertilization precedence using controlled sperm competition experiments in the field cricket Gryllus bimaculatus. This species is an ideal model for such investigations because the mechanism of sperm competition generates complete mixing of different males' spermatozoa in the female (thereby allowing individual sperm to express their own competitive abilities). We successfully bred lines of crickets, the males of which produced short, medium and long sperm types with narrow and non–overlapping distributions. Males of different lines were then sequentially mated with control females in order to create two–male sperm competitions. The paternity outcomes of these competitions were measured after matings using an irradiated male technique (with a full reciprocal design that controls for natural fertility and any irradiation effects on gamete competitiveness) over a 12 day oviposition period. However, having successfully bred diverging sperm length lines and competing males that differed in sperm length, we found no evidence that a male's sperm size explained any of the variation in their relative fertilization success. Males from lines producing longer sperm showed no fertilization advantage over males producing shorter sperm across 97 double matings. There was also no advantage for males producing a sperm length close to the population mean over those competitors whose sperm length had been selectively diverged across 63 matings.
Transition to an open economy : an analysis of Vietnam's export performance 1986 - 2000 : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Business Studies in Economics at Massey University

External reform is a large component of Vietnam's overall transition to a market-based economy which officially started in 1986. This study analytically and empirically examines Vietnam's export performance from 1986 to 2000. The spectacular growth in both exports and imports and significant changes in Vietnam's export composition and market structure since 1986 are delineated. Exports, as a demand source, are found to contribute an increasing part of the overall output growth. Vietnam's changing Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA) indicates a move toward manufactured exports. Increased diversification is apparent within Vietnam's export destinations, but less diversification is evident in its export composition. A Constant-Market-Share (CMS) analysis of the sources of non-oil export growth over the period 1985-1999 shows that Vietnam's exports concentrated on commodities with import demands growing more slowly than the average of all commodities. From 1985 to 1995, Vietnam's exports benefited from increasing penetration into relatively fast growing Asian markets, but the Asian crisis of 1999 effectively derailed Vietnam's export expansion. Inability to adapt export composition and market structure to changes in world conditions affected Vietnam's increasing share in world exports. Vietnam's increased competitiveness, as reflected in the micro-share effects, is found to be the key to observed export growth, representing 118 percent of the total gain in market share from 1985 to 1999. The study further tested observed composition of manufactured exports to three selected groups of Vietnam's trading partners the world, the OECD and the Asian developing countries in the light of the Ricardian and the Heckscher-Ohlin theories. Empirical results provide no evidence that manufactured exports to any of these three groups of trading partners is positively correlated with labour productivity. The Heckscher-Ohlin contention that Vietnam should export relatively labour-intensive goods is supported by the pattern of Vietnam's manufactured exports to the OECD and the world, but not confirmed by its pattern of manufactured exports to the Asian developing countries.
Inhibition of Akt Kinase by Cell-permeable Ceramide and Its Implications for Ceramide-induced Apoptosis*

Ceramide is an important lipid messenger involved in mediating a variety of cell functions including apoptosis. However, mechanisms responsible for ceramide-induced apoptosis remain unclear. We investigated the possibility that ceramide may decrease antiapoptotic signaling in cells by inhibiting Akt kinase activity. Our data show that C2-ceramide induces apoptosis in HMN1 motor neuron cells and decreases both basal and insulin- or serum-stimulated Akt kinase activity 65–70%. These results are consistent with decreased Akt kinase activity being involved in the apoptotic effects of ceramide. This possibility is further supported by studies showing that constitutively active Akt kinase decreases C2-ceramide-induced death of HMN1 cells as well as COS-7 cells. Decreased Akt activity is not due to ceramide activating the ceramide-activated protein phosphatase or to a direct inhibition of Akt kinase by ceramide, suggesting that ceramide acts upstream of Akt kinase to decrease its activity. Treating cells with C2-ceramide does not affect phosphorylation of insulin receptor substrate-1, interactions between insulin receptor substrate-1 and p85, or insulin-stimulated phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase activity, suggesting that the effects of C2-ceramide on Akt kinase are not mediated through modulating phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase. In sum, our results suggest that inhibition of the key antiapoptotic kinase, Akt, may play an important role in ceramide-induced apoptosis.
Oral lesions in HIV infected individuals from Ribeirão Preto, Brazil.

OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to diagnosis oral lesions related to HIV infection in individuals followed in the General Hospital of the School of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Brazil. The presence of oral lesions was correlated with gender, age, smoking habit, levels of CD4 lymphocytes, HIV load, time of HIV seropositivity, AIDS condition, use of removable dental prosthesis, and use of HAART. MATERIALS AND METHODS 340 HIV infected individuals were selected for this study, all participants of the study were examined by only one practiced dentist which performed anamnesis, peribuccal and oral examination. RESULTS Oral lesions were observed in 113 of 340 (33.2%) HIV infected individuals. These oral lesions included: oral candidiasis (17.7%) of pseudomembranous (10.8%) and of erythematous types (6.9%), angular cheilitis (13.9%), hairy leukoplakia (11.8%), and oral ulcers (2.1%). Oral candidiasis lesions were more frequently observed in women (p.033). Smoking addict participants presented a high frequency of tongue hairy leukoplakia (p.038) and a reduced frequency of oral ulcers (p.018). Hairy leukoplakia and pseudomembranous candidiasis were inversely correlated to CD4+L levels and directly correlated with HIV load, behaving as immune depression markers. Hairy leukoplakia and pseudomembranous candidiasis also showed an inverse correlation with HAART use (p<.0001). Patients using mobile dental prosthesis presented a high frequency of erythematous candidiasis (p.003). CONCLUSION The inverse correlation with CD4+L level and the direct correlation with HIV load suggest that oral lesions could be used as alternative clinical markers for poor immune condition in HIV infected individuals.
Validation Study of the OHIO Chamber in Patients with Japanese Cedar Pollinosis

Background: An artificial exposure chamber (OHIO Chamber), which allows dispersal of a fixed concentration of Japanese cedar (JC) pollen under stable conditions, was constructed. This study was conducted to identify the exposure conditions assuring validity of the clinical tests conducted using this chamber. Methods: Twenty-four adult patients with JC pollinosis were exposed to different concentrations of JC pollen: 0 (only during the summer period), 4,000, 8,000 and 12,000 grains/m3, and the nasal and ocular symptoms were self-assessed during a 4-hour period of exposure. The amount of nasal discharge was measured and the sneezing frequency was recorded. This study was conducted twice during the summer and winter periods, i.e. non-pollen seasons. The reproducibility of the symptoms between the two seasons was assessed. Results: None of the subjects developed any symptom at the pollen concentration of 0 grains/m3. No significant differences in the time to the onset of symptoms were found between the summer and winter study, regardless of the pollen concentration. There were no significant differences between the summer and winter study in the total symptom score and total nasal symptom score at any pollen concentration, suggesting the very favorable reproducibility of symptoms. Conclusions: Efficient and reproducible results are obtained in patients exposed to JC pollen in the OHIO Chamber. The results suggest the conditions of JC pollen exposure have scientific validity and the OHIO Chamber has the potential to contribute significantly to basic and clinical studies of JC pollinosis.
The interaction effects of firm and partner tenure on audit quality

This paper investigates the impact of firm and partner tenure on audit quality, where audit quality is proxied by discretionary accruals. We study a sample of Spanish listed companies between 2005 and 2011 and address both the individual and the interaction effects of firm and partner tenure. Our study is motivated by the current debate, particularly intense at the EU level, on the impact of the auditor rotation regime on the quality of auditing. We find that, without considering the interaction effects, firm and partner tenure do not seem to play a relevant role as determinants of audit quality. Importantly, the interaction of firm and partner tenure shows stronger effects on audit quality than both forms of tenure separately considered. Finally, our analysis suggests that audit quality is maximized when medium firm and partner tenures interact. However, results for the interaction variables are sensitive to the accruals estimation method.