Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Survival analytic approach to long‐term prescription of benzodiazepine hypnotics

Eight hundred and sixty‐two patients who visited the department of neuropsychiatry and who were prescribed benzodiazepine (BZ) hypnotics were investigated to evaluate the actual state of their use, in terms of age, gender, diagnostic categories according to ICD‐9, duration of prescription and dose equivalent to diazepam prescribed. The frequency of prescriptions in subjects were surveyed using Kaplan–Meier survival analysis at every 3 months. Mean survival time to discontinuation was 8.5 months. A total of 60% of the subjects did not receive BZ hypnotics at the end of the third month, but 20% remained to be prescribed after 1 year. Moreover, 7.9% of the subjects were prescribed BZ hypnotics even after 3 years. The results indicated that 20% of patients who had started prescriptions for BZ hypnotics had the potential to induce dependence. The following variables were found in the long‐term prescription: male patients; aged patients over 60; and affective psychoses (which mainly consisted of depression) including neurotic depression, in the present study. A low dose was considered to be associated with an ability to be free from BZ hypnotics in an early period.
How do respondents construe ambiguous response formats of affect items?

Ambiguous response formats predict correlations from -. 467 to -1 between opposite items, depending on whether the respondent's interpretation of the format is unipolar or bipolar. The authors present a procedure to investigate the proper interpretation in each case. It consists of applying nonparametric and parametric item response theory models (the Mokken and the graded response models) to pairs of opposite items in order to find the locations of the response options along the latent scale and, therefore, identify the response format construction. The authors tested this procedure on 4 samples (Ns=142-1,150) and 2 item pairs ("relaxed"-"tense" and "optimistic"-"pessimistic"). The results revealed that respondents constructed the formats as bipolar and supported the bipolarity of the item pairs.
The First Archaeal ATP-Dependent Glucokinase, from the Hyperthermophilic Crenarchaeon Aeropyrum pernix, Represents a Monomeric, Extremely Thermophilic ROK Glucokinase with Broad Hexose Specificity

ABSTRACT An ATP-dependent glucokinase of the hyperthermophilic aerobic crenarchaeon Aeropyrum pernix was purified 230-fold to homogeneity. The enzyme is a monomeric protein with an apparent molecular mass of about 36 kDa. The apparent Km values for ATP and glucose (at 90°C and pH 6.2) were 0.42 and 0.044 mM, respectively; the apparent Vmax was about 35 U/mg. The enzyme was specific for ATP as a phosphoryl donor, but showed a broad spectrum for phosphoryl acceptors: in addition to glucose, which showed the highest catalytic efficiency (kcat/Km), the enzyme also phosphorylates glucosamin, fructose, mannose, and 2-deoxyglucose. Divalent cations were required for maximal activity: Mg2+, which was most effective, could partially be replaced with Co2+, Mn2+, and Ni2+. The enzyme had a temperature optimum of at least 100°C and showed significant thermostability up to 100°C. The coding function of open reading frame (ORF) APE2091 (Y. Kawarabayasi, Y. Hino, H. Horikawa, S. Yamazaki, Y. Haikawa, K. Jin-no, M. Takahashi, M. Sekine, S. Baba, A. Ankai, H. Kosugi, A. Hosoyama, S. Fukui, Y. Nagai, K. Nishijima, H. Nakazawa, M. Takamiya, S. Masuda, T. Funahashi, T. Tanaka, Y. Kudoh, J. Yamazaki, N. Kushida, A. Oguchi, and H. Kikuchi, DNA Res. 6:83-101, 145-152, 1999), previously annotated as gene glk, coding for ATP-glucokinase of A. pernix, was proved by functional expression in Escherichia coli. The purified recombinant ATP-dependent glucokinase showed a 5-kDa higher molecular mass on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, but almost identical kinetic and thermostability properties in comparison to the native enzyme purified from A. pernix. N-terminal amino acid sequence of the native enzyme revealed that the translation start codon is a GTG 171 bp downstream of the annotated start codon of ORF APE2091. The amino acid sequence deduced from the truncated ORF APE2091 revealed sequence similarity to members of the ROK family, which comprise bacterial sugar kinases and transcriptional repressors. This is the first report of the characterization of an ATP-dependent glucokinase from the domain of Archaea, which differs from its bacterial counterparts by its monomeric structure and its broad specificity for hexoses.
Discovery of an Octahedral Silicon Complex as a Potent Antifungal Agent

Octahedral transition metal complexes have been shown to have tremendous applications in chemical biology and medicinal chemistry. Meanwhile, structural transition metals can be replaced by inert octahedral silicon in a proof-of-principle study. We here introduce the first example of octahedral silicon complexes, which can very well serve as an efficient antimicrobial agent. The typical silicon arenediolate complex 1 {[(phen)2Si(OO)](PF6)2, with phen = 1,10-phenanthroline, OO = 9,10-phenanthrenediolate} exhibited significant inhibition towards the growth of Cryptococcus neoformans with MIC and MFC values of 4.5 and 11.3 μM, respectively. Moreover, it was fungicidal against both proliferative and quiescent Cryptococcus cells. This work may set the stage for the development of novel antifungal drugs based upon hexacoodinate silicon scaffolds.
Corona ageing tests of RTV and RTV nanocomposite materials

Silicone rubber insulating materials are superior to conventional porcelain materials, whose special water repellency and transfer of water repellency is favorable in power industry. However, two points are concerned in its application, and these are long-term reliability and lack of methods to assess their long-term performance. Corona and arc are important factors that induce degradation of RTV insulating materials during operation. Nanomaterials are used to modify the properties of RTV silicone rubber. Corona aging tests have been conducted, and the results of water repellency and IR analyses show that these nanomaterials can markedly improve its corona aging performance.
Coping with Racial Discrimination

Research demonstrates that the mental health of African Americans is negatively affected by discrimination, but few studies have investigated the effects of racial discrimination specifically and whether these effects vary by poverty and education levels. Using a sample of 3,372 African Americans from the National Survey of American Life (NSAL), we find a positive relationship between racial discrimination and depressive symptoms, with both lifetime and daily racial discrimination being more salient for depressive symptoms among impoverished African Americans than those living above 200% of the poverty line. Evaluating mediated moderation models, we also find that the conditional effects of socioeconomic status are mediated by poor African Americans’ having fewer psychosocial resources. Namely, lower levels of mastery are influential in accounting for poor African Americans’ greater vulnerability to both daily and lifetime discrimination. The findings highlight the importance of examining specific reasons for discrimination as well as mediated moderation in future research.
Worlds of demonetisation and delegitimising the grief of the marginal

ABSTRACT In late 2016, the Indian state announced a policy of demonetisation whereby high denomination currency was legally rendered as invalid. The official aim of the policy was to confront the problems of black money and corruption that India faces. However, currency shortage resulting from the withdrawal of nearly 85% cash adversely affected the large informal economy in India. We explore how demonetisation affected marginal actors in one such informal economy space, the scrap market in some cities in south India. By accessing the narratives of these marginal subjects, we hope to show how the consumption of the governmental-corporate discourse of utopia is simultaneously implicated in the injustices and violence being experienced by several people. We contribute to ongoing theoretical conversations about the linkages between marketing and hegemonic practices of development by contending that hegemonic imaginations of development are linked to delegitimising the grief of marginal subjects. Such delegitimisation is linked to the desires of consumer-citizens in making them feel aligned with utopian fantasies and the reproduction of identity-based inequalities against marginal subjects.
Bernhard Schmidt-Hertha Activities and barriers to education for elderly people

Adult education at higher age can play an important role in the preservation of autonomy and in the encouragement of social participation in later life. Hence, from both an individual and societal perspective, it is important to promote the educational activities of the elderly. Active elderly people with positive perceptions of self and ageing maintain their mental and physical fitness levels, participate in community associations and politics, and engage in intergenerational dialogue. Data from a recent study clearly show the interrelationship of individual self-perception and the perception of ageing and point to the relevance of both concepts for learning and participating in educational activities. As people age, they participate less and less in further education. This is due not only to individual learning habits, but also to the lack of learning opportunities in different regions and residential areas. In districts that are primarily comprised of people with low standards of living and low education and/or migration backgrounds, there is a lack of sufficient educational structures, which hinders participation in adult education programs. Qualitative interviews with older adults in different districts show that social environment, social embeddedness, and individual perspectives of one’s own learning abilities affect learning possibilities and learning readiness.
Osteopathia striata with cranial sclerosis: Clinical, radiological, and bone histological findings in an adolescent girl

Osteopathia striata with cranial sclerosis (OS–CS) is a rare skeletal dysplasia characterized by linear striations of the long bones, osteosclerosis of the cranium, and extra‐skeletal anomalies. We provide a comprehensive description of the skeletal phenotype in a French‐Canadian girl with a moderate to severe form of sporadic OS–CS. Multiple medical problems, including anal stenosis and the Pierre–Robin sequence, were evident in the first few years of life. At 14 years, she was fully mobile, with normal intellect and stature. She suffered chronic lower extremity pain in the absence of fractures, as well as severe headaches, unilateral facial paralysis, and bilateral mixed hearing loss. Biochemical indices of bone and mineral metabolism were within normal limits. Bone densitometry showed increased areal bone mineral density in the skull, trunk, and pelvis, but not in the upper and lower extremities. An iliac bone biopsy specimen revealed an increased amount of trabecular bone. Trabeculae were abnormally thick, but there was no evidence of disturbed bone remodeling. In a cranial bone specimen, multiple layers of periosteal bone were found that covered a compact cortical compartment containing tightly packed haversian canals. Bone lamellation was normal in both the iliac and skull samples. Osteoclast differentiation studies showed that peripheral blood osteoclast precursors from this patient formed functional osteoclasts in vitro. Thus, studies of bone metabolism did not explain why bone mass is increased in most skeletal areas of this patient. Cranial histology points to exuberant periosteal bone formation as a potential cause of the cranial sclerosis. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Is aging in place a resource for or risk to life satisfaction?

PURPOSE Given age-related health restrictions, the importance of the environment for life satisfaction may increase in later life. This study investigated whether objective and perceived physical and social environmental aspects of the home and of the surrounding neighborhood represent resources for or risks to life satisfaction among young-old and old-old individuals. DESIGN AND METHODS A population-based sample of 381 community-dwelling individuals aged 65-94 years reported on their sociophysical environment and life satisfaction using questionnaires. RESULTS On average, young-old differ from old-old in indoor physical environmental indicators but not in neighborhood characteristics or social aspects of housing. Regression analyses revealed that apartment size, perceived neighborhood quality, and outdoor place attachment explained life satisfaction independently, whereas social housing aspects played only a minor role. Separate analyses for both age groups revealed age differential explanation patterns. Apartment size was positively related to life satisfaction in the young-old but was negatively related in the old-old. For the old-old, perceived neighborhood quality and outdoor place attachment were more important than for the young-old. Living with others was positively related to life satisfaction only for the young-old. IMPLICATIONS Environmental characteristics at home and in the neighborhood need to be considered to better understand differential processes of aging in place with respect to well-being.
Human mu‐opioid receptor gene A118G polymorphism predicts the efficacy of tramadol/acetaminophen combination tablets (ultracet) in oxaliplatin‐induced painful neuropathy

The A118G polymorphism of the mu‐opioid receptor gene (OPRM1), resulting in the substitution of an amino acid, has been found to be associated with functional effects and response to opioid treatment. The purpose of this study was to assess whether this polymorphism contributes to the variability in response to tramadol/acetaminophen combination tablets (Ultracet) for treating oxaliplatin‐induced painful neuropathy.
Characterization of leaky faults: Study of water flow in aquifer‐fault‐aquifer systems

Leaky faults provide important flow paths for fluids to move underground. It is often necessary to characterize such faults in engineering projects such as deep well injection of waste liquids, underground natural gas storage, and radioactive waste isolation. To provide this characterization, analytical solutions are presented for groundwater flow through saturated aquifer-fault-aquifer systems assuming that both the aquifers and the fault are homogeneous and that the fault has an insignificant effect on aquifer hydraulic properties. Three different conditions are considered: (1) drawdown in the unpumped aquifer is negligibly small; (2) drawdown in the unpumped aquifer is significant, and the two aquifers have the same diffusivity; and (3) drawdown in the unpumped aquifer is significant, and the two aquifers have different diffusivities. Methods are presented to determine the fault transmissivity from pumping test data. [References: 12]
Search for Genomic Alterations in Monozygotic Twins Discordant for Cleft Lip and/or Palate

Abstract Phenotypically discordant monozygotic twins offer the possibility of gene discovery through delineation of molecular abnormalities in one member of the twin pair. One proposed mechanism of discordance is postzygotically occurring genomic alterations resulting from mitotic recombination and other somatic changes. Detection of altered genomic fragments can reveal candidate gene loci that can be verified through additional analyses. We investigated this hypothesis using array comparative genomic hybridization; the 50K and 250K Affymetrix GeneChip® SNP arrays and an Illumina custom array consisting of 1,536 SNPs, to scan for genomic alterations in a sample of monozygotic twin pairs with discordant cleft lip and/or palate phenotypes. Paired analysis for deletions, amplifications and loss of heterozygosity, along with sequence verification of SNPs with discordant genotype calls did not reveal any genomic discordance between twin pairs in lymphocyte DNA samples. Our results demonstrate that postzygotic genomic alterations are not a common cause of monozygotic twin discordance for isolated cleft lip and/or palate. However, rare or balanced genomic alterations, tissue-specific events and small aberrations beyond the detection level of our experimental approach cannot be ruled out. The stability of genomes we observed in our study samples also suggests that detection of discordant events in other monozygotic twin pairs would be remarkable and of potential disease significance.
Ischemic tolerance affects the adenylation state of GluR2 mRNA

To analyse GluR2 regulations in the rat hippocampal CA1 region following global and tolerance-inducing ischemia in situ hybridization (ISH) and quantitative PCR (Q-PCR) was applied. In addition, cDNA was synthesised from two different primer combinations in order to elucidate possible differences in the adenylation state of GluR2 mRNA. Following global ischemia, ISH and Q-PCR both showed reductions to half of control levels of GluR2 mRNA in consent with previously published results. Following tolerance induction, ISH showed no changes, whereas PCR analysis showed up-regulation to 228% of control value for the general cDNA synthesis, and no change for the specific cDNA synthesis. This indicates that tolerance-inducing ischemia does not increase the amount of GluR2 mRNA; instead polyadenylation of the existing GluR2 mRNA pool takes place.
INFLUENCE OF BULL SEMINAL PLASMA ON POST-THAW RAM SEMEN PARAMETERS AND FERTILITY

The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of the addition of 20% bull seminal plasma to semen extenders on post-thaw sperm motility, morphology, and fertility. Two Merino rams at 3-5 years of age, 43 ewes, and one Holstein bull were used. Fourteen ejaculates were collected by the use of an artificial vagina, twice a day, at 60 min interval. Six semen ejaculates were extended with Tris-egg yolk extender containing 20% bull seminal plasma (TEY-BSP group), and 8 ejaculates were extended with Tris-egg yolk (TEY group), at a rate to obtain 150x10 6 spermatozoa/straw. The ewes in oestrous were divided at random into two groups. Twenty-two ewes were inseminated with TEY-BSP and 21 ewes were inseminated with TEY. The mean percentage of motility, defected acrosome, and total morphological defect for the equilibrated and post-thaw semen parameters of the TEY, were 69.4%, 8.6%, and 17.0% and 42.8%, 49.9%, and 51.2%, respectively. The mean percentage of non-return rate (NRR) (n=43) was 30.2% and for the semen frozen with TEY-BSP (n=22) and TEY (n=21) - 31.8%, and 28.6%, respectively. There were no significant differences between TEY-BSP and TEY for NRR. In conclusion, the addition of the bull seminal plasma to freezing extender has a supportive effect on extended, equilibrated, and thawed semen. Moreover, the addition of bull seminal plasma to ram semen extender improved fertility.
Mapping/assessing carbon stocks in the perspective of Payment for Environmental Services (PES) for rural communities in East Cameroon

Rural Africa plays an important role in the stabilization of the world’s climate. Given that greenhouse gases are emitted from different sources and places, they accumulate over time and mix globally. Climate change can then be effectively tackled if collective actions are taken at global level. Though most decisions are taken by international conservation organizations, the implimetations are done at rural levels by local and indegenous communities who direclty depend on forest products. Reason why carbon stocks assessment at the MPEMOG Community Forest was done in order to establish a reference level for emission-reduction in the perspective of Payment for Environmental Services (PES) using the Chave et al. (2014) non-destructive allometric equation. From analysis of variance, carbon stock varied from 53.48±36.17 Ct/ha to 218.29±308.38 Ct/ha in Mixed cropland and Primary forest respectively equally the conversion of Primary Forest to Mixed cropland leads to the highest carbon loss (166.24 Ct/ha) and Cocoa plantations generate both economic and ecological values and contribute significantly to food security. The study concludes that the variation in carbon stocks depends on the degree of human influence and PES is an opportunity to contribute in forest sustainability while improving on the socioeconomic development of forest dependent populations.
High-Performance Human Resource Practices and Firm Performance: Mediating Effect of Corporate Entrepreneurship

Corporate entrepreneurship (CE) positively affects growth and profitability of organizations by providing competitive advantage over innovation driven technological transformations and intense global competition. CE activities have an elevator role on company performance via adoption of a change-oriented structure and development of new products, processes and services. High performance human resource practices (HPHRPs) help to boost both intra-firm level entrepreneurial behavior, and also organizational outcomes. When combined with the influential effect of corporate entrepreneurship activities, HPHRPs support achievement of better organizational performance. In this study, a selected group of HPHRPs was assessed for their possible direct and indirect effects on firm performance. Moreover, the possible mediation effect of CE activities in this relationship was examined. To test the hypotheses of the study, the data were gathered from a total of 199 manufacturing and service sector companies operating in Turkish business environment. As a result of the structural equation modeling analysis conducted by AMOS, the mediation effect of CE activities between HPHRPs and firm performance was validated within the context of the current study. In addition, the results indicated a varying relationship between different HPHRPs and CE activities. Explicitly, training, clear job description, participation opportunities, employer's employment commitment, reward and performance evaluation practices were found to have distinctive effects on innovation, new business venturing and self renewal activities, which act as mediating variables between the selected HPHRPs and firm performance.