Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Correlation bias in U.S. census adjustment.

One form of error that can affect census adjustments is correlation bias, reflecting people who are doubly missing--from the census and from the adjusted counts as well. This article presents a method for estimating the total national number of doubly-missing people and their distribution by race and sex. Application to the 1990 U.S. census adjustment leads to an estimate of 3 million doubly-missing people. Correlation bias is likely to be a serious problem for census adjustment in 2000. The methods of this article are well suited for measuring its magnitude.
The Death Effect in Literary Evaluation: Reverence for the Dead?

It is commonly believed that the value of art and other creative works increases after the death of the artist. In an attempt to examine this so-called death effect we presented a short story to N = 431 undergraduate students asking how much money they would hypothetically spend to purchase a literary work. We experimentally manipulated: 1) whether the author died or moved after publishing a short story, and, 2) the gender of the author. Participants randomly received one of four possible biographical descriptions about the author. We predicted that participants would offer higher purchase prices and subjectively evaluate the work more positively when they believed the author was dead. Results were consistent with this hypothesis perhaps reflecting a certain reverence for the dead. We also found that evaluations of the story were more favorable when the purported gender of the author matched that of the participant.
Design of linear-phase two-channel FIR filter banks with rational sampling factors

The design of two-channel filter banks with rational sampling factors is considered based on the use of linear-phase finite-impulse response (FIR) filters whose stop-band performances are minimized in the least squares sense. It is shown that a proper selection of the filter orders enables one to synthesize a perfect reconstruction filter bank. The optimization of the overall filter bank is carried out by properly modifying the algorithm of Dutta and Vidyasagar. The modified algorithms enables one to optimize both the perfect-reconstruction and the near perfect-reconstruction filter banks. Several examples are included illustrating the properties of the resulting optimized filter banks as well as the trade-off between the stopband attenuation and the amplitude and the aliasing errors of the optimized filter bank.
Evaporation kinetics and phase of laboratory and ambient secondary organic aerosol

Field measurements of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) find significantly higher mass loads than predicted by models, sparking intense effort focused on finding additional SOA sources but leaving the fundamental assumptions used by models unchallenged. Current air-quality models use absorptive partitioning theory assuming SOA particles are liquid droplets, forming instantaneous reversible equilibrium with gas phase. Further, they ignore the effects of adsorption of spectator organic species during SOA formation on SOA properties and fate. Using accurate and highly sensitive experimental approach for studying evaporation kinetics of size-selected single SOA particles, we characterized room-temperature evaporation kinetics of laboratory-generated α-pinene SOA and ambient atmospheric SOA. We found that even when gas phase organics are removed, it takes ∼24 h for pure α-pinene SOA particles to evaporate 75% of their mass, which is in sharp contrast to the ∼10 min time scale predicted by current kinetic models. Adsorption of “spectator” organic vapors during SOA formation, and aging of these coated SOA particles, dramatically reduced the evaporation rate, and in some cases nearly stopped it. Ambient SOA was found to exhibit evaporation behavior very similar to that of laboratory-generated coated and aged SOA. For all cases studied in this work, SOA evaporation behavior is nearly size-independent and does not follow the evaporation kinetics of liquid droplets, in sharp contrast with model assumptions. The findings about SOA phase, evaporation rates, and the importance of spectator gases and aging all indicate that there is need to reformulate the way SOA formation and evaporation are treated by models.
Joint mobility and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, (EDS) new data based on 232 cases

Hypermobility in Ehlers-Danlos syndrome was the first historical finding, and is still deemed by many to be a requirement for diagnosis. It was aptly described by Lauritz-Edvard Ehlers on December 15, 1900, at the Danish Society of Dermatology in Copenhagen. Hypermobility is also described in the clinical report of Henri-Alexandre Danlos and Achille Miget who, as the first, associated Ehlers and Danlos in the same syndrome. Currently, there is some controversy about the role of hypermobility, and on how it may be diagnosed. The discovery of muscle and tendon retraction as a part of this syndrome sheds new light on the diagnostic debate surrounding a genetic syndrome in the absence of biological markers, with as of yet no fully conclusive genetic test available for its identification. Our study included 232 patients (84% women) from 2 to 70 years of age. Diagnosis was made in accordance with the Villefranche geneticists classification criteria. The patients enrolled in the study are of the hypermobile type. We looked for muscle, tendon, and aponeurosis retraction in the knees, ankles, and the soles of feet. In our population of 232 patients, we found a retraction of the hamstrings in 203 individuals (87.5%). Retractions of the triceps surae were found in 90.9% of patients, and retractions of the soles of feet were observed in 95.9% of patients. The impact of retraction on the Beighton palms-on-the-floor test is very great indeed 97.8% of patients who present a retraction of the hamstrings of over 45° cannot perform this maneuver. Hamstring retraction does not, however, affect the test of knee hypermobility (recurvatum). The presence of muscle and tendon retractions in the posterior muscle compartments of the lower limbs and the soles of the feet constitute clinical features of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. They should be addressed with a view to prevention and treatment, mainly through physical therapy.
Estimating the Rock Volume Bias in Paleobiodiversity Studies

To interpret changes in biodiversity through geological time, it is necessary first to correct for biases in sampling effort related to variations in the exposure of rocks and recovery of fossils with age. Data from New Zealand indicate that outcrop area is likely to be a reliable proxy of rock volume in both stable cratonic regions, where the paleobiodiversity record is strongly correlated with relative sea level, and on tectonically active margins. In contrast, another potential proxy, the number of rock formations, is a poor predictor of outcrop area or sampling effort in the New Zealand case.
Surveillance of discriminatory attitudes toward people living with HIV/AIDS among the general public in Hong Kong from 1994 to 2000

Purpose: This study monitored the level of discriminatory attitudes toward people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) exhibited by the general public in Hong Kong from 1994 to 2000. Method: A series of six cross-sectional telephone surveys using an identical method and a structured questionnaire were conducted. A total of 6,795 respondents aged 18 – 50 randomly selected from the general population participated in the study. Results: Over the study period, the level of discriminatory attitudes toward PLWHA exhibited by the public has been improved slightly. For instance, fewer respondents in 2000 (10.6%) than in 1994 (21.8%) agreed that an HIV infected person should move out of the household (χ2 test for trend, p < 0.001). However, there remained about one third who would avoid a friend infected with HIV (χ2 test for trend, p < 0.05). Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that misconceptions about HIV transmission routes remained strongly associated with the discriminatory attitudes toward PLWHA; other significant factors included exposure to TV Announcement of Public Interest on HIV/AIDS-related issues and perceived chance of HIV infection as a result of having homosexual behaviours. Conclusions: Though some improvement has been observed, the level of discriminatory attitudes is still high. Sustained education to remove misconceptions about HIV infection is much required.
Effects of an auditory startle stimulus on blood pressure and heart rate in humans.

OBJECTIVE To describe the effects of an auditory startle stimulus on blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) in humans. DESIGN AND METHODS Twenty-five volunteers, including nine untreated hypertensive subjects, were studied in the supine position. Polygraphic recordings were obtained for finger BP, R-R interval using ECG, respiratory movements using a thoracoabdominal belt and for electrooculomyogram using adhesive electrodes. Haemodynamic estimations were derived by modelling flow from the noninvasive BP signal. A background noise of 55 dB was administered through headphones and two acoustic startle stimuli (110 dB, 1-20 kHz, 0.15 s) were generated at 5-min intervals during the tele-expiratory phase. The sham stimulation (0 dB, event marker) was compared with the effects of the noise stimulus (one-way ANOVA with repeated measures followed by a protected t test for multiple comparisons). RESULTS A biphasic cardiovascular profile was observed in response to noise stimulation. Blood pressure and HR increases were combined in the early response (0-10 s) observed after the immediate motor contraction (blink). The average systolic BP rise was 18.7+/-2.7 mmHg (peak at 5.1 s) and the average HR increase was 10.8+/-1.1 bpm (peak at 3.4 s) for the first stimulus. These effects were highly significant compared with the sham response (P < 0.01). The second stimulus elicited BP and HR rises of a lesser amplitude (P < 0.01). The delayed response (10-30 s) corresponded with a moderate BP decrease. The haemodynamic indexes suggest that the early rise in blood pressure reflects a rise in total peripheral resistance. CONCLUSION This is the first description of the BP response to an acute loud noise in humans. The early (within 10 s) BP and HR rises may depend upon the autonomic component of the startle reflex. One application of this test could be the discrimination of the different classes of antihypertensive drugs according to their sites of action.
Home Environment and Cognitive Development in the First 3 Years of Life: A Collaborative Study Involving Six Sites and Three Ethnic Groups in North America

Attempted to examine the generalizability of environment/development relationships among 3 ethnic groups across the first 3 years of life. Social status did not show a consistent relationship to either quality of home environment or children's developmental status across the various groups. Results indicated a fairly consistent relationship between HOME scores and children's developmental status, although there were some ethnic and social status differences in the relationship. Measures of specific aspects of the child's home environment, such as parental responsivity and availability of stimulating play materials, were more strongly related to child developmental status than global measures of environmental quality such as SES. When the child's early developmental status and early home environment were both very low, the likelihood of poor developmental outcomes was markedly increased compared with cases when only one was low.
Extinction kinetics for metastatic cancer stem cells

Purpose: Cancer Stem Cells (CSC) are hypothesised to influence tumour growth through their self-replication, cell loss, and differentiation into growth-limited cell types. A model for the random gain and loss of metastatic CSC is developed to investigate how the balance between these processes might affect metastatic efficiency, tumour involution and treatment response. Materials and methods: A stochastic birth-death model for metastasis was constructed for the replication and loss of CSC. The model was extended to account for single and sequential cancer treatments, with CSC repopulation. Results: If CSC losses exceed gains, the metastasis would become extinct. The resultant extinction probability was greatest during a period of stochastic susceptibility; treatment could extend, or reestablish, this period. Conclusion: Random CSC losses, with ‘seed and soil’ selection, provided a mechanistic explanation for the involution of metastases, as well as for metastatic inefficiency. With such background losses, and the growth limitations of differentiated cells, a metastasis could take years to reach macroscopic size. The susceptibility period could be protracted, providing for a window for therapeutic opportunity. Metastases with a high background CSC loss would be more responsive to treatment than stabler metastases. Modulation of this loss could enhance the efficacy of conventional cancer treatment.
Drosophila tudor is essential for polar granule assembly and pole cell specification, but not for posterior patterning

Pole cells and posterior segmentation in Drosophila are specified by maternally encoded genes whose products accumulate at the posterior pole of the oocyte. Among these genes is tudor (tud). Progeny of hypomorphic tud mothers lack pole cells and have variable posterior patterning defects. We have isolated a null allele to further investigate tud function. While no pole cells are ever observed in embryos from tud‐null mothers, 15% of these embryos have normal posterior patterning. OSKAR (OSK) and VASA (VAS) proteins, and nanos (nos) RNA, all initially localize to the pole plasm of tud‐null oocytes and embryos from tud‐null mothers, while localization of germ cell‐less (gcl) and polar granule component (pgc), is undetectable or severely reduced. In embryos from tud‐null mothers, polar granules are greatly reduced in number, size, and electron density. Thus, tud is dispensable for somatic patterning, but essential for pole cell specification and polar granule formation. genesis 40:164–170, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Measuring Frequency Response of a Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube Common-Source Amplifier

Frequency response function (FRF) showing ac gain from a single-walled carbon nanotube transistor is presented. A top-gated carbon nanotube FET (CNFET) is configured as a common-source amplifier and the FRF of the amplifier is measured. Evidence of unambiguous signal amplification is observed in time domain as well as frequency domain up to a unity voltage gain frequency of approximately 560 kHz. The observed roll-off in frequency is solely due to the RC time constant of the measurement apparatus. A specifically designed circuit-compatible SPICE model for the CNFET is used to model both dc and ac characteristic with the same set of physical parameters. Good agreement between measurement and simulation is obtained. For a device without the parasitic load capacitance, we predict an intrinsic unity voltage gain frequency of 29 GHz and a cutoff frequency of ~ 50 GHz.
Fear, anger, fruits, and veggies: interactive effects of emotion and message framing on health behavior.

OBJECTIVE Message framing is a theoretically grounded health communication strategy designed to motivate action by emphasizing either the benefits of engaging in a particular behavior (gains) or the costs of failing to engage in the behavior (losses). This study investigated whether the effectiveness of a framed message depends on the emotional state of the message recipient. We examined effects of fear versus anger, emotions that frequently occur within the context of health decision-making. METHODS Undergraduate students (N = 133) were randomly assigned to complete a fear or anger induction task after which they read a gain- or loss-framed pamphlet promoting fruit and vegetable consumption. Fruit and vegetable intake (servings per day) subsequently was assessed over the following 2 weeks. RESULTS As predicted, a significant frame by emotion interaction was observed, such that participants in the fear condition reported eating more servings of fruits and vegetables after exposure to a loss-framed message than to a gain-framed message. In contrast, participants in the anger condition reported eating (marginally) more servings of fruits and vegetables after exposure to a gain-framed message than to a loss-framed message. Greater increases in fruit and vegetable intake from baseline to follow-up were observed when the message frame was matched to the participant's emotional state. CONCLUSION The effectiveness of framed health communications depends on the message recipient's current emotional state. Affective factors that are incidental to the behavior recommended in a health communication can affect the relative success of gain- and loss-framed appeals.
Constitutive NF-kappa B activity in neurons

NF-kappa B is inducible transcription factor present in many cell types in a latent cytoplasmic form. So far, only immune cells including mature B cells, thymocytes, and adherent macrophages have been reported to contain constitutively active forms of NF-kappa B in the nucleus. A recent study showed that the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) promoter is highly active in several brain regions of transgenic mice (J. R. Corboy, J. M. Buzy, M. C. Zink, and J. E. Clements, Science 258:1804-1807, 1992). Since the activity of this viral enhancer is governed mainly by two binding sites for NF-kappa B, we were prompted to investigate the state of NF-kappa B activity in neurons. Primary neuronal cultures derived from rat hippocampus and cerebral cortex showed a high constitutive expression of an HIV-1 long terminal repeat-driven luciferase reporter gene, which was primarily dependent on intact NF-kappa B binding sites and was abolished upon coexpression of the NF-kappa B-specific inhibitor I kappa B-alpha. Indirect immunofluorescence and confocal laser microscopy showed that the activity of NF-kappa B correlated with the presence of the NF-kappa B subunits p50 and RelA (p65) in nuclei of cultured neurons. NF-kappa B was also constitutively active in neurons in vivo. As investigated by electrophoretic mobility shift assays, constitutive NF-kappa B DNA-binding activity was highly enriched in fractions containing neuronal nuclei prepared from rat cerebral cortex. Nuclear NF-kappa B-specific immunostaining was also seen in cryosections from mouse cerebral cortex and hippocampus. Only a subset of neurons was stained. Activated NF-kappa B in the brain is likely to participate in normal brain function and to reflect a distinct state of neuronal activity or differentiation. Furthermore, it may explain the high level of activity of the HIV-1 enhancer in neurons, an observation potentially relevant for the etiology of the AIDS dementia complex caused by HIV infection of the central nervous system.
Immunocytochemical Studies of Cardiac MyofibriUogenesis in Early Chick Embryos . III . Generation of Fasciae Adherentes and Costameres

To study whether the first myofibrils are separate from or firmly bound to the myocytic cell membranes, whole mount preparations of 6-12-somitestage chick embryonic hearts were examined by fluorescence microscopy after double labeling with antibodies to vinculin (fluorescein-conjugated) and rhodaminephalloidin, or with antibodies to titin (rhodamineconjugated) and nitrobenz-oxadiazole-phallacidin. When a small number of myofibrils appeared for the first time at the nine somite stage, most of them were already bound to the cell membranes through zonulae adherentes, fasciae adherentes, or costameres. In the outer of the two myocardial cell layers, in which the myocytes were closely in contact with each other along polygonal boundaries, fasciae adherentes and costameres developed at the boundaries, apparently by conversion of preexisting zonulae adherentes. On the other hand, in the inner cell layer, in which myocytes were more loosely associated with each other, both costameres and fasciae adherentes appeared to develop de novo, the former in association with the inner surface of the myocardial wall and the latter at the intercellular boundaries. The myofibrillar tracks in the inner layer followed long and smooth courses and were as a whole aligned in the circumferential direction of the tubular heart wall from the earliest stage of myofibril formation. Those in the outer layer were arranged in a pattern of twoor three-dimensional networks in the 9-10 somite stage, although many myofibrils were also circumferentially directed. The fact that the majority of the first myofibrils were already bound to the cell membranes in a directed manner suggests that myocytes at the earliest stage of myofibril formation are endowed with spatial information that directs the organization of nascent myofibrils. It is proposed that the myocyte cell membranes perform an essential role in cardiac myo-
Two-year retention rate of golimumab in rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis: data from the LORHEN registry.

OBJECTIVES We aimed to provide data on golimumab real-life use in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and ankylosing spondylitis (AS) from a multicentre observational registry of Northern Italy. METHODS We extracted data of patients who started treatment with golimumab from October 2010, and who had at least one follow-up visit. Data were analysed until a maximum follow-up of 24 months. The two-year retention rate in the three diseases was assessed with Kaplan-Meier estimators. To compare crude survival between diagnoses and lines of treatment we used the log-rank test, while Cox proportional hazard models were used to adjust for confounders. RESULTS Overall, 410 subjects were included: 180 patients with RA, 110 with PsA and 120 with AS. The two-year retention rate of patients with RA was 47.3%, 48% for PsA, and 62.8% for AS. Crude survival on treatment of patients with AS was significantly higher than that of RA patients (p=0.032), while no significant difference was found between AS and PsA and between RA and PsA. In patients with RA, subjects treated with concomitant sDMARDs showed a lower discontinuation rate than those receiving golimumab alone. The comparison between first and second line of treatment groups did not show any significant difference in mean survival time in patients with RA, PsA and AS. CONCLUSIONS This is the first report of real-life data on two-year survival on treatment with golimumab in RA, PsA and AS. Golimumab showed a similar retention rate when given as first or second line of treatment.
Protective effect of S‐adenosyl‐L‐methionine on bromobenzene‐ and D‐ galactosamine‐induced toxicity to isolated rat hepatocytes

The protective effect of S‐adenosyl‐L‐methionine (SAMe) on bromobenzene (BB)‐ or D‐galactosamine (GalN)‐induced damage to isolated rat hepatocytes and its effect on cellular glutathione (GSH) levels were investigated. SAMe at concentrations of 0.5 to 3.0 mmol/L significantly reduced lactate dehydrogenase leakage from cells exposed to 1.6 mmol/L BB (P < .05 to .001) during 2 hours' incubation. GalN at 25 to 50 mmol/L induced a marked increase of LDH leakage from the cells during the later stage of 24 hours' incubation and SAMe at 1.0 mmol/L clearly attenuated the LDH leakage in GalN (25 mmol/L)‐exposed cells. The GSH content in the cells exposed to 2.4 mmol/L BB for 150 minutes was markedly decreased, and further decreased during 24 hours' incubation. SAMe (1.5 mmol/L) both reduced LDH leakage and corrected GSH depletion in cells exposed to 2.4 mmol/L BB. The GSH content in 25 and 50 mmol/L GalN‐exposed cells was strikingly diminished to 51.2% and 32.8% of the controls, respectively, during 24 hours' of exposure. SAMe at 1.5 mmol/L significantly reduced the loss in GSH content in 25 mmol/L GalN‐exposed cells. The findings show that SAMe has beneficial effects on both BB‐ and GalN‐induced toxicity to rat hepatocytes. The main mechanism behind the protective effect of SAMe on BB and GalN toxicity seems to be associated with enhancement of GSH synthesis in the cells.