Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The struggle for auto safety

Combining superb investigative reporting with incisive analysis, Jerry Mashaw and David Harfst provide a compelling account of the attempt to regulate auto safety in America. Their penetrating look inside the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) spans two decades and reveals the complexities of regulating risk in a free society. Hoping to stem the tide of rising automobile deaths and injuries, Congress passed the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act in 1966. From that point on, automakers would build cars under the watchful eyes of the federal regulators at NHTSA. Curiously, however, the agency abandoned its safety mission of setting, monitoring, and enforcing performance standards in favor of the largely symbolic act of recalling defective autos. Mashaw and Harfst argue that the regulatory shift from rules to recalls was neither a response to a new vision of the public interest nor a result of pressure by the auto industry or other interest groups. Instead, the culprit was the legal environment surrounding NHTSA and other regulatory agencies such as the EPA, OSHA, and the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The authors show how NHTSA's decisions as well as its organization, processes, and personnel were reoriented in order to comply with the demands of a legal culture that proved surprisingly resistant to regulatory pressures. This broad-gauged view of NHTSA has much to say about political idealism and personal ambition, scientific commitment and professional competition, long-range vision and political opportunism. A fascinating illustration of America's ambivalence over whether government is a source of--or solution to--social ills, TheStruggle for Auto Safety offers important lessons about the design and management of effective health and safety regulatory agencies today.
Volatile Halogenated Organic Compounds Released to Seawater from Temperate Marine Macroalgae

Volatile halogenated organic compounds synthesized by various industrial processes are troublesome pollutants because they are persistent in terrestrial ecosystems and because they may be present in sufficient quantities to alter the natural atmospheric cycles of the halogens. Certain of these compounds, including polybromomethanes and several previously unobserved alkyl monohalides and dihalides, appear to be natural products of the marine environment. A variety of temperate marine macroalgae (the brown algae Ascophyllum nodosum and Fucus vesiculosis, the green algae Enteromorpha linza and Ulva lacta, and the red alga Gigartina stellata) not only contain volatile halogenated organic compounds but also release them to seawater at rates of nanograms to micrograms of each compound per gram of dry algae per day. The macroalgae may be an important source of bromine-containing material released to the atmosphere.
The content of the oral daily reports at a long-term ward before and after staff training in integrity promoting care.

This study was based on the assumption that the daily report between different caregivers are of great importance for the quality of the care delivered and that they guide the content of it. The staff of a nursing home ward were given training in integrity promoting care and special training in reporting. After a three months' intervention period effects on patients and staff were evaluated and compared with a control ward. Positive patient outcomes have been reported earlier. The aim of this study was to describe the content of the oral daily reports between staff members in long-term care and investigate whether some changes occurred after training that might have contributed to the positive results for the patients. Another aim was to assess whether the staff regarded the reports as satisfactory. Oral reports were tape-recorded before and after staff training. A content analysis by a scheme based on Henderson's description of components of nursing care and a form analysis based on the nursing process were made. The reports were highly task oriented and the staff often discussed the patients' reaction in vague and general terms. The steps of the nursing process did not seem to be used. The answers to a questionnaire about the staff's satisfaction with the oral reports showed some increasing dissatisfaction and also comments about needs of more collaboration between different groups of personnel. More messages were given per report after the intervention compared to the control ward and the messages with psychosocial content had doubled. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Results From South Africa's 2016 Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth.

BACKGROUND We present results of the 2016 Healthy Active Kids South Africa (HAKSA) Report Card on the current status of physical activity (PA) and nutrition in South African youth. The context in which we interpret the findings is that participation in PA is a fundamental human right, along with the right to "attainment of the highest standard of health. " METHODS The HAKSA 2016 Writing Group was comprised of 33 authorities in physical education, exercise science, nutrition, public health, and journalism. The search strategy was based on peer-reviewed manuscripts, dissertations, and 'gray' literature. The core PA indicators are Overall Physical Activity Level; Organized Sport Participation; Active and Outdoor Play; Active Transportation; Sedentary Behaviors; Family and Peer Influences; School; Community and the Built Environment; and National Government Policy, Strategies, and Investment. In addition, we reported on Physical Fitness and Motor Proficiency separately. We also reported on nutrition indicators including Overweight and Under-nutrition along with certain key behaviors such as Fruit and Vegetable Intake, and policies and programs including School Nutrition Programs and Tuck Shops. Data were extracted and grades assigned after consensus was reached. Grades were assigned to each indicator ranging from an A, succeeding with a large majority of children and youth (81% to 100%); B, succeeding with well over half of children and youth (61% to 80%); C, succeeding with about half of children and youth (41% to 60%); D, succeeding with less than half but some children and youth (21% to 40%); and F, succeeding with very few children and youth (0% to 20%); INC is inconclusive. RESULTS Overall PA levels received a C grade, as we are succeeding with more than 50% of children meeting recommendations. Organized Sports Participation also received a C, and Government Policies remain promising, receiving a B. Screen time and sedentary behavior were a major concern. Under- and over-weight were highlighted and, as overweight is on the rise, received a D grade. CONCLUSIONS In particular, issues of food security, obesogenic environments, and access to activity-supportive environments should guide social mobilization downstream and policy upstream. There is an urgent need for practice-based evidence based on evaluation of existing, scaled up interventions.
Mood state at the beginning of the pregnancy and its influence on obstetric and perinatal outcomes

Abstract Aim: We designed this study to ascertain the prevalence of depressive disorders and anxiety at the beginning of the pregnancy, studying possible associated factors and assessing the influence of mood disorders on perinatal outcomes. Methods: A representative sample of 191 pregnant women at first trimester of their pregnancies completed a questionnaire that included the Whooley´s questions, the Spanish version of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and a series of questions related to health status, general mood and sociodemographic variables. Later, we prospectively evaluated the influence of anxiety and depression on the perinatal and obstetric results in 145 of them. Results: More than 20% of pregnant women presented high levels of anxiety. The mean values of the state and trait anxiety scores were 38.7 (SD 9.8) and 34.5 (SD 9.5). The mean BDI score was 5.97 (SD 4.9), with 9.5% of participants achieving scores compatible with depression, (61% mild in, 22.2% moderate, and 16.6% severe). BDI scores were significantly lower in women who became pregnant after assisted reproductive techniques. We observed an association between depression and trait anxiety scores with an infant’s low birth weight. The multivariate analysis showed that the feeling of happiness at the beginning of pregnancy was the best predictor of foetal weight. Conclusion: The prevalence of emotional disorders in the first trimester of pregnancy is high, with more than 20% of pregnant women presenting high levels of anxiety, and more than 9.5% presenting depression. During the first trimester, depression and anxiety were associated with low birth weight.
Geobacillus icigianus sp. nov., a thermophilic bacterium isolated from a hot spring.

A Gram-reaction-positive, motile, thermophilic spore-forming strain, G1w1(T), was isolated from a hot spring of the Valley of Geysers, Kamchatka (Russia). Based on data from the present polyphasic taxonomic study, including phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA and spo0A gene sequences, the strain is considered to represent a novel species of the genus Geobacillus, for which the name Geobacillus icigianus sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is G1w1(T) ( = VKM B-2853(T) = DSM 28325(T)).
Effects of growth with ethanol on fermentation and membrane fluidity of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Saccharomyces cerevisiae HSc was grown with ethanol at concentrations up to 10% (v/v). The immediate effects of additions of externally added ethanol on CO2 production and O2 consumption of washed organisms were studied by stopped‐flow membrane inlet quadrupole mass spectrometry. Fermentative activities of organisms grown with ethanol (0–5% v/v) showed similar sensitivities to inhibition by ethanol, whereas those grown with 10% (v/v) ethanol had become protected and were markedly less sensitive.
E-Commerce Adoption among Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Northern State of Malaysia

Electronic commerce (E-commerce) which is a practice of buying, selling, transferring, or exchanging goods, information or service by means of internet has established in 1994 and until now hordes of organizations have exploited the internet to handle the information and fit in e-commerce into their business processes. This study analyses the relationship between organizational context, technological context, and environmental context towards E-commerce adoption among SMEs in Northern state of Malaysia which comprise of Perlis, Kedah, Penang and Northern part of Perak. Above and beyond, this study is conducted based on survey design and descriptive research investigation. Entire numbers of respondents collected through questionnaires are 364 CEOs or managers diversified from different sectors. The research data is analyzed using frequency analysis, reliability analysis, descriptive analysis as well as multiple regression analysis. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015. v6n5p37
High Frequency of Virus-Specific Interleukin-2-Producing CD4+ T Cells and Th1 Dominance during Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis Virus Infection

ABSTRACT Analysis of C57BL/6 mice acutely infected with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) by using intracellular cytokine staining revealed a high frequency (2 to 10%) of CD4+ T cells secreting the Th1-associated cytokines interleukin-2 (IL-2), gamma interferon (IFN-γ), and tumor necrosis factor alpha, with no concomitant increase in the frequency of CD4+ T cells secreting the Th2-associated cytokines IL-4, IL-5, and IL-10 following stimulation with viral peptides. In LCMV-infected C57BL/6 CD8−/− mice, more than 20% of the CD4+ T cells secreted IFN-γ after viral peptide stimulation, whereas less than 1% of the CD4+ T cells secreted IL-4 under these same conditions. Mice persistently infected with a high dose of LCMV clone 13 also generated a virtually exclusive Th1 response. Thus, LCMV induces a much more profound virus-specific CD4+ T-cell response than previously recognized, and it is dramatically skewed to a Th1 phenotype.
CLINICAL STUDIES OF THE BLOOD VOLUME. II. THE RELATION OF PLASMA AND TOTAL BLOOD VOLUME TO VENOUS PRESSURE, BLOOD VELOCITY RATE, PHYSICAL MEASUREMENTS, AGE AND SEX IN NINETY NORMAL HUMANS.

Medical literature contains several works on the blood volume in normal persons, based on findings with the dye method of Keith, Rowntree and Geraghty (1) or modifications thereof, (2, 3, 4). Our justification for presenting an additional study is that the principal errors inherent in the earlier techniques are minimized by the dye method we have employed. By this method, described in detail in a previous communication (5), the absolute plasma volume can be measured with considerable accuracy, and the calculation of total blood volume is based on the plasma volume and the hematocrit values of venous blood samples. It also seemed worth while to consider the normal blood volume in relation to physical measurements of the individuals and to certain aspects of hemodynamics, to determine what interrelations exist. This study comprises an analysis of the plasma and total blood volumes, venous pressures and blood velocity rates determined in 90 adult individuals, 49 of whom were males and 41 females. These subjects were hospital patients with no evidence by history or on physical examination of cardiovascular or renal disease, blood dyscrasias or debilitating disorders, and members of the hospital staff in good health. Plasma and total blood volumes, venous pressures and blood velocity rates were determined with the subjects in a basal state. Results are summarized in Table I.
Türk Psikiyatri Dergisi 2006 ; 17 ( 2 ) Turkish Journal of Psychiatry Alopecia Areata and Alexithymia

Objective: Whether or not psychological factors play an important role in the pathogenesis of alopecia areata (AA) is a controversial issue. AA has had a tendency to be associated with high avoidance in attachment relationships, high alexithymic characteristics, and poor social support. Some studies have suggested that personality characteristics might modulate individual susceptibility to AA. The role of stressful life events in the appearance of AA is uncertain. In addition to reports associating anxiety and affective disorders with the onset of AA, there have also been studies that have not confirmed such an association. This case-control study was undertaken with the aim of determining the significance of stressful life events and other psychological factors in the etiopathogenesis of AA.
Squamous cell carcinoma of the temporal bone: a radiographic-pathologic correlation.

OBJECTIVE To assess the utility of a previously proposed staging system for patients with primary squamous cell carcinoma of the temporal bone. METHODS Retrospective chart review of 15 patients treated for squamous cell carcinoma of the temporal bone over a 13-year period at an academic tertiary referral center. A review of the medical and surgical records, radiographic studies, and surgical pathology reports allowed for an evaluation of the University of Pittsburgh staging system. Outcome analysis was performed on 13 patients with more than 24 months of follow-up. RESULTS Radiographic and surgical pathology staging according to the University of Pittsburgh staging system correlated in 11 (73%) of 15 cases. The radiographic staging system was more accurate for larger (T3/T4) tumors than for smaller (T1/T2) tumors (83% vs 67%). When compared with patients with no evidence of disease, nonsurvivors were more likely to present with otalgia (67% vs 43%), facial nerve paralysis (33% vs 0%), and T3/T4 tumors (100% vs 14%). CONCLUSIONS Pathologic staging by the University of Pittsburgh staging system closely correlates with patient outcome and is more sensitive than preoperative radiographic staging. Prognosis in squamous cell carcinoma of the temporal bone is largely determined by the extent of local disease at the time of presentation.
Accelerated evolution of the surface amino acids in the WD-repeat domain encoded by the hagoromo gene in an explosively speciated lineage of East African cichlid fishes.

Lakes Victoria, Malawi, and Tanganyika in the East African Rift Valley harbor approximately 200, 400, and 170 endemic species of cichlid fishes, respectively (Fryer and Iles 1972; Greenwood 1984). These fishes provide a spectacular example of the explosive adaptive radiation of living vertebrates (Fryer and Iles 1972; Greenwood 1984). They exploit almost all resources that are available to freshwater fishes in general (Fryer and Iles 1972; Greenwood 1984) and are extremely diverse, both ecologically and morphologically, despite having evolved during a very short evolutionary period (Meyer et al. 1990; Johnson et al. 1996). In cichlids, species are sexually isolated as a consequence of mate choice (Crapon De Caprona 1996; Seehausen, Van Alphen, and Witte 1997), which is based on coloration. Assortative mating among individuals with various colorations can rapidly lead to sexual isolation of color morphs (Seehausen, Van Alphen, and Witte 1997). Therefore, it is reasonable to postulate that genes that control formation of pigment patterns that are responsible for cichlid speciation must have changed at an accelerated rate in parallel with the diversification of the pigment patterns of species. In an attempt to identify such genes, we have focused our attention on genes responsible for the formation of pigment patterns in cichlids. Mechanisms underlying patterns of pigmentation remain, however, totally unknown. In zebrafish, various mutations affecting pigmentation have been described (Johnson et al. 1995; Haffer et al. 1996), and some relevant genes have been cloned and characterized (e.g., sparse, nacre, and hagoromo [hag]; Lister et al. 1999; Parichy et al. 1999; Kawakami et al. 2000). The genes that have been identified in zebrafish should help us to analyze pigmentation in other species of fishes, including cichlids. As a first step toward an understanding of the molecular basis for the divergence of pigment patterns and speciation in cichlids, we cloned and characterized a cichlid homolog of the zebrafish hag gene. We cloned a partial cDNA of cichlid hag by RTPCR, using degenerate primers hagdF1 (59-AGTGCAGGAGGAGAYGGKAARAT-39) and hagdR1 (59-GTCTCTGGAGCCACTSACDAT-39) and, subsequently, we isolated full-length cDNAs from the RNA of Labidoch-
Resilience and Synchronization Behaviour within Mean Field Models

The study of the dynamics of large, complex networks is generally very hard. Analytical solutions are rarely available and numerical solutions require immense computation times. Recently, Gao et al. [1]have proposed a new theoretical approach to analyse the average behaviour of complex networks. In this research we discuss the derivation of the mean field approximation and the resulting one dimensional, so called, ”effective” equation. We offer an alternative derivation. We also give an expression for the error in the form of a differential equation. Applying noise to a model of plants and pollinators uncovers a weak point in the given formalism, the effective equation does not correctly predict the average behaviour of the network. For lower dimensional systems, projecting the synchronization manifold on a phase plot reveals why the mean field approximation works well in the specific case. Finally, the theory is applied to some existing models. First, the Generalized Lotka-Volterra model, where it struggles in specific cases where the network has no stable fixed points but the theory does predict one. Second, the Kuramoto model, where a synchronization state of the oscillators is correctly predicted by the theory, and third, a one dimensional array of Josephson junctions where synchronization is also correctly predicted along with the correct stability criteria.
Does the Onset of Neonatal Seizures Correlate with the Timing of Fetal Neurologic Injury?

The onset of seizures after birth has been considered evidence of an intrapartum asphyx-ial event. The present study was undertaken to determine whether the timing of neonatal seizures after birth correlated with the timing of a fetal asphyxial event. Thus, singleton term infants diagnosed with hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy and permanent brain injury had a mean birth to seizure onset interval of 9.8 ± 17.7 (range 1-90) hours. When these infants were categorized according to their fetal heart rate (FHR) patterns, the acute group (normal FHR followed by a sudden prolonged FHR deceleration that continued until delivery) tended to have earlier seizures than infants did within the tachycardia group (normal FHR followed by tachycardia, repetitive decelerations, and diminished variability) and the preadmission group (persistent nonreactive FHR pattern intrapartum). These seizure intervals were as follows: acute, 6.6 ± 18.0 (range 1-90) hours; tachycardia, 11.1 +17.1 (range 1-61) hours; and preadmission, 11.8 +17.9 (range 1-79) hours (p<0.05). But the range varied widely and no group was categorically distinct. In conclusion, the onset of neonatal seizures after birth does not, in and of itself, appear to be a reliable indicator of the timing of fetal neurologic injury.
Variants in the coagulation factor 2 receptor (F2R) gene influence the risk of myocardial infarction in men through an interaction with interleukin 6 serum levels

Summary Thrombin-activated factor 2 receptor (F2R) links thrombosis to inflammation modulating interleukin (IL)6 synthesis. We have investigated the role of F2R genetic variants and their interaction with IL6 serum levels in the occurrence of myocardial infarction (MI) in the Stockholm Heart Epidemiology Program (SHEEP). Seven SNPs –1738 G/A, –506-/GGCCGCGGGAAGC (D/I), 2860 G/A, 2930 T/C, 9113 C/A, 9333 C/T and 120813 T/C within F2R locus were genotyped in the SHEEP (n=2,774). The C allele at position 2930 was associated with a slight reduction in MI risk in men. IL6 serum levels were higher in male cases carrying genotypes AA at the –1738 (p= 0.01) and GG at the 2860 loci (p= 0.03) and both alleles were found to differentially modulate IL6 serum levels in the context of selective haplotypes. High IL6 serum levels (>75th percentile), were independently associated with an increased risk of MI in men with an odds ratio (OR) (95% confidence interval [CI]) of 2.44 (1.72–3.46), (p=0.0016), but not in women ( OR 0.83 [95%CI 0.50–1.36], p=0.64). In the presence of high IL6 serum levels, the –1738A allele increased and the 2860A allele reduced the risk of MI (all p≤0.02). Consistently, the AG diplotype increased MI risk (OR 1.71 [95%CI 1.17–2.51], p=0.005). The –1738 and 2860 loci association with IL6 serum levels was replicated in men in the Stockholm Coronary Artery Risk Factor (SCARF) study (both p≤0.04). In the pooled data from the two populations, the A and G allele modulated the risk of MI in men with high IL6 serum levels (p≤0.03). Our results demonstrate that in men F2R genetic variants influence the risk of MI mainly through an interaction with IL6 serum levels.
Luminescence lifetimes of neutral nitrogen-vacancy centres in synthetic diamond containing nitrogen

The decay time of luminescence from neutral nitrogen-vacancy (NV 0) centres in synthetic diamond is reported. The intrinsic luminescence lifetime of NV 0 is measured as τr = 19 ± 2 ns. Neutral substitutional nitrogen atoms ( N s 0 ) ? > are shown to quench luminescence from NV0 by dipole–dipole resonant energy transfer at a rate such that the transfer time would equal τr if one N s 0 ? > atom was ∼3 nm from the NV0. In chemical-vapour-deposited diamonds grown with a small nitrogen content, that are brown as a result of vacancy-cluster defects, the decay time of NV0 equals τr in the as-grown material. However, after annealing at ≥1700 °C to remove the brown colour, luminescence from the NV0 centres is severely quenched. This effect is suggested to be a result of the destruction of NV0 centres and the creation of new NV0 centres localized in vacancy-rich regions of the crystals.