Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Trends and variations in smoking during pregnancy and low birth weight: evidence from the birth certificate, 1990-2000.

OBJECTIVE This study compares patterns of tobacco use during pregnancy over time and across population subgroups and examines the impact of maternal smoking on the incidence of low birth weight (LBW). The study also evaluates the use of birth certificates to monitor prenatal smoking. METHODS The birth certificates of all states (except California) and the District of Columbia for 2000 provided to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics were analyzed. Trends in maternal smoking were examined with data from birth certificates and other relevant sources. RESULTS Smoking during pregnancy was reported for 12.2% of women who gave birth in 2000, down 37% from 1989 (19.5%), when this information was first collected on birth certificates. Throughout the 1990s, prenatal smoking rates were highest for older teenagers and women in their early 20s. Among population subgroups, the highest rates were reported for non-Hispanic white women who attended but did not complete high school. The incidence of LBW among singleton infants who were born to smokers was double that for nonsmokers. This relationship was observed in all age groups, for births to Hispanic and non-Hispanic white and black women, and within educational attainment subgroups. Even light smoking (<5 cigarettes daily) was associated with elevated rates of LBW. CONCLUSION Although prenatal smoking may be underreported on the birth certificate, the trends and variations in smoking based on birth certificate data have been confirmed with data from other sources. Birth certificate data can be useful in monitoring prenatal smoking patterns. Changes in the birth certificate questions that are to be implemented beginning in 2003 will help to clarify the levels and changes in smoking behavior during pregnancy so that smoking cessation programs can be more effectively designed to meet the needs of the populations at risk.
Connectivism & Interactive Narrative: Towards a New Form of Video in Online Education

Techniques of online learning have evolved considerably, with the introduction of Learning Management Systems, Adaptive Learning Environments and Massive Open Onlines Courses (MOOC). However, the video resources contained within them have changed little, remaining fixed duration time-based media objects. This static nature of educational video contrasts with evolving landscape of personalization and Connectivist ideas in learning systems. We propose existing models employed in interactive video narratives, combined with emerging techniques of crowds sourcing and automatic story generation, can enable a new form of educational video narrative which reflects the collaborative systems which surround it.
A third of women in UK who have an unintended pregnancy blame contraceptive failure

Incorrect and inconsistent use of the pill and the male condom are the main reasons why women in the United Kingdom have unintended pregnancies, a leading sexual health charity says. Marie Stopes International, a UK provider of sexual health and reproductive services, says that 34% of women who had an unintended pregnancy reported that their chosen contraceptive failed because of technical difficulties or problems in the method, such as that “the condom broke or slipped off. ” And incorrect use—usually failure to take the oral …
Isolation, Characterization, Determination of Probiotic Properties of Lactic Acid Bacteria from Human Milk

s: Probiotic mean live microorganisms that have beneficial effects on their host's health. Although probiotic strains can be isolated from many sources; for human applications the main criteria is being human origin. Breast milk is an important nutrient source for neonates. Lots of studies showed that this fluid has beneficial effects on the health of neonates. One reason of being beneficial is explaining by the micro flora of human breast milk including beneficial lactic acid bacteria. In this study, isolates were identified by biochemical and molecular characterization and also probiotic properties of lactic acid bacteria, isolated from human milk were investigated. Two of the isolates were observed as potential probiotic. Two of them are bacilli. These isolates showed resistance to stomach pH (pH 3.0), tolerance against 0,3% bile concentration and antimicrobial activity against, Escherichia coli, Bacillus ceruse and Staphylococcus aureus and. After investigation the probiotic properties of these isolates, they were identified by biochemical characterization techniques and molecular identification by using Polymeric chain Reaction (PCR) of 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) and 16S sequencing. Two lactobacilli were identified as Lactobacillus rhamnosus (KF477283) and Lactobacillus casei. (KF477282) In the light of this study, it is observed that, human milk is a source of potential probiotic strains.
Linear Transceiver Design for Nonorthogonal Amplify-and-Forward Protocol Using a Bit Error Rate Criterion

The ever growing demand of higher data rates can now be addressed by exploiting cooperative diversity. This form of diversity has become a fundamental technique for achieving spatial diversity by exploiting the presence of idle users in the network. This has led to new challenges in terms of designing new protocols and detectors for cooperative communications. Among various amplify-and-forward (AF) protocols, the half duplex non-orthogonal amplify-and-forward (NAF) protocol is superior to other AF schemes in terms of error performance and capacity. However, this superiority is achieved at the cost of higher receiver complexity. Furthermore, in order to exploit the full diversity of the system an optimal precoder is required. In this paper, an optimal joint linear transceiver is proposed for the NAF protocol. This transceiver operates on the principles of minimum bit error rate (BER), and is referred as joint bit error rate (JBER) detector. The BER performance of JBER detector is superior to all the proposed linear detectors such as channel inversion, the maximal ratio combining, the biased maximum likelihood detectors, and the minimum mean square error. The proposed transceiver also outperforms previous precoders designed for the NAF protocol.
Modeling and simulation of liquid–solid circulating fluidized bed ion exchange system for continuous protein recovery

Liquid–solid circulating fluidized bed (LSCFB) is an integrated two‐column (downcomer and riser) system which can accommodate two separate processes (adsorption and desorption) in the same unit with continuous circulation of the solid particles between the two columns. In this study, a mathematical model based on the assumption of homogeneous fluidization was developed considering hydrodynamics, adsorption‐desorption kinetics and liquid–solid mass transfer. The simulation results showed good agreement with the available experimental results for continuous protein recovery. A parametric sensitivity study was performed to better understand the influence of different operating parameters on the BSA adsorption and desorption capacity of the system. The model developed can easily be extended to other applications of LSCFB. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2009; 104: 111–126 © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Evaluation of the Relationship between the Znf804A Single Nucleotide Polymorphism Rs1344706 a/c Variant and Schizophrenia Subtype in Han Chinese Patients

Objective: Recent genome wide association studies (GWASs) assessing the relationship between schizophrenia (SZ) and the ZNF804A gene, particularly the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs1344706, have yielded conflicting results. Schizophrenia is a heterogeneous disorder, so it is possible that an association may be restricted to specific SZ subtypes and that population heterogeneity may obscure a contribution of ZNF804A allelic variation to SZ risk. We thus evaluated the association between rs1344706 and different clinical SZ subtypes in a large Han Chinese patient population. Method: The rs1344706 genotype was determined in 1,025 SZ patients and 977 healthy controls using polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphisms (PCR-RFLPs). The clinical SZ subtypes included paranoid, catatonic, disintegrated, and undifferentiated, diagnosed according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-Fourth Edition IV (DSM-IV). Results: No significant differences in genotype and allele frequencies were found between controls and either the total SZ population (A > C, χ2 = 4.339, 2.994; p = 0.227, 0.087, respectively) or paranoid SZ patients (χ2 = 2.053, 0.002; p = 0.562, 0.973, respectively). However, there was a significant association between genotype frequency and SZ subtype (χ2 = 12.632, p = 0.049). Conclusions: We found no evidence that the ZNF804A SNP rs1344706 is a susceptibility locus for SZ. However, conflicting results from previous association studies may be due to genetic heterogeneity between different patient SZ subtypes.
The effect of celecoxib, a cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor, in familial adenomatous polyposis.

BACKGROUND Patients with familial adenomatous polyposis have a nearly 100 percent risk of colorectal cancer. In this disease, the chemopreventive effects of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs may be related to their inhibition of cyclooxygenase-2. METHODS We studied the effect of celecoxib, a selective cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor, on colorectal polyps in patients with familial adenomatous polyposis. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled study, we randomly assigned 77 patients to treatment with celecoxib (100 or 400 mg twice daily) or placebo for six months. Patients underwent endoscopy at the beginning and end of the study. We determined the number and size of polyps from photographs and videotapes; the response to treatment was expressed as the mean percent change from base line. RESULTS At base line, the mean (+/-SD) number of polyps in focal areas where polyps were counted was 15.5+/-13.4 in the 15 patients assigned to placebo, 11.5+/-8.5 in the 32 patients assigned to 100 mg of celecoxib twice a day, and 12.3+/-8.2 in the 30 patients assigned to 400 mg of celecoxib twice a day (P=0.66 for the comparison among groups). After six months, the patients receiving 400 mg of celecoxib twice a day had a 28.0 percent reduction in the mean number of colorectal polyps (P=0.003 for the comparison with placebo) and a 30.7 percent reduction in the polyp burden (the sum of polyp diameters) (P=0.001), as compared with reductions of 4.5 and 4.9 percent, respectively, in the placebo group. The improvement in the extent of colorectal polyposis in the group receiving 400 mg twice a day was confirmed by a panel of endoscopists who reviewed the videotapes. The reductions in the group receiving 100 mg of celecoxib twice a day were 11.9 percent (P=0.33 for the comparison with placebo) and 14.6 percent (P=0.09), respectively. The incidence of adverse events was similar among the groups. CONCLUSIONS In patients with familial adenomatous polyposis, six months of twice-daily treatment with 400 mg of celecoxib, a cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor, leads to a significant reduction in the number of colorectal polyps.
Chapter 10 Coherent Optical Communication Systems

The rapid evolution of long-haul optical communications systems, witnessed in the last five years, is due to the gradual adoption of spectrally efficient, multilevel modulation formats, in conjunction with polarization division multiplexing (PDM) and coherent intradyne detection assisted by digital signal processing (DSP). The objective of this tutorial chapter is to briefly review the operating principles of state-of-the-art long-haul coherent optical communications systems. Due to limitations in space, it focuses mainly on coherent optical systems using quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK) modulation.
Malignant Lymphoma, Natural Killer Cells and Hemophagocytic Syndrome

reported by Boyd et al., most of our cases are CD3-negative. ”’ However, we have not been able to test our cases by in-vitro cytotoxic assay to ascertain whether these NKHI-positive cases show killer activity. In conclusion, i t appears that many angiocentric lymphomas may be killer/natural killer cell lymphomas. Further functional and genotypic studies are required to clarify this point. On the third question, most reported cases of malignant lymphoma associated with the hemophagocytic syndrome exhibit T-cell marker^. ',^-^ Though angiocentric lymphomas are more likely than nonangiocentric ones to be associated with hemophagocytic syndrome, the syndrome can certainly occur with the Are the neoplastic cells in these cases killer/natural killer cells‘? Some probably are, but some probably are not. In our previous report of nasal T-cell lymphoma associated with hemophagocytic syndrome, further immunophenotypic studies have shown that the lymphoma cells are NKHI-positive. ’ We have since seen many further examples of NKHI-positive nasal lymphoma complicated by hemophagocytic syndrome (unpublished observation). However, the syndrome may also develop in T-cell lymphomas not expressing natural killer cell markers (the 2 cases of T-cell lymphoma in Reference 9 are negative for natural killer cell marker^). ^,^ Anaplastic large cell Ki-1 lymphoma is another type of lymphoma showing a propensity to be complicated by the hemophagocytic syndrome. ’’ Very rarely, the syndrome may also occur in B-cell lymphoma. ’ On the fourth question, there is growing evidence that lymphomatoid granulomatosis/polymorphic reticulosis is neoplastic de novo based on its ability to metastasize, the aberrant loss of T-cell markers as found in peripheral T-cell lymphomas and the demonstration of rearrangement of the T-cell receptor gene.3-6,12 O n the fifth question, the existing evidence suggests that lymphomatoid papulosis is also a neoplastic disorder. Simultaneous lymph node involvement may occur, the immunophenotype is frequently aberrant and clonal T-cell populations are found by genotypic studies in most cases. We believe lymphomatoid papulosis is an anaplastic large cell Ki-1 lymphoma of the skin that shows a propensity to pursue a peculiar indolent course. John K . C. Chan Institute of Pathology Queen Elizabeth Hospital Hong Kong C. S. Ng Institute of Pathology Caritas Medical Centre Hong Kong
Cell-type specific gene expression signature in liver underlies response to interferon therapy in chronic hepatitis C infection.

BACKGROUND & AIMS Chronic hepatitis C virus (CHC) infection is treated with interferon/ribavirin, but only a subset of patients respond. Treatment nonresponders have marked pretreatment up-regulation of a subset of interferon stimulated genes (ISGs) in their livers, including ISG15. We here study how the nonresponder gene expression phenotype is influenced by clinical factors and uncover the cellular basis of the phenotype through ISG15 protein expression. METHODS Seventy-eight CHC patients undergoing treatment were classified by clinical (gender, viral genotype, viral load, treatment outcome) and histologic (inflammation, fibrosis) factors and subjected to gene expression profiling on their pretreatment liver biopsies. An analysis of variance model was used to study the influence of individual factors on gene expression. ISG15 immunohistochemistry was performed on a subset of 31 liver biopsy specimens. RESULTS One hundred twenty-three genes were differentially expressed in the 78 CHC livers when compared with 20 normal livers (P < .001; fold change, > or =1.5-fold). Of genes influenced by a single factor, genotype (1 vs 2/3) influenced more genes (17) than any other variable; when treatment outcome was included in the analysis, this became the predominant influence (24 genes), and the effect of genotype was diminished. Treatment response was linked to cell-specific activation patterns: ISG15 protein up-regulation was more pronounced in hepatocytes in treatment nonresponders but in Kuppfer cells in responders. CONCLUSIONS Genotype is a surrogate marker for the nonresponder phenotype. This phenotype manifests as differential gene expression and is driven by activation of different cell types: hepatocytes in treatment nonresponders and macrophages in treatment responders.
Vimentin contributes to changes in chondrocyte stiffness in osteoarthritis

Actin and tubulin cytoskeletal components are studied extensively in chondrocytes, but less is known about vimentin intermediate filaments. In other cell types, vimentin is a determinant of cell stiffness and disruption of vimentin networks weakens the mechanical integrity of cells. Changes in vimentin organization correlate with osteoarthritis progression, but the functional consequences of these changes remain undetermined in chondrocytes. The objective of this study was to compare the contribution of vimentin to the mechanical stiffness of primary human chondrocytes isolated from normal versus osteoarthritic cartilage. Chondrocytes were embedded in alginate and vimentin networks disrupted with acrylamide. Constructs were imaged while subjected to 20% nominal strain on a confocal microscope stage, and the aspect ratios of approximately 1,900 cells were measured. Cytosolic stiffness was estimated with a finite element model, and live‐cell imaging of GFP‐vimentin was used to further analyze the nature of vimentin disruption. Vimentin in normal chondrocytes formed an inner cage‐like network that was substantially stiffer than the rest of the cytosol and contributed significantly to overall cellular stiffness. Disruption of vimentin reduced stiffness approximately 2.8‐fold in normal chondrocytes. In contrast, osteoarthritic chondrocytes were less stiff and less affected by vimentin disruption. This 3D experimental system revealed contributions of vimentin to chondrocyte stiffness previously not apparent, and correlated changes in vimentin‐based chondrocyte stiffness with osteoarthritis. © 2010 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 29:20–25, 2011
Vicarious visualization of gall bladder on Tc-99m ethylene dicysteine renal dynamic study

Though the hepatobiliary excretion of Technetium-99m ethylene dicysteine (99mTc-EC) is very low and usually does not effect image interpretation on routine posterior imaging, the possibility of visualization of the gall bladder should be kept in mind while reporting the 99mTc-EC scan especially, when anterior imaging is performed as in renal transplant patients.
Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism Catalog for Molecular Identification of Japanese Tetranychus Spider Mites (Acari: Tetranychidae)

Abstract Species identification is a basic issue in biosecurity. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) followed by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) is a useful molecular diagnostic tool for species identification. However, the lack of transferability of data has been a serious shortcoming of this method. A RFLP catalog, i.e., a graph of PCR-RFLP patterns expected from sequence data, was devised as a tool to facilitate PCR-RFLP data sharing among laboratories. Twelve species of Tetranychus spider mites have been recorded in Japan to date. In this study, we analyzed DNA sequences of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region in nuclear ribosomal DNA of 11 Tetranychus species. For the species identification using PCR-RFLP, we chose six candidates from 131 restriction endonucleases and developed an RFLP catalog of all known Japanese Tetranychus species except Tetranychus neocaledonicus André. The RFLP catalog revealed that most Tetranychus species had diagnostic restriction fragments. The RFLP catalog is transferable and simple molecular diagnostic tool, and it has the ability to add more species and newly found intraspecific variations. Therefore, we believe that the RFLP catalog will contribute to biosecurity as a practical diagnostic tool for species identification of spider mites.
Electoral College : A Multibattle Contest with Complementarities February 2017 Preliminary draft

The Electoral College system used to elect the President of the United States is an example of a multibattle contest with complementarities. Due of heterogeneity in the value of the different state level sub-contests, many different combinations of state victories can lead to an overall victory which impacts contestant strategy. This paper develops a theoretical of such a multibattle contest with complementarities, and tests its predictions in the lab for a simplified four state Electoral College map. To focus on purely on the strategic aspects of the Electoral College game, in the lab we use three different Electoral College maps while always keeping the total number of delegates the same. Our experimental results show that subjects behave quite differently from the theoretical predictions. Instead they seem to be using a mental accounting rule according to which they choose to spend half the value of the prize as their budget in the lottery success function. Then, depending on the map, they follow different bidding patterns the most predominant pattern being one that implicitly takes into account the marginal importance of each state for winning the election.
Emotion and Meaning in Music

"Altogether it is a book that should be required reading for any student of music, be he composer, performer, or theorist. It clears the air of many confused notions . and lays the groundwork for exhaustive study of the basic problem of music theory and aesthetics, the relationship between pattern and meaning. "-David Kraehenbuehl, "Journal of Music Theory" "This is the best study of its kind to have come to the attention of this reviewer. "-Jules Wolffers, "The Christian Science Monitor " "It is not too much to say that his approach provides a basis for the meaningful discussion of emotion and meaning in all art."-David P. McAllester, "American Anthropologist " "A book which should be read by all who want deeper insights into music listening, performing, and composing. "-Marcus G. Raskin, "Chicago Review "
Effects of insecticides on reproduction in the laboratory mouse. I. Kepone.

Kepone® (decachlorooctahydro-1,3,4-metheno-2 H -cyclobuta[ cd ] pentalen-2-one), a chlorinated organic insecticide, was included in the diet of a mixed lot of laboratory mice totaling 66 pairs at 0, 10, 17.5, 25, 30, and 37.5 ppm for 1 month before and 5 months after mating, to determine the effects on reproductive success. In a 2nd test, a total of 48 pairs of mice of the pure inbred BALB/c strain was fed 0, and 10 ppm for 1 month before mating and 4 months after mating. This was followed by a 3rd test involving 24 control pairs and 36 pairs on 5 ppm Kepone. Reproduction was reduced at all feeding levels, and was expressed by a decrease in the size and number of litters. The greater the concentration of insecticide in the diet, the greater was the effect. A 4th experiment with progeny of the animals used in the 3rd test also showed decreased reproductive success.