Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Rural adolescent alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drug use: a comparison of students in Victoria, Australia, and Washington State, United States.

PURPOSE There are inconsistent research findings regarding the impact of rurality on adolescent alcohol, tobacco, and illicit substance use. Therefore, the current study reports on the effect of rurality on alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drug use among adolescents in 2 state representative samples in 2 countries, Washington State (WA) in the United States and Victoria (VIC) in Australia. PARTICIPANTS The International Youth Development Study (IYDS) recruited representative samples of students from Grade 7 (aged 12 to 13 years) and Grade 9 (aged 14 to 15) in both states. A total of 3,729 students responded to questions about alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, and other illicit substance use (n(VIC) = 1,852; n(WA) = 1,877). In each state, males and females were equally represented and ages ranged from 12 to 15 years. METHODS Data were analyzed to compare lifetime and current (past 30 days) substance use for students located in census areas classified as urban, large or small town, and rural. Findings were adjusted for school clustering and weighted to compare prevalence at median age 14 years. FINDINGS Rates of lifetime and current alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis use were significantly higher in rural compared to urban students in both states (odds ratio for current substance use = 1.31). CONCLUSIONS In both Washington State and Victoria, early adolescent rural students use substances more frequently than their urban counterparts. Future studies should examine factors that place rural adolescents at risk for alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drug use.
Copernicus - An Expert System Supporting Differential Diagnosis of Patients Examined using the MMPI Test - An Index-rule Approach

: In the paper, we present the Copernicus system - a computer tool supporting differential diagnosis of patients with mental disorders. As an example, we discuss results for a sample of 479 women examined by means of the MMPI-WISKAD personality inventory. There have been used the inductive classiﬁers based on the C4.5 decision tree algorithm. We have accomplished an overview of indexes generated on the basis of examined sample by several systems: Eichmann’s, Diamond’s, Goldberg’s, Taulbee-Sisson’s, and Panda-APAP (mixed with respect to indexes).
Combined 15N-Labeling and TandemMOAC Quantifies Phosphorylation of MAP Kinase Substrates Downstream of MKK7 in Arabidopsis

Reversible protein phosphorylation is a widespread posttranslational modification that plays a key role in eukaryotic signal transduction. Due to the dynamics of protein abundance, low stoichiometry and transient nature of protein phosphorylation, the detection and accurate quantification of substrate phosphorylation by protein kinases remains a challenge in phosphoproteome research. Here, we combine tandem metal-oxide affinity chromatography (tandemMOAC) with stable isotope 15N metabolic labeling for the measurement and accurate quantification of low abundant, transiently phosphorylated peptides by mass spectrometry. Since tandemMOAC is not biased toward the enrichment of acidophilic, basophilic, or proline-directed kinase substrates, the method is applicable to identify targets of all these three types of protein kinases. The MKK7-MPK3/6 module, for example, is involved in the regulation of plant development and plant basal and systemic immune responses, but little is known about downstream cascade components. Using our here described phosphoproteomics approach we identified several MPK substrates downstream of the MKK7-MPK3/6 phosphorylation cascade in Arabidopsis. The identification and validation of dynamin-related protein 2 as a novel phosphorylation substrate of the MKK7-MPK3/6 module establishes a novel link between MPK signaling and clathrin-mediated vesicle trafficking.
Gene knockout of Acc2 has little effect on body weight, fat mass, or food intake

Deletion of acetyl CoA carboxylase-2 (Acc2) reportedly causes leanness in the setting of hyperphagia. To determine the cellular basis for these effects, we generated a mouse model in which Acc2 can be selectively deleted by the action of Cre recombinase. Deletion of Acc2 from skeletal muscle, the predominant site of Acc2 expression, had no effect on body weight, food intake, or body composition. When Acc2 was inactivated in the germline, Acc2 knockout (Acc2KO) mice displayed no differences in body weight, food intake, body composition, or glucose homeostasis as compared to controls on chow or high fat diet. Total malonyl CoA content and fatty acid oxidation rates in skeletal muscle of Acc2KO mice were unchanged, suggesting metabolic compensation in response to the loss of Acc2. The limited impact of Acc2 deletion on energy balance raises the possibility that selective pharmacological inhibition of Acc2 for the treatment of obesity may be ineffective.
Refining In Vitro Neurotoxicity Testing — The Development of Blood–Brain Barrier Models

The purpose of this paper is to review the current state of development of advanced in vitro blood–brain barrier (BBB) models. The BBB is a special capillary bed that separates the blood from the central nervous system (CNS) parenchyma. Astrocytes maintain the integrity of the BBB, and, without astrocytic contacts, isolated brain capillary endothelial cells in culture lose their barrier characteristics. Therefore, when developing in vitro BBB models, it is important to add astrocytic factors into the culture system. Recently, novel filter techniques and co-culture methods have made it possible to develop models which resemble the in vivo functions of the BBB in an effective way. With a BBB model, kinetic factors can be added into the in vitro batteries used for evaluating the neurotoxic potential of chemicals. The in vitro BBB model also represents a useful tool for the in vitro prediction of the BBB permeability of drugs, and offers the possibility to scan a large number of drugs for their potential to enter the CNS. Cultured monolayers of brain endothelial cell lines or selected epithelial cell lines, combined with astrocyte and neuron cultures, form a novel three-dimensional technique for the screening of neurotoxic compounds.
Logiques IFO-QCL et gestion des informations partielles en théorie des possibilités : application à la corrélation d'alertes

Nous proposons dans cette these une modelisation du processus de correlation d'alertes avec une nouvelle logique de preferences, appelee IFO-QCL (pour Instanciated First Order Qualitative Choice Logic). Le processus de correlation d'alertes modelise prend en entree un ensemble d'alertes, generees par les systemes de detection d'intrusions (IDS), ainsi que les connaissances et les preferences d'un operateur de securite sous forme de bases de connaissances/preferences, codees en logique IFO-QCL. En sortie, un sous-ensemble d'alertes jugees les plus pertinentes sont transmises a l'operateur de securite.Dans la pratique, les alertes fournies par les IDS ne renseignent pas tous les attributs exprimes par l'operateur de securite dans ses bases de connaissances/preferences. Afin de pouvoir classer ce type d'alertes et leur attribuer un degre de satisfaction, nous avons propose deux methodes duales pour traiter le manque d'information. La premiere consiste en la completion des alertes dites partielles et la deuxieme methode consiste a modifier les formules des bases de connaissances/preferences, afin de se focaliser uniquement sur les attributs presents dans les alertes.Nous avons propose un algorithme polynomial qui permet d'attribuer un degre de satisfaction, base sur la logique IFO-QCL, aux alertes et de retourner un sous-ensemble d'alertes preferees.Des etudes experimentales ont ete effectuees sur une base d'alertes reelles qui montrent l'efficacite de notre modele de correlation d'alertes.
Identification of predominant Lactobacillus species in liquid sourdough fermentation.

Two high protein wheat flour samples of Red Horse (RH) and Bake with Yen (BY) were examined for predominant Lactobacillus spp. in fermented liquid sourdough. The identification of Lactobacillus spp. was based on biochemical tests of catalase test, gas carbon dioxide production, arginine test, the ability to grow at temperature of 15°C and 45°C and carbohydrate fermentation using API50CH kit. Those strains were identified as Lactobacillus spp. and confirmed using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of 16S rRNA partial sequencing analysis. In the present study, we successfully isolated and identified the Lactobacillus plantarum and L. fermentum which were predominant bacteria in liquid sourdough of the sample RH and BY brand, respectively.
Gene-expression patterns in whole blood identify subjects at risk for recurrent tuberculosis.

BACKGROUND The majority of patients with tuberculosis who comply with appropriate treatment are cured. However, approximately 5% subsequently have a repeat disease episode, usually within 2 years of successful combination therapy. Presently, there is no way of predicting which patients will experience a relapse. METHODS We identified 10 subjects who had previously experienced recurrent tuberculosis and carefully matched them to cured subjects who had had only 1 episode of tuberculosis, to patients with active tuberculosis, and to latently infected healthy subjects. We compared their ex vivo whole-blood gene-expression profiles by use of DNA array technology and confirmed the results by use of quantitative reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). RESULTS The 4 clinical tuberculosis groups exhibited distinct patterns of gene expression. The gene-transcript profiles of the patients with recurrent tuberculosis were more similar to those of the patients with active tuberculosis than to those of the cured or latently infected subjects. Discriminant analysis of a training data set showed that 9 genes were sufficient to classify the subjects. We confirmed that measurement of the expression of these genes by qRT-PCR can accurately discriminate between subjects in a test set of samples. CONCLUSIONS A simple test based on gene-expression patterns may be used as a biomarker of cure while identifying patients who are at risk for relapse. This would facilitate the introduction of new tuberculosis drugs.
Unveiling the Impacts of Social Commerce Features - an Integrated Research Model

Social commerce, the application of social media to support e-commerce transactions, is becoming a lucrative means for e-commerce companies to increase their sales volumes. To achieve this goal, companies today can extend their e-commerce websites with a wide range of diverse social commerce features. Hence, knowledge is required how the integration of certain social commerce features stimulates consumers to adopt social commerce websites and which features might deliver the highest benefits in a particular scenario. However, current literature provides little insight about how concrete social commerce features influence the consumers’ willingness to adopt social commerce websites. To contribute to the closure of this research gap, we propose a research model that allows evaluating the impacts of social commerce features on the consumers’ adoption of social commerce websites in a systematic, comparable manner. Therefore, the research model integrates several adoption factors, taking into account utilitarian, hedonic, relational, and social determinants. We also describe how the hypotheses contained in our research model can be evaluated in an experimental setting. In so doing, we expect our research to contribute to achieving a better understanding of how certain social commerce features can improve the design of social commerce websites.
Harmonic Mitigation using Fuzzy Logic Controller based Shunt Active Power Filter

Power quality problem is t he most sensitive problem in the power system. The objective of the project is to reduce one of the power quality issue called "harmonics" using compensation technique. Shunt Active Power Filter (SAPF) is used to eliminate harmonic current and also it compensates reactive power. In this project, both PI controller and Fuzzy Logic Controller based three-phase shunt active filter is employed for a three-phase four wire
Heart rate variability during specific sleep stages. A comparison of healthy subjects with patients after myocardial infarction.

BACKGROUND Heart rate variability (HRV) is typically higher during nighttime. This evidence supports the concept that overall, sleep is a condition during which vagal activity is dominant. Myocardial infarction (MI) results in a loss in the overall nocturnal HRV increase. However, the characteristics of HRV during specific sleep stages in normal subjects and, more importantly, after MI, are unknown. This study describes HRV during sleep stages in normal subjects and in patients with a recent MI. METHODS AND RESULTS HRV was measured from 5 minutes of continuous ECG recording in 8 subjects with no clinical evidence of coronary artery disease (age, 47 +/- 4 years) and in 8 patients with a recent MI (age, 51 +/- 2 years; NS versus control subjects) in the awake state, non-rapid eye movement (REM), and REM sleep. In normal subjects, the low- to high-frequency ratio (LF/HF) derived from power spectral analysis of HRV decreased significantly from the awake state to non-REM sleep (from 4 +/- 1.4 to 1.22 +/- 0.33, P < .01). During REM sleep, the LF/HF increased to 3 +/- 0.74 (P < .01 versus non-REM, NS versus awake). In post-MI patients, the LF/HF showed an opposite trend toward an increase from 2.4 +/- 0.7 to 5.11 +/- 1.4 (NS, P < .01 versus the control subjects). REM sleep produced a further increase in the LF/HF up to 8.9 +/- 1.6 (P < .01 versus awake and versus REM in control subjects). CONCLUSIONS Myocardial infarction causes a loss in the capability of the vagus to physiologically activate during sleep. This results in a condition of relative sympathetic dominance even in a situation such as sleep, normally described as a condition of vagal dominance and, consequently, low risk for lethal events. The evidence that the sleep-related vagal activation is lost after MI may provide new insights to understanding the nocturnal occurrence of sudden death.
Usability of ECA materials in high temperature sensor applications

In electronics applications sensors are often used in challenging environments such as high temperature and humidity. For a sensor to perform reliably under such conditions stable attachment methods are needed. However, sensor structures may differ from typical silicon chip configuration and materials, which may make their attachment challenging. In this work the attachment of temperature sensors with electrically conductive adhesives (ECAs) was studied. The sensors were attached to a flexible polyimide substrate with different ECAs and exposed to three different step stress tests. In the step stress tests the temperature was ramped from 180°C to 260°C with different dwell times. Typically ECAs are not applied at this high temperature region. However, it was found that the adhesives could withstand exposure to high temperatures for surprisingly long periods of time. The weakest link in the structure was not necessarily the ECA but the copper pad, which oxidized at the high temperature and reacted with the adhesive layer of the substrate. This reaction formed a mix of copper oxide and the adhesive which migrated within the structure. Severe delamination between the sensor chip and the copper pads was also observed.
Estrogen enhances light‐induced activation of dorsal raphe serotonergic neurons

The serotonergic system has been implicated in the modulation of physiological processes including circadian rhythms, learning, memory, mood and food intake. In females, cessation of ovarian function produces deleterious changes in all of these processes and estrogen treatment often ameliorates these conditions. Estrogen may produce these effects by acting on the midbrain raphe, an estrogen‐sensitive region that receives direct projections from sensory systems. Here we examined the ability of estradiol to modulate neuronal responses of neurons within raphe nuclei to photic stimulation. Ovariectomized rats treated with estradiol or cholesterol were killed 1 h after the normal onset of light (Zeitgeber time 0) or after a 2‐h phase advance (Zeitgeber time 22). In a second study, estradiol‐treated ovariectomized rats under constant dark conditions were exposed to light 2 h before the subjective onset of circadian time [(CT)22] and killed 1 h later (CT23). The brains from all animals were processed for Fos and/or serotonin (5‐HT) immunocytochemistry. Comparisons showed that the phase shift increased Fos immunoreactivity in all dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) regions. Although estradiol did not alter the overall number of Fos‐positive nuclei, it significantly increased the number of Fos/5‐HT double‐labelled cells in the medial and lateral DRN. In contrast, neither a phase shift nor estradiol altered the number of Fos‐immunoreactive cells or the proportion of Fos‐positive 5‐HT cells in the median raphe nucleus. Results reveal that the DRN 5‐HT system responds to changes in the light : dark cycle and that these responses are modulated by estrogen.
Clinical characteristics of individuals with subjective memory loss in Western Australia: results from a cross‐sectional survey

Subjective memory complaint is common in later life. Its relationship to future risk of dementia is unclear, although many reports have found a positive association. We designed the present cross‐sectional survey to investigate the clinical features associated with subjective memory impairment. One hundred and eight volunteers and 38 non‐complainers acting as age‐matched controls were recruited. Eleven subjects with memory complaints were excluded because of prior stroke or low MMSE score. The CAMCOG was used to measure cognition; complainers had significantly lower scores (p<0.001). Univariate analysis showed that complainers had greater prevalence of depression, anxiety, insomnia, psychotic phenomenon, difficulties with ADL and word‐finding difficulties. The frequency distribution of the apolipoprotein E ϵ4 allele was similar for both groups (p=0.469). Logistic regression analysis indicated that CAMCOG scores (p=0.002) and word‐finding difficulty (p=0.002) were independently associated with memory complaints. These results show that memory complainers have worse cognitive performance than non‐complainers and support the findings of other studies that suggest that subjective memory loss may be a reliable indicator of cognitive decline. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Interferon Therapy for HCV-Associated Glomerulonephritis: Meta-Analysis of Controlled Trials

Background A relationship between hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and chronic glomerulonephritis (GN) has been asserted on the grounds of epidemiological and experimental data. Although this suggests a role for an antiviral approach to HCV-associated GN instead of the more conventional immunosuppressive (or supportive) therapy, the optimal management of HCV-related glomerulonephritis remains controversial. Objective To compare antiviral with immunosuppressive therapy for HCV-associated GN. Design Meta-analysis of controlled clinical trials (CCTs) of the two treatments (antiviral versus immunosuppressive) of HCV-associated GN. Methods We used the fixed or random effects model of DerSimonian and Laird, with heterogeneity and sensitivity analyses. The rate of proteinuria and serum creatinine decrease after therapy for HCV-associated GN were regarded as the most reliable outcome end-points. Results We identified six studies involving 145 unique patients with HCV-associated GN. Pooling of study results demonstrated that proteinuria decreased more commonly after IFN than corticosteroid therapy (OR 1.92 (95% CI, 0.39; 9.57), NS), P-test for heterogeneity, 0.06 (I2=52.9%). In a sensitivity analysis including only CCTs using standard IFN-doses, OR was 3.86 (95% CI, 1.44; 10.33, (P=0.007)), P-test for heterogeneity, 0.18 (I2=35.9%). No improvement of serum creatinine after IFN compared to immunosuppressive therapy was noted (OR, 0.59 (95% CI, 0.21; 1.65), NS), P-test for heterogeneity, 0.76 (I2=0%). Only three CCTs gave information on the rate of proteinuria decrease over follow-up (OR, 5.08 (95% CI, 0.69; 37.31), NS). A few major side effects were noted after IFN administration. Conclusions Our meta-analysis indicates that standard IFN-doses were more effective than immunosuppressive therapy in lowering proteinuria of patients with HCV-related glomerulonephritis. However, no significant improvement in serum creatinine was seen by IFN or steroid therapy across the studies. Also, information on proteinuria recurrence after the completion of antiviral therapy was not sufficient. Prospective, randomized trials based on combined antiviral therapy (pegylated IFN plus ribavirin) with adequate dose and follow-up are required to assess the efficacy and safety of antiviral treatment of HCV-associated glomerulonephritis.
Design of a broadband low cross-polarization W-shape microstrip patch antenna for MIMO system

In this paper, a novel broadband low cross-polarization meandering probe fed microstrip patch antenna for MIMO system is proposed. The enhancing bandwidth and size reduction mechanism that improves the performance of a conventional microstrip patch antenna is presented in this research. The design adopts contemporary techniques; meandering probe feeding, inverted patch structure with air-filled dielectric and W-shape patch. The composite effect of integrating inverting techniques and by introducing the proposed patch with meandering probe fed, offer a low profile, wide band, high gain, low cross-polarization and compact antenna element. The properties of the antenna, including return loss, cross-polarization and gain have been investigated. The achievable bandwidth of the proposed antenna obtained about 480 MHz (23.07%) at 10 dB return loss (VSWRles2) and maximum achievable gain of 10.76 dBi with gain variation of 0.97 dBi at the operating frequency. The cross-polarization is less than -29 dB for both E- and H-plane. The design is suitable for array application especially for MIMO system respect to a given frequency of 1.84-2.32 GHz.
Técnicas da pesquisa operacional aplicadas à logística de atendimento aos usuários de uma rede de distribuição de energia elétrica

O presente trabalho trata da otimizacao da logistica de atendimento aos usuarios de uma rede de distribuicao de energia eletrica, aplicada a agencia do Portao, localizada em Curitiba, PR, Brasil, de responsabilidade da Companhia Paranaense de Energia Eletrica (COPEL). Atraves de tecnicas da area de Pesquisa Operacional, um modelo Matematico de Programacao Inteira e o algoritmo de Floyd, definiu-se uma metodologia que permite determinar de forma otimizada o dimensionamento de equipes de atendimento para a referida agencia e o despacho otimizado das mesmas aos locais das ocorrencias, visando um atendimento satisfatorio aos usuarios, e, alem disso, a execucao dos servicos emergenciais, de imediato, e dos comerciais, de acordo com as metas estipuladas pela Agencia Nacional de Energia Eletrica (ANEEL) juntamente com a COPEL. A metodologia aqui apresentada e generica, podendo ser aplicada a qualquer rede (ou parte dela) de distribuicao eletrica, sendo que a mesma apresentou resultados bastante satisfatorios para o caso aqui abordado.