Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Number of siblings and risk of Hodgkin's lymphoma.

BACKGROUND Epidemiologic evidence indicates that risk of Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) in young adults is associated with correlates of delayed exposure to infection during childhood. In contrast, HL among children and older adults may be associated with earlier childhood infection. This study examines the associations of HL risk with having older or younger siblings. METHODS We conducted a case-control study in Sweden comparing 2,140 HL patients identified from the Swedish Cancer Register with 10,024 controls identified from national population registers. The Swedish Multi-Generation Register was used to link individuals to their parents and siblings. RESULTS Among young adults ages 15 to 39 years, the odds ratios (OR) associated with having one, two, and three or more older siblings, compared with none, were 0.96 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.82-1.13], 0.88 (95% CI, 0.72-1.09), and 0.72 (95% CI, 0.55-0.93), respectively (P value for trend = 0.01). In contrast, number of older siblings was not associated with HL risk among children or older adults. Number of younger or total siblings, mother's age at birth, and father's occupation were not associated with HL at any age. The decreased risk of young-adult HL did not vary appreciably by age difference or sex of older siblings. CONCLUSIONS Risk of HL was lower among young adults with multiple older but not younger siblings. Having older siblings is associated with earlier exposure to common childhood pathogens. Pediatric and older-adult HL were not associated with number of siblings, suggesting a different pathogenesis of disease in these age groups.
Reproductive Biology and Conservation Status of the Loggerhead Sea Turtle ( Caretta caretta ) in Espírito Santo State , Brazil

– The reproductive biology of loggerhead sea turtles nesting in Espírito Santo, Brazil, was evaluated for six nesting seasons (1991–92 through 1996–97), through data gathered by Projeto TAMAR-IBAMA, the Brazilian sea turtle conservation program. Mean curved carapace length of nesting females was 102.7 cm ( n = 198). Mean clutch size for clutches with more than 50 eggs was 119.7 (n = 3664), and clutch size was significantly correlated with female body size. Management practices had significant effects on hatching success and incubation time. Mean hatching success of nests left in situ was 68.3% ( n = 879), of undepredated nests left in situ was 79.9% ( n = 751), and of nests moved to hatcheries and not depredated was 67.7% ( n = 2786). For nests moved to hatcheries, hatching success declined significantly with increasing time interval between oviposition and transfer to the hatchery. Mean incubation time was 59.5 days for nests left in situ (n = 572) and 57.2 days for nests moved to hatcheries ( n = 2179). Incubation time declined significantly throughout the nesting season as temperatures increased; we conclude that sex ratio of hatchlings also shifts to more females as the season progresses. There was significant annual variation for all parameters.
Novel Lesions of Bones and Joints Associated with Chikungunya Virus Infection in Two Mouse Models of Disease: New Insights into Disease Pathogenesis

Chikungunya virus is an arbovirus spread predominantly by Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus mosquitoes, and causes debilitating arthralgia and arthritis. While these are common manifestations during acute infection and it has been suggested they can recur in patients chronically, gaps in knowledge regarding the pathogenesis still exist. Two established mouse models were utilized (adult IRF 3/7 -/- -/- and wild-type C57BL/6J mice) to evaluate disease manifestations in bones and joints at various timepoints. Novel lesions in C57BL/6J mice consisted of periostitis (91%) and foci of cartilage of necrosis (50% of mice at 21 DPI). Additionally, at 21 DPI, 50% and 75% of mice exhibited periosteal bone proliferation affecting the metatarsal bones, apparent via histology and μCT, respectively. μCT analysis did not reveal any alterations in trabecular bone volume measurements in C57BL/6J mice. Novel lesions demonstrated in IRF 3/7 -/- -/- mice at 5 DPI included focal regions of cartilage necrosis (20%), periosteal necrosis (66%), and multifocal ischemic bone marrow necrosis (100%). Contralateral feet in 100% of mice of both strains had similar, though milder lesions. Additionally, comparison of control IRF 3/7 -/- -/- and wild-type C57BL/6J mice demonstrated differences in cortical bone. These experiments demonstrate novel manifestations of disease similar to those occurring in humans, adding insight into disease pathogenesis, and representing new potential targets for therapeutic interventions. Additionally, results demonstrate the utility of μCT in studies of bone and joint pathology and illustrate differences in bone dynamics between mouse strains.
Learning the Discriminate Patches from the Key Landmarks for Facial Expression Recognition

Extraction of discriminate features which could represent the facial expression accurately plays a vital role in effective Facial Expression Recognition (FER). Although much progress has been made, selecting the discriminate features is still a challenging and interesting problem in the FER system. In this paper, we propose a new FER method, which uses the active shape mode (ASM) algorithm to landmark the key points of face, then extracts local binary patterns (LBP) features around the key points and uses the Multi-Task Learning (MTL) algorithm to select the discriminate patches to represent facial expression accurately. Then we use uses support vector machine (SVM) classifier to predict the facial emotion. Experiments on the Extended Cohn-Kanada database show that the proposed method has a promising performance and realizes the recognition rate of 96.44%.
MPI: a message passing interface

This paper presents an overview of MPI, a proposed standard message passing interface for MIMD distributed memory concurrent computers. The design of MPI haa been a collective effort involving researchers in the United States and Europe from many organizations and institutions. MPI includes point-to-point and collective communication routines, as well as support for process groups, communication contexts, and application topologies. While making use of new ideas where appropriate, the MPI standard is based largely on current practice.
Glioma Cell Death Induced by Irradiation or Alkylating Agent Chemotherapy Is Independent of the Intrinsic Ceramide Pathway

Background/Aims Resistance to genotoxic therapy is a characteristic feature of glioma cells. Acid sphingomyelinase (ASM) hydrolyzes sphingomyelin to ceramide and glucosylceramide synthase (GCS) catalyzes ceramide metabolism. Increased ceramide levels have been suggested to enhance chemotherapy-induced death of cancer cells. Methods Microarray and clinical data for ASM and GCS in astrocytomas WHO grade II–IV were acquired from the Rembrandt database. Moreover, the glioblastoma database of the Cancer Genome Atlas network (TCGA) was used for survival data of glioblastoma patients. For in vitro studies, increases in ceramide levels were achieved either by ASM overexpression or by the GCS inhibitor DL-threo-1-phenyl-2-palmitoylamino-3-morpholino-1-propanol (PPMP) in human glioma cell lines. Combinations of alkylating chemotherapy or irradiation and ASM overexpression, PPMP or exogenous ceramide were applied in parental cells. The anti-glioma effects were investigated by assessing proliferation, metabolic activity, viability and clonogenicity. Finally, viability and clonogenicity were assessed in temozolomide (TMZ)-resistant cells upon treatment with PPMP, exogenous ceramide, alkylating chemotherapy, irradiation or their combinations. Results Interrogations from the Rembrandt and TCGA database showed a better survival of glioblastoma patients with low expression of ASM or GCS. ASM overexpression or PPMP treatment alone led to ceramide accumulation but did not enhance the anti-glioma activity of alkylating chemotherapy or irradiation. PPMP or exogenous ceramide induced acute cytotoxicity in glioblastoma cells. Combined treatments with chemotherapy or irradiation led to additive, but not synergistic effects. Finally, no synergy was found when TMZ-resistant cells were treated with exogenous ceramide or PPMP alone or in combination with TMZ or irradiation. Conclusion Modulation of intrinsic glioma cell ceramide levels by ASM overexpression or GCS inhibition does not enhance the anti-glioma activity of alkylating chemotherapy or irradiation.
Tissue Healing with Doxycycline and Chemically Modified Tetracycline Treatments in Rats with Porphyromonas gingivalis—induced Periodontitis a

The extracellular matrix of the periodontal ligament (PDL) is primarily composed of collagens such as types I, 111,' and XIL2 Whereas type I and I11 collagens polymerize to form a fibril during the early stages of PDL development, similar to other connective tissues, the expression of type XI1 collagen is found to be specific to ligamentous tissues including the PDL.2 Therefore, it has been postulated that type XI1 collagen plays an integral role in PDL function. Periodontitis is the most prevalent oral disease in adults worldwide and results in the destruction of periodontal tissues by proteolytic enzymes elaborated by the host and by infecting microorganisms3 Specifically, matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and other tissue-destructive neutral proteinases, such as elastase, have been identified at the diseased sites of the periodontium.4 Doxycycline (DOXY) and chemically modified tetracyclines (CMTs) were found to inhibit inflammatory connective tissue breakdown by blocking the action of the MMPs collagenase and gelatina~e. ~ After infection and/or the inflammatory host reaction subsides, the damaged tissue undergoes a wound healing reaction which results in the formation of scar tissue through repair mechanisms or in functional tissue regeneration. The purpose of this study was to observe whether MMP inhibitors (DOXY and CMT) result in functionally regenerated periodontal tissue in an established rat periodontitis modeL6 Twenty-four adult male pathogen suppressed Sprague-Dawley rats were inoculated with Povhyromonas gingivalis for a 3-day period to induce periodontitis. Ten days after the initial P. gingivalis inoculation, six rats per group were randomly selected for the following daily treatments by oral gavage: (1) DOXY, (2) CMT (both at 5 mg/rat), and (3) no treatment. Noninfected animals served as controls. Because type XI1 collagen is a tissue-specific extracellular matrix molecule of functional PDL, we focused our investigations on the expression of type XI1 collagen mRNA using in situ hybridization. Two maxillary dentoalveolar segments from each group were harvested and after 1 week of decalcification, were prepared for histologic study.
Use of quantitative real-time RT-PCR to investigate the correlation between viremia and viral shedding of canine distemper virus, and infection outcomes in experimentally infected dogs

We used real-time RT-PCR and virus titration to examine canine distemper virus (CDV) kinetics in peripheral blood and rectal and nasal secretions from 12 experimentally infected dogs. Real-time RT-PCR proved extremely sensitive, and the correlation between the two methods for rectal and nasal (r=0.78, 0.80) samples on the peak day of viral RNA was good. Although the dogs showed diverse symptoms, viral RNA kinetics were similar; the peak of viral RNA in the symptomatic dogs was consistent with the onset of symptoms. These results indicate that real-time RT-PCR is sufficiently sensitive to monitor CDV replication in experimentally infected dogs regardless of the degree of clinical manifestation and suggest that the peak of viral RNA reflects active CDV replication.
nduction chemotherapy with cisplatin and emcitabine followed by concurrent chemoradiation ith twice-weekly gemcitabine in unresectable stage II non-small cell lung cancer : Final results of a hase II study

nduction chemotherapy with cisplatin and emcitabine followed by concurrent chemoradiation ith twice-weekly gemcitabine in unresectable stage II non-small cell lung cancer: Final results of a hase II study emei Blancoa,∗, Josep Solé b,1, Jesús Montesinosc,2, Carlos Meśıad,1, anuel Algarae,3, Josefa Terrassa f,4, Monserrat Gayg,5, onserrat Domenechh,6, Romá Bastus i,7, Isabel Bover j,8, iquel Nogué g,5, Catalina Vadell k,9,
Evolutionary Procedural 2D Map Generation using Novelty Search

This paper presents an evolutionary approach to procedural content generation of 2D maps for computer games. To provide better adaptability to the map designer's vision, user preference is incorporated to guide the algorithm. A cooperative method utilizes novelty search as a source of diverse solutions, which are then further optimized by multiple, subsequent genetic algorithms. We compare the results to a second approach based on multi-objective optimization, which takes the two conflicting goals of optimizing towards user preference and finding novel solutions as objective functions to build a Pareto front of maps.
Quadratic Stability for Hybrid Systems With Nested Saturations

The problems of characterizing quadratic stability and computing an estimation of the domain of attraction for saturated hybrid systems are addressed. Hybrid systems presenting saturations and nested saturations on signals involved in both the continuous-time and the discrete-time dynamics are considered. Geometrical characterizations of local and global quadratic stability are provided. Computation oriented conditions for quadratic stability are given in form of convex constraints.
Integrative Islamic Personality Inventory: Development and Validation

With the growing awareness of the need to integrate modern psychological approaches with Islamic values and practices, there is a need among Muslim psychologists and other behavioral scientists for an instrument capable of capturing the major elements of the Islamic personality. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to develop and take the first steps in the validation of the Integrative Islamic Personality Inventory (IIPI), which is a newly developed measurement. With regard to content validity, 64 items were generated based on the judgments of a panel of experts. Fifty-seven respondents completed the preliminary instrument. The inventory demonstrated excellent reliability and strong internal validity. In the next phases, the inventory will be further validated and calibrated based on different psychometric standards and models.
Culturally Adapted Preventive Interventions for Children and Adolescents

WHY CULTURAL ADAPTATION IN DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOPATHOLOGY 874 DEFINITION OF CULTURE 875 HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF CULTURAL ADAPTATION RESEARCH 876 THE RATIONALE FOR CULTURAL ADAPTATION: GUIDELINES TOWARD A MORE SYSTEMATIC AND TARGETED APPROACH 878 THE CONTENT OF CULTURAL ADAPTATION: SURFACE STRUCTURE, DEEP STRUCTURE, AND CORE COMPONENTS 879 PROCESS MODELS OF CULTURAL ADAPTATION: SYSTEMATIC APPLICATION OF BEST PRACTICES 880 PARENT TRAINING INTERVENTIONS 884 Cultural Adaptations to Enhance Engagement in PT 885 Augmenting Intervention Content to Improve Outcomes for Ethnic Minority Families 886 Cultural Adaptations of Evidence-Based Parent Training Interventions 886 Culturally Grounded Parent Training Interventions 893 Discussion 894 Enhancing Engagement: Remaining Questions 894 Augmented Intervention Content: Paucity of Data 895 Additional Directions for PT Adaptation 895 YOUTH RISK PREVENTION PROGRAMS 896 Cultural Adaptations of Youth Risk Preventive Interventions 898 Culturally Grounded Interventions 901 Discussion 908 Remaining Gaps and Questions 909 PREVENTION OF ANXIETY AND MOOD DISORDERS 909 Cultural Adaptation and the Prevention of Anxiety and Depression 911 Discussion: Limited Evidence 912 HEALTH-FOCUSED INTERVENTIONS 913 The Cases of Obesity and Physical Activity 913 Exemplary Research Programs Integrating Culture and Children’s Health 914 CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS 918 Adaptation Effectiveness 918 Cultural Adaptation Process 920 Reach and Engagement 920 Understanding Cultural Components Added to Culturally Adapted Interventions 920 Accommodating Within-Group Diversity 921 REFERENCES 922
Working With Individuals on the Autistic Spectrum Disorder: Training and Support for Staff Practitioners

Background: Individuals with Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) often need very specialized and individualized care provision in order to address some of the challenges and vulnerabilities they experience (Berkell-Zaker, 1999). Specialized and highly trained staff practitioners should not only be knowledgeable about autism in general and its related areas of impairments (Wing & Gould, 1979), but they should be adequately equipped to deal with often challenging situations that can easily lead to emotional and physical exhaustion. Key Points: This paper proposes a conceptual framework to positively support staff practitioners who work with clients on the ASDs, highlighting the following key areas: Knowledge and Applied Understanding of ASD, Ecological Awareness, Positive Behaviour Support, Low-Arousal Approaches, Role of Role-Plays, Role of Debriefing and Emotional Regulation. Through discussion of the conceptual framework suggestions are made to promote best practice in the positive management of training and support for staff practitioners working with individuals with ASDs. Language: English
Prohibitin Is Involved in Patients with IgG4 Related Disease

Objective IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) is a chronic systemic disease involved in many organs and tissues. As only limited autoantigens have been found since the beginning of this century, the aim of this study was to reveal new candidate autoantigens of IgG4-RD. Methods Multiple cell lines including HT-29, EA.hy926, HEK 293 and HepG2 were used to test the binding ability of circulating autoantibodies from IgG4-RD sera. The amino-acid sequence was then analyzed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight tandem (MALDI-TOF/TOF) mass spectrometry. After the cloning and expression of recombinant putative autoantigen in a bacterial expression system, the corresponding immuno assay was set up and utilized to observe the prevalence of serum autoantibodies in a large set of confirmed clinical samples. Results One positive autoantigen was identified as prohibitin. ELISA analysis showed that a majority of patients with IgG4-RD have antibodies against prohibitin. Anti-prohibitin antibodies were present in the sera of patients with definite autoimmune pancreatitis (25/34; 73.5%), Mikulicz’s disease (8/15; 53.3%), retroperitoneal fibrosis (6/11; 54.5%), other probable IgG4-RD (26/29; 89.7%) and Sjögren’s syndrome (4/30; 13.3%) but not in apparently healthy donors (1/70; 1.4%). Conclusions An association between prohibitin and patients with some IgG4-RD was observed, although the results were quite heterogeneous among different individuals within autoimmune pancreatitis, Mikulicz’s disease and retroperitoneal fibrosis.
NEUROPROTECTIVE EFFECTS OF DAURICINE AGAINST APOPTOSIS INDUCED BY TRANSIENT FOCAL CEREBRAL ISCHAEMIA IN RATS VIA A MITOCHONDRIAL PATHWAY

1 Previous experimental studies have shown that dauricine can protect the brain against ischaemic damage, but the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. In the present study, we examined whether dauricine inhibits neuronal apoptosis in the penumbra in a rat model of transient focal cerebral ischaemia. 2 Male Wistar rats underwent a 90 min temporary occlusion of the middle cerebral artery. Dauricine (21, 42 and 84 mg/kg) was administered by intragastric gavage twice a day for 3 days before ischaemia. Rats were killed and brain samples were collected 24 h after ischaemia. Histopathological outcome was evaluated by haematoxylin–eosin staining. Apoptotic changes were evaluated by terminal deoxyribonucleotidyl transferase‐mediated dUTP–digoxigenin nick end‐labelling (TUNEL) for DNA fragmentation. The mitochondrial pathway was explored using immunohistochemistry for cytochrome c release, caspase 9 and caspase 3 activation, as well as by reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction for determination of caspase 9 and caspase 3 mRNA expression. 3 Cytochrome c release, activation of caspase 9 and caspase 3 and DNA fragmentation were detected 24 h after ischaemia. Dauricine (42 and 84 mg/kg) pretreatment improved histopathological recovery, diminished DNA fragmentation and reduced cytochrome c release and activation of caspase 9 and caspase 3 in the penumbra at 24 h. 4 These findings suggest that dauricine attenuates apoptosis in the penumbra after transient focal cerebral ischaemia. The infarct‐reducing effects of dauricine may be due, in part, to the inhibition of apoptotic cell death via a mitochondrial pathway in the penumbra.
Let SQL drive the XQuery workhorse (XQuery join graph isolation)

A purely relational account of the true XQuery semantics can turn any relational database system into an XQuery processor. Compiling nested expressions of the fully compositional XQuery language, however, yields odd algebraic plan shapes featuring scattered distributions of join operators that currently overwhelm commercial SQL query optimizers. This work rewrites such plans before submission to the relational database back-end. Once cast into the shape of join graphs, we have found off-the-shelf relational query optimizers---the B-tree indexing subsystem and join tree planner, in particular---to cope and even be autonomously capable of "reinventing" advanced processing strategies that have originally been devised specifically for the XQuery domain, e.g., XPath step reordering, axis reversal, and path stitching. Performance assessments provide evidence that relational query engines are among the most versatile and efficient XQuery processors readily available today.
The Meaning of Help in PE: Perceptions of Students with Physical Disabilities

The purpose of this study was to describe the meaning of help in physical education as perceived by students with physical disabilities. The experiences of early, middle, and late elementary school aged students (n = 12) were captured using the phenomenological methods of individual and focus group interviews, field notes, and visual artifacts. The thematic analysis revealed that interactions were perceived as self-supporting or self-threatening. Self-supporting behaviors were instrumental, caring, or consensual in form, while self-threatening behaviors resulted in a loss of independence, concerns for self-esteem, or restricted participation. Participant responses to the helping behaviors became more complex with age. Instrumental and caring assistance emerged across all groups as did loss of independence and concerns for self-esteem. The older participants experienced restricted participation and consensual help. The implications of helping behavior on motivation and dependency states are discussed withi.
New real-time tuning method for wireless power transfer systems

In this paper, a new real-time resonance tuning method for wireless power transfer circuits is presented. This method tunes the resonance by control of the effective reactance through inductive coupling with an additional one-turn coil of variable inductance circuit. This method reduces power loss and stress of the switching devices. Circuit analysis, simulation and experimental results are described.