Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prevalence of youth-reported DSM-IV psychiatric disorders among African, European, and Mexican American adolescents.

OBJECTIVE The authors present prevalence data for adolescents in a large metropolitan area and examine the association of DSM-IV diagnoses with functional impairment and selected demographic correlates among European Americans (EA), African Americans (AA), and Mexican (MA) Americans. METHOD The authors sampled 4,175 youths ages 11 to 17 years whose households were enrolled in large health maintenance organizations. Data were collected using questionnaires, the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children-IV and the Children's Global Assessment Scale. The data were collected in the Houston Metropolitan area in 1998-2000. Data on psychiatric disorders were derived from interviews with youths only. RESULTS AA had a lower prevalence of mood disorders, substance use disorders, and any disorders adjusted for Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children-IV impairment or Children's Global Assessment Scale score than did others. EA had greatest prevalence of substance use disorders, whereas AA were lowest. After adjusting for covariates, EA had a higher risk for some disorders than AA. Effects of gender, age, parent education, family income, and marital status were not consistent across groups. Family income was protective only for EA. CONCLUSIONS There appear to be few systematic differences between majority and minority adolescents at risk for psychiatric disorders. MA are not at increased risk contrasted to EA. AA had lower risk for some disorders, but adjusting for impairment and covariates eliminated most differences. Thus, multivariate analyses support the hypothesis that initial ethnic differences appear to be a function of factors associated with disadvantaged minority status rather than to distinctive ethnic culture. A noteworthy finding was that disadvantaged social status did not appear to increase the risk for disorders among minority youths.
How to Dig Deeper? Improved Enrichment Methods for Mucin Core-1 Type Glycopeptides*

Two different workflows were tested in order to develop methods that provide deeper insight into the secreted O-glycoproteome. Bovine serum samples were subjected to lectin affinity-chromatography both at the protein- and peptide-level in order to selectively isolate glycopeptides with the most common, mucin core-1 sugar. This enrichment step was implemented with either protein-level mixed-bed ion-exchange chromatography or with peptide-level electrostatic repulsion hydrophilic interaction chromatography. Both methods led to at least 65% of the identified products being glycopeptides, in comparison to ∼25% without the additional chromatography steps [Darula, Z. , and Medzihradszky, K. F. (2009) Affinity enrichment and characterization of mucin core-1 type glycopeptides from bovine serum. Mol. Cell. Proteomics 8, 2515–2526]. In order to improve not only the isolation but also the characterization of the glycopeptides exoglycosidases were used to eliminate carbohydrate extensions from the directly peptide-bound GalNAc units. Consequent tandem MS analysis of the mixtures using higher-energy collision-dissociation and electron-transfer dissociation led to the identification of 124 glycosylation sites in 51 proteins. While the electron-transfer dissociation data provided the bulk of the information for both modified sequence and modification site assignment, the higher-energy collision-dissociation data frequently yielded confirmation of the peptide identity, and revealed the presence of some core-2 or core-3 oligosaccharides. More than two-thirds of the sites as well as the proteins have never been reported modified.
Melatonin protects SHSY5Y neuronal cells but not cultured astrocytes from ischemia due to oxygen and glucose deprivation

Abstract: As a potent free radical scavenger and antioxidant, melatonin protects brain tissue against ischemia–reperfusion injury, partly via suppression of ischemia‐induced production of nitric oxide, when given before ischemia–reperfusion or within 2 hr of onset of ischemia. In this study, we examined the neuroprotective effect of melatonin in an in vitro model of ischemia. Primary cultured astrocytes were subjected to 4 or 8 hr of oxygen–glucose deprivation (OGD), and cultured SHSY5Y human neuronal cells were exposed to 1 hr of OGD. Melatonin was added to the medium at the commencement of OGD to achieve different final concentrations, and cell death was quantified using the measurement of 3‐(4,5‐dimethylthiazol‐2‐yl)‐2,5‐diphenyl‐tetrazolium bromide (MTT) at 24 hr after reversion of OGD. Treatment with melatonin did not affect the astrocytic cell death following 4 or 8 hr of OGD. The relative MTT values of the neuronal cells were (as mean ± S.E.M.) 59.1 ± 2.4% in the vehicle‐treated OGD group and 80.1 ± 2.7%, 82.5 ± 2.9%, 74.1 ± 2.3%, 64.2 ± 2.3%, 62.7 ± 2.8%, and 61.0 ± 3.9% in the OGD groups treated with melatonin at 10−3, 10−4, 10−5, 10−6, 10−7, and 10−8 m, respectively. Reduction in cell death was significant following treatment with melatonin at 10−3, 10−4, or 10−5 m. Reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction showed that human mt1 and MT2 membrane receptors were not expressed in the cultured neuronal cells. Our results show that melatonin co‐treatment protects cultured neuronal cells but not astrocytes against OGD‐induced cell death in a dose‐dependent manner and that the neuroprotection is independent of its known membrane receptors.
Structural Insights into the Mechanism of Negative Regulation of Single-box High Mobility Group Proteins by the Acidic Tail Domain*

Background: HMG-box proteins bind and bend DNA, regulated by their acidic C-terminal tails. Results: The acidic tails of HMG-D (Drosophila) and ZmHMGB1 (maize) occlude the DNA-binding regions; the strength of the interaction is phosphorylation-dependent. Conclusion: Phosphorylation provides an additional mode of negative regulation. Significance: Phosphorylation of the tails of insect and plant HMG-box proteins may modulate chromatin structure and accessibility. The Drosophila and plant (maize) functional counterparts of the abundant vertebrate chromosomal protein HMGB1 (HMG-D and ZmHMGB1, respectively) differ from HMGB1 in having a single HMG box, as well as basic and acidic flanking regions that vary greatly in length and charge. We show that despite these variations, HMG-D and ZmHMGB1 exist in dynamic assemblies in which the basic HMG boxes and linkers associate with their intrinsically disordered, predominantly acidic, tails in a manner analogous to that observed previously for HMGB1. The DNA-binding surfaces of the boxes and linkers are occluded in “auto-inhibited” forms of the protein, which are in equilibrium with transient, more open structures that are “binding-competent. ” This strongly suggests that the mechanism of auto-inhibition may be a general one. HMG-D and ZmHMGB1 differ from HMGB1 in having phosphorylation sites in their tail and linker regions. In both cases, in vitro phosphorylation of serine residues within the acidic tail stabilizes the assembled form, suggesting another level of regulation for interaction with DNA, chromatin, and other proteins that is not possible for the uniformly acidic (hence unphosphorylatable) tail of HMGB1.
Multiple Transforming Growth Factor-β Isoforms and Receptors Function during Epithelial-Mesenchymal Cell Transformation in the Embryonic Heart

Epithelial-mesenchymal cell transformation (EMT) is a critical process during development of the heart valves. Transition of endothelial cells into mesenchymal cells in the atrioventricular (AV) canal and the outflow tract regions of the heart form the cardiac cushions that eventually form the heart valves. Collagen gel invasion assay has aided in the identification of molecules that regulate EMT. Among those, transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) ligands and receptors demonstrate a critical role during EMT. In the chick, TGF-β ligands and some receptors have specific functions during EMT. TGF-β2 mediates endothelial cell-cell activation and separation, and TGF-β3 mediates cell invasion into the extracellular matrix. Receptors involved in the EMT process include TGF-β receptor type II (TBRII), TBRIII, endoglin and the TBRI receptors, ALK2 and ALK5. In contrast, in the mouse model, TGF-β2 is the only ligand involved in EMT. The TGF-β2 null mouse has either increased EMT or a mesenchymal cell proliferation after EMT. However, functional studies of TGF-β1 in vivo and in vitro showed that TGF-β1 functions in the EMT of the mouse AV canal. Latent TGF-β-binding protein (LTBP-1) and endoglin have a role in the EMT process. Therefore, TGF-βs mediate cardiac EMT in both embryonic species. Further studies will reveal the identification of ligand and receptor-specific activities.
A unified model for permanent and recoverable NBTI based on hole trapping and structure relaxation

Negative bias temperature instability (NBTI) strongly limits reliability of PMOS devices by degradation of threshold voltage, subthreshold slope and transconductance. The physical understanding of the NBTI mechanism is essential for searching paths of NBTI alleviation and providing realistic predictions for CMOS reliability. This work presents a new NBTI model based on hole trapping/detrapping accompanied by structural relaxation in the host dielectric. Simulations account for a time and T dependence of the drain current degradation during NBTI stress. Dynamic NBTI effects are then explained by alternative hole capture and emission during stress and relaxation stages. The impact of the activation energy dispersion on relaxation times is finally discussed.
Retinopathy and chronic kidney disease in the Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort (CRIC) study.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the association between retinopathy and chronic kidney disease. METHODS In this observational, cross-sectional study, 2605 patients of the Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort (CRIC) study, a multicenter study of chronic kidney disease, were offered participation. Nonmydriatic fundus photographs of the disc and macula in both eyes were obtained in 1936 of these subjects. The photographs were reviewed in a masked fashion at a central photograph reading center using standard protocols. Presence and severity of retinopathy (diabetic, hypertensive, or other) and vessel diameter caliber were assessed by trained graders and a retinal specialist using protocols developed for large epidemiologic studies. Kidney function measurements and information on traditional and nontraditional risk factors for decreased kidney function were obtained from the CRIC study. RESULTS Greater severity of retinopathy was associated with lower estimated glomerular filtration rate after adjustment for traditional and nontraditional risk factors. The presence of vascular abnormalities usually associated with hypertension was also associated with lower estimated glomerular filtration rate. We found no strong direct relationship between estimated glomerular filtration rate and average arteriolar or venular calibers. CONCLUSIONS Our findings show a strong association between severity of retinopathy and its features and level of kidney function after adjustment for traditional and nontraditional risk factors for chronic kidney disease, suggesting that retinovascular pathology reflects renal disease.
Frequency decomposition-based tracking for improving a CSK tracker

Object tracking is an important task within the field of computer vision. Object tracking methodology is divided into three categories: point-, kernel-; and silhouette-based tracking. Recently, a correlation-based kernel tracking has been used in object tracking with high accuracy and performance. However, the correlation-based approach heavily relies on luminance information, thus it has many problems. In addition, various environments including illumination variation, deformation, occlusion and scale variation make the object tracking unreliable especially in chronic problem such as state update. To isolate this problem, we present a frequency decomposition-based effective approach for more robust circulant structure kernel (CSK) traker. Experimental results show that the proposed approach outperforms the conventional CSK tracker by about 5% on average for 38 illumination changing sequences from the commonly used 100 test sequences.
Effect of Moroccan Health Insurance on Individuals’ Healthcare Utilization and Expenditures: A Hicket Model

Our research examines the effect Moroccan Health Insurance (MHI) on individual’s healthcare utilization and expenditures. We analyzed a random sample of 8000 households produced by the National Observatory of Human Development and found that the RAMED plan insures about 21.1% of them and that the Compulsory Health Insurance (AMO) covers 22.2 %. We found that the MHI is a positive influence on the utilization among beneficiaries and reduces the individual health costs, especially among the RAMed recipients.
Sequential alterations in haemorheology, endothelial dysfunction, platelet activation and thrombogenesis in relation to prognosis following acute stroke: The West Birmingham Stroke Project

Abnormalities of haemorheology (plasma viscosity, fibrinogen), endothelial function [von Willebrand factor (vWf)], platelet activation (soluble P-selectin) and thrombogenesis [plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI), and fibrin D-dimer] are common in cardiovascular disease. We investigated changes in these markers in 86 patients (58 males) presenting with acute stroke (all age < 75 years, with ictus < 12 h), and sequential changes at six time points (baseline on admission, 48 h, 1 week, 2 weeks, 3 months and 6 months following the onset of stroke). Baseline plasma viscosity, haematocrit, fibrinogen, vWf, PAI, soluble P-selectin and fibrin D-dimer levels were increased in the acute stroke patients compared with 35 age-matched and sex-matched controls. Following admission, there were significant increases in haematocrit at 2 weeks, vWf at 48 h and 1 week, fibrinogen at 1 week, PAI at 48 h and 1 and 2 weeks, soluble P-selectin at 48 h, and fibrin D-dimer at 48 h and 1 week following admission. Using univariate ‘time to event’ analysis, high (> median) mean age (log-rank test, P = 0.0262), diastolic blood pressure (P = 0.01), haematocrit (P = 0.0234), PAI-1 (P = 0.0066) and fibrin D-dimer levels (P = 0.0356) were associated with a shortened event-free survival. Using a multivariate Cox survival analysis, only PAI-1 levels remained an independent predictor of survival (P = 0.0349). We conclude that acute stroke patients have marked baseline abnormalities of haemorheology, endothelial disturbance, thrombogenesis, platelet activation and abnormal fibrinolysis, with further changes over the subsequent follow-up period. Abnormal thrombogenesis and fibrinolysis may significantly influence survival in patients with acute stroke. These changes may have potential implications for the pathogenesis of stroke and its complications, although the possibility remains that we are documenting an acute phase response that previous studies, which included stroke patients with a wide time range since ictus onset, have neglected to consider.
Product Market Competition’s Effect on Earnings Management When Audit Quality Is Endogenous: Theory and Evidence

Abstract A long standing question is whether product market competition disciplines a firm’s incentive to engage in earnings management. This paper argues that this question cannot be investigated adequately without accounting for the quality of firms’ auditors, because auditors affect the probability of discovering earnings management. Since firms choose their auditor, a non-compliant firm can alter its own probability of being detected. Consequently, a firm’s decision to manage earnings is a function of its auditor’s quality, which is itself endogenously chosen by the firm. To study this issue we develop a game-theoretic model that captures the potential inter-relationship between industry competition, the firms’ choice of audit quality, and compliance with accounting regulations (or the degree of earnings manipulation). We show that the link between financial compliance and product market competition is affected by the endogenously chosen audit quality. We estimate this model’s structural parameters and find that greater competition reduces both compliance and the demand for high quality audits.
Overweight, obesity, weight-related concerns and behaviours in Hong Kong Chinese children and adolescents.

AIM To study the prevalence of overweight and obesity, and weight-related concerns and behaviours among overweight, obese and non-overweight children and adolescents. METHODS We carried out a cross-sectional survey of all Chinese students in primary schools in the Central and Western District of Hong Kong in March 2002. Thirty-one of 32 schools participated, and 5402 boys and 5371 girls aged 8 to 15 y who completed a standardized questionnaire were included. We used the International Obesity Task Force definition (IOTF reference) to define overweight and obesity. RESULTS The prevalence (95% CI) of overweight was 16.4% (15.7-17.1%) (19.9% in boys, 12.9% in girls), and that of obesity was 7.7% (7.2-8.2%) (10.3% in boys and 5.1% in girls). The combined prevalence of overweight and obesity was similar to that based on the local reference. Overweight children had more concerns about their weight than obese children. They were more likely than obese children to feel fat, wish to be lighter, diet and exercise to lose weight. Although obese children were heavier, they did not make more effort to lose weight than overweight children. CONCLUSIONS The differences in weight-related concerns and behaviours among overweight, obese and non-overweight children suggested good validity of the IOTF reference and the self-reported data. The differences between overweight and obese children suggested that the two groups had different psychological states and that they needed different weight management programmes and other intervention strategies.
A perspective approach for refactoring framework using monitor based approach

Code smells are prototype of devise shortcomings in the code that preserve potentially basis problems during software maintenance. Detecting and resolving code smells is protracted progression. Many numerals of code smells have been accredited and the succession through which the detection and resolution of code smells are maneuvered infrequently because developers do not discriminate how to rectify the sequences of code smells. Refactoring tools are used to aid software refactoring and assists the developers to restructure the code. Obtainable refactoring tools are submissive and human driven. Few refactoring tools valor be outcome in poor software quality and delayed refactoring may lead to higher refactoring cost. A refactoring framework is proposed which right away detects the code smells and changes in the source code are analyzed by running a monitor at the background. The proposed framework is assessed on different non-trivial open source applications and the evaluation results proposed that the refactoring framework would assist to avoid the more code smells and average life extent of resolved smells can be reduced.
The Rise of the Islamic State and Changing Patterns of Cooperation in the Middle East

ABSTRACT Interstate relations are highly interdependent: a change in relations between a pair of states can impact the relationship each of those states has with third parties, as well as relations among those third party states. This is particularly salient in cases where emerging security threats have the potential to destabilize existing patterns of interstate behavior. While the interdependent nature of states’ strategic responses to varied security challenges is often discussed and theorized in the international relations (IR) literature, it is less frequently modeled empirically. We present an approach for analyzing state relations that takes into account higher-order dependencies in the position of states within a network. We apply the approach to a unique context: diplomatic relations between Middle East and North African (MENA) states during a period in which the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) becomes a significant destabilizing force in the region. We find that the emergence of ISIL dramatically reshaped the region’s politics, improving relations among the region’s major powers while worsening relations for the states facing territorial threats from the group.
Isolation of microsatellite loci from the coqui frog, Eleutherodactylus coqui

Thirteen microsatellite loci were isolated from the coqui frog (Eleutherodactylus coqui) and optimized for future research. The loci were screened across 37 individuals from two Puerto Rican populations. Loci were variable with the number of alleles per locus ranging from three to 38. Polymorphic information content ranged from 0.453 to 0.963 and observed heterozygosity for each population ranged from 0.320 to 0.920.
Economic Valuation of Green Island, Taiwan: A Choice Experiment Method

The evaluation of ecological security and ecosystem services is now a core issue in the field of natural and environmental resources. Quantifying the economic value of island ecosystem services can inform policy decisions that affect the island and help justify expenditures on ecosystem service improvements. This study investigates the preferences of residents and tourists regarding Green Island and estimates willingness-to-pay (WTP) values for island ecosystem services using a choice experiment. The results indicate significant differences between the preferences of residents and tourists regarding island environmental resources. Therefore, based on the multiple attributes and ecosystem services, this study formulated three assessment schemes: “environmental protection”, “recreational development”, and “integrated operation and management”. Based on our analysis of the problems reflected in the aforementioned valuation models, we recommend that policy makers refer to environmental attribute preferences to create statements or advertisements targeting relevant audiences when planning island development. This paper contributes to the literature by demonstrating how the economic valuation of island ecosystem services can help design and target island conservation policies in order to maximize welfare.
Enhancer Requirement for Murine Cytomegalovirus Growth and Genetic Complementation by the Human Cytomegalovirus Enhancer

ABSTRACT The cytomegalovirus (CMV) enhancer is a highly complex regulatory region containing multiple elements that interact with a variety of host-encoded transcription factors. Many of these sequence elements are conserved among the different species strains of CMV, although the arrangement of the various elements and overall sequence composition of the CMV enhancers differ remarkably. To delineate the importance of this region to a productive infection and to explore the possibility of generating a murine CMV (MCMV) under the control of human CMV (HCMV) genetic elements, the MCMV enhancer was resected and replaced either with nonregulatory sequences or with paralogous sequences from HCMV. The effects of these various deletions and substitutions on viral growth in transfected or infected tissue-culture cells were evaluated. We found that mutations in MCMV that eliminate or substitute for the enhancer with nonregulatory sequences showed a severe deficiency in virus synthesis. This growth defect is effectively complemented by the homologous MCMV enhancer as well as the HCMV enhancer. In the latter case, the chimeric viruses (hybrid MCMV strains) containing the molecularly shuffled human enhancer exhibit infectious kinetics similar to that of parental wild-type and wild-type revertant MCMV. These results also show that open reading frames m124, m124.1, and m125 located within the enhancer region are nonessential for growth of MCMV in cells. Most importantly, we conclude that the enhancer of MCMV is required for optimal infection and that its diverged human counterpart can advantageously replace its role in promoting viral infectivity.