Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Health Literacy in Canada: A Healthy Understanding

Author(s): Murray, TS; Hagey, J; Willms, D; Shillington, R; Desjardins, R | Abstract: In September 2007, the Canadian Council on Learning published Health Literacy in Canada: Initial results from the International Adult Literacy and Skills Survey.1 From this report we learned: 1) While Canadians have higher levels of health literacy than Americans, 60% of adults in Canada lack the capacity to obtain, understand and act upon health information and services and to make appropriate health decisions on their own; 2) Average health literacy varies significantly by province and territory and between different population sub-groups within Canada, especially among seniors. Canadian adults with less than a high-school education perform well below adults with higher levels of education and this gap widens with age; 3) Differences in literacy and numeracy skills exert a profound influence on a range of social, educational and economic outcomes. Differences in average health-literacy skill seem to be associated with large differences in perceived general health status. The analysis presented in A Healthy Understanding builds on the initial results presented in Health Literacy in Canada. An individual’s level of health literacy—which encompasses education level and ability to learn about health—is strongly connected to the health they enjoy. Simply put, good health-literacy skills can lead to good health, for the individual and for the population at large.
Functional organization of the glnB-glnA cluster of Azospirillum brasilense

The functional organization of the glnB-A cluster of Azospirillum brasilense, which codes for the PII protein and glutamine synthetase, respectively, was studied with the aid of lacZ fusions, deletion mapping, site-directed mutagenesis, and complementation. It was shown previously by mRNA mapping that the cluster contains two tandemly organized promoters, glnBp1 and glnBp2, of the sigma 70 and sigma 54 types, respectively, upstream of glnB and a third unidentified promoter upstream of glnA. Data obtained with lacZ fusions in the wild-type strain confirmed that cotranscription of glnBA and transcription of glnA alone were oppositely regulated by the cell N status. Quantification of promoter activities showed a high level of transcription from glnBp1p2 and a low level from glnAp under conditions of nitrogen limitation. The opposite situation prevails under conditions of nitrogen excess. As a consequence, PII polypeptide synthesis is increased under conditions of nitrogen fixation, which strongly suggests that PII plays an important role under these conditions. Null mutant strains of glnB, ntrB-ntrC, nifA, and point mutant strains in glnA were analyzed. NtrB and NtrC are not involved in the regulation of glnBA expression, in contrast to PII and glutamine synthetase. Glutamine synthetase probably acts by modulating the intracellular N status, and PII acts by modifying the properties of an unidentified regulator which might be a functional homolog of NtrC. In addition, a Nif- null mutant strain of glnB was characterized further. A Nif+ phenotype was restored to the strain by nifA from Klebsiella pneumoniae but not by nifA from A. brasilense. This mutant strain is not impaired in NifA synthesis, which is relatively independent of the growth conditions in A. brasilense. It is therefore most likely that PII is required for NifA activation under conditions of nitrogen fixation. Deletion mapping and site-directed mutagenesis showed glnAp was located within a 45-bp DNA fragment upstream of the mRNA start site, dissimiar to previously described consensus sites for sigma factors.
Genetic polymorphism in sympatric species of the genus Phlebotomus, with special reference to Phlebotomus perniciosus and Phlebotomus longicuspis (Diptera, Phlebotomidae).

The Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA assay was used to study genetic variation within and between five Phlebotomus species belonging to three subgenera: P. (Larroussius) ariasi, P. (L.) longicuspis, P. (L.) perniciosus, P.(Paraphlebotomus) sergenti and P. (Phlebotomus) papatasi sympatric in southern Spain and proven vector of leishmaniasis. Two cluster analysis were proposed: one according to sandfly species and populations, the second according individual specimens of Phlebotomus perniciosus, Phlebotomus longicuspis s.l. and intermediate morphological specimens between these species. The results obtained are closely correlated with the taxonomy classically accepted for the subgenera and with the automatic classifications made by other authors which use morphological and isoenzymatic data. The validity of the species Phlebotomus longicuspis is also discussed.
When the going gets tough, the tough get going: towards a new – more critical – engagement with responsible research and innovation in an age of Trump, Brexit, and wider populism

ABSTRACTIn this article, we explore how responsible research and innovation (RRI) interacts with the current political context. We examine the (1) possible consequences for RRI and related agendas if values associated with ‘populist’ movements become more pervasive, (2) the role that a lack of RRI has potentially played in the development of this political context, and (3) how RRI as a concept, practice, and research agenda should respond. We argue that whilst RRI is threatened, it is now more important than ever. We propose that RRI needs to go beyond being a method for facilitating societal input into research and innovation and for highlighting desired impacts. RRI needs to evolve to provide an effective conduit for criticisms and the input of critical thinking and reflexivity into science and innovation, including in terms of economic policy and politics.
An MR-compatible force sensor based on FBG technology for biomedical application

Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) technology is very attractive to develop sensors for the measurement of thermal and mechanical parameters in biological applications, particularly in presence of electromagnetic interferences. This work presents the design, working principle and experimental characterization of a force sensor based on two FBGs, with the feature of being compatible with Magnetic Resonance. Two prototypes based on different designs are considered and characterized: 1) the fiber with the FBGs is encapsulated in a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) sheet; 2) the fiber with the FBGs is free without the employment of any polymeric layer. Results show that the prototype which adopts the polymeric sheet has a wider range of measurement (4200 mN vs 250 mN) and good linearity; although it has lower sensitivity (≈0.1 nm-N1 vs 7 nm-N1). The sensor without polymeric layer is also characterized by employing a differential configuration which allows neglecting the influence of temperature. This solution improves the linearity of the sensor, on the other hand the sensitivity decreases. The resulting good metrological properties of the prototypes here tested make them attractive for the intended application and in general for force measurement during biomedical applications in presence of electromagnetic interferences.
From Structural Analysis to Observer–Based Residual Generation for Fault Detection

Abstract This paper combines methods for the structural analysis of bipartite graphs with observer-based residual generation. The analysis of bipartite structure graphs leads to over-determined subsets of equations within a system model, which make it possible to compute residuals for fault detection. In observer-based diagnosis, by contrast, an observability analysis finds observable subsystems, for which residuals can be generated by state observers. This paper reveals a fundamental relationship between these two graph-theoretic approaches to diagnosability analysis and shows that for linear systems the structurally over-determined set of model equations equals the output connected part of the system. Moreover, a condition is proved which allows us to verify structural observability of a system by means of the corresponding bipartite graph. An important consequence of this result is a comprehensive approach to fault detection systems, which starts with finding the over-determined part of a given system by means of a bipartite structure graph and continues with designing an observerbased residual generator for the fault-detectable subsystem found in the first step.
Unrelated cord blood transplants in adults with hematologic malignancies.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES We analyzed outcomes and risk factors after unrelated cord blood transplantation (CBT) in adults with hematologic malignancies. DESIGN AND METHODS One hundred and seventy-one patients were transplanted after 1997. Their median age was 29 years (15-55), and the median follow-up time was 18 months (1-71). Most patients had acute or chronic leukemia (n=142, 83%), 91 (53%) were transplanted in advanced phase and an autologous transplant had failed in 32 (19%). Most patients (87%) received an HLA-mismatched cord blood unit with 1-2 HLA disparities. At infusion, the median number of nucleated cells and CD34(+) cells was 2.1x10(7)/kg and 1x10(5)/kg, respectively RESULTS The cumulative incidence of neutrophil recovery at day 60 was 72+/-3% with a median of 28 days (11-57). A higher neutrophil count and use of hematopoietic growth factors were independently associated with faster neutrophil recovery. The cumulative incidence of grade II-IV acute graft-versus-host disease was 32+/-4% and this complication was not associated with the number of HLA mismatches. The 2-year cumulative incidence of chronic graft-versus-host disease, transplant related-mortality and relapse were 36+/-10%, 51+/-4% and 22+/-4%, respectively. At 2-years, disease-free-survival for patients transplanted in early, intermediate and advanced phases of disease was 41+/-9%, 34+/-10% and 18+/-4%, respectively. In multivariate analyses, advanced disease status was an adverse factor for relapse and disease-free survival. INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSIONS Unrelated CBT is a clear alternative for adults with hematological malignancies lacking an HLA-matched related or unrelated donor. The choice of units containing a higher neutrophil count and a policy of earlier transplantation are likely to provide better results.
Depletion of Ribosomal RNA Sequences from Single‐Cell RNA‐Sequencing Library

Recent advances in single‐cell RNA sequencing technologies have revealed high heterogeneity of gene expression profiles in individual cells. However, most current single‐cell RNA‐seq methods use oligo‐dT priming in the reverse transcription steps and detect only polyA‐positive for more accuracy, since there are also polyA‐positive non‐coding RNAs transcripts, not other important RNA species, such as polyA‐negative noncoding RNA. Reverse transcription using random oligos enables detection of not only the noncoding RNA species without polyA tails, but also ribosomal RNA (rRNA). rRNA comprises more than 90% of the total RNA and should be depleted from the RNA‐seq library to ensure efficient usage of the sequencing capacity. Commonly used hybridization‐based rRNA depletion methods can preserve noncoding RNA in the standard RNA‐seq library. However, such rRNA depletion methods require high input amounts of total RNA and do not work at the single‐cell level or with limited input DNA. This unit describes a novel procedure for RNA‐seq library construction from single cells or a minimal amount of RNA. A thermostable duplex‐specific nuclease is used in this method to effectively remove ribosomal RNA sequences following whole‐transcriptome amplification and sequencing library construction. © 2016 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
On Analysis of Software Interrupt Limiters for Embedded Systems by Means of UPPAAL SMC

The paper deals with a novel method of modeling and analysis of software interrupt managers for event-driven embedded systems by means of the stochastic timed automata and statistical model checking instruments. The above-mentioned system is typically formed of a real-time part expected to produce correct responses and meet all predetermined timing constraints at runtime, even in adverse conditions such as an excessive rate of events caused by interrupts. Because of the asynchronous nature of interrupts, their impact to the system being interrupted must be modeled and analyzed very carefully for various interrupt scenarios – either using classical analytical/formal approaches able to cover systems and interrupts with deterministic behavior or using probabilistic ones able to deal with a stochastic behavior too. The paper is focused on the latter (probabilistic) approaches to show a style of such a modeling and show how and that both the analysis phase of a system can be facilitated and the information about a system behavior under particular configuration/scenarios can be produced using the instruments.
An Adaptive Australian Sentence Test in Noise (AuSTIN)

Objectives: The aim of this research is to describe the development of an adaptive Australian Sentence Test in Noise and to validate the test in terms of test–retest reliability and efficiency using data obtained from its clinical application. Design: The relative intelligibility of 1264 Bamford-Kowal-Bench (BKB)–like sentences in the presence of competing four-talker babble was assessed with cochlear implant recipients. Intensity adjustments to the babble segments were made to reduce intersentence variability. Computer software was developed to administer an adaptive speech reception threshold (SRT) test using these adjusted sentence/babble pairs and test–retest SRT data from a separate group of 23 cochlear implant recipients was analyzed, comparing different SRT calculation and test stopping rules. Results: The adjusted sentence/babble pairs were used in clinical studies to obtain an SRT by presenting 32 sentences. Analysis of test–retest pairs of SRT data from 23 recipients indicated that a psychometric fit SRT calculation rule provided better reliability than did the Hearing in Noise Test (HINT) calculation rule, or rules based on mean turns. This rule, using the morpheme correct scores for each sentence, gave a standard deviation for a single SRT of 0.76 dB. Further analyses revealed that the test could be shortened to 20 sentences with an increase of 0.19 dB in variability, while reducing the median test time by approximately 2 min. Conclusions: This article reports validation data for a new Australian Sentence Test In Noise. When 20 BKB–like sentences are used with a psychometric fit calculation rule, a standard deviation of approximately 1 dB is obtained in approximately 3 min 36 sec.
Depression and other mental health diagnoses increase mortality risk after ischemic stroke.

OBJECTIVE Poststroke depression has been linked to higher mortality after stroke. However, the effect of other mental health conditions on poststroke mortality has not been examined. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of poststroke depression and other mental health diagnoses on mortality after ischemic stroke. METHOD The authors examined a national cohort of veterans hospitalized after an ischemic stroke at any U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical center from 1990 to 1998. Demographic, admission, and all-cause mortality data were abstracted from VA administrative databases. Chronic conditions present at discharge and new poststroke depression and other mental health diagnoses within 3 years after the stroke were identified with ICD-9 codes. Mortality hazard ratios were modeled by using Cox regression models. RESULTS A total of 51,119 patients hospitalized after an ischemic stroke who survived beyond 30 days afterward were identified; 2,405 (5%) received a diagnosis of depression, and 2,257 (4%) received another mental health diagnosis within 3 years of their stroke. Patients with poststroke depression were younger, more often white, and less likely to be alive at the end of the 3-year follow-up period. Both poststroke depression (hazard ratio=1.13, 95% CI=1.06-1.21) and other mental health diagnoses (hazard ratio=1.13, 95% CI=1.07-1.22) independently increased the hazard for death even after other chronic conditions were controlled. CONCLUSIONS Despite being younger and having fewer chronic conditions, a higher 3-year mortality risk was seen in patients with poststroke depression and other mental health diagnoses after hospitalization for an ischemic stroke. The biological and psychosocial mechanisms driving this greater risk should be further explored, and the effect of depression treatment on mortality after stroke should be tested.
Markov Regime Switching Model Implementation to the Stockholm Stock Market & Comparison with Equal Weight Portfolio

The unpredictable behaviour of financial time series has long been a concern for econometricians, making it difficult to find appropriate models with a satisfactory fit. The Markov regime switching model is a popular approach, much in behalf of the way it takes the shifts in the time series behaviour into account. The model in this thesis is based on a mixture of normal distributions, extended to include a Markov switching behaviour. As the behaviour of the time series changes, regime switches are assigned to it, making the time series alternate between a predetermined number of states. After the implementation, on two portfolios a seven stocks selected from the Stockholm stock market, the examinations indicated that the fit of the model could be improved by changing the number of states assumed in the estimation. It was found that a Markov regime switching model with three states had the most satisfactory fit to the time series. Subsequently, one of the modelled portfolios was allocated to maximize the Sharpe ratio. This led to some unfavourable extreme allocations, and upon comparison with a portfolio of equal weights containing the same assets the results were poor. Despite a higher yearly return, the modelled portfolio displayed significantly larger volatilities, leaving the results of this evaluation inconclusive. Nevertheless, the implementation lead to a significant improvement in the autocorrelation of the absolute residuals, along with giving the residuals a substantially more homogenic appearance. These results indicate that most of the significant dependence structure has been captured, in particular by the three-state model. (Less)
Cognitive and physical functions as determinants of delayed age at onset and progression of disability.

BACKGROUND This study examined the association of cognitive and physical functions with age-related transition and progression of activities of daily living (ADL) disability in a population-based longitudinal cohort of nondisabled older adults. METHODS A longitudinal population-based cohort study of 5,317 initially nondisabled older adults with an average age of 73.6 years of an urban Chicago community were interviewed annually for up to 8 years from 2000 through 2008. Cognitive function was assessed using a standardized global cognitive score and physical function using a combination of measured walk, tandem stand, and chair stand. A novel two-part model was used to access the relationship between cognitive and physical functions and age at onset and progression of ADL disability. RESULTS The sample consisted of 5,317 participants, 65% blacks, and 61% females. Twenty-five percent reported an onset of ADL disability during follow-up. After adjusting for confounders, lower cognitive and physical functions were associated with an increased risk for lower age at onset. Lower cognitive function was longitudinally associated with increased rate of progression of disability after onset. However, lower physical function did not alter the rate of progression of ADL disability. CONCLUSIONS Cognitive and physical functions were associated with age at onset. However, only cognitive function was associated with the rate of progression of ADL disability.
Structural Requirements for Association of Neurofascin with Ankyrin*

This paper presents the first structural analysis of the cytoplasmic domain of neurofascin, which is highly conserved among the L1CAM family of cell adhesion molecules, and describes sequence requirements for neurofascin-ankyrin interactions in living cells. The cytoplasmic domain of neurofascin dimerizes in solution, has an asymmetric shape, and exhibits a reversible temperature-dependent β-structure. Residues Ser56–Tyr81 are necessary for ankyrin binding but do not contribute to either dimerization or formation of structure. Transfected neurofascin recruits GFP-tagged 270-kDa ankyrinG to the plasma membrane of human embryo kidney 293 cells. Deletion mutants demonstrate that the sequence Ser56–Tyr81 contains the major ankyrin-recruiting activity of neurofascin. Mutations of the FIGQY tyrosine (Y81H/A/E) greatly impair neurofascin-ankyrin interactions. Mutation of human L1 at the equivalent tyrosine (Y1229H) is responsible for certain cases of mental retardation (Van Camp, G., Fransen, E., Vits, L., Raes, G., and Willems, P. J. (1996) Hum. Mutat. 8, 391). Mutations F77A and E73Q greatly impair ankyrin binding activity, whereas mutation D74N and a triple mutation of D57N/D58N/D62N result in less loss of ankyrin binding activity. These results provide evidence for a highly specific interaction between ankyrin and neurofascin and suggest that ankyrin association with L1 is required for L1 function in humans.
Association of the serotonin transporter and 5HT1D&bgr; receptor genes with extreme, persistent and pervasive aggressive behaviour in children

There is an inverse correlation between central nervous system serotonergic activity and human aggression, and aggressive traits are at least partially heritable. The present study sought to investigate the relationship between childhood aggression and polymorphisms of two serotonin system genes: the 5HT1D&bgr; receptor gene and the serotonin transporter (5HTT) gene. Fifty children with a minimum 2-year history of aggression and scores above the 90th percentile on the Aggression subscales of both the Child Behaviour Checklist and the Teacher's Report Form were included in the study. All probands and locally recruited ethnically matched controls were genotyped for the 5HT1D&bgr; G861C, 5HTTLPR (promoter) and 5HTT variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR) polymorphisms. Chi-square tests revealed a significantly reduced frequency of the 5HTT VNTR 10R allele in children displaying the high-aggression phenotype compared with normal controls (P=0.039). After correction for multiple comparisons, this association reached the level of a trend but was no longer significant. Probands also demonstrated an increased 5HT1D&bgr; 861C allele frequency, but this was not statistically significant (P=0.156). 5HTTLPR was not found to be significantly associated with aggression, but our data support previous findings of an association between this polymorphism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (P=0.025). While these preliminary findings should be interpreted cautiously, our data suggest that the 5HTT VNTR polymorphism is associated with measures of aggressive behaviour in a sample of children displaying extreme, persistent and pervasive aggression.