Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Zooplankton community structure and seasonal patterns in the Zhanjiang Harbor waters, China

To improve our knowledge regarding the physical and biological processes relating the plankton ecology in typical subtropical estuaries, species composition, abundance and diversity of zooplankton were investigated during four cruises conducted in Zhanjiang Harbor waters, China, between Nov, 2008 and Feb, 2009. A total of 128 species of zooplankton and 9 species/assemblages of planktonic larvae were identified, including 49 species of Copepods, followed by Medusas (16 species), Protozoa (12 species), Decapods(10 species) and Chaetognatha(10 species), etc. The species/ assemblages that occurred in spring, summer, autumn and winter were 51, 45, 27, 59 species, respectively. In all, the abundance of zooplankton in the harbor inner waters was higher than that off the mouth of the Harbor waters, and the abundance was 1.1×102±1.5×102 individuals·m-3(ind. ·m-3), 1.5×102±2.3×102 ind·m-3, 4.1×10±3.4×10 ind·m-3, 5.6×10±5.0×10 ind·m-3 in spring, summer, autumn and winter, respectively. The seasonal turnover rate of dominant zooplankton species was higher than 63%, indicating relative large seasonal variation of the community structure. The Shannon-Winner diversity index averaged 3.08 annually, which increased from spring to summer, and decreased form autumn and winter to some extent. And the values of Evenness index and richness index showed similar trends as the diversity index seasonal variation. The value of community diversity was the highest in the middle waters (3.14), the second was in the mouth of the Harbor waters (3.10), and the last was in the coastal waters (2.99). Using step-wise regression method, the environmental adaption of zooplankton dominant species abundance analysis showed that the chlorophyll a, phytoplankton abundance, and sea water temperature had great effects on the dominant zooplankton species abundance, and the effects varied as the different species abundance, also indicating the differences in ecological niches among dominant zooplankton species.
Opportunities and challenges to promoting oral health in primary schools.

UNLABELLED Inequalities in oral health in areas of socio-economic disadvantage are well recognised. As children spend a considerable proportion of their lives in education, schools can play a significant role in promoting children's health and oral health. However, to what extent schools are able to do this is unclear. The aim of this study was therefore to investigate opportunities and challenges to promoting oral health in primary schools. METHODS A purposive sample of 20 primary schools from socially and economically disadvantaged areas of Cardiff, UK were selected to participate in this qualitative study. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews conducted with head teachers or their nominated deputies. RESULTS General awareness of health and oral health was good, with all schools promoting the consumption of fruit, water and milk and discouraging products such as carbonated drinks and confectionaries. Health promotion schemes wereimplemented primarily to improve the health of the children, although schools felt they also offered the potential to improve classroom behaviour and attendance. However, oral health was viewed as a separate entity to general health and perceived to be inadequately promoted. Successful health promotion schemes were also influenced by the attitudes of headteachers. Most schools had no or limited links with local dental services and, or oral health educators, although such input, when it occurred, was welcomed and highly valued. Knowledge of how to handle dental emergencies was limited and only two schools operated toothbrushing schemes, although all expressed an interest in such programmes. CONCLUSION This study identified a positive predisposition to promoting health in primary schools. The challenge for the dental team, however, is to promote and integrate oral health into mainstream health promotion activities in schools. The paper also makes recommendations for further research.
Bayesian Estimation for Item Factor Analysis Models with Sparse Categorical Indicators

ABSTRACT Psychometric models for item-level data are broadly useful in psychology. A recurring issue for estimating item factor analysis (IFA) models is low-item endorsement (item sparseness), due to limited sample sizes or extreme items such as rare symptoms or behaviors. In this paper, I demonstrate that under conditions characterized by sparseness, currently available estimation methods, including maximum likelihood (ML), are likely to fail to converge or lead to extreme estimates and low empirical power. Bayesian estimation incorporating prior information is a promising alternative to ML estimation for IFA models with item sparseness. In this article, I use a simulation study to demonstrate that Bayesian estimation incorporating general prior information improves parameter estimate stability, overall variability in estimates, and power for IFA models with sparse, categorical indicators. Importantly, the priors proposed here can be generally applied to many research contexts in psychology, and they do not impact results compared to ML when indicators are not sparse. I then apply this method to examine the relationship between suicide ideation and insomnia in a sample of first-year college students. This provides an important alternative for researchers who may need to model items with sparse endorsement.
EEG Abnormalities Are Associated With Increased Risk of Transplant or Poor Outcome in Children With Acute Liver Failure

Objectives: There are limited data on the incidence of seizures and utility of brain imaging and electroencephalogram (EEG) to predict outcome of children with acute liver failure (ALF). We investigated the association between hepatic encephalopathy (HE) scores, abnormal EEG or neuroimaging, and short-term outcome. Methods: Single-center retrospective observational study of infants and children with ALF who underwent continuous EEG monitoring and brain imaging within 24 hours of admission to the intensive care unit (ICU). Results: A total of 19 patients with ALF with a mean age of 6.8 ± 1.5 years were evaluated. The majority of cases (74%) were indeterminate. Of the total, 10 patients (53%) survived to discharge without liver transplant (LT), 5 (26%) received LT, and 4 (21%) died without LT. Seizures occurred in only 2 cases (19%). Patients who had an abnormal EEG on admission (n = 7) were significantly more likely to die or require LT (P < 0.05, Fisher exact test). Patients with either an admission HE score ⩽2, or liver injury unit score <222, combined with a normal or mildly abnormal EEG were more likely to survive without LT. Neuroimaging was normal in the majority of cases (87%) and was not associated with outcome. Conclusions: Children with a moderate or severe abnormality of EEG background on admission were significantly more likely to require LT or to die. Children with an HE score ⩽2, and a normal or only mildly abnormal EEG, were significantly more likely to survive without needing LT. These findings are an initial step toward distinguishing patients with ALF who may recover spontaneously from those who will require LT.
Numerical Solution of Time-Domain Volume Integral Equations for Transient Electromagnetic Scattering by Dielectric Objects

Electromagnetic (EM) interaction with penetrable objects can be described by volume integral equations (VIEs) in integral equation approach and time-domain VIEs (TDVIEs) are required for formulating transient EM problems with such objects. The TDVIEs are usually solved by combining the method of moments (MoM) with well-designed basis function in space domain and a march-on-in-time (MOT) scheme in time domain. The space-domain MoM requires conforming meshes in geometric discretization and twofold numerical integrations in matrix generation while the MOT in time domain suffers from a late-time instability problem. In this communication, we propose an alternative approach that uses the Nyström method to discretize the VIEs in space domain while employing the MoM with Laguerre basis and testing functions to discretize the equations in time domain. The proposed approach can simplify the numerical implementation and produce a march-on-in-degree procedure similar to that in frequency-domain approaches. Numerical examples are presented to illustrate the approach and good results have been observed.
Stability of Posttraumatic Stress Reaction Factors and Their Relation to General Mental Health Problems in Children: A Longitudinal Study

The aim of this study was to evaluate the structure of posttraumatic stress reaction factors and their relation to general mental health problems in Norwegian children exposed to the tsunami on December 26, 2004. A total of 133 children and adolescents (ages 6–17) were interviewed 10 months posttsunami using the UCLA PTSD Reaction Index, and 104 were interviewed again 2.5 years after the tsunami. Confirmatory factor analyses supported the theory of a four-factor model of intrusion, active avoidance, numbing, and arousal as a better division of symptoms than the three-factor model used in the present diagnostic criteria. The factors of intrusion and active avoidance were highly correlated 2.5 years posttsunami. This association may be due to nonspecificity in these trauma-related factors as posttraumatic stress reaction levels diminish over time. General mental health problems were highly related to arousal at both assessments, supporting the theory that some symptoms of posttraumatic stress reactions overlap with other, concurrent mental problems.
Pathogenesis of Venous Thrombosis: A New Insight

Venous thrombosis and thrombophlebitis have long been observed to result in painful inflammation around the affected veins. The full extent of the synergistic interaction between thrombosis and the inflammatory response and how this leads to the later sequelae of chronic venous insufficiency is only now beginning to be understood. Venous thrombosis is known directly to elicit an inflammatory response in the thrombus and vein wall. Leukocytes including neutrophils and monocytes roll, adhere, activate and extravasate into the vein wall based on a vein wall cytokine/chemokine gradient producing an inflammatory response. Such a response leads to amplification of thrombus formation through mechanisms such as the elaboration of tissue factor on the surface of monocytes and the release of cathespin G from activated neutrophils (distrupting the endothelial cell barrier), exposing the thrombogenic subendothelial vein wall collagen. Selectins such as P-selectin and the proinflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor appear important in this vein wall response. Inhibition of inflammation before the initiation of the thrombotic event may decrease the detrimental vein wall changes that contribute to vein wall and vein valve damage and thrombus formation.
NEUROBLASTOMA: A Single Institution's Experience with 128 Children and an Evaluation of Clinical and Biological Prognostic Factors

Between 1985 and 1999, 128 children with neuroblastoma were treated at the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children. The objective of this retrospective study was to report on a single institution's experience with neuroblastoma and to evaluate clinical and biological prognostic factors using univariate and multivariate assessment. Fifty-two percent presented with localized disease, 41% had stage IV disease, and 7% had stage IVs disease. The 5-year overall survival rate was 65%. Significant prognostic factors in univariate analysis included stage, site, histology, N-myc amplification, neuron-specific enolase (NSE), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and urinary dopamine. In multivariate assessment, the adjusted hazard ratio was 3.5 (95% CI 1.4-8.5) for N-myc amplification, 8.7 (95% CI 3.0-25) for NSE > 300 ng/mL, and 3.6 (95% CI 1.3-10) for LDH > 3000 U/L. This study confirmed that survival was heavily influenced by closely interrelated clinical and biological factors. Prospective studies including more recently identified molecular prognostic factors are warranted to predict the biological heterogeneity of neuroblastoma.
Quantitative Proteomics Analysis of Macrophage Rafts Reveals Compartmentalized Activation of the Proteasome and of Proteasome-mediated ERK Activation in Response to Lipopolysaccharide*S

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a glycolipid component of the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria, is a potent initiator of the innate immune response of the macrophage. LPS triggers downstream signaling by selectively recruiting and activating proteins in cholesterol-rich membrane microdomains called lipid rafts. We applied proteomics analysis to macrophage detergent-resistant membranes (DRMs) during an LPS exposure time course in an effort to identify and validate novel events occurring in macrophage rafts. Following metabolic incorporation in cell culture of heavy isotopes of amino acids arginine and lysine ([13C6]Arg and [13C6]Lys) or their light counterparts, a SILAC (stable isotope labeling with amino acids in cell culture)-based quantitative, liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry proteomics approach was used to profile LPS-induced changes in the lipid raft proteome of RAW 264.7 macrophages. Unsupervised network analysis of the proteomics data set revealed a marked representation of the ubiquitin-proteasome system as well as changes in proteasome subunit composition following LPS challenge. Functional analysis of DRMs confirmed that LPS causes selective activation of the proteasome in macrophage rafts and proteasome inactivation outside of rafts. Given previous reports of an essential role for proteasomal degradation of IκB kinase-phosphorylated p105 in LPS activation of ERK mitogen-activated protein kinase, we tested for a role of rafts in compartmentalization of these events. Immunoblotting of DRMs revealed proteasome-dependent activation of MEK and ERK specifically occurring in lipid rafts as well as proteasomal activity upon raft-localized p105 that was enhanced by LPS. Cholesterol extraction from the intact macrophage with methyl-β-cyclodextrin was sufficient to activate ERK, recapitulating the LPS-IκB kinase-p105-MEK-ERK cascade, whereas both it and the alternate raft-disrupting agent nystatin blocked subsequent LPS activation of the ERK cascade. Taken together, our findings indicate a critical, selective role for raft compartmentalization and regulation of proteasome activity in activation of the MEK-ERK pathway.
Comparison of the effects of independently‐controlled end‐tidal PCO2 and PO2 on blood oxygen level–dependent (BOLD) MRI

To assess the effect of changes in end‐tidal partial pressure of O2 (PETO2) on cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) estimated from changes in blood oxygen level–dependent (BOLD) signal during cyclic changes in end‐tidal partial pressure of CO2 (PETCO2).
Hedging and Constructing Portfolios of Active Strategies: Strategy Time Horizon and Estimation Errors

Many essential portfolio management tasks incorporate the development of views on future correlation between assets. To the extent that such views are formed by analyzing historical data, they are associated with estimation errors. The authors discuss estimation errors for active strategies and describe how such errors affect hedging and portfolio construction decisions. They point out that for active strategies with time horizons extending over multiple data points within the historical sample, the number of independent observations is not provided by the number of data points in such a sample, but is considerably smaller instead. That leads to a situation where the correlation estimation error scales down with the sample size much more slowly than it does over the square root of the sample size—the rate that traditional thinking suggests. A t-statistic reflecting this intuition is offered for a single strategy hedging problem. The authors also consider a new “litmus test,” which could help determine whether or not a correlation matrix across multiple active strategies can be effectively estimated from historical data. Implications for hedging and construction of hedge fund and risk premia portfolios are discussed briefly as well.
The osteoimmunomodulatory properties of MBG scaffold coated with amino functional groups

Abstract Mesoporous bioactive glass (MBG) is a good scaffold for bone regeneration. In this study, amino functionalized MBG (N-MBG) was used as a model scaffold to examine the effect of the scaffold to bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) and macrophages. The MTT results revealed that the proliferation of BMSCs from ovariectomized rabbits was enhanced by N-MBG. Compared to the control group, the expression of osteogenic genes was significantly enhanced by N-MBG, which was related to CaSR pathway. Meanwhile, the anti-inflammatory cytokines (interleukin-10 and arginase-1) were also upregulated by N-MBG stimulation compared with MBG. Furthermore, the amino functionalization of MBG resulted in an increase in the pH value of the material extract. Interestingly, the formation of TRAP+ multinuclear cells was inhibited by the slightly alkaline extract to a certain extent, which reasonably explained the increase in TRAP+ multinuclear cells after adjusting the pH value of N-MBG extract. In vivo, the areas of new bone formation in the maxillary sinus floor elevation were increased in the N-MBG/BMSCs group with less TRAP+ multinuclear cells compared with the MBG/BMSCs group. These findings provided valuable insight that the osteogenic ability of MBG scaffold could be enhanced by amino functionalization due to coordinate BMSCs and macrophages differentiation.
Overview of the SEER-Medicare Data: Content, Research Applications, and Generalizability to the United States Elderly Population

Background. The Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER)-Medicare–linked database combines clinical information from population-based cancer registries with claims information from the Medicare program. The use of this database to study cancer screening, treatment, outcomes, and costs has grown in recent years. Research Design. This paper provides an overview of the SEER-Medicare files for investigators interested in using these data for epidemiologic and health services research. The overview includes a description of the linkage of SEER and Medicare data and the files included as part of SEER-Medicare. The paper also describes the types of research projects that have been undertaken using the SEER-Medicare data. The overview concludes with a comparison of selected characteristics of elderly persons residing in the SEER areas to the US total aged. Results. The paper identifies a number of potential uses of the SEER-Medicare data. The comparison of the elderly population in SEER areas to the US total shows that in the SEER areas there are a lower percentage of white persons and individuals living in poverty, and a higher percentage of urban-dwellers than the US total. Elderly persons in the SEER regions also have higher rates of HMO enrollment and lower rates of cancer mortality. Conclusions. The SEER-Medicare data are a unique resource that can be used for a variety of health services research projects. Although there are some differences between the elderly residing in the SEER areas and the US total, the SEER-Medicare data offer a large population-based cohort that can be used to longitudinally track care for persons over the course of cancer diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up.
Neighborhood residence and cigarette smoking among urban youths: the protective role of prosocial activities.

OBJECTIVES We examined the association between neighborhood characteristics and cigarette use among adolescents and explored the protective effects of participation in prosocial activities to better understand strengths in adolescents' lives and help identify protective factors for the prevention of adolescent smoking. METHODS We interviewed ninth graders who had grade point averages of 3.0 or lower and who were not developmentally disabled. Participants' addresses were geocoded so that interview data could be linked to 1990 US census data on neighborhood characteristics. RESULTS Neighborhood disadvantage and the percentage of Black residents in a neighborhood had different effects on cigarette smoking among Black and White adolescents. Living in a neighborhood with a high percentage of Black residents had favorable effects for Blacks but not for Whites. For both groups, a low percentage of Black residents was a risk factor for cigarette use, and risk effects were higher in the more disadvantaged neighborhoods. Involvement in prosocial activities moderated neighborhood risks. CONCLUSIONS Neighborhood effects on adolescent cigarette use were contingent upon both contextual and individual characteristics. Participation in prosocial activities had a protective effect among adolescents in high-risk neighborhoods. Engaging adolescents in such activities may help offset the adverse effects of living in a disadvantaged neighborhood.
BiCuSeO Thermoelectrics: An Update on Recent Progress and Perspective

A BiCuSeO system has been reported as a promising thermoelectric material and has attracted great attention in the thermoelectric community since 2010. Recently, several remarkable studies have been reported and the ZT of BiCuSeO was pushed to a higher level. It motivates us to systematically summarize the recent reports on the BiCuSeO system. In this short review, we start with several attempts to optimize thermoelectric properties of BiCuSeO. Then, we introduce several opinions to explore the origins of low thermal conductivity for BiCuSeO. Several approaches to enhance thermoelectric performance are also summarized, including modulation doping, introducing dual-vacancies, and dual-doping, etc. At last, we propose some possible strategies for enhancing thermoelectric performance of BiCuSeO in future research.
Fertility differentials between Korean and international marriage couples in South Korea

ABSTRACT Amid high hopes that the rise of international marriage will boost fertility rates in South Korea, this article assesses fertility differentials between Korean and international marriage couples. Espousing the theoretical position that fertility decisions need to be viewed from a couple perspective, we seek to build a new framework that goes beyond the traditional immigrant fertility literature. To test the formulated hypotheses, we compared fertility hazards among four couple types using the 2012 National Survey on Multicultural Families and the 2012 National Fertility Survey: couples consisting of a Korean wife and a Korean husband (Korean couples), couples consisting of a foreign wife and a Korean husband (foreign-wife couples), couples consisting of a Korean wife and a foreign husband (foreign-husband couples), and couples consisting of a foreign wife and a foreign husband (foreign couples). The results from Cox regression models revealed that the wives of Korean couples experienced the highest fertility hazards for the first birth, followed by the wives of foreign-wife couples. Furthermore, wives of Korean couples took the shortest time to give birth to the second child, followed by wives of foreign-husband and then foreign-wife couples. We discussed theoretical bearings of these findings and outlined a promising line of further research.