Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The performance of elements of a 'level of response to alcohol'-based model of drinking behaviors in 13-year-olds.

AIM The goals of this paper are to evaluate whether drinking practices among peers mediates the relationship between a low level of response (LR) to alcohol and a person's heavier drinking and alcohol-related problems in 12-14-year-olds. DESIGN Correlations and structural equation models (SEM) were used to test a hypothesized model of the relationships among key variables in adolescents from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), a longitudinal birth cohort study in Bristol, England. PARTICIPANTS These included 688 boys (40.4%) and girls who were offspring of the pregnant women who had been selected as ALSPAC participants in 1991 and 1992. The offspring were interviewed at about age 13 years, and those who had ever consumed a full drink completed the Self-Report of the Effects of Alcohol (SRE) questionnaire indicating the number of drinks required for up to four effects early in their drinking histories. A higher number of drinks required for effects indicated a low LR per drink consumed. FINDINGS The SEM explained 58% of the variance of the alcohol pattern, and had good fit characteristics. A low LR was related to heavier drinking and more alcohol problems both directly and as mediated partially by drinking in peers. The model performed well across the narrow age range, and applied equally well in boys and girls. CONCLUSIONS The perceived drinking practices of peers is a potentially important mediator of how a low LR to alcohol relates to drinking practices during early adolescence. The findings may be useful in developing approaches to prevent heavier drinking in this young group.
Unremarkable and uncontroversial? Climate change actions in advertising and public discourse

Despite widespread public awareness, climate change remains a low priority compared to other public issues. This study’s starting point is the normative importance of public discourse about climate change in representing and legitimising public actions as responses to climate change. The study also explores public connection, how and to what extent the public engage with public discourse about climate change. The study has two main elements: (i) a discursive content analysis of 55 corporate, governmental and NGO websites, based on advertising, a widely consumed form of media discourse that has received relatively little attention in this context; and (ii) 23 semi-structured public interviews. A small number of individual domestic emissions reduction actions, often framed as unremarkable and uncontroversial, dominated the media sample, reflecting corporate communicators domination of this discourse. The same actions were integral to interviewees’ understanding of climate change, not due to acceptance of their efficacy, but a lack of awareness of alternative forms of action. Five linguistic repertoires used to frame these actions in the media sample are described in detail. Public connection to climate change reflected the strength of people’s wider public connection, both their talk about public issues and the quality and quantity of their news use. Overall, public connection to climate change was weak, reflecting low media coverage and norms of ‘climate silence’ in everyday life, resulting in a lack of opportunities for climate talk or deliberation about climate actions. The study identifies the need for both greater opportunities for public involvement in agenda setting, and more public interest content, in both the media and academia. These weaknesses of public connection to climate change reflect many wider concerns about public connection to democratic politics. The study highlights the crucial role that the construction of public opinion plays in legitimising both specific climate actions and a wider shift to a low-carbon society.
Isolating Viral and Host RNA Sequences from Archival Material and Production of cDNA Libraries for High‐Throughput DNA Sequencing

The vast majority of surgical biopsy and post‐mortem tissue samples are formalin‐fixed and paraffin‐embedded (FFPE), but this process leads to RNA degradation that limits gene expression analysis. As an example, the viral RNA genome of the 1918 pandemic influenza A virus was previously determined in a 9‐year effort by overlapping RT‐PCR from post‐mortem samples. Using the protocols described here, the full genome of the 1918 virus was determined at high coverage in one high‐throughput sequencing run of a cDNA library derived from total RNA of a 1918 FFPE sample after duplex‐specific nuclease treatments. This basic methodological approach should assist in the analysis of FFPE tissue samples isolated over the past century from a variety of infectious diseases. © 2015 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Cerebrospinal fluid - physiology, analysis and interpretation of protein patterns for diagnosis of neurological diseases

The state of the art in routine CSF analysis is reviewed with particular reference to multiple sclerosis regarding: (1) The physiology and pathophysiology of blood-CSF barrier function and dysfunction with the CSF flow rate as main modulator of blood- and brain-derived protein concentrations in CSF; (2) The neuroimmunological aspects regarding (a) patterns of disease-related immunoglobulin class response (IgG, lgA, IgM) in actual Reiber graphs with reference to specific parameters and optional tests, and (b) the oligoclonal, polyspecific antibody synthesis in brain; (3) Particular marker proteins in CSF and blood for differential diagnosis of neurological diseases; (4) Mathematical base for evaluations of CSF data with an example of a multiple sclerosis patient for calculation of intrathecal immunoglobulin and antibody synthesis as well as Antibody Index.
The Physiological and Performance Effects of Caffeine Gum Consumed During A Simulated Half-Time By Professional Academy Rugby Union Players.

Despite the prevalence of caffeine as an ergogenic aid, few studies have examined the use of caffeinated gums, especially during half-time in team sports. The physiological (blood lactate, salivary hormone concentrations) and performance (repeated sprints, cognitive function) effects of consuming caffeine gum during a simulated half-time were examined. Professional academy rugby union players (n=14) completed this double-blind, randomized, counterbalanced study. Following pre-exercise measurements , players chewed a placebo (PL) gum for five min before a standardized warm-up and completing repeated sprint testing (RSSA1). Thereafter, during a 15 min simulated half-time period, players chewed either caffeine (CAF: 400 mg; 4.1 ± 0.5 mg·kg) or PL gum for five min before completing a second repeated sprint test (RSSA2). Blood lactate, salivary testosterone and cortisol concentrations, and indices of cognitive function (i.e., reaction time and Stroop test) were measured at baseline, pre-RSSA1, post-RSSA1, pre-RSSA2 and post-RSSA2. Sprint performance was not affected by CAF (P=0.995) despite slower sprint times following the first sprint of both RSSA tests (all P<0.002). Following half-time, salivary testosterone increased by 70% (+97±58 pg·mL) in CAF versus PLA (P<0.001) whereas salivary cortisol remained unchanged (P=0.307). Cognitive performance was unaffected by time and trial (all P>0.05). Although performance effects were absent, chewing caffeine gum increased the salivary testosterone concentrations of professional rugby union players over a simulated half-time. Practitioners may therefore choose to recommend caffeine gum between successive exercise bouts due to the increases in salivary testosterone observed; a variable associated with increased motivation and high-intensity exercise performance.
Artificial neural network and support vector Machine approach for locating faults in radial distribution systems

This paper presents an artificial neural network (ANN) and support vector machine (SVM) approach for locating faults in radial distribution systems. Different from the traditional Fault Section Estimation methods, the proposed approach uses measurements available at the substation, circuit breaker and relay statuses. The data is analyzed using the principal component analysis (PCA) technique and the faults are classified according to the reactances of their path using a combination of support vector classifiers (SVCs) and feedforward neural networks (FFNNs). A practical 52 bus distribution system with loads is considered for studies, and the results presented show that the proposed approach of fault location gives accurate results in terms of the estimated fault location. Practical situations in distribution systems, such as protective devices placed only at the substation, all types of faults, and a wide range of varying short circuit levels, are considered for studies. The results demonstrate the feasibility of applying the proposed method in practical distribution system fault diagnosis.
Cryptic chromosomal rearrangement screening in 30 patients with mental retardation and dysmorphic features

Mental retardation affects 1–3% of the general population, and the genetic causes in many cases are unknown. Cytogenetically undetected chromosomal imbalances have been indicated as an explanation. Nowadays, due to the development of molecular cytogenetic techniques, it is possible to identify cryptic rearrangements involving the ends of chromosomes. We report a screening using chromosome‐specific telomere fluorescence in‐situ hybridization (FISH) probes, in a group of 30 patients with a well‐characterized phenotype including mental retardation, dysmorphic features, and a normal karyotype. Among them, two subtelomeric rearrangements have been detected and characterized. One of them is a de novo deletion of 1p36, which has been previously described as a new contiguous gene syndrome. The second is an unbalanced product of a cryptic translocation involving chromosomes 1 and 13, which results in a partial 1q trisomy and partial 13q monosomy. These findings highlight, the importance of searching for cryptic subtelomeric rearrangements in non‐syndromic mentally retarded patients.
Son preference, children’s gender and parents’ time allocation: evidence from China

ABSTRACT This article investigates the effect of children’s gender on parents’ time allocation in developing countries due to the long-existing tradition of son preference. A collective model generates predictions concerning the impact of the birth of sons on family behaviour when son preference is treated as a premium in the father’s utility function. Using data from China, I show that, with more sons instead of daughters, the time spent by both men and women on housework rises, while men have to increase their work time in the labour market and women can reduce theirs. The results are consistent with theoretical predictions and are robust for use in further tests. For the possible endogeneity of children’s gender, I use the law forbidding the use of ultrasound-B to reveal the gender of a foetus as instrumental variables as the identification strategy.
Daily operator behaviour and motivation in operational safety: A consideration based on an observation of train drivers

The objective of this study is to examine why and how operators usually achieve a normal operational level. The author focuses on Threat and Error Management (TEM) in aviation as a key concept for finding an answer. Following this approach, the author conducted a participant observation of railway drivers and explored the above-stated question with reference to some of the behaviour he observed. The author uses a model to suggest that the daily routine by which operators achieve normal operation is guided by their own definitions of work and the negative emotions connected with those. It is further suggested that operators' definitions of work are regulated by their organisations' social environments and are intimately related to the satisfaction of the operators' needs for competence and relatedness.
Pricing equity default swaps under an approximation to the CGMY Levy model

The Wiener-Hopf factorization is obtained in closed form for a phase type approximation to the CGMY Lévy process. This allows, for the approximation, exact computation of first passage times to barrier levels via Laplace transform inversion. Calibration of the CGMY model to market option prices defines the risk neutral process for which we infer the first passage times of stock prices to 30% of the price level at contract initiation. These distributions are then used in pricing 50% recovery rate equity default swap (EDS) contracts and the resulting prices are compared with the prices of credit default swaps (CDS). An illustrative analysis is presented for these contracts on Ford and GM. Acknowledgement 1 This work was partly completed while all three authors were visiting the Isaac Newton Institute as participants in the “Developments in Quantitative Finance” program. We thank Bruno Dupire and other seminar participants at Bloomberg. We also thank conference participants of the Credit Conference at Edinburgh and the MSRI conference in London. Acknowledgement 2 In addition Martijn Pistorius acknowledges support from the Nuffield Foundation Grant NAL/00761/G.
First characterization of a digital SiPM based time-of-flight PET detector with 1 mm spatial resolution

Monolithic scintillator detectors can offer a combination of spatial resolution, energy resolution, timing performance, depth-of-interaction information, and detection efficiency that make this type of detector a promising candidate for application in clinical, time-of-flight (TOF) positron emission tomography (PET). In such detectors the scintillation light is distributed over a relatively large number of photosensor pixels and the light intensity per pixel can be relatively low. Therefore, monolithic scintillator detectors are expected to benefit from the low readout noise offered by a novel photosensor called the digital silicon photomultiplier (dSiPM). Here, we present a first experimental characterization of a TOF PET detector comprising a 24 × 24 × 10 mm3 LSO:Ce,0.2%Ca scintillator read out by a dSiPM array (DPC-6400–44–22) developed by Philips Digital Photon Counting. A spatial resolution of ∼1 mm full-width-at-half-maximum (FWHM) averaged over the entire crystal was obtained (varying from just below 1 mm FWHM in the detector center to ∼1.2 mm FWHM close to the edges). Furthermore, the bias in the position estimation at the crystal edges that is typically found in monolithic scintillators is well below 1 mm even in the corners of the crystal.
Whole‐Genome Sequencing of African Dogs Provides Insights into Adaptations against Tropical Parasites

&NA; Natural selection in domestic dogs is of great interest in evolutionary biology since dogs have migrated to every inhabited continent of the world alongside humans, and adapted to diverse environments. Here, we explored their demographic history and genetic basis of adaptation to the tropical African environment using whole genome analyses of 19 African indigenous dogs from Nigeria. Demographic analysis suggests that the ancestors of these dogs migrated into Africa from Eurasia 14,000 years ago and underwent a severe founder effect before population expansion. Admixture analysis further reveals that African dog genomes contain about 1.88–3.50% introgression from African golden wolves (Canis anthus). Population genetic analysis identifies 50 positively selected genes linked with immunity, angiogenesis, ultraviolet protection, as well as insulin secretion and sensitivity that may contribute to adaptation to tropical conditions. One of the positively selected genes, adhesion G protein‐coupled receptor E1 (ADGRE1), has also been found to be association with severe malaria resistance in African human populations. Functional assessments showed that ADGRE1 provides protective host defense against Plasmodium infections. This result, together with the fact that the inflammatory response to canine babesiosis is similar to complicated falciparum malaria in humans, support the dogs as a model for the study of malaria control and treatment.
Closed-Form Relation Between the Scan Angle and Feed Position for Extended Hemispherical Lenses Based on Ray Tracing

This letter presents a closed-form relation between the scan angle and feed position for extended hemispherical lenses. This relation is derived using ray tracing, and it is valid for both large and small scan angles, in excellent agreement with full-wave simulations. It is demonstrated that the relation is linear in the small-angle limit, and the effective focal length determining the scan angle is presented. It is also demonstrated that the scan angle only depends on the geometrical configuration, and that it is independent of the lens material. To demonstrate the applicability of this scan angle relation to the design of focal plane arrays (FPAs), we demonstrate that it can be used to determine the FPA spacing that results in -3-dB overlap between switched beams. A comparison with full-wave simulations of lenses with varying materials and FPA elements demonstrates a root-mean-square (rms) accuracy of 0.27° for the scan angle estimation, and rms accuracy of 0.26 dB for the -3-dB overlap criterion between the central and adjacent beams. Finally, we present scaling rules, which show that the scan resolution is inversely proportional to the lens diameter, whereas the FPA spacing is independent of the total lens size.
Comparative Roles of IL-4, IL-13, and IL-4Rα in Dendritic Cell Maturation and CD4+ Th2 Cell Function1

IL-4 and IL-13 play key roles in Th2 immunity and asthma pathogenesis. Although the function of these cytokines is partially linked through their shared use of IL-4Rα for signaling, the interplay between these cytokines in the development of memory Th2 responses is not well delineated. In this investigation, we show that both IL-4 and IL-13 influence the maturation of dendritic cells (DC) in the lung and their ability to regulate secretion of IFN-γ and Th2 cytokines by memory CD4+ T cells. Cocultures of wild-type T cells with pulmonary DC from allergic, cytokine-deficient mice demonstrated that IL-4 enhanced the capacity of DC to stimulate T cell secretion of Th2 cytokines, whereas IL-13 enhanced the capacity of DC to suppress T cell secretion of IFN-γ. Because IL-4Rα is critical for IL-4 and IL-13 signaling, we also determined how variants of IL-4Rα influenced immune cell function. T cells derived from allergic mice expressing a high-affinity IL-4Rα variant produced higher levels of IL-5 and IL-13 compared with T cells derived from allergic mice expressing a low-affinity IL-4Rα variant. Although DC expressing different IL-4Rα variants did not differ in their capacity to influence Th2 cytokine production, they varied in their capacity to inhibit IFN-γ production by T cells. Thus, IL-4 and IL-13 differentially regulate DC function and the way these cells regulate T cells. The affinity of IL-4Rα also appears to be a determinant in the balance between Th2 and IFN-γ responses and thus the severity of allergic disease.
Pinning-Based Distributed Cooperative Control for Autonomous Microgrids Under Uncertain Communication Topologies

In this study, a new pinning-based distributed cooperative control scheme is proposed for multi-agent system (MAS)-based autonomous microgrids. By pinning parts of selected agents, only a small fraction of the pinned agents are controlled by simple feedback controllers, while the other DGAs in the MAS synchronize through the communication coupling among the pinned agents in a distributed manner. The main contributions of this study are as follows: 1) the proposal of a fully distributed control for autonomous microgrids where each agent shares its operation information only with its neighbors, which obviates the requirement for a central controller and complex communication topology; 2) the proposal of a pinning-based control scheme, which reduces the number of controllers, for a predefined consensus can be reached if a small fraction of the pinned agents is controlled; and 3) the proposal of the pinning consensus under uncertain communication topologies that can meet the requirements of line switches and plug-and-play operation. Simulation results are demonstrated to verify the effectiveness and adaptability of the proposed scheme.
Release of High Mobility Group Box 1 by Dendritic Cells Controls T Cell Activation via the Receptor for Advanced Glycation End Products1

High mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) is an abundant and conserved nuclear protein that is released by necrotic cells and acts in the extracellular environment as a primary proinflammatory signal. In this study we show that human dendritic cells, which are specialized in Ag presentation to T cells, actively release their own HMGB1 into the extracellular milieu upon activation. This secreted HMGB1 is necessary for the up-regulation of CD80, CD83, and CD86 surface markers of human dendritic cells and for IL-12 production. The HMGB1 secreted by dendritic cells is also required for the clonal expansion, survival, and functional polarization of naive T cells. Using neutralizing Abs and receptor for advanced glycation end product-deficient (RAGE−/−) cells, we demonstrate that RAGE is required for the effect of HMGB1 on dendritic cells. HMGB1/RAGE interaction results in downstream activation of MAPKs and NF-κB. The use of an ancient signal of necrosis, HMGB1, by dendritic cells to sustain their own maturation and for activation of T lymphocytes represents a profitable evolutionary mechanism.
Mutational identification of fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 and fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 genes in craniosynostosis in Indian population

OBJECTIVE: The Objective of this study was to identify the association of mutation of fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 (FGFR1), FGFR2 genes with syndromic as well as non-syndromic craniosynostosis in Indian population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Retrospective analysis of our records from January 2008 to December 2012 was done. A total of 41 cases satisfying the inclusion criteria and 51 controls were taken for the study. A total volume of 3 ml blood from the patient as well as parents was taken. Deoxyribonucleic acid extracted using phenol chloroform extraction method followed by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism method. RESULTS: There were 33 (80.4%) non-syndromic cases of craniosynostosis while 8 (19.5%) were syndromic. Out of these 8 syndromic cases, 4 were Apert syndrome, 3 were Crouzon syndrome and 1 Pfeiffer syndrome. Phenotypically the most common non-syndromic craniosynostosis was scaphocephaly (19, 57.7%) followed by plagiocephaly in (14, 42.3%). FGFR1 mutation (Pro252Arg) was seen in 1 (2.4%) case of non-syndromic craniosynostosis while no association was noted either with FGFR1 or with FGFR2 mutation in syndromic cases. None of the control group showed any mutation. CONCLUSION: Our study proposed that FGFR1, FGFR2 mutation, which confers predisposition to craniosynostosis does not exist in Indian population when compared to the western world.