Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Do implantable cardioverter defibrillators contribute to new depression or anxiety symptoms? A retrospective study

Abstract Objective: In this retrospective cross-sectional study, we evaluated the existence of psychiatric symptoms which appeared after implantation of an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD). Methods: Patients with ICDs were diagnosed using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) and were excluded if they had any psychiatric diagnosis prior to ICD implantation. Depression and anxiety were evaluated using the HAM-D and HAM-A rating scales and their attitude towards the ICD using a visual analog scale (VAS). Ninety five ICD patients with mean age of 66 years (±11.5) were recruited, 80 (84%) were men. Results: Four (4%) patients were diagnosed with new-onset MDD and one patient (1%) with anxiety. Twenty seven (28%) were found to have significant depressive symptoms (HAM-D >8), without MDD diagnosis; half of them attributing these symptoms to the device. Seven (8%) patients experienced phantom shocks and had relatively higher depressive scores (HAM-D 10.3 vs. 5.8; F = 3.696; p = 0.058). The MDD rates in our study were rather consistent with those reported for cardiac patients. Conclusions: We suggest that ICD contributed little, if any, additional depressive or anxiety symptoms after implantation. We found that the overall attitude towards the device was positive and that shocks and phantom shocks were related to depressive symptoms.
Primary structure and glycosylation of the S-layer protein of Haloferax volcanii

The outer surface of the archaebacterium Haloferax volcanii (formerly named Halobacterium volcanii) is covered with a hexagonally packed surface (S) layer. The gene coding for the S-layer protein was cloned and sequenced. The mature polypeptide is composed of 794 amino acids and is preceded by a typical signal sequence of 34 amino acid residues. A highly hydrophobic stretch of 20 amino acids at the C-terminal end probably serves as a transmembrane domain. Clusters of threonine residues are located adjacent to this membrane anchor. The S-layer protein is a glycoprotein containing both N- and O-glycosidic bonds. Glucosyl-(1----2)-galactose disaccharides are linked to threonine residues. The primary structure and the glycosylation pattern of the S-layer glycoproteins from Haloferax volcanii and from Halobacterium halobium were compared and found to exhibit distinct differences, despite the fact that three-dimensional reconstructions from electron micrographs revealed no structural differences at least to the 2.5-nm level attained so far (M. Kessel, I. Wildhaber, S. Cohe, and W. Baumeister, EMBO J. 7:1549-1554, 1988).
Brexit? Analyzing Opinion on the UK-EU Referendum within Twitter

We present a demonstrator that visualizes the Twittersphere debate on whether the UK should remain in or leave the European Union. Data is collected using three strategies: hashtag search terms, extraction from the full stream and following specific users. The demonstrator can be used to show the different discussion topics identified by the different search strategies.
Transport and chemical kinetics of H 2 /N 2 jet flame: A flamelet modelling approach with NOx prediction

Â In this work simulation of a turbulent H 2 /N 2 jet diffusion flame with flamelet modelling has been presented. The favre-averaged mixture fraction has been employed to model the combustion. Favre-averaged scalar quantities have been calculated from flamelet libraries by making use of a presumed Probability Density Function (PDF) method. The predicted flame temperature profiles and chemical species concentrations are compared with TNF experimental data obtained from Sandia/California. Predictions considering the unity Lewis number flamelet are found to be in good agreement with temperature and chemical species measurements. Predicted NO results also compared and shown with other species. This study shows that the combustion simulation using unity Lewis number flamelets are effective for predicting the flow, temperature and chemical kinetics of H 2 /N 2 diffusion flame. To account for fluctuations of mixture fraction, its distribution is presumed to have the shape of a beta-function. Keywords: Non-premixed flame, Turbulent Combustion, Flamelet modelling Â doi: 10.3329/jname.v2i1. 2028 Journal of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering 2(1)(2005)33-40
A Community-Based Nutrition and Physical Activity Intervention for Children Who Are Overweight or Obese and Their Caregivers

There is a need for efficacious interventions to reduce the prevalence of childhood obesity, and a limited body of research suggests that collaborative community-based programs designed for children and their caregivers may be effective in reducing obesity rates. This paper reports the results of a community-based obesity intervention, South County Food, Fitness and Fun (SCFFF), designed for preadolescent children who are overweight or obese and their caregivers. SCFFF was developed in response to community concerns. Families were referred to the program by their physician and participated in the program at no cost. The 16-week intervention includes weekly group nutrition and physical activity sessions. Analyses determined that 65 out of the 97 children who completed SCFFF provided 2-year follow-up data and had reduced BMI z-scores over 2 years following the intervention. These participants decreased their energy, fat, carbohydrate, saturated fat, and sodium intake and increased core body strength and endurance from baseline to the end of the intervention. SCFFF was effective in reducing relative weight and improving diet and core muscle strength and endurance in children who are overweight or obese.
A THEORY OF TWO-TIER INTERLINKAGE IN THE AGRICULTURAL CREDIT MARKET

A model of co-existence of interlinked credit-labour contract interlinked credit-product contract in agriculture has been developed using consumption-efficiency hypothesis of Leibenstein (1957). It is shown that interest-rate in the interlinked credit-labour contract is lower than that in interlinked credit-product contract. and the the the
BRIC Economies: Earlier Growth Constraints, Contemporary Transformations and Future Potential, and Key Challenges

The economic power of Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRICs) is rapidly increasing, changing the landscape of global economics and politics. Top scholars of international business address in this vital volume the markets, strategy implications, challenges and possibilities of this new economic reality. As these four nations acquire greater economic clout, the opportunities for other countries increase. The contributors describe the favorable circumstances these evolving economies could provide for the US and other countries, such as expanded markets and services, higher returns on investments, and new partners in building a more peaceful and prosperous world. In contrast, they also discuss risks to traditional industries and possible challenges to positions on human rights and intellectual property protections, environmental standards, free markets and democratic governments. The volume emphasizes the need for companies to adopt strategies to stay ahead in the changing business environment. Governments must also design and implement new policies geared toward mutually beneficial relationships with BRICs.
A Personal Note

More than thirty years ago, I had the good fortune to work as a law clerk for Chief Justice Phil Gibson. I did not know then that this relatively brief experience, less than two years, would determine the course of my career as a lawyer, but I did understand that I had lucked into something special. What was special, of course, was the Chief himself. To his young law clerks, like myself, he was a dedicated and demanding teacher. We came to him bright and fresh from law school, perhaps a bit cocky, unquestionably green and inexperienced. He provided us a bridge from the academic world to the practical world of judges, lawyers, and litigants. How many times he told us: "My job is to undo the way you learned to think in law school and to train you to think like lawyers. " We took our first steps in this.transition by observing how judges decide cases. I learned that case names belong to real people and that a fair disposition of the case at hand exercised a strong pull on the court even while it was formulating judicial doctrine. In Zentz v. Coca Cola Bottling Co.,' as I labored through the mysteries of the doctrine of res Opsa loquitur, I was never allowed to forget that Mary Zentz really was injured when a Coca Cola bottle exploded in her hand and that she hadn't the remotest idea why it happened. Legal doctrine was held accountable to the litigants it affected. The Chief always described the decisionmaking process as hard work. Fair and reasoned answers to difficult questions did not come easily. If we submitted a memorandum which took a simplistic or onesided view of an issue, he sent us back to reconsider the other side even if he agreed with our proposed conclusion. He insisted we understand and respect the point of view with which we disagreed. His own prior opinions were open to reexamination. Shortly after I came to work, he asked me to research a point which he had decided several years earlier. I found a Cardozo opinion which went the other way. It did not dawn on me immediately that I was not the first to discover it. Without expressing an explicit preference, I submitted a memorandum in which the Cardozo opinion was prominently displayed. At our next conference, the Chief asked: "Do you think I was wrong? " Then, noting my
RNA-Directed RNA Polymerase3 from Nicotiana attenuata Is Required for Competitive Growth in Natural Environments1[W][OA]

SDE1/SGS2/RdR6, a putative RNA-directed RNA polymerase, maintains plant defenses against viruses in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) and Nicotiana benthamiana, but its function has not been examined in natural habitats or with respect to other ecological stresses. We evaluated the organismic-level function of this gene (NaRdR3) in an ecological model species, Nicotiana attenuata, by transforming plants to stably silence RdR3 (irRdR3). Minor morphological changes (elongated leaves and reduced leaf number) and increased susceptibility to tobamoviruses typical of RdR6 silencing in other species were observed, but these changes did not alter the reproductive performance of singly grown plants (measured as seed and capsule production) or herbivore resistance in laboratory trials. 454-sequencing of irRdR3's small RNA (smRNA) transcriptome revealed that 21- and 24-nucleotide smRNAs were not affected, but the abundance of 22- to 23-nucleotide smRNAs was reduced. When planted in pairs with wild-type plants in N. attenuata's natural habitat in the Great Basin Desert, irRdR3 plants produced shorter stalks with significantly reduced flower and capsule numbers, but did not influence the ability of plants to resist the native herbivore community, indicating that silencing RdR3 reduced a plant's competitive ability. We tested this hypothesis in the glasshouse by planting irRdR3 and wild-type pairs in communal containers; again irRdR3 plants had severely reduced stalk elongation and reproductive measures. The reduced competitive ability of irRdR3 plants was associated with altered phytohormone homeostasis, especially as reflected in the distribution of auxin. We suggest that RdR3 helps to regulate hormone balance when plants compete with conspecifics in natural environments.
Strategies to Deal with Legacy Information Systems: A Case Study from the Mozambican Health Sector

When implementing reforms in the public sector in general and in the health sector in particular, special attention needs to be taken of the role of existing legacy information systems (LIS). Traditional strategies for system change were developed within a frame of one (or few) isolated which can be developed from scratch, and moved from old to new architecture. The existing infrastructure – installed base of LIS – is typically not seriously considered when implementing changes. A theoretical perspective is developed drawing upon concepts from LIS and Information Infrastructure (II) related literature. This theoretical perspective is drawn upon to analyze experiences from an ongoing attempt to introduce new health information systems(HIS) in the context of Mozambique. The paper concludes by proposing some strategies to deal with existing LIS
Financial Incentives, Personal Information and Drop Out in Online Studies

Whereas in a classical laboratory setting participants often feel compelled to stay and finish the experiment, participants in online studies can leave the session at any time. Though, from an ethical point of view this is an advantage of online studies, it might pose methodological problems. Of course, web experimenters would like their participants to stay until the end of the experiment. To ensure this they use special techniques. One such technique is to make web pages shorter and more attractive the further the participant gets. If a web page has a long loading time at the beginning participants with small interest or little time leave right away without even starting the experiment. This “high hurdle technique” is particularly effective in combination with a warm-up phase (Reips, 1996, 1999). A second frequently used technique to prevent participants from leaving is to initially announce a lottery with prizes, in which only those who finish the experiment can take part. Whether or not this procedure is a successful method to reduce the drop-out rate has never been examined experimentally. One might argue that promising financial incentives is negligible in reducing drop-out or might even reduce the intrinsic motivation of the potential participant (Deci, 1975). A survey among 21 web experimenters recently conducted by Musch and Reips (in press) suggests that this is not the case. In contrast to the expectation of a purely intrinsic motivation to participate in online studies they found a clear link between lack of financial incentives and drop-out rate. A monetary prize might diminish dropout tendency whenever intrinsically motivating factors are not sufficient. The web experiment at hand has been conducted to further investigate the causal nature of the relationship between financial incentives and drop-out. The experiment was also designed to test the hypothesis that asking participants for personal information early in the experiment would lead to increased drop-out as well as different answering behavior in questions that are likely to be influenced by social desirability. Participants’ answers might be more strongly influenced by social norms, if they believe they could be identified (e. g., by their e-mail address). Or they might discontinue participation in the experiment if they realize that their behavior would force them to answer contrary to what is usually desired or accepted. The question whether personal or demographic data should be assessed at the beginning
Pharmacokinetics of voriconazole during continuous venovenous haemodiafiltration.

OBJECTIVES Voriconazole is a new triazole antifungal agent that is frequently used in intensive care patients with severe fungal infections. Continuous venovenous haemodiafiltration (CVVHDF) is an important extracorporal renal replacement therapy in critically ill patients suffering from severe infections and multiple organ failure. This study investigates the pharmacokinetics of voriconazole in anuric patients undergoing CVVHDF. PATIENTS AND METHODS Pharmacokinetic analysis was performed in nine intensive care patients-one of them with liver cirrhosis-with suspected or proven fungal infection and acute renal failure undergoing CVVHDF who received voriconazole intravenously. The concentration of voriconazole in serum and ultradiafiltrate was determined by HPLC. RESULTS Mean peak pre-filter voriconazole concentration in eight patients without cirrhosis was 5.9 +/- 2.9 mg/L and mean pre-filter trough level was 1.1 +/- 0.3 mg/L. Mean elimination half-life, mean volume of distribution, mean AUC(0-12) and mean sieving coefficient were 14.7 +/- 6.5 h, 228 +/- 42 L, 22.4 +/- 3.7 mg.h/L and 0.56 +/- 0.16, respectively. The total clearance was 12.9 +/- 6.7 L/h and the clearance via CVVHDF was 1.1 +/- 0.3 L/h. In the patient with liver cirrhosis, elimination half-life, volume of distribution, AUC(0-12) and sieving coefficient were 52 h, 301 L, 19.8 mg.h/L and 0.31, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Voriconazole should be given without a dosage adaptation in critically ill patients without liver cirrhosis undergoing CVVHDF. However, according to results in one patient, reduction of the maintenance dosing regimen of voriconazole seems to be meaningful in patients with liver cirrhosis.
Investigation of robust full adder cell in 16-nm CMOS technology node

This paper investigates the most popular 1-bit CMOS full adder circuits to examine them for robustness and consistency against adverse variations in process parameters using ultra deep submicron technology nodes such as 16-nm. A ±10% variation is applied in an HSPICE environment to the nominal supply voltage of 0.7 V in the standard superthreshold region, to follow projected trends predicted by the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS) 2009. A realistic environment is thus created using Gaussian variations on various process parameters, while performing Monte Carlo simulations. Standard design metrics are analyzed and the various topologies are compared to find out the one with best relative robustness performances. The designs offering minimum variabilities for different parameters are reported, to aid the designer in selecting the best cells depending on specific requirements.
A scalable middleware-based infrastructure for energy management and visualization in city districts

Following the Smart City views, citizens, policy makers and energy distribution companies need a reliable and scalable infrastructure to manage and analyse energy consumption data in a city district context. In order to move forward this view, a city district model is needed, which takes into account different data-sources such as Building Information Models, Geographic Information Systems and real-time information coming from heterogeneous devices in the district. The Internet of Things paradigm is creating new business opportunities for low-cost, low-power and high-performance devices. Nevertheless, because of the "smart devices" heterogeneity, in order to provide uniform access to their functionalities, an abstract point of view is needed. Therefore, we propose an distributed software infrastructure, exploiting service-oriented middleware and ontology solutions to cope with the management, simulation and visualization of district energy data.
Central Amygdala GluA1 Facilitates Associative Learning of Opioid Reward

GluA1 subunits of AMPA glutamate receptors are implicated in the synaptic plasticity induced by drugs of abuse for behaviors of drug addiction, but GluA1 roles in emotional learning and memories of drug reward in the development of drug addiction remain unclear. In this study of the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA), which is critical in emotional learning of drug reward, we investigated how adaptive changes in the expression of GluA1 subunits affected the learning process of opioid-induced context–reward association (associative learning) for the acquisition of reward-related behavior. In CeA neurons, we found that CeA GluA1 expression was significantly increased 2 h after conditioning treatment with morphine, but not 24 h after the conditioning when the behavior of conditioned place reference (CPP) was fully established in rats. Adenoviral overexpression of GluA1 subunits in CeA accelerated associative learning, as shown by reduced minimum time of morphine conditioning required for CPP acquisition and by facilitated CPP extinction through extinction training with no morphine involved. Adenoviral shRNA-mediated downregulation of CeA GluA1 produced opposite effects, inhibiting the processes of both CPP acquisition and CPP extinction. Adenoviral knockdown of CeA GluA2 subunits facilitated CPP acquisition, but did not alter CPP extinction. Whole-cell recording revealed enhanced electrophysiological properties of postsynaptic GluA2-lacking AMPA receptors in adenoviral GluA1-infected CeA neurons. These results suggest that increased GluA1 expression of CeA AMPA receptors facilitates the associative learning of context-drug reward, an important process in both development and relapse of drug-seeking behaviors in drug addiction.
Examination of whether persistently indeterminate human immunodeficiency virus type 1 Western immunoblot reactions are due to serological reactivity with bovine immunodeficiency-like virus

The bovine lentivirus, known as bovine immunodeficiency-like virus (BIV), is genetically, structurally, and antigenically related to human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). It is not known whether sera from persons exposed to BIV proteins would show either positive or indeterminate reactivity on HIV-1 antibody tests. We used a BIV Western blot (immunoblot) analysis to examine human sera characterized as HIV-1 antibody positive, HIV-1 antibody negative, HIV-1 persistently indeterminate, HIV-1 p17 antibody positive only, HIV-1 p24 antibody positive only, human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) p19 antibody positive only, or HTLV-1 p24 antibody positive only. None of these sera were positive by Western blot to BIV-specific proteins. Many of these sera, however, displayed strong reactivities to bovine cell culture antigens on blots prepared from both mock-infected and BIV-infected cell cultures. The HIV-1 p17 and p24 antibody-positive and the HTLV-1 p19 and p24 antibody-positive sera were further examined by Western blot to bovine leukemia virus (BLV) and were found to be negative. We examined sera from laboratory personnel at risk for BIV exposure, including two laboratory workers who were exposed to BIV by accidental injection with BIV-infected cell culture material, and found no evidence of seroconversion to BIV-specific proteins. We tested 371 samples of fetal bovine sera, each sample representing serum pooled from one to three fetuses. All samples were negative by BIV Western blot. To date, we have not detected any human sera with antibody to BIV-specific proteins. Our data indicate that persistently indeterminate results on HIV-1 Western blot are not caused by a human antibody response to BIV proteins.
EVIDENCE FOR A DISSOCIATIVE SUBTYPE OF PTSD BY LATENT PROFILE AND CONFIRMATORY FACTOR ANALYSES IN A CIVILIAN SAMPLE

Dissociative symptoms are increasingly recognized in individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of derealization and depersonalization symptoms via latent profile analyses (LPAs) in a civilian PTSD sample and examine the relationship between PTSD and dissociative symptoms via factor analytic methods.
Wire-shaped quantum dots-sensitized solar cells based on nanosheets and nanowires

Wire-shaped quantum dots-sensitized solar cells (WS-QDSCs) based on nanosheets and nanowires were fabricated and investigated for this paper. The nanosheets grown on stainless steel (SS) wire by electrodeposition were mainly composed of Zn5(OH)8Cl2·H2O and most of the Zn5(OH)8Cl2·H2O was converted to ZnO by post-treatment, and ZnO nanowires were directly grown on SS wire by the hydrothermal method. CdS QDs were deposited on nanosheets and nanowires by successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction method. The results of photoelectrochemical performance indicated that WS-QDSCs showed a similar conversion efficiency in polysulfide and Na2SO4 electrolytes, while the WS-QDSCs based on the Cu2S counter electrode achieved much higher performance than those based on SS and Cu counter electrodes. By optimizing electrodeposition duration, the WS-QDSCs based on nanosheets presented the highest conversion efficiency of 0.60% for the duration of 20 min. Performance comparison indicated that the WS-QDSC based on nanosheets showed very superior performance to that based on the nanowires with similar film thickness.