Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Growing Up in Poverty, Growing Old in Infirmity: The Long Arm of Childhood Conditions in Great Britain

Background The ageing population poses a tremendous challenge in understanding the sources of inequalities in health. Though they appear to be far removed, childhood conditions are known to be inextricably linked with adult health, and in turn on health in later life. The long arm of childhood conditions hypothesis is often tested using recollection of childhood circumstances, but such subjective recall can yield potentially inaccurate or possibly biased inferences. We tested the long arm hypothesis on three outcomes in later life, arrayed from objective to subjective health, namely: gait speed, episodic memory and mental health. Methods and Findings We used the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing 2006 enriched with retrospective life history (N = 5,913). To deal with recall problems two solutions, covariate measurement and endogenous treatment models, were applied. Retrospective childhood material lack includes growing up without running hot or cold water, fixed bath, indoor lavatory and central heating. Adjustment is made for an extensive set of confounders including sex, age, adult health, wealth, education, occupation, social support, social connections, chronic conditions, smoking, drinking, and physical exercise. It is found that material poverty when growing up shows no association with health when growing old, assuming accurate recall. Once recall problems are controlled, we found that childhood material poverty changes inversely with later life health. Conclusion A poorer childhood goes with slower gait, poorer memory and more depression in later life. This result provides a further impetus to eliminate child poverty.
VEGF165 induces differentiation of hair follicle stem cells into endothelial cells and plays a role in in vivo angiogenesis

Within the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) family of five subtypes, VEGF165 secreted by endothelial cells has been identified to be the most active and widely distributed factor that plays a vital role in courses of angiogenesis, vascularization and mesenchymal cell differentiation. Hair follicle stem cells (HFSCs) can be harvested from the bulge region of the outer root sheath of the hair follicle and are adult stem cells that have multi‐directional differentiation potential. Although the research on differentiation of stem cells (such as fat stem cells and bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells) to the endothelial cells has been extensive, but the various mechanisms and functional forms are unclear. In particular, study on HFSCs’ directional differentiation into vascular endothelial cells using VEGF165 has not been reported. In this study, VEGF165 was used as induction factor to induce the differentiation from HFSCs into vascular endothelial cells, and the results showed that Notch signalling pathway might affect the differentiation efficiency of vascular endothelial cells. In addition, the in vivo transplantation experiment provided that HFSCs could promote angiogenesis, and the main function is to accelerate host‐derived neovascularization. Therefore, HFSCs could be considered as an ideal cell source for vascular tissue engineering and cell transplantation in the treatment of ischaemic diseases.
Retrieving and Combining Repeated Passages to Improve OCR

We present a novel approach to improve the output of optical character recognition (OCR) systems by first detecting duplicate passages in their output and then performing consensus decoding combined with a language model. This approach is orthogonal to, and may be combined with, previously proposed methods for combining the output of different OCR systems on the same image or the output of the same OCR system on differently processed images of the same text. It may also be combined with methods to estimate the parameters of a noisy channel model of OCR errors. Additionally, the current method generalizes previous proposals for a simple majority- vote combination of known duplicated texts. On a corpus of historical newspapers, an annotated set of clusters has a baseline word error rate (WER) of 33%. A majority vote procedure reaches 23% on passages where one or more duplicates were found, and consensus decoding combined with a language model achieves 18% WER. In a separate experiment, newspapers were aligned to very widely reprinted texts such as State of the Union speeches, producing clusters with up to 58 witnesses. Beyond 20 witnesses, majority vote outperforms language model rescoring, though the gap between them is much less in this experiment.
Undetectable HIV‐1 RNA load with the Cobas TaqMan v1.0 in a patient diagnosed at the time of primary HIV‐1 infection

Diagnosis of primary HIV‐1 infection is challenging due to the presence of a serological window; thus, HIV‐1‐RNA quantitation and/or measurement of p24 antigenemia are recommended in such cases. A patient was diagnosed at the time of primary HIV‐1 infection, he harbored a CFR02_AG subtype virus; quantitation of plasma HIV‐1‐RNA yielded an undetectable result according to one commercial assay, while HIV‐1‐RNA was detectable when measured with three other assays. J. Med. Virol. 82:1816–1818, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Determination of phenolic compounds in ancient and modern durum wheat genotypes

Due to its significant amount of antioxidants, durum wheat (Triticum turgidum ssp. durum) could potentially contribute to the protection against a number of chronic diseases, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. The increasing interest toward healthy food among both consumers and scientists has moved the focus toward the phytochemical content of whole wheat grains. The aim of this study was to identify the phytochemical composition of 22 cultivars belonging to old and modern durum wheat genotypes, including antioxidant capacity (DPPH and FRAP tests). In addition, five phenolic acids involved in the vanillin biosynthesis pathway and in the defence mechanism of plants were screened using UHPLC‐MS/MS. Remarkable quantitative differences in the amount of the five phenolic acids analysed (p < 0.05) were detected among the wheat genotypes investigated. Results showed that among the investigated phenolic compounds, trans‐ferulic acid was the most abundant, ranging from 13.28 to 324.69 μg/g; all the other identified compounds were present at lower concentrations. Moreover, significant differences on the antioxidant activity were observed. Collected data suggested possible differences between biosynthetic pathway of secondary metabolites among durum wheat genotypes.
Two new cassane diterpene lactams from the fruits of Caesalpinia mimosoides Lam

Abstract Two new cassane ditepenoid lactams, caesmimotam A (1) and B (2), along with eight known compounds (3–10) were isolated from the fruits of Caesalpinia mimosoides Lam. Their structures were identified by 1D and 2D NMR spectral data. Compounds 1 and 2 were evaluated for their cytotoxicity on HL-60, SMMC-7721, A-549, MCF-7 and SW-480 human cancer cell lines, but they were inactive.
Postinjury immune monitoring: can multiple organ failure be predicted?

Purpose of reviewMultiple organ failure is the main cause of late morbidity and mortality after severe injury. This disease state is driven by a dysfunctional immune system. Prediction of multiple organ failure on the basis of clinical parameters appears to be insufficient. A better understanding of immunological pathogenesis underlying multiple organ failure may lead to better prediction and innovation in treatment strategy in order to increase the survival of trauma patients. Recent findingsImmune monitoring has increased the knowledge of the pathogenesis of multiple organ failure, but many mechanisms underlying its cause and development remain to be elucidated. Consequently, adequate predictive markers for diagnosis and monitoring still need to be developed. SummaryGeneral markers of inflammation including cytokines are correlated with posttraumatic complications with a low sensitivity and specificity and are, therefore, of little use as prognostic markers. Current findings regarding the functionality of immune cells are promising and might be of prognostic value in the near future.
Bilingual and Cross Domain Politics Analysis

Opinion mining on Twitter recently attracted research in- terest in politics using Information Retrieval (IR) and Natural Lan- guage Processing (NLP). However, getting domain-specific annotated data still remains a costly manual step. In addition, the amount and quality of these annotation may be critical regarding the performance of machine learning (ML) based systems. An alternative solution is to use cross-language and cross-domain sets to simulate training data. This paper describe a ML approach to automatically annotate Spanish tweets dealing with the online-reputation of politicians. Our main finding is that a simple statistical NLP classifier without in-domain training can provide as reliable annotation as humans annotators and outperform more specific resources such as lexicon or in-domain data.
Experiments in Query Processing at LEXIS-NEXIS for TREC-7

The purpose of this report is to provide an overview of LEXIS-NEXIS’ entries to the TREC-7 competition. The report will describe the experiments we conducted, the results we obtained, and our future research directions. The report is divided into three sections. The first section describes the experimental setup and gives a brief account of some of the research activities that led to the TREC-7 entries. The second section explains how the techniques developed during our research culminated into the three entries that were submitted. Our experiences with these new techniques gave us insight into new research directions for improving query processing. In the third section, we conclude by sharing these ideas with the reader.
Walk this way: validity evidence of iphone health application step count in laboratory and free-living conditions

ABSTRACT Several attempts have been made to demonstrate the accuracy of the iPhone pedometer function in laboratory test conditions. However, no studies have attempted to evaluate evidence of convergent validity of the iPhone step counts as a surveillance tool in the field. This study takes a pragmatic approach to evaluating Health application derived iPhone step counts by measuring accuracy of a standardized criterion iPhone SE and a heterogeneous sample of participant owned iPhones (6 or newer) in a laboratory condition, as well as comparing personal iPhones to accelerometer derived steps in a free-living test. During lab tests, criterion and personal iPhones differed from manually counted steps by a mean bias of less than ±5% when walking at 5km/h, 7.5km/h and 10km/h on a treadmill, which is generally considered acceptable for pedometers. In the free-living condition steps differed by a mean bias of 21.5% or 1340 steps/day when averaged across observation days. Researchers should be cautioned in considering the use of iPhone models as a research grade pedometer for physical activity surveillance or evaluation, likely due to the iPhone not being continually carried by participants; if compliance can be maximized then the iPhone might be suitable.
Construction of an immunotoxin, HN3-mPE24, targeting glypican-3 for liver cancer therapy

Glypican-3 (GPC3) is overexpressed in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We constructed a recombinant immunotoxin, HN3-mPE24, which contains a truncated form of Pseudomonas exotoxin A. The toxin portion lacks most of domain II and has seven point mutations in domain III to remove the B-cell epitopes thought to be responsible for causing off-target side effects and immunogenicity. We also fused a bivalent HN3 to mPE24. We tested these two molecules for GPC3 binding and cytotoxicity in HCC cell models. The KD values of HN3-mPE24 and HN3-HN3-mPE24 for GPC3-expressing tumor cells were 12 nM and 1.4 nM, respectively. The IC50 values of HN3-mPE24 and HN3-HN3-mPE24 for HCC cells were 0.2 nM and 0.4 nM, respectively. We also evaluated their toxicity and anti-tumor efficacy in mice. The maximum tolerated doses of HN3-mPE24 and HN3-HN3-mPE24 were 7 mg kg−1 and 3.6 mg kg−1, respectively. We treated mice with 5 mg kg−1 of HN3-mPE24 intravenously every other day for ten injections. The alpha-fetoprotein level of HN3-mPE24 treated group was approximately 700 fold less than that of the untreated group (1.1 μg ml−1 vs. 692.1 μg ml−1). In addition, 25% of the mice treated with HN3-mPE24 survived to the end of this study, which was 105 days after HCC tumor implantation. In conclusion, the HN3-mPE24 immunotoxin caused liver tumor regressions and extended survival with no significant side effects in mice. It is a promising candidate for the treatment of liver cancer that may be readily translated to humans.
Model for Thin Layer Drying of Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) by Hot Air

Lemongrass is a plant that contains aromatic compounds (myrcene and limonene), powerful deodorants, and antimicrobial compounds (citral and geraniol). Identifying a suitable drying model for the material is crucial for establishing an initial step for the development of dried products. Convection drying is a commonly used drying method that could extend the shelf life of the product. In this study, a suitable kinetic model for the drying process was determined by fitting moisture data corresponding to four different temperature levels: 50, 55, 60 and 65 °C. In addition, the effect of drying temperature on the moisture removal rate, the effective diffusion coefficient and activation energy were also estimated. The results showed that time for moisture removal increases proportionally with the air-drying temperature, and that the Weibull model is the most suitable model for describing the drying process. The effective diffusion coefficient ranges from 7.64 × 10−11 m2/s to 1.48 × 10−10 m2/s and the activation energy was 38.34 kJ/mol. The activation energy for lemongrass evaporation is relatively high, suggesting that more energy is needed to separate moisture from the material by drying.
Differences in White Matter Microstructure and Connectivity in Nontreatment‐Seeking Individuals with Alcohol Use Disorder

BACKGROUND Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) has been widely used to investigate the integrity of white matter (WM; indexed by fractional anisotropy [FA]) in alcohol dependence and cigarette smoking. These disorders are highly comorbid, yet cigarette use has often not been adequately controlled in neuroimaging studies of alcohol-dependent populations. In addition, information on WM deficits in currently drinking, nontreatment-seeking (NTS) individuals with alcohol dependence is limited. Therefore, the aim of this work was to investigate WM microstructural integrity in alcohol use disorder by comparing matched samples of cigarette smoking NTS and social drinkers (SD). METHODS Thirty-eight smoking NTS and 19 smoking SD subjects underwent DWI as well as structural magnetic resonance imaging. After an in-house preprocessing of the DWI data, FA images were analyzed with tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS). FA obtained from the TBSS skeleton was tested for correlation with recent alcohol consumption. RESULTS Smoking NTS had lower FA relative to smoking SD, predominantly in the left hemisphere (p < 0.05, family-wise error rate corrected across FA skeleton). Across the full sample, FA and number of drinks per week were negatively related (ρ = -0.348, p = 0.008). Qualitative analyses of the structural connections through compromised WM as identified by TBSS showed differential connectivity of gray matter in NTS compared to SD subjects of left frontal, temporal, and parietal regions. CONCLUSIONS NTS subjects had lower WM FA than SD, indicating compromised WM integrity in the NTS population. The inverse relationship of entire WM skeleton FA with self-reported alcohol consumption supports previous evidence of a continuum of detrimental effects of alcohol consumption on WM. These results provide additional evidence that alcohol dependence is associated with reduced WM integrity in currently drinking NTS alcohol-dependent individuals, after controlling for the key variable of cigarette smoking.
Software Development Initiatives to Identify and Mitigate Security Threats - Two Systematic Mapping Studies

Software Security and development experts have addressed the problem of building secure software systems. There are several processes and initiatives to achieve secure software systems. However, most of these lack empirical evidence of its application and impact in building secure software systems. Two systematic mapping studies (SM) have been conducted to cover the existent initiatives for identiﬁcation and mitigation of security threats. The SMs created were executed in two steps, ﬁrst in 2015 July
16S rRNA and Multilocus Phylogenetic Analysis of the Iron Oxidizing Acidophiles of the Acidiferrobacteraceae Family

The family Acidiferrobacteraceae (order Acidiferrobacterales) currently contains three genera of chemolithoautotrophs: Sulfuricaulis (2016), Sulfurifustis (2015) and Acidiferrobacter (2011). While the two former are neutrophilic sulfur oxidizers isolated from lake sediments in Japan, the latter is an extremely acidophilic, moderately osmophilic, thermotolerant iron/sulfur oxidizer known to occur in macroscopic streamers in Rio Tinto, Spain and in acid waters worldwide. The type strains of both Sulfuricaulis limnicola (HA5T) and Sulfurifustis variabilis (skN76T) have been sequenced, and the draft genome of the ZJ isolate of Acidiferrobacter thiooxydans (MDCF01) has recently been deposited in public databases. Despite this fact, little evidence on the genomic diversity and evolution of this group has been presented so far. Using comparative genomic analyses and phylogenetic reconstruction strategies, we explored the evolutionary information contained in the available genome sequences to shed light on the taxonomic status of a novel isolate of the genus Acidiferrobacter (SP-III/3; DSM 27195).
Noninvasive Stimulation of the Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex Enhances Pleasant Scene Processing

Depressive patients typically show biased attention towards unpleasant and away from pleasant emotional material. Imaging studies suggest that dysfunctions in a distributed neural network, including the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), are associated with this processing bias. Accordingly, changes in vmPFC activation should mediate changes in processing of emotional stimuli. Here, we investigated the effect of inhibitory and excitatory transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) of the vmPFC on emotional scene processing in two within-subject experiments using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and magnetoencephalography (MEG). Both studies showed that excitatory relative to inhibitory tDCS amplifies processing of pleasant compared to unpleasant scenes in healthy participants. This modulatory effect occurred in a distributed network including sensory and prefrontal cortex regions and was visible during very early to late processing stages. Findings are discussed with regard to neurophysiological models of emotional processing. The convergence of stimulation effects across independent groups of healthy participants and complementary neuroimaging methods (fMRI, MEG) provides a basis for further investigation of a potentially therapeutic use of this novel stimulation approach in patients with depression or other affective disorders.
Sharing a Personal Trainer: Personal and Social Benefits of Individualized, Small-Group Training

Abstract Wayment, HA and McDonald, RL. Sharing a personal trainer: personal and social benefits of individualized, small-group training. J Strength Cond Res 31(11): 3137–3145, 2017—We examined a novel personal fitness training program that combines personal training principles in a small-group training environment. In a typical training session, exercisers warm-up together but receive individualized training for 50 minutes with 1–5 other adults who range in age, exercise experience, and goals for participation. Study participants were 98 regularly exercising adult members of a fitness studio in the southwestern United States (64 women and 32 men), aged 19–78 years (mean, 46.52 years; SD = 14.15). Average membership time was 2 years (range, 1–75 months; mean, 23.54 months; SD = 20.10). In collaboration with the program directors, we developed a scale to assess satisfaction with key features of this unique training program. Participants completed an online survey in Fall 2015. Hypotheses were tested with a serial mediator model (model 6) using the SPSS PROCESS module. In support of the basic tenets of self-determination theory, satisfaction with small-group, individualized training supported basic psychological needs, which in turn were associated with greater autonomous exercise motivation and life satisfaction. Satisfaction with this unique training method was also associated with greater exercise self-efficacy. Autonomous exercise motivation was associated with both exercise self-efficacy and greater self-reported health and energy. Discussion focuses on why exercise programs that foster a sense of social belonging (in addition to motivation and efficacy) may be helpful for successful adherence to an exercise program.
Semi-guided navigation of AGV through iterative learning

In this paper, the authors aim at realizing an accurate navigation system of automated guided vehicles (AGV). The authors propose a way of estimating positioning error with magnetic tape, which is widely used in a factory as an external sensor. However, flexibility for path relocation is insufficient, because, in general, the tape should be laid down on the floor from a start point to a goal point so that AGV can reach their target. To overcome this inefficiency, the authors firstly propose a semi-guided navigation methodology by means of two kinds of magnetic tapes based on an error analysis. The semi-guided navigation means that magnetic tapes are only placed at the start and the goal points individually. Therefore, this system enables us to remove most of the magnetic tape. Moreover, the authors attempt a fixed model learning to prevent stationary error while AGV run iteratively. Finally, the authors carry out experiments to evaluate and verify the efficiency of the proposed method.
Development of an Instrument to Examine Nursing Attitudes Toward Fertility Preservation in Oncology.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES To develop an instrument to measure staff nurse perceptions of the barriers to and benefits of addressing fertility preservation (FP) with patients newly diagnosed with cancer. DESIGN A prospective, nonrandomized instrument development approach. SETTING Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. SAMPLE 224 RNs who care for patients with cancer. METHODS The instrument was developed with content experts and field-tested with oncology staff nurses. Responses to a web-based survey were used in exploratory factor analysis. After refining the instrument, the authors conducted a confirmatory factor analysis with 230 web-based survey responses. MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES Self-perceived barriers to providing FP options to patients newly diagnosed with cancer. FINDINGS The results supported a 15-item instrument with five domains. CONCLUSIONS This instrument can be used to explore oncology nurses' attitudes toward FP in newly diagnosed people with cancer in their reproductive years. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING A more comprehensive understanding of attitudes and barriers related to FP will guide the building of optimal systems that support effective FP options, resources, and programs for individuals with cancer.