Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Recognition of Lewis X by Anti-Lex Monoclonal Antibody 1G5F6

Key Points Recognition of monomeric Lex by 1G5F6 using a panel of Lex analogues was studied. Anti-Lex mAbs bind in different ways; the hydrophobic patch of β-d-Gal is essential. mAbs directed toward the Lewis X (Lex) determinant have been shown to display different specificities, depending on the presentation of Lex to the immune system. Of interest is the murine anti-Lex mAb 1G5F6, generated against the O chain polysaccharide of Helicobacter pylori that contains polymeric Lex structures. The mAb was found to have a higher affinity for polymeric Lex over monomeric Lex. In this study, we explore the recognition of monomeric Lex by 1G5F6 using a panel of Lex analogues in which N-acetyl-d-glucosamine, l-fucose, or d-galactose (D-Gal) are replaced with d-glucose and/or l-rhamnose. Our studies show that all analogues were weaker inhibitors than the Lex Ag, indicating that all three residues are essential in the recognition of Lex by mAb 1G5F6. We explored the involvement of 4″-OH of d-Gal in the binding with 1G5F6 using a panel of 4″-modified Lex analogues. Although the 4″-OH is only involved in a weak polar interaction, we conclude that the D-Gal residue in Lex is primarily involved in aromatic stacking interactions with the Ab binding site. We compared these results to our work with mAb SH1. Although stacking interactions between D-Gal and an aromatic residue was also suggested for SH1, an H-bond involving the 4″-OH was identified that is not found in the binding of 1G5F6 to Lex. Thus, anti-Lex mAbs SH1 and 1G5F6 bind to Lex in different manners, even though the hydrophobic patch displayed by the β-galactoside in Lex is essential in both cases for their binding to Lex.
An Examination of Experiences of Mothers of Children with Down Syndrome: A Two Country Comparison

The focus of this study is the experiences of mothers of children with Down syndrome (Ds) and the provision of social services for their children and their families. Children with Ds have a range of physical and intellectual differences. This study examined the living conditions and quality of life of children with Ds based on mothers' perceptions about social services and their experiences of having a child with Ds. A two-country comparison of the differences in the availability of resources such as social services was made. The areas of health and education were selected as primary social services. The nature of the problem prompted a qualitative, interpretive approach to the study through the use of case studies, interviews and survey methods to produce practical solutions to the problem. The sample consisted of 68 mothers of children with Ds, who experienced the difficulties of raising their children. Data were coded by NUDIST to produce the headings: family, services, mothers' perceptions, and satisfaction with services. Descriptive analysis indicated four main areas determining the living conditions of children with Ds and their unmet needs. The findings of the study revealed that there are major barriers preventing children with Ds from achieving a normal life. These barriers included the negative attitudes of health and education professionals; a lack of accurate information about Down syndrome; inappropriate social services; the current practices of informing mothers about their child's diagnosis; and difficulty in accessing information about Down syndrome and social services. As a result, it is suggested that there is a need for a new understanding about Ds, which requires re-education and up-to-date information for health and education professionals, mothers, and society in general. Clearly, the range and quality of social service programs offered by authorities in the Ministries of Health and Education in both Australia and Iran need to be reviewed. The conclusion drawn from the examination of experiences of mothers in Australia and Iran indicated that contrary to the literature, mothers' emotional problems are not natural feelings and could be prevented if professionals changed the traditional way of pointing out the negatives, and instead, emphasise the potential and possibilities of a child with Ds. The research generated a background report for the Australian and Iranian Ministries of Health and Education with the intention of contributing to an improved quality of life for children with Ds.
Facial features and unethical behavior – Doped athletes show higher facial width-to-height ratios than non-doping sanctioned athletes

Past research has emphasized the role of facial structures in predicting social behavior. In particular the facial width-to-height ratio (fWHR) was found to be a reliable predictor for antisocial and unethical behavior. The current study was aimed at examining this association in the field of sports: FWHRs of 146 doping sanctioned athletes in athletics (37 male/38 female) and weightlifting (44 male/27 female) were compared to the fWHRs of randomly chosen non-doping sanctioned athletes of the Top Ten at the World Championship 2017 and Olympic Games 2016 in both sports (146 athletes). The results showed that doping sanctioned athletes due to the use of anabolic steroids had larger fWHRs than non-doping sanctioned athletes. However, doping sanctioned athletes due to other doping rule violations than the use of anabolic steroids, did not show this effect. The study provides empirical evidence for the relation between fWHR and unethical behavior in a real-world setting and contributes to the discussion about fWHR’s biological origin, emphasizing the role of anabolic steroids. A mutual interaction between fWHR and doping behavior is discussed, at which a larger fWHR might signify a higher tendency to behave unethically, whereas the consequential intake of anabolic steroids might also shape individuals’ faces.
Assessing Health-Related Quality of Life in Children and Adolescents with Diabetes: Development and Psychometrics of the Type 1 Diabetes and Life (T1DAL) Measures.

OBJECTIVE To develop and validate new measures of diabetes-specific health-related quality of life (HRQOL) for people with type 1 diabetes (T1D) that are brief, developmentally appropriate, and usable in clinical research and care. Here we report on the phases of developing and validating the self-report Type 1 Diabetes and Life (T1DAL) measures for children (age 8-11) and adolescents (age 12-17). METHODS Measure development included qualitative interviews with youth and parents (n = 16 dyads) followed by piloting draft measures and conducting cognitive debriefing with youth (n = 9) to refine the measures. To evaluate the psychometric properties, children (n = 194) and adolescents (n = 257) at three T1D Exchange Clinic Network sites completed the age-appropriate T1DAL measure and previously validated questionnaires measuring related constructs. Using psychometric data, the investigators reduced the length of each T1DAL measure to 21 and 23 items, respectively, and conducted a final round of cognitive debriefing with six children and adolescents. RESULTS The T1DAL measures for children and adolescents demonstrated good internal consistency (α = 0.84 and 0.89, respectively) and test-retest reliability (r = 0.78 and 0.80, respectively). Significant correlations between the T1DAL scores and measures of general quality of life, generic and diabetes-specific HRQOL, diabetes burden, and diabetes strengths demonstrated construct validity. Correlations with measures of self-management (child and adolescent) and glycemic control (adolescent only) demonstrated criterion validity. Factor analyses indicated four developmentally specific subscales per measure. Participants reported satisfaction with the measures. CONCLUSIONS The new T1DAL measures for children and adolescents with T1D are reliable, valid, and suitable for use in care settings and clinical research.
Diet quality and hearing loss among middle–older aged adults in the USA: findings from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

Abstract Objective: To examine the associations between overall diet quality and hearing function among middle–older aged adults in the USA. Design: Cross-sectional analysis. Diet quality was examined using the Mediterranean Diet Score (MDS), using data from a single 24 h dietary recall. Hearing function was objectively measured by audiometry assessments and hearing loss, including high- and low-frequency hearing loss, was defined as pure-tone averages at specific ranges of hearing frequencies >25 dB. Weighted logistic regression analyses were performed to examine the associations of MDS (scored 0–9, categorized at the median as ≤3 or >3) with hearing loss and high- and low-frequency hearing loss. Setting: National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys 2000–2006 and 2009–2012. Participants: Adults aged ≥50 years (n 1639) with valid dietary and audiometry assessments. Results: After adjusting for potential confounders, a non-significant trend for a protective association of higher MDS was observed for hearing loss (OR = 0·78; 95 % CI 0·49, 1·23). A significant inverse association was observed for high-frequency hearing loss (OR = 0·64; 95 % CI 0·43, 0·95). No association was found for low-frequency hearing loss among women; however, higher MDS was significantly associated with higher odds of low-frequency hearing loss among men (OR = 2·63; 95 % CI 1·39, 4·95). Conclusions: Among middle–older aged adults, adherence to a Mediterranean-style diet was inversely associated with hearing loss, including those at high hearing frequencies, among older adults. However, a detrimental association was observed at low hearing frequencies among men. Future investigations with a longitudinal design are needed to clarify the associations between diet quality and hearing loss.
Multimodal Fusion of BERT-CNN and Gated CNN Representations for Depression Detection

Depression is a common, but serious mental disorder that affects people all over the world. Besides providing an easier way of diagnosing the disorder, a computer-aided automatic depression assessment system is demanded in order to reduce subjective bias in the diagnosis. We propose a multimodal fusion of speech and linguistic representation for depression detection. We train our model to infer the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) score of subjects from AVEC 2019 DDS Challenge database, the E-DAIC corpus. For the speech modality, we use deep spectrum features extracted from a pretrained VGG-16 network and employ a Gated Convolutional Neural Network (GCNN) followed by a LSTM layer. For the textual embeddings, we extract BERT textual features and employ a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) followed by a LSTM layer. We achieved a CCC score equivalent to 0.497 and 0.608 on the E-DAIC corpus development set using the unimodal speech and linguistic models respectively. We further combine the two modalities using a feature fusion approach in which we apply the last representation of each single modality model to a fully-connected layer in order to estimate the PHQ score. With this multimodal approach, it was possible to achieve the CCC score of 0.696 on the development set and 0.403 on the testing set of the E-DAIC corpus, which shows an absolute improvement of 0.283 points from the challenge baseline.
High resolution CdTe detector and applications to imaging devices

Using a high quality cadmium telluride (CdTe) wafer, we formed a Schottky junction and operated the detector as a diode (CdTe diode). The low leakage current of the CdTe diode allows us to apply a much higher bias voltage than was possible with the previous CdTe detectors. For a relatively thin detector of /spl sim/0.5 mm thick, the high bias voltage results in a high electric field in the device. Both the improved charge collection efficiency and the low-leakage current lead to an energy resolution of 1.1 keV FWHM at 60 keV for a 2/spl times/2 mm/sup 2/ device and 2 keV for a 10/spl times/10 mm/sup 2/ device at 5/spl deg/C without any charge-loss correction electronics. For astrophysical applications, we have developed a an initial prototype CdTe pixel detector based on the CdTe diode. The detector has 400 pixels with a pixel size of 625/spl times/625 /spl mu/m/sup 2/. Each pixel is gold-stud bonded to a fanout board and routed to a front end ASIC to measure pulse height information for each /spl gamma/-ray photon.
Structure, Dynamics, and Reactivity for Light Alkane Oxidation of Fe(II) Sites Situated in the Nodes of a Metal-Organic Framework.

Metal organic frameworks (MOFs), with their crystalline, porous structures, can be synthesized to incorporate a wide range of catalytically active metals in tailored surroundings. These materials have potential as catalysts for conversion of light alkanes, feedstocks available in large quantities from shale gas that are changing the economics of manufacturing commodity chemicals. Mononuclear high-spin (S = 2) Fe(II) sites situated in the nodes of the MOF MIL-100(Fe) convert propane via dehydrogenation, hydroxylation, and overoxidation pathways in reactions with the atomic oxidant N2O. Pair distribution function analysis, N2 adsorption isotherms, X-ray diffraction patterns, and infrared and Raman spectra confirm the single-phase crystallinity and stability of MIL-100(Fe) under reaction conditions (523 K in vacuo, 378-408 K C3H8 + N2O). Density functional theory (DFT) calculations illustrate a reaction mechanism for the formation of 2-propanol, propylene, and 1-propanol involving the oxidation of Fe(II) to Fe(III) via a high-spin Fe(IV)═O intermediate. The speciation of Fe(II) and Fe(III) in the nodes and their dynamic interchange was characterized by in situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy and ex situ Mössbauer spectroscopy. The catalytic relevance of Fe(II) sites and the number of such sites were determined using in situ chemical titrations with NO. N2 and C3H6 production rates were found to be first-order in N2O partial pressure and zero-order in C3H8 partial pressure, consistent with DFT calculations that predict the reaction of Fe(II) with N2O to be rate determining. DFT calculations using a broken symmetry method show that Fe-trimer nodes affecting reaction contain antiferromagnetically coupled iron species, and highlight the importance of stabilizing high-spin (S = 2) Fe(II) species for effecting alkane oxidation at low temperatures (<408 K).
Access to maternal healthcare services among Indigenous women in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh: A cross-sectional study

Objectives This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of, and factors associated with, accessing maternal healthcare services (MHC) by Indigenous women in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), Bangladesh. Design This was a cross-sectional survey among Indigenous women of reproductive age. Setting Two upazillas (subdistricts) of Khagrachhari hill district of the CHT. Participants Indigenous women (15–49 years) within 36 months of delivery were surveyed about accessing MHC services (antenatal care, delivery and postnatal care) for their last pregnancy and delivery. Primary outcome measures The primary outcome for this analysis is the prevalence of accessing any MHC service and secondary outcome is factors associated with access to MHC services for Indigenous women during their last pregnancy and childbirth. Results Of 438 Indigenous women (220 Chakma, 100 Marma, 118 Tripura) who participated, 75% were aged 16–30 years. With an 89% response rate, a total of 258 (59%) women reported accessing at least one MHC service (Chakma 51.6%, Marma 28%, Tripura 20.5%; p=<0.001). Independent factors associated with accessing MHC after adjusting for clustering were attending secondary school and above (OR 2.4; 95% CI 1.2 to 4.9); knowledge about nearest health facilities (OR 3.8, 95% CI 1.8 to 7.8) and knowledge of pregnancy-related complications (OR 3.0, 95% CI 1.5 to 5.8). Conclusion Findings suggest that the prevalence of accessing MHC services is lower among Indigenous women in the CHT compared with national average. MHC access may be improved through better education and awareness raising of local services.
Optical Limiting and Femtosecond Pump-Probe Transient Absorbance Properties of a 3,5-distyrylBODIPY Dye

The optical limiting (OL) properties of a 3,5-di-p-benzyloxystyrylBODIPY dye with an p-acetamidophenyl moiety at the meso-position have been investigated by using the open-aperture Z-scan technique at 532 nm with 10 ns laser pulses. There is a ca. 140 nm red shift of the main spectral band to 644 nm relative to the corresponding BODIPY core dye, due to the incorporation of p-benzyloxystyryl groups at the 3,5-positions. As a result, there is relatively weak absorbance across most of the visible region under ambient light conditions. Analysis of the observed reverse saturable absorbance (RSA) profiles demonstrates that the dye is potentially suitable for use in optical limiting applications as has been reported previously for other 3,5-distyrylBODIPY dyes. Time-resolved transient absorption spectroscopy and kinetic studies with femtosecond and nanosecond scale laser pulses provide the first direct spectral evidence that excited state absorption (ESA) from the S1 state is responsible for the observed OL properties.
Mitochondrial metagenomics reveals the ancient origin and phylodiversity of soil mites and provides a phylogeny of the Acari.

High-throughput DNA methods hold great promise for phylogenetic analysis of lineages that are difficult to study with conventional molecular and morphological approaches. The mites (Acari), and in particular the highly diverse soil-dwelling lineages, are among the least known branches of the metazoan Tree-of-Life. We extracted numerous minute mites from soils in an area of mixed forest and grassland in southern Iberia. Selected specimens representing the full morphological diversity were shotgun sequenced in bulk, followed by genome assembly of short reads from the mixture, which produced >100 mitochondrial genomes representing diverse acarine lineages. Phylogenetic analyses in combination with taxonomically limited mitogenomes available publicly resulted in plausible trees defining basal relationships of the Acari. Several critical nodes were supported by ancestral-state reconstructions of mitochondrial gene rearrangements. Molecular calibration placed the minimum age for the common ancestor of the superorder Acariformes, which includes most soil-dwelling mites, to the Cambrian-Ordovician (likely within 455-552 Mya), while the origin of the superorder Parasitiformes was placed later in the Carboniferous-Permian. Most family-level taxa within the Acariformes were dated to the Jurassic and Triassic. The ancient origin of Acariformes and the early diversification of major extant lineages linked to the soil are consistent with a pioneering role for mites in building the earliest terrestrial ecosystems.
CUNY Academic Works CUNY Academic Works

Genomic data have had a profound impact on nearly every biological discipline. In systematics and phylogenetics, the thousands of loci that are now being sequenced can be analyzed under the multispecies coalescent model (MSC) to explicitly account for gene tree discordance due to incomplete lineage sorting (ILS). However, the MSC assumes no gene flow post divergence, calling for additional methods that can accommodate this limitation. Explicit phylogenetic network methods have emerged, which can simultaneously account for ILS and gene flow by representing evolutionary history as a directed acyclic graph. In this point-of-view we highlight some of the strengths and limitations of phylogenetic networks and argue that tree-based inference should not be blindly abandoned in favor of networks simply because they represent more parameter rich models. Attention should be given to model selection of reticulation complexity, and the most robust conclusions regarding evolutionary history are likely obtained when combining tree-and network-based inference.
The Effect of Pharmaceutical Utilization and Innovation on Hospitalization and Mortality

This paper presents an econometric analysis of the effect of changes in the quantity and type of pharmaceuticals prescribed by physicians in outpatient visits on rates of hospitalization, surgical procedure, mortality, and related variables. It examines the statistical relationship across diseases between changes in outpatient pharmaceutical utilization and changes in inpatient care utilization and mortality during the period 1980-92. The estimates indicate that the number of hospital stays, bed-days, and surgical procedures declined most rapidly for those diagnoses with the greatest increase in the total number of drugs prescribed and the greatest change in the distribution of drugs, by molecule. The estimates imply that an increase of 100 prescriptions is associated with 1.48 fewer hospital admissions, 16.3 fewer hospital days, and 3.36 fewer inpatient surgical procedures. A $1 increase in pharmaceutical expenditure is associated with a $3.65 reduction in hospital care expenditure.
Internal training load monitoring in professional football: a systematic review of methods using rating of perceived exertion.

INTRODUCTION The rate of perceived exertion (RPE) is widely adopted to quantify internal training load (ITL) in professional football. The aim of this study was to systematically review the use RPE-based methods in professional football. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION Observational studies conducted during training routines of professional football players over a minimum of one- week were selected based on the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses statement. EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS Thirty-eight articles met the inclusion criteria (average qualitative score was 6.3 out of 10 [3 to 9]). The main deficiencies identified concerned the poor description of study design (~52% of the studies), and the non-quantification of match load (~44%). Ten studies complemented RPE-based ITL information with time-motion analysis (~26%) and seven studies added HR recordings (~18%). Nine studies collected RPE data after complementary training, separately to field sessions (~3%). Operational questions (e.g. How was your workout? ~71%) were preferred to instructions (e.g. Please rate the intensity of today's session; ~8%). Session-RPE (s-RPE; RPE multiplied by training duration) was more commonly adopted as measure of exercise intensity than isolated RPE (~76 vs. ~8%). RPE-derived variables calculated on weekly values included absolute week-to-week change, acute: chronic workload ratio, monotony and strain and were not frequently used (7 to 15%). Four studies (~11%) divided RPE in two components: respiratory and muscular. CONCLUSIONS There is a lack of consensus for the use of RPE in professional football and "good practices" are warranted. This review might help practitioners regarding procedures to adopt in RPE data collection and interpretation.
Two-Layered Graph-Cuts-Based Classification of LiDAR Data in Urban Areas

Classifying the LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) point cloud in the urban environment is a challenging task. Due to the complicated structures of urban objects, it is difficult to find suitable features and classifiers to efficiently category the points. A two-layered graph-cuts-based classification framework is addressed in this study. The hierarchical framework includes a bottom layer that defines the features and classifies point clouds at the point level as well as a top layer that defines the features and classifies the point cloud at the object level. A novel adaptive local modification method is employed to model the interactions between these two layers. The iterative graph cuts algorithm runs around the bottom and top layers to optimize the classification. In this way, the addressed framework benefits from the integration of point features and object features to improve the classification. The experiments demonstrate that the proposed method is capable of producing classification results with high accuracy and efficiency.