Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The validity of phosphatidylethanol in dried blood spots of newborns for the identification of prenatal alcohol exposure.

BACKGROUND Accurate identification of prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) in the newborn period offers an opportunity for early identification of children at risk of future neurocognitive problems and the implementation of interventional approaches earlier in life. PAE newborn screening by measuring phosphatidylethanol in dried blood spot (PEth-DBS) cards is feasible, logistically easier, and more cost-efficient compared with other biomarkers. However, the sensitivity and specificity of this method have yet to be established. METHODS This prospective cohort study examined validity of PEth-DBS among 28 infants with PAE and 32 controls relative to maternal self-report and other biomarkers. Pregnant women were recruited from a University of New Mexico clinic and followed to early postpartum period. The composite index, which was based on self-reported measures of alcohol use and allowed to classify subjects into PAE and control groups, was the criterion measure used to estimate sensitivity and specificity of PEth-DBS. RESULTS The study included large proportions of patients representing ethnic minorities (7.4% American Indian, 81.7% Hispanic/Latina), low education (54.2% <high school), and unplanned pregnancy (90.0%). No differences in sociodemographic characteristics, smoking or illicit drug use were observed among the study groups. The sensitivity of maternal biomarkers (gamma glutamyltranspeptidase [GGT], % carbohydrate-deficient transferrin [%CDT], urine ethyl glucuronide [UEtG], urine ethyl sulfate [UEtS]) was low (<15%) reflecting a moderate chronic or intermittent binge pattern of drinking in this cohort. PEth-DBS demonstrated 100% specificity and the highest sensitivity (32.1%) compared with other biomarkers. A battery consisting of maternal direct ethanol metabolites (UEtG, UEtS, PEth) and newborn PEth-DBS increased sensitivity to 50% without a substantial drop in specificity (93.8%). CONCLUSIONS Newborn PEth-DBS is a highly specific biomarker and can facilitate accurate detection of PAE in conjunction with other biomarkers. Minimal invasiveness, ease of storage and transportation of DBS cards, absence of postcollection synthesis, cost savings, and potential integration with routine newborn screening are all unique advantages of this method.
Face Detection and Auto Positioning for Robotic Vision System

Robotic vision system has taken a great leap in the field of robotics. Vision system is an essential tool to be implemented in a robot for visual communication between robot and human especially in the application of Tele-Diagnostic Robot. The robot vision system must always be in the field of view. The ability for the vision system to automatically track the person in communication is crucial for the remote medical specialist. To circumvent this problem, a face detection technique is implemented and it is performed using skin color segmentation with two color space which are YCbCr and HSV. Besides that, morphological operations are also done to detect the face region accurately. Two DOF servo mechanism were designed to ensure that the servo motor rotates to centralize the detected face region. A real-time testing were conducted and it was found that this system results a good performance. Index Terms—Face detection, auto positioning, skin colour segmentation, servo motor.
A rural community intervention targeting biomass combustion sources: effects on air quality and reporting of children's respiratory outcomes

Objective Improvements in urban air quality are largely driven by controls on industrial and mobile source emissions, but such factors may have limited influence on many rural environments where biomass combustion (eg, wood stoves) serves as the primary source of fine particulate matter (PM2.5). The authors tracked changes in children's respiratory health during a wood stove intervention in a rural mountain valley community heavily impacted by wood smoke-derived PM2.5. Methods Community-wide impacts on children's health were assessed by prospectively collecting surveys from parents of school children during four winter periods in Libby, Montana. Generalised estimating equations with a logit link were used to estimate the effect of reduction in ambient PM2.5 on wheeze prevalence and other reported symptoms and infections. Results Over 1100 wood stoves were replaced with new lower emission wood stoves or other heating sources. Ambient PM2.5 was 27.6% lower in the winters following the changeout programme compared with baseline winters. There was a 26.7% (95% CI 3.0% to 44.6%) reduced odds of reported wheeze for a 5 μg/m3 decrease in average winter PM2.5. Lower ambient PM2.5 was also associated with reduced odds for reported respiratory infections, including cold (25.4% (95% CI 7.6% to 39.7%)), bronchitis (54.6% (95% CI 24.2% to 72.8%)), influenza (52.3% (95% CI 42.5% to 60.5%)) and throat infection (45.1% (95% CI 29.0% to 57.6%)). Conclusion This wood stove intervention provided a unique opportunity to prospectively observe health benefits resulting from a targeted air pollution reduction strategy in a rural community.
A sequential constant‐stress accelerated life testing scheme and its Bayesian inference

In the analysis of accelerated life testing (ALT) data, some stress‐life model is typically used to relate results obtained at stressed conditions to those at use condition. For example, the Arrhenius model has been widely used for accelerated testing involving high temperature. Motivated by the fact that some prior knowledge of particular model parameters is usually available, this paper proposes a sequential constant‐stress ALT scheme and its Bayesian inference. Under this scheme, test at the highest stress is firstly conducted to quickly generate failures. Then, using the proposed Bayesian inference method, information obtained at the highest stress is used to construct prior distributions for data analysis at lower stress levels. In this paper, two frameworks of the Bayesian inference method are presented, namely, the all‐at‐one prior distribution construction and the full sequential prior distribution construction. Assuming Weibull failure times, we (1) derive the closed‐form expression for estimating the smallest extreme value location parameter at each stress level, (2) compare the performance of the proposed Bayesian inference with that of MLE by simulations, and (3) assess the risk of including empirical engineering knowledge into ALT data analysis under the proposed framework. Step‐by‐step illustrations of both frameworks are presented using a real‐life ALT data set. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Characterization of a Novel Src-like Adapter Protein That Associates with the Eck Receptor Tyrosine Kinase (*)

The Eph family of receptor protein tyrosine kinases (RPTKs) is the largest family of RPTKs. The signal transduction pathways initiated by this family have only recently begun to be explored. Using a yeast two-hybrid screen to identify molecules that interact with the cytoplasmic domain of Eck, it was previously shown that activated Eck RPTK bound to and stimulated phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (Pandey, A., Lazar, D. F., Saltiel, A. R., and Dixit, V. M. (1994) J. Biol. Chem. 269, 30154-30157). Also isolated [Abstract] from this same screen was a novel protein containing SH3 and SH2 adapter modules that had striking homology to those found in the Src family of non-receptor tyrosine kinases. However, unlike other Src family members, it lacked a catalytic tyrosine kinase domain. Hence, this protein was designated SLAP for Src-like adapter protein. Using glutathione S-transferase fusion proteins, it was demonstrated that SLAP bound to activated Eck receptor tyrosine kinase. Therefore, SLAP is a novel candidate downstream signaling intermediate and the first member of the Src family that resembles an adapter molecule.
Height at age 18 years is a strong predictor of attained education later in life: cohort study of over 950,000 Swedish men.

BACKGROUND Adult body height has been related to socioeconomic position in cross-sectional studies. Intelligence, shared family factors, and non-familial circumstances may contribute to associations between height and attained education, but their relative importance has been difficult to resolve. METHODS A nation-wide record-linkage cohort study of over 950 000 Swedish men born 1950-75 followed with respect to attained education for up to 27 years after measurement of height at age 18 (baseline). The association between height and attained education in later life was investigated by logistic regression modelling with adjustment for age, geography, parental socioeconomic position, and cognitive ability. Shared family factors were accounted for in analyses of full-brother-pairs using conditional logistic regression. RESULTS The odds ratio (OR) for attaining higher education 7-27 years after baseline was 1.10 [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.09-1.10] in fully adjusted models per 5 cm increase in height. Men taller than 194 cm were two to three times more likely to obtain a higher education as compared with men shorter than 165 cm. The association remained within brother-pairs, OR 1.08 (95% CI 1.07-1.10), suggesting that non-familial factors contribute to the association between height and education attainment. A significant interaction (P < 0.0001) was found between year of birth, height, and attained education, showing slightly weaker associations among later birth cohorts. CONCLUSIONS The strong positive association between height and educational achievement remaining after adjustment for year of birth, parental socioeconomic position, other shared family factors, and cognitive ability may reflect educational discrimination based on height although residual confounding cannot be ruled out.
[Dopaminergic A10 neurons and frontal system (author's transl)].

Lesions in the rat of the ventral mesencephalic tegmentum (vmt) which contains the A10 dopaminergic (DA) cell bodies, have a wide range of effects on behaviour. The principal characteristic of such lesioned animals is a locomotor hyperactivity and a disinhibition of behavioural supression with serious consequences for behaviour fundamental to the survival of the individual and the species. 1 Initially, we felt that an anatomical study of the region could provide a basis for explaining the vmt syndrome. We decided, therefore, to use several anatomical techniques, such as silver staining, anterograde tracing using autoradiography, and retrograde tracing with horseradish peroxidase (HRP). These studies have led to the following conclusions: (1) The vmt neurones are an important interface between anterior limbic structures and posterior limbic and reticular regions. (2) vmt neurones have specific anatomical relations with the frontal system, i.e., the prefrontal cortex and the anterior striatum. 2 Secondly, we wondered if such anatomical connections were the basis for functional relationships. We have therefore studied animals in a delayed alternation task, which is a sensitive and selective test of damage to the frontal system. Rats with electrolytic or 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) lesions of the DA cells in the vmt show large deficits in delayed alternation tasks. 6-OHDA lesions of the DA A10 terminals in the prefrontal cortex, the anterior striatum or the nucleus accumbens lead to similar behavioural deficits. Moreover, the specificity of such deficits has been shown in a runway test and a visual discrimination task. 3 On the basis of these results, we put forward the hypothesis that the A10 DA neurones play a role in the integration of information from internal and external stimuli which are relayed to the prefrontal system. From this viewpoint, a deficit in selective attention lies at the heart of the different forms of the vmt syndrome.
Growth and Virulence Properties of Biofilm-Forming Salmonellaenterica Serovar Typhimurium under Different Acidic Conditions

ABSTRACT This study was designed to characterize the viability and potential virulence of bofilm-forming Salmonellaenterica serovar Typhimurium under different pH levels, ranging from 5 to 7. The plate count method and real-time reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) were used to evaluate the survival of S. Typhimurium grown in Trypticase soy broth (TSB) adjusted to pH 5, 6, and 7 (TSB-5, TSB-6, and TSB-7, respectively) at 37°C for 10 days. In TSB-5 and TSB-6, the numbers of viable cells estimated by using the real-time RT-PCR were greater than the culturable counts enumerated by the plate count method. Reflectance micro-Fourier transform infrared (micro-FTIR) spectroscopy was used to evaluate the biochemical changes in biofilm cells. Considerable changes in chemical components were observed in the biofilm cells grown in TSB-5 and TSB-6 when compared to the cells grown in TSB-7. The enterotoxin production and invasive ability of planktonic and biofilm S. Typhimurium cells were inferred by the relative levels of expression of stn and invA. The levels of expression of stn and invA were significantly increased in biofilm S. Typhimurium cells grown in TSB-5 (1.9-fold and 3.2-fold) and TSB-6 (2.1-fold and 22.3-fold) after 10 days of incubation. These results suggest that the biofilm-forming S. Typhimurium under different pH levels might change the virulence production and stress response mechanisms.
Bayesian Latent‐Class Mixed‐Effect Hybrid Models for Dyadic Longitudinal Data with Non‐Ignorable Dropouts

The analysis of longitudinal dyadic data is challenging due to the complicated correlations within and between dyads, as well as possibly non‐ignorable dropouts. Based on a mixed‐effects hybrid model, we propose an approach to analyze longitudinal dyadic data with non‐ignorable dropouts. We factorize the joint distribution of the measurement and dropout processes into three components: the marginal distribution of random effects, the conditional distribution of the dropout process given the random effects, and the conditional distribution of the measurement process given the random effects and missing data patterns. We model the conditional dropout process using a discrete survival model, and the conditional measurement process using a latent‐class pattern‐mixture model. These models account for the dyadic interdependence using the “actor” and “partner” effects and dyad‐specific random effects. We use the latent‐dropout‐class approach to address the problem of a large number of missing data patterns caused by the dyadic data structure. We evaluate the performance of the proposed method using a simulation study, and apply our method to a longitudinal dyadic data set that arose from a prostate cancer trial.
Testing of Fractional Cointegration in Macroeconomic Time Series

We propose in this article a two-step testing procedure of fractional cointegration in macroeconomic time series. It is based on Robinson's (1994) univariate tests and is similar in spirit to the one proposed by Engle and Granger (1987), testing initially the order of integration of the individual series and then, testing the degree of integration of the residuals from the cointegrating relationship. Finite-sample critical values of the new tests are computed and Monte Carlo experiments are conducted to examine the size and the power properties of the tests in finite samples. An empirical application, using the same datasets as in Engle and Granger (1987) is also carried out at the end of the article.
Can On-line Social Network Users Trust That What They Designated as Confidential Data Remains So?

Internet users in general and on-line social networks users in particular are becoming more savvy about masking data they consider private. However, some of this masked data may be inferable from other data the user has not masked. Furthermore, even if a user masks all its data, it may still be inferable from the unmasked data of its friends, due to affinities in likes and personal attributes. In contrast to the conventional data mining approach, in which a model is built for all users, we build a rule set which is individualized for each user. In this paper we propose a novel rule induction approach (that incorporates predictive metrics) which enable a user to evaluate the potential risk incurred by unmasked attributes, friends' attributes and also the risk of befriending new users. We find that all of these risks are quantifiable and a risk ranking of attributes and friends/potential friends can be individualized for each user. We give examples and use cases and confirm the effectiveness of the approach, using a sophisticated synthetic OSN-data to define risk attribute and user combinations which coincide with the risk ranking produced by our algorithm.
Phospholipid Composition of Bacillus subtilis

Bacillus subtilis contained at least five phospholipids, four of which have been isolated and identified as a polyglycerol phospholipid, probably cardiolipin, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, and lysylphosphatidylglycerol. Further purification of the latter phosphoglyceride was obtained by high-voltage electrophoresis, and it was shown that this treatment removed amino acid-containing, nonlipidic material from the phosphoglyceride. This associated material, which is not covalently linked to the lipid, gave rise to minor amounts of a number of amino acids, other than lysine, in acid hydrolysates of the lysylphosphatidylglycerol. The phospholipid composition of B. subtilis appeared to depend on the growth conditions. Addition of glucose to the medium lowered the pH during growth; this was accompanied by an increase in the amount of lysylphosphatidylglycerol and a decrease in the phosphatidylglycerol content, when compared with growth at neutral pH. The amount of the other phospholipids and the total amount of phospholipid remained constant under the different conditions. The shape and the osmotic susceptibility of the protoplasts of this organism appeared to depend on the growth conditions. Cells harvested from a neutral growth medium gave spherical protoplasts which lysed rapidly, whereas cells grown in an acidic medium maintained their rod-shaped form to a great extent after the cell wall had been removed, even after being suspended in a hypotonic medium. The latter observation suggests the presence of a more rigid membranous structure in cells which have been exposed to a low environmental pH during growth.
Proposed optimization for AdaBoost-based face detection

In this paper, a novel approach is proposed for face detection in still image based on the AdaBoost algorithm. First, face candidates are detected by AdaBoost Algorithm. Since a lot of influence might exist, such as size of the image, illumination and noise, some non-faces windows might also be detected as face candidates, or some faces might be missed. In order to solve these problems and get better performances, we take use of skin color information in the YCbCr color space together with the edge information of the color image. In this way, we are able to remove some non-faces that have been wrongly detected as faces and add some possible missed faces as well. Experimental results show that the hit rate could be improved and false alarm could also be reduced by this method.
New Method for Obliterative Treatment of an Anterior Wall Aneurysm in the Internal Carotid Artery: Encircling Silicone Sheet Clip Procedure—Technical Case Report

OBJECTIVE AND IMPORTANCE Aneurysms on the anterior surface of the internal carotid artery (ICA) have been shown to be somewhat different from ordinary berry aneurysms because they are rather small, grow rapidly in a short time, and easily lead to rupture, especially during surgery. The most difficult problem is that this type of aneurysm cannot be eliminated easily by an ordinary clipping procedure without causing apparent arterial stenosis or occlusion. CLINICAL PRESENTATION A 52-year-old man experienced a subarachnoid hemorrhage because of a ruptured aneurysm located on the anterior surface of the ICA. The tiny aneurysmal body, which was covered with a layer of brain tissue, was successfully exposed. The ICA seemed to be atherosclerotic, and the aneurysmal portion was solitary and had a reddish color. TECHNIQUEA large silicone sheet encircling clip (Vascwrap; Mizuho Ikakogyo Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan) was selected for this patient. The proximal margin of the silicone sheet was incised with a V-shaped cut, and the middle part of the sheet, which covered the diagonal part of the ICA, was trimmed to make it shorter. The blade of the fenestrated clip was applied to obliterate the aneurysm and was attached to the normal arterial wall together with this modified Vascwrap sheet to create a small space between the normal arterial wall and the surrounding Vascwrap sheet. Then tiny pieces of Teflon fiber (E.I. duPont de Nemours and Co., Wilmington, DE) was inserted from both margins, and the whole Vascwrap sheet was sealed with fibrin glue to ensure good adhesion. CONCLUSIONThis method seemed adequate in treating this difficult aneurysm without causing postoperative regrowth or occlusion of the patient’s ICA.
Similarity Analysis and Clustering for Web Services Discovery: A Review

Web service discovery is becoming difficult task because of increasing Web services available on the Internet. As seeking for efficient web service discovery is main challenge for researchers, research in cluster analysis of web services has recently gained much attention due to the popularity of web services and the potential benefits that can be achieved from cluster analysis of web services like reducing the search space of a service search task. In this paper the authors will provide a review for different similarity analysis approaches used for clustering web services into similar groups for benefit of service discovery.
Bioprocessing of Lupin Cotyledons (Lupinus mutabilis) with Rhizopus oligosporus for Reduction of Quinolizidine Alkaloids

Lupin cotyledons are good source of nutrients such as proteins and lipids and around of 3.8% of toxic quinolizidine alkaloids difficult to extract. Previously It had reported by Tempeh fabrication was possible to achieve 90% of detoxification. Never before had been reported the incidence of variables of fermentation in the detoxification that could be useful for industrial scale up of process. In this investigation we studied the influence of moisture and particle size in elimination of alkaloids in a process of solid state fermentation with Rhizopus oligosporus. Wet material was fermented without forced aeration during 48 h testing two particle sizes, whole (W) and broken (B) particles. Moreover three moisture levels were evaluated at 40% (H-40), 50% (H-50) and 60% (H-60). Results showed maximum detoxification of 70.55% and 67.71% in broken cotyledons for H-60 and H-50 respectively. In whole cotyledons were achieved 64.26% and 61.08% for same moisture levels. In H-40 lower levels of degradation were showed with 47% and 52% for whole and broken particles respectively although water activity was over 0.9. Moisture over 50% did not cause a proportional increase in removal of alkaloids. Both factors, moisture and particle size influenced degradation; however less size had major incidence than moisture when water content was over 50%. Fermentation process could be useful as partial way to eliminate main toxins of Lupin.