Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Subjective Well-Being of Parents of Children with Developmental Disabilities: The Role of Hope as Predictor and Fosterer of Well-Being

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to identify factors that can improve the subjective well-being (SWB) of parents of children with a developmental disability, expand the knowledge relating to the role of hope in their lives, and improve the extent to which parent appraisals of the influence of the disability (on the couple's relationship, family functioning, and personal development) moderate this association. The results revealed that parental SWB was below the societal average; however, it differed significantly across levels of parent appraisals of their child's disability. Findings from this study point to the importance of hope to improve parental SWB.
Follow-up Testing of Interferon-Gamma Release Assays Are Useful in Ankylosing Spondylitis Patients Receiving Anti-Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha for Latent Tuberculosis Infection

We evaluated the utility of follow-up interferon-gamma release assays (IGRAs) for the diagnosis of reactivation of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) or new tuberculosis in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients receiving anti-tumor necrosis factor alpha (anti-TNFα). The study participants (n=127) had a negative IGRA screening before receiving anti-TNFα and were evaluated by follow-up IGRA. We retrospectively examined data of the subjects according to age, gender, tuberculosis prophylaxis, concomitant medications, IGRA conversion and anti-TNFα, including type and treatment duration. The median duration of anti-TNFα was 21.5 months, and the median age was 35.3 yr. Of the 127 patients, IGRA conversion was found in 10 patients (7.9%). There was no significant variation between IGRA conversion rate and any risk factors except for age. IGRA conversion rate was not significantly different between AS and rheumatoid arthritis (P=0.12). IGRA conversion was observed in AS patients receiving anti-TNFα in Korea. A follow-up IGRA test can be helpful for identifying LTBI or new tuberculosis in AS patients receiving anti-TNFα. Graphical Abstract
Maximizing the Utility of a Computer Service using Adaptive Optimal Control

This paper describes a control system that aims to maximize the value or utility obtained from a computer service (e.g., e-commerce system and networked file system) that is shared by multiple customers. Each customer has negotiated contractual performance objectives, such as response time bounds and minimum throughput bounds, with the service provider. It is the service provider's goal to maximize the utility it gets from serving these customers workloads less any penalties for not meeting the contracted performance goals. Our design consists of a MIMO adaptive optimal controller coupled with a nonlinear optimizer. The optimizer uses the model produced by the estimator in the adaptive controller to calculate the performance goals that maximizes the utility of the service. These goals are the references to the controller that aims to meet these by dynamically allocating the share of computing resources that each customer receives. Experimental results from a 3-tier e-commerce site shows that our approach can indeed meet latency and throughput goals and maximize the utility of the system, even when the system and the workload change significantly
A SPECTROSCOPIC EXAMINATION OF ACCRETION DIAGNOSTICS FOR NEAR SOLAR MASS STARS IN IC 348

High-resolution optical and moderate-resolution near-infrared spectra were obtained for 40 near solar mass (∼2.0–0.5 M☉) members of the 2–3 Myr old cluster IC 348 in order to examine established accretion diagnostics and the coupling between inner disk gas and hot, micron-sized dust grains inferred from thermal and mid-infrared excesses. The stellar sample was drawn from the cluster census of Luhman in 2003 with membership being confirmed by radial velocity analysis and the presence of strong Li i λ6708 absorption. Of the stars included in this survey, 12 were classified by Lada in 2006 as hosting primordial, optically thick circumstellar disks, 5 as weak or transition disk systems, and 23 as non-excess stars using the measured slope of the stellar spectral energy distribution (SED) through the four Infrared Array Camera channels (3.6–8.0 μm) of Spitzer Space Telescope. Using the velocity width of Hα as an accretion indicator, we find that 11 primordial disk candidates are suspected accretors, suggesting a strong correlation between gaseous inner disks and optically thick dust emission. Of the five weak or transition disk systems observed, two (L21 and L67) exhibit spectroscopic features indicative of accretion. The presence of gas within the inner disk of these systems, which are free of infrared excess emission shortward of ∼4.5 μm, may place constraints upon the physical mechanism responsible for inner disk clearing. Mass accretion rates () were determined for all suspected accretors using continuum excess measurements near λ6500 and established relationships between He i λ5876, Hα, Ca ii λ8542, Paβ, and Brγ line fluxes and accretion luminosity. values were found to range from log to −7.2 M☉ yr−1, with a median value of −8.1 M☉ yr−1. Magnetospheric accretion models of Hα, Paβ, and Brγ emission by Muzerolle et al. and Kurosawa et al. are found to be in relative agreement with observed fluxes and derived estimates. He i λ10830 with its metastable lower level is confirmed to be a critical indicator of magnetospheric accretion, although deep subcontinuum absorption profiles often associated with its emission are not fully understood. No statistically significant correlation is found between and the slope of the SED from 3.6 to 8.0 μm or from 8.0 to 24.0 μm; however, the small number of suspected accretors examined does not allow broader conclusions to be drawn.
Clinical characteristics, hematology, and biochemical analytes of primary omasal impaction in bovines

This study was conducted on 11 animals (7 buffaloes and 4 cows) diagnosed with primary omasal impaction. In all the cases, laparorumenotomy was performed and omasal impaction was confirmed based on the consistency of the omasal contents along with an empty abomasum. Signalment, history, clinical signs, clinic-pathologic findings, and treatment were determined. Clinical examination was found to be helpful in subjective assessment of omasal impaction but could not aid in definitive diagnosis. Pain on palpation of the omasal area along with rectal findings could be a diagnostic feature. Neutrophilic leukocytosis was observed in a majority of animals. Total bilirubin, glucose, lactate, BUN, and fibrinogen, as well as activities of aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, and gamma-glutamyltransferase were significantly high in the primary omasal impaction group compared to the control group. Albumin, fibrinogen ratio, calcium, and chloride were significantly low in the primary omasal impaction group. The negative prognostic signs were neutrophilic leukocytosis with marked left shift and toxic changes in neutrophils, chloride levels below 70 mmol/L, potassium below 2 mmol/L, lactate above 9 mmol/L, and highly distended omasum on rumenotomy. Primary omasal impaction should be included in the differential diagnosis of diseases associated with cessation of defecation and abdominal pain.
Promoter Region Hypermethylation and mRNA Expression of MGMT and p16 Genes in Tissue and Blood Samples of Human Premalignant Oral Lesions and Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Promoter methylation and relative gene expression of O6-methyguanine-DNA-methyltransferase (MGMT) and p16 genes were examined in tissue and blood samples of patients with premalignant oral lesions (PMOLs) and oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Methylation-specific PCR and reverse transcriptase PCR were performed in 146 tissue and blood samples from controls and patients with PMOLs and OSCC. In PMOL group, significant promoter methylation of MGMT and p16 genes was observed in 59% (P = 0.0010) and 57% (P = 0.0016) of tissue samples, respectively, and 39% (P = 0.0135) and 33% (P = 0.0074) of blood samples, respectively. Promoter methylation of both genes was more frequent in patients with OSCC, that is, 76% (P = 0.0001) and 82% (P = 0.0001) in tissue and 57% (P = 0.0002) and 70% (P = 0.0001) in blood, respectively. Significant downregulation of MGMT and p16 mRNA expression was observed in both tissue and blood samples from patients with PMOLs and OSCC. Hypermethylation-induced transcriptional silencing of MGMT and p16 genes in both precancer and cancer suggests important role of these changes in progression of premalignant state to malignancy. Results support use of blood as potential surrogate to tissue samples for screening or diagnosing PMOLs and early OSCC.
Type II collagen degradation in spontaneous osteoarthritis in C57Bl/6 and BALB/c mice.

OBJECTIVE Degradation of type II collagen during osteoarthritis (OA) is thought to be the key process leading to cartilage destruction. In this study, we investigated whether OA is characterized by either a generalized breakdown of the collagenous network or a localized process. Furthermore, we determined if collagen degradation was linked to cell death. METHODS Two mouse strains that develop spontaneous OA, C57Bl/6 and BALB/c mice, were examined. Type II collagen degradation in type II collagen-induced arthritis was also examined for comparison. Immunolocalization with the COL2-3/4m and COL2-3/4C antibodies was used to demonstrate denatured type II collagen and the collagenase cleavage site in type II collagen, respectively. RESULTS Both the C57Bl/6 and the BALB/c mice developed OA changes, although clear compartmental differences existed between the two strains. In both strains, type II collagen degradation was clearly present at sites of degeneration, but was absent from intact articular cartilage. Collagen degradation was absent from areas with cell death. CONCLUSION These results indicate that type II collagen degradation in spontaneous murine OA is associated with degeneration and is a localized, instead of a generalized, process.
A novel shuttle vector for Streptomyces spp. and Escherichia coli as a tool in site-directed mutagenesis.

This paper describes the construction and utilization of a novel shuttle vector for Streptomyces spp. and Escherichia coli as a useful vector in site-directed mutagenesis. The shuttle vector pIAFS20 (6.7 kb) has the following features: a replicon for Streptomyces spp. , isolated from plasmid pIJ702; the thiostrepton-resistance gene as a selective marker in Streptomyces; the ColE1 origin, allowing replication in E. coli; and the ampicillin-resistance gene as a selective marker in E. coli. Vector pIAFS20 also contains the phage f1 intergenic region, which permits production of single-stranded DNA in E. coli after superinfection with helper phage M13K07. Moreover, the lac promoter is located in front of the multiple cloning sites cassette, allowing eventual expression of the cloned genes in E. coli. After mutagenesis and screening of the mutants in E. coli, the plasmids can be readily used to transform Streptomyces spp. As a demonstration, a 3.2-kb DNA fragment containing the gene encoding the xylanase A from Streptomyces lividans 1326 was inserted into pIAFS20, and the promoter region of this gene served as a target for site-directed mutagenesis. The two deletions reported here confirm the efficiency of this new vector as a tool in mutagenesis.
The Polyserine Tract of Herpes Simplex Virus ICP4 Is Required for Normal Viral Gene Expression and Growth in Murine Trigeminal Ganglia

ABSTRACT ICP4 of herpes simplex virus (HSV) is essential for productive infection due to its central role in the regulation of HSV transcription. This study identified a region of ICP4 that is not required for viral growth in culture or at the periphery of experimentally inoculated mice but is critical for productive growth in the trigeminal ganglia. This region of ICP4 encompasses amino acids 184 to 198 and contains 13 nearly contiguous serine residues that are highly conserved among the alphaherpesviruses. A mutant in which this region is deleted (ΔSER) was able to grow on the corneas of mice and be transported back to the trigeminal ganglia. ΔSER did not grow in the trigeminal ganglia but did express low levels of several immediate-early (ICP4 and ICP27) and early (thymidine kinase [tk] and UL42) genes. It expressed very low levels of the late gC gene and did not appear to replicate DNA. This pattern of gene expression was similar to that observed for a tk mutant,dlsptk. Both ΔSER and dlsptk expressed higher levels of the latency-associated transcript (LAT) per genome earlier in infected ganglia than did the wild-type virus, KOS. However, infected ganglia from all three viruses accumulated the same level of LAT per genome at 30 days postinfection (during latency). The data suggest that the polyserine tract of ICP4 provides an activity that is required for lytic infection in ganglia to progress to viral DNA synthesis and full lytic gene expression. In the absence of this activity, higher levels of LAT per genome accumulate earlier in infection than with wild-type virus.
Integration of the MODFLOW Lak7 package in the FREEWAT GIS modelling environment

: The MODFLOW Lake Package is integrated into the FREEWAT GIS environment in order to simulate surface water - groundwater interaction using state of the art techniques for numerical simulations, thus allowing the improved consideration of surface water bodies for water resources management. Surface water bodies, both stationary and flowing, can strongly affect groundwater elevations and flow patterns which in turn may affect the qualitative and quantitative state of groundwater resources. With the advancement of numerical simulation techniques and increased model complexity, FREEWAT facilitates the usage of the lake package through existing QGIS tools to edit model layer geometry as well as an intuitive and simple user interface for the specification of constant and time variable lake properties as defined through MODFLOW.
Psychotherapy in adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: implications for treatment and research

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a risk factor for co-occurring psychiatric disorders and negative psychosocial consequences in adulthood. Previous trials of psychotherapeutic programs for adult ADHD were based on cognitive behavioral psychotherapeutic approaches and showed significant effects. Targets of psychotherapeutic interventions include not only coping with the core symptoms and associated problems such as depression and anxiety, but also probable consequences such as low self-esteem. Improvements in ADHD symptomatology and associated symptoms have been reported after psychotherapeutic treatment. The support of other participants is strongly regarded as helpful by patients in group therapy. This manuscript provides an overview of psychotherapy approaches and results of studies evaluating programs developed to treat adults with ADHD. Finally, the specific requirements of psychotherapy for adult ADHD as well as further research questions will be discussed.
A new hybrid neural-genetic methodology for improving learning

A new hybrid neural-generic methodology is presented that exploits the optimization advantages of genetic algorithms for the purpose of accelerating neural network training. The choice of fitness function is addressed and experimental findings are shown where neural network training is improved through the proposed approach. The results suggest that genetic algorithms can be a powerful tool for improving learning in neural networks.
The Automated Prediction of Hearing Thresholds in Sleeping Subjects Using Auditory Steady‐State Evoked Potentials

Objective To examine the relationship between auditory steady-state evoked potentials (SSEPs) and behavioral thresholds in sleeping subjects. Design 60 adults and children with hearing thresholds ranging from normal to profound were selected on the basis of appropriate audiograms. Behavioral audiograms were determined at the octave frequencies 250-4000 Hz. These behavioral thresholds were then compared with the SSEP thresholds obtained during natural sleep for adults, or natural or sedated sleep for children. Results A strong relationship between behavioral and SSEP thresholds was observed. The strength of the relationship increased with increasing frequency and increasing degree of the loss. On the basis of these data, the prediction of behavioral thresholds from SSEP levels was determined. It was found that the standard deviation of the error in this prediction decreased with increasing frequency and increasing degree of the loss. There was no significant age effect in the results obtained at any of the frequencies. Conclusion The results suggest that the SSEP technique can be used as a predictor of behavioral thresholds in adults and children at the frequencies 250-4000 Hz.
Integration host factor binds specifically to multiple sites in the ompB promoter of Escherichia coli and inhibits transcription

Escherichia coli integration host factor (IHF) is a DNA-binding protein that participates in gene regulation, site-specific recombination, and other processes in E. coli and some of its bacteriophages and plasmids. In the present study, we showed that IHF is a direct negative effector of the ompB operon of E. coli. Gel retardation experiments and DNase I footprinting studies revealed that IHF binds to three sites in the ompB promoter region. In vitro transcription from ompB promoter fragments was specifically blocked by IHF. In vivo experiments showed that IHF is a negative effector of ompB expression in growing cells. Analysis of IHF binding site mutations strongly suggested that IHF binding in the ompB promoter region is necessary for the negative effects seen in vivo.
Design of a new discharge power supply for ion engine

JAXA has researched the Super Low Altitude Test Satellite (SLATS) for next generation earth observing satellite. We started research and development of a new IES in order to apply for the SLATS program. In this paper, we describe the preliminary design results of the IES configuration plan for the SLATS, performance requirements of the power processing control unit (PPCU) and the developments results of the bread board of model (BBM) of this discharge power supply.
Secure multi‐factor remote user authentication scheme for Internet of Things environments

Because of the exponential growth of Internet of Things (IoT), several services are being developed. These services can be accessed through smart gadgets by the user at any place, every time and anywhere. This makes security and privacy central to IoT environments. In this paper, we propose a lightweight, robust, and multi‐factor remote user authentication and key agreement scheme for IoT environments. Using this protocol, any authorized user can access and gather real‐time sensor data from the IoT nodes. Before gaining access to any IoT node, the user must first get authenticated by the gateway node as well as the IoT node. The proposed protocol is based on XOR and hash operations, and includes: (i) a 3‐factor authentication (ie, password, biometrics, and smart device); (ii) mutual authentication; (iii) shared session key; and (iv) key freshness. It satisfies desirable security attributes and maintains acceptable efficiency in terms of the computational overheads for resource constrained IoT environment. Further, the informal and formal security analysis using AVISPA proves security strength of the protocol and its robustness against all possible security threats. Simulation results also prove that the scheme is secure against attacks.
Albumin stimulates uptake of calcium into subcellular stores in rat cortical astrocytes.

1. When albumin from either plasma or serum is applied at low concentrations to cortical astrocytes a decrease in the level of [Ca2+]i is observed. At higher concentrations trains of calcium spikes are seen. 2. Removal of the polar lipids which are normally bound to native albumin abolishes the ability to induce spikes, but the decrease in [Ca2+]i is unaffected. The decrease is abolished by the denaturation of albumin and is not reproduced by a number of other proteins, and is therefore a specific action of albumin. We conclude that native albumin has a dual agonist action: the decrease in [Ca2+]i is induced by the albumin protein molecule, while the spikes are induced by a lipid normally bound to it. 3. The decrease is rapid (fastest tau = 12 s) and the rate is dependent on the concentration of albumin. [Ca2+]i falls from 77 nM to around 34 nM in the presence of saturating levels of albumin, and this level appears to be maintained indefinitely. 4. The decrease is due to an uptake of calcium into subcellular stores, as it is not abolished by removal of external Ca2+ or Na+ but is abolished by thapsigargin and cyclopiazonic acid, which are specific inhibitors of the endoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+)‐ATPase. 5. When the state of store filling after albumin application is probed with a pulse of glutamate it can be seen that stores fill with the same time course as the decrease in [Ca2+]i. The low level of [Ca2+]i in albumin must therefore be maintained by a suppression of calcium influx rather than by a continued uptake into stores. 6. The calcium uptake potentiates the efficacy of low concentrations of calcium‐releasing agonists such as glutamate and bradykinin by almost an order of magnitude. 7. A possible function for the calcium uptake caused by albumin is to potentiate the production of calcium spike trains by promoting refilling of calcium stores in the intervals between spikes. The uptake may play a role in the response of astrocytes to damage in the CNS.
An introduction to UWB communication systems

Ultra-wideband (UWB) wireless communication is a revolutionary technology for transmitting large amounts of digital data over a wide frequency spectrum using short-pulse, low powered radio signals. UWB commonly refers to a signal or system that either has a large relative bandwidth (BW) that exceeds 20% or a large absolute bandwidth of more than 500 MHz. A 14 February 2002 report and order by the federal communications commission (FCC) authorizes the unlicensed use of UWB in 3.1--10.6 GHz. This is intended to provide an efficient use of scarce radio bandwidth while enabling both high data rate personal area network (PAN) wireless connectivity and longer-range, low data rate applications as well as radar and imaging systems.