Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Indoor tanning and non-melanoma skin cancer: systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective To synthesise the literature on indoor tanning and non-melanoma skin cancer. Design Systematic review and meta-analysis. Data sources PubMed (1966 to present), Embase (1974 to present), and Web of Science (1898 to present). Study selection All articles that reported an original effect statistic for indoor tanning and non-melanoma skin cancer were included. Articles that presented no data, such as review articles and editorials, were excluded, as were articles in languages other than English. Data extraction Two investigators independently extracted data. Random effects meta-analysis was used to summarise the relative risk of ever use versus never use of indoor tanning. Dose-response effects and exposure to indoor tanning during early life were also examined. The population attributable risk fraction for the United States population was calculated. Results 12 studies with 9328 cases of non-melanoma skin cancer were included. Among people who reported ever using indoor tanning compared with those who never used indoor tanning, the summary relative risk for squamous cell carcinoma was 1.67 (95% confidence interval 1.29 to 2.17) and that for basal cell carcinoma was 1.29 (1.08 to 1.53). No significant heterogeneity existed between studies. The population attributable risk fraction for the United States was estimated to be 8.2% for squamous cell carcinoma and 3.7% for basal cell carcinoma. This corresponds to more than 170 000 cases of non-melanoma skin cancer each year attributable to indoor tanning. On the basis of data from three studies, use of indoor tanning before age 25 was more strongly associated with both squamous cell carcinoma (relative risk 2.02, 0.70 to 5.86) and basal cell carcinoma (1.40, 1.29 to 1.52). Conclusions Indoor tanning is associated with a significantly increased risk of both basal and squamous cell skin cancer. The risk is higher with use in early life (<25 years). This modifiable risk factor may account for hundreds of thousands of cases of non-melanoma skin cancer each year in the United States alone and many more worldwide. These findings contribute to the growing body of evidence on the harms of indoor tanning and support public health campaigns and regulation to reduce exposure to this carcinogen.
The Kinematics and Dynamics of Space Manipulators: The Virtual Manipulator Approach

Future robotic manipulator systems will be required to per form complex tasks in space such as satellite repair. These robotic manipulators will encounter a number of kinematic, dynamic, and control problems caused by the dynamic coup ling between the manipulators and its spacecraft. This dy namic coupling also makes it difficult to analyze these sys tems. This paper introduces a new analytical modeling method for space manipulators called the Virtual Manipula tor (VM), which has a fixed base in inertial space at a point called a Virtual Ground. The kinematics and dynamics of the manipulator, spacecraft, and payload can be described relatively easily in terms of the VM. With its fixed base, the Virtual Manipulator is shown to have the potential to be an effective aid for the analysis, design, and development of future space manipulator systems.
Na+, K(+)-ATPase inhibitory activity of fractionated urine during changes in dietary sodium intake in man.

Na+, K(+)-ATPase inhibitory activity in urine fractionated by HPLC was quantified in 7 normotensive male subjects during changes in dietary sodium intake. Subjects were studied on free sodium intake for 2 days, on low sodium intake (2 g/day) for 3 days, on high sodium intake (22 g/day) for 4 days and subsequently on normal sodium intake (6 g/day) for 2 days. Na+, K(+)-ATPase inhibitory activity in fraction 10 eluted with 17% acetonitrile by reverse-phase HPLC was 12.3 +/- 5.2% (mean +/- S.D.) on free sodium intake, 8.7 +/- 9.8% on the 3rd day of low sodium intake, 61.2 +/- 6.6% on the 4th day of high sodium intake, and 20.5% +/- 0.7% on the 2nd day of the normal sodium intake. Changes in Na+, K(+)-ATPase inhibitory activity of fraction 10 were closely associated with those in urinary sodium excretion. These results suggest that an endogenous Na+, K(+)-ATPase inhibitor(s) which plays a physiological role in the control of sodium and water balance may exist in this particular fraction.
The Chlamydial Plasmid-Encoded Protein pgp3 Is Secreted into the Cytosol of Chlamydia-Infected Cells

ABSTRACT The chlamydial cryptic plasmid encodes eight putative open reading frames (ORFs), designated pORF1 to -8. Antibodies raised against these ORF proteins were used to localize the endogenous proteins during chlamydial infection. We found that the pORF5 protein (also known as pgp3) was detected mainly in the cytosol of Chlamydia-infected cells, while the remaining seven proteins were found inside the chlamydial inclusions only. The pgp3 distribution pattern in the host cell cytosol is similar to but not overlapping with that of chlamydial protease/proteasome-like activity factor (CPAF), a chlamydial genome-encoded protein known to be secreted from chlamydial inclusions into the host cell cytosol. The anti-pgp3 labeling was removed by preabsorption with pgp3 but not CPAF fusion proteins and vice versa, demonstrating that pgp3 is a unique secretion protein. This conclusion is further supported by the observation that pgp3 was highly enriched in cytosolic fractions and had a minimal presence in the inclusion-containing nuclear fractions prepared from Chlamydia-infected cells. The pgp3 protein was detected as early as 12 h after infection and was secreted by all chlamydial species that carry the cryptic plasmid, suggesting that there is a selection pressure for maintaining pgp3 secretion during chlamydial infection. Although expression of pgp3 in the host cell cytosol via a transgene did not alter the susceptibility of the transfected cells to the subsequent chlamydial infection, purified pgp3 protein stimulated macrophages to release inflammatory cytokines, suggesting that pgp3 may contribute to chlamydial pathogenesis.
Perinatal Risk Factors for Diabetes in Later Life

OBJECTIVE—Low birth weight is consistently associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes in adulthood, but the individual contributions from poor fetal growth and preterm birth are not known. We therefore investigated the significance of these two factors separately. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—We identified a cohort of subjects born preterm or with low birth weight at term at four major delivery units in Sweden from 1925 through 1949. A comparison cohort of subjects was identified from the same source population. Of 6,425 subjects in all, 2,931 were born at <37 weeks of gestation and 2,176 had a birth weight <2,500 g. Disease occurrence among participants was assessed through nationwide hospital registers from 1987 through 2006. RESULTS—During follow-up, there were 508 cases of diabetes. Low birth weight was strongly negatively associated with risk of diabetes (P for trend <0.0001). Both short gestational duration and poor fetal growth were associated with later diabetes (P for trend <0.0001 and <0.0004, respectively). Very preterm birth (≤32 weeks of gestation at birth) was associated with a hazard ratio (HR) of 1.67 (95% CI 1.33–2.11) compared with term birth. Birth weights below 2 SDs of mean birth weight for gestational age were associated with an HR of 1.76 (1.30–2.38) compared with birth weights between the mean weight and the weight at 1 SD above the mean. CONCLUSIONS—Our results suggest that the association between low birth weight and diabetes is due to factors associated with both poor fetal growth and short gestational age.
Understanding chilling responses in Arabidopsis seeds and their contribution to life history

Winter chilling is of central importance in the phenology of temperate annual and perennial plants. Chilling accelerates flowering through the process of vernalization and breaks both bud and seed dormancy, permitting the onset of growth in the spring. The quantitative effects of chilling in floral promotion in winter annual Arabidopsis accessions are well-documented, but very little is known about the basic physiology underlying summer annual responses to winter chilling, which acts on seeds within the soil seed bank. Here, we analyse the response of wild accessions to extended chilling in seeds, and explore the interaction between seed-maturation temperature and chilling responses. We show that two weeks of chilling induces secondary dormancy, and that this time period is not dependent on seed-maturation temperature. In addition, we found that seeds for most accessions set under simulated summer conditions in the laboratory are unable to overwinter in the soil seed bank, as they germinate without light during extended chilling treatments. This shows that these seeds are committed to re-establishment in the same growing season. Understanding how winter chilling affects the timing of Arabidopsis phenology will enable us to explore the genetics behind adaptation to changing climates, and inform rational approaches to breeding crops with improved performance under new climate scenarios and develop a systems ecology of Arabidopsis.
Conformity of pre-gestational weight measurement and agreement of anthropometric data reported by pregnant women and those recorded in prenatal cards, City of Rio de Janeiro, 2007-2008.

OBJECTIVE To assess the conformity of the weight measurement process in the pre-gestational care offered in the city of Rio de Janeiro by primary units and hospitals of the National Health System, as well as to verify the agreement between the anthropometric data reported by pregnant women and those recorded in prenatal cards. METHOD A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2007 - 2008 with two cluster samples: one to obtain a sample of pregnant women to be interviewed and another one for the weight measurement procedures to be observed. The conformity of the weight measurement process was evaluated according to the Ministry of Health standards, and the agreement between the two sources of anthropometric data was evaluated using mean differences, Bland-Altman method, intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and weighted Kappa. RESULTS Out of the twelve criteria for weight measurement evaluation (n = 159 observations), three weren't in conformity (< 50% of conformity), two of them only need to be assessed when the scale is mechanical. For the interviewed pregnant women (n = 2,148), who had the two sources of anthropometric data, there was a tendency of self-reported height overestimation and pre-gestational and current weight and Body Mass Index underestimation. Accordance between the two sources of anthropometric information, according to ICC and weighted Kappa, were high (> 0.80). CONCLUSION Studies may use weight and height information reported by pregnant women, in the absence of prenatal cards records, when it is an important economy to their execution, although the improvement of these two sources of information by means of better anthropometric process is necessary.
Evaluating and selecting testing tools

A system using process and forms to give managers and tool evaluators a reliable way to identify the tool that best fits their organization's needs is discussed. It is shown that a tool evaluator must analyze user needs, establish selection criteria (including general criteria, environment-dependent criteria, tool-dependent functional criteria, tool-dependent nonfunctional criteria, and weighting), search for tools, select the tools, and then reevaluate the tools. Forms for recording tool selection criteria, classifying testing tools, profiling tool-to-organization interconnections, creating hardware and software profiles, and creating tool-interconnection profiles are presented. It is argued that, with these forms, evaluators have a reasonably accurate and consistent system for identifying and quantifying user needs, establishing tool-selection criteria, finding available tools, and selecting tools and estimating return on investment. <<ETX>>
Counting orbits of integral points in families of affine homogeneous varieties and diagonal flows

In this paper, we study the distribution of integral points on parametric families of affine homogeneous varieties. By the work of Borel and Harish-Chandra, the set of integral points on each such variety consists of finitely many orbits of arithmetic groups, and we establish an asymptotic formula (on average) for the number of the orbits indexed by their Siegel weights. In particular, we deduce asymptotic formulas for the number of inequivalent integral representations by decomposable forms and by norm forms in division algebras, and for the weighted number of equivalence classes of integral points on sections of quadrics. Our arguments use the exponential mixing property of diagonal flows on homogeneous spaces.
Acoustical and Conceptual Information for the Perception of Animate and Inanimate Sound Sources

Is the sound of a train whistling more similar to the sound of the wheels of a train or to the sound of your whistle? This question addresses the comparative relevance of acoustical and conceptual information to the perceived similarity of sound events. The answer to this question has theoretical and methodological consequences for the field of sound source perception, and for the behaviorally informed synthesis of environmental sounds. Hierarchical sorting was used to collect measures of the similarity of large sets of animate or inanimate sounds in naive listeners. Results were compared with those from two other conditions based on the same data–collection technique. Conceptual similarity was measured by presenting the sound source identification labels (written words) collected during a free–identification experiment. Acoustical similarity was measured on heard sounds, after participants received a training meant to minimize the effects of conceptual information on sorting. Acoustical similarity was only weakly correlated with conceptual similarity, proving the effectiveness of the training methodology in the acoustical condition. Also, naive listeners focused on conceptual and acoustical information when judging the similarity of animate and inanimate sound events, respectively. Theoretical and methodological consequences of these results are discussed. [
Two Approaches for Generating Size Modifiers

This paper offers a solution to a small problem within a much larger problem. We focus on modelling how people use size in reference, words like "big" and "tall", which is one piece within the much larger problem of how people refer to visible objects. Examining size in isolation allows us to begin untangling a few of the complex and interacting features that affect reference, and we isolate a set of features that may be used in a hand-coded algorithm or a machine learning approach to generate one of six basic size types. The hand-coded algorithm generates a modifier type with a high correspondence to those observed in human data, and achieves 81.3% accuracy in an entirely new domain. This trails oracle accuracy for this task by just 8%. Features used by the hand-coded algorithm are added to a larger set of features in the machine learning approach, and we do not find a statistically significant difference between the precision and recall of the two systems. The input and output of these systems are a novel characterization of the factors that affect referring expression generation, and the methods described here may serve as one building block in future work connecting vision to language.
Defining Relative Likelihood in Partially-Ordered Preferential Structures

Starting with a likelihood or preference order on worlds, we extend it to a likelihood ordering on sets of worlds in a natural way, and examine the resulting logic. Lewis [1973] earlier considered such a notion of relative likelihood in the context of studying counterfactuals, but he assumed a total preference order on worlds. Complications arise when examining partial orders that are not present for total orders. There are subtleties involving the exact approach to lifting the order on worlds to an order on sets of worlds. In addition, the axiomatization of the logic of relative likelihood in the case of partial orders gives insight into the connection between relative likelihood and default reasoning.
Lymphocyte Transformation in Malnourished Children

In vitro lymphocyte stimulation with phytohaemagglutinin gave subnormal transformation values in children with protein-calorie malnutrition. It is suggested that impaired cell-mediated immunity may be one important mechanism for the susceptibility of malnourished children to infections. Lymphocyte transformation was also subnormal in children with measles and gastroenteritis but tended to be increased in pneumonia.
Capital social y cooperativas: la experiencia en el País Vasco

The Basque Country is internationally known for the strength of its cooperative movement. We are talking about the cultural roots of each community. From which live; the civic traditions, the norms of reciprocity the social commitment webs, the confidence and the shared attitudes and values that help people to reach the conflict and the competitivity, in order to make up relations of co-operation and mutual help under the shape of collective action. These are the necessary culture medium in order real specialists in co-operatives can spout up. Then, we will present the proper characteristics of cooperativism and its contributions to the social capital, with special incident to the developed experiment in the Basque Country. The cooperatives are based on the values of self-help, selfresponsibility, democracy, equality, equity and solidarity. Following the tradition of their founders, the co-operative members make the ethical values of honesty, transparency, responsibility and social vocation theirs. These are the principles and values that inspire real specialist in co-operatives, and the ones in which we encounter clear references to elements of social capital:, shared attitudes and values, participation and solidarity-inside and out of the group as well- co-operation, mutual help, common action, engagement with the community, and social responsibility.
The relation of membrane changes to contraction in twitch muscle fibres

1. Contractile responses in short twitch‐type snake muscle fibres have been studied. These fibres are sufficiently short to allow fairly uniform changes in membrane potential along their length when current is passed through an intracellular micropipette. Active sodium permeability changes were blocked with tetrodotoxin (TTX), procaine, or by using solutions low in sodium. Current and voltage micropipettes were used to voltage‐clamp these fibres. Depolarization steps to about −40 mV evoked contractile responses, maximal tension being developed between −10 and 0 mV. The relation between contraction and membrane potential was sigmoid.
Double-threshold admission control in cluster-based micro/picocellular wireless networks

In this paper, we propose a call admission control policy for cluster-based micro/picocellular wireless networks. The proposed call admission policy employs two levels of admission thresholds: one at the cluster level and the other at the cell level. The performance of the proposed policy is compared with that of the policy proposed by Naghshineh et al. (see J. High-Speed Networks, vol.4, no.5, p.53-71, 1996). Our results show that, under the condition that both policies provide the same predetermined maximum level of call hand-off dropping probability, the proposed call admission policy provides significantly lower call handoff dropping probability and significantly higher call success probability and throughput than the policy proposed previously.
Honey Prophylaxis Reduces the Risk of Endophthalmitis During Perioperative Period of Eye Surgery

Endophthalmitis following eye surgery remains a rare but serious complication. Topical fluoroquinolones have been used as prophylactic agents against endophthalmitis. However, the emerging resistance of ocular pathogens to fluoroquinolones may preclude their routine use. Honey, a natural antimicrobial product with wound healing properties, is a promising candidate for the prophylaxis of endophthalmitis. The goal of this study was to determine whether 25% (w/v) honey solution is effective in eradicating bacterial ocular pathogens in the perioperative period in patients scheduled for cataract surgery or vitrectomy, and to compare its efficacy to 0.3% ofloxacin. In this pilot study, 101 patients were randomized to honey (n = 49) or ofloxacin (n = 52) treatment. In both groups, eye drops were administered five times a day for 7 days before and 5 days after surgery. Before administration of the antibacterial agents, 18 and 25 isolates were detected in the ofloxacin and honey group, respectively. After 7 days of administration, four isolates (coagulase‐negative Staphylococcus) were detected in each therapeutic group. No significant difference in antibacterial effect was found between groups. These results indicate that honey may act as a prophylactic agent of endophthalmitis; however, further studies are needed to characterize its ocular penetration properties. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Long-term use of adalimumab in the treatment of rheumatic diseases

Adalimumab, a fully humanized monoclonal antibody against tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFα), has been evaluated in various randomized placebo-controlled trials in rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis and juvenile idiopathic arthritis. In the short time frame of these trials adalimumab has been shown to be effective in reducing disease activity, slowing radiographic disease progression and improving patients’ quality of life, while at the same time demonstrating an acceptable safety profile. Furthermore, release of adalimumab on the market, prospective observational studies, as well as open-label extensions of the original double-blind trials have provided experience and data about the long-term efficacy and safety of the drug. Initial effectiveness, in terms of reducing disease activity, is sustained, while in most cases patients treated with adalimumab experienced a slower radiographic progression and consequently less disability and improved health-related quality-of-life outcomes. Moreover, long-standing treatment of thousands of patients with adalimumab outside the controlled context of clinical trials was not related to new safety signals, with the most common adverse events being respiratory infections. The most common serious adverse events seem to be tuberculosis reactivation, while a putative association with malignant lymphoma development is not yet proven. Besides, both of these adverse reactions pertain to the whole TNFα blocker group. In conclusion, adalimumab is a safe and effective option for the treatment of patients with rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis and juvenile idiopathic arthritis.
Context aware model for articulated human pose estimation

Simple tree model prevails for 2D pose estimation for its simplicity and efficiency. However, the limited kinetic constraints often lead to double-counting and damage the accuracy of leaf parts, and this is largely ignored in previous work. In this paper, we propose a novel enhanced tree model which incorporates both local kinetic constraints and global contextual constraints among non-adjacent parts. By introducing virtual parts, we are able to model richer constraints within a tree structure and dynamic programming can be utilized for efficient inference. Experiments on public benchmarks show that our method is more effective in tackling double counting problem and can improve the localization accuracy, especially for the challenging lower limbs.