Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
“Vivo para consumirla y la consumo para vivir” [“I live to inject and inject to live”]: High-Risk Injection Behaviors in Tijuana, Mexico

Injection drug use is a growing problem on the US-mexico border, where Tijuana is situated. We studied the context of injection drug use among injection drug users (IDUs) in Tijuana to help guide future research and interventions. Guided indepth interviews were conducted with 10 male and 10 female current IDUs in Tijuana. Topics included types of drug used, injection settings, access to sterile needles, and environmental influences. Interviews were taped, transcribed verbatim, and translated. Content analysis was conducted to identify themes. Of the 20 IDUs, median age and age at first injection were 30 and 18. Most reported injecting at least daily: heroin (“carga,” “chiva”, “negra”), methamphetamine (“crico,” “cri-cri”), or both drugs combined. In sharp contrast to Western US cities, almost all regularly attended shooting galleries (“yongos” or “picaderos”) because of the difficulties obtaining syringes and police oppression. Almost all shared needles/paraphernalia [“cuete” (syringe), “cacharros” (cookers), cotton from sweaters/socks (filters)]. Some reported obtaining syringes from the United States. Key themes included (1) pharmacies refusing to sell or charging higher prices to IDUs, (2) ample availability of used/rented syringes from “picaderos” (e.g., charging approximately 5 pesos or “10 drops” of drug), and (3) poor HIV/AIDS knowledge, such as beliefs that exposing syringes to air “kills germs. ” This qualitative study suggests that IDUs in Tijuana are at high risk of HIV and other blood-borne infections. Interventions are urgently needed to expand access to sterile injection equipment and offset the potential for a widespread HIV epidemic.
The Research on Aggregate Analysis of the Regulatory Detailed Planning by considering the Traffic Capacity

The regulatory detailed planning is substantive legal planning stage of urban planning in China. The first problem is the need to check and inheritance the indicators of total planning land about construction in the process of compiling. According to city zoning rules establishment work reality, the basic thought of the system analysis, the traffic engineering and urban planning in the related theory and method on the basis of macroscopic traffic flow classification, using the road network capacity calculation method and traffic distribution forecasting method proposed with interregional channel planning level of service and the internal road network planning level of service as the control target, proposes the method by using the master planning road network control to inversely calculate the total amount for the construction of district land use. The calculation example is also given. Studies show that the presented control rules compiled for checking algorithm can play check function about the amount of land used for construction master planning achieve under the premise of the control overall situation trunk road network level of service, to avoid the amount of unnecessary in the subsequent units, neighbourhood planning adjustments.
Locating mobile nodes using heuristics with fuzzy logic handoff

In wireless and mobile networks ensuring smooth handoff and tracing exact location of destination node and that too without wasting much time and bandwidth of constrained network is much essential. Several related techniques have been proposed in literature. Each has its own advantages/disadvantages. In this paper, we have proposed, first, a fuzzy logic based handoff management scheme that also handles some basic network management activities like call transferring after allotting a suitable wireless or radio link to the incoming node. It also proposes a location management scheme based on simple heuristics technique like time and probability.
The Effects of Internet Use on Junior High School Students' Loneliness and Social Support

従来の研究は，ネット使用が孤独感などに悪影響を持つ可能性とソーシャルサポートなどにポジティブな効果を持つ可能性の両者を示してきた．しかし，これらは成人を対象としたものが中心で，子どもを対象とした研究は乏しかった．そこで，本研究では中学生298名を対象にパネル調査を行い，ネット使用が友人関係の孤独感とソーシャルサポートに与える影響について検討した．なお，ネット使用は，ツール別および使用目的別にそれぞれ検討を行った．その結果，中学生では，Eメールの使用が多いほど友人関係の孤独感が下がり，ネット使用が全体的に多いほどネット上やネット外の友人からのソーシャルサポートが増えるというポジティブな効果がみられた．特に，多くのツールや使用目的でネットを使用することが多いほど，ネット友人からのソーシャルサポートが増えていた．
Metabolic Versatility and Indigenous Origin of the Archaeon Thermococcus sibiricus, Isolated from a Siberian Oil Reservoir, as Revealed by Genome Analysis

ABSTRACT Thermococcus species are widely distributed in terrestrial and marine hydrothermal areas, as well as in deep subsurface oil reservoirs. Thermococcus sibiricus is a hyperthermophilic anaerobic archaeon isolated from a well of the never flooded oil-bearing Jurassic horizon of a high-temperature oil reservoir. To obtain insight into the genome of an archaeon inhabiting the oil reservoir, we have determined and annotated the complete 1,845,800-base genome of T. sibiricus. A total of 2,061 protein-coding genes have been identified, 387 of which are absent in other members of the order Thermococcales. Physiological features and genomic data reveal numerous hydrolytic enzymes (e.g., cellulolytic enzymes, agarase, laminarinase, and lipases) and metabolic pathways, support the proposal of the indigenous origin of T. sibiricus in the oil reservoir, and explain its survival over geologic time and its proliferation in this habitat. Indeed, in addition to proteinaceous compounds known previously to be present in oil reservoirs at limiting concentrations, its growth was stimulated by cellulose, agarose, and triacylglycerides, as well as by alkanes. Two polysaccharide degradation loci were probably acquired by T. sibiricus from thermophilic bacteria following lateral gene transfer events. The first, a “saccharolytic gene island” absent in the genomes of other members of the order Thermococcales, contains the complete set of genes responsible for the hydrolysis of cellulose and β-linked polysaccharides. The second harbors genes for maltose and trehalose degradation. Considering that agarose and laminarin are components of algae, the encoded enzymes and the substrate spectrum of T. sibiricus indicate the ability to metabolize the buried organic matter from the original oceanic sediment.
Effects of streaming video quality of service on spatial comprehension in a reconnaissance task

It has been proposed that if we could configure individual personnel with micro-video cameras and wireless communications such that they could transmit a video stream of what they were seeing to a remote observer, this would be an enormous improvement in reconnaissanc e and battlefield command and control. We looked ahead, based on current video and wireless communications technologies and trends to what we can expect to have available in terms of streaming video quality of service (QOS) and we used those predictions to conduct an experiment to determine if this assertion of improvement is true. Participants viewed a digital video with a data rate associated with a given transmission technology. They were asked to maintain their orientation by tracking the position of the camera on a paper floor plan diagram. They were also asked to identify a number of objects and place them in the correct room on the floor plan. The results show that participants found all conditions except the live walkthrough control condition to be extremely difficult with poor performance on both the spatial orientation task and the object identification task. Bandwidth does affect error as increased data rate improves performance. Rapid head rotations seem to be the largest contributor to disorientation, especially with low data rate video. Our results suggest that simply supplying video feedback to a remote observer may be useless at best or possibly damaging at worst. What is needed is not necessarily more bandwidth, but better interfaces and tools to help observers to remain oriented such that they can extract what is needed from the video stream.
Transitions and the Lifecourse: Challenging the Constructions of 'Growing Old'

Part One: The context of growing old: The study of transition in late life Critical perspectives on ageing and the lifecourse Multidisciplinary approaches to transition The intersections of policy, practice, and experience Socio-cultural constructs of late life Part Two: Contested models of ageing and late life: Narratives of transition on ageing and late life Rethinking transition Social location and 'othered' constructs of age The fourth age: impairment in late life Future directions
Total and Antigen- (Fungi, Mites and Staphylococcal Enterotoxins) Specific IgEs in Nasal Polyps Is Related to Local Eosinophilic Inflammation

Background: Total and specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) in nasal polyps (NP) is related to local eosinophilic inflammation. However, it remains unclear which antigens cause a stronger accumulation of eosinophils in NP. We investigated whether local IgEs to specific antigens correlated with local eosinophil accumulation. Methods: Total IgE, antigen-specific IgEs [5 species of fungi, staphylococcal enterotoxins A and B (SEA and SEB), cedar pollen, ragweed pollen and house-dust mites] and eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) were measured in sinus mucosa homogenates and serum from 29 patients with chronic rhinosinusitis with NP (CRSwNP), 8 patients with allergic fungal rhinosinusitis (AFRS) and 8 control subjects without CRS. The level of ECP in NP was analyzed for correlations with the total and specific IgE levels in the serum and NP. Results: In CRSwNP, antigen-specific IgEs [Alternaria > mite (Dp) > Aspergillus > SEB > Penicillium > mite (Df), but not the other fungi, SEA or pollens] in the sinus mucosa correlated significantly with the local ECP. In AFRS, antigen-specific IgEs [Penicillium > mite (Df) > Alternaria, but not the other fungi, SEs or pollens] in the sinus mucosa correlated significantly with the local ECP. Conclusions: Local total IgE and antigen (fungi, mites and SEs)-specific IgEs in NP are related to the local eosinophilic inflammation of AFRS and CRSwNP.
A Simplified In vitro Experimental Model Encompasses the Essential Features of Sleep

In this paper, we show that neuronal assemblies plated on Micro Electrode Arrays present synchronized, low frequency firing patterns similar to in vivo slow wave oscillations, which are a key parameter of sleep-like state. Although neuronal cultures lack the characteristic high-frequency waves of wakefulness, it is possible to modulate their spontaneous firing pattern through the administration of specific neurotransmitters such as acetylcholine. We thus stimulated the cortical cultures with an agonist of acetylcholine receptor, Carbachol, which caused a desynchronization of the spontaneous firing of the cultures. We recorded and monitored the cultures for a period of over 31 h. We analyzed the electrophysiological signals by exploiting novel methodological approaches, taking into account the different temporal scales of the recorded signals, and considering both spikes and local field potentials. Supporting the electrophysiological analysis results, gene expressions of targeted genes showed the activation of specific markers involved in sleep-wake rhythms. Our results demonstrate that the Carbachol treatment induces desynchronization of neuronal activity, altering sleep-like properties in an in vitro model.
Azidothymidine and Interferon-α Induce Apoptosis in Herpesvirus-associated Lymphomas

Lymphoproliferative diseases that occur in immunocompromised patients are frequently associated with herpesviruses. These patients often fare poorly after treatment with conventional chemotherapy. We reported previously that patients with AIDS-related Burkitt’s lymphoma (BL) responded to parenteral azidothymidine (AZT) and IFN-α. We found that EBV-positive lymphoma cells derived from these patients cultured with AZT express CD95 and undergo apoptosis. AZT-mediated apoptosis was caspase dependent and occurred despite Fas receptor blockade. In contrast, EBV-negative lymphomas were resistant to AZT-induced apoptosis, as were EBV-positive lymphomas that expressed high levels of bcl-2. Primary effusion lymphoma (PEL) cell lines infected with human herpesvirus type 8 required IFN-α to potentiate AZT-induced apoptosis. IFN-α did not up-regulate CD95 in BL or PEL but did induce expression of the death receptor ligand, CD95 ligand. AZT-sensitive lymphomas also accumulated significantly higher intracellular AZT monophosphate than did resistant lymphomas. Our data demonstrated distinct apoptotic responses to AZT and IFN-α in herpesvirus-associated lymphomas. EBV-positive BL cells that expressed low BCL-2 levels were sensitive to AZT alone; PEL cells required the addition of IFN-α to enhance apoptosis, and EBV-negative lymphomas were insensitive to both agents. AZT-sensitive BL cells transfected with BCL-2 became resistant. Susceptibility to antivirus-mediated apoptosis may be exploited to improve the therapy of certain herpesvirus-associated lymphomas.
Title Two pore channel 2 differentially modulates neuraldifferentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells

Nicotinic acid adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NAADP) is an endogenous Ca mobilizing nucleotide presented in various species. NAADP mobilizes Ca from acidic organelles through two pore channel 2 (TPC2) in many cell types and it has been previously shown that NAADP can potently induce neuronal differentiation in PC12 cells. Here we examined the role of TPC2 signaling in the neural differentiation of mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells. We found that the expression of TPC2 was markedly decreased during the initial ES cell entry into neural progenitors, and the levels of TPC2 gradually rebounded during the late stages of neurogenesis. Correspondingly, TPC2 knockdown accelerated mouse ES cell differentiation into neural progenitors but inhibited these neural progenitors from committing to neurons. Overexpression of TPC2, on the other hand, inhibited mouse ES cell from entering the early neural lineage. Interestingly, TPC2 knockdown had no effect on the differentiation of astrocytes and oligodendrocytes of mouse ES cells. Taken together, our data indicate that TPC2 signaling plays a temporal and differential role in modulating the neural lineage entry of mouse ES cells, in that TPC2 signaling inhibits ES cell entry to early neural progenitors, but is required for late neuronal differentiation. Citation: Zhang Z-H, Lu Y-Y, Yue J (2013) Two Pore Channel 2 Differentially Modulates Neural Differentiation of Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells. PLoS ONE 8(6): e66077. doi:10.1371/journal.pone. 0066077 Editor: Austin John Cooney, Baylor College of Medicine, United States of America Received March 13, 2013; Accepted May 1, 2013; Published June 12, 2013 Copyright: 2013 Zhang et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Funding: This work was supported by Research Grant Council (RGC) grants (HKU 782709M and HKU 785911M), and a Special Fellow Award from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of America (J.Y.). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. * E-mail: jyue@hku.hk
B‐Cell Activation and the One B Cell/One Antibody Paradigm

"The Protecton: The Evolutionarily Selected Unit of Humoral Immunity" by Melvin Cohn and Rodney Langman (1990) presents a quantitative approach to the evolution of the immune system that is based on the concept that there is a minitnum unit for the humoral immune system that retains all of the functional properties of the whole. They define this unit as a "protecton" and attempt to define the parameters of the protecton. In the course of the development of the Protecton Theory, they grapple with key issues of immunology such as allelic exclusion and the specialization of B cells to the expression of antibody of a single specificity. The concept of a protecton is an interesting one since it may explain, as Cohn & Langman argue, how small animals can have an immune system of power and efficiency comparable to that of large animals. Nonetheless, as I describe in this commentary, several of the major assumptions underlying the theory are, in my opinion, quite tenuous, thus vitiating the usefulness of the analysis the authors have carried out.
An ultra-low power voltage-to-time converter (VTC) circuit for low power and low speed applications

An ultra-low power voltage-to-time converter (VTC) circuit is proposed. The VTC circuit is compatible with wide range of applications (i.e. sensors, integrated DC-DC voltage converters) especially for time-based analog-to-digital converters (T-ADCs). In T-ADCs, the input voltage signal is first converted into a delay pulse using the VTC circuit, then this delay signal is converted into a digital code through time-to-digital converter (TDC). The main advantages of the T-ADC are that it: 1) eliminates the need for pre-amplifier stages, 2) operates at low supply voltage, and 3) supports low-speed applications as well as high-speed applications. In this paper, two VTC architectures are presented: a single ended architecture, and a fully differential architecture. The core VTC architecture uses a modified current starved inverter biased in subthreshold to maintain low-power consumption level. A prototype of the proposed VTC is implemented in 130nm CMOS technology, it exhibits a nonlinearity of 1 % per 150-mV for single-ended architecture, while exhibits nonlinearity of ±0.4 % per 240-mV for the fully differential one.
Book Review: Personality Psychology: Recent Trends and Emerging Directions

Research in the field of personality psychology has culminated in a radical departure. The result is Personality Psychology: Recent Trends and Emerging Directions. Drs. Buss and Cantor have compiled the innovative research of twenty-five young, outstanding personality psychologists to represent the recent expansion of issues in the fields. Advances in assessment have brought about more powerful methods and the explanatory tools for extending personality psychology beyond its traditional reaches into the areas of cognitive psychology, evolutionary biology, and sociology. This volume represents a significant landmark in the psychology of personality.
Modulation of stretch reflexes during locomotion in the mesencephalic cat

1. A cat preparation was used to study the modulation of stretch reflexes during locomotion. The brain stem was transected and locomotion was induced by electrical stimulation of the mesencephalic locomotor region below the level of transection. Three legs walked normally on a treadmill, while the fourth leg, which was denervated except for the soleus muscle, was held fixed. Brief length perturbations were applied to the soleus muscle at various phases of the stepping cycle.
First evidence of mineralization of petroleum asphaltenes by a strain of Neosartorya fischeri

A fungal strain isolated from a microbial consortium growing in a natural asphalt lake is able to grow in purified asphaltenes as the only source of carbon and energy. The asphaltenes were rigorously purified in order to avoid contamination from other petroleum fractions. In addition, most of petroporphyrins were removed. The 18S rRNA and β‐tubulin genomic sequences, as well as some morphologic characteristics, indicate that the isolate is Neosartorya fischeri. After 11 weeks of growth, the fungus is able to metabolize 15.5% of the asphaltenic carbon, including 13.2% transformed to CO2. In a medium containing asphaltenes as the sole source of carbon and energy, the fungal isolate produces extracellular laccase activity, which is not detected when the fungus grow in a rich medium. The results obtained in this work clearly demonstrate that there are microorganisms able to metabolize and mineralize asphaltenes, which is considered the most recalcitrant petroleum fraction.
Reducing parental anxiety using a family based intervention for youth mental health: A randomized controlled trial

This paper presents findings on parent anxiety and attachment relationship style from the Deakin Family Options (DFO) pilot study, a randomized controlled pilot study comparing a family-based treatment (BEST Plus), versus a youth only treatment (CBT) versus a group who received both of these treatments (COMBINED). Eligible participants were families with a young person (aged 12 - 25 years) with a high prevalence mental health problem. Youth from participating families scored in the clinical or subclinical range for depression, anxiety and/or substance misuse symptoms on standardized measures during the initial assessment. The collected sample was drawn from regional and urban centers in Victoria, Australia and allocated to treatment condition using a simple randomization procedure (parallel design). It was hypothesized that families receiving the BEST Plus would experience greater reductions in youth and parent mental health symptoms, and improved parent-child relationships, compared with those in the CBT condition. This paper describes and discusses changes in parent anxiety and parent attachment, according to whether the parent participated in a treatment (BEST Plus) or did not (NONBEST Plus). Participants were blind to the study hypotheses. In total 71 parent participants returned pre data and were allocated to a treatment group. In this paper, data from parent participants who completed pre and post measures (n = 48) and pre, post, and 6-month follow-up measures (n = 28) on anxiety and attachment were analyzed by group (BEST Plus versus NONBEST Plus). The results of this study suggest that parent anxiety decreased significantly more following parent involvement in a group treatment, than for parents that did not receive treatment. Unexpectedly, avoidant attachment increased in the no treatment group, but remained relatively stable following the BEST Plus group. There were no significant findings in relation to compulsive traits and anxious attachment. These findings are discussed in light of the study limitations.
Insights into Small Heat Shock Protein and Substrate Structure during Chaperone Action Derived from Hydrogen/Deuterium Exchange and Mass Spectrometry*♦

Small heat shock proteins (sHSPs) and the related α-crystallins are ubiquitous chaperones linked to neurodegenerative diseases, myopathies, and cataract. To better define their mechanism of chaperone action, we used hydrogen/deuterium exchange and mass spectrometry (HXMS) to monitor conformational changes during complex formation between the structurally defined sHSPs, pea PsHsp18.1, and wheat TaHsp16.9, and the heat-denatured model substrates malate dehydrogenase (MDH) and firefly luciferase. Remarkably, we found that even when complexed with substrate, the highly dynamic local structure of the sHSPs, especially in the N-terminal arm (>70% exchange in 5 s), remains unchanged. These results, coupled with sHSP-substrate complex stability, indicate that sHSPs do not adopt new secondary structure when binding substrate and suggest sHSPs are tethered to substrate at multiple sites that are locally dynamic, a feature that likely facilitates recognition and refolding of sHSP-bound substrate by the Hsp70/DnaK chaperone system. Both substrates were found to be stabilized in a partially unfolded state that is observed only in the presence of sHSP. Furthermore, peptide-level HXMS showed MDH was substantially protected in two core regions (residues 95–156 and 228–252), which overlap with the MDH structure protected in the GroEL-bound MDH refolding intermediate. Significantly, despite differences in the size and structure of TaHsp16.9-MDH and PsHsp18.1-MDH complexes, peptide-level HXMS patterns for MDH in both complexes are virtually identical, indicating that stabilized MDH thermal unfolding intermediates are not determined by the identity of the sHSP.