Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Antidepressant use and depressive symptomatology among older people from the Australian Longitudinal Study of Ageing

ABSTRACT Background: Depression is one of the leading contributors to the burden of non-fatal diseases in Australia. Although there is an overall increasing trend in antidepressant use, the relationship between use of antidepressants and depressive symptomatology is not clear, particularly in the older population. Methods: Data for this study were obtained from the Australian Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ALSA), a cohort of 2087 people aged over 65 years at baseline. Four waves of home interviews were conducted between 1992 and 2004 to collect information on sociodemographic and health status. Depressive symptoms were measured by the Center for Epidemiologic Studies – Depression Scale. Use of antidepressants was based on self-report, with the interviewer able to check packaging details if available. Longitudinal analysis was performed using logistic generalized estimating equations to detect if there was any trend in the use of antidepressants, adjusting for potential confounding factors. Results: The prevalence of depressive symptoms was 15.2% in 1992 and 15.8% in 2004 (p > 0.05). The prevalence of antidepressant users increased from 6.5% to 10.9% (p < 0.01) over this period. Among people with depressive symptoms, less than 20% were taking antidepressants at any wave. Among people without depressive symptoms, the prevalence of antidepressant use was 5.2% in 1992 and 12.0% in 2004 (p < 0.01). Being female (OR = 1.67, 95%CI: 1.25–2.24), having poor self-perceived health status (OR = 1.17, 95%CI: 1.04–1.32), having physical impairment (OR = 1.48, 95%CI: 1.14–1.91) and having depressive symptoms (OR = 1.62, 95%CI: 1.24–2.13) significantly increased the use of antidepressants, while living in community (OR = 0.51, 95%CI: 0.37–0.71) reduced the risk of antidepressant use. Conclusions: Use of antidepressants increased, while depressive symptoms remained stable, in the ALSA over a 12-year period. Use of antidepressants was low for people with depressive symptoms.
Parenting Stress in Mothers and Fathers of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

A number of studies have demonstrated that parents of children with developmental disabilities experience higher levels of stress than parents of typically developing children (e.g. Hodapp et al., 2003; Johnson et al., 2003). Webster and colleagues (2008) found that the scores in the Parenting Stress Index were above 85th percentile in over 40% of parents of children with developmental delay, indicating significant parenting stress. Parental stress is viewed as a complex set of non-specific, persistent and significant challenges associated with one of parents’ most important roles, i.e. taking care of their child. Despite a considerable amount of data on stress in parents of children with disabilities, there is still no consensus on the conceptualization of this phenomenon (Perry, 2004). The theoretical framework adopted in a number of studies is the transactional model of stress and coping (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). In this approach, stress is a particular type of an individual’s relationship with the environment, which the individual appraises as putting certain demands or overextending his/her resources, and thus threatening his/her well-being (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). Parental stress is associated with the type of disability present in the child (Gupta, 2007). A number of authors have reported higher levels of stress in mothers of children with autism compared with mothers of children with other developmental disabilities, e.g. Down syndrome, fragile X syndrome, severe intellectual disability (Abbeduto et al., 2004; Weiss, 2002; White & Hastings, 2004), parents of children with special health care needs without developmental problems (Schieve et al., 2007) or typically developing children (BakerEriczen et al., 2005; Smith et al., 2001; Yamada et al., 2007). Tomanik, Harris and Hawkins (2004) found that two-thirds of mothers of children with autism in their study demonstrated elevated stress levels. Another revealing fact is that parents themselves often use the word “stressful” when talking about raising a child with autism (e.g. Gray, 2002a). The present review of research on stress in parents of children with autism covers two main issues. In the first part, the most significant sources of parental stress in this group of parents are discussed and the results of research on stress profiles in mothers and fathers are presented. The second part offers an outline of individual determinants of parental stress, associated with personal characteristics of the parent (e.g., their sense of coherence, coping styles and strategies). Conclusion contains a brief account of the consequences of parental stress and potential implications of studies on stress for clinical practice.
The 3d7-Simulation Environment: a tool for autonomous mobile robot development

Presents the 3d7-Simulation Environment, which was designed as a tool for wheeled autonomous mobile robot development. Within the MOBOT-IV project 3d7 is used to support the research in the field of sensor data processing algorithms as well as the different levels of motion control. Currently, the simulation environment consists of a 3D solid modeling kernel, environment editor, optical range finder sensor simulator, sonar sensor simulation component and kinematics and dynamics simulator for wheeled vehicles. <<ETX>>
Postnatal Expression of Doublecortin (Dcx) in the Developing Cerebellar Cortex of Mouse

We have investigated the expression of Doublecortin (Dcx) protein in the developing cerebellum of mouse from postnatal 2nd day to postnatal 22nd day and in young adults by immunohistochemistry. Strong expression of Dcx was present in the inner zone of the external granule cell layer, and remained strong while postmitotic granule cell precursors were present in this transitory layer. Descending granule cell precursors exhibited Dcx immunostaining not only while migrating but for a short time also after their settlement. Dcx-immunostained cells appeared in deep cerebellocortical territories and in the cerebellar white matter during the first postnatal week. These bipolar cells were arranged in the sagittal plane and built up transitory migratory streams during the second postnatal week and their number gradually decreased during the third postnatal week. Upward migration of bipolar cells was observed while leaving the migratory streams, penetrating the internal granule cell layer and the molecular layer. These cells were considered as precursors of late migrating molecular layer interneurons. However, a proportion of Dcx-immunostained cells underwent a bipolar-to-multipolar dendritic remodellation and — on the basis of strong morphological similarities — was taken for “multipotent progenitor cells”, described recently in the neocortex of adult rat.
[Image quality of thin- and thick-slice MSCT reconstructions in low-contrast objects (liver lesions) with equal doses].

PURPOSE To evaluate the image quality of thin-section MSCT examinations of low-contrast objects such as liver lesions, and to find out whether a thin slice technique requires an increase in radiation dose. MATERIALS AND METHODS MSCT examinations of the liver were performed in the portal venous phase on a Volume Zoom Scanner (Siemens, Erlangen) with a collimation of 4 x 2.5 mm, 120 kV, 125 mAs and table speed of 12.5 mm. Forty small hypodense liver lesions with a mean size of 3 mm (1 to 8 mm) were reconstructed using a slice thickness of 3, 5, 7, and 10 mm. All lesions were evaluated for each slice thickness by 3 independent radiologists using a 5-point scale (excellent to poor) for the following 7 criteria: contrast, demarcation and contour of the lesion, image noise and quality, demarcation of liver veins and liver contour. The mean values of the reviewers' scores were calculated. The correlation of the three observers in the evaluation of the criteria was determined using the Kendall's Tau coefficient. RESULTS The 3-mm thin sections were excellent in the evaluation of lesion detection, lesion contrast and lesion contour with a mean score of 1.4 compared to 4.1 for 10-mm sections. Concerning the criteria image quality and liver contour, thin sections achieved the best results in our series. Image noise was pronounced in thin sections but did not affect negatively the image analysis. Interrater agreement was 0.53 for the criterium image noise. CONCLUSION Thin sections in MSCT examinations of low contrast objects such as liver lesions do not require an increase in radiation dose because the increase in image noise is compensated by improved lesion contrast.
Left ventricular hypertrophy as a risk factor: the Framingham experience

Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is one of the less common but ominous risk factors for coronary disease, stroke and cardiac failure. The chief determinants of LVH, aside from age, are elevated blood pressure, obesity, stature and glucose intolerance. Cardiac valve disease and chronic heart disease (CHD) also cause LVH. Downward trends in the prevalence of LVH over four decades indicate that LVH is preventable, and this has coincided with improved hypertension control. When evidence of LVH disappears, the risk of all-cause, cardiovascular and CHD mortality is substantially reduced. Cardiovascular events occur incrementally in relation to left ventricular mass with no discernible critical value identifying pathological hypertrophy. LVH as evidenced by electrocardiogram (ECC-LVH), manifested by repolarization abnormality as well as increased voltage, was a lethal finding; within 5 years, 33% of men and 21% of women were dead. ECG-LVH was associated with ventricular ectopy and a sudden death risk comparable to that of CHD or cardiac failure. ECG-LVH was associated with a 3-15-fold increase of cardiovascular events with greatest risk ratios for cardiac failure and stroke. However, CHD is the predominant clinical sequel. No other risk factor approaches LVH in potency. Anatomical (echocardiographic or X-ray) LVH and ECG-LVH each independently contribute to the risk of cardiovascular disease, and having both confers a greater risk than having either alone. LVH is a clinical finding which should be taken seriously and corrected as soon as detected. It should not be regarded as an innocuous adaptive process, augmenting cardiac function.
NERP-CRF: uma ferramenta para o reconhecimento de entidades nomeadas por meio de Conditional Random Fields

Conditional Random Fields (CRF) e um metodo probabilistico de predicao estruturada que tem sido amplamente aplicado em diversas areas, tais como a de Processamento da Linguagem Natural (PLN), incluindo o Reconhecimento de Entidades Nomeadas (REN), visao computacional e bioinformatica. Nesse sentido, propoe-se a realizacao da tarefa de REN aplicando o metodo CRF e, sequencialmente, e feita uma avaliacao do seu desempenho com base no corpus do HAREM. Conclui-se que, nos testes realizados, o sistema NERP-CRF obteve os melhores resultados de Precisao quando comparado com os sistemas avaliados no mesmo corpus, com plenas condicoes de ser um sistema competitivo e eficaz.
Sleep function.

A theory of sleep function and brain organization positing that sleep serves a neuronal connectivity function and is a fundamental property of highly interconnected groups of neurons (neuronal groups) is presented. Cellular electrical activity within neuronal groups leads to the production of sleep-promoting substances which are also cytokine growth factors. The somnogenic cytokine growth factors (SCGF) in turn, induce molecules necessary for synaptic connectivity. The SCGFs change the synaptic activation patterns within neuronal groups. SCGFs thus induce changes in the input-output relationships of neuronal groups and thereby, cause a neuronal group state shift. Altered input-output relations result in increased efficacy of some synapses. Sleep is thus, targeted to active neuronal groups and serves to incorporate novel stimulus patterns into a synaptic contextual network and also to preserve that network. Coordination of neuronal group state is brought about by sleep regulatory networks. Organism sleep is an emergent property of a population of neuronal groups in the sleep state. After the neuronal group state shift, environmental input is divorced from output. Sleep is thus, useful to keep the animal stationary at a time when its brain is most dysfunctional. Thus, not only is unconsciousness needed because output activity would be out of phase with environmental events, but it is the consequence of the process itself.
Association Between the APOE*4 Allele and Atherosclerosis Is Age Dependent Among Argentine Males

Several studies have shown evidence of an association between the *4 allele of apolipoprotein E (APOE) and coronary heart disease (CHD) in different populations. We determined the APOE genotype and total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLC) values in 189 patients with angiographically evaluated atherosclerosis. The APOE*4 allele was found to be statistically significantly more frequent (odds ratio, 1.93; 95% confidence interval, 1.12–3.32) among male patients than in a randomly chosen population-based sample. No significant difference was found when female patients were compared to the general population. The APOE*4 allele was found primarily among young (30–45-year-old) male patients (p < 0.04). Despite the ascending linear tendency of the mean TC values for genotypes APOE*2/*3, APOE*3/*3, and APOE*3/*4 reported in our case population, no differences were observed among our patients. We conclude that the APOE*4 allele is associated with an increased risk for atherosclerotic vascular disease, that this association has an age-dependent effect, and that it acts as a genetic factor that increases susceptibility to developing the disease in young to middle-aged male adults in our population.
A 7.8W continuous and 19.6W burst output power fully integrated 2S Class-D amplifier with 0.005% THD+N

A fully integrated filterless Class-D audio amplifier with direct two-cell(2S) battery connection delivering continuous 7.8Watt into 4Ohm load with 0.005% THD+N and 104dB SNR. Packaged in 9 ball WLSCP, it does not require any external components and operates in a supply range of 4-12V from a direct 2S battery. In a burst mode device achieves maximum output power of 19.6W into 4Ohm load with THD+N=20% from a 12V supply. The chip is fabricated in a standard 0.25um BCDMOS process with total chip area measuring 2.54mm2.
Short Hairpin RNA against PTEN Enhances Regenerative Growth of Corticospinal Tract Axons after Spinal Cord Injury

Developing approaches to promote the regeneration of descending supraspinal axons represents an ideal strategy for rebuilding neuronal circuits to improve functional recovery after spinal cord injury (SCI). Our previous studies demonstrated that genetic deletion of phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) in mouse corticospinal neurons reactivates their regenerative capacity, resulting in significant regeneration of corticospinal tract (CST) axons after SCI. However, it is unknown whether nongenetic methods of suppressing PTEN have similar effects and how regenerating axons interact with the extrinsic environment. Herein, we show that suppressing PTEN expression with short-hairpin RNA (shRNA) promotes the regeneration of injured CST axons, and these axons form anatomical synapses in appropriate areas of the cord caudal to the lesion. Importantly, this model of increased CST regrowth enables the analysis of extrinsic regulators of CST regeneration in vivo. We find that regenerating axons avoid dense clusters of fibroblasts and macrophages in the lesion, suggesting that these cell types might be key inhibitors of axon regeneration. Furthermore, most regenerating axons cross the lesion in association with astrocytes, indicating that these cells might be important for providing a permissive bridge for axon regeneration. Lineage analysis reveals that these bridge-forming astrocytes are not derived from ependymal stem cells within the spinal cord, suggesting that they are more likely derived from a subset of mature astrocytes. Overall, this study reveals insights into the critical extrinsic and intrinsic regulators of axon regeneration and establishes shRNA as a viable means to manipulate these regulators and translate findings into other mammalian models.
Thermal Induced Conductance of KOH Etched Silicon Surface

Anisotropic KOH etch rate of silicon is found to vary with thermal agitation along with crystal plane orientation. In this work, experimental results of etch rate is found with their unusual values of activation energy along different planes. The various sites that an atom can occupy are not equivalent of their energy; some are more favorable to removal than others. In this paper attention is given to demonstrate thermal activation influences the behavior of etching mechanism as well as surface morphology. Low-voltage contact mode atomic force microscopy (AFM) has been employed to analyze the morphology of the etched silicon surface at relevant temperature. With temperature evolution the width of the forbidden energy gap is going down and hence conductivity is rises. Keywords: Anisotropy; Etch rate; MEMS; SOI; AFM; Contact mode. DOI: 10.3126/kuset.v6i1. 3314 Kathmandu University Journal of Science, Engineering and Technology Vol.6(1) 2010, pp79-88
Central banks' demand for foreign reserves under fixed and floating exchange rates

HE international monetary system has experienced significant changes during the l970s. The most dramatic of these has been the transformation from a system of pegged exchange rates to one in which central banks make no institutional commitment to maintain a particular exchange rate. Despite this change, central banks have been unwilling, in general, to allow their exchange rates to be completely market-determined and, consequently, continue to hold foreign reserves. The primary focus of this article is to analyze central banks’ demand for foreign reserves in light of this institutional change.
Modeling, development & analysis of low cost device for water quality testing

In recent days, the most important problem that our society faces is low quality of drinking water. Water quality monitoring is important because contaminated drinking water can spread diseases faster than any other sources. With existing techniques, the general public is not aware of the potability of water. Lack of accurate and efficient low cost systems are a reason for poor awareness on the same. This paper focuses on modelling and developing a low cost water quality testing device and analysing its performance with the currently available products. The developed device can measure the parameters like pH, Total Dissolved Solids, Conductivity and Temperature. Its results are verified with samples of distilled water, salt water, tap water, dish wash and water, curd and performance is studied.
Isolation and partial biochemical characterization of the brush border plasma membrane from the cestode, Hymenolepis diminuta.

A procedure was devised to remove the tegument from the cestode, Hymenolepis diminuta, using 0.2% Triton X-100. The brush border fragments were collected separately from cytoplasmic vesicles by differential centrifugation, and the brush border plasma membrane was further enriched by disruption in high osmolarity Tris-HC1 buffer. The distribution of plasma membrane was quantified by comparing the specific activity of 3H-concanavalin A in all fractions following incubation of intact organisms with the radioactive lectin. SDS-polyacrylamide gels stained with Coomassie Blue reveal no qualitative differences between plasma membranes and vesicles. However, when gels are stained with Stains-all, 7 proteins of the plasma membrane stain blue, whereas the vesicular counterparts stain red. Treatment of plasma mem- brane with calf intestinal alkaline phosphatase results in a decrease in the intensity of 5 of the blue- staining bands indicating that these proteins are phosphoproteins. Membrane-bound alkaline phosphatase is resistant to dodecyl sulfate plus dithiothreitol and was detected histochemically in a region correspond- ing to 104,000 daltons following SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Lactoperoxidase catalyzes the iodination of 7 externally oriented plasma membrane macromolecules, 6 of which stain as glycoproteins with PAS. The incorporation of 125I-iodide increases approximately 10-fold when the organisms are prein- cubated in buffer for 30 min. This suggests that either absorbed proteins are being removed or that, in the absence of host proteases, these external macromolecules are accumulating in the plasma membrane with time.
Triple bottom line evaluation of special events: Does the rhetoric reflect reporting?

The evaluation of the impacts of special events has been a source of considerable academic study, particularly from and economic perspective. Recently, however, researchers have called for a more holistic evaluation of special events, such as a triple bottom line approach. Government agencies also commission event assessments, but many of these are unpublished, and are largely unavailable to researchers. However, 84 of these assessments were collected for this study, and the aim was to determine whether or not the rhetoric from the academic studies was reflected in the reality of the impact assessments. The assessments were essentially economic, and although a number included social impacts, only two included economic, social and environmental impacts. There was no attempt to integrate the impacts into a more holistic assessment. The implication for government agencies is that they need to do more to encourage a broader approach to event evaluation.
The UK Current Account Deficit and All that

In this speech, Stephen Nickell, member of the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee, discusses the recent history of the UK current account deficit. Over the past 20 years, the average annual deficit has been around 2% of GDP and shows no signs of diminishing. Indeed, the trade deficits continues to worsen and only substantial offsetting net income flows have contained the current account deficit within bounds. To understand what is going on, we need to look at the net asset position. UK foreign assets are enormous, around four times GDP. UK foreign liabilities are fractionally bigger using official statistics. But if we correct for the fact that direct investment assets and liabilities are measured at book value rather than market value, the UK net asset position remains positive. More importantly, UK assets are biased towards equity type assets and liabilities towards debt type assets. Since the returns on the former are typically greater than the returns on the latter, this explains the positive net income position. The risks to this situation are detailed in the text.
Extracting the Edges of Optic Disc using Erosion,canny-Edge detection and Hough Transform

Extracting the edges of optic disc is an important step in developing diagnosis of various serious ophthalmic pathologies. In this paper a new methodology for segmenting the OD from digital retinal images has been presented. This methodology uses morphological operator of Erosion and canny edge detection tech¬niques followed by the Circular Hough Transform to obtain a circular OD boundary approximation. OD seg¬mentation is done by extracting sub-image, an OD pixel and its surrounding region (a surrounding region wide enough to include the whole OD) are selected. Then the OD boundary is extracted in parallel from both the red and green channels of this subimage by means of morphological and edge detection techniques. In order to smooth out the distracters, the image is transformed to the frequency do¬main and filtered by the Gaussian low-pass filter. OD boundaries are approx¬imated by a circumference using the Circular Hough Transform.