Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A retrospective cohort study of cigarette smoking and risk of rheumatoid arthritis in female health professionals.

OBJECTIVE To study the association of cigarette smoking with risk of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), among 377,481 female health professionals in the Women's Health Cohort Study. METHODS Subjects completed mailed questionnaires regarding demographics, health habits, including cigarette smoking history, and medical history, including RA diagnosis made by a physician and date of diagnosis. Of 7,697 women who self-reported RA, 3,416 reported seropositive RA. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to retrospectively assess the associations of smoking intensity and duration with the risk of developing RA or seropositive RA. Cigarette smoking status was treated as a time-varying exposure in these regression models. RESULTS In multivariate analyses controlling for age, race, education, age at menarche, pregnancy history, menopausal status, and postmenopausal hormone use, duration of smoking was associated with a significantly increased risk of both RA and seropositive RA (both P < 0.01 for trend), after adjusting for smoking intensity. Women who smoked > or =25 cigarettes/day for more than 20 years experienced a 39% increased risk of RA and 49% increased risk of seropositive RA. However, smoking intensity (number of cigarettes/day) was unrelated to risk of RA or seropositive RA (both P = 0.3 for trend), after adjusting for duration of smoking. CONCLUSION Duration, but not intensity, of cigarette smoking is associated with a modest increased risk of RA in women.
On Sizing and Shifting the BFGS Update within the Sized-Broyden Family of Secant Updates

In a numerical study, Contreras and Tapia demonstrated the value of selectively sizing the BFGS secant update. A conclusion of the current study is that there is value in following a sizing of the BFGS update with a shifting of the BFGS update. Our motivation for such a strategy comes from the known fact that the BFGS update is prone to producing updates with large eigenvalues. Hence, sizing may contribute to near singularity, and shifting can help compensate for this deficiency. We follow Contreras and Tapia in our form of selective sizing. Our form of shifting can be viewed as switching from the BFGS update to an alternative member of the Broyden family of updates. Our shift is obtained by minimizing a weighted form of the Byrd--Nocedal measure over a sized Broyden family of secant updates. Numerically, our most effective shift is the one that gives the member of the class which is closest to steepest descent in the Byrd--Nocedal measure.
Comparing the perception of dentists and lay people to altered dental esthetics.

PURPOSE This study was designed to determine the perceptions of lay people and dental professionals with respect to minor variations in anterior tooth size and alignment and their relation to the surrounding soft tissues. MATERIALS AND METHODS Smiling photographs were intentionally altered with one of eight common anterior esthetic discrepancies in varying degrees of deviation, including variations in crown length, crown width, incisor crown angulation, midline, open gingival embrasure, gingival margin, incisal plane, and gingiva-to-lip distance. Forty images were randomized in a questionnaire and rated according to attractiveness by three groups: orthodontists, general dentists, and lay people; 300 questionnaires were distributed. RESULTS The response rate was 88.2% for orthodontists, 51.8% for general dentists, and 60.6% for lay people. The results demonstrated threshold levels of noticeable difference between the varying levels of discrepancy. A maxillary midline deviation of 4 mm was necessary before orthodontists rated it significantly less esthetic than the others. However, general dentists and lay people were unable to detect even a 4-mm midline deviation. All three groups were able to distinguish a 2-mm discrepancy in incisor crown angulation. An incisal plane cant of 1 mm as well as a 3-mm narrowing in maxillary lateral incisor crown width were required by orthodontists and general dentists to be rated significantly less esthetic. Lay people were unable to detect an incisal plane asymmetry until it was 3 mm, or a lateral incisor narrowing until it reached 4 mm. Threshold levels for open gingival embrasure and gingiva-to-lip distance were both at 2 mm for the orthodontic group. Open gingival embrasure became detectable by the general dentists and lay people at 3 mm, whereas gingiva-to-lip distance was classified by these groups as noticeably unattractive at 4 mm. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE The results of this study show that orthodontists, general dentists, and lay people detect specific dental esthetic discrepancies at varying levels of deviation, which may aid the dental professional in making specific treatment recommendations.
Trading options in supply chain

Originally as a financial concept, options are introduced into supply chain area to improve the ability of handling demand uncertainty and hence seek better performance of the participants. We examine how trading options works in the market consisting of two retailers in both cooperative and non-cooperative scenarios. We find the optimal trading quantity is irrelevant to the options price in both situations, only depending on their current inventory, options in hand and demand information of the second period. Using bargaining theory, we analyze the outcome of trading, as well as the impact on the participants' performance.
An exploration of discussion threads in social news sites: A case study of the Reddit community

Social news and content aggregation Web sites have become massive repositories of valuable knowledge on a diverse range of topics. Millions of Web-users are able to leverage these platforms to submit, view and discuss nearly anything. The users themselves exclusively curate the content with an intricate system of submissions, voting and discussion. Furthermore, the data on social news Web sites is extremely well organized by its user-base, which opens the door for opportunities to leverage this data for other purposes just like Wikipedia data has been used for many other purposes. In this paper we study a popular social news Web site called Reddit. Our investigation looks at the dynamics of its discussion threads, and asks two main questions: (1) to what extent do discussion threads resemble a topical hierarchy? and (2) Can discussion threads be used to enhance Web search? We show interesting results for these questions on a very large snapshot several sub-communities of the Reddit Web site. Finally, we discuss the implications of these results and suggest ways by which social news Web site's can be used to perform other tasks.
Utilizing Vacuum Bagging Process to Prepare Carbon Fiber/CNT-Modified-epoxy Composites with Improved Mechanical Properties

ABSTRACT In this work, the effects of carbon nanotube-modified epoxy and carbon nanotube-enriched sizing agent on the tensile properties and failure mode of unidirectional carbon fiber/epoxy composites were investigated. Laminates of carbon fiber/epoxy composites at different concentrations of carbon nanotube and sizing agent were fabricated by hand layup vacuum bagging process. Scanning electron microscopy analysis was conducted to unveil the relation between the macroproperties and the composites’ microstructure. Experimental results showed that the carbon nanotube-modified epoxy/carbon fiber composite showed 20% enhancements in the Young’s modulus compared to the pristine epoxy/carbon fiber composite. The scanning electron microscopy analysis of the fracture surfaces revealed that incorporating carbon nanotube into the epoxy matrix with utilizing the vacuum improves the interfacial bonding and minimizes the voids that act as crack initiators. This microstructure enhances the interfacial shear strength and load transfer between the matrix and the fabrics and consequently the tensile characteristics of the formulated composite. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT
Stability of IS-856 CDMA networks with non-fully buffered users: A fair rate allocation strategy

In this paper, the problem of rate allocation in IS-856 uplink is investigated, using a control theoretic approach. An adaptive control scheme is used to stabilize the wireless network and achieve interference regulation. The system stability and output performance are studied in the case of non-fully buffered users for a dynamic network, in the framework of switched systems. Simulation results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed technique.
Skinput

Skinput is a technology that appropriates the skin as an input surface by analyzing mechanical vibrations that propagate through the body. Specifically, we resolve the location of finger taps on the arm and hand using a novel sensor array, worn as an armband. This approach provides an on-body finger input system that is always available, naturally portable, and minimally invasive. When coupled with a pico-projector, a fully interactive graphical interface can be rendered directly on the body. To view video of Skinput, visit http://cacm.acm. org.
Nucleosome positioning: resources and tools online

Nucleosome positioning is an important process required for proper genome packing and its accessibility to execute the genetic program in a cell-specific, timely manner. In the recent years hundreds of papers have been devoted to the bioinformatics, physics and biology of nucleosome positioning. The purpose of this review is to cover a practical aspect of this field, namely, to provide a guide to the multitude of nucleosome positioning resources available online. These include almost 300 experimental datasets of genome-wide nucleosome occupancy profiles determined in different cell types and more than 40 computational tools for the analysis of experimental nucleosome positioning data and prediction of intrinsic nucleosome formation probabilities from the DNA sequence. A manually curated, up to date list of these resources will be maintained at http://generegulation.info.
Fixed or fluid?: document stability and new media

One of the crucial properties of documents through the ages has been their fixity. The ability to mark surfaces in relatively stable ways has made it possible for people distributed across space and time to see the same images and thereby to have access to the same meanings or communicative intent. Today, however, with the increasing use of digital technologies, it is often asserted that we are moving from the fixed world of paper documents to the fluid world of digital documents. In this paper I challenge this assertion, arguing instead that all documents, regardless of medium, are fixed and fluid. Thus, although paper documents do fix aspects of communication, they do (and must) also change; and although digital documents are easily changeable, they must also be capable of remaining fixed. I make use of this analysis in two ways: first, to examine the fixity and fluidity of hypertext; and second, to critique Bolter's argument in Writing Space concerning the movement from “fixed to fluid. ”
Tenure Issues in REDD+ Pilot Project Sites in Tanzania

REDD+ has been proposed as a viable option for addressing climate change in the near term, and at relatively low cost. There is a broad consensus that clearly defined tenure rights are important for the implementation and success of REDD+, both to manage forests effectively and to protect local communities' livelihoods. We use primary data from 23 villages in six REDD+ pilot sites in Tanzania to identify causes of deforestation and forest degradation, and tenure rights issues, at the village level prior to project implementation. Further, interviews with project proponents and examination of project documents yields insights into how the proponents plan to address tenure issues. Most villages perceive their tenure as secure and have exclusion rights, while collective action challenges are prevalent in villages experiencing deforestation and forest degradation. These findings suggest that the main tenure issues are related to internal institutional arrangements. While we find that tenure is high on the agenda for all the project proponents, they are mainly focusing on formalization and securing tenure rights from state to community level. Though we do find this to be a precondition for reducing deforestation and degradation, some of their focus should be shifted to strengthening village institutions and enhancing internal compliance.
Innate Immunity Induced by Plasmodium Liver Infection Inhibits Malaria Reinfections

ABSTRACT Following transmission through a mosquito bite to the mammalian host, Plasmodium parasites first invade and replicate inside hepatocytes before infecting erythrocytes and causing malaria. The mechanisms limiting Plasmodium reinfections in humans living in regions of malaria endemicity have mainly been explored by studying the resistance induced by the blood stage of infection. However, epidemiologic studies have suggested that in high-transmission areas, preerythrocytic stages also activate host resistance to reinfection. This, along with the recent discovery that liver infections trigger a specific and effective type I interferon (IFN) response, prompted us to hypothesize that this pre-erythrocyte-stage-induced resistance is linked to liver innate immunity. Here, we combined experimental approaches and mathematical modeling to recapitulate field studies and understand the molecular basis behind such resistance. We present a newly established mouse reinfection model and demonstrate that rodent malaria liver-stage infection inhibits reinfection. This protection relies on the activation of innate immunity and involves the type I IFN response and the antimicrobial cytokine gamma IFN (IFN-γ). Importantly, mathematical simulations indicate that the predictions based on our experimental murine reinfection model fit available epidemiological data. Overall, our study revealed that liver-stage-induced innate immunity may contribute to the preerythrocytic resistance observed in humans in regions of malaria hyperendemicity.
Assessment of Access to Information and Communication Technology among Agricultural Extension Office

The study examined the factors associated with the level of access of Agricultural Extension officers in Kwara State to Information and Communication Technology (ICT). It also identified the constraints to the usage of ICT for the purpose of sourcing agricultural information. Data for the study were collected from the Subject Matter Specialists (SMSs) and Extension Agents (EAs) of the Kwara State Agricultural Development Project (KWADP) through the use of a structured questionnaire. Descriptive and inferential statistical tools were employed for the data analysis. The study revealed that about 70% of the EAs do not earn above N20, 000. Only8.8% of the EAs possessed university degrees and none had access to computer systems at work. All the SMSs had official computers, although none of the computers were connected to the internet. Income of the respondents was found to be significant and positively related to access to ICT. The numbers of years on the job and the age of the respondents had negative but significant relationship with access. Apart from the general constraints to the use of ICT such as, high cost of personal computer, inadequate electricity supply and poor internet access, poor training and technological knowhow were also identified as specific constraints faced by the EAs. The study therefore recommended the need for easier access by all agricultural extension officers to ICT. Besides, training workshops should be organized for Extension officers in the area of ICT and computer appreciation.
Photoinactivation of the Escherichia coli by the Pulsed Dielectric Barrier Discharge Excilamp Krypton Chlorine Emitted at 222 nm

The photoinactivation of the Escherichia coli bacteria with the pulsed dielectric barrier discharge excilamp krypton chorine (KrCl) emitted at 222 nm is presented. The Escherichia coli, with the initial density of 34.106 colony forming units (CFU)/¿L, has been irradiated in the aqueous and on the surface medias, respectively. A high reduction rate in the survival density of E. coli has been reached by the photoinactivation in both media during the first 30 s. The photoinactivation resulted in the logarithmic reduction factor of 5.6 log and 5.1 log within irradiation time of 30 s on the surface and in the aqueous medias, respectively. At the high dose of 2880 mJ/cm2 , the logarithmic reduction factor reached 6.1 log and 5.5 log on the surface and in the aqueous medias, respectively. The first tailing plateau was appeared on the surface and in the aqueous medias at 60 and 300 s of irradiation time, respectively.
, Hemorrhage : A Randomized Controlled Trial Effect of Hypervolemic Therapy on Cerebral Blood Flow After Subarachnoid

Laura Lennihan, Stephan A. Mayer, Matthew E. Fink, Avis Beckford, Myunghee C. Paik, Hemorrhage : A Randomized Controlled Trial Effect of Hypervolemic Therapy on Cerebral Blood Flow After Subarachnoid Print ISSN: 0039-2499. Online ISSN: 1524-4628 Copyright © 2000 American Heart Association, Inc. All rights reserved. is published by the American Heart Association, 7272 Greenville Avenue, Dallas, TX 75231 Stroke doi: 10.1161/01.STR. 31.2. 383 2000;31:383-391 Stroke. http://stroke.ahajournals. org/content/31/2/383 World Wide Web at: The online version of this article, along with updated information and services, is located on the
Infection: an Infrequent Occurrence in Archived Tissue from False Tb Reactor Cattle in Michigan, Usa

The objective of this study was to retrospectively determine whether or not cattle from the state of Michigan which were classified as bovine tuberculosis reactors, based on currently approved field and laboratory testing methods, were overtly infected with Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP). Included in this study were 384 adult cattle submitted to the Diagnostic Center for Population and Animal Health over a seven-year period. Cattle were tested utilizing standard methods to confirm that all cattle were lesion and culture negative for infection with Mycobacterium bovis at postmortem examination. Retrospective analysis of formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded sections of ileum and ileocecal lymph node were evaluated by histopathology, acid-fast staining, and PCR assays to detect MAP. Overall, only 1.04 percent of cattle showed overt infection with MAP on visual examination of sections of ileum and/or ileo-cecal lymph node. This increased slightly to 2.1 percent of cattle likely infected with MAP after additional testing using a PCR assay. Based on these results, we found no evidence that overt infection with MAP plays a major role in the false tuberculosis reactor test results for cattle examined in this study.
Organic electrochemical transistor based biomedical devices for electrophysiological recordings

Ion channels are important cellular transmembrane proteins for passively transporting inorganic ions into or out of cells. The study of ion channels, or more broadly the cell electrophysiology, is not only beneficial to fundamental study, but also for drug discovery. One gold standard tool to study ion channel’s activities is patch clamp, which could provide the detection limit to single ion channel level. However, due to the delicate configuration used and membrane damage caused by high seal resistance requisite, it’s technically hard for patch clamp to monitor cells’ electrophysiological activities in multiple sites and for a long term. Microelectrode array and field-effect transistor array thus have been introduced for solving those issues by implementing an extracellular detection scheme. Nevertheless, they suffer the problem of low sensitivities while the rigid substrates used in those techniques make them hardly be applied to in vivo usages.
Lymph Pools in the Basement, Sump Pumps in the Attic: The Anuran Dilemma for Lymph Movement

Amphibians are a vertebrate group transitional between aquatic and terrestrial environments. Consequently, both increases and decreases in blood volume are a natural biological stress associated with aquatic and terrestrial environments. In comparison with other vertebrate classes, anuran amphibians have the most rapid compensation and greatest capacity to compensate for changes in blood volume and survive dehydration. Unlike in mammals, a Starling transcapillary uptake mechanism does not account for this fluid mobilization because lymph flow is a substantial and important additional factor. The role of the lymphatic system in flux of fluids back into the circulation varies interspecifically in anurans and is an order of magnitude greater in anurans than in mammals. Current models of lymph movement in anurans are centered on the role of lymph hearts, but we suggest that these models are untenable. We present a new hypothesis for lymph movement involving (1) pressure differences created by compartmentalization of the hind limb lymph spaces into sacs of serially graded compliance to move lymph horizontally and (2) both negative and positive pressure differences created by contraction of skeletal muscles to move lymph vertically. The primary function of some of these skeletal muscles may be solely for lymph movement, but some may also be involved with other functions such as pulmonary ventilation.
Efficient identification of Malassezia yeasts by matrix‐assisted laser desorption ionization‐time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI‐TOF MS)

Infections caused by Malassezia yeasts are most likely underdiagnosed, because fatty acid supplementation is needed for growth. Rapid identification of Malassezia species is essential for appropriate treatment of Malassezia‐related skin infections, fungaemia and nosocomial outbreaks in neonates, children and adults and can be life‐saving for those patients. Ma‐assisted laser desorption ionization‐time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI‐TOF MS) has been reported to be a rapid and reliable diagnostic tool to identify clinically important yeasts, but so far no data have been reported on identification of Malassezia isolates with this technique.