Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Production of Porous Hydroxyapatite Scaffolds with Graded Porosity by Sequential Freeze-Casting

Porous hydroxyapatite (HA) scaffolds with porosity-graded structures were fabricated by sequential freeze-casting. The pore structures, compressive strengths, and biocompatibilities of the fabricated porous HA scaffolds were evaluated. The porosities of the inner and outer layers of the graded HA scaffolds were controlled by adjusting the initial HA contents of the casting slurries. The interface between the dense and porous parts was compact and tightly adherent. The porosity and compressive strengths of the scaffold were controlled by the relative thicknesses of the dense/porous parts. In addition, the porous HA scaffolds showed good biocompatibility in terms of preosteoblast cell attachment and proliferation. The results suggest that porous HA scaffolds with load-bearing parts have potential as bone grafts in hard-tissue engineering.
Association between the Geriatric Giants of urinary incontinence and falls in older people using data from the Leicestershire MRC Incontinence Study.

OBJECTIVE To determine whether urinary incontinence per se and different types of urinary incontinence individually are associated with an increased risk of falls in those aged 70 years and over. To investigate whether the presence of urinary symptoms, poor quality of life and physical limitations in this population with urinary incontinence is associated with falls. DESIGN Study using data from the cross-sectional postal questionnaire undertaken in the Leicestershire Medical Research Council Incontinence Study. SETTING Leicestershire. PARTICIPANTS A total of 5,474 people aged 70 years or more living in the community randomly selected from general practitioners' lists. RESULTS Urinary incontinence and both urge and stress incontinence were positively related to falls (P < 0.0001, P < 0.001 and P = 0.007, respectively). The larger the volume of urine lost, the greater the risk of falls (P < 0.0001). Falls were associated with the presence of urinary symptoms (P = 0.01 or less), physical limitations (P = 0.001 or less) and having a poorer quality of life (P = 0.004 or less) in respondents with urinary incontinence. CONCLUSIONS An association has been shown between falling and urinary leakage including the previously unreported association with stress leakage. Falling and urinary incontinence were found to be associated with physical limitations and had an impact on quality of life.
Towards Automated Extraction of Tempo Parameters from Expressive Music Recordings

A performance of a piece of music heavily depends on the musician’s or conductor’s individual vision and personal interpretation of the given musical score. As basis for the analysis of artistic idiosyncrasies, one requires accurate annotations that reveal the exact timing and intensity of the various note events occurring in the performances. In the case of audio recordings, this annotation is often done manually, which is prohibitive in view of large music collections. In this paper, we present a fully automatic approach for extracting temporal information from a music recording using score-audio synchronization techniques. This information is given in the form of a tempo curve that reveals the relative tempo difference between an actual performance and some reference representation of the underlying musical piece. As shown by our experiments on harmony-based Western music, our approach allows for capturing the overall tempo flow and for certain classes of music even finer expressive tempo nuances.
Strengths use, self-concordance and well-being: Implications for Strengths Coaching and Coaching Psychologists

An emphasis of the coaching psychology and positive psychology movements has been strengths and well-being. This study examined two generic aspects of strengths – strengths knowledge and strengths use, together with organismic valuing, and their relations with subjective well-being, psychological well-being, and subjective vitality. Theory suggests that people who know their strengths, use their strengths, and follow the directions that are right for them (i.e. organismically valuing) will be happier. Participants (N=214) completed measures of these variables, as well as measures of self-esteem and self-efficacy. Analyses showed that strengths knowledge, strengths use, and organismic valuing were all significantly associated with well-being and vitality. Regression analyses showed that self-esteem, organismic valuing, and strengths use all predicted unique variance in subjective well-being and psychological well-being, but only self-esteem significantly predicted unique variance in subjective vitality. The discussion locates the findings in relation to strengths coaching, and suggests directions for future research and coaching psychology applications.
A method for predicting stressed words in English jazz chants

To acquire a second language, one must develop an ear and tongue for the correct stress and intonation patterns of that language. In English language teaching, there is an effective method called Jazz Chants for working on the sound system. In this paper, we propose a method for predicting stressed words, which play a crucial role in Jazz Chants. The proposed method is specially designed for stress prediction in Jazz chants. It exploits several sources of information including words, POSs, sentence types, and the constraint on the number of stressed words in a chant text. Experiments show that the proposed method achieves an -measure of 0.936 and outperforms the other methods implemented for comparison. The proposed method is expected to be useful in supporting non-native teachers of English when they teach chants to students and create chant texts with stress marks from arbitrary texts.
Mitochondrial Respiratory Chain Inhibitors Involved in ROS Production Induced by Acute High Concentrations of Iodide and the Effects of SOD as a Protective Factor

A major source of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation is the mitochondria. By using flow cytometry of the mitochondrial fluorescent probe, MitoSOX Red, western blot of mitochondrial ROS scavenger Peroxiredoxin (Prx) 3 and fluorescence immunostaining, ELISA of cleaved caspases 3 and 9, and TUNEL staining, we demonstrated that exposure to 100 μM KI for 2 hours significantly increased mitochondrial superoxide production and Prx 3 protein expression with increased expressions of cleaved caspases 3 and 9. Besides, we indicated that superoxide dismutase (SOD) at 1000 unit/mL attenuated the increase in mitochondrial superoxide production, Prx 3 protein expression, and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release and improved the relative cell viability at 100 μM KI exposure. However, SOD inhibitor diethyldithiocarbamic acid (DETC) (2 mM), Rotenone (0.5 μM), a mitochondrial complex I inhibitor, and Antimycin A (10 μM), a complex III inhibitor, caused an increase in mitochondrial superoxide production, Prx 3 protein expression, and LDH release and decreased the relative cell viability. We conclude that the inhibitors of mitochondrial respiratory chain complex I or III may be involved in oxidative stress caused by elevated concentrations of iodide, and SOD demonstrates its protective effect on the Fischer rat thyroid cell line (FRTL) cells.
Numerical modeling of pnpn heterostructure switches

A one-dimensional semiconductor device simulation program with current boundary conditions has been developed and applied to optical heterostructure p-n-p-n optical switches. Both avalanche effect and bandgap discontinuities are included in the model. Numerical simulation is performed to aid in design and to determine the switching parameters. The effects of light generation and carrier lifetime on current-voltage characteristics of the switches are investigated. The modeling results are studied for both InP/InGaAs and AlGaAs/GaAs devices and compared with experimental results in the latter case. Simulation and experiment agree on holding current and voltage and on high-current on-state characteristics. The limitations and simplification of the numerical model lead to a discrepancy in the low-current off-state. <<ETX>>
Expression of Functional Nerve Growth Factor Receptors in Pancreatic β-cell Lines and Fetal Rat Islets in Primary Culture

Previous data demonstrated that one rat insulinoma cell line, RINm5F cells, which is a rat β-cell line derived from a pancreatic tumor, express mRNA coding for both the low- and the high-affinity nerve growth factor receptors. Goals of this study were to extend our data to other β-cell lines and fetal islets in primary culture and to study further the binding characteristics of nerve growth factor receptors on β-cells. Northern blot analysis revealed that not only a panel of endocrine β-cell lines (RINm5F, INS-1, β-TC3) but also fetal rat islets in primary culture express mRNA coding for trk-A, which has been proposed to be the neuronal high-affinity nerve growth factor receptors. Reverse polymerase chain reaction followed by sequencing revealed that the sequence of trk-A receptor in RINm5F cells is identical to that of trk-A expressed in PC12 cells. The expression of the low-affinity nerve growth factor receptor was examined by Northern blot analysis that showed low-affinity nerve growth factor receptor to be expressed in RINm5F and INS-1 cell lines, in fetal rat islets in primary culture, but not in β-TC3-cells. Binding experiments revealed the presence of low- and high-affinity nerve growth factor binding sites, identical to those described for PC12 cells, on RINm5F and INS-1 cells and only high-affinity binding sites on β-TC3 cells. Exposure of all three β-cell lines to nerve growth factor increased NGFI-A and c-fos mRNA steady-state levels, showing that these receptors are functional. These data demonstrate that the entire machinery required for nerve growth factor action is present in β-cells in culture.
Configurable links for runtime adaptive on-chip communication

Reliability concerns associated with upcoming technology nodes coupled with unpredictable system scenarios resulting from increasingly complex systems require considering runtime adaptivity in all possible parts of future on-chip systems. We are presenting a novel configurable link which can change its supported bandwidth on-demand at runtime (2X-Links) for an adaptive on-chip communication architecture. We have evaluated our results using real-time multi-media and the E3S application benchmark suits. Our 2X-Links provide a higher throughput of up to 36%, with an average throughput increase of 21.3%, compared to the Normal-Full-Duplex-Links [12], [14], [17], [20] and keep performance-related guarantees with as low as 50% of the Normal-Full-Duplex-Links capacity. Our simulation shows when some links fail, the NoC with 2X-Links can recover from these faults with an average probability of 82.2% whereas these faults would be fatal for the Normal-Full-Duplex-Links.
Issues of Diagnostic Review in Brain Tumor Studies: From the Brain Tumor Epidemiology Consortium

Epidemiologists routinely conduct centralized single pathology reviews to minimize interobserver diagnostic variability, but this practice does not facilitate the combination of studies across geographic regions and institutions where diagnostic practices differ. A meeting of neuropathologists and epidemiologists focused on brain tumor classification issues in the context of protocol needs for consortial studies (http://epi.grants.cancer.gov/btec/). It resulted in recommendations relevant to brain tumors and possibly other rare disease studies. Two categories of brain tumors have enough general agreement over time, across regions, and between individual pathologists that one can consider using existing diagnostic data without further review: glioblastomas and meningiomas (as long as uniform guidelines such as those provided by the WHO are used). Prospective studies of these tumors benefit from collection of pathology reports, at a minimum recording the pathology department and classification system used in the diagnosis. Other brain tumors, such as oligodendroglioma, are less distinct and require careful histopathologic review for consistent classification across study centers. Epidemiologic study protocols must consider the study specific aims, diagnostic changes that have taken place over time, and other issues unique to the type(s) of tumor being studied. As diagnostic changes are being made rapidly, there are no readily available answers on disease classification issues. It is essential that epidemiologists and neuropathologists collaborate to develop appropriate study designs and protocols for specific hypothesis and populations. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2008;17(3):484–9)
SOMP: web server for in silico prediction of sites of metabolism for drug-like compounds

UNLABELLED A new freely available web server site of metabolism predictor to predict the sites of metabolism (SOM) based on the structural formula of chemicals has been developed. It is based on the analyses of 'structure-SOM' relationships using a Bayesian approach and labelled multilevel neighbourhoods of atoms descriptors to represent the structures of over 1000 metabolized xenobiotics. The server allows predicting SOMs that are catalysed by 1A2, 2C9, 2C19, 2D6 and 3A4 isoforms of cytochrome P450 and enzymes of the UDP-glucuronosyltransferase family. The average invariant accuracy of prediction that was calculated for the training sets (using leave-one-out cross-validation) and evaluation sets is 0.9 and 0.95, respectively. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION Freely available on the web at http://www.way2drug. com/SOMP.
Smoking and (Not) Voting: The Negative Relationship Between a Health-Risk Behavior and Political Participation in Colorado.

INTRODUCTION Considerable evidence suggests that cigarette smokers are an increasingly marginalized population, involved in fewer organizations and activities and with less interpersonal trust than their nonsmoking counterparts. However, only two previous studies, both among Swedish populations, have investigated smokers' attitudes toward political systems and institutions. The current, cross-sectional study examines smoking in relation to voting, a direct behavioral measure of civic and political engagement that at least partly reflects trust in formal political institutions. METHODS Secondary analyses were conducted of interview data from 11 626 respondents in the Colorado Tobacco Attitudes and Behaviors Survey. Data were collected via telephone between October 2005 and mid-April 2006 and included respondents' reported voting behavior in the 2004 national election; the participation rate was 89.7%. Balanced multiple logistic regression was used to examine associations between smoking and voting while controlling for other covariates known to be associated with both variables. RESULTS In the final model, daily smokers were less than half as likely as nonsmokers to report having voted in the election. CONCLUSIONS The results suggest possible consonance with previous work linking smoking with political mistrust. Possible causal mechanisms are discussed. This study is the first to link a health-risk behavior with electoral participation, and provides initial evidence that smoking is negatively associated with political participation. Future research should investigate how public health might enhance tobacco control efforts by taking nonvoting behavior into consideration, or creatively combining smoking cessation interventions with voter registration and other civic engagement work, particularly among socioeconomically disadvantaged populations.
Effect of target pharmaceuticals in the nitrogen and phosphorus removal processes via the nitrite pathway

The inhibitory effects of antibiotics (tetracycline, doxycycline, amoxicillin), an anti-inflammatory (ibuprofen) and an analgesic (paracetamol) on the via nitrite nitrogen and phosphorus removal processes were investigated. Biomass was collected from a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) and was spiked with fixed pharmaceutical concentrations (i.e. 50-500 mgL). Then, batch activity tests were conducted to determine the specific ammonium uptake rate (sAUR), the specific nitrogen uptake rate (sNUR), the specific phosphorus uptake rate (sPUR) under anoxic and aerobic conditions and the specific phosphorus release rate (sPRR). Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis was used to determine the dominant microbial populations. From the single pharmaceuticals, ibuprofen was found to have the highest inhibition for nitritation/denitritation, while doxycycline for the phosphorus uptake and release processes. Denitritation and phosphorus uptake in aerobic conditions were the biological processes that were more severely inhibited by the tested pharmaceuticals, while the phosphorus release process was usually the least sensitive one.
Evidence for Pore Formation in Host Cell Membranes by ESX-1-Secreted ESAT-6 and Its Role in Mycobacterium marinum Escape from the Vacuole

ABSTRACT The ESX-1 secretion system plays a critical role in the virulence of M. tuberculosis and M. marinum, but the precise molecular and cellular mechanisms are not clearly defined. Virulent M. marinum is able to escape from the Mycobacterium-containing vacuole (MCV) into the host cell cytosol, polymerize actin, and spread from cell to cell. In this study, we have examined nine M. marinum ESX-1 mutants and the wild type by using fluorescence and electron microscopy detecting MCV membranes and actin polymerization. We conclude that ESX-1 plays an essential role in M. marinum escape from the MCV. We also show that the ESX-1 mutants acquire the ability to polymerize actin after being artificially delivered into the macrophage cytosol by hypotonic shock treatment, indicating that ESX-1 is not directly involved in initiation of actin polymerization. We provide evidence that M. marinum induces membrane pores ∼4.5 nm in diameter, and this activity correlates with ESAT-6 secretion. Importantly, purified ESAT-6, but not the other ESX-1-secreted proteins, is able to cause dose-dependent pore formation in host cell membranes. These results suggest that ESAT-6 secreted by M. marinum ESX-1 could play a direct role in producing pores in MCV membranes, facilitating M. marinum escape from the vacuole and cell-to-cell spread. Our study provides new insight into the mechanism by which ESX-1 secretion and ESAT-6 enhance the virulence of mycobacterial infection.
Characterization of the Set of Models by Means of Symmetries

Many classes of propositional calculus problems display a large amount of symmetries, i.e. the set of clauses representing such problems remains invariant under certain permutations of variable names. In [2,1] we have shown how such symmetries can be detected and used to simplify satisability checking. The problem of nding all models of a given CNF propositional theory is known to be hard. More generally, we need to explore a complete proof tree and, in some cases, the set of models is much too large to be represented explicitly. In this paper, we show how symmetries can be used to represent a large set of models by a subset of characteristic models(non symmetric models). The other models can be obtained by applying the computed symmetries. We present an algorithm for enumerating non symmetric models, and we show results obtained on some known problems, such as the pigeonhole , queens and some other problems derived from mathematical theorems.
Moving Towards Work

SUMMARY The present study sought to investigate the effects of employment on low-income single black mothers and their preschool children. The sample included 90 mothers from New York City communities who were welfare recipients in 1996, and followed two years later. At follow-up, 53 of the 90 mothers were employed. The findings indicated that lower levels of depressive affect or financial strain were not predictive of entry into the work force. However, once employed, mothers reported less depressive symptoms than those not working. Attaining more education predicted better outcomes for mothers and their children, and provided more of an opportunity to be successful in the job market. For example, having more education was associated with gaining employment, exiting welfare, having stable employment, earning higher wages, and better reading abilities in children. Maternal employment was beneficial to children, as mothers who entered the work force had children who performed better in math achievement at follow-up, after controlling for maternal socioeconomic characteristics and school readiness at baseline. Implications of the findings will be discussed.
A Control-Theoretic Approach to Distributed Optimal Configuration of 802.11 WLANs

The optimal configuration of the contention parameters of a WLAN depends on the network conditions in terms of number of stations and the traffic they generate. Following this observation, a considerable effort in the literature has been devoted to the design of distributed algorithms that optimally configure the WLAN parameters based on current conditions. In this paper, we propose a novel algorithm that, in contrast to previous proposals which are mostly based on heuristics, is sustained by mathematical foundations from multivariable control theory. A key advantage of the algorithm over existing approaches is that it is compliant with the 802.11 standard and can be implemented with current wireless cards without introducing any changes into the hardware or firmware. We study the performance of our proposal by means of theoretical analysis, simulations, and a real implementation. Results show that the algorithm substantially outperforms previous approaches in terms of throughput and delay.
Therapeutic Vaccination against A Modified Minimal Survivin Epitope Induces Functional CD4 T Cells That Recognize Survivin‐Expressing Cells

During the last decade, cancer vaccination has received a great deal of attention; however, documentation of the clinical effect remains limited. The introduction of immune checkpoint inhibitors as a novel therapeutic modality 1–4 could by combination increase the ability of a peptide vaccination to induce clinical responses. Survivin is an anti-apoptotic protein, first discovered in 1997. 5 It is overexpressed in a wide array of cancers, including malignant melanoma (MM), 5,6 and expression is correlated with disease progression and a poor prognosis in e.g. colon cancer and neuroblastoma. 7,8 Survivin is an excellent target for cancer vaccines due to its universal expression in cancer; in addition, down-regulation will impair the tumor cell's ability to proliferate and expand. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Social Workers and the Development of the NAACP

L'A. argumente sur le bien-fonde des liens inter-organisationnels ayant soutenu le mouvement social qui a abouti a la creation de l'Association Nationale pour l'Avancement des Personnes de Couleur (NAACP) en 1910. Travailleurs sociaux, journalistes, religieux, leaders politiques, aussi bien Noirs que Blancs, ont contribue au mouvement. L'appel lance a l'issue de l'anniversaire de Lincoln a joue un role central dans ce succes. L'A. note cependant les difficultes de communication professionnelle inter-raciale, les Blancs sous-estimant les competences des Noirs