Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Risk factors for anxiety and depression in patients with glaucoma

Aim To assess the risk factors for anxiety and depression in patients with glaucoma. Methods Anxiety and depression in 408 patients with glaucoma were evaluated using the hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS) questionnaire, which consists of two subscales, representing HADS-anxiety (HADS-A) and HADS-depression (HADS-D). To identify the risk factors for anxiety and depression, the stepwise and multiple linear regression analyses were carried out with the HADS-A and HADS-D subscores as dependent variables and demographic and clinical features as independent variables. Results A stepwise linear regression analysis revealed the significantly related factors to be age for HADS-A (β=−0.046, p=0.0007) and HADS-D (β=0.035, p=0.011) and the mean deviation of the Humphrey Visual Field Analyzer 30-2 (HFA30-2) in the better eye for HADS-D (β=−0.095, p=0.0026). Based on multiple linear regression analyses, significant relationships were confirmed between age and the HADS-A subscore (β=−0.046, p=0.0008). Significant relationships were also confirmed between age (β=0.037, p=0.0077) or the mean deviation of HFA30-2 in the better eye (β=−0.094, p=0.0036) and the HADS-D subscore. Conclusion A younger age was thus found to be a risk factor for anxiety, while an older age and increasing glaucoma severity were risk factors for depression in patients with glaucoma.
Five-Factor Model Personality Profiles: The Differences between Alcohol and Opiate Addiction among Females.

BACKGROUND The prevalence of female alcohol and substance abusers has markedly increased. The main objective of this research was to explore personality profiles among females who had alcohol and opiate dependence. AIM The aim of the study is to analyse if there is differences in personality profiles of females addicted to alcohol and opiates. We hypothesized that there might be significant differences in personality profiles among subgroups of women who present with alcohol and opiate use disorders. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Of 157 consecutive women with diagnosis of alcohol/opiate addiction, 62 fulfilled following inclusion criteria: age 19-45 years, abstinence from alcohol and opiates for at least 10 days prior to enrollment. Alcohol-dependent group consisted of 30 females, while opiate-dependent group consisted of 32 females. The control group involved 30 age-matched randomly chosen healthy women. The data were collected using the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R). The multiple stepwise discriminant analysis was used to determine relations between personality traits and the probability of belonging to one of the study groups. RESULTS Significant differences in the NEO-PI-R scores were observed between groups for all main personality traits except for Openness to Experience. Compared with controls, substance-dependent women scored significantly higher on Neuroticism and lower on Conscientiousness. Opiate-dependent females scored the highest on Neuroticism and on Extraversion and lowest on Agreeableness and on Conscientiousness. Alcohol-dependent females scored higher on Conscientiousness and lower on Neuroticism compared to opiate-dependent women. CONCLUSIONS The results of our study confirmed significant characteristics in personality profiles among females with alcohol and opiate dependence, as well as the difference between these two groups of substance abusers and their healthy controls. The distinct personality characteristics among different groups of substance addicted women should be taken into account when creating the most effective program of prevention and therapeutic approaches in this specific cohort.
Stability of the Apoproteins of Light-Harvesting Complex I and II during Biogenesis of Thylakoids in the Chlorophyll b-less Barley Mutant Chlorina f2

Transcription and translation of Lhc (cab) genes have been compared in the chlorina f2 mutant of barley (Hordeum vulgare) and its wild type to study the effect of chlorophyll b's absence on the regulation of assembly of the light-harvesting complexes (LHC). All tested genes were transcribed and the amount of their respective mRNAs increased rhythmically upon illumination of etiolated mutant plants. The synthesis of individual LHC apoproteins also had a rhythmic pattern when total leaf protein extracts were examined, whereas they increased gradually in the thylakoid. Only some LHC pigment-proteins present in wild-type thylakoids were found in mature mutant membranes. Thus, only the 25-kD (type 3) apoprotein of the three apoproteins of the major LHC IIb complex survived. The amount of the minor LHC II pigment-proteins was considerably reduced but not to zero. Photosystem I had some of the two LHC la apoproteins but had little of those of LHC lb. This was reflected in a shift of the 77-K emission maximum of whole leaves from 741 to 732 nm. It is concluded that the two largest LHC IIb and the LHC Ib apoproteins need chlorophyll b for stable integration into the membrane and that posttranslational regulation plays a major role in LHC assembly.
A comparison of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) at 3 and 80 pulses per second on cold‐pressor pain in healthy human participants

Electrophysiological studies suggest that there are differential frequency effects during TENS. The aim of this experimental study was to assess the effects of strong non‐painful TENS administered at 3 pulses per second (pps) and 80 pps on cold‐pressor pain in healthy human participants. A repeated measure design was used with participants receiving TENS at 3 pps and 80 pps in the same experiment. There were six cold‐pressor pain tests conducted on the hand with each type of TENS delivered via four electrodes on the ipsilateral forearm for 20 min. Outcomes were differences in pain threshold (s) and intensity (VAS) after 5 and 15 min of TENS. A 2 × 3 factorial repeated measure ANOVA was performed on data. Thirty‐five participants completed the experiment. Statistically significant effects were detected for condition, time and interactions between time × condition for both threshold and intensity. There were statistically higher pain thresholds and lower pain intensities for 3 pps when compared to 80 pps after 5 and 15 min of TENS. The differences after 15 min of TENS were 1·70 s to 3·70 s (95% CI) for threshold and 6·63–15·5 mm (95% CI) for pain intensity. In conclusion, strong non‐painful TENS at 3 pps was superior to 80 pps at reducing experimentally induced cold‐pressor pain. The implications of these findings are discussed.
The region of the HPV E7 oncoprotein homologous to adenovirus E1a and Sv40 large T antigen contains separate domains for Rb binding and casein kinase II phosphorylation.

Some genital human papillomavirus (HPV) types, such as 16 and 18, are highly associated with malignant cervical tumors while others, such as HPV 6, are only rarely found in these malignancies. The E7 oncoproteins of HPV 6, 16 and 18 each have a 17 amino acid region with striking homology to adenovirus E1a and SV40 LT. E1a, LT and the E7 oncoprotein of HPV16 all bind the cellular Rb protein in vitro, and for E1a and LT this region of homology contains sequences essential for interaction with Rb. We have now found that in HPV 16 E7 this region (amino acids 21‐37) contains two separate biochemical activities, each of which contributes to E7‐mediated transformation. Rb binding was localized to the N terminus of this region, while the C terminus was shown to serve as a substrate for casein kinase (CK) II, which phosphorylated serine‐31 and serine‐32. Replacement of the two serines by non‐phosphorylatable amino acids led to a reduction in transforming activity and abolished phosphorylation but did not affect Rb binding. Rb binding and CK II phosphorylation were also examined for the E7 proteins of HPV 6 and HPV 18. HPV 16 and 18 E7 bound similar amounts of Rb, but HPV 6 E7 consistently bound less. Phosphorylation rates also varied, with HPV 18 E7 being 2‐fold faster than HPV 16 E7, which in turn was 2‐fold faster than HPV 6 E7. We conclude that Rb binding and phosphorylation of E7 by CKII are independent activities which are required for efficient transformation by E7 and that these activities correlate directly with the relative oncogenic potential of these viruses.
Minority within a minority: Stakeholders’ perceptions of deaf education in Wales

Aim(s):The number of deaf children and young people (CYP) being educated in inclusive mainstream settings rather than special schools has grown over recent years, however, this has not been without its challenges. This qualitative study aims to address a gap in the research literature by investigating what stakeholders consider to be the implications for deaf CYP from Welsh-speaking homes when educated in English medium resource units.Method:Eleven semi-structured interviews were conducted with a sample of stakeholders from five Local Authorities (LAs) across Wales. The stakeholders included one parent and a range of professionals: educational psychologists; teachers of the deaf (both peripatetic and based in specialist units) and a teaching assistant. Thematic Analysis was utilised to analyse the data following the guidelines of Braun and Clarke (2006). Findings:The main themes constructed were: ‘Being deaf’, ‘Being Welsh’, ‘The need for English’ and ‘The emotional impact of deafness’. The research highlights the challenges that Welsh-speaking deaf CYP and their parents encounter and the impact of being a minority within a minority.Limitations:This research was small scale, which may not be representative of a broader group. The views of the central stakeholders, that of the children and young people themselves, have not been included in this studyConclusions:The findings from this research further contribute to the broader understanding of issues within deaf education across the UK, adds a unique perspective of the Welsh context and highlights the complex relationship between language choice and educational provision, particularly for those whom English is a second language. The current findings provide an insight into perceptions of stakeholders and thus will be able to inform EP practice through supporting the educational choice and experience of deaf CYP in Wales.
Articulations of feminine voices in Ghana’s parliament: a study of the Hansard from 2010-2011

Women have both a right and an obligation to active participation in political deliberation. Yet, their participation in formal political processes, where decisions regarding the use of societal resources generated by both men and women are made, remains insignificant. Now researchers are looking beyond the number of women in parliament to focus on what they can do in terms of their contributions. This study, therefore investigates female parliamentarians’ contributions during parliamentary proceedings, evaluates how gendered these issues were. To accomplish this task, a textual analysis of the Hansard was done using critical discourse analysis and theory of gender and power. The analysis revealed that although female MPs contribute to a range of issues, they are ardent promoters of pro-women legislations such as issues on women, children and youth, health and education. Again, the study found out that a greater percentage of issues women contribute to are gendered and so reinforces the stereotypical roles given to women by society. Keywords: hansard, Ghana, linguistic, parliament, text, women
Interaction of the Arabidopsis E2F and DP Proteins Confers Their Concomitant Nuclear Translocation and Transactivation

E2F transcription factors are required for the progression and arrest of the cell cycle in animals. Like animals, plants have evolved to conserve the E2F family. The Arabidopsis genome encodes E2F and DP proteins that share a high similarity with the animal E2F and DP families. Here, we show that Arabidopsis E2F and DP proteins are not predominantly localized to the nucleus in analyses with green fluorescent protein, and that the complete nuclear localization of some members is driven by the co-expression of their specific partner proteins. Both AtE2F1 and AtE2F3 were translocated to the nucleus and transactivate an E2F reporter gene when co-expressed with DPa but not DPb. In contrast, AtE2F2 was inactive for both nuclear translocation and transactivation even when Dpa or DPb was co-expressed. Because the DNA binding activities of the three E2Fs are equally stimulated by the interaction with DPa or DPb in vitro, the observed transactivation of AtE2F1 and AtE2F3 is DPa specific and nuclear import dependent. A green fluorescent protein fusion with an AtE2F3 mutant, in which a conserved nuclear export signal-like sequence in the dimerization domain was deleted, was localized to the nucleus. Thus, the concomitant nuclear translocation seems to be conferred by the DPa interaction to release an activity that inhibits an intrinsic nuclear import activity of AtE2Fs. Furthermore, the nuclear translocation of AtE2F3 stimulated by DPa was abolished by the deletion of the N-terminal region of AtE2F3, which is conserved among all the E2F proteins identified in plants to date. Replacement of the N-terminal region of AtE2F3 with a canonical nuclear localization signal only partially mimicked the effect of the DPa co-expression, demonstrating the function of plant E2F distinct from that observed for animal E2Fs. These observations suggest that the function of plant E2F and DP proteins is primarily controlled by their nuclear localization mediated by the interaction with specific partner proteins.
Motion-copying system using modal information for motion reproduction

This paper proposes a motion-copying system using modal information for motion reproduction. A motion-copying system has been proposed as the system of saving and reproducing a human motion. However, the conventional system can not reproduce the stored motion when an environmental location is changed between a motion-saving phase and a motion-loading phase. Then, a velocity-based motion-copying system has been proposed. Although this system can reproduce the stored motion once the system contacts with the environment, it takes time to adapt the different location of environment. To reproduce the human motion which contains vivid haptic information, it is needed to construct a much strict motion-reproduction system. Therefore, the motion-copying system using modal information is proposed in this paper. The proposed method stores and reproduces the estimated force and the differential mode of position responses, while the conventional method uses force and position responses of the human motion. By the proposed method, the stored motion can be reproduced precisely when the environmental location is unknown. The validity of the proposed method is confirmed by experiments.
Alcohol interventions in a trauma center as a means of reducing the risk of injury recurrence.

OBJECTIVE Alcoholism is the leading risk factor for injury. The authors hypothesized that providing brief alcohol interventions as a routine component of trauma care would significantly reduce alcohol consumption and would decrease the rate of trauma recidivism. METHODS This study was a randomized, prospective controlled trial in a level 1 trauma center. Patients were screened using a blood alcohol concentration, gamma glutamyl transpeptidase level, and short Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (SMAST). Those with positive results were randomized to a brief intervention or control group. Reinjury was detected by a computerized search of emergency department and statewide hospital discharge records, and 6- and 12-month interviews were conducted to assess alcohol use. RESULTS A total of 2524 patients were screened; 1153 screened positive (46%). Three hundred sixty-six were randomized to the intervention group, and 396 to controls. At 12 months, the intervention group decreased alcohol consumption by 21.8+/-3.7 drinks per week; in the control group, the decrease was 6.7+/-5.8 (p = 0.03). The reduction was most apparent in patients with mild to moderate alcohol problems (SMAST score 3 to 8); they had 21.6+/-4.2 fewer drinks per week, compared to an increase of 2.3+/-8.3 drinks per week in controls (p < 0.01). There was a 47% reduction in injuries requiring either emergency department or trauma center admission (hazard ratio 0.53, 95% confidence interval 0.26 to 1.07, p = 0.07) and a 48% reduction in injuries requiring hospital admission (3 years follow-up). CONCLUSION Alcohol interventions are associated with a reduction in alcohol intake and a reduced risk of trauma recidivism. Given the prevalence of alcohol problems in trauma centers, screening, intervention, and counseling for alcohol problems should be routine.
Uncertainty and Volatility Jumps in the Pound-Dollar Exchange Rate: Evidence from Over One Century of Data

In this paper, we analyse the role of economic uncertainty, in predicting volatility jumps in the pound-dollar exchange rate over the monthly period of 1900:02 to 2018:05, with the jumps computed using daily data over the same period. Standard linear Granger causality test fail to detect any evidence of uncertainty causing volatility jumps. But given strong evidence of nonlinearity and structural breaks between jumps and economic uncertainty, we next use a nonparametric causality-in-quantiles test, given the misspecification of the linear model. Using this data-driven robust approach, we detect overwhelming evidence of uncertainty causing volatility jumps of the dollar-pound exchange rate over its entire conditional distribution, with the strongest effect observed at the lowest considered conditional quantile. In addition, our results are, in general, found to be robust to alternative measures of uncertainty, jumps generated at daily frequency based on shorter-samples of intraday data, and across three other dollar-based exchange rates.
Buffer Layer Point Contacts for CIGS Solar Cells Using Nanosphere Lithography and Atomic Layer Deposition

Point contacts provide an interesting approach for reducing the buffer layer/Cu(In,Ga)Se2 interface recombination that typically limits Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cell performance when nontoxic alternatives to CdS buffer layers are used. In this study, we implement a scheme to create a point contact buffer layer on Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cells using a combination of atomic layer deposition and nanosphere lithography. While we showcase these buffer layers using Al2O3 as the passivating material, ZnO as the conductive material, and a silica nanosphere size of 310 nm in diameter, this scheme is general and could readily be applied for other materials and other sphere sizes. The resulting solar cells with Al2O3 and ZnO point contact buffer layers demonstrate successful application of this scheme, yielding a higher conversion efficiency (6.58 ± 0.58%) than either of the binary buffer layers Al2O3 (0%) and ZnO (5.15 ± 0.57%). The improvement over ZnO is mainly due to an increased open circuit voltage, which is an indication of a reduced surface recombination.
Empirical Evidence of Hyperbolic Discounting in China

This paper investigates the time discounting style and saving/ consumption behavior of Chinese mainland residents with the micro cross-section data “Survey of Living Preferences and Satisfaction” by The Institute of Social and Economic Research of Osaka University GCOE Program in 2009. It is found that the proportion of hyperbolic discounters of Chinese mainland residents is 16.35%. The net financial assets of hyperbolic discounters are significantly lower than other residents and their family expenditure per year is significantly higher. Meanwhile, the discounting style is significantly related to the age, living level and financial education.
Highly Efficient Impulse-Radio Ultra-Wideband Cavity-Backed Slot Antenna in Stacked Air-Filled Substrate Integrated Waveguide Technology

An impulse-radio ultra-wideband (IR-UWB) cavity-backed slot antenna covering the [5.9803; 6.9989] GHz frequency band of the IEEE 802.15. 4a-2011 standard is designed and implemented in an air-filled substrate integrated waveguide (AFSIW) technology for localization applications with an accuracy of at least 3 cm. By relying on both frequency- and time-domain optimization, the antenna achieves excellent IR-UWB characteristics. In free-space conditions, an impedance bandwidth of 1.92 GHz (or 29.4%), a total efficiency higher than 89%, a front-to-back ratio of at least 12.1 dB, and a gain higher than 6.3 dBi are measured in the frequency domain. Furthermore, a system fidelity factor larger than 98% and a relative group delay smaller than 100 ps are measured in the time domain within the 3 dB beamwidth of the antenna. As a result, the measured time-of-arrival of a transmitted Gaussian pulse, for different angles of arrival, exhibits variations smaller than 100 ps, corresponding to a maximum distance estimation error of 3 cm. Additionally, the antenna is validated in a real-life worst-case deployment scenario, showing that its characteristics remain stable in a large variety of deployment scenarios. Finally, the difference in frequency- and time-domain performance is studied between the antenna implemented in AFSIW and in dielectric filled substrate integrated waveguide (DFSIW) technology. We conclude that DFSIW technology is less suitable for the envisaged precision IR-UWB localization application.
Evaluation of automated threshold selection methods for accurately sizing microscopic fluorescent cells by image analysis

The accurate measurement of bacterial and protistan cell biomass is necessary for understanding their population and trophic dynamics in nature. Direct measurement of fluorescently stained cells is often the method of choice. The tedium of making such measurements visually on the large numbers of cells required has prompted the use of automatic image analysis for this purpose. Accurate measurements by image analysis require an accurate, reliable method of segmenting the image, that is, distinguishing the brightly fluorescing cells from a dark background. This is commonly done by visually choosing a threshold intensity value which most closely coincides with the outline of the cells as perceived by the operator. Ideally, an automated method based on the cell image characteristics should be used. Since the optical nature of edges in images of light-emitting, microscopic fluorescent objects is different from that of images generated by transmitted or reflected light, it seemed that automatic segmentation of such images may require special considerations. We tested nine automated threshold selection methods using standard fluorescent microspheres ranging in size and fluorescence intensity and fluorochrome-stained samples of cells from cultures of cyanobacteria, flagellates, and ciliates. The methods included several variations based on the maximum intensity gradient of the sphere profile (first derivative), the minimum in the second derivative of the sphere profile, the minimum of the image histogram, and the midpoint intensity. Our results indicated that thresholds determined visually and by first-derivative methods tended to overestimate the threshold, causing an underestimation of microsphere size. The method based on the minimum of the second derivative of the profile yielded the most accurate area estimates for spheres of different sizes and brightnesses and for four of the five cell types tested. A simple model of the optical properties of fluorescing objects and the video acquisition system is described which explains how the second derivative best approximates the position of the edge.