Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Reducing at-risk adolescents' display of risk behavior on a social networking web site: a randomized controlled pilot intervention trial.

OBJECTIVE To determine whether an online intervention reduces references to sex and substance abuse on social networking Web sites among at-risk adolescents. DESIGN Randomized controlled intervention trial. SETTING www.MySpace. com. PARTICIPANTS Self-described 18- to 20-year-olds with public MySpace profiles who met our criteria for being at risk (N = 190). Intervention Single physician e-mail. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Web profiles were evaluated for references to sex and substance use and for security settings before and 3 months after the intervention. RESULTS Of 190 subjects, 58.4% were male. At baseline, 54.2% of subjects referenced sex and 85.3% referenced substance use on their social networking site profiles. The proportion of profiles in which references decreased to 0 was 13.7% in the intervention group vs 5.3% in the control group for sex (P = .05) and 26.0% vs 22% for substance use (P = .61). The proportion of profiles set to "private" at follow-up was 10.5% in the intervention group and 7.4% in the control group (P = .45). The proportion of profiles in which any of these 3 protective changes were made was 42.1% in the intervention group and 29.5% in the control group (P = .07). CONCLUSIONS A brief e-mail intervention using social networking sites shows promise in reducing sexual references in the online profiles of at-risk adolescents. Further study should assess how adolescents view different risk behavior disclosures to promote safe use of the Internet.
The Discipline of Public Administration Today: New Perspectives

This article looks at the state of the discipline of Public Administration today, the challenges to the classical model, the origins of New Public Management writings in the 1990s and the new perspectives that have enriched the discipline thereafter. It examines the significance of the Public Value and the New Public Service concepts besides some of t~e ongoing concerns of the discipline in the globalising era which have impacted on the core content and teaching of the subject today.
Multi-criteria analysis of decision-making by international commercial banks for providing shipping loans

ABSTRACT This research investigates the underwriting attitude of international commercial banks in lending shipping loans. By adopting the analytic hierarchical process methodology, the underwriting attitude is captured to understand how bankers would deal with shipping loans in response to the current lengthy recession. We find that bankers focus on the criteria of corporate recourse (CR) in their decision-makings. Of the CR factors, the financial strength of shipowner is the most important factor, followed by the shipowner’s business history and the bank–firm relationship. With the current underwriting attitude, the shipping sector may have limited access to shipping loans of international commercial banks due to low corporate ratings caused by the long recession and the nature of industry itself: volatility, fragmentation, capital intensity, high leverage, etc.
[Radiosensitization by pentoxifylline in human hepatoma cell line HepG2 and its mechanism].

OBJECTIVE To investigate the radiosensitization by pentoxifylline (PTX) in human hepatoma cell line HepG2 and its possible mechanism. METHODS MTT assay was used to evaluate the cytotoxicity of PTX and clonogenic assay employed to observe its effects on the radiosensitivity of the cells quantified by calculating the sensitive enhancement ratio (SER). Flow cytometry was performed to observe the changes in the cell cycle of HepG2 cells in response to X-ray irradiation and the effect of PTX intervention. RESULTS The cytotoxicity of PTX increased in a dose-dependent manner following a 24-hour treatment, with the optimal dose range of 1-5 mmol/L. A sub-toxic dose of PTX at 2 mmol/L was used in the subsequent experiments. PTX significantly reduced the clonogenic activity and enhanced the radiosensitivity of HepG2 cells with a SER of 1.3+/-0.16 at the dose of 2 mmol/L. Irradiation resulted in cell cycle arrest at G2 phase in HepG2 cells, and the percentages of HepG2 cells in G2-M phase were 32.15% and 19.52% respectively after exposure to 6 Gy radiation alone and to 6 Gy plus 2 mmol/L PTX at 20 h, demonstrating the effectiveness of PTX in resolving radiation-induced G2 arrest. CONCLUSION Radiosensitization by PTX is possibly associated with the abrogation of G2 arrest in HepG2 cells following radiation exposure.
Metabolic syndrome and chronic kidney disease in high-risk Italian hypertensive patients: the I-DEMAND study.

BACKGROUND Metabolic syndrome (MS) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) are well-known, independent predictors of increased cardiovascular risk. Both conditions are fairly prevalent in the general population. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between MS or its individual components and CKD in an Italian population of hypertensive patients with normal or mildly to moderately impaired renal function under specialist care. METHODS A total of 2,916 patients (mean age 62 ± 11 years) among those enrolled in the I-DEMAND study were taken into consideration for this analysis. MS was defined according to the NCEP-ATP III criteria. CKD was defined as an estimated GFR (abbreviated MDRD equation) <60 ml/min/1.73m2 or as the presence of microalbuminuria (mean albumin-to-creatinine ratio =2.5 mg/mmol in men and =3.5 mg/mmol in women). RESULTS MS was present in 59% of our study patients. The prevalence of microalbuminuria, reduced GFR and CKD was 26%, 25%, and 41%, respectively. Patients with MS had higher urinary albumin excretion (p<0.0001), lower GFR (p=0.0077), and a greater prevalence of CKD (p<0.0001), even after adjusting for age and gender. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that MS was significantly associated with CKD, even after adjusting for several potential confounders including its individual components (OR 1.33, 95%CI 1.03-1.71, p=0.0268). The association between MS and CKD was stronger in nondiabetic patients. CONCLUSIONS Renal abnormalities and MS are frequently associated in hypertensive patients under specialist care. This relationship is independent of several potential confounding factors including the components of MS.
국제 �?너지시장 구조변화�?� 거시경제효과 분�? (Changes in International Energy Market and Their Impact on the Korean Economy)

본 연구에서는 석유시장과 신재생에너지 시장의 동향을 파악하고 주요국의 에너지정책 변화에 대하여 살펴봄으로써, 국제 에너지시장의 변화 양상이 우리 경제의 에너지 수급에 영향을 미칠 수 있는 경로에 대해 알아본다. 통계적 분석을 통하여 유가 변동에 영향을 미치는 요인들을 식별하고 이들의 거시경제적 영향을 파악하는 한편, 에너지부문을 고려한 경제모형을 구축하여 각 요인의 전달 경로를 확인한다. 또한, 현재 우리나라에서 추진하고 있는 신재생에너지 공급의무화 제도와 이에 따른 정책 비용을 도출하며, 연구결과에 따른 정책적 시사점을 제시한다. This research aims to grasp the changes in international energy market and their impact on the Korean economy, especially on external secters inclucing exports and imports.
Distinct Centromere-Like parS Sites on the Two Chromosomes of Vibrio spp

ABSTRACT Vibrio cholerae, the cause of cholera, has two circular chromosomes. The parAB genes on each V. cholerae chromosome act to control chromosome segregation in a replicon-specific fashion. The chromosome I (ChrI) parAB genes (parAB1) govern the localization of the origin region of ChrI, while the chromosome II (ChrII) parAB genes (parAB2) control the segregation of ChrII. In addition to ParA and ParB proteins, Par systems require ParB binding sites (parS). Here we identified the parS sites on both V. cholerae chromosomes. We found three clustered origin-proximal ParB1 binding parS1 sites on ChrI. Deletion of these three parS1 sites abrogated yellow fluorescent protein (YFP)-ParB1 focus formation in vivo and resulted in mislocalization of the ChrI origin region. However, as observed in a parA1 mutant, mislocalization of the ChrI origin region in the parS1 mutant did not compromise V. cholerae growth, suggesting that additional (non-Par-related) mechanisms may mediate the partitioning of ChrI. We also identified 10 ParB2 binding parS2 sites, which differed in sequence from parS1. Fluorescent derivatives of ParB1 and ParB2 formed foci only with the cognate parS sequence. parABS2 appears to form a functional partitioning system, as we found that parABS2 was sufficient to stabilize an ordinarily unstable plasmid in Escherichia coli. Most parS2 sites were located within 70 kb of the ChrII origin of replication, but one parS2 site was found in the terminus region of ChrI. In contrast, in other sequenced vibrio species, the distribution of parS1 and parS2 sites was entirely chromosome specific.
Cer1p, a Novel Hsp70-related Protein Required for Posttranslational Endoplasmic Reticulum Translocation in Yeast*

Proteins enter the secretory pathway by translocation across the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, import of proteins into the ER occurs both cotranslationally and posttranslationally. Presumably, the cotranslational targeting to the ER membrane is directed by the signal recognition particle, as demonstrated in other eukaryotic systems. The deletion of a gene, called CER1, inhibits the translocation of proteins that enter the ER posttranslationally, but not those that enter cotranslationally. This translocation defect is more pronounced at lower temperatures. A strain possessing a null mutation of CER1 in combination with a kar2 temperature-sensitive mutation displays synthetic growth defects, whereas overexpression of the ER DnaJ homolog Scj1p suppresses the translocation defect in cer1Δ strains. CER1 is predicted to encode a 100-kDa polypeptide, residing in the ER lumen that is related to the hsp70 family of molecular chaperones.
Vascular access use in Europe and the United States: results from the DOPPS.

BACKGROUND A direct broad-based comparison of vascular access use and survival in Europe (EUR) and the United States (US) has not been performed previously. Case series reports suggest that vascular access practices differ substantially in the US and EUR. We report on a representative study (DOPPS) which has used the same data collection protocol for> 6400 hemodialysis (HD) patients to compare vascular access use at 145 US dialysis units and 101 units in five EUR countries (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom). METHODS Logistic analysis evaluated factors associated with native arteriovenous fistula (AVF) versus graft use or permanent access versus catheter use for prevalent and incident HD patients. Times to failure for AVF and graft were analyzed using Cox proportional hazards regression. RESULTS AVF was used by 80% of EUR and 24% of US prevalent patients, and was significantly associated with younger age, male gender, lower body mass index, non-diabetic status, lack of peripheral vascular disease, and no angina. After adjusting for these factors, AVF versus graft use was still much higher in EUR than US (AOR=21, P < 0.0001). AVF use within facilities varied from 0 to 87% (median 21%) in the US, and 39 to 100% (median 83%) in EUR. For patients who were new to HD, access use was: 66% AVF in EUR versus 15% in US (AOR=39, P < 0.0001), 31% catheters in EUR vs. 60% in US, and 2% grafts in EUR vs. 24% in US. In addition, 25% of EUR and 46% of US incident patients did not have a permanent access placed prior to starting HD. In EUR, 84% of new HD patients had seen a nephrologist for> 30 days prior to ESRD compared with 74% in the US (P < 0.0001); pre-ESRD care was associated with increased odds of AVF versus graft use (AOR=1.9, P=0.01). New HD patients had a 1.8-fold greater odds (P=0.002) of starting HD with a permanent access if a facility's typical time from referral to access placement was < or =2 weeks. AVF use when compared to grafts was substantially lower (AOR=0.61, P=0.04) when surgery trainees assisted or performed access placements. When used as a patient's first access, AVF survival was superior to grafts regarding time to first failure (RR=0.53, P=0.0002), and AVF survival was longer in EUR compared with the US (RR=0.49, P=0.0005). AVF and grafts each displayed better survival if used when initiating HD compared with being used after patients began dialysis with a catheter. CONCLUSION Large differences in vascular access use exist between EUR and the US, even after adjustment for patient characteristics. The results strongly suggest that a facility's preferences and approaches to vascular access practice are major determinants of vascular access use.
Analysis of 3-D images generated by hierarchical disaggregation

An accelerated method for generating fully-polarimetric 3-D images of an arbitrary current distribution in free space is described with special emphasis on the inherent point spread function. The image generation is operating on the data obtained by sampling a far-field radiation pattern over a certain bandwidth. The idea is to accelerate the coherent summation of the fully-polarimetric plane wave spectrum by a hierarchical disaggregation inspired from the Multi-Level Fast Multipole Method. The resulting images reveal anisotropic distortions when compared to the source distribution, where the distortions originate from the non-radiating part in the source distribution. The effect of these distortions on the image quality are investigated by analysing the point spread function.
Islet xenotransplantation from genetically engineered pigs

Purpose of reviewPigs have emerged as potential sources of islets for clinical transplantation. Wild-type porcine islets (adult and neonatal) transplanted into the portal vein have successfully reversed diabetes in nonhuman primates. However, there is a rapid loss of the transplanted islets on exposure to blood, known as the instant blood-mediated inflammatory reaction (IBMIR), as well as a T-cell response that leads to rejection of the graft. Recent findingsGenetically modified pig islets offer a number of potential advantages, particularly with regard to reducing the IBMIR-related graft loss and protecting the islets from the primate immune response. Emerging data indicate that transgenes specifically targeted to pig &bgr; cells using an insulin promoter (in order to maximize target tissue expression while limiting host effects) can be achieved without significant effects on the pig's glucose metabolism. SummaryExperience with the transplantation of islets from genetically engineered pigs into nonhuman primates is steadily increasing, and has involved the deletion of pig antigenic targets to reduce the primate humoral response, the expression of transgenes for human complement-regulatory and coagulation-regulatory proteins, and manipulations to reduce the effect of the T-cell response. There is increasing evidence of the advantages of using genetically engineered pigs as sources of islets for future clinical trials.
[Seroprevalence of the infections caused by Borrelia Burgdorferi and Rickettsia Conorii in humans and dogs in primary health care of San Andreas del Rabanedo (Leon, Spain)].

BACKGROUND Positive results in infections of borrelia burgdorferi and Rickettsia conorii in human and canine population is studied in order to understand the situation of both in humans, and at the same time discover the importance of the dog as an indicator of these agents among those in the Health Area of San Andrés del Rabanedo, León. METHODS A study was made of 98 human serums and 95 canine serums (dogs of different breeds and capabilities) as regards B. burgdorferi (positive results 1/128 and 1/64, respectively) and 104 human serums and 84 canine serums as regards R. conorii (positive results at range 1/64 in both species) by means of indirect Immunofluorescence (IFI). RESULTS Positivity in both infections was discovered in both humans and dogs. With regard to B burgdorferi it was higher in humans than in dogs and with regard to R. conorii it was higher in dogs than in humans. In humans it was 4.08% as regards B. burgdorferi and 1% with respect to R. conorii: in dogs it was 2.10% as regards B. burgdorferi and 14.28% regarding R. conorii. The highest values were discovered in the Spring-Summer months except in the case of B. burgdorferi in dogs. Serum prevalence was greater in dogs used to guard other animals (sheep) than those involved in hunting and security. CONCLUSIONS The percentages of positive results discovered in our work, in humans as well as dogs, estimated in the territorial area of a geographical zone in a semi-rural León province, were equal or inferior to those discovered in other provinces, including ours. In dogs there were larger positive results regarding R. conorii than B. burgdorferi, which indicates that it is the most extended agent within our Province, as other authors have pointed out. The values discovered in humans as regards B. burgdorferi were higher than those in dogs; the existence of reactions crossed with other microorganisms may have influenced these results. For this reason, we consider it necessary to conduct more studies on the prevalence to these infections to obtain an appropriate epidemiological surveillance and control of these zoonosis, given their impact on public health.
Selective Fatty Acid Mobilization from Adipose Tissues of the Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus mongolicus) during Food Deprivation

Avian response to fasting has been examined intensively in penguins (Aptenodytes spp.) adapted to long‐term food deprivation but less in species experiencing shorter fasts. Thus, the selectivity in (i) incorporating different fatty acids (FA) from diet into total lipids of white adipose tissue (WAT) and liver and (ii) mobilizing FA from these tissues was examined in pheasants Phasianus colchicus mongolicus fed or fasted for 4 d. Dietary FA were selectively incorporated into intra‐abdominal and subcutaneous WAT having a similar composition. The WAT lipids contained higher proportions of saturated and monounsaturated FA and less polyunsaturated FA (PUFA) than the dietary profile. However, the isomers of 20:1 and 22:1 were incorporated inefficiently into the WAT lipids. The essential C18 PUFA precursors having smaller percentages in the pheasant tissues than in the diet were likely converted into longer‐chain derivatives probably utilized to a great extent for structural lipids of muscles and organs. During food deprivation, the pheasants preferentially utilized 16:1n‐7, 18:3n‐3, 18:1n‐9, and 16:0 but preserved long‐chain saturated and unsaturated FA. Mobilization was more efficient for shorter‐chain FA and increased with Δ9‐desaturation. The hepatic FA profile was resistant to the 4‐d period of food deprivation. The results demonstrate that the incorporation of FA into WAT and their mobilization from lipid stores are selective not only in mammals but also in birds.
A Miniaturized Extremely Close-Spaced Four-Element Dual-Band MIMO Antenna System With Polarization and Pattern Diversity

We propose a miniaturized design of a four-element dual-band multiple-input–multiple-output (MIMO) antenna system. The dual-band function is obtained by etching an “L” slot in the radiating patch. The edge-to-edge elements spacing is only 0.023<italic>λ<sub>0</sub></italic>. A decoupling structure consisting of cross-shaped metal strips shorted to the ground plane using vias is first introduced. Then, metalized walls are used to enhance the isolation level by realizing the pattern diversity. The measured resonant frequencies are centered at 3.5 and 5.7 GHz with bandwidths of 58 and 43 MHz, peak gains of 2.7 and 2.85 dBi, and peak efficiencies of 63% and 65%, respectively. A considerable measured mutual coupling reduction of 10.8 dB in the lower band and 15.6 dB in the upper band is realized. The overall size of the design is 0. 41λ<sub>0</sub> × 0. 41λ<sub>0</sub> × 0. 04λ<sub>0</sub> with minimum isolation levels of 18.4 and 22.7 dB in the lower and upper bands, respectively. The envelope correlation coefficient is lower than 0.08 across both operating bandwidths. The measured results validate the good diversity performance of the MIMO system.
Cost analysis of ongoing care of patients with end-stage renal disease: the impact of dialysis modality and dialysis access.

BACKGROUND Care of patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) is important and resource intense. To enable ESRD programs to develop strategies for more cost-efficient care, an accurate estimate of the cost of caring for patients with ESRD is needed. METHODS The objective of our study is to develop an updated and accurate itemized description of costs and resources required to treat patients with ESRD on dialysis therapy and contrast differences in resources required for various dialysis modalities. One hundred sixty-six patients who had been on dialysis therapy for longer than 6 months and agreed to enrollment were followed up prospectively for 1 year. Detailed information on baseline patient characteristics, including comorbidity, was collected. Costs considered included those related to outpatient dialysis care, inpatient care, outpatient nondialysis care, and physician claims. We also estimated separately the cost of maintaining the dialysis access. RESULTS Overall annual cost of care for in-center, satellite, and home/self-care hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis were US $51,252 (95% confidence interval [CI], 47,680 to 54,824), $42,057 (95% CI, 39,523 to 44,592), $29,961 (95% CI, 21,252 to 38,670), and $26,959 (95% CI, 23,500 to 30,416), respectively (P < 0.001). After adjustment for the effect of other important predictors of cost, such as comorbidity, these differences persisted. Among patients treated with hemodialysis, the cost of vascular access-related care was lower by more than fivefold for patients who began the study period with a functioning native arteriovenous fistula compared with those treated with a permanent catheter or synthetic graft (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION To maximize the efficiency with which care is provided to patients with ESRD, dialysis programs should encourage the use of home/self-care hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis.
The Production of Step-Level Public Goods in Structured Social Networks: An Agent-Based Simulation

This paper presents a multi-agent simulation of the production of step-level public goods in social networks. In previous public goods experimental research the design of the sequence ordering of decisions have been limited because of the necessity of simplicity taking priority over realism, which means they never accurately reproduce the social structure that constrains the available information. Multi-agent simulation can help us to overcome this limitation. In our model, agents are placed in 230 different networks and each networksâ€™ success rates are analyzed. We find that some network attributes -density and global degree centrality and heterogeneity-, some initial parameters of the strategic situation -the provision point- and some agentsâ€™ attributes -beliefs about the probability that others will cooperate-, all have a significant impact on the success rate. Our paper is the first approach to an explanation for the scalar variant of production of public goods in a network using computational simulation methodology, and it outlines three main findings. (1) A less demanding collective effort level does not entail more success: the effort should neither be as high as to discourage others, nor so low as to be let to others. (2) More informed individuals do not always produce a better social outcome: a certain degree of ignorance about other agentsâ€™ previous decisions and their probability of cooperating are socially useful as long as it can lead to contributions that would not have occurred otherwise. (3) Dense horizontal groups are more likely to succeed in the production of step-level public goods: social ties provide information about the relevance of each agentâ€™s individual contribution. This simulation demonstrates the explanatory power of the structural properties of a social system because agents with the same decision algorithm produce different outcomes depending on the properties of their social network.