Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Impact of Sex Offender Residence Restrictions: 1,000 Feet From Danger or One Step From Absurd?

Several states have enacted public policies that prohibit sex offenders who have abused children from living within close proximity to a school, park, day care center, or school bus stop. The purpose of this exploratory study was to describe the impact of residence restrictions on sex offender reintegration and to better understand sex offenders' perceptions of these laws. A survey of 135 sex offenders in Florida was conducted. Most of the molesters who responded to the survey indicated that housing restrictions increased isolation, created financial and emotional stress, and led to decreased stability. Respondents also indicated that they did not perceive residence restrictions as helpful in risk management and, in fact, reported that such restrictions may inadvertently increase triggers for reoffense. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.
Tree- and needle-age-dependent variations in antioxidants and photoprotective pigments in Norway spruce needles at the alpine timberline.

To cope with environmental stress, plants are equipped with antioxidative (e.g., ascorbate, glutathione and alpha-tocopherol) and photoprotective (e.g., xanthophyll cycle pigments) defense systems. We investigated the defense capacities of three tree age classes (mature, sapling and seedling) of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst. ) at a field site near the timberline. Biochemical data were expressed on both a needle dry mass and a surface area basis. Compared with current-year needles, previous-year needles contained higher mass- and area-based concentrations of chlorophylls and alpha-tocopherol, and a larger xanthophyll cycle pool that was in a more epoxidized state. Total glutathione concentration was lower, the glutathione pool was more reduced and the ascorbate pool was more oxidized in previous-year needles than in current-year needles. Needle concentrations of glutathione and alpha-tocopherol increased and chlorophyll concentration decreased with increasing tree age when expressed on a surface area basis. On a dry mass basis, these trends were reversed or nonexistent. The ascorbate pool was more reduced and the glutathione pool was more oxidized in needles of mature trees than in needles of saplings and seedlings. The proportion of protective xanthophyll cycle pigments decreased and the de-epoxidation state increased with increasing tree age. We conclude that tree age and the basis of expression of antioxidant concentration--surface area or dry mass--are important in scaling from seedlings to large trees.
Licofelone: A Novel Non-Steriodal Anti-Inflammatory Drug (NSAID) in Arthritis

Arthritis refers to different medical conditions associated with disorder of the primary structures that determine joint functions such as bones, cartilage and synovial membranes. Drug discovery and delivery to retard the degeneration of joint tissues are challenging. Current treatments of different arthritis involves administration of ideal non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) but are frequently associated with adverse reactions, related to inhibition of cyclo-oxygenase (COX) in tissues where prostaglandins exert physiological effects, such as gastric mucosal defense and renal homeostasis. As a consequence, the interest for novel approaches has re-emerged. New therapeutic options, still under clinical evaluation, are represented as dual COX and 5-lipooxygenase (5-LOX) inhibitors. These are expected to possess clinical advantages over the selective inhibitors of COX enzyme. One of the most promising compounds belonging to this category, licofelone, a competitive inhibitor of 5-lipoxygenase, cyclooxygenase (COX-1 and COX-2), is currently in clinical development for the treatment of osteoarthritis (OA). Licofelone decreases the production of pro-inflammatory leukotrienes and prostaglandins which are involved in the pathophysiology of OA and in gastrointestinal (GI) damage induced by NSAIDs and have the potential to combine good analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects with excellent GI tolerability. The emerging clinical data for licofelone indicate that it is an effective and well-tolerated therapy which could be suitable for the long-term treatment of patients with OA. This review focuses upon the gastrointestinal (GI) safety of selective COX-2 inhibitors and of novel therapeutic strategies, in comparison with traditional NSAIDs.
Time Weight Update Model Based on the Memory Principle in Collaborative Filtering

Collaborative filtering is the most widely used technology in the recommender systems. Existing collaborative filtering algorithms do not take the time factor into account. However, users’ interests always change with time, and traditional collaborative filtering cannot reflect the changes. In this paper, the change of users’ interests is considered as the memory process, and a time weight iteration model is designed based on memory principle. For a certain user, the proposed model introduces the time weight for each item, and updates the weight by computing the similarity with the items chosen in a recent period. In the recommend process, the weight will be applied to the prediction algorithm. Experimental results show that the modified algorithm can optimize the result of the recommendation in a certain extent, and performs better than traditional collaborative filtering.
TGF-β1 promoted MMP-2 mediated wound healing of anterior cruciate ligament fibroblasts through NF-κB

The adult human anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) has poor functional healing response. Transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 enhances the wound repair by stimulating matrix proteins deposition as well as the proliferation and migration of cells. However, the function of the TGF-β1-induced matrix metalloproteinases' (MMPs) activities in the wound healing process is poorly understood. In this study, exogenous MMP-2 is added to mimic the TGF-β1-induced MMP-2 expression. Role of NF-κB pathway is further examined. Our results show that TGF-β1 induces dramatic elevation of MMP-2 activities and the MMP-2/tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases ratio. Furthermore, the exogenous MMP-2 significantly promoted in vitro wound healing abilities of ACL fibroblasts that are significantly blocked with the addition of its inhibitors. TGF-β1 also increases the proliferation of ACL fibroblasts whereas MMP-2 alone does not, indicating that MMP-2 activities are not involved in the proliferation. TGF-β1-induced MMP-2 activity is inhibited by Bay11-7082 and Bay11-7085 (NF-κB inhibitors). Our results demonstrate that increased TGF-β1 facilitates the ACL healing process by promoting the fibroblasts migration and proliferation. The migration process is mediated by MMP-2 and NF-κB pathway is involved in TGF-β1-mediated MMP-2 release.
A meta-analysis of social capital and health: A case for needed research

Social capital refers to various levels of social relationships formed through social networks. Measurement differences have lead to imprecise measurement. A meta-analysis of eligible studies assessing the bivariate association between social capital and self-reported health and all-cause mortality was performed. Thirty-nine studies met inclusion criteria, showing social capital increased odds of good health by 27 percent (95% confidence intervals [CI] =21%, 34%). Social capital variables, reciprocity increased odds of good health by 39 percent (95% CI = 21%, 60%) and trust by 32 percent (95% CI =19%, 46%). Future research suggests operationalizing measures by assessing differences by race/ethnicity, gender and socioeconomic status.
From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Investigation of bioterrorism-related anthrax and adverse events from antimicrobial prophylaxis.

CDC AND STATE AND LOCAL PUBLIC health authorities continue to investigate cases of bioterrorism-related anthrax. As of November 7, a total of 22 cases of anthrax have been identified according to the CDC surveillance case definition; 10 were confirmed inhalational anthrax cases and 12 cases (seven confirmedandfivesuspected)werecutaneous anthrax (Table 1). The majority of cases have occurred in persons working at postal facilities in New Jersey (NJ) and the District of Columbia (DC) in which letters contaminatedwithanthrax were handled or processed using highspeedsortingmachines,oratmediacompanies in New York City (NYC) or Florida (FL) where letters, either confirmed or presumed to be contaminated with anthrax, were opened or handled. The probable exposures for a case of cutaneous anthrax in NJ and a case of inhalational anthrax in NYC remain unknown. Epidemiologic investigations of these cases and surveillance todetectnewcasesofbioterrorismassociated anthrax continue. This report updates the investigation of these cases and describes adverse events associated with antimicrobial prophylaxis. Since the last report, one additional caseof confirmedcutaneous anthraxhas been identified ina38-year-oldmanwho workedatamediacompanyinNYC.This is the third case of cutaneous anthrax reported among employees at the media companyand isprobablyassociatedwith a contaminated letter postmarked September18thatwashandledduringOctober 12-15. On October 23, the patient noted a small nonerythematous, nonpruritic, and painless lesion on his forehead. On October 28, a physician evaluated the patient and described a lesion 1.4 cm in diameter, the center of which was depressed and dark gray; the same day, he was started on ciprofloxacin. A biopsy was positive for Bacillus anthracis by culture and immunohistochemical staining. No other new cases have been identified frominvestigations inFL, DC, NJ, NYC, or other areas. Recommendations for antimicrobial prophylaxis to prevent inhalational anthrax have been directed by epidemiologic and laboratory findings. Approximately 300 postal and other facilities have been tested for B. anthracis spores and approximately 32,000 persons have initiated antimicrobial prophylaxis following potential exposure to B. anthracis at workplaces in FL, DC, NJ, and NYC. Clean-up at contaminated sites and surveillance for new anthrax cases are ongoing.
A fast implementation of the incremental backprojection algorithms for parallel beam geometries

The incremental backprojection algorithm is a fast backprojection approach requiring only O(N) and O(N/sup 2/) multiplications in contrast to O(N/sup 2/) and O(N/sup 3/) multiplications for the Shepp and Logan's backprojection algorithm in 2D and 3D backprojections, respectively, for each view. However, the improvement achieved by the incremental algorithm in practice was not so significant as expected in theory due to inevitably visiting pixels outside the beam in the searching flow scheme originally developed for the Incremental algorithm. To optimize implementation of the incremental algorithm, an efficient scheme, namely, coded searching flow scheme, is proposed in this paper to minimize the overhead caused by searching for all pixels in a beam. The key idea of this scheme is to encode the searching flow for all pixels inside each beam. While backprojection, all pixels may be visited without any overhead due to using the coded searching flow as the a priori information. The proposed coded searching flow scheme has been implemented on a Sun Sparc 10 and a Sun Sparc 20 workstations. The implementation results show that the proposed scheme is 1.45-2.0 times faster than the original searching flow scheme for most cases tested. Compared to the conventional Shepp and Logan's backprojection algorithm, the proposed scheme may achieve 5-8 and 3 times speed-ups for 2D and 3D backprojection, respectively.
Central Amazonian floodplain forests: Tree adaptations in a pulsing system

Amazonian floodplain forests are characterized by an annual flood pulse with changes of the water table that exceed 10 meters. Seedlings and adult trees are waterlogged or submerged for continuous periods lasting up to seven months per year. The monomodal flood pulse of the rivers causes drastic changes in the bioavailability of nutrients, oxygen levels, and concentrations of phytotoxins. The aquatic phase occurs during a period in which temperature and light conditions are optimal for plant growth and development, implying the need for adaptations. Not only do trees persist in a dormant state, they grow vigorously during most of the year, including the aquatic period. The regularity of flooding may have enhanced the evolution of specific traits, which partially are well known from floodplain trees in other tropical and in temperate regions. Different kinds of adaptations are found at the level of structural, physiological, and phenological traits. Combinations of adaptations regarding seed germination, seedling development, and traits of roots, shoots, and leaves result in a variety of growth strategies among trees. These lead to specific species distributions and zonations along the flooding gradient and within Amazonian floodplain systems (nutrient-rich white-water várzea and nutrient-poor black-water igapó). ResumoAs florestas alagáveis da Amazônia estão sujeitas à urna inundação anual que pode ultrapassar 10 metros. Plântulas e árvores adultas ficam parcialmente ou completamente submersas por períodos de até sete meses por ano. O pulso monomodal de inundação dos rios gera alteraccões drásticas na biodisponibilidade de nutrientes, na concentração de oxigênio e de phytotoxinas. A fase aquática ocorre em um período do ano em que as condições de luz e temperatura são ideais para o crescimento e desenvolvimento das plantas, implicando em urna necessidade das plantas a se adaptarem. As espécies arbóreas não apenas sobrevivem em um estado de dormência, mas crescem vigorosamente durante quase todo o ano, inclusive na fase aquática. Inundações previsíveis e regulares podem ter aumentado a evolução de características específicas, que parcialmente já são conhecidas em outras espécies de áreas alagáveis em regiões trapicais e temperadas. Diferentes tipos de adaptações são encontradas a nível estrutural, fisiológico e fenológico. A combinação de adaptações levando em consideração a germinação das sementes, o desenvolvimento das plântulas, e a estrutura das raízes, caules e folhas resulta em urna variedade de estratégias de crescimento entre as espécies. Isto leva a distribuições específicas das espécies, zonações ao longo do gradiente de inundação e dentro dos sistemas amazônicos (a várzea, com águas ricas em nutrientes, e o igapó, com águas pobres em nutrientes).
Upregulation of CD59: Potential Mechanism of Accommodation in a Large Animal Model

Background. Survival of ABO-mismatched kidneys with stable renal function despite the persistence of anti-ABO antibodies is called accommodation. The mechanism of accommodation is unclear, but may involve complement regulatory proteins such as CD59. The development of alpha-1,3-galactosyltransferase knock-out (GalT-KO) swine that produce anti-Gal antibodies provides a large animal model capable of determining the role of complement regulatory proteins in accommodation. Methods. ELISA and antibody fluorescence-activated cell sorting were used to examine the rate of anti-Gal antibody expression as a function of age. Major histocompatibility complex-matched kidneys were transplanted from Gal-positive MGH miniature swine to MGH GalT-KO swine with systemic immunosuppression. One recipient underwent adsorbtion of anti-Gal antibodies before transplantation. Graft survival, antibody, and complement deposition patterns and CD59 expression were determined. Results. Three animals rejected Gal-positive kidneys by humoral mechanisms. One animal with low titers of anti-Gal antibody displayed spontaneous accommodation and the animal that was treated with antibody adsorbtion also displayed accommodation. Rejected grafts had deposition of IgM, IgG, C3, and C5b-9 with low expression of CD59, whereas accommodated grafts had low deposition of C5b-9 and high expression of CD59. Retransplantation of one accommodated graft to a naïve GalT-KO animal confirmed that changes in the graft were responsible for the lack of C5b-9 deposition. Conclusion. GalT-KO miniature swine produce anti-Gal antibodies and titers increase with age. These anti-Gal antibodies can cause rejection of major histocompatibility complex-matched kidneys unless accommodation occurs. CD59 up-regulation seems to be involved in the mechanism of accommodation by preventing the formation of the membrane attack complex (MAC) on the accommodated graft.
Metadata-enhanced visual interfaces to digital libraries

Information visualization offers a variety of ways in which digital library collections can be represented on the interface and shown to the user. Metadata, a key component of solid digital libraries, has been utilized to enhance visual user interfaces to digital libraries. This paper reports on a study conducted to investigate and analyze a specific category of digital library visual interface that supports information seeking, exploration and retrieval based on metadata representations, namely metadata-enhanced visual interfaces. This study examined 21 metadata-enhanced digital library visual interfaces from the following perspectives: (a) information access and retrieval features; (b) metadata elements; (c) visualization techniques and metaphors. The results demonstrated that the combined use of visualization techniques and metaphors is becoming increasingly prevalent as a design strategy to support users' information exploration. The results also suggest that visual interfaces enhanced with metadata are becoming more widespread to provide a richer representation of digital collections.
Robust global stabilization of the VTOL aircraft based on finite-time fast terminal sliding mode control

Stabilization and trajectory tracking of the vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft are challenging problems which have been extensively investigated over the past years. This paper focuses on the robust stabilization problem of the VTOL aircraft. Firstly, by using a nonlinear global transformation, the original system is decomposed into two coupling sub-systems; then, a new finite-time fast terminal sliding mode manifold is designed. More specifically, the new finite-time fast terminal sliding mode manifold exhibits not only fast convergence rate, but also finite convergence time for any initial value; as a result, based on the designed finite-time fast terminal sliding mode manifold, one of the two sub-systems can converge to the equilibrium point in a finite time with high speed after being transformed, and then the other one is asymptotically stable, which avoids constructing the Lyapunov functions. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy.
Role of horn flies (Haematobia irritans) in Staphylococcus aureus-induced mastitis in dairy heifers.

OBJECTIVE To determine whether Staphylococcus aureus can colonize in horn flies and whether colonization is sufficiently persistent for transmission of the organism to cows by flies. ANIMALS 2 Jersey heifers exposed to infected horn flies. PROCEDURE Staphylococcus aureus was allowed to colonize in horn flies, and duration of colonization was determined. Flies with colonized S aureus were allowed to feed on teats of uninfected heifers to determine whether intramammary infection could be transmitted from fly to heifer. Scab material from naturally infected heifers was submitted for bacteriologic culture to determine whether S aureus was present and whether scabs could serve as a possible source of S aureus for flies. RESULTS Staphylococcus aureus colonized in horn flies and remained for up to 96 hours after exposure. Exposure of teats of uninfected heifers to horn flies colonized with S aureus resulted in intramammary infection in 3 of 4 exposed teats. Culture of scab material from teats of naturally infected heifers revealed high concentration of S aureus (> 107 colony-forming units/mg), and flies without previously colonized S aureus were allowed to feed on scabs; S aureus colonized in them just as readily as it did in flies that had fed on experimentally infected blood. CONCLUSIONS Horn flies are capable of transmitting S aureus-induced intramammary infection to heifers, and scabs on teats are a potential source of S aureus. Fly control on dairy cows in herds with known S aureus problems is recommended as a method to help prevent these infections.
Health-related quality of life among adolescents with polycystic ovary syndrome.

OBJECTIVE To explore health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among adolescents with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). DESIGN Qualitative study. SETTING Two out-patient gynecology clinics in Yorkshire, England. PARTICIPANTS Fifteen young women diagnosed with PCOS were recruited. METHODS Semistructured interviews were carried out, transcribed verbatim, and subjected to thematic analysis using NVivo software version 2.0. RESULTS A few areas were identified where PCOS had a positive impact upon HRQoL (e.g., improved relationships). However, overall the condition had a negative impact upon HRQoL. Weight problems (in particular the difficulties associated with managing/maintaining weight) and body perceptions appeared to be the most significant contributors to a reduced HRQoL. Menstrual dysfunction, fertility issues, and hirsutism also had adverse affects on emotional well-being, self-perception (including poor body image, self-consciousness, & low self-esteem), social functioning, and sexual behavior. A number of participants described receiving insufficient information from health care professionals (HCPs) and negative experiences in relation to the diagnosis and management of their condition. CONCLUSION Overall, PCOS has a negative impact on the HR QoL of adolescent girls with the condition. Emotional and social functioning appeared to be most affected rather than areas of physical functioning. Future research is needed to identify ways to improve communication between adolescents with PCOS and their HCPs, particularly around the diagnosis and potential for infertility. Finally, HCPs need to be more aware of the emotional impact of PCOS upon adolescents' HRQoL and of the potential for poor sexual health through risk-taking behaviors that may occur due to the potential loss of fertility.
Recent Technological and Economic Change among Industrialized Countries : Insights from Population Growth

Cross-country observations on the effects of population growth are used to show why differences in rates of growth in working-age population may be a key to understanding differences in economic performance across industrialized countries over the period 1975–1997 versus 1960–1974. In particular, we argue that countries with lower rates of adult population growth adopted new capital-intensive technologies more quickly than their high population growth counterparts, therefore allowing them to reduce their work time without deterioration of growth in output-per-adult.