Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Binding of nucleobases with graphene and carbon nanotube: a review of computational studies

Functionalized carbon nanotubes (CNTs) constitute a new class of nanostructured materials that have vast applications in CNT purification and separation, biosensing, drug delivery, etc. Hybrids formed from the functionalization of CNT with biological molecules have shown interesting properties and have attracted great attention in recent years. Of particular interest is the hybridization of single- or double-stranded nucleic acid (NA) with CNT. Nucleobases, as the building blocks of NA, interact with CNT and contribute strongly to the stability of the NA–CNT hybrids and their properties. In this work, we present a thorough review of previous studies on the binding of nucleobases with graphene and CNT, with a focus on the simulation works that attempted to evaluate the structure and strength of binding. Discrepancies among these works are identified, and factors that might contribute to such discrepancies are discussed.
Relationship of uric acid with progression of kidney disease.

BACKGROUND Uric acid levels are increased in patients with kidney dysfunction. We tested the hypothesis that uric acid may be associated with kidney disease progression. STUDY DESIGN Cohort study. SETTING & PARTICIPANTS 5,808 participants of the Cardiovascular Health Study. PREDICTOR Uric acid levels. OUTCOMES & MEASUREMENTS Kidney disease progression was defined as a decrease in estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) of 3 mL/min/1.73 m(2) per year or greater (>or=0.05 mL/s) and as incident chronic kidney disease (CKD). Measures of kidney function were estimated GFR using the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease Study equation. RESULTS Higher quintiles of uric acid levels were associated with greater prevalences of estimated GFR less than 60 mL/min/1.73 m(2) (<1.00 mL/s) of 7%, 14%, 12%, 25%, and 42% for quintiles 1 (<or=4.41 mg/dL [<or=262 micromol/L]), 2 (4.41 to 5.20 mg/dL [262 to 309 micromol/L]), 3 (5.21 to 5.90 mg/dL [310 to 351 micromol/L]), 4 (5.91 to 6.90 mg/dL [352 to 410 micromol/L]), and 5 (>6.90 mg/dL [>410 micromol/L]), respectively. In comparison, there was only a modest, but significant, association between quintiles of uric acid levels and progression of kidney function decrease, with adjusted odds ratios of 1.0, 0.88 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.64 to 1.21), 1.23 (95% CI, 0.87 to 1.75), 1.47 (95% CI, 1.04 to 2.07), and 1.49 (95% CI, 1.00 to 2.22) for quintiles 1 through 5, respectively. No significant association was found between uric acid level and incident CKD (adjusted odds ratio, 1.00; 95% CI, 0.89 to 1.14). LIMITATIONS Measurements of albuminuria were not available. CONCLUSIONS Uric acid levels are associated strongly with prevalent CKD. In comparison, greater uric acid levels had a significant, but much weaker, association with progression of kidney disease.
Metabolism and health effects of phyto-estrogens

ABSTRACT Phyto-estrogens are plant-derived compounds that can exert various estrogenic and anti-estrogenic effects, and are usually used as a natural alternative to estrogen replacement due to their health benefits, including a lowered risk of osteoporosis, heart disease, breast cancer, and menopausal symptoms. Phyto-estrogens are also considered as endocrine disruptors due to their structure similar to human female hormone 17-β oestradiol. However, the issue of whether phyto-estrogens are beneficial or harmful to human health remains unknown, as this may depend on the dose, form, level and duration of administration of phyto-estrogens, and influence by genetics, metabolism, gut physiology, age, diet, and the health status of individuals. Clarification on this issue is necessary for the sake of their two-side effects on human health and rapidly increasing global consumption of phyto-estrogens. This review mainly includes the metabolism of phyto-estrogens and weighs the evidence for and against the purported health benefits and adverse effects of phyto-estrogens.
Variation of the Prognostic Significance of HER‐2 Expression in Breast Cancer According to Tumor Size

Abstract: The prognostic importance of HER‐2 status in breast cancer has been investigated extensively, but findings have not been uniform across immunohistochemical studies using fixed, paraffin‐embedded specimens. We speculate that studies with an overrepresentation of large tumors might not produce evidence for an independent effect of a single marker because breast tumors of larger size tend to exhibit multiple adverse attributes as the malignancy advances through the metastatic cascade. Further, it has been posited that results from certain studies of biologic markers might be generalizable only to larger tumors because tumor repositories tend to house a disproportionate number of larger tumors. To test our hypothesis that the prognostic effect of HER‐2 status might be modified by the size of the tumor, we conducted a survival analysis of a nested case‐case sample of 156 women diagnosed with primary breast cancer from 1983 to 1995. Relative risks (RRs) and confidence intervals (CIs) for recurrence in relation to HER‐2 status were estimated using a multivariate Cox proportional hazards model. Immunohistochemistry of archival tissue was used to detect HER‐2 expression. Positive HER‐2 status was associated with recurrence (RR = 4.24, 95% CI 1.30–13.78) among patients with axillary lymph node‐positive involvement. This analysis identified an interaction (p < 0.01) between tumor size and overexpression. Stratification by tumor size revealed an increased risk of recurrence associated with HER‐2‐positive tumors that were ≤2 cm in size (RR = 13.68, 95% CI 1.06–175.76), whereas no such association was observed among patients with HER‐2‐positive tumors larger than 2 cm. Eligible patients without available tumor tissue tended to have smaller tumors compared to study participants. Our results might partly explain the variation in evidence across HER‐2 prognostic studies using fixed tissue and might apply to other putative markers of prognosis in breast cancer.
Human Rights, International Courts and Deliberative Democracy

The aim of this paper is to discuss about some legal problems generated by situations of gross violations of Human Rights, and to do so from the perspective of a ―communicative‖ approach to the Criminal Law. I am interested in stressing the importance of having an inclusive collective discussion for deciding how to deal with situations of massive violation or rights –and particularly of showing the legal implications of not having such a collective debate. In this exploration, I will frequently back my arguments with the theoretical views of two authors, namely Antony Duff and Carlos Nino. In the first part of my paper, I contrast Antony Duff‘s communicative view –as applied to the analysis of International Criminal Law- with alternative approaches. Then, I examine the connection of this communicative perspective with a deliberative conception of democracy. In the second part of my paper, I try to demonstrate the merits of this approach for dealing with hard cases involving gross violations of Human Rights and the participation of foreign tribunals. In this final part, I test the potential of the deliberative view in three real and recent hard cases. The examples that I take into account are the case of the 1983 selfamnesty Law in Argentina (a self-amnesty passed by members of the last Military Junta, before handing over power to the new democratic authorities); and the Barrios Altos and Simon cases, which also involved amnesties directed at pardoning gross violations of human rights (amnesties that, in these cases, were not passed by military regimes, but rather by democratic or -in the case of Barrios Altos- quasi-democratic/quasi-authoritarian governments).
Signaling Foreign Policy Interests

The author distinguishes between two types of costly signals that state leaders might employ in trying to credibly communicate their foreign policy interests to other states, whether in the realm of grand strategy or crisis diplomacy. Leaders might either (a) tie hands by creating audience costs that they will suffer ex post if they do not follow through on their threat or commitment (i.e., costs arising from the actions of domestic political audiences) or (b) sink costs by taking actions such as mobilizing troops that are financially costly ex ante. Analysis of a game model depicting the essentials of each case yields two principal results. First, in the games' equilibria, leaders never bluff with either type of signal; they do not incur or create costs and then fail to respond if challenged. Second, leaders do better on average by tying hands, despite the fact that the ability to do so creates a greater ex ante risk of war than does the use of sunk-cost signals. These results and the logic behind them may help explain some empirical features of international signaling, such as many crises' appearance as competitions in creating domestic political audience costs. They also generate empirical puzzles, such as why the seemingly plausible logic of inference that undermines bluffing in the model does not operate in all empirical cases.
Meta-analysis of Comparison of the Newer P2Y12 Inhibitors (Oral Preparation or Intravenous) to Clopidogrel in Patients With Acute Coronary Syndrome

Aims: New P2Y12 adenosine diphosphate receptor antagonists have been used in the treatment of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) with different results. This systematic review analyzed and compared the evidence from large, clinical trials regarding the efficacy of clopidogrel relative to that of cangrelor, prasugrel, and ticagrelor in reducing the incidence of cardiovascular events in patients with ACS. Methods and Results: This analysis compared newer P2Y12 inhibitors with clopidogrel of 13 clinical trials involved a total of 87,985 patients with ACS. The newer P2Y12 inhibitors include cangrelor, prasugrel, and ticagrelor. Newer P2Y12 inhibitors significantly decreased the risk of myocardial infarction and showed a trend toward reduction of cardiovascular death (odds ratio [OR] = 0.86, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.77–0.96, and I2 = 54%, P < 0.05); (OR = 0.85, 95% CI, 0.77–0.93, and I2 = 42%, P < 0.001). The rates of stroke events and the incidence in patients with ACS did not differ statistically between the clopidogrel group and the group with newer P2Y12 inhibitors (OR = 0.95, 95% CI, 0.79–1.14, and I2 = 0%, P = 0.57). However, newer P2Y12 inhibitors showed a significant increase in thrombosis in MI major or minor bleeding (OR = 1.21, 95% CI, 1.03–1.42, and I2 = 56%, P = 0.02) compared with clopidogrel. Conclusions: Based on this meta-analysis, newer P2Y12 inhibitors were significantly more effective than clopidogrel in the events of myocardial infarction and cardiovascular death in patients with ACS, although the incidence of thrombosis in MI-defined bleeding was higher compared with clopidogrel.
Naltrexone vs Placebo for the Treatment of Alcohol Dependence: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

IMPORTANCE Alcohol use disorder is one of the leading causes of disability worldwide. While effective pharmacological treatments exist, they are efficacious only in certain individuals, contributing to their limited use. Secondary analysis of clinical trial data suggests that a functional polymorphism (rs1799971, Asn40Asp) of the µ-opioid receptor gene (OPRM1) is associated with the risk of relapse to heavy drinking following treatment with the opioid antagonist naltrexone. OBJECTIVE To prospectively examine whether rs1799971 is predictive of naltrexone treatment response. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS We conducted a 12-week, double-blind, randomized clinical trial of naltrexone vs placebo in individuals with alcohol dependence (intent-to-treat analysis). Participants were randomly assigned to study treatment based on the presence of 1 or 2 copies of the Asp40 allele compared with those homozygous for the Asn40 allele (2 × 2 cell design). Recruitment occurred between January 2009 and September 2013. All participants were seen in an outpatient clinical setting. A convenience sample of participants (n = 221) was recruited from 5 sites. All participants met DSM-IV criteria for alcohol dependence, with no concurrent psychotic or manic symptoms, no use of concurrent psychotropic medications, and no current dependence on illicit substances. INTERVENTIONS The study drug was naltrexone (50 mg) given once daily or corresponding placebo. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary study outcome measure was relapse to heavy drinking measured using the timeline follow-back method. RESULTS There was no evidence of a genotype × treatment interaction on the primary outcome of heavy drinking (P = .32). In the Asn40 group, the observed effect of naltrexone was similar to that in previous trials (odds ratio, 0.69; 95% CI, 0.41-1.18; P = .17), with a very small naltrexone effect in the Asp40 group (odds ratio, 1.10; 95% CI, 0.52-2.31; P = .80), contrary to the pattern expected a priori. A significant reduction in heavy drinking occurred across all groups (P = .001). Other drinking outcomes, and all secondary outcomes, demonstrated similar time effects, with no genotype × treatment interaction. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE The results of this study do not support the hypothesis that the Asp40 allele moderates the response to naltrexone treatment. It is premature to use the Asn40Asp polymorphism as a biomarker to predict the response to naltrexone treatment of alcohol dependence. TRIAL REGISTRATION clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00831272.
COMPARATIVE EVALUATION OF WET GLUTEN QUANTITY AND QUALITY THROUGH DIFFERENT METHODS

The wet gluten quantity is usually determined by the manual washing or Gluten Index Method (GIM), a fully automatic rapid method. The aim of this study was to compare the GIM with the Romanian methods used for analysis of wet gluten quantity and quality, and to establish the ratio between wet gluten content and grain protein content for different Romanian wheat varieties. The results indicate that there is no statistically significant difference between the tested methods. The linear correlation coefficients calculated for the wet gluten content measured by GIM and manual washing methods were r 2 = 0.93, in case of SR ISO 21415-1:2007 method, and r 2 = 0.90, in case of the method proposed in 2008 (Manual de gradare pentru seminte de consum). The WG/P ratios ranged between 1.91 and 2.26.
Intracellular Calcium Increases in Growth Cones Exposed to Tetracaine

Neurotoxicity of local anesthetics has been reported for both matured and growing neurons. In the present study, we examined if tetracaine increases Ca2+ concentration during growth cone collapse. Intracellular Ca2+ concentration was measured by fura 2/AM after exposure to tetracaine. Tetracaine (1–2 mM) induced increases in intra-growth cone Ca2+ concentration (P < 0.01). The Ca2+ hot spot was expanded into the neurite from the periphery towards the cell body. When tetracaine was applied to growth cones in Ca2+ free media, the increase was minor. However, tetracaine induced growth cone collapse even in the culture media, which did not contain Ca2+. Ni2+ (100 &mgr;M; a general Ca2+ channel inhibitor) and BAPTA-AM (5 &mgr;M; intracellular Ca2+ chelator) could not inhibit growth cone collapse induced by 1–2 mM tetracaine. Tetracaine (>1 mM) induces collapse and Ca2+ increase at growth cones simultaneously; however, these two phenomena might be provoked independently.
Psychosocial sequelae of the 1989 Newcastle earthquake: I. Community disaster experiences and psychological morbidity 6 months post-disaster

SYNOPSIS A stratified random sample of 3007 Australian adults completed a screening questionnaire 6 months after the 1989 Newcastle earthquake. Information was obtained on initial earthquake experiences and reactions, use of specific services, social support, coping strategies and psychological morbidity. This questionnaire was the first phase of the Quake Impact Study, a longitudinal project investigating the psychosocial impact of the earthquake. Two weighted indices of exposure were developed: a threat index, which measured exposure to injury or the possibility of injury; and a disruption index, which measured experiences of property damage, displacement and other losses. Levels of exposure to threat and disruption events were significant predictors of morbidity on both the General Health Questionnaire and Impact of Event Scale, as were coping style and gender. Effects of exposure to threat and disruption were largely additive, with higher exposure being associated with greater use of support services, higher perceived stressfulness and more severe psychological morbidity. Use of avoidance as a coping strategy, female gender, lower social support and being older were also associated with higher post-disaster psychological distress. It was estimated that 14·8% of the population was exposed to high levels of threat or disruption, of whom approximately 25% experienced moderate to severe psychological distress as a direct result of the disaster. It was further estimated that 18·3% of those exposed to high levels of threat were at risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder, representing approximately 2% of the city's adult population.
The ageism survey: first findings.

PURPOSE To develop an instrument that can be used to answer three questions: What is the prevalence of ageism in various societies? Which types of ageism are more prevalent? Which subgroups of older people report more ageism? METHODS A survey instrument was developed listing 20 types of ageism. This instrument was tested on a convenience sample of 84 persons older than age 60. RESULTS The instrument appears to have satisfactory reliability and validity. The survey found that the experience of ageism was widespread and frequent among these respondents. The majority reported several incidents of ageism and over half of the incidents were reported to have occurred "more than once. " The most frequent types were persons showing disrespect for older people, followed by persons showing assumptions about ailments or frailty caused by age. IMPLICATIONS Researchers now have a reliable and valid instrument for measuring the prevalence of ageism in various societies and of various types of ageism experienced by various groups of older persons. This may aid in reducing the prevalence of ageism in our society.
Spectral-Spatial Classification of Hyperspectral Image Based on Discriminant Analysis

This paper proposes a spectral-spatial linear discriminant analysis (LDA) method for the hyperspectral image classification. A natural assumption is that similar samples have similar structure in the dimensionality reduced feature space. The proposed method uses a local scatter matrix from a small neighborhood as a regularizer incorporated into the objective function of LDA. Different from traditional LDA and its variants, our proposed method yields a self-adaptive projection matrix for dimension reduction, which improves the classification accuracy and avoids running out of memory. In order to consider the nonlinear case, this paper generalizes our linear version to its kernel version. Experimental results demonstrate that our proposed methods outperform several dimension reduction algorithms.
An Approach to Enhance the Performance of Hadoop MapReduce Framework for Big Data

Data analysis is becoming one of the highest research topic among researchers. Information is the baseline of every small and big organization. Everyone wants relevant information for their business to grow faster and bigger. Every organization wants to know what their customers like and dislike. This desirable information requires analysis of very large information stored in various places in different format. Hadoop MapReduce framework becoming a popular platform for processing so large amount of data in very efficient manner. It is used by organizations to process their customers information data sets. Hadoop process datasets in distributed parallel processes by using its HDFS and MapReduce model. Hadoop optimization is requiring more attention from researchers and programmers. Many approaches is already developed to make Hadoop framework optimized. These approaches includes performances tuning and efficient clustering formation. In this research work we have developed Optimal Approach to Improve the Performance of Hadoop framework. K-Means and K-Medoids are well known clustering approaches for clustering inside Hadoop. In proposed approach a modified K-Medoids clustering algorithm has been developed which gives better result for processing inside Hadoop. The research work is tested inside multi node Hadoop environment.
Environmental Toxicology and Health Effects Associated with Hexachlorobenzene Exposure

The synthetic industrial chemical hexachlorobenzene (HCB) is a white crystalline solid compound. The substance is a bioaccumulative, persistent, and toxic pollutant. Historically HCB was commonly used as a pesticide and fungicide. Although HCB production and use has ceased in many countries, the compound is still generated inadvertently, as a byproduct and/or impurity in the manufacture of various chlorinated compounds, and released into the environment. Hexachlorobenzene is ubiquitous in air, water, soil, and biological matrices, as well as in major environmental compartments. Exposure to this substance is a public health concern because of its association with a wide range of adverse health effects. The International Agency for Research on Cancer and the United States Environmental Protection Agency classify HCB as a probable human carcinogen. Although globally the consumption of HCB-contaminated food is the principal source of environmental exposure, exposure can also occur through the inhalation of HCB-contaminated air, by dermal contact, or through in utero exposure and breast milk. In addition to cancer, the human health effects associated with HCB exposure involve systemic impairment (thyroid, liver, bone, skin), as well as damage to the kidneys and blood cells and the immune, endocrine, developmental, and nervous systems. In this review, we discuss the sources of HCB and the potential for human exposure, as well as systemic, carcinogenic, and teratogenic health effects.
Biodelignification of lignocellulose substrates: An intrinsic and sustainable pretreatment strategy for clean energy production

Abstract Lignocellulosic biomass (LB) is a promising sugar feedstock for biofuels and other high-value chemical commodities. The recalcitrance of LB, however, impedes carbohydrate accessibility and its conversion into commercially significant products. Two important factors for the overall economization of biofuel production is LB pretreatment to liberate fermentable sugars followed by conversion into ethanol. Sustainable biofuel production must overcome issues such as minimizing water and energy usage, reducing chemical usage and process intensification. Amongst available pretreatment methods, microorganism-mediated pretreatments are the safest, green, and sustainable. Native biodelignifying agents such as Phanerochaete chrysosporium, Pycnoporous cinnabarinus, Ceriporiopsis subvermispora and Cyathus stercoreus can remove lignin, making the remaining substrates amenable for saccharification. The development of a robust, integrated bioprocessing (IBP) approach for economic ethanol production would incorporate all essential steps including pretreatment, cellulase production, enzyme hydrolysis and fermentation of the released sugars into ethanol. IBP represents an inexpensive, environmentally friendly, low energy and low capital approach for second-generation ethanol production. This paper reviews the advancements in microbial-assisted pretreatment for the delignification of lignocellulosic substrates, system metabolic engineering for biorefineries and highlights the possibilities of process integration for sustainable and economic ethanol production.