Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Unpacking Hispanic Ethnicity—Cancer Mortality Differentials Among Hispanic Subgroups in the United States, 2004–2014

Introduction: National data on the epidemiology of cancer are commonly reported by broad racial/ethnic categories, such as “Hispanic. ” However, few studies have disaggregated Hispanic groups and explored mortality differentials in this heterogeneous population. This paper aims to further examine cancer mortality differentials among Hispanic subgroups in the U.S. Materials and Methods: The study examined cancer deaths in the United States from 2004 to 2014 among decedents classified as Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Dominican, Central/South American and non-Hispanic white on the death certificate among those who were 20 years or older at the time of death. Data were obtained from the National Vital Statistics System. Sex-specific age-adjusted mortality rates were computed for a 10-year period and each individual year, for all cancers combined. Differences by age group, cancer sites, and age distribution were also assessed. Results: A total of 296,486 Hispanic cancer deaths were identified. Mortality rates of the Hispanic subgroups compare favorably with those of non-Hispanic whites. The mortality rates for Mexicans are very similar to those of all Hispanics combined, whereas the rates for Cuban and Puerto Ricans are higher. Dominicans and Central/South Americans had the overall lowest mortality rates. Statistically significant decreases in cancer mortality rates were noted in some sub-groups, but rates increased among Dominican women. Age-adjusted mortality rates by cancer site varied among Hispanics subgroups and gender. Among Cubans, only 5% of cancer deaths occurred before the age of 50 compared to 16% of cancer deaths among Central/South American. Conclusion: While it is common to present data on the burden of cancer among Hispanics as an aggregate group, this study illustrates that the burden of cancer varies by Hispanic subgroups. The disaggregation of Hispanics by ancestry/country of origin allows for a clearer understanding of the health status of this growing population and is needed if health disparities are to be adequately identified, understood and addressed.
Characterization of a Prophage-Free Derivative Strain of Lactococcus lactis ssp. lactis IL1403 Reveals the Importance of Prophages for Phenotypic Plasticity of the Host

Lactococcus lactis is a lactic acid bacterium of major importance for the dairy industry and for human health. Recent sequencing surveys of this species have provided evidence that all lactococcal genomes contain prophages and prophage-like elements. The prophage-related sequences encompass up to 10% of the bacterial chromosomes and thus contribute significantly to the genetic diversity of lactococci. However, the impact of these resident prophages on the physiology of L. lactis is presently unknown. The genome of the first sequenced prototype strain, L. lactis ssp. lactis IL1403, contains six prophage-like elements which together represent 6.7% of the IL1403 chromosome. Diverse prophage genes other than those encoding phage repressors have been shown to be expressed in lysogenic conditions, suggesting that prophage genes are indeed able to modulate the physiology of their host. To elucidate the effect of resident prophages on the behavior of L. lactis in different growth conditions, we constructed and characterized, for the first time, a derivative strain of IL1403 that is prophage-free. This strain provides unique experimental opportunities for the study of different aspects of lactococcal physiology using the well-defined genetic background of IL1403. Here, we show that resident prophages modify the growth and survival of the host strain to a considerable extent in different conditions, including in the gastrointestinal environment. They also may affect cellular autolytic properties and the host cells’ susceptibility to virulent bacteriophages and antimicrobial agents. It thus appears that prophages contribute significantly to lactococcal cell physiology and might play an important role in the adaptation of L. lactis to cultivation and environmental conditions.
Implementation of the laboratory quality management system (ISO 15189): Experience from Bugando Medical Centre Clinical Laboratory – Mwanza, Tanzania

Background Use of laboratory evidence-based patient health care in Tanzania remains a complex problem, as with many other countries in sub-Saharan Africa. As at 2010, 39 African countries, including Tanzania, had no clinical laboratories that met the minimum requirements for international laboratory standards (International Organization for Standardization [ISO] 15189). Objective The aim of this article is to share experience from Bugando Medical Centre laboratory’s milestones in reaching ISO 15189 accreditation. Methods Mentors to address the laboratory management and technical requirements performed a gap analysis using the Southern African Development Community Accreditation system checklist. Several non-conformances were detected. System and technical procedures were developed, approved and communicated. Quality indicators were established to measure laboratory improvement and to identify issues which require immediate and preventive actions. Results The departments’ external quality assessment performance increased after ISO 15189 implementation (e.g. Parasitology from 45% to 100%, Molecular Biology from no records to 100%, Biochemistry 50% to 95%, Tuberculosis Microscopy 60% to 100%, and Microbiology from 48.1% to 100%). There was a reduction in complaints, from eight to two per week. Rejected samples were reduced from 7.2% to 1.2%. Turn-around time was not recorded before implementation but reached 92% (1644/1786) of the defined targets, and the proportion of contamination in blood cultures decreased from 16% to 4%. Conclusion Our experience suggests that the implementation of a quality management system is possible in resource-limited countries like Tanzania. Mentorship is necessary and should be done by professional laboratory mentors trained in quality management systems. Financial resources and motivated staff are key to achieving ISO 15189 accreditation.
Cancer in belugas from the St. Lawrence estuary.

In their paper published in the March 2002 issue of EHP, Martineau et al. (1) reported the results of 100 necropsies of St. Lawrence Estuary (SLE) belugas found dead, drifting, or stranded along the shoreline during 1983–1999. They gathered a remarkable set of pathology information on these dead animals and are to be commended for their work. In their report, Martineau et al. (1) used epidemiologic techniques to compare cancer rates among the belugas with those of other animal species and humans. Because their work involved a cohort of dead animals found on shoreline, comparison with cohorts of live or hunted animals or with human statistics is indeed challenging. These comparisons raise the questions of whether the information collected is representative of the source population and whether the referent groups used for the comparisons are valid. In Figure 2 of their paper, Martineau et al. (1) compared the age structure of SLE belugas found dead with that of northwest Alaska (NA) belugas obtained through subsistence hunting. They concluded,
Female reproductive function in areas affected by radiation after the Chernobyl power station accident

This paper reports the results of a comprehensive survey of the effects of the accidental release of radiation caused by the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power station in April 1986. The accident and the resulting release of radiation and radioactive products into the atmosphere produced the most serious environmental contamination so far recorded. We have concentrated on evaluating the outcomes and health risks to women, their reproductive situation, and consequences for their progeny. We have concentrated on two well-defined areas: the Chechersky district of the Gomel region in Belorussia and the Polessky district of the Kiev region in the Ukraine. A number of investigations were carried out on 688 pregnant women and their babies, and data were obtained from 7000 labor histories of the development of newborns for a period of 8 years (3 years before the accident and 5 years after it). Parameters examined included birth rate, thyroid pathology, extragenital pathology such as anemias, renal disorders, hypertension, and abnormalities in the metabolism of fats, complications of gestation, spontaneous abortions, premature deliveries, perinatal morbidity and mortality, stillbirths and early neonatal mortality, infections and inflammatory diseases, neurological symptoms and hemic disturbances in both mothers and infants, trophic anomalies, and biochemical and structural changes in the placenta. Several exogenous, complicating influences were also considered such as psycho-emotional factors, stress, lifestyle changes, and others caused directly by the hazardous situation and by its consequences such as treatment, removal from affected areas, etc. The results allow us to conclude that health of mothers, fetuses, and children were significantly influenced by the radiation, with adaptational and pathological abnormalities of various organs and body systems of pregnant women and children. Although the female reproductive system itself remains relatively intact, the decrease in compensatory-adaptive mechanisms of mothers and fetoplacental disorders cause long-term or chronic diseases in the newborns. It is suggested that special attention is paid to possible prophylaxis and to treatment of groups at risk in order to reduce hazardous consequences of such accidents and to preserve the health of future generations.
How Maternal Hormone Affects Developing Brains

Background: Under conditions of no strand bias the number of Gs is equal to that of Cs for each DNA strand; similarly, the total number of Ts is equal to that of As. However, within each strand there are considerable local deviations from the A = T and G = C equality. These asymmetries in nucleotide composition have been extensively analyzed in prokaryotic and eukaryotic genomes and related to chromosome organization, transcription orientation and other processes in certain organisms. To carry out analysis of intra-strand nucleotide distribution several graphical methods have been developed. Results: GraphDNA is a new Java application that provides a simple, user-friendly interface for the visualization of DNA nucleotide composition. The program accepts GenBank, EMBL and FASTA files as an input, and it displays multiple DNA nucleotide composition graphs (skews and walks) in a single window to allow direct comparisons between the sequences. We illustrate the use of DNA skews for characterization of poxvirus and coronavirus genomes. Conclusion: GraphDNA is a platform-independent, Open Source, tool for the analysis of nucleotide trends in DNA sequences. Multiple sequence formats can be read and multiple sequences may be plotted in a single results window. Background The nucleotide composition of genomic DNA is very variable. This variation is not limited to non-coding DNA or influencing codon-usage, it also results in changes to the amino acid composition of proteins. For example, the redundancy of the genetic code does not completely buffer the amino acid composition of orthologous proteins from Vaccinia virus (VACV; an Orthopoxvirus; ~65% A+T) and Molluscum contagiosum virus (MOCV; a Molluscipoxvirus; 35% A+T). The amino acid composition of the DNA polymerases of VACV and MOCV illustrate that the propensity for certain amino acids to be more common in proteins encoded by A+T or G+C rich genes; the VACV and MOCV proteins contain the following percentages of lysine (7.1, 2.9), arginine (5.9, 9.6), alanine (4.0, 9.5), leucine (9.3, 12.2) and isoleucine (7.4, 3.2), respectively. There is also considerable variation in DNA composition within a genome. Regions rich in repeated DNA often Published: 23 January 2007 BMC Bioinformatics 2007, 8:21 doi:10.1186/1471-2105-8-21 Received: 02 June 2006 Accepted: 23 January 2007 This article is available from: http://www.biomedcentral. com/1471-2105/8/21 © 2007 Thomas et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Use of Source Code Similarity Metrics in Software Defect Prediction

In recent years, defect prediction has received a great deal of attention in the empirical software engineering world. Predicting software defects before the maintenance phase is very important not only to decrease the maintenance costs but also increase the overall quality of a software product. There are different types of product, process, and developer based software metrics proposed so far to measure the defectiveness of a software system. This paper suggests to use a novel set of software metrics which are based on the similarities detected among the source code files in a software project. To find source code similarities among different files of a software system, plagiarism and clone detection techniques are used. Two simple similarity metrics are calculated for each file, considering its overall similarity to the defective and non defective files in the project. Using these similarity metrics, we predict whether a specific file is defective or not. Our experiments on 10 open source data sets show that depending on the amount of detected similarity, proposed metrics could achieve significantly better performance compared to the existing static code metrics in terms of the area under the curve (AUC).
Prospective Cohort Study Investigating the Safety and Efficacy of Ambulatory Treatment With Oral Cefuroxime-Axetil in Febrile Children With Urinary Tract Infection

Aims: To assess the safety and efficacy of ambulatory oral cefuroxime-axetil treatment in children presenting with first febrile urinary tract infection (UTI) in terms of resolution of fever, antibiotics tolerance, bacterial resistance, and loss to ambulatory follow-up. Methods: Two-year prospective single-center evaluation of the local protocol of oral ambulatory treatment of children presenting first febrile urinary tract infection (UTI). Results: From October 2013 to October 2015, 82 children were treated ambulatory with oral cefuroxime-axetil. The median age was 8 months. When analyzing those 82 children treated orally, 51 (62%) completed oral treatment, 14 (17%) missed their scheduled follow-up visits (3 patients at day 2 and 11 patients at week 2), and 17 (21%) were switched to IV therapy for the following reasons: vomiting in 9, persistent fever in 5, antibiotic resistance in 2 and bacteremia in 1. Six children (8%) presented recurrent UTI after a median of 5 months of follow-up. Conclusions: This 2-year evaluation suggests that oral treatment with cefuroxime-axetil in febrile UTI is feasible but should be implemented with caution. Home-treated children require reevaluation during treatment since 21% of our cohort had to be temporarily switched to parenteral therapy and 17% did not attend scheduled follow-up visits during oral treatment.
Space-Time Block Coding-Based Beamforming for Beam Squint Compensation

In this letter, the beam squint problem, which causes significant variations in radiated beam gain over frequencies in a millimeter wave communication system, is investigated. A constant modulus beamformer design, which is formulated to maximize the expected average beam gain within the bandwidth with limited variation over frequencies within the bandwidth, is proposed. A semidefinite relaxation method is developed to solve the optimization problem under the constant modulus constraints. Depending on the eigenvalues of the optimal solution, either direct beamforming or transmit diversity-based beamforming is employed for data transmissions. Through numerical results, the proposed transmission scheme can compensate for beam squint effectively and improve system throughput. Overall, a transmission scheme for beam squint compensation in wideband wireless communication systems is provided.
Modeling Empathy and Distress in Reaction to News Stories

Computational detection and understanding of empathy is an important factor in advancing human-computer interaction. Yet to date, text-based empathy prediction has the following major limitations: It underestimates the psychological complexity of the phenomenon, adheres to a weak notion of ground truth where empathic states are ascribed by third parties, and lacks a shared corpus. In contrast, this contribution presents the first publicly available gold standard for empathy prediction. It is constructed using a novel annotation methodology which reliably captures empathy assessments by the writer of a statement using multi-item scales. This is also the first computational work distinguishing between multiple forms of empathy, empathic concern, and personal distress, as recognized throughout psychology. Finally, we present experimental results for three different predictive models, of which a CNN performs the best.
Single-trial topographic analysis of human EEG: A new `image' of event-related potentials

We present a novel approach for analyzing single-trial electroencephalography (EEG) data, using topographic information. The method allows for visualizing event-related potentials using all the electrodes of recordings overcoming the problem of previous approaches that required electrode selection and waveforms filtering. We apply this method to EEG data from an auditory object recognition experiment that we have previously analyzed at an ERP level. Temporally structured periods were statistically identified wherein a given topography predominated without any prior information about the temporal behavior. In addition to providing novel methods for EEG analysis, the data indicate that ERPs are reliably observable at a single-trial level when examined topographically.
91.71 Deleting blocks of names from a list

91.71 Deleting blocks of names from a list Introduction In order to write school reports for my sixth form classes I am provided with a list, in the form of a table within an electronic document, of all the students in the relevant year group. Before typing my comments into the appropriate boxes, I remove the names of all the students that I do not teach from this list by deleting the rows that they occupy. Below is a fictitious and very much scaled-down year group consisting of ten students, three of whom I teach (those in bold):
Analyze Unstructured Data Patterns for Conceptual Representation

Online news media provides aggregated news and stories from different sources all over the world and up-to-date news coverage. The main goal of this study is to find a solution that is considered as a homogeneous source for the news and to represent the news in a new conceptual framework. Furthermore, the user can easily and quickly find different updated news in a fast way through the designed interface. The Mobile App implementation is based on modeling the multi-level conceptual analysis frame. Discovering main concepts of any domain is captured from the hidden unstructured data that are analyzed by the proposed solution. Concepts are discovered through analyzing data patterns to be structured into a tree-based interface for easy navigation for the end user. Our final experiment results show that analyzing the news before displaying to the end-user and restructuring the final output in a conceptual multilevel structure produces a new display frame for the end user to find the related information of interest.
Hydrogen Sulfide Antagonizes Chronic Restraint Stress-Induced Depressive-Like Behaviors via Upregulation of Adiponectin

Backgroud: Chronic restraint stress (CRS) induces depressive-like behaviors in rodents, which involves dysregulation of hippocampal synapse formation and excessive autophagy. Adiponectin has antidepressant activity. Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is a novel gasotransmitter. The present work was to investigate whether H2S antagonizes CRS-induced depressive-like behaviors in rats and to explore whether its potential mechanism involves ameliorated synaptic and autophagic dysregulation by upregulation of adiponectin. Methods: Depressive-like behavior was analyzed by the tail suspension test (TST), novelty suppressed feeding test (NSFT), and open field test (OFT). The structure of autophagy was observed under transmission electron microscopy. The expressions of adiponectin, beclin1, and sequestosome 1 (p62/SQSTMI) protein in hippocampus were measured by Western blot. The levels of synapsin1 (SYN1) in the hippocampus were calculated by Western blot and immunofluorescence technique. Results: The behavior experiments, including TST, NSFT, and OFT, showed that NaHS (a donor of H2S) reduced CRS-induced depressive-like behaviors. NaHS decreased the loss of hippocampal synapse as evidenced by increased the level of SYN1 in the hippocampus of CRS-exposed rats. NaHS rescued CRS-induced excessive hippocampal autophagy as evidenced by declines in the number of autophagosomes and the expression of beclin1 as well as increase in the expression of P62 in the hippocampus of CRS-exposed rats. NaHS upregulated hippocampal adiponectin expression in the CRS-exposed rats. Furthermore, neutralizing adiponectin by Anti-acrp30 reversed the protective response of NaHS to CRS-produced depressive-like behaviors as well as hippocampal synaptic disruption and excessive autophagy. Conclusion: H2S mitigates CRS-induced depressive behavior via upregulation of adiponectin, which in turn results in amelioration in hippocampal synapse formation dysfunction and excessive autophagy.
Air toxics concentrations of methyl chloride.

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