Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Quality of life among people with multiple sclerosis: Replication of a three-factor prediction model.

BACKGROUND This article presents a replication of Rumrill, Roessler, and Fitzgerald's 2004 analysis of a three-factor model of the impact of multiple sclerosis (MS) on quality of life (QOL). The three factors in the original model included illness-related, employment-related, and psychosocial adjustment factors. OBJECTIVE To test hypothesized relationships between QOL and illness-related, employment-related, and psychosocial variables using data from a survey of the employment concerns of Americans with MS (N = 1,839). METHODS An ex post facto, multiple correlational design was employed incorporating correlational and multiple regression analyses. RESULTS QOL was positively related to educational level, employment status, job satisfaction, and job-match, and negatively related to number of symptoms, severity of symptoms, and perceived stress level. The three-factor model explained approximately 37 percent of the variance in QOL scores. CONCLUSIONS The results of this replication confirm the continuing value of the three-factor model for predicting the QOL of adults with MS, and demonstrate the importance of medical, mental health, and vocational rehabilitation interventions and services in promoting QOL.
How transformation expectation leads consumers to immediate gratification - A PLS-SEM approach

This study explores the mechanism which triggers consumer's immediate gratification behavior. It is proposed that consumer's expectation of meaningful life transformation by acquisition of a product causes her perception of product hedonic and utilitarian value, which can further predict immediate gratification. The positive impact of perception of hedonic value on immediate gratification can be mediated by price sensitivity and moderated by materialism level. The structural model is established for further empirical analysis with PLSSEM approach. The model suggests different domain of transformation expectation may have conflicting impact on immediate gratification.
Managing and Unifying Heterogeneous Resources in Cloud Environments

A mechanism for accessing heterogeneous resources through the integration of various cloud management platforms is presented. In this scheme, hardware resources are offered using virtualization, containerization and as bare metal. Traditional management frameworks for managing these offerings are employed and invoked using a novel resource coordinator. This coordinator also provides an interface for cloud consumers to deploy applications on the underlying heterogeneous resources. The realization of this scheme in the context of the CloudLightning project is presented and a demonstrative use case is given to illustrate the applicability of the proposed solution.
Characteristics of children with juvenile bipolar disorder or disruptive behavior disorders and negative mood: can they be distinguished in the clinical setting?

BACKGROUND Because of continuing controversy over distinguishing juvenile bipolar disorder (JBD) from disruptive behavior disorders (DBDs) in the clinical setting, we investigated whether referred children with a DBD and a negative mood component could be differentiated from those diagnosed with JBD. The distinction is important because treatments differ. METHODS In this single-site sample, 96 children with non-attention-deficit/hyperactivity DBD and depression were compared with 27 JBD children and 187 psychiatric comparison children on measures assessing behavior, functional impairment, symptom severity, psychopathology, and comorbid psychiatric diagnosis. RESULTS Few differences were found between children with DBD and depression and those with JBD on measures of conduct problems, oppositionality, aggression, hostility, and psychopathology. More functional impairment was found in the JBD group who also had higher rates of comorbid posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), substance use disorders, and suicidality than the other groups. CONCLUSIONS These results do not support the specificity of aggression as a defining criterion for JBD and clinicians assessing such patients also should consider complex DBDs with an associated depressive component in the differential diagnosis. Children with JBD must be specifically assessed for comorbid developmental trauma, substance abuse, and suicidality. The association between JBD and PTSD needs further investigation in clinical research.
A Cell-Based Screening Platform Identifies Novel Mosquitocidal Toxins

Pesticides currently in widespread use often lack species specificity and also become less effective as resistance emerges. Consequently, there is a pressing need to develop novel agents that are narrowly targeted and safe to humans. A cell-based screening platform was designed to discover compounds that are lethal to mosquito (Anopheles and Aedes) cells but show little or no activity against other insect (Drosophila) or human cell lines. Mosquito-specific, aqueous-stable cytotoxins were recovered at rare frequencies. Three of these were profiled for structure-activity relationships and also assessed in whole-animal toxicity assays. In at least one test case, species-specific cytotoxicity seen in culture effectively translated to the whole-animal level, with potent toxicity against Anopheles yet none against Drosophila. Therefore, this initiative has the potential to advance novel mosquitocidal agents and, in a broader sense, could establish a versatile platform for developing customized pesticides that selectively target other disease vectors as well.
Kit System in the Zebrafish Ovary: Evidence for Functional Divergence of Two Isoforms of Kit (Kita and Kitb) and Kit Ligand (Kitlga and Kitlgb) During Folliculogenesis1

The Kit system, including Kit ligand and its receptor Kit, has critical roles in mammalian reproduction, especially in the ovary. Unlike mammalian species, two copies of genes are present in the zebrafish genome for both ligand (kitlga and kitlgb) and receptor (kita and kitb). Phylogenetic and chromosome synteny analyses suggest that these duplicated genes were likely derived from the third round of genome duplication in vertebrate evolution. All four Kit system members were expressed in the zebrafish ovary, suggesting potential roles for the system in ovarian development and function. As the first step toward understanding the Kit system in the zebrafish ovary, especially the differential roles of different forms of ligand and receptor, the present study was undertaken to analyze the temporal expression profiles of the Kit system during folliculogenesis. All members of the Kit system exhibited significant and distinct variation in expression, particularly in the periovulatory period. During the transition from the primary growth to secondary growth, kitlga showed a dramatic increase, suggesting a role for Kit signaling in follicle recruitment. During final oocyte maturation, kitlga expression significantly decreased after a transitional surge before germinal vesicle breakdown, whereas all other members exhibited an increased expression, with kitlgb and kita reaching the peak expression levels in the ovulated eggs. Our results provide strong evidence that the Kit system is involved in regulating zebrafish ovarian function and that different isoforms of Kit and Kit ligand may have differential roles in folliculogenesis. This provides an example for neofunctionalization of duplicated genes in vertebrates.
Rapid sequence variation of the hypervariable region of hepatitis C virus during the course of chronic infection

To evaluate the clinical significance of sequence variations in the hypervariable region of hepatitis C virus during the course of chronic infection, we performed pairwise comparison of the predominant nucleotide sequences. Hepatitis C virus RNA was extracted from two plasma samples obtained from 12 chronically infected Japanese patients over approximately 1 yr. Complementary DNA containing the hypervariable region was amplified by means of reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction and was directly sequenced for determination of predominant sequences. In all 12 individuals, the predominant sequence of the hypervariable region at the second time point differed from that at the first time point, and significant sequence variation was observed during this short period. A high proportion of these nucleotide substitutions (90%) resulted in changes of predicted amino acid sequences, indirect evidence of in vivo positive selection for these variants. There appeared to be an important difference in the rate of nucleotide sequence variation of the hypervariable region between four patients with flare‐ups of their ALT levels (1.54 to 2.24 × 10‐−1/genome site/yr) and eight patients with quiescent courses (0.13 to 1.21 × 10−1/genome site/yr). These results demonstrate that rapid sequence variations of the hypervariable region of predominant virus population take place during the natural course of chronic hepatitis C virus infection. These sequence variations seem to occur as an adaptive response of hepatitis C virus to evade host immunity and may play a major role in the establishment of persistent infection and in the occasional flare‐up of hepatitis. (HEPATOLOGY 1993;18:1293–1299.)
Ca2+ signaling during vertebrate somitogenesis

AbstractA variety of Ca2+ signals, in the form of intercellular pulses and waves, have been reported to be associated with the various sequential stages of somitogenesis: from convergent extension and the formation of the paraxial mesoderm; during the patterning of the paraxial mesoderm to establish segmental units; throughout the formation of the morphological boundaries that delineate the segmental units, and finally from within the maturing somites as they undergo subsequent development and differentiation. Due to both the technical challenges presented in imaging intact, developing embryos, and the subtle nature of the Ca2+ transients generated, they have proved to be difficult to visualize. However, a combination of cultured cell preparations and improvements in explant and whole embryo imaging techniques has begun to reveal a new and exciting class of developmental Ca2+ signals. In this chapter, we review the small, but expanding, number of reports in the literature and attempt to identify common characteristics of the somitogenic Ca2+ transients, such as their mode of generation, as well as their spatial and temporal features. This may help to elucidate the significance and function of these intriguing Ca2+ transients and thus integrate them into the complex signaling networks that orchestrate early developmental events.
Gouttes, bulles, perles et ondes

Les gouttes et les bulles sont des objets familiers qui posent nombre de questions, pour le curieux comme pour l'industriel : pourquoi les petites gouttes restent-elles accrochees au parebrise des vehicules lorsqu'il pleut ? Si les mousses sont recherchees dans les shampooings, comment les eviter dans les lave-vaisselle ? Comment «mouiller» de facon optimale les feuilles lorsqu'on y pulverise de l'insecticide, et eviter ainsi la formation de gouttes qui roulent comme des perles pour polluer les sols ? Cet ouvrage s'attache a decrire ces phenomenes de capillarite et de mouillage, aux applications tres variees. Il s'adresse avant tout a l'etudiant de 2e et 3e cycle universitaire, qui trouvera la les principes fondateurs d'un domaine original, illustres par des experiences et des situations industrielles concretes. La force du propos tient a la demarche des auteurs, s'appuyant autant que possible sur des arguments simples, qui permettent de comprendre vite et d'inventer des situations nouvelles. Un livre attendu par tous et qui fera date sur le sujet.
Soluble flagellin, FliC, induces an Ag‐specific Th2 response, yet promotes T‐bet‐regulated Th1 clearance of Salmonella typhimurium infection

Clearance of disseminated Salmonella infection requires bacterial‐specific Th1 cells and IFN‐γ production, and Th1‐promoting vaccines are likely to help control these infections. Consequently, vaccine design has focused on developing Th1‐polarizing adjuvants or Ag that naturally induce Th1 responses. In this study, we show that, in mice, immunization with soluble, recombinant FliC protein flagellin (sFliC) induces Th2 responses as evidenced by Ag‐specific GATA‐3, IL‐4 mRNA, and protein induction in CD62Llo CD4+ T cells without associated IFN‐γ production. Despite these Th2 features, sFliC immunization can enhance the development of protective Th1 immunity during subsequent Salmonella infection in an Ab‐independent, T‐cell‐dependent manner. Salmonella infection in sFliC‐immunized mice resulted in augmented Th1 responses, with greater bacterial clearance and increased numbers of IFN‐γ‐producing CD4+ T cells, despite the early induction of Th2 features to sFliC. The augmented Th1 immunity after sFliC immunization was regulated by T‐bet although T‐bet is dispensable for primary responses to sFliC. These findings show that there can be flexibility in T‐cell responses to some subunit vaccines. These vaccines may induce Th2‐type immunity during primary immunization yet promote Th1‐dependent responses during later infection. This suggests that designing Th1‐inducing subunit vaccines may not always be necessary since this can occur naturally during subsequent infection.
The relationship between religious activities and cigarette smoking in older adults.

BACKGROUND The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between religious activities and cigarette smoking in community-dwelling older adults. METHODS Cigarette smoking and religious activities were assessed in a probability sample of 3968 persons age 65 years or older participating in the Duke Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly (EPESE) survey. Participants were asked if they currently smoked, if they ever smoked, and how many cigarettes per day they smoked. Attendance at religious services, participation in private religious activities (prayer or Bible study), and use of religious media (religious TV or radio) were also assessed. Data were available for Waves I-III of the survey (1986, 1989, and 1992). Analyses were controlled for age, race, sex, education, alcohol use, physical health, and in the longitudinal analyses, smoking status at prior waves. RESULTS Cross-sectional analyses revealed that participants who frequently attended religious services were significantly less likely to smoke cigarettes at all three waves. Likewise, elders frequently involved in private religious activity were less likely to smoke (Waves II and III). Total number of pack-years smoked was also inversely related to both attendance at religious services and private religious activities. Watching religious TV or listening to religious radio, on the other hand, was not related to smoking at Waves I and II nor to total pack-years smoked, but was positively related to current smoking at Wave III. Among those who smoked, number of cigarettes smoked was inversely related to frequency of attendance at religious services (Wave I), private religious activities (Wave III), and religious TV/radio (Waves II and III). Retrospective and prospective analyses revealed that religiously active persons were less likely to ever start smoking, not more likely to quit smoking. CONCLUSIONS Religiously active persons are less likely to smoke cigarettes, and if they do smoke, smoke fewer cigarettes. Given the association between smoking and disease, and the widespread prevalence of both smoking and religious activity, this finding has implications for public health.
DCAM: A Distributed Aspectual Middleware

In order to meet the self-adaptability requirement of on-demand computing and ubiquitous computing in distributed environment, the paper presents a new model of distributed aspectual middleware called DCAM. DCAM adopts hierarchical structure and introduces aspect-oriented function support into its core layer. Extension mechanism for services and containers are introduced as well which makes DCAM have better architecture extensibility, stronger manageability of dependency relationship and finer support granularity of AOP. Furthermore, DCAM provides support for component migration between platforms in order to implement on-demand computing. Then the implementations of distributed aspect-component model, distributed aspect-components collaboration framework and distributed AOP core are presented in detail. Finally, a prototype of DCAM is introduced and compared with other popular aspectual middlewares in terms of performance.
Prevalence of and risk factors for anal human papillomavirus infection in men who have sex with women: a cross-national study.

BACKGROUND Although the primary cause of anal cancer is human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in the anal canal, little attention has been paid to the epidemiology of anal HPV infection in men who have sex with women (MSW). METHODS Exfoliated cells from the anal canal of 902 MSW in Brazil (São Paulo), Mexico (Cuernavaca), and the United States (Tampa) were tested for HPV DNA. RESULTS The prevalence of HPV infection in the anal canal (12.0%) was similar among MSW in each city (P=.77), whereas 7.0% had infection with oncogenic types. Men in Tampa had a 4-fold higher prevalence of infection with HPV type 16 (HPV-16) than that among men in São Paulo or Cuernavaca (P<.001). Duration of relationship with a primary sex partner and ever having oral or anal sex with a man was associated with infection with any HPV type and with any oncogenic type, whereas lifetime number of female sex partners was associated with infection with any HPV type. CONCLUSIONS Anal canal HPV infection is commonly found among MSW, and the prevalence of infection with HPV-16 may differ substantially by geography. Men who have a larger lifetime number of female sex partners, who are in a sexual relationship of <1 year in duration, and who have a history of oral or anal sex with men were most likely to have an anal HPV infection.
Towards Real-time Monitoring of DRE Systems Using Dynamic Binary Instrumentation Middleware

Dynamic binary instrumentatation (DBI) frameworks allow application developers and testers to non-intrusively collect trace profiles from their applications in production environments. The collected trace profiles are then used to analyze system behavior. Unfortunately, applying a DBI frameworks to an enterprise distributed real-time and embedded (DRE) systems is not a trivial process. This is because it is the end-user’s responsibility to manually collect traces from each host, integrate the many (disconnect) execution traces, and provide meaningful analysis. Moreover, it is hard for DRE system developers and testers to dynamically control DBI frameworks to ensure minimal impact on quality-of-service (QoS) while collecting enough metrics to support analysis—especially for long running enterprise DRE systems. This work-in-progress paper therefore provides two contributions to instrumentation of enterprise DRE systems. First, this paper discusses how DBI frameworks can be integrated with dynamic instrumentation middleware to bridge the gap of autonomously collecting trace profiles and metrics from enterprise DRE systems in a non-intrusive manner. Secondly, this paper discusses what research questions we plan to address as a result of integrating DBI frameworks with dynamic instrumentation middleware. Keywords-dynamic binary instrumentation, dynamic instrumentation middleware, enterprise DRE systems, Pin, OASIS
Polyoma virus T antigen. I. Synthesis of modified heat-labile T angiten in cells transformed with the ts-a mutant

In mouse cells transformed with the ts-a mutant of polyoma virus (ts-a-3T3), only low amounts of the virus-specific T antigen were synthesized at high temperature (39 C). After a shift-down to the permissive temperature (31 C), these cells exhibited the same level of T-antigen production as wild-type polyoma transformants. The T antigen produced by ts-a-transformed cells was inactivated at 39 C in vitro at a faster rate than that produced by wild-type-transformed cells. These observations indicate that T antigen is, or includes, a virus-coded peptide.
Synthesis and field emission of single-crystalline copper vanadate nanobelts

Single-crystalline nanobelts of a nonstoichiometric compound Cu1.55V2O6. 55, with a thickness of 40–60 nm, width of 50–300 nm and length of several micrometers, have been synthesized on a large scale by a hydrothermal method. The structures and morphologies of the nanobelts were characterized by x-ray powder diffraction, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. A probable growth mechanism has also been discussed. The nanobelts exhibit a turn-on field of 11.0 V µm−1, which is defined as the macroscopic field required to produce a current density of 10 µA cm−2. It is anticipated that the nanobelts can serve as a candidate material for future field emitters.
Magnetoencephalography and positron emission tomography studies of a patient with auditory agnosia caused by bilateral lesions confined to the auditory radiations

The aim of this study was to investigate auditory cortex function in the context of auditory stimuli in a patient with auditory agnosia due to bilateral lesions confined to the auditory radiations. A male patient experienced mild left temporal hemiplegia because of right putaminal hemorrhage at the age of 43 years. Thereafter he recovered completely but hypertension persisted. When he was 53 years old, he suffered left putaminal hemorrhage and went into a coma. After recovering from the coma and right hemiplegia he could hear but could not discriminate speech sounds. Brain CT and MRI demonstrated small bilateral lesions confined to the auditory radiations. Magnetoencephalography demonstrated the disappearance of middle latency responses and auditory-evoked potential studies showed a very small Pa peak. In contrast, a positron emission tomography study demonstrated a marked increase in blood flow in the bilateral auditory cortex in response to both click and monosyllable stimuli. It is speculated that the auditory cortex receives functional projections from the cochlea via non-specific pathways in the cerebral hemispheres.
Neuroscience as applied hermeneutics: Towards a critical neuroscience of political theory

In the current academic climate, there is no shortage of discourses proclaiming a veritable neurorevolution: that new insights into the functioning of the human brain will lead not only to novel possibilities of technoscientific intervention, but also to a radical transformation of our sense of what it is to be human in general. More striking still is the enthusiastic appropriation of this new neuroscientific wisdom by formerly somewhat anti-scientific disciplines, from art history and theology to literary studies (Vidal 2009; Ortega 2009). Political theory would seem no exception; here too one begins to wonder whether in this moment of neuroscientific progress one should not “go neurobiological”: the lure of a shiny new neuro-prefixed discipline to accompany those already out there – neuro-economics, neuro-education, neuro-law, neuro-aesthetics, neuro-literary-criticism, and so on. Will political theory become neuropolitics?