Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Suicide Rates in Short-term Randomized Controlled Trials of Newer Antidepressants

Abstract: Concerns have been raised about the appropriateness of placebo controls in clinical trials for major depressive disorder (MDD), given that there are approved treatments for this illness. Critics have argued that patients with untreated depression would be exposed to an unnecessary risk of suicide. There is also a competing concern that antidepressant drug treatment itself may induce suicidal behavior and thinking (suicidality). To examine this question, we have evaluated the rate of suicide in placebo- and active drug-treated groups of patients with MDD and various anxiety disorders participating in short-term randomized controlled trials (RCTs). We examined data from all manufacturer-sponsored short-term RCTs of 9 commonly used antidepressants in patients with MDD and various anxiety disorders. All short-term RCTs of antidepressants in patients with MDD and various anxiety disorders were included. Individual patients' data were available for all trials. Data were available for the 207 trials conducted in patients with MDD, including a total of 40,028 patients. There were 21 cases of suicide in these patients. Forty-four trials were conducted in patients with various anxiety disorders, including a total of 10,972 patients. There were 2 cases of suicide in these patients. Overall, at least 1 case of suicide occurred in 21 of the 251 trials. Sixteen of the suicides in MDD trials occurred in trials that had only an active control comparison group, and most of these (14 cases) were observed in the non-North American trials. In the placebo-controlled MDD trials, the rate ratios of suicide in the combined drug groups compared with placebo were 1.07 (0.1-63.4) and 0.5 (0.0-36.7) for the non-North American and North American trials, respectively. In the anxiety disorder studies, the overall rate ratio of suicide for the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors compared with placebo was 0.9 (0.0-71.4). Neither use of placebo nor of antidepressants in short-term RCTs was associated with an increased risk of completed suicide among patients with MDD or various anxiety disorders. Nonetheless, because of the small numbers of suicides in these trials and the subsequent lack of statistical power, an increased risk of completed suicide in association with either drug or placebo treatment cannot be definitively excluded.
Network-based anomaly intrusion detection system using SOMs

Network-based anomaly intrusion detection systems using artificial neural networks are investigated. From knowledge of only normal traffic data, a mathematical model describing normal traffic is constructed and a test is conducted based on the deviations from the mathematical model. A self-organizing map (SOM) structure is used for constructing the mathematical model describing normal traffic and anomaly detection. The SOM structure preserves topological mappings between representations. A feature which is desired when classifying normal or intrusive behavior for network data, our hypothesis is that normal traffic representing normal behavior would be clustered around one or more cluster centers and any irregular traffic representing abnormal, and possibly suspicious, behavior would be clustered outside of the normal clustering or inside with high quantization error. The SOM is trained with normal traffic data and by considering the best matching unit or clustering region and the quantization error, the type of traffic is determined.
Towards a holistic view of customer value creation in Lean: A design science approach

Abstract While “identifying customer value” is the first principle of Lean thinking, the concept of customer value has largely remained unchanged in the Lean discourse - quality, cost and delivery. This research examines the problem of working from such an internal process point of view in today’s highly dynamic world, where customer needs get increasingly more sophisticated. Aiming to contribute to solving this problem, this paper develops a new artifact, the so-called Customer Value Matrix (CVM) Instrument by bridging Operations Management, Strategy and Marketing literatures and following the design science approach. This paper builds the CVM instrument based on five theoretically grounded design principles, which are derived from a systematic review of 49 articles, and proposes three empirically grounded technological rules as a result of multi-stage evaluations. Supporting Service-Dominant Logic and Lean Consumption views, the CVM instrument can be considered as a novel addition to the Lean toolkit and enable managers to view what the customer truly values in a more holistic fashion and, as a result, promote a balanced view of process and customer focus.
A Systematic Review of Arsenic Exposure and Its Social and Mental Health Effects with Special Reference to Bangladesh

Underground water in many regions of the world is contaminated with high concentrations of arsenic and the resulting toxicity has created a major environmental and public health problem in the affected regions. Chronic arsenic exposure can cause many diseases, including various physical and psychological harms. Although the physical problems caused by arsenic toxicity are well reported in literature, unfortunately the consequences of arsenic exposure on mental health are not adequately studied. Therefore we conducted a review of the available literature focusing on the social consequences and detrimental effects of arsenic toxicity on mental health. Chronic arsenic exposures have serious implications for its victims (i.e. arsenicosis patients) and their families including social instability, social discrimination, refusal of victims by community and families, and marriage-related problems. Some studies conducted in arsenic affected areas revealed that arsenic exposures are associated with various neurologic problems. Chronic arsenic exposure can lead to mental retardation and developmental disabilities such as physical, cognitive, psychological, sensory and speech impairments. As health is defined by the World Health Organization as “a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing”, the social dimensions have a large impact on individual’s mental health. Furthermore studies in China und Bangladesh have shown that mental health problems (e.g. depression) are more common among the people affected by arsenic contamination. Our study indicates various neurological, mental and social consequences among arsenic affected victims. Further studies are recommended in arsenic-affected areas to understand the underlying mechanisms of poor mental health caused by arsenic exposure.
Limitations of temperature measurement in the aural canal with an ear mould integrated sensor

Aural canal temperature measurement using an ear mould integrated sensor (Tac) might be a method suited for continuous non-invasive core temperature estimation in operational settings. We studied the effect of ambient temperature, wind and high intensity exercise on Tac and its ability to predict esophageal (Tes) and rectal temperatures (Tre). Seven subjects performed a protocol of rest at 21, 10 and 30 °C, followed by exercise and recovery at 30 °C. The subjects performed the protocol twice: with and without face-wind from halfway through the 30 °C rest period. Extra auricle insulation was applied at one side. Ambient temperature changes affected Tac significantly, while Tes and Tre remained stable. Insulating the auricle reduced but did not abolish this effect. Wind had an immediate cooling effect on Tac independent of auricle insulation. During exercise and recovery in 30 °C, Tac provided acceptable group predictions of Tre in trials without wind (bias: −0.66 ± 0.21 °C covered, −1.20 ± 0.15 °C uncovered). Bias was considerably higher with wind, but variability was similar (−1.73 ± 0.11 °C covered, −2.49 ± 0.04 °C uncovered). Individual predictions of Tes and Tre showed more variation, especially with wind. We conclude that Tac may be used for core temperature assessment of groups in warm and stable conditions.
Functional Genomics Approach to Identifying Genes Required for Biofilm Development by Streptococcus mutans

ABSTRACT Streptococcus mutans, the primary etiological agent of human dental caries, is an obligate biofilm-forming bacterium. The goals of this study were to identify the gene(s) required for biofilm formation by this organism and to elucidate the role(s) that some of the known global regulators of gene expression play in controlling biofilm formation. In S. mutans UA159, the brpA gene (for biofilm regulatory protein) was found to encode a novel protein of 406 amino acid residues. A strain carrying an insertionally inactivated copy of brpA formed longer chains than did the parental strain, aggregated in liquid culture, and was unable to form biofilms as shown by an in vitro biofilm assay. A putative homologue of the enzyme responsible for synthesis of autoinducer II (AI-2) of the bacterial quorum-sensing system was also identified in S. mutans UA159, but insertional inactivation of the gene (luxSSm) did not alter colony or cell morphology or diminish the capacity of S. mutans to form biofilms. We also examined the role of the homologue of the Bacillus subtilis catabolite control protein CcpA in S. mutans in biofilm formation, and the results showed that loss of CcpA resulted in about a 60% decrease in the ability to form biofilms on an abiotic surface. From these data, we conclude that CcpA and BrpA may regulate genes that are required for stable biofilm formation by S. mutans.
Executive Functions as Predictors of School Performance and Social Relationships: Primary and Secondary School Students

Abstract This study examined the relationship between executive functions (EFs) and school performance in primary and secondary school students aged 8 to 13 years (N = 146, M = 10.4, 45.8% girls). EFs were evaluated using the Trail Making Test (TMT), Verbal Fluency (VF), and the Stroop Test. Students’ GPAs and teachers’ assessment of academic skills were used to measure school performance. To evaluate the students’ social behavior, participants were asked to rate all their classmates’ prosocial behavior and nominate three students with whom they preferred to do school activities; teachers also provided evaluations of students’ social skills. EF measures explained 41% (p = .003, f 2 = .694) of variability in school performance and 29% (p = .005, f 2 = .401) of variance in social behavior in primary school students. The predictive power of EFs was found to be lower for secondary school students, although the TMT showed significant prediction and explained 13% (p = .004, f 2 = .149) of variance in school performance and 15% (p = .008, f 2 = .176) in peer ratings of prosocial behavior. This paper discusses the relevance of EFs in the school environment and their different predictive power in primary and secondary school students.
Determinants of consumers’ participation in the sharing economy

Purpose Consumers’ intentions to participate in the sharing economy have received much attention from researchers in recent times. However, little attention has been paid to consumers’ actual participation in the sharing economy. The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors that drive customers in Ghana to use Uber. Design/methodology/approach The authors used surveys as the research design. There were 500 participants who were users of Uber. Data were collected through self-administered questionnaires. Findings The findings of this study show that trust, customer return on investment and search convenience are the key factors that contribute to riders’ usage of Uber service. Furthermore, this study shows that consumers’ need for prestige and social connection do not play a significant role in consumers’ (riders’) usage of Uber services. Originality/value Studies investigating consumers’ participation in the sharing economy from an emerging economy context using the social exchange theory is limited. This study identifies elements of the economic and socio-emotional dimensions of the social exchange theory and the strength of their impact on people’s participation in the sharing economy.
The role of cortisol suppression on craving for and satisfaction from nicotine in high and low impulsive subjects

The rewarding properties of drug self‐administration have been shown to depend on mesolimbic dopamine release but also on the availability of corticosterone, as shown in rats. Since this became particularly evident when tested in rat strains bred for high (HR) and low (LR) reactivity to novel stimuli, the role of cortisol and personality in drug craving was investigated in 60 male nicotine‐deprived smokers divided according to questionnaire scores into high and low impulsives, a dimension considered to represent HR/LR rats. They either received the peripheral cortisol blocker metyrapone (MET) or the centrally blocking substance dexamethasone (DEX) or placebo (n=20 each) and were then allowed to smoke. MET more than DEX reduced craving for cigarettes during deprivation. This was only observed in low impulsives while high impulsives developed low craving unmodified by blockade of cortisol. Satisfaction from smoking was less achieved with DEX than with MET and not modified by impulsivity. Differences between MET and DEX in influencing craving during deprivation and satisfaction from smoking were discussed on the basis of different glucocorticoid receptors. The mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) seems to be the ‘turn on switch’ and the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) the ‘turn off switch’ in mediating the rewarding properties of dopamine in drug self‐administration. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Factors Related to Regular Undergoing Pap-smear Test: Application of Theory of Planned Behavior.

BACKGROUND Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer among women in the world and the most common cancer in developing countries. Pap smear is and effective tool that can prevent death due to cervical cancer. The aim of this study was to determine the factors related to doing regular Pap-smear test based on the theory of planned behavior. METHODS In this cross-sectional study, conducted in Hamadan County, the west of Iran, during 2009, a total of 400 women's aged 20 to 70 years old, were ran-domly selected to participate voluntarily in the study. Participants filled out a self-administered questionnaire including the expanded theory of planned behavior components. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 13 using chi-square, t-test, and logistic regression statistical tests at 95% significant level. RESULTS Almost 63.8% of the participants had already done Pap-smear test at least once. About 28.3% of volunteers had followed a regular Pap-smear pro-gram. There was a significant correlation (P<0.002) between family history of cervical cancer and undergoing regular Pap-smear test. In addition, there was a significant correlation (P<0.001) between age and undergoing regular Pap-smear test. The best predictor for regular Pap-smear testing was subjective norms with odds ratio estimate of 1.14 [95% CI: 1.04, 1.23]. CONCLUSION Based on our findings, subjective norms may be one of the most effective factors among women for doing regular Pap-smear test.
Comprehensive detection of immunorelevant Borrelia garinii antigens by two‐dimensional electrophoresis

Lyme disease is caused by spirochetes of the Borrelia burgdorferi complex and has been reported in many temperate parts of the Northern Hemisphere. The B. burgdorferi complex consists of at least five different species and five genotypes with different pathogenicity. Serodiagnosis was achieved by detection of antigens on one‐dimensional (1‐D) immunoblots. A systematic and comprehensive approach to elucidate antigens has been started here by the combination of two‐dimensional electrophoresis (2‐DE) immunoblotting with matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI‐MS). Antigens in the proteome of B. garinii BITS were analyzed for their reactivity with sera from patients in early stage (erythema migrans) and late manifestations (neuroborreliosis late, arthritis and acrodermatitis chronica athrophicans) of borreliosis. A strategy to handle the enormous amount of data was developed and 65 antigens were detected, of which 20 were identified. These comprise the known antigens from 1‐D immunoblots used routinely in serodiagnosis and additionally the two new antigens, GAPDH and the ABC transporter oligopeptide permease. Several disease‐stage unique proteins were detected and some of them identified. The genetic variability between B. garinii strains BITS and 20047, B. afzelii, and B. burgdorferi, sensu stricto, seen on the 2‐DE patterns underlines the necessity of the search for additional antigens to improve the serodiagnosis and development of vaccines to be used outside of Northern America. A 2‐DE database of B. garinii was built up and is available on the World Wide Web (http://www.mpiib‐berlin.mpg.de/2D‐PAGE).
Fabrication of finely pitched LYSO arrays using sub-surface laser engraving technique with picosecond and nanosecond pulse lasers

We propose to adopt the sub-surface laser engraving (SSLE) technique for efficient and precise fabrication of finely pitched scintillation crystal arrays. However, its application to thicker crystals is still challenging. It is hard to focus the laser beam tightly at a point far from the crystal's surface because of the large refractive index of the scintillator. Therefore, a higher laser energy is needed to create microcracks at deep positions in the crystal. Because this would cause excessive damage to the scintillation crystal during laser scans, the process yield of SSLE is reduced. We found that this issue could be overcome by a novel SSLE technique using both picosecond (ps) and nanosecond (ns) pulse lasers. The experimental results indicated that the total laser energy required for creating microcrack walls in a LYSO crystal can be reduced compared to that of conventional SSLE using only a ns pulse laser. The SSLE technique using both ps and ns pulse lasers would enable the fabrication of finely pitched LYSO arrays with a higher process yield.
Isolation of Caenorhabditis elegans genomic DNA and detection of deletions in the unc‐93 gene using PCR

PCR, genomic DNA isolation, and agarose gel electrophoresis are common molecular biology techniques with a wide range of applications. Therefore, we have developed a series of exercises employing these techniques for an intermediate level undergraduate molecular biology laboratory course. In these exercises, students isolate genomic DNA from the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans and use PCR to detect deletions in the C. elegans unc‐93 gene. In advance of the exercises, wild‐type and three different unc‐93 deletion mutant strains are grown, harvested, and frozen by the instructor. In one approach, students isolate genomic DNA from each strain using a genomic DNA isolation kit and use agarose gel electrophoresis to analyze the DNA and to estimate its concentration. PCRs using primers directed to two different regions of the unc‐93 gene are carried out on the genomic DNA from wild‐type and mutant strains, and the PCR products are analyzed by agarose gel electrophoresis. Students analyze the gel to determine the approximate location and size of deletions in the three mutant strains. Alternatively, students may lyse single nematodes and carry out PCR in one laboratory session. These exercises should be easily adaptable to detection of well characterized deletions in any organism.
Dynamic traffic assignment for multi-regional transportation systems considering different kinds of users’ behavior

The population growth in urban areas represents an issue for transportation planning. This overload of urban transportation systems, leading to significant monetary costs and environmental issues. Policy measures are then needed to decrease the level of congestion and increase the efficiency of transportation systems. In a short term, traffic simulators might be a powerful tool that helps to design innovative solution. But, the classical traffic simulators are computationally demanding for large scale applications. Moreover, the set up of the simulation scenario is complex. An aggregated traffic modeling might be a good solution (Daganzo, 2007; Geroliminis and Daganzo, 2008). The city network is divided into regions where a well-defined Macroscopic Fundamental Diagram (MFD) regulates the traffic conditions inside each one. The MFD relates the average traffic flow and density inside a region. Despite the idea of aggregating the city network is simple, it brings several challenges that have not yet been addressed. Up to today, only Yildirimoglu and Geroliminis (2014) proposed a dynamic traffic assignment framework for regional networks and MFD models. This framework is based on the simple Multinomial Logit model and does not explicitly deal with trip length distributions. Moreover, their framework does not consider that users are different from each other and have different purposes and preferences for their travels. The goal of this PhD dissertation is to twofold. First, the influence of the users behavior on the global network performance is investigated. This analysis focus on the network mean speed and its internal and outflow capacities, comparing different models that account for different kinds of users behavior against the Deterministic and Stochastic User Equilibrium. Second, an innovative and complete dynamic traffic assignment framework for multi-regional MFD-based models is proposed. This framework is divided into several milestones and is based on the connections between the city and regional networks. In a first step, systematic scaling-up methods are proposed to gather the regional paths. In a second step, four methods are discussed to calculate the distributions of trip lengths that characterize these regional paths. In the third step, a network loading model that considers distributions of trip lengths that are explicitly calculated and the evolution of the regional mean speeds is proposed. Finally, this dynamic traffic assignment framework is extended to account for bounded rational and regret-averse users. This PhD is part of a European ERC project entitled MAGnUM: Multiscale and Multimodal Traffic Modeling Approach for Sustainable Management of Urban Mobility.
Data-aware SOA for Gene Expression Analysis Processes

In the context of genome research, the method of gene expression analysis has been used for several years. Related microarray experiments are conducted all over the world, and consequently, a vast amount of microarray data sets are produced. Having access to this variety of repositories, researchers would like to incorporate this data in their analyses processes to increase the statistical significance of their results. Such analyses processes are typical examples of data-intensive processes. In general, data-intensive processes are characterized by (i) a sequence of functional operations processing large amount of data and (ii) the transportation and transformation of huge data sets between the functional operations. To support data-intensive processes, an efficient and scalable environment is required, since the performance is a key factor today. The service-oriented architecture (SOA) is beneficial in this area according to process orchestration and execution. However, the current realization of SOA with Web services and BPEL includes some drawbacks with regard to the performance of the data propagation between Web services. Therefore, we present in this paper our data-aware service-oriented approach to efficiently support such data-intensive processes.