Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Real-time patterns of smoking and alcohol use: an observational study protocol of risky-drinking smokers

Introduction Despite the strong relationship between smoking and health-related consequences, very few smokers quit. Heavy drinking is a significant risk factor for health consequences, and is implicated in persistent smoking and less success at quitting smoking. Self-efficacy (SE) to abstain from smoking is an important determinant of smoking outcomes and may link alcohol use to poor quit rates. Even though research has demonstrated a strong association between drinking and smoking, and the multiplicative effect of these substances on cancer-related, heavy-drinking smokers has been largely ignored in the literature. Further, research has not taken advantage of innovative methods, such as ecological momentary assessment, to capture the impact of daily factors on smoking cessation outcomes in this particular group. The proposed study identifies daily changing factors that impede or promote SE and future smoking cessation efforts in risky-drinking smokers. Methods and analysis This is an observational study of 84 regular smokers (≥10 cigarettes per day) who drink at risky levels, report a desire to quit in the next 6 months, and show no evidence of psychiatric disturbance, severe history of alcohol withdrawal or drug dependence (excluding nicotine and caffeine). Participants report on their smoking, alcohol consumption and SE related to smoking twice a day for 28 days using interactive voice response (IVR) surveys. Multilevel regression and path models will examine within-person daily associations among drinking, smoking and SE, and how these variables predict the likelihood of future smoking behaviour at 1 and 6 months follow-up. Ethics and dissemination This protocol was approved by an accredited Institutional Review Board. The findings will help us understand the factors that promote or impede smoking cessation among a high-risk group of smokers (heavy-drinking smokers) and will be disseminated through peer-reviewed journal articles and presentations at national conferences.
Contaminated and misidentified cell lines commonly use in cancer research

Cell line authentication is important for credibility concern and scientific reproducibility. Authenticated cancer cell lines retain the properties of the cancers of origin and serve valuable resources for medical research. Experimental results commonly will be validated in more than one cell line to avoid specific cell line effect not generalizable to the disease on the whole. The use of appropriate and verified cell lines would therefore be very important in preclinical studies of translational research, bridging basic research to clinics.
Comparative in-Silico inhibition study of different proteins by MIC & HCN using molecular docking

Bhopal Gas Tragedy is one of the worst industrial catastrophes which claimed more than 2500 lives. This disaster was because of leak of methyl isocyante gas. Cyanide toxicity is one of the most contentious issues in this mass poisoning. Here an attempt has been made to analyse cyanide toxicity. Molecular docking concept is used for determination of alteration in biochemical reactions.
Spillovers in Regional Fisheries Management: Do Catch Shares Cause Leakage?

Regional councils manage U.S. fisheries. Fishermen can participate in fisheries managed by multiple councils, and effort controls in one region could lead to effort leakage into another. Theoretical modeling demonstrates that positive, negative, and no leakage are possible. Using difference-in-differences, we test for leakage across regional boundaries for a catch share program in New England and find evidence that the New England groundfish sector program caused spillover into adjacent Mid-Atlantic fisheries. Aggregate Mid-Atlantic harvest volume increased among sector members after the policy change. We find leakage in individual fisheries with similar gear and high market substitutability with sector species. (JEL Q22, Q28)
DISTRIBUCIÓN ESPACIAL DE LA POBLACIÓN INMIGRANTE EN LOS MUNICIPIOS CATALANES: IGUALDAD, EXPOSICIÓN, CONCENTRACIÓN Y CENTRALIDAD SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF THE IMMIGRANT POPULATION IN THE CATALONIAN MUNICIPALITIES: IDENTITY, EXPOSITION, CONCENTRATION AND CENTRALITY

Given the important growth in the number of immigrants in Spain it is interesting to study their distribution throughout the urban area. There are different indices of long standing tradition in statistics which are at our disposal and allow us to quantify the segregation of minority population groups. Through the application of these tools on the Catalan case, its use in the analysis of residential segregation in a town and in uncovering the patterns which underlie it are shown. The results point out that there does not exist a clear relationship between foreign population percentages and their segregation, and that segregation differs depending on the observed group. A new perspective on segregation can be obtained through the use of indices designed with the help of elements from spatial statistics. The combination of all these measures represents a useful procedure for the analysis of the distribution of immigrants in urban spaces and it usefulness can be extended to different areas such as sociology, economics, urbanism or housing policies.
Virtual Personalities: A Neural Network Model of Personality

A neural network model of personality is presented. The model has two goal systems: an approach system (BAS) and an avoidance system (BIS), as well as a system that governs the level of disinhibition/constraint (IS) in the two goal systems and the behavior system. Furthermore, within both goal systems, agentic and communal goals are specified. By tweaking the parameters of this system (e.g., chronic activation of goals, sensitivity of systems), and randomly or systematically varying situational arrays, distinct patterns of “behavior” by Virtual Personalities (VPs) across “situations” emerge that fit with classic distinctions (e.g., Big 5, temperaments). Various simulations demonstrate that VPs provide an exciting vehicle for integrating disparate approaches to personality to better understand the dynamics, situational responsiveness, and consistency of persons in situations.
A Connectionist Model of Attitude Formation and Change

This article discusses a recurrent connectionist network, simulating empirical phenomena usually explained by current dual-process approaches of attitudes, thereby focusing on the processing mechanisms that may underlie both central and peripheral routes of persuasion. Major findings in attitude formation and change involving both processing modes are reviewed and modeled from a connectionist perspective. We use an autoassociative network architecture with a linear activation update and the delta learning algorithm for adjusting the connection weights. The network is applied to well-known experiments involving deliberative attitude formation, as well as the use of heuristics of length, consensus, expertise, and mood. All these empirical phenomena are successfully reproduced in the simulations. Moreover, the proposed model is shown to be consistent with algebraic models of attitude formation (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975). The discussion centers on how the proposed network model may be used to unite and formalize current ideas and hypotheses on the processes underlying attitude acquisition and how it can be deployed to develop novel hypotheses in the attitude domain.
Hepatitis A virus

HAV belongs to the Picornaviridae family of viruses and the genus Hepatovirus. The Picornaviridae family consists of small (25–28 nm) non-enveloped viruses which are generally more robust and survive better in the environment compared to enveloped viruses, such as herpes simplex virus. HAV particles consist of a single strand of RNA contained within an icosahedral shaped protein shell (Schoub 2003; Cook and Rzezutka 2006; Rozenberg et al. 2011).
Diffusion of Innovation and 'Five Russias'

The authors explored the potential of new information and communications technologies (ICT) absorption in Russian regions primarily on an example of mobile communication. ICT-sector is rapidly growing, especially in consumer market, and it is an ideal object for diffusion research because it is fast spreading, and it can be obtained by almost all parts of a social system. The purpose was to classify regions by the rate of innovativeness, including the speed of diffusion and the share of innovators in the structure of regional communities. The level of saturation for mobile phone usage (active SIM cards per 100 people) was used as a proper indicator on the first stage of the research. All regions were classified according to rates of diffusion from 1999 to 2011, and five clusters were identified, corresponding to stages of diffusion by E. Rogers: innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority and laggards. There are four stages of mobile communication diffusion, according to the spatial diffusion theory of T. Hagerstrand, which are determined by several factors. The most influential factors are income, price of services and competition. Mobile phone usage in most Russian regions reached 100% saturation (one active SIM card per capita) in 2006-2007. Later development of cellular communication was determined not by demand for phone connection, but by the demand for internet connection, which is easily provided by mobile systems in smartphones, tablets, and other devices in comparison with other internet sources, which are less developed in most of Russian regions. To assess the innovativeness of regional communities, or their ability to absorb new products, cluster analysis, based on the threshold values of Bass model parameters, was performed. The results were similar to those obtained earlier, but for several regions the early appearance of innovators in communities did not increase the total number of users. Both previous methods of classification can be biased regarding special features of mobile communication diffusion. That is why, in the last stage an integral index of innovativeness was introduced, including rate of diffusion for several ICT-products on the early period of their introduction. The analysis proved that hierarchical model of diffusion from the main centres to secondary prevails in Russia. Factor of geographical location also play an important role. The research showed the significant difference in the rate of diffusion between Russian regions. Five stable clusters were identified, which is corresponding with idea of “five Russias” existence. Moscow and Saint Petersburg’s rate of diffusion is higher than in most countries, but there is a widespread periphery.
On the Relationship between the Northern Limit of Southerly Wind and Summer Precipitation over East China

Abstract The relationship between the summer northernmost position of southerly wind and precipitation over East China is investigated. The northern limit of summer southerly wind index (INLSSW) over East China is defined as the latitude where the zonal-averaged (105–120°E) low-level meridional wind is equal to zero. Results show that there is a significant negative (positive) correlation between INLSSW and summer precipitation over the Yangtze River (North China) region. Thus, the proposed INLSSW may have implications for the prediction of summer precipitation anomalies in these regions. In positive INLSSW years, a cyclonic circulation anomaly is observed over the tropical western North Pacific and an anticyclonic circulation anomaly is seen over the subtopics of East China, accompanied by southerly anomalies over East China. This leads to above-normal moisture penetrating into the northern part of East China. In addition, significant upward (downward) motion anomalies can be found over the North China (Yangtze River) region. As a result, there are significant positive (negative) precipitation anomalies over the North China (Yangtze River) region. Further examination shows that sea surface temperature anomalies over the tropical eastern Pacific and Indian Ocean both contribute to the formation of INLSSW-related circulation anomalies over the topical western North Pacific.
SCD1 is associated with tumor promotion, late stage and poor survival in lung adenocarcinoma

The discovery of Warburg effect opens a new era in anti-cancer therapy. Aerobic glycolysis is regarded as a hallmark of cancer cells and increasing literatures indicates that metabolic changes are critical for the maintenance and progression of cancer cells. Besides aerobic glycolysis, increased fatty acid synthesis is also required for the rapid growth of cancer cells, and is considered as one of the most typical metabolic symbols of cancer either. Thus, targeting fatty acid metabolism may provide a potential avenue for the diagnosis and therapeutic treatment of cancer. In this study, we have identified Sterol-CoA desaturase-1 (SCD1) which is the rate-limiting enzyme of unsaturated fatty acid synthesis, universally and highly expressed in lung adenocarcinoma and was required for the cell proliferation, migration and invasion. Both in vitro and in vivo studies demonstrated that high expression of SCD1 remarkably enhanced the ability of tumor formation and invasion, while knockdown of SCD1 significantly repressed tumorigenesis and induced cell apoptosis. Clinical association study suggested that high expression of SCD1 is more frequently observed in late stage patients and presents poor prognosis. Taken together, our results suggested that SCD1 is a potentially novel biomarker of lung adenocarcinoma, and targeting SCD1 may represent a new anti-cancer strategy.
Assessing Climate Variability using Extreme Rainfall and Temperature Indices

Future climate change is generally believed to lead to an increase in climate variability and in the frequency and intensity of extreme events. Extreme climate events such as floods and dry spells have significant impacts on society. As noted by the Bureau of Meteorology, Canada, to examine whether such extremes have changed over time a variety of extreme climate indices can be defined, such as the number of days per year which exceed, or fail to exceed, fixed thresholds. However, since people tend to adapt to their local climate, a threshold considered extreme in one part of Australia could be considered quite normal in another. To overcome this problem, thresholds based on percentile values have been defined by the Bureau of Meteorology, Canada. In this present study, three indices of extreme rainfall were examined: the number of events above an extreme threshold (extreme frequency); the average intensity of rainfall from extreme events (extreme intensity); and the proportion of total rainfall from extreme events (extreme percent). The same exercise was repeated using daily temperature values over the same time period. The aim was to assess whether the island was already experiencing variability in its climate pattern, as such an information would be very useful for decision making. Keywords: Climate change, Rainfall Variability, Extreme Rainfall Indices
THE CONTENT OF LEAD IN SOILS OF ALLOTMENT GARDENS IN ZIELONA GÓRA, POLAND

Lead, as a heavy metal, is harmful to living organisms (both plants and animals) and it is relatively mobile in the environment. In this article we present the results of the monitoring of the lead content in local allotment gardens (Zielona Gora, Poland). We examined both the total and the phytoavailable form. Soil samples were collected in eight places in the allotment gardens, and two places in the neighbourhood of the allotment gardens. The lead content in the soil met the Polish soil ground standards (Regulation by the Minister of the Environment of 9.09.2002). The total content of lead varied from 21 to 39 mg kg-1, (12–14 mg kg-1 at reference point) and the form potentially available for plants from 10 to 19 mg kg-1 (6–7 mg kg-1 at reference point). The content of lead does not exceed the threshold values according to Polish law. Olow, jako metal ciezki, jest szkodliwy dla organizmow zywych (zarowno roślin jak i zwierząt) I jest wzglednie ruchliwy w środowisku. W pracy przedstawiono wyniki badan monitoringowych dot. zawartości olowiu ogolnego oraz przyswajalnego w glebach ogrodkow dzialkowych Zielonej Gory. Probki glebowe pobrano z 8 miejsc w obrebie ogrodow oraz z 2 miejsc referencyjnych zlokalizowanych w sąsiedztwie ogrodow. Zawartośc olowiu w glebach nie przekraczala wartości progowych wyznaczonych wg prawa polskiego, przyjetego w zarządzeniu Ministra Środowiska z dnia 9 września 2002 r. Zawartośc olowiu calkowitego wahala sie od 21 do 39 mg kg-1, (12–14 mg kg-1 w punkcie referencyjnym) a olowiu w formie potencjalnie dostepnej dla roślin od 10 do 19 mg kg-1 (6–7 mg kg-1 w punkcie referencyjnym).
The multimodal space of learning

This report describes an experimental development in teacher education. The main goal with the project was to increase the students’ learning outcome by creating a better ICT-supported learning environment. The research question was focusing on how our variant of blended learning influenced the learning environment within the frames of teacher education in Norway. The didactical design was based on a mix of blended learning, flipped classroom, traditional lectures and strictly organized seminar-groups. The conclusions of the project focuses on how the challenges are no longer ICT-skills or hardware, but the need of pedagogical, professional judgment to act in a holistic, complex multimodal space of learning. Introduction Teacher education in Norway is under pressure to increase the use of ICT-tools in higher education. The underlying assumption is that ICT-tools and techniques will have a positive effect on learning outcome and the efficiency of higher education. More than ten years with ICT-based projects in teacher education has made us change focus from learning effects of isolated ICT-tools and methods, to how ICT can contribute to higher quality in the learning environment from a holistic perspective. The digital development has enforced a new epistemological discourse in education. This discourse challenges roles, identity, status and the value of different kinds of knowledge in higher education. Pedagogical practice are being challenged by new technology. Although much have been done, we still experience the need to search for new ways of creating meaningful and well-functioning learning processes in this space of new media and communication modalities. The concept of “multi modal space” refers to a learning environment constituted by different modalities to inform, communicate and develop new knowledge. From the very start of introducing ICT in the educational system, it has been proclaimed that we are at the very start of a learning revolution with unlimited possibilities to collect, share and create new knowledge. ICT-tools obviously make it possible to collaborate
Dendritic Spine Morphology: The Role of Micro tubules and Endosomes

markdownabstract__Abstract__ In Ancient Egypt, the function of the brain was regarded as not much more than cranial stuffing. The brain was regularly removed in preparation for mummification since the heart was assumed to be the organ of intelligence. Over the next five thousand years, this view was reversed; the brain is now known to be the control center of the central nervous system that is responsible for regulating virtually all activities of the body and is the source of perception and higher cognitive functions in humans. The simplest possible multicellular organisms have very simple nervous systems made up of a few neurons that mediate a reflex action. Smaller invertebrates, such as the flatworm, do not have a centralized brain but loose associations of neurons arranged in simple reflex pathways along the body. Larger invertebrates, such as the lobster have simple "brains" that consist oflocalizcd collections of neuronal cell bodies called ganglia. Each ganglion controls sensory and motor functions in its segment through reflex pathways, and the ganglia arc linked together to form a simple nervous system. In higher organisms the nervous systems evolve from the chains of ganglia cells into more centralized brain structures. In mammals the brain is extremely complex and is divided in different functional regions, such as for example the brain stem, cerebellum, and cerebral cortex.
Carotid artery image segmentation

The main process causing most cardiovascular diseases is atherosclerosis, which is responsible for the thickening of the major arteries walls. Concretely, the intimamedia thickness (IMT) of the carotid artery wall is an early and effective marker of atherosclerosis progression. The measurement of the IMT is directly extracted from the segmentation of two different layers of the carotid artery wall. In this project, we present three fully automated techniques to perform the segmentation of these two layers of the carotid artery wall using B-mode ultrasound images. The segmentation of the carotid artery wall is a challenging problem due to image noise, artifacts and image shape, intensity and resolution variability. One of the developed methods is based on lumen detection. It first detects the lumen region of the carotid artery and then it seeks the both layers using the differences between the intensity values of the image. The other two methods are based on a classification system, considering the image segmentation problem as a classification problem of the image pixels into interior or exterior of the region formed by the two layers. One of them uses the random forest classifier and the other one uses the stacked sequential learning scheme with random forest as a base learner. We validate the proposed techniques using a data set of B-mode images obtained from a clinical institution and we compare its performances.
Evolving Informal Risk-Sharing Cooperatives and Other-Regarding Preferences

In this paper we present a model of formation and destruction of informal cooperatives in a population of agents who perform a risky activity and who are heterogeneous in terms of success in their actions. Although some agents have high-risk and others low-risk, our model displays a dynamics with cooperatives in which agents share equally their income with a certain stability. We are interested in studying at the same time the existence of cooperatives, their ability to integrate a large proportion of agents and the degree of segregation of these cooperatives. Three factors can explain the existence, stability and lack of segregation. First, we show that the classical explanation in economics holds within the framework of our model: when agents are risk averse, high success agents can share with low success agents so that to stabilize the value of their income - the higher the risk aversion, the more stable the cooperatives and the lower the segregation. Learning can explain in a small proportion the existence of cooperatives: we designed agents so that they have to learn whether they are high or low-risk, and while they are learning, they tend to create cooperatives that can last. Eventually we worked on the integration of other-regarding preferences in the model, with two different definitions. As expected, the influence of other-regarding preferences is to increase stability and decrease segregation, and the two models of rationality react differently to the type of network in which the agents are immersed. This paper, mainly exploratory, presents our model and shows the influence of the definition of network as well as all other factors presented before. In that sense, although we have mainly done a rough exploration of its relevant parameters for the moment, it exposes different insights that can be gained by its study.