Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Risk factors for the progression to multimorbidity among UK urban working-age adults. A community cohort study

Objectives The progression of long-term conditions (LTCs) from zero-to-one (initiation), and from one-to-many (progression)are common trajectories that impact a person’s quality of life including their ability to work. This study aimed to explore the demographic, socioeconomic, psychosocial, and health-related determinants of LTC initiation and progression, with a focus on work participation. Methods Data from 622 working-age adults who had completed two waves (baseline and follow-up) of the South-East London Community Health survey were analysed. Chi square tests and multinomial logistic regression were used to describe the associations between self-reported demographic, socioeconomic, psychosocial, and health-related variables, and the progression of LTCs. Results Small social networks, an increased number of stressful life events, low self-rated health, functional impairment, and increased somatic symptom severity were all associated with both the progression from zero-to-one LTC and from one LTC to multimorbidity (two or more LTCs). Renting accommodation (RRR 1.73 [95% CI 1.03–2.90]), smoking (RRR 1.91 [95% CI 1.16–3.14]) and being overweight (RRR 1.88 [95% CL 1.12–3.16]) were unique risk factors of developing initial LTCs, whereas low income (RRR 2.53 [95% CI 1.11–5.80]), working part-time (RRR 2.82 ([95% CL 1.12–7.10]), being unemployed (RRR 4.83 [95% CI 1.69–13.84]), and making an early work exit (RRR 16.86 [95% CI 3.99–71.30]) all increased the risk of progressing from one LTC to multimorbidity compared to being employed full-time. At follow-up, depression was the most prevalent LTC in the unemployed group whereas musculoskeletal conditions were the most prevalent in those working. Conclusions The journey to multimorbidity is complex, with both common and unique risk factors. Non-full-time employment was associated with an increased risk of progression to multimorbidity. Future research should explore the risk and benefit pathways between employment and progression of LTCs. Interventions to prevent progression of LTCs should include mitigation of modifiable risk factors such as social isolation.
Stem Cell Repor ts

SUMMARY The maintenance of germline stem cells (GSCs) is essential for tissue homeostasis. JAK/STAT signaling maintains GSC fate in Drosophila testis. However, how JAK/STAT signaling maintains male GSC fate through its downstream targets remains poorly understood. Here, we identify p115, a tER/ cis -Golgi golgin protein, as a putative downstream target of JAK/STAT signaling. p115 maintains GSC fate independent of GM130 and GRASP65. p115 localizes in cytosol, the ER and Golgi apparatus in germline cells and is required for the morphology of the ER and Golgi apparatus. Furthermore, depletion of p115 in GSCs results in aberrant spindle orientation. Mechanistically, p115 associates with and stabilizes STAT. Finally, ectopic expression of STATcompletely restores GSC loss caused by p115 depletion. Collectively, JAK/STAT signaling and p115 form a feedforward loop to maintain male GSC fate. Our work provides new insights into the regulatory mechanism of how stem cell maintenance is properly controlled by JAK/STAT signaling.
Southwest Ecological Restoration Institutes (SWERI) Biophysical Monitoring Workshop Report

On October 15-16, 2009, the Southwest Ecological Restoration Institutes (SWERI) hosted a workshop in which the participants would 1) build a common understanding of the types of monitoring that are occurring in forested ecosystems of the Southwest; 2) analyze and agree on an efficient, yet robust set of biophysical variables that can be used by land mangers and scientists to monitor the effectiveness of restoration/land treatments; and 3) discuss and develop strategies to overcome common challenges to effective forest monitoring and its integration into land management decision making. An invited group of individuals representing federal and state agencies, environmental non-profits, academic institutions, and consulting firms brought their knowledge and expertise to bear on the three goals of the workshop. Working in specialty groups (Botany, Fire and Fuels, Trees and Forest Structure, Wildlife) as well as in the aggregate, workshop participants used the two days to identify the key monitoring measures for restored southwestern forests and to make recommendations about the future steps needed to ensure that effectiveness monitoring (i.e., determining whether the project goals were attained) is an integral part of the total restoration process.
Secretory production of 7‐dehydrocholesterol by engineered Saccharomyces cerevisiae

7‐Dehydrocholesterol (7‐DHC) can be directly converted to vitamin D3 by UV irradiation and de novo synthesis of 7‐DHC in engineered Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been recognized as an attractive substitution to traditional chemical synthesis. Introduction of sterol extracellular transport pathway for the secretory production of 7‐DHC is a promising approach to achieve higher titer and simplify the downstream purification processing.
A Real Bottleneck Scenario with a Wizard of Oz Automated Vehicle - Role of eHMIs

Automated vehicles (AVs) are expected to encounter various ambiguous space-sharing conflicts in urban traffic. Bottleneck scenarios, where one of the parts needs to resolve the conflict by yielding priority to the other, could be utilized as a representative ambiguous scenario to understand human behavior in experimental settings. We conducted a controlled field experiment with a Wizard of Oz automated car in a bottleneck scenario. 24 participants attended the study by driving their own cars. They made yielding, or priority-taking decisions based on implicit and explicit locomotion cues on AV realized with an external display. Results indicate that acceleration and deceleration cues affected participants’ driving choices and their perception regarding the social behavior of AV, which further serve as ecological validation of related simulation studies.
Investigating Hazard Notifications for Cyclists in Mixed Reality: A Comparative Analysis with a Test Track Study

One way to improve road safety for cyclists is the development of hazard notification systems. Instead of in field experiments, such systems could be tested in safe and more controlled simulated environments; however, their validity needs verification. We evaluated the validity of mixed reality (MR) simulation for bicycle support systems notifying of dooring hazards. In a mixed-design study (N=43) with environment type(MR/test track) as within and hazard notifications (with/without) as between factor, comparing subjective and objective measures across environments. In conclusion, MR simulation is absolutely valid for user experience and perceived safety and relatively valid for workload, standard deviation of lateral position, and speed. However, MR simulation was not valid for lateral distance, as participants cycled more in the center of the street than on the test track, perhaps to avoid simulator sickness. Thus, we conclude that MR simulation is valuable for studying bicycle safety.
Promoting Sustainable Charging Through User Interface Interventions

With the rising popularity of electrified vehicles, emphasis has been placed on encouraging charging with renewable energy and maximizing battery longevity to improve vehicle sustainability. Many mobile applications offer tools to suggest charging times with more sustainable renewable energy and charging strategies that preserve battery health. However, these options often result in longer, less convenient charging times for drivers. Here we conducted three charging scenario studies to identify factors that influence willingness to wait for sustainable charging. Participants selected between faster but less sustainable charging options and slower charging options that either reduce charging emissions or improve battery longevity. We find people’s willingness to wait for green energy is influenced by situational factors; further we find that information and battery longevity interventions can increase willingness to wait for sustainable charging. Finally, we provide design recommendations to promote sustainably in charging behaviors.
Empowered, Smaller Families Are Better for the Planet: How to Talk about Family Planning and Environmental Sustainability

Despite their complex and nonlinear relationship, reproductive rights and environmental sustainability likely have a synergistic relationship. Social movement theory suggests that reframing reproductive rights in this light can strengthen and benefit them by diversifying their moral appeal and support base. Yet despite increasing scientific evidence demonstrating ways in which population size, growth, and distribution tend to undermine various aspects of environmental sustainability, and increasing public awareness and concern for environmental degradation, linking these issues remains a contested and polarised enterprise. In this article, we explore the marginalisation processes at play surrounding this linkage and introduce the concept of population reductionism. We review advice and normative trends on communicating messages linking the fulfilment of reproductive rights with improved environmental sustainability. We elaborate a strategic communication roadmap to promote the operationalisation of the family planning and environmental sustainability linkage, centred on individual empowerment, and propose a global rallying cry—‘empowered, smaller families are better for the planet’.
G-PLIP : Knowledge graph neural network for structure-free protein-ligand affinity prediction

1 Protein-ligand interaction (PLI) shapes efficacy and safety profiles of small mo-2 lecule drugs. Most existing methods rely on resource-intensive computation to predict 3 PLI based on structural information. Here we show that a light-weight graph neural 4 network (GNN), trained with quantitative PLIs of a small number of proteins and 5 ligands, is able to predict the strength of unseen PLIs. The model has no direct access 6 to structural information of protein-ligand complexes. Instead, the predictive power is 7 provided by encoded knowledge of proteins and ligands, including primary protein 8 sequence, gene expression, protein-protein interaction network, and structural similar-9 ities between ligands. Our novel model performs competitively with or better than 10 structure-aware models. Our results suggest that existing PLI-prediction methods 11 may be further improved by using omics data and representation learning techniques 12 that embed biological and chemical knowledge.
Atrial arrhythmogenesis in ex vivo aged mouse hearts with hypokalemia and right atrial stretch

Introduction Atrial Fibrillation (AF) and atrial flutter (AFL) are the two most common cardiac arrhythmias in the United States. While advanced age has been correlated to AF/AFL, the lack of an appropriate animal model has hindered progress on better understanding the pathophysiology of atrial arrhythmogenesis. Both hypokalemic conditions and hemodynamic stretch have been associated with atrial tachyarrhythmias in patient populations. The purpose of this study was to examine the incidence of atrial tachyarrhythmias in an ex vivo aging C57BL/6 mouse model following hypokalemia and stretch challenges. Methods Hearts were isolated with combined cannulation of the aorta and superior vena cava in a modified right-sided working heart perfusion technique. Isolated hearts of Aged (26-29 month) male (n=14) and female (n=14) mice were subjected to normokalemic and hypokalemic conditions ± atrial preload elevation to 12 cmH20 to induce atrial stretch. Heart rate, right ventricular (RV) pressure development, and incidence of atrial tachyarrhythmias were monitored using a pressure catheter and intracardiac electrocardiogram. Results In response to hypokalemia, there were no changes in mean heart rate, RV pressure development, or RV Rate-Pressure Product (Rate x RV peak pressure). Atrial tachyarrhythmias were not observed under baseline conditions, and only 1 of 8 hearts exhibited atrial tachycardia following the hypokalemia challenge. In response to atrial preload elevation, there was an increase in heart rate (P=0.0006 versus baseline) with no change in RV pressure development. RV Rate-Pressure Product was significantly elevated (P=0.013 versus baseline) with atrial preload due to the increase in heart rate. Atrial tachyarrhythmias were not observed under both baseline conditions and following atrial preload elevation. In response to the combined hypokalemia and preload challenges, there was an increase in heart rate (P=0.008 versus baseline) with no change in RV pressure development or RV Rate Pressure product. Atrial tachyarrhythmias were not observed under baseline conditions, yet after the combined challenges 50% of aged hearts exhibited atrial tachycardia or AF/AFL. During bouts of AF/AFL, the AF/AFL led to a variable ventricular response and concomitant contractile dysfunction in the form of variable RV pressure development. Conclusion Ex vivo aged mouse hearts exhibit atrial tachyarrhythmias in response to combined hypokalemia and right atrial stretch conditions. The aged C57BL/6 mouse model is therefore useful for pre-clinical studies of atrial arrhythmogenesis.
AdVANcing Design: Customizing Spaces for Vanlife

This study examines three modalities for designing live-in van interiors. Participants (N=18) situated within an empty van were asked to explore potential designs using physical cardboard prototyping, a commercial software application (Vanspace 3D) for planning van interiors, and an augmented reality application that we developed. Participants were asked to think aloud as they designed van interiors for fictive journeys using each modality. A qualitative evaluation was conducted to assess how participants’ conceptualizations of space shifted across the use of each prototyping method. The results demonstrate that each design method influenced design outcomes due to the physicality of the task. This study highlights the importance of considering the role of physicality in the selection of prototyping modality for the design exploration process.
Probabilistic inductive logic programming: theory and applications

Probabilistic Inductive Logic Programming. - Formalisms and Systems. - Relational Sequence Learning. - Learning with Kernels and Logical Representations. - Markov Logic. - New Advances in Logic-Based Probabilistic Modeling by PRISM. - CLP( ): Constraint Logic Programming for Probabilistic Knowledge. - Basic Principles of Learning Bayesian Logic Programs. - The Independent Choice Logic and Beyond. - Applications. - Protein Fold Discovery Using Stochastic Logic Programs. - Probabilistic Logic Learning from Haplotype Data. - Model Revision from Temporal Logic Properties in Computational Systems Biology. - Theory. - A Behavioral Comparison of Some Probabilistic Logic Models. - Model-Theoretic Expressivity Analysis.
The Consistency dimension and distribution-dependent learning from queries: (extended abstract with appendices)

We prove a new combinatorial characterization of polynomial learnability from equivalence queries, and state some of its consequences relating the learnability of a class with the learnability via equivalence and membership queries of its subclasses obtained by restricting the instance space. Then we propose and study two models of query learning in which there is a probability distribution on the instance space, both as an application of the tools developed from the combinatorial characterization and as models of independent interest.
A Note on Exchange Market Equilibria with Leontief ’ s Utility : Freedom of Pricing Leads to Rationality

We extend the analysis of [26] to handling more general utility functions: linear substitution functions, which include the Leontief utility. We show that the problem reduces to the general analytic center model discussed in [26]. Thus, the same complexity bound applies to approximating the Fisher equilibrium problem with linear substitution utilities. More importantly, we apply the model to show that the solution to a (pairing) class of ArrowDebreu problems with Leontief’s utility, a more difficult exchange market problem, can be decomposed to solutions of two systems of linear equalities and inequalities, and the price vector is the Perron-Frobenius eigen-vector of a scaled Leontief utility matrix. Consequently, if all input data are rational, then there always exists a rational Arrow-Debreu equilibrium, that is, the entries of the equilibrium vector are rational numbers. Furthermore, the size (bit-length) of the equilibrium solution is bounded by the size of the input data. The result is interesting since rationality does not hold for Leontief’s utility in the general model, and it implies, for the first time, that this class of Leontief’s exchange market problems can be solved as a linear complementarity problem. ∗Department of Management Science and Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305. E-mail: yinyu-ye@stanford.edu. Research supported by NSF grant DMS-0306611. I would like to thank Kamal Jain and Kasturi Varadarajan for insightful discussions on this subject.
Fast response hydrogel-based plasmonic sensor substrate for the detection of ethanol

The inline monitoring of ethanol concentrations in liquids is a crucial part of process monitoring in breweries and distilleries. Current methods are based on infrared spectroscopy which are bulky and costly making them non-affordable for small and middle-sized companies. To overcome these problems, we present a small, compact and cost-effective sensing method, based on a nanostructured, plasmonically active sensor substrate. The sensor substrate is coated with a microstructured ethanol-sensitive acrylamide-bisacrylamide hydrogel which induces a change of the hydrogel’s refractive index in conjugation with the hydrogel swelling and shrinking. With such an approach, the ethanol concentration in liquids can be determined in a simple optical transmittance setup. In our study, we demonstrate the capability of the sensor principle for the detection of ethanol concentration ranging from 0 to 30 vol%. Furthermore, we determined the response time of the sensor substrate to be less than 10 seconds, which shows an enormous improvement compared to other hydrogel-based sensing methods. Finally, initial results for real sample measurements are presented.
Modeling the Influence of Drinking Water Quality on Residential Property Value

ABSTRACT Modeling the Influence of Drinking Water Quality on Residential Property Value Ghazal Pashanasangi This thesis is an endeavor to study the influence of drinking water quality on residential property value in the United States. Bayesian inference method is used to model the influence of water pollution on property value. Hierarchical Bayesian inference method is used when different levels of pollution are considered. Number of types of chemicals detected in water utilities of each state, amount of total trihalomethanes (TTHMs) and total haloacetic acids (HAAs) in big cities drinking water, average property value in each state and big cities, and population are the data used in analyses. Results show that water pollution has a negative impact on the average property price in state level. Both TTHMs and HAAs, which are the most important pollutants in big cities, also have negative impact on residential property price in big cities. The impact of TTHMs pollution is more than HAAs pollution. Results of the hierarchical analyses show the state that each big city belongs to, determines the effect of TTHMs and HAAs pollution on residential property price.
Evaluating AVDL descriptions for web application vulnerability analysis

Several vulnerability analysis techniques in web-based applications detect and report on different types of vulnerabilities. However, no single technique provides a generic technology-independent handling of Web-based vulnerabilities. In this paper we present our experience with and experimental exemplification of using the application vulnerability description language (AVDL) to realize a unified data model for technology-independent vulnerability analysis of Web applications. This work is part of a project that is funded by the Centre for Strategic Infocomm Technologies, Ministry of Defence Singapore.
A versatile bulk superconducting MgB 2 cylinder for polarized targets and nuclear fusion fuels

The production and maintenance of an internal magnetic ﬁeld in a compact space is a challenging problem, and a versatile solution is being pursued. This is based on the property of a bulk hollow superconductor to trap a magnetic ﬁeld inside it, that is very interesting for fundamental physics and industrial applications too. Our goals are to provide an intense magnetic ﬁeld in a small region. Compactness, transportability, no power connections, capability of maintaining a high magnetic ﬁeld and shielding surrounding magnetic ﬁelds are the most attracting characteristics of a MgB 2 bulk. A preliminary feasibility study on a test cylinder showed very promising results. We are upgrading the system for better controls and systematic studies of the required material and geometry for application in transverse polarized nuclear targets for fundamental physics investigations
Youth Non-Participation in Songkhla Province of Thailand

The objective of this study was to examine the effects of demographic and geographic factors on the prevalence of youth non-participation at work and at school using statistical models. The analysis focused on youth aged 15-17 years both absent from school and not employed in the workforce in Songkhla province. The determinants were gender, religion (Muslim or others), and geographical location based on sub-districts of Songkhla province. Data were obtained from the 2000 Population and Housing Census of Thailand. A non-linear regression model similar to the Lee-Carter model widely used by demographers to forecast human mortality was used to define an index of disparity between genderreligion groups that varied with location in the province. The results showed substantial differences both in the levels of non-participation between the genderreligious groups, and also widely differing disparity. The technique used in this study can identify locations where levels of both non-participation and disparity are high, and thus likely to lead to breakdowns in social order.
Examining the relationship between snow cover and reservoir storage in the American River Basin

EXAMINING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SNOW COVER AND RESERVOIR STORAGE IN THE AMERICAN RIVER BASIN by Karen McGillis-Moskaluk This study focused on finding evidence of a relationship between snow cover and reservoir storage in the American River basin. Water availability is very important to the future of California. Landsat Thematic Mapper images of the area taken from 1985-2011 were analyzed by calculating Normalized Difference Snow Index and calculating snow acres. The peak storage data were obtained for Folsom Lake for the same time period as the satellite images. The evaluation of these methods showed that over time there was a correlation between snow cover and reservoir storage downstream.