University of Maine Students\u27 Family Income and Its Relation to Alcoholism

This study was designed to address the issue of alcohol abuse among University of Maine students’ families and to look for correlating factors, mainly income. The project used an online, anonymous survey of on-campus students at the University of Maine to examine a possible correlation between (a) having a family member with alcoholism and (b) their family’s social economic status. One purpose of this research study was to find if there is accurate, adequate education or counseling for students who have alcohol abuse problems or family members who are alcoholics. A non-research byproduct of the survey was that, for students who were seeking counseling, this project could help to connect them with a professional who can help

How to Turn Your Knowledge Graph Embeddings into Generative Models

Some of the most successful knowledge graph embedding (KGE) models for link prediction -- CP, RESCAL, TuckER, ComplEx -- can be interpreted as energy-based models. Under this perspective they are not amenable for exact maximum-likelihood estimation (MLE), sampling and struggle to integrate logical constraints. This work re-interprets the score functions of these KGEs as circuits -- constrained computational graphs allowing efficient marginalisation. Then, we design two recipes to obtain efficient generative circuit models by either restricting their activations to be non-negative or squaring their outputs. Our interpretation comes with little or no loss of performance for link prediction, while the circuits framework unlocks exact learning by MLE, efficient sampling of new triples, and guarantee that logical constraints are satisfied by design. Furthermore, our models scale more gracefully than the original KGEs on graphs with millions of entities

Ipotiroidismo congenito da difetti della organificazione dello iodio

L’ipotiroidismo congenito è una sindrome clinica caratterizzata da un deficit degli ormoni tiroidei presente alla nascita. Si stima che nelle regioni ad adeguato apporto iodico la sua incidenza sia di circa 1:3000-4000 nati vivi. Questo rapporto rende di fatto l’ipotiroidismo congenito l’endocrinopatia più frequente dell’infanzia ed una delle cause prevenibili di ritardo mentale più comuni. Si può identificare una forma transitoria, identificata alla nascita e che va incontro a completa risoluzione nei primi mesi/anni di vita, ed una forma permanente, che come tale richiederà una terapia sostitutiva a vita. L’ipotiroidismo congenito permanente è dovuto a un quadro di disgenesia tiroidea nell’85% dei casi; il restante 10-15% è legato alla disormonogenesi, cioè l’alterazione della sintesi ormonale tiroidea. Una diagnosi ed un trattamento tempestivo permettono di prevenire le alterazioni dello sviluppo neuropsicofisico causate dall’assenza degli ormoni tiroidei nei bambini affetti, dato che da questi dipende lo sviluppo del sistema nervoso centrale, sia in epoca fetale sia nei primi anni di vita. Lo scopo di questo studio è quello di identificare le anomalie genetiche in 6 pazienti individuati all’interno di un gruppo di 32 bambini affetti da ipotiroidismo congenito o da ipotiroidismo giovanile con tiroide in sede. Il gruppo dei nostri 6 pazienti è composto da 2 bambine (# 1,2), sorelle, che presentano un test al perclorato negativo ed una TG sierica indosabile e da 4 bambini (# 3,4,5,6) con un test al perclorato fortemente positivo, dato che indica un difetto totale della organificazione dello iodio (TIOD). Nelle due pazienti con la TG sierica indosabile è stato sequenziato il gene della TG mentre nei 4 pazienti con il test al perclorato positivo è stato sequenziato il gene della TPO. L’analisi di tali geni ha evidenziato: una mutazione inattivante (R768X) espressa in omozigosi, mai descritta in letteratura, a carico del gene della TG e causa del difetto della sintesi della glicoproteina nelle pazienti # 1 e 2; una nuova mutazione (E746X) ed una già descritta in letteratura (907X) a carico del gene della TPO, espresse in eterozigosi composta, responsabili del quadro di TIOD nel paziente # 3; una nuova mutazione (T561M) a carico del gene della TPO, espressa in omozigosi, responsabile del quadro di TIOD nella paziente # 6. Nelle pazienti # 4 e 5, che presentavano una TIOD, non è stata identificata alcuna mutazione a carico del gene della TPO; si è proceduto pertanto a sequenziare il promotore del gene della TPO ed il gene DUOX2 senza tuttavia identificare alcuna anomalia. E’ verosimile che queste pazienti siano portatrici, a livello di una sequenza intronica, di alterazioni che interferiscono con il normale meccanismo di splicing dell’mRNA, con la conseguente sintesi di una proteina troncata

A comparison of behaviour and attitudes of Italian and non-Italian adolescent Canadian females.

Paper copy at Leddy Library: Theses & Major Papers - Basement, West Bldg. / Call Number: Thesis1981 .L636. Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 40-07, page: . Thesis (M.S.W.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 1981

Correlations of Crystal Structure and Solubility in Organic Salts: The Case of the Antiplasmodial Drug Piperaquine

Five organic salts of the antiplasmodial drug piperaquine (PQ, C29H32Cl2N6) were synthesized and characterized by X-ray diffraction methods. The corresponding solubilities in water and acetic acid solutions were evaluated in the 20-50 \ub0C (293-323 K) T range by UV-vis spectroscopy, with the aim of elucidating how they depend on chemical, structural, and thermodynamic factors. Experiments were complemented by DFT calculations, both in vacuo and in the solid state, to estimate changes in thermodynamic state functions related to the solvation process. It is demonstrated that solubility is mainly governed by the electronic and chemical properties of the anion, while lattice energies and packing effects, including in-crystal conformational changes of the drug, play a less important role. PQ salts generally conform to the predictions of hard and soft acid and bases (HSAB) theory, as less soluble compounds bear ions of comparable hardness, and vice versa. A remarkable exception is the PQ hydrogen sulfate salt, whose poor solubility can be ascribed to an exceptionally stable crystal lattice. Other factors, such as entropic effects related to solid-state disorder, can influence the response of solubility to temperature

A Exaltação da Guerra: uma análise da cobertura fotográfica da Segunda Guerra Mundial realizada pela Revista da Semana

O presente artigo busca realizar um recorte no estudo da fotografia baseando-se em temas específicos. A pesquisa que deu origem a essa reflexão analisa a cobertura fotográfica realizada pela Revista da Semana durante a Segunda Guerra Mundial. Esse artigo analisou e discutiu as fotografias que envolvem a temática da exaltação da guerra. A partir da metodologia apresentada por Umberto Eco, analisamos as imagens em cinco níveis de decomposição da fotografia e compreendemos que essas temáticas específicas e segmentadas podem ser encontradas em alguns grupos de imagen

Investigation of SCC of high strength aluminum alloys by means of slow strain rate test and cyclic anodic polarization in combination

The stress corrosion cracking (SCC) behavior of high strength 7075-T6 and 2024-T3 Al alloys in NaCl solutions is investigated by means of slow strain rate test (SSRT) and cyclic anodic polarization in combination. Smooth, dog-bone shaped flat tension test specimens, having gage section areas of 40 mm2 and 32 mm2, respectively, and 90 mm of gage length, were machined in the longitudinal (rolling) direction from the commercial wrought sheets (Aviometal Spa). The tensile test was performed at a constant strain rate (ἐ = 10-7, 10-6 or 10-5 s-1) from a pre-load of about 5 kN until fracture. The electrochemical system consisted in non-connected two Plexiglas cylindrical cells that were fixed at the middle of the opposite surfaces of the tensile specimen (working electrode, surface area at each side of 2 cm2). The variation of the open circuit potential (OCP) during straining was measured with respect to saturated calomel reference electrode (SCE) by connecting the two electrode system to a Gamry potentiostat. Contemporarily, the opposite surface was electrochemically perturbed by imposing consecutive cyclic anodic polarizations with open circuit potential measurements in between (OCP/polarization sequences), using an Ir-coated Ti auxiliary electrode, another SCE and a second Gamry potentiostat. At least two combined experiments for each test condition were carried out for repeatability check. Experiments with no OCP/polarization sequence during straining, and vice versa, were performed for reference purposes. The stress-strain curves of Al 7075-T6 (Fig. 1a) show that the ultimate strength and failure strain decrease in aggressive environment as the strain rate is lowered, regardless the electrochemical perturbation, being in agreement with reported data [1]. More interestingly, quasi-periodic stress relaxation/recovery events above the elastic region in correspondence with the dissolution/repassivation cycle were detected for ἐ ≤ 10-6 s-1 and 0.1667 mV/s of potential scan rate (n). The resolved negative spikes in the stress time derivative curve and the related polarization curves (as log | I | - t) for ἐ = 10-7 s-1, 0.6 M NaCl and n = 0.1667 mV/s are reported in Figure 1b. The spike pattern along the time axe was dependent on ἐ and NaCl concentration. The results from ongoing combined experiments with Al 2024-T3 for verification of the above findings will be presented altogether with empirical data analysis for a quantitative insight into the environmentally assisted failure mechanisms. Please click Additional Files below to see the full abstract

Rationalizing the Lacking of Inversion Symmetry in a Noncentrosymmetric Polar Racemate : an Experimental and Theoretical Study

The total charge density of PYRAC, a polar (Pca21) organic racemate with Z\u2032 = 2, was derived from high-resolution single-crystal X-ray diffraction data at T = 100(2) K and periodic DFT calculations. The PYRAC asymmetric unit consists of a hydrogen-bonded pair of conformationally different enantiomers, A and Bi, where the subscript \u201ci\u201d indicates a reversed absolute configuration. The lattice stability was compared with that of centrosymmetric possibly competing structures, with the aim of understanding why a noncentrosymmetric lattice framework is obtained from a racemic mixture. The likelihood of specific intermolecular recognition processes among different conformers of PYRAC in the very first stages of nucleation was investigated by DFT simulations in vacuo. Two competing, equivalent interconversion pseudorotatory paths between the most stable A and the least stable B conformers were found. It results that molecules spend most of their time ( 4853%) in the A conformation, whereas the B one is far less populated ( 487%). Therefore, centrosymmetric AAi adducts are formed very frequently in the reaction liquor, whereas the BBi ones are rare. Nevertheless, AAi pairs produce crystal forms with cohesive energies and densities significantly less favorable than those estimated for the noncentrosymmetric heterochiral ABi ones. Therefore, preference for Z\u2032 = 2 in conjunction with noncentrosymmetric point and space groups results from the thermodynamic control of the crystallization process. The capability of forming extended hydrogen bond chains throughout the lattice appears to be a prerequisite to bind together the fundamental ABi repeating units