Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Persistent infections in immunocompromised hosts are rarely sources of new pathogen variants

Abstract Many viruses, including human norovirus and influenza, cause self-limiting diseases of short duration. However, infection by the same viruses in an immunocompromised host can result in prolonged illness in the absence of effective treatment. Such persistent infections are often characterized by increased genetic diversity with potentially elevated rates of evolution compared to acute infections, leading to suggestions that immunocompromised hosts represent an important reservoir for the emergence of novel viral variants. Here, we develop a mathematical model that combines epidemiological dynamics with within-host evolution to quantify the relative contribution of immunocompromised hosts to the overall rate of pathogen evolution. Using human norovirus as a case study we show that the majority of evolutionary substitutions are expected to occur in acute infections of immunocompetent hosts. Hence, despite their potential to generate a high level of diversity, infections of immunocompromised hosts likely contribute less to the evolution and emergence of new genetic variants at the epidemiological scale because such hosts are rare and tend to be isolated. This result is robust to variation in key parameters, including the proportion of the population immunocompromised, and provides a means to understand the adaptive significance of mutations that arise during chronic infections in immunocompromised hosts.
Genetically monomorphic invasive populations of the rapa whelk, Rapana venosa

Rapana venosa is a predatory marine gastropod native to the coastal waters of China, Korea, and Japan. Since the 1940s, R. venosa has been transported around the globe and introduced populations now exist in the Black Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, the Adriatic and Aegean seas, off the coasts of France and the Netherlands, in Chesapeake Bay, Virginia, USA, and in the Rio de la Plata between Uruguay and Argentina. This study surveyed variation in two mitochondrial gene regions to investigate the invasion pathways of R. venosa, identify likely sources for introduced populations, and evaluate current hypotheses of potential transportation vectors. Sequence data were obtained for the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I and NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 gene regions of 178 individuals from eight native locations and 106 individuals from 12 introduced locations. Collections from within the native range displayed very high levels of genetic variation while collections from all introduced populations showed a complete lack of genetic diversity; a single haplotype was common to all introduced individuals. This finding is consistent with the hypothesis that R. venosa was initially introduced into the Black Sea, and this Black Sea population then served as a source for the other secondary invasions by various introduction vectors including ballast water transport. Although non‐native R. venosa populations currently appear to be thriving in their new environments, the lack of genetic variability raises questions regarding the evolutionary persistence of these populations.
The Effect of Educational Program on Quality of Life in Menopausal Women: A Clinical Trial

Objectives This study aimed to investigate the effect of Educational program on quality of life (QOL) in menopausal women in 2016 in Hamadan, Iran. Methods In this clinical trial study, 100 postmenopausal women were randomly selected and allocated to case and control group (50 per group). Data collection tool included questionnaires of demographic information and Menopause QOL, which were completed by the samples before the intervention. In the case group, education program was run during 5 sessions for 45 to 60 minutes. Immediately and Three months after intervention, information were collected using questionnaire in both groups and they were analyzed using SPSS 16 software. Results The menopause women in both intervention and control groups had similar demographics. There was not a significant difference in the QOL mean scores in before of the intervention between the two groups of intervention and control in all dimension of QOL. There was a significantly difference in the mean of QOL scores between the two groups in immediately after the intervention and 3 months after the intervention in dimension of vasomotor, psychosocial, sexual and physical (P < 0.001). Conclusions This study recommend that a unit in health and treatment centers be established for training menopausal women about health care by holding didactic classes.
ADCTC : ADVANCED DCT-BASED IMAGE CODER

An Advanced DCT based image Coder (ADCTC) is proposed in this paper. It uses partition schemes, i.e. variable size DCT transforms of image blocks, coding of numbers of significant bits (NOSB), context modeling and coding of signs of DCT coefficients. Advantages of ADCTC in comparison to other recently proposed DCT and wavelet based coders including standards JPEG and JPEG2000 are demonstrated.
New variables reported to the UNOS registry and their impact on cadaveric renal transplant outcomes - a preliminary study.

Several new factors collected by UNOS since 1994 were examined with regard to their effects on early graft function and 6-month graft survival in this study. Medicare patients had a lower 6-month graft survival rate than private insurance patients, though the difference was not statistically significant. Medicaid patients had a significantly lower graft survival rate than private insurance patients (p=0.04). Blacks had the same graft survival as Whites when they had comparable coverage. Both Blacks and Whites had higher graft survival with private insurance and lower survival with government funding. Non-heartbeating cadaver-donor kidneys yielded a lower graft survival rate than heartbeating donors (p=0.03). Experience with non-heartbeating donors is just beginning with only 89 kidneys compared with 8,766 heartbeating donor kidneys. Kidneys from donors with hypertension resulted in lower graft survival rates than those from donors without hypertension (p=0.01). In these preliminary studies, donor history of diabetes, smoking, alcohol dependency, I.V. drug use and cancer did not have a significant impact on graft survival. Patients who had a high body mass index (>26) had a lower 6-month graft survival rate (p=0.009). Patients who received kidneys from cadaver donors with a low body mass index (<20) had a lower 6-month graft survival rate (p=0.02). When the recipient was more than 30 kg heavier than the donor, a lower 6-month graft survival rate was obtained (p=0.007). When the weight ratio was greater than 2.0, again a lower survival was noted (p<0.001). A recipient-to-donor height ratio of more than 1.25 resulted in an 80% 6-month graft survival which was significantly less than the 87% survival rate among those with a ratio less than 1.25 (p<0.001). This cut-off was found to identify patients with the lowest 6-month survival rate, suggesting that donor-recipient pairs with a height ratio above 1.25 should not be transplanted. A 6-month graft survival rate of 90% was reported with a SMI of 16-20, where SMI = weight of recipient divided by the square of the donor height. From this preliminary study, the SMI appears to be the best predictor of high graft survival since 1,450 patients were in this category with a 90% survival at 6 months.
Obesity-induced hypertension. Renal function and systemic hemodynamics.

This study examined the control of renal hemodynamics and tubular function, as well as systemic hemodynamics, during obesity-induced hypertension in chronically instrumented conscious dogs. Mean arterial pressure, cardiac output, and heart rate were monitored 24 hours a day using computerized methods, water and electrolyte balances were measured daily, and renal hemodynamics were measured each week during the control period and 5 weeks of a high-fat diet. After 7 to 10 days of control measurements, 0.5 to 0.9 kg of cooked beef fat was added to the regular diet, and sodium intake was maintained constant at 76 mmol/d throughout the study. After 5 weeks of the high-fat diet, body weight increased from 24.0 +/- 1.0 to 35.9 +/- 4.9 kg, mean arterial pressure increased from 83 +/- 5 to 100 +/- 4 mm Hg, cardiac output increased from 2.86 +/- 0.27 to 4.45 +/- 0.55 L/min, and heart rate rose from 68 +/- 5 to 107 +/- 9 beats per minute. Associated with the hypertension was an increase in cumulative sodium balance to 507 +/- 107 mmol after 35 days and a rise in sodium iothalamate space, an index of extracellular fluid volume, to 131 +/- 4% of control. Sodium retention was due to increased tubular reabsorption, because glomerular filtration rate and effective renal plasma flow increased throughout the 5 weeks of the high-fat diet, averaging 135 +/- 4% and 149 +/- 19% of control, respectively, during the fifth week of the high-fat diet. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Urgent-Start Peritoneal Dialysis Complications: Prevalence and Risk Factors.

BACKGROUND Mechanical complications are of particular concern in urgent-start peritoneal dialysis (PD) because of the shorter break-in period. However, risk factors have been reported inconsistently and data in urgent-start PD populations are limited. STUDY DESIGN Observational cohort study. SETTING & PARTICIPANTS All patients treated with urgent-start PD, defined as PD therapy initiated within 1 week after catheter insertion, January 2003 to May 2013. PREDICTORS Age, sex, abdominal surgery history, body mass index, hemoglobin level, albumin level, C-reactive protein level, break-in period (period between catheter insertion and PD therapy initiation), dialysate exchange volume, and use of overnight dwell. OUTCOMES The presence of mechanical complications related to abdominal wall or catheter, including hernia, hydrothorax, hydrocele, subcutaneous leak, pericatheter leak, catheter malposition, omental wrap, and obstruction. RESULTS 922 patients on urgent-start PD therapy were enrolled (mean age, 59.1±15.0 [SD] years). Prevalences of abdominal wall and catheter complications were 4.8% and 9.5%, respectively. The most common abdominal wall complication was hernia (55%), followed by hydrothorax (25%). On adjustment, male sex (HR, 5.41; 95% CI, 2.15-13.59; P<0.001) and history of abdominal surgery (HR, 2.34; 95% CI, 1.04-5.26; P=0.04) were independently associated with higher risk for developing abdominal wall complications. LIMITATIONS As a cohort study, comparisons could not be established between urgent-start PD and conventional PD. CONCLUSIONS Urgent-start PD is a safe and practicable approach. Male sex and history of abdominal surgery could contribute to the development of abdominal wall complications.
Selection of primer-template sequences that bind human immunodeficiency virus reverse transcriptase with high affinity

A SELEX (systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment)-based approach was developed to determine whether HIV-RT showed preference for particular primer-template sequences. A 70 nt duplex DNA was designed with 20 nt fixed flanking sequences at the 3′ and 5′ ends and a randomized 30 nt internal sequence. The fixed sequence at the 5′ end contained a BbsI site six bases removed from the randomized region. BbsI cuts downstream of its recognition site generating four base 5′ overhangs with recessed 3′ termini. Cleavage produced a 50 nt template and 46 nt primer with the 3′ terminus within the randomized region. HIV-RT was incubated with this substrate and material that bound RT was isolated by gel-shift. The recovered material was treated to regenerate the BbsI site, amplified by PCR, cleaved with BbsI and selected with HIV-RT again. This was repeated for 12 rounds. Material from round 12 bound approximately 10-fold more tightly than starting material. All selected round 12 primer-templates had similar sequence configuration with a 6–8 base G run at the 3′ primer terminus, similar to the HIV polypurine tract. Further modifications indicate that the Gs were necessary and sufficient for strong binding.
Auxin response factors ARF6 and ARF8 promote jasmonic acid production and flower maturation

Pollination in flowering plants requires that anthers release pollen when the gynoecium is competent to support fertilization. We show that in Arabidopsis thaliana, two paralogous auxin response transcription factors, ARF6 and ARF8, regulate both stamen and gynoecium maturation. arf6 arf8 double-null mutant flowers arrested as infertile closed buds with short petals, short stamen filaments, undehisced anthers that did not release pollen and immature gynoecia. Numerous developmentally regulated genes failed to be induced. ARF6 and ARF8 thus coordinate the transition from immature to mature fertile flowers. Jasmonic acid (JA) measurements and JA feeding experiments showed that decreased jasmonate production caused the block in pollen release, but not the gynoecium arrest. The double mutant had altered auxin responsive gene expression. However, whole flower auxin levels did not change during flower maturation, suggesting that auxin might regulate flower maturation only under specific environmental conditions, or in localized organs or tissues of flowers. arf6 and arf8 single mutants and sesquimutants (homozygous for one mutation and heterozygous for the other) had delayed stamen development and decreased fecundity, indicating that ARF6 and ARF8 gene dosage affects timing of flower maturation quantitatively.
Group- and Genotype-Specific Neutralizing Antibody Responses Against Respiratory Syncytial Virus in Infants and Young Children With Severe Pneumonia

The effect of genetic variation on the neutralizing antibody response to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is poorly understood. In this study, acute- and convalescent-phase sera were evaluated against different RSV strains. The proportion of individuals with homologous seroconversion was greater than that among individuals with heterologous seroconversion among those infected with RSV group A (50% vs 12.5%; P = .0005) or RSV group B (40% vs 8%; P = .008). Seroconversion to BA genotype or non-BA genotype test viruses was similar among individuals infected with non-BA virus (35% vs 50%; P = .4) or BA virus (50% vs 65%; P = .4). The RSV neutralizing response is group specific. The BA-associated genetic change did not confer an ability to escape neutralizing responses to previous non-BA viruses.
Diffraction imaging by prestack reverse‐time migration in the dip‐angle domain

Prestack image volumes may be decomposed into specular and non‐specular parts by filters defined in the dip‐angle domain. For space‐shift extended image volumes, the dip‐angle decomposition is derived via local Radon transform in depth and midpoint coordinates, followed by an averaging over space‐shifts. We propose to employ prestack space‐shift extended reverse‐time migration and dip‐angle decomposition for imaging small‐scale structural elements, considered as seismic diffractors, in models with arbitrary complexity. A suitable design of a specularity filter in the dip‐angle domain rejects the dominant reflectors and enhances diffractors and other non‐specular image content. The filter exploits a clear discrimination in dip between specular reflections and diffractions. The former are stationary at the specular dip, whereas the latter are non‐stationary without a preferred dip direction. While the filtered image volume features other than the diffractor images (for example, noise and truncation artefacts are also present), synthetic and field data examples suggest that diffractors tend to dominate and are readily recognisable. Averaging over space‐shifts in the filter construction makes the reflectors‧ rejection robust against migration velocity errors. Another consequence of the space‐shift extension and its angle‐domain transforms is the possibility of exploring the image in a multiple set of common‐image gathers. The filtered diffractions may be analysed simultaneously in space‐shift, scattering‐angle, and dip‐angle image gathers by means of a single migration job. The deliverables of our method obviously enrich the processed material on the interpreter's desk. We expect them to further supplement our understanding of the Earth's interior.
Effects of hippocampal cholinergic deafferentation on learning strategy selection in a visible platform version of the water maze

Recent evidence has suggested that the relative levels of acetylcholine (ACh) between brain structures may be an important factor in the choice of behavioral strategy in settings in which either hippocampal or dorsal striatal brain systems can be employed both effectively and independently (McIntyre and Gold. 1999. Soc Neurosci Abs 25:1388). The current investigation used the neurotoxin 192 IgG‐saporin to deplete the hippocampus of ACh selectively, while leaving ACh in other brain regions, including dorsal striatum, intact. Rats were then trained on a version of the Morris water maze, in which behavioral strategies attributed to the hippocampus and dorsal striatum are placed in direct competition. It was predicted that rats with hippocampal ACh depletion would display a cue bias. Contrary to this prediction, depleting hippocampal ACh did not bias against and, in fact, promoted use of a hippocampal place strategy in this task, as indicated by choice in competition tests and performance on hidden platform training trials. These data add to a growing literature demonstrating that the septohippocampal cholinergic system is not required for accurate spatial learning and suggest a complex role for basal forebrain projections in processing information about the spatial environment. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Do undefined sources of hepatitis C transmission exist? The Greek study in General Practice

A seroepidemiological study was carried out in 15 primary health care (PHC) centres in rural Greece to determine the prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in the surgeries of Greek General Practitioners (GPs) and to further clarify the transmission of hepatitis C in Greece. Serum samples were obtained from 1961 subjects (1259 females) aged ≥ 15 years, who visited GP surgeries between July 1996 and February 1997 in 15 PHC centres located in three large Greek regions (Macedonia, Attika and Crete). Subjects who participated in the study fulfilled the following criteria: history of blood transfusion; hospital admission of > 7 days’ duration without surgical or other intervention; use of intravenous drugs (current or previous); or women with a history of medical or paramedical abortion. Nearly 65% (1263 subjects) of the participants in this study reported hospital admission with a length of stay > 7 days. Antibodies to HCV (anti‐HCV) were found in 67 participants (3.5%), 41 of whom were females and 44 of whom were aged ≥ 61 years. The highest prevalence (4.8%) of anti‐HCV was found in Crete, and differences among the Greek regions were statistically significant (P < 0.05). Multivariate statistical analysis showed that in addition to regional differences, the following variables had a statistically significant effect on the prevalence of anti‐HCV: history of dental surgery; use of intravenous drugs; hospital admission for > 7 days; and the high consumption of alcoholic drinks. Hence there is a significant variability in the prevalence of hepatitis C in well‐defined PHC areas of Greece. Several risk factors for acquiring HCV infection have been identified. Screening for HCV risk factors may enable Greek GPs to identify HCV‐infected patients.
Multi-tone modulated continuous-wave lidar

Because of its high range and resolution, light detection and ranging (LIDAR) is a significant technology for numerous applications, such as autonomous vehicles, robotics, aerial or terrestrial mapping, and atmospheric research. Current lidar market is mainly occupied by conventional pulsed time of flight lidars. However, recently emerging companies are utilizing frequency modulated continuous wave lidars for improved and robust range resolution, dynamic range, sensitivity and simultaneous velocity measurement. Here, we propose and demonstrate multi-tone modulated continuous wave (MTCW) lidar system made of a CW laser with multiple fixed RF tones for a high precision range finding and velocimetry. In the proposed approach, the interference of the scattered light with the reference is detected by a PIN photodiode to extract the modulation information. Since, the acquired light is traveled all the way to the target and back to the beam splitter, it carries the range and velocity information about the target as phase and frequency shift, respectively, on the RF modulation tones. We use 1550nm light source and multiple RF tone modulations ranging from 50 MHz to 6 GHz to demonstrate proof of principle for range finding. We also provide sine fitting algorithms on the measured RF tones to extract the range and velocity information in a single shot RF measurement. We show that the precision and range information are scaled by the selection of RF tones. By an engineered selection of RF tones and a laser source, the measurement precision can be increased without compromising the range.
Assessment of stability of the response versus scan angle for the S-NPP VIIRS reflective solar bands using pseudo-invariant desert and Dome C sites

The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the Suomi NPP (National Polar-orbiting Partnership) satellite has been in operation for over five years. VIIRS has 22 bands with a spectral range from 0.4 μm to 2.2 μm for the reflective solar bands (RSB). The Earth view swath covers a distance of ~3000 km over scan angles of ± 56.0° off nadir. The on-board calibration of the RSB relies on a solar diffuser (SD) located at a fixed scan angle and a solar diffuser stability monitor (SDSM). The response versus scan angle (RVS) was characterized prelaunch in ambient conditions and is currently used to determine the on-orbit response for all scan angles relative to the SD scan angle. Since the RVS is vitally important to the quality of calibrated level 1B products, it is important to monitor its on-orbit stability, particularly at the short wavelengths (blue) where the most degradation occurs. In this study, the RVS stability is examined based on reflectance trends collected at various scan angles over the selected pseudo-invariant desert sites in Northern Africa and the Dome C snow site in Antarctica. These trends are corrected by the site dependent BRDF (bi-directional reflectance function) model to reduce seasonally related fluctuations. The BRDF corrected trends are examined so any systematic drifts in the scan angle direction would indicate a potential change in RVS. The results of this study provide useful information on VIIRS RVS on-orbit stability performance.
Does altruism matter on online group buying? Perspectives from egotistic and altruistic motivation

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify whether altruistic motivation is a significant factor in online group buying and to examine the effects of altruistic and egotistic motivation on online group buying intention through the psychological processes of trust and satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach – A field study on Ihergo (www.ihergo.com/) was chosen because it is the largest online group buying marketplace in Taiwan. An online survey method was used to collect data. Returned questionnaires numbered 302 responses with 20 incomplete data, resulting in 282 valid responses for data analysis. Collected data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Findings – The findings of the study shows that altruism is relevant to online group buying, and trust and satisfaction have significantly positive effects on online group buying intention. The results emphasize that altruism, reciprocity, and reputation of motivations are significantly positive predictors of trust. Altruism and reciproc.