Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Preliminary Validation of a New Developmental Screening Tool for Neurodevelopmental Delay in HIV-Infected South African Children

Screening for developmental delays among HIV-infected children is not routine in most pediatric HIV clinics in Africa because of the lack of locally adaptable, simple, sensitive and rapid screening tools. The Division of Developmental Pediatrics of the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital developed a tool for rapid screening of moderate to severe global developmental delays among HIV-infected children aged 9 to 36 months. The diagnostic accuracy of the novel screening tool was evaluated. Forty-seven HIV-infected children aged 9 to 36 months were screened using the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital developmental screening tool. Full developmental assessments of same children were performed using the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, Third Edition. The Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital tool’s sensitivity was 78.5%, specificity 54.6%, positive predictive value was 42.6%, and negative predictive value was 85.4%. The Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital screening tool was adequately sensitive and therefore recommended for screening of moderate to severe developmental delays among HIV-infected children.
Single-Cell RT-PCR and Functional Characterization of Ca2+ Channels in Motoneurons of the Rat Facial Nucleus

Voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels are a major pathway for Ca2+ entry in neurons. We have studied the electrophysiological, pharmacological, and molecular properties of voltage-gated Ca2+ channels in motoneurons of the rat facial nucleus in slices of the brainstem. Most facial motoneurons express both low voltage-activated (LVA) and high voltage-activated (HVA) Ca2+ channel currents. The HVA current is composed of a number of pharmacologically separable components, including 30% of N-type and ∼5% of L-type. Despite the dominating role of P-type Ca2+ channels in transmitter release at facial motoneuron terminals described in previous studies, these channels were not present in the cell body. Remarkably, most of the HVA current was carried through a new type of Ca2+ channel that is resistant to toxin and dihydropyridine block but distinct from the R-type currents described in other neurons. Using reverse transcription followed by PCR amplification (RT-PCR) with a powerful set of primers designed to amplify all HVA subtypes of the α1-subunit, we identified a highly heterogeneous expression pattern of Ca2+ channel α1-subunit mRNA in individual neurons consistent with the Ca2+ current components found in the cell bodies and axon terminals. We detected mRNA for α1A in 86% of neurons, α1B in 59%, α1C in 18%, α1D in 18%, and α1E in 59%. Either α1A or α1B mRNAs (or both) were present in all neurons, together with various other α1-subunit mRNAs. The most frequently occurring combination was α1Awith α1B and α1E. Taken together, these results demonstrate that the Ca2+ channel pattern found in facial motoneurons is highly distinct from that found in other brainstem motoneurons.
ICAM-5 affects spine maturation by regulation of NMDA receptor binding to α-actinin

ABSTRACT ICAM-5 is a negative regulator of dendritic spine maturation and facilitates the formation of filopodia. Its absence results in improved memory functions, but the mechanisms have remained poorly understood. Activation of NMDA receptors induces ICAM-5 ectodomain cleavage through a matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-dependent pathway, which promotes spine maturation and synapse formation. Here, we report a novel, ICAM-5-dependent mechanism underlying spine maturation by regulating the dynamics and synaptic distribution of &agr;-actinin. We found that GluN1 and ICAM-5 partially compete for the binding to &agr;-actinin; deletion of the cytoplasmic tail of ICAM-5 or ablation of the gene resulted in increased association of GluN1 with &agr;-actinin, whereas internalization of ICAM-5 peptide perturbed the GluN1/&agr;-actinin interaction. NMDA treatment decreased &agr;-actinin binding to ICAM-5, and increased the binding to GluN1. Proper synaptic distribution of &agr;-actinin requires the ICAM-5 cytoplasmic domain, without which &agr;-actinin tended to accumulate in filopodia, leading to F-actin reorganization. The results indicate that ICAM-5 retards spine maturation by preventing reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton, but NMDA receptor activation is sufficient to relieve the brake and promote the maturation of spines.
The potential value of volume-based quantitative PET parameters and increased bone marrow uptake for the prediction of survival in patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma

PurposeThe aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between volume-based quantitative PET parameters and survival in patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) and to evaluate the potential value of bone marrow (BM) uptake in predicting prognosis. Materials and methodsWe retrospectively reviewed the data of 51 patients with MPM who underwent initial staging by fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) PET/computerized tomography (PET/CT). 18F-FDG-PET images were visually and quantitatively re-evaluated and maximum standardized uptake values (SUVmax), mean standardized uptake values (SUVmean), metabolic tumor volume (MTV), total lesion glycolysis of primary tumors, and pleural thickening were calculated. In addition, BM and liver uptakes were measured; also, the degree of BM uptake was scored visually. BM/liver ratio and visual BM uptake score were noted. The correlations between quantitative PET parameters, BM uptake, and overall survival were analyzed. Results18F-FDG-PET scans upstaged 6 (11.8%) of 51 patients because of detection of previously unknown distant metastasis. On univariate analysis, advanced disease stage, high leukocyte count (≥10×103/ml), pleural thickening greater than 13 mm, SUVmax, SUVmean, MTV, total lesion glycolysis, BM/liver greater than 1.01, and visual score 1 and 2 were negative prognostic factors (P<0.05). In multivariate analysis, SUVmax greater than 8.6 [P=0.027, hazard ratio (HR): 2.961], MTV greater than 112 (P=0.001, HR: 4.861), and visual score 2 (P=0.035, HR: 3.827) were associated independently with a poor prognosis. ConclusionThe presence of distant metastasis is more predictive of survival than PET nodal status in MPM patients. PET/CT has the potential to provide prognostic information in MPM patients and there was a good correlation between overall survival and volume-based PET parameters. Determination of BM uptake may contribute toward the prediction of patient outcome with other quantitative PET parameters.
Quantitative Analysis of Faults and Failures in a Complex Software System

The authors describe a number of results from a quantitative study of faults and failures in two releases of a major commercial software system. They tested a range of basic software engineering hypotheses relating to: the Pareto principle of distribution of faults and failures; the use of early fault data to predict later fault and failure data; metrics for fault prediction; and benchmarking fault data. For example, we found strong evidence that a small number of modules contain most of the faults discovered in prerelease testing and that a very small number of modules contain most of the faults discovered in operation. We found no evidence to support previous claims relating module size to fault density nor did we find evidence that popular complexity metrics are good predictors of either fault-prone or failure-prone modules. We confirmed that the number of faults discovered in prerelease testing is an order of magnitude greater than the number discovered in 12 months of operational use. The most important result was strong evidence of a counter-intuitive relationship between pre- and postrelease faults; those modules which are the most fault-prone prerelease are among the least fault-prone postrelease, while conversely, the modules which are most fault-prone postrelease are among the least fault-prone prerelease. This observation has serious ramifications for the commonly used fault density measure. Our results provide data-points in building up an empirical picture of the software development process.
A Hierarchical Identity Based Key Management Scheme in Tactical Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

Hierarchical key management schemes would serve well for military applications where the organization of the network is already hierarchical in nature. Most of the existing key management schemes concentrate only on network structures and key allocation algorithms, ignoring attributes of the nodes themselves. Due to the distributed and dynamic nature of MANETs, it is possible to show that there is a security benefit to be attained when the node states are considered in the process of constructing a private key generator (PKG). In this paper, we propose a distributed hierarchical key management scheme in which nodes can get their keys updated either from their parent nodes or a threshold of sibling nodes. The dynamic node selection process is formulated as a stochastic problem and the proposed scheme can select the best nodes to be used as PKGs from all available ones considering their security conditions and energy states. Simulation results show that the proposed scheme can decrease network compromising probability and increase network lifetime in tactical MANETs.
Non-invasive ultrasound-based diagnosis and staging of esophageal varices in liver cirrhosis. A systematic review of the literature published in the third millenium.

INTRODUCTION Endoscopic surveilance of esophageal varices in patients with liver cirrhosis is expensive for the health system and uncomfortable for the patients. Recently, non-invasive ultrasound-based parameters seem to offer valuable informations about the status of esophaeal varices and thus challenge the need for repetitive endoscopic monitoring. MATERIAL AND METHOD We have performed a systematic review of the literature published in PubMed from January 2000 until March 2012 over the role of ultrasound-based parameters on the evaluation of esophageal varices in patients with liver cirrhosis. RESULTS Eleven papers studied the role of gray-scale and Doppler ultrasound and two further studies analyzed the relationship between liver stiffness and staging of esophageal varices. The parameters that proved to be valuable for diagnosis of esophageal varices and reached statistcal significance were: diameter of the spleen > 15 cm, congestion index of the portal vein > 0.154 cm x sec, portal hipertensive index > 2.08, liver stiffness > 43.97kPa, portal vein diameter > 13 mm, renal artery resistance index >/= 0.7 and development of new porto-systemic collaterals. Other parameters such as: pattern of hepatic venous waveforms or flow parameters of the hepatic or splenic veins did not reach statistical significance. CONCLUSIONS Altough esophagogastroduodenoscopy remains the golden standard, there are some ultrasound-based parameters which, used within complex algorithms, may represent a viable alternative for the diagnosis and surveilance of esophageal varices in patients with liver cirrhosis.
Insights into the smooth‐to‐rough transitioning in Mycobacterium bolletii unravels a functional Tyr residue conserved in all mycobacterial MmpL family members

In mycobacteria, MmpL proteins represent key components that participate in the biosynthesis of the complex cell envelope. Whole genome analysis of a spontaneous rough morphotype variant of Mycobacterium abscessus subsp. bolletii identified a conserved tyrosine that is crucial for the function of MmpL family proteins. Isogenic smooth (S) and rough (R) variants differed by a single mutation linked to a Y842H substitution in MmpL4a. This mutation caused a deficiency in glycopeptidolipid production/transport in the R variant and a gain in the capacity to produce cords in vitro. In zebrafish, increased virulence of the M. bolletii R variant over the parental S strain was found, involving massive production of serpentine cords, abscess formation and rapid larval death. Importantly, this finding allowed us to demonstrate an essential role of Tyr842 in several different MmpL proteins, including Mycobacterium tuberculosis MmpL3. Structural homology models of MmpL4a and MmpL3 identified two additional critical residues located in the transmembrane regions TM10 and TM4 that are facing each other. We propose that these central residues are part of the proton‐motive force that supplies the energy for substrate transport. Hence, we provide important insights into mechanistic/structural aspects of MmpL proteins as lipid transporters and virulence determinants in mycobacteria.
Game theory based relay vehicle selection for VANET

As a special form of mobile ad hoc network (MANET), vehicular ad-hoc network (VANET) is expected to support communication between vehicles, and between vehicles and stationary infrastructures, such as access points (APs). However, due to the highly mobile characteristics of VANET, the direct connection between source vehicles (SVs) and APs might be inaccessible. In this case, relay vehicles (RVs) can be applied for supporting multi-hop connection between SVs and APs. In the practical application scenario that multiple candidate RVs are available, the problem of selecting the optimal RV has to be considered. This paper proposes a Game theory-based RV selection algorithm, which jointly considers multiple metrics from various protocol layers, including the characteristics of physical channel, the link status, the bandwidth and delay characteristics of RVs and user service requirement. The payoff functions of both SVs and RVs are modeled. In order to optimize the overall system performance, a joint SV and RV cooperative Game model is established. The optimization problem is formulated and solved based on bipartite matching algorithm. Numerical results demonstrate that compared to previous algorithm, the proposed algorithm offers better performance in terms of throughput, transmission delay and successful transmission rate.
Negative sequence control strategy for a doubly fed induction generator in medium voltage wind power system under unbalanced grid conditions

This paper investigates control algorithms for a doubly fed induction generator with a back-to-back three-level neutral-point clamped voltage source converter in medium voltage wind power system under unbalanced grid conditions. Negative sequence control algorithms to compensate for unbalanced conditions have been investigated with respect to four performance factors; fault ride-through capability, instantaneous active power pulsation, harmonic distortions and torque pulsation. The control algorithm having zero amplitude of torque ripple shows the most cost-effective performance concerning torque pulsation. The least active power pulsation is produced by control algorithm that nullifies the oscillating component of the instantaneous stator active and reactive power. Combination of these two control algorithms depending on the operating requirements and depth of grid unbalance presents most optimized performance factors under the generalized unbalanced operating conditions leading to high performance DFIG wind turbine system.
Changes in population cholesterol concentrations and other cardiovascular risk factor levels after five years of the non-communicable disease intervention programme in Mauritius

Abstract Objective: To study changes in the prevalence of risk factors for cardiovascular disease after a five year population-wide intervention programme promoting a healthy lifestyle in a developing country. Design: Cross sectional cluster surveys in 1987 and 1992. Methodology included a two hour 75 g oral glucose tolerance test, measurement of body mass index, waist:hip ratio, basal lipid concentrations, and blood pressure; and a lifestyle questionnaire. Setting: Mauritius, in the Indian Ocean. Subjects: All adults aged 25-74 years residing in geographically defined clusters. Main outcome measures: Age standardised prevalence of categorical disease and risk factor conditions and mean levels and frequency distributions of continuous variables. Results: Response rates were 86.2% (5080/5892) in 1987 and 89.5% (5162/5770) in 1992. Significant decreases were found in the prevalence of hypertension (15.0% to 12.1% in men and 12.4% to 10.9% in women); cigarette smoking (58.2% to 47.2% and 6.9% to 3.7% respectively); and heavy alcohol consumption (38.2% to 14.4% and 2.6% to 0.6% respectively). Moderate leisure physical activity increased from 16.9% to 22.1% in men and from 1.3% to 2.7% in women. Mean population serum total cholesterol concentration fell appreciably from 5.5 mmol/l to 4.7 mmol/l (P<0.001). The prevalence of overweight or obesity increased, and the rates of glucose intolerance changed little. The population frequency distributions of blood pressure, serum lipid concentration, and a composite risk factor score shifted advantageously. Conclusions: Lifestyle intervention projects can be implemented and have positive effects in developing countries. A pronounced improvement in the population lipid profile in Mauritius was probably related to a change in the saturated fat content of a widely used cooking oil.
Evaluation of EUV mask impacts on wafer line-edge roughness using aerial and SEM image analyses

As more aggressive EUV imaging techniques and resists with lower intrinsic roughness are developed for patterning at 7nm and 5nm technology nodes, EUV mask roughness will contribute an increasing portion of the total printed linewidth roughness (LWR). In this study, we perform a comprehensive characterization of the EUV mask impacts on wafer LWR using actinic aerial images and wafer SEM images. Analytical methods are developed to properly separate and compare the LWR effects from EUV masks, photon shot noise, and resist stochastics. The use of EUV AIMSTM to emulate and measure incident photon shot noise effects is explored and demonstrated. A sub-10nm EUV mask is qualified using EUV AIMSTM with scanner equivalent dose settings that are required for patterning 16nm and 18nm half-pitch L/S features with low- and high-dose CAR resists. The variance and spectral components contributing to wafer LWR are quantified and compared.
Closed string tachyons, AdS / CFT, and large N QCD

We find that tachyonic orbifold examples of AdS/CFT have corresponding instabilities at small radius, and can decay to more generic gauge theories. We do this by computing a destabilizing Coleman-Weinberg effective potential for twisted operators of the corresponding quiver gauge theories, generalizing calculations of Tseytlin and Zarembo, and interpreting them in terms of the large-N behavior of twisted-sector modes. The dynamically generated potential involves double-trace operators, which affect large-N correlators involving twisted fields but not those involving only untwisted fields, in line with large-N inheritance arguments. We point out a simple reason that no such small radius instability exists in gauge theories arising from freely acting orbifolds, which are tachyon free at large radius. When an instability is present, twisted gauge theory operators with the quantum numbers of the large-radius tachyons aquire vacuum expectation values, leaving a gauge theory with fewer degrees of freedom in the infrared, analogous to but less extreme than ''decays to nothing'' studied in other systems with broken supersymmetry. In some cases one is left with pure glue QCD plus decoupled matter and U(1) factors in the infrared, which we thus conjecture is described by the corresponding (possibly strongly coupled) end point of tachyon condensation inmore » the M or string-theory dual. « less
Development and analysis of an electrically activated sucker for handling workpieces with rough surface

In this study, we design an electrically activated sucker that can handle workpieces with rough and uneven surface. The new sucker uses a motor to drive blades to form rotation flow in a shell, and the rotation flow generates cupped negative pressure distribution and resulting suction force. Different from the existing suckers, in the new sucker, the rotation flow is formed closely to the upper surface of the workpiece and is extended to the outermost of shell; there is no air inlet or air outlet in the space enclosed by the workpiece and the shell, thus no inlet flow or outlet flow is caused. The design solves the traditional problem of vacuum leak, can maintain the suction force even for workpieces with rough and uneven surface, and can work with little energy consumption. Through the theoretical analysis and experiments, we studied the key parameters (i.e., rotation speed ω, inner radius R2 of the shell) and clarified the relationship of F-ω and F-R2. Meanwhile, we also investigated the effect of some factors (i.e., driving torque and energy consumption) on the suction force. Furthermore, we use the new sucker to pick up several types of workpieces to confirm its applicability.
Prevalence of Clinically Significant Endoscopic Findings in Dyspeptic Patients with Alarm Features Prevalence of Clinically Significant Endoscopic Findings in Dyspeptic Patients with Alarm Features

Background: Dyspepsia is common in clinical practice. Esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) is generally recommended in dyspeptic patients with alarm features (AF) including (I) age_55 years, (II) evidence of gastrointestinal blood loss, (III) unexplained weight loss, (IV) dysphagia, and (V) persistent vomiting. The predictive value of AF remains uncertain. Aims: To evaluate EGD findings in dyspeptic patients with AF and to assess the diagnostic role of abdominal ultrasonography (US) in endoscopy-negative dyspeptic patients with AF. Methods: Between March 2012 and January 2013, consecutive dyspeptic patients were screened for the presence of AF. EGD was performed in 227 dyspeptic patients with AF. Significant EGD findings were defined as any lesion(s) other than normal and non-erosive gastritis. Patients with known intraabdominal malignancy, previous gastric surgery and previous EGD were excluded. EGD findings among dyspeptic patients without AF who underwent EGD during the same period of time was retrospectively collected to compare with the study population. Abdominal US was performed in all endoscopy-negative patients. Results: Peptic ulcer disease and erosive gastroduodenitis were found in 18.5% and 44.1% of patients respectively. H. pylori infectionwas found in 52.9% (117/221). GI tumors were encountered in 6.1% (cancer of the esophagus 1, cancer of the stomach 8, gastric lymphoma 2, GIST 2, metastatic squamous cell cancer of the 1). Significant findings were found in 69.2% (157/227) of patients; and this was significantly higher than in the AFnegative dyspeptic cohort. (69.2% vs 21.3%, p<0.001). Among 5 AF, persistent vomiting seemed to have the highest predictive value, especially for peptic ulcer (60%). Male sex, GI blood loss, vomiting, age ≥ 55 with GI blood loss, GI blood loss with weight loss and H. pylori infection were associated with significant EGD findings. In those 70 patients with negative EGD, US was performed in 64 patients and was normal in 51.6% and positive in 48.4% (fatty liver 14, gallstones 13, lymphadenopathy 1, cholangiocarcinoma 1,hemangioma 1, intrahepatic duct
Understanding Consumption Smoothing: Evidence from the U.S. Consumer Expenditure Data

Consumption models with endogenous debt constraints differ from standard incomplete markets models in their predictions about an individual household's ability to smooth consumption across time and states of the world. In this paper we develop these differences, both theoretically and quantitatively. We then use data from the U.S. Consumer Expenditure Survey (CE) to assess along which dimensions the predictions of these models are consistent with the empirical evidence. We find that both types of models fail to fully account for the data and argue that a model that combines aspects of both might be more successful. (JEL: E21, D91, D63, D31, G22) Copyright (c) 2005 The European Economic Association.