Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cardiovascular Preventative Therapies and Outcomes of Care Among Urban Sub-Saharan Africans with Type 2 Diabetes: A Cross-Sectional Study in Cameroon

Objective: To assess the uptake of recommended cardiovascular risk–reducing therapies and outcomes of care in a group of diabetic patients in Cameroon, sub-Saharan Africa. • Methods: Cross-sectional study of consenting patients with type 2 diabetes receiving routine chronic care at the National Obesity Centre of the Yaounde Central Hospital in the capital city of Cameroon. Use of blood pressure–lowering, lipid-modifying, and glycemic control therapies was assessed, and levels of risk factor control attained were compared with recommended optimal targets. • Results: In all, 205 participants (89 men) aged 29 to 85 years (mean age, 57 years) were included. Major risk factors were distributed as follows: hypertension (54.6%), dyslipidemia (49.8%), overweight and obesity (68.3%), current smoking (7.4%), and sedentary lifestyle (49.4%). Specific drug treatment rates were 88.6% (blood pressure lowering), 5.0% (lipid modifying), 16% (aspirin), and 97.6% (glucose control). Optimal control was achieved for 3 or more factors in 13.2%, and for none of the factors in 9.3% of participants. Control rate was higher for lipids than for blood pressure. • Conclusions: Overall satisfactory control of cardiovascular risk factors in urban Cameroonian diabetic patients is poor. Further improvements are needed in the application of recommended cardiovascular preventive actions in this population. Intensive multiple risk factor control improves cardiovascular outcomes in people with diabetes [1,2] and is the current basis for prevention of cardiovascular disease in this population across settings [3,4]. Multiple risk factor control is usually implemented through a combination of lifestyle and pharmacologic interventions geared to achieving optimal weight, blood pressure, lipid, and glucose control, and avoidance of smoking. In addition, aspirin is prescribed for patients at greater risk and survivors of cardiovascular events. Audits of diabetes care suggest that the challenges of attaining risk factor targets are variably met in people with diabetes in settings around the world [5]. Overall, the percentage of individuals reaching treatment goals for blood glucose, blood pressure, and serum cholesterol combined is very low, ranging from 1% to 12% [5]. In sub-Saharan Africa, little is known about the uptake of cardiovascular prevention strategies and outcomes of care in the modern era of intensified risk factor control in diabetes [6]. The aim of this study was to assess the distribution of major risk factors for cardiovascular disease, and their treatment and control levels in a group of adult African patients with type 2 diabetes.
Dynasore, a Dynamin Inhibitor, Inhibits Trypanosoma cruzi Entry into Peritoneal Macrophages

Background Trypanosoma cruzi is an intracellular parasite that, like some other intracellular pathogens, targets specific proteins of the host cell vesicular transport machinery, leading to a modulation of host cell processes that results in the generation of unique phagosomes. In mammalian cells, several molecules have been identified that selectively regulate the formation of endocytic transport vesicles and the fusion of such vesicles with appropriate acceptor membranes. Among these, the GTPase dynamin plays an important role in clathrin-mediated endocytosis, and it was recently found that dynamin can participate in a phagocytic process. Methodology/Principal Findings We used a compound called dynasore that has the ability to block the GTPase activity of dynamin. Dynasore acts as a potent inhibitor of endocytic pathways by blocking coated vesicle formation within seconds of its addition. Here, we investigated whether dynamin is involved in the entry process of T. cruzi in phagocytic and non-phagocytic cells by using dynasore. In this aim, peritoneal macrophages and LLC-MK2 cells were treated with increasing concentrations of dynasore before interaction with trypomastigotes, amastigotes or epimastigotes. We observed that, in both cell lines, the parasite internalization was drastically diminished (by greater than 90% in LLC-MK2 cells and 70% in peritoneal macrophages) when we used 100 µM dynasore. The T. cruzi adhesion index, however, was unaffected in either cell line. Analyzing these interactions by scanning electron microscopy and comparing peritoneal macrophages to LLC-MK2 cells revealed differences in the stage at which cell entry was blocked. In LLC-MK2 cells, this blockade is observed earlier than it is in peritoneal macrophages. In LLC-MK2 cells, the parasites were only associated with cellular microvilli, whereas in peritoneal macrophages, trypomastigotes were not completely engulfed by a host cell plasma membrane. Conclusions/Significance Taken together our results demonstrate that dynamin is an essential molecule necessary for cell invasion and specifically parasitophorous vacuole formation by host cells during interaction with Trypanosoma cruzi.
Prevention of Bone Marrow Cell Apoptosis and Regulation of Hematopoiesis by Type I IFNs during Systemic Responses to Pneumocystis Lung Infection

We recently demonstrated that lack of type I IFN signaling (IFNAR knockout) in lymphocyte-deficient mice (IFrag−/−) results in bone marrow (BM) failure after Pneumocystis lung infection, whereas lymphocyte-deficient mice with intact IFNAR (RAG−/−) had normal hematopoiesis. In the current work, we performed studies to define further the mechanisms involved in the induction of BM failure in this system. BM chimera experiments revealed that IFNAR expression was required on BM-derived but not stroma-derived cells to prevent BM failure. Signals elicited after day 7 postinfection appeared critical in determining BM cell fate. We observed caspase-8– and caspase-9–mediated apoptotic cell death, beginning with neutrophils. Death of myeloid precursors was associated with secondary oxidative stress, and decreasing colony-forming activity in BM cell cultures. Treatment with N-acetylcysteine could slow the progression of, but not prevent, BM failure. Type I IFN signaling has previously been shown to expand the neutrophil life span and regulate the expression of some antiapoptotic factors. Quantitative RT-PCR demonstrated reduced mRNA abundance for the antiapoptotic factors BCL-2, IAP2, MCL-1, and others in BM cells from IFrag−/− compared with that in BM cells from RAG−/− mice at day 7. mRNA and protein for the proapoptotic cytokine TNF-α was increased, whereas mRNA for the growth factors G-CSF and GM-CSF was reduced. In vivo anti–TNF-α treatment improved precursor cell survival and activity in culture. Thus, we propose that lack of type I IFN signaling results in decreased resistance to inflammation-induced proapoptotic stressors and impaired replenishment by precursors after systemic responses to Pneumocystis lung infection. Our finding may have implications in understanding mechanisms underlying regenerative BM depression/failure during complex immune deficiencies such as AIDS.
Retrofitting legacy code for authorization policy enforcement

Researchers have argued that the best way to construct a secure system is to proactively integrate security into the design of the system. However, this tenet is rarely followed because of economic and practical considerations. Instead, security mechanisms are added as the need arises, by retrofitting legacy code. Existing techniques to do so are manual and ad hoc, and often result in security holes. We present program analysis techniques to assist the process of retrofitting legacy code for authorization policy enforcement. These techniques can be used to retrofit legacy servers, such as X window, Web, proxy, and cache servers. Because such servers manage multiple clients simultaneously, and offer shared resources to clients, they must have the ability to enforce authorization policies. A developer can use our techniques to identify security-sensitive locations in legacy servers, and place reference monitor calls to mediate these locations. We demonstrate our techniques by retrofitting the X11 server to enforce authorization policies on its X clients
Myocarditis in 9- and 11-Day-Old Broiler Breeder Chicks Associated with a Reovirus Infection

SUMMARY. Nine- and 11-day-old male broiler breeder chicks from a flock with excessively high mortality were found to have ascites, fibrotic and necrotic livers, and round, thin-walled hearts. Virus isolation on liver homogenates and sequencing of PCR products of the isolate identified a reovirus whose sequence varied from sequences of other published reoviruses. Histopathology supported a diagnosis of reovirus-associated myocarditis and myocardial necrosis. This virus was possibly transmitted vertically from the primary breeder flock. RESUMEN. Reporte de Caso—Miocarditis en pollitos reproductores pesados de 9 y 11 días de edad asociada con una infección por reovirus. Pollitos reproductores pesados de nueve y 11 días de edad, procedentes de una parvada con mortalidad excesivamente alta, mostraron ascitis, hígado fibrótico y necrótico, y corazones redondos, con paredes delgadas. Mediante el aislamiento viral de homogeneizados de hígado y la secuenciación de los productos PCR se identificó un reovirus cuya secuencia varía de las secuencias de otros reovirus publicados. La histopatología confirmó el diagnóstico de miocarditis y necrosis del miocardio asociada con reovirus. Este virus posiblemente se transmitió verticalmente, de la parvada de reproductores.
TooT: an efficient and scalable power-gating method for NoC routers

With the advent in technology and shrinking the transistor size down to nano scale, static power may become the dominant power component in Networks-on-Chip (NoCs). Powergating is an efficient technique to reduce the static power of under-utilized resources in different types of circuits. For NoC, routers are promising candidates for power gating, since they present high idle time. However, routers in a NoC are not usually idle for long consecutive cycles due to distribution of resources in NoC and its communication-based nature, even in low network utilizations. Therefore, power-gating loses its efficiency due to performance and power overhead of the packets that encounter powered-off routers. In this paper, we propose Turn-on on Turn (TooT) which reduces the number of wake-ups by leveraging the characteristics of deterministic routing algorithms and mesh topology. In the proposed method, we avoid powering a router on when it forwards a straight packet or ejects a packet, i.e., a router is powered on only when either a packet turns through it or its associated node injects a packet. Experimental results on PARSEC benchmarks demonstrate that, compared with the conventional power-gating, the proposed method improves static power and performance by 57.9% and 35.3%, respectively, at the cost of a negligible area overhead.
The blazar GB 1428+4217: a warm absorber at z=4.72?

BeppoSAX observations of the high redshift (z=4.72) blazar GB 1428+4217 confirm the presence of a complex soft X-ray spectrum first seen with the ROSAT PSPC. Flattening below a rest frame energy of 5 keV can be accounted for by absorption from an equivalent column density of (cold) gas with N_H ~ 8 x 10^22 cm^-2. Below 2 keV a (variable) excess of a factor ~ 20 above the extrapolated absorbed spectrum is also detected. These findings are consistent with and extend to higher redshifts the correlation between increasing soft X-ray flattening and increasing z, previously pointed out for large samples of radio-loud quasars. We propose that such features, including X-ray absorption, soft excess emission as well as absorption in the optical spectra, can be satisfactorily accounted for by the presence of a highly-ionized nuclear absorber with column N_H ~ 10^23 cm^-2, with properties possibly related to the conditions in the nuclear regions of the host galaxy. High energy X-ray emission consistent with the extrapolation of the medium energy spectrum is detected up to ~ 300 keV (rest frame).
A comparative study of programmer-written and automatically inferred contracts

Where do contracts - specification elements embedded in executable code - come from? To produce them, should we rely on the programmers, on automatic tools, or some combination? Recent work, in particular the Daikon system, has shown that it is possible to infer some contracts automatically from program executions. The main incentive has been an assumption that most programmers are reluctant to invent the contracts themselves. The experience of contract-supporting languages, notably Eiffel, disproves that assumption: programmers will include contracts if given the right tools. That experience also shows, however, that the resulting contracts are generally partial and occasionally incorrect. Contract inference tools provide the opportunity for studying objectively the quality of programmer-written contracts, and for assessing the respective roles of humans and tools. Working on 25 classes taken from different sources such as widely-used standard libraries and code written by students, we applied Daikon to infer contracts and compared the results (totaling more than 19500 inferred assertion clauses) with the already present contracts. We found that a contract inference tool can be used to strengthen programmer-written contracts, but cannot infer all contracts that humans write. The tool generates around five times as many relevant assertion clauses as written by programmers; but it only finds around 60% of those originally written by programmers. Around a third of the generated assertions clauses are either incorrect or irrelevant. The study also uncovered interesting correlations between the quality of inferred contracts and some code metrics.
Early predictors of traumatic glaucoma after closed globe injury: trabecular pigmentation, widened angle recess, and higher baseline intraocular pressure.

OBJECTIVE To prospectively analyze the clinical and ultrasonographic biomicroscopy (UBM) features in eyes with closed globe injury, at the initial examination, that would predict the occurrence of chronic traumatic glaucoma during a 6-month follow-up. METHODS Forty consecutive eyes with closed globe injury and a chronically elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) of at least 21 mm Hg for a minimum of 3 months were diagnosed as having traumatic glaucoma and compared with 52 eyes with closed globe injury and no evidence of glaucoma. RESULTS The median grade of trabecular pigmentation on gonioscopy in eyes with traumatic glaucoma was 3 compared with 2 in eyes without glaucoma (P = .001). On UBM findings, 18 eyes with closed globe injury without glaucoma showed evidence of cyclodialysis, compared with 7 eyes with glaucoma (P = .001). The relative risk of developing traumatic glaucoma was also significantly higher with hyphema, elevated baseline IOP, angle recession of more than 180 degrees, lens displacement, and wider angles on UBM. CONCLUSIONS Clinically, the presence of increased pigmentation at the angle, elevated baseline IOP, hyphema, lens displacement, and angle recession of more than 180 degrees were significantly associated with the occurrence of chronic glaucoma after closed globe injury. On UBM findings, a wider angle and the absence of cyclodialysis were significant predictors for the subsequent development of traumatic glaucoma.
Strong depletion of CD14(+)CD16(+) monocytes during haemodialysis treatment.

BACKGROUND The immune defect in haemodialysis (HD) patients is associated with a monocytic dysfunction, including an increased production of proinflammatory cytokines. Monocytes fall into subpopulations comprising CD14(++)CD16(-) and CD14(+)CD16(+) cells. Circulating numbers of the latter can rapidly increase during infectious episodes and inflammation. METHODS We determined the amount of CD14(+)CD16(+) monocytes in HD patients and characterized their fate during HD treatment. In 34 HD patients and 17 healthy controls, the distinct cell populations were determined by differential blood counts and flow cytometry. Cells from 14 HD patients were analysed at the start, 10, 30 and 120 min thereafter, and at the end of HD treatment. RESULTS Before HD, patients show a monocytosis with a strongly increased CD14(+)CD16(+) subpopulation. Early during HD treatment, circulating leukocyte numbers decrease, with monocytes being most profoundly influenced. Interestingly, among them, sequestration is most pronounced in the CD14(+) CD16(+) subpopulation. After 30 min, approximately 83+/-9% of CD14(+)CD16(+) cells are removed from circulation. This sequestration does not differ between patients treated with polyamide or haemophan membranes. The sequestration is a short-lived temporary effect and cell numbers are replenished within 120 min of treatment for the entire monocyte population. Beyond that time point, cellular activation by the dialyser membrane becomes visible. Reappearence kinetics of CD14(+)CD16(+) monocytes is slower; however, initial numbers are reached by the end of treatment. CONCLUSION Haemodiaysis leads to temporary removal of monocytes from the bloodstream followed by the reappearance of activated cells. This might contribute to the state of chronic microinflammation, which is reflected by high levels of CD14(+)CD16(+) monocytes.
Hearing-related, health-related quality of life in patients who have undergone otosclerosis surgery: A long-term follow-up study

Abstract Objectives: The aims of the study were to assess health-related quality of life and hearing-related disability in subjects with otosclerosis 30 years after surgery. Design: An observational study was performed. Medical records were reviewed, a clinical examination as well as audiometric assessments were performed. Generic health-related quality of life was assessed by the SF-36v2 and hearing disability by a shortened version of SSQ (speech spatial and qualities of hearing scale). Study sample: Sixty-five individuals, who had undergone stapedectomy in 1977-79 at a tertiary referral center. Results: Generic health-related quality of life according to SF-36 subscale scores was comparable to that of an age- and sex-matched reference population. The SF-36 mental component summary score (MCS) was, however, significantly better than that of the reference population. The mental and physical summary component scores correlated significantly to hearing disability measured by the SSQ but not to hearing impairment. Hearing disability was displayed in all SSQ sub-scores, especially in more complex listening situations and in the localization of sounds. Conclusions: This study shows that individuals with otosclerosis, 30 years after surgery, have a good generic health-related quality of life, despite moderate to severe hearing loss and significant hearing disabilities.
Effect of TNF and LTA polymorphisms on biological markers of response to oxidative stimuli in coal miners: a model of gene-environment interaction

Introduction: Interaction between genetic background and oxidative environmental stimuli in the pathogenesis of human lung disease has been largely unexplored. Methods: A prospective epidemiological study was undertaken in 253 coal miners. Intermediate quantitative phenotypes of response to oxidant exposure, including erythrocyte glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and catalase activities, were studied. Oxidant exposures studied were smoking habits and cumulative dust exposure assessed by job history and ambient measures. Disease phenotypes included subclinical computed tomography score at the first survey and x ray profusion grades twice, five years apart, to assess established coal workers’ pneumoconiosis (CWP). Miners were genotyped for common functional polymorphisms in the gene for tumour necrosis factor α (TNF) and lymphotoxin α (LTA), two proinflammatory cytokines that have been implicated in the pathogenesis of chronic lung diseases. Results: Regarding gene-environment interaction on intermediate phenotypes, results showed interaction of a promoter polymorphism at the –308 position in TNF with occupational exposure on erythrocyte GSH-Px activity with a significant association in those with high exposure (p=0.003), whereas no association was observed among those with low exposure (interaction p=0.06). Regarding gene intermediate phenotype interaction on clinical outcome, results showed an association of CWP prevalence with an NcoI polymorphism in LTA in those with low catalase activity (p=0.05), whereas no association was observed in those with high activity (interaction p=0.03). No other significant association was observed. Conclusion: The results suggest that interactions of genetic background with environmental exposure and intermediate response phenotypes are important components in the pathogenesis of CWP.
Simulating Multifrequency Ground-Based Radiometric Measurements at Dome C—Antarctica

Recent interest by the research community in investigating Antarctica at low microwave frequency is stimulated by the availability of new satellite-borne radiometers. Special attention has been paid to the Dome C region of the East Antarctic Plateau, which was selected by the European Space Agency (ESA) as a calibration and validation test site for the soil moisture and ocean salinity (SMOS) mission. In order to support this mission and better characterize the site, several surface and airborne campaigns were conducted. Analysis of microwave measurements collected by ground-based radiometers at Dome C during the DOMEX experiments reveals that ice-sheet parameter-profiles have a significant impact on the microwave emission even at low frequencies. In order to assess this observation, a theoretical analysis of microwave emission was carried out using the multilayer dense medium radiative transfer theory under the quasi-crystalline approximation with coherent potentials and ice-sheet geophysical-parameter profiles (i.e., temperature, density, layering, and grain size) collected in the Dome C area. The electromagnetic model was used to fit the angular distribution of microwave observations collected at C- and L-bands at Dome C. The analysis identifies the variability in the snow density vertical profile as a major factor in determining the microwave signature of the snow emission at both L- and C-bands. A secondary role is played by the snow grain radius profile that appreciably influences C-band.
Prenatal Phthalate Exposure Is Associated with Childhood Behavior and Executive Functioning

Background Experimental and observational studies have reported biological consequences of phthalate exposure relevant to neurodevelopment. Objective Our goal was to examine the association of prenatal phthalate exposure with behavior and executive functioning at 4–9 years of age. Methods The Mount Sinai Children’s Environmental Health Study enrolled a multiethnic prenatal population in New York City between 1998 and 2002 (n = 404). Third-trimester maternal urines were collected and analyzed for phthalate metabolites. Children (n = 188, n = 365 visits) were assessed for cognitive and behavioral development between the ages of 4 and 9 years. Results In multivariate adjusted models, increased loge concentrations of low molecular weight (LMW) phthalate metabolites were associated with poorer scores on the aggression [β = 1.24; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.15– 2.34], conduct problems (β = 2.40; 95% CI, 1.34–3.46), attention problems (β = 1.29; 95% CI, 0.16– 2.41), and depression (β = 1.18; 95% CI, 0.11–2.24) clinical scales; and externalizing problems (β = 1.75; 95% CI, 0.61–2.88) and behavioral symptom index (β = 1.55; 95% CI, 0.39–2.71) composite scales. Increased loge concentrations of LMW phthalates were also associated with poorer scores on the global executive composite index (β = 1.23; 95% CI, 0.09–2.36) and the emotional control scale (β = 1.33; 95% CI, 0.18– 2.49). Conclusion Behavioral domains adversely associated with prenatal exposure to LMW phthalates in our study are commonly found to be affected in children clinically diagnosed with conduct or attention deficit hyperactivity disorders.