Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sexual risk behaviour among HIV-positive persons in Kumasi, Ghana.

OBJECTIVES To assess the prevalence and predictors of sexual risk behaviours among HIV-positive individuals in clinical care in Kumasi, Ghana. DESIGN Cross-sectional survey of 267 (43 males and 224 females) HIV-positive individuals attending Kumasi South Regional Hospital. METHODS An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to asses demographic and health characteristics, HIV/AIDS knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs and sexual risk behaviours. RESULTS Forty-four percent of the sample reported having sex after testing positive for HIV. Of the 175 participants with regular sex partners, 24% had HIV-positive partners. Majority (67%) had HIV-negative partners (serodiscordant couples) or partners of unknown status. More than half (51%) of the study population with regular sex partners reported that they had unprotected anal or vaginal sex. Participants who scored < 50% on the HIV/AIDS knowledge scale were 90% less likely to have used condoms during their last sexual intercourse. Disclosure of HIV status was associated with protective patterns of condom use (OR=2.2; 95% CI: 1.3-12.9). Participants on ARV were 80% less likely to have used condoms during the last sexual intercourse (OR=0.2; 95% CI: 0.04-0.6). CONCLUSION The high rates of sexual risk behaviour among HIV-positive individuals in this sample place others at risk of HIV infection. It also places these HIV positive individuals at risk for infection with sexually transmitted infections and super-infection with other HIV strains. These findings highlight the need to integrate HIV prevention in routine medical care in Ghana.
The Effects of Spread of Block and Adrenaline on Cardiac Output After Epidural Anesthesia in Young Children: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Prospective Study

Epidural anesthesia is considered to be without significant hemodynamic consequence in young children. However, conversely to adults, few studies have investigated cardiac output. Using transesophageal Doppler monitoring of cardiac output, we prospectively investigated hemodynamic alterations in 48 children (median age, 22.5 mo) receiving sevoflurane general anesthesia combined with caudal or thoracolumbar epidural anesthesia. They were randomly assigned to receive 0.8 mL/kg of plain local anesthetic mixture (lidocaine 1% + bupivacaine 0.25% (50/50) + 1 &mgr;g/mL of fentanyl) or 1 mL/kg of the same mixture with 5 &mgr;g/mL of adrenaline. No significant hemodynamic alteration was elicited in caudal and thoracolumbar groups receiving the plain mixture except a moderate decrease in heart rate. Conversely, a mixture with adrenaline added provoked a significant decrease in mean arterial blood pressure by 14% and 17%, in systemic vascular resistance by 24% and 40%, and an increase in cardiac output by 20% and 34% in caudal and thoracolumbar groups, respectively. The adrenaline effect was greater by the thoracolumbar than the caudal approach. In young children, epidural anesthesia induces an increase in cardiac output only when adrenaline is added to local anesthetics, probably through its systemic absorption from the epidural space.
License Auctions and Market Structure

We analyze the interplay between license auctions and market structure in a model with several incumbents and several potential entrants. The focus is on the competitiveness induced by the number of auctioned licenses. Under plausible conditions, we show that auctioning more licenses need not result in a more competitive final outcome, contrary to what common sense suggests. This is due to the nature of competition among incumbents, which sometimes exhibits free-riding. We illustrate some results with examples drawn from the recent European license-auctions for third generation (3G) mobile telephony.
Evaluation of fetal protection against experimental infection with type 1 and type 2 bovine viral diarrhea virus after vaccination of the dam with a bivalent modified-live virus vaccine.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the efficacy of a modified-live virus (MLV) combination vaccine containing type 1 and type 2 bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) in providing fetal protection against challenge with heterologous type 1 and type 2 BVDV. DESIGN Prospective study. ANIMALS 55 heifers. PROCEDURE Heifers were vaccinated with a commercial MLV combination vaccine or given a sham vaccine (sterile water) and bred 47 to 53 days later. Heifers were challenged with type 1 or type 2 BVDV on days 75 to 79 of gestation. Clinical signs of BVDV infection, presence of viremia, and WBC count were assessed for 14 days after challenge. Fetuses were collected on days 152 to 156 of gestation, and virus isolation was attempted from fetal tissues. RESULTS Type 1 BVDV was not isolated in any fetuses from vaccinated heifers and was isolated in all fetuses from nonvaccinated heifers challenged with type 1 BVDV. Type 2 BVDV was isolated in 1 fetus from a vaccinated heifer and all fetuses from nonvaccinated heifers challenged with type 2 BVDV. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE A commercial MLV combination vaccine containing type 1 and type 2 BVDV given to the dam prior to breeding protected 100% of fetuses against type 1 BVDV infection and 95% of fetuses against type 2 BVDV infection. Use of a bivalent MLV vaccine in combination with a comprehensive BVDV control program should result in decreased incidence of persistent infection in calves and therefore minimize the risk of BVDV infection in the herd.
A pressure and shear sensing liner for prosthetic sockets

Interface pressures are closely related to the comfort and fit of a lower-limb prosthetic socket and clinicians and researchers are interested in monitoring these loads. In particular, shear stresses at the socket/liner interface are indicative of important fit characteristics but are difficult to measure in situ. We have developed an elastomeric liner with sixteen integrated pressure and shear sensors, along with necessary wiring and data acquisition electronics. The sensors measure three-axis pressures using optical emitter/detector pairs coupled with transparent and opaque elastomeric layers. The liner has similar properties to those typically used in clinical practice. The system was tested on a single amputee subject during several sit/stand/walk cycles.
The Sound of Success: Investigating Cognitive and Behavioral Effects of Motivational Music in Sports

Listening to music before, during, or after sports is a common phenomenon, yet its functions and effects on performance, cognition, and behavior remain to be investigated. In this study we present a novel approach to the role of music in sports and exercise that focuses on the notion of musical self-enhancement (Elvers, 2016). We derived the following hypotheses from this framework: listening to motivational music will (i) enhance self-evaluative cognition, (ii) improve performance in a ball game, and (iii) evoke greater risk-taking behavior. To evaluate the hypotheses, we conducted a between-groups experiment (N = 150) testing the effectiveness of both an experimenter playlist and a participant-selected playlist in comparison to a no-music control condition. All participants performed a ball-throwing task developed by Decharms and Davé (1965), consisting of two parts: First, participants threw the ball from fixed distances into a funnel basket. During this task, performance was measured. In the second part, the participants themselves chose distances from the basket, which allowed their risk-taking behavior to be assessed. The results indicate that listening to motivational music led to greater risk taking but did not improve ball-throwing performance. This effect was more pronounced in male participants and among those who listened to their own playlists. Furthermore, self-selected music enhanced state self-esteem in participants who were performing well but not in those who were performing poorly. We also discuss further implications for the notion of musical self-enhancement.
Zebrafish as a model for studying the developmental neurotoxicity of propofol

Anesthetics can cause widespread apoptotic neurodegeneration and adverse effects on synaptogenesis during early postnatal life. Synaptogenesis correlates with several proteins, including myelin basic protein (MBP). However, little is known about the adverse effects of exposure to propofol on MBP, particularly during embryonic development. Our goal was to use zebrafish to explore the effect of propofol on embryonic development, apoptosis and MBP expression. Zebrafish embryos were exposed to propofol at defined doses and stages from 6 to 48 h postfertilization by immersion. The survival rate, hatchability, aberration rate, cell apoptosis and gene expression were analyzed at defined stages. Analysis revealed that doses of 1, 2 and 3 µg ml–1 propofol were reasonable anesthetic concentrations for zebrafish embryos. These doses of propofol caused a significant decrease in hatchability and an increase in aberration rate. Moreover, 6 days postfertilization (dpf) larvae are anesthetized by immersion into water containing 1, 2 or 3 µg ml–1 of propofol. The number of apoptotic cells in the head of propofol‐treated 36 h postfertilization embryos were significantly increased, and the expression of caspases‐3, ‐8 and ‐9 were upregulated. Apoptosis was also induced in the brain of 3 dpf larvae exposed to propofol. However, propofol caused a decrease in mbp gene and protein (dose‐dependent) expression levels in the central nervous system of 3 dpf zebrafish. These data show that embryonic exposure to propofol is neurotoxic, causing increased apoptosis and decreased MBP expression. We believe zebrafish can be used as a novel model to explore the mechanisms of propofol neurotoxicity. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Adaptive Modulation in Spectrum-Sharing Systems with Delay Constraints

In this paper, we consider variable-rate variable-power MQAM modulation employed under delay quality-of-service (QoS) constraints over spectrum-sharing channels. In particular, we assume two users sharing the spectrum with one of them having a primary access to the band, and the other, known as secondary user, constrained by interference limitations imposed by the former. We study the performance of the secondary user's link employing adaptive MQAM modulation scheme when, on top of the above-mentioned interference constraint, the secondary user is also required to satisfy a statistical delay QoS constraint. Considering two modulation schemes, namely, continuous MQAM and discrete MQAM with restricted constellations, we obtain the effective capacity of the secondary user's link, and derive the optimum power allocation scheme that maximizes the effective capacity in each case. Numerical simulations are conducted to corroborate our theoretical results.
Pseudolinear optical system reach enhancement via runlength-limited coding

This paper demonstrates that the transmission distance of an ON-OFF-keyed high-speed pseudolinear optical communication system can be dramatically improved by means of runlength-limited coding. The key idea is to impose constraints on transmitted sequences such that the minimum interpulse spacing increases, and the average transmission power decreases. Both effects help suppress intrachannel four-wave mixing, a major nonlinear penalty in pseudolinear long-haul links. Several coding schemes with different properties are designed for various constraints and compared against a prototypical reference system. Finally, numerical simulations are performed for a benchmark system employing differential phase-shift keying. The results obtained indicate that the runlength-limited coding approach can be considered a legitimate alternative to this more advanced modulation format.
Arabidopsis HECATE genes function in phytohormone control during gynoecium development

The fruit, which develops from the fertilised gynoecium formed in the innermost whorl of the flower, is the reproductive organ and one of the most complex structures of an angiosperm plant. Phytohormones play important roles during flower and fruit patterning, morphogenesis and growth, and there is emerging evidence for a cross-talk between different classes of plant hormones throughout these processes. Here, we show that the bHLH transcription factors HECATE 1 (HEC1), HEC2 and HEC3, which have previously been identified as essential components of transmitting tract formation, affect both auxin and cytokinin responses during reproductive tissue development. We find that HEC1 interacts with SPATULA (SPT) to control carpel fusion and that both transcription factors restrict sensitivity to cytokinin in the gynoecium. In addition, HEC1 is tightly integrated into the auxin-signalling network at the levels of biosynthesis, transport and transcriptional response. Based on this data, we propose that HEC1 acts as a local modulator of auxin and cytokinin responses to control gynoecium development in Arabidopsis. Highlighted article: In the developing reproductive tissue of plants, HECATE 1 and SPATULA coordinate auxin and cytokinin signalling to orchestrate the development of the gynoecium.
Apolipoproteins A-I and B: biosynthesis, role in the development of atherosclerosis and targets for intervention against cardiovascular disease

Apolipoprotein (apo) AI and apoB are the major apolipoproteins of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL), respectively. ApoB assembles the precursor of LDL, very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL), in the liver. The assembly starts with the formation of a primordial particle, which is converted to VLDL2. The VLDL2 particle is then transferred to the Golgi apparatus and can either be secreted or converted to triglyceride-rich VLDL1. We have reviewed this assembly process, the process involved in the storage of triglycerides in cytosolic lipid droplets, and the relationship between these two processes. We also briefly discuss the formation of HDL. ApoB mediates the interaction between LDL and the arterial wall. Two regions in apoB are involved in this binding. This interaction and its role in the development of atherosclerosis are reviewed. ApoB can be used to measure the number of LDL or VLDL particles present in plasma, as there is one molecule of apoB on each particle. By contrast, the amount of cholesterol and other lipids on each particle varies under different conditions. We address the possibility of using apoAI and apoB levels to estimate the risk of development of cardiovascular diseases and to monitor intervention to treat these diseases.
Trial-by-Trial Modulation of Associative Memory Formation by Reward Prediction Error and Reward Anticipation as Revealed by a Biologically Plausible Computational Model

Anticipation and delivery of rewards improves memory formation, but little effort has been made to disentangle their respective contributions to memory enhancement. Moreover, it has been suggested that the effects of reward on memory are mediated by dopaminergic influences on hippocampal plasticity. Yet, evidence linking memory improvements to actual reward computations reflected in the activity of the dopaminergic system, i.e., prediction errors and expected values, is scarce and inconclusive. For example, different previous studies reported that the magnitude of prediction errors during a reinforcement learning task was a positive, negative, or non-significant predictor of successfully encoding simultaneously presented images. Individual sensitivities to reward and punishment have been found to influence the activation of the dopaminergic reward system and could therefore help explain these seemingly discrepant results. Here, we used a novel associative memory task combined with computational modeling and showed independent effects of reward-delivery and reward-anticipation on memory. Strikingly, the computational approach revealed positive influences from both reward delivery, as mediated by prediction error magnitude, and reward anticipation, as mediated by magnitude of expected value, even in the absence of behavioral effects when analyzed using standard methods, i.e., by collapsing memory performance across trials within conditions. We additionally measured trait estimates of reward and punishment sensitivity and found that individuals with increased reward (vs. punishment) sensitivity had better memory for associations encoded during positive (vs. negative) prediction errors when tested after 20 min, but a negative trend when tested after 24 h. In conclusion, modeling trial-by-trial fluctuations in the magnitude of reward, as we did here for prediction errors and expected value computations, provides a comprehensive and biologically plausible description of the dynamic interplay between reward, dopamine, and associative memory formation. Our results also underline the importance of considering individual traits when assessing reward-related influences on memory.
Envelope Enhancement Increases Cortical Sensitivity to Interaural Envelope Delays with Acoustic and Electric Hearing

Evidence from human psychophysical and animal electrophysiological studies suggests that sensitivity to interaural time delay (ITD) in the modulating envelope of a high-frequency carrier can be enhanced using half-wave rectified stimuli. Recent evidence has shown potential benefits of equivalent electrical stimuli to deaf individuals with bilateral cochlear implants (CIs). In the current study we assessed the effects of envelope shape on ITD sensitivity in the primary auditory cortex of normal-hearing ferrets, and profoundly-deaf animals with bilateral CIs. In normal-hearing animals, cortical sensitivity to ITDs (±1 ms in 0.1-ms steps) was assessed in response to dichotically-presented i) sinusoidal amplitude-modulated (SAM) and ii) half-wave rectified (HWR) tones (100-ms duration; 70 dB SPL) presented at the best-frequency of the unit over a range of modulation frequencies. In separate experiments, adult ferrets were deafened with neomycin administration and bilaterally-implanted with intra-cochlear electrode arrays. Electrically-evoked auditory brainstem responses (EABRs) were recorded in response to bipolar electrical stimulation of the apical pair of electrodes with singe biphasic current pulses (40 µs per phase) over a range of current levels to measure hearing thresholds. Subsequently, we recorded cortical sensitivity to ITDs (±800 µs in 80-µs steps) within the envelope of SAM and HWR biphasic-pulse trains (40 µs per phase; 6000 pulses per second, 100-ms duration) over a range of modulation frequencies. In normal-hearing animals, nearly a third of cortical neurons were sensitive to envelope-ITDs in response to SAM tones. In deaf animals with bilateral CI, the proportion of ITD-sensitive cortical neurons was approximately a fifth in response to SAM pulse trains. In normal-hearing and deaf animals with bilateral CI the proportion of ITD sensitive units and neural sensitivity to ITDs increased in response to HWR, compared with SAM stimuli. Consequently, novel stimulation strategies based on envelope enhancement may prove beneficial to individuals with bilateral cochlear implants.
A scalable middleware solution for advanced wide-area Web services

To alleviate scalability problems in the Web, many researchers concentrate on how to incorporate advanced caching and replication techniques. Many solutions incorporate object-based techniques. In particular, Web resources are considered as distributed objects offering a well-defined interface. We argue that most proposals ignore two important aspects. First, there is little discussion on what kind of coherence should be provided. Proposing specific caching or replication solutions makes sense only if we know what coherence model they should implement. Second, most proposals treat all Web resources alike. Such a one-size-fits-all approach will never work in a wide-area system. We propose a solution in which Web resources are encapsulated in physically distributed shared objects. Each object should not only encapsulate state and operations, but also the policy by which its state is distributed, cached, replicated, migrated, etc.
Diversity and prevalence of Arcobacter spp. in broiler chickens

Ninety‐nine strains of Arcobacter spp. , isolated from 10 chicken carcasses purchased from a supermarket and 15 chicken carcasses collected from a poultry abattoir, were speciated using a variety of phenotypic identification methods. All were tested using API Campy test strips and the 16‐test (Preston) identification scheme developed for campylobacters. Fifty strains were selected for examination using a more comprehensive probabilistic identification scheme, and the identity of representative strains confirmed by protein profiling using SDS‐PAGE. All 25 carcasses yielded Arcobacter butzleri. Three supermarket and 10 abattoir carcasses also carried A. cryaerophilus, and two abattoir carcasses carried A. skirrowii. The API Campy scheme proved unsatisfactory for identifying these strains: only 20 of 99 strains were accurately identified, all of which were A. cryaerophilus, the only Arcobacter sp. included in the database. Moreover, 76 of 99 strains were misidentified. The 16‐test scheme identified all the arcobacter strains as A. cryaerophilus, since neither A. butzleri nor A. skirrowii had been described when the scheme was developed. The computer‐assisted probabilistic scheme succeeded in identifying all but one strain, the identity of which was clarified by the use of SDS‐PAGE. To our knowledge this is the first time that arcobacters other than A. butzleri have been reported in poultry meat or any other food of animal origin. Their high prevalence in poultry products may be of significance to public health.
Resting state fMRI reveals a default mode dissociation between retrosplenial and medial prefrontal subnetworks in ASD despite motion scrubbing

In resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) decreased frontal-posterior functional connectivity is a persistent finding. However, the picture of the default mode network (DMN) hypoconnectivity remains incomplete. In addition, the functional connectivity analyses have been shown to be susceptible even to subtle motion. DMN hypoconnectivity in ASD has been specifically called for re-evaluation with stringent motion correction, which we aimed to conduct by so-called scrubbing. A rich set of default mode subnetworks can be obtained with high dimensional group independent component analysis (ICA) which can potentially provide more detailed view of the connectivity alterations. We compared the DMN connectivity in high-functioning adolescents with ASDs to typically developing controls using ICA dual-regression with decompositions from typical to high dimensionality. Dual-regression analysis within DMN subnetworks did not reveal alterations but connectivity between anterior and posterior DMN subnetworks was decreased in ASD. The results were very similar with and without motion scrubbing thus indicating the efficacy of the conventional motion correction methods combined with ICA dual-regression. Specific dissociation between DMN subnetworks was revealed on high ICA dimensionality, where networks centered at the medial prefrontal cortex and retrosplenial cortex showed weakened coupling in adolescents with ASDs compared to typically developing control participants. Generally the results speak for disruption in the anterior-posterior DMN interplay on the network level whereas local functional connectivity in DMN seems relatively unaltered.