Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of Ribavirin on the Hepatitis C Virus (JFH-1) and its Correlation with Interferon Sensitivity

Background The consensus therapy for chronic hepatitis C infection is based on a synergistic combination of pegylated interferon and ribavirin. The therapy leads to a sustained virological response in around 60% of infected patients. The mechanism by which this synergy occurs has not yet been elucidated. Several mechanisms of action have been proposed; one suggests that ribavirin, which is a nucleoside analogue, is incorporated into the RNA strand and generates an increase in the error rate. Such an accumulation of mutations would threaten the integrity of the virus's genetic information. Methods The effects of ribavirin on the new infectious hepatitis C virus cell culture (HCVcc) system were investigated using Huh-7 cells. Cells were cultured for 1 month in either 0 μM, 20 μM or 50 μM ribavirin. The HCV interferon sensitivity and the NS5A quasispecies were analysed. Results An increase in the mutation rate in the HCV NS5A gene was observed when the infected cells were treated with 50 μM ribavirin for 1 month. Amino acid sequence analysis revealed that ribavirin exerts an increase in G to A transition events as predicted by its mutagenic effect and a selective pressure on the HCV NS5A sequence. Furthermore, ribavirin treatment modified the efficacy of interferon (IFN) treatment. The IFN half-inhibition concentration (IC50) was significantly lower for viruses obtained after 1 month's exposure to 50 μM ribavirin than for viruses cultured in the absence of ribavirin. Conclusions ribavirin's mutagenic effect could explain in part its synergistic action with interferon.
Predicting

A computational model of residual stress is developed for AS4/polypropylene composites and implemented via user material subroutine (UMAT) in ABAQUS. The main factors included in the model are the cooling-rate dependent crystallinity, temperature-dependent elastic modulus, and temperature-dependent coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of the matrix, and the temperature-independent transversely isotropic properties of the carbon fiber. Numerical results are generated for the case of a single fiber embedded in a thin film of polypropylene sample to replicate the process history and test configuration. During single fiber composite processing, a precalculated weight (tensile preload) is applied at the fiber ends to eliminate buckling/waviness of the carbon fiber induced by matrix shrinkage in the axial direction of the fiber. Experiments and Finite element (FE) analysis have been conducted with different preloads (1g, 4g, and 8g) at 25˚C. Micro-Raman spectroscopy is utilized to validate the residual strain with different preloads at the bulk. The measured strain values show a good correlation with the predicted residual strain for various preload conditions.
Students' Perceptions of Recess: An Examination of Predictors of Peer Conflict

i Chapter 1: Importance.1 Chapter 2: Literature Review.6 Peer Conflict.6 Positive Play.13 Recess Games.17 Recess Supervision.19 Relation Between Peer Conflict and Supervision.21 Locations and Student Peer Interactions.23 Map Procedure.27 Chapter 3: Method.34 Participants.34 Measures.39 Procedures.41 Data Analysis.45 Power Analysis.48 Chapter 4: Results.50 Hypotheses.50 Preliminary Analyses.52 Research Question One Results.58 Research Question Two Results.59 Research Question Three Results.60
Anatomic Investigations of Nerves at the Wrist: I. Orientation of the Motor Fascicle of the Median Nerve in the Carpal Tunnel

The orientation of the motor fascicle of the median nerve in the carpal tunnel was investigated in dissections of 50 hands. Topographically, the motor branch was located on the radial-volar aspect of the median nerve in 60% of the hands, the central-volar aspect in 22%, and between these two locations in the remaining 18%. In 56% of the hands, the motor branch passed through a separate distinct fascial tunnel before entering the thenar muscles. Awareness of these patterns will facilitate appropriate surgical management of thenar muscle weakness or wasting associated with the carpal tunnel syndrome.
Mathematical-Statistical Models of Generated Hazardous Hospital Solid Waste

Abstract This research work was carried out under the assumption that wastes generated from hospitals in Irbid, Jordan were hazardous. The hazardous and non-hazardous wastes generated from the different divisions in the three hospitals under consideration were not separated during collection process. Three hospitals, Princess Basma hospital (public), Princess Bade’ah hospital (teaching), and Ibn Al-Nafis hospital (private) in Irbid were selected for this study. The research work took into account the amounts of solid waste accumulated from each division and also determined the total amount generated from each hospital. The generation rates were determined (kilogram per patient, per day; kilogram per bed, per day) for the three hospitals. These generation rates were compared with similar hospitals in Europe. The evaluation suggested that the current situation regarding the management of these wastes in the three studied hospitals needs revision as these hospitals do not follow methods of waste disposals that would reduce risk to human health and the environment practiced in developed countries. Statistical analysis was carried out to develop models for the prediction of the quantity of waste generated at each hospital (public, teaching, private). In these models number of patients, beds, and type of hospital were revealed to be significant factors on quantity of waste generated. Multiple regressions were also used to estimate the quantities of wastes generated from similar divisions in the three hospitals (surgery, internal diseases, and maternity).
Impact of heterogeneous activities on the evolution of cooperation

Recent empirical observations suggest a heterogeneous nature of human activities. In this paper, we investigate the impact of players' heterogeneous activities on the evolution of cooperation in the framework of evolutionary game theory. By proposing a new evolutionary rule, prisoner's dilemma game (PDG) on scale-free networks is studied. The major difference with the normal procedure is that players are assigned with different reproduction time which follows a power-law distribution. Simulations show that the cooperation is significantly increased by the behavioral pattern of players' heterogeneous activities. Especially, hubs of scale-free networks play a crucial role in the evolution of cooperation.
Physical Activity Frequency and the Risk of Stroke: A Nationwide Cohort Study in Korea

Background The current guideline recommends moderate‐ to vigorous‐intensity physical activity (PA) at least 40 min/day for 3 to 4 days/week. Although recent evidence has demonstrated that low‐dose PA could reduce cardiovascular mortality, the relationship between low‐dose PA and the risk of stroke remains uncertain. Methods and Results Using data from a nation‐wide sample cohort in Korea, we examined 336 326 individuals who received a general health examination between 2009 and 2010. Level of PA was assessed using a questionnaire for weekly PA frequencies regarding 3 intensity categories: light, moderate, and vigorous. Moderate‐ to vigorous‐intensity PA (MVPA) was classified into 4 frequency categories: none, 1 to 2, 3 to 4, or ≥5 times/week. Cox proportional hazard models were constructed to estimate the risk of stroke. During the average follow‐up of 3.6 years, 2213 stroke cases occurred. MVPA was none in 50%, 1 to 2 times/week in 20%, 3 to 4 times/week in 13%, and ≥5 times/week in 18% of the cohort. Individuals with MVPA 1 to 2 times/week had a 16% reduced risk of stroke (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.84; 95% confidence interval, 0.73–0.96) compared with those with no MVPA. The population attributable fraction of no MVPA was 12%, which was the second most important risk factor for a stroke after hypertension. Conclusions Even 1 to 2 times a week of MVPA might be beneficial to prevent a first‐ever stroke in the general population, although a quantitative validation of the questionnaire is needed. From a public health perspective, we need to encourage inactive people to start exercising with more‐achievable goals.
Remote Sensing Image Retrieval With Global Morphological Texture Descriptors

In this paper, we present the results of applying global morphological texture descriptors to the problem of content-based remote sensing image retrieval. Specifically, we explore the potential of recently developed multiscale texture descriptors, namely, the circular covariance histogram and the rotation-invariant point triplets. Moreover, we introduce a couple of new descriptors, exploiting the Fourier power spectrum of the quasi-flat-zone-based scale space of their input. The descriptors are evaluated with the UC Merced Land Use-Land Cover data set, which has been only recently made public. The proposed approach is shown to outperform the best known retrieval scores, despite its shorter feature vector length, thus asserting the practical interest of global content descriptors as well as of mathematical morphology in this context.
Prevalence of PI*Z and PI*S alleles of alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency in Finland

The prevalence of PI*Z and PI*S alleles of SERPINA1 gene related to alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency has previously been estimated to be lower in Finland than in the other countries of Northern Europe. The prevalence of PI*M (Malton) has not been studied in Finland before. We determined alpha-1-antitrypsin PI*Z and PI*S and PI*M (Malton) genotypes from a representative population sample. The number of subjects was 6,354 in the PI*S and PI*M (Malton) genotyping. PI*Z genotyping was performed in a subsample of 2,482 subjects. The allele frequencies were PI*Z 19.7/1,000 and PI*S 10.2/1,000. No PI*M (Malton) was found. The number of carriers of PI*Z and PI*S is significantly higher than previously estimated. The prevalences are in line with the findings in the neighboring countries.
Vulnerable participants in health research: methodological and ethical challenges

Ethical guidelines for conducting research are embedded in the Helsinki Declaration of 1964. We contend that these abstract and intentionally universal guidelines need to be appropriated for social and healthcare research, in which purpose and methods often deviate from medical research. The guidelines appear to be instrumental and over-simplistic representations of the often ‘messy’ realities surrounding the research process that is often guided by relational and local negotiations of ethical solutions. Vulnerable participants, for instance, challenge both professional and research ethics, leaving both professionals and researchers in ethical and moral dilemmas. In this article, we specifically focus on the methodological challenges of obtaining informed consent from drug users and terminally ill cancer patients in our PhD research. The question is how to illuminate the needs and problems of vulnerable patients and – at the same time – respect their integrity without exposing them unnecessarily. The article illuminates the interactional construction of roles and relationships and how they affect the contextual construction of vulnerability. In this respect, we demonstrate that both patients and researchers are at risk of being vulnerable. In conclusion, we outline and advocate for a more empirically informed ethics in research with potentially vulnerable participants.
Exploring Team Support: The Role of Team's Design, Values, and Leader's Support

This study addressed the issue of team support and explored the role of structural factors, namely, job enrichment designs; the role of cultural factors, namely, individualism– collectivism and power distance; and the role of the leader’s support, which served as support carrier in teams. With 56 nursing teams, the results demonstrated that whereas leader’s support, collectivism, and low power distance facilitated team support, job enrichment designs placed constraints on the accessibility of support to team members. Additionally, leader’s support and low power distance moderated the negative impact of job enrichment on team support. These findings suggest that support is not primarily a burst of altruism displayed by individuals, and they draw attention to the teams’ contexts that most likely serve to encourage team members to engage in support.
Effect of Age and Biological Subtype on the Risk and Timing of Brain Metastasis in Breast Cancer Patients

Background Brain metastasis is a major complication of breast cancer. This study aimed to analyze the effect of age and biological subtype on the risk and timing of brain metastasis in breast cancer patients. Patients and Methods We identified subtypes of invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast by determining estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor and HER2 status. Time to brain metastasis according to age and cancer subtype was analyzed by Cox proportional hazard analysis. Results Of the 2248 eligible patients, 164 (7.3%) developed brain metastasis over a median follow-up of 54.2 months. Age 35 or younger, HER2-enriched subtype, and triple-negative breast cancer were significant risk factors of brain metastasis. Among patients aged 35 or younger, the risk of brain metastasis was independent of biological subtype (P = 0.507). Among patients aged 36–59 or >60 years, those with triple-negative or HER2-enriched subtypes had consistently increased risk of brain metastasis, as compared with those with luminal A tumors. Patients with luminal B tumors had higher risk of brain metastasis than luminal A only in patients >60 years. Conclusions Breast cancer subtypes are associated with differing risks of brain metastasis among different age groups. Patients age 35 or younger are particularly at risk of brain metastasis independent of biological subtype.
Symptomatic middle cerebral artery stenosis

The clinical course of 16 consecutive patients with stenosis of the middle cerebral artery angiographically diagonosed between 1970 and 1977 was reviewed. All were managed nonsurgically with medical treatment including anticoagulation. Prior to therapy, transient ischemic attacks had occurred in 15 and cerebral infarction in 11. Initially, none exhibited more than a minor neurological deficit. Follow‐up from one month to six years showed a benign course in 14 patients: 13 experienced no subsequent transient attacks or new stroke; 1 had repeated transient attacks for two years but not in the following four years. Two of the 16 developed a severe stroke early in the course, before medical therapy was started. No distinctive clinical or radiographic features were identified that permitted prediction of the outcome. This small series supports the need for a randomized study of bypass efficacy in these patients.
Secretory products from PC‐3 and MCF‐7 tumor cell lines upregulate osteopontin in MC3T3‐E1 cells

Tumor cells frequently have pronounced effects on the skeleton including bone destruction, bone pain, hypercalcemia, and depletion of bone marrow cells. Despite the serious sequelae associated with skeletal metastasis, the mechanisms by which tumor cells alter bone homeostasis remain largely unknown. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that the disruption of bone homeostasis by tumor cells is due in part to the ability of tumor cells to upregulate osteopontin (OPN) mRNA in osteoblasts. Conditioned media were collected from tumor cells that elicit either osteolytic (MCF‐7, PC‐3) or osteoblastic responses (LNCaP) in animal models and their effects on OPN gene expression were compared using an osteoblast precursor cell line, MC3T3‐E1 cells. Secretory products from osteolytic but not osteoblastic tumor cell lines were demonstrated to upregulate OPN in osteoblasts while inhibiting osteoblast proliferation and differentiation. Signal transduction studies revealed that regulation of OPN was dependent on both protein kinase C (PKC) and the mitogen‐activated protein (MAP) kinase cascade. These results suggest that the upregulation of OPN may play a key role in the development of osteolytic lesions. Furthermore, these results suggest that drugs that prevent activation of the MAP kinase pathway may be efficacious in the treatment of osteolytic metastases. J. Cell. Biochem. 78:607–616, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
[A study on acute renal failure after an outbreak of diarrhea in Suixian county, Henan province].

OBJECTIVE To study the distributional feature and clinical characteristics of infectious diarrhea caused by enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7, and to understand its pollution to the environment and the carrier status among livestock and poultry. METHODS To describing the incidence of diarrhea, to isolate and culture the pathogenic bacteria from samples of the patients with diarrhea and livestock or poultry with methods of microbiology, molecular biology and cytology, and then to determine the toxic factors. RESULTS In the first epidemic area in Suixian county, Henan province, 35 cases had been found during 17 March and 6 July with 91% of them above age of 60. Of them, 32 were complicated with acute renal failure, including 28 death (death rate: 87.50%). One hundred and seven strains of O157:H7 were isolated from the samples of livestock or poultry and 48 strains were isolated from patients. It was found that 67 strains having toxic gene through microbiological, molecular biological and cytological technologies. Five types of toxic factors were found. CONCLUSION The main factor causing death was the complicated acute renal failure from diarrhea infected by E. coli O157:H7. The pathogen from livestock or poultry with high carrying rate might infect people through polluted water, food flies and close contacts. The outbreak of acute hemolytic uremic syndrome in Suixian county was caused by Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 infection.
Neuronal and glial somal size in the prefrontal cortex: a postmortem morphometric study of schizophrenia and Huntington disease.

BACKGROUND The cortex of patients with schizophrenia exhibits a deficit in neuropil, but the nature and extent of cellular abnormalities remain unclear. To gain further insight into this abnormality, neuronal and glial somal size were analyzed in postmortem brains from 9 patients with schizophrenia, 10 normal (control) patients, and 7 patients with Huntington disease, the latter representing a known neurodegenerative disorder. METHODS A 3-dimensional image analyzer was used to measure the perimeters of 10722 neuronal and 19913 glial profiles in Brodmann areas 9 and 17. Neurons and glia were classified by size and layer to assess specific vulnerabilities with respect to cortical architecture and circuitry. RESULTS The schizophrenic prefrontal cortex was characterized by a downward shift in neuronal sizes accompanied by 70% to 140% per layer increases in the density of small neurons. In layer III only, a significant reduction in mean neuronal size was associated with a significant decrease in the density of very large neurons in sublayer Illc. Neither neuronal size in occipital area 17 nor glial size in prefrontal or occipital cortexes were reduced. In cortex with Huntington disease, neuronal degeneration was evidenced by concurrence of reduced neuronal size, decreased density of large neurons, and dramatic elevation in density of large glia. CONCLUSIONS Distinct cytometric abnormalities support the hypothesis that neuronal degeneration in the prefrontal cortex is not a prominent feature of the neuropathological changes in schizophrenia, although an ongoing process in Huntington disease. Rather, schizophrenia appears to involve more subtle abnormalities, with the largest corticocortical projection neurons of layer IIIc expressing the greatest somal reduction.
Looking into pictures : an interdisciplinary approach to pictorial space

Interdisciplinary explorations of the implications of recent developments in vision theory for our understanding of the nature of pictorial representation and picture perception. The last half of the twentieth century witnessed dramatic changes in the theory of vision. In particular, the "eye-as-camera" metaphor that had long dominated the field no longer seemed tenable. Somewhat surprisingly, however, the metaphor has maintained its appeal in the study of pictures. In Looking into Pictures, philosophers, psychologists, and art historians explore the implications of recent theories of vision for our understanding of the nature of pictorial representation and picture perception. They examine the dual nature of picture perception, the fact that viewers must separate the visual properties of the picture itself from those of what the picture represents. Discussing the status of perspective, they ask whether perspective renderings of space are special or more accurate than those found in other types of pictures, and if so why. Finally, they consider the possible need to reconceive pictorial space and the implications of such a reconception for the study of picture perception.
The effects of training format on earplug performance

This experiment investigated the effect of small-group versus individual hearing loss prevention (HLP) training on the attenuation performance of passive insert-type hearing protection devices (HPDs). A subject-fit (SF) methodology, which gave naive listeners access only to the instructions printed on the HPD product label, was used to determine real-ear attenuation at threshold (REAT) at third-octave noise bands between 125–8000 Hz. REAT measurements were augmented by use of the Hearing Loss Prevention Attitude-Belief (HLPAB) survey, a field-tested self-assessment tool developed by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Participants were randomly assigned to one of four experimental groups, consisting of 25 listeners each, in a controlled behavioral-intervention trial. There were two types of HPDs (formable and premolded) and two training formats (individual and small group). A short multimedia program, including a practice session, was presented to all 100 listeners. Results showed training to have a significant effect, for both HPDs on real-ear attenuation and attitude, but, importantly, there was no difference between small-group and individual training.
The Essential Services Policy Network: Organizational Influence in Canada's Information Highway Policy Development Process

This study explores organizational influence in the policy network that formed around the issue of determining essential services on the Canadian information highway. The data consisted of forty-seven interview transcripts plus policy documents and comparative structural characteristics from twenty-one organizations including three library-related organizations (LROs). Guided by the policy network theory, the research employed a blended methodology. Quantitative analyses identified six key players based on the interviewees' subjective perceptions and seven core organizations based on the network interactions. The qualitative content analysis found that the essential services issue had two main aspects--ensuring universal access to telecommunications networks and determining the criteria for defining essential information and communication services. High recognition of an organization's communication interactions by others was the best predictor of influence. Although the three LROs were not highly influential, one public interest group, the Public Interest Advocacy Centre, exerted far greater influence than was expected.