Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Clinical Outcomes with Antiviral Prophylaxis or Preemptive Therapy for Cytomegalovirus Disease after Liver Transplantation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Objectives：We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to compare the clinical outcomes of patients after liver transplantation accepting antiviral prophylaxis (AP) or preemptive therapy (PT) for preventing cytomegalovirus (CMV) disease. METHODS A literature search of PubMed, Cochrane, Embase was conducted up to June 1, 2016. References of the retrieved articles were also reviewed and relevant studies were included. The primary outcomes were incidence of CMV infection, incidence of CMV disease, mortality and opportunistic infection. The second outcomes were the mean time to CMV infection and CMV disease, adverse drug reaction (ADR). Sensitivity analysis and publication bias were evaluated. RESULTS 6 cohort studies involving 1091 liver-transplant recipients (LTRs) were included. All studies were with high quality according to Newcastle-Ottawa Scales (NOS). Incidence of CMV infection and CMV disease showed significant difference between the AP and PT in high-risk patients. There was no significant difference of CMV-related mortality (725 patients, OR 1.27, 95%CI 0.12-13.47, p=0.84) and other opportunistic infections (311 patients, OR 0.85, 95%CI 0.49-1.45, p=0.55) in all "at-risk" patients between the two strategies, whereas late-onset CMV infection and CMV disease were found in patients receiving AP. CONCLUSION We recommended the use of AP instead of PT in the high risk patients, and PT could be used in moderate or low risk patients for the similar clinical outcomes in preventing CMV disease. RCTs comparing the two strategies are warranted. This article is open to POST-PUBLICATION REVIEW. Registered readers (see "For Readers") may comment by clicking on ABSTRACT on the issue's contents page.
Using InSAR Coherence to Map Stand Age in a Boreal Forest

The interferometric coherence parameter γ estimates the degree of correlation between two Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images and can be influenced by vegetation structure. Here, we investigate the use of repeat-pass interferometric coherence γ to map stand age, an important parameter for the study of carbon stocks and forest regeneration. In August 2009 NASA’s L-band airborne sensor UAVSAR (Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar) acquired zero-baseline data over Quebec with temporal separation ranging between 45 min and 9 days. Our analysis focuses on a 66 km2 managed boreal forest and addresses three questions: (i) Can coherence from L-band systems be used to model forest age? (ii) Are models sensitive to weather events and temporal baseline? and (iii) How is model accuracy impacted by the spatial scale of analysis? Linear regression models with 2-day baseline showed the best results and indicated an inverse relationship between γ and stand age. Model accuracy improved at 5 ha scale (R2 = 0.75, RMSE = 5.3) as compared to 1 ha (R2 = 0.67, RMSE = 5.8). Our results indicate that coherence measurements from L-band repeat-pass systems can estimate forest age accurately and with no saturation. However, empirical model relationships and their accuracy are sensitive to weather events, temporal baseline, and spatial scale of analysis.
Adolescent Cognitive Skills, Attitudinal/Behavioral Traits and Career Wages

We use panel data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY79) to estimate the effects of cognitive skills (measured by the Armed Forces Qualification Test) and attitudinal/behavioral traits (a latent factor based on self-reported self-esteem, locus of control, educational aspirations and educational expectations) on career wage trajectories of white, black and Latino/a men and women. We find that both cognitive and attitudinal/behavioral traits affect initial wages and wage growth, above and beyond their effects on schooling and transcript-reported high school grades. The relative size of these effects, however, varies by race/ethnicity. We also show that black and Latino men, and black women have substantially flatter wage trajectories than white men and women. Using wage decomposition techniques, we find that the lower wages of these groups are partially, but not fully, accounted for by group differences in cognitive skill and attitudinal/behavioral traits.
Adolescent pregnancy and childbearing: levels and trends in developed countries.

CONTEXT Adolescent pregnancy occurs in all societies, but the level of teenage pregnancy and childbearing varies from country to country. A cross-country analysis of birth and abortion measures is valuable for understanding trends, for identifying countries that are exceptional and for seeing where further in-depth studies are needed to understand observed patterns. METHODS Birth, abortion and population data were obtained from various sources, such as national vital statistics reports, official statistics, published national and international sources, and government statistical offices. Trend data on adolescent birthrates were compiled for 46 countries over the period 1970-1995. Abortion rates for a recent year were available for 33 of the 46 countries, and data on trends in abortion rates could be gathered for 25 of the 46 countries. RESULTS The level of adolescent pregnancy varies by a factor of almost 10 across the developed countries, from a very low rate in the Netherlands (12 pregnancies per 1,000 adolescents per year) to an extremely high rate in the Russian Federation (more than 100 per 1,000). Japan and most western European countries have very low or low pregnancy rates (under 40 per 1,000); moderate rates (40-69 per 1,000) occur in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and a number of European countries. A group of five countries--Belarus, Bulgaria, Romania, the Russian Federation and the United States--have pregnancy rates of 70 or more per 1,000. The adolescent birthrate has declined in the majority of industrialized countries over the past 25 years, and in some cases has been more than halved. Similarly, pregnancy rates in 12 of the 18 countries with accurate abortion reporting showed declines. Decreases in the adolescent abortion rate, however, were less prevalent. CONCLUSIONS The trend toward lower adolescent birthrates and pregnancy rates over the past 25 years is widespread and is occurring across the industrialized world, suggesting that the reasons for this general trend are broader than factors limited to any one country: increased importance of education, increased motivation of young people to achieve higher levels of education and training, and greater centrality of goals other than motherhood and family formation for young women.
A comparative evaluation of intrathecal bupivacaine alone, sufentanil or butorphanol in combination with bupivacaine for endoscopic urological surgery

Background: The objective of the present study was to compare the onset, degree and recovery time of sensory and motor block and hemodynamic effects of intrathecal bupivacaine alone and bupivacaine with sufentanil or butorphanol in endoscopic urological surgeries. Methods: In a randomized, double-blind study, 90 patients of either sex and age, belonging to ASA Grades I and II, scheduled for elective endoscopic urological surgeries under spinal anesthesia, were allocated into three groups of 30 each. Patients received either 2.5 ml of 0.5% hyperbaric buypivacaine 12.5 mg (Group A), 1.5 ml of 0.5% hyperbaric bupivacaine 7.5 mg with 10 μg sufentanil (Group B) or 1.5 ml of 0.5% hyperbaric bupivacaine 7.5 mg with 25 μg butorphanol (Group C). Vital parameters, level, duration and regression of sensory block and motor block and side-effects were recorded and compared. Statistical Analysis: Analysis of variance (ANOVA), post hoc test and Chi-square test were used. Results: Intrathecal addition of sufentanil/butorphanol prolonged the duration of sensory block (DOSB) compared with bupivacaine alone (DOSB being 156.83±23.83 min, 170.87 ± 22.21 min and 171.17 ± 23.99 min in groups A, B and C, respectively) without altering the duration of motor blockade. Bromage score 3 was achieved in 100%, 90% and 54.4% patients in groups A, B and C, respectively. The time to first request for analgesia was 112 ± 46.3 min, 323 ± 65.0 min and 299 ± 73.9 min in groups A, B and C, respectively. Complications were reduced by the addition of butorphanol, which also has a lower tendency than sufentanil to produce pruritus (60%). Conclusions: The analgesia was significantly prolonged in groups B and C; group C had a less-intense motor block. Complications were reduced by the addition of butorphanol, which also has a lower tendency than sufentanil to produce pruritus. Thus, this combination of butorphanol with low-dose bupivacaine is especially beneficial in the geriatric group of patients who have multiple co-morbid conditions.
Ganetespib, a Unique Triazolone-Containing Hsp90 Inhibitor, Exhibits Potent Antitumor Activity and a Superior Safety Profile for Cancer Therapy

Targeted inhibition of the molecular chaperone Hsp90 results in the simultaneous blockade of multiple oncogenic signaling pathways and has, thus, emerged as an attractive strategy for the development of novel cancer therapeutics. Ganetespib (formerly known as STA-9090) is a unique resorcinolic triazolone inhibitor of Hsp90 that is currently in clinical trials for a number of human cancers. In the present study, we showed that ganetespib exhibits potent in vitro cytotoxicity in a range of solid and hematologic tumor cell lines, including those that express mutated kinases that confer resistance to small-molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Ganetespib treatment rapidly induced the degradation of known Hsp90 client proteins, displayed superior potency to the ansamycin inhibitor 17-allylamino-17-demethoxygeldanamycin (17-AAG), and exhibited sustained activity even with short exposure times. In vivo, ganetespib showed potent antitumor efficacy in solid and hematologic xenograft models of oncogene addiction, as evidenced by significant growth inhibition and/or regressions. Notably, evaluation of the microregional activity of ganetespib in tumor xenografts showed that ganetespib was efficiently distributed throughout tumor tissue, including hypoxic regions >150 μm from the microvasculature, to inhibit proliferation and induce apoptosis. Importantly, ganetespib showed no evidence of cardiac or liver toxicity. Taken together, this preclinical activity profile indicates that ganetespib may have broad application for a variety of human malignancies, and with select mechanistic and safety advantages over other first- and second-generation Hsp90 inhibitors. Mol Cancer Ther; 11(2); 475–84. ©2011 AACR.
Towards Understanding the Cost of Adaptation in Decomposition-Based Optimization Algorithms

Decomposition-based methods are an increasingly popular choice for a posteriori multi-objective optimization. However the ability of such methods to describe a trade-off surface depends on the choice of weighting vectors defining the set of subproblems to be solved. Recent adaptive approaches have sought to progressively modify the weighting vectors to obtain a desirable distribution of solutions. This paper argues that adaptation imposes a non-negligible cost -- in terms of convergence -- on decomposition-based algorithms. To test this hypothesis, the process of adaptation is abstracted and then subjected to experimentation on established problems involving between three and 11 conflicting objectives. The results show that adaptive approaches require longer traversals through objectivespace than fixed-weight approaches. Since fixed weights cannot, in general, be specified in advance, it is concluded that the new wave of decomposition-based methods offer no immediate panacea to the well-known conflict between convergence and distribution afflicting Pareto-based a posteriori methods.
Human Plasma Lipid Modulation in Schistosomiasis Mansoni Depends on Apolipoprotein E Polymorphism

Background Schistosomiasis mansoni is a parasitic liver disease, which causes several metabolic disturbances. Here, we evaluate the influence of Apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene polymorphism, a known modulator of lipid metabolism, on plasma lipid levels in patients with hepatosplenic schistosomiasis. Methodology/Principal Findings Blood samples were used for APOE genotyping and to measure total cholesterol (TC), LDL-C, HDL-C and triglycerides. Schistosomiasis patients had reduced TC, LDL-C and triglycerides (25%, 38% and 32% lower, respectively; P<0.0001) compared to control individuals, whereas HDL-C was increased (10% higher; P = 0.0136). Frequency of the common alleles, ε2, ε3 and ε4, was similar (P = 0.3568) between controls (n = 108) and patients (n = 84), implying that APOE genotype did not affect susceptibility to the advanced stage of schistosomiasis. Nevertheless, while patient TC and LDL-C levels were significantly reduced for each allele (except TC in ε2 patients), changes in HDL-C and triglycerides were noted only for the less common ε2 and ε4 alleles. The most striking finding, however, was that accepted regulation of plasma lipid levels by APOE genotype was disrupted by schistosomiasis. Thus, while ε2 controls had higher TC and LDL-C than ε3 carriers, these parameters were lower in ε2 versus ε3 patients. Similarly, the inverse relationship of TG levels in controls (ε2>ε3>ε4) was absent in patients (ε2 or ε4>ε3), and the increase in HDL-C of ε2 or ε4 patients compared to ε3 patients was not seen in the control groups. Conclusion/Significance We confirm that human schistosomiasis causes dyslipidemia and report for the first time that certain changes in plasma lipid and lipoprotein levels depend on APOE gene polymorphism. Importantly, we also concluded that S. mansoni disrupts the expected regulation of plasma lipids by the different ApoE isoforms. This finding suggests ways to identify new metabolic pathways affected by schistosomiasis and also potential molecular targets to treat associated morbidities.
Synchrony of utterance rhythms and context of repetitive dialogue in a cooperation game

Speech dialogue systems, such as Apple's “Siri,” have gradually become more widespread, and in the near future, a greater number of general users will have the opportunity to communicate with such systems. To facilitate this, it is necessary for the system to communicate more naturally with users, and to realize that both verbal and nonverbal information must be taken into consideration. Therefore, a model that can select contextually appropriate nonverbal information should be developed. However, the relation between context and nonverbal information has not been sufficiently analyzed, because it is difficult to control the context of communication in an experiment. In this research, we clarify the relation between nonverbal information, such as the utterance rhythm, and the context of a dialogue by analyzing the correlation of utterance durations with the game state in a kind of “prisoner's dilemma” that we introduce to control the context. The results show diverse correlations across four game states (Cooperation-Cooperation, Cooperation-Betrayal, Betrayal-Cooperation, Betrayal-Betrayal); however, in the Cooperation-Cooperation state, a positive correlation is often observed between the duration of utterances. From these results, we discuss the mechanism of synchrony between utterance rhythms.
Cytochrome c causes pore formation in cardiolipin-containing membranes

The release of cytochrome c from mitochondria is a key signaling mechanism in apoptosis. Although extramitochondrial proteins are thought to initiate this release, the exact mechanisms remain unclear. Cytochrome c (cyt c) binds to and penetrates lipid structures containing the inner mitochondrial membrane lipid cardiolipin (CL), leading to protein conformational changes and increased peroxidase activity. We describe here a direct visualization of a fluorescent cyt c crossing synthetic, CL-containing membranes in the absence of other proteins. We observed strong binding of cyt c to CL in phospholipid vesicles and bursts of cyt c leakage across the membrane. Passive fluorescent markers such as carboxyfluorescein and a 10-kDa dextran polymer crossed the membrane simultaneously with cyt c, although larger dextrans did not. The data show that these bursts result from the opening of lipid pores formed by the cyt c–CL conjugate. Pore formation and cyt c leakage were significantly reduced in the presence of ATP. We suggest a model, consistent with these findings, in which the formation of toroidal lipid pores is driven by initial cyt c-induced negative spontaneous membrane curvature and subsequent protein unfolding interactions. Our results suggest that the CL–cyt c interaction may be sufficient to allow cyt c permeation of mitochondrial membranes and that cyt c may contribute to its own escape from mitochondria during apoptosis.
Health goal priming as a situated intervention tool: how to benefit from nonconscious motivational routes to health behaviour

ABSTRACT Recent research has shown the limited effects of intentions on behaviour, so that novel methods to facilitate behaviour change are needed that do not rely on conscious intentions. Here, it is argued that nonintentional effects on health behaviour, such as the effects of habits, impulses, and nonconscious goals, occur through the activation of cognitive structures by specific situations. Interventions should therefore be situated to change these effects, either by changing the critical cognitive structures (training interventions), or by changing which cognitive structures get activated (cueing interventions). The current article presents this framework for situated interventions, as well as examples of interventions of each type. Then, it introduces goal priming as a cueing intervention tool to activate health goals and thus facilitate healthier behaviour, even in tempting situations that typically activate short-term hedonic goals. Following a review of empirical evidence, five principles for the effective application of health goal primes are proposed, namely (1) to target individuals who value the primed goals, (2) by activating their specific motivation, (3) through effective cues (4) that attract attention at the right time. Finally, (5) an effective goal-directed behaviour needs to be known and accessible to the primed individual. These principles are illustrated with examples of different health behaviours in order to facilitate their application for successful behaviour change.
The adult retinal stem cell is a rare cell in the ciliary epithelium whose progeny can differentiate into photoreceptors

Summary Self-renewing, multipotential retinal stem cells (RSCs) reside in the pigmented ciliary epithelium of the peripheral retina in adult mammals. RSCs can give rise to rhodopsin positive-cells, which can integrate into early postnatal retina, and represent a potentially useful option for cellular therapy. The ability to purify a stem cell population and direct the differentiation toward a particular cell lineage is a challenge facing the application of stem cells in regenerative medicine. Here we use cell sorting to prospectively enrich mouse RSCs based on size, granularity and low expression of P-cadherin and demonstrate that only rare cells with defined properties proliferate to form colonies. We show that clonally-derived mouse and human RSC progeny are multipotent and can differentiate into mature rhodopsin-positive cells with high efficiency using combinations of exogenous culture additives known to influence neural retinal development, including taurine and retinoic acid. This directed RSC differentiation follows the temporal sequence of photoreceptor differentiation in vivo, and the cells exhibit morphology, protein and gene expression consistent with primary cultures of rods in vitro. These results demonstrate that the RSC, an adult stem cell, can be enriched and directed to produce photoreceptors as a first step toward a targeted cell replacement strategy to treat retinal degenerative disease.
Mechanical and Microstructural Evaluations of Lightweight Aggregate Geopolymer Concrete before and after Exposed to Elevated Temperatures

This paper presents the mechanical and microstructural characteristics of a lightweight aggregate geopolymer concrete (LWAGC) synthesized by the alkali-activation of a fly ash source (FA) before and after being exposed to elevated temperatures, ranging from 100 to 800 °C. The results show that the LWAGC unexposed to the elevated temperatures possesses a good strength-to-weight ratio compared with other LWAGCs available in the published literature. The unexposed LWAGC also shows an excellent strength development versus aging times, up to 365 days. For the exposed LWAGC to the elevated temperatures of 100 to 800 °C, the results illustrate that the concretes gain compressive strength after being exposed to elevated temperatures of 100, 200 and 300 °C. Afterward, the strength of the LWAGC started to deteriorate and decrease after being exposed to elevated temperatures of 400 °C, and up to 800 °C. Based on the mechanical strength results of the exposed LWAGCs to elevated temperatures of 100 °C to 800 °C, the relationship between the exposure temperature and the obtained residual compressive strength is statistically analyzed and achieved. In addition, the microstructure investigation of the unexposed LWAGC shows a good bonding between aggregate and mortar at the interface transition zone (ITZ). However, this bonding is subjected to deterioration as the LWAGC is exposed to elevated temperatures of 400, 600 and 800 °C by increasing the microcrack content and swelling of the unreacted silicates.
Online minimum mean square error filtering of noisy cepstral coefficients using a sequential EM algorithm

In this work we propose an online ﬁltering algorithm that aims to alleviate the decrease we see in ASR performance when the speech is corrupted by additive noise. Using an initial estimate of the noise distribution, the algorithm updates the noise model on a frame synchronous basis. The minimum mean square error (MMSE) ﬁltering is also performed at a frame per frame basis, using the most current noise model estimate at all times. The algorithm is compared to a batch version which uses several iterations of the EM-algorithm over the complete utterance to estimate the noise model, and it is demonstrated that the performance is as good or better at a fraction of the computational complexity when the noise is non-stationary.
A Dynamical Model on the Network of p53-Mdm2 Feedback Loop Regulated by p14/19ARF

Base on new experimental results, we give a dynamical model to study the dynamical mechanism of the negative feedback loop composed of p53 and Mdm2 proteins regulated by p14/19ARR The oscillatory behaviors for the activities of p53 and Mdm2 proteins regulated by p14/19ARF in individual of cells are described in our dynamical model. The results help us build a basal network about oscillatory behaviors among p53, Mdm2 and P14/19ARR The dynamical model and its numerical results will help us understand the oscillatory behavior among other network of different proteins.