Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Epidemiological patterns of hepatitis B virus (HBV) in highly endemic areasr

Summary This paper uses meta-analysis of published data and a deterministic mathematical model of hepatitis B virus (HBV) transmission to describe the patterns of HBV infection in high endemicity areas. We describe the association between the prevalence of carriers and a simple measure of the rate of infection, the age at which half the population have been infected (A50), and assess the contribution of horizontal and perinatal transmission to this association. We found that the two main hyper-endemic areas of sub-Saharan Africa and east Asia have similar prevalences of carriers and values of A50, and that there is a negative nonlinear relationship between A50 and the prevalence of carriers in high endemicity areas (Spearman's Rank, P = 0·0086). We quantified the risk of perinatal transmission and the age-dependent rate of infection to allow a comparison between the main hyper-endemic areas. East Asia was found to have higher prevalences of HBeAg positive mothers and a greater risk of perinatal transmission from HBeAg positive mothers than sub-Saharan Africa, though the differences were not statistically significant. However, the two areas have similar magnitudes and age-dependent rates of horizontal transmission. Results of a simple compartmental model suggest that similar rates of horizontal transmission are sufficient to generate the similar patterns between A50 and the prevalences of carriers. Interrupting horizontal transmission by mass immunization is expected to have a significant, nonlinear impact on the rate of acquisition of new carriers.
Learning in Struggle: Argentina’s New Worker Cooperatives as Transformative Learning Organizations

This article considers Argentina’s empresas recuperadas por sus trabajadores (worker-recuperated enterprises, or ERTs) as transformative learning organizations. ERTs are illustrative of how workers’ conversions of capitalist firms into worker cooperatives—especially conversions emerging from troubled firms and in moments of deep socio-economic crises—transform workers (from managed employees to self-managed workers), work organizations (from capitalist businesses to labour-managed firms), and communities (from depleted to revitalized and self-provisioning localities). Theoretically, the study is grounded in class-struggle, workplace learning, and social action learning approaches. These theoretical perspectives help the study work through how workplace conversions by workers, when converting troubled investor-owned or proprietary firms into worker coops, act as catalysts for contesting workplace exploitation and capitalist crises, while also beginning to move beyond them by forging new social relations of production and exchange. In the case of Argentina’s ERTs, crises in the political economy and micro-economic crises at the point of production during the collapse of the neoliberal model at the turn of the millennium heightened workers’ self-awareness of their situations of exploitation and motivated collective action. As a result, new worker cooperatives were created that also stimulated the social, cultural, and economic renewal of surrounding communities. The study’s research method relies on extended case studies of four diverse ERTs, which included ethnographic observation and in-depth interviews. Observations of daily workflows were conducted, as well as interviews and informal conversations with founding and newer ERT workers. In a more structured portion of the interview protocol, key-informants were asked to reflect on how they had personally changed after being involved in the ERT, and how production practices and involvement with the community had transformed in the process of conversion. The article concludes by outlining how worker, organizational, and community transformations emerge from workers’ processes of informal learning and learning in struggle as they collectively strive to overcome macro- and micro-economic crises and learn to become cooperators. This learning, the study shows, occurs in two ways: intra-cooperatively via informal workplace learning, and inter-cooperatively between workers from different ERTs and with surrounding communities. The self-management forged by ERTs thus embodies new, cooperative, and community-centered values and practices for these workers that, in turn, sketch out different possibilities for economic and productive life in Argentina.
Process optimization for fluoride removal from water by Moringa oleifera seed extract

The natural coagulant Moringa oleifera (MO) is considered to be an efficient coagulant with some advantages over chemical coagulants. Fluoride removal, using MO seed extract was investigated. The influence of MO dosage, initial F concentration, and pH were determined and modeled using the Box-Behnken design response surface methodology. With a constant initial F concentration, it was found that increasing the MO dose resulted in increased F removal. pH had no meaningful effect on F removal. Statistical and graphical tools confirmed the adequacy of the predicted model. Based on an optimized condition, for 85.4% removal of 8 mg/L of fluoride, a coagulant dosage of 900 mg/L is needed.
Kaon photoproduction operator for use in nuclear physics.

Using diagrammatic techniques we have obtained a new operator for the process p(\ensuremath{\gamma},${\mathrm{K}}^{+}$)${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}}^{0}$ which includes the Born terms in addition to resonances in the s and u channel near threshold. The coupling constants are obtained by a least squares fit to cross section and polarization data for photon energies from threshold through 1400 MeV. We find a number of changes from the earlier operator obtained by Thom about twenty years ago when less data were available. To aid in comparing this operator to other work, we give its multipole decomposition in the center of mass frame, and to aid in its use in nuclear physics we write out the operator in a frame fixed in the nucleus and, further, take the nonrelativistic limit of the operator as Blomqvist and Laget did for the pion photoproduction case. Finally, we discuss the validity of the nonrelativistic limit of this operator.
Impact of Electric Vehicle On-Board Single-Phase Charging Strategies on a Flemish Residential Grid

This paper quantifies the impact of single-phase on-board charging strategies for electric vehicles (EVs) in a case study of a heavily loaded unbalanced Flemish three-phase low-voltage residential grid. Voltage droop charging and EV-based peak shaving, which do not need communication with the distribution grid, are modeled and the results are compared. The grid voltages are analyzed according to the probabilistic and deterministic limits of the EN50160 standard, for a 100% EV penetration rate. The impact on the EV user comfort is evaluated in terms of charging time and electrically driven distances. The chosen voltage droop charging eliminates critical voltages below 0.85 pu and reduces voltage unbalance, with a limited impact on the total charging time. EV-based peak shaving makes the grid fully compliant with EN50160 and avoids the need for an infrastructure upgrade. The electrically driven distances are not influenced by the charging strategies.
Smart Cities, Big Data, and Sustainability Union

Media convergence has changed relationships between existing technologies, industries, markets, and audiences. Smart cities are seen as the logical outcome of media convergence. Big Data form the basis and the output of smart technologies. In the last twenty years, there has been much discussion on smart cities, big data, and the need for sustainability in technological endeavors. This article combines these by providing an overview of the three subjects about their points of intersection. Identifying these points of intersection will help smart city researchers to better understand where there is need for further development towards better standards of living and increased sustainability. This review will provide directions for further research and provide a brief historical overview of how far research has come in the three intertwined identified areas towards designing, adapting, and managing smarter communities.
Immunophenotypic and Molecular Analysis of Human Dental Pulp Stem Cells Potential for Neurogenic Differentiation

Background: Growing evidence shows that dental pulp (DP) tissues could be a potential source of adult stem cells for the treatment of devastating neurological diseases and several other conditions. Aims: Exploration of the expression profile of several key molecular markers to evaluate the molecular dynamics in undifferentiated and differentiated DP-derived stem cells (DPSCs) in vitro. Settings and Design: The characteristics and multilineage differentiation ability of DPSCs were determined by cellular and molecular kinetics. DPSCs were further induced to form adherent (ADH) and non-ADH (NADH) neurospheres under serum-free condition which was further induced into neurogenic lineage cells and characterized for their molecular and cellular diversity at each stage. Statistical Analysis Used: Statistical analysis used one-way analysis of variance, Student's t-test, Livak method for relative quantification, and R programming. Results: Immunophenotypic analysis of DPSCs revealed >80% cells positive for mesenchymal markers CD90 and CD105, >70% positive for transferring receptor (CD71), and >30% for chemotactic factor (CXCR3). These cells showed mesodermal differentiation also and confirmed by specific staining and molecular analysis. Activation of neuronal lineage markers and neurogenic growth factors was observed during lineage differentiation of cells derived from NADH and ADH spheroids. Greater than 80% of cells were found to express β-tubulin III in both differentiation conditions. Conclusions: The present study reported a cascade of immunophenotypic and molecular markers to characterize neurogenic differentiation of DPSCs under serum-free condition. These findings trigger the future analyses for clinical applicability of DP-derived cells in regenerative applications.
“cu-coo”: Can You Recognize My Stepparents? – A Study of Host-Specific Male Call Divergence in the Common Cuckoo

The presence of multiple host-specific races in the common cuckoo Cuculus canorus has long been recognized as an evolutionary enigma but how this genetic divergence could be maintained is still equivocal. Some recent studies supported biparental genetic contribution in maintaining the host-races, implying the necessity that they should recognize and mate assortatively with those who belong to the same host-race. One potential mechanism to accomplish this is that males may produce distinctive calls according to host-specific lineages. In order to test this hypothesis, we carried out a comparative study for male cuckoo calls recorded from three distant populations, where two populations share a same host species while the other parasitizes a different host species. Populations with similar habitat structures, maintaining comparable distance interval (ca. 150 km) between neighboring ones, were selected so as to minimize any other causes of vocal differentiation except the pattern of host use. By comparing the vocal characteristics of male cuckoos at the level of individual as well as population, we found that individual males indeed produced different calls in terms of spectral and temporal features. However, these differences disappeared when we compared the calls at the population level according to host species and geographic location. In conclusion, it seems unlikely for the cuckoos to identify the stepparent of male cuckoos based solely on the vocal characteristics, although they may be able to use this cue for individual recognition. Future studies including detailed morphological and genetic comparisons will be worthwhile to further elucidate this issue.
Extreme Value Analysis of Multivariate High-Frequency Wind Speed Data

In this article we analyze the extremal behavior of wind speed with a measurement frequency of 8 Hz, measured on three meteorological masts in Denmark. In the first part of this article we set up a conditional model for the time series consisting of threshold exceedances from maxima per second for two consecutive days. The model directly captures the nonstationary nature of wind speed during the day. Conditional on previous wind speed values with recorded exceedance, we assume a Markov-like structure for exceedances, where the conditional distribution follows the generalized Pareto distribution. In addition, we analyze the dependence structure in large wind speed values between different masts by using bivariate extreme value models. The initial motivation for this research was in the context of renewable energy. Specifically, the extremal dynamics of wind speed at small time scales plays a critical role for designing and locating turbines on wind farms.
Symmetry observations in long nucleotide sequences.

A study of all sequences longer than 50 000 nucleotides currently in GenBank (1, 2) reveals a simple symmetry principle. The number of occurrences of each n-tuple of nucleotides on a given strand approaches that of its complementary n-tuple on the same strand. This symmetry is true for all long sequences at small n (e.g. n = 1,2,3,4,5). It extends to sets of n-tuples of higher order n with increase in the length of the sequence.
Features of Cryptic Promoters and Their Varied Reliance on Bromodomain-Containing Factors

The Set2-Rpd3S pathway is important for the control of transcription memory. Mutation of components of this pathway results in cryptic transcription initiation within the coding region of approximately 30% of yeast genes. Specifically, deletion of the Set2 histone methyltransferase or Rco1, a component of the Rpd3S histone deacetylase complex leads to hyperacetylation of certain open reading frames (ORFs). We used this mutant as a system to study the role of histone modifications and co-activator recruitment in preinitiation complex (PIC) formation. Specifically, we looked at the dependence of promoters on the bromodomain-containing RSC complex and the Bdf1 protein. We found that the dependence of cryptic promoters for these proteins varied. Overall, our data indicate that cryptic promoters are independently regulated, and their activation is dependent on factors that govern gene activation at canonical promoters.
Software process commonality analysis

To remain viable and thrive, software organizations must rapidly adapt to frequent and, often, rather far-ranging changes to their operational context. These changes typically concern many factors, including the nature of the organization's marketplace in general, its customers' demands, and its business needs. In today's most highly dynamic contexts, such as web services development, other changes create additional, severe challenges. Most critical are changes to the technology in which a software product is written or which the software product has to control or use to provide its functionality. These product-support technology changes are frequently relatively ‘small’ and incremental. They are, therefore, often handled by relatively ‘small’, incremental changes to the organization's software processes. However, the frequency of these changes is high, and their impact is elevated by time-to-market and requirements change demands. The net result is an extremely challenging need to create and manage a large number of customized process variants, collectively having more commonalities than differences, and incorporating experience-based, proven ‘best practices’. This paper describes a tool-based approach to coping with product-support technology changes. The approach utilizes established capabilities such as descriptive process modeling and the creation of reference models. It incorporates a new, innovative, tool-based capability to analyze commonalities and differences among processes. The paper includes an example-based evaluation of the approach in the domain of Wireless Internet Services as well as a discussion of its potentially broader application. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Emerging Roles of Toxin-Antitoxin Modules in Bacterial Pathogenesis

Toxin-antitoxin (TA) cassettes are encoded widely by bacteria. The modules typically comprise a protein toxin and protein or RNA antitoxin that sequesters the toxin factor. Toxin activation in response to environmental cues or other stresses promotes a dampening of metabolism, most notably protein translation, which permits survival until conditions improve. Emerging evidence also implicates TAs in bacterial pathogenicity. Bacterial persistence involves entry into a transient semi-dormant state in which cells survive unfavorable conditions including killing by antibiotics, which is a significant clinical problem. TA complexes play a fundamental role in inducing persistence by downregulating cellular metabolism. Bacterial biofilms are important in numerous chronic inflammatory and infectious diseases and cause serious therapeutic problems due to their multidrug tolerance and resistance to host immune system actions. Multiple TAs influence biofilm formation through a network of interactions with other factors that mediate biofilm production and maintenance. Moreover, in view of their emerging contributions to bacterial virulence, TAs are potential targets for novel prophylactic and therapeutic approaches that are required urgently in an era of expanding antibiotic resistance. This review summarizes the emerging evidence that implicates TAs in the virulence profiles of a diverse range of key bacterial pathogens that trigger serious human disease.
Postinjury anxiety and social support among collegiate athletes: a comparison between orthopaedic injuries and concussions.

CONTEXT When an athlete is injured, the primary focus of the sports medicine team is to treat the physical effects of the injury. However, many injured athletes experience negative psychological responses, including anxiety, regarding their injury. OBJECTIVE To compare the anxiety and social support of athletes with concussions and a matched group of athletes with orthopaedic injuries. DESIGN Cross-sectional study. SETTING Athletic training room. PATIENTS OR OTHER PARTICIPANTS A total of 525 injuries among athletes from 2 Big Ten universities were observed. Of these, 63 concussion injuries were matched with 63 orthopaedic injuries for the athlete's sex, sport, and time loss due to injury. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S) Clinical measures included the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (which measures both state and trait anxiety) and the modified 6-item Social Support Questionnaire. RESULTS The group with concussions relied on their family for social support 89% of the time, followed by friends (78%), teammates (65%), athletic trainers (48%), coaches (47%), and physicians (35%). The group with orthopaedic injuries relied on their family for social support 87% of the time, followed by friends (84%), teammates (65%), athletic trainers (57%), coaches (51%), and physicians (36%). We found no differences for the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (t = -1.38, P = .193) between the concussed and orthopaedic-injury groups. Social Support Questionnaire scores were significant predictors for postinjury state anxiety. Specifically, increased scores were associated with decreased postinjury state anxiety (β = -4.21, P = .0001). CONCLUSIONS Both the concussed athletes and those with orthopaedic injuries experienced similar state and trait anxiety and relied on similar sources of social support postinjury. However, athletes with orthopaedic injuries reported greater satisfaction with support from all sources compared with concussed athletes. In contrast, concussed athletes showed more significant predictor models of social support on state anxiety at return to play.
Alcohol Addiction and the Attachment System: An Empirical Study of Attachment Style, Alexithymia, and Psychiatric Disorders in Alcoholic Inpatients

This study aims at investigating alcoholic inpatients' attachment system by combining a measurement of adult attachment style (AAQ, . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52(3): 511–524) and the degree of alexithymia (BVAQ, . Bermond-Vorst Alexithymia Questionnaire, Unpublished data). Data were collected from 101 patients (71 men, 30 women) admitted to a psychiatric hospital in Belgium for alcohol use-related problems, between September 2003 and December 2004. To investigate the research question, cluster analyses and regression analyses are performed. We found that it makes sense to distinguish three subgroups of alcoholic inpatients with different degrees of impairment of the attachment system. Our results also reveal a pattern of correspondence between the severity of psychiatric symptoms—personality disorder traits (ADP-IV), anxiety (STAI), and depression (BDI-II-Nl)—and the severity of the attachment system's impairment. Limitations of the study and suggestions for further research are highlighted and implications for diagnosis and treatment are discussed.
La socialisation : construction des identités sociales et professionnelles

Pourquoi parler aujourd'hui de crise des identites ? Cette expression renvoie a des phenomenes multiples : difficultes d'insertion professionnelle des jeunes, montee de nouvelles exclusions sociales, brouillage des categories servant a se definir et a definir les autres. Comprendre comment se reproduisent et se transforment les identites sociales implique d'eclairer les processus de socialisation par lesquels elles se construisent et se reconstruisent tout au long de la vie. La dimension professionnelle des identites a acquis avec la modernite une importance toute particuliere. La socialisation secondaire ­ a l'âge adulte ­ est devenue indispensable pour affronter les changements de plus en plus frequents dans les cycles de vie et les imperatifs de la construction identitaire.
Opensmile: the munich versatile and fast open-source audio feature extractor

We introduce the openSMILE feature extraction toolkit, which unites feature extraction algorithms from the speech processing and the Music Information Retrieval communities. Audio low-level descriptors such as CHROMA and CENS features, loudness, Mel-frequency cepstral coefficients, perceptual linear predictive cepstral coefficients, linear predictive coefficients, line spectral frequencies, fundamental frequency, and formant frequencies are supported. Delta regression and various statistical functionals can be applied to the low-level descriptors. openSMILE is implemented in C++ with no third-party dependencies for the core functionality. It is fast, runs on Unix and Windows platforms, and has a modular, component based architecture which makes extensions via plug-ins easy. It supports on-line incremental processing for all implemented features as well as off-line and batch processing. Numeric compatibility with future versions is ensured by means of unit tests. openSMILE can be downloaded from http://opensmile.sourceforge. net/.