Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Volatile organic compound emissions from a landfill, plume dispersion and the tropospheric ozone modeling

Um modelo de dispersao Gaussiano foi usado para avaliar o transporte dos poluentes e valores de 525 μg m -3 para VOC foram encontrados a ca. 500 m do aterro. As emissoes tambem foram compiladas com dados meteorologicos usando o modelo de trajetorias OZIPR (Ozone Isopleth Package for Research) acoplado ao modelo quimico SAPRC (Statewide Air Pollution Research Center) para avaliar o impacto na formacao de ozonio troposferico. Os resultados indicaram um aumento de mais de 1000% nos niveis de ozonio comparados com valores da regiao metropolitana do Rio de Janeiro. Os resultados indicaram que e necessaria uma maior atencao dos orgaos governamentais no gerenciamento dos residuos solidos no Brasil. This work evaluated the volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions by a landfill located in Niteroi City, RJ, Brazil. Twenty six samples were collected in 2009 using a 30 L cylindrical polyvinyl chloride (PVC) flux chamber. The results indicated an elevated emission of 1980 kg km -2 h -1 . A Gaussian plume dispersion model was used to evaluate the transport of pollutants and values of 525 μg m -3 for VOC were found at ca. 500 m from the landfill. The emissions were also compiled with meteorological data, using the OZIPR (Ozone Isopleth Package for Research) trajectory model coupled with SAPRC (Statewide Air Pollution Research Center) chemical mechanism to demonstrate the impact on tropospheric ozone. The results indicated a 1000% increase in ozone in the region of the landfill when compared to the ozone values for the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro. The results show that it is necessary greater attention to the political management of municipal solid waste in Brazil.
Behavioural surveillance among gay men in Australia: methods, findings and policy implications for the prevention of HIV and other sexually transmissible infections.

BACKGROUND The Australian HIV and sexually transmissible infection (STI) behavioural surveillance system (the repeated cross-sectional Gay Community Periodic Surveys, GCPS) has been conducted since 1998 and covers six main Australian jurisdictions. In this paper, we review its history and methodology, and the available indicators, their trends and their use. METHODS We describe the design and history of GCPS. For analyses of indicators, we use Pearson's χ²-test and test for trend where appropriate. RESULTS About 90% of gay men in Australia have been tested for HIV (60% to 70% of men who were not HIV-positive) have been tested as recommended in the preceding 12 months. STI testing levels (≈ 70% in the preceding 12 months) are high, but remain insufficient for STI prevention. In general, unprotected anal intercourse with regular (UAIR) and casual (UAIC) sex partners has increased over time. The prevalence and increasing trends in UAIR were similar across jurisdictions (P-trend <0.01), while trends in UAIC differed across the states: during 2001-08, UAIC declined in NSW (P-trend <0.01) and increased elsewhere (P-trend <0.01). Trends in UAIC were associated with HIV diagnoses. CONCLUSION This review of the design, implementation and findings of the Australian HIV/STI behavioural surveillance highlights important lessons for HIV/STI behavioural surveillance among homosexual men, particularly the need for consistent data collection over time and across jurisdictions. Investment in systematic behavioural surveillance appears to result in a better understanding of the HIV epidemic, the availability of a warning system and a better targeted HIV prevention strategy.
MicroRNA-195 is downregulated in the peripheral blood of pregnant women with pregnancy-induced hypertension and inhibits the trophoblast apoptosis through targeting iNOS

Reports indicate that pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH) is known to have long term adverse effects both in the mother and offspring. At present, the pathogenesis of PIH is incompletely understood. Recent studies on microRNA (miRNA) offer the possibility for developing a new class of molecular markers for diagnosis of PIH. However, the function of miRNAs in the development of PIH remains unknown. In the present study, differentially expressed miRNAs in the peripheral blood of healthy pregnant women and women with PIH were screened by PCR array and validated using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Then, the effects of miRNA-195 on the apoptosis of trophoblast cells were assessed by silencing and over-expressing the miRNA. Our study showed that miR-195 was specifically down-regulated in the peripheral blood of women with PIH. We found that overexpression of miR-195 inhibited the apoptosis of trophoblast cells, whereas apoptosis was enhanced by knockdown of miR195. And the activity of caspase 3/8/9 were inhibited or enhanced in trophoblast cells transfected with miR-195 inhibitor or miR-195 mimic. We also confirmed that inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), which playing important roles in cells apoptosis, as a direct target of miR-195 by using the dual-luciferase assay. Furthermore, we found that expression of iNOS was up-regulated in peripheral blood samples from patients with PIH and inversely correlated with miR-195 expression. Our study demonstrated that the miR-195-inhibited apoptosis of trophoblast cells may contribute to PIH and miR-195 can be considered to be a promising therapeutic target for PIH.
Evaluation of single nucleotide polymorphisms of Pro12Ala in peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ and Gly308Ala in tumor necrosis factor-α genes in obese Asian Indians: a population-based study

Background A population-based case control study was performed to determine the associations of Pro12Ala polymorphism in peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPARG) and Gly308Ala polymorphism in tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFA) genes in obese subjects. Patients and methods Of 1,400 eligible subjects, ≧20 years, we recruited only 1,127. For extreme phenotype case-control design, we evaluated 201 subjects with body mass index (BMI) ≧30 kg/m2 (Group 1) and 143 with BMI <20 kg/m2 (Group 2). Clinical, anthropometric, biochemical, and nutritional details and polymorphisms were estimated. Results In Group 1, the dietary intake of calories and fats was higher, physical activity was lower, and prevalence of truncal obesity, hypertension, high total cholesterol, low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and diabetes was greater than in Group 2. There were no homozygous polymorphisms of either gene. Heterozygous Pro12Ala polymorphism in PPARG was found in 15 (7.5%) subjects in Group 1 and 3 (2.1%) subjects in Group 2 (P = 0.028), and heterozygous Gly308Ala polymorphism in TNFA was found in 19 (9.5%) in Group 1 and 7 (4.9%) in Group 2 (P = 0.115). Presence of heterozygous polymorphism in PPARG and TNFA-predicted obesity with univariate odds ratio ([OR], 95% confidence intervals) of 2.25 (1.32–3.84, P = 0.003) and 1.48 (1.10–1.99, P = 0.009) and with multivariate OR 1.74 (1.03–2.93, P = 0.038) and 1.46 (1.05–2.03, P = 0.024), respectively. The addition of dietary and physical activity variables did not result in significant change. Conclusion Obese Asian Indians have greater prevalence of heterozygous polymorphisms of Pro12Ala in PPARG and Gly308Ala in TNFA genes.
Estimation of Hepatic Extracellular Volume Fraction Using Multiphasic Liver Computed Tomography for Hepatic Fibrosis Grading

ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to determine whether hepatic extracellular volume fractions (fECVs) measured using multiphasic liver computed tomography (CT) can be used to quantify the severity of hepatic fibrosis (HF). Materials and MethodsThis retrospective study was approved by our institutional review board, and the requirement for informed consent was waived. A total of 141 patients (male-female ratio, 109:32; mean [SD] age, 59.4 [11.4] years) histologically diagnosed with HF (F0–F1 = 33 and F2–F4 = 108) underwent multiphasic liver CT. Absolute enhancements (in Hounsfield unit) of the liver parenchyma (Eliver) and aorta (Eaorta) 3 minutes after contrast administration were measured on subtraction images of precontrast and equilibrium phase scans using nonrigid registration software. The fECV was calculated using the following equation: fECV (%) = Eliver/Eaorta × (100 − Hematocrit [%]). Correlation between fECV and HF stage was evaluated using the Spearman correlation coefficient. The fECVs were compared between F0–F1 and ≥F2 as well as between child A and child B or C. Diagnostic performance of fECV in predicting significant HF (≥F2) was assessed using receiver operating curve analysis. ResultsThe fECVs showed a significant correlation with pathologic HF staging (r = 0.493, P < 0.001). The F2–F4 showed significantly higher fECVs than did F0 to F1 (33.6% [4.7%] vs 27.7% [4.4%]; P < 0.001). The fECVs were significantly higher in the patients with child B or C than those with child A (35.2% [7.0%] vs 31.3% [4.2%]; P < 0.001). The fECV values higher than 28.76% provided 87.5% sensitivity and 71.0% specificity in detecting significant HF (area under the curve, 0.832; P < 0.0001). ConclusionsBecause fECV was shown to increase along with HF progression, the estimation of fECV using routine multiphasic liver CT may have the potential to detect significant HF.
Akt Inhibits Apoptosis Downstream of BID Cleavage via a Glucose-Dependent Mechanism Involving Mitochondrial Hexokinases

ABSTRACT The serine/threonine kinase Akt/protein kinase B inhibits apoptosis induced by a variety of stimuli, including overexpression or activation of proapoptotic Bcl-2 family members. The precise mechanisms by which Akt prevents apoptosis are not completely understood, but Akt may function to maintain mitochondrial integrity, thereby preventing cytochrome c release following an apoptotic insult. This effect may be mediated, in part, via promotion of physical and functional interactions between mitochondria and hexokinases. Here we show that growth factor deprivation induced proteolytic cleavage of the proapoptotic Bcl-2 family member BID to yield its active truncated form, tBID. Activated Akt inhibited mitochondrial cytochrome c release and apoptosis following BID cleavage. Akt also antagonized tBID-mediated BAX activation and mitochondrial BAK oligomerization, two downstream events thought to be critical for tBID-induced apoptosis. Glucose deprivation, which impaired the ability of Akt to maintain mitochondrion-hexokinase association, prevented Akt from inhibiting BID-mediated apoptosis. Interestingly, tBID independently elicited dissociation of hexokinases from mitochondria, an effect that was antagonized by activated Akt. Ectopic expression of the amino-terminal half of hexokinase II, which is catalytically active and contains the mitochondrion-binding domain, consistently antagonized tBID-induced apoptosis. These results suggest that Akt inhibits BID-mediated apoptosis downstream of BID cleavage via promotion of mitochondrial hexokinase association and antagonism of tBID-mediated BAX and BAK activation at the mitochondria.
Neutropenia in human immunodeficiency virus infection: data from the women's interagency HIV study.

BACKGROUND Neutropenia is well described in individuals infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and occurs in approximately 10% to 50% of cases. Neither the effect of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) on neutrophil counts nor the significance of neutropenia in terms of survival has previously been evaluated. METHODS The prevalence of neutropenia among 1729 HIV-infected women, followed up as part of the Women's Interagency HIV Study, was evaluated. The CD4 lymphocyte counts, HIV-1 RNA levels, and complete blood cell counts, including absolute neutrophil counts, were obtained at 6-month intervals. RESULTS Neutropenia was common among HIV-infected women; at baseline, 44% had neutrophil counts less than 2000/microL, whereas 7% had counts less than 1000/microL. During 7.5 years of follow-up, neutrophil counts less than 2000/microL occurred on at least 1 occasion in 79%, whereas absolute neutrophil counts less than 1000/microL were documented in 31%. Worsening HIV disease parameters, such as lower CD4 cell counts (P<.001) and higher HIV-1 RNA levels (P<.001), were associated with development of neutropenia. Resolution of neutropenia was associated with higher CD4 cell counts (P<.001) and use of HAART (P=.007). We found that HAART, without zidovudine, was associated with protection against development of neutropenia. On multivariate analysis, neutropenia was not found to be associated with decreased survival among HIV-infected women. CONCLUSIONS Worsening HIV disease parameters are associated with neutropenia in HIV-infected women. Treatment with HAART, without zidovudine in the regimen, protects against development of neutropenia, whereas HAART use and higher CD4 cell counts are associated with resolution of neutropenia. Neutropenia is not associated with decreased survival in HIV-infected women.
Mining Repair Actions for Guiding Automated Program Fixing

Automated program fixing consists of generating source code in order to fix bugs in an automated manner. Our intuition is that automated program fixing can imitate human-based program fixing. Hence, we present a method to mine repair actions from software repositories. A repair action is a small semantic modification on code such as adding a method call. We then decorate repair actions with a probability distribution also learnt from software repositories. Our probabilistic repair models enable us to mathematically reason on the automated software repair process. By applying our method on 14 repositories of Java software and 89993 versioning transactions, we show that our probabilistic repair actions are able to guide the automated fixing process in the repair space, with a probabilistic focus on likely repair shapes first.
Localization of shed human tumor gangliosides: association with serum lipoproteins.

Tumor gangliosides are biologically active (immunosuppressive and tumor-enhancing) cell surface molecules which are shed into the circulation in vivo. However, the mechanism of transport of these molecules (i.e., in solution or bound to proteins or other lipids) is not known. To resolve this question we traced, by direct chemical detection, the serum localization of a specific human tumor ganglioside, GD2, shed by neuroblastoma cells. Sera from patients with tumors were separated into the lipoprotein fractions [very low-density lipoprotein, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and high-density lipoprotein] and lipoprotein-depleted serum. All three lipoprotein fractions contained GD2. 73% of the total GD2 was present in the LDL fraction, while very low-density lipoprotein and high-density lipoprotein contained 21 and 6%, respectively. Significantly, lipoprotein-depleted serum, which would contain both albumin-bound and free ganglioside, was devoid of GD2. Thus, shed neuroblastoma tumor gangliosides are exclusively associated with the serum lipoprotein (and predominantly LDL) fractions in vivo. These findings have implications for the immunological detection of these molecules and the development of approaches to their removal.
On the Convergence of Successive Linear-Quadratic Programming Algorithms

The global convergence properties of a class of penalty methods for nonlinear programming are analyzed. These methods include successive linear programming approaches and, more specifically, the successive linear-quadratic programming approach presented by Byrd et al. [Math. Program. , 100 (2004), pp. 27--48]. Every iteration requires the solution of two trust-region subproblems involving piecewise linear and quadratic models, respectively. It is shown that, for a fixed penalty parameter, the sequence of iterates approaches stationarity of the penalty function. A procedure for dynamically adjusting the penalty parameter is described, and global convergence results for it are established.
Histochemical correlates of hamstring injuries

This study reports the histochemical fiber type com position of the human hamstring muscles. Muscle spec imens from necropsy specimens were obtained from seven locations in the hamstring, four locations in the quadriceps, and one location in the adductor magnus. The hamstring muscles are shown to have a relatively high proportion of Type II fibers. Type II fibers are more involved with exercise of higher intensity and force production and it is postulated that the hamstrings are capable of high intrinsic force production. The ham strings are two-joint muscles and are, therefore, subject to increased stretch and force production extrinsically by motion at the hip and knee. It is proposed that high levels of tension in the hamstrings produced by intrinsic force production and extrinsic stretch may make them prone to injury in periods of intense muscular activity. This proposal is also relevant to other frequent athletic muscle injuries.
Gross-Hopkins duality and the Gorenstein condition

Gross and Hopkins have proved that in chromatic stable homotopy, Spanier-Whitehead duality nearly coincides with Brown-Comenetz duality. Our goal is to give a conceptual interpretation for this phenomenon in terms of the Gorenstein condition for maps of ring spectra in the sense of [Duality in algebra and topology, Adv. Math. 200 (2006), 357--402. arXiv: math.AT/0510247 ]. We describe a general notion of Brown-Comenetz dualizing module for a map of ring spectra and show that in this context such dualizing modules correspond bijectively to invertible K(n)-local spectra.
The Effects of Linguistic Experience on Perceptual Assimilation of Lexical Tone

This study examines the effects of L1 tone experience and L2 learning experience on tone assimilation. It has been proposed that perceptual assimilation of segments is tied to L1 and L2 contrasts at the phonetic level for listeners without L2 experience [1] but at both phonetic and phonological levels for those with L2 experience [2]. In this examination of perceptual assimilation of lexical tones, 80 native Mandarin and Thai listeners with or without L2 experience performed a mapping-rating assimilation task in which they first identified which L1 tone sounded most similar to the L2 tone they heard, and then rated its goodness on a 5-point scale. The inexperienced listeners assimilated L2 tones to L1 tones with the most similar phonetic properties, i.e., pitch height and direction. The experienced listeners were also influenced by phonemic tone sandhi changes in Mandarin. In other words, Mandarin rising tone and Thai low-falling tone were assimilated to the Thai and Mandarin falling-rising tone. These findings support the Perceptual Assimilation Model [1] and Perceptual Assimilation Model-L2 [2].
Thermodynamic Analysis of Interacting Nucleic Acid Strands

Motivated by the analysis of natural and engineered DNA and RNA systems, we present the first algorithm for calculating the partition function of an unpseudoknotted complex of multiple interacting nucleic acid strands. This dynamic program is based on a rigorous extension of secondary structure models to the multistranded case, addressing representation and distinguishability issues that do not arise for single-stranded structures. We then derive the form of the partition function for a fixed volume containing a dilute solution of nucleic acid complexes. This expression can be evaluated explicitly for small numbers of strands, allowing the calculation of the equilibrium population distribution for each species of complex. Alternatively, for large systems (e.g., a test tube), we show that the unique complex concentrations corresponding to thermodynamic equilibrium can be obtained by solving a convex programming problem. Partition function and concentration information can then be used to calculate equilibrium base-pairing observables. The underlying physics and mathematical formulation of these problems lead to an interesting blend of approaches, including ideas from graph theory, group theory, dynamic programming, combinatorics, convex optimization, and Lagrange duality.
Candida Speciation, Antifungal Treatment and Adverse Events in Pediatric Invasive Candidiasis: Results From 441 Infections in a Prospective, Multi-National Study

A multi-national prospective study of pediatric patients with invasive candidiasis between August 2007 and September 2012 was performed and included 441 infections. Variation in infecting Candida species and antifungals used was noted between US and non-US sites. Antifungal-associated adverse events were most common with polyene use.
The JNK inhibitor, SP600125, potentiates the glial response and cell death induced by methamphetamine in the mouse striatum.

This study investigates the effect of the selective Jun NH2-terminal kinase 1/2 (JNK1/2) inhibitor, (SP600125) on the striatal dopamine nerve terminal loss and on the increased interleukin-15 (IL-15) expression and glial response induced by methamphetamine (METH). Mice were given repeated low doses of METH (4 mg/kg, i.p., three times separated by 3 h) and killed 24 h or 7 d after the last dose. SP600125 (30 mg/kg, i.p) was administered 30 min before the last METH injection. Results indicate that METH produced dopaminergic axonal neurotoxicity reflected as a marked decrease in the striatal density of tyrosine hydroxylase-immunoreactive (TH-ir) fibres and dopamine transporter-immunoreactivity (DAT-ir) 24 h after dosing. These effects were not modified by SP600125. This compound also failed to prevent the long-term loss of dopamine levels and DAT observed 7 d following METH injection. Nevertheless, SP600125 potentiated METH-induced striatal cell loss reflected by an increase in Fluoro-Jade immunostaining, cleaved capase-3 immunoreactivity and the number of terminal deoxyncleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labelling (TUNEL) positive cells. In line with a deleterious effect of JNK1/2 inhibition, SP600125 increased the astroglial and microglial response induced by METH and interfered with drug-induced IL-15 expression. Together these data indicate that, not only does SP600125 fail to protect against the dopaminergic damage induced by METH but also, in fact, it potentiates the glial response and the non-dopaminergic striatal cell loss caused by the drug.
Host effects of glandular-haired alfalfa on alfalfa weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) and potato leafhopper (Homoptera: Cicadellidae) populations in Virginia.

Cultivars of glandular-haired alfalfa, Medicago sativa L. , such as '54H69', are currently available and marketed as being resistant to potato leafhopper, Empoasca fabae (Harris). Between 2000 and 2002, studies were conducted to compare the effects of '54H69' and a standard, nonglandular-haired alfalfa cultivar, 'Choice', on alfalfa weevil, Hypera postica (Gyllenhal), and potato leafhopper populations at Campbell and Montgomery counties, Virginia. '54H69' had no effect on alfalfa weevil populations. At each location, densities of alfalfa weevil in '54H69' and 'Choice' were similar, but pest pressure was higher at Campbell Co. than at Montgomery Co. and always exceeded the economic threshold before insecticide was applied. Densities of potato leafhopper also did not differ between '54H69' and 'Choice' in any year at the two locations. Insecticide treatment effectively reduced potato leafhopper densities in the two cultivars, although populations were below the economic threshold at both locations when the insecticides were applied. Overall, postinsecticide treatment comparisons showed that the densities of alfalfa weevil and potato leafhoppers were similar or higher in untreated '54H69' compared with insecticide-treated 'Choice'. In addition, there were no differences in seasonal dry yields between '54H69' and 'Choice' in any year at either location. Our results indicate that the glandular-haired alfalfa '54H69' does not provide acceptable resistance to potato leafhopper and also does not offer a yield advantage to growers in Virginia.