Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Pronuclear orientation, polar body placement, and embryo quality after intracytoplasmic sperm injection and in-vitro fertilization: further evidence for polarity in human oocytes?

Three hypotheses were tested: (i) the distance between first and second polar bodies (PB) may relate to embryo morphology, (ii) that the orientation of pronuclei (PN) relative to PB may relate to embryo morphology, (iii) that the placement of a spermatozoon in a fixed plane relative to the first PB [intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI)] may alter PN/PB orientation relative to in-vitro fertilization (IVF). A total of 251 two pronuclear (2PN) embryos (124 ICSI, 127 IVF) from 64 patients was studied. Angles were measured between the PN axis and the nearest PB (alpha), the furthest PB (beta), and between the two PB (gamma). On day 2, the morphological grades of embryos were recorded. gamma ranged from 0 to 150 degrees and was not significantly different for ICSI or IVF embryos of different grades; however, an unusual distribution of gamma suggested different populations of oocytes. The first hypothesis was rejected. alpha and beta ranged from 0 to 90 degrees : alpha did not relate significantly to embryo grade, but beta increased significantly with decreasing quality of ICSI embryos (P < 0.05) and the total group (P < 0.01), supporting hypothesis (ii). The difference in beta between ICSI and IVF embryos was not significant, so hypothesis (iii) was unproven. Significant differences between ICSI and IVF embryos in PN positions, irregular cleavage, and cleavage failure were noted.
Exploring the genetics of nestling personality traits in a wild passerine bird: testing the phenotypic gambit

When several personality traits covary, they form a behavioral syndrome. Understanding the evolutionary dynamics of a behavioral syndrome requires knowledge of its genetic underpinning. At present, our understanding of the genetic basis of behavioral syndromes is largely restricted to domestic and laboratory animals. Wild behavioral syndromes are mostly inferred on the basis of phenotypic correlations, and thus make the “phenotypic gambit” of assuming that these phenotypic correlations capture the underlying genetic correlations. On the basis of 3 years of reciprocal cross-fostering of 2896 nestlings of 271 families within a pedigreed population, we show that the nestling personality traits handling aggression, breathing rate, and docility are heritable (h2 = 16–29%), and often have a pronounced “nest-of-rearing” variance component (10–15%), but a relatively small “nest-of-origin” variance component (0–7%). The three nestling personality traits form a behavioral syndrome on the phenotypic and genetic level. Overall, the phenotypic correlations provide a satisfactory description of the genetic ones, but significantly underestimate the magnitude of one of the pairwise genetic correlations, which mirrors the conclusion based on domestic and laboratory studies.
Nivolumab and Pembrolizumab for Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer

The outcomes for patients with previously treated advanced stage non–small lung cancer (NSCLC) are very poor, with a modest benefit from chemotherapy over best supportive care. Immunotherapy offers a novel approach for the treatment of these patients, with two anti-programmed death 1 (PD-1) checkpoint inhibitors, nivolumab and pembrolizumab, recently approved by the FDA based on large randomized clinical trials showing increased overall survival compared with standard second-line docetaxel. Although only a subset of patients benefit from these drugs, the treatment is usually well tolerated and the responses are often durable, with an unprecedented number of survivors 3 years after starting the therapy. The next steps should be the identification of reliable predictors for benefit from immunotherapy with checkpoint inhibitors and the pursuit of well-designed combination therapies. In this article, we review the rationale for the use of checkpoint inhibitors in NSCLC, the data from phase I and randomized clinical trials, and future directions. Clin Cancer Res; 22(15); 3713–7. ©2016 AACR.
Do Auctioneers Pick Optimal Reserve Prices?

We investigate how auctioneers set reserve prices in auctions. A well-established theoretical result, assuming risk neutrality of the seller, is that the optimal reserve price should not depend on the number of participating bidders. In a set of controlled laboratory experiments, we find that seller behavior often deviates from the theoretical benchmarks. We extend the existing theory to explore three alternative explanations for our results: risk aversion, anticipated regret, and probability weighting. After fitting our data to each of these models through parameter estimation techniques on both an aggregate and individual level, we find that all three models are consistent with some of the characteristics of our data, but that the regret model provides a slightly more favorable fit overall. This paper was accepted by Teck-Hua Ho, decision analysis.
SCFS: A Shared Cloud-backed File System

Despite of their rising popularity, current cloud storage services and cloud-backed storage systems still have some limitations related to reliability, durability assurances and inefficient file sharing. We present SCFS, a cloud-backed file system that addresses these issues and provides strong consistency and near-POSIX semantics on top of eventually-consistent cloud storage services. SCFS provides a pluggable backplane that allows it to work with various storage clouds or a cloud-of-clouds (for added dependability). It also exploits some design opportunities inherent in the current cloud services through a set of novel ideas for cloud-backed file systems: always write and avoid reading, modular coordination, private name spaces and consistency anchors.
Long-term effectiveness and safety of GnRH agonist plus raloxifene administration in women with uterine leiomyomas.

BACKGROUND Our aim was to evaluate the long-term effectiveness and safety of GnRH agonist plus raloxifene administration in women with symptomatic uterine leiomyomas. METHODS Fifty pre-menopausal women with uterine leiomyomas were treated with leuprolide acetate depot at dose of 3.75 mg/28 days and raloxifene hydrochloride at 60 mg/day for 18 cycles. At admission and after each six cycles of treatment, bone mineral density (BMD), uterine, leiomyoma and non-leiomyoma dimensions, serum bone metabolism markers, lipid, glucose and insulin levels were evaluated. Leiomyoma-related and climacteric-like symptoms were assessed using a daily diary. RESULTS Throughout the study, no significant change in BMD or in any bone metabolism markers was observed. A significant decrease in uterine, leiomyoma and non-leiomyoma sizes was detected in comparison with baseline already after 6 months. No other significant change was observed at the successive follow-up visits. No significant change in lipid and glucose profile was detected throughout the study. The treatments were well tolerated. All treatment withdrawals (16%, eight out of 50) were due to lack of compliance, and none to drug-related adverse experiences. CONCLUSION GnRH agonist plus raloxifene administration is an effective and safe treatment for pre-menopausal women with uterine leiomyomas.
Detecting Melodic Motifs from Audio for Hindustani Classical Music

Melodic motifs form essential building blocks in Indian Classical music. The motifs, or key phrases, provide strong cues to the identity of the underlying raga in both Hindustani and Carnatic styles of Indian music. Thus the automatic detection of such recurring basic melodic shapes from audio is of relevance in music information retrieval. The extraction of melodic attributes from polyphonic audio and the variability inherent in the performance, which does not follow a predefined score, make the task particularly challenging. In this work, we consider the segmentation of selected melodic motifs from audio signals by computing similarity measures on time series of automatically detected pitch values. The methods are investigated in the context of detecting the signature phrase of Hindustani vocal music compositions (bandish) within and across performances.
Abnormal immunoglobulin G subclass production in response to keyhole limpet haemocyanin in atopic patients

A proportion of patients with atopic dermatitis have elevated serum levels of IgG4. In order to investigate further this abnormality of IgG subclass production, atopic patients were immunized with the protein antigen keyhole limpet haemocyanin (KLH), and IgG subclass responses following primary and secondary immunization were analysed. In the primary response, titres of IgG 1, 2 and 3 antibodies were lower in the atopic patients than in the controls. In contrast, titres of IgG4 were much higher for the patient group. In both patients and controls, the kinetics of IgG4 antibody production following the initial immunization with KLH showed a slow rise reaching a peak at 30 weeks. This time course indicated that the high IgG4 response was unlikely to be due to previous exposure of the patients to a cross‐reacting antigen. A higher proportion of IgG4 was also seen in the atopic patients following secondary immunization; indeed, IgG4 was the major subclass in the secondary response in the patient group. In the controls, but not in the patients, titres of IgG4 anti‐KLH correlated with total serum levels of IgG4, and some of the highest IgG4 antibody responses were detected in atopic patients whose serum IgG4 concentration was in the normal range. The results suggest that raised serum levels of IgG4 in atopy may reflect abnormal isotype regulation in response to protein antigens.
Sexual Selection and the Male:Female Mortality Ratio

This paper extends the evolutionary understanding of sex differences in mortality rates by quantifying and graphically examining the overall Male to Female Mortality Ratio (M:F MR) for 11 specific leading causes of death across age groups in the USA, over the course of the lifespan in 20 different countries, and across the past 70 years in 5 countries. The resulting quantitative descriptions of rates, trends, and the relative contributions of various proximate causes of death to the M:F MR provide an initial exploration of the risks associated with being male. This analysis also illustrates how sex differences shaped by sexual selection interact in complex ways with multiple aspects of culture and environment to yield a pattern that has some consistency across decades and societies, but also has variations arising from differences among cohorts and cultures. The results confirmed our expectations of higher mortality rates for men than for women, especially in early adulthood, where three men died for every woman who died. For external causes the ratios were even higher. Historical mortality data reflect an epidemiological transition in which discrepancies between male and female mortality rates increase as general mortality rates fall. Cross-national variation in the modern M:F MR further suggests a universal pattern that is influenced by cultural and environmental context. Being male is now the single largest demographic risk factor for early mortality in developed countries.
Description of the protocol for the PRACTICAL study: a randomised controlled trial of the efficacy and safety of ICS/LABA reliever therapy in asthma

Introduction In adult asthma, combination inhaled corticosteroid (ICS)/fast-onset long-acting beta agonist (LABA) used solely as reliever therapy may represent an effective and safe alternative to ICS maintenance and short-acting beta agonist (SABA) reliever therapy. Objective To compare the efficacy and safety of ICS/fast-onset LABA reliever therapy with ICS maintenance and SABA reliever therapy in adults with asthma. Methods and analysis A 52-week, open-label, parallel group, multicentre, phase III randomised controlled trial with 1:1 randomisation to either budesonide/formoterol Turbuhaler 200/6 µg, one actuation as required for symptom relief, or budesonide Turbuhaler 200 µg, one actuation twice daily and terbutaline Turbuhaler 250 µg, two actuations as required for symptom relief. 890 adults aged 18–75 years with asthma for whom maintenance ICS and SABA reliever therapy is indicated by current guidelines will be recruited in New Zealand. The primary outcome variable is the rate of severe exacerbations per patient per year. This study will investigate a novel treatment regimen that might lead to a paradigm shift in asthma management for adults for whom guidelines currently recommend maintenance ICS and SABA reliever therapy. Ethics and dissemination Ethical approval has been granted (15/NTB/178). Study findings will be published according to Iinternational Committee of Medical Journal Editors' recommendations. Trial registration number ACTRN12616000377437; Pre-results.
Kindergarten Curriculum for Children with Hearing Impairments: Jordanian Teachers' Perspectives

This study describes a kindergarten curriculum for children with hearing impairments, from their teachers' perspectives. Qualitative research data from interviews with 20 teachers were analysed using content analysis methodology. The results pinpoint a collection of proposed curriculum components (i.e. a general framework and outcomes document; textbooks for children, including on sign language; textbooks for teachers; and attached learning resources). Additionally, the results outline a set of characteristics of, and specifications for, a curriculum for children with hearing impairments related to content and formatting. For a curriculum for children with HIs, this study found that teachers did not rely on a single textbook but rather suggested a suite of resources. Participants also indicated the importance of improving a special outcomes document for children with HIs. Furthermore, the results pinpointed a set of characteristics related to content and formatting for a specialized curriculum. These characteristics are mainly: using functional subjects and skills, arranging letters by simplicity, exploiting students' strengths by using methods such as visual stimuli, and using technology. The data support the importance of developing targeted curricula that include specialized domains, such as auditory training, breathing practices, speech training, sign language, and finger-spelling.
Childhood adversity, adult stressful life events, and risk of past-year psychiatric disorder: a test of the stress sensitization hypothesis in a population-based sample of adults

Background Childhood adversity (CA) is associated with adult mental disorders, but the mechanisms underlying this association remain inadequately understood. Stress sensitization, whereby CA increases vulnerability to mental disorders following adult stressful life events, has been proposed as a potential mechanism. We provide a test of the stress sensitization hypothesis in a national sample. Method We investigated whether the association between past-year stressful life events and the 12-month prevalence of major depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), other anxiety disorders, and perceived stress varies according to exposure to CA. We used data from the National Epidemiological Survey of Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) (n=34 653). Results Past-year stressful life events were associated with an increased risk of major depression, PTSD, anxiety disorders, and perceived stress. However, the magnitude of the increased risk varied according to respondents' history of CA. For example, past-year major stressors were associated with a 27.3% increase in the 12-month risk of depression among individuals with ⩾3 CAs and a 14.8% increased risk among individuals without CAs. Stress sensitization effects were present for depression, PTSD, and other anxiety disorders in women and men, although gender differences were found in the threshold of past-year stress needed to trigger such effects. Stress sensitization was most evident among individuals with ⩾3 CAs. Conclusions CA is associated with increased vulnerability to the deleterious mental health effects of adult stressors in both men and women. High levels of CA may represent a general diathesis for multiple types of psychopathology that persists throughout the life course.
An α-Helical Signal in the Cytosolic Domain of the Interleukin 2 Receptor β Chain Mediates Sorting Towards Degradation after Endocytosis

High-affinity IL2 receptors consist of three components, the α, β, and γ chains that are associated in a noncovalent manner. Both the β and γ chains belong to the cytokine receptor superfamily. Interleukin 2 (IL2) binds to high-affinity receptors on the cell surface and IL2-receptor complexes are internalized. After endocytosis, the components of this multimolecular receptor have different intracellular fates: one of the chains, α, recycles to the plasma membrane, while the others, β and γ, are routed towards late endocytic compartments and are degraded. We show here that the cytosolic domain of the β chain contains a 10–amino acid sequence which codes for a sorting signal. When transferred to a normally recycling receptor, this sequence diverts it from recycling. The structure of a 17–amino acid segment of the β chain including this sequence has been studied by nuclear magnetic resonance and circular dichroism spectroscopy, which revealed that the 10 amino acids corresponding to the sorting signal form an amphipathic α helix. This work thus describes a novel, highly structured signal, which is sufficient for sorting towards degradation compartments after endocytosis.
Towards a trust aware cognitive radio architecture

Cognitive radio (CR) is a promising concept for improving the utilization of scarce radio spectrum resources. A reliable strategy for the detection of unused spectrum bands is essential to the design and practical implementation of CR systems. It is widely accepted that in a real-world environment, cooperative spectrum sensing involving many secondary users scattered in a wide geographical area can greatly improve sensing accuracy. However, some secondary users may misbehave, i.e. provide false sensing information, in an attempt to maximize their own utility gains. Such selfish behaviour, if unchecked, can severely impact the operation of the CR system. In this paper, we propose a novel trustaware hybrid spectrum sensing scheme which can detect misbehaving secondary users and filter out their reported spectrum sensing results from the decision making process. The robustness and efficiency of the proposed scheme are verified through extensive computer simulations.
Hepatitis B virus DNA in leukocytes of patients with hepatitis B virus‐associated liver diseases

In order to determine the relationship between hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection of human white blood cells and different forms of HBV‐associated liver diseases, we tested for HBV DNA in the sera and leukocytes of 11 healthy individuals without any serological markers of HBV infection and 91 patients with HBV infection and other gastrointestinal and urinary diseases by dot and Southern blot hybridization. HBV DNA was found in leukocytes of chronic HBV carriers, in acute and chronic hepatitis, and in patients with liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Between 27 and 50% of individuals in different categories of patients examined were positive for leukocyte HBV DNA. HBV DNA was also detected in the sera of some of these patients but was absent in others. Serum HBV DNA‐positive rates seemed to be highest in hepatitis B e antigen‐positive asymptomatic carriers (8/10, 80%), and tended to drop to lower levels as the disease progressed to liver cirrhosis (0/8) while leukocyte HBV DNA‐positive rates were highest in patients with cirrhosis (4/8, 50%). The results also show that in individuals who were serologically negative for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and positive for antibodies to HBsAg and/or HBcAg, HBV DNA was absent in most of the sera (27/28, 96%) but it was present in leukocytes of some of these patients (7/28, 25%). In control experiments with 11 healthy individuals, HBV DNA was not detected in either sera or leukocytes. In all the cases with leukocyte HBV DNA, the HBV DNA molecules were present in free forms with discrete sizes. The exceptions were a case of liver cirrhosis and a case of chronic hepatitis with possible HBV sequence integration into high molecular weight cellular DNA. Since HBV does infect human leukocytes, it may perhaps interfere with the immunological functions of the white blood cells, and thus play an important role in the pathogenesis of HBV‐induced liver disease.
Identification of Promoters for Efficient Gene Expression in Magnetospirillum gryphiswaldense

ABSTRACT To develop an expression system for the magnetotactic bacterium Magnetospirillum gryphiswaldense, we compared gene expression from the widely used Escherichia coli Plac promoter with that from known and predicted genuine M. gryphiswaldense promoters. With the use of green fluorescent protein as a reporter, the highest expression level was observed with the magnetosomal PmamDC promoter. We demonstrate that this promoter can be used for the expression of modified magnetosome proteins to generate “antibody-binding” magnetosomes.
Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in the Nalut District, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya: A Clinico-epidemiologic Study and Leishmania Species Identification

Abstract: Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL), an endemic disease in the littoral zones of the Mediterranean area, the Middle East, East Africa, and especially in Libya, has not been fully documented. The present study clarifies the clinico-epidemiologic profile of CL and the molecular genotyping of the Leishmania spp. in the Nalut district, Libya. Two hundred and twenty-three CL patients were examined at the out-patient clinics of Nalut Hospital from March 2006 to February 2007. CL was diagnosed by clinical, microscopic, culture, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analyses. The disease was observed year-round, with the highest prevalence between November and February. Fifty-nine percent of patients were younger than 20 yr. Nodulo-ulcerative lesions, indurated ulcers, papulo-ulcerative lesions, and subcutaneous nodular lesions were observed in 170, 25, 15, and 13 patients, respectively. Two hundred patients (89.7%) had dry type of lesions, whereas 23 patients (10.3%) presented a wet type of lesion. One hundred and fifty-nine (71.3%) of 223 patients were confirmed positive for CL by the presence of the amastigote form of Leishmania by stained Giemsa smear, and 170 (76.2%) were positive according to the presence of the promastigote form of Leishmania by culture in RPMI 1640 medium supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS). PCR confirmed 203 (91.0%) positive cases. Genotyping of Leishmania spp. by RFLP analysis revealed that L. tropica was the most common species at all ages, and L. infantum was second under 20 yr of age. In summary, CL is endemic in the Nalut district, Libya; PCR was the most sensitive parasite diagnostic test, and L. tropica was the most common species.