Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Infectious disease transmission as a forensic problem: who infected whom?

Observations on infectious diseases often consist of a sample of cases, distinguished by symptoms, and other characteristics, such as onset dates, spatial locations, genetic sequence of the pathogen and/or physiological and clinical data. Cases are often clustered, in space and time, suggesting that they are connected. By defining kernel functions for pairwise analysis of cases, a matrix of transmission probabilities can be estimated. We set up a Bayesian framework to integrate various sources of information to estimate the transmission network. The method is illustrated by analysing data from a multi-year study (2002–2007) of nosocomial outbreaks of norovirus in a large university hospital in the Netherlands. The study included 264 cases, the norovirus genotype was known in approximately 60 per cent of the patients. Combining all the available data allowed likely identification of individual transmission links between most of the cases (72%). This illustrates that the proposed method can be used to accurately reconstruct transmission networks, enhancing our understanding of outbreak dynamics and possibly leading to new insights into how to prevent outbreaks.
Farnesyltransferase Inhibitor BMS-214662 Induces Apoptosis in Myeloma Cells through PUMA Up-Regulation, Bax and Bak Activation, and Mcl-1 Elimination

We have studied the mechanism of apoptosis elicited by the farnesyltransferase inhibitor (R)-7-cyano-2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-1-(1H-imidazol-4-ylmethyl)-3-(phenylmethyl)-4-(2-thienylsulfonyl)-1H-1,4-benzodiazepine (BMS-214662) in human myeloma cell lines. Low concentrations of BMS-214662 efficiently inhibited protein farnesylation but did not affect the activation of Akt. BMS-214662 treatment increased levels of the BH3-only protein PUMA; induced proapoptotic conformational changes of Bax and Bak; reduced Mcl-1 levels; caused mitochondrial transmembrane potential loss; induced cytochrome c release, caspase activation, apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF) nuclear translocation, and phosphatidylserine exposure; and allowed the development of apoptotic morphology. Western blot analysis of cell extracts revealed the activation of caspases 2, 3, 8, and 9 upon treatment with BMS-214662. The general caspase inhibitor Z-VAD-fmk significantly prevented BMS-214662–induced death in U266 and RPMI 8226 cells but not in NCI-H929 cells. A mixture of selective caspase inhibitors for caspases 9 [N-benzyloxycarbonyl-Leu-Glu-His-Asp-fluoromethyl ketone (Z-LEHD-fmk)], 3 (Z-DEVD-fmk), and 6 (Z-VEID-fmk) approached the protective effect of Z-VAD upon cell death. However, Z-VAD-fmk did not prevent BMS-214662–induced Bax and Bak activation and decrease of Mcl-1 levels. According to its effect on cell death, Z-VAD-fmk inhibited nuclear translocation of AIF in RPMI 8226 and U266 but not in NCI-H929 cells. These results suggest that apoptosis triggered by BMS-214662 is initiated by a PUMA/Bax/Bak/Mcl-1–dependent mechanism. In some cell lines, Bax/Bak activation is not sufficient per se to induce mitochondrial failure and release of apoptogenic proteins, and so caspases need to be activated to facilitate apoptosis. After ΔΨm loss, execution of apoptosis was performed in all cases by a cytochrome c-enabled, caspase-9–triggered, caspase cascade and the nuclear action of AIF.
An Innovative Nonintrusive Driver Assistance System for Vital Signal Monitoring

This paper describes an in-vehicle nonintrusive biopotential measurement system for driver health monitoring and fatigue detection. Previous research has found that the physiological signals including eye features, electrocardiography (ECG), electroencephalography (EEG) and their secondary parameters such as heart rate and HR variability are good indicators of health state as well as driver fatigue. A conventional biopotential measurement system requires the electrodes to be in contact with human body. This not only interferes with the driver operation, but also is not feasible for long-term monitoring purpose. The driver assistance system in this paper can remotely detect the biopotential signals with no physical contact with human skin. With delicate sensor and electronic design, ECG, EEG, and eye blinking can be measured. Experiments were conducted on a high fidelity driving simulator to validate the system performance. The system was found to be able to detect the ECG/EEG signals through cloth or hair with no contact with skin. Eye blinking activities can also be detected at a distance of 10 cm. Digital signal processing algorithms were developed to decimate the signal noise and extract the physiological features. The extracted features from the vital signals were further analyzed to assess the potential criterion for alertness and drowsiness determination.
Cannabis use in male and female first episode of non-affective psychosis patients: Long-term clinical, neuropsychological and functional differences

Background Numerous studies show the existence of a high prevalence of cannabis use among patients with psychosis. However, the differences between men and women who debut with a first episode of psychosis (FEP) regarding cannabis use have not been largely explored. The aim of this study was to identify the specific sex factors and differences in clinical evolution associated with cannabis use. Method Sociodemographic characteristics at baseline were considered in our sample of FEP patients to find differences depending on sex and the use of cannabis. Clinical, functional and neurocognitive variables at baseline, 1-year, and 3-years follow-up were also explored. Results A total of 549 patients, of whom 43% (N = 236) were cannabis users, 79% (N = 186) male and 21% (N = 50) female, were included in the study. There was a clear relationship between being male and being a user of cannabis (OR = 5.6). Cannabis users were younger at illness onset. Longitudinal analysis showed that women significantly improved in all three dimensions of psychotic symptoms, both in the subgroup of cannabis users and in the non-users subgroup. Conversely, subgroups of men did not show improvement in the negative dimension. In cognitive function, only men presented a significant time by group interaction in processing speed, showing a greater improvement in the subgroup of cannabis users. Conclusion Despite knowing that there is a relationship between cannabis use and psychosis, due to the high prevalence of cannabis use among male FEP patients, the results showed that there were very few differences in clinical and neurocognitive outcomes between men and women who used cannabis at the start of treatment compared to those who did not.
Evaluation of Barriers of Corporate Social Responsibility Using an Analytical Hierarchy Process under a Fuzzy Environment—A Textile Case

The ventilating crisis of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) issues in the textiles industry resulted in the engagement of many researchers in the analysis of CSR and its related factors throughout the globe. Some researchers in developed nations extend their policies beyond the boundary of CSR in the textiles industry, but some developing contexts are still limited to this boundary, including India, due to facts that have not yet been revealed. Hence, to fill this gap, this study reveals the factors that are resisting the implementation of CSR in the textiles industry with the assistance of a proposed model, and this model is validated with a case industry situated in southern India. Common barriers are collected through various reliable means, and among those common barriers, the essential barrier was identified with the assistance of the case industrial manager through an Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) under a fuzzy environment. The results show that financial constraints comprise the main barrier to the implementation of CSR in the Indian textiles industry, which is then further validated with feedback from case industry managers. This study offers both societal and scientific insights, identifies limitations, and provides an approach that may be extended in the future once additional factors are implemented.
Similar and dissimilar RSW of low carbon and austenitic stainless steels: effect of weld microstructure and hardness profile on failure mode

Abstract In this paper, the failure behaviour of similar and dissimilar resistance spot welded joints of low carbon and austenitic stainless steel sheets was studied under tensile shear test with attention focused on the failure mode. Results showed that the microstructure of the fusion zone and the hardness distribution across the weld have a profound effect on the failure behaviour. Similar spot welds of stainless steel sheets exhibit the highest tendency to fail in interfacial failure mode, compared to low carbon steel similar spot welds and dissimilar low carbon and stainless steel spot welds. This behaviour is explained by the consideration of pullout failure location and hardness profile characteristics of each joint. It was shown that the failure mode transition is controlled by the hardness ratio of the fusion zone and the pullout failure location. In the case of dissimilar resistance spot welding, the hardness of the fusion zone which is governed by the dilution between two base metals, and the fusion zone size of the low carbon steel side are the dominant factors determining the failure mode of the joint.
Big data challenges for the social sciences: from society and opinion to replications

Big Data dealing with the social produce predictive correlations for the benefit of brands and web platforms. Beyond "society" and "opinion" for which the text lays out a genealogy, appear the "traces" that must be theorized as "replications" by the social sciences in order to reap the benefits of the uncertain status of entities' widespread traceability. High frequency replications as a collective phenomenon did exist before the digital networks emergence but now they leave traces that can be computed. The third generation of Social Sciences currently emerging must assume the specific nature of the world of data created by digital networks, without reducing them to the categories of the sciences of "society" or "opinion". Examples from recent works on Twitter and other digital corpora show how the search for structural effects or market-style trade-offs are prevalent even though insights about propagation, virality and memetics could help build a new theoretical framework.
Effect of psychosocial intervention on quality of life and disability grading of mentally disabled adolescents

Mental disability especially at early stage is amenable to intervention measures. Objective of the study was to assess the effect of psychosocial intervention on Quality of life and Disabil-ity grading of mentally disabled adolescents. The study was conducted at 2 special schools namely St. Agnes special school and Sannidhya special school in Mangalore among 103 stu-dents between the age group of 12 to 18 years. The psychosocial intervention was conducted in 8 sessions over a period of 4 months. A pretest and post test was conducted in the 1st ses-sion and the 8th session (after the intervention) using Indian Disability Evaluation Assess-ment Scale (IDEAS) and WHO QOL BREF. Data were analyzed using Percentages, Fried-man test and Paired t test. The study has shown significant decrease in the disability level of self care, interpersonal activity, communication and understanding, work and increase in the quality of life after the intervention compared to baseline. The mean score of all do-mains- physical, psychological, social and environmental have shown a significant difference (P<0.001). But the mean difference was more in the psychological and social domains when compared to the physical and environmental domains. This could be due to the emphasis of the intervention being more on the skills related to psychological and social aspects of eve-ryday life. Psychosocial intervention brings about a decrease in the disability level and in-crease in the quality of life of mentally disabled adolescents.
Spectrophotometric analysis of cytochromes in Morris hepatomas.

The contents of mitochondrial and microsomal cytochromes in slowly growing Morris hepatomas have been determined spectrophotometrically and compared with those in the livers of the host, normal adult, and embryo and in regenerating livers. As compared to the normal adult livers, the hepatomas are characterized by ( a ) the low content of cytochromes a + a 3, b , and c 1 and nearly equal levels of cytochrome c in mitochondria, giving a low a + a 3/ c ratio, and ( b ) low contents of cytochromes b 5 and P-450 in microsomes. Analysis in whole homogenates of hepatomas showed more pronounced decrease of the amount of cytochrome a + a 3, presumably due to the decrease of the number of mitochondria in hepatoma cells. The livers of the tumor-bearing rats are also characterized by the similar, although less significant, cytochrome pattern observed in tumors. A low a + a 3/ c ratio was also observed in embryonic livers, whereas regenerating liver showed no significant difference in the content of cytochromes as compared to that of the normal adult liver.
Bilateral stenosis of renal arteries and hypertension; treatment by arterial homografts.

• Severe hypertension occurred in three young patients (ages 14, 15, and 25 years), apparently as a sequel to bilateral stenosis of the renal arteries. In two the stenosis was orificial and due to fibrous intimal proliferation; in the other, the oldest patient, it was associated with severe calcific atherosclerosis of the renal artery and aorta. The fatal course of the condition in two of the patients clearly demonstrated the need for correction of the renal arterial circulatory impairment. This experience led to recognition of the condition in the third patient and to relief of the hypertension by what is believed to be the first successful arterial homografting of both renal arteries. This condition may represent a hitherto unrecognized syndrome of hypertension in adolescence and may result from a developmental defect in the formation of the renal arteries.
Deprivation as an outcome determinant in emergency medical admissions.

BACKGROUND Deprivation in the general population predicts mortality. We have investigated its relevance to an acute medical admission, using a database of all emergency admissions to St James' Hospital, Dublin, over a 10-year period (2002-11). METHODS All emergency admissions, based on geocoding of residence, were allocated to a Small Area Health Research Unit division, with a corresponding deprivation index. We then examined this index as a univariate (unadjusted) and independent (adjusted) predictor of 30-day in-hospital mortality. RESULTS The 30-day in-hospital mortality, over the 10-year period, was higher for those in the upper half of the deprivation distribution (9.6 vs. 8.6%; P = 0.002). Indeed, there was a stepwise increase in 30-day mortality over the quintiles of deprivation from 7.3% (Quintile 1) to 8.8, 10.0, 10.0 and 9.3%, respectively. Univariate logistic regression of the deprivation indices (quintiles) against outcome showed an increased risk (P = 0.002) of a 30-day death with odds ratios (ORs), respectively (compared with lowest deprivation quintile) of 1.39 [95% confidence intervals (CI) 1.21, 1.58], 1.47 (95% CI 1.29, 1.68), 1.44 (95% CI 1.26, 1.64) and 1.39 (95% CI 1.22, 1.59). The deprivation index was an independent predictor of outcome in a model when adjusted for illness severity and co-morbidity. The fully adjusted OR for a 30-day death was increased by 31% (P = 0.001) for patients in the upper half of the deprivation index distribution (OR 1.35; 95% CI 1.23, 1.48; P < 0.001). CONCLUSION Deprivation, independent of co-morbidity or acute illness severity, is an independent predictor of 30-day mortality in acute medical admissions.
Disparities in the Quality of Cardiovascular Care Between HIV‐Infected Versus HIV‐Uninfected Adults in the United States: A Cross‐Sectional Study

Background Cardiovascular disease is emerging as a major cause of morbidity and mortality among patients with HIV. We compared use of national guideline‐recommended cardiovascular care during office visits among HIV‐infected versus HIV‐uninfected adults. Methods and Results We analyzed data from a nationally representative sample of HIV‐infected and HIV‐uninfected patients aged 40 to 79 years in the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey/National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, 2006 to 2013. The outcome was provision of guideline‐recommended cardiovascular care. Logistic regressions with propensity score weighting adjusted for clinical and demographic factors. We identified 1631 visits by HIV‐infected patients and 226 862 visits by HIV‐uninfected patients with cardiovascular risk factors, representing ≈2.2 million and 602 million visits per year in the United States, respectively. The proportion of visits by HIV‐infected versus HIV‐uninfected adults with aspirin/antiplatelet therapy when patients met guideline‐recommended criteria for primary prevention or had cardiovascular disease was 5.1% versus 13.8% (P=0.03); the proportion of visits with statin therapy when patients had diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, or dyslipidemia was 23.6% versus 35.8% (P<0.01). There were no differences in antihypertensive medication therapy (53.4% versus 58.6%), diet/exercise counseling (14.9% versus 16.9%), or smoking cessation advice/pharmacotherapy (18.8% versus 22.4%) between HIV‐infected versus HIV‐uninfected patients, respectively. Conclusions Physicians generally underused guideline‐recommended cardiovascular care and were less likely to prescribe aspirin and statins to HIV‐infected patients at increased risk—findings that may partially explain higher rates of adverse cardiovascular events among patients with HIV. US policymakers and professional societies should focus on improving the quality of cardiovascular care that HIV‐infected patients receive.
Depressed Fatty Acid and Acetate Oxidation and Other Metabolic Defects in Homogenates from Hearts of Hamsters with Hereditary Cardiomyopathy

Metabolic changes in heart homogenate of Syrian hamsters with hereditary cardiomyopathy (BIO 14.6 strain) were examined. Oxidation of labeled fatty acids and acetate by myopathic homogenates was severely depressed; CO2 production from labeled acetate was only one-fifteenth of the control value, and butyrate oxidation was suppressed to one-fourth of the control value. Although the addition of carnitine enhanced the oxidation of palmitate and octanoate by homogenates from both healthy and cardiomyopathic hamsters, the magnitude of the depression of oxidation (60–80%) in the myopathic homogenates was not influenced by carnitine. No change occurred in the rate of formation of palmitoyl-CoA from palmitoyl-l-carnitine or in the activity of acyl-CoA synthetases; similarly, the one-step oxidation of [1-14C]pyruvate, [1-14C]α-ketoglutarate, and succinate was unimpaired in cardiomyopathy, and the oxidation of [2-14C]pyruvate and [U-14C]α-ketoglutarate was maintained at a relatively high level (63–71% of control). In contrast, oxidation of [1, 4-14C]- and [2, 3-14C]succinate and [1-14C]acetyl-CoA by the myopathic homogenates was depressed to only 40% of the control values. The mechanism responsible for these defects in substrate oxidation by tissue homogenates from cardiomyopathic hearts has not been elucidated; however, significant increases in the activities of two of five hydrolytic enzymes indicate the possible involvement of lysosomes. Ventricular RNA and DNA, the ratio of RNA to DNA and the ratio of heart weight to body weight were all significantly increased, but myocardial water and triglyceride content and esterification of [1-14C]palmitate into neutral lipids showed no significant change.
An implementation of narrowing strategies

This paper describes an implementation of narrowing, an essential component of implementations of modern functional logic languages. These implementations rely on narrowing, in particular on some optimal narrowing strategies, to execute functional logic programs. We translate functional logic programs into imperative (Java) programs without an intermediate abstract machine. A central idea of our approach is the explicit representation and processing of narrowing computations as data objects. This enables the implementation of operationally complete strategies (i.e., without backtracking) or techniques for search control (e.g., encapsulated search). Thanks to the use of an intermediate and portable represen tation of programs, our implementation is general enough to be used as a common back end for a wide variety of functional logic languages.
Hemispheric Differences within the Fronto-Parietal Network Dynamics Underlying Spatial Imagery

Spatial imagery refers to the inspection and evaluation of spatial features (e.g., distance, relative position, configuration) and/or the spatial manipulation (e.g., rotation, shifting, reorienting) of mentally generated visual images. In the past few decades, psychophysical as well as functional brain imaging studies have indicated that any such processing of spatially coded information and/or manipulation based on mental images (i) is subject to similar behavioral demands and limitations as in the case of spatial processing based on real visual images, and (ii) consistently activates several nodes of widely distributed cortical networks in the brain. These nodes include areas within both, the dorsal fronto-parietal as well as ventral occipito-temporal visual processing pathway, representing the “what” versus “where” aspects of spatial imagery. We here describe evidence from functional brain imaging and brain interference studies indicating systematic hemispheric differences within the dorsal fronto-parietal networks during the execution of spatial imagery. Importantly, such hemispheric differences and functional lateralization principles are also found in the effective brain network connectivity within and across these networks, with a direction of information flow from anterior frontal/premotor regions to posterior parietal cortices. In an attempt to integrate these findings of hemispheric lateralization and fronto-to-parietal interactions, we argue that spatial imagery constitutes a multifaceted cognitive construct that can be segregated in several distinct mental sub processes, each associated with activity within specific lateralized fronto-parietal (sub) networks, forming the basis of the here proposed dynamic network model of spatial imagery.
Modulatory Role of Drebrin on the Cytoskeleton within Dendritic Spines in the Rat Cerebral Cortex

Morphological changes in the dendritic spines have been postulated to participate in the expression of synaptic plasticity. The cytoskeleton is likely to play a key role in regulating spine structure. Here we examine the molecular mechanisms responsible for the changes in spine morphology, focusing on drebrin, an actin-binding protein that is known to change the properties of actin filaments. We found that adult-type drebrin is localized in the dendritic spines of rat forebrain neurons, where it binds to the cytoskeleton. To identify the cytoskeletal proteins that associated with drebrin, we isolated drebrin-containing cytoskeletons using immunoprecipitation with a drebrin antibody. Drebrin, actin, myosin, and gelsolin were co-precipitated. We next examined the effect of drebrin on actomyosin interaction. In vitro, drebrin reduced the sliding velocity of actin filaments on immobilized myosin and inhibited the actin-activated ATPase activity of myosin. These results suggest that drebrin may modulate the actomyosin interaction within spines and may play a role in the structure-based plasticity of synapses.