Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Structural and Antigenic Definition of Hepatitis C Virus E2 Glycoprotein Epitopes Targeted by Monoclonal Antibodies

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the major cause of chronic liver disease as well as the major indication for liver transplantation worldwide. Current standard of care is not completely effective, not administrable in grafted patients, and burdened by several side effects. This incomplete effectiveness is mainly due to the high propensity of the virus to continually mutate under the selective pressure exerted by the host immune response as well as currently administered antiviral drugs. The E2 envelope surface glycoprotein of HCV (HCV/E2) is the main target of the host humoral immune response and for this reason one of the major variable viral proteins. However, broadly cross-neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) directed against HCV/E2 represent a promising tool for the study of virus-host interplay as well as for the development of effective prophylactic and therapeutic approaches. In the last few years many anti-HCV/E2 mAbs have been evaluated in preclinical and clinical trials as possible candidate antivirals, particularly for administration in pre- and post-transplant settings. In this review we summarize the antigenic and structural characteristics of HCV/E2 determined through the use of anti-HCV/E2 mAbs, which, given the absence of a crystal structure of this glycoprotein, represent currently the best tool available.
Counter-Intentional Errors of Basketball Free Throw Shooting Under Elevated Pressure: An Educational Approach of Task Instruction

The aim of this experimental study was to test Wegner’s (1994) theory of ironic processes in a basketball free throw task under pressure. More specifically, Wegner (1994) predicts that when instructed not to perform in a certain manner performers’ performance will break down where it is least desired way which is the main hypothesis of the current study. More specifically, it was hypothesized that when basketball players were instructed “not to throw the ball’’ into the certain zone on the backboard would decrease their performance in ironic fashion especially under manipulated high-anxiety condition. The sample of the present study comprised 37 male (Mage=22.30, SD=2.89) experienced university basketball players. Participants’ anxiety was measured using MRF-3 (Krane, 1994). In a basketball free-throw task; the numbers of targets, non-target non-ironic balls and ironic error balls were counted and overall performance was also calculated in order to measure participants’ performance. Based on the scoring system, participants gained +5 points for throwing into the target, scored -5 points making an ironic error and 0 points for throwing the ball to anywhere (except the target and non-target ironic error zone) on the backboard. Results revealed that when instructed not to throw in a certain zone, performers’ overall performance changed in ironic fashion across anxiety conditions. Findings suggest that understanding the mechanism of ironic processes of mental control theory may be a useful theoretical framework for examining the relationship between anxiety and performance in sport, physical education and motor control studies.
Episodic Memory in Detoxified Alcoholics: Contribution of Grey Matter Microstructure Alteration

Even though uncomplicated alcoholics may likely have episodic memory deficits, discrepancies exist regarding to the integrity of brain regions that underlie this function in healthy subjects. Possible relationships between episodic memory and 1) brain microstructure assessed by magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), 2) brain volumes assessed by voxel-based morphometry (VBM) were investigated in uncomplicated, detoxified alcoholics. Diffusion and morphometric analyses were performed in 24 alcohol dependent men without neurological or somatic complications and in 24 healthy men. The mean apparent coefficient of diffusion (ADC) and grey matter volumes were measured in the whole brain. Episodic memory performance was assessed using a French version of the Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test (FCSRT). Correlation analyses between verbal episodic memory, brain microstructure, and brain volumes were carried out using SPM2 software. In those with alcohol dependence, higher ADC was detected mainly in frontal, temporal and parahippocampal regions, and in the cerebellum. In alcoholics, regions with higher ADC typically also had lower grey matter volume. Low verbal episodic memory performance in alcoholism was associated with higher mean ADC in parahippocampal areas, in frontal cortex and in the left temporal cortex; no correlation was found between regional volumes and episodic memory scores. Regression analyses for the control group were not significant. These findings support the hypothesis that regional microstructural but no macrostructural alteration of the brain might be responsible, at least in part, for episodic memory deficits in alcohol dependence.
Does Mass Deworming Affect Child Nutrition? Meta-Analysis, Cost-Effectiveness, and Statistical Power

The WHO has recently debated whether to reaffirm its long-standing recommendation of mass drug administration (MDA) in areas with more than 20 percent prevalence of soil-transmitted helminths (hookworm, whipworm, and roundworm). There is consensus that the relevant deworming drugs are safe and effective, so the key question facing policymakers is whether the expected benefits of MDA exceed the roughly $0.30 per treatment cost. The literature on long run educational and economic impacts of deworming suggests that this is the case. However, a recent meta-analysis by Taylor-Robinson et al. (2015), (hereafter TMSDG), disputes these findings. The authors conclude that while treatment of children known to be infected increases weight by 0.75 kg (95 percent CI: 0.24, 1.26; p=0.0038), there is substantial evidence that MDA has no impact on weight or other child outcomes. This paper updates the TMSDG analysis by including studies omitted from that analysis and extracting additional data from included studies, and finds that the TMSDG analysis is underpowered: Power is inadequate to rule out weight gain effects that would make MDA cost effective relative to comparable interventions in similar populations, and underpowered to reject the hypothesis that the effect of MDA is different from the effect that might expected, given deworming's effects on those known to be infected. The hypothesis of a common zero effect of multiple-dose MDA deworming on child weight at longest follow-up is rejected at the 10 percent level using the TMSDG dataset, and with a p value < 0.001 using the updated sample. In the full sample, including studies in settings where prevalence is low enough that the WHO does not recommend deworming, the average effect on child weight is 0.134 kg (95 percent CI: 0.031, 0.236, random effects). In environments with greater than 20 percent prevalence, where the WHO recommends mass treatment, the average effect on child weight is 0.148 kg (95 percent CI: 0.039, 0.258). The implied average effect of MDA on infected children in the full sample is 0.301 kg. At 0.22 kg per U.S. dollar, the estimated average weight gain per dollar is more than 35 times that from school feeding programs as estimated in RCTs. Under-powered meta-analyses are common in health research, and this methodological issue will be increasingly important as growing numbers of economists and other social scientists conduct meta-analysis.
Massive Pleural Fluid Collection in Adult Nigerians

Background. There are no available literatures on massive pleural effusions (MPE) in our country. Aim. To determine the aetiology of MPE and compare the mortality rate between malignant and nonmalignant MPE in adult Nigerians. Methods. A prospective study of all the patients diagnosed with nontraumatic pleural fluid collections for one year in two tertiary federal hospitals in Southern Nigeria. A total of 101 consecutive patients with pleural fluid collections were studied. Diagnoses were made by clinical features and laboratory and radiological investigations. Results. Forty-eight patients (47.5%) had MPE with a mean age of 43 years ± 14.04 and 35 were females. Thirty patients (62.5%) were diagnosed with nonmalignant conditions (21 from pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) and 9 from other causes). Haemorrhagic pleural collections were from malignancy in 12 (30.8%) and from PTB in 6 (15.4%). Straw-coloured collections were from malignancy in 9 (23.1%), from PTB in 8 (20.1%), and from posttraumatic exudative effusion in 3 (7.7%). Compared with nonmalignant MPE, patients with malignant collections had higher mortality within 6 months (8/18 versus 0/30 with a P value of 0.000). Conclusion. The presentation of patients with nontraumatic haemorrhagic or straw-coloured MPE narrows the diagnosis to PTB and malignancy with MPE cases being a marker for short survival rate.
Transgender Students in Elementary Schools: How Supportive Principals Lead

Purpose: Increased awareness and acceptance of transgender people in the United States is reflected in our nation’s schools. Unfortunately, educational leaders do not typically receive training related to transgender youth and educators express fear about working with transgender students. The purpose of this study is to examine the experiences of school leaders whom parents characterize as supporting their transgender children. Method: Qualitative interviews were conducted with supportive principals from 20 elementary schools across six states. Findings: The findings indicate that supportive principals (a) employed a child-centered approach to decision making, (b) leveraged learning and knowledge to create a positive elementary school experience for transgender children, and (c) characterized their experience as professionally and personally beneficial. Implications: These findings indicate that, in the context of a supportive principal, both the school community and the transgender student can have positive experiences. At the same time, the findings demonstrate that disrupting binary gender norms and shifting the larger school culture to be more gender inclusive is a formidable task. Results from this study may be helpful to elementary principals who hope to create accepting school environments for transgender students or for preparation programs that want to develop supportive principals.
Structurally-redesigned concentric-tube manipulators with improved stability

Concentric-tube manipulators could experience a snapping-through motion that negatively impacts their smooth operation. This may limit their adoption in the operating room, despite their advantage of enabling dexterity within a highly confined space. In this paper, we demonstrate through the kinematics of concentric-tube robots, how this adverse effect of torsion could be reduced or potentially eliminated. As proof of principle, we demonstrate experimentally and numerically that by adopting tubular composite structures, such as multi-layer helical tubes or cellular tubes, that could be designed to exhibit higher torsional-to-bending stiffness ratio, the stability margin of concentric-tube robots can be improved up to 40%. This will allow concentric-tube robots to achieve even a higher dexterity within a more confined space.
Relationship Between Blood Mercury Concentration and Waist-to-Hip Ratio in Elderly Korean Individuals Living in Coastal Areas

Objectives This study investigated the relationship between the blood mercury concentration and cardiovascular risk factors in elderly Korean individuals living in coastal areas. Methods The sample consisted of 477 adults (164 males, 313 females) aged 40 to 65 years who visited a Busan health promotion center from June to September in 2009. The relationship between blood mercury concentration and cardiovascular risk factors including metabolic syndrome, cholesterol profiles, blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), was investigated. Variables related to blood mercury concentration were further evaluated using multiple regression analysis. Results The blood mercury concentration of the study population was 7.99 (range, 7.60 to 8.40) µg/L. In males, the blood mercury concentration was 9.74 (8.92 to 10.63) µg/L, which was significantly higher than that in females (7.21, [6.80 to 7.64] µg/L). The blood mercury concentration of the study population was related to several cardiovascular risk factors including low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (p=0.044), high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (p=0.034), BMI (p = 0.006), waist circumference (p = 0.031), and WHR (p < 0.001). In males, the blood mercury concentration was significantly correlated with WHR in the multiple regression analysis. Conclusions In males, the blood mercury concentration was related to waist-to-hip ratio, which is a central obesity index and cardiovascular risk factor. Our finding suggests that cardiovascular disease risk in males was increased by mercury exposure via an obesity-related mechanism.
Economic Crisis and Women's Employment in Urban Kenya

Traditionally, women have lagged behind men in terms of entering the labour force, and in many countries, their earnings lag behind male earnings. However, in recent years, many developed and developing economies have experienced transformations in their labour market structures due to trends such as globalisation and economic restructuring. Indeed, the labour market in Kenya has undergone several changes since the country’s independence in 1963. For instance, owing to a rapid expansion of its education system, the supply of educated labour has increased over time. Furthermore, since the 1970s, real wages have dropped steeply and the implementation of Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAP) in 1980s has been accompanied by changes in the structure of employment, incomes and poverty. The economy has performed poorly as evident from low GDP growth and declining real earnings and standard of living. Both unemployment and informal sector employment increased (informal sector employment increased from 20.0 per cent in 1988 to 79.1 per cent in 2007) while formal sector or modern wage employment declined (from 77.5 per cent in 1988 to 20.2 per cent in 2007).
Cascaded nonlinear phase shift in a novel anharmonic phase-mismatch configuration

We theoretically analyze a new class of aperiodic phase mismatch. The phase-matching function that is chosen depends on the calculated second-harmonic amplitude generated in the device during the propagation of the fundamental beam at given input intensity and wavelength. We show that, in such a configuration, the fields evolve toward the eigenmodes of a χ(2) two-wave mixing process. Hence a constant pump and an enhanced nonlinear phase shift that grows linearly with propagation length are obtained. We also discuss the feasibility of this scheme that provides an alternative approach for the realization of optical switching devices or Kerr-effect compensators.
Discrete reaction waves : Gasless combustion of solid powder mixtures

This review considers a specific domain in combustion science, so-called discrete combustion waves, which have been observed in a variety of processes including combustion synthesis of materials, burning of solid propellants, coals and biomass. The main objective of this work is to discuss the relevant experimental and theoretical results and to bring to light the fundamental nature of this phenomenon. The criteria for distinguishing between the homogeneous and discrete combustion waves based on the analysis of local and global behavior of the reaction systems have been discussed. Different theoretical models that account the discrete nature of the process are critically overviewed and compared with experimental results. It was concluded that combustion occurs in quasi-homogeneous or discrete modes depending on the ratio of characteristic times of chemical reaction and heat transfer in the heterogeneous medium. r 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
A Reinforcement Learning Approach to Weaning of Mechanical Ventilation in Intensive Care Units

The management of invasive mechanical ventilation, and the regulation of sedation and analgesia during ventilation, constitutes a major part of the care of patients admitted to intensive care units. Both prolonged dependence on mechanical ventilation and premature extubation are associated with increased risk of complications and higher hospital costs, but clinical opinion on the best protocol for weaning patients off of a ventilator varies. This work aims to develop a decision support tool that uses available patient information to predict time-to-extubation readiness and to recommend a personalized regime of sedation dosage and ventilator support. To this end, we use off-policy reinforcement learning algorithms to determine the best action at a given patient state from sub-optimal historical ICU data. We compare treatment policies from fitted Q-iteration with extremely randomized trees and with feedforward neural networks, and demonstrate that the policies learnt show promise in recommending weaning protocols with improved outcomes, in terms of minimizing rates of reintubation and regulating physiological stability.
A Quantile Regression Based Contagion Test

Correlation-based contagion tests such as the Forbes and Rigobon (2000) and the DDC test introduced by Rigobon (2003) are not very general. They are able to detected contagion only if a crisis generates a very specific structural break, which is at odds with the presence of investors’ behaviour shifts widely documented in the recent literature on contagion. On the other side, extreme-value-based tests such as the Favero and Giavazzi (2002) provide more robust alternatives. However, by filtering data, they do not use all the information available in the dataset, with important negative effect on the test power. This paper provides a contagion test that retains the appealing unrestricted heteroskedasticity form assumed by the second class of tests while use the full information contained in the dataset as the first class of tests. In this way, the test should provide robustness and power together. This is pursued with an application on stock markets’ returns of the two-stage quantile regression technique first suggested by Amemyia (1982). Applying this procedure on a sample of 57 stock market indexes in the 19982007 period, strong evidence of increased stock markets’ interdependence during crises is found.
Channel uncertainty for AF wireless distributed relay networks under power constraint

This paper presents optimum relay amplifying matrices (or vectors) using the minimum mean square error (MMSE), maximum signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), zero-forcing (ZF), and matched-filter (MF) criteria for an amplify-and-forward (AF) wireless distributed relay network with a one-source-one-destination pair and iV-relay under the global power constraint (GPC) at the relays in a channel uncertainty (CU) environment. In addition, the local power constraint (LPC) at the relays is also considered for the MMSE criterion. With the derived optimum amplifying relay matrices, cost function and SNR behaviors, achievable rate, and relay selection scheme in the CU environment will be investigated theoretically and evaluated numerically.
Breathing-controlled Electrical Stimulation (BreEStim) for Management of Neuropathic Pain and Spasticity

Electrical stimulation (EStim) refers to the application of electrical current to muscles or nerves in order to achieve functional and therapeutic goals. It has been extensively used in various clinical settings. Based upon recent discoveries related to the systemic effects of voluntary breathing and intrinsic physiological interactions among systems during voluntary breathing, a new EStim protocol, Breathing-controlled Electrical Stimulation (BreEStim), has been developed to augment the effects of electrical stimulation. In BreEStim, a single-pulse electrical stimulus is triggered and delivered to the target area when the airflow rate of an isolated voluntary inspiration reaches the threshold. BreEStim integrates intrinsic physiological interactions that are activated during voluntary breathing and has demonstrated excellent clinical efficacy. Two representative applications of BreEStim are reported with detailed protocols: management of post-stroke finger flexor spasticity and neuropathic pain in spinal cord injury.
The Relationships Between Energy Balance, Timing and Quantity of Protein Consumption, and Body Composition in Collegiate Football Players

Background Timing and quantity of protein (PRO) consumption are important considerations for muscle protein synthesis (MPS), fat-free mass (FFM) accretion, and body fat % (BF%) reduction. The effect of PRO ingestion on changes in FFM is mediated by many variables. Past studies have focused on specific composition of carbohydrate (CHO) and PRO consumption (CHO vs. PRO + CHO), and have also investigated PRO intake timing at pre-exercise, post-exercise, or both. Other studies have investigated FFM maintenance and growth with increased PRO consumption during catabolic or anabolic phases of energy balance (EB). These mechanisms have been studied in various populations, including healthy untrained individuals, overweight and obese people, and endurance athletes. However, studies have not explored relationships between the amount and timing of PRO ingested, and the state of EB, as it relates to FFM%. Method/Design A retrospective analysis design was used to assess relationships between PRO ingestion, timing, and EB on FFM in collegiate football players. Subjects were members of an intercollegiate Division 1 football team, had completed a one-day food and activity record, and had body composition assessed as part of a regular team screening procedure. Data acquisition was supervised by a PhD/Registered Dietitian. Food and activity records were analyzed using NutriTiming®, which predicts RMR via the Harris-Benedict equation, uses a MET-based relative intensity activity scale, and accesses the USDA Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 26 to predict hourly EB and PRO consumption. EB was assessed as ±400 kcal EB (EBR), < 0 kcal EB (NEGEB), and > 0 kcal EB (POSEB). Total useable PRO (TUP) was defined as the sum of PRO consumed in units up to 30g max/meal, a value also assessed relative to EB at the time of ingestion. The goal was to assess the amount and timing of PRO intake with EB as these factors relate to FFM. Results Pearson's correlations found that BF% was negatively associated with TUP while in EBR (r=-.253; p=0.049), and FFM% was positively associated TUP in EBR (r=0.279; p=0.030) and in POSEB (r=0.282; p=0.028). NEGEB was positively associated with BF% (r=0.325; p=0.011), and negatively associated with FFM% (r=-0.322; p=0.011). Conclusions Results elucidate that players who ingest PRO in a relatively good energy-balanced state had higher FFM% and a lower BF%. Further, those players consuming TUP while in POSEB had an even stronger positive association with FFM% and a stronger inverse association with BF%. These data reject the null hypothesis that football players who consume PRO in POSEB have less FFM% than those who consume PRO in NEGEB. Abstract Abbreviations: BFbody fat, CHO – carbohydrate, FFM – fat free mass, Metmetabolic equivalent of task, MPB – muscle PRO breakdown, MPS – muscle protein synthesis, PRO – PRO, RMR-resting metabolic rate
VERTa participation in the WMT14 Metrics Task

In this paper we present VERTa, a linguistically-motivated metric that combines linguistic features at different levels. We provide the linguistic motivation on which the metric is based, as well as describe the different modules in VERTa and how they are combined. Finally, we describe the two versions of VERTa, VERTa-EQ and VERTa-W, sent to WMT14 and report results obtained in the experiments conducted with the WMT12 and WMT13 data into English.