Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Relationship between HIV protease inhibitors and QTc interval duration in HIV-infected patients: a cross-sectional study.

AIMS QTc interval prolongation and torsades de pointes have been reported in HIV-infected patients. Protease inhibitors (PIs) are suspected to contribute to this adverse reaction. However, many factors can prolong QTc interval. We examined factors influencing QTc duration in HIV-infected patients. METHODS Unselected HIV-infected patients (n = 978) were enrolled in this prospective, single-centre cross-sectional study. Variables related to infection and treatments were collected. A digital electrocardiographic record was recorded in each patient and QT interval duration was measured and corrected using both Bazett's (QTcB) and Fridericia's (QTcF) formula. Results were analysed with a multivariable linear model. RESULTS After excluding arrhythmias and complete bundle branch blocks, QT interval was measured in 956 patients. The mean (SD) QTcB was 418 ms (23) and QTcF was 405 ms (20). QTc was found prolonged (>450 ms in women and >440 ms in men) in 129 [13.5%; 95% confidence interval (CI) 11.5, 15.8] and 38 (4%; 95% CI 2.9, 5.4) patients using Bazett and Fridericia corrections, respectively. On multivariable analysis, incomplete bundle branch block, ventricular hypertrophy, signs of ischaemic cardiopathy, female gender, White ethnic origin and age were significantly associated with QTc prolongation. The only HIV variable independently associated with QTc prolongation was the duration of infection (P = 0.023). After adjustment, anti-HIV treatment, in particular PI (P = 0.99), was not associated with QTc prolongation. CONCLUSIONS Although PIs block in vitro hERG current, they are not independently associated with QTc interval prolongation. Prolonged QTc interval in HIV-infected patients is primarily associated with factors commonly known to prolong QT and with the duration of HIV infection.
Factors associated with high brachial–ankle pulse wave velocity in non-hypertensive and appropriately treated hypertensive patients with atherosclerotic risk factors

While pulse wave velocity (PWV) correlates with blood pressure (BP), its extent differs between patients, and some cases of high PWV in normotensives are present. Moreover, PWV frequently remains high in hypertensive patients despite adequate BP control. The factors associated with such phenomena are yet to be elucidated. Here, we investigated the factors associated with brachial–ankle PWV (baPWV) in 107 patients whose systolic BP was under 140 mmHg at their latest baPWV measurement. There were 64 controlled hypertensives and 43 normotensives. Multivariate regression analysis identified age, hypertension, body mass index (BMI), systolic BP, and heart rate (HR) as independent factors for baPWV. Next, we divided the subjects into groups according to their age (in 5-year increments) and calculated the mean and standard deviation (SD) of the baPWV for each group. For each age group, we defined patients with a baPWV above the mean + SD baPWV for the group as the high-baPWV cohort. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that BMI, hypertension, and smoking were independent determinants of a high-baPWV subject. This represents the first study to report the existence of the hypertensive state itself as one of the independent predictors of high baPWV in normotensive and well-treated hypertensive patients. This finding implies that the hypertensive state itself possibly worsens arterial stiffness independently from aging in spite of adequate BP maintenance. To prevent the early progression of arterial stiffness, the application of an appropriate intervention during the early stages of hypertension is important and the continuation of an appropriate BP treatment is suggested.
Energy, macro- and micronutrient intake among a true longitudinal group of South African adolescents at two interceptions (2000 and 2003): the Birth-to-Twenty (Bt20) Study

Abstract Objective This study reports on the energy, macro- and micronutrient intakes of a true longitudinal group of 143 urban black South African children from the Birth-to-Twenty (Bt20) study at two interceptions (2000 and 2003) when they were 10 and 13 years old, respectively. Methods Subjects resided in the urban Johannesburg/Soweto area of the Gauteng Province in South Africa. Dietary intake was assessed using a semi-quantitative food-frequency questionnaire. The coded data were analysed using SAS. Results Mean daily intake of energy, all six macronutrients and most micronutrients (17/19) increased from 2000 to 2003. Of the 19 micronutrients investigated, the mean daily intake of eight (calcium, iron, zinc, vitamin A, riboflavin, nicotinic acid, pantothenic acid and biotin) fell below the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) at both interceptions. More than 70% of the children consumed less than the RDA for these same eight nutrients. From 2000 to 2003, there was a decrease in the percentage of children falling below the RDA for energy (from 73 to 59%), but an increase in the percentage of children falling below the RDA for most of the micronutrients. There was a positive percentage change in mean daily intake for all 26 macro- and micronutrients from 2000 to 2003. Conclusion Mean daily intake of nutrients increased from 2000 to 2003, but intakes for most micronutrients were still below the RDA at both interceptions for a large percentage of the children. The study has provided valuable information on the nutrient intake and change in intake over time among a longitudinal group of South African adolescents.
Internet Search Result Probabilities: Heaps' Law and Word Associativity*

Abstract We study the number of internet search results returned from multi-word queries based on the number of results returned when each word is searched for individually. We derive a model to describe search result values for multi-word queries using the total number of pages indexed by Google and by applying the Zipf power law to the words per page distribution on the internet and Heaps' law for unique word counts. Based on data from 351 word pairs each with exactly one hit when searched for together, and a Zipf law coefficient determined in other studies, we approximate the Heaps' law coefficient for the indexed worldwide web (about 8 billion pages) to be β = 0.52. Previous studies used under 20,000 pages. We demonstrate through examples how the model can be used to analyse automatically the relatedness of word pairs assigning each a value we call “strength of associativity”. We demonstrate the validity of our method with word triplets and through two experiments conducted 8 months apart. We then use our model to compare the index sizes of competing search giants Yahoo and Google.
An Asymptotic Version of the Multigraph 1‐Factorization Conjecture

We give a self‐contained proof that for all positive integers r and all ε>0 , there is an integer N=N(r,ε) such that for all n≥N any regular multigraph of order 2n with multiplicity at most r and degree at least (1+ε)rn is 1‐factorizable. This generalizes results of Perković and Reed (Discrete Math 165/166 (1997), 567–578) and Plantholt and Tipnis (J London Math Soc 44 (1991), 393–400).
Long-term follow-up of patients with alcoholic liver disease after liver transplantation in Sweden: Impact of structured management on recidivism

Objective No systematic evaluation has been performed previously in the Scandinavian countries on patients transplanted for alcoholic liver disease (ALD). Data are limited on the impact of structured management of the alcohol problem on the risk of recidivism following transplantation in ALD. Material and methods A total of 103 ALD patients were compared with a control group of patients with non-alcoholic liver disease (NALD). The recidivism rates for ALD patients transplanted between 1988 and 1997 as well as after 1998 (institution of structured management) were compared. Results The median follow-up was 31 (6–60) months in the ALD group and 37 (12–63) months in the control group (NS). The overall survival rates at 1- and 5 years were, respectively, 81% and 69% for the ALD group and 87% and 83% for the non-alcoholic group. The proportion of patients with Child-Pugh C (75%) was higher in ALD patients than in NALD patients (44%) (p<0.01). Thirty-two (33%) ALD patients resumed taking some alcohol after transplantation; 17 patients (18%) were heavy drinkers. A multivariate analysis showed that: sex, age, marital and employment status, benzodiazepine use and a history of illicit drug abuse did not predict the risk of alcohol relapse post-Tx. Nineteen out of 40 (48%) patients transplanted before the start of structured management had resumed alcohol but 13 (22%) out of 58 after this intervention (p=0.002). Conclusions ALD is a good indication for liver transplantation, with similar results in the ALD patients. Structured management of the alcohol problem before and after transplantation is important in minimizing the risk of recidivism.
Endocrine Disruptors and Leydig Cell Function

During the past decades, a large body of information concerning the effects of endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) on animals and humans has been accumulated. EDCs are of synthetic or natural origin and certain groups are known to disrupt the action of androgens and to impair the development of the male reproductive tract and external genitalia. The present overview describes the effects of the different classes of EDCs, such as pesticides, phthalates, dioxins, and phytoestrogens, including newly synthesized resveratrol analogs on steroidogenesis in Leydig cells. The potential impact of these compounds on androgen production by Leydig cells during fetal development and in the adult age is discussed. In addition, the possible role of EDCs in connection with the increasing frequency of abnormalities in reproductive development in animals and humans is discussed.
Intramedullary Nailing of Tibial Shaft Fractures: Size Matters

Objectives: To determine optimal ratio of intramedullary nail diameter to tibial canal diameter that leads to reliable and timely healing in tibial shaft fractures. Design: Retrospective case series. Setting: Level I trauma center. Patients: One hundred thirty-three fractures in 132 patients with tibial shaft fractures that underwent intramedullary nailing as definitive fixation were identified between June 2004 and July 2012 at our level I trauma center. Of these, 78 had serial radiographs out to 12 months that could be analyzed for radiographic healing with an average age of 37 years old (range 16–86 years). There were 52 males and 26 females. Intervention: All patients underwent intramedullary nailing of the tibia with documentation of both the diameter of the nail and radiographic canal width at the isthmus to determine the nail to canal ratio. Main Outcome Measures: Patients were followed with serial radiographs for at least 12 months to determine time to healing as a function of nail to canal ratio. The senior author assessed healing at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months using RUST criteria. Results: Patients with an intramedullary nail to canal diameter ratio of less than 0.8 or greater than 0.99 were 4.4 times more likely not to heal than patients with a ratio of between 0.8 and 0.99. Conclusion: The ideal intramedullary nail to tibial canal diameter ratio to optimize tibial shaft fracture healing is between 0.8 and 0.99. Level of Evidence: Therapeutic Level III. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
Normalization of network connectivity in hemispatial neglect recovery

We recently reported that spatial and nonspatial attention deficits in stroke patients with hemispatial neglect are correlated at 2 weeks postonset with widespread alterations of interhemispheric and intrahemispheric functional connectivity (FC) measured with resting‐state functional magnetic resonance imaging across multiple brain networks. The mechanisms underlying neglect recovery are largely unknown. In this study, we test the hypothesis that recovery of hemispatial neglect correlates with a return of network connectivity toward a normal pattern, herein defined as “network normalization. ”
Proximate and The Calorific Value Analysis of Brown Coal for High-Calorie Hybrid Briquette Application

A study has been conducted about the quality of young coal (brown coal ) briquettes from North Kolaka to determine the effect of varied adhesive on the proximate characteristics and calorific value. The young coal briquettes were made by using adhesives of starch, cassava starch and Castor oil plant starch at a concentration of 5 to 15% of the total mass. The grain size of young coal and the adhesive used were 60 mesh and 100 mesh, respectively. The samples were molded in a cylindrical mold with a diameter of 2.5 cm and a high of 6 cm, and with a pressure of 100 kg/cm2. After having been compacted, the young coal samples were then analyzed proximately i.e. moisture content, volatile matter, ash content and fixed carbon, as well as their calorific values calculation. The results showed that the increase of the adhesive could tend to increased the water content and volatile matter, but reduced the ash content, and the fixed carbon tend to constant except coal briquettes using starch adhesive it were increased. The calorific value of the young coal briquettes increased for all kinds of adhesives when the adhesive increased. The calorific value per one gram ranged from 3162.7 cal/g to 4678.7 cal/g. The highest calorific value, 4678.7 cal/g, was observed at the adhesive of 15 % of starch. The characteristics of young coal can be used as a raw material for making high-calorie hybrid briquettes.
An energy efficient antennas allocation method for MIMO multicast communications using network coding

This paper proposes an energy efficient antennas allocation method for network-coded MIMO multicast communications. By means of the definition of a suitable objective function it is shown that it is possible to select the optimal number of antennas in transmission/reception and the most convenient modulation scheme in order to minimize both the overall mean energy consumption and delivery delay. Simulation results are provided in the paper in order to validate the proposed optimization method and to highlight its advantages in comparison with similar rate-based approaches already proposed in literature, where symbol error rate is evaluated as a comparing metric for MIMO performance.
Transcriptomics Responses in Marine Diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana Exposed to the Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Benzo[a]pyrene

Diatoms are unicellular, photosynthetic, eukaryotic algae with a ubiquitous distribution in water environments and they play an important role in the carbon cycle. Molecular or morphological changes in these species under ecological stress conditions are expected to serve as early indicators of toxicity and can point to a global impact on the entire ecosystem. Thalassiosira pseudonana, a marine diatom and the first with a fully sequenced genome has been selected as an aquatic model organism for ecotoxicological studies using molecular tools. A customized DNA microarray containing probes for the available gene sequences has been developed and tested to analyze the effects of a common pollutant, benzo(a)pyrene (BaP), at a sub-lethal concentration. This approach in diatoms has helped to elucidate pathway/metabolic processes involved in the mode of action of this pollutant, including lipid metabolism, silicon metabolism and stress response. A dose-response of BaP on diatoms has been made and the effect of this compound on the expression of selected genes was assessed by quantitative real time-PCR. Up-regulation of the long-chain acyl-CoA synthetase and the anti-apoptotic transmembrane Bax inhibitor, as well as down-regulation of silicon transporter 1 and a heat shock factor was confirmed at lower concentrations of BaP, but not the heat-shock protein 20. The study has allowed the identification of molecular biomarkers to BaP to be later on integrated into environmental monitoring for water quality assessment.
Detection of chromosomal anomalies in endometrial atypical hyperplasia and carcinoma by using fluorescence in situ hybridization

Endometrial cancer is the most common pelvic gynecological malignancy. The diagnosis of well‐differentiated endometrial adenocarcinoma, atypical hyperplasia, and hyperplasia is often challenging. The authors sought to investigate the utility of chromosomal anomalies for the detection of endometrial hyperplasia and carcinoma using multitarget fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH).
The LTR72 Mutant of Heat-Labile Enterotoxin of Escherichia coli Enhances the Ability of Peptide Antigens To Elicit CD4+ T Cells and Secrete Gamma Interferon after Coapplication onto Bare Skin

ABSTRACT Application of antigens with an adjuvant onto bare skin is a needle-free and pain-free immunization procedure that delivers antigens to the immunocompetent cells of the epidermis. We tested here the immunogenicity and adjuvanticity of two mutants of heat-labile enterotoxin (LT) of Escherichia coli, LTK63 and LTR72. Both mutants were shown to be immunogenic, inducing serum and mucosal antibody responses. The application of LTK63 and LTR72 to bare skin induced significant protection against intraperitoneal challenge with a lethal dose of LT. In addition, both LT mutants enhanced the capacity of peptides TT:830-843 and HA:307-319 (representing T-helper epitopes from tetanus toxin and influenza virus hemagglutinin, respectively) to elicit antigen-specific CD4+ T cells after coapplication onto bare skin. However, only mutant LTR72 was capable of stimulating the secretion of high levels of gamma interferon. These findings demonstrate that successful skin immunization protocols require the selection of the right adjuvant in order to induce the appropriate type of antigen-specific immune responses in a selective and reliable way. Moreover, the use of adjuvants such the LTK63 and LTR72 mutants, with no or low residual toxicity, holds a lot of promise for the future application of vaccines to the bare skin of humans.
Inflammation and Cancer: Chemical Approaches to Mechanisms, Imaging, and Treatment

The inflammatory response represents a first line of defense against invading pathogens and is important to human health. Chronic inflammation contributes to the etiology of multiple diseases, especially those associated with aging, such as cancer and cardiovascular disease. The chemistry of the inflammatory response is complex and involves the generation of highly reactive oxidants and electrophiles designed to kill the pathogen as well as the release of small molecule and protein mediators of intercellular signaling, chemotaxis, vasoconstriction, and wound-healing. Oxidation of unsaturated fatty acids—either nonenzymatic or enzymatic—contributes to the inflammatory response and associated cellular pathologies. The current perspective summarizes our research on unsaturated fatty acid oxidation in the context of inflammation and cancer. In addition to understanding the consequences of DNA and protein modification by lipid electrophiles, our research has focused on the development of molecularly targeted agents to image and treat cancer.
A New Cooperative Detection Technique with Malicious User Suppression

Spectrum detection for vacant bands is one of the key techniques in cognitive radio (CR) systems. Cooperative detection outperforms single user detection in many aspects. The existence of malicious user could severely degrade the performance of cooperative CR systems. In this paper, a new cooperative detection scheme with malicious user suppression is proposed, which has lower complexity and better performance compared with the existing one. Simulation results show that when 25% users in the system are malicious, our proposed method can introduce more improvement of missed detection probability by nearly 20%.
Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteremia: duration of previous antibiotic use and association with penicillin resistance.

Previous antibiotic exposure is one of the most important predictors for acquisition of penicillin-nonsusceptible Streptococcus pneumoniae (PNSP) infection. To determine the impact of duration of exposure to different antibiotic classes, a study of 303 patients with S. pneumoniae bacteremia was undertaken. Ninety-eight cases of bacteremia (32%) were caused by a penicillin-nonsusceptible isolate. Bivariate analysis revealed that use of beta-lactams, sulfonamides, and macrolides within the last 1 and 6 months before presentation was associated with PNSP bacteremia (P<.05). Fluoroquinolone consumption was not related to bacteremia due to PNSP (P>.1). Both short- and long-term beta-lactam use significantly increased the risk for PNSP infection. Logistic regression analysis revealed that use of beta-lactams and macrolides in the 6 months before the first positive blood culture result were independent risk factors (P<.05). Risk for acquiring PNSP infection depends on both the class of antibiotic to which the patient was exposed and the duration of therapy.
Error analysis of a dynamic model adaptation procedure for nonlinear hyperbolic equations

We propose a dynamic model adaptation method for a nonlinear conservation law coupled with an ordinary differential equation. This model, called the ''fine model", involves a small time scale and setting this time scale to 0 leads to a classical conservation law, called the ''coarse model", with a flux which depends on the unknown and on space and time. The dynamic model adaptation consists in detecting the regions where the fine model can be replaced by the coarse one in an automatic way, without deteriorating the accuracy of the result. To do so, we provide an error estimate between the solution of the fine model and the solution of the adaptive method, enabling a sharp control of the different parameters. This estimate rests upon stability results for conservation laws with respect to the flux function. Numerical results are presented at the end and show that our estimate is optimal.
A unified view of gradient-based attribution methods for Deep Neural Networks

Understanding the flow of information in Deep Neural Networks is a challenging problem that has gain increasing attention over the last few years. While several methods have been proposed to explain network predictions, only few attempts to analyze them from a theoretical perspective have been made in the past. In this work we analyze various state-of-the-art attribution methods and prove unexplored connections between them. We also show how some methods can be reformulated and more conveniently implemented. Finally, we perform an empirical evaluation with six attribution methods on a variety of tasks and architectures and discuss their strengths and limitations.
Developmental themes in women's emotional experiences of motherhood

In this study, women's levels of ego development and their psychological difficulties were examined in relation to feelings in the maternal role. The sample consisted of 91 mothers from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. Ego development was assessed by the Washington University Sentence Completion Test, and psychological difficulties were operationalized by self-reported global symptomatology, maternal substance abuse, and expressed anger. Outcome variables included feelings of satisfaction, distress, and support in the maternal role, as well as the degree to which negative and positive emotions were integrated in response to hypothetical vignettes of challenging everyday child-rearing experiences. Hypotheses were that women at high levels of ego development would show greater deterioration in the presence versus absence of self-reported adjustment problems than would those at lower levels. A series of interaction effects each indicated trends consistent with the hypotheses. These results add to accumulating evidence that tendencies toward self-examination, characteristic of high developmental levels, do not inevitably serve protective functions but may be linked with heightened reactivity to negative intrapsychic forces.