Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
PRIMARY PREVENTIVE HEALTH CARE AMONG INJECTION DRUG USERS, OTHER SUSTAINED DRUG USERS, AND NON-USERS

The primary objective of this paper is to investigate the relationship between sustained illicit drug use and the utilization of primary preventive health care. Data from 1254 African-American, Hispanic/Latino, and non-Hispanic/Latino white men and women collected in 1996–1997 were analyzed to determine independent risk factors for the utilization of primary preventive health care that was not received as a result of seeking treatment for a specific health condition. When several demographic, health, and drug use variables were assessed in a logistic regression model, gender, ethnicity, health insurance status, drug use, and alcohol use were independently associated with primary preventive care. Women, Hispanic/Latinos, and persons who had health insurance were more likely to have received primary preventive health care while injection drug users, other sustained drug users, and “heavy” alcohol users were less likely to have used primary preventive health care services in the past year. [Translations are provided in the International Abstracts Section of this issue. ]
Generating Asymptotically Non-Terminating Initial Values for Linear Programs

We present the notion of asymptotically non-terminating initial variable values for linear loop programs. Those values are directly associated to initial variable values for which the corresponding program does not terminate. Our theoretical contributions provide us with powerful computational methods for automatically generating sets of asymptotically non-terminating initial variable values. Such sets are represented symbolically and exactly by a semi-linear space, e.g., characterized by conjunctions and disjunctions of linear equalities and inequalities. Moreover, by taking their complements, we obtain a precise under-approximation of the set of inputs for which the program does terminate. We can then reduce the termination problem of linear programs to the emptiness check of a specific set of asymptotically non-terminating initial variable values. Our static input data analysis is not restricted only to programs where the variables are interpreted over the reals. We extend our approach and provide new decidability results for the termination problem of affine integer and rational programs.
Rehabilitation of endogenous task shift processes in closed head injury patients

This paper reports a study that was aimed to rehabilitate executive functions in CHI patients. When a subject is engaged in two speeded tasks, not simultaneously but with some form of alternation, the response is slower to an item of task A if it was preceded by an item of task B, than when it was preceded by an item of task A. This shift cost is small when subjects can prepare in advance for the new task (endogenous task shift), whereas the cost is much greater when preparation is not possible (exogenous task shift). The groups tested comprised 20 severe closed head injury (CHI) patients (10 who underwent treatment and 10 controls), 8 mild CHI patients, and 18 non-brain damaged (NBD) controls. In the present study, the shift cost was greater for severe CHI patients than for NBD controls. Treatment consisted of five sessions, in which an endogenous task shift paradigm was used. A significant reduction of the endogenous shift cost from assessment to retest was found. The reduction remained stable at the 4-month follow-up session. These results are not simply due to retesting, as the control patients did not show any improvement at retest. Interestingly, no reduction of exogenous task shift cost was found. The results showed also that the beneficial effect of the treatment generalises to other executive functions. Portions of these data were presented at the Nineteenth European Workshop on Cognitive Neuropsychology, Bressanone (Italy), 21–26 January 2001, and at the Second International Vipiteno/Sterzing Conference on Neuropsychological Rehabilitation after Brain Injury, Vipiteno (Italy), 9–12 June 2004.
Partial Altitudinal Migration of a Himalayan Forest Pheasant

Background Altitudinal migration systems are poorly understood. Recent advances in animal telemetry which enables tracking of migrants across their annual cycles will help illustrate unknown migration patterns and test existing hypotheses. Using telemetry, we show the existence of a complex partial altitudinal migration system in the Himalayas and discuss our findings to help better understand partial and altitudinal migration. Methodology/Principal Findings We used GPS/accelerometer tags to monitor the migration of Satyr tragopan (Tragopan satyra) in the Bhutan Himalayas. We tagged 38 birds from 2009 – 2011 and found that tragopans are partially migratory. Fall migration lasted from the 3rd week of September till the 3rd week of November with migrants traveling distances ranging from 1.25 km to 13.5 km over 1 to 32 days. Snowfall did not influence the onset of migration. Return migration started by the 1st week of March and lasted until the 1st week of April. Individuals returned within 4 to 10 days and displayed site fidelity. One bird switched from being a migrant to a non-migrant. Tragopans displayed three main migration patterns: 1) crossing multiple mountains; 2) descending/ascending longitudinally; 3) moving higher up in winter and lower down in summer. More females migrated than males; but, within males, body size was not a factor for predicting migrants. Conclusions/Significance Our observations of migrants traversing over multiple mountain ridges and even of others climbing to higher elevations is novel. We support the need for existing hypotheses to consider how best to explain inter- as well as intra-sexual differences. Most importantly, having shown that the patterns of an altitudinal migration system are complex and not a simple up and down slope movement, we hope our findings will influence the way altitudinal migrations are perceived and thereby contribute to a better understanding of how species may respond to climate change.
Genetic and epigenetic factors underlying sex differences in the regulation of gene expression in the brain

There are inherent biological differences between males and females that contribute to sex differences in brain function and to many sex‐specific illnesses and disorders. Traditionally, it has been thought that such differences are due largely to hormonal regulation; however, there are also genetic and epigenetic effects caused by the inheritance and unequal dosage of genes located on the X and Y chromosomes. Here we discuss the evidence in favor of a genetic and epigenetic basis for sexually dimorphic behavior, as a consequence of underlying differences in the regulation of genes that drive brain function. A better understanding of sex‐specific molecular processes in the brain will provide further insight for the development of novel therapeutic approaches for the treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders characterized by sex differences. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Human leukocyte elastase and cathepsin G are specific inhibitors of C5a‐dependent neutrophil enzyme release and chemotaxis

Abstract: Circulating human neutrophils from patients with severe inflammatory disorders such as erysipelas and sepsis are specifically desensitized to complement factor C5a stimulation but not to stimulation with other stimuli like N‐formyl‐methionyl‐leucyl‐phenylalanine (FMLP), interleukin‐8 (IL‐8), leukotriene B4 (LTB4), or platelet‐activating factor (PAF, 1‐O‐alkyl‐2‐acetyl‐sn‐glycero‐3‐phosphocholine). In this study, we raised the question whether factors released from polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) can specifically down‐regulate C5a‐dependent neutrophil functions.
Platycodin D Improves the Immunogenicity of Newcastle Disease Virus‐Based Recombinant Avian Influenza Vaccine in Mice

The development of an effective influenza vaccine is urgently important for controlling outbreaks of the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV) and reducing the impact of pandemics. The use of an adjuvant in such a vaccine can significantly contribute to improve the immunogenicity. To explore a novel and safe adjuvant for improving the potency of influenza vaccines, platycodin D (1), a saponin from the root of Platycodon grandiflorum, was evaluated for the adjuvant potentials on the specific cellular and humoral immune responses to Newcastle disease virus‐based recombinant avian influenza vaccine (rL‐H5) in mice. Compound 1 significantly promoted the concanavalin A (Con A)‐, the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)‐, and the antigen‐induced splenocyte proliferation and enhanced the serum antigen‐specific IgG, IgG1, IgG2a, and IgG2b antibody titers (P<0.05, P<0.01, or P<0.001) in mice immunized with rL‐H5. The mRNA expressions of Th1/Th2 cytokines (IFN‐γ and IL‐10) and transcription factors (T‐bet and GATA‐3) in splenocytes were also markedly up‐regulated by 1, compared with the control group immunized with rL‐H5 alone (P<0.01 or P<0.001). In addition, 1 remarkably increased the killing activities of natural killer (NK) cells from splenocytes in the immunized mice (P<0.05), which may have important implications for the vaccination against the avian influenza virus. We concluded that 1 could improve the immunogenicity of the rL‐H5 vaccine by enhancing both humoral and cellular immune responses in mice, and that 1 is a promising adjuvant for influenza vaccines.
Swimming and Crawling with an Amphibious Snake Robot

We present AmphiBot I, an amphibious snake robot capable of crawling and swimming. Experiments have been carried out to characterize how the speed of locomotion depends on the frequencies, amplitudes, and phase lags of undulatory gaits, both in water and on ground. Using this characterization, we can identify the fastest gaits for a given medium. Results show that the fastest gaits are different from one medium to the other, with larger optimal regions in parameter space for the crawling gaits. Swimming gaits are faster than crawling gaits for the same frequencies. For both media, the fastest locomotion is obtained with total phase lags that are smaller than one. These results are compared with data from fishes and from amphibian snakes.
Evaluation of Kalman filtering for network time keeping

Time information is critical for a variety of applications in distributed environments that facilitate pervasive computing and communication. This paper describes and evaluates a novel Kalman filtering algorithm for end-to-end time synchronization between a client computer and a server of "true" time (e.g. a GPS source) using messages transmitted over packet switched networks, such as the Internet. The messages exchanged have the NTP format and the algorithm evaluated, is performed only at the client side. The Kalman filtering algorithm is compared to two other techniques widely used, based on linear programming and statistical averaging and the experiments involve independent consecutive measurements (gaussian case) or measurements exhibiting long-range dependence (self-similar case). Performance is evaluated according to the estimation error of frequency offset and time offset between client and server clock, the standard deviation of the estimates and the number of packets used for a specific estimation. The algorithms can exploit existing NTP infrastructure and a specific example is presented.
Adaptive noise reduction algorithms based on statistical hypotheses tests

In many video processing applications, the presence of a random noise is troublesome since most video enhancement functions produce visual artifacts if a priori of the noise is incorrect. The basic difficulty is that the noise and the signal are difficult to be distinguished. It was shown that the noise and image feature detection problem can be converted to statistical hypotheses tests based on the sample correlation in different orientations. In this paper, to further elaborate these hypotheses, we propose parametric, semi- parametric, and nonparametric statistical tests by combining with adaptive median filters. The proposed algorithms provide ways of measuring the degree of noise with respect to the degree of image feature, and the proposed adaptive noise reduction filtering framework provides good performance when the underlying noises are from Gaussian or non-Gaussian distributions. Simulation results for noise reduction show that the Bartlett and the Levene tests perform better regardless of the noise characteristics. Applications of the proposed algorithms can be found in digital TV, camcorders, digital cameras, and DVD players.
"Unsociability" as Boundary Regulation on Social Network Sites

This study approaches online social networking from the opposite direction, focusing on unsociability, in an attempt to find out how friendships are negotiated and terminated online. The research data was obtained via an online survey (N=107) targeted to SNS users. The findings show that Facebook is closely connected to offline social life, and the fading of offline relationship was the most common reason for cutting ties on Facebook. Usually, the people who were unfriended represented weak ties. Even though unfriending can be considered as the hardest form of unsociability, it was more commonly used than restricting content from certain people. On Twitter and other SNSs, the relationships were less personal. Therefore, ‘unfollow’, ‘block’ and other unsocial features were used to filter and regulate the content subscribed to. Particularly on Facebook, attention should be paid to developing affordances that would enable the system to better match the dynamic and complex nature of social relationships.
Comparison of the Effects of Lidocaine Prilocaine Cream (EMLA) and Lidocaine Injection on Reduction of Perineal Pain During Perineum Repair in Normal Vaginal Delivery

Objective: To compare the efficacy of EMLA cream and lidocaine injection to reduce pain during episiotomy repair. Materials and methods: A total of 46 primiparous women with normal pregnancy who referred for normal vaginal delivery and needed episiotomy repair were selected and randomly divided into two groups. For EMLA group, one hour before the estimated time of delivery, 5g of EMLA cream was applied to perinealmediolateral incision, and after the delivery of the fetus and placenta, again 5g of EMLA cream was applied to healthy skin around the episiotomy for repair. In the other group, lidocaine 2% was used before episiotomy and for its repair, too. Results: Only 8 people (19%) were in need of further analgesia. The mean ± SD of pain during repair of episiotomy on the VAS scale in all cases was 4.2 ± 2.3 cm. Most people (97%) were satisfied with their episiotomy repair. Comparing the two groups of EMLA and lidocaine, there was no difference between the two groups in terms of the duration of episiotomy repair, need for further analgesia, pain on the VAS scale, and satisfaction with the repair method. Conclusion: The findings of this study showed that the use of EMLA cream in the site of episiotomy incision in primiparous women can induce a level of analgesia equal to that of lidocaine, and cause a similar level of satisfaction.
Learned vs. Hand-Crafted Features for Pedestrian Gender Recognition

This paper addresses the problem of image features selection for pedestrian gender recognition. Hand-crafted features (such as HOG) are compared with learned features which are obtained by training convolutional neural networks. The comparison is performed on the recently created collection of versatile pedestrian datasets which allows us to evaluate the impact of dataset properties on the performance of features. The study shows that hand-crafted and learned features perform equally well on small-sized homogeneous datasets. However, learned features significantly outperform hand-crafted ones in the case of heterogeneous and unfamiliar (unseen) datasets. Our best model which is based on learned features obtains 79% average recognition rate on completely unseen datasets. We also show that a relatively small convolutional neural network is able to produce competitive features even with little training data.
Contribution of Selected Vitamins and Trace Elements to Immune Function

Adequate intakes of vitamins and trace elements are required for the immune system to function efficiently. Micronutrient deficiency suppresses immune functions by affecting the innate T-cell-mediated immune response and adaptive antibody response, and leads to dysregulation of the balanced host response. This increases the susceptibility to infections, with increased morbidity and mortality. In turn, infections aggravate micronutrient deficiencies by reducing nutrient intake, increasing losses, and interfering with utilization by altering metabolic pathways. Insufficient intake of micronutrients occurs in people with eating disorders, in smokers (both active and passive), in individuals with chronic alcohol abuse, in patients with certain diseases, during pregnancy and lactation, and in the elderly. With aging a variety of changes are observed in the immune system, which translate into less effective innate and adaptive immune responses and increased susceptibility to infections. Antioxidant vitamins and trace elements (vitamins C, E, selenium, copper, and zinc) counteract potential damage caused by reactive oxygen species to cellular tissues and modulate immune cell function through regulation of redox-sensitive transcription factors and affect production of cytokines and prostaglandins. Adequate intake of vitamins B6, folate, B12, C, E, and of selenium, zinc, copper, and iron supports a Th1 cytokine-mediated immune response with sufficient production of proinflammatory cytokines, which maintains an effective immune response and avoids a shift to an anti-inflammatory Th2 cell-mediated immune response and an increased risk of extracellular infections. Supplementation with these micronutrients reverses the Th2 cell-mediated immune response to a proinflammatory Th1 cytokine-regulated response with enhanced innate immunity. Vitamins A and D play important roles in both cell-mediated and humoral antibody response and support a Th2-mediated anti-inflammatory cytokine profile. Vitamin A deficiency impairs both innate immunity (mucosal epithelial regeneration) and adaptive immune response to infection resulting in an impaired ability to counteract extracellular pathogens. Vitamin D deficiency is correlated with a higher susceptibility to infections due to impaired localized innate immunity and defects in antigen-specific cellular immune response. Overall, inadequate intake and status of these vitamins and minerals may lead to suppressed immunity, which predisposes to infections and aggravates malnutrition.
Caenorhabditis Elegans Mutants Predict Regulation of Fatty Acids and Endocannabinoids by the CYP-35A Gene Family

Background: Cytochrome P450s (CYPs) are mono-oxygenases that metabolize endogenous compounds, such as fatty acids and lipid signaling molecules, and furthermore have a role in metabolism of xenobiotics. In order to investigate the role of CYP genes in fat metabolism at the molecular level, four Caenorhabditis elegans mutants lacking functional CYP-35A1, CYP-35A2, CYP-35A4, and CYP-35A5 were characterized. Relative amounts of fatty acids, as well as endocannabinoids, which regulate weight gain and accumulation of fats in mammals, were measured while fat contents in worms were visualized using Oil-Red-O staining. Results: The cyp-35A1 and cyp-35A5 mutants had a significantly lower intestinal fat content than wild-type animals, whereas cyp-35A2 and cyp-35A4 mutants appeared normal. The overall fatty acid compositions of CYP mutants did not alter dramatically, although modest but significant changes were observed. cyp-35A1 and cyp-35A5 mutants had significantly higher levels of C18:1n7 and lower C18:2n6c. All four mutants had higher relative amounts of C18:1n7 than the wild-type. In the cyp-35A5 mutant, the levels of the endocannabinoid anandamide were found to be 4.6-fold higher than in wild-type. Several fatty acid synthesis genes were over-expressed in cyp-35A1 including fat-2. Feeding oleic or elaidic triglycerides to wild-type animals demonstrated that cyp-35A1 transcriptional levels are insensitive to environmental exposure of these fats, while cyp-35A2, cyp-35A4, and cyp-35A5 were significantly down regulated. Conclusion: These results demonstrate a dynamic role for CYP-35A subfamily members in maintaining the diversity of fatty acid profiles in C. elegans, and more generally highlight the importance of CYPs in generating both structural and signaling fatty acid functions in other organisms.
Controllability of a class of networked passive linear systems

In this paper, controllability properties of networks of diffusively coupled linear systems are considered through the controllability Gramian. For a class of passive linear systems, it is shown that the controllability Gramian can be decomposed into two parts. The first part is related to the dynamics of the individual systems whereas the second part is dependent only on the interconnection topology, allowing for a clear interpretation and efficient computation of controllability properties for a class of networked systems. Moreover, a relation between symmetries in the interconnection topology and controllability is given. The results are illustrated by an example.
Morphometric Analysis of Explant Lungs in Cystic Fibrosis.

RATIONALE After repeated cycles of lung infection and inflammation, patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) evolve to respiratory insufficiency. Although histology and imaging have provided descriptive information, a thorough morphometric analysis of end-stage CF lung disease is lacking. OBJECTIVES To quantify the involvement of small and large airways in end-stage CF. METHODS Multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) and micro-CT were applied to 11 air-inflated CF explanted lungs and 7 control lungs to measure, count, and describe the airway and parenchymal abnormalities in end-stage CF lungs. Selected abnormalities were further investigated with thin section histology. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS On MDCT, CF explanted lungs showed an increased median (interquartile range) number (631 [511-710] vs. 344 [277-349]; P = 0.003) and size of visible airways (cumulative airway diameter 217 cm [209-250] vs. 91 cm [80-105]; P < 0.001) compared with controls. Airway obstruction was seen, starting from generation 6 and increasing to 40 to 50% of airways from generation 9 onward. Micro-CT showed that the total number of terminal bronchioles was decreased (2.9/ml [2.6-4.4] vs. 5.3/ml [4.8-5.7]; P < 0.001); 49% were obstructed, and the cross-sectional area of the open terminal bronchioles was reduced (0.093 mm(2) [0.084-0.123] vs. 0.179 mm(2) [0.140-0.196]; P < 0.001). On micro-CT, 41% of the obstructed airways reopened more distally. This remodeling was confirmed on histological analysis. Parenchymal changes were also seen, mostly in a patchy and peribronchiolar distribution. CONCLUSIONS Extensive changes of dilatation and obstruction in nearly all airway generations were observed in end-stage CF lung disease.