Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Binding Preference of Anti-HEV Antibodies in Sera Collected in Algeria for Antigens Derived From HEV Genotype 1‏

Background Two hepatitis E virus (HEV) outbreaks occurred in Algeria (1979 - 1980 and 1987 - 1988). However, to date, no study on the prevalence of anti-HEV antibodies has been conducted in Algeria, and the genotype of the circulating strains remains unclear. Objectives This study was conducted to investigate the presence of anti- HEV antibodies among outpatients and blood donors in three different hospitals in Northern Algeria and to determine the genotype of the circulating strains through the characterization of the immunoreactivity of anti-HEV antibodies. Methods A total of 590 blood samples (379 from blood donors and 211 from outpatients) were collected in three health facilities in Northern Algeria and assessed for anti-HEV antibodies using an in-house double-antigen sandwich immunoassay. HEV open reading frame 2 recombinant proteins p166 (aa 452 - 617) generated from the four HEV genotypes were used as antigens. The genotype of the strains circulating in Algeria was predicted by an indirect ELISA by assessing the anti-HEV antibodies in serially diluted positive sera using the different p166 proteins. Results Anti-HEV antibodies were detected in 20.17% of the samples. A significant correlation was found between the age of the subjects and the presence of anti-HEV antibodies (P < 0.001). Among blood donors, 83 (21.9%) were diagnosed positive for anti-HEV antibodies with two cases weakly positive for anti-HEV IgM antibodies. Moreover, 9.9% of the subjects aged less than 25 years old (born after the last HEV outbreak) were positive for anti-HEV antibodies. The indirect ELISA revealed that the anti-HEV antibodies within the positive sera reacted more strongly against the p166 antigens generated from genotype 1. Conclusions The present findings reveal a relatively high presence of anti-HEV IgGs and clearly indicate that HEV infection is still present in Northern Algeria. Further, the prediction of HEV genotype using different antigens generated from the different HEV genotypes shows that the causative strains are more likely to be of genotype 1.
Quantifying parameters of a source-filter model for oesophageal speech

Signal processing methods can improve the quality and intelligibility of oesophageal speech. Current methods show only moderate improvement leaving potential for better results. Quantifying parameters of oesophageal speech relative to laryngeal (normal) speech would help in the design of future enhancement methods for oesophageal speech. We quantified parameters of a source-filter model on a database of sustained vowels in Spanish from 4 oesophageal and 4 normal speakers. A ten-parameter glottal waveform model was used as the source and an autoregressive model was used as the filter. Classification, using a log-spectral distance measure, showed that all oesophageal speech samples were classified as whisper voice types; a voice type with a signal to noise ratio of −20 dB. Filter parameters representing spectral amplitudes and bandwidths had a large degree of variation for oesophageal speech comparative to the degree of variation for normal speech (Brown-Forsythe test, F &#60; 0.001). Source metrics, noise to harmonic ratio (NHR) and variation in fundamental frequency, were also significantly greater for oesophageal speech (t-test, P &#60; 0.001). These results show a greater degree of nonstationarity, and a noisier glottal waveform, for oesophageal speech comparative to normal speech.
A Hubble Space Telescope Survey of Extended [O III] λ5007 Å Emission in a Far-Infrared-Selected Sample of Seyfert Galaxies: Results

We present the results of a Hubble Space Telescope (HST) survey of extended [O III] emission in a sample of 60 nearby Seyfert galaxies (22 Seyfert 1's and 38 Seyfert 2's), selected by mostly isotropic properties. The comparison between the semimajor axis size of their [O III] emitting regions (Rmaj) shows that Seyfert 1's and Seyfert 2's have similar distributions, which seems to contradict unified model predictions. We discuss possible ways to explain this result, which could be due to either observational limitations or the models used for the comparison with our data. We show that Seyfert 1 narrow-line regions (NLRs) are more circular and concentrated than Seyfert 2's, which can be attributed to foreshortening in the former. We find a good correlation between the NLR size and luminosity, following the relation Rmaj ∝ L([O III])0.33 ± 0.04, which is flatter than a previous one found for QSOs and Seyfert 2's. We discuss possible reasons for the different results, and their implications to photoionization models. We confirm previous results that show that the [O III] and radio emission are well aligned and also find no correlation between the orientation of the extended [O III] emission and the host galaxy major axis. This agrees with results showing that the torus axis and radio jet are not aligned with the host galaxy rotation axis, indicating that the orientation of the gas in the torus, and not the spin of the black hole, determines the orientation of the accretion disk, and consequently, the orientation of the radio jet.
Global Value Chains and the EU Industry

(Report based on Background Study for European Competitiveness Report 2012, see http //ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/industrial-competitiveness/competitiveness-analysis/european-competitiveness-report/index_en.htm) Summary The ongoing internationalization of production has altered the economic landscape. Many products used to be produced locally using inputs drawn largely from the domestic economy, which implied that most of the value chains or production processes used to be located in the country where a firm had its headquarters. Technological development has facilitated the geographical fragmentation of production processes, resulting in the emergence of global value chains. Different parts of a firm’s production processes can now be located in different parts of the world, according to the comparative advantages of the locations. This ‘slicing up of the value chains’, and the dispersal of the various elements to different parts of the world has given rise to increased trade with the use of imported intermediate goods in manufacturing industries having been increased globally, thereby involving more industries and countries in the value chains. Focusing on four important manufacturing industries (chemicals, chemical products and man-made fibres; machinery and equipment; electrical and optical equipment; and transport equipment) the ongoing trends of the internationalization of production is studied. To account for the multi-faceted phenomenon of the internationalization of production processes and its consequences, a comprehensive review of the literature is provided first. This is followed by an overview of the patterns and trends in vertical specialization across countries for the four selected industries. This section is based on the World Input-Output Database (WIOD), which allows the integration of production patterns and processes to be studied at a global level. As this is accompanied by similar trends in trade before and over the crisis the next section focuses on the changes in trade patterns of these industries which is based on detailed Harmonized System (HS) 6-digit trade data allowing for a differentiation between use categories of products trade in parts and components is important for the machinery and equipment, electrical and optical equipment and transport equipment industries, while trade in semi-finished products is important for the chemicals industry. As the offshoring decisions are made at company level it is important to understand the motives leading firms to offshore, the drivers of the decisions with respect to characteristics of the host and the destination country and the characteristics of the offshoring firms. Section 5 therefore focuses on the offshoring decisions at the company level it analyses the motives and determinants of company strategies with respect to the relocation of production. Section 6 provides a summary.
Expanding xylose metabolism in yeast for plant cell wall conversion to biofuels

Sustainable biofuel production from renewable biomass will require the efficient and complete use of all abundant sugars in the plant cell wall. Using the cellulolytic fungus Neurospora crassa as a model, we identified a xylodextrin transport and consumption pathway required for its growth on hemicellulose. Successful reconstitution of this xylodextrin utilization pathway in Saccharomyces cerevisiae revealed that fungal xylose reductases act as xylodextrin reductases, and together with two hydrolases, generate intracellular xylose and xylitol. Xylodextrin consumption using xylodextrin reductases and tandem intracellular hydrolases greatly expands the capacity of yeasts to use plant cell wall-derived sugars, and should be adaptable to increase the efficiency of both first-generation and next-generation biofuel production.
A termination theorem for sorted multi-adjoint logic programming

The structure of the paper is as follows. In Section 2, we introduce the preliminary concepts necessary for the definition of the syntax and semantics of sorted multi-adjoint logic programs, presented in Section 3. In Section 4, we state the basic results regarding the termination properties of our semantics, which are extended later in Section 5. The paper finishes with some conclusions and pointers to future work.
Bipolar cell diversity in the primate retina: Morphologic and immunocytochemical analysis of a new world monkey, the marmoset Callithrix jacchus

The aim of this study was to identify the bipolar cell types in the retina of a New World monkey, the common marmoset, and compare them with those found in the Old World macaque monkey. Retinal whole‐mounts, sections, or both, were stained by using DiI labeling and immunohistochemical methods. Semithin sections were analyzed by using quantitative methods. We show that the same morphologic types of bipolar cell as described for the Old World macaque monkey by Boycott and Wässle (Boycott and Wässle [ 1991 ] Eur. J. Neurosci. 3:1069–1088) are present in marmoset retina: two types of midget bipolar cells, six type of diffuse bipolar cells, a blue cone bipolar cell, and one type of rod bipolar cell. The pattern of staining with different immunohistochemical markers (“fingerprint”) of each bipolar cell type in marmoset was also the same as described for macaque, with one exception: the flat midget bipolar cell (FMB) class is labeled by antibodies to recoverin in macaque but is labeled by antibodies to CD15 in marmoset. The labeled FMB cells in marmoset make contact with multiple cone photoreceptors throughout most of the extrafoveal retina. The spatial density of bipolar cells in marmoset is shown to be sufficient to support one‐to‐one connectivity of midget bipolar and ganglion cells in the fovea and to allow for parallel pathways to ganglion cells throughout the retina. Quantitative differences in the morphology and receptor connectivity between marmoset and macaque can be related to differences in cone and rod photoreceptor density between the species. We conclude that bipolar cell diversity is a preserved feature of the primate retina. J. Comp. Neurol. 437:219–239, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
K(+)- and HCO3(-)-dependent acid-base transport in squid giant axons II. Base influx

We used microelectrodes to determine whether the K/HCO3 cotransporter tentatively identified in the accompanying paper (Hogan, E. M., M. A. Cohen, and W. F. Boron. 1995. Journal of General Physiology. 106:821- 844) can mediate an increase in the intracellular pH (pHi) of squid giant axons. An 80-min period of internal dialysis increased pHi to 7.7, 8.0, or 8.3; the dialysis fluid was free of K+, Na+, and Cl-. Our standard artificial seawater (ASW), which also lacked Na+, K+, and Cl-, had a pH of 8.0. Halting dialysis unmasked a slow pHi decrease. Subsequently introducing an ASW containing 437 mM K+ and 0.5% CO2/12 mM HCO3- had two effects: (a) it caused membrane potential (Vm) to become very positive, and (b) it caused a rapid pHi decrease, because of CO2 influx, followed by a slower plateau-phase pHi increase, presumably because of inward cotransport of K+ and HCO3- ("base influx"). Only extracellular Rb+ substituted for K+ in producing the plateau-phase pHi increase in the presence of CO2/HCO3-. Mean fluxes with Na+, Li+, and Cs+ were not significantly different from zero, even though Vm shifts were comparable for all monovalent cations tested. Thus, unless K+ or Rb+ (but not Na+, Li+, or Cs+) somehow activates a conductive pathway for H+, HCO3-, or both, it is unlikely that passive transport of H+, HCO3-, or both makes the major contribution to the pHi increase in the presence of K+ (or Rb+) and CO2/HCO3-. Because exposing axons to an ASW containing 437 mM K+, but no CO2/HCO3-, produced at most a slow pHi increase, K-H exchange could not make a major contribution to base influx. Introducing an ASW containing CO2/HCO3-, but no K+ also failed to elicit base influx. Because we observed base influx when the ASW and DF were free of Na+ and Cl-, and because the disulfonic stilbene derivatives SITS and DIDS failed to block base influx, Na(+)-dependent Cl-HCO3 exchange also cannot account for the results. Rather, we suggest that the most straightforward explanation for the pHi increase we observed in the simultaneous presence of K+ and CO2/HCO3- is the coupled uptake of K+ and HCO3-.
Emissions Trading, Electricity Restructuring, and Investment in Pollution Abatement

This paper analyzes an emissions trading program that was introduced to reduce smog-causing pollution from large stationary sources. Using variation in state level electricity industry restructuring activity, I identify the effect of economic regulation on pollution permit market outcomes. There are two main findings. First, deregulated plants in restructured electricity markets were less likely to adopt more capital intensive environmental compliance options as compared to regulated or publicly owned plants. Second, as a consequence of heterogeneity in electricity market regulations, a larger share of the permitted pollution is being emitted in states where air quality problems tend to be more severe. (JEL L51, L94, L98, Q53, Q58)
Antenna Selection in Spatial Modulation Systems

Novel transmit antenna selection techniques are conceived for Spatial Modulation (SM) systems and their symbol error rate (SER) performance is investigated. Specifically, low-complexity Euclidean Distance optimized Antenna Selection (EDAS) and Capacity Optimized Antenna Selection (COAS) are studied. It is observed that the COAS scheme gives a better SER performance than the EDAS scheme. We show that the proposed antenna selection based SM systems are capable of attaining a significant gain in signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) compared to conventional SM systems, and also outperform the conventional MIMO systems employing antenna selection at both low and medium SNRs.
Angle‐domain common‐image gathers for migration velocity analysis by wavefield‐continuation imaging

We analyze the kinematic properties of offset‐domain common image gathers (CIGs) and angle‐domain CIGs (ADCIGs) computed by wavefield‐continuation migration. Our results are valid regardless of whether the CIGs were obtained by using the correct migration velocity. They thus can be used as a theoretical basis for developing migration velocity analysis (MVA) methods that exploit the velocity information contained in ADCIGs.We demonstrate that in an ADCIG cube, the image point lies on the normal to the apparent reflector dip that passes through the point where the source ray intersects the receiver ray. The image‐point position on the normal depends on the velocity error; when the velocity is correct, the image point coincides with the point where the source ray intersects the receiver ray. Starting from this geometric result, we derive an analytical expression for the expected movements of the image points in ADCIGs as functions of the traveltime perturbation caused by velocity errors. By applying this ana.
Poverty and Income Distribution in Latin America: The Story of the 1980s

This report presents the findings of a regional study on poverty and income distribution in Latin America and the Caribbean. The study was undertaken because of the significance of these issues and the paucity of statistical information on recent trends in the region. Moreover, the impact that the economic recession of the 1980s had on the poor needed to be assessed, particularly in light of reduced spending per capita on public social programs. The analysis points to 3 principal conclusions: 1) on average, poverty increased and income distribution worsened; 2) there is a strong evidence that both income inequality and poverty mirrored the economic cycle, rising during recession and falling during recovery; and 3) educational attainment has the greatest correlation with both income inequality and the probability of being poor. Prospects for long-run growth, and hence for poverty reduction, are significantly brighter for countries that implemented reforms designed to promote a stable and sustainable macroeconomic framework. Chapter 2 of the report reviews the distribution of per capita household income. Chapter 3 discusses the decomposition of workers' income inequality and chapter 4 absolute poverty. Finally, chapter 5 analyzes social indicators such as health, education, and demographic and employment indicators.
Prevalence of subclinical atheromatosis and associated risk factors in chronic kidney disease: the NEFRONA study.

BACKGROUND The causes of the high cardiovascular mortality observed in chronic kidney disease (CKD) are unknown. Here, we report data on prevalence of subclinical atherosclerosis in the NEFRONA population and a stratified multivariate logistic analysis of factors associated with the presence of plaque. METHODS We analysed 2445 patients with an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) <60 mL/min (CKD 3: 937; CKD 4-5: 820; CKD 5D: 688) and 559 non-CKD subjects (eGFR >60 mL/min), 18-75 years old, without previous cardiovascular events. An itinerant team of professionals performed carotid and femoral arterial ultrasound. RESULTS The already high prevalence of plaques in CKD 3 is even higher in more severe CKD. Multivariate logistic analysis showed that, at any CKD stage, age and being male are independently associated with the presence of plaques. In CKD 3, there was a significant interaction of the smoking status and triglycerides levels which were independently associated with the presence of plaque. Furthermore, being diabetic was also associated with the presence of subclinical atherosclerosis. In stage 4-5 there was a significant association with smoking, high phosphate and hsCRP levels. In dialysis patients, being diabetic, having low levels of 25(OH)-vitamin D3 and smoking status also showed a significant association with the presence of plaque. Furthermore, the association of phosphate levels with the presence of subclinical atheromatosis showed a U-shaped curve. CONCLUSIONS This analysis demonstrates the magnitude of subclinical atheromatous disease in a large CKD population. The patient characteristics associated with the presence of plaque differ in every CKD stage.
Effect of exogenous ATP on canine jejunal smooth muscle.

Intracellular recordings were made from the circular smooth muscle cells of the canine jejunum to study the effect of exogenous ATP and to compare the ATP response to the nonadrenergic, noncholinergic (NANC) inhibitory junction potential (IJP) evoked by electrical field stimulation (EFS). Under NANC conditions, exogenous ATP evoked a transient hyperpolarization (6.5 +/- 0.6 mV) and EFS evoked a NANC IJP (17 +/- 0.4 mV). Omega-conotoxin GVIA (100 nM) and a low-Ca(2+), high-Mg(2+) solution abolished the NANC IJP but had no effect on the ATP-evoked hyperpolarization. The ATP-evoked hyperpolarization and the NANC IJP were abolished by apamin (1 microM) and N(G)-nitro-L-arginine (100 microM). Oxyhemoglobin (5 microM) partially (38.8 +/- 5.5%) reduced the amplitude of the NANC IJP but had no effect on the ATP-evoked hyperpolarization. Neither the NANC IJP nor the ATP-evoked hyperpolarization was affected by P2 receptor antagonists or agonists, including suramin, reactive blue 2, 1-(N, O-bis-[5-isoquinolinesulfonyl]-N-methyl-L-tyrosyl)-4-phenylpiperazine , pyridoxal phosphate-6-azophenyl-2',4'-disulfonic acid, alpha, beta-methylene ATP, 2-methylthioadenosine 5'-triphosphate tetrasodium salt, and adenosine 5'-O-2-thiodiphosphate. The data suggest that ATP evoked an apamin-sensitive hyperpolarization in circular smooth muscle cells of the canine jejunum via local production of NO in a postsynaptic target cell.
Growth Hormone-Releasing Hormone and Its Analogues: Significance for MSCs-Mediated Angiogenesis

Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are promising candidates for regenerative medicine because of their multipotency, immune-privilege, and paracrine properties including the potential to promote angiogenesis. Accumulating evidence suggests that the inherent properties of cytoprotection and tissue repair by native MSCs can be enhanced by various preconditioning stimuli implemented prior to cell transplantation. Growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH), a stimulator in extrahypothalamus systems including tumors, has attracted great attentions in recent years because GHRH and its agonists could promote angiogenesis in various tissues. GHRH and its agonists are proangiogenic in responsive tissues including tumors, and GHRH antagonists have been tested as antitumor agents through their ability to suppress angiogenesis and cell growth. GHRH-R is expressed by MSCs and evolving work from our laboratory indicates that treatment of MSCs with GHRH agonists prior to cell transplantation markedly enhanced the angiogenic potential and tissue reparative properties of MSCs through a STAT3 signaling pathway. In this review we summarized the possible effects of GHRH analogues on cell growth and development, as well as on the proangiogenic properties of MSCs. We also discussed the relationship between GHRH analogues and MSC-mediated angiogenesis. The analyses provide new insights into molecular pathways of MSCs-based therapies and their augmentation by GHRH analogues.
Automated detection of diabetic retinopathy in blurred digital fundus images

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a condition where the retina is damaged due to fluid leaking from the blood vessels into the retina. In extreme cases, the patient will become blind. Therefore, early detection of diabetic retinopathy is crucial to prevent blindness. The main stages of diabetic retinopathy are non-proliferate diabetes retinopathy (NPDR) and proliferate diabetes retinopathy (PDR). In this study, we propose a system for automated classification of normal, and abnormal retinal images by automatically detecting the blood vessels, hard exudates microaneurysms, entropy and homogeneity. The objective measurements such as blood vessels area, exudates area, microaneurysms area, entropy and homogeneity are computed from the processed retinal images. These objective measurements are finally fed to the artificial neural network (ANN) classifier for the automatic classification. Different approaches for image restoration are tested and compared on Fundus images. The effect of restoration on the automatic detection process is investigated in this paper.
Economics of change in less developed countries

The comprehensive range of topics includes: the concept and measurement of development; economic theory and development; economic quality and development; human resource development; international trade; foreign exchange flows and indebtedness; agricultural transformation and development; industrial development; the transnational corporation; the transformation of technology; inflation; stabilization and the IMF. A classic book modernized for contemporary study.