Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Longitudinal analysis of clinical markers following antiretroviral therapy initiated during acute or early HIV type 1 infection.

BACKGROUND Treatment of acute human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection may have unique immunologic, virological, and clinical benefits. However, the timing of treatment, optimal starting regimens, and expected response to therapy have not been defined.Methods. One hundred two subjects treated during acute and early HIV-1 infection were observed prospectively to determine the effect of time elapsed before initiation of therapy on time to virological suppression and absolute CD4+ cell count. Subjects were divided into pre- and postseroconversion groups on the basis of HIV-1 antibody status at the time of initiation of treatment. Absolute CD4+ cell counts were compared between these groups and with those of historical untreated persons who had experienced seroconversion. Potential predictors of time to virological suppression and CD4+ cell count at > or =12 months were assessed. RESULTS Ninety-nine (97%) of 102 subjects achieved virological suppression. The median time to suppression was 11.1 weeks (95% confidence interval, 9.4-14.9) and was independent of initial regimen. The mean CD4+ cell count at 12 months was 702 cells/mm3 (95% confidence interval, 654-750 cells/mm3) and showed an increasing trend over 60 months. Treated subjects demonstrated a statistically significant gain in the CD4+ cell count, compared with untreated historical control subjects, at > or =12 months. Comparable virological and immunologic outcomes were seen in the pre- and postseroconversion groups. Baseline virus load and nadir CD4+ cell count predicted time to virological suppression and CD4+ cell count at > or =12 months, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Early treatment of HIV-1 infection is well tolerated and results in rapid and sustained virological suppression. Preservation of CD4+ cell counts may be achieved with early therapy, independent of seroconversion status. Protease inhibitor-based and nonnucleoside reverse-transcriptase inhibitor-based regimens show comparable performance in tolerability, time to virological suppression, and CD4+ cell count when used as a first regimen.
Anticonvulsant Effect of DN‐1417, a Derivative of Thyrotropin‐Releasing Hormone, and Liposome‐Entrapped DN‐1417, on Amygdaloid‐Kindled Rats

Summary: The effects of γ‐butyrolactone‐γ‐carbonyl‐L‐histidyl‐L‐propinamide citrate (DN‐1417), a derivative of thyrotropin‐releasing hormone, and liposome‐entrapped DN‐1417 (DN‐L) were examined in amygdaloid‐kindled rats. The animals were tested 2 h after intraperitoneal (i.p.) drug administration and then again every 24 h without further drug treatment. DN‐1417 did not suppress the kindled seizure at 2 h but did beginning 1–6 days after injection. DN‐L suppressed the kindled seizure at 2 h and had a more prolonged anticonvulsant effect than DN‐1417. After liposomes were given i.p. once daily for 2 weeks, there was no morphologic evidence that liposomes damaged brain neurons. These results, together with previously published data, suggest that as drug delivery vehicles, liposomes can enhance the effectiveness of drugs in the CNS without producing overt brain damage.
Beauvoir and Merleau-Ponty on ambiguity

Ambiguity is arguably the most important idea in Beauvoir's philosophy. This chapter argues that Beauvoir's idea of ambiguity has much more in common with Merleau-Ponty's idea of ambiguity than with Sartre's. Beauvoir's philosophy of ambiguity and Merleau-Ponty's philosophy of ambiguity complement each other. Beauvoir and Merleau-Ponty were friends and knew each other’s work. In a 1945 commentary on Beauvoir’s L’Invitee ( She Came to Stay ), Merleau-Ponty says this novel portrays a genuine morality that does not seek to dispel our fundamental ambiguity. In a later prospectus of his own work, Merleau-Ponty declares that establishing a “good ambiguity” “would . give us the principle of an ethics,” but he never developed that ethics. Shortly after his review of L’Invitee , Beauvoir wrote a review of Merleau-Ponty’s Phenomenologie de la Perception ( Phenomenology of Perception ) in Les Temps modernes , a journal that both had helped to found and on whose editorial board both served. There Beauvoir praises phenomenology for “abolishing the subject-object opposition” that education erects in wrenching the living, meaningful world away from children and substituting a universe of frozen, independent objects. Ethics teaches children to renounce their subjectivity in favor of universal laws, yet they retain a sense of personal uniqueness and intimacy with the world in the spontaneous movement of their life. Beauvoir says phenomenology addresses and abolishes this split.
The positional relationship between the coronary sinus musculature and the atrioventricular septal junction.

AIMS The atrioventricular (AV) septal junction includes the coronary sinus (CS) and the compact part of the AV node and its posterior extensions. It has been recognized as the target site for ablation therapy of the AV nodal reentrant tachycardia and its variant forms. Despite the clinical significance of this region, the arrangement of the musculature in the AV septal junction, including the CS, has not fully been elucidated. We tried to explore the histological muscular diversity within the AV septal junction. METHODS AND RESULTS Sixteen autopsied human hearts (seven women), mean age 59.8 years, without structural anomalies, were studied. We removed the whole AV septum, including the CS opening after the macroscopic measurements, and prepared serial sections parallel to mitral and tricuspid annuli (short-axis style) to elucidate the positional relationships between the compact AV node and the CS musculature. Out of 16 hearts, the CS musculature extended deeply into the AV septal junction in eight hearts. In the other eight hearts, the CS musculature was located above the AV septal junction. In the former group, we found that the offset of both annuli was wide (mean 3.8 +/- 1.4 vs. 2.4 +/- 1.1 mm), the distance between CS opening and membranous septum was long (mean 14.8 +/- 1.6 vs. 12.3 +/- 2.2 mm), and the CS opening level was lower and closer to the His bundle level (mean 2.8 +/- 1.9 vs. 5.8 +/- 2.9 mm) (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION The deep extension of CS musculature into the AV septal junction seems to increase the tissue non-uniformity in this area.
Urea-lysine method for recovery of enteroviruses from sludge

Enteroviruses added to sludge and indigenous viruses present in sludge were recovered by treating the sludge flocs with a 4 M urea solution buffered at pH 9 with 0.5 M lysine. Eluted viruses were absorbed to aluminum hydroxide flocs and collected by centrifugation. The flocs were solubilized with 0.1 M ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid-3% beef extract at pH 9. After dialysis to remove the ethylenediaminetraacetic acid, viruses were further concentrated by organic flocculation. Approximately 40% of poliovirus and coxsackievirus B-3 added to 500 to 1,000 ml of sludge could be recovered in final sample volumes of less than 10 ml. Polioviruses, echoviruses, and coxsackieviruses were recovered from different samples of wastewater sludge.
Cervical Alignment Variations in Different Postures and Predictors of Normal Cervical Kyphosis: A New Understanding

Study Design. Comparative study of prospectively collected radiographic data. Objective. To predict physiological alignment of the cervical spine and study its morphology in different postures. Summary of Background Data. There is increasing evidence that normal cervical spinal alignment may vary from lordosis to neutral to kyphosis, or form S-shaped or reverse S-shaped curves. Methods. Standing, erect sitting, and natural sitting whole-spine radiographs were obtained from 26 consecutive patients without cervical spine pathology. Sagittal vertical axis (SVA), global cervical lordosis, lower cervical alignment C4-T1, C0-C2 angle, T1 slope, C0-C7 SVA and C2-7SVA, SVA, thoracic kyphosis, thoracolumbar junctional angle, lumbar lordosis, sacral slope, pelvic tilt, and pelvic incidence were measured. Statistical analysis was performed to elucidate differences in cervical alignment for all postures. Predictive values of T1 slope and SVA for cervical kyphosis were evaluated. Results. Most patients (73.0%) do not have lordotic cervical alignment (C2-C7) upon standing (mean −0.6, standard deviation 11.1°). Lordosis increases significantly when transitioning from standing to erect sitting, as well as from erect to natural sitting (mean −17.2, standard deviation 12.1°). Transition from standing to natural sitting also produces concomitant increases in SVA (−8.8–65.2 mm) and T1-slope (17.4°–30.2°). T1 slope and SVA measured during standing significantly predicts angular cervical spine alignment in the same position. SVA < 10 mm significantly predicts C4-C7 kyphosis (P < 0.001), and to a lesser extent, C2-C7 kyphosis (P = 0.02). T1 slope <20° is both predictive of C2-C7 and C4-7 kyphosis (P = 0.001 and P = 0.023, respectively). For global cervical Cobb angle, T1 slope seems to be a more significant predictor of kyphosis than SVA (odds ratio 17.33, P = 0.001 vs odds ratio 11.67, P = 0.02, respectively). Conclusion. The cervical spine has variable normal morphology. Key determinants of its alignment include SVA and T1 slope. Lordotic correction of the cervical spine is not always physiological and thus correction targets should be individualized. Level of Evidence: 3
A Comparison of Software Packages that Assess Linkage Using a Variance Components Approach

We report single‐point and multipoint results from three statistical genetics software packages using a variance components approach for quantitative traits. When possible, we have shown the effects of covariates. Results from GENEHUNTER, SOLAR, and ACT software packages are compared for the quantitative trait immunoglobulin E (IgE) using chromosome 5 asthma familial data from Oxfordshire (England), Perth (Australia), and Freiburg (Germany), and using the genome‐wide German data. Although few differences among variance components results for GENEHUNTER, SOLAR, and ACT were detected on a limited region of chromosome 5, these packages showed larger disagreement in the German data for chromosomes 1, 9, and 14. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
THE INFLUENCE OF PREDATION ON THE COMPOSITION OF FRESH‐WATER ANIMAL COMMUNITIES

1. The introduction of Salmo trutta into an artificial pond was followed by great reduction in the numbers of tadpoles, certain beetles and Notonecta, all species to be seen in the open water. Of the species that sheltered more securely in the plant cover, the effect on some was a curtailment of their range; on others there was little reduction of range or numbers, particularly the numbers at the end of a generation. This was attributed to self‐regulation of numbers and the creation of a reserve from which losses due to predation by fish on larger specimens could be replenished.
Survival and prognostic factors of patients with skin melanoma: A regression‐model analysis based on nationwide cancer registry data

Survival and prognostic factors of skin melanoma patients were studied using a regression analysis of relative survival rates based on nationwide cancer registry data. The material consisted of 4980 cases of melanoma of the skin diagnosed in Finland in 1953 to 1981 and reported to the Finnish Cancer Registry. In the last diagnostic period, 1974 to 1982, the 5‐year relative survival rate for male patients was 61.1% and that for female patients 76.6%. The analysis included variables sex, age, stage, year of diagnosis, follow‐up year, and site of the tumor. All of them were needed to explain the differences in survival. The patients had the greatest relative risk of dying from skin melanoma during the second year from diagnosis. However, the difference in death risk due to melanoma by stage was most remarkable during the first follow‐up year: the risk of patients with nonlocalized disease was over 12 times that of others. The male‐female ratio in the risk of dying from skin melanoma was (to a marked extent) attributable to differences in the distributions of stage and site of the tumor. In all site groups males did worse than females but risk ratio varied from 1.15 (trunk) to 1.89 (limbs). The effect of some important prognostic factors on survival could be quantified with ample material and with a method taking into account the competing causes of death. The results suggest a difference either in biological behavior of skin melanoma or in a patient's delay between males and females.
Evolution of diverse antiviral CD8+ T cell populations after murine cytomegalovirus infection

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a major human pathogen normally controlled by cellular immune responses. The infection can be modeled in the mouse using murine CMV (MCMV). During the latent phase of infection, two different patterns of CD8+ T cell responses have been observed: some specificities show increasing frequencies over time (“memory inflation”), while others, which are present acutely, are barely detectable at later time points. This distinction is independent of initial immunodominance. We analyzed the extent to which such responses differ functionally and tracked both their population distribution and their evolution over time. We observed two clear patterns of memory development that diverged early after infection. Acutely, CD8+ T cells directed against all epitopes showed similar activation, phenotype and distribution. Thereafter, one set of responses (“inflationary”) increased in frequency over time, was found in high numbers in non‐lymphoid organs and was associated with an activated (CD28low CD27lowCD122low) phenotype. In contrast, CD8+ T cells responses specific for other MCMV epitopes (“non‐inflationary”) showed a slow reversion to a classical “central” memory phenotype without enrichment in non‐lymphoid organs. A simple model to describe the equilibrium state in MCMV is presented, which may point to previously unexplored antiviral populations present after human CMV infection.
High frequency of valpha24(+) vbeta11(+) T-cells observed in type 1 diabetes.

OBJECTIVE Natural killer T-cells (NKT cells) are believed to play an important role in the regulation of immune response, and a numerical and functional deficit of NKT cells has been reported to be associated with the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases. Thus far, it has been shown that subjects with type 1 diabetes have a lower frequency of NKT cells than nondiabetic subjects. In this study, we measured the frequency of peripheral Valpha24(+) Vbeta11(+) T-cells, which include human NKT cells, in Japanese diabetic patients. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Peripheral blood samples were obtained from 164 Japanese diabetic patients and 67 healthy subjects. The diabetic patients were classified into four categories as follows: islet-associated autoantibody-positive (Ab(+)) and -negative (Ab(-)) classic type 1 diabetes, latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA), and type 2 diabetes. We measured the frequency of peripheral Valpha24(+) Vbeta11(+) CD3(+) triple-positive cells. RESULTS Unexpectedly, a higher frequency of Valpha24(+) Vbeta11(+) T-cells was observed in Ab(+) and Ab(-) patients compared with LADA patients (P = 0.0294 and P = 0.0021), type 2 diabetic patients (P < 0.0001 and P < 0.0001), and healthy subjects (P = 0.0046 and P = 0.0001). Moreover, an inverse correlation between Valpha24(+) Vbeta11(+) T-cell frequency and disease duration was observed in Ab(+) (rho = -0.455; P = 0.0023) and Ab(-) (rho = -0.432; P = 0.0162) patients. CONCLUSIONS Our findings indicate that a high frequency of Valpha24(+) Vbeta11(+) T-cells is a unique finding in recent-onset classic type 1 diabetes, and measurement of Valpha24(+) Vbeta11(+) T-cell frequency may be useful to assess the disease activity of classic type 1 diabetes.
In situ effect of 10% carbamide peroxide on resin-dentin bond strengths: a novel pilot study.

PURPOSE This pilot study used a novel study design to evaluate the effect of a 10% carbamide peroxide bleaching gel on the bond strength of a resin-based composite system to dentin. MATERIALS AND METHODS Dentin disks were obtained from human third molars, polished to 600 grit, and mounted on the palatal aspect of a removable orthodontic retainer. Two disks were exposed to a 10% carbamide peroxide bleaching gel for 2 h/d for 21 days, whereas two disks were not treated and served as controls. A retainer was worn by the participant regardless of whether bleaching was used, simulating the action of the saliva/oral fluids on the dentin specimens. After the treatment phase, the dentin disks were retrieved and a resin-based composite system was applied to the specimens following manufacturer's instructions. Composite dentin "sticks" were obtained and tested in microtensile mode. Bond strength values were obtained for treated (n = 20) versus nontreated (n = 26) dentin and were analyzed statistically. RESULTS Mean bond strengths values (SD) were 29.9 MPa (6.2) and 39.2 MPa (5.8) for treated and nontreated dentin specimens, respectively (p < .001). CONCLUSION The results of this study suggest that nightguard (home) bleaching with 10% carbamide peroxide for 2 h/d for 21 days significantly affects resin-dentin bond strengths when dentin is exposed to bleaching material. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE The findings of this novel pilot study imply that dentin bonding, such as to exposed root surfaces and cervical areas of the teeth, should not be performed immediately after bleaching with 10% carbamide peroxide.
The Optimal Pacing Rate: An Unpredictable Parameter

A three phase relation has been demonstrated between increasing heart rate and cardiac output at rest. Phase I with cardiac output increasing with increasing heart rate, phase II a plateau, and phase III decreasing cardiac output with any further increase in heart rate. The “optimal rate” can be defined as the heart rate at the onset of phase II. Twenty patients were studied, 13 male, mean age 60 years (range 31–71 years). All had chronic complete heart block and established DDD pacing. A maximal exercise test was performed to determine peak sinus rate. Exercise hemodynamics were measured using an ambulatory monitor (Capintec Vest), which permits measurement of relative cardiac output and relative ejection fraction. The patients were programmed to VVI pacing at a rate of 60 beats/min and performed three exercise tests at different workloads. The order of workloads was randomized and selected from a range (0, 25, 50, or 75 W) depending on fitness. After 3‐minute stabilization, the VVI pacing rate was increased at 1‐minute intervals until higher than peak sinus rate giving a total exercise time of 12 minutes. The “optimal rate band” was determined at each workload. The mean of this “optimal rate band” for each workload varied in a nonlinear manner. There was no correlation between “mean optimal rate” and age or the peak rate predicted by the Astrand formula. Current definitions of chronotropic incompetence are inaccurate. Are some of these people at their “optimal rate” already? The arbitrary selection of rate response curves on age related criteria may lead to an impaired hemodynamic response.
Exploring the Innovative Personality Characteristics among Teachers

The aim of this study is to explore the characteristics of innovative personality among teachers in Malaysia. Samples of the research were randomly selected among secondary school teachers in three districts in Malaysia. Research instrument was self-developed by the researchers based on interviews carried out with some resource persons who are both experts and authoritative in their fields, as well as through literature review. A pilot study was carried out among 30 respondents. Cronbach’s Alpha value for the whole instrument is . 952, indicating that it is reliable and suitable for actual data collection. A total of 484 sets of questionnaires were completed and gathered to form the data for this research. The data were then analysed using an advanced statistical method called Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Findings of the research concluded three constructs, namely, Leadership, Openness and Braveness. The constructs were labelled based on groups of items which were formed as a result of the PCA analysis. Meanwhile, Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was used to validate each dimension and to analyse the coherence of data based on model hypothesis. The findings of CFA indicated the goodness-of-fit values of the revised model, as follows: CMIN/DF=2.56; CFI=. 935; and RMSEA=. 057; with each figure above the threshold value.
Antitumor activity and bystander effect of adenovirally delivered tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases-3.

We have studied the effect of a newly identified tumor suppressor tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases- 3 (TIMP-3) on the growth of human melanoma and squamous-cell carcinoma (SCC). Adenoviral delivery of the TIMP-3 gene to human melanoma (A2058) and SCC (UT-SCC-7) cells ex vivo inhibited tumorigenesis after subcutaneous (s.c.) injection of the infected cells into SCID/SCID mice. Three daily consecutive intratumoral injections of 1.4x10(9) plaque-forming units (pfu) of TIMP-3 adenovirus (RAdTIMP-3) inhibited the growth of preestablished melanoma and SCC xenografts in SCID/SCID mice, whereas growth of control virus-injected tumors was not affected. The antitumor effect of RAdTIMP-3 was obtained with in vivo adenoviral transduction efficiency of 8-10%, and it was more potent than that of adenovirally delivered p53. Adenovirusmediated expression of TIMP-3 potently reduced gelatinolytic activity, increased the number of apoptotic cells, and inhibited vascularization of melanomas. Escalation of the adenoviral dose to three rounds of three daily consecutive injections with 1.4x10(9) pfu of RAdTIMP-3 every 6 days entirely inhibited growth of injected melanomas for 32 days. Mixing RAdTIMP-3-infected A2058 cells with uninfected cells in 1:1 ratio in culture resulted in death of all cells in 96 hours. Adenovirally delivered TIMP-3 was also expressed by A2058 cells in soluble form into the culture medium, where it exerted a cytotoxic effect on uninfected A2058 cell cultures after relocating to the cell layer. These results identify TIMP-3 as a novel type of secreted tumor suppressor, which has antiinvasive, antiangiogenic, and proapoptotic effects in vivo, and which displays a potent bystander effect validating further exploration of its applicability in human cancer gene therapy.