Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Complement component 4d immunostaining in liver allografts of patients with de novo immune hepatitis

De novo immune hepatitis (DNIH) is a form of late graft dysfunction after liver transplantation. The fine mechanisms leading to the development of DNIH are not known, and whether this hepatitis is a form of rejection or a result of an auto/alloimmune injury has not been established. In our patients, DNIH was always preceded by the production of donor‐specific antibodies against the glutathione S‐transferase T1 (GSTT1) enzyme because of a genetic mismatch in which the donors carried the wild‐type gene and the recipients displayed the null genotype. Complement component 4d (C4d) immunopositivity in 12 paraffin‐embedded liver biopsy samples from 8 patients diagnosed with DNIH associated with anti‐GSTT1 antibodies was retrospectively evaluated. Six patients with a diagnosis of chronic rejection (CR) and 7 patients with hepatitis C virus recurrence were included as control groups. Among the patients with DNIH, 7 showed C4d‐positive immunostaining localized in the portal tracts, whereas in the tested biopsy samples of the 2 control groups, this staining pattern was absent. Four biopsy samples of the CR group showed C4d‐positive sinusoidal staining. This study confirms the activation of the complement pathway in the presence of donor‐specific antibodies, which was shown by the deposition of C4d elements in liver biopsy samples of patients with DNIH. The use of C4d as a marker of antibody‐mediated rejection in liver allografts in the presence of antidonor antibodies is discussed, and it may contribute to improved differential diagnoses based on biopsy findings. Liver Transpl 17:779‐788, 2011. © 2011 AASLD.
IN SITU EXPERIMENTAL EVIDENCE OF PHOSPHORUS LIMITATION ON ALGAL GROWTH IN A LAKE ECOSYSTEM

ABSTRACT This paper presents the results of in situ Nutrient Stimulation Experiments (NSEs) demonstrating that phosphorus was the primary nutrient controlling algal growth in the Taechung Reservoir, Korea. Algal response in most treatments with only nitrogen added was less than or the same as in the controls, whereas the growth in treatments enriched with phosphorus increased by as much as fivefold. Phosphorus limitation was consistent over the experimental period when bioassay experiments were conducted, but the magnitude of growth response to phosphorus enrichments varied with the season. Algal yield in P-treatments was maximum when thermal stratification was strong and total dissolved phosphorus (TDP) was near the level of depletion. Regression analyses of NSEs showed that in situ algal response in P treatments, measured as log-transformed CHLf : CHLi ratios, declined (R 2 = 0.995, p < 0.001) with ambient concentrations of log-transformed TDP. Also, algal response in the P treatments showed a first-order linear fit (R 2 = 0.961, p<0.001) with log-transformed DIN (dissolved inorganic nitrogen) : TDP ratios. These outcomes indicate that the magnitude of in situ algal response increased with lower levels of P and higher dissolved N : P ratios in the ambient lake water. Our experimental approach employing NSEs suggests that abatement of phosphorus from the watershed seems to be an efficient management strategy to control the eutrophication of this system.
A randomized trial of collaborative depression care in obstetrics and gynecology clinics: socioeconomic disadvantage and treatment response.

OBJECTIVE The authors evaluated whether an obstetrics-gynecology clinic-based collaborative depression care intervention is differentially effective compared with usual care for socially disadvantaged women with either no health insurance or with public coverage compared with those with commercial insurance. METHOD The study was a two-site randomized controlled trial with an 18-month follow-up. Women were recruited who screened positive (a score of at least 10 on the Patient Health Questionnaire-9) and met criteria for major depression or dysthymia. The authors tested whether insurance status had a differential effect on continuous depression outcomes between the intervention and usual care over 18 months. They also assessed differences between the intervention and usual care in quality of depression care and dichotomous clinical outcomes (a decrease of at least 50% in depressive symptom severity and patient-rated improvement on the Patient Global Improvement Scale). RESULTS The treatment effect was significantly associated with insurance status. Compared with patients with commercial insurance, those with no insurance or with public coverage had greater recovery from depression symptoms with collaborative care than with usual care over the 18-month follow-up period. At the 12-month follow-up, the effect size for depression improvement compared with usual care among women with no insurance or with public coverage was 0.81 (95% CI=0.41, 0.95), whereas it was 0.39 (95% CI=-0.08, 0.84) for women with commercial insurance. CONCLUSIONS Collaborative depression care adapted to obstetrics-gynecology settings had a greater impact on depression outcomes for socially disadvantaged women with no insurance or with public coverage compared with women with commercial insurance.
Beyond Grand Theft Auto V for Training, Testing and Enhancing Deep Learning in Self Driving Cars

As an initial assessment, over 480,000 labeled virtual images of normal highway driving were readily generated in Grand Theft Auto V's virtual environment. Using these images, a CNN was trained to detect following distance to cars/objects ahead, lane markings, and driving angle (angular heading relative to lane centerline): all variables necessary for basic autonomous driving. Encouraging results were obtained when tested on over 50,000 labeled virtual images from substantially different GTA-V driving environments. This initial assessment begins to define both the range and scope of the labeled images needed for training as well as the range and scope of labeled images needed for testing the definition of boundaries and limitations of trained networks. It is the efficacy and flexibility of a "GTA-V"-like virtual environment that is expected to provide an efficient well-defined foundation for the training and testing of Convolutional Neural Networks for safe driving. Additionally, described is the Princeton Virtual Environment (PVE) for the training, testing and enhancement of safe driving AI, which is being developed using the video-game engine Unity. PVE is being developed to recreate rare but critical corner cases that can be used in re-training and enhancing machine learning models and understanding the limitations of current self driving models. The Florida Tesla crash is being used as an initial reference.
Detection of Shiga toxin-producing Shigella dysenteriae type 1 and Escherichia coli by using polymerase chain reaction with incorporation of digoxigenin-11-dUTP

A technique has been developed for the detection of Shiga toxin- and Shiga-like toxin type I (ShT/SLT-I)-producing Shigella dysenteriae type 1 and Escherichia coli by using the polymerase chain reaction with the incorporation of digoxigenin-11-dUTP. Target DNA liberated from whole cells was amplified, using primer pairs homologous to the A-subunit genes of ShT/SLT-I. The TTP analog digoxigenin-11-dUTP was incorporated into the reaction mixture, permitting nonradioactive labeling of the amplified DNA. The labeled polymerase chain reaction products were hybridized to specific gene sequences immobilized on a nitrocellulose membrane and detected by using an alkaline phosphatase-conjugated antibody to digoxigenin and the enzyme substrates. Toxin-producing strains of E. coli and S. dysenteriae type 1 were identified as colored spots on the membrane. Because this technique does not require DNA purification, gel electrophoresis, or radioactive DNA probes, it is suitable for the clinical detection of ShT/SLT-I-producing strains of S. dysenteriae type 1 and E. coli.
Cytokine regulation of adult human osteoblast‐like cell prostaglandin biosynthesis

Prostaglandin (PG) biosynthesis by cytokine stimulated normal adult human osteoblast‐like (hOB) cells was evaluated by thin layer chromatography, high performance liquid chromatography, and specific immunoassays. PGE2 was the predominant PG formed under all incubation conditions tested. Control samples produced measurable amounts of PGE2, and the measured level of this metabolite increased by 22‐fold (from 7 to 152 ng/ml) following a 20 h treatment with the combination of TGFβ and tumor necrosis factor‐α(TNF). The production of 6‐keto‐PGF1α (the stable metabolite of prostacyclin) and of PGF2α were each increased by about five‐fold (from about 0.5 to 2.5 ng/ml) in samples treated with the cytokines. Thus, TGFβ and TNF exerted a regulation of hOB cell PG biosynthesis that was principally directed towards an increased PGE2 biosynthesis, with lesser effects on the production of other PG metabolites. COX‐2 mRNA levels were increased within 2 h of cytokine stimulation, reached a maximum at 6–12 h, and levels had appreciably diminished by 24 h after treatment. Both TGFβ and TNF could independently increase COX‐2 mRNA levels and PG biosynthesis. However, the increased production of PGE2 resulting from TNF stimulation was blocked by the addition of an interleukin‐1β (IL‐1β) neutralizing antibody, suggesting that TNF regulation of hOB cell PG synthesis was secondary to its capacity to increase hOB cell IL‐1β production. TGFβ regulation of PG production was not affected by the addition of the neutralizing antibody. These studies support the proposition that PGs can be important autocrine/paracrine mediators of bone biology, whose production by hOB cells is responsively regulated by osteotropic cytokines. J. Cell. Biochem. 64:618–631. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
ASEAN as the ‘regional conductor’: understanding ASEAN's role in Asia-Pacific order

ABSTRACT This paper analyses ASEAN's prominence in regional order negotiation and management in Southeast Asia and the Asia-pacific through the lens of social role negotiation. It argues that ASEAN has negotiated legitimate social roles as the ‘primary manager’ in Southeast Asia and the ‘regional conductor’ of the Asia-Pacific order. It develops an English School-inspired role negotiation framework and applies it to three periods: 1954–1975 when ASEAN's ‘primary manager’ role emerged from negotiations with the USA; 1978–1991 when ASEAN's role was strengthened through negotiations with China during the Cambodian conflict; and 1991-present when ASEAN created and expanded the ‘regional conductor’ role. Negotiations during the Cold War established a division of labour where great powers provided security public goods but the great power function of diplomatic leadership was transferred to ASEAN. ASEAN's diplomatic leadership in Southeast Asia provided a foundation for creating its ‘regional conductor’ role after the Cold War. ASEAN's ability to sustain its roles depends on maintaining role bargains acceptable to the great powers, an increasingly difficult task due to great power rivalry in the South China Sea.
Women’s Knowledge About Cervical Cancer and Cervical Screening Practice: A Pilot Study of Hong Kong Chinese Women

Cervical cancer is the seventh leading cause of death and the fourth most common type of cancer among Hong Kong Chinese women. Despite the provision of cervical screening programs, women’s attendance for screening remains low at 59%. Evidence suggests that women’s knowledge about cervical cancer and preventive strategies are significant to their screening practice. A preliminary pilot study consisting of a two-phase descriptive design using quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection was undertaken to investigate the level of knowledge about cervical cancer and cervical screening among a population of Hong Kong Chinese women. From a total sample of 467 women, 242 (52%) responded to a confidential questionnaire, 18 of whom, aged between 30 and 54 years, volunteered to participate in a semistructured interview. A total of 135 (57%) women had attended screening, with those who were married with children significantly more likely to attend. Although no significant difference was found between the overall level of knowledge of attenders and nonattenders, individual items such as women’s knowledge of risk factors were significant. The need for further knowledge about the preventive nature of cervical screening and regular screening was demonstrated. Other factors influencing Chinese women’s attendance patterns included advice from practitioners and the significance of children to women’s propensity for self-care. The implications of these findings to women’s attendance patterns for screening are considered, particularly the need for culturally sensitive health promotion and intervention strategies.
A Cultural Herpetology of Nile Crocodiles in Africa

Human-wildlife conflict is a growing problem worldwide wherever humans share landscapes with large predators, and negative encounters with eight species of the crocodilians is particularly widespread. Conservationists' responses to these adverse encounters have focused on the ecological and behavioural aspects of predators, rather than on the social, political, and cultural contexts, which have threatened their existence in the first place. Few studies have thus far tried to understand the rich, varied, contradictory, and complex relations that exist between particular humans and human societies, and particular predators and groups of predators. It is in the spirit of Brian Morris's explorations of the interactional encounters and co-produced sociabilities that exist between humans and animals in specific places and regions that this paper offers a cultural herpetology (an account of human-crocodile interrelations) of the Nile crocodile (Crocodilus niloticus and C. suchus) in Africa. It draws on extensive historical documentation of the interactions of humans and crocodiles across Africa to examine how diverse and complex human responses to Nile crocodiles have been, and continue to be, and suggests some implications for improving human-crocodile relations.
Assessing the President: The Media, Elite Opinion, and Public Support

Part I. Introduction: 1. The American people and presidential popularity 2. The presidential honeymoon 3. The rally phenomenon in public opinion Part II. Presidential Popularity After the Honeymoon: 4. Of time and presidential popularity 5. Economic performance and presidential popularity 6. Daily news and the dynamics of support for the president 7. Daily news and public support for the president, Kennedy through Ford 8. Daily news and public support for presidents Carter and Reagan 9. Public support for the president and democratic control of public policy Index.
Changes in carotid body amine levels and effects of dopamine on respiration in rats treated neonatally with capsaicin

1 Dopamine levels in rat carotid bodies and the effects of intravenous dopamine injections on respiration in adult rats anaesthetized with pentobarbitone have been studied in animals which were treated with capsaicin neonatally. 2 Levels of dopamine were five fold higher in the carotid bodies of capsaicin‐treated rats as compared with vehicle‐treated controls, but there was no significant difference between capasicin‐treated and vehicle‐treated rats in their ID50 values for dopamine‐induced respiratory depression. 3 Domperidone, a dopamine D2‐receptor antagonist, substantially reduced the respiratory depression caused by dopamine, both in capsaicin‐treated and in control animals, suggesting that a D2‐receptor was involved in the response. Cutting the carotid sinus nerves greatly reduced the ventilatory‐depressant effect of dopamine, showing that sensory receptors, most probably arterial chemoreceptors, were responsible for most of the response. 4 Substantially less reflex hyperventilation was evoked in capsaicin‐treated rats by the peripheral chemoreceptor stimulants hypoxia and sodium cyanide, in comparison with the controls, and domperidone did not increase the responsiveness. About 80% of the reflex ventilatory change originated from carotid body chemoreceptors. 5 The hypoventilation caused by breathing 100% O2 was not significantly different in capsaicin‐treated rats when compared with controls. Domperidone substantially reduced this response in capsaicin‐treated rats, but not in vehicle‐treated animals. 6 Dopamine‐induced respiratory depression in capsaicin‐treated rats was slightly enhanced, rather than reduced, by oxygen breathing; domperidone remained an effective antagonist of dopamine‐induced ventilatory depression. 7 Most of the reduction in respiration caused by dopamine in rats anaesthetized with pentobarbitone can be attributed to actions on a dopamine D2‐receptor located in the carotid body. However, despite the increased levels of dopamine found in the carotid bodies, the reduced peripheral chemosensitivity observed in anaesthetized capsaicin‐treated rats does not appear to result from a change in sensitivity to dopamine.
Estimation of a Dynamic Multilevel Factor Model with possible long-range dependence

A dynamic multilevel factor model with possible stochastic time trends is proposed. In the model, long-range dependence and short memory dynamics are allowed in global and regional common factors as well as model innovations. Estimation of global and regional common factors is performed on the prewhitened series, for which the prewhitening parameter is estimated semiparametrically from the cross-sectional and regional average of the observable series. Employing canonical correlation analysis and a sequential least-squares algorithm on the prewhitened series, the resulting multilevel factor estimates have a centered asymptotic normal distribution. Selection of the number of global and regional factors is also discussed. Estimates are found to have good small-sample performance via Monte Carlo simulations. The method is then applied to the Nord Pool electricity market for the analysis of price comovements among different regions within the power grid. The global factor is identified to be the system price, and fractional cointegration relationships are found between regional prices and the system price.
How does the welfare state model influence social political attitudes? An analysis of citizens’ concrete and abstract attitudes toward poverty

ABSTRACT This study examines the relationship between the welfare state models and social political attitudes. The data are based on the sixth round of the European Social Survey. The study revealed a mechanism of how the relationship between concrete and abstract attitudes differs between the welfare states. In the Anglo-Saxon and Nordic welfare states the relationship is a positive one, which indicates that the welfare state has a broad support among citizens. In the Continental, Eastern and Southern welfare states the relationship is a negative one. This means that the less satisfied citizens are with governmental measures, the more positive their attitudes are regarding protecting citizens against poverty. Also the study showed that the welfare state model directly influences citizens’ concrete attitudes and indirectly influences abstract poverty attitudes. In this sense, the welfare state model is seen more as an attitudinal perception than an actual social policy.
Asymmetry analysis of cingulum based on scale‐invariant parameterization by diffusion tensor imaging

Current analysis of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is based mostly on a region of interest (ROI) in an image dataset, which is specified by users. This method is not always reliable, however, because of the uncertainty of manual specification. We introduce an improved fiber‐based scheme rather than an ROI‐based analysis to study in DTI datasets of 31 normal subjects the asymmetry of the cingulum, which is one of the most prominent white matter fiber tracts of the limbic system. The present method can automatically extract the quantitative anisotropy properties along the cingulum bundles from tractography. Moreover, statistical analysis was carried out after anatomic correspondence specific to the cingulum across subjects was established, rather than the traditional whole‐brain registration. The main merit of our method compared to existing counterparts is that to find such anatomic correspondence in cingulum, a scale‐invariant parameterization method by arc‐angle was proposed. It can give a continuous and exact description on any segment of cingulum. More interestingly, a significant left‐greater‐than‐right asymmetry pattern was obtained in most segments of cingulum bundle (−50–25 degrees), except in the most posterior portion of cingulum (25–50 degrees). Hum Brain Mapp 24:92–98, 2005. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Development and evaluation of a web-based assent for adolescents considering an HIV vaccine trial

HIV vaccine trials with minors will likely require parental permission and informed assent from adolescents. For this to be a valid process, the information needs to be presented in a manner that promotes adolescent comprehension. Previous studies suggest that adolescent comprehension of assent is often insufficient. We developed an interactive web-based assent that included interspersed quiz questions for a hypothetical HIV vaccine trial. Efficacy of the web-based assent was compared to a standard paper assent with and without interspersed questions. One hundred twenty teen participants, ages 15–17 years, from five community organizations were randomized to self-administered web-based assent (n = 60) or investigator-administered paper assent with (n = 29) or without (n = 31) interspersed quiz questions. After reviewing the assent, participants completed a 27-item comprehension test. Comprehension scores were compared between groups. The mean number of correctly answered questions were 21.2 for the full paper group and 21.1 for the web-based group (t118 = –0.08, p = 0.94). Scores were 20.2 for the paper without interspersed questions sub-group and 22.1 for the paper with interspersed questions sub-group (t58 = 1.96, p = 0.055). Participants in the web-based group performed as well on the comprehension test as those in the paper group, and those in the paper with questions sub-group performed better than those in the paper without questions sub-group, suggesting that interspersed quiz questions may improve understanding of a traditional paper assent. The minimal investigator time and standardized administration of the web-based assent as well as ability to tailor the assent discussion to topics identified by incorrect comprehension test responses are advantages worthy of further investigation.