Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Educational Gradient in HIV Diagnosis Delay, Mortality, Antiretroviral Treatment Initiation and Response in a Country with Universal Health Care

Background The aim of this study was to analyse associations between educational level and delayed HIV diagnosis (DD), late initiation of combined antiretroviral therapy (cART), overall and in subjects with timely HIV diagnosis, virological and immunological responses to cART, and mortality from HIV diagnosis and cART initiation. Methods This was a multicentre cohort study of HIV-positive treatment-naive subjects in Spain between 2004–2009. Logistic and Cox regression analyses were used. Results Of 4,549 subjects, 44.5% had low education level (LOW), 34.4% medium education level (MED) and 21.1% high education level (HIG). In men, DD was more common in MED (OR 1.3 [95% CI 1.0, 1.7]) or LOW [OR 1.8 (95% CI 1.4, 2.3)] compared to HIG. In women, the opposite was observed; women with HIG were 40% more likely to have DD than those with LOW (OR 1.4 [95% CI 0.8, 2.5]). In individuals with timely HIV diagnoses, percentages of late cART initiators were similar (LOW 9.5%, MED 11.4% and HIG 7.0%; P=0.114). Immunological (LOW 68%, MED 76% and HIG 84%) and virological (LOW 76%, MED 83% and HIG 86%) responses to cART increased significantly with educational level; these increases remained significant in multivariate analyses. Mortality for LOW subjects was higher than for HIG, from HIV diagnosis (hazard ratio [HR] 2.3 [95% CI 1.1, 4.9]) and from cART initiation (HR 1.8 [95% CI 0.8, 3.9]). Conclusions We found important differences by educational level in diagnosis delay, virological and immunological responses to cART and mortality in a country with universal health care. Women with high educational level are at higher risk of having delayed HIV diagnoses. Educational level should be taken into account when designing HIV testing and clinical management strategies.
What factors influence help-seeking for hearing impairment and hearing aid adoption in older adults?

Abstract Objective: The purpose of this review paper was to identify factors that influence older adults’ decisions to seek help for hearing impairment and to adopt hearing aids. Design: A literature search of abstracts within peer-reviewed journal articles published in English between 1990 and 2010 was conducted in online bibliographic databases using the keywords: hearing; impair* or loss; seek* or candidate* or applicant* or acquir*; and hearing aid* or help or advice. Results: Twenty-two articles that were directly relevant to this topic were included in this review. Conclusions: The evidence suggests that individuals are more likely to seek help for hearing impairment and/or adopt hearing aids if they: (1) have a moderate to severe hearing impairment and self-reported hearing-related activity limitations or participation restrictions; (2) are older; (3) perceive their hearing as poor; (4) consider there to be more benefits than barriers to amplification; and (5) perceive their significant other/s as supportive of hearing rehabilitation. A barrier to help-seeking for hearing impairment and hearing aid adoption appears to be general practitioners’ management of age-related hearing impairment.
Using gene regulation to program DNA-based molecular devices.

Molecular machines based on DNA have the ability to perform tasks on the nanometer scale. In addition to movements such as stretching and rotation, these devices can execute useful functions such as grabbing and releasing a single protein and walking a defined distance along a circular or linear track. As increasingly more machines are developed with functionality, it is desirable to be able to incorporate the devices into living organisms and artificially control within them processes on the molecular scale. Because most DNA nanomachines operate through hybridization of the machine with manually added single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) signals, it is difficult to control the devices in vivo. The integration of the instructions for nanomachine operation into a DNA gene and the genetic regulation of the expression of these instructions can enable these nanodevices to function independently and respond to environmental stimuli. This effort can be viewed in the larger context of using biological design principles for nanotechnology, a field sometimes referred to as synthetic biology. In this communication, we demonstrate that the operation of DNA nanomachines can be controlled in vitro using gene regulation switches, in particular those of E. coli bacteria.
Comparison of metal uptake rate and absorption efficiency in marine bivalves

Recent studies have quantified extensively metal assimilation efficiency from ingested food sources in aquatic invertebrates. Metal absorption efficiency (α) from the dissolved phase is analogous to metal assimilation efficiency, but it remains poorly defined and quantified. In this study, the α of four trace metals [Cd, Cr(VI), Se(IV), and Zn] was determined in three species of marine bivalves (green mussel [Perna viridis], black mussel [Septifer virgatus], and clam [Ruditapes philippinarum]). Individual bivalves were first measured for their clearance rates, followed by measurements of the metal influx rate, after which the metal α and the uptake rate constant (Ku) were then computed. Among the four metals considered; the highest Ku and α were found for Zn, followed by Cd > Cr(VI) > Se(IV). The Ku values were comparable between the two mussels but were 1.8‐ to 3.3‐fold lower in the clams. Interspecific difference in metal Ku was strongly related to, but intraspecific difference in Ku was not affected by, the bivalve's clearance rate. Interspecific difference in metal α was smaller than the metal Ku and was independent of the clearance rate, whereas the intraspecific difference in metal α correlated with the individual variations of the clearance rate. Within each bivalve species, a significant negative correlation was found between the metal α and the clearance rate, implying that an individual pumping a greater amount of water was coupled to a lower α. Significant correlation between the α of four metals was also documented in all three species of bivalves. Thus, metal bioavailability from the aqueous phase was directly related to the physiological conditions of the animals. Both the aqueous chemistry and the physiology of the animals can be important in affecting metal bioavailability from the dissolved phase.
200x Low-dose PET Reconstruction using Deep Learning

Positron emission tomography (PET) is widely used in various clinical applications, including cancer diagnosis, heart disease and neuro disorders. The use of radioactive tracer in PET imaging raises concerns due to the risk of radiation exposure. To minimize this potential risk in PET imaging, efforts have been made to reduce the amount of radio-tracer usage. However, lowing dose results in low Signal-to-Noise-Ratio (SNR) and loss of information, both of which will heavily affect clinical diagnosis. Besides, the ill-conditioning of low-dose PET image reconstruction makes it a difficult problem for iterative reconstruction algorithms. Previous methods proposed are typically complicated and slow, yet still cannot yield satisfactory results at significantly low dose. Here, we propose a deep learning method to resolve this issue with an encoder-decoder residual deep network with concatenate skip connections. Experiments shows the proposed method can reconstruct low-dose PET image to a standard-dose quality with only two-hundredth dose. Different cost functions for training model are explored. Multi-slice input strategy is introduced to provide the network with more structural information and make it more robust to noise. Evaluation on ultra-low-dose clinical data shows that the proposed method can achieve better result than the state-of-the-art methods and reconstruct images with comparable quality using only 0.5% of the original regular dose.
Safety of intrathecal autologous adipose-derived mesenchymal stromal cells in patients with ALS

Objective: To determine the safety of intrathecal autologous adipose-derived mesenchymal stromal cell treatment for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Methods: Participants with ALS were enrolled and treated in this phase I dose-escalation safety trial, ranging from 1 × 107 (single dose) to 1 × 108 cells (2 monthly doses). After intrathecal treatments, participants underwent standardized follow-up, which included clinical examinations, revised ALS Functional Rating Scale (ALSFRS-R) questionnaire, blood and CSF sampling, and MRI of the neuroaxis. Results: Twenty-seven patients with ALS were enrolled and treated in this study. The safety profile was positive, with the most common side effects reported being temporary low back and radicular leg pain at the highest dose level. These clinical findings were associated with elevated CSF protein and nucleated cells with MRI of thickened lumbosacral nerve roots. Autopsies from 4 treated patients did not show evidence of tumor formation. Longitudinal ALSFRS-R questionnaires confirmed continued progression of disease in all treated patients. Conclusions: Intrathecal treatment of autologous adipose-derived mesenchymal stromal cells appears safe at the tested doses in ALS. These results warrant further exploration of efficacy in phase II trials. Classification of evidence: This phase I study provides Class IV evidence that in patient with ALS, intrathecal autologous adipose-derived mesenchymal stromal cell therapy is safe.
Causes of death among Belgian professional military radar operators: A 37‐year retrospective cohort study

Concerns have been raised about the safety of the electromagnetic (microwave) emissions of radars, as well as about the ionizing radiation that is emitted on short distances (<2 m) by devices in the radars producing the microwaves. We retrospectively compared the cause specific mortality of 4,417 Belgian professional male military personnel who served in anti‐aircraft radar units in Germany between 1963 and 1994 to the cause specific mortality of 2,932 Belgian military personnel who served at the same time in the same place in battalions not equipped with radars. Mean follow‐up was 26 years in the 2 groups. Age‐adjusted rate ratio (RR) and 95% confidence intervals were derived from a Poisson regression model. Four hundred twenty‐four deaths in the battalions groups and 271 deaths in the control battalions occurred (RR = 1.04 (0.96–1.14)). For specific causes of deaths, RRs were 1.22 (1.03–1.47) for neoplasms and 3.51 (1.19–10.3) for symptoms, signs and ill defined conditions. RRs for other causes of death were not significantly different from 1.00. Among deaths from neoplasms, RR for hemolymphatic cancer was 7.22 (1.09–47.9). RRs for other causes of cancer deaths were not significantly different from 1.00. The results for specific tumor types were all based on very small numbers. The RR for cancer increased with decreasing age and suggested that the RR for cancer increased with the duration of stay in radar battalions. In conclusion, exposure of professional military personnel to anti‐aircraft radars that existed in Western Europe from the 1960s until the 1990s may have resulted in an increase in the incidence of hemolymphatic cancers. It remains to be established whether this increase is due to microwaves generated by radars or ionizing radiation produced by electronic devices producing the microwaves. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The Waugh Site: a Folsom-Age Bison Bonebed in Northwestern Oklahoma

The Waugh site (34HP42) was discovered in January, 1991 in Harper County, Oklahoma as a concentration of bison bones eroding from a stream margin. A Folsom projectile point was found with the bones. Professional excavation began in 1991 and continued in 1992 and 1993. In 1992, testing 100 m to the south of the bonebed revealed a hearth feature which provided two radiocarbon dates of ca. 10,390 years BP. This paper summarizes the data collected from the faunal remains pertaining to minimum number of individuals, skeletal element frequency, sex composition, and site formation processes.
Asthma in furniture and wood processing workers: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND Wood dust is a common cause of occupational asthma. There is potential for high exposure to wood dust during furniture and wood manufacturing processes. AIMS To evaluate the evidence for non-neoplastic respiratory ill health associated with work in the furniture and wood manufacturing sector. METHODS A systematic review was performed according to PRISMA guidelines. Articles were graded using SIGN (Scottish Intercollegiate Guideline Network) and MERGE (Methods for Evaluating Research Guidelines and Evidence) criteria, with data grouped by study outcome. RESULTS Initial searches identified 1328 references, from which 55 articles were included in the review. Fourteen studies were graded A using MERGE or >2++ using SIGN. All but one paper describing airway symptoms reported an increased risk in higher wood dust exposed workers in comparison to lower or non-exposed groups. Five studies reporting asthma examined dose response; three found a positive effect. The relative risk for asthma in exposed workers in the single meta-analysis was 1.5 (95% CI 1.25-1.87). Two studies reported more obstructive lung function (forced expiratory volume in 1 s [FEV1]/forced vital capacity < 0.7) in exposed populations. Excess longitudinal FEV1 decline was reported in female smokers with high wood dust exposures in one study population. Where measured, work-related respiratory symptoms did not clearly relate to specific wood immunoglobulin E positivity. CONCLUSIONS Work in this sector was associated with a significantly increased risk of respiratory symptoms and asthma. The evidence for wood dust exposure causing impaired lung function is less clearly established. Further study is required to better understand the prevalence, and causes, of respiratory problems within this sector.
Activation of canonical wnt pathway promotes differentiation of mouse bone marrow‐derived MSCs into type II alveolar epithelial cells, confers resistance to oxidative stress, and promotes their migration to injured lung tissue in vitro

The differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) into type II alveolar epithelial (AT II) cells in vivo and in vitro, is critical for reepithelization and recovery in acute lung injury (ALI), but the mechanisms responsible for differentiation are unclear. In the present study, we investigated the role of the canonical wnt pathway in the differentiation of mouse bone marrow‐derived MSCs (mMSCs) into AT II cells. Using a modified co‐culture system with murine lung epithelial‐12 (MLE‐12) cells and small airway growth media (SAGM) to efficiently drive mMSCs differentiation, we found that GSK 3β and β‐catenin in the canonical wnt pathway were up‐regulated during differentiation. The levels of surfactant protein (SP) C, SPB, and SPD, the specific markers of AT II cells, correspondingly increased in mMSCs when Wnt3a or LiCl was added to the co‐culture system to activate wnt/β‐catenin signaling. The expression of these factors was depressed to some extent by inhibiting the pathway with the addition of DKK 1. The differentiation rate of mMSCs also depends on their abilities to accumulate and survive in inflammatory tissue. Our results suggested that the activation of wnt/β‐catenin signaling promoted mMSCs migration towards ALI mouse‐derived lung tissue in a Transwell assay, and ameliorated the cell death and the reduction of Bcl‐2/Bax induced by H2O2, which simultaneously caused reduced GSK 3β and β‐catenin in mMSCs. These data supports a potential mechanism for the differentiation of mMSCs into AT II cells involving canonical wnt pathway activation, which may be significant to their application in ALI. J. Cell. Physiol. 228: 1270–1283, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Resonantly damped oscillations of longitudinally stratified coronal loops

Soon after coronal loop oscillations were observed by TRACE spacecraft for the first time in 1999, various theoretical models have been put forward to explain the rapid damping of the oscillations of these intriguing objects. Coronal loop oscillations are often interpreted as fast kink modes of a straight cylindrical magnetic flux tube with immovable edges modelling dense photospheric plasma at the ends of the loop. Taking this model as a basis we use cold plasma approximation and consider the tube to be thin to simplify the problem and be able to deal with it analytically. In its equilibrium state the tube is permeated by a homogeneous magnetic field directed along the tube axis. We include the effect of stratification in our model supposing that plasma density varies along the tube. There is also density inhomogeneity in the radial direction confined in a layer with thickness much smaller than the radius of the tube. Considering the system of linearized MHD equations we study the dependence of the spectrum of tube oscillations and its damping due to resonant absorption on the parameters of the unperturbed state. The implication of the obtained results on coronal seismology is discussed.
Language testing and assessment (Part I)

In Part 1 of this two-part review article (Alderson & Banerjee, 2001), we first addressed issues of washback, ethics, politics and standards. After a discussion of trends in testing on a national level and in testing for specific purposes, we surveyed developments in computer-based testing and then finally examined self-assessment, alternative assessment and the assessment of young learners. In this second part, we begin by discussing recent theories of construct validity and the theories of language use that help define the constructs that we wish to measure through language tests. The main sections of the second part concentrate on summarising recent research into the constructs themselves, in turn addressing reading, listening, grammatical and lexical abilities, speaking and writing. Finally we discuss a number of outstanding issues in the field.
The Face of Distaste: A Preliminary Study

Distaste is a primitive rejection impulse triggered by the ingestion of unpleasant tasting substances, many of which are toxic. Theoretical work has suggested that distaste may be the evolutionary precursor for both physical disgust, which serves to defend against disease and other threats to biological fitness, and moral disgust, which defends against threats to the social order. Consistent with this proposal, recent work has found that the facial expression of distaste may be similar to that of disgust. Specifically, raising of the upper lip has been reported in distaste, physical disgust, and moral disgust. However, competing evidence suggests that distaste and disgust expressions may differ, and the facial expressions of adult humans in response to distasteful stimuli remain poorly specified. To address this issue, we conducted a preliminary experiment to investigate the upper lip raise in adult volunteers (N = 15) as they tasted unpleasant, pleasant, and neutral liquids. We found increased raising of the upper lip for bitter and salty tastes relative to water and sweet, suggesting that the upper lip raise is indeed part of the distaste expression. Given evidence that the upper lip raise is also present in physical and moral disgust, these results are consistent with the proposed origins of disgust in distaste.
Impacts of leuprolide acetate on quality of life in patients with prostate cancer: A prospective multicenter study

Abstract Objective. To investigate the impacts of leuprolide acetate on the quality of life (QoL) of patients with prostate cancer. Material and methods. A total of 104 patients was enrolled in this prospective multicenter study. All patients received subcutaneous injections of 3.75 mg leuprolide acetate at 4 week intervals for a total of 12 weeks. QoL was assessed before treatment and at 12 weeks using the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 30 (EORTC QLQ-C30) and an accompanying prostate cancer-specific module (QLQ-PR25). Results. Eighty-nine of 104 patients (85.6%) completed the 12 week study. Eighty-six of 89 patients (96.6%) achieved and maintained medical castration. The results of the EORTC QLQ-C30 indicated that patients experienced an improvement in global health status/QoL (p < 0.001), despite a deterioration in physical and role functioning (p = 0.012 and p = 0.007, respectively). The symptom scales indicated a statistically significant improvement in appetite (p = 0.003). The results of the QLQ-PR25 revealed that patients experienced an increase in hot flushes (p < 0.001) and erection problems and uncomfortable sexual intimacy among the sexual functioning items (p = 0.030 and p = 0.023, respectively), but day-time urinary frequency was improved (p = 0.004). Conclusion. The results of this prospective study indicate that leuprolide acetate treatment was accompanied by improvements in global health status/QoL, despite a deterioration in physical, role and sexual function.
Hepatitis C Virus-Like Particle Budding: Role of the Core Protein and Importance of Its Asp 111

In the absence of a hepatitis C virus (HCV) culture system, the use of a Semliki Forest virus replicon expressing genes encoding HCV structural proteins that assemble into HCV-like particles provides an oppor-tunity to study HCV morphogenesis. Using this system, we showed that the HCV core protein constitutes the budding apparatus of the virus and that its targeting to the endoplasmic reticulum by means of the signal sequence of E1 protein is essential for budding. In addition, the aspartic acid at position 111 in the HCV core protein sequence was found to be crucial for virus assembly, demonstrating the usefulness of this system for mapping amino acids critical to HCV morphogenesis.
Cysteamine effects on growth hormone secretion in the male rat.

The thiol agent cysteamine (CSH) is reported to deplete immunoreactive somatostatin (SS) in the central nervous system and the gastrointestinal tract of rats. We investigated whether CSH, given sc, alters physiological GH secretion in chronically cannulated male rats. A dose of 300 mg/kg totally disrupted episodic GH secretion, causing an elevation of GH baseline levels and an absence of GH secretory bursts. CSH at a dose of 90 m/gg elevated GH trough levels and slightly reduced GH peak amplitudes, whereas a dose of 30 mg/kg did not affect episodic GH secretion. GH patterns remained disrupted in most animals on day 2 after drug administration, but returned to normal by 1 week. The administration of anti-SS serum resulted in a further elevation of GH levels in CSH-treated animals. Both clonidine and morphine induced a GH rise in treated animals. The GH response to stress was attenuated in CSH-treated animals. CSH at the highest dose given (300 mg/kg) markedly reduced norepinephrine (NE) concentrations (56%.
Recent developments in the treatment of tuberculosis

The history of chemotherapy of tuberculosis commenced in 1944 with the discovery of streptomycin. Currently, short-course chemotherapy comprising rifampicin, isoniazid, pyrazinamide and ethambutol/streptomycin administered under directly observed settings for 6 months (initially all four drugs followed by the former two drugs), constitutes the cornerstone treatment for pulmonary tuberculosis. Multi-drug resistant tuberculosis requires alternative chemotherapy, ideally in the form of individualised regimens, for management. To improve on the duration of chemotherapy for drug-susceptible tuberculosis and to achieve better treatment for multi-drug resistant tuberculosis as well as latent tuberculosis infection, there arises a genuine need for new drugs. The quest for new agents is, however, impeded by obstacles. Hopefully, tackling these through collaborative public-private partnerships on an international scale will lead to a fruitful outcome.