Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Oral lesions as predictors of highly active antiretroviral therapy failure in Brazilian HIV-infected children.

OBJECTIVES Evaluate the accuracy of HIV-related oral lesions to predict immune and virologic failure on HIV-infected children in use of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). STUDY DESIGN Data for this cross-sectional analysis come from a longitudinal study being conducted through the HIV-AIDS Outpatient Unit, ENT Division, Hospital das Clinicas, Sao Paulo University Medical School. The study began in January 1990 and is still ongoing. The cut-off point for analyses purposes was December 2004. Subjects were 471 HIV-infected consecutive children attending the outpatient unit during this period, who enrolled regardless of medical or immunological status. The children have undertaken oral cavity examination, serum CD4(+) T-lymphocyte count, and, 271 of them, viral load measurement. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and relative risk were calculated. RESULTS Oral lesions had moderate sensitivity, high specificity and positive predictive value to predict immune failure. It had low sensitivity and positive predictive value, and high specificity to predict virologic failure. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS Oral manifestations of HIV can be important markers for immune suppression and for virologic failure, in Brazilian children undergoing HAART.
Probe-mediated control of quantum systems

We study a new approach to the control of a quantum system S, which uses the coupling of S with a quantum probe P, rather than a direct action on S. The external control affects only P, and the accessibility and controllability properties describe to what extent it is possible to drive the state of S by varying the initial state of P and using the interaction between the two systems. In particular, we study the case of two-dimensional system and probe. Two situations are considered: either the total system S+P is a closed one, or it is surrounded by a bath of decoupled harmonic oscillators. We give results on the controllability and accessibility properties of this scheme, and we discuss the relation of these properties with the entangling capability of the interaction between S and P. In particular, we show that the SWAP operator plays a special role
Current Standards in the Diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori Infection

A large number of diagnostic tests are available for the diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori infection. These diagnostic methods include invasive and noninvasive methods. Culture yields the highest specificity and moreover allows the determination of strain resistance against antibiotics. Histology besides detection of H. pylori allows to assess morphological changes of the gastric mucosa. In clinical practice, the rapid urease test is very convenient and highly accurate. The 13C-urea breath test and the recently developed stool antigen test are reliable noninvasive tests with a high diagnostic accuracy in pre- and posttreatment conditions. Serological tests have a lower diagnostic accuracy and should only be used for screening of H. pylori infection or after careful local validation.
Effect of local and parenteral immunization on implantation of Actinomyces viscosus T6 in rats

Groups of rats immunized in the vicinity of the major salivary glands or immunized intraperitoneally with Actinomyces viscosus T6 and their sham-immunized controls were infected with the homologous bacterium. Significantly higher levels of salivary and serum antibody were induced by intraperitoneal than by salivary gland immunization. There were also significant inverse correlations between the levels of salivary and serum antibody and the levels of implantation of A. viscosus T6. The level of implantation of A. viscosus T6 was significantly lower in the immunized animals than in the controls. However, antibody had limited capacity to inhibit the establishment of this bacterium.
Constructing consensus controllers for networks with identical general linear agents

We use a high‐gain methodology to construct linear decentralized controllers for consensus, in networks with identical but general multi‐input linear time‐invariant (LTI) agents and quite‐general time‐invariant and time‐varying observation topologies. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Indirect comparison of randomised controlled trials: comparative efficacy of dexlansoprazole vs. esomeprazole in the treatment of gastro‐oesophageal reflux disease

Dexlansoprazole is a new proton pump inhibitor (PPI) with a dual delayed‐release system. Both dexlansoprazole and esomeprazole are an enantiomer of lansoprazole and omeprazole respectively. However, there is no head‐to‐head trial data or indirect comparison analyses between dexlansoprazole and esomeprazole.
Conformational dynamics is more important than helical propensity for the folding of the all α‐helical protein Im7

Im7 folds via an on‐pathway intermediate that contains three of the four native α‐helices. The missing helix, helix III, is the shortest and its failure to be formed until late in the pathway is related to frustration in the structure. Im7H3M3, a 94‐residue variant of the 87‐residue Im7 in which helix III is the longest of the four native helices, also folds via an intermediate. To investigate the structural basis for this we calculated the frustration in the structure of Im7H3M3 and used NMR to investigate its dynamics. We found that the native state of Im7H3M3 is highly frustrated and in equilibrium with an intermediate state that lacks helix III, similar to Im7. Model‐free analysis identified residues with chemical exchange contributions to their relaxation that aligned with the residues predicted to have highly frustrated interactions, also like Im7. Finally, we determined properties of urea‐denatured Im7H3M3 and identified four clusters of interacting residues that corresponded to the α‐helices of the native protein. In Im7 the cluster sizes were related to the lengths of the α‐helices with cluster III being the smallest but in Im7H3M3 cluster III was also the smallest, despite this region forming the longest helix in the native state. These results suggest that the conformational properties of the urea‐denatured states promote formation of a three‐helix intermediate in which the residues that form helix III remain non‐helical. Thus it appears that features of the native structure are formed early in folding linked to collapse of the unfolded state.
Longitudinal assessment of the effect of age and experience on performance in 161-km ultramarathons.

PURPOSE This work longitudinally assesses the influence of aging and experience on time to complete 161-km ultramarathons. METHODS From 29,331 finishes by 4066 runners who had completed 3 or more 161-km ultramarathons in North America from 1974 through 2010, independent cohorts of men (n = 3,092), women (n = 717), and top-performing men (n = 257) based on age-group finish place were identified. Linear mixed-effects regression was used to assess the effects of aging and previous 161-km finish number on finish time adjusted for the random effects of runner, event, and year. RESULTS Men and women up to 38 y of age slowed by 0.05-0.06 h/y with advancing age. Men slowed 0.17 h/y from 38 through 50 y and 0.23 h/y after 50 y. Women slowed 0.20-0.23 h/y with advancing age from 38 y. Top-performing men under 38 y did not slow with increasing age but slowed by 0.26 and 0.39 h/y from 38 through 50 y and after 50 y, respectively. Finish number was inversely associated with finish time for all 3 cohorts. A 10th or higher finish was 1.3, 1.7, and almost 3 h faster than a first finish for men, women, and top-performing men, respectively. CONCLUSIONS High-level performances in 161-km ultramarathoners can be sustained late into the 4th decade of life, but subsequent aging is associated with declines in performance. Nevertheless, the adverse effects of aging on performance can be offset by greater experience in these events.
Reconstruction of the female Gorilla gorilla karyotype using 25-color FISH and multicolor banding (MCB)

The origin of the human and great ape chromosomes has been studied by comparative chromosome banding analysis and, more recently, by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), using human whole-chromosome painting probes. It is not always possible, however, to determine the exact breakpoints and distribution or orientation of specific DNA regions using these techniques. To overcome this problem, the recently developed multicolor banding (MCB) probe set for all human chromosomes was applied in the present study to reanalyze the chromosomes of Gorilla gorilla (GGO). While the results agree with those of most previous banding and FISH studies, the breakpoints for the pericentric inversion on GGO 3 were defined more precisely. Moreover, no paracentric inversion was found on GGO 14, and no pericentric inversions could be demonstrated on GGO 16 or 17.
Long Term Quantification of Climate and Land Cover Change Impacts on Streamflow in an Alpine River Catchment, Northwestern China

Quantifying the long term impacts of climate and land cover change on streamflow is of great important for sustainable water resources management in inland river basins. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model was employed to simulate the streamflow in the upper reaches of Heihe River Basin, northwestern China, over the last half century. The Sequential Uncertainty Fitting algorithm (SUFI-2) was selected to calibrate and validate the SWAT model. The results showed that both Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE) and determination coefficient (R2) were over 0.93 for calibration and validation periods, the percent bias (PBIAS) of the two periods were—3.47% and 1.81%, respectively. The precipitation, average, maximum, and minimum air temperature were all showing increasing trends, with 14.87 mm/10 years, 0.30 °C/10 years, 0.27 °C/10 year, and 0.37 °C/10 years, respectively. Runoff coefficient has increased from 0.36 (averaged during 1964 to 1988) to 0.39 (averaged during 1989 to 2013). Based on the SWAT simulation, we quantified the contribution of climate and land cover change to streamflow change, indicated that the land cover change had a positive impact on river discharge by increasing 7.12% of the streamflow during 1964 to 1988, and climate change contributed 14.08% for the streamflow increasing over last 50 years. Meanwhile, the climate change impact was intensive after 2000s. The increasing of streamflow contributed to the increasing of total streamflow by 64.1% for cold season (November to following March) and 35.9% for warm season (April to October). The results provide some references for dealing with climate and land cover change in an inland river basin for water resource management and planning.
Decisional strategies for the attribution of emotional distress in primary care

Background. In primary care the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) is used to provide an independent assessment of probable caseness of psychological disorder against which to test the ability of the general practitioner (GP) to recognize patients with current emotional problems. Method. The aim of the present study was to identify those clinical and psychosocial data on patients that increase the likelihood of GPs' attribution of emotional distress (GP model) and those that predict patients' emotional distress as defined by the GHQ-12 (GHQ model). The associations were explored using a classification tree technique (CHAID) and compared using bivariate logistic regression. Six GPs and 444 primary care patients took part. Results. The accuracy indices of the hierarchical GP and GHQ models were 72% and 69% respectively. The availability of information on patients' psychopharmacological and psychiatric/psychological treatment in the last year was the most important predictor of attribution. Occupational, financial and housing problems and life events of loss were the most important predictors of the GHQ-12 case definition. The overall accuracy of the bivariate model was 73%. Compared with the GHQ-12, GPs gave significantly more importance to psychiatric treatment, psychopharmacological drug use and chronic illness. Conclusions. The findings suggest that to improve the detection of current emotional distress in primary care patients GPs should pay foremost and systematic attention to social problems and recent life events of loss. These problems are important clues for the possible presence of emotional distress, whereas critical patient data, in particular psychiatric history and psychopharmacological treatment, increase the probability of attribution errors.
Use of multiple peptides containing T cell epitopes is a feasible approach for peptide‐based immunotherapy in Can f 1 allergy

We have previously shown that the major dog allergen Can f 1 contains seven T cell epitope regions, none of which was preferentially recognized. To identify the immune characteristics of Can f 1 epitopes and to verify their suitability for peptide‐based allergen immunotherapy, short‐term T cell lines were generated with epitope‐containing peptides from peripheral blood mononuclear cells of Can f 1 skinprick test‐positive allergic and healthy control subjects. The lines were examined for their proliferative capacity and cytokine production upon stimulation with the allergen peptide, a homologous peptide from human tear lipocalin (TL) and Can f 1 and TL proteins. Can f 1 peptides induced proliferation of T cells and gave rise to T cell lines with comparable efficiencies. In particular, the T cell lines of allergic subjects induced with p33–48 and p107–122 favoured the production of interferon‐γ and interleukin‐10, respectively. A greater number of Can f 1‐specific T cell lines were generated from allergic than from healthy individuals. Two p107–122‐induced Can f 1‐specific T cell lines also reacted to a homologous peptide of human TL. Our results suggest that several T cell epitope‐containing peptides should be used in combination for specific immunotherapy in Can f 1 allergy.
Stroke-associated pneumonia: microbiological data and outcome.

INTRODUCTION Pneumonia is a common complication after acute stroke. It affects the outcome adversely. However, data regarding microbiology of stroke-associated pneumonia and its effect on outcome is scarce. METHODS Stroke-associated pneumonia was identified through chart review of all ICD-9 identified adult stroke patients admitted to our hospital over a period of four years (1998-2001). The demographical, laboratory, radiological, microbiological data and outcome of patients with stroke-associated pneumonia were recorded and analysed. RESULTS 443 patients with stroke were admitted over the four-year period and 102 (23 percent) had stroke-associated pneumonia. Their ages range from 28 to 100 (mean 64+/-14) years. 69 (68 percent) were men. Median length of stay was nine days compared to four days for all stroke patients. 68 (67 percent) patients manifested pneumonia within 48 hours and 34 (33 percent) after 48 hours of admission. Yield of tracheal aspirate cultures was 38 percent and that of chest radiographs was 25 percent. Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus were the most common organisms (12 percent each) followed by Streptococcus pneumoniae and Klebsiella pneumoniae (4 percent each). Patients with infiltrates on chest radiographs were more likely to have positive tracheal aspirate cultures (p-value is 0.003). 35 patients (34 percent) expired during hospital stay. Positive chest radiographs and tracheal aspirates were independent predictors of prolonged hospital stay (p-value is less than 0.005). CONCLUSION Pneumonia is a common medical complication of stroke. It is associated with a high mortality and prolongs the hospital stay. The yield of chest radiographs and tracheal aspirates is low. However, these are independent predictors of prolonged hospital stay. Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus are most common organisms in stroke-associated pneumonia.
Video-urodynamics study on female patients with bladder neck obstruction.

BACKGROUND Pressure-flow study combined with cystourethroscopy were used as the major method to define female bladder neck obstruction in China. However, the definition of urodynamics for female bladder outlet obstruction (BOO) is not clear so far. Video-urodynamic study (VUDS) would provide more information to define the female BOO, but it is not used commonly due to the limitation of video-urodynamic equipment in China. We attempted to find a better way for diagnosis of female BOO by performing VUDS. METHODS VUDS and cystourethroscopy were performed in 38 women with signs and symptoms of difficult voiding from March 2008 to April 2010 in Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital. Bladder neck obstruction was defined by radiological evidence of narrowing bladder neck, voiding pressure greater than 20 cmH2O and maximum flow rate (Q(max)) less than 12 ml/s. Transurethral incision of bladder neck was then performed on those patients. Follow-up examination (Q(max) and residual urine) was recorded 3 months after operation. RESULTS The mean time from its onset to diagnosis was (18.1 ± 9.1) months in 38 patients. Average patient age was 36.1 years (range from 19 to 79 years). The mean Q(max) was (10.6 ± 4.7) ml/s and residual urine was (81.5 ± 42.4) ml. Three out of 38 patients had obvious distal urethral stricture, eight of them suffered from definitely bladder neck contracture and the remaining 27 patients did not show obvious abnormalities measured by cystourethroscopy examination. For the 35 patients without urethral stricture, the most frequent findings of VUDS were high-voiding pressure plus low-flow rate and narrow bladder neck during voiding on simultaneous fluoroscopy examination. With video-urodynamics definition, 32 patients were diagnosed as bladder neck obstruction with mean Q(max) of (10.8 ± 3.7) ml/s, residual urine of (76.9 ± 32.7) ml and detrusor pressure at maximum flow (P(det Q(max))) of (50.7 ± 19.1) cmH2O. Other three patients were suffered from detrusor hypocontractility. All 32 patients including eight with definitely bladder neck contracture and 24 with primary bladder neck obstruction received transurethral bladder neck incision. The symptom of difficult voiding was relieved. The postoperative follow-up showed that Q(max) was (21.7 ± 7.6) ml/s (P < 0.01) and the residual urine was (23.2 ± 17.6) ml (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS The real cause of the obstruction for female patient with difficult voiding might be various. A full VUDS would give us valuable information for correct diagnosis in female patients with bladder neck obstruction.
Morphological and milkability breed differences of dairy cows

Anatomical characteristics of dairy cattle are not equal for all breeds, meaning that the morphological traits of udder and teats could favor an individual performance or a determined breed. Changes in teat tissue after machine milking occur because of the negative influence of the vacuum and mechanical forces of the teat cup liner. Duration and performance of machine milking also depend on the udder and teat conformation and milkability traits of cows. The aim of this study was to determine the differences in morphological characteristics of Simmental and Holstein cows before and after machine milking, as well as to elaborate the differences in some of milkability traits of the cows during process of milking. A correlation (from -0.30 to 0.37) was determined between exterior and interior traits of teats and the performance of milkability traits. In both cow breeds, statistically significant difference (p<0.0001) was found between the pre- and post-milking values in all investigated traits, with exception of teat end width. Holstein cows had significantly (p<0.001) higher amount of milk per milking, maximum and average milk flow, while cows of the Simmental breed had longer milking time duration, but without statistical significance. In comparison to Holstein breed, results of internal morphological traits of teats showed that cows of Simmental breed had longer teat canals and wider teat ends for both front and rear teats. Holstein breed compared to Simmental had thinner teats wall, but wider teat cistern. If compared to pre-milking stage, differences in teat cistern width and teat wall thickness that occur after milking were more expressed in the Holstein breed than in Simmental. Simmental cows had significantly (p<0.05) longer and wider rear teats. Future research should focus on proving the differences in changes of teat tissue due to milking between different groups of cows, as depending on the milk flow. Ultrasound method of recording can be applied in such assessment.
The Relationship Between Organizational Support, Work-Family Conflict, and the Job-Life Satisfaction of University Coaches

Abstract This study examined the relationship between organizational support, work-family conflict, and job and life satisfaction among coaches. Data from collegiate head coaches with families (N = 253) were gathered through a mailed questionnaire. Results from a series of covariance structure models indicated that a partially mediated model was the best fitting model, χ2 = (255, N = 253) 461.20, p < . 001; root mean error of approximation = . 05; comparative fit index = . 95; parsimonious normed fit index = . 71. In partial support of the study hypotheses, the results supported full mediation of the direct effect from organizational support to life satisfaction. Work-family conflict partially mediated the relationship between organizational support and job satisfaction. Job satisfaction partially mediated the effect of organizational support and work-family conflict to life satisfaction.
The projections from striate cortex (V1) to areas V2 and V3 in the macaque monkey: Asymmetries, areal boundaries, and patchy connections

The organization of projections from V1 to areas V2 and V3 in the macaque monkey was studied with a combination of anatomical tecniques, including lesions and tracer injections made in different portions of V1 and V2 in 20 experimental hemispheres. Our results indicate that dorsal V1 (representing the inferior contralateral visual quadrant) consistently projects in topographically organized fashion to V3 in the lunate and parietooccipital sulci as well as to the middle temporal area (MT) and dorsal V2. In contrast, ventral V1 (representing the superior contralateral quadrant) projects only to MT and ventral V2. A corresponding dorsoventral asymmetry in myeloarchitecture supports the idea that V3 is an area that is restricted to dorsal extrastriate cortex and lacks a complete representation of the visual field. The average surface area of myeloarchitectonically identified V3 was 89 mm2. Additional information was obtained concerning the laminar distribution of connections from V1 to V2 and V3, the patchiness of these projections, and the consistency of projections to other extrastriate areas, including V4 and V3A.
Functional Brain Imaging in the Resting State and during Activation in Alzheimer's Disease: Implications for Disease Mechanisms Involving Oxidative Phosphorylation

ABSTRACT: In vivo brain imaging of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) using positron emission tomography (PET) demonstrates progressive reductions in resting‐state brain glucose metabolism and blood flow in relation to dementia severity, more so in association than primary cortical regions. During cognitive or psychophysical stimulation, blood flow and metabolism in the affected regions can increase to the same extent in mildly demented AD patients as in age‐matched controls, suggesting that energy delivery is not rate limiting. Activation declines with dementia severity, and is markedly reduced in severely demented patients. These results suggest that there is an initial “normal” functionally‐responsive stage in AD, followed by a late less responsive stage. Studies of biopsied and postmortem brain indicate that the initial stage is accompanied by selective and potentially reversible down‐regulation of the brain enzymes, including cytochrome oxidase, which mediate mitochondrial oxidative‐phosphorylation.