Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Virologic and immunologic outcomes and programmatic challenges of an antiretroviral treatment pilot project in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire

BackgroundIn Côte d'Ivoire, a pilot project was developed by UNAIDS and the Ministry of Health to improve access to AIDS care, including antiretroviral therapy, for adults and children infected with HIV. This evaluation of the project is the first to provide results of a large number of HIV-infected patients receiving antiretroviral therapy in West Africa. MethodsWe evaluated records of persons who presented for care from August 1998 to August 2000 at six accredited centers in Abidjan. Patients were treated with two nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (2NRTI) or highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). ResultsOf 2878 patients who were screened, 2351 (83%) were HIV-infected and eligible (CD4 T lymphocyte count < 500 × 106 cells/l or plasma HIV-RNA level > 10 000 copies/ml) for antiretroviral therapy. Of those who were eligible, 81% were symptomatic, 63% had a CD4 cell count < 200 × 106 cells/l, 12% had previously taken antiretroviral drugs, and 56% returned to the clinic for follow-up. Of the patients screened, 768 (27%) were started on antiretroviral therapy, including 450 on HAART, 296 on 2NRTI, and 22 on other regimens. We analyzed data from 480 HIV-1-infected adults, who were naive to therapy, were prescribed HAART or 2NRTI, and had at least one clinic visit after starting therapy. In an intent-to-treat analysis of patients who received HAART, the estimated plasma HIV-1 RNA level was approximately 1.9 log10 copies/ml (80-fold) lower, while estimated CD4 cell count was > 100 × 106 cells/l higher than baseline values, after 1 year of therapy. Approximately 25% of adults on 2NRTI and 50% of those on HAART had < 200 copies/ml, after 1 year of therapy. The probability of an adverse event occurring within 6 months after starting therapy was 0.20. The probability of survival for at least 1 year was 0.84 (95% confidence interval, 0.80–0.89). ConclusionAfter starting antiretroviral therapy, these HIV-1-infected patients in West Africa had similar virologic and immunologic outcomes, probability of an adverse event, and estimated survival, as patients enrolled in clinical trials in the USA and Europe. However, only one-third of eligible patients received therapy, highlighting the importance of providing adequate education and support for initiating and adhering to therapy in this and similar programmes.
The use of beta-agonists and the risk of death and near death from asthma.

BACKGROUND Morbidity and mortality from asthma appear to be increasing, and it has been suggested that medications used to treat asthma are contributing to this trend. We investigated a possible association between death or near death from asthma and the regular use of beta 2-agonist bronchodilators. METHODS Using linked health insurance data bases from Saskatchewan, Canada, we conducted a matched case-control study of subjects drawn from a cohort of 12,301 patients for whom asthma medications had been prescribed between 1978 and 1987. We matched 129 case patients who had fatal or near-fatal asthma with 655 controls (who had received medications for asthma but had not had fatal or near-fatal events) with respect to region of residence, age, receipt of social assistance, and previous hospitalization for asthma. RESULTS The use of beta-agonists administered by a metered-dose inhaler was associated with an increased risk of death from asthma (odds ratio, 2.6 per canister per month; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.7 to 3.9) and of death or near death from asthma, considered together (odds ratio, 1.9; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.6 to 2.4). For death from asthma, use of the beta-agonist fenoterol was associated with an odds ratio of 5.4 per canister, as compared with 2.4 for the beta-agonist albuterol. On a microgram-equivalent basis, the odds ratio for this outcome with fenoterol was 2.3, as compared with 2.4 with albuterol. CONCLUSIONS An increased risk of death or near death from asthma was associated with the regular use of inhaled beta 2-agonist bronchodilators, especially fenoterol. Regardless of whether beta-agonists are directly responsible for these adverse effects or are simply a marker for more severe asthma, heavy use of these agents should alert clinicians that it is necessary to reevaluate the patient's condition.
Eigenvalues of covariance matrices: Application to neural-network learning.

The learing time of a simple neural-network model is obtained through an analytic computation of the eigenvalue spectrum for the Hessian matrix, which describes the second-order properties of the objective function in the space of coupling coefficients. The results are generic for symmetric matrices obtained by summing outer products of random vectors. The form of the eigenvalue distribution suggests new techniques for accelerating the learning process, and provides a theoretical justification for the choice of centered versus biased state variables.
Multicenter study using standardized protocols and reagents for evaluation of reproducibility of PCR-based fingerprinting of Acinetobacter spp

Seven laboratories in six European countries examined 40 isolates belonging to the Acinetobacter calcoaceticus-Acinetobacter baumannii complex to investigate whether standardized protocols and quality-controlled reagents could produce reliable, discriminatory, and reproducible PCR-based fingerprinting results. Four PCR protocols with different primers (primers DAF4, ERIC-2, M13, and REP1 + REP2) were used. The epidemiological conclusions reached by the participating laboratories were substantially correct, with 96.4% of the total isolate grouping allocations agreeing with the consensus view. All laboratories identified the main epidemiological clusters, and each laboratory also identified two non-outbreak-related isolates. There were no significant differences between the isolate grouping results obtained by the different protocols and with the different primers. Visual comparison indicated that the standardized protocols and reagents yielded reproducible fingerprint patterns, but with some variations in particular band intensities. Minor variations in fingerprint profiles were detected, but computer-assisted analysis of PCR fingerprints obtained on agarose gels demonstrated that 88.3 to 91.6% (depending on the source of DNA) of the patterns clustered correctly, while 96.4 to 98.9% of the patterns clustered correctly following automated high-resolution laser fluorescence analysis. Correlation of the patterns for isogenic isolates ranged from 83.3 to 86.6% but was slightly better (mean correlation, 87.1%) for centrally prepared DNA extracts than for DNA extracts prepared by individual laboratories (mean correlation, 84.7%). It was concluded that independently produced PCR fingerprint patterns can be obtained reproducibly for Acinetobacter spp. at the practical level if (i) quality-controlled reagents, (ii) standardized extraction of DNA, and (iii) standardized amplification conditions are used.
Delivery of survivorship care by primary care physicians: the perspective of breast cancer patients.

PURPOSE Most of the 182,460 women diagnosed with breast cancer in the United States this year will become long-term survivors. Helping these women transition from active treatment to survivorship is a challenge that involves both oncologists and primary care physicians (PCPs). This study aims to describe postmenopausal breast cancer survivors' (BCS) perceptions of PCP-related survivorship care. PATIENTS AND METHODS We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 300 BCSs seen in an outpatient breast oncology clinic at a large university hospital. The primary outcome measure was a seven-item self-reported measure on perceived survivorship care (Cronbach's alpha = .89). Multivariate regression analyses were used to identify factors associated with perceived care delivery. RESULTS Overall, BCSs rated PCP-related survivorship care as 65 out of 100 (standard deviation = 17). The areas of PCP-related care most strongly endorsed were general care (78%), psychosocial support (73%), and health promotion (73%). Fewer BCSs perceived their PCPs as knowledgeable about cancer follow-up (50%), late effects of cancer therapies (59%), or treating symptoms related to cancer or cancer therapies (41%). Only 28% felt that their PCPs and oncologists communicated well. In a multivariate regression analysis, nonwhite race and level of trust in the PCP were significantly associated with higher perceived level of PCP-related survivorship care (P = .001 for both). CONCLUSION Although BCSs perceived high quality of general care provided by their PCPs, they were not as confident with their PCPs' ability to deliver cancer-specific survivorship care. Interventions need to be tested to improve oncology-primary care communication and PCP knowledge of cancer-specific survivorship care.
Aspects of Reporting into Structured Narratives

An experiment is described in which reporters captured realworld news stories as semantically structured representations of journalistic events and narratives, and preliminary results from the experiment are discussed. The experiment was conducted using the Structured Stories prototype platform, which provides a library of abstractions of journalistic events grounded in frame semantics. Realworld journalistic events are then instantiated from those abstractions by filling semantic roles with identifiers to various Linked Open Data. Various media elements are attached to each instantiated event to facilitate presentation within a structured discourse. The resulting structured events are then assembled into larger narrative structures with recursive, fractal and network characteristics that seek to correspond with the cognitive experience of narrative in humans. The goal of the experiment was to evaluate the editorial feasibility of using this approach to capture and represent real-world news stories within a realistic journalistic workflow.
Hepatocyte Growth Factor-regulated Tyrosine Kinase Substrate (HRS) Mediates Post-endocytic Trafficking of Protease-activated Receptor 2 and Calcitonin Receptor-like Receptor*

The E3 ligase c-Cbl ubiquitinates protease-activated receptor 2 (PAR2), which is required for post-endocytic sorting of PAR2 to lysosomes, where degradation arrests signaling. The mechanisms of post-endocytic sorting of ubiquitinated receptors are incompletely understood. Here, we investigated the role of hepatocyte growth factor-regulated tyrosine kinase substrate (HRS), in post-endocytic sorting and signaling of PAR2. In HEK-PAR2 cells, PAR2 activating peptide (PAR2-AP) induced PAR2 trafficking from the cell surface to early endosomes containing endogenous HRS, and then to lysosomes. HRS overexpression or knockdown with small interfering RNA caused formation of enlarged HRS-positive endosomes, where activated PAR2 and c-Cbl accumulated, and PAR2 failed to traffic to lysosomes. Overexpression of HRS prevented PAR2-AP-induced degradation of PAR2, as determined by Western blotting. Overexpression of HRS mutant lacking an ubiquitin-binding motif similarly caused retention of PAR2 in enlarged endosomes. Moreover, HRS overexpression or knockdown caused retention of ubiquitin-resistant PAR2Δ14K/R in enlarged HRS-containing endosomes, preventing recycling and resensitization of PAR2Δ14K/R. HRS overexpression or knockdown similarly prevented lysosomal trafficking and recycling of calcitonin receptor-like receptor, a non-ubiquitinated receptor that traffics to lysosomes after sustained activation and recycles after transient activation. Thus, HRS plays a critically important role in the post-endocytic sorting of single receptors, PAR2 and CLR, to both degradative and recycling pathways. This sorting role for HRS is independent of its ubiquitin-interacting motif, and it can regulate trafficking of both ubiquitinated and non-ubiquitinated PAR2 and non-ubiquitinated CLR. The ultimate sorting decision to degradative or recycling pathways appears to occur downstream from HRS.
CYP2A6 Polymorphism Reveals Differences in Japan and the Existence of a Specific Variant in Ovambo and Turk Populations

ABSTRACT CYP2A6 is a polymorphic enzyme, and CYP2A6 genotype has been shown to be associated with smoking habits and lung cancer. We investigated CYP2A6 polymorphism in Japanese from four different geographic areas of Japan and in the Ovambo and Turk populations. Using two polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphisms (PCR-RFLPs), we identified the functionally important variants of CYP2A6: *1A, *1B, *1F, *1G, *4A, and *4D. In the Japanese population the highest frequencies of the CYP2A6*1A allele were observed in subjects from the Fukuoka (Kyushu Island) and Ehime (Shikoku Island) prefectures, whereas subjects in Shimane and Tottori (both located on the Japan Sea side of Honshu Island) showed the highest frequencies of the CYP2A6*1B allele. In the Tottori and Shimane groups no subject was homozygous for the CYP2A6*4A allele, a whole gene deletion type that is prevalent among Asians. In the Ovambo and Turk populations the CYP2A6*1A allele was predominant. Furthermore, two alleles undetected in the Japanese were observed in these latter two ethnic groups: CYP2A6*1G was found solely in the Ovambos, and CYP2A6*1F was found solely in the Turks. The present study is the first to show interprefecture differences in CYP2A6 polymorphism in Japanese who live in relatively close but distinct geographic areas; this is also the first study to evaluate CYP2A6 variations among these Japanese and the Ovambo and Turk populations. The distribution results of these alleles could help to define the true significance of CYP2A6 polymorphism as a genetic susceptibility marker in worldwide populations.
Data-rate maximization in wireless communication networks

Despite great effort from the research community, wireless networks still operate below full capacity. To increase the network throughput it is important to study algorithms that select communication requests that can decode their signals despite mutual interference. In this paper, we study the joint problem of data rate assignment and link scheduling in the physical interference model. The objective of the problem is to maximize the total number of bits transmitted in one time slot. By constructing an intermediate network representation through a disk graph, we prove that a constant approximation solution can be computed in polynomial time. Finally, we propose a parallel implementation of a polynomial-time approximation scheme and show through simulations that the one-slot throughput of a wireless network can be significantly improved by using variable data rates.
Coordination of the thigh muscles in static leg extension.

Activation patterns of the four thigh muscles (rectus femoris, vastus medialis, vastus lateralis and semimembranosus) were investigated in static leg extension through the entire range of extension movement in three testing postures: sitting, recumbent and supine. Special interest was focused on the role of the two-joint muscles. Five male students performed both maximal and submaximal efforts. The highest force values were observed when the knee was almost extended (150 degrees), while the agonists were the most active in flexed positions. Maximum peak activity of all the agonist muscles occurred throughout a rather wide movement range of the knee joint (80 degrees-150 degrees) in the sitting posture, but the more extended postures tended by lengthening the two-joint muscle of rectus femoris to reduce the range of peak activity of the agonists. During the latter half of the knee extension the activity of the agonists was greatly reduced (p less than .01) and a fully extended knee joint always resulted in silence on the part of the rectus femoris. In that position the vasti muscles together with the semimembranosus formed a force couple for stabilizing the knee joint. The semimembranosus, the two-joint muscle on the antagonistic side, increased activation toward the end of knee extension. This exceptional activation of the antagonist muscle during static agonist effort is likely to be due to the different role of the semimembranosus which tried as an agonist to extend the hip joint in the sitting posture. This phenomenon is supported by the low maximum peak activity of the rectus femoris. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Measuring engagement in nurses: the psychometric properties of the Persian version of Utrecht Work Engagement Scale

Background: Considering the overall tendency in psychology, researchers in the field of work and organizational psychology have become progressively interested in employees’ effective and optimistic experiments at work such as work engagement. This study was conducted to investigate 2 main purposes: assessing the psychometric properties of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, and finding any association between work engagement and burnout in nurses. Methods: The present methodological study was conducted in 2015 and included 248 females and 34 males with 6 months to 30 years of job experience. After the translation process, face and content validity were calculated by qualitative and quantitative methods. Moreover, content validation ratio, scale-level content validity index and item-level content validity index were measured for this scale. Construct validity was determined by factor analysis. Moreover, internal consistency and stability reliability were assessed. Factor analysis, test-retest, Cronbach’s alpha, and association analysis were used as statistical methods. Results: Face and content validity were acceptable. Exploratory factor analysis suggested a new 3- factor model. In this new model, some items from the construct model of the original version were dislocated with the same 17 items. The new model was confirmed by divergent Copenhagen Burnout Inventory as the Persian version of UWES. Internal consistency reliability for the total scale and the subscales was 0.76 to 0.89. Results from Pearson correlation test indicated a high degree of test-retest reliability (r = 0. 89). ICC was also 0.91. Engagement was negatively related to burnout and overtime per month, whereas it was positively related with age and job experiment. Conclusion: The Persian 3– factor model of Utrecht Work Engagement Scale is a valid and reliable instrument to measure work engagement in Iranian nurses as well as in other medical professionals.
Discordant expression of familial amyloid polyneuropathy in monozygotic Brazilian twins

Discordant expression of Familial Amyloid Neuropathy (FAP) in monozygotic twins is a rare event. Only five such cases have been described in the literature so far. We report the clinical, neurophysiologic and autonomic findings of Brazilian monozygotic twins discordant for the expression of FAP type I. Twin I first presented symptoms at the age of 21, when his brother was completely asymptomatic. Twin 2 only presented symptoms at the age of 25, almost four years after his brother. Both brothers eventually developed the complete phenotype of FAP type I. The occurrence of monozygotic twins discordant for the expression of FAP type I suggests that other factors beside TTR gene mutations should play an important role in the pathogenesis of this condition. Environmental factors, as well as modifier genetic loci are likely to modulate the expression of FAP type I and the study of cases such as the one presented here may help to identify some of these factors.
Anti-Hyperglycemic Effect of Saffron Extract in Alloxan-Induced Diabetic Rats

Saffron (Crocus sativus) from iridaceous genus is a stable grass and is considered as an important herb in medical, cosmetics and hygienic industries. The aim of present study was to investigate the effect of given oral administration of saffron water extract with different dosages on alloxan-induced diabetic rats. Thirty five male albino rats of Sprague-Dawley strain weighing 200 ± 5 g were divided into five groups of equal number and weight. Group I, normal control rats; group II, diabetic control rats; and groups III, IV and V, diabetic rats, given orally saffron extract by tube feeding at levels of 200, 400 and 600 mg/kg of body weight, respectively. Oral administration of saffron extract at the three different doses caused significant increase in body weight and serum insulin level in all treated diabetic groups, while significantly reduced blood glucose levels as well as the improvement in lipid profile and liver and kidney functions compared to the positive control group. Histological study showed that pancreas sections of rats from positive control group had hypertrophy and hyperplasia of -cells of islets of langerhans associated with pyknosis of their nuclei. However, treated rats with 200 mg/kg b.wt of saffron extract had vaculations of acinar epithelial lining in pancreas. Slight hypertrophy of islets of langerhans was demonstrated in pancreas of treated rats with 400 mg/kg b.wt. Apparently normal histological structure of pancreas was found in treated group with 600 mg/kg b.wt. In conclusion administration of saffron extract reduced blood glucose level and the incidence of different complications as results of hyperglycemia. Saffron have an advantage due to the presence of associated bioactive compounds with antioxidant properties which may exert further health promoting effects.
The cytoarchitecture of the cerebral cortex of ateles: A critical examination of architectonic studies

The original purpose of this study was to chart the cytoarchitectonic areas of the brain of the spider monkey (Ateles geoffroyi) as a basis for experimental analysis of cerebral functions. It proved impossible to identify many of the areas described by investigators of Old World monkeys and the lack of structural correspondence led us to make a detailed comparison of the cerebral architecture of Ateles and Macaca mulatta. Some differences between the two species were evident but the architecture of the macaque corresponded scarcely more closely to published descriptions than did that of Ateles. An analysis of the literature on cytoarchitecture revealed generally such inadequacies of description, such uncritical use of differentiating criteria, and such inconsistencies in the results of different investigators in describing and charting the same regions that it seemed essential t o reexamine the assumptions and principles upon which the parcellation of the cortex has been carried out. We have therefore used the comparison of the brains of these two species of monkeys as a basis for evaluation of architectonic methods, considering especially the reliability of various char-
Notice of RetractionDegradation of Furfural by UV/O3/H2O2 Technology

In this paper, the furfural in aqueous solution was treated by UV/O<sub>3</sub>/H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> method. The results show the removal rate of furfural is severely enhanced and the synergism phenomenon appears when ultraviolet, ozone and hydrogen peroxide present together. The influence of several different parameters including the initial pH, hydrogen peroxide concentration and ions were investigated After 2 hours the degradation rate of furfural was nearly 100% under the optimum experimental conditions. The conclusion that UV/O<sub>3</sub>/H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> combined technology has the best was drawn.