Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Predictors of Neuropsychological Performance in HIV Positive Women

This study examines predictors of neuropsychological (NP) performance in a community sample of 237 HIV seropositive and seronegative women. Consistent with literature describing the NP sequelae of HIV infection in men, we expected that HIV status would predict poorer NP performance on tests assessing verbal memory, psychomotor speed and motor speed. Multiple regression analyses testing the association between HIV serostatus and NP performance and controlling for predictors including age, ethnicity, education, psychological distress, and drug and alcohol use indicated that HIV serostatus was associated with slowed psychomotor speed. Specifically, AIDS diagnosis and HIV seropositivity predicted poorer performance on tests of psychomotor speed relative to HIV seronegatives. Contrary to expectations, no relationship between HIV serostatus and either motor speed or verbal memory performance emerged. Education, ethnicity, depressive distress, recent exposure to drugs as indexed by toxicology, and alcohol use were also associated with NP performance. Given that the HIV seropositive and seronegative samples differed on a number of demographic and drug use variables, a second series of analyses examining a subset of participants (matched on all key demographic factors) and with no illicit drug use during the past year was also conducted. Results of these analyses were similar to those obtained for the full sample, with AIDS diagnosis and HIV seropositivity predicting psychomotor slowing. To date, little work describing the NP sequelae of HIV infection in women has been conducted. This study provides one of the first descriptions of the NP effects of HIV/AIDS in a largely non-injection drug using community sample of women.
Patterns of Innovation

This paper is the first in a series to present twenty-one patterns that are distilled by analyzing products and services that satisfy the following four criteria: (1) the innovation is something new whether it is a whole new existence or begins as an improvement of something already in existence; (2) the innovation brings betterment and improvement in the purpose it serves for its users; (3) the innovation is implementable; and (4) the innovation is value-creating. We make an attempt mainly to bring the concept of innovation patterns closer to the products and services that are found today. The patterns are presented using the Pattern 3.0 style. In particular, the examples in each pattern illustrate how the pattern is applied. This paper will cover three patterns: Assorted Variations to show how variations in a common use scenario can be integrated to individually satisfy each variation; Finding and Filling the Gaps to show how known gaps in an existing or new application can be eliminated by exploiting new solutions that become available; and Finding and Triggered Response to detect and initiate proper interaction with the user of an application. A case study of an application in retailing that involves all of the three patterns is presented.
Modified hepatic outflow tract reconstruction in piggyback liver transplantation.

OBJECTIVE To summarize the experience in modified reconstruction of the hepatic outflow tract during piggyback liver transplantation at our hospital. METHODS The clinical data on 67 patients undergoing piggyback liver transplantation with modified hepatic outflow tract reconstruction from January 1999 to October 2002 were analyzed retrospectively. RESULTS In this group, 7 patients (10.45%) died perioperatively. Complications included: pulmonary infection (38 patients); multiple organ system failure (10), intraperitoneal bleeding (6), acute respiratory distress syndrome (14), thrombosis of the hepatic artery (1), and bile leakage (1). No hepatic outflow occluded. Two recipients survived for over 3 years, 8 over 2 years, and 19 over a year. CONCLUSION Modified hepatic outflow reconstruction in piggyback liver transplantation may increase the success rate of liver transplantation and decrease technical complications.
Trypanosoma cruzi as an effective cancer antigen delivery vector

One of the main challenges in cancer research is the development of vaccines that induce effective and long-lived protective immunity against tumors. Significant progress has been made in identifying members of the cancer testis antigen family as potential vaccine candidates. However, an ideal form for antigen delivery that induces robust and sustainable antigen-specific T-cell responses, and in particular of CD8+ T lymphocytes, remains to be developed. Here we report the use of a recombinant nonpathogenic clone of Trypanosoma cruzi as a vaccine vector to induce vigorous and long-term T cell-mediated immunity. The rationale for using the highly attenuated T. cruzi clone was (i) the ability of the parasite to persist in host tissues and therefore to induce a long-term antigen-specific immune response; (ii) the existence of intrinsic parasite agonists for Toll-like receptors and consequent induction of highly polarized T helper cell type 1 responses; and (iii) the parasite replication in the host cell cytoplasm, leading to direct antigen presentation through the endogenous pathway and consequent induction of antigen-specific CD8+ T cells. Importantly, we found that parasites expressing a cancer testis antigen (NY-ESO-1) were able to elicit human antigen-specific T-cell responses in vitro and solid protection against melanoma in a mouse model. Furthermore, in a therapeutic protocol, the parasites expressing NY-ESO-1 delayed the rate of tumor development in mice. We conclude that the T. cruzi vector is highly efficient in inducing T cell-mediated immunity and protection against cancer cells. More broadly, this strategy could be used to elicit a long-term T cell-mediated immunity and used for prophylaxis or therapy of chronic infectious diseases.
Measuring owl flight noise

It is well known that most genera of owls are able to fly almost silently in order to hunt their prey. However, this knowledge is actually based on very few quantitative studies only. This is especially interesting regarding the fact that, against the background of increasing air traffic, the unique plumage adaptations of the owl responsible for the silent flight are the motivation behind various airframe noise reduction techniques such as serrations or porous trailing edges. Both by reviewing existing data and by means of appropriate experiments, the paper will first illustrate the special feather adaptations of owls and will expand upon their contribution to the silent flight. Then, following a brief review of existing measurement data on the silent owl flight from past studies, the paper will focus on more recent measurements of the noise generated by gliding owls. Thereby, two different approaches were followed: First, outdoor measurements of the noise emitted by gliding owls were performed using microphone array technology and a high speed camera setup to capture the flight path of the birds. Second, indoor measurements in an aeroacoustic open jet wind tunnel revealed the noise generated by prepared wings as well as their aerodynamic performance in terms of lift and drag forces. In both cases, special attention was paid to the difference between the flight noise of the owl compared to the noise of other, non-silently flying birds.
[Serum melatonin levels in children with epilepsy or febrile seizures].

OBJECTIVE To study serum levels of melatonin in children with epilepsy or febrile seizures in order to provide a basis for the treatment of epilepsy or febrile seizures with melatonin. METHODS Serum melatonin levels were measured using ELISA in 15 children with simple febrile seizure (SFS), in 15 children with complex febrile seizure (CFS), in 15 children with epilepsy, and in 15 children with upper respiratory infections (control group). RESULTS Serum melatonin levels in children with epilepsy (8.66+/-1.38 ng/L) or CFS (14.91+/-2.61 ng/L) were significant lower than those in the control group (23.93+/-2.01 ng/L) (P<0.01). The SFS group showed lower serum melatonin levels (20.72+/-2.54 ng/L) compared with the control group, but there were no statistical differences between the two groups. Serum melatonin levels in the epilepsy group were significantly lower than those in the CFS (P<0.05) and the SFS groups (P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS Serum melatonin levels decreased in children with epilepsy or CFS. Supplement of exogenous melatonin might be a promising treatment for epilepsy and febrile seizures in children.
Oxidation of linoleic acid encapsulated with gum arabic or maltodextrin by spray-drying

Linoleic acid was emulsified with gum arabic or maltodextrin at various weight ratios of the acid to the polysaccharide in the presence or absence of a small-molecule emulsifier. The emulsions were spray-dried to produce microcapsules. Emulsions prepared with gum arabic were smaller in droplet size and more stable than those prepared with maltodextrin, and linoleic acid in a gum arabic-based microcapsule was also most resistant to oxidation than that in a maltodextrin-based microcapsule. Although the oil droplet size in the emulsion with maltodextrin decreased and the emulsion stability was improved by addition of a small-molecule emulsifier to linoleic acid, the oxidative stability of the encapsulated linoleic acid was not significantly improved. Encapsulated linoleic acid of small droplet size oxidized more slowly than that of large droplet size.
Utilization and Efficacy of Activated Drotrecogin Alpha in a University Surgical Intensive Care Unit

Severe sepsis is a major cause of morbidity and mortality among the surgical patients. According to recent epidemiologic data, it is estimated that approximately 750,000 patients develop severe sepsis in the United States annually, of whom 167,000 (21.4%) are surgical patients [1]. Despite adequate antibiotics, source control and supportive care, the mortality rate from severe sepsis ranges from 30% to 50% resulting in a high cost of care for affected patients (17 billion dollars annually) [1,2]. In addition, outcome from nosocomial infections are greater in patients who have recently undergone major operations as opposed to those who have not [3]. And in many patients, the “second hit” phenomenon is widely described as the etiology [4]. However, severe sepsis is alsoa consequence of a perioperative nosocomial infection of a non-surgical variety [5].
Scalable SUM-Shrinkage Schemes for Distributed Monitoring Large-Scale Data Streams

In this article, motivated by biosurveillance and censoring sensor networks, we investigate the problem of distributed monitoring large-scale data streams where an undesired event may occur at some unknown time and affect only a few unknown data streams. We propose to develop scalable global monitoring schemes by parallel running local detection procedures and by combining these local procedures together to make a global decision based on SUM-shrinkage techniques. Our approach is illustrated in two concrete examples: one is the nonhomogeneous case when the pre-change and post-change local distributions are given, and the other is the homogeneous case of monitoring a large number of independent $N(0,1)$ data streams where the means of some data streams might shift to unknown positive or negative values. Numerical simulation studies demonstrate the usefulness of the proposed schemes.
Reporting accelerometer methods in physical activity intervention studies: a systematic review and recommendations for authors

Objective This systematic review assessed the completeness of accelerometer reporting in physical activity (PA) intervention studies and assessed factors related to accelerometer reporting. Design The PubMed database was used to identify manuscripts for inclusion. Included studies were PA interventions that used accelerometers, were written in English and were conducted between 1 January 1998 and 31 July 2014. 195 manuscripts from PA interventions that used accelerometers to measure PA were included. Manuscript completeness was scored using 12 questions focused on 3 accelerometer reporting areas: accelerometer information, data processing and interpretation and protocol non-compliance. Variables, including publication year, journal focus and impact factor, and population studied were evaluated to assess trends in reporting completeness. Results The number of manuscripts using accelerometers to assess PA in interventions increased from 1 in 2002 to 29 in the first 7 months of 2014. Accelerometer reporting completeness correlated weakly with publication year (r=0.24, p<0.001). Correlations were greater when we assessed improvements over time in reporting data processing in manuscripts published in PA-focused journals (r=0.43, p=0.002) compared to manuscripts published in non-PA-focused journals (r=0.19, p=0.021). Only 7 of 195 (4%) manuscripts reported all components of accelerometer use, and only 132 (68%) reported more than half of the components. Conclusions Accelerometer reporting of PA in intervention studies has been poor and improved only minimally over time. We provide recommendations to improve accelerometer reporting and include a template to standardise reports.
The quantum canonical ensemble

The phase space Γ of quantum mechanics can be viewed as the complex projective space CPn endowed with a Kahlerian structure given by the Fubini-Study metric and an associated symplectic form. We can then interpret the Schrodinger equation as generating a Hamiltonian dynamics on Γ. Based upon the geometric structure of the quantum phase space we introduce the corresponding natural microcanonical and canonical ensembles. The resulting density matrix for the canonical Γ-ensemble differs from the density matrix of the conventional approach. As an illustration, the results are applied to the case of a spin one-half particle in a heat bath with an applied magnetic field.
Educational level, socio-economic status and relationship with quality of life in elderly residents of the city of Porto Alegre/RS, Brazil

O objetivo deste trabalho foi verificar o indice de qualidade de vida de idosos participantes de grupos de convivencia, de diferentes estratos socioeconomicos do municipio de Porto Alegre/RS. A pesquisa seguiu um modelo de estudo transversal e utilizou para coleta de dados o questionario SF-36. A amostragem foi do tipo intencional e foi composta por: 61 idosos na classe A, 80 na classe C e de 84 na classe E. A pesquisa foi aprovada pelo Comite de Etica em Pesquisa da UFRGS. Em relacao a qualidade de vida, a classe A apresentou escores melhores que a classe C e E nos dominios dor, vitalidade, aspecto social e saude mental. Houve diferenca significativa de qualidade de vida no ensino superior completo, em relacao aos demais estratos de escolaridade, nos dominios dor, vitalidade, saude mental e aspecto social. A qualidade de vida e um conceito complexo de ser estudado, mas essencial para que haja melhora na percepcao de saude e do bem-estar pelos idosos.
Experiencing Racial Microaggressions Influences Suicide Ideation Through Perceived Burdensomeness in African Americans

Racial microaggressions are a contemporary form of subtle discrimination that occur in everyday exchanges, and are associated with a variety of negative mental health outcomes, including suicide ideation. Previous work (e.g., Torres-Harding, Andrade, & Romero Diaz, 2012) has identified 6 dimensions of racial microaggressions: invisibility, criminality, low-achieving/undesirable culture, sexualization, foreigner/not belonging, and environmental invalidations. The current study examined whether the 6 dimensions of racial microaggressions were associated with increased suicide ideation through perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness among 135 African American young adults. Results indicated that perceived burdensomeness, but not thwarted belongingness, mediated the relationship between 3 racial microaggression dimensions (i.e., invisibility, low-achievement/undesirable culture, and environmental invalidations) and suicide ideation. These results imply that for African American college students, experiencing certain dimensions of racial microaggressions was associated with higher levels of perceived burdensomeness, which in turn was related to increased levels of suicide ideation. Clinical and societal implications are discussed. This study found that specific types of racial microaggressions were associated with higher levels of perceptions of being a burden on others, which in turn was associated with higher levels of suicide ideation in a sample of African Americans. These findings are important as they demonstrate 1 possible avenue through which racial microaggressions can negatively impact mental health.
Text-based question routing for question answering communities via deep learning

Online Communities for Question Answering (CQA) such as Quora and Stack Overflow face the challenge of providing sufficient answers for the questions asked by users. The exponential growing rate of the unanswered questions compromises the effectiveness of the CQA frameworks as knowledge sharing platforms. The main reason for this issue is the inefficient routing of the questions to the potential answerers, who are the field experts and interested users. This paper proposes the deep-learning-based technique QR-DSSM to increase the accuracy of the question routing process. This technique uses deep semantic similarity model (DSSM) to extract semantic similarity features using deep neural networks and use the features to rank users' profiles. QR-DSSM maps the asked questions and the profiles of the users into a latent semantic space where the ability to answer is measured using the cosine similarity between the questions and the profiles of the users. QR-DSSM experiments outperformed the baseline models such as LDA, SVM, and Rank-SVM techniques and achieved an MRR score of 0.1737.
The Correlation of Increased CRP Levels with NFKB1 and TLR2 Polymorphisms in the Case of Morbid Obesity

Morbid obesity (MO) is associated with an increase in circulating levels of systemic acute phase proteins such as C‐reactive protein (CRP). Toll‐like receptor is possible candidate for inflammatory responses which is mainly mediated by NFKB1. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between NFKB1 and Toll‐like receptor (TLR) 2 polymorphisms and the risk of MO in a Turkish population in the context of CRP serum levels which may contribute to susceptibility to the disease. We analysed the distribution of NFKB1‐94 ins/del ATTG rs28362491 and TLR2 Arg753Gln rs5743708 polymorphisms using PCR‐RFLP method and CRP serum levels using ELISA method in 213 MO and 200 healthy controls. The frequency of the ins/ins genotype and ins allele of rs28362491 was significantly higher in the patients compared to control group (P: 0.0309; P: 0.0421, respectively). Additionally, the frequency of GG genotype and G allele of rs5743708 was found to be statistically higher in the patient group (P: 0.0421; P < 0.0001, respectively). In addition, serum CRP levels (>20 mg/l) in MO patients with ins/ins genotype were significantly higher than in patients with del/ins genotype (P: 0.0309). Serum CRP levels were also higher in MO patients with GG genotype and G allele (P: 0.0001). According to combined analysis, the wild type of rs28362491 and rs5743708 polymorphisms (ins/ins/GG genotype) was also significantly higher in the patient group versus the control group when compared with the combined ins/ins/GA and del/ins/GA genotype (P < 0.0001). Therefore, our findings suggest that rs28362491 and rs5743708 polymorphisms were significantly associated with MO disease through acting by modulating serum CRP levels.
Dose-Dependent Effects of the 3435 C>T Genotype of ABCB1 Gene on the Steady-State Plasma Concentration of Fluvoxamine in Psychiatric Patients

Abstract: This study investigated effects of the 3435 C>T genotype of the adenosine triphosphate-binding cassette subfamily B member 1 (ABCB1, MDR1) gene on the steady-state plasma concentration of fluvoxamine (FLV). Methods: Sixty-two psychiatric patients were treated with different doses (50, 100, 150, and 200 mg/d) of FLV. Blood samples were collected after at least 2 weeks of treatment with the same daily dose to obtain steady-state concentrations of FLV, and 3435 C>T genotype was determined by polymerase chain reaction. Results: FLV concentration-to-dose ratio was significantly different among 3435 C>T genotype groups at the 200 mg/d dose (P = 0.019). A post-hoc analysis revealed that FLV concentration-to-dose ratio was significantly higher in the TT genotype group as compared with the CC genotype group at the 200 mg/d dose (median value of concentration-to-dose ratio (ng/mL)/(mg/d), 0.861 vs 0.434, P = 0.026). FLV concentration-to-dose ratio was significantly higher in the CT + TT genotype group than the CC genotype group at the 200 mg/d dose (median value of concentration-to-dose ratio (ng/mL)/(mg/d), 0.618 vs 0.434, P = 0.031). At 50, 100, and 150 mg/d dose, FLV concentration-to-dose ratios were not significantly different among 3435 C>T genotype groups. At 50, 100, and 150 mg/d dose, no significant differences were found in FLV concentration-to-dose ratios between the CT + TT genotype group and CC genotype group. Conclusions: This study suggests that pharmacokinetics of FLV depend on ABCB1 gene polymorphism only at the 200 mg/d dose.
Mycophenolate mofetil in renal transplant recipients with cyclosporine-associated nephrotoxicity: a preliminary report.

BACKGROUND There is a great concern over cyclosporine (CsA) nephrotoxicity in renal transplant recipients, and the effects of conversion from CsA to azathioprine (AZA) remain controversial. Large studies have demonstrated that mycophenolate mofetil (MMF), the morpholinoethyl ester of mycophenolic acid, is superior to AZA as a posttransplant immunosuppressant. METHODS Six patients with isolated biopsy-proven CsA nephrotoxicity were converted from CsA-AZA to MMF. RESULTS Mean follow-up was 12+/-2 months. No patient experienced acute rejection. The mean serum creatinine concentration decreased from 225+/-58 to 159+/-66 micromol/L (P<0.0005). Hyperlipidemia and blood pressure improved after CsA withdrawal. CONCLUSION In a selected transplant population with biopsy-proven CsA nephrotoxicity, CsA withdrawal with a concomitant switch from AZA to MMF seems to be safe and allows a significant improvement of renal function.
Regional gray matter atrophy and neuropsychologcal problems in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis

In multiple sclerosis, gray matter atrophy is extensive, and cognitive deficits and mood disorders are frequently encountered. It has been conjectured that focal atrophy is associated with emotional decline. However, conventional MRI has revealed that the pathological characteristics cannot fully account for the mood disorders. Moreover, there is no correlation between cognitive disorders and MRI results in clinically isolated syndromes or in cases of definite multiple sclerosis. In this case-control study, voxel-based morphometric analysis was performed on 11 subjects with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, and the results show that these patients exhibit gray matter atrophy. Moreover, the gray matter atrophy in the superior and middle gyri of the right frontal lobe in patients with multiple sclerosis was correlated with scores from the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale. The scores obtained with the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status were associated with gray matter atrophy in the middle gyrus of the left frontal lobe, the superior and middle gyrus of the right frontal lobe, the middle gyrus of the left cingulate, the superior and middle gyri of the left frontal lobe, and the triangular area of the left frontal lobe. However, there was no statistical significance. These findings suggest that the cingulate and frontal cortices of the nant hemisphere are the most severely atrophic regions of the brain, and this atrophy is correlated with cognitive decline and emotional abnormalities.