Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Accurate Early Infant HIV Diagnosis in Primary Health Clinics Using a Point-of-Care Nucleic Acid Test

Objective:To evaluate the accuracy of a point-of-care (POC) nucleic acid–based test (NAT) for early infant HIV diagnosis (EID) in primary health clinics in Mozambique. Methods:POC and laboratory NAT EID tests were conducted on matched blood samples collected from 827 HIV-exposed infants younger than 18 months who were enrolled consecutively at 4 periurban primary health clinics and the central hospital in Maputo. Lancet heel draw blood collected by nurses was tested on site for HIV-1/-2 RNA on the Alere HIV NAT POC device and also used to create dried blood spots for later laboratory EID testing on the Roche Cobas Taqman/Ampliprep instrument. Results were used to determine the sensitivity, specificity, and agreement between the POC and laboratory NAT EID tests. Results:The sensitivity and specificity of POC NAT EID testing were 98·5% (95% confidence interval (CI): 91.7 to 99.9, n = 65) and 99·9% (95% CI: 99.3 to 100, n = 762), respectively, compared with laboratory EID tests. Overall agreement was high (Cohen kappa = 0·981; 95% CI: 0.96 to 1.00). Positive (98·5%; 95% CI: 96·3 to 100) and negative 99.9% (95% CI: 99.7 to 100) test agreement was also high. Conclusions:Primary health care nurses accurately performed POC NAT EID testing within primary health care clinics. On-site nucleic acid–based EID testing is technically feasible in clinic settings and could be used in efforts to improve access to pediatric HIV antiretroviral treatment.
Comparison of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) disposition following pulmonary, oral, dermal, and parenteral exposures to rats.

In evaluating human health risks posed by dioxins, it is necessary to accurately predict systematic dosimetry or the fate of these chemicals. Pharmacokinetic parameters pertaining to inhalation, ingestion, and dermal absorption may be estimated using animal models. The present study was designed to assess absorption, tissue distribution, and elimination of TCDD following intratracheal instillation (itr.), oral gavage (p.o.), or intravenous administration (i.v.) of 1 nmol [3H]TCDD/kg to male rats; experimental conditions were chosen to permit comparison to a previous dermal disposition study (Banks and Birnbaum, Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol. 107, 302-310, 1991). After treatment, rats were housed in individual metabolism cages for 3 days with daily excreta collection. Following termination, radioactivity was quantified in tissues and excreta. By 3 days postexposure, fecal excretion accounted for 22 (i.v.), 26 (itr.), and 32% (p.o.) of dose, while urinary excretion was only 2.2 (i.v.), 1.3 (itr), and 1.4% (p.o.). Pulmonary absorption was calculated as 95% of administered dose, while oral absorption was 88%. Dermal absorption of an equivalent administered dose was 40% (Banks and Birnbaum, 1991). For all exposure routes by 3 days, major tissue depots for absorbed dose were liver and fat. Distribution of absorbed dose was 37% (i.v.) and 35% (itr.) to liver and 21% (i.v.) and 16% (itr.) to fat. Oral gavage-treated rats had similar dosimetry (28-30% absorbed dose) in both liver and fat. In contrast following dermal exposure, distribution to liver and fat was 52 and 22%, respectively (Banks and Birnbaum, 1991). Results suggest that inhalation can be an important route for systemic absorption of dioxins. Moreover, all environmentally relevant routes of exposure (oral, dermal, and respiration) must be uniquely considered as important routes of systemic exposure for TCDD and related compounds.
Normal-to-shouted speech spectral mapping for speaker recognition under vocal effort mismatch

Speaker recognition performance degrades substantially in case of vocal effort mismatch (e.g. shouted vs. normal speech) between test and enrollment utterances. Such a mismatch is often encountered, for example, in forensic speaker recognition. This paper introduces a novel spectral mapping method which, when employed jointly with a statistical mapping technique, converts the Mel-frequency band energies of normal speech towards their counterparts in shouted speech. The aim is to obtain more robust performance in speaker recognition by tackling vocal effort mismatch between enrollment and test utterances. The processing is performed on the speech signal before feature extraction. The proposed approach was evaluated by testing the performance of a state-of-the-art i-vector-based speaker recognition system with and without applying the spectral mapping processing to the enrollment data. The results show that pre-processing with the proposed approach results in considerable improvement in correct identification rates.
Comparison of the effect of resin infiltrant, fluoride varnish, and nano-hydroxy apatite paste on surface hardness and streptococcus mutans adhesion to artificial enamel lesions

Introduction Dental caries is a major public health problem, and Streptococcus mutans is considered the main causal agent of dental caries. This study aimed to compare the effect of three re-mineralizing materials: resin infiltrant, fluoride varnish, and nano-hydroxy apatite paste on the surface hardness and adhesion of Streptococcus mutans as noninvasive treatments for initial enamel lesions. Methods This experimental study was conducted from December 2015 through March 2016 in Babol, Iran. Artificial enamel lesions were created on 60 enamel surfaces, which were divided into two groups: Group A and Group B (30 subjects per group). Group A was divided into three subgroups (10 samples in each subgroup), including fluoride varnish group, nano-hydroxy apatite paste group (Nano P paste), and resin infiltrant group (Icon-resin). In Group A, the surface hardness of each sample was measured in three stages: First, on an intact enamel (baseline); second, after creating artificial enamel lesions; third, after application of re-mineralizing materials. In Group B, the samples were divided into five subgroups, including intact enamel, demineralized enamel, demineralized enamel treated with fluoride varnish, Nano P paste, and Icon-resin. In Group B, standard Streptococcus mutans bacteria adhesion (PTCC 1683) was examined and reported in terms of colony forming units (CFU/ml). Then, data were analyzed using ANOVA, Kruskal-Wallis, Mann-Whitney, and post hoc tests. Results In Group A, after treatment with re-mineralizing materials, the Icon-resin group had the highest surface hardness among the studied groups, then the Nano P paste group and fluoride varnish group, respectively (p = 0.035). In Group B, in terms of bacterial adhesion, fluoride varnish group had zero bacterial adhesion level, and then the Nano P paste group, Icon-resin group, intact enamel group, and the de-mineralized enamel group showed bacterial adhesion increasing in order (p < 0.001). Conclusion According to the study among the examined materials, the resin infiltrant increased the tooth surface hardness as the intact enamel and fluoride varnish had the highest reduction level for bacterial adhesion. Nano P paste had an effect between the two materials, both in increasing surface hardness and reducing bacterial adhesion.
The Cav3.2 T‐type calcium channel regulates temporal coding in mouse mechanoreceptors

Non‐technical summary Highly sensitive mechanoreceptors in the skin are responsible for our ability to discriminate fine textures. One feature of skin mechanoreceptors in mammals is their high sensitivity and speed. We show here that an ion channel that passes calcium ions following very small membrane depolarization caused by tactile stimuli acts as an amplifier increasing mechanoreceptor sensitivity. We also show that this calcium ion channel, called Cav3.2, only amplifies mechanosensory signals in a subset of touch receptors which happen to be several‐fold more sensitive than other specialized mechanoreceptors. Thus, the expression of one specific calcium channel serves especially to increase the speed of tactile encoding. The special sensitivity and high speed of these touch receptors may enable animals and humans to react very rapidly to tactile stimuli that guide movement.
SmartMTD: A Graph-Based Approach for Effective Multi-Truth Discovery

The Big Data era features a huge amount of data that are contributed by numerous sources and used by many critical data-driven applications. Due to the varying reliability of sources, it is common to see conflicts among the multi-source data, making it difficult to determine which data sources to trust. Recently, truth discovery has emerged as a means of addressing this challenging issue by determining data veracity jointly with estimating the reliability of data sources. A fundamental issue with current truth discovery methods is that they generally assume only one true value for each object, while in reality, objects may have multiple true values. In this paper, we propose a graph-based approach, called SmartMTD, to unravel the truth discovery problem beyond the single-truth assumption, or the multi-truth discovery problem. SmartMTD models and quantifies two types of source relations to estimate source reliability precisely and to detect malicious agreement among sources for effective multi-truth discovery. In particular, two graphs are constructed based on the modeled source relations. They are further used to derive the two aspects of source reliability (i.e., positive precision and negative precision) via random walk computation. Empirical studies on two large real-world datasets demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach.
Milk Intake and Feeding Behavior in the First Week of Life and Its Relationship to Cord Blood Ghrelin, Leptin, and Insulin Concentrations

Our aim was to study the feeding behavior of healthy term infants in the first week of life and determine whether this was related to cord blood leptin, ghrelin, and insulin. A total of 100 healthy bottle-fed infants were studied by weighing bottles of milk before and after feeds. Leptin, total ghrelin, and insulin concentrations were measured in cord blood. Mean (SD) birth weight was 3.46 (0.43) kg. Mean milk intake increased from 196.7 (83.0) g on d 1 to 585.0 (128.4) g on d 7. Milk intake over the first 6 d was significantly associated with weight gain to d 7. There was no relationship between cord ghrelin or leptin and milk intake or feed frequency. Cord blood insulin was inversely related to the mean daily number of feeds over the first 6 d (r = −0.21, p < 0.05). Birth weight and milk intake are the major determinants of weight gain in the first week of life in healthy bottle-fed infants. Total cord ghrelin and leptin are not directly related to milk intake or feed frequency in the first week of life. Circulating insulin concentrations may have a role in the initiation of feeding behavior.
Ballet and stress. A pilot study.

BACKGROUND Work-related stress is a complex problem requiring a work environment-based assessment. Artists like dancers represent a category of atypical workers potentially at high risk for work-related stress. Aim of our pilot study is to evaluate organizational stress in a population of professional dancers, using the HSE Indicator Tool for Work Related Stress. METHODS We administered the Italian version of the HSE Indicator Tool to 38 ballet dancers, males and females. The questionnaire evaluates 7 key organizational dimensions: demand, control, managers' support, peer support, relationships, role and change. RESULTS The standards required-ideal conditions are achieved in none of the above-mentioned dimensions. Change is the only dimension for which results fall between the 20th and the 50th percentile, while for other dimensions results fall below the 20th percentile suggesting the need for immediate corrective action. In male dancers an acceptable situation is highlighted for the dimension "change" compared to female dancers. In both sexes there is a high frequency of subjects complaining of verbal abuse, bullying and harassment. CONCLUSIONS Despite the small sample size, our pilot study highlights the presence of heightened levels of organizational stress. Preventive measures targeted towards improving communication between managers and dancers and aimed at team building should be implemented.
Pharyngeal colonization by gram-negative bacilli in aspiration-prone persons.

We compared the prevalence of Gram-negative bacilli in the pharyngeal flora of two groups of patients with a known predilection for Gram-negative bacillary pneumonia (chronic alcoholics and diabetics), two other groups of aspiration-prone persons with no known predilection for Gram-negative bacillary pneumonia (epileptics and narcotic addicts), and normal control subjects. Quantitative cultures of saline gargles showed pharyngeal Gram-negative bacilli to be significantly (P less than .05) more prevalent among alcoholics (35%) and diabetics (36%) but not epileptics (17%) or addicts (20%) than controls (18%). Counts of greater than or equal to 100 Gram-negative bacilli per milliliter were also significantly more common in alcoholics (14%) and diabetics (24%) than controls (5%, P less than .05). Enterobacter sp, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Escherichia coli were the most common Gram-negative bacilli isolated. Increased colonization by Gram-negative bacilli might be a factor contributing to the propensity of alcoholics and diabetics for Gram-negative pneumonia.
Self-Organized Graph-Based Resource Allocation

In many technical systems, such as smart grids, the central issue is to enable multiple devices to solve a resource allocation problem. Because centralized solutions usually struggle with an increasing number of agents, regio-central or completely decentralized mechanisms, which solve the problem in a cooperative manner, are of utmost interest in large-scale systems. In this paper, we present a coalition-based algorithm that allows a multi-agent system to cooperatively solve a single-resource allocation problem. Our approach uses self-organization to dynamically identify groups of agents whose decisions have to be coordinated, while optimistically refraining from coordinating the actions between these coalitions. The basic idea of our algorithm is inspired by the way pressure compensates in gas or fluid pipeline systems. It therefore operates on the basis of an overlay network, i.e., a graph, that defines a topology of possible resource flows as well as resistances in the form of costs of transferring a resource from one agent to another. Throughout this paper, the problem of compensating for imbalances between energy production and consumption in autonomous power management systems serves to illustrate our algorithm and results.
Relation between mealtime distribution of protein intake and lean mass loss in free-living older adults of the NuAge study.

BACKGROUND Studies have shown that an even protein intake distribution across meals increased 24-h muscle protein synthesis in young adults compared with a skewed intake. Whether this short-term result translates into long-term preservation of lean mass (LM) in older adults remains unknown. OBJECTIVE The aim was to examine the extent to which protein quantity and distribution are associated with LM and appendicular LM (aLM), and their 2-y decline, in community-dwelling older adults. DESIGN Baseline and 2-y follow-up data from 351 men and 361 women (aged 67-84 y) in the NuAge study (Quebec Longitudinal Study on Nutrition as a Determinant of Successful Aging) with available body-composition data (by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry) were used. Food intake was assessed with the use of three 24-h food recalls collected at baseline and 3 collected at the 2-y follow-up. Protein distribution across meals was calculated as the CV of protein ingested per meal, with lower values reflecting evenness of protein intake. Linear mixed-model analysis was performed to examine changes in LM and aLM across time, by sex, as conditioned by the quantity and distribution of protein intake, adjusted for potential covariates. RESULTS Over 2 y, LM declined in both men (-2.5% ± 4.0%) and women (-2.0% ± 3.4%) (P < 0.05), whereas aLM loss was not significant (men: -1.5% ± 4.8%; women: -1.2% ± 5.3%; P > 0.05). The decline in LM was not independently affected by the quantity and distribution of protein intake. Yet men and women with evenly distributed protein intakes and men with high protein intakes showed higher LM or aLM throughout the entire follow-up period, even after potential confounders were controlled for (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that greater protein intakes and a more even distribution across meals are modifiable factors associated with higher muscle mass in older adults but not with losses over 2 y. Interventional studies should determine longer-term effects on preserving LM with aging.
A double-edged sword: challenging women's oppression within Muslim society in northern Nigeria.

This paper reports the consequences experienced by Islam women attempting to reform gender relations among Muslim societies in northern Nigeria. The article also examines the problems encountered and its relation to the ideas, plans, and programs of gender and development (GAD) programs. In Muslim communities, few men or women disagree with the content of the GAD program aimed at addressing women's practical needs and interests, or the reform of gender relations. However, many question the GAD program on principle, viewing them as illegitimate because they are "Western" in nature. In line with this, many Muslim activists may have been branded as Western agents, funded by foreign powers to undermine Islam. As a result of this attitude, fund sources show mistrust to organizations which have religious affiliation, which further affects the aim of the organizations which is to address Muslim women's needs. Furthermore, the GAD program, which focuses solely on women's issues, only created an impression that only women are vulnerable to Western influences. The program also suggests suspicion on the issue of gender and development which hardened their stand against interventions to promote women's interests and needs. Finally, the difficult and fragile relationship between Islamic women's organization and international donor organizations, which are predominantly from Western societies with a Christian heritage, perpetuates the marginalization of Muslim women activists in the transformation of their society and religion.
Environmental History Modulates Arabidopsis Pattern-Triggered Immunity in a HISTONE ACETYLTRANSFERASE1–Dependent Manner[C][W]

This work shows that repetitive exposure to mild stresses increases Arabidopsis resistance to bacteria by priming the pattern-triggered immunity response in a HISTONE ACETYLTRANSFERASE1–dependent manner, demonstrating a mechanistic link between the primed state and epigenetics. In nature, plants are exposed to a fluctuating environment, and individuals exposed to contrasting environmental factors develop different environmental histories. Whether different environmental histories alter plant responses to a current stress remains elusive. Here, we show that environmental history modulates the plant response to microbial pathogens. Arabidopsis thaliana plants exposed to repetitive heat, cold, or salt stress were more resistant to virulent bacteria than Arabidopsis grown in a more stable environment. By contrast, long-term exposure to heat, cold, or exposure to high concentrations of NaCl did not provide enhanced protection against bacteria. Enhanced resistance occurred with priming of Arabidopsis pattern-triggered immunity (PTI)–responsive genes and the potentiation of PTI-mediated callose deposition. In repetitively stress-challenged Arabidopsis, PTI-responsive genes showed enrichment for epigenetic marks associated with transcriptional activation. Upon bacterial infection, enrichment of RNA polymerase II at primed PTI marker genes was observed in environmentally challenged Arabidopsis. Finally, repetitively stress-challenged histone acetyltransferase1-1 (hac1-1) mutants failed to demonstrate enhanced resistance to bacteria, priming of PTI, and increased open chromatin states. These findings reveal that environmental history shapes the plant response to bacteria through the development of a HAC1-dependent epigenetic mark characteristic of a primed PTI response, demonstrating a mechanistic link between the primed state in plants and epigenetics.
T cell Immunity and Vaccines Against Invasive Fungal Diseases

Over the past two decades much has been learned about the immunology of invasive fungal infection, especially invasive candidiasis and invasive aspergillosis. Although quite different in their pathogenesis, the major common protective host response is Th1 mediated. It is through Th1 cytokine production that the effector cells, phagocytes, are activated to kill the fungus. A more thorough understanding of the pathogenesis of disease, the elicited protective Th1 immune response, the T cell antigen(s) which elicit this response, and the mechanism(s) whereby one can enhance, reconstitute, or circumvent the immunosuppressed state will, hopefully, lead to the development of a vaccine(s) capable of protecting even the most immunocompromised of hosts.
Evoked Potential Correlates of Response Criterion in Auditory Signal Detection

The amplitude of a late positive component of the average evoked potential recorded from the human scalp varied systematically as a function of the observer's response criterion as defined within the context of signal detection theory. With signal intensity invariant, the P3, component of the evoked potential increased monotonically with increasing strictness of the criterion. The results are viewed as supporting the signal detection theory approach to the analysis of discrimination behavior as well as providing further evidence of the sensitivity of P3 to the manipulation of psychological variables.
Evaluation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa exotoxin A and elastase as virulence factors in acute lung infection

Acute Pseudomonas aeruginosa pneumonia was established in guinea pigs by intratracheal instillation of bacteria. Challenge strains included PAO-1, a strain known to produce exotoxin A, alkaline protease, and elastase, and several PAO-1 mutants deficient in either biologically active exotoxin A or elastase production. Survival, intrapulmonary killing of bacteria, and blood cultures were compared among the groups. Strains of P. aeruginosa deficient in active elastase production appeared to be less virulent than the parent strain and were more easily cleared from the lung. Opposite results were obtained for the exotoxin A-deficient mutants. These data suggest that elastase, but not exotoxin A, was an important virulence factor during acute pneumonia due to P. aeruginosa.