Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The effect of hepatitis C on progression to AIDS before and after highly active antiretroviral therapy

Objectives: To assess the effect of infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) on the progression of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease, before and after the introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). Methods: We used data from a multi-centre prospective study of HIV seroconverters. Survival analyses were performed to compare the progression to AIDS by HCV serostatus in the period before HAART (i.e. June 1991–May 1996) and in the HAART era (i.e. June 1996–June 2001), controlling for duration of HIV infection. Results: Among the 1052 persons enrolled, 595 (56.6%) were co-infected; the median follow-up time was 9.7 years. Adjusting for demographic variables (age at HIV seroconversion and gender), HCV infection had no effect on the progression to AIDS in the pre-HAART era [relative hazard (RH) = 0.84; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.63–1.11], whereas it increased the risk in the HAART era (RH = 1.77; 95% CI, 1.15–2.73). In the HAART era, the proportion of person-time spent on HAART out of the total time at risk was significantly lower among co-infected persons (30 versus 40% for non-co-infected persons; P-value = 0.001); no significant difference was found for dual-therapy (29 versus 25%, respectively; P-value = 0.205); a significant difference was found for mono-therapy (15 versus 8%, respectively; P-value < 0.001). Conclusions: HCV infection was not a determinant of HIV disease progression in the pre-HAART era, whereas since the introduction of HAART, co-infected individuals seem to have had a faster disease progression. This may in part be explained by differences in person-time spent on different antiretroviral regimens.
Cross-modal object recognition and dynamic weighting of sensory inputs in a fish

Significance Being able to spontaneously recognize objects across different senses increases the flexibility of a multisensory system, because the reliability of different sensory inputs depends on the environment and range. However, this ability has only been found in mammals, suggesting such a high-level function might be associated with complex mammalian brain structures. We show that the weakly electric fish Gnathonemus petersii, is also capable of spontaneous cross-modal object recognition, discriminating objects learned visually with the active electric sense and vice versa. Furthermore, the modality-specific inputs are weighted dynamically according to their reliability at different ranges. This finding suggests that these complex cognitive abilities are present in fish in addition to mammals, and therefore do not require a cerebral cortex. Most animals use multiple sensory modalities to obtain information about objects in their environment. There is a clear adaptive advantage to being able to recognize objects cross-modally and spontaneously (without prior training with the sense being tested) as this increases the flexibility of a multisensory system, allowing an animal to perceive its world more accurately and react to environmental changes more rapidly. So far, spontaneous cross-modal object recognition has only been shown in a few mammalian species, raising the question as to whether such a high-level function may be associated with complex mammalian brain structures, and therefore absent in animals lacking a cerebral cortex. Here we use an object-discrimination paradigm based on operant conditioning to show, for the first time to our knowledge, that a nonmammalian vertebrate, the weakly electric fish Gnathonemus petersii, is capable of performing spontaneous cross-modal object recognition and that the sensory inputs are weighted dynamically during this task. We found that fish trained to discriminate between two objects with either vision or the active electric sense, were subsequently able to accomplish the task using only the untrained sense. Furthermore we show that cross-modal object recognition is influenced by a dynamic weighting of the sensory inputs. The fish weight object-related sensory inputs according to their reliability, to minimize uncertainty and to enable an optimal integration of the senses. Our results show that spontaneous cross-modal object recognition and dynamic weighting of sensory inputs are present in a nonmammalian vertebrate.
Business-to-business professional service relationships under multiple logics

ABSTRACT Trends toward service standardization and formalization appear to be contradicting rather than supporting service-dominant logic. Few studies have tried to understand how organizations deal with these contradictions. This paper explores the presence of contradicting logics in business-to-business professional service relationships. Based on 78 interviews with buyers and sellers, the study shows that the nature of the relationship is defined by the need to balance the contradicting logics at both the individual and firm levels. While individual relationships have traditionally been intimate, more instant relationships and knowledge of context is replacing intimacy under increased formalization and goods-dominant logic to ensure co-production. At the firm level, parallel rather than single relationships are used under a more formalized and goods-dominant logic. These findings add to existing knowledge about the integration of service- and goods-dominant logics and suggest that a revised conceptualization of client–professional relationships is needed.
Impaired Proinsulin Processing is a Characteristic of Transplanted Islets

We sought to determine whether recipients of islet transplants have defective proinsulin processing. Individuals who had islet allo‐ or autotransplantation were compared to healthy nondiabetic subjects. Insulin (I), total proinsulin (TP), intact proinsulin and C‐peptide (CP) were measured in samples of fasting serum by immunoassay, and the ratios of TP/TP+I and TP/CP were calculated. Islet allotransplant recipients had elevated TP levels relative to nondiabetic controls (16.8 [5.5–28.8] vs. 8.4 [4.0–21.8] pmol/L; p < 0.05) and autologous transplant recipients (7.3 [0.3–82.3] pmol/L; p < 0.05). Islet autotransplant recipients had significantly higher TP/TP+I ratios relative to nondiabetic controls (35.9 ± 6.4 vs. 13.9 ± 1.4%; p < 0.001). Islet allotransplant recipients, some of whom were on insulin, tended to have higher TP/TP+I ratios. The TP/CP ratio was significantly higher in both islet autotransplant (8.9 [0.6–105.2]; p < 0.05) and allotransplant recipients (2.4 [0.8–8.8]; p < 0.001) relative to nondiabetic controls (1.4 [0.5–2.6]%). Consistent with these findings, TP/TP+I and TP/CP values in islet autotransplant recipients increased significantly by 1‐year posttransplant compared to preoperative levels (TP/CP: 3.8 ± 0.6 vs. 23.3 ± 7.9%; p < 0.05). Both allo‐ and autotransplant subjects who received <10 000 IE/kg had higher TP/CP ratios than those who received >10 000 IE/kg. Islet transplant recipients exhibit defects in the processing of proinsulin similar to that observed in subjects with type 2 diabetes manifest as higher levels of total proinsulin and increased TP/TP+I and TP/CP ratios.
ALLOPROLIFERATIVE RESPONSES OF PURIFIED CD4+ AND CD8+ T CELLS TO ENDOTHELIAL CELLS IN THE ABSENCE OF CONTAMINATING ACCESSORY CELLS

Human capillary endothelial cells (EC), unlike rodent, constitutively express MHC class II antigens, raising the question of whether they can cause direct stimulation of resting T cells. Although previous reports have demonstrated an alloproliferative response between cultured human EC and resting T lymphocytes, they have not stringently proven the absence of contaminating leukocytes in both stimulator and responder populations. Here, we have quantitated the number of contaminating leukocytes in serially passaged human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) and have examined the ability of HUVEC and an EC line (EAhy.926) to cause allostimulation of positively selected CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. Contaminating CD45+ leukocytes were found in primary cultures at a mean level of 0.43\pm0.49%; by passages 3 and 4 there were less than 1/10,000 cells. CD4+ and CD8+ T cells were purified by positive selection on antibody-coated Dynabeads and residual DR+ cells were removed by complement-dependent lysis. They were shown to be depleted of monocytes by their failure to proliferate in response to OKT3 and PHA. Nevertheless, the same cells gave an unequivocal response to cytokine-treated, serially passaged HUVEC or EAhy.926 cells. The response of CD4+ but not CD8+ T cells was dependent upon pretreatment of HUVEC or EAhy.926 with human rIFN-γ. Neither CD4+ nor CD8+ T cells responded to MHC class II-bearing fibroblasts or epithelial cells. The CD8+ T cells that recognized EC did not respond to spleen cells in an MLR. The results confirm that EC, unlike other non-bone-marrow-derived cells, have the ability to provide all the signals necessary for direct stimulation of resting allogeneic T cells.
Hospital in the nursing home. Treating acute hospital problems in nursing home residents using a Hospital in the Home model.

AIM Residents of nursing homes are frequently transferred to hospital for the treatment of episodes of acute illness, in particular infectious diseases requiring intravenous therapy. This paper describes the ability of a Hospital in the Home Unit (HHU) to manage acute episodes while the patient remains resident in their nursing home. METHOD Retrospective descriptive survey of all nursing home patients treated in one HHU from January 1996 until May 2001 (65 months). Relevant demographic and clinical outcome measures were extracted from the HHU database. RESULTS Twenty-eight patients with a mean age of 81 years were studied. Most patients were resident in a nursing home for dementia. The commonest conditions treated were pneumonia, deep venous thrombosis, renal tract infection and cellulitis. Outcome of treatment was satisfactory in each case. No mortality was recorded. DISCUSSION It may be feasible and safe to treat residents of nursing homes with acute medical conditions in their usual place of residence. A hospital based HHU is well placed to deliver acute medical and nursing care to such residents managing intravenous therapy and lines, allowing the nursing home to continue to manage the resident without physical transfer to hospital.
Expression of tumor-associated antigen RCAS1 and its possible involvement in immune evasion in oral squamous cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND RCAS1 (receptor-binding cancer antigen expressed on SiSo cells) is known to induce apoptosis in its receptor-positive cells. The authors investigated RCAS1 expression in oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and its association with the apoptosis of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs). METHODS In 130 patients with oral SCC, the expression of RCAS1 in tumor cells was immunohistochemically examined and the apoptosis of TILs was examined by Terminal Deoxynucleotidyltransferase-mediated dUTP Nick End Labeling (TUNEL) staining. RESULTS RCAS1 was detected both on the cytoplasm and the membrane of tumor cells in 41 of 130 cases (31.5%). Focusing on the expression at the invasive front interacting with host immune cells, RCAS1 was detected in 22 of 130 cases (16.9%). The percentage of TUNEL-positive TILs in cases with RCAS1-positive SCCs was significantly higher than in cases with RCAS1-negative SCCs (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS RCAS1 can be expressed on oral SCC cells and may be involved in the tumor escape from the host immune system by inducing the apoptosis of TILs.
Pricing and Hedging of Derivatives in Contagious Markets

It is well documented that stock markets are contagious. A negative shock to one market increases the probability of adverse shocks to other markets. We model this contagion effect by including mutually exciting jump processes in the dynamics of the indexes’ log-returns. On top of this we add a stochastic volatility component to the dynamics. It is important to take the contagion effect into account if derivatives written on a basket of assets are to be priced or hedged. Due to the affine model specification the joint characteristic function of the log-returns is known analytically, and for two specifications we detail how the model can be calibrated efficiently to option prices. In total we calibrate over an extended period of time the specifications to options data on four US stock indexes, and show how the models achieve satisfactory pricing errors. We study the effect of contagion on multi-asset derivatives prices and show how for certain derivatives the impact is heavy. Moreover, we derive hedge ratios for European put and call options and perform a numerical experiment, which illustrates the impact of contagious jumps on option prices and hedge ratios. Mutually exciting processes have been analyzed for multivariate intensity modeling for the purpose of credit derivatives pricing, but have not been used for pricing/hedging options on equity indexes.
Assistive devices for children with functional impairments: impact on child and caregiver function

Functional impairments can limit a child's ability to participate in the experiences of childhood. This‘deprivation’can, in turn, have a negative effect on such children's development, academic performance, and quality of life, as well as on the lives of their caregivers and families. Many adults use assistive devices to overcome functional impairments and enable them to participate in daily activities; however, such devices may be underutilized by children. Each of the 54 studies reviewed in this report identified one or more functional impairments towards which an assistive device was targeted: accessing a computer (n=3 [studies]), activity assistance (n=2), behaviour changes (n=3), communication (n=30), independent feeding (n=1), living skills (n=1), mobility (n=9), modifying the environment (n=1), nutrition (n=4), and postural stability (n=2). The aim of this review was to determine the impact of assistive devices on the components of functioning defined by the World Health Organization's International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health. The impact of these devices was found to be overwhelmingly positive. Study outcomes reported were mainly child‐focused and could be classified as influencing activity, participation, and personal contextual factors, with relatively little attention paid to caregiver‐focused outcomes. Few studies provided either qualitative evidence or experimentally‐based quantitative research evidence using controls.
Diabetic kidney disease: from physiology to therapeutics

Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) defines the functional, structural and clinical abnormalities of the kidneys that are caused by diabetes. This complication has become the single most frequent cause of end‐stage renal disease. The pathophysiology of DKD comprises the interaction of both genetic and environmental determinants that trigger a complex network of pathophysiological events, which leads to the damage of the glomerular filtration barrier, a highly specialized structure formed by the fenestrated endothelium, the glomerular basement membrane and the epithelial podocytes, that permits a highly selective ultrafiltration of the blood plasma. DKD evolves gradually over years through five progressive stages. Briefly they are: reversible glomerular hyperfiltration, normal glomerular filtration and normoalbuminuria, normal glomerular filtration and microalbuminuria, macroalbuminuria, and renal failure. Approximately 20–40% of diabetic patients develop microalbuminuria within 10–15 years of the diagnosis of diabetes, and about 80–90% of those with microalbuminuria progress to more advanced stages. Thus, after 15–20 years, macroalbuminuria occurs approximately in 20–40% of patients, and around half of them will present renal insufficiency within 5 years. The screening and early diagnosis of DKD is based on the measurement of urinary albumin excretion and the detection of microalbuminuria, the first clinical sign of DKD. The management of DKD is based on the general recommendations in the treatment of patients with diabetes, including optimal glycaemic and blood pressure control, adequate lipid management and abolishing smoking, in addition to the lowering of albuminuria.
Air Pollution and Emergency Room Visits for Arrhythmias: Are There Potentially Sensitive Groups?

Recent studies showed that air pollution is a risk factor for hospitalization for arrhythmias. However, there is limited evidence to suggest which subpopulations are at higher risk for arrhythmia development due to increased air pollutant exposure. This study was undertaken to examine the modifying effect of specific secondary diagnosis (including hypertension, diabetes, and congestive heart failure) on the relationship between frequency of emergency room (ER) visits for arrhythmias and ambient air pollutants concentrations. ER visits for arrhythmias and ambient air pollution data for Taipei were obtained for the period 2000–2006. The relative risk of ER visits was estimated using a case-crossover approach. Data showed an increased risk of ER visits for arrhythmias in relation to increased O3 levels among individuals with a secondary diagnosis of hypertension and congestive heart failure.
Connecting Pixels to Privacy and Utility: Automatic Redaction of Private Information in Images

Images convey a broad spectrum of personal information. If such images are shared on social media platforms, this personal information is leaked which conflicts with the privacy of depicted persons. Therefore, we aim for automated approaches to redact such private information and thereby protect privacy of the individual. By conducting a user study we find that obfuscating the image regions related to the private information leads to privacy while retaining utility of the images. Moreover, by varying the size of the regions different privacy-utility trade-offs can be achieved. Our findings argue for a "redaction by segmentation" paradigm. Hence, we propose the first sizable dataset of private images "in the wild" annotated with pixel and instance level labels across a broad range of privacy classes. We present the first model for automatic redaction of diverse private information. It is effective at achieving various privacy-utility trade-offs within 83% of the performance of redactions based on ground-truth annotation.
Development in toddlers with and without deformational plagiocephaly.

OBJECTIVE To determine whether the heightened risk of developmental delays seen in infancy in patients with deformational plagiocephaly (DP) continues into the toddler years. DESIGN Longitudinal study comparing the development of children with and without DP, with assessments in infancy (mean age, 7 months) and at age 18 months. SETTING Infants with DP were recruited from a large craniofacial center, and unaffected infants were recruited from a research registry. PARTICIPANTS The study included 227 children with DP and 232 children without previously diagnosed DP. MAIN EXPOSURE Diagnosis of DP by a craniofacial specialist. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, Third Edition, scores. RESULTS Toddlers with DP scored lower than did unaffected children on all the scales of the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, Third Edition. Motor score differences were smaller and cognitive and language score differences were greater than those observed in infancy. CONCLUSIONS Toddlers with DP continue to exhibit evidence of developmental delays relative to toddlers without DP. These findings do not necessarily imply a causal relationship between DP and development because children with delays may be more likely to develop DP. Nonetheless, it seems that increased developmental surveillance is warranted in this population.
Does It Pay to Bet Against Beta? On the Conditional Performance of the Beta Anomaly

Prior studies find that a strategy that buys high-beta stocks and sells low-beta stocks has a significantly negative unconditional capital asset pricing model (CAPM) alpha, such that it appears to pay to “bet against beta. ” We show, however, that the conditional beta for the high-minus-low beta portfolio covaries negatively with the equity premium and positively with market volatility. As a result, the unconditional alpha is a downward-biased estimate of the true alpha. We model the conditional market risk for beta-sorted portfolios using instrumental variables methods and find that the conditional CAPM resolves the beta anomaly.
The Brunt of Oil Demand and US-Dollar Exchange Rate: Evidence From Net-Oil Importing Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The objective of this paper is to investigate the impact of the US dollar exchange rate on oil demand in net importing oil countries of Sub-Saharan Africa. Given that Global real Crude oil prices are exclusively denominated in US dollars, therefore, we tests the hypothesis that, the variation in the dollar exchange rate affect the demand for crude oil in net imported oil countries whose currency, non-US dollars are used to buy petroleum products in the world and domestic market of oil. This important because, when oil prices are at record levels in dollar terms, generally the price of oil in euro lags behind and won’t increase until few month later but not in other currencies. We use a multivariate specification of error correction model and test for nonlinearity issues pertaining to the effect of US-dollar exchange rate on oil demand. The results are analyze via the impact of US-Dollars exchange rate on the of terms of trade, firms performances and farm household productivity
Keratinization and ultrastructure of the epidermis of late embryonic stages in the alligator (Alligator mississippiensis)

Using specific anti‐β keratin and general anti‐α keratin antibodies, keratins were located in the epidermis of the alligator during the final developmental stages by ultrastructural and immunocytochemical methods. The maturation of the bilayered periderm (= embryonic epidermis) coincides with the disappearance of cell organelles, including the 25–35‐nm‐thick coarse filaments, and the coalescing of α‐keratin filaments into a compact mass. The plasmalemma of peridermal cells forms a 15–25‐nm‐thick electron‐dense corneous envelope. These changes start at stage 25, about 3 weeks before hatching, and continue until hatching when the embryonic epidermis is shed. Immature β‐keratogenic cells beneath the embryonic epidermis accumulate immunolabelled β‐filaments which are packed into thin, electron‐pale β‐keratogenic cells in the corneous layer. Together, electron‐pale and electron‐dense materials form a compact 3–4‐nm filament pattern of β‐keratin. Melanosomes from epidermal melanocytes, incorporated into β‐cells, give rise to the banded skin pattern of hatchlings. β‐keratin production is much reduced in the hinge regions, where many α‐filaments remain packed together with lipid droplets or mucous granules into thinner, more electron‐dense, α‐cells. The keratinaceous material of the α‐cells is mostly concentrated along the cell membrane, while the lipid/mucous material remains centrally located, as in sebokeratinocytes of the apteric areas of avian skin. Some lipid and mucus is also incorporated into typical β‐cells of the outer scale surface, so that lipids are part of the fully keratinized hard keratin layer of the alligator. Lipids within β‐cells of outer scale surfaces and α‐cells of the hinge region are probably responsible for limiting water loss and ion movements across the skin. Neither typical mammalian keratohyalin granules nor lepidosaurian keratohyalin‐like granules were detected anywhere in alligator epidermis. The combination of anti‐β and anti‐α keratin antibodies revealed different distributions of β‐ and α‐keratins. In late embryonic stages (25–26 to hatching), β‐keratin occurs only in the upper suprabasal cells, in prekeratinized and keratinized layers, whereas α‐keratin bundles (tonofilaments) remain only in the lowest layers. The cross‐reactivity of the β‐antibody, produced against a chick scale keratin, further shows that avian and crocodilian hard (β) keratins share common antigenic sites, reflecting a phylogenetic affinity between these taxa.