Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Antibodies against human papillomavirus (HPV) type 16 and 18 E2, E6 and E7 proteins in sera: Correlation with presence of papillomavirus DNA

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is associated with cervical cancer. The E2 and E1 papillomavirus proteins are expressed at the early stage of infection and regulate DNA replication. The E2 protein activates and represses transcription from different HPVs promoters. At some stage when viral DNA gets integrated into the cellular genome, the E2 gene is disrupted or inactivated. This event leads to a derepression of the E6 and E7 viral oncogenes. These viral proteins are required normally for the maintenance of the malignant phenotype. Therefore, the E2, E6, and E7 proteins are present in all patients infected by papillomavirus. In this study, the association of antibody levels against E2, E6, and E7 proteins of HPV types 16, 18, and 6 was determined in relation to the presence of HPV DNA at the initial stages of HPV infection. Serum samples from 172 women with HPV infection, determined by Papanicolau (Pap) smears and colposcopy, were tested. Elevated antibody titers against E2 protein from the HPV 6 and HPV 16 were detected in 46.42 and 66.96% of the patients, respectively. Antibodies against the E7 and E6 proteins of HPV 16 were found in 51.78 and 36.60% of the patients, respectively. Antibodies against the E6 and E7 proteins of HPV 18 were 35 and 45%, respectively. A statistical difference was found for antibody titers against the E2, E6, and E7 proteins between patients with papillomavirus DNA and controls cases who had no cytological abnormalities and no HPV DNA. Sera titers were 1/500 for patients HPV positive and 1/50 for control individuals. Antibodies titers against E6 and E7 proteins were also examined in patients at 6 and 24 months after cryosurgery. In these patients, a slight decrease in the antibody level against the E2, E6, and E7 proteins was found. No correlation was found between age and number of sexual partners, with serum positivity to the E2, E6, and E7 papillomavirus proteins. These data suggest that antibodies against the E2, E6, and E7 proteins are good candidates for use as markers for monitoring cervical HPV infections. J. Med. Virol. 65:736–744, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Understanding Stroke Survivorship: Expanding the Concept of Poststroke Disability

Background and Purpose— Limitations in essential daily activities are common among older adults after stroke, but little is known about restrictions in their ability to participate in valued social activities. We sought to broaden our understanding of disability after stroke by characterizing poststroke participation restrictions and investigating the extent to which they are accounted for by differences in physical and cognitive capacity, aphasia/dysarthria, depressive, and anxiety symptoms. Methods— Data from the 2011 National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS) were used to identify 892 self-reported stroke survivors aged ≥65 years. One-to-one propensity matching was performed on demographics and comorbidities to create a matched sample. Participation restrictions were defined as reductions/absence in social activities valued by respondents because of their health or functioning. Physical and cognitive capacity, depressive and anxiety symptoms were measured by validated scales and aphasia/dysarthria by a single question. Comparisons using survey-weighted &khgr;2 tests and logistic regression were made. Results— Stroke survivors had more participation restrictions (32.8% versus 23.5%; odds ratio, 1.59; 95% confidence interval, 1.28–1.95; P<0.01) than controls. Differences between stroke survivors and controls in any participation restriction and several components (attending religious service, clubs/classes, and going out for enjoyment) were eliminated after adjusting for physical capacity. Depressive and anxiety symptoms and aphasia/dysarthria were independent predictors of participation restrictions. Conclusions— Stroke survivors have more participation restrictions than can be accounted for by sociodemographic profiles and comorbidity burden. Future work aimed at improving physical capacity, reducing depressive and anxiety symptoms, and improving aphasia/dysarthria has potential to enhance participation.
The Thermal Grill Illusion of Pain: Characterizing Differences in Response across Body Sites

The simultaneous application of interlaced innocuous warm and cool stimuli (a thermal grill stimulus, TGS) can elicit sensations of burning heat (the Thermal Grill Illusion, TGI). The TGS is thought to alter the central interactions between somatosensory sub-modalities (i.e. coldinhibition of pain). Previous psychophysical findings point to body site differences in perceptual thermal thresholds. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate whether, using the same TGS, a TGI can be elicited at body sites other than the upper extremity. The present findings indicate that the TGI can be induced at the palm, back, calf, and foot. Pain and unpleasantness in response to the TGS were more frequent and intense following stimulation of the palm and back than the calf and foot. Lower cold pain thresholds were associated with lower pain intensity ratings in response to the TGS. These two findings may reflect differences in central integrative processes.
Paradoxical elevation of serum TRACP5b levels despite increase in lumbar spine bone mineral density during anti-TNFα therapy in patients with inflammatory rheumatic disease: a 2-year prospective assessment of bone mass, bone metabolism, and the trabecular bone score.

Objective To examine the impact of long-term anti-TNFα therapy on bone mass, bone metabolism, and the trabecular bone score (TBS) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Material and Methods In eight patients with RA and 12 with AS, bone mineral densities (BMDs) of the lumbar spine (LS), left and right femoral neck, and total skeleton were measured using dual X-ray absorptiometry at baseline and then at 6, 12, and 24 months after anti TNFα therapy. The TBS was also calculated. At baseline and at 1, 3, 6, 12, 18, and 24 months, bone metabolism was assessed by measurements of pro-collagen-I carboxyterminal propeptide (PICP), osteocalcin, and bone alkaline phosphatase levels in the serum, which are indicative of bone formation and β-isomerized carboxy-terminal telopeptide of type-I collagen (β-CTX-I) and serum isoform 5b of tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRACP5b) levels in the serum, which are indicative of bone resorption. Results In patients with RA, the LS T-score increased (3.2%, p<0.001) and the TBS progressively decreased (-3.9%, p=0.03). In patients with AS, the LS BMD and T-score increased (4.3% and 6.2%, respectively; p<0.001) with no significant change in the TBS. Serum TRACP5b levels dramatically increased in both groups (227% in patients with RA and 150% in those with AS, p<0.001), while β-CTX-I levels did not change. Serum osteocalcin and PICP levels showed a transitory increase in patients with AS. Conclusion Long-term anti-TNFα therapy increased LS bone mass and affected bone quality (TBS) with little impact on bone remodeling. Conversely, TRACP5b levels dramatically increased during anti-TNFα therapy but without any detrimental effect on bone mass.
CBL: Exploiting Community Based Locality for Efficient Content Search Service in Online Social Networks

Retrieving relevant data for users in online social network (OSN) systems is a challenging problem. Cassandra, a storage system used by popular OSN systems, such as Facebook and Twitter, relies on a DHT-based scheme to randomly partition the personal data of users among servers across multiple data centers. Although DHT is highly scalable for hosting a large number of users (personal data), it leads to costly inter-server communications across data centers due to the complex interconnection and interaction among OSN users. In this paper, we explore how to retrieve the OSN content in a cost-effective way by retaining the simple and robust nature of OSNs. Our approach exploits a simple, yet powerful principle called Community-Based Locality (CBL), which posits that if a user has a one-hop neighbor within a particular community, it is very likely that the user has other one-hop neighbors inside the same community. We demonstrate the existence of community-based locality in diverse traces of popular OSN systems such as Facebook, Orkut, Flickr, Youtube, and Livejournal. Based on the observation, we design a CBL-based algorithm to build the content index in OSN systems. By partitioning and indexing the relevant data of users within a community on the same server in the data center, the CBL-based index avoids a significant amount of inter-server communications during searching, making retrieving relevant data for a user in large-scale OSNs efficient. In addition, by using CBL-based scheme we can provide much faster search response and balanced loads. We conduct comprehensive trace-driven simulations to evaluate the performance of the proposed scheme. Results show that ourscheme significantly reduces the network traffic by 73 percent while reduces the query latency by 35 percent compared with existing schemes.
Strategic realignment of the post-contract cost control process in the Nigerian construction industry using kaizen

Small and medium scale construction companies in Nigeria have many challenges such as management of construction works, employee management, competition in the construction industry and financial management of construction projects. New techniques emanating from lean thinking have helped to reduce cost during manufacturing. Continuous cost reduction or kaizen costing during the construction phase stems from kaizen, which is a sub-set of lean production. Kaizen is the Japanese word for continuous improvement, which has the proven benefits to reduce construction cost, provide quality products, increase profitability, enhance employee-employer relationship and competitiveness. The research methodology for this study involved literature review and surveys (quantitative and qualitative). The surveys involved questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. Quantitative data was obtained from one hundred and thirty-five (135) respondents in Small and medium scale construction companies in Nigeria. Eleven (11) executives of small and medium scale construction firms were interviewed. The qualitative data were be analysed using NVIVO 10, while descriptive statistics, pie charts, graphs, Kendall’s W test, Spearman rho’s correlation, and factor analysis were used to analyse the quantitative data. The critical success factors for kaizen costing implementation identified management function; operational efficiency; construction business and ethics; and construction cost management as the major implementation factors. The critical success factors, effective post-contract cost controlling techniques and crucial activities for cost reduction during construction were used to produce the kaizen framework. The kaizen framework focused on activities before the construction phase required for effective post-contract control. The kaizen framework was developed using IDEF0, business process model and notation and capability maturity model. Overall, the validated strategic realignment of the post-contract cost control process in the Nigerian construction industry can be attained within five (5) to (6) years of implementing the framework.
High sensory block after intrathecal sufentanil for labor analgesia.

INTRATHECAL opioids for labor analgesia have become popular in recent years because they provide rapid, profound analgesia without motor blockade. Several s tudies 1-3 have found intrathecal opioids safe for both mother and fetus, citing few complications. We report a series of six cases exhibiting a high sensory block after intrathecal sufentanil for labor analgesia. With the exception of one patient (case 3), all were healthy parturients in active labor with a term, singleton, vertex fetus. In each case, intrathecal sufentanil was administered as part of a combined spinal-epidural technique. With the patient in the sitting position, the lumbar epidural space was identified using a loss-of-resistance technique with an 18-G Tuohy needle. Intrathecal injection was performed via a 1 20-mm (Sprotte) or 127-mm (Gertie Marx) 24-G pencil-point spinal needle (cases 1-5) or a 120-mm 25-G Quincke needle (case 6) introduced via the 18-G needle. Sufentanil, 10 μg, diluted to 1 or 2 ml with preservative-free saline, was injected and the spinal needle withdrawn. A 20-G epidural catheter was threaded into the epidural space. In all cases, painless uterine contractions were achieved shortly after intrathecal injection. In cases 4-6, epidural test doses of 1.5% lidocaine with 1 :200,000 epinephrine 3 ml were administered at varying times after intrathecal injection. Cases 1-3 did not receive test doses. Specific details of the cases are described below.
Gene expression and molecular evolution of sxtA 4 in a saxitoxin producing dino fl agellate Alexandrium catenella

Dinoflagellates of the genus Alexandrium produce the neurotoxin saxitoxin (STX), responsible for paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) and accumulates in marine invertebrates. The recent identification of STX biosynthesis genes allowed us to investigate the expression of sxtA4 at different growth stages in Alexandrium catenella Group IV. We found no significant differences in expression of sxtA4, despite significant differences in STX levels at different growth stages (P < 0.023). Three reference genes were tested for normalisation: actin, cytochrome b (cob), and the large subunit ribosomal RNA (LSU rDNA). cob was most stably expressed but the combination of two reference genes, actin and cob, resulted in the best stability factor. Most genomic sequences of sxtA4 from A. catenellawere in a clade that included sequences from Alexandrium fundyense Group I, however, one paralogue was not related to the others, suggesting recombination or lateral transfer. A comparison of the sxtA4 cDNA sequences with genomic DNA sequences indicated the possibility of transcript editing and the preferential transcription of certain genomic DNA loci. The results show that, in dinoflagellates, post-transcriptional mechanisms play a major role in the regulation of saxitoxin biosynthesis. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Upstream magnetospheric ion flux tube within a magnetic cloud: Wind/STICS

We present a case study of a remarkable upstream O+ and N+ ion outflow event. We present observational evidence for spatially structured outflow of these Low Charge State Heavy Ions (LCSHIs) of magnetospheric origin along a small reconnected field line region within the framework of a magnetic cloud of an ICME. From the particles' in situ 3D distribution function we conclude that in this case the interaction of the outflow with the bow shock is small. We conclude further that the gyrophases of outflowing ions at the reconnection point are randomly distributed. This leads to the formation of a flux tube with a specific geometry. In particular, the outflow reveals spatial dispersion and non‐gyrotropy. This result has implications for the size of the dayside reconnection site.
HLA-B27 misfolding and the unfolded protein response augment interleukin-23 production and are associated with Th17 activation in transgenic rats.

OBJECTIVE To determine whether HLA-B27 misfolding and the unfolded protein response (UPR) result in cytokine dysregulation and whether this is associated with Th1 and/or Th17 activation in HLA-B27/human beta(2)-microglobulin (Hubeta(2)m)-transgenic rats, an animal model of spondylarthritis. METHODS Cytokine expression in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated macrophages was analyzed in the presence and absence of a UPR induced by chemical agents or by HLA-B27 up-regulation. Cytokine expression in colon tissue and in cells purified from the lamina propria was determined by real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis, and differences in Th1 and Th17 CD4+ T cell populations were quantified after intracellular cytokine staining. RESULTS Interleukin-23 (IL-23) was found to be synergistically up-regulated by LPS in macrophages undergoing a UPR induced by pharmacologic agents or by HLA-B27 misfolding. IL-23 was also increased in the colon tissue from B27/Hubeta(2)m-transgenic rats concurrently with the development of intestinal inflammation, and IL-17, a downstream target of IL-23, exhibited robust up-regulation in a similar temporal pattern. IL-23 and IL-17 transcripts were localized to CD11+ antigen-presenting cells and CD4+ T cells, respectively, from the colonic lamina propria. Colitis was associated with a 6-fold expansion of CD4+ IL-17-expressing T cells. CONCLUSION The IL-23/IL-17 axis is strongly activated in the colon of B27/Hubeta(2)m-transgenic rats with spondylarthritis-like disease. HLA-B27 misfolding and UPR activation in macrophages can result in enhanced induction of the pro-Th17 cytokine IL-23. These results suggest a possible link between HLA-B27 misfolding and immune dysregulation in this animal model, with implications for human disease.
Advance directives in nursing homes: prevalence, validity, significance, and nursing staff adherence.

BACKGROUND The German Advance Directives Act of 2009 confirms that advance directives (ADs) are binding. Little is known, however, about their prevalence in nursing homes, their quality, and whether they are honored. METHODS In 2007, we carried out a cross-sectional survey in all 11 nursing homes of a German city in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (total nursing home population, 1089 residents). The ADs were formally analyzed and assessed by 3 raters with respect to 5 clinical decision-making scenarios. The specifications of the ADs were compared with what the nurses reported that they would do in each scenario. RESULTS 11% of the nursing home residents had a personal AD, and a further 1.4% an AD by proxy. 52% of the 119 ADs that we analyzed contained no documentation of the patient's decision-making capacity and/or voluntariness, and only 3% contained documentation of a medical consultation. Most ADs failed to state what should be done in case the patient acutely became incapable of consenting to treatment (inter-rater agreement [IRA] >83%). For the case of permanent decisional incapacity, many ADs contained ambiguous information (IRA<43%). 23 directives stated that the patient should not have cardiopulmonary resuscitation in case an arrest occurred in the patient's current clinical condition, but the nurses reported a corresponding do-not-resuscitate agreement for only 9 of these 23 patients. CONCLUSION In 2007, ADs were rare in these German nursing homes, and most of the existing ones were invalid, of little meaning, and/or disregarded by the nursing staff. There is little reason to believe that the Advance Directives Act of 2009 will bring about any major change in this miserable status quo. Advance care planning, a system-oriented concept still uncommon in Germany, could give new impulses to promote a cultural change in this respect.
Corporate Governance and Earnings Management: A Study of Indonesian Conventional and Islamic Banks

This study examines the influencing of corporate governance on earnings management of Indonesian conventional and Islamic banks. The 27 conventional banks and 10 Islamic banks were selected as a sample of this study which observed for 5 years (185 observations). This study found that audit committee and independent board positively influence earnings management of Indonesian banks. This study also provided evidence that concentration ownership negatively associate with earnings management. Moreover, in the context of Indonesian Islamic banks, this study found that the sharia supervisory board size negatively affect to earnings management. KeywordsEarnings management; Audit committee; Independent board, Ownership concentration, Sharia supervisory board
Dynamical generation of long-range interactions: Random Levy flights in the kinetic Ising and spherical models.

We study nonequilibrium steady states produced by a competition between anomalous diffusion (random Levy-Right exchanges) and local dynamics satisfying detailed balance for the equilibrium state of either the Ising chain or the spherical model. The phase transitions occurring in these systems are investigated via simulations and an exact solution. The results show that the steady-state properties are dominated by effective long-range interactions decaying with distance as r -d-σ , where d is the spatial dimension while σ is the dimension of the Levy flight
Transition state and encounter complex for fast association of cytochrome c2 with bacterial reaction center.

Electrostatic interactions strongly enhance the electron transfer reaction between cytochrome (Cyt) c(2) and reaction center (RC) from photosynthetic bacteria, yielding a second-order rate constant, k(2) approximately 10(9) s(-1). M(-1), close to the diffusion limit. The proposed mechanism involves an encounter complex (EC) stabilized by electrostatic interactions, followed by a transition state (TS), leading to the bound complex active in electron transfer. The effect of electrostatic interactions was previously studied by Tetreault et al. [Tetreault, M. , Cusanovich, M. , Meyer, T. , Axelrod, H. & Okamura, M. Y. (2002) Biochemistry 41, 5807-5815] by measuring k(2) for RC and Cyt molecules with modified charged residues at the binding interface. The present work is a computational analysis of this kinetic study to determine the ensemble of configurations of the TS and EC. Changes in the TS energies due to different mutations were compared with differences in the calculated electrostatic energies for a wide range of Cyt/RC configurations. The TS ensemble, obtained from structures having the highest correlation coefficients in the comparison with experimental data, has the Cyt displaced by approximately 10 A from its position in x-ray crystal structure, close to the average position of the EC ensemble, with strong electrostatic interactions between Cyt on the M subunit side of the RC surface. The heme of the Cyt is oriented toward Tyr L162 on the RC, the tunneling contact in the bound final state on the RC. The similarity between the structures of the EC, TS, and bound state can account for the rapid rate of association responsible for fast diffusion-controlled electron transfer.
Quality of life measures in soft tissue sarcoma

The assessment of health-related quality of life (HRQL) via patient-reported outcomes has the potential to answer critical questions and improve the care of soft tissue sarcoma (STS). This review outlines the rationale for quality of life measures in sarcoma, and details various instrument types: disease- and anatomic-specific, provider-generated, generic HRQL and health state utilities. Prior usage in STS populations, relative advantages of specific patient-reported outcome measures and a framework for selecting appropriate measures are discussed. Uniform incorporation of validated HRQL measures in STS clinical research would further the understanding of patient wellbeing beyond traditional clinical measures, and more widespread use of health state utilities measures in particular has the potential to facilitate comparative effectiveness research.
Chain Conformation of Poly(alkylene oxide)s Studied by Small-Angle Neutron Scattering

Using small-angle neutron scattering, the unperturbed chain dimensions of a series of poly(alkylene oxide)s (PAO’s) were studied as a function of side-chain length. The PAO’s were obtained using anionic ring-opening polymerization methods. The deuterated monomers were synthesized from commercially available precomponents. A systematic decrease of the chain dimensions with increasing length of the side chains was found. We also compare the PAO’s with the chemically very similar poly(olefin)s with respect to the characteristic ratio C∞, the chain dimensions, and the packing length as a function of the molecular weight per backbone bond. In doing so, we found significant differences between the static properties of the two systems.