Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Risk factors for hepatitis B transmission in South Brazil

BACKGROUND Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major public health problem in Brazil. Several risk factors are involved in HBV infection and their identification by a rational and essential approach is required to prevent the transmission of this infection in Brazil. OBJECTIVES To evaluate risk factors associated with HBV infection in South Brazil. METHODS A total of 260 patients with HBV and 260 controls from Caxias do Sul (state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil) participated in this study. All participants were given a standard questionnaire to yield the sociodemographic information and to identify HBV risk factors. HBV infection was detected by HBsAg test in all participants. FINDINGS HBV infection in these cases was strongly associated with history of a family member HBV-infected, mainly mother [odds ratio (OR) = 4.86; 95% confidence intervals (CI): 1.69–13.91], father (OR = 5.28; 95% CI: 1.58–17.71), and/or siblings (OR = 22.16; 95% CI: 9.39–52.25); sharing personal objects (OR = 1.40; 95% CI: 1.37–2.38); and having history of blood transfusion (OR = 2.05; 95% CI: 1.10–2.84). CONCLUSIONS HBV infection was strongly associated with having a family member infected with hepatitis B, sharing personal objects, and having history of blood transfusion.
Epitope-Specific Tolerance Modes Differentially Specify Susceptibility to Proteolipid Protein-Induced Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis

Immunization with myelin components can elicit experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). EAE susceptibility varies between mouse strains, depending on the antigen employed. BL/6 mice are largely resistant to EAE induction with proteolipid protein (PLP), probably a reflection of antigen-specific tolerance. However, the extent and mechanism(s) of tolerance to PLP remain unclear. Here, we identified three PLP epitopes in PLP-deficient BL/6 mice. PLP-sufficient mice did not respond against two of these, whereas tolerance was “leaky” for an epitope with weak predicted MHCII binding, and only this epitope was encephalitogenic. In TCR transgenic mice, the “EAE-susceptibility-associated” epitope was “ignored” by specific CD4 T cells, whereas the “resistance-associated” epitope induced clonal deletion and Treg induction in the thymus. Central tolerance was autoimmune regulator dependent and required expression and presentation of PLP by thymic epithelial cells (TECs). TEC-specific ablation of PLP revealed that peripheral tolerance, mediated by dendritic cells through recessive tolerance mechanisms (deletion and anergy), could largely compensate for a lack of central tolerance. However, adoptive EAE was exacerbated in mice lacking PLP in TECs, pointing toward a non-redundant role of the thymus in dominant tolerance to PLP. Our findings reveal multiple layers of tolerance to a central nervous system autoantigen that vary among epitopes and thereby specify disease susceptibility. Understanding how different modalities of tolerance apply to distinct T cell epitopes of a target in autoimmunity has implications for antigen-specific strategies to therapeutically interfere with unwanted immune reactions against self.
Glutamate and the pathophysiology of hypoxic–ischemic brain damage

Information obtained over the past 25 years indicates that the amino acid glutamate functions as a fast excitatory transmitter in the mammalian brain. Studies completed during the last 15 years have also demonstrated that glutamate is a powerful neurotoxin, capable of killing neurons in the central nervous system when its extracellular concentration is sufficiently high. Recent experiments in a variety of preparations have shown that either blockade of synaptic transmission or the specific antagonism of postsynaptic glutamate receptors greatly diminishes the sensitivity of central neurons to hypoxia and ischemia. These experiments suggest that glutamate plays a key role in ischemic brain damage, and that drugs which decrease the accumulation of glutamate or block its postsynaptic effects may be a rational therapy for stroke.
The effects of induced fever on cerebral functions in neurosyphilis.

Although fever is known to be associated with definite alterations in the circulation and metabolism of the body as a whole and of certain individual organs, there have been few observations on the changes occurring in the brain during fever. An increase in the cerebral arteriovenous oxygen difference was found in 15 patients with dementia paralytica during fever produced by typhoid vaccine and inductotherm (1). It was suggested that the brain in these patients either responded to fever with a rise in metabolism greater than other parts of the body or else the cerebral blood flow is slower during fever, thus accounting for a larger arteriovenous difference. Looney and Borkovic (2), however, found a slight decrease in the cerebral oxygen arteriovenous difference in 12 patients with dementia paralytica undergoing diathermic fever treatment, but they did not believe that these changes were significant. The oxygen consumption of brain tissue in vitro has been found to increase with temperature at levels lower than normal (3). At temperatures greater than normal, however, conflicting results have been obtained by different investigators (3, 4). The present report presents studies on the effects of induced fever on the cerebral circulation and oxygen consumption in 27 patients with neurosyphilis.
An Authorization Model without Central Authority for Service Collaboration

In the service-oriented computing, a single transaction initiated by a client might invoke many different services in other administrative domains. Existing models for authorizing the access assume that all services involved in collaboration are managed by the central authority, which is not always a realistic premise. In this paper, we propose a novel authorization model for dynamic service collaboration. With the authorization discovery process, the client can discover the needed authorization for service access available in other autonomous domains. With extensions to SoD relationship, the conflicts of client interests can be formalized and expressed as constraints. The authorization problems are formalized to choose the optimal access path for each task. At last, the example and experiments show the practicality and the effectiveness of our scheme.
Cyclooxygenase-2 polymorphisms and susceptibility to gastric carcinoma: a meta-analysis.

AIM To investigate the association of the cyclooxygenases-2 (COX-2) polymorphisms and susceptibility to gastric cancer (GC) by means of meta-analysis. METHODS Publications addressing the association between polymorphisms of COX-2 and susceptibility to GC were selected from the MEDLINE, EMBASE and CBMdisc databases. Data was extracted from the studies by 2 independent reviewers. The meta-analyses were performed by RevMan 5.0. 23. From these data, odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated. RESULTS Ten studies were retrieved reporting a total of 11 COX-2 polymorphisms. Carriers of -765C, -1195A, -1290G, *2430T alleles and *429TT genotype revealed increased risk for GC (OR = 1.71, 95% CI: 1.01-2.90, P = 0.05; OR = 1.58, 95% CI: 1.05-2.38, P = 0.03; OR = 1.55, 95% CI: 1.01-2.39, P = 0.05; OR = 2.62, 95% CI: 1.20-5.73, P = 0.02 and OR = 0.74, 95% CI: 0.59-0.95, P = 0.02, respectively). CONCLUSION The -765C, -1195A, -1290G, *2430T alleles and *429TT genotype of COX-2 polymorphisms were determined a significant association with susceptibility to GC.
Persistent Homology of Asymmetric Networks: An Approach based on Dowker Filtrations

We propose methods for computing two network features with topological underpinnings: the Rips and Dowker Persistent Homology Diagrams. Our formulations work for general networks, which may be asymmetric and may have any real number as an edge weight. We study the sensitivity of Dowker persistence diagrams to intrinsic asymmetry in the data, and investigate the stability properties of both the Dowker and Rips persistence diagrams. We include detailed experiments run on a variety of simulated and real world datasets using our methods.
Impact test for hardness of compressed powder compacts.

An impact-rebound method of estimating the hardness (i.e., the pressure necessary to produce permanent deformation) of a compact of powdered solid is evaluated. A steel sphere arranged as a pendulum acts as the indenter. Since energy consumed during impact is used in doing pressure-volume work, this energy divided by the volume of the indentation provides an estimate of the mean deformation pressure. Two methods of estimating the dent volumes are compared. The simpler method uses equations adopted from metallurgy. These estimate the volume from the energy consumed during impact and the chordal radius of the dent. The alternate method estimates the volume from the displacement of a grid of lines projected onto the dented surface at a small angle of incidence. The latter method gives slightly smaller volumes than the former. When plotted in various ways, the data obtained yield slopes and/or intercepts consistent with the adopted metallurgical equations. Therefore, these equations are considered to provide: (a) an acceptable description of the indentation process and (b) the more satisfactory method of estimating the hardness of compacts. Plots of log pressure versus relative density appear to be linear. Extrapolations of these plots to a relative density of unity provide estimates of the properties of a single polycrystalline mass of the powdered material.
C/EBP and the Control of Phosphoenolpyruvate Carboxykinase Gene Transcription in the Liver*

In 1989, shortly after the discovery of CAAT/enhancer-binding protein (C/EBP) and in a period before it was clear that there was more than one form of C/EBP, McKnight et al. (1) published a review entitled: “Is C/EBP a Central Regulator of Energy Metabolism? ” This prediction of a critical metabolic role for this transcription factor was based on the very slim evidence that C/EBP was involved in the transcription of a number of metabolically important genes such as 422/aP2, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK), and fatty acid synthase, in addition to its role in the differentiation of adipocytes (2, 3). Over the decade since this article was published, the prediction has proven to be remarkably accurate. C/EBP is now known to comprise a gene family with a number of closely related members, the biology of which has been detailed in the first minireview in this series by Lekstrom-Himes and Xanthopoulos (4). These C/EBP isoforms can stimulate or inhibit transcription from a growing list of genes in a variety of tissues in animals as diverse as chickens and rats. One of the critical aspects of the biology of C/EBP that has emerged over the past 10 years is the key role that members of the family of transcription factors play in both the development and maintenance of metabolically important processes (1, 5, 6). This review will focus on the effects of C/EBP isoforms on the control of transcription of the gene for the key gluconeogenic enzyme PEPCK (GTP) (EC 4.1.1.32) as a model for its regulation of other genes that code for enzymes of metabolic importance.
Deep thinking and quick learning for viable AI

Despite the vast progress made in artificial intelligence (AI) over the years and the recent renewed interest in it because of some major breakthroughs in methodologies seemingly signifying its general viability, there are still important gaps that have to be filled to enable the construction of truly general and adaptive intelligent machines. This paper points out that a useful general learning machine must not only be “general” in the sense of being able to learn to solve many different kinds of problem, it must also be able to learn to solve them rapidly, and continue to learn rapidly in an ever-changing, non-stationary environment. The paper reviews the current limitations in certain popular learning methods, such as reinforcement learning, and proposes new methodologies that address the gaps. A new paradigm of deep thinking and quick learning is proposed for a future direction of research to produce truly general and adaptive intelligent machines.
Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Novel Pyrazoles and Pyrazolo[3,4‐d]pyrimidines Incorporating a Benzenesulfonamide Moiety

Synthesis and biological evaluation of novel pyrazoles and pyrazolo[3,4‐d]pyrimidines are reported. Fourteen compounds were selected by the NCI and tested for their preliminary in‐vitro anticancer activity, whereas all the synthesized compounds were evaluated for their in‐vitro antimicrobial activity. Compound 12a was proven to possess the highest anticancer activity with a broad spectrum profile. It showed particular effectiveness towards leukemia HL‐60 (TB), K‐562, non‐small cell lung cancer NCI‐H23, and colon cancer HT 29, KM 12 cell lines (GI50 = 6.59, 4.44, 1.37, 3.33, and 9.63 μM, respectively). Out of the synthesized compounds, thirteen derivatives were found to display pronounced antimicrobial activity especially against P. aeruginosa. Compounds 2c, 5b, 10, 11b, 17b, 18b, and 19 were proven to be the most active with a broad spectrum of activity. Compound 19 was found to be equipotent to ampicillin against B. subtilis, whereas compounds 11b and 19 were four times superior to ampicillin against P. aeruginosa, while compounds 5b and 18b were equipotent to ampicillin against the same organism. Moreover, compounds 2c, 10, and 11b were nearly equipotent to ampicillin against E. coli. On the other hand, compounds 2c, 5b, 10, 11a, 17b, and 18b exerted nearly half the activity of clotrimazole against C. albicans.
Model of Axiological Dimension Risk Management

Abstract It was on the basis of the obtained results that identify the key prerequisites for the integration of the management of logistics processes, management of the value creation process, and risk management that the methodological basis for the construction of the axiological dimension of the risk management (ADRM) model of logistics processes was determined. By taking into account the contribution of individual concepts to the new research area, its essence was defined as an integrated, structured instrumentation aimed at the identification and implementation of logistics processes supporting creation of the value added as well as the identification and elimination of risk factors disturbing the process of the value creation for internal and external customers. The base for the ADRM concept of logistics processes is the use of the potential being inherent in synergistic effects which are obtained by using prerequisites for the integration of the management of logistics processes, of value creation and risk management as the key determinants of the value creation.
System level analysis and benchmarking of graphene interconnects for low-power applications

Stochastic wiring distribution models are used to predict the improvement in energy obtained by replacing a few or all copper metal levels with graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) in a low-power digital circuit. The models developed here also estimate the degradation in the performance by replacing a few or all copper metal levels with GNRs. Replacing a few local copper interconnect levels with GNRs is expected to reduce the energy consumed by local interconnects, without severely degrading the performance of longer global interconnects. The hybrid GNR+copper interconnect is shown to perform worse compared to the all GNR interconnect, if the length of the GNR segment is greater than a critical value. For a logic circuit with 30k gates, it is shown that the hybrid interconnect offers a 30 to 40% decrease in energy and a 4× decrease in maximum frequency, whereas the all GNR interconnect offers a 50 to 60% decrease in energy and a 7× decrease in maximum frequency. Further, the impact of edge doping on the resistance per unit length of graphene is analyzed.
Design of a bi-directional DC-DC converter for Solid-State Transformer(SST) application by exploiting the shoot through mode

This paper concerns the design of a Solid-State Transformer (SST) based grid integrated battery charger with an isolated bi-directional dc-dc converter to maintain the overall system competitiveness. The proposed full bridge DC-DC converter exploits the shoot through mode in the V2G mode for the boosting purpose, which is the uniqueness of the proposed topology. The inclusion of SST in the design can exhibit substantially compact size and other potential functions such as reactive power flow control, bi-directional power flow etc. The design of the high frequency transformer along with the electrical equivalent circuit obtained from FEA analysis is presented, which is one of the key contributions of this paper. As a proof of concept, simulation results obtained from Matlab-Simulink tools are presented. In summary, design considerations in building the SST based DC-fast charger in a 1-kW power level are presented which can be scaled up to the desired power level according to the requirements.
A Mixed Verification Strategy Tailored for Networks on Chip

This paper targets the development of a verification methodology for Networks on Chip. We advocate the use of formal methods to guarantee an unambiguous expression of the specifications. A previous theorem proving based solution enables the verification of high-level properties for NoC communication algorithms, it deliberately addresses abstract NoC descriptions and ignores implementation details. We suggest here a complementary approach, oriented toward Assertion-Based Verification, that focuses on the verification of RT level implementations, also applicable to the on-line checking of robustness properties.
Current treatment of severely burned patients.

OBJECTIVE The authors provide an update on a multidisciplinary approach to the treatment of severely burned patients. A review of studies and clinical trials from the past to the present include fluid resuscitation, sepsis, immune function, hypermetabolism, early excision, wound healing, scar formation, and inhalation injury. SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA Advances in treating initial burn shock, infection control, early wound closure, and modulation of the hypermetabolic response have decreased morbidity and mortality in the last two decades. Specialized burn care centers, using a multidisciplinary approach, not only successfully treat large burns and their complications, but provide the necessary rehabilitation and psychological support required for readjustment back into society. CONCLUSIONS Thermal injury results in a number of physiologic alterations that can be minimized by adequate fluid resuscitation to maintain tissue perfusion, early excision of burn wounds, and rapid wound coverage. These measures, in combination with antibiotic coverage and nutritional support in the form of early enteral tube feedings, will decrease the hypermetabolic response and the incidence of sepsis that can lead to hemodynamic instability and organ failure. Ongoing clinical trials using anabolic agents (e.g., recombinant human growth hormone) and pharmacologic agents that modulate inflammatory and endocrine mediators (e.g., ibuprofen and propranolol) show promise in the treatment of severe burn injuries.
Church-based health programs for mental disorders among African Americans: a review.

OBJECTIVE African Americans underutilize traditional mental health services, compared with white Americans. The authors conducted a systematic review of studies involving church-based health promotion programs for mental disorders among African Americans to assess the feasibility of utilizing such programs to address racial disparities in mental health care. METHODS A literature review of MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and ATLA Religion databases was conducted to identify articles published between January 1, 1980, and December 31, 2009. Inclusion criteria were as follows: studies were conducted in a church; the primary objective involved assessment, perceptions and attitudes, education, prevention, group support, or treatment for DSM-IV mental disorders or their correlates; number of participants was reported; qualitative or quantitative data were reported; and African Americans were the target population. RESULTS Of 1,451 studies identified, only eight met inclusion criteria. Five studies focused on substance-related disorders, six were designed to assess the effects of a specific intervention, and six targeted adults. One study focused on depression and was limited by a small sample size of seven participants. CONCLUSIONS Although church-based health promotion programs have been successful in addressing racial disparities for several chronic medical conditions, the literature on such programs for mental disorders is extremely limited. More intensive research is needed to establish the feasibility and acceptability of utilizing church-based health promotion programs as a possible resource for screening and treatment to improve disparities in mental health care for African Americans.
Current concepts in computer-aided detection for ct colonography

Computer-aided detection (CAD) for CT colonography has been under development for about eleven years. It is now sufficiently accurate that clinically significant polyps 1 cm and larger can be reliably detected with 90% sensitivity. The research focus is now shifting to reducing the number of false positive detections, clinical validation and integrating CAD into clinical practice and applying CAD to the setting of fecal tagging and laxative-free bowel preparations. This is a dynamic research field which requires the use of state-of-the-art image processing and machine learning techniques.
Topographically controlled thermal‐habitat differentiation buffers alpine plant diversity against climate warming

Aim We aim to: (1) explore thermal habitat preferences in alpine plant species across mosaics of topographically controlled micro‐habitats; (2) test the predictive value of so‐called ‘indicator values’; and (3) quantify the shift in micro‐habitat conditions under the influence of climate warming.
Business Process and Information Security: A Cross-Listing Perspective

Sensitive data are often handled in business processes. As an important component of industry systems, information system (IS) plays a vital role in business processes. However, data and information may leak in business processes. The damages caused by information security breaches (ISBs) on firms are increasing in recent years. Previous studies have consistently found that the announcements of ISBs are negatively associated with the market values of the announcing firms during the days surrounding the breach announcements. Globalization drives firms in diverse industries to cross-list their stocks. With the benefits of cross-listing, firms are able to perform entrepreneurship and industry integration is improved as well. Because cross-listing improves information environments and provides better investor protection, this paper argues that cross-listing help firms to reduce the negative impacts caused by their announcements of ISBs. From the perspective of ISs engineering, this paper conducts an event study of 120 publicly traded firms and finds that cross-listing does not mitigate the impact of ISB announcements on a firm’s stock prices.