Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Quantitation of HIV viral burden by PCR in HIV seropositive Navy personnel representing Walter Reed stages 1 to 6.

To quantitate the amount of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) DNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of 78 infected individuals, we have developed a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay that is both quantitative and sensitive. Quantitation was based on incorporation of a 32P end-labelled primer (SK39) in the PCR reaction and on comparison after electrophoresis with known amounts of HIV DNA. A linear relationship was obtained between the natural logarithms of the radioactive counts detected and the number of HIV-1 DNA copies (10-1000 copies) from the standard DNA. HIV copy numbers from patient samples were then extrapolated from the standard curves. This sensitive and reproducible method was compared with virus isolation which is a semiquantitative evaluation of viral burden. HIV DNA levels correlated with virus isolation, i.e., high viral burden (100-1000 HIV copies) were found in most samples from which virus was isolated after only 7 days in culture; low viral burden (less than 100 HIV copies) was observed in samples from which virus was isolated after 14 to 21 days in culture. These estimates of viral burden were then compared with the clinical stage of the individuals.
Metrical patterns of words and production accuracy.

This investigation examined the influence of metrical patterns of words (syllable stress and serial position) on the production accuracy of 20 children (22 to 28 months). The data were productions of six pairs of individualized two-syllable experimental words that referred to unfamiliar objects. Members of each pair differed only in the placement of stress (e.g., ['soti] vs. [so'ti]). Unstressed syllables were much more likely to be omitted, particularly at the beginning of words. Very few stressed syllables and unstressed second position syllables were omitted. One fourth of the word initial unstressed syllables were omitted. Consonant omissions, though few in number, tended to occur in initial position. Assimilation errors were not influenced by stress or serial position. When segmental errors due to syllable omissions were excluded, other consonant errors were not affected by stress or serial position. These findings indicate that young children's productions of syllables are influenced by the metrical patterns of words. However, the trochaic pattern of English is a statistical tendency, not an absolute constraint on two-syllable words. Metrical pattern also does not affect the consonant accuracy in syllables produced.
Extended mixture factor analysis model with covariates for mixed binary and continuous responses

Finite mixture factor analysis provides a parsimonious model to explore latent group structures of high‐dimensional data. In this modeling framework, we can explore latent structures for continuous responses. However, dichotomous items are often used to define latent domains in practice. This paper proposes an extended finite mixture factor analysis model with covariates to model mixed continuous and binary responses. We use a Monte Carlo expectation–maximization (MCEM) algorithm to estimate the model. In the E step, closed‐form solutions are not available for the conditional expectation of complete data log likelihood, so it is approximated by sample means, which are in turn generated by the Gibbs sampler from the joint conditional distribution of latent variables. To monitor the convergence of the MCEM algorithm, we use bridge sampling to calculate the log likelihood ratio of two successive iterations. We adopt a diagnostic plot of the log likelihood ratio against iterations for monitoring the convergence of the MCEM algorithm. We compare different models based on BIC, in which we approximate the observed data log likelihood by using a Monte Carlo method. We investigate the computational properties of the MCEM algorithm by simulation studies. We use a real data example to illustrate the practical usefulness of the model. Finally, we discuss limitations and possible extensions. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Age‐dependent differences in glutamate‐induced phosphorylation systems in rat hippocampal slices

Glutamate receptor induced changes in the activity of different phosphorylation systems were measured in hippocampal slices from 12‐ and 56‐day‐old rats, by determining the endogenous phosphorylation of 2.5% perchloric acid (PCA) soluble proteins. We identified among these proteins an 85, 80 kDa and the tau protein as specific substrates for protein kinase A (PKA), MARCKS, and neurogranin as specific substrates for protein kinase C (PKC), and prostaglandin‐D‐synthase as substrate for casein kinase II (CKII). In addition, a 35 kDa protein was phosphorylated by calcium/calmodulin dependent kinase II and protein kinase C and a 21 kDa protein was a substrate for all investigated kinases.
Seliciclib (CYC202, R‐roscovitine) enhances the antitumor effect of doxorubicin in vivo in a breast cancer xenograft model

We sought to determine whether seliciclib (CYC202, R‐roscovitine) could increase the antitumor effects of doxorubicin, with no increase in toxicity, in an MCF7 breast cancer xenograft model. The efficacy of seliciclib combined with doxorubicin was compared with single agent doxorubicin or seliciclib administered to MCF7 cells and to nude mice bearing established MCF7 xenografts. Post‐treatment cells and tumors were examined by cell cycle analysis, immunohistochemistry and real‐time PCR. Seliciclib significantly enhanced the antitumor effect of doxorubicin without additional murine toxicity. MIB1 (ki67) immunohistochemistry demonstrated reduced proliferation with treatment. The levels of p21 and p27 increased after treatment with doxorubicin or seliciclib alone or in combination, compared to untreated controls. However, no changes in p53 protein (DO1, CM1), survivin or p53 phosphorylation (SER15) were observed in treated tumors compared with controls. In conclusion, the CDK inhibitor seliciclib (R‐roscovitine) enhances the antitumor effect of doxorubicin in MCF7 tumors without increased toxicity with a mechanism that involves cell cycle arrest rather than apoptosis. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Fuel cell and power control for a hybrid vehicle. Experimental results

This work presents the design, implementation and experimental evaluation of the control system for a Fuel Cell Hybrid Vehicle (FCHV). The main objective of this paper is to develop control strategies for a real vehicle which has been designed in order to demonstrate the feasibility of the use of hydrogen as an energy source for automotive applications. The hybrid vehicle is driven by an array of batteries and a bank of two fuel cells. The control system is designed and tested in order to perform all the operations related to the coordinated operation of the fuel cells, the intermediate electrical storage and the power train. Real-time power management is done in order to satisfy the power demand of the electric motor taking into account the state of charge of the batteries and the operating regime of the fuel cells. An embedded controller has been installed to manage the power distribution between the fuel-cell bank and the batteries and a supervisor has also been designed and tested. An important contribution to be noticed is the development of a power management strategy devised to split the power between both fuel cells. Besides, a low-level controller has been implemented to regulate temperature and air excess ratio in the cells. Some experimental results are presented in order to show the vehicle performance. The proposed hybrid vehicle, tested under real driving conditions, has demonstrated a high robustness and reliability.
Incidence & prevalence of stroke in India: A systematic review

Background & objectives: There has been more than 100 per cent increase in incidence of stroke in low- and middle-income countries including India from 1970-1979 to 2000-2008. Lack of reliable reporting mechanisms, heterogeneity in methodology, study population, and small sample size in existing epidemiological studies, make an accurate estimation of stroke burden in India challenging. We conducted a systematic review of epidemiologic studies on stroke conducted in India to document the magnitude of stroke. Methods: All population-based, cross-sectional studies and cohort studies from India which reported the stroke incidence rate or cumulative stroke incidence and/or the prevalence of stroke in participants from any age group were included. Electronic databases (Ovid, PubMed, Medline, Embase and IndMED) were searched and studies published during 1960 to 2015 were included. A total of 3079 independent titles were identified for screening, of which 10 population-based cross-sectional studies were considered eligible for inclusion. Given the heterogeneity of the studies, meta-analysis was not carried out. Results: The cumulative incidence of stroke ranged from 105 to 152/100,000 persons per year, and the crude prevalence of stroke ranged from 44.29 to 559/100,000 persons in different parts of the country during the past decade. These values were higher than those of high-income countries. Interpretation & conclusions: A paucity of good-quality epidemiological studies on stroke in India emphasizes the need for a coordinated effort at both the State and national level to study the burden of stroke in India. Future investment in the population-based epidemiological studies on stroke would lead to better preventive measures against stroke and better rehabilitation measures for stroke-related disabilities in the country.
Enhanced Hysteresis-Based Current Regulators in Vector Control of DFIG Wind Turbines

This paper proposes enhanced hysteresis-based current regulators in the field-oriented vector control of doubly fed induction generator (DFIG) wind turbines. The proposed control scheme is synchronized with the virtual grid-flux space vector, readily extractable by a quadrature phase-locked loop (QPLL) system. Identical equidistant-band vector-based hysteresis current regulators (VBHCRs) are then used to control the output currents of the rotor-side and grid-side converters. The proposed hysteresis-based technique has excellent steady-state performance and reveals several advantages in comparison with the commonly used proportional-integral (PI) current regulator, including very fast transient response, simple control structure, and intrinsic robustness to the machine parameters variations. Moreover, the fixed hysteresis bands in VBHCRs are replaced with equidistant bands to limit the instantaneous variations of the switching frequency and reduce the maximum switching frequencies experienced in the converters. Extensive simulation studies are carried out for a 1.5 MW DFIG-based wind turbine to examine the operation of the proposed vector control scheme under changing wind speed and compare its transient and steady-state performances with the conventional PI current regulators.
Differences in Nursing Homes With Increasing and Decreasing Use of Physical Restraints

Objectives.This article examines the organizational characteristics of nursing homes associated with increasing and decreasing use of physical restraints since the implementation of the Nursing Home Reform Act (NHRA) in 1991. Methods.Nationally representative data from the 1992 and 1997 On-Line Survey Certification of Automated Records are used first to provide descriptive analyses and second for multinomial logistic regression analyses of organizational factors associated with an increase or decrease in physical restraint use. Results.The results show that 2,331 nursing homes increased their use of restraints by >4% and 2,100 decreased their use of restraints by >3%. Ownership, Alzheimer’s special care units, and average occupancy rates have bidirectional influence and are associated with both decreases and increases in restraint use, depending on their values. Chain membership and staffing levels of rehabilitation services are associated with increases in restraint use, whereas Medicaid census and private-pay census are associated with decreases in restraint use. Change factors were also important. An increase in Medicaid census and a change to chain membership since 1991 have an unsettling effect on care practices, increasing restraint use. Conclusions.Although the period used in this analysis represents a time frame in which the restraint reduction mandates of the NHRA were in effect, these results show that some nursing homes have increased their use of physical restraints. The organizational characteristics of these nursing homes differ from those that decreased their use of physical restraints.
Current and investigational non-dopaminergic agents for management of motor symptoms (including motor complications) in Parkinson’s disease

ABSTRACT Introduction: Parkinson’s disease is characterized by a heterogeneous combination of motor and non motor symptoms. The nigrostriatal dopamine deficit is one of its essential pathophysiologic features. Areas covered: This invited narrative review provides an overlook over current available and future promising non dopaminergic therapeutics to modulate altered dopaminergic neurotransmission in Parkinson’s disease. Current research strategies aim to proof clinical efficacy by amelioration of motor symptoms and preponderant levodopa related movement fluctuations. These so-called motor complications are characterized by involuntary movements as a result of an overstimulation of the nigrostriatal dopaminergic system or by temporary recurrence of motor symptoms, when beneficial effects of dopamine substituting drugs vane. Expert opinion: Non dopaminergic modulation of dopamine replacement is currently mostly investigated in well defined and selected patients with motor complications to get approval. However, the world of daily maintenance of patients with its individually adapted, so-called personalised, therapy will determine the real value of these therapeutics. Here the clinical experience of the treating neurologists and the courage to use unconventional drug combinations are essential preconditions for successful treatments of motor and associated non motor complications in cooperation with the patients and their care giving surroundings.
Stock Market Volatility Clustering and Asymmetry in Africa: A Post Global Financial Crisis Evidence

This paper evaluates the nature of stock market volatility in Africa after the global financial crisis. Specifically, the paper examines volatility clustering and volatility asymmetry in aftermath of the global financial crisis for Botswana, Regionale des Valeurs Mobilieres (BRVM), Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tunisia, Uganda, and Zambia. The paper employs autoregressive asymmetric generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (AR(i)-GJR-GARCH(1,1)) model. The major findings are as follows: (i) there is evidence of volatility clustering in Africa stock markets returns after the global financial crisis, although with varying degrees; (ii) there is existence of volatility persistence in the African stock market returns after the global financial crisis except for few countries, which are not very persistent; (iii) after the global financial crisis, Africa stock markets returns are asymmetric, with negative shocks producing higher volatility in the immediate future than positive shocks of the same magnitude in some countries, and positive shocks producing higher volatility in other countries. The findings provide comparative basis for assessing market patterns, predicting market risk, and gauging market sentiment in Africa stock markets, as well as provide foreign portfolio managers required evidence for harvesting volatility through portfolio rebalancing for optimal performance.
Financial development and economic growth in transition countries

To explain the growth dynamics in the transition economies of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union the relative importance of monetary variables is analysed. A theoretical as well as an empirical approach are employed to make predictions about how financial development will affect economic growth. In a simple growth model it is shown that enhanced financial market development should increase the overall growth rate unambiguously. The empirical analysis, following approaches conducted for industrial and developing countries, includes a wide set of indicators, each of them capturing different aspects of financial development. Actually, on the basis of different econometric estimations a significant growth impact of financial development is identified for the economies under study. Beside increasing investment, total factor productivity has to be considered as an important transmission channel, which is influenced by financial development.
Beneficial effect of erdosteine on methotrexate-induced testicular toxicity in mice

Methotrexate is used to treat certain types of cancer of the breast, skin, head and neck, or lung. Methotrexate can cause serious or life-threatening side effects on liver, lungs, kidneys, and immune system. Methotrexate chemotherapy causes testicular damage in humans. The aim of this study was to investigate the possible protective role of erdosteine on testicular toxicity of methotrexate in mice. Twenty-six male mice were divided into four groups as follows: group 1, control; group 2, erdosteine-treated; group 3, methotrexate-treated; and group 4, methotrexate + erdosteine treated. On the first day of experiment, a single dose of methotrexate was intraperitoneally administered to groups 3 and 4, although a daily single dose of erdosteine was orally administered to group 2 and 4 for 7 days. At the end of the experiment, the testes of the animals were removed and weighed. The levels of total antioxidant capacity and total oxidative stress, and myeloperoxidase activity in the methotrexate group were higher than the control group (p<0.05). Lipid peroxidation levels were not changed in methotrexate group compared with control group. In conclusion, erdosteine could effectively protect the testes in methotrexate-induced toxicity.
Interferon regulatory factor 1 is required for mouse Gbp gene activation by gamma interferon

Full-scale transcriptional activation of the mouse Gbp genes by gamma interferon (IFN-gamma) requires protein synthesis in embryonic fibroblasts. Although the Gbp-1 and Gbp-2 promoters contain binding sites for transcription factors Stat1 and IFN regulatory factor 1 (IRF-1), deletion analysis revealed that the Stat1 binding site is dispensable for IFN-gamma inducibility of Gbp promoter constructs in transfected fibroblasts. However, activation of the mouse Gbp promoter by IFN-gamma requires transcription factor IRF-1. Transient overexpression of IRF-1 cDNA in mouse fibroblasts resulted in high-level expression of Gbp promoter constructs. Unlike wild-type cells, IRF-1% embryonic stem cells lacking functional transcription factor IRF-1 contained very low levels of Gbp transcripts that were not increased in response to differentiation or treatment with IFN-gamma. Treatment of IRF-1% mice with IFN-gamma resulted in barely detectable levels of Gbp RNA in spleens, lungs, and livers, whereas such treatment induced high levels of Gbp RNA in the organs of wild-type mice. These observations suggest two alternative pathways for transcriptional induction of genes in response to IFN-gamma: immediate response that results from activation of preformed Stat1 and delayed response that results from induced de novo synthesis of transcription factor IRF-1.
Daily intake of a formulated tomato drink affects carotenoid plasma and lymphocyte concentrations and improves cellular antioxidant protection

The salutary characteristics of the tomato are normally related to its content of carotenoids, especially lycopene, and other antioxidants. Our purpose was to verify whether the daily intake of a beverage prototype called Lyc-o-Mato® containing a natural tomato extract (Lyc-o-Mato® oleoresin 6 %) was able to modify plasma and lymphocyte carotenoid concentrations, particularly those of lycopene, phytoene, phytofluene and β-carotene, and to evaluate whether this intake was sufficient to improve protection against DNA damage in lymphocytes. In a double-blind, cross-over study, twenty-six healthy subjects consumed 250 ml of the drink daily, providing about 6 mg lycopene, 4 mg phytoene, 3 mg phytofluene, 1 mg β-carotene and 1·8 mg α-tocopherol, or a placebo drink. Treatments were separated by a wash-out period. Plasma and lymphocyte carotenoid and α-tocopherol concentrations were determined by HPLC, and DNA damage by the comet assay. After 26 d of consumption of the drink, plasma carotenoid levels increased significantly: concentrations of lycopene were 1·7-fold higher (P<0·0001); of phytofluene were 1·6-fold higher (P<0·0001); of phytoene were doubled (P<0·0005); of β-carotene were 1·3-fold higher (P<0·05). Lymphocyte carotenoid concentrations also increased significantly: that of lycopene doubled (P<0·001); that of phytofluene was 1·8-fold higher (P<0·005); that of phytoene was 2·6-fold higher (P<0·005); that of β-carotene was 1·5-fold higher (P<0·01) In contrast, the α-tocopherol concentration remained nearly constant. The intake of the tomato drink significantly reduced (by about 42 %) DNA damage (P<0·0001) in lymphocytes subjected to oxidative stress. In conclusion, the present study supports the fact that a low intake of carotenoids from tomato products improves cell antioxidant protection.
Micro-RNA Recognition in Patents in BioCreative V . 5

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been considered as good candidates for early detection or prognosis biomarkers for various diseases. Patents related to methods of identifying, isolating and amplifying miRNAs and potential use of miRNAs as biomarkers for cancers are increasing rapidly. In this work, we extend our miRNA recognition method based on the statistical principle-based approach and develop a web service followed the communication protocol defined by the biomedical annotation meta-server (BeCalm) platform to provide a service of miRNA recognition. The method can achieve an F-score of 0.988 for miRNA recognition on a manually annotated test dataset. During the participation of the BioCreative V.5 Technical Interoperability and Performance of Annotation Servers (TIPS) task, we set up our web service successfully and it can exchange the status message with the BeCalm platform and process the requests from BeCalm. Unfortunately, we met technical problems to send back the annotation results to the BaCalm platform.
Designing a 12 DoF lower extremity exoskeleton based on the gait kinematics data

Exoskeletons are wearable robots that are attached to the human body and can improve the physical performance of their operators. Nowadays, these biomechatronic systems are used in different fields such as rehabilitation, military and industry. Since exoskeletons have close interaction surface with human body, it should be considered in biomechanical factors such as degrees of freedom, joints' range of motion, anthropometric dimensions and safety issues in designing such systems. The aim of this study was designing a lower extremity exoskeleton which does not create disorder in natural motion during user walking on a flat ground, beside parameters mentioned earlier. The design of this exoskeleton has been done in SolidWorks software based on gait kinematics data obtained from 10 subjects. The novelty of this study was usage of force generated by arm muscles of the user for helping him to walk. This idea beside simplification of the manufacturing process, decrease the cost and time too. The results of this study showed that the proposed mechanism in the design of this exoskeleton has appropriate coincidence with natural body states in degrees of freedom and joints' range of motion during walking.