Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Understanding the acceptability and adherence to paediatric antiretroviral treatment in the new formulation of pellets (LPV/r): the protocol of a realist evaluation

Background Improving access to paediatric HIV treatment requires both large-scale treatment programmes and medication that is adapted to infants and children's needs. The WHO recommends lopinavir/ritonavir as first-line antiretroviral therapy for all HIV-infected children younger than 3 years. There is currently little evidence on the acceptability of, and adherence to, a formulation of this combination treatment if given in the form of pellets. This protocol presents how we will carry a realist evaluation to assess the factors that contribute to the acceptability and adherence to the new pellets formulation in 3 hospitals in Kenya. Methods We structured the protocol along the realist evaluation cycle following 4 steps: (1) the initial programme theory, (2) the study design, (3) the data collection methods and (4) the data analysis plan. Theories of behavioural sciences were reviewed for frames that could provide insights into how using such new formulations may contribute to better acceptability and adherence. Ethics and dissemination This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of the Institute of Tropical Medicine, the Ethical Committee of the University Hospital Antwerp and the Kenyatta National Hospital/University of Nairobi Ethics and Research Committee. We aim to disseminate the findings through international conferences and peer-reviewed journals and to share them with Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative's (DNDi) programme managers and with the Kenyan healthcare providers. Discussion In developing this study, we encountered some challenges. First, methods to measure the acceptability of any formulation and adherence to it are not standardised. The second challenge is common in realist evaluation and relates to how to choose from different potentially interesting theoretical frameworks. We identified relevant and empirically tested theories from behavioural science that may be helpful in our study. We will test them in 3 settings by exploring the multilevel factors that influence acceptability and adherence of this new paediatric Antiretroviral (ARV) formulation.
Role of the thymus in directing the development of a subset of B lymphocytes

In an effort to evaluate the role of the thymus in influencing the development of Lyb-5- B lymphocytes, mice expressing both the xid and nu gene defects were studied. Mice expressing either of these defects respond to both trinitrophenylated Brucellus abortus and lipopolysaccharide; whereas mice with the combined defect show markedly suppressed responses. The other abnormalities included: (a) greater than 80 percent diminution of serum Ig levels; (b) significant increase in the number of sIgM+ sIgD- B lymphocytes; (c) reduced expression of IgD on sIgD+ cells; and (d) a strikingly abnormal histology of their lymphoid tissue. Because nu/nu mice that do not express the xid defect appear relatively normal, it would suggest that the development of Lyb- 5- B lymphocytes require a thymic influence for normal maturation, whereas, Lyb-5+ B lymphocytes are relatively independent of such influences.
Gesture Design and Feasibility in Emergency Response Environments

Emergency response planning is a complicated process, with different forms of communication and information being exchanged amongst emergency response personnel during the course of an emergency. This information and communication exchange, led to the development of our multi-surface emergency response-planning prototype, to address communication and information sharing during emergency response situations. In this paper, we briefly describe the emergency response planning domain and how it informed the design of our prototype. We also discuss our preliminary findings on gesture design and feasibility of multi-surface interactions in the emergency response domain.
Anisotropies in the redshift‐space correlations of galaxy groups and clusters – I. Simulated catalogues

We analyse the correlation function of mock galaxy clusters in redshift space. We have constructed several mock catalogues designed to mimic the selection biases inherent in a variety of observational surveys. We explore different effects that contribute to the distortion of the clustering pattern: the pairwise velocity distribution of galaxy systems, coherent bulk motions, redshift errors and systematic effects in cluster identification. Our tests show that the redshift-space clustering pattern of galaxy systems is highly influenced by effects associated with the identification procedure from two-dimensional surveys. These systems show a spuriously large correlation amplitude, an effect that is present and even stronger in a subsample where the angular positions coincide with three-dimensional identified clusters. The effect of a small number of redshift measurements is also that of increasing the correlation amplitude. In a similar fashion, the bias parameter inferred from cluster samples is subject to these observational problems, which induce variations of up to a factor of 2 in such determinations. Also, we find that the estimated mean pairwise velocity dispersion can be up to an order of magnitude larger than the actual value. Errors in the estimated cluster redshift, originating from the use of too few redshift measurements per cluster, have a smaller impact on the measured correlation function. We show that an angular incompleteness in redshift surveys, such as that present in the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey 100 k public release, has no significant effect on the results. We suggest that the nature of projection effects arises mainly from structures along the line of sight in the filamentary large-scale clustering pattern. Thus, spectroscopic surveys are the only means of providing unbiased cluster samples. High-resolution plots and information are available at http://star-www.dur. ac.uk/~nelsonp/anisotropies.
Towards Outdoor Localization Using GIS, Vision System andStochastic Error Propagation

The paper presents a method for robot localization (the position and attitude of the robot with respect to a model) when a robot is on the move and does not necessarily have good gps coverage. The robot discussed in the paper is a remote controlled vehicle with a GIS database and an onboard camera. The method developed starts with an initial vehicle configuration (steering wheel angle, speed) and an initial point in the GIS mapped to an initial point in the camera's image. Then, for each small displacement of the vehicle, the linear and angular velocities are calculated and a formula developed in the paper for error adjustment is applied if there is a good gps reading. The result of the calculation is used to determine the uncertainty of the location and can be used along with the 3D GIS data to project areas of uncertainty for features of interest onto the camera image. For example, say the GIS data contains fire hydrants and the calculations show that there is a high degree of location uncertainty then the camera image will have an overlay of large ellipses around the fire hydrants whereas a small degree of uncertainty would have smaller ellipses around the fire hydrants. An experiment testing the method is discussed in the paper and there is also a good review of prior work on localization techniques.
Interventional Management of Intracranial Stenosis

Worldwide, intracranial atherosclerosis is the most common cause of ischemic stroke and is associated with a high risk of recurrence. Endovascular therapies including angioplasty and stent implantation may help in secondary stroke prevention due to intracranial stenosis, however rigorous appraisal of clinical efficacy is currently lacking. This review aims to introduce the basic concepts involved with endovascular treatment of intracranial stenosis, its strengths and limitations, and discuss the available data. The importance of patient selection, procedural risks, patient outcomes, and surveillance goals are also highlighted.
Structure of C protein purified from cardiac muscle

C protein is a component of the thick filament of striated muscles. Although the function of C protein remains unknown, a variety of evidence suggests that C protein may regulate actin-myosin interaction or be involved in structural support or elasticity of the sarcomere. We have previously proposed (Hartzell, H. C., 1984, J. Gen. Physiol., 83:563-588) that C protein is involved in regulating twitch relaxation in cardiac muscle. To gain further insight into the function of C protein, we have studied the structure of C protein purified from chicken heart. C protein was purified from extracts of detergent-washed myofibrils by sequential hydroxylapatite and DEAE-Sephacel chromatography. C protein was judged greater than 95% pure by SDS PAGE. The polypeptide subunit had a molecular weight of 155,000 and the native molecule sedimented on linear sucrose or glycerol gradients at 4- 5S. For electron microscopy, purified C protein was dialyzed and diluted into a volatile buffer in 50% glycerol, aspirated onto mica, dried under vacuum, and rotary platinum-shadowed. Replicas revealed particles of relatively homogeneous overall dimensions. Over half of the particles were V-shaped. The "arm" lengths of the V-shaped particles were 22 +/- 4.5 nm (SD). Gel filtration on Sephacryl S-300 demonstrated that purified C protein had a Stokes' radius of 5.07 nm. Measurements of viscosity gave an intrinsic viscosity of 16.5 cm3/g. These data are consistent with the electron microscopic data and suggest that C protein in heart muscle is asymmetric. The C protein molecule is large enough to extend from the surface of a thick filament to adjacent thin or thick filaments.
Counseling and Psychological Practices With Sexual and Gender Minority Persons Living With Chronic Illnesses/Disabilities (CID)

Sexual and gender minority persons report disparate rates of chronic illnesses and/or disabilities (CID). As such, it is unclear which counseling and psychological practices are being used, or what mental health practitioners (MHPs) consider helpful with this population. A mixed descriptive and open-ended question survey was designed and administered via the Internet. Approximately 63 MHPs completed the survey. Descriptive data highlighted the CID types seen in clinical practice, the developmental age groups encountered, and the most common counseling and psychological services rendered by MHPs. In the qualitative portion of the study, MHPs identified maintaining competence in intersectionality, utilizing affirmative consciousness, utilizing social justice practice ideologies, and upholding professional ethical values and behaviors as being most helpful to clinical practice. These results are discussed, along with limitations and implications for future research.
Differential Analysis of the Secretome of WRL68 Cells Infected with the Chikungunya Virus

The Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is an arthropod borne virus. In the last 50 years, it has been the cause of numerous outbreaks in tropical and temperate regions, worldwide. There is limited understanding regarding the underlying molecular mechanisms involved in CHIKV replication and how the virus interacts with its host. In the present study, comparative proteomics was used to identify secreted host proteins that changed in abundance in response to early CHIKV infection. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis was used to analyse and compare the secretome profiles of WRL-68 cells infected with CHIKV against mock control WRL-68 cells. The analysis identified 25 regulated proteins in CHIKV infected cells. STRING network analysis was then used to predict biological processes that may be affected by these proteins. The processes predicted to be affected include signal transduction, cellular component and extracellular matrix (ECM) organization, regulation of cytokine stimulus and immune response. These results provide an initial view of CHIKV may affect the secretome of infected cells during early infection. The results presented here will compliment earlier results from the study of late host response. However, functional characterization will be necessary to further enhance our understanding of the roles played by these proteins in the early stages of CHIKV infection in humans.
Necessary optimality conditions for optimal control problems with set-valued constraints

In this paper, we consider optimal control problems with set-valued state and control constraints. The present constraints subsume the existing mixed equality and inequality constraints. The necessary optimality conditions for weak local minimum are derived for these problems under calmness and constraint qualification condition on the set-valued constraints, but without any convexity or differentiability assumptions on the original data. The novelty of this paper concerns both the nature of calmness and constraint qualification condition and the analytic techniques used to derive the results.
Impact of High Performance Human Resource Practices on Employees' Job Performance in Leather Goods Manufacturing Companies at Vellore District

This study aims at exploring the impact of high performance HR practices on employees' job performance. The study sought to establish the effect of job design, training and development, motivation, supervisory support, working environment and compensation on employees' job performance in Leather goods manufacturing companies at Vellore district. The research design used was descriptive survey research design. Stratified proportionate random sampling was used. Data was collected using questionnaires and analyzed by using descriptive statistics, correlation and regression analysis, chi-square and Friedman test was done to establish the relationship between various HRM practices and employees' job performance. Data was presented in the form of tables. Based on the findings, job design, supervisory support and work environment are having a positive and significant relationship with employees' job performance and training and development, motivation and compensation are not having a significant relationship with employees' job performance. Conclusions as well as implications are discussed. organization resource, with the potential to improve the organization's viable modest advantage (19). Consequently, human resource manager in Leather Industries would target potential work force and would lay stress on skill development, technical development and effective job performance by adopting effective human resource practices. The keyrefrain of this precise research is to observe the relationship between the high performance HR practices such as job design, training and development, motivation, supervisory support, working environment and compensation on employees' job performance in Leather goods manufacturing companies at Vellore district. It also analyses the impact of high performance HR practices on employees' job performance.
Network model of survival signaling in large granular lymphocyte leukemia

T cell large granular lymphocyte (T-LGL) leukemia features a clonal expansion of antigen-primed, competent, cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL). To systematically understand signaling components that determine the survival of CTL in T-LGL leukemia, we constructed a T-LGL survival signaling network by integrating the signaling pathways involved in normal CTL activation and the known deregulations of survival signaling in leukemic T-LGL. This network was subsequently translated into a predictive, discrete, dynamic model. Our model suggests that the persistence of IL-15 and PDGF is sufficient to reproduce all known deregulations in leukemic T-LGL. This finding leads to the following predictions: (i) Inhibiting PDGF signaling induces apoptosis in leukemic T-LGL. (ii) Sphingosine kinase 1 and NFκB are essential for the long-term survival of CTL in T-LGL leukemia. (iii) NFκB functions downstream of PI3K and prevents apoptosis through maintaining the expression of myeloid cell leukemia sequence 1. (iv) T box expressed in T cells (T-bet) should be constitutively activated concurrently with NFκB activation to reproduce the leukemic T-LGL phenotype. We validated these predictions experimentally. Our study provides a model describing the signaling network involved in maintaining the long-term survival of competent CTL in humans. The model will be useful in identifying potential therapeutic targets for T-LGL leukemia and generating long-term competent CTL necessary for tumor and cancer vaccine development.
The Impact of Protein Phosphorylation on Chlamydial Physiology

Chlamydia are Gram negative bacterial pathogens responsible for disease in humans and economically important domesticated animals. As obligate intracellular bacteria, they must gain entry into a host cell where they propagate within a parasitophorous organelle that serves as an interactive interface between the bacterium and the host. Nutrient acquisition, growth, and evasion of host defense mechanisms occur from this location. In addition to these cellular and bacterial dynamics, Chlamydia differentiate between two morphologically distinct forms, the elementary body and reticulate body, that are optimized for either extracellular or intracellular survival, respectively. The mechanisms regulating and mediating these diverse physiological events remain largely unknown. Reversible phosphorylation, including classical two-component signaling systems, partner switching mechanisms, and the more recently appreciated bacterial Ser/Thr/Tyr kinases and phosphatases, has gained increasing attention for its role in regulating important physiological processes in bacteria including metabolism, development, and virulence. Phosphorylation modulates these events via rapid and reversible modification of protein substrates leading to changes in enzyme activity, protein oligomerization, cell signaling, and protein localization. The characterization of several conserved chlamydial protein kinases and phosphatases along with phosphoproteome analysis suggest that Chlamydia are capable of global and growth stage-specific protein phosphorylation. This mini review will highlight the current knowledge of protein phosphorylation in Chlamydia and its potential role in chlamydial physiology and, consequently, virulence. Comparisons with other minimal genome intracellular bacterial pathogens also will be addressed with the aim of illustrating the importance of this understudied regulatory mechanism on pathogenesis and the principle questions that remain unanswered.
Rosetta { Part I : System OverviewAleksander hrn

Fields pertaining to the construction of models on the basis of empirical data necessarily have a high experimental content, thus rendering the need for a suitable set of tools. This paper describes the Rosetta system, a toolkit for knowledge discovery and data mining within the framework of rough set theory. The system comprises both a general C++ class library as well as a GUI front-end running under Windows NT, and has been constructed using well-proven object-oriented design patterns with maintainability, extensibility, exibility and ease of use as principal design parameters. This paper focuses on the architecture and design of both the kernel and the front-end, relating the design parameters to issues springing from the knowledge discovery process. Examples of their use are also given, as well as a summary of the system's current features. Together, the kernel and the front-end constitute a powerful vehicle for practical rough set related research and applications.
Visual and Somatosensory Information about Object Shape Control Manipulative Fingertip Forces

We investigated the importance of visual versus somatosensory information for the adaptation of the fingertip forces to object shape when humans used the tips of the right index finger and thumb to lift a test object. The angle of the two flat grip surfaces in relation to the vertical plane was changed between trials from −40 to 30°. At 0° the two surfaces were parallel, and at positive and negative angles the object tapered upward and downward, respectively. Subjects automatically adapted the balance between the horizontal grip force and the vertical lift force to the object shape and thereby maintained a rather constant safety margin against frictional slips, despite the huge variation in finger force requirements. Subjects used visual cues to adapt force to object shape parametrically in anticipation of the force requirements imposed once the object was contacted. In the absence of somatosensory information from the digits, sighted subjects still adapted the force coordination to object shape, but without vision and somatosensory inputs the performance was severely impaired. With normal digital sensibility, subjects adapted the force coordination to object shape even without vision. Shape cues obtained by somatosensory mechanisms were expressed in the motor output about 0.1 sec after contact. Before this point in time, memory of force coordination used in the previous trial controlled the force output. We conclude that both visual and somatosensory inputs can be used in conjunction with sensorimotor memories to adapt the force output to object shape automatically for grasp stability.
Regular equivalence in informed network search

Search in networks is defined as a process in which an agent hops from one network node to another by traversing network links in search for given nodes. The simplest example of network search is a random walk where the agent selects a link uniformly at random from all outgoing links of the current node. On contrary, in an informed search the agent possesses (partial) background knowledge of the network. This background knowledge steers the agent's decisions when selecting the next link to traverse. The background knowledge of the network can be represented as a similarity matrix with similarities between pairs of nodes known to an agent. This matrix can be calculated in various ways in order to model various search scenarios or to best fit needs of an application. For example, similarities based on node degrees or some external information about the nodes have been commonly used in the past. In this paper we evaluate the measures that capture regular equivalence of nodes in a network with respect to their suitability as a similarity metric to inform search in networks. In particular we are interested in the properties of Katz similarity for this task.
A study of sub-threshold digital circuits for wireless communication systems

Digital circuit designs in sub-threshold region have been studied in recent years. Their works focus on special purpose for some digital applications in low frequency. This paper proposed modeling analysis of each CMOS logic cell operating at sub-threshold region. We explore the delays and power dissipation of logic cell and make scaled factors mapping from typical voltage to sub-threshold voltage conditions. We evaluated the minimum requirement for 4 bits, 6 bits and 10 bits orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) demodulator to operate in sub-threshold region. The simulation results are characteristics of OFDM wireless communication system when it operates at low voltage. It also clearly shows that low voltage is not a barrier for large-scale digital circuits to operate under the threshold voltage.