Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Self-efficacy and depression as mediators of the relationship between pain and antiretroviral adherence

Abstract The goals of this study were to examine the association between pain and antiretroviral adherence and to estimate the mediating effect of adherence self-efficacy and depression symptom severity. Surveys using audio computer-assisted self-interview were conducted among 70 HIV-infected current and former drug users enrolled in a methadone program. We assessed antiretroviral adherence and adherence self-efficacy using questions from the Adult Clinical Trials Group survey. We considered participants adherent if they reported taking at least 95% of prescribed antiretrovirals over the past seven days. We assessed depression symptom severity using the depression subscale of the Brief Symptom Inventory. Participants reported pain of any duration in response to a question from the Brief Pain Inventory. Participants reporting pain were 87% less likely to be classified as adherent compared to those without pain (Unadjusted OR = 0.13, 95%CI: 0.03–0.52). When we examined adherence self-efficacy as a mediator of the relationship between pain and adherence, criteria for partial mediation were met. Adjusting for self-efficacy, the beta coefficient for pain decreased by 23% but the independent relationship between pain and antiretroviral adherence was maintained. Mediation criteria were not met when we examined the mediating effect of depression symptom severity on the relationship between pain and adherence. Adjusting for depression symptom severity, the beta coefficient for pain decreased by 9% and the relationship between pain and antiretroviral adherence remained significant. Our results indicate that neither adherence self-efficacy nor depression symptom severity fully mediated the relationship between pain and adherence. HIV providers should recognize the potential impact of pain on antiretroviral adherence among current and former drug users.
In situ microscopic investigation of plant cell walls deconstruction in biorefinery

Beijing Key Laboratory of Lignocellulosic Chemistry, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China Plant biomass that primarily composed of polysaccharides and lignin constitutes a renewable energy source. The conversion of biopolymers into fuels, energy, and chemicals with a concept of biorefinery involves a chemical/biological treatment to facilitate components release performance. However, the accurate understanding of cellular architecture of plant cell walls remains unclear owing in part to complexity of biomass chemical structures as well as limitations of traditional analytical methods that may bring irreversible modifications. In situ microscopic techniques are readily required to visualize, characterize, and quantify the dynamic features of plant cell walls following treatments on multi-scale levels. This review gives insights into the recent contributions of a series of non-destructive techniques including confocal laser scanning microscopy, confocal Raman microscopy, FT-IR imaging microscopy, and atomic force microscopy to the field of biorefinery, focusing on the deconstruction of plant tissues. We also highlight the critical outlook and scientific challenges on the study of biomass utilization as well as microscopy applications.
China Bashing: How Much? Who Does It? Has it Worked?

Many scholars in both the United States and China argue that a lot of the news stories about China published in major U.S. newspapers tend to have a negative slant. This tendency has generally been called “China bashing. ” The purpose of this paper is threefold: (1) to quantify and measure the extent of this bashing, (2) to determine whether there are ideological reasons behind it, and (3) to assess whether the bashing has “worked” from the U.S. point of view (e.g. has it influenced the rate of appreciation of the Renminbi against the dollar? ). To accomplish the first objective, I construct two China-bashing indices that track the incidence of news reported in the United States with a negative slant toward China. The first index tracks newspaper articles in major U.S. outlets containing one of the following “grievance” key phrases: “human rights,” “democracy,” “child labor,” “Tibet,” and “repression,” phrases that have persistently been associated with criticisms of China. I find that this index correlates well with opinion polls about China conducted in the United States, and the correlation suggests that the index is a meaningful measure of bashing. The second index tracks articles containing one or more of the following key phrases: “exchange rate manipulation,” “exchange rate manipulator,” “currency manipulation,” and “currency manipulator. ” The indices, which span the 1990 to 2010 period, reveal that the composition of China-bashing in U.S. print media has shifted over time.While “human rights” bashing has declined somewhat, “currency manipulation” bashing has risen sharply. My estimates indicate that U.S. newspapers report news with a negative slant about China 130 to 150 percent as often as newspapers in other countries.To address the second objective I break down the “human rights” bashing index by the ideological slant of the newspaper. The results indicate that “liberal” newspapers bash China more intensely than “conservative” newspapers do, suggesting that ideology may be a relevant issue behind the bashing.Pertaining to the last objective – whether bashing has worked – the empirical results indicate that it has not. In fact, I find that currency-manipulation bashing appears to slow down, rather than accelerate, the rate at which the renminbi appreciates against the U.S. dollar. If the U.S. objective is to have China let the renminbi appreciate against the dollar, then the empirical results reported in this paper indicate that China bashing may actually be counterproductive.
Characterizing Musical Signals with Wigner-Ville Interfaces

This paper presents a new characterization of musical signals which may lead to better understanding about how such signals are perceived. We first consider some signal analysis methods which facilitate measures of perceived qualities of music. More precisely, we consider a particular representation of signal energy on which to base a quantitative measure ofsensory dissonance. After defining sensory dissonance in section 2.1, we describe a well known signal decomposition method, the matching pursuit. Thereafter, we consider one aspect of signal energy which has been largely ignored in the literature ‐ the Wigner-Ville interferences. We explain why and how these interferences can be used as the basis for a dissonance characterization of a musical signal.
The Placido Wavefront Sensor and Preliminary Measurement on a Mechanical Eye

Purpose. The hardware and software of a novel wavefront sensor was developed (The sensor presented here is patent pending.). It has the same principal of the Hartmann-Shack (HS) and other sensors that are based on slope information for recovery of wavefront surface, but a different symmetry, and does not use individual microlenses. This polar symmetry might offer differences during practical measurements that may add value to current and well-established “gold standard” techniques. Methods. The sensor consists of a set of concentric “half-donut” surfaces (longitudinally sectioned toroids) molded on an acrylic surface with a CCD located at the focal plane. When illuminated with a plane wavefront, it focuses a symmetric pattern of concentric discs on the CCD plane; for a distorted wavefront, a nonsymmetric disc pattern is formed (similar to images of a placido-based videokeratographer). From detection of shift in the radial direction, radial slopes are computed for a maximum of 2880 points, and the traditional least-squares procedure is used to fit these partial derivatives to a set of 15 conventional OSA-VSIA Zernike polynomials. Theoretical computations for several synthetic surfaces containing low-order aberration (LOA) and high-order aberration (HOA) were implemented for both the HS and the new sensor. Results. Root mean square error (RMSE) in microns when theoretical data was taken as control, for HS sensor and new sensor, was 0.02 and 0.00003 for LOA (defocus, astigmatism) and 0.07 and 0.06 for HOA (coma, spherical, and higher terms), respectively. After this, practical preliminary measurements on a mechanical eye with a 5-mm pupil and 10 different defocus aberrations ranging from –5 D to 5 D, in steps of 1 D, were compared between sensors. RMSE for difference in measurements for HS and new sensor for sphere, cylinder, and axis, was 0.13 D, 0.07 D, and 110. Measurements were taken only on defocus aberrations. Qualitative images for astigmatism are shown. Discussion. Although practical in vivo tests were not conducted in this first study, we also discuss certain possible alignment differences that may arise as a result of the different symmetry of the new sensor. To take any conclusive assumption regarding the accuracy and/or precision of this new sensor, when compared with other well–established sensors, statistically significant in vivo measurements will need to be conducted.
The project implementation profile: A tool for enhancing management of NGO projects

This article argues for the use of the Project Implementation Profile (PIP) tool in managing non-governmental organization (NGO) projects. It applies the PIP to a project in the non-profit NGO sector and assesses the extent to which it provides project success assurance. The findings suggest that PIP can be used in this sector. Further work to refine the tool and integrate it with the Logical Framework is suggested.
Inhibition of pressure natriuresis in mice lacking the AT2 receptor.

UNLABELLED Inhibition of pressure natriuresis in mice lacking the AT2 receptor. BACKGROUND Angiotensin II type 2 (AT2) receptor knockout mice have higher blood pressures than wild-type mice; however, the hypertension is imperfectly defined. We tested the hypothesis that renal mechanisms could be contributory. METHODS We conducted pressure-natriuresis-diuresis experiments, measured renal cortical and medullary blood flow by laser Doppler methods, and explored cytochrome P450-dependent arachidonic acid metabolism by means of reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS Blood pressure was 15 mm Hg higher in AT2 receptor knockout mice than in controls, and pressure diuresis and natriuresis curves were shifted rightward. At similar renal perfusion pressures (113 to 118 mm Hg), wild-type mice excreted threefold more sodium and water than AT2 receptor knockout mice. Fractional sodium and water excretion curves were shifted rightward in parallel. Renal blood flow ranged between 6.72 and 7.88 mL/min/g kidney wet weight (kwt) in wild-type and between 5.84 and 6.15 mL/min/g kwt in AT2 receptor knockout mice. Renal vascular resistance was increased in AT2A receptor knockout mice. Cortical blood flow readings leveled at 2.5 V in wild-type and 1.5 V in AT2 receptor knockout mice. Medullary blood flow readings ranged between 0.8 and 1.0 V and increased 116% in wild-type mice as renal perfusion pressure was increased. This increase did not occur in AT2 receptor knockout mice. The glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was similar in both groups at approximately 1 mL/min/g kwt. Renal microsomes from AT2 receptor knockout mice had less activity in hydroxylating arachidonic acid to 20-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (20-meter) than controls, whereas renal AT1 receptor gene expression was increased in AT2 receptor knockout mice. CONCLUSIONS Hemodynamic and tubular factors modify renal sodium handling in AT2 receptor knockout mice and may cause hypertension. AT2 receptor disruption induces alterations of other regulatory systems, including altered arachidonic acid metabolism, that may contribute to the intrarenal differences observed between AT2 receptor knockout and wild-type mice.
Comparison of adult patients hospitalised with pandemic (H1N1) 2009 influenza and seasonal influenza during the “PROTECT” phase of the pandemic response

Objective: To compare the patient characteristics, clinical features and outcomes of adult patients hospitalised with pandemic (H1N1) 2009 influenza and seasonal influenza. Design and setting: Retrospective medical record review of all patients admitted to Liverpool Hospital, Sydney, with laboratory-confirmed influenza from the initiation of the “PROTECT” phase of the pandemic response on 17 June until the end of our study period on 31 July 2009. Main outcome measures: Severity of illness; requirement for admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) and/or invasive ventilation; mortality. Results: Sixty-four adults were admitted to Liverpool Hospital with influenza, 48 with pandemic (H1N1) 2009 influenza and 16 with seasonal influenza. Thirteen patients were admitted to the ICU. Seven required invasive ventilation, with 2 patients requiring ongoing extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). Five patients died (mortality rate, 8%) with two deaths occurring after the study period. Patients with pandemic (H1N1) 2009 influenza were younger and less likely to be immunocompromised than patients with seasonal influenza. However, the clinical features of pandemic (H1N1) 2009 influenza and seasonal influenza were similar. Conclusions: Our findings show that the clinical course and outcomes of pandemic (H1N1) 2009 influenza virus are comparable to those of the current circulating seasonal influenza in Sydney. The high number of hospital admissions reflects a high incidence of disease in the community rather than an enhanced virulence of the novel pandemic
Is It Reasonable for Saaty's Consistency Test in the Pairwise Comparison Method?

In the pairwise comparison method, Saaty's consistency test is performed to ensure that the decision maker is being neither random nor illogical in his or her pairwise comparisons. Saaty suggested that the consistency ratio (CR) should be less than or equal to 0.1. Some researchers argued that the cut-off rule should be a function of the matrix size. In this paper, by simulation analysis, we find that, as the matrix size increases, the percent of the matrices with acceptable consistency (CR les 0.1) decreases dramatically, however, on the other hand, there will be more and more contradictory judgements in these sufficiently consistent matrices. This paradox shows that it is impossible to find some proper critical values of CR for different matrix sizes. Thus we argue that Saaty's consistency test could be unreasonable.
Fast and accurate characterization of biological membranes by EPR spectral simulations of nitroxides.

A method by which it is possible to characterize the membranes of biological samples on the basis of the EPR spectral lineshape simulation of membrane-dissolved nitroxide spin probes is described. The presented simulation procedure allows the determination of the heterogeneous structure of biological membranes and fluidity characteristics of individual membrane domains. The method can deal with isotropic and anisotropic orientations of nitroxides introduced into the biological samples described by restricted fast motion with a correlation time between 0.01 and 10 ns. The linewidths of the Lorentzian lineshapes are calculated in a restricted fast-motion approximation. In the special case of samples with high concentrations of nitroxides or in the presence of paramagnetic ions, the lineshapes are calculated directly from the exchange-coupled Bloch equations. The parameters describing ordering, relaxation, polarity, and the portions of the individual spectral components are extracted by optimizing the simulated spectra to the experimental spectrum with either a Simplex or a Monte Carlo algorithm. To improve the algorithm's efficiency, a new way of characterizing the goodness of fits is introduced. The new criterion is based on the standard least-squares function, but with special weighting of the partial sums. Its benefits are confirmed with membrane spectral simulation. Two classes of examples-simulation and optimizations of synthetic spectra to evaluate the accuracy of the optimization algorithms and simulation and optimization of EPR spectra of nitroxides in liposome suspensions in the presence of a broadening agent and in human leukocytes are shown.
Game Theoretic Analysis of Research Consortia for Developing Technologies to Tackle Climate Change

Climate change is perhaps the biggest threat faced by human beings in their history. Mitigating climate change would require development of expensive technologies (e.g., carbon capture and sequestration) in presence of considerable uncertainties and positive externalities. Research consortia are considered to be an effective mechanism for developing these technologies. However, ensuring participation in these consortia is not straightforward. We study participation in such consortia using a non-cooperative game theory framework. First, we look at a baseline consortium where a firm may utilize the technology even if it didn’t participate in the consortium – i.e. "free-riding" is possible. We show that the non-cooperative outcome is mostly inefficient. Next, we analyze an "exclusion-based" mechanism where a firm can utilize the developed technology only if it is a part of the consortium, and show that now the non-cooperative outcome is mostly efficient. That is, we show that this mechanism essentially solves the free-riding problem. Finally, we derive policy recommendations that would increase participation in research consortia.
Measuring Value at Risk (VaR) of Exchange Rate in Iran

This study attempts to estimate value at risk using GARCH model at 95% confidence level for exchange rate return in Iran, and then selects appropriate model, comparing the results obtained from models with actual behavior of exchange rate and performing statistical tests. In the analytical part of the study in order to identify the state of used variables, ARCH test were used to determine ARCH effect, and GARCH models were used to obtain value at risk. In this study, daily data of exchange rate during the period May 12, 2003 to March 20, 2012 have been used to test the performance of provided models in explaining behavior of the average and returns volatilities, and calculating the value at risk. Based on the results, all coefficients of the value at risk except simple GARCH with normal distribution at 5% level were significant, and value at risk for this indicator showed that normality assumption of shocks’ distribution indicates value at risk significantly lower. Moreover, the results showed that simple GARCH model with normal error distribution indicates value at risk at the least level, and EGARCH model with t-error distribution indicates value at risk at the highest level. Therefore, a further increase in value at risk for the considered indicator would lead to wider distribution tails of that indicator.
The metabolic syndrome and concentrations of C-reactive protein among U.S. youth.

OBJECTIVE Adults with the metabolic syndrome show biochemical evidence of low-grade inflammation. We sought to examine whether this is true among U.S. youth with the metabolic syndrome. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We used data from 1,366 participants aged 12-17 years from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999-2000. A modification of the definition of the metabolic syndrome proposed by the Third Report of the National Cholesterol Education Program Expert Panel on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol in Adults was used. C-reactive protein (CRP) was measured by latex-enhanced nephelometry. RESULTS Mean and median concentrations of CRP were higher among participants who had the metabolic syndrome (mean 3.8 mg/l, geometric mean 1.8 mg/l) than among those who did not (mean 1.4 mg/l, geometric mean 0.4 mg/l). The percentage of participants with a concentration of CRP >3.0 mg/l was 38.4% among those with the metabolic syndrome and 10.3% among those without the syndrome (P = 0.007). Of the five components of the syndrome, only abdominal obesity was significantly and independently associated with log-transformed concentrations of CRP in multiple linear regression analysis. CONCLUSIONS Our results show that a large percentage of children and adolescents with the metabolic syndrome have elevated concentrations of CRP. Whether the elevated concentrations of CRP among children and adolescents who have the metabolic syndrome predict future adverse health events remains to be determined.
Use of intrinsic optical signals to monitor physiological changes in brain tissue slices.

Optical imaging techniques have the potential to bring a combination of high spatial and temporal resolution to studies of brain function. Many optical techniques require the addition of a dye or fluorescent marker to the tissue, and such methods have proven extremely valuable. It is also known that the intrinsic optical properties of neural tissue are affected by certain physiological changes and that these intrinsic optical signals can provide information not available by other means. Most authors attribute the intrinsic optical change to alterations in cell volume and concomitant change in the concentration of the cytosol. In this article we review the literature on intrinsic optical signals, covering both the mechanisms of the optical change and its use in various branches of neurophysiology. We also discuss technical aspects of the technique as used with hippocampal slices, including illumination methods, cameras, experimental methods, and data collection and analysis procedures. Finally we present data from investigations in which we used intrinsic optical signals in hippocampal slices to study the extent of spread of synaptic activation, propagation of spreading depression, extent and severity of the response to hypoxia, and tissue response to osmotic challenges. We conclude that (1) at least two processes generate intrinsic optical signals in hippocampal slices, one of which causes light scattering to change inversely with cell volume and is related to dilution of the cytoplasm, while the other, opposite in sign, may be due to mitochondrial swelling; and (2) the intrinsic optical signal can be a useful tool for spatial mapping of relatively slow events, but is not suitable for study of fast physiological processes.
STAT3 expression is associated with poor survival in non-elderly adult patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma

Background Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) is not only a key signaling molecule in the regulation of growth but is also involved in malignant transformation. We investigated the prognostic significance of STAT3 expression in 94 non-elderly adult patients (aged 38 to 65 yr) with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (MM). Methods Tumor cell-specific phosphotyrosine-STAT3 (PY-STAT3) expression at the time of diagnosis was evaluated with dual immunohistochemical (IHC) staining for PY-STAT3 and CD138. Results PY-STAT3 positivity was detected in 10 patients (10.6%), including three who showed strong expression. PY-STAT3-positive patients had higher serum C-reactive protein and calcium levels at diagnosis than did PY-STAT3-negative patients. PY-STAT3 positivity had predictive value for poor progression-free survival (PFS; P=0.001) and overall survival (OS; P=0.003). Among the 60 patients who received frontline autologous stem cell transplantation, PY-STAT3-positive patients had poorer PFS than did PY-STAT3-negative patients (4.2 vs. 19.2 mo, respectively; P=0.013). Multivariate analysis identified PY-STAT3 expression as an independent prognostic factor for PFS (relative risk [RR]=2.706, P=0.014) and OS (RR=3.091, P=0.044). Conclusion These data show that PY-STAT3 positivity, as determined using dual IHC, is a marker of poor prognosis in non-elderly adult patients with MM.