Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Propagation and Dissemination of Infection after Vaginal Transmission of Simian Immunodeficiency Virus

ABSTRACT In the current global AIDS pandemic, more than half of new human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infections are acquired by women through intravaginal HIV exposure. For this study, we explored pathogenesis issues relevant to the development of effective vaccines to prevent infection by this route, using an animal model in which female rhesus macaques were exposed intravaginally to a high dose of simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV). We examined in detail the events that transpire from hours to a few days after intravaginal SIV exposure through week 4 to provide a framework for understanding the propagation, dissemination, and establishment of infection in lymphatic tissues (LTs) during the acute stage of infection. We show that the mucosal barrier greatly limits the infection of cervicovaginal tissues, and thus the initial founder populations of infected cells are small. While there was evidence of rapid dissemination to distal sites, we also show that continuous seeding from an expanding source of production at the portal of entry is likely critical for the later establishment of a productive infection throughout the systemic LTs. The initially small founder populations and dependence on continuous seeding to establish a productive infection in systemic LTs define a small window of maximum vulnerability for the virus in which there is an opportunity for the host, vaccines, or other interventions to prevent or control infection.
Combining Collaborative Filtering with Personal Agents for Better Recommendations

Information filtering agents and collaborative filtering both attempt to alleviate information overload by identifying which items a user will find worthwhile. Information filtering (IF) focuses on the analysis of item content and the development of a personal user interest profile. Collaborative filtering (CF) focuses on identification of other users with similar tastes and the use of their opinions to recommend items. Each technique has advantages and limitations that suggest that the two could be beneficially combined.This paper shows that a CF framework can be used to combine personal IF agents and the opinions of a community of users to produce better recommendations than either agents or users can produce alone. It also shows that using CF to create a personal combination of a set of agents produces better results than either individual agents or other combination mechanisms. One key implication of these results is that users can avoid having to select among agents; they can use them all and let the CF framework select the best ones for them.
A multi-steap ahead prediction method based on local dynamic properties

The task of forecasting a time series over a long horizon is commonly tackled b y iterating one-step-ahead predictors.Despite the popularity that this approach gained in the prediction communit y, its design is still plagued by a number of important unresolved issues, the most important being the accumulation of prediction errors. We introduce a local method to learn one-step-ahead predictors with the aim of reducing the propagation of errors during the iteration. For each prediction, our method selects the structure of the local approximator using, in a local version, well-kno wn results of dynamic system theory. Experimental results on tw o time series from the San ta F ecompetition show that the technique is competitive with state-of-the-art forecasting methods.
A resurgent HIV-1 epidemic among men who have sex with men in the era of potent antiretroviral therapy

Objective:Reducing viral load, highly active antiretroviral therapy has the potential to limit onwards transmission of HIV-1 and thus help contain epidemic spread. However, increases in risk behaviour and resurgent epidemics have been widely reported post-highly active antiretroviral therapy. The aim of this study was to quantify the impact that highly active antiretroviral therapy had on the epidemic. Design:We focus on the HIV-1 epidemic among men who have sex with men in the Netherlands, which has been well documented over the past 20 years within several long-standing national surveillance programs. Methods:We used a mathematical model including highly active antiretroviral therapy use and estimated the changes in risk behaviour and diagnosis rate needed to explain annual data on HIV and AIDS diagnoses. Results:We show that the reproduction number R(t), a measure of the state of the epidemic, declined early on from initial values above two and was maintained below one from 1985 to 2000. Since 1996, when highly active antiretroviral therapy became widely used, the risk behaviour rate has increased 66%, resulting in an increase of R(t) to 1.04 in the latest period 2000–2004 (95% confidence interval 0.98–1.09) near or just above the threshold for a self-sustaining epidemic. Hypothetical scenario analysis shows that the epidemiological benefits of highly active antiretroviral therapy and earlier diagnosis on incidence have been entirely offset by increases in the risk behaviour rate. Conclusion:We provide the first detailed quantitative analysis of the HIV epidemic in a well defined population and find a resurgent epidemic in the era of highly active antiretroviral therapy, most likely predominantly caused by increasing sexual risk behaviour.
New Distribution Models for Financial Services: The Italian Banks' Approach to the On Line Trading Development

In recent years, customers’ demands on financial services have changed significantly and the number of customers who engage in electronic commerce for financial transactions has increased considerably in the past years (Business Week, May 25, 1998). Due to the increase in income as well as improved information on financial services, customers are becoming more price-sensitive, more rational in decision-making and thus more challenging to the vendors. The present analysis is focused on the Italian banking sector; however, some aspects taken into consideration here may be in common with other countries. Porter’s five forces model is used to show how the Italian banks could leverage the advantageous cost asymmetries given by their existing distribution channels to pursue simultaneously cost leadership and differentiation, providing the trading on line service. The lack of specific competencies and assets together with a number of tactical and strategical drivers suggests that these new services could be object of outsourcing.
Ability of Measures of Adiposity in Identifying Adverse Levels of Inflammatory and Metabolic Markers in Adolescents.

BACKGROUND Overweight and obesity have been associated with a pro-inflammatory state. We aimed to assess the ability of different measures of overall and abdominal adiposity for identifying adverse levels of inflammatory and metabolic markers in adolescents. METHODS This is a cross-sectional analysis with 529 Portuguese adolescents (267 girls), mean age 14.3 ± 1.7 years. Weight, height, sitting height, waist circumference (WC), and body fat percentage (BF%) were measured; and BMI, waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), and waist-to-sitting-height ratio (WsHtR) were calculated. We measured C-reactive protein (CRP), fibrinogen, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), complements C3 and C4, leptin, and adiponectin levels. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to estimate the ability of the adiposity measures to discriminate between low/high values of biomarkers. RESULTS The highest areas under the ROC curves were presented by BF% for fibrinogen and complement C3 in both sexes and for ESR, complement C4, and adiponectin only in girls; by BMI for CRP in girls and for leptin in both sexes; by WHtR for leptin in both sexes and for CRP, fibrinogen, and adiponectin only in girls; by waist circumference for CRP, fibrinogen, and complement C3 only in boys and for complement C4 in girls; and by WsHtR for complement C3 in girls; p < 0.05 for all. CONCLUSIONS The measures that more often presented discriminatory power were, for overall adiposity, BF% in both sexes, and for abdominal adiposity, WHtR in girls and WC in boys. However, small differences in discriminatory capabilities don't allow us to clearly defend the adoption of a single measure above all others.
Patients' perceptions of GP non-verbal communication: a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND During doctor-patient interactions, many messages are transmitted without words, through non-verbal communication. AIM To elucidate the types of non-verbal behaviours perceived by patients interacting with family GPs and to determine which cues are perceived most frequently. DESIGN OF STUDY In-depth interviews with patients of family GPs. SETTING Nine family practices in different regions of Poland. METHOD At each practice site, interviews were performed with four patients who were scheduled consecutively to see their family doctor. RESULTS Twenty-four of 36 studied patients spontaneously perceived non-verbal behaviours of the family GP during patient-doctor encounters. They reported a total of 48 non-verbal cues. The most frequent features were tone of voice, eye contact, and facial expressions. Less frequent were examination room characteristics, touch, interpersonal distance, GP clothing, gestures, and posture. CONCLUSION Non-verbal communication is an important factor by which patients spontaneously describe and evaluate their interactions with a GP. Family GPs should be trained to better understand and monitor their own non-verbal behaviours towards patients.
The Saccadic Re-Centering Bias is Associated with Activity Changes in the Human Superior Colliculus

Being able to effectively explore our visual world is of fundamental importance, and it has been suggested that the straight-ahead gaze (primary position) might play a special role in this context. We employed fMRI in humans to investigate how neural activity might be modulated for saccades relative to this putative default position. Using an endogenous cueing paradigm, saccade direction and orbital starting position were systematically manipulated, resulting in saccades toward primary position (centripetal) and away from primary position (centrifugal) that were matched in amplitude, directional predictability, as well as orbital starting position. In accord with earlier research, we found that fMRI activity in the superior colliculus (SC), as well as in the frontal eye fields and the intraparietal sulcus, was enhanced contralateral to saccade direction across all saccade conditions. Furthermore, the SC exhibited a relative activity decrease during re-centering relative to centrifugal saccades, a pattern that was paralleled by faster saccadic reaction times. In contrast, activity within the cortical eye fields was not significantly modulated during re-centering saccades as compared to other saccade types, suggesting that the re-centering bias is predominantly implemented at a subcortical rather than cortical processing stage. Such a modulation might reflect a special coding bias facilitating the return of gaze to a default position in the gaze space in which retinotopic and egocentric reference frames are aligned and from which the visual world can be effectively explored.
CD61, CD31, and CD34 Improve Diagnostic Accuracy in Gastric Antral Vascular Ectasia and Portal Hypertensive Gastropathy: An Immunohistochemical and Digital Morphometric Study

Portal hypertensive gastropathy (PHG) and gastric antral vascular ectasia (GAVE) are unusual but important causes of gastrointestinal bleeding with characteristic endoscopic appearances and critically different therapies. However, overlapping features and poor endoscopic-histologic correlation make their distinction challenging. We sought to determine whether CD31, CD34 (vascular markers), and CD61 (platelet marker) could aid in their differentiation. Cases included 11 antral specimens with histologic diagnoses of GAVE, 11 histologically diagnosed as PHG, and biopsies of GAVE (15) or PHG (12) suspected on endoscopy but without histologic agreement. Controls consisted of endoscopically and histologically normal antrum. Image analysis of CD31 and CD34-stained sections was performed to determine mucosal microvessel density (MVD). CD61 revealed thrombi in 100% of histologically confirmed cases of GAVE and 60% of cases suspected of GAVE on endoscopy alone; control biopsies were negative. CD61 was also positive in 26% of cases originally signed out as PHG. Review of hematoxylin and eosin slides from these CD61-positive PHG cases showed other features allowing their correct reclassification as GAVE. MVD was significantly higher in GAVE than PHG. MVD in histologically confirmed PHG did not differ significantly from endoscopically suspected PHG. Review of hematoxylin and eosin slides from the latter showed active gastritis obscuring recognition of ectatic vessels. In conclusion, CD61 reliably differentiates GAVE from PHG. MVD analysis can also assist in their distinction. In PHG, the increased vascularity may be subtle in an inflammatory background; vascular markers may serve as adjunct markers for identifying the aberrant vessels.
Conformational Antibody Binding to a Native, Cell-Free Expressed GPCR in Block Copolymer Membranes

G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) play a key role in physiological processes and are attractive drug targets. Their biophysical characterization is, however, highly challenging because of their innate instability outside a stabilizing membrane and the difficulty of finding a suitable expression system. We here show the cell-free expression of a GPCR, CXCR4, and its direct embedding in diblock copolymer membranes. The polymer-stabilized CXCR4 is readily immobilized onto biosensor chips for label-free binding analysis. Kinetic characterization using a conformationally sensitive antibody shows the receptor to exist in the correctly folded conformation, showing binding behaviour that is commensurate with heterologously expressed CXCR4.
Androgen modulation of social decision-making mechanisms in the brain: an integrative and embodied perspective

Apart from their role in reproduction androgens also respond to social challenges and this response has been seen as a way to regulate the expression of behavior according to the perceived social environment (Challenge hypothesis, Wingfield et al., 1990). This hypothesis implies that social decision-making mechanisms localized in the central nervous system (CNS) are open to the influence of peripheral hormones that ultimately are under the control of the CNS through the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis. Therefore, two puzzling questions emerge at two different levels of biological analysis: (1) Why does the brain, which perceives the social environment and regulates androgen production in the gonad, need feedback information from the gonad to adjust its social decision-making processes? (2) How does the brain regulate gonadal androgen responses to social challenges and how do these feedback into the brain? In this paper, we will address these two questions using the integrative approach proposed by Niko Tinbergen, who proposed that a full understanding of behavior requires its analysis at both proximate (physiology, ontogeny) and ultimate (ecology, evolution) levels.
Prevalence of the Metabolic Syndrome Among Employees in Northeast China

Background: The metabolic syndrome is a clustering of metabolic abnormalities and has been associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome among employees in Northeast China. Methods: Totally, 33,149 employees who received health screening in the International Health Promotion Center in the First Hospital of Jilin University were enrolled. Height, weight, waist circumference, blood pressure, fasting plasma glucose, triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein, and low-density lipoprotein were recorded. Three definitions for the metabolic syndrome were applied, revised National Cholesterol Education Program's Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP ATP III) criteria, the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) criteria, and the Chinese Diabetes Society (CDS) criteria. Results: Overall, the age-standardized prevalence of the metabolic syndrome was 22.9%, 20.6%, and 15.3% based on definitions of revised NCEP ATP III criteria, the IDF criteria, and the CDS criteria, respectively. Men had higher age-standardized prevalence than women in all three definitions (P < 0.05). The prevalence was 27.1%, 24.5%, and 20.4% for men; 17.1%, 15.4%, and 8.3% for women, respectively. The most common metabolic component with the metabolic syndrome was overweight (54.7% of men had an elevated body mass index, and 35.9% of women had central obesity). Conclusions: A large proportion of employees among Northeast China have the metabolic syndrome. These findings place emphasis on the need to develop aggressive lifestyle modification for patients with the metabolic syndrome and population level strategies for the prevention, detection, and treatment of cardiovascular risk.
Interactions and functions of the adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) protein at a glance

Since its discovery as the major tumour suppressor in colorectal cancer, the adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) protein has emerged as a multi-functional protein that directly or indirectly regulates the cellular processes that govern epithelial tissues ([McCartney and Nathke, 2008][1]). Today, the
Low complexity motion estimation utilising spatial correlation

An efficient algorithm is proposed to reduce the computational complexity of block matching motion estimation by using the characteristics of spatial correlation. The proposed algorithm is to skip the motion vector search of inside macroblocks surrounded by identical motion vectors. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm reduces computational complexity by 52.5% compared to conventional motion estimation at the cost of negligible performance degradation.
Eliminating Atherogenesis in Mice by Switching Off Hepatic Lipoprotein Secretion

Background—LDL receptor–deficient “apolipoprotein (apo)-B100–only” mice (Ldlr−/−Apob100/100 have elevated LDL cholesterol levels on a chow diet and develop severe aortic atherosclerosis. We hypothesized that both the hypercholesterolemia and the susceptibility to atherosclerosis could be eliminated by switching off hepatic lipoprotein production. Methods and Results—We bred Ldlr−/−Apob100/100 mice that were homozygous for a conditional allele for Mttp (the gene for microsomal triglyceride transfer protein) and the inducible Mx1-Cre transgene. In these animals, which we called “Reversa mice,” the hypercholesterolemia could be reversed, without modifying the diet or initiating a hypolipidemic drug, by the transient induction of Cre expression in the liver. After Cre induction, hepatic Mttp expression was virtually eliminated (as judged by quantitative real-time PCR), hepatic lipoprotein secretion was abolished (as judged by electron microscopy), and LDLs were virtually eliminated from the plasma. Intestinal lipoprotein production was unaffected. In mice fed a chow diet, Cre induction reduced plasma cholesterol levels from 233.9±46.0 to 37.2±6.5 mg/dL. In mice fed a high-fat diet, cholesterol levels fell from 525.7±32.2 to 100.6±14.3 mg/dL. The elimination of hepatic lipoprotein production completely prevented both the development of atherosclerosis and the changes in gene expression that accompany atherogenesis. Conclusions—We developed mice in which hypercholesterolemia can be reversed with a genetic switch. These mice will be useful for understanding gene-expression changes that accompany the reversal of hypercholesterolemia and atherosclerosis.
Privacy-Aware Smart Metering: A Survey

The increasing share of renewables creates new challenges for the existing electrical grid. To deal with these challenges, various efforts are being made to transform the existing power grid into a so-called smart grid. Part of this process is the deployment of an advanced metering infrastructure, which provides novel high-frequency two-way communication between consumers and producers. But as useful as the access to high-frequency measurements may be for energy suppliers, this also poses a major threat to the privacy of the customers. In this survey we present approaches to the problem of customer privacy-protection in the smart grid. We show that the privacy problem in smart grids can be further divided into the problems metering for billing and metering for operations. For each of these problems we identify generic approaches to solve them.
Short-term wind speed forecasting for wind farm based on empirical mode decomposition

As an important renewable energy form, wind power obtains rapid development recently. More advanced accurate and reliable techniques for wind speed forecasting are required. It can reduce the disadvantageous impact to the power system. According to the outstanding feature of EMD algorithm, this paper presents a new technique for wind speed forecasting based on Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD) and ARMA. EMD is a new method for analyzing nonlinear and non-stationary signal. It is an adaptive wavelet decomposition strategy. We make full use of the characteristic of the EMD and the ARMA in the EMD-ARMA model. Actual wind speed data are used to test the approach. It concludes that the EMD-ARMA model is an effective method in wind speed forecasting.
Integrated Sequencing and Scheduling in Coil Coating

We consider a complex planning problem in integrated steel production. A sequence of coils of sheet metal needs to be color coated in consecutive stages. Different coil geometries and changes of colors necessitate time-consuming setup work. In most coating stages one can choose between two parallel color tanks. This can either reduce the number of setups needed or enable setups concurrent with production. A production plan comprises the sequencing of coils and the scheduling of color tanks and setup work. The aim is to minimize the makespan for a given set of coils. We present an optimization model for this integrated sequencing and scheduling problem. A core component is a graph theoretical model for concurrent setup scheduling. It is instrumental for building a fast heuristic that is embedded into a genetic algorithm to solve the sequencing problem. The quality of our solutions is evaluated via an integer program based on a combinatorial relaxation, showing that our solutions are within 10% of the optimum. Our algorithm is implemented at Salzgitter Flachstahl GmbH, a major German steel producer. This has led to an average reduction in makespan by over 13% and has greatly exceeded expectations. This paper was accepted by Dimitris Bertsimas, optimization.