Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Roles of family dynamics on adherence to highly active antiretroviral therapy among people living with HIV/AIDS at a tertiary hospital in Osogbo, south-west Nigeria.

BACKGROUND Adherence to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has been proven to be the only effective treatment for HIV/AIDS worldwide. Good adherence to HAART might require good family support. OBJECTIVE To determine the family dynamics and social support of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) and its roles on HAART adherence at an ARV treatment clinic in Osogbo, Nigeria. METHOD Descriptive cross-sectional study. Consenting PLWHA on HAART were interviewed using pre-tested semistructured questionnaire incorporating Perceived Social Support- Family Scale and Family APGAR. HAART adherence was measured using patient self report. RESULTS A total of 379 PLWHA were interviewed. Their mean age was 40.8 (SD=9.9) years. Most (60.7%) were females. More than half (55.7%) were currently married and the majority (72.1%) had secondary education and were Yoruba (86.3%). Most respondents (95.5%) were adherent to HAART. Over 90% were satisfied with support received from their family while 82.3% were treated like other family members. Most attributed their HAART adherence to the care and support received from their family. CONCLUSION Most PLWHA had good social support and were adherent to HAART.
Real-Time FPGA-Based Object Tracker with Automatic Pan-Tilt Features for Smart Video Surveillance Systems

The design of smart video surveillance systems is an active research field among the computer vision community because of their ability to perform automatic scene analysis by selecting and tracking the objects of interest. In this paper, we present the design and implementation of an FPGA-based standalone working prototype system for real-time tracking of an object of interest in live video streams for such systems. In addition to real-time tracking of the object of interest, the implemented system is also capable of providing purposive automatic camera movement (pan-tilt) in the direction determined by movement of the tracked object. The complete system, including camera interface, DDR2 external memory interface controller, designed object tracking VLSI architecture, camera movement controller and display interface, has been implemented on the Xilinx ML510 (Virtex-5 FX130T) FPGA Board. Our proposed, designed and implemented system robustly tracks the target object present in the scene in real time for standard PAL (720 × 576) resolution color video and automatically controls camera movement in the direction determined by the movement of the tracked object.
On LTE-WiFi coexistence and inter-operator spectrum sharing in unlicensed bands: altruism, cooperation and fairness

The coexistence of LTE-Unlicensed (LTE-U) and WiFi in unlicensed spectrum is studied in the context of airtime sharing. We consider core problem where a set of LTE-U cells from different operators share the same channel as a co-located WiFi access point (AP). We assume that LTE-U cells utilize Listen-Before-Talk (LBT) as the default channel access mechanism. Principally, we deal with the following question: how should an operator's LTE-U cell adjust its contention window in order to provide a fair coexistence both with WiFi and co-located LTE-U cells of other operators? We consider that LTE-U cells behave altruistically both among themselves and to WiFi. Cooperation of LTE-U cells is studied using a coalition formation game framework which is based on the well-known Shapley value. We define a payoff configuration scheme in the coalition game which involves altruism. We prove that the coalitional game is always zero-monotonic, and Shapley value is also max-min fair. We compare airtime sharing performance of Shapley value with weighted proportional fairness via numerical results and show that Shapley value provides much better fairness than proportional fairness as determined by entropy and Jain's index metrics while having roughly equal average airtime.
Genetic Algorithms for Protein Threading

Despite many years of efforts, a direct prediction of protein structure from sequence is still not possible. As a result, in the last few years researchers have started to address the "inverse folding problem": Identifying and aligning a sequence to the fold with which it is most compatible, a process known as "threading". In two meetings in which protein folding predictions were objectively evaluated, it became clear that threading as a concept promises a real breakthrough, but that much improvement is still needed in the technique itself. Threading is a NP-hard problem, and thus no general polynomial solution can be expected. Still a practical approach with demonstrated ability to find optimal solutions in many cases, and acceptable solutions in other cases, is needed. We applied the technique of Genetic Algorithms in order to significantly improve the ability of threading algorithms to find the optimal alignment of a sequence to a structure, i.e. the alignment with the minimum free energy. A major progress reported here is the design of a representation of the threading alignment as a string of fixed length. With this representation validation of alignments and genetic operators are effectively implemented. Appropriate data structure and parameters have been selected. It is shown that Genetic Algorithm threading is effective and is able to find the optimal alignment in a few test cases. Furthermore, the described algorithm is shown to perform well even without pre-definition of core elements. Existing threading methods are dependent on such constraints to make their calculations feasible. But the concept of core elements is inherently arbitrary and should be avoided if possible. While a rigorous proof is hard to submit yet an, we present indications that indeed Genetic Algorithm threading is capable of finding consistently good solutions of full alignments in search spaces of size up to 10(70).
Phylogenetic treatment and taxonomic revision of the trapdoor spider genus Aptostichus Simon (Araneae, Mygalomorphae, Euctenizidae)

Abstract This systematic study documents the taxonomy, diversity, and distribution of 40 species of the predominately Californian trapdoor spider genus Aptostichus Simon, 1891. Thirty-three of these species are newly described: Aptostichus dantrippi, Aptostichus cabrillo, Aptostichus pennjillettei, Aptostichus asmodaeus, Aptostichus nateevansi, Aptostichus chiricahua, Aptostichus icenoglei, Aptostichus isabella, Aptostichus muiri, Aptostichus barackobamai, Aptostichus sinnombre, Aptostichus hedinorum, Aptostichus aguacaliente, Aptostichus chemehuevi, Aptostichus sarlacc, Aptostichus derhamgiulianii, Aptostichus anzaborrego, Aptostichus serrano, Aptostichus mikeradtkei, Aptostichus edwardabbeyi, Aptostichus killerdana, Aptostichus cahuilla, Aptostichus satleri, Aptostichus elisabethae, Aptostichus fornax, Aptostichus lucerne, Aptostichus fisheri, Aptostichus bonoi, Aptostichus cajalco, Aptostichus sierra, Aptostichus huntington, Aptostichus dorothealangeae, and Aptostichus chavezi. Most of these species are restricted to the California Floristic Province, a known biodiversity hotspot. Of the 40 recognized species, over half are considered to be imperiled or vulnerable and two have likely gone extinct over the past half-century; the conservation status of only 11 species is considered to be secure. Using 73 quantitative and qualitative morphological characters I propose a preliminary phylogeny for the genus that recognizes four major lineages: the Atomarius, Simus, Hesperus, and Sierra species groups. Additionally, the phylogenetic analysis indicates that adaptations favoring the invasion of the arid desert habitats of southern California have evolved multiple times across the group. The existence of both desert and non - desert species in three of the four species groups makes this genus an ideal candidate for the study of the evolutionary ecology of desert arthropods. A set of molecular characters based on the contiguous mitochondrial DNA genes 16S-tRNA valine-12S is used in an independent analysis to assist in placement of specimens into species. The taxonomy section explicitly identifies the concept employed in species delimitation. Niche based distribution models are constructed to predict the ranges of species for which an adequate number of sampling sites were known.
Corticotrophin (ACTH) in Rheumatoid Arthritis

In the original investigation reported by Hench, Kendall, Slocumb, and Polley (1949), both cortisone and corticotrophin were found to suppress the inflammatory element of rheumatoid arthritis. Since then a large number of reports have been published on the effects of oral steroids in this disease, but only a few have described further experience with corticotrophin. Corticotrophin has the disadvantage that it must be given by injection, and this is probably the main deterrent to its use in treatment. A further impediment may have been the consideration that the indirect action of corticotrophin through adrenal stimulation made the control of long-term corticosteroid therapy in rheumatoid arthritis and other chronic diseases unduly complicated. This indirect action may, however, be turned to advantage, since it is possible, by estimating the urinary steroid excretion, to measure the degree of adrenal stimulation produced and adjust the dose accordingly. There appears to be one definite merit in corticotrophin as opposed to oral corticosteroid therapy. Symptoms of adrenal insufficiency (including fatigue, hypotension, dizziness, and muscular weakness) occur not uncommonly when oral steroids are withdrawn, after even a relatively short period of treatment. Although these symptoms are usually the result of an abrupt cessation, they may occur even with gradual withdrawal of the steroid, and whilst they are generally unpleasant rather than dangerous, severe adrenal insufficiency does occasionally occur. On the other hand, in our experience, even abrupt cessation of corticotrophin after prolonged administration is not followed by this type of adverse reaction.
Clinico-genomic Data Analytics for Precision Diagnosis and Disease Management

Patient data can be present in clinical notes, lab results, genomic data sources, environmental and geospatial data sources and tissue banks to name a few. A holistic view of the patient's health can be achieved when relevant data from multiple heterogeneous sources are extracted and analyzed in a personalized manner. Moreover, comparative analysis of patients can be performed when multiple patient records are viewed across these heterogeneous data sources. To address this need, we propose clinico-genomic data analytics to enhance personalized medicine treatment decisions using heterogeneous, high dimensional, sparse and massive datasets. We utilize this framework to discover similar patients and overlaps among patients in a set of features towards the goals of: (1) better cohort discovery for clinical trials, (2) better disease management by studying peer group of patients with similar diagnosis but better prognosis, (3) early disease diagnosis by identifying similar features in patients with the existing diagnosis. We propose novel approach in two areas: (1) integrating clinical and genomic data of patients and (2) combined data analytics in such heterogeneous datasets. Our approach is modeled as a unified clustering algorithm for finding correlations among clinical and genomic factors of patients. We integrate data containing risk causing Single Nucleotide Polymorphism's (SNP's) known from literature with clinical records of patients. In such heterogeneous data, we propose a combined similarity measure for numeric and nominal data attributes, which we use in our clustering algorithm. Our results show compelling overlaps among patients in the same cluster. These patients had high pair wise similarity and emulated the real world similarities between patients with co-morbid diseases.
Design techniques of P-Type CMOS circuits for gate-leakage reduction in deep sub-micron ICs

With rapid technology scaling, the proportion of the static power catches up with dynamic power gradually. To decrease leakage power is becoming more and more important in low-power design. Base on the pact that PMOS transistors have an order of magnitude smaller gate leakage than NMOS ones, P-type Complementary Pass-transistor Logic (P-CPL) and P-type Differential Cascade Voltage Switch Logic (P-DCVSL) are proposed to reduce the static power in this paper. For an example, two full adders based on P-CPL and P-DCVSL circuits are verified. All circuits are simulated using 130nm, 65nm and 32nm CMOS processes. Their delay, power, and PDP are compared. Simulation results show that the P-CPL full adder consumes about 60%–80% of the dissipated energy of the static CMOS and CPL ones at 200MHz. The P-DCVSL full adder consumes 80%–90% of the dissipated energy of the DCVSL one at 200MHz.
Design and Transdermal Delivery of Indomethacin Nanosystem

Transdermal drug delivery is one of the most promising routes of drug administration. The aim of this study was to apply nanoencapsulation technologies in order to enhance bioavailability and reduce toxicity of indomethacin after transdermal administration. Methods: Nanoparticles were produced by a two-step desolvation process. Parameters such as mean particle size, zeta potential and encapsulation efficiency were studied. A model drug was selected for encapsulation-indomethacin. The permeability of free-indomethacin in a cellulose-based vehicle and that of indomethacin-loaded nanoparticles was investigated using Franz diffusion cells. The cumulative amount of indomethacin that diffused across a model membrane was measured and the steady-state fluxes of the permeant in the different systems were determined. Results: This study showed that it is possible to prepare indomethacin-loaded gelatine nanoparticles with small particle size (mean size lower than 350 nm) with polydispersivity index ranging from 0.125 to 0.199 and negative zeta potential. Encapsulation efficiency was around 70%. Permeation studies showed that nanoparticles prolonged indomethacin release. In conclusion, the present data confirm the feasibility of developing indomethacin transdermal nanosystems on an industrial scale. Further studies, now in progress, will deal with the application of the presently reported findings to human skin permeation, involving both in vitro and in vivo testing.
Similar Motor Cortical Control Mechanisms for Precise Limb Control during Reaching and Locomotion

Throughout the course of evolution there has been a parallel development of the complexity and flexibility of the nervous system and the skeletomuscular system that it controls. This development is particularly evident for the cerebral cortical areas and the transformation of the use of the upper limbs from a purely locomotor function to one including, or restricted to, reaching and grasping. This study addresses the issue of whether the control of reaching has involved the development of new cortical circuits or whether the same neurons are used to control both locomotion and reaching. We recorded the activity of pyramidal tract neurons in the motor cortex of the cat both during voluntary gait modifications and during reaching. All cells showed generally similar patterns of activity in both tasks. More specifically, we showed that, in many cases, cells maintained a constant temporal relationship to the activity of synergistic muscle groups in each task. In addition, in some cells the relationship between the intensity of the cell discharge activity and the magnitude of the EMG activity was equally constant during gait modifications and reaching. As such, the results are compatible with the hypothesis that the corticospinal circuits used to control reaching evolved from those used to precisely modify gait. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT In an article in 1989, Georgopoulos and Grillner (1989) proposed that the corticospinal control mechanisms used for reaching movements in primates may have evolved from those used to control precise modifications of gait during quadrupedal locomotion. In this article, we provide a test of this hypothesis by recording the activity of individual motor cortical cells during both behaviors. Our results are compatible with the hypothesis in that they demonstrate that individual cortical neurons exhibit similar qualitative and quantitative patterns during each behavior. Beyond a general similarity of activity patterns, we show that some cortical cells have the same relative relationship, in both phase and magnitude, to the muscle activity observed in both reach and locomotor tasks.
Virological Predictors of Response to Retreatment in Hepatitis C Genotype 2 Infected Patients

Background/Aims The impact of virological factors and interleukin-28B (IL-28B) genetic variants on retreatment of hepatitis C virus genotype 2 (HCV-2) treatment-experienced patients remains unknown. Methods On-treatment virological responses and IL-28B rs8099917 genotype were determined in 46 HCV-2 treatment-experienced patients (42 previous relapsers; four previous non-responders) retreated with 24-week peginterferon/ribavirin. Results Forty (87.0%) patients carried the rs8099917 TT genotype and 6 patients (13.0%) carried the TG/GG genotype. The sustained virological response (SVR; seronegativity of HCV RNA throughout 24 weeks of the post-treatment follow-up period) rate was 71.7%. Compared with previous non-responders, previous relapsers had a significantly higher SVR rate (78.6% vs. 0%, P = 0.004) and a lower relapse rate (17.5% vs. 100%, P = 0.04). All the previous non-responders were with the rs8099917 TT genotype. As for those who relapsed, treatment responses, including the rates of rapid virological response (RVR, 80.6% vs. 66.7%, P = 0.59), early virological response (EVR, 97.2% vs. 83.3%, P = 0.27), end-of-treatment virological response (97.2% vs. 83.3%, P = 0.27) and SVR (80.6% vs. 66.7%, P = 0.59) and relapse rate (17.1% vs. 20.0%, P = 1) did not differ significantly between patients with the rs8099917 TT and those with the non-TT genotype. Multivariate analysis revealed that the most important factor predictive of an SVR in the retreatment of HCV-2 was previous relapse; the only factor predictive of an SVR for previous relapsers was the achievement of an EVR. Compared with the achievement of a RVR, the attainment of an EVR was more accurate in predicting an SVR (88% vs. 74%). Conclusions Peginterferon/ribavirin is effective in the retreatment of HCV-2 relapsers, especially among those who achieved an EVR.
Evaluation of DNA Detection Kit for Authenticity of Unibract Fritillary Bulb Based on Pharmacopoeia Method

Unibract Fritillary Bulb,as a fomous type of traditional Chinese medicine, derived from Sicuan in China. The objective of the study is to evaluate a kind of DNA assay kit to detect of Unibract Fritillary Bulb from their counterfiets in addition to optimizing its components and protocols. All genomic DNA from 20 samples of Unibract Fritillary Bulb were extracted by Pharmacopoeia method recorded in the expanded edition of China Pharmacopoeia (2010) and assay kit respectively, the PCR technique and Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism Analysis (RFLP) were carried out to identify the authentication of Unibract Fritillary Bulb. The maximum value of genomic DNA extracted by Pharmacopoeia method is measured as 1.57± 0.05 (OD260/OD280) by Ultraviolet Spectrophotometer, whereas, the value is 1.73±0.10 by assay kit. The results of PCR and RFLP indicated that a single band over 300bp was shown and two distinct bands between 100bp and 250bp in agarose electrophoresis. The data demonstrated that the assay kit was better than the Pharmacopoeia method, especially in extraction quantity and DNA purity of the Unibract Fritillary Bulb nucleic acid; the PCR and RFLP results shown the two methods were consistent compeletiy. The DNA detection Kit for identification of Unibract Fritillary Bulb have good specificity, high sensitivity as well as strong stability, so it is suitable for the rapid detection of Unibract Fritillary Bulb.
Temperature-sensitive release of prostaglandin E₂ and diminished energy requirements in synovial tissue with postoperative cryotherapy: a prospective randomized study after knee arthroscopy.

BACKGROUND Local external cooling of the surgical field after joint surgery is intended to enhance recovery and to facilitate the use of outpatient surgery by reducing pain and improving mobility. We hypothesized that the effects of postoperative cooling and compression after knee arthroscopy would be reflected in changes in the concentrations of metabolic and inflammatory markers in the synovial membrane. METHODS Forty otherwise healthy patients who were to undergo knee arthroscopy were included in the study, and half were randomized to receive postoperative cooling and compression. Microdialysis of the synovial membrane was performed postoperatively, and the concentrations of prostaglandin E₂ (PGE₂), glucose, lactate, glycerol, and glutamate as well as the ethanol exchange ratio (which indicates blood flow) were measured. The temperature of the knee was monitored, and postoperative pain was assessed by the patient with use of a visual analog scale, a numeric rating scale, and the need for rescue medication. RESULTS Application of the cooling and compression device after knee arthroscopy significantly lowered the temperature in the operatively treated knee (as measured on the skin, within the joint capsule, and intra-articularly). The cooling and compression appeared to decrease inflammation, as indicated by a temperature-sensitive decrease in the PGE₂ concentration. The hypothermia also decreased the metabolic rate of the synovial tissue and thus decreased energy requirements, as shown by the stability of the lactate concentration over time despite the decreased blood flow that was indicated by the increasing ethanol exchange ratio. No effect of the compression and cooling on postoperative pain was detected. CONCLUSIONS Local cryotherapy and compression after knee arthroscopy significantly lowered the temperature in the knee postoperatively, and the synovial PGE₂ concentration was correlated with the temperature. Since PGE₂ is a marker of pain and inflammation, the postoperative local cooling and compression appeared to have a positive anti-inflammatory effect.
High linearity PVT tolerant 100MS/s rail-to-rail ADC driver with built-in sampler in 65nm CMOS

A novel completely inverter-based ADC driver is proposed that relaxes the gain and unity gain bandwidth requirements of the negative feedback loop by making it not see the closed loop gain. This ADC driver has a built-in first order anti alias filter and uses a passive amplifier to provide a rail-to-rail sampled output signal. This design exploits the linearity of current mirrors and achieves 65dB of linearity at the Nyquist rate for a rail-to-rail output. A semi-constant current biasing circuit for inverters has been proposed to minimizing PVT variations in lower technologies. As a proof of concept an ADC driver is designed and implemented in TSMC's 65nm GP CMOS technology. The measured design operates at 100MS/s and has an OIP3 of 40dBm at the Nyquist rate, provides a gain of 8, and samples the signal onto a 1pF output capacitance while drawing 2mA from a 1V supply.