Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Decline in HIV Prevalence among Young Women in Zambia: National-Level Estimates of Trends Mask Geographical and Socio-Demographic Differences

Background A decline in HIV incidence has been reported in Zambia and a number of other sub-Saharan countries. The trend of HIV prevalence among young people is a good marker of HIV incidence. In this study, different data sources are used to examine geographical and sub-population group differentials in HIV prevalence trends among men and women aged 15–24 years in Zambia. Design and Methods We analysed ANC data for women aged 15–24 years from 22 sentinel sites consistently covered in the period 1994–2008, and HIV data for young men and women aged 15–24 years from the ZDHS 2001/2 and 2007. In addition, we systematically reviewed peer-reviewed articles that have reported findings on HIV prevalence and incidence among young people. Findings Overall trends of the ANC surveillance data indicated a substantial HIV prevalence decline among young women in both urban and rural areas. However, provincial declines differed substantially, i.e. between 10% and 68% among urban women, and from stability to 86% among rural women. Prevalence declines were steeper among those with the highest educational attainments than among the least educated. The ZDHS data indicated a significant reduction in prevalence between the two survey rounds among young women only. Provincial-level ZDHS changes were difficult to assess because the sample sizes were small. ANC-based trend patterns were consistent with those observed in PMTCT-based data (2002–2006), whereas population-based surveys in a selected urban community (1995–2003) suggested that the ANC-based data underestimated the prevalence declines in the general populations of both young both men and women. Conclusion The overall HIV prevalence declined substantially among young women in Zambia and this is interpreted as indicating a decline in HIV incidence. It is noteworthy that overall national trends masked substantial differences by place and by educational attainment, demonstrating critical limitations in the current focus on overall country-level trends in epidemiological reports.
Review of Strain Rate Effects for Concrete in Tension

A literature review was conducted to determine the extant data characterizing the effects of strain rate on the tensile strength of concrete. In particular, additional new data by Ross and colleagues were considered. These data support the dynamic increase factor (DIF) being a bilinear function of the strain rate in a log-log plot, with no increases for strain rates below 0.000001 with a slope change at a strain rate of 1/s. A DIF of approximately 7 was obtained at the highest reported experimental strain rate of 157/s. The DIF formulation recommended by the European CEB was described, together with its origins. It was found that the data differed somewhat from the CEB recommendations, mostly for strain rates beyond 1/s. Therefore, an alternate formulation was proposed based on the experimental data.
Ventricular/vascular interaction in patients with mild systemic hypertension and normal peripheral resistance.

Total left ventricular external power and aortic input impedance spectra were calculated from recordings of pulsatile pressure and flow in the ascending aorta of 22 human subjects undergoing cardiac catheterization. Eleven subjects had increased aortic pressure (systolic 153 +/- 3.8[SEM] mm Hg, p less than .001; diastolic 91 +/- 2.4 mm Hg, p less than .03; mean 118 +/- 2.4 mm Hg, p less than .001) and constituted the group with mild hypertension (average age 50 +/- 1.9 years). The other 11 (age-matched) subjects had normal arterial pressures and constituted the control group. Cardiac output in the hypertensive group was abnormally high (6.9 +/- 0.3 liters/min, p less than .04) compared with that in control subjects (6.1 +/- 0.2 liters/min), so that peripheral resistance was similar. Characteristic aortic impedance (index of aortic elastance) was increased in the hypertensive group (142 +/- 19 vs 72 +/- 4.5 dyne-sec-cm-5, p less than .002), as was the fluctuation of impedance moduli and phase. These elevated pulsatile components of arterial load were associated with a significant (p less than .002) increase in pulsatile left ventricular external power (89%), and the increased cardiac output was associated with a significant (p less than .001) increase in steady flow power (31%). The ratio of pulsatile to total power was also increased (38%) in the hypertensive group (p less than .001). Increased characteristic aortic impedance in the hypertensive group suggests that the human aorta is stiffer, and fluctuations in the impedance spectra suggest increased or less dispersed wave reflections. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
PALMOS: A Transparent, Multi-tasking Acceleration Layer for Parallel Heterogeneous Systems

Accelerators, such as Graphic Processing Units (GPUs), are increasingly popular components of modern parallel systems. This move towards heterogeneity, however, has not progressed through all layers of system software. There is no transparent Operating System (OS) support for the management and sharing of accelerators between users and applications. Consequently, there is also no support for OS-level virtualization (containers) targeting heterogeneous software. This paper presents a secure, user-space virtualization layer that integrates the accelerator resources of a system with the standard multi-tasking and user-space virtualization facilities of commodity Linux OS. It targets heterogeneous commodity systems found in data center nodes and requires no modification to the OS, OpenCL or application. It eliminates high setup overhead, enables fine-grained sharing of mixed-vendor accelerator resources and provides resource and platform aware scheduling. The average throughput improvement across workloads and mixed-vendor platform configurations varies from 1.29x to 3.87x speedup over existing schemes. Our approach outperforms both vendor accelerator sharing facilities and message passing solutions.
The science of systematic reviews

S ystematic reviews are useful tools for informing clinicians on best practice, summarizing evidence, and identifying needs for future research. They are increasingly being applied to the field of transfusion medicine, where authors and readers need to be equipped with some basic critical appraisal skills in order to understand their results. In this report, the essentials of systematic reviews are summarized and two scenarios are presented to illustrate examples of their practical application.
Parametric design of an active ankle foot orthosis with passive compliance

A two degree of freedom active ankle foot orthosis (AFO) for post stroke rehabilitation purposes was designed and manufactured. The AFO was cable actuated, with the force supplied by custom-built air muscles due to their low weight and compliance. A novel actuator linkage was designed in order to allow the entire actuation system to be situated behind the leg, meaning the AFO was lightweight and discrete. The novel two degree of freedom joint allowed a significantly more natural gait and comfortable user experience than conventional one degree of freedom AFOs. The effect of wearing the AFO in a passive state was analysed using a low cost inertial measurement unit (IMU), which showed that it had minimal impact on key gait parameters such as stride length and velocity. It was also trialled in a passive condition by multiple users, including 3 stroke rehabilitation physiotherapists, and was found to be comfortable to wear and easy to be put on. A parametric design process was developed, which produces a custom design based on an individual's anthropometric data. This kind of custom design would give much better conformity, decreasing skin friction and increasing comfort. It has been concluded that a custom two-degree of freedom active AFO could be of benefit after a stroke as it allows more complete rehabilitation of the ankle joint.
Tunable and narrow linewidth RF signal generation based on dual-injection semiconductor ring laser

An integrated optoelectronic device for the generation of tunable and narrow linewidth radio frequency (RF) signals is proposed, consisting of two DFB lasers that are external injected into a semiconductor ring laser (SRL). The three lasers achieve mutual injection and phase locking. The beating between the output optical spectral lines generates an electrical signal with narrow linewidth and high tunibility.
Data integration: a theoretical perspective

Data integration is the problem of combining data residing at different sources, and providing the user with a unified view of these data. The problem of designing data integration systems is important in current real world applications, and is characterized by a number of issues that are interesting from a theoretical point of view. This document presents on overview of the material to be presented in a tutorial on data integration. The tutorial is focused on some of the theoretical issues that are relevant for data integration. Special attention will be devoted to the following aspects: modeling a data integration application, processing queries in data integration, dealing with inconsistent data sources, and reasoning on queries.
Efficient orthonormality testing for synthesis with pass-transistor selectors

This paper presents the mapping problem for pass transistor selector mapping, which has not been addressed before. Pass transistor synthesis is potentially important for semi- or full-custom design techniques, which are increasingly attracting attention. Pass transistors have the advantage that fewer transistors are needed, and that circuits with high fanin and small delay can be constructed. Technology mapping approaches in the existing literature cannot handle these selectors, due to the restriction of I-hot encoding of the control signals. We present a new algorithm to address this problem, which is based an the novel idea of a general Boolean Oracle. Our oracle is based on ATPG techniques, and compared to BDDs, the oracle has the advantage that failure to complete only affects optimization locally, and does not hinder optimization elsewhere in the logic. A limitation of BDDs is that it is difficult to complete the algorithm if a BDD grows too large. The experimental results show up to 82% improvement in transistor count for the MCNC combinatorial multi-level examples.
Effects of mirror therapy integrated with task-oriented exercise on the balance function of patients with poststroke hemiparesis: a randomized-controlled pilot trial

This study aimed to explore the effects of mirror therapy integrated with task-oriented exercise on balance function in poststroke hemiparesis. Twenty patients with poststroke hemiparesis were assigned randomly to an experimental group (EG) and a control group (CG), with 10 individuals each. Participants of the EG and CG received a task-oriented exercise program with a focus on the strengthening of the lower limb and the practice of balance-related functional tasks. An additional option for the EG was front and side wall mirrors to provide visual feedback for their own movements while performing the exercise. The program was performed for 30 min, twice a day, five times per week for 4 weeks. Outcome measures included the Berg balance scale, the timed up-and-go test, and quantitative data (balance index and dynamic limits of stability). In the EG and CG, all variables showed significant differences between pretest and post-test (P<0.05), and post-test values of all variables appeared to be significantly different between two groups (P<0.05). Furthermore, in the EG, the change values between pretest and post-test values of Berg balance scale (13.00±3.20 vs. 6.60±4.55 scores), and timed up-and-go test (6.45±3.00 vs. 3.61±1.84 s), balance index (2.29±0.51 vs. 0.96±0.65 scores), dynamic limits of stability (7.70±3.83 vs. 3.70±4.60 scores) were significantly higher than those of the CG (P<0.05). The findings suggest that a mirror therapy may be used as a beneficial therapeutic option to facilitate the effects of a task-oriented exercise on balance function of patients with poststroke hemiparesis.
Applying Conflict Management Strategies in BDI Agents for Resource Management in Computational Grids

Managing resources in large scale distributed systems --- "Computational Grids", is a complex and time sensitive process. The computational resources being shared vary in type and complexity, and resource properties can change over time. An approach based on interacting software agents is presented, where each resource manager and resource requester is modelled as a BDI (Belief-Desire-Intention) agent. The proposed approach can help resolve conflicts that arise during resource discovery and application scheduling, and enables site autonomy to be maintained. The modelling and detection of conflicts is important in the context of this work, to enable each resource and application to respond to changes in the environment. We propose a BDI based framework that can be used to model agents that represent resources and applications --- and outline properties that each must maintain.
Dynamic Vector Clocks for Consistent Ordering of Events in Dynamic Distributed Applications

A large number of tasks in distributed systems can be traced down to the fundamental problem of attaining a consistent global view on a distributed computation. This problem is commonly solved by appliance of vector clocks as a means of tracing causal dependencies among the events that characterize a run of the computation. In the paper at hand an extension to the concept of vector clocks is presented and examined that is meant to overcome the vector clocks’ great drawback: that the number of processes in the distributed system has to be constant and known in advance. As an appropriate context for these dynamic vector clocks and their associated algorithms to be integrated into, scalar and vector clocks are analogously reinvestigated.
Manufacturing Processes for Engineering Materials

1 Introduction 2 Fundamentals of the mechanical behavior of materials 3 Structure and manufacturing properties of metals 4 Surfaces, tribology, dimensional characteristics, inspection, and product Quality assurance 5 Metal-casting processes and equipment heat treatment 6 Bulk deformation processes 7 Sheet-metal forming processes 8 Material-removal pocesses: cutting 9 Material-removal processes: abrasive, chemical, electrical, and high-energy beams 10 Properties and processing of polymers and reinforced plastics rapid prototyping and rapid tooling 11 Properties and processing of metal powders, ceramics, glasses, composites, and superconductors 12 Joining and fastening processes 13 Fabrication of microelectronic, micromechanical, and microelectromechanical devices nanomanufacturing 14 Automation of manufacturing processes and operations 15 Computer-integrated manufacturing systems 16 Product design and manufacturing in a global competitive environment
Ligand-binding domain subregions contributing to bimodal agonism in cyclic nucleotide–gated channels

Cyclic nucleotide–gated (CNG) channels bind cGMP or cAMP in a cytoplasmic ligand–binding domain (BD), and this binding typically increases channel open probability (Po) without inducing desensitization. However, the catfish CNGA2 (fCNGA2) subtype exhibits bimodal agonism, whereby steady-state Po increases with initial cGMP-binding events (“pro” action) up to a maximum of 0.4, but decreases with subsequent cGMP-binding events (“con” action) occurring at concentrations >3 mM. We sought to clarify if low pro-action efficacy was either necessary or sufficient for con action to operate. To find BD residues responsible for con action or low pro-action efficacy or both, we constructed chimeric CNG channels: subregions of the fCNGA2 BD were substituted with corresponding sequence from the rat CNGA4 BD, which does not support con action. Constructs were expressed in frog oocytes and tested by patch clamp of cell-free membranes. For nearly all BD elements, we found at least one construct where replacing that element preserved robust con action, with a ratio of steady-state conductances, g(10 mM cGMP)/g(3 mM cGMP) < 0.75. When all of the BD sequence C terminal of strand β6 was replaced, g(10 mM cGMP)/g(3 mM cGMP) was increased to 0.95 ± 0.05 (n = 7). However, this apparent attenuation of con action could be explained by an increase in the efficacy of pro action for all agonists, controlled by a conserved “phosphate-binding cassette” motif that contacts ligand; this produces high Po values that are less sensitive to shifts in gating equilibrium. In contrast, substituting a single valine in the N-terminal helix αA abolished con action (g(30 mM cGMP)/g(3 mM cGMP) increased to 1.26 ± 0.24; n = 7) without large increases in pro-action efficacy. Our work dissociates the two functional features of low pro-action efficacy and con action, and moreover identifies a separate structural determinant for each.
Electroencephalogram signatures of loss and recovery of consciousness from propofol

Significance Anesthesiologists reversibly manipulate the brain function of nearly 60,000 patients each day, but brain-state monitoring is not an accepted practice in anesthesia care because markers that reliably track changes in level of consciousness under general anesthesia have yet to be identified. We found specific behavioral and electrophysiological changes that mark the transition between consciousness and unconsciousness induced by propofol, one of the most commonly used anesthetic drugs. Our results provide insights into the mechanisms of propofol-induced unconsciousness and establish EEG signatures of this brain state that could be used to monitor the brain activity of patients receiving general anesthesia. Unconsciousness is a fundamental component of general anesthesia (GA), but anesthesiologists have no reliable ways to be certain that a patient is unconscious. To develop EEG signatures that track loss and recovery of consciousness under GA, we recorded high-density EEGs in humans during gradual induction of and emergence from unconsciousness with propofol. The subjects executed an auditory task at 4-s intervals consisting of interleaved verbal and click stimuli to identify loss and recovery of consciousness. During induction, subjects lost responsiveness to the less salient clicks before losing responsiveness to the more salient verbal stimuli; during emergence they recovered responsiveness to the verbal stimuli before recovering responsiveness to the clicks. The median frequency and bandwidth of the frontal EEG power tracked the probability of response to the verbal stimuli during the transitions in consciousness. Loss of consciousness was marked simultaneously by an increase in low-frequency EEG power (<1 Hz), the loss of spatially coherent occipital alpha oscillations (8–12 Hz), and the appearance of spatially coherent frontal alpha oscillations. These dynamics reversed with recovery of consciousness. The low-frequency phase modulated alpha amplitude in two distinct patterns. During profound unconsciousness, alpha amplitudes were maximal at low-frequency peaks, whereas during the transition into and out of unconsciousness, alpha amplitudes were maximal at low-frequency nadirs. This latter phase–amplitude relationship predicted recovery of consciousness. Our results provide insights into the mechanisms of propofol-induced unconsciousness, establish EEG signatures of this brain state that track transitions in consciousness precisely, and suggest strategies for monitoring the brain activity of patients receiving GA.
Association of a Functional Polymorphism in the Clopidogrel Target Receptor Gene, P2Y12, and the Risk for Ischemic Cerebrovascular Events in Patients With Peripheral Artery Disease

Background and Purpose— There is considerable variability in the antiplatelet effects of the thienopyridine agent “clopidogrel. ” We tested for an association of gene sequence variations in P2Y12 and occurrence of neurological adverse events in patients with symptomatic peripheral artery disease (PAD) during clopidogrel treatment. Methods— We studied 137 patients undergoing antiplatelet therapy with clopidogrel and 336 patients with aspirin for the occurrence of neurological events (ischemic stroke and/or carotid revascularization). Prevalence of 2 previously described exonic polymorphisms of the P2Y12 gene, 34C>T and 52G>T, was determined by polymerase chain reaction. Results— Genotype frequencies for mutated, heterozygous, and wild-type alleles for the 34C>T and the 52G>T polymorphisms were 9% (n=40), 44% (n=210), and 47% (n=223), and 4% (n=17), 27% (n=127), and 70% (n=329), respectively. During the median follow-up of 21 months, neurological events occurred in 8% of patients. In patients with aspirin therapy, neither polymorphism was associated with neurological events. However, in clopidogrel patients, carriers of at least one 34T allele had a 4.02-fold increased adjusted risk for neurological events compared with carriers of only 34C alleles (95% confidence interval, 1.08 to 14.9). Neither polymorphism was associated with all-cause mortality. Conclusions— In PAD patients, clopidogrel response variability exists, which may result in increased risk for cerebrovascular events. Sequence alterations of the target receptor gene represent one possible mechanism for clopidogrel failure. Whether identification of the 34C>T polymorphism as a contributor to this process could serve as risk stratification tool, an indicator for higher clopidogrel doses, or the use of alternate agents warrants further investigation.
A light-weight feedback method for reconstructing a document vector space on a feature extraction model

In this paper, we propose a document retrieval system with a light-weight feedback method for reconstructing a document vector space, which is developed on a Feature Extraction Model (FEM). FEM makes it possible to realize a light-weight creation of vector spaces by feature terms extracted from the pre-prepared documents and we can apply the feedback method dynamically to reconstruct the vector spaces based on intensions of users. Retrieval results can be improved through the proposed feedback process because the distributions of documents on the reconstructed vector space are arranged properly according to purposes and interests of users.
Cultivation of a Thermophilic Ammonia Oxidizing Archaeon Synthesizing Crenarchaeol

The widespread occurrence and diversity of ammonia oxidizing Archaea suggests their contribution to the nitrogen cycle is of global significance. Their distribution appeared limited to low-and moderate-temperature environments until the recent finding of a diagnostic membrane lipid, crenarchaeol, in terrestrial hot springs. We report here the cultivation of a thermophilic nitrifier ('Candidatus Nitrosocaldus yel-lowstonii'), an autotrophic crenarchaeote growing up to 74°C by aerobic ammonia oxidation. The major core lipid of this archaeon growing at 72°C is crenar-chaeol, providing the first direct evidence for its synthesis by a thermophile. These findings greatly extend the upper temperature limit of nitrification and document that the capacity for ammonia oxidation is broadly distributed among the Crenarchaeota.