Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Phase I Randomized Safety Study of Twice Daily Dosing of Acidform Vaginal Gel: Candidate Antimicrobial Contraceptive

Background Acidform gel, an acid-buffering product that inactivates spermatozoa, may be an effective topical non-hormonal contraceptive. This study was designed to evaluate the safety of vaginal dosing and effects of Acidform on mucosal immune mediators, antimicrobial properties of genital secretions, and vaginal microbiota. Methods Thirty-six sexually abstinent U.S. women were randomized to apply Acidform or hydroxyethylcellulose (HEC) placebo gel twice daily for 14 consecutive days. Safety was assessed by symptoms and pelvic examination. The impact of gel on mucosal immunity was assessed by quantifying cytokines, chemokines, antimicrobial proteins and antimicrobial activity of genital secretions collected by cervicovaginal lavage (CVL) at screening, 2 hours after gel application, and on days 7, 14 and 21. Vaginal microbiota was characterized at enrollment and day 14 using species-specific quantitative PCR assays. Results The median vaginal and cervical pH was significantly lower 2 hours after application of Acidform and was associated with an increase in the bactericidal activity of CVL against E. coli. However, 65% of women who received Acidform had at least one local adverse event compared with 11% who received placebo (p = 0.002). While there was no increase in inflammatory cytokines or chemokines, CVL concentrations of lactoferrin and interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra), an anti-inflammatory protein, were significantly lower following Acidform compared to HEC placebo gel application. There were no significant changes in Lactobacillus crispatus or Lactobacillus jensenii in either group but there was a decrease in Gardnerella vaginalis in the Acidform group (p = 0.08). Conclusions Acidform gel may augment mucosal defense as evidenced by an increase in bactericidal activity of genital secretions against E. coli and a decrease in Gardnerella vaginalis colonization. However, Acidform was associated with more irritation than placebo and lower levels of antimicrobial (lactoferrin) and anti-inflammatory (IL-1ra) proteins. These findings indicate the need for additional safety studies of this candidate non-hormonal contraceptive. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00850837
Low Levels of Mannan-Binding Lectin or Ficolins Are Not Associated with an Increased Risk of Cytomegalovirus Disease in HIV-Infected Patients

Background In HIV-infected patients, prediction of Cytomegalovirus (CMV) disease remains difficult. A protective role of mannan-binding lectin (MBL) and ficolins against CMV disease has been reported after transplantation, but the impact in HIV-infected patients is unclear. Methods In a case-control study nested within the Swiss HIV Cohort Study, we investigated associations between plasma levels of MBL/ficolins and CMV disease. We compared HIV-infected patients with CMV disease (cases) to CMV-seropositive patients without CMV disease (controls) matched for CD4 T-cells, sampling time, and use of combination antiretroviral therapy. MBL and M-ficolin, L-ficolin, and H-ficolin were quantified using ELISA. Results We analysed 105 cases and 105 matched controls. CMV disease was neither associated with MBL (odds ratio [OR] 1.03 per log10 ng/mL increase (95% CI 0.73–1.45)) nor with ficolins (OR per log10 ng/mL increase 0.66 (95% CI 0.28–1.52), 2.34 (95% CI 0.44–12.36), and 0.89 (95% CI 0.26–3.03) for M-ficolin, L-ficolin, and H-ficolin, respectively). We found no evidence of a greater association between MBL and CMV disease in patients with low CD4 counts; however in the multivariable analysis, CMV disease was more likely in patients with an increased HIV RNA (OR 1.53 per log10 copies/mL; 95% CI 1.08–2.16), or a shorter duration of HIV-infection (OR 0.91 per year; 95% CI 0.84–0.98). Conclusions CMV disease is not associated with low levels of MBL/ficolins, suggesting a lack of a protective role in HIV-infected patients.
C O M M U N I T Y E C O L O G Y

The leaf size – twig size spectrum and its relationship to other important spectra of variation among species Abstract There is a spectrum from species with narrow, frequently branched twigs carrying small leaves and other appendages, to species with thick twigs carrying large leaves and appendages. Here we investigate the allometry of this spectrum and its relationship to two other important spectra of ecological variation between species, the seed mass—seed output spectrum and the specific leaf area—leaf lifespan spectrum. Our main dataset covered 33 woody dicotyledonous species in sclerophyll fire-prone vegetation on low nutrient soil at 1,200 mm annual rainfall near Sydney, Australia. These were phylogenet-ically selected to contribute 32 evolutionary divergences. Two smaller datasets, from 390 mm annual rainfall, were also examined to assess generality of cross-species patterns. There was two to three orders of magnitude variation in twig cross-sectional area, individual leaf size and total leaf area supported on a twig across the study species. As expected, species with thicker twigs had larger leaves and branched less often than species with thin twigs. Total leaf area supported on a twig was mainly driven by leaf size rather than by the number of leaves. Total leaf area was strongly correlated with twig cross-section area, both across present-day species and across evolutionary divergences. The common log-log slope of 1.45 was significantly steeper than 1. Thus on average, species with tenfold larger leaves supported about threefold more leaf area per twig cross-section, which must have considerable implications for other aspects of water relations. Species at the low rainfall site on loamy sand supported about half as much leaf area, at a given twig cross-section, as species at the low rainfall site on light clay, or at the high rainfall site. Within sites, leaf and twig size were positively correlated with seed mass, and negatively correlated with specific leaf area. Identifying and understanding leading spectra of ecological variation among species is an important challenge for plant ecology. The seed mass—seed output and specific leaf area—leaf lifespan spectra are each underpinned by a single, comprehensible trade-off and their consequences are fairly well understood. The leaf-size-twig-size spectrum has obvious consequences for the texture of canopies, but we are only just beginning to understand the costs and benefits of large versus small leaf and twig size.
A MEASUREMENT OF SMALL-SCALE STRUCTURE IN THE 2.2 ⩽ z ⩽ 4.2 Lyα FOREST

The amplitude of fluctuations in the Lyα forest on small spatial scales is sensitive to the temperature of the intergalactic medium (IGM) and its spatial fluctuations. The temperature of the IGM and its spatial variations contain important information about hydrogen and helium reionization. We present a new measurement of the small-scale structure in the Lyα forest from 40 high resolution, high signal-to-noise ratio, VLT spectra for absorbing gas at redshifts between 2.2 ⩽ z ⩽ 4.2. We convolve each Lyα forest spectrum with a suitably chosen Morlet wavelet filter, which allows us to extract the amount of small-scale structure in the forest as a function of position across each spectrum. We monitor contamination from metal line absorbers. We present a first comparison of these measurements with high-resolution hydrodynamic simulations of the Lyα forest that track more than 2 billion particles. This comparison suggests that the IGM temperature close to the cosmic mean density (T0) peaks at a redshift near z = 3.4, at which point it is greater than 20, 000 K at ≳2σ confidence. The temperature at lower redshift is consistent with the fall-off expected from adiabatic cooling (T0 ∝ (1 + z)2), after the peak temperature is reached near z = 3.4. In our highest redshift bin, centered around z = 4.2, the results favor a temperature of T0 = 15–20, 000 K. However, owing mostly to uncertainties in the mean transmitted flux at this redshift, a cooler IGM model with T0 = 10, 000 K is only disfavored at the 2σ level here, although such cool IGM models are strongly discrepant with the z ≈ 3–3.4 measurement. We do not detect large spatial fluctuations in the IGM temperature at any redshift covered by our data set. The simplest interpretation of our measurements is that He ii reionization completes sometime near z ≈ 3.4, although statistical uncertainties are still large. Our method can be fruitfully combined with future He ii Lyα forest measurements.
Studying the Relation between Anti-Patterns in Design Models and in Source Code

There exists a large body of work on the specification and detection of anti-patterns in the source code of software systems. However, there are very few studies on the origins of the occurrences of anti-patterns in the source code: do the very design of the systems lead to the occurrences of anti-patterns or are anti-patterns introduced during implementation? Knowing when anti-patterns are introduced could help software designers and developers improve the quality of the source code, for example by eliminating fault-prone anti-patterns early during the design of the systems, even before their implementation. Therefore, we detect occurrences of anti-patterns in design models and in the source code of some systems, trace these occurrences between design and implementation, and study their relation and impact on the source code. First, we analyze both the UML design models and the source code of 10 open-source systems and show that antipatterns exist in design models. We observe that, on average, 37% of the classes in the design models that belong to anti-patterns also exist in the source code and also play roles in the same anti-patterns. Second, we investigate two open-source systems to assess the impact of the anti-patterns in their design models on the source code in terms of changes and faults. We show that classes that have anti-patterns in the design models have more changes and faults in the source code. Our results suggest that the design of the systems lead to anti-patterns and that the antipatterns impact negatively the change-and fault-proneness of the classes in the source code. Thus, designers should be wary of anti-patterns in their design models and could benefit from tools that detect and trace these anti-patterns into the source code.
Sharing memory with semi-Byzantine clients and faulty storage servers

This paper presents several fault-tolerant simulations of a single-writer multi-reader regular register in storage systems. One simulation tolerates fail-stop failures of storage servers and require a majority of nonfaulty servers, while the other simulation tolerates Byzantine failures and requires that two-thirds of the servers to be nonfaulty. A construction of Afek et al.(1995) is used to mask semi-Byzantine failures of clients that result in erroneous write operations. The simulations are used to derive Paxos algorithms that tolerate semi-Byzantine failures of clients as well as failstop or Byzantine failures of storage servers.
Towards Large-Scale Face Recognition Based on Videos

This paper introduces a new method to find the most important samples for classification in image sets to speed-up the classification phase and reduce the storage space for large-scale face recognition tasks that use image sets obtained from face videos. We approximate the image sets with the kernelized convex hulls and show that it is sufficient to use only the samples that participate to shape the image set boundaries in this setting. To find those important samples that form the image set boundaries in the feature space, we employed the kernelized Support Vector Data Description (SVDD) method which finds a compact hypersphere that fits the image set samples best. Then, we show that these kernelized hypersphere models can also be used to model image sets for classification purposes. Lastly, we introduce ESOGU-285 (ESkisehir OsmanGazi University) Face Videos database that includes 285 people since the most popular video datasets used for set based recognition methods include either a few amount of people or large amount of people with just a few (or single) video collections. The experimental results on small sized standard datasets and our new larger sized dataset show that the proposed method greatly improves the testing times of the classification system (we obtained speed-ups up to a factor of 10 in ESOGU Face Videos dataset) without a significant drop in accuracies.
Modelling clustering of vertically aligned carbon nanotube arrays

Previous research demonstrated that arrays of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (VACNTs) exhibit strong frictional properties. Experiments indicated a strong decrease of the friction coefficient from the first to the second sliding cycle in repetitive measurements on the same VACNT spot, but stable values in consecutive cycles. VACNTs form clusters under shear applied during friction tests, and self-organization stabilizes the mechanical properties of the arrays. With increasing load in the range between 300 µN and 4 mN applied normally to the array surface during friction tests the size of the clusters increases, while the coefficient of friction decreases. To better understand the experimentally obtained results, we formulated and numerically studied a minimalistic model, which reproduces the main features of the system with a minimum of adjustable parameters. We calculate the van der Waals forces between the spherical friction probe and bunches of the arrays using the well-known Morse potential function to predict the number of clusters, their size, instantaneous and mean friction forces and the behaviour of the VACNTs during consecutive sliding cycles and at different normal loads. The data obtained by the model calculations coincide very well with the experimental data and can help in adapting VACNT arrays for biomimetic applications.
People frames: the social construction of information systems

The management of IT involves the thoughtful consideration of the management of stakeholders' knowledge as information system success depends upon synergy between human and technical systems. In this paper particular attention is paid to the notion of frames, or frames of reference, held by the stakeholders of information systems and their effects on system adoption and use. A qualitative study is performed in the context of an engineering firm's adoption of a commercial ERP package. Findings suggest that besides frames of technology, the beliefs and perceptions that stakeholders have of each other influence their utilization of technological artifacts and influence the operation of information systems.
LIDAR-based dynamic environment modeling and tracking using particles based occupancy grid

Due to the complexity of environment, it is a challenging task to detect and track moving objects in driving environment. In some simple scenarios, modelling and tracking of object can be realized by using the geometric properties of the object; In the more complex cases, it can be modelled and tracked as an occupancy grid. This paper presents an occupancy grid tracking system based on particles. The particles will have the dual nature - they will denote hypotheses, as in the filtering algorithm, but they will also be the building blocks of our modelled world. The particles have position and speed. They can migrate in the grid from cell to cell according to their motion model and motion parameters. The particles will also be created and destroyed through resample algorithm. The tracking algorithm is based on the particles, instead of cells. The occupancy grid tracking solution that proposed in this paper can be classified as using the Descartes probability model of the reverse sensor and generates a fully dynamic grid. This method is suitable for flexible and dynamic unstructured environment.
Moral Hazard vs . Liquidity and Optimal Unemployment Insurance

This paper presents new evidence on why unemployment insurance (UI) bene ts a¤ect search behavior and develops a simple method of calculating the welfare gains from UI using this evidence. I show that 60 percent of the increase in unemployment durations caused by UI bene ts is due to a liquidity e¤ectrather than distortions in marginal incentives to search (moral hazard) by combining two empirical strategies. First, I nd that increases in bene ts have much larger e¤ects on durations for liquidity constrained households. Second, lump-sum severance payments increase durations substantially among constrained households. I derive a formula for the optimal bene t level that depends only on the reduced-form liquidity and moral hazard elasticities. The formula implies that the optimal UI bene t level exceeds 50 percent of the wage. The exact identi cationapproach to welfare analysis proposed here yields robust optimal policy results because it does not require structural estimation of primitives. Keywords: unemployment durations, optimal bene ts, wealth e¤ects, borrowing constraints E-mail: chetty@econ.berkeley. edu. I have bene ted from discussions with Joseph Altonji, Alan Auerbach, Olivier Blanchard, Richard Blundell, David Card, Liran Einav, Martin Feldstein, Amy Finkelstein, Jon Gruber, Jerry Hausman, Caroline Hoxby, Juan Jimeno, Kenneth Judd, Lawrence Katz, Patrick Kline, Bruce Meyer, Ariel Pakes, Luigi Pistaferri, Emmanuel Saez, Jesse Shapiro, Robert Shimer, Adam Szeidl, Ivan Werning, anonymous referees, and numerous seminar participants. Philippe Bouzaglou, Greg Bruich, David Lee, Ity Shurtz, Jim Sly, and Philippe Wingender provided excellent research assistance. I am very grateful to Julie Cullen and Jon Gruber for sharing their unemployment bene t calculator, and to Suzanne Simonetta and Loryn Lancaster at the Dept. of Labor for assistance with state UI laws. Funding from the National Science Foundation and NBER is gratefully acknowledged. The data and code used for the empirical analysis and numerical simulations are available on the authors website.
Inhibition of the Hypothalamic Paraventricular Nucleus in Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats Dramatically Reduces Sympathetic Vasomotor Tone

Experimental evidence indicates that the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus modulates sympathetic vasomotor tone and blood pressure and that this modulation is altered in some cardiovascular diseases. This study tested the hypothesis that this nucleus exerts a more significant tonic excitatory modulation of basal sympathetic vasomotor activity in spontaneously hypertensive rats. In anesthetized, artificially-ventilated rats, bilateral microinjections of the GABAA receptor agonist, muscimol (1 to 1.5 nmoles per side), into the paraventricular nucleus produced a depressor and sympathoinhibitory response that did not recover. When compared with normotensive rats, this response was more marked in spontaneously hypertensive rats, where lumbar sympathetic nerve discharge was reduced by 75±3% and mean arterial pressure fell from 119±7 mm Hg to 58±3 mm Hg. Blockade of excitatory and inhibitory amino acid receptors in the rostral ventrolateral medulla significantly attenuated this response. Microinjections of small volumes (<20 nL) of GABA were used to localize precisely the responsive region of the paraventricular nucleus. Unilateral injections of GABA into the dorsomedial cap of the paraventricular nucleus induced a brisk depressor (decrease of 42±4 mm Hg), sympathoinhibitory (decrease by 72±2%), and bradycardic (decrease of 77±16 bpm) response. The mechanisms underlying the sympathoinhibition after inactivation of the paraventricular nucleus are not elucidated, but evidence discussed suggests the involvement of a supracollicular sympathoinhibitory pathway. The results presented demonstrate that the paraventricular nucleus exerts a powerful, tonic effect on the control of sympathetic vasomotor tone under basal conditions in anesthetized rats and that this is enhanced in spontaneously hypertensive rats.
Evaluation in public-sector reform : concepts and practice in international perspective

Evaluation in public sector reform - toward a "third wave" of evaluation? , Hellmut Wollmann evaluating public management reforms - an international perspective, Christopher Pollitt and Geert Bouckaert evaluating best practice in central government modernization, Werner Jann and Christoph Reichard evaluating public management reforms in central government - Norway, Sweden and the United States of America, Tom Christensen et al public-sector reform and evaluation in Australia and New Zealand, John Halligan evaluation and new public management in the Netherlands, Frans Leeuw evaluation and public-sector reform in Germany - leaps and lags, Hellmut Wollmann "as a voluntary choice or as a legal obligation" - assessing new public management policy in Italy, Andrea Lippi the late and sudden emergence of new public management reforms in Japan, Michio Muramatsu and Jun Matsunami evaluating public-sector reforms in Latin America, geraldo Tadeu Moreira Monteiro learning from evaluation practice - the case of public-sector reforms, Jean-Claude Thoenig evaluaton in public-sector reofm - from country profiles to common trends in international perspective, Hellmut Wollmann.
Beyond the First Degree: Graduate Education, Lifelong Learning and Careers

Preface - the changing context of postgraduate education in the United Kingdom. Part 1 Graduate education: issues and themes in postgraduate education in the United States policy issues in postgraduate education - an Australian perspective quality issues in postgraduate education. Part 2 Lifelong learning: lifelong post-experience, post-graduate - symphony or dichotomy? lifelong learning and European universities - rhetoric or future reality? postgraduate education and lifelong learning as collaborative inquiry in action - an emergent model. Part 3 Careers: mass higher education - mass graduate employment in the 1990s graduate employment trends - key issues in the labour market of the late 1990s and beyond a note on reshaping the graduate education of scientists and engineers.
Learning from past mistakes: assessing trial quality, power and eligibility in non-renal systemic lupus erythematosus randomized controlled trials.

OBJECTIVES To evaluate the post hoc study power of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in the treatment of non-renal SLE and to determine the generalizability of these RCTs using an SLE database. METHODS RCTs in non-renal SLE were identified using PubMed (1975-2007). Inclusion/exclusion criteria, trial quality (5-point scale) and results of each study were recorded. The inclusion/exclusion criteria were compared with an SLE database to determine the proportion of patients from the database who would theoretically be eligible for these trials. For each negative study, we calculated the post hoc study power. We also looked for temporal improvements of trials in the literature and examined if pharmaceutical involvement influenced trial quality. RESULTS Sixty-four articles were included; the mean power of 30 negative studies was 24.6 +/- s.e. m. 3.9% (range 2.5-81.1%). Only one study had a power > 80%. Overall, potential eligibility of SLE patients in the database was 45.1 +/- s.e. m. 3.6%. Only 14 studies (21.9%) were of good quality. Fortunately, RCT quality is improving over time (trials <1995, compared with 1996-2002 and >2003; P < 0.001). Trials with pharmaceutical involvement had a significantly higher number of enrollees and better study quality. CONCLUSIONS Negative RCTs in SLE were mostly underpowered but the generalizability of these trials was high. Determination of study power and the impact of eligibility criteria on generalizability of study results are crucial in the design of clinical trials to ensure applicability to clinical practice.