Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sex after ART: sexual partnerships established by HIV-infected persons taking anti-retroviral therapy in Eastern Uganda

This paper explores the social contexts that influence the formation and nature of sexual partnerships among people on anti-retroviral therapy (ART). We draw on the findings of a qualitative, longitudinal study of 70 people (36 women and 34 men) who have been participating in a home-based ART programme for over three years in Eastern Uganda. Since initiating ART, 32 (18 men and 14 women) participants reported having had a new partner. Five participants (4 men and 1 woman) renewed relationships with spouses with whom they had been prior to starting ART. Overall, 37 of the 70 participants had had a sexual partner after starting ART. Companionship, material support, social and cultural norms, as well as a desire for sex and children, are drivers of new relationships. The opportunity that ART brings for people to get on with their lives brings with it a reinstatement into a social world that places a value on marriage and child-bearing. The sexual rights of those living with HIV and on ART need to be taken seriously and safer sex facilitated.
Mortality over a period of 10 years in patients with peripheral arterial disease.

BACKGROUND Previous investigators have observed a doubling of the mortality rate among patients with intermittent claudication, and we have reported a fourfold increase in the overall mortality rate among subjects with large-vessel peripheral arterial disease, as diagnosed by noninvasive testing. In this study, we investigated the association of large-vessel peripheral arterial disease with rates of mortality from all cardiovascular diseases and from coronary heart disease. METHODS We examined 565 men and women (average age, 66 years) for the presence of large-vessel peripheral arterial disease by means of two noninvasive techniques--measurement of segmental blood pressure and determination of flow velocity by Doppler ultrasound. We identified 67 subjects with the disease (11.9 percent), whom we followed prospectively for 10 years. RESULTS Twenty-one of the 34 men (61.8 percent) and 11 of the 33 women (33.3 percent) with large-vessel peripheral arterial disease died during follow-up, as compared with 31 of the 183 men (16.9 percent) and 26 of the 225 women (11.6 percent) without evidence of peripheral arterial disease. After multivariate adjustment for age, sex, and other risk factors for cardiovascular disease, the relative risk of dying among subjects with large-vessel peripheral arterial disease as compared with those with no evidence of such disease was 3.1 (95 percent confidence interval, 1.9 to 4.9) for deaths from all causes, 5.9 (95 percent confidence interval, 3.0 to 11.4) for all deaths from cardiovascular disease, and 6.6 (95 percent confidence interval, 2.9 to 14.9) for deaths from coronary heart disease. The relative risk of death from causes other than cardiovascular disease was not significantly increased among the subjects with large-vessel peripheral arterial disease. After the exclusion of subjects who had a history of cardiovascular disease at base line, the relative risks among those with large-vessel peripheral arterial disease remained significantly elevated. Additional analyses revealed a 15-fold increase in rates of mortality due to cardiovascular disease and coronary heart disease among subjects with large-vessel peripheral arterial disease that was both severe and symptomatic. CONCLUSIONS Patients with large-vessel peripheral arterial disease have a high risk of death from cardiovascular causes.
Safety and efficacy of high‐purity concentrates in haemophiliac patients undergoing surgery by continuous infusion

In this study we explore the feasibility of high‐purity double‐inactivated concentrates by continuous infusion for the treatment of haemophiliacs in a group of patients undergoing different surgical procedures. The patients were enrolled in the study on the basis of their transfusion history, which was well known due to their long‐term follow up at our Haemophilia Center. We did not perform a pre‐operative pharmacokinetic study because one of the aims of this study was to demonstrate that continuous infusion can become a first choice standard treatment in patients with haemophilia. Fourteen haemophilia A and one haemophilia B patients who needed at least 5 days of replacement therapy were monitored for haemostatic efficacy, post‐operative factor VIII and factor IX levels and evaluated for safety and flexibility of the products.
Ultrasensitive fluorescence-based detection of nascent proteins in gels.

The most common method of analysis of proteins synthesized in a cell-free translation system (e.g., nascent proteins) involves the use of radioactive amino acids such as [(35)S]methionine or [(14)C]leucine. We report a sensitive, nonisotopic, fluorescence-based method for the detection of nascent proteins directly in polyacrylamide gels. A fluorescent reporter group is incorporated at the N-terminus of nascent proteins using an Escherichia coli initiator tRNA(fmet) misaminoacylated with methionine modified at the alpha-amino group. In addition to the normal formyl group, we find that the protein translational machinery accepts BODIPY-FL, a relatively small fluorophore with a high fluorescent quantum yield, as an N-terminal modification. Under the optimal conditions, fluorescent bands from nanogram levels of in vitro-produced proteins could be detected directly in gels using a conventional UV-transilluminator. Higher sensitivity ( approximately 100-fold) could be obtained using a laser-based fluorescent gel scanner. The major advantages of this approach include elimination of radioactivity and the rapid detection of the protein bands immediately after electrophoresis without any downstream processing. The ability to rapidly synthesize nascent proteins containing an N-terminal tag facilitates many biotechnological applications including functional analysis of gene products, drug discovery, and mutation screening.
NF-κB p50 and p52 Regulate Receptor Activator of NF-κB Ligand (RANKL) and Tumor Necrosis Factor-induced Osteoclast Precursor Differentiation by Activating c-Fos and NFATc1*

Postmenopausal osteoporosis and rheumatoid joint destruction result from increased osteoclast formation and bone resorption induced by receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF). Osteoclast formation induced by these cytokines requires NF-κB p50 and p52, c-Fos, and NFATc1 expression in osteoclast precursors. c-Fos induces NFATc1, but the relationship between NF-κB and these other transcription factors in osteoclastogenesis remains poorly understood. We report that RANKL and TNF can induce osteoclast formation directly from NF-κB p50/p52 double knockout (dKO) osteoclast precursors when either c-Fos or NFATc1 is expressed. RANKL- or TNF-induced c-Fos up-regulation and activation are abolished in dKO cells and in wild-type cells treated with an NF-κB inhibitor. c-Fos expression requires concomitant RANKL or TNF treatment to induce NFATc1 activation in the dKO cells. Furthermore, c-Fos expression increases the number and resorptive capacity of wild-type osteoclasts induced by TNF in vitro. We conclude that NF-κB controls early osteoclast differentiation from precursors induced directly by RANKL and TNF, leading to activation of c-Fos followed by NFATc1. Inhibition of NF-κB should prevent RANKL- and TNF-induced bone resorption.
The deformation matrix theory of basement membrane: a study of water flow through elastic and rigid filaments in the rat.

1. When the volume of water per unit time which flows through natural elastic basement membrane is divided by the applied pressure, the value‐the hydraulic conductivity‐is not constant but decreases as pressure increases. In contrast when the same membrane is tanned with glutaraldehyde and rendered inelastic, the hydraulic conductivity is constant at all pressures. 2. Over a pressure range of 0‐6.7 kPa equivalent to a membrane stress of 0‐195 kPa in natural elastic membrane the hydraulic conductivity (Lp) can be related by the linear equation Lp = Lp.0 + apP where P is the hydraulic pressure, Lp.0 is the initial hydraulic conductivity and ap is a constant which is the decreased hydraulic conductivity per unit pressure (correlation coefficient 0.764. P less than 0.001). 3. The initial conductivity of the basement membrane of the crystalline lens of the adult rat (lens capsule) was 47.6 +/‐ 7.3 x 10(‐12) m s‐1 Pa‐1 while the decrease in hydraulic conductivity per unit increase in pressure was ‐3.38 x 10(‐15) m s‐1 Pa‐2. 4. Following tanning with glutaraldehyde the hydraulic conductivity was constant at 27.4 +/‐ 4.0 x 10(‐12) m s‐1 Pa‐1. 5. A change in the configuration of the superhelices of the filaments of type IV collagen which form the framework of basement membrane is termed. ‘The deformation matrix theory’ and can satisfactorily account for the changes in hydraulic conductivity of both natural and tanned membrane. 6. In natural membrane the filaments deform easily and the pitch of the filament superhelices is increased by axial stress induced by pressure. The filaments straighten and become compacted together and the hydraulic permeability is thereby decreased. 7. In tanned membrane the filaments become more rigid and axial stress barely deforms them: moreover the pitch of the filament superhelices is decreased so that the filaments become more closely coiled and compacted together. Because of these changes the hydraulic conductivity is reduced as compared with unstressed natural membrane and remains unaltered by increasing pressure.
HSV-1 DNA in tears and saliva of normal adults.

PURPOSE To assess the frequency of shedding of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) DNA in tears and saliva of asymptomatic individuals. METHODS Fifty subjects without signs of ocular herpetic disease participated. Serum samples from all subjects were tested for HSV IgG antibodies by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and for HSV-1 by neutralization assay. HSV-1 DNA copy number and frequency of shedding were determined by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis of tear and saliva samples collected twice daily for 30 consecutive days. RESULTS Thirty-seven (74%) of the 50 subjects were positive for HSV IgG by ELISA. The percentages of positive eye and mouth swabs were approximately equivalent: 33.5% (941/2806) and 37.5% (1020/2723), respectively. However, the percentage of samples with high HSV-1 genome copy numbers was greater in saliva than in tears, which may have been a result of the sample volume collected. Shedding frequency in tears was nearly the same in men (347/1003; 34.6%) and women (594/1705; 34.8%); in saliva, men had a higher frequency of shedding (457/1009; 45.3% vs. 563/1703; 33.1%, men versus women). Overall, 49 (98%) of 50 subjects shed HSV-1 DNA at least once during the course of the 30-day study. CONCLUSIONS The percentage of asymptomatic subjects who intermittently shed HSV-1 DNA in tears or saliva was higher than the percentage of subjects with positive ELISA or neutralization antibodies to HSV. Because most HSV transmission occurs during asymptomatic shedding, further knowledge of the prevalence of HSV-1 DNA in tears and saliva is warranted to control its spread. Shedding is simple to study, and its suppression may be an efficient way to evaluate new antivirals in humans.
Comités de Solidaridad en Mexico. Surgimiento y evolución de la estructura organizativa promovida a partir del Pronasol

micos y notas de prensa que evaluaban o hacian referencia a la dimension de la pobreza en nuestros paises. Tambien los gobiernos y los organismos internacionales prestaron mas atencion al problema; se analizaron las politicas sociales impulsadas hasta entonces y se buscaron otras, funcionales al marco de los programas de ajuste. En este contexto, y promovidos por el Banco Mundial, surgieron los llamados programas de urgencia social. Sustentados en criterios de "eficiencia tecnica", buscaban lo que llamaron "compensacion social", focalizando "poblaciones objetivo" (los grupos mas pobres), con la idea de proporcionarles una "red de proteccion" mediante paliativos de ingreso, alimentacion o empleo por el tiempo que durara el ajuste economico. Ademas de que tenian una temporalidad definida (por lo general, cuatro anos), utilizaban estructuras extraestatales para su aplicacion (organizaciones no gubernamentales) y eran financiados con recursos predominantemente externos.1
Adaptive modified Prandtl-Ishlinskii model for compensation of hysteretic nonlinearities in magnetic shape memory actuators

In this paper we develop an adaptive version of the so-called modified Prandtl-Ishlinskii model of hysteresis. This model is able to capture various shapes of hysteresis and, moreover, it admits an explicit mathematical formulation for the inverse model. The Lyapunov-based adaptation is then used to compensate the hysteretic nonlinearities of an unconventional actuator based on magnetic shape memory alloys.
Modeling latency code processing in the electric sense: from the biological template to its VLSI implementation

Understanding the coding of sensory information under the temporal constraints of natural behavior is not yet well resolved. There is a growing consensus that spike timing or latency coding can maximally exploit the timing of neural events to make fast computing elements and that such mechanisms are essential to information processing functions in the brain. The electric sense of mormyrid fish provides a convenient biological model where this coding scheme can be studied. The sensory input is a physically ordered spatial pattern of current densities, which is coded in the precise timing of primary afferent spikes. The neural circuits of the processing pathway are well known and the system exhibits the best known illustration of corollary discharge, which provides the reference to decoding the sensory afferent latency pattern. A theoretical model has been constructed from available electrophysiological and neuroanatomical data to integrate the principal traits of the neural processing structure and to study sensory interaction with motor-command-driven corollary discharge signals. This has been used to explore neural coding strategies at successive stages in the network and to examine the simulated network capacity to reproduce output neuron responses. The model shows that the network has the ability to resolve primary afferent spike timing differences in the sub-millisecond range, and that this depends on the coincidence of sensory and corollary discharge-driven gating signals. In the integrative and output stages of the network, corollary discharge sets up a proactive background filter, providing temporally structured excitation and inhibition within the network whose balance is then modulated locally by sensory input. This complements the initial gating mechanism and contributes to amplification of the input pattern of latencies, conferring network hyperacuity. These mechanisms give the system a robust capacity to extract behaviorally meaningful features of the electric image with high sensitivity over a broad working range. Since the network largely depends on spike timing, we finally discuss its suitability for implementation in robotic applications based on neuromorphic hardware.
‘Is it the crime of the century?’: factors for psychiatrists and service users that influence the long-term prescription of hypnosedatives

Given the longstanding controversy about hypnosedative use, we aimed to investigate the attitudes of prescribing psychiatrists and service users towards long-term use of hypnosedative medication, and their perceptions of barriers to evidence-based nonmedication alternatives. Qualitative data from focus groups in Aotearoa/NZ were analysed thematically. A novel research design involved a service user researcher contributing throughout the research design and process. Service users and psychiatrists met to discuss each other’s views, initially separately, and subsequently together. Analysis of the data identified four key themes: the challenge, for both parties, of sleep disturbance among service users with mental health problems; the conceptual and ethical conflicts for service users and psychiatrists in managing this challenge; the significant barriers to service users accessing evidence-based nonmedication alternatives; and the initial sense of disempowerment, shared by both service users and psychiatrists, which was transformed during the research process. Our results raise questions about the relevance of the existing guidelines for this group of service users, highlight the resource and time pressures that discourage participants from embarking on withdrawal regimes and education programmes on alternatives, highlight the lack of knowledge about alternatives and reflect the complex interaction between sleep and mental health problems, which poses a significant dilemma for service users and psychiatrists.
Is Hearing Loss Associated with Poorer Health in Older Adults Who Might Benefit from Hearing Screening?

Objectives: Hearing screening programs may benefit adults with unacknowledged or unaddressed hearing loss, but there is limited evidence regarding whether such programs are effective at improving health outcomes. The objective was to determine if poorer audiometric hearing thresholds are associated with poorer cognition, social isolation, burden of physical or mental health, inactivity due to poor physical or mental health, depression, and overnight hospitalizations among older American adults with unacknowledged or unaddressed hearing loss. Design: The authors performed a cross-sectional population-based analysis of older American adults with normal hearing or unacknowledged or unaddressed hearing loss. Data was obtained from the 1999 to 2010 cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Participants with a pure-tone average (PTA in the better hearing ear of thresholds at 0.5, 1, 2, and 4 kHz) > 25 dB HL who self-reported their hearing ability to be “good” or “excellent” were categorized as having “unacknowledged” hearing loss. Those who had a PTA > 25 dB HL and who self-reported hearing problems but had never had a hearing test or worn a hearing aid were categorized as having “unaddressed” hearing loss. Multivariate regression was performed to account for confounding due to demographic and health variables. Results: A 10 dB increase in PTA was associated with a 52% increased odds of social isolation among 60- to 69-year-olds in multivariate analyses (p = 0.001). The average Digit Symbol Substitution Test score dropped by 2.14 points per 10 dB increase in PTA (p = 0.03), a magnitude equivalent to the drop expected for 3.9 years of chronological aging. PTA was not associated significantly with falls, hospitalizations, burden of physical or mental health, or depression, or social isolation among those ages 70 years or older in these samples. Conclusion: Unacknowledged or unaddressed hearing loss was associated with a significantly increased risk of social isolation among 60- to 69-year-olds but not those 70 years or older. It was also associated with lower cognitive scores on the Digit Symbol Substitution Test among 60- to 69-year-olds. This study differs from prior studies by focusing specifically on older adults who have unacknowledged or unaddressed hearing loss because they are the most likely to benefit from pure-tone hearing screening. The finding of associations between hearing loss and measures of social isolation and cognition in these specific samples extends previous findings on unrestricted samples of older adults including those who had already acknowledged hearing problems. Future randomized controlled trials measuring the effectiveness of adult hearing screening programs should measure whether interventions have an effect on these measures in those who have unacknowledged or unaddressed pure-tone hearing loss.
The Potential Influence of Value Added Tax Law Amendments on the Existence of E-Service Providing SMMEs in South Africa

In South Africa, almost all existing businesses are regarded as Small Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs). Through legislation, the South African government has identified SMMEs as the best enablers to help with the achievement of certain core socio-economic objectives; particularly the creation of jobs and reduction of poverty levels. According to previous research studies these business entities are not achieving the latter socio-economic objectives; mainly as a result of their weak existence rate – up to 80% of these business entities fail within their first three years of existence. The latter is believed to stem from the realisation of economic factors – a major economic factor which adversely influences South African SMMEs is that of taxation. Over the years, more South African SMMEs have started to make use of the internet to conduct their respective business, which spurred the national government to make amendments to existing Value Added Tax (VAT) Laws by levying taxation on electronic services (e-services) provided by e-service suppliers. Hence, for this research study, the perception was formulated that the amendments made to VAT Laws will have an adverse influence on the existence of e-service providing South African SMMEs in the foreseeable future. Empirical research was conducted through means of obtaining quantitative data from registered South African Tax Practitioners based in the Cape Metropolis; all of whom had to adhere to strict delineation criterion. It was found that the amendments made to VAT Laws, by national government, will have an adverse influence on the existence of e-service providing South African SMMEs in the foreseeable future.
Identification of localized redox states in plant-type two-iron ferredoxins using the nuclear Overhauser effect.

The homonuclear Overhauser effect (NOE), in conjunction with nonselective spin-lattice relaxation measurements, has been employed to assign the contact-shifted resonances for the reduced form of two typical plant-type two-iron ferredoxins from the algae Spirulina platensis and Porphyra umbilicalis. These results demonstrate that the NOE should have broad general applicability for the assignments and electronic structural elucidation of diverse subclasses of paramagnetic iron-sulfur cluster proteins. NOE connectivities were detected only among sets of resonance exhibiting characteristically different deviations from Curie behavior, providing strong support for the applicability of the spin Hamiltonian formulation for the NMR properties of the antiferromagnetically coupled iron clusters [Dunham, W. R. , Palmer, G. , Sands, R. H. , & Bearden, A. J. (1971) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 253, 373-384; Banci, L. , Bertini, I. , & Luchinat, C. (1989) Struct. Bonding (in press)]. The geminal beta-methylene protons for the two cysteines bound to the iron(II) center were clearly identified, as well as the C alpha H and one C beta H for each of the cysteines bound to the iron(III). The identification of the iron bound to cysteines 41 and 46 as the iron(II) in the reduced protein was effected on the basis of dipolar contacts between the bound cysteines, as predicted by crystal coordinates of S. platensis Fd [Tsukihara, T. , Fukuyama, K. , Nakamura, M. , Katsube, Y. , Tanaka, N. , Kakudo, M. , Wada, K. , Hase, T. , & Matsubara, H. (1981) J. Biochem. (Tokyo) 90, 1763-1773]. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)