Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Wireless communication role in Home Energy Management system (HEMS)

Smart homes and smart grids become today an efficient approach to face the problem of energy shortage. For example Egypt is now facing a huge problem of fuel shortage. The power stations fail to supply power to millions of electricity users. As a result the power station cuts the power on a specific district for a certain time without considering the unfair distribution of power. A Home Energy Management (HEM) system integrates the concept of Smart homes and Smart grids. This of course needs a reliable and efficient communication system that can transfer full data scheme for customer load behavior during the day 24 hours. This work proposes a prototype for a communication system that deals with this problem through implementing a web based communication link between a power manager and the heavy loads of each customer. The channel between customers and the power manager was analyzed by simulation also. A prototype of the system was completely designed, built and tested in the laboratory and the early results confirm the expected performance.
Functional magnetic resonance imaging evidence of augmented pain processing in fibromyalgia.

OBJECTIVE To use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to evaluate the pattern of cerebral activation during the application of painful pressure and determine whether this pattern is augmented in patients with fibromyalgia (FM) compared with controls. METHODS Pressure was applied to the left thumbnail beds of 16 right-handed patients with FM and 16 right-handed matched controls. Each FM patient underwent fMRI while moderately painful pressure was being applied. The functional activation patterns in FM patients were compared with those in controls, who were tested under 2 conditions: the "stimulus pressure control" condition, during which they received an amount of pressure similar to that delivered to patients, and the "subjective pain control" condition, during which the intensity of stimulation was increased to deliver a subjective level of pain similar to that experienced by patients. RESULTS Stimulation with adequate pressure to cause similar pain in both groups resulted in 19 regions of increased regional cerebral blood flow in healthy controls and 12 significant regions in patients. Increased fMRI signal occurred in 7 regions common to both groups, and decreased signal was observed in 1 common region. In contrast, stimulation of controls with the same amount of pressure that caused pain in patients resulted in only 2 regions of increased signal, neither of which coincided with a region of activation in patients. Statistical comparison of the patient and control groups receiving similar stimulus pressures revealed 13 regions of greater activation in the patient group. In contrast, similar stimulus pressures produced only 1 region of greater activation in the control group. CONCLUSION The fact that comparable subjectively painful conditions resulted in activation patterns that were similar in patients and controls, whereas similar pressures resulted in no common regions of activation and greater effects in patients, supports the hypothesis that FM is characterized by cortical or subcortical augmentation of pain processing.
Morphometric Analysis of Infant and Adult Medullary Nuclei Through Optical Disector Method

In the literature, comprehensive and comparative morphometric studies of infant and adult medullary nuclei performed with unbiased methods are still lacking. In this study, the unbiased quantitative method of the optical disector was applied to analyze neuronal densities, nuclear volumes, and total neuron numbers of the hypoglossal nucleus (XII), dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus (DMNV), nucleus tractus solitarii (NTS), medial vestibular nucleus (MedVe), cuneate nucleus (Cu), nucleus of the spinal trigeminal tract, principal inferior olivary nucleus (PION), medial inferior olivary nucleus (MION), and dorsal inferior olivary nucleus (DION) in adults (16 male, six female; mean age: 37 years) and infants (five male, five female; mean age: 5 months). In both infants and adults, higher neuronal densities were found in the more ventrally located nuclei of the spinal trigeminal tract (mean values (coefficient of variation): 20,947 (0.29) and 8,990 (0.18) neurons/mm3, respectively) and inferior olivary complex (PION: 20,010 (0.15) and 9,076 (0.10); MION: 18,667 (0.20) and 9,989 (0.13); DION: 22,424 (0.17) and 10,986 (0.20), respectively) than in the nuclei of the medullary tegmentum, that is, XII (2,747 (0.39) and 1,026 (0.31)), DMNV (2,876 (0.19) and 1,553 (0.26)), NTS (7,993 (0.17) and 2,877 (0.13)), MedVe (7,010 (0.17) and 2,918 (0.12)), and Cu (2,563 (0.23) and 1,038 (0.16)). All the medullary nuclei showed higher volumes and lower neuronal densities in adults than in infants, without statistically significant differences in total neuron numbers, probably because of postnatal development of the neuropil and microvascularization. Anat Rec, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Cimetidine uptake and interactions with cationic drugs in freshly isolated proximal tubular cells of the rat.

The uptake of cimetidine was investigated in freshly isolated proximal tubular cells of the rat as well as its interaction with other cationic drugs. The time-dependent uptake of 5 microM cimetidine was linear for 2 min and reached equilibrium after 10 min. The uptake was reduced at 4 degrees C or by addition of 5 mM mepiperphenidol. At pH 7.4, only a small percentage (20%) of cimetidine is present in the cationic form, which is thought to be necessary for transport by the organic cation transporter. At a more acidic pH 6.5, this percentage is increased to 67%, but there was no influence on the cellular uptake in comparison with control. The cationic form of cimetidine does not seem to be a prerequisite for the organic cation transporter in these cells. The uptake of cimetidine was concentration-dependent and saturable. The mepiperphenidol-sensitive uptake had a high (H) and low (L) affinity apparent Km,H of 6.7 +/- 1.2 microM and Km,L of 0.61 +/- 0.16 mM, and Vmax,H of 35.8 +/- 2.2 pmol/mg of protein.min and Vmax,L of 4.5 +/- 0.3 nmol/mg of protein.min. The concentration-dependent inhibition of other cationic drugs on 1 microM cimetidine uptake was investigated. The log concentration-inhibition curves of mepiperphenidol, famotidine and trimethoprim showed a high and low affinity IC50 value, with a potency ranking of mepiperphenidol = famotidine > trimethoprim. The other compounds had only a low affinity IC50 value and the inhibitory potency ranking was as follows: ranitidine = nizatidine > tetraethylammonium > probenecid.
A Preliminary Investigation of Abnormal Personality Traits in MS Using the MCMI-III

Neuropsychiatric abnormalities are frequently reported in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Previous studies have investigated the neurotic aspects of psychopathology, and the importance of the personality structure underlying neurotic symptoms has only recently been reconsidered. The aim of our study was to investigate the frequency and type of personality profiles in MS using the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III (MCMI-III). We evaluated 77 nondemented patients with MS using physical disability scales and self-report questionnaires focused on mood, fatigue, and personality. In our cohort study, we found a personality scale score greater than 85 in 62.3% of enrolled participants. In particular, high scores on the Histrionic and Narcissistic scales emerged, respectively, in 20.8% and 15.6% of the sample. The presence of moderate abnormal elevation scores in MCMI personality scales in MS does not seem to be influenced by age, the Expanded Disability Status Scale score, disease course, or disease duration. Our research study focused on the importance of identifying personality maladaptation in patients with MS.
Transfection of beta 2-microglobulin restores IFN-mediated protection from natural killer cell lysis in YAC-1 lymphoma variants.

A beta 2-microglobulin (beta 2m)-deficient variant of YAC-1, A.H-2-, was transfected with a genomic beta 2m clone. Transfected cells were used to investigate the role of beta 2m in IFN-induced protection from NK cell lysis. IFN-gamma treatment of the NK-sensitive murine YAC-1 lymphoma results in reduced sensitivity to NK cell-mediated lysis in parallel with increased expression of its constitutively low MHC class I expression. It was previously shown that the A.H-2- variant had lost both these capacities, although it retained other responses to IFN-gamma. Here beta 2m transfection restored the YAC-1 phenotype with respect to an inducible expression of MHC class I molecules and a concomitant protection from NK cell lysis after treatment with IFN-gamma. In the absence of IFN-gamma the NK sensitivity of the transfectants did not differ significantly from A.H-2-. A similar protection from NK cell lysis, in parallel with enhanced MHC class I expression, was observed for in vivo-passaged beta 2m transfectants whereas no protection was found for in vivo-passaged A.H-2- cells. The present study provides evidence that the IFN-gamma-mediated protection from NK cell lysis is dependent on beta 2m expression in the YAC-1 lymphoma. Restoration of MHC class I assembly, transport, and concomitantly an IFN-gamma augmentable cell surface expression of MHC class I molecules is a possible explanation for the effect of beta 2m.
Population shift in mannose-specific fimbriated phase of Klebsiella pneumoniae during experimental urinary tract infection in mice

The infection rate (percentage of mice shedding 10(5) organisms per ml of urine) in 27 mice infected intravesicularly with a mannose-specific (MS+) phenotype of Klebsiella pneumoniae was 85% at day 7, and all the bacteria shed during the 7 days exhibited strong MS activity as estimated by a yeast aggregation assay. In contrast, the outcome of infection with an MS- phenotype of the same strain in 47 mice was heterogeneous: one group of 25 mice continued to shed the originally injected phenotype (MS-) throughout the investigation period, whereas the second group (22 mice) shed bacteria with various degrees of phenotypic conversion to MS+. In the first group, the rate of infection at day 7 was significantly reduced (28%) compared with that of the second group (68%). Mice infected with a mixture of 5% MS+ bacteria and 95% of an MS- variant which lost its ability to undergo phase variation had an infection rate of 89%, but at day 7 95% of the excreted bacteria were MS+. The infection rate of mice injected with the MS- variant was 14%, and none of the mice shed MS+ bacteria. The incidence of kidney pathology was higher in mice inoculated with the MS+ phenotype (3 of 10) or in the group in which the MS+ overgrew the MS- phenotype (4 of 10) as compared with the group of mice in which no such shift occurred (1 of 11). The kidneys of four mice which excreted mostly MS+ organisms harbored a population predominantly of the MS- phenotype. These results suggest that the MS adhesin confers an advantage in the initial steps of the infectious process in the bladder but not in later stages of infection in the kidney, emphasizing the importance of phase variation in the survival of bacteria at the various stages of the infectious process.
Beta adrenergic modulation of formyl-methionine-leucine-phenylalanine-stimulated secretion of eosinophil peroxidase and leukotriene C4.

The inhibitory effect of beta-2 adrenergic receptor stimulation on leukotriene C4 (LTC4) secretion and eosinophil peroxidase (EPO) release caused by exogenous activation with 10(-8) to 10(-6) M formyl-met-leu-phe (fMLP) + 5 micrograms/ml of cytochalasin B (Cyto B) in purified human peripheral blood eosinophils was studied. Cells from normal subjects were isolated by negative immunoselection and remained > or = 98% viable as determined by trypan blue exclusion. Duplicate aliquots of eosinophils (10(5) cells/intervention) were activated with 1) fMLP + Cyto B alone, 2) fMLP + Cyto B after pretreatment with 10(-8) M albuterol, 3) 10(-8) M albuterol + fMLP + Cyto B after pretreatment with 10(-8) M propranolol or 4) vehicle control. After incubation, the supernatants were tested for concentration of LTC4 and EPO. Concentration-related release of EPO was demonstrated for 10(-8) M fMLP + 5 micrograms/ml of Cyto B to 10(-6) M fMLP + 5 micrograms/ml of Cyto B, and the greatest concentration of fMLP was used in all subsequent studies. FMLP + Cyto B caused substantial LTC4 secretion in eosinophils (300 +/- 83.0 pg/ml) as compared to sham-activated eosinophils (3.3 +/- 1.9 pg/ml; P < .02). Similarly, maximum EPO release increased from 277 +/- 17.8 to 3956 +/- 1230 ng/10(6) cells (P < .02) after activation with fMLP + Cyto B. Treatment with albuterol decreased markedly both LTC4 secretion to 144 +/- 54.0 pg/ml (P < .05 vs. fMLP + Cyto B-activated eosinophils) and EPO release to 1993 +/- 368 ng/10(6) cells (P < .05 vs. fMLP + Cyto B-activated eosinophils). (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Political and Governance Challenges to Achieving Global HIV Goals with Injecting Drug Users: The Case of Pakistan

Background: The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) has recently set the ambitious "90-90-90 target" of having 90% of people living with HIV (PLHIV) know their status, receive antiretroviral therapy (ART), and achieve viral suppression by 2020. This ambitious new goal is occurring in a context of global "scale-down" following nearly a decade of heightened investment in HIV prevention and treatment efforts. Arguably international goals spur action, however, setting unrealistic goals that do not take weak health systems and variations in the nature of the epidemic across countries into consideration may set them up for failure in unproductive ways that lead to a decline in confidence in global governance institutions. This study explores how policy actors tasked with implementing HIV programs navigate the competing demands placed upon them by development targets and national politics, particularly in the current context of waning international investments towards HIV. Methods: To examine these questions, we interviewed 29 key informants comprising health experts in donor organizations and government employees in HIV programs in Pakistan, a country where HIV programs must compete with other issues for attention. Themes were identified inductively through an iterative process and findings were triangulated with various data sources and existing literature. Results: We found both political and governance challenges to achieving the target, particularly in the context of the global HIV scale-down. Political challenges included, low and heterogeneous political commitment for HIV and a conservative legal environment that contributed towards a ban on opiate substitution therapy, creating low treatment coverage. Governance challenges includedstrained state and non-governmental organization (NGO) relations creating a hostile service delivery environment, weak bureaucratic and civil society capacity contributing to poor regulation of the health infrastructure, and resource mismanagement on both the part of the government and NGOs. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that in a context of waning international attention to HIV, policy actors on the ground face a number of practical hurdles to achieving the ambitious targets set out by international agencies. Greater attention to the political and governance challenges of implementing HIV programs in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) could help technical assistance agencies to develop more realistic implementation plans.
On the number of memories that can be perfectly stored in a neural net with Hebb weights

Let (w/sub ij/) be the weights of the connections of a neural network with n nodes, calculated from m data vectors v/sup 1/, . , v/sup m/ in (1,-1)/sup n/, according to the Hebb rule. The author proves that if m is not too large relative to n and the v/sup k/ are random, then the w/sub ij/ constitute, with high probability, a perfect representation of the v/sup k/ in the sense that the v/sup k/ are completely determined by the w/sub ij/ up to their sign. The conditions under which this is established turn out to be less restrictive than those under which it has been shown that the v/sup k/ can actually be recovered by letting the network evolve until equilibrium is attained. In the specific case where the entries of the v/sup k/ are independent and equal to 1 or -1 with probability 1/2, the condition on m is that m should not exceed n/0.7 log n. >
Las directivas europeas contra la discriminación racial y la creación de organismos especializados para promover la igualdad: análisis comparativo de su transposición en España y en Francia

espanolLas directivas europeas adoptadas en base al articulo 13 TCE del ano 2000, han obligado a todos los Estados miembros a desarrollar ciertas nociones sobre el tipo de discriminaciones que se prohiben, a crear organismos especializados en promover la igualdad y tambien a desarrollar nuevas garantias e instrumentos de proteccion de los derechos definidos. Se constata que las opciones de transposicion han sido diferentes en Espana y en Francia. Aparentemente Espana ha procedido a una correcta transposicion, aunque de perfil bajo, de las directivas europeas, con excepcion de la puesta en funcionamiento del organismo especializado, pero el instrumento juridico de transposicion es criticable por su falta de visibilidad y por no haber suscitado el menor debate ni compromiso politico durante todos estos anos. En cambio en Francia se ha puesto en funcionamiento un organismo especializado, la HALDE, ambicioso, independiente y eficaz para luchar contra las discriminaciones y dotado de funciones transversales y de verdaderos medios para prevenir y sancionar los comportamientos prohibidos, pero en cambio su ordenamiento adolece de lagunas en relacion a las nociones de discriminacion indirecta, acoso y en relacion al nuevo sistema de reparto de la carga de la prueba. EnglishThe European Directives, which were approved on the base of article 13 EC Treaty of year 2000, have forced all the Member States to develop some notions bout the kind of forbidden discrimination, to create bodies focus on promotion of the equality, and also to evolve new guaranties and instruments of protection of the defined rights. The paper reveals that the Spanish options of transposition of the Directives were different from the French ones. Seemingly, Spain has made a correct transposition of the European Directives, but it has not put into operation the specialized body yet. Anyhow, the juridical instrument of transposition has got a low profile, and it is open to criticism because of its lack of visibility and because it has not motivated any debate nor any political compromise during this years. On the other hand, France has started a specialized body "HALDE" that is ambitious, independent and effective to fight against the discriminations. HALDE is endowed with transversal functions and real instruments to prevent and punish the forbidden behaviors; but its normative suffers from lacks regarding the concepts of indirect discrimination, pursuit and in reference to the new system of the responsible of providing evidence.
Beyond the Writing Crisis

This paper explores and analyzes what has been recently termed a “writing crisis” among this country's youth. The author rejects the notion that the writing crisis is merely a pedagogical problem in need of simple and recycled solutions such as the back-to-basics proposal. Instead, the writing crisis is viewed as part of a much larger social crisis in thinking itself. The paper points out that while a new pedagogy of writing, one that links writing to learning and critical thinking, will not solve the larger crisis in literacy, the development of such a pedagogy will be useful in helping students to understand and to take action against the social and economic basis for the new illiteracy. Consequently, the main thrust of the paper centers around examining some of the major traditional assumptions that have shaped the pedagogy of writing. In addition, the paper redefines the nature of writing instruction and provides a theoretical foundation for using writing in the classroom as a learning tool to promote critical thinking and social awareness among students.
Active Surveillance With Selective Radical Treatment for Localized Prostate Cancer

The challenge of managing localized prostate cancer is to distinguish patients with clinically relevant cancers, who may benefit from radical treatment, from the remainder who do not need any intervention. Active surveillance with selective radial intervention is a management strategy that offers patients the hope of avoiding “unnecessary” treatment without detriment to their long-term survival. Here we discuss the rationale for active surveillance, and the early results. There is no consensus on the optimum active surveillance protocol, with uncertainty regarding the interpretation of PSA kinetics, repeat biopsy results and prostate imaging. In the future, it is likely that molecular markers will revolutionize our ability to select patients who will benefit from definitive treatment. In the meantime, active surveillance provides an attractive way of reducing over treatment.
The Superantigen Gene ypm Is Located in an Unstable Chromosomal Locus of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis

ABSTRACT Yersinia pseudotuberculosis produces YPM (Y. pseudotuberculosis-derived mitogen), a superantigenic toxin that exacerbates the virulence of the bacterium in vivo. To date, three alleles of the superantigen gene (ypmA, ypmB, and ypmC) have been described. These genes are not found in all Y. pseudotuberculosis strains and have a low GC content, suggesting their location on mobile genetic elements. To elucidate this question, the genetic environment of the superantigen-encoding genes was characterized and 11 open reading frames (ORFs) were defined. Sequence analysis revealed that the ypm genes were not associated with plasmids, phages, transposons, or pathogenicity islands and that the superantigen genes were always located in the chromosome between ORF3 and ORF4. Nonsuperantigenic strains exhibited the same genetic organization of the locus but lacked the ypm gene between ORF3 and ORF4. A new insertion sequence, designated IS1398, which displays features of the Tn3 family, was characterized downstream of the ypmA and ypmC genes. A 13.3-kb region containing the ypm genes was not found in the genome of Y. pestis (CO92 and KIM 5 strains). We experimentally induced deletion of the ypm gene from a superantigen-expressing Y. pseudotuberculosis: using the association of aph(3′)-IIIa and sacB genes, we demonstrated that when these reporter genes were present in the ypm locus, deletion of these genes was about 250 times more frequent than when they were located in another region of the Y. pseudotuberculosis chromosome. These results indicate that unlike other superantigenic toxin genes, the Yersinia ypm genes are not associated with mobile genetic elements but are inserted in an unstable locus of the genome.