Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Identification of a Novel Circulating Recombinant Form (CRF33_01B) Disseminating Widely Among Various Risk Populations in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Summary:A molecular epidemiological investigation was conducted among various risk populations (n = 184) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 2003 to 2005, on the basis of nucleotide sequences of protease and reverse transcriptase regions. In addition to circulating HIV-1 strains, including CRF01_AE (57.1%), subtype B (20.1%), and subtype C (0.5%), we detected a candidate with a new circulating recombinant form (CRF). We determined four near-full-length nucleotide sequences with identical subtype structure from epidemiologically unlinked individuals of different risk and ethnic groups. In this chimera, two short subtype B segments were inserted into the gag-RT region in a backbone of CRF01_AE. The recombinant structure was distinct from previously identified CRF15_01B in Thailand. In agreement with the current HIV nomenclature system, this constitutes a novel CRF (CRF33_01B). The overall prevalence of CRF33_01B is 19.0% (35/184). Although the prevalence of CRF33_01B is particularly high among injecting drug users (42.0%, 21/50), it is also detected in a substantial proportion of homo-/bisexual males (18.8%, 3/16) and heterosexuals (9.8%, 9/92). Moreover, unique recombinant forms composed of CRF01_AE and subtype B that have a significant structural relationship with CRF33_01B were detected in 1.6% (3/184) of study subjects, suggesting an ongoing recombination process in Malaysia. This new CRF seems to be bridging viral transmission between different risk populations in this country.
Preoperative plasma levels of transforming growth factor β1 strongly predict clinical outcome in patients with bladder carcinoma

Elevated local and circulating levels of transforming growth factor (TGF)‐β1 have been associated with cancer invasion, progression, and metastasis. The authors tested the hypothesis that preoperative plasma TGF‐β1 levels would independently predict cancer stage and prognosis in patients with transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) of the urinary bladder.
A temperature-independent PUF with a configurable duty cycle of CMOS ring oscillators

In this work we propose a Ring Oscillator PUF focused on the variability of the duty cycle instead of measuring the output frequency deviations. To achieve this goal, we replace the common ring oscillators, whose outputs are clock signals of 50% duty cycle, for ring oscillators with an asymmetric structure. The asymmetry confers the ability to configure the duty cycle of each individual node. Through the measurement of a relative value, such as the duty cycle, the robustness of the PUF is improved. For example, the output shift due to the temperature variation is decreased from 3% to less than 0,5%. Moreover, the potential input challenges are multiplied by the number of stages of each ring oscillator. Hence, with our design, the number of ring oscillators needed to build a robust PUF is decreased thanks to the addition of multiple and uncorrelated variables but with negligible area overhead.
Role of DNA methyltransferase 1 on the altered eNOS expression in human umbilical endothelium from intrauterine growth restricted fetuses

Reduced fetal growth associates with endothelial dysfunction and cardiovascular risk in both young and adult offspring and the nitric oxide (NO) system has been implicated in these effects. Epigenetic processes are likely to underlie such effects, but there is to date no evidence that endothelial dysfunction in early life results from epigenetic processes on key genes in the NO system, such as NOS3 (eNOS) and ARG2 (arginase-2). We determined basal DNA methylation status in NOS3 and ARG2 promoters, and DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1) effect on eNOS and arginase-2 expression using human endothelial cells isolated from umbilical arteries (HUAEC) and veins (HUVEC) from control and intrauterine growth restricted (IUGR) fetuses. Compared with cells from control pregnancies, eNOS protein and mRNA levels were increased in HUAEC, but decreased in HUVEC, from IUGR, while arginase-2 levels were increased in IUGR-HUVEC. The NOS3 promoter showed a decrease in DNA methylation at CpG -352 in IUGR-HUAEC, and an increase in IUGR-HUVEC, when compared with control cells. Methylation in the hypoxia response element of the NOS3 promoter was increased in IUGR-HUAEC and decreased in HUVEC. Methylation in the AGR2 promoter in IUGR-HUVEC was decreased in a putative HRE, and without changes in IUGR-HUAEC. Silencing of DNMT1 expression normalized eNOS expression in IUGR endothelial cells, and restored the normal response to hypoxia in HUVEC, without effects on arginase-2. This data suggest that eNOS expression in IUGR-derived endothelial cells is programmed by altered DNA methylation, and can be reversed by transient silencing of the DNA methylation machinery.
Geographic Information Systems and Spatial Analysis of Adult Ixodes scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae) in the Middle Atlantic Region of the U.S.A.

Abstract In the Middle Atlantic region of the U.S.A. , the vector of Lyme disease, human granulocytic ehrlichiosis, babesiosis, and other human and veterinary pathogens is the black-legged tick, Ixodes scapularis Say. In 1997 and 1998, 663 adult I. scapularis ticks were collected from 320 transects spanning 66,400 km2 in five states of the Middle Atlantic region. Tick abundance patterns were clustered, with relatively high numbers along the coastal plain of the Chesapeake Bay, decreasing to the west and south. There were significant associations between tick abundance and land cover, distance to water, distance to forest edge, elevation, and soil type.
Investigation on Some Parameters Affecting Optical Degradation of LED Packages During High-Temperature Aging

The mechanism of optical degradation for the light emitting diode (LED) packages in the light bars under the high-temperature aging condition, one of the accelerated life tests, is studied experimentally and numerically. Some parameters, including junction temperature, encapsulant materials, delamination, leadframe surface degradation, and encapsulation, are closely investigated. It is found that the encapsulants (with or without phosphors) and interface delamination have no effect on the optical degradation during the high-temperature aging. On the contrary, junction temperature, leadframe surface degradation, and encapsulation play important roles on this degradation. Optical degradation of the LED packages is found to be mainly caused by silver chloride, which is generated on the leadframe surfaces with an exposure of silver finish in light and heating conditions after interface delamination happening during the high-temperature aging. The high junction temperature could speed up the generation of silver chloride. Moreover, the blue LED package with an encapsulant (silicone) surprisingly give a lower lumen maintenance than one without encapsulant during the high-temperature aging, because of more light absorption on the darkening leadframe surface by total light reflection from silicone encapsulant. Some important parameters affecting the thermal reliability of the LED packages have been identified and the corresponding optical degradation mechanism has been clarified.
INFLUENCE OF SKF‐525A CONGENERS, STROPHANTHIDIN AND TISSUE‐CULTURE MEDIA ON DESENSITIZATION IN FROG SKELETAL MUSCLE

1 Microelectrodes have been used to follow changes in membrane potential at end‐plate regions of frog skeletal muscle fibres exposed to carbachol; the depolarizing drug was applied to narrow strips of muscle in a rapidly flowing solution containing relatively impermeant anions rather than chloride. 2 During prolonged applications of carbachol (10 to 20 μm), the depolarization caused by the drug showed a gradual decline which was attributed to desensitization. 3 Desensitization was little if at all affected by supplementing the external solution with factors present in tissue‐culture media, or by treating the muscle with strophanthidin (25 μm). 4 The rate of repolarization in the presence of carbachol (10 to 20 μm) was greatly increased by the SKF‐525A congeners pipenzolate bromide (10 μm) and adiphenine hydrochloride (1 μm). The desensitization‐enhancing action of these compounds is discussed.
Annexin 1 Cleavage in Activated Neutrophils

Annexin 1 is an anti-inflammatory protein that plays a key role in innate immunity by modulating the activation of several types of cells, including neutrophils. Here we have developed a cleavage assay using tagged annexin 1 and observed marked activity in the membrane fraction of activated neutrophils. A combination of inhibitors, transfected cells, and proteomic analyses allowed us to identify proteinase 3 as the main enzyme responsible for this cleavage in the N terminus region of the protein, at least in the context of neutrophil activation. Because annexin 1 is an important endogenous anti-inflammatory mediator, blocking its cleavage by proteinase 3 would augment its homeostatic pro-resolving actions and could represent an opportunity for innovative anti-inflammatory drug discovery.
Attention to pain localization and unpleasantness discriminates the functions of the medial and lateral pain systems

Functional imaging studies have identified a matrix of structures in the brain that respond to noxious stimuli. Within this matrix, a division of function between sensory‐discriminative and affective responses has so far been demonstrated by manipulating either pain intensity or unpleasantness under hypnosis in two different normal volunteer groups studied on separate occasions. Our study used positron emission tomography (PET) to demonstrate this division of function under more natural conditions in a healthy group of volunteers, using a CO2 laser to provide nociceptive stimuli that selectively activate A‐delta and C‐fibres without contamination by touch sensations. We measured the differential cerebral responses to noxious and innocuous laser stimuli during conditions of selective attention to either the unpleasantness or location of the stimuli. Attention to location increased responses in the contralateral (right) primary somatosensory and inferior parietal cortices. This result implies that these components of the lateral pain system are concerned mainly with the localization of pain. In contrast, attention to unpleasantness increased responses in bilateral perigenual cingulate and orbitofrontal cortices, contralateral (right) amygdala, ipsilateral (left) hypothalamus, posterior insula, M1 and frontal pole. These areas comprise key components of the medial pain and neuroendocrine systems and the results suggest that they have a role in the affective response to pain. Our results indicate the importance of attentional effects on the pattern of nociceptive processing in the brain. They also provide the first clear demonstration, within a single experiment, of a major division of function within the neural pain matrix.
Simulation Based Medical Education: an opportunity to learn from errors

Medical professionals and educators recognize that Simulation Based Medical Education (SBME) can contribute considerably to improving medical care by boosting medical professionals’ performance and enhancing patient safety. A central characteristic of SBME is its unique approach to making (and learning from) mistakes, which is regarded as a powerful educational experience and as an opportunity for professional improvement. The basic assumption underlying SBME is that increased practice in learning from mistakes and in error management in a simulated environment will reduce occurrences of errors in real life and will provide professionals with the correct attitude and skills to cope competently with those mistakes that could not be prevented. The main message of the present paper is that this assumption, which serves as the driving force of SBME, should also serve as a starting point for critical thinking and questioning regarding the multiple aspects and components of SBME. These questions, in turn, should lead to empirical research that will provide feedback concerning changes that may be necessary in order to attain the goal of improving medical professionals’ performance. Based on such research, SBME will be held accountable for its outcomes, i.e. whether its educational techniques indeed result in decreased occurrence of errors or not, and whether the ability to cope with the errors that do occur is significantly improved. The first of three issues that were addressed concerns individuals’ experience of performing mistakes. It is suggested that in order to benefit fully from the experience of performing mistakes in a simulated context, medical educators should create a balance between the emotional load associated with the experience and the professional lessons that can be learned. Furthermore, research should focus on the long-term effects of the experience in changing professionals’ attitudes and behaviour. The second question concerned the contribution of the different components of the educational experience to creating the desired changes in professionals’ performance. Analysis of the teaching and learning involved in each stage of the educational event should serve as the basis for research that aims at identifying the unique contribution and efficiency of each element, and defining the essential core activities of a simulated experience. Finally, the need to define a newly emerging profession—SBME educator—was addressed. The professional qualifications are, clearly, multidisciplinary and should be based on the growing experience of medical educators in training students and professionals. Defining the profession is essential in order to create academic environments in which professionals will be trained to develop and implement new programmes, accompanied by research and assessment.
Inducible Prostaglandin E2 Synthesis Interacts in a Temporally Supplementary Sequence with Constitutive Prostaglandin-Synthesizing Enzymes in Creating the Hypothalamic–Pituitary–Adrenal Axis Response to Immune Challenge

Inflammation-induced activation of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis has been suggested to depend on prostaglandins, but the prostaglandin species and the prostaglandin-synthesizing enzymes that are responsible have not been fully identified. Here, we examined HPA axis activation in mice after genetic deletion or pharmacological inhibition of prostaglandin E2-synthesizing enzymes, including cyclooxygenase-1 (Cox-1), Cox-2, and microsomal prostaglandin E synthase-1 (mPGES-1). After immune challenge by intraperitoneal injection of lipopolysaccharide, the rapid stress hormone responses were intact after Cox-2 inhibition and unaffected by mPGES-1 deletion, whereas unselective Cox inhibition blunted these responses, implying the involvement of Cox-1. However, mPGES-1-deficient mice showed attenuated transcriptional activation of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) that was followed by attenuated plasma concentrations of adrenocorticotropic hormone and corticosterone. Cox-2 inhibition similarly blunted the delayed corticosterone response and further attenuated corticosterone release in mPGES-1 knock-out mice. The expression of the c-fos gene, an index of synaptic activation, was maintained in the paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus and its brainstem afferents both after unselective and Cox-2 selective inhibition as well as in Cox-1, Cox-2, and mPGES-1 knock-out mice. These findings point to a mechanism by which (1) neuronal afferent signaling via brainstem autonomic relay nuclei and downstream Cox-1-dependent prostaglandin release and (2) humoral, CRH transcription-dependent signaling through induced Cox-2 and mPGES-1 elicited PGE2 synthesis, shown to occur in brain vascular cells, play distinct, but temporally supplementary roles for the stress hormone response to inflammation.
ARCMA: attack-resilient collaborative message authentication in wireless sensor networks

Data Centric Storage (DCS) is a well-known data storage and query processing mechanism for Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs), storing sensed data or their metadata at pre-specified locations. Queries issued by mobile users are sent to, and processed at, such storage nodes. However, securing DCS is very difficult because WSNs usually operate in an unattended environment and hence are subject to node-capture attacks. Even after capturing a single node, an attacker may be able to subvert the entire system by using the keying material extracted from the captured node. To remedy/alleviate the above problem, we propose Attack-Resilient Collaborative Message Authentication (ARCMA), in which sensor nodes collaboratively authenticate messages to be sent to, or received from, remote nodes. In ARCMA, each node belongs to one of k groups, and constructs an Authentication Tree (AT) which is formed with k nodes, each from a distinct group. Each node collaborates with the other nodes in its AT to authenticate messages. We propose two heuristics, called MIN and OPT, to construct ATs. Our analysis shows that the security of ARCMA does not degrade until the attacker capture k or more nodes. We also evaluate the overhead of constructing ATs and the cost of authenticating messages using ATs.
Attenuated carotid body hypoxic sensitivity after prolonged hypoxic exposure.

Prolonged exposure to hypoxia is accompanied by decreased hypoxic ventilatory response (HVR), but the relative importance of peripheral and central mechanisms of this hypoxic desensitization remain unclear. To determine whether the hypoxic sensitivity of peripheral chemoreceptors decreases during chronic hypoxia, we measured ventilatory and carotid sinus nerve (CSN) responses to isocapnic hypoxia in five cats exposed to simulated altitude of 5,500 m (barometric pressure 375 Torr) for 3-4 wk. Exposure to 3-4 wk of hypobaric hypoxia produced a decrease in HVR, measured as the shape parameter A in cats both awake (from 53.9 +/- 10.1 to 14.8 +/- 1.8; P less than 0.05) and anesthetized (from 50.2 +/- 8.2 to 8.5 +/- 1.8; P less than 0.05). Sustained hypoxic exposure decreased end-tidal CO2 tension (PETCO2, 33.3 +/- 1.2 to 28.1 +/- 1.3 Torr) during room-air breathing in awake cats. To determine whether hypocapnia contributed to the observed depression in HVR, we also measured eucapnic HVR (PETCO2 33.3 +/- 0.9 Torr) and found that HVR after hypoxic exposure remained lower than preexposed value (A = 17.4 +/- 4.2 vs. 53.9 +/- 10.1 in awake cats; P less than 0.05). A control group (n = 5) was selected for hypoxic ventilatory response matched to the baseline measurements of the experimental group. The decreased HVR after hypoxic exposure was associated with a parallel decrease in the carotid body response to hypoxia (A = 20.6 +/- 4.8) compared with that of control cats (A = 46.9 +/- 6.3; P less than 0.05). (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
CT reconstruction based on improved total variation minimization

Reconstruction algorithm based on total variation (TV) minimization has become a hot topic in CT field. In order to make a better balance between suppressing noise and preserving edge, an improved variation is proposed in this paper. An anisotropic strategy is developed to effectively preserve the edges of imaging objects. Simultaneously, the unity weight in the original variation is substituted by an amplitude dependent weight to suppress the smaller variations, which arise from noise effect with a higher possibility. Numerical simulations validated that the CT reconstruction based on the improved variation has a better reconstruction performance as compared to its original counterpart.
Evaluation of the Approach to Respirable Quartz Exposure Control in U.S. Coal Mines

Occupational exposure to high levels of respirable quartz can result in respiratory and other diseases in humans. The Mine Safety and Health Adminstration (MSHA) regulates exposure to respirable quartz in coal mines indirectly through reductions in the respirable coal mine dust exposure limit based on the content of quartz in the airborne respirable dust. This reduction is implemented when the quartz content of airborne respirable dust exceeds 5% by weight. The intent of this dust standard reduction is to restrict miners’ exposure to respirable quartz to a time-weighted average concentration of 100 μg/m3. The effectiveness of this indirect approach to control quartz exposure was evaluated by analyzing respirable dust samples collected by MSHA inspectors from 1995 through 2008. The performance of the current regulatory approach was found to be lacking due to the use of a variable property—quartz content in airborne dust—to establish a standard for subsequent exposures. In one situation, 11.7% (4370/37,346) of samples that were below the applicable respirable coal mine dust exposure limit exceeded 100 μg/m3 quartz. In a second situation, 4.4% (895/20,560) of samples with 5% or less quartz content in the airborne respirable dust exceeded 100 μg/m3 quartz. In these two situations, the samples exceeding 100 μg/m3 quartz were not subject to any potential compliance action. Therefore, the current respirable quartz exposure control approach does not reliably maintain miner exposure below 100 μg/m3 quartz. A separate and specific respirable quartz exposure standard may improve control of coal miners’ occupational exposure to respirable quartz.
Serum parathyroid hormone as a predictor of increase in systolic blood pressure in men

Background In cross-sectional studies there appears to be a link between calcium metabolism and blood pressure, and most studies have found a positive association between serum parathyroid hormone (PTH) and hypertension. Objective To determine the prognostic value of serum PTH regarding a future increase in blood pressure. Design A prospective cohort study. Subjects A total of 1784 individuals who had measurements of PTH in serum samples from both the fourth (1994) and fifth (2001) Tromsø studies, who did not use blood pressure medication during the observation period, and had serum calcium less than 2.61 mmol/l, were included. Main outcome measure Delta blood pressure (blood pressure from 2001 minus blood pressure from 1994). Results The mean delta systolic blood pressure in the men and women during these 7 years was 5.8 and 8.1 mmHg, respectively. In a sex-specific linear regression model correcting for age, body mass index (BMI), and smoking status, serum PTH from 1994 was a significant predictor of delta systolic blood pressure in men (P < 0.01), but not in women. The difference in delta systolic blood pressure between those in the highest and those in the lowest PTH quartile was 3.5 mmHg. Similarly, delta serum PTH (serum PTH from 2001 minus serum PTH from 1994) was a significant predictor of delta systolic blood pressure in men (P < 0.05). Conclusions Although these findings do not prove a causal relationship between PTH and blood pressure, it adds to the growing number of indications that PTH is involved in the development of hypertension.
Semi-Supervised Community Structure Detection in Social Networks Based on Matrix De-noising

Constrained clustering has been well-studied in the unsupervised learning society. However, how to encode constraints into community detection process of the complex social networks remains a challenging problem. In this paper, we propose a semi-supervised learning framework for community structure detection. This framework implicitly encodes the must-link and cannot-link constraints by modifying the adjacency matrix of the network, which can also be regarded as the de-noising process of the consensus matrix of the community structures. Our proposed method gives consideration to both the topology and the functions (background information) of the complex network, which improves the interpretability of the results. The comparisons performed on both the synthetic benchmarks and the real-world networks show that the proposed framework can significantly improve the detection performance with few constraints, which makes it an attractive methodology in the analysis of complex social networks.