Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Response to Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy at 6 Months and Long-Term Disease Progression in HIV-1 Infection

Objective:To compare the long-term prognostic significance of different definitions of immunologic and virologic responses to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) at 6 months. Methods:This was a prospective study conducted in 68 French hospitals. HAART was initiated in 2236 protease inhibitor-naive patients included in the French Hospital Database on HIV. Multivariate Cox proportional hazard models measuring time from 6 months after starting HAART were used to compare the strength of the association between different definitions of immunologic and virologic responses at 6 months and subsequent progression to AIDS or death. The Akaike's Information Criteria were used to identify the most appropriate model. Results:During a median follow-up of 58 months, 325 patients experienced an AIDS-defining event or died. The model that fitted best was the model in which the CD4 cell count and plasma HIV-1 RNA values attained at 6 months were considered. The risk of clinical progression at 5 years ranged from 7% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 4-10) in patients whose CD4 cell count at 6 months was ≥350 cells/μL and whose HIV-1 RNA concentration was <3 log10 copies/mL to 63% (95% CI: 52-75) in patients whose CD4 cell count at 6 months was <100 cells/μL and whose HIV-1 RNA concentration was ≥5 log10. Conclusions:Plasma HIV-1 RNA concentration and CD4 cell count should be taken into account independently when evaluating early response to treatment. The persistent impact of early response on clinical progression at 5 years emphasizes the major importance of the success of first-line HAART.
One-dimensional transport-induced instabilities in an optical system with nonlocal feedback.

We present theoretical and experimental evidence of pattern forming instabilities induced by the nonlocal interaction of the light signal with itself, in an optical system formed by a liquid-crystal light valve with feedback. For a defocusing medium, the model predicts a reduced instability threshold for pattern formation as a result of nonlocality. The conditions for the onset of drifting mode instability are analytically derived. The experimental results quantitatively confirm the predictions of the model.
Modeling power consumption of applications in wireless communication devices using OS level profiles

We propose a novel system level power estimation method for wireless communication devices. The method estimates the power consumption of a processor and external devices by only using OS level profile information (i.e., the system call information), and is applicable to both off-line and online power optimizations. Evaluations on a commercial wireless communication device showed that the method achieves an estimation error of less than 10 %.
Low-power all-digital ΔΣ TDC with bi-directional gated delay line time integrator

This paper presents a low-power time integrator and its applications in an all-digital first-order ΔΣ time-to-digital converter (TDC). The time integrator is realized using a bi-directional gated delay line (BD-GDL) with time variable to be integrated as the gating signal. The integration of the time variable is obtained via the accumulation of the charge of the load capacitor and the logic state of gated delay stages. Issues affecting the performance of the time integrator and TDC are examined. An all-digital first-order ΔΣ TDC utilizing the time integrator was designed in an IBM 130 nm 1.2 V CMOS technology. A sinusoid time input of 430 ps amplitude and 231 kHz frequency with oversampling ratio 54 was digitized by the modulator. The TDC provides first-order noise-shaping and a SNR of 39.98 dB over the signal band 36 ∼ 231 kHz consuming 46 μW.
Two new labdane diterpenoids from the rhizomes of Isodon yuennanensis

Two new labdane diterpenoids, s-trans-8(17),12E,14-labdatrien-20-oic acid (1), s-trans-12E,14-labdadien-20,8β-olide (2), along with 10 known compounds, hinokiol (3), ursonic acid (4), 2α,3α-dihydroxyolean-12-en-28-oic acid (5), 2α,3β,23-trihydroxyolean-12-en-28-oic acid (6), ethyl 3-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)lactate (7), ethyl rosmarinate (8), (Z,E)-2-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)ethenyl caffeic ester (9), tridecanoic acid (10), β-sitosterol (11) and daucosterol (12), were isolated from the 70% acetone extract of the rhizomes of Isodon yuennanensis. Their structures were elucidated based on the analyses of extensive spectroscopic data and physicochemical properties.
Notice of RetractionThe research on the formation of group emotion on China basis

The paper explores the formation route of group emotion and its crucial elements. Based on grounded theory, it is found that the formation process of group emotion surrounding with affective tone, emotional contagion, homogenous, in which relation orientation, rule orientation and belonging orientation interweave. Affective tone makes social emotion with “relationship harmony” override organizational requirements. In emotional contagion, group members tend to pay more attention to leaders' emotion, especially to those having real power. However, emotional contagion doesn't happen spontaneously. The result of emotional contagion demonstrates homogenous tendency of amplifying positive emotion and weakening negative emotion. In the end, the paper further discusses its specificity and existing problems with China basis.
Phytochelatin Synthase Genes from Arabidopsis and the Yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe

Phytochelatins (PCs), a family of heavy metal–inducible peptides important in the detoxification of heavy metals, have been identified in plants and some microorganisms, including Schizosaccharomyces pombe , but not in animals. PCs are synthesized enzymatically from glutathione (GSH) by PC synthase in the presence of heavy metal ions. In Arabidopsis, the CAD1 gene, identified by using Cd-sensitive, PC-deficient cad1 mutants, has been proposed to encode PC synthase. Using a positional cloning strategy, we have isolated the CAD1 gene. Database searches identified a homologous gene in S. pombe , and a mutant with a targeted deletion of this gene was also Cd sensitive and PC deficient. Extracts of Escherichia coli cells expressing a CAD1 cDNA or the S. pombe gene catalyzing GSH-dependent, heavy metal–activated synthesis of PCs in vitro demonstrated that both genes encode PC synthase activity. Both enzymes were activated by a range of metal ions. In contrast, reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction experiments showed that expression of the CAD1 mRNA is not influenced by the presence of Cd. A comparison of the two predicted amino acid sequences revealed a highly conserved N-terminal region, which is presumed to be the catalytic domain, and a variable C-terminal region containing multiple Cys residues, which is proposed to be involved in activation of the enzyme by metal ions. Interestingly, a similar gene was identified in the nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans , suggesting that PCs may also be expressed in some animal species.
Feature matching for illumination variation images

Abstract. Illumination variability is one of the most important issues affecting imagery matching performances and still remains a critical problem in the literature, although different levels of improvement have been reported in recent years. This study proposes an illumination robust image matching method. There are three steps in the proposed method: first, local regions are extracted and matched from the input images by using a multiresolution region detector and an illumination robust shape descriptor; second, an algorithm is proposed to estimate the overlapping areas of images and enhance them based on the region matches; finally, general feature detectors and descriptors are combined to process the previous results for illumination robust matching. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed matching method provides significant improvement in robustness for illumination change images compared with traditional methods.
Ten polymorphic microsatellite markers developed in the masson pine moth Dendrolimus punctatus Walker (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae)

A set of 10 polymorphic di- and trinucleotide microsatellite loci were developed for the forestry pest insect, masson pine moth, Dendrolimus punctatus Walker . The expected heterozygosity at these loci ranges from 0.285 to 0.859, and the observed allele numbers from five to 19. Cross species amplification of these loci in four other congeneric pine moth species indicates variable levels of loci conservation and thus cross-applicability. Therefore, the microsatellite loci reported here should be useful for population genetic and other related studies in the masson pine moth and other closely related species.
Comparison of the chloride channel activator lubiprostone and the oral laxative Polyethylene Glycol 3350 on mucosal barrier repair in ischemic-injured porcine intestine.

AIM To investigate the effects of lubiprostone and Polyethylene Glycol 3350 (PEG) on mucosal barrier repair in ischemic-injured porcine intestine. METHODS Ileum from 6 piglets (approximately 15 kg body weight) was subjected to ischemic conditions by occluding the local mesenteric circulation for 45 min in vivo. Ileal tissues from each pig were then harvested and mounted in Ussing chambers and bathed in oxygenated Ringer's solution in vitro. Intestinal barrier function was assessed by measuring transepithelial electrical resistance (TER) and mucosal-to-serosal fluxes of (3)H-mannitol and (14)C-inulin. Statistical analyses of data collected over a 120-min time course included 2-way ANOVA for the effects of time and treatment on indices of barrier function. RESULTS Application of 1 micromol/L lubiprostone to the mucosal surface of ischemic-injured ileum in vitro induced significant elevations in TER compared to non-treated tissue. Lubiprostone also reduced mucosal-to-serosal fluxes of (3)H-mannitol and (14)C-inulin. Alternatively, application of a polyethylene laxative (PEG, 20 mmol/L) to the mucosal surface of ischemic tissues significantly increased flux of (3)H-mannitol and (14)C-inulin. CONCLUSION This experiment demonstrates that lubiprostone stimulates recovery of barrier function in ischemic intestinal tissues whereas the PEG laxative had deleterious effects on mucosal repair. These results suggest that, unlike osmotic laxatives, lubiprostone stimulates repair of the injured intestinal barrier.
Ets1 is required for p53 transcriptional activity in UV‐induced apoptosis in embryonic stem cells

Embryonic stem (ES) cells contain a p53‐dependent apoptosis mechanism to avoid the continued proliferation and differentiation of damaged cells. We show that mouse ES cells lacking Ets1 are deficient in their ability to undergo UV‐induced apoptosis, similar to p53 null ES cells. In Ets1−/− ES cells, UV induction of the p53 regulated genes mdm2, perp, cyclin G and bax was decreased both at mRNA and protein levels. While p53 protein levels were unaltered in Ets1−/− cells, its ability to transactivate genes such as mdm2 and cyclin G was reduced. Furthermore, electrophoretic mobility shift assays and immunoprecipitations demonstrated that the presence of Ets1 was necessary for a CBP/p53 complex to be formed. Chromatin immunoprecipitations demonstrated that Ets1 was required for the formation of a stable p53–DNA complex under physiological conditions and activation of histone acetyltransferase activity. These data demonstrate that Ets1 is an essential component of a UV‐responsive p53 transcriptional activation complex in ES cells and suggests that Ets1 may contribute to the specificity of p53‐dependent gene transactivation in distinct cellular compartments.
Asymptomatic synovitis precedes clinically manifest arthritis.

OBJECTIVE It has been hypothesized that asymptomatic synovitis may precede clinical manifestations of arthritis in the earliest phase of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). To obtain more insight into this disease phase, we investigated the immunohistologic features of synovial tissue (ST) from the knee joints of rhesus monkeys with induced arthritis and from RA patients with both clinically involved and clinically uninvolved knee joints. METHODS Serial ST biopsy specimens from the knee joints of 4 rhesus monkeys that had been immunized with type II collagen and ST from 10 RA patients were investigated. Eight patients without inflammatory joint disease served as controls. RESULTS In ST from immunized monkeys, an influx of macrophages was observed well before the occurrence of arthritis. Signs of inflammation were also demonstrated in ST from clinically uninvolved knee joints of all RA patients evaluated. The ST was characterized in particular by infiltration with macrophages and by the expression of macrophage-derived cytokines. CONCLUSION The findings support the view that asymptomatic synovitis precedes clinically manifest arthritis in both early and established RA. This implies that the debut of RA already represents a chronic phase of the disease.
Bodily Position and Auditory Thresholds

Traditional studies of perception have been concerned primarily with the effects of stimulation on one sensory modality at a time. Such isolated stimulation, however, seldom occurs in non-laboratory situations and increased attention has been directed recently to the problem of sensory interaction (Mowbray & Gebhard, 1956). In the field of hearing, Russian investigators have reported a few studies which indicate that, in general, accessory stimulation tends to improve auditory acuity (London, 1754). Kekcheev, et al. ( 1747) indicated that illumination of a white room with green light increases auditory sensitivity, but red light decreases it. Odors derived from geraniol and benzol were reported also as decreasing audicory thresholds (Bronshtein, 1946). Gustatory stimulation is said to improve the auditory receprion of low tones but deteriorate that of high tones (Keckcheev, el al., 1947). The accessory stimulation of cold and proprioceptive receptors has also been reported ro facilitate audicory perception (Mowbray & Gebhard, 1956). For the present study, the most relevant finding suggests that postural stimuli affect sensitivity. Specifically, Kekcheev (1946) claimed that higher auditory sensitivity is obtained when the listener is in a seated position, rather than in either a standing or horizontal position. The present experiment was performed, therefore, ( a ) to determine whether, in fact, bodily position affects auditory acuity as measured by pure-tone thresholds, and if it does, ( b ) to evaluate the magnitude of threshold shifts for different bodily positions and different pure-tone frequencies.
Missile attitude control in a large flight envelope based on the linear active disturbance rejection control approach

Usually the missile attitude control process in a large flight envelope has strong time-varying and nonlinear characteristics, so the controller parameter is difficultly scheduled with conventional PID control approach. In this study a linear active disturbance rejection control approach based on reduced-order linear extended state observer is proposed. The approach is employed to the attitude controller for a supersonic missile in attack with high angle. It is not hard to determine the proposed controller parameter, and the numeral simulations show that the presented approach has a very good capability on tracking attitude command.
Polynomial Testing of Packet Switching Networks

A functional testing method called polynomial testing is proposed to test packet-switching networks (PSNs) used in multiprocessor systems. Focus is on applying the method to packet-switching multistage interconnection networks (PMINs). A multiple stuck-at (MSA) fault model is developed and faults are diagnosed at two different levels: network level and switch level. The former uses each processor as a tester and can test part of the network concurrently with the normal operations on the remaining part of the network; the latter uses switches in the network as testers and is inherently an autonomous testing method. To facilitate the network-level testing, the routing dynamic in a PMIN is eliminated by synchronizing switch operations. The network is then decomposed into routes, each of which is tested after transforming it into a polynomial calculator. For switch-level testing, a built-in tester (BIT) is embedded into each switch's structure to provide self-testing capabilities. Network-level testing is distributed and suitable for concurrent testing, whereas switch-level testing is done offline, and needs only a small testing time. >
THE POTENTIAL FOR GENETIC EXCHANGE BY TRANSFORMATION WITHIN A NATURAL POPULATION OF BACILLUS SUBTILIS

We have investigated the potential for genetic exchange by transformation within a Mojave Desert population of Bacillus subtilis. Almost all strains surveyed were competent for transformation, and the strains varied over almost three orders of magnitude in their levels of competence. This high degree of variation suggests that natural selection toward an optimal level of competence is, at most, very weak in this population. Six of 24 competent strains showed sexual isolation from laboratory strain 168 (i.e., heterogamic transformation was reduced). Direct crosses between selected pairs of Mojave strains indicated sexual isolation within the Mojave population. Levels of sexual isolation observed within this population of B. subtilis were much less than those previously observed for transformation between named Bacillus species. Sexual isolation between 168 and Mojave strains, and among Mojave strains, was due to differences in restriction‐modification systems and to DNA sequence divergence.
Avrupa Birliği Sürecinde Beklenti Ve Sürdürülebilir Büyüme

Expectations Regarding EV Accessian Process and Sustabıab/e Economic Growth EU accessian process has raised expectations of increased growth rates in employment and ineames caused, among other contributory jactors, by increases in direct foreign investment flows (DFI). However whether growth stimulated thus may be sustainable or not, depends on certain conditions such as the achievement of domestic and external balances as well as increases in R&D expenditures and the successful building oj an industrial infrastructure based on quality human-capital. The jirst seetion of the paper efaborates on the concept of sustainable development. Economic policies and policy instruments that should be used in order to close the domestic and external savings gaps are discussed in the second seetion and an analysis of the effects of increases in DFI on sustainable growth are presented in the third see tion.
PCR-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism Can Also Detect Point Mutation A2142C in the 23S rRNA Gene, Associated with Helicobacter pylori Resistance to Clarithromycin

Clarithromycin resistance, the major cause of Helicobacter pylori treatment failure ([2][1], [7][2]), is attributed to point mutations within the peptidyltransferase-encoding region in domain V of the 23S rRNA gene ([10][3], [15][4]). Three distinct point mutations have been found to be associated
Fast String Searching Mechanism

The goal of this study is to introduce a novel exact string searching (i.e., matching) method based on the fuzzy transform, or F-transform (FTSS). The theoretical background of the F-transform, specifically the F s -transform, s 0, for functions of one variable is reviewed, and a string searching algorithm based on this theory is presented. The algorithm is demonstrated with several examples. The results are compared with those of three existing string searching algorithms: Knuth-MorrisPratt (KMP), Boyer-Moore (BM) and Rabin-Karp (RK).
Domestication of Mobile Email

Mobile email is a recent phenomen on, and has not been researched broadly yet. This paper provides a contribution to fill this gap and investigates the domestication of mobile email in Swiss companies. The research showed that mobile email is becoming an important tool, in particular for mobile workers. It enables an efficient use of short down times; it is used for communication, coordination, collaboration, and even for dealing with complex matters on the move. Due to an increased dynamism in communicat ion, mobile email results in improved relationships with customers, co -workers and supervisors. However, mobile e -mail has also negative impact as for example lower efficiency of meetings, impact on work -life balance and high presser due to permanent avail ability.
Perfil de motivación para el trabajo de docentes

El presente estudio centro sus objetivos en determinar el perfil de motivacion para el trabajo de docentes en la tercera etapa de la escuela basica y media (diversificada y profesional) en instituciones educativas venezolanas. Sebuscaron algunas reacciones entre las variables independientes -tipo de institucion, cargo de desempeno del docente y sexo- con la variable dependiente: perfil de motivacion para el trabajo de docentes (condiciones motivacionales internas, medios preferidos para obtener las retribuciones deseadas y condiciones motivacionales externas). La muestra estuvo conformada por 56 docentes, a quienes se le administro el Cuestionario Motivacional para el Trabajo (CMT). Un analisis descriptivo e inferencial con el calculo de las medias, de cada uno de los factores, determino el grado de significacion mediante la aplicacion de la t de student (p*0.05). No se encontraron diferencias significativas en el perfil de motivacion de cada una de las tres categorias: tipo de institucion, cargo que ocupa y el sexo. No obstante, algunos factores psicosociales, como dedicacion a la tarea, grupo de trabajo, reconocimiento y salario, presentaron diferencias significativas. Entre las conclusiones se destaca que la autorrealizacion y el poder parecen ser factores latentes en la muestra seleccionada; asi mismo, entre los factores psicosociales resalta el deseo de aprender de otros.
Coordinated Control of Distributed Energy Resources and Conventional Power Plants for Frequency Control of Power Systems

Recently, distributed energy resources (DERs) are becoming more attractive to supply local loads under concept of microgrids. These new parts of the power system have basically different dynamics compared with conventional power plants (CPPs). Some of them do not have any rotating inertia and most of them are connected to the grid by power electronic interfaces. Stability and control of microgrids and the entire power system containing DERs and CPPs is one of the most important challenges of the recent power systems. Interactions between microgrids in grid-connected mode and CPPs should be coordinated to ensure and improve the stability of power system. In this paper, the effect of the increased penetration of DERs on the load frequency problem of power system is studied. Basically, synchronous generators of CPPs determine the dynamic behavior of power system for frequency control and are responsible to compensate load changes of the system. With the high penetration of DERs, these new parts can contribute in the frequency control. It is shown that with appropriate control of DERs in microgrids, the frequency deviation of the power system will decrease and the stability margin can be increased.
Serological diagnosis of subcutaneous dirofilariosis

We present serological evidence that Dirofilaria immitis was the causative agent of subcutaneous nodules in two patients. ELISA and enzyme‐linked immunoblot analysis showed that the two human sera had a reactivity pattern similar to that of D. immitis rabbit immune serum. The reaction pattern of the human sera was very different to that of Dirofilaria repens rabbit immune serum. In the light of our findings, the traditional view that subcutaneous filarial nodules are due to D. repens has to be revised.