Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
De l'étude des effets à long terme de la plongée sous-marine sur les paramètres de l'exploration fonctionnelle respiratoire en plongée militaire

Introduction : La plongee sous-marine expose le poumon du plongeur a de nombreuses contraintes du fait de l’augmentation de la pression environnante, engendrant une modification de l’ecoulement de l’air dans les bronches. Plusieurs etudes ont montre une perturbation de l’epreuve fonctionnelle respiratoire (EFR) avec le temps chez les plongeurs professionnels civils. L’objectif de cette etude est donc de comparer les EFR des plongeurs militaires a l’inclusion et apres 16 annees de pratique de la plongee. Materiels et methodes : cette etude de cohorte retrospective a inclus 103 plongeurs militaires, repartis en 2 groupes : 59 dans le groupe categorie 1 (CAT1) pour les plongeurs a l’air n’excedant pas 20m de profondeur et 44 dans le groupe categorie 2 (CAT2), plongeant jusqu’a 80m et utilisant des melanges enrichis en oxygene ou un recycleur d’air. Ils effectuaient une EFR tous les 4 ans dans le cadre de leur suivi medical. L’EFR realise a l’inclusion a ete compare aux valeurs obtenues apres 4 visites soit 16 ans plus tard. Les valeurs etudiees etaient le VEMS, la CVF, le coefficient de Tiffeneau, le DEM 50 et le DEM 25-75. Les valeurs ont ensuite ete comparees aux resultats theoriques donnees par les equations de la Global Lung Initiative (GLI). Resultats : les resultats de cette etude montrent une diminution du coefficient de Tiffeneau et des debits distaux (DEM 50 et DEM25-75) significative dans la population totale de l’etude et dans le groupe CAT1 apres 16 annees de suivi. Il n’y a pas de modifications du VEMS et de la CVF. Il n’existe aucune modification significative des EFR dans le groupe CAT2 dans le meme intervalle. Il n’existe pas de difference significative avec les equations de la GLI en debut de suivi, mais apres 16 annees de suivi, les valeurs chez les plongeurs sont significativement plus elevees pour le VEMS, la CVF et le DEM25-75 dans la population globale et les groupes CAT1 et CAT2, le coefficient de Tiffeneau ne variant pas. Conclusion : Les plongeurs militaires semblent avoir une conservation de leur capacite respiratoire avec une perte de fonction liee a l’âge moins rapide que dans la population generale. Ceci est probablement lie a l’entrainement des muscles respiratoires, les plongeurs du groupe CAT2 plongeant plus souvent et a plus grande profondeur ayant une perte moins elevee que le groupe CAT1. Il n’y a pas d’effet toxique decele des melanges gazeux utilises par le groupe CAT2, mais les donnees concernant la DLCO sont indisponibles. Devant ces resultats, se pose la question de l’interet de la realisation d’EFR systematiques chez des plongeurs asymptomatiques.
Prevalence and correlates of HIV unsafe sex and STIs among women working in China's entertainment industry

Abstract Female entertainment workers in China are at risk of sexually acquiring HIV, but risk factors of their unsafe sex remain understudied. Using information from a venue-based sample of 724 female entertainment workers in Shanghai, this paper examines the prevalence and risk factors of unsafe sex and STIs. While both measures of unsafe sex and history of common STIs suggest that participants in this study appear to have lower rates of unsafe sex and STIs than reported in the literature, venue-based female entertainment workers are at risk of sexually acquiring HIV. Risk factors of unsafe sex include both individual cognitive (information, motivation, and behavioral skills) and social factors. However, HIV-related information and most social factors are not directly and independently associated with unsafe sex. Behavioral intervention is needed for female entertainment workers in China. However, individual-based cognitive approach alone may be limited in effectiveness in reducing unsafe sex among female entertainment workers. Effective intervention needs to take a multi-level approach that addresses both individual cognitive and social risk factors and can particularly benefit from attention to empowering women in sexual relationships and creating a supportive social and working environment.
Microsatellite markers reveal shallow genetic differentiation between cohorts of the common sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus (Lamarck) in northwest Mediterranean

Temporal variability was studied in the common sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus through the analysis of the genetic composition of three yearly cohorts sampled over two consecutive springs in a locality in northwestern Mediterranean. Individuals were aged using growth ring patterns observed in tests and samples were genotyped for five microsatellite loci. No reduction of genetic diversity was observed relative to a sample of the adult population from the same location or within cohorts across years. FST and amova results indicated that the differentiation between cohorts is rather shallow and not significant, as most variability is found within cohorts and within individuals. This mild differentiation translated into estimates of effective population size of 90–100 individuals. When the observed excess of homozygotes was taken into account, the estimate of the average number of breeders increased to c. 300 individuals. Given our restricted sampling area and the known small‐scale heterogeneity in recruitment in this species, our results suggest that at stretches of a few kilometres of shoreline, large numbers of progenitors are likely to contribute to the larval pool at each reproduction event. Intercohort variation in our samples is six times smaller than spatial variation between adults of four localities in the western Mediterranean. Our results indicate that, notwithstanding the stochastic events that take place during the long planktonic phase and during the settlement and recruitment processes, reproductive success in this species is high enough to produce cohorts genetically diverse and with little differentiation between them. Further research is needed before the link between genetic structure and underlying physical and biological processes can be well established.
Changes in Serum Thrombopoietin Levels after Splenectomy

To clarify the role of thrombopoietin (c-Mpl ligand, TPO) in ‘hypersplenic’ thrombocytopenia, we used an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to examine changes in serum TPO levels accompanied with splenectomy in 6 patients with liver cirrhosis, 4 patients with gastric cancer, and 2 patients with lymphoid malignancies. We also measured serum levels of other thrombopoietic cytokines such as interleukin-6 (IL-6) and erythropoietin. Platelet counts reached a maximum at day 14 after splenectomy in all subjects. In patients with liver cirrhosis, a lower elevation of platelet counts was observed compared with that in patients with gastric cancer. Serum TPO levels gradually elevated after splenectomy and reached a maximum 3.5 days after splenectomy in noncirrhotic patients, whereas peak serum TPO levels were delayed until day 7 in the cirrhosis group. IL-6 and erythropoietin showed similar kinetics between cirrhotic and noncirrhotic patients. These findings suggest that transient thrombocytosis after splenectomy may be associated with an alteration in the site of TPO catabolism by platelets from spleen to the blood and that deterioration of TPO production may play a role in thrombocytopenia in liver cirrhosis.
Development and application of thermal desorption techniques for the measurement of PAHs in ambient air

Entre todos los contaminantes, los hidrocarburos aromaticos policiclicos (HAPs) han sido objeto de uninteres creciente en los ultimos anos. Debido a sus caracteristicas (propiedades carcinogenicas,mutagenicas e inmunotoxicas) y alta persistencia en la atmosfera, estos compuestos aparecen comocontaminantes objetivo en los protocolos internacionales para la reduccion de emisiones. Los metodosconvencionales para el analisis de HAPs requieren largos y laboriosos procesos de preparacion de lamuestra para lograr la separacion de estos contaminantes de otras sustancias interferentes. En estosmetodos la extraccion se realiza mediante disolventes organicos lo que prolonga significativamente eltiempo de analisis y genera perdidas de los HAPs debido a la alta manipulacion de las muestras durante elproceso. Ademas el uso de disolventes organicos de caracter toxico, supone un problema ambiental yelevan los costes del proceso por el tratamiento de los residuos. Como resultado, en los ultimos anos, losmetodos alternativos basados en extracciones sin disolventes han sido desarrollados para superar estaslimitaciones. Este trabajo de investigacion tiene por objetivo: el desarrollo, la puesta a punto y laaplicacion en condiciones de campo de un metodo de medida semicontinua de HAPs en aire ambiente,basandose en la tecnica de desorcion termica (TD) acoplada a un cromatografia de gases- espectrometriade masas (GC-MS).
Roads More and Less Traveled: Different Emotional Routes to Creativity Among Protestants and Catholics

Western culture has 2 contradictory images of creativity: the artist as intensely emotional versus the artist as sublimator, for whom work becomes the outlet for what is repressed and denied. We show that both images are correct, but that the routes to creativity are culturally patterned, such that Catholic creatives are relatively more likely to take the emotionally intense route and Protestant creatives relatively more likely to take the sublimating route. This pattern is consistent for both the Big-C creativity of historical eminents (Studies 1 and 1b) and small-c creativity of student samples (Studies 2 and 3). The student samples also highlighted the moderating role of Protestant asceticism, as Protestants who were high in asceticism and who also repressed or minimized troublesome emotions were particularly creative. Analyses of behavioral data in previous lab experiments (Studies 2b and 3b) provided conceptual validation of the findings reported in Studies 2 and 3.
Comparison of adverse effects of phenylbutazone, flunixin meglumine, and ketoprofen in horses.

The relative toxicity of phenylbutazone, flunixin meglumine, and ketoprofen was studied in healthy adult horses. Sixteen horses were randomly assigned to receive 10 ml of physiologic saline solution, or ketoprofen (2.2 mg/kg of body weight), flunixin meglumine (1.1 mg/kg), or phenylbutazone (4.4 mg/kg) IV, every 8 hours, for 12 days. Results of CBC, serum biochemical analyses, and fecal occult blood tests were monitored. On day 13, all horses were euthanatized and complete necropsy examinations were performed. Mean CBC values remained within normal limits for all groups. Phenylbutazone-treated horses had a significant (P < 0.05) decrease in serum total protein and albumin concentrations. Mean values of all other serum biochemical assays were not different from those of the saline-treated group. Results of all fecal occult blood tests were negative. At necropsy, the glandular portion of the stomach was the area of the gastrointestinal tract most severely affected by phenylbutazone, flunixin meglumine, and ketoprofen. In the phenylbutazone-treated group, but not in the other groups, edema of the small intestine and erosions and ulcers of the large colon were observed. None of the horses treated with saline solution had lesions in the glandular portion of the stomach or in the intestine. Four horses (1/5 and 3/3 in the flunixin- and phenylbutazone-treated groups, respectively) developed renal crest necrosis. Horses in the saline- and ketoprofen-treated groups did not develop renal lesions. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Fast palmprint identification using principal orientation pattern hashing

A palmprint identification system recognizes a query palmprint image from all the templates in a database. When applied on a large-scale identification system, it is often necessary to speed up the searching process. In this paper, we present a fast palmprint identification method using principal orientation pattern hashing. We propose three properties required by a hash function and demonstrate that the principal orientation pattern introduced in this paper has all of these properties. The effectiveness of our method has been tested on two palmprint databases. The results on the Hong Kong large-scale database (9667 palms) show that the proposed method is 19.91 times faster than brute force search, while its accuracy is slightly higher. Evaluations on the CASIA palmprint database (600 palms) plus a synthetic database (100,000 palms) show a speedup of 15.67 over brute force search and a negligible loss of accuracy.
Studies on the anti-tumor activity of polysaccharides. I. Isolation of hemicelluloses from Yakushima-bamboo and their growth inhibitory activities against sarcoma-180 solid tumor.

In order to confirm the chemical entities of the anti-tumor substances in the extract of the leaves of a sort of bamboo, Sasa senanensis (FR. et SAV.) REHD, a series of fractionation was carried out on the macromolecular constituents of the extract. Two hemicelluloses were isolated as homogeneous states both in free boundary electrophoresis and ultracentrifugal analysis. One of them was a neutral polysaccharide which was precipitable with alkaline copper solution and consisted of L-arabinose, D-xylose and D-glucose, while the other contained D-galactose in addition to the three sugar components mentioned above and showed weak acidity due to a small amount of uronic acid. Both polysaccharides showed over 90% tumor-inhibitions when injected intraperitoneally into mice bearing Sarcoma-180 solid tumor.
CYTOKININ OXIDASE/DEHYDROGENASE4 Integrates Cytokinin and Auxin Signaling to Control Rice Crown Root Formation1[W][OPEN]

A rice cytokinin oxidase/dehydrogenase gene promotes crown root formation and growth by mediating the interaction between cytokinin and auxin and is a potential target for the manipulation of rice root architecture. Crown roots constitute the majority of the rice (Oryza sativa) root system and play an important role in rice growth and development. However, the molecular mechanism of crown root formation in rice is not well understood. Here, we characterized a rice dominant mutant, root enhancer1 (ren1-D), which was observed to exhibit a more robust root system, increased crown root number, and reduced plant height. Molecular and genetic analyses revealed that these phenotypes are caused by the activation of a cytokinin oxidase/dehydrogenase (CKX) family gene, OsCKX4. Subcellular localization demonstrated that OsCKX4 is a cytosolic isoform of CKX. OsCKX4 is predominantly expressed in leaf blades and roots. It is the dominant CKX, preferentially expressed in the shoot base where crown root primordia are produced, underlining its role in root initiation. OsCKX4 is induced by exogenous auxin and cytokinin in the roots. Furthermore, one-hybrid assays revealed that OsCKX4 is a direct binding target of both the auxin response factor OsARF25 and the cytokinin response regulators OsRR2 and OsRR3. Overexpression and RNA interference of OsCKX4 confirmed that OsCKX4 plays a positive role in crown root formation. Moreover, expression analysis revealed a significant alteration in the expression of auxin-related genes in the ren1-D mutants, indicating that the OsCKX4 mediates crown root development by integrating the interaction between cytokinin and auxin. Transgenic plants harboring OsCKX4 under the control of the root-specific promoter RCc3 displayed enhanced root development without affecting their shoot parts, suggesting that this strategy could be a powerful tool in rice root engineering.
Analysis of a genetic defect in the TATA box of the SOD1 gene in a patient with familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

We report a patient with autosomal‐dominant amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and a sequence variation in the SOD1 promoter region, located in the conserved TATA box motif (TATAAA→TGTAAA). Functional promoter studies of this variant in an in vitro system showed moderate reduction in transcriptional activity of SOD1. This variant was present in only two of 301 individuals with sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, was not detected in 396 matched controls, and was recently reported in dbSNP (rs7277748). Our data suggest that this TATA box defect is not a disease‐causing mutation or susceptibility factor for ALS but rather a rare polymorphism with a potential effect on SOD1 gene expression. Muscle Nerve, 2007
“On Donuts and Peanuts”: Strongly orientation-dependent spontaneous emission rates in any nanophotonic environment

According to quantum electrodynamics, the emission rate of a two-level quantum emitter is described by Fermi's golden rule. Currently, there are many efforts to control the emission rate of quantum emitters by optimizing the nanoscale environment via the local density of optical states (LDOS) by, e.g., reflecting interfaces, microcavities, photonic crystals, or plasmonic nanoantennae [1]. Control of spontaneous emission is notably relevant to solid-state applications, including miniature lasers and light-emitting diodes, single-photon sources for quantum information, and solar energy harvesting.
Continuous Arabic alphabets corpus uttered by Malay speakers

Arabic language is used as a second language by a wide category of Muslims for reciting the Holy book of Muslims (Qur'an). The continuous Arabic phonemes corpus adds more challenges to the Automatic Speech Recognition system by paying more efforts in order to determine the start and end points for each phoneme. In addition, looking for a similar phoneme signal inside another long speech signal. In this paper, a description of an effective and usable continuous Arabic phonemes database articulated by Malay speakers. The suggested corpus can be used to study the properties and the differences of pronunciations for those who are non-native Arabic speakers. It can be used also to study the mispronunciation of the phonemes. The designed corpus consists of 1680 samples recorded by 20 Malay persons where each speaker is asked to articulate the phonemes three times. The corpus has recorded using SAMSON C03U USB multi-pattern condenser microphone as high sensitive device. Audacity 2.0. 3 has been used for recording. The chosen sampling rate for all the recording phonemes is 16000 Hz, 32 bit as sample format and mono chancel.
The effect of methotrexate and anti-tumor necrosis factor therapy on the risk of lymphoma in rheumatoid arthritis in 19,562 patients during 89,710 person-years of observation.

OBJECTIVE To ascertain the relationship between anti-tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) therapy, methotrexate (MTX), and the risk of lymphoma in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). This report updates our previous report during 29,314 person-years of followup. METHODS Participants in the National Data Bank for Rheumatic Diseases (NDB) longitudinal study of long-term outcomes of RA completed semiannual questionnaires from 1998 through 2005, during 89,710 person-years of followup. Lymphoma reports were validated by medical records. The association between lymphoma and treatment was investigated using conditional logistic regression, adjusted for severity and demographic covariates. RESULTS Of the 19,591 participants, 55.3% received biologic agents and 68.0% received MTX while enrolled in the NDB. The lymphoma incidence rate was 105.9 (95% confidence interval [95% CI] 86.6-129.5) per 100,000 person-years of exposure. Compared with the SEER (Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End-Results) lymphoma database, the standardized incidence ratio was 1.8 (95% CI 1.5-2.2). The odds ratio (OR) for lymphoma in patients who received anti-TNF therapy compared with patients who did not receive anti-TNF therapy was 1.0 (95% CI 0.6-1.8 [P = 0.875]). The OR for lymphoma in patients who received anti-TNF plus MTX therapy compared with patients who received MTX treatment alone was 1.1 (95% CI 0.6-2.0 [P = 0.710]). Infliximab and etanercept considered individually also were not associated with a risk of lymphoma. CONCLUSION In a study of lymphoma in 19,591 RA patients over 89,710 person-years of followup, which included exposure to anti-TNF therapy in 10,815 patients, we did not observe evidence for an increase in the incidence of lymphoma among patients who received anti-TNF therapy.
Primary sclerosing cholangitis: Natural history, prognostic factors and survival analysis

The natural history of primary sclerosing cholangitis was assessed in 174 patients; 37 were asymptomatic and 137 had symptoms related to underlying liver disease. At the time of diagnosis, the mean age was 39.9 years, 66% of the primary sclerosing cholangitis patients were male and 71% had associated inflammatory bowel disease, most commonly chronic ulcerative colitis. Longterm follow‐up (mean: 6.0 years; range: 2.7 to 15.5 years) was available in all patients. During follow‐up, 59 (34%) of the patients died: 55 in the symptomatic group and four in the asymptomatic group. Median survival from the time of diagnosis of primary sclerosing cholangitis at the Mayo Clinic was 11.9 years. Survival in the asymptomatic group was significantly decreased compared with that in a control population matched for age, race and sex. Multivariate analysis (Cox proportional hazards regression modeling) revealed that age, serum bilirubin concentration, blood hemoglobin concentration, presence or absence of inflammatory bowel disease and histologic stage on liver biopsy were independent predictors of high risk of dying.
Circular High-Impedance Surfaces Characterization

In this letter, characterization of circular high-impedance surfaces (HISs) is investigated. The reflection phase characterization used for rectangular HISs is here extended to circular lattices. Circular HISs discussed in this letter present a 2-D periodicity, and consequently the phase diagram is determined for concentric and radial polarizations. The effect of mapping a rectangular HIS into a circular one is investigated in order to give some insights regarding the design of such metasurface. The presented characterization constitutes a useful tool for the design of low-profile antennas using HIS as reflector.
Long-term effects of exercise on blood pressure and lipids in healthy women aged 40–65 years: The Sedentary Women Exercise Adherence Trial (SWEAT)

Objectives To evaluate the long-term effects of regular moderate or vigorous intensity exercise on blood pressure and blood lipids in previously sedentary older women. Design Subjects were randomly assigned to either a supervised centre-based (CB) or a minimally supervised home-based (HB) exercise program, initially for 6 months. Within each program, subjects were further randomized to exercise either at moderate (40–55% heart rate reserve, HRres) or vigorous intensity (65–80% HRres). After 6 months, all groups continued a HB moderate or vigorous exercise program for another 12 months. Methods Healthy, sedentary women (aged 40–65 years) (n = 126) were recruited from the community. Subjects exercised three times per week for 30 min. They were evaluated at baseline, 6, 12 and 18 months. Results There was a significant fall of 2.81 mmHg in systolic blood pressure (P = 0.049) and 2.70 mmHg in diastolic blood pressure (P = 0.004) after correction for age and baseline values with moderate exercise, but not with vigorous-intensity exercise. When this analysis was repeated with the change in body mass included, the results were unchanged. After correction for potential confounding factors, there was a significant fall in total cholesterol and low density lipoprotein cholesterol with vigorous but not moderate exercise at 6 months (P < 0.05) but not at 18 months. Conclusions In this largely normotensive population of older women, a moderate, but not vigorous exercise program, achieved sustained falls in resting systolic and diastolic blood pressure over 18 months. The study demonstrates that, in older women, moderate intensity exercise is well accepted, sustainable long-term and has the health benefit of reduced blood pressure.