Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Retrospective Assessment of the Antigenic Similarity of Egg-Propagated and Cell Culture-Propagated Reference Influenza Viruses as Compared with Circulating Viruses across Influenza Seasons 2002–2003 to 2017–2018

Suboptimal vaccine effectiveness against seasonal influenza is a significant public health concern, partly explained by antigenic differences between vaccine viruses and viruses circulating in the environment. Haemagglutinin mutations within vaccine viruses acquired during serial passage in eggs have been identified as a source of antigenic variation between vaccine and circulating viruses. This study retrospectively compared the antigenic similarity of circulating influenza isolates with egg- and cell-propagated reference viruses to assess any observable trends over a 16-year period. Using annual and interim reports published by the Worldwide Influenza Centre, London, for the 2002–2003 to 2017–2018 influenza seasons, we assessed the proportions of circulating viruses which showed antigenic similarity to reference viruses by season. Egg-propagated reference viruses were well matched against circulating viruses for A/H1N1 and B/Yamagata. However, A/H3N2 and B/Victoria cell-propagated reference viruses appeared to be more antigenically similar to circulating A/H3N2 and B/Victoria viruses than egg-propagated reference viruses. These data support the possibility that A/H3N2 and B/Victoria viruses are relatively more prone to egg-adaptive mutation. Cell-propagated A/H3N2 and B/Victoria reference viruses were more antigenically similar to circulating A/H3N2 and B/Victoria viruses over a 16-year period than were egg-propagated reference viruses.
CCR5 in Multiple Sclerosis : expression, regulation, and modulation by statins

Activation of microglia, the macrophages of the central nervous system, is a key element in multiple sclerosis (MS) lesion development and is characterized by enhanced expression of both classes of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules. This enhanced expression results from increased levels of several transcription factors involved in MHC gene expression. In addition, microglial activation in MS is characterized by enhanced motility. We show that the expression of the chemokine receptor CCR5, a mediator of cell movement, is increased on microglia, macrophages and astrocytes in MS lesions. Additionally, we have determined that CCR5 transcription is regulated by the transcription factor CREB-1, which is also involved in MHC gene expression, and is highly expressed in MS lesions. Because of their immunomodulatory properties, statins (cholesterol lowering drugs) are recently being considered as a possible treatment for MS. We have determined that statins decrease expression of amongst others MHC and CCR5 molecules by inhibiting the transport of these molecules to the cell surface. In addition, we show that statins reduce the motility of microglia and inhibit the differentiation of blood-derived monocytes into dendritic cells, indicating that statins indeed affect critical immune functions and might prove to be beneficial for treatment of MS patients.
Elephant Flow Detection and Load-Balanced Routing with Efficient Sampling and Classification

SDN (Software defined networking) provides effective technical methods for optimal resource management. However, there are resource conflicts frequent and serious in current related schemes because they mix elephant and mice flows on shared transmission paths. So, controllers in SDN have to be smart enough to detect elephant flows with low cost and then reroute elephant and mice flows in a feature-aware way. However, existing elephant flow detection schemes suffer from high bandwidth consumption and long detection time; and little literature considers mice-flow scheduling. In this paper, we propose an Efficient Sampling and Classification Approach (ESCA). Our ESCA significantly reduces sampling overhead through estimating the arrival interval of elephant flows and filtering out redundant samples, and efficiently classifies samples with a new supervised classification algorithm based on correlations among data flows. Then, based on our low-cost ESCA, we propose a novel load-balanced routing approach LBRouting that sets up paths for elephant and mice flows with different mechanisms. The theoretical analysis proofs our ESCA outperforms related schemes. Extensive experiment results further demonstrate that our ESCA can provide accurate detection with less sampled packets and shorter detection time; and our routing approach LBRouting significantly outperforms related proposals.
Determinants of Sudden Cardiac Death in Adult Patients With Eisenmenger Syndrome

Background Patients with Eisenmenger syndrome are known to have a high incidence of sudden cardiac death (SCD), yet the underlying causes are not well understood. We sought to define the predictors of SCD in this population. Methods and Results A retrospective analysis of all patients with Eisenmenger syndrome from 2 large tertiary referral centers was performed. ECGs, prolonged ambulatory recordings, echocardiograms, and clinical histories were reviewed; and the cause of death was identified. A total of 246 patients (85 [34.6%] men) with a mean age of 37.3 (±14.2) years were followed up for a median of 7 years. Over the study period, 136 patients died, with 40 experiencing SCD and 74 experiencing cardiac death (sudden and nonsudden). Age, atrial fibrillation, prolonged QRS duration, complete heart block, right atrial enlargement, right bundle branch block, increased right atrial pressure, impaired biventricular function, and the presence of a pacemaker were associated with increased risk of SCD, whereas advanced pulmonary hypertension therapies were protective. Atrial fibrillation (11.45‐fold increased risk; P<0.001) and QRS duration ≥120 ms (2.06‐fold increased risk; P=0.034) remained significant predictors of SCD in the multivariate analysis, whereas advanced pulmonary hypertension therapies were strongly protective against SCD (P<0.001). Conclusions Atrial arrhythmias, impaired ventricular function, and conduction system disease were associated with increased risk of SCD in this cohort of patients with Eisenmenger syndrome, providing an opportunity for early risk stratification and potential intervention. Clinical heart failure symptoms (New York Heart Association class ≥II) were predictive of increased mortality but not of SCD, suggesting a potential arrhythmic cause behind SCD.
Magnitude and predictors of khat use among patients with tuberculosis in Southwest Ethiopia: A longitudinal study

Introduction Tuberculosis (TB) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in low and middle-income countries. Substance use negatively affects TB treatment outcomes. Our recent study has found that khat use predicted poorer adherence to anti-TB medications. However, there is scarce longitudinal study on predictors of khat use among outpatients with TB, and this study aimed at addressing this research gap. Methods From October 2017 to October 2018, 268 outpatients with tuberculosis on DOTs were enrolled in a longitudinal study from 26 health institutions in Southwest Ethiopia. Structured questionnaires translated into local languages (Afaan Oromoo and Amharic) were used to assess khat use. Patients were followed for six months, and data were collected on three occasions during the follow-up. A generalized linear mixed model was used to identify the relation between khat use and predictors. Model fitness was checked using the Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC). Odds ratio (OR) and 95% CI were used to describe the strength of association between the outcome variable and predictors. Results The overall prevalence of khat use at baseline and first follow up was 39.2% while it was 37.3% at second follow up. Of this, 77.1% and 96.2% of them believed that khat use reduces the side effects of anti-TB medications and symptoms of tuberculosis respectively. In the final model, being male (aOR = 7.0, p-value = 0.001), being government employee (aOR = 0.03, p-value≤0.001) and presence of alcohol use disorders (AUD) (aOR = 2.0, p-value≤0.001) predicted khat use among outpatients with tuberculosis. Conclusion A considerable proportion of patients with TB used khat throughout DOTs and wrongly perceived that it had health benefits. The finding implies that all patients diagnosed with TB should be screened for khat use, and a particular emphasis should be given to males and individuals with a history of alcohol use. Moreover, further studies are needed to assess patients’ beliefs regarding the benefits of khat use so that interventions can be developed.
An Adaptive Algorithm for Millimetre-Wave Beam Alignment with Iterative Beam-Deactivation

In this paper, we propose an adaptive beam search algorithm for the initial alignment of millimetre-Wave beams. The proposed algorithm works by gradually deactivating beams that are unlikely the best beam from a pre-synthesised codebook to save overhead, based on a Bayesian probability criterion with a uniform improper prior. The beam deactivations can be implemented with low-complexity operations that require computing a low-degree polynomial or a search through a look-up table. The proposed algorithm does not require prior knowledge of channel statistics or signal to noise ratios (SNRs) to optimise the amount of searching time, and uses a suitable amount of time to achieve satisfactory beam search accuracy in different SNRs and fading scenarios. Numerical results confirm that the proposed algorithm can adapt to a wide range of channels with a fixed algorithm parameter, and can achieve better balance between beam search overhead and accuracy than non-adaptive approaches with fixed overhead.
Assessment of Clinical Empathy Among Medical Students Using the Jefferson Scale of Empathy-Student Version

Introduction Clinical empathy is the ability to comprehend the perspectives, feelings, and situation of the patients. Clinical empathy instills a sense of satisfaction in the patient. It also facilitates the healthcare provider (HCPs) in taking more sincere and logical clinical decisions. Although there have been numerous studied conducted to explore the pattern of clinical empathy among medical students, the results are mixed and not consistent. Methods This is a cross-sectional, observational study conducted among medical students of Ghulam Muhammad Mahar Medical College in August 2018. Two hundred and seven out of 500 students of all five years completed the study after informed consent. All students completed the 20-item Jefferson Scale of Empathy-Student Version (JSE-S). Data were entered and analyzed using SPSS version 22 (SPSS Inc, Chicago, IL, USA). The internal consistency of JSE-S was 0.71. Frequencies and percentages were calculated for students’ ages and genders. Mean and standard deviation (SD) were calculated for continuous variables. Group comparisons of the empathy scores were conducted using t-test and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). p<0.05 was considered as the significant level. Results There were 93 (44.9%) male and 114 (55.1%) female students. Their mean ± SD age was 20.85 ± 2.27 years (range: 17 to 26 years). The mean ± SD empathy score of all students was 98.11 ± 12.31 (range: 20-140). The mean empathy score was categorized according to gender, year of education, and career preference. Females showed a significantly higher empathy score. The lowest empathy was seen for the final year and the highest for the first year. On all three subscales of (JSE-S) - perspective taking, compassionate care, and walking in patients’ shoes - students with “people-oriented” career preference scored higher. Conclusion JSE-S is a self-administered and self-perceived inventory, which reports declining empathy in medical students with ascending years of education. Qualitative studies that can assess the empathy levels from the patients’ perspective are the need of the hour to decide whether or not empathy is a real phenomenon.
A comparative study of non-protein nitrogen supplements for sheep

Summary A basal diet, or the basal diet supplemented with equi-nitrogenous amounts of either ammonium lactate, ammonium acetate or urea was fed to four re-entrant cannulated sheep in a randomized block design. Collections of duodenal digesta were carried out automatically for a continuous period of 4 days following a 10-day equilibration period for each sheep on each diet. Supplementation with non-protein nitrogen increased the passage of total amino acids to the duodenum and increased the proportion attributed to microbial protein. It improved pre-duodenal digestibility of modified acid-detergent fibre and increased post-abomasal digestibility of non-ammonia nitrogen, dry matter and gross energy. Supplementation with non-protein nitrogen increased the energetic efficiency of microbial protein production in the rumen. Ammonium lactate and acetate were safe and effective sources of non-protein nitrogen for dietary supplementation. Supplementation with ammonium lactate led to a greater passage of microbial protein to the duodenum than did equi-nitrogenous supplements of urea or ammonium acetate.
Effect of Acute Ascorbic Acid Deficiency on the Plasma Lipids and Postheparin Lipolytic Activity in Guinea Pigs

Various studies have shown Occurrence of hypertriglyceridemia and hypercholesterolemia in animals with vitamin C deficiency. On the other hand, supplementation of megadoses of vitamin C can lower the serum cholesterol level. It has therefore been suggested that megadoses may be useful in reducing the risk of heart diseases. In the present study, we have shown that acute vitamin C deficiency can cause a reduction in the postheparin-lipolytic activity, which may have a role in the hyperlipidemia in vitamin C deficiency. Acute scurvy in guinea pigs was produced as described earlier! Lipids5 and postheparin lipolytic activity6 were estimated by standard methods. Triton WR 1339 ( 5 % ) was injected intraperitoneally at a dose of 500 mg/kg body weight. Lipids were analyzed in blood samples collected before and after 8 h of Triton injection to animals. TABLE 1 shows increased level of plasma free fatty acids, free and esterified
The Impact of ALS-Associated Genes hnRNPA1, MATR3, VCP and UBQLN2 on the Severity of TDP-43 Aggregation

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder, characterized by cytoplasmic inclusions of RNA-binding protein TDP-43. Despite decades of research and identification of more than 50 genes associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the cause of TDP-43 translocation from the nucleus and its aggregation in the cytoplasm still remains unknown. Our study addressed the impact of selected ALS-associated genes on TDP-43 aggregation behavior in wild-type and aggregation prone TDP-43 in vitro cell models. These were developed by deleting TDP-43 nuclear localization signal and stepwise shortening its low-complexity region. The SH-SY5Y cells were co-transfected with the constructs of aggregation-prone TDP-43 and wild-type or mutant ALS-associated genes hnRNPA1, MATR3, VCP or UBQLN2. The investigated genes displayed a unique impact on TDP-43 aggregation, generating distinct types of cytoplasmic inclusions, similar to those already described as resembling prion strains, which could represent the basis for neurodegenerative disease heterogeneity.
Molecular Changes in the Non-Inflamed Terminal Ileum of Patients with Ulcerative Colitis

Ulcerative colitis is a chronic inflammatory disease confined to the colon. Although the etiopathogenesis remains unknown, small bowel dysfunctions like histological and permeability alterations have been described in ulcerative colitis. We evaluated the molecular gene signature in the non-inflamed terminal ileum of 36 ulcerative colitis patients (7 active, with Mayo endoscopic subscore ≥2, and 29 inactive) as compared to 15 non-inflammatory bowel disease controls. Differential gene expression analysis with DESeq2 showed distinct expression patterns depending on disease activity and maximal disease extent. We found 84 dysregulated genes in patients with active extensive colitis and 20 in inactive extensive colitis, compared to controls. There was an overlap of 5 genes: REG1B, REG1A, MUC4, GRAMD2, and CASP10. In patients with left-sided colitis, ileal gene expression levels were similar to controls. Based on gene co-expression analysis, ileal changes in active ulcerative colitis patients were related to immune functions. The ileal changes in the inactive ulcerative colitis subjects converged into the maintenance of the intestinal barrier through increased mitochondrial function and dampened immune functions. In conclusion, we identified molecular changes in the non-inflamed ileum of ulcerative colitis that are dependent on colonic inflammation.
Nanocellulose Production: Exploring the Enzymatic Route and Residues of Pulp and Paper Industry

Increasing environmental and sustainability concerns, caused by current population growth, has promoted a raising utilization of renewable bio-resources for the production of materials and energy. Recently, nanocellulose (NC) has been receiving great attention due to its many attractive features such as non-toxic nature, biocompatibility, and biodegradability, associated with its mechanical properties and those related to its nanoscale, emerging as a promising material in many sectors, namely packaging, regenerative medicine, and electronics, among others. Nanofibers and nanocrystals, derived from cellulose sources, have been mainly produced by mechanical and chemical treatments; however, the use of cellulases to obtain NC attracted much attention due to their environmentally friendly character. This review presents an overview of general concepts in NC production. Especial emphasis is given to enzymatic hydrolysis processes using cellulases and the utilization of pulp and paper industry residues. Integrated process for the production of NC and other high-value products through enzymatic hydrolysis is also approached. Major challenges found in this context are discussed along with its properties, potential application, and future perspectives of the use of enzymatic hydrolysis as a pretreatment in the scale-up of NC production.
Evolution of Inflammatory and Oxidative Stress Markers in Romanian Obese Male Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus after Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy: One Year Follow-Up

Geography is one of the key drivers of the significant variation in the etiopathogenic profile and prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and obesity, therefore geographically based data are fundamental for implementing the appropriate interventions. Presently, the selection criteria of T2DM and obesity patients for laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) have not reached a worldwide consensus—highlighting the need for sharing experts’ guidance in the preoperative evaluation, choice of the interventional procedure, perioperative management and patient long-term care. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the impact of LSG on T2DM (T2DM) remission in Romanian obese male patients, based on a multiparametric, prospective investigation. We have conducted a randomized controlled study on 41 obese male participants with the body mass index (BMI) ≥ 30 kg/m2, aged 30–65 years, which were randomly divided in two study groups: one receiving conventional treatment and the second undergoing LSG. The clinical and anthropometrical parameters, resting metabolic rate, general biochemical status, adipocytes profile, gastrointestinal hormones levels, proinflammatory, oxidant and antioxidant profiles were determined at three time points: V1 (baseline), V2 (after six months) and V3 (after 12 months). Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), blood glucose levels, BMI, weight, visceral fat level, HDL-cholesterol, incretin hormones, proinflammatory and the oxidative stress status were significantly improved in the LSG versus conventional treatment group. This is the first study reporting on the evaluation of metabolic surgery impact on Romanian obese male patients with T2DM. Our results confirm that LSG could contribute to T2DM remission in patients with diabesity, but this beneficial effect seems to be critically influenced by the duration of T2DM rather than by the obesity status. Our results show that, in addition to the parameters included in the prediction algorithm, the proinsulin levels, proinsulin/insulin ratio and the visceral fat percentage could bring added value to the assessment of metabolic status.
Stochastic Processes and Their Applications

Stochastic Processes and their ApplicationsAn Introduction to Stochastic Processes and Their ApplicationsBasics of Applied Stochastic ProcessesIntroduction to Stochastic Processes with RStochastic Processes and Functional AnalysisStochastic Methods and their Applications to CommunicationsTheory of Stochastic ProcessesStochastic Processes with Applications to FinanceAn Introduction to Stochastic Processes and Their ApplicationsAn Introduction to Continuous-Time Stochastic ProcessesStationary and Related Stochastic ProcessesStochastic-Process LimitsStochastic ProcessesStochastic Game Strategies and their ApplicationsStochastic Processes with ApplicationsTheory and Applications of Stochastic ProcessesStochastic processes and applications in biology and medicine IIStochastic Processes and ApplicationsThinking ProbabilisticallyProbability Theory and Stochastic Processes with Applications (Second Edition)Probability, Statistics, and Stochastic Processes for Engineers and ScientistsAn Introduction to Stochastic Processes with Applications to BiologyNonstationary Stochastic Processes And Their Applications Proceedings Of The WorkshopStochastic Processes and CalculusStochastic Processes for PhysicistsStochastic Processes and Their ApplicationsSurveys in Stochastic ProcessesStochastic ProcessesAdvanced Medical Statistics (2nd Edition)Stochastic Processes and ApplicationsStochastic Processes and their ApplicationsStationary Stochastic ProcessesStochastic Processes and Their ApplicationsStochastic Processes and ApplicationsStochastic Processes and their ApplicationsHandbook of Stochastic Analysis and ApplicationsStochastic Processes and Their ApplicationsIntroduction to Probability and Stochastic Processes with ApplicationsApplied Probability and Stochastic ProcessesStochastic Processes with Applications to Finance
Disturbance to brood-rearing Hooded Plover Thinornis rubricollis: responses and consequences

We examined the causes and consequences of disturbance to the chicks of Hooded Plover Thinornis rubricollis in central southern Victoria, Australia. Humans were the most frequent source of encounters, and response rates to a variety of stimuli were high. Three possible mechanisms by which disturbance could reduce chick survival were evaluated. (1) Disturbance might cause thermal stress to chicks. An encounter with a human often caused brooding to cease, but it is not clear whether overall levels of brooding were compromised. Chicks found themselves un-brooded due to disturbance for up to 290 min, and in ambient temperatures of 10–46°C. (2) Disturbance might cause energetic stress to chicks. Encounters with humans usually caused chick foraging to stop. Higher levels of disturbance were associated with less chick foraging. There was a tendency for broods to forage in lower and potentially more profitable levels of the habitat in less-disturbed conditions. However, the overall pattern of habitat use was similar during disturbed and less-disturbed conditions. (3) Adult defence of broods could be compromised by disturbance. However, no brood predation occurred in disturbed circumstances, and adults stayed close to their broods even in disturbed conditions. These data suggest that defence of chicks was not compromised by disturbance.