Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis on lung function in children with cystic fibrosis.

RATIONALE The relationship between sensitization to Aspergillus fumigatus and progression of pulmonary function is not yet established in cystic fibrosis (CF). OBJECTIVES We aimed to evaluate onset of A. fumigatus sensitization and development of allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA), as well as to determine the physiologic factors of lung function influencing these mechanisms in CF. METHODS Serial annual lung function tests performed in 122 children with CF (62 males; 60 females; age: 6-18 yr) provided data pertaining to FRC measured by plethysmography, lung clearance index, volume of trapped gas, effective specific airway resistance, and forced expiratory indices (FEV1, FEF at 50% VC). Specific IgE to recombinant A. fumigatus allergens, rAspf1 and rAspf3, served as marker for sensitization, and to rAspf4 and rAspf6 as indications for a serologic ABPA, were clinically diagnosed (Nelson criteria). By linear mixed-effect model analysis, five patient groups, (1) not sensitized and free from Pseudomonas aeruginosa, (2) intermittently P. aeruginosa colonized, (3) chronically P. aeruginosa infected, (4) sensitized, and (5) with ABPA, were retrospectively evaluated. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS A. fumigatus sensitization was best reflected by increased rAspf1+3-specific IgE levels, whereas, in most patients, sensitization was preceded by P. aeruginosa infection. Patients with ABPA demonstrated the most severe progression in all lung function parameters, and FEF at 50% VC, volume of trapped gas, and effective specific airway resistance were the best predictors (p < 0.0001). However, regarding distinction between sensitization to A. fumigatus and development of ABPA in the course of CF, chronic P. aeruginosa infection has to be taken into account. CONCLUSIONS Airway narrowing, gas trapping, and small airway disease are the major targets for functional derangement in ABPA.
Comparing Generic Drug Markets in Europe and the United States: Prices, Volumes, and Spending

Policy Points: Our study indicates that there are opportunities for cost savings in generic drug markets in Europe and the United States. Regulators should make it easier for generic drugs to reach the market. Regulators and payers should apply measures to stimulate price competition among generic drugmakers and to increase generic drug use. To meaningfully evaluate policy options, it is important to analyze historical context and understand why similar initiatives failed previously. Context Rising drug prices are putting pressure on health care budgets. Policymakers are assessing how they can save money through generic drugs. Methods We compared generic drug prices and market shares in 13 European countries, using data from 2013, to assess the amount of variation that exists between countries. To place these results in context, we reviewed evidence from recent studies on the prices and use of generics in Europe and the United States. We also surveyed peer‐reviewed studies, gray literature, and books published since 2000 to (1) outline existing generic drug policies in European countries and the United States; (2) identify ways to increase generic drug use and to promote price competition among generic drug companies; and (3) explore barriers to implementing reform of generic drug policies, using a historical example from the United States as a case study. Findings The prices and market shares of generics vary widely across Europe. For example, prices charged by manufacturers in Switzerland are, on average, more than 2.5 times those in Germany and more than 6 times those in the United Kingdom, based on the results of a commonly used price index. The proportion of prescriptions filled with generics ranges from 17% in Switzerland to 83% in the United Kingdom. By comparison, the United States has historically had low generic drug prices and high rates of generic drug use (84% in 2013), but has in recent years experienced sharp price increases for some off‐patent products. There are policy solutions to address issues in Europe and the United States, such as streamlining the generic drug approval process and requiring generic prescribing and substitution where such policies are not yet in place. The history of substitution laws in the United States provides insights into the economic, political, and cultural issues influencing the adoption of generic drug policies. Conclusions Governments should apply coherent supply‐ and demand‐side policies in generic drug markets. An immediate priority is to convince more physicians, pharmacists, and patients that generic drugs are bioequivalent to branded products. Special‐interest groups continue to obstruct reform in Europe and the United States.
Management and Leadership in Serbian Terminology Work

Research question: This paper studies the roles of Terminology Leadership (Filipovic 2012, 2015; Filipovic & Vuco, 2012; Filipovic & Djordan, 2018) and Terminology Management model (Jernudd & Neustupný, 1987, 1991; Jernudd 1993, 1997 in Antia, 2000, p.3; Spolsky, 2004, 2009, 2012) in the implementation of terminology policy and planning in Serbia, and the sustainable development of Serbian scientific and technical terminology. Motivation: As in almost all standard-language cultures (Quirk,1990), the Serbian language policy is top-down oriented, i.e., it follows the language management model. In this model, all decisions regarding the language, including terminology decisions, are made by linguists - language planners, without taking into account the opinions of professional and academic communities, i.e., the primary creators and users of terminology. Newer European terminology guidelines, especially the widely accepted UNESCO Guidelines for Terminological Policies (2005, p.3), however, propose that terminology work should be approached both top-down, i.e., on the level of political decision-making (following the terminology management model), and bottom-up, i.e., on the level of professional associations and other terminology stakeholders (following the complementary model of terminology leadership). Idea: The idea behind this paper is to investigate to what extent the terminology leadership model and the bottom-up orientation in the Serbian terminology policy and planning are recognized and accepted by various groups of stakeholders in comparison with the dominant language management model. Data: The data regarding the perspectives of two groups of terminology stakeholders (technical translators and professional / academic community) towards the state of the Serbian subject-field terminology and terminology management were collected, analyzed, interpreted and compared. Tools: The data were collected through two surveys on terminology work (Andjelkovic, 2018). While the first survey focuses on translators’ perspective on terminology management, the second survey examines the attitude of the academic community towards the terminology state of their own subject field: management. Findings: The surveys’ results confirm that both groups of terminology stakeholders recognise the importance of collaborative and cooperative work of linguists and subject field specialists in terminology policy making, planning and implementation, and thus do not regard linguists (i.e., language planners) as exclusive language and terminology decision-makers. The results also indicate, however, that there is still a very strong influence of standard-language ideology and the top-down oriented language policy. Contribution: The paper suggests a change in the implementation of the Serbian terminology policy and planning that is more in line with the European terminology Guidelines (UNESCO, 2005).
Wireless body area network security issues — Survey

Rapid advances in the technologies of wireless communication have led to the evolution and empowerment of Wireless Body Area Network (WBAN). The health care applications are improved by using WBAN with the usage of different variety of sensors for monitoring the patient in order to diagnose any life threatening diseases. In recent past, several experts have concentrated in building system architecture of WBAN to enhance technical requirements for health care monitoring applications. These wearable systems play an important role since they control the life of patient. Although, Wireless Body Area Networks (WBAN) is an emerging key technology which is used for providing real-time monitoring of the patient health condition, WBAN faces various issues like energy efficiency, quality of service (QoS), along with security issues such as loss of data, authentication, access control and privacy issues. Very few researchers have developed strong security system for WBAN in order to protect the life-critical data. However, WBANs face some difficulties in addressing security since it has arduous resource constraints and strident environmental conditions. Hence, security and privacy is a challenging task. In this paper, a general outlook of Wireless Body Area Network and Wireless Sensor Network is given. Further the survey of different protocols using essential security and privacy issues with its pro and cons in WBANs.
Universal Amplification, Next-Generation Sequencing, and Assembly of HIV-1 Genomes

ABSTRACT Whole HIV-1 genome sequences are pivotal for large-scale studies of inter- and intrahost evolution, including the acquisition of drug resistance mutations. The ability to rapidly and cost-effectively generate large numbers of HIV-1 genome sequences from different populations and geographical locations and determine the effect of minority genetic variants is, however, a limiting factor. Next-generation sequencing promises to bridge this gap but is hindered by the lack of methods for the enrichment of virus genomes across the phylogenetic breadth of HIV-1 and methods for the robust assembly of the virus genomes from short-read data. Here we report a method for the amplification, next-generation sequencing, and unbiased de novo assembly of HIV-1 genomes of groups M, N, and O, as well as recombinants, that does not require prior knowledge of the sequence or subtype. A sensitivity of at least 3,000 copies/ml was determined by using plasma virus samples of known copy numbers. We applied our novel method to compare the genome diversities of HIV-1 groups, subtypes, and genes. The highest level of diversity was found in the env, nef, vpr, tat, and rev genes and parts of the gag gene. Furthermore, we used our method to investigate mutations associated with HIV-1 drug resistance in clinical samples at the level of the complete genome. Drug resistance mutations were detected as both major variant and minor species. In conclusion, we demonstrate the feasibility of our method for large-scale HIV-1 genome sequencing. This will enable the phylogenetic and phylodynamic resolution of the ongoing pandemic and efficient monitoring of complex HIV-1 drug resistance genotypes.
Cloninger Type 2 Score and Lesch Typology Predict Hospital Readmission of Female and Male Alcohol‐Dependent Inpatients During a 24‐Month Follow‐Up

BACKGROUND Relapse after detoxification treatment is a common problem in alcohol dependence. However, its prediction still lacks reliability. We here investigated whether the easily accessible clinical Cloninger and Lesch classifications predict alcohol-related hospital readmission following inpatient withdrawal treatment. METHODS In this bicentric prospective clinical study, 67 female and 84 male alcohol-dependent inpatients were characterized according to the Cloninger items and the Lesch typology. The patients' records were followed for 24 months. Because of the well-established sex differences in alcohol dependence, we studied females and males separately. RESULTS Overall, 54% of the female patients and 67% of the male patients sustained at least 1 alcohol-related hospital readmission during the follow-up. Readmission was related to a higher Cloninger type 2 score than nonreadmission (females, p = 0.007, males p = 0.044). In females, the Cloninger type 2 score correlated with the number of readmissions (ρ = 0.384, p = 0.001) and the days to first readmission (ρ = -0.333, p = 0.006). The effects were stronger in patients with age at onset of alcohol dependence over 25 years. We found gender dimorphisms concerning the Cloninger items. In female patients, the 4 Lesch subtypes differed in their risk (p = 0.010), the number (p = 0.040), and the days to first readmission (p = 0.031). Lesch type 1 was associated with an increased risk (OR = 4.83, p = 0.041) and Lesch type 2 with a reduced risk (OR = 0.07, p = 0.004). In addition, the number of previous inpatient alcohol withdrawals predicted the patients' outcomes (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS The Cloninger type 2 score and the Lesch typology are promising tools for the prediction of alcohol-related readmissions. Our findings provide the basis to optimize relapse prevention in alcohol dependence.
Very short term dehydroepiandrosterone treatment in female adrenal failure: impact on carbohydrate, lipid and protein metabolism.

OBJECTIVE In female adrenal insufficiency, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) secretion is impaired and circulating androgen levels are severely reduced. We wanted to analyse the acute effects of physiological DHEA substitution on substrate metabolism. DESIGN We studied nine females with adrenal insufficiency after 9 days of oral DHEA replacement (50 mg/day) in a double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study. METHODS Whole body and regional substrate metabolism was assayed in the basal state and during a euglycemic hyperinsulinemic glucose clamp by means of isotope dilution techniques (glucose, phenylalanine, tyrosine), indirect calorimetry and in situ lipolysis (microdialysis technique). RESULTS DHEA treatment normalized the levels of all androgens. Basal and insulin-stimulated total energy expenditure and rates of protein, lipid and glucose oxidation were unaffected by DHEA. Whole body turnover of glucose and protein were also unaffected by DHEA. Forearm breakdown of protein was reduced by insulin to the same extent after placebo and DHEA. Insulin sensitivity as expressed by the glucose infusion rate during the euglycemic clamp was similar after placebo and DHEA. Finally, the interstitial release of glycerol in adipose tissue was not significantly influenced by DHEA. CONCLUSIONS Short-term oral DHEA replacement in women with adrenal insufficiency was not associated with measurable changes in total or regional substrate metabolism.
Why we post: the comparative anthropology of social media

This talk reports on research by nine anthropologists who each simultaneously carried out a 15 month ethnography on the use and consequences of social media in field sites ranging from the Syria-Turkey border, an IT complex in south India to both a factory and a rural town in China, a squatters settlement in Brazil, a mining town in Chile, an English village and small towns in south Italy and Trinidad. The focus will be on two issues: our definition of social media as 'scalable sociality', in contrast to prior media with its duality of the private and the public, and secondly the impact of a shift to visual communication. These have consequences for a broad range of issues such as enhanced conservatism, and both enhanced and reduced individualism, inequality and privacy. The paper will briefly discuss our theoretical structures that underlie this project such as the 'theory of attainment', and 'polymedia'. The research directly challenges most universal claims that either the internet or social media has a specific effect on human populations based on the extrapolation of evidence from any one case. By contrast this project reveals a high degree of social and cultural specificity. We also show how genres of content migrate easily between different platforms which leads us to question the arguments about social media that assume causation either on the basis of the nature of the platform or upon what have been called its 'affordances'. Finally, a mention will be made of the plans for the dissemination of the research results through eleven Open Access volumes and multilingual popular media such as YouTube, a MOOC, and a website, and the potential this represents for the use of new digital capabilities for the future of research dissemination.
Escherichia coli: the best biological drinking water indicator for public health protection

Public health protection requires an indicator of fecal pollution. It is not necessary to analyse drinking water for all pathogens. Escherichia coli is found in all mammal faeces at concentrations of 10 log 9−1, but it does not multiply appreciably in the environment. In the 1890s, it was chosen as the biological indicator of water treatment safety. Because of method deficiencies, E. coli surrogates such as the ‘fecal coliform’ and total coliforms tests were developed and became part of drinking water regulations. With the advent of the Defined Substrate Technology in the late 1980s, it became possible to analyse drinking water directly for E. coli (and, simultaneously, total coliforms) inexpensively and simply. Accordingly, E. coli was re‐inserted in the drinking water regulations. E. coli survives in drinking water for between 4 and 12 weeks, depending on environmental conditions (temperature, microflora, etc.). Bacteria and viruses are approximately equally oxidant‐sensitive, but parasites are less so. Under the conditions in distribution systems, E. coli will be much more long‐lived. Therefore, under most circumstances it is possible to design a monitoring program that permits public health protection at a modest cost. Drinking water regulations currently require infrequent monitoring which may not adequately detect intermittent contamination events; however, it is cost‐effective to markedly increase testing with E. coli to better protect the public's health. Comparison with other practical candidate fecal indicators shows that E. coli is far superior overall.
In vivo patellar kinematics during total knee arthroplasty

Patellar maltracking after total knee arthroplasty often results in complications, including anterior knee pain, instability and impingement, and is therefore better resolved intraoperatively. Many factors can affect patellar kinematics during knee replacement, including component position, implant design, joint alignment, and soft tissue tensions. However, to our knowledge, the impact of arthroplasty on patellar kinematics has not been previously reported in vivo. A computer-assisted surgery (CAS) system was developed to measure the pre-arthroplasty patellar kinematics, display the distance between this path and the surface of the planned femoral component, and compare the post-arthroplasty path to the pre-arthroplasty path. Three surgeons from three centers used this CAS system to measure the in vivo pre- and post-arthroplasty kinematics of 18 patients. There was a small, but consistent, proximal shift in the tibial joint lines (mean: 4.2 mm), resulting in pseudo patella-baja, i.e., relatively more distal contact of the patella on the femoral component. This led to significant changes in proximodistal and anteroposterior patellar positioning as well as patellar flexion following arthroplasty (p < 0.008). Mediolateral shift, tilt and internal/external spin had the greatest magnitudes of change (mean: 4.1 mm, 4.6° and 4.6°, respectively) relative to their mean pre-arthroplasty ranges (averaging 2.1 mm, 5.8° and 5.8°, respectively); however, these changes were distributed almost equally medially and laterally, indicating no surgical bias in any one direction. Female patients had more lateral tilt on average than male patients throughout flexion (p < 0.004 post-arthroplasty, p < 0.03 pre-arthroplasty, in later flexion), as well as other kinematic differences; there may therefore be potential for improving overall kinematic results by focusing on gender differences during research, design and surgery. This study demonstrated the feasibility of using a CAS system to measure patellofemoral kinematics. Intraoperative awareness of patellar tracking, including knowledge of the tibiofemoral joint line, could have an impact on the surgical plan and thereby improve the postoperative outcome.
Decreased human immunodeficiency virus type 1 plasma viremia during antiretroviral therapy reflects downregulation of viral replication in lymphoid tissue.

Although several immunologic and virologic markers measured in peripheral blood are useful for predicting accelerated progression of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease, their validity for evaluating the response to antiretroviral therapy and their ability to accurately reflect changes in lymphoid organs remain unclear. In the present study, changes in certain virologic markers have been analyzed in peripheral blood and lymphoid tissue during antiretroviral therapy. Sixteen HIV-infected individuals who were receiving antiretroviral therapy with zidovudine for > or = 6 months were randomly assigned either to continue on zidovudine alone or to add didanosine for 8 weeks. Lymph node biopsies were performed at baseline and after 8 weeks. Viral burden (i.e., HIV DNA copies per 10(6) mononuclear cells) and virus replication in mononuclear cells isolated from peripheral blood and lymph node and plasma viremia were determined by semiquantitative polymerase chain reaction assays. Virologic and immunologic markers remained unchanged in peripheral blood and lymph node of patients who continued on zidovudine alone. In contrast, a decrease in virus replication in lymph nodes was observed in four of six patients who added didanosine to their regimen, and this was associated with a decrease in plasma viremia. These results indicate that decreases in plasma viremia detected during antiretroviral therapy reflect downregulation of virus replication in lymphoid tissue.
Modifications of HIV-1 DNA and Provirus-Infected Cells During 24 Months of Intermittent Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy

Background:Few data have been reported on the dynamics of HIV-1 DNA during intermittent highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). In this study, we measured cell-associated HIV-1 DNA and provirus-infected cells during the Istituto Superiore di Sanità-Pulsed Antiretroviral Therapy (ISS-PART) clinical trial. Methods:HIV-1 DNA was measured by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of 37 subjects enrolled in the ISS-PART, a randomized clinical trial comparing 24 months of intermittent (arm B) versus continuous (arm A) HAART in chronic HIV infection. In 14 subjects, the number of provirus-infected cells was also measured at baseline and at month 24. Results:At baseline, the number of HIV-1 DNA copies/106 PBMCs was similar in arm B (mean ± SD: 121 ± 172, median = 35) and arm A (mean ± SD: 107 ± 153, median = 10) (P = not significant [n.s.]). No significant variations occurred over time; at 24 months, the HIV-1 DNA level was 77 ± 28 (median = 30) copies/106 PBMCs in arm B and 166 ± 321 copies/106 PBMCs (median = 10) in arm A (P = n.s.). At baseline, the provirus-infected cell counts were 85 ± 98 (median = 50) cells/106 PBMCs in arm B and 92 ± 113 (median = 50) cells/106 PBMCs in arm A (P = n.s.), with no variations at 24 months. Conclusions:These findings suggest that the intermittent schedule of the ISS-PART has no major impact on viral reservoirs, at least in a midterm follow-up.