Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Single and Combination Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2 Glycoprotein Vaccines Adjuvanted with CpG Oligodeoxynucleotides or Monophosphoryl Lipid A Exhibit Differential Immunity That Is Not Correlated to Protection in Animal Models

ABSTRACT Despite several attempts to develop an effective prophylactic vaccine for HSV-2, all have failed to show efficacy in the clinic. The most recent of these failures was the GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) subunit vaccine based on the glycoprotein gD with the adjuvant monophosphoryl lipid A (MPL). In a phase 3 clinical trial, this vaccine failed to protect from HSV-2 disease, even though good neutralizing antibody responses were elicited. We aimed to develop a superior, novel HSV-2 vaccine containing either gD or gB alone or in combination, together with the potent adjuvant CpG oligodeoxynucleotides (CPG). The immunogenic properties of these vaccines were compared in mice. We show that gB/CPG/alum elicited a neutralizing antibody response similar to that elicited by gD/CPG/alum vaccine but a significantly greater gamma interferon (IFN-γ) T cell response. Furthermore, the combined gB-gD/CPG/alum vaccine elicited significantly greater neutralizing antibody and T cell responses than gD/MPL/alum. The efficacies of these candidate vaccines were compared in the mouse and guinea pig disease models, including a novel male guinea pig genital disease model. These studies demonstrated that increased immune response did not correlate to improved protection. First, despite a lower IFN-γ T cell response, the gD/CPG/alum vaccine was more effective than gB/CPG/alum in mice. Furthermore, the gB-gD/CPG/alum vaccine was no more effective than gD/MPL/alum in mice or male guinea pigs. We conclude that difficulties in correlating immune responses to efficacy in animal models will act as a deterrent to researchers attempting to develop effective HSV vaccines.
N:P RATIOS IN ESTIMATING NUTRIENT LIMITATION IN AQUATIC SYSTEMS

The relative concentrations of N and P have been used to estimate which of these nutrients is limiting the growth of algae in aquatic systems. The approach is simple and easy to use provided that there are data on N and P concentrations. Yet, interpretation of the results should be done with caution as the N:P ratio may not correctly indicate the limiting nutrient of the system. The approach has mainly been used for standing waters, i.e. lakes and coastal areas, where nutrients rather than physical conditions tend to limit algal growth.
Planning Focus of Attention for Multifingered Hand with Consideration of Time-Varying Aspects

Visual monitoring of an object manipulated by a multifingered hand has a problem of occlusion caused by the fingers. In this paper, we propose a new planning method, based on a 3-dimensional CAD model of the environment, for focusing attention in such a monitoring task. We formulate the planning to focus attention as a scheduling problem for the whole task period rather than for a specific time. We introduce a genetic algorithm to cope with combinatorial explosion of the image features considered during time-sequential aspects in the task. The genetic algorithm is a population-based search method which efficiently finds solutions in a large search space by simulating biological evolutionary processes. The algorithm consists of selection, crossover, and mutation procedures applied to a population of chromosomes. To solve the problem of planning a focus of attention by using the genetic algorithm, we employ a coding scheme for a chromosome to produce consistent offspring after the crossover. Experimental results show the usefulness of the proposed method by finding the pseudo-optimal plan within a short computation time.
Aplicacao de testes de raiz unitaria com quebra estructural em series economicas no Brasil na decada de 90

This article analyzed the behavior of economic series concerning total wholesale price indexes, agricultural and industrial prices also at wholesale level, besides the nominal exchange rate, supply money according to the M2 concept, and the real exchange rate over January 1990December 1998. The unit root test with a structural break was used, as developed by PERRON (1994 and 1989), FRANSES ; HALDRUP (1993), as well as the intervention analysis (BOX ; TIAO, 1975). When the time series contains a structural break, unit root tests like the Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) and the Phillips-Perron (PP) lead to biased results in relation to the stationarity or non-stationarity of the time series. The tests developed by PERRON (1994 and 1989) are suitable when the time series has only one structural break. The FRANSES; HALDRUP (1993) test can be used when the time series presents more than one structural break under the additive outlier type, and it can be corrected with a pulse intervention variable. The graphic analysis showed that all the series, except the real exchange rate, presented a structural break on the date of the implementation of the Real Plan in July of 1994. Thus, instead of the ADF and PP tests for the determination of the integration order, the test proposed by PERRON (1994) must be used. The results of the unit root tests showed that all variables are not stationary around a deterministic trend, i.e., they have unit root. Key-words: unit root test with a structural break, intervention analysis, outlier. Recebido em 07/02/2001. Liberado para publicação em 02/03/2001.
The Economics of Energy Conservation

Industry has an obligation to consider energy conservation from two points of view, that of its own economic considerations as well as a broader consideration of its actions on the national energy programs. The use of cogeneration, reduced demand and alternative methodology all can play an important role in reducing our usage of non-renewable resources, reducing the need for added electrical generation capability and impacting on our importation demands.
Sodium oxybate improves excessive daytime sleepiness in narcolepsy.

STUDY OBJECTIVES To assess the effectiveness of sodium oxybate therapy, modafinil therapy and the combination of the two for excessive daytime sleepiness in narcolepsy patients previously taking modafinil. DESIGN Double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter study. SETTING Forty-four sites in the United States, Canada, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. PARTICIPANTS Two hundred seventy- adult patients with narcolepsy taking 200 to 600 mg of modafinil daily for the treatment of excessive daytime sleepiness. INTERVENTIONS Patients received unchanged doses of modafinil (with sodium-oxybate placebo) during a 2-week baseline phase. Following a baseline polysomnogram and Maintenance of Wakefulness Test, they were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 treatment groups: sodium-oxybate placebo plus modafinil placebo, sodium oxybate plus modafinil placebo, modafinil plus sodium-oxybate placebo, or sodium oxybate plus modafinil. Sodium oxybate was administered as 6 g nightly for 4 weeks and was then increased to 9 g nightly for 4 additional weeks. The primary efficacy measure was the Maintenance of Wakefulness Test; secondary measures included the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, diary recordings, and the Clinical Global Impression-change scale. RESULTS Following the switch from modafinil to placebo, the mean average daytime sleep latency on the Maintenance of Wakefulness Test decreased from 9.74 minutes at baseline to 6.87 minutes after 8 weeks (p < .001). In the sodium-oxybate group, there was no decrease in sleep latency, suggesting that this drug was as efficacious in treating the excessive daytime sleepiness as the previously administered modafinil. In contrast, the sodium-oxybate/modafinil group demonstrated an increase in daytime sleep latency from 10.43 minutes to 13.15 minutes (p < .001), suggesting that this combination of drugs produced an additive effect. The sodium-oxybate group also demonstrated a decrease in median average Epworth Sleepiness Scale scores, from 15 to 12.0, whereas the sodium-oxybate/modafinil group decreased from 15.0 to 11.0 (for both, p < .001). The Clinical Global Impression-Change scale demonstrated similar results. CONCLUSIONS Sodium oxybate and modafinil are both effective for treating excessive daytime sleepiness in narcolepsy, producing additive effects when used together. Sodium oxybate is beneficial as both monotherapy and as adjunctive therapy for the treatment of excessive daytime sleepiness in narcolepsy.
Shading Surface Estimation using Piecewise Polynomials for Binarizing Unevenly Illuminated Document Images

As a pre-processing step for document analysis, binarizing document image is often performed. The bina- rization is regarded as a necessary step to separate text and background. When document images are acquired under poor lighting circumstances, the images are soiled with uneven shading. This paper presents an improved approach for binarizing document images which are illuminated unevenly. We employ 2D polynomials with order 3 to fit very complicated uneven shading surface of document images. The document image is divided into several blocks over- lapped partially with each other to reduce the discontinuity between polynomials. To improve the estimation accuracy, we normalize pixel coordinates to establish a stable equation system for computing the polynomial coefficients. After removing the uneven shading, most part of the background is filled with the maximum of surface and then a global thresholding is applied. In the experiment section, we demonstrate that the binarization results are satisfied, compared with other methods.
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE INEQUALITY IN INCOME AND LAND HOLDINGS AMONG RURAL RICE FARMERS OF DISTRICT SWAT

The study was conducted in district Swat during 2007 to assess the degree of inequalities existing among rural rice farmers’ income and land holdings. To this end, primary data was collected through structured questionnaire using a sample of one hundred rice farmers allocating to three tehsils selected purposively, each comprising three villages selected on the basis of proportional sampling technique. Lorenz curve approach and Gini-coefficient was used for the measurement of inequality in farmers’ income and land holdings. The results obtained from Lorenz square box and Gini-coefficient indicated higher degree of inequality existing among farmers’ income and size of land holdings. Based on the findings of the study, appropriate land reforms’ structure should be introduced. Government should give incentives to poor farmers for increasing their income which will reduce these inequalities.
Epoetin in haemodialysis patients: impact of change from subcutaneous to intravenous routes of administration

Background and objective: Cases of erythroblastopenia, as an adverse effect to epoetin (EPREX®), led to its use being restricted in Europe to the intravenous route (i.v.) since July 2002, in patients with chronic renal insufficiency. This work aimed at investigating the biological, pharmaceutical and economic impacts of this change in policy.
Enhanced CXC Chemokine Responses of Human Colonic Epithelial Cells to Locus of Enterocyte Effacement-Negative Shiga-Toxigenic Escherichia coli

ABSTRACT There is increasing evidence that by facilitating translocation of Shiga toxin (Stx) across the intestinal epithelium and by transporting bound toxin to remote sites such as the renal endothelium, polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) play a key role in the pathogenesis of Shiga-toxigenic Escherichia coli (STEC) disease. Plasma levels of PMN-attracting CXC chemokines such as interleukin-8 (IL-8) also appear to correlate in humans with the severity of disease. Thus, the capacity of STEC strains to elicit CXC chemokine responses in intestinal epithelial cells may be a crucial step in pathogenesis. Accordingly, we attempted to determine which STEC factors are responsible for CXC chemokine induction in human colonic epithelial cells. Infection of Hct-8 cells with locus for enterocyte effacement (LEE)-negative STEC strains isolated from patients with severe STEC disease resulted in up-regulation of IL-8, macrophage inflammatory protein 2α (MIP-2α), MIP-2β, and ENA-78 mRNA significantly higher and earlier than that elicited by several LEE-positive STEC strains, including the O157:H7 strain EDL933. Similarly, levels of IL-8 protein in LEE-negative STEC-infected Hct-8 culture supernatants were significantly higher than in LEE-positive STEC-infected culture supernatants. The difference in responses could not be attributed to the expression or nonexpression of LEE genes, the presence or absence of an STEC megaplasmid, or differences in O serogroups or in the type or amount of Stx produced. Interestingly, however, several of the LEE-negative STEC strains eliciting the strongest chemokine responses belonged to flagellar serotype H21. Incubation of Hct-8 cells with isolated H21 flagellin elicited IL-8 and MIP-2α responses similar to those seen in the presence of the most potent LEE-negative STEC strains. Deletion of the fliC gene, but not the stx2 gene, largely abolished the capacity of O113:H21 LEE-negative STEC strain 98NK2 to elicit IL-8 and MIP-2α responses in Hct-8 cells. Taken together, these data suggest that although Stx is capable of inducing CXC chemokine responses, the elevated responses seen in cells infected with certain STEC strains are largely attributable to the production of flagellin.
Digital Phase Imaging: Cell Detection and Analysis without Fluorescent Staining using the Opera High Content Screening System

Image segmentation is a key aspect of high content screening (HCS) assays and involves separating objects of interest from background. This often requires using fluorescent stains to delineate the whole cell, allowing image segmentation into single cells. This technique, however, has a number of drawbacks such as the limited number of available fluorescent channels, overlapping excitation and emission spectra of dyes, and phototoxicity if the dyes are applied in live cell experiments [Selinummi et al., 2009]. These difficulties can be overcome to some extent by using the brightfield option in HCS approaches.
An OCR System for Numerals Applied to Energy Meters

This work describes a prototype of an OCR (Optical Character Recognition) system designed for reading digits of power measurement devices, using Artificial Neural Networks. The motivation for this work is the implementation of an alternative automatic measurement system to be used in a prepaid power system - SEPPRA. Prototype software using Computer Vision techniques and pattern recognition through Neural Networks is implemented in the C++/Windows platform. Considering this application, adaptive threshold methods are compared in order to choose the more appropriated algorithm of binarization. Several algorithms are implemented and evaluated under different conditions of zoom and camera focus. The system works satisfactorily and can be carried to other platforms, making possible its production in commercial scale.
The Role of p53 and Fas in a Model of Acute Murine Graft-versus-Host Disease1

Graft-vs-host disease (GVHD) is a devastating, frequently fatal, pathological condition associated with lesions in specific target organs, including the intestine, liver, lung, and skin, as well as pancytopenia and alopecia. Bone marrow (BM) atrophy is observed in acutely diseased animals, but the underlying mechanisms of hemopoietic stem cell depletion remained to be established. We used an experimental mouse model of acute GVHD in which parental cells were injected into F1 hosts preconditioned by sublethal irradiation. The resulting graft-vs-host response was kinetically consistent, resulting in lethality within 3 wk. We observed disease pathology in the liver and small intestine, and consistent with previous observations, we found BM atrophy to be a factor in the onset of acute disease. The product of the protooncogene, p53, is known to be a key player in many physiological examples of apoptosis. We investigated the role of p53 in the apoptosis of BM cells (BMC) during the development of acute disease and found that at least one copy of the p53 gene is necessary for depletion of BM and subsequent lethality in host animals. BM depletion was preceded by induction of the death receptor, Fas, on the surface of host stem cells, and induction of Fas was coincidental with the sensitization of BMC to Fas-mediated apoptosis. Our data indicate that BM depletion in acute GVHD is mediated by p53-dependent up-regulation of Fas on BMC, which leads to Fas-dependent depletion and subsequent disease.
Human cytomegalovirus US3 gene expression is regulated by a complex network of positive and negative regulators.

One immediate early gene of human cytomegalovirus, the US3 gene, causes retention of major histocompatibility locus class I heavy chain proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum and is postulated to have a role in viral pathogenicity. Expression of the US3 gene is regulated by a number of cis-acting elements. In addition, numerous viral proteins are involved in regulating US3 gene expression. US3 transcription was activated modestly by a virion protein, ppUL82. The immediate early proteins encoded by UL122-123 (IE1 and IE2) further activate US3 expression, with the activation enhanced by expression of pTRS1. Other proteins, the immediate early protein encoded by UL37ex1/UL38 and the early protein, pUL84, inhibited IE1 and IE2 activation of US3 expression. US3 transcription is regulated both positively and negatively by a complex network of viral proteins, the interaction of which contributes to precise regulation of US3 gene expression. The ability of pUL37ex1/UL38 to repress expression of the immediate early US3 gene while activating early gene expression suggests that pUL37ex1/UL38 may function to switch viral gene expression from immediate early to early genes.
The value of the Health Assessment Questionnaire and special patient-generated scales to demonstrate change in systemic sclerosis patients over time.

OBJECTIVE To determine the validity and usefulness of a modified Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) for measurement of disease status and changes in disease status over time in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc). METHODS Since 1985, 1,250 patients attending the University of Pittsburgh Scleroderma Clinic have completed a modified HAQ annually. In addition to the standard HAQ questions about disability, the questionnaire includes visual analog scales (VAS) to evaluate SSc organ system symptoms, Raynaud's phenomenon, gastrointestinal (GI) tract and lung involvement, pain, and overall disease severity. In this study, the disability index (DI) (from the HAQ) and the VAS scores (on a 0-3 scale) were compared with various clinical and laboratory features recorded within 3 months of administration of the HAQ and VAS, using t-tests and Spearman's correlation tests. RESULTS The HAQ DI correlated directly with skin involvement, scleroderma heart or kidney disease, tendon friction rubs, hand contractures, and proximal muscle strength. Over time, the DI correlated with changes in skin score and was a good predictor of survival. There was a significant improvement in the DI during a 2-year time period in patients treated with D-penicillamine. The VAS for digital ulcers, GI symptoms, and lung symptoms correlated very closely with subjective and objective findings for these organ systems. The presence of new digital ulcers or improvement in digital ulcers showed significant associations with the Vascular scale, new GI symptoms or improvement in GI symptoms and institution of H2-blockers showed appropriate strong correlations with the GI scale, and changes in the forced vital capacity had an excellent correlation with the Lung scale (r = 0.58, P < 0.001). By Cox regression analysis, the HAQ DI was one of the best predictors of survival. CONCLUSION These data provide convincing evidence that a self-administered questionnaire is an accurate and inexpensive tool to measure disease status changes in SSc. Prospective studies with the HAQ administered at regular intervals, as in controlled trials, should be performed to further assess the benefits and limitations of this instrument.
ATR Homolog Mec1 Promotes Fork Progression, Thus Averting Breaks in Replication Slow Zones

Budding yeast Mec1, homolog of mammalian ATR, is an essential protein that mediates S-phase checkpoint responses and meiotic recombination. Elimination of Mec1 function leads to genomewide fork stalling followed by chromosome breakage. Breaks do not result from stochastic collapse of stalled forks or other incidental lesions; instead, they occur in specific regions of the genome during a G2 chromosomal transition. Break regions are found to be genetically encoded replication slow zones (RSZs), a newly discovered yeast chromosomal determinant. Thus, Mec1 has important functions in normal S phase and the genome instability of mec1(and, analogously, ATR −/−) mutants stems from defects in these basic roles.
Tuberculosis Screening on a Health Science Campus: Use of QuantiFERON-TB Gold Test for Students and Employees

Detecting and managing Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB) infection in a health-science center population is a clinical dilemma. Tuberculin skin tests are still the preferred method for detecting present or past infection of TB. The authors discuss the performance of whole blood interferon gamma release assay test commercially known as QuantiFERON-TB Gold Test (QFT-G) as an additional tool for a TB surveillance program for the students and employees at an academic medical center. QFT-G was successfully implemented as a confirmatory test for screening of TB infection.
Effect of Parental Migration on the Academic Performance of Left‐Behind Middle School Students in Rural China

China's rapid development and urbanization over the past 30 years have caused large numbers of rural residents to migrate to urban areas in search of work. This has created a generation of children who remain behind in rural areas when their parents migrate for work. Previous research has found mixed impacts of parental migration on the educational achievement of left-behind children (LBC), perhaps because of methodological deficiencies and lack of recognition of the heterogeneity of this population of children. Our study attempts to examine the impact of six types of parental migration on the academic achievement of a rural junior high school sample. Our study uses a panel of 7148 junior high school students to implement a difference-in-difference analysis and finds that parental migration has a negative and significant impact on the academic achievement of junior high school students. Our study suggests that the Chinese Government should implement measures to dismantle barriers to the human capital accumulation of LBC to ensure sustainable economic growth and human capital development in China.