Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Rapid induction of virus-neutralizing antibodies and viral clearance in a single-source outbreak of hepatitis C

In contrast to a detailed understanding of antiviral cellular immune responses, the impact of neutralizing antibodies for the resolution of acute hepatitis C is poorly defined. The analysis of neutralizing responses has been hampered by the fact that patient cohorts as well as hepatitis C virus (HCV) strains are usually heterogeneous, and that clinical data from acute-phase and long-term follow-up after infection are not readily available. Using an infectious retroviral HCV pseudoparticle model system, we studied a cohort of women accidentally exposed to the same HCV strain of known sequence. In this single-source outbreak of hepatitis C, viral clearance was associated with a rapid induction of neutralizing antibodies in the early phase of infection. Neutralizing antibodies decreased or disappeared after recovery from HCV infection. In contrast, chronic HCV infection was characterized by absent or low-titer neutralizing antibodies in the early phase of infection and the persistence of infection despite the induction of cross-neutralizing antibodies in the late phase of infection. These data suggest that rapid induction of neutralizing antibodies during the early phase of infection may contribute to control of HCV infection. This finding may have important implications for understanding the pathogenesis of HCV infection and for the development of novel preventive and therapeutic antiviral strategies.
Evaluation of cause-of-death statistics for Brazil, 2002-2004.

BACKGROUND Mortality statistics systems with reliable cause-of-death data constitute a major resource for effective health planning; however, many developing countries lack such information systems. Brazil has a long history of registering deaths, and a critical assessment of the quality of current cause-of-death statistics in its five different regions is crucial to identify strengths and weaknesses in the data, and present options for improvement. METHODS Quality of cause-of-death data from 2002 to 2004 was evaluated using an assessment framework based on four main attributes: generalizability, reliability, validity and policy relevance. A set of nine criteria: coverage, completeness, consistency of cause patterns with general mortality levels, consistency of cause specific mortality proportions over time, content validity, proportion of ill-defined causes and non-specific codes, incorrect or improbable age or sex patterns, timeliness, and geographical disaggregation were used to assess the four attributes of data quality. RESULTS Completeness of death registration varies from 72 to 80% in the northeast regions, compared with 85-90% in the Southeast and Centre-West regions, and 94-97% in the wealthier South region. The proportion of ill-defined deaths is an important problem in reported causes of death from almost all regions. Lack of adequate evidence limits the assessment of content validity of registered causes of death. Coverage, consistency of causes with general level of mortality, consistency over time, age and sex patterns, timeliness and usability of statistics for subnational purposes were judged to be reasonable and increase confidence in using the statistics. CONCLUSIONS There is considerable heterogeneity in the quality of cause-of-death statistics across Brazilian regions, especially for criteria such as completeness and ill-defined causes. These factors can influence generalizability and validity of reported causes of death, and must be considered in the interpretation and use of data for secondary descriptive analyses such as burden of disease estimation at regional level, with suitable adjustments to account for bias. The differences identified in this study could be a useful guide for defining measures and investments needed to improve data quality in Brazil.
Three-dimensional motion tracking reveals a diving component to visual and auditory escape swims in zebrafish larvae

ABSTRACT Escape behaviors have been studied in zebrafish by neuroscientists seeking cellular-level descriptions of neural circuits but few studies have examined vertical swimming during escapes. We analyzed three-dimensional swimming paths of zebrafish larvae during visually-evoked and auditory-evoked escapes while the fish were in a cubical tank with equal vertical and lateral range. Visually evoked escapes, elicited by sudden dimming of ambient light, consistently elicited downward spiral swimming (dives) with faster vertical than lateral movement. Auditory taps also elicited rapid escape swimming with equivalent total distance traveled but with significantly less vertical and more lateral movement. Visually evoked dives usually ended with the zebrafish hitting the bottom of the 10 cm3 tank. Therefore, visually evoked dives were also analyzed in a tubular tank with 50 cm of vertical range, and in most cases larvae reached the bottom of that tank during a 120 s dimming stimulus. Light-evoked spiral diving in zebrafish may be an innate defense reflex against specific predation threats. Since visual and auditory escapes are initially similar but dives persist only during visual escapes, our findings lay the groundwork for studying a type of decision-making within zebrafish sensorimotor circuits. Summary: Vertical directionality of zebrafish escape swims highlights the importance of ecological validity in motor control research.
The Establishment of Adult Reference Intervals on Fructosamine in Beijing

Fructosamine (FRA) is widely used for diabetes monitor and control as a glycemic marker, especially in patients in whom the measurement of HbA1c may be biased or even unreliable. However, the FRA reference intervals based on Asian population features still keep seldom reported. The objective of this study was to establish the adult FRA reference intervals in Beijing, China.
Comparative evaluation of control loop performance assessment schemes in an industrial chemical process plant

Control loop performance assessment is a new-emerging operator support technology that is used to keep automated control loops performing as optimally as possible. This paper addresses this critically important issue through a comprehensive evaluation of common assessment criteria to efficiently explore their capabilities to assess for different control loop scenarios. For this purpose, an integrated computational framework will be developed, inluding a HYSYS environment to simulate an industrial separator process plant so as to preserve its operational realities. A control loop assessment software package is incoporporated utilizing MATLAB to mimic as an independent supervisory computational platform. To provide an interface link between these two different software environments, an OLE (Object Linking Embedding) protocol has been employed. Extensive simulation test studies have been prepared to explore the performance loop assessment of each individual control loop in the simulated process plant against conservative loop tuning, valve stiction, random disturbance, and loop interaction as the most probable malfunctions in the study. The effectiveness of individual assessment metric to infer for each malfunction ocurrance has been illustrated . It will be shown that each criterion has its own merits and limitations, implying for a collective application of all the considered methods to efficiently detect all the probable malfunctions, reflecting differently in the considered assessment measures for the CLPA task .
Integrating life skills into Golf Canada's youth programs: Insights into a successful research to practice partnership

ABSTRACT This article offers insights into a successful research to practice partnership created between the University of Ottawa and Golf Canada, who worked together over the span of two years to integrate a life skills curriculum within two national programs for young golfers: (a) Golf in Schools and (b) Future Links Learn to Play. More specifically, the purpose of this article is to (a) describe how the partnership was created, (b) explain how the life skills curriculum was developed, and (c) share lessons learned from establishing a successful partnership with a national sport organization.
Relationships of microRNA expression in mouse lung with age and exposure to cigarette smoke and light

MicroRNAs provide a formidable tool not only in cancer research but also to investigate physiological mechanisms and to assess the effect of environmental exposures in healthy tissues. Collectively, cigarette smoke and sunlight have been estimated to account for 40% of all human cancers, and not only smoke but also, surprisingly, UV light induced genomic and postgenomic alterations in mouse lung. Here we evaluated by microarray the expression of 484 microRNAs in the lungs of CD‐1 mice, including new‐borns, postweanling males and females, and their dams, either untreated or exposed to environmental cigarette smoke and/or UV‐containing light. The results obtained highlighted age‐related variations in microRNA profiles, especially during the weanling period, due to perinatal stress and postnatal maturation of the lung. UV light alone did not affect pulmonary microRNAs, whereas smoke produced dramatic changes, mostly in the sense of down‐regulation, reflecting both adaptive mechanisms and activation of pathways involved in the pathogenesis of pulmonary diseases. Both gender and age affected smoke‐related microRNA dysregulation in mice. The data presented provide supporting evidence that microRNAs play a fundamental role in both physiological and pathological changes occurring in mouse lung. —Izzotti, A. , Calin, G. A. , Vernon E. St., Croce, G. M. , De Flora, S. Relationships of microRNA expression in mouse lung with age and exposure to cigarette smoke and light. FASEB J. 23, 3243–3250 (2009). www.fasebj. org
Gastrointestinal safety of NO-aspirin (NCX-4016) in healthy human volunteers: a proof of concept endoscopic study.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS NCX-4016 is a nitric oxide-releasing derivative of aspirin with antiplatelet activity. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of NCX-4016 on gastrointestinal mucosa and platelet functions in healthy human volunteers. METHODS This was a parallel-group, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Forty healthy subjects were randomly allocated to receive 7 days of treatment with NCX-4016 (400 and 800 mg twice daily), equimolar doses of aspirin (200 and 420 mg twice daily), or placebo. Upper endoscopies were performed before and at the end of the treatment period, and gastroduodenal lesions were graded using a predefined scoring system. Basal and posttreatment platelet aggregation in response to arachidonic acid (AA) and serum thromboxane (TX) B(2) and AA-stimulated platelet TXB(2) production were investigated. RESULTS Mucosal endoscopic injury score on day 7 was 0.63 +/- 0.16 in the placebo group and 11.0 +/- 3.0 and 16.1 +/- 1.6 in healthy volunteers treated with 200 and 420 mg aspirin twice daily (P < 0.0001 vs. placebo). NCX-4016 was virtually devoid of gastric and duodenal toxicity, resulting in a total gastric and duodenal endoscopic score of 1.38 +/- 0.3 and 1.25 +/- 0.5 (P < 0.0001 vs. aspirin, not significant vs. placebo). NCX-4016 inhibited AA-induced platelet aggregation as well as serum TXB(2) and platelet TXB(2) generation induced by AA to the same extent as aspirin (not significant vs. aspirin). CONCLUSIONS In this study, we have proven the concept that addition of an NO-donating moiety to aspirin results in a new chemical entity that maintains cyclooxygenase-1 and platelet inhibitory activity while nearly avoiding gastrointestinal damage.
Vesicular Polysaccharide Export in Cryptococcus neoformans Is a Eukaryotic Solution to the Problem of Fungal Trans-Cell Wall Transport

ABSTRACT The mechanisms by which macromolecules are transported through the cell wall of fungi are not known. A central question in the biology of Cryptococcus neoformans, the causative agent of cryptococcosis, is the mechanism by which capsular polysaccharide synthesized inside the cell is exported to the extracellular environment for capsule assembly and release. We demonstrate that C. neoformans produces extracellular vesicles during in vitro growth and animal infection. Vesicular compartments, which are transferred to the extracellular space by cell wall passage, contain glucuronoxylomannan (GXM), a component of the cryptococcal capsule, and key lipids, such as glucosylceramide and sterols. A correlation between GXM-containing vesicles and capsule expression was observed. The results imply a novel mechanism for the release of the major virulence factor of C. neoformans whereby polysaccharide packaged in lipid vesicles crosses the cell wall and the capsule network to reach the extracellular environment.
Idiopathic Isolated Coronary Ostial Stenosis: A Rare Lesion with Particular Clinical and Surgical Implications

Isolated coronary ostial stenosis is an unusual condition, most often atherosclerotic in origin. Only few cases have been reported as idiopathic. The clinical profile of the latter patients suggests that this group may represent a distinct clinical entity, with peculiar diagnostic and therapeutic features. We present our experience concerning six patients with isolated idiopathic coronary ostial stenosis, who successfully underwent transaortic left main ostioplasty with autologous pericardial patch fixed in glutaraldehyde. A review of previous reports in regard to the surgical management of coronary ostial disease is presented.
External and internal validity of open label or double‐blind trials in oral anticoagulation: better, worse or just different?

Summary. Currently, few topics in the field of anticoagulant therapy are as intensely discussed as the question: which is the best new oral anticoagulant? The most advanced substances in this field are the oral direct factor Xa‐inhibitors rivaroxaban, apixaban and edoxaban and the oral direct thrombin inhibitor dabigatran. All of these substances are currently being tested in very similar phase III trials or are in the process of approval. In these trials, open‐label or double‐blind double‐dummy designs are being used to evaluate the efficacy and safety in prevention and treatment of venous thromboembolism or stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation in several thousands of patients. As a consequence, an intense discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of open‐label or double‐blind trials is currently under way and interpretation of trial results is often focused on this matter. In general, a blinded trial is regarded as being less subject to bias than an open trial because it minimizes the impact of knowledge of treatment allocation on post‐randomized treatment decisions and on reporting of outcomes. However, a blinded trial is not always feasible. Thus, in some respects, the two trial designs offer complementary strengths and weaknesses. This review addresses the risks of bias for internal and external validity of open‐label and double‐blind anticoagulation trials to help to objectify this debate.
Design aspects of a medium voltage hybrid DC breaker

With increased demands on energy efficiency and stability, the use of direct current (DC) will have a natural place in the future smart grid. Today DC is mostly used in high voltage, high power transmission over large distances and in low voltage systems where the demands on reliability are high, e.g. data centres. New applications as wind farm collection grids and a desire to replace over-head lines with cables opens possibilities for DC distribution grids in medium voltage. The use of DC grids will require the development of DC breakers to handle fault in the grid. This paper presents the design aspects of a hybrid DC breaker for a medium voltage application. Since the hybrid topology consists of a mechanical switch as well as semiconductor components and metal oxide varistors, the design must handle trade-offs in performance and cost both for each part and also between the different components.
Early symptoms and signs of cognitive deficits might not always be detectable in persons who develop Alzheimer's disease

ABSTRACT Objective: Clinical syndromes such as amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI) are highly predictive of future development of Alzheimer's disease (AD), but it is not known how many of the individuals that develop the disease can be identified with these syndromes. This study aims to determine how many individuals with AD show detectable symptoms or clinical signs of cognitive deficits three years before diagnosis. Methods: 152 incident AD cases were identified in a dementia-free cohort of 1417 persons aged 75–95, after three-year follow-up from a prospective population-based study, the Kungsholmen Project. Symptoms of cognitive impairment including the subjective report of memory problems, and cognitive deficits were objectively measured with an extensive neuropsychological test battery at baseline. Incident AD was clinically diagnosed according to DSM-IIIR criteria at three-year follow-up. Results: Only half of future AD cases reported subjective memory problems three years before diagnosis. More than one-third of incident AD cases did not exhibit detectable deficits in any of the investigated specific cognitive domains. Only 38.3% had both subjective complaints and domain-specific cognitive deficits. Conclusions: Symptoms and signs currently used to define MCI are not always present in persons who develop AD. Increasing the number of potentially identifiable and treatable preclinical AD cases is unfeasible unless more sensitive subjective and objective markers are identified. Furthermore, as only half of future AD cases report subjective memory problems three years before diagnosis, the number of persons coming to the attention of medical care is limited.
A novel cluster validity criterion for fuzzy C-regression models

This paper proposed a novel cluster validity criterion for fuzzy c-regression models (FCRM) clustering algorithm with hyper-plane-shaped clusters. We combined the concept of fuzzy hypervolume with the compactness validity function in the cluster validity criterion. The proposed cluster validity criterion determined the appropriate number of clusters by calculating the overall compactness and separateness of the FCRM partition. The simulation results demonstrated the validness and effectiveness of the proposed method.
A Registration and Interpolation Procedure for Subvoxel Matching of Serially Acquired MR Images

Objective Methods for automatically registering and reslicing MR images using an interpolation function that matches the structure of the image data are described. Materials and Methods Phantom and human brain images were matched by rigid body rotations and translations in two and three dimensions using a least-squares optimization procedure. Subvoxel image shifts were produced with linear or sine interpolation. Results The use of sine interpolation ensured that the repositioned images were faithful to the original data and enabled quantitative intensity comparisons to be made. In humans, image segmentation was vital to avoid extraneous soft tissue changes producing systematic errors in registration. Conclusion The sinc-based interpolation technique enabled serially acquired MR images to be positionally matched to subvoxel accuracy so that small changes in the brain could be distinguished from effects due to misregistration. Index Terms Image registration—Brain—Phantom—Magnetic resonance imaging.
Genotyping of Madurella mycetomatis by Selective Amplification of Restriction Fragments (Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism) and Subtype Correlation with Geographical Origin and Lesion Size

ABSTRACT One of the causative organisms of mycetoma is the fungus Madurella mycetomatis. Previously, extensive molecular typing studies identified Sudanese isolates of this fungus as clonal, but polymorphic genetic markers have not yet been identified. Here, we report on the selective amplification of restriction fragment (AFLP) analysis of 37 Sudanese clinical isolates of M. mycetomatis. Of 93 AFLP fragments generated, 25 were polymorphic, and 12 of these 25 polymorphic fragments were found in a large fraction of the strains. Comparative analysis resulted into a tree, composed of two main (clusters I and II) and one minor cluster (cluster III). Seventy-five percent of the strains found in cluster I originated from central Sudan, while the origin of the strains in cluster II was more heterogeneous. Furthermore, the strains found in cluster I were generally obtained from lesions larger than those from which the strains found in cluster II were obtained (chi-square test for trend, P = 0.03). Among the 12 more commonly found polymorphisms, 4 showed sequence homology with known genes. Marker A7 was homologous to an endo-1,4-beta-glucanase from Aspergillus oryzae, 97% identical markers A12 and B3 matched a hypothetical protein from Gibberella zeae, and marker B4 was homologous to casein kinase I from Danio rerio. The last marker seemed to be associated with strains originating from central Sudan (P = 0.001). This is the first report on a genotypic study where genetic markers which may be used to study pathogenicity in M. mycetomatis were obtained.
Significant increase in HBV, HCV, HIV and syphilis infections among blood donors in West Bengal, Eastern India 2004-2005: exploratory screening reveals high frequency of occult HBV infection.

AIM To evaluate the prevalence of markers of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) among blood donors in Kolkata, Eastern India for two consecutive years and to conduct a pilot study to explore the presence of HBV DNA among hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) negative but anti-HBc positive blood donors. METHODS Seroprevalence of HBsAg, anti-HCV and anti-HIV was studied among 113051 and 106695 voluntary blood donors screened in 2004 and 2005, respectively. Moreover, a pilot study on 1027 HBsAg negative donors was carried out for evaluating the presence of HBV DNA by PCR on HBsAg negative/anti-HBc positive donors. RESULTS A statistically significant increase in the prevalence of HBV (1448 vs 1768, P < 0.001), HIV (262 vs 374, P < 0.001), HCV (314 vs 372, P = 0.003) and syphilis (772 vs 853, P = 0.001) infections was noted among blood donors of Kolkata West Bengal in 2005 as compared to 2004. Moreover, the exploratory study on 1027 HBsAg negative donors revealed that 188 (18.3%) of them were anti-HBc positive out of which 21% were positive for HBV DNA. CONCLUSION The findings of this study underscore the significantly increasing endemicity of hepatitis viruses, syphilis and HIV among the voluntary blood donors of our community. The pilot study indicates a high rate of prevalence of HBV DNA among HBsAg negative/anti-HBc positive donors and thus emphasizes the need for a more sensitive and stringent screening algorithm for blood donations.