Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An Update on Hdv: Virology, Pathogenesis and Treatment

Hepatitis delta is an inflammatory liver disease caused by infection with HDV. HDV is a single-stranded circular RNA pathogen with a diameter of 36 nm. HDV is classified in the genus Deltavirus and is still awaiting a final taxonomic classification up to the family level. HDV shares similarities with satellite RNA and viroids including a small circular single-stranded RNA with secondary structure that replicates through the ‘double rolling circle’ mechanism. The HDV RNA genome is capable of self-cleavage through a ribozyme and encodes only one structural protein, the hepatitis delta antigen (HDAg), from the antigenomic RNA. There are two forms of HDAg, a shorter (S; 22 kDa) and a longer (L; 24 kDa) form, the latter generated from an RNA editing mechanism. The S form is essential for viral genomic replication. The L form participates in the assembly and formation of HDV. For complete replication and transmission, HDV requires the hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). Thus, HDV infection only occurs in HBsAg-positive individuals, either as acute coinfection in treatment-naive HBV-infected persons, or as superinfection in patients with pre-existing chronic hepatitis B (CHB). HDV is found throughout the world, but its prevalence, incidence, clinical features and epidemiological characteristics vary by geographic region. There are eight genotypes (1 to 8) distributed over different geographic areas: HDV-1 is distributed worldwide, whereas HDV-2 to 8 are seen more regionally. Levels of HDV viraemia change over the course of HDV infection, being significantly higher in patients with early chronic hepatitis than in cirrhosis. Chronic HDV infection leads to more severe liver disease than chronic HBV monoinfection with an accelerated course of fibrosis progression, an increased risk of hepatocellular carcinoma and early decompensation in the setting of established cirrhosis. Current treatments include pegylated interferon-α and liver transplantation; the latter of which can be curative. Further studies are needed to develop better treatment strategies for this challenging disease.
Two Separate Quorum-Sensing Systems Upregulate Transcription of the Same ABC Transporter in Streptococcus pneumoniae

ABSTRACT Streptococcus pneumoniae secretes two different peptide pheromones used for intercellular communication. These peptides, which have completely unrelated primary structures, activate two separate signal transduction pathways, ComABCDE and BlpABCSRH, which regulate natural genetic transformation and bacteriocin production, respectively. Each signal transduction pathway contains a response regulator (ComE and BlpR, respectively) that activates transcription of target genes by binding to similar, but not identical, imperfect direct repeat motifs. In general the direct repeat binding sites are specific for one or the other of the two response regulators, ensuring that competence development and bacteriocin production are regulated separately. However, in the present study we show that the rate of transcription of an operon, encoding an ABC transporter of unknown function, can be stimulated by both peptide pheromones. We also show that this cross-induction is due to a hybrid direct repeat motif that can respond to both ComE and BlpR. To our knowledge this kind of convergent gene regulation by two separate two-component regulatory systems has not been described before in bacteria.
Modelling the collision risk in the Yangtze River using Bayesian networks

Ships navigating in the traffic separation scheme pose serious risk owing to the distinguishing characteristics of narrow channels, such as limited depth, dense traffic, and disturbance of crossing ships. This paper models the collision risk in the Yangtze River by considering both the causation factors and the emergency management of maritime accidents using historical data. First, more than one hundred collision accident data are collected for the period of 2009 and 2012. Second, a Bayesian network is proposed to model the collision risk of ships in the Yangtze River, while the qualitative part is established by domain experts and previous works, and the quantitative part is developed based on historical data. Third, the collision risk is compared with the navigational risk in Tianjin Port. The findings are beneficial for the safety management of sailing ships in the Yangtze River.
Action selection as a guide for visual attention

ABSTRACT We plan our actions in order to fulfil certain sensory goals. It is generally believed, therefore, that anticipation of sensory action-outcomes plays an essential role in action selection. In this study, we examined the role of action selection, prior to action execution, in the guidance of visual attention. The experiments began with an initial acquisition phase, in which participants learned to associate two actions (left/right keypress) with two visual outcomes (red/green colour). Next, participants performed in a test phase, in which they continued to select and perform the same actions while their attentional bias was measured for items that resembled the anticipated action-outcome. The findings indicate that learned action-outcome association contributes to the guidance of attention. This guidance, furthermore, was short-lived and disappeared with larger delays between action selection and execution. The findings help situate processes of visual attention in a context that includes action selection and action-outcome associative learning.
Suspended Stripline Filters Integrated with Standard Multilayer Printed Circuit Boards

Suspended stripline (SSL) is a good transmission line medium for the realization of filters. One drawback, however, are problems in integrating such filters into extended circuits. To overcome this problem, different SSL filters were designed and tested, realized on a multilayer board consisting of a standard printed circuit board (FR4) and a microwave substrate laminated on top. The necessary channel for the SSL is formed by rows of vias in the multilayer together with a cap fixed on top of the filter structure. While lowpass and highpass filters easily show good results, a higher fabrication accuracy and the inclusion of dielectric dispersion and anisotropy of the FR4 material is necessary for good results of bandpass filters.
Attitude Stabilization of Spacecrafts Under Actuator Saturation and Partial Loss of Control Effectiveness

A practical solution is presented to the problem of fault tolerant attitude stabilization for a rigid spacecraft by using feedback from attitude orientation only. The attitude system, represented by modified Rodriguez parameters, is considered in the presence of external disturbances, uncertain inertia parameters, and actuator saturation. A low-cost control scheme is developed to compensate for the partial loss of actuator effectiveness fault. The derived controller not only has the capability to protect the control effort from actuator saturation but also guarantees all the signals in the closed-loop system to be uniformly ultimately bounded. Another feature of the approach is that the implementation of the controller does not require any rate sensor to measure angular velocity. An example is included to verify those highly desirable features in comparison with the conventional velocity-free control strategy.
Tunable Multiwavelength Fiber Ring Lasers Based on an Opto-VLSI Processor

We propose and experimentally demonstrate the principle of a tunable multiwavelength fiber ring laser based on the use of an opto-very-large-scale-integration (Opto-VLSI) processor in conjunction with an erbium-doped fiber amplifier and a semiconductor optical amplifier. Multiple wavelength channels within the gain range of the optical amplifiers can independently be generated, tuned and/or switched on/off, through applying appropriate phase holograms onto the Opto-VLSI processor. A tunable five-wavelength fiber ring laser of output power of around +6 dBm per channel and a sidemode suppression ratio (SMSR) greater than 30 dB is demonstrated. The tunable multiwavelength fiber lasers have excellent stability at room temperature.
Conventional 3D staging PET/CT in CT simulation for lung cancer: impact of rigid and deformable target volume alignments for radiotherapy treatment planning.

OBJECTIVE Positron emission tomography (PET)/CT scans can improve target definition in radiotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). As staging PET/CT scans are increasingly available, we evaluated different methods for co-registration of staging PET/CT data to radiotherapy simulation (RTP) scans. METHODS 10 patients underwent staging PET/CT followed by RTP PET/CT. On both scans, gross tumour volumes (GTVs) were delineated using CT (GTV(CT)) and PET display settings. Four PET-based contours (manual delineation, two threshold methods and a source-to-background ratio method) were delineated. The CT component of the staging scan was co-registered using both rigid and deformable techniques to the CT component of RTP PET/CT. Subsequently rigid registration and deformation warps were used to transfer PET and CT contours from the staging scan to the RTP scan. Dice's similarity coefficient (DSC) was used to assess the registration accuracy of staging-based GTVs following both registration methods with the GTVs delineated on the RTP PET/CT scan. RESULTS When the GTV(CT) delineated on the staging scan after both rigid registration and deformation was compared with the GTV(CT)on the RTP scan, a significant improvement in overlap (registration) using deformation was observed (mean DSC 0.66 for rigid registration and 0.82 for deformable registration, p = 0.008). A similar comparison for PET contours revealed no significant improvement in overlap with the use of deformable registration. CONCLUSIONS No consistent improvements in similarity measures were observed when deformable registration was used for transferring PET-based contours from a staging PET/CT. This suggests that currently the use of rigid registration remains the most appropriate method for RTP in NSCLC.
The well of novel antidepressants: running dry.

Until last year, the last decade had not seen the introduction of novel antidepressant medications. The melatonin agonist/serotonin (5-HT)2C antagonist agomelatine was the one exception.1 The antidepressants that reached the market earlier were produced in the early 1990s and subsequently redeveloped. The nontricyclic dual serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) duloxetine was initially tested at subtherapeutic doses (5–20 mg/d)2 and then at effective doses (60–120 mg/d). 3 Once the technology was available, the stereoisomer S-citalopram, whose inhibition of 5-HT reuptake is dampened by the R-stereoisomer in racemic citalopram, was produced.4 Desvenlafaxine is the main metabolite of venlafaxine that is eliminated unmetabolized by the kidney and that appears to carry the antidepressant effect of its parent compound, venlafaxine.5 There are several reasons why this field has been in a relative drought.
Lubiprostone: A Chloride Channel Activator for Treatment of Chronic Constipation

OBJECTIVE: To review lubiprostone's pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, efficacy, and safety in the treatment of chronic constipation. DATA SOURCES: A literature search was conducted using PubMed/MEDLINE (1966–January 2007), IngentaConnect, and International Pharmaceutical Abstracts (1977–January 2007). Key words used included lubiprostone, Amitiza, and chronic constipation. STUDY SELECTION AND DATA EXTRACTION: All articles identified from the data sources that were published in English were evaluated. DATA SYNTHESIS: Lubiprostone is a chloride channel activator approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of chronic constipation. A randomized, double-blind, parallel-group, placebo-controlled study evaluating the effect of lubiprostone on gastric function showed slowed gastric emptying and increased small bowel and colonic transit time. Peak plasma concentration was shown to be around 1.14 hours, with a majority of the drug excreted in the urine within 48 hours. Phase III trials have noted that most patients with chronic constipation have a spontaneous bowel movement within 24 hours after taking lubiprostone. The most common adverse events in these trials were nausea, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and headache. Lubiprostone use has not been studied in the pediatric population. CONCLUSIONS: Lubiprostone may be a reasonable alternative for use in patients who either fail or are intolerant of standard therapy for chronic constipation. Head-to-head comparison studies with conventional therapy are needed to contrast clinical efficacy and safety of this medication.
Role of antigen-presenting cells in congenital cytomegalovirus-specific immunodeficiency.

fection. A CMV-specific defect in lymphocyte proliferation in congenital CMV infection was first described by our laboratory in 1977 [3]. Our studies indicated that antibody responses to CMV; that numbers of total T cells, B cells, and T cell subsets (as defined by the OKT series of monoclonal antibodies); and that lymphocyte proliferation responses to mitogens and nominal antigens other than CMV are normal. Subsequently, we and others [4-6] have reported cross-sectional and longitudinal studies of cellmediated immunity in CMV-infected children. These reports have suggested that the antigen-specific immunodeficiency may persist for months to years and may be associated with persistence of replicating viral infection. Further studies of this antigen-specific defect in lymphocyte proliferation have examined mechanisms of immune recognition and immune response that may be involved. Our findings to date suggest that reduced CMV-specific effector activity involving lymphokine production [7] and T cell-mediated lysis of CMV-infected target cells [8] is most likely secondary to lack of activation and proliferation of CMV-specific T helper cells (CMV-Th) rather than being an intrinsic defect in the efferent limb of the immune response to this virus. Thus, our further studies have focused on the mechanisms of CMV immune recognition that may be involved in the immunodeficiency associated with congenital CMV infection. In the present report we have ex
Electrodermal recovery rate in a schizophrenic population.

Studies by AX and Bamford (1970) and by Gruzelier and Venables (1972) showed that schizophrenics had faster electrodermal recovery rates than normals. This appeared paradoxical in view of the apparent association of fast recovery with goal-oriented behavior. However, it seemed possible that their results reflected the greater effect of their aversive test situations on the control groups as compared to schizophrenics, since it has been shown that aversive stimuli tend to cause slowing of recovery. It was therefore predicted that for non-aversive stimuli and tasks demanding goal-orientation the results would be reversed and schizophrenics would have slower recovery rates than normals. The present study examined recovery rate for 28 hospitalized schizophrenics, free of medication, and 27 controls, under non-aversive conditions, i.e. mild stimuli, rest, or simple tasks, as well as one aversive situation, the cold pressor test. For the non-aversive situations, the schizophrenics had significantly slower recovery rates. For the aversive situation there was no significant difference. Results are consistent with the interpretation that schizophrenics usually have slower recovery than normals but may be less susceptible than normals to the slowing effects of aversive elements in the stimulus situation.
Low vitamin E level as a subliminal risk factor in a rat model of prednisolone-induced cataract.

PURPOSE To investigate the relationship between vitamin E deficiency and prednisolone-induced cataract formation, long-term examination of lens changes was performed in rats under the condition of vitamin E deficiency or supplementation and administration of prednisolone. METHODS Rats were divided into six groups: normal chow (N), vitamin E-deficient chow (ED), normal chow with prednisolone instillation (NP), vitamin E-deficient chow with prednisolone instillation (EDP), NP treatment with vitamin E supplementation (NP+VE), and EDP treatment with vitamin E supplementation (EDP+VE). Prednisolone (1 mg/kg small middle dot d) and vitamin E (5%; 10 microL per administration per eye, 1 mg/kg small middle dot d) were applied in the cul-de-sac. Lens changes were documented and analyzed. Vitamin E status was confirmed by measuring peroxide-induced hemolysis. RESULTS After 15 months, 91.7% of the eyes in the EDP group showed development of anterior and posterior cortical cataracts. Supplementation with vitamin E significantly reduced cataract formation (to 38.9% of eyes). Neither a vitamin E-deficient diet nor prednisolone treatment alone significantly increased cataract formation. Hemolysis-susceptibility tests confirmed the expected vitamin E status of rats fed vitamin E-deficient chow and rats supplemented with eye drops containing vitamin E. CONCLUSIONS Vitamin E deficiency and long-term prednisolone treatment together cause cataracts. Singly, however, both conditions are subliminal cataractogenic risk factors.
Optimal Design of Focused Antenna Arrays

In this paper, we propose an optimal design procedure for the focused antenna array based on the maximization of power transmission efficiency between two antennas. In the optimization process, the focused antenna array to be designed is used as the transmitting antenna and a testing antenna is used as the receiving antenna, positioned in a desired area to be focused. An optimal excitation distribution can thus be obtained for the antenna array to be focused in the desired area. Three 4 × 4 microstrip patch arrays with different focusing distances are designed to validate the optimization technique and demonstrate the focusing capabilities when the antenna array size is fixed. A 6 × 6 microstrip patch array is also built to reveal how the antenna size enhances the focusing effect.
Some generalized Bonferroni mean operators with 2-tuple linguistic information and their application to multiple attribute decision making

In this paper, we investigate the multiple attribute decision making problems with 2-tuple linguistic information. Motivated by the ideal of generalized weighted Bonferroni mean and generalized weighted geometric Bonferroni mean, we develop the 2-tuple linguistic generalized Bonferroni mean (2TLGBM) operator for aggregating the 2-tuple linguistic information and 2-tuple linguistic generalized geometric Bonferroni mean (2TLGGBM) operator. For the situations where the input arguments have different importance, we then define the 2-tuple linguistic generalized weighted Bonferroni mean (2TLGWBM) operator and 2-tuple linguistic generalized weighted geometric Bonferroni mean (2TLGWGBM) operator, based on which we develop the procedure for multiple attribute decision making under the 2-tuple linguistic environments.
Muscle Atrophy During Long Duration Bed Rest

Previous space flight testing demonstrated that even eight days of space flight can result in significant muscle atrophy ( 3 ) . Extended duration space flight is important for the economical and practical utilization of space. The loss of muscle mass during space flight is a medical concern for long duration flights to the planets or extended stays aboard space stations. Understanding the extent and temporal relationships of muscle loss is important for the development of effective space flight countermeasures and rehabilitation schemes in clinical situations where musculoskeletal unloading is a component. A number of bed rest studies were conducted by the Johnson Space Center over a number of years, primarily to examine disuse bone loss. As a secondary objective of these studies, several parameters of muscle loss and performance were examined. The results of these measurements in eight subjects, including MRI volume changes in some subjects, have been published (2). The purpose of this paper is to report our attempts to fit this muscle loss data including additional bed rest data not previously published to a mathematical function relating length of bed rest and muscle loss.
Dementia and Driving: An Attempt at Consensus

Summary:The number of older drivers in Sweden will be rapidly increasing during the next decades. A possible relationship exists between the increased relative crash risk of older drivers and the prevalence of age-related diseases such as dementia. However, a clear-cut policy for evaluating driving competence in demented persons is still lacking. In recognition of this fact, the Swedish National Road Administration invited a group of researchers to formulate a consensus on the issue of driving and dementia. This consensus document is aimed at providing primary care physicians with practical advice concerning the assessment of cognitive status in relation to driving. Suggestions are based on a review of existing research and discuss the use of general and driving-specific sources of information available to the physician. Consensus was reached on the statement that a diagnosis of moderate to severe dementia precludes driving and that certain individuals with mild dementia should be considered for a specialized assessment of their driving competence.
Analysis of Biocidal Oligoguanidines and Oligobiguanides by High Performance Liquid Chromatogaphy and Mass Spectrometry

Oligoguanidines and oligobiguanides are in general use as antiseptics and disinfectants. They consist of complex mixtures of oligomers with different structures and varying chain length, so that a thorough chemical characterization of these products remains challenging. In the present work, high performance liquid chromatography was investigated as a tool for separation of oligoguanidines obtained from polymerization of guanidine and a diamine, as well as of oligobiguanides obtained from hexamethylenebiscyanoguanidine and hexamethylenediamine. Efficient separations could be achieved under reversed-phase conditions using gradient elution with water (acidified by 0.1% trifluoroacetic acid) and acetonitrile. Structure elucidation of separated peaks was done by mass spectrometric detection. This approach was not only suited for characterization of products obtained under different synthesis conditions, but could also be successfully applied to residue analysis in environmental water samples after extraction and preconcentration by solid-phase extraction. Preconcentration factors up to 10000 were possible by mixed-mode sorbents exhibiting both reversed-phase and ion-exchange properties. Keyword: Oligoguanidines; Oligobiguanides; Biocides; Liquid chromatography; Mass spectrometry