Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Standard care impact on effects of highly active antiretroviral therapy adherence interventions: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

BACKGROUND Poor adherence to medication limits the effectiveness of treatment for human immunodeficiency virus. Systematic reviews can identify practical and effective interventions. Meta-analyses that control for variability in standard care provided to control groups may produce more accurate estimates of intervention effects. METHODS To examine whether viral load and adherence success rates could be accurately explained by the active content of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) adherence interventions when controlling for variability in care delivered to controls, databases were searched for randomized controlled trials of HAART adherence interventions published from 1996 to January 2009. A total of 1342 records were retrieved, and 52 articles were examined in detail. Directly observed therapy and interventions targeting specific patient groups (ie, psychiatric or addicted patients, patients <18 years) were excluded, yielding a final sample of 31 trials. Two coders independently retrieved study details. Authors were contacted to complete missing data. RESULTS Twenty studies were included in the analyses. The content of adherence care provided to control and intervention groups predicted viral load and adherence success rates in both conditions (P < .001 for all comparisons), with an estimated impact of optimal adherence care of 55 percentage points. After controlling for variability in care provided to controls, the capacity of the interventions accurately predicted viral load and adherence effect sizes (R(2) = 0.78, P = . 02; R(2) = 0.28, P < . 01). Although interventions were generally beneficial, their effectiveness reduced noticeably with increasing levels of standard care. CONCLUSIONS Intervention and control patients were exposed to effective adherence care. Future meta-analyses of (behavior change) interventions should control for variability in care delivered to active controls. Clinical practice may be best served by implementing current best practice.
Prospective analysis of the impact of VEGF-A gene polymorphisms on the pharmacodynamics of bevacizumab-based therapy in metastatic breast cancer patients.

WHAT IS ALREADY KNOWN ABOUT THIS SUBJECT • Functional polymorphisms on the VEGF-A gene, known to be linked to cancer risk or to VEGF-A plasma concentrations, have been identified. So far, limited knowledge has been published on the relationships between toxicity/efficacy of bevacizumab-based therapy and VEGF-A polymorphisms (tumoral DNA). We therefore prospectively tested the impact of these five gene polymorphisms (blood DNA) on the pharmacodynamics of bevacizumab-based treatment administered in metastatic breast cancer patients. WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS • Present data obtained from a prospective study suggest a role for VEGF-A 936C > T polymorphism as a potential predictor of time to progression in breast cancer patients receiving bevacizumab-containing therapy. Also, the VEGF-A-634G > C polymorphism was linked to bevacizumab-related toxicity. AIMS To test prospectively the impact of VEGF-A gene polymorphisms on the pharmacodynamics of bevacizumab-chemotherapy in breast cancer patients. METHODS As part of the single-arm MO19391 trial, 137 women with locally recurrent or metastatic breast cancer receiving first-line bevacizumab-containing therapy were analysed. Patients received bevacizumab associated (76%) or not (24%) with taxane-based chemotherapy. Clinical evaluation included clinical response, time to progression (TTP) and a toxicity score corresponding to the sum of each maximum observed toxicity grade (hypertension, haemorrhage, arterial and venous thrombo-embolism). Functional VEGF-A polymorphisms at position -2578 C > A, -1498 T > C, -1154 G > A, -634 G > C and 936 C > T were analysed by PCR-RFLP (blood DNA). RESULTS Overall response rate (complete response (CR) + partial response (PR)) was 61%. Median TTP was 11 months. None of the VEGF-A polymorphisms was significantly linked to clinical response. Analysis of the 936C > T polymorphism revealed that the 96 patients homozygous for the 936C allele exhibited a marked tendency for a shorter TTP (median 9.7 months) than the 32 patients bearing the 936T allele (median 11.5 months, P= 0.022) of which 30 were CT and two were homozygous TT. Other polymorphisms did not influence TTP. VEGF-A-634 G > C was significantly related to the toxicity score with 39%, 49% and 81% of patients with score >1 in GG, GC and CC patients, respectively (P= 0.01). CONCLUSIONS The role for VEGF-A 936C > T polymorphism as a potential marker of TTP in breast cancer patients receiving bevacizumab-containing therapy concords with the known impact of VEGF-A 936C > T polymorphism on VEGF-A expression.
Examining public perceptions of CSR in sport

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate how the public views two corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives practiced by a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. This study examined the role of perceived fit between an MLB team and its two CSR initiatives in shaping consumers’ intentions to support the team’s CSR efforts. Design/methodology/approach A between-subjects experiment (n=207) was conducted using Amazon’s Mechanical Turk to examine the impact of CSR fit on consumers’ patronage intentions. Findings The results of this study showed that consumers’ perceived fit between sports teams and their CSR has a positive impact on consumers’ patronage intentions. The values-driven and strategic-driven attributions of the team’s CSR initiatives were positively associated with their patronage intentions. Research limitations/implications Both the values-driven and strategic-driven attributions were positively associated with consumers’ patronage intentions, while previous studies suggested negative association between strategic-driven attributions and consumer behaviors. The findings indicate that consumers do not view professional sports teams’ strategic-driven CSR initiatives to be negative business practices. This could result from the fact that CSR initiatives have become a prevalent and expected organizational practice. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature of CSR within the context of professional sports teams as corporations. The findings of this study suggest that professional sports teams could benefit from CSR initiatives when the teams select social causes with which consumers could infer values-driven and strategic-driven attributions.
Quantitative Analysis of Long-Term Survival and Neuritogenesisin Vitro:Cochleovestibular Ganglion of the Chick Embryo in BDNF, NT-3, NT-4/5, and Insulin

The dynamics of survival and growth were examined for cochleovestibular ganglion (CVG) cells maintained in long-term cultures. CVG cells were explanted from chick embryos after 90 h of incubation into a defined-medium containing BDNF, NT-3, or NT-4/5 and an insulin, transferrin, selenium, and progesterone supplement. Explant survival and neuritogenesis was measured for 23 to 24 days in vitro. All three neurotrophins prolonged CVG survival in a dose-dependent manner although insulin acted as a cofactor. In 0.872 microM insulin-containing medium the ED50 for BDNF and NT-3 was 100 pg/ml, whereas the ED50 for NT-4/5 was 600-1200 pg/ml. However, at later ages in vitro, survival decreased with concentrations of BDNF greater than 2 ng/ml. In insulin-free medium, concentrations of 5-200 ng/ml of BDNF or 30-200 ng/ml of NT-4/5 maintained the survival of explants at a rate that was equivalent to or less than the survival rate of cultures treated with insulin but not with neurotrophin. In contrast, NT-3-treated explants in insulin-free medium did not survive the duration of the experiment. Dose-dependent effects of BDNF and NT-3 on explant neuritogenesis were reflected as an initial delay in outgrowth, whereas NT-4/5 had no effect. Insulin regulation of neuritogenesis was suggested when outgrowth decreased in the presence of an antibody to the insulin receptor. These data suggest that while all three of these neurotrophins protect the CVG from death the long-term consequences of cofactors and certain dose levels should be considered when treating CVG cells in vivo.
Anti‐CD27 monoclonal antibodies identify two functionally distinct subpopulations within the CD4+ T cell subset

Anti‐CD27 monoclonal antibodies react with a cell surface molecule expressed on medullary thymocytes and a large subpopulation (75%) of peripheral blood T lymphocytes. This study was undertaken to analyze the functional capacities of CD27− and CD27− subpopulations within the CD4+ subset. In addition, we investigated whether CD27 subpopulations belong to two mutually exclusive T cell sublineages. Proliferation upon lectin stimulation by either phytohemagglutinin or pokeweed mitogen (PWM) was found to be consistently higher in CD4+CD27− cells compared to CD4+CD27− cells. In contrast, CD27+ and CD27− cells did not differ in anti‐CD3, soluble antigen or interleukin (IL) 2‐induced proliferation. In PWM‐driven B cell differentiation, CD4+CD27+ cells provided helper activity on IgM production, while CD4+CD27− cells did not. The differences observed between CD4+CD27+ and CD4+CD27− cells in both proliferation and T helper activity on IgM production can, at least in part, be explained by the inadequate production of IL2 by CD27− cells upon lectin stimulation. In contrast, CD27+ and CD27− subpopulations did not differ in the production of interferon‐γ. CD27− cells could be induced to express the CD27 antigen through stimulation of these cells with immobilized anti‐CD3 antibodies. After 3 days of culture, approximately 50% of the cells had CD27 membrane expression, whereas after 6 days 80% of the cells express the antigen. We conclude that anti‐CD27 antibodies identify two functionally distinct T cell populations within the CD4+ subset. These subpopulations apparently do not belong to two separate T cell sub‐lineages, but may reflect differences in the activation state of CD27+ vs. CD27−peripheral blood T lymphocytes.
A tale of two cities: factors affecting place of cancer death in London and New York.

BACKGROUND Most American and English cancer patients prefer to die at home. Factors associated with greater likelihood of dying at home have been contradictory in many studies and no studies have compared the effects of factors in different countries. The objective of this paper is to compare the factors affecting place of cancer death in two major cities, New York and London. METHODS We use data on all individuals aged >/=40 dying of cancer in London (59 604) and New York City (51 668) in the years 1995 through 1998. The probability of death at home is examined in each city as a function of gender, age group (40-55, 56-64, 65-74, 75+), year, type of cancer, and area socioeconomic status, using multiple logistic regression. RESULTS Although the probability of death at home is the same in the two cities (approximately 1 in 5), being female lowers the odds of death at home by approximately 7% in London, and raises it by approximately 22% in New York. Older age is associated with increased odds of dying at home in New York but decreased odds of dying at home in London. Being in the lowest tercile of socioeconomic status (relative to the highest) lowers the odds of death at home by 22% in London and 39% in New York. CONCLUSION Site of death varies significantly by patient and area characteristics in both cities, an understanding, which should be taken account of in future planning of end-of-life care.
The psychosis prodrome in adolescent patients viewed through the lens of DSM-IV.

OBJECTIVE Recently developed research criteria have made it possible to identify adolescents at imminent risk for psychosis. However, the array of symptomatology in these patients is broad and has not yet been systematically characterized using established diagnostic and assessment tools. METHOD The authors characterized 24 adolescent research participants at the UCLA Center for the Assessment and Prevention of Prodromal States (CAPPS) using structured interviews for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition, (DSM-IV), the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), and information regarding psychiatric treatment histories. Two composite cases are also presented. RESULTS The most common DSM-IV diagnosis at study entry was major depression, followed by anxiety disorder not otherwise specified (NOS), and social phobia. Most participants met criteria for at least one subthreshold condition, including obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), psychosis, mania or hypomania, and generalized anxiety. CBCL data revealed high rates of affective disturbance and broad-ranging symptomatology, as did participants' diagnostic and treatment histories. CONCLUSIONS Consistent with retrospective studies of patients with first-episode psychosis, findings revealed frequent mood and anxiety disturbance during the prodromal phase of illness. The DSM-IV does not offer a clear framework for describing the widespread subthreshold symptomatology that characterizes putatively prodromal patients. The authors consider whether the psychosis prodrome merits designation as a recognized clinical entity.
Spatial Filtering of Noninvasive Multielectrode EMG: Part I-Introduction to Measuring Technique and Applications

Complementary to its conventional applications, surface EMG is also suited to gain more detailed information on the functional state of a muscle, when measurement configurations with smaller pickup areas are used. A new category of suitable measurement configurations is obtained by application of the spatial filtering principle to electromyography. In a spatial filter unit, the signals of several recording electrodes are combined to form one output signal channel. The filter characteristic is determined by the weighting factors used and by the geometrical arrangement of the electrodes. Extended multielectrode arrays and multichannel recording make possible the detection of correlated excitations at different sites of the muscle. Even in high levels of muscle contraction, single motor unit impulses that are suitably shaped by filtering can be repeatedly recognized in the surface EMG signal. In clinical studies, pathologically shaped impulses have been identified indicating multiple innervation zones. The initiation and the propagation of excitation within single motor units can be detected with improved accuracy even from very small muscles.
The Effects of Sevoflurane, Isoflurane, Halothane, and Enflurane on Hemodynamic Responses During an Inhaled Induction of Anesthesia via a Mask in Humans

A rapid increase in isoflurane or desflurane concentration induces tachycardia and hypertension and increases plasma catecholamine concentration.Little information is available as to whether sevoflurane, halothane, and enflurane induce similar responses during anesthesia induction via mask. Fifty ASA physical status I patients, aged 20-40 yr, and scheduled for elective minor surgery, received one of four volatile anesthetics: sevoflurane, isoflurane, halothane, or enflurane. Anesthesia was induced with thiamylal, followed by inhalation of 0.9 minimum alveolar anesthetic concentration (MAC) of the anesthetic in 100% oxygen via mask. The inspired concentration of anesthetic was increased by 0.9 MAC every 5 min to a maximum of 2.7 MAC. Heart rate (HR) and systolic blood pressure (SBP) were measured before and every minute for 15 min during anesthetic inhalation. In the sevoflurane and isoflurane groups, venous blood samples were drawn to determine the concentrations of plasma epinephrine and norepinephrine 3 min after each increase in anesthetic concentration. Sustained increments in HR were observed after increases in inspired isoflurane concentration to 1.8 MAC and 2.7 MAC (peak changes of 15 +/- 3 and 17 +/- 3 bpm, respectively). Isoflurane also increased SBP transiently after the inspired concentration was increased to 2.7 MAC (peak change of 10 +/- 4 mm Hg). Enflurane increased HR after the inspired concentration was increased to 2.7 MAC (peak change of 9 +/- 2 bpm). In contrast, changes in sevoflurane and halothane concentrations did not induce hyperdynamic responses. Plasma norepinephrine concentration in the isoflurane group was significantly higher than that in the sevoflurane group during 2.7 MAC (P = 0.022). We propose that there is a direct relationship between airway irritation of the anesthetic and immediate cardiovascular change during an inhaled induction of anesthesia. (Anesth Analg 1996;82:821-6)
Estimation of important parameters of photovoltaic modules from manufacturer's datasheet

To analyze the performance of photovoltaic (PV) module, the estimation of important parameters of PV module from manufacturer's datasheet has been done. So it is necessary to estimate the parameters of a PV module with changing weather conditions. The parameters are light current, reverse saturation current, ideality factor, series resistance, and shunt resistance. In this paper, the parameters of a PV module are estimated from manufacturer's datasheets by analytical method. The estimation of these parameters by analytical method helps to know the approximate values of these parameters for a particular module and their variations in different conditions. These discussions give an idea to design more efficient PV module.
Plasminogen activator activity is inhibited while neuroserpin is up‐regulated in the Alzheimer disease brain

Amyloid‐beta plaques are a pathological hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. Several proteases are known to cleave/remove amyloid‐beta, including plasmin, the product of tissue plasminogen activator cleavage of the pro‐enzyme plasminogen. Although plasmin levels are lower in Alzheimer brain, there has been little analysis of the plasminogen activator/plasmin system in the brains of Alzheimer patients. In this study, zymography, immunocapture, and ELISAs were utilized to show that tissue plasminogen activator activity in frontal cortex tissue of Alzheimer patients is dramatically reduced compared with age‐matched controls, while tissue plasminogen activator and plasminogen protein levels are unchanged; suggesting that plasminogen activator activity is inhibited in the Alzheimer brain. Analysis of endogenous plasminogen activator inhibitors shows that while plasminogen activator inhibitor‐1 and protease nexin‐1 levels are unchanged, the neuroserpin levels are significantly elevated in brains of Alzheimer patients. Furthermore, elevated amounts of tissue plasminogen activator‐neuroserpin complexes are seen in the Alzheimer brain, and immunohistochemical studies demonstrate that both tissue plasminogen activator and neuroserpin are associated with amyloid‐beta plaques in Alzheimer brain tissue. Thus, neuroserpin inhibition of tissue plasminogen activator activity leads to reduced plasmin and may be responsible for reduced clearance of amyloid‐beta in the Alzheimer disease brain. Furthermore, decreased tissue plasminogen activator activity in the Alzheimer brain may directly influence synaptic activity and impair cognitive function.
Detection of islanding and power quality disturbance in micro grid connected distributed generation

Micro grid (MG) is becoming a very good substitution for traditional grid. It is capable of supply DC or AC power with the help of hybrid distributed generator. These are capable maintain good power quality (PQ) and reliable supply with full control over voltage and current. MG could optimize capital resource by reducing maintenances and operating cost. This reduces loss and generation cost and increases efficiency of the power system. MG works in standalone mode and interconnected mode. In standalone mode it operated without any grid connection but in interconnected mode it is coupled with main grid. In case interconnected mode when it operate alone due to grid failure, it is called islanding. It results number of power quality issues and human safety concern. Large variation in frequency, voltage, current and harmonic distortion some time become very harmful for utility and inverter. Non detection zone (NDZ) is a very dangerous condition during islanding. So it is necessary to detect islanding as fast as possible and disconnect the DG from the system. Many different methods have been proposed to detect island previously. In this paper discrete wavelet transform technique (DWT) is used for detection of island and various power quality problem.
Longitudinal weight growth patterns in the highland fringes of West Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea: a comparison of three groups.

Longitudinal weight growth data from three groups in West Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea, are compared. A form of analysis based on the four-parameter Jenss curve is adopted, to allow intelligible comparisons of parameter means despite irregular weighing schedules for individual children. Although many weighing records include notes of a child's ill-health (e.g. malaria), omission of these weighings does not have a large effect on the results. Some significant sex differences were found, but do not appear to be importantly confounded with group differences. Of the three groups compared, the East Mianmin live at moderate altitude, the Imnai live at low altitude, and the West Mianmin are a migrant group from moderate to low altitude. In principle the analysis could have shown the groups to be differentiated by altitude of current residence (suggesting the influence of environmental factors), by altitude of ancestral residence (suggesting the influence of genetic and/or cultural factors) or by some interaction of causal factors. Findings on most parameters suggest interaction. Neither moderate nor low-altitude conditions appear consistently more favourable to rapid growth; it is suggested that the advantage of a more favourable disease environment at moderate altitude may be at least partially offset by a nutritional disadvantage. The effect of environmental conditions may also be non-uniform, especially for young infants, since infants of the migrant group, the West Mianmin, are born heaviest but grow more slowly in the early months than infants of either non-migrant group.
Multiuser Detection in Massive Spatial Modulation MIMO With Low-Resolution ADCs

In this paper, we research the multiuser detection (MUD) in a new Spatial Modulation Multiple-Input-Multiple-Output (SM-MIMO) system, whose Base Station (BS) is equipped with massive Radio-Frequency (RF) chains with low-resolution Analog-to-Digital Convertors (ADCs), and the User Equipments (UEs) have multiple Transmit Antennas (TAs) but single RF chain. In the uplink, UEs transmit their data by the Cyclic-Prefix Single-Carrier (CP-SC) SM technique. The key is how to design practical MU detectors to handle the severely quantized measurements and antenna correlations. Coherent detection is focused, so a Least-Square (LS) channel estimator is designed to acquire the the channel side information (CSI) at the Receiver (CSIR). Then, we firstly solve the MUD problem by the Sum-Product-Algorithm (SPA) on a clustered factor graph (FG) whose variable nodes correspond to the transmitted vectors from the UEs. Next, based on the Central Limit Theorem (CLT) and Taylor expansions, the SPA detector (SPAD) is simplified as a new low-complexity Message Passing De-Quantization Detector (MPDQD), which exploits both the structured sparsity and prior probability distribution of the transmitted signal. By utilizing the clustering technique, damping mechanism, and Analog Spatial Filtering (ASF), the robustness of MPDQD is improved significantly. Simulation results show that MPDQD outperforms the linear detectors, works steadily under strong channel correlations, and even performs similarly as its counterpart in the un-quantized SM-MIMO.