Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Have the explosive HIV epidemics in sub-Saharan Africa been driven by higher community viral load?

Objective:The HIV epidemic has carved contrasting trajectories around the world with sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) being most affected. We hypothesized that mean HIV-1 plasma RNA viral loads are higher in SSA than other areas, and that these elevated levels may contribute to the scale of epidemics in this region. Design and methods:To evaluate this hypothesis, we constructed a database of means of 71 668 viral load measurements from 44 cohorts in seven regions of the world. We used linear regression statistical models to estimate differences in viral load between regions. We also constructed and analyzed a mathematical model to describe the impact of the regional viral load differences on HIV epidemic trajectory. Results:We found substantial regional viral load heterogeneity. The mean viral load in SSA was 0.58 log10 copies/ml higher than in North America (95% confidence interval 0.45–0.71); this represents about a four-fold increase. The highest mean viral loads were found in Southern and East Africa, whereas in Asia, Europe, North America, and South America, mean viral loads were comparable. Mathematical modeling indicated that conservatively 14% of HIV infections in a representative population in Kenya could be attributed to the enhanced infectiousness of patients with heightened viral load. Conclusion:We conclude that community viral load appears to be higher in SSA than in other regions and this may be a central driver of the massive HIV epidemics in this region. The elevated viral loads in SSA may reflect, among other factors, the high burden of co-infections or the preponderance of HIV-1 subtype C infection.
Histological evaluation of proximal tubule cell injury in isolated perfused pig kidneys exposed to cold ischemia.

BACKGROUND Ischemic injury of the renal allograft before transplantation is a major cause of impaired graft function. Proton nuclear spectroscopy provides a useful technique for evaluating proximal tubular activity. In addition to this technique, we proposed a histological grading system for quantifying proximal tubule alterations. METHODS The aim of this study was to evaluate the histological lesions of tubule epithelial cells in the model of isolated perfused pig kidneys following 48 to 72 h of cold storage in Euro-Collins solution. Normothermic isolated perfused pig kidneys were randomized in three experimental groups : Group 1, control group; cold flush with cold heparinized solution followed by immediate reperfusion (n = 6); Group 2, 48 h of cold storage in Euro-Collins followed by reperfusion (n = 6); Group 3, 72 h of cold storage in Euro-Collins followed by reperfusion (n = 6). Proton nuclear spectroscopy of urine and biochemical studies were performed for whole renal functional evaluation during reperfusion. Optical and electron microscopy analyses of the reperfused kidneys were performed by four investigators and the degree of cell injury was assessed using 8 different criteria in a 5-scale numerical score. RESULTS Numerical scores corroborate the results from NMR spectroscopy and differed significantly between the three groups studied. The degree of proximal tubule cell damage was increased with prolonged cold ischemia as shown particularly in Group 3. CONCLUSION The results from this study showed that analysis of cell injury based on an histological grading system in the model of isolated perfused kidney allows the quantification of the degree of proximal tubule injury. Thus, such morphological system analysis could be a useful method for quantifying tubule cell injuries observed under various physiopathological conditions.
Community Organization, Naive Trust and Terrorism

Terrorism is behavior that is both initiated and sustained by actors within a social environment. That social environment may vary along a contin - uumfromsupportingandenablingthebehavior,toignoringorbeingunawareof the behavior, to actively opposing the behavior. This articleappliessocial disor - ganizationtheory,socialcapitaltheoryandBlack'sworkonterrorismtopredict communitycharacteristicslikelytoprovidetheanonymityrequiredforthedevel- opment of terrorist activity in developed nations. Using the Social Capital Community Benchmark Survey and case studies, the article demonstrates how the theory predicts and helps explain why the 9/11 terrorists went undetected evenastheylivedintheUS.
A Further Examination Of The Economic Consequences Of Sfas No 2

Previous research assessing the economic consequences of Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 2 (SFAS 2) (Horwitz and Kolodny [1980], Dukes, Dyckman, and Elliott [1980], and Elliott et al. [1984]) provides evidence of a decline in research and development expenditures (R&D) subsequent to SFAS 2 which appears limited to over-the-counter (OTC) firms. However, Ball [1980] and Elliott et al. [1984] point out that such declines may be due to other economic factors. For example, in recessions firms might reduce discretionary spending, including R&D. Thus, because SFAS 2 was issued during a recession, the declines in R&D documented in prior research may be attributable to poor macroeconomic conditions or financial difficulty rather than to the accounting change. This study's objective is to use security price evidence to reexamine the economic effects of SFAS 2. The research is organized in two phases. First, we use daily stock returns for exchange-listed and OTC
Prediction of Survival for Advanced Cancer Patients by Recursive Partitioning Analysis: Role of Karnofsky Performance Status, Quality of Life, and Symptom Distress

We performed an exploratory recursive partitioning analysis (RPA) in 429 metastatic cancer patients who had completed a Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy–General (FACT-G) and a Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale–Short Form (MSAS-SF) to define survival prognostic groups. The Cox model analysis also was performed. Both RPA and Cox models included Karnofsky performance status (KPS), age, FACT-G subscales, and MSAS-SF subscales as survival predictors. Of 429 patients, 348 patients (81.1%) had expired at time of analysis. The median age was 67 years (27–89), with median length of survival of 147 days. The RPA identified four distinct survival groups (p < .0001) with three variables: KPS, physical well-being, and physical symptom distress. The most significant split was KPS of 50%, followed by physical well-being score of 25 and physical symptom distress score of 0.6. The median survival time was 29 days for patients with KPS < 50%; 146 days for patients with KPS ≥ 50% and physical well-being < 25; 292 days for patients with KPS > 50%, physical well-being ≥ 25, and physical symptom distress score > 0.6; and 610 days for patients with KPS ≥ 50%, physical well-being ≥ 25, and physical symptom distress score ≤ 0.6. The Cox model found, in addition to KPS (p < .0001) and physical well-being (p = .08), different predictors: psychological symptom distress (p = .0007), global distress index (p = .02), and age (p < .0001). We concluded that the KPS, quality of life, and symptom distress scores can be combined to define prognostic groups. Such models may be helpful for clinical decision making.
Inspiration from Nature:Insights from Crustacean Chemical Sensors Can Lead to Successful Design of Artificial Chemical Sensors

The chemical sensors possessed by crustaceans are aesthetically beautiful and are deployed in many ways, depending on the ecological task being carried out by the animal, the nature of the chemical signal, and the dispersal characteristics of the environment. As many studies have indicated, they are engineering marvels, able to detect very low concentration of odorant molecules under difficult conditions, and also able to respond to evolutionary pressures, so that over time, populations that migrate to different habitats have evolved sensor characteristics that match the features of their new surroundings.
A Dynamically Reconfigurable ECG Analog Front-End With a 2.5× Data-Dependent Power Reduction

This paper presents a reconfigurable electrocardiogram (ECG) analog front-end (AFE) exploiting bio-signals' inherent low activity and quasi-periodicity to reduce power consumption. This is realized by an agile, on-the-fly dynamic noise-power trade-off performed over specific cardiac cycle regions guided by a least mean squares (LMS)-based adaptive predictor leading to ∼2.5× data-dependent power savings. Implemented in 65 nm CMOS, the AFE has tunable performance exhibiting an input-referred noise ranging from 2.38 – 3.64 $\mu {V_{{\rm{rms}}}}$ while consuming 307 – 769 nW from a 0.8 V supply. A comprehensive system performance verification was performed using ECG records from standard databases to establish the feasibility of the proposed predictor-based approach for power savings without compromising the system's anomaly detection capability or ability to extract pristine ECG features.
Temperature, Activity, and Lizard Life Histories

Lizard life-history characteristics vary widely among species and populations. Most authors seek adaptive or phylogenetic explanations for life-history patterns, which are usually presumed to reflect genetic differences. However, lizard life histories are often phenotypically plastic, varying in response to temperature, food availability, and other environmental factors. Despite the importance of temperature to lizard ecology and physiology, its effects on life histories have received relatively little attention. We present a theoretical model predicting the proximate consequences of the thermal environment for lizard life histories. Temperature, by affecting activity times, can cause variation in annual survival rate and fecundity, leading to a negative correlation between survival rate and fecundity among populations in different thermal environments. Thus, physiological and evolutionary models predict the same qualitative pattern of life-history variation in lizards. We tested our model with published life-history data from field studies of the lizard Sceloporus undulatus, using climate and geographical data to reconstruct estimated annual activity seasons. Among populations, annual activity times were negatively correlated with annual survival rate and positively correlated with annual fecundity. Proximate effects of temperature may confound comparative analyses of lizard life-history variation and should be included in future evolutionary models.
Analysis of EEG spectrum bands aiding to read human mental states

Reading human mental states has become of utmost importance to persuade the innovation of Bio-Engineering equipment. Human brain is the most complicated organ and its analysis is a challenging task in the field of Brain Computer interface. An attempt to read the state of human brain has been made by studying EEG (Electroencephalography) signals obtained using Neurosky headset connected to Mobile application EEGID. EEG spectrum consists of various bands whose amplitude shows difference under varying mental states. This paper presents the analysis and comparison of Low Gamma band of EEG spectrum for two mental states: normal and reverse counting of numbers, done using a software tool MINITAB. Study concludes with the difference obtained in standard deviations of samples obtained under both the conditions. Results have been compared and verified by repeating the analysis in MINITAB with the Low Gamma band samples obtained using Neurosky headset connected to the software tool Openvibe.
Remote Sensing Image Registration Based on Retrofitted SURF Algorithm and Trajectories Generated From Lissajous Figures

In this letter, we propose a novel remote sensing image registration method by optimizing the Speeded Up Robust Features (SURF) and developing a new similarity measure function based on trajectories generated from Lissajous figures. Compared with SURF which has a low feature-matching rate in some complex cases, the retrofitted SURF algorithm is more robust and accurate. The algorithm greatly improves the correct matching rate to over 80%. Furthermore, the recognition capability of the similarity measure is enhanced by using a trajectory disturbance strategy, which is a significant displacement in the trajectory induced by a minor error of the transformation parameters. Experiments show the promising performance of the proposed image registration method.
The Measurement and Health Impact of Endotoxin Contamination in Organic Dusts from Multiple Sources: Focus on the Cotton Industry

Endotoxin is derived from Gram-negative bacterial membranes, and its inflammatory effects following inhalation are well characterized. The significance of this fact becomes apparent when the wide-ranging environments containing high levels of this microbial product are considered. Endotoxin is present in numerous industrial environments, especially where organic fibers are processed. Microbial contamination of these fibers mainly occurs at the agricultural stage. Materials such as flax and hemp are affected in this way, but the most important product in this context is cotton, from which chronic dust inhalation causes the disease byssinosis. Despite the fact that endotoxin constitutes a significant threat to public health, there are currently no occupational exposure limits for this toxicant. This communication describes the toxicology of endotoxin, and its role in inhalation-induced disease, focusing on measurement of airborne endotoxin in the occupational and domestic environments using the Limulus amebocyte lysate (LAL) enzyme assay. Following the success of the LAL assay for measuring endotoxin in dusts, our laboratory has examined its application to aqueous washes from cotton fibers. Reproducibility of the results was high, and data are presented displaying levels of endotoxin contamination in fibers from different cotton producing countries. Hence, worldwide comparison of industrial endotoxin concentrations can be readily made using this test. It would be highly desirable if the performance of the LAL assay facilitated introduction of industrial endotoxin safety limits, and in spite of minor surmountable shortcomings, the test is accurate, reliable, and well field-tested, so its continued widespread use may achieve this goal.
The Effector Enzyme Regulates the Duration of G Protein Signaling in Vertebrate Photoreceptors by Increasing the Affinity between Transducin and RGS Protein*

The photoreceptor-specific G protein transducin acts as a molecular switch, stimulating the activity of its downstream effector in its GTP-bound form and inactivating the effector upon GTP hydrolysis. This activity makes the rate of transducin GTPase an essential factor in determining the duration of photoresponse in vertebrate rods and cones. In photoreceptors, the slow intrinsic rate of transducin GTPase is accelerated by the complex of the ninth member of the regulators of G proteinsignaling family with the long splice variant of type 5 G protein β subunit (RGS9·Gβ5L). However, physiologically rapid GTPase is observed only when transducin forms a complex with its effector, the γ subunit of cGMP phosphodiesterase (PDEγ). In this study, we addressed the mechanism by which PDEγ regulates the rate of transducin GTPase. We found that RGS9·Gβ5L alone has a significant ability to activate transducin GTPase, but its affinity for transducin is low. PDEγ acts by enhancing the affinity between activated transducin and RGS9·Gβ5L by more than 15-fold, which is evident both from kinetic measurements of transducin GTPase rate and from protein binding assays with immobilized transducin. Furthermore, our data indicate that a single RGS9·Gβ5L molecule is capable of accelerating the GTPase activity of ∼100 transducin molecules/s. This rate is faster than the rates reported previously for any RGS protein and is sufficient for timely photoreceptor recovery in both rod and cone photoreceptors.
Comparison between invasive and non-invasive blood pressure in young, middle and old age

Abstract We aimed to compare simultaneous invasive and non-invasive blood pressure (IBP and NIBP) measurements in young, middle and old age using the data from the Multiparameter Intelligent Monitoring in Intensive Care II (MIMIC II) database. In total, 23,679 blood pressure measurements were extracted from 742 patients, divided into three groups of young, middle and old age. IBP–NIBP differences in systolic/diastolic blood pressure (SBP/DBP) were 0.1 ± 16.5 mmHg/11.0 ± 12.2 mmHg in young age, –2.9 ± 19.8 mmHg/6.9 ± 17.5 mmHg in middle age and –3.2 ± 29.3 mmHg/8.5 ± 19.8 mmHg in old age. The mean and standard deviation (SD) of invasive systolic blood pressure (ISBP)–non-invasive systolic blood pressure (NISBP) differences increased from young to middle then to old age, and the SD of invasive diastolic blood pressure (IDBP)–non-invasive diastolic blood pressure (NIDBP) differences also increased with age. In young, middle and old age, the correlation coefficients were 0.86, 0.79 and 0.53, respectively, between ISBP and NISBP, and 0.78, 0.78 and 0.41 between IDBP and NIDBP. In conclusion, IBP showed good correlation with NIBP in each age category. The agreement between IBP and NIBP measurements was influenced by age category.
Difference in localization of esophageal mucosal breaks among grades of esophagitis

Background: Gastroesophageal reflux occurs mainly during the daytime in patients with Los Angeles grade A esophagitis, but predominantly during the night in patients with grade C and D esophagitis. The purpose of the present paper was to investigate whether this difference in the pattern of gastroesophageal reflux influences the circumferential localization of erosions in the esophageal wall.
Rapid decrease in lymphocyte adherence to high endothelial venules in lymph nodes deprived of afferent lymphatic vessels

Occlusion of the afferent lymph flow to the lymph node (LN) results in both flattening of the endothelium of high endothelial venules (HEV) and a severe decrease in numbers of lymphocytes in transit across the walls of the flattened HEV. In the present study we have used the in vitro lymphocyte‐binding assay to investigate the ability of HEV in rat LN to bind lymphocytes at various time points after occlusion of the afferent lymph flow. In addition the specificity of T and B lymphocyte adherence to HEV of such operated LN was studied.
Epicardial rotors in panoramic optical maps of fibrillating swine ventricles

It has been proposed that VF waves emanate from stable periodic sources (often called "mother rotors"). Our objective was to determine if stable rotors are consistently present on the epicardial surface of hearts comparable in size to human hearts. Using new optical mapping technology, we imaged VF from nearly the entire ventricular surface of 6 isolated swine hearts. Using newly developed pattern analysis algorithms, we identified and tracked VF wavefronts and phase singularities (PS). We introduce the notion of a compound rotor in which the rotor's central PS can change and describe an algorithm for automatically identifying such patterns. This prevents rotor lifetimes from being inappropriately abbreviated by wavefront fragmentation and collision events near the PS. We found that stable epicardial rotors were not consistently present during VF: only 1 of 17 VF episodes contained a compound rotor that lasted for the entire mapped interval of 4s. However, shorter-lived rotors were common; 12.2plusmn3. 3 compound rotors with lifetime >200 ms were visible on the epicardium at any given instant. We conclude that epicardial mother rotors do not drive VF in this experimental model; if mother rotors do exist, they are intramural or septal. This paucity of persistent rotors suggests that individual rotors will eventually terminate by themselves and therefore the continual formation of new rotors is critical for VF maintenance
Both Dermal Matrix and Epidermis Contribute to an Inhibition of Wound Contraction

&NA; Contracture is a major detriment to functional recovery from large wounds. To determine the relative value of dermal replacement and epidermal coverage in inhibiting wound contraction, five full‐thickness wounds (all 5 × 5 cm2) were placed on the back of 8 swine and treated in the following manner: (1) open wound, (2) porcine acellular dermis (analogous to AlloDerm for human use), (3) porcine acellular dermis with epidermal autograft placed 7 days postwounding, (4) porcine acellular dermis with immediate epidermal autograft, and (5) conventional‐thickness autograft. Scar dimensions and punch biopsies were taken at days 14 and 30 postwounding. The planimetry results demonstrated that wound contraction was significantly greater with the open wounds (group 1) than all other wounds with a dermal substitute. Furthermore, wounds with initial epidermal coverage had significantly less contraction than unepithelialized wounds (14.8 ± 1.1 cm2 at day 14 in wound group 2 vs. 20.4 ± 0.6 cm2 in wound group 4; p < 0.05). Biopsy results revealed that wounds with initial epithelial coverage had the least amount of inflammation. These findings suggest that both dermal matrix and epidermal coverage contribute to an inhibition of wound contraction and that prompt epithelial coverage appears to impede contraction by reducing inflammation. Walden JL, Garcia H, Hawkins H, Crouchet JR, Traber L, Gore DC. Both dermal matrix and epidermis contribute to an inhibition of wound contraction. Ann Plast Surg 2000;45:162‐166
Involvement of the human thalamus in relational and non‐relational memory

Damage to the human thalamus has been associated with selective anterograde recognition memory impairments. Recently, recognition memory has been subdivided into relational and non‐relational memory. The aim of the present study was to assess the potentially differential involvement of the human thalamus in relational and non‐relational memory. Ten patients with focal ischemic thalamic lesions were compared to individualized control groups of healthy subjects matched to each individual patient on age and IQ. Six patients showed poorer relational memory than their respective control samples. None of the 10 patients showed a significant deficit on the non‐relational memory task. These observations suggest an involvement of the thalamus in relational memory, and are discussed in terms of disruption of mediotemporal‐thalamic and thalamic‐fronto‐striatal circuits.
Permanent PD monitoring: The on-board solution to prevent failures for propulsion, distribution and generation systems in marine applications

The paper will present an advanced technique for increasing reliability of power system apparatus in vessels by means of a permanent Partial Discharge (PD) monitoring with a DataBase application and Smart Alerts logic. Recent failures on cruise vessels have raised expectations on possible diagnostic systems to be applied directly on-board, able to raise alerts in case of major problems. Consequences of an unexpected stop of cruise vessels or warships are incommensurable economic losses due to reimbursements, penalties and unscheduled maintenance. The PD Monitoring system described in this paper has been implemented successfully in several cruise vessels, and case studies are presented.