Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Oral and Systemic Health Correlates of HIV-1 Shedding in Saliva

The relationship among oral and systemic health and HIV shedding in saliva is not well-understood. We hypothesized that oral and systemic health are associated with HIV shedding in saliva of HIV-infected women. Saliva from 127 participants enrolled in the Women’s Interagency HIV Study (WIHS) was collected at repeated visits over a 5½-year study period (October 1998 through March 2004) and was evaluated for HIV-1 RNA. Demographic, lifestyle, and systemic and oral health characteristics were evaluated as possible correlates of salivary HIV-1 shedding. Multivariate models showed significantly increased risk of HIV-1 shedding in saliva as blood levels of CD4 cell counts decreased (p < 0.0001) and HIV RNA increased (p < 0.0001). Diabetes (p = 0.002) and a high proportion of gingival bleeding sites (p = 0.01) were associated with increased likelihood, while anti-retroviral therapy (p = 0.0003) and higher levels of stimulated saliva flow rates (p = 0.02) were associated with a lower likelihood of HIV-1 RNA shedding in saliva.
Birds in depressional forested wetlands: Area and habitat requirements and model uncertainty

Forested wetlands are important habitat for many bird species, but data about area and habitat relationships of birds in depressional (i.e., non-riverine) deciduous forested wetlands are scarce. Depressional forested wetlands are often surrounded by larger, continuous patches of upland forest, and it is not clear whether this surrounding forest should be considered part of the forested wetland. To contribute regional data to this question, we sampled birds and vegetation in depressional forested wetlands in southern Michigan, USA. Results indicated that the wetland per se should not be considered separate from the surrounding forest because forest area and forest characteristics were the most important predictors of richness and abundance of wetland-associated birds. Conversely, wetland area and wetland characteristics were important for some upland species. Because spatial clustering and model selection uncertainty are often encountered by wetland scientists, we describe analytical methods used to deal with these problems.
Acrosomal Swelling and Membrane Docking Are Required for Hybrid Vesicle Formation During the Human Sperm Acrosome Reaction1

Abstract Acrosomal exocytosis in mammalian sperm is a regulated secretion with unusual characteristics. One of its most striking features is the loss of the outer acrosomal membrane and the overlying plasma membrane as hybrid vesicles. We have reported previously in human sperm that by preventing the release of calcium from the acrosome, the exocytic process can be arrested at a stage where SNARE proteins are assembled in loose trans complexes. Transmission electron micrographs of sperm at this stage showed that the acrosomes were profusely swollen, with deep invaginations of the outer acrosomal membrane. The protruding edges of these invaginations were tightly apposed (i.e., docked) to the plasma membrane. Docking was prevented when streptolysin O-permeabilized sperm were stimulated in the presence of tetanus toxin or botulinum neurotoxin C, two SNARE-specific proteases. We propose that SNAREs present in the plasma membrane interact with SNAREs in the protruding edge of cup-shaped invaginations of the outer acrosomal membrane to form trans complexes. Fusion pore opening and expansion in this ring of apposed membranes would generate the hybrid vesicles that are released during the acrosome reaction.
Input Variable Selection in Modelling of Desulphurization Efficiency

Several methods are applied to find the input variables with predictive power to the degree of desulphurization modelling. The methods are applied on the data from a desulphurization plant processing flue gases coming from a coal-fired power plant. In non-linear and complex industrial processes, the nature of the relationships between the variables may be vague and a functional model based on a physical interpretation of the process may be difficult to define. Data-driven statistical modelling approaches are, therefore, reasonable alternatives. However, such models may become corrupted due to the inclusion of uninformative, weakly informative or redundant variables. Linear correlation coefficients, principal component analysis and regression, partial least squares regression, mutual information based algorithms and the general regression neural network are tested in the selection of the informative variables. The results obtained are relevant to desulphurization plant monitoring development.
Study design and protocol for a mixed methods evaluation of an intervention to reduce and break up sitting time in primary school classrooms in the UK: The CLASS PAL (Physically Active Learning) Programme

Introduction Children engage in a high volume of sitting in school, particularly in the classroom. A number of strategies, such as physically active lessons (termed movement integration (MI)), have been developed to integrate physical activity into this learning environment; however, no single approach is likely to meet the needs of all pupils and teachers. This protocol outlines an implementation study of a primary school-based MI intervention: CLASS PAL (Physically Active Learning) programme. This study aims to (A) determine the degree of implementation of CLASS PAL, (B) identify processes by which teachers and schools implement CLASS PAL and (C) investigate individual (pupil and teacher) level and school-level characteristics associated with implementation of CLASS PAL. Methods and analysis The intervention will provide teachers with a professional development workshop and a bespoke teaching resources website. The study will use a single group before-and-after design, strengthened by multiple interim measurements. Six state-funded primary schools will be recruited within Leicestershire, UK. Evaluation data will be collected prior to implementation and at four discrete time points during implementation: At measurement 0 (October 2016), school, teacher and pupil characteristics will be collected. At measurements 0 and 3 (June–July 2017), accelerometry, cognitive functioning, self-reported sitting and classroom engagement data will be collected. At measurements 1(December 2016–March 2017) and 3 , teacher interviews (also at measurement 4; September–October 2017) and pupil focus groups will be conducted, and at measurements 1 and 2 (April–May 2017), classroom observations. Implementation will be captured through website analytics and ongoing teacher completed logs. Ethics and dissemination Ethical approval was obtained through the Loughborough University Human Participants Ethics Sub-Committee (Reference number: R16-P115). Findings will be disseminated via practitioner and/or research journals and to relevant regional and national stakeholders through print and online media and dissemination event(s).
Cloud resource management driven by profit augmentation

Cloud computing has become the infrastructure of choice for building and delivering software services. A key challenge for service providers is effectively managing cloud resources in order to increase profit while maintaining service‐level agreements (SLAs) with customers. To address this challenge, this paper proposes a combination of automated mechanisms for resource and execution management. The resource management mechanisms, namely, under‐provisioning and contract rescission, reduce resource allocation costs and minimize penalties incurred when performance objectives are violated. The execution management mechanisms, namely, crash recovery and delay recovery, minimize penalties incurred when reliability objectives are violated. The mechanisms are integrated in the Qu4DS framework and evaluated in the Grid'5000 testbed. The results show that the under‐provisioning mechanism increases profit by 20–50%, the contract rescission mechanism increases profit up to four times, and the execution management mechanisms increase profit by up to 60%. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
How Analysts and Whisperers Use Fundamental Accounting Signals to Make Quarterly EPS Forecasts

We examine the relative efficiency of whisperers’ and analysts’ forecasts of one-quarter-ahead earnings per share (EPS) and identify commonalities and differences in their use of fundamentals to forecast earnings. Results suggest that (a) fundamentals that focus on sales and cost of sales are relevant in explaining one-quarter-ahead EPS changes; (b) whisperers focus on cash flow fundamentals and accrual-based earnings measures in their one-quarter-ahead forecasts, whereas analysts focus on only cash flow fundamentals; and (c) although neither analysts nor whisperers fully incorporate information contained in fundamentals and accrual-based earnings measures in their forecasts, whisperers’ earnings forecast model (forecast errors model) exhibits higher (lower) explanatory power than that of analysts. We also examine robustness of our results by reestimating the models using a two-way random-effects panel data estimator. Although our conclusions remain the same, more statistically significant fundamentals emerge in panel regression results. Evidence presented in this article is consistent with (a) whisperers being different from analysts and (b) whisper forecasts containing unique incremental information beyond that of analysts’ forecasts. Market participants may want to consider using both forecasts when making investment decisions.
Daily and Annual Rhythms in Human Melatonin Secretion: Role in Puberty Control

Frequently, progress in science goes together with the introduction of new techniques and new methods. During the last one and a half decades the development of several methods for assaying melatonin (MEL) levels in body fluids was such a landmark for human pineal research. The following, presentation will give a brief survey of what has been learned about MEL's secretion patterns in humans since then. It particularly concerns rhythmic circadian and infradian changes in blood MEL levels as well as alterations of blood MEL concentrations that occur with aging. It also considers the possible effects of these changes on human sexual maturation.
Vitamin D-resistant rickets and hemophilia A--lack of close linkage on the X chromosome.

We wish to record the pedigree of a family from eastern North Carolina in which the X-linked genes for vitamin D-resistant rickets and hemophilia A are segregat-ing. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a family in which both conditions were present in a manner that could allow some conclusion to be drawn about linkage between the two loci. The pedigree shows a lack of close linkage between the loci for these two traits. The kindred also provides a useful example in teaching concepts of linkage.
Carrot solution culture bioproduction of uniformly labeled 13C-lutein and in vivo dosing in non-human primates

Lutein is a xanthophyll abundant in nature and most commonly present in the human diet through consumption of leafy green vegetables. With zeaxanthin and meso-zeaxanthin, lutein is a component of the macular pigment of the retina, where it protects against photooxidation and age-related macular degeneration. Recent studies have suggested that lutein may positively impact cognition throughout the lifespan, but outside of the retina, the deposition, metabolism, and function(s) of lutein are poorly understood. Using a novel botanical cell culture system (Daucus carota), the present study aimed to produce a stable isotope lutein tracer for use in future investigations of dietary lutein distribution and metabolism. Carrot cultivars were initiated into liquid solution culture, lutein production conditions optimized, and uniformly labeled 13C-glucose was provided as the sole media carbon source for four serial growth cycles. Lutein yield was 2.58 ± 0.24 µg/g, and mass spectrometry confirmed high enrichment of 13C: 64.9% of lutein was uniformly labeled and 100% of lutein was labeled on at least 37 of 40 possible carbons. Purification of carrot extracts yielded a lutein dose of 1.92 mg with 96.0 ± 0.60% purity. 13C-lutein signals were detectable in hepatic extracts of an adult rhesus macaque monkey (Macaca mulatta) dosed with 13C-lutein, but not in hepatic samples collected from control animals. This novel botanical biofactory approach can be used to produce sufficient quantities of highly enriched and pure 13C-lutein doses for use in tracer studies investigating lutein distribution, metabolism, and function.
Evaluation of the effectiveness of 5'-nucleotidase inhibitor and allopurinol in myocardial ischemia.

The effect of 5'-nucleotidase inhibitor (AMP-C) and xanthine oxidase inhibitor (Allopurinol: ALLO) on myocardial functional recovery and the restoration of myocardial high energy phosphates after 15 min of normothermic global ischemic insult, was studied in the isolated isovolemic Langendorff rat heart model. Fifty nine rats were divided into 4 groups: Group I; saline, Group II; AMP-C plus ALLO, Group III; AMP-C, Group IV; ALLO. Intermittent infusion of drugs was delivered in 3 ml of solution at 5 min intervals during ischemia. Percent recovery of left ventricular systolic function was as follows: Group I; 74.2 +/- 3.6%, Group II; 87.7 +/- 1.7%, Group III; 83.5 +/- 3.1%, Group IV; 86.4 +/- 2.6%. Improved recovery was statistically significant only in Group II (p < 0.05 vs Group I). Suppression of reactive hyperemia was seen with reperfusion in the groups which had been treated with AMP-C (i.e., Groups II and III). Myocardial adenine nucleotides and purines were measured in 6 hearts in each group using high performance liquid chromatography. Myocardial ATP levels was 0.89 +/- 0.16 nmol/mg left ventricular wet weight in Group I, 1.37 +/- 0.12 in Group II (p < 0.05 vs Group I), 1.42 +/- 0.17 in Group III (p < 0.05) and 1.17 +/- 0.15 in Group IV. This study demonstrates that intermittent infusion of AMP-C plus ALLO during global myocardial ischemia results in improved myocardial functional recovery and improved preservation of high energy phosphates.
Towards a Decision-Making Algorithm for Automatic Lane Change Manoeuvre Considering Traffic Dynamics

This paper proposes a novel algorithm for decision-making on autonomous lane change manoeuvre in vehicles. The proposed approach defines a number of constraints, based on the vehicle’s dynamics and environmental conditions, which must be satisfied for a safe and comfortable lane change manoeuvre. Inclusion of the lateral position of other vehicles on the road and the tyre-road friction are the main advantages of the proposed algorithm. To develop the lane change manoeuvre decision-making algorithm, first, the equations for the lateral movement of the vehicle in terms of manoeuvre time are produced. Then, the critical manoeuvring time is calculated on the basis of the constraints. Finally, the decision is made on the feasibility of carrying out the manoeuvre by comparing the critical times. Numerous simulations, taking into account the tyre-road friction and vehicles’ inertia and velocity, are conducted to compute the critical times and a model named TUG-LCA is presented based on the corresponding results.
On associations of light and sound: the mediation of brightness, pitch, and loudness.

Subjects searched for pure tones to match the brightnesses of gray surfaces. Nearly all repeatedly set increasing pitch to increasing brightness; some set increasing loudness to increasing brightness, while others set it to increasing darkness; and most, when brightness was held constant, offset increasing pitch by decreasing loudness. The results mimic those of synesthesia and suggest that most subjects may match auditory to visual brightnesses. The system that mediates these cross-modal equivalences is unknown but may best be thought of as a cognitive mechanism that is capable of manipulating dimensions of sensory experience.
New technology and the chain of safety

Healthcare is currently experiencing an exponential growth in medical technology but it has not kept pace with similar industries such as the airline industry. New technology has the potential to improve patient safety, but if the introduction of new technology into the healthcare setting is not coordinated in a thoughtful, proactive manner, there may be weak links in the chain of safety that may expose risks for patients. We describe three concepts that represent this chain of safety. We suggest that these are shared among all leadership and frontline staff and that these concepts require their full attention and investment in order to keep the chain of safety intact and avoid a single weak link in implementing new technology.
Active PIKfyve Associates with and Promotes the Membrane Attachment of the Late Endosome-to-trans-Golgi Network Transport Factor Rab9 Effector p40*

PIKfyve, a kinase that displays specificity for phosphatidylinositol (PtdIns), PtdIns 3-phosphate (3-P), and proteins, is important in multivesicular body/late endocytic function. Enzymatically inactive PIKfyve mutants elicit enormous dilation of late endocytic structures, suggesting a role for PIKfyve in endosome-to-trans-Golgi network (TGN) membrane retrieval. Here we report that p40, a Rab9 effector reported previously to bind Rab9-GTP and stimulate endosome-to-TGN transport, interacts with PIKfyve as determined by yeast two-hybrid assays, glutathione S-transferase (GST) pull-down assays, and co-immunoprecipitation in doubly transfected HEK293 cells. The interaction engages the PIKfyve chaperonin domain and four out of the six C-terminally positioned kelch repeats in p40. Differential centrifugation in a HEK293 cell line, stably expressing PIKfyveWT, showed the membrane-associated immunoreactive p40 co-sedimenting with PIKfyve in the high speed pellet (HSP) fraction. Remarkably, similar analysis in a HEK293 cell line stably expressing dominant-negative kinase-deficient PIKfyveK1831E demonstrated a marked depletion of p40 from the HSP fraction. GST-p40 failed to specifically associate with the PIKfyve lipid products PtdIns 5-P and PtdIns 3,5-P2 in a liposome binding assay but was found to be an in vitro substrate of the PIKfyve serine kinase activity. A band with the p40 electrophoretic mobility was found to react with a phosphoserine-specific antibody mainly in the PIKfyveWT-containing fractions obtained by density gradient sedimentation of total membranes from PIKfyveWT-expressing HEK293 cells. Together these results identify the Rab9 effector p40 as a PIKfyve partner and suggest that p40-PIKfyve interaction and the subsequent PIKfyve-catalyzed p40 phosphorylation anchor p40 to discrete membranes facilitating late endosome-to-TGN transport.
Responsibility and Ethical Reasoning in the Nigerian

This analysis of the responsibility and ethics of six Nigerian daily newspapers addresses two major questions. First, what is the dominant ethical philosophy of the Nigerian press as indicated in its editorials? Second, what is the ethical responsibility of the press as indicated in its editorials? It examines the 'role-responsibility' of the press within the context of three dominant ethical themes: deontological, situational, and utilitarian ethics. A qualitative thematic analysis of the editorials indicates that the Nigerian daily press has a preference for applying utilitarian ethics to national issues. Situational ethics has the least presence in the editorials. The analysis also indicates that the government-owned newspapers are more likely than the privately-owned newspapers to use a utilitarian ethical perspective in expressing their opinions on, and in criticizing, government actions. This analysis concludes that by beginning to understand the different manifestations of government-press relationships and of media role in contributing to the nation's 'common good,' journalists can better plan for the difficult process of more effectively involving the press in national development. *Dr. Cornelius B. Pratt is Assistant Professor, Department of Communication Studies, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, U.S.A.
Antifungal and Cytotoxic Activities of Some Marine Sponges Collected from the South East Coast of India

The present work describes the biological activities using the marine sponges collected from kanyakumari. The sponges are such as the Callyspongia diffusa, Echinodictyum gorgonoides, Callyspongia reticutis, Gelliodes cellaria, and Thalysias vulpine. It is revealed that the sponges showed the antifungal activity against the various fungal strains such as the Aspergillus niger, Pencillium notatum,and Candida albicans by using the agar well diffusion method. The sponge crude extracts seems to have effective cytotoxic property that was detected by Brine shrimp assay. Hence it is assumed that the marine sponges act as the vital source for the development of anticancer drugs.
Obstructions to the existence of almost complex structures

1. Definitions and notation. Let M be an orientable, differentiate manifold of dimension In and let £ = (E^ M, R, x) denote the tangent bundle of M ; we assume the structural group of £ has been reduced from the full linear group to the special orthogonal group SO{2ri). By definition, M admits an almost complex structure if and only if the associated fibre bundle rç = (i£, M, Tn, p) admits a cross section; here Tn denotes the homogeneous space SO{2n)/U(n). In this paper, we will study the obstructions to a cross section for any fibre bundle 0=(E, B, Fn , p) with structural group SO(2n) and base space B a CW-complex. If s: B-*E is a cross section of 6 over the g-skeleton of the base space B> then the obstruction to extending 5 over the (q + 1) -skeleton is denoted by
Subjective cognitive decline in patients with mild cognitive impairment and healthy older adults: Association with personality traits

In normal aging, subjective cognitive decline (SCD) might reflect personality traits or affective states rather than objective cognitive decline. However, little is known on the correlates of SCD in mild cognitive impairment (MCI). The present study investigates SCD in MCI patients and healthy older adults, and explores the association of SCD with personality traits, affective states, behavioral and psychological symptoms (BPS), and episodic memory in patients with MCI as compared with healthy older adults.
Joint synchronization and localization using TOAs: A linearization based WLS solution

Joint synchronization and localization using time of arrival (TOA) measurements is a very important research topic for many wireless ad hoc sensor network applications. For such TOA based joint synchronization and localization, the least square (LS) criterion and its corresponding solution have been shown to exhibit optimum estimation performance but generally at a very high computational complexity. Due to its importance and difficulty, in this paper we consider the issue how to approach the estimation performance of such LS solution at low computational complexity: We propose a low-complexity algorithm, which is based on the linearized equations from TOA measurements and applies a weighted least square (WLS) criterion in a computationally efficient way to closely approach the LS solution in estimation performance; Via analyzing and simulating its estimation performance we evidently demonstrate the proposed algorithm of its superior trade-off between estimation performance and computational complexity. The proposed algorithm is also applicable to similar application areas involving TOA base joint timing and positioning.