Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Transient tachypnea of the newborn: Is empiric antimicrobial therapy needed?

BACKGROUND Transient tachypnea of the newborn (TTN) is a self- limited increase in the work of breathing in near- and full-term infants; it is attributed to a delay in the clearance of alveolar fluids. Prophylactic antibiotics are usually administered until blood cultures are reported negative for 48 hours. OBJECTIVES To prospectively compare outcomes of infants presented with classic TTN who were treated with or denied from intravenous antibiotics. METHODS A prospective cohort study was conducted on all infants admitted with classic TTN. Pre-set diagnostic criteria for classic TTN were applied in order to exclude other cases presenting with respiratory distress. Infants with classic TTN were stratified into two groups based on whether they received or did not receive antibiotics. The decision to administer antibiotics solely depended upon the style of the covering physician at the time of admission to the NICU. The following investigations were obtained from infants of both groups: blood culture, C-reactive protein, complete blood count, blood gas profile and chest X-ray. RESULTS A total of 15146 full-term infants were delivered during the study period; of them 923 were admitted to the NICU. Classic TTN was diagnosed in 168 infants; of them 106 (63%) received and 62 (37%) did not receive antibiotics. Two infants in the treated group and an infant in the non-treated group had microbiologically confirmed bacteremia. Infants in the treatment group stayed longer in the hospital (72 ± 6 vs. 48 ± 3 hrs). No recorded cases required readmission in either group. CONCLUSIONS With the application of strict criteria for classic TTN and the close observation in the NICU, the empiric use of antibiotics may be avoidable. Randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm the feasibility and safety of such approach.
Social Media under the Skin: Facebook Use after Acute Stress Impairs Cortisol Recovery

Social media's influence on stress remains largely unknown. Conflicting research suggests that Facebook use may both enhance and undermine psychosocial constructs related to well-being. Using novel experimental methods, this study examined the impact of social media use on stress recovery. Facebook users (n = 92, 49 males, mean age 19.55 SD = 1.63) were randomly assigned to use their own Facebook profile or quietly read after experiencing an acute social stressor. All participants showed significant changes in subjective and physiological stress markers during recovery. Participants who used Facebook experienced greater sustained cortisol concentration (p < 0.05) when controlling for gender and emotional investment in the website compared to controls. Results suggest that social media use may delay or impair recovery after experiencing an acute social stressor. This novel study incorporated objective physiological markers with subjective psychosocial measures to show that Facebook use may negatively impact well-being.
Local traditions as a means for commercial production of historical beers: The case of Vossaøl, Norway

ABSTRACT The aim of the article is to analyse challenges facing the commercial production of historical beers, which are ‘extinct’ beers. The concept of ‘fictive terroir’ is introduced to emphasize these challenges. The author addresses the following questions: What kind of knowledge is needed to produce historical beers? How can this knowledge be acquired? How can it be used commercially in craft breweries? The studied case is Vossaøl, a craft beer imitation of a beer produced in the early 19th century. The data were obtained from written sources and interviews with local home brewers and brewers at Voss Brewery in Norway. The study revealed the need to reconstruct the terroir in the early 19th century. Additionally, Voss Brewery had to acquire knowledge about how to process and combine the ingredients, which included the traditional yeast (kveik). Involving traditional home brewers was crucial to determine how ingredients could be combined to produce Vossaøl. The author concludes that a synthetic knowledge base was a useful point of departure in this respect. Participation in the traditional culture of brewing proved an important means when working with this knowledge base. The results are interesting in the broader context of the reconstruction of beverages and food.
Distributed under Creative Commons Cc-by 4.0 Modeling Historical Tuberculosis Epidemics among Canadian First Nations: Effects of Malnutrition and Genetic Variation

Late 19th century epidemics of tuberculosis (TB) in Western Canadian First Nations resulted in peak TB mortality rates more than six times the highest rates recorded in Europe. Using a mathematical modeling approach and historical TB mortality time series, we investigate potential causes of high TB mortality and rapid epidemic decline in First Nations from 1885 to 1940. We explore two potential causes of dramatic epidemic dynamics observed in this setting: first, we explore effects of famine prior to 1900 on both TB and population dynamics. Malnutrition is recognized as an individual-level risk factor for TB progression and mortality; its population-level effects on TB epidemics have not been explored previously. Second, we explore effects of heterogeneity in susceptibility to TB in two ways: modeling heterogeneity in susceptibility to infection, and heterogeneity in risk of developing disease once infected. Our results indicate that models lacking famine-related changes in TB parameters or heterogeneity result in an implausibly poor fit to both the TB mortality time series and census data; the inclusion of these features allows for the characteristic decline and rise in population observed in First Nations during this time period and confers improved fits to TB mortality data.
Three Dimensional Checkerboard Synergy Analysis of Colistin, Meropenem, Tigecycline against Multidrug-Resistant Clinical Klebsiella pneumonia Isolates

The spread of carbapenem-non-susceptible Klebsiella pneumoniae strains bearing different resistance determinants is a rising problem worldwide. Especially infections with KPC (Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase) - producers are associated with high mortality rates due to limited treatment options. Recent clinical studies of KPC-blood stream infections revealed that colistin-based combination therapy with a carbapenem and/or tigecycline was associated with significantly decreased mortality rates when compared to colistin monotherapy. However, it remains unclear if these observations can be transferred to K. pneumoniae harboring other mechanisms of carbapenem resistance. A three-dimensional synergy analysis was performed to evaluate the benefits of a triple combination with meropenem, tigecycline and colistin against 20 K. pneumoniae isolates harboring different β-lactamases. To examine the mechanism behind the clinically observed synergistic effect, efflux properties and outer membrane porin (Omp) genes (ompK35 and ompK36) were also analyzed. Synergism was found for colistin-based double combinations for strains exhibiting high minimal inhibition concentrations against all of the three antibiotics. Adding a third antibiotic did not result in further increased synergistic effect in these strains. Antagonism did not occur. These results support the idea that colistin-based double combinations might be sufficient and the most effective combination partner for colistin should be chosen according to its MIC.
A Gene-Phenotype Network Based on Genetic Variability for Drought Responses Reveals Key Physiological Processes in Controlled and Natural Environments

Identifying the connections between molecular and physiological processes underlying the diversity of drought stress responses in plants is key for basic and applied science. Drought stress response involves a large number of molecular pathways and subsequent physiological processes. Therefore, it constitutes an archetypical systems biology model. We first inferred a gene-phenotype network exploiting differences in drought responses of eight sunflower (Helianthus annuus) genotypes to two drought stress scenarios. Large transcriptomic data were obtained with the sunflower Affymetrix microarray, comprising 32423 probesets, and were associated to nine morpho-physiological traits (integrated transpired water, leaf transpiration rate, osmotic potential, relative water content, leaf mass per area, carbon isotope discrimination, plant height, number of leaves and collar diameter) using sPLS regression. Overall, we could associate the expression patterns of 1263 probesets to six phenotypic traits and identify if correlations were due to treatment, genotype and/or their interaction. We also identified genes whose expression is affected at moderate and/or intense drought stress together with genes whose expression variation could explain phenotypic and drought tolerance variability among our genetic material. We then used the network model to study phenotypic changes in less tractable agronomical conditions, i.e. sunflower hybrids subjected to different watering regimes in field trials. Mapping this new dataset in the gene-phenotype network allowed us to identify genes whose expression was robustly affected by water deprivation in both controlled and field conditions. The enrichment in genes correlated to relative water content and osmotic potential provides evidence of the importance of these traits in agronomical conditions.
A Class-Adaptive Spatially Variant Mixture Model for Image Segmentation

We propose a new approach for image segmentation based on a hierarchical and spatially variant mixture model. According to this model, the pixel labels are random variables and a smoothness prior is imposed on them. The main novelty of this work is a new family of smoothness priors for the label probabilities in spatially variant mixture models. These Gauss-Markov random field-based priors allow all their parameters to be estimated in closed form via the maximum a posteriori (MAP) estimation using the expectation-maximization methodology. Thus, it is possible to introduce priors with multiple parameters that adapt to different aspects of the data. Numerical experiments are presented where the proposed MAP algorithms were tested in various image segmentation scenarios. These experiments demonstrate that the proposed segmentation scheme compares favorably to both standard and previous spatially constrained mixture model-based segmentation
Credit Risk and Disaster Risk

Corporate credit spreads are large, volatile, countercyclical, and significantly larger than expected losses, but existing macroeconomic models with financial frictions fail to reproduce these patterns, because they imply small and constant aggregate risk premia. Building on the idea that corporate debt, while safe in normal times, is exposed to the risk of economic depression, this paper embeds a trade-off theory of capital structure into a real business cycle model with a small, time-varying risk of large economic disaster. This simple feature generates large, volatile and countercyclical credit spreads as well as novel business cycle implications. In particular, financial frictions substantially amplify the effect of shocks to the disaster probability.
Weighted Semantic Similarity Assessment Using WordNet

Word and concept similarity assessment is one of the most important elements in natural language processing and information and knowledge retrieval. WordNet, as a popular concept hierarchy, is used in many such applications. Similarity of words in WordNet is also considered in recent researches. Many researches that use WordNet, have calculated similarity between each pair-word by considering Depth of Subsumer of the words and Shortest Path between them. In this paper we have improved semantic similarity measure by giving weights to edges of WordNet hierarchy. We have considered that the nearer an edge is to the root in the hierarchy, the less effect it has in calculating the similarity. Therefore, we have offered a new formula for weighting the edges of hierarchy and based on that calculated the distance between two words and depth of words; and then tuned parameters of the transfer functions using particle swarm optimization. Our experimental results on a common benchmark created by human judgment, show that the resultant correlation has been improved.
The case for a generic implant processor

A more structured and streamlined design of implants is nowadays possible. In this paper we focus on implant processors located in the heart of implantable systems. We present a real and representative biomedical-application scenario where such a new processor can be employed. Based on a suitably selected processor simulator, various operational aspects of the application are being monitored. Findings on performance, cache behavior, branch prediction, power consumption, energy expenditure and instruction mixes are presented and analyzed. The suitability of such an implant processor and directions for future work are given.
Air Pollution and Daily Mortality in Philadelphia

Many recent analyses have reported associations between air pollution and mortality in U.S. cities. In this paper, we present the results of regression analyses of daily mortality in Philadelphia during the period 1973–1988. Pollution variables included in the analyses were total suspended particulates (TSP), sulfur dioxide, and ozone. We controlled for the effects of weather on mortality by analyzing mortality separately for each season and explicitly including quintiles of temperature in the regression models. In regression models that consider weather and pollution variables simultaneously, daily mortality is associated with hot days in summer [relative risk (RR) for highest quintile of temperature = 1.07; 95% confidence interval (Cl) = 1.04–1.10], and with cold days in spring (RR for lowest quintile of temperature = 1.07; 95% Cl = 1.04–1.10), fall (RR for lowest quintile of temperature = 1.05; 95% Cl = 1.02–1.08), and winter (RR for lowest quintile of temperature = 1.04; 95% Cl = 1.01–1.07). When all three pollution covariates and weather are considered simultaneously in the regression model, ozone is associated with mortality in summer (RR = 1.15; 95% Cl = 1.07–1.24) and sulfur dioxide is associated with mortality in spring (RR = 1.19; 95% Cl = 1.06–1.33), fall (RR = 1.14; 95% Cl = 1.00–1.29), and winter (RR = 1.21; 95% Cl = 1.09–1.35), where the relative risks are for incremental changes of 100 parts per billion in ozone and sulfur dioxide on the previous day. Because the pollution covariates are highly correlated, it is premature to single out one specific component as being responsible for the observed association between air pollution and mortality.
Linking structural variability in long bone diaphyses to habitual behaviors: foragers from the southern African Later Stone Age and the Andaman Islands.

The cross-sectional distribution of cortical bone in long bone diaphyses is highly responsive to mechanical loading during life, yet the relationship between systemic and localized influences on skeletal structure remains unclear. This study investigates postcranial robustness throughout the body among adults from two groups of foragers with different patterns and modes of mobility, to determine whether there is evidence for upper vs. lower body localization of skeletal robustness. The samples used for this comparison are from the southern African Later Stone Age (LSA; n = 65, male = 33, female = 28) dating from ca. 10,000 to 2,000 B.P., and 19th century indigenous Andaman Islanders (AI; n = 36, male = 17, female = 16). The LSA were highly mobile foragers who did not exploit offshore marine resources. In contrast, the AI had tightly constrained terrestrial, but significant marine, mobility. Geometric properties of cortical bone distribution in the diaphyses of the clavicle, humerus, femur, tibia, and first metatarsal are compared between the samples, providing a representation of skeletal robustness throughout the body. Multivariate ANOVA shows the AI to have significantly stronger clavicles and humeri, while the LSA femora, tibiae, and first metatarsals are stronger than those of the AI. These patterns, in which upper and lower limbs show biomechanical properties that are consistent with habitual behaviors, suggest localized osteogenic response. Although postcranial robustness appears to be correlated with overall limb function, the results suggest that more proximal elements within the limb may be more responsive to mechanical loading.
Ethnic disparities in mental health treatment gap in a community-based survey and in access to care in psychiatric clinics

Background: Contrasting social status of ethnic groups differentially impacts the use of psychiatric services, including in Israel, despite its universal health system. However, relevant studies are limited. Aims: To examine ethnic differences in mental health treatment gap and in access to specialized care. Methods: Data were gathered from two sources. Study I included Mizrahi (Jews of North African/Asian origin, socially disadvantaged, n = 136) and Ashkenazi (Jews of European American origin, socially advantaged, n = 69) who were diagnosed with common mental disorders in the preceding 12 months in the Israeli component of the World Mental Health Survey. Study II included Mizrahi (n = 133) and Ashkenazi (n = 96) service users entering ambulatory mental health care. Results: Study I showed that the treatment gap was larger among Mizrahi compared with Ashkenazi respondents (28% standard error (SE) = 4.1 and 45% SE = 6.2, respectively, sought services) following adjustment for sociodemographic confounders (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 2.28, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.1–4.8). Study II showed that the access to specialized care lagged over a year among 40% of service users of both ethnic groups. No significant ethnic differences emerged in variables related to delay in accessing care. Conclusions: Treatment gap was larger among ethnically disadvantaged compared with the advantaged group. However, once in treatment, service users of both ethnic groups report similar barriers to care.
A Bayesian Method Based on Clotting Factor Activity for the Prediction of Maintenance Warfarin Dosage Regimens

A Bayesian algorithm, employing a population pharmacokinetic–pharmacodynamic model, for the effective and rapid prediction of warfarin maintenance dosing requirements was developed. The algorithm was evaluated prospectively in five healthy volunteers who were given a 15-mg single dose of racemic warfarin. Based on previous population pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic parameters and factor VII response measurements taken during the first 48 hours, dosage regimens to achieve a subtherapeutic degree of anticoagulation (50% of normal) were determined. Three factor VII response measurements were sufficient to determine dosing requirements in the five volunteers. The advantage of the algorithm is that it does not require warfarin concentration measurements and uses non–steady-state data.
Annotated checklist and conservation status of mammals of Fars Province, southern Iran

Our purpose in this study was to gather all previously published data and our own data of extensive field expeditions and camera trapping to present a general view of the Fars mammals. The mammals of Fars Province, southern Iran, comprise of 72 species in 53 genera, 28 families and seven orders. The most diverse order is Chiroptera with 23 species or 31.9% of the mammalian fauna, followed by Carnivora and Rodentia (each with 18 species, 25%). The most diverse family is Vespertilionidae with nine species or 12.5% of the mammalian fauna, followed by Rhinopomatidae and Muridae, each with eight species or 11.1% of the mammalian fauna, Felidae and Canidae (each with five species, 6.9%), respectively. Sixteen families have only one species each. The Fars Province is the type locality of Triaenops persicus Dobson, 1871, Eptesicus serotinus shiraziensis (Dobson, 1871), Microtus irani Thomas, 1921, and Apodemus witherbyi (Thomas, 1902). Five species are listed in the Appendix I, eight species in the Appendix II, and eight species in the Appendix III of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). In addition, three species are considered as endangered and nine species as protected species based on the rules and regulations/laws of the Iranian Department of the Environment (DOE). The Asiatic Lion Panthera leo persica Meyer, 1826 is extirpated in Iran. Among the reported species, 60 species (83.3%) are considered as Least Concern (LC), two species as Not Evaluated (2.7%), one species as Data Deficient (1.4%), six species (8.3%) as Vulnerable (VU), and three species (4.2%) as Near Threatened (NT) in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The current checklist shows that the mammalian fauna of Fars Province is rich and taxonomically diverse, and the provided information will be necessary for the development of competent and pragmatic management plans and effective conservation policies.
Effect of a Nine-Month Web- and App-Based Workplace Intervention to Promote Healthy Lifestyle and Weight Loss for Employees in the Social Welfare and Health Care Sector: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background General health promoting campaigns are often not targeted at the people who need them the most. Web- and app-based tools are a new way to reach, motivate, and help people with poor health status. Objective The aim of our study was to test a Web- and mobile app-based tool (“SoSu-life”) on employees in the social welfare and health care sector in Denmark. Methods A randomized controlled trial was carried out as a workplace intervention. The tool was designed to help users make healthy lifestyle changes such as losing weight, exercise more, and quit smoking. A team competition between the participating workplaces took place during the first 16 weeks of the intervention. Twenty nursing homes for elderly people in 6 municipalities in Denmark participated in the study. The employees at the nursing homes were randomized either 1:1 or 2:1 on a municipality level to use the SoSu-life tool or to serve as a control group with no intervention. All participants underwent baseline measurements including body weight, waist circumference, body fat percentage, blood pressure, and blood cholesterol level and they filled in a questionnaire covering various aspects of health. The participants were measured again after 16 and 38 weeks. Results A total of 566 (SoSu-life: n=355, control: n=211) participants were included in the study. At 16 weeks there were 369 participants still in the study (SoSu-life: n=227, control: n=142) and 269 participants completed the 38 week intervention (SoSu-life: n=152, control: n=117). At 38 weeks, the SoSu-life group had a larger decrease in body weight (−1.01 kg, P=.03), body fat percentage (−0.8%, P=.03), and waist circumference (−1.8 cm, P=.007) compared with the control group. Conclusions The SoSu-life Web- and app-based tool had a modest yet beneficial effect on body weight and body fat percentage in the health care sector staff. Trial Registration Clinicaltrials.gov NCT02438059; http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02438059 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6i6y4p2AS)