Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prevalence of Escherichia coli O157:H7 from Cull Dairy Cows in New York State and Comparison of Culture Methods Used during Preharvest Food Safety Investigations

ABSTRACT A number of protocols for the cultural detection ofEscherichia coli O157:H7 in clinical fecal specimens have been proposed. In the present study direct plating of cattle feces was compared to three different broth enrichment protocols, i.e., a protocol with modified E. coli broth with novobiocin, a protocol with Trypticase soy broth with cefixime and vancomycin, and a protocol with Gram-Negative Broth with novobiocin, for their relative abilities to detect E. coli O157:H7 in feces. In all enrichment protocols, dilutions of the enrichment broths onto 150-mm sorbitol-MacConkey agar plates to which cefixime and tellurite were added were used along with reading of agar plates at both 24 and 48 h. Fecal samples came from a preharvest food safety project in which feces from New York cull dairy cattle from a northeastern packing plant along with experimentally inoculated adult dairy cow feces were tested. The performances of the broth enrichments were comparable to each other, but the broth enrichments were superior to direct plating in their ability to detect E. coli O157:H7. Regardless of the culture protocol used, recovery of E. coli O157:H7 is more likely from fresh fecal specimens than from frozen samples. An overall prevalence of E. coli O157:H7 fecal shedding by New York cull dairy cattle of 1.3% was found in specimens just before processing at the packing plant.
Case fatality rates of different suicide methods within Ilam province of Iran

Background: There are few diverse studies that have reported the case fatality rates of different methods of suicide, none of them are originated from developing countries. The aim of the present article is to report the case fatality rates of different methods of suicide in Ilam province of Iran. Materials and Methods: Data on 611 cases of suicide and 1807 cases of deliberate self harm (DSH) that were recorded in a comprehensive registry during 1995 through 2002 were analyzed for both genders together and for males and females, separately. Findings: For both genders together, the two most fatal methods were hanging (75.4%) and self-immolation (68.3%); for males, hanging (76.3%) and self-immolation (64.7%); and for females, firearms (75%) and hanging (73.7%), respectively. The least fatal methods for both genders together and for females and males separately were drug ingestion and cutting. Conclusion: The results of present study, which for the first time has reported the case fatality rates of suicide methods in a developing world, would not only help to better plan the local suicide prevention strategies and clinical assessment of suicidal cases but to shed light on overall understanding of this mysterious human phenomenon.
Antimicrobial Susceptibility Patterns among a Large, Nationwide Cohort of Abiotrophia and Granulicatella Clinical Isolates

ABSTRACT Antimicrobial susceptibility patterns from 599 A. defectiva, G. adiacens, and G. elegans clinical isolates were determined by broth microdilution. We observed significant differences in susceptibility across species, particularly to penicillin and ceftriaxone, and across geographical regions. A. defectiva was the least susceptible species overall to penicillin. All isolates were susceptible to vancomycin and >90% were susceptible to levofloxacin.
Seasonal Variation in Shell Calcification of Planktonic Foraminifera in the NE Atlantic Reveals Species-Specific Response to Temperature, Productivity, and Optimum Growth Conditions

Using shells collected from a sediment trap series in the Madeira Basin, we investigate the effects of seasonal variation of temperature, productivity, and optimum growth conditions on calcification in three species of planktonic Foraminifera. The series covers an entire seasonal cycle and reflects conditions at the edge of the distribution of the studied species, manifesting more suitable growth conditions during different parts of the year. The seasonal variation in seawater carbonate saturation at the studied site is negligible compared to other oceanic regions, allowing us to assess the effect of parameters other than carbonate saturation. Shell calcification is quantified using weight and size of individual shells. The size–weight scaling within each species is robust against changes in environmental parameters, but differs among species. An analysis of the variation in calcification intensity (size-normalized weight) reveals species-specific response patterns. In Globigerinoides ruber (white) and Globigerinoides elongatus, calcification intensity is correlated with temperature (positive) and productivity (negative), whilst in Globigerina bulloides no environmental forcing is observed. The size–weight scaling, calcification intensity, and response of calcification intensity to environmental change differed between G. ruber (white) and G. elongatus, implying that patterns extracted from pooled analyses of these species may reflect their changing proportions in the samples. Using shell flux as a measure of optimum growth conditions, we observe significant positive correlation with calcification intensity in G. elongatus, but negative correlation in G. bulloides. The lack of a consistent response of calcification intensity to optimum growth conditions is mirrored by the results of shell size analyses. We conclude that calcification intensity in planktonic Foraminifera is affected by factors other than carbonate saturation. These factors include temperature, productivity, and optimum growth conditions, but the strength and sign of the relationships differ among species, potentially complicating interpretations of calcification data from the fossil record.
Selecting tracking principals with epoch awareness

This work addresses the problem of principal node selection during the tracking process in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). In a typical tracking scenario, the location of a mobile unit is determined via collaborative trilateration by the nodes that have the tracked object within their sensing range. One of the participants in the trilateraion---the tracking principal---is in charge of transmitting the location and time information to a designated sink. However, as the moving object changes its location, a new principal needs to be determined and handed off the task of the subsequent sensing, trilateration and transmission to the sink. We observe that in many WSN applications in which sensing/sampling needs to be combined with multihop transmission and, possibly, in-network aggregation, the typical processing is organized in synchronized intervals, called epochs. We postulate that taking the semantics of the epoch into consideration is important when selecting tracking principals and we present efficient algorithmic solutions towards this goal. Our experiments demonstrate that the proposed approach can yield significant reduction in the number of hand-offs between consecutive tracking principals, when compared to previous works.
A Study of a School-Based Clinic: Who Uses It and Who Doesn't?

Reported data on school-based clinic utilization and reasons for use or nonuse. Nearly half the sample indicated clinic use and satisfaction. Almost all used medical services; over one fourth received psychological counseling. Factors influencing use were ease of access and perceptions that services were helpful and confidential Frequent users scored highest on measures of psychological distress. Most nonusers indicated they were healthy and didn't need help, but over one fourth did acknowledge not wanting others to know about their problems. Less than one fifth indicated parental objections as a factor. In contrast to clinic nonusers, clients reported less availability and satisfaction with help and support from family members.
45 GHz distributed amplifier with a linear 6-Vp-p output for a 40 Gb/s LiNbO/sub 3/ modulator driver circuit

We developed a coplanar waveguided-type distributed amplifier for a LiNbO/sub 3/ modulator driver (LN driver) using double-doped AlGaAs/InGaAs/AlGaAs-pseudomorphic High Electron Mobility Transistors (p-HEMTs). By using a stabilization and impedance control technique, we obtained a 45 GHz bandwidth for coplanar waveguided (CPW) lines with a 600 /spl mu/m thick substrate and 54 GHz bandwidth for grounded coplanar waveguided (GCPW) lines with a 75 /spl mu/m thick substrate, and a linear 6-Vp-p output at 40 Gb/s. These results indicate that our circuit design technique is suitable for use in fiber-optic communication systems.
Stimulus-Entrained Oscillatory Activity Propagates as Waves from Area 18 to 17 in Cat Visual Cortex

Previous studies in cat visual cortex reported that area 18 can actively drive neurons in area 17 through cortico-cortical projections. However, the dynamics of such cortico-cortical interaction remains unclear. Here we used multielectrode arrays to examine the spatiotemporal pattern of neuronal activity in cat visual cortex across the 17/18 border. We found that full-field contrast reversal gratings evoked oscillatory wave activity propagating from area 18 to 17. The wave direction was independent of the grating orientation, and could not be accounted for by the spatial distribution of receptive field latencies, suggesting that the waves are largely mediated by intrinsic connections in the cortex. Different from the evoked waves, spontaneous waves propagated along both directions across the 17/18 border. Together, our results suggest that visual stimulation may enhance the flow of information from area 18 to 17.
Developing a Blueprint for a Technology-mediated Approach to Translation Studies

As Austermuhl (2001) put it over a decade ago, the use of information and communication technologies is a fait accompli in the lives of today’s translators. Translation Studies (TS) have traditionally contemplated technologies only as supporting tools for translation practice, and translators’ tools have not enjoyed consideration as decisive actors in TS. Hence, their impact has been somehow underrepresented in the discipline. In the light of well-established translation paradigms (linguistic, functional, cognitive, sociological), we analyze the role played by technology. Most TS approaches are artifactual, this meaning that a rather simplistic and outdated distinction is made between translator minds and the tools they use. This paper proposes an instrumental approach to technologies within TS. In this, cohesive and mutual merging between translators and their technologies, both field-specific and generic tools lead us towards a concept that goes beyond purely linguistic or anthropocentric translation notions. A trans-human translation theoretical modeling is proposed to revisit TS paradigms in the context of the Information Society era. The trans-human translation closes the loop initiated by the fragmentation and dehumanization of first translation technologies, and envisages a stimulating future for translators, where they will use technological and social extensions in a creative and critical way.
Başarı hedef yönelimleri ve iş özelliklerinin çalışmaya tutkunluk üzerindeki katkıları

Bu arastirmanin amaci, basari hedef yonelimleri (ustalasma, ispatlama ve kacinma) ile is ozelliklerinin (beceri cesitliligi ve ozerklik) calismaya tutkunluk uzerindeki katkilarini incelemektir. Hizmet sektorunde faaliyet gosteren kurumlarda calisan toplam 296 kisiden elde edilen veriler, ustalasma hedefinin calismaya tutkunlugu, ispatlama hedefine kiyasla daha guclu bir sekilde acikladigini, kacinma hedefinin ise calismaya tutkunluk ile bir iliskisinin olmadigini gostermistir. Basari hedefleri ile is ozellikleri arasindaki etkilesimin calismaya tutkunluk uzerindeki katkisini test etmeye dair yapilan hiyerarsik regresyon analizleri, ozerkligin hem ustalasma hem de ispatlama hedefi ile etkilesime girerek calismaya tutkunluk puanlarinda degisime katkida bulunduguna isaret etmistir. Beceri cesitliliginin ise hicbir basari hedef yonelimi ile etkilesim halinde olmadigi, ancak calismaya tutkunluk uzerinde dogrudan pozitif katkiya sahip oldugu tespit edilmistir
Social context and depression severity and duration in Canadian men and women: exploring the influence of social support and sense of community belongingness

This study examined the effects of 4 types of social support and sense of community belongingness on depression severity and duration in Canadian men and women. Using the concept of social capital, it is argued that sense of community belongingness is a distal social variable, distinct from proximal social factors (e.g., types of social support). Data associated with 6,112 respondents were extracted from the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS; Statistics Canada, 2002) and analyzed. Regardless of gender, higher levels of positive social interaction, and a stronger sense of community belongingness predicted less severity and shorter duration. However, very intriguing gender differences also emerged, which are discussed with reference to the reciprocity norm, conservation of resources theory, and social capital.
Informal Commerce: Expansion and Exclusion in the Historic Centre of the Latin American City

Informal commerce, characterized by market and street trading activities, thrives in the central areas of many Latin American cities. Focusing on the neglected spatial dimension of informal commerce, the paper traces its considerable expansion in the historic centre of Quito in Ecuador since the early 1970s and examines the issues which have prompted municipal intervention. An early municipal response involves some attempts at redistribution of informal commerce, justified by essentially functional issues such as hygiene and congestion. However, the introduction of conservation policy and the way this policy evolved to embrace a broad concern for the urban environment is associated with the emergence of an aesthetic/cultural discourse in attitudes towards informal commerce. The authorities are increasingly motivated towards 'selling' a new image of the historic centre and encouraging new economies oriented towards the tourist and a relatively wealthy clientele. Moves to exclude informal commerce have concentrated on the most visible spaces, particularly those of the principal squares. Although informal trade hidden from view continues to thrive, only time and further research will show whether the re-presentation of the historic centre and the promotion of new economies will finally effect the exclusion of informal commerce as a culmination of long-term efforts to control its occupation of space. Copyright Joint Editors and Blackwell Publishers Ltd 1998.
Elderly Female Serial Sexual Homicide

The purpose of criminal investigative analysis is to assist law enforcement in identifying and apprehending violent offenders by identifying important suspect and crime scene characteristcs. The genesis of criminal investigative analysis grew out of micro-level reviews of unusually violent crime cases. Although the descriptive terminology used to identify the process has changed over the years, the process of assessing violent criminal behavior has not. Lack of agreement as to what constitutes criminal investigative analysis has also led some to view the process as more art than science. In an effort to clarify some of these issues, an analysis of cases of serial sexual homicides of elderly women is conducted. Although the sexual homicide of elderly women represents a small percentage of overall homicides in the United States, the authors provide empirical evidence supporting the use of criminal investigative analysis in solving these unusual cases. The FBI regularly consults on various types of violent homicide cases using this methodology and valuable investigative information often is yielded in other cases as well.
Children in Therapy: Evaluation of University-Based Play Therapy Clinical Services.

There is a dearth of research available on child services in the community mental health setting in the fields of psychology and counseling. The purpose of this study was to conduct an experimental evaluation of university-based play therapy clinical services with children aged 3 to 10 years old and to explore dimensions of the effectiveness of child-centered play therapy (CCPT) with children. This study examined real-life clinical services to the largest number of child participants in decades of mental health research, especially in the field of play therapy. Archival data from cases of 364 children served through a university-based play therapy clinic in the southwestern United States was examined. The effectiveness of child-centered play therapy (CCPT) was measures by a decrease in a child's behavioral problems perceived by a parent/guardian measured by scores of the Internalizing Problems, Externalizing Problems and Total Problems on the Child Behavioral Checklist (CBCL) and a reduction of parent-child relationship stress manifested in the Child Domain, Parent Domain and Total Stress Score on the Parenting Stress Index (PSI). Data from pretest and posttest was gathered for use in the analysis. Independent samples t-test, repeated measures analysis of variance, and ordinary least squares regression, including effect sizes, were utilized to detect the differences between groups and the treatment effects. After receiving individual CCPT, results of this study demonstrated statistically significant differences on overall CBCL and PSI measures, with the exception on Parent Domain. Additionally, findings highlighted the effectiveness of individual CCPT through demonstrated moderate to large effects over time (partial η2 = .097 to .201). Individual CCPT also revealed very large effects (η2 = .26 to .37) when specifically examined with participants who completed play therapy treatment. Further, statistically significant predictions were found on CBCL and PSI measures, with the exception on Total Problems. Termination and family relationship concern variables were found as strong contributors on predicting greater improvement. Based on the statistical, practical, and clinical significances, the primary contribution of this study is the fully exploration of child characteristics and effectiveness of play therapy for children who seek mental health services.
Optical Flow Fields: Dense Correspondence Fields for Highly Accurate Large Displacement Optical Flow Estimation

Modern large displacement optical flow algorithms usually use an initialization by either sparse descriptor matching techniques or dense approximate nearest neighbor fields. While the latter have the advantage of being dense, they have the major disadvantage of being very outlier-prone as they are not designed to find the optical flow, but the visually most similar correspondence. In this article we present a dense correspondence field approach that is much less outlier-prone and thus much better suited for optical flow estimation than approximate nearest neighbor fields. Our approach does not require explicit regularization, smoothing (like median filtering) or a new data term. Instead we solely rely on patch matching techniques and a novel multi-scale matching strategy. We also present enhancements for outlier filtering. We show that our approach is better suited for large displacement optical flow estimation than modern descriptor matching techniques. We do so by initializing EpicFlow with our approach instead of their originally used state-of-the-art descriptor matching technique. We significantly outperform the original EpicFlow on MPI-Sintel, KITTI 2012, KITTI 2015 and Middlebury. In this extended article of our former conference publication we further improve our approach in matching accuracy as well as runtime and present more experiments and insights.
Generating super-shedders: co-infection increases bacterial load and egg production of a gastrointestinal helminth

Co-infection by multiple parasites is common within individuals. Interactions between co-infecting parasites include resource competition, direct competition and immune-mediated interactions and each are likely to alter the dynamics of single parasites. We posit that co-infection is a driver of variation in parasite establishment and growth, ultimately altering the production of parasite transmission stages. To test this hypothesis, three different treatment groups of laboratory mice were infected with the gastrointestinal helminth Heligmosomoides polygyrus, the respiratory bacterial pathogen Bordetella bronchiseptica lux+ or co-infected with both parasites. To follow co-infection simultaneously, self-bioluminescent bacteria were used to quantify infection in vivo and in real-time, while helminth egg production was monitored in real-time using faecal samples. Co-infection resulted in high bacterial loads early in the infection (within the first 5 days) that could cause host mortality. Co-infection also produced helminth ‘super-shedders’; individuals that chronically shed the helminth eggs in larger than average numbers. Our study shows that co-infection may be one of the underlying mechanisms for the often-observed high variance in parasite load and shedding rates, and should thus be taken into consideration for disease management and control. Further, using self-bioluminescent bacterial reporters allowed quantification of the progression of infection within the whole animal of the same individuals at a fine temporal scale (daily) and significantly reduced the number of animals used (by 85%) compared with experiments that do not use in vivo techniques. Thus, we present bioluminescent imaging as a novel, non-invasive tool offering great potential to be taken forward into other applications of infectious disease ecology.
Ku-Mediated Coupling of DNA Cleavage and Repair during Programmed Genome Rearrangements in the Ciliate Paramecium tetraurelia

During somatic differentiation, physiological DNA double-strand breaks (DSB) can drive programmed genome rearrangements (PGR), during which DSB repair pathways are mobilized to safeguard genome integrity. Because of their unique nuclear dimorphism, ciliates are powerful unicellular eukaryotic models to study the mechanisms involved in PGR. At each sexual cycle, the germline nucleus is transmitted to the progeny, but the somatic nucleus, essential for gene expression, is destroyed and a new somatic nucleus differentiates from a copy of the germline nucleus. In Paramecium tetraurelia, the development of the somatic nucleus involves massive PGR, including the precise elimination of at least 45,000 germline sequences (Internal Eliminated Sequences, IES). IES excision proceeds through a cut-and-close mechanism: a domesticated transposase, PiggyMac, is essential for DNA cleavage, and DSB repair at excision sites involves the Ligase IV, a specific component of the non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ) pathway. At the genome-wide level, a huge number of programmed DSBs must be repaired during this process to allow the assembly of functional somatic chromosomes. To understand how DNA cleavage and DSB repair are coordinated during PGR, we have focused on Ku, the earliest actor of NHEJ-mediated repair. Two Ku70 and three Ku80 paralogs are encoded in the genome of P. tetraurelia: Ku70a and Ku80c are produced during sexual processes and localize specifically in the developing new somatic nucleus. Using RNA interference, we show that the development-specific Ku70/Ku80c heterodimer is essential for the recovery of a functional somatic nucleus. Strikingly, at the molecular level, PiggyMac-dependent DNA cleavage is abolished at IES boundaries in cells depleted for Ku80c, resulting in IES retention in the somatic genome. PiggyMac and Ku70a/Ku80c co-purify as a complex when overproduced in a heterologous system. We conclude that Ku has been integrated in the Paramecium DNA cleavage factory, enabling tight coupling between DSB introduction and repair during PGR.