Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Phenotypic Tolerance: Antibiotic Enrichment of Noninherited Resistance in Bacterial Populations

ABSTRACT When growing bacteria are exposed to bactericidal concentrations of antibiotics, the sensitivity of the bacteria to the antibiotic commonly decreases with time, and substantial fractions of the bacteria survive. Using Escherichia coli CAB1 and antibiotics of five different classes (ampicillin, ciprofloxacin, rifampin, streptomycin, and tetracycline), we examine the details of this phenomenon and, with the aid of mathematical models, develop and explore the properties and predictions of three hypotheses that can account for this phenomenon: (i) antibiotic decay, (ii) inherited resistance, and (iii) phenotypic tolerance. Our experiments cause us to reject the first two hypotheses and provide evidence that this phenomenon can be accounted for by the antibiotic-mediated enrichment of subpopulations physiologically tolerant to but genetically susceptible to these antibiotics, phenotypic tolerance. We demonstrate that tolerant subpopulations generated by exposure to one concentration of an antibiotic are also tolerant to higher concentrations of the same antibiotic and can be tolerant to antibiotics of the other four types. Using a mathematical model, we explore the effects of phenotypic tolerance to the microbiological outcome of antibiotic treatment and demonstrate, a priori, that it can have a profound effect on the rate of clearance of the bacteria and under some conditions can prevent clearance that would be achieved in the absence of tolerance.
Quad-splitting algorithm for a window query on a Hilbert curve

Space-filling curves, particularly, Hilbert curves, have been extensively used to maintain spatial locality of multi-dimensional data in a wide variety of applications. A window query is an important query operation in spatial (image) databases. Given a Hilbert curve, a window query reports its corresponding orders without the need to decode all the points inside this window into the corresponding Hilbert orders. Given a query window of size p times q on a Hilbert curve of size T times T , Chung et al. have proposed an algorithm for decomposing a window into the corresponding Hilbert orders, which needs O ( n log T ) time, where n = max ( p , q ). By employing the properties of Hilbert curves, the authors present an efficient algorithm, named as Quad-Splitting, for decomposing a window into the corresponding Hilbert orders on a Hilbert curve without individual sorting and merging steps. Although the proposed algorithm also takes O ( n log T ) time, it does not perform individual sorting and merging steps which are needed in Chung et al. 's algorithm. Therefore experimental results show that the Quad-Splitting algorithm outperforms Chung et al. 's algorithm.
Percutaneous Trans-Tracheal Endoscopic Approach: A Novel Technique for the Excision of Benign Lesions of Thoracic Trachea.

INTRODUCTION Currently, neoplasms of the trachea and lower airway demand open transcervical approach with or without thoracotomy. We describe here a novel, minimally invasive approach for an intraluminal lesion of the thoracic trachea, called percutaneous trans-tracheal endoscopic approach (PTEA). Apart from obvious advantages over potentially morbid open procedures, this technique has certain peculiar benefits over rigid or flexible bronchoscopic approach. MATERIALS AND METHODS A 43-year-old male patient had glomus tumor of thoracic trachea. After detailed workup and informed written consent, he was taken up for percutaneous trans-tracheal excision under general anesthesia. The foremost step of the procedure is awake fiberoptic guided intubation, using the microlaryngeal tracheal tube, followed by elective tracheotomy. Subsequently, the lower end of the microlaryngeal tube was carefully pushed further inside the trachea so that the cuff of the tube lies distal to the tumor. The cuff is then inflated so that the operating area is sealed off from lower airway to aid continuous inhalational anesthesia and to prevent aspiration of blood. The surgeon sitting at the head end removed the tumor through tracheotomy under endoscopic guidance. After achieving absolute hemostasis, neck wound was closed. RESULTS Patient had complete removal of the tumor without any aspiration intraoperatively or in the postoperative period. The anesthetic agent could be delivered uninterrupted through the secured airway, below the operative area separated by sealed cuff of the microlaryngeal tube. CONCLUSIONS For excision of benign luminal lesions of the lower trachea, the novel approach of PTEA has many distinct and fool proof advantages in comparison to the transoral laryngoscopic/bronchoscopic and the transcervical approaches.
Influence of loading rate and modes on infiltration of treated wastewater in soil-based constructed wetland

ABSTRACT Over the last 10 years soil-based constructed wetlands for discharge of treated wastewater (TWW) are commonly presented as a valuable option to provide tertiary treatment. The uncomplete knowledge in soil modifications and a lack of clear design practices laid the foundation of this work. The aim of this study was to determine optimal hydraulic loads and to observe the main critical parameters affecting treating performances and hydraulic loads acceptance. For this purpose, a soil rich in clay and backfill was chosen to perform column infiltration tests with TWW. Two loading rates and two loading modes were compared to study the influence of an intermittent feeding. Inlet and outlet waters were periodically analysed and columns were instrumented with balances, tensiometers, O2 and temperature probes. Soil physico-chemical characteristics were also taken into account to better understand the modification of the soil. One of the main expectations of tertiary treatment is to improve phosphate removal. A particular attention was thus given to phosphorus retention. The interest of an intermittent feeding in presence of a soil with high clay content was showed. This study highlighted that an intermittent feeding could make possible the use of a clay-rich soil for water infiltration.
Implementing Software Process Improvement : An Empirical Study Research Section

In this paper we present survey data characterizing the implementation of SPI in 85 UK companies. We aim to provide SPI managers with more understanding of the critical success factors of implementing SPI. We present an analysis of the critical implementation factors identified in published case studies. We use a questionnaire to measure the use of these factors in ‘typical’ software companies. We found that many companies use SPI but the effectiveness of SPI implementation is variable. Many companies inadequately resource SPI and fail to evaluate the impact of SPI. On the other hand, companies show a good appreciation of the human factors associated with implementing SPI. Copyright  2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Food quality determinants for Daphnia growth in P-limited lakes

The growth ofherbivorous zooplankton is crucial for production at higher trophic levels in lakes. Among the environmental factors affecting growth rates of planktonic herbivores, food availabiliry has received much attention because the abundance and production of phytoplankton vary gready in nature. In addition, growing evidence suggests that zooplankton grazers potentially suffer nor only from insufficient food quantity but frequently also from inadequate food quality (ELSER er al. 2000, HESSEN & FAAFENG 2000). While a large number of studies have addressed food quantity effects on herbivore growth, the relative importance of food quality and quantity has rarely been assessed in nature (STERNER & SCHULZ 1998). Other than toxiciry, size and morphology, relarive contents ofN, P and some bio-chemicals have been proposed as determinants of food quality for herbivores (HESSEN 1992, URABE & WATANABE 1992, MüLLER-NAvARRA 1995a, AHLGREN et al. 1997, .K! LHAM et al. 1997). Much of this work has focused on Daphnia, a key herbivore in lake food webs (CARPENTER & .K! TCHELL 1993). MDLLER-NAVARRA (1995a) showed that Daphnia growth in a German lake was most strongly correlated with the content of fatty acids, especially eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5ro3, EPA) in seston. In contrast, ELSER et al. (2001) demonstrated that P amendment to seston from P-limited lakes stimulated Daphnia growth, independent of any changes in fatty acids. These inconsistent results suggest that the nutritional substance determining food quality for Daphnia growth is site specific. If this is the case, it is important to determine when and where a particular nutritional substance is involved in determining food quality (STERNER 1997). In the present study, somatic growth rates of Daphnia individuals were measured using seston from P-limited lakes and from manipulated enclosures experiencing different light and P-supply regimes. Since production and chemical composition of algae vary widely depending on light and nutrient regimes (URABE & STERNER 1996, STERNER et al. 1998), field enclosures with different light and nutrient regimes provided a good opportunity to examine the effects of various nutritional substances in food on Daphnia growth. Specific goals were to evaluate (I) the relative importance of food quality and quantity, and (2) the relative importance of various putative substances in determining food quality for Daphnia growth.
Prognostic severity scores for patients with COPD exacerbations attending emergency departments.

SETTING Reported predictors of the adverse evolution of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbations (eCOPD) are various and inconsistent in the bibliography. OBJECTIVE To develop clinical prediction rules for short-term outcomes in eCOPD patients attending an emergency department (ED). DESIGN Prospective cohort study of patients with an eCOPD. Short-term outcomes were admission to an intensive care unit (ICU), admission to an intermediate respiratory care unit (IRCU) and death in these groups. Multivariate logistic regression models were developed for each of the outcomes. RESULTS Predictors of ICU or IRCU admission were use of long-term home oxygen therapy (LT-HOT) or non-invasive mechanical ventilation (NIMV), elevated PCO2 and decreased pH upon ED arrival (area under the curve [AUC] 0.87 in the derivation sample; 0.89 in the validation sample). Among those admitted to an ICU or IRCU, predictors of death were increased age, use at home of LT-HOT or NIMV, use of inspiratory accessory muscles upon ED arrival and altered Glasgow Coma Scale (<15 points) (AUC 0.78). CONCLUSIONS Three clinical predictors available in the ED can be used to create a simple score to predict the need for intensive treatment among eCOPD patients. Such a score can be a tool for clinical practice.
A Chinese dictionary construction algorithm for information retrieval

In this article we propose a method for constructing, from raw Chinese text, a statistics-based automatic dictionary. The method makes use of local statistical information (i.e., data within a document) to identify and discard repeated string patterns, which, at an earlier stage, were substrings of legitimate words. Global statistical information (which exists throughout the entire corpus) and contextual constraints are then used for further filtering. The method can be used to alleviate the out-of-vocabulary (OOV) problem, which is commonly found in dictionary-based natural language information-processing applications, e.g., word segmentation. It can handle text corpora dynamically and, further, it does not impose any strict requirements on the size and quality of the training corpora. Based on our method, we constructed Chinese dictionaries from different Chinese corpora. We then applied the words in the constructed dictionaries to indexing in information retrieval (IR). Retrieval performance using such indexes was compared to the same, but based on indexes produced by static dictionaries. Three Chinese corpora using various character-encoding schemes and language styles were used in the experiments. The results show that retrieval using indexes based on the constructed dictionary is effective. This implies that fully automatic Chinese dictionary construction based on dynamic data sources, e.g., from the Internet, for the purposes of IR is feasible. Drawing on the experiment, we were able to make some interesting observations: (1) using only a portion of a dictionary is enough to produce good retrieval performance, e.g., a dictionary consisting of only the 500 highest-frequency strings extracted from the NTCIR 2 Chinese corpus produced as good a retrieval result as using a more complete dictionary with over 100K entries; and (2) complete word segmentation is not a strict requirement for achieving practical information retrieval.
Geodynamic conditions for Cenozoic activation of tectonic structures in Southeastern Mongolia

The knowledge of the neotectonic structures inSoutheastern Mongolia, that is considerably distant from the active plate boundaries, is important for determining a source of tectonic deformation and regular features of activation in the intracontinental setting. Our research was focused on the East Gobi and South Gobi depressions located inSoutheastern Mongolia, which developed since the Mesozoic and were activated to various degrees in the neotectonic stage. The study aimed to assess the paleostress state of the crust inSoutheastern Mongolia, identify the stages, factors and mechanisms of the Cenozoic activation of the regional structures of different strike, and determine the sources of activation. The analysis of the available literature suggests a similar history of their development in the Late Jurassic – Early Cretaceous (rifting) and Late Cretaceous – Paleogene (tectonic quiescence). In the Cenozoic stage, the depressions experienced activation of completely different styles. In theEast Gobidepression, left-lateral strike-slip faults were activated in the Tertiary, and the post-Late Cretaceous thrusting took place along the northeastern faults on the northern slope of the Totoshan uplift. In the Early Cenozoic, the N-S and N-W compression was dominant as evidenced by the deformed Late Cretaceous sediments and the reconstructed stress tensors typical of the compression and transpression regimes. An overview of the published data suggests that the most probable cause of such deformation was the impact of the Western Pacific zone of plate interaction. However, a potential influence of compression at the early stages of the Indo-Asian collision cannot be completely excluded. TheEast Gobidepression was low active in the second half of the Cenozoic. In contrast to the East Gobi depression, theSouth Gobiactivation began in the Late Cenozoic (Late Miocene – Early Pliocene). Young uplifts and forbergs (Gobi Altai eastern termination) developed actively and ‘cut’ the sediments of the basins originating from the Mesozoic. The W-E and N-W strike-slip and thrust faults were active in the Pliocene–Quaternary. The stress field reconstructions show compression, transpression and strike-slip regimes with the NE-trending axis of compression. Deformation in the East Goby Altay (as well as in Western andSouthwestern Mongolia) is driven by the India-Eurasia collision.
The Incidence of Lumbar Ligamentum Flavum Midline Gaps

Lumbar epidural anesthesia and analgesia has gained increasing importance in perioperative pain therapy for abdominal and lower limb surgery. The loss-of-resistance technique, used to identify the epidural space, is thought to rely on the penetration of the ligamentum flavum. However, the exact morphology of the ligamentum flavum at different vertebral levels remains controversial. Therefore, in this study, we directly investigated the incidence of lumbar ligamentum flavum midline gaps in embalmed cadavers. Vertebral column specimens were obtained from 45 human cadavers. On each dissected level, ligamentum flavum midline gaps were recorded. The incidence of midline gaps per number of viable specimens at the following levels was: L1-2 = 10 of 45 (22.2%), L2-3 = 5 of 44 (11.4%), L3-4 = 5 of 45 (11.1%), L4-5 = 4 of 43 (9.3%), L5/S1 = 0 of 33 (0%). In conclusion, the present study determined the frequency of lumbar ligamentum flavum midline gaps. Gaps in the lumbar ligamentum flavum are most frequent between L1 and L2 but are more rare below this level. When using the midline approach, the ligamentum flavum may not impede entering the epidural space in all patients.
An Active Contour Model Based on Splines and Separating Forces to Detect the Left Ventricle in Scintigraphic Images

In this paper we present a novel method for the segmentation of scintigraphic images in order to detect the two ventricles of the heart. The method is based on the active contour model using a region based approach and parametric representation of the contour. The novel aspect of the method is that we have integrated separating forces between the two ventricles in the active contour model. The method has been applied on several scintigraphic images and compared to "active contour without edges" model. The results are satisfactory.
“Seizing and Freezing” on a Significant-Person Schema: Need for Closure and the Transference Effect in Social Judgment

Two experimental studies examined the possibility that the need for cognitive closure (NfCC) affects the tendency to exhibit transference effects in social encounters. They reveal that the transference effect is more pronounced when individuals' (dispositional) NfCC is high (vs. low). In Study 1, this effect is demonstrated with respect to the transference of false memories about a newly encountered target person generalized from one's representation of a significant other. In Study 2, it is demonstrated with respect to the transference of both false memories and affective reaction to a new leader based on one's representation of a past leader. The discussion considers the role of motivation in the transference effect in relation to the social cognitive and psychodynamic views of transference.
A Study of δ-Globin Gene Mutations in the UK Population: Identification of Three Novel Variants and Development of a Novel DNA Test for Hb A′2

Abstract We report here the spectrum of δ-globin gene mutations found in the UK population. Nine different δ chain variants and two δ-thalassemia (δ-thal) mutations were characterized in a study of 127 alleles in patients with either a low Hb A2 value or a split Hb A2 peak on high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The most common δ chain variant was Hb A′2 (or Hb B2) [δ16(A13)Gly → Arg; HBD: c.49G > C] (77.0%), followed by Hb A2-Yialousa [δ27(B9)Ala → Ser; HBD: c.82G > T] (12.0%), Hb A2-Babinga [δ136(H14)Gly → Asp; HBD: c.410G > A] (3.0%), Hb A2-Troodos [δ116(G18)Arg → Cys; HBD: c.349C > T] (1.0%), Hb A2-Coburg [δ116(G18)Arg → His; HBD: c.350G > A] (2.0%) and Hb A2-Indonesia [δ69(E13)Gly → Arg; HBD: c.208G > C] (1.0%). Three novel variants were identified: Hb A2-Calderdale [codon 2 (CAT > AAT), His → Asn; HBD: c.7C > A], Hb A2-Walsgrave [codon 52 (GAT > CAT), Asp → His; HBD: c.157G > C] and Hb A2-St. George’s [codon 81 (CTC > TTC), Leu → Phe; HBD: c.244C > T]. In addition, two known δ-thal mutations were observed: −68 (C > T); HBD: c. -118C > T and codon 4 (ACT > ATT); HBD: c.14C > T. Amplification refractory mutation system (ARMS) primers were developed to provide a simple molecular diagnostic test for the most common variant, Hb A′2. Three of the variants had a characteristic HPLC retention time that can be used for a presumptive diagnosis.
A multidisciplinary survey on discrimination analysis

Abstract The collection and analysis of observational and experimental data represent the main tools for assessing the presence, the extent, the nature, and the trend of discrimination phenomena. Data analysis techniques have been proposed in the last 50 years in the economic, legal, statistical, and, recently, in the data mining literature. This is not surprising, since discrimination analysis is a multidisciplinary problem, involving sociological causes, legal argumentations, economic models, statistical techniques, and computational issues. The objective of this survey is to provide a guidance and a glue for researchers and anti-discrimination data analysts on concepts, problems, application areas, datasets, methods, and approaches from a multidisciplinary perspective. We organize the approaches according to their method of data collection as observational, quasi-experimental, and experimental studies. A fourth line of recently blooming research on knowledge discovery based methods is also covered. Observational methods are further categorized on the basis of their application context: labor economics, social profiling, consumer markets, and others.
VARIASI GENETIK, HERITABILITAS, DAN KORELASI GENOTIPIK SIFAT-SIFAT PENTING TANAMAN WIJEN (Sesamum indicum L.)

ABSTRAKPenelitian ini merupakan pengujian terhadap genotip-genotip hasilpersilangan tanaman wijen, dengan tujuan mendapatkan informasimengenai variasi genetik, heritabilitas, dan korelasi genotipik beberapa sifatpenting hasil persilangan tanaman wijen. Penelitian dilakukan di KebunPercobaan Pasirian, Lumajang, Jawa Timur pada bulan April 2002 –Agustus 2003. Rancangan yang digunakan adalah rancangan acak kelom-pok dengan tiga ulangan. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa (1) sebagianbesar sifat yang diamati mempunyai variasi genetik yang cukup besar, (2)nilai heritabilitas (dalam arti luas) tinggi terdapat pada sifat tinggi tanaman,umur berbunga, umur panen, jumlah cabang per tanaman, jumlah polongper tanaman, panjang polong, berat 1000 biji, dan hasil biji per hektar,sehingga dapat digunakan sebagai kriteria seleksi pada generasi awal, dan(3) korelasi genotipik terhadap hasil biji per hektar terjadi pada sifat tinggitanaman dan berat 1000 biji pada persilangan Sbr 1 X Si 13, sedangkanpada persilangan Sbr 1 X Si 22, dan Sbr 1 X Si 26 terjadi korelasi genotipikantara hasil biji per hektar dengan tinggi tanaman dan jumlah cabang pertanaman.Kata kunci : Wijen, Sesamum indicum L. , persilangan, genotip, variasigenetik, heritabilitas, korelasi genotipik, pertumbuhan, hasil,Jawa TimurABSTRACTGenetic variations, heritability and genotypic correlationsof important characteristics of sesame (Sesamum indicumL.)The experiment was conducted to evaluate genetic variations,heritability, and genotypic correlations of important characteristics ofsesame. The experiment was located at Pasirian Research Station,Lumajang, East Java from April 2002 – August 2003. Randomized blockdesign with three replications was used in the experiment. The result of theexperiment showed that: (1) generally, the genetic variations for all traitswere high enough, (2) the heritability values (in broad sense) on plantheight, flowering time, harvest time, number of branches per plant, numberof pods per plant, length of pods, 1000-seed weight, and grain yield perhectare were high, indicating that the inheritance of these traits were simpleinheritance and selection can be performed in early generation, and (3) inSbr 1 X Si 13 crosses, plant height and 1000-seeed weight had genotypiccorrelation with grain yield per hectare, then plant height and number ofbranches per plant had genotypic correlation with grain yield per hectare inSbr 1 X Si 22, and Sbr 1 X Si 26 crosses.Key words : Sesame, Sesamum indicum L. , crossing, genotype, geneticvariations, heritability, genotypic correlation, growth, yield,East Jav