Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prevalence of Quinolone Resistance Genes Among Extended-Spectrum B-Lactamase-Producing Escherichia coli in Mashhad, Iran

Background: Escherichia coli is an important bacterial species based on incidence and associated infection severity. Some E. coli strains produce extended-spectrum beta lactamase (ESBL) and are called ESBL-producing E. coli. These strains are resistant to most classes of cephalosporin and a number of other classes of antibiotics. Plasmids carrying qnr genes have been found to transmit quinolone resistance. Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of qnr genes in ESBL-producing and non-ESBL-producing E. coli isolated from outpatient and hospitalized patient clinical specimens from Imam Reza hospital in Mashhad, Iran. Materials and Methods: Two hundred E. coli strains, isolated from different clinical specimens were used. ESBL-producing E. coli were detected by determining susceptibility to ceftazidime, cefotaxime, and cefpodoxime with the phenotypic confirmatory test (PCT). PCR analysis was employed to detect the qnrA, qnrB, qnrS, blaTEM, and blaSHV genes. Results: Eighty-six (43%) isolates were ciprofloxacin-resistant. The PCT identified 85 (42.5%) of 200 E. coli isolates as ESBL-producing. The blaTEM, blaSHV, qnrA, qnrB, and qnrS gene were found in 65 (76.47%), 23 (27%), 63 (31%), 34 (17%), and 14 (7%) isolates, respectively. Conclusions: The high prevalence of quinolone resistance genes, which indicates antibiotic resistance, in the Imam Reza Hospital of Mashhad is a major concern. Hence, the antibiotics prescription policy should be revised, and infection control measures should be improved.
Author ' s personal copy Output interference in recognition memory

Dennis and Humphreys (2001) proposed that interference in recognition memory arises solely from the prior contexts of the test word: Interference does not arise from memory traces of other words (from events prior to the study list or on the study list, and regardless of similarity to the test item). We evaluate this model using output interference, a decline in accuracy as a function of the words presented during test. Output interference is consistent with models that allow interference from words other than the test word, when each test produces a memory trace, and hence a source of interference. Models positing interference solely from prior contexts of the test word itself predict no effect of items presented during test, without added assumptions. We find robust output interference effects in recognition memory. The effect remains intact after a long delay, when study-test lag is held constant, when feedback is provided, and when the test is yes/no or forced choice. These results are consistent with, and support the view that interference in recognition memory is due in part to interference from words other than the current test word. 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
The Wage Premium of Naturalized Citizenship

Abstract We examine the potential effect of naturalization on the U.S. immigrants’ earnings. We find the earning gap between naturalized citizens and noncitizens is positive over many years, with a tent shape across the wage distribution. We focus on a normalized metric entropy measure of the gap between distributions, and compare with conventional measures at the mean, median, and other quantiles. In addition, naturalized citizen earnings (at least) second-order stochastically dominate noncitizen earnings in many of the recent years. We construct two counterfactual distributions to further examine the potential sources of the earning gap, the “wage structure” effect and the “composition” effect. Both of these sources contribute to the gap, but the composition effect, while diminishing somewhat after 2005, accounts for about 3/4 of the gap. The unconditional quantile regression (based on the Recentered Influence Function), and conditional quantile regressions confirm that naturalized citizens have generally higher wages, although the gap varies for different income groups, and has a tent shape in many years.
Effects of complete deep-soil cultivation on initial forest stand development

Long-term effects of complete deep-soil cultivation on forest growth and yield were evaluated in an experiment initiated in 1988 on six different sites in Sweden. Complete deep-soil cultivation was compared with less intensive site preparation. Ten years after the start. growth. stand structure. damage and survival were evaluated. Conifer seedling growth and survival on sandy sites, frost-prone sites or both. generally increased following deep-soil cultivation compared to patch scarification. Silty sites exposed to summer frost mere also positively affected by deep-soil cultivation. although the risk of frost-heaving increased. For deciduous seedlings the result varied. but survival in birch was improved by deep-soil cultivation. On former farmland. deep cultivation may effectively control competing vegetation. Deep-soil cultivation in strips over half the area appeared to be as efficient as complete treatment. This has financial and environmental implications. Deep cultivation reduced variability in tree size, since it provided a more uniform environment during stand establishment. When long-term effects of complete deep-soil cultivation on forest growth and yield are evaluated. the significant differences in stand establishment demonstrated in the study must be considered. Future revisions of the experiment must address the question of the Ions-term effects of intensive soil cultivation on forest growth and yield.
The Explanatory Power of Earnings Levels vs. Earnings Changes in the Context of Executive

Studies in the capital market context indicate that earnings changes and earnings levels considered jointly provide a more comprehensive representation of unexpected earnings than either earnings changes or earnings levels considered alone. Recent studies of executive compensation demonstrate that executive compensation revisions are greater when earnings innovations are permanent, than when innovations are transitory. Together, these literatures imply that both earnings changes and earnings levels explain revisions to CEO compensation. Specifically, formal analysis implies that weights on earnings changes vary directly with the persistence of earnings innovations and that weights on earnings levels vary directly with persistence for low persistence observations and inversely with persistence for high persistence observations. Evidence for compensation to 712 executives of U.S. corporations is consistent with these expectations. Such results suggest that earnings levels, earnings changes, and earnings per.
On Summarizing Graph Streams

Graph streams, which refer to the graph with edges being updated sequentially in a form of a stream, have wide applications such as cyber security, social networks and transportation networks. This paper studies the problem of summarizing graph streams. Specifically, given a graph stream G, directed or undirected, the objective is to summarize G as S with much smaller (sublinear) space, linear construction time and constant maintenance cost for each edge update, such that S allows many queries over G to be approximately conducted efficiently. Due to the sheer volume and highly dynamic nature of graph streams, summarizing them remains a notoriously hard, if not impossible, problem. The widely used practice of summarizing data streams is to treat each element independently by e.g., hash- or sampling-based method, without keeping track of the connections between elements in a data stream, which gives these summaries limited power in supporting complicated queries over graph streams. This paper discusses a fundamentally different philosophy for summarizing graph streams. We present gLava, a probabilistic graph model that, instead of treating an edge (a stream element) as the operating unit, uses the finer grained node in an element. This will naturally form a new graph sketch where edges capture the connections inside elements, and nodes maintain relationships across elements. We discuss a wide range of supported graph queries and establish theoretical error bounds for basic queries.
Influence of tissue absorption and scattering on the depth dependent sensitivity of Raman fiber probes investigated by Monte Carlo simulations

We present a Monte Carlo model, which we use to calculate the depth dependent sensitivity or sampling volume of different single fiber and multi-fiber Raman probes. A two-layer skin model is employed to investigate the dependency of the sampling volume on the absorption and reduced scattering coefficients in the near infrared wavelength range (NIR). The shape of the sampling volume is mainly determined by the scattering coefficient and the wavelength dependency of absorption and scattering has only a small effect on the sampling volume of a typical fingerprint spectrum. An increase in the sampling depth in nonmelanoma skin cancer, compared to normal skin, is obtained.
Treasury Yields and Credit Spread Dynamics: A Regime-Switching Approach

The purpose of this paper is to shed new light on the conflicting empirical evidence on the relationship between credit spreads and Treasury rates. Following a general-to-specific modeling approach, we were unable to accept the presence of a long-run relationship between Baa credit spreads and long-term Treasury rates. At the same time, and in support of the structural models on credit risk modeling, a negative short-run relationship was obtained by means of impulse response functions. Subsequently, by employing a regime-switching estimation technique, we were able to establish the importance of the Treasury yield curve slope for the Baa credit spread determination in periods characterized by low interest rate volatility. Finally, we were able to provide evidence of an asymmetric response of the Baa credit spread to term spread changes according to the source of these changes, i.e. short or long term Treasury rates.
An activity-based approach to pragmatics

Le but de l'article est de decrire une approche de la communication et de la pragmatique developpee depuis la moitie des annees 70 sous le nom de Activity based Communication Analysis or Communicative Activity Analysis. L'A. apporte quelques critiques sur les principales contributions theoriques dans lesquelles l'approche a ete articulee comme une reponse, puis presente les idees et les concepts les plus importants en donnant les references d'articles ou l'on peut trouver des argumentations detaillees
Human Dermal Stem/Progenitor Cell-Derived Conditioned Medium Improves Senescent Human Dermal Fibroblasts

Adult skin stem cells are recognized as potential therapeutics to rejuvenate aged skin. We previously demonstrated that human dermal stem/progenitor cells (hDSPCs) with multipotent capacity could be enriched from human dermal fibroblasts using collagen type IV. However, the effects of hDSPCs on cellular senescence remain to be elucidated. In the present study, we investigated whether conditioned medium (CM) collected from hDSPC cultures (hDSPC-CM) exhibits beneficial effects on senescent fibroblasts. We found that hDSPC-CM promoted proliferation and decreased the expression level of senescence-associated β-galactosidase in senescent fibroblasts. In addition, p53 phosphorylation and p21 expression were significantly reduced in senescent fibroblasts treated with hDSPC-CM. hDSPC-CM restored the expression levels of collagen type I, collagen type III, and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase, and antagonized the increase of matrix metalloproteinase 1 expression. Finally, we demonstrated that hDSPC-CM significantly reduced reactive oxygen species levels by specifically up-regulating the expression level of superoxide dismutase 2. Taken together, these data suggest that hDSPC-CM can be applied as a potential therapeutic agent for improving human aged skin.
A Cat's Lick: Democratisation and Minority Communities in the Post-Soviet Baltic.

Acknowledgements Abbreviations Foreword by David J. Galbreath Introduction Explaining post-communist democratisation Ethno-territorial proliferation in the Soviet Baltic Baltic perestroika and nation-building State-building and framing of non-titulars Titularisation of Baltic education Minority cooptation in the Baltic societies The Language of alienation Minority representation in social structures Minority engagement in civic initiatives Baltic democratisation: A cat's lick? Bibliography
Flaming, bright galaxies along the filaments of A 2744

Context. The existence of a lumpy, large-scale filamentary structure is at the basis of the current paradigm of cosmic formation and evolution of clusters. The star-formation history of galaxies falling into a cluster is altered as a result of the environmental stresses. Aims. We investigate the relation between substructure and properties of the galaxy population in a $30^{\prime} \times 30^{\prime}$ region centred on the massive merging cluster A 2744 at z ~ 0.3. Methods. Multi-object spectroscopy at low resolution and BVR photometry are used to detect the presence of substructure through a Dressler-Schectman analysis and the photometric redshift technique, respectively. Galaxies at the same photometric redshift of the cluster are divided into red and blue according to their distribution in the $B-R$ vs. R colour–magnitude diagram. Results. We identify two large-scale filaments associated with A 2744. Along these filaments, the blue-to-red galaxy number ratio increases together with the cluster-centric distance but peaks slightly beyond the cluster virial radius. The filaments host a population of bright, large (i.e. more luminous than $R^{\star}$ for the main body of the cluster and with angular sizes of 13–22 $h_{\rm 70}^{\rm-1}$ kpc) blue galaxies that is hardly found among galaxies lying in a neighbouring low-density environment at the same redshift of the cluster. Conclusions. These results can be interpreted as a manifestation of galaxy harassment.
The Association of IL28B Polymorphism and Graft Survival in Patients with Hepatitis C Undergoing Liver Transplantation

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is the leading cause of liver transplantation (LT) in Western countries. Polymorphism in the IL28B gene region has a major impact on the natural history and response to antiviral treatment in HCV. We investigated whether IL28B polymorphism was associated with graft survival in patients with or without HCV undergoing LT. 1,060 adult patients (age >18 years) underwent LT between years 2000 and 2008. Patients with previous LT, living donor LT and patients dying or requiring retransplants within 30 days of LT were excluded. DNA samples of 620 (84%) recipients and 377 (51%) donors were available for genotyping of IL28B rs12979860C>T. Donor IL28B genotypes had no significant differences in graft survival irrespective of HCV status. There was no difference in graft outcome in the non-HCV cohort (n = 293) based on recipient IL28B genotype. In the HCV group (n = 327), recipients with CC or CT genotype had better graft survival compared to TT genotype (62% vs. 48%, p = 0.02). HCV recipients with CC or CT genotype had delayed time to clinically relevant HCV recurrence compared to TT (10.4 vs. 6.7 months, p = 0.002). The beneficial effect of the CC/CT genotype on HCV recurrence and graft survival was independent of antiviral treatment. In conclusion, our study demonstrated that in contrast to donor IL28B genotype recipient IL28B was associated with graft survival and clinically relevant HCV recurrence in HCV infected recipients. No effect of IL28B genotype was manifest in non-HCV LT recipients.
Increased Competition on the Supply Side of the Western European Natural Gas Market

This paper analyzes how the supply side of the Western European natural gas market may react if the demand side becomes competitive. We show-using a numerical model of the Western European natural gas market-that once the demand side of the market is liberalized, each gasproducing country has an incentive to break up its gas sellers. The model therefore suggests that there may be numerous producers in a liberalized natural gas market. Hence, in a liberalized market consumers will not be exploited by suppliers.
They Don't Understand

descriptions long and thin, short and fat, yellow, bJack, chewed and an array of books, hastily dumped by their owners, who had rushed off after lastminute interviews and check-ups. The aspiring sports reporter who was furrowing his forehead over a lead, already rewritten three times, performed the seemingly impossible task of wrapping his legs another time around those of the chair and began tugging absent-mindely at the collar of his stylish plaid shirt genius was at work. With a staccato clatter three typewriters in the corner stuttered out sentences which were to make up the front page news, and a note of frivolity somewhat belied the tenseness in the air as another group of journalists "ohed" and "ahed" and giggled over the efforts of the columnist who was reporting the "gossip. " In the midst of the flurry and confusion, an alien in the hubbub, the editor, calm and serene, sat at the desk by the window, where late afternoon sunlight haloed her light hair. She edited copy flung carelessly from the typewriters; she gently chided the idlers around the "gossip column" and put them to work writing headlines. With a few words she lifted the sports writer out of his quandry and speeded the other reporters through their stories and on their way home. At last, as the five o'clock bell rang, the office had changed character and become another room. Chairs had been pushed into place at the tables as though they had not held a squirming boyar girl working on a story. The typewriters had ceased their chatter and seemed a little forlorn, shrouded in their black covers. As the editor collected the galley proofs, putting them in order, she pushed the papers off the table into the wastebasket. Then she, too, left. ' Alone in the last sunlight slanting through the window, the room seemed to have settled down to rest.
The Receiver of the Agrobacterium tumefaciens VirA Histidine Kinase Forms a Stable Interaction with VirG to Activate Virulence Gene Expression

The plant pathogen Agrobacterium tumefaciens carries a virulence gene system that is required for the initiation of crown gall tumors on susceptible plants. Expression of the vir genes is activated by the VirA/VirG two component regulatory system. VirA is a histidine kinase which signals the presence of certain chemicals found at the site of a plant wound. The receiver domain located at its carboxyl terminus defines VirA as a hybrid histidine kinase. Here, we show that the VirA receiver interacts with the DNA-binding domain of VirG. This finding supports the hypothesis that the receiver acts as a recruiting factor for VirG. In addition, we show that removal of the VirA receiver allowed vir gene expression in response to glucose in a dose dependent manner, indicating that the receiver controls VirG activation and suggesting that the supplementary ChvE-sugar signal increases this activity.
New Keynesian Model Dynamics under Heterogeneous Expectations and Adaptive Learning

We analyze the economic dynamics in a basic New Keynesian model adjusted for imperfect, heterogeneous knowledge and adaptive learning. The policy, represented by a forward-looking Taylor rule, is driven by the central bank's own internal forecasts, whereas the core economic dynamics are driven by private agents' expectations. We study the implications of disagreement between those two. We find that if there is expectations heterogeneity, monetary policy should be less active in its actions in order to be short-run stability improving, and to affect positively the speed of convergence towards the first best equilibrium in the long run. This is in contrast to the homogeneous incomplete knowledge literature, which predicts the opposite. We also find that the homogeneous expectations economy is easier to operate in for monetary policy, and that policy can be more effective than in the heterogeneous expectations economy. From the perspective of incomplete, heterogeneous knowledge and adaptive learning methodology, we can thus see the importance of good communication policy and monetary policy credibility.
Stability of a Cosmetic Multiple Emulsion Loaded with Green Tea Extract

Multiple emulsions are excellent and exciting potential systems for the delivery of useful cosmetic agents. The work describes stability of a multiple emulsion for cosmetic purpose, loaded with extract of Camellia sinensis L. (Theaceae) in concentration of 5%. The formulation constitutes of cetyl dimethicone copolyol and polyoxyethylene (20) cetyl ether as emulsifiers and was characterised and monitored for various physicochemical aspects. Centrifugation has no devastating effect on physical destabilization/phase separation observed for 30 days. Mean globule sizes of multiple droplets were found in the range of 10.29 ± 4.4 μm to 12.77 ± 5.1 μm and of inner droplets were in the range of 0.8 ± 0.4 μm to 1.6 ± 0.8 μm. All samples exhibited shear thinning behavior with increase in shear stress. The results of the present study indicate that multiple emulsions can be used as carrier of 5% Camellia sinensis L. extract to enhance desired effects. The developed physically and chemically stable system is an effective system for targeting skin layers; however, long-term stability at elevated temperatures may be needed with suitable modifications, if required.
Addressing Food Insecurity and Developing Social Resources Through Community Garden Projects In Low-Income Areas: Qualitative Interviews with Outreach Coordinators From Three Urban Agriculture Organizations

As urban agriculture organizations become increasingly popular, it is important to understand the impact they have on low-income urban communities. Food security and political power are greatly lacking in these areas. Agriculture endeavors, such as community gardens and urban farms, have a significant potential to decrease these deficits. First, this thesis will address how social inequalities, which are products of structural power, prevent the poor from being properly fed and discuss how urban agriculture programs, specifically community gardens, can reduce food insecurity and build a community’s social resources. Later, the discussion will focus on how lowincome populations become involved in community agriculture projects. This latter discussion will be based on ethnographic interviews done with urban agriculture organization outreach coordinators who work with low-income communities.
Net buying pressure, volatility smile, and abnormal profit of Hang Seng Index options

We use the net buying pressure hypothesis of N. P. B. Bollen and R. Whaley (2004) to examine the implied volatilities, options premiums, and options trading profits at various time‐intervals across five different moneyness categories of Hong Kong Hang Seng Index (HSI) options. The results show that the hypothesis can well describe the newly developed Hong Kong index options markets. The abnormal trading profits by selling out‐of‐the‐money puts with delta hedge are statistically and economically significant across all options maturities. The findings are robust with or without outlier adjustment. Moreover, we provide two insights about the hypothesis. First, net buying pressure is attributed to hedging activities. Second, the net buying pressure on calls is much weaker than that on put options. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 24:1165–1194, 2004