Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Anti-adherence activity and antimicrobial durability of anti-infective-coated catheters against multidrug-resistant bacteria.

OBJECTIVES To investigate the anti-adherence and antimicrobial durability of anti-infective catheters against multidrug-resistant (MDR) Staphylococcus aureus (resistant to vancomycin, rifampicin and methicillin) and MDR Gram-negative bacteria (Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, Acinetobacter baumannii/calcoaceticus and Enterobacter agglomerans) that are often associated with catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSIs). METHODS Catheters impregnated with minocycline and rifampicin (M/R) or with silver-platinum and carbon (SPC) or with chlorhexidine and silver sulfadiazine (CHX/SS) were compared with non-coated catheters. Adherence of organisms was tested by using an established biofilm colonization model. All isolates were rifampicin-resistant. Antimicrobial durability was tested by soaking 1 cm segments of the catheter in serum and determining zones of inhibition against the tested organisms at weekly intervals. RESULTS The M/R catheters showed significantly superior anti-adherence activity and more prolonged antimicrobial durability when compared with CHX/SS-central venous catheter (CVC), SPC-CVC and uncoated control catheters against MDR and vancomycin-resistant S. aureus (MDR VRSA) (all P values < or = 0.02), MDR S. maltophilia (all P values < 0.005) and MDR A. baumannii/calcoaceticus (all P values < 0.002), respectively. M/R-CVC and CHX/SS-CVC had comparable anti-adherence and antimicrobial durability against MDR E. agglomerans, and these two were superior to SPC-CVC and the uncoated control catheters (all P values < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS M/R-CVC demonstrated superior anti-adherence activity and more prolonged antimicrobial durability when compared with other approved anti-infective catheters against MDR VRSA and/or MDR Gram-negative bacteria that are often associated with CRBSIs. This finding could explain their efficacy and better performance in clinical studies.
Assessment of soil quality for vineyard fields: A case study in Menderes District of Izmir, Turkey

This study was carried out to determine the suitable classification of soil quality for vineyard fields of Akcakoy, Catalca, Efemcukuru, Gorece and Yenikoy villages in Menderes district of Izmir-Turkey. In vineyard fields, soil pH gave a positive relation with Ca and significant negative relations with P, Fe, Mn and Zn contents. Soil organic matter (OM) content had significant positive relations with EC, P, Fe, Mn and Zn and significant negative relations with bulk density and CaCO 3 content. Soil quality index values for the vineyard fields varied between 0.38 and 0.85 with a mean of 0.57. Only one of the 28 soil samples taken from different vineyard fields was found in very suitable (S 1 :1.00-0.75) class, 8 in suitable (S 2 :0.75-060), 12 in marginal suitable (S 3 :0.60-0.50) and 7 in non-suitable (N:<0.50) class according to the soil quality index (SQI). Restricting soil factors for vine growth in the fields classified in S 2 and S 3 classes generally became low pH, low organic matter (OM), P, Fe, Mn, Cu, Mg and K contents than that of suggested levels. In addition to restring factors in S 2 and S 3 classes, physical properties in soils classified in N class were lower than suggested levels. The SQI values showed significant positive relations with grape yield, soil OM, P, K, Fe, Cu, Mn, Zn contents and significant negative relations with soil pH, exch. Ca and CaCO 3 contents. The grape yields had also positive relations with soil OM, Fe, Mn, Zn contents and negative correlations with soil pH and CaCO 3 content. Soil quality in a vineyard field should be assessed to reach successful sustainable and precision agricultural practices for high crop production.
Universal Prevention of Antisocial Development: Short- and Long-Term Effects of a Child- and Parent-Oriented Program

Although early Prevention is a strongly expanding field of developmental criminology, there is a lack of sound evaluations in Europe. This study reports short- and long-term effects of two programs for the promotion of child social skills and parenting behavior which were evaluated in the Erlangen-Nuremberg Development and Prevention Study. From a sample of 675 children (age 4-5 years), 239 were assigned to the program groups and 239 to the control groups (group-wise randomization, matching, intent-to-treat analysis). Preschool teachers' reports on the children in the Social Behavior Questionnaire revealed positive effects 2-3 months after the training. Program groups showed significantly less externalizing and internalizing problems. Most effect sizes were small but relatively large for the combined parent- and child program and for children at risk. Up to three years after the training the school report cards showed lower rates of program children with stable multiple problems, in particular for the combined training. However, mothers' ratings in the SBQ revealed no positive effects in both short-term and long-term evaluation. Possible reasons for these inconsistencies are discussed. A cautious optimism, more sound evaluation studies and a long-term Prevention policy are recommended.
Disturbances of Vision from Cerebral Lesions, with Special Reference to the Cortical Representation of the Macula

IN our work in the base hospitals in France during the past eighteen months, we have observed a very large number of cases in which vision was affected by the lesions of various portions of the optical system, but time and opportunity have not permitted a careful and complete examination of all. Consequently, in many cases of considerable clinical importance we possess only scanty and incomplete notes; but by selecting for thorough investigation a certain number of suitable cases we have been able to collect a group of facts that have an important bearing on the cerebral localization of vision, and more particularly on the representation of different regions 6f the retina in the cortex. Owing to the conditions under which we have worked, most of our observations were necessarily made at a relatively early date after the infliction of the wound; we recognize that this fact makes possible the objection that, as our cases were mainly examined during the stage in which the effects of shock or diaschisis were still present, the visual defects we describe may have been due to functional disturbances rather than to local injuries of the corresponding cortical areas or of their centripetal fibres: but if we can show that there is a constant relation between the probable site of the injury and the form of the visual defect, it is obvious that at least certain general conclusions will be justifiable. The fact that most of our patients were investigated in the early
The reasons for triple therapy in stable COPD patients in Japanese clinical practice

Background Triple combination therapy involving long-acting muscarinic antagonists long-acting β2 agonists, and inhaled corticosteroids has recently become an option for maintenance treatment of COPD. Some add-on clinical trials have reported the benefits of these combinations. However, the process to step up to triple therapy varies for individual cases. Methods Keio University and affiliated hospitals conducted an observational COPD cohort study, recruiting patients diagnosed as having COPD by pulmonary physicians and those referred for investigation of possible COPD. Their prescription history and clinical course were retrospectively analyzed based on the physicians’ medical records and patient questionnaires. This study was registered with UMIN (UMIN000003470, April 10, 2010). Results A total of 95 of the 445 COPD patients (21%) were treated with inhaled corticosteroids/long-acting β2 agonists/long-acting muscarinic antagonists as maintenance therapy, including 12 in COPD Grade I, 31 in Grade II, 38 in Grade III, and 14 in Grade IV, based on the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease spirometric grading. For more than half of the patients on triple therapy, the treatment had been intensified due to unsatisfactory improvement of symptoms, and 32% were treated with triple therapy due to comorbid asthma. In contrast, there were COPD patients whose therapy was maintained after starting with triple therapy because of their serious conditions or concurrent exacerbation at diagnosis (8%). Conclusion Triple therapy was often prescribed in the real-life management of COPD, even in patients whose airflow limitation was not severe. To better control symptoms was the major reason for choosing triple therapy, regardless of the severity of COPD, in Japan.
The ins and outs of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis‐containing vacuole

The past few years have seen publication of reports from several groups documenting the escape of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) from its intracellular vacuole to access the cytosol. The major questions addressed in these publications are the mechanism(s) underlying this process, the frequency of its occurrence and, most importantly, the biological significance of this phenomenon to bacterial survival, growth and virulence. I believe that the first two questions are moving towards resolution, but questions relating to biological context have yet to be answered fully. In this viewpoint article, I will try to convince the readers why escape from the vacuole in no way diminishes the significance of Mtb's intravacuolar survival mechanisms and why, as a lab, we continue to focus the majority of our efforts on the ‘bug in the bag’.
Hematopoietic stem cell–independent B‐1a lineage

The accepted dogma has been that a single long‐term hematopoietic stem cell (LT‐HSC) can reconstitute all components of the immune system. However, our single‐cell transfer studies have shown that highly purified LT‐HSCs selectively fail to reconstitute B‐1a cells in otherwise fully reconstituted hosts (i.e., LT‐HSCs fully reconstitute follicular, marginal zone, and B‐1b B cells, but not B‐1a cells). These results suggest that B‐1a cells are a separate B cell lineage that develops independently of classical LT‐HSCs. We provide an evolutionary two‐pathway development model (HSC independent versus HSC dependent), and suggest that this lineage separation is employed not only by B cells but by all hematopoietic lineages. Collectively, these findings challenge the current notion that LT‐HSCs can reconstitute all components of the immune system and raise key questions about human HSC transplantation. We discuss the implications of these findings in light of our recent studies demonstrating the ability of B‐1a cells to elicit antigen‐specific responses that differ markedly from those mounted by follicular B cells. These findings have implications for vaccine development, in particular vaccines that may elicit the B‐1a repertoire.
Teaching Meal Planning to Youth with Mental Retardation in Natural Settings

Meal planning is a critical area of development for persons diagnosed with mental retardation and/or mental illness. although substantial interest in meal planning has been shown by professionals in the field, there remains a need to validate instructional programs that enable persons with disabilities to plan healthful meals. the present study was conducted to evaluate the influence of a meal planning training strategy on skills required for planning nutritious meals. the recommended dietary allowances of vitamins and minerals were used as criteria in measuring the healthful-ness of actual meals. a multiple probe design across individuals was used to evaluate the efficacy of the meal planning training. results indicated that the meal planning training procedures were effective in increasing healthy food choices and nutritional value of meals. all participants maintained 100% of the recommended dietary allowances, while keeping the total number of calories consumed per day at the level recommended for age and gender.
Fluorescein sodium-guided surgery of a brain abscess: A case report

Background: Up to now, the feasibility and benefit of using fluorescein sodium under a dedicated surgical microscope filter (YE560, YELLOW 560 nm filter, Carl Zeiss Meditec, Germany) has never been clinically evaluated in infectious disorders of the brain. Case Description: Here, we report the case of a male patient with a brain abscess in the right parietal lobe that was removed under fluorescence-guidance (intravenous administration of fluorescein sodium 10%, 5 mg/kg bodyweight). The abscess capsule showed intensive yellow fluorescent staining, while − under white light − the cortex appeared normal. Conclusion: This technique may improve the identification and surgical removal of brain abscesses.
Metabolomic Analysis Reveals That the Drosophila melanogaster Gene lysine Influences Diverse Aspects of Metabolism

The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster has emerged as a powerful model for investigating the molecular mechanisms that regulate animal metabolism. However, a major limitation of these studies is that many metabolic assays are tedious, dedicated to analyzing a single molecule, and rely on indirect measurements. As a result, Drosophila geneticists commonly use candidate gene approaches, which, while important, bias studies toward known metabolic regulators. In an effort to expand the scope of Drosophila metabolic studies, we used the classic mutant lysine (lys) to demonstrate how a modern metabolomics approach can be used to conduct forward genetic studies. Using an inexpensive and well-established gas chromatography-mass spectrometry-based method, we genetically mapped and molecularly characterized lys by using free lysine levels as a phenotypic readout. Our efforts revealed that lys encodes the Drosophila homolog of Lysine Ketoglutarate Reductase/Saccharopine Dehydrogenase, which is required for the enzymatic degradation of lysine. Furthermore, this approach also allowed us to simultaneously survey a large swathe of intermediate metabolism, thus demonstrating that Drosophila lysine catabolism is complex and capable of influencing seemingly unrelated metabolic pathways. Overall, our study highlights how a combination of Drosophila forward genetics and metabolomics can be used for unbiased studies of animal metabolism, and demonstrates that a single enzymatic step is intricately connected to diverse aspects of metabolism.
Impacts of extreme events on technical efficiency in Vietnamese agriculture

The aim of this study is to examine farm household-level impacts of weather extreme events on Vietnamese rice technical efficiency. Vietnam is considered among the most vulnerable countries to climate change, and the Vietnamese economy is highly dependent on rice production that is strongly affected by climate change. A stochastic frontier analysis is applied with census panel data and weather data from 2010 to 2014 to estimate these impacts while controlling for both adaptation strategy and household characteristics. Also, this study combines these estimated marginal effects with future climate scenarios (Representative Concentration Pathways 4.5 and 8.5) to project the potential impact of hot temperatures in 2050 on rice technical efficiency. We find that weather shocks measured by the occurrence of floods, typhoons and droughts negatively affect technical efficiency. Also, additional days with a temperature above 31°C dampen technical efficiency and the negative effect is increasing with temperature. For instance, a one day increase in the bin [33°C-34°C] ([35°C and more]) lessen technical efficiency between 6.84 (2.82) and 8.05 (3.42) percentage points during the dry (wet) season.
Evidence for cortical dysfunction in clinically non-demented patients with Parkinson’s disease: a proton MR spectroscopy study

OBJECTIVES To investigate whether proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H MRS) can detect cortical dysfunction in non-demented patients with Parkinson’s disease, and to correlate changes with cognitive function on formal neuropsychological testing. METHODS Multivoxel1H MRS was performed in 17 patients with levodopa treated idiopathic Parkinson’s disease with out clinical dementia, and 10 age match ed control subjects. Measurements of N-acetylaspartate (NAA)/choline (Cho), NAA/creatine+phosphocreatine (Cr), and Cho/Cr were obtained from right and left temporoparietal cortex and occipital cortex. Fourteen patients with Parkinson’s disease underwent a full battery of neuropsychological testing including performance and verbal subtests of the WAIS-R, Boston naming test, FAS test, and California verbal learning test. RESULTS There were significant temporoparietal cortex reductions in NAA/Cr ratios in right and left averaged spectra of the patients with Parkinson’s disease (p=0.012 after Bonferroni correction) and in spectra contralateral to the worst clinically affected limbs of the patients with Parkinson’s disease compared with controls (p = 0.003 after Bonferroni correction). There was a significant correlation between reduction in NAA/Cr ratios and measures of global cognitive decline, occurring independently of motor impairment (p=0.019). CONCLUSIONS This study suggests that 1H MRS can detect temporoparietal cortical dysfunction in non-demented patients with Parkinson’s disease. Further longitudinal studies are needed to investigate whether these1H MRS changes are predictive of future cognitive impairment in the subset of patients with Parkinson’s disease who go on to develop dementia, or occur as part of the normal Parkinson’s disease process.
Methodological Dominance in Academic Finance: The Case of Behavioural Finance

Academic finance is claimed to be a discipline dominated by positivist research approaches. This is maligned by some researchers owing to the preservation of a rather narrow research agenda, which limits the possible development of finance as a discipline. By drawing upon the development of behavioural finance as an illustration, the article outlines how particular research areas and topics can be captured through positivist approaches, and speculates on methodological, and epistemological, implications of such capture. The article concludes with a call for methodological pluralism in finance.
Motivation and goal self-regulation

The present thesis extends the goal striving literature by exploring personal and primed autonomous and controlled goal motivation in relation to goal-related outcomes (e.g. persistence, attainment, inter-goal relations), the responses to goal failure, and well- and ill-being. Aligned with the Self-Concordance (SC) Model (Sheldon & Elliot, 1999), the central hypothesis was that autonomous motives would be associated with more adaptive goal pursuit and higher well-being. We investigated this hypothesis within a sporting context. In Chapter 2, we used ecologically valid video primes to manipulate goal motives. Extending the previous literature, we demonstrated that primed autonomous motives were associated with higher objectively assessed persistence towards an increasingly difficult goal than primed controlled motives. Chapter 3 showed that primed goal motives did not moderate the responses to goal failure. However we presented recommendations for how future research can investigate how individuals react to goal failure. Within Chapter 4, we blended the SC model with the Hierarchical Model of Motivation (Vallerand, 1997) to explain how coach behaviour can facilitate adaptive goal striving and well-being in team-sport athletes. Finally, Chapter 5 used a person-centred approach to examine autonomous and controlled goal motives when pursuing goals in multiple domains. The results suggested that higher autonomous motives are important for adaptive facilitation between goals. The research presented within this thesis represents important conceptual advancements of the goal striving literature. Furthermore, we present important practical implications for those engaging in goal pursuit in sport. Overall, we demonstrate the importance of individuals striving for goals which are underpinning by autonomous goal motives.
Investigation of Diffuse Hard X-Ray Emission from the Massive Star-forming Region NGC 6334

Chandra ACIS-I data of the molecular cloud and H II region complex NGC 6334 were analyzed. The hard X-ray clumps detected with ASCA (Sekimoto and coworkers) were resolved into 792 point sources. After removing the point sources, an extended X-ray emission component was detected over a 5 × 9 pc2 region, with the 0.5-8 keV absorption-corrected luminosity of 2 × 1033 ergs s-1. The contribution from faint point sources to this extended emission was estimated as at most ~20%, suggesting that most of the emission is diffuse in nature. The X-ray spectrum of the diffuse emission was observed to vary from place to place. In tenuous molecular cloud regions with hydrogen column density of (0.5-1) × 1022 cm-2, the spectrum can be represented by a thermal plasma model with temperatures of several keV. The spectrum in dense cloud cores exhibits harder continuum, together with higher absorption of more than ~3 × 1022 cm-2. In some of such highly obscured regions, the spectra show extremely hard continua equivalent to a photon index of ~1, and favor a nonthermal interpretation. These results are discussed in the context of thermal and nonthermal emission, both powered by fast stellar winds from embedded young early-type stars through shock transitions.
The Force of Appearance: Gamma Movement, Naive Impetus, and Representational Momentum.

If a moving stimulus (i.e., launcher) contacts a stationary target that subsequently begins to move, observers attribute motion of the target to the launcher (Michotte, 1946/1963). In experiments reported here, a stationary launcher adjacent to the target appeared or vanished and displacement in memory for the position of the target was measured. Forward displacement of moving targets was less (a) when launchers appeared than when launchers vanished, and (b) when targets moved in the direction of implied impetus than when targets moved in a direction orthogonal to implied impetus. Whether launchers appeared or vanished did not influence displacement of targets that remained stationary. The data were consistent with the hypothesis that forward displacement of the target decreased when observers attributed target motion to an impetus resulting from gamma movement of the launcher that was imparted to the target. More generally, the data were consistent with an impetus-based explanation of Michotte’s launching effect (e.g., Hubbard & Ruppel, 2002), and suggest the apparent perception of causality is cognitively mediated rather than direct.
Modeling the Ternary Complex TCR-Vβ/CollagenII(261–273)/HLA-DR4 Associated with Rheumatoid Arthritis

Background It is known that genetic predisposition to rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is associated with the MHC class II allele HLA-DR4 and that residues 261–273 of type II collagen (huCollp261) represent an immunodominant T cell epitope restricted by the DR4 molecule. Despite recent advances in characterization of MHC and T cell receptor (TCR) contacts to this epitope, the atomic details of TCR/huCollp261/HLA-DR4 ternary complex are not known. Methodology/Principal Findings Here we have used computational modeling to get insight into this interaction. A three-dimensional model of the TCR Vβ domain from a DR4+ patient affected by RA has been derived by homology modeling techniques. Subsequently, the structure of the TCR Vβ domain in complex with huCollp261/HLA-DR4 was obtained from a docking approach in conjunction with a filtering procedure based on biochemical information. The best complex from the docking experiments was then refined by 20 ns of molecular dynamics simulation in explicit water. The predicted model is consistent with available experimental data. Our results indicate that residues 97–101 of CDR3β are critical for recognition of huCollp261/HLA-DR4 by TCR. We also show that TCR contacts on p/MHC surface affect the conformation of the shared epitope expressed by DR alleles associated with RA susceptibility. Conclusions/Significance This work presents a three-dimensional model for the ternary complex TCR-Vβ/collagenII(261–273)/HLA-DR4 associated with rheumatoid arthritis that can provide insights into the molecular mechanisms of self reactivity.