Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato GENOTYPES IN DOMESTIC LIVESTOCK AND HUMANS IN GOLESTAN PROVINCE, IRAN

Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is a globally parasitic zoonosis caused by larval stages of Echinococcus granulosus. This study investigated E. granulosus genotypes isolated from livestock and humans in the Golestan province, northern Iran, southeast of the Caspian sea, using partial sequencing data of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) and NADH dehydrogenase 1 (nad1) mitochondrial genes. Seventy E. granulosus isolates were collected from animals in slaughterhouses: 18 isolates from sheep, 40 from cattle, nine from camels, two from buffaloes and one from a goat, along with four human isolates (formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues) from CE patients of provincial hospitals. All isolates were successfully analysed by PCR amplification and sequencing. The sequence analysis found four E. granulosus genotypes among the 74 CE isolates: G1 (78.3%), G2 (2.7%), G3 (15%) and G6 (4%). The G1-G3 complex genotype was found in all of the sheep, goat, cattle and buffalo isolates. Among the nine camel isolates, the frequency of G1-G3 and G6 genotypes were 66.7% and 33.3%, respectively. All four human CE isolates belonged to E. granulosus sensu stricto. This study reports the first occurrence of the G2 genotype in cattle from Iran and confirms the previously reported G3 genotype in camels in the same country.
Isolation of an intracellular bacterium from hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) with proliferative ileitis and reproduction of the disease with a pure culture

An intracellular bacterium was isolated from hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) with proliferative ileitis. The organism was isolated in Intestine 407 and GPC-16 cell cultures (incubated in a microaerophilic atmosphere) from isolated and lysed epithelial cells from hamsters with proliferative ileitis. The bacterium measured 1.4 to 1.7 microns in length by 0.26 to 0.34 microns in width, was slightly curved, and had an irregular trilaminar cell wall. Inoculation of hamsters with a cell culture lysate containing the organism or a 0.65-microns-pore-size filtrate of an infected-cell lysate resulted in the typical lesions of proliferative ileitis in approximately 50% of the animals in 28 days. Hamsters inoculated with uninfected cells or a 0.2-microns-pore-size filtrate of an infected-cell lysate remained uninfected. Attempts to propagate the organism on cell-free media have been unsuccessful.
Diagnosis of extrapulmonary tuberculosis using the Xpert® MTB/RIF assay

Evaluation of: Tortoli E, Russo C, Piersimoni C et al. Clinical validation of Xpert MTB/RIF for the diagnosis of extrapulmonary tuberculosis. Eur. Respir. J. doi:10.1183/09031936.00176311 (2012) (Epub ahead of print). The Xpert® MTB/RIF assay has been CE-marked for rapid molecular diagnosis of TB in Europe and has been endorsed by the WHO as a replacement for sputum smear microscopy for diagnosis of pulmonary TB in low- and middle-income countries. However, few data are available to inform recommendations for use of the assay for testing nonsputum clinical samples when investigating suspected extrapulmonary TB (EPTB). We review and discuss the findings of Tortoli and colleagues, who evaluated the assay used for this purpose in a large study of adults and children in Italy. They provide a per-sample analysis of 268 diagnoses of EPTB at a range of anatomic sites (sensitivity: 81.3%; 95% CI: 76.2–85.8) and data for 1206 samples in which EPTB was excluded (specificity: 99.8%; 95% CI: 99.4–100). We discuss how this paper forms an important addition to the growing body of literature demonstrating the utility of Xpert MTB/RIF for EPTB diagnosis when applied to diverse types of clinical samples.
Recombinant Deg/HtrA proteases from Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 differ in substrate specificity, biochemical characteristics and mechanism

Cyanobacteria require efficient protein-quality-control mechanisms to survive under dynamic, often stressful, environmental conditions. It was reported that three serine proteases, HtrA (high temperature requirement A), HhoA (HtrA homologue A) and HhoB (HtrA homologue B), are important for survival of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 under high light and temperature stresses and might have redundant physiological functions. In the present paper, we show that all three proteases can degrade unfolded model substrates, but differ with respect to cleavage sites, temperature and pH optima. For recombinant HhoA, and to a lesser extent for HtrA, we observed an interesting shift in the pH optimum from slightly acidic to alkaline in the presence of Mg2+ and Ca2+ ions. All three proteases formed different homo-oligomeric complexes with and without substrate, implying mechanistic differences in comparison with each other and with the well-studied Escherichia coli orthologues DegP (degradation of periplasmic proteins P) and DegS. Deletion of the PDZ domain decreased, but did not abolish, the proteolytic activity of all three proteases, and prevented substrate-induced formation of complexes higher than trimers by HtrA and HhoA. In summary, biochemical characterization of HtrA, HhoA and HhoB lays the foundation for a better understanding of their overlapping, but not completely redundant, stress-resistance functions in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803.
A Novel Neural-Network Model for Deriving Standard 12-Lead ECGs From Serial Three-Lead ECGs: Application to Self-Care

Synthesis of the 12-lead ECG has been investigated in the past decade as a method to improve patient monitoring in situations where the acquisition of the 12-lead ECG is cumbersome and time consuming. This paper presents and assesses a novel approach for deriving 12-lead ECGs from a pseudoorthogonal three-lead subset via generic and patient-specific nonlinear reconstruction methods based on the use of artificial neural-networks (ANNs) committees. We train and test the ANN on a set of serial ECGs from 120 cardiac inpatients from the intensive care unit of the Cardiology Hospital of Lyon. We then assess the similarity between the synthesized ECGs and the original ECGs at the quantitative level in comparison with generic and patient-specific multiple-regression-based methods. The ANN achieved accurate reconstruction of the 12-lead ECGs of the study population using both generic and patient-specific ANN transforms, showing significant improvements over generic (p -value ¿ 0.05) and patient-specific ( p-value ¿ 0.01) multiple-linear-regression-based models. Consequently, our neural-network-based approach has proven to be sufficiently accurate to be deployed in home care as well as in ambulatory situations to synthesize a standard 12-lead ECG from a reduced lead-set ECG recording.
Class II subdivision treatment with the Herbst appliance.

OBJECTIVE To assess the effectiveness of Class II subdivision Herbst nonextraction treatment and its short-term stability retrospectively. MATERIALS AND METHODS Twenty-two Class II subdivision (SUB: right-left molar difference ≥0.75 cusp width) and 22 symmetric Class II patients (SYM: ≥0.75 cusp width bilaterally) were matched according to gender and pretreatment handwrist radiographic stage. The mean treatment duration of the Herbst and subsequent multibracket phase was 8 months and 14 months, respectively. The mean retention period amounted to 36 months. Dental casts from before treatment (T1), after Herbst treatment (T2), after Multibracket treatment (T3), and after retention (T4) were evaluated. RESULTS A bilateral Class I or super Class I molar relationship was seen in 72.7% (SUB) and 77.3% (SYM) at T3. The corresponding values at T4 were 63.7% (SUB) and 72.7% (SYM). A unilateral or bilateral Class III molar relationship was more frequent in the SUB group (T3: +4.6%; T4: +13.6%). For overjet, similar mean values were seen in both groups after treatment (T3: SUB, 2.7 mm; SYM, 2.3 mm) and after retention (T4: SUB, 3.0 mm; SYM, 3.4 mm). This was also true for the midline shift (T3: SUB, -0.4 mm; SYM, 0.0 mm; T4: SUB, -0.3 mm; SYM, 0.0 mm). CONCLUSION Class II subdivision Herbst treatment was successful similarly to symmetric Class II Herbst treatment. However, a slight overcompensation of the molar relationship (Class III tendency) was more frequent in the subdivision patients (original Class I side).
Update on the diagnosis and management of Giardia spp infections in dogs and cats.

I i t a r a o t A p t t l d s n iardia spp are flagellates that are found in the intestinal tract of humans and domestic and wildlife animals, inluding birds and amphibians, worldwide. The genus Giardia ontains multiple species, which are for the most part morphoogically indistinguishable. Recognized species of this genus are . duodenalis, G. agilis, G. muris, G. microti, G. ardeae, and G. sittaci. Giardia duodenalis (syn. G. intestinalis or G. lamblia) s the species that infects people, dogs, and cats and is considered species complex. There are at least 7 distinct assemblages A-G) based on genetic analyses (Table 1). Host specificity was elieved to be minimal, but there have been varying results oncerning cross-infection potential of Giardia spp. Not all mall animal isolates cause disease in human beings. Assemlage A has been found in infected humans and many other ammals including dogs and cats. Assemblage B has been ound in infected humans and dogs, but not cats. There are pecific genotypes of Giardia that commonly infect dogs (asemblages C and D) and cats (assemblage F). 1-3 There are 2 stages of Giardia spp in its life cycle, the rophozoite and the cyst. The teardrop-shaped trophozoite s the active, motile form that is found in the intestinal tract. t is approximately 15 m long and 8 m wide (Fig 1). The llipsoidal-shaped cyst is the environmentally resistant stage ainly responsible for transmission; it is approximately 12 m ong and 7 m wide (Fig 2). Trophozoites can be found in the feces f dogs or cats with diarrhea, but rarely survive for a significant eriod outside the host. In contrast, cysts are very resistant and can urvive several months outside the host in wet and cold conditions, ut are susceptible to desiccation in dry and hot conditions.
The Morphological Variations of the Human Spleen

Introduction: The spleen is an important lymphatic organ in the human body. Its immunological and haematological functions are being well realized now-a-days. The aim of this study was to find out the morphological variations of the spleen and to compare them with the findings of previous studies. Materials and Methods: The present study included 111 human cadaveric spleens. The morphological features of the spleen like its length, breadth, width and weight were measured. The shape, poles, borders, surfaces and the impressions on the spleen were observed. Accessory splenic tissues, if they were present, were noted. Results: The lengths of the spleens varied between 5 cm to 13 cm, with an average of 9.66 cm. Their breadth was between 3.5 and 9.5 cm. The average breadth was 6.22 cm. Their widths varied between 1.5 and 5.5 cm, with an average of 3.06 cm. The weights of the spleens showed great variations, ranging between 80 and 300 gm, with an average of 145.76 gm. Various shapes of the spleens were observed in the present study. Most of the spleens were wedge shaped [61.26%], followed by tetrahedral [21.61%] and triangular [12.61%] shapes. Additional oval and irregular shapes of the spleens were observed in 3.60% and 0.09% cases respectively. In all the spleens, two poles, two borders and two surfaces were observed. The diaphragmatic surface of the spleen showed a uniform morphology while its visceral surface showed gastric, renal, colic and pancreatic impressions. The splenic notches were present on the superior as well as on the inferior borders. In most of the cases [74.76%], the notches were found on the superior border. The number of notches varied from zero to six, but in most of the cases [58.55%], there were 1 or 2 notches. Accessory spleens were found in 4.50% cases, in the form of roundish nodules. They were observed at the hilum of the spleen. Conclusion: The findings of the present study will be of fundamental importance to the physicians, surgeons and radiologists and of course, this knowledge is very important for the anatomists during their routine classroom dissections.
A scale for the measurement of self-efficacy for learning (SEL) at university

Students experiences at university prepare them for a future in which they are expected to engage in life-long learning. Self-efficacy theory suggests that a persons beliefs in their capacity to learn will influence their participation in learning. This paper describes development of a new scale to measure self-efficacy for learning (SEL) among university students, designed to be appropriate for both campus-based and online learning, and for administration in a battery of tests on student development. Undergraduate students (n = 265) in a business school in Milan and a department of psychology in Rome participated in the final study. Beginning with a random sample of 200 participants, item response theory and exploratory factor analysis with LISREL were used to identify a 10 item scale to measure SEL. The scales properties were confirmed in a second random sample of 200 participants, using confirmatory factor analysis in LISREL. Correlation with expected grades was, consistent with earlier studies, moderately small (.22), but statistically significant.
Role of Bending Energy and Knot Chirality in Knot Distribution and Their Effective Interaction along Stretched Semiflexible Polymers

Knots appear frequently in semiflexible (bio)polymers, including double-stranded DNA, and their presence can affect the polymer’s physical and functional properties. In particular, it is possible and indeed often the case that multiple knots appear on a single chain, with effects which have only come under scrutiny in the last few years. In this manuscript, we study the interaction of two knots on a stretched semiflexible polymer, expanding some recent results on the topic. Specifically, we consider an idealization of a typical optical tweezers experiment and show how the bending rigidity of the chain—And consequently its persistence length—Influences the distribution of the entanglements; possibly more importantly, we observe and report how the relative chirality of the otherwise identical knots substantially modifies their interaction. We analyze the free energy of the chain and extract the effective interactions between embedded knots, rationalizing some of their pertinent features by means of simple effective models. We believe the salient aspect of the knot–knot interactions emerging from our study will be present in a large number of semiflexible polymers under tension, with important consequences for the characterization and manipulation of these systems—Be they artificial or biologica in origin—And for their technological application.
A deadlock prevention approach for FMS using siphons and the theory of regions

This paper develops a deadlock prevention policy for flexible manufacturing systems based on siphons of Petri nets and the theory of regions. We first develop a polynomial algorithm to get partial siphons in an S/sup 3/PR. The deadlock control approach consists of two stages. The first, called siphon control, is to add, for each siphon we get, a monitor to the original net model. At the second stage, we don't explicitly control the siphons which may include some siphons in the net model, and the control induced ones generated due to the addition of monitors but rather utilize the theory of regions to derive the liveness enforcing Petri net supervisors such that deadlocks can be prevented. Finally, an example is used to illustrate our approach and advantages over the existing methods.
Mechanisms for the pleiotropic effects of the agouti gene.

The agouti locus is one of several classic genetic loci that affect the coat color of mice. The wild-type agouti phenotype, exemplified by dorsal coat hairs that are black with a single subapical band of yellow and lighter-colored ventral hairs, is found in many mammals including animals of the genera Mus (mice), Oryctolagus (rabbits), Sciurus (squirrels), and Canis (wolves) (reviewed in ref. 1). Much interest has focused on the agouti gene because several dominant mutations result in mice that exhibit adult onset obesity, hyperinsulinemia, and' noninsulindependent diabetes. In addition, mice carrying dominant agouti mutations show an increased susceptibility to a variety of spontaneous and/or induced solid tumors. These mutations provide potential animal models of human disease, and the mouse provides an organism amenable to molecular genetic, biochemical, physiological, and pharmacological manipulations to investigate the causes and treatments of these diseases. The mechanism of action of the agouti gene in all of these phenotypes is under intense investigation. Several recent papers including two in this issue by Klebig et al (2) and Zemel et al (3) now shed light on some modes of action of the agouti protein as well as provide models for in vivo and in vitro tests of agouti function.
The Roles of Human Capital and Physical Infrastructure on FDI Inflow : Empirical Evidence from East Asia and Sub Saharan Africa

This paper analyzes the impacts of physical infrastructure and human capital on FDI inflow in East Asia and sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Towards this effect a panel data of 1230 observations of 41 countries from 1975 to 2004 have been analyzed using Prais-Winsten heteroskedastic panels corrected standard errors. The empirical results from this study have confirmed that the main key factors for attracting high level of FDI include: efforts to improve the education levels and skills of the people, relatively well-developed infrastructure, stable and predictable policy and macroeconomic environments, higher GDP growth rates over the past decade, favorable trade policies, market size and political stability. However, the evidence shows that the level of human capital and infrastructure are below the threshold level in SSA to play a positive role in attracting FDI and materialize a structural change in the economy. Thus, investment on education and infrastructure should be taken as development priorities in SSA. Additionally, the study confirms that FDI is a complement not a threat to domestic investment/local firms. The study also reveals that 'middle-income' SSA countries attract FDI better than 'low-income' SSA countries, perhaps because of their human capital and relatively better physical infrastructure. This implies that being located in Africa does not per se rule out successes in attracting FDI.
Realist Perspectives on Management and Organisations

Part 1 Theory and Metatheory 1. Locating Realist Perspectives in Management and Organization Studies Stephen Ackroyd and Steve Fleetwood 2. What is Management: An Outline of Metatheory Haridimous Tsoukas 3. In Praise of Duality and Dualism: Rethinking Agency and Structure in Organisational Analysis Michael I. Reed 4. Structure, Culture and Agency: Rejecting the Current Orthodoxy of Organisation Theory Robert Willmott 5. Connecting Organisations and Societies: A Realist Analysis of Structures Stephen Ackroyd 6. Critical Realism and the Labour Process Steve Pratten Part 2 Susbstantive Contributions 7. Critical Realist Ethnography: The Case of Racism and Professionalism in a Medical Setting Sam Porter 8. Routines, Strategy and Change in High-Technology Small Firms Neil Costello 9. Managers' Innovations and the Structuration of Organisations John Coopey, Orla Keegan and Nick Elmer 10. Case Research as a Methodology for Industrial Networks: A Realist Apologia Geoff Easton 11. Structuring the Labour Market: A Segmentation Approach Jamie Peck 12. The British Production Regime: A Societal-Specific System? Jill Rubery and Nick Elmer.
Exchange Rate Pass-Through to Inflation and Its Effect on Economic Growth in a Dollarized Economies : The Case of Southeast Asian Countries

This paper aims to investigate the impact of exchange rate pass-through in dollarized economies to domestic inflation and economic growth: evidence from Southeast Asian countries. The panel data for five selected countries (Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, the Philippines and Vietnam) over the period 2000-2015 is employed. The empirical results by using fixed effects estimation found that there is no direct impact of currency depreciation and dollarization degree to domestic inflation and economic growth. However, the result indicates the indirect impact of exchange rate passthrough in dollarized economies across selected countries. It reveals that the coefficient of interaction term variable between currency depreciation and dollarization degree is significant and correlated with domestic inflation and economic growth. For instance, the level of dollarization increases the exchange rate pass-through and it also suggests a positive and significant relationship to domestic inflation. Likewise, higher degree of dollarization also increases the exchange rate pass-through coefficient and it has a negative and significant correlation to economic growth. The regression analysis shows that there is quite large pass-though coefficient in highly dollarized economies across five selected countries. It estimates of 0.72 to 0.9 percent, which is consistent with the accepted view that there is the large passthrough coefficient in high dollarized economies.