Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Solubility of Antibiotics in Different Solvents. 1. Hydrochloride Forms of Tetracycline, Moxifloxacin, and Ciprofloxacin

The solubilities of tetracycline hydrochloride, moxifloxacin hydrochloride, and ciprofloxacin hydrochloride were measured in several solvents, such as water, ethanol, 2-propanol, and acetone, in the temperature range of 293.15−323.15 K for ciprofloxacin.HCl and moxifloxacin.HCl and 288.15−310.15 K for tetracycline. All the antibiotics have the same solubility order; that is, they are more soluble in water than in ethanol, and more soluble in ethanol than in 2-propanol and acetone. The solubility in water is ∼3 orders of magnitude higher than that in acetone. The modeling of the experimental solid−liquid equilibria (SLE) data, using the NRTL and UNIQUAC models, proves that these models can correlate the solubility of studied antibiotics satisfactorily in the temperature range for which experimental data are available, with the UNIQUAC model generally being slightly superior to the NRTL model, when only two adjustable parameters are used for each binary system.
Continuous culture selection of bifidobacteria and lactobacilli from human faecal samples using fructooligosaccharide as selective substrate

The human large intestine contains a large and diverse population of bacteria. Certain genera, namely Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus, are thought to exert health‐promoting effects. Prebiotics such as fructooligosaccharides (FOS) have been shown to stimulate the growth of endogenous bifidobacteria. In this study, changes of lactic acid producing bacteria in continuous culture fermentors (semi‐defined, anaerobic medium containing 5 g l−1 FOS, dilution rate of 0·1 h−1, pH 5·5) were followed over a 21 d period after inoculation with blended human faeces from four healthy adults. Samples were also taken every 3 d for influent/effluent FOS, short chain fatty acid (SCFA), lactate and microbiological analyses. Results showed that SCFA concentrations decreased abruptly 1 d after inoculation while lactate concentrations increased. Classical methods of enumeration using selective media showed that the proportion of total culturable count represented by bifidobacteria and lactobacilli increased from 11·9% on day 1 to 98·1% on day 21. However, molecular methods using genus‐specific 16S rRNA oligonucleotide probes indicated that the bifidobacterial population maintained a level between 10 and 20% of total 16S rRNA during the first 6 d and disappeared rapidly when the maximum concentration of lactate was reached. Lactobacilli, which were initially present in low numbers, increased until day 9 and remained at high levels (20–42% of total 16S rRNA) to day 21, with the exception of day 18. Although FOS has usually been regarded as a selective substrate for bifidobacteria, these observations suggest that: (1) lactobacilli are also able to use FOS, (2) lactobacilli can out‐compete bifidobacteria in continuous culture at pH 5·2–5·4 when FOS is the primary carbon and energy source, and (3) bifidobacteria can grow faster on FOS than lactobacilli under controlled conditions.
Method Based on Sparse Signal Decomposition for Harmonic and Inter-harmonic Analysis of Power System

Harmonic/inter-harmonic detection and analysis is an important issue in power system signal processing. This paper proposes a fast algorithm based on matching pursuit (MP) sparse signal decomposition, which can be employed to extract the harmonic or inter-harmonic components of a distorted electric voltage/current signal. In the MP iterations, the method extracts harmonic/interharmonic components in order according to the spectrum peak. The Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) and nonlinear optimization techniques are used in the decomposition to realize fast and accurate estimation of the parameters. First, the frequency estimation value corresponding to the maxim spectrum peak in the present residual is obtained, and the phase corresponding to this frequency is searched in discrete sinusoids dictionary. Then the frequency and phase estimations are taken as initial values of the unknown parameters for Nelder-Mead to acquire the optimized parameters. Finally, the duration time of the disturbance is determined by comparing the inner products, and the amplitude is achieved according to the matching expression of the harmonic or inter-harmonic. Simulations and actual signal tests are performed to illustrate the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed method.
Oral mucosal decontamination with chlorhexidine for the prevention of ventilator-associated pneumonia in children—A randomized, controlled trial

Objective: To study the efficacy of oral mucosal decontamination with chlorhexidine gel for the prevention of ventilator-associated pneumonia in children between 3 months and 15 yrs. Design: Double blind randomized placebo controlled trial. Setting: Pediatric intensive care unit of a tertiary care hospital in North India. Patients: Eligible participants were patients aged 3 months to 15 yrs who required orotracheal or nasotracheal intubation and mechanical ventilation. Two hundred eighty-three children admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit between November 2007 and April 2009 were screened. Eighty-six patients fulfilled the study requirements. Intervention: Either 1% chlorhexidine or placebo gel was applied on the buccal mucosa at 8-hr intervals for the entire duration of ventilation, subject to a maximum of 21 days. Patients were followed up for the development of ventilator-associated pneumonia, diagnosed using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria. Main Outcome Measures: Incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia, duration of hospital stay, duration of intensive care unit stay, mortality, and characteristics of organisms isolated. Results: Fourty-one children received 1% chlorhexidine, whereas 45 received placebo application. Patients of both groups were comparable with respect to baseline characteristics. Incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia was 39.6/1,000 ventilator days with 1% chlorhexidine and 38.1/1,000 ventilator days with placebo (relative risk 1.03, confidence interval 0.44–2.42, p = .46). The duration of intensive care unit stay and hospital stay was a mean of 8.4 ± 5.8 vs. 9.6 ± 11.4 days (p = .58) and 16.1 ± 10.2 days vs. 15.1 ± 14.3 days (p = .19) with chlorhexidine and placebo, respectively. The mortality rates were similar in the two groups (p = .81). All but two isolates causing ventilator-associated pneumonia were gram-negative, with Acinetobacter species being the most common (14 of 26). No side effects of the applied gel were seen in either group. Conclusion: Oral mucosal application on 1% chlorhexidine gel did not prevent the development of ventilator-associated pneumonia in children 3 months to 15 yrs age.
CT-guided percutaneous biopsies of head and neck masses.

Six patients underwent CT-guided percutaneous pharyngeal or laryngeal biopsies. A retromandibular approach was used in five of these patients. Accurate cytologic information was obtained in all six cases, and no complications were encountered. This technique can be helpful in certain clinical settings.
Tissue Doppler Imaging Consistently Detects Myocardial Contraction and Relaxation Abnormalities, Irrespective of Cardiac Hypertrophy, in a Transgenic Rabbit Model of Human Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

BackgroundHypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is diagnosed clinically by the presence of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). However, LVH is absent in a significant number of genotype-positive patients. Because myocyte dysfunction and disarray are the primary abnormalities in HCM, we reasoned that tissue Doppler imaging could identify contraction and relaxation abnormalities, irrespective of hypertrophy, in a transgenic rabbit model of human HCM. Methods and ResultsM-mode, 2D, Doppler echocardiography and tissue Doppler imaging were performed in nontransgenic (n=24), wild-type &bgr;-myosin heavy chain-arginine403 (n=14), and mutant &bgr;-myosin heavy chain-glutamic acid403 (n=24) transgenic rabbits. Mean septal thicknesses were 2.0±0.3, 2.0±0.25, and 2.75±0.3 mm in the 3 groups, respectively (P =0.001). LVH was absent in 9 of the 24 mutant rabbits. Left ventricular dimensions, systolic function, heart rate, mitral inflow velocities, and time intervals were similar in the groups. However, the difference between atrial reversal and transmitral A wave duration was increased in the mutant rabbits (P <0.001). More importantly, systolic and early diastolic tissue Doppler velocities were significantly lower in all mutant rabbits (7.45±2.2 versus 10.8±2.3 cm/s in nontransgenic and 9.0±0.76 cm/s in wild-type;P <0.001), including the 9 without LVH. A systolic velocity <8.5 cm/s had an 86% sensitivity and 100% specificity in identifying the mutant transgenic rabbits. ConclusionsMyocardial contraction and relaxation were reduced in the mutant &bgr;-myosin heavy chain-glutamic acid403 transgenic rabbit model of human HCM, irrespective of the presence or absence of LVH. In addition, tissue Doppler imaging is more sensitive than conventional echocardiography for HCM screening.
Recharge Estimation of Hard Rock Aquifers under Sahelian Climate Conditions Using Water Table Fluctuation: Case Study of Tougou Catchment, Burkina Faso

This study aims to characterize water table fluctuations and estimate groundwater recharge in the Tougou catchment located in the Sahel zone of Burkina Faso. Water table fluctuation and groundwater budget approaches are developed on an experimental site equipped with observation wells. The trends of water fluctuations in the different layers of the weathering profile are similar. There is a time-lag response of groundwater recharge to the daily precipitation occurrences. The interaction between the upper (clayey alteration) and lower (transition zone-fractured schist complex) parts of the weathering profile shows that generally the hydraulic head in the upper part is higher than that of the lower part due to difference in drainage porosity. The latter varies at the catchment scale between 0.006 and 0.009 and is inversely proportional to the saturated thickness of the clayey alteration layer. The groundwater recharge is annually estimated between 36 and 49 mm, which correspond to 6% and 9% of mean annual rainfall in the catchment. Annual evapotranspiration was estimated to be about 223 to 443 mm.
Effects of maximum flow algorithm on identifying web community

In this paper, we describe the effects of using maximum flow algorithm on extracting web community from the web. A web community is a set of web pages having a common topic. Since the web can be recognized as a graph that consists of nodes and edges that represent web pages and hyperlinks respectively, so far various graph theoretical approaches have been proposed to extract web communities from the web graph. The method of finding a web community using maximum flow algorithm was proposed by NEC Research Institute in Princeton two years ago. However the properties of web communities derived by this method have been seldom known. To examine the effects of this method, we selected 30 topics randomly and experimented using Japanese web archives crawled in 2000. Through these experiments, it became clear that the method has both advantages and disadvantages. We will describe some strategies to use this method effectively. Moreover, by using same topics, we examined another method that is based on complete bipartite graphs. We compared the web communities obtained by those methods and analyzed those characteristics.
Marching into battle: synchronized walking diminishes the conceptualized formidability of an antagonist in men

Paralleling behaviours in other species, synchronized movement is central to institutionalized collective human activities thought to enhance cooperation, and experiments demonstrate that synchrony has this effect. The influence of synchrony on cooperation may derive from an evolutionary history wherein such actions served to signal coalitional strength to both participants and observers—including adversaries. If so, then synchronous movement should diminish individuals' estimations of a foe's formidability. Envisioned physical size and strength constitute the dimensions of a representation that summarizes relative fighting capacity. Experiencing synchrony should therefore lead individuals to conceptualize an antagonist as smaller and weaker. We found that men who walked synchronously with a male confederate indeed envisioned a purported criminal as less physically formidable than did men who engaged in this task without synchronizing.
Cultural isolation is greater than genetic isolation across an avian hybrid zone

Elucidating the relationship between genetic and cultural evolution is important in understanding speciation, as learned premating barriers might be involved in maintaining species differences. Here, we test this relationship by examining a widely recognized premating barrier, bird song, in a hybrid zone between black‐throated green (Setophaga virens) and Townsend's warblers (S. townsendi). We use song analysis, genomic techniques and playback experiments to characterize the cultural and genetic backgrounds of individuals in this region, expecting that if song is an important reproductive barrier between these species, there should be a strong relationship between song and genotype. We show that songs in the hybrid zone correspond to the distinctly different songs found in allopatry but that song and genotype are not tightly coupled in sympatry. Allopatric individuals responded only to local songs, indicating that individuals may have learned to respond to songs they commonly hear. We observed discordance between song and genotype clines; a narrower cline suggests that cultural selection on song is stronger than natural selection on genotype. These findings indicate that song is unlikely to play a role in reproductive isolation between these species, and we suggest that spatial variation in song may nonetheless be maintained by frequency‐dependent cultural selection. This decoupling of genes and culture may contribute to hybridization in this region.
Relations entre la matiere organique et la faune benthique dans le golfe du lion. Association de plusieurs approches a differentes echelles de temps et d'espace

Afin de comparer les aptitudes des differents descripteurs biochimiques a decrire la qualite nutritive de la matiere organique particulaire, ce travail de these cherchait a evaluer les variations spatio-temporelles de la qualite de la matiere organique particulaire dans le golfe du lion ainsi que les variations de la faune benthique. L'etude des variations a haute frequence et en milieu cotier de la qualite de la matiere organique particulaire combinee a l'etude des phenomenes meteorologiques a ce site a permis de confirmer le role majeur de la remise en suspension sous l'action d'evenements meteorologiques dans la dynamique de sedimentation. La constance des spectres d'acides amines disponibles (ehaa) a constitue le principal resultat de cette etude. Il suggere qu'un simple dosage de la somme des ehaa suffirait a rendre compte des limitations subies par la faune par rapport aux acides amines essentiels disponibles. Le principal element ressortant de l'etude a echelle saisonniere de la qualite de la matiere organique et de faune suivant un gradient cote-large a concerne l'attenuation des variations de la composition biochimique de la matiere organique particulaire avec la profondeur. Les lipides et les acides amines disponibles ont ete les descripteurs biochimiques de la matiere organique les plus aptes a decrire les variations de la faune dans les sediments de vase. L'etude de la qualite de la matiere organique sedimentaire et des caracteristiques faunistiques a mesoechelle a montre un schema de variation de la qualite de la matiere organique particulaire, unique pour toute a zone du golfe du lion, qui presente une diminution des teneurs en elements nutritifs dans la zone 0-200 m et une augmentation jusqu'a des profondeurs de 900 m. Suivant les zones bathymetriques considerees les lipides et les ehaa se sont averes etre les meilleurs descripteurs de la valeur nutritionnelle des substrats particulaires.
Divalent metal transporter 1 is a hypoxia‐inducible gene

Our recent study revealed a high correlation between the expression of hypoxia‐inducible factor‐1 (HIF‐1) alpha and divalent metal transporter 1 (DMT1) in HepG2 cells treated with chemical or physical hypoxia. We therefore speculated that DMT1 might be one of the target genes of HIF‐1. Here, we characterized the DMT1 exon1B promoter region and identified a functional hypoxia response element (HRE, 5′‐TCAGTACCTAACGTGGCGCCACGGC‐3′) harboring a binding site for HIF‐1. We demonstrated that hypoxia‐dependent activation of a luciferase reporter gene in transfected HepG2 cells is mediated by a fragment of human DMT1 exon1B promoter containing the putative HRE sequence. We also showed that the HIF‐1 binding site (HBS) is in DMT1 exon1B promoter with the core sequence of HRE (5′‐ACGTG‐3′) at −327 to −323 relative to the transcription start site of the human DMT1 exon1B gene. The mutation of this sequence prevented stimulation of luciferase activity. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays revealed that the HRE sequence found in the DMT1 gene promoter was bound by HIF‐1. In addition, we provide evidence that hypoxia could significantly increase ferrous uptake, while the silencing of total DMT1 by RNA interference down‐regulates DMT1 expression and ferrous uptake in HepG2 cells. We conclude that DMT1 is a hypoxia‐inducible gene. J. Cell. Physiol. 226: 1596–1603, 2011. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Multiepitopic HLA-A*0201-Restricted Immune Response Against Hepatitis B Surface Antigen After DNA-Based Immunization

CTL together with anti-envelope Abs represent major effectors for viral clearance during hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. The induction of strong cytotoxic and Ab responses against the envelope proteins after DNA-based immunization has been proposed as a promising therapeutic approach to mediate viral clearance in chronically infected patients. Here, we studied the CTL responses against previously described hepatitis B surface Ag (HBsAg)-HLA-A*0201-restricted epitopes after DNA-based immunization in HLA-A*0201 transgenic mice. The animal model used was Human Human Db (HHD) mice, which are deficient for mouse MHC class I molecules (β2-microglobulin−/− Db−/−) and transgenic for a chimeric HLA-A*0201/Db molecule covalently bound to the human β2-microglobulin (HHD+/+). Immunization of these mice with a DNA vector encoding the small and the middle HBV envelope proteins carrying HBsAg induced CTL responses against several epitopes in each animal. This study performed on a large number of animals described dominant epitopes with specific CTL induced in all animals and others with a weaker frequency of recognition. These results confirmed the relevance of the HHD transgenic mouse model in the assessment of vaccine constructs for human use. Moreover, genetic immunization of HLA-A2 transgenic mice generates IFN-γ-secreting CD8+ T lymphocytes specific for endogenously processed peptides and with recognition specificities similar to those described during self-limited infection in humans. This suggests that responses induced by DNA immunization could have the same immune potential as those developing during natural HBV infection in human patients.
This Review Is Part of a Thematic Series on Adipocyte Signaling in the Cardiovascular System, Which Includes the following Articles: Adipose Tissue, Inflammation and Cardiovascular Disease Adipocyte Signaling and Lipid Homeostasis: Sequelae of Insulin Resistant Adipose Tissue Diabetic Cardiomyopathy

—For many years adipose tissue was viewed as the site where excess energy was stored, in the form of triglycerides (TGs), and where that energy, when needed elsewhere in the body, was released in the form of fatty acids (FAs). Recently, it has become clear that when the regulation of the storage and release of energy by adipose tissue is impaired, plasma FA levels become elevated and excessive metabolism of FA, including storage of TGs, occurs in nonadipose tissues. Most recently, work by several laboratories has made it clear that in addition to FA, adipose tissue communicates with the rest of the body by synthesizing and releasing a host of secreted molecules, collectively designated as adipokines. Several recent reviews have described how these molecules, along with FA, significantly effect total body glucose metabolism and insulin sensitivity. Relatively little attention has been paid to the effects of adipokines on lipid metabolism. In this review, we will describe, in detail, the effects of molecules secreted by adipose F or many years adipose tissue was viewed as playing a passive role in total body lipid and energy homeostasis. Adipose tissue was the site where excess energy was stored, in the form of triglycerides (TGs), and where that energy, when needed elsewhere in the body, was released in the form of fatty acid (FA). Work by numerous laboratories during the second half of the 20th century made it clear that under normal conditions, the storage and release of TG and FA, respectively, are both coordinated and tightly regulated so that lipid fuels are stored during the immediate postprandial periods and released during periods of fasting. The biochemistry of key molecules critical to coordinating storage and release of energy, such as lipoprotein lipase (LPL) and hormone sensitive lipase (HSL), was characterized in detail during that period. More recently, it has become clear that when the regulation of storage and release of energy by adipose tissue is impaired, particularly when release of FA becomes dissociated from energy requirements in other organs and tissues, plasma FA levels become elevated and excessive metabolism of FA, including storage of TG, occurs in nonadipose tissues. Our initial understanding of how fat tissue communicates with other tissues and organs to integrate total body lipid homeostasis was limited to the effects of circulating FA on hepatic lipid and glucose metabolism. During the last 15 years, however, it has become clear that adipose …
Pockmarks in the Witch Ground Basin, Central North Sea

Marine sediments host large amounts of methane (CH4), which is a potent greenhouse gas. Quantitative estimates for methane release from marine sediments are scarce, and a poorly constrained temporal variability leads to large uncertainties in methane emission scenarios. Here, we use 2‐D and 3‐D seismic reflection, multibeam bathymetric, geochemical, and sedimentological data to (I) map and describe pockmarks in the Witch Ground Basin (central North Sea), (II) characterize associated sedimentological and fluid migration structures, and (III) analyze the related methane release. More than 1,500 pockmarks of two distinct morphological classes spread over an area of 225 km2. The two classes form independently from another and are corresponding to at least two different sources of fluids. Class 1 pockmarks are large in size (>6 m deep, >250 m long, and >75 m wide), show active venting, and are located above vertical fluid conduits that hydraulically connect the seafloor with deep methane sources. Class 2 pockmarks, which comprise 99.5% of all pockmarks, are smaller (0.9–3.1 m deep, 26–140 m long, and 14–57 m wide) and are limited to the soft, fine‐grained sediments of the Witch Ground Formation and possibly sourced by compaction‐related dewatering. Buried pockmarks within the Witch Ground Formation document distinct phases of pockmark formation, likely triggered by external forces related to environmental changes after deglaciation. Thus, greenhouse gas emissions from pockmark fields cannot be based on pockmark numbers and present‐day fluxes but require an analysis of the pockmark forming processes through geological time.