Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Meningoencephalitis in a Polar Bear Caused by Equine Herpesvirus 9 (EHV-9)

A 12-year-old female polar bear (Ursus maritimus) developed a sudden onset of muscle tremors, erratic circling, increased blinking, head shaking, and ptyalism, which progressed to partial and generalized seizures. Ancillary diagnostic tests were inconclusive, and the only significant laboratory finding was nonsuppurative pleocytosis of cerebrospinal fluid. Euthanasia was elected. Microscopic evaluation demonstrated multifocal, random nonsuppurative meningoencephalitis involving most prominently the rostral cerebral cortex, as well as the thalamus, midbrain, and rostral medulla. Lesions consisted of inflammation, neuronal necrosis, gliosis, and both neuronal and glial basophilic intranuclear inclusion bodies. Immunohistochemistry with a polyclonal antibody reactive to several equine herpesviruses was positive within affected areas of the brain, and polymerase chain reaction conclusively demonstrated the presence of only equine herpesvirus 9. The clinical and morphologic features of this case resemble other fatal herpesvirus encephalitides derived from interspecies transmission and underscore the need for extreme caution when managing wild or captive equids.
Extreme inbreeding in Leishmania braziliensis

Leishmania species of the subgenus Viannia and especially Leishmania braziliensis are responsible for a large proportion of New World leishmaniasis cases. The reproductive mode of Leishmania species has often been assumed to be predominantly clonal, but remains unsettled. We have investigated the genetic polymorphism at 12 microsatellite loci on 124 human strains of Leishmania braziliensis from 2 countries, Peru and Bolivia. There is substantial genetic diversity, with an average of 12.4 ± 4.4 alleles per locus. There is linkage disequilibrium at a genome-wide scale, as well as a substantial heterozygote deficit (more than 50% the expected value from Hardy−Weinberg equilibrium), which indicates high levels of inbreeding. These observations are inconsistent with a strictly clonal model of reproduction, which implies excess heterozygosity. Moreover, there is large genetic heterogeneity between populations within countries (Wahlund effect), which evinces a strong population structure at a microgeographic scale. Our findings are compatible with the existence of population foci at a microgeographic scale, where clonality alternates with sexuality of an endogamic nature, with possible occasional recombination events between individuals of different genotypes. These findings provide key clues on the ecology and transmission patterns of Leishmania parasites.
Outpatient Antibiotic Use and Prevalence of Antibiotic-Resistant Pneumococci in France and Germany: A Sociocultural Perspective

The prevalence of penicillin-nonsusceptible pneumococci is sharply divided between France (43%) and Germany (7%). These differences may be explained on different levels: antibiotic- prescribing practices for respiratory tract infections; patient-demand factors and health-belief differences; social determinants, including differing child-care practices; and differences in regulatory practices. Understanding these determinants is crucial for the success of possible interventions. Finally, we emphasize the overarching importance of a sociocultural approach to preventing antibiotic resistance in the community.
Effect of chitosan coating and vacuum packaging on the quality of refrigerated grilled pork

The effects of chitosan coating and vacuum packaging on the quality and shelf‐life of retail packaged grilled pork in a PVDC/nylon pouch during refrigerated storage at 2 ± 1°C were investigated. Grilled pork without chitosan coating and packaged in 100% air was used as the control sample. Firmness, pH, colour, peroxide values, microbial population and shelf‐life (as determined by sensory characteristics) of the samples were determined during the storage. The results showed that colour, peroxide values and microbial population coincided with sensory characteristics. The delayed growth of microbes in vacuum packaging can be attributed to inhibition by low levels of O2. Chitosan coating was shown to minimize oxidation, as reflected by the peroxide values, colour changes and microbial counts of the samples. Vacuum‐packaged chitosan‐coated grilled pork showed negligible microbial growth and was found to be organoleptically acceptable throughout the storage period. Chitosan coating along with vacuum packaging provided a type of active packaging to maintain quality and extend the shelf‐life of grilled pork. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Understanding the Representation and Computation of Multilayer Perceptrons: A Case Study in Speech Recognition

Despite the recent success of deep learning, the nature of the transformations they apply to the input features remains poorly understood. This study provides an empirical framework to study the encoding properties of node activations in various layers of the network, and to construct the exact function applied to each data point in the form of a linear transform. These methods are used to discern and quantify properties of feedforward neural networks trained to map acoustic features to phoneme labels. We show a selective and nonlinear warping of the feature space, achieved by forming prototypical functions to account for the possible variation of each class. This study provides a joint framework where the properties of node activations and the functions implemented by the network can be linked together.
Survival in synchronous vs. single lung cancer: upstaging better reflects prognosis.

OBJECTIVE To define prognostic parameters for patients with synchronous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). DESIGN Retrospective study of period from 1970 through 1997. PATIENTS Patients with a single (n = 2,764) and synchronous NSCLC (n = 85) who underwent pulmonary resection. METHODS All tumors were classified postsurgically, and the tumors of the patients with synchronous lung cancer were staged separately. The most advanced tumor was used for comparison. Actuarial survival time was estimated, and risk factors influencing survival were evaluated. Patients who died within 30 days of surgery were excluded. MEASUREMENT AND RESULTS Five-year survival for single NSCLC was 41% and for synchronous lung cancer it was 19%. The relative risk of death for patients with synchronous lung cancer was 1.75, compared to that for patients with single lung cancer. The most advanced tumor in synchronous cancer was a significant predictor of survival (p<0.005). The survival of patients with synchronous lung cancer in which the most advanced tumors were stage I (n = 40) and stage II (n = 27) was not different from that of patients with stage II (n = 834) and stage IIIA (n = 405) single lung cancer, respectively. CONCLUSION The poorer survival of patients with synchronous NSCLC is confirmed and quantified. The stage of the most advanced tumor was the best predictor of prognosis. The prognosis of patients with synchronous NSCLC resembles the prognosis of patients with a single lung cancer of a higher stage. Upstaging in synchronous lung cancer is recommended on the basis of these observations.
Smoking-Related Knowledge, Attitude, Social Pressure, and Environmental Constraints among New Undergraduates in Chongqing, China

Background: Smoking has resulted in numerous deaths in China. Data indicate that 21% of college students in China are smokers. Objective: This study aimed to examine the smoking-related behaviors of undergraduates, as influenced by knowledge, attitude, social pressure, and environmental constraints. Method: A convenience sampling of 412 fresh undergraduates from two universities in the University Town in Chongqing, China was recruited. Chi-square tests were used to compare the smoking-related variables between smokers and non-smokers. Moreover, logistic regression was used to examine the factors that associated with smoking status in undergraduates. Results: Smokers and non-smokers differ in terms of knowledge, attitudes toward smoking, participation in tobacco promotional activities, and sources of social pressure. Logistic regression model identified that sex, living cost, five smoking-related attitudes of “Smoking is pleasurable, Smoking relaxes me, Smoking makes me look strong, Smoking is a waste of money, Smoking can help me study better”, the social pressure “Smoking brings comfort during celebration”, and the environmental constraints “How did you get your cigarettes in the past 30 days? ” are significantly associated with smoking. Conclusions: The findings provide a better understanding of the epidemic of smoking among fresh undergraduates in Chongqing, China. This study provides more detailed consideration of the implications for the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) policies, especially on restriction of retail sales outlets and tobacco promotion activities near universities in China.
Thermodynamics of the multi-stage DNA lesion recognition and repair by formamidopyrimidine-DNA glycosylase using pyrrolocytosine fluorescence—stopped-flow pre-steady-state kinetics

Formamidopyrimidine-DNA glycosylase, Fpg protein from Escherichia coli, initiates base excision repair in DNA by removing a wide variety of oxidized lesions. In this study, we perform thermodynamic analysis of the multi-stage interaction of Fpg with specific DNA-substrates containing 7,8-dihydro-8-oxoguanosine (oxoG), or tetrahydrofuran (THF, an uncleavable abasic site analog) and non-specific (G) DNA-ligand based on stopped-flow kinetic data. Pyrrolocytosine, highly fluorescent analog of the natural nucleobase cytosine, is used to record multi-stage DNA lesion recognition and repair kinetics over a temperature range (10–30°C). The kinetic data were used to obtain the standard Gibbs energy, enthalpy and entropy of the specific stages using van’t Hoff approach. The data suggest that not only enthalpy-driven exothermic oxoG recognition, but also the desolvation-accompanied entropy-driven enzyme-substrate complex adjustment into the catalytically active state play equally important roles in the overall process.
[Investigation on therapeutic effect and mechanism of acupuncture at Fengchi (GB 20) and "Gongxue" for treatment of patients with vertebral-basilar insufficiency].

OBJECTIVE To compare the difference of the therapeutic effect of acupuncture and western medicine on the patients with vertebral-basilar insufficiency (VBI), and investigate its mechanism. METHODS According to the different velocity of blood flow recorded by Transcranial Doppler (TCD), sixty patients with VBI were divided into an acupunture group (31 cases) and a western medicine group (29 cases). In the acupuncture group, the patients were punctured at Fengchi (GB 20) and "Gongxue" (Extra). In the western medicine group, the patients were orally given the Flunarizine hydrochlorid capsules. Before and after two-week treatment, the clinical symptoms and related data of TCD were compared, analyzed and evaluated. RESULTS The clinical symptoms were obviously improved in the acupuncture group, which was better than the western medicine group (P < 0.05). Acupuncture not only could up-regulate the velocity of vertebral-basilar blood flow (VBF) on the patients with slower VBF of peak-systolic phase (Vs), end-diastolic phase (Vd) and mean value (Vm), but also reduced the VBF on the patients with faster Vs, Vd and Vm. In comparison of the data before and after treatment, there were significantly differences in two groups (P < 0.05), however, there were no difference between the two groups (all P > 0.05). On the index of vascular pulsation (PI), resistance index (RI) and Vs/Vd, there were no difference in both groups before and after treatment (all P > 0.05). CONCLUSION Acupuncturing at Fengchi (GB 20) and "Gongxue" has bidirectional and beneficial function of regulation on the VBF, but no active role on the compatibility of vertebral-basilar blood vessel.
Question Terminology and Representation for Question Type Classification

Question terminology is a set of terms which appear in keywords, idioms and fixed expressions commonly observed in questions. This paper investigates ways to automatically extract question terminology from a corpus of questions and represent them for the purpose of classifying by question type. Our key interest is to see whether or not semantic features can enhance the representation of strongly lexical nature of question sentences. We compare two feature sets: one with lexical features only, and another with a mixture of lexical and semantic features. For evaluation, we measure the classification accuracy made by two machine learning algorithms, C5.0 and PEBLS, by using a procedure called domain cross-validation, which effectively measures the domain transferability of features.
Reasoning with Inconsistent Ontologies

In this paper we present a framework of reasoning with inconsistent ontologies, in which pre-defined selection functions are used to deal with concept relevance. We examine how the notion of "concept relevance" can be used for reasoning with inconsistent ontologies. We have implemented a prototype called PION (Processing Inconsistent ONtologies), which is based on a syntactic relevance-based selection function. In this paper, we also report the experiments with PION.
Ionic mechanisms in the generation of subthreshold oscillations and action potential clustering in entorhinal layer II stellate neurons

A multicompartmental biophysical model of entorhinal cortex layer II stellate cells was developed to analyze the ionic basis of physiological properties, such as subthreshold membrane potential oscillations, action potential clustering, and the medium afterhyperpolarization. In particular, the simulation illustrates the interaction of the persistent sodium current (INaP) and the hyperpolarization activated inward current (Ih) in the generation of subthreshold membrane potential oscillations. The potential role of Ih in contributing to the medium hyperpolarization (mAHP) and rebound spiking was studied. The role of Ih and the slow calcium‐activated potassium current IK(AHP) in action potential clustering was also studied. Representations of Ih and INaP were developed with parameters based on voltage‐clamp data from whole‐cell patch and single channel recordings of stellate cells (Dickson et al., J Neurophysiol 83:2562–2579, 2000 ; Magistretti and Alonso, J Gen Physiol 114:491–509, 1999 ; Magistretti et al., J Physiol 521:629–636, 1999a ; J Neurosci 19:7334–7341, 1999b ). These currents interacted to generate robust subthreshold membrane potentials with amplitude and frequency corresponding to data observed in the whole cell patch recordings. The model was also able to account for effects of pharmacological manipulations, including blockade of Ih with ZD7288, partial blockade with cesium, and the influence of barium on oscillations. In a model with a wider range of currents, the transition from oscillations to single spiking, to spike clustering, and finally tonic firing could be replicated. In agreement with experiment, blockade of calcium channels in the model strongly reduced clustering. In the voltage interval during which no data are available, the model predicts that the slow component of Ih does not follow the fast component down to very short time constants. The model also predicts that the fast component of Ih is responsible for the involvement in the generation of subthreshold oscillations, and the slow component dominates in the generation of spike clusters. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Perilla frutescens var. japonica and rosmarinic acid improve amyloid-β25-35 induced impairment of cognition and memory function

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES The accumulation of amyloid-β (Aβ) in the brain is a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and plays a key role in cognitive dysfunction. Perilla frutescens var. japonica extract (PFE) and its major compound, rosmarinic acid (RA), have shown antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. We investigated whether administration of PFE and RA contributes to cognitive improvement in an Aβ25-35-injected mouse model. MATERIALS/METHODS Male ICR mice were intracerebroventricularly injected with aggregated Aβ25-35 to induce AD. Aβ25-35-injected mice were fed PFE (50 mg/kg/day) or RA (0.25 mg/kg/day) for 14 days and examined for learning and memory ability through the T-maze, object recognition, and Morris water maze test. RESULTS Our present study demonstrated that PFE and RA administration significantly enhanced cognition function and object discrimination, which were impaired by Aβ25-35, in the T-maze and object recognition tests, respectively. In addition, oral administration of PFE and RA decreased the time to reach the platform and increased the number of crossings over the removed platform when compared with the Aβ25-35-induced control group in the Morris water maze test. Furthermore, PFE and RA significantly decreased the levels of nitric oxide (NO) and malondialdehyde (MDA) in the brain, kidney, and liver. In particular, PFE markedly attenuated oxidative stress by inhibiting production of NO and MDA in the Aβ25-35-injected mouse brain. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that PFE and its active compound RA have beneficial effects on cognitive improvement and may help prevent AD induced by Aβ.
Flagellum-Independent Surface Migration ofVibrio cholerae and Escherichia coli

ABSTRACT Surface translocation has been described in a large variety of microorganisms, including some gram-negative enteric bacteria. Here, we describe the novel observation of the flagellum-independent migration of Vibrio cholerae and Escherichia coli on semisolid surfaces with remarkable speeds. Important aspects of this motility are the form of inoculation, the medium composition, and the use of agarose rather than agar. Mutations in several known regulatory or surface structure proteins, such as ToxR, ToxT, TCP, and PilA, did not affect migration, whereas a defect in lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis prevented translocation. We propose that the observed surface migration is an active process, since heat, protease, or chloramphenicol treatments of the cells have strong negative effects on this phenotype. Furthermore, several V. cholerae strains strongly expressing the hemagglutinin/protease but not their isogenichap-negative mutants, lacked the ability of surface motility, and the treatment of migrating strains with culture supernatants from hap strains but not hap-null strains prevented surface translocation.
Exact Solution for Thick, Laminated Piezoelectric Beams

The paper presents exact solutions for thick composite beams composed of multiple lamina made of arbitrary orthotropic elastic and/or piezoelectric materials. A state-space formulation is presented through the formulation of a transfer matrix relation from layer to layer and therefore a global relation governing the top layer through the bottom layer can be derived. No shear correction factor needs to be considered because the thick beam is assumed as a plane-stress problem in the cross section. Some exemplary examples with exact modeling and numerical solutions are presented to illustrate the application of the method. The effects of combination of mechanical and electrical loadings are also presented. Especially, the higher-mode deflection appearance instead of simple fundamental mode of the beam under uniform loads is discussed.
Development of Orientation Discrimination in Infancy

It has previously been found by us, with a visual evoked potential (VEP) measure, that orientation discrimination of dynamic patterns in infants can be demonstrated from around 6 weeks after birth. Experiments are reported in which orientation discrimination was measured behaviourally, in two infant control habituation procedures, with both dynamic and static patterns. When dynamic patterns identical to those in our previous VEP studies were used, the first positive evidence of orientation discrimination was found at around 6 weeks postnatally. The time course of both the VEP and the behavioural measures was similar. However, with static patterns, evidence of orientation discrimination by newborns was found if the infants were allowed to compare the habituated and novel orientations in a paired simultaneous comparison after habituation, but was not found when the habituated and novel stimulus were presented sequentially. The positive evidence of orientation discrimination in newborns supports the hypothesis that some form of orientationally tuned detectors can be used for discrimination of static patterns at birth. However, some developmental change over several weeks seems to be required before a positive electrophysiological VEP response can be measured for dynamic patterns changing in orientation.
Frequency Analysis of Atrial Fibrillation From the Surface Electrocardiogram

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia encountered in clinical practice. Neither the natural history of AF nor its response to therapy are sufficiently predictable by clinical and echocardiographic parameters. Atrial fibrillatory frequency (or rate) can reliably be assessed from the surface electrocardiogram (ECG) using digital signal processing (filtering, subtraction of averaged QRST complexes, and power spectral analysis) and shows large inter-individual variability. This measurement correlates well with intraatrial cycle length, a parameter which appears to have primary importance in AF domestication and response to therapy. AF with a low fibrillatory rate is more likely to terminate spontaneously, and responds better to antiarrhythmic drugs or cardioversion while high rate AF is more often persistent and refractory to therapy. In conclusion, frequency analysis of AF seems to be useful for non-invasive assessment of electrical remodeling in AF and may subsequently be helpful for guiding AF therapy.
The effects of hearing aid compression parameters on the short-term dynamic range of continuous speech.

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to evaluate and quantitatively model the independent and interactive effects of compression ratio, number of compression channels, and release time on the dynamic range of continuous speech. METHOD A CD of the Rainbow Passage (J. E. Bernthal & N. W. Bankson, 1993) was used. The hearing aid was a programmable, digital, wide dynamic range compression instrument. A fully crossed design and multiple regression analyses were used to evaluate and model the effects of release time (32, 128, and 1024 ms), compression ratio (1:1, 2:1, and 4:1), and number of compression channels (1, 2, and 4 channels) on the short-term octave-band dynamic range of speech. Dynamic range of speech was defined as the range between the 1% and 70% exceedance levels within each octave band. RESULTS As the compression ratio and number of channels increased, and as the release time decreased, the dynamic range of speech decreased. The effects of channels and release time increased as the compression ratio increased. In all conditions, the amount of effective compression for speech was less than the nominal compression ratio. CONCLUSION A multiple regression model is provided that predicts the effects of various combinations of compression parameters on the dynamic range of speech.