Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Molecular Epidemiology of Entamoeba: First Description of Entamoeba moshkovskii in a Rural Area from Central Colombia

Background Entamoeba histolytica, E. dispar and E. moshkovskii are the most frequent species described in human infection where E. histolytica is the only true pathogen. The epidemiology of this infection is complex due to the absence of a routine exam that allows a correct discrimination of the Entamoeba species complex. Therefore, molecular methods appear as the unique epidemiological tool to accomplish the species discrimination. Herein, we conducted a cross-sectional study to determine the frequency of Entamoeba species infections in a group of asymptomatic individuals from a rural area in central Colombia. Methodology/Principal Findings A total of 181 fecal samples from asymptomatic children under 16 years old from the hamlet La Vírgen, Cundinamarca (Colombia) that voluntarily accepted to participate in the study were collected. The fecal samples were examined by light microscopy and DNA-extracted, subsequently submitted to molecular discrimination of E. dispar/E. histolytica/E. moshkovskii infection based on a multiplex PCR assay targeting the 18S rRNA fragment. To confirm the species description, twenty samples were randomly submitted to DNA sequencing of the aforementioned fragment. By direct microscopic examination, frequency of the complex E. histolytica/E. dispar/E. moshkovskii was 18.8% (34/181). PCR showed a frequency of 49.1% (89/181), discriminated as 23.2% (42/181) that were positive for E. dispar, 25.4% (46/181) for E. moshkovskii and 0.55% (1/ 181) for E. histolytica. Also, mixed infections were detected between E. dispar and E. moshkovskii at 4.42% (8/181) of the samples. Molecular barcoding confirmed the diagnosis depicted by the multiplex PCR assay. Conclusions/Significance This is the first description of E. moshkovskii in Colombia and the second report in South-America to our knowledge. Our results suggest the need to unravel the true epidemiology of Entamoeba infections around the world, including the real pathogenic role that E. moshkovskii may have.
A comprehensive study of reported high-metallicity giant H ii regions — I. Detailed abundance analysis

We present long-slit observations in the optical and near infrared of fourteen HII regions in the spiral galaxies: NGC 628, NGC 925, NGC 1232 and NGC 1637, all of them reported to have solar or oversolar abundances according to empirical calibrations. For seven of the observed regions, ion-weighted temperatures from optical forbidden auroral to nebular line ratios have been obtained and for six of them, the oxygen abundances derived by standard methods turn out to be significantly lower than solar. The other one, named CDT1 in NGC 1232, shows an oxygen abundance of 12+log(O/H) = 8.95 ± 0.20 and constitutes, to the best of our knowledge, the first high metallicity HII region for which accurate line temperatures, and hence elemental abundances, have been derived. For the rest of the regions no line temperature measurements could be made and the metallicity has been determined by means of both detailed photoionisation modelling and the sulphur abundance parameter S23. Only one of these regions shows values of O23 and S23 implying a solar or oversolar metallicity. According to our analysis, only two of the observed regions can therefore be considered as of high metallicity. The two of them fit the trends previously found in other high metallicity HII regions, i.e. N/O and S/O abundance ratios seem to be higher and lower than solar respectively.
Gene–environment interaction between peer victimization and child aggression

Abstract Although peer victimization places children at serious risk for aggressive behavior, not all victimized children are aggressive. The diathesis–stress hypothesis of disease proposes that an environmental stressor such as peer victimization should to lead to maladjustment mostly in those individuals with preexisting genetic vulnerabilities. Accordingly, this study examined whether the link between peer victimization and child aggression is moderated by children's genetic risk for such behavior. Using a sample of 506 6-year-old twins, peer victimization was assessed through peer nominations and aggressive behavior was assessed through peer and teacher reports. Children's genetic risk for aggression was estimated as a function of their co-twin's aggression and the pair's zygosity. Genetic modeling showed that peer victimization is an environmentally driven variable that is unrelated to children's genetic disposition. Results also provided support for the notion of a gene–environment interaction between peer victimization and child's genetic risk for aggressive behavior, albeit only in girls. For boys, peer victimization was related to aggression regardless of the child's genetic risk for such behavior. Different socialization experiences in girls' compared to boys' peer groups may explain the different pattern of results for girls and boys.
Combining face verification experts

We study the combination of face verification algorithms in order to improve the verification performance. Although the different face experts that we consider provide their output scores on the basis of the same image, they are complementary to each other and their combination, using a simple sum rule, outperforms the best individual expert. Our experiments were conducted on the standard XM2VTS face database.
Cost-effectiveness of non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants for stroke prevention in non-valvular atrial fibrillation: a systematic and qualitative review

Abstract The introduction of non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOACs) into clinical practice represented a major change in the treatment of non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF); drugs as effective as the gold standard were available, rapidly functioning and without major interferences with drugs and foods. However, a huge increase in the economic burden of NVAF was predicted, and many cost-effectiveness analyses were developed to aid policy makers and clinicians in implementing strategies for the prevention of stroke in NVAF. The present systematic review identified 54 studies from 21 different countries, reporting the incremental cost-effectiveness of dabigatran, apixaban, rivaroxaban and edoxaban. A critical appraisal of the studies was conducted in order to highlight consolidated results and biases.
The Relative Value Relevance of Shareholder Versus Stakeholder Corporate Governance Disclosure Policy Reforms in South Africa

Manuscript Type: Empirical. Research Question/Issue: South Africa (SA) has pursued distinctive corporate governance (CG) disclosure policy reforms in the form of the King Reports, which require firms to disclose a set of recommended good CG practices on both shareholders and stakeholders. This paper investigates the effect of the new shareholder and stakeholder CG disclosure rules on firm value, as well as the relative value relevance of disclosing good CG practices on shareholders versus stakeholders. Research Findings/Insights: Using a sample of 169 SA listed firms from 2002 to 2007, we find that disclosing good CG practices on both shareholders and stakeholders impacts positively on firm value, with the latter evidence providing new explicit support for the resource dependence theory. However, we provide additional new evidence, which suggests that disclosing shareholder CG practices contributes significantly more to firm value than stakeholder ones. Our results are robust to controlling for different types of endogeneities. Theoretical/Academic Implications: The paper generally contributes to the literature on the association between disclosure of CG practices and firm value by specifically modeling the relationship within a unique institutional and CG environment. Specifically, we make two new contributions to the extant literature. First, we show how stakeholder CG disclosure practices impact on firm value. Second, we provide evidence on the relative value relevance of disclosing shareholder and stakeholder CG practices. Practical/Policy Implications: Our results have important policy and regulatory implications, especially for authorities in other developing countries facing socio‐economic problems that are currently contemplating or pursuing CG disclosure policy reforms. Since our evidence indicates that additional value can be created for firms that provide more transparent information on stakeholder CG practices, it provides authorities in other emerging countries currently planning or pursing CG reforms with a strong motivation to formally extend CG disclosure rules to cover both shareholder and stakeholder provisions.
Awareness of, usage of and willingness to use HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis among men in downtown Toronto, Canada

Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a promising strategy whereby HIV-uninfected people could take antiretroviral (ARV) medications to reduce their risk of HIV acquisition. Reports suggest that unsupervised PrEP use has been occurring in gay communities of USA cities before human safety and efficacy data became available. We administered a 20-item questionnaire to men undergoing HIV testing at Hassle Free Clinic, a sexual health clinic in the gay village of Toronto. Questionnaire items enquired about demographics, sexual partners, substance use and awareness of, usage of and willingness to use PrEP. Logistic regression was used to identify characteristics associated with PrEP-related outcomes. Of 256 participants, 11.7% were aware of PrEP, with more men who have sex with men (MSM) aware (14.1%) than non-MSM (4.9%). No participants reported PrEP usage. Willingness to consider PrEP use was high and associated with high-risk activities, suggesting opportunities for PrEP use in the future.
Myosin VI and its binding partner optineurin are involved in secretory vesicle fusion at the plasma membrane

The precise functions of the molecular motor myosin VI and its binding partner optineurin in secretion are investigated using a unique, live-cell secretion assay. An unexpected function for myosin VI in ER-to-Golgi transport and a novel role for both myosin VI and optineurin in exocytic fusion pore regulation are demonstrated.
Laparoscopic adrenalectomy by the lateral transperitoneal approach in patients with a history of previous abdominal surgery

Introduction Even the half of patients undergoing laparoscopic adrenalectomy has history of previous abdominal surgeries. However, it is still uncertain if this fact has an impact on the operation itself as well as the postoperative course. Aim To analyze the effects of previous abdominal surgery on surgical outcomes in adrenal tumor patients subjected to laparoscopic adrenalectomy. Material and methods This study included 268 patients with adrenal gland tumors operated on by means of laparoscopic lateral transperitoneal adrenalectomy: 1) previously subjected to at least one abdominal surgery (group A, n = 101), or 2) with no history of previous abdominal operations (group B, n = 167). Results Groups A and B did not differ in terms of tumor size (p = 0.132), mean operation time (p = 0.456), mean intraoperative blood loss (p = 0.754), or perioperative complication rate (p = 0.833). Dissection of intraperitoneal adhesions was considered difficult in 32 patients from group A (31.6%) and 8 subjects from group B (4.7%, p < 0.001). Conversion was required in three subjects from group A (2.9%) and 3 patients from group B (1.8%, p = 0.529). Conclusions Previous abdominal surgery does not constitute a contraindication to laparoscopic transperitoneal adrenalectomy.
Towards flexible code clone detection, management, and refactoring in IDE

In this paper, we propose an IDE-based clone management system to flexibly detect, manage, and refactor both exact and near-miss code clones. Using a k-difference hybrid suffix tree algorithm we can efficiently detect both exact and near-miss clones. We have implemented the algorithm as a plugin to the Eclipse IDE, and have been extending this for real-time code clone management with semi-automated refactoring support during the actual development process.
Lithium-ion battery state of charge estimation with a Kalman Filter based on a electrochemical model

Lithium-ion battery is the core of new plug-in hybrid-electrical vehicles (PHEV) as well as considered in many 2nd generation hybrid electric vehicles (HEV). In most cases the lithium-ion battery performance plays an important role for the energy management of these vehicles as high-rate transient power source cycling around a relatively fixed state of charge (SOC). In this paper an averaged electrochemical Lithium-ion battery model suitable for estimation is presented. The model is based on an averaged approximated relationship between (i) the Butler-Volmer current and the solid concentration at the interface with the electrolyte and (ii) the battery current and voltage. A 4th order model based extended Kalman filter (EKF) is then designed and the estimation results are tested in simulation with the non-averaged model.
Tissue Specific Roles for the Ribosome Biogenesis Factor Wdr43 in Zebrafish Development

During vertebrate craniofacial development, neural crest cells (NCCs) contribute to most of the craniofacial pharyngeal skeleton. Defects in NCC specification, migration and differentiation resulting in malformations in the craniofacial complex are associated with human craniofacial disorders including Treacher-Collins Syndrome, caused by mutations in TCOF1. It has been hypothesized that perturbed ribosome biogenesis and resulting p53 mediated neuroepithelial apoptosis results in NCC hypoplasia in mouse Tcof1 mutants. However, the underlying mechanisms linking ribosome biogenesis and NCC development remain poorly understood. Here we report a new zebrafish mutant, fantome (fan), which harbors a point mutation and predicted premature stop codon in zebrafish wdr43, the ortholog to yeast UTP5. Although wdr43 mRNA is widely expressed during early zebrafish development, and its deficiency triggers early neural, eye, heart and pharyngeal arch defects, later defects appear fairly restricted to NCC derived craniofacial cartilages. Here we show that the C-terminus of Wdr43, which is absent in fan mutant protein, is both necessary and sufficient to mediate its nucleolar localization and protein interactions in metazoans. We demonstrate that Wdr43 functions in ribosome biogenesis, and that defects observed in fan mutants are mediated by a p53 dependent pathway. Finally, we show that proper localization of a variety of nucleolar proteins, including TCOF1, is dependent on that of WDR43. Together, our findings provide new insight into roles for Wdr43 in development, ribosome biogenesis, and also ribosomopathy-induced craniofacial phenotypes including Treacher-Collins Syndrome.
Adherence Properties of Staphylococcus aureus under Static and Flow Conditions: Roles of agrand sar Loci, Platelets, and Plasma Ligands

ABSTRACT Global regulatory genes in Staphylococcus aureus, including agr and sar, are known to regulate the expression of multiple virulence factors, including cell wall adhesins. In the present study, the adherence of S. aureusRN6390 (wild type), RN6911 (agr), ALC136 (sar), and ALC135 (agr sar) to immobilized fibrinogen, fibronectin, von Willebrand factor (vWF), extracellular matrix (ECM), and human endothelial cells (EC) EAhy.926 was studied. Bacteria grown to postexponential phase were subjected to light oscillation (static condition) or to shear stress at 200 s−1 (flow condition) on tissue culture polystyrene plates coated with either protein ligands, ECM, or EC. Adherence of nonlabeled bacteria to immobilized ligands was measured by an image analysis system, while adherence of [3H]thymidine-labeled S. aureus to ECM and EC was measured by a β-scintillation counter. The results showed increased adherence of agr and agr sar mutants to immobilized fibrinogen and higher potential of these mutants to induce platelet aggregation in suspension, decreased adherence ofsar and agr sar mutants to immobilized fibronectin and vWF as well as to ECM and EC, increased adherence of both S. aureus wild type and sar mutant to EC treated with platelet-rich plasma (PRP) compared to platelet-poor plasma (PPP) and to EC treated with PPP compared to the control, and increased adherence of S. aureus wild type to EC coated with PRP in which platelets were activated with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate compared to intact PRP. This finding paralleled the increased adherence to EC of activated compared to intact platelets. It is suggested that platelet-mediated S. aureus adherence to EC depends on platelet activation and the number of adherent platelets and available receptors on the platelet membrane. In conclusion, theagr locus downregulates S. aureus adherence to fibrinogen, while the sar locus upregulates S. aureus adherence to fibronectin, vWF, ECM, and EC. The effect of both agr and sar on S. aureusadherence properties develops primarily under flow conditions, which suggests different adhesion mechanisms in static and flow conditions.
Unemployment in the Great Recession

This paper studies the responses of unemployment in Germany, the United States and Britain to the Great Recession of 2008-09 by making use of Beveridge curve analysis, and in the entire OECD with other techniques. It is shown that Britain suffered from recession but no structural problems; the United States suffered from structural unemployment during the recovery; Germany exhibited a much better performance both during and after the recession. The rise in OECD unemployment is broken down into parts due to aggregate activity, the construction sector and a residual attributed to policies and institutions, which is used to reach conclusions about policy.
Effect of Incorporating Stevia and Moringa in Cookies on Postprandial Glycemia, Appetite, Palatability, and Gastrointestinal Well-Being

ABSTRACT Background: Medicinal plants including stevia and moringa constitute an important source of health-beneficial bioactive components, and hence their intake may beneficially modulate biomarkers of chronic diseases. Objective: The objective of the present study was to investigate the effect of incorporating stevia and moringa leaf powder in cookies on postprandial glycemia, appetite, palatability, and gastrointestinal well-being in humans. Method: In a randomized crossover design, 20 healthy subjects consumed 3 isocaloric test foods (each providing 50 g available carbohydrates) of control cookies (CC) made from 100% wheat flour, cookies containing stevia leaf powder (SC, 3% w/w), and cookies containing moringa leaf powder (MC, 5% w/w) as breakfast. Blood glucose and subjective appetite were measured at fasting and at 15, 30, 45, 60, 90, and 120 min after the consumption of the cookies. Palatability and gastrointestinal well-being were measured using standard questionnaires. Results: Compared to CC, MC resulted in a significant decrease in postprandial blood glucose concentration at 30 and 45 min (p = 0.002 and p = 0.003, respectively) and showed a tendency (p = 0.077) for lower blood glucose incremental area under the curve (iAUC). Subjects were significantly less hungry after SC and MC intake (p = 0.035 and p = 0.041, respectively) compared to CC. All the cookies were liked by the subjects without any reported gastrointestinal discomfort. Conclusion: The results showed that compared to CC, MC improved postprandial glycemia and reduced hunger, while SC reduced hunger only. Future studies are now warranted to explore the mechanisms responsible for these observed effects.
Nonlinear temperature effects on multifractal complexity of metabolic rate of mice

Complex physiological dynamics have been argued to be a signature of healthy physiological function. Here we test whether the complexity of metabolic rate fluctuations in small endotherms decreases with lower environmental temperatures. To do so, we examine the multifractal temporal scaling properties of the rate of change in oxygen consumption r(VO2), in the laboratory mouse Mus musculus, assessing their long range correlation properties across seven different environmental temperatures, ranging from 0 °C to 30 °C. To do so, we applied multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis (MF-DFA), finding that r(VO2) fluctuations show two scaling regimes. For small time scales below the crossover time (approximately 102 s), either monofractal or weak multifractal dynamics are observed depending on whether Ta < 15 °C or Ta > 15 °C respectively. For larger time scales, r(VO2) fluctuations are characterized by an asymptotic scaling exponent that indicates multifractal anti-persistent or uncorrelated dynamics. For both scaling regimes, a generalization of the multiplicative cascade model provides very good fits for the Renyi exponents τ(q), showing that the infinite number of exponents h(q) can be described by only two independent parameters, a and b. We also show that the long-range correlation structure of r(VO2) time series differs from randomly shuffled series, and may not be explained as an artifact of stochastic sampling of a linear frequency spectrum. These results show that metabolic rate dynamics in a well studied micro-endotherm are consistent with a highly non-linear feedback control system.
Risk factors for maternal injuries in a population-based sample of pregnant women.

BACKGROUND The prevalence of injuries during pregnancy is largely underestimated, as previous research has focused on more severe injuries resulting in emergency department visits and hospitalizations. The objective of our study was to estimate the frequency, risk factors, and causes of injuries in a population-based sample of pregnant women. METHODS This article is an analysis of postpartum interviews among the control series from a case-control study (n=1,488). Maternal, pregnancy, and environmental characteristics associated with injury during pregnancy in control subjects were examined to identify population-based risk factors for injury. We collected data on self-reported injury during pregnancy, including the month of pregnancy, whether medical attention was sought, the mechanism of injury, and the number and location of bodily injuries. Logistic regression was used to calculate unadjusted and adjusted odds ratios (aORs) of injury. RESULTS Over 5% of women reported an injury during pregnancy, with falls being the most common mechanism of injury. Women at highest adjusted risk for injury had unintended pregnancies (aOR: 2.28 [1.40-3.70]) and no partner during pregnancy (aOR: 2.45 [1.16-5.17]) relative to women without injuries. CONCLUSIONS Pregnant women with risk factors for many pregnancy-related complications are also at increased risk of injury during pregnancy. Further studies of pregnancy-related injuries are needed to consider environmental and maternal characteristics on risk of injury.