Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Isolation of Vibrio cholerae from neonates admitted to an urban diarrhoeal diseases hospital in Bangladesh

Abstract Background: Very little is known about Vibrio cholerae infection in neonates with diarrhoea. Aim: The aim was to examine the frequency of enteropathogenic bacteria, especially Vibrio cholerae, in stool specimens from neonates with diarrhoea. Methods: We reviewed the hospital records of 240 neonates admitted with diarrhoea to the Dhaka Hospital of ICDDR,B: Centre for Health and Population Research, Dhaka, Bangladesh during January–December 2001. On admission, rectal swabs or stool specimens were plated directly onto taurocholate-tellurite-gelatin agar, Salmonella-Shigella agar and MacConkey's agar for culture of Vibrio cholerae, Shigella and Salmonella spp. Results: A single bacterial enteric pathogen was detected in 71 neonates, multiple pathogens in 12, and stool samples of 157 neonates revealed no pathogen. The identified enteropathogens were as follows: V. cholerae in 42 neonates, Shigella spp in 22, Salmonella spp in 8, Aeromonas spp in 9 and Hafnia alvei in 2. Conclusion: V. cholerae is not uncommon in neonates presenting with diarrhoea in cholera-endemic countries.
Approximate graph coloring by semidefinite programming

We consider the problem of coloring k-colorable graphs with the fewest possible colors. We give a randomized polynomial time algorithm which colors a 3-colorable graph on n vertices with min {O(/spl Delta//sup 1/3/log/sup 4/3//spl Delta/), O(n/sup 1/4/ log n)} colors where /spl Delta/ is the maximum degree of any vertex. Besides giving the best known approximation ratio in terms of n, this marks the first non-trivial approximation result as a function of the maximum degree /spl Delta/. This result can be generalized to k-colorable graphs to obtain a coloring using min {O/spl tilde/(/spl Delta//sup 1-2/k/), O/spl tilde/(n/sup 1-3/(k+1/))} colors. Our results are inspired by the recent work of Goemans and Williamson who used an algorithm for semidefinite optimization problems, which generalize linear programs, to obtain improved approximations for the MAX CUT and MAX 2-SAT problems. An intriguing outcome of our work is a duality relationship established between the value of the optimum solution to our semidefinite program and the Lovasz /spl thetav/-function. We show lower bounds on the gap between the optimum solution of our semidefinite program and the actual chromatic number; by duality this also demonstrates interesting new facts about the /spl thetav/-function. <<ETX>>
Vascular endothelial growth factor induces interstitial collagenase expression in human endothelial cells

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a 45kDa secreted peptide that has potent mitogenic activity specific for endothelial cells in vitro and the ability to induce a strong angiogenic response in vivo. In the present study, 24 h treatment with VEGF resulted in a stimulation of expression of the metalloproteinase, interstitial collagenase, at the protein and mRNA levels 2.5–3.0‐fold in human umbilical vein endothelial cells but not in human dermal fibroblasts. The dose response curve for collagenase induction was biphasic with the peak stimulatory response obtained by treatment of cells with 10–100 ng/ml (0.2–2 nM) VEGF. The dose response curve for collagenase induction overlapped with, but was not identical to, the response curve for proliferation, which showed VEGF mitogenic activity between ≤ 0.1–50 ng/ml (≤ 0.002–1 nM). There was no induction seen in expression of other members of the matrix metalloproteinase family, including the 72kDa type IV collagenase, the 92kDa type V collagenase, or stromelysin. Expression of transcripts for the major metalloproteinase inhibitor, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases, was also unaltered by treatment with VEGF (1–200 ng/ml). These studies demonstrate that in addition to stimulating proliferation of endothelial cells, VEGF can also induce the expression of the only metalloproteinase that can initiate degradation of interstitial collagen types I‐III under normal physiological conditions. Both responses are likely to contribute to the angiogenic potential of this peptide. © 1992 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Changes in Extreme Rainfall Over India and China Attributed to Regional Aerosol‐Cloud Interaction During the Late 20th Century Rapid Industrialization

Both mean and extreme rainfall decreased over India and Northern China during 1979–2005 at a rate of 0.2%/decade. The aerosol dampening effects on rainfall has also been suggested as a main driver of mean rainfall shift in India and China. Conflicting views, however, exist on whether aerosols enhance or suppress hazardous extreme heavy rainfall. Using Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 5 (CMIP5) multimodel ensemble, here we show that only a subset of models realistically reproduces the late‐20th‐century trend of extreme rainfall for the three major regions in Asia: drying in India and Northern China and wetting in Southern China, all consistent with mean rainfall change. As a common feature, this subset of models includes an explicit treatment of the complex physical processes of aerosol‐cloud interaction (i.e., both cloud‐albedo and cloud‐lifetime effects), while simulation performance deteriorates in models that include only aerosol direct effect or cloud‐albedo effect. The enhanced aerosol pollution during this rapid industrialization era is the leading cause of the spatially heterogeneous extreme rainfall change by dimming surface solar radiation, cooling adjacent ocean water, and weakening moisture transport into the continental region, while GHG warming or natural variability alone cannot explain the observed changes. Our results indicate that the projected intensification of regional extreme rainfall during the early‐to‐mid 21st‐century, in response to the anticipated aerosol reduction, may be underestimated in global climate models without detailed treatment of complex aerosol‐cloud interaction.
Comparison of interradicular distances and cortical bone thickness in Thai patients with Class I and Class II skeletal patterns using cone-beam computed tomography

Purpose This study evaluated and compared interradicular distances and cortical bone thickness in Thai patients with Class I and Class II skeletal patterns, using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). Materials and Methods Pretreatment CBCT images of 24 Thai orthodontic patients with Class I and Class II skeletal patterns were included in the study. Three measurements were chosen for investigation: the mesiodistal distance between the roots, the width of the buccolingual alveolar process, and buccal cortical bone thickness. All distances were recorded at five different levels from the cementoenamel junction (CEJ). Descriptive statistical analysis and t-tests were performed, with the significance level for all tests set at p<0.05. Results Patients with a Class II skeletal pattern showed significantly greater maxillary mesiodistal distances (between the first and second premolars) and widths of the buccolingual alveolar process (between the first and second molars) than Class I skeletal pattern patients at 10 mm above the CEJ. The maxillary buccal cortical bone thicknesses between the second premolar and first molar at 8 mm above the CEJ in Class II patients were likewise significantly greater than in Class I patients. Patients with a Class I skeletal pattern showed significantly wider mandibular buccolingual alveolar processes than did Class II patients (between the first and second molars) at 4, 6, and 8 mm below the CEJ. Conclusion In both the maxilla and mandible, the mesiodistal distances, the width of the buccolingual alveolar process, and buccal cortical bone thickness tended to increase from the CEJ to the apex in both Class I and Class II skeletal patterns.
Effects of vitamin E supplementation on some pregnancy health indices: a randomized clinical trial

Objective: Available evidence about the role of supplementary vitamin E in normal pregnancy is inadequate. This study assessed the potential benefit of vitamin E supplementation on some pregnancy health indices. Methods: A 1:2 weighted simple randomization technique was used to allocate 104 eligible pregnant women to receive vitamin E and 168 women (control) not to receive the drug. Treated women received capsules containing 400 IU vitamin E from week 14 of gestation to the end of the pregnancy. Results: Background variables including maternal age were found to be similarly distributed between the study groups. The rate of maternal and perinatal outcomes including Apgar score and birth weight did not differ significantly between groups. Preeclampsia occurred in 1% of treated women vs 1.78% of control women. Conclusion: Giving supplemental vitamin E from the second trimester of pregnancy did not appear to affect the risk of pregnancy outcomes and occurrence of preeclampsia.
In the Lyon hypertensive rat, renal function alterations are angiotensin II dependent.

To assess the role of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) in the renal alterations of the lyon hypertensive (LH) rat, the renal function of LH rats and of their normotensive (LN) controls was studied at different pressure levels after an early and chronic blockade of the RAS by perindopril (3 mg.kg-1.day-1 orally from 3 to 15 wk of age) and after an acute infusion of angiotensin II (ANG II, 10 or 50 ng.kg-1.min-1). Over the range of renal perfusion pressures studied (115-165 mmHg), control LH differed from LN rats by an increased preglomerular vasoconstriction and a blunted pressure-natriuresis curve. Perindopril fully prevented the development of hypertension in LH rats, suppressed their preglomerular vasoconstriction, and markedly improved their pressure-natriuresis. In perindopril-treated LH, ANG II produced a greater reduction in renal blood flow, glomerular filtration rate, and urinary sodium excretion that was not significantly modified by blockade of thromboxane A2-prostaglandin H2 receptors. These results indicate that the blood pressure level and the renal function of LH rats are closely dependent on an active RAS.
Nipah Virus in the Fruit Bat Pteropus vampyrus in Sumatera, Indonesia

Nipah virus causes periodic livestock and human disease with high case fatality rate, and consequent major economic, social and psychological impacts. Fruit bats of the genus Pteropus are the natural reservoir. In this study, we used real time PCR to screen the saliva and urine of P. vampyrus from North Sumatera for Nipah virus genome. A conventional reverse transcriptase (RT-PCR) assay was used on provisionally positive samples to corroborate findings. This is the first report of Nipah virus detection in P. vampyrus in Sumatera, Indonesia.
Localization of H-2 antigens on mouse trophoblast cells

The presence of H-2 antigens of the paternal and maternal haplotypes on mouse trophoblast cells was examined at several stages of pregnancy by using a sensitive immunolabeling technique followed by quantitative radioautography. Results revealed the presence of H-2 antigens (determined by the K or D loci) of both parental haplotypes on the F1 trophoblast cells. At 14-16 d of gestation, the antigen density was equivalent to that on adult thymocytes and there was a further 50% increase on day 18. H-2 antigens of both parental haplotypes are also found to be expressed on 11-13 d trophoblast cells.
Electroconvulsive Therapy Response in Major Depressive Disorder: A Pilot Functional Network Connectivity Resting State fMRI Investigation

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is associated with increased functional connectivity in specific neural networks. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), the gold-standard treatment for acute, treatment-resistant MDD, but temporal dependencies between networks associated with ECT response have yet to be investigated. In the present longitudinal, case–control investigation, we used independent component analysis to identify distinct networks of brain regions with temporally coherent hemodynamic signal change and functional network connectivity (FNC) to assess component time course correlations across these networks. MDD subjects completed imaging and clinical assessments immediately prior to the ECT series and a minimum of 5 days after the last ECT treatment. We focused our analysis on four networks affected in MDD: the subcallosal cingulate gyrus, default mode, dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex, and dorsal medial prefrontal cortex (DMPFC). In an older sample of ECT subjects (n = 12) with MDD, remission associated with the ECT series reverses the relationship from negative to positive between the posterior default mode (p_DM) and two other networks: the DMPFC and left dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex (l_DLPFC). Relative to demographically healthy subjects (n = 12), the FNC between the p_DM areas and the DMPFC normalizes with ECT response. The FNC changes following treatment did not correlate with symptom improvement; however, a direct comparison between ECT remitters and non-remitters showed the pattern of increased FNC between the p_DM and l_DLPFC following ECT to be specific to those who responded to the treatment. The differences between ECT remitters and non-remitters suggest that this increased FNC between p_DM areas and the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is a neural correlate and potential biomarker of recovery from a depressed episode.
Chapter 8: Conclusions: Nontimber forest products in an era of changing climate

Nontimber forest species, resources, and products in U.S. forests and rangelands provide a range of ecological, social, cultural, and economic goods and services. This diversity creates challenges and opportunities for management and governance in an era of accelerating climatic variability. Climate variability and change will likely affect forest ecosystems with potentially increasing risks of negative consequences to natural resources and associated social-ecological systems (Ryan and Archer 2008). Drought, insect and disease outbreaks, and fre, as well as extreme events are expected to impact species extent and composition of forests as species respond to climatic variability and change. There is also the potential for loss of species and biological diversity if environmental changes outpace species’ ability to adapt. This may in turn adversely affect the potential of NTFPs to provide a buffer for impacted human communities as sources of food, medicine, and other uses. As this report demonstrates, the scientifc literature about U.S. nontimber forest products (NTFPs) is considerable. Signifcant gaps, however, remain in the state of the knowledge about these natural resources and how the social-ecological systems that characterize them may respond to climatic variability.
RNAi-mediated Control of Aflatoxins in Peanut: Method to Analyze Mycotoxin Production and Transgene Expression in the Peanut/Aspergillus Pathosystem

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations estimates that 25% of the food crops in the world are contaminated with aflatoxins. That represents 100 million tons of food being destroyed or diverted to non-human consumption each year. Aflatoxins are powerful carcinogens normally accumulated by the fungi Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus in cereals, nuts, root crops and other agricultural products. Silencing of five aflatoxin-synthesis genes by RNA interference (RNAi) in peanut plants was used to control aflatoxin accumulation following inoculation with A. flavus. Previously, no method existed to analyze the effectiveness of RNAi in individual peanut transgenic events, as these usually produce few seeds, and traditional methods of large field experiments under aflatoxin-conducive conditions were not an option. In the field, the probability of finding naturally contaminated seeds is often 1/100 to 1/1,000. In addition, aflatoxin contamination is not uniformly distributed. Our method uses few seeds per transgenic event, with small pieces processed for real-time PCR (RT-PCR) or small RNA sequencing, and for analysis of aflatoxin accumulation by ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC). RNAi-expressing peanut lines 288-72 and 288-74, showed up to 100% reduction (p≤0.01) in aflatoxin B1 and B2 compared to the control that accumulated up to 14,000 ng.g-1 of aflatoxin B1 when inoculated with aflatoxigenic A. flavus. As reference, the maximum total of aflatoxins allowable for human consumption in the United States is 20 ng.g-1. This protocol describes the application of RNAi-mediated control of aflatoxins in transgenic peanut seeds and methods for its evaluation. We believe that its application in breeding of peanut and other crops will bring rapid advancement in this important area of science, medicine and human nutrition, and will significantly contribute to the international effort to control aflatoxins, and potentially other mycotoxins in major food crops.
Cholera surveillance in Uganda: an analysis of notifications for the years 2007-2011.

INTRODUCTION Cholera outbreaks have occurred periodically in Uganda since 1971. The country has experienced intervals of sporadic cases and localized outbreaks, occasionally resulting in prolonged widespread epidemics. METHODS Cholera surveillance data reported to the Uganda Ministry of Health from 2007 through 2011 were reviewed to determine trends in annual incidence and case fatality rate. Demographic characteristics of cholera cases were analyzed from the national line list for 2011. Cases were analyzed by district and month of report to understand the geographic distribution and identify any seasonal patterns of disease occurrence. RESULTS From 2007 through 2011, Uganda registered a total of 7615 cholera cases with 181 deaths (case fatality rate = 2.4%). The absolute number of cases and incidence per 100 000 varied from year to year with the highest incidence occurring in 2008 following heavy rainfall and flooding in eastern Uganda. For 2011, cholera cases occurred in 1.6 times more males than females. The geographical areas affected by the outbreaks shifted each year, with the exception of a few endemic districts. No clear seasonal trends in cholera occurrence were identified for this time period. CONCLUSIONS We observed an overall decline in cases reported during the 5 years under review. During this period, concerted efforts were made by the Ugandan government and development partners to educate communities on proper sanitation and hygiene and provide safe water and timely treatment. Mechanisms to ensure timely and complete cholera surveillance data are reported to the national level should continue to be strengthened.
Modeling the Impact of Integrating HIV and Outpatient Health Services on Patient Waiting Times in an Urban Health Clinic in Zambia

Background Rapid scale up of HIV treatment programs in sub-Saharan Africa has refueled the long-standing health policy debate regarding the merits and drawbacks of vertical and integrated system. Recent pilots of integrating outpatient and HIV services have shown an improvement in some patient outcomes but deterioration in waiting times, which can lead to worse health outcomes in the long run. Methods A pilot intervention involving integration of outpatient and HIV services in an urban primary care facility in Lusaka, Zambia was studied. Data on waiting time of patients during two seven-day periods before and six months after the integration were collected using a time and motion study. Statistical tests were conducted to investigate whether the two observation periods differed in operational details such as staffing, patient arrival rates, mix of patients etc. A discrete event simulation model was constructed to facilitate a fair comparison of waiting times before and after integration. The simulation model was also used to develop alternative configurations of integration and to estimate the resulting waiting times. Results Comparison of raw data showed that waiting times increased by 32% and 36% after integration for OPD and ART patients respectively (p<0.01). Using simulation modeling, we found that a large portion of this increase could be explained by changes in operational conditions before and after integration such as reduced staff availability (p<0.01) and longer breaks between consecutive patients (p<0.05). Controlling for these differences, integration of services, per se, would have resulted in a significant decrease in waiting times for OPD and a moderate decrease for HIV services. Conclusions Integrating health services has the potential of reducing waiting times due to more efficient use of resources. However, one needs to ensure that other operational factors such as staff availability are not adversely affected due to integration.
Genetic Variants of Human Granzyme B Predict Transplant Outcomes after HLA Matched Unrelated Bone Marrow Transplantation for Myeloid Malignancies

Serine protease granzyme B plays important roles in infections, autoimmunity, transplant rejection, and antitumor immunity. A triple-mutated granzyme B variant that encodes three amino substitutions (Q48R, P88A, and Y245H) has been reported to have altered biological functions. In the polymorphism rs8192917 (2364A>G), the A and G alleles represent wild type QPY and RAH mutant variants, respectively. In this study, we analyzed the impact of granzyme B polymorphisms on transplant outcomes in recipients undergoing unrelated HLA-fully matched T-cell-replete bone marrow transplantation (BMT) through the Japan Donor Marrow Program. The granzyme B genotypes were retrospectively analyzed in a cohort of 613 pairs of recipients with hematological malignancies and their unrelated donors. In patients with myeloid malignancies consisting of acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndrome, the donor G/G or A/G genotype was associated with improved overall survival (OS; adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 0.60; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.41–0.89; P = 0.01) as well as transplant related mortality (TRM; adjusted HR, 0.48; 95% CI, 0.27–0.86, P = 0.01). The recipient G/G or A/G genotype was associated with a better OS (adjusted HR, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.47–0.99; P = 0.05) and a trend toward a reduced TRM (adjusted HR, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.35–1.06; P = 0.08). Granzyme B polymorphism did not have any effect on the transplant outcomes in patients with lymphoid malignancies consisting of acute lymphoid leukemia and malignant lymphoma. These data suggest that there is an association between the granzyme B genotype and better clinical outcomes in patients with myeloid malignancies after unrelated BMT.
A Stroke Based Representation of Indian Sign Language Signs Incorporating Global and Local Motion Information

Sign Language is a visual gesture language used by speech impaired people to convey their thoughts and ideas with the help of hand gestures and facial expressions. This paper presents a stroke based representation of dynamic gestures of Indian Sign Language Signs incorporating both local as well as global motion information. This compact representation of a gesture is analogous to phonemic representation of speech signals. To incorporate the local motion of the hand, each stroke contains the features corresponding to the hand shape as well. The dynamic gesture trajectories are segmented based on Maximum Curvature Points(MCPs). MCPs are selected based on the direction change of trajectories. The frames corresponding to the MCP points of the trajectory are considered as the key frames. Local information features are taken as the hand shape of the Key frames. The existing methods of Sign Language Recognition has scalability problems apart from high complexity and the need for extensive training data. In contrast, our proposed method of stroke based representation has less expensive training phase since it only requires the training of stroke features and stroke sequences of each word. Our algorithms also address the issue of scalability. We have tested our approach in the context of Indian Sign Language recognition and we present the results from this study.