Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Variable Number of Tandem Repeats in Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica for Typing Purposes

ABSTRACT The genomic sequences of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica strains CT18, Ty2 (serovar Typhi), and LT2 (serovar Typhimurium) were analyzed for potential variable number tandem repeats (VNTRs). A multiple-locus VNTR analysis (MLVA) of 99 strains of S. enterica supsp. enterica based on 10 VNTRs distinguished 52 genotypes and placed them into four groups. All strains tested were independent human isolates from France and did not reflect isolates from outbreak episodes. Of these 10 VNTRs, 7 showed variability within serovar Typhi, whereas 1 showed variability within serovar Typhimurium. Four VNTRs showed high Nei's diversity indices (DIs) of 0.81 to 0.87 within serovar Typhi (n = 27). Additionally, three of these more variable VNTRs showed DIs of 0.18 to 0.58 within serovar Paratyphi A (n = 10). The VNTR polymorphic site within multidrug-resistant (MDR) serovar Typhimurium isolates (n = 39; resistance to ampicillin, chloramphenicol, spectinomycin, sulfonamides, and tetracycline) showed a DI of 0.81. Cluster analysis not only identified three genetically distinct groups consistent with the present serovar classification of salmonellae (serovars Typhi, Paratyphi A, and Typhimurium) but also discriminated 25 subtypes (93%) within serovar Typhi isolates. The analysis discriminated only eight subtypes within serovar Typhimurium isolates resistant to ampicillin, chloramphenicol, spectinomycin, sulfonamides, and tetracycline, possibly reflecting the emergence in the mid-1990s of the DT104 phage type, which often displays such an MDR spectrum. Coupled with the ongoing improvements in automated procedures offered by capillary electrophoresis, use of these markers is proposed in further investigations of the potential of MLVA in outbreaks of salmonellosis, especially outbreaks of typhoid fever.
Patient safety: numerical skills and drug calculation abilities of nursing students and registered nurses.

AIM This paper is a report of a correlational study of the relations of age, status, experience and drug calculation ability to numerical ability of nursing students and Registered Nurses. BACKGROUND Competent numerical and drug calculation skills are essential for nurses as mistakes can put patients' lives at risk. METHOD A cross-sectional study was carried out in 2006 in one United Kingdom university. Validated numerical and drug calculation tests were given to 229 second year nursing students and 44 Registered Nurses attending a non-medical prescribing programme. RESULTS The numeracy test was failed by 55% of students and 45% of Registered Nurses, while 92% of students and 89% of nurses failed the drug calculation test. Independent of status or experience, older participants (> or = 35 years) were statistically significantly more able to perform numerical calculations. There was no statistically significant difference between nursing students and Registered Nurses in their overall drug calculation ability, but nurses were statistically significantly more able than students to perform basic numerical calculations and calculations for solids, oral liquids and injections. Both nursing students and Registered Nurses were statistically significantly more able to perform calculations for solids, liquid oral and injections than calculations for drug percentages, drip and infusion rates. CONCLUSION To prevent deskilling, Registered Nurses should continue to practise and refresh all the different types of drug calculations as often as possible with regular (self)-testing of their ability. Time should be set aside in curricula for nursing students to learn how to perform basic numerical and drug calculations. This learning should be reinforced through regular practice and assessment.
Treatment with Docosahexaenoic Acid, but Not Eicosapentaenoic Acid, Delays Ca2+-Induced Mitochondria Permeability Transition in Normal and Hypertrophied Myocardium

Intake of fish oil containing docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) prevents heart failure; however, the mechanisms are unclear. Mitochondrial permeability transition pore (MPTP) opening contributes to myocardial pathology in cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure, and treatment with DHA + EPA delays MPTP opening. Here, we assessed: 1) whether supplementation with both DHA and EPA is needed for optimal prevention of MPTP opening, and 2) whether this benefit occurs in hypertrophied myocardium. Rats with either normal myocardium or cardiac hypertrophy induced by 8 weeks of abdominal aortic banding were fed one of four diets: control diet without DHA or EPA or diets enriched with either DHA, EPA, or DHA + EPA (1:1 ratio) at 2.5% of energy intake for 17 weeks. Aortic banding caused a 27% increase in left ventricular mass and 25% depletion in DHA in mitochondrial phosopholipids in rats fed the control diet. DHA supplementation raised DHA in phospholipids ∼2-fold in both normal and hypertrophied hearts and increased EPA. DHA + EPA supplementation also increased DHA, but to a lesser extent than DHA alone. EPA supplementation increased EPA, but did not affect DHA compared with the control diet. Ca2+-induced MPTP opening was delayed by DHA and DHA + EPA supplementation in both normal and hypertrophied hearts, but EPA had no effect on MPTP opening. These results show that supplementation with DHA alone effectively increases both DHA and EPA in cardiac mitochondrial phospholipids and delays MPTP and suggest that treatment with DHA + EPA offers no advantage over DHA alone.
A global optimization approach for architectural synthesis

A relaxed LP model, which simultaneously schedules and allocates functional units and registers, is presented for synthesizing cost-constrained globally optimal architectures. A mathematical integer programming formulation of the architectural synthesis problem was transformed into the node packing problem. Some integral facets of this polytope were extracted and generalized to produce integral solutions using the simplex algorithm without the need to branch and bound. Execution times are faster by an order of magnitude than previous research which makes use of heuristic techniques. This research breaks ground by simultaneously scheduling and allocating with practical execution times; guaranteeing globally optimal solutions for a specific objective function; and providing a polynomial runtime algorithm for solving this NP-complete problem. <<ETX>>
Comparative Anomie Research: Hidden Barriers - Hidden Potential for Social Development

Introduction - social change, development and anomie. Part 1 Explorative anomie studies: introduction to the explorative anomie studies anomie scales - measuring social instability Bulgaria in the circle of anomie anomie in the Asia Pacific region - the Australian study the economic crisis, globalization and anomie in Western Africa post-Apartheid and double anomie in South African townships interrelationships of the explorative anomie studies. Part 2 Anomie and development: introduction to anomie and development anomie in the development context on the epistemology of anomie studies - some comments. Part 3 Outlook: conclusions and implications for development policies.
The efficacy of an andragogical instructional methodology in basic police training and education

Introduction: Development of societies depend on the level of education and the quantitative and qualitative development of the educational system, in particular the higher education system. Considering the importance of the problem-oriented model in increasing the effectiveness of education in, the purpose of this study is to introduce an effective problem-oriented model to promote medical science education . Methods: This quasi experimental study was conducted on 43 students of the Faculty of Midwifery, Islamic Azad University- Larestan Branch in 2016. The sample was selected according to convenient sampling method. 23 students were enrolled in the experimental group and 20 in the control group. The research instruments included two attitudes and satisfaction questionnaires as well as a graduation test. The content validity was used as a validation tool. The reliability of the satisfaction and attitude questionnaire was 87% and 83%, respectively according to Cronbach's alpha and the reliability of the course test was 91% according to the Kurdr -Richardson method. Results: The results of this study indicate a general improvement in midwifery education in three areas of attitude (p <0/000), satisfaction (p <0/000) and learning (p <0/000) of learners according to the initial principles of education from David Merrill. Conclusion: This model can be used in general medicine and midwifery education in particular.
Rab7 and Rab9 Are Recruited onto Late Endosomes by Biochemically Distinguishable Processes (*)

Rab GTPases are localized to the surfaces of distinct membrane-bound organelles and function in transport vesicle docking and/or fusion. Prenylated Rab9, bound to GDP dissociation inhibitor-α, can be recruited selectively onto a membrane fraction enriched in late endosomes; this process is accompanied by nucleotide exchange. We used this system to address whether each Rab uses a distinct machinery to associate with its cognate organelle. Purified, prenylated Rab1B, Rab7, and Rab9 proteins were each reconstituted as stoichiometric complexes with purified GDP dissociation inhibitor-α, and their recruitment onto endosome- or ER-enriched membrane fractions was quantified. The two late endosomal proteins, Rab9 and Rab7, were each recruited onto endosome membranes with approximate apparent K values of 9 and 22 nM, respectively. However, while control Rab9•GDP dissociation inhibitor-α complexes inhibited the initial rate of myc-tagged Rab9 recruitment with an apparent K of ≈9 nM, Rab7 complexes inhibited this process much less effectively (apparent K ≈ 112 nM). Similarly, complexes of the endoplasmic reticulum-localized Rab1B protein were even less potent than Rab7 complexes (apparent K≈ 405 nM). Rab9 complexes inhibited Rab7 recruitment with the same low efficacy as Rab7 complexes inhibited Rab9 recruitment. These experiments distinguish, biochemically, the recruitment of different Rab proteins onto a single class of organelle. Since Rab7 and Rab9 are both localized at least in large part, to late endosomes, this suggests that a single organelle may bear multiple Rab recruitment machines.
Critical Thinking Dispositions as an Outcome of Art Education

This article discusses findings of a study that investigated the variance in critical thinking dispositions between arts and non-arts undergraduates. A consensus of findings in research literature on education and critical thinking indicates that an inquiry-based curriculum positively influences gains in critical thinking. Research shows, as well, that learning in the arts is largely inquiry-based. The synthesis of those findings and the results of this study indicate that exposure to learning in the arts positively influences students' disposition to think critically. The study reported in this article utilized quantitative data from the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory (CCTDI), a survey instrument. Data were collected from a sample of 141 undergraduates at a large, urban, public university on the U.S. east coast. The sample consisted of two discipline groups: arts and non-arts undergraduates; and two class rank groups: freshmen and juniors/seniors. As would be expected, when the class rank groups were compared, the juniors/seniors showed a significantly higher mean overall score on the CCTDI and were also found to have significantly higher scores on several of the subscales. Comparison of the two discipline groups showed no significant difference in overall mean CCTDI scores between arts and non-arts students, but the arts students were found to have significantly higher mean scores on several of the subscales within the research instrument: truth-seeking, maturity, and open-mindedness. These results suggest that learning in the arts builds strengths in several critical thinking dispositions and offers evidence that the arts do indeed enhance the disposition to think critically.
VHT: Vertical hoeffding tree

IoT big data requires new machine learning methods able to scale to large size of data arriving at high speed. Decision trees are popular machine learning models since they are very effective, yet easy to interpret and visualize. In the literature, we can find distributed algorithms for learning decision trees, and also streaming algorithms, but not algorithms that combine both features. In this paper we present the Vertical Hoeffding Tree (VHT), the first distributed streaming algorithm for learning decision trees. It features a novel way of distributing decision trees via vertical parallelism. The algorithm is implemented on top of Apache SAMOA, a platform for mining big data streams, and thus able to run on real-world clusters. Our experiments to study the accuracy and throughput of VHT prove its ability to scale while attaining superior performance compared to sequential decision trees.
Efficient Planarity Testing

This paper describes an efficient algorithm to determine whether an arbitrary graph <italic>G</italic> can be embedded in the plane. The algorithm may be viewed as an iterative version of a method originally proposed by Auslander and Parter and correctly formulated by Goldstein. The algorithm used depth-first search and has <italic>O</italic>(<italic>V</italic>) time and space bounds, where <italic>V</italic> is the number of vertices in <italic>G</italic>. An ALGOL implementation of the algorithm succesfully tested graphs with as many as 900 vertices in less than 12 seconds.
A Grounded Theory Study Investigating How Parents' Adolescent Experiences Influence Their Attitudes and Behaviors Toward Their Children's Middle School Education

3 Dedication 4 Acknowledgements 5 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 14 Background 14 Situation to Self 18 Problem Statement 21 Purpose Statement 23 Significance of the Study 24 Research Questions 25 Research Plan 26 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW 28 Conceptual Framework 29 Adler’s Individual Psychology 30 Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory 30 Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological Model 31 Epstein’s Overlapping Spheres of Influence 32 Related Literature 33 Parent Involvement 34 Factors That Influence Parent Involvement 37 Parental Influences 45 Summary 56
Ion Acoustic Solitary Waves in Degenerate Electron-Ion Plasmas

Employing the reductive perturbation method, a rigorous study of ion acoustic solitary waves (IASWs) in dense electron-ion plasmas is carried out leading to two evolution equations. Both the nonrelativistic and ultrarelativistic degenerate electron cases are considered. It is found that the relativistic parameter R0 affects the IASW phase velocity. Stationary solutions of the derived evolution equations are estimated. The higher order contributions of the nonlinear and dispersion terms are calculated. It has been shown that it is more important to be included in the case of nonrelativistic electrons. These findings are devoted to explaining the observed solitary waves propagating in the outer periphery of compact dense stars, which mostly consists of hydrogen and helium ions with degenerate electrons.
Cloning of the canine ABCA4 gene and evaluation in canine cone-rod dystrophies and progressive retinal atrophies.

PURPOSE To characterize a novel early onset canine retinal disease, and evaluate the ATP-binding cassette transporter gene ABCA4 as a potential candidate gene in this and other canine retinal degenerations. METHODS Retinal disease was characterized ophthalmoscopically and electroretinographically in two pit bull terrier dogs and their purpose-bred descendants. All 50 exons of the canine ABCA4 gene were amplified, cloned and sequenced from retinal mRNA of a normal, a carrier and an affected animal, and polymorphisms identified. The latter were used to search for association between ABCA4 and retinal disease both within the study pedigrees and in additional canine breeds segregating retinal degenerations. RESULTS The disease derived from either founder is distinguished by early, severe, and rapidly progressive loss of cone function accompanied by progressive rod loss that is only relatively slower. Cloning and comparative sequencing of ABCA4 identified six point mutations, none of which were obviously pathogenic. Crossbreeding studies revealed that the diseases in the two founders, although similar, are nonallelic. Pedigree analysis of segregating polymorphisms revealed dissociation between ABCA4 and both retinal phenotypes. CONCLUSIONS The early, severe cone dysfunction in these diseases distinguish them from other forms of canine Progressive Retinal Atrophy. The development of a research population segregating these diseases presents two large animal models for the heterogenous human diseases termed cone-rod dystrophies. Analysis of the canine ABCA4 homolog gene documented its sequence and identified a set of point mutations that were used to exclude this gene as causal to these canine cone-rod dystrophies.
Anthropomorphic tendon-driven robotic hands can exceed human grasping capabilities following optimization

How functional versatility emerges in vertebrate limbs in spite of their anatomical complexity is a longstanding question. In particular, fingers are actuated by numerous muscles pulling on tendons following intricate paths. In contrast, the tendon-driven robotic hands with intuitive tendon routings preferred by roboticists for their ease of analysis and control do not perform at the level of their biological counterparts. Thus there is much debate on whether and how the anatomy of the human hand contributes to grasp capabilities. These parallel questions in biology and robotics arise partly because it is unclear how the number and routing of tendons offer functional benefits. We use a novel computational approach that analyzes tendon-driven systems and quantifies grasp quality to compare the precision grasp capabilities of thousands of robotic index finger and thumb designs vs. the capabilities measured in human hands. Our exhaustive search finds that neither the symmetrical designs sometimes preferred by roboticists nor randomly generated designs approach the grasp capabilities of the human hand (they are on average 73% weaker). However, optimizing for anatomically plausible asymmetry in joint centers, tendon routings, and maximal tendon tensions produces designs that can exceed the human hand by 13–45%, and outperform the preferred robotic designs by up to 435%. Thus, the grasp capabilities of prosthetic or anthropomorphic hands can be greatly improved by judiciously altering design parameters, at times in counter-intuitive ways. Moreover we conclude that, in addition to its other capabilities, the human hand’s anatomy is very advantageous for precision grasp as it greatly outperforms numerous alternative robotic designs.
Oxidative stress and enzymatic antioxidant status in rheumatoid arthritis: a case control study.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic multisystem disease of unknown cause. Formation of reactive oxygen species and lipid peroxides as a result of disease activity may play an important role. Oxidative stress and decreased antioxidant status are the hallmarks in patients of RA as observed in recent years. The objectives of the study was to determine oxidative stress by measuring malondialdehyde and enzymatic antioxidant status by estimating superoxide dismutase and glutathione reductase in patients of RA and then comparing with healthy individuals. MATERIALS AND METHODS The present study comprises of 40 RA cases who were clinically diagnosed and confirmed by laboratory tests, attending KLE Society's Dr. Prabhakar Kore Hospital and Research Centre, Belgaum. Southern India attached to J. N. Medical College. between September 2007 to August 2008. All the patients were in the age group of 40-60 years including both the sexes. Biochemical parameters like malondialdehyde, enzymatic antioxidants like superoxide dismutase and glutathione reductase were estimated in cases (40) and controls (40). RESULTS The mean level of blood malondialdehyde (in nmol/ml) in controls was 6.19 +/- 0.96 and 11.48 +/- 0.76 in cases. The mean level of superoxide dismutase (IU/g of Hb) in controls was 948.32 +/- 99.88 and 443.68 +/- 111.69 in the cases. The mean glutathione reductase level (in IU/g of Hb) in controls was 8.91 +/- 1.04 and 2.96 +/- 0.79 in the cases. CONCLUSIONS This study revealed that there was an increased oxidative stress and a decreased antioxidant defense in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
CONVERGENT EVOLUTION OF EMBRYONIC GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE EASTERN FENCE LIZARD (SCELOPORUS UNDULATUS)

Abstract Theory predicts that cold environments will select for strategies that enhance the growth of ectotherms, such as early emergence from nests and more efficient use of resources. We used a common garden experiment to detect parallel clines in rates of embryonic growth and development by eastern fence lizards (Sceloporus undulatus). Using realistic thermal conditions, we measured growth efficiencies and incubation periods of lizards from five populations representing two distinct clades. In both clades, embryos from cold environments (Indiana, New Jersey, and Virginia) grew more efficiently and hatched earlier than embryos from warm environments (Florida and South Carolina). Because eggs from cold environments were larger than eggs from warm environments, we experimentally miniaturized eggs from one population (Virginia) to determine whether rapid growth and development were caused by a greater maternal investment. Embryos in miniaturized eggs grew as efficiently and incubated for the same duration as embryos in unmanipulated eggs. Taken together, our results suggest countergradient variation has evolved at least twice in S. undulatus.
Dance ensemble synchronisation: movement timing between two or more people

Dancers’ need to be coordinated in an ensemble poses multisensory challenges. The present thesis focuses on temporal aspects of visually mediated interpersonal synchronisation in dance, emphasising feedback control, using an information processing perspective. The thesis firstly reviews previous literature on psychological factors in the coordination of dance (Chapter 1). Measurement methods and analyses to examine timing of dancers’ interpersonal synchronisation are then introduced(Chapter 2). In the first two experimental chapters (Chapters 3, 4) a lead-follower paradigm is developed to quantify the temporal linkage between two or more individuals. Performer interdependence was estimated using mean, variance and serial correlation measures. Chapter 3 evaluates multimodal (auditory and visual sources) and Chapter 4 unimodal (two visual sources) on individuals’ synchronisation performances. In Chapter 5, dancers’ interpersonal synchronisation and the effect of visual and sensorimotor familiarity were investigated. Findings suggest that more familiar dance poses increase synchronisation accuracy. Chapter 6 examines firstly, the potential role of an internal forward model in visually mediated synchronisation and secondly, the effect of topdown modulation in interpersonal synchronisation. In summary, the paradigm and methods of this thesis provide new ways of exploring dance ensemble synchronisation.