Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Non-susceptibility trends among staphylococci from bacteraemias in the UK and Ireland, 2001-06.

OBJECTIVES Investigation of the antibiotic susceptibilities and trends for staphylococci collected from bacteraemia cases in the UK and Ireland, from 2001 to 2006, as part of the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy's Bacteraemia Surveillance Programme. METHODS Twenty-five hospitals from the UK and Ireland each collected up to 10 consecutive isolates of both Staphylococcus aureus and coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) per year from 2001 to 2006. MIC determination and identification to species level were carried out centrally. mecA and also mupA alleles were sought by PCR in S. aureus and CoNS from 2005 and 2006, respectively. RESULTS One thousand four hundred and forty-eight S. aureus and 1214 CoNS were collected. The overall prevalence of methicillin resistance was 42% (with </=6% annual fluctuation) for S. aureus and 67% (range 54% to 80%) for CoNS. Resistance to aminoglycosides, macrolides, quinolones and tetracyclines was strongly associated with methicillin resistance in both species groups. Many (20.8%) CoNS and three (0.2%) S. aureus isolates were non-susceptible to teicoplanin, but there was no vancomycin non-susceptibility found in S. aureus and only one vancomycin-intermediate CoNS isolate. There was little evidence of susceptibility trends over time for any antibiotic, with the surveillance period preceding the recent fall in methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) prevalence indicated by the mandatory surveillance of MRSA bacteraemia in England. The newer antibiotics, ceftobiprole, daptomycin, linezolid, telavancin and tigecycline, all had excellent activity against staphylococci. CONCLUSIONS Multiresistant staphylococci remain abundant in the UK and Ireland but many new antimicrobials are becoming available and these may prove effective alternatives to glycopeptides.
Limb Lengthening Over an Intramedullary Nail: An Animal Study and Clinical Report

With the goal of reducing the duration of external fixation in limb lengthening, the authors investigated the feasibility of limb lengthening over an intramedullary nail that could be statically locked when the desired length was achieved, permitting early removal of the external fixation device. In a preliminary study, 8 minigoats underwent 2.0-cm lengthening of the tibia by means of a uniplanar external fixator. Half of the goats had a reamed nail placed in the tibia at the initial surgery. By 10 weeks after lengthening, there no difference in radiographic, histologic, or biomechanical evidence of bone regeneration was found between the tibiae that were nailed and those that were not. In a following clinical series, 15 patients underwent tibial or femoral lengthening by means of a circular frame fixator with a reamed intramedullary nail in place. The postoperative course was uneventful except for 1 infection. The distraction gaps became ossified from 6 months to 1 year, and only 2 patients needed additional bone graftings. The joint function of the lengthened limb at last followup was good. Gradual limb lengthening with a reamed intramedullary nail in place is safe and effective and allows for early removal of the external fixation device.
A case of pseudolymphoma of the liver

A case of pseudolymphoma (reactive lymphoid hyperplasia) of the liver in a 66 year old female is presented. A tumor‐like lesion was incidentally discovered in the liver during clinical follow up of diabetes mellitus. The hepatic lesion was resected because malignant lymphoma was suspected after a needle biopsy. Grossly, the lesion was well‐deflned and measured 1.0 × 1.5 × 1.0 cm. Microscoplcally, the lesion consisted of hyperplastic lymphoid follicles with distinctive germinal centers and interfollicular areas consisting of mature lymphocytes and plasma cells. An immunohistologlcal study revealed that the lymphoid cells of the lesion were polyclonal in immunophenotypes. These histological and immunohistochemical findings strongly suggested a pseudolymphoma and not hepatic inflammatory pseudotumor. Thls case was diagnosed as pseudolymphoma of liver. Only a few cases of hepatic pseudolymphoma have so far been reported In the English literature.
Management of common musculoskeletal problems: a survey of Ontario primary care physicians.

BACKGROUND In Canada, primary care physicians manage most musculoskeletal problems. However, their training in this area is limited, and some aspects of management may be suboptimal. This study was conducted to examine primary care physicians' management of 3 common musculoskeletal problems, ascertain the determinants of management and compare management with that recommended by a current practice panel. METHODS A stratified computer-generated random sample of 798 Ontario members of the College of Family Physicians of Canada received a self-administered questionnaire by mail. Respondents selected various items in the management of 3 hypothetical patients: a 77-year-old woman with a shoulder problem, a 64-year-old man with osteoarthritis of the knee and a 30-year-old man with an acutely hot, swollen knee. Scores reflecting the proportion of recommended investigations, interventions and referrals selected for each scenario were calculated and examined for their association with physician and practice characteristics and physician attitudes. RESULTS The response rate was 68.3% (529/775 eligible physicians). For the shoulder problem, all of the recommended items were chosen by the majority of respondents. However, of the items not recommended, ordering blood tests was selected by almost half (242 [45.7%]) as was prescribing an NSAID (236 [44.7%]). For the knee osteoarthritis the majority of respondents chose the recommended items except exercise (selected by only 175 [33.1%]). Of the items not recommended, tests were chosen by about half of the respondents and inappropriate referrals (chiefly for orthopedic surgery) were chosen by a quarter. For the acutely hot knee, the majority of physicians chose all of the recommended items except use of ice or heat (selected by only 188 [35.6%]). Although most (415 [78.5%]) of the respondents selected the recommended joint aspiration for this scenario, 84 (15.9%) omitted this investigation or referral to a specialist. The selection of recommended items was strongly associated with training in musculoskeletal specialties during medical school and residency. INTERPRETATION Primary care physicians' management of 3 common musculoskeletal problems was for the most part in accord with panel recommendations. However, the unnecessary use of diagnostic tests, inappropriate prescribing of NSAIDs, low use of patient-centred options such as exercise, and lack of diagnostic suspicion of infectious arthritis are cause for concern. The results point to the need for increased exposure to musculoskeletal problems during undergraduate and residency training and in continuing medical education.
Mechanism of the chronotropic effects of prostacyclin in the dog: comparison with the actions of prostaglandin E2.

The cardiovascular effects of prostaglandin (PG) I2 and E2 were investigated in the anesthetized dog and in the isolated blood perfused canine atrial preparation cross-circulated by the donor dog. When small doses of PGI2 (less than .01 microgram/kg) or PGE2 (1 microgram/kg) were injected into the jugular vein of the donor dog, there was a slight fall in blood pressure (5-10 mm Hg) and a slight degree of tachycardia (2-6 beats/min). However, larger doses of PGI2 (1-10 microgram/kg) or PGE2 (3-10 microgram/kg) produced hypotension that was associated with marked bradycardia. The bradycardia produced by both PGE2 and PGI2 in the donor dog was blocked by either atropine pretreatment or vagotomy and was inverted to tachycardia. The tachycardia was significantly suppressed by propranolol. Administration of PGI2 either to the donor dog or directly into the sinus node arterial cannula did not alter the atrial rate or developed tension in the isolated blood perfused atrial preparation. In contrast, when PGE2 was given in larger doses (10 microgram/kg) to the donor dog, the sinus rate and developed tension in the isolated atria were increased. This effect was markedly diminished after propranolol treatment. Administration of PGE2 (1-30 microgram) close-arterially into the sinus node artery produced positive chronotropic and inotropic effect which was not statistically significant. We conclude that PGI2 and PGE2 produce a negative chronotropic effect which is due to increased vagal activity and that these agents have no direct cardiac stimulatory effects in the anesthetized dog.
A review of the non-Alzheimer dementias.

OBJECTIVE To review the clinical features, neuropathologic features, clinical course, differential diagnosis, evaluation, and management strategies of the primary non-Alzheimer degenerative and prion disorders that cause dementia. DATA SOURCES The PubMed MEDLINE search engine was used to query for all published articles written in English from January 1990 to August 2005 using the keywords non-Alzheimer, tau, tauopathy, synuclein, synucleinopathy, prion, cognitive impairment, and dementia syndrome. These and related terms were queried on the following additional search engines: On-Line Mendelian Inheritance in Man and GeneTests. Reputable organizations whose aims include promoting education and research in specific syndromes and disorders were queried using the search engine Google. STUDY SELECTION The original articles on the disorders and syndromes, and subsequent articles and consensus papers that discussed in detail the clinical features, pathologic features, differential diagnosis, evaluation, management strategies, or some combination thereof, were selected for this review. DATA EXTRACTION Data were extracted from articles that include generally accepted concepts and guidelines on the non-Alzheimer degenerative and prion disorders as viewed by the author. DATA SYNTHESIS The following data were synthesized and emphasized: the cardinal clinical features, differential diagnosis, findings on ancillary studies most helpful in establishing accurate diagnoses, diagnostic criteria, and key principles of management. CONCLUSIONS This article provides an up-to-date overview of the primary non-Alzheimer disorders that cause cognitive impairment/dementia to aid the clinician in establishing diagnoses and deciding on appropriate management.
Reconsidering vocational interests for personnel selection: the validity of an interest-based selection test in relation to job knowledge, job performance, and continuance intentions.

Although vocational interests have a long history in vocational psychology, they have received extremely limited attention within the recent personnel selection literature. We reconsider some widely held beliefs concerning the (low) validity of interests for predicting criteria important to selection researchers, and we review theory and empirical evidence that challenge such beliefs. We then describe the development and validation of an interests-based selection measure. Results of a large validation study (N = 418) reveal that interests predicted a diverse set of criteria—including measures of job knowledge, job performance, and continuance intentions—with corrected, cross-validated Rs that ranged from . 25 to . 46 across the criteria (mean R = .31). Interests also provided incremental validity beyond measures of general cognitive aptitude and facets of the Big Five personality dimensions in relation to each criterion. Furthermore, with a couple exceptions, the interest scales were associated with small to medium subgroup differences, which in most cases favored women and racial minorities. Taken as a whole, these results appear to call into question the prevailing thought that vocational interests have limited usefulness for selection.
Effects of CCR5-Δ32 and CCR2-64I alleles on disease progression of perinatally HIV-1-infected children: an international meta-analysis

Objective: Among perinatally infected children, the effects of certain alleles of the CCR5 and CCR2 genes on the rate of disease progression remain unclear. We addressed the effects of CCR5-Δ32 and CCR2-64I in an international meta-analysis. Methods: Genotype data were contributed from 10 studies with 1317 HIV-1-infected children (7263 person-years of follow-up). Time-to-event analyses were performed stratified by study and racial group. Endpoints included progression to clinical AIDS, death, and death after the diagnosis of clinical AIDS. The time-dependence of the genetic effects was specifically investigated. Results: There was large heterogeneity in the observed rates of disease progression between different cohorts. For progression to clinical AIDS, both CCR5-Δ32 and CCR2-64I showed overall non-significant trends for protection [hazard ratios 0.84, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.58–1.23; and 0.87, 95% CI 0.67–1.14, respectively]. However, analyses of survival showed statistically significant time-dependence. No deaths occurred among CCR5-Δ32 carriers in the first 3 years of life, whereas there was no protective effect (hazard ratio 0.95; 95% CI 0.43–2.10) in later years (P = 0.01 for the time-dependent model). For CCR2-64I, the hazard ratio for death was 0.69 (95% CI 0.39–1.21) in the first 6 years of life and 2.56 (95% CI 1.26–5.20) in subsequent years (P < 0.01 for the time-dependent model). CCR5-Δ32 and CCR2-64I offered no clear protection after clinical AIDS had developed. Conclusion: The CCR5-Δ32 and CCR2-64I alelles are associated with a decreased risk of death among perinatally infected children, but only for the first years of life.
Diet and prey consumption of grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) in Norway

ABSTRACT To obtain knowledge of feeding habits and prey consumption of grey seals, data were sampled in selected areas along the Norwegian coast. Prey were recovered from 182 grey seal gastrointestinal tracts and 199 faecal samples, collected during1999–2010 in Finnmark, Nordland and Rogaland counties. The most important prey were saithe Pollachius virens, cod Gadus morhua and wolffish Anarchichus spp. Wolffish was mainly eaten by seals ≥ five years old. Otherwise, the data did not suggest important temporal or spatial variations between the main prey items in the grey seal diet. However, capelin Mallotus villosus was eaten during spring in Finnmark suggesting that seasonally abundant pelagic fish species could be regionally important. Total annual grey seal consumption of various species was estimated using bio-energetic modelling. The input variables were seal numbers, energy demands, diet composition in terms of biomass and energy densities of prey species. Assuming the observed grey seals diet composition in the sampling areas were representative for the diet along the Norwegian coast, the mean total annual consumption by 3850 grey seals was estimated to be 8084 tons in Norwegian waters; saithe (3059 tons), cod (2598 tons) and wolffish (1364 tons) were consumed in highest quantities.
The Relation of Child Maltreatment to Shame and Guilt Among Adolescents: Psychological Routes to Depression and Delinquency

In a longitudinal study of children followed for 8 years into adolescence, the authors investigated how different forms of maltreatment (i.e., harsh parenting, sexual abuse, witnessing domestic violence) in childhood and parenting during adolescence influenced adolescents' shame- and guilt-proneness. Furthermore, the authors examined whether diminished feelings of guilt or heightened feelings of shame were related to delinquent behavior or depression in late adolescence. Results showed that whereas harsh parenting in childhood was related to shame proneness in adolescence, this relationship was mediated by parental rejection in adolescence. Findings confirmed that youth with rejecting parents were more shame-prone and less guilt-prone than other youth. Furthermore, shame-proneness was associated with higher depression when measured 2 years later and guilt-proneness was linked to less delinquent behavior. Results suggest that, as mediators, shame and guilt may provide useful focal points for intervention and prevention efforts in reducing adolescent depression and delinquency.
Review of Validity Research on the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale: Fourth Edition.

The Stranford-Binet Intelligence Scale : fourth Edition (SB :FE; Thorndike, Hagen, & Sattler, 1986) represent a significant departure from earlier versions of the scale. In the 5 years since its introduction into the field of intellectual assessment, a number of validity studies have been conducted with the SB:FE. The results from these construct and criterion-related validity studies suggest that the SB:FE provides as valid a measure of general mental ability as existing tests. Support for the 4 factors hypothesized by the authors of the SB:FE is weaker. Research suggests that the SB:FE is a 2-factor test (Verbal, Nonverbal) for ages 2 through 6 years and a 3-factor test (Verbal, Nonverbal, Memory) for ages 7 years and older. Studies also suggest that the SB:FE can distinguish between groups of youngster with differing intellectual and that the test correlates highly with scores on achievement test
Expression of the reversion‐inducing cysteine‐rich protein with Kazal motifs and matrix metalloproteinase‐14 in neuroblastoma and the role in tumour metastasis

Neuroblastoma is the most common malignant tumour in infancy; the reversion‐inducing cysteine‐rich protein with Kazal motifs gene (RECK) is a tumour suppressor gene. Previous studies show that RECK inhibits tumour invasion and metastasis through negative regulation of the matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)‐2, MMP‐9 and MMP‐14. Therefore, we wanted to detect the expression of RECK and MMP‐14 in neuroblastomas to assess the correlation between the expression levels of these proteins, and to investigate the roles in the metastasis and development of the tumour. PV‐6000 immunohistochemistry method was used to detect the expression levels of RECK and MMP‐14 in 36 samples of neuroblastoma tissue. Samples from paraffin wax‐embedded specimens and the complete clinicopathological data of 36 neuroblastoma and 10 ganglioneuroma patients were collected. The rate of expression of the RECK protein in the neuroblastoma was low (16.7%). Furthermore, it reduced with the increase in the invasive depth and distant metastasis (P = 0.015; P < 0.05). The rate of expression of the MMP‐14 protein in the neuroblastoma was high (58.3%) and increased with the increase in the extent of invasive depth and distant metastasis (P = 0.002; P < 0.05). The expression of the RECK protein correlated negatively with that of MMP‐14 (r = −0.418; P < 0.05). Low levels of the RECK protein are expressed in the neuroblastoma, while the MMP‐14 protein is expressed at high levels. The RECK and MMP‐14 proteins may serve as markers in the estimation of the extent of metastasis and dissemination of the neuroblastoma.
"Presidential or parliamentary democracy: does it make a difference?" Behind the institutionalist influence in Juan Linz's analysis

* Politólogo con estudios de maestría en derecho por la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; profesor de asignatura de la Facultad de Ciencias Políticas y Sociales de la misma universidad. ** Estudiante de doctorado en políticas públicas en el Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas. “DEMoCrACIA PrESIDENCIAl o PArlAMENtArIA: ¿QUé DIFErENCIA IMPlICA? ” ExPlorANDo lAS INFlUENCIAS INStItUCIoNAlIStAS EN El ANálISIS DE JUAN lINz
Field studies on the preventive effect of oral artemether against schistosomal infection.

OBJECTIVE To study the preventive effect of oral artemether (Art) against schistosomal infection in the field. METHODS In Minglang District of Yiyang City, Hunan Province, there is an islet with embankment type endemic area in the southern Dongting Lake region. From August to October 1994 the residents who frequently contacted the infested water were selected for study and allocated to the Art group and the control group. About one month before the preventive Art administration, all the residents understudied were examined by stool hatching technique, and then treated orally with praziquantel at a single dose of 40 mg/kg in stool egg-negative residents and 50 mg/kg in stool egg-positive ones. In the Art group, the first dose of 6 mg/kg was given at the end of August, followed by 3 repeated doses every 15 days. Placebo (starch) was given to the control group at the same time as in the Art group. The preventive efficacy was evaluated by stool examination 25-32 days after the last medication. RESULTS In the Art group, 20 out of 365 studied residents became stool positive with an infection rate of 5.5%, while in the control group, 51 out of 376 studied residents were stool positive with an infection rate of 13.6%. The egg count per gram of feces (EPG) determined by the Kato-Katz method was 122 +/- 79 in the Art group and 681 +/- 909 in the control group. Meanwhile, two cases of acute schistosomiasis were found in the control group, but none was observed in the Art group. No apparent adverse side effect was seen during the treatment with Art. CONCLUSION Oral Art exhibited apparent preventive effect on the residents who contacted the infested water in schistosomiasis endemic area.
Unequal error protection for radiography image transmission using protograph double LDPC codes

In this paper, a novel unequal error protection (UEP) scheme, which is constructed from protograph double low-density parity-check (PD-LDPC) codes, and tailored for medical images is proposed to minimize the end to end image distortion over additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) channel. The UEP scheme is carried out by adopting different coding strategies in terms of the different significant levels and different entropies of image data streams from discrete cosine transform (DCT). A typical radiography image and other two gray-scale images are exploited in the simulation. The experimental results show that the proposed scheme can evidently increase the peak signal to noise ratio (PSNR) value of the received images and reconstruct the transmitted images with good quality even at a very low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). In particular, the proposed scheme outperforms the other UEP schemes based on regular D-LDPC codes and turbo codes by up to 0.5 and 2.5 dB in the SNR when the PSNR of the reconstructed images reach the expected upper bound, respectively.
β-catenin is central to DUX4-driven network rewiring in facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy

Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) is an incurable disease, characterized by skeletal muscle weakness and wasting. Genetically, FSHD is characterized by contraction or hypomethylation of repeat D4Z4 units on chromosome 4, which causes aberrant expression of the transcription factor DUX4 from the last repeat. Many genes have been implicated in FSHD pathophysiology, but an integrated molecular model is currently lacking. We developed a novel differential network methodology, Interactome Sparsification and Rewiring (InSpiRe), which detects network rewiring between phenotypes by integrating gene expression data with known protein interactions. Using InSpiRe, we performed a meta-analysis of multiple microarray datasets from FSHD muscle biopsies, then removed secondary rewiring using non-FSHD datasets, to construct a unified network of rewired interactions. Our analysis identified β-catenin as the main coordinator of FSHD-associated protein interaction signalling, with pathways including canonical Wnt, HIF1-α and TNF-α clearly perturbed. To detect transcriptional changes directly elicited by DUX4, gene expression profiling was performed using microarrays on murine myoblasts. This revealed that DUX4 significantly modified expression of the genes in our FSHD network. Furthermore, we experimentally confirmed that Wnt/β-catenin signalling is affected by DUX4 in murine myoblasts. Thus, we provide the first unified molecular map of FSHD signalling, capable of uncovering pathomechanisms and guiding therapeutic development.