Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sonication of Explanted Cardiac Implants Improves Microbial Detection in Cardiac Device Infections

ABSTRACT The sonication technique has been shown to be a promising tool for microbiological diagnosis of device-related infections. We evaluated the usefulness of the sonication method for pathogen detection in 80 explanted cardiac components collected from 40 patients, and the results were compared with those of conventional cultures. Forty subjects undergoing cardiac device removal were studied: 20 had cardiac device infection, and 20 subjects underwent elective generator replacement or revision in the absence of infection. Sonication of explanted devices was more sensitive than traditional culture for microbial detection (67% and 50%, respectively; P = 0.0005). The bacterial count detected in sonication fluid culture was significantly higher than that detected in traditional culture in both infected (P = 0.019) and uninfected (P = 0.029) devices. In the infected patients, sonication fluid culture yielded a significantly higher rate of pathogen detection in explanted electrodes than traditional culture (65% versus 45%; P = 0.02), while no differences were found in the generators. Ten strains were detected only through sonication fluid culture: 6 Staphylococcus epidermidis strains, 1 Staphylococcus hominis strain, 2 Corynebacterium striatum strains, and 1 Brevundimonas sp. Neither the type nor the duration of antimicrobial therapy before device removal had an effect on the diagnostic performance of sonication fluid culture (P = 0.75 and P = 0.56, respectively). In the patients without infection, sonication fluid culture was positive in 8 cases (40%), whereas conventional culture was positive in only 4 (20%). In summary, the sonication technique improves the microbiological diagnosis of explanted cardiac devices.
The effects of di 2-ethyl hexyl phthalate (DEHP) on cellular lipid accumulation in HepG2 cells and its potential mechanisms in the molecular level

Abstract Diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) is suspected to be an inevitable factor related to metabolic disease. Our previous study demonstrated that excess DEHP could exacerbate non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in SD rats. Addressing the terra incognita in DEHP-induced metabolic dysfunction, this study used HepG2 cells to investigate the potential mechanisms involved in DEHP-induced toxicity in vitro. The cells were established lipid overload model with oleic acid and BSA, then exposed to different concentrations (5, 10, 25, 50, 100 μmol/l DEHP) of DEHP for further analysis. The Oil Red O staining results showed that DEHP could promote lipid accumulation in cells. The level of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA) changed suggested the balance of oxidative stress was disrupted. Additionally, western blot analysis showed that DEHP could promote the expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα) and sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1c (SREBP-1c). By quantifying the expressions of the two proteins, it is of interest to determine that DEHP could promote lipid accumulation in hepatocytes via activating the SREBP-1c and PPARα-signaling pathway.
A Comparative Study of Software Bugs in Clone and Non-Clone Code

—Code cloning is a recurrent operation in everyday software development. Whether it is a good or bad practice is an ongoing debate among researchers and developers for the last few decades. In this paper, we conduct a comparative study on bug-proneness in clone code and non-clone code by analyzing commit logs. According to our inspection on thousands of revisions of seven diverse subject systems, the percentage of changed ﬁles due to bug-ﬁx commits is signiﬁcantly higher in clone code compared with non-clone code. We perform a Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon (MWW) test to show the statistical signiﬁcance of our ﬁndings. Finally, the possibility of severe bugs occurring is higher in clone code than in non-clone code. Bug-ﬁxing changes affecting clone code should be considered more carefully. According to our ﬁndings, clone code appears to be more bug-prone than non-clone code.
Human resource development (HRD) practices and banking industry effectiveness

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating role of employee competencies in the relationship between human resource development (HRD) practices and organizational effectiveness. Design/methodology/approach An integrated research model was developed by combining principal factors from existing literature. Data were collected through questionnaire from 550 employees of the selected banks. The validity of the model and hypotheses was tested using structural equation modeling. The reliability and validity of the dimensions are established through confirmatory factor analysis. Findings The results indicate that some HRD practices impact organizational effectiveness through their influence on employee competencies. The study further revealed that employee competencies mediate the relationship between HRD practices and organizational effectiveness. Research limitations/implications The research was undertaken in the banking industry and the analysis based on cross-sectional data which cannot be generalized across a broader range of sectors. Practical implications The findings of the study will help policymakers and management of banks in espousing suitable and well-articulated HRD practices to harness the competencies of employees and inordinately enhance organizational effectiveness. Originality/value This study extends the literature by empirically adducing evidence that employee competencies mediated the relationship between HRD practices and organizational effectiveness of the banking industry in Ghana.
Trust in the Sharing Economy: A Behavioral Perspective on Peer-to-Peer Markets

3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . 5 LIST OF FIGURES . 9 LIST OF TABLES . 11 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS . 13 PART I: UNDERSTANDING THE SHARING ECONOMY . 17 CHAPTER 1: THE RISE OF THE SHARING ECONOMY . 19 MOTIVATION AND INTRODUCTION . 19 RESEARCH AGENDA AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS . 21 METHODOLOGY . 23 Survey-based Research . 24 Experimental Economics . 25 CHAPTER 2: SHARING ECONOMY CONSUMER MOTIVES: THE ROLE OF TRUST . 28 INTRODUCTION . 28 FOUNDATIONS . 29 Theory of Planned Behavior . 29 Peer-to-peer Sharing & Co-Usage . 29 MATERIALS, METHODS, AND THEORY . 31 Hypothesis Development . 34 SURVEY DESIGN AND RESULTS . 41 Results . 41 DISCUSSION . 44 Theoretical Implications . 44 Practical Implications . 45 Limitations and Future Research . 46 CONCLUSION . 46 PART II: TRUST IN THE SHARING ECONOMY . 49 CHAPTER 3: MEASURING TRUST . 51 TRUSTING BELIEFS: A SURVEY-BASED APPROACH. 5
Induction of Prophage in Streptococcus lactis C2 by Ultraviolet Irradiation

Streptococcus lactis C2 has been used extensively by many laboratories in studies on the metabolism of lactic streptococci. By using ultraviolet irradiation as the inducing agent, this organism was shown to release a small bacteriophage, indicating that it is a lysogenic strain. The induced phage had a head approximately 40 nm in diameter and a tail length and width of about 180 and 6 nm, respectively. A structure resembling a collar was observed. Attempts to isolate a sensitive indicator strain for the virus were unsuccessful.
The Stone-Weierstrass theorem and its application to neural networks

The Stone-Weierstrass theorem and its terminology are reviewed, and neural network architectures based on this theorem are presented. Specifically, exponential functions, polynomials, partial fractions, and Boolean functions are used to create networks capable of approximating arbitrary bounded measurable functions. A modified logistic network satisfying the theorem is proposed as an alternative to commonly used networks based on logistic squashing functions.
The genetics of adaptation to discrete heterogeneous environments: frequent mutation or large‐effect alleles can allow range expansion

Range expansions are complex evolutionary and ecological processes. From an evolutionary standpoint, a populations' adaptive capacity can determine the success or failure of expansion. Using individual‐based simulations, we model range expansion over a two‐dimensional, approximately continuous landscape. We investigate the ability of populations to adapt across patchy environmental gradients and examine how the effect sizes of mutations influence the ability to adapt to novel environments during range expansion. We find that genetic architecture and landscape patchiness both have the ability to change the outcome of adaptation and expansion over the landscape. Adaptation to new environments succeeds via many mutations of small effect or few of large effect, but not via the intermediate between these cases. Higher genetic variance contributes to increased ability to adapt, but an alternative route of successful adaptation can proceed from low genetic variance scenarios with alleles of sufficiently large effect. Steeper environmental gradients can prevent adaptation and range expansion on both linear and patchy landscapes. When the landscape is partitioned into local patches with sharp changes in phenotypic optimum, the local magnitude of change between subsequent patches in the environment determines the success of adaptation to new patches during expansion.
A PHASE IA DOSE-ESCALATION STUDY OF THE ANTI-FACTOR D MONOCLONAL ANTIBODY FRAGMENT FCFD4514S IN PATIENTS WITH GEOGRAPHIC ATROPHY

Purpose: Multicenter, open-label, single-dose, dose-escalation Phase Ia study to determine the safety, tolerability, maximum tolerated dose, and immunogenicity of FCFD4514S, an antigen-binding fragment from a humanized monoclonal antibody directed against complement factor D, in patients with geographic atrophy. Methods: Eighteen patients with geographic atrophy (lesion size: ≥0.75 disk areas; best-corrected visual acuity: 20/125–20/400 Snellen equivalent) were sequentially enrolled and received 1 of 6 escalating doses of intravitreal FCFD4514S subject to dose-limiting toxicity criteria. Follow-up assessments (clinical examination, best-corrected visual acuity, intraocular pressure) were conducted at postadministration Days 1, 3, 7, 14, 30, 60, and 90. Serum pharmacokinetics, immunogenicity, and complement activity were also evaluated. Results: All patients completed the study with no reported FCFD4514S-related dose-limiting toxicities or ocular or systemic adverse events. The maximum tolerated dose for this study was 10 mg, the highest dose tested. No antitherapeutic antibody response or adverse effects on systemic complement activity were observed. Time to maximum serum concentration was 1 day to 3 days postdosing; serum terminal half-life was 5.9 days. Conclusion: Single-dose intravitreal FCFD4514S administrations were safe and well tolerated and not associated with any study drug–related ocular or systemic adverse events. These data support a multidose safety and tolerability assessment of FCFD4514S in geographic atrophy.
Comparative Study Regarding the Application of HPLC and ELISA Methods for Aflatoxins Detection in Peanuts

Aflatoxins are carcinogenic substances produced by fungi and due to the growth of fungi in a wide range of commodities including cereals, nuts, figs and spices, it is necessary to test such products for the presence of aflatoxins prior to their incorporation into other foodstuff or feeds. There is a need for a quick, simple test which can be used to check a diverse range of foodstuff. Two different detection methods of aflatoxins in peanuts were presented and compared (HPLC and ELISA). Both methods allow the determination of aflatoxin content with good recoveries for the levels of interest.
A low-complexity fully scalable interleaver/address generator based on a novel property of QPP interleavers

5-th generation mobile networks aim the peak data rates in excess of few Gbs, which may appear to be challenging to achieve due to the existence of some blocks such as the turbo decoder. In fact, the interleaver is known to be a major challenging part of the turbo decoder due to its need to the parallel interleaved memory access. LTE uses Quadratic Permutation Polynomial (QPP) interleaver, which makes it suitable for the parallel decoding. In this paper, a new property of the QPP interleaver, called the correlated shifting property, is theoretically proved, leading to a fully scalable interleaver and a low-complexity address generator for an arbitrary order of parallelism. The proposed interleaver reduces the required addresses in half. Moreover, the scalability of the proposed interleaver proves up to 51% lower power consumption compared to the best reported interleaver to-date.
Unusual manifestations of X-linked retinoschisis.

X-LINKED RETINOSCHISIS IS A DISORDER CHARACTERIZED BY THE PRESence of foveal schisis, often with peripheral splitting of the retina in the nerve fiber layer. Accompanying complications include vitreous hemorrhage and retinal detachment, which can lead to blindness. This report describes seven patients who presented during infancy or early childhood with unusual presentations of X-linked retinoschisis. Findings include hemorrhage into the schisis cavity, retinal dragging, and exudative maculopathy.
Immunological characterization of Echinococcus granulosus cyclophilin, an allergen reactive with IgE and IgG4 from patients with cystic echinococcosis

By immunological screening of a cDNA library derived from protoscoleces of Echinococcus granulosus with IgE from patients with cystic echinococcosis (CE) and allergic manifestations, we isolated a protein identical to E. granulosus cyclophilin. The protein, named EA21, has close homology with Malassezia furfur cyclophilin allergen (Mal f 6) and with human cyclophilin. Using immunoblotting (IB) with a polyclonal antibody specific to EA21, we identified E. granulosus cyclophilin both in protoscoleces and in sheep hydatid fluid. Of the 58 sera from patients with CE, 29 (50%) were IgE positive to EA21, whereas, despite the high sequence homology, none were IgE positive to Mal f 6 or human cyclophilin. Only 26 of the 58 patients (45%) had IgG specific to EA21, whereas all patients (100%) had IgG specific to Mal f 6 and human cyclophilin. IB analysis showed that serum IgE‐binding reactivity to EA21 differed significantly in patients with and without allergic reactions (20 of 25, 80%versus nine of 33, 27%; P < 10–4). Conversely, five of the 25 patients who had CE‐related allergic manifestations (20%) and 21 of the 33 who did not (63%) had specific IgG4 (P = 10–3) and total IgG to EA21. EA21 induced a proliferative response in 15 of 19 (79%) patients’ PBMC regardless of the allergic manifestations, but it induced no IL‐4 production. Overall, these findings suggest that E. granulosus cyclophilin is a conserved, constitutive, parasite protein that does not cross‐react with cyclophilins from other organisms and is involved in the allergic symptoms related to CE.
Health Effects Associated With Shift Work in 12-Hour Shift Schedule Among Iranian Petrochemical Employees

Abstract Introduction. The main purposes of this study were to investigate shift-work-related health problems in 12-h shift schedule and to identify major factors associated with these problems. Materials and methods. This cross-sectional study was conducted at 8 petrochemical plants. The study population consisted of 1203 workers (549 shift and 654 day workers). Data on personal details, the shift schedule and adverse health outcomes were collected with a self-administered questionnaire. Results. The results showed that health problems in shift workers were more prevalent than in day workers; however, the differences were significant only in gastrointestinal and musculoskeletal disorders. Logistic regression analysis revealed that in addition to shift work, other variables such as extended work time, type of employment, second job and job unit were associated with health problems. Conclusions. Working shifts is one important variable influencing the health of petrochemical workers. To improve workers ‘ health, interventional program should focus on the shift schedule as well as other significant aspects of working conditions.
The impact of corporate characteristics on environmental information disclosure: an empirical study on the listed firms in Egypt

Companies with good Reputations not only depend on financial results but also on their contribution in environment and social responsibility and sustained growth. This is what the researchers are trying to prove over the past 30 years but still there is no consensus on the validity of this statement, therefore it became one of the debatable areas whether the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) can affect the organization financially or economically. Environmental information disclosure (EID) has become an important part in the process of the annual report, the social responsibility report and other information disclosure. This paper aims to assess the impact of several Corporate Characteristics on environmental information disclosure of the listed firms in a developing country. It selects the 50 most active firms in the Egyptian stock exchange and the analysis is done using the financial statements from the disclosure book for the period 2007-2011, prior the revolution, along with the firms’ annual reports. The final count for the firms is 45, after excluding banks and insurance companies, for having different disclosure requirements and different corporate governance code. The tests for this research are done using the multiple regression model applied using the SPSS. Findings found that there is an insignificant relationship between two factors of firms’ characteristics (Firm Size and Firm Financial Leverage) and EID, while Firm’s age showed a negative significant relationship with EID and finally Firm’s Profitability showed a positive significant relationship with EID.
Comparison of inhaled iloprost and nitric oxide in patients with pulmonary hypertension during weaning from cardiopulmonary bypass in cardiac surgery: a prospective randomized trial.

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to compare the efficacy of inhaled iloprost and nitric oxide (iNO) in reducing pulmonary hypertension (PHT) during cardiac surgery immediately after weaning from cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). DESIGN A prospective randomized study. SETTING A single-center university hospital. PARTICIPANTS Forty-six patients with PHT (mean pulmonary artery pressure (mPAP) > or = 26 mmHg preoperatively at rest, after anesthesia induction, and at the end of CPB) scheduled to undergo cardiac surgery were enrolled. INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomly allocated to receive iloprost (group A, n = 23) or iNO (group B, n = 23) during weaning from CPB. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Heart rate, mean arterial pressure, central venous pressure, pulmonary artery pressure (PAP), pulmonary capillary wedge pressure, and left atrial pressure were recorded continuously. Iloprost and iNO were administered immediately after the end of CPB before heparin reversal. Both substances caused significant reductions in mean PAP (mPAP) and pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) and significant increases in cardiac output 30 minutes after administration (p < 0.0001). However, in a direct comparison, iloprost caused significantly greater reductions in PVR (p = 0.013) and mPAP (p = 0.0006) and a significantly greater increase in cardiac output (p = 0.002) compared with iNO. CONCLUSIONS PHT after weaning from CPB was significantly reduced by the selective pulmonary vasodilators iNO and iloprost. However, in a direct comparison of the 2 substances, iloprost was found to be significantly more effective.
FINITE EIGENFUNCTION APPROXIMATIONS FOR CONTINUOUS SPECTRUM OPERATORS

In this paper, we introduce a new formulation of the theory of continuous spectrum eigenfunction expansions for self-adjoint operators and analyze the question of when operators may be approximated in an operator norm by finite sums of multiples of eigenprojections of multiplicity one. The theory is designed for application to ordinary and partial differential equations; relationships between the abstract theory and differential equations are worked out in the paper. One motivation for the study is the question of whether these expansions are susceptible to computation on a computer, as is known to be the case for many examples in the discrete spectrum case. The point of the paper is that continuous and discrete spectrum eigenfunction expansions are treated by the same formalism; both are limits in an operator norm
Inhibition of Viruses by MetadicholÃ‚Â® A Novel Nano Emulsion Lipid

The inevitable, but unpredictable, appearance of new infectious diseases has been recognized for centuries well before the discovery of causative infectious agents. Today, however, despite advances in development of therapeutics, and vaccines the ease of world travel and increased global interdependence have added layers of complexity to containing these infectious diseases that affect not only the health but the economic stability of societies. Viruses and bacteria and other pathogens impose enormous pressures on their human hosts, and combatting these pathogens is fundamental to the propagation of a species. Innate immunity provides the foundation for pathogen resistance.
Effectiveness of dynamic messaging on driver behavior for late merge lane

The Iowa Department of Transportation (Iowa DOT) planned to employ a system of dynamic message signs (DMS) to enhance standard temporary traffic control for lane closures and traffic merges at two bridge construction projects in western Iowa on I-80 during the 2008 construction season. To evaluate the DMS system's effectiveness for impacting driver merging actions, the Iowa DOT contracted with Iowa State University's Center for Transportation Research and Education to perform the evaluation and make recommendations for future use of this system based on the results. For both of these periods, a statistical review of collected data did not indicate a significant impact on driver merging actions when the DMS messaging was activated as compared to free flow conditions with no messaging. Collection of relevant project data proved to be problematic for several reasons. In addition to personnel safety issues associated with the placement and retrieval of counting devices on a high speed roadway, unsatisfactory equipment performance and insufficient congestion to activate the DMS messaging hampered efforts. Comparison of data from the Iowa DOT's automated traffic recorders (ATRs) in the area also suggested variations in results from these data collection systems. Additional comparison studies were recommended.
Corporate governance, accounting information quality, and cost of equity capital an Indonesia’ evidence

The purpose of this paper is to discuss empirical research examining the impact of corporate governance practice (CG) and accounting information quality (AIQ) on the cost of equity capital (COEC) in the context of agency problem and information asymmetry. This research uses a sample of 414 firms in the period between 2010 and 2013. The total observations consist of 1.656 firm-years. COEC, as a dependent variable is measured by price-earnings-growth (PEG) model. AIQ, as an independent variable is measured by absolute discretionary accrual as an inverse measure of accounting quality. CG is proxy by managerial ownership (MAN), measured by the percentage of management’s equity shares , and institutional ownership (INS) which is measured by the percentage of an institution's owned equity shares . The data used in this study is obtained from Indonesian Capital Market Directory, Indonesian Stock Exchange database, and from company annual reports. This research finds evidence of a negative association of AIQ and COEC. Since AIQ uses an inverse measure of accounting quality, this means that accounting quality increases COEC. Thus this result does not support the hypothesis. With respect to CG, both MAN and INS negatively affect COEC. This means that CG decreases COEC and support the hypothesis.