Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Altered spectrum of multidrug resistance associated with a single point mutation in the Escherichia coli RND-type MDR efflux pump YhiV (MdtF).

OBJECTIVES YhiV (MdtF) is an resistance nodulation division (RND) type efflux pump in Escherichia coli with significant homology to AcrB but usually expressed at a low level in clinical isolates. When overexpressed the pump confers decreased susceptibility to a variety of substances including erythromycin and ethidium bromide (EtBr). We characterized two mutants of E. coli E12 (DeltaacrB DeltaacrF) overexpressing yhiV that showed surprising differences in their spectrum of multidrug resistance (MDR). METHODS The two mutants obtained after repeated exposure of E. coli E12 to levofloxacin were tested for antimicrobial susceptibility to a variety of agents and for intracellular accumulation of selected pump substrates. Gene expression was studied by quantitative RT-PCR, and yhiV was sequenced. Gene inactivation and replacement were done by phage lambda-based homologous recombination. RESULTS Mutant DKO20/1 overexpressed yhiV, showed a wild-type yhiV sequence and had >2-fold increased MICs of fluoroquinolones, novobiocin, macrolides/ketolides, EtBr, oxacillin and Phe-Arg-beta-naphthylamide (PAbetaN, a putative efflux pump inhibitor) compared with the E12 parent. A second mutant, strain DKO1/17 that had the Val-610-->Phe point mutation in YhiV differed from DKO20/1 by faster growth, >2-fold increased MICs of linezolid and tetracycline, but >2-fold decreased MICs of PAbetaN, azithromycin and telithromycin. Inactivation of yhiV in DKO1/17 and reintroduction of the wild-type and mutant yhiV sequence confirmed that the differing MICs of most of the drugs were associated with the observed single point mutation. Intracellular drug accumulation studies with linezolid and PAbetaN were consistent with the MIC results. CONCLUSIONS The region around amino acid Val-610 in YhiV appears to be involved in determining recognition and efficiency of export of a number of MDR efflux pump substrates. This single point mutation in the periplasmic loop of the pump can increase resistance to a given drug such as a fluoroquinolone while decreasing resistance to another one.
A wind tunnel test of newly developed personal bioaerosol samplers

In this study, the performance of two newly developed personal bioaerosol samplers was evaluated. The two test samplers are cyclone-based personal samplers that incorporate a recirculating liquid film. The performance evaluations focused on the physical efficiencies that a personal bioaerosol sampler could provide, including aspiration, collection, and capture efficiencies. The evaluation tests were carried out in a wind tunnel, and the test personal samplers were mounted on the chest of a full-size manikin placed in the test chamber of the wind tunnel. Monodisperse fluorescent aerosols ranging from 0.5 to 20 μm were used to challenge the samplers. Two wind speeds of 0.5 and 2.0 m/sec were employed as the test wind speeds in this study. The test results indicated that the aspiration efficiency of the two test samplers closely agreed with the ACGIH inhalable convention within the size range of the test aerosols. The aspiration efficiency was found to be independent of the sampling orientation. The collection efficiency acquired from these two samplers showed that the 50% cutoff diameters were both around 0.6 μm. However, the wall loss of these two test samplers increased as the aerosol size increased, and the wall loss of PAS-4 was considerably higher than that of PAS-5, especially in the aerosol size larger than 5 μm, which resulted in PAS-4 having a relatively lower capture efficiency than PAS-5. Overall, the PAS-5 is considered a better personal bioaerosol sampler than the PAS-4. Implications: Detection of personal exposure to airborne microorganisms (bioaerosols) is essential for developing adequate environmental and occupational air monitoring programs. Recently, two liquid-cyclone-based personal bioaerosol samplers were developed for this purpose. This study is to evaluate the performance of these two newly developed samplers in terms of their physical sampling efficiencies, such as the aspiration, collection, and capture efficiencies. The results acquired can offer insight into the efficacy of the newly designed samplers on achieving the goal of providing reliable and accurate personal bioaerosol exposure assessment.
Improved Oral Bioavailability and Liver Targeting of Sorafenib Solid Lipid Nanoparticles in Rats

Minimal information is available on the oral bioavailability and liver-targeting properties of sorafenib solid lipid nanoparticles (SRF-SLNs) in rats. In this study, SRF-SLNs were prepared via the combined methods of high-speed shearing and ultrasonic treatment. SRF-SLN formulations were also optimized. Particle size, zeta potential, entrapment efficiency (EE), and drug loading (DL) were used as indices for the evaluation of the as-prepared SRF-SLNs. SRF concentration was determined by the high-performance liquid chromatography method. Results showed that the average EE and DL of SRF-SLNs were 89.87 and 5.39%. The average particle size, polydispersity index, and zeta potential of SRF-SLNs were 77.16 nm, 0.28, and − 18.1 mV, respectively. The results of the stability test showed that SRF-SLNs remained stable for more than 1 month at room temperature. After oral administration to rats (7.5 mg/kg), the liver-targeting evaluation results showed that the average drug selectivity index value of SRF-SLNs was 2.20 times higher, than that of the SRF-suspension. Furthermore, the area under the concentration–time curve of SRF increased by 66.7% in the SRF-SLN group comparing with that in the SRF-suspension. Our results suggested that SLNs were a promising approach for the oral delivery of SRF.
Donor–NGO relations: the dynamics of European Community development co-operation policy

Shifts in development theory turned attention to the role Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) could play in donor development policy. The heightened interest in NGOs was accompanied by an increased availability of funds and presaged a significant growth in the size of the NGO sector. This expanded role had repercussions on both their internal organisation and their relations with other players in the aid arena. However, in the 1990s, the financial market for development cooperation became more competitive due to the changes in the former communist countries and the embrace of neo-liberal principles. Consequently, NGOs were criticised for their lack of professionalism and poor accountability, and found themselves subject to donor conditionality and the assimilation of the language, values and systems of donors. [Continues. ]
Homophone Dominance at the Whole-word and Sub-word Levels: Spelling Errors Suggest Full-form Storage of Regularly Inflected Verb Forms

Two experiments and two corpus studies focus on homophone dominance in the spelling of regularly inflected verb forms, the phenomenon that the higher-frequency homophone causes more intrusion errors on the lower-frequency one than vice versa. Experiment 1 was a speeded dictation task focusing on the Dutch imperative, a verb form whose formation rule is poorly known. A clear-cut effect of homophone dominance was found. This effect was equally strong when the target imperative was preceded by another imperative in the same sentence whose pronunciation reflected the spelling rule. Experiment 2 indicated that the effect of homophone dominance cannot be reduced to an effect of recency. Language users cannot discriminate a recently seen verb form when shown the two homophones. Instead, they choose the most frequent spelling pattern. In Corpus Study 1 a Google search on the world wide web revealed a sublexical effect of homophone dominance in the spelling errors on regular past tense forms. Corpus Study 2 demonstrated the validity of the search method. The sublexical effect of homophone dominance, involving units that cut across the stem—suffix boundary, lends itself naturally to a representational model of the connectionist or analogical processing tradition but is hard to reconcile with a rule-based account.
Molecular methods for rapid detection of group B streptococci

Group B streptococci (GBS) are an important cause of neonatal sepsis and meningitis. Implementation of selective intrapartum chemoprophylaxis based on either a screening-based approach or a risk-based approach has led to a substantial decrease in the morbidity and mortality of GBS disease. Current ‘gold-standard’ detection methods for GBS are selective broth cultures of combined vaginal and anal specimens collected at 35–37 week’s gestation. Rapid immunological detection methods, including latex agglutination test, enzyme immunoassay and optical immunoassay, as well as hybridization-based test, are available. These methods are useful in rapid identification of heavily colonized women, but are unable to detect light GBS colonization due to poor sensitivity. Recent development of real-time PCR and fluorescence labeling technologies has provided new detection platforms for bacterial identification. GBS-specific PCR assays using these new technologies offer promising tools for sensitive and specific detection of GBS directly from clinical specimens. The application of these assays in the current prevention strategy will simplify the prevention practice and rationalize antibiotic use.
Tenofovir DF, emtricitabine, and efavirenz vs. zidovudine, lamivudine, and efavirenz for HIV.

BACKGROUND Durable suppression of replication of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) depends on the use of potent, well-tolerated antiretroviral regimens to which patients can easily adhere. METHODS We conducted an open-label, noninferiority study involving 517 patients with HIV infection who had not previously received antiretroviral therapy and who were randomly assigned to receive either a regimen of tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (DF), emtricitabine, and efavirenz once daily (tenofovir-emtricitabine group) or a regimen of fixed-dose zidovudine and lamivudine twice daily plus efavirenz once daily (zidovudine-lamivudine group). The primary end point was the proportion of patients without baseline resistance to efavirenz in whom the HIV RNA level was less than 400 copies per milliliter at week 48 of the study. RESULTS Through week 48, significantly more patients in the tenofovir-emtricitabine group reached and maintained the primary end point of less than 400 copies of HIV RNA per milliliter than did those in the zidovudine-lamivudine group (84 percent vs. 73 percent, respectively; 95 percent confidence interval for the difference, 4 to 19 percent; P=0.002). This difference excludes the inferiority of the tenofovir DF, emtricitabine, and efavirenz regimen, indicating a significantly greater response with this regimen. Significant differences were also seen in the proportion of patients with HIV RNA levels of less than 50 copies per milliliter (80 percent in the tenofovir-emtricitabine group vs. 70 percent in the zidovudine-lamivudine group; 95 percent confidence interval for the difference, 2 to 17 percent; P=0.02) and in increases in CD4 cell counts (190 vs. 158 cells per cubic millimeter, respectively; 95 percent confidence interval for the difference, 9 to 55; P=0.002). More patients in the zidovudine-lamivudine group than in the tenofovir-emtricitabine group had adverse events resulting in discontinuation of the study drugs (9 percent vs. 4 percent, respectively; P=0.02). In none of the patients did the K65R mutation develop. CONCLUSIONS Through week 48, the combination of tenofovir DF and emtricitabine plus efavirenz fulfilled the criteria for noninferiority to a fixed dose of zidovudine and lamivudine plus efavirenz and proved superior in terms of virologic suppression, CD4 response, and adverse events resulting in discontinuation of the study drugs. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00112047.)
A Simplified Low-${Q}$ Electrically Small Magnetic Dipole Antenna

An electrically small wire cage antenna is presented as an alternative to previously proposed spherical split-ring (SSR) antennas, which achieve Q's near the lower limit defined by Chu. This design is targeted to approach the same lower bound, but constructed in a manner more economical for production. The proposed dual-polarized wire cage structure is produced using a standard dielectric substrate which is patterned front and back with copper, using well-defined and reproducible etching procedures. The thin interdigitated structure is then placed over a ground plane using rigid conducting elements that help to suspend the dielectric substrate while completing the wire cage. A parameterized HFSS model was used to optimize performance. Measurements were made on fabricated prototypes that demonstrate performance consistent with simulated results, confirming that SSR antennas and their derivatives are capable of approaching Chu's limit on the radiation efficiency of electrically small antennas.
An investigation of the wideband properties of a resistively-loaded V-shaped conical antenna

In this paper, a V-shaped conical antenna was presented and investigated. Each arm of the antenna has two conical sections, a conducting lower one and an upper one with low conductivity. The conical shape serves to improve the broadband characteristics of the conducting section and also to make the resistive loading of the upper section variable, which results in further bandwidth enlargement. An optimal set of design parameters was computed through linear regression. The largest bandwidth was obtained when the interior angle is 30deg for a material of conductivity 140 Siemens/m. It was noticed that when the interior angle increases the bandwidth decreases. The antenna fidelity was computed and showed a maximum for sigma=277 Siemens/m. Different materials of low conductivity can be applied to other antenna type as for example crossed dipole or square dipole in order to obtain broadband characteristics. Also the proposed V-shaped conical antenna could be analyzed in an antenna array configuration in order to increase its directivity.
Luxurious or economical? An identification of tourists’ preferred hotel attributes using best–worst scaling (BWS)

This article explores consumer tendencies to opt for luxury or economy hotels by identifying their most and least important selection attributes. The researchers investigate how sociodemographic and behavioral characteristics influence traveler assessments of hotel attributes. In explaining consumer hotel selection preferences, the researchers used an unconditional method—best–worst scaling (BWS). Based on an analysis of responses from 397 luxury hotel customers and 351 economy hotel customers in the United States, it was found that the two groups perceive hotel attributes differently. Differentials were also identified on the basis of gender, income, and frequency of purchase. While acknowledging that the task is complex, there is an urgent need to identify the factors influencing hotel selection, because hoteliers need to attract new markets and also balance this by retaining existing patrons. The findings extend existing literature by applying BWS to the identification of hotel selection attributes.
A method to quantify and visualize femoral head intraosseous arteries by micro‐CT

We describe a technique for perfusing a barium sulphate suspension into the intraosseous artery. Following the perfusion of abarium sulphate suspension into 14 fresh lower limbs of Chinese cadavers, micro‐CT scanning was applied to digitize, quantify and visualize the intraosseous arteries in the human femoral heads. Then, the femoral heads were removed and subjected to micro‐CT scanning. The data were imported into the amira and mimics programs to reconstruct and quantify the intraosseous arteries. The femoral head intraosseous artery lengths, areas, volumes, and femoral head bone volumes were quantified. The artery densities and artery ratios were calculated and analysed with independent‐samples t‐tests. The intraosseous vasculature volume renderings were displayed as screenshots and videos made with amira. Many intraosseous artery study technologies were compared. The barium sulphate suspension was milky white in colour. The perfusion of the barium sulphate suspension followed by micro‐CT scanning provided a good representation of the intraosseous artery. The femoral head intraosseous artery lengths, areas and volumes, and the femoral head bone volumes were displayed as the X¯±S . No differences were observed between the left and right femoral head intraosseous arteries in terms of the artery densities or artery ratios. The volume renderings and 3‐D orthogonal projections displayed the overall distributions of the intraosseous arteries. The videos clearly demonstrated the entry sites of the nutrition‐carrying arteries, their courses and branches, and the intraosseous arterial anastomoses. Our technique is the simplest and least time‐consuming method of producing accurate vascular three‐dimensional reconstructions. The perfusion of a barium sulphate suspension into intraosseous arteries combined with micro‐CT scanning can deliver high‐resolution 3‐D digitized data and images of intraosseous arteries. This technique does not require bone decalcification or bone dissection and thus significantly shortens the time required to quantify and display intraosseous arteries. This method provides a simple and rapid technique for quantifying and visualizing human intraosseous arteries.
A study of students' attitudes and perceptions of digital scientific information landscape

This paper presents results of the research of students at the Faculty of humanities and social sciences in Zagreb, Croatia about their attitudes and perceptions of digital scientific information landscape. The results of the research show that use of digital scientific information resources including use of open access information resources has become a constant activity among students in their daily academic activities. The students who participated in the research demonstrated their familiarity with the key characteristics of digital information resources which suggests their increased competence for selection and use of digital scientific information resources in their education. The increase in use of scientific digital content on mobile devices has also become a steady trend which calls for adapting digital content used in student's education. Unfortunately, students are still mostly self-taught about use of digital scientific information resources which should be changed.
Stock Exchange Listing Induces Sophistication of Capital Budgeting

This article compares capital budgeting techniques employed in listed and unlisted companies in Brazil. We surveyed the Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) of 398 listed companies and 300 large unlisted companies, and based on 91 respondents, the results suggest that the CFOs of listed companies tend to use less simplistic methods more often, for example: NPV and CAPM, and that CFOs of unlisted companies are less likely to estimate the cost of equity, despite being large companies. These findings indicate that stock exchange listing may require greater sophistication of the capital budgeting process.
Predictors of help seeking for emotional distress among Chinese Americans: family matters.

Using data from the Chinese American Psychiatric Epidemiological Study, the authors examined longitudinal predictors of help seeking for emotional distress in a community sample of 1,503 Chinese Americans. Specifically, they assessed the relative contribution of family relational variables (e.g., levels of family support and family conflict) in predicting help seeking for medical, mental health, and informal services. After traditional need, predisposing, and enabling factors were controlled for in hierarchical logistic regression analyses, family conflict predicted both mental health and medical service use, whereas family support was not predictive of help seeking. In addition to family conflict, mental health service use was predicted by negative life events, emotional distress, and insurance coverage. Implications of the findings for assessing and treating Asian American clients are explored.
Does a combination of dose modulation with fast gantry rotation time limit CT image quality?

OBJECTIVE The objective of our study was to determine the degree to which CT tube current saturates (tube current reaching its maximal capacity) if dose modulation and fast gantry rotation speeds are used when imaging the abdomen and pelvis and to determine whether saturated tube current affects image quality. MATERIALS AND METHODS We evaluated the CT scans of patients who underwent imaging of the abdomen and pelvis using dose modulation and the fastest gantry rotation time available on two different CT scanners. Ninety-five patients were scanned with a 64-MDCT scanner (noise index, 11; tube rotation speed, 0.5 second) with a maximal x-ray tube capacity of 695 mA. Ninety-four patients were scanned with a 16-MDCT scanner (noise index, 11.6; tube rotation speed, 0.6 second), which has a maximal x-ray tube capacity of 440 mA. The total number of images per examination, total number of images obtained at saturated tube current, image noise (SD of fluid attenuation), and patient width were recorded. A qualitative evaluation of image quality, with images obtained below and at the maximal tube current grouped separately, was performed by two independent radiologists who were not blinded to the type of scanner used using a scale of from 1 (best) to 4 (worst). Statistical analyses included the Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of ranks test for nonparametric ordinal data, the unpaired two-tailed Student's t test, and the chi-square test. RESULTS For images obtained with the stronger x-ray tube (maximum tube current = 695 mA), the average number of axial images per examination was 87.6. In 34 of 95 (36%) patients, at least one image was acquired with the tube current saturated. The average image noise was 12.4 H. Subjective evaluation yielded an average image quality score of 1.2 for images below saturated tube current and 1.2 for images at saturated tube current. For images obtained with the weaker x-ray tube (maximum tube current = 440 mA), the average number of axial images per examination was 88.9. In 84 of 94 (89%) patients, at least one image was acquired with the tube current saturated. The average image noise was 16.8 H. Qualitative evaluation showed average image quality scores of 1.3 and 1.8 for images below and at the saturated tube current, respectively. The percentage of images acquired at the saturated tube current was significantly greater for the weaker x-ray tube than the stronger x-ray tube (p < 0.0001), and qualitative analysis of images obtained at saturated tube current showed significantly decreased quality for the weaker x-ray tube when compared with images obtained with nonsaturated current (p = 0.001). CONCLUSION On the MDCT scanners investigated, when dose modulation is combined with fast tube rotation times, tube current saturation occurs with weaker x-ray tubes resulting in deterioration of image quality.