Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Antibiotic susceptibility of potentially probiotic Bifidobacterium isolates from the human gastrointestinal tract

Sixteen Bifidobacterium isolates from the human gastrointestinal tract were assayed for susceptibility to 44 antibiotics by soft agar overlay disc diffusion on TPY agar. Five isolates (3/7 B. bifidum and 2/3 B. breve) exhibited atypical antibiotic susceptibility profiles. Poor growth in the agar overlay accounted for susceptibility of B. bifidum but not B. breve isolates. All other isolates were resistant to cefoxitin (30 μg), aztreonam (30 μg), vancomycin (30 μg), amikacin (30 μg), gentamicin (10 μg), kanamycin (30 μg), streptomycin (10 μg), fusidic acid (10 μg), trimethoprim (5 μg), norfloxacin (10 μg), nalidixic acid (30 μg), metronidazole (5 μg), polymyxin B (300 μg) and colistin sulphate (10 μg), and they were susceptible to the six penicillins studied, cephalothin (30 μg), cefuroxime (30 μg), cefaclor (30 μg), ceftizoxime (30 μg), cefotaxime (30 μg), bacitracin (10 μg), chloramphenicol (30 μg), erythromycin (15 μg), clindamycin (2 μg), rifampicin (5 μg) and nitrofurantoin (300 μg). In addition, they varied in their susceptibility to cephradine (30 μg), cephazolin (30 μg), cefoperazone (75 μg), ceftriaxone (30 μg), ofloxacin (5 μg) and furazolidone (15 μg). They were resistant, or only marginally moderately susceptible, to ceftazidime (30 μg), netilmicin (10 μg), sulphamethoxazole (100 μg), cotrimoxazole (25 μg) and ciprofloxacin (5 μg), and susceptible or marginally moderately susceptible to tetracycline (30 μg). All B. bifidum isolates were susceptible to cefixime (5 μg). Four micro‐organism‐drug combinations were evaluated for β‐lactamase activity but its absence suggested that cell wall impermeability was responsible for cephalosporin resistance among bifidobacteria. The antibiotic susceptibility of B. animalis 25527T was similar to that of the human isolates.
Physical activity levels in patients with chronic kidney disease entering the LORD trial.

PURPOSE To assess physical activity, and its associations with health, clinical, and biochemical factors, in patients with stages 2-4 of chronic kidney disease (CKD). METHODS Cross-sectional data were collected from 120 patients with CKD enrolled in the Lipid lowering and Onset of Renal Disease (LORD) trial. Patients with serum creatinine levels >120 micromol x L(-1) were included, and those taking lipid-lowering medication were among those excluded. Self-report questionnaires were used to assess physical activity (Active Australia) and health (SF-36). A cutoff of 600 MET x min x wk(-1) was used to determine those meeting national activity guidelines. Clinical and biochemical data included renal function, medications, an index of coexistent disease, lipid levels, dietary intake, liver enzymes, and full blood count measures. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to examine associations between physical activity and health, clinical, and biochemical data. RESULTS Fifty percent of patients met activity guidelines, and 9% (n = 11) reported no physical activity. Patients who met the guidelines were very active, completing on average more than 2400 MET x min x wk(-1), predominantly achieved by walking. Patients with CKD had lower SF-36 physical component summary scores compared with a reference population; however, none of the SF-36 physical functioning measures were associated with physical activity levels or meeting activity guidelines. CONCLUSION Many patients with stages 2-4 of CKD are meeting, and exceeding, recommended levels of physical activity, indicating that CKD is not necessarily a limitation to activity.
Carbon Source Control of Cellobiohydrolase I and II Formation by Trichoderma reesei

Regulation of the formation and secretion of two cellulase components from Trichoderma reesei QM 9414, cellobiohydrolases I and II (CBH I and CBH II, respectively), by the carbon source was investigated. With monoclonal antibodies against CBH I and CBH II it was found that during cultivation on carbon sources which enable fast growth (glucose, glycerol, and fructose), no formation of CBH I occurred, whereas low levels of CBH II were formed. Lactose and cellulose, which allow comparably slower growth, promoted the formation of both CBH I and CBH II. However, noncarbohydrate carbon sources as citrate or acetate, which also enable only slow growth, did not promote the formation of CBH I or CBH II. The addition of glucose or glycerol to lactose- or cellulose-pregrown mycelia, on the other hand, only partially reduced the formation of CBH I. This reduction was also achieved by several other metabolizable and nonmetabolizable carbon compounds, e.g., fructose, galactose, β-methylglucoside, 2-deoxyglucose, and rhamnose, as well as by transfer to no carbon source at all. This result indicates that the control of CBH I synthesis by the carbon source is due to induction and not to repression. The use of cycloheximide and 5-fluorouracil as inhibitors at and before translation, respectively, revealed a half-life for CBH I mRNA of at least several hours, which may, at least in part, account for the prolonged synthesis of some CBH I under these conditions. Northern (RNA) hybridization with full copies of cbh1 and cbh2 genes indicated that the control of CBH I and CBH II biosyntheses by the carbon source operates mainly at the pretranslational level. We conclude that the low rate of cellulase synthesis on glucose and some other carbon sources is due to the lack of an inducer and not to carbon source repression.
Comparison of arrhythmic doses of adrenaline, metaraminol, ephedrine and phenylephrine during isoflurane and halothant anaesthesia in dogs.

The effects of adrenaline, metaraminol, ephedrine and phenylephrine on myocardial irritability were evaluated in dogs at equivalent levels of isofiurane and halothane anaesthesia. The incidence of premature ventricular contractions associated with adrenaline and metaraminol infusions was significantly less during isoflurane anaes thesia, as compared with halothane. Ephedrine produced arrhythmias in approximately 50% of animals studied with both anaesthetics. Doses of adrenaline, metaraminol, and phenylephrine necessary to cause arrhythmias were greater during isoflurane anaes thesia. In addition, arrhythmias occurred at lower mean arterial pressures in all drug groups with halothane than with isoflurane anaesthesia.
Influence of clinical factors on the haemolysis marker haptoglobin

Background Plasma haptoglobin determination is clinically used as parameter for haemolysis. To date, however, the influence of the mode of haemolysis (extravascular vs. intravascular) and of nonhaemolytic conditions on haptoglobin concentration and its reliability as a haemolysis marker remain poorly defined.
The cellular rejection of xenografts – recent insights

Progress toward clinical xenotransplantation (XTx) is limited by the occurrence of several types of rejection that lead to graft failure. The early rejection processes, namely hyperacute and acute vascular rejection, are largely antibodyand complement-mediated and involve both natural and elicited xenoantibodies. However, hyperacute rejection can now be prevented by several methodologies, such as the blockade of complement activation, so that acute vascular rejection represents the current hurdle to xenograft survival. This progress has also increased interest in the study of cellular components of the immune response to both cellular and vascularized xenografts. Although in vivo studies are still limited, some experimental models allow cellular rejection to be studied, and many in vitro studies have highlighted the importance of cellular interactions in the recognition of foreign tissues during the early or later phases of xenograft rejection.
Dealing with Misconduct in Biomedical Research: A Review of the Problems and the Proposed Methods for Improvement

The increasing complexity of scientific research has been followed by increasing varieties of research misconduct. Dealing with misconduct involves the processes of detection, reporting, and investigation of misconduct. Each of these steps is associated with numerous problems which need to be addressed. Misconduct investigation should not stop with inquiries and disciplinary actions in specific episodes of misconduct. It is necessary to decrease the personal price paid by those who expose misconduct and to protect the personal and professional interests of honest researchers accused of misconduct unfairly or mistakenly. There is no dearth of suggestions to improve the objectivity and fairness of investigations. What is needed is the willingness to test the various options and implement the most suitable ones.
Pulsatile tinnitus. A 15-year experience.

PURPOSE This study aimed to report the author's 15-year experience with the systematic evaluation and treatment of patients with pulsatile tinnitus. METHODS Between August 1981 and August 1996, 145 patients with pulsatile tinnitus were evaluated. The diagnostic protocol was individualized according to the clinical findings and included appropriate radiologic testing, ultrasonography studies, and lumbar puncture with cerebrospinal fluid pressure measurement. Treatment was directed toward the etiology of the tinnitus. RESULTS Benign intracranial hypertension syndrome (pseudotumor cerebri) was the most common diagnosis (56 patients), followed by atherosclerotic carotid artery disease (24 patients) and glomus tumors (17 patients). In 13 patients, no specific diagnosis could be reached. CONCLUSIONS Thorough history and physical examination are the two most important factors in evaluating patients with pulsatile tinnitus. Evaluation should be individualized and may include radiologic testing, ultrasonography studies, and lumbar puncture with cerebrospinal fluid pressure measurements. The majority of patients have a treatable underlying etiology.
Transganglionic Neuropeptide Y Response to Sciatic Nerve Injury in Young and Aged Rats

Abstract. Gracile neuroaxonal dystrophy (NAD) is a hallmark of the aging human and rodent sensory nervous systems which may represent an abnormal transganglionic response to peripheral axonal injury. To examine the structural plasticity of central dorsal root ganglia (DRG)-derived axons in the gracile nucleus, we evaluated the response of the lumbar DRG and their central projections to sciatic nerve injury in young and old rats. In uninjured rats neither the DRG nor its central projections contained histochemical immunoreactivity for neuropeptide Y (NPY). However, within l week of sciatic nerve crush or transection injury, NPY immunoreactivity appeared in the lumbar DRG and its central projections, reaching an apparent maximum in number and intensity of processes at 28 days. Neuropeptide Y immunoreactivity was more intense and sustained in response to transection compared to crush injury, results supported by NPY radioimmunoassay. Neuropeptide Y-immunoreactive processes in the gracile nuclei of axotomized young animals consisted of delicate axons or slightly enlarged profiles that may represent regenerative elements. Lumbar dorsal rhizotomy performed simultaneously with sciatic nerve transection prevented the transganglionic NPY response. Dystrophic axons in the gracile nucleus of non-lesioned aged animals were not NPY-immunoreactive; however, after sciatic nerve transection, NPY immunoreactivity developed in both delicate axons and markedly swollen dystrophic elements, a finding confirmed by ultrastructural immunolocalization. These results establish that despite the presence of NAD in DRG projections to aged gracile nuclei these elements remain capable of a plastic NPY response to peripheral nerve injury.
[Cii] emission from L1630 in the Orion B molecular cloud.

CONTEXT L1630 in the Orion B molecular cloud, which includes the iconic Horsehead Nebula, illuminated by the star system σ Ori, is an example of a photodissociation region (PDR). In PDRs, stellar radiation impinges on the surface of dense material, often a molecular cloud, thereby inducing a complex network of chemical reactions and physical processes. AIMS Observations toward L1630 allow us to study the interplay between stellar radiation and a molecular cloud under relatively benign conditions, that is, intermediate densities and an intermediate UV radiation field. Contrary to the well-studied Orion Molecular Cloud 1 (OMC1), which hosts much harsher conditions, L1630 has little star formation. Our goal is to relate the [Cii] fine-structure line emission to the physical conditions predominant in L1630 and compare it to studies of OMC1. METHODS The [Cii] 158 μm line emission of L1630 around the Horsehead Nebula, an area of 12' × 17', was observed using the upgraded German Receiver for Astronomy at Terahertz Frequencies (upGREAT) onboard the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA). RESULTS Of the [Cii] emission from the mapped area 95%, 13 L⊙, originates from the molecular cloud; the adjacent Hii region contributes only 5%, that is, 1 L⊙. From comparison with other data (CO(1-0)-line emission, far-infrared (FIR) continuum studies, emission from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)), we infer a gas density of the molecular cloud of nH ∼ 3 · 103 cm-3, with surface layers, including the Horsehead Nebula, having a density of up to nH ∼ 4 · 104 cm-3. The temperature of the surface gas is T ∼ 100 K. The average [Cii] cooling efficiency within the molecular cloud is 1.3 · 10-2. The fraction of the mass of the molecular cloud within the studied area that is traced by [Cii] is only 8%. Our PDR models are able to reproduce the FIR-[Cii] correlations and also the CO(1-0)-[Cii] correlations. Finally, we compare our results on the heating efficiency of the gas with theoretical studies of photoelectric heating by PAHs, clusters of PAHs, and very small grains, and find the heating efficiency to be lower than theoretically predicted, a continuation of the trend set by other observations. CONCLUSIONS In L1630 only a small fraction of the gas mass is traced by [Cii]. Most of the [Cii] emission in the mapped area stems from PDR surfaces. The layered edge-on structure of the molecular cloud and limitations in spatial resolution put constraints on our ability to relate different tracers to each other and to the physical conditions. From our study, we conclude that the relation between [Cii] emission and physical conditions is likely to be more complicated than often assumed. The theoretical heating efficiency is higher than the one we calculate from the observed [Cii] emission in the L1630 molecular cloud.
Channelized Melting Drives Thinning Under a Rapidly Melting Antarctic Ice Shelf

Ice shelves play a vital role in regulating loss of grounded ice and in supplying freshwater to coastal seas. However, melt variability within ice shelves is poorly constrained and may be instrumental in driving ice shelf imbalance and collapse. High‐resolution altimetry measurements from 2010 to 2016 show that Dotson Ice Shelf (DIS), West Antarctica, thins in response to basal melting focused along a single 5 km‐wide and 60 km‐long channel extending from the ice shelf's grounding zone to its calving front. If focused thinning continues at present rates, the channel will melt through, and the ice shelf collapse, within 40–50 years, almost two centuries before collapse is projected from the average thinning rate. Our findings provide evidence of basal melt‐driven sub‐ice shelf channel formation and its potential for accelerating the weakening of ice shelves.
A prospective, community‐based evaluation of liver enzymes in individuals with hepatitis C after drug use

Serum alanine transaminase (ALT) levels are used to select hepatitis C virus (HCV)‐infected patients for treatment and liver biopsy. However, the natural history of these measurements is poorly understood. To examine the hypothesis that ALT levels vary over time in HCV‐infected patients, serial serum ALT levels were prospectively measured in a cohort of 1,235 persons with a history of prior illicit drug use. Over 25 months of follow‐up, there was a median of four evaluations per patient. ALT values were higher in 1,164 (94%) HCV‐infected individuals than in 71 (6%) HCV‐uninfected individuals. The remainder of the analysis focused on these HCV‐infected individuals, 647 (62%) of whom had normal ALT values at their initial visit. However, 323 (49%) of these had at least one elevated ALT over the next 25 months. Of the 395 patients whose ALT was initially abnormal, 332 (84%) had at least one normal value over the next 25 months. Overall, among individuals with four or more visits, ALT values were persistently normal in 42%, persistently elevated in 15%, and intermittently elevated in 43%. Because serum ALT levels have high visit‐to‐visit variability, single assessments should not be used to manage HCV‐infected individuals. Further investigation is needed to ascertain the correlation of serial ALT trends with important disease outcomes.
Electrokinetically Enhanced Remediation of Hydrophobic Organic Compounds in Soils: A Review

Electrokinetically enhanced remediation is an innovative technology that has the potential to remediate hydrophobic organic compound (HOC) contamination in soils and groundwater. A surfactant/cosolvent is used to increase HOC desorption and solubilization, and an applied electric potential facilitates contaminant transport primarily by electroosmosis and/or electrophoresis. Electroosmotic flow generally improves soil–solution–contaminant interaction, especially in zones of high organic content and/or low hydraulic conductivity. The electrokinetically enhanced remediation process is fairly simple to implement and operate, but the fundamental reactions that govern the remediation method are complex. An adequate knowledge of the contaminant transport mechanisms and the physical, chemical, and electrochemical processes is essential in order to optimize system performance. This article reviews previous research efforts on HOC remediation and the use of in situ flushing and electrokinetics for organic contaminants. In addition, to gain a better understanding of the individual components and the complexities of the electrokinetically enhanced in situ flushing process, this article presents background information on HOCs and surfactants/cosolvents, as well as the basic parameters that affect the performance of in situ flushing and electrokinetic technologies. Since the success or failure of electrokinetic remediation for HOC pollutants in low permeability soils largely depends on electroosmotic advection and/or electrophoresis, the discussion concerning electrokinetics focuses on these contaminant transport mechanisms.
Clinical Response to 2 Commonly Used Switch Formulas Occurs within 1 Day

Very fussy or extremely fussy infants were randomized to receive: soy-based formula (Soy: n = 82) or a partially hydrolyzed cow's milk protein (CMP), low-lactose formula (PHF: n = 77) in a multicenter, double-blind, randomized, parallel, prospective 28-day feeding trial. Body weight and infant formula tolerance were reported. Adverse events were recorded throughout the study. A significant reduction in mean scores of fussiness, gas, spit-up, and crying compared with baseline measures was observed in infants who received either Soy or PHF within 1 day of formula intake; improvement in symptoms was sustained by study end. Stool consistency remained constant through day 28 in the PHF group, whereas stools in the Soy group became more firm by day 2 and did not return to prestudy consistency. PHF, with a protein profile patterned more closely on human breast milk, improved symptoms of formula intolerance as well as soy-based formula.
National Practice Guidelines for Mental Health Care

Abstract Mental disorders are the leading cause of disability worldwide, according to the World Health Organization (WHO, 1996). In a report on health indicators of premature death and disability, the World Bank concluded that mental health problems account for 8.1% of the global burden of disease (GBD). Industrialized nations have taken different approaches in applying innovations to mental health care and mental health care policy. This paper uses the K. McInnis-Dittrich model of policy analysis (Ginsberg, 1994) to analyze the approaches of the United Kingdom (U.K.) and the United States (U.S.) to mental health treatment, specifically examining the effects of the U.K.'s national practice guidelines and the U.S.'s lack of similar guidelines. Recommendations for changes in current U.S. mental health policy are presented.
Interstitial cells of Cajal generate electrical slow waves in the murine stomach

1 The gastric corpus and antrum contain interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) within the tunica muscularis. We tested the hypothesis that ICC are involved in the generation and regeneration of electrical slow waves. 2 Normal, postnatal development of slow wave activity was characterized in tissues freshly removed from animals between birth and day 50 (D50). Slow wave amplitude and frequency increased during this period. Networks of myenteric ICC (IC‐MY) were present in gastric muscles at birth and did not change significantly in appearance during the period of study as imaged by confocal immunofluorescence microscopy. 3 IC‐MY networks were maintained and electrical rhythmicity developed in organ culture in a manner similar to normal postnatal development. Electrical activity was maintained for at least 48 days in culture. 4 Addition of a neutralizing antibody (ACK2) for the receptor tyrosine kinase, Kit, to the culture media caused progressive loss of Kit‐immunoreactive cells. Loss of Kit‐immunoreactive cells was associated with loss of slow wave activity. Most muscles became electrically quiescent after 3‐4 weeks of exposure to ACK2. 5 In some muscles small clusters of Kit‐immunoreactive IC‐MY remained after culturing with ACK2. These muscles displayed slow wave activity but only in the immediate regions in which Kit‐positive IC‐MY remained. These data suggest that regions without Kit‐immunoreactive cells cannot generate or regenerate slow waves. 6 After loss of Kit‐immunoreactive cells, the muscles could not be paced by direct electrical stimulation. Stimulation with acetylcholine also failed to elicit slow waves. The data suggest that the generation of slow waves is an exclusive property of IC‐MY; smooth muscle cells may not express the ionic apparatus necessary for generation of these events. 7 We conclude that IC‐MY are an essential element in the spontaneous rhythmic electrical and contractile activity of gastric muscles. This class of ICC appears to generate slow wave activity and may provide a means for regeneration of slow waves.