Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A multistate outbreak of Escherichia coli O157:H7-associated bloody diarrhea and hemolytic uremic syndrome from hamburgers. The Washington experience.

OBJECTIVE To determine the source of and describe a large outbreak of Escherichia coli O157:H7 infections in Washington State. DESIGN Case-control study; environmental investigation; provider-based surveillance for E coli O157:H7 infections. SETTING Chain of fast-food restaurants, hospitals, physician offices, local laboratories, and local health departments. PARTICIPANTS Patients with diarrhea and neighborhood controls. A case was defined as diarrhea with culture-confirmed E coli O157:H7 infection or postdiarrheal hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) occurring from December 1, 1992, through February 28, 1993, in a Washington State resident. Controls were age- and neighborhood-matched friends of the first 16 case patients. INTERVENTIONS Announcement to the public; recall of implicated hamburger lots. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Abatement of outbreak due to E coli O157:H7. RESULTS Infection was associated with eating at a fast-food chain (chain A) in the 10 days before symptoms began. Twelve (75%) of 16 case patients but no controls had eaten at chain A (matched odds ratio undefined; lower 95% confidence interval, 3.5; P < .001). In total, 501 cases were reported, including 151 hospitalizations (31%), 45 cases of HUS (9%), and three deaths. Forty-eight patients (10%) had secondary infections. Of the remaining 453 patients (90%), 398 (86%) reported eating at a Washington chain A restaurant; 92% of them reported eating a regular hamburger. The pulsed-field gel electrophoresis pattern of the E coli O157:H7 strains isolated from all regular hamburger lots of a single production date shipped to Washington was identical to that of the strains isolated from patients. Ten (63%) of 16 regular hamburgers cooked according to chain A policy had internal temperatures below 60 degrees C. Public health action removed more than 250,000 potentially contaminated hamburgers, preventing an estimated 800 cases. CONCLUSIONS This E coli O157:H7 outbreak, the largest reported, resulted from errors in meat processing and cooking. Public health surveillance through state-mandated reporting of E coli O157:H7 infection as is carried out in Washington State was critical for prompt outbreak recognition and control. Measures should be developed to reduce meat contamination. Consumers and food service workers should be educated about cooking hamburger meat thoroughly.
Excitation Wavelength Analysis of Laser-Induced Fluorescence LiDAR for Identifying Plant Species

Laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) is an active technology that is closely related to excitation wavelength (EW). This study has mainly analyzed the performance of LIF LiDAR with different EWs in distinguishing plant species. The 355-, 460-, and 556-nm lasers were utilized to excite leaf fluorescence. The fluorescence signals were measured by the LIF system built in the laboratory. Subsequently, principal component analysis combined with back-propagation neural network was used to analyze fluorescence spectra. For the three EWs, the overall identification rates of the eight plant species were 75%, 80%, and 87.5%. However, when the plant species of the same genus were taken as a category, the overall classification rates were 92.5%, 81.3%, and 86.3%. Experimental results demonstrated that, when the plant species of the same genus were regarded as a category, 355 nm was the optimal EW. However, 556 nm was superior to 355 and 460 nm in the identification of plant species of the same genus.
Use of a Bogus Pipeline to Detect Men’s Underreporting of Sexually Aggressive Behavior

Researchers rely on men’s self-reports of sexually aggressive behavior to identify the prevalence and correlates of men’s perpetration (i.e., their use of verbal or physical coercion to obtain sex from a nonconsenting partner). However, results from research based on men’s self-reported sexual perpetration are suspect because men may intentionally conceal their sexually aggressive behavior. The current study used a Bogus Pipeline (BPL) methodology to determine whether young, community men (N = 93) intentionally underreport their use of sexually aggressive strategies on two self-report measures of perpetration. Compared with men in a Standard Testing (ST) condition, men in an experimental BPL condition—who believed that the honesty of their responses was being monitored—had 6.5 times greater odds of endorsing the use of illegal sexual assault strategies on a widely used measure. Indeed, over a third of men in the BPL condition admitted to using such strategies. However, there was no significant difference in men’s reports of verbally coercive strategies in the BPL versus the ST condition on the same measure. There were also no significant differences in reporting on the other, less commonly used measure of sexual aggression as a function of condition. Based on these preliminary findings, men’s use of sexual assault strategies may be far more common than is suggested by most self-report studies. Self-reports of verbal coercion, however, may be more trustworthy.
Expanding provider-initiated HIV testing at STI clinics in China

Abstract Despite expanding sexually transmitted epidemics in South China, the majority of patients presenting to sexually transmitted infection (STI) clinics are not routinely screened for HIV infection. Identifying barriers to offering HIV testing among STI care providers is an important public health priority. The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency of offering HIV testing among STI care providers in South China and reported physician barriers to offering HIV testing. More detailed operational data regarding HIV test offer frequency and barriers to testing may enhance routine HIV testing at STI clinics. A sample of 62 STI care providers within the Pearl River Delta Region of South China completed a survey including socio-demographic and training background information (including sex, age, medical education, year of terminal medical degree, and HIV-specific training), reasons for not offering HIV testing routinely, and physical examination and sexual history taking practices. Frequency of offering HIV testing was calculated based on reports from research assistants and operational data. STI care providers offered HIV testing to 3011/10,592 (28.4%) of their patients. There was substantial variability across providers in the frequency of offering testing, ranging from 3 to 100%. None of the identified physician factors were associated with offering HIV testing 100% of the time in the multivariate model. The most commonly physician reported barriers to HIV testing included: (1) low perceived prevalence of disease and (2) not recommended by current guidelines. Forty-seven providers (76%) reported asking about same sex behaviors rarely or never. Further research on HIV screening practices of STI care providers may help scale up HIV provider-initiated testing and counseling programs.
The Illustris simulation: the evolving population of black holes across cosmic time

We study the properties of black holes and their host galaxies across cosmic time in the Illustris simulation. Illustris is a large-scale cosmological hydrodynamical simulation which resolves a (106.5 Mpc)^3 volume with more than 12 billion resolution elements and includes state-of-the-art physical models relevant for galaxy formation. We find that the black hole mass density for redshifts z = 0–5 and the black hole mass function at z = 0 predicted by Illustris are in very good agreement with the most recent observational constraints. We show that the bolometric and hard X-ray luminosity functions of active galactic nuclei (AGN) at z = 0 and 1 reproduce observational data very well over the full dynamic range probed. Unless the bolometric corrections are largely underestimated, this requires radiative efficiencies to be on average low, ϵ_r ≲ 0.1, noting however that in our model radiative efficiencies are degenerate with black hole feedback efficiencies. Cosmic downsizing of the AGN population is in broad agreement with the findings from X-ray surveys, but we predict a larger number density of faint AGN at high redshifts than currently inferred. We also study black hole–host galaxy scaling relations as a function of galaxy morphology, colour and specific star formation rate. We find that black holes and galaxies co-evolve at the massive end, but for low mass, blue and star-forming galaxies there is no tight relation with either their central black hole masses or the nuclear AGN activity.
Disentangling the Role of Climate, Topography and Vegetation in Species Richness Gradients

Environmental gradients (EG) related to climate, topography and vegetation are among the most important drivers of broad scale patterns of species richness. However, these different EG do not necessarily drive species richness in similar ways, potentially presenting synergistic associations when driving species richness. Understanding the synergism among EG allows us to address key questions arising from the effects of global climate and land use changes on biodiversity. Herein, we use variation partitioning (also know as commonality analysis) to disentangle unique and shared contributions of different EG in explaining species richness of Neotropical vertebrates. We use three broad sets of predictors to represent the environmental variability in (i) climate (annual mean temperature, temperature annual range, annual precipitation and precipitation range), (ii) topography (mean elevation, range and coefficient of variation of elevation), and (iii) vegetation (land cover diversity, standard deviation and range of forest canopy height). The shared contribution between two types of EG is used to quantify synergistic processes operating among EG, offering new perspectives on the causal relationships driving species richness. To account for spatially structured processes, we use Spatial EigenVector Mapping models. We perform analyses across groups with distinct dispersal abilities (amphibians, non-volant mammals, bats and birds) and discuss the influence of vagility on the partitioning results. Our findings indicate that broad scale patterns of vertebrate richness are mainly affected by the synergism between climate and vegetation, followed by the unique contribution of climate. Climatic factors were relatively more important in explaining species richness of good dispersers. Most of the variation in vegetation that explains vertebrate richness is climatically structured, supporting the productivity hypothesis. Further, the weak synergism between topography and vegetation urges caution when using topographic complexity as a surrogate of habitat (vegetation) heterogeneity.
Pre-clinical subdural tissue reaction and absorption study of absorbable hemostatic devices

Abstract SURGIFOAM™ (Absorbable Gelatin Sponge, USP), a new absorbable hemostatic sponge, GELFOAM® (Absorbable Gelatin Sponge, USP) or Avitene® (microfibrillar collagen hemostat) were evaluated in a threemonth tissue reaction and absorption study in rabbits. Bilateral craniotomy was followed by subdural implantation of each hemostatic device. A sham control group was treated in a similar way except that no material was implanted. Implantation of these hemostatic devices for 15, 43, or 92 days did not result in any deaths or clinical neurobehavioral abnormalities, changes in cerebrospinal fluid, or significant macroscopic observations at necropsy. The tissue reaction to SURGIFOAM™ sponge was characterized by transient granulomatous inflammation that was slightly less intense than that observed for GELFOAM® sponge which correlated to slightly longer absorption. In contrast, the tissue reaction to Avitene® hemostat was characterized by moderate to marked granulomatous inflammation with an acute inflammatory component indicating a greater degree of tissue irritancy. Sequelae of this reaction were still observed at 92 days post-implantation. The tissue reaction in humans to SURGIFOAM™ sponge used as a hemostatic agent for neurologic surgical procedures is expected to be comparable to that observed with GELFOAM® sponge, resulting in no significant adverse reactions for patients. This animal model was useful to assess the tissue reaction and absorption of biomaterials implanted in contact with the central nervous system, and it was able to differentiate between materials of biologic origin. [Neurol Res 2001; 23: 537-542]
A Markov Model Accounting for Charge Recovery in Energy Harvesting Devices

Energy harvesting is an important feature that can be implemented in mobile devices to provide them with extended autonomy, yet it poses several challenges in terms of optimal battery usage. In this paper, we highlight that some non-ideal effects, especially the so-called "charge recovery," can have a dramatic impact on the operation policy of autonomous devices. To do so, we construct a Markov model, where we introduce a bidimensional battery value, including the apparent energy level, which is what available at the electrodes to power the device, and the actual energy level stored in the battery. When power is not drained by the device, these levels tend to equalize due to charge recovery, but, in the case of intense battery usage, they can be significantly different. We show that this non- ideality leads to considerably different estimates of undesirable events such as battery outages, and may cause a general underutilization of the devices if not properly accounted for.
Novel Approach for Face Recognition Using Fractals

Biometrics has been used for person identification since long time. Till today, researchers, neuroscientists and engineers working on the how human brain works for identification of the person. Hence it is a very interesting topic to do the work on it. Every individual has unique fingerprint and it does not changes throughout the lifetime. So it is the most widely used technique. But the face is most natural, non intrusive biometric and the cost of the system is low as compared with the other biometric system. Fractals are popular because of their ability to create complex images using only several simple codes. This is possible by capturing image redundancy and presenting the image in compressed form using the self similarity feature. In this paper we present new fractal method for human face recognition. Many conventional methods of face recognition depend solely on appearance and model based. But there is inbuilt degree of self similarity in the image of faces which can be efficiently utilized through representation exploiting self-transformations, known as Iterated Function System (IFS). Interestingly, virtually all images of natural or man-made objects, show region wise self similarity although they may not be globally self similar. Such objects can be represented by Partitioned Iterated Function System (PIFS)
Biocompatibility of phosphorylcholine coated stents in normal porcine coronary arteries

OBJECTIVE To improve the biocompatibility of stents using a phosphorylcholine coated stent as a form of biomimicry. INTERVENTIONS Implantation of phosphorylcholine coated (n = 20) and non-coated (n = 21) stents was performed in the coronary arteries of 25 pigs. The animals were killed after five days (n = 6), four weeks (n = 7), and 12 weeks (n = 8), and the vessels harvested for histology, scanning electron microscopy, and morphometry. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Stent performance was assessed by studying early endothelialisation, neointima formation, and vessel wall reaction to the synthetic coating. RESULTS Stent thrombosis did not occur in either group. Morphometry showed no significant differences between the two study groups at any time point. At five days both the coated and non-coated stents were equally well endothelialised (91% v92%, respectively). At four and 12 weeks there was no difference in intimal thickness between the coated and non-coated stents. Up to 12 weeks postimplant the phosphorylcholine coating was still discernible in the stent strut voids, and did not appear to elicit an adverse inflammatory response. CONCLUSION In this animal model the phosphorylcholine coating showed excellent blood and tissue compatibility, unlike a number of other polymers tested in a similar setting. Given that the coating was present up to 12 weeks postimplant with no adverse tissue reaction, it may be a potential candidate polymer for local drug delivery.
A link between streptomycin and rifampicin mutation.

Introduction of str A mutations frequently make "male" strains of Escherichia coli permissive to bacteriophage T7; certain rif mutations reverse the permissive effect of strA mutation. Permissiveness of the strA mutation is accompanied by enhanced transcription of bacteriophage T7 genome. Introduction of the nonpermissive rif allele to the permissive strA strain reduces or abolishes the transcription of T7 genome. Thus, a link is implied in the functioning of the ribosome and the RNA polymerase (RNA nucleotidyltransferase, EC 2.7.7.6).
Behavioral Observation Differentiates the Effects of an Intervention to Promote Sleep in Premature Infants: A Pilot Study

Purpose:Sleep and ongoing cycling of sleep states are required for neurosensory processing, learning, and brain plasticity. Many aspects of neonatal intensive care environments such as handling for routine and invasive procedures, bright lighting, and noise can create stress, disrupt behavior, and interfere with sleep in prematurely born infants. The study empirically investigated whether a 30-minute observation of infant sleep states and behavior could differentiate an intervention to promote sleep in premature infants with feeding difficulties relative to conventional care (standard positioning, standard crib mattress [SP]). We included an intervention to determine the ability of the method to discriminate treatments and generate a benchmark for future improvements. The intervention, a conformational positioner (CP), is contoured around the infant to provide customized containment and boundaries. To more fully verify the 30-minute observational sleep results, standard polysomnography was conducted simultaneously and sleep outcomes for the 2 modalities were compared. Subjects:In a randomized crossover clinical trial, 25 infants, 31.5 ± 0.6 weeks' gestational age and 38.4 ± 0.6 weeks at the study, with gastrointestinal conditions or general feeding difficulties used each intervention during an overnight neonatal intensive care unit sleep study. Methods:Infant sleep states and behaviors were observed during two 30-minute periods—that is, on the positioner and mattress—using the naturalistic observation of newborn behavior. Two certified developmental care nurses assessed sleep state, self-regulatory, and stress behaviors during 2-minute intervals and summed over 30 minutes. Sleep characteristics from standard polysomnography were measured at the time of behavior observations. Results:Infants on CP spent significantly less time in alert, active awake, or crying states by observation compared with SP. Surgical subjects spent more time awake, active awake, or crying and displayed a higher number of behavior state changes than the nonsurgical infants. The percentage of time in observed deep sleep and quiet sleep was correlated with both percentage sleep efficiency (r = 0.78) and fewer state shifts per hour (r = −0.65) from electroencephalogram (EEG). Sleep efficiency by EEG was greater on CP versus SP. Conclusions:The CP enabled sleep compared with the standard mattress (SP) over 30-minute observation periods. Sleep status from behavioral observation was verified by standard EEG-based sleep techniques. Behavioral observation of sleep states may be a useful strategy for measuring the effectiveness of strategies to facilitate sleep in premature infants. Surgical subjects may benefit from additional interventions to promote sleep.
Recent advances in the spin Hall effect of light

The spin Hall effect (SHE) of light, as an analogue of the SHE in electronic systems, is a promising candidate for investigating the SHE in semiconductor spintronics/valleytronics, high-energy physics and condensed matter physics, owing to their similar topological nature in the spin–orbit interaction. The SHE of light exhibits unique potential for exploring the physical properties of nanostructures, such as determining the optical thickness, and the material properties of metallic and magnetic thin films and even atomically thin two-dimensional materials. More importantly, it opens a possible pathway for controlling the spin states of photons and developing next-generation photonic spin Hall devices as a fundamental constituent of the emerging spinoptics. In this review, based on the viewpoint of the geometric phase gradient, we give a detailed presentation of the recent advances in the SHE of light and its applications in precision metrology and future spin-based photonics.
The development of iron technology in precolonial western Uganda

The local production of iron was an important technology in eastern Africa up until the earlier twentieth century, when the use and reuse of imported iron overtook vernacular smelting industries and cemented their decline. Prior to this, the utilisation of local ores had produced iron for agricultural implements, household tools and weapons, serving the needs of many generations of farmers and herders across the region. The smelters of western Uganda enjoyed a particularly esteemed reputation in recent history, especially among their neighbours in Buganda. Prior to archaeometallurgical research undertaken in 2007, little was known about the technologies upon which this reputation was fostered. This paper presents an overview of the results of six months of fieldwork in Uganda and subsequent archaeometallurgical analysis, which together revealed the complexities of smelting in Mwenge, western Uganda, between the fourteenth and twentieth centuries. Technological reconstructions indicate that some iron producers in the region were supplementing the iron ores in their smelts with an additional manganese-rich material, imparting a tangible effect on the process and outcomes of these smelting episodes, hypothetically increasing the metal yield and improving operating parameters. Although such harnessing of beneficial manganese-rich minerals was an unexpected and unusual finding, it correlates with existing ethnoarchaeological and ethnohistorical data. Through these avenues, and building upon social approaches to iron technologies, it has been possible to explore this variation in the technological record of western Uganda in the context of the known history of the region.
A Tree Structure One-Dimensional Based Algorithm for Estimating the Two-Dimensional Direction of Arrivals and Its Performance Analysis

A tree structure algorithm using one-dimensional (1D) multiple signal classification (MUSIC) algorithm is proposed to estimate the two-dimensional direction of arrivals (2D DOAs) of coherent signals impinging on a uniform rectangular array. The basic idea of the proposed algorithm is to successively apply several times of the 1D spatial smoothing MUSIC algorithm, in tree structure, to estimate the azimuth and the elevation angles independently. To optimally separate the receive signal, constrained spatial beamformers with adjustable null width are exploited in conjunction with the 1D spatial smoothing MUSIC algorithm to decompose the received signal into several signals each lead by its own 2D DOA. Performance analysis is provided to investigate the estimation bias caused by the residue signal propagating in the tree structure.