Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
OPTIMIZATION OF POLYSACCHARIDES PRODUCTION BY BACTERIA ISOLATED FROM SOIL

Six polysaccharide-producing bacteria, isolated from soil samples and identified as Pseudomonas and Arthrobacter (Strains 3B, 4B, 7B, 21B, 18E and 21D), were tested for the yield of polysaccharides produced during growth in two culture media: one containing glucose and the other sucrose (1, 2, 3, 4 and 5%). The yield was quantified measuring the viscosity of the broth, using the Poiscuille equation. The effect of temperature and pH of the culture media was investigated. The largest polysaccharide yield was obtained when the concentration of the carbon source was lower than 2%. Glucose and sucrose stimulated the polysaccharide production in a similar way. When the initial pH of the fermentation broth was increased from 5.0 up to 7.0, there was an increase in polysaccharide production. However, higher values (pH=8.0) caused a decrease in polysaccharide production. With regard to temperature, 30oC was shown to be optimum, since higher or lower temperatures had a negative effect on saccharide production.
Cardiac rehabilitation after transcatheter aortic valve implantation compared to patients after valve replacement

Aims To evaluate feasibility, safety, and outcome of an exercise-based residential cardiac rehabilitation program in transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) patients compared to elderly patients after surgical valve replacement (sAVR). Methods From January 2010 to January 2013, 65 consecutive TAVI and 70 sAVR older than 70 years were enrolled. Six-min walk test (6MWT) distance, Barthel index, Morse Fall Scale (MFS) on admission and discharge, Cumulative Illness Rated State-Comorbidity Index (CIRS-CI), and echocardiography were assessed. Patients underwent a 3-week intensive cardiac rehabilitation program. Results Compared with sAVR, TAVI had worse CIRS-CI (4.8 ± 1.5 vs. 3.4 ± 1.5; P = 0.00001), left ventricle ejection fraction (55.3 ± 9 vs. 59.2 ± 7.7; P = 0.008), Barthel index (67 ± 24 vs. 79 ± 21; P = 0.0018), and MFS (36 ± 22 vs. 25 ± 19; P = 0.002) on admission and at discharge (Barthel index 85 ± 17 vs. 93 ± 14; P = 0.005 and MFS 30 ± 20 vs. 20 ± 12; P = 0.0001), despite a significant improvement at discharge of Barthel index (85 ± 17 vs. 67 ± 24; P = 0.001) and MFS (36 ± 22 vs. 30 ± 20; P > 0.01). TAVI attended safely cardiac rehabilitation, but tolerated a significantly lower workload and had reduced 6MWT both on admission and discharge compared with sAVR (162 ± 87vs. 216 ± 82; P = 0.00001, and 240 ± 92 vs. 33295; P = 0.00001, respectively), despite a net improvement at discharge in 6MWT (240 ± 92 vs. 162 ± 92; P < 0.001). Conclusion Intensive cardiac rehabilitation after TAVI is safe, well tolerated, and leads to a net improvement in disability, risk of falls, and exercise capacity, similar to that observed in less disabled sAVR patients, favoring home discharge and relatively independent life at home. A persistent higher disability, comorbidity profile, and risk of falls at discharge characterize TAVI patients compared with sAVR patients of similar age.
Extended testing across, not within, tasks raises diagnostic accuracy of smell testing in Parkinson's disease

The aim of this study was to determine whether extended olfactory testing within a single olfactory task and/or across olfactory tasks increases diagnostic accuracy of olfactory testing in Parkinson's disease (PD). Olfactory function was assessed using an extended version of the “Sniffin' Sticks”, comprising 32‐item odor identification and discrimination tasks, and a detection threshold task in 52 PD patients and 50 controls, all aged between 49 and 78 years. ROC curves based on sensitivity and specificity estimates were used to compare the diagnostic accuracy of extended and combined olfactory testing. There was no significant difference in diagnostic accuracy between the 16‐item and the 32‐item versions of the odor identification or discrimination test. The single olfactory test that was best in discriminating between PD patients and controls was a 16‐item odor identification test. A combination of the 16‐item identification test and the detection threshold task had a significantly higher area under the curve than the 16‐item odor identification test alone. In conclusion, extended testing across, and not within, olfactory tasks increases diagnostic accuracy of olfactory testing in PD. A combination of an odor detection threshold task and a 16‐item odor identification test had the highest sensitivity and specificity in distinguishing between PD patients and controls. © 2008 Movement Disorder Society
Meta-Analyses with Binary Outcomes: How Many Studies Need to be Omitted to Detect a Publication Bias?

Meta- and pooled analyses are increasingly applied to aggregate the results of a number of studies, especially in health sciences. A typical difficulty is the presence of a publication bias. Usually Egger's regression test and funnel plots are applied to detect such a publication bias. A simulation study was conducted to investigate the quantity of null and negative results required to be omitted to detect a publication bias. In particular, the performance of Egger's test and funnel plots was considered in two scenarios with binary outcomes and expected odds ratios (OR) of 1 and 2, respectively. For both scenarios Egger's test detected only a small fraction of publication biases if few studies were deleted, corresponding to the results of a random deletion. Moreover, if a true null effect is present Egger's test is quite unlikely to detect a publication bias even if a considerable proportion of the null results are missing. Generally, the detection of a publication bias using Egger's test is only likely if both the “true” effect and the bias are large enough. Visual inspection of the funnel plots resulted in a higher fraction of detected publication biases in cases where a bias was present and in cases where studies were randomly deleted, revealing the arbitrariness of this method. Evidence indicates that standard methods for detection of a publication bias do not necessarily detect such a bias; thus, additional tests for publication bias need to be applied.
Prevalence of Type VI Secretion System in Spanish Campylobacter jejuni Isolates

Infections from Campylobacter jejuni pose a serious public health problem and are now considered the leading cause of foodborne bacterial gastroenteritis throughout the world. Sequencing of C. jejuni genomes has previously allowed a number of loci to be identified, which encode virulence factors that aid survival and pathogenicity. Recently, a Type VI secretion system (T6SS) consisting of 13 conserved genes was described in C. jejuni strains and recognised to promote pathogenicity and adaptation to the environment. In this study, we determined the presence of this T6SS in 63 Spanish C. jejuni isolates from the food chain and urban effluents using whole‐genome sequencing. Our findings demonstrated that nine (14%) strains harboured the 13 ORFs found in prototype strain C. jejuni 108. Further studies will be necessary to determine the prevalence and importance of T6SS‐positive C. jejuni strains.
Pta1, a Component of Yeast CF II, Is Required for Both Cleavage and Poly(A) Addition of mRNA Precursor

ABSTRACT CF II, a factor required for cleavage of the 3′ ends of mRNA precursor in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, has been shown to contain four polypeptides. The three largest subunits, Cft1/Yhh1, Cft2/Ydh1, and Brr5/Ysh1, are homologs of the three largest subunits of mammalian cleavage-polyadenylation specificity factor (CPSF), an activity needed for both cleavage and poly(A) addition. In this report, we show by protein sequencing and immunoreactivity that the fourth subunit of CF II is Pta1, an essential 90-kDa protein originally implicated in tRNA splicing. Yth1, the yeast homolog of the CPSF 30-kDa subunit, is not detected in this complex. Extracts prepared frompta1 mutant strains are impaired in the cleavage and the poly(A) addition of both GAL7 and CYC1substrates and exhibit little processing activity even after prolonged incubation. However, activity is efficiently rescued by the addition of purified CF II to the defective extracts. Extract from a strain with a mutation in the CF IA subunit Rna14 also restored processing, but extract from a brr5-1 strain did not. The amounts of Pta1 and other CF II subunits are reduced in pta1 strains, suggesting that levels of the subunits may be coordinately regulated. Coimmunoprecipitation experiments indicate that the CF II in extract can be found in a stable complex containing Pap1, CF II, and the Fip1 and Yth1 subunits of polyadenylation factor I. While purified CF II does not appear to retain the association with these other factors, this larger complex may be the form recruited onto pre-mRNA in vivo. The involvement of Pta1 in both steps of mRNA 3′-end formation supports the conclusion that CF II is the functional homolog of CPSF.
Relatives' Expressed Emotion and the Course of Schizophrenia in Chandigarh

A two-year follow-up was conducted of a subsample of the Chandigarh cohort of first-contact schizophrenic patients from the WHO Determinants of Outcome project. The patients were those living with family members who had been interviewed initially to determine their levels of expressed emotion (EE). The interview was repeated for 74% of the relatives at one-year follow-up. A dramatic reduction had occurred in each of the EE components and in the global index. No rural relative was rated as high EE at follow-up. Of the patients included in the one-year follow-up, 86% were followed for two years. In contrast to the one-year findings, the global EE index at initial interview did not predict relapse of schizophrenia over the subsequent two years. However, there was a significant association between initial hostility and subsequent relapse. The better outcome of this cohort of schizophrenic patients compared with samples from the West is partly attributable to tolerance and acceptance by family members.
Nursing Informatics Competencies: Assessment of Undergraduate and Graduate Nursing Students

: Today in the digital age, we are committed to prepare the future nurse for the information technology-rich workplace, and to help them reducing the “shock reality” upon arriving at the clinical setting. The study aims to promote the knowledge and examine the implications of Information Competencies Technology among undergraduate nurses and to address the current state of informatics competency guidelines and assessment tools. Due to the growing use of technology and shift to electronic health records, informatics competency is becoming a needed skill and requirement in the nursing profession. Studies show that integration of technology in the patient setting improves quality of care and patient safety. To possess competence in nursing informatics, one must possess the ability to obtain, store, retrieve, and communicate data, information, knowledge, and wisdom, which is essential to nursing practice. In order to understand whether nursing students are competent in clinical informatics, a descriptive design was adopted among purposively selected undergraduate and internship nursing students (n=70) to complete self assessment of informatics competency skills SANICS tool and demographics survey to measure student’s personal knowledge and understanding of nursing informatics. The tool was sent out to undergraduate and internship nursing graduate students. The results of this study indicate that students whom have taken an informatics course statistically report an overall higher mean competency than students whom have never taken an informatics course (p=.048). Further studies using this tool, or tools like it, can lead to evaluation of the need for informatics courses in nursing curriculum. Nurses must be educated and competent in nursing informatics in order to exhibit safe and effective nursing practice. Possessing a tool that assesses how competent an individual is in nursing informatics ultimately improves outcomes of nursing practice and increases the safety and effectiveness of patient care. In conclusion, the overarching theme of this study is the need for Information Technology to be integrated within the larger body of the nursing learning program, and its implication for educators and students.
An Aflatoxin Biosynthesis Cluster Gene Encodes a Novel Oxidase Required for Conversion of Versicolorin A to Sterigmatocystin

ABSTRACT Disruption of the aflatoxin biosynthesis cluster gene aflY (hypA) gave Aspergillus parasiticus transformants that accumulated versicolorin A. This gene is predicted to encode the Baeyer-Villiger oxidase necessary for formation of the xanthone ring of the aflatoxin precursor demethylsterigmatocystin.
Differential regulation of rodent hepatocyte and oval cell proliferation by interferon γ

Hepatocytes and intrahepatic progenitor cells (oval cells) have similar responses to most growth factors but rarely proliferate together. Oval cells constitute a reserve compartment that is activated when hepatocyte proliferation is inhibited. Interferon γ (IFN‐γ) increases in liver injury that involves oval cell responses, but it is not upregulated during liver regeneration after partial hepatectomy. Based on these observations, we used well‐characterized lines of hepatocytes (AML‐12 cells) and oval cells (LE‐6 cells) to investigate the potential mechanisms that regulate differential growth responses in hepatocytes and oval cells. We show that IFN‐γ blocks hepatocyte proliferation in vivo, and that in combination with either tumor necrosis factor (TNF) or lipopolysaccharide (LPS), it causes cell cycle arrest in hepatocytes but stimulates oval cell proliferation in cultured cells. The hepatocyte cell cycle arrest is reversible, is p53‐independent, and is not associated with apoptosis. Treatment of AML‐12 hepatocytes with IFN‐γ/LPS or IFN‐γ/TNF, but not with individual cytokines, induced NO synthase and generated NO, while similarly treated oval cells produced little if any NO. Generation of NO by an NO donor reproduced the inhibitory effect of the cytokine combinations on AML‐12 cell replication, while NO inhibitors abolish the replication deficiency. In conclusion, we propose that IFN‐γ, in conjunction with TNF or LPS, can both inhibit hepatocyte proliferation through the generation of NO and stimulate oval cell replication. The response of hepatocytes and oval cells to cytokine combinations may contribute to the differential proliferation of these cells in hepatic growth processes. (HEPATOLOGY 2005;41:906–915.)
Smooth Lyapunov function and gain design for a Second Order Differentiator

We design a smooth Lyapunov function for the Levant's Second Order Differentiator. The Lyapunov function construction method takes advantage of the structure of the system vector field to choose a candidate function. Both, the vector field and the candidate function belong to a special class of homogeneous functions. The problem of proving the positiveness of the function and the negativeness of its derivative is reduced, by using Pólya's Theorem, to the problem of solving a system of inequalities. Such inequalities are linear in the coefficients of the candidate function and also linear in the system parameters, but bilinear in both. The gains of the differentiator are designed during the construction process, and through the Lyapunov function, convergence time is estimated.
PITUITARY FUNCTION TESTS IN SHEEHAN'S SYNDROME

Fourteen patients with a typical history of Sheehan's syndrome underwent pituitary function tests with simultaneous injections of 100 μg LH‐RH, 200 μg TRH and 0·05–0·1 units of soluble insulin per kg body weight. Serum prolactin levels remained unchanged in all of eleven subjects given TRH. GH levels did not rise after hypoglycaemia in five subjects. In contrast serum LH and FSH rose significantly in twelve out of fourteen subjects given LHRH and serum TSH rose significantly in five out of seven subjects given TRH. It is concluded that pituitary function is relatively preserved for LH and FSH but not for prolactin and GH in Sheehan's syndrome. It is further suggested that absence of a rise in prolactin following TRH stimulation may provide the most sensitive test of pituitary hypofunction in postpartum haemorrhage.
E V I D E N C E FOR THE LINKAGE OF' THE IGCu LOCUS TO A GENE CONTROLLING T H E I D I O T Y P I C SPECIFICITY OF ANTI-p-AZOPHENYLARSONATE ANTIBODIES IN STRAIN A MICE*

Rabbit anti-idiots~ic antisera specific for anti-p-azophenylarsonate (antiAr) t antibodies, raised in an individual strain A / J mouse, recognize determinants on anti-Ar antibodies induced in all members of this strain so far tested. These determinants have been found only on anti-At antibodies and not on normal imnmnoglobulins or on other anti-hapten or anti-protein antibodies induced in this strain (1-3). 2 The determinants on A/J anti-Ar antibodies are thus idiotypic and cross-reactive within the strain. In contrast, anti-Ar antibodies induced in most but not all other strains of mice (1, 3; Pawlak and Nisonoff, manuscript in preparation), lack the cross-reactive A/J idiotypic determinant. For this reason the idiotype of A/J anti-Ar antibody is potentially a genetic marker (phenotype). We report here finding the A/J idiotype on anti-Ar antibodies induced in strain AL/N mice; this strain was derived from an outcrossed strain A mouse (4). Strains AL/N and A/J share a number of characteristics, including similar H-2 complex loci (4) and most but not all IgCH allotypic determinants (5, 6), which are localized to the Fc fragment of the molecule. Strain AL/N then probably shares many genes with strain A/J but, according to Staats (4) cannot be considered a true subline of strain A (4). The presence of the cross-reactive idiotypic determinants on anti-Ar antibodies induced in strain AL/N mice is particularly fortuitous because we have recently completed, at the National Institutes of Health, the development of a congenic strain of BALB/c mice, AL/N IgCm in which the IgCH complex locus from AL/N mice was introgressively backcrossed onto BALB/c. This
Acne vulgaris and free fatty acids. A review and criticism.

Evidence supporting the view of an active role of free fatty acids in the pathogenesis of acne consists of (1) the irritating activity of free fatty acids, (2) their comedogenic activity, and (3) the fall in free fatty acid levels on the skin during tetracycline therapy. Evidence that free fatty acid concentrations in the follicle may be so high as to affect the follicular epithelium is lacking. The bacteria responsible for lipolysis in the follicle produce enzymes other than lipases, as well as antigens and possibly other undefined materials that may play active roles in the production of the acne lesion. The hypothesis that free fatty acids are involved in pathogenesis is, a hypothesis of a microbial pathogenesis of acne; if this is to be considered seriously, facets other than the production of lipases cannot be ignored.
Changes in serum eotaxin and eosinophil cationic protein levels, and eosinophil count during treatment of childhood asthma.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Increased serum levels of eotaxin are related to the severity of asthma in adults. There are limited data on the effects of oral corticosteroids and inhaled corticosteroid therapy on serum levels of eotaxin and eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) and peripheral blood eosinophil counts (ECs) in pediatric asthma patients. We investigated prospectively the changes in eotaxin and ECP serum levels and peripheral blood ECs after administering oral corticosteroids and then inhaled corticosteroids plus long-acting beta2 agonist treatment in pediatric patients. METHODS Serum samples of 20 pediatric patients with mild-to-moderate asthma were collected before treatment, after 5-7 days of oral prednisolone treatment, and after 1-2 months of inhaled fluticasone plus salmeterol treatment. Peak expiratory flow was used as the outcome index. RESULTS Serum eotaxin levels remained the same after oral prednisolone treatment, but decreased after subsequent inhalation treatment compared with the end of oral steroid treatment (64.7 +/- 22.6 vs 85.7 +/- 36.8 pg/mL, p<0.001). The EC and serum ECP levels declined soon after oral steroid treatment, rebounding to initial levels during inhalation treatment. The decrease in ECP level was positively correlated with the decrease in ECs with oral steroid treatment (r(2) = 0.28, p=0.016). There was no correlation between changes in eotaxin levels and peak expiratory flow. CONCLUSIONS Our data suggest that the serum eotaxin level, not peripheral blood EC or serum ECP level, declines during inhaled fluticasone plus salmeterol treatment and might serve as a surrogate marker of T helper 2 residual activity in pediatric asthma.
Effect of stapedectomy on subjective tinnitus

A series of 149 patients, who had tinnitus associated with otosclerosis, and who underwent stapedectomy by a single operator were questioned about their tinnitus one to 19 years after surgery. Of these, 73 per cent reported that their tinnitus had ceased following surgery, 17 per cent that it had improved and only 10 per cent that it was unchanged. No pre-operative audiometric or patient data were associated with a favourable outcome in terms of tinnitus improvement. Patients who had poor hearing outcomes reported abolition of their tinnitus, suggesting that this was due to the improvement in the fluid mechanics of the cochlea resulting from stapedectomy. The tinnitus status was unrelated to the length of follow-up time.
Excess nerve growth factor in the periphery does not obscure development of whisker‐related patterns in the rodent brain

We have addressed the issue of whether or not peripherally expressed nerve growth factor (NGF) influences the formation of whisker‐specific patterns in the brain by regulating the survival of sensory neurons. Transgenic mice that overexpress an NGF cDNA in the skin were examined. In these animals, excess NGF expression is controlled by promoter and enhancer sequences of a keratin gene, thus restricting the higher levels of NGF expression to basal keratinocytes of the epidermis.
The Poggendorff illusion effect influenced by top–down control: evidence from an event-related brain potential study

Event-related brain potentials were used to examine the neural correlates of the visual illusion effect in the Poggendorff illusion. In this study, there were three tasks, namely, illusion task 1, illusion task 2 (similar to the classical Poggendorff figures, where the two oblique lines in which individuals were prone to judge to be collinear, were not collinear in fact), and baseline task. Scalp event-related brain potential analysis revealed that (a) both illusion task 1 and illusion task 2 elicited a more negative event-related brain potential deflection (N400–600) than did baseline task, approximately 400 ms after onset of the stimuli, and (b) high-level cognitive control system is, through enhancing the influence of the context on identifying the relationships of the two oblique lines, involved in generating the Poggendorff illusion.