Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prevalence and antimicrobial resistance in Salmonella enterica isolated from broiler chickens, pigs and meat products in Thailand–Cambodia border provinces

This study aimed to examine the prevalence and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) of Salmonella isolates from broiler chickens, pigs and their associated meat products in the Thailand–Cambodia border provinces. A total of 941 samples were collected from pigs and broiler chickens at slaughter houses and from carcasses at local fresh markets in Sa Kaeo, Thailand (n = 554) and Banteay Meanchey, Cambodia (n = 387) in 2014 and 2015. From these samples, 345 Salmonella isolates were collected from Sa Keao (n = 145; 23%) and Banteay Meanchey (n = 200; 47%) and assayed for antimicrobial susceptibility, class 1 integrons and extended‐spectrum β‐lactamase (ESBL) genes. Serovars Typhimurium (29%) and Rissen (29%) were the most common serotypes found in Thai and Cambodian isolates, respectively. Multidrug resistance was detected in 34% and 52% of isolates from Sa Keao and Banteay Meanchey, respectively. The majority of the Thai isolates were resistant to ampicillin (72.4%), whereas most Cambodian isolates were resistant to sulfamethoxazole (71%). Eleven isolates from Sa Keao and 44 from Banteay Meanchey carried class 1 integrons comprising resistance gene cassettes. The most common gene cassette array was dfrA12‐aadA2 (61.1%). Six isolates were ESBL producers. The β‐lactamase genes found included blaTEM‐1, blaCTX‐M‐55 and blaCMY‐2. Some of these class 1 integrons and ESBL genes were located on conjugative plasmid. In conclusion, multidrug‐resistant Salmonella are common in pigs, chickens and their products in the Thailand–Cambodia border provinces. Our findings indicate that class 1 integrons play a role in spread of AMR in the strains in this study.
Single-agent dabrafenib for BRAFV600E-mutated histiocytosis

Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) and Erdheim-Chester disease (ECD) are clonal disorders of the monocyte/macrophage and dendritic cell lineages characterized by infiltration of histiocytes, acute and chronic inflammation, and fibrosis that can involve multiple organ systems and cause a wide range
Developmental anatomy of lampreys

Lampreys are a group of aquatic chordates whose relationships to hagfishes and jawed vertebrates are still debated. Lamprey embryology is of interest to evolutionary biologists because it may shed light on vertebrate origins. For this and other reasons, lamprey embryology has been extensively researched by biologists from a range of disciplines. However, many of the key studies of lamprey comparative embryology are relatively inaccessible to the modern scientist. Therefore, in view of the current resurgence of interest in lamprey evolution and development, we present here a review of lamprey developmental anatomy. We identify several features of early organogenesis, including the origin of the nephric duct, that need to be re‐examined with modern techniques. The homologies of several structures are also unclear, including the intriguing subendothelial pads in the heart. We hope that this review will form the basis for future studies into the phylogenetic embryology of this interesting group of animals.
Modeling global ocean thermal energy resources

The potential renewable energy stored in the ocean's thermocline at a given location can be estimated using a model of the ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) process. Combining such a model with a global climatology of oceanic stratification and a flexible visualization system—such as a Geographic Information System (GIS)—provides a useful tool for estimating both global OTEC potential and locations with particularly rich resources. We report here on the application of an OTEC Plant model developed at Lockheed Martin (LM) that includes critical assumptions and accounts for major contributing (and loss) factors to electrical power production. This model uses global climatology of the oceanic stratification based on open-source results from the Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM) in data assimilation mode produced by the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL). Because the HYCOM results used here are gridded at approximately 1/12° in latitude and longitude, the resolution of the results is a significant improvement over previous ocean climate studies of this nature, notwithstanding the use of a computer model. In addition, a new algorithm that optimizes the depth of the cold water source (by balancing power production and power loss) is used, meaning that the previous condition of using a 1-km-deep cold source is relaxed.
A field test of a model for the stability of androdioecy in the freshwater shrimp, Eulimnadia texana

The evolution of hermaphroditism from dioecy is a poorly studied transition. Androdioecy (the coexistence of males and hermaphrodites) has been suggested as an intermediate step in this evolutionary transition or could be a stable reproductive mode. Freshwater crustaceans in the genus Eulimnadia have reproduced via androdioecy for 24+ million years and thus are excellent organisms to test models of the stability of androdioecy. Two related models that allow for the stable maintenance of males and hermaphrodites rely on the counterbalancing of three life history parameters. We tested these models in the field over three field seasons and compared the results to previous laboratory estimates of these three parameters. Male and hermaphroditic ratios within years were not well predicted using either the simpler original model or a version of this model updated to account for differences between hermaphroditic types (‘monogenic’ and ‘amphigenic’ hermaphrodites). Using parameter estimates of the previous year to predict the next year's sex ratios revealed a much better fit to the original relative to the updated version of the model. Therefore, counter to expectations, accounting for differences between the two hermaphroditic types did not improve the fit of these models. At the moment, we lack strong evidence that the long‐term maintenance of androdioecy in these crustaceans is the result of a balancing of life history parameters; other factors, such as metapopulation dynamics or evolutionary constraints, may better explain the 24+ million year maintenance of androdioecy in clam shrimp.
Clinical Outcomes in Metabolic Syndrome

Metabolic syndrome is a clustering of cardiovascular risk factors. Its definition is the presence of any 3 of the following: obesity, hypertriglyceridemia, low high-density lipoprotein, hypertension, and impaired fasting glucose. The development of coronary artery disease is the most dreaded complication of this disease. In the United States, Mexican Americans and African American women are the most affected. Management of this syndrome includes physical exercise, weight loss, and effective drug treatment of dyslipidemia, high blood pressure, and impaired fasting blood glucose. Because of the increasing prevalence of obesity and diabetes, there is a rise in fatal and nonfatal cardiovascular events. With the development of effective antiplatelet medication and newer drug-eluting stents, percutaneous coronary intervention has become an effective revascularization strategy for those with coronary artery disease. Rates of stent restenosis and target-lesion revascularization have been reduced. Oral hypoglycemic drugs like thiazolidinediones improve insulin resistance and may have a favorable effect in those with metabolic syndrome. Diagnosis and appropriate management of metabolic syndrome are challenges as the presence of risk factors predates the coronary event.
Lycopene in serum, skin and adipose tissues after tomato-oleoresin supplementation in patients undergoing haemorrhoidectomy or peri-anal fistulotomy

Lycopene, the main carotenoid found in tomatoes and tomato-based products, has been reported to be protective against several types of cancer. Assessment of changes in plasma concentration of carotenoids following ingestion of lycopene-rich food sources does not necessarily predict changes in lycopene concentration or distribution of its isomers in other body tissues. Our aim was to determine the relationship between concentrations of lycopene and other tomato carotenoids in human serum and body tissues after tomato-oleoresin supplementation. Tomato lycopene oleoresin (30 mg/d) or a placebo was administered for 1 to 7 weeks to seventy-five volunteers undergoing elective haemorrhoidectomy or peri-anal fistulotomy. Carotenoid concentration and isomer distribution in blood and in the surgically removed skin and adipose tissues was measured by HPLC. The serum concentration of lycopene increased after supplementation from 0·26 (sd 0·12) to 0·52 (sd 0·25) μmol/l (n 35; P<0·0001). In the placebo group (n 40), lycopene serum concentration did not change significantly. Serum lycopene concentration after treatment was 2·2-fold greater in the lycopene group than in the placebo group, a slightly higher ratio than that found in skin and adipose tissue (1·6- and 1·4-fold higher than the placebo, respectively). A significant correlation between serum and tissue concentrations was found for both β-carotene and lycopene in the placebo group, whereas in the lycopene-supplemented group the correlation between serum and tissues remained the same for β-carotene but for lycopene was weak. Lycopene supplementation did not significantly change the proportion of all-trans v. cis isomers in the serum and tissues, despite the fact that more than 90 % of the supplemented lycopene was in the all-trans form. These results show that tomato-oleoresin supplementation increases lycopene concentrations in serum and in adipose tissue and skin. The ability to increase lycopene levels in tissues is one of the prerequisites for using it as a food supplement with health benefits.
Multiple roles for activin-like kinase-2 signaling during mouse embryogenesis.

The members of the transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) superfamily are secreted proteins that interact with cell-surface receptors to elicit signals that regulate a variety of biological processes during vertebrate embryogenesis. Alk2, also known as ActRIA, Tsk7L, and SKR1, encodes a type I TGF-beta family receptor for activins and BMP-7. Initially, Alk2 transcripts are detected in the visceral endoderm of gastrula stage mouse embryos, suggesting a signaling role in extraembryonic tissues during development. To study the role of Alk2 during mammalian development, Alk2 mutant mice were generated. After embryonic day 9.5 (E9.5), no homozygous mutants were recovered from heterozygote matings. Homozygous mutants with morphological defects were first detected at E7.0 and were smaller than controls. Morphological and molecular examination demonstrated that Alk2 mutant embryos formed a primitive streak, although abnormally thickened, and were arrested in their development around the late streak stage. These gastrulation defects were rescued in chimeric embryos generated by injection of Alk2 mutant embryonic stem (ES) cells into wild-type blastocysts. This rescue of gastrulation defects was also observed in chimeric embryos generated by aggregation of Alk2 homozygous mutant ES cells with tetraploid wild-type embryos. However, at E9.5, these embryos that were completely ES-derived also had defects. In contrast, chimeric embryos generated by injection of wild-type ES cells into Alk2 mutant blastocysts did not show rescue of the gastrulation defects. These results suggest that signaling through this type I receptor is essential in extraembryonic tissues at the time of gastrulation for normal mesoderm formation and also suggest that subsequent Alk2 signaling is essential for normal development after gastrulation.
Pharmacological and Genetic Targeting of the PI4KA Enzyme Reveals Its Important Role in Maintaining Plasma Membrane Phosphatidylinositol 4-Phosphate and Phosphatidylinositol 4,5-Bisphosphate Levels*

Background: PI4KA is a critical host factor for replication of hepatitis C virus in liver and a potential therapeutic target. Results: PI4KA inhibitors prevent the maintenance of PtdIns(4,5)P2 pools during strong PLC activation. Conclusion: PI4KA plays a critical role in maintaining plasma membrane phosphoinositide pools. Significance: Safe pharmacological targeting of PI4KA is not feasible. Phosphatidylinositol 4-kinase type IIIα (PI4KA) is a host factor essential for hepatitis C virus replication and hence is a target for drug development. PI4KA has also been linked to endoplasmic reticulum exit sites and generation of plasma membrane phosphoinositides. Here, we developed highly specific and potent inhibitors of PI4KA and conditional knock-out mice to study the importance of this enzyme in vitro and in vivo. Our studies showed that PI4KA is essential for the maintenance of plasma membrane phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate pools but only during strong stimulation of receptors coupled to phospholipase C activation. Pharmacological blockade of PI4KA in adult animals leads to sudden death closely correlating with the drug's ability to induce phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate depletion after agonist stimulation. Genetic inactivation of PI4KA also leads to death; however, the cause in this case is due to severe intestinal necrosis. These studies highlight the risks of targeting PI4KA as an anti-hepatitis C virus strategy and also point to important distinctions between genetic and pharmacological studies when selecting host factors as putative therapeutic targets.
Audit Office Size and Audit Quality: The Influence of City-Level Industry Specialists and Audit Firm Tenure

Prior studies suggest that audit quality is positively related to audit office size, i.e. the size of a local practice office within an audit firm. Based on a sample of U.S. listed companies over the period 2004 2013, this study shows that the positive association between audit office size and audit quality is weaker for firms audited by city-level industry specialists and longtenured audit offices. These findings suggest that city-level industry specialization (long officelevel auditor tenure) leads to deep industry (client-specific) knowledge, which tends to be beneficial in small audit offices where the accounting professionals has less experience related to the audits of listed companies.
How to SHIFT Consumer Behaviors to be More Sustainable: A Literature Review and Guiding Framework

Highlighting the important role of marketing in encouraging sustainable consumption, the current research presents a review of the academic literature from marketing and behavioral science that examines the most effective ways to shift consumer behaviors to be more sustainable. In the process of the review, the authors develop a comprehensive framework for conceptualizing and encouraging sustainable consumer behavior change. The framework is represented by the acronym SHIFT, and it proposes that consumers are more inclined to engage in pro-environmental behaviors when the message or context leverages the following psychological factors: Social influence, Habit formation, Individual self, Feelings and cognition, and Tangibility. The authors also identify five broad challenges to encouraging sustainable behaviors and use these to develop novel theoretical propositions and directions for future research. Finally, the authors outline how practitioners aiming to encourage sustainable consumer behaviors can use this framework.
Rift Over Biodiversity Divides Ecologists

A long-simmering debate among ecologists over the importance of biodiversity to the health of ecosystems has erupted into a full-blown war. Opposing camps are dueling over the quality of key experiments, and some are flinging barbs at meetings and in journals. The dispute pits an outspoken group of ecologists against some of the leading lights in the field.
Evaluation of antibacterial activity of extracts of five species of wood‐colonizing fungi

Screening new organisms for antibacterial activity and searching for new antibacterial drugs is important due to the constant generation of new antibiotic‐resistant strains of pathogenic bacteria. An E. coli broth microdilution test was used to evaluate the results of the Vibrio fischeri bioluminescence test in five of the most antibacterially active species of wood‐colonizing fungi. Serpula lacrymans was found to be a potential source of thermostable antibiotic(s) and the Vibrio fischeri bioluminescence test was confirmed to be a useful method for screening for antibacterial activity. (© 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Loudness Balance between Acoustic and Electric Stimulation by a Patient with a Multichannel Cochlear Implant

Abstract Estimates of loudness balance were obtained for acoustically and electrically presented 250 Hz sine signals from a patient who uses the Ineraid multichannel cochlear implant. Acoustic and electric loudness matching was possible because the patient evidenced a 25 dB HL threshold at 250 Hz in his nonimplanted ear. The level of the electrical stimulus in microamperes required for a balance of loudness grew linearly with equal increments in decibels for the acoustic stimulus. These data, in concert with the very limited data from previous studies, provide a rationale for using a logarithmic transformation of acoustic to electric intensity in signal processors for cochlear implants.
Surpoids et obésité dans la population au-dessus de 20 ans en milieu urbain bamakois (Mali)

Introduction Il est question dans notre travail d’étudier le SP et l'OB et les facteurs associés dans la population âgée de 20 ans ou plus. Méthodes Notre échantillon a été obtenu à partir d'une enquête sur les pathologies cardiovasculaires dans le District de Bamako et impliquant 2199 sujets de 5-104 ans, en sélectionnant tous les sujets âgés d'au moins 20 ans (1162). Pour chaque sujet, l'IMC, rapport taille / hanche et le tour de taille ont été déterminées. Les données ont été analysées avec SPSS 12. Résultats L’âge moyen était de 36,86 années, 61,4% étaient des femmes, 49,7% dans le secteur informel et 38,0% avaient réalisé l'enseignement primaire. Facteurs de risque cardiovasculaires étaient l'inactivité physique (72,4%), le tabagisme (12,2%) et hypertension (26,7%). La prévalence de l'obésité était de 8,8 et 14,7% respectivement sur la base de l'indice de masse et le tour de taille. Conclusion Le SP et l'OB sont à prendre en compte dans les mesures de politique sanitaire que dans la pratique quotidienne des professionnels de santé, il est peut-être plus utile d'utiliser plusieurs paramètres pour être à même de bien stratifier nos patients par rapport à leur risque.
Development of multiple organ dysfunction syndrome in critically ill patients with perforated viscus. Predictive value of APACHE severity scoring.

OBJECTIVE To determine whether scoring on the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) III at admission can predict the development of multiple organ dysfunction syndrome and mortality in critically ill surgical patients. DESIGN Prospective, inception-cohort study. SETTING Surgical intensive care unit of an urban, tertiary-care hospital. PATIENTS One hundred fourteen critically ill patients with surgically treated perforated gastrointestinal viscus. INTERVENTIONS Calculation of APACHE II and APACHE III scores 24 hours after admission to the surgical intensive care unit and serial quantitation of organ dysfunction for the duration of critical care according to two different predefined scoring systems. Patients were stratified by survival, the development of organ dysfunction, and colon vs noncolonic perforation. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Hospital mortality, length of stay in the surgical intensive care unit, and the development of organ dysfunction or overt organ failure. RESULTS The mean (+/- SEM) APACHE II and APACHE III scores were 17.4 +/- 0.6 (range, 6 to 37) and 59.0 +/- 2.2 (range, 15 to 141), respectively. The incidence of organ dysfunction was 73% (64% in survivors). All severity scores were identical for colon perforation and noncolonic perforation subgroups. Nonsurvivors invariably had organ dysfunction. Overall length of stay in the intensive care unit was 12.0 +/- 1.6 days (8.7 +/- 1.2 days for survivors and 22.7 +/- 5.0 days for nonsurvivors). The APACHE scores and organ dysfunction or failure scores were significantly higher in nonsurvivors, and APACHE scores were higher in survivors with organ dysfunction than in those without it. Significant linear relationships were identified for APACHE II vs APACHE III scores (R2 = .66) and for all four combinations of APACHE scores and organ dysfunction or failure scores (R2 = .43 to .52). By multivariate analysis of variance, independent predictors of organ dysfunction or failure were APACHE III, increased age, and a prolonged stay in the surgical intensive care unit, but not the type of perforation. Neither APACHE II or APACHE III predicted mortality independently. CONCLUSIONS The development of multiple organ dysfunction syndrome correlated with higher APACHE III scores but was independent of the type of perforation. Only the development of overt multiple organ failure predicted death. Combined use of APACHE III and the multiple organ dysfunction score provides improved prediction of multiple organ dysfunction syndrome, but further enhancements are needed before prediction of outcome in individual patients is reliable.
THE IMPACT OF A FRUIT AND VEGETABLE FARMERS' MARKET VOUCHER PRESCRIPTION PROGRAM ON A LOW-INCOME RURAL POPULATION

OF THESIS THE IMPACT OF A FRUIT AND VEGETABLE FARMERS’ MARKET VOUCHER PRESCRIPTION PROGRAM ON A LOW-INCOME RURAL POPULATION Objective: Measures the impact of the Farmers’ Market Voucher program on weight, body mass index, waist circumference, during the 2016 summer on a rural, low-income population residing in Appalachian Kentucky. Background: Rural communities often have limited access to fresh fruits and vegetables (FV) which contributes to low levels of consumption. FV are calorie poor, nutrient dense and are inversely associated with inflammation markers, obesity, hypertension, and high blood glucose levels. Appalachian rural communities have a higher prevalence of obesity, diabetes, strokes, and death by heart attack when compared to the U.S. Farmers’ markets Methods: Pre-experimental intervention design examining FV consumption and variety. T-test used measuring biochemical outcomes, pre and post, participation, and voucher amount. Results: Medical clinic patients (n=308) and household members (n=89) participated in study. Patients had a decrease in blood glucose and waist circumference (p=0.0231, p=0.0014 respectively). Patients had greater blood glucose reductions when compared to household members (p<0.001). Patients reported consuming more FV with greater variety. Conclusion: The Farmers’ Market Voucher program successfully increased FV consumption and had a positive effect on blood glucose and waist circumference. Future studies should examine cooking methods of this population.