Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Antimicrobial resistance in companion animals

Abstract Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is an emerging problem in companion animals, because of difficult-to-treat infections, possible pressure to use antimicrobials that are important in human medicine, and potential zoonotic transmission. The extent and importance of AMR in companion animals are poorly understood, in part because of limited surveillance; however, it is clear that resistance is problematic in many pathogens and commensals, including staphylococci, enterococci, Escherichia coli and Salmonella.
Low-Frequency Noise in Polysilicon Emitter Bipolar Transistors

The low-frequency noise of polysilicon emitter transistors, having various emitter geometries and various properties of the oxide layer at the monosilicon-polysilicon interface, was investigated. The main 1/f noise source proved to be located in the oxide layer. This source causes 1/f noise both in the base current SIB and in the emitter series resistance S<inf>r</inf><inf>e</inf>. The magnitude of the 1/f noise source depends on the oxide layer properties. The 1/f noise is ascribed to barrier height fluctuations of the oxide layer resulting in transparency fluctuations for both minority and majority carriers in the emitter giving rise to S<inf>I</inf><inf>B</inf> and S<inf>r</inf><inf>e</inf>, respectively. It is shown that the low transparency of the oxide layer also reduces the contribution of mobility fluctuations to S<inf>I</inf><inf>B</inf>.
Motion Capture Data Completion via Truncated Nuclear Norm Regularization

The objective of motion capture (mocap) data completion is to recover missing measurement of the body markers from mocap. It becomes increasingly challenging as the missing ratio and duration of mocap data grow. Traditional approaches usually recast this problem as a low-rank matrix approximation problem based on the nuclear norm. However, the nuclear norm defined as the sum of all the singular values of a matrix is not a good approximation to the rank of mocap data. This paper proposes a novel approach to solve mocap data completion problem by adopting a new matrix norm, called truncated nuclear norm. An efficient iterative algorithm is designed to solve this problem based on the augmented Lagrange multiplier. The convergence of the proposed method is proved mathematically under mild conditions. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method, various comparative experiments are performed on synthetic data and mocap data. Compared to other methods, the proposed method is more efficient and accurate.
Australian Baby Boomers Face Retirement During the Global Financial Crisis

This paper examines the impact in Australia of the global financial crisis on the baby boom cohort approaching later life. Data from national focus groups of people aged 50 to 64 years (N = 73), conducted in late 2008, found widespread but variable concern and uncertainty concerning work and retirement plans and experiences. A national survey (N = 1,009) of those aged 50 to 64 years in mid-2009 reported lower levels of financial satisfaction compared with other life domains; many planned to postpone retirement. Findings are interpreted in the context of policies and markets that differed significantly from those in the United States, notwithstanding the global nature of the financial crisis.
Why Journalism Is About More Than Digital Technology

Abstract This article addresses the relationship between digital technology and journalism, arguing that defining journalism in conjunction with its technology short-circuits a comprehensive picture of journalism. Not only does it obscure the incremental nature and detrimental effects of change in journalism, but it sidelines the recognition of what stays stable in journalism across technological change. Tracing the advantages and shortcomings of expectations that digital journalism is more democratic, transparent, novel and participatory, the article argues that it is journalism that gives technology purpose, shape, perspective, meaning and significance, not the other way around.
The UL5 gene of herpes simplex virus type 1: isolation of a lacZ insertion mutant and association of the UL5 gene product with other members of the helicase-primase complex

The UL5 gene product is required continuously during viral DNA synthesis (L. Zhu and S. K. Weller, Virology 166:366-378, 1988) and has been shown to be a component of a three protein helicase-primase complex encoded by herpes simplex virus type 1 (J. J. Crute, T. Tsurumi, L. Zhu, S. K. Weller, P.D. Olivo, M. D. Challberg, E. S. Mocarski, and I. R. Lehman, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 86:2186-2189, 1989). The other members of the complex are viral proteins encoded by genes UL8 and UL52. In this study, we isolated a permissive cell line (L2-5) which contains the wild-type UL5 gene under the control of the strong and inducible promoter for the large subunit of herpes simplex virus type 1 ribonucleotide reductase (ICP6). An insertion mutant containing a mutation in the UL5 gene (hr99) was isolated by using the insertional mutagen ICP6::lacZ, in which the Escherichia coli lacZ gene is expressed under control of the viral ICP6 promoter. When grown on Vero cells, hr99 does not form plaques or synthesize viral DNA, although both defects are complemented efficiently on the L2-5 cells. These results confirm that the UL5 gene product is essential for viral growth and DNA replication. Furthermore, since no detectable UL5 protein is synthesized in hr99-infected cells, these cells provide a valuable control not only for the detection of the UL5 protein itself but also for the detection of protein-protein interactions with UL8 and UL52 by coimmunoprecipitation. In addition, the lacZ insertion in hr99 provides a convenient screening system for the introduction of site-specific mutations into the viral genome (L. Zhu and S. K. Weller, J. Virol. 66:469-479, 1992). Thus, hr99 is a valuable tool in the structure-function analysis of the UL5 gene.
Enumerating Distinct Decision Trees

The search space for the feature selection problem in decision tree learning is the lattice of subsets of the available features. We provide an exact enumeration procedure of the subsets that lead to all and only the distinct decision trees. The procedure can be adopted to prune the search space of complete and heuristics search methods in wrapper models for feature selection. Based on this, we design a computational optimization of the sequential backward elimination heuristics with a performance improvement of up to 100 x.
Structure–activity relationships of inverse agonists for G‐protein‐coupled receptors

It has been recently established that G‐protein‐coupled receptors (GPCRs) can be constitutively active, i.e., they can be active in the absence of an agonist. This activity can be inhibited by so‐called inverse agonists. For a number of GPCRs, such inverse agonists have been developed and studied, now enabling for the first time a study into their structure–activity relationships. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Liposomal amphotericin B (Fungisome) for the treatment of cryptococcal meningitis in HIV/AIDS patients in India: a multicentric, randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND There is need to investigate the use of liposomal amphotericin B in cryptococcal meningitis in India. AIMS To compare the efficacy, safety, duration of treatment and cost of two doses of liposomal amphotericin B (Amp B) (Fungisome) in cryptococcal meningitis in HIV/AIDS patients. SETTINGS AND DESIGN Prospective, randomized, multicenter study in tertiary care hospitals across India. MATERIALS AND METHODS Adult patients with culture-proven cryptococcal meningitis with HIV/AIDS were randomized to receive either 1 (Group A) or 3 mg/kg/day of Fungisome (Group B). Clinical efficacy and tolerability, laboratory evaluations and mycological response were assessed daily, twice weekly and weekly respectively. The patients were assessed at four and eight-week follow-up. STATISTICS We calculated average and standard deviation for the various parameters. RESULTS The time to show clinical response was 13.66 days (1 mg) and 9.55 days (3 mg). In Group B (n=6 complete response), 50% patients responded within one week by microbial conversion, 83% in two weeks and 100% in three weeks. Patients with 1 mg dose (n=4 complete response), none showed microbial conversion within one week, 75% responded in two weeks, whereas one patient took four weeks. The average duration of treatment was 36.5+/-14.4 and 26.5+/-5.89 (S.D.) days in 1 and 3 mg/kg/day respectively. Drug was tolerated with little renal, hepatic or hematological toxicity. The cost was found to be 3.81 lacs and 1.74 lacs with 3mg/kg/day and 1mg/kg/day respectively. CONCLUSION Higher dose showed better efficacy and quicker microbial conversion of Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) (cerebrospinal fluid) than 1 mg/kg/day. It shortened the duration of treatment in days by 27% while drug cost almost doubled ( CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER ISRCTN 52812742).
Acute coronary angiography after coronary artery bypass grafting

Abstract Objectives Coronary angiography is the golden standard when myocardial ischemia after CABG occurs. We summarize our experience of acute coronary angiography after CABG. Design All 4446 patients (mean age 68 ± 9 years, 22% women) who underwent CABG 2007 to 2012 were included in this retrospective observational study. Incidence, indications, findings, measures of acute angiography after CABG was assessed. Outcome variables were compared between patients who underwent angiography and those who did not. Results Eighty-seven patients (2%) underwent acute coronary angiography. Patients undergoing angiography had ECG changes (92%), echocardiographic alterations (48%), hemodynamic instability (28%), angina (15%), and/or arrhythmia (13%). Positive findings were detected in 69% of the cases. Only ECG changes as indication for angiography had a moderate association with positive findings, but the precision increased if other sign(s) of ischemia were present. Thirty-day mortality (7% versus 2%, p = 0.002) was higher and long-term-cumulative survival lower (77% versus 87% at five years, p = 0.043) in angiography patients. Conclusions Acute angiography is a rare event after CABG. Postoperative myocardial ischemia leading to acute coronary angiography is associated with increased short-term and long-term mortality.
Phorbol Ester Regulation of Opioid Peptide Gene Expression in Myocardial Cells

Opioid peptide gene expression was characterized in adult rat ventricular cardiac myocytes that had been cultured in the absence or the presence of phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate. The phorbol ester induced a concentration- and time-dependent increase of prodynorphin mRNA, the maximal effect being reached after 4 h of treatment. The increase in mRNA expression was suppressed by incubation of cardiomyocytes with staurosporine, a putative protein kinase C inhibitor, and was not observed when the cells were cultured in the presence of the inactive phorbol ester 4α-phorbol 12,13-didecanoate. Incubation of cardiac myocytes with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate also elicited a specific and staurosporine-sensitive increase in immunoreactive dynorphin B, a biologically active end product of the precursor, both in the myocardial cells and in the culture medium. In vitro run-off transcription assays indicated that transcription of the prodynorphin gene was increased both in nuclei isolated from phorbol ester-treated myocytes and in nuclei isolated from control cells and then exposed to phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate. No transcriptional effect was observed when cardiac myocytes or isolated nuclei where exposed to 4α-phorbol 12,13-didecanoate. The phorbol ester-induced increase in prodynorphin gene transcription was prevented by pretreatment of myocytes or isolated nuclei with staurosporine, suggesting that myocardial opioid gene expression may be regulated by nuclear protein kinase C. In this regard, cardiac myocytes expressed protein kinase C-α, -, -, and -, as shown by immunoblotting. Only protein kinase C- and protein kinase C- were expressed in nuclei that have been isolated from control myocytes, suggesting that these two isotypes of the enzyme may be part of the signal transduction pathway involved in the effect elicited by the phorbol ester on opioid gene transcription in isolated nuclei. The incubation of myocardial nuclei isolated from control cells in the presence of a protein kinase C activator induced the phosphorylation of the myristoylated alanine-rich protein kinase C substrate peptide, a specific fluorescent substrate of the enzyme. The possibility that prodynorphin gene expression may control the heart function through autocrine or paracrine mechanisms is discussed.
Contribution of Bacterial Superantigens to Atopic Dermatitis

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronically relapsing inflammatory skin disease manifested from the atopic syndrome. We propose in addition to classical environmental allergens bacterial antigens play an important role in AD [1]. Several observations support the hypothesis for an important role of Staphylococcus aureus colonization in AD: (1) S. aureuscan be isolated from skin lesions in about 95% of all AD patients; (2) S. aureuscolonization can reach up to 10 7 colony-forming units per square centimeter on lesional skin; (3) S. aureuscolonization can cause severe exacerbation of the disease and anti-staphylococcal therapy is beneficial in severe cases. Despite this cirumstantial evidence, a clear causal relationship has not yet been established. Since some S. aureusstrains secrete superantigens (e.g. SEB), we examined the potential roe of S. aureus -derived superantigens in AD.
On the Mutual Coherence Function and Mean Arrival Time of Radio Propagation Through the Turbulent Ionosphere

On the basis of a solution to the mutual coherence function (MCF) obtained recently, this paper investigates the characteristics of pulse propagation through the turbulent ionosphere in arbitrary scattering regimes. First, the MCF is numerically discussed using different spectra of irregularities with different frequencies, bandwidths, and fluctuation regimes. Second, the mean arrival time of a pulse through the turbulent ionosphere is investigated. The dominant term is the travel time at the group velocity. Other effects are mainly from the higher order dispersion of background and scattering of irregularities, while the dispersion of irregularities is relatively small and can be neglected. It is found that effects from the scattering and dispersion of irregularities to the excess time delay decrease with increasing of the spectral index, the outer and inner scale, while increase quickly with fluctuations.
CpG-depleted plasmid DNA vectors with enhanced safety and long-term gene expression in vivo.

Systemic delivery of cationic lipid-plasmid DNA (pDNA) complexes induces an acute inflammatory response with adverse hematologic changes and liver damage. Immunostimulatory CpG motifs in the pDNA are known to contribute substantially to this response. Here we constructed a pDNA vector (pGZB) that has been depleted of 80% of the CpG motifs present in the original vector. Compared with the unmodified vector, systemic administration of pGZB induced considerably fewer changes in blood parameters, reduced levels of inflammatory cytokines, and decreased liver damage. Despite the extensive sequence modifications within pGZB, there were still robust levels of transgene expression. Furthermore, in contrast to the transient expression observed from the unmodified vector, we observed sustained or increasing expression for up to 49 days from pGZB in the lung and liver of immunocompetent BALB/c mice. Studies adding CpG motifs in trans or in cis indicate that the reduced CpG content of pGZB was the major determinant for its persistent expression. This combination of decreased toxicity and sustained expression suggests that CpG-depleted pDNA vectors can greatly improve the safety and efficacy of synthetic gene delivery systems.
Prevention of early-onset neonatal group B streptococcal infection: is universal screening by culture universally applicable?

BACKGROUND Previous assessments of maternal group B Streptococcus carrier rates in women delivering at Shaare Zedek Medical Center ranged between 3.5 and 11% with neonatal sepsis rates of 0.2-0.9/1000 live births. Because of low colonization and disease rates, routine prenatal cultures of GBS were not recommended and intrapartum prophylaxis was mainly based on maternal risk factors. OBJECTIVES To determine whether this policy is still applicable. METHODS We performed prospective sampling and follow-up of women admitted for labor and delivery between February 2002 and July 2002. Vaginal and rectal cultures were obtained before the first pelvic examination. GBS isolation was performed using selective broth medium and identified by latex agglutination and serotyping. Demographic data were collected by means of a standardized questionnaire. Data on the newborns were collected throughout 2002. RESULTS Of the 629 sampled women, 86 had a positive culture and a carrier rate of 13.7%. A borderline significantly higher carriage rate was observed among mothers of North American origin (21% vs. 13.1%, P= 0.048), and a higher attack rate in their infants (3.8/1000 compared with 0.5/1000 live births in our general maternal population, P= 0.002). Eight newborns had early-onset neonatal GBS sepsis (a rate of 0.8/1000 live births), but none of them benefited from intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis. CONCLUSIONS An increased neonatal disease rate was observed in a population with a higher colonization rate than previously seen. In view of the higher carrier rates, we now recommend routine prenatal screening for GBS in our perinatal population.
Change in Locus of Control Following Admission in Adolescent In-patients

A multidimensional measure of children's perception of control was administered to 56 adolescents before and after admission. Different sources of control (‘internal’, ‘powerful others' and ‘unknown’) were analysed by domain (sphere of behaviour) and outcome (‘success' or ‘failure’). There were changes across domain and outcome for all three sources of control with significant changes away from ‘powerful others' and ‘unknown’ control. The trend towards internality was also evident in significant changes in the adolescents' perceptions in the ‘general’ domain and for a ‘success' outcome. Changes towards ‘internal’ source of control were associated with higher cognitive ability, whereas changes away from ‘powerful others' were most marked in girls, and changes away from ‘unknown’ were greatest in the older adolescents. These preliminary observations may help us understand beneficial effects of in-patient care and plan strategies for sustained change in these patients.
Implementing Lean Six Sigma in organizations

This thesis focuses on operational excellence following the Lean Six Sigma (LSS) method. As the popularity of implementing LSS grows, questions about implementing LSS in organizations arise, and this is where we aim to contribute. We study key questions about implementing LSS in organizations at two levels of analysis, being (1) the LSS project level and (2) the implementation of LSS as strategic organizational change initiative. Implementing LSS at the project level We find that the effect of implementing LSS projects on employee perception and attitude is scarcely addressed in the literature. Therefore we study the perceptions of LSS project implementations and find that there are several factors that have an effect on the attitude of managers and employees towards LSS projects. Additionally, research identified the clarity of project goals as an important reason for LSS project implementation failure. Therefore we investigate what LSS project objectives are most common and present generically applicable LSS project definitions for multiple industries. Implementing LSS at the organizational level We have identified and reviewed the current knowledge on LSS implementation at the organizational level. From this we learned that the current knowledge on implementing LSS is rather generic and therefore has a limited applicability for organizations. Most importantly we find that organizational learning patterns are required to make the LSS method suitable for organizations. Therefore we have studied organizational learning dynamics in LSS implementation processes and found how a LSS implementation process unfolds and what organizational learning patterns underlay the LSS implementation process.
Effect of damage modelling in numerical simulation of crash energy absorption behaviour of crush tubes and validation with experiments

Abstract Crush tubes are employed as frontal energy absorbing structures in road vehicles and they absorb crash energy by plastic deformation. Finite element analysis (FEA) is being used extensively in the early stages of crush tube design to study the method and magnitude of plastic deformation precisely ahead of prototyping and testing. Accurate definition of crush tube’s material including its post-yield and damage/failure behaviours forms a fundamental part of FEA for a realistic prediction of crush tube’s response to crash impact loads. Often, for the sake of simplicity or unavailability of data, it is a common practice in numerical simulations to ignore the damage criterion which leads to substantial differences between FEA predictions and experiments. Therefore, this article demonstrates the importance and effect of damage modelling in numerical simulation (FEA) of crash energy absorption behaviour of crush tubes. The results of numerical simulation of crush tubes with and without consideration of proper damage model are compared with carefully conducted axial crush experiments. The results show that the inclusion of damage model in numerical simulations improve the closeness of predictions compared to experiments irrespective of the magnitude of plastic strains in crush tubes. Crush tubes made of aluminium alloy H30 in WP condition and stainless steel SS304 grades are considered for this study.