Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Expression of a Streptococcus mutans glucosyltransferase gene in Escherichia coli

Chromosomal DNA from Streptococcus mutans strain UAB90 (serotype c) was cloned into Escherichia coli K-12. The clone bank was screened for any sucrose-hydrolyzing activity by selection for growth on raffinose in the presence of isopropyl-beta-D-thiogalactoside. A clone expressing an S. mutans glucosyltransferase was identified. The S. mutans DNA encoding this enzyme is a 1.73-kilobase fragment cloned into the HindIII site of plasmid pBR322. We designated the gene gtfA. The plasmid-encoded gtfA enzyme, a 55,000-molecular-weight protein, is synthesized at 40% the level of pBR322-encoded beta-lactamase in E. coli minicells. Using sucrose as substrate, the gtfA enzyme catalyzes the formation of fructose and a glucan with an apparent molecular weight of 1,500. We detected the gtfA protein in S. mutans cells with antibody raised against the cloned gtfA enzyme. Immunologically identical gtfA protein appears to be present in S. mutans cells of serotypes c, e, and f, and a cross-reacting protein was made by serotype b cells. Proteins from serotype a, g, and d S. mutans cells did not react with antibody to gtfA enzyme. The gtfA activity was present in the periplasmic space of E. coli clones, since 15% of the total gtfA activity was released by cold osmotic shock and the clones were able to grow on sucrose as sole carbon source.
Ribosome‐inactivating Proteins from Plants as Agents for Suicide Transport and Immunolesioning in the Nervous System

The approach of making lesions to understand the anatomy and physiology of the nervous system has been pursued by neuroscientists from the beginning of modern experimental neurology. Continuous refinement of the concepts and methodology underlying lesion techniques and other methods for tracing neural connections has been very important for our present understanding of brain function. The aim of the present review is to survey the current status and the future prospects for one such technique, that of so-called suicide transport. The main distinctive feature of this technique is the combination of the two previously most used experimental approaches to the study of neural connectivity, i.e. axonal transport and the depletion of discrete neuronal populations. As is the case for other tract-tracing techniques, suicide transport takes advantage of the ability of axons to internalize foreign substances and to transport them retrogradely. In the case of suicide transport, however, the foreign molecules are toxic, so that they kill the neuron once they have arrived in its cell body. In the same experiment it is, therefore, possible to deplete a neuronal population projecting to the area injected with the toxin and simultaneously to trace a neural connection. This review will deal exclusively with plant-derived toxic lectins which act as ribosomeinactivating proteins (RIPs), since these substances have proved to be the most effective suicide transport agents available. The biochemistry and pathology of RIPS will be addressed first. Next, results and methodological problems related to their use in the peripheral nervous system (PNS) and the central nervous system (CNS) will be reviewed. Finally, the first results of the recent use of this technique for immunolesioning and the prospects ,offered by the technique will be discussed. Technical problems related to the use of suicide transport agents have been reviewed recently by Wiley (1989, 1992).
EXTRAGASTRIC AND ORODENTAL MANIFESTATIONS IN PEDIATRIC INFECTION WITH HELICOBACTER PYLORI . A REVIEW

Helicobacter pylori is a worlwide spread infection mostly manifested in childhood. Many both invasive and noninvasive diagnostic tests are now available,. The colonisation effect of gastric mucosa and its consequences are well known and studied. H. pylori can also induce extra-gastric manifestations, like iron-deficiency anemia. The role of oral cavity colonisation is not clearly defined, several studies stating that the oral cavity represents a reservoir for H. pyloris. The presence of this rod in the dental plaque may lead to periodontitis, dental caries, dental calculus and tooth loos. Dental treatment associated with eradication therapy decreases the prevalence of oral H. pylori and improves the eradication rate of gastric H. pylori. Dental treatment in H. pylori infection management should be taken into consideration, especially in children and teens.
Hyperhomocysteinaemia and factor V Leiden mutation are associated with Budd–Chiari syndrome

Objectives Budd–Chiari syndrome (BCS) is characterized by hepatic venous outflow obstruction and may be caused by various prothrombotic disorders. We aimed to study the role of hyperhomocysteinaemia, factor V Leiden mutation and G20210A prothrombin gene mutation in the pathogenesis of the syndrome. Methods Thirty-two patients (16 male, 16 female, aged 19–45 years) with angiographically verified BCS and 33 age-matched and sex-matched voluntary healthy controls (15 male, 18 female, aged 19–45 years) were included into the study. Factor V Leiden and prothrombin gene mutations were determined in extracted DNA from peripheric mononuclear cells, using a light cycler amplification system. Plasma homocysteine levels were measured by fluorescence polarization immunoassay. Results The homozygote factor V Leiden mutation was diagnosed in four BCS patients and the heterozygote mutation was diagnosed in five. The frequency of the mutant allele was 20.3% in BCS patients and 7.6% in the controls (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in prothrombin gene mutation frequency between the two groups. Serum homocysteine levels were significantly higher in the BCS group than in the controls (16.4±8.8 vs 11.0±2.7 μmol/l; P<0.01). BCS patients with the mutant factor V Leiden allele have significantly higher levels of serum homocysteine (22.1±13.3 vs 14.4±5.9 μmol/l; P<0.05). Conclusions Hyperhomocysteinaemia, especially when associated with the factor V Leiden mutation, is an important risk factor for the development of BCS.
Miniaturized ultra-wide stopband microstrip low pass filter design

In this paper, a microstrip low pass filter (LPF) with ultra-wide stopband, low insertion loss and compact size is introduced in this work. The designed LPF is composed of two open stubs and different patterns etched in the ground plane (three bowties and two rectangles). The proposed LPF has good performances in terms of insertion loss (less than 0.1 dB), return loss (less than 17.1 dB), wide stopband at -20 dB suppression level ranging from 5 GHz up-to 20 GHz and dimensions of 29×9.2 mm2 compared to previous published works.
Effectiveness of Aromatherapy and Biofeedback in Promotion of Labour Outcome during Childbirth among Primigravidas

Background: Labour pain is the most severe form of pain that every woman may experience during intranatal life. Severe pain makes stress response which may lead to harmful effects on both mother and her fetus. This study was carried out to evaluate the effect of aromatherapy and biofeedback in promotion of labour outcome during childbirth among primigravidas. Methods: This clinical trial was performed on 600 nulliparous women selected randomly who were expected to have a normal childbirth. Cases were randomly assigned to Aromatherapy group (n=200), biofeedback group (n=200) groups and control group (n=200). The investigator rated the pain by using visual pain analog scale. Results: Sixty Nine percent (n=137) of cases in aroma massage group expressed it was helpful, provided pain relief and emotional wellbeing during labour. Our findings suggested, aromatherapy was helpful in reduction of duration of labour (p<0.0001). Biofeedback is also an effective in reducing pain and duration of labour during childbirth compared with the non-experimental group. Conclusion: The results of this present study indicated that the use of Aromatherapy and Biofeedback were both effective methods of reducing pain perception and duration of labour among women during labor.
A study of interval breast cancer within the NHS breast screening programme

Aim—To define the biological nature and malignant potential of interval cancers presenting to a breast unit within the NHS breast screening programme. Methods—112 interval cancers were compared with matched, screen detected and symptomatic cancers in terms of their radiographic, histopathological, and immunohistochemical features. Results—Interval cancers, strictly defined, showed no characteristic radiographic pattern. In terms of size, vascular invasion, lymph node status, and prognosis they were intermediate between screen detected and symptomatic cancers. Within the interval cancers there was an excess of grade 1 and grade 3 tumours, and lesions with a high Ki67 index but immunohistochemistry otherwise failed to discriminate between the three groups. Inclusion of data from false negative “interval cancers” did not significantly alter the results. Conclusions—Interval cancers are more aggressive than screen detected cancers but in general less aggressive than symptomatic cancers. However, within a heterogeneous group, occasional interval cancers are exceptionally malignant.
Acute empathy decline among resident physician trainees on a hematology–oncology ward: an exploratory analysis of house staff empathy, distress, and patient death exposure

A reason for empathy decline during medical training has not been fully elucidated. Empathy may decrease acutely during an inpatient hematology–oncology rotation because of the acuity of death exposures. This study aimed to explore physician trainee empathy, distress, death exposures, and their attributed meaning for the trainee.
Mechanisms Regulating the Positioning of Mouse p47 Resistance GTPases LRG-47 and IIGP1 on Cellular Membranes: Retargeting to Plasma Membrane Induced by Phagocytosis1

The recently identified p47 GTPases are one of the most effective cell-autonomous resistance systems known against intracellular pathogens in the mouse. One member of the family, LRG-47, has been shown to be essential for immune control in vivo of Listeria monocytogenes, Toxoplasma gondii, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and Mycobacterium avium, possibly by promoting acidification of the phagosome. However, the intracellular localization of LRG-47, and the nature of its association with the phagosomal or any other membrane system is unknown. In this study, we show that LRG-47 is a Golgi-associated protein in the IFN-stimulated cell, which is rapidly recruited to active plasma membrane upon phagocytosis and remains associated with phagosomes as they mature. We show that the Golgi localization of LRG-47 is dependent on the integrity of an amphipathic helix near the C terminus, whereas the plasma membrane localization depends on an unidentified signal associated with the G domain. Unlike LRG-47, but like the published p47 resistance GTPase, IGTP, a further p47 GTPase, IIGP1, is associated with the endoplasmic reticulum. However, unlike IGTP, IIGP1 is associated with the endoplasmic reticulum by an N-terminal myristoylation modification. Thus, the p47 GTPases are a diverse battery of intracellular defense factors dynamically associated with different membrane systems.
[Treatment outcomes in culture positive pulmonary tuberculosis].

INTRODUCTION The aim of the study was to evaluate treatment outcomes in sputum culture positive patients with tuberculosis in three Polish provinces (Warsaw, Gdansk and Siedlce Provinces) in 1995 and again in 2000. We also assessed whether the implementation of the Directly Observed Therapy Short Course (DOTS) strategy in the former Gdansk Province led to improved outcomes compared to the outcomes observed in 1995, when this strategy was not being followed. MATERIAL AND METHODS We started the study by reviewing microbiology registers covering the years 1995 and 2000 from all the tuberculosis laboratories in three provinces (Warsaw, Gdansk and Siedlce Provinces) and identified sputum culture positive patients. We then reviewed inpatient and outpatient medical records of patients who had been with pulmonary tuberculosis diagnosed and confirmed by bacteriology in 1995 and 2000. Treatment outcomes were evaluated in accordance with the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendations and classified as: cure, treatment completed, default, treatment failure, death or other. RESULTS A total of 708 patients were included in the study: 373 diagnosed in 1995 and 335 diagnosed in 2000. According to the WHO criteria, the treatment success rate (the sum of cures and treatment completions) in 1995 and 2000 was 58.8% and 54.0%, the default rate was 15.5% and 17.9%, the failure rate was 2.4% and 2.7% and the death rate was 5.6% and 6.3%, respectively. The rate of outcomes classified as "other" was 18.2% and 22.1%, respectively. Following the implementation of the DOTS strategy in Gdansk Province, treatment outcomes in significantly improved in 2000 compared to the year 1995. The treatment success rate was 89.6% vs 69.3% (p = 0.0037), the default rate was 0.0% vs. 14.7% (p = 0.0005) and the death rate was 0.0% vs. 9.3% (p = 0.0184). CONCLUSIONS The treatment success rate (the rate of cures and treatment completers) in 1995 and 2000 was 58.8% and 54.0% and was lower than that recommended by WHO (at least 85%). The results demonstrated that the treatment outcomes in the former Gdansk Province in 2000, following the implementation of the DOTS strategy, were significantly better than those in 1995, when the strategy was not being followed. Treatment success was observed in 89.6% and 69.3% of the patients, respectively (p = 0.0037).
Hemin-Binding Surface Protein fromBartonella quintana

ABSTRACT Bartonella quintana, the agent of trench fever and a cause of endocarditis and bacillary angiomatosis in humans, has the highest reported in vitro hemin requirement for any bacterium. We determined that eight membrane-associated proteins from B. quintana bind hemin and that a ∼25-kDa protein (HbpA) was the dominant hemin-binding protein. Like many outer membrane proteins, HbpA partitions to the detergent phase of a Triton X-114 extract of the cell and is heat modifiable, displaying an apparent molecular mass shift from approximately 25 to 30 kDa when solubilized at 100°C. Immunoblots of purified outer and inner membranes and immunoelectron microscopy with whole cells show that HbpA is strictly located in the outer membrane and surface exposed, respectively. The N-terminal sequence of mature HbpA was determined and used to clone the HbpA-encoding gene (hbpA) from a lambda genomic library. The hbpA gene is 816 bp in length, encoding a predicted immature protein of approximately 29.3 kDa and a mature protein of 27.1 kDa. A Fur box homolog with 53% identity to the Escherichia coli Fur consensus is located upstream of hbpA and may be involved in regulating expression. BLAST searches indicate that the closest homologs to HbpA include the Bartonella henselae phage-associated membrane protein, Pap31 (58.4% identity), and the OMP31 porin from Brucella melitensis(31.7% identity). High-stringency Southern blots indicate that all five pathogenic Bartonella spp. possess hbpAhomologs. Recombinant HbpA can bind hemin in vitro; however, it does not confer a hemin-binding phenotype upon E. coli. IntactB. quintana treated with purified anti-HbpA Fab fragments show a significant (P < 0.004) dose-dependent decrease in hemin binding relative to controls, suggesting that HbpA plays an active role in hemin acquisition and therefore pathogenesis. HbpA is the first potential virulence determinant characterized fromB. quintana.
Thiazide-associated hyponatremia: a population-based study.

BACKGROUND Hyponatremia is one of the most common adverse reactions to thiazide diuretics. In the present study, we analyzed differences in thiazide-associated hyponatremia between men and women and between different categories of age, body mass index (BMI), daily thiazide dose, and estimated glomerular filtration rate. STUDY DESIGN Population-based cohort study. SETTING & PARTICIPANTS 13,325 individuals 45 years and older living in a suburb of Rotterdam, as part of the Rotterdam Study. PREDICTOR Exposure to thiazide diuretics. OUTCOMES The association between thiazide exposure and hyponatremia (defined as sodium level ≤135 mmol/L; mild hyponatremia, 130-≤135 mmol/L; moderate, >125-<130 mmol/L; and severe, ≤125 mmol/L) was studied in a period covering more than 10 years using Cox proportional hazard regression analyses. RESULTS 718 participants used thiazides at baseline, and 2,738 participants started on thiazide therapy during follow-up. 522 participants developed hyponatremia, of whom 32.4% were exposed to thiazide diuretics at the time of hyponatremia. Thiazide exposure was associated with an almost 5 times higher risk of hyponatremia than no exposure (HR, 4.95; 95% CI, 4.12-5.96). The risk of mild hyponatremia was more than 4.5 times higher in thiazide-exposed individuals; risks of moderate and severe hyponatremia were both 8 times higher in individuals exposed to thiazides. Age and BMI (but not sex [P = 0.8] or estimated glomerular filtration rate [P = 0.2]) significantly modified this risk of thiazide-associated hyponatremia (P < 0.05). LIMITATIONS Some cases of severe hyponatremia may have been missed if patients were admitted to the hospital without assessment of serum sodium in the general practitioner's laboratory. Nonproportionality of hazards in the first period was explained as possible "depletion of susceptibles" in this closed cohort. CONCLUSIONS Thiazide use is associated with a substantially increased risk of hyponatremia. Age and BMI significantly influenced the thiazide-associated risk of hyponatremia.
Development and Validation of HealthImpact: An Incident Diabetes Prediction Model Based on Administrative Data.

OBJECTIVE To develop and validate a model of incident type 2 diabetes based solely on administrative data. DATA SOURCES/STUDY SETTING Optum Labs Data Warehouse (OLDW), a national commercial administrative dataset. STUDY DESIGN HealthImpact model was developed and internally validated using nested case-control study design; n = 473,049 in training cohort and n = 303,025 in internal validation cohort. HealthImpact was externally validated in 2,000,000 adults followed prospectively for 3 years. Only adults ≥18 years were included. DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION METHODS Patients with incident diabetes were identified using HEDIS rules. Control subjects were sampled from patients without diabetes. Medical and pharmacy claims data collected over 3 years prior to index date were used to build the model variables. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS HealthImpact, scored 0-100, has 48 variables with c-statistic 0.80815. We identified HealthImpact threshold of 90 as identifying patients at high risk of incident diabetes. HealthImpact had excellent discrimination in external validation cohort (c-statistic 0.8171). The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of HealthImpact >90 for new diagnosis of diabetes within 3 years were 32.35, 94.92, 22.25, and 96.90 percent, respectively. CONCLUSIONS HealthImpact is an efficient and effective method of risk stratification for incident diabetes that is not predicated on patient-provided information or laboratory tests.
Identification of Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli Harboring Longus Type IV Pilus Gene by DNA Amplification

ABSTRACT DNA amplification of lngA, the structural gene of longus type IV pilus produced by human enterotoxigenicEscherichia coli (ETEC) was achieved by the use of specific oligonucleotide primers designed from the nucleotide sequence oflngA. A 630-bp fragment representing the entirelngA gene was amplified in eight prototype strains previously characterized as longus positive. Five ETEC strains producing colonization factor antigen III (CFA III) (also a type IV pilus) were also positive by PCR, confirming the DNA homology between CFA III and longus. None of the non-ETEC and non-E. colienteropathogens studied showed the 0.63-kbp amplicon. The procedure thus detected only ETEC strains harboring type IV pili genes with or without other colonization factors. Except for five lngAPCR-positive, probe-positive strains, all lngA PCR-positive strains produced the pilin as demonstrated by immunoblotting. To test the amplification procedure in a clinical setting, a collection of 264 fresh clinical E. coli strains isolated from 88 Mexican children with diarrhea was screened by PCR. Among 82 ETEC isolates found, 30 (36.5%) were lngA PCR-positive. Twenty-seven percent of the children shed ETEC that possessed lngA. In parallel with DNA probes or PCR protocols to detect enterotoxin genes, the lngA PCR method may prove useful for detection of ETEC harboring type IV pilus genes in epidemiological studies.
Scheduling of Electric Vehicle Charging via Multi-Server Fair Queueing

Charging electric vehicles (EVs) at home is attractive to EV users. However, when the penetration level of EVs becomes high, a distribution grid suffers from problems such as under-voltage and transformer overloading. EV users also experience a fairness problem, i.e., the limited capacity is unfairly shared among EVs. To solve these problems, a physical fair-queueing framework is established for EV charging. In this framework, a distribution sub-grid is first mapped to a multi-server queueing system, and then a fluid-model based queueing scheme called physical multi-server generalized processor sharing (pMGPS) is designed. pMGPS ensures perfect fairness but cannot be used practically due to its nature of fluid model. To this end, a packetized scheme called physical start-time fair queueing (pSTFQ) is developed to schedule tasks of EV charging. The fairness performance of the pSTFQ scheduling scheme is characterized by the ratio of energy difference between pSTFQ and pMGPS. This critical performance metric is studied through theoretical analysis and is also evaluated via simulations. Performance results show that the pSTFQ scheduling scheme achieves an energy difference ratio of less than 4 percent in various scenarios without causing under-voltage and transformer overloading problems.
Access to Finance and Small Enterprise Growth: Evidence from East Java

The widespread acknowledgement of the centrality of micro and small businesses in the development process has led to a proliferation of projects and programs designed to assist and promote these businesses. This research examines the common assumption that access to credit from formal financial institutions is an important determinant of growth at the firm level. Our data are from a recent survey of 858 small businesses in East Java. We employ a full information maximum likelihood approach known as discrete factor method. The results indicate that access to credit is not a significant determinant of small firm growth; instead, other observable and unobservable characteristics of firms appear to cause growth.
Generalized PageRank on directed configuration networks

This paper studies the distribution of a family of rankings, which includes Google's PageRank, on a directed configuration model. In particular, it is shown that the distribution of the rank of a randomly chosen node in the graph converges in distribution to a finite random variable R* that can be written as a linear combination of i.i. d. copies of the attracting endogenous solution to a stochastic fixed‐point equation of the form R=D∑i=1NCiRi+Q, where (Q,N,{Ci}) is a real‐valued vector with N∈{0,1,2,…}, P(|Q|>0)>0 , and the {Ri} are i.i. d. copies of R , independent of (Q,N,{Ci}) . Moreover, we provide precise asymptotics for the limit R* , which when the in‐degree distribution in the directed configuration model has a power law imply a power law distribution for R* with the same exponent. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Random Struct. Alg. , 51, 237–274, 2017