Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Applying new evidence into practice: a need for knowledge translation.

W e are all familiar with the need for evidence to support the choices we make. Whether we are deciding on a restaurant for dinner, which movie to see this weekend, or the best winter tires for our vehicle, we often use information—or evidence—to help us choose. The same need for evidence applies in our professional practice. Indeed, the fundamental principles of evidence-based care encourage us to make good clinical choices by being aware of the best available evidence, determining whether the evidence is trustworthy, and putting the evidence in context by examining the benefits and risks, burden (implications), and costs associated with the choice. 1 Unfortunately, however, the application of new evidence to help facilitate practice change is less than ideal. Changing clinical practice is a complex and challenging task, and the well-known gap between evidence that supports change and current practice hampers our ability to provide quality, efficient care to our patients. 2-4 Simply generating new evidence from a research project, presenting the results at a conference, and publishing in a journal are not enough to change practice. 5 Instead, there is growing recognition that addressing the gap between evidence and practice will require a process called " knowledge translation ". Although there are many definitions of this term, 6 the most widely accepted is " a dynamic and iterative process that includes the synthesis, dissemination, exchange and ethically sound application of knowledge to improve health, provide more effective health services and products and strengthen the health care system. " 7 This definition recognizes not only that it is important to produce and disseminate new evidence, but also that a critical element is the appropriate—or ethically sound— application of knowledge. Traditionally, journal clubs and continuing education events are used as vehicles to disseminate evidence and encourage practitioners to make changes to their practice. Although these activities can help raise awareness of new evidence, the methodology used to present the information may not meet everyone's needs, resulting in low rates of application. Recognizing the need for a clear map to illustrate how new evidence can be integrated into practice and to clarify the growing con fusion that surrounds know ledge translation , Graham and others 8 created the knowledge-to-action cycle. This framework identifies factors to consider from the creation of new knowledge through to its application in practice. The 7 action phases of this framework are identifying the problem …
Occurrence and Relatedness of Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci in Animals, Humans, and the Environment in Different European Regions

ABSTRACT Vancomycin-resistant enterococcci (VRE) in Europe are thought to have emerged partly due to the use of the glycopeptide avoparcin in animal husbandry. We compared the occurrence of VRE in geographical regions of Europe in which until 1997 large amounts of avoparcin were used (Spain, United Kingdom, and Denmark) with the occurrence of VRE in Sweden, where avoparcin was banned in 1986. We also studied the relatedness between VRE strains from different regions and habitats. In total, 2,580 samples were collected from humans, animals, and the environment (soil, sewage, recipient water). VRE resistant to 20 μg/ml vancomycin were identified in 8.2% of the samples and were found most frequently in raw and treated urban sewage samples (means, 71% and 36% of the samples, respectively), pig manure (17%), and hospital sewage (16%). The proportions of VRE-positive sewage samples were similar in Sweden, Spain, and the United Kingdom, whereas pig feces and manure were more often positive in Spain than in Sweden (30% versus 1%). Most VRE were Enterococcus faecium carrying vanA, and computerized biochemical phenotyping of the isolates of different ecological origins showed a high degree of polyclonality. In conclusion, it seems that animal-associated VRE probably reflect the former use of avoparcin in animal production, whereas VRE in human-associated samples may be a result of antibiotic use in hospitals. Since there seems to be a reservoir of the resistance genes in all countries studied, precautions must be taken to limit the use of antibiotics and antibiotic-like feed additives.
Metabolomic profiling with NMR discriminates between biphosphonate and doxorubicin effects on B16 melanoma cells

The metabolomic profiles of B16 melanoma cells were investigated in vitro with high resolution‐magic angle spinning proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy and OPLS multivariate statistical analyse. We compared the profiles for untreated melanoma B16‐F10 cells and Ca2+ chelating EGTA, doxorubicin or BP7033 bisphosphonate treated cells. The two last molecules are known to induce anti‐proliferative effects by different mechanisms of action in cells. Untreated and EGTA treated cells had similar profiles and were considered together as control cells. Several spectral regions could discriminate control from doxorubicin as well as BP7033 treated cells. Doxorubicin and BP7033 displayed distinct metabolic profiles. Important changes in neutral lipids and inositol were related to doxorubicin activity whereas BP7033 affected essentially phospholipids and alanine/lactate metabolism. These results provide new putative targets for both drugs. Metabolomics by NMR is shown here to be a good tool for the investigation of the mechanisms of action of drugs in pre‐clinical studies. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Synthesis of self-timed VLSI circuits from graph-theoretic specifications

This thesis presents an approach for direct and efficient synthesis of self-timed (asynchronous) control circuits from formal specifications called Signal Transition Graphs (STGs). Control circuits synthesized from this graph model are speed-independent and capable of performing concurrent operation. The property of speed-independence means that the circuit operates correctly regardless of variations in delays of logic gates, thus implying that the circuit is hazard-free under any combination of gate delays. The capability of STGs for explicitly specifying concurrent operations internal to a control circuit is unique to this model, unlike other approaches based on Finite State Machines. STGs are a form of interpreted Petri nets, in which transitions in a net are interpreted as transitions of signals in a control circuit. While other synthesis approaches based on Petri nets have not been very successful, we have developed a number of analytical results which establish the equivalence between the static structure of nets (their syntax) and their underlying firing sequence semantics-an analytical approach called structure theory of Petri nets. This equivalence permits the characterization of the low-level properties of control circuits in terms of STG syntax: the properties of deadlock-free and hazard-preliminary STG specification of a control circuit can be modified into one which is live and persistent, from which a deadlock-free and hazard-free logic implementation can be derived mechanically. STGs allow efficient synthesis of control circuits by using a method of decomposition based on a graph-theoretic technique called contraction. Instead of implementing a logic circuit from a STG directly, it can first be decomposed into a number of contracted nets, one for each signal generated by the control circuit. A logic element can then be determined from each contracted net, and the composition of logic elements produces the final circuit implementation.
The Role of Mg(II) in DNA Cleavage Site Recognition in Group II Intron Ribozymes

Background: Group II introns cleave DNA and RNA 3′ of a short duplex formed between the intron and the target. Results: We present the NMR structure of this hybrid duplex and describe two distinct Mg2+ binding sites. Conclusion: The hybrid is asymmetric and strongly stabilized by Mg2+ binding. Significance: Site-bound metal ions are crucially important for group II intron cleavage site recognition. Group II intron ribozymes catalyze the cleavage of (and their reinsertion into) DNA and RNA targets using a Mg2+-dependent reaction. The target is cleaved 3′ to the last nucleotide of intron binding site 1 (IBS1), one of three regions that form base pairs with the intron's exon binding sites (EBS1 to -3). We solved the NMR solution structure of the d3′ hairpin of the Sc. ai5γ intron containing EBS1 in its 11-nucleotide loop in complex with the dIBS1 DNA 7-mer and compare it with the analogous RNA·RNA contact. The EBS1·dIBS1 helix is slightly flexible and non-symmetric. NMR data reveal two major groove binding sites for divalent metal ions at the EBS1·dIBS1 helix, and surface plasmon resonance experiments show that low concentrations of Mg2+ considerably enhance the affinity of dIBS1 for EBS1. Our results indicate that identification of both RNA and DNA IBS1 targets, presentation of the scissile bond, and stabilization of the structure by metal ions are governed by the overall structure of EBS1·dIBS1 and the surrounding loop nucleotides but are irrespective of different EBS1·(d)IBS1 geometries and interstrand affinities.
Feline Leukemia Virus Envelope Sequences That Affect T-Cell Tropism and Syncytium Formation Are Not Part of Known Receptor-Binding Domains

ABSTRACT The envelope protein is a primary pathogenic determinant for T-cell-tropic feline leukemia virus (FeLV) variants, the best studied of which is the immunodeficiency-inducing virus, 61C. We have previously demonstrated that T-cell-tropic, cytopathic, and syncytium-inducing viruses evolve in cats infected with a relatively avirulent, transmissible form of FeLV, 61E. The envelope gene of an 81T variant, which encoded scattered single-amino-acid changes throughout the envelope as well as a 4-amino-acid insertion in the C-terminal half of the surface unit (SU) of envelope, was sufficient to confer the T-cell-tropic, cytopathic phenotype (J. L. Rohn, M. S. Moser, S. R. Gwynn, D. N. Baldwin, and J. Overbaugh, J. Virol. 72:2686–2696, 1998). In the present study, we examined the role of the 4-amino-acid insertion in determining viral replication and tropism of FeLV-81T. The 4-amino-acid insertion was found to be functionally equivalent to a 6-amino-acid insertion at an identical location in the 61C variant. However, viruses expressing a chimeric 61E/81T SU, containing the insertion together with the N terminus of 61E SU, were found to be replication defective and were impaired in the processing of the envelope precursor into the functional SU and transmembrane (TM) proteins. In approximately 10% of cultured feline T cells (3201) transfected with the 61E/81T envelope chimeras and maintained over time, replication-competent tissue culture-adapted variants were isolated. Compensatory mutations in the SU of the tissue culture-adapted viruses were identified at positions 7 and 375, and each was shown to restore envelope protein processing when combined with the C-terminal 81T insertion. Unexpectedly, these viruses displayed different phenotypes in feline T cells: the virus with a change from glutamine to proline at position 7 acquired a T-cell-tropic, cytopathic phenotype, whereas the virus with a change from valine to leucine at position 375 had slower replication kinetics and caused no cytopathic effects. Given the differences in the replication properties of these viruses, it is noteworthy that the insertion as well as the two single-amino-acid changes all occur outside of predicted FeLV receptor-binding domains.
Diabetic foot infection: Bacteriological causes and antimicrobial therapy

Background: Diabetic foot is one of the most serious complications of diabetes and is the leading cause of hospitalization in diabetic patients. This study was done to determine the common aerobic bacterial causes of diabetic foot infections and there in vitro antibiotic susceptibility pattern in Sohag University hospitals. Methods: A prospective study was performed over a period of one year in Sohag University Hospitals. The aerobic bacterial agents were isolated and their antibiotic susceptibility pattern was determined by the disc diffusion method. Members of Enterobacteriaceae were tested for extended spectrum s-lactamase (ESBL) production by combination disc method and staphylococcal isolates were tested for susceptibility to oxacillin by screen agar method. Results: Escherichia coli (20.3%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (17.4%), Staphylococcus aureus (16.2%), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (12.6%) were the most common bacterial causes of DFIs. Polymicrobial infection was observed in 39.1% of the patients. The members of Enterobacteriaceae as well as Pseudomonas spp. and Acinetobacter spp. were found to be susceptible mainly to imipenem, levofloxacin and amikacin. Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus spp. were susceptible mostly to vancomycin, levofloxacin, and ciprofloxacin with varying susceptibility to tetracycline. 80% of the isolates belonging to Enterobacteriaceae were producing ESBL and 67% of Staphylococcus aureus were methicillin-resistant. Conclusion: High prevalence of multi-drug resistant pathogens was observed. imipenem, levofloxacin and amikacin were active against gram-negative bacilli, while vancomycin, levofloxacin and ciprofloxacin were found to be active against gram-positive bacteria
Demographic characteristics of depressives in northern Nigeria

ABSTRACT– That depressive illness is universal can not be argued but the severity, age of onset, manifestation, and the characteristics of those affected by the illness in different parts of the world, are issues yet to be properly resolved. This retrospective study from the northern part of Nigeria shows that 42% of all first contact patients received the diagnosis of depression. Depression was diagnosed more frequently in married women than single women.
A Specific Case of Non-specificity: Longitudinal Effects of Dysfunctional Attitudes On Depressive, Eating Disorder and Aggressive Symptoms in Children and Adolescents

An important step in the validation of disorder-specific etiological models is the examination of the predictive specificity of proposed vulnerability factors. It may advance the understanding of the emergence of comorbidity and the identification of at risk-populations for mental disorders. To enhance the currently limited evidence on the specificity of Beck ́s cognitive diathesis—stress model of depression, the present study investigated longitudinal effects of dysfunctional attitudes and stressful life events on the development of depressive, eating disorder and aggressive symptoms in children and adolescents. A large sample of initially asymptomatic children and adolescents completed selfreport symptom measures at study entrance and again approx. 20 months later, and reported stressful life events during the study interval. Stressful life events proved to be a risk factor to all investigated symptom domains. Dysfunctional attitudes at T1 were prospectively related to depressive symptoms, aggressive behavior and weight concerns at T2. However, types of associations varied as dysfunctional attitudes showed linear associations with weight concern, but nonlinear effects on depressive and aggressive symptomatology. Findings of the current study thus suggest that dysfunctional attitudes are not uniquely related to the development of depressive symptomatology in children and adolescents, but may contribute to adverse outcomes in various symptom domains. Thus, intervention efforts based on Beck ́s vulnerability – stress model of depression may turn out to be useful in reducing vulnerability to a variety of outcomes in children and adolescents. DOI : 10.14302/issn.2476-1710.JDT-16-1324 Corresponding author: Susanne Meiser, University of Potsdam, Department of Psychology, Clinical Psychology | GRK 1668, Karl-LiebknechtStraße 24-25, 14476 Potsdam, Germany. Email: smeiser@uni-potsdam.de
Collagen-induced arthritis in rats: antigen-specific suppression of arthritis and immunity by intravenously injected native type II collagen.

Collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) developed in 70 to 90% of rats immunized with heterologous type II collagen. CIA was reduced to 0 to 18% when rats were injected i.v. , i.e., pretreated, with 1 mg of soluble native type II collagen before immunization. Concomitant with the suppression of CIA were significant suppression of IgM, IgG, and delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) responses to type II collagen. Suppression of CIA and immunity to collagen was antigen-specific, related to dose and route of administration, and occurred only when 1 mg of collagen was injected i.v. either 32, 7, or 4 days before, or 7 days after immunization. Once CIA was established, however, neither arthritis nor immunity could be suppressed. To determine if adjuvant-induced arthritis (AIA), like CIA, could be suppressed by i.v. pretreatment with type II collagen, rats were given 1 mg of type II collagen or PBS i.v. before injection with mycobacteria and oil. AIA was not suppressed, and arthritis appeared in both groups at a similar incidence and severity. Sera from 26 rats with severe AIA that was collected between days 14 and 35 after injection were assayed for IgG to homologous rat type II collagen and were found to be negative. These findings further support the hypothesis that CIA in rats is mediated by immunity to type II collagen and also suggest that CIA and AIA have different primary pathogenic mechanisms.
A recombinant glycoprotein vaccine for herpes simplex virus type 2: safety and immunogenicity [corrected].

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of a recombinant glycoprotein vaccine for herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2), which contains glycoproteins gD2 and gB2 combined with the novel MF59 adjuvant emulsion, in HSV-2-seronegative persons. DESIGN Integrated summary of two phase I and two phase II studies. SETTING University and private outpatient clinics. PATIENTS 137 persons seronegative for HSV-2 antibodies as determined by HSV Western blot assay. INTERVENTION Open-label vaccine administration with a dose-escalating design (phase I) was followed by randomized vaccine administration (phase II). Vaccine was administered intramuscularly into the deltoid at 0, 1, and 6 months. MEASUREMENTS Neutralizing, HSV-2-binding antibodies and HSV-2-stimulated proliferative responses were measured before and after immunization. RESULTS Among HSV-seronegative patients, the gD2 and gB2 enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and HSV-2-neutralizing antibody titers increased to levels equal to or higher than those seen in naturally acquired HSV-2 infection after the full three-dose immunization schedule. Among HSV-1-seropositive patients, one immunization produced increases in gD2 and gB2 ELISA antibody titers and HSV-2-neutralizing antibody titers that were 3 to 5 times greater than those in persons with naturally acquired HSV-2 infection. Among HSV-seronegative patients, frequency analysis assays showed a marked increase in the precursor frequency of gD2- and gB2-specific T cells after vaccination: T-cell responses after two immunizations were equal to the responses of HSV-2-seropositive patients and were sustained at day 180. The vaccine was well tolerated. CONCLUSIONS This subunit vaccine induces both humoral and cellular responses to HSV-2 that are equal to or greater than those of persons with naturally acquired HSV-2 infection. Studies to evaluate this vaccine for the prevention of genital herpes appear warranted.
Combination of light and melatonin time cues for phase advancing the human circadian clock.

STUDY OBJECTIVES Photic and non-photic stimuli have been shown to shift the phase of the human circadian clock. We examined how photic and non-photic time cues may be combined by the human circadian system by assessing the phase advancing effects of one evening dose of exogenous melatonin, alone and in combination with one session of morning bright light exposure. DESIGN Randomized placebo-controlled double-blind circadian protocol. The effects of four conditions, dim light (∼1.9 lux, ∼0.6 Watts/m(2))-placebo, dim light-melatonin (5 mg), bright light (∼3000 lux, ∼7 Watts/m(2))-placebo, and bright light-melatonin on circadian phase was assessed by the change in the salivary dim light melatonin onset (DLMO) prior to and following treatment under constant routine conditions. Melatonin or placebo was administered 5.75 h prior to habitual bedtime and 3 h of bright light exposure started 1 h prior to habitual wake time. SETTING Sleep and chronobiology laboratory environment free of time cues. PARTICIPANTS Thirty-six healthy participants (18 females) aged 22 ± 4 y (mean ± SD). RESULTS Morning bright light combined with early evening exogenous melatonin induced a greater phase advance of the DLMO than either treatment alone. Bright light alone and melatonin alone induced similar phase advances. CONCLUSION Information from light and melatonin appear to be combined by the human circadian clock. The ability to combine circadian time cues has important implications for understanding fundamental physiological principles of the human circadian timing system. Knowledge of such principles is important for designing effective countermeasures for phase-shifting the human circadian clock to adapt to jet lag, shift work, and for designing effective treatments for circadian sleep-wakefulness disorders.
On the distance spectrum of trees

Let $G$ be a connected graph with vertex set $V(G)=\{v_{1},v_{2},\ldots,v_{n}\}$ and edge set $E(G). $ $D(G)=(d_{ij})_{n\times n}$ is the distance matrix of $G,$ where $d_{ij}$ denotes the distance between $v_{i}$ and $v_{j}$. Let $\lambda_{1}(D)\geq\lambda_{2}(D)\geq\cdots\geq\lambda_{n}(D)$ be the distance spectrum of $G$. A graph $G$ is said to be determined by its distance spectrum if any graph having the same distance spectrum as $G$ is isomorphic to $G$. Trees can not be determined by its distance spectrum. Naturally, we prove that two kinds of special trees path $P_{n}$ and double star $S(a,b)$ are determined by their distance spectra in this paper.
Combination chemotherapy for clinically established graft-versus-host disease in mice.

The efficacy of combined chemotherapy against established graft- versus -host disease was studied with a view to its eventual application to tumor-bearing hosts subjected to adoptive chemoimmunotherapy. Adult BALB/c mice inoculated on Day 0 with nonlethal cyclophosphamide (CY) and C57BL/6 spleen cells exhibited clinical graft- versus -host disease by Days 5 to 7, and 95% of them died, with a median survival time of 15 days. Therapy with optimal doses of either CY or procarbazine alone on Days 6 to 9 saved about 30% of the mice. The combination of procarbazine and CY, both administered on Days 6 to 9, was significantly more effective than optimal doses of either CY or procarbazine alone, as reflected by a doubling of the percentage of 60-day survivors (to 62%). Cortisone acetate was therapeutically ineffective when used alone and did not influence the results obtained with the effective CY-procarbazine combination.