Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Antibacterial effects of nitrite in urine

Urinary tract infections (UTI`s) are among the most common conditions causing individuals to seek medical care. In addition, catheter-associated infections account for most of the hospital-acquired UTI s and is also a major source of resistant nosocomial pathogens. The majority of bacterial strains causing UTI have a nitrate-reducing capacity and since the 1920s, when the urinary nitrite test was first developed, this dipstick assay has been an important component of modern UTI diagnosis. In this thesis we have expanded the role of nitrite beyond diagnosis of infection and explored its role as an antimicrobial agent. From earlier studies it is known that acidification of nitrite results in the formation of nitric oxide (NO) and other reactive nitrogen oxides, which are toxic to a variety of microorganisms. The aim of the present thesis was to investigate NO formation and possible antibacterial effects of acidified nitrite-containing urine. We also sought to determine the antibacterial effect of a two-step procedure in which bacteria were first fed with nitrate to form nitrite, followed later by acidification of the urine. Finally we wanted to evaluate in vitro a novel concept for intravesical delivery of antibacterial NO via the retention balloon of a urinary catheter. NO formation was measured in headspace gas using a chemiluminiscence-technique, while antibacterial effects were evaluated by turbidity measurements and by viable counts. We show that large amounts of the antimicrobial gas NO are generated in mildly acidified nitrite-containing human urine and this NO formation is greatly enhanced by the addition of ascorbic acid. Furthermore, we show that mildly acidified nitrite-containing human urine has potent antimicrobial activity against three of the most common urinary pathogens and this inhibitory effect is further increased by ascorbic acid. We also found, that Escherichia coli self destructs when it is first allowed to generate nitrite and then transferred to mildly acidified urine. Translated into clinical terms, this could imply that ingestion of nitrate followed some hours later by acidification of urine could be a new approach for treatment of UTI. Finally, potent antibacterial effects were also observed in infected urine when the nitritederived nitrogen oxides were delivered via the retention balloon of a urinary catheter. In conclusion, we describe potent antibacterial effects of acidified nitrite-containing urine and also suggest a novel attractive alternative to prevent catheter-associated urinary tract infections.
Mental health and the productivity challenge: Improving quality and value for money

The NHS is facing a significant financial challenge and needs to make substantial improvements in productivity if it is to provide high-quality services without additional funding. Spending on mental health accounts for around 10 per cent of the overall health budget and so the mental health sector has a key role in responding to this challenge. The King’s Fund and Centre for Mental Health, with the support of the Royal College of Psychiatrists and the NHS Confederation’s Mental Health Network, have worked together to explore how mental health services could be delivered in a different and more cost-effective way. The consensus from their work, including an expert seminar and a review of evidence, is that there is scope for mental health services not only to improve their own productivity but also to support productivity improvements in other parts of the NHS.
Same‐Sex Parent Families and Children's Academic Achievement

Children in traditional families (i.e., married, 2 biological parents) tend to do better than their peers in nontraditional families. An exception to this pattern appears to be children from same-sex parent families. Children with lesbian mothers or gay fathers do not exhibit the poorer outcomes typically associated with nontraditional families. Studies of same-sex parent families, however, have relied on a static conceptualization of the family and discounted the importance of the timing and number of family transitions for understanding children's outcomes. To examine whether same-sex parent families represent an exception among nontraditional families, the author used data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study—Kindergarten cohort (N = 19,043) to create a dynamic indicator of children's family structure and tested its association with math assessment scores. The results indicated that children in same-sex parent families scored lower than their peers in married, 2-biological parent households, but the difference was nonsignificant net of family transitions.
Money and Modern Bank Runs

Following Diamond and Dybvig (1983), bank runs in the literature take the form of withdrawals of demand deposits payable in real goods, which deplete a fixed reserve of goods in the banking system. This paper examines modern bank runs, in which withdrawals typically take the form of wire transfers by large depositors. These transfers shift balances among banks, with no analog of a depletion of a scarce reserve from the banking system. I show that with demand deposits payable in money using modern payment systems, panic runs do not occur if there is efficient lending among banks. Aggregate shocks also do not cause bank runs because nominal deposits allow consumption to adjust efficiently with prices. Currency withdrawals do not allow for traditional consumer runs unless all banks are subject to panics. However, if interbank lending breaks down, bank runs occur due to a coordination failure in which banks do not lend to a bank in need, and can lead to price deflation and contagion to other banks being run. Policy conclusions such as deposit insurance and suspension of convertibility that solve depositor-based runs, as in Diamond-Dybvig, are neither necessary nor sufficient to prevent interbank-based banking crises. Rather, central bank intervention as lender of last resort is necessary. The model corresponds to evidence of the banking crisis that required unprecedented Federal Reserve intervention following September 11, 2001
Multiscale methods for planar regular beam lattices using principles of the quasicontinuum method

The quasicontinuum (QC) method is a multiscale approach to reduce the computational costs of discrete lattice computations. The method incorporates smallscale local lattice phenomena (e.g. a single lattice defect) in macroscale simulations. Since the method works directly and only on the beam lattice, QC frameworks do not require the construction and calibration of an accompanying continuum model (e.g. a cosserat/micropolar description) and no coupling procedures are required between the regions of interest in which the beam lattice is fully resolved and coarse domains in which the lattice is effectively homogenized. Hence, the method is relatively straightforward to implement and calibrate. In this contribution, four variants of the QC method are investigated for their use for planar beam lattice. The different frameworks are compared to the direct lattice computations for three truly multiscale test cases in which a single lattice defect is present in an otherwise perfectly regular beam lattice.
International Inequality and World Poverty: A Quantitative Structural Analysis

Dominant explanations within the existing development literature for the differences in poverty levels around the world have tended to ignore the influence of international inequality on poverty, instead focusing solely on domestic factors. In this paper, I conduct a regression analysis of the effect of inequality between countries on world poverty between 1980 and 2007, employing a new structural measure of international inequality which is created using social network analysis to calculate countries' positions in international trade networks. Countries' infant mortality rates are used to measure poverty. The results of the empirical analysis provide cross-country evidence to demonstrate that structural inequalities in the international system have a significant impact on poverty around the world. As such, the analysis demonstrates the need to move beyond focusing exclusively on domestic attributes of developing countries towards considering the broader international political economy in analysing contemporary poverty.
Acrolein relaxes mouse isolated trachea via a TRPA 1-dependent mechanism

Airway sensory C-fibres express TRPA1 channels which have recently been identified as a key chemosensory receptor for acrolein, a toxic and highly prevalent component of smoke. TRPA1 likely plays an intermediary role in eliciting a range of effects induced by acrolein including cough and neurogenic inflammation. Currently, it is not known whether acrolein-induced activation of TRPA1 produces other airway effects including relaxation of mouse airway smooth muscle. The aims of this study were to examine the effects of acrolein on airway smooth muscle tone in mouse isolated trachea, and to characterise the cellular and molecular mechanisms underpinning the effects of acrolein. Isometric tension recording studies were conducted on mouse isolated tracheal segments to characterise acrolein-induced relaxation responses. Release of the relaxant PGE2 was measured by EIA to examine its role in the response. Use of selective antagonists/inhibitors permitted pharmacological characterisation of the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying this relaxation response. Acrolein induced dose-dependent relaxation responses in mouse isolated tracheal segments. Importantly, these relaxation responses were significantly inhibited by the TRPA1 antagonists AP-18 and HC-030031, an NK1 receptor antagonist RP-67580, and the EP2 receptor antagonist PF-04418948, whilst completely abolished by the non-selective COX inhibitor indomethacin. Acrolein also caused rapid PGE2 release which was supressed by HC-030031. In summary, acrolein induced a novel bronchodilator response in mouse airways. Pharmacologic studies indicate that acrolein-induced relaxation likely involves interplay between TRPA1expressing airway sensory C-fibres, NK1 receptor-expressing epithelial cells, and EP2-receptor expressing airway smooth muscle cells.
AN EMPIRICAL CALIBRATION TO ESTIMATE COOL DWARF FUNDAMENTAL PARAMETERS FROM H-BAND SPECTRA

Interferometric radius measurements provide a direct probe of the fundamental parameters of M dwarfs. However, interferometry is within reach for only a limited sample of nearby, bright stars. We use interferometrically measured radii, bolometric luminosities, and effective temperatures to develop new empirical calibrations based on low-resolution, near-infrared spectra. We find that H-band Mg and Al spectral features are good tracers of stellar properties, and derive functions that relate effective temperature, radius, and log luminosity to these features. The standard deviations in the residuals of our best fits are, respectively, 73 K, 0.027 R☉, and 0.049 dex (an 11% error on luminosity). Our calibrations are valid from mid K to mid M dwarf stars, roughly corresponding to temperatures between 3100 and 4800 K. We apply our H-band relationships to M dwarfs targeted by the MEarth transiting planet survey and to the cool Kepler Objects of Interest (KOIs). We present spectral measurements and estimated stellar parameters for these stars. Parallaxes are also available for many of the MEarth targets, allowing us to independently validate our calibrations by demonstrating a clear relationship between our inferred parameters and the stars' absolute K magnitudes. We identify objects with magnitudes that are too bright for their inferred luminosities as candidate multiple systems. We also use our estimated luminosities to address the applicability of near-infrared metallicity calibrations to mid and late M dwarfs. The temperatures we infer for the KOIs agree remarkably well with those from the literature; however, our stellar radii are systematically larger than those presented in previous works that derive radii from model isochrones. This results in a mean planet radius that is 15% larger than one would infer using the stellar properties from recent catalogs. Our results confirm the derived parameters from previous in-depth studies of KOIs 961 (Kepler-42), 254 (Kepler-45), and 571 (Kepler-186), the latter of which hosts a rocky planet orbiting in its star's habitable zone.
Local Knowledge and Perceptions of Animal Population Abundances by Communities Adjacent to the Northern Gonarezhou National Park, Zimbabwe

Understanding animal abundances and population trends is a fundamental goal of ecology. The aim of this study was to examine local ecological knowledge (LEK) held by local people bordering the northern Gonarezhou National Park (GNP), Zimbabwe, concerning domestic and wild animal species abundances and perceived population trends, in order to evaluate the possible contribution of LEK to wildlife conservation and management. Data were collected through interviews using a semi-structured questionnaire from 236 local people in communities adjacent to the northern GNP from December 2010 to May 2011. The results show that perceptions of domestic animal population trends were mixed, with 44% of the respondents perceiving an increase, 36% perceiving a decline, and 20% perceiving that domestic animal populations had remained the same between 2000 and 2010. Furthermore, about 76% of the respondents perceived that wild animal abundances had increased, 15% perceived a decline, and 9% perceived that wild animal abundances had remained the same in GNP between 2000 and 2010. Responses on perceptions of animal population trends were to a great extent in line with recorded population trends from conventional scientific studies. The study results suggest that LEK may serve as a valuable source of ecological information and could compliment scientific information for wildlife conservation and management, particularly in community-based natural resources management programmes.
The orbital period and system parameters of the recurrent nova T Pyx

T Pyx is a luminous recurrent nova that accretes at a much higher rate than is expected for its photometrically determined orbital period of about 1.8 h. We here provide the first spectroscopic confirmation of the orbital period, P = 1.8295 h (f = 13.118368 +/- 1.1 x 10(-5) c d(-1)), based on time-resolved optical spectroscopy obtained at the Very Large Telescope and the Magellan telescope. We also derive an upper limit of the velocity semi-amplitude of the white dwarf, K 1 = 17.9 +/- 1.6 kms(-1), and estimate amass ratio of q = 0.20 +/- 0.03. If the mass of the donor star is estimated using the period-density relation and theoretical main-sequence mass-radius relation for a slightly inflated donor star, we find M-2 = 0.14 +/- 0.03 M-circle dot. This implies a mass of the primary white dwarf of M-1 = 0.7 +/- 0.2 M-circle dot. If the white-dwarf mass is > 1 M-circle dot, as classical nova models imply, the donor mass must be even higher. We therefore rule out the possibility that T Pyx has evolved beyond the period minimum for cataclysmic variables. We find that the system inclination is constrained to be i approximate to 10 degrees, confirming the expectation that T Pyx is a low-inclination system. We also discuss some of the evolutionary implications of the emerging physical picture of T Pyx. In particular, we show that epochs of enhanced mass transfer (like the present) may accelerate or even dominate the overall evolution of the system, even if they are relatively short-lived. We also point out that such phases may be relevant to the evolution of cataclysmic variables more generally.
New Zealand White rabbits show non-selective nursing in various types of nests.

We investigated the capacity of New Zealand White female rabbits to nurse their litter in a nestdifferent from their own (i.e., from another female, in a box containing synthetic or male hair, or in a new boxcontaining part of the original nest material). In females that nursed in their own nest across lactation days 1-3 (one nest-condition) the mere addition of any of the above boxes (without pups) across days 4, 5, 6, 7, or8 provoked an increase in the latency to enter their own nest for nursing (0.05±0 vs. 2±1 min; P<0.01; Group1A). In the two-nest condition females took a longer time to enter any box for nursing than they did to enter theirown. These differences were significant only for the synthetic nest (4±1.5 min; P<0.05). When the two-nestcondition began on lactation day 1 (Group 1B) the latency to enter significantly increased only with the malenest (8±4 vs. 1±0 min, own nest; P<0.05). The time inside the nest box devoted to nursing was practically thesame under all conditions and within the normal duration (ca. 3 min). Milk production rose steadily across thedays of observation, regardless of the type of nest-box the litter was placed in. We also explored the effectof using alien kits, rather than the female? s own, on the rabbit? s capacity to nurse them in any of the above nesttypes (Group 2). The only differences between Group 2 and Group 1B were: a) on day 1 females nursing analien litter produced less milk (48±5 g) than the two groups nursing their own (69±5, 75±8 g; P<0.02); b) thelatency to enter the male nest was smaller in Group 2 (2±2 vs. 8±4 min; P<0.05). These results show that,although able to distinguish among different nest types, rabbits can nurse their own or alien kits in severalenvironments. These findings can be useful in small farm rabbit husbandry practices for facing the problemsof kit death or nest deterioration in early lactation.
PREVALENCE OF COMMON BLOOD-BORNE INFECTIONS AMONG IMPRISONED INJECTION DRUG USERS IN MASHHAD, NORTH-EAST OF IRAN

Background – Injection drug use plays an important role in the transmission of bloodborne viral infections among injection drug users (IDUs). The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence of the main four blood-borne infections in incarcerated IDUs in the Central Prison of Mashhad, the northeastern metropolis of Iran, and comparing it with the same rates in the society. It was also aimed of this study was to obtain some important demographic and risk behavior data of incarcerated IDUs. Methods – The study population comprised a convenience sample of 101 incarcerated IDUs in Mashhad. A blood sample was taken from each subject in August 2001 and tested to detect hepatitis C, hepatitis B (HBsAg), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and human T-cell lymphotropic virus (HTLV-1) infection markers by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in the laboratory of the Blood Transfusion Organization. A confirmative western blot test was performed for the HIV-positive ones. The data regarding their demographic characteristics and injection-related and sexual risky behaviors were obtained through an interviewer-assisted questionnaire. The Mashhad University of Medical Sciences (MUMS) Thesis Committee reviewed all aspects of the research and approved the protocol. Results – The seroprevalence of HCV, HBV (HBsAg), HIV, and HTLV-1 was 60%, 3%, 7%, and 52%, respectively. Forty-nine percent of the subjects shared their syringes or needles and 20% practiced frontloading. HCV and HTLV-1 infections were associated with injection-related risky behaviors, while no association was found between these infections and the variables pointing to sexual risky behaviors. Conclusion – Given the high rates of the above-mentioned infections among IDUs found in this study and considering the concerning trend of drug addiction problem in Iran, there is an urgent need for effective harm reduction programs in Iran particularly among incarcerated IDUs.
Evidence for Vinylidene Production in the Photodissociation of the Allyl Radical

A combination of experimental and theoretical work strongly implicates the production of vinylidene in the photodissociation of the allyl radical, CH2CHCH2, an important intermediate in hydrocarbon combustion. The evidence comes from a study of the dissociation of 2-d1-allyl, which yields distinctly different translational energy distributions and mechanisms for the products HCCH + CH2D and DCCH + CH3. In one mechanism, a 1,3 hydrogen shift takes place to give the CH3CDCH intermediate, which then dissociates to yield CH3 + DCCH, whereas in the second, one of two branches occurs after a 1,2 hydrogen shift. The shift forms CH2D−C−CH2, which either dissociates directly to CH2D + CCH2 (vinylidene) or undergoes a second 1,2 shift to give CH2D−CH−CH, which subsequently dissociates to CH2D + HCCH.
The Gender Unemployment Gap

The unemployment gender gap, defined as the difference between female and male unemployment rates, was positive until 1980. This gap virtually disappeared after 1980, except during recessions when men's unemployment rate always exceeds women's. We study the evolution of these gender differences in unemployment from a long-run perspective and over the business cycle. Using a calibrated three-state search model of the labor market, we show that the rise in female labor force attachment and the decline in male attachment can mostly account for the closing of the gender unemployment gap. Evidence from nineteen OECD countries also supports the notion that convergence in attachment is associated with a decline in the gender unemployment gap. At the cyclical frequency, we find that gender differences in industry composition are important in recessions, especially the most recent, but they do not explain gender differences in employment growth during recoveries.
Eye Movements While Processing Syntactically Ambiguous Sentences in Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders: Preliminary Outcomes and Benchmarking Data

Research regarding eye-movements during the processing of syntactically ambiguous text provides important insights into the processes underlying text processing and comprehension. This report presents results of a pilot study that compared reading times and comprehension of syntactically ambiguous passages of 18 adolescents with higher functioning autism spectrum disorders (HFASD) and 16 typically developing control participants. The goal of this exploratory study was further to investigate the comprehension difficulties of children with HFASD using more direct, online analysis of reading abilities. Results suggest that control participants demonstrated patterns typically observed when readers encounter syntactically ambiguous sentences and that the HFASD participants did not use disambiguating information in the same manner as typically developing readers.
Extracting Information about the Electronic Quality of Organic Solar-Cell Absorbers from Fill Factor and Thickness

Arguably the most crucial challenge in developing organic solar cells is to optimize the collection of photogenerated charges, and therefore the cell's $f\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}i\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}l\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}l$ $f\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}a\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}c\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}t\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}o\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}r$, a dimensionless parameter directly proportional to its power-conversion efficiency. The authors provide a complete physical picture of the fill factor, with a detailed discussion of the model's assumptions, easy ways to spot deviations from the model, and a simple method of analysis to quantify a material's electronic quality, without needing further equipment. This analysis can also be applied retrospectively to the deep literature on solar cells made of many semiconducting polymers.