Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
NEONATAL GROUP B STREPTOCOCCUS SEPSIS : A MULTICENTER STUDY IN THAILAND

Invasive group B Streptococcus (GBS) is the most common cause of earlyonset neonatal sepsis worldwide, but there are only a few studies of the incidence of neonatal GBS sepsis in Thailand. Routine intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis is not recommended in Thailand. We aimed to determine the incidence and mortality of GBS sepsis in a multicenter study in Thailand in order to inform GBS prevention and control strategies. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of neonates to identify those with GBS sepsis at 9 multi-level neonatal care units in Thailand. GBS sepsis was classified by a history of having a blood or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) culture positive for GBS. The incidence of GBS sepsis (either blood or CSF culture positive for GBS) was 0.12/1,000 live births (33/278,291); of whom 29 (88%) had a positive blood culture for GBS, 2 (6%) had a positive CSF culture for GBS and 2 (6%) had positive blood and CSF cultures for GBS. Twenty-six neonates had early-onset (≤6 days after birth) sepsis and 7 neonates had late-onset (≥7 days after birth) sepsis. The medians [interquartile ranges (IQR)] for gestational age and birthweight were 38 (5) weeks and 2,760 (1,080) grams. Seven neonates (21%) died. In conclusion, the incidence of neonatal GBS sepsis in our multicenter study from Thailand was lower than in some other regions in the world but the mortality rate was high. Further studies are needed to determine if screening for GBS among pregnant woman and the use of intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis are warranted in Thailand due to the high mortality rate.
Comparative Study of Impedance Eduction Methods, Part 2: NASA Tests and Methodology

A number of methods have been developed at NASA Langley Research Center for eduction of the acoustic impedance of sound-absorbing liners mounted in the wall of a flow duct. This investigation uses methods based on the Pridmore-Brown and convected Helmholtz equations to study the acoustic behavior of a single-layer, conventional liner fabricated by the German Aerospace Center and tested in the NASA Langley Grazing Flow Impedance Tube. Two key assumptions are explored in this portion of the investigation. First, a comparison of results achieved with uniform-flow and shear-flow impedance eduction methods is considered. Also, an approach based on the Prony method is used to extend these methods from single-mode to multi-mode implementations. Finally, a detailed investigation into the effects of harmonic distortion on the educed impedance is performed, and the results are used to develop guidelines regarding acceptable levels of harmonic distortion
Knowledge and Preventive Practices Against Lassa Fever among Primary Health Care Workers in Osogbo

Introduction: Lassa fever (LF) is one of the diseases for which weekly epidemiological reporting to the local health authorities and World Health Organization (WHO) is being done in Nigeria. This study assessed knowledge and preventive practices against Lassa Fever (LF) among Primary Health Care (PHC) workers in Osun State. Materials and Methods: Descriptive cross sectional study among 300 PHC workers selected using multi stage sampling method. Research instrument were self administered, semi structured questionnaires, analyzed using the SPSS software version 17.0. Results: Two hundred and thirty eight (79.3%) have heard about LF. Computed mean knowledge scores showed that 67.7%, 63.0%, 61.2% and 56.0% had good knowledge of occurrences, causes, disease transmission and prevention and control of LF respectively. Only 20(6.7%) of the health care workers had ever reported a suspected case of LF before, 63 (21.0%) regularly used personal protective devices or equipments (PPE) at work. Predictors of good knowledge of LF include being a male, ever reported a case of LF and regular use of PPE at workplace Conclusion: The relatively high knowledge of LF, and poor infection control measures that characterized health care workers studied underscore the need for sustained awareness and improvement in knowledge among PHC workers. W O Adebimpe* Department of Community Medicine College of Health Sciences Osun State University Osogbo Osogbo Nigeria E-mail: lekanadebimpe@gmail.com Knowledge And Preventive Practices Against Lassa Fever Among Primary Health Care Workers In Osogbo 580
Irrigation governance and performance : the case of smallholder irrigated agriculture in northern Ghana

In dry areas in Africa, crop production is largely dependent on rainfall. Overall performance is poor, and considered to be one of the major barriers to development in Africa. Implementing irrigation in such areas is advocated as a great step forward in improving agricultural performance and rural livelihoods. Over the years small-scale irrigation schemes have been constructed for this purpose, but these schemes are not without challenges. There are reports of poor performances of small-scale schemes, which partly blame them on the weak management by Water User Associations (WUAs). In general, proper governance of common pool resources, such as communal irrigation schemes, depends on the specific institutional arrangements that are in place. In group-managed irrigation schemes, governance entails the use of rules and regulations to ensure sustainable use of resources. These rules and regulations aim at fulfilling different dimensions of governance, such as accountability, participation, and transparency and cooperation in the management of resources. In this paper we try to contribute to the debate on the role of governance in sustaining common pool resources by empirically testing different dimensions of governance that could influence irrigation performance. For this we look at 19 small-scale irrigation schemes in the north of Ghana. Cross section survey data was collected on governance perceptions of farmers about the management by their WUAs and on farmers’ irrigated activities. The results show that, aside basic production factors such as land, fertilizer, agro-chemicals, extension services and crop choice, the yield per unit area of irrigated vegetables is generally positively associated with farmer perceptions of governance dimensions. Specifically, the dimensions: participation and transparency and cooperation associate positively with yield. This suggests that participation of water users in the management of the communal scheme, transparency in the leadership of the scheme, and cooperation among users and leaders are important for higher productivity. Surprisingly, perceptions regarding the potential of WUAs to resolve price and market related conflicts, have a negative association with yield. We conclude that there is need for informed interventions in the form of capacity building in governance of common pool resources for sustainable production.
New Hexa Propylene Glycol Cyclotiphosphazene As Efficient Organic Inhibitor of Carbon Steel Corrosion in Hydrochloric Acid Medium

New cyclotriphosphazene, namely Hexa propylene glycol cyclotiphosphazene (HPGCP) was synthesis and their inhibitive action against the corrosion of carbon steel in 1 M HCl solution were investigated at room temperature by various corrosion monitoring techniques, such as weight loss, potentiodynamic polarization curves, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) methods. The Hexa glycol cyclotriphosphazene (HPGCP) outcome of solvolysis of Hexa glycidyl cyclotriphosphazene (HGCP) in basic solution. The compounds were characterized using spectroscopic techniques (FTIR). The results showed that the investigated Hexa propylene glycol cyclotiphosphazene (HPGCP) are good corrosion inhibitors for carbon steel in 1 M HCl medium, their inhibition efficiency increased with inhibitor concentration. Polarization studies showed that both studied inhibitors were of anodic type inhibitor in 1 M HCl.The adsorption of inhibitors on the carbon steel surface obeys Langmuir adsorption isotherm. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was performed and discussed for surface study of uninhibited and inhibited carbon steel samples.
Influence of Processing on Some Quality Identities of Crude Sesame ( Sesamum indicum ) Seed Oil

Sesame seeds were dried and ground, and its oil was solvent extracted using nhexane. The crude oil obtained was subjected to degumming, neutralization and bleaching to obtained degummed, neutralized and bleached oils. These oil samples were analyzed for physicochemical properties and fatty acid composition using gas chromatography to establish the effect of each processing stage on the oil. The oil content of sesame seed was 47.80±0.10%. Processing of the oil did not show any significant difference in specific gravity, refractive index and moisture content but reflected slight increase in iodine value (111.90± 0.17 117.50±0.21 g/100g), smoke point (206.00±2.10 210.00±1.10C), flash point (312.00±1.50 326.00±1.30C) and fire point (335.00±0.88 342.00±1.10C). The processing improved the quality of the oil by showing gradual decrease in turbidity point (8.00±0.25 5.00±0.45JTU), peroxide value (3.45±0.81 -0.86± 0.01 meq peroxide/Kg), saponification value (191.20±0.43 187.90± 0.23 mg KOH/g oil), colour (12.0 – 4.0 units), free fatty acid (1.92±0.01 0.82±0.12 % Linoleic acid) and acid value (3.84±0.24 1.64± 0.23 mg KOH/g oil). The oil was found to contain palmitate, stearate, arachidate, oleate, linoleate and very minute linolenate in bleached oil. The percentage of these fatty acid increased during processing. There was gradual increase in saturated, monounsaturated, polyunsaturated and total fatty acid as the crude oil was processed to bleached oil. The oil was very rich in linoleic acid (44.7947.65%) and oleic acid (31.68-36.90%) while its palmitic and stearic acid content were 8.81-9.17% and 3.474. 86% respectively. Processing Int. J. Food Nutr. Saf. 2018, 9(1): 59-74 Copyright © 2018 by Modern Scientific Press Company, Florida, USA 60 of the oil enhances its identity and quality characteristics thereby making the oil consumable rather than for industrial applications.
USING A LEAD-BASED DAMPER TO INCREASE NEAR-SOURCE GROUND MOTION RESISTING CAPACITY OF EXISTING BASE-ISOLATED STRUCTURES

1 Institute of Geological & Nuclear Sciences, P.O. Box 30 368, Lower Hutt, New Zealand email: j.zhao@gns.cri. nz 2 Institute of Geological & Nuclear Sciences, P.O. Box 30 368, Lower Hutt, New Zealand j.cousins@gns.cri. nz 3 Robinson Seismic Ltd, P.O. Box 33 093, Petone, New Zealand email: whr@robinson-seismic.co.nz, fax: +64-4-569 0117 USING A LEAD-BASED DAMPER TO INCREASE NEAR-SOURCE GROUND MOTION RESISTING CAPACITY OF EXISTING BASE-ISOLATED STRUCTURES
Deep learning for real world face alignment

Face alignment is one of the fundamental steps in a vast number of tasks of high economical and social value, ranging from security to health and entertainment. Despite the attention received from the community for more than 2 decades and the success of cascaded regression based approaches, many challenges were yet to be solved, such as the case of near-profile poses and low resolution faces. In this thesis, we successfully address a series of such challenges in the area of face alignment and super-resolution, significantly pushing the state-of-the-art by proposing novel deep learning-based architectures specially tailored for fine grained recognition tasks. In summary, we address the following problems: (I) fitting faces found in large poses (Chapter 3), (II) in both 2D and 3D space (Chapter 4), creating in the process (III) the largest in-the-wild large pose 3D face alignment dataset (Chapter 4). While the case of high resolution faces was actively explored in the past, in this thesis we systematically study and address a new challenge: that of (IV) fitting landmarks in very low resolution faces (Chapter 6). While deep learning based approaches achieved remarkable results on a wide variety of tasks, they are usually slow having high computational requirements. As such, in Chapter 5, we propose (V) a novel residual block carefully crafted for binarized neural networks that significantly improves the speed, due to the use of binary operations for both the weights and the activations, while maintaining a similar or competitive accuracy. The results presented through out this thesis set the new state-of-the-art on both 2D & 3D face alignment and face super-resolution.
Soluble CD14 in Breast Milk and Its Relation to Atopic Manifestations in Early Infancy

Soluble CD14 (sCD14) is one of the immunomodulatory factors in breast milk (BM). Although it may be involved in the prevention of atopic symptoms and sensitization to both food and inhalant allergens, conflicting evidence exists concerning its protective effects. In this study, we investigated the relationship between sCD14 in colostrum and 1-month BM, and the development of atopic dermatitis (AD) and sensitization to food and aeroallergens at 9 months of age in infants who were exclusively or almost exclusively breastfed up to 4 months of age. BM samples were collected from lactating mothers who participated in a 2 × 2 factorial, randomized, nontreatment controlled trial study set in Tokyo, which looked at the efficacy of emollients and synbiotics in preventing AD and food allergy in children during the first year of life. A total of 258 colostrum samples and 269 1-month BM samples were analyzed. We found that one-month BM sCD14 levels in the AD group were significantly lower than in the non-AD group. Levels of sCD14 in 1-month BM were not related to allergen sensitization in the overall analysis, but egg white sensitization correlated inversely with 1-month BM sCD14 in infants without AD. The results suggest that sCD14 in BM may be involved in atopic manifestations in early infancy.
Inhibition of Pancreatic α-amylase by Resveratrol Derivatives: Biological Activity and Molecular Modelling Evidence for Cooperativity between Viniferin Enantiomers

To improve the current understanding of the role of stilbenoids in the management of diabetes, the inhibition of the pancreatic α-amylase by resveratrol derivatives was investigated. To approach in a systematic way, the mechanistic and structural aspects of the interaction, potential bioactive agents were prepared as single molecules, that were used for the biological evaluation of the determinants of inhibitory binding. Some dimeric stilbenoids—in particular, viniferin isomers— were found to be better than the reference drug acarbose in inhibiting the pancreatic α-amylase. Racemic mixtures of viniferins were more effective inhibitors than the respective isolated pure enantiomers at an equivalent total concentration, and displayed cooperative effects not observed with the individual enantiomers. The molecular docking analysis provided a thermodynamics-based rationale for the measured inhibitory ability and for the observed synergistic effects. Indeed, the binding of additional ligands on the surface of the alpha-amylase was found to decrease the dissociation constant of inhibitors bound to the active site of the enzyme, thus providing a mechanistic rationale for the observed inhibitory synergies.
Interindividual Variation in CYP3A Activity Influences Lapatinib Bioactivation

Lapatinib is a dual tyrosine kinase inhibitor associated with rare but potentially severe idiosyncratic hepatotoxicity. We have previously shown that cytochromes P450 CYP3A4 and CYP3A5 quantitatively contribute to lapatinib bioactivation, leading to formation of a reactive, potentially toxic quinone imine. CYP3A5 is highly polymorphic; however, the impact of CYP3A5 polymorphism on lapatinib metabolism has not been fully established. The goal of this study was to determine the effect of CYP3A5 genotype and individual variation in CYP3A activity on the metabolic activation of lapatinib using human-relevant in vitro systems. Lapatinib metabolism was examined using CYP3A5-genotyped human liver microsomes and cryopreserved human hepatocytes. CYP3A and CYP3A5-selective activities were measured in liver tissues using probe substrates midazolam and T-5 (T-1032), respectively, to evaluate the correlation between enzymatic activity and lapatinib metabolite formation. Drug metabolites were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Further, the relative contributions of CYP3A4 and CYP3A5 to lapatinib O-debenzylation were estimated using selective chemical inhibitors of CYP3A. The results from this study demonstrated that lapatinib O-debenzylation and quinone imine-GSH conjugate formation were highly correlated with hepatic CYP3A activity, as measured by midazolam 1′-hydroxylation. CYP3A4 played a dominant role in lapatinib bioactivation in all liver tissues evaluated. The CYP3A5 contribution to lapatinib bioactivation varied by individual donor and was dependent on CYP3A5 genotype and activity. CYP3A5 contributed approximately 20%–42% to lapatinib O-debenzylation in livers from CYP3A5 expressers. These findings indicate that individual CYP3A activity, not CYP3A5 genotype alone, is a key determinant of lapatinib bioactivation and likely influences exposure to reactive metabolites. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT This study is the first to examine the effect of CYP3A5 genotype, total CYP3A activity, and CYP3A5-selective activity on lapatinib bioactivation in individual human liver tissues. The results of this investigation indicate that lapatinib bioactivation via oxidative O-debenzylation is highly correlated with total hepatic CYP3A activity, and not CYP3A5 genotype alone. These findings provide insight into the individual factors, namely, CYP3A activity, that may affect individual exposure to reactive, potentially toxic metabolites of lapatinib.
Lycopene Inhibits Activation of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor and Expression of Cyclooxygenase-2 in Gastric Cancer Cells

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) contribute to the oncogenic phenotype of cancer cells by acting as signaling molecules for inducing proliferation. ROS are known to activate the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), which causes the activation of the Ras/mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) pathway. The Ras-dependent pathway promotes the activation of nuclear factor-kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB), a transcriptional modulator of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) that induces cell proliferation. Lycopene is a potent antioxidant carotenoid and is responsible for the red color of fruits and vegetables. This study aims to investigate whether lycopene inhibits proliferation and induces apoptosis in gastric cancer AGS cells by suppressing the EGFR/Ras/MAPK and NF-κB-COX-2 signaling axis. Lycopene decreased cell viability and increased apoptotic indices (DNA fragmentation, apoptosis inducing factor, cleavage of caspase-3 and caspase-9, Bax/Bcl-2 ratio). Lycopene reduced the level of intracellular and mitochondrial ROS and decreased the activation of the ROS-mediated EGFR/Ras/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and p38 MAPK pathways, thus leading to attenuation of the DNA-binding activity of NF-κB p50/p50 and the level of COX-2 gene expression. These results show that lycopene-induced apoptosis and inhibition of proliferation occur via inhibition of ROS-activated EGFR/Ras/ERK and p38 MAPK pathways and NF-κB-mediated COX-2 gene expression in AGS cells. In conclusion, consumption of lycopene-enriched foods could decrease the incidence of gastric cancer.
Fetal T Cell Activation in the Amniotic Cavity during Preterm Labor: A Potential Mechanism for a Subset of Idiopathic Preterm Birth

Key Points Amniotic fluid T cells are of fetal origin and functional in preterm gestations. Amniotic fluid T cells are increased in women with idiopathic preterm labor and birth. Intra-amniotic injection of activated neonatal T cells induces preterm birth in mice. Visual Abstract Prematurity is the leading cause of perinatal morbidity and mortality worldwide. In most cases, preterm birth is preceded by spontaneous preterm labor, a syndrome that is associated with intra-amniotic inflammation, the most studied etiology. However, the remaining etiologies of preterm labor are poorly understood; therefore, most preterm births are categorized as idiopathic. In this study, we provide evidence showing that the fetal immune system undergoes premature activation in women with preterm labor without intra-amniotic inflammation, providing a potential new mechanism of disease for some cases of idiopathic preterm birth. First, we showed that fetal T cells are a predominant leukocyte population in amniotic fluid during preterm gestations. Interestingly, only fetal CD4+ T cells were increased in amniotic fluid of women who underwent idiopathic preterm labor and birth. This increase in fetal CD4+ T cells was accompanied by elevated amniotic fluid concentrations of T cell cytokines such as IL-2, IL-4, and IL-13, which are produced by these cells upon in vitro stimulation, but was not associated with the prototypical cytokine profile observed in women with intra-amniotic inflammation. Also, we found that cord blood T cells, mainly CD4+ T cells, obtained from women with idiopathic preterm labor and birth displayed enhanced ex vivo activation, which is similar to that observed in women with intra-amniotic inflammation. Finally, we showed that the intra-amniotic administration of activated neonatal CD4+ T cells induces preterm birth in mice. Collectively, these findings provide evidence suggesting that fetal T cell activation is implicated in the pathogenesis of idiopathic preterm labor and birth.
Case report: A somatic mutation in CLCN2 identified in a sporadic aldosterone producing adenoma.

Objective To screen for CLCN2 mutations in apparently sporadic cases of aldosterone producing adenomas (APAs). Description Recently, CLCN2, encoding for the voltage-gated chloride channel protein 2 (ClC-2), was identified to be mutated in familial hyperaldosteronism II (FH II). So far, somatic mutations in CLCN2 have not been reported in sporadic cases of APAs. We screened 80 apparently sporadic APAs for mutations in CLCN2. One somatic mutation was identified at p.Gly24Asp in CLCN2. The male patient had a small adenoma in size but high aldosterone levels preoperatively. Postoperatively, the patient had normal aldosterone levels and was clinically cured. Conclusion In this study, we identified a CLCN2 mutation in a sporadic APA comprising about 1% of all APAs investigated. This mutation was complementary to mutations in other susceptibility genes for sporadic APAs and may thus be a driving mutation in APA formation.
International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology. CVII. Structure and Pharmacology of the Apelin Receptor with a Recommendation that Elabela/Toddler Is a Second Endogenous Peptide Ligand

The predicted protein encoded by the APJ gene discovered in 1993 was originally classified as a class A G protein-coupled orphan receptor but was subsequently paired with a novel peptide ligand, apelin-36 in 1998. Substantial research identified a family of shorter peptides activating the apelin receptor, including apelin-17, apelin-13, and [Pyr1]apelin-13, with the latter peptide predominating in human plasma and cardiovascular system. A range of pharmacological tools have been developed, including radiolabeled ligands, analogs with improved plasma stability, peptides, and small molecules including biased agonists and antagonists, leading to the recommendation that the APJ gene be renamed APLNR and encode the apelin receptor protein. Recently, a second endogenous ligand has been identified and called Elabela/Toddler, a 54-amino acid peptide originally identified in the genomes of fish and humans but misclassified as noncoding. This precursor is also able to be cleaved to shorter sequences (32, 21, and 11 amino acids), and all are able to activate the apelin receptor and are blocked by apelin receptor antagonists. This review summarizes the pharmacology of these ligands and the apelin receptor, highlights the emerging physiologic and pathophysiological roles in a number of diseases, and recommends that Elabela/Toddler is a second endogenous peptide ligand of the apelin receptor protein.