Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
[Monitoring of airborne fungus and yeast species in a hospital unit].

OBJECTIVE To monitor and characterize airborne filamentous fungi and yeasts from abiotic and biotic sources within a hospital unit. METHODS Collections were carried out on a monthly basis, at two different time periods, from the adult and pediatric intensive care units and surgical center of a hospital in Araraquara, Southeastern Brazil. Collection of airborne fungi was carried out using a simple-stage Andersen sample. The presence of yeasts was investigated in samples taken from the hands and oropharynx of staff members as well as from the surface of beds and doorknobs inside the critical areas. RESULTS Thirty-two genera of airborne fungi and were recovered from the surgical center and 31 from the intensive care units. Genera most frequently isolated were Cladophialophora spp. , Fusarium spp. , Penicillium spp. , Chrysosporium spp. e Aspergillus spp. During the study period, a new unit was built in the hospital, which coincided with an increase in Cladophialophora spp. , Aspergillus spp. , and Fusarium spp. colony counts. Yeasts were found in 39.4% of samples obtained from healthcare staff (16.7% from interdigital spaces, 12.1% from nailbeds, and 10.6% from oropharynx) and in 44% of furniture samples, with a predominance of the Candida genus ((C. albicans, C. guilliermondii, C. parapsilosis e C. lusitaniae), followed by Trichosporon spp. CONCLUSIONS We found a relatively high number of airborne fungi (potentially pathological) in special areas and expressive levels of yeasts in both biotic and abiotic samples. Microbiological and environmental monitoring should be conducted, especially in special areas which include immunocompromised patients, who are more susceptible to the exposure to environmental and staff-derived pathogens.
A novel C-terminal signal sequence targets Escherichia coli haemolysin directly to the medium

Summary Escherichia coli haemolysin (HlyA), a 107K (K = 103Mr) protein, is secreted to the medium in an hlyB, hlyD-dependent process. Secretion, however, depends on neither an N-terminal signal sequence nor on SecA, which is part of the normal cellular export machinery for periplasmic and outer membrane proteins. In contrast, HlyA contains a novel C-terminal secretion signal encompassing the last 27 amino acids and possibly some additional residues immediately upstream. This region is characterized by a 16 residue ‘aspartic acid box’ composed largely of small amino acids which we propose constitutes an important element in recognition of the membrane translocation complex constituted by HlyB and HlyD. This feature is also found at the C-terminus of the adenyl cyclase and leukotoxin A molecules and resembles a recently identified eukaryotic C-terminal signal for targeting to glycosomes. A domain of the HlyB component of the haemolysin transport system is also similar to a domain widely distributed in nature, apparently acting as an ATP-dependent transport protein for a wide variety of molecules. Secretion of haemolysin, however, is the first example of a protein translocation system involving an HlyB-like molecule. This suggests that a major role of HlyB or at least its C-terminal domain is the coupling of energy to translocation of the haemolysin. It is more likely therefore that HlyD is more involved in the actual translocation through the membrane. On the basis of genetical and biochemical studies we propose that the haemolysin is translocated directly to the medium bypassing the periplasm. We further propose that HlyB and HlyD together constitute a membrane-bound translocator specific for molecules bearing the HlyA targeting sequence, and that the organization of this complex (conceivably involving other E. coli membrane proteins) must somehow straddle the inner and outer membranes. Finally, the HlyA C-terminal domain has been successfully used to promote the secretion to the medium of a number of heterologous polypeptides, in an HlyB,D-dependent manner.
Fluctuations in vancomycin CNS tissue concentrations following intermittent and continuous infusions in the rat

Abstract The purpose of this investigation was to compare the variability of vancomycin concentrations in the serum and CNS when administered continuously or as intermittent intravenous infusions in the rat. The hypothesis for this investigation was that the magnitude of change in serum vancomycin concentrations directly relates to the extent of vancomycin concentration fluctuations in the CNS. Microdialysis and serum sampling techniques were employed and biologic samples were analysed for vancomycin using HPLC. Over the dosing interval, the mean changes in concentrations were 71.8 ± 9.8% and 13.6 ± 9.3% for serum and 61.7 ± 7.8% and 6.8 ± 3.5% for brain extracellular fluid in the intermittent and continuously infused groups, respectively. Accordingly, the relative changes in vancomycin concentrations in brain extracellular fluid were closely associated with corresponding changes in serum concentrations (R2=0.94). Thus, continuous intravenous administration of vancomycin results in minimal serum and CNS tissue concentration changes as compared to traditional intermittent dosing methods and allows for more consistent vancomycin concentrations in the CNS.
Evaluation of EnKF and Variants on the PUNQ-S3 Case

Over the last decade the ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) has attracted attention as a promising method for solving the reservoir history matching problem: updating model parameters so that the model output matches the measured production data. The method possesses unique qualities, such as; it provides real-time updates and uncertainty quantification of the estimate, it can estimate any physical property at hand and it is easy to implement. The method does, however, have its limitations; in particular, it is derived based on an assumption of a Gaussian distribution of variables and measurement errors. Several refinements have been proposed to overcome the shortcomings of the EnKF. These refinements are, however, mainly tested on synthetic cases addressing one shortcoming at a time, not containing or combining the complexity and the high nonlinearity of a real field case. In this paper, we investigate some of the refined methods on a nonlinear reservoir, the 3D, three-phase, PUNQ-S3 model. We compare the performance of the original EnKF with the performance of the ensemble square root filter (EnSRF), an EnKF method with localization, which is named the hierarchical ensemble Kalman filter (HEnKF) and the newly proposed Adaptive Gaussian Mixture filter (AGM). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time the EnKF and the EnSRF have been compared on a high-dimensional nonlinear field case. Overall, we see that the AGM and HEnKF work better than the EnSRF and EnKF. The EnSRF seems to have a slightly better performance than the EnKF. However, the introduction of a localization procedure (as in the HEnKF) seems to be much more influential than replacing the EnKF with the EnSRF. Comparing the top two methods, the AGM is preferable over the HEnKF, both when it comes to preserving the initial geology of the ensemble and to the consistency of the predictions.
The buffer theory of social support – a review of the literature

Synopsis The buffer theory postulates that social support moderates the power of psychosocial adversity to precipitate episodes of illness. In this paper, we review the theory as applied to minor affective disturbances. Research in this area suffers because of the many disparate conceptualizations of social support and the resulting difficulty of deciding on the content of measures. Moreover, the meaning of the term buffering is itself unclear. These problems have not, however, inhibited research, and many cross-sectional and longitudinal studies have now been carried out. Our review leads to the conclusion that evidence for a buffering role of social support is inconsistent, reflecting methodological differences between studies but probably also indicating that buffering effects are not of dramatic proportions. Moreover, it is possible that the observed relationships are the result of spurious association or contamination of measures.
The impact of health anxiety in patients with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis: Misperception, misattribution and quality of life.

OBJECTIVES Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a progressive disease with an unpredictable prognosis. Previous studies have reported health anxiety within the MS population. This study examines the effect of health anxiety on MS patients' quality of life (QoL) and evaluates the potential contribution of cognitive factors in maintaining health anxiety. METHODS A total of 84 patients with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) were screened for health anxiety. From this sample, a group with relatively high and another group with low anxiety (n = 21 in each group) were identified. A further 21 healthy controls were recruited for comparison. A measure of QoL was then completed. Cognitive biases were investigated by measuring perception and attribution of common bodily symptoms as well as appraisal of performance on neuropsychological and physical fatigue tests. RESULTS The high health anxiety group reported poorer QoL relative to the other groups, independent of level of disability. They were also more likely to misattribute common bodily changes to MS, and perceive their (objectively intact) performance on tests of cognition and fatigue as being impaired, attributing the cause of impairment to MS. CONCLUSION Health anxiety may be a factor in mediating the psychosocial impact of MS. Skilled psychological treatment which changes misperception and misattribution may significantly benefit patients with MS and elevated health anxiety. PRACTITIONER POINTS Clinical implications Health anxiety impacts on quality of life in patients with MS even when disability and other measures of psychological distress are taken into account. High levels of health anxiety distort perceptions of symptoms in patients with MS in line with the predictions made by the cognitive model of health anxiety. Limitations of study This study is limited to patients with RRMS within the relatively early stages of their disease and is based on a small sample size. Health anxiety is correlated with measures of generalized anxiety, depression, and worry, although it is found to have a unique impact on quality of life in patients with MS.
What Do We Really Know about the Role of Microorganisms in Iron Sulfide Mineral Formation?

Iron sulfide mineralization in low-temperature systems is a result of biotic and abiotic processes, though the delineation between these two modes of formation is not always straightforward. Here we review the role of microorganisms in the precipitation of extracellular iron sulfide minerals. We summarize the evidence that links sulfur-metabolizing microorganisms and sulfide minerals in nature and we present a critical overview of laboratory-based studies of the nucleation and growth of iron sulfide minerals in microbial cultures. We discuss whether biologically derived minerals are distinguishable from abiotic minerals, possessing attributes that are uniquely diagnostic of biomineralization. These inquiries have revealed the need for additional thorough, mechanistic and high-resolution studies to understand microbially mediated formation of a variety of sulfide minerals across a range of natural environments.
‘We are the forgotten victims’: Perspectives of adult siblings of persons with traumatic brain injury

Primary objective: This study determined how the lives of a cross-national sample of adult siblings had changed since their brothers and sisters incurred a traumatic brain injury. Research design: A total of 272 participants provided responses to the question, ‘How is your life different since your sibling had a TBI? ’ Responses were analysed through the constant comparative method of textual analysis. Methods and procedures: Responses were collected through a mailed-survey. The analysed question appeared at the end of a 243-item quantitatively-based survey containing five open-ended questions. Outcomes and results: Three themes emerged: (1) ‘Family impacts’ such as growing up with a sibling with TBI and impact on family closeness; (2) ‘Caring’ including caring for and about the family member; and (3) ‘Making sense of the experience’ through adjustment and personal development. Conclusions: The study demonstrates that having a sibling with a TBI can result in profound and enduring negative and positive life changes for non-injured siblings. Professionals need to attend to the needs of siblings for support and guidance and should be considered as key informants about their injured family members during intake and service planning.
Ticlopidine was not better than aspirin for preventing recurrent stroke in African-Americans with noncardioembolic ischemic stroke.

P a t i e n t s 1809 African-American patients 29 to 85 years of age (mean age 61 y, 53% women), who had noncardioembolic ischemic stroke onset ≥ 7 but not ≥ 90 days, cranial computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging of the brain consistent with the entry cerebral infarction, measurable neurologic deficit that correlates with entry cerebral infarction, and availability for follow-up in an outpatient treatment program. Exclusion criteria included transient ischemic attack, subarachnoid hemorrhage, cardiac source embolism, iatrogenic stroke, nonatherosclerotic stroke, postoperative stroke occurring within 30 days of operation, and carotid endarterectomy as primary treatment measure for entry cerebral infarction. All patients were included in the analysis.
Exacerbation of myasthenia gravis in a patient with melanoma treated with pembrolizumab

Introduction: While anticancer immunotherapies have traditionally focused on activation of the immune system, there is recent interest in disinhibition of the natural antitumor immune response by targeting immune checkpoints such as cytotoxic T‐lymphocyte associated antigen‐4 (CTLA‐4) and programmed death‐1 (PD‐1). One humanized monoclonal antibody against PD‐1, pembrolizumab, was recently approved for treatment of metastatic malignant melanoma. Methods: We report exacerbation of myasthenia gravis (MG) after treatment with pembrolizumab and provide a brief literature review. Results: We describe a 75‐year‐old man with stable MG who experienced myasthenic crisis in the setting of pembrolizumab treatment. A concurrent azathioprine taper was a possible although unlikely contributor given the short time interval between taper and exacerbation. Conclusions: As long‐term data become available regarding the adverse immune effects of novel checkpoint inhibitors, clinicians should be mindful of their risks/benefits and of possible autoimmune disease exacerbation. Muscle Nerve 54: 157–161, 2016
miR-1224-5 p Mediates Mitochondrial Damage to Affect Silica-Induced Pulmonary Fibrosis by Targeting BECN 1

Silicosis is associated with fibroblast proliferation and extracellular matrix deposition in lung tissues. The dysregulation of miR-1224-5p has been implicated in several human cancers; however, the expression and function of miR-1224-5p in silicosis is unknown. The mitochondrial dysfunctions play critical roles in some diseases, but how these processes are regulated in silicosis remains limited. Here, we explored the role of miR-1224-5p in a mouse model of silicosis. We showed that the expression of miR-1224-5p is increased both in lung tissues of silica-induced pulmonary fibrosis and fibroblasts exposed to TGF-β1. Repression of miR-1224-5p expression attenuated silica-induced fibrotic progression in vivo and TGF-β1-induced myofibroblast differentiation in vitro. Additionally, we demonstrated that miR-1224-5p facilitated silica-induced pulmonary fibrosis primarily by repressing one of target genes, BECN1, thereby blocking PARK2 translocation to mitochondria and inducing the accumulation of damaged mitochondria. Furthermore, the activation of PDGFR signal mediated by mitochondrial damage and insufficient mitophagy resulted in myofibroblast differentiation. Collectively, these data indicated that miR-1224-5p exerts key functions in silica-induced pulmonary fibrosis and may represent a potential therapeutic target for silicosis.
From Riches to Rags or What Went Wrong in Greece

The economic and social progress Greece achieved in the early post war decades decelerated after 1974 because all institutions sustaining the effi-cient operation of democracy and free markets were deliberately and gravely eroded. Under the impetus of hard core socialists provisions introduced in the 1975 constitution, economic policies extended further in the direction of unfettered statism, thus destroying the international competitiveness of the Greek economy. Some researchers have attributed the economic decline of Greece to its entry into the EU. I look into these allegations and find that they have little or no basis on the available evidence.
Reward and Social Valuation Deficits following Ventromedial Prefrontal Damage

Lesion and imaging studies have implicated the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) in economic decisions and social interactions, yet its exact functions remain unclear. Here, we investigated the hypothesis that the vmPFC represents the subjective value or desirability of future outcomes during social decision-making. Both vmPFC-damaged patients and control participants acted as the responder in a single-round ultimatum game. To test outcome valuation, we contrasted concrete, immediately available gains with abstract, future ones. To test social valuation, we contrasted interactions with a human partner and those involving a computer. We found that, compared to controls, vmPFC patients substantially reduced their acceptance rate of unfair offers from a human partner, but only when financial gains were presented as abstract amounts to be received later. When the gains were visible and readily available, the vmPFC patients' acceptance of unfair offers was normal. Furthermore, unlike controls, vmPFC patients did not distinguish between unfair offers from a human agent and those from a computerized opponent. We conclude that the vmPFC encodes the expected value of abstract, future goals in a common neural currency that takes into account both reward and social signals in order to optimize economic decision-making.
Cybernetic model for synthesis of poly‐β‐hydroxybutyric acid in Alcaligenes eutrophus

The pathway of poly‐β‐hydroxybutyric acid (PHB) exhibits a mode of transcriptional control induced by environmental stress. A new cybernetic model for coordinated regulation of stress‐induced metabolism was developed to predict the growth and the synthesis of PHB in Alcaligenes eutrophus. A plausible objective for this control is optimization of acetyl‐CoA utilization so that the cells have a high degree of flexibility in their catabolism. The state equation for key protein synthesis was assumed to have a dependence on the nonlinear control variable. The proposed model can demonstrate the mixed‐growth‐associated synythesis of PHB. Reported unstructured models were compared statistically with the result of the simulation derived from the proposed model using the experimental data of this study and the literature. The proposed model appeared to provide an excellent description for the overall fermentation range. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
The Political Economy of Productivity Collapses and Accelerations : The Turkish Experience , 1950-2010 by

Developing countries have shown distinct patterns of growth and productivity rates that usually lack persistence. In Turkey, for example, endemic instability and recurrent crises and associated low and volatile productivity and growth rates have been the dominant macroeconomic themes since its transition to the multi-party democracy in 1950. This paper, inspired by the Turkish experience, aims to develop a simple model of total factor productivity for explaining the substantial volatility in long-run productivity and growth. This study, in turn, attempts to explore the new political economy literature as the theoretical bridge to link short-term macroeconomic outcomes to long-term economic growth in a simple production function framework. More specifically, we attempt to link short-run policy outcomes to long-run productivity measure by considering political economy factors such as socio-political and institutional issues. It is shown that this framework is capable of explaining the substantial volatility in productivity and hence output trend in Turkey as well as in many other developing countries, notably Latin American countries. In fact, empirical results, based on time series econometric techniques, confirm that Turkey has experienced productivity accelerations and collapses as a consequence of the endemic instability, populist cycles, and resultant crises and regime changes since the 1950s. However, social conflicts (e.g. arising from distributional problems) and weaker institutions were the main causes of the persistence of unsound policies in Turkey with undesirable outcomes, in terms of macroeconomic instability and productivity, prior to 2001.
Small airways in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Comparison of morphologic and physiologic observations.

18 patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis were studied to determine if they had morphologic evidence of small airways disease and if physiologic testing could predict morphologic findings. In the presence of normal airway function by standard physiologic studies (forced expiratory volume in 1 s/forced vital capacity and airway resistance by plethysmography), dynamic compliance, maximum expiratory flow-volume curves, and maximum flowstatic recoil curves were measured to detect physiologic alterations consistent with small airways abnormalities. These physiologic data were then compared with estimates of small airways diameter made in lung biopsy specimens.94% (17 of 18) of the patients had peribronchiolar fibrosis or peribronchiolar inflammation or bronchiolitis. 67% (12 of 18) had an overall estimate of small airways diameter of "narrowed," whereas 33% (6 of 18) had airways that overall were "not narrowed. " 59% (10 of 17) had frequency-dependent dynamic compliance, 50% (9 of 18) had abnormal maximum expiratory flow-volume curves, and 39% (7 of 18) had abnormal maximum flow-static recoil curves. Comparisons between morphologic and physiologic data revealed a significant correlation between the results of dynamic compliance and the overall estimate of small airways diameter (P = 0.001), and the results of maximum flow-volume curves and the overall estimate of small airways diameter (P = 0.009); there was no significant correlation between the results of maximum flow-static recoil curves and the overall estimate of small airways diameter (P = 0.1). THE RESULTS OF THIS STUDY SUGGEST THAT: (a) idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is a disease of small airways as well as alveoli; (b) dynamic compliance and the maximum expiratory flow-volume curve can predict the overall status of small airways diameter in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis; and (c) whereas the maximum flowstatic recoil curve predicts the overall estimate of small airways diameter in most patients with this disease, it is the least sensitive of these three monitors of small airways.