Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Susceptibility testing: inoculum size dependency of inhibition using the Colworth MIC technique

The minimum inhibitory concentration, MIC, is an accepted and well used criterion for measuring the susceptibility of organisms to inhibitors. Many factors influence the MIC value obtained, including temperature, inoculum size and type of organism. A modification of the method developed in this laboratory to obtain inhibition profiles of antimicrobials was used to examine the effect of inoculum size on the degree of inhibition observed with respect to inhibitor concentration. The data obtained enabled the production of an empirical model of inhibition, based on a Gompertz function, relating the level of growth observed to both the inoculum size and concentration of the inhibitor. The inoculum size dependencies of phenethyl alcohol, phenoxyethanol, p‐chloro‐m‐cresol, trichloro‐phenol, thymol and dodecyltrimethylammmonium bromide against Staphylococcus aureus were obtained.
Relationship between Hemostatic Factors and the Platelet Index in Patients with Ischemic Heart Disease

To understand the heterogeneity of platelets, we investigated the correlation between hemostatic factors and the platelet index [platelet count, mean platelet volume (MPV), platelet-large cell ratio (P-LCR) and platelet distribution width (PDW)] in patients with ischemic heart disease (IHD). Ninety-seven patients with IHD and 120 aged controls (AC) were enrolled in the study. D-dimer, thrombin-antithrombin III complex (TAT), von Willebrand factor antigen (VWF:Ag) and platelet indexes were measured in the peripheral venous blood. The D-dimer and TAT levels in the patients were significantly elevated compared to the AC. VWF:Ag was also elevated, but not significantly so. However, no differences were observed in the platelet index between the patients and the AC. In the patients, the level of VWF:Ag was significantly inversely correlated with the platelet count, but such correlations were not observed in the D-dimer and TAT. TAT was significantly positively correlated with MPV, P-LCR and PDW. VWF:Ag was also correlated, though not significantly, with MPV, P-LCR and PDW. The D-dimer was not correlated with the platelet index. In the AC, the platelet count was inversely correlated with VWF:Ag, but not significantly so. VWF:Ag showed significant positive correlations with MPV, P-LCR and PDW. However, the D-dimer and TAT were not correlated with the platelet index in AC. These findings suggest that VWF:Ag and TAT seem to be profoundly related to platelet volume.
Effects of oestrogen‐only and oestrogen–progestogen replacement therapy upon circulating angiotensin I‐converting enzyme activity in postmenopausal women

objective Levels of angiotensin I‐converting enzyme (ACE) in blood are associated with variation in cardiovascular disease risk. Serum ACE activity in women may be reduced by combined oestrogen–progestogen hormone replacement therapy (HRT). However, the relative contribution of each hormonal component to this observation is uncertain. We investigated ACE activity in two groups of healthy postmenopausal women receiving HRT regimens.
Bed of Nails—100- $\mu$m-Pitch Wafer-Level Interconnections Process

The rapid advances in integrated chip (IC) design and fabrication continue to challenge electronic packaging technology, in terms of fine pitch, high performance, low cost, and reliability. Demand for higher input/output (I/O) count per IC chip increases as the IC chip fabrication technology is continuously moving towards nano ICs with feature size less than 90 nm. As micro systems continue to move towards high speed and microminiaturization technologies, stringent electrical and mechanical properties are required. To meet the above requirements, chip-to-substrate interconnection technologies with less than 100-mum pitch are required. Currently, the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) mismatch between the Si chip and the substrate serves as the biggest bottleneck issue in conventional chip to substrate interconnections technology, which becomes even more critical as the pitch of the interconnects is reduces. Further, the assembly yield of such fine-pitch interconnections also serves as one of the biggest challenges. Bed-of-nails (BoN) interconnects show great potential in meeting some of these requirements for next-generation packaging. In the present study, BoN interconnects prepared by a novel process called copper column wafer-level packaging is presented. The BoN interconnect technology is being developed to meet fine pitch of 100 mum and high-density interconnections. These BoN interconnects are demonstrated by designing a test chip of 10times10mm2size with 3338 I/Os and fabricated using an optimized process. The board-level reliability tests performed under temperature cycling in the range of -40degC to 125degC show promising results.
Saccadic eye movements in Graves' disease.

PURPOSE To describe the saccades made by patients with Graves' disease (GD) and to attempt to distinguish these objectively and quantitatively from the saccades in control subjects. METHODS In 12 euthyroid patients with GD, the saccades of both eyes were recorded simultaneously with electromagnetic search coils. Subjects were asked to alternate their gazes between two fixed targets that were 10 degrees, 20 degrees, 30 degrees, or 40 degrees apart along each horizontal or vertical meridian. The data from the patients with GD and those from the similarly recorded group of 12 control subjects were examined in two ways. First, the difference in saccadic sizes between the two eyes was assessed. Second, the saccadic dynamics--that is, the maximum velocity and the saturation constant of the main sequence--were determined for each eye. Repeated measurement analysis of variance was used to test observed differences between the two groups. Finally, through exact logistic regression analysis, classification of the saccades as those of a patient with GD or of a control subject was carried out. RESULTS The saccades of patients with GD were generally less conjugate than those of control subjects (P < 0.05). On average, the maximum main sequence velocities in patients with GD were lower than in control subjects (P < 0.05). The saccades of patients with GD were well differentiated from those of control subjects. CONCLUSIONS The saccades in GD may differ markedly from normal saccades, and the two can be reliably distinguished.
Serum HCV RNA level is not associated with insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome in chronic hepatitis C patients with genotype 1 or 2 infection.

BACKGROUND Previous reports have indicated that insulin resistance (IR) is associated with chronic hepatits C virus (HCV) infection. However, the correlations between IR, metabolic syndrome (MS), and serum HCV RNA levels are still controversial. The aim of this study was to determine the relationships between IR, MS, and HCV RNA in patients with chronic genotype 1 or 2 HCV infection. METHODS One hundred and twenty subjects with chronic genotype 1 or 2 HCV infection with complete clinical data were prospectively enrolled. Baseline and laboratory data were collected and analyzed. IR was defined as a homeostatic model assessment- IR (HOMA-IR) score > 2.5. RESULTS Of the 120 patients, 47 (39.2%) had a HOMA-IR > 2.5, and 42 (35%) met the criteria for MS. IR was significantly associated with a high body mass index (p < 0.0001), high waist circumference (p < 0.0001) and high triglyceride level (p = 0.025). IR was an independent predictor of MS. However, in multivariate linear regression analysis, the serum HCV RNA level was not significantly different in chronic hepatitis C patients with or without IR (p = 0.761), and with or without MS (p = 0.292). CONCLUSIONS IR and MS are not uncommon in patients with chronic hepatitis C. The serum HCV RNA level is not associated with the presence of IR or MS in chronic hepatitis C patients with genotype 1 or 2 infection. The impact of hepatitis C virus on IR is not dose responsive.
Do Stock Options Overcome Managerial Risk Aversion? Evidence from Exercises of Executive Stock Options

We report that the probability that executives exercise options early decreases with the volatility of the underlying stock return. We interpret this to mean that executives’ subjective option value increases with volatility and that option grants increase executives’ risk appetite. Further decomposition reveals that the results are most pronounced for idiosyncratic volatility, consistent with our conjecture that executives believe they can better predict or influence the resolution of idiosyncratic uncertainty than systematic uncertainty, and, thus, favor the former.
Descriptive Epidemiology of Dance Participation in Adolescents

Abstract The aims of this study were to describe the prevalence of dance participation in U.S. adolescents and to estimate the contribution of dance to total moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). The sample was composed of 3,598 adolescents from the 2003–06 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Youth reported frequency and duration of physical activities performed in the past month. Dance participation prevalence was calculated; among those who reported dance, its contribution to total MVPA was estimated. The prevalence of dance was much higher in girls (34.8%) than boys (8.4%). Girls had a greater contribution of dance to total MVPA (39.3%) than boys (23.0%). Dance is a prevalent form of physical activity among girls, and it accounts for a substantial fraction of their total MVPA.
Coalition Formation and Selectorate Theory: An Experiment*

This paper uses a laboratory experiment to examine how different rules for re-selecting the leader of a group affects how that leader builds a winning coalition. Leaders play an inter-group game and then distribute winnings from that game within their group before standing for re-selection. The results of the experiment show that leaders of groups with large winning coalition systems rely heavily on distributing winnings through public goods, while leaders of groups with small winning coalition systems are more likely to target specific citizens with private goods. Furthermore, the experiment shows that supporters of small coalition leaders benefit from that support in future rounds by receiving more private goods than citizens that did not support the leader. Meanwhile, citizens that support a large coalition leader do not benefit from this support in future rounds. Therefore, small coalition leaders target individual citizens to maintain a coalition over time in a way not possible in a group with a large winning coalition. Finally, in the experiment, small coalition leaders increased their payoffs over time, suggesting that once power has been consolidated, small coalition leaders narrow their coalition.
Imaging triiodothyronine binding kinetics in rat brain: A model for studies in human subjects

Many lines of evidence indicate a role for thyroid hormones in the expression of cognitive and affective disorders. These conditions constitute a large proportion of the illness burden in the general population. Unfortunately, presently available diagnostic procedures cannot adequately identify these problems. To determine whether imaging studies of thyroid hormone kinetics in brain might be feasible in patients with these disorders, an autoradiographic method for measuring thyroid hormone kinetics was developed. Twenty‐five awake adult rats received high specific activity [125I]‐triiodothyronine (T3*). Brains were obtained at intervals from 5 through 300 min after i.v. hormone administration. Every 5th frozen section was thaw mounted and exposed to film. To determine whether T3 was responsible for the autoradiographic images, the intervening sections were assembled while frozen in regional tissue pools and were extracted and then analyzed by high‐performance liquid chromatography. The results demonstrated that radioactivity was almost entirely due to T3*(∼90%) while small amounts of hormone metabolites, including [125I]iodine accounted for the remainder. Regional concentrations of label in autoradiograms were measured by densitometry in hippocampus (CA1, CA2, CA3, and dentate gyrus), cerebellum (molecular and granular cell layers), caudate nucleus, and amygdala. Unexpectedly and interestingly, the results demonstrated that binding through 5 h was mainly irreversible. Regional values of the net uptake rate constant of T3* or influx constant, Ki, were determined from the time course of the T3* data, showing significant differences among regions. These results suggest that imaging of labeled thyroid hormone ligands by positron emission tomography or single photon emission computed tomography may be feasible and would potentially provide useful information relevant to T3 processing in the brain during a variety of drug and disease‐induced conditions. Synapse 60:212–222, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Non-health care facility medication errors resulting in serious medical outcomes

Abstract Objective: The objective of this study is to provide an epidemiologic analysis of medication errors occurring outside of health care facilities that result in serious medical outcomes (defined by the National Poison Database System as “moderate effect,” “major effect,” “death,” or “death, indirect report”). Methods: National Poison Database System data from 2000 through 2012 were used for this retrospective analysis of non-health care facility medication errors. Results: From 2000 through 2012, Poison Control Centers in the United States received data on 67,603 exposures related to unintentional therapeutic pharmaceutical errors that occurred outside of health care facilities that resulted in serious medical outcomes. The overall average rate of these medication errors was 1.73 per 100,000 population, and there was a 100.0% rate increase during the 13-year study period. Medication error frequency and rates increased for all age groups except children younger than 6 years of age. Medical outcome was most commonly reported as moderate effect (93.5%), followed by major effect (5.8%) and death (0.6%). Common types of medication errors included incorrect dose, taking or administering the wrong medication, and inadvertently taking the medication twice. The medication categories most frequently associated with serious outcomes were cardiovascular drugs (20.6%) (primarily beta blockers, calcium antagonists, and clonidine), analgesics (12.0%) (most often opioids and acetaminophen, alone and combination products), and hormones/hormone antagonists (11.0%) (in particular, insulin, and sulfonylurea). Conclusions: This study analyzed non-health care facility medication errors resulting in serious medical outcomes. The rate of non-health care facility medication errors resulting in serious medical outcomes is increasing, and additional efforts are needed to prevent these errors.
Evaluating the Actual and Perceived Exertion Provided by Virtual Reality Games

Virtual Reality games have shown potential to make exercise fun and engaging. This is because many virtual reality games, using devices like the HTC Vive, offer engaging experiences where interaction requires the player to physically move around, moving their arms and body. This paper presents the first work evaluating the actual and perceived exertion in four existing virtual reality games. Our key contribution is in the insights about the exertion provided by four diverse types of VR games, highlighting their potential value for improving exercise levels. Our work points to the need for standards to classify VR games in terms of both the cardiovascular level and the particular muscle groups
The effect of TIMP-1 on the cone mosaic in the retina of the rat model of retinitis pigmentosa.

PURPOSE The array of photoreceptors found in normal retinas provides uniform and regular sampling of the visual space. In contrast, cones in retinas of the S334ter-line-3 rat model for RP migrate to form a mosaic of rings, leaving large holes with few or no photoreceptors. Similar mosaics appear in human patients with other forms of retinal dystrophy. In the current study, we aimed to investigate the effect of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1) on the mosaic of cones in S334ter-line-3 rat retinas. We focused on TIMP-1 because it is one of the regulators of the extracellular matrix important for cellular migration. METHODS Immunohistochemistry was performed to reveal M-opsin cone cells (M-cone) and the results were quantified to test statistically whether or not TIMP-1 restores the mosaics to normal. In particular, the tests focused on the Voronoi and nearest-neighbor distance analyses. RESULTS Our tests indicated that TIMP-1 led to significant disruption of the M-opsin cone rings in S334ter-line-3 rat retinas and resulted in almost complete homogeneous mosaics. In addition, TIMP-1 induced the M-cone spatial distribution to become closer to random with decreased regularity in S334ter-line-3 rat retinas. CONCLUSIONS These findings confirm that TIMP-1 induced M-cone mosaics in S334ter-line-3 to gain homogeneity without reaching the degree of regularity seen in normal retinal mosaics. Even if TIMP-1 fails to promote regularity, the effects of this drug on homogeneity appear to be so dramatic that TIMP-1 may be a potential therapeutic agent. TIMP-1 improves sampling of the visual field simply by causing homogeneity.
Mini Review: Bruxism-An Indication of Temporomandibular Disorder

Bruxism is a parafunctional action categorised by the action of gnashing, crunching and grinding of teeth. Its prominent clinical symptoms are teeth fractures or root fractures, tooth mobility, pain, hypertrophied facial muscles and compact ability to open the mouth upon awaking frequent headaches especially in the temporal muscle region.
Parallels in Genome Evolution in Mitochondria and Bacterial Symbionts

Mitochondria, the energy‐producing organelles of the eukaryotic cell, originate from an endosymbiotic α‐proteobacterium. These organelles are believed to have arisen only once in evolutionary history, but despite their common ancestry, mitochondrial DNAs vary extensively throughout eukaryotes in genome architecture and gene content. New insights into early mitochondrial genome evolution come from the investigation of primitive mitochondriate eukaryotes, as well as the comparison between mitochondria and intracellular bacterial symbionts. IUBMB Life, 55: 205‐212, 2003
Visual presentation of novel objects and new spatial arrangements of objects differentially activates the medial temporal lobe subareas in humans

A number of studies in rodents and monkeys report a distinction between the contributions of the hippocampus and perirhinal cortex to memory, such that the hippocampus is crucial for spatial memory whereas the perirhinal cortex has a pivotal role in perception and memory for visual objects. To determine if there is such a distinction in humans, we conducted a functional magnetic resonance imaging study to compare the medial temporal lobe responses to changes in object identity and spatial configurations of objects. We found evidence for the predicted distinction between hippocampal and perirhinal cortical activations, although part of the hippocampus was also activated by identification of novel objects. Additionally, an anterior‐posterior activation gradient emerged inside the hippocampus and parahippocampal cortex. The anterior hippocampus, perirhinal cortex and anterior parahippocampal cortex are involved in perception of contextually novel objects, whereas the posterior hippocampus and posterior parahippocampal cortex are involved in processing of novel arrangements of familiar objects. These results demonstrate that there is a functional dissociation between processing of novel object identities and new spatial locations of objects among the subregions of medial temporal lobe structures in humans also.
The Role of PTSD in Bi-directional Intimate Partner Violence in Military and Veteran Populations: A Research Review

Evidence supporting the higher prevalence of PTSD linked to combat-related trauma in military personnel and veteran populations is well-established. Consequently, much research has explored the effects that combat related trauma and the subsequent PTSD may have on different aspects of relationship functioning and adjustment. In particular, PTSD in military and veterans has been linked with perpetrating intimate partner violence (IPV). New research and theoretical perspectives suggest that in order to respond effectively to IPV, a more accurate understanding of the direction of the violence experienced within each relationship is critical. In both civilian and military populations, research that has examined the direction of IPV's, bi-directional violence have been found to be highly prevalent. Evidence is also emerging as to how these bi-directional violence differ in relation to severity, motivation, physical and psychological consequences and risk factors. Of particular importance within military IPV research is the need to deepen understanding about the role of PTSD in bi-directional IPV not only as a risk factor for perpetration but also as a vulnerability risk factor for victimization, as findings from recent research suggest. This paper provides a timely, critical review of emergent literature to disentangle what is known about bi-directional IPV patterns in military and veteran populations and the roles that military or veterans' PTSD may play within these patterns. Although, this review aimed to identify global research on the topic, the majority of research meeting the inclusion criteria was from US, with only one study identified from outside, from Canada. Strengths and limitations in the extant research are identified. Directions for future research are proposed with a particular focus on the kinds of instruments and designs needed to better capture the complex interplay of PTSD and bi-directional IPV in military populations and further the development of effective interventions.
Glucagon‐like peptide‐2 inhibits antral emptying in man, but is not as potent as glucagon‐like peptide‐1

Background: GLP‐1 (glucagon‐like peptide‐1) and GLP‐2 (glucagon‐like peptide‐2) are released in equimolar amounts in response to meal ingestion. GLP‐1 inhibits gastric emptying and reduces postprandial gastric and exocrine pancreatic secretion and may play a physiological regulatory role in controlling appetite and energy intake in humans. The role of GLP‐2 is more uncertain. Based on the results of animal studies, it has been suggested that GLP‐2 may induce intestinal epithelial growth and inhibit gastric motility. The aim of this study was to determine to what extent GLP‐2 alone or together with GLP‐1 inhibits gastric emptying and the sensation of hunger in man. Methods: Eight healthy volunteers were tested in a double‐blind, placebo‐controlled fashion. Antral emptying of a liquid meal and hunger ratings were determined using ultrasound technology and visual analogue scales scoring during infusions of saline, GLP‐2 (0.5, and 1.0 pmol kg body wt −1 min −1 ), GLP‐1 (0.5 pmol kg body wt −1 min −1 ) or GLP‐1 and GLP‐2 (0.5 pmol kg body wt −1 min −1 ). Results: The GLP‐2 infusions resulted in a dose‐dependent increase in antral emptying time (35%; ns and 75%; P = 0.049) compared to saline, but GLP‐2 was less potent than GLP‐1, which increased the antral emptying time by 192% (P < 0.001). Addition of GLP‐2 to the GLP‐1 infusion did not alter the antral emptying time compared with GLP‐1 alone. The GLP‐1 infusion decreased the sensation of hunger compared with saline (P = 0.023), whereas the two GLP‐2 infusions had no significant effect. Addition of GLP‐2 to the GLP‐1 infusion did not decrease the sensation of hunger further. Conclusions: Both GLP‐1 and GLP‐2 inhibit antral emptying in man, but GLP‐1 is more potent.