Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Tuberculosis control: the relevance of classic principles in an era of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and multidrug resistance.

The estimated 64,000 excess cases of tuberculosis which occurred in the United States between 1985 and 1993 (1) are part of a global pandemic (2). Years before industrialized countries started to experience a resurgence in tuberculosis, the disease had persisted in neglected groups within their own borders and in developing nations (3). With outbreaks of multidrugresistant tuberculosis in the United States, the threat of "casual transmission of a highly fatal disease" (4, p. 648) led to a renaissance of interest in, and expansion of funding for, tuberculosis epidemiology, studies on the emergence of multidrug-resistant strains, and control programs in the United States. Global tuberculosis control programs, however, remain woefully underfunded (5) and are often poorly structured.
Selective salpingography and fallopian tube catheterisation by guidewire

Summary The use of selective salpingography and tubal cannulation in the management of patients with proximal tubal obstruction in the UK is variable in spite of a National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) recommendation. A retrospective review was performed of patients who underwent selective salpingography and fallopian tube catheterisation (SS/TC). A total of 16 patients underwent this procedure. Patency of at least one tube was achieved in 16 of the 20 tubes attempted. Pregnancy was achieved in 35% of patients after the procedure. The ectopic pregnancy rate was 7%. One pregnancy occurred in a patient after the procedure was repeated. The availability of laparoscopy findings was valuable in identifying tubes with established disease and where the procedure might be expected to be unsuccessful or result in a high risk of ectopic pregnancy. Hence, selective salpingography and tubal cannulation procedure should be considered as a therapeutic option for all patients with proximal tubal block before considering IVF or tubal surgery.
Steroid induced psychosis in systemic lupus erythematosus: a possible role of serum albumin level

Blockade of tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) using infliximab, a chimeric monoclonal antibody against TNFα, is an effective treatment in rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn's disease.1, 2 Sifikakis reported success using infliximab in sight threatening Behcet's disease.3 A preliminary study has also reported clinical improvements in the primary systemic vasculitis, Wegener's granulomatosis, with the soluble TNFα receptor etanercept.4 The benefit of lenercept, a soluble p55 TNFα receptor fusion protein, on digital vasculitis in rheumatoid arthritis has also …
Favourable outcomes in children with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma treated by a short-term ALL-like regimen: A report on the NHL960 study from the Japanese Childhood Cancer and Leukemia Study Group

In the NHL960 non-LB study, we treated diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) using a short-term ALL-like protocol. Thirty children up to 16 years of age with DLBCL were stratified into group 1 with stage I/II disease, or group 2 with stage III/IV disease. Their ages ranged from 9 months to 16 years of age, with a median of 9 years of age. The Murphy's stages were stage I in 7, stage II in 10, stage III in 6, and stage IV in 7 subjects. They received an ALL-like treatment without prophylactic cranial irradiation for 6 or 9 months. All children achieved a complete remission. Two patients with stage 3 disease experienced recurrences at 18 and 37 months after the start of chemotherapy. They responded to a short intensive regimen with Rituximab, followed by stem cell transplantation, and are alive without disease. The follow-up time ranged from 41 to 124 months with a median of 80 months. For all patients analyzed in this study, their overall survival and event-free survival (EFS) at 7-years was 100% and 93% ± 4%, respectively. The 7-year EFS according to the treatment group was 100% for group 1, and 83% ± 11% for group 2, respectively.
Chapter 11: Quantifying Subspecies Analysis: A Case Study of Morphometric Variation and Subspecies in the Woodcreeper Genus Dendrocolaptes

Abstract Many authors have criticized the use of subspecies, but most of this criticism has been directed at the inconsistent treatment of subspecies rather than the inutility of diagnosable populations. To assess the validity of a taxon, one must include in the analysis those characters used in the original diagnosis and remember that different character sets may lack geographic concordance. We examined morphometric variation using 3,027 specimens representing all five species and 30 subspecies in the woodcreeper genus Dendrocolaptes (Dendrocolaptinae). Most subspecies in the genus differ in plumage patterns and coloration, but a few taxa were described using characters of size and structure. We sought to assess quantitatively, on the basis of the D-statistic (Patten and Unitt 2002), those subspecies described using mensural characters, to quantify morphological variation, and to examine the influence of ecological correlates in the genus. Males average slightly larger than females but have a less massiv.
Manipulación Contable y Calidad del Auditor. Un Estudio Empírico de la Realidad Española

RESUMEN Las prácticas para manipular la información contable suscitan en la actualidad un gran interés. La literatura, básicamente anglosajona, se ha referido con profusión a la figura del auditor, y específicamente a la calidad del auditor como factor limitador de estas prácticas. El objetivo del trabajo es constatar la existencia de manipulación contable en España a través de la realización de ajustes por devengo discrecionales, de forma que se pueda poner en relación este tipo de prácticas con la calidad del auditor; con ello se pretende determinar, si una elevada calidad puede constreñir las citadas prácticas. Igualmente, también se analiza con qué otros factores guarda relación el registro de devengos discrecionales. Las evidencias encontradas, si bien apoyan la existencia generalizada de prácticas de alisamiento del resultado en el ámbito de las empresas españolas cotizadas, en cambio, no respaldan que en nuestro país, a diferencia del ámbito anglosajón, la calidad del auditor disminuya la manipulación contable.
Functional analysis of the p53 pathway in response to ionizing radiation in uveal melanoma.

PURPOSE Uveal melanomas are notoriously radioresistant and thus necessitate treatment with extremely high radiation doses that often cause ocular complications. The p53 tumor suppressor pathway is a major mediator of the cellular response to radiation-induced DNA damage, suggesting that this pathway may be defective in uveal melanoma. The current study was conducted to analyze the functional integrity of the p53 pathway in primary uveal melanoma cells. METHODS The p53 gene was sequenced in three primary uveal melanoma cells lines. Cultured primary uveal melanoma cells (MM28, MM50, Mel202, Mel270, and Mel290), MCF7 breast carcinoma cells, normal uveal melanocytes (UM47), and normal human diploid fibroblasts (NHDFs) were irradiated at 250 kVp and 12 mA at a dose rate of 1.08 Gy/min for a total dose of up to 20 Gy. Cell viability was analyzed with trypan blue exclusion. Western blot analysis was used to analyze the expression of p53, p53-phospho-Ser15, p21, Bax, PUMA, and Bcl-x(L). RESULTS No p53 gene mutations were found in MM28, MM50, or Mel270 cells. Upstream signaling to p53 was intact, with normal induction of p53 and phosphorylation of p53-Ser15, in all five cell lines. Radiation-induced downstream activation of p21 was defective in MM28 and MM50 cells, and activation of Bax was defective in MM50 and Mel290 cells. MM28, MM50, and Mel202 cells failed to deamidate Bcl-x(L) in response to radiation-induced DNA damage. Overall, four of the five uveal melanoma cell lines exhibited at least one downstream defect in the p53 pathway. CONCLUSIONS Expression of p53 and upstream signaling to p53 in response to radiation-induced DNA damage appear to be intact in most uveal melanomas. In contrast, functional defects in the p53 pathway downstream of p53 activation appear to be common. Further elucidation of p53 pathway abnormalities in uveal melanoma may allow therapeutic interventions to increase the radiosensitivity of the tumors.
The Effectiveness of a Psychoeducation Intervention delivered via WhatsApp for mothers of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: A randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND Mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) report high levels of stress and lower levels of well-being than parents of typically developing children. Current interventions for ASD typically focus on working with the child rather than delivering strategies to help support parents. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effectiveness of a psychoeducation intervention developed to support mothers of children with ASD in Saudi Arabia. METHOD Sixty-two mothers (23-52 years) of children (26-78 months) were recruited to a multisite randomized controlled trials of the intervention. The intervention consisted of one face-to-face session (60 min) and four virtual sessions (30 min each) delivered using WhatsApp. Parenting stress was the primary outcome, with secondary outcomes focusing on maternal depression, anxiety, and happiness, and child behaviour problems and ASD symptoms. Data were collected at baseline T1, immediately postintervention T2 and 8-week follow-up T3. RESULTS One-way analysis of covariance was used at T2 and T3 with T1 scores entered as a covariate. Improvements were found at T2 for stress (F = 234.34, p = .00, and d = -1.52) and depression (F = 195.70, p = .00, and d = -2.14) but not anxiety, and these results were maintained at T3. Changes in child behaviour problems were limited to improvements in hyperactivity at T2 (F = 133.66, p = .00, and d = -1.54). Although changes in stress and depression were statistically significant, change to clinically normal levels was limited to depression. None of the participants had recovered after the intervention (Parent Stress Index Short Form stress scores), whereas 23 mothers (71.87%) in the intervention group had recovered at T2 and 22 (68.75%) at T3 (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale depression scores). CONCLUSION This intervention with WhatsApp support is beneficial but may need to be augmented with other forms of support for mothers of children with ASD including more condensed sessions on stress and interventions targeting anxiety.
One con the caus Genetic linkage and natural selection

The prevalence of recombination in eukaryotes poses one of the most puzzling questions in biology. The most compelling general explanation is that recombination facilitates selection by breaking down the negative associations generated by random drift (i.e. Hill–Robertson interference, HRI). I classify the effects of HRI owing to: deleterious mutation, balancing selection and selective sweeps on: neutral diversity, rates of adaptation and the mutation load. These effects are mediated primarily by the density of deleterious mutations and of selective sweeps. Sequence polymorphism and divergence suggest that these rates may be high enough to cause significant interference even in genomic regions of high recombination. However, neither seems able to generate enough variance in fitness to select strongly for high rates of recombination. It is plausible that spatial and temporal fluctuations in selection generate much more fitness variance, and hence selection for recombination, than can be explained by uniformly deleterious mutations or species-wide selective sweeps.
An outbreak of West Nile Virus infection in the region of Monastir, Tunisia, 2003

Abstract Background: A West Nile (WN) fever epidemic occurred in the region of Monastir, Tunisia, between August and October 2003. Aim of the study: We attempt to describe the epidemiology, clinical presentation, and outcome of patients with confirmed West Nile virus (WNV) infection. Methods: Three groups of specimens were prepared. One was made up of serum only (n = 43), the other of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) only (n = 30), and the third group was made up of both (n = 40). These specimens were obtained from 113 patients. A serological diagnosis and evidence of WNV genome by nested reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (nRT-PCR) and TaqMan reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) were carried out. Results: Thirty-eight cases (33.6%) were serologically positive. Results of nRT-PCR showed a total of 10 positive cases of WNV (8.8%) detected in group 1 (n = 1/43), group 2 (n = 5/30), and group 3 (n = 4/40) whereas the PCR TaqMan showed 18 positive samples (15.9%) found in group 1 (n = 3/43), group 2 (n = 9/30), and group 3 (n = 6/40). All TaqMan PCR positive cases were nRT-PCR positive. In addition, four serologically probable cases were confirmed by TaqMan PCR. The attempts to isolate WNV by cell culture were unsuccessful. Considering the results of TaqMan assay and the serological diagnosis, WNV infection was confirmed in a total of 42 patients. The main clinical presentations were meningoencephalitis (40%), febrile disease (95%), and meningitis (36%). Eight patients (19%) died. The highest case-fatality rates occurred among patients aged ≧55 years. The phylogenetic analysis revealed that isolates of WNV were closely related to the Tunisian strain 1997 (PAH001) and the Israeli one (Is-98). Conclusions: West Nile virus is a reemerging global pathogen that remains an important public health challenge in the next decade.
Microbial Biomass C and N and Activity of Enzymes in Soil under Winter Wheat Grown in Different Crop Management Systems

Microbial and biochemical analyses of soil under winter wheat in a field trial with various cultivation systems (organic, conventional and monoculture) were performed during 3 growing seasons: 2001, 2002 and 2003. The activities of the tested enzymes (dehydrogenase and phosphatases) and microbial biomass C and N contents in the monoculture soil were generally significantly lower than those in the soil from the organic and conventional–short rotation systems, indicating that substantial disturbances may occur in the microbial activity of the monoculture soil.
Static methods in hybrid branch prediction

Hybrid branch predictors combine the predictions of multiple single-level or two-level branch predictors. The prediction-combining hardware-the "meta-predictor"-may itself be large, complex and slow. We show that the combination function is better performed statically, using prediction hints in the branch instructions. The hints are set by profiling or static analysis. Although the meta-predictor is static, the actual predictions remain dynamic, so there is little risk of worst-case performance. An important advantage of our approach is that a branch site only causes interference within a single component predictor reducing capacity demands. We argue that our proposal is implementable, and that it addresses the scaling issues currently facing hardware designers. We show that the static hybrid method we propose is more effective than existing techniques based on dynamic selection, and requires less hardware. For example, one result shows a conventional 4096-bit dynamic selection mechanism getting a 4.7% average miss rate, while our static approach gets 3.6%. These results are obtained with the Instruction Benchmark Suite (IBS), a realistic whole-system benchmark, and the SPECint95 suite, using realistic hardware sizes. All the results we present are based on a cross-validation methodology, in which the profile data used for static selection are based on training inputs that are entirely different from the inputs used to evaluate the performance of the technique.
Improvements in magnetic resonance imaging excitation pulse design

This thesis focuses on the design of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) radio-frequency (RF) excitation pulses, and its primary contributions are made through connections with the novel multiple-system single-output (MSSO) simultaneous sparse approximation problem. The contributions are both conceptual and algorithmic and are validated with simulations, as well as anthropogenic-object-based and in vivo trials on MRI scanners. Excitation pulses are essential to MRI: they excite nuclear spins within a subject that are detected by a resonant coil and then reconstructed into images. Pulses need to be as short as possible due to spin relaxation, tissue heating, and main field inhomogeneity limitations. When magnetic spins are tilted by only a small amount, pulse transmission may be interpreted as depositing energy in a continuous three-dimensional Fourier-like domain along a one-dimensional contour to form an excitation in the spatial domain. Pulse duration is proportional to the length of the contour and inversely proportional to the rate at which it is traversed, and the rate is limited by system gradient hardware restrictions. Joint design of the contour and a corresponding excitation pulse is a difficult and central problem, while determining near-optimal energy deposition once the contour is fixed is significantly easier. We first pose the NP-Hard MSSO problem and formulate greedy and convex relaxationbased algorithms with which to approximately solve it. We find that second-order-cone programming and iteratively-reweighted least squares approaches are practical techniques for solving the relaxed problem and prove that single-vector sparse approximation of a complex-valued vector is an MSSO problem. We then focus on pulse design, first comparing three algorithms for solving linear systems of multi-channel excitation design equations, presenting experimental results from a 3 Tesla scanner with eight excitation channels. Our aim then turns toward the joint design of pulses and trajectories. We take joint design in a novel direction by utilizing MSSO theory and algorithms to design short-duration sparsity-enforced pulses. These pulses are used to mitigate transmit field inhomogeneity in the human brain at 7 Tesla, a significant step towards the clinical use of high-field imaging in the study of cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and Multiple Sclerosis. Pulses generated by the sparsity-enforced method outperform those created via conventional Fourier-based techniques, e.g., when attempting to produce a uniform magnetization in the presence of severe RF inhomogeneity, a 5.7-ms 15-spoke pulse generated by the sparsity-enforced method produces an excitation with 1.28 times lower root-mean-square error than conventionallydesigned 15-spoke pulses. To achieve this same level of uniformity, conventional methods
Bioaccumulation of alkali and alkaline earth metals (sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium) in fish (Labeo rohita Ham.) organs from selected districts of Odisha, India

The bioaccumulation of alkali and alkaline earth metals such as sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium were estimated in five different organs i.e., tissue, kidney, gills, liver, and testis/ovary of rohu, Labeo rohita (Ham.). The samples were collected from three study areas namely Kendrapada (KPD), Keonjhar (KEO) and Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture (CIFA) in Odisha. There was recorded a large variation in accumulation of metals in different tissues. The content of metals in gonads was estimated lower compared to other tissues. The pooled data for all the stations revealed that, in different organs the content of sodium (102±2.190 to 64±1.303), potassium (3.6±0.031 to 2.31±0.572), calcium (17.42±0.618 to 9.88±1.406) and magnesium (20±1.095 to 10±1) ppm respectively in wet wt. But in water medium the contents of sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium were 7.6±0.712 to 7.2±2.002, 14.3±1.463 to 12.8±2.037, 21.92±0.494 to 17.06±3.495 and 20±1.233 to 18.3±2.202 ppm respectively. The content of calcium, magnesium and potassium in different organs were low in comparison to the water medium. But the content of sodium in different organs was higher in comparison to that of water medium. The content of calcium, magnesium and sodium were recorded higher in body tissue than other organs, but the content of potassium was nearly equal in all tissues
THE GLUCOSE FATTY ACID CYCLE IN OBESITY AND MATURITY ONSET DIABETES MELLITUS

The present account contains a brief summary of the concept of the glucose fatty acid cycle and of the experimental evidence on which it is based and of its possible importance in the interpretation of metabolic disturbances in obesity and maturity onset diabetes. Much of the experimental evidence on which the concept is based has been published in detail elsewhere. ' ' The concept of the glucose fatty acid cycle is concerned with a reciprocal relationship between the metabolism of glucose and of fatty acids in muscle and adipose tissue. It is based upon the inhibitory effects of glucose and insulin on the release of fatty acids from glycerides in the two tissues and upon the inhibitory effects of fatty acid oxidation on the metabolism of glucose by glycolysis and oxidation in muscle and the action of insulin thereon. Adipose tissue may contribute to the oxidation of fatty acids in muscle because of its role as a source of plasma non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA). In normal animals the functioning of the cycle leads to the release and oxidation of fatty acids and to suppression of glucose oxidation during periods of carbohydrate deprivation. After intake of carbohydrate the release and oxidation of fatty acids is promptly suppressed and the uptake and oxidation of glucose is facilitated. The release of insulin from pancreatic 0 cells which is stimulated by glucose is an important factor in these changes. In alloxan-diabetes in the rat the cycle is disturbed in such a way that fatty acids continue to be oxidised in muscle a t an accelerated rate for some time after the provision of glucose and insulin. This accelerated rate of fatty acid oxidation leads to impaired uptake, glycolysis and oxidation of glucose in the presence of insulin and it appears to be an important factor in the insulin insensitivity or antagonism exhibited by muscles of diabetic rats. The most direct evidence for the glucose fatty acid cycle and for the view that many disturbances of glucose metabolism in muscle in diabetes are secondary manifestations of accelerated release and oxidation of fatty acids have been obtained in in vitrv experiments with rat muscle. These are summarised in the following section. Possible extensions of the cycle to liver where increased rates of fatty acid oxidation may accelerate gluconeogenesis are also briefly considered. In maturity onset diabetes and in established obesity there is evidence that the cycle is disturbed in such a way that fatty acids may be released and oxidised a t an accelerated rate in spite of the presence of adequate amounts of circulating glucose and insulin. This has raised the possi-