Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparison of the resistance ratio and proportion methods for antimicrobial susceptibility testing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

This study compared two in vitro antimicrobial susceptibility methods for determining drug susceptibilities of Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolated from newly diagnosed pulmonary tuberculosis patients to four front-line drugs. Of 250 strains of M. tuberculosis tested, 74.4 per cent were susceptible by the resistance ratio method, with 72.0 per cent by the proportion method. The results showed high agreement for both methods (P<0.0001) and agreement rates to streptomycin, isoniazid, rifampicin and ethambutol were 96.8, 98.0, 94.8 and 96.8 per cent, respectively. For drug resistance patterns, both methods showed the highest resistance to one drug, followed by two, three, and four drugs, respectively. Of the single drug resistance, both methods gave the highest resistance to streptomycin, followed by resistance to isoniazid, rifampicin and ethambutol, respectively. The correlation between both methods for determining susceptibility of M. tuberculosis to four drugs was not statistically significantly different by Mc Nemar chi2 (p>0.05). Thus, the resistance ratio method may be substituted. However, WHO recommended the use of the proportion method to be used for determining drug susceptibility of M. tuberculosis. The susceptibility testing result can be used as the guidance for proper treatment and is valuable for confirmation of drug resistance in patients showing unsatisfactory response to treatment, useful for identifying primary and acquired drug resistance trends in a community and for minimizing the spread of drug-resistant strains.
Evidence of CNS impairment in HIV infection: clinical, neuropsychological, EEG, and MRI/MRS study

OBJECTIVES To identify by clinical examination, EEG, MRI, and proton spectroscopy, and neuropsychological assessment the prevalence of signs of CNS involvement in patients infected with HIV, and to relate such findings to the evidence of immunosuppression. METHODS The design was a cross sectional analysis of a cohort of male patients with infected HIV with an AIDS defining diagnosis or low CD4 count (<350), and seropositive asymptomatic subjects, both groups being followed up in a longitudinal study. Control groups consisted of seronegative subjects from the same genitourinary medicine clinics. RESULTS This report sets out the cross sectional findings at the seventh visit in the longitudinal study. Patients with AIDS had more signs of neurological dysfunction, poorer performance on a neuropsychological test battery, were more likely to have an abnormal EEG, and to have abnormalities on MRI. They more often had cerebral atrophy, abnormal appearing white matter, , and abnormal relaxometry and spectroscopy. There was little evidence of abnormality in seropositive people who had a CD4 count >350 compared with seronegative people from a similar background. CONCLUSIONS Detailed testing failed to disclose significant CNS impairment without immunosuppression in men infected with HIV. Findings from MRI and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) correlated with those of the neurological examination and neuropsychogical assessment. A combination of such assessments offers a simple surrogate for studies of CNS involvement in HIV disease.
Quantitative analysis of glutamatergic and GABAergic neurons expressing 5‐HT2A receptors in human and monkey prefrontal cortex

5‐hydroxytryptamine (5‐HT) or serotonin 2A receptors play an important role in modulation of prefrontal cortex (PFC) activity and have been implicated in the physiopathology of psychiatric disorders. There is no quantitative information on the percentage of glutamatergic and GABAergic cells that express 5‐HT2A receptors in human and monkey PFC. We have used double in situ hybridization to quantify the mRNA co‐localization of 5‐HT2A receptor with the glutamatergic transporter vesicular glutamate transporter 1, and with the GABAergic marker glutamic acid decarboxylase 65/67 and in parvalbumin and calbindin GABAergic cell populations. Our results show that nearly every glutamatergic cell (86–100%) in layers II‐V expressed 5‐HT2A receptor mRNA in both species. This percentage was lower in layer VI (13–31%). In contrast, not all the GABAergic interneurons (13–46%) expressed 5‐HT2A receptor mRNA. This receptor was expressed in 45–69% of parvalbumin and in 61–87% of calbindin positive cells. These results indicate that, while the majority of glutamatergic neurons can be sensitive to 5‐HT action via 5‐HT2A receptors, this modulation occurs only in a limited population of GABAergic interneurons and provides new neuroanatomical information about the role played by serotonin through 5‐HT2A receptors in the PFC and on the sites of action for drugs such as antipsychotics and antidepressants used in treatment of psychiatric disorders.
Extrapancreatic organ impairment during acute pancreatitis induced by bile‐pancreatic duct obstruction. Effect of N‐acetylcysteine

Multiple organ failure is frequently associated with acute pancreatitis (AP). Our aim was to study pulmonary, hepatic and renal complications developed in the course of AP experimentally induced in rats by bile‐pancreatic duct obstruction (BPDO), differentiating the complications caused by AP itself, from those directly caused by bile duct obstruction (BDO), after ligating the choledocus. N‐acetylcysteine (NAC) was administered as a therapeutic approach. Myeloperoxidase activity revealed neutrophil infiltration in lungs from 12 h after BDO, even if AP was not triggered. Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity indicated hepatocyte death from 48 h after BDO, and from 24 h following BPDO‐induced AP onwards, an effect delayed until 48 h by NAC treatment. Rats with single cholestasis (BDO) and rats with BPDO‐induced AP showed a significant increase in plasma aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and bilirubin concentration from 12 h onwards, whose values were reduced by NAC treatment at early BPDO. No renal failure was found during 120 h of bile‐pancreatic obstruction. Our results showed lung and liver impairment as a result of BDO, even if AP does not develop. Pancreatic damage and extrapancreatic complications during AP induced by BPDO were palliated by NAC treatment.
Acute Brain Infarcts After Spontaneous Intracerebral Hemorrhage: A Diffusion-Weighted Imaging Study

Background and Purpose— We aimed to determine the prevalence of acute brain infarcts using diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) in patients with spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). Methods— We collected data on consecutive patients with spontaneous ICH admitted to our institution between August 1, 2006 and December 31, 2008 and in whom DWI was performed within 28 days of admission. Patients with hemorrhage attributable to trauma, tumor, aneurysm, vascular malformation, and hemorrhagic conversion of arterial or venous infarction were excluded. Restricted diffusion within, contiguous with, or immediately neighboring the hematoma or chronic infarcts was not considered abnormal. Using multivariable logistic regression, we evaluated potential predictors of DWI abnormality including clinical and radiographic characteristics and treatments. A probability value <0.05 was considered significant in the final model. Results— Among 118 spontaneous ICH patients (mean 59.6 years, 47.5% male, and 31.4% white) who also underwent MRI, DWI abnormality was observed in 22.9%. The majority of infarcts were small (median volume 0.25 mL), subcortical (70.4%), and subclinical (88.9%). Factors independently associated with DWI abnormality were prior ischemic stroke (P=0.002), MAP lowering by ≥40% (P=0.004), and craniotomy for ICH evacuation (P=0.001). Conclusion— We found that acute brain infarction is relatively common after acute spontaneous ICH. Several factors, including aggressive blood pressure lowering, may be associated with acute ischemic infarcts after ICH. These preliminary findings require further prospective study.
3D asymmetry of operated children with oral clefts.

OBJECTIVES To explore three-dimensional (3D) facial asymmetry differences in operated children with oral clefts and to compare the results with a control group. SETTING AND SAMPLE POPULATION The sample comprised one hundred and three 8- to 12-year-old children: 40 with unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP); 23 with unilateral cleft lip and alveolus (UCLA); 19 with bilateral cleft lip and palate (BCLP); 21 with cleft palate (CP) and 80 sex- and age-matched controls living in the North East of England. MATERIALS AND METHODS 3D stereophotogrammetric facial scans were recorded for each participant at rest. Thirty-nine landmarks were recorded for each scan. The x, y and z coordinates for each landmark were extracted. Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests were conducted to identify 3D landmark asymmetry differences between the groups. RESULTS Statistically significant differences were observed between all the groups. The UCLP and UCLA patients displayed the greatest asymmetry, followed by the BCLP group. The CP group was the least asymmetric among the cleft groups. Asymmetry was present to a lesser extent in the control group. CONCLUSIONS Shape analysis indicates the possible differences in the aetiology and growth pattern of the CP group compared to UCLA or UCLP and BCLP groups.
Why Don’t MENA Countries Trade More? The Curse of Bad Institutions

This paper explores the relation between institutions and trade in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Although most of the countries suffer from a clear deficit of “good” institutions, the MENA region was neglected in the literature on institutions and trade. This literature offers a broad consensus that bad institutions hamper trade, and that trade liberalization engenders institutional reforms. Taking into account the inverse relation between institutions and trade, we use a gravity model that explains bilateral trade for disaggregated goods and service sectors for 21 MENA countries over the period 1995-2014. Our results show that, in the presence of excessive zero trade observations, poor institutions can be considered as fixed export costs that help explain the zero probability of trade for some countries. Indeed, we find that institutions do matter for trade after controlling for the endogeneity problem between institutions and trade. Also, alternative aspects of institutions have different effects on trade in goods and trade in services.
Powerful Chief Executive Officers and Firm Performance: Integrating Agency and Stewardship Theory

Do agency and stewardship behaviors coexist at firms, or does one dominate the other? We use data from listed companies in China over the period 2007–2016 to show that powerful chief executive officers (CEOs) simultaneously incur self-interested agency costs while acting as stewards to benefit the firm. In balancing the push-and-pull forces of stewardship and agency behaviors, powerful CEOs in Chinese firms ultimately improve short-term and long-term firm performance. Our results have important implications for understanding how CEOs affect firms and how cultural factors can motivate CEOs to work in the interest of the firm.
Estimation Methods for Mixed Logistic Models with Few Clusters

ABSTRACT For mixed models generally, it is well known that modeling data with few clusters will result in biased estimates, particularly of the variance components and fixed effect standard errors. In linear mixed models, small sample bias is typically addressed through restricted maximum likelihood estimation (REML) and a Kenward-Roger correction. Yet with binary outcomes, there is no direct analog of either procedure. With a larger number of clusters, estimation methods for binary outcomes that approximate the likelihood to circumvent the lack of a closed form solution such as adaptive Gaussian quadrature and the Laplace approximation have been shown to yield less-biased estimates than linearization estimation methods that instead linearly approximate the model. However, adaptive Gaussian quadrature and the Laplace approximation are approximating the full likelihood rather than the restricted likelihood; the full likelihood is known to yield biased estimates with few clusters. On the other hand, linearization methods linearly approximate the model, which allows for restricted maximum likelihood and the Kenward-Roger correction to be applied. Thus, the following question arises: Which is preferable, a better approximation of a biased function or a worse approximation of an unbiased function? We address this question with a simulation and an illustrative empirical analysis.
Acculturative Stress, Self-Esteem, and Eating Pathology in Latina and Asian American Female College Students.

OBJECTIVE The overarching purpose of this study was to explore the relationships among acculturative stress, self-esteem, and eating pathology in Asian American and Latina female college students. METHOD Participants (N = 638, mean age = 19.88) completed self-report measures of the variables of interest online. RESULTS Bivariate correlations indicated that for women of both ethnic groups, acculturative stress was negatively correlated with self-esteem and positively correlated with eating pathology. Multigroup structural equation modeling indicated that for Asian American and Latina women, self-esteem partially mediated the relationship between acculturative stress and eating pathology. However, self-esteem did not serve as a significant moderator of this relationship for either ethnic group. CONCLUSION Overall, data suggest that acculturative stress is associated with increased eating pathology and self-esteem may mediate this relationship. These relationships suggest that assessment of eating pathology and self-esteem may be indicated for women presenting clinically with acculturative stress concerns.
Coverage and Capacity Impact of Mobility and Human Body Blocking at Millimeter Waves

We investigate the impact of human body blocking on the performance of millimeter wave wireless systems in an urban hotspot scenario. The effects of human body blocking at higher frequency bands are expected to be more severe than at traditional cellular bands because of worse signal propagation through the human body. To study the temporal behaviour of signals with blocking in a realistic setting, we employ a video clip of human activity in a public square and model the spatio-temporal distribution of individuals by extracting the locations of the people in each frame of the clip and embedding that information within various environment models in a ray tracing tool. This approach enables us to study the human body blocking effects in the context of realistic pedestrian trajectories taking into account the social interactions among people. We present extensive results from the ray tracing tool on the signal to noise ratio statistics and their temporal variation from multiple transmission points in various environments involving human body blocking. Our results show that maintaining good signal to noise ratio requires frequent switching between transmission points, and joint transmission may be preferred over switching to eliminate handover interruption. Our study also shows that multipath propagation through reflections from structures in the surrounding environment can mitigate to some extent but not eliminate the losses because of human body blocking.
Combined Laminectomy and Thoracoscopic Resection of Dumbbell-Type Thoracic Cord Tumor

Study Design. A study of five patients whose dumbbell or paraspinal tumors of the thoracic spine were managed by using thoracoscopic surgery is reported. Objectives. To report on the use of combined laminectomy and thoracoscopic resection for the management of dumbbell-type thoracic cord tumor. Summary of Background Data. Some posterior mediastinal tumors can be resected safely with video-assisted thoracic surgery. However, there are few reports on thoracoscopic resection of dumbbell and paraspinal tumors of the thoracic spine. Methods. Five patients who received treatment for thoracic spine dumbbell tumors and paraspinal tumors were studied retrospectively. Three patients had dumbbell tumors, and two had paraspinal tumors of the thoracic spine. Preoperative evaluation of each patient included plain chest radiography, magnetic resonance imaging, and computed tomography. All patients underwent total resection by means of a combined posteroanterior approach, with thoracoscopic surgery for dumbbell tumors and thoracoscopic surgery alone for paraspinal tumors. In all patients, a gross total resection was achieved with this approach. All patients were observed for a minimum of 3 years. Results. All patients regained their ability to walk 2 days after surgery, except for one patient who had a hemothorax. A gross total tumor resection, documented by magnetic resonance imaging, was performed on all patients. Follow-up imaging at 6 weeks, 1 year, 2 years, and 3 years after surgery did not show residual tumor or recurrence in any patient. To date, spinal instability has not developed in any patient. Conclusions. Combined laminectomy and thoracoscopic surgery may be a good alternative method for managing thoracic dumbbell tumors.
Commentaries on Scientific Papers Published in this Edition

The presented Pi analysis is interesting because it represents a sincere effort to improve the cephalometric evaluation of sagittal discrepancy by avoiding a number of ﬂaws known to be associated with other procedures. The use of natural head position (NHP) as a reference focuses attention again on the perception of human facial proﬁle in its natural environment, often so different from that of a clinical assessment. It takes some courage to present a new element in the jungle of cephalometric analyses and the authors should be complimented. Since the introduction of radiographic cephalometry, now more than 80 years ago, a multitude of diagnostic cephalometric analyses have been developed. Some have become famous, others have faded away, being consigned only to historic publications; some have become popular in certain orthodontic communities and never used by
In vivo microdialysis in awake, freely moving rats demonstrates HIV‐1 Tat‐induced alterations in dopamine transmission

Individuals infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) may develop neuropsychological impairment, and a modest percentage may progress to HIV‐associated dementia (HAD). Research using human and nonhuman, in vitro and in vivo models, demonstrates that subcortical dopamine (DA) systems may be particularly vulnerable to HIV‐induced neurodegeneration. The goal of the current investigation is to provide an understanding of the extent to which the HIV‐1 protein Tat induces alterations in striatal DA transmission using in vivo brain microdialysis in awake, freely moving rats. The current study was designed to investigate Tat‐induced neuronal dysfunction between 24‐h and 48‐h post‐Tat administration, and demonstrates a reduction in evoked DA for the Tat‐treated group relative to vehicle‐treated group at 24 and 48 h. The Tat‐induced reduction of DA overflow by 24 h suggests dysfunction of nerve terminals, and a compromised DA system in Tat‐treated animals. Furthermore, the current study provides direct support for HIV‐associated decline of DA function at a systemic level, helping to characterize the functional outcome of the relatively large amount of research on the molecular and behavioral levels of HIV‐induced neurotoxicity. This initial study may provide additional characteristics of Tat‐induced neuronal dysfunction to inform research on therapeutic intervention, and it provides a springboard for future in vivo research currently needed in the field. Synapse 63:181–185, 2009. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Insights into the Reaction of Protein-tyrosine Phosphatase 1B

Catalysis by protein-tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) occurs through a two-step mechanism involving a phosphocysteine intermediate. We have solved crystal structures for the transition state analogs for both steps. Together with previously reported crystal structures of apo-PTP1B, the Michaelis complex of an inactive mutant, the phosphoenzyme intermediate, and the product complex, a full picture of all catalytic steps can now be depicted. The transition state analog for the first catalytic step comprises a ternary complex between the catalytic cysteine of PTP1B, vanadate, and the peptide DADEYL, a fragment of a physiological substrate. The equatorial vanadate oxygen atoms bind to the P-loop, and the apical positions are occupied by the peptide tyrosine oxygen and by the PTP1B cysteine sulfur atom. The vanadate assumes a trigonal bipyramidal geometry in both transition state analog structures, with very similar apical O–O distances, denoting similar transition states for both phosphoryl transfer steps. Detailed interactions between the flanking peptide and the enzyme are discussed.
Is walking faster or walking farther more important to persons with chronic stroke?

Purpose: The purposes of this mixed-methods study were to (1) investigate whether walking faster or walking farther was more important for getting “out and about” to persons with chronic stroke and (2) explore explanations for walking preferences. Method: A convenience sample of 77 adults with chronic stroke completed questionnaires and walking outcomes in one visit. Participants were asked whether walking faster or farther was more important to them for getting “out and about”, and differences between response groups (faster vs. farther) were evaluated. Participants also described their preference for walking faster or farther. Qualitative responses were analyzed using content analysis. Results: The majority of participants (76%; n = 58) reported walking farther was more important, while 18% (n = 14) reported walking faster was more important. Statistically significant differences were not found between response groups for any variable. Primary themes identified from participant preferences for walking faster included: (1) faster speed equals better walking ability and (2) getting places faster/quicker. Primary themes from preferences for walking farther included: (1) engaging in activity and participation within home and community; (2) walking farther at a slower pace; and (3) fatigue with walking. Conclusions: Individual preferences for walking faster versus walking farther by persons with chronic stroke should be considered by clinicians when making decisions for rehabilitation. Implications for Rehabilitation Individual preferences for walking faster versus walking farther by patients with chronic stroke should be considered by rehabilitation clinicians when making decisions about examination and intervention. The majority of participants with chronic stroke in this study indicated the importance of walking farther in order to better engage in activities both at home and away from home. Interventions that focus on improving endurance and energy conservation may need to be used for persons with chronic stroke who want to walk father in order to maximize their potential for walking longer distances.