Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Susceptibility of Clostridium botulinum to thirteen antimicrobial agents

A total of 224 strains of Clostridium botulinum (including isolates from 14 patients with infant botulism and 4 with wound botulism) and 15 strains of C. sporogenes were tested by agar dilution for susceptibility to tetracycline, metronidazole, erythromycin, penicillin, rifampin, chloramphenicol, clindamycin, cephalothin, cefoxitin, vancomycin, sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim, nalidixic acid, and gentamicin. At least 90% of the C. botulinum strains tested (except for nonproteolytic strains of toxin type F with penicillin) were susceptible to all drugs except sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim, nalidixic acid, and gentamicin. Minimal inhibitory concentrations for strains from patients with infant and wound botulism were similar to those for other C. botulinum strains.
Spatial analysis of tuberculosis in Douala, Cameroon: clustering and links with socio-economic status.

SETTING Douala, the economic capital of Cameroon, with a network of 20 diagnostic and treatment centres for tuberculosis (TB). OBJECTIVE To describe the spatial distribution of smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) cases in Douala, Cameroon, and to evaluate links between PTB incidence and patients' socio-economic status (SES). DESIGN Between May 2011 and April 2012, demographic clinical characteristics and global positioning system coordinates for the residence of each consenting PTB case were collected. Spatial scan statistic was used to identify spatial clusters of tuberculosis. SES data were collected by interview during home visits. PTB patients' SES data were compared with those available for the whole urban population from a recent demographic and health survey. The correlation between PTB incidence and the mean SES of the PTB patients was examined by health area (HA). RESULTS In total, 2132 (84%) diagnosed PTB cases were identified and interviewed. Three statistically significant spatial clusters were identified. High PTB incidence was predominantly found in HAs characterised by low SES. CONCLUSION There is evidence of clustering of PTB cases in Douala. Clusters are mainly found in neighbourhoods of low SES. Systematic use of cluster detection techniques for regular TB surveillance in Cameroon might aid in the effective deployment of National TB Programme resources.
On-Surface Tests of the ATLAS Barrel Toroid Coils: Acceptance Criteria and Results

Each superconducting coil of the ATLAS Barrel Toroid has to pass the commissioning tests on surface before the installation in the underground cavern for the ATLAS Experiment at CERN. Particular acceptance criteria have been developed to characterize the individual coils during the on-surface testing. Based on these criteria and the limited time of the test, a compressed test program was proposed and realized. In only a few cases some additional tests were required to justify the coil performance and acceptance. In this paper the analysis of the test results is presented and discussed with respect to the acceptance criteria. Some differences in the parameters found between the identical coils are analyzed in relation to coil production features
Influence of Ocean–Atmosphere Interaction on the Arctic Oscillation in Two General Circulation Models

Abstract The influence of ocean–atmosphere interaction on the wintertime Arctic oscillation (AO) is investigated using a hierarchy of experiments made with two general circulation models (GCMs), ranging from climatologically forced atmospheric to fully coupled ocean–atmosphere GCMs with increasing greenhouse gas concentrations. Both GCMs reproduce well the AO spatial pattern, defined by the leading hemispheric mode of monthly sea level pressure or daily 700-hPa geopotential height, although the North Pacific pole is more pronounced as compared with observations. Coupling is not found to influence this spatial pattern. Power spectra are examined for evidence of ocean–atmosphere interaction in the form of spectral reddening or significant spectral peaks. No measurable influence is found. On interannual timescales, all the model AO spectra are approximately “white,” with no clear evidence of any statistically significant spectral peaks in the coupled experiments. Greenhouse gas–induced changes in sea level p.
Relation of fatty acid structure to release and esterification of free fatty acids.

After incubation of rat adipose tissue with corticotrophin in buffer-albumin, the composition of the free fatty acids (FFA) in the tissue and in the medium was determined; the medium contained proportionately more myristic, palmitoleic, linoleic, and linolenic acids. The ratio of the amount of each free acid in the medium to that in the tissue increased with decreasing chain length and increasing unsaturation. Free acids produced in adipose tissue by corticotrophin stimulation were esterified by subsequent exposure of the tissue to glucose and insulin. Among the saturated and monoenoic acids the shorter chain components were esterified to a greater extent, while at a given chain length the more unsaturated acids were more readily esterified. Thus the more polar FFA were more readily released from and esterified in adipose tissue. These results could have been produced by a variety of processes including differences between the acids in aqueous solubility or the presence of tissue-binding sites with varying affinities for the different acids.
Birth Weight, Body Silhouette Over the Life Course, and Incident Diabetes in 91,453 Middle-Aged Women From the French Etude Epidemiologique de Femmes de la Mutuelle Générale de l'Education Nationale (E3N) Cohort

OBJECTIVE Obesity and increases in body weight in adults are considered to be among the most important risk factors for type 2 diabetes. Low birth weight is also associated with a higher diabetes incidence. We aimed to examine to what extent the evolution of body shape, from childhood to adulthood, is related to incident diabetes in late adulthood. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Etude Epidemiologique de Femmes de la Mutuelle Générale de l'Education Nationale (E3N) is a cohort study of French women born in 1925–1950 and followed by questionnaire every 2 years. At baseline, in 1990, women were asked to report their current weight, height, and body silhouette at various ages. Birth weight was recorded in 2002. Cases of diabetes were self-reported or obtained by drug reimbursement record linkage and further validated. RESULTS Of the 91,453 women who were nondiabetic at baseline, 2,534 developed diabetes over the 15 years of follow-up. Birth weight and body silhouette at 8 years, at menarche, and in young adulthood (20–25 years) were inversely associated with the risk of diabetes, independently of adult BMI during follow-up (all Ptrend < 0.001). In mid-adulthood (35–40 years), the association was reversed, with an increase in risk related to a larger body silhouette. An increase in body silhouette from childhood to mid-adulthood amplified the risk of diabetes. CONCLUSIONS Low birth weight and thinness until young adulthood may increase the risk of diabetes, independently of adult BMI during follow-up. Young women who were lean children should be especially warned against weight gain.
Modeling Visual Problem Solving as Analogical Reasoning

We present a computational model of visual problem solving, designed to solve problems from the Raven’s Progressive Matrices intelligence test. The model builds on the claim that analogical reasoning lies at the heart of visual problem solving, and intelligence more broadly. Images are compared via structure mapping, aligning the common relational structure in 2 images to identify commonalities and differences. These commonalities or differences can themselves be reified and used as the input for future comparisons. When images fail to align, the model dynamically rerepresents them to facilitate the comparison. In our analysis, we find that the model matches adult human performance on the Standard Progressive Matrices test, and that problems which are difficult for the model are also difficult for people. Furthermore, we show that model operations involving abstraction and rerepresentation are particularly difficult for people, suggesting that these operations may be critical for performing visual problem solving, and reasoning more generally, at the highest level.
Transcribed enhancers lead waves of coordinated transcription in transitioning mammalian cells

Uncaging promoter and enhancer dynamics In order to understand cellular differentiation, it is important to understand the timing of the regulation of gene expression. Arner et al. used cap analysis of gene expression (CAGE) to analyze gene enhancer and promoter activities in a number of human and mouse cell types. The RNA of enhancers was transcribed first, followed by that of transcription factors, and finally by genes that are not transcription factors. Science, this issue p. 1010 The RNAs of enhancers are expressed before the genes they regulate during human and mouse cell differentiation. Although it is generally accepted that cellular differentiation requires changes to transcriptional networks, dynamic regulation of promoters and enhancers at specific sets of genes has not been previously studied en masse. Exploiting the fact that active promoters and enhancers are transcribed, we simultaneously measured their activity in 19 human and 14 mouse time courses covering a wide range of cell types and biological stimuli. Enhancer RNAs, then messenger RNAs encoding transcription factors, dominated the earliest responses. Binding sites for key lineage transcription factors were simultaneously overrepresented in enhancers and promoters active in each cellular system. Our data support a highly generalizable model in which enhancer transcription is the earliest event in successive waves of transcriptional change during cellular differentiation or activation.
The contribution of extracranial blood oxygenation on near‐infrared spectroscopy during carotid thrombendarterectomy

To determine the contribution of extracranial oxygenation on regional cerebral oxygenation measured by an Invos 3100 near‐infrared spectrometer, we measured oxygenation in blood drawn from both the facial vein (draining substantially blood from forehead areas) and the jugular venous bulb. There was no correlation between regional cerebral oxygenation and facial vein oxygenation (p = 0.35) but there was a significant correlation between regional cerebral oxygenation and jugular venous bulb oxygenation (p = 0.027). Linear regression analysis predicted a 3.6% change in regional oxygenation for every 10% change in jugular venous bulb oxygenation. We showed that extracranial tissue oxygenation had a negligible influence on the values recorded using near‐infrared spectroscopy. Individual changes in jugular venous bulb oxygenation were poorly reflected. Data obtained by this near‐infrared spectroscopy device are an unreliable guide to the adequacy of cerebral oxygenation.
Continuous vs. intermittent cefotaxime administration in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and respiratory tract infections: pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics, bacterial susceptibility and clinical efficacy.

AIM To compare the pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics, antibiotic resistance and clinical efficacy of continuous (CA) vs. intermittent administration (IA) of cefotaxime in patients with obstructive pulmonary disease and respiratory infections. METHODS A randomized controlled prospective nonblinded study was performed in 93 consecutive hospitalized patients requiring antibiotics for acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Forty-seven patients received 2 g of cefotaxime intravenously over 24 h plus a loading dose of 1 g, and 46 patients were given the drug intermittently (1 g three times daily). RESULTS Similar pathogens were identified in both groups, being mostly Haemophilus influenzae (51%), Streptococcus pneumoniae (21%) and Moraxella catharralis (18%). Mean minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) values were also similar before and after treatment in both groups. Clinical cure was achieved in 37/40 (93%) (CA) vs. 40/43 (93%) (IA) of patients (P = 0.93). In microbiologically evaluable patients, criteria such as 70% of treatment time with antibiotic concentrations > or = MIC (CA 100%vs. IA 60% of patients) and/or > or = 5 x MIC (CA 100%vs. IA 55% of patients) were significantly better following continuous administration (P < 0.01). Samples with suboptimal antibiotic concentrations were found in 0% of CA vs. 65% of IA patients (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS Although clinical cure rates were comparable, continuous cefotaxime administration led to significantly greater proportions of concentrations > MIC and > 5 x MIC compared with intermittent dosing. Continuous administration of cefotaxime at a lower dose [2 g (CA) vs. 3 g (CI)] is equally effective pharmacodynamically and microbiologically, may be more cost-effective and offers at least the same clinical efficacy. Based on these observations, we recommend continuous administration of cefotaxime as the preferred mode of administration.
Empathy and burnout among physicians of different specialities.

AIM The aim of this study was to assess the level of empathy and burnout among physicians of different specialization, as well as to determine whether a correlation existed between the level of empathy and burnout. MATERIALS AND METHOD Seventy-one physicians took part in the study - 25 women (35.2%) and 46 men (age between 25 to 68 years). The physicians were either employed in hospitals, outpatient clinics or university departments in Krakow. The participants were asked to fill out a personal questionnaire, the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and the Emotional Empathy Scale (EES) as well as describe four chosen tables from the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT). RESULTS The average empathy score for the whole group was 14.3 (SD ± 6.4). The average levels of each of the burnout (according to MBI) elements for the whole group were 21.72 for emotional exhaustion, 9.62 for depersonalization and 29.07 for loss of personal accomplishment. For the whole group a negative correlation was noted between loss of personal accomplishment (according to MBI) and the level of empathy (according to EES) (r = -0.23, p <0.05). For the whole group negative correlations were noted between the level of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and the total level of burnout (according to MBI) and the level of empathy (according to TAT) (r = -0.30, p <0.05; r = -0.39, p <0.01; p = -0.32, p <0.01 respectively). CONCLUSIONS Concluding, medical specialists have a significantly higher level of empathy than surgeons and family physicians. It is imperative to remember that increasing depersonalization and emotional exhaustion can have a negative impact on empathy.
Memory and verbal learning functions in twins with bipolar-I disorder, and the role of information-processing speed

Background. Euthymic bipolar-I disorder (BP I) patients and their siblings have shown impairments in verbal learning and memory functions compared with controls, suggesting that these impairments may be genetic in origin. Reduced information-processing speed has been associated with impaired memory in the elderly, and recently in schizophrenia. The authors compared verbal learning and memory functioning in twins with BP I and co-twins to control twins, and examined whether the observed deficits are related to information-processing speed. Method. Finnish Medical and Population Registers and Twin Cohorts were used to identify the BP I and control twins. Neuropsychological tests assessing verbal learning and memory, working memory, facial recognition, visual memory, and information-processing speed were administered to 26 BP I twins, 19 non-bipolar co-twins, and 114 controls. Group differences were analyzed by generalized estimation equation modeling. Results. BP I patients, but not co-twins, showed impairments in all memory tests compared with controls. Female co-twins showed impairment in verbal learning and memory. Information-processing speed had a significant effect on encoding and learning efficiency. Conclusions. This study showed for the first time that information-processing speed is related to memory functioning and verbal learning in BP I in a population-based, representative and euthymic sample. Furthermore, the data support the view that defects in verbal memory may be related to the genetic factors predisposing to BP I in females.
The Occurrence of Spotted Fever Group (SFG) Rickettsiae in Ixodes ricinus Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) in Northern Poland

Abstract: Ixodes ricinus, the most commonly observed tick species in Poland, is known vector of microorganisms pathogenic for humans as TBE virus, Borrelia burgdorferi s.1. , Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Babesia sp. in this country. Our study aimed to find out whether this tick can also transmit also rickettsiae of the spotted fever group (SFG). DNA extracts from 560 ticks (28 females, 34 males, and 488 nymphs) collected in different wooded areas in northern Poland were examined by PCR for the detection of Rickettsia sp. , using a primer set RpCS.877p and RpCS.1258n designated to amplify a 381‐bp fragment of gltA gene. A total of 2.9% ticks was found to be positive. The percentage of infected females and males was comparable (10.5% and 11.8%, respectively) and 6.6–7.6 times higher than in nymphs (1.6%). Sequences of four PCR‐derived DNA fragments (acc. no. DQ672603) demonstrated 99% similarity with the sequence of Rickettsia helvetica deposited in GenBank. The results obtained suggest the possible role of I. ricinus as a source of a microorganism, which recently has been identified as an agent of human rickettsioses in Europe.
Characteristics of non-responders to self-reported questionnaires in a large inflammatory bowel disease cohort study

Abstract Background. A major threat to the validity of longitudinal cohort studies is non-response to follow-up, which can lead to erroneous conclusions. The objective of this study was to evaluate the profile of non-responders to self-reported questionnaires in the Swiss inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) Cohort. Methods. We used data from adult patients enrolled between November 2006 and June 2011. Responders versus non-responders were compared according to socio-demographic, clinical and psychosocial characteristics. Odds ratio for non-response to initial patient questionnaire (IPQ) compared to 1-year follow-up questionnaire (FPQ) were calculated. Results. A total of 1943 patients received IPQ, in which 331 (17%) did not respond. Factors inversely associated with non-response to IPQ were age >50 and female gender (OR = 0.37; p < 0.001 respectively OR = 0.63; p = 0.003) among Crohn’s disease (CD) patients, and disease duration >16 years (OR = 0.48; p = 0.025) among patients with ulcerative colitis (UC). FPQ was sent to 1586 patients who had completed the IPQ; 263 (17%) did not respond. Risk factors of non-response to FPQ were mild depression (OR = 2.17; p = 0.003) for CD, and mild anxiety (OR = 1.83; p = 0.024) for UC. Factors inversely associated with non-response to FPQ were: age >30 years, colonic only disease location, higher education and higher IBD-related quality of life for CD, and age >50 years or having a positive social support for UC. Conclusions. Characteristics of non-responders differed between UC and CD. The risk of non-response to repetitive solicitations (longitudinal versus transversal study) seemed to decrease with age. Assessing non-respondents’ characteristics is important to document potential bias in longitudinal studies.
Antimicrobial Resistance Pattern of Uropathogens Causing Urinary Tract Infection ( UTI ) Among Diabetics

Accepted: 21/12/2015 Abstract Urinary tract infections (UTI) are very often encou ntered in patients with diabetes mellitus. UTI due to emergence of resistant bacterial strains in hospitals increases the cost of treatment, morbi dity and mortality in diabetics. Therefore, this study was undertaken to determine t he prevalence of UTI, the causative pathogens and the status of m ulti-drug resistance organism causing UTI among diabetics, which help to monitor the spread of resistant strains involved in UTI. Mid Stream Ur ine (MSU) samples were collected in the sterile, clean, dry wide mout hed bottle from diabetes patients. Standard protocol was followed to isolate and identify organism which was followed by Disc Diffusion antibiotic sen sitivity tests. The data were analyzed using SPSS 16.0 version and Microsoft Excel 2007. The overall prevalence of UTI in diabetics was 50.66% w ith female predominance of 61.84 % and in male with 37.66%. Th e UTI was common in age group between 21-40 years. E. coli was the most predominant bacterial isolates which showed 78.6% multi-drug re sistance. Bacterial isolates showed more resistant towards tobramycin, nalidixic acid, penicillin-G and amoxycillin. This study highlights hat the prevalence of UTI among diabetics was significantly high and the responsible pathogens had developed resistance to several potent antibiot ics. Regular monitoring of susceptibility pattern of uropathogens should be essential for optimal empirical therapy of diabetic patients with UTI.
Plasma Prolactin and Progesterone during the Estrous Cycle in the Mouse 1

Summary The concentrations of prolactin and progesterone in plasma of Line C mice during different stages of the estrous cycle were measured by radioimmunoassay. During the afternoon of proestrus, prolactin rose to a peak concentration at 1900 hr. The pattern of progesterone consisted of two major surges, beginning during the late afternoon of proestrus and the morning of metestrus. The author is indebted to Mr. Jerome J. Cymerman for assistance with the vaginal smears and to Dr. Y. N. Sinha for providing the materials for the radioimmunoassay of mouse prolactin.
Tolerance, Mixed Chimerism, and Chronic Transplant Arteriopathy1 2

Much evidence supports the conclusion that immunological responses to donor-specific incompatibilities are a major factor in producing “chronic” transplant rejection, including the arteriopathy (atherosclerosis) commonly present. Our experiments explored the effects of altered immunological responsiveness to these Ags on the formation of arteriopathy in transplanted mouse hearts. Specific immunological nonreactivity, or tolerance, was induced either by neonatal administration of allogeneic spleen cells (from F1 donors between class I-mismatched donor and recipient strains), resulting in “classical” immunological tolerance, or by bone marrow infusion to suitably prepared adult recipients, either fully MHC mismatched or class I mismatched, yielding “mixed chimerism. ” Both approaches obviated systemic graft-versus-host effects. In both groups, donor-specific skin grafts survived perfectly and donor cell chimerism persisted. Specific Abs were undetectable in all recipients. Most transplants to either group of tolerant recipients developed striking vasculopathy in their coronary arteries (12 of 15 in neonatal tolerance and 15 of 23 in mixed chimeras). Neointimal infiltrates included CD4 and CD8 T cells and macrophages. Only 2 of 29 contemporary isotransplants showed any evidence of vasculopathy. Recipients essentially incapable of T and B cell responses (C.B-17/SCID and RAG1−/−) were also used. Transplants into these animals developed vasculopathy in 16 of 31 instances. Accordingly, in this setting, vasculopathy develops in the presence of H-2 gene-determined incompatibility even with minimal conventional immune reactivity. Perhaps innate responsiveness, that could include NK cell activity, can create such arteriopathic lesions. More evidence is being sought regarding this process.