Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Susceptibility of intra- and extracellular Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare to cephem antibiotics

Intra- and extracellular susceptibility of 35 clinically isolated Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare strains to cefotaxime (CTX), ceftizoxime (CZX), and cefoperazone was studied. MICs for 50% of the isolates in vitro were 6.25 micrograms/ml for CTX and CZX and 25 micrograms/ml for cefoperazone. A strain susceptible to CTX (MIC, 0.78 micrograms/ml) and CZX (MIC, 1.56 micrograms/ml) infected human peripheral blood mononuclear cells in the presence of 20% autologous plasma. The mycobacteria replicated exclusively in monocytes under the above culture condition. Concentrations of CZX 1- to 16-fold higher than its in vitro MIC had little effect on intracellular replication of the strain. A concentration of CTX 16-fold higher than its in vitro MIC was bacteriostatic to the mycobacteria, but CTX of lower concentrations showed no effect on intracellular replication. Thus, ineffectiveness of the cephems on the therapy of M. avium-intracellulare infection was suggested.
A Manganese(IV)/Iron(III) Cofactor in Chlamydia trachomatis Ribonucleotide Reductase

In a conventional class I ribonucleotide reductase (RNR), a diiron(II/II) cofactor in the R2 subunit reacts with oxygen to produce a diiron(III/IV) intermediate, which generates a stable tyrosyl radical (Y⚫). The Y⚫ reversibly oxidizes a cysteine residue in the R1 subunit to a cysteinyl radical (C⚫), which abstracts the 3′-hydrogen of the substrate to initiate its reduction. The RNR from Chlamydia trachomatis lacks the Y⚫, and it had been proposed that the diiron(III/IV) complex in R2 directly generates the C⚫ in R1. By enzyme activity measurements and spectroscopic methods, we show that this RNR actually uses a previously unknown stable manganese(IV)/iron(III) cofactor for radical initiation.
The Escherichia coli argW-dsdCXA Genetic Island Is Highly Variable, and E. coli K1 Strains Commonly Possess Two Copies of dsdCXA

ABSTRACT The genome sequences of Escherichia coli pathotypes reveal extensive genetic variability in the argW-dsdCXA island. Interestingly, the archetype E. coli K1 neonatal meningitis strain, strain RS218, has two copies of the dsdCXA genes for d-serine utilization at the argW and leuX islands. Because the human brain contains d-serine, an epidemiological study emphasizing K1 isolates surveyed the dsdCXA copy number and function. Forty of 41 (97.5%) independent E. coli K1 isolates could utilize d-serine. Southern blot hybridization revealed physical variability within the argW-dsdC region, even among 22 E. coli O18:K1:H7 isolates. In addition, 30 of 41 K1 strains, including 21 of 22 O18:K1:H7 isolates, had two dsdCXA loci. Mutational analysis indicated that each of the dsdA genes is functional in a rifampin-resistant mutant of RS218, mutant E44. The high percentage of K1 strains that can use d-serine is in striking contrast to our previous observation that only 4 of 74 (5%) isolates in the diarrheagenic E. coli (DEC) collection have this activity. The genome sequence of diarrheagenic E. coli isolates indicates that the csrRAKB genes for sucrose utilization are often substituted for dsdC and a portion of dsdX present at the argW-dsdCXA island of extraintestinal isolates. Among DEC isolates there is a reciprocal pattern of sucrose fermentation versus d-serine utilization. The ability to use d-serine is a trait strongly selected for among E. coli K1 strains, which have the ability to infect a wide range of extraintestinal sites. Conversely, diarrheagenic E. coli pathotypes appear to have substituted sucrose for d-serine as a potential nutrient.
Correlations in multipartite systems: From entanglement to localization

En esta tesis hemos considerado varios sistemas fisicos en los que las correlaciones, tanto las intrinsecas como las creadas especificamente, juegan un papel crucial. En particular, hemos demostrado que es posible generar, manipular y detectar entrelazamiento multipartito entre sistemas atomicos distantes mediante un esquema geometrico novedoso. utilizando un interfaz cuantico de luz-materia basado en el efecto Faraday. En segundo lugar, hemos analizado el entrelazamiento cuantico de subsistemas tripartitos de redes de espin. Hemos analizado particulas de espin 1/2 y aplicando los criterios de necesidad y suficiencia de separabilidad para sistemas de tres-qubit invariantes bajo rotaciones hemos verificado la presencia de entrelazamiento tripartito en estados fundamentales y termicos para los Hamiltonianos de Heisenber y XXZ. Finalmente hemos estudiado las propiedades de un sistema de bosones en presencia de desorden creado por impurezas aleatorias, contribuyendo al entendimiento de la relacion entre la localizacion causada por el desorden y el efecto contrarrestante de interacciones repulsivas. Debido a la relativa simplicidad del potencial que modela el desorden hemos podido realizar estimaciones analiticas, e.g. evaluar la aplicabilidad de la aproximacion multi-orbital de Hartree-Fock para describir el sistema. En esta tesis, tambien he considerado la caracterizacion de correlaciones utilizadas como recursos para tareas de informacion cuantica. Hemos estudiado tareas (desigualdades de Bell) para las cuales los recursos clasicos y cuanticos resultan equivalentes, y unicamente las correlaciones "non-signaling" proporcionan una eficiencia mejor. Como resultado hemos presentado un metodo sistematico para la construccion de estas tareas, mostrando que poseen una relacion inesperada cons las llamadas "Unextendible Product Bases".
Responding to Customer Demand: Investigating Customer Agility of Financial Institutions

In turbulent environments firms have to constantly adapt their business to the changing environment to achieve profitability. Identifying changing customer demand and responding to it through the introduction of new products and services is an important capability of a firm. In this regard, the concept of customer agility has been discussed in literature as the capability of a firm to sense and respond to customer-based opportunities. In this study, we investigate this ability of financial intuitions and its effect on the firms’ performance. Therefore, we analyze the reaction of financial institutions on different banking trends in four countries based on Google Trends and financial data. The results show that financial institutions that are able to sense changing customer demand and quickly provide new services to its customers gain higher profits. Hence, information about customer needs should be monitored continuously by firms to establish competitive advantage.
Acceptability of PRO2000 Vaginal Gel among HIV un-infected Women in Pune, India

Abstract Acceptability of PRO2000 Gel, a candidate vaginal microbicide, among participants of its Phase I safety study in Pune, India is reported here. Forty-two eligible women were enrolled in a study requiring twice daily intra-vaginal product use for 14 consecutive days between menses. Acceptability was assessed at study exit through structured questionnaires among 41 participants who completed the product use, and five focus group discussions involving 31 study participants. The participants generally liked the product (40/41, 97.2%), especially its colour (40, 97.2%) and consistency (35, 85.3%). Thirty-four participants reported sexual intercourse within one hour of product use, at least once during the study period and sexual pleasure was reported to be better or unaffected among (30, 88.2%) participants. Nearly 70% did not like its smell and mentioned preference for a product that would be unnoticeable to the male partner. Participating women were concerned about privacy in usage and storage of the product. Acceptability of PRO2000 vaginal gel was good, but its smell will have to be improved. Counselling to address women's concerns about privacy and storage will be crucial. Women's preference for unnoticeable product indicates their empowerment and willingness to accept female-controlled options for HIV prevention.
Diffusion properties of bacteriophages through agarose gel membrane

A simple two‐chamber diffusion method was developed to study the diffusion properties of bacteriophages (phages). The apparent diffusion coefficients (Dapp) of Myoviridae phage T4 and filamentous phage fNEL were investigated, and the diffusion of the phages was found to be much slower than the diffusion of three antibiotics, ciprofloxacin, penicillin G, and tetracycline. Dapp of T4 and fNEL in water through filter paper were calculated to be 2.8 × 10−11 m2/s and 6.8 × 10−12 m2/s, respectively, and Dapp of fNEL through agarose gel membrane, an artificial biofilm, was also calculated to be smaller than that of T4. In addition, Dapp of phages through agarose gel was dependent on agarose concentration due to the similar size of phage and agarose gel mesh. We concluded that Dapp of phages through an artificial biofilm is dependent on both phage morphology and biofilm density, and suggest the use of this method to study diffusion properties through real biofilms. © 2010 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog. , 2010
Redirecting the substrate specificity of heparan sulfate 2-O-sulfotransferase by structurally guided mutagenesis

Heparan sulfate (HS) is a polysaccharide involved in essential physiological functions from regulating cell growth to blood coagulation. HS biosynthesis involves multiple specialized sulfotransferases such as 2-O-sulfotransferase (2OST) that transfers the sulfo group to the 2-OH position of iduronic acid (IdoA) or glucuronic acid (GlcA) within HS. Here, we report the homotrimeric crystal structure of 2OST from chicken, in complex with 3′-phosphoadenosine 5′-phosphate. Structural based mutational analysis has identified amino acid residues that are responsible for substrate specificity. The mutant R189A only transferred sulfates to GlcA moieties within the polysaccharide whereas mutants Y94A and H106A preferentially transferred sulfates to IdoA units. Our results demonstrate the feasibility for manipulating the substrate specificity of 2OST to synthesize HS with unique sulfation patterns. This work will aid the development of an enzymatic approach to synthesize heparin-based therapeutics.
Endovascular coiling versus neurosurgical clipping for ruptured intracranial aneurysms: significant benefits in clinical outcome and reduced consumption of hospital resources in Hong Kong Chinese patients.

OBJECTIVES Using specific selection criteria to determine whether endovascular coiling as compared to neurosurgical clipping is associated with significant benefits, in terms of 1-year clinical outcomes and consumption of hospital resources, for the treatment of ruptured intracranial aneurysms in Hong Kong Chinese patients. DESIGN Retrospective study. SETTING University teaching hospital, Hong Kong. PATIENTS Records of outcomes of 169 consecutive Chinese patients, who were treated with endovascular coiling (n=80) or surgical clipping (n=89), were reviewed. All patients were followed up clinically for a mean of 55 (standard deviation, 201) months and radiologically with sequential digital subtraction angiography at 6 and 18 months after treatment. RESULTS The mean ages of patients were 56 (standard deviation, 13) years for the coiling group, and 57 (standard deviation, 13) years for the clipping group (P=0.575). The median aneurysm size was 4 mm in both groups (P=0.898). The severity of subarachnoid haemorrhage in the two groups did not differ (P=0.619). The rate of death or permanent disability leading to dependency (Glasgow Outcome Scale, 1-3) at 1 year was significantly lower in the coiling group (12/80, 15%) as compared to the clipping group (30/89, 34%) [P=0.005], resulting in a risk reduction of 19% (95% confidence interval, 6-32%). There were significantly more frequent admissions into the intensive care unit in the clipping group (P<0.001); the median duration of intensive care unit stay was 2 days (vs 0 days in the coiling group). The incidence of subsequent treatment procedures for residual or recurrent aneurysm was more common in the coiling group (13/80 vs 3/89; P=0.004). CONCLUSION Endovascular coiling as compared to neurosurgical clipping for treatment of patients with ruptured intracranial aneurysms is associated with significant benefits in terms of a reduced need for intensive care unit admissions and better general clinical outcomes in Hong Kong Chinese patients.
iMedic: A Two-Handed Immersive Medical Environment for Distributed Interactive Consultation

We describe a two-handed immersive and distributed 3D medical system that enables intuitive interaction with multimedia objects and space. The system is applicable to a number of virtual reality and tele-consulting scenarios. Various features were implemented, including measurement tools, interactive segmentation, non-orthogonal planar views, and 3D markup. User studies demonstrated the system's effectiveness in fundamental 3D tasks, showing that iMedic's two-handed interface enables placement and construction of 3D objects 4.5-4.7 times as fast as a mouse interface and 1.3-1.7 times as fast as a one-handed wand interface. In addition, avatar-to-avatar collaboration (two iMedic users in a shared space-one subject and one mentor) was shown to be more effective than face-to-face collaboration (one iMedic user/subject and one live mentor) for three tasks.
Hypoactive delirium: assessing the extent of the problem for inpatient specialist palliative care

Delirium is a common problem and cause of distress among patients with palliative care needs. The focus to date has been on managing the patient with agitated, hyperactive delirium, as these patients are very noticeable within the palliative care setting. This study in two parts shows that palliative care patients with agitated delirium are a minority of the total proportion of those with delirium. Part I: 100 acute admissions to a specialist palliative care unit were assessed and while 29% were found to have delirium, 86% of these had the hypoactive subtype of delirium. We also demonstrated a positive correlation between high ratings on a depression screening tool and delirium severity ratings. Part II: 8 specialist palliative care units took part in a point prevalence study of delirium over a 48-hour period. One hundred and nine patients were assessed and while 29.4% of these inpatients had delirium, 78% of them had the hypoactive subtype. Patients with hypoactive delirium may be much less noticeable or may be misdiagnosed as having depression or fatigue and the results of this study would advocate the routine use of delirium screening tools in all palliative care settings.
Lower Limb Coordination and Stiffness During Landing from Volleyball Block Jumps

The aim of the study was to investigate lower limb coordination and stiffness in five male and five female university volleyball players performing block jump landings. Coordination was assessed using angle–angle plots of the hip–knee, knee–ankle and hip–ankle joint couplings and discrete relative phase (DRP) of right–left joint couplings (i.e., left knee coupled with right knee). Leg stiffness was calculated as the ratio of the change in vertical ground reaction force (GRF) to the change in vertical displacement of the centre of gravity between ground contact and maximum vertical GRF. Knee stiffness was calculated as the ratio of the change in knee joint moment to the change in knee flexion angular displacement between ground contact and maximum knee joint moment. Comparison of the DRP angles between left and right legs indicated reduced symmetry between the left and right legs in females compared with males, which may indicate greater likelihood of ligament strain in females compared with males. Furthermore, females exhibited reduced stability in the coordination between the left and right knee joints than males. Males exhibited significantly greater absolute and normalised leg stiffness and significantly greater absolute and normalised knee joint stiffness during landing compared with females. In conjunction with the coordination data, this may indicate reduced dynamic stability of the leg in females compared with males, which may contribute to the greater incidence of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in females compared with males.
A Strain of Lactobacillus casei Inhibits the Effector Phase of Immune Inflammation

Some nonpathogenic bacteria were found to have protective effects in mouse models of allergic and autoimmune diseases. These “probiotics” are thought to interact with dendritic cells during Ag presentation, at the initiation of adaptive immune responses. Many other myeloid cells are the effector cells of immune responses. They are responsible for inflammation that accounts for symptoms in allergic and autoimmune diseases. We investigated in this study whether probiotics might affect allergic and autoimmune inflammation by acting at the effector phase of adaptive immune responses. The effects of one strain of Lactobacillus casei were investigated in vivo on IgE-induced passive systemic anaphylaxis and IgG-induced passive arthritis, two murine models of acute allergic and autoimmune inflammation, respectively, which bypass the induction phase of immune responses, in vitro on IgE- and IgG-induced mouse mast cell activation and ex vivo on IgE-dependent human basophil activation. L. casei protected from anaphylaxis and arthritis, and inhibited mouse mast cell and human basophil activation. Inhibition required contact between mast cells and bacteria, was reversible, and selectively affected the Lyn/Syk/linker for activation of T cells pathway induced on engagement of IgE receptors, leading to decreased MAPK activation, Ca2+ mobilization, degranulation, and cytokine secretion. Also, adoptive anaphylaxis induced on Ag challenge in mice injected with IgE-sensitized mast cells was abrogated in mice injected with IgE-sensitized mast cells exposed to bacteria. These results demonstrate that probiotics can influence the effector phase of adaptive immunity in allergic and autoimmune diseases. They might, therefore, prevent inflammation in patients who have already synthesized specific IgE or autoantibodies.
Impact of ROI Positioning and Lesion Morphology on Apparent Diffusion Coefficient Analysis for the Differentiation Between Benign and Malignant Nonfatty Soft-Tissue Lesions.

OBJECTIVE The objective of our study was to assess the impact of two methods of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) selection on the diagnostic performance of DWI in the characterization of nonfatty soft-tissue masses. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Sixty-five histologically confirmed soft-tissue tumors imaged from November 2009 through October 2012 were evaluated. The minimal ADC (ADCmin) and average ADC (ADCavg) values for each tumor were obtained using two ROI-positioning methods: manual and semiautomatic. Two readers correlated the findings to lesion histology and morphology on conventional MRI sequences. RESULTS The ADCmin values obtained using the manual method presented a better sensitivity with a similar specificity when compared with the ADCmin values obtained using the semiautomatic method (manual vs semiautomatic: 75-83% and 59-63% vs 58-67% and 63% and 63%, respectively). The interobserver agreement for the ADCmin values was similar between the ADC selection methods (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.81 and 0.87 for manual and semiautomatic methods, respectively). In the subgroup of solid lesions, the ADCavg values obtained using the manual method offered a better sensitivity for benign-malignant differentiation (60-81% vs 60% and 60% for ADCavg and ADCmin, respectively). CONCLUSION The ADCmin values obtained with manual ROI positioning offered the best diagnostic performance for tumor characterization. The semiautomatic method yielded similar specificity values. For solid masses, the ADCavg values were better correlated with tumor histology than the ADCmin values.
Development and Application of a Brief Measure of Emotional Intelligence for Vocational High School Teachers

To develop a psychometrically sound, self-report measure of emotional intelligence and examine the scores of vocational high school teachers by sex and age, 375 Taiwanese vocational high school teachers (186 men, 189 women) completed the 25-item Emotional Intelligence Scale of five domains: Self-awareness, Managing Emotions, Self-motivation, Empathy, and Handling Relationships. Analysis indicated that these teachers reported higher scores on Self-awareness and Empathy but slightly lower on Managing Emotions. The women gave higher self-ratings on Self-awareness and Empathy than the men. There were also significant differences across age groups on Self-awareness, Self-motivation, Empathy and the Total score for the Emotional Intelligence Scale.
The Escherichia coli tppB (ydgR) Gene Represents a New Class of OmpR-Regulated Genes

ABSTRACT The EnvZ/OmpR two-component regulatory system plays a critical role in the Escherichia coli stress response. In this study, we examined the expression of a new OmpR-regulated gene, ydgR. Our results indicate that ydgR is equivalent to the Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium tppB gene and represents a new class of OmpR-regulated genes.
Analysis of myocardial oedema by magnetic resonance imaging early after coronary artery occlusion with or without reperfusion.

OBJECTIVE The aim was to analyse the relationship between magnetic resonance (MR) imaging parameters and myocardial water content early after coronary occlusion with or without reperfusion. METHODS 21 pigs were used. After 78 min of coronary occlusion (n = 7) or 48 min of coronary occlusion and 30 min of reperfusion (n = 14) the heart was excised. In seven animals in the reperfusion protocol the area at risk was perfused for 5 min with an anoxic buffer, starting 5 min after coronary occlusion. Serial T2 weighted and density weighted images of the heart were obtained from apex to base, by using a 1.5 tesla magnetic resonance imager. Water content was measured in samples from control and at-risk myocardium and relaxation parameters were measured in corresponding areas of the magnetic resonance images. RESULTS Water content was 399(SEM 2) ml x 100 g-1 dry tissue in control myocardium, 427(8) in ischaemic myocardium, and 511(8) in reperfused myocardium (p < 0.001). Reperfused myocardium that had received intracoronary infusion contained less water than myocardium that did not: 498(9) v 534(4) ml x 100 g-1 (p = 0.003). T2 relaxation time and T2 weighted signal intensity in the different sampling sites of magnetic resonance images correlated well with water content in the corresponding myocardial samples (r = 0.76 and r = 0.83) and with the relative volume of extracellular space, as calculated by quantitative histology (r = 0.58 and r = 0.59, p < 0.001). The increase in T2 weighted signal intensity in the area at risk with respect to control myocardium allowed differentiation between ischaemic and reperfused myocardium [9(8)% v 63(3)% respectively]. The area at risk measured by MR imaging correlated very well with that determined at pathology by the fluorescein method (r = 0.92). CONCLUSIONS Magnetic resonance imaging allows evaluation of myocardial oedema associated with acute coronary occlusion and reperfusion, and analysis of its spatial distribution. Changes in myocardial water content occurring early during acute myocardial infarction allow quantification of the area at risk and detection of reperfusion by magnetic resonance imaging.