Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Coffea arabica L., a new host plant for Acetobacter diazotrophicus, and isolation of other nitrogen-fixing acetobacteria

Acetobacter diazotrophicus was isolated from coffee plant tissues and from rhizosphere soils. Isolation frequencies ranged from 15 to 40% and were dependent on soil pH. Attempts to isolate this bacterial species from coffee fruit, from inside vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi spores, or from mealybugs (Planococcus citri) associated with coffee plants were not successful. Other acid-producing diazotrophic bacteria were recovered with frequencies of 20% from the coffee rhizosphere. These N2-fixing isolates had some features in common with the genus Acetobacter but should not be assigned to the species Acetobacter diazotrophicus because they differed from A. diazotrophicus in morphological and biochemical traits and were largely divergent in electrophoretic mobility patterns of metabolic enzymes at coefficients of genetic distance as high as 0.950. In addition, these N2-fixing acetobacteria differed in the small-subunit rRNA restriction fragment length polymorphism patterns obtained with EcoRI, and they exhibited very low DNA-DNA homology levels, ranging from 11 to 15% with the A. diazotrophicus reference strain PAI 5T. Thus, some of the diazotrophic acetobacteria recovered from the rhizosphere of coffee plants may be regarded as N2-fixing species of the genus Acetobacter other than A. diazotrophicus. Endophytic diazotrophic bacteria may be more prevalent than previously thought, and perhaps there are many more potentially beneficial N2-fixing bacteria which can be isolated from other agronomically important crops.
An overview of approaches to qualitative model construction

Abstract In qualitative reasoning research, much effort has been spent on developing representation and reasoning formalisms. Only recently, the process of constructing models in terms of these formalisms has been recognised as an important research topic of its own. Approaches addressing this topic are examined in this review. For this purpose a general model of the task of constructing qualitative models is developed that serves as a frame of reference in considering these approaches. Two categories of approaches are identified: model composition and model induction approaches. The former compose a model from predefined partial models and the latter infer a model from behavioural data. Similarities and differences between the approaches are discussed using the general task model as a reference. It appears that the majority of approaches focus on automating model construction entirely. Assessing and debugging a model in cooperation with a modeller is identified as an important topic for future research
The bowel habits of adolescents in Nigeria.

BACKGROUND The implications of defaecation patterns to health are important. The abnormalities can be readily recognized and treated only if the normal pattern is known. METHODS This cross sectional study involved 1115 adolescents enrolled using a stratified multi-stage random sampling technique. A self-administered and semi-structured questionnaire was used to obtain information on stool frequency, volume, colour and consistency. Data were compared between low and high across socioeconomic strata. RESULTS There were 481 males (overall mean age: 15.2 +/- 1.9 years). Participants were on mixed carbohydrate rich diet with both high and low fibre content. Stool frequency was at least once daily in 77.3%, once in alternate days (17.4%) and once in >3days (5.3%). There was no association between stool frequency and gender (p=0.141) or age (p=0.345). More participants from the high (64.9%) than the low (35.1%) social classes opened their bowels once in >3days (p=0.048). More males produced larger stool volumes (>200ml) than females, (p=0.000). More than half (50.5%) of the participants reported passing brownish stool, 46.3% yellow stool and 3.2% greenish brown stool. Passage of soft stool was reported by 74.9% of the participants. Overall, 3.4% of participants had passed blood in their stool at some time. CONCLUSION Majority of Nigerian adolescents passed 25-200 ml of soft stool atleast once daily and age and gender did not affect stool frequency. High socioeconomic status was associated with passage of hard stool and less frequent bowel opening. This data could facilitate early recognition of deviation from normal bowel habits in Nigerian adolescents.
Speech recognition and acoustic features in combined electric and acoustic stimulation.

PURPOSE In this study, the authors aimed to identify speech information processed by a hearing aid (HA) that is additive to information processed by a cochlear implant (CI) as a function of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). METHOD Speech recognition was measured with CI alone, HA alone, and CI + HA. Ten participants were separated into 2 groups; good (aided pure-tone average [PTA] < 55 dB) and poor (aided PTA ≥ 55 dB) at audiometric frequencies ≤ 1 kHz in HA. RESULTS Results showed that the good-aided PTA group derived a clear bimodal benefit (performance difference between CI + HA and CI alone) for vowel and sentence recognition in noise, whereas the poor-aided PTA group received little benefit across speech tests and SNRs. Results also showed that a better aided PTA helped in processing cues embedded in both low and high frequencies; none of these cues was significantly perceived by the poor-aided PTA group. CONCLUSIONS The aided PTA is an important indicator for bimodal advantage in speech perception. The lack of bimodal benefits in the poor group may be attributed to the nonoptimal HA fitting. Bimodal listening provides a synergistic effect for cues in both low- and high-frequency components in speech.
Isolation Rates, Serovars, and Toxin Genotypes of Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide-Independent Actinobacillus Pleuropneumoniae among Pigs Suffering from Pleuropneumonia in Spain

Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae is the etiologic agent of swine pleuropneumonia, a major production-limiting disease in the pig industry. In the current study, 2,171 lung specimens obtained from pigs housed in 870 Spanish pig farms in regions of substantial pig production were examined. Conventional microbiology, coupled with species-specific polymerase chain reaction, identified 127 biovar 2 isolates, accounting for 25.3% of all A. pleuropneumoniae (n = 502) detected. Most isolates (79%) were recovered as pure primary cultures or as the predominant bacteria from lungs exhibiting lesions typical of acute swine pleuropneumonia. Coagglutination testing identified the isolates as belonging to serovars 2 (4.7%), 4 (4.7%), 7 (68.5%), and 11 (1.6%); however, 26 isolates were nontypeable. All biovar 2 isolates showed genes of the apxII operon alone, which encodes the corresponding ApxII exotoxin, leading to a different gene pattern for isolates in serovars 2, 4, and 11 compared with those of biovar 1. From this survey, it can be concluded that A. pleuropneumoniae biovar 2 infections are common in pigs in Spain, and they may be a common cause of respiratory disease in swine.
Insomnia among elderly men and risk of prostate cancer.

78 Background: While a large number of studies have reported a positive association between sleep disruption and breast cancer, little is known about its potential role in prostate cancer. METHODS Within the prospective AGES-Reykjavik cohort study, we followed 2102 men from 2002-2006 until the end of 2009. The men answered questions on sleep disturbances, which were combined in various ways to reflect onset and/or maintenance insomnia. Information on the occurrence of prostate cancer was obtained through record-linkages across the Icelandic Cancer and Causes of Death Registers. We used Cox regression models with 95% confidence intervals [CIs] to estimate age- and multivariable adjusted hazard ratios [HR] of prostate cancer by symptoms of insomnia. RESULTS During follow-up, 135 men (6,4%) were diagnosed with prostate cancer. Compared to men without insomnia, men with severe onset and maintenance insomnia and very severe insomnia were at increased risk of total prostate cancer with HR 1.9 (CI 1.2, 3.0) and 2.2 (CI 1.3, 3.8), respectively. For advanced prostate cancer, the corresponding HRs were 2.3 (CI 0.9-6.2) and 3.7 (CI 1.4-9.9), respectively. CONCLUSIONS These data suggest that insomnia may confer an increased risk of prostate cancer. Reduced melatonin levels represent a plausible biological explanation, although additional studies using biomarkers and longer follow-up times are needed to further clarify the underlying mechanisms.
Clustering multiply imputed multivariate high‐dimensional longitudinal profiles

In this paper, we propose a method to cluster multivariate functional data with missing observations. Analysis of functional data often encompasses dimension reduction techniques such as principal component analysis (PCA). These techniques require complete data matrices. In this paper, the data are completed by means of multiple imputation, and subsequently each imputed data set is submitted to a cluster procedure. The final partition of the data, summarizing the partitions obtained for the imputed data sets, is obtained by means of ensemble clustering. The uncertainty in cluster membership, due to missing data, is characterized by means of the agreement between the members of the ensemble and fuzziness of the consensus clustering. The potential of the method was brought out on the heart failure (HF) data. Daily measurement for four biomarkers (heart rate, diastolic, and systolic blood pressure, weight) were used to cluster the patients. To normalize the distributions of the longitudinal outcomes, the data were transformed with a natural logarithm function. A cubic spline base with 69 basis functions was employed to smooth the profiles. The proposed algorithm indicates the existence of a latent structure and divides the HF patients into two clusters, showing a different evolution in blood pressure values and weight. In general, cluster results are sensitive to choices made. Likewise for the proposed approach, alternative choices for the distance measure, procedure to optimize the objective function, choice of the scree‐test threshold, or the number of principal components, to be used in the approximation of the surrogate density, could all influence the final partition. For the HF data set, the final partition depends on the number of principal components used in the procedure.
Bayesian Nonparametric Latent Feature Models

Priors for Bayesian nonparametric latent feature models were originally developed a little over five years ago, sparking interest in a new type of Bayesian nonparametric model. Since then, there have been three main areas of research for people interested in these priors: extensions/generalizations of the priors, inference algorithms, and applications. This dissertation summarizes our work advancing the state of the art in all three of these areas. In the first area, we present a non-exchangeable framework for generalizing and extending the original priors, allowing more prior knowledge to be used in nonparametric priors. Within this framework, we introduce four concrete generalizations that are applicable when we have prior knowledge about object relationships that can be captured either via a tree or chain. We discuss how to develop and derive these priors as well as how to perform posterior inference in models using them. In the area of inference algorithms, we present the first variational approximation for one class of these priors, demonstrating in what regimes they might be preferred over more traditional MCMC approaches. Finally, we present an application of basic nonparametric latent features models to link prediction as well as applications of our non-exchangeable priors to tree-structured choice models and human genomic data.
Efecto de la estrategia de expansión exterior sobre el resultado exportador de la organización

El objetivo del presente trabajo es analizar el efecto que ejerce la estrategia elegida por la empresa para su expansion exterior sobre el resultado exportador de la organizacion. En este sentido, sobre una muestra de 125 empresas exportadoras del sector vitivinicola espanol, se pretende conocer si la estrategia de seleccion de mercados esta condicionada por factores situacionales (caracteristicas empresariales), si dicha estrategia ejerce una influencia directa sobre el resultado asociado a las exportaciones y, finalmente, que tipo de estrategia de expansion exterior (concentracion versus diversificacion) puede ser mas recomendable, en general.
The murine Spam1 gene: RNA expression pattern and lower steady‐state levels associated with the Rb(6.16) translocation

Recently we mapped the murine Spam1 gene to the proximal region of chromosome 6 (MMU 6). Based on the map location and physiological characteristics of its encoded sperm antigen, the gene is an attractive candidate for the sperm dysfunction seen in Rb(6.16) translocation heterozygotes and the reduced fertility of homozygotes. We have analyzed the expression of Spam1 mRNA in normal and Rb(6.16) mice. The expression of Spam1 mRNA was found to be: 1) tissue specific; it is expressed exclusively in testis; and 2) developmentally regulated, with a haploid expression. Notably, the steady‐state mRNA level of Spam1 in Rb(6.16) homozygotes was 25–30% of that in chromosomally normal consomic mice and those homozygous for Rb(2.8) (7.18). In Rb(6.16) and Rb(6.15) heterozygotes the levels were 61% and 66% of the normal. Studies are currently under way to determine the protein levels and gene structure of Spam1, to detect the underlying cause of the mRNA reduction associated with these translocations. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 46:252–257, 1997. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Collisional properties of trapped cold chromium atoms

We report on calculations of the elastic cross section and thermalization rate for collision between two maximally spin-polarized chromium atoms in the cold and ultracold regimes, relevant to buffer-gas and magneto-optical cooling. We calculate ab initio potential-energy curves for Cr-2 and the van der Waals coefficient C-6, and construct interaction potentials between two colliding Cr atoms. We explore the effect of shape resonances on the elastic cross section, and find that they dramatically affect the thermalization rate. Our calculated value for the s-wave scattering length is compared in magnitude with a recent measurement. We propose that a dip in the elastic rate coefficient could be experimentally exploited to obtain an accurate value for the scattering length. (Less)
Selenium Nanoparticles Attenuate Oxidative Stress and Testicular Damage in Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Rats

We investigated the protective and antioxidative effects of selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) in streptozotocin STZ-induced diabetic rats. STZ-diabetic rats were exposed daily to treatments with SeNPs and/or insulin and then the effect of these treatments on the parameters correlated to oxidative damage of the rat testes were assessed. Biochemical analysis revealed that SeNPs are able to ameliorate the reduction in the serum testosterone caused by STZ-induced diabetes. Furthermore, SeNPs could significantly decrease testicular tissue oxidative stress markers, namely lipid peroxidation and nitric oxide. In contrast, treatment of the STZ-diabetic rats with SeNPs increased the glutathione content and antioxidant enzyme activities in testicular tissues. Moreover, microscopic analysis proved that SeNPs are able to prevent histological damage in the testes of STZ-diabetic rats. Molecular analysis revealed that the mRNA level of Bcl-2 (B-cell lymphoma 2) is significantly upregulated. On the contrary, the mRNA level of Bax (Bcl-2 Associated X Protein) was significantly downregulated. Furthermore, treatment of STZ-diabetic rats with SeNPs led to an elevation in the expression of PCNA (Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen Gene). Interestingly, the insulin treatment also exhibited a significant improvement in the testicular function in STZ-diabetic rats. Collectively, our results demonstrated the possible effects of SeNPs in attenuating diabetes-induced oxidative damage, in particular in testicular tissue.
Intermodulation Distortion Improvement for Fiber–Radio Applications Incorporating OSSB+C Modulation in an Optical Integrated-Access Environment

In this paper, we investigate the reduction of intermodulation distortion (IMD) in fiber-radio systems incorporating a dispersion-tolerant optical single sideband with carrier modulation. We present a systematic analysis and quantification of the third-order IMD generated due to optical components in the nonlinear optical front-end. Our proposed technique to improve the optical front-end linearity is by the removal of the optical components that contribute most to the third-order IMD in the RF domain. We experimentally demonstrated the proposed technique with two- and three-tone tests and showed more than 9-dB improvement in the overall carrier-to-IMD ratio. The proposed technique was also investigated via simulation analysis for a larger number of radio channels and showed an IMD suppression of >10 dB. In addition, the proposed technique is not only able to improve the carrier-to-interference of the radio signals but also to enable simultaneous baseband transmission, thereby facilitating the merging of millimeter-wave fiber-radio systems with other wired-access infrastructure. We present a detailed investigation and characterization of this technique.
2 Clinical Features of Psychosis in Methamphetamine Users According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders

Psychotic symptoms and syndromes are frequently experienced among individuals who use methamphetamine, with recent estimates of up to approximately 40 % of users affected. Although transient in a large proportion of users, acute symptoms can include agitation, violence, and delusions, and may require management in an inpatient psychiatric or other crisis intervention setting. In a subset of individuals, psychosis can recur and persist and may be difficult to distinguish from a primary psychotic disorder such as schizophrenia. Differential diagnosis of primary vs. substance-induced psychotic disorders among methamphetamine users is challenging; nevertheless, with careful assessment of the temporal relationship of symptoms to methamphetamine use, aided by state-of-the art psychodiagnostic assessment instruments and use of objective indicators of recent substance use (i.e., urine toxicology assays), coupled with collateral clinical data gathered from the family or others close to the individual, diagnostic accuracy can be optimized and the individual can be appropriately matched to a plan of treatment. The pharmacological treatment of acute methamphetamine-induced psychosis may include the use of antipsychotic medications as well as benzodiazepines, although symptoms may resolve without pharmacological treatment if the user is able to achieve a period of abstinence from methamphetamine. Importantly, psychosocial treatment for methamphetamine dependence has a strong evidence base and is the optimal first-line treatment approach to reducing rates of psychosis among individuals who use methamphetamines. Prevention of methamphetamine relapse is the most direct means of preventing recurrence of psychotic symptoms and syndromes. Long-term management of individuals presenting with recurrent and persistent psychosis, even in the absence of methamphetamine use, may include both behavioral treatment to prevent resumption of methamphetamine use and pharmacological treatment targeting psychotic symptoms. In addition, treatment of co-occurring psychiatric disorders including depression and anxiety is important as a means of preventing relapse to methamphetamine use, which is often triggered by asso-
Inflammatory Diseases of the Central Nervous System

Preface Part I. Interactions Between the Immune and Nervous Systems: 1. Effectors and determinants of the innate and adaptive immune responses Edgar Meinl and Hartmut Wekerle 2. Microglia: protective and pathogenic mediators Bevyn Jarrott and Karina Apric- 3. The role of dendritic cells in neuroinflammation Heather Donaghy, Edwina J. Wright and Anthony L. Cunningham 4. Negotiating the brain barriers: access of immune cells and pathogens into the CNS Britta Engelghardt Part II. Autoimmunity: 5. Immune effector heterogeneity in multiple sclerosis and related CNS inflammatory demyelinating disorders Shaunu F. Roemer and Claudia F. Lucchinetti 6. Multiple sclerosis: neuroimmune crosstalk in acute and progressive stages of the disease Martin Kerschensteiner and Reinhard Hohlfeld 7. CD8+ T Cell-mediated autoimmune diseases in the CNS Lisa Walter and Matthew L. Albert 8. Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis: determinants and manifestations Eppie M. Yiu and Andrew J. Kornberg 9. Primary angiitis of the CNS and its mimics Tina Chadha, George F. Duna and Leonard H. Calabrese Part III. Microbiological and Traumatic Challenges to the CNS: 10. Acute viral encephalitis: role of the immune system in viral clearance from the CNS and in the generation of pathology David N. Irani and Natalie Prow 11. Chronic HIV infection of the CNS: role of the immune system in virological control and the generation of pathology Carolyn F. Orr and Bruce J. Brew 12. Brain inflammation during bacterial meningitis Trine H. Mogensen and Lars Ostergaard 13. Parasitic infections of the brain: malaria and beyond Stephen J. Rogerson and Danny A. Milner Jr 14. Role of the inflammatory process in traumatic brain damage Cristina Morganti-Kossmann, Laveniya Satgunaseelan, Nicole Bye, Phuong Nguyen and Thomas Kossmann Part IV. Therapy: 15. HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders: clinical features and therapeutic challenges Nicoline Schiess and Justin C. McArthur 16. Role of immunomodulation in management of infections of the CNS Miles H. Beaman 17. Neuroinflammation: an emerging therapeutic target in neurological disease Joseph M. Antony and Christopher Power Index.
Religious commitment and health status.

T he empirical literature from epidemiological and clinical studies regarding the relationship between religious factors (eg, frequency of religious attendance, private religious involvement, and relying on one’s religious beliefs as a source of strength and coping) and physical and mental health status in the areas of prevention, coping, and recovery was reviewed. Empirical studies from the published literature that contained at least 1 measure of subjects’ religious commitment and at least 1 measure of their physical or mental health status were used. In particular, studies that examined the role of religious commitment or religious involvement in the prevention of illness, coping with illnesses that have already arisen, and recovery from illness were highlighted. A large proportion of published empirical data suggest that religious commitment may play a beneficial role in preventing mental and physical illness, improving how people cope with mental and physical illness, and facilitating recovery from illness. However, much still remains to be investigated with improved studies that are specially designed to investigate the connection between religious involvement and health status. Nevertheless, the available data suggest that practitioners who make several small changes in how patients’ religious commitments are broached in clinical practice may enhance health care outcomes. Arch Fam Med. 1998;7:118-124