Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Morphological, Host Range, and Genetic Characterization of Two Coliphages

ABSTRACT Two coliphages, AR1 and LG1, were characterized based on their morphological, host range, and genetic properties. Transmission electron microscopy showed that both phages belonged to the Myoviridae; phage particles of LG1 were smaller than those of AR1 and had an isometric head 68 nm in diameter and a complex contractile tail 111 nm in length. Transmission electron micrographs of AR1 showed phage particles consisting of an elongated isometric head of 103 by 74 nm and a complex contractile tail 116 nm in length. Both phages were extensively tested on many strains of Escherichia coli and other enterobacteria. The results showed that both phages could infect many serotypes of E. coli. Among the enterobacteria, Proteus mirabilis, Shigella dysenteriae, and two Salmonella strains were lysed by the phages. The genetic material of AR1 and LG1 was characterized. Phage LG1 had a genome size of 49.5 kb compared to 150 kb for AR1. Restriction endonuclease analysis showed that several restriction enzymes could degrade DNA from both phages. The morphological, genome size, and restriction endonuclease similarities between AR1 and phage T4 were striking. Southern hybridizations showed that AR1 and T4 are genetically related. The wide host ranges of phages AR1 and LG1 suggest that they may be useful as biocontrol, therapeutic, or diagnostic agents to control and detect the prevalence of E. coli in animals and food.
Patients with familial non-medullary thyroid cancer have an outcome similar to that of patients with sporadic papillary thyroid tumors.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to determine whether familial non-medullary thyroid cancer (FNMTC) is more aggressive than sporadic thyroid cancer. SUBJECTS AND METHODS We compared the clinical behavior and outcome of 16 subjects with FNMTC from 7 unrelated kindred with those observed in 160 subjects with sporadic PTC (SPTC) from our database. RESULTS The only different baseline characteristics observed between both groups were: bilateral malignancy, 38% vs. 24%, respectively (p = 0.03), and lymph node metastasis, 56.2% vs. 39%, respectively (p = 0.01). Considering the outcome, in the FNMTC, 9 (56.2%) patients were rendered free of disease, one patient died from thyroid cancer (6%), and 6/16 (37.5%) had persistent disease. In the SPTC Group, 87 (54%) patients were considered free of disease, 11 (7%) died due to PTC, and 62 (38%) had persistent disease (p = ns). CONCLUSIONS Despite the higher incidence of lymph node metastasis in FNMTC patients this situation seemed not to alter the compared outcome.
Evaluation of an Electronic Medical Record System at an Opioid Agonist Treatment Program

Objectives:The Addiction Research and Treatment Corporation evaluated the impact of an electronic medical record system. Methods:A prospective pre- and postimplementation design was utilized that examined the domains of quality, productivity, satisfaction, risk management, and financial performance. Results:There were highly statistically significant improvements in timely completion of Annual Medical and 30-Day, 90-Day, and Annual Multidiscipline assessments. There was no statistically significant change in obtaining hepatitis C viral load for hepatitis C antibody-positive patients. The prevalence of risk management events was too low to detect statistically meaningful changes. Patient satisfaction was unchanged pre- and postimplementation, although staff satisfaction trended upward postimplementation. Productivity significantly declined for counseling staff; there was a nonsignificant productivity decline for medical services staff and a nonsignificant productivity increase for case manager staff. Revenue per capita staff increased by 0.6%, while cost per patient visit increased by 5.7%. Conclusions:Despite less robust results than expected, had we not implemented the electronic system, recent changes in documentation and reimbursement for services would have paralyzed our agency.
Cost-effectiveness of positron emission tomography for non-small cell lung carcinoma in Canada.

BACKGROUND Several studies over the past decade have demonstrated that 2-fluoro-2-D-[18F]fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) is more accurate than computed tomography (CT) for the staging of non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC). This study uses quantitative decision tree modeling and sensitivity analysis to assess the cost-effectiveness of both a CT- and a CT+PET-based management strategy for staging NSCLC in Canada. Both management costs and life expectancy are determined. MATERIAL/METHODS Two patient management scenarios were compared--one using CT alone and one using both CT and PET. A survey of recent literature was used to construct a meta-analysis of available studies for the accuracies of CT and PET in staging NSCLC. Life expectancies were determined from recent Canadian statistics, and expected life expectancies with disease were calculated from knowledge of published survival rates. Management costs were determined from: estimates of the installation cost of PET facilities in Canada; management costs from our institutions; and recently published Canadian cost estimates of various procedures. RESULTS A cost savings of 1455 Canadian dollars per person is expected for the CT+PET strategy, along with an increase in life expectancy (3.1 days), when compared with the CT alone strategy. This cost savings remained in favour of the CT+PET strategy when subjected to a rigorous sensitivity analysis. CONCLUSIONS PET may be a cost effective means of staging NSCLC in Canada.
Network connectivity abnormality profile supports a categorical‐dimensional hybrid model of ADHD

Attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is characterized by inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity, but there is no consensus regarding whether ADHD exists on the extreme end of a continuum of normal behavior or represents a discrete disorder. In this study, we sought to characterize both the categorical and dimensional variations in network functional connectivity in order to identify neural connectivity mechanisms of ADHD. Functional connectivity analyses of resting‐state fMRI data from 155 children with ADHD and 145 typically developing children (TDC) defined the dorsal attention network (DA), default mode network (DM), salience processing network (SAL) and executive control network (CON). Regional alterations in connectivity associated with categorical diagnoses and dimensional symptom measures (inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity) as well as their interaction were systematically characterized. Dimensional relationships between symptom severity measures and functional connectivity that did not differ between TDC and children with ADHD were observed for each network, supporting a dimensional characterization of ADHD. However, categorical differences in functional connectivity magnitude between TDC and children with ADHD were detected after accounting for dimensional relationships, indicating the existence of categorical mechanisms independent of dimensional effects. Additionally, differential dimensional relationships for TDC versus ADHD children demonstrated categorical differences in brain–behavior relationships. The patterns of network functional organization associated with categorical versus dimensional measures of ADHD accentuate the complexity of this disorder and support a dual characterization of ADHD etiology featuring both dimensional and categorical mechanisms. Hum Brain Mapp 35:4531–4543, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
What do we Expect from our Friends

We conduct a field experiment in a large real-world social network to examine how subjects expect to be treated by their friends and by strangers who make allocation decisions in modified dictator games. Although recipients' beliefs accurately account for the extent to which friends will choose more generous allocations than strangers (i.e., directed altruism), recipients are not able to anticipate individual differences in the baseline altruism of allocators (measured by giving to an unnamed recipient, which is predictive of generosity toward named recipients). Recipients who are direct friends with the allocator, or even recipients with many common friends, are no more accurate in recognizing intrinsically altruistic allocators. Recipient beliefs are significantly less accurate than the predictions of an econometrician who knows the allocator's demographic characteristics and social distance, suggesting recipients do not have information on unobservable characteristics of the allocator. (JEL: C73, C91, D64) (c) 2010 by the European Economic Association.
Oxford History of Ancient Egypt

Introduction : chronologies and cultural change in Egypt / Ian Shaw -- Prehistory : from the Palaeolithic to the Badarian culture (c. 700,000-4000 BC / Stan Hendrickx and Pierre Vermeersch -- The Naqada period (c. 4000-3200 BC) / Beatrix Midant-Reynes -- The emergence of the Egyptian state (c. 3200-2686 BC) / Kathryn A. Bard -- The Old Kingdom (c. 2686-2125 BC) / Jaromir Malek -- The First Intermediate period (c. 2160-2055 BC) / Stephan Seidlmayer -- The Middle Kingdom renaissance (c. 2055-1650 BC) / Gae Callender -- The Second Intermediate period (c. 1650-1550 BC) / Janine Bourriau -- The 18th dynasty before the Amarna period (c. 1550-1352 BC) / Betsy M. Bryan -- The Amarna period and the Later New Kingdom (c. 1352-1069 BC) / Jacobus Van Dijk -- Egypt and the outside world / Ian Shaw -- The Third Intermediate period (1069-664 BC) / John Taylor -- The Late period (664-332 BC) / Alan B. Lloyd -- The Ptolemaic period (332-30 BC) / Alan B. Lloyd -- The Roman period (30 BC-AD 395) / David Peacock.
Visuomotor properties of corticotectal cells in area 17 and posteromedial lateral suprasylvian (PMLS) cortex of the cat

We studied the visuomotor activity of corticotectal (CT) cells in two visual cortical areas [area 17 and the posteromedial lateral suprasylvian cortex (PMLS)] of the cat. The cats were trained in simple oculomotor tasks, and head position was fixed. Most CT cells in both cortical areas gave a vigorous discharge to a small stimulus used to control gaze when it fell within the retinotopically defined visual field. However, the vigor of the visual response did not predict latency to initiate a saccade, saccade velocity, amplitude, or even if a saccade would be made, minimizing any potential role these cells might have in premotor or attentional processes. Most CT cells in both areas were selective for direction of stimulus motion, and cells in PMLS showed a direction preference favoring motion away from points of central gaze. CT cells did not discharge with eye movements in the dark. During eye movements in the light, many CT cells in area 17 increased their activity. In contrast, cells in PMLS, including CT cells, were generally unresponsive during saccades. Paradoxically, cells in PMLS responded vigorously to stimuli moving at saccadic velocities, indicating that the oculomotor system suppresses visual activity elicited by moving the retina across an illuminated scene. Nearly all CT cells showed oscillatory activity in the frequency range of 20–90 Hz, especially in response to visual stimuli. However, this activity was capricious; strong oscillations in one trial could disappear in the next despite identical stimulus conditions. Although the CT cells in both of these regions share many characteristics, the direction anisotropy and the suppression of activity during eye movements which characterize the neurons in PMLS suggests that these two areas have different roles in facilitating perceptual/motor processes at the level of the superior colliculus.
Monitoring Buried Free Flaps: Limitations of the Implantable Doppler and Use of Color Duplex Sonography as a Confirmatory Test

Background: Postoperative monitoring of free flaps is important to minimize the risk of flap failure, but monitoring buried free flaps is difficult because the standard methods of clinical examination and surface Doppler monitoring are not possible. Buried free flaps are often monitored using an implantable 20-MHz ultrasonic Doppler probe. Methods: The authors conducted a retrospective clinical study of buried free flaps to assess the reliability of the implantable Doppler probe in postoperative monitoring of free flaps. Results: During the 38-month study period, 956 free flap operations were performed at the authors' institution. Twenty (2.1 percent) of these cases involved completely buried free flaps in which an implantable Doppler probe was used for flap monitoring. Implantable Doppler probe monitoring had a 100 percent sensitivity rate in detecting loss of flap perfusion, making it a good screening test for free flap viability. However, it suffered from a high false-positive rate of 88 percent, which resulted in a high proportion of subsequent negative surgical explorations. In one case, color duplex sonography, a rapid and noninvasive test, revealed that the loss of signal from the implantable Doppler probe was a false-positive result. Conclusions: The implantable Doppler probe is a sensitive method for postoperative monitoring of free flaps but is prone to false-positive signals. The use of color duplex sonography to confirm implantable Doppler probe findings may avert unnecessary surgical exploration, thereby improving postoperative monitoring of free flaps.
Seeing is believing: the role of videoconferencing in distance learning

The potential of videoconferencing to enrich distance learning needs to be widely recognised as well as the technology embedded in curriculum delivery and in distance learning programmes. The argument is supported by reference to a wide range of case studies from the author's experiences over a period of six years as International Officer with the Western Education and Library Board in Northern Ireland, and to exemplars of good practice from other sources in different parts of the world. As videoconferencing becomes more widely available in schools and in public libraries, it is important that there is a new awareness of its vast potential in order to ensure that this technology is fully exploited for the benefit of learning communities.
Verapamil pharmacokinetics and apparent hepatic and renal blood flow.

The effect of acute and continued administration of verapamil on pharmacokinetics and regional blood flow has been studied in eight normotensive subjects. Continued administration resulted in a significant decrease in verapamil clearance, compared to that following acute dosing, as assessed by increases in both terminal elimination half-life (from a mean +/- s.d. of 5.2 +/- 2.3 h to 6.7 +/- 2.0 h) and AUC (from a mean +/- s.d. of 800 +/- 353 ng ml-1 h to 1455 +/- 244 ng ml-1 h). The relative clearance of norverapamil was not changed. Acute administration of verapamil resulted in a significant increase (P less than 0.005) in apparent liver blood flow which with continued administration fell significantly (P less than 0.01) towards placebo values. Effective renal plasma flow similarly increased with acute verapamil administration (P less than 0.05) and with chronic administration reduced again to be not significantly different from placebo. Acute and chronic verapamil administration did not significantly alter glomerular filtration rates. These results suggest that there may be a relationship between the acute increase in liver blood flow and the relatively increased clearance of verapamil following acute dosing.
Sahels : diversité et dynamiques des relations sociétés-nature

Comment approcher la dynamique complexe et mouvante des rapports que des societes humaines entretiennent avec leur environnement ? Les tensions, les transformations et les ruptures qui se manifestent dans les moments de destabilisation revelent souvent des relations occultees durant les periodes de plus grande regularite. De ce point de vue, la crise environnementale et humaine que traverse l'Afrique sahelo-soudanienne depuis pres d'un quart de siecle est sans doute exemplaire. Cet ouvrage se situe dans une double perspective : a la fois celle de l'analyse detaillee d'une realite geographique particuliere et celle d'une reflexion theorique sur des dynamiques de portee generale. Deux notions-reperes orientent le cheminement de ce travail interdisciplinaire. D'abord celle de la diversite des situations locales. Il est impossible de comprendre ce que l'on observe sur le terrain sans prendre en compte cette diversite. Celle de la complexite de l'histoire, d'autre part. La crise sahelienne est l'expression d'une transformation des relations entre societes et nature. Elle est a la fois le revelateur et l'agent de profondes mutations des systemes sociaux. Se trouvent en jeu dans cette diachronie non seulement les aspects materiels du fonctionnement de ces systemes mais aussi leurs fondements culturels les plus incorporels : principes d'organisation, dynamique des rapports sociaux, systemes de pensee. La crise environnementale va de pair avec un puissant mouvement de recomposition sociale qui s'opere a plusieurs niveaux : celui des communautes paysannes et pastorales, mais aussi celui des Etats-nations au sein desquelles elles se trouvent inserees
Selective loss of an oscillatory component from temporal retinal multifocal ERG responses in glaucoma.

PURPOSE To evaluate electrophysiologic function in glaucoma by using a new stimulus designed to enhance ganglion cell and optic nerve head component (ONHC) contributions to multifocal electroretinogram (mfERG) responses. METHODS mfERGs of 16 individuals with glaucoma (POAG) and 18 normal control subjects were recorded and analyzed with a VER imaging system. The stimulus had three frames inserted between each m-sequence step: a full-field dark frame (1.0 cd/m(2)), a full-field flash (200 cd/m(2)), and another dark frame. Multifocal flashes were 100 cd/m(2). The stimulus subtended approximately 40 degrees total diameter and contained 103 scaled hexagonal elements. Signals were obtained using Burian-Allen bipolar electrodes, amplified x10(6), band-pass filtered at 10 to 300 Hz, and sampled at 1200 Hz. RESULTS Local first-order responses (kernels) consisted of a direct component (DC) followed by an induced component (IC). Nasal-temporal response asymmetries in normal eyes were most easily observed in the IC. A small but distinct oscillation in the ICs of temporal retinal responses distinguished them from nasal IC waveforms. In individuals with glaucoma, there was less asymmetry between nasal and temporal responses, mostly because of the reduction of the oscillation in the temporal retinal ICs. The amplitude of this oscillation was 4.4 +/- 2.1 nV/deg(2) in the control group and 1.8 +/- 1.2 nV/deg(2) in the glaucoma group (P < 0.0001). Amplitude and latency measures of other response features were not significantly different from normal. Amplitude of the IC oscillation was not correlated with age in either the normal or glaucoma groups. In a group of normal subjects retested 3 months later, the average test-retest repeatability was +/-12%. CONCLUSIONS Selective loss of an oscillatory feature from IC responses in glaucoma may represent abnormalities in the inner plexiform layer of the temporal retina, where classic oscillatory potentials (OPs) are thought to arise. However, evidence suggests that this effect may also be due in part to loss of the ONHC.
Protective effect of Lactobacillus rhamnosus 231 against N-Methyl-N′-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine in animal model

The protective effect of Lactobacillus rhamnosus 231 (Lr 231) against potent carcinogen N-Methyl-N'-Nitro-N-Nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) in the rat model is studied. Daily feeding with Lr 231 improved the body weight of male Wistar rats compared with control groups. Fecal azoreductase (p < 0.001) and nitroreductase (p < 0.01) enzyme activity decreased significantly in Lr 231 group in comparison with control groups that received only phosphate buffer or MNNG. Oral administration of MNNG led to a significant increase in Glutathione transferase (GST) while Glutathione reductase (GSH) showed decreased activity. Conversely, feeding Lr 231 showed significantly increased GSH and decreased GST activity in comparison to the MNNG group, emphasizing the protection provided by Lr 231 against MNNG. Histopathological analysis of liver, spleen and colon showed decreased signs of inflammation in the Lr 231 group. The present study highlights that inclusion of active Lr 231 in regular diets could be used to prevent MNNG induced colon carcinoma.
Histopathology in horses with chronic palmar foot pain and age-matched controls. Part 2: The deep digital flexor tendon.

REASONS FOR PERFORMING STUDY Causes of palmar foot pain and the aetiopathogenesis of navicular disease remain poorly understood, despite the high incidence of foot-related lameness. HYPOTHESES Abnormalities of the deep digital flexor tendon (DDFT) may contribute to palmar foot pain; ageing degenerative changes may be seen in horses free from lameness; and horses with lameness are likely to have a greater severity of abnormalities than age-matched horses with no history of foot pain. METHODS Feet were selected from horses with a history of uni- or bilateral forelimb lameness of at least 2 months' duration. Histology of the DDFT from the level of the proximal interphalangeal joint to its insertion were examined and the severity of lesions for each site graded. Associations between lesions of the navicular bone, collateral sesamoidean ligaments (CSL), distal sesamoidean impar ligament, navicular bursa, distal interphalangeal (DIP) joint synovium and collateral ligaments of the DIP joint and DDFT were assessed. RESULTS There was no relationship between age and grade of histological abnormality of the DDFT. There were significant histological differences between groups for lesions of the dorsal layers of the DDFT, but not for lesions of the palmar aspect. There were significant associations between histological grades for the superficial dorsal layer of the DDFT and flexor aspect of the navicular bone; and between the deep dorsal layer of the DDFT and the proximal border and medulla of the navicular bone. The navicular bursa grade was correlated with grades for the superficial dorsal, deep dorsal and deep palmar layers of the DDFT. The histological grades for the CSL and the superficial dorsal layer of the DDFT were also associated. CONCLUSIONS Pathological abnormalities in lame horses often involved the DDFT in addition to the navicular bone. Vascular and matrix changes may precede changes in the fibrocartilage of the navicular bone. POTENTIAL RELEVANCE Identification of factors leading to vascular changes within the interstitium of the DDFT and changes in matrix composition, may help in future management of palmar foot pain.