Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prior Antimicrobial Therapy and Risk for Hospital-Acquired Candida glabrata and Candida krusei Fungemia: a Case-Case-Control Study

ABSTRACT The incidence of infections caused by Candida glabrata and Candida krusei, which are generally more resistant to fluconazole than Candida albicans, is increasing in hospitalized patients. However, the extent to which prior exposure to specific antimicrobial agents increases the risk of subsequent C. glabrata or C. krusei candidemia has not been closely studied. A retrospective case-case-control study was performed at a university hospital. From 1998 to 2003, 60 patients were identified with hospital-acquired non-C. albicans candidemia (C. glabrata or C. krusei; case group 1). For comparison, 68 patients with C. albicans candidemia (case group 2) and a common control group of 121 patients without candidemia were studied. Models were adjusted for demographic and clinical risk factors, and the risk for candidemia associated with exposure to specific antimicrobial agents was assessed. After adjusting for both nonantimicrobial risk factors and receipt of other antimicrobial agents, piperacillin-tazobactam (odds ratio [OR], 4.15; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.04 to 16.50) and vancomycin (OR, 6.48; CI, 2.20 to 19.13) were significant risk factors for C. glabrata or C. krusei candidemia. For C. albicans candidemia, no specific antibiotics remained a significant risk after adjusted analysis. Prior fluconazole use was not significantly associated with either C. albicans or non-C. albicans (C. glabrata or C. krusei) candidemia. In this single-center study, exposure to antibacterial agents, specifically vancomycin or piperacillin-tazobactam, but not fluconazole, was associated with subsequent hospital-acquired C. glabrata or C. krusei candidemia. Further studies are needed to prospectively analyze specific antimicrobial risks for nosocomial candidemia across multiple hospital centers.
Effects of Gluten-Free Diet on Quality of Life and Depression in Children With Celiac Disease

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the level of depression and quality of life in children with celiac disease (CD). In addition, it aimed to examine the relations of depression level and life quality with adherence to a gluten-free diet (GFD). Methods: Twenty-five children with CD and 25 healthy controls were included. The Depression Scale for Children and the General Purpose Health-Related Quality of Life Scale for Children were performed on patients before and after receiving recommendations to follow a GFD. Results: No significant differences were found in the depression scores between the patients and the control subjects (P > 0.05). In contrast, total scores and scores of the emotional well-being subscale of the measure of Quality of Life Scale for Children were significantly lower in patients with CD compared with the control group (P < 0.05). No significant improvements were observed in depression or life quality scores of the total subsample of celiac patients, all of whom received a recommendation to follow a GFD (P > 0.05). Significant decrease was observed in the depression scores, however, of celiac patients who were able to actually adhere to the GFD compared with nonadherent patients. Conclusions: CD negatively affected quality of life in children. Adherence to GFD was associated with reduction in depression symptoms. Improving the adherence of celiac patients to a GFD may have a favorable effect on their depression symptoms.
FRI sampling and time-varying pulses: Some theory and four short stories

The field of signal processing is replete with exemplary problems where the measurements amount to time-delayed and amplitude scaled echoes of some template function or a pulse. When the inter-pulse spacing is favorable, something as primitive as a matched filter serves the purpose of identifying time-delays and amplitudes. When the inter-pulse spacing poses an algorithmic challenge, high-resolution methods such as finite-rate-of-innovation (FRI) may be used. However, in many practical cases of interest, the template function may be distorted due to physical properties of propagation and transmission. Such cases can not be handled well by existing signal models. Inspired by problems in spectroscopy, radar, photoacoustic imaging and ultra-wide band arrays, on which we base our case studies, in this work we take a step towards recovering spikes from time-varying pulses. To this end, we re-purpose the FRI method and extend its utility to the case of phase distorted pulses. Application of our algorithm on the above-mentioned case studies results in substantial improvement in peak-signal-to-noise ratio, thus promising interesting future directions.
Multi-agent speed consensus via delayed position feedback with application to Kuramoto oscillators

We present conditions for a nonlinear single integrator multi-agent system to achieve a consensus on the derivatives of the agents' states, e.g. their speed, by comparing the state information, e.g. their position. This consensus property is even more surprising because the states themselves do not necessarily reach a consensus. We prove that consensus is reached even if the communication network between the agents introduces communication delays. As a special case, the considered model includes delay coupled Kuramoto oscillators with nonidentical natural frequencies. We apply our result to these oscillators and show that frequency entrainment is guaranteed for appropriate initial conditions.
High‐dose methotrexate pharmacokinetics and outcome of children and young adults with osteosarcoma

High‐dose methotrexate (HDMTX) is used frequently in combination regimens that include nephrotoxic chemotherapy. The authors evaluated the impact of factors such as age and prior nephrotoxic agents on MTX pharmacokinetics in children and young adults with osteosarcoma and examined whether MTX pharmacokinetic parameters were associated with outcome.
Ciprofloxacin-induced, low-level resistance to structurally unrelated antibiotics in Pseudomonas aeruginosa and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

The effects of ciprofloxacin on the rates of development of low-level resistance to other antibiotics were determined in vitro. Three methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and two Pseudomonas aeruginosa clinical strains were grown overnight in Mueller-Hinton broth with or without subinhibitory concentrations (1/2, 1/4, and 1/8 MICs) of ciprofloxacin or an aminoglycoside and then quantitatively plated onto medium containing 4 or 8 times the MICs of various antibiotics. The spontaneous mutational frequencies were determined and compared with those of cells not exposed to ciprofloxacin. Exposure of methicillin-resistant S. aureus strains to ciprofloxacin resulted in a > 100-fold increase in the isolation of variants with decreased susceptibilities to ciprofloxacin, tetracycline, imipenem, fusidic acid, and gentamicin, but not vancomycin. Likewise, a > 100-fold increase in the isolation of variants with decreased susceptibilities to ciprofloxacin and imipenem (35-fold) in P. aeruginosa A21213 was observed, and a > 100-fold increase in the isolation of variants with decreased susceptibilities to ciprofloxacin, amikacin, and cefepime in P. aeruginosa A22379 was observed. On the other hand, exposure of these strains to an aminoglycoside did not influence the development of resistance to nonaminoglycoside drugs. These results indicate that exposure to subinhibitory levels of ciprofloxacin can promote the development of low-level resistance to antibiotics with different modes of action.
Different Concentrations of Glucose Regulate Proliferation and Osteogenic Differentiation of Osteoblasts Via the PI3 Kinase/Akt Pathway

Introduction:The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of high glucose levels on proliferation and osteogenic ability in MC3T3-E1 osteoblastic cell line and to explore the regulatory mechanism of PI3 kinase (PI3K)/Akt signaling pathway. Methods:The cultures were divided into 8 treatment groups: 4 concentrations of glucose (5.5, 15.5, 25.5, and 35.5 mM) with or without LY294002. Cell proliferation, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) assay, alizarin red staining of mineralized nodule, osteogenic genes, and P-AKT expression were analyzed. Results:Cell proliferation, ALP activity, mineralization, osteogenic genes (RUNX2, OSX, OPN, OCN) and P-AKT expression in MC3T3-E1 cells were increased, whereas the glucose concentration changed from 5.5 to 15.5 mM. However, when the glucose concentrations continue to increase from 25.5 to 35.5 mM, the proliferation and osteogenic ability in MC3T3-E1 cells were gradually declined. Furthermore, these effects were significantly inhibited by PI3K/Akt inhibitor LY294002 at a glucose concentration of 15.5 mM, which was the optimum. Conclusions:Appropriate high glucose concentration (15.5 mM) can increase osteogenic differentiation by activating PI3K/Akt pathway in MC3T3-E1 cells, but exorbitant high glucose concentrations (25.5 and 35.5 mM) inhibited the biomineralization process. Findings indicated that PI3K/Akt pathway plays an important role in the physiological process of MC3T3-E1 cells.
Raf Kinase Inhibitor Protein Enhances Neuronal Differentiation in Human SH-SY5Y Cells

Neuronal differentiation has evolved as an essential process even in the adult brain, once disturbed being associated with the pathogenesis of several psychiatric disorders. To study the effects of Raf kinase inhibitor protein (RKIP) on neuronal differentiation, we generated neuroblastoma cell lines overexpressing RKIP (RKIP+) and expressing RKIP-directed short hairpin RNA for downregulation of RKIP (RKIP–). During a 4-week time course of continuous differentiation by retinoic acid (RA), expression of neuronal and glial markers, intracellular cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) levels, protein kinase C (PKC) signal transduction to extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK-1/2) and cellular morphology were investigated in relation to RKIP levels. RKIP+ cells showed accelerated neurite outgrowth, formation of elaborated neuronal networks and increased neuronal marker expression both in RA-induced differentiation and to some extent even in non-RA-treated cells. RKIP– cells showed glial-like cell bodies and increased glial fibrillary acidic protein, suggesting a shift from neuronal to glial phenotype. With respect to differentiation-inducing signal pathways, PKC-mediated ERK-1/2 activation significantly correlated with RKIP levels. Furthermore, basal and forskolin-stimulated intracellular cAMP was potently increased in RKIP+ cells versus controls. In conclusion, the conserved signal transduction modulator RKIP was shown to enhance several aspects of neuronal differentiation via enhanced crosstalk from PKC to ERK-1/2 and enhancement of G-protein-coupled receptor signaling.
OF THE EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS OF BEHAVIOR CHOICE IN THE REPEATED-GAMBLES EXPERIMENT

Humans chose 10 times between two roulette wheels projected on a monitor. During the first trial, the left wheel provided a hypothetical $100 with p = . 94, and the right wheel provided $250 with p = . 39. A titration procedure adjusted the probability of a $250 win across trials to permit estimation of an indifference point between alternatives. In Experiment 1, intertrial-interval duration (25 vs. 90 s) and whether sessions began with an intertrial interval or a trial were varied in a 2 x 2 design in this risky-choice procedure. Risk aversion (preference for the $100 wheel) increased with intertrial interval but was unaffected by whether sessions began with a trial or an intertrial interval. In Experiment 2, all sessions began with a trial, and subjects were informed that the experiment ended after 10 trials. Intertrial-interval duration had no effect on choice. In Experiment 3, intertrial-interval duration and whether subjects were given $10 or $10,000 before beginning were varied among four groups in a 2 x 2 design. In all other ways, the procedure was unchanged from Experiment 2. Intertrial interval had no effect on choice, but the $10,000 groups showed less risk aversion than the $10 groups. These results can be explained more readily in terms of Kahneman and Tversky's (1984) notion of "framing of the prospect" than in terms of Rachlin, Logue, Gibbon, and Frankel's (1986) behavioral account of risky choice.
Neisseria meningitidis C114 contains silent, truncated pilin genes that are homologous to Neisseria gonorrhoeae pil sequences

Neisseria meningitidis pili can be classified into two groups: those (referred to here as class I pili) which are similar to gonococcal pili in that they react with monoclonal antibody SM1 and those that are dissimilar to gonococcal pili in that they lack the SM1-reactive epitope (class II pili). Pilus expression in N. meningitidis C114, a class II pilus-producing isolate, was investigated. The sole genomic segment of this strain that bore extensive homology with the pilE locus of Neisseria gonorrhoeae P9 was cloned in Escherichia coli. The production of the pilus structural subunit (pilin) from this meningococcal segment could not be detected by immunological and coupled in vitro transcription-translation analyses. Nucleotide sequence analysis revealed the presence in the C114 genome of two variant, tandemly arranged pilin genes (copies 1 and 2). Copies 1 and 2 are partial pilin genes that constitute part of a silent meningococcal pilin gene (pil gene) region, designated pilS. Both copies are truncated, corresponding to variable domains of the gonococcal pilE gene but lacking homologous N-terminal coding sequences. Located within sequences surrounding copies 1 and 2 were several classes of repeated elements that are associated with pil loci in N. gonorrhoeae.
Raman microscopy and surface‐enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) for in situ analysis of biofilms

Biofilms are communities of micro‐organisms enclosed in a matrix of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). They represent a ubiquitous form of microbial life on Earth. Detailed information on chemical composition and structure of the EPS matrix is relevant in medicine, industry and technological processes. Raman microscopy (RM) provides whole‐organism fingerprints for biological samples with spatial resolution in the μm range and enables correlations between optical and chemical images to be made. Low water background makes RM beneficial for in situ studies of biofilms, since water is the major component of the biofilm matrix. In this paper we discuss the feasibility of RM for chemical characterization of different structures in a multispecies biofilm matrix, including microbial constituents and EPS. We show that by improving the sensitivity of RM with surface‐enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) one can perform rapid biofilm analysis. In particular, by choosing appropriate SERS substrates and solving the problem of SERS measurement reproducibility one can carry out in situ study of different components in the complex biofilm matrix. (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
The effect of import competition on Brazil’s manufacturing labor market in the 2000s: Are imports from China different?

ABSTRACT This study uses the increased openness of the Brazilian economy in the 2000s to assess the impacts of trade on its manufacturing sector. Using household data, this study’s results imply that a higher import penetration reduces the employment level in manufacturing and fosters labor reallocation across industries. The magnitude of these effects changes according to the Chinese share of these imports. I find no evidence that trade exposure affected the shares of self-employed and informal workers. Finally, the new macroeconomic policy implemented by the Brazilian government in 2008 altered the way in which trade exposure affected manufacturing labor market outcomes.
Role of growth factors in control of pancreatic beta cell mass: focus on betatrophin.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW Betatrophin is a newly described hormone, which potently stimulates beta cell replication in mice. This discovery has engendered great hope that it could prove clinically important in the treatment of type 1 and type 2 diabetes. RECENT FINDINGS Betatrophin, a 198-amino acid protein secreted by liver and adipose tissue, stimulates growth of pancreatic beta cell mass in insulin-resistant mice. Betatrophin has previously been named RIFL, lipasin, and ANGPLT8, and its salutory effects on lipid metabolism have been described in mouse and human studies. Serum betatrophin levels in humans correlate with improved adipose tissue lipid storage and lower serum triglyceride levels in the fed state, but do not correlate with insulin resistance or carbohydrate tolerance in humans. Betatrophin has not yet been shown to have an effect on beta cell replication in human pancreatic islets. SUMMARY Many endocrine and paracrine factors, of which betatrophin is the newest described, increase beta cell mass in murine models. None of these factors, including betatrophin, have displayed the same activity in clinical studies. This may reflect a profound species difference in beta cell regeneration pathways in mice and humans.
Performance of a New Premulticoded Multicarrier DS-CDMA System in Nakagami Fading

In this paper, we proposed a new multicarrier, direct sequence code division multiple access, the so-called premulticoded MC-DS-CDMA system. In this scheme, the basic MC-DS-CDMA system is augmented with a precoder and a multicode encoder at the transmitter. The multicode encoder is an inverse Walsh-Hadamard transform (IWHT) unit, while the precoder is a recently suggested ldquoconstant amplituderdquo encoder that guarantees that the IWHT output stream has binary level. While IWHT, multicarrier (MC) transmission, and direct sequence spreading provide us with frequency diversity, the constant amplitude precoder ensures that the transmitted waveform is spread BPSK signal, minimizing peak to average-power ratio (PAPR) problem. The multicode and (MC) combination also addresses the need for flexible high data rate services in present day wireless communications. In the receiver, after matched filtering or correlation demodulation for each subcarrier and WHT operation, a detection strategy based on minimum-mean-square-error (MMSE) criterion is used. We have derived an upper bound for the bit error rate (BER) performance in Nakagami fading channel. Numerical results are compared with those obtained from a single carrier DS-CDMA system (SC-DS-CDMA) and a MC-DS-CDMA scheme without the precoding and IWHT units. We show that our proposed MC-DS-CDMA scheme has a much better BER performance compared with both of these schemes.
Narratives of natural disaster survivors in Indonesian media: The case of Tempo magazine

Dubbed as the ‘ring of fire,’, Indonesian territories have witnessed many forms of natural disasters such as volcano eruptions, earthquakes and tsunamis, which had been widely reported in the mass media. While the media has reported the scale of destruction and number of casualties caused by those disasters, they have also narrated dramatic recounts of the survivors. Imbued with spectacular imagery, the media seek to appeal to the audiences emotionally and evoke sentiments of solidarity as well as humanitarian actions. Employing a textual analysis of media reports in Indonesia, particularly from the weekly news magazine Tempo, this study explores the way in which the media frame the narratives of the survivors of natural disasters (volcano eruptions, earthquakes and tsunamis) across Indonesia. Although the media are expected to report events objectively, this study demonstrates the affective element in the practice of journalism on natural disasters. Therefore, this study will contribute to the growing research on the relationship between media and disasters, particularly in the context of a disaster-prone country such as Indonesia. In particular, it will contribute to the body of journalism research which looks at the role of narrating the human subject in tragic events such as natural disasters.
Predicting growth and performance of Holstein steers.

Refinements and additions were made to the growing cattle portion of the model of Fox et al. (1988) for predicting growth of Holstein steers. Based on observations of animal weight, DM intake (DMI), ADG, feed per gain (FPG) and diet ME, the modified model was tested on a database that included 299 feeding periods with Holstein steers fed in research trials over a period of 15 yr at Cornell University, the University of Minnesota and the University of Wisconsin. The modified model accounted for 93, 56 and 68% of the variation in DM intake, daily gain and feed required per unit gain, respectively. Averaged over all 299 periods in the database, the error in predicting DM intake, daily gain and feed required per unit gain was 1%, 4% and 2%, respectively. Analysis of residuals indicated that ME level did not influence the difference between predicted and observed values for DMI, ADG and FPG. Residuals analysis indicated that BW did not influence the difference between predicted and observed values for ADG and FPG but DMI of heavier cattle was overpredicted (P less than .01). These results indicated that the 8% increase in DMI for cattle over 318 kg was not warranted for the Holstein steers in this database, which were predominantly less than 15 mo at slaughter. The results of the validation indicate that this model accurately predicted performance of Holstein steers.
Trends in cancer diagnoses and survival among persons with AIDS in a high HIV prevalence urban area

Washington, DC (DC), has among the highest AIDS prevalence and cancer incidence in the USA. This study compared cancer diagnoses and survival among AIDS cases with AIDS-defining cancers (ADCs) to those with non-AIDS-defining cancers (NADCs) in DC from 1996 to 2006. Survival by cancer type and time period was also examined for 300 individuals diagnosed with AIDS who developed cancer; 49% of AIDS cases developed an ADC. ADC cases were younger at both AIDS and cancer diagnosis and had significantly lower median CD4 counts at AIDS diagnosis than NADC cases. The most frequent cancers were non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL; 44% of ADC), Kaposi's sarcoma (40% of ADC), and lung cancer (20% of NADC). There was no significant difference in distribution of cancers when comparing ADCs to NADCs, or over time (1996–2001 vs. 2002–2006). Survival among NHL, oral cavity, and lung cancer cases was 0.4, 0.8, and 0.3 years, respectively; the risk of death was approximately two times higher for each of these cancers when compared to other cancers. Given the high burden of cancer and HIV in DC, early highly active antiretroviral therapy initiation, routine cancer screening, and risk reduction through behavioral modification should be emphasized to prevent cancer among HIV-infected persons.