Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
HIGH FREQUENCY OF SALMONELLA SPECIES AS A CAUSE OF NEONATAL MENINGITIS IN IBADAN, NIGERIA

538 cases of bacterial meningitis admitted from January 1964 to May 1969 in all age groups at the U.C. H. , Ibadan, were reviewed. The proportion of enterobacterial cases of meningitis admitted to the U.C. H. , Ibadan was higher than has been reported from any other centre, the maximum incidence being in the neonatal period. A very large number of these were due to various salmonella species, and 70% of these are currently resistant to the more commonly used antibiotics, including chloramphenicol. This resistance to chloramphenicol is reflected amongst all enterobacteria isolated in Ibadan and poses a considerable problem. At present, over 90% of neonates with enterobacterial meningitis die and this case fatality is maintained in the older age groups in cases where resistant strains are encountered.
Processing of facial expressions of emotion and alexithymia.

OBJECTIVE The primary objective was to examine emotional responsiveness in alexithymia. DESIGN A quasi-experimental design was followed with the alexithymia variable being manipulated by subject stratification based on Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20-H. METHOD Alexithymics (N = 12) and non-alexithymics (N = 12) were asked to match, label and verbally describe photographs displaying facial emotions along with TAT card II. RESULTS Alexithymics did not differ from non-alexithymics in emotional matching and labelling tasks but had significant difficulty in verbally describing emotional expressions as evident by less duration of utterance, greater response latency and increased linguistic-type speech disruptions. Speech disruptions did not produce a group difference for TAT card II. CONCLUSION Such difficulty in alexithymics may be associated with their inability to use emotional words in the appropriate context.
Melkersson–Rosenthal syndrome in childhood: a challenge in differential diagnosis and treatment

Facial palsy and orofacial swelling in childhood represent a challenge in differential diagnosis for paediatricians and dermatologists. One possible entity, Melkersson–Rosenthal syndrome (MRS), is a rarity in childhood. We describe a 9‐year‐old girl with the diagnosis of MRS who had episodic swelling of the upper lip and complete peripheral facial palsy, associated with herpes and recurrent bacterial infections. Therapeutic options for MRS in childhood are limited. Our patient benefited from a 2‐month course of prednisolone 1 mg kg−1 daily. We review previously published cases of MRS in childhood, and discuss the differential diagnosis of orofacial swelling and facial palsy as well as treatment options in children.
Two-photon photoassociative spectroscopy of ultracold

We present results from two-photon photoassociative spectroscopy of the least-bound vibrational level of the X 1 g + state of the Sr2 dimer. Measurement of the binding energy allows us to determine the s-wave scattering length a88=−1.4 6 a0. For the intermediate state, we use a bound level on the metastable S0P1 potential, which provides large Franck-Condon transition factors and narrow one-photon photoassociative lines that are advantageous for observing quantum-optical effects such as Autler-Townes resonance splittings.
The level and source of free-methionine affect body composition and breast muscle traits in growing broilers.

Although dietary Met, as the first limiting amino acid (AA), has been extensively studied for poultry, little is known about how the supply and source of free Met affect tissue composition. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of feeding young broiler chickens with a deficient or sufficient TSAA (Met+Cys) supply, using either dl-Met (dl-Met+ and dl-Met-, for respectively diets sufficient and deficient in TSAA) or dl-2-hydroxy-4-methylthiobutyric acid (HMTBA+ and HMTBA-, for respectively diets sufficient and deficient in TSAA) as a Met source on tissue composition and breast muscle traits. For both Met sources, the deficient diets were formulated to provide true digestible Met:Lys and TSAA:Lys respectively 45% and 30% below that of the sufficient diets. Performance and tissue weights were affected by the Met supply but not by the Met source. In TSAA-deficient chickens, ADG and FCR, and protein content in empty body and pectoralis major muscles (PM) were lower than in TSAA-sufficient chickens (P < 0.05). Reducing the Met content of the diet increased the redness value of PM (a*) and the hue angle (H°; P < 0.01). The source of Met affected body AA composition and the partitioning of body Cys among tissues (P < 0.05). In TSAA-deficient birds, body Cys mass decreased in the commercial carcass and PM, but increased in the rest of the body (P < 0.01). The Met source also had an impact on the Cys mass, which was reduced in the commercial carcass and PM of dl-Met birds, but higher in the rest, especially in the feathers of TSAA-deficient birds (P < 0.05). The Met source, supply, or both altered the AA composition of the empty body, mostly in the commercial carcass. In conclusion, a dietary TSAA deficiency altered performance, tissue composition and quality traits of PM of broilers. There was no impact between dietary dl-Met and dl-HMTBA on performance or muscle weight, although the Met source affected the partitioning of Cys among tissues.
Dehydroepiandrosterone supplementation augments ovarian stimulation in poor responders: a case series.

In patients with poor response to ovarian stimulation with gonadotrophins, growth hormone (GH) is sometimes used to increase paracrine insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) effect. We postulated that dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) administration to poor responders would augment gonado-trophin effect via a similar mechanism. Baseline ovarian stimulation response to a cycle with DHEA in five healthy non-smoking women <41 years old was compared with day 3 FSH <20 mIU/ml. All had documented poor response to vigorous gonadotrophin administration. After day 2 ultrasounds, DHEA-sulphate (DHEA-S), FSH, human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG), and testosterone were measured, and the women were given 80 mg/day of oral micronized DHEA for 2 months. While still on DHEA, they underwent ovarian stimulation with FSH given i.m. twice a day, and HCG (10 000 IU) at follicular maturity, followed by intrauterine insemination. Cycle parameters assessed were peak oestradiol, and peak oestradiol/ampoule. The DHEA/ovarian stimulation cycles occurred between 4 and 24 months after the control cycles. After 2 months DHEA treatment, DHEA-S increased to 544 +/- 55 microg/dl, and testosterone increased to 67.3 +/- 6.1 ng/dl. All five subjects (six cycles; one subject had two DHEA cycles) had increased responsiveness; peak oestradiol concentrations increased from 266.3 +/- 69.4 pg/ml to 939.8 +/- 418.9 pg/ml. The oestradiol/ampoule ratio increased in all six cycles, by a mean of 2.94 +/- 0.50 fold (P = 0.012). One of the cycles resulted in a delivered twin pregnancy. In this small series, DHEA improved response to ovarian stimulation even after controlling for gonadotrophin dose. Supplemental DHEA treatment during ovarian stimulation may represent a novel way to maximize ovarian response.
A comparison among the abilities of various injury severity measures to predict mortality with and without accompanying physiologic information.

BACKGROUND A few recent studies have compared the abilities of different injury severity measures to predict inpatient mortality. This study extended previous studies in that it used a registry with noncenters as well as centers, and examined the relative marginal abilities of competing severity measures to predict mortality when physiologic data also are available. METHODS Several methods for assessing injury severity of trauma patients were compared in terms of their ability to predict mortality with and without the addition of additional demographic and physiologic information using logistic regression models. Separate determinations also were made for all patients and for three groups of patients with blunt trauma resulting from motor vehicle crashes, low falls, and other blunt injuries. Statistical models were compared using measures of discrimination and calibration. RESULTS The International Classification of Disease-Based Severity Score (ICISS) had the best discrimination for each of the eight models examined, and it was significantly better than all the other measures in relation to the models for all patients and for victims of motor vehicle crashes. The ICISS also had the best calibration in half of the models with and half without demographic and physiologic information. The New Injury Severity Score had the best calibration in relation to two of the remaining four models. Physiologic data add substantially to the ability to predict mortality regardless of the anatomic injury severity measure used. CONCLUSIONS On the average, the ICISS had the best discrimination of all of the measures, as well as a slight edge with respect to calibration in predicting trauma mortality with or without the aid of demographic or physiologic measures.
Evaluation of anatomical and morphological characteristics of the nasopalatine canal in a Turkish population by cone beam computed tomography.

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to analyse as three dimensions the anatomical and morphometric dimensions of nasopalatine canal (NPC) in the coronal, axial and sagittal directions using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) and to evaluate the effect of age, gender and maxillary dental status on NPC and buccal bone thickness (BBT). MATERIALS AND METHODS In this study, CBCT data of the 619 individuals aged between 17 and 86 years were examined retrospectively with respect to dimensions and anatomic variations of the NPC and BBTs. The correlation of age, gender, and status of edentulism of anterior maxilla with all the variables were evaluated. RESULTS The NPC and BBT showed important variability in terms of morphology and dimensions. Morphological assessment of NPC revealed that 26.17% of NPCs were conical shape, 24.71% of canals were hourglass-shaped, 16.80% of canals were cylindrical shaped, 15.83% of canals were funnel-like shaped, 11.14% of canals were banana-like shaped, and 5.33% of canals were tree branch-like shaped. Males and females showed significant differences in the length of the NPC and BBTs in the sagittal sections. There were significant differences between age and BBTs. In addition, the length of NPC and BBTs were statistically different according to dental status. CONCLUSIONS These anatomical changes in terms of dimensional and morphological parameters revealed the importance of three-dimensional imaging. Dentists should know and consider the variations in this canal in order to avoid possible complications during anaesthesia and surgical procedures which were applied to the maxillary anterior region. More precautions should be taken during surgical procedures in females, elderly and edentulous patients.
PCTAIRE Kinase 3/Cyclin-dependent Kinase 18 Is Activated through Association with Cyclin A and/or Phosphorylation by Protein Kinase A*

Background: PCTK3 is an uncharacterized serine/threonine kinase that belongs to the cyclin-dependent kinase family. Results: The activity of PCTK3 is increased via interaction with cyclin A2 and phosphorylation by PKA. PCTK3 knockdown induces actin polymerization. Conclusion: PCTK3 is activated by cyclin A2 and PKA and is involved in actin dynamics. Significance: This study provides clues to the physiological function of PCTK3. PCTAIRE kinase 3 (PCTK3)/cyclin-dependent kinase 18 (CDK18) is an uncharacterized member of the CDK family because its activator(s) remains unidentified. Here we describe the mechanisms of catalytic activation of PCTK3 by cyclin A2 and cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA). Using a pulldown experiment with HEK293T cells, cyclin A2 and cyclin E1 were identified as proteins that interacted with PCTK3. An in vitro kinase assay using retinoblastoma protein as the substrate showed that PCTK3 was specifically activated by cyclin A2 but not by cyclin E1, although its activity was lower than that of CDK2. Furthermore, immunocytochemistry analysis showed that PCTK3 colocalized with cyclin A2 in the cytoplasm and regulated cyclin A2 stability. Amino acid sequence analysis revealed that PCTK3 contained four putative PKA phosphorylation sites. In vitro and in vivo kinase assays showed that PCTK3 was phosphorylated by PKA at Ser12, Ser66, and Ser109 and that PCTK3 activity significantly increased via phosphorylation at Ser12 by PKA even in the absence of cyclin A2. In the presence of cyclin A2, PCTK3 activity was comparable to CDK2 activity. We also found that PCTK3 knockdown in HEK293T cells induced polymerized actin accumulation in peripheral areas and cofilin phosphorylation. Taken together, our results provide the first evidence for the mechanisms of catalytic activation of PCTK3 by cyclin A2 and PKA and a physiological function of PCTK3.
Magnesium supplementation: A consideration in dialysis patients

Even though disorders of magnesium (Mg) balance are common in dialyzed patients, this cation is often neglected. Many factors interfere with serum magnesium including diet, medications (eg, antacids or phosphate binders), and the dialysis prescription. Mg supplementation may help reduce serum phosphate concentration, PTH, and interfere with vascular calcification and bone mineralization. It could also decrease the all‐cause and cardiovascular mortalities, although the results of current studies are conflicting. As with many other variables that influence hard endpoints in nephrology, additional research directly targeting the role of Mg supplementation in dialyzed patients are required. Nevertheless, a current risk/benefit assessment suggests that supplementation of Mg targeting high normal serum levels may represent a plausible option to improve the outcome of dialysis patients.
Interannual Tropical Pacific Sea Surface Temperatures and Their Relation to Preceding Sea Level Pressures in the NCAR CCSM2

Abstract This paper describes aspects of tropical interannual ocean/atmosphere variability in the NCAR Community Climate System Model Version 2.0 (CCSM2). The CCSM2 tropical Pacific Ocean/atmosphere system exhibits much stronger biennial variability than is observed. However, a canonical correlation analysis technique decomposes the simulated boreal winter tropical Pacific sea surface temperature (SST) variability into two modes, both of which are related to atmospheric variability during the preceding boreal winter. The first mode of ocean/atmosphere variability is related to the strong biennial oscillation in which La Nina–related sea level pressure (SLP) conditions precede El Nino–like SST conditions the following winter. The second mode of variability indicates that boreal winter tropical Pacific SST anomalies can also be initiated by SLP anomalies over the subtropical central and eastern North Pacific 12 months earlier. The evolution of both modes is characterized by recharge/discharge within the equ.
The Effect of Temperature on Life History Traits of Culex Mosquitoes

ABSTRACT Climatic changes forecasted in the coming years are likely to result in substantial alterations to the distributions and populations of vectors of arthropod-borne pathogens. Characterization of the effect of temperature shifts on the life history traits of specific vectors is needed to more accurately define how such changes could impact the epidemiological patterns of vector-borne disease. Here, we determined the effect of temperatures including 16, 20, 24, 28, and 32°C on development time, immature survival, adult survival, mosquito size, blood feeding, and fecundity of both field and colonized populations of the Culex mosquitoes Culex pipiens L. , Culex quinquefasciatus Say, and Culex restuans Theobald. Our results demonstrate that temperature significantly affects all of these traits, yet also that the extent of this effect is at times incongruent among temperatures, as well as being population and species-specific. Comparisons of colonized mosquitoes with field populations generally demonstrate decreased adult and immature survival, increased blood feeding and egg production, and significant variation in the effects of temperature, indicating that such colonies are not fully representative of natural populations. Results with field populations in general indicate that increases in temperature are likely to accelerate mosquito development, and that this effect is greater at temperatures below 24°C, but also that temperature significantly increases mortality. Among field populations, Cx. restuans were most affected by temperature increases, with decreased longevity relative to other species and significant increases in adult and immature mortality measured with each incremental temperature increase. Despite the unique climates characteristic of the geographic ranges of Cx. quinquefasciatus and Cx. pipiens, evidence of significant species-specific adaptation to temperature ranges was not seen. Taken together, these results indicate that geographic region, as well as species and population differences, must be considered when measuring the effect of temperature on vector populations.
Isolation of novel microsatellites from Jatropha curcas L. and their cross‐species amplification

Jatropha curcas L. , a member of the Euphorbiaceae, is widely distributed in different parts of the globe. In the present study, 12 microsatellites were isolated from J. curcas and their cross‐species amplification was checked in six species of genus Jatropha. Within J. curcas, observed and expected heterozygosities ranged from 0.94 to 0.54 and from 0.95 to 0.56, respectively. Of the 12 loci, five showed significant deviation from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium. There was no significant linkage disequilibrium detected between any of the loci. The markers isolated in the present investigation will be useful for assessing the population diversity and genetic structure of J. curcas and also in other species of Jatropha.
Scolarisation à 2 ans et réussite de la carrière scolaire au début de l'école élémentaire

L'observation pendant les premieres annees de scolarite primaire d'un panel de 8 661 ecoliers que suit le ministere de l'Education nationale depuis 1997, montre que les chances d'acceder au CE2 sans redoubler sont d'autant plus grandes que l'eleve est entre precocement a l'ecole maternelle. Mais la difference de reussite entre les enfants scolarises a 2 ans et leurs camarades entres a l'ecole maternelle a 3 ans est faible. En revanche, le petit nombre d'ecoliers entres a l'ecole maternelle apres 3 ans rencontre des difficultes relativement marquees. La scolarisation a 2 ans a peu d'effet sur les inegalites sociales de reussite qui restent sensibles au cours des deux premieres annees d'ecole elementaire. En termes de carriere scolaire, ce sont les enfants de cadres et les eleves etrangers ou issus de l'immigration qui semblent tirer le plus grand benefice de cette mesure.
Life in the Slow Lane: The Effect of Reduced Mobility on Tadpole Limb Development

Movement is thought to be a primary agent eliciting basic responses in the vertebrate body, such as the proper development of the musculoskeletal system. Embryos do not passively await hatching or birth but rather begin active movement very early on in their development. Most studies dealing with embryonic responses to changes in mobility have been performed in chickens or mammals. Herein, we investigate for the first time whether the embryos of organisms that are free‐living during development demonstrate the same morphological responses to reduced mobility as embryos that undergo development in controlled environments such as in utero or in a shelled egg. We changed the viscosity of the environment in which free‐living anuran tadpoles grow by rearing them in an agar medium. We thus increased the viscosity of the growth medium resulting in a decrease in larval movement. We predicted that a substantial increase in viscosity of the medium in which the larvae were reared would have at least two consequences: (1) a reduction of tadpole mobility and (2) a delayed onset of skeletogenesis thus producing shorter long bones. Our predictions were upheld and tadpoles reared in an agar medium remain immobile longer and showed a delayed onset of skeletogenesis compared with controls. We propose that the developmental responses to the same stimulus are similar throughout tetrapods, regardless of their developmental context (i.e., intrauterine, within an egg, or free‐living). Anat Rec, 2012. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Nitric oxide is required for the insulin sensitizing effects of contraction in mouse skeletal muscle

People with insulin resistance or type 2 diabetes can substantially increase their skeletal muscle glucose uptake during exercise and insulin sensitivity after exercise. Skeletal muscle nitric oxide (NO) is important for glucose uptake during exercise, although how prior exercise increases insulin sensitivity is unclear. In the present study, we examined whether NO is necessary for normal increases in skeletal muscle insulin sensitivity after contraction ex vivo in mouse muscle. The present study uncovers, for the first time, a novel role for NO in the insulin sensitizing effects of ex vivo contraction, which is independent of blood flow.
Highly linear receiver front-end adopting MOSFET transconductance linearization by multiple gated transistors

Highly linear receiver RF front-end adopting MOSFET transconductance linearization by linearly superposing several common-source FET transistors in parallel (multiple gated transistor, or MGTR), combined with some additional circuit techniques are reported. In MGTR circuitry, linearity is improved by using transconductance linearization which can be achieved by canceling the negative peak value of g/sub m/'' of the main transistor with the positive one in the auxiliary transistor having a different size and gate drive combined in parallel. This enhancement, however, is limited by the distortion originated from the combined influence of g/sub m/' and harmonic feedback, which can greatly be reduced by the cascoding MGTR output for the amplifier and by the tuned load for the mixer. Experimental results designed using the above techniques show IIP/sub 3/ improvements at given power consumption by as much as 10 dB for CMOS low-noise amplifier at 900 MHz and 7 dB for Gilbert cell mixer at 2.4 GHz without sacrificing other features such as gain and noise figure.