Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Fungal levels in houses in the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant evacuation zone after the Great East Japan Earthquake

ABSTRACT Residences located within 20 km of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant were evacuated shortly after the Great East Japan Earthquake. The levels of airborne and surface fungi were measured in six houses in the evacuation zone in August 2012 and February 2013. Airborne fungal levels in all of the houses in the summer were higher than the environmental standard levels for residential houses published in Architectural Institute of Japan (>1000 colony-forming units [CFU]/m3). In two houses whose residents rarely returned to visit, fungal levels were extremely high (>52,000 CFU/m3). Although fungal levels in the winter were much lower than those in the summer, they were still higher than environmental standard levels in several houses. Indoor fungal levels were significantly inversely related to the frequency with which residents returned, but they were not correlated with the air exchange rates, temperature, humidity, or radiation levels. Cladosporium spp. and Penicillium spp. were detected in every house. Aspergillus section Circumdati (Aspergillus ochraceus group) was also detected in several houses. These fungi produced ochratoxin A and ochratoxin B, which have nephrotoxic and carcinogenic potential. The present study suggests that further monitoring of fungal levels is necessary in houses in the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant evacuation zone, and that some houses may require fungal disinfection. Implications: The results suggest that residents’ health could be at risk owing to the high levels of airborne fungi and toxic fungi Aspergillus section Circumdati. Therefore, monitoring and decontamination/disinfection of fungi are strongly recommended before residents are allowed to return permanently to their homes. In addition, returning to home with a certain frequency and adequate ventilation are necessary during similar situations, e.g., when residents cannot stay in their homes for a long period, because fungal levels in houses in the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant evacuation zone were inversely correlated with the frequency with which residents returned to visit their houses.
Challenges in the identification of microbe-associated molecular patterns in plant and animal innate immunity: a case study with bacterial lipopolysaccharide.

Immunity against pathogen infection depends on a host’s ability to sense invading pathogens and to rapidly trigger defence reactions that block pathogen proliferation. Both plants and animals detect conserved structural motifs of microbe-specific compounds, so-called microbe-associated molecular patterns (MAMPs), through germline-encoded immune sensors, which are accordingly termed pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) (Akira et al., 2006; Boller and Felix, 2009). Activated PRRs initiate signal transduction and trigger innate immune responses. MAMPs are generally derived from elements essential for microbial fitness and are conserved across species, thus enabling the host to detect a range of potential pathogens. In mammals, innate immune sensing of MAMPs is not only crucial for basal immune responses but is also tightly connected with and required for a subsequent adaptive, antibody-mediated immunity (Akira et al., 2006; Janeway and Medzhitov, 2002). Plants, lacking an adaptive immune system, have apparently evolved a greater capacity to detect a broader repertoire of MAMPs. Different plant species possess distinct sets of highly specific PRRs, but the downstream signalling pathways are rather conserved and converge on common signalling steps. This allows the transfer of PRRs, even to different plant families, whilst maintaining their functionality and specificity (Zipfel, 2014). This also enables researchers to use well-studied, genetically amenable model systems for the identification of MAMPs and their respective PRRs. Several examples of interfamily PRR transfer have demonstrated that the introduction of novel PRRs into plant species can confer relevant levels of resistance to otherwise susceptible plants (e.g. Afroz et al., 2011; Hao et al., 2015; Lacombe et al., 2010; Mendes et al., 2010; Schoonbeek et al., 2015; Tripathi et al., 2014). Hence, MAMP sensing by PRRs has great potential for the engineering of disease resistance in crop plants. In recent years, it has therefore become a major task to identify and isolate MAMPs from a range of microorganisms, and their respective PRRs, to study their role in innate immunity and their application potential. IDENTIFICATION OF MAMPS—LOOKING FOR THE RIGHT COMPOUND?
Magnetic resonance evaluation of the intervertebral disc, spinal ligaments, and spinal cord before and after closed traction reduction of cervical spine dislocations.

STUDY DESIGN A prospective clinical study using magnetic resonance imaging of the cervical spine in a consecutive series of patients with cervical spine dislocations. OBJECTIVES To determine the incidence of intervertebral disc herniations and injury to the spinal ligaments before and after awake closed traction reduction of cervical spine dislocations. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA Prior series in which the prereduction imaging of disc herniations in the dislocated cervical spine are described have been anecdotal and have involved small numbers of patients. In addition, no uniform clinical criteria to define the presence of an intervertebral disc herniation in the dislocated cervical spine has been described. The incidence of disc herniations in the unreduced dislocated cervical spine is unknown. METHODS Eleven consecutive patients with cervical spine dislocations who met the clinical criteria for an awake closed traction reduction had prereduction and postreduction magnetic resonance imaging. Using strict clinical criteria for the definition of an intervertebral disc herniation, the presence or absence of disc herniation, spinal ligament injury, and cord injury was determined. Neurologic status before, during, and after the closed reduction maneuver was documented. RESULTS Disc herniations were identified in 2 of 11 patients before reduction. Awake closed traction reduction was successful in 9 of the 11 patients. Of the nine patients with a successful closed reduction, two had disc herniations before reduction, and five had disc herniations after reduction. No patient had neurologic worsening after attempted awake closed traction reduction. CONCLUSIONS The process of closed traction reduction appears to increase the incidence of intervertebral disc herniations. The relation of these findings, however, to the neurologic safety of awake closed traction reduction remain unclear.
Diagnostic value of platelet/lymphocyte ratio and neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio in investigations for helicobacter pylori gastritis

Helicobacter pylori (HP) can cause many diseases and malignant conditions. In the stomach, HP causes mucosal injury and inflammation. We determined the association of the platelet/lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) with HP-positive and HP-negative gastritis severity. We retrospectively reviewed 234 patients who had undergone upper gastrointestinal endoscopy for the investigation of dyspepsia and reflux symptoms. The patients were divided into three groups according to the results of the histopathologic evaluation: HP-negative gastritis group, HP-positive gastritis group and control group (neither HP positivity nor gastritis). We routinely collected laboratory data, including complete blood count, from all the patients. The mean neutrophil count was higher and the mean lymphocyte count was lower in the HP-positive gastritis group than in the other groups. The mean platelet count was increased in all groups, but the lowest increase was seen in the HP-positive gastritis group. Both the NLR and PLR were higher in the HP-positive gastritis group than in the other groups. This is first study to determine that the PLR is a biomarker for HP-positive gastritis. Moreover, the PLR is superior to the NLR in patients with HP-positive gastritis.
Projection of the Future Dimensions and Costs of the Genital Herpes Simplex Type 2 Epidemic in the United States

Background Infection with herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) currently affects approximately 22% of adult Americans and increased markedly in prevalence between the late 1970s and early 1990s. Although some estimates of the costs of prevalent disease due to HSV-2 are available, selection of interventions to prevent HSV-2 infection, as well as evaluation of their potential cost-effectiveness, should take into account projected future costs that will result if the epidemic is left unchecked. Goal The goal was to estimate the future health and economic consequences attributable to the HSV-2 epidemic in the absence of interventions to slow the epidemic. Study Design A mathematical model was constructed to project future increases in HSV-2 seroprevalence in the United States. The probability of heterosexual transmission of HSV-2 was estimated from cross-sectional estimates of infection prevalence reported by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Per-infection expected costs were calculated on the basis of data obtained from the published medical literature. Results Without intervention, the prevalence of HSV-2 infection among individuals aged 15 to 39 years was projected to increase to 39% among men and 49% among women by 2025. Annual incidence was projected to increase steadily between 2000 and 2025, from 9 to 26 infections per 1000 men and from 12 to 32 infections per 1000 women in this age group. The cost of incident infections in the year 2000 were estimated to be $1.8 billion; the cost of incident infections was predicted to rise to $2.5 billion by 2015 and $2.7 billion by 2025. The projected cumulative cost of incident HSV-2 infections occurring over the next 25 years was estimated to be $61 billion; at a 3% discount rate, this sum has a present value of $43 billion. Conclusion The costs of incident HSV-2 infection in the United States are substantial and can be expected to increase as both the incidence and prevalence of this disease increase in the first half of the century. The level of resource allocation for HSV-2 prevention strategies should reflect the economic benefits that would result from control of this epidemic.
Gene expression alterations in prostate cancer predicting tumor aggression and preceding development of malignancy.

PURPOSE The incidence of prostate cancer is frequent, occurring in almost one-third of men older than 45 years. Only a fraction of the cases reach the stages displaying clinical significance. Despite the advances in our understanding of prostate carcinogenesis and disease progression, our knowledge of this disease is still fragmented. Identification of the genes and patterns of gene expression will provide a more cohesive picture of prostate cancer biology. PATIENTS AND METHODS In this study, we performed a comprehensive gene expression analysis on 152 human samples including prostate cancer tissues, prostate tissues adjacent to tumor, and organ donor prostate tissues, obtained from men of various ages, using the Affymetrix (Santa Clara, CA) U95a, U95b, and U95c chip sets (37,777 genes and expression sequence tags). RESULTS Our results confirm an alteration of gene expression in prostate cancer when comparing with nontumor adjacent prostate tissues. However, our study also indicates that the gene expression pattern in tissues adjacent to cancer is so substantially altered that it resembles a cancer field effect. CONCLUSION We also found that gene expression patterns can be used to predict the aggressiveness of prostate cancer using a novel model.
Decreased Antitoxic Activities among Children with Clinical Episodes of Malaria

ABSTRACT Healthy Gambian children, children with clinical Plasmodium falciparum malaria, and children with asymptomatic P. falciparum infections were studied to investigate whether antitoxic activities may contribute to protection against malarial symptoms. Markers of inflammatory reactions, soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor I, and C-reactive protein were found in high concentrations in children with symptomatic P. falciparummalaria compared with levels in children with asymptomatic P. falciparum infections or in healthy children, indicating that inflammatory reactions are induced only in children with clinical symptoms. Concentrations of soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor I and C-reactive protein were associated with levels of parasitemia. We detected antitoxic activities in sera as measured by their capacity to block toxin-induced Limulus amoebocyte lysate (LAL) activation. Symptomatic children had decreased capacity to block induction of LAL activation by P. falciparum exoantigen. The decreased blocking activity was restored in the following dry season, when the children had no clinical malaria. Symptomatic children also had the highest immunoglobulin G (IgG) reactivities to conservedP. falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 and “Pfalhesin” (band #3) peptides, indicating that such IgG antibodies are stimulated by acute disease but are lost rapidly after the disease episode. Half of the children with symptomatic infections had low levels of haptoglobin, suggesting that these children had chronicP. falciparum infections which may have caused symptoms previously. Only a few of the children with asymptomatic P. falciparum infections had high parasite counts, and antitoxic immunity in the absence of antiparasite immunity appears to be rare among children in this community.
Anatomic brain disease in hemodialysis patients: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND Although dialysis patients are at high risk of stroke and have a high burden of cognitive impairment, there are few reports of anatomic brain findings in the hemodialysis population. Using magnetic resonance imaging of the brain, we compared the prevalence of brain abnormalities in hemodialysis patients with that in a control population without known kidney disease. STUDY DESIGN Cross-sectional cohort. SETTING & PARTICIPANTS 45 maintenance hemodialysis patients and 67 controls without reported kidney disease, both without history of known stroke. PREDICTOR The primary predictor was dialysis status. Covariates included demographics (age, race, and sex), vascular risk factors (diabetes and hypertension), and cardiovascular disease (coronary artery disease and congestive heart failure). OUTCOMES Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain features, including severity of white matter disease and cerebral atrophy (sulcal prominence and ventricular atrophy), hippocampal size, and small-/large-vessel infarcts. MEASUREMENTS Semiquantitative scale (0-9 for white matter disease and cerebral atrophy, 0-3 for hippocampal size) and infarct prevalence. RESULTS Mean ages of hemodialysis patients and controls were 55 ± 17 (SD) and 53 ± 13 years, respectively. In comparison to controls, hemodialysis patients had more severe white matter disease (1.6 vs 0.7) and cerebral atrophy (sulcal prominence, 2.3 vs 0.6; ventricular enlargement, 2.3 vs 0.9; hippocampal size, 1.3 vs 1.0), with all P < 0.001. In multivariable analyses, hemodialysis status was associated independently with worse white matter disease and atrophy grades. Hemodialysis patients also had a higher prevalence of small- (17.8%) and large- (7.8%) vessel infarcts than controls (combined, 22% vs 0%; P < 0.001). LIMITATIONS The dialysis cohort likely is healthier than the overall US hemodialysis population, partly limiting generalizability. CONCLUSIONS Hemodialysis patients have more white matter disease and cerebral atrophy compared with controls without known kidney disease. Hemodialysis patients also have a high prevalence of unrecognized infarcts.
Relationship between English Language, Learning Strategies, Attitudes, Motivation, and Students’ Academic Achievement

Background: A considerable amount of researches has been done to explore the key factors that affect learning a second language. Among these factors are students' motivation, attitude, learning strategies, and learning environment. Such issues have not been explored officially at the College of Applied Medical Sciences at the University of Dammam in Saudi Arabia, even though English is used as the medium of teaching and learning. Objectives: First, to explore the learning strategies used to study English as a second language. Second, to investigate students' attitude towards the speakers of English. Third, to assess students' perceptions toward their learning environment. Fourth, to identify students' motivations for studying English. Fifth, to explore any possible relationships among learning strategies, attitudes, motivation, learning environment, English language proficiency grades of students, and their grades for their general medical courses. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in May, 2008. A total of 110 questionnaires were completed. Results: Students utilize all types of learning strategies. There were significant correlations between the achievement in English and performance in general medical courses, learning strategies, motivation, age, and formal level at which student started to learn English. Conclusion: The study showed that students utilize all types of language learning strategies. However, cognitive strategies were utilized more frequently than others. Students have relatively more positive than negative perception scores toward their learning environment, teacher, courses, and people spoke English. Achievement in English was associated positively with performance in the general medical courses, motivation, and learning strategies. Students were motivated more instrumentally than integratively.
High performance liquid chromatographic determination of proguanil after derivatisation with sodium benzoxazole-2-sulphonate

1 -(4-chlorophenyl)-N 5 -(1 -methyl ethyl) imidocarbonimideamide-N- benzoxazole). The derivatisation reaction was conducted in methanol at 60°C using sodium benzoxazole-2-sulphonate under alkaline conditions. The resulting derivative was extracted with chloroform after which the extract was observed under UV lamp at 254 nm before TLC and HPLC analysis. Similarly, the derivatisation process was adapted for derivatisation of proguanil in urine sample. The reaction proceeded smoothly and rapidly. The extraction process was not cumbersome and eliminated the need for costly extraction and evaporation equipments. The resulting derivative fluorensced intensely under UV lamp. Direct HPLC analysis of the reaction mixture was found possible without interferences from excess reagent and endogeneous compounds like ammonium salts. The derivative eluted in less than seven minutes thus making the method suitable for routine use. The calibration plot was linear over the concentration range. A correlation regression of the order of 0.94 was obtained from the calibration curve which indicated a strong relationship between the instrument response and the concentration of proguanil. The discussion also summarizes the derivatisation chemistry that have not being fully explored to date but may find utility in future development of highly sensitive analytical methods for biquanide drugs.
Current and future contraceptive options for women living with HIV

ABSTRACT Introduction: Among women living with HIV, half of the pregnancies are unintended. Effective contraception can prevent unintended pregnancies and consequently reduce maternal mortality and perinatal transmission of HIV. While contraceptive options available for all women also apply to women living with HIV, specific considerations exist to the use of contraception by women living with HIV. Areas covered: First, general principles guiding the use of contraception among women living with HIV are discussed, such as choice, method mix, relative effectiveness, and drug-drug interactions. Second, a detailed discussion of each contraceptive method and issues surrounding the use of that method, such as drug-drug interactions, follows. Third, future contraceptive options in advanced development for use by women or men are briefly discussed. Expert opinion: Contraceptive methods available to all women should also be accessible to women living with HIV. When the relative effectiveness of a contraceptive method is reduced, for example due to drug-drug interactions with antiretrovirals, the method should still be made available to women living with HIV with the appropriate information sharing and counseling. Greater research on various aspects of contraceptive use by women living with HIV and more comprehensive testing of co-administration of hormonal contraceptives and common medications used by these women are warranted.
Functional CpG Methylation System in a Social Insect

DNA methylation systems are well characterized in vertebrates, but methylation in Drosophila melanogaster and other invertebrates remains controversial. Using the recently sequenced honey bee genome, we present a bioinformatic, molecular, and biochemical characterization of a functional DNA methylation system in an insect. We report on catalytically active orthologs of the vertebrate DNA methyltransferases Dnmt1 and Dnmt3a and b, two isoforms that contain a methyl-DNA binding domain, genomic 5-methyl-deoxycytosine, and CpG-methylated genes. The honey bee provides an opportunity to study the roles of methylation in social contexts.
Hybrid supervisory control using recurrent fuzzy neural network for tracking periodic inputs

A hybrid supervisory control system using a recurrent fuzzy neural network (RFNN) is proposed to control the mover of a permanent magnet linear synchronous motor (PMLSM) servo drive for the tracking of periodic reference inputs. First, the field-oriented mechanism is applied to formulate the dynamic equation of the PMLSM. Then, a hybrid supervisory control system, which combines a supervisory control system and an intelligent control system, is proposed to control the mover of the PMLSM for periodic motion. The supervisory control law is designed based on the uncertainty bounds of the controlled system to stabilize the system states around a predefined bound region. Since the supervisory control law will induce excessive and chattering control effort, the intelligent control system is introduced to smooth and reduce the control effort when the system states are inside the predefined bound region. In the intelligent control system, the RFNN control is the main tracking controller which is used to mimic a idea control law and a compensated control is proposed to compensate the difference between the idea control law and the RFNN control. The RFNN has the merits of fuzzy inference, dynamic mapping and fast convergence speed, In addition, an online parameter training methodology, which is derived using the Lyapunov stability theorem and the gradient descent method, is proposed to increase the learning capability of the RFNN. The proposed hybrid supervisory control system using RFNN can track various periodic reference inputs effectively with robust control performance.