Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Genetic and Immunological Comparison of the Cladoceran Parasite Pasteuria ramosa with the Nematode Parasite Pasteuria penetrans

ABSTRACT Pasteuria penetrans, an obligate endospore-forming parasite of Meloidogyne spp. (root knot nematodes), has been identified as a promising agent for biocontrol of these destructive agricultural crop pests. Pasteuria ramosa, an obligate parasite of water fleas (Daphnia spp.), has been shown to modulate cladoceran populations in natural ecosystems. Selected sporulation genes and an epitope associated with the spore envelope of these related species were compared. The sigE and spoIIAA/spoIIAB genes differentiate the two species to a greater extent than 16S rRNA and may serve as probes to differentiate the species. Single-nucleotide variations were observed in several conserved genes of five distinct populations of P. ramosa, and while most of these variations are silent single-nucleotide polymorphisms, a few result in conservative amino acid substitutions. A monoclonal antibody directed against an adhesin epitope present on P. penetrans P20 endospores, previously determined to be specific for Pasteuria spp. associated with several phytopathogenic nematodes, also detects an epitope associated with P. ramosa endospores. Immunoblotting provided patterns that differentiate P. ramosa from other Pasteuria spp. This monoclonal antibody thus provides a probe with which to detect and discriminate endospores of different Pasteuria spp. The presence of a shared adhesin epitope in two species with such ecologically distant hosts suggests that there is an ancient and ecologically significant recognition process in these endospore-forming bacilli that contributes to the virulence of both species in their respective hosts.
Salmonella strains resistant to multiple antibiotics: therapeutic implications.

In summary we are confronted with the awareness that Salmonella organisms of various species have developed simultaneous resistance to ampicillin, chloramphenicol and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. These strains are now widespread throughout much of Asia and the Middle East and have caused outbreaks of disease in man and animals in many different countries. Several reports document the appearance of these clinically resistant organisms in the United States, usually as a result of importation from abroad. Since most of the reported cases have been in infants, and given the duration of carriage and the impossibility of adequate hygienic precautions in this age group, secondary spread is to be expected. In this regard the Centers for Disease Control have already noted increased reports of S. mbandaka and S. alachua isolates from the states of Minnesota, Oregon and Washington and have attributed this increase to the infected infants adopted from India. Furthermore current patterns of international social mobility would seem to dictate the inevitability of continued importation of such multiply resistant organisms, especially from Third-World countries. In addition to immigration from abroad the selective pressure of antimicrobial usage in this country might contribute to the emergence of similar resistance patterns. Resistance to ampicillin and chloramphenicol has significantly increased in recent years, and one would expect to see more frequent resistance to TMP-SMX as this drug is used more commonly for the management of otitis media, urinary tract infections and other diseases of high prevalence. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Is ritual circumcision a risk factor for neonatal urinary tract infections?

Objective: Although circumcision is commonly believed to protect against urinary tract infection (UTI), it is not unusual in neonates in Israel, where almost all male infants are circumcised. The aim of the study was to evaluate the burden of neonatal UTI in Israel and its relationship to circumcision. Design: Medical records of neonates (⩽2 months old) hospitalised with UTI were reviewed and demographic and clinical data were collected. The second part of the study consisting of a telephone survey to assess timing and details concerning the circumcision, included two groups: a study group consisting of parents of male infants, aged 8–30 days, hospitalised with UTI, and a control group consisting of healthy neonates. Results: 162 neonates (108 males, 54 females) were hospitalised with UTI. Mean age at admission was significantly lower in males (27.5 vs 37.7 days, p = 0.0002). The incidence of UTI in males peaked at 2–4 weeks of age, that is, the period immediately following circumcision. In females, the incidence tended to rise with age. Accordingly, male predominance disappeared at 7 weeks and the male-to-female ratio reversed. In the second part of the study, 111 males (⩽1 month old) were included: 48 post-UTI and 63 as a control group. While evaluating the impact of circumcision technique, we found that UTI occurred in six of the 24 infants circumcised by a physician (25%), and in 42 of the 87 infants (48%) circumcised by a religious authority; the calculated odds ratio for contracting UTI was 2.8 (95% CI 1 to 9.4). Conclusions: There was a higher preponderance of UTI among male neonates. Its incidence peaked during the early post-circumcision period, as opposed to the age-related rise in females. UTI seems to occur more frequently after traditional circumcision than after physician-performed circumcision. We speculate that changes in the haemostasis technique or shortening the duration of the shaft wrapping might decrease the rate of infection after Jewish ritual circumcision.
Effect of sex variation on ascorbic acid metabolism in rats.

Male and Female albino rats (wistar strain) were pair fed with laboratory stock diet and their hepatic and urinary ascorbic acid, dehydroascorbic acid and diketogulonic acid were determined and total ascorbic acid was determined in blood. Activities of ascorbic acid degrading enzymes such as dehydroascorbatase and 2,3-diketoaldonate decarboxylase were studied in liver and kidney of male and female rats. In male rats there was significantly higher ascorbic acid with no significant alterations in the dehydroascorbic acid and diketogulonic acid contents of liver when compared to those of female rats. The content of ascorbic acid in urine of male rats was more, but there was no significant changes in the dehydroascorbic acid and diketogulonic acid contents in males. Total blood ascorbic acid content of male rats was found to be significantly higher than that of female rats. The activities of dehydroascorbatase and 2,3-diketoaldonate decarboxylase in liver of male rats was also found to be higher. The renal 2,3-diketoaldonate decarboxylase activity was also found to be comparatively higher in males. However there was no sex difference in the activity of renal dehydroascorbatase. Probable reasons for sex variation in ascorbic acid metabolism have been discussed.
Use of computerized record linkage in cohort studies.

The term "record linkage" refers to the process of comparing two or more records which contain identifying information to determine whether those records refer to the same entity. In the present context, the entity in question will normally be an individual enrolled in a cohort study. It would be more accurate to say that the objective of a linkage is to estimate the probability that the records refer to the same person, since, in practice, one can never be 100 percent certain that indeed this is the case. The two fundamental problems which so limit the interpretation of record linkage are duplication of identifiers and errors in creating or transmitting records. These problems are further considered below. Record linkage as such has a long history in epidemiology and many other disciplines. However, whereas the process used to be limited to a manual one, the advent of high speed computers has radically changed our ability to carry out record linkages on a massive scale involving many thousands, or indeed millions, of records. Although the fundamental principles remain the same, the necessity to take into account the characteristics of the computer systems involved has led to the introduction of the term "computerized record linkage," the topic of the this review. To date, by far the greatest use of computerized record linkage in cohort studies has been in the context of passive follow-up of cohorts to determine factors such as vital status, residential status, or the health outcomes being studied in the cohort. In passive, as opposed to active follow-up, individuals in the cohort are not directly contacted but, rather, are monitored using a registry of those events of interest such as deaths or cancer incidences. Such passive follow-up has often made use of some identification number, for example, the social security number, to match cohort records to outcome records, this number being re-
A comparison of electronic radial and curvilinear endoscopic ultrasonography in the detection of pancreatic malignant tumor

Abstract Objective. There is no comparative study of electronic radial endoscopic ultrasonography (ER-EUS) and electronic curvilinear EUS (EC-EUS). The aim of this study was to compare the accuracy of ER-EUS and EC-EUS for detecting pancreatic malignancies. Methods. This was a retrospective review of the patients who had EUS assessment from September 2008 to December 2011 for suspicious pancreatic tumors. Sensitivity, specificity, and area under the ROC curve to detect pancreatic malignancies were calculated and compared between the ER-EUS and EC-EUS cohort. The final diagnosis of pancreatic malignancy was based on pathology, or the consensus of patient's clinical course and multimodal imaging tests. Results. Two hundred twenty-one patients were included and divided into two cohorts: ER-EUS (n = 139) and EC-EUS (n = 82) cohorts. With propensity score matching method, 70 cases in each cohort were selected for the comparison. There was no significant difference in sensitivity, specificity, and area under the ROC curve to detect pancreatic malignancy between ER-EUS and EC-EUS cohort (88.5 vs. 100%, 88.6 vs. 90.9%, 0.8855 vs. 0.9545). Conclusion: ER-EUS and EC-EUS provided similar accuracy for the detection of pancreatic malignancies. In view of similar diagnostic results of ER-EUS and EC-EUS for the detection of pancreatic malignancy, and the advantage of being able to perform FNA with EC-EUS, EC-EUS may be the preferred choice.
How do healthcare professionals select the medical images they need?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate how healthcare professionals search for and select the medical images they need within medical settings.Design/methodology/approach – In total, 29 healthcare professionals participated in the study. Using a think‐aloud technique and face‐to‐face interviews, the authors asked participants to explain how they looked for medical images and how they judged the relevancy of retrieved images.Findings – A total of 15 criteria were applied by participants when determining the relevance of medical images in relation to their information needs. Topicality was found to be the primary and most important criterion used by participants.Originality/value – This study compares the relevance criteria used for medical images with those identified in the literature and highlights six additional criteria that have not been suggested in previous work.
Serial proton spectroscopy, magnetization transfer ratio and T 2 relaxation in pseudotumoral demyelinating lesions

In some rare cases, demyelinating plaques appear on contrast‐enhanced T1‐weighted images as pseudotumoral, cyst‐like lesions (hypointense, ring enhancing). Serial proton MR spectroscopy, T2 relaxometry and magnetization transfer ratios (MTR) were performed on three pseudotumoral demyelinating lesions to obtain information about their pathological basis. Baseline and 1‐month MTR and T2 values were similar to those of cerebrospinal fluid, while spectra showed lactate, lipids and choline. Three‐month and 1 year exams showed recovery of MTR, T2 and N‐acetylaspartate, approaching the contralateral values, while creatine and choline were normal or surpassed contralateral values. Lipids and lactate gradually disappeared. These results suggest that pseudotumoral, cyst‐like, ring‐enhancing lesions may be characterized by an accumulation of oedema in the extracellular space with an almost complete absence of cells. Reduction of the oedema allows restoration of the tissue to its original location, indicating that cellular destruction was less important than was expected after the first exam. Thus, the evolution of this kind of lesion should be kept in mind when considering lesion volume from T1‐weighted images as a marker of disability or irreversible cellular destruction in MS. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Non-continuum anomalies in the apparent viscosity experienced by a test sphere moving through an otherwise quiescent suspension

A comparison is made of the ‘‘apparent viscosity’’ ~as defined by Stokes law ! between two different cases of a test sphere moving slowly through an unbounded, otherwise quiescent, globally homogeneous, dilute suspension of identical, neutrally buoyant spherical particles dispersed in an incompressible Newtonian liquid. In case I the force on the test sphere is maintained constant for all time ~and the torque-free sphere allowed to rotate ! — corresponding to the so-called ‘‘falling ball’’ case — and its instantaneous velocity allowed to vary with proximity to each suspended sphere encountered during its trajectory; in case II the non-rotating test sphere is towed with a uniform ~instantaneous ! velocity through the suspension and the force experienced by it allowed to vary with proximity to each suspended sphere. Allowing for two-body hydrodynamic interactions between the ball and a suspended particle, the ensemble-average velocity of the test sphere is calculated in case I and ensemble-average force in case II, and Stokes law used to calculate the apparent viscosity of the suspension from the ensemble-averaged, linear force/velocity ratio obtained. In each case the ‘‘apparent suspension viscosity’’ coefficient attains, as expected, the limiting, continuum, Einstein value of 2.5 when the test sphere is much larger than the freely suspended particle. However, in the case of disparate relative sizes, the apparent viscosity is found to be significantly larger in case II than in case I. The difference arises from the locally inhomogeneous nature of the suspension and points up a fundamental non-continuum aspect of suspension behavior above and beyond the expected test/suspended-sphere size ratio ‘‘Knudsen’’ non-continuum effect. © 1997 American Institute of Physics. @S1070-6631 ~97! 00101-3#
An Abstinence-Oriented Program for Substance Use Disorders: Poorer Outcome Associated with Opiate Dependence

Objectives: To evaluate the characteristics of patients with various substance-related disorders, and to examine rates of retention in treatment. Methods: We assessed the demographic characteristics, substance abuse, and psychological distress of 239 men and women at admission. Six-month performance was evaluated, using as criteria length of stay in treatment, abstinence, attendance in therapy sessions, and completion status at discharge. Results: Moderate to severe psychological distress was observed among these individuals. Higher levels of depression were found among women and in individuals with alcohol and sedative use disorders. The primary drug of abuse, frequency of use, and reason for entering treatment were the most significant predictors of retention. Conclusions: Opiate-addicted clients had the worst prognosis and treatment profiles. Further research is needed to identify factors that would optimize treatment for opiate dependence.
Development of a murine model of chronic Salmonella infection

The invasive disease caused by Salmonella typhimurium in mice resembles the acute phase of human typhoid fever caused by Salmonella typhi, and experimental murine salmonellosis is a widely used experimental model for systemic salmonellosis. In this paper we demonstrate that murine S. typhimurium infection can also be used to model the development of the chronic carrier state that develops in humans after infection with S. typhi. We describe a virulent variant of S. typhimurium that has decreased expression of AgfA fibers under all environmental conditions studied and that causes a chronic carrier state in BALB/c mice after peroral inoculation. The chronic carrier state is associated with persistence of bacteria in the small intestine, spleen, and liver, and chronic infection continues despite the development of protective immunity to challenge with virulent Salmonella.
Human genetic variation studies and HLA class II loci

Human leucocyte antigen (HLA) loci widely known for their role in generation of immune responses by encoding cell‐surface heterodimers are often considered to be effective for the purpose of reconstructing human phylogenies due to high degree of polymorphism and less recombination. In the present study, we have made an attempt to study HLA class II loci (DRB1, DQA1 and DQB1) in inferring phylogenetic relationship based on both phylogenetic and haplotype approach. In the phylogenetic approach, the compiled database of 19 populations got segregated and finely resolved in three basal clusters with very high bootstrap values corresponding to four geo‐ethnic groups of Africans, Orientals, Americans and Caucasians. Maximum‐ likelihood phylogram has placed North Indian Hindus alongside other Caucasian populations. Haplotype analysis revealed high range of haplotype diversity with nearly 144 observed haplotypes. The haplotype distribution suggested that numbers of Caucasian‐specific haplotypes are frequently found among north Indian Hindus. Our results indicate that if the property of less recombination is explored to assign extended haplotypes, followed by strong interpretation based on more logistic statistical model, then there is a high possibility that HLA class II loci can infer exact and accurate phylogenetic assessments as revealed by mtDNA and Y‐chromosome markers.
Applying human factors methods to clinical risk management in obstetrics

Clinical risk management is now firmly established in the United States and is of growing importance in Europe. At the heart of most programmes are methods for the early identification of adverse events, using either staff reports or a systematic screening of These reports can be used to create a database to identify common patterns and prevent future incid e n t ~ ~ , ~ . Prompt reports also enable serious incidents to be investigated while memories are still fresh, which is important if subsequent claims are to be properly managed. In Britain, persuading staff to systematically report adverse incidents is still a major task in itself, because of worries about complaints, litigation and disciplinary measures5. However, incident reporting systems have been established in many hospitals, although little attention has been given to the analysis of incidents which, even in serious cases, is often limited. A database of basic information will identify incidents and their consequences, but not necessarily reveal anything about their causes. The United States has two decades of experience of risk management; the basic procedures are well established and there is some evidence that they are effective. Even in the United States, however, surprisingly little attention has been given to the way that incidents are understood and analysed6. How can they be analysed in a constructive and productive manner? Comparatively few studies in medicine, with some important exceptions such as critical incident studies and the British Confidential Enquiries, focus directly on adverse outcomes or the events that lead up to them3.6-8. The Confidential Enquiries have provided invaluable information on the causes of maternal and neonatal death, but the data collected has been primarily of a clinical nature, with less attention given to psychological and organisational factors that may also be implicated in deaths and in less serious adverse outcomes. Serious incidents are also discussed with colleagues and in departmental meetings, but few studies or reports ,of such meetings are published, making it difficult to
Temporal envelope changes of compression and speech rate: combined effects on recognition for older adults.

PURPOSE When understanding speech in complex listening situations, older adults with hearing loss face the double challenge of cochlear hearing loss and deficits of the aging auditory system. Wide-dynamic range compression (WDRC) is used in hearing aids as remediation for the loss of audibility associated with hearing loss. WDRC processing has the additional effect of altering the acoustics of the speech signal, particularly the temporal envelope. Older listeners are negatively affected by other types of temporal distortions, but this has not been found for the distortion of WDRC processing for simple signals. The purpose of this research was to determine the circumstances under which older adults might be negatively affected by WDRC processing and what compensatory mechanisms those listeners might be using for the listening conditions when speech recognition performance is not affected. METHOD Two groups of adults with mild to moderate hearing loss were tested: (a) young-old (62-74 years, n=11) and (b) old-old (75-88 years, n=14). The groups did not differ in hearing loss, cognition, working memory, or self-reported health status. Participants heard low-predictability sentences compressed at each of 4 compression settings. The effect of compression on the temporal envelope was quantified by the envelope difference index (EDI; T. W. Fortune, B. D. Woodruff, & D. A. Preves, 1994). The sentences were presented at three rates: (a) normal rate, (b) 50% time compressed, and (c) time restored. RESULTS There was no difference in performance between age groups, or any interactions involving age. There was a significant interaction between speech rate and EDI value; as the EDI value increased, representing higher amounts of temporal envelope distortion, speech recognition was significantly reduced. At the highest EDI value, this reduction was greater for the time-compressed than the normal rate condition. When time was restored to the time-compressed signals, speech recognition did not improve. CONCLUSION Temporal envelope changes were detrimental to recognition of low-context speech for older listeners once a certain threshold of distortion was reached, particularly for rapid rate speech. For this sample tested, the effect was not age related within the age range tested here. The results of the time-restored condition suggested that listeners were using acoustic redundancy to compensate for the negative effects of WDRC distortion in the normal rate condition.