Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Retrospective analysis of 286 Brucellosis cases in the southeast of Turkey Türkiye'nin Güneydoğusunda 286 Brusellozis vakasinin geriye dönük analizi

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical, laboratory findings and therapeutic features of the patients inhabiting in Diyarbakir, Mardin and Batman province, in Southeastern Anatolia of Turkey. Materials and methods: In this study, 286 patients with brucellosis, followed in departments of infectious diseas- es and clinical microbiology between June 2007 and July 2009, were evaluated retrospectively. Results: One hundred fifty six (55%) of the patients were female and 130 (45%) were male. Mean age was 32.8 + 15.3 (range15-78) years. The patients were categorized as acute (75%), subacute (23%) and chronic (2%) brucel- losis. Major transmission route was the consumption of unpasteurized fresh cheese. The transport of animals in the region is not controlled. Malaise, fever, myalgia ar- thralgia and sweating were the most frequently observed symptoms. The most common signs were fever 90.8%, arthritis 54.1%, splenomegaly 18.3% and hepatomegaly 11%. The most frequent laboratory finding was a high C- reactive protein level (60%). Diagnosis was made based on the clinical features and positive Rose-Bengal test combination with an initial Brucella antibody titer greater than or equal to 1/160. The most frequently preferred an- timicrobial regimen was rifampin and doxycycline combi- nation. Conclusions: Brucellosis is still an important public health problem in Turkey. The disease has an important morbidity and mortality. Brucellosis should be kept in mind in endemic regions of our country with the symp- toms of fever, leukopenia and osteoarticular symptoms. J Clin Exp Invest 2012; 3 (3): 335-339
UV-Induced Fluorescence of Two Puerto Rican Endemic Arthropods: The Harvestman, Yunquenus portoricanus and the Millipede, Spirobolellus richmondi

Two endemic arthropods, the harvestman, Yunquenus portoricanus, and the millipede, Spirobolellus richmondi, from a humid montane forest in Puerto Rico, are first reported to fluoresce when they are illuminated with ultraviolet light (360 nm). Both species are relatively small, nocturnal dwellers and have a dark exoskeleton, three attributes that make them almost imperceptible during night surveys using white lights. The use of UV illumination enhances the detection of these animals during field surveys.
Uses of Single Dose Dependent and Relative Potency Assays for Evaluation of Inactivated Fowl Cholera Vaccine

Fowl cholera is a septicemic respiratory complex caused by Pasteurella multocida, widely distributed in poultry and other avian species and of major economic importance. A total of 37 different inactivated Pasteurella multocida vaccines from different sources either locally prepared or imported from different sources were comparatively tested for relative potency following both single dose and booster dose vaccination assays. The study objective was to minimize the time factor exhausted in the evaluation processes of the inactivated fowl cholera vaccines. So it is planned to compare between single and booster dose vaccinations and their related potency. Correlation between protection associated with the single dose and booster dose vaccination were evaluated and average requirement for protection was 43.7% in single dose vaccination assay compared to 76.2 % associated with booster dose vaccination assay. In the same concern, the correlation between both assays for the seroconversion was estimated using ELISA and the minimum requirement was 1.8× cut off value in the single dose vaccination assay compared to 2.25× cut off value in the booster dose vaccination assay. In conclusion, single dose vaccination assay could be valuable in the evaluation of inactivated fowl cholera vaccines through determination of protection indices and/or estimation of humoral immune response if the above mentioned data is considered.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR Response to: Comments on Respiratory Toxicity of Diacetyl in C57Bl/6 Mice

We appreciate the opportunity provided by Finley et al. to highlight the rationale for the diacetyl exposure regimens used in our animal studies and their relevance to the actual worker exposure concentrations measured in the sentinel microwave popcorn packaging plant. In addition, we appreciate the opportunity to emphasize the unique respiratory toxicological profile of diacetyl in mice which includes epithelial injury and lymphocytic bronchiolitis after inhalation and fibrohistiocytic lesions in the terminal bronchioles after aspiration. Worker exposures to diacetyl in the microwave popcorn packaging plants vary considerably, and as with any occupational exposure, it is not possible to duplicate exactly an exposure scenario for all workers. After evaluating the types of worker exposures reported by Kreiss et al. (2002), we designed several diacetyl exposure profiles utilizing constant or episodic exposure regimens at concentrations reported in the sentinel plant. We purposely avoided stating that the animal exposure regimens used in this study were ‘‘similar’’ or ‘‘represent typical worker exposures’’ (misquote by Finley et al.), and we stand by our statement that the exposure regimens we used are ‘‘relevant to workplace exposures’’.
Conifer Root Nodules Colonized by Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi in Jurassic Geothermal Settings from Patagonia, Argentina

Premise of research. Despite the ecological significance of arbuscular mycorrhizae in modern terrestrial ecosystems, knowledge about their evolution based on the fossil record is still scarce, especially concerning the case of root nodules harboring arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, as in some extant gymnosperms and angiosperms. Exceptionally preserved conifer nodular roots were found in the Jurassic fossil-bearing chert deposits of the Deseado Massif (Santa Cruz, Argentina), raising the possibility of studying them in association with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. The aim of this study is to describe the plant organs and their fungal partners and to discuss the ecological significance of the interactions observed, particularly with respect to their occurrence in the hot spring settings. Methodology. Thin sections of chert samples from the Cañadón Nahuel locality of the La Matilde Formation, Deseado Massif (Santa Cruz, Argentina) were observed using light microscopy. Pivotal results. The cortex of the nodules is occupied by several glomeromycotan fungal structures. The structures occur in a specific zone of the cortex—toward its center—and include intracellular hyphal coils and arbuscules. Glomoid spores and coenocytic hyphae possibly penetrating the epidermal cells are also described and analyzed. Conclusions. The root nodules have affinities with the Araucariales, representing the oldest record of such structures for this conifer clade. This is also the first record of nodules harboring arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi for the Jurassic; it extends our knowledge of the fossil record for this particular type of fungal association.
Prevalence and antibiogram of Shigella and Salmonella spp. from under five children with acute diarrhea in Bahir Dar Town

Diarrheal diseases remain the major cause of morbidity and mortality in children under five years of age. Salmonella and Shigella species are among the leading causes of diarrhea in children. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and antimicrobial profiles of Salmonella and Shigella spp. in children less than five years of age with acute diarrhea. A cross sectional study was conducted among 422 children with diarrhea from December 2011 to February 2012. A structured questionnaire was used to collect socio-demographic and clinical data. Identification of Salmonella and Shigella species and antimicrobial susceptibility tests was done following standard microbiology procedures. The overall prevalence of Salmonella and Shigella was 7.8% and 9.5 %, respectively. The isolation rates of S. flexineri , S.dysenteri and S. boydii were 18 (45 %), 12 (30 %) and10 (25 %), respectively. The prevalence of Salmonella and Shigella were not statistically significant along age groups and gender of the children. Most of Salmonella and Shigella were resistant to ampicillin (> 88.7%) and cotrimoxazole (50%). In contrast, 83.3-89.9% of isolates showed susceptible to norfloxacin, ciprofloxacin and gentamicin. More than 90% of the Salmonella and 80% Shigella spp. were multiple drug resistant. High prevalence of Shigella and Salmonella linked with high levels of antimicrobial resistance is a major public health concern in the study area. Continuous surveillance of antimicrobial susceptibility should be done. Ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin and gentamicin appeared to be drugs of choice for empirical treatment of these infections. Keywords: Shigella , Salmonella antimicrobial susceptibility, diarrhea, Ethiopia
Characterizing the dynamic and functional DNA methylation landscape in the developing human cortex

DNA methylation (DNAm) is a key epigenetic regulator of gene expression across development. The developing prenatal brain is a highly dynamic tissue, but our understanding of key drivers of epigenetic variability across development is limited. We therefore assessed genomic methylation at over 39 million sites in the prenatal cortex using whole genome bisulfite sequencing and found loci and regions in which methylation levels are dynamic across development. We saw that DNAm at these loci was associated with nearby gene expression and enriched for enhancer chromatin states in prenatal brain tissue. Additionally, these loci were enriched for genes associated with psychiatric disorders and genes involved with neurogenesis. We also found autosomal differences in DNAm between the sexes during prenatal development, though these have less clear functional consequences. We lastly confirmed that the dynamic methylation at this critical period is specifically CpG methylation, with very low levels of CpH methylation. Our findings provide detailed insight into prenatal brain development as well as clues to the pathogenesis of psychiatric traits seen later in life.
Epidemiological survey of fluorosis in a village of Bastar division of Chhattisgarh state, India

Context: Fluorosis is an important public health problem in few pockets of some states of India. Aim: The aim was to study the prevalence of fluorosis, mapping the deformities, the type and severity of deformities and to assess the fluoride concentration in prime drinking water sources in the Dimrapal village of Bastar region. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study of the Dimrapal village was done by door to door visit and on-site clinical examination of the study population was carried out. This was followed by collection of drinking water samples in selected paras for estimating fluoride levels. Statistical Analysis Used: Analysis was done using prevalence rate, Chi-square test, mean and standard deviation. Results: Overall prevalence of fluorosis cases was found to be 23.10%. The prevalence of dental fluorosis was 12.6% that of skeletal fluorosis was 28.8%, and the combined prevalence of dental and skeletal fluorosis was 1.8%. Dental fluorosis was found to be very common in children and teenagers. Skeletal fluorosis was found to be more common in age group above 45 years, however, it was lower in the children's (6-12) irrespective of the gender. The fluoride level in surveyed ground water sources from various para ranged from 0.1 to 7.30 ppm.
No biotic homogenisation across decades but consistent effects of landscape position and pH on macrophyte communities in boreal lakes

294 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– © 2019 The Authors. Ecography published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Nordic Society Oikos This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Subject Editor: Thierry Oberdorff Editor-in-Chief: Miguel Araújo Accepted 25 September 2019 43: 294–305, 2020 doi: 10.1111/ecog.04757 doi: 10.1111/ecog.04757 43 294–305
Prospective and retrospective contributions to intention awareness in voluntary action

Spontaneous, voluntary actions are often accompanied by motor intentions, that is the experience of “being about to move”. The emergence of this experience is contentiously discussed, culminating in two opposing views of motor intention. While prospective theorists hold that an intention to move genuinely precedes the action, retrospective theorists suggest that an intention is reconstructed only after action execution. As such, both theories offer radically different predictions about the possibility of voluntary control over action intention. We assess here the respective contributions of prospective and retrospective factors in motor intention awareness in a real-time EEG setup. Participants performed self-paced movements with intermittent interruption by cues, signalling to either move or not to move. Cues were triggered by a brain-computer interface upon detection of either the presence or absence of a readiness potential (RP), a signal known to precede self-paced voluntary actions. Subsequently, participants reported their intention to move at the time of the cue. We found that participants were more likely to report an intention to move when the cue was followed by a movement than no movement, highlighting the effect of retrospection on awareness of intention. Interestingly, however, an intention to move was also more frequently reported when the cue was elicited by an RP, compared to when no RP was present, suggesting that awareness of intention is also informed by motor preparation processes, congruent with prospective theories. Overall, our findings show that intention awareness in voluntary action relies on both prospective and retrospective components, and we describe here how these two factors are dynamically integrated over time.
Educational Assistants Supporting Inclusive Education in Secondary Schools

As school boards in Ontario move towards more inclusive models of learning, more students with disabilities are taught in regular classes instead of self-contained placements. This move results in a role change for the educational assistant (EA). Research is needed to determine the overall framework that will make the use of EAs a more effective practice for student and school. Fifteen EAs working in secondary schools within a school board in southwestern Ontario which was moving to a more inclusive model of education were individually interviewed. EAs chosen for the study had a background of supporting students with developmental disabilities in self-contained placements and had recently moved to support students in a regular class setting. The purpose of the study was to answer the following question: What do EAs need in their profession to make the support of students with developmental disabilities transition from self-contained settings to inclusive classes in secondary schooling successful? Through thematic analysis of the interviews three themes became apparent as concerns for the EA role: collaboration, programming and relationships. The details of these findings can be used to assist school boards to create inclusive practice. It also outlines what EA’s need to support the transition of students with developmental disabilities from a self-contained setting to a regular class setting in secondary schools.
Culture and marriage : the dual barriers to condom use among health care providers in Tshwane, South Africa

The use of condom will provide men and women 100% protection against HIV and AIDS infection. However, the acceptability of condom use in sexual relations including marriage is confronted with culturally entrenched barriers. Health care providers as being socialised within the communities with specific cultures also experience barriers regarding condom use. The purpose of the study was to explore and describe culture and marriage as barriers regarding condom use among health care providers in Tshwane. A qualitative, focused ethnography design was used. Data collection was through semi-structured interviews using three research questions. The population included health care providers who were responsible for provision of HIV and AIDS programmes in selected health care settings in Tshwane. Purposive sampling was used and ethical principles were upheld. Trustworthiness was ensured. Results indicated that irrespective of health care providers being knowledgeable on condom use, when faced with condom use in their sexual relationships they are confronted by culturally entrenched barriers. Marriage becomes a barrier for condom use as it is culturally embedded. Norms and values determining men and women's behaviour in a relationship stipulate that men are decision makers. As such, health care providers' sexual partners refuse to use condoms. It is recommended that culturally sensitive programmes be developed and health care providers receive appropriate training to address culture and marriage as barriers regarding condom use in their sexual relationships.
Long-Term Feeding of DL-α Lipoic Acid to Dogs Is Safe

Alpha-lipoic acid is well known as a covalently bound enzyme cofactor. In addition, lipoic acid has other cellular and molecular functions that have been explored in recent years, including its role as a powerful antioxidant. This study was designed to evaluate the safety of long-term oral exposure to DLα-lipoic acid in dogs. Thirty healthy dogs (≥ 1 year; 15 male, 15 female) were enrolled in this randomized, placebo-controlled study for 12 months. The dogs were randomly assigned to one of five treatment foods with varying target inclusion levels of lipoic acid (0, 150, 1500, 3000, and 4500 ppm). Daily food intake, weekly body weights, monthly physical examinations, and monthly hematology and serum biochemistry were monitored to ensure the safety of the treatments. Twenty-eight dogs completed the study. Food intake was highest for the food with the highest lipoic acid concentration. The average lipoic acid exposure for the different treatments groups were 0.31, 2.53, 26.3, 52.9, and 87.7 mg/kg body weight/ day. Body weights did not differ between the treatment groups over time. There were statistically significant changes in certain blood parameters over time, but none of the trends were biologically significant, and the values stayed within or very close to the normal reference range. This study shows that longterm lipoic acid intake of up to 52.9 mg/kg body/day (3000 ppm diet) does not have any negative effects on the health of adult dogs.
Seasonal diet of Asellia tridens (Chiroptera: Hipposideridae) in North-Western Africa

Abstract The seasonal variations of the diet of the desert Trident leaf-nosed bat, Asellia tridens, were investigated using dropping analyses during the whole year 2015 in the Timimoun region, south-western Algerian Sahara. We identified one order of arachnids (Araneae) and ten orders of insects: Coleoptera, Hymenoptera, Diptera, Orthoptera, Mantodea, Hemiptera, Isoptera, Ephemeroptera, Blattodea and Odonata in a decreasing rank. Coleoptera (31.07%) were Carabidae, Curculionidae, Chrysomelidae, Tenebrionidae, Aphodidae, Scarabaeidae, and Histeridae. Hymenoptera (21.31%) were Formicidae, Myrmicidae and Vespidae, Diptera (13.78%) were Culicidae and Tabanidae, and Orthoptera (11.40%) were Acrididae and Gryllidae. The autumn-winter diet (October to December) included a large amount of Odonata, Scarabaeidae, Blattodea, Acrididae and Myrmicidae. The spring-summer diet (February to August) was characterized mainly by Chrysomelidae, Vespidae, Tenebrionidae, Aphodidae and Araneae. As other desert bat species A. tridens displays a combination of opportunism and selective predation depending on the abundance of insect groups.
The metalloproteinase Papp-aa functions as a molecular switch linking IGF signaling to adaptive epithelial growth

Human patients carrying inactivating mutations in the pregnancy-associated plasma protein-a2 (PAPP-A2) gene display short status and lower bone mineral density. The underlying mechanisms are not well understood. Using a zebrafish model, here we report a [Ca2+]-dependent mechanism by which Papp-aa regulates bone calcification via promoting Ca2+-transporting epithelial cell (ionocyte) reactivation. Ionocyte, normally quiescent, re-enter the cell cycle in response to low [Ca2+] stress. Deletion of Papp-aa abolished ionocyte reactivation and resulted in a complete lack of calcified bone. Re-expression of Papp-aa, but not its active site mutant, rescued ionocyte reactivation. Inhibition of Papp-aa activity pharmacologically or by overexpressing STC1 or STC2 impaired ionocyte reactivation. Loss of Papp-aa expression or activity resulted in diminished IGF1 receptor-mediated Akt-Tor signaling activity in ionocytes and expression of a constitutively active Akt rescued ionocyte reactivation. Biochemically, Papp-aa cleaved Igfbp5a, a high-affinity IGF binding protein specifically expressed in ionocytes. Under normal [Ca2+] conditions, the Papp-aa-mediated Igfbp5a proteolysis was suppressed and IGFs sequestered in the IGF/Igfbp5a complex. Forced release of IGFs from the complex was sufficient to activate the IGF-Akt-Tor signaling and promote ionocyte reactivation. These findings suggest that Papp-aa functions as a [Ca2+]-regulated molecular switch linking IGF signaling to adaptive epithelial growth and bone calcification.
Frequency of Cutaneous Manifestations in Patients of Hepatitis C Virus Infection

Objective: To determine the frequency of cutaneous manifestations of hepatitis C infection in patients pre-senting in a tertiary care hospital. Study Design: Descriptive study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Derma-tology, King Edward Medical University / Mayo Hospital, Lahore, from 1 st January, 2009 to 30 th June, 2009. Methodology: A descriptive (observational) study was conducted in the hepatitis C virus (HCV) infected patients, attending the Skin Department during a period of six months. The patients were diagnosed as HCV positive by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and / or polymerase chain reaction (PCR). A thorough medical history was taken and a detailed cutaneous examination was carried out in every pat-ient. Results: A total of 180 patients were enrolled. Out of them, 95 (52.8%) were males and 85 (47.2%) females. Most of the patients were in the age group of 21 – 30 years. Thirty five (19.4%) patients were taking treat-ment of hepatitis C. Pruritus was the most common dermatological feature seen in 33.8%, followed by lichen planus in 27.2%. Less common manifestations noted were utricaria (7.8%), vitiligo (5.6%), mixed cryoglobulinemia (4.4%), erythema nodosum (2.8%), erythema multiforme (2.2%), porphyria cutanea tarda (1.1%) and necrolytic acral erythema (1.1%). The signs of chronic liver disease (palmar erythema, jaun-dice, spider naevi, telangiectasia, leukonychia) were found in 13.8% of patients. Conclusion: Hepatitis C virus infection is associated with a number of extra-hepatic cutaneous manifesta-tions which may help to identify the silent cases of this grave disease. Key words: Hepatitis C Virus, Cutaneous manifesta-tions, Pruritus, Lichen planus