Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Association of qnr Genes and OqxAB Efflux Pump in Fluoroquinolone-Resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae Strains

Background The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency and relationship between plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance genes and OqxAB pump genes, as well as the genetic linkage in K. pneumoniae strains isolated from Hamadan hospitals in the west of Iran. Materials and Methods In this study, 100 K. pneumoniae clinical strains were isolated from clinical samples of inpatients at Hamadan Hospital in 2021. The antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed using the disk diffusion method. The frequencies of genes encoding OqxAB efflux pumps and qnr were investigated by PCR. Molecular typing of qnr-positive K. pneumoniae isolates was assessed by ERIC-PCR. Results Antibiotic susceptibility testing showed high resistance (>80%) to fluoroquinolones. The gene encoding the OqxAB efflux pump was detected in more than 90% of K. pneumomiae strains. All K. pneumoniae isolates were negative for qnrA, and 20% and 9% of the isolates were positive for qnrB and qnrS, respectively. The genes encoding oqxA and oqxB were detected in 96% of qnr-positive strains. A qnrB + /qnrS + profile was observed in 16% of qnr-positive K. pneumoniae strains. Ciprofloxacin MIC ≥ 256 μg/ml was detected in 20% of qnr-positive strains. Genetic association analysis by ERIC-PCR revealed genetic diversity among 25 different qnr-positive strains of K. pneumonia. Conclusion However, no significant correlation was found between the qnr and the OqxAB efflux pump genes in this study. The high rate of fluoroquinolone resistance and determinants of antibiotic resistance among diverse K. pneumoniae strains increase the risk of fluoroquinolone-resistance transmission by K. pneumoniae strains in hospitals.
On the approximation of Hénon-like attractors by homoclinic tangencies

Abstract We prove that the diffeomorphisms with strange attractors shown to exist elsewhere are approximated by diffeomorphisms exhibiting homoclinic tangencies. As a consequence for the Hénon family these diffeomorphisms are approximated by diffeomorphisms exhibiting periodic attractors. This answers a question posed by Benedicks and Carleson.
Mortality among persons receiving tuberculosis treatment in Itezhi-Tezhi District of Zambia: A retrospective cohort study

Itezhi-Tezhi District in southern Zambia has been reporting tuberculosis (TB) mortality rates that are fourfold higher than the national average of six percent. We conducted a retrospective cohort study to establish the demographic and clinical characteristics associated with mortality among persons under treatment for TB in Itezhi-Tezhi District, as well as the likely causes and time to death. We reviewed medical records for persons with TB registered in 19 public health facilities in Itezhi-Tezhi District between January 2015 and December 2018. Of the 506 persons with TB registered in the study period, 426 were included in the analysis. Of these, 71 (16.7%) died before completing treatment. The overall mortality rate was 31.8 per 1,000 person-months of observation. Most of the deaths (53 [74.7%]) occurred in the first month of treatment (median: 16 days; interquartile range: 5–52 days). In a multivariate Cox regression model, type of TB was found to be an independent predictor of mortality while on TB treatment. The risk of dying was more than twice higher for persons with clinically diagnosed PTB compared to those with bacteriologically confirmed PTB (adjusted hazard ratio = 2.2, 95% CI: 1.4–3.6). In a sub-analysis of persons with clinically diagnosed PTB, persons with TB who were on a community-based DOT plan were more than twice more likely to die compared to those on facility-based DOT plan (adjusted hazard ratio = 2.21, 95% CI: 1.1–4.8). Common likely causes of death were pulmonary TB disease (66.0%), anemia (12.8%), cardiac failure (4.3%), pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia (4.3%), and gastroenteritis (4.2%). These findings show that most deaths occurred during the first month of treatment. Clinical evaluation at initiation of anti-TB treatment and during follow-up care, especially in persons with clinically diagnosed PTB, should include screening and treatment of other conditions.
Research on map emotional semantics using deep learning approach

ABSTRACT The main purpose of the research on map emotional semantics is to describe and express the emotional responses caused by people observing images through computer technology. Nowadays, map application scenarios tend to be diversified, and the increasing demand for emotional information of map users bring new challenges for cartography. However, the lack of evaluation of emotions in the traditional map drawing process makes it difficult for the resulting maps to reach emotional resonance with map users. The core of solving this problem is to quantify the emotional semantics of maps, it can help mapmakers to better understand map emotions and improve user satisfaction. This paper aims to perform the quantification of map emotional semantics by applying transfer learning methods and the efficient computational power of convolutional neural networks (CNN) to establish the correspondence between visual features and emotions. The main contributions of this paper are as follows: (1) a Map Sentiment Dataset containing five discrete emotion categories; (2) three different CNNs (VGG16, VGG19, and InceptionV3) are applied for map sentiment classification task and evaluated by accuracy performance; (3) six different parameter combinations to conduct experiments that would determine the best combination of learning rate and batch size; and (4) the analysis of visual variables that affect the sentiment of a map according to the chart and visualization results. The experimental results reveal that the proposed method has good accuracy performance (around 88%) and that the emotional semantics of maps have some general rules. Key policy highlights A Map Sentiment Dataset with five discrete emotions is constructed Map emotional semantics are classified by deep learning approaches Visual variables Influencing map sentiment are analyzed.
On the three-dimensional shapes of elliptical galaxies

The conventional hypothesis that elliptical galaxies are oblate axisymmetric objects flattened by rotation has been checked by means of numerical experiments. Our findings are as follows: (1) Contrary to the conventional view, rotation does not flatten axisymmetric elliptical galaxies very much. Elliptical galaxy models can rotate remarkably rapidly and yet show little flattening (E2). The quantity t=T/sub mean// vertical-bar W vertical-bar is used as a measure of rotation (T/sub mean/ is the total kinetic energy in mean velocities and W is the total potential energy of the configuration), and the ellipticity refers to the apparent shape seen from a viewing position in the equatorial plane. Elliptical galaxies with ellipticity greater than 0.3 are not oblate axisymmetric objects flattened by rotation. (2) Several systems remained axisymmetric with t>0.14, in violation of the conjecture by Ostriker and Peebles that such systems would be unstable to bar formation. One system rotated as rapidly as t=0.27 and remained axisymmetric. (3) One system rotating at t=0.17 projects to an E0. (4) Models with similar shapes can have quite different internal dynamics.
A Systematic Quantitative Determination of the Antimicrobial Efficacy of Grape Seed Extract against Foodborne Bacterial Pathogens

Concerns regarding the role of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in disease outbreaks are growing due to the excessive use of antibiotics. Moreover, consumers are demanding food products that are minimally processed and produced in a sustainable way, without the use of chemical preservatives or antibiotics. Grape seed extract (GSE) is isolated from wine industry waste and is an interesting source of natural antimicrobials, especially when aiming to increase sustainable processing. The aim of this study was to obtain a systematic understanding of the microbial inactivation efficacy/potential of GSE against Listeria monocytogenes (Gram-positive), Escherichia coli and Salmonella Typhimurium (Gram-negative) in an in vitro model system. More specifically, for L. monocytogenes, the effects of the initial inoculum concentration, bacterial growth phase and absence of the environmental stress response regulon (SigB) on the GSE microbial inactivation potential were investigated. In general, GSE was found to be highly effective at inactivating L. monocytogenes, with higher inactivation achieved for higher GSE concentrations and lower initial inoculum levels. Generally, stationary phase cells were more resistant/tolerant to GSE as compared to exponential phase cells (for the same inoculum level). Additionally, SigB appears to play an important role in the resistance of L. monocytogenes to GSE. The Gram-negative bacteria under study (E. coli and S. Typhimurium) were less susceptible to GSE as compared to L. monocytogenes. Our findings provide a quantitative and mechanistic understanding of the impact of GSE on the microbial dynamics of foodborne pathogens, assisting in the more systematic design of natural antimicrobial-based strategies for sustainable food safety.
Discovery in 4U 1636–53 of Two Simultaneous Quasi-periodic Oscillations near 900 Hz and 1176 Hz

Using the Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer, we observed the low-mass X-ray binary 4U 1636-53 on 1996 February 28, April 23, and May 29. On February 28, two simultaneous quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) occurred at frequencies between 890 and 920 Hz and between 1150 and 1193 Hz. The rms amplitude and FWHM of the lower frequency QPO were 7.3% ± 0.4% and 26 ± 4 Hz, whereas those of the higher frequency QPO were 6.1% ± 0.8% and 64 ± 25 Hz. Averaged over minutes, the FWHM of the lower frequency QPO was sometimes as low as 4 Hz. The rms amplitudes of the QPOs increase with photon energy. The frequency of the lower frequency QPO increases, and its amplitude decreases, with accretion rate as inferred from the position of the source in the X-ray color-color diagram. The frequency difference between the two QPOs is consistent with being constant at 276 ± 10 Hz. The frequency of the higher frequency QPO is the highest so far observed in a low-mass X-ray binary. Assuming that this frequency is the orbital frequency of gas in stable Keplerian orbit around the neutron star, we derive upper limits on the mass and radius of the neutron star of 2.1 M☉ and 16.5 km. On April 23 we detected no kilohertz QPOs (95% confidence upper limits were typically 3%-5.5% rms in the frequency range 100-2000 Hz). On May 29 we detected a single 853-896 Hz QPO with an amplitude of ~7% rms that increases with photon energy and decreases with QPO frequency. There was no significant correlation between the frequency of this QPO and the count rate or spectral changes.
Shared vs separate structural representations: Evidence from cumulative cross-language structural priming

How do bilingual speakers represent the information that guides the assembly of words into sentences for their two languages? The shared-syntax account argues that bilinguals have a single, shared representation of the sentence structures that exist in both languages. Structural priming has been shown to be equal within and across languages, providing support for the shared-syntax account. However, equivalent levels of structural priming within and across languages could be observed even if structural representations are separate and connected, due to frequent switches between languages, which is a property of standard structural priming paradigms. Here, we investigated whether cumulative structural priming (i.e., structural priming across blocks rather than trial-by-trial), which does not involve frequent switches between languages, also shows equivalent levels of structural priming within- and cross-languages. Mixed results point towards a possibility that cumulative structural priming can be more persistent within- compared to cross-languages, suggesting a separate-and-connected account of bilingual structural representations. We discuss these results in terms of the current literature on bilingual structural representations and highlight the value of diversity in paradigms and less-studied languages.
Experiential Product Promotions on e-Commerce Platform: From the Perspective of Consumer Cognition and Emotion

To probe into consumer behavior from the perspective of cognition and emotion, meanwhile offering objective and quantitative physiological evidence for advertisers, e-commerce platforms selling experiential products, and other e-commerce platforms for holiday promotional activities. This paper adopted a combination of multi-channel physiometer and questionnaire survey, in which a total of 42 subjects including 18 men and 24 women is selected and recruited. (1) Factors such as promotion, music background, and model backdrop help to enhance the festive atmosphere of e-commerce platforms and stimulate positive emotions of consumers; (2) Greeting cards can stimulate positive emotions among female consumers, but they are not statistically significant in stimulating male consumers; (3) The effect of warm and cold colors on the sympathetic nerves of consumers is significant, among which warm colors can significantly ignite the positive emotions; and (4) Although not all indicators of multi-channel physiometer are consistent with questionnaire data, the differences can be explained, so it proves to be a sound method to quantitatively measure emotions. This paper conducted multi-channel physiometer research on E-commerce platform promotions and consumer behaviors from the perspective of cognition and emotion, which provided an objective quantitative method for online retailers and marketers.
Is the Oort A-Value a Universal Growth Rate Limit for Accretion Disk Shear Instabilities?

A weak-field local MHD instability that is of importance to accretion disks is examined. The maximum growth rate of the instability is found to be not only independent of the magnetic field strength but independent of field geometry as well. In particular, all Keplerian disks are unstable in the presence of any weak poloidal field, with the ratio of the maximum growth rate to disk angular velocity given by 3/4. The maximum growth rate of any weak field configuration that is not purely toroidal is given by the local Oort A-value of the disk. The behavior is studied by using a form of the dynamical Hill equations. It is conjectured that the Oort A-value is an upper bound to the growth rate of any instability feeding upon the free energy of differential rotation.
Financial constraints, capital misallocation and firm’s total factor productivity (TFP) loss – empirical evidence from listed manufacturing companies in China

ABSTRACT Based on the theoretical mechanism that ‘financing constraints (investment-cash flow sensitivity) → capital misallocation → firm’s total factor productivity’ and ADL(2,2) model, implied cost model, total factor productivity model, panel regression model and mediation effect model, we empirically investigate the impact of financing constraints on TFP loss and the mediating effect of capital misallocation. Finance and market transaction data for manufacturing companies listed on Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges during 2009–2019 are used in the empirical study. Chinese manufacturing companies were shown to have investment-cash flow sensitivity. The empirical analysis proved that financing constraints not only have direct negative impact on the firm’s TFP directly but also negatively affect the TFP by the mediating effect of capital misallocation. Moreover, firm heterogeneity analysis showed that the above two impacts were greater for non-stated owned firms, small and medium-sized firms, and young firms than stated-owned firms, big firms and mature firms.
Perceptual normalization for variation in speaking style.

Ladefoged and Broadbent [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 29, 98–104 (1957)] demonstrated that listeners will shift their categorization of a target vowel as a function of acoustic characteristics of a preceding carrier phrase. These results have been interpreted as an example of perceptual normalization for variability resulting from differences in talker anatomy. The present study examined whether listeners would normalize for acoustic variability resulting from differences in speaking style within a single talker. Two vowel series were synthesized that varied between central and peripheral vowels (the vowels in “beat”‐“bit” and “bod”‐“bud”). Each member of the series was appended to one of four carrier phrases that were spoken in either a “clear” or “reduced” speech style. Participants categorized vowels in these eight contexts. A reliable shift in categorization as a function of speaking style was obtained for three of four phrase sets. This demonstrates that phrase context effects can be obtained with a single ta.
Anatomical and Biomechanical Characteristics of the Anterolateral Ligament: A Descriptive Korean Cadaveric Study Using a Triaxial Accelerometer

Background and Objectives: The anterolateral ligament (ALL) could be the potential anatomical structure responsible for rotational instability after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. The purpose of this study was to investigate the anatomical and biomechanical characteristics of the ALL in Korean cadaveric knee joints. Materials and Methods: Twenty fresh-frozen cadaveric knees were dissected and tested. Femoral and tibial footprints of the ALL were recorded. Pivot shift and Lachman tests were measured with KiRA. Results: The prevalence of ALL was 100%. The average distance of the tibial footprint to the tip of the fibular head was 19.85 ± 3.41 mm; from the tibial footprint to Gerdy’s tubercle (GT) was 18.3 ± 4.19 mm; from the femoral footprint to the lateral femoral epicondyle was 10.25 ± 2.97 mm. ALL’s footprint distance was the longest at 30° of flexion (47.83 ± 8.05 mm, p < 0.01) in a knee with intact ALL–ACL and neutral rotation. During internal rotation, the footprint distance was the longest at 30° of flexion (50.05 ± 8.88 mm, p < 0.01). Internal rotation produced a significant increase at all three angles after ACL–ALL were transected (p = 0.022), where the footprint distance was the longest at 30° of flexion (52.05 ± 7.60 mm). No significant difference was observed in KiRA measurements between intact ALL–ACL and ALL-transected knees for pivot shift and Lachman tests. However, ACL–ALL-transected knees showed significant differences compared to the intact ALL–ACL and ALL-transected knees (p < 0.01). Conclusions: The ALL was identified as a distinct ligament structure with a 100% prevalence in this cadaveric study. The ALL plays a protective role in internal rotational stability. An isolated ALL transection did not significantly affect the ALL footprint distances or functional stability tests. Therefore, the ALL is thought to act as a secondary supportive stabilizer for rotational stability of the knee joint in conjunction with the ACL.
An Iterative Threshold Algorithm of Log-Sum Regularization for Sparse Problem

The log-sum function as a penalty has always been drawing widespread attention in the field of sparse problems. However, it brings a non-convex, non-smooth and non-Lipschitz optimization problem that is difficult to tackle. To overcome the problem, an iterative threshold algorithm for the sparse optimization problems with log-sum function is proposed in this paper. For brevity, the sparse optimization problems with log-sum function are named log-sum regularization. Firstly, by introducing an intermediate function to construct another new function, a property theorem about solution for log-sum regularization is established. Secondly, based on the above theorem, the optimal setting rules of the compromising parameters are elaborated, and an iterative log-sum threshold algorithm is proposed. Thirdly, under the situation that the compromising parameters of log-sum regularization are relatively small, it can be proven that the proposed algorithm converges to a local minimizer of log-sum regularization. Finally, a series of simulations are implemented to examine performance of the proposed algorithm, and the results exhibit that the proposed algorithm outperforms the state-of-the-art algorithms.
Fetal Growth and Osteogenesis Dynamics during Early Development in the Ovine Species

Simple Summary Our study represents an innovative attempt to describe fetal skeleton development during the first part of gestation in sheep using ultrasonography associated with a differential staining technique that allows the observation of the first ossification processes. The timing of ossification and the growth rate of skeletal components are very important to assess normal prenatal growth. This knowledge may be useful for gestational management and early diagnosis of skeletal diseases, especially in the early period of pregnancy when bone growth is very fast in the ovine species. Abstract Increased knowledge of the developmental processes during gestation could provide valuable information on potential alterations in embryonic/fetal development. We examined the development of ovine conceptus between the 20th and 70th day of gestation with three convergent analyses: (1) uterus ultrasound examination and measurement (eco) of crown–rump length (CRL) and biparietal diameter (BPD) of the conceptus; (2) direct measurement (vivo) of CRL and BPD of the conceptus outside the uterus (3) osteo–cartilage dynamics during development by differential staining. No significant differences were observed between eco and vivo measurements for CRL and BPD in all examined concepti. CRL and BPD, instead, showed a significant positive linear correlation with gestational age. The study of osteogenesis dynamics has demonstrated a completely cartilaginous ovine fetus at up to 35 days of gestation. The ossification begins in the skull (40th day) and is almost complete between the 65th and the 70th of pregnancy. Our study highlighted that CRL and BPD are accurate parameters for gestational age estimation in the first part of sheep pregnancy and provides an overview of osteochondral temporal dynamics. Furthermore, tibia ossification is a valid parameter to estimate fetal age by ultrasound.
A statistical comparison of VHF techniques to study clear‐air vertical velocities in the lower atmosphere using the Jicamarca radar

We compare two types of VHF vertical velocity measurement techniques using a special configuration of the Jicamarca 50‐MHz radar antenna. Zenith (vertically directed single‐beam) techniques and spaced antenna (SA) techniques are compared using a 54‐hour concurrent data set. We compare two different zenith techniques using different antenna beam widths (0.85° and 3.5°). In addition, we compare vertical velocities measured by a “quasi” Doppler beam swinging (QDBS) technique and a SA approach that incorporate either “inferred” or “corrected” vertical velocities. All of the results are compared in terms of statistical basis. Results are presented for both quiet (low wind, low variability) and active (high wind, high variability) conditions. We use the results of the narrow‐beam zenith technique as a reference profile and discuss its validity as a reference. Our comparisons show that relative to the reference, (1) the use of corrected values (i.e., correcting for horizontal leakage) gives better results than the wide‐beam zenith technique, although mean differences of ∼−3 and ∼4 cm s−1 are still observed below 12 and above 15 km, respectively, (2) QDBS results give the closest mean value agreement of all the techniques, and (3) most of the vertical velocity discrepancies are seen as variations in the mean values.