Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Bacteriology and antibiotic susceptibility pattern of peritonsillar abscess.

INTRODUCTION Peritonsillar abscess is a common complication of acute tonsillitis. Its management consists of aspiration or surgical drainage followed by appropriate antibiotics. Appropriate antibiotic treatment depends on the common organisms associated with infection and their antibiotic sensitivity pattern in local scenario. METHODS Pus samples aspirated from diagnosed cases of peritonsillar abscess and submitted for culture and sensitivity in last two years were included in this study. Identification of different microorganisms was made on the basis of the microscopic findings, observation of their colony morphology and standard biochemical reactions. Susceptibility pattern to commonly used antibiotics were determined by Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guidelines. RESULTS Altogether 24 pus samples were included in the study. Positive culture was obtained from 18 samples. Among them one organism was isolated from 13 samples whereas from five samples multiple organisms were isolated. From six samples no organisms could be cultured. Altogether Streptococcus pyogenes was isolated from 12 samples and Staphylococcus aureus from five samples. Other isolated organisms included Haemophlilus influenzae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli and Enterococcus species. Penicillin was effective for Streptococcus pyogenes whereas Staphylococcus aureus was resistant to it. Cloxacillin was found to be effective for Staphylococcus aureus. Ciprofloxacin and Ceftazidime were found to be effective for both organisms. CONCLUSIONS Streptococcus pyogenes and Staphylococcus aureus were more commonly associated with peritonsillar abscess. Streptococcus pyogenes were sensitive to penicillin but all Staphylococcus aureus were resistant to it. This fact should be considered in clinical practice for management of peritonsillar abscess.
Sensitive and reliable JC‐1 and TOTO‐3 double staining to assess mitochondrial transmembrane potential and plasma membrane integrity: Interest for cell death investigations

Apoptosis is currently studied by flow cytometry with mitochondrial membrane potential (Δψmt) and membrane integrity fluorochromes. Rhodamine 123 and DiOC6(3) remain controversial to identify cells displaying a low Δψmt. JC‐1 constitutes a good Δψmt indicator, due to a fluorescence shift from green to orange emission, according to the increase in Δψmt. Nevertheless, it is not feasible to analyze it simultaneously with propidium iodide. Among available fluorescent probes, TOTO‐3 seems to be a good candidate for double staining with JC‐1.
Sensory descriptive analysis and consumer acceptability of original "kaya" and "kaya" partially substituted with inulin

A study was done on the feasibility of inulin, a fructooligosaccharides with the health benefits of prebiotic, as partial sugar replacer in "kaya" by investigating the effects of different substitution levels (0%; control, 10%, 30% and 50%) on the sensory properties. The samples were investigated by 10 descriptive panelists for colour, sweetness, smoothness, firmness, adhesiveness and spreadability attributes before further evaluated by 100 consumers for acceptance levels. Consistent with the descriptive panel, the evaluation by the consumers showed formulated samples at 10% and 30% were comparable to the commercial "kaya" being no significant difference (p>0.05) found in acceptability scores. 50% substitution received lower acceptability scores and was significantly different (p<0.05) from the rest. Overall, this study clearly underlines that it is possible to substitute sugar by inulin in "kaya" formulation in amount of at least up to 30% to achieve the health benefits of inulin and sugar reduction, without imposing a negative impact on sensory perception and consumer liking.
An Adaptive Neural-Fuzzy Approach for Object Detection in Dynamic Backgrounds for Surveillance Systems

Object detection is a fundamental aspect in surveillance systems. Although several works aimed at detecting objects in video sequences have been reported, many are not tolerant to dynamic background or require complex computation in addition to manual parameter adjustments. This paper proposes an adaptive object detection method to work in dynamic backgrounds without human intervention. The proposed method is based on a neural-fuzzy model. The neural stage, based on a one-to-one self-organizing map (SOM) architecture, deals with the dynamic background for object detection as well as shadow elimination. The fuzzy inference Sugeno system mimics human behavior to automatically adjust the main parameters involved in the SOM detection model, making the system independent of the scenario. Results of the model over real video scenes show its robustness. These findings are comparable to the results obtained with human intervention to define the parameters of the model. A quantitative comparison with methods reported in the literature is also provided to show the performance of the system.
Design of Short Microstrip Leaky-Wave Antenna With Suppressed Back Lobe and Increased Frequency Scanning Region

We demonstrate a short (1.08lambdao) microstrip leaky-wave antenna (MLWA) with suppressed back lobes and doubled frequency scanning region. The configuration of the proposed LWA contains three parts: the conventional open structure MLWA, the added monopole connected to the end of the MLWA on a defected ground plane, and the Yagi-Uda-like elements fabricated along the monopole. Because of the open structure of the MLWA, the reflected power produces a large back lobe radiated backwardly. By using the method of the added monopole connected to the end of the antenna, the remainder power could radiate through the added monopole without reflecting at the end. In addition, the Yagi-Uda-like elements fabricated along the added monopole enlarge the frequency scanning region due to the Yagi-Uda antenna characteristic. Compare to the conventional MLWA, the back lobe of the proposed LWA is suppressed about 8 dB at 5.0 GHz. The frequency scanning region of the H-plane (YZ-plane) of the proposed LWA can scan from 34deg to 57deg (total 23deg) while the frequency is operated from 4.6 GHz to 5.0 GHz; meanwhile the conventional MLWA scans from 30deg to 41deg (only 11deg) at the same frequency region.
Overexpression of cytochrome P 450 CYP 6 B 7 mediated pyrethroid resistance in Indian strains of the cotton bollworm , Helicoverpa armigera ( Hübner )

The role of cytochrome P450 monooxygenase in pyrethroid resistance was studied in different strains of the cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera, from India. Filed collected strains of Nagpur and Delhi were compared to the laboratory reared population. The results showed a high resistance to deltamethrin, α-cypermethrin, and β-cyfluthrin. The results also showed that this resistance could be reduced by using piperonyl butoxide (PBO). The Nagpur and Delhi strains were found to have a 2.40 and 1.79 fold higher monooxygenase activity compared to a susceptible strain. A strong, positive correlation between monooxygenase activity and pyrethroid resistance was observed (r = 0.86 – 0.98). The relative expression of the housekeeping gene, EF-1α, and three P450 genes, was studied in the 5th instar larval midgut of the three strains. Out of the three P450 genes examined, expression of CYP6B7 mRNA was not detected in the midgut of the susceptible strain though it was highly expressed in the resistant strains. The midgut of the Nagpur strain had a 2.60 fold overexpression of CYP6B7 mRNA compared to the moderately resistant, Delhi strain. The mRNA of CYP4G8 and CYP6B2 were not overexpressed in either the Nagpur or Delhi strain. The results indicated that the elevated cytochrome P450 monooxygenase activity is associated with pyrethroid resistance in Indian strains of H. armigera, and CYP6B7 could be the P450 form responsible for pyrethroid resistance.
Estradiol Suppresses NF-κB Activation through Coordinated Regulation of let-7a and miR-125b in Primary Human Macrophages

Previous findings suggest that 17β-estradiol (estradiol) has a suppressive effect on TNF-α, but the mechanism by which estradiol regulates TNF-α expression in primary human macrophages is unknown. In this article, we demonstrate that pretreatment of human macrophages with estradiol attenuates LPS-induced TNF-α expression through the suppression of NF-κB activation. Furthermore, we show that activation of macrophages with LPS decreases the expression of κB-Ras2, an inhibitor of NF-κB signaling. Estradiol pretreatment abrogates this decrease, leading to the enhanced expression of κB-Ras2 with LPS stimulation. Additionally, we identified two microRNAs, let-7a and miR-125b, which target the κB-Ras2 3′ untranslated region (UTR). LPS induces let-7a and inhibits miR-125b expression in human macrophages, and pretreatment with estradiol abrogates these effects. 3′UTR reporter assays demonstrate that let-7a destabilizes the κB-Ras2 3′UTR, whereas miR-125b enhances its stability, resulting in decreased κB-Ras2 in response to LPS. Our data suggest that pretreatment with estradiol reverses this effect. We propose a novel mechanism for estradiol inhibition of LPS-induced NF-κB signaling in which κB-Ras2 expression is induced by estradiol via regulation of let-7a and miR-125b. These findings are significant in that they are the first to demonstrate that estradiol represses NF-κB activation through the induction of κB-Ras2, a key inhibitor of NF-κB signaling.
Knee Deformity in Congenital Longitudinal Deficiencies of the Lower Extremity

The knee has various pathologic appearances in patients with congenital longitudinal deformities of the lower extremities. Radiographs from 39 patients with unilateral longitudinal congenital deficiencies of the lower extremities were analyzed to describe epiphyseal and metaphyseal configurations and position of the epiphyseal plate. We defined 22 radiographic parameters of the femur and tibia, calculated the mean values, and compared the parameters of the affected knee with the unaffected knee for patients in different age groups. In the femur, we observed hypoplasia of the lateral condyle in width and height. In the tibia, the lateral condylar hypoplasia was manifest primarily by lateral horizontal deficiency. Age group comparisons showed no horizontal epiphyseal deficiencies in the older patients, but there was persistence of vertical epiphyseal deficiencies. Bony deformities in congenital longitudinal deficiencies mainly were attributable to dysplasia of the lateral epiphysis in the distal femur and proximal tibia, whereas positions of the epiphyseal plate had varying physiologic values. Level of Evidence: Diagnostic study, Level II. See the Guidelines for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
Application of nitric oxide and carbon monoxide in a model of renal preservation

Nitric oxide and carbon monoxide exert vasodilatory effects that minimize ischaemia–reperfusion injury. An isolated porcine kidney model was used to assess the effects of administering the nitric oxide donor sodium nitroprusside (SNP) and carbon monoxide‐releasing molecule (CORM) 3 during a period of warm preservation followed by reperfusion.
Termination of mid-trimester pregnancies: misoprostol versus concurrent weighted Foley catheter and misoprostol

Objective: To investigate whether the use of a weighted trans-cervical fluid-filled Foley’s catheter would improve the effectiveness of 400µg vaginal misoprostol regimen in terminating mid-trimester pregnancies. Methods: This study was conducted at the department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Menofyia University Hospital in Egypt. Fifty eligible primigravidae were allocated into 2 groups. Termination was carried out in group I using vaginal misoprostol while in group II, a weighted fluid-filled intra-uterine Foley’s catheter was inserted and a similar misoprostol regimen was followed as in group I. Results: The combined group showed shorter induction to termination interval (15.6 ± 4.9 versus 21.9 ± 5.4 hours; P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the occurrence of side effects between the groups. Conclusion: A combination of a weighted Foley’s catheter and 400µg of vaginal misoprostol every 4 hours is more effective than misoprostol alone in terminating mid-trimester gestations.
Information rates and data-compression schemes for Poisson processes

In this paper, we derive rate-distortion functions under proper magnitude-error fidelity criteria and study instrumentable data-compression schemes for Poisson processes. In particular, we derive information rates and obtain rate-distortion relationships for practical data-compression schemes, for the reproduction of the unordered sequence of Poisson event occurrences, for the reproduction of the sample functions of the Poisson counting process, and for the reproduction of the sequence of intervals between the event occurrences of a Poisson process. The reproducing processes are taken to be point (or jump) processes themselves. The performances of the various data-compression schemes presented here are compared with those of the ideal schemes (us presented by the rate-distortion functions) and are shown to be close to the latter over wide regions of distortion.
A maximum likelihood approach to texture classification using wavelet transform

The paper describes a method of classifying natural textures based on maximum likelihood parameter estimation technique. The wavelet transform (WT) is used to represent the textural images in multiresolution. Co-occurrence matrices are then computed for the different scales of the wavelet transform and textural features are obtained from the co-occurrence matrices. Then a maximum likelihood classifier is designed using a set of training texture samples. Ten different Brodot textures have been classified using this procedure with an average classification accuracy of 99.7. <<ETX>>
Making Software Refactorings Safer

Refactorings often require that non-trivial semantic correctness conditions are met. IDEs such as Eclipse’s Java Development Tools rely on simpler, static precondition checks for refactorings. This leads to the phenomenon that a seemingly innocuous refactoring can change the behavior of the program. In this thesis we demonstrate our technique of introducing runtime checks of two particular refactorings for the Java programming language: Extract And Move Method, and Extract Local Variable. These checks can, in combination with unit tests, detect changed behavior and identify the refactoring step that introduced it.
Transmission of Spike Trains at the Retinogeniculate Synapse

Retinal spikes impinging on relay neurons in the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) generate synaptic potentials, which sometimes produce spikes sent to visual cortex. We examined how signal transmission is regulated in the macaque LGN by recording the retinal input to a single LGN neuron while stimulating the receptive field center with a naturalistic luminance sequence. After extracting the EPSPs, which are often partially merged with spike waveforms, we found that >95% of spikes were associated with an EPSP from a single retinal ganglion cell. Each spike within a “burst” train was generated by an EPSP, indicating that LGN bursts are inherited from retinal bursts. LGN neurons rarely fired unless at least two EPSPs summated within 40 ms. This facilitation in EPSP efficacy was followed by depression. If a spike was generated by the first EPSP in a pair, it did not alter the efficacy of the second EPSP. Hence, the timing of EPSPs arising from the primary retinal driver governs synaptic efficacy and provides the basis for successful retinogeniculate transmission.
Computations of Signatures of Coherent Systems with Five Components

The signatures of coherent systems are useful tools to compute the system reliability functions, the system expected lifetimes and to compare different systems using stochastic orderings. It is well known that there exist 2, 5, and 20 different coherent systems with 2, 3, and 4 components, respectively. The signatures for these systems were given in Shaked and Suarez-Llorens (2003). In this article, we obtain an algorithm to compute all the coherent systems with n components and their signatures. Using this algorithm we show that there exist 180 coherent systems with 5 components and we compute their signatures.
Growing up with Grief: Revisiting the Death of a Parent over the Life Course

In the era of managed care, evidence-based practice, and short term, solution focused interventions, clinicians in agency based settings generally do not have the luxury of long-term contact with bereaved children. Although a substantial, yet controversial, literature argues that children cannot fully resolve early loss until adulthood, limited attention is given to how children's understandings of early loss shift as their cognitive capacities mature. This article argues the emotional experience of grief shifts: 1) as children grapple with both normative life changes and the tasks of mourning, and 2) as their cognitive and emotional development allow them to understand and question aspects of their deceased parent's life and death in new ways. This article will present an overview of longitudinal and cross-sectional research on the long-term impact of childhood grief. We then suggest the ways bereaved children and adolescents revisit and reintegrate the loss of a parent as their emotional, moral, and cognitive capacities mature and as normative egocentrism and magical thinking decline. To demonstrate these ideas, we draw on the case of a parentally bereaved boy and his family presenting across agency-based and private-practice work over the course of 14 years. This case suggests the need for coordinated care for children who are moving beyond the initial trauma of parental loss into various stages of grief and reintegration.
Repression-sensitization, perceived vulnerability, and the fear appeal communication.

Summary One hundred eighty-one female college students, categorized as repressors, neutrals, or sensitizers by their scores on the Repression-Sensitization scale, were led to believe that they were either more likely or less likely than males to contract gum disease. The effects of a fear arousing communication were examined by illustrating the communication with slides which induced either high, moderate, or low fear reactions. Contrary to predictions generated from McGuire's mediational model of persuasion, no consistent interactions appeared on any of the dependent variables despite successful manipulations. Reports of Ss' vulnerability to gum disease were affected, however, in a fashion congruent with a defensiveness analysis. Reported vulnerability was lower among repressors and was reduced by more intense fear manipulations.
The complete mitochondrial genome of Himalayan Snowcock (Tetraogallus himalayensis)

Abstract We reported here the first complete sequences of mitogenome of Tetraogallus himalayensis obtained by next generation sequencing methods. The assembled mitogenome is a 16 692 bp circle, comprising of 13 protein-coding genes, two rRNA genes (12S rRNA and 16S rRNA), 22 tRNA genes, and one control region. The resultant phylogenetic tree supported T. himalayensis and T. tibeanus are sister taxon, and Tetraogallus with Alectoris and coturnix formed a monophyletic group.
Small-sized metamaterial feeding system combined polarization-reconfigurable antenna

This paper presents the design of a palm-sized metamaterial antenna system having reconfigurable polarization as well as dual-band characteristics. Basically, three antennas are laid by 45 degrees in order and excited by a compact metamaterial equal-ratio and equal-phase power-splitter, and the radiated fields of the antennas are mixed to turn the vector of the polarization to another. The legitimacy of the proposed method is examined by observing the in-phase outputs from the odd-numbered power-dividing device for both 900 MHz and 2.4 GHz, and checking the changeable polarization with the antenna gain over 2 dBi for all the polarizations.
Reusable process patterns for collaborative work environments in AEC

In construction projects where ad hoc decisions are dominant, achievement of logically grounded and adaptable process-centred collaboration is a topic of utmost importance. This paper suggests new possibilities to capture and reuse process knowledge through conceptual process patterns encompassing not only the processes but also the actors, resources, IT applications and services involved in them. It presents an ontology-based approach for business process modelling and management that enables tackling the complexity of distributed VO collaboration processes. Reported are results from the recently finished German project ArKoS (2003-2006) and the EU project InteliGrid (2004-2007). The shown specific realisation of the approach is taken from the latter.
Optimization of MLP/BP for character recognition using a modified alopex algorithm

It is difficult to determine the recognition mechanism in the neurons of a neural network trained for pattern recognition due to the non-linear nature of neural networks. This paper describes a recognition mechanism of a four-layer back propagation neural network using Alopex algorithm. We have developed a small-scale, four-layered neural network model for simple character recognition, which can recognize the patterns transformed by affined conversion. Alopex algorithm is an iterative and stochastic processing method, which was proposed for optimization of a given cost function. In this case the receptive fields of the neurons in the output layers are obtained using the Alopex algorithm.
Low complexity speaker independent command word recognition in car environments

In this paper we compare a standard HMM based recognizer to a highly parameter efficient hybrid denoted hidden neural network (HNN). The comparison was done on a speaker independent command word recognition task aimed at car hands-free applications. Monophone based HMM and HNN recognizers were initially trained on clean Wall Street Journal British English data. Evaluation of these baseline models on noisy car speech data indicated superior performance of the HMMs. After smoothing to the car environment, however, an HNN with 28k parameters provided a relative error rate reduction of 23-53% over HMMs containing 21k-168k parameters. Due to the low number of parameters in the HNNs, they have a real-time decoding complexity 2-4 times below that of comparable HMMs. The low memory and computational requirements of the HNN makes it particularly attractive for implementation on portable commercial hardware like mobile phones and personal digital assistants.
Feature Representation for Predicting ICU Mortality

Effective predictors of Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Mortality have the potential to identify high-risk patients earlier, improve ICU resource allocation, and create more accurate population-level risk models. Machine learning practitioners typically make choices about how to represent features in a particular model, but these choices are seldom evaluated quantitatively. This study compares the performance of different representations of clinical event counts from the MIMIC III database in a logistic regression model to predict post-36-hour ICU mortality. The most common representations are linear (normalized counts) and binary (yes/no). These, along with a logarithmic representation and a new representation termed Hill, are compared using L2 regularization. Results indicate that the introduced Hill representation gives a higher area under the reciever operating curve (AUC) for the mortality prediction task than the log, binary and linear representations. The Hill representation thus has the potential to improve existing models of ICU mortality.