Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Nalidixic Acid Susceptibility Test for Screening Salmonella Isolates of Reduced Susceptibility/Higher Minimum Inhibitory Concentration to Ciprofloxacin

Enteric fever is the major diagnosis among febrile patients in Nepal with yearly increase in nalidixic acid resistance and reduced ciprofloxacin susceptibility among Salmonella isolates. This study was carried out to evaluate the validity of nalidixic acid resistance as an indicator of reduced susceptibility of Salmonella isolates to ciprofloxacin. In this study, 999 blood specimens collected from suspected enteric fever patients visiting B&B Hospital were processed by standard microbiological techniques. Isolates were identified by biochemical tests and serotyping. Antibiotic susceptibility test was performed by Kirby Bauer disc diffusion method and CLSI recommended interpretive criteria. MIC of ciprofloxacin was determined by agar dilution method. Isolation rate of Salmonella species was 6.21%. Among 62 Salmonella isolates, 51 were S. typhi, 10 were S. paratyphi A and one isolate was S. paratyphi B. Only one isolate of S. typhi was multi-drug resistant. Resistance to ceftriaxone, cefixime and azithromycin was nil. On disc diffusion test, 55 isolates were resistant to nalidixic acid. Fifty-seven isolates were found to have increased (>0.125mg/ml) MIC of ciprofloxacin with the clinical and laboratory standards institute breakpoints. Nalidixic acid resistance showed a predictive value of 100% for ciprofloxacin resistance. Screening with nalidixic acid disc had a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 71.43% for the determination of decreased ciprofloxacin susceptibility. Before using ciprofloxacin for the treatment of enteric fever, appropriate identification of Salmonella isolates with reduced ciprofloxacin susceptibility is essential to limit the possible treatment failure and further development of highly resistant strains. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/njst.v15i2. 12122 Nepal Journal of Science and Technology Vol. 15, No.2 (2014) 97-104
Modeling Studies of Binding of Sea Raven Type II Antifreeze Protein to Ice

Certain plants, insects, and fish living in cold environments prevent tissue damage due to freezing by producing antifreeze proteins or antifreeze glycoproteins that inhibit ice growth below the normal equilibrium freezing point of water in a noncolligative fashion. In polar fish these macromolecules, taking into account their structural characteristics, are grouped into three broad classes, namely Type I, Type II, and Type III. In this paper we report the results of our studies on the stereospecific binding of sea raven, a Type II antifreeze protein (AFP) to (111) hexagonal bipyramidal faces of ice. Earlier studies of Type I and Type III AFPs have shown that stereospecific binding of these proteins, recognizing specific planes of ice, is essential for their noncolligative antifreeze point depression. Moreover, as it has been shown for the AFT of Type I, this binding also occurs along specific vectors on these planes and also is enantioselective, distinguishing between the mirror related directions. In this study we will show, by using molecular modeling, that the fold of Type II AFP could facilitate a stereospecific mode of interaction with (111) planes of ice. Similar to Type I AFP, preferential directionality of binding was also observed in the simulations.
The relationship between renal impairment and left ventricular structure, function, and ventricular–arterial interaction in hypertension

Objectives Our objective was to define the relationship between renal dysfunction – both albuminuria and reduced estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) – and cardiac structure and diastolic dysfunction among patients with chronic hypertension. Methods Both albuminuria and eGFR were measured in 540 asymptomatic patients with hypertension and diastolic dysfunction assessed by reduced early mitral annular relaxation velocity (E′). The majority of patients were white, mean age was 60 ± 10 years, mean SBP was 149 ± 18 mmHg, and there was a low prevalence comorbid conditions. Albuminuria was undetectable in 148 (27%), within the normal to low range [urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR) 1–25 mg/g for men, 1–17 mg/g for women] in 292 (54%), and high or very high (UACR >25 mg/g for men, >17 mg/g for women) in 100 (19%). Estimated GFR was 60 ml/min per 1.73 m2 or less in 75 (14%), 61–90 ml/min per 1.73 m2 in 244 (45%), and more than 90 ml/min per 1.73 m2 in 221 (41%). Results Albuminuria, even within the normal range, was associated with greater left ventricular wall thickness (P = 0.01), higher relative wall thickness (P = 0.004), worse diastolic function reflected in lower E′ (P = 0.01), greater arterial and left ventricular end-systolic stiffness (P < 0.0001 and P = 0.003, respectively), and higher N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) level (P = 0.0025), even after adjustment for differences in baseline characteristics. In contrast, no independent relationship was observed between eGFR and parameters of cardiac structure or function. Conclusion Among asymptomatic hypertensive patients with evidence of diastolic dysfunction, the presence of albuminuria, even within the normal range, is associated with greater concentric remodeling, greater left ventricular end-systolic stiffness, and worse diastolic function.
Iterative Bayesian and MMSE-based noise compensation techniques for speaker recognition in the i-vector space

Dealing with additive noise in the i-vector space can be challenging due to the complexity of its effect in that space. Several compensation techniques have been proposed in the last years to either remove the noise effect by setting a noise model in the i-vector space or build better scoring techniques that take environment perturbations into account. We recently presented a new efﬁcient Bayesian cleaning technique operating in the i-vector domain named I-MAP that improves the baseline system performance by up to 60%. This technique is based on Gaussian models for the clean and noise i-vectors distributions. After I-MAP transformation, these hypothesis are probably less correct. For this reason, we propose to apply another MMSE-based approach that uses the Kabsch algorithm. For a certain noise, it estimates the best translation vector and rotation matrix between a set of train noisy i-vectors and their clean counterparts based on RMSD criterion. This transformation is then applied on noisy test i-vectors in order to remove the noise effect. We show that applying the Kabsch algorithm allows to reach a 40% relative improvement in EER(%) compared to a baseline system performance and that, when combined with I-MAP and repeated iteratively, it allows to reach 85% of relative improvement.
Increase in ovarian kallikrein activity during ovulation in the gonadotrophin-primed immature rat.

The ovulatory process was initiated in 25-day-old rats by injecting them with hCG (10 i.u., s.c.) 2 days after the animals had been primed with PMSG (10 i.u., s.c.). At 2-h intervals after hCG, the ovaries were extracted and assayed for glandular kallikrein activity by using a chromogenic substrate (H-D-Val-Leu-Arg-p-nitroanilide) which exhibits optical density (at 405 nm) upon hydrolysis. In 0-h control ovaries the activity was 12.5 x 10(-3) kallikrein units (KU)/mg protein and it increased to a peak of 56.6 x 10(-3) KU/mg at 12 h after hCG, when the follicles first began to rupture. The kallikrein activity was distinguishable from ovarian plasminogen activator activity on the basis of pH optima and response to trypsin inhibitor (SBTI). The activity was inhibited by a s.c. dose of indomethacin of 0.3 mg/rat, or higher, and this dosage inhibited ovulation. The results suggest that kallikrein activity contributes to the degradation of Graafian follicles during ovulation in mammals.
The Generalized Architecture of the Spherical Serial Manipulator

It is well known that the inverse kinematics problem for the spherical serial manipulator has been solved in the past by diverse methods; but this problem for a generalized architecture based on the Denavit-Hartenberg parameters has not been treated. Therefore, this paper considers such treatment in a geometric analysis to derive a closed-form solution of the inverse kinematics problem, whose algorithm is validated by simulating pick and place operations. With the code implementation of a novel linear tracking algorithm introduced here, this application is accomplished in real time with the aid of a development software devoted to simulate robotic applications in real time, allowing the visualization of the performance of all possible architectures including the eight types defined in this paper; It is also shown that the Stanford arm is comprised within this classification. In order to demonstrate the great potential offered by combining the algorithms released here in simulations for industrial applications requiring a quick response, a case study is presented by taking as examples, the Stanford manipulator and a spherical manipulator with generalized architecture.
Internet Rising, Prices Falling: Measuring Inflation in a World of E-Commerce

We use Adobe Analytics data on online transactions for millions of products in many different categories from 2014 to 2017 to shed light on how online inflation compares to overall inflation, and to gauge the magnitude of new product bias online. The Adobe data contain transaction prices and quantities purchased. We estimate that online inflation was about 1 percentage point lower than in the CPI for the same categories from 2014--2017. In addition, the rising variety of products sold online, implies roughly 2 percentage points lower inflation than in a matched model/CPI-style index.
Systematic self-assessment by P.Q.R.S.T.

Synopsis This paper presents a Personal Questionnaire which is sufficiently simple for use in most clinical settings. Following a brief description of Personal Questionnaires, their origin and background are discussed and some subsequent developments delineated. The method involves the use of a general set of adjectives which can be used to qualify the symptoms experienced by any given patient. Successive measurements of the symptoms can be made so that changes in their subjective intensity can be monitored. The internal consistency of ratings of each symptom on each occasion is used as a measure of reliability. As with all previous Personal Questionnaires the symptoms which are measured are unique to the individual, but unlike other methods the format of this Questionnaire is predetermined, which ensures its simplicity and ease of use.
Isolation of a dextranase constitutive mutant of Lipomyces starkeyi and its use for the production of clinical size dextran

A derepressed and partially constitutive mutant for dextranase of Lipomyces starkeyi was selected after ethyl methane sulphonate mutagenesis by zone clearance on blue dextran agar plates. The mutant produced dextranase when grown on glucose, fructose and sucrose as well as on dextran, and more enzyme was produced by the mutant than by the parental strain when grown on 1% dextran. The pH and temperature optima for the mutant dextranase were 5.5 and 55°C, respectively. Dextranase produced on sucrose produced more isomaltose and less glucose after dextran hydrolysis than the equivalent enzyme produced on dextran. The clinical size dextran (average mol. wt of 75000 ± 25000) yield of mixed culture fermentation with the mutant and Leuconostoc mesenteroides was 94% of the total dextran produced.
The Multipole Resonance Probe: Progression and Evaluation of a Process Compatible Plasma Sensor

A robust and sensitive plasma sensor, the multipole resonance probe (MRP), and its process compatibility are presented and discussed in this paper. Based on its innovative concept and simple model describing the system “probe-plasma”, three steps of development are introduced. 3D electromagnetic field simulations are applied as an indispensable tool for an economical and efficient investigation and optimization of different sensor layouts. Independent of the chosen sensor design, a developed pulse-based measurement device yields an economical signal generation and evaluation. Electron density profiles, determined with the MRP and the pulse-based system utilized in a capacitive coupled plasma, confirm and demonstrate the simulation results and the measurement concept, respectively.
Une Architecture Basée Agents Mobiles Pour la Recherche d'Information dans des Sources Hétérogènes et Réparties

Resume. De nos jours le besoin en information devient tres exigeant et l'interoperabilite des systemes devient une approche incontournable. Une demande d'information peut etre repartie sur plusieurs systemes repartis d'ou la necessite d'une reconstitution de la reponse par une entite gerante. D'autre part, les echanges des donnees et la repartition des tâches d'une application distribuee necessitent l'interaction entre differentes entites a travers le reseau. Aujourd'hui, le modele "client/serveur" ou les echanges se font par envoi des messages a travers le reseau est le modele le plus utilise. Ce modele possede l'inconvenient d'augmenter le trafic sur le reseau et exige une connexion permanente. Dans cet article, nous proposons une nouvelle approche qui utilise les agents mobiles. Ces derniers apparaissent dans ce contexte comme une solution prometteuse facilitant la mise en oeuvre d'applications reparties. Dans ce papier, nous decrivons notre architecture a base d'agents mobiles pour la recherche d'information dans des sources heterogenes et reparties. Chaque agent mobile de recherche sera utilise pour visiter le site serveur cible de l'application afin de collectes des informations pour son client, ce que permet a ce dernier d'interagir localement avec le serveur, et donc de reduire le trafic sur le reseau en ne transmettant que les donnees utiles.
“Reasons For Living” – translation, psychometric evaluation and relationships to suicidal behaviour in a Swedish random sample

The protective role of positive beliefs and expectations against suicide has been studied using the Reasons For Living inventory (RFL). The RFL has shown to be useful in research and suggested for use in clinical practice. A Swedish translation of the RFL was examined for psychometric properties, reliability, latent structure and convergent validity in a Swedish general population. The RFL was distributed with the Suicide Behaviors Questionnaire (SBQ) to 1366 randomly selected subjects aged 20–65 years in the county of Östergötland. The results were based on 506 complete replies. The Cronbach α of the total RFL was 0.92, ranging from 0.72 to 0.93 in the six scales of RFL. The intercorrelations between the scales were weak and the scale to total RFL score moderate to high. The factor structure and item loadings of the inventory showed great similarities with the American one with exception for the scales Responsibility to Family and Child-related Concerns, which formed one common factor. The convergent validity was supported by significant relationships to the items of the SBQ. It is concluded that the Swedish translation of the RFL inventory in a Swedish general sample possesses great similarities to the American original RFL. Thus, it is suggested as an instrument for research and clinical usage in Sweden.
15 p 15 INK 4 b , a Tumor Suppressor in Acute Myeloid Leukemia

p15INK4b expression is lost in a striking 80% of all patients suffering from acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Specific inactivation of the gene by aberrant promoter hypermethylation is also detected in about 50% of patients diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and almost 60% of patients with myeloproliferative disorders (MPD). More importantly, a strong correlation between the methylation levels of p15INK4b and poor prognosis is now well established in these patients. Hypermethylation levels also provide a marker for subsequent transformation and progression of the disease to a more aggressive phenotype. These clinical observations establish the repression of p15INK4b expression by promoter hypermethylation as the most prevalent genetic abnormality in myeloid leukemia. The p15INK4b gene (also referred to as CDKN2B and MTS2) encodes a 15kDa cyclin dependent kinase inhibitor (CDKI). Specific and preferential epigenetic targeting of p15INK4b for silencing over other CDKIs such as p16INK4a and p21WAF/CIP in AML, MDS and MPD patients strongly supports a role for this protein as a tumor suppressor in hematological malignancies of the myeloid lineage. This chapter provides a review of the literature outlining the high prevalence of p15INK4b loss of expression in human myeloid malignancies, as well as the latest research carried out in mice which supports a role for p15Ink4b as a tumor suppressor. It also focuses on the well established function of p15INK4b in the control of the cell cycle, as well as its role during early and late myeloid cells development. Finally, this chapter discusses the multiple mechanisms by which p15INK4b is silenced and presents a few examples of clinical studies of drugs that target p15INK4b for re-expression. These include treatments for reversing aberrant DNA methylation, and are currently being tested and used for the therapy of MDS and AML.
Implementation and use of finance information system: Results of a field study in Ugandan Universities

Benefits arising from the use of finance information systems that include among others capability to offer improved timely and reliable accounts reports have been mentioned by many different scholars. The issue of successfully implementing and using the systems is however still a challenging problem especially in developing countries. A lot of critical success factors for implementation have been suggested, by different scholars but various organizations still fail to attain successful usage of their systems. This study therefore aimed at determining the factors that influence implementation of the finance information systems in the context of a developing country and how these factors impact usage of the systems. The study focused on Ugandan universities because at the time of the study, Ugandan government was in the process of embarking on a project of implementing a common finance information systems platform for all public universities in the country. This was after government’s realization of a problem of non presentation of budgets to parliament for appropriation by various public universities, insufficient disclosure of internally generated funds, poor book keeping, and lack of standardisation in accounting policies, financial reporting and the classification of accounts.The study was conducted in three phases using a mixed methods approach. The first phase was exploratory in its setting and it was done to purposely find out factors that probably influence the implementation of finance information systems in a university setup. The study was carried out on a finance information system implementation that was done in Makerere University in Uganda between 2004 and 2007. Data was collected through interviews from people identified as key informants in relation to the implementation. Abreast with results from this study, the investigation was extended to a wider population that included seven universities in order to first of all establish whether the findings in the exploratory study could be galvanized, and secondly to find out the impact of the found factors on usage of the systems. Data was collected through a quantitative survey and the respondents comprised of accountants in the seven universities investigated.Finally, a third phase of the study was conducted to essentially find out circumstances in which the identified factors impact FIS usage. Nine factors were found to have influence on the finance information systems implementation in the Ugandan universities. These nine factors were merged into four broad factors and out of these four, three were found to have significant impact on usage of the systems. (Less)
A novel POU domain protein which binds to the T-cell receptor beta enhancer

POU domain proteins have been implicated in the regulation of a number of lineage-specific genes. Among the first POU domain proteins described were the immunoglobulin octamer-binding proteins Oct-1 and Oct-2. It was therefore of special interest when we identified a novel lymphoid POU domain protein in Southwestern (DNA-protein) screens of T-cell lambda gt11 libraries. This novel POU protein, TCF beta 1, binds in a sequence-specific manner to a critical motif in the T-cell receptor (TCR) beta enhancer. Sequence analysis revealed that TCF beta 1 represents a new class of POU domain proteins which are distantly related to other POU proteins. TCF beta 1 is encoded by multiple exons whose organization is distinct from that of other POU domain proteins. The expression of TCF beta 1 in a tissue-restricted manner and its ability to bind to multiple motifs in the TCR beta enhancer support a role in regulating TCR beta gene expression. The expression of TCF beta 1 in both B and T cells and the ability of recombinant TCF beta 1 to bind octamer and octamer-related motifs suggest that TCF beta 1 has additional roles in lymphoid cell function. The ability of TCF beta 1 to transactivate in a sequence-specific manner is consistent with a role for regulating lymphoid gene expression.
The Src Family Kinases Hck and Fgr Regulate Neutrophil Responses to N-Formyl-Methionyl-Leucyl-Phenylalanine1

The chemotactic peptide formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenilalanine (fMLP) triggers intracellular protein tyrosine phosphorylation leading to neutrophil activation. Deficiency of the Src family kinases Hck and Fgr have previously been found to regulate fMLP-induced degranulation. In this study, we further investigate fMLP signaling in hck−/−fgr−/− neutrophils and find that they fail to activate a respiratory burst and display reduced F-actin polymerization in response to fMLP. Additionally, albeit migration of both hck−/−fgr−/− mouse neutrophils and human neutrophils incubated with the Src family kinase inhibitor 4-amino-5-(4-chlorophenyl)-7-(t-butyl)pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidine (PP2) through 3-μm pore size Transwells was normal, deficiency, or inhibition, of Src kinases resulted in a failure of neutrophils to migrate through 1-μm pore size Transwells. Among MAPKs, phosphorylation of ERK1/2 was not different, phosphorylation of p38 was only partially affected, and phosphorylation of JNK was markedly decreased in fMLP-stimulated hck−/−fgr−/− neutrophils and in human neutrophils incubated with PP2. An increase in intracellular Ca2+ concentration and phosphorylation of Akt/PKB occurred normally in fMLP-stimulated hck−/−fgr−/− neutrophils, indicating that activation of both phosphoinositide-specific phospholipase C and PI3K is independent of Hck and Fgr. In contrast, phosphorylation of the Rho/Rac guanine nucleotide exchange factor Vav1 and the Rac target p21-activated kinases were markedly reduced in both hck−/−fgr−/− neutrophils and human neutrophils incubated with a PP2. Consistent with these findings, PP2 inhibited Rac2 activation in human neutrophils. We suggest that Hck and Fgr act within a signaling pathway triggered by fMLP receptors that involves Vav1 and p21-activated kinases, leading to respiratory burst and F-actin polymerization.
A minipool process for solvent–detergent treatment of cryoprecipitate at blood centres using a disposable bag system

Background and Objectives Single‐donor or small‐pool cryoprecipitates are produced by blood establishments, mostly in developing countries, for substitute therapy in haemophilia A, von Willebrand disease and fibrinogen deficiency, as well as for the manufacture of fibrin sealant. As cryoprecipitate may be contaminated with pathogenic plasma‐borne viruses, there is an urgent need to develop a simple method for the viral inactivation of cryoprecipitate.