Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sexual abuse in bariatric surgery candidates – impact on weight loss after surgery: a systematic review

Bariatric surgery is becoming more and more influential as efficient weight loss therapy for the morbidly obese. As many studies propose a relationship between sexual abuse and obesity in general, but especially with regard to weight regain after successful weight loss, sexual abuse might also have a crucial impact on the outcome of the surgical procedures. This review examines the literature comparing weight loss after bariatric surgery in sexually abused and non‐abused individuals. We conducted a systematic electronic literature search covering PubMed/Medline, ScienceDirect, PsychInfo and Web of Science. While 13 studies examined prevalence rates of sexual abuse among bariatric patients, eight studies explicitly investigated the effect of sexual abuse on surgery outcome. We hypothesized that individuals with a history of sexual abuse lose less weight compared to individuals with no such abuse history. At first glance, only three out of eight studies demonstrated significantly reduced weight loss in the sexually abused patients. However, a closer investigation of all studies revealed that patients with abuse experiences may indeed tend to lose less weight initially. Still, this sub‐population apparently benefits from the surgical procedure, as revealed by increased weight loss over time. Reasons for these mixed results are discussed, as well as the clinical implications that can be drawn from these studies.
Gateway® recombinational cloning: a biological operating system

The Gateway® cloning system sets a new trend in molecular biology by addressing the difficulties of adaptability, efficiency and compatibility of the traditional cloning approaches. Based on the well-characterized site-specific recombination system of phage lambda, the Gateway® technology allows the cloning, combining and transferring of DNA segments between different expression platforms in a high-throughput manner while maintaining orientation and the reading frame of the fragment or fragments of interest. In this article, the key-aspects and potential applications of this system are reviewed. Benefits and weaknesses of this and other cloning technologies are discussed.
Simple inoculum standardizing system for antimicrobial disk susceptibility tests

A collaborative study was undertaken to evaluate a simple, convenient device which expedites inoculum standardization for antimicrobial disk susceptibility tests. The Inocupac system (Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing [3M] Co., St. Paul, Minn.) was used to perform disk tests in parallel with the standard Bauer-Kirby method. Five investigators tested 100 selected isolates, each in triplicate. Inter- and intralaboratory precision of both disk procedures was essentially comparable. The Inocupac system failed to consistently provide satisfactory growth with some streptococci, but when testing common gram-negative bacilli, staphylococci, and most enterococci, the Inocupac system gave zones about the same size (+/-2 mm) as the Bauer-Kirby procedure. Interpretive agreement between the two test systems varied from 90 to 99% with different antimicrobial agents, and repeated tests with the Bauer-Kirby method demonstrated the same degree of interpretive agreement. The Inocupac system is a valid alternative method for inoculating disk susceptibility tests.
Native nephrectomy in transplant patients with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease.

INTRODUCTION This study examined the clinical indications and timing for native nephrectomy (NN), together with the associated pathological findings in transplant patients with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) at our institute over a period of 20 years. METHODS A retrospective review was performed of ADPKD patients who had undergone both kidney transplantation and NN. Patients were identified from the kidney transplant database between 1988 and 2008 at Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital and the notes reviewed. All NN specimens were re-reviewed and reported according to current guidelines. RESULTS There were 157 kidney transplants performed for ADPKD (114 cadaveric and 43 living donor). Of these, 31 required NN (28 bilateral). The timing of NN was pre-transplant in 10 cases, at the time of the transplant in 1 case and post-transplant in 20 cases. The indications for NN were urinary tract infection (n=14, 45%), pain (n=12, 39%), tumour suspicion (n=3, 10%), haematuria (n=1, 3%) and space (n=1, 3%). Mortality in this NN series was 3%, with a 65% surgical morbidity rate. The length of hospital stay post-NN was significantly longer with open compared with laparoscopic techniques (p=0.003). There were two renal cell carcinomas (RCCs) in this series. Both patients presented with macroscopic haematuria (bilateral pT1a papillary RCCs in one case and a pT3b clear cell RCC in the other case). The incidence of RCC in this series of ADPKD transplant patients was 1.3%. CONCLUSIONS We have demonstrated that the majority of ADPKD patients do not require NN, with only 20% of our series undergoing this procedure. The timing of NN is variable and dictated by indication. NN was only required to make space for transplantation in one case (combined kidney and pancreas transplant). The main indications for NN were recurrent infection and pain, where NN can provide a successful outcome. Laparoscopic NN can be performed safely in patients with ADPKD. Haematuria in such patients should not be assumed to be of benign origin and requires exclusion of urinary tract malignancy as the incidence of RCC in this population is at least as common as in the general population.
Engineering of yeast hexose transporters to transport d-xylose without inhibition by d-glucose

Significance Besides d-glucose, d-xylose is the second most abundant sugar present in lignocellulosic biomass that is regarded as a renewable feedstock for biotechnological production of fuels and chemicals. Simultaneous consumption of both sugars—a prerequisite for economically feasible bioconversions—has primarily been prevented by one impediment: all known d-xylose transporters are competitively inhibited by d-glucose. Using a growth-based screening platform, we could identify two positions in yeast hexose transporters Hxt7 and Gal2 that can be mutated to yield glucose-insensitive xylose transporters. One of the positions is conserved among the hexose transporter family members, which opens the possibility to transfer our findings to other biotechnologically relevant organisms. This work will also significantly contribute to the understanding of sugar-transport mechanisms. All known d-xylose transporters are competitively inhibited by d-glucose, which is one of the major reasons hampering simultaneous fermentation of d-glucose and d-xylose, two primary sugars present in lignocellulosic biomass. We have set up a yeast growth-based screening system for mutant d-xylose transporters that are insensitive to the presence of d-glucose. All of the identified variants had a mutation at either a conserved asparagine residue in transmembrane helix 8 or a threonine residue in transmembrane helix 5. According to a homology model of the yeast hexose transporter Gal2 deduced from the crystal structure of the d-xylose transporter XylE from Escherichia coli, both residues are found in the same region of the protein and are positioned slightly to the extracellular side of the central sugar-binding pocket. Therefore, it is likely that alterations sterically prevent d-glucose but not d-xylose from entering the pocket. In contrast, changing amino acids that are supposed to directly interact with the C6 hydroxymethyl group of d-glucose negatively affected transport of both d-glucose and d-xylose. Determination of kinetic properties of the mutant transporters revealed that Gal2-N376F had the highest affinity for d-xylose, along with a moderate transport velocity, and had completely lost the ability to transport hexoses. These transporter versions should prove valuable for glucose–xylose cofermentation in lignocellulosic hydrolysates by Saccharomyces cerevisiae and other biotechnologically relevant organisms. Moreover, our data contribute to the mechanistic understanding of sugar transport because the decisive role of the conserved asparagine residue for determining sugar specificity has not been recognized before.
The role of residue S139 of mandelate racemase: synergistic effect of S139 and E317 on transition state stabilization

Mandelate racemase (MR) from Pseudomonas putida catalyzes the specific carbon–hydrogen bond cleavage of carbon acids with high pK a values. To further explore the catalytic mechanism of MR, “hot spots” contributing to transition state (TS) stabilization were identified by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. MD simulations of MR with mandelic acid interpreted S139 in the active site cavity formed a hydrogen bond (HB) with one carboxyl oxygen of mandelate which also interacts with E317 through HB. Mutation of S139A by site-directed mutagenesis led to a significant reduction of catalytic efficiency ( ) about 45-fold and 60-fold in R → S and S → R directions, indicating the significance of Ser139 in mandelate racemization. MD of mutant S139A with mandelic acid efficiently provided insight for the decreased value and clearly demonstrated the synergistic effect of S139 and E317 on the stabilization of substrate at ground/TS.
Tolerance of pollination networks to species extinctions

Mutually beneficial interactions between flowering plants and animal pollinators represent a critical ‘ecosystem service’ under threat of anthropogenic extinction. We explored probable patterns of extinction in two large networks of plants and flower visitors by simulating the removal of pollinators and consequent loss of the plants that depend upon them for reproduction. For each network, we removed pollinators at random, systematically from least–linked (most specialized) to most–linked (most generalized), and systematically from most– to least–linked. Plant species diversity declined most rapidly with preferential removal of the most–linked pollinators, but declines were no worse than linear. This relative tolerance to extinction derives from redundancy in pollinators per plant and from nested topology of the networks. Tolerance in pollination networks contrasts with catastrophic declines reported from standard food webs. The discrepancy may be a result of the method used: previous studies removed species from multiple trophic levels based only on their linkage, whereas our preferential removal of pollinators reflects their greater risk of extinction relative to that of plants. In both pollination networks, the most–linked pollinators were bumble–bees and some solitary bees. These animals should receive special attention in efforts to conserve temperate pollination systems.
Sigmapoint Approach for Robust Optimization of Nonlinear Dynamic Systems

Mathematical models describing dynamic processes contain parametric uncertainties. Robust model-based optimization thus becomes a challenging task in process engineering. Current approaches either require high computational effort or they make use of oversimplified approximations that do not capture changes in the solution structure due to nonlinear effects of the uncertain parameters on the states of the process. In this paper we propose an improved optimization approach that uses sigmapoints to characterize the space of uncertain parameters. Propagating sigmapoints through the process model and directly using them in the optimization problem allows to capture relevant nonlinearities for the uncertain parameters. Main advantages of this simple yet elegant approach are the relatively low computational burden and the independence from the optimizer, as no further derivatives are needed. The approach is applied to two examples from process engineering, a batch distillation and a semibatch reactor.
Intelligent control and adaptive control for interacting system

Level is one of the important parameters to be controlled in process control systems, irrigation and in industries. The process industries require liquids to be pumped, stored in tanks and then pumped to another tank. In agriculture, the level of the water must be controlled for irrigation in order to protect the plants. Always level of fluids in tanks must be controlled and the flow between tanks must be regulated. This is a laborious process and involves immense time and patience. So the paper has been taken up to make it an efficient process. This paper presents about the level control of the interacting system using PID control, neuro control and non-linear transformation control. First, the single tank (SISO) process is modeled and the level is controlled. Next, the interacting system with multiple input and multiple output (MIMO) process is taken and the levels in the two tanks are controlled. Because of the interactions, the levels of the two tanks are varied and there is a need for decoupler to minimize the interactions. The controller design is divided into two parts: firstly, a decoupling matrix is designed in order to minimize the interaction effects. Then, the controller design is obtained for the process + decoupler block. The reason is to meet design specifications for each loop independently. The modeling and controlling design is done using MATLAB R2008b tool box. So, with the help of conventional control, neural control and adaptive control the levels in the tanks are maintained as well as the interacting loops in the process is rendered non-interacting by the use of decouplers. The result shows that, neural controller replaces two PID controllers & two decouplers whereas adaptive controller is designed directly for the nonlinear process which minimizes the time very well.
Psychometric Development of the Iceland-Family Perceived Support Questionnaire (ICE-FPSQ)

Valid and reliable instruments are needed to measure how family members perceive support from nurses when a family member is experiencing serious illness. The purpose of this article is to describe the development and psychometric testing of a new instrument, the Iceland-Family Perceived Support Questionnaire (ICE-FPSQ). The concepts in the original version of the ICE-FPSQ (suggesting 24 items and 4 categories) were developed from the Calgary Family Intervention Model. In the first phase of the instrument construction, 179 family members answered the original ICE-FPSQ, and 236 answered the questionnaire in the second phase of testing. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) reduced the original questionnaire to 21 items. Cronbach’s α = . 959 explained 68% of the total variance, with three factors emerging: (a) emotional support (α = .925), (b) recognition of families’ strengths (α = .926), and (c) cognitive support (α = .841). Confirmatory Factor Analyses (CFA) resulted in a final version of the questionnaire containing 14 items with total alpha of . 961 and two factors: (a) cognitive support (α = .881) and (b) emotional support (α = .952). The instrument measures family’s perceptions of support provided by nurses and will be helpful in examining the usefulness of family nursing interventions.
What's the Use of Guidebooks in the Age of Collaborative Media? Empirical Evaluation of Free and Commercial Travel Information

The success of the collaboratively created encyclopaedia Wikipedia has already questioned the model of strict separation between professional content authors and readers. Distributed content creation using digital media promises faster updates, more opinions and expertise and large amounts of information produced at virtually no cost. But virtual communities on the Internet have long been offering an additional benefit: information in discussion spaces is tailored to a specific information need. However, there is a lack of empirical data about information quality provided by virtual communities. We present a design to assess information completeness of two media using independent evaluators. The design is applied to compare guidebooks with virtual communities about travelling. The results show that information completeness of virtual communities is up to popular guidebooks.
Vertical features of yellow rust infestation on winter wheat using hyperspectral imaging measurements

Yellow (stripe) rust Puccinia striiformis has caused severe losses on wheat in yield and grain quality in China. As the largest land area devoted to wheat production, China has also the largest area prone to yellow rust epidemics. Traditionally, the disease assessment was visually investigated in the field by experienced farmers or pathologists. The emergency of hyperspectral measurements has distinct advantages over conventional visual inspection, and they can collect the information repeatedly and automatically. In comparison with the hyperspectral measurements using a non-imaging spectrometer, the spectral and imaging features of pure yellow rust spores can be simultaneously collected. The study on monitoring the vertical features of yellow rust infestation on winter wheat was performed using ground-based imaging spectrometer. The results show that the infection severities generally show a gradual increasing trend from F-1 (F=Flag leaf) to F-3, while the relative chlorophyll shows an inverse change. The spectral reflectance gradually increases from F-1 to F-3 in the visible spectral region, while it is the very reverse in the near-infrared (NIR) region.
Meta-Analysis of Arabidopsis thaliana Phospho-Proteomics Data Reveals Compartmentalization of Phosphorylation Motifs[C][W]

Synopsis A meta-analysis of MS-based phospho-proteome data sets for Arabidopsis of (non)photosynthetic tissue types and cell cultures resulted in an assembly of 60,366 p-peptides matching to 8141 proteins. Observed subcellular compartmentalization of phosphorylation motifs reflects localized kinase activity. Insight is provided into challenges/pitfalls of large-scale phospho-proteomics. Protein (de)phosphorylation plays an important role in plants. To provide a robust foundation for subcellular phosphorylation signaling network analysis and kinase-substrate relationships, we performed a meta-analysis of 27 published and unpublished in-house mass spectrometry–based phospho-proteome data sets for Arabidopsis thaliana covering a range of processes, (non)photosynthetic tissue types, and cell cultures. This resulted in an assembly of 60,366 phospho-peptides matching to 8141 nonredundant proteins. Filtering the data for quality and consistency generated a set of medium and a set of high confidence phospho-proteins and their assigned phospho-sites. The relation between single and multiphosphorylated peptides is discussed. The distribution of p-proteins across cellular functions and subcellular compartments was determined and showed overrepresentation of protein kinases. Extensive differences in frequency of pY were found between individual studies due to proteomics and mass spectrometry workflows. Interestingly, pY was underrepresented in peroxisomes but overrepresented in mitochondria. Using motif-finding algorithms motif-x and MMFPh at high stringency, we identified compartmentalization of phosphorylation motifs likely reflecting localized kinase activity. The filtering of the data assembly improved signal/noise ratio for such motifs. Identified motifs were linked to kinases through (bioinformatic) enrichment analysis. This study also provides insight into the challenges/pitfalls of using large-scale phospho-proteomic data sets to nonexperts.
Development of Oxacillin Resistance in a Patient with Recurrent Staphylococcus aureus Bacteremia

ABSTRACT Whole-genome sequencing was used to compare longitudinal isolates of Staphylococcus aureus that developed resistance to oxacillin (MIC up to 16 μg/ml). The mecA gene was absent. A novel 5-bp TATCC frameshift insertion in a gene encoding an ABC transporter similar to that of the teichoic acid translocation ATP-binding protein TagH and a 3-bp GCT nonframeshift insertion in the pdhA pyruvate dehydrogenase gene were detected in the oxacillin-resistant isolates.
Life detection system using continuous wave Doppler radar and blind source separation

This paper presents the development of a sensitive high frequency life detection technique which makes use of Blind Source Separation to detect the presence of various human subjects. The use of Blind Source Separation allows the detection of multiple subjects at the same time. The system has been extensively tested under simulated conditions and the results have been presented — this system will be extremely helpful in the development of a MIMO system for the detection of multiple human subjects buried under rubble.
Building a Schematic Model: A Blueprint for DNP Students

Doctor of nursing practice students are frequently required to design schematic models to support the theoretical underpinnings of their scholarly projects. However, there is little information in the literature that provides guidance on how to develop a schematic model. The author presents methods and practical suggestions for faculty engaged in advising DNP students in the development of their scholarly projects.
Association between the expression of hormone receptors, Her-2/neu overexpression and tumor characteristics in women with primary breast cancer

Her-2/neu overexpression has been correlated with poor prognostic tumors.The association between breast tumor characteristics and expression of ER, PR, Her-2/neu overexpression, patient's age, tumor size, type and grade were retrospectively evaluated in 226 primary breast cancer referred to Armin pathobiology laboratory in 2005.We found that 21.7% of cases had HER-2/neu overexpression. HER-2/neu overexpression in ER negative cases(28.4%) was higher than ER positive cases(18.4%) and HER-2/neu overexpression in PR negative cases(28.4%) was higher than PR positive cases(18.0%). The frequency of HER-2/neu overexpression decreased from ER-PR-to ER+PR+(30.7% to 18.8%). The frequency of HER-2/neu overexpression decreased significantly(P<0.05) from ER-PR-to ER+PR+(45.5% to 20.5%) in low grade tumors and HER-2/neu overexpression decreased from ER-PR-to ER+PR+(18.8% to 15.4%) in high grade tumors but this difference was not significant(P=0.790). Our results revealed higher proportion of ER-and PR-tumors associated with HER-2/neu overexpression, also younger patients have higher rate of HER-2/neu overexpression