Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Safety and efficacy of quinupristin/dalfopristin for treatment of invasive Gram-positive infections in pediatric patients

Background. Antibiotic-resistant Gram-positive pathogens are an increasingly common cause of serious pediatric infections. Although quinupristin/dalfopristin demonstrates favorable activity in vitro against resistant Gram-positive pathogens (including many vancomycin-resistant E. faecium and methicillin-resistant staphylococci), published experience in the pediatric patient population is limited. Methods. We retrospectively analyzed data from the global quinupristin/dalfopristin Emergency-Use Program, which enrolled patients with serious Gram-positive infections who had no further therapy options because of resistance to, failure on or intolerance to standard antibiotic treatments. Our subset included safety and efficacy data from pediatric patients (age <18 years). There were no restrictions on underlying diseases, severity of illness or prior/concomitant antimicrobial use. Results. Between May 1995 and October 1999, 127 pediatric patients with 131 infections were enrolled. Microbiologic confirmation of etiology was available in 124 patients. All patients had 1 or more concomitant conditions, including malignancy and solid organ or bone marrow transplantation. The most frequent causative pathogens were vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (80%), Enterococcus spp. (7%), methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (6%) and Staphylococcus epidermidis (4%). All but 21 patients received intravenous quinupristin/dalfopristin 7.5 mg/kg every 8 h. The favorable clinical response rate of quinupristin/dalfopristin was 86 of 124 (69%); the favorable microbiologic response rate was 97 of 124 (78%). Eleven patients (8%) had nonvenous adverse events classified as possibly or probably related to quinupristin/dalfopristin. Conclusions. Quinupristin/dalfopristin demonstrated favorable response rates and was reasonably well-tolerated in pediatric patients with serious Gram-positive infections unable to receive alternative therapy. In our opinion quinupristin/dalfopristin is a therapeutic option for the management of such infections.
Investor Sentiment and the Near-Term Stock Returns: Evidence from Chinese Stock Market

Using a vector autoregression (VAR) model, we study how investor sentiment and near-term stock returns interact each other. We find that both past market returns and sentiment are important determinants of investor sentiment. Sentiment has predictive power for near-term future stock returns. Our results suggest asset pricing models should consider the role of investor sentiment. In addition, our evidence does not support the conventional wisdom that sentiment primarily affects small stocks and extreme growth stocks, on the contrary, it appears that the stronger relationship exist between investor sentiment and large-cap value stocks in China A-share market.
Modification of Airfoils Using Gurney Flaps: A Review

Overall performance of an aircraft depends on its lift to drag ratio. Better lift to drag ratio results in better performance of an aircraft. Better lift to drag ratio is also necessary to reduce the operating cost. The fuel consumption can be reduced by improving lift to drag ratio. In order to improve this lift to drag ratio researchers try to modify the basic unit of an airplanes wing for many years. The basic unit of an airplanes wing is termed as airfoil. It is the cross section of airplanes wing. Different types of modification on airfoil are performed in order to increase its performance. Some of the examples of airfoils surface modification are vortex generators, multiple winglets, flaps, dimples etc. In this present article a special type of modification named as Gurney flap which is attached to the airfoils trailing edge to improve the overall performance will be discussed. Different experimentations both experimental and numerical have been performed by several researchers around the world to identify the effect of Gurney flaps. In this present study an attempt is taken to sum up all of those experimentations.
Periurethral Cleaning Prior to Urinary Catheterization in Children: Sterile Water versus 10% Povidone-Iodine

Objective. To compare urinary infection rate in children cleaned with sterile water versus a 10% povidone-iodine before bladder catheterization. Methods. Prospective randomized controlled study of children requiring bladder catheterization in the emergency department whose parents consented to the study were randomly assigned to either of 2 groups, in which sterile water (the “sterile water” group) or 10% povidone-iodine (the “10% povidone-iodine” group) was to be used for peri-urethral cleansing prior to catheterization. Results. The sterile water group had 92 patients and the povidone-iodine group had 94. Most children (87%) were under 12 months of age. Urine cultures were positive in 16% of children in the povidone-iodine group and in 18% in the water group. There was no significant difference in signs and symptoms between the 2 groups. There was no significant association between solution preparation and cultures on univariate regression analysis. Conclusions. Cleaning the periurethral area of children with sterile water prior to catheterization is not inferior to cleaning with povidone-iodine.
IDENTIFICATION OF THE KEY FACTORS FOR ACCURATE LIFE-CYCLE COST ESTIMATION FOR CONSTRUCTION

A major limitation of Life-Cycle Cost (LCC) estimation/prediction modelling is the current typical reliance only on those factors that can be readily quantified and come easily to hand. While estimation of the cost of the most common labor, material and plant resources receive consideration because of their high visibility factor, there are several non-cost factors (low visibility factors) affecting the estimate that are often overlooked and, it is argued here, require equal consideration in estimation processes that seek optimum accuracy. Unfortunately, such (low-visibility) factors are neglected or ignored by current prediction models. Identification of these non-cost factors (low visibility factors) affects LCC estimate accuracy and can improve estimation process confidence. This paper critically reviews secondary research on identification of these important non-cost factors and subsequently determines their influence on the accuracy level(s) of construction cost estimation.
On the Evolution From Micrometer-Scale Inhomogeneity to Global Overheated Structure During the Intense Joule Heating of a z-Pinch Rod

Ultrafast optical microscopy of metal z-pinch rods pulsed with megaampere current is contributing new data and critical insight into what provides the fundamental seed for the magneto-Rayleigh–Taylor (MRT) instability. A two-frame near infrared/visible intensified-charge-coupled device gated imager with 2-ns temporal resolution and 3-<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu \text{m}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> spatial resolution captured emissions from the nonuniformly Joule heated surfaces of ultrasmooth aluminum (Al) rods. Nonuniform surface emissions are consistently first observed from discrete, 10-<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu \text{m}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> scale, subelectronvolt spots. Aluminum 6061 alloy, with micrometer-scale nonmetallic resistive inclusions, forms several times more spots than 99.999% pure Al 5N; 5–10 ns later, azimuthally stretched elliptical spots and distinct strata (40–100 <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu \text{m}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> wide by 10 <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu \text{m}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> tall) are observed on Al 6061, but not on Al 5N. Such overheat strata, which are aligned parallel to the magnetic field, are highly effective seeds for MRT instability growth. These data give credence to the hypothesis that early nonuniform Joule heating, such as the electrothermal instability, may provide the dominant seed for MRT.
Speed of Improved Maize Seed Adoption by Smallholders Farmers in Southwestern Ethiopia: Analysis Using the Count Data Models

The use of improved maize seed is being promoted in Ethiopia as one of the agricultural extension packages to support smallholder agricultural production. Despite the important role adoption of improved maize seed plays in maize productivity, very few studies have been conducted to analyze the factors influencing their speed of adoption rate. This study analyses the determinants of speed of latest improved maize seed adoption rate using data from a cross-sectional smallholder maize producer in Southwestern Ethiopia. Poisson and Negative binomial models of the count regression model, the latter found to best fit the data, are used for the analysis. The results show that age of the household, extension service, proximity to development center, livestock holding, cooperative membership, use of mobile-cell phone, played an important role in the speed of adoption of improved maize seed among smallholder producers’.
Inverse circuit simulation based low-frequency noise extraction in SiGe HBTs

Transistor low-frequency noise is an important issue in both base hand and RF circuits of a wireless transceiver [I]. In a bipolar transistor, the major low-frequency noise source lies in the base current. Experimentally, it bas been established that this hase current noise source is located between the internal base and emitter nodes in an equivalent circuit [I]. This base current low-frequency noise, denoted as ibn. is often measured indirectly from the collector voltage noise by presenting to the transistor base a Source impedance much greater than the input impedance, as shown in Fig. 1. The measured collector voltage noise is converted to collector current noise using SI, = SVc/Ri,e88' which is then converted to the base current noise using SI , = . Y ~ ~ / f l , $ with Bo, being the low-frequency small signal oc current gain. Bo, is often determined from Gummel characteristics measured under a biasing condition close to that used in the noise measurement. We note that the hase current noise can also be measured "dtrectly" from the base using a high precision current amplifier with an input impedance much lower than transistor input impedance. Each method has its advantages and disadvantages in practice, as discussed in [I] . In general, the indirect method is easier to implement, and widely used. We focus on the indirect method in this work. Similar limitations and assumptions exist in the "direct" measurement method as well. The widely used conventional measurement method, however, is based on a simplified equivalent circuit derived under isothermal condition. While in modem SiGe HBTs, self-heating can be significant, in part due to high operating current density. To enable high current density operation, the collector doping is increased with device scaling, which then increases collector-base junction field and thus avalanche multiplication. One can therefore expect errors in the low-frequency noise measured using the conventional method in high speed SiGe HBTs. The purpose of this work is to develop a new method -
The US-Canada Border Effect: Evidence from Online Commerce

How do national borders affect trade? We examine the US-Canada border effect using a large, proprietary dataset from Google, which covers search, advertising, and e-commerce for a wide variety of economic sectors (particularly trade in services). We document a large, statistically significant US-Canada border effect, even in a setting with relatively low search costs: intranational trade is 6.7 times higher than international trade in our data. We find that a large fraction of the US-Canada border coefficient (about 1/3rd) arises from consumer purchase behavior after arriving on sellers’ online storefronts. The remaining 2/3rds appears in arrival rates on sellers’ websites. We also find a strong border effect in virtual goods and downloadable products which do not require shipping, as well as business-to-consumer trades in final goods (rather than intermediate goods). When we disaggregate our data by economic sector, we find widely varying border effects. The sectors with the highest US-Canada border effects feature services whose consumption is tied to particular location and goods that face large regulatory and bureaucratic hurdles at the border. JEL Classification: F10, L86, F02. ∗Authors are listed in alphabetical order. The authors thank Google for sharing the data used in this paper. We also thank Avinash Dixit, Keith Head, Colin Hottman, Beata Javorcik, Bertin Martens, Marc Melitz, Dennis Novy, Ferdinand Rauch, Andrés Rodrı́guez-Clare, Tony Venables, Pierre-Louis Vézina, Noam Yuchtman, and seminar participants at Oxford, the European Trade Study Group, the European Commission and the 2017 AEA “Information Friction and International Trade” session for helpful comments. Dorobantu acknowledges financial support from the Economic and Social Research Council. Cowgill: bo.cowgill@columbia.edu. Dorobantu: cosmina@gmail.com.
The Competitive Transport Inhibitor L‐trans‐pyrrolidine‐2,4‐dicarboxylate Triggers Excitotoxicity in Rat Cortical Neuron‐Astrocyte Co‐cultures via Glutamate Release rather than Uptake Inhibition

We studied the early and late effects of L‐trans‐pyrrolidine‐2,4‐dicarboxylate (PDC), a competitive inhibitor of glutamate uptake with low affinity for glutamate receptors, in co‐cultures of rat cortical neurons and glia expressing spontaneous excitatory amino acid (EAA) neurotransmission. At 100 or 200 μM, PDC induced different patterns of electrical changes: 100 μM prolonged tetrodotoxin‐sensitive excitation triggered by synaptic glutamate release; 200 μM produced sustained, tetrodotoxin‐insensitive and EAA‐mediated neuronal depolarization, overwhelming synaptic activity. At 200 μM, but not at 100 μM, PDC caused rapid elevation of the glutamate concentration ([Glu]0) in the culture medium, resulting in NMDA receptor‐mediated excitotoxic death of neurons 24 h later. The increase in [Glu]0 was largely insensitive to tetrodotoxin, independent of extracellular Ca2+, and present also in astrocyte‐pure cultures. By the use of glutamate transporters functionally reconstituted in liposomes, we showed directly that PDC activates carrier‐mediated release of glutamate via heteroexchange. Glutamate release and delayed neurotoxicity in our cultures were suppressed if PDC was applied in a Na+‐free medium containing Li+. However, replacement of Na+ with choline instead of Li+ did not result in an identical effect, suggesting that Li+ does not act simply as an external Na+ substitute. In conclusion, our data indicate that alteration of glutamate transport by PDC has excitotoxic consequences and that active release of glutamate rather than just uptake inhibition is responsible for the generation of neuronal injury.
Azithromycin in an Older Woman With Diabetic Gastroparesis

Diabetic neuropathy is a common chronic complication of diabetes and cause of significant morbidity and mortality, because it may involve the autonomous and peripheral nervous systems. Autonomic diabetic neuropathy is a challenging chronic complication of long-standing diabetes manifested with hypotension, syncope, gastroparesis, diarrhea, constipation, bladder dysfunction, sexual dysfunction, cardiac arrest, and/or sudden death. We present a case of diabetic gastroparesis in an older woman. The patient was an 83-year-old woman with a 40-year history of type 2 diabetes who was admitted with hypoglycemia, malnutrition, persistent vomiting, and obstinate constipation. After several unsuccessful attempts with different therapies, we administered intravenous azithromycin (500 mg/day). After 3 days of treatment, vomiting was resolved and the patient evacuated normal feces, with notable improvement in the general conditions and metabolic control. Because diabetic gastroparesis frequently is difficult to manage clinically and there are few beneficial therapeutic choices available at present, the macrolide antibiotic azithromycin, which has strong prokinetic properties, may be a useful option in the treatment of this complex condition.
Effect of Phosphoric Acid Pretreatment of Corncobs on the Fermentability of Clostridium beijerinckii TISTR 1461 for Biobutanol Production

Corncobs pretreated with H2SO4, HNO3, and H3PO4 were compared to evaluate the fermentation ability of Clostridium beijerinckii TISTR 1461 to produce biobutanol via acetone–butanol–ethanol (ABE) fermentation. It was found that the hydrolysate from H3PO4 pretreatment could be used as a substrate without any inhibitor removal methods. However, in terms of sugar yield, it gave the lowest total sugars in both pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis. Response surface methodology was applied to optimize enzymatic hydrolysis of the pretreated corncobs. The optimized conditions reduced the consumption of enzymes and hydrolysis time to 7.68 FPU/g biomass and 63.88 hr, respectively, and yielded 51.82 g/L reducing sugars. The Celluclast 1.5 L and Novozyme 188 enzyme ratio were varied to maximize the hydrolyzed sugars. The ABE fermentation, using substrate from phosphoric acid pretreatment of corncobs, with 10 g/L glucose supplementation produced 11.64 g/L of total ABE, which was close to the control experiment using synthetic medium. This study showed that corncobs pretreated with phosphoric acid could potentially be used as a substrate without using a detoxification process.
One-Dimensional Numerical Investigation of a Cylindrical Micro-Combustor Applying Electrohydrodynamics Effect

In this paper, a one-dimensional numerical approach is used to study the effect of applying electrohydrodynamics on the temperature and species mass fraction profiles along the microcombustor. Premixed mixture is H2-Air with a multi-step chemistry (9 species and 19 reactions). In the micro-scale combustion because of the increasing ratio of area-to-volume, thermal and radical quenching mechanisms are important. Also, there is a significant heat loss from the combustor walls. By inserting a number of electrodes into micro-combustor and applying high voltage to them corona discharge occurs. This leads in moving of induced ions toward natural molecules and colliding with them. So this phenomenon causes the movement of the molecules and reattaches the flow to the walls. It increases the velocity near the walls that reduces the wall boundary layer. Consequently, applying electrohydrodynamics mechanism can enhance the temperature profile in the microcombustor. Ultimately, it prevents the flame quenching in microcombustor. Keywords—micro-combustor,electrohydrodynamics, temperature profile, wall quenching
Design process of dual-stator, spoke-array vernier permanent magnet machines

Dual-stator, spoke-array vernier permanent magnet (DSSA VPM) machines proposed in the previous paper have been proven to be high-torque density and high-power factor. This paper presents the detailed DSSA VPM machines design process including comparison of different DSSA VPM topologies, analytical sizing equation, geometric size relationship and so on. Besides, some key parameters, such as the ratio of rotor poles to stator poles number, slot opening, magnet thickness etc., are optimized based on the finite element analysis (FEA). The combination of the analytical and FEA methods makes the design process time-saving and reliable. Finally, the design process is validated by the experimental tests on a DSSA VPM prototype.
Creativity and innovation in achieving success in traditional cake businesses

Many factors influence the success of a business, either internal or external factors. This study aims to examine the interrelationship of internal factors in the form of creativity and innovation to the success of the businesses of traditional cake. Using quantitative methods, data was collected through questionnaires to 37 traditional cake entrepreneurs in Kuala Tungkal City, Tanjung Jabung Barat Regency, Jambi Province. Analysis was done by using path analysis. The results show that creativity and innovation both simultaneously and partially have a positive effect on the success of traditional cake businesses. Innovation has more dominant influence than creativity in the success of businesses. From the descriptive analysis it was found that the success of the business in the form of increasing income was not followed by the addition of new customers. Therefore it is recommended for the entrepreneurs to innovate in product, process, place and design to be able to attract new customers.
Learning Disability Subtypes and the Role of Attention During the Naming of Pictures and Words: An Event-Related Potential Analysis

The role of attention in the processing of pictures and words was investigated for a group of normally achieving children and for groups of learning disability subtypes that were defined by deficient performance on tests of reading and spelling (Group RS) and of arithmetic (Group A). An event-related potential (ERP) recording paradigm was employed in which the children were required to attend to and name either pictures or words that were presented individually or in superimposed picture-word arrays that varied in degree of semantic relation. For Group RS, the ERP waves to words, both presented individually or attended in the superimposed array, exhibited reduced N450 amplitude relative to controls, whereas their ERP waves to pictures were normal. This suggests that the word-naming deficiency for Group RS is not a selective attention deficit but rather a specific linguistic deficit that develops at a later stage of processing. In contrast to Group RS and controls, Group A did not exhibit reliable early frontal negative waves (N280) to the superimposed pictures and words, an effect that may reflect a selective attention deficit for these children that develops at an early stage of visuo-spatial processing. These early processing differences were also evident in smaller amplitude N450 waves for Group A when naming either pictures or words in the superimposed arrays.
Sildenafil, nifedipine and acetazolamide do not allow for blood flow through intrapulmonary arteriovenous anastomoses during exercise while breathing 100% oxygen

What is the central question of this study? Compared with exercise while breathing room air, blood flow through intrapulmonary arteriovenous anastomoses during exercise while breathing 100% O2 is prevented/reduced, presumably due to vasoconstriction of these vessels. We sought to investigate the effect of sildenafil, nifedipine and acetazolamide, which are known modulators of pulmonary vascular tone, on the hyperoxia‐induced reduction in blood flow through intrapulmonary arteriovenous anastomoses during exercise. What is the main finding and its importance? We show that,independently, sildenafil, nifedipine and acetazolamide do not prevent the hyperoxia‐induced reduction in blood flow through intrapulmonary arteriovenous anastomoses during exercise. These data provide the first insight into the regulation of intrapulmonary arteriovenous anastomoses during exercise while breathing 100% O2.