Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Antibiotic therapy for chronic infection with Burkholderia cepacia complex in people with cystic fibrosis.

BACKGROUND Cystic fibrosis (CF) a life-limiting inherited disease affecting a number of organs, but classically associated with chronic lung infection and progressive loss of lung function. Chronic infection by Burkholderia cepacia complex (BCC) is associated with increased morbidity and mortality and therefore represents a significant challenge to clinicians treating people with CF. This review examines the current evidence for long-term antibiotic therapy in people with CF and chronic BCC infection. OBJECTIVES The objective of this review is to assess the effects of long-term oral and inhaled antibiotic therapy targeted against chronic BCC lung infections in people with CF. The primary objective is to assess the efficacy of treatments in terms of improvements in lung function and reductions in exacerbation rate. Secondary objectives include quantifying adverse events, mortality and changes in quality of life associated with treatment. SEARCH METHODS We searched the Cochrane Cystic Fibrosis Trials Register, compiled from electronic database searches and handsearching of journals and conference abstract books. We also searched online trial registries and the reference lists of relevant articles and reviews.Date of last search: 29 May 2019. SELECTION CRITERIA Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of long-term antibiotic therapy in people with CF and chronic BCC infection. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS Two authors independently extracted data, assessed risk of bias and assessed the quality of the evidence using GRADE. MAIN RESULTS We included one RCT (100 participants) which lasted 52 weeks comparing continuous inhaled aztreonam lysine (AZLI) and placebo in a double-blind RCT for 24 weeks, followed by a 24-week open-label extension and a four-week follow-up period. The average participant age was 26.3 years, 61% were male and average lung function was 56.5% predicted.Treatment with AZLI for 24 weeks was not associated with improvement in forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), mean difference 0.91% (95% confidence interval (CI) -3.15 to 4.97) (moderate-quality evidence). The median time to the next exacerbation was 75 days in the AZLI group compared to 51 days in the placebo group, but the difference was not significant (P = 0.27) (moderate-quality evidence). Similarly, the number of participants hospitalised for respiratory exacerbations showed no difference between groups, risk ratio (RR) 0.88 (95% CI 0.53 to 1.45) (moderate-quality evidence). Overall adverse events were similar between groups, RR 1.08 (95% CI 0.98 to 1.19) (moderate-quality evidence). There were no significant differences between treatment groups in relation to mortality (moderate-quality evidence), quality of life or sputum density.In relation to methodological quality, the overall risk of bias in the study was assessed to be unclear to low risk. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS We found insufficient evidence from the literature to determine an effective strategy for antibiotic therapy for treating chronic BCC infection.
A Color Distance Model Based on Visual Recognition

In computer vision, Euclidean Distance is generally used to measure the color distance between two colors. And how to deal with illumination change is still an important research topic. However, our evaluation results demonstrate that Euclidean Distance does not perform well under illumination change. Since human eyes can recognize similar or irrelevant colors under illumination change, a novel color distance model based on visual recognition is proposed. First, we find that various colors are distributed complexly in color spaces. We propose to divide the HSV space into three less complex subspaces, and study their specific distance models. Then a novel hue distance is modeled based on visual recognition, and the chromatic distance model is proposed in line with our visual color distance principles. Finally, the gray distance model and the dark distance model are studied according to the natures of their subspaces, respectively. Experimental results show that the proposed model outperforms Euclidean Distance and the related methods and achieves a good distance measure against illumination change. In addition, the proposed model obtains good performance for matching patches of pedestrian images. The proposed model can be applied to image segmentation, pedestrian reidentification, visual tracking, and patch or superpixel-based tasks.
The role of local ecological knowledge in sustainable urban planning: perspectives from Finland

Abstract paper This is a study of the role of local ecological knowledge (LEK) as lay-expert knowledge in the urban land use planning process in Finland. The research addresses the importance of LEK, and the ways LEK is obtained and used. To obtain data, planning officials, biologists, and representatives of resident and nature associations were interviewed in the Helsinki metropolitan area. The results indicate that LEK exists among nature enthusiast, as well as local residents, and planners can obtain the knowledge in several ways, most notably through networks of knowledgeable key informants and local nature associations. Considering LEK in urban planning is important because it complements scientific ecological data and indicates places important to locals. Some of the challenges of using LEK include collecting it through participatory planning processes, distinguishing it from other information, valuing subjective knowledge, and empowering planning officials to use LEK. To enhance communication between stakeholders, social scientists should be integrated in the planning process. Furthermore, technical improvements, such as registers of key informants and more efficient use of nature associations’ knowledge, would be useful in applying LEK.
The impact of frailty and sarcopenia on patient outcomes after complex spine surgery.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW Frailty and sarcopenia represent a state of increased fragility and decreased reserve, and both have been associated with worse outcomes after surgery. The present review focuses on the definitions and measurement tools used to assess frailty and sarcopenia in patients with spinal disorder, and the relationships between frailty, sarcopenia, and postoperative outcomes in patients undergoing complex spine surgery. RECENT FINDINGS Complex spine surgery is associated with a high rate of adverse events when using a validated, prospective data collection system. Recent studies have demonstrated that patients with spine surgery with frailty and sarcopenia have a higher risk of adverse events, although this relationship varies depending on the measurement tool and specific population studied. Both general and specific frailty assessment tools have been used in the spine surgery population, however the optimal tool is not known. Spinal disorders such as lumbar stenosis contribute to the frailty phenotype, and may be reversible with surgery. SUMMARY Frailty and sarcopenia are increasingly recognized as important predictors of adverse outcomes after complex spine surgery. The optimal tool to measure frailty and sarcopenia in patients with spinal disorders remains unclear, and the role of surgery as an intervention to reverse frailty requires further investigation.
Parent Psychological Distress: A Moderator of Behavioral Health Intervention Outcomes among Justice-Involved Adolescents.

We examined whether pre-existing parent psychological distress moderated juvenile offenders' substance use, sexual risk, and mental health outcomes in a randomized trial. Forty-seven parent-adolescent dyads received either Family-based Affect Management Intervention (FAMI) for adolescent substance use and HIV prevention or adolescent-only Health Promotion Intervention (HPI). Parents' self-reported distress at baseline significantly moderated adolescents' self-reported marijuana use and alcohol use but not other outcomes at 3 months postintervention, producing crossover interactions. FAMI outperformed HPI when parents reported high-level distress, whereas HPI outperformed FAMI when parents reported low-level distress. This finding that the relative efficacy of interventions depends on the severity of parent psychological distress could inform efforts to match substance-using, justice-involved adolescents with the intervention most likely to benefit them.
Enhanced Tribological Properties of Polymer Composite Coating Containing Graphene at Room and Elevated Temperatures

To improve the tribology properties of the polymer coating under elevated temperature, the epoxy coating was reinforced with nano graphene. The micro-hardness, heat conductivity, and thermo-gravimetric properties of the coating were enhanced as filled graphene. The friction and wear properties of the polymer coating were studied using a pin-on-disc tribo-meter under room and elevated temperatures. The results showed that under room temperature, the friction coefficient and the wear rate of the coating adding 4.0 wt % graphene was 80% and 76% lower than that of the neat epoxy coating, respectively. As the test temperature increased, the friction coefficient of the graphene/polymer coatings decreased at first and then slightly increased. The friction coefficient was at its lowest value under 150 °C and then increased as the temperature rose to 200 °C. By adding 4.0 wt % graphene, the friction coefficient and wear rate of the polymer coating were further reduced, especially at elevated temperatures.
Quantifying the Training-Intensity Distribution in Middle-Distance Runners: The Influence of Different Methods of Training-Intensity Quantification.

PURPOSE To compare the training-intensity distribution (TID) across an 8-wk training period in a group of highly trained middle-distance runners employing 3 different methods of training-intensity quantification. METHODS Fourteen highly trained middle-distance runners performed an incremental treadmill test to exhaustion to determine the heart rate (HR) and running speed corresponding to the ventilatory thresholds (gas-exchange threshold and respiratory-compensation threshold), as well as fixed rating of perceived exertion (RPE) values, which were used to demarcate 3 training-intensity zones. During the following 8 wk, the TID (total and percentage of time spent in each training zone) of all running training sessions (N = 695) was quantified using continuous running speed, HR monitoring, and RPE. RESULTS Compared with the running-speed-derived TID (zone 1, 79.9% ± 7.3%; zone 2, 5.3% ± 4.9%; zone 3, 14.7% ± 7.3%), HR-demarcated TID (zone 1, 79.6% ± 7.2%; zone 2, 17.0% ± 6.3%; zone 3, 3.4% ± 2.0%) resulted in a substantially higher training time in zone 2 (ES95%CI: -1.64 ± 0.53, P < .001) and lower training time in zone 3 (-1.59 ± 0.51, P < .001). RPE-derived TID (zone 1, 39.6% ± 8.4%; zone 2, 31.9% ± 8.7%; zone 3, 28.5% ± 11.6%) reduced time in zone 1 compared with both HR (-5.64 ± 1.40, P < .001) and running speed (-5.69 ± 1.9, P < .001), while time in RPE training zones 2 and 3 was substantially higher than both HR- and running-speed-derived zones. CONCLUSION The results show that the method of training-intensity quantification substantially affects computation of TID.
AxMemo: Hardware-Compiler Co-Design for Approximate Code Memoization

Historically, continuous improvements in general-purpose processors have fueled the economic success and growth of the IT industry. However, the diminishing benefits from transistor scaling and conventional optimization techniques necessitates moving beyond common practices. Approximate computing is one such unconventional technique that has shown promise in pushing the boundaries of general-purpose processing. This paper sets out to employ approximation for processors that are commonly used in cyber-physical domains and may become building blocks of Internet of Things. To this end, we propose AxMemo to exploit the computation redundancy that stems from data similarity in the inputs of code blocks. Such input behavior is prevalent in cyber-physical systems as they deal with real-world data that naturally harbors redundancy. Therefore, in contrast to existing memoization techniques that replace costly floating-point arithmetic operations with limited number of inputs, AxMemo focuses on memoizing blocks of code with potentially many inputs. As such, AxMemo aims to replace long sequences of instructions with a few hash and lookup operations. By reducing the number of dynamic instructions, AxMemo alleviates the von Neumann and execution overheads of passing instructions through the processor pipeline altogether. The challenge AxMemo facing is to provide low-cost hashing mechanisms that can generate rather unique signature for each multi-input combination. To address this challenge, we develop a novel use of Cyclic Redundancy Checking (CRC) to hash the inputs. To increase lookup table hit rate, AxMemo employs a two-level memo-ization lookup, which utilizes small dedicated SRAM and spare storage in the last level cache. These solutions enable AxMemo to efficiently memoize relatively large code regions with variable input sizes and types using the same underlying hardware. Our experiment shows that AxMemo offers 2.64× speedup and 2.58× energy reduction with mere 0.2% of quality loss averaged across ten benchmarks. These benefits come with an area overhead of just 2.1%.
Prevalence of tightness in hip muscles in middle aged Indian men engaging in prolonged desk jobs: A descriptive study

Sedentary lifestyle can lead to various problems like tightness of muscle, decreased joint range of motion and decreased flexibility upsetting daily activities of an individual. People whose job includes prolonged sitting throughout the day like computer professionals or desk workers are more prone to have adaptive changes that can shorten the hip muscles. Complaints of various musculoskeletal discomforts and workrelated stress are common among computer office workers. The aim of this study was to evaluate and screen the middle aged male desk job workers for tightness of muscles around the hip joint. Methodology: 120 IT professionals were selected as per the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The procedure was explained and written consent was taken. Using standard tests for measuring muscle length, three hip muscles: hamstrings, Iliopsoas and piriformis was measured for tightness. Result: out of 120 subjects, 96.7% of them were found out to have tight Hamstrings whereas 83.8% showed tight Iliopsoas and 38% had piriformis tightness. Conclusion: hence it concluded that a majority of desk job professionals could develop tightness in these muscles making them prone to low back pain or other symptoms associated with back or hip in some point of time in their life.
Detection of coronary arteries in contrast-enhanced CT images

Within cardiology, assessing the function of coronary arteries is of vital importance as these arteries supply the heart with oxygenated blood. A method routinely used in this assessment is x-ray computer tomography (CT), where a 3D image of the heart is analyzed by an expert. However, this is a laborious task, and thus it is tempting to automate parts of this process. In this thesis, an automated coronary artery segmentation method is presented. Firstly, the origins of the right coronary artery (RCA) and the left anterior decending artery (LAD) are estimated via a feature-based image registration method. Secondly, an incremental shortest-path algorithm is presented to track the vessels. The segmentation method is evaluated on the public data set of the Rotterdam Coronary Artery Algorithm Evaluation Framework (RCAAEF). Using the training set of the RCAAEF, the average error of estimating the origin of the RCA and LAD is found to be 5 mm. Furthermore, the vessel segmentation is evaluated by tracking the RCA in the training set. The tracking performance is found to be on average 53 % in the framework’s standardized overlap measure (0-100 %, where “100 %” means that the entire segmented vessel is within the radius of the true vessel). The results are worse than that of other methods submitted to the RCAAEF, and potential improvements of the proposed method, such as choice of data-cost function and post-processing options, are discussed.
Ultrastructures of Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus and its damage in huanglongbing (HLB) infected citrus

Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus is not cultured in media and there is insufficient information on the movement of the pathogen in citrus plants. Samples were collected from infected citrus plants grown in Ulu Pakar, Terengganu, Malaysia and they show typical symptoms of the huanglongbing (HLB) disease. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using specific primer pairs of OI1 and OI2c was conducted to assess the presence and to amplify the Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus in infected plants. The samples were then examined under transmission electron microscope for the determination and identification of Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus. The spherical and rod shaped particles of this agent were found in phloem cells. The length of the bacteria ranged from 594.57 to 1368.16 nm (mean 930.09 nm) and its width ranged from 201.68 to 811.15 nm (mean 410.61nm). Cell wall membranes were irregular in shape and were of different thickness. Damage was caused by Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus penetrating through the cell wall and their movement between cells. This study was conducted to confirm the presence of Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus pathogen in citrus plant using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and to identify the cell wall modifications of the phloem.
Are Bigger Banks More Profitable than Smaller Banks

In this study, we apply Panel Threshold Model (Hansen, 1999) to examine whether there is optimal asset scale for interest spread to affect banks' profits. The empirical results demonstrate the existence of three thresholds, which divide banks into four groups into four groups according to asset scale. When asset scales of banks are in the 3rd capital group, banks profit by the widening in loan-deposit interest spread. For the other three groups, however, the relationship between profit and loan-deposit spread is negative. Banks' return on equity (ROE) is positively correlated with net commission income, net invest income, net non-operating income, and net interest income.
Antibacterial Activity of Copper Oxide (CuO) Nanoparticles Biosynthesized by Bacillus sp. FU4: Optimization of Experiment Design

Background: There are several methods for synthesis of metallic nanoparticles (NPs) including chemical, physical and biological process. In this study, Bacillus sp. FU4 was used as biological source for biosynthesis of CuO NPs. Methods: CuO NPs have been prepared by copper sulfate (CuSO4). CuO NPs were formed after oxidation of Cu NPs. Design and analysis of Taguchi experiments (an orthogonal assay and analysis of variance (ANOVA)) carried out by the Qualitek-4 software. Average effect of CuSO4 concentration (0.1, 0.01 and 0.001 M), incubation and culturing time (48, 72, 96 hours) as three controllable factors with three levels were evaluated in CuO NPs biosynthesis. Characterization of CuO NPs was determined by UV-Vis spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infra-red (FT-IR) spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Also, the antimicrobial properties of CuO NPs were investigated using Escherichia coli ATCC 25922 and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 43300 as multidrug resistant (MDR) bacteria. Results: Results: It was evaluated that, NPs size distributions were in the range of 2-41 nm with spherical shapes. The anti-bacterial activities of CuO NPs were measured based on diameter of inhibition zone in disk diffusion tests of NPs dispersed in batch cultures. Two levels of CuSO4 concentrations (0.1 and 0.01M) had antibacterial effect on E.coli (33±0.57 and 6 ±2mm). In the case of S. aureus, there was surprisingly no sign of growth. Conclusion: CuO NPs have antibacterial activity that can be benefit in medicinal aspect for fighting against prominent pathogen bacteria such as E.coli ATCC 25922 and S.aureus ATCC 43300.
Ancient parasitic DNA reveals Toxascaris leonina presence in Final Pleistocene of South America

Abstract Parasitological analysis of coprolites has allowed exploring ecological relationships in ancient times. Ancient DNA analysis contributes to the identification of coprolites and their parasites. Pleistocene mammalian carnivore coprolites were recovered from paleontological and archaeological site Peñas de las Trampas 1.1 in the southern Puna of Argentina. With the aim of exploring ancient ecological relationships, parasitological analysis was performed to one of them, dated to 16 573–17 002 calibrated years BP, with 95.4% probability. Parasite eggs attributed to Toxascaris sp. by morphological characters were isolated. DNA of coprolite and eggs was extracted to molecular identification. Ancient mitochondrial DNA analysis confirmed the zoological origin of the coprolite as Puma concolor and that of parasite eggs as Toxascaris leonina. This is the oldest molecular parasite record worldwide, and it supports the presence of this parasite since the Pleistocene in America. These findings have implications for the biogeographic history of parasites and for the natural history of the region.
The adhesion modulation domain of Caenorhabditis elegans α-catenin regulates actin binding during morphogenesis

Maintaining tissue integrity during epidermal morphogenesis depends on α-catenin, which connects the cadherin complex to F-actin. We show that the adhesion modulation domain (AMD) of Caenorhabditis elegans HMP-1/α-catenin regulates its F-actin–binding activity and organization of junctional–proximal actin in vivo. Deleting the AMD increases F-actin binding in vitro and leads to excess actin recruitment to adherens junctions in vivo. Reducing actin binding through a compensatory mutation in the C-terminus leads to improved function. Based on the effects of phosphomimetic and nonphosphorylatable mutations, phosphorylation of S509, within the AMD, may regulate F-actin binding. Taken together, these data establish a novel role for the AMD in regulating the actin-binding ability of an α-catenin and its proper function during epithelial morphogenesis.
Time Squeezing for Tiny Devices

Dynamic timing slack has emerged as a compelling opportunity for eliminating inefficiency in ultra-low power embedded systems. This slack arises when all the signals have propagated through logic paths well in advance of the clock signal. When it is properly identified, the system can exploit this unused cycle time for energy savings. In this paper, we describe compiler and architecture co-design that opens new opportunities for timing slack that are otherwise impossible. Through cross-layer optimization, we introduce novel mechanisms in the hardware and in the compiler that work together to improve the benefit of circuit-level timing speculation by effectively squeezing time during execution. This approach is particularly well-suited to tiny embedded devices. Our evaluation on a gate-level model of a complete processor shows that our co-design saves (on average) 40.5% of the original energy consumption (additional 16.5% compared to the existing clock scheduling technique) across 13 workloads while retaining transparency to developers.
Development of a Fermentation Medium for Production of Probiotics and their Use in Feed for Laying Hens

The industrial aviculture has being obtaining high growing taxes, mainly in the management of laying hens to eggs production. This growth is result of investments in the research directed to essential factors as diseases control to the maintenance of a good animal health, an adequate and consistent supply of good quality chicken feed and the genetic improvement of the races of laying hens that reflects in the increase of eggs production and also improves the eggs quality (Patterson and Burkholder, 2003; ScholzAhrens et al., 2008). Aiming to elevate the International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 5 Number 6 (2016) pp. 357-369 Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas. com