Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Isolation, antibiogram and pathogenicity of Salmonella spp. recovered from slaughtered food animals in Nagpur region of Central India

Aim: To determine the prevalence, antibiogram and pathogenicity of Salmonella spp. in the common food animals slaughtered for consumption purpose at government approved slaughter houses located in and around Nagpur region during a period of 2010-2012. Materials and Methods: A total of 400 samples comprising 50 each of blood and meat from each slaughtered male cattle, buffaloes, pigs and goats were collected. Isolation was done by pre-enrichment in buffered peptone water and enrichment in Rappaport-Vassiliadis broth with subsequent selective plating onto xylose lysine deoxycholate agar. Presumptive Salmonella colonies were biochemically confirmed and analyzed for pathogenicity by hemolysin production and Congo red dye binding assay (CRDA). An antibiotic sensitivity test was performed to assess the antibiotic resistance pattern of the isolates. Results: A total of 10 isolates of Salmonella spp. from meat (3 from cattle, 1 from buffaloes and 6 from pigs) with an overall prevalence of 5% among food animals was recorded. No isolation was reported from any blood samples. Pathogenicity assays revealed 100% and 80% positivity for CRDA and hemolytic activity, respectively. Antimicrobial sensitivity test showed multi-drug resistance. The overall resistance of 50% was noted for trimethoprim followed by ampicillin (20%). A maximum sensitivity (80%) was reported to gentamycin followed by 40% each to ampicillin and trimethoprim, 30% to amikacin and 10% to kanamycin. Conclusion: The presence of multidrug resistant and potentially pathogenic Salmonella spp. in slaughtered food animals in Nagpur region can be a matter of concern for public health.
Cyanobacterial and microeukaryotic profiles of healthy, diseased, and dead Millepora alcicornis from the South Atlantic.

Coral reefs are at risk due to events associated with human activities, which have resulted in the increasing occurrence of coral diseases. Corals live in symbiotic relationships with different microorganisms, such as cyanobacteria, a very important group. Members of the phylum Cyanobacteria are found in great abundance in the marine environment and may play an essential role in keeping corals healthy but may also be pathogenic. Furthermore, some studies are showing a rise in cyanobacterial abundance in coral reefs as a result of climate change. The current study aimed to improve our understanding of the relationship between cyanobacteria and coral health. Our results revealed that the cyanobacterial genus GPI (Anabaena) is a possible opportunistic pathogen of the coral species Millepora alcicornis in the South Atlantic Ocean. Furthermore, the bacterial and microeukaryotic profile of healthy, diseased, and post-disease (skeletal) regions of affected coral indicated that a microbial consortium composed of Anabaena sp. , Prosthecochloris sp. , and microeukaryotes could be involved in this pathogenicity or could be taking advantage of the diseased state.
Is Bigger Still Better? The Decline of the Wage Premium at Large Firms

This study shows that the wage premium paid by large firms fell over the past 20 years and that the decline in the size premium has been most pronounced among the least educated work force. Empirical evidence supports several explanations for the decline in the size premium. First, there has been a convergence in the returns to worker characteristics at large and small firms over time. Second, there has been a convergence in the types of workers employed at small and large firms. Particularly important have been changes in the distribution of workers across industries and the greater rate of decline in unionism at large firms.
Channel Estimation for Very Low Power MIMO Envelope Detectors

We consider a MIMO system for very low-power applications, e.g, sensor networks, where the receiver employs an envelope detector at each receive antenna. Properties of such systems have been studied in [1], [2] and [3], where the channel was considered to be perfectly known at the receiver, or a linear channel estimation model was used. In this paper we propose a very simple channel estimation scheme, which allows the non-coherent MIMO envelope detector to estimate all required channel knowledge necessary for maximum likelihood detection. In contrast to linear MIMO system, complete knowledge of the channel coefficients is not required.
Transmit Antenna Selection for Power Adaptive Underlay Cognitive Radio With Instantaneous Interference Constraint

The high hardware cost associated with multiple antennas at the secondary transmitter of an underlay cognitive radio (CR) can be reduced by antenna selection. This paper analyzes different power adaptive transmit antenna selection (TAS) schemes for an underlay CR, which ensure that the instantaneous interference caused by the secondary transmitter to the primary receiver is below a predetermined level. We consider the optimal continuous power adaptive TAS and present a low-complexity antenna and power level selection scheme, named sequential antenna and power level selection scheme (SAPS), for discrete power adaptation. Exact statistical characterizations of the signal-to-interference plus noise ratio at the secondary receiver are derived for the considered schemes. Based on the newly derived statistics, we prove that the considered schemes achieve the highest diversity order equaling the number of antennas at the secondary transmitter. Further, we also derive a closed-form expression of the ergodic capacity for the underlay CR with SAPS scheme. Finally, we show that the proposed scheme outperforms existing schemes in terms of ergodic capacity.
Retrocyclin: A primate peptide that protects cells from infection by T- and M-tropic strains of HIV-1

Human bone marrow expresses a pseudogene that encodes an antimicrobial peptide homologous to rhesus monkey circular minidefensins (θ-defensins). We prepared the putative ancestral human peptide by solid-phase synthesis and named it “retrocyclin. ” Retrocyclin did not cause direct inactivation of HIV-1, and its modest antibacterial properties resembled those of its rhesus homologs. Nevertheless, retrocyclin had a remarkable ability to inhibit proviral DNA formation and to protect immortalized and primary human CD4+ lymphocytes from in vitro infection by both T-tropic and M-tropic strains of HIV-1. Confocal fluorescent microscopy studies performed with BODIPY-FL-labeled RC-101, a close analog of retrocyclin, showed that the peptide formed patch-like aggregates on the surface of CD4+ cells. These findings suggest that retrocyclin interferes with an early stage of HIV-1 infection and that retrocyclin-like agents might be useful topical agents to prevent sexually acquired HIV-1 infections.
An efficient, fully parasitic-aware power amplifier design optimization tool

A methodology for the optimal parasitic-aware design of RF power amplifiers toward maximum power efficiency is presented. It is based on a template-driven simulation-based optimization approach, including the effect of all device parasitics (transistors, passives) during the sizing. The combination of expert knowledge (in the template) with a state-of-the-art evolutionary algorithm results in a highly flexible and optimal sizing methodology tailored to RF circuits. Parasitic information is obtained through interaction with device profilers. The methodology is implemented in a fully featured software tool called M-DESIGN and is applied to the optimal sizing of a two-stage Class E power amplifier for maximum efficiency. The complete sizing was obtained in less than one hour of CPU time. Moreover, the constraint templates that were used are presented and discussed. An amplifier manufactured in a commercial 0.35-/spl mu/m 5M2P CMOS process and sized using the proposed methodology shows a maximum value of 67% for the drain efficiency (DE) versus 66% simulated. Measurement results show that it works at 850 MHz and has a maximum output power of 30 dBm at 2.3 V. The power-added efficiency (PAE) is always greater than 60% for an output power above 160 mW and a maximum PAE of 66% is achieved.
Enhanced Anticancer Therapy Mediated by Specialized Liposomes

It has been a central aim of experimental and clinical therapeutics to deliver therapeutic agents as close as possible to, or if possible within, a diseased cell. Such targeting achieves two major aims of drug delivery, the maximum dose of therapeutic agent to the diseased cell and avoidance of uptake by and, usually, accompanying side‐effects to normal, healthy cells.
Fine Substrate Specificity Encode Functionally Distinct Alleles with Haplotypes ERAP1 Naturally Occurring

Endoplasmic reticulum aminopeptidase 1 (ERAP1) trims peptides for MHC class I presentation, inﬂuencing the degree and speciﬁcity of CD8 + T cell responses. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms within the exons encoding ERAP1 are associated with autoimmune diseases and cervical carcinoma, but it is not known whether they act independently or as disease-associated haplotypes. We sequenced ERAP1 from 20 individuals and show that single-nucleotide polymorphisms occur as distinct haplotypes in the human population and that these haplotypes encode functionally distinct ERAP1 alleles. Using a wide range of substrates, we are able to demonstrate that for any given substrate distinct ERAP1 alleles can be “normal,” “hypofunctional,” or “hyperfunctional” and that each allele has a trend bias toward one of these three activities. Thus, the repertoire of peptides presented at the cell surface for recognition by CTL is likely to depend on the precise combination of both MHC class I and ERAP1 alleles expressed within an individual, and has important implications for predisposition to disease. The Journal of Immunology , 2013, 191: 000–000. I display peptides of 8- to 10-mer amino acids in length at the cell surface for immune surveillance by circulating cytotoxic T cells (CD8 + T cells). MHC I samples the intracellular proteome and presents peptides derived from self-proteins, including those that are aberrantly expressed in cancer, as well as proteins originating from intracellular viruses and bacteria. Cytosolic proteases, including the proteasome, generate peptides with a precise C terminus but a mixture of N-terminally extended intermediates (1–3), which are then transported into the endoplasmic reticulum (ER)
Experience of Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioners in Public Mental Health

Expansion of health insurance coverage under the Accountable Care Act has meant that millions of people are now insured for mental health treatment, but with no significant increase in the mental health workforce. Services of psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners (PMHNPs) may be best utilized to improve access to and quality of public mental health services if the financial, political, scope of practice, and treatment model barriers that limit their ability or willingness to practice in these settings are better understood. This article reports qualitative results from a study that assessed barriers and best practices in the use of PMHNPs in county mental health services in California. Results indicate that PMHNPs are valued for their “whole person” perspective, collaborative approach, and interpersonal communication skills, but that significant knowledge gaps, regulatory constraints, and bureaucratic barriers in public mental health systems inhibit PMHNPs from practicing at the top of their scope.
Genetic Relatedness of Dengue Viruses in Key West, Florida, USA, 2009–2010

Sequencing of dengue virus type 1 (DENV-1) strains isolated in Key West/Monroe County, Florida, indicate endemic transmission for >2 years of a distinct and predominant sublineage of the American–African genotype. DENV-1 strains isolated elsewhere in Florida grouped within a separate Central American lineage. Findings indicate endemic transmission of DENV into the continental United States.
Performance evaluation of the impact of mobile base station on clustered wireless sensor networks

Base station mobility can be exploited to minimise the energy consumption in a wireless sensor network. This paper investigates the impact that base station movement has upon the performance of cluster-based wireless sensor networks. Three types of base station movement are considered: movement influenced by the position of cluster-heads, random movement and movement partially influenced by the position of cluster-heads. In spite of the overhead associated with finding the base station, the wireless sensor network was shown to gather at least 15% more data packets per Joule of energy with a mobile base station compared to a static base station.
Sugar and Bone: A Not‐So Sweet Story

I predict that most readers of the article by Moyer-Mileur and colleagues in this month’s Journal of Bone and Mineral Research will be challenged not just by the results of their study, but also by the long term implications of their findings. In this relatively small, but well done CRU (Clinical Research Unit) investigation, several indices of the growth hormone- IGF-I axis in adolescent girls with at least 5 years of Type I diabetes mellitus (TIDM), were compared to appropriately age and tanner staged- matched controls (1). These parameters were then regressed against measures of skeletal size and content using areal and volumetric bone mass measurements. On first inspection, the results are not surprising, and are consistent with earlier studies from this group and others; i.e. adolescent girls with long standing TIDM have lower serum IGF-I, higher IGFBP-1, and greater growth hormone concentrations than their age-matched controls. Moreover, those girls with poor metabolic control had the lowest circulating IGF-I and highest IGFBP-1 concentrations. In respect to skeletal structure, increased urinary magnesium in the diabetic girls predicted a smaller, lighter skeleton, and overall disease duration accounted for the greatest variability in bone mineral content and cross sectional area. Higher blood glucoses and greater urinary magnesium were also associated with measures of increased bone resorption. Low serum IGF-I was a major predictor of tibial bone strength, as determined by pQCT.
THE EFFECT OF RELIGIOSITY ON PARENTING A CHILD WITH AUSTISM

Due to the stress mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder experience (ASD), mothers turn to a variety of resources, including religiosity, to cope. This study examined the relationship between religiosity and maternal well-being. Christian mothers of children with ASD completed questionnaires assessing anxiety, marital satisfaction, maternal child perception, maternal ASD symptomatology, and several aspects of religiosity, including religious practice, spirituality, religious coping, and religious support. Analyses revealed that both maternal child perception and marital satisfaction served as mediators in the relationship between certain religiosity variables and a mother’s anxiety. Specifically, a mother’s daily spiritual experience, private religious practice, organized religious practice, and anticipated religious support predicted increased marital satisfaction which in turn predicted lower levels of maternal anxiety. Additionally, a mother’s daily spiritual experience, organized religious practice, positive religious coping, and anticipated religious support predicted increased parental child perception which in turn predicted lower levels of maternal anxiety. Furthermore, mothers who showed more ASD symptoms themselves reported higher levels of negative religious interactions. Overall, religiosity can benefit mothers of children with ASD, yet may be difficult for mothers who show higher ASD symptomatology. RUNNING HEAD: RELIGIOSITY AND AUTISM 4 Table of
Neighborhood × Serotonin Transporter Linked Polymorphic Region (5-HTTLPR) interactions for substance use from ages 10 to 24 years using a harmonized data set of African American children

Abstract This study investigated the influences of neighborhood factors (residential stability and neighborhood disadvantage) and variants of the serotonin transporter linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) genotype on the development of substance use among African American children aged 10–24 years. To accomplish this, a harmonized data set of five longitudinal studies was created via pooling overlapping age cohorts to establish a database with 2,689 children and 12,474 data points to span ages 10–24 years. A description of steps used in the development of the harmonized data set is provided, including how issues such as the measurement equivalence of constructs were addressed. A sequence of multilevel models was specified to evaluate Gene × Environment effects on growth of substance use across time. Findings indicated that residential instability was associated with higher levels and a steeper gradient of growth in substance use across time. The inclusion of the 5-HTTLPR genotype provided greater precision to the relationships in that higher residential instability, in conjunction with the risk variant of 5-HTTLPR (i.e., the short allele), was associated with the highest level and steepest gradient of growth in substance use across ages 10–24 years. The findings demonstrated how the creation of a harmonized data set increased statistical power to test Gene × Environment interactions for an under studied sample.
An intelligent self-tuning fuzzy logic controller for pitch angle control for a wind turbine fed induction generator

This paper, a new strategy for pitch angle control for a Wind Turbine fed Induction Generator (WTFIG) is proposed and simulated. The pitch angle varies according to the wind speed and the output power equation of the entire wind turbine system depends on the pitch angle of a wind turbine. In this paper, an intelligent Self-Tuning Pitch Angle Fuzzy Logic Controller (STPAFLC) is proposed for pitch angle control for a wind turbine fed induction generator. Also, strategies like PI, Pitch Angle Fuzzy Logic Controller for (PAFLC) are discussed to evaluate the performance of self-tuning fuzzy controller. The STPAFLC has been developed and simulated using MATLAB-Simulink and its results are compared with conventional control strategy for WTFIG.
Collection and cryopreservation of preimplantation embryos of Cavia porcellus

Summary Individual differences and a rather long-lasting reproductive cycle, as well as the relatively small number of oocytes that mature during one reproductive cycle makes it difficult to establish a cryopreserved stock of preimplantation embryos of the guineapig (Cavia porcellus) when compared with other laboratory rodents. Only a few data for superovulation protocols that can be used for routine laboratory use in guineapigs are available. However, a huge number of different strains exist for many purposes and the establishment of a frozen repository makes sense. Here, we describe the successful freezing of preimplatation embryos of the strain 2BS with a two-step freezing protocol in a freezing medium containing 1,2-propanediol as cryoprotectant. Human menopausal gonodotrophin induced superovulation in the embryo donors.
Surface modification for titanium implants by hydroxyapatite nanocomposite.

BACKGROUND Titanium (Ti) implants are commonly coated with hydroxyapatite (HA). However, HA has some disadvantages such as brittleness, low tensile strength and fracture toughness. It is desirable to combine the excellent mechanical properties of ZrO2 and the chemical inertness of Al2O3 with respect to the purpose of this project which was coating Ti implants with HA-ZrO2-Al2O3 to modify the surface of these implants by adding ZrO2 and Al2O3 to HA. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of hydroxyapatite coating nonocomposite. METHODS From September 2009 to January2011, functionally graded HA-Al2O3-ZrO2 and HA coatings were applied on Ti samples. HA-Al2O3-ZrO2 and HA sols were orderly dip coated on the substrates and calcined. Scanning electron microscopy and EDS were used to estimate the particle size of the surfaces and for morphological analysis. The morphology of non-coated HA-coated HA-Al2O3-ZrO2 (composite-coated) and double-layer composite coated samples were compared with one other. Mechanical test (heat & quench) was also done for comparing single-phase (HA), composite and double-layer composite samples. RESULTS The morphology of HA-Al2O3-ZrO2 coating is more homogenous than HA-coated and uncoated samples. Furthermore, single-layer coating is more homogenous than double-layer coating. EDS analysis was done on HA-coated sample and showed that the Ca/P ratio in the film was similar to the theoretical value 1.67 in HA. CONCLUSION Surface modification of Ti implants can be done by coating them with single-layer of HA-Al2O3-ZrO2. Single-layer hydroxyapatite-alumina-zirconia coated sample has the most homogenous morphology on the surface.
Randomness, Attributions of Arousal, and Belief in God

Beliefs in God, or similar spiritual forces, have permeated every culture the world has seen, past or present (Atran & Norenzayan, 2004). Although there are likely many reasons why such beliefs are so strongly held (Kirkpatrick, 1998; Norenzayan & Hansen, 2006), attempts to cope with perceptions of randomness may be a key factor. Randomness is presumed to be highly aversive (Pennebaker & Stone, 2004), and people will go to considerable lengths to reaffirm order in the face of evidence to the contrary (e.g., by blaming victims of random misfortune or seeing patterns in random arrays; Jost, Banaji, & Nosek, 2004; Lerner, 1980; Whitson & Galinsky, 2008; also see Heine, Proulx, & Vohs, 2006). Affirming the existence of a controlling God, therefore, may provide an excellent means for insulating oneself from the aversive arousal associated with randomness. However, no experimental test of this hypothesis exists. Park (2005) has suggested that traumatic events can strengthen belief in God because of the threat they pose to nonrandomness, but this correlational research (also see Laurin, Kay, & Moscovitch, 2008) focused only on negative events and assumed (rather than directly assessed) the role of randomness. Some research has manipulated self-conceptions that may be related to preserving beliefs in order (e.g., Kay, Gaucher, Napier, Callan, & Laurin, 2008; McGregor, Haji, Nash, & Teper, 2008), but none has investigated randomness directly, and none, crucially, has assessed the role of arousal in generating between-condition differences in belief in God. In this study, we employed a novel paradigm to test (a) whether direct manipulations designed to prime thoughts of randomness cause increased beliefs in supernatural sources of control (even when controlling for negative valence) and (b) whether this effect is due to arousal generated by thoughts of randomness. To heighten thoughts of randomness, we supraliminally primed half the participants with randomness-related words; the other half were primed with words matched in negative valence. To assess the role of arousal, we employed a misattribution paradigm (Zanna & Cooper, 1974), which involved requiring all participants to swallow a pill ostensibly containing an herbal supplement. Half the participants were told that the pill sometimes induces arousal as a side effect, and half were told that the pill has no side effects. Previous work has shown that the side-effect condition leads participants to attribute the cause of any experienced arousal to this salient source (Proulx & Heine, 2008; Zanna & Cooper, 1974). Hypothesizing that beliefs in supernatural control function, at least in part, to down-regulate the aversive arousal associated with randomness, we expected the randomness primes to increase beliefs in God, but only for those participants not given the opportunity to attribute the cause of their arousal to the ingested pill.