Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Road-killed wild animals: a preservation problem useful for eco-epidemiological studies of pathogens

Road-killed wild animals have been for years used for surveillance of vectors of zoonotic pathogens and may offer new opportunities for eco-epidemiological studies. In the current study, fungal infection was evaluated by PCR and nested-PCR in tissue samples collected from 19 road-killed wild animals. The necropsies were carried out and samples were collected for DNA extraction. Results, using PCR with a panfungal primer and nested PCR with specific primers, indicated that some animals are naturally infected with Amauroascus aureus, Metarhizium anisopliae, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus oryzae, Emmonsia parva, Paracoccidioides brasiliensis or Pichia stipitis. The approach employed herein proved useful for detecting the environmental occurrence of several fungi, as well as determining natural reservoirs in wild animals and facilitating the understanding of host-pathogen relationships.
Vitamin A therapy for children with respiratory syncytial virus infection: a multicenter trial in the United States.

BACKGROUND High dose vitamin A therapy is effective in reducing morbidity and mortality associated with measles infection. Children with acute respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection have low serum vitamin A concentrations. METHODS We performed a multicenter, randomized, placebo-controlled trial of high dose vitamin A therapy among 239 children 1 month to 6 years of age to determine whether high dose vitamin A therapy would reduce morbidity associated with RSV infection. RESULTS There were no differences between the vitamin A and placebo recipients for most clinical outcomes; however, vitamin A recipients had-longer hospital stays than placebo recipients (5.0 days vs. 4.4 days, P = 0.01) after enrollment. This effect was significant for children who were older than 1 year (who also had received the highest doses of vitamin A), particularly among those at low risk for complications of RSV infection and those enrolled during the second study season. Serum retinol levels at enrollment were inversely correlated with severity of illness. CONCLUSIONS We found no evidence of a beneficial effect of vitamin A for the treatment of RSV infection in children in the United States. There may be groups of children for which vitamin A has an adverse effect, resulting in longer hospital stays.
Patterns of Hospital-Based Pediatric Care Across Diverse Ethnicities: The Case of Pneumonia

Few studies have evaluated racial disparities with respect to process and outcome measures for pneumonia. We evaluated disparities with respect to process measures in addition to clinical and financial outcome measures in a pediatric population from 0 to 18 years of age. The data showed that minority populations were admitted at younger ages and were more likely to be admitted through the emergency department than their white counterparts. Substantial variation exists with respect to patterns of care and outcomes for pneumonia in pediatric patients among different ethnic/racial groups. Differences in outcomes may be associated with several factors, including variations in quality of care across different hospital settings, characteristics related to disease severity among different ethnic groups, and other unidentified factors. Further research is needed to clearly define how differences with respect to quality of care, access to care, disease severity, and care-seeking behaviors contribute to differences in outcomes across different ethnic groups.
Cerebral cortex plasticity after 90 days of bed rest: data from TMS and fMRI.

INTRODUCTION Microgravity animal models have demonstrated corticospinal plasticity; however, little is understood of its functional significance. In this pilot study, we explored corticospinal plasticity in a bed rest model. We hypothesized that the lack of weight bearing would induce cortical reorganization correlating with performance. METHODS Four subjects underwent functional MRI (fMRI), transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), and functional mobility testing (FMT) before and after 90 d of bed rest. Recruitment curves (RC) were created by measuring motor evoked potentials over a range of TMS intensities with changes in the slope of the RC reflecting changes in corticospinal excitability. RESULTS Significant leg RC slope decreases were observed on post-bed rest day 1 (P1) (t(2805) = -4.14, P < 0.0001), P2 (t(2805) = -6.59, P < 0.0001), P3 (t(2805) = -6.15, P < 0.0001), P5 (t(2805) = -7.93, P <0.0001), P8 (t(2805) = -3.30, P = 0.001), and P12 (t(2805)= -3.33, P = 0.0009), suggesting a group decrease in corticospinal excitability in the immediate post-bed rest period with recovery approaching baseline over the following 2 wk. Significant effects were observed for hand RC slopes only for P2 (t(2916) = 1.97, P = 0.049), P3 (t(2916) = -2.12, P = 0.034), and P12 (t(2916) = -2.19, P = 0.029); no significant effects were observed for days P0 (t(2916) = -1.32, ns), P1 (t(2916) = 1.00, ns), P5 (t(2916) = -0.21, ns), or P8 (t(2916) = -0.27, ns). fMRI showed no change in activation for the hand but an increase in activation post-bed rest for the leg. On an individual basis, a more heterogeneous response was found which showed a potential association with performance on FMT. DISCUSSION Results of this research include a better understanding of the cortical plasticity associated with leg disuse and may lead to applications in patient and astronaut rehabilitation.
Trends in microwave-related drying of fruits and vegetables

Trends in microwaverelated drying of fruits and vegetables M. Zhang*, J. Tang, A.S. Mujumdar and S. Wang Key Laboratory of Food Science and Safety, Ministry of Education, Southern Yangtze University, Huihe Road 170, Wuxi 214036, Jiangsu Province, China (Tel.: D86 510 5815590; fax: D86 510 5807976; e-mail: min@sytu.edu.cn) Department of Biological Systems Engineering, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-6120, USA Department of Mechanical Engineering, National University of Singapore, 9 Engineering Drive, Singapore 117576, Singapore
Effects of crude antibiotic of Bacillus subtilis on hatching of eggs and mortality of juveniles of Meloidogyne incognita

The endospore-forming rhizobacterium Bacillus subtilis produces more than two dozen lipopeptide antibiotics, hydrolytic enzymes and other secondary metabolites. The biocontrol activity of Bacillus strains against multiple plant pathogens has been widely documented. Three families of Bacillus lipopeptides (surfactins, iturins and fengycins) are the most studied for their antagonistic activity against a wide range of phytopathogens, including bacteria, fungi and nematodes. The root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita, is one of the most damaging pathogens, attacking a wide range of crops. Therefore, six antagonistic endophytic strains of B. subtilis viz., Bs N 1, Bs N 3, Bs N 4, Bs N 7, Bs 5 and Bs N 11, were isolated from noni plants and tested for their nematicidal activity against M. incognita. The strain Bbv 57, isolated from banana and known to have nematicidal activity, was included in the study as a control. The genomic DNA of the Bacillus strains was isolated and amplified by PCR to identify antibiotic genes. Biosynthetic gene specific primers amplified a 440 bp fragment of surfactin gene from BsN 3, Bs 5 and Bbv 57 and a 648 bp fragment of iturin gene from Bs 5 and Bbv 57. Bs 5, with high surfactin and iturin activity, suppressed hatching of eggs and killed second stage juveniles of the nematode under in vitro conditions.
Anticholinesterase activity of some major intermediates in carbacylamidophosphate synthesis: Preparation, spectral characterization and inhibitory potency determination

Carbacylamidophosphates with the general formula RC(O)NHP(O)R1R2 constitute organophosphorus compounds that are used as insecticides, pesticides and ureas inhibitors. In this work, we studied the inhibition potency of CCl3C(O)NHP(O)Cl21, CHCl2C(O)NHP(O)Cl22, CH2ClC(O)NHP(O)Cl23 and CF3C(O)NHP(O)Cl24, which are the major intermediates for carbacylamidophosphates synthesis towards human erythrocyte acetylcholinesterase (hAChe) activity using Ellman's modified kinetic method. Unexpectedly, it was observed that they were not only hydrolytically unstable but also inhibited hAChE in a similar manner to that produced by organophosphorus insecticides. Enzymatic data, bimolecular inhibition rate constants (ki) and IC50 values for inhibition of hAChE demonstrated that they are irreversible inhibitors and the inhibition potency of compound 2 (IC50 = 88 μM) was the greatest in comparison with compounds 1, 3 and 4. Also the electropositivity of the phosphorus atom and the hydrophobicity of the compounds demonstrated that these two factors play an additional effect and different role in the inhibitory activity of these compounds. Hydrolytic stability of the compounds was determined by 31P NMR monitoring of the loss of the parent molecules with D2O as a function of time. This study considers antiacetylcholinesterase activity according to the structural and the electronic aspects of compounds 1–4, according to IR, 1H, 13C and 31P NMR spectral data.
Comparison between rpoB and 16S rRNA Gene Sequencing for Molecular Identification of 168 Clinical Isolates of Corynebacterium

ABSTRACT Higher proportions (91%) of 168 corynebacterial isolates were positively identified by partial rpoB gene determination than by that based on 16S rRNA gene sequences. This method is thus a simple, molecular-analysis-based method for identification of corynebacteria, but it should be used in conjunction with other tests for definitive identification.
CLINICAL CHARACTERISTICS AND TREATMENT RESULTS OF PEDIATRIC B-CELL NON-HODGKIN LYMPHOMA PATIENTS IN A SINGLE CENTER

The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the clinical characteristics of the B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) patients and therapeutic efficacy of modified NHL BFM-90 and NHL BFM-95 protocols in the authors’ center. From January 1993 to December 2003, 61 newly diagnosed children with B-NHL were enrolled to the study. The patients were stratified by risk factors and treated either with a modified B-NHL BFM-90 or BFM-95 protocols. The use of 1 or 3 g/m2 of methotrexate instead of 5 g/m2/24 h was the only important modification in BFM-90 protocol. Sixty-one children (12 girls, 49 boys) with a median age of 6.5 years (range: 2.5–16) were treated in the center. There were 14 patients in stage II, 28 in stage III, and 19 in stage IV. The most common initial primary tumor sites were abdomen, head, and neck. Forty-five patients were treated with modified B-cell BFM-90 and 16 patients were treated with B-cell BFM-95 regimens. The 5-year overall survival (OS) for all patients was 85.8%, and event-free survival (EFS) was 82.8%. The 5-year OS rates in modified BFM-90 and in BFM-95 protocols were 85.2 and 87.5%; the 5-year EFS rates in these 2 protocols were 84.6 and 70%, respectively (p >.05). Factors associated with lower EFS by univariate analysis were bulky disease, risk groups, and LDH level ≥ 500 IU/L. By multivariate analysis only LDH level was significant. In conclusion, the treatment results in this study were similar to those of BFM group.
Dilemmas in the interpretation of diagnostic accuracy studies on presurgical workup for epilepsy surgery

We conducted a systematic review to determine which noninvasive technologies should be used in the workup for epilepsy surgery to identify structural or functional abnormalities to help locate the site of seizure onset. The review focused on patients where there was insufficient confidence, in either the decision to go to surgery or the site at which surgery should be conducted, after the initial clinical examination. The majority of the studies identified were single‐gate diagnostic accuracy studies; none were randomized controlled trials, and only one reported the effect of the test results on the decision making process. It became apparent that the data derived from diagnostic accuracy studies could not be used to answer the review question. This article focuses on the methods used to extract data from the diagnostic accuracy studies, the difficulties interpreting the resulting data, why such studies are not an appropriate study design in this setting, and how the evidence‐base can be improved.
Impact of distribution network voltage rise on PV system energy yield

Economic viability is one of the important factors in determining the rate of customer adoption of photovoltaic (PV) systems. A decrease in energy yield reduces their viability. At times of high PV production and low electricity demand, network voltage rises and may exceed limits resulting in a consequent curtailment of PV generation and reducing the energy yield. In this paper, a computational sequence was developed to investigate the impact of voltage rise at different nodes of the network on PV systems' annual energy yield for different PV penetration scenarios. The results of analysis conducted for Newcastle upon Tyne using UK generic urban distribution network are presented. It was found that the use of monthly averaged PV generation profiles resulted in the most optimistic PV system annual energy yield estimates. These profiles were under scenarios of very high PV penetration in the distribution network. A closer assessment of the PV generation profiles showed that there is a substantial number of days per year with high PV generation and therefore a large PV power curtailment may result unless adequate measures are put in place to capture maximum PV energy.
Brasil reactions to institutional violence : patient strategies for facing infringements of the right to health in Brazil

In this article we identify evidences of inequalities, prejudices and discrimination in the access and utilization of public health services belonging to the Brazilian Unified Health Care System, considering them to be institutional violence and a negation of rights, in order to look at the reactions of the subjects victimized by this process. This research study utilized different methodologies, articulating participant observation, semi-structured interviews, focus groups and dramatization. the results highlight the trajectory in seeking health care as the main expression of inequalities, strengthened by structural factors such as the precarious condition of health care services, which potentiate power asymmetries, and the presence of discrimination derived from stigmas and prejudices. Most patients’ reactions to the situation of institutional violence seek an individual solution to the problem, often reaffirming the conditions that generate rights violations. Few patients’ reactions question the systemic conditions that determine the continued discrimination. KEY WorDS Healthcare Disparities; Social Discrimination; Professional-Patient Relations; Patient rights; Brazil. 12 FleUry S, BicUDO V, rAngel g. SA lU D c O le c ti V A , B ue no s A ire s, 9 (1 ):1 125 , e ne ro A br il, 2 01 3
User-independent real-time hand gesture recognition based on surface electromyography

In this paper, we present a novel real-time hand gesture recognition system based on surface electromyography. We employ a user-independent approach based on a support vector machine utilizing ten features extracted from the raw electromyographic data obtained from the Myo armband by Thalmic Labs. Through an improved synchronization approach, we simplified the application process of the sensing armband. We report the results of a user study with 14 participants using an extended set consisting of 40 gestures. Considering the set of five hand gestures currently supported off-the-shelf by the Myo armband, we outperform their approach with an overall accuracy of 95% compared to 68% with the original algorithm on the same dataset.
Bit-Stream control of Doubly-Fed Induction Generators

Bit-Stream based control, which uses one bit wide signals to control power electronics applications, is a new approach for controller design. A Bit-Stream based control system for the Rotor Side Converter (RSC) of a Doubly Fed Induction Generator (DFIG) is proposed to demonstrate that the Bit-Stream control technique is suitable for complex vector control tasks. A new stator flux estimator and reference frame calculation unit are developed and used to control the rotor current of the generator. A 3.7 kW, 400 V generator and Bit-Stream control system are simulated using Mentor Graphics' ModelSim. Simulation results show that the rotor current control system offers decoupled control of the torque and flux producing components of the rotor current vector, and the ability to operate in supersynchronous or subsynchronous modes.
An Abbreviated Word Recognition Protocol Based on Item Difficulty

Objective The purpose of this investigation was to develop a test methodology that would identify those patients requiring a full 50 item word recognition test and allow abbreviated testing of patients who do not need a full 50 item word recognition test. Design Listeners with normal hearing and listeners with sensorineural hearing loss were administered Auditec™ recordings of a 50 word NU-6 list(s). From these listener responses, error rates were determined for each word in the NU-6 word pool. The NU-6 lists were then reordered based on decreasing word difficulty and 10 word and 25 word screening tests were developed. The predictive power of the 10 word and 25 word screening tests was then determined based on the 95% critical difference values for word recognition scores. Clinical decision analysis (CDA) was used to assess how well the 10 word and 25 word screening tests predicted 50 word performance. Results Data analyses showed: 1) the four NU-6 50 word lists were equivalent in item difficulty; 2) the four NU-6 10 word and 25 word lists were equivalent in item difficulty; and 3) the 10 word and 25 word screening tests have hit rate (HR) values of 93 to 100%, false alarm rate (FAR) values of 0 to 20% and A′ values of 0.946 to 1.00 depending upon word configuration and pass criterion. Conclusions The four NU-6 10 word and 25 word screening tests differentiated listeners with impaired word recognition ability who required a full 50 word test from listeners with unimpaired word recognition ability who required only a 10 word or 25 word test.
An ultra-high-voltage gain DC-DC converter for roof-mounted solar cells electric vehicle

This deign paper proposed few improvements on the existing electrical network in the roof-mounted solar array based electric vehicle (RSC-EV). A switched Z-source dc-dc converter integrated with switched-inductor networks (SZSIC) is proposed for the conversion from a low voltage to a higher one in the dc link. The voltage gain is increased to (1+D)/(1−7D) by replacing inductor with switched-inductor network of the frontend and adding another one switch and diode to the output terminal of the traditional Z-source dc-dc converter. Comparing the boost capabilities of existing dc-dc step-up network, higher voltage gain is realized in the proposed SZSIC. The performances of the proposed SZSIC are analyzed in this paper, and then validated by simulation results. This paper explores the idea of employing switched-inductor and switched-Z-source to design boost converter for high voltage gain DC power supplies.
Concepts Expansion in Materials Domain Based on Ontology Matching Results

Traditional keyword-based search methods are used widely to find the user's requirements, but the results are not very satisfactory because of semantic ambiguity of concepts. However, domain ontologies contain great number of domain concepts and their relations. Hence, to achieve more accurate query results, in this paper, we propose a novel approach to expand the domain concepts using the results of ontology matching, especially in metallic materials domain. Firstly, we use the semantic similarity calculation strategy to find the domain concepts, which is similar to the seed query concept, from the ontology matching results. Then the corresponding concepts of these similar concepts can be acquired according to the structure of ontology matching results. At last, we can get the expansion concepts by merging the similar concepts and corresponding concepts. This approach is evaluated in light of F1-measure and time performance, and the experimental results show that the proposed approach can improve the query results effectively, and the time performance is acceptable.
A low power precise current balance LED driver with −0.228% ∼ 0.198% imbalance among three output channels

In this paper, a 3-channel LED driver with precise current balance is proposed. Artful layout topologies instead of complicated circuit structure are created and analyzed to achieve accurate current balance among LED channels with excellent insensitivity to process, temperature and voltage (PVT) variations and small standard deviation for trimming-free bandgap reference voltage. With a high yield rate of 99.5%, the maximum imbalance among LED driving currents for 199 test chips is measured to be merely -0.228% ~ 0.198% which is not only much better than 2% deviation of the conventional one [1] but also very close to the simulated imbalance of -0.18% ~ 0.09% under gradients up to the 2nd-order. In addition, the 1.21V bandgap reference voltage accomplishes a 3σ inaccuracy of 3.78% only. This circuit was fabricated in a Vanguard 0. 5μm 5V and 12V 2P3M process with a chip size of 1.25 mm2. Except for the LED driving and setting currents, the power consumption is measured to be 340 μW only.
Characterization of Heparin and Heparan Sulfate Domains Binding to the Long Splice Variant of Platelet-derived Growth Factor A Chain*

Platelet-derived growth factors (PDGFs) are homo- or heterodimers of two related polypeptides, known as A and B chains. The A chain exists as two splice variants due to the alternative usage of exons 6 (PDGF-AL, longer) and 7 (PDGF-AS, shorter). Exon 6 encodes an 18-amino acid sequence rich in basic amino acid residues, which has been implicated as a cell retention signal. Several lines of evidence indicate that the retention is due to binding of PDGF-AL to glycosaminoglycans, especially to heparan sulfate. We have analyzed the saccharide domains of smooth muscle cell-derived heparan sulfate involved in this interaction. Furthermore, we have employed selectively modified heparin oligosaccharides to elucidate the dependence of the binding on different sulfate groups and on fragment length. The shortest PDGF-AL binding domain consists of 6-8 monosaccharide units. Studies using selectively desulfated heparins and heparin fragments suggest that N-, 2-O-, and 6-O-sulfate groups all contribute to the interaction. Structural comparison of heparan sulfate oligosaccharides separated by affinity chromatography on immobilized PDGF-AL showed that the bound pool was enriched in -IdceA(2-OSO3)-GlcNSO3(6-OSO3)- disaccharide units. Furthermore, analogous separation of a partially O-desulfated heparin decamer preparation, using a highly selective nitrocellulose filter-trapping system, yielded a PDGF-AL-bound fraction in which more than half of the disaccharide units had the structure -IdceA(2-OSO3)-GlcNSO3(6-OSO3)-. Our results suggest that the interaction between PDGF-AL and heparin/heparan sulfate is mediated via N-sulfated saccharide domains containing both 2-O- and 6-O-sulfate groups.