Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Habitat, wildlife, and one health: Arcanobacterium pyogenes in Maryland and Upper Eastern Shore white-tailed deer populations

Background Understanding the distribution of disease in wildlife is key to predicting the impact of emerging zoonotic one health concerns, especially for wildlife species with extensive human and livestock interfaces. The widespread distribution and complex interactions of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) with humans suggest deer population health and management may have implications beyond stewardship of the animals. The intracranial abscessation suppurative meningitis (IASM) disease complex in deer has been linked to Arcanobacterium pyogenes, an under-diagnosed and often misdiagnosed organism considered commensal in domestic livestock but associated with serious disease in numerous species, including humans. Methods Our study used standard bacterial culture techniques to assess A. pyogenes prevalence among male deer sampled across six physiogeographic regions in Maryland and male and female deer in the Upper Eastern Shore under Traditional Deer Management (TDM) and Quality Deer Management (QDM), a management protocol that alters population demographics in favor of older male deer. Samples were collected from antler pedicles for males, the top of the head where pedicles would be if present for females, or the whole dorsal frontal area of the head for neonates. We collected nasal samples from all animals by swabbing the nasopharyngeal membranes. A gram stain and catalase test were conducted, and aerobic bacteria were identified to genus and species when possible. We evaluated the effect of region on whether deer carried A. pyogenes using Pearson's chi-square test with Yates’ continuity correction. For the white-tailed deer management study, we tested whether site, age class and sex predisposed animals to carrying A. pyogenes using binary logistic regression. Results A. pyogenes was detected on deer in three of the six regions studied, and was common in only one region, the Upper Eastern Shore. In the Upper Eastern Shore, 45% and 66% of antler and nasal swabs from deer were positive for A. pyogenes, respectively. On the Upper Eastern Shore, prevalence of A. pyogenes cultured from deer did not differ between management areas, and was abundant among both sexes and across all age classes. No A. pyogenes was cultured from a small sample of neonates. Conclusion Our study indicates A. pyogenes may be carried widely among white-tailed deer regardless of sex or age class, but we found no evidence the pathogen is acquired in utero. The distribution of A. pyogenes across regions and concentration in a region with low livestock levels suggests the potential for localized endemicity of the organism and the possibility that deer may serve as a maintenance reservoir for an emerging one health concern.
17 Group Circuit Class Therapy for Stroke Survivors – A Review of the Evidence and Clinical Implications

Concerns about rising costs of health care are felt by health care professionals around the world (Rosen & Karlberg 2002; Bovier et al., 2005; Robertson et al., 2011) leading to pressure to deliver services in the most cost effective way possible. As new diagnostic tests, surgical procedures or more effective drugs are developed, there is, at least in developed countries, an imperative to make these things available to all, inevitably at an increased cost to the system. This places a downward pressure on all aspects of the health care system to deliver services for the most efficient means to counteract this increased cost. In the case of physiotherapists providing rehabilitation therapy to people who have suffered a stroke, there is an expectation that the current standard of therapy provision will remain stable or in fact be enhanced, with the same or less funding. At the same time, research evidence suggests that providing more therapy time maximising the time stroke survivors spend in active task practice each day will maximise their functional outcomes (Kwakkel et al., 2004). So therapists are being asked to do more with less on a daily basis.
A simulation platform for the cooperation of distributed robot team

A simulation platform for distributed autonomous robots in box-pushing or other missions is described in this article. The simulation system is utilized to perform experiments with various control strategies for the robot team and team organizations, evaluating the comparative performance of the strategies and organizations. The simulated robots are capable of navigation through the environment, and can communicate using simple messages. The simulator maintains the world, provides each robot with sensory information, and carries out the actions of the robots. In the simulation, you can see four robots pushing six boxes to the appointed place in a three-dimensional scene.
Chemical composition and protective effect of oregano (Origanum heracleoticum L.) ethanolic extract on oxidative damage and on inhibition of NO in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages

The present study shows the chemical profile and the in vitro properties (antioxidant and inhibition of nitric oxide production) of the Origanum heracleoticum L. (Lamiaceae). The ethanolic extract of the aerial parts is characterized by terpenes and fatty acids. The extract, with high total phenol and flavonoid content, showed a significant radical-scavenging activity (IC50 value of 12.8 μg/mL) using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) test and an interesting antioxidant activity with the β-carotene bleaching test (IC50 values of 12.9 and 14.1 μg/mL at 30 and 60 min of incubation, respectively). The test for the inhibition of NO production, performed using the murine monocytic macrophage RAW 264.7 cell line, showed that the extract had significant activity with an IC50 value of 108.5 μg/mL. The cytotoxic effect of O. heracleoticum extract in presence of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (1 μg/mL) was evaluated but found to be negligible.
Frowning expression detection based on SOBEL filter for negative emotion recognition

This paper proposes a novel method to improve happiness status by detection negative emotional status based on frowning lines on face and a new term called facial expression factor (FEF). The FEF correlates the frowning and with emotional status. The frowning lines are detected using SOBEL filter and FEF factors are calculated from selected frowning lines to know the actual emotional status. Thus the negative emotional state are detected which could help to promote the happiness further. The experiment is conducted on 10 participants. In total 40 images (including 20 neutral and 20 frowning expression) are considered for experiment. The results show that the emotional status of 8 persons out of 10 participants is recognized correctly. Further, the wrong recognition results are corrected by tuning the threshold. Hence, the results depict the recognition accuracy up to 80%. The proposed work is based on simple training which also reduces the training time cost effectively. Furthermore, the proposed method is able to detect more complex facial expression (e.g., forced smile) using FEF. The tuning of threshold makes the method more effective. Therefore, such results show its effectiveness by detecting negative emotional state to promote the happiness.
Near-Infrared Spectroscopy of Limestone Ore for CaO Estimation under Dry and Wet Conditions

Quantitative analysis of CaO in limestone mining is mandatory, not only for ore exploration, but also for grade control. A partial least squares regression (PLSR) CaO estimation technique was developed for limestone mining. The proposed near-infrared spectroscopy (NIR)-based method uses reflectance spectra of the rock sample surface in the visible to short-wave infrared wavelength regions (350–2500 nm (4000–28,571 cm−1)) without the need to crush and pulverize the rock samples. The root mean square (RMS) error of CaO estimation using limestone ore fragment was 1.2%. The CaO content estimated by the PLSR method was used to predict average CaO content of composite samples with a sample size of 15, which resulted in an RMS error of 0.3%. The prediction accuracy with moisture on sample surfaces was also examined to find out if the NIR-based method showed a similar RMS error. Results suggest that the NIR technique can be used as a rapid assaying method in limestone workings with or without the presence of groundwater.
Endosome Fusion and Microtubule‐Based Dynamics in the Early Endocytic Pathway of Dictyostelium

Dictyostelium amoebae, like mammalian macrophages, take up fluid by macropinocytosis. The present study used fluorescent fluid‐phase markers and GFP‐labeled microtubules to visualize the uptake, dynamics, and fusion of early endosomes in Dictyostelium. Consecutive labeling with two fluorescent fluid‐phase markers demonstrated that within the first few minutes after uptake, new macropinosomes underwent fusion with pre‐existing endosomes. The fusing endosomes, which represent the mixing compartment, displayed extreme shape changes and rapid transport about the cell in association with microtubules. The great plasticity of endosomes at this stage of maturation was also evident by electron microscopy. The constant undulatory motion of microtubules was implemental in establishing contact with endosomes. Treatment of cells with agents that selectively disrupted either actin filaments or microtubules confirmed that endosome dynamics were microtubule based. Further maturation of endosomes led to loss of pleiomorphy in favor of a spherical shape, inability to fuse with new macropinosomes, and diminished motility.
Preemptive analgesia of nepafenac 0.1% in retinal photocoagulation

Objetivo: Avaliar o efeito preemptivo com nepafenaco 0,1% em pacientes submetidos a fotocoagulacao da retina para tratamento da retinopatia diabetica proliferativa. Metodos: Trinta pacientes foram submetidos a fotocoagulacao com laser de argonio em ambos os olhos. O olho contralateral de cada paciente foi o controle. O nepafenaco e o placebo foram utilizados 30 minutos antes da aplicacao do laser. Ambos os olhos foram fotocoagulados no mesmo dia. A intensidade da dor foi avaliada por meio da escala analogica visual e da escala descritiva de dor. Resultados: A analise da interacao instilacao versus nepafenaco mostrou que os pacientes do grupo placebo apresentaram niveis de dor semelhantes em ambos os olhos, e os do grupo nepafenaco apresentaram reducao importante do nivel de dor no olho em que foi instilado a suspensao de 0,1% quando comparado ao olho contralateral que recebeu placebo (p=0,023). Conclusao: Este estudo sugere que a suspensao de 0,1% de nepafenaco foi util na analgesia preemptiva de pacientes submetidos a fotocoagulacao de retina quando comparada ao placebo.
Predictors of placebo response in bipolar depression

The aim of this work is to investigate placebo response rates in placebo-controlled randomized clinical trials (RCTs) of pharmacological therapy in bipolar depression (BPD) and to identify predictors of placebo response and clinical trial outcome in BPD. Medline/PubMed publication databases were searched for RCTs of oral drugs used as monotherapy for the treatment of BPD, published between January 1980 and September 2013. Data extracted from 12 manuscripts and one poster, representing a total of 17 clinical trials, were pooled. Pooled response rates for drug and placebo were 55.1 and 39.2%, corresponding to a risk ratio for responding to active treatment versus placebo of 1.29 (P<0.001). The probability of receiving placebo and trial duration correlated with the response rate to placebo. A meta-regression showed that trial duration and baseline severity correlated with the risk ratio of responding to drug versus placebo. There was a trend toward statistical significance for a greater probability of receiving placebo to predict greater drug–placebo ‘separation’. In conclusion, several modifiable factors, specifically the probability of receiving placebo, baseline illness severity, and trial duration, correlate with placebo response rates and/or clinical trial outcome in RCTs of pharmacotherapy for BPD, and should be taken into account when designing studies for BPD.
Emerging trends in the etiology and antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of enteric pathogens in Rural Coastal India

Introduction: Gastroenteritis is recognized as a serious public health problem in India. It is a syndrome that can be caused by different bacterial, viral and parasitic pathogens. Indiscriminate use of antibacterial agents has resulted in the development of multidrug resistant organisms. A retrospective study was done to analyze the etiological spectrum of diarrhoea and to determine the antimicrobial resistance pattern of bacterial pathogens. Methodology: Fecal specimens from patients with acute or chronic diarrhoea were received prior antibiotic administration and processed for routine microscopy of parasites; culture, antimicrobial susceptibility testing and polymerase chain reaction for bacterial pathogens and latex agglutination for rotavirus. Results: Out of the 6043 stool samples collected during the period of Jan 2005-Dec 2013, 678 (11.2%) enteric pathogens were isolated. The predominant isolates were Diarrheagenic Escherichia coli (DEC) (46.3%) followed by Salmonella, Shigella, Vibrio cholerae and parasites. Certain unusual pathogens were also isolated. Among age wise distribution, Diarrheagenic Escherichia coli (DEC) mainly Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli (EAEC) was isolated from
Use of a polymerase chain reaction assay to detect and differentiate two strains of Haemobartonella felis in naturally infected cats.

OBJECTIVE To develop a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay that detects and differentiates the Ohio strain of Haemobartonella felis (H. felis-OH) and the California strain of H. felis (H. felis-CA) and to apply the assay to blood samples from cats with and without suspected haemobartonellosis (suspect and control cats, respectively). SAMPLE POPULATION 220 blood samples were examined; 82 were from suspect cats, and 138 were from control cats. PROCEDURE A PCR assay was designed to detect and differentiate H. felis-OH and H. felis-CA. RESULTS On the basis of PCR assay results, the overall prevalence of H. felis infection was 19.5% (43/220). Suspect cats (28.0%; 23/82) were significantly more likely than control cats (14.5%; 20/138) to be H. felis infected. Significantly greater numbers of suspect cats were H. felis-OH infected (12.2%, 9/82) or H. felis-OH and H. felis-CA infected (4.9%, 4/82) than control cats (0% [0/138] and 0.7% [1/138], respectively). Significantly more anemic cats were H. felis-OH infected (14.3%; 4/28) or H. felis-OH and H. felis-CA infected (7.1%; 2/28) than nonanemic cats (2.3% [3/128] and 0.8% [1/128], respectively). The PCR assay was more accurate than cytologic examination for detection of H. felis. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Haemobartonella felis infections are more common in cats than previously recognized. Haemobartonella felis-OH is apparently more pathogenic than H. felis-CA. The PCR assay is more accurate than cytologic examination for detection of H. felis infection and is an effective clinical tool for the detection and differentiation of both H. felis strains known to infect cats.
Identification of herpes simplex virus type 1 genes required for origin-dependent DNA synthesis

The herpes simplex virus (HSV) genome contains both cis- and trans-acting elements which are important in viral DNA replication. The cis-acting elements consist of three origins of replication: two copies of oriS and one copy of oriL. It has previously been shown that five cloned restriction fragments of HSV-1 DNA together can supply all of the trans-acting functions required for the replication of plasmids containing oriS or oriL when cotransfected into Vero cells (M. D. Challberg, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 83:9094-9098, 1986). These observations provide the basis for a complementation assay with which to locate all of the HSV sequences which encode trans-acting functions necessary for origin-dependent DNA replication. Using this assay in combination with the data from large-scale sequence analysis of the HSV-1 genome, we have now identified seven HSV genes which are necessary for transient replication of plasmids containing either oriS or oriL. As shown previously, two of these genes encode the viral DNA polymerase and single-stranded DNA-binding protein, which are known from conventional genetic analysis to be essential for viral DNA replication in infected cells. The functions of the products of the remaining five genes are unknown. We propose that the seven genes essential for plasmid replication comprise a set of genes whose products are directly involved in viral DNA synthesis.
Investment brings change : Implications for news-driven business cycles

Purchasing investment goods does not directly increase the productive capacity of the firm. Changes in the firm through installation of capital, worker training, and workplace reorganization are often required . These changes themselves are not easily automated. Change requires workers. We build a model where investment requires a complementary labor input. This mechanism is embedded in a real business cycle model with capacity utilization, adjustment costs, and separable preferences. We show that this environment can yield positive comovement between consumption, investment and labor hours when the economy experiences a news shock regarding future productivity. As such we provide an additional channel through which news shocks can generate key business cycle features. JEL Classification: E13, E22, E24, E32.
Control of Nonlinear Harmonic Coupling in Pulsed Jet Injection

This paper addresses control of nonlinear harmonic coupling in a pulsed jet injection experiment using a repetitive based control strategy for periodic reference tracking. A data driven approach identifies the harmonic interaction around a particular operating condition and generates a model for controller analysis and design. The single-input, singleoutput nonlinear plant is modeled as a nonlinear map of the interaction between N harmonics of the periodic reference. The map is compensated using a multi-input multi-output controller which asymptotically tracks the periodic reference up to the Nth harmonic.
Summertime influence of Asian pollution in the free troposphere over North America

We analyze aircraft observations obtained during INTEX-A (1 July to 14 August 2004) to examine the summertime influence of Asian pollution in the free troposphere over North America. By applying correlation analysis and principal component analysis (PCA) to the observations between 6 and 12 km, we find dominant influences from recent convection and lightning (13% of observations), Asia (7%), the lower stratosphere (7%), and boreal forest fires (2%), with the remaining 71% assigned to background. Asian air masses are marked by high levels of CO, O_3, HCN, PAN, C_2H_2, C_6H_6, methanol, and SO_4^(2–). The partitioning of NO_y species in the Asian plumes is dominated by PAN (∼600 pptv), with varying NO_x/HNO_3 ratios in individual plumes, consistent with individual transit times of 3–9 days. Export of Asian pollution occurred in warm conveyor belts of midlatitude cyclones, deep convection, and in typhoons. Compared to Asian outflow measurements during spring, INTEX-A observations display lower levels of anthropogenic pollutants (CO, C_3H_8, C_2H_6, C_6H_6) due to shorter summer lifetimes; higher levels of biogenic tracers (methanol and acetone) because of a more active biosphere; and higher levels of PAN, NO_x, HNO_3, and O_3 reflecting active photochemistry, possibly enhanced by efficient NO_y export and lightning. The high ΔO_3/ΔCO ratio (0.76 mol/mol) in Asian plumes during INTEX-A is due to strong photochemical production and, in some cases, mixing with stratospheric air along isentropic surfaces. The GEOS-Chem global model captures the timing and location of the Asian plumes. However, it significantly underestimates the magnitude of observed enhancements in CO, O_3, PAN and NO_x.
[Clinical studies of children with bronchiolitis obliterans].

OBJECTIVE Bronchiolitis obliterans (BO) is a chronic airflow obstruction syndrome associated with inflammatory lesions of the small airways. The etiology, pathogenesis, effective treatment and prognosis of this disorder remain uncertain by now. There has been no large scale clinical research on BO in China. This study aimed to analyze the clinical characteristics of BO in children. METHODS Clinical analysis was done on data of 42 patients (31 boys and 11 girls, aged from 7 months to 12 years and 2 months) with bronchiolitis obliterans diagnosed and treated in Beijing Children's Hospital from April 2001 to August 2007. The diagnostic criteria included typical clinical manifestations, specific pulmonary CT imaging and lung function tests. RESULTS All the patients presented with persistent cough and wheezing. Crackles and wheezing were heard in most cases. Thirty-two (76.2%) cases were post-infectious BO, among whom 8 (25%) were supposed to be adenovirus pneumonia, 7 (21.9%) measles pneumonia and 2 (6.2%) respiratory syncytial virus infection. In 4 (9.5%) cases BO occurred after Steven-Johnson syndrome, and 1 (2.4%) after bone marrow transplantation. The constrictive obstruction in small airway occurred in 35 cases (89.7%), while mixed pattern in 4 (10.3%). Pulmonary CT revealed mosaic perfusion in 34 cases (81.0%), bronchiectasis in 14 cases (33.3%), bronchial wall thickening in 14 cases (33.3%), atelectasis in 4 cases (9.5%) and Swyer-James syndrome in 2 cases (4.8%). All the cases received oral corticosteroid and low doses of erythromycin or azithromycin, with corticosteroid and bronchodilator inhalation or oral montelukast. Follow up time was from 1 month to 5 years. Besides 2 cases in whom the disease was ameliorated in clinical presentation, pulmonary imaging and function, the rest experienced deterioration and one died. CONCLUSION In most of the patients BO occurred following infections. The specific clinical presentations, imaging and pulmonary function are sufficiently informative for diagnosis. Most of the cases enrolled in this study had a poor outcome.
Evaluation of invasive and noninvasive hemodynamic monitoring in trauma patients.

OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to compare a recently developed and improved noninvasive hemodynamic monitoring system with the conventional invasive monitoring by pulmonary artery catheterization (PAC) in acute emergency trauma patients. METHODS In a large, university-run, inner city public hospital, we monitored 993 trauma patients noninvasively; 262 of these were simultaneously monitored with both noninvasive hemodynamic and invasive PAC monitoring. The noninvasive monitoring was begun shortly after admission to the emergency department and the invasive PAC monitoring was started in the operating room, or as soon as the patient arrived in the intensive care unit. Noninvasive monitoring included cardiac index (CI) by the IQ or Physio Flow bioimpedance device, together with mean arterial blood pressure, heart rate, pulse oximetry (SapO2), transcutaneous oxygen (PtcO2), and carbon dioxide (PtcCO2) tensions. We compared CI by simultaneous measurements with both invasive and noninvasive methods 907 times in 262 patients. RESULTS The CI by thermodilution (CItd) correlated well with simultaneous measurements with the bioimpedance (CIbi), r2 = 0.915, r2 = 0.84, p < 0.001. The bias and precision of simultaneous measurements was -0.070 +/- 0.47 L/min/m2; agreement was considered satisfactory. In the initial resuscitation period of both monitoring systems, the CI, mean arterial blood pressure, SapO2, and tissue perfusion (reflected by invasive DO2 and VO2, and by noninvasive PtcO2/FiO2 ratio) were higher in survivors than in nonsurvivors, whereas heart rate values were higher in the nonsurvivors. We concluded that noninvasive hemodynamic monitoring provided a feasible, safe, inexpensive, accurate, continuous, on-line real-time graphic displays that are equivalent to the essential features of invasive pulmonary artery catheter monitoring.