Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Bovine brucellosis: prevalence, risk factors, economic cost and control options with particular reference to India- a review

ABSTRACT Background: Brucellosis is an economically important zoonotic disease with worldwide distribution, with low-income countries being more affected. The disease is endemic in India, a country that house the world’s largest cattle and buffalo population and produce the most milk in the world. Results: Prevalence of the disease in the country is reported as low as 1% to as high as 60% by different researchers but many of the published studies that reported higher prevalence were conducted in non-randomised samples. Based on this review, overall prevalence in the country is likely 12% or less. About 20 different risk factors are reported that contribute/predispose to occurrence of bovine brucellosis. The risk factors could be classified in four groups: host factors, farmer’s factors, managemental factors, and agro-ecological factors. Various studies reported high economic burden of the diseases in dairy animals but there is dearth of comprehensive and rigorous economic studies. Conclusions: In the absence of highly effective vaccines and because of difficulties in executing a segregation and slaughter policy of infected animals in countries like India, control of bovine brucellosis remains a challenge.
Nanoscale FETs Simulation Based on Full-Complex-Band Structure and Self-Consistently Solved Atomic Potential

An improved simulation scheme for investigating the performance of nanoscale FETs is developed in this paper. The total current of the MOSFET consists of two main components: thermionic current above the top of barrier of the channel calculated by ballistic approach and tunneling current computed by Wentzel-Kramer-Brillouoin approximation based on a full-complex-band structure. Furthermore, to get atomic-position-based potential profile in the nanoscale device, we self-consistently solve atomic charges and potentials in the real space along and transverse in the transport direction. The device performance calculated with this model shows excellent agreement with that obtained using non-equilibrium Green's function solver (full quantum mechanism) but by using only one-tenth of the simulation resource. Moreover, special characteristics of insulating materials integrated with advanced device structures can also be incorporated in this Poisson solver. An example based on the negative capacitance MOSFET is examined with this model, and it shows significantly improved performance than conventional MOSFET.
Genetic Determinants of Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium Proliferation in the Cytosol of Epithelial Cells

ABSTRACT Intestinal epithelial cells provide an important colonization niche for Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium during gastrointestinal infections. In infected epithelial cells, a subpopulation of S. Typhimurium bacteria damage their internalization vacuole, leading to escape from the Salmonella-containing vacuole (SCV) and extensive proliferation in the cytosol. Little is known about the bacterial determinants of nascent SCV lysis and subsequent survival and replication of Salmonella in the cytosol. To pinpoint S. Typhimurium virulence factors responsible for these steps in the intracellular infectious cycle, we screened a S. Typhimurium multigene deletion library in Caco-2 C2Bbe1 and HeLa epithelial cells for mutants that had an altered proportion of cytosolic bacteria compared to the wild type. We used a gentamicin protection assay in combination with a chloroquine resistance assay to quantify total and cytosolic bacteria, respectively, for each strain. Mutants of three S. Typhimurium genes, STM1461 (ydgT), STM2829 (recA), and STM3952 (corA), had reduced cytosolic proliferation compared to wild-type bacteria, and one gene, STM2120 (asmA), displayed increased cytosolic replication. None of the mutants were affected for lysis of the nascent SCV or vacuolar replication in epithelial cells, indicating that these genes are specifically required for survival and proliferation of S. Typhimurium in the epithelial cell cytosol. These are the first genes identified to contribute to this step of the S. Typhimurium infectious cycle.
The Political Economy of Government Domestic Expenditure in the Affluent Democracies, 1960-80

Despite the large number of studies of the determination of government expenditure in the affluent democracies, most students of the subject admit that we know relatively little about the complex dynamics of spending change. Using multiple regression analyses of changes in nonmilitary outlays over the years 1960 to 1973 and 1973 to 1980, this study attempts to remedy some of the problems in the literature by providing new tests of several old hypotheses, by introducing and testing several relatively new hypotheses, and by evaluating such propositions in the context of an integrated theoretical framework and of analyses that span two distinct political-economic eras. Results suggest that the dynamics of domestic expenditure change are partially conditioned by macroeconomic and political environments of particular eras. Overall, the self-interests and ideological preferences of policymakers, the institutional and extrainstitutional political action of policy-relevant groups, and needs for state assistance emerge as principal sources of changes in domestic expenditure.
Low‐back pain in adolescents is associated with poor hip mobility and high body mass index

The objective of this cross‐sectional study was to investigate whether body mass index (BMI) and hip mobility are associated with low‐back pain (LBP) in adolescents. The study population included all adolescents in 8th and 9th grades in a rural and in an urban area in Eastern Norway. Eighty‐eight adolescents participated (mean age 14.7 years), making the response rate 84%. LBP was assessed by a questionnaire answered in the classrooms as pain/discomfort in the low back during the preceding year. Body height and weight were measured, and BMI was calculated. Hip mobility was measured as active movements by a goniometer. The level of significance was set to P≤0.05. In bivariate analysis for the whole group, LBP was associated positively with a higher than mean BMI, while LBP among boys was associated with a less than mean hip flexion, internal rotation, and hamstrings flexibility. In multiple regression analyses, adjusting for gender and well‐being, LBP was associated with a higher than mean BMI, a less than mean hamstrings flexibility, and a less than mean hip flexion. The results suggest further prospective research to investigate whether poor hip mobility and high BMI may predict juvenile LBP.
Bone marrow edema in osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures after percutaneous vertebroplasty and relation with clinical outcome.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Little is known about the evolution of bone marrow edema (BME) in osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (VCF) after percutaneous vertebroplasty (PV) or about its relation with relief of pain. In this study, we prospectively assessed changes in BME with MR imaging at 3, 6, and 12 months after PV and related changes in BME with pain evolution and analgesic use over time. METHODS BME percentage was assessed in 64 patients after PV of 89 VCF with serial MR imaging follow-up at 3, 6, and 12 months. Pain was assessed before PV and at every follow-up interval by visual analog scale for pain and type of analgesic used. Relation between changes in BME and pain evolution was assessed in a subgroup of 31 patients with a single treated VCF and neither new VCF at follow-up nor pain at another untreated level. RESULTS BME gradually decreased over time. At 1 year after PV, 29% of treated VCF still demonstrated BME. Once BME disappeared, it did not return. Pain relief was most striking the first 3 months after PV and remained constant thereafter. There was no relation between relief of pain and extent, presence, or absence of BME after PV. CONCLUSION A gradual decrease of BME in osteoporotic VCF treated with PV is apparent during 12 months of MR imaging follow-up. Decrease of BME is unrelated to relief of pain.
Role of nurses and nurse practitioners in the recognition, diagnosis, and management of neurogenic orthostatic hypotension: a narrative review

Neurogenic orthostatic hypotension (nOH) is a sustained reduction in blood pressure (BP) upon standing that is caused by autonomic dysfunction and is common among patients with a variety of neurodegenerative disorders (eg, Parkinson’s disease, multiple system atrophy, pure autonomic failure). A systolic BP drop of ≥20 mmHg (or ≥10 mmHg diastolic) upon standing with little or no compensatory increase in heart rate is consistent with nOH. Symptoms of nOH include light-headedness, dizziness, presyncope, and syncope; these symptoms can severely impact patients’ activities of daily living and increase the likelihood of potentially dangerous falls. Because of their patient contact, nurses and nurse practitioners can play a key role in identifying and evaluating patients at risk for nOH. It is advisable to screen for nOH in patients presenting with one or more of the following characteristics: those who have disorders associated with autonomic failure, those with episodes of falls or syncope, those with symptoms upon standing, those who are elderly or frail, or those taking multiple medications. Initial evaluations should include questions about postural symptoms and measurement of orthostatic BP and heart rate. A review of medications for potential agents that can have hypotensive effects should be performed before initiating treatment. Treatment for nOH may include non-pharmacologic measures and pharmacologic therapy. Droxidopa and midodrine are approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of symptomatic nOH and symptomatic OH, respectively. nOH is associated with the coexistence of supine hypertension, and the two disorders must be carefully managed. In conclusion, timely screening and diagnosis of patients with nOH can streamline the path to disease management and treatment, potentially improving patient outcomes.
Nitric oxide donors for patients undergoing IVF. A prospective, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial.

BACKGROUND Nitric oxide (NO) is involved in local control of the uterine cycle and in preparation of the uterus for pregnancy. NO donors, acting as vasodilating agents, may therefore have possible therapeutic uses, for example they may be of benefit to patients with a history of implantation failure. In a prospective, comparative, randomized, placebo-controlled study, we assessed the efficacy of nitroglycerin (NTG) administered to 138 IVF patients with a history of implantation failure. METHODS Controlled ovarian stimulation was performed with long agonist protocol combined with recombinant FSH. Embryos were transferred on day 2 or 3 after oocyte retrieval. Eligible patients were those who had at least two 'good quality' embryos. The NTG patch was administered the day before embryo transfer and continued until either the results of the pregnancy test were known or until menstruation occurred. RESULTS Ovarian response, implantation rate and pregnancy rate were comparable between both groups. No difference was observed in uterine Doppler findings, particularly the mean pulsatility index. CONCLUSIONS NTG treatment the day before embryo transfer was no more effective than placebo in improving the implantation or pregnancy rates in a population of IVF patients with a previous history of implantation failures.
How Many Samples Required in Big Data Collection: A Differential Message Importance Measure

Information collection is a fundamental problem in big data, where the size of sampling sets plays a very important role. This work considers the information collection process by taking message importance into account. Similar to differential entropy, we define differential message importance measure (DMIM) as a measure of message importance for continuous random variable. It is proved that the change of DMIM can describe the gap between the distribution of a set of sample values and a theoretical distribution. In fact, the deviation of DMIM is equivalent to Kolmogorov-Smirnov statistic, but it offers a new way to characterize the distribution goodness-of-fit. Numerical results show some basic properties of DMIM and the accuracy of the proposed approximate values. Furthermore, it is also obtained that the empirical distribution approaches the real distribution with decreasing of the DMIM deviation, which contributes to the selection of suitable sampling points in actual system.
How Do Atmospheric Rivers Form

AbstractThe term “atmospheric river” is used to describe corridors of strong water vapor transport in the troposphere. Filaments of enhanced water vapor, commonly observed in satellite imagery extending from the subtropics to the extratropics, are routinely used as a proxy for identifying these regions of strong water vapor transport. The precipitation associated with these filaments of enhanced water vapor can lead to high-impact flooding events. However, there remains some debate as to how these filaments form. In this paper, the authors analyze the transport of water vapor within a climatology of wintertime North Atlantic extratropical cyclones. Results show that atmospheric rivers are formed by the cold front that sweeps up water vapor in the warm sector as it catches up with the warm front. This causes a narrow band of high water vapor content to form ahead of the cold front at the base of the warm conveyor belt airflow. Thus, water vapor in the cyclone’s warm sector, not long-distance transport of w.
Optimizing the US-AUDIT for alcohol screening in U.S. college students

ABSTRACT This study examined cutoff scores on the new (2014) US-AUDIT (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test), adapted for U.S. standard drinks. No studies have examined optimal cutoff scores on the US-AUDIT for college students. 250 undergraduates (65% men) completed the US-AUDIT. At-risk drinkers reported at least four binge drinking episodes per week. Likely alcohol use disorder was assessed with a self-report diagnostic measure. Using the Youden method, the ideal cutoff to identify at-risk drinkers for the US-AUDIT was 5 for men (sensitivity = .93, specificity = .96) and 6 for women (sensitivity = .77, specificity = .86); and to identify likely alcohol use disorder was 13 for men (sensitivity = .69, specificity = .81) and 8 for women (sensitivity = .83, specificity = .80). Cutoffs were lower than the original AUDIT. Different US-AUDIT cutoffs for men and women should be used for likely alcohol use disorder, which may reflect differences in drinking quantity and frequency. Empirical guidelines for alcohol screening with the new US-AUDIT may be used to enhance research or identification of at-risk drinkers in college settings, or for college students in primary care or other health care settings.
Characterization of the Metabolic Flux and Apoptotic Effects of O-Hydroxyl- and N-Acyl-modified N-Acetylmannosamine Analogs in Jurkat Cells*

The supplementation of the sialic acid biosynthetic pathway with exogenously supplied N-acetylmannosamine (ManNAc) analogs has many potential biomedical and biotechnological applications. In this work, we explore the structure-activity relationship of Man-NAc analogs on cell viability and metabolic flux into the sialic acid biosynthetic pathway to gain a better understanding of the fundamental biology underlying “glycosylation engineering” technology. A panel of ManNAc analogs bearing various modifications on the hydroxyl groups as well as substitutions at the N-acyl position was investigated. Increasing the carbon chain length of ester derivatives attached to the hydroxyl groups increased the metabolic efficiency of sialic acid production, whereas similar modification to the N-acyl group decreased efficiency. In both cases, increases in chain length decreased cell viability; DNA ladder formation, Annexin V-FITC two-dimensional flow cytometry assays, caspase-3 activation, and down-regulation of sialoglycoconjugate-processing enzymes established that the observed growth inhibition and toxicity resulted from apoptosis. Two of the panel of 12 analogs tested, specifically Ac4ManNLev and Ac4 ManNHomoLev, were highly toxic. Interestingly, both of these analogs maintained a ketone functionality in the same position relative to the core monosaccharide structure, and both also inhibited flux through the sialic acid pathway (the remainder of the less toxic analogs either increased or had no measurable impact on flux). These results provide fundamental insights into the role of sialic acid metabolism in apoptosis by demonstrating that ManNAc analogs can modulate apoptosis both indirectly via hydroxylgroup effects and directly through N-acyl-group effects.
National political parties and European integration

We test competing explanations for party positionlng on the issue of Euro? pean integration over the period 1984 to 1996 and find that the ideological location of a party in a party family is a powerful predictor of its position on this issue. Party family is a stronger influence than strategic competition, national location, participation in government, or the position of a party's supporters. We conclude that political parties have bounded rationalities that shape how they process incentives in competitive party sys? tems. Political cleavages give rise to ideological commitments or "prisms" through which political parties respond to new issues, including Euro? pean integration.
Stably Transfected Human Embryonic Stem Cell Clones Express OCT4‐Specific Green Fluorescent Protein and Maintain Self‐Renewal and Pluripotency

Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) are derived from the inner cell mass of preimplantation embryos; they can be cultured indefinitely and differentiated into many cell types in vitro. These cells therefore have the ability to provide insights into human disease and provide a potential unlimited supply of cells for cell‐based therapy. Little is known about the factors that are important for maintaining undifferentiated hESCs in vitro, however. As a tool to investigate these factors, transfected hES clonal cell lines were generated; these lines are able to express the enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) reporter gene under control of the OCT4 promoter. OCT4 is an important marker of the undifferentiated state and a central regulator of pluripotency in ES cells. These OCT4‐EGFP clonal cell lines exhibit features similar to parental hESCs, are pluripotent, and are able to produce all three embryonic germ layer cells. Expression of OCT4‐EGFP is colocalized with endogenous OCT4, as well as the hESC surface antigens SSEA4 and Tra‐1‐60. In addition, the expression is retained in culture for an extensive period of time. Differentiation of these cells toward the neural lineage and targeted knockdown of endogenous OCT4 expression by RNA interference downregulated the EGFP expression in these cell lines, and this correlates closely with the reduction of endogenous OCT4 expression. Therefore, these cell lines provide an easy and noninvasive method to monitor expression of OCT4 in hESCs, and they will be invaluable for studying not only OCT4 function in hESC self‐renewal and differentiation but also the factors required for maintenance of undifferentiated hESCs in culture.
Measurement of the Upper Limit of Vulnerability during Defibrillator Implantation can Substitute Defibrillation Threshold Measurement

We investigated whether defibrillation thresholds (DFTs) could be measured more safely during defibrillator implantation by measuring the upper limit of vulnerability (ULV) without using any special equipment. Nonthoracotomy ICD implantation with endocardial leads was performed in 13 patients, and through the use of the ICD function itself, ULV and DFT were measured using the delayed four-episode up-down algorithm. Myocardial injures caused by high-energy current were assessed by electrocardiograms and serial CPK-MB. ULV was confirmed in all cases, and it strongly correlated with DFT. The average ULV was 5.9 ± 3.3J, while the average DFT was 7.9 ± 4.3J (r = 0.89, p < 0.0001, DFT = 1.20+1.14x ULV). The average ULV was thus significantly lower (p < 0.01). Although six patients were on amiodarone therapy, the strong correlation between ULV and DFT was also maintained (r = 0,97), p < 0.01) in these patients. In all cases, the CPK-MB failed to increase, and no myocardial injuries were detectable on electrocardiograms. We confirmed that ULV could be easily and safety measured during ICD implantation, and that ULV could be used instead of DFT.
SHORT COMMUNICATION Further evidence of nuclear reactions in the Pd/D lattice: emission of charged particles

Almost two decades ago, Fleischmann and Pons reported excess enthalpy generation in the negatively polarized Pd/D-D2O system, which they attributed to nuclear reactions. In the months and years that followed, other manifestations of nuclear activities in this system were observed, viz. tritium and helium production and transmutation of elements. In this report, we present additional evidence, namely, the emission of highly energetic charged particles emitted from the Pd/D electrode when this system is placed in either an external electrostatic or magnetostatic field. The density of tracks registered by a CR-39 detector was found to be of a magnitude that provides undisputable evidence of their nuclear origin. The experiments were reproducible. A model based upon electron capture is proposed to explain the reaction products observed in the Pd/D-D2O system.
On joint fine time adjustment and channel estimation for OFDM systems

This paper addresses training-sequence-based joint fine time adjustment and channel estimation for orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing systems. The proposed approach first derives an optimized threshold that adapts to the channel statistic and the signal-to-noise ratio. Then a practical suboptimal threshold is presented to avoid the estimation of the channel statistic. The suboptimal threshold requires no pre-simulations and performs as well as the optimal one. For performance analysis, the probability of perfect fine time adjustment given a particular threshold is also derived. The theoretical results agree well with the simulation results in both Rayleigh and Ricean channels.
Clinical review of grayanotoxin/mad honey poisoning past and present

Grayanotoxin is a naturally occurring sodium channel toxin which enters the human food supply by honey made from the pollen and nectar of the plant family Ericaceae in which rhododendron is a genus. Grayanotoxin/mad honey poisoning is a little known, but well studied, cholinergic toxidrome resulting in incapacitating and, sometimes, life-threatening bradycardia, hypotension, and altered mental status. Complete heart blocks occur in a significant fraction of patients. Asystole has been reported. Treatment with saline infusion and atropine alone is almost always successful. A pooled analysis of the dysrhythmias occurring in 69 patients from 11 different studies and reports is presented. The pathophysiology, signs, symptoms, clinical course, and treatment of grayanotoxin/mad honey poisoning are discussed. In the nineteenth century grayanotoxin/mad honey poisoning was reported in Europe and North America. Currently, documented poisoning from locally produced honey in Europe or North America would be reportable. Possible reasons for this epidemiologic change are discussed.