Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Correlation between Clostridium difficile Bacterial Load, Commercial Real-Time PCR Cycle Thresholds, and Results of Diagnostic Tests Based on Enzyme Immunoassay and Cell Culture Cytotoxicity Assay

ABSTRACT The impact of Clostridium difficile fecal loads on diagnostic test results is poorly understood, but it may have clinical importance. In this study, we investigated the relationship between C. difficile fecal load and the results of four assays: a glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) enzyme immunoassay (EIA), a toxin A/B antigen EIA (ToxAB), a cell culture cytotoxicity assay (CCA), and PCR targeting the tcdB gene. We also compared the PCR cycle threshold (CT ) with the results of quantitative culture using Spearman's rank correlation coefficient. Finally, we sequenced the genomes of 24 strains with different detection profiles. A total of 203 clinical samples harboring toxigenic C. difficile were analyzed and sorted into one of four groups: 17 PCR+ (group 1), 37 PCR+ GDH+ (group 2), 24 PCR+ GDH+ CCA+ (group 3), and 125 PCR+ GDH+ ToxAB+ (group 4). The overall median fecal load in log10 CFU/g was 6.67 (interquartile range [IQR], 5.57 to 7.54). The median fecal bacterial load of groups 1, 2, 3, and 4 were 4.15 (IQR, 3.00 to 4.98), 5.74 (IQR, 4.75 to 6.16), 6.20 (IQR, 5.23 to 6.80), and 7.08 (IQR, 6.35 to 7.83), respectively. Group 1 samples had lower fecal loads than those from each of the other groups (P < 0.001). Group 2 samples had lower fecal loads than those from groups 3 and 4 (P < 0.001). There was a significant correlation between PCR CT and fecal loads (ρ = −0.697; P < 0.001). NAP1 strains were associated with the detection of toxins by EIA or CCA (P = 0.041). This study demonstrates an association between C. difficile fecal load and the results of routinely used diagnostic tests.
Oral Ivermectin for Treatment of Pediculosis Capitis

Background: Pediculosis capitis is a highly transmissible infestation prevalent worldwide. It is an important public health problem mainly affecting children. The emergence of drug resistance and high rates of treatment failure with several topical agents makes ivermectin, an antiparasitic drug, an attractive therapeutic option for lice control. Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of oral ivermectin in the treatment of a pediatric population with pediculosis capitis. Methods: Children with pediculosis capitis from the ages of 6 to 15 years were recruited from an indigenous community in Mexico, and were treated with a single dose of oral ivermectin at 200 &mgr;g/kg. They were treated with a second dose of ivermectin 1 week later if there was evidence of persistent infestation. Results: Forty-four children (mean age, 9.8 years) with active infestation were treated. A single approximately 200-&mgr;g/kg dose of ivermectin eradicated adult lice in all children. Forty-one percent (n = 18) required a second dose because of the presence of viable nits. At the third visit, 2 weeks after commencement of treatment there was no evidence of viable nits, and there was complete resolution of excoriations in all children and minimal or no symptoms of pruritus were reported in 93% (n = 41). There were no significant adverse effects due to ivermectin administration. Conclusions: Ivermectin demonstrates high efficacy and tolerability in the treatment of pediculosis capitis in children. A significant number of children required a second dose to ensure complete eradication.
Switching Modalities in A Sentence Verification Task: ERP Evidence for Embodied Language Processing

In an event related potential (ERP) experiment using written language materials only, we investigated a potential modulation of the N400 by the modality switch effect. The modality switch effect occurs when a first sentence, describing a fact grounded in one modality, is followed by a second sentence describing a second fact grounded in a different modality. For example, “A cellar is dark” (visual), was preceded by either another visual property “Ham is pink” or by a tactile property “A mitten is soft. ” We also investigated whether the modality switch effect occurs for false sentences (“A cellar is light”). We found that, for true sentences, the ERP at the critical word “dark” elicited a significantly greater frontal, early N400-like effect (270–370 ms) when there was a modality mismatch than when there was a modality-match. This pattern was not found for the critical word “light” in false sentences. Results similar to the frontal negativity were obtained in a late time window (500–700 ms). The obtained ERP effect is similar to one previously obtained for pictures. We conclude that in this paradigm we obtained fast access to conceptual properties for modality-matched pairs, which leads to embodiment effects similar to those previously obtained with pictorial stimuli.
Falsely low urinary albumin concentrations after prolonged frozen storage of urine samples.

Trial and Coordination Cen-ter, University of Groningen and University MedicalCenter Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands; * ad-dress correspondence to this author at: University ofGroningen and University Medical Center Groningen,Department of Internal Medicine, Hanzeplein 1, 9713 GZ,Groningen, The Netherlands; fax 31-50-3639069, e-mails.j.l.bakker@int.umcg. nl)Microalbuminuria, defined as a urinary albumin concen-tration (UAC) of 20–200 mg/L, is an early predictor ofdiabetic nephropathy
The effects of different types of ankle-foot orthoses on postural responses in individuals with walking impairments

The aim of this study was to examine the immediate and long-term effects of different ankle-foot orthosis (AFO) types on postural responses in patients with various pathological conditions who, because of their walking disorders, wore an AFO. A total of 37 patients with different pathological conditions who visited the outpatient clinic for orthotics because of walking problems, already used or were referred for an AFO and had no other impairments that may influence balance were included in the study. The participants were divided into four groups according to the type of AFO that they wore. The postural responses were assessed with and without AFO using two force-plates following perturbations in different directions at the level of the pelvis. The centre of pressure was examined in the sagittal and frontal plane and compared with the normative data from healthy individuals. The results showed an improvement in postural responses to the lateral and backward perturbation directions when wearing the AFO, particularly responses in the anterior–posterior direction. The best results were achieved with the custom-made posterior leaf spring AFO for correction of equinovarus deformity. The time of wearing the AFO had an impact on postural responses in perturbation directions where the patients could not rely only on AFO. The custom-made AFO improved overall postural responses, especially dynamic stability, in lateral directions, whereas all stiff AFOs contributed towards an improvement in responses to all perturbations to the affected side. Results showed that long-term use of an AFO can be important for the overall improvement of postural responses.
Increased transmitter amino acid concentration in human ventricular CSF after brain trauma

THE concentrations of L-aspartate, L-glutamate, L-serine, glycine, and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) were determined in repeated samples of ventricular CSF from five patients with severe closed head injury. The values were compared with those obtained from five subjects undergoing surgical treatment for intractable depression. In the head-injured patients, the concentrations of aspartate, glutamate, and glycine were 2− to 8-fold higher, and the concentration of GABA 56− to 317-fold higher than control values; the concentration of serine was unaffected. Spearman correlation analysis indicated that the concentration of glutamate significantly increased after injury (Rs = 0.60, p < 0.0001, n = 42), reaching an average concentration of about 7 μM 3 days after the injury. This is probably sufficient to cause further excitotoxicity, which suggests the use of excitatory amino acid receptor antagonists as a treatment following severe head injury may require prolonged administration for maximum therapeutic benefit.
A Three-Dimensional Model of Cellular Electrical Activity

Cellular electrical activity is central to cellular physio logy, and it has been one of the most successful examples of mathematical modeling in biology. Most models of cellular electrical activity are based on the cable model, in which an ohmic current continuity relation results in a one-dimensional reaction diffusion system. In the derivation of the cable model, one assumes that the ionic concentrations do not change appreciably over the time of interest, and that a one-dimensional picture of cell geometry is adequate for purposes of describing cellular electrical activity. We pr esent a three-dimensional model of cellular electrical activity that takes into account both ionic conc entration and geometrical effects on electrophysiology. We view biological tissue as three-dimensional space partitioned by the cell membrane into intracellular and extracellular spaces. The system of partial differential equations consists of driftdiffusion equations for each ionic species supplemented with the electroneutrality condition. Boundary conditions satisfied at both sides of the cell membrane model the capacitative nature of the membrane as well as the ionic channel currents. The model may be described mathematically as a system of partial differential algebraic equations with nonlinear evolutio nary interface conditions. This system has the virtue of being more general in its physiological applicabi lity than the cable model, but has the difficulty of being far more complicated to study either analytically or numerically. We present a numerical method for solving the above equations numerically A challenge in constructing a numerical scheme for this model is that its equations are stiff: There is a time scale associated with ’diffusion’ of the membrane potential that is much faster th an the time scale associated with the physical diffusion of ions. We use an implicit discretization in time and a finite volume discretization in space. We present convergence studies of the numerical method for several cases of physiological interest. REFERENCES
Effects of central administration of gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists and antagonist on elevated plus-maze and social interaction behavior in rats

The correlation between neuronal mechanism of anxiety and neuroanatomic expression/neuromodulatory role of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), points to a role of GnRH in the modulation of anxiety. Therefore, we investigated the influence of GnRH agonists and antagonist on the anxiety-like behavior of rats in the elevated plus-maze and social interaction tests. GnRH agonists, leuprolide [100 or 200 ng/rat, intracerebroventricularly (i.c.v.)] or 6-D-tryptophan luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (400 ng/rat, i.c.v.), significantly increased percentage of open arms entries, time spent in open arms, and time spent in social interaction. The observed anxiolytic effect of these agents was comparable with diazepam (0.5–1.0 mg/kg, intraperitoneally). Treatment with a GnRH antagonist [pGlu-D-Phe-Trp-Ser-Tyr-D-Ala-Leu-Arg-Pro-Gly-NH2, (100 ng/rat, i.c.v.)], significantly reduced percentage of open arm indices and decreased time spent in social interaction, indicating an anxiogenic-like effect. Further, castrated rats exhibited anxiogenic-like behavior in these tests, which was significantly attenuated by leuprolide (200 ng/rat, i.c.v.) or 6-D-tryptophan luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (400 ng/rat, i.c.v.), indicating the noninvolvement of peripheral sex hormone in their anxiolytic-like effect, at least in castrated rats. In conclusion, this study indicated a putative role of GnRH in the control of anxiety, and further adds to the importance of investigating the possible role of the hypothalamus–pituitary–gonadal axis in regulating the anxiety-related disorders arising out of hypothalamus–pituitary–adrenal axis dysregulation.
Feasibility and Perceived Efficacy of the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics

Child abuse and neglect can have serious negative physiological and psychological effects on the developing brain. Children who suffer from early and ongoing abuse and neglect often develop further problems as they mature, even if they are subsequently in safe environments. Many trauma-based therapies have been created in order to help these children develop increased emotional and social regulation, and decrease their behavioral problems. The Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics (NMT) is a newer approach to working with traumatized children that has garnered great enthusiasm despite very limited outcome data. In this dissertation, I explore the promise of NMT and describe a qualitative research project on its use and perceived efficacy in a community mental health agency serving complexly traumatized children and their families. The participants in this research study maintain that NMT has had positive effects on staff and clients. They find this approach to therapy effective, and are enthusiastic about its implementation at their agency. The clinical implication is that NMT may succeed where other trauma-informed approaches fail.
Right Ventricular Dysplasia: A Report of 24 Adult Cases

Right ventricular dysplasia is characterized by an abnormality in the development of part of the right ventricular musculature. Patients with right ventricular dysplasia may present with ventricular tachycardia, suprgventricular arrhythmias, right‐heart failure or asymptomatic cardlomegaly. Twenty‐two adult patients with right ventricular dysplasia who had recurrent ventricular tachycardia were seen during a 7‐year period. The male/female ratio was 2.7:1. The mean age at the time of hospitalization was 39 years. All but one of the patients had ventricular tachycardia of a left bundle branch block configuration. With few exceptions, the T waves were inverted over the right precordial leads. The heart was usually enlarged and the pulmonary vasculaturc was usually normal. In six patients who had two‐dimensional echocardiograms, all showed increased right ventricular diastolic dimensions. All patients had right ventricular angiography; the diagnosis of right ventricular dysplasia was substantiated during surgery in 12 patients and at autopsy in another. Two other patients who did not have arrhythmias had right ventricular dysplasia diagnosed by right‐ and left‐heart angiography.
Quantitative Ischemia Detection During Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Stress Testing by Use of FastHARP

Background—Because ECG alterations caused by ischemia cannot be reliably detected in the high-field MRI environment, detection of wall motion abnormalities is often used to ensure patient safety during stress testing. However, an experienced observer is needed to detect these abnormalities. In this study, we investigate the use of fast harmonic phase (FastHARP) MRI for the quantitative, operator-independent detection of the onset of ischemia during acute coronary occlusion. Methods and Results—Eight mongrel dogs underwent an acute 2-minute closed-chest coronary artery occlusion while continuous FastHARP images were acquired. Full regional wall strain was determined every other heartbeat in a single short-axis imaging slice. After 5 minutes of reperfusion, a second 2-minute ischemic episode was induced during the acquisition of conventional cine wall-motion images. The time at which ECG alterations were observed during the first ischemic period was recorded. The time from occlusion to the detection of ischemia, based on a consensus of 2 blinded observers, was determined for MRI. No significant ischemia was present in 2 animals. In the remaining animals, the onset of ischemia was detected significantly earlier by FastHARP than by cine MRI (9.5±5 versus 33±14 seconds, P <0.01). HARP ischemia detection preceded ECG changes, on average, by 54 seconds. Conclusions—The rapid acquisition and detection of induced ischemia with FastHARP MRI shows promise as a nonsubjective method to diagnose significant coronary lesions during MR stress testing.
Infectious Bronchitis Virus Field Vaccination Coverage and Persistence of Arkansas-Type Viruses in Commercial Broilers

Abstract To determine the coverage of infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) vaccine field boost in commercial broilers, estimate the relative amount of vaccine virus in the trachea, and follow the clearance of the vaccine, we collected approximately 100 tracheal swabs at various times postvaccination from 10 different flocks and used real-time reverse transcriptase–PCR (RT-PCR) to detect the virus. This allowed us to detect vaccine virus in as few as 3% of the birds in a flock of 20,000 birds with a 95% confidence level. We found that the number of birds positive for IBV vaccine following vaccination in the field resembled a parabolic-shaped curve that peaked around 14 days postvaccination, or it resembled a sinusoidal-type wave with a frequency of about 2 wk. The patterns did not appear to correlate with water or spray vaccination methods, nor did they correlate with the type of backpack sprayer used. The highest number of positive birds in a flock ranged from 66% to 100%. The viral genome copies in the tracheal swabs, as determined by real-time RT-PCR, ranged from 1 × 102.6/ml to 1 × 105.2/ml and, in most studies, had a positive correlation with the number of birds positive for vaccine virus in the flock. On the last sample day of each study, 21, 28, or 35 days postvaccination, from 12% to 66% of the birds were still positive for vaccine virus, and although different IBV vaccine types were used in each study, only Arkansas vaccine virus was identified in selected samples on those days. Arkansas vaccine virus was also the only virus identified in selected samples at 1, 3, and 5 days postvaccination, clearly indicating that Arkansas vaccine virus is persisting in the birds. Protection studies conducted on birds vaccinated with Arkansas- and Delaware-type vaccines and removed from the field at 21 days postvaccination showed complete protection against challenge with Delaware (except for one bird), whereas protection against Arkansas challenge was between 37.5% and 62.5%. Our findings show that introduction of IBV vaccines into a commercial broiler flock do not necessarily follow a seemingly logical pattern of a high number of birds infected followed by clearance from the trachea, but resembled either a parabolic curve or a sinusoidal-type wave. In addition, Arkansas vaccine viruses are clearly persisting in commercial broilers, which may be because of incomplete protection observed for that IBV type.
Specificity of connections formed by nociceptive cells of the leech in tissue culture

SUMMARY Individual medial and lateral nociceptive (N) cells of the leech have been paired with a variety of different target cells to determine the patterns and the properties of the connections made in culture. 1. Lateral nociceptive N cells did not make electrical or chemical connections with other N cells or with P sensory cells. 2. N cells made electrical connections with Retzius cells, anterior pagoda cells (AP) and annulus erector (AE) and L motor neurones in culture. 3. Lateral and medial N cells, which differ in the animal, exhibited consistent differences in culture. Well-established electrical junctions made by lateral N cells showed clear rectification. In contrast, medial N cells could make either nonrectifying or rectifying connections with target cells. 4. In spite of the presence of strong electrical coupling, evidence for chemically mediated synaptic interactions between N cells and other neurones was obtained on occasion. 5. These findings emphasize the specific nature of connections formed in culture. Unlike P sensory cells, N cells in culture did become electrically connected to Retzius cells and could make both rectifying and non-rectifying electrical junctions with appropriate targets.
Limit distributions for large P\'{o}lya urns

We consider a two-color P\'{o}lya urn in the case when a fixed number $S$ of balls is added at each step. Assume it is a large urn that is, the second eigenvalue $m$ of the replacement matrix satisfies $1/2<m/S\leq1$. After $n$ drawings, the composition vector has asymptotically a first deterministic term of order $n$ and a second random term of order $n^{m/S}$. The object of interest is the limit distribution of this random term. The method consists in embedding the discrete-time urn in continuous time, getting a two-type branching process. The dislocation equations associated with this process lead to a system of two differential equations satisfied by the Fourier transforms of the limit distributions. The resolution is carried out and it turns out that the Fourier transforms are explicitly related to Abelian integrals over the Fermat curve of degree $m$. The limit laws appear to constitute a new family of probability densities supported by the whole real line.
IL‐10 inhibits macrophage activation and proliferation by distinct signaling mechanisms: evidence for Stat3‐dependent and ‐independent pathways

Interleukin‐10 (IL‐10) limits inflammatory responses by inhibiting macrophage activation. In macrophages, IL‐10 activates Stat1 and Stat3. We characterized IL‐10 responses of the J774 mouse macrophage cell line, and of J774 cells expressing wild‐type hIL‐10R, mutant hIL‐10R lacking two membrane‐distal tyrosines involved in recruitment of Stat3 (hIL‐10R‐TyrFF), a truncated Stat3 (ΔStat3) which acts as a dominant negative, or an inducibly active Stat3–gyraseB chimera (Stat3–GyrB). A neutralizing anti‐mIL‐10R monoclonal antibody was generated to block the function of endogenous mIL‐10R. IL‐10 inhibited proliferation of J774 cells and of normal bone marrow‐derived macrophages, but not J774 cells expressing hIL‐10RTyrFF. Dimerization of Stat3–GyrB by coumermycin mimicked the effect of IL‐10, and expression of ΔStat3 blocked the anti‐proliferative activity of IL‐10. For macrophage de‐activation responses, hIL10R‐TyrFF could not mediate inhibition of lipopolysaccharide‐induced TNFα, IL‐1β or CD86 expression, while ΔStat3 did not interfere detectably with these IL‐10 responses. Thus signals mediating both anti‐proliferative and macrophage de‐activation responses to IL‐10 require the two membrane‐distal tyrosines of IL‐10R, but Stat3 appears to function only in the anti‐proliferative response.
Building Keypoint Mappings on Multispectral Images by a Cascade of Classifiers with a Resurrection Mechanism

Inspired by the boosting technique for detecting objects, this paper proposes a cascade structure with a resurrection mechanism to establish keypoint mappings on multispectral images. The cascade structure is composed of four steps by utilizing best bin first (BBF), color and intensity distribution of segment (CIDS), global information and the RANSAC process to remove outlier keypoint matchings. Initial keypoint mappings are built with the descriptors associated with keypoints; then, at each step, only a small number of keypoint mappings of a high confidence are classified to be incorrect. The unclassified keypoint mappings will be passed on to subsequent steps for determining whether they are correct. Due to the drawback of a classification rule, some correct keypoint mappings may be misclassified as incorrect at a step. Observing this, we design a resurrection mechanism, so that they will be reconsidered and evaluated by the rules utilized in subsequent steps. Experimental results show that the proposed cascade structure combined with the resurrection mechanism can effectively build more reliable keypoint mappings on multispectral images than existing methods.