Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Failure of response to ampicillin in Hemophilus influenzae meningitis.

BACTERIOLOGIC relapse in patients with meningitis due to Hemophilus influenzae treated with ampicillin has recently been recorded. 1-4 This report presents a patient with H influenzae meningitis who failed to respond to accepted ampicillin therapy. Report of a Case A 21-month-old Negro boy was referred to the North Carolina Baptist Hospital because he had a febrile illness for three days' duration which had not responded to treatment with penicillin. On admission his temperature was 103 F (39.4 C). He was above the 50th percentile for height and weight. He was lethargic but not critically ill. There were classical clinical manifestations of meningitis. Hemoglobin value was 6.5 gm/100 ml, and the hematocrit reading was 28%. Dietary history, morphology of the peripheral smear, and red blood cell indices indicated an iron deficiency anemia. However, the patient was given a transfusion of packed cells before a serum iron or iron binding capacity was
Common weakness enumeration (CWE) status update

This paper is a status update on the Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) initiative [1], one of the efforts focused on improving the utility and effectiveness of code-based security assessment technology. As hoped, the CWE initiative has helped to dramatically accelerate the use of tool-based assurance arguments in reviewing software systems for security issues and invigorated the investigation of code implementation, design, and architecture issues with automation.
Variable neighborhood based memetic algorithm for Just-in-Time distributed assembly permutation flowshop scheduling

Distributed Assembly Permutation Flowshop Scheduling Problem (DAPFSP) represents a widely-applied manufacturing pattern, which is formed by two relatively independent stages, i.e., processing stage and assembly stage. In this paper, we introduce the Just-in-Time (JIT) constraint between the two stages of the conventional DAPFSP to form the Just-in-Time DAPFSP (JIT-DAPFSP), with respect to minimizing the maximum weighted earliness/tardiness cost. A variable neighborhood search based Memetic Algorithm (VNS-MA) is proposed by incorporating several novel neighborhoods manipulating the factory assignment. Computational tests are carried out on 10 small-scale and 5 large-scale benchmark problems to compare the results of different operators and algorithms. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report to model JIT constraints and objective in DAPFSP.
Hybrid Spectrum Sharing with Cooperative Secondary User Selection in Cognitive Radio Networks

In this paper, we propose a cooperative hybrid spectrum sharing protocol by jointly considering interweave (opportunistic) and underlay schemes. In the proposed protocol, secondary users can access the licensed spectrum along with the primary system. Our network scenario comprises a single primary transmitter-receiver (PTx-PRx) pair and a group of M secondary transmitter-receiver (STx-SRx) pairs within the transmission range of the primary system. Secondary transmitters are divided into two groups: active and inactive. A secondary transmitter that gets an opportunity to access the secondary spectrum is called “active”. One of the idle or inactive secondary transmitters that achieves the primary request target rate R PT will be selected as a best decode-and-forward (DF) relay (Re) to forward the primary information when the data rate of the direct link between PTx and PRx falls below R PT . We investigate the ergodic capacity and outage probability of the primary system with cooperative relaying and outage probability of the secondary system. Our theoretical and simulation results show that both the primary and secondary systems are able to achieve performance improvement in terms of outage probability. It is also shown that ergodic capacity and outage probability improve when the active secondary transmitter is located farther away from the PRx.
Characterization of hospital-associated lineages of ampicillin-resistant Enterococcus faecium from clinical cases in dogs and humans

Ampicillin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (ARE) has rapidly emerged worldwide and is one of the most important nosocomial pathogens. However, very few reports are available on ARE isolates from canine clinical cases. The objective of this study was to characterize ARE strains of canine clinical origin from a veterinary teaching hospital in Canada and to compare them with human strains. Ten ARE strains from dogs and humans were characterized by multilocus sequence typing (MLST), pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), antibiotic susceptibility and biofilm activities, presence of rep-families, CRISPR-cas and putative virulence genes. All ARE strains (n = 10) were resistant to ciprofloxacin and lincomycin. Resistances to tetracycline (n = 6), macrolides (n = 6), and to high concentrations of gentamicin, kanamycin and streptomycin (n = 5) were also observed. Canine ARE isolates were found to be susceptible to vancomycin whereas resistance to this antibiotic was observed in human strains. Ampicillin resistance was linked to PBP5 showing mutations at 25 amino acid positions. Fluoroquinolone resistance was attributable to ParC, GyrA, and GyrB mutations. Data demonstrated that all canine ARE were acm (collagen binding protein)-positive and that most harbored the efaAfm gene, encoding for a cell wall adhesin. Biofilm formation was observed in two human strains but not in canine strains. Two to five rep-families were observed per strain but no CRISPR sequences were found. A total of six STs (1, 18, 65, 202, 205, and 803) were found with one belonging to a new ST (ST803). These STs were identical or closely related to human hospital-associated lineages. This report describes for the first time the characterization of canine ARE hospital-associated strains in Canada and also supports the importance of prudent antibiotic use in veterinary medicine to avoid zoonotic spread of canine ARE.
From 2D images to 3D face geometry

This paper presents a global scheme for 3D face reconstruction and face segmentation into a limited number of analytical patches from stereo images. From a depth map, we generate a 3D model of the face which is iteratively deformed under stereo and shape-from-shading constraints as well as differential features. This model enables us to improve the quality of the depth map, from which we perform the segmentation and the approximation of the surface.
Shaping the Web: Why the Politics of Search Engines Matters

This article argues that search engines raise not merely technical issues but also political ones. Our study of search engines suggests that they systematically exclude (in some cases by design and in some, accidentally) certain sites and certain types of sites in favor of others, systematically giving prominence to some at the expense of others. We argue that such biases, which would lead to a narrowing of the Web's functioning in society, run counter to the basic architecture of the Web as well as to the values and ideals that have fueled widespread support for its growth and development. We consider ways of addressing the politics of search engines, raising doubts whether, in particular, the market mechanism could serve as an acceptable corrective.
Reward, addiction, and emotion regulation systems associated with rejection in love.

Romantic rejection causes a profound sense of loss and negative affect. It can induce clinical depression and in extreme cases lead to suicide and/or homicide. To begin to identify the neural systems associated with this natural loss state, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to study 10 women and 5 men who had recently been rejected by a partner but reported they were still intensely "in love. " Participants alternately viewed a photograph of their rejecting beloved and a photograph of a familiar, individual, interspersed with a distraction-attention task. Their responses while looking at their rejecter included love, despair, good, and bad memories, and wondering why this happened. Activation specific to the image of the beloved occurred in areas associated with gains and losses, craving and emotion regulation and included the ventral tegmental area (VTA) bilaterally, ventral striatum, medial and lateral orbitofrontal/prefrontal cortex, and cingulate gyrus. Compared with data from happily-in-love individuals, the regional VTA activation suggests that mesolimbic reward/survival systems are involved in romantic passion regardless of whether one is happily or unhappily in love. Forebrain activations associated with motivational relevance, gain/loss, cocaine craving, addiction, and emotion regulation suggest that higher-order systems subject to experience and learning also may mediate the rejection reaction. The results show activation of reward systems, previously identified by monetary stimuli, in a natural, endogenous, negative emotion state. Activation of areas involved in cocaine addiction may help explain the obsessive behaviors associated with rejection in love.
Idiopathic ileocolitis with perforation associated with HIV infection: thalidomide treatment

Idiopathic cutaneous ulcers, oesophageal ulcers and severe ulcerative ileocolitis occurred in a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patient early after the initiation of combination antiretroviral therapy. This massive inflammatory process led to acute colonic perforation on two occasions. The disease was refractory to standard therapy, but responded successfully to thalidomide. Here, we discuss the potential benefits of thalidomide in refractory inflammatory processes in HIV-infected patients.
Exploiting ecology in drug pulse sequences in favour of population reduction

A deterministic population dynamics model involving birth and death for a two-species system, comprising a wild-type and more resistant species competing via logistic growth, is subjected to two distinct stress environments designed to mimic those that would typically be induced by temporal variation in the concentration of a drug (antibiotic or chemotherapeutic) as it permeates through the population and is progressively degraded. Different treatment regimes, involving single or periodical doses, are evaluated in terms of the minimal population size (a measure of the extinction probability), and the population composition (a measure of the selection pressure for resistance or tolerance during the treatment). We show that there exist timescales over which the low-stress regime is as effective as the high-stress regime, due to the competition between the two species. For multiple periodic treatments, competition can ensure that the minimal population size is attained during the first pulse when the high-stress regime is short, which implies that a single short pulse can be more effective than a more protracted regime. Our results suggest that when the duration of the high-stress environment is restricted, a treatment with one or multiple shorter pulses can produce better outcomes than a single long treatment. If ecological competition is to be exploited for treatments, it is crucial to determine these timescales, and estimate for the minimal population threshold that suffices for extinction. These parameters can be quantified by experiment.
A case of feline cryptococcosis treated with itraconazole

Summary. We successfully treated a feline case of cryptococcosis with itraconazole (ITZ) at a lower dosage. The patient was a 2‐year‐old castrated male Abyssinian cat weighing 4.1 kg and with two masses on the head. Clinical signs were sneezing and nasal discharge. The plasma cryptococcal antigen titer measured by the latex agglutination test was proved to be high (512). The biopsy specimen from the masses disclosed yeast cells which were cultured and identified to be Cryptococus neoformans. The cat was treated with ITZ 5 mg kg‐1 given orally once a day with food. After 4 weeks, treatment of ITZ discontinued, because the cat was clinically normal and the antigen titer was low (128). However, about 7 months later, a subcutaneous nodule was detected on the same area. The nasal discharge appeared again, and the cryptococcal antigen titer was 256. ITZ treatment was continued again at the same dosage for 3 months until the antigen titer was negative (<8). Four months after discontinuation of ITZ, the cat did not relapse and the antigen titer was in the negative range. No side‐effects of ITZ were detected by physical and laboratory examination.
Quiet calls: talking silently on mobile phones

Quiet Calls is a technology allowing mobile telephone users to respond to telephone conversations without talking aloud. QC-Hold, a Quiet Calls prototype, combines three buttons for responding to calls with a PDA/mobile phone unit to silently send pre-recorded audio directly into the phone. This permits a mixed-mode communication where callers in public settings use a quiet means of communication, and other callers experience a voice telephone call. An evaluation of QC-Hold shows that it is easily used and suggests ways in which Quiet Calls offers a new form of communication, extending the choices offered by synchronous phone calling and asynchronous voicemail.
Source of upper gastrointestinal bleeding in patients with esophageal varices seen at endoscopy.

Many claim that upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage in patients with varices is frequently not of variceal origin. Such teaching is contrary to our experience. We therefore reviewed the records of 127 consecutive patients with 165 episodes of acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding who were found to have esophageal varices by endoscopy. Varices were the only potential site of the index bleed in 101 of the 127 patients (79.5%). In addition to varices, other potential sites of bleeding were gastric ulcer in 9 (7%), Mallory-Weiss tear in 4 (3.1%), duodenal ulcer in 3 (2.3%), and multiple gastroduodenal erosions in 10 (7.8%). We used the characteristics of the clinical presentation (e.g., varix seen bleeding) and the known natural course of the variceal bleeding to attempt to define the site of bleeding in the group with more than one potential site. In 15 we could make a judgment as to the likely source: In 9 it was variceal and in 6 nonvariceal. When varices are seen at endoscopy in a patient with a major hemorrhage, they are responsible for the bleeding in greater than 80% of cases.
Estrogen Receptor- Expression in Human Testicular Germ Cell Tumors

Purpose: Estrogen exposure has been linked to a risk for the development of testicular germ cell cancers. The effects of estrogen are now known to be mediated by estrogen receptor (ER)- and - receptor subtypes, but only ER- has been found in human normal testis. The goal of the present study was to compare the localization and expression levels of these ER subtypes in testicular germ cell cancers (seminomas and nonseminomatous germ cell tumors) with normal testis. For completeness, expression of androgen and progesterone receptors was also investigated. Experimental Design: Immunohistochemistry was used to localize the expression of steroid receptors in 39 archival testicular germ cell cancers and 5 morphologically normal testes. Expression of the steroid receptors at the transcript level was semiquantified by reverse transcription-PCR in 5 paired fresh-frozen specimens of normal and neoplastic testes. Results: ER- was not expressed in the human normal testis. It was also absent in all of the testicular germ cell cancers studied. In contrast, ER- was strongly expressed in various germ cells of the normal testis. However, its expression was markedly diminished in seminomas, embryonal cell carcinomas, and in mixed germ cell tumors, at both transcriptional and translational levels. In contrast, ER- remained highly expressed in endodermal sinus tumors and teratomas. Progesterone receptor, an estrogen-regulated gene, was localized to spermatagonia of the normal testis, but its expression dramatically reduced in seminomas. With the exception of spermatagonia, androgen receptor was found in all of the germ cells of the normal testis, but, aside from trace staining in 3 of 5 endodermal sinus tumor cells, it was not detected immunohistochemically in any other germ cell cancer. Conclusions: We confirm expression of ER-, but not ER-, in normal testicular cells, suggesting that only the former ER subtype mediates the action of estrogen in the human male gonad. Our results provide the first evidence that only ER- is expressed in testicular germ cell tumors. Its expression is down-regulated in seminomas and embryonal cell carcinomas but remains high in endodermal sinus tumors and in teratomas. The observed differences in ERexpression levels among different testicular germ cell tumors may reflect divergent pathways of differentiation/ dedifferentiation of these neoplasms from a common precursor. Collectively, these findings provide a possible mechanistic link between estrogen exposure and testicular cancer risk.
Fabricating small-scale polymeric structures for in-vitro diagnosis via daily-use tools

This paper describes an easy-to-handle approach for creating three-dimensional millimeter-scale polymeric structures on various solid materials as a mold (soft lithography) using daily-use tools for developing in-vitro point-of-care diagnostics devices. These polymeric structures are made from UV-activated materials, adhesive tapes as the mask and UV-LED flashlight as the light source. This physical-based approach is easily operated by hand and is accessible to the less economically developing regions and home. This method provides a new tool to detect biochemicals - glucose, cholesterol, and nitrite ion in this study - in buffer solution and human serum on PDMS structures, and the results can be compared to the products in the market. This study, we believe, would provide a wide range of potential applications, such as the development of point-of-care devices and microfluidics devices, or easy-to-handle fabrication method for the developing regions as well to build "zero-cost" systems.
Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems in Developing Countries: Case of the United Arab Emirates (UAE)

Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographic Information System (GIS) education and implementation is rapidly being adopted by universities in developing countries, such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Until recently, the use of GIS and RS in education in the UAE was hindered by the cost of hardware and the complexity of software. With the price/performance increase of desktop computer capabilities and new low cost and user-friendly software, more universities in the UAE have been able to acquire GIS/RS hardware and software. A survey investigating demand for scientists able to use these technologies in various organizations in the UAE showed that the demand for GIS/RS professionals is between one to fifteen persons per organization. This article focuses on GIS/RS education in the UAE, provides case studies of implementation of GIS/RS, highlights the global cooperation between UAE and international bodies, and identifies problems related to GIS/RS education as well as catalysts that may play an important role in its development. It is anticipated that other nations can make use of the UAE experience in GIS/RS education, implementation, identification of problems, and recommendations for possible solutions.
Emitter Localization Given Time Delay and Frequency Shift Measurements

Given time and frequency differences of arrival measurements, we estimate the position and velocity of an emitter by jointly eliminating nonlinear nuisance parameters with an orthogonal projection matrix. Although simulation results show that this estimator does not always perform as well as the two-step estimator, the benefit is its computational simplicity. Whereas the complexity of the two-step estimator increases cubically with respect to the number of sensors, the complexity of the proposed estimator increases quadratically.
Friday: Global Comprehension for Distributed Replay

Debugging and profiling large-scale distributed applications is a daunting task. We present Friday, a system for debugging distributed applications that combines deterministic replay of components with the power of symbolic, low-level debugging and a simple language for expressing higher-level distributed conditions and actions. Friday allows the programmer to understand the collective state and dynamics of a distributed collection of coordinated application components. To evaluate Friday, we consider several distributed problems, including routing consistency in overlay networks, and temporal state abnormalities caused by route flaps. We show via micro-benchmarks and larger-scale application measurement that Friday can be used interactively to debug large distributed applications under replay on common hardware.
THE EFFECT ON TURNOUT OF MOBILIZATION CAMPAIGN COMMUNICATIONS ADDRESSING BALLOT SECRECY CONCERNS : A REPLICATION EXPERIMENT

Word Count: 149 Article Word Count: 2175 Abstract Given the persistence of public doubts about the integrity of ballot secrecy, which depress turnout, two prior experiments have shown precise evidence that both official governmental and unofficial mobilization campaigns providing assurances about ballot secrecy increases turnout among recently registered nonvoters. To assess whether these findings replicate in other political settings, we describe a replication experiment where a non-governmental, nonpartisan mobilization campaign sent similar treatment mailings to recently registered nonvoters during the 2014 general election in Mississippi. We find that sending mobilization mailings containing assurances about ballot secrecy protections has no effect on turnout rates in this setting, which is characterized by an unusually low baseline turnout rate. These results are consistent with past research concluding that nonpartisan GOTV mail has very weak effects among very low turnout propensity registrants, and suggest that there are heterogeneous effects of ballot secrecy treatments associated with subjects’ characteristics and the electoral context.