Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Bacteriophage cocktail significantly reduces Escherichia coli O157

Foods contaminated with Escherichia coli O157:H7 cause more than 63,000 foodborne illnesses in the United States every year, resulting in a significant economic impact on medical costs and product liabilities. Efforts to reduce contamination with E. coli O157:H7 have largely focused on washing, application of various antibacterial chemicals, and gamma-irradiation, each of which has practical and environmental drawbacks. A relatively recent, environmentally-friendly approach proposed for eliminating or significantly reducing E. coli O157:H7 contamination of foods is the use of lytic bacteriophages as biocontrol agents. We found that EcoShield™, a commercially available preparation composed of three lytic bacteriophages specific for E. coli O157:H7, significantly (p < 0.05) reduced the levels of the bacterium in experimentally contaminated beef by ≥ 94% and in lettuce by 87% after a five minute contact time. The reduced levels of bacteria were maintained for at least one week at refrigerated temperatures. However, the one-time application of EcoShield™ did not protect the foods from recontamination with E. coli O157:H7. Our results demonstrate that EcoShield™ is effective in significantly reducing contamination of beef and lettuce with E. coli O157:H7, but does not protect against potential later contamination due to, for example, unsanitary handling of the foods post processing.
Visual loss following removal of intraocular silicone oil

Aim: To investigate the cause of visual loss following removal of intraocular silicone oil in patients who underwent vitrectomies for retinal detachment or giant retinal tear. Methods: The clinical records of three cases with visual loss following removal of silicone oil were reviewed. Investigations carried out included fundus fluorescein angiogram, optical coherence tomography, and electrophysiological studies. Results: Visual acuities dropped from 6/9 to 6/36 in two cases and 6/24 to 3/24 in the third. None of the three cases had macula detachment at any stage. Fundus fluorescein angiogram and optical coherence tomography were normal in all cases. Pattern electroretinogram showed reduced amplitudes of the P50 and N95 components. Multifocal electroretinogram indicated a selective damage to the central part of the macula. Conclusions: The results suggest that the abnormality arises predominantly in the central part of the macula, especially the outer and middle layers. However, the exact mechanism still remains obscure.
Spectral Solutions to the Topographic Potential in the context of High-Resolution Global Gravity Field Modelling

The thesis investigates to which extent the topographic potential together with up-to-date topographic elevation data is a means to improve global combined gravity field models at short scales, i.e. up to and beyond the resolution of present day models (~10 km). It is shown that spectral forward modelling techniques that are based on spherical harmonics, which denote efficient global solutions to Newton’s law of gravitation, can achieve significant improvements, especially when waiving some of the most typical approximations.
Decompressive Surgery for the Treatment of Malignant Infarction of the Middle Cerebral Artery (DESTINY): A Randomized, Controlled Trial

Background and Purpose— Decompressive surgery (hemicraniectomy) for life-threatening massive cerebral infarction represents a controversial issue in neurocritical care medicine. We report here the 30-day mortality and 6- and 12-month functional outcomes from the DESTINY trial. Methods— DESTINY (ISRCTN01258591) is a prospective, multicenter, randomized, controlled, clinical trial based on a sequential design that used mortality after 30 days as the first end point. When this end point was reached, patient enrollment was interrupted as per protocol until recalculation of the projected sample size was performed on the basis of the 6-month outcome (primary end point=modified Rankin Scale score, dichotomized to 0 to 3 versus 4 to 6). All analyses were based on intention to treat. Results— A statistically significant reduction in mortality was reached after 32 patients had been included: 15 of 17 (88%) patients randomized to hemicraniectomy versus 7 of 15 (47%) patients randomized to conservative therapy survived after 30 days (P=0.02). After 6 and 12 months, 47% of patients in the surgical arm versus 27% of patients in the conservative treatment arm had a modified Rankin Scale score of 0 to 3 (P=0.23). Conclusions— DESTINY showed that hemicraniectomy reduces mortality in large hemispheric stroke. With 32 patients included, the primary end point failed to demonstrate statistical superiority of hemicraniectomy, and the projected sample size was calculated to 188 patients. Despite this failure to meet the primary end point, the steering committee decided to terminate the trial in light of the results of the joint analysis of the 3 European hemicraniectomy trials.
Named and default arguments for polymorphic object-oriented languages: a discussion on the design implemented in the Scala language

This article describes the design and implementation of named and default arguments in the Scala programming language. While these features are available in many other languages there are significant differences in the actual implementations. We present a design that unifies the most reasonable properties for an object-oriented language and provides new possibilities by allowing default arguments on generic and implicit parameters. We also present a solution for the problem of writing a lightweight generic update function for algebraic datatypes.
Glossary of Permafrost and Related Ground-Ice Terms

3. active construction methods in permafrost Special design and construction methods used for engineering works in permafrost areas where permafrost degradation cannot be prevented. COMMENT: Two main approaches are possible. Unfavourable foundation materials can be thawed and compacted or replaced with more suitable materials before the structure is erected. Alternatively, the foundations and structure may be designed to accommodate any thaw settlement that will occur. REFERENCES: Andersland and Anderson, 1978; Linell and Lobacz, 1980; Johnston, 1981.
Outcome after endovascular treatment of Hunt and Hess grade IV or V aneurysms: comparison of anterior versus posterior circulation.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The most common cause of poor treatment outcome in patients suffering aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage is cerebral vasospasm, especially in cases of poor Hunt and Hess grades (IV and V). A further prognostic factor in surgically treated patients is aneurysm localization. The aim of the present retrospective study is to compare the endovascular treatment outcome in such poor-grade patients according to aneurysm localization in either the anterior (AC) or posterior (PC) circulation. METHODS Forty poor-grade patients admitted between 1993 and July 1998 were treated by endovascular approach within 23 days after aneurysm rupture. Eighteen had aneurysms in the AC, 22 in the PC. Mean treatment delay was 4 days after rupture and median, 2 days. One patient showed multiple aneurysms. In 36 cases, aneurysms were occluded by Guglielmi detachable coils; in 4 cases, by parent vessel balloon occlusion. RESULTS The incidence of delayed ischemic neurological dysfunction or cerebral infarct due to vasospasm did not differ significantly between the AC and PC groups. Two procedure-related complications with clinical effect were observed in each group. At 6 months' follow-up, the result was good in 5 patients and poor in 13 in the AC group and good in 11 patients and poor in 11 in the PC group. CONCLUSION Given comparable incidence of vasospasm in poor-grade patients, a tendency toward better treatment outcome was found in patients with aneurysms in the posterior circulation (chi(2)=2.04; P=0.15) than in the anterior circulation. Endovascular therapy for poor-grade patients is recommended, as are further studies to determine treatment differences.
Resource Monitoring and Prediction in Cloud Computing Environments

Cloud computing provides elastic, scalable resource sharing service by resource management. Resource monitoring and prediction are the foundation to achieve resource automation, high performance management in cloud computing environment. This paper addresses the resource monitoring and prediction problem in cloud computing environment, designs and implements an adaptive resource monitoring framework for cloud computing, and presents a resource prediction mechanism based on Vector Auto Regression (VAR) by the correlation between various resources. Related experiments show that the proposed resource monitoring framework can effectively monitor the resource usage in cloud computing environment, and prediction mechanism based on vector auto regression compared to other prediction mechanism could be more effective to predict resource usage.
Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor and Monocyte Chemoattractant Protein-1 Levels Unaltered in Symptomatic Atherosclerotic Carotid Plaque Patients from North India

We aimed to identify the role of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP-1) as a serum biomarker of symptomatic carotid atherosclerotic plaque in North Indian population. Individuals with symptomatic carotid atherosclerotic plaque have high risk of ischemic stroke. Previous studies from western countries have shown an association between VEGF and MCP-1 levels and the incidence of ischemic stroke. In this study, venous blood from 110 human subjects was collected, 57 blood samples of which were obtained from patients with carotid plaques, 38 neurological controls without carotid plaques, and another 15 healthy controls who had no history of serious illness. Serum VEGF and MCP-1 levels were measured using commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. We also correlated the data clinically and carried out risk factor analysis based on the detailed questionnaire obtained from each patient. For risk factor analysis, a total of 70 symptomatic carotid plaque cases and equal number of age and sex matched healthy controls were analyzed. We found that serum VEGF levels in carotid plaque patients did not show any significant change when compared to either of the controls. Similarly, there was no significant upregulation of MCP-1 in the serum of these patients. The risk factor analysis revealed that hypertension, diabetes, and physical inactivity were the main correlates of carotid atherosclerosis (p < 0.05). Prevalence of patients was higher residing in urban areas as compared to rural region. We also found that patients coming from mountain region were relatively less vulnerable to cerebral atherosclerosis as compared to the ones residing at non mountain region. On the contrary, smoking, obesity, dyslipidemia, alcohol consumption, and tobacco chewing were not observed as the determinants of carotid atherosclerosis risk in North India (p > 0.05). We conclude that the pathogenesis of carotid plaques may progress independent of these inflammatory molecules. In parallel, risk factor analysis indicates hypertension, diabetes, and sedentary lifestyle as the most significant risk factors of ischemic stroke identified in North India. This could be helpful in early identification of subjects at risk for stroke and devising health care strategies.
Chimeric Antibody c.8B6 to O-Acetyl-GD2 Mediates the Same Efficient Anti-Neuroblastoma Effects as Therapeutic ch14.18 Antibody to GD2 without Antibody Induced Allodynia

Background Anti-GD2 antibody is a proven therapy for GD2-postive neuroblastoma. Monoclonal antibodies against GD2, such as chimeric mAb ch14.18, have become benchmarks for neuroblastoma therapies. Pain, however, can limit immunotherapy with anti-GD2 therapeutic antibodies like ch14.18. This adverse effect is attributed to acute inflammation via complement activation on GD2-expressing nerves. Thus, new strategies are needed for the development of treatment intensification strategies to improve the outcome of these patients. Methodology/Principal Findings We established the mouse-human chimeric antibody c.8B6 specific to OAcGD2 in order to reduce potential immunogenicity in patients and to fill the need for a selective agent that can kill neuroblastoma cells without inducing adverse neurological side effects caused by anti-GD2 antibody immunotherapy. We further analyzed some of its functional properties compared with anti-GD2 ch14.18 therapeutic antibody. With the exception of allodynic activity, we found that antibody c.8B6 shares the same anti-neuroblastoma attributes as therapeutic ch14.18 anti-GD2 mAb when tested in cell-based assay and in vivo in an animal model. Conclusion/Significance The absence of OAcGD2 expression on nerve fibers and the lack of allodynic properties of c.8B6–which are believed to play a major role in mediating anti-GD2 mAb dose-limiting side effects–provide an important rationale for the clinical application of c.8B6 in patients with high-risk neuroblastoma.
The Role of Harmonic Expectancy Violations in Musical Emotions: Evidence from Subjective, Physiological, and Neural Responses

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of harmonic expectancy violations on emotions. Subjective response measures for tension and emotionality, as well as electrodermal activity (EDA) and heart rate (HR), were recorded from 24 subjects (12 musicians and 12 nonmusicians) to observe the effect of expectancy violations on subjective and physiological measures of emotions. In addition, an electro-encephalogram was recorded to observe the neural correlates for detecting these violations. Stimuli consisted of three matched versions of six Bach chorales, which differed only in terms of one chord (harmonically either expected, unexpected or very unexpected). Musicians' and nonmusicians' responses were also compared. Tension, overall subjective emotionality, and EDA increased with an increase in harmonic unexpectedness. Analysis of the event-related potentials revealed an early negativity (EN) for both the unexpected and the very unexpected harmonies, taken to reflect the detection of the unexpected event. The EN in response to very unexpected chords was significantly larger in amplitude than the EN in response to merely unexpected harmonic events. The ENs did not differ in amplitude between the two groups but peaked earlier for musicians than for nonmusicians. Both groups also showed a P3 component in response to the very unexpected harmonies, which was considerably larger for musicians and may reflect the processing of stylistic violations of Western classical music.
Don't like RDF reification?: making statements about statements using singleton property

Statements about RDF statements, or meta triples, provide additional information about individual triples, such as the source, the occurring time or place, or the certainty. Integrating such meta triples into semantic knowledge bases would enable the querying and reasoning mechanisms to be aware of provenance, time, location, or certainty of triples. However, an efficient RDF representation for such meta knowledge of triples remains challenging. The existing standard reification approach allows such meta knowledge of RDF triples to be expressed using RDF by two steps. The first step is representing the triple by a Statement instance which has subject, predicate, and object indicated separately in three different triples. The second step is creating assertions about that instance as if it is a statement. While reification is simple and intuitive, this approach does not have formal semantics and is not commonly used in practice as described in the RDF Primer. In this paper, we propose a novel approach called Singleton Property for representing statements about statements and provide a formal semantics for it. We explain how this singleton property approach fits well with the existing syntax and formal semantics of RDF, and the syntax of SPARQL query language. We also demonstrate the use of singleton property in the representation and querying of meta knowledge in two examples of Semantic Web knowledge bases: YAGO2 and BKR. Our experiments on the BKR show that the singleton property approach gives a decent performance in terms of number of triples, query length and query execution time compared to existing approaches. This approach, which is also simple and intuitive, can be easily adopted for representing and querying statements about statements in other knowledge bases.
Factors of successful innovation in services

The objective of the research was to identify innovation factors influencing the performance of service companies. The study encompassed 87 Slovenian companies. The statistical analysis was performed in three phases. The first phase encompassed a principal component analysis, during which five potentially influential input and two output innovation factors were extracted. The second phase consisted of descriptive statistics, thus providing insights into the state of innovativeness in the service sector. Regression analysis followed in the final phase. The results of regression analysis identified the factor of innovation and market policy and the factor comparison with competition as influential on the average total benefit of the company from innovations. Interestingly, both factors reveal an innovation ‘follower’ pattern in services, thus indicating that stronger company’s own incentives may be required for a breakthrough innovation.
Bootstrapping in Gnutella: A Preliminary Measurement Study

To join an unstructured peer-to-peer network like Gnutella, peers have to execute abootstrapping function in which they discover other on-line peers and connect to them. Until this bootstrapping step is complete, a peer cannot participate in file sharing activities. Once bootstrapping is complete, a peer’s experience is strongly influenced by the choice of neighbor peers resulting from the bootstrapping step. Despite its importance, there has been very little attention devoted to understanding the behavior of this bootstrapping function. In this paper, we study the bootstrapping process of a peer in the Gnutella network. This is a preliminary investigation, consisting of 1) an analysis and performance comparison of bootstrapping algorithms of four Gnutella servent implementations, 2) a measurement-based characterization of the global Gnutella Web Caching System (GWebCaches), a primary component of the current bootstrapping functions, and 3) a study of the behavior and experience of a single GWebCache that was setup locally and made part of the global caching infrastructure. Our study highlights the importance of understanding the performance of the bootstrapping function as an integral part of a peer-to-peer system. We find that 1) there is considerable variation among various servent implementations that correlates to their bootstrapping performance, 2) even though the GWebCache system is designed to operate as a truly distributed system in keeping with the peer-topeer system philosophy, it actually operates more like a centralized infrastructure function, and 3) the GWebCache system is subject to misreporting of peer and cache availability due to stale data and absence of validity checks.
Anonymity for continuous data publishing

k-anonymization is an important privacy protection mechanism in data publishing. While there has been a great deal of work in recent years, almost all considered a single static release. Such mechanisms only protect the data up to the first release or first recipient. In practical applications, data is published continuously as new data arrive; the same data may be anonymized differently for a different purpose or a different recipient. In such scenarios, even when all releases are properly k-anonymized, the anonymity of an individual may be unintentionally compromised if recipient cross-examines all the releases received or colludes with other recipients. Preventing such attacks, called correspondence attacks, faces major challenges. In this paper, we systematically characterize the correspondence attacks and propose an efficient anonymization algorithm to thwart the attacks in the model of continuous data publishing.
Improving Outcomes in the Post‐Myocardial Infarction Setting

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, with African‐American men having the highest rate of cardiovascular mortality in the US population. Although the clustering of multiple cardiovascular risk factors is particularly apparent in this group, a key reason for the higher rate of cardiovascular mortality among African‐American men compared with other ethnic groups may be related to underdiagnosis and undertreatment. Studies have shown that minority persons with myocardial infarction are less likely than nonminorities to be diagnosed, to receive appropriate drug therapy, or to undergo bypass surgery. However, there are no data that suggest established treatments and secondary prevention strategies are less effective in African Americans. Appropriate therapy for secondary prevention—including thrombolysis, antiplatelet strategies, angiotensin‐converting enzyme inhibition, β blockade, and lipid‐lowering therapies—results in significant reductions in mortality for all patients.
Famine in southern Ethiopia 1985-6: population structure, nutritional state, and incidence of death among children.

OBJECTIVE--To assess the effects of drought on mortality in children. DESIGN--Prospective epidemiological study forming part of nutritional monitoring during famine relief work. SETTING--24 Food distribution sites in Arero and Borana provinces in southern Ethiopia. PATIENTS--A monthly average of 14,173 and 5,334 children under 5 were examined in 1985 and 1986, respectively. Altogether 148,966 child months (105,872 for 1985 and 43,094 for 1986) were available for analysis. INTERVENTION--The families of all children were supplied with food each month. Basic medical care was also provided. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE--Mortality in children under 5. RESULTS--A 40% increase in crude mortality was observed among children living in traditional and stable societies. The severe consequences were observed mainly among children living in relief shelters, where a threefold to fourfold increase in crude mortality was recorded among children. Increased childhood mortality was also associated with high prevalence of malnutrition, living in the most arid areas, and the dry season. A long period of food aid was needed to normalise the nutritional state, especially for children living in relief shelters. CONCLUSIONS--The most severe consequences of the widespread famine that occurred in the Arero and Borana provinces of southern Ethiopia during 1985-6 were seen among children living in relief shelters. Early food intervention may decrease the scale of migration and thus also reduce the severe consequences of a famine.