Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Antibiotic Resistance Pattern and Evaluation of Metallo-Beta Lactamase Genes Including bla-IMP and bla-VIM Types in Pseudomonas aeruginosa Isolated from Patients in Tehran Hospitals

Beta-lactamase producing strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa are important etiological agents of hospital infections. Carbapenems are among the most effective antibiotics used against Pseudomonas infections, but they can be rendered infective by group B β-lactamase, commonly called metallo-beta lactamase. In this study, the antimicrobial sensitivity patterns of P. aeruginosa strains isolated from 9 different hospitals in Tehran, Iran, as well as the prevalence of MBLs genes (bla-VIM and bla-IMP) were determined. A total of 212 strains of P. aeruginosa recovered from patients in hospitals in Tehran were confirmed by both biochemical methods and PCR. Their antimicrobial sensitivity patterns were determined by Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method. Following MIC determination, imipenem resistant strains were selected by DDST method which was followed by PCR tests for determination of MBLs genes: bla-IMP and bla-VIM. The results indicated that, in the DDST phenotypic method, among the 100 imipenem resistant isolates, 75 strains were MBLs positive. The PCR test indicated that 70 strains (33%) carried bla-VIM gene and 20 strains (9%) harbored bla-IMP. The results indicated that the extent of antibiotic resistance among Pseudomonas aeruginosa is on the rise. This may be due to production of MBLs enzymes. Therefore, determination of antibiotic sensitivity patterns and MBLs production by these bacteria, can be important in control of clinical Pseudomonas infection.
Time to Talk: An Urban School’s Use of Literature Circles to Create a Professional Learning Community

In a culture of comprehensive school reform, which focuses primarily on improving student achievement, teachers must critically analyze educational research and student data to make professional judgments regarding student achievement. Establishing professional learning communities is one form of professional development (PD) that is proven to engage participants’ intellect, involve them in action and reflection, and result in continuous improvement in teaching and student learning. This study explores teachers’, administrators’, and support service providers’ involvement in district supported literature circles intended to create professional learning communities. All participants agreed that the experience was beneficial and helped to foster a sense of community, reassert their professional identity, and provide new perspectives to consider when interacting with students. This research contributes to our understanding of PD as a means to school improvement and provides evidence for effective PD that prepares educational leaders and promotes improved student outcomes.
ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS NH 3 ( 1 , 1 ) survey toward southern hemisphere HII regions

The (J,K) = (1,1) metastable ammonia line was searched for in the direction of more than one hundred southern HII regions located between 270◦and15◦ in galactic longitude, resulting in new detections toward 21 of them. Ammonia detection rate was about 30 % towards all directions except in the longitude interval270◦–290◦ where no ammonia lines were found in the 15 selected HII regions. A high detection rate (≥ 0.6) was observed toward positions where IRAS point sources with color indices of ultra–compact HII regions were in the beam of the telescope. An anticorrelation between the number of detected NH3 sources and the distance to the Galactic Center was found, compatible with the observed gradient in N abundance. From the value of this gradient and the detection rate of ammonia lines toward HII regions, it is inferred that the number of ammonia sources must be proportional to the inverse of the column density of the molecular cloud.
Sympathetic Vasoconstrictive Responses during Exercise‐ or Drug‐Induced Vasodilatation: A Time‐Dependent Response

The effect of exercise on the vasoconstrictive response to sympathetic stimulation was studied by observing the changes in perfusion pressure in dogs' hindlimbs perfused at constant flow. During steady-state simulated exercise, a time-dependent increase occurred between 10 and 30 minutes in the magnitude of response to lumbar trunk stimulation or carotid sinus hypotension. This was present (although to a reduced Degrees) in drug-induced vasodilatation and in exercising limbs perfused at constant pressure. The time-dependent change was not due to (1) repetition of stimulus, (2) artifact from muscle electrodes, (3) circulating vasoactive substances, (4) skin circulation, or (5) pH, PCO2, or temperature of the perfusing blood. When norepinephrine was used as the vasoconstrictive stimulus, no time-dependent change was noted. After stabilization, the frequency-response curve of exercising muscle exceeded that at rest at all blood concentrations of norepinephrine and at all save the lowest frequencies of stimulation. It was concluded that vascular smooth muscle can develop greater tension from greater initial length. However, during exercise some factor which operates between the sympathetic nerve ending and the receptor site on vascular smooth muscle initially tends to depress this enhanced ability to develop tension.
Validity of a Self-Administered Food-Frequency Questionnaire for Assessing Amino Acid Intake in Japan: Comparison With Intake From 4-Day Weighed Dietary Records and Plasma Levels

Background Interest in the physiological roles of amino acids and their impact on health outcomes is substantial and growing. This interest has prompted assessment of the habitual intake of amino acids for use in epidemiologic studies and in clarifying the association between habitual intake and plasma levels of amino acids. Here, we investigated the validity of ranking individuals according to dietary amino acid intake as estimated using a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) in comparison with intakes from dietary records (DRs) and plasma levels. Methods A total of 139 men and women selected from examinees of the cancer screening program at the Research Center for Cancer Prevention and Screening, National Cancer Center, Japan, provided 4-day weighed DRs, a semi-quantitative FFQ, and plasma samples. Plasma levels of amino acids were measured using the UF-Amino Station system. Results Spearman rank correlation coefficients of energy-adjusted intake of amino acids from the DR and FFQ ranged from 0.40 to 0.65 for men and from 0.35 to 0.46 for women. Correlation coefficients of energy-adjusted intake from the DR and plasma levels ranged from −0.40 to 0.25 for men and from −0.16 to 0.11 for women. Similarly, no significant positive correlation coefficients were observed between intake from the FFQ and plasma levels for either men or women. Conclusions We confirmed that this FFQ has moderate validity in estimating amino acid intake when 4-day weighed DRs are used as a reference method, suggesting that it is suitable for ranking individuals living in urban areas in Japan by amino acid intake.
Al2O3/AlGaN Channel Normally-Off MOSFET on Silicon With High Breakdown Voltage

A normally-Off metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOS-FET) is proposed by using AlInN/AlGaN heterostructure grown on silicon. The AlGaN channel MOSFET with Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> layer as gate insulator exhibits a drain current of 90 mA/mm at the gate bias of +8 V, an ON/OFF drain-current ratio of <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${1.4} \times {10}^{8}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>, a peak field-effect mobility of 97 cm<sup>2</sup>/<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\text {V} \cdot \text {s}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>, and threshold voltage of +2.4 V, respectively. With significant reduction in leakage currents, the MOS-FET with a gate-to-drain spacing of 20 <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu \text{m}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> delivers a high breakdown of 993 V. The present results of Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>/AlGaN normally-Off MOSFET signifies promising prospects for future high power and high voltage applications.
Efficacy of fibrin glue for in vitro sealing of human chorioamniotic membranes.

OBJECTIVE To assess the changes in tensile strength properties of artificially punctured chorioamniotic membranes after sealing the defect with fibrin glue, a tissue sealant. STUDY DESIGN Chorioamniotic membranes were obtained from 30 term, uncomplicated pregnancies immediately after delivery. Adjacent, same-sized strips were cut from each membrane sample. After baseline tensile strength properties were obtained, identical size holes were made on each strip, and fibrin glue was applied onto half the specimens. Following adequate stabilization of fibrin, tensile strength properties--rupture tension, strain to rupture and work to rupture--were measured. RESULTS Membrane puncture decreased the tensile strength characteristics, indicating weakening of the chorioamniotic membranes: Rupture tension (g/cm) dropped from 153.1 +/- 12.3 to 76.8 +/- 15.7; strain to rupture (%) from 193.9 +/- 29.9 to 152.6 +/- 36.8; and work to rupture (g x cm) from 560.8 +/- 51.8 to 239.0 +/- 65.5 (P < .05). Significant increases were noted in rupture tension (116.0 +/- 19.6), strain to rupture (173.5 +/- 30.8) and work to rupture (394.3 +/- 91.3) after application of fibrin glue; however, all three measurements remained less than prepuncture values (P < .05). CONCLUSION Fibrin glue effectively improved the structural integrity of artificially punctured chorioamniotic membranes.
Quantitative Proteomic Analyses of Human Cytomegalovirus-Induced Restructuring of Endoplasmic Reticulum-Mitochondrial Contacts at Late Times of Infection*

Endoplasmic reticulum-mitochondrial contacts, known as mitochondria-associated membranes, regulate important cellular functions including calcium signaling, bioenergetics, and apoptosis. Human cytomegalovirus is a medically important herpesvirus whose growth increases energy demand and depends upon continued cell survival. To gain insight into how human cytomegalovirus infection affects endoplasmic reticulum-mitochondrial contacts, we undertook quantitative proteomics of mitochondria-associated membranes using differential stable isotope labeling by amino acids in cell culture strategy and liquid chromatography-tandem MS analysis. This is the first reported quantitative proteomic analyses of a suborganelle during permissive human cytomegalovirus infection. Human fibroblasts were uninfected or human cytomegalovirus-infected for 72 h. Heavy mitochondria-associated membranes were isolated from paired unlabeled, uninfected cells and stable isotope labeling by amino acids in cell culture-labeled, infected cells and analyzed by liquid chromatography-tandem MS analysis. The results were verified by a reverse labeling experiment. Human cytomegalovirus infection dramatically altered endoplasmic reticulum-mitochondrial contacts by late times. Notable is the increased abundance of several fundamental networks in the mitochondria-associated membrane fraction of human cytomegalovirus-infected fibroblasts. Chaperones, including HSP60 and BiP, which is required for human cytomegalovirus assembly, were prominently increased at endoplasmic reticulum-mitochondrial contacts after infection. Minimal translational and translocation machineries were also associated with endoplasmic reticulum-mitochondrial contacts and increased after human cytomegalovirus infection as were glucose regulated protein 75 and the voltage dependent anion channel, which can form an endoplasmic reticulum-mitochondrial calcium signaling complex. Surprisingly, mitochondrial metabolic enzymes and cytosolic glycolytic enzymes were confidently detected in the mitochondria-associated membrane fraction and increased therein after infection. Finally, proapoptotic regulatory proteins, including Bax, cytochrome c, and Opa1, were augmented in endoplasmic reticulum-mitochondrial contacts after infection, suggesting attenuation of proapoptotic signaling by their increased presence therein. Together, these results suggest that human cytomegalovirus infection restructures the proteome of endoplasmic reticulum-mitochondrial contacts to bolster protein translation at these junctions, calcium signaling to mitochondria, cell survival, and bioenergetics and, thereby, allow for enhanced progeny production.
The expatriate family: an international perspective

Purpose – This paper seeks to review and explore the relatively neglected notion of the adjustment of expatriate families to living abroad with the aim of developing a new model that can be used for future research.Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws on the few studies of the topic that have been carried out, but widens the search to include evidence from the related adjustment and family stress literature to create a new model of the process. Using the ideas of stressors, strains and hassles, capabilities, and shared meanings, the paper examines the situation of the expatriate family and explores how families can adjust to life in another country.Findings – By adopting a salutogenic approach and incorporating insights from these other literatures, the paper shows that family adaptation is a complex and many‐faceted process. It is a process that greater awareness on the part of the family and the organization can improve.Research limitations/implications – With the help of the model of family ad.
Optimizing indoor PDR performance with self-deployed position markers

Infrastructureless positioning systems such as pedestrian dead reckoning suffer from error accumulation. This paper describes the application of a technique using self-deployed localization tokens and simultaneous localization and mapping to overcome this limitation. We successfully applied the technique known from mobile robotics to pedestrian self-localization based on pedestrian dead reckoning and present some preliminary findings.
VHDL code generation as State Machine from a Data Flow Graph

Operation scheduling is a fundamental problem in mapping an application to electronic devices. In scenarios where these schedules are made on Data Flow Graph (DFG), it is necessary to convert the result to Hardware Description Language (HDL) code. We present a detailed approach for generate VHDL code described in a Data Flow Graph (DFG). We generate VHDL code corresponding to Moore Finite State Machine (FSM), because is similar with the logic of the DFG. We use 20 DFGs from benchmark Mediabench to compute different experiments and we report the occupied area (Slice registers and LUTs) of VHDL codes on a FPGA device. We expose conversions made from DFG scheduling and mapping with As Soon As Possible (ASAP), As Late As Possible (ALAP) and Random scheduling algorithms. All codes are simulated with Xilinx ISE Design Suite to demonstrate its validity.
Governing through Teamwork: Reconstituting Subjectivity in a Call Centre

This article focuses on teamworking as a form of governmentality whereby management seeks to govern by distance. This involves mobilizing the support and commitment of employees to teamworking and organizational goals by appealing to their autonomy, unity, sociability and desire for a more enriched work experience. It is the struggle over subjectivity that is of concern here, for teamworking can be seen as a technology that aims to transform individuals into subjects that secure their sense of meaning and significance through working as a team. We will explore through a case study of a call centre in a large building society how a discourse of teamworking has begun to impinge upon individuals so as to shape not only how they behave but also how they think, derive meaning and understand the world. In turn, we consider some of the tensions and inconsistencies of teamworking in relation to the secrecy of pay differentials, and the return to productivity pressures after a period of relaxation and trust. Ultimately the article examines how individuals respond to, agonize over, resist and baulk against the imposition of 'team lives' when this rubs up against what they understand to be their 'private lives'. This will involve considering gender tensions that have so far been largely neglected in relation to call centres and teamworking. Teamworking, we will argue, reflects a will to govern rather than a mechanism of government. Copyright 2003 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Nonstandard linear recurring sequence subgroups in finite fields and automorphisms of cyclic codes

Let q = p r be a prime power, and let f(x) = x m − �m−1x m−1 − � � � − �1x − �0 be an irreducible polynomial over the finite field GF(q) of size q. A zeroof f is called nonstandard (of degree m) over GF(q) if the recurrence relation um = �m−1um−1 + � � � + �1u1 + �0u0 with characteristic polynomial f can generate the powers ofin a nontrivial way, that is, with u0 = 1 and f(u1) 6 0. In 2003, Brison and Nogueira asked for a characterisation of all nonstandard cases in the case m = 2, and solved this problem for q a prime, and later for q = p r with r ≤ 4. In this paper, we first show that classifying nonstandard finite field elements is equivalent to classifying those cyclic codes over GF(q) generated by a single zero that posses extra permutation automorphisms. Apart from two sporadic examples of degree 11 over GF(2) and of degree 5 over GF(3), related to the Golay codes, there exist two classes of examples of nonstandard finite field elements. One of these classes (type I) involves irreducible polynomials f of the form f(x) = x m − f0, and is well-understood. The other class (type II) can be obtained from a primitive element in some subfield by a process that we call extension and lifting. We will use the known classification of the subgroups of PGL(2,q) in combination with a recent result by Brison and Nogueira to show that a nonstandard element of degree two over GF(q) necessarily is of type I or type II, thus solving completely the classification problem for the case m = 2.
On conceptualizing and assessing guilt.

The psychological construct of guilt and its measurement were investigated in a series of studies (N = 1,041). Data collection and analyses involved 3 broad issues: (a) the further development and validation of the Guilt Inventory, designed to measure trait guilt, state guilt, and moral standards; (b) comparisons involving extant measures of guilt, shame, moral standards, and other emotions for the purpose of exploring the distinctions between trait guilt and state guilt, affective guilt and moral standards, and guilt and other emotions including both shame and the full range of emotional traits; and (c) an exploration of the factor structure of the trait guilt scales. Results supported the validity and reliability of the Guilt Inventory and the validity of most of the other guilt measures. However, results also raised questions regarding commonly articulated distinctions between trait and state guilt, guilt and shame, and, for some measures, affective guilt and moral standards. Discussion focuses on issues of measurement and conceptualization. Guilt may be denned as the dysphoric feeling associated with the recognition that one has violated a personally relevant moral or social standard. In both popular and formal treatments, the concept of guilt is often invoked in descriptions and explanations of the dynamics between personality and normal, as well as deviant, behavior. However, relatively little empirical research has been directed toward guilt as a separate and dis
Mundos Virtuais de Aprendizagem e de Ensino - uma caracterização inicial *

This paper describes an exploratory and qualitative study, which is being carried out within a 3D virtual world - the Second Life® (SL) and represents the first step of a larger research project. The principal aims of that project are to get a deeper understanding of how social interactions occurs within virtual learning environments in order to provide insights to all educators and researchers interested in using those environments as a teaching medium in real life, and to seek for new approaches to real life educative contexts. We've characterized several learning and teaching situations in SL, looking for the teacher and students' roles, the spaces, supplies, notes and complementary media resources. A preliminary analysis of the results reveals that the social interactions between students and teachers are quite different from RL learning and teaching situations, where the informality of the spaces as well as the immersive environment seems to be relevant issues.
Iterative identification of Hammerstein systems with piecewise-linear nonlinearities

New iterative algorithms to identify Hammerstein system with piecewise-linear nonlinearities are proposed in this paper. Two particular piecewise-linear nonlinear structures are considered, i.e., the saturation and preload nonlinearities. Iterative method is a simple and efficient way to identify Hammerstein nonlinear system. But the convergence is often a problem. It is recently shown that normalized iterative method produces convergent result in identifying Hammerstein system with smooth nonlinear part and finite impulse response linear part. In this paper, the parameter convergence is established in one iteration step under the assumption that the nonlinear structure is odd symmetric and the linear part is FIR. Examples are provided to show that the method is effective in both types of Hammerstein systems
A decomposition method for stochastic partial disassembly line balancing with profit maximization

The profit-oriented partial disassembly line balancing problem is studied under uncertainty. Disassembly task times are assumed random variables with known probability distributions. An AND/OR graph is used to model the precedence relations among tasks. The goal is to assign the disassembly tasks to workstations while satisfying precedence and cycle time constraints. The objective is to maximize the profit produced by the line. It is calculated as the difference between the positive revenue generated by retrieved parts and the line operation cost considered as negative revenue. The latter includes the workstation operation costs as well as penalty costs caused by the cycle time constraint violations. To deal with uncertainties, a stochastic linear mixed integer formulation is developed.