Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Growing Group of Extended-Spectrum β-Lactamases: the CTX-M Enzymes

The production of β-lactamases is the predominant cause of resistance to β-lactam antibiotics in gram-negative bacteria. These enzymes cleave the amide bond in the β-lactam ring, rendering β-lactam antibiotics harmless to bacteria. They are classified according to the scheme of Ambler et al. (2) into four classes, designated classes A to D, on the basis of their amino acid sequences, with classes A and C being the most frequently occurring among bacteria. Oxyimino-cephalosporins such as cefotaxime and ceftazidime, which are inherently less susceptible to β-lactamases, were introduced in the early 1980s to treat infections caused by gram-negative bacilli that were resistant to established β-lactams and that produced class A, C, and D β-lactamases. Their repetitive and increased use induced the appearance of resistant strains, which overproduced class C enzymes (42, 72) and/or which produced extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs), mainly those of class A but also those of class D (19, 61). Class A ESBLs hydrolyze oxyimino-cephalosporins and aztreonam but not 7-α-substituted β-lactams. They are generally susceptible to β-lactamase inhibitors (clavulanate, sulbactam, tazobactam). According to the functional classification scheme of Bush et al. (23), class A ESBLs are therefore clustered in group 2be, which can be subdivided on the basis of their activities against ceftazidime and cefotaxime as ceftazidimases (higher levels of hydrolytic activity against ceftazidime than against cefotaxime) and cefotaximases (higher levels of hydrolytic activity against cefotaxime than against ceftazidime), respectively (48). However, class A ESBLs form a heterogeneous molecular cluster comprising β-lactamases sharing 20 to >99% identity. The earliest class A ESBLs, which were reported from 1985 to 1987, differed from widespread plasmid-mediated TEM-1/2 and SHV-1 penicillinases by one to four point mutations, which extend their hydrolytic spectra (51, 90, 91). TEM and SVH ESBLs now comprise at least 130 members and have a worldwide distribution. Most of them are ceftazidimases, and only a few are cefotaximases. More recently, non-TEM and non-SHV plasmid-mediated class A ESBLs have been reported: ceftazidimases of the PER, VEB, TLA-1, and GES/IBC types and cefotaximases of the SFO-1, BES-1, and CTX-M types (8, 12, 13, 16, 31, 58, 62, 75, 76, 79, 81, 88, 96). The CTX-M β-lactamases are the most widespread enzymes. They were initially reported in the second half of the 1980s, and their rate of dissemination among bacteria and in most parts of the world has increased dramatically since 1995. This review focuses on the origin, epidemiology, clinical impact, enzymatic properties, and structural relationships of the CTX-M-type ESBLs.
1 The Carbon-Temperature Conundrum

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which aggregates international research efforts on climate change, “global atmospheric concentrations of CO2, CH4 and N2O have increased markedly as a result of human activities since 1750 and in 2005 exceeded by far the natural range of the last 650,000 years” (IPCC 2007), with an increase of 70 % of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions due to human activities between the two periods.1 The parts-per-million metric (ppm) that describes the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere, went from 280 ppm at the early stages of the Industrial Revolution (around 1750) to above 380 ppm in 2010 (as shown in Fig. 2.1). In 2014, the average atmospheric concentration surpassed the 400 ppm level. In the meantime, the average global temperature has followed a strikingly similar pattern of increasing and accelerating warming. Eleven of the last 15 years (2000–2014) were among the warmest years on the instrumental record of global surface temperature (since 1850) with almost permanent occurrences of positive
Hierarchical topic organization and visual presentation of spoken documents using probabilistic latent semantic analysis (PLSA) for efficient retrieval/browsing applications

The most attractive form of future network content will be multi-media including speech information, and such speech information usually carries the core concepts for the content. As a result, the spoken documents associated with the multi-media content very possibly can serve as the key for retrieval and browsing. This paper presents a new approach of hierarchical topic organization and visual presentation of spoken documents for such a purpose based on the Probabilistic Latent Semantic Analysis (PLSA). With this approach the spoken documents can be organized into a two-dimensional tree (or multi-layered map) of topic clusters, and the user can very efficiently retrieve or browse the network content or associated spoken documents. Different from the conventional document clustering approaches, with PLSA the relationships among the topic clusters and the appropriate terms as the topic labels can be very well derived. An initial prototype system with Chinese broadcast news as the example spoken documents including automatic generation of titles and summaries and retrieval/browsing functionalities is also presented. Choice of different units other than words to be used as the terms in the processing is also considered in the system based on the special structure of the Chinese language.
Improving the primary care-specialty care interface: getting from here to there.

M S JONES PRESENTS TO HER PRIMARY CARE physician (PCP), Dr Sanchez, with symptoms of persistent diarrhea. Using prereferral guidelines posted on his practice’s electronic referral system, he rules out Clostridium difficile, other bacterial and parasitic infections, and celiac disease. He refers her to a gastroenterologist, Dr Lee, for further evaluation and possible colonoscopy. When Ms Jones arrives, Dr Lee reviews the electronic referral, which includes Dr Sanchez’s contact information and consultative question along with the patient’s relevant history and laboratory results. After assessing Ms Jones, Dr Lee discusses the risks and benefits of colonoscopy with her to further evaluate the diarrhea. After the visit, Dr Lee dictates a note outlining the findings of the patient’s assessment and the recommendations to Dr Sanchez. Within 2 days, the note can be found in the electronic medical record that both physicians use.
A summary of non-sustained disruptive discharges (NSDD) in vacuum switchgear

This document described the phenomenon, the interpretation and the assessment of non-sustained disruptive discharges (NSDD). The first approach is to analyze the phenomenon, based on available tests standards and on real testing results. We will look at NSDD in models for capacitance switching, their theoretical relations to overvoltages in capacitive circuits, then to tests for certification of equipment. A list of experimental results is given, and a proposal for the assessment of NSDD is suggested.
Deciphering the Metabolic Changes Associated with Diapause Syndrome and Cold Acclimation in the Two-Spotted Spider Mite Tetranychus urticae

Diapause is a common feature in several arthropod species that are subject to unfavorable growing seasons. The range of environmental cues that trigger the onset and termination of diapause, in addition to associated hormonal, biochemical, and molecular changes, have been studied extensively in recent years; however, such information is only available for a few insect species. Diapause and cold hardening usually occur together in overwintering arthropods, and can be characterized by recording changes to the wealth of molecules present in the tissue, hemolymph, or whole body of organisms. Recent technological advances, such as high throughput screening and quantification of metabolites via chromatographic analyses, are able to identify such molecules. In the present work, we examined the survival ability of diapausing and non-diapausing females of the two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae, in the presence (0 or 5°C) or absence of cold acclimation. Furthermore, we examined the metabolic fingerprints of these specimens via gas chromatography-mass spectrophotometry (GC-MS). Partial Least Square Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA) of metabolites revealed that major metabolic variations were related to diapause, indicating in a clear cut-off between diapausing and non-diapausing females, regardless of acclimation state. Signs of metabolic depression were evident in diapausing females, with most amino acids and TCA cycle intermediates being significantly reduced. Out of the 40 accurately quantified metabolites, seven metabolites remained elevated or were accumulated in diapausing mites, i.e. cadaverine, gluconolactone, glucose, inositol, maltose, mannitol and sorbitol. The capacity to accumulate winter polyols during cold-acclimation was restricted to diapausing females. We conclude that the induction of increased cold hardiness in this species is associated with the diapause syndrome, rather than being a direct effect of low temperature. Our results provide novel information about biochemical events related to the cold hardening process in the two-spotted spider mite.
Information Hiding in Real-Time VoIP Streams

The real-time speech hiding is to hide the secret speech into a cover speech in real-time communication systems. By hiding one secret speech into the cover speech, we can get a stego speech, which sounds meaningful and indistinguishable from the original cover speech. Therefore, even if the attackers catch the audio packets on Internet, they would not notice that there is another speech hidden inside it. In this paper, we propose a scheme for speech hiding in a real-time communication system such as voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). We propose a novel design of real-time speech hiding for G.711 codec, which is widely supported by almost every VoIP device. Experimental results show that the processing time for the proposed algorithm takes only 0.257 ms, which is suitable for real-time VoIP applications.
AmericaPlex26: A SNaPshot Multiplex System for Genotyping the Main Human Mitochondrial Founder Lineages of the Americas

Phylogeographic studies have described a reduced genetic diversity in Native American populations, indicative of one or more bottleneck events during the peopling and prehistory of the Americas. Classical sequencing approaches targeting the mitochondrial diversity have reported the presence of five major haplogroups, namely A, B, C, D and X, whereas the advent of complete mitochondrial genome sequencing has recently refined the number of founder lineages within the given diversity to 15 sub-haplogroups. We developed and optimized a SNaPshot assay to study the mitochondrial diversity in pre-Columbian Native American populations by simultaneous typing of 26 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) characterising Native American sub-haplogroups. Our assay proved to be highly sensitive with respect to starting concentrations of target DNA and could be applied successfully to a range of ancient human skeletal material from South America from various time periods. The AmericaPlex26 is a powerful assay with enhanced phylogenetic resolution that allows time- and cost-efficient mitochondrial DNA sub-typing from valuable ancient specimens. It can be applied in addition or alternative to standard sequencing of the D-loop region in forensics, ancestry testing, and population studies, or where full-resolution mitochondrial genome sequencing is not feasible.
Decreases in Smoking-Related Cancer Mortality Rates Are Associated with Birth Cohort Effects in Korean Men

Background: This study aimed to examine trends in smoking-related cancer mortality rates and to investigate the effect birth cohort on smoking-related cancer mortality in Korean men. Methods: The number of smoking-related cancer deaths and corresponding population numbers were obtained from Statistics Korea for the period 1984–2013. Joinpoint regression analysis was used to detect changes in trends in age-standardized mortality rates. Birth-cohort specific mortality rates were illustrated by 5 year age groups. Results: The age-standardized mortality rates for oropharyngeal decreased from 2003 to 2013 (annual percent change (APC): −3.1 (95% CI, −4.6 to −1.6)) and lung cancers decreased from 2002 to 2013 (APC −2.4 (95% CI −2.7 to −2.2)). The mortality rates for esophageal declined from 1994 to 2002 (APC −2.5 (95% CI −4.1 to −0.8)) and from 2002 to 2013 (APC −5.2 (95% CI −5.7 to −4.7)) and laryngeal cancer declined from 1995 to 2013 (average annual percent change (AAPC): −3.3 (95% CI −4.7 to −1.8)). By the age group, the trends for the smoking-related cancer mortality except for oropharyngeal cancer have changed earlier to decrease in the younger age group. The birth-cohort specific mortality rates and age-period-cohort analysis consistently showed that all birth cohorts born after 1930 showed reduced mortality of smoking-related cancers. Conclusions: In Korean men, smoking-related cancer mortality rates have decreased. Our findings also indicate that current decreases in smoking-related cancer mortality rates have mainly been due to a decrease in the birth cohort effect, which suggest that decrease in smoking rates.
In Situ Hypothermic Perfusion of the Liver Versus Standard Total Vascular Exclusion for Complex Liver Resection

Summary Background Data:We compare the results of liver resection performed under in situ hypothermic perfusion versus standard total vascular exclusion (TVE) of the liver <60 minutes and ≥60 minutes in terms of liver tolerance, liver and renal functions, postoperative morbidity, and mortality. The safe duration of TVE is still debated. Promising results have been reported following TVE associated with hypothermic perfusion of the liver with durations of up to several hours. The 2 techniques have not been compared so far. Methods:The study population includes 69 consecutive liver resections under TVE <60 minutes (group TVE<60′, 33 patients), ≥60 minutes (group TVE≥60′, 16 patients), and in situ hypothermic perfusion (group TVEHYOPOTH, 20 patients). Liver tolerance (peaks of transaminases), liver and kidney function (peak of bilirubin, minimum prothrombin time, and peak of creatinine), morbidity, and in-hospital mortality were compared within the 3 groups. Results:The postoperative peaks of aspartate aminotransferase (IU/L) and alanine aminotransferase (IU/L) were significantly lower (P[r] < 0.05) in group TVE HYPOTH (450 ± 298 IU/L and 390 ± 391 IU/L) compared with the groups TVE<60′ (1000 ± 808; 853 ± 743) and TVE≥60′ (1519 ± 962; 1033 ± 861). In the group TVEHYPOTH, the peaks of bilirubin (μmol/L) (84 ± 31), creatinine (μmol/L) (75 ± 22), and the number of complications per patient (1.2 ± 0.9) were comparable to those of the group TVE<60′ (80 ± 111; 109 ± 77; and 0.8 ± 1.1 respectively) and significantly lower to those of the group TVE≥60′ (196 ± 173; 176 ± 176, and 2.6 ± 1.8). In-hospital mortality rates were 1 in 33, 2 in 16, and 0 in 20 for the groups TVE<60′, TVE≥60′, and TVEHYOPOTH, respectively, and were comparable. On multivariate analysis, the size of the tumor, portal vein embolization, and a planned vascular reconstruction were significantly predictive of TVE ≥60 minutes. Conclusions:Compared with standard TVE of any duration, hypothermic perfusion of the liver is associated with a better tolerance to ischemia. In addition, compared with TVE ≥60 minutes, it is associated with better postoperative liver and renal functions and a lower morbidity. Predictive factors for TVE ≥60 minutes may help to indicate hypothermic perfusion of the liver.
ANTIGENIC AND ULTRASTRUCTURAL MARKERS ASSOCIATED WITH UROTHELIAL CYTODIFFERENTIATION IN PRIMARY EXPLANT OUTGROWTHS OF MOUSE BLADDER

The purpose of this study was to establish an in vitro culture model that closely resembles whole mouse urothelial tissue. Primary explant cultures of mouse bladder were established on porous membrane supports and explant outgrowths were analysed for morphology and the presence of antigenic and ultrastructural markers associated with urothelial cytodifferentiation. When examined at the ultrastructural level, the cultured urothelium was polarized and organized as a multilayered epithelium. Differentiation was found to increase from the porous membrane towards the surface and from the explant towards the periphery of the culture. Scanning and transmission electron microscopical analysis of the most superficially‐located cells revealed four successive differentiation stages: cells with microvilli, cells with ropy microridges, cells with rounded microridges, and highly‐differentiated cells with asymmetric unit membrane (AUM) plaques forming rigid microridges and fusiform vesicles. The more highly‐differentiated cells were numerous at the periphery of the culture, but rare close to the explant. Epithelial organization was stabilized by well developed cell junctions. Immunolabeling demonstrated that superficial urothelial cells in culture: (1) develop tight junctions, E‐cadherin adherens junctions and abundant desmosomes and (2) express uroplakins and cytokeratin 20 (CK 20). Using a culture model of primary explant outgrowth we have shown that non‐differentiated mouse urothelial cells growing on a porous membrane show a high level of de novo differentiation.
Simulating innovation adoption behavior: Lessons learned for modelers and programmers

To adopt or not to adopt an innovation is a question that is ultimately answered by individual (prospective) customers. Their behavior is of practical relevance because it drives the market success of new products or services and it also constitutes an interesting area for academic research. In the course of a research project at the University of Vienna we have developed an agentbased simulation to investigate this topic. During the initial months, we reviewed numerous tools (i.e., frameworks and modeling environments) for this purpose. In this paper we share experiences we made in this respect as well as later on when implementing the simulation tool.
Interaction-free measurement.

We show that one can ascertain the presence of an object in some sense without interacting with it. One repeatedly, but weakly, tests for the presence of the object, which would inhibit an otherwise coherent evolution of the interrogating photon. The fraction of ``interaction-free'' measurements can be arbitrarily close to 1. Using single photons in a Michelson interferometer, we have performed a preliminary demonstration of some of these ideas.
The rise of the starlet sea anemone Nematostella vectensis as a model system to investigate development and regeneration

Reverse genetics and next‐generation sequencing unlocked a new era in biology. It is now possible to identify an animal(s) with the unique biology most relevant to a particular question and rapidly generate tools to functionally dissect that biology. This review highlights the rise of one such novel model system, the starlet sea anemone Nematostella vectensis. Nematostella is a cnidarian (corals, jellyfish, hydras, sea anemones, etc.) animal that was originally targeted by EvoDevo researchers looking to identify a cnidarian animal to which the development of bilaterians (insects, worms, echinoderms, vertebrates, mollusks, etc.) could be compared. Studies in Nematostella have accomplished this goal and informed our understanding of the evolution of key bilaterian features. However, Nematostella is now going beyond its intended utility with potential as a model to better understand other areas such as regenerative biology, EcoDevo, or stress response. This review intends to highlight key EvoDevo insights from Nematostella that guide our understanding about the evolution of axial patterning mechanisms, mesoderm, and nervous systems in bilaterians, as well as to discuss briefly the potential of Nematostella as a model to better understand the relationship between development and regeneration. Lastly, the sum of research to date in Nematostella has generated a variety of tools that aided the rise of Nematostella to a viable model system. We provide a catalogue of current resources and techniques available to facilitate investigators interested in incorporating Nematostella into their research. WIREs Dev Biol 2016, 5:408–428. doi: 10.1002/wdev.222
Predictive Parameters of Oral Health Quality of Life in Complete Mandibular Denture Wearers Stabilized by Mini-Implants: A Two-Year Follow-up Study

The frequent instability of mandibular removable complete dentures affects patient Oral Health Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL). An innovative therapeutic strategy used to improve stability involves placing four symphyseal mini-implants. This study was aimed at assessing OHRQoL over time in subjects in which mini-implants were placed and exploring if certain parameters could predict the evolution of their OHRQoL. The Quality of life of subjects with dentures was assessed using the Geriatric Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI) before (T0), 2–6 months (T1), twelve months (T2) and twenty-four or more months (T3) after mini-implant setting. Age, gender and chewing ability were tested as explanatory variables for the change in OHRQoL with time. Thirteen women and six men were included (mean age: 69 ± 10 years). After mini-implant placement, mean GOHAI scores at T1, T2 and T3 increased significantly (p < 0.001). The GOHAI-Add mean score was not affected by age or gender. Baseline chewing ability impacted the “functional” and “pain and discomfort” fields of the mean GOHAI scores (p < 0.05). The OHRQoL was quickly improved after mini-implant placement in complete denture wearers and then stabilized over time. Baseline chewing ability can be used as a predictive parameter of OHRQoL.
Applications of Modern Ferroelectrics

Long viewed as a topic in classical physics, ferroelectricity can be described by a quantum mechanical ab initio theory. Thin-film nanoscale device structures integrated onto Si chips have made inroads into the semiconductor industry. Recent prototype applications include ultrafast switching, cheap room-temperature magnetic-field detectors, piezoelectric nanotubes for microfluidic systems, electrocaloric coolers for computers, phased-array radar, and three-dimensional trenched capacitors for dynamic random access memories. Terabit-per-square-inch ferroelectric arrays of lead zirconate titanate have been reported on Pt nanowire interconnects and nanorings with 5-nanometer diameters. Finally, electron emission from ferroelectrics yields cheap, high-power microwave devices and miniature x-ray and neutron sources.
Protein 4.1N Is Required for Translocation of Inositol 1,4,5-Trisphosphate Receptor Type 1 to the Basolateral Membrane Domain in Polarized Madin-Darby Canine Kidney Cells* 210

Protein 4.1N was identified as a binding molecule for the C-terminal cytoplasmic tail of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor type 1 (IP3R1) using a yeast two-hybrid system. 4.1N and IP3R1 associate in both subconfluent and confluent Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells, a well studied tight polarized epithelial cell line. In subconfluent MDCK cells, 4.1N is distributed in the cytoplasm and the nucleus; IP3R1 is localized in the cytoplasm. In confluent MDCK cells, both 4.1N and IP3R1 are predominantly translocated to the basolateral membrane domain, whereas 4.1R, the prototypical homologue of 4.1N, is localized at the tight junctions (Mattagajasingh, S. N., Huang, S. C., Hartenstein, J. S., and Benz, E. J., Jr. (2000) J. Biol. Chem. 275, 30573–30585), and other endoplasmic reticulum marker proteins are still present in the cytoplasm. Moreover, the 4.1N-binding region of IP3R1 is necessary and sufficient for the localization of IP3R1 at the basolateral membrane domain. A fragment of the IP3R1-binding region of 4.1N blocks the localization of co-expressed IP3R1 at the basolateral membrane domain. These data indicate that 4.1N is required for IP3R1 translocation to the basolateral membrane domain in polarized MDCK cells.