Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
New approaches to typing and identification of bacteria using the 16S-23S rDNA spacer region.

Medical microbiology is extremely reliant on the culture of bacteria from clinical specimens and their subsequent identification by biochemical and phenotypic characteristics for the diagnosis of disease. Following determination of the structure of DNA by Watson & Crick (1953), studies in bacteriology have seen a major shift from functional to molecular techniques for identifying bacteria (Towner & Cockayne, 1993). This review will deal with the 16s-23s spacer region of the rRNA operon (Fig. 1) and its use in the identification of micro-organisms at the species and strain (typing) levels.
Metamodeling and its Application to Queueing Networks

A framework is presented for characterizing and analyzing relationships among alternative mathematical models of a single underlying system. This framework is inlended to faciliLate the comparative analysis of modeling strategies and the development of new techniques for exact and approximate solution of complex models. A related objective is to facilitate communication among researchers, practitioners and students of modeling. The concept of a state space transformation. which is a central component of the metamodeling framework. is introduced to provide a mechanism [or expressing the way one model can be mapped into another. After discussing state space lransformations in general terms. the mathematical properties of several specific transformations are examined. Applications of metamodeling to the shadow CPU technique and the aggregate server method are then presented.
Characterization of Microtubule Binding Domains in the Arabidopsis Kinesin-like Calmodulin Binding Protein

The kinesin-like calmodulin binding protein (KCBP) is a new member of the kinesin superfamily that appears to be present only in plants. The KCBP is unique in its ability to interact with calmodulin in a Ca2-dependent manner. To study the interaction of the KCBP with microtubules, we expressed different regions of the Arabidopsis KCBP and used the purified proteins in cosedimentation assays with microtubules. The motor domain with or without the calmodulin binding domain bound to microtubules. The binding of the motor domain containing the calmodulin binding region to microtubules was inhibited by Ca2–calmodulin. This Ca2–calmodulin regulation of motor domain interactions with microtubules was abolished in the presence of antibodies specific to the calmodulin binding region. In addition, the binding of the motor domain lacking the calmodulin binding region to microtubules was not inhibited in the presence of Ca2–calmodulin, suggesting an essential role for the calmodulin binding region in Ca2–calmodulin modulation. Results of the cosedimentation assays with the N-terminal tail suggest the presence of a second microtubule binding site on the KCBP. However, the interaction of the N-terminal tail region of the KCBP with microtubules was insensitive to ATP. These data on the interaction of the KCBP with microtubules provide new insights into the functioning of the KCBP in plants.
Nutrition andProstate Cancer

Nutrition is apparently a major risk factor for the development and progression of prostate cancer. Based on experimental studies and epidemiologic data mainly from case-control studies or cohort studies, there is strong evidence that reduction of the total energy consumption, a diet comprising less than 30% fat, and increased intake of phytoestrogens, vitamins D and E and selenium could yield a decreased prostate cancer incidence. Furthermore, some of these measures appear to have antitumoral capacity even in the presence of the disease. These observations have provided a rationale to forward large prospective trials on dietary interventions to prove the efficacy of the concept and further delineate the correlation between nutritional compounds and prostate cancer risk. These chemoprevention trials are either aiming a reduction prostate cancer incidence or a decrease in tumor progression. Depending on the study design, large numbers of individuals need to be enrolled and long follow-up intervals are required thus making such trials highly complex and cost-intensive. However, regarding the potential relevance of chemoprevention on public health, further efforts to identify nutritional factors affecting prostate cancer growth are warranted.
Carotid Intimal Thickness and Flow-Mediated Dilatation in Diabetic and Nondiabetic Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis Patients

Objectives We compared carotid intima media thickness (CIMT) and flow-mediated dilatation (FMD) between cases [end-stage renal disease patients (diabetic and nondiabetic) on peritoneal dialysis (PD)] and controls (diabetic and hypertensive patients with normal renal function) with the objective of identifying risk factors predicting atherosclerosis. Methods This cross-sectional study involved 124 subjects (62 cases, 62 controls). In both the case and control populations, we used B-mode ultrasonography to study CIMT and endothelium-dependent FMD, according to American College of Cardiology guidelines on brachial artery measurement. Pearson correlation was used to evaluate the correlation between CIMT and other variables. Results Compared with controls, cases had significantly higher systolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, serum uric acid, inorganic phosphate, C-reactive protein, and parathyroid hormone, and significantly lower hemoglobin, calcium, and high-density lipoprotein. Compared with controls, cases showed significantly greater CIMT (0.60 ± 0.08 mm vs 0.54 ± 0.03 mm, p < 0.001) and significantly lower FMD (0.15 ± 0.08 cm vs 0.21 ± 0.04 cm, p = 0.02). Among cases, patients with diabetes had significantly greater CIMT (0.62 ± 0.08 mm vs 0.58 ± 0.07 mm, p = 0.05) than did patients without diabetes; FMD was similar in diabetic and nondiabetic patients on continuous ambulatory PD (0.16 ± 0.03 cm vs 0.18 ± 0.03 cm, p = 0.20). Conclusions Compared with controls, cases had significantly higher CIMT and lower FMD. Cases with diabetes had significantly higher CIMT than did cases without diabetes, but FMD was similar in diabetic and nondiabetic cases. Serum inorganic phosphate is an independent risk factor for atherosclerosis and was significantly correlated with CIMT. The noninvasive CIMT and FMD tests can be used to monitor atherosclerosis and endothelial dysfunction.
´Personality in action.´ Strategy measurement in computerized neuropsychological tests.

"Personality determines very largely the use a person makes of his intellectual gifts" (Eysenck, 1988). Computerization of neuropsychological tests has made possible a detailed analysis of both quantitative and qualitative aspects of a person´s test performance. Factor analyses of test data generally bring out two main factors of performance: speed and accuracy, representing both the intellectual capacity, and the subject´s preference for one over the other, probably reflecting general traits in the personality. A conceptualization of strategy indices in the Perceptual Maze test in terms of serial vs global processing and impulsive vs consistent test behavior, and their relation to personality questionnaire data was studied. A PET activation study during performance of the Perceptual Maze test and a sham maze task revealed no specific maze-planning activation, nor any relations between solution strategy and laterality, nor any sex differences. In students, however, sex differences in performance and strategy were found, women being slower and more cautious than men. A comparison of skill, strategy, and personality data in air force pilot recruits and randomly selected conscripts showed that pilots were skilled and fast, but not impulsive in tests, despite high scores in impulsivity related scales. Criminal subjects were found to be less flexible than other groups, not changing strategy when conditions changed, in the k-test of selective attention. In the final study strategy and performance indices were validated against personality questionnaire data and choice of profession. In conclusion, strategy evaluation in computerized tests may be a valid and objective way to assess ´personality in action´ in normal subjects, but may also be of interest in clinical settings.
The Association Between Medication Adherence and Treatment Intensification With Blood Pressure Control in Resistant Hypertension

Patients with resistant hypertension are at risk for poor outcomes. Medication adherence and intensification improve blood pressure (BP) control; however, little is known about these processes or their association with outcomes in resistant hypertension. This retrospective study included patients from 2002 to 2006 with incident hypertension from 2 health systems who developed resistant hypertension or uncontrolled BP despite adherence to ≥3 antihypertensive medications. Patterns of hypertension treatment, medication adherence (percentage of days covered), and treatment intensification (increase in medication class or dose) were described in the year after resistant hypertension identification. Then, the association between medication adherence and intensification with 1-year BP control was assessed controlling for patient characteristics. Of the 3550 patients with resistant hypertension, 49% were male, and mean age was 60 years. One year after resistance hypertension determination, fewer patients were taking diuretics (77.7% versus 92.2%; P<0.01), &bgr;-blockers (71.2% versus 79.4%; P<0.01), and angiotensinogen-converting enzyme inhibitor/angiotensin receptor blocker (64.8% versus 70.1%; P<0.01) compared with baseline. Rates of BP control improved over 1 year (22% versus 55%; P<0.01). During this year, adherence was not associated with 1-year BP control (adjusted odds ratio, 1.18 [95% CI: 0.94–1.47]). Treatment was intensified in 21.6% of visits with elevated BP. Increasing treatment intensity was associated with 1-year BP control (adjusted odds ratio, 1.64 [95% CI, 1.58–1.71]). In this cohort of patients with resistant hypertension, treatment intensification but not medication adherence was significantly associated with 1-year BP control. These findings highlight the need to investigate why patients with uncontrolled BP do not receive treatment intensification.
Kinesin-13 regulates the quantity and quality of tubulin inside cilia

Kinesin-13, a microtubule-end depolymerase, has been shown to affect the length of cilia, but its ciliary function is unclear. In Tetrahymena thermophila, kinesin-13 positively regulates the axoneme length, influences the properties of ciliary tubulin, and affects the ciliary dynein-dependent motility.
Novel Drug-Delivery Stent: Intravascular Ultrasound Observations From the First Human Experience With the QP2-Eluting Polymer Stent System

Background— The aim of this study was to use serial intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) to evaluate the long-term effect of stent-based 7-hexanoyltaxol (QP2, a taxane analogue) delivery on neointimal tissue growth within the stent and on vessel dimensions at the adjacent reference segments. Methods and Results— Serial IVUS analyses (immediately after intervention and at follow-up at 8.3 months) were performed in 15 native coronary lesions treated with the QuaDS-QP2 stent. IVUS measurements were performed at 8 cross-sections in each target segment (4 cross-sections within the stent and 2 cross-sections in each reference segment). At baseline, no significant plaque protrusion or thrombus was detected in the target segment. Mild incomplete stent apposition and edge dissection were observed in one and two cases, respectively. Percent expansion of the stent (minimum stent area/average reference lumen area) was 96.0±21.7%. At follow-up, mean neointimal area within the stent was 1.2±1.3 mm2, and mean cross-sectional narrowing (neointimal area/stent area) was 13.6±14.9%. At the vessel segments immediately adjacent to the stent, a significant increase in plaque area (1.9±2.6 mm2, P =0.001) was observed, but vessel area remained unchanged. However, no patients showed clinically significant in-stent or edge restenosis (diameter stenosis ≥50%) during the follow-up period. Conclusions— The first human experience with the new drug-delivery stent showed a minimal amount of neointimal proliferation in the stented segment. Late lumen loss at the reference sites adjacent to the stent was acceptable and predominantly due to plaque proliferation.
Intravitreal methotrexate for treating vitreoretinal lymphoma: 10 years of experience

Aim: To describe our experience in treating vitreoretinal involvement of primary central nervous system lymphoma, by intravitreal injections of methotrexate (MTX). Methods: Patients with suspected intraocular lymphoma underwent a diagnostic vitrectomy. Samples were sent for cytology, genetic evaluation and for interleukin level measurements. Treatment protocol included injection of 400 μg/0.1 ml MTX intravitreally twice weekly for 4 weeks, once weekly for 8 weeks, and then once monthly for 9 months, for a total of 25 injections. Data were collected from the patients’ records and included, inter alia, response to intravitreal MTX measured by time to disappearance of vitreal cells and retinal infiltrates, changes in visual acuity, and clinical recurrence rate. Results: In the past 10 years we have treated 44 eyes of 26 patients; seven patients had monocular involvement, and 19 binocular. Six patients were initially diagnosed as having a non-responsive uveitis, and 16 with either CNS or systemic lymphoma with later involvement of the eye. Four patients had systemic lymphoma; one of them was found to have CNS lymphoma after the ocular involvement. Three patients had T cell lymphoma, and the rest had B cell lymphoma. Clinical remission was reached after 6.4 (3.4) (2–16) injections of MTX (mean (SD) (range)), with 95% of the eyes needing 13 injections or less to be cleared of malignant cells. None of the patients had an intraocular recurrence. Among the side effects, the most common was corneal epitheliopathy, which usually appeared after the third injection and began to subside when the intervals between injections increased. Conclusions: Vitreoretinal involvement of lymphoma can be controlled effectively and without serious adverse reactions by intravitreal MTX injections. The treatment protocol described herein has resulted in no intraocular recurrence so far and has had bearable side effects. The accumulating clinical results bring us to propose the consideration of this protocol as a good first-line treatment option for intraocular lymphoma.
Understanding and Facilitating Adult Learning: A Comprehensive Analysis of Principles and Effective Practices

Adult learners - motives for learning and implications for practice understanding how adults learn exploring self-directedness in learning facilitating self-directed learning andragogy - alternative interpretations and applications the facilitator's role in adult learning learning in informal settings programme development for adults - challenging the institutional approach structuring programs around learners' needs and abilities evaluating learning and its facilitation facilitating learning - towards guidelines for good practice.
Behavioral evidence for the role of cortical θ oscillations in determining auditory channel capacity for speech

Studies on the intelligibility of time-compressed speech have shown flawless performance for moderate compression factors, a sharp deterioration for compression factors above three, and an improved performance as a result of “repackaging”—a process of dividing the time-compressed waveform into fragments, called packets, and delivering the packets in a prescribed rate. This intricate pattern of performance reflects the reliability of the auditory system in processing speech streams with different information transfer rates; the knee-point of performance defines the auditory channel capacity. This study is concerned with the cortical computation principle that determines channel capacity. Oscillation-based models of speech perception hypothesize that the speech decoding process is guided by a cascade of oscillations with theta as “master,” capable of tracking the input rhythm, with the theta cycles aligned with the intervocalic speech fragments termed θ-syllables; intelligibility remains high as long as theta is in sync with the input, and it sharply deteriorates once theta is out of sync. In the study described here the hypothesized role of theta was examined by measuring the auditory channel capacity of time-compressed speech undergone repackaging. For all speech speeds tested (with compression factors of up to eight), packaging rate at capacity equals 9 packets/s—aligned with the upper limit of cortical theta, θmax (about 9 Hz)—and the packet duration equals the duration of one uncompressed θ-syllable divided by the compression factor. The alignment of both the packaging rate and the packet duration with properties of cortical theta suggests that the auditory channel capacity is determined by theta. Irrespective of speech speed, the maximum information transfer rate through the auditory channel is the information in one uncompressed θ-syllable long speech fragment per one θmax cycle. Equivalently, the auditory channel capacity is 9 θ-syllables/s.
Isolation of Premyrsinane, Myrsinane, and Tigliane Diterpenoids from Euphorbia pithyusa Using a Chikungunya Virus Cell-Based Assay and Analogue Annotation by Molecular Networking.

Six new premyrsinol esters (1-6) and one new myrsinol ester (8) were isolated from an aerial parts extract of Euphorbia pithyusa, together with a known premyrsinol (7) and two known dideoxyphorbol esters (9 and 10), following a bioactivity-guided purification procedure using a chikungunya virus (CHIKV) cell-based assay. The structures of the new diterpene esters (1-6 and 8) were elucidated by MS and NMR spectroscopic data interpretation. Compounds 1-10 were evaluated against CHIKV replication, and results showed that the 4β-dideoxyphorbol ester 10 was the most active compound, with an EC50 value of 4.0 ± 0.3 μM and a selectivity index of 10.6. To gain more insight into the structural diversity of diterpenoids produced by E. pithyusa, the initial extract and chromatographic fractions were analyzed by LC-MS/MS. The generated data were annotated using a molecular networking procedure and revealed that dozens of unknown premyrsinane, myrsinane, and tigliane analogues were present.
First-year sea ice melt pond fraction estimation from dual-polarisation C-band SAR - Part 1: In situ observations

Understanding the evolution of melt ponds on Arctic sea ice is important for climate model parameterisations, weather forecast models and process studies involving mass, energy and biogeochemical exchanges across the ocean–sea ice–atmosphere interface. A field campaign was conducted in a region of level first-year sea ice (FYI) in the central Canadian Arctic Archipelago (CAA), during the summer of 2012, to examine the potential for estimating melt pond fraction ( f p ) from satellite synthetic aperture radar (SAR). In this study, 5.5 GHz (C-band) dual co- (HH + VV – horizontal transmit and horizontal receive + vertical transmit and vertical receive) and cross-polarisation (HV + HH – horizontal transmit and vertical receive + horizontal transmit and horizontal receive) radar scatterometer measurements of melt-pond-covered FYI are combined with ice and pond properties to analyse the effects of in situ physical and morphological changes on backscatter parameters. Surface roughness statistics of ice and ponds are characterised and compared to the validity domains of the Bragg and integral equation model (IEM) scattering models. Experimental and model results are used to outline the potential and limitations of the co-polarisation ratio (VV / HH) for retrieving melt pond information, including f p , at large incidence angles (≥35°). Despite high variability in cross-polarisation ratio (HV / HH) magnitudes, increases at small incidence angles (<30°) are attributed to the formation of ice lids on ponds. Implications of the results for pond information retrievals from satellite C-, L- and P-band SARs are discussed.
Ammonium Uptake by Rice Roots (II. Kinetics of 13NH4+ Influx across the Plasmalemma)

Short-term influxes of 13NH4+ were measured in intact roots of 3-week-old rice (Oryza sativa L. cv M202) seedlings that were hydroponically grown at 2, 100, or 1000 [mu]M NH4+. Below 1 mM external concentration ([NH4+]0), influx was saturable and due to a high-affinity transport system (HATS). For the HATS, Vmax values were negatively correlated and Km values were positively correlated with NH4+ provision during growth and root [NH4+]. Between 1 and 40 mM [NH4+]0, 13NH4+ influx showed a linear response due to a low-affinity transport system (LATS). The 13NH4+ influxes by the HATS, and to a lesser extent the LATS, are energy-dependent processes. Selected metabolic inhibitors reduced influx of the HATS by 50 to 80%, but of the LATS by only 31 to 51%. Estimated values for Q10 (the ratio of rates at temperatures differing by 10[deg]C) for HATS were greater than 2.4 at root temperatures from 5 to 10[deg]C and were constant at approximately 1.5 between 5 and 30[deg]C for the LATS. Influx of 13NH4+ by the HATS was insensitive to external pH in the range from 4.5 to 9.0, but influx by the LATS declined significantly beyond pH 6.0. The data presented are discussed in the context of the kinetics, energy dependence, and the regulation of ammonium influx.
Privacy-Preserving Authentication Based on Short Group Signature in Vehicular Networks

Security and privacy are two integrated issues in deploying vehicular networks. Privacy-preserving authentication is a key technique in addressing these two issues. We propose to use group signature to authenticate vehicles in vehicular networks. To meet the requirements of speediness of authentication, we improve NF05 (Nakanishi and Funabiki) group signature scheme without compromising security and obtain a new scheme with shorter signature and less computations. According to the proposed group signature scheme, we give two privacy-preserving authentication mechanisms suitable for vehicular networks. The outstanding properties of group signature guarantee that our authentication schemes have the desirable properties of a practical privacy- preserving authentication protocol.
Commentary: Management of Malperfusion in Acute Type B Aortic Dissection: Every Answer Raises Several More Questions

It is with great interest that we read the article on endovascular treatment of complicated type B dissections by Sfyroeras et al. in this issue of JEVT. The authors reported their midterm results of endovascular stent-graft management of 23 patients with acute type B aortic dissection complicated by malperfusion among 85 acute type B aortic dissection patients treated over an 11-year period. In that time, malperfusion was diagnosed in the renal arteries in 7 (30%) patients, in the lower limb in 6 (26%), in visceral arteries in 3 (13%), and the remaining patients had mixed malperfusion areas. All patients had a stent-graft placed across the proximal tear in the thoracic aorta; the left subclavian artery (LSA) was covered in half of the patients. Five patients needed additional branch vessel stenting, and 2 patients had a femorofemoral crossover bypass. Successful reperfusion was achieved in 21 (91%) patients. Thirty-day mortality was 9%, with a postoperative stroke rate of 17% (4/ 23) and postoperative paraplegia in 2. During a mean 1.5-year follow-up, 5 patients needed additional procedures (either open or endovascular).