Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The frequency of coagulase negative Staphylococci urinary infections with antimicrobial resistance pattern in Rafsanjan.

Objective: Coagulase negative staphylococci are recognized as the important agents in the urinary infections of young women and elderly men. These agents are resistant to many of the antibiotics. The objective of this study was to find out the frequency and antimicrobial resistance pattern of this organism in urinary infections. Methodology: This cross sectional study was performed on 1067 patients who were referred to Rafsanjan laboratory due to urinary symptoms. Urine analysis and cultures with (Blood agar, Eosin methylen blue, Hinton Agar), besides Catalase and coagulase assay were done. Results: Coagulase negative staphylococci was isolated from 6% of cultures. Frequency of this infection had no difference between female & male and also between different groups. Based on antibiotic resistance pattern ; resistance to Cefalotin was (72.5%), Cotrimoxazole (62.5%), Penicillin (60%) , Nitrofurantoin and Gentamycin(55%), Nalidixic acid (52.5%), Oxacillin (47.5%, Cephalexin (45%), Clindamycin (35%),Vancomycin (30%) and Ciprofloxacin (2.5%). Conclusion: Positive cultures are significant (6%) and recognition of urinary infection due to Coagulase negative staphylococci is very important because misdiagnosis leads to wrong treatment.
Detection of Antibodies to dsDNA: An Overview of Laboratory Assays

This brief review is focused on different methodologies available for detection of anti-dsDNA antibodies with respect to the best adequacy between biological results of laboratory and clinical significance. A large array of assays has been developed for the measurement of anti-dsDNA. New assays continually introduced have reflected not only technical innovations to avoid difficulties of some assays, but even more with hope to correlate better with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), particularly with its clinical course and exacerbations. Finally, with the development of micro arrays technology new insights into the pathophysiology of autoimmune disease processes should be revealed.
Saliva and plasma levels of cardiac‐related biomarkers in post‐myocardial infarction patients

AIM To relate cardiac biomarkers, such as cystatin C and growth differentiation factor-15 (GDF-15) in saliva to myocardial infarction (MI) and to periodontal status, and to investigate the relation between salivary and plasma cardiac biomarkers. MATERIALS AND METHODS Two hundred patients with MI admitted to coronary care units and 200 matched controls without MI were included. Dental examination and collection of blood and saliva samples was performed 6-10 weeks after the MI for patients and in close proximity thereafter for controls. Analysing methods: ARCHITECT i4000SR, Immulite 2000 XPi or ELISA. RESULTS The mean age was 62 ± 8 years and 84% were male. Total probing pocket depth, fibrinogen, white blood cell counts and HbA1c were higher in patients than controls. GDF-15 levels correlated with most of the included clinical variables in both study groups. No correlation was found between plasma and saliva levels of cystatin C or GDF-15. CONCLUSION Salivary cystatin C and GDF-15 could not differentiate between MI patients and controls.
A Digitally Controlled CMOS Receiver with −14 dBm P1dB for 77 GHz Automotive Radar

This paper presents a 77 GHz Receiver (Rx) for automotive radar with high linearity, low noise figure (NF) and reconfigurable gain and bandwidth of the analog baseband (ABB), implemented in TSMC 65 nm CMOS general purpose (GP) technology. The Rx includes a low-noise amplifier (LNA), sharing the transconductance stage with a double-balanced mixer, an LO chain with a frequency doubler and an analog baseband. The entire Rx consumes 123 mW. Measurement results show that the input 1 dB compression point (P1dB) is −14 dBm at 81 GHz, a conversion gain (CG) of 20.5–62.5 dB is digitally tunable at 77 GHz, and an NF of 11.2–18.3 dB is achieved over the frequency range of 76–81 GHz.
Phenotypic presentation and underlying mutations in carriers of beta-thalassaemia and alpha-thalassaemia in the Danish immigrant population.

OBJECTIVE The thalassaemia syndromes are the most common hereditary diseases in the world and now appear with relatively high frequency in non-endemic regions. Guidelines recommend the use of mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH) alone or in combination with mean corpuscular volume (MCV) in screening for alpha- and beta-thalassaemia. This article deals with the viability of MCV<78 fL alone as screening parameter for thalassaemia in non-endemic regions. MATERIAL AND METHODS Data from the Center for Haemoglobinopathies, Herlev University Hospital, consist of MCV measurements from 438 patients with alpha-thalassaemia and 450 patients with beta-thalassaemia referred between 1996 and 2005, and simultaneously measured MCV and MCH measurements in 86 patients referred between November 2004 and November 2005. RESULTS In 450 beta-thalassaemia patients and 117 alpha0-thalassaemia patients diagnosed between 1996 and 2005, only two beta-thalassaemia patients had MCV>or=78 fL. All alpha0-thalassaemia patients had MCV<78 fL. In contrast, 38% of patients with alpha+-thalassaemia had MCV>78 fL. When MCV and MCH were measured simultaneously, one patient with beta-thalassaemia was missed if MCV was used as a screening tool and one patient was missed if MCH was used. Forty-four different beta-thalassaemic mutations were found. CONCLUSIONS Our data support the notion that the use of MCV<78 fL instead of MCH<27 pg is acceptable as a screening criterion in a non-endemic population. Only 0.5% of the beta-thalassaemia patients were missed and all the patients with alpha0-thalassaemia were diagnosed. Since the racial heterogeneity of the immigrant population in non-endemic regions creates a scenario with a broad spectrum of mutations and haemoglobinopathy, laboratories should be equipped to detect a large variety of mutations.
Making a Market in Foreign Exchange

In a foreign exchange market there may be no informed traders who have superior information about the market as a whole. Even so, a risk-neutral market maker is confronted with adverse selection costs. These vary directly with the conditional variance of permanent shocks to a shifting equilibrium price. For what is often called inventory holding costs, this model derives an explicit opportunity cost of inventory control for a risk-averse market maker. A third component of costs of market making arises when the equilibrium price cannot be observed after each trade. This is another aspect of adverse selection. The necessity for the market as a whole to use price shading to control inventories can be reconciled with evidence that individual dealers tend to control inventories by laying off positions. Other dealers respond to the observed order flow by adjusting price as if a single market maker were trying to manage inventories.
Optimizing sputum smear microscopy for the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis

Karen R Steingart, Andrew Ramsay and Madhukar Pai Author for correspondence Deptartment of Epidemiology, Biostatistics & Occupational Health, McGill University, Respiratory Epidemiology & Clinical Research Unit, Montréal Chest Institute, 1020 Pine Avenue West, Montréal H3A 1A2, Canada Tel. : +1 514 398 5422 Fax: +1 514 398 4503 madhukar.pai@mcgill.ca Expert Rev. Anti Infect. Ther. 5(3), 327–331 (2007)
INTERDISCIPLINARY CARE: Effect in Acute Hospital Setting

: The Senior Care Unit was developed to meet the needs of hospitalized elderly patients. Nurses assumed leadership roles as members of an interdisciplinary care team that also included representatives from medical, social work, dietary, physical therapy, and pharmacy departments. This collaborative effort not only resulted in a more complete holistic plan of care for the patient, but also increased the nurses' and other team members' knowledge of each other's areas of expertise. This project demonstrated that it is feasible to introduce a comprehensive, interdisciplinary geriatric team coordinated by the nurses into an existing staff, resulting in quality care without increasing the length of stay or hospital costs.
GABAB receptors mediate frequency‐dependent depression of excitatory potentials in rat perirhinal cortex in vitro

Excitatory synaptic transmission in the perirhinal cortex exhibits marked homosynaptic paired pulse depression (PPD) at inter‐pulse intervals between 100 and 1000 ms, being maximal at 200 ms. Additionally, there is greater PPD with stimulation of the pathway from the temporal cortex side than with stimulation of the pathway from the entorhinal cortex side. We establish that this frequency‐dependent depression relies on the activation of GABAB (γ‐aminobutyric acid) receptors. PPD in both temporal and entorhinal pathways is abolished by either of the selective GABAB receptor antagonists, 3‐N[1‐(s)‐(3,4‐dichlorophenyl)ethyl]amino‐2‐(s)‐hydroxypropyl‐p‐benzyl‐phosphinic acid (CGP55845A) or 3‐amino‐propyl(diethoxymethyl)phosphinic acid (CGP35348). Barium which blocks G‐protein‐coupled, inwardly rectifying potassium channels, does not block PPD. Heterosynaptic depression mediated by GABAB receptors was also observed. The depression of the entorhinal pathway by stimulation of the temporal pathway is greater than depression of the temporal pathway by stimulation of the entorhinal pathway. Moreover, PPD increases with stimulus strength and the depression is enhanced by short trains of stimuli, consistent with stronger stimulation resulting in more GABA reaching GABAB receptors on excitatory glutamatergic synapses. Synaptic activation of GABAB receptors may be important in regulating excitability in a frequency‐dependent manner with maximal depression occurring at ∼ 5 Hz, which approximates to the theta rhythm. That homosynaptic and heterosynaptic depression by stimulation of the temporal pathway is greater than by stimulation of the entorhinal pathway suggests that activation of temporal feedforward connections to the perirhinal cortex can dominate the GABAergic control of synaptic activity within the perirhinal cortex.
Soluble CD163 in young sickle cell disease patients and their trait siblings: a biomarker for pulmonary hypertension and vaso-occlusive complications

CD163 is expressed on cells of monocyte–macrophage lineage and is the main hemoglobin–haptoglobin receptor. Inflammation and monocyte activation are predisposing factors to vaso-occlusion and pulmonary hypertension, which are serious complications in sickle cell disease (SCD). Siblings of SCD patients may have the same pathophysiology without displaying symptoms. We assessed soluble CD163 (sCD163) levels in 60 children with SCD and 30 sickle cell trait (SCT) siblings compared with 30 healthy controls as a potential marker for disease severity and treatment response. Patients were studied stressing on the presence of pulmonary hypertension by Dopplar-Echocardiography, sickling crisis, transfusion requirements, hydroxyurea response, hematological profile, high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and serum sCD163. sCD163 was significantly elevated in SCD patients and SCT siblings compared with controls and the highest levels were in untreated SCD patients (P < 0.001). sCD163 was higher in patients with pulmonary hypertension, acute chest syndrome or stroke as well as in patients who developed sickling crisis during the study period (P < 0.05). Hydroxyurea-treated patients had lower sCD163 compared with untreated patients (P < 0.001). sCD163 was positively correlated to leukocyte count, HbS, hs-CRP, pulmonary artery pressure and tricuspid regurgitant velocity whereas inversely correlated to hemoglobin and HbF levels. The cut-off value of sCD163 at 1400 ng/ml could be considered a predictor for vaso-occlusive crisis in SCD with a sensitivity of 92.3% and specificity of 94.1%. sCD163 can be considered a biomarker for pulmonary hypertension, early crisis prediction and monitoring hydroxyurea response in SCD patients. Elevated sCD163 in trait siblings could reflect increased risk of sickling in challenging situations.
Chemokines in myocardial failure – pathogenic importance and potential therapeutic targets

Chemokines are small peptides that are potent chemoattractants for different leucocyte subpopulations and also have biological effects on certain other cell types such as endothelial cells, fibroblasts and vascular smooth muscle cells [1]. The chemokine superfamily is divided into four groups (CXC, CX3C, CC and C) according to the relative positioning of the first two closely paired and highly conserved cysteines of the amino acid sequence [1]. Their actions are mediated by a family of seven-transmembrane spanning, G-protein-coupled receptors, the size of which has grown considerably in recent years and now includes 18 members [2]. A major role of chemokines is the recruitment and activation of specific subpopulations of leucocytes, playing a pivotal role in the immune response and inflammation. While chemokine-dependent functions are essential for the control of infection, wound healing and haematopoiesis, excessive chemokine activation may result in inappropriate inflammation leading to cell and tissue damage. Thus, chemokines have been suggested to play a pathogenic role in several immune-mediated and inflammatory disorders such as bronchial asthma, inflammatory bowel disease, rheumatoid arthritis, allograft rejection, encephalomyelitis and infection with human immunodeficiency virus [1,2]. Recently, chemokines have also been implicated in the pathogenesis of several cardiovascular disorders. Chemokines – established pathogenic role in atherogenesis The involvement of chemokines in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis has been widely investigated and raised chemokine levels have been found both in plasma and in the atherosclerotic vessel itself. Thus, raised plasma levels of several chemokines (e.g. interleukin (IL)-8, monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-1 and macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-1α) have been found in patients with coronary artery disease, with the highest levels in those with acute coronary syndromes [3]. Moreover, enhanced expression of several chemokines (e.g. IL-8, MCP-1 and interferon inducible protein 10 (IP-10)), has been found in human atherosclerotic lesions, possibly mediating chemoattractant and mitogenic effects on neutrophils, T cells and smooth muscle cells [4,5]. Furthermore, macrophages with enhanced expression of chemokine receptors (e.g. CXCR2 and CCR2) have been reported in advanced murine and human atheroma [4]. Also, knock-out mice lacking these receptors or their corresponding ligands (i.e. IL-8 and MCP-1) have significantly reduced progression of atherosclerosis [6–8].
Non-gastric advanced mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma has worse prognosis than gastric MALT lymphoma even when treated with rituximab-containing chemotherapy

Abstract The aim of this study was to assess the clinical characteristics, treatment results, and analyze the prognostic factors among patients with extranodal marginal zone B-cell lymphoma of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT lymphoma). We retrospectively reviewed 98 patients with MALT lymphoma consecutively diagnosed at the Cancer Institute Hospital. Eighty-one patients (82%) had localized disease and 17 patients (17%) had advanced disease. The primary site was gastric in 52, and extra-gastric in 46. With a median follow-up of 40 months, the estimated 3-year overall survival (OS) and progression free survival (PFS) of the entire group were 100% and 89%, respectively. Three-year PFS was significantly better in patients with gastric lymphoma than in those with non-gastric lymphoma (95% vs. 82%, p = 0.043). Patients with localized disease had significantly better 3-year PFS than those with advanced disease (94% vs. 73%, p = 0.026). Upon multivariate analysis, non-gastric lymphoma retained prognostic significance for PFS.
Molecular epidemiology of coagulase-negative Staphylococcus species isolated at different lactation stages from dairy cattle in the United States

Background Coagulase negative Staphylococcus (CNS) species are currently the most prevalent intra-mammary pathogens causing subclinical mastitis and occasional clinical mastitis or persistent infection in lactating dairy cattle. More than 10 CNS species have been identified, but they are generally managed as one group on most dairies in the United States. However, improved management decisions and treatment outcomes may be achieved with better understanding of the prevalent species, pathogenicity and strain diversity within and across dairies. Methodology A total of 604 CNS isolates were cultured from milk samples collected during a dry-cow treatment clinical trial conducted on 6 dairy herds in 4 states in the US. All the study cows were randomized to receive 1 of the 3 different intra-mammary antimicrobial infusions (Quatermaster, Spectramast DC or ToMorrow Dry Cow) at dry-off. Milk samples were collected at dry-off, calving (0–6 days in milk, DIM), post-calving (7–13 DIM) and at mastitis events within the first 100 DIM. The CNS isolates were identified to species level by partial sequencing of the rpoβ gene, and genetic relatedness within species was investigated by phylogenetic analysis of the pulse-field gel electrophoresis profiles of the isolates. Results The major CNS species identified were S. chromogenes (48.3%), S. haemolyticus (17.9%), S. simulans and S. epidermidis (each at 6.5%). Other CNS species identified at lower frequencies included S. hominis, S. auricularis, S. sciuri, S. spp KS-SP, S. capitis, S. cohnii, S. warneri, S. pasteuri, S. xylosus, S. hyicus, S. equorum, S. microti, S. rostri, S. gallinarum, S. saprophyticus and S. succinus. Phylogenetic analyses of the major species types demonstrated an association between genetic relatedness and epidemiological distributions of S. chromogenes, S. simulans, S. haemolyticus and S. auricularis. Additionally, identical strains of S. chromogenes and S. simulans were isolated from the same udder quarter of several cows at consecutive sample stages. The rest of the minor species had no deducible genetic-epidemiological link. Discussion The observed association between genetic and epidemiological distributions indicated animal-adapted nature of four CNS species, suggesting possible host-adapted and environmental transmission of these species. Multi-stage isolation of the same udder quarter strain was evidence for chronic intra-mammary infection. Conclusion The different CNS species and strains circulating on US dairy herds were genetically diverse. Four species identified were likely udder-adapted pathogens, 2 of which caused persistent infection. Our findings are important in guiding the design of effective mastitis control strategies.
Common Concerns in BYOD Policies

—Companies publish BYOD policies for employees to use their device at work. These policies are written using natural language, and vary in length and style. Using BYOD policies from ﬁve different sources we explore common concerns. Existing tools for enforcing policies has focussed on restricting app and device functionality. Our work looks at 5 BYOD policies and presents the common concerns and structures found in the policies themselves. This suggests where future MDM tools should focus their efforts.
Altered reward processing in women recovered from anorexia nervosa.

OBJECTIVE Individuals with anorexia nervosa are known to be ascetic and able to sustain self-denial of food as well as most comforts and pleasures in life. Building on previous findings of altered striatal dopamine binding in anorexia nervosa, the authors sought to assess the response of the anterior ventral striatum to reward and loss in this disorder. METHOD Striatal responses to a simple monetary reward task were investigated using event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging. To avoid the confounding effects of malnutrition, the authors compared 13 healthy comparison women and 13 women who had recovered from restricting-type anorexia nervosa and had 1 year of normal weight and regular menstrual cycles, without binge eating or purging. RESULTS Recovered women showed greater hemodynamic activation in the caudate than comparison women. Only the recovered women showed a significant positive relationship between trait anxiety and the percentage change in hemodynamic signal in the caudate during either wins or losses. In contrast, in the anterior ventral striatum, comparison women distinguished positive and negative feedback, whereas recovered women had similar responses to both conditions. CONCLUSIONS Individuals who have recovered from anorexia nervosa may have difficulties in differentiating positive and negative feedback. The exaggerated activation of the caudate, a region involved in linking action to outcome, may constitute an attempt at "strategic" (as opposed to hedonic) means of responding to reward stimuli. The authors hypothesize that individuals with anorexia nervosa have an imbalance in information processing, with impaired ability to identify the emotional significance of a stimulus but increased traffic in neurocircuits concerned with planning and consequences.
Forcing term in single-phase and Shan-Chen-type multiphase lattice Boltzmann models.

Numerous schemes have been proposed to incorporate a bulk forcing term into the lattice Boltzmann equation. In this paper we present a simple and straightforward comparative analysis of five popular schemes [Shan and Chen, Phys. Rev. E 47, 1815 (1993); Phys Rev Lett. 81, 1618 (1998); He et al., Phys. Rev. E 57, R13 (1998); Guo et al., Phys. Rev. E 65, 046308 (2002); Kupershtokh et al., Comput. Math. Appl. 58, 965 (2009)] in which their differences and similarities are identified. From the analysis we classify the schemes into two groups; the behaviors of the schemes in each group are proven to be identical up to second order. Numerical test simulating the two-dimensional unsteady Taylor-Green vortex flow problem demonstrate that all five schemes are of comparable accuracy for single-phase flow. However, for two-phase flow the situation is different, which is demonstrated by incorporating these schemes into different Shan-Chen-type multiphase models. The forcing scheme in the original Shan-Chen (SC) multiphase model turns out to be inaccurate in terms of the resulting surface tension for different density ratios and relaxation times. In the numerical tests, a typical equation of state and interparticle interactions including next-nearest neighbors were incorporated into the SC model. Our results confirm that the surface-tension values obtained from the original SC lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) simulation depend on the value of the relaxation time τ. For τ<0. 7Δt, the surface tension agree well with the analytical solutions. However, when τ>0. 7Δt, the surface tension turns out to be systematically larger than the analytical one, exceeding it by more than a factor of 2 for τ=2Δt. In contrast, with the application of the scheme proposed by He et al., the SC LBM produces very accurate surface tensions independent of the value of τ. We also found that the densities of the coexisting liquid and gas can be adjusted to match those at thermodynamic equilibrium if the particle interaction term includes next-nearest-neighbor contributions. The obtained results will be useful for further studies of two-phase flow with high density ratios using the SC LBM approach.