Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Incidence and Outcomes Associated With Infections Caused by Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci in the United States: Systematic Literature Review and Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND Information about the health and economic impact of infections caused by vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) can inform investments in infection prevention and development of novel therapeutics. OBJECTIVE To systematically review the incidence of VRE infection in the United States and the clinical and economic outcomes. METHODS We searched various databases for US studies published from January 1, 2000, through June 8, 2015, that evaluated incidence, mortality, length of stay, discharge to a long-term care facility, readmission, recurrence, or costs attributable to VRE infections. We included multicenter studies that evaluated incidence and single-center and multicenter studies that evaluated outcomes. We kept studies that did not have a denominator or uninfected controls only if they assessed postinfection length of stay, costs, or recurrence. We performed meta-analysis to pool the mortality data. RESULTS Five studies provided incidence data and 13 studies evaluated outcomes or costs. The incidence of VRE infections increased in Atlanta and Detroit but did not increase in national samples. Compared with uninfected controls, VRE infection was associated with increased mortality (pooled odds ratio, 2.55), longer length of stay (3-4.6 days longer or 1.4 times longer), increased risk of discharge to a long-term care facility (2.8- to 6.5-fold) or readmission (2.9-fold), and higher costs ($9,949 higher or 1.6-fold more). CONCLUSIONS VRE infection is associated with large attributable burdens, including excess mortality, prolonged in-hospital stay, and increased treatment costs. Multicenter studies that use suitable controls and adjust for time at risk or confounders are needed to estimate the burden of VRE infections. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2017;38:203–215
The role of apical contractility in determining cell morphology in multilayered epithelial sheets and tubes

A multilayered epithelium is made up of individual cells that are stratified in an orderly fashion, layer by layer. In such tissues, individual cells can adopt a wide range of shapes ranging from columnar to squamous. From histological images, we observe that, in flat epithelia such as the skin, the cells in the top layer are squamous while those in the middle and bottom layers are columnar, whereas in tubular epithelia, the cells in all layers are columnar. We develop a computational model to understand how individual cell shape is governed by the mechanical forces within multilayered flat and curved epithelia. We derive the energy function for an epithelial sheet of cells considering intercellular adhesive and intracellular contractile forces. We determine computationally the cell morphologies that minimize the energy function for a wide range of cellular parameters. Depending on the dominant adhesive and contractile forces, we find four dominant cell morphologies for the multilayered-layered flat sheet and three dominant cell morphologies for the two-layered curved sheet. We study the transitions between the dominant cell morphologies for the two-layered flat sheet and find both continuous and discontinuous transitions and also the presence of multistable states. Matching our computational results with histological images, we conclude that apical contractile forces from the actomyosin belt in the epithelial cells is the dominant force determining cell shape in multilayered epithelia. Our computational model can guide tissue engineers in designing artificial multilayered epithelia, in terms of figuring out the cellular parameters needed to achieve realistic epithelial morphologies.
A Morphological Building Detection Framework for High-Resolution Optical Imagery Over Urban Areas

This letter proposes an efficient framework for building detection from coarse to fine using morphological technique for high-resolution optical satellite imagery over urban areas. First, the preliminary result of building regions is obtained by the recently developed morphological building index (MBI) method, which is able to detect potential building structures. However, the raw results derived from the MBI can be subject to a number of false alarms, which are caused by bright soil, roads, and open areas. In this letter, we propose to use morphological spatial pattern analysis as a postprocessing to further optimize the MBI result and remove the commission errors. The original MBI result is then separated into seven mutually exclusive categories-core, islet, loop, bridge, perforation, edge, and branch-by applying a series of morphological transformations such as erosions, geodesic dilation, reconstruction by dilation, anchored skeletonization, etc. The objects corresponding to the generic categories are then analyzed, and the categories corresponding to building parts are maintained, while the others are abandoned. After this postprocessing, the small noisy patches and narrow roads, which were wrongly extracted by the MBI, can be removed. In addition, the shape of the buildings can also be regularized by removing the branches, and the holes contained in the building objects can be identified and filled. Extensive experiments performed on GeoEye-1 and WorldView-2 images confirm the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed morphological building detection framework.
Modulation of lipid biosynthesis by stress in diatoms

Diatoms are responsible for up to 40% of the carbon fixation in our oceans. The fixed carbon is moved through carbon metabolism towards the synthesis of organic molecules that are consumed through interlocking foodwebs, and this process is strongly impacted by the abiotic environment. However, it has become evident that diatoms can be used as ‘platform’ organisms for the production of high valuable bio-products such as lipids, pigments and carbohydrates where stress conditions can be used to direct carbon metabolism towards the commercial production of these compounds. In the first section of this review, some aspects of carbon metabolism in diatoms and how it is impacted by environmental factors are briefly described. The second section is focused on the biosynthesis of lipids and in particular omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids and how low temperature stress impacts on the production of these compounds. In a third section, we review the recent advances in bioengineering for lipid production. Finally, we discuss new perspectives for designing strains for the sustainable production of high-value lipids. This article is part of the themed issue ‘The peculiar carbon metabolism in diatoms’.
Mathematical Modeling of Genesis and Treatment of Chronic Myeloid Leukemia

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is a clonal hematopoietic disorder induced by translocation of chromosomes 9 and 22, resulting in an overproduction of myeloid blood cells. CML-specific characteristics include a latency time of several years, a period of coexistence of malignant and normal cells and an eventual dominance of the malignant clone. Different drug therapies are available, most notably imatinib, which inhibits the oncogenic BCR-ABL1 tyrosine kinase. Although the chromosomal aberration causing CML is well known, the resulting dynamic effects on the system behavior are not sufficiently understood yet. Here, we apply an already established mathematical model of hematopoietic stem cell organization. Based on parameter estimates for normal hematopoiesis, we systematically explore the changes in these parameters necessary to reproduce CML-specific characteristics regarding emergence and course of disease as well as a variety of qualitative and quantitative clinical data on CML treatment. Our results indicate that 1 or more of the following mechanisms are compatible with the induction of a dominant clone in the proposed model: a retarded differentiation process, a reduced turnover time or a defective cell-microenvironment interaction of the neoplastic cells. However, in order to explain the massive overproduction of malignant cells, an unregulated and abnormal activation of leukemia stem cells into cycle has to be assumed additionally. Based on our simulation results we conclude that CML dynamics can most appropriately be explained by a modulation of the cell-microenvironment interactions of leukemia stem cells, including both the process of stem cell silencing and activation into cycle.
Identification of Scleractinian Coral Recruits Using Fluorescent Censusing and DNA Barcoding Techniques

The identification of coral recruits has been problematic due to a lack of definitive morphological characters being available for higher taxonomic resolution. In this study, we tested whether fluorescent detection of coral recruits used in combinations of different DNA-barcoding markers (cytochrome oxidase I gene [COI], open reading frame [ORF], and nuclear Pax-C intron [PaxC]) could be useful for increasing the resolution of coral spat identification in ecological studies. One hundred and fifty settlement plates were emplaced at nine sites on the fringing reefs of Kenting National Park in southern Taiwan between April 2011 and September 2012. A total of 248 living coral spats and juveniles (with basal areas ranging from 0.21 to 134.57 mm2) were detected on the plates with the aid of fluorescent light and collected for molecular analyses. Using the COI DNA barcoding technique, 90.3% (224/248) of coral spats were successfully identified into six genera, including Acropora, Isopora, Montipora, Pocillopora, Porites, and Pavona. PaxC further separated I. cuneata and I. palifera of Isopora from Acropora, and ORF successfully identified the species of Pocillopora (except P. meandrina and P. eydouxi). Moreover, other cnidarian species such as actinarians, zoanthids, and Millepora species were visually found using fluorescence and identified by COI DNA barcoding. This combination of existing approaches greatly improved the taxonomic resolution of early coral life stages, which to date has been mainly limited to the family level based on skeletal identification. Overall, this study suggests important improvements for the identification of coral recruits in ecological studies.
Proof Theoretic Reasoning in System P

This paper investigates how the rules of System P might be used in order to construct proofs for default rules which take into account the bounds on the probabilities of the consequents of the defaults. The paper defines a proof system, shows that it is sound: and then discusses at length the completeness of the system, and the kind of proofs that it can generate.
Integrating ecosystem-service tradeoffs into land-use decisions

Recent high-profile efforts have called for integrating ecosystem-service values into important societal decisions, but there are few demonstrations of this approach in practice. We quantified ecosystem-service values to help the largest private landowner in Hawaii, Kamehameha Schools, design a land-use development plan that balances multiple private and public values on its North Shore land holdings (Island of O’ahu) of ∼10,600 ha. We used the InVEST software tool to evaluate the environmental and financial implications of seven planning scenarios encompassing contrasting land-use combinations including biofuel feedstocks, food crops, forestry, livestock, and residential development. All scenarios had positive financial return relative to the status quo of negative return. However, tradeoffs existed between carbon storage and water quality as well as between environmental improvement and financial return. Based on this analysis and community input, Kamehameha Schools is implementing a plan to support diversified agriculture and forestry. This plan generates a positive financial return ($10.9 million) and improved carbon storage (0.5% increase relative to status quo) with negative relative effects on water quality (15.4% increase in potential nitrogen export relative to status quo). The effects on water quality could be mitigated partially (reduced to a 4.9% increase in potential nitrogen export) by establishing vegetation buffers on agricultural fields. This plan contributes to policy goals for climate change mitigation, food security, and diversifying rural economic opportunities. More broadly, our approach illustrates how information can help guide local land-use decisions that involve tradeoffs between private and public interests.
Urinary Bladder Cancer Tregs Suppress MMP2 and Potentially Regulate Invasiveness

Tregs localized to the invasive front of human bladder tumors inhibited the expression of MMP2, an enzyme that cleaves extracellular matrix and promotes metastasis. Therefore, caution should be exercised in the clinical targeting of Tregs in inflammation-driven cancers. Regulatory T cells (Treg) have long been considered one-sided suppressors of antitumor immune responses and hence associated with poor patient outcome in cancer. However, evidence is mounting of a paradoxical positive prognostic effect of Tregs on certain malignancies, including urinary bladder cancer (UBC). This discrepancy has partly been attributed to the shear misidentification of Tregs, but also to the inflammatory profile of the tumor. Our aim was to determine whether tumor-infiltrating Forkhead box P3+ (FOXP3+) cells confer a stable Treg phenotype and to investigate putative beneficial Treg functions, focusing on tumor-promoting inflammatory pathways in UBC. Patients (n = 52) with suspected UBC were prospectively included. We show, by using a broad range of analytical approaches, that tumor-infiltrating CD4+FOXP3+ T cells in UBC phenotypically, functionally, and epigenetically represent a true Treg population. At the invasive front of UBC tumors, we found an inverse relationship between Treg frequency and expression of matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP2), a key proinvasive factor induced by tumor-promoting inflammation. Correspondingly, a significant, dose-dependent Treg-mediated downregulation of MMP2 protein and mRNA expression was observed in both macrophages and UBC cells. Also, we found that Treg frequency specifically at the invasive front positively correlated with survival. Thus, we identify Treg-mediated suppression of MMP2 in the tumor microenvironment as a mechanism explaining the paradoxical positive prognostic impact of tumor-infiltrating Tregs in UBC. Cancer Immunol Res; 6(5); 528–38. ©2018 AACR.
The Effect of a Nonpeptide Angiotensin II Type 2 Receptor Agonist, Compound 21, on Aortic Aneurysm Growth in a Mouse Model of Marfan Syndrome

Introduction: Available evidence suggests that the renin–angiotensin–aldosterone (RAA) system is a good target for medical intervention on aortic root dilatation in Marfan syndrome (MFS). The effect of Compound 21 (C21), a nonpeptide angiotensin II type 2 receptor agonist, on aneurysm progression was tested. Methods: Mice with a mutation in fibrillin-1 (Fbn1C1039G/+) and wild-type mice were treated with vehicle, losartan, C21, enalapril, or a combination. Blood pressure, aortic root diameter, and histological slides were evaluated. Results: All groups had a comparable blood pressure. Echographic evaluation of the aortic root diameter revealed a protective effect of angiotensin II type 1 receptor antagonist (losartan) and no effect of C21 treatment. None of the treatments had a beneficial effect on the histological changes in MFS. Discussion: This study confirms that angiotensin II type 1 receptor antagonism (losartan) decreases aortic aneurysm growth in a mouse model of MFS. A nonpeptide angiotensin II type 2 receptor agonist (C21), at the doses studied, was ineffective. Future studies are warranted to further elucidate the exact role of the RAA system in aneurysm formation in MFS and identify alternative targets for intervention.
Perianal Block: Is It as Good as Spinal Anesthesia for Closed Hemorrhoidectomies?

Background and Aims: This study compared if perianal block using ropivacaine and dexmedetomidine was as good as spinal anesthesia (SA) using bupivacaine (heavy) for closed hemorrhoidectomies. Methods: A prospective randomized study was conducted in sixty patients who underwent closed hemorrhoidectomy. Thirty patients of Group A received SA. Thirty patients in Group B received local perianal block. Patients were evaluated for onset of the block, total pain-free period, and time to ambulation. Patient satisfaction in terms of pain during injection and satisfaction with the anesthesia technique was assessed after 2-week telephonically. Data were statistically analyzed using unpaired t-test for the continuous variables and Fischer's exact test for categorical variables. Results: Onset of anesthesia was significantly earlier in Group B, mean (standard deviation [SD]) value being 3.17 (1.28) min as compared to Group A, 6.24 (4.28) min (P = 0.0004). Total pain-free period (mean [SD]) in minute was longer in Group B, 287 (120) min as compared to Group A, 128 (38) min. Time to ambulation was significantly earlier in Group B, 22.83 (29.32) min as compared to Group A 302 (92.41) min. Pain during injection between the two groups was comparable. However, more patients in Group B (60%) were satisfied with the anesthesia technique as compared to Group A (27.5%). Conclusion: Perianal block for hemorrhoidectomy with ropivacaine 0.2% using dexmedetomidine as an adjuvant is an effective and reliable technique which is as effective as SA. It provides prolonged postoperative analgesia and early ambulation.
Electrical and Mechanical Properties of Boron and Metal-boride Nanowires, and Devices Built from Them

Much progress has been made in the last few years on nanoelectronic devices constructed from nanotubes, nanowires, or their crossed junctions, including field-effect transistors, singleelectron transistors, p-n diodes, and Schottky-barrier rectifiers. Such devices may serve as building blocks for future memory devices and logic circuits, and will require both conducting interconnects and semiconducting components. Nanodevice construction using C nanotubes has received considerable attention, although the electrical properties of C nanotubes depend markedly upon diameter and chirality (wall orientation). Here we investigate the synthesis, electrical-transport behavior and mechanical properties of boron nanowires, which we believe should have mechanical strengths, chemical and thermal stabilities, and electrical conductivities that may surpass those of C nanotubes and other related families of 1D nanostructures. In our studies to date, we find that Ni and Ti electrodes make ohmic and Schottky-barrier contacts to the B nanowires, respectively. Gate-dependent measurements establish them to be p-type semiconductors. We have applied the metal-specific contact behavior to fabricate nanowire rectifying devices. We have also measured the bending moduli of boron nanowires in electrically and mechanically induced resonance experiments. Synthetic methods under development include catalyzed CVD and plasma-based techniques. These fundamental studies, which will inform subsequent device construction, are summarized below. A high resistance gap around 0 V was apparent in boron nanowire devices fabricated with Ti electrodes, as is typical for nanowire devices with Schottky barrier contacts on both sides. However, the I ‐ V response of boron-nanowire devices with Ni electrodes (top inset of Fig. 1a) did not show such a gap (Fig 1a). The I ‐ V measurements made on three segments of differing length for the device in Fig 1a (top inset) showed the resistance to be proportional to the length of the nanowire segment (Fig. 1c), which implied that the resistance was dominated by the nanowire itself rather than the contact. These results establish that Ni forms ohmic contact with the B nanowires. The conductivity of the nanowire in this device determined to be 10 -2 (! cm) -1 from the slope of the fitted line in the R vs. L plot (Fig 1c inset). This value is higher than that of pure bulk boron (σ ≈10 -6 (_ cm) -1 for the _-rhombohedral structure). 2 We tentatively attribute the
Spatial distribution and orientation of a single moving dipole computed in 12-lead ECGs of a healthy population using a spherically bounded model

We investigated the possibility to assess moving dipoles (MD) from standard 12-lead ECGs in healthy humans to represent the electrical activity of the heart throughout the heart cycle. Since a moving dipole provides additional information when compared to a fixed dipole, we expect that different patterns of depolarization and/or repolarization in various types of cardiac diseases change the location of the dipole, thus providing information about the location of the pathological process. We derived a model of the electric heart activity from the general solution of Laplace's equation, approximating the torso by a homogeneously conductive sphere, and representing the electrical forces by a dipole with variable location, orientation and strength. The model estimates (inverse solution) MDs from potentials at the 9 electrode locations of the standard 12-lead ECG, on a spherical surface adapted to a template torso. Our study shows that application of a bounded spherical model using an MD for the description of the electrical activity of the heart consistently reproduces the measured surface potentials as provided by the 12-lead ECG.
Duration Dependent Effect of Static Stretching on Quadriceps and Hamstring Muscle Force

The aim of this study was to determine the acute effect of static stretching on hamstring and quadriceps muscles’ isokinetic strength when applied for various durations to elite athletes, to investigate the effect of different static stretching durations on isokinetic strength, and finally to determine the optimal stretching duration. Fifteen elite male athletes from two different sport branches (10 football and five basketball) participated in this study. Experimental protocol was designed as 17 repetitive static stretching exercises for hamstring and quadriceps muscle groups according to the indicated experimental protocols; ((A) 5 min jogging; (B) 5 min jogging followed by 15 s static stretching; (C) 5 min jogging followed by 30 s static stretching; (D) 5 min jogging, followed by static stretching for 45 s). Immediately after each protocol, an isokinetic strength test consisting of five repetitions at 60°/s speed and 20 repetitions at 180°/s speed was recorded for the right leg by the Isomed 2000 device. Friedman variance analysis test was employed for data analysis. According to the analyzes, it was observed that 5 min jogging and 15 s stretching exercises increased the isokinetic strength, whereas 30 and 45 s stretching exercises caused a decrease.
Temperature Prediction of Lithium-Ion Battery Used in Realistic Driving Cycles

Lithium-ion battery is an important component in hybrid electric vehicle for their superior performance. Battery operating temperature influences its performance and safety. In this article, a battery model that can predict thermal behaviour under realistic driving cycles for series hybrid electric vehicle is presented. Two driving cycles are used, NEDC and Artemis. The model is able to predict the temperature during discharge, and charging through regenerative braking. The model is validated using experimental results. Various information collected throughout this study are important for better understanding of the battery thermal behaviour and help to design a battery management system (BMS).
The Function of the Brow-Tine in Caribou Antlers

Observations of Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus in northern Manitoba and R.t. groenlandicus-granti intergrades in northwest Alaska, show the brow-tine functioning as a protection to the buck caribou's eyes during antler-threshing, also in the forest-tundra region against the stiff twigs of willows. Elsewhere in the arctic and subarctic, the brow-tine sometimes does not develop. The brow-tine is not fully developed until the buck's fourth or fifth year, which marks the onset of the buck's breeding activity.