Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Adverse health events associated with antimicrobial drug resistance in Campylobacter species: a registry-based cohort study.

BACKGROUND Resistance to clinically important antimicrobial agents, particularly fluoroquinolones and macrolides, is increasing among Campylobacter isolates, but few studies have explored the human health consequences of such resistance. METHODS In a registry-based cohort study, we determined the risk of invasive illness and death associated with infection with quinolone- and erythromycin-resistant Campylobacter strains, while adjusting for comorbidity. We linked data from the Danish Surveillance Registry for Enteric Pathogens with data from the Civil Registration System and National Health Registries. RESULTS Of 3471 patients with Campylobacter infection, 22 (0.63%) had an adverse event, defined as invasive illness or death, within 90 days of the date of receipt of samples. Patients infected with quinolone-resistant Campylobacter strains had a 6-fold increased risk of an adverse event within 30 days of the date of receipt of samples, compared with patients infected with quinolone- and erythromycin-susceptible Campylobacter strains (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 6.17 [95% confidence interval {CI}, 1.62-23.47]). However, infection with erythromycin-resistant strains was associated with a >5-fold risk of an adverse event within 90 days of the date of receipt of samples (AOR, 5.51 [95% CI, 1.19-25.50]). CONCLUSIONS The present study provides evidence of the human health consequences of resistance to clinically important agents among Campylobacter infections and the need for increased efforts to mitigate such resistance.
Oral drugs in multiple sclerosis therapy: an overview and a critical appraisal

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is characterized by demyelination and axonal loss that results in progressive disability. Recent advances in understanding the immune pathogenesis of MS resulted in the introduction of numerous effective drugs with diverse mechanisms of actions, routes of administration and benefit–risk profiles. New oral drugs recently approved for MS treatment has led to significant achievements in MS management. The oral route of administration promotes patient satisfaction and increases therapeutic compliance; but their introduction has raised concerns regarding safety and tolerability; and a thorough analysis of the benefit/risk ratio is required. This article reviews the mechanisms of action, safety and efficacy of the licensed and experimental oral drugs in MS. Moreover, we put into perspective the disease, drug and patient-related factors that should be taken into account when considering the appropriate oral drug and treatment strategy to the appropriate patient, thus paving the road for personalized medicine in MS.
Methoxetamine (MXE) – A Phenomenological Study of Experiences Induced by a “Legal High” from the Internet

Abstract Methoxetamine (MXE), a ketamine analogue, is one of the new “legal highs” sold on the Internet. The aim of this qualitative study was to provide an initial understanding of what characterizes the experiences induced by MXE. Anonymously written reports (33 persons) on the effects of MXE were collected from public Internet forums and analyzed using the Empirical Phenomenological Psychological Method. The analysis generated 10 themes: (1) preparation, motivation and anticipation; (2) initial effects; (3) malfunction of cognitive processes stabilizing normal state; (4) inner personal processes and learning; (5) emotional processes; (6) altered sensory perception; (7) dissolution and transition; (8) spiritual and transcendental experiences; (9) effects and processes after the experience; (10) re-dosing and addiction. MXE induced a heavily altered state of consciousness. The effects were similar to those induced by classic hallucinogens (such as LSD, psilocybin) and the dissociative ketamine. MXE seemed to have quite a high abuse potential. Beside the positive effects described, negative effects like fear and anxiety were also reported. Acceptance was considered the best coping strategy. Dissolution of identity and body often culminated in spiritual and transcendental experiences. More research is needed on safety issues, how to minimize harm, and the motivation for using legal highs.
Icodextrin and Seprafilm® Do Not Interfere with Colonic Anastomosis in Rats

Background: Physical barriers and instilled solutions have been studied to prevent intra-abdominal adhesions. However, undesirable side effects of these substances on the healing of intestinal anastomoses may limit their use. This study was designed to compare the effects of antiadhesives on the healing of colonic anastomosis in rats. Methods: Sixty female Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into 3 groups of 20. The animals received isotonic saline and 7.5% icodextrin, intraperitoneally after standard left colonic anastomosis. In group 3, Seprafilm® was wrapped around the anastomosis and also laid over the abdominal viscera. Half of the animals from each group were killed on postoperative day (POD) 4 and the remaining half on POD 21. Adhesion scoring, bursting pressure and tissue hydroxyproline measurements and histopathological assessment were performed. Results: Mean hydroxyproline levels were significantly higher in groups receiving icodextrin and Seprafilm compared with the control group, whereas mean bursting pressures were significantly higher in the group that received icodextrin (p < 0.05). Intraperitoneal administration of icodextrin resulted in significant reduction of adhesion formation on POD 21 (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Seprafilm does not prevent formation of adhesions as much as icodextrin does, but its effect on the healing of colonic anastomoses is similar.
Patients' Perceptions of General Practitioners Using Computers during the Patient-Doctor Consultation

In this study 85 adult patients attending a Sydney general practice were asked for their views on computer-assisted consultations; 77 (91%) agreed to participate. In general, patients agreed they could still talk easily with their doctor, and felt listened to, while the doctor used the computer (87% & 75% respectively). More than half the patients felt the computer contributed to better treatment, although a quarter believed consultations were prolonged. About half the patients agreed that the doctor did not often explain the role of the computer. Given the national plans for increasing computerisation of health records (HealthConnect), this research suggests that more attention should be given to involving patients in e-health developments.
Lymphatics of the floor of the mouth and neck: Anatomical studies related to contralateral drainage pathways

An anatomical study was made to determine the role of the regional lymphatic drainage pathways in contralateral flow from the floor of the mouth in the dog. Microsurgical techniques were used to cannulate and perfuse a lymphatic vessel. Following a two hour infusion, bilateral radical neck dissections were performed. An efferent upper jugular communicating pathway was repeatedly identified which crossed the midline and drained into the contralateral subdigastric group of nodes. These studies demonstrate a precise role for the regional lymphatic drainage pathways in contralateral flow from the floor of the mouth.
Measurement of a band-edge tail in the density of states of a photonic-crystal waveguide

We investigate light transport near the band edge of slow-light photonic-crystal waveguides using phase-sensitive near-field microscopy. We obtain and interpret high-resolution band structures, allowing the retrieval of the optical density of states for a one-dimensional periodic system with weak intrinsic disorder. Because of this disorder, the band edge is smeared out and the van Hove singularity is removed. The density of states shows a decaying “tail” in the band gap corresponding to Anderson-localized modes, as predicted by Lifshitz for solid-state systems
Nanosphere Lithography: Size-Tunable Silver Nanoparticle and Surface Cluster Arrays

Nanosphere lithography (NSL) is an inexpensive, inherently parallel, high-throughput, and materials-general nanofabrication technique capable of producing well-ordered 2D periodic particle arrays of nanoparticles. This paper focuses on the synthesis of size-tunable silver nanoparticle arrays by nanosphere lithography and their structural characterization by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The in-plane diameter, a, of Ag nanoparticles was tuned from 21 to 126 nm by systematic variation of the nanosphere diameter, D. Similarly, the out-of-plane height, b, was tuned from 4 to 47 nm by varying the mass thickness, dm, of the Ag overlayer. Experimental measurements of a, b, and interparticle spacing dip of many individual nanoparticles as a function of D and dm were carried out using AFM. These studies show (i) b = dm, (ii) dip accurately corresponds to predictions based on the nanosphere mask geometry, (iii) a, after correction for AFM tip convolution, is governed only by the mask geometry and the standard devi.
Fuzzy feature selection based on interval type-2 fuzzy sets

When dealing with real world data; noise, complexity, dimensionality, uncertainty and irrelevance can lead to low performance and insignificant judgment. Fuzzy logic is a powerful tool for controlling conflicting attributes which can have similar effects and close meanings. In this paper, an interval type-2 fuzzy feature selection is presented as a new approach for removing irrelevant features and reducing complexity. We demonstrate how can Feature Selection be joined with Interval Type-2 Fuzzy Logic for keeping significant features and hence reducing time complexity. The proposed method is compared with some other approaches. The results show that the number of attributes is proportionally small.
The Chronological Position and Ethnological Relationships of the Fort Ancient Aspect

The Sites of the Fort Ancient aspect of the Upper Mississippi Phase are located in southern and southwestern Ohio, northern and northeastern Kentucky and southeastern Indiana. It is the purpose of this paper to present the grouping of the individual components within the larger cultural unit; to state briefly the chronological position of the Fort Ancient aspect; and to discuss the possible ethnological connections. The existence of many of these sites has been known for years, and their cultural similarity has been recognized since the beginning of the twentieth century.
Effects of acceptor composition and mechanism of ABCG1-mediated cellular free cholesterol efflux*

Among the known mechanisms of reverse cholesterol transport (RCT), ATP binding cassette transporter G1 (ABCG1)-mediated free cholesterol (FC) transport is the most recent and least studied. Here, we have characterized the efficiencies of different acceptors using baby hamster kidney (BHK) cells transfected with human ABCG1 cDNA, which is inducible upon treatment with mifepristone. When normalized on particle number and particle surface area, the acceptor efficiency for FC efflux was as follows: small unilamellar vesicles (SUV)>LDL>reconstituted HDL>HDL2 = HDL3. Based on phospholipid content, the order was reversed. ABCG1 also mediated phospholipid efflux to human serum and HDL3. ABCG1-mediated FC efflux correlated significantly with a number of HDL subfractions and components in serum collected from 25 normolipidemic individuals: apolipoprotein A-II (apoA-II) (r2 = 0.7), apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I) (r2 = 0.5), HDL-C (r2 = 0.4), HDL-PL (r2 = 0.4), α-2 HDL (r2 = 0.4), and preβ HDL (r2 = 0.2). ABCG1 did not enhance influx of FC or cholesteryl oleyl ether (COE) when cells were incubated with radiolabeled HDL3. ABCG1 expression did not increase the association of HDL3 with cells. Compared with control cells, ABCG1 expression significantly increased the FC pool available for efflux and the rate constant for efflux. In conclusion, composition and particle size determine the acceptor efficiency for ABCG1-mediated efflux. ABCG1 increases cell membrane FC pools and changes its rate of desorption into the aqueous phase without enhancing the association with the acceptor.
Association of KRAS G13D tumor mutations with outcome in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer treated with first-line chemotherapy with or without cetuximab.

PURPOSE We investigated in the first-line setting our previous finding that patients with chemorefractory KRAS G13D-mutated metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) benefit from cetuximab treatment. METHODS Associations between tumor KRAS mutation status (wild-type, G13D, G12V, or other mutations) and progression-free survival (PFS), survival, and response were investigated in pooled data from 1,378 evaluable patients from the CRYSTAL and OPUS studies. Multivariate analysis correcting for differences in baseline prognostic factors was performed. RESULTS Of 533 patients (39%) with KRAS-mutant tumors, 83 (16%) had G13D, 125 (23%) had G12V, and 325 (61%) had other mutations. Significant variations in treatment effects were found for tumor response (P = .005) and PFS (P = .046) in patients with G13D-mutant tumors versus all other mutations (including G12V). Within KRAS mutation subgroups, cetuximab plus chemotherapy versus chemotherapy alone significantly improved PFS (median, 7.4 v 6.0 months; hazard ratio [HR], 0.47; P = .039) and tumor response (40.5% v 22.0%; odds ratio, 3.38; P = .042) but not survival (median, 15.4 v 14.7 months; HR, 0.89; P = .68) in patients with G13D-mutant tumors. Patients with G12V and other mutations did not benefit from this treatment combination. Patients with KRAS G13D-mutated tumors receiving chemotherapy alone experienced worse outcomes (response, 22.0% v 43.2%; odds ratio, 0.40; P = .032) than those with other mutations. Effects were similar in the separate CRYSTAL and OPUS studies. CONCLUSION The addition of cetuximab to first-line chemotherapy seems to benefit patients with KRAS G13D-mutant tumors. Relative treatment effects were similar to those in patients with KRAS wild-type tumors but with lower absolute values.
Relationship of skin‐prick reactivity to aeroallergens and hyperresponsiveness to challenges with methacholine and adenosine monophosphate

Background: Clarification of the relationship between atopy and bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR), both key features of asthma, is critical to our understanding of the disease. We therefore investigated the putative relationship between skin‐prick reactivity to aeroallergens and BHR to direct and indirect stimuli.
Image retrieval in the unstructured data management system AUDR

The explosive growth of image data leads to severe challenges to the traditional image retrieval methods. In order to manage massive images more accurate and efficient, this paper firstly proposes a scalable architecture for image retrieval based on a uniform data model and makes this function a sub-engine of AUDR, an advanced unstructured data management system, which can simultaneously manage several kinds of unstructured data including image, video, audio and text. The paper then proposes a new image retrieval algorithm, which incorporates rich visual features and two text models for multi-modal retrieval. Experiments on both ImageNet dataset and ImageCLEF medical dataset show that our proposed architecture and the new retrieval algorithm are appropriate for efficient management of massive image.
Nitric oxide synthase and cyclooxygenase modulate β‐adrenergic cutaneous vasodilatation and sweating in young men

β‐Adrenergic receptor agonists such as isoproterenol induce cutaneous vasodilatation and sweating in humans, but the mechanisms underpinning this response remain unresolved. Using intradermal microdialysis, we evaluated the roles of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) and cyclooxygenase (COX) in β‐adrenergic cutaneous vasodilatation and sweating elicited by administration of isoproterenol. We show that while NOS contributes to β‐adrenergic cutaneous vasodilatation, COX restricts cutaneous vasodilatation. We also show that combined inhibition of NOS and COX augments β‐adrenergic sweating These new findings advance our basic knowledge regarding the physiological control of cutaneous blood flow and sweating, and provide important and new information to better understand the physiological significance of β‐adrenergic receptors in the skin.
bcl‐2 and immunoglobulin gene rearrangement in patients with hepatitis C virus infection

An association between chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and clonal proliferation of B cells, including B cell lymphoma, has recently been demonstrated. However, the mechanism of malignant transformation is still unknown. It has been shown that B cells from patients with type II mixed cryoglobulinaemia (MC), strongly express the antiapoptotic bcl‐2 oncogene product. Therefore, we investigated a possible mechanism of lymphomagenesis, the occurrence of bcl‐2 and immunoglobulin gene rearrangement (IgH) in HCV‐infected patients. Three groups of patients were studied: (1) 44 patients with HCV and MC (anti‐HCV and HCV RNA positive); (2) 59 patients with chronic HCV infection without MC; (3) 50 patients with chronic liver disease (CLD) not related to HCV infection. The t(14;18) translocation (MBR bcl‐2–JH) and IgH rearrangement (FR3/JH) were detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in peripheral mononuclear cells. bcl‐2 translocation was detected in 17/44 (39%), 7/59 (12%) and in none of the patients of groups 1, 2 and 3 respectively (P < 0·01). Monoclonal IgH rearrangement was detected in 15/44 (34%), 5/59 (8·5%) and 2/50 (4%) patients of groups 1, 2 and 3 respectively (P < 0·05). HCV‐infected patients had a higher prevalence of monoclonal IgH rearrangement and bcl‐2 translocation than patients with CLD of other aetiologies. These data suggest that HCV may play a role in the multistep mechanism of lymphomagenesis by inducing clonal proliferation of B cells and inhibition of apoptosis.
Feedback connections from area MT of the squirrel monkey to areas V1 and V2

Area MT/V5 is reciprocally connected with both V1 and V2; but, despite extensive anatomical and physiological investigations, detailed information on the feedback component of these connections is still not available. The present report uses serial section reconstruction of single axons, labeled by anterograde tracers injected in area MT of squirrel monkeys, to characterize these connections further. As with other feedback systems, MT axons terminating in both areas V1 (n = 9) and V2 (n = 6) are widely divergent. In area V1, MT fields are larger than those from V2 and are about comparable to those from V4 or TEO. Terminations in V1, unlike other feedback connections described so far, terminate in several laminar combinations: only layer 1 (n = 2); only layer 4B (n = 3); layers 1 and 4B (n = 1); and layers 1, 4B, and 6 (n = 3). In V2, they occur mainly in layers 1 and 5 or 6. Terminations have two patterns even within a single axon: strung along collateral segments and grouped within small clusters. There are no apparent differences in the size, shape, or density of terminal specializations in V1 or V2, and, consistently with previous double‐labeling experiments (Kennedy and Bullier [1985] J Neurosci 5:2815–2830), some axons can branch to both areas. This result, along with the laminar evidence for subtypes of feedback connections, argues against an exclusively hierarchical organization based on “pairwise” connectivity. For V1 and MT, there may be directly reciprocal loops between feedforward and feedback projecting neurons, but this is less likely to be so for V2 and MT. J. Comp. Neurol. 425:345–368, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
A Neolithic God-dolly from Somerset, England

Dr John Coles is a Lecturer in Archaeology in the University of Cambridge, and Assistant Editor of the Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society. His fieldwork has ranged widely from southern England to north-west Scotland. For many years he has been tracing and excavating Neolithic and Bronze Age trackways in the Somerset Fens: recently an excavation produced the remarkable ‘god-dolly’ which he describes here. A full account of his excavations will appear in the Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society for 1968.
Estimating the spatial distribution of snow water equivalent in the world's mountains

Estimating the spatial distribution of snow water equivalent (SWE) in mountainous terrain is currently the most important unsolved problem in snow hydrology. Several methods can estimate the amount of snow throughout a mountain range: (1) Spatial interpolation from surface sensors constrained by remotely sensed snow extent provides a consistent answer, with uncertainty related to extrapolation to unrepresented locations. (2) The remotely sensed date of disappearance of snow is combined with a melt calculation to reconstruct the SWE back to the last significant snowfall. (3) Passive microwave sensors offer real‐time global SWE estimates but suffer from several problems like subpixel variability in the mountains. (4) A numerical model combined with assimilated surface observations produces SWE at 1‐km resolution at continental scales, but depends heavily on a surface network. (5) New methods continue to be explored, for example, airborne LiDAR altimetry provides direct measurements of snow depth, which are combined with modelled snow density to estimate SWE. While the problem is aggressively addressed, the right answer remains elusive. Good characterization of the snow is necessary to make informed choices about water resources and adaptation to climate change and variability. WIREs Water 2016, 3:461–474. doi: 10.1002/wat2.1140
A deep trench capacitor based 2:1 and 3:2 reconfigurable on-chip switched capacitor DC-DC converter in 32 nm SOI CMOS

On-chip switched capacitor (SC) converters for multicore microprocessor power delivery have the potential to reduce the overall energy consumption of future multicore microprocessor systems by independently regulating the voltage supply of each core. This paper describes an on-chip SC converter that can be reconfigured between a 2:1 and a 3:2 voltage conversion ratio to support a wide output voltage range from a single input supply. Regarding SC converter analysis and modeling, this paper extends an existing state space model framework to include the flying capacitors' parasitic bottom plate capacitors, which for on-chip SC converters significantly influence both the capacitor currents and the converter efficiency. A reconfigurable SC converter that supports an output voltage range of 700mV to 1150mV from a 1.8V input supply is implemented in a 32nm SOI CMOS technology that features the high-density deep trench capacitor. The converter achieves a maximum efficiency of 85.2% at 2.1W/mm2 power density in the 2:1 configuration and a maximum efficiency of 84.1% at 3.2W/mm2 in the 3:2 configuration.