Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Survival of bacteria of laboratory animal origin on cage bedding and inactivation by hydrogen peroxide vapour

This study aims to determine the ability of laboratory animal bacteria to resist desiccation and inactivation by hydrogen peroxide vapour (HPV) on paper bedding pieces. Bedding pieces were saturated with bacterial suspensions in water or 2% (w/v) bovine serum albumin (BSA) in water, and held in a mouse facility. Viable counts showed variable survival rates over time for the bacterial species used ([Pasteurella] pneumotropica, Muribacter muris, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter redioresistens, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella oxytoca, Bordetella bronchiseptica, Bordetella hinzii, Enterococcus faecalis, β-haemolytic Streptococcus spp., Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus xylosus). Overall, BSA increased bacterial survival in the bedding pieces. The survival rates of Bacillus safensis were not influenced by BSA but depended on sporulation. When bedding pieces and Petri dishes inoculated with E. coli, P. aeruginosa and S. aureus were subjected to HPV disinfection, all bacterial species on the bedding pieces inoculated with bacterial suspensions in water were readily inactivated. By contrast, S. aureus and P. aeruginosa, but not E. coli cells survived HPV treatment in high numbers when inoculated on bedding pieces as a BSA suspension. Notably, all three bacterial species were readily inactivated by HPV even in the presence of BSA when smeared on smooth surfaces. In conclusion, the suspension medium and the carrier can influence the environmental survival and susceptibility of bacterial species to HPV. Our results may help to develop standard protocols that can be used to ensure the microbiological quality of experimental rodent housing.
Diet Diversity in Complementary Feeding and Nutritional Status of Children Aged 0 to 24 Months in Osun State, Nigeria: A Comparison of the Urban and Rural Communities

Diversification in complementary feeding of children is important in meeting the need for essential nutrients. This study investigated diet diversification in complementary feeding of children between the ages of 0 and 24 months. The cross-sectional study was carried out in Osun State of Nigeria and 450 mothers were interviewed. Results revealed that diet was based on cereals, roots, and tubers with little animal products. The consumption of protein-rich foods, both of plant and animal origin, was particularly low. None of these foods recorded 50% of total consumption, except for milk with 50.4%. Fewer than 30% of the children population consumed legumes. Foods such as meat, eggs, and fish recorded below 50% consumption as well. Cheese was not consumed at all in the rural communities. Only 9.7% consumed vegetables and 12.9% consumed fruits. Most of the children experienced stunting (58.2%), followed by wasting (7.8%), and underweight (23.8%). Diet diversity was also shown to be associated with socioeconom.
Estrogen in men: effects on bone accrual, maintenance and prevention of bone loss

Sex steroid hormones play an important role in the maintenance of bone mass in males as well as in females. Even though androgens represent the major sex steroid class in men, their primacy in regulating male skeletal remodeling has been questioned increasingly as direct and indirect evidence has emerged suggesting that estrogens also play a major role in male skeletal health. This review summarizes clinical and experimental evidence that estrogens are essential for bone accrual in the growing skeleton, maintenance of bone mass and prevention of bone loss in men.
Discrimination and Identification of a Third Formant Frequency Cue to Place of Articulation by Young Children and Adults

Typically-developing children, 4 to 6 years of age, and adults participated in discrimination and identification speech perception tasks using a synthetic consonant–vowel continuum ranging from /da/ to /ga/. The seven-step synthetic /da/–/ga/ continuum was created by adjusting the first 40 ms of the third formant frequency transition. For the discrimination task, listeners participated in a Change/No–Change paradigm with four different stimuli compared to the endpoint-1 /da/ token. For the identification task, listeners labeled each token along the /da/–/ga/ continuum as either “DA” or “GA. ” Results of the discrimination experiment showed that sensitivity to the third-formant transition cue improved for the adult listeners as the stimulus contrast increased, whereas the performance of the children remained poor across all stimulus comparisons. Results of the identification experiment support previous hypotheses of age-related differences in phonetic categorization. Results have implications for normative data on identification and discrimination tasks. These norms provide a metric against which children with auditory-based speech sound disorders can be compared. Furthermore, the results provide some insight into the developmental nature of categorical and non-categorical speech perception.
Lipase inhibitory activity in alcohol extracts of worldwide occurring plants and propolis

In the search for lipase inhibitory agents, 144 alcohol plant extracts and propolis were screened for pancreatic lipase activity in vitro using methods with methylresorufin and triolein as substrates. Ethanol extracts of Linum usitatissimum (oil flax) and Helianthus annuus (sunflower seeds) showed the strongest lipase inhibitory actions with ID50 values of 1:370 and 1:166, respectively. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Efficiency-fairness tradeoff in telecommunications networks

Introducing the concept of /spl alpha/-fairness, which allows for a bounded fairness compromise, so that no source is allocated less than a fraction /spl alpha/ of its fair share, this letter studies tradeoffs between efficiency (utilization, throughput or revenue) and fairness in a general telecommunications network with relation to any fairness criterion. We formulate a linear program that finds the optimal bandwidth allocation by maximizing efficiency subject to /spl alpha/-fairness constraints. This leads to what we call an efficiency-fairness curve, which shows the benefit in efficiency as a function of the extent to which fairness is compromised.
The Importance of the Posterior Capsule of the Shoulder in Overhead Athletes

ecause of the repetitive nature of overhead and throwing sports, a range of pathologies can cause shoulder pain in the athlete. Overuse, repetitive microtrauma, and global hypermobility can lead to impingement syndrome, rotator cuff strains and tendonitis, subacromial bursitis, and multi-directional instability (MDI). The overhead athlete’s shoulder is unique because, while the shoulder is an inherently unstable joint, it must be stable enough to allow proper mechanics to occur in the execution of the overhead movement. This has been termed the “thrower’s paradox. ”
Efeitos da abordagem interdisciplinar na qualidade de vida e em parâmetros laboratoriais de pacientes com doença renal crônica

BACKGROUND: Multidisciplinary team-based care (MDC) of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) before the beginning of the renal replacement therapy may improve their quality of life. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to assess the impact of MDC on the quality of life patients with CKD not yet on dialysis. METHODS: Seventy five patients treated by MDC (n = 50) or by standard medical care (n = 25) were evaluated at the beginning and after one year of follow-up. Quality of life was assessed by the Medical Outcomes Study Questionnaire 36 - Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36). Clinical and laboratory parameters were obtained from the patients' charts. RESULTS: After 1-year of follow-up, the patients in MDC improved the following dimensions of the SF-36: functional capacity, physical features, general health, vitality and mood. On the other hand, the control group did not improve any dimension in quality of life. At the end of the study, the patients followed by the MDC lost body weight and showed statistically significant increases in hemoglobin and calcium plasma levels, when compared to control group. DISCUSSION: Our results showed that, compared to the standard medical care, the MDC contributed to achieve a better quality of life and clinical control in patients with CKD not yet on dialysis.
The role of ultrasound in the management of nodular thyroid disease

The incidence of sub-clinical thyroid nodules inthe general population is high.Thyroid carcinoma is rare and has a good prognosis.Clinical assessment can reduce the number of ultrasounds requested.Ultrasound and FNAc can detect the majority of neoplasms requiring treatment.Management strategies should minimize the risks, cost and anxiety of unnecessary surgery. Benign nodular thyroid disease is common, and biologically significant thyroid cancers (10 mm in size, or associated with lymphadenopathy) are rare. By comparison, papillary microcarcinomas (<10 mm) are quite common but the majority are thought to be clinically insignificant . The investigation and management of thyroid nodules is controversial; the ideal diagnostic pathway is a balance between missing carcinomas of potential clinical aggressiveness and reducing the number of unnecessary operations whilst keeping an eye on the cost. This article reviews some of the ultrasonographic features of thyroid nodular disease, and discusses the role of ultr.
A conceptual model for effective directional emissivity from nonisothermal surfaces

The conventional definition of emissivity requires the source of radiation to be isothermal in order to compare its thermal emission to that of a blackbody at the same temperature. This requirement is not met for most land surfaces considered in thermal infrared remote sensing. Thus, the effective or equivalent emissivity of nonisothermal surfaces has been a poorly defined but widely used concept for years. Recently, several authors have attempted to define this concept more clearly. Unfortunately, definitions such as ensemble emissivity (e-emissivity) and emissivity derived from the surface bidirectional reflectance distribution function (r-emissivity), J. Norman et al. (1995), do not fully satisfy current needs for estimating true land surface temperature (LST). The present authors suggest the use of an additional term, the "apparent emissivity increment", which considers the effects of geometric optics to explain the directional and spectral dependence in LST caused by the three-dimensional (3D) structure and subpixel temperature distribution of the surface. They define this quantity based upon the emissivity derived from the bidirectional reflectance distribution function (/spl epsi//sub BRDF/) for isothermal surfaces and present a conceptual model of thermal emission from nonisothermal land surfaces. Their study also indicates that an average LST corresponding to the hemispherical wideband /spl epsi//sub BRDF/ Will be useful in remote sensing-based LST modeling and inversion.
Medico-legal evaluation of sleep-related automatism

An automatism is an involuntary piece of behaviour over which an individual has no control. The behaviour is usually inappropriate to the circumstances, and may be out of character for the individual. It can be complex, co-ordinated and apparently purposeful and directed, though lacking in judgment. Afterwards the individual may have no recollection or only a partial and confused memory for his actions. In organic automatisms there must be some disturbance of brain function sufficient to give rise to the above features.
Ocimum sanctum induces apoptosis in A549 lung cancer cells and suppresses the in vivo growth of lewis lung carcinoma cells

Although Ocimum sanctum has been used extensively for its medicinal values in India and China, its antitumor activity against human nonsmall cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) A549 cells has not been investigated until now. Therefore, the antitumor mechanism of ethanol extracts of Ocimum sanctum (EEOS) was elucidated in A549 cells in vitro and the Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) animal model. EEOS exerted cytotoxicity against A549 cells, increased the sub‐G1 population and exhibited apoptotic bodies in A549 cells. Furthermore, EEOS cleaved poly(ADP‐ribose)polymerase (PARP), released cytochrome C into cytosol and simultaneously activated caspase‐9 and ‐3 proteins. Also, EEOS increased the ratio of proapoptotic protein Bax/antiapoptotic protein Bcl‐2 and inhibited the phosphorylation of Akt and extracellular signal regulated kinase (ERK) in A549 cancer cells. In addition, it was found that EEOS can suppress the growth of LLC inoculated onto C57BL/6 mice in a dose‐dependent manner. Overall, these results demonstrate that EEOS induces apoptosis in A549 cells via a mitochondria caspase dependent pathway and inhibits the in vivo growth of LLC, suggesting that EEOS can be applied to lung carcinoma as a chemopreventive candidate. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Visible hyperspectral imaging: monitoring the systemic effects of shock and resuscitation

Hyperspectral (HS) imaging has been useful in the monitoring of several medical conditions, which to date have generally involved changes in skin oxygenation in isolated regions of interest such as skin flaps or small burns. Here, by contrast, we present a study in which HSI was used to assess the cutaneous manifestations of significant systemic events. HS imaging of the ventral surface of the lower jaw was used to monitor changes in skin oxygenation during hypovolemic shock induced by pulmonary contusion and hemorrhage in a porcine model, and to monitor the subsequent recovery of oxygenation following resuscitation. Changes are seen both quantitatively, in the level of skin oxygenation as determined by the fitting of reference hemoglobin and deoxyhemoglobin spectra to sample spectra, and qualitatively, in the observed spatial distribution or pattern of oxygenation-related changes in the skin. Linear regression was used to correlate these changes with invasively obtained parameters to include mixed venous oxygen saturation and systemic arterial blood pressure. Historically, the assessment of skin color and mottling has been an important, albeit inexact, component of resuscitation algorithms. Now, it is possible to analyze these variables during shock and resuscitation in an objective manner. The clinical utility of these advances needs to be determined.
The Bereavement Guilt Scale

The rationale, development, and validation of the Bereavement Guilt Scale (BGS) are described in this article. The BGS was based on a theoretically developed, multidimensional conceptualization of guilt. Part 1 describes the generation of the item pool, derived from in-depth interviews, and review of the scientific literature. Part 2 details statistical analyses for further item selection (Sample 1, N = 273). Part 3 covers the psychometric properties of the emergent-BGS (Sample 2, N = 600, and Sample 3, N = 479). Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that a five-factor model fit the data best. Correlations of BGS scores with depression, anxiety, self-esteem, self-forgiveness, and mode of death were consistent with theoretical predictions, supporting the construct validity of the measure. The internal consistency and test–retest reliability were also supported. Thus, initial testing or examination suggests that the BGS is a valid tool to assess multiple components of bereavement guilt. Further psychometric testing across cultures is recommended.
Effect of pycnogenol® on glucose transport in mature 3T3‐L1 Adipocytes

Pycnogenol®, a procyanidins‐enriched extract of Pinus maritima bark, possesses antidiabetic properties, which improves the altered parameters of glucose metabolism that are associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Since the insulin‐stimulated antidiabetic activities of natural bioactive compounds are mediated by GLUT4 via the phosphatidylinositol‐3‐kinase (PI3K) and/or p38 mitogen activated protein kinase (p38‐MAPK) pathway, the effects of pycnogenol® were examined on the molecular mechanism of glucose uptake by the glucose transport system. 3T3‐L1 adipocytes were treated with various concentrations of pycnogenol®, and glucose uptake was examined using a non‐radioisotope enzymatic assay and by molecular events associated with the glucose transport system using semi‐quantitative reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR). The results show that pycnogenol® increased glucose uptake in fully differentiated 3T3‐L1 adipocytes and increased the relative abundance of both GLUT4 and Akt mRNAs through the PI3K pathway in a dose dependent manner. Furthermore, pycnogenol® restored the PI3K antagonist‐induced inhibition of glucose uptake in the presence of wartmannin, an inhibitor of the PI3K. Overall, these results indicate that pycnogenol® may stimulate glucose uptake via the PI3K dependent tyrosine kinase pathways involving Akt. Further the results suggest that pycnogenol® might be useful in maintaining blood glucose control. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Counting Your Chickens: Density and Distribution of Chicken Remains in Archaeological Sites of Oceania

In an effort to document the density and distribution of prehistoric chicken (Gallus gallus) remains across Oceania, this paper presents the analysis of reported faunal remains from over 500 individual archaeological and natural sites from across the Pacific. We examined the presence and absence of chicken in secure prehistoric contexts and factors which may account for this, including human choice, taphonomy, the influence of other animals on extinction events, differential access to resources, and purposeful extirpation. This research highlights the need for full study of the large percentage (18%) of Pacific avifauna collections which have yet to be analysed, to clarify the range and importance of chicken in prehistory. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Spatial Information Displays on a Wearable Computer

Increasing portability of computing power marks a broad emerging trend in advanced human-computer interaction. Wearable computers, the next generation of portable machines, worn on the body, provide constant access to computing and communications resources. However, wide adoption of wearable computers first requires solving unique interface challenges. One of the most important is how to present and interact with information in a wearable environment. We designed and evaluated three methods for presenting information in a wearable environment. Subjects found spatial displays easier and more effective. Spatial audio and visual cues further enhanced performance.
An Improved Selection Cooperation Scheme for Decode-and-Forward Relaying

In this letter, an improved selection cooperation (ISC) scheme for decode-and-forward relaying is proposed based on selection cooperation (SC) strategy. Assuming that channels suffer from independent non-identical Rayleigh fading, we derive closed-form expression for the exact symbol error rate (SER) of ISC scheme. The result holds for arbitrary number of relays and refers to both M-PSK and M-QAM modulations. Simulations are carried out to validate the theoretical analysis. Results show that the proposed ISC scheme outperforms SC for all the cases we investigate.
Task-Specific Visualization Design

This case study in operational weather forecasting demonstrates the principles of task-specific visualization design: defining user needs, implementing that definition, and establishing techniques for different user goals. The current applications can generate visualizations for the Web after an intermediate step of migrating the products to a Web server. This proves advantageous in an operational environment because the forecaster has content control. However, direct generation within a Web browser, which requires a simplified user interface and content, will require further refinement of the task decomposition. The notion of task-driven customization of content and interface has succeeded in weather forecasting, but the idea also applies to other domains. The potential benefits should encourage visualization designers to adopt these principles in their application development.
Weighted semi-supervised manifold clustering via sparse representation

over the last few years, manifold clustering has attracted considerable interest in high-dimensional data clustering. However achieving accurate clustering results that match user desires and data structure is still an open problem. One way to do so is incorporating additional information that indicate relation between data objects. In this paper we propose a method for constrained clustering that take advantage of pairwise constraints. It first solves an optimization program to construct an affinity matrix according to pairwise constraints and manifold structure of data, then applies spectral clustering to find data clusters. Experiments demonstrated that our algorithm outperforms other related algorithms in face image datasets and has comparable results on hand-written digit datasets.
Impacts of Maximizing Tendencies on Experience-Based Decisions

Previous research on risky decisions has suggested that people tend to make different choices depending on whether they acquire the information from personally repeated experiences or from statistical summary descriptions. This phenomenon, called as a description–experience gap, was expected to be moderated by the individual difference in maximizing tendencies, a desire towards maximizing decisional outcome. Specifically, it was hypothesized that maximizers’ willingness to engage in extensive information searching would lead maximizers to make experience-based decisions as payoff distributions were given explicitly. A total of 262 participants completed four decision problems. Results showed that maximizers, compared to non-maximizers, drew more samples before making a choice but reported lower confidence levels on both the accuracy of knowledge gained from experiences and the likelihood of satisfactory outcomes. Additionally, maximizers exhibited smaller description–experience gaps than non-maximizers as expected. The implications of the findings and unanswered questions for future research were discussed.
Tuberculosis Outbreaks in the United States, 2009-2015

Objectives: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides on-site epidemiologic assistance for outbreak response when the health capacity of state, tribal, local, and territorial health departments has been exceeded. We examined recent outbreaks of tuberculosis (TB) for which health departments needed assistance. Methods: We defined a TB outbreak as detection of ≥3 TB cases related by transmission, as suggested by routine genotyping and epidemiologic linkages. We conducted retrospective reviews of documentation from all 21 TB outbreak investigations in the United States for which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provided on-site assistance during 2009-2015. We abstracted data on patients’ demographic characteristics and TB risk factors, as well as factors contributing to the outbreak from trip reports written by on-site investigators, and we compared these with outbreaks investigated during 2002-2008. Results: The 21 TB outbreaks during 2009-2015 involved 457 outbreak patients (range, 3-99 patients per outbreak). Of the 21 outbreaks, 16 were first identified through genotype data. In sum, 118 (26%) patients were identified through contact investigations of other patients in the outbreak. Most outbreak patients (n = 363, 79%) were US born. Ninety-two (26%) patients had a mental illness, 204 (45%) had been homeless in the year before diagnosis, and 379 (83%) used alcohol excessively or used illicit substances. The proportion of patients experiencing homelessness doubled between 2002-2008 and 2009-2015; other characteristics were similar between the 2 periods. Delayed TB diagnosis contributed to unmitigated transmission in all but 1 outbreak. Conclusions: TB outbreaks challenge frontline public health resources. Genotyping and contact investigations are important strategies for detecting and controlling TB outbreaks, particularly among people experiencing homelessness or those with mental illness.