Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comment diagnostiquer biologiquement une coqueluche

Dans les pays ayant un taux de couverture vaccinale tres eleve, comme par exemple la France, la coqueluche est rarement rencontree sous sa forme pediatrique classique, avec les symptomes typiques de toux paroxystique associee a des vomissements. En fait, la coqueluche survient chez les nouveau-nes et les enfants non vaccines, pour qui l’apnee peut etre l’unique symptome, et chez les adolescents et adultes, qui souffrent alors de symptomes respiratoires non specifiques. Dans ce contexte, le diagnostic biologique de la maladie revet toute son importance. Ce diagnostic peut etre realise par culture a partir d’aspirations ou d’ecouvillons nasopharynges. La culture est tres specifique mais sa sensibilite est limitee, excepte chez les nourrissons. La detection directe par PCR, et principalement en temps reel, a partir du meme prelevement s’avere bien plus sensible. A des fins de diagnostics, l’amplification des sequences d’insertion IS481 pour Bordetella pertussis et IS1001 pour Bordetella parapertussis sont couramment employees. Bien qu’adaptee a differents formats, la PCR en temps reel souffre encore d’un manque de standardisation et de l’absence de trousses commerciales. La detection des anticorps anti-toxine de pertussis (PT) dans le serum est le seul diagnostic serologique specifique, la PT etant le seul antigene specifique. L’interpretation de cette serologie necessite la connaissance du statut vaccinal du patient, la reponse immune induite apres vaccination etant indistincte de celle induite par la maladie. La serologie souffre par ailleurs d’une insuffisance de materiel de reference, de variabilite des reactifs parmi les trousses commerciales disponibles et de la non-validation de ces trousses. Les infections avec d’autres micro-organismes, comme les adenovirus, le virus respiratoire syncitial, les mycoplasmes entre autres, peuvent donner des symptomes similaires a ceux d’une infection a Bordetella, et doivent donc etre consideres pour le diagnostic differentiel.
Cerebrospinal fluid bactericidal activity against cephalosporin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae in children with meningitis treated with high-dosage cefotaxime

We determined cefotaxime and desacetyl-cefotaxime concentrations in children with bacterial meningitis receiving high-dose cefotaxime (300 mg/kg of body weight/day) and concomitant dexamethasone therapy. The median peak cerebrospinal fluid cefotaxime and desacetyl-cefotaxime concentrations were 4.7 and 8.1 microg/ml, respectively. In vitro bactericidal activity (>99.9% killing in 6 h) was found in 17 (94%), 13 (72%), and 8 (44%) of 18 cerebrospinal fluid specimens against cefotaxime-susceptible, -intermediate (MIC, 1 microg/ml), and -resistant (MIC, 4 microg/ml) strains, respectively. High-dose cefotaxime, while safe, is not reliably sufficient therapy for cephalosporin-nonsusceptible pneumococcal meningitis, and combination therapy is recommended.
Subthreshold CMOS active inductors with applications to low-power injection-locked oscillators for passive wireless microsystems

This paper investigates gyrator-C active inductors in weak inversion. An injection-locked active inductor oscillator in weak inversion designed in IBM-0. 13µm 1.2V CMOS technology and analyzed using SpectreRF from Cadence Design Systems with BSIM4 device models. The injection-locking signal is generated using a generic ring oscillator. Simulation results show that the phase noise of the injection-locked active inductor VCO is much smaller as compared with that of the same active inductor VCO but without injection-locking. Also observed is that the phase noise of the injection-locked active inductor VCO is approximately the same as that of injection ring VCO when frequency offset is less than 200 kHz and increases when frequency offset is beyond 200 kHz. The power consumption of the oscillator is 776 nW at 13 MHz. With the proper biasing voltage, the tuning range of active inductor VCO is from 6.5 MHz to 34.6 MHz. The layout area of the injection-locked oscillator including bond pads and an output buffer is 0.67 mm2. The silicon consumption of the core of the oscillator is only 13 µm2.
Using a Field Quantitative Real-Time PCR Test To Rapidly Identify Highly Viremic Rift Valley Fever Cases

ABSTRACT Approximately 8% of Rift Valley fever (RVF) cases develop severe disease, leading to hemorrhage, hepatitis, and/or encephalitis and resulting in up to 50% of deaths. A major obstacle in the management of RVF and other viral hemorrhagic fever cases in outbreaks that occur in rural settings is the inability to rapidly identify such cases, with poor prognosis early enough to allow for more-aggressive therapies. During an RVF outbreak in Kenya in 2006 to 2007, we evaluated whether quantitative real-time reverse transcription-PCR (qRT-PCR) could be used in the field to rapidly identify viremic RVF cases with risk of death. In 52 of 430 RVF cases analyzed by qRT-PCR and virus culture, 18 died (case fatality rate [CFR] = 34.6%). Levels of viremia in fatal cases were significantly higher than those in nonfatal cases (mean of 105.2 versus 102.9 per ml; P < 0.005). A negative correlation between the levels of infectious virus particles and the qRT-PCR crossover threshold (CT) values allowed the use of qRT-PCR to assess prognosis. The CFR was 50.0% among cases with CT values of <27.0 (corresponding to 2.1 × 104 viral RNA particles/ml of serum) and 4.5% among cases with CT values of ≥27.0. This cutoff yielded 93.8% sensitivity and a 95.5% negative predictive value; the specificity and positive predictive value were 58% and 50%, respectively. This study shows a correlation between high viremia and fatality and indicates that qRT-PCR testing can identify nearly all fatal RVF cases.
Predictive value of endothelial dysfunction: a call to action.

A ssessment of subclinical target organ damage (TOD), including left ventricular mass index, carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) or plaque, carotid-to-femoral pulse wave velocity (cf-PWV), plasma creatinine and microalbuminuria, is recommended in hypertensive patients for a better characterization of their cardiovascular risk profile [1]. Earlier vascular alterations, such as endothelial dysfunction, have been also suggested for their potential use for risk prediction. Indeed, endothelium plays a pivotal role in vascular pathophysiology and impaired brachial artery flow-mediated dilation, the most widely used noninvasive method to detect endothelial dysfunction, might integrate the long-lasting cumulative effects of risk factors being detected when interventions may be still very effective [2]. In the present issue of the Journal of Hypertension, Yang et al. [3] evaluated the ability of brachial artery flow-mediated dilation to predict TOD progression in 199 patients with essential hypertension over a 3-year follow-up. Patients were divided according to baseline flow-mediated dilation in those with normal ( 10%) or impaired (<10%) endothelial function. Patients were also classified into two groups according to the number of TOD at baseline: a group with TOD 0 or 1 (n1⁄4 124) and the other with 2–4 TOD (n1⁄4 75). In patients with TOD 0 or 1 at baseline, impaired flow-mediated dilation was detected in 65 patients and was associated with an increased IMT, cfPWV, urinary albumin/creatinine ratio and an increased TOD number as compared with normal flow-mediated dilation group (n1⁄4 59), at the end of follow-up. On the contrary, in 2–4 TOD group at baseline, there was no difference in TOD between normal (n1⁄4 26) and impaired (n1⁄4 49) flow-mediated dilation groups. In the multivariate analysis, TOD number increase was related with the prevalence of diabetes mellitus, blood pressure control,
Multicenter Evaluation of the Etest and Disk Diffusion Methods for Differentiating Daptomycin-Susceptible from Non-Daptomycin-Susceptible Staphylococcus aureus Isolates

ABSTRACT Daptomycin is a novel cyclic lipopeptide that is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of complicated skin and skin structure infections associated with Staphylococcus aureus and other gram-positive pathogens and also staphylococcal bacteremia, including right-sided endocarditis. The Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) established “susceptible-only” interpretive criteria for broth microdilution (BMD) and disk diffusion (DD) testing of daptomycin in 2005. However, a series of S. aureus isolates have been recovered with daptomycin MICs in the nonsusceptible range (i.e., MICs of >1 μg/ml). The objective of this study was to determine the ability of the Etest and DD methods to differentiate daptomycin-susceptible from nonsusceptible isolates of S. aureus compared to the results of the CLSI BMD reference method. There was a good correlation between Etest MIC results and the results of BMD among laboratories (r = 0.86 to 0.88), with 95.3% of the Etest MICs within a ±1 log2 dilution of the BMD MIC result. A total of 92 of 102 (90.2%) non-daptomycin-susceptible isolates of S. aureus identified by BMD in two participating laboratories were also classified as nonsusceptible by Etest. However, the very major and major error rates reported by one of the participating laboratories were 13.5 and 4.0%, respectively, primarily due to the absence of an intermediate category. The DD method, however, did not reliably differentiate daptomycin-susceptible from non-daptomycin-susceptible isolates. In 2005, daptomycin disks were voluntarily removed from the market by Cubist Pharmaceuticals. The disk diffusion breakpoints were subsequently removed from the CLSI M100 standard in 2006.
Platinum group metals: a unique case study in the sustainability of mineral resources

Platinum group metals (PGMs) possess a range of unique chemical and physical properties and are increasingly finding important uses in a variety of environmentallyrelated technologies—such as chemical process catalysts (especially oil refineries), catalytic converters for vehicle exhaust control, hydrogen fuel cells, electronic components, and a variety of specialty medical uses, amongst others. Given the need to expand almost all of these uses to meet environmental challenges, demand growth for PGMs can reasonably be expected to be sustained long into the future. Global production of PGMs is dominated by South Africa due to their large resources in the Bushveld Complex, while other countries such as Russia, Canada, Zimbabwe, and the United States play a minor but important role. Concerns are being raised, however, about the long-term ability to supply PGMs to meet future technological needs (e.g. (Gordon et al., 2006; Yang, 2009), as well as allegations of significant environmental and social impacts such as water pollution, unfair village relocation, economic disparity and compensation issues (Curtis, 2008; Mnwana and Akpan, 2009; Rajak, 2008). This paper presents a detailed review of the PGMs industry and major environmental costs such as water, energy and greenhouse gas emissions (GGEs). A range of data is compiled, including annual production statistics, major inputs and outputs, and analysed with respect to unit efficiencies or ‘sustainability metrics’. The relationships between production statistics and sustainability metrics are then investigated with a view to understanding the current trends in PGMs mining and potential future implications. Although social impacts are crucial in sustainability, they are outside the scope of this paper. The paper presents a unique case study for a group of metals which are uniquely concentrated in one major region of the earth and pose some intriguing and difficult sustainability issues for the future.
Syntaxin 1 interacts with the LD subtype of voltage-gated Ca2+ channels in pancreatic β cells

Interaction of syntaxin 1 with the α1D subunit of the voltage-gated L type Ca2+ channel was investigated in the pancreatic β cell. Coexpression of the enhanced green fluorescent protein-linked α1D subunit with the enhanced blue fluorescent protein-linked syntaxin 1 and Western blot analysis together with subcellular fractionation demonstrated that the α1D subunit and syntaxin 1 were colocalized in the plasma membrane. Furthermore, the α1D subunit was coimmunoprecipitated efficiently by a polyclonal antibody against syntaxin 1. Syntaxin 1 also played a central role in the modulation of L type Ca2+ channel activity because there was a faster Ca2+ current run-down in cells incubated with antisyntaxin 1 compared with controls. In parallel, antisyntaxin 1 markedly reduced insulin release in both intact and permeabilized cells, subsequent to depolarization with K+ or exposure to high Ca2+. Exchanging Ca2+ for Ba2+ abolished the effect of antisyntaxin 1 on both Ca2+ channel activity and insulin exocytosis. Moreover, antisyntaxin 1 had no significant effects on Ca2+-independent insulin release trigged by hypertonic stimulation. This suggests that there is a structure–function relationship between the α1D subunit of the L type Ca2+ channel and the exocytotic machinery in the pancreatic β cell.
Isolation and characterization of the centromere from chromosome V (CEN5) of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

We have cloned a functional centromeric DNA sequence from Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Using the 2 mu chromosome-loss mapping technique and meiotic tetrad analysis, we have identified this DNA sequence as the centromere of chromosome V (CEN5). The CEN5 sequence has been localized on an 1,100-base-pair BamHI-BglII restriction fragment. Plasmids containing CEN5 and an autonomously replicating sequence are mitotically stable in S. cerevisiae and segregate in a Mendelian fashion during meiosis.
Analysis of Hybrid Intrusion Detection System Based on Data Mining Techniques

—The rapid growth of network based activities makes computer security is a more crucial issue. Many security methods are developed and used, but they are unfit to detect novel intrusions. Therefore, we propose a hybrid intrusion detection framework based on data mining classification and clustering techniques. In the proposed hybrid framework, improves the detection rate by taking the advantages of misuse and anomaly detection. In case of misuse detection, intrusion patterns are built automatically from a training data by the use of the random forest classification method. Then comparing this pattern against network activities to detect intrusions. In case of anomaly detection, the network activities processed to several clusters using weighted k means technique to detect novel intrusions. The whole process is evaluated over KDD’99 dataset.
Chinese Manufacturing: Renovation or Rebuilding?

In the past three decades, Chinese economy has been arresting the worldwide attention for its double-digit growth rate. Playing a leading part in general economic development, Chinese manufacturing has been contributing a substantial portion in the total GDP growth. However, a national key project, the Research of China National Manufacturing Strategy, has found in the last several years that Chinese manufacturing has already lost its competitiveness due to the void of cheap labor force (New Labor Law in China), the rising costs of raw materials and energies, and the more rigid requirements for environmental protection. Chinese manufacturing has met its Waterloo and calls for an urgent business transformation if it wants to survive and sustain its development. Based on fundamental research, authors of this paper propose a new business conceptual model, SERVICE-MANUFACTURING, which focuses on the seamless marriage of service and manufacturing and how this new model can be implemented in real business practices.
Two polymorphisms for amino acid substitutions in the APOA4 gene.

Description: Apolipoprotein A-IV is a structural component of chylomicron remnants and a cofactor for LCAT. Amplification of the 3' end of human apolipoprotein A-IV was carried out by the polymerase chain reaction (1) using the oligonucleotides 5'-CGGGTGGAGCCCTACGGGGA-3' as the 5' primer and 5'-TGGGGCCTGTGCACCAGGGG-3' as the 3' primer. Polymorphism: By direct DNA sequence analysis, two polymorphic sites were identified within the amplified region, each one resulting in an amino acid substitution (2). Codon 347 may be ACT coding for Thr or TCT coding for Ser. Codon 360 may be CAG coding for Gln or CAT for His. Mendelian Inheritance: Codominant segregation of both polymorphisms was observed in multiple families. Comments: the carried out and The oligonucleotides GGACAAGACTCTCTCCC. for detecting the Gln GGAACAGCATCAGGAGC the His codon. Source and Description of Clone: The probe is a 3.5 kb PstI-KpnI cDNA fragment containing most of the transcript of the heavy chain of cytochrome b558 in a gemini 4 plasmid (1). Polymorphisms: In addition to the polymorphic fragments of 1.7 kb (allele Al) and 1.3 kb (allele A2) (2), NsiI reveals polymorphic fragments of 3.3 kb (allele Bi) and 2.8 kb (alele B2). Invariant fragments are 7.7, 6.4, 4.1 and 0.95 kb. Frequencies: 98 independent X chromosomes were analysed. The 3.3 kb BI allele was present in 9/98 (0.09) and the 2.8 kb B2 allele in 89/98 (0.91)
Extension of a Memory-Efficient Formulation for the Unconditionally Stable WLP-FDTD Method

In this letter, a memory efficient modification to the unconditionally stable finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method combined with weighted Laguerre polynomials (WLP) is proposed. The divergence theorem is applied to the lossy media and perfectly matched layer (PML). This leads to a more memory-efficient matrix equation, and the computation time is reduced. A numerical example considering a two dimensional (2-D) TE case is presented to demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed algorithm.
Incorporation of Computational Fluid Dynamics into a Fluid Mechanics Curriculum

In this chapter, the development, implementation and evaluation of a suitable curriculum for students to use computational fluid dynamics (CFD) as part of a fluid mechanics course at intermediate undergraduate level are described. CFD is the simulation of fluids, heat transfer, etc., using modelling, that is, mathematical physical problem formulation, and numerical methods which includes, discretization methods, solvers, numerical parameters, and grid generation. Historically only Analytical Fluid Dynamics (AFD) and Experimental Fluid Dynamics (EFD) have been taught at the undergraduate level but inclusion of CFD is now possible and desirable, with the advancing improvements of computer resources.
Essentials of endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair imaging: postprocedure surveillance and complications.

OBJECTIVE Lifelong postprocedural imaging surveillance is necessary after endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair (EVAR) to assess for complications of endograft placement, as well as device failure and continued aneurysm growth. Refinement of the surveillance CT technique and development of ultrasound and MRI protocols are important to limit radiation exposure. CONCLUSION A comprehensive understanding of EVAR surveillance is necessary to identify life-threatening complications and to aid in secondary treatment planning.
Differential sensitivity of male and female mouse embryos to oxidative induced heat‐stress is mediated by glucose‐6‐phosphate dehydrogenase gene expression

During the preimplantation period, in vitro cultured males have a higher metabolic rate, different gene expression, and grow faster than females. It has been suggested that under some stress conditions male embryos are more vulnerable than females; however, the biological fragility of male embryos is little understood. Since many forms of stress result in the overproduction of cellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), we addressed the hypothesis that the connection between female advantage during early developmental stages and heat stress involves ROS and differential gene expression of G6PD, an X‐linked gene related to oxidative stress. We have found that after compaction, female heat‐stressed embryos have less relative amounts of H2O2 than males, and female embryos survive better than males under in vivo or in vitro heat stress situations. In addition, in vitro produced female embryos grow slower than male embryos, have differential mRNA transcription of G6PD and also of some genes situated on autosomal‐chromosomes (Sox, Bax, and Oct‐4). Moreover, by inhibiting G6PD, all differences generated by oxidative stress between male and female embryos disappear. For the first time, we provide an experimental demonstration of a mechanism that explains why following exposure to heat stress‐induced ROS, female preimplantation embryos are more resistant than males. Mol. Reprod. Dev. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Effect of Liaison Nurse Service on Transfer Anxiety of Patients Transferred From the Cardiac Surgery Intensive Care Unit to the General Ward

Background: Transition from intensive care unit to a general ward is a stressful situation for patients. It is believed that a liaison nurse can prevent adverse events during the transfer process. Objectives: This study aimed to examine the effect of a liaison nurse on anxiety related to the transportation of patients from the cardiac surgery intensive care unit to a general ward. Methods: This randomized clinical trial was conducted on 68 patients that were randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups. The demographic information and disease profile were collected at the baseline of the study. Liaison nurse services were provided for the experimental group during the transfer process. The Spielberger state-trait anxiety inventory (STAI) was used to measure the patients’ anxiety at the start of the transfer and two hours after admission to the general ward. Independent samples and paired t-tests were used to compare the anxiety mean scores in the experimental and control groups. Results: Before the intervention, the mean anxiety was 45.61 ± 12.42 and 40.11 ± 10.95 in the experimental and the control groups, respectively (P = 0.057). However, after the intervention, the mean anxiety score was significantly decreased to 33.20 ± 6.22 in the experimental group (P < 0.001) while it increased to 44.17 ± 10.23 in the control group (P < 0.001). Conclusions: Liaison nurse services affected the patients’ anxiety in the process of transition from the cardiac surgery intensive care unit to the general ward.
Serial neuropsychological assessment of an adolescent girl after suffering a sudden out-of-hospital-cardiac-arrest following recreational inhalant use

ABSTRACT Sudden out-of-hospital-cardiac-arrest (OHCA) following recreational inhalant use is well documented in the literature. The present case study reports the long-term neuropsychological sequelae of a 14-year-old girl who suffered an OHCA secondary to recreational butane gas inhalation. The patient was assessed on day-13 as an inpatient, and again at 3- and 12-month outpatient follow-ups. Acutely the patient demonstrated significant impairment on tasks associated with verbal and non-verbal memory and executive functioning. Re-testing at 3-months post-acute state suggested improved executive and non-verbal functions while showing continued deficits in verbal memory. At 12-months she was cognitively performing at levels expected for her age. This case is reported for its rarity in successfully being able to track the patient's clinical course from hospital discharge to the successful reintegration back into school and community settings.
Faster than sphere (decoder). A demodulation algorithm for multidimensional constellations

This paper1 proposes an algorithm, named hypercube demodulator, for symbol detection in multidimensional constellations as an alternative to the widely used sphere decoder. We use relative complexity of algorithms in order to measure the gain of one solution over the other. As a part of the theoretical considerations the upper and lower bounds for performance gain of the hypercube demodulator over the sphere decoder are derived, showing that the former can lead to up to ten times better performance than the latter. The measurement and comparison of relative execution time of computer simulations using both solutions verifies the theory. The presented solution achieves the same BER as the referenced technique.