Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of Multidrug Resistant Staphylococcus aureus and their Association with Biofilm Production in a Tertiary Care Hospital, Tripura, Northeast India.

BACKGROUND High morbidity and mortality rates are associated with Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) because of development of multidrug resistance. Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) has the ability to colonize and form biofilms on biomaterials which is causing resistance towards antimicrobials and thus making them difficult to eradicate from the infected hosts. MATERIALS AND METHODS Culture isolation, identification was done following standard protocol and antibiogram of the isolates were done. The detection of MRSA, Macrolide-Lincosamide-Streptogramin B resistance (MLSB), vancomycin resistance phenotypes were done by using cefoxitin disc diffusion test, D zone test and vancomycin E test. Biofilm was detected by Congo red agar method. RESULTS A total of 100 (31.7%) S. aureus strains were isolated from 315 clinical specimens. The prevalence of MRSA was 47% (47/100) with 85.1% were homogeneous MRSA and 14.9% were heterogeneous. Out of 47 MRSA strains, 63.8% were Hospital acquired-MRSA (HA-MRSA) infections whereas rests 36.2% were caused by Community acquired-MRSA (CA-MRSA) strains. Maximum number of MRSA isolates belonged to group A biotype (34%). A 14.9% isolates were of nontypeable group. Out of 100 S. aureus isolates, the prevalence of Vancomycin resistant S. aureus (VRSA) was found to be 3%. The MLSB phenotypes showed that the rates of inducible MLSB (iMLSB), constitutive MLSB (cMLSB) and Macrolide-Streptogramin B (MSB) in case of MRSA to be 19.1%, 31.9% and 12.8%. Prevalence of low-level (MUP(L)) and high-level mupirocin resistance (MUP(H)) among MRSA was 19.1% and 6.4%. Biofilm production was found in 55% strains of S. aureus. Out of 47 MRSA strains 76.6%were producing biofilm in comparison to 38.8% in methicillin-sensitive S. aureus (MSSA). Higher degree of antibiotic resistance in biofilm producers was seen especially in case of ciprofloxacin, co-trimoxazole, rifampicin, kanamycin, erythromycin and clindamycin whereas gentamycin, tetracycline and penicillin resistance was more in non-biofilm producers. CONCLUSION This study shows high rate of circulating MRSA with a majority of these isolates are multi-drug resistant of which mostly are biofilm producers in our hospital setup. Development of antimicrobial stewardship program based on the local epidemiological data and national guidelines is the need of the hour.
Linkages of Weather and Climate With Ixodes scapularis and Ixodes pacificus (Acari: Ixodidae), Enzootic Transmission of Borrelia burgdorferi, and Lyme Disease in North America

Abstract Lyme disease has increased both in incidence and geographic extent in the United States and Canada over the past two decades. One of the underlying causes is changes during the same time period in the distribution and abundance of the primary vectors: Ixodes scapularis Say and Ixodes pacificus Cooley and Kohls in eastern and western North America, respectively. Aside from short periods of time when they are feeding on hosts, these ticks exist in the environment where temperature and relative humidity directly affect their development, survival, and host-seeking behavior. Other important factors that strongly influence tick abundance as well as the proportion of ticks infected with the Lyme disease spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi, include the abundance of hosts for the ticks and the capacity of tick hosts to serve as B. burgdorferi reservoirs. Here, we explore the linkages between climate variation and: 1) duration of the seasonal period and the timing of peak activity; 2) geographic tick distributions and local abundance; 3) enzootic B. burgdorferi transmission cycles; and 4) Lyme disease cases. We conclude that meteorological variables are most influential in determining host-seeking phenology and development, but, while remaining important cofactors, additional variables become critical when exploring geographic distribution and local abundance of ticks, enzootic transmission of B. burgdorferi, and Lyme disease case occurrence. Finally, we review climate change-driven projections for future impact on vector ticks and Lyme disease and discuss knowledge gaps and research needs.
Improving the lung delivery of nasally administered aerosols during noninvasive ventilation-an application of enhanced condensational growth (ECG).

BACKGROUND Aerosol drug delivery during noninvasive ventilation (NIV) is known to be inefficient due to high depositional losses. To improve drug delivery efficiency, the concept of enhanced condensational growth (ECG) was recently proposed in which a submicrometer or nanoaerosol reduces extrathoracic deposition and subsequent droplet size increase promotes lung retention. The objective of this study was to provide proof-of-concept that the ECG approach could improve lung delivery of nasally administered aerosols under conditions consistent with NIV. METHODS Aerosol deposition and size increase were evaluated in an adult nose-mouth-throat (NMT) replica geometry using both in vitro experiments and CFD simulations. For the ECG delivery approach, separate streams of a submicrometer aerosol and warm (39°C) saturated air were generated and delivered to the right and left nostril inlets, respectively. A control case was also considered in which an aerosol with a mass median aerodynamic diameter (MMAD) of 4.67 μm was delivered to the model. RESULTS In vitro experiments showed that the ECG approach significantly reduced the drug deposition fraction in the NMT geometry compared with the control case [14.8 (1.83)%-ECG vs. 72.6 (3.7)%-control]. Aerosol size increased from an initial MMAD of 900 nm to a size of approximately 2 μm at the exit of the NMT geometry. Results of the CFD model were generally in good agreement with the experimental findings. Based on CFD predictions, increasing the delivery temperature of the aerosol stream from 21 to 35°C under ECG conditions further reduced the total NMT drug deposition to 5% and maintained aerosol growth by ECG to approximately 2 μm. CONCLUSIONS Application of the ECG approach may significantly improve the delivery of pharmaceutical aerosols during NIV and may open the door for using the nasal route to routinely deliver pulmonary medications.
Capital Asset Pricing Model

The model takes into account the asset’s sensitivity to non-diversifiable risk (also known as systematic risk or market risk), often represented by the quantity beta (β) in the financial industry, as well as the expected return of the market and the expected return of a theoretical risk-free asset. CAPM assumes a particular form of utility functions (in which only first and second moments matter, that is risk is measured by variance, for example a quadratic utility) or alternatively asset returns whose probability distributions are completely described by the first two moments (for example, the normal distribution) and zero transaction costs (necessary for diversification to get rid of all idiosyncratic risk). Under these conditions, CAPM shows that the cost of equity capital is determined only by beta. [1][2] Despite it failing numerous empirical tests, [3] and the existence of more modern approaches to asset pricing and portfolio selection (such as arbitrage pricing theory and Merton’s portfolio problem), the CAPM still remains popular due to its simplicity and utility in a variety of situations. 2 Inventors
Carbon Capture and Storage: How Green Can Black Be?

The capture of carbon dioxide at the point of emission from coal- or gas-burning power plants is an attractive route to reducing carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere. To commercialize carbon capture, as well as transport of liquified carbon dioxide and its storage in exploited oil fields or saline formations, many technological, commercial, and political hurdles remain to be overcome. Urgent action is required if carbon capture and storage is to play a large role in limiting climate change.
Articulatory Planning Is Continuous and Sensitive to Informational Redundancy

Abstract This study investigates the relationship between word repetition, predictabil-ityfrom neighbouring words, and articulatory reduction in Dutch. For the sevenmost frequent words ending in the adjectival suffix -lijk, 40 occurrences were ran-domlyselected from a large database of face-to-face conversations. Analysis ofthe selected tokens showed that the degree of articulatory reduction (as measuredby duration and number of realized segments) was affected by repetition, pre-dictabilityfrom the previous word and predictability from the following word.Interestingly, not all of these effects were significant across morphemes and tar-getwords. Repetition effects were limited to suffixes, while effects of predictabil-ityfrom the previous word were restricted to the stems of two of the seven targetwords. Predictability from the following word affected the stems of all targetwords equally, but not all suffixes. The implications of these findings for models ofspeech production are discussed.
Efficient Inhibition of Activation-induced Fas Ligand Up-regulation and T Cell Apoptosis by Retinoids Requires Occupancy of both Retinoid X Receptors and Retinoic Acid Receptors (*)

Two retinoic acid (RA) receptors, retinoic acid receptors (RARs) and retinoid X receptors (RXRs), have been identified. All-trans-RA and its 9-cis-isomer are ligands for RARs, but only 9-cis-RA binds RXRs with high affinity. Activation-induced T cell hybridoma death is mediated via the engagement of Fas by activation-up-regulated Fas ligand, and RA prevents this type of apoptosis by inhibiting the induction of Fas ligand expression. To investigate the mechanism of RA action, T hybridoma cells were transfected with cDNA encoding RXRβ or dominant-negative RXRβ. Cells that overexpressed RXRβ were more sensitive to 9-cis-RA rescue from activation-induced death than cells transfected with vector alone. In contrast, cells expressing the dominant-negative RXRβ could not be rescued from death with 9-cis-RA. In wild type cells, an RAR-selective synthetic retinoid had little effect on activation-induced apoptosis, while an RXR-selective agonist prevented apoptosis but only at concentrations about 10-fold greater than that required for 9-cis-RA. Simultaneous addition of the RAR- and RXR-selective retinoids completely prevented activation-induced apoptosis at concentrations where either alone had relatively little protective effect. The same hierarchy of efficacy was found for activation-induced Fas ligand expression. These data demonstrate that binding of both RARs and RXRs is required for efficient inhibition of activation-induced Fas ligand up-regulation and T cell apoptosis by retinoic acid.
D-4F decreases brain arteriole inflammation and improves cognitive performance in LDL receptor-null mice on a Western diet Published, JLR Papers in Press, July 12, 2006.

LDL receptor-null mice on a Western diet (WD) have inflammation in large arteries and endothelial dysfunction in small arteries, which are improved with the apolipoprotein A-I mimetic D-4F. The role of hyperlipidemia in causing inflammation of very small vessels such as brain arterioles has not previously been studied. A WD caused a marked increase in the percent of brain arterioles with associated macrophages (microglia) (P < 0.01), which was reduced by oral D-4F but not by scrambled D-4F (ScD-4F; P < 0.01). D-4F (but not ScD-4F) reduced the percent of brain arterioles associated with CCL3/macrophage inflammatory protein-1α (P < 0.01) and CCL2/monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (P < 0.001). A WD increased (P < 0.001) brain arteriole wall thickness and smooth muscle α-actin, which was reduced by D-4F but not by ScD-4F (P < 0.0001). There was no difference in plasma lipid levels, blood pressure, or arteriole lumen diameter with D-4F treatment. Cognitive performance in the T-maze continuous alternation task and in the Morris Water Maze was impaired by a WD and was significantly improved with D-4F but not ScD-4F (P < 0.05). We conclude that a WD induces brain arteriole inflammation and cognitive impairment that is ameliorated by oral D-4F without altering plasma lipids, blood pressure, or arteriole lumen size.
Socially optimal replacement of conventional with electric vehicles for the US household fleet

ABSTRACT In this study, a framework is proposed for minimizing the societal cost of replacing gas-powered household passenger cars with battery electric ones (BEVs). The societal cost consists of operational costs of heterogeneous driving patterns' cars, government investments for charging deployment, and monetized environmental externalities. The optimization framework determines the timeframe needed for conventional vehicles to be replaced with BEVs. It also determines the BEVs driving range during the planning timeframe, as well as the density of public chargers deployed on a linear transportation network over time. We leverage data sets that represent US household driving patterns, as well as the automobile and the energy markets, to apply the model. Results indicate that it takes 8 years for 80% of our conventional vehicle sample to be replaced with electric vehicles, under the base case scenario. The socially optimal all-electric driving range is 204 miles, with chargers placed every 172 miles on a linear corridor. All public chargers should be deployed at the beginning of the planning horizon to achieve greater savings over the years. Sensitivity analysis reveals that the timeframe for the socially optimal conversion of 80% of the sample varies from 6 to 12 years. The optimal decision variables are sensitive to battery pack and vehicle body cost, gasoline cost, the discount rate, and conventional vehicles' fuel economy. Faster conventional vehicle replacement is achieved when the gasoline cost increases, electricity cost decreases, and battery packs become cheaper over the years.
Interferon in renal cell carcinoma. The UCLA experience

Three sequential studies of alpha interferon were performed in a total of 84 evaluable patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma. In Study I, conducted from 1981 to 1982, 43 patients received human leukocyte alpha interferon (IFNα) 3 × 106 U/day, 5 days per week for 12 weeks. In Study II, performed in 1983, vinblastine (0.1 mg/kg/week) was added to the same IFNα regimen in 22 subjects. Study III, held from 1984 to 1985, evaluated the effects of escalating doses of interferon alfa‐2a (from 3 to 36 × 106 U/day) administered 5 days per week to 19 patients. Overall, complete (CR) and partial responses (PR) totaled 17% (14%, 14%, and 26% in Studies I—III, respectively). Median survival of all patients was 49 weeks. Median survival appeared to be superior in the third study, likely because of the patient mix (skewed toward a Karnofsky performance status of 10, disease‐free interval longer than 1 year, and disease confined to the lung). Those prognostic factors were also found to correlate with improved median survival in the total group of 84 patients. Likewise, response to therapy was linked to prolonged survival; patients with CR, PR, or minimal responses had a median survival of 72 weeks. In all the favorable subgroups, responders had better outcomes than nonresponders, but it was not clear whether response to therapy merely selected out patients with better initial prognoses or actually led to improved survival.
Comparison of 208‐week sequential therapy with telbivudine and entecavir in HBeAg‐positive chronic hepatitis B patients with suboptimal responses to 24 weeks of Peg‐IFNα‐2a therapy: An open‐labelled, randomized, controlled, “real‐life” trial

The purpose of the study was to compare the efficacy and safety of 208‐week sequential therapy with telbivudine and entecavir in HBeAg‐positive chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients with suboptimal responses to 24 weeks of Peg‐IFNα‐2a therapy. This was an open‐label, randomized, controlled, “real‐life” trial. HBeAg‐positive CHB patients with serum HBV DNA ≥5.0 lg IU/mL and a < 1 lg IU/mL decline of HBsAg level from baseline who underwent at least 24 weeks of Peg‐IFNα‐2a therapy were included. Enrolled patients were randomized to receive either telbivudine (600 mg/d, n = 95) or entecavir (0.5 mg/d, n = 95) for 208 consecutive weeks. Six patients were lost to follow‐up (4 patients in the telbivudine group and 2 in the entecavir group). Treatment was combined with adefovir when week 24 HBV DNA levels declined to <2 lg IU/mL versus baseline, when viral breakthrough occurred during treatment,or when HBV DNA remained detectable at 52 weeks (HBV DNA ≥500 IU/mL). Responses and safety were assessed after 208 weeks of treatment. There were no significant differences among the baseline characteristics, including age, gender, and ALT, HBV DNA, HBsAg or HBeAg levels. After 208 weeks of treatment, there was no significant difference in the rates of undetectable HBV DNA (HBV DNA<500 IU/mL) between the telbivudine group and the entecavir group (84/91,92.31% vs 88/93,94.62%, respectively, P = .525). More patients in the telbivudine group than the entecavir group achieved HBeAg clearance (74.73% vs 46.24%, respectively, P < .001) and HBeAg seroconversion (64.84% vs 38.71%, respectively, P < .001). Univariate analysis (Enter, a = 0.05) of both groups showed that telbivudine, male gender and baseline HBeAg levels were significantly correlated with HBeAg seroconversion after 208 weeks of sequential therapy. Cox regression analysis (Enter, a = 0.05) of the telbivudine group showed that the HBeAg seroconversion rate at 208 weeks was significantly correlated with gender (male) (P = .006, HR=4.406), baseline HBeAg level (P = .005, HR=0.433) and 24 w‐HBeAg level reduction of more than 0.5 lg IU/ml from baseline (P = .027, HR=0.487). All patients tolerated sequential telbivudine treatment; only slightly elevated creatine kinase levels were observed. Stratification analysis found that patients with baseline HBeAg levels less than 3 lg COI who switched to telbivudine may have had significantly improved HBeAg seroconversion rates. In conclusion, telbivudine promotes HBeAg seroconversion that merits investigation in HBeAg‐positive CHB patients with suboptimal responses to 24 weeks of Peg‐IFNα‐2a therapy. We would suggest that patients with baseline HBeAg levels under 3 lg COI switch to telbivudine to achieve higher HBeAg seroconversion rates and use the early reductions in HBeAg levels (24 weeks) to guide treatment.
Soft constraints in nonlinear spectral fitting with regularized lineshape deconvolution

This article presents a novel method for incorporating a priori knowledge into regularized nonlinear spectral fitting as soft constraints. Regularization was recently introduced to lineshape deconvolution as a method for correcting spectral distortions. Here, the deconvoluted lineshape was described by a new type of lineshape model and applied to spectral fitting. The nonlinear spectral fitting was carried out in two steps that were subject to hard constraints and soft constraints, respectively. The hard constraints step provided a starting point and, therefore, only the changes of the relevant variables were constrained in the soft constraints step and incorporated into the linear substeps of the Levenberg‐Marquardt algorithm. The method was demonstrated using localized averaged echo time point resolved spectroscopy proton spectroscopy of human brains. Magn Reson Med 69:912–919, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Legitimacy constraints and strategic interdependencies between political authorities and independent authorities in the French electricity-market regulation

This communication develops a sociological perspective to analyze the distributed regulation of electricity market between political authorities and independent authorities in France. The extension of the regulatory state paradigm to the energy sector interferes with the energy transition policy, triggering a struggle of competencies and legitimacy in the design of economic instruments and market regulation. This communication focuses on the controversial redesign of electricity market allowing the integration of demand-side management services as load shifting aggregator. It describes legitimacy constraints and deliberation process specific to each authority. It argues that the trajectory of market redesign is influenced by the rivalries between political and independent authorities and their claims of jurisdiction. Rivalries and struggles are contributing to a learning process. Authorities are aware of their interdependencies, trying to anticipate others reactions, and trying to manage interdependencies by informal coordination.
Long-Duration Low-Flow Sevoflurane and Isoflurane Effects on Postoperative Renal and Hepatic Function

Sevoflurane degradation by carbon dioxide absorbents during low-flow anesthesia forms the haloalkene Compound A, which causes nephrotoxicity in rats. Numerous studies have shown no effects of Compound A formation on postoperative renal function after moderate-duration (3–4 h) low-flow sevoflurane; however, effects of longer exposures remain unresolved. We compared renal function after long-duration low-flow (<1 L/min) sevoflurane and isoflurane anesthesia in consenting surgical patients with normal renal function. To maximize degradant exposure, Baralyme® was used, and anesthetic concentrations were maximized (no nitrous oxide and minimal opioids). Inspired and expired Compound A concentrations were quantified. Blood and urine were obtained for laboratory evaluation. Sevoflurane (n = 28) and isoflurane (n = 27) groups were similar with respect to age, sex, weight, ASA status, and anesthetic duration (9.1 ± 3.0 and 8.2 ± 3.0 h, mean ± sd) and exposure (9.2 ± 3.6 and 9.1 ± 3.7 minimum alveolar anesthetic concentration hours). Maximum inspired Compound A was 25 ± 9 ppm (range, 6–49 ppm), and exposure (area under the concentration-time curve) was 165 ± 95 (35–428) ppm · h. There was no significant difference between anesthetic groups in 24- or 72-h serum creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, creatinine clearance, or 0- to 24-h or 48- to 72-h urinary protein or glucose excretion. Proteinuria and glucosuria were common in both groups. There was no correlation between Compound A exposure and any renal function measure. There was no difference between anesthetic groups in 24- or 72-h aspartate aminotransferase or alanine aminotransferase. These results show that the renal and hepatic effects of long-duration low-flow sevoflurane and isoflurane were similar. No evidence for low-flow sevoflurane nephrotoxicity was observed, even at high Compound A exposures as long as 17 h. Proteinuria and glucosuria were common and nonspecific postoperative findings. Long-duration low-flow sevoflurane seems as safe as long-duration low-flow isoflurane anesthesia.
Inhibition and facilitation of transfer among Pseudomonas aeruginos R plasmids

Esamining 12 plasmids in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, we found two types of interaction in their transfer (inhibition and facilitation), using donor cells carrying two compatible plasmids. (i) Ten plasmids representing incompatibility groups P-1, P-2, P-5, P-6, and P-7 were all transmissible at a high frequency, 10-2 to 10-1, except for one with a lower frequency of about 10-3. The transfer of P-5 plasmids was inhibited by P-2 plasmids reciprocally or unilaterally, and the unilateral transfer inhibition was observed in other combinations between plasmids belonging to groups P-1, P-2, P-6, and P-7. It was characteristic of Pseudomonas plasmids that most plasmids with high transferability inhibited the transfer of other coexisting plasmids without distinct inhibition of their own transfer. (ii) Two plasmids, Rms149 of P-8 group and Rlb679, which was not classified, were transmissible at an exceptionally low frequency of 10-7 to 10-6, but their transfer was facilitated by plasmids with high transferability.