Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A novel aminoglycoside-modifying enzyme from a clinical isolate of Acinetobacter.

Resistance to the aminoglycoside-aminocyclitol group of antibiotics in clinical isolates of bacteria is commonly associated with the production of enzymes which can be shown to modify these compounds in vitro either by N-acetylation, 0-phosphorylation or O-nucleotidylation (Benveniste & Davies, 1973). This paper describes a strain of Acinetobacter which posseses a novel modifying enzyme of restricted substrate range. This enzyme appears to catalyse the N-acetylation of only those aminoglycosides of the kanamycin-gentamicin group which bear a 2’-hydroxyl group. METHODS
The biochemistry of living tissues: Examination by MRS

MRS defines the molecular state of water, the chemical environment of cells and tissues and the qualitative and quantitative state of intermediary metabolism. Because cancer has disordered physiology, obvious differences in MR spectra can be observed. However, the detailed understanding of the biochemistry of cancer will also emerge from careful, quantitative multinuclear MR. The intermediary metabolism of ATP, the Krebs cycle, creatine, cholines and lipids, is discussed. Finally, the biochemical challenge posed by oncogenes may be amenable to MR analyses.
Equine granulocytic ehrlichiosis in Connecticut caused by an agent resembling the human granulocytotropic ehrlichia

The first recognized cases of equine granulocytic ehrlichiosis in New England are described. The DNA sequence of the 16S rRNA gene of the causative ehrlichia was found to be identical to that of the human granulocytotropic ehrlichia, the agent of human granulocytic ehrlichiosis.
A randomized, placebo-controlled trial of certolizumab pegol (CDP870) for treatment of Crohn's disease.

BACKGROUND & AIMS To investigate the efficacy and safety of certolizumab pegol (a polyethylene-glycolated Fab' fragment of anti-tumor necrosis factor, CDP870) in Crohn's disease. METHODS In a placebo-controlled, phase II study, 292 patients with moderate to severe Crohn's disease received subcutaneous certolizumab 100, 200, or 400 mg or placebo at weeks 0, 4, and 8. The primary end point was the percentage of patients with a clinical response at week 12 (a Crohn's Disease Activity Index decrease of > or = 100 points or remission [Crohn's Disease Activity Index < or = 150 points]) in the intent-to-treat population. RESULTS All certolizumab doses produced significant clinical benefit over placebo at week 2 (placebo, 15.1%; certolizumab 100 mg, 29.7% [P = .033]; 200 mg, 30.6% [P = .026]; 400 mg, 33.3% [P = .010]). At all time points, the clinical response rates were highest for certolizumab 400 mg, greatest at week 10 (certolizumab 400 mg, 52.8%; placebo, 30.1%; P = .006) but not significant at week 12 (certolizumab 400 mg, 44.4%; placebo, 35.6%; P = .278). Patients with baseline C-reactive protein levels of 10 mg/L or greater (n = 119) showed clearer separation between active treatment and placebo (week 12 clinical response: certolizumab 400 mg, 53.1%; placebo, 17.9%; P = .005; post hoc analysis) owing to a lower placebo response rate than patients with C-reactive protein levels of less than 10 mg/L. Adverse events were similar among groups. CONCLUSIONS Certolizumab 400 mg may be effective and is well tolerated in patients with active Crohn's disease. High placebo response rates in the large patient subgroup with low C-reactive protein levels may have obscured statistical separation between certolizumab and placebo. Ongoing phase III trials are necessary to establish the clinical efficacy of certolizumab.
Diagnosis and Treatment of Peripheral Arterial Disease: Recommendations for the Medical Practice in Belgium

At the time of the nineteenth World Congress of Angiology held in Ghent in May 2000, the first version of the Trans-Atlantic Inter-Society Consensus document (TASC I) on the management of peripheral arterial disease (PAD ; Peripheral Arterial Disease) was born (1-3). In January 2007, the second edition of the TransAtlantic Inter-Society Consensus (TASC II) (4) was published. The latter was the result of a collaboration of fourteen scientific societies of vascular surgery, angiology, vascular radiology and cardiology in Europe and North America. TASC II comprises an update of the literature and underlines once more that patients affected with peripheral arterial disease present an increased risk of developing other cardioand cerebrovascular diseases.
Phase I Clinical Study of Three Times a Day Oral Administration of TAS-102 in Patients with Solid Tumors

TAS-102 is a novel formulation of the fluorinated pyrimidine analogue trifluorothymidine (FTD) with an inhibitor of thymidine phosphorylase. The purpose of this study was to determine the MTD and DLT for TAS-102 administered three times a day on days 1–5 and 8–12 every 4 weeks. Fifteen patients were enrolled with two patients experiencing dose-limiting fatigue and granulocytopenia at the first dose level (80 mg/m2/day). Granulocytopenia was the primary toxicity: 7 patients experienced grade 3 or 4 granulocytopenia with the first course. No responses were noted, but nine patients demonstrated prolonged stable disease in this heavily pretreated 5-FU refractory population.
Expression and immunogenicity of the entire human T cell leukaemia virus type I envelope protein produced in a baculovirus system.

The entire envelope gene of human T cell leukaemia virus type I (HTLV-I) has been successfully expressed in a baculovirus non-fusion vector system. The HTLV-I envelope protein accumulated within the insect cells as inclusion bodies which allowed efficient recovery of the recombinant protein. In an attempt to study the role of the HTLV-I envelope glycoprotein as an immunogenic target, mice were immunized with the envelope protein inclusion bodies (env-I.B.) in the presence or absence of an adjuvant. Antibodies of broad specificity were produced against the HTLV-I envelope protein in the presence or absence of an adjuvant as detected by Western blotting, radioimmunoprecipitation and peptide ELISA. Neutralizing antibody was detected when env-I.B. immunizations were carried out in the presence of high doses of a new adjuvant composed of a mycobacterial cell wall extract. In a combined immunization regimen, env-I.B. were found to enhance and broaden the antibody response to the HTLV-I envelope glycoprotein, following priming with various recombinant vaccinia virus (RVV) constructs expressing either the entire native HTLV-I envelope (gp46 and gp21) or just the surface envelope protein (gp46). Increased titres of neutralizing antibodies were observed following priming with the RVV expressing gp46 only. Results indicate that immunization regimens that involve priming with RVV expressing HTLV-I envelope followed by boosting with recombinant baculoviral HTLV-I envelope might be useful in eliciting protective immune responses in vivo.
Incidence and natural history of cytomegalovirus disease in patients with advanced human immunodeficiency virus disease treated with zidovudine. The Zidovudine Epidemiology Study Group.

Data were analyzed from a multicenter observational cohort study of 1002 persons with AIDS or AIDS-related complex (ARC) and total CD4 cell count < 0.25 x 10(9)/L treated with zidovudine between April 1987 and April 1988. Cytomegalovirus (CMV) disease developed in 109 patients (10.9%), with a 2-year actuarial risk of 15%. Manifestations included retinitis (93 patients), esophagitis (10), colitis (8), gastritis (1), hepatitis (1), and encephalitis (1). The probability of CMV disease at 2 years for patients with initial counts < 0.1 x 10(9)/L was 21.4%, compared with 10.3% for patients with initial counts > or = 0.1 x 10(9)/L (P < .001). By proportional hazards analysis, baseline CD4 cell count < 0.1 x 10(9)/L, enrollment diagnosis of AIDS, and homosexuality were significantly associated with subsequently developing CMV disease. Median survival after diagnosis of CMV disease was 173 days, and CMV was an independent predictor of death. CMV contributes to AIDS-related morbidity and mortality. As new anti-CMV drugs become available, prophylaxis should be targeted at individuals with CD4 cell counts < 0.1 x 10(9)/L.
Assessment of hand mobility in patients with rheumatoid arthritis using a computer measurement station Ocena sprawności ruchowej ręki chorych na reumatoidalne zapalenie stawów z wykorzystaniem komputerowego stanowiska pomiarowego

Summary Background: The study aimed to assess hand mobility (hand strength and grip capacity) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, by means of objective measurement methods, as well as to evaluate the link between hand fitness and the level of disability in these sub jects. Additionally, the authors assessed the impact of disease activity, the duration of morning stiffness and the intensity of pain on the functional condition of the hand. Material and methods: The study group consisted of 56 patients diag nosed with rheumatoid arthritis. The investigated characteristics includ ed: disease activity measured with DAS28 (Disease Activity Score), disability level measured with HAQ (Health Assessment Question naire), as well as intensity of pain and duration of morning stiffness. Hand strength and grip capacity were assessed by means of a spe cially designed measuring station.
Strong but opposing β-diversity–stability relationships in coral reef fish communities

The ‘diversity–stability hypothesis’, in which higher species diversity within biological communities buffers the risk of ecological collapse, is now generally accepted. However, empirical evidence for a relationship between β-diversity (spatial turnover in community structure) and temporal stability in community structure remains equivocal, despite important implications for theoretical ecology and conservation biology. Here, we report strong β-diversity–stability relationships across a broad sample of fish taxa on Australia's Great Barrier Reef. These relationships were robust to random sampling error and spatial and environmental factors, such as latitude, reef size and isolation. While β-diversity was positively associated with temporal stability at the community level, the relationship was negative for some taxa, for example surgeonfishes (Acanthuridae), one of the most abundant reef fish families. This demonstrates that the β-diversity–stability relationship should not be indiscriminately assumed for all taxa, but that a species’ risk of extirpation in response to disturbance is likely to be taxon specific and trait based. By combining predictions of spatial and temporal turnover across the study area with observations in marine-protected areas, we conclude that protection alone does not necessarily confer temporal stability and that taxon-specific considerations will improve the outcome of conservation efforts.
Preparation of Basement Membrane Components from EHS Tumors

This unit describes methods for passaging and harvesting the basement membrane matrix‐producing EHS tumor and for the subsequent isolation of a crude mixture of basement membrane components termed Matrigel, which promotes the differentiation of a variety of epithelial, endothelial, and neuronal cells. Procedures for the isolation of the adhesive glycoprotein laminin‐1 and of type IV collagen are also included. Support protocols cover the maintenance and harvesting of EHS tumors in mice and maintenance of mice on a lathrogenic diet.
The impact of body mass index on renal transplant outcomes: a significant independent risk factor for graft failure and patient death.

INTRODUCTION Renal transplant recipients with elevated body mass index (BMI) have been shown to have inferior patient survival as compared to patients with lower BMI. However, previous studies could not establish a link between increased BMI and decreased death censored graft survival. Obesity in nontransplant patients has been associated with hypertension, hyperlipidemia, type II diabetes, proteinuria and glomerulopathy. Given this evidence it is possible that renal transplant recipients with an elevated BMI may have worse long term graft survival. To investigate this hypothesis we retrospectively analyzed 51,927 primary, adult renal transplants registered in the USRDS. METHODS BMI at date of transplant was calculated for all patients using BMI=body weight (in kg)=. stature (height, in meters) squared. BMI values were further categorized into 11 categories: below 18, from 18 to 36 at 2 unit increments, and above 36 kg/m2. Primary study end points were graft and patient survival. Secondary study end points were death censored graft survival, chronic allograft failure, delayed graft function, and acute rejection (AR). Cox proportional hazard and logistic regression models investigated the link between categorized BMI and the study end points correcting for potential confounding variables. RESULTS BMI showed a very strong association with outcomes after renal transplantation. The extremes of very high and very low BMI were associated with significantly worse patient and graft survival. The same was true for death censored graft survival and chronic allograft failure. Elevated BMI was also associated with an increased risk for delayed graft function while lower BMI was significantly protective. Acute rejection did not show any significant association with BMI. CONCLUSIONS BMI has a very strong association with outcomes after renal transplantation independent of most of the known risk factors for patient and graft survival. The extremes of very high and very low BMI before renal transplantation are important risk factors for patient and graft survival. It is important to note that elevated BMI was significantly associated with worse graft survival independent of patient survival. Whether prospective weight adjustment before renal transplantation can favorably affect posttransplant risk needs to be assessed by further studies.
Loss and representativeness in a 43 year follow up of a national birth cohort.

STUDY OBJECTIVE--The aim was to describe rates of loss and assessment of representativeness during 43 years of a national birth cohort study. DESIGN--The study population is a class stratified random sample of all single, legitimate births that occurred during one single week in 1946; it has been studied at regular intervals, so far to 1989. MAIN RESULTS--Losses through death and emigration were comparable to those in the national population of the same age. Response rates from the population resident in Britain have remained high, and the responding population is in most respects representative of the native population born in the early postwar years. Response rates within some serious physical illnesses did not differ from those of the healthy population. CONCLUSIONS--The continuing high response rate and representativeness of this national birth cohort is likely to be the result of home based data collections and of the regular contact to provide feedback of information and to check addresses of the study population.
Area and system clock effects on SMT/CMP throughput

Two approaches to high throughput processors are chip multiprocessing (CMP) and simultaneous multithreading (SMT). CMP increases layout efficiency, which allows more functional units and a faster clock rate. However, CMP suffers from hardware partitioning of functional resources. SMT increases functional unit utilization by issuing instructions simultaneously from multiple threads. However, a wide-issue SMT suffers from layout and technology implementation problems. We use silicon resources as our basis for comparison and find that area and system clock have a large effect on the optimal SMT/CMP design trade. We show the area overhead of SMT on each processor and how it scales with the width of the processor pipeline and the number of SMT threads. The wide issue SMT delivers the highest single-thread performance with improved multithread throughput. However, multiple smaller cores deliver the highest throughput. Also, alternate processor configurations are explored that trade off SMT threads for other microarchitecture features. The result is a small increase to single-thread performance, but a fairly large reduction in throughput.
Oral cancer over four decades: epidemiology, trends, histology, and survival by anatomical sites.

BACKGROUND Oral cancer is one of the few life-threatening oral diseases. The subtypes and different sites of oral cancer has different etiology epidemiology and survival rate. Prevalence of the various anatomical oral sites provided potential baseline for improvement of clinical approach. METHODS Incidence and survival rates were derived from the Israel National Cancer Registry and included all registered data between 1970 and 2006. Oral cancer included the lips, tongue, buccal mucosa, gums, vestibulum, floor of the mouth, and palate. RESULTS Most prevalent oral cancer subtype was squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) among men above the age of 55 years. Females had a higher incidence of SCC in lateral border of tongue, gums and buccal mucosa. Lymphoma and sarcoma were the most prevalent under the age of 20. Melanomas and metastatic disease revealed the lowest survival rate, while invasive or infiltrating basal cell carcinoma in the lips had the highest rate. The highest oral survival rate was for the lip, and the lowest was for the tongue and gums. CONCLUSIONS Early detection of oral cancer is important for all the medical health team. Decrease in lip carcinoma may be a result of occupational or awareness changes and should be studied. Non-epithelial tumors under the age of 20 should be considered as a differential diagnosis. A basic oral examination should be included in all routine medical examinations, with emphasis on high-risk patients and high-risk oral sites.
Consensus on Social Graphs under Increasing Peer Pressure

In this paper, we present a novel generalized framework for expressing peer influence dynamics over time in a set of connected individuals, or agents. The proposed framework supports the representation of individual variability through parametrization accounting for differences in susceptibility to peer influence and pairwise relationship strengths. Modeling agents' opinions and behaviors as strategies changing discretely and simultaneously, we formally describe the evolution of strategies in a social network as the composition of contraction maps. We identify points of convergence and analyze these points under various conditions.
Environmental Goods and Services Negotiations at the WTO: Lessons from Multilateral Environmental Agreements and Ecolabels for Breaking the Impasse

This analysis looks for paths to progress in the WTO’s stalled negotiations on environmental goods and services – a set of talks that is frequently cited as trade policy’s natural contribution to climate change objectives. It surveys the experience of a number of multilateral environmental agreements – The Rotterdam Convention (Prior Informed Consent or PIC), the Stockholm Convention (Persistent Organic Pollutants or POPs) and Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora – and ecolabels (looking at coffee, fisheries and the Energy Star label). The results of the survey and a new taxonomy for environmental goods are used to create six recommendations for moving forward.
Internet use, innovative workplace practices and workers' motivations: Empirical evidence at the European level

The importance of technological changes and innovative workplace practices in influencing firms' performance has been widely acknowledged, but the way workers are motivated in this framework is still largely neglected. As it is well known in the principal-agent literature, agents are predisposed to shirk, so, in order to obtain productivity gains the principal need to provide workers with sufficient incentives and to encourage motivations. This article seeks to provide answers to the question of how Internet use and work reorganization can modify workers' intrinsic and extrinsic motivations. The results are obtained with a unique dataset form European countries collected in 2005 at the worker level (European Working Conditions Survey). The paper focuses on Internet use and innovative workplace practices controlling for incentives and individuals, firms and countries characteristics. The main results indicate that offering the access to Internet to workers is positively linked with workers' intrinsic and extrinsic motivations. Intrinsic motivations are "crowded in" when the firm provides positive incentives and "crowded out" when the firm resorts to monitoring. The models of production organisation and human resources practices that favour the quality of work environment and the involvement of workers permit to motivate them both intrinsically and extrinsically.
LESSONS FROM A COFFEE SUPPLY CHAIN

SUBTITLE: INSIGHTS INTO BEST PRACTICES CAN SOMETIMES BE FOUND IN THE LEAST LIKELY PLACES. THE BUSINESS MODEL USED BY EQUAL EXCHANGE INC. -- A SUCCESSFUL FOR-PROFIT COFFEE PROCESSOR AND "FAIR TRADE" PIONEER -- OFFERS SEVERAL COMPELLING LESSONS IN SUPPLY CHAIN PARTNERSHIPS, COLLABORATION, AND LONG-TERM VALUE FOR ALL PARTICIPANTS. MANY COMPANIES ARE TALKING ABOUT THESE CORE SUPPLY CHAIN PRINCIPLES; HERE'S HOW ONE COMPANY IS ACTUALLY LIVING THEM.
Paracetamol (Acetaminophen) Penetrates Readily Into the Cerebrospinal Fluid of Children After Intravenous Administration

INTRODUCTION. The main action of paracetamol (acetaminophen) is presumed to be in the central nervous system. The central nervous system penetration of paracetamol has been described in children with intracranial pathologies but not in children with an intact blood-brain barrier. OBJECTIVE. We investigated the cerebrospinal fluid penetration of paracetamol in 32 healthy children, aged 3 months to 12 years, who were undergoing surgery in the lower body using spinal anesthesia. MATERIALS AND METHODS. In this open-label prospective study, children were given a single intravenous injection of paracetamol (15 mg/kg). Cerebrospinal fluid and venous blood samples were obtained between 5 minutes and 5 hours after injection. Paracetamol concentrations were determined from the cerebrospinal fluid and plasma by using a fluorescence polarization immunoassay. RESULTS. Paracetamol was detected in cerebrospinal fluid from the earliest sample at 5 minutes, although in this sample paracetamol concentration was below the limit of quantification of 1.0 mg/L. Subsequent paracetamol concentrations in cerebrospinal fluid ranged between 1.3 and 18 mg/L (median: 7.2 mg/L), plasma concentrations ranged between 2.4 and 33 mg/L, and cerebrospinal fluid/plasma ratios ranged between 0.06 and 2.0. The highest CSF paracetamol concentration was detected at 57 minutes. CONCLUSIONS. Paracetamol permeates readily into the cerebrospinal fluid of children. This fast and extensive transfer enables the rapid central analgesic and antipyretic action of intravenous paracetamol.
[Immune thrombocytopenia -- onkopedic guidelines update: recommendations of a joint working group of the DGHO, ÖGHO, SGH + SSH and GPOH].

a Klinik fur Hamatologie und Onkologie, Caritasklinikum Saarbrucken St. Theresia, b Klinik fur Kinderund Jugendmedizin, Klinikum Braunschweig, c Klinik fur Hamatologie und Onkologie, Marien Hospital Dusseldorf, Deutschland d Padiatrische Onkologie und Hamatologie, Universitatskinderspital beider Basel, Schweiz e Universitatsklinik fur Innere Medizin I, Klinische Abteilung fur Hamatologie und Hamostaseologie, Medizinische Universitat Wien, Osterreich f Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Hamatologie und Onkologie, Berolinahaus, g Ambulantes Gesundheitszentrum der Charite Universitatsmedizin Berlin, Campus Virchow Klinikum, Medizinische Klinik mit Schwerpunkt Hamatologie, Onkologie und Tumorimmunologie, Berlin, Deutschland