Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Pigmentación de cepas de Cryptococcus neoformans sobre agar semilla de girasol

: The production of melanin on a medium of sunflower seeds extract agar from 86 strains of Cryptococcus neoformans belonging to the Mycology Laboratory of "Pedro Kouri" Institute of Tropical Medicine was determined. 54.7% of them produced colonies with dark brown pigment, 5.8% a light pigment and 37.2% an intermediate tonality. A fourth group was created for those strains with a true pigment (2.3%). This paper is an important contribution to attain a better characterization of the strains from the collection of the institution and serves as a basis to further studies of pathogenicity and susceptibility.
Embedding quality culture in higher education : a selection of papers from the 1st European Forum for Quality Assurance

Rue d’Egmont 13 1000 Brussels Belgium Phone: +32-2 230 55 44 Fax: +32-2 230 57 51 www.eua. be C A SE S TU D Y : EM B ED D IN G Q U A LI TY C U LT U R E IN H IG H ER E D U C A TI O The European University Association (EUA) is the representative organisation of universities and national rectors’ conferences in 46 European countries. EUA plays a crucial role in the Bologna process and in infl uencing EU policies on higher education, research and innovation. Thanks to its interaction with a range of other European and international organisations EUA ensures that the independent voice of European universities is heard wherever decisions are being taken that will impact on their activities.
Statistical Modeling of Data From Smoking Cessation Clinical Trials

In smoking cessation clinical trials, subjects commonly experience a series of lapse and recovery episodes of varying lengths. Any quit episode may become permanent, in the sense that the subject stops smoking for good, and any lapse may also become permanent, in the sense that the subject abandons the quit attempt entirely. Individual quit patterns may reflect the effects of treatment and measured and unmeasured covariates. To describe this complex data structure, we propose a multivariate time-to-event model that i) incorporates alternating recurrent events of two types, each with the possibility of "cure", ii) allows for the modifying effects of treatment and covariates, and iii) reflects within-subject correlation via frailties. Specifically, we introduce a novel cure-mixture frailty model in which the cure probability follows a binary regression and the time to event given not cured is determined by a proportional hazard model. We then extend it to data with recurring events of two alternating types, where we assume that each type of event has a gamma frailty, and we link the frailties by means of a Clayton copula. In my first project, I fit this model to data from a smoking cessation drug trial. In my second project, I developed a Bayesian method to predict individual long-term smoking behavior from observed short-term quit/relapse patterns. In my third project, I investigated the theoretical properties of the survival distribution, evidently not previously described, that arises from our cure-mixture frailty model. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group Epidemiology & Biostatistics First Advisor Daniel F Heitjan
The nutritional anti-inflammatory reflex; from rodents to man

Background: Enteral nutrition activates humoral and neural pathways to regulate food intake and sustain energy balance. Recently, we demonstrated that enteral nutrition and in particular lipid-rich nutrition modulates inflammation and prevents organ damage. Objective: The current study investigates activation of the nutritional antiinflammatory pathway by lipid-rich nutrition. Methods: Male rats were fasted or fed lipid-rich nutrition prior to hemorrhagic shock. Disruption of afferent vagal fibers with capsaicin (deafferentation) was used to investigate involvement of afferent fibers. Peripheral activation of afferent vagal fibers via cholecystokinin (CCK)-mediated activation of CCK-1 receptors was investigated using administration of the selectively peripheral acting CCK-1 receptor antagonist, A70104 and PEGylated-CCK9. Tissue and blood were collected 90 minutes after shock to assess systemic inflammation and intestinal integrity. Results: Deafferentation reversed the inhibitory effect of lipid-rich nutrition on systemic levels of TNF-α and IL-6 and on intestinal leakage of horseradish peroxidase and bacterial translocation. Furthermore, the protective effects of lipidrich nutrition were negated by A70104, indicating that lipid-rich nutrition triggers peripheral cholecystokinin-1 receptors on vagal afferents to modulate inflammation. These findings were substantiated by the fact that pre-treatment of fasted rats with PEGylated-cholecystokinin9, which acts on peripheral CCK-1 receptors, attenuated systemic inflammation and loss of intestinal integrity. Conclusion: These data demonstrate that enteral lipid-rich nutrition modulates inflammation and preserves intestinal integrity via cholecystokinin release which activates cholecystokinin-1 receptors located on afferent vagal fibers. Taken together, the current study reveals a novel gut-brain-immune axis and provides new insight into the applicability of enteral nutrition to treat inflammatory conditions.
The Munro review of child protection: final report, a child-centred system

In Part One of the Munro Review (published 3rd February 2011, ISBN 9780108510137), Professor Munro set out the approach and features of the child protection system that needed exploring in detail. This second part and final report sets out recommendations to reform the child protection system, specifically from being over-bureaucratised and concerned with compliance to one that keeps a focus on children. Some of the recommendations include: that the Government should remove the specific statutory requirement on local authorities for completing assessments within often artificial set timescales; that local services which work with children and families should be freed from unhelpful government targets; that there should be an introduction of a duty on all local services to coordinate an early offer of help to families who do not meet the criteria for social care services, to address problems before they escalate to child protection issues; that Ofsted inspections of children's services should add more weight to feedback from children and families; that experienced social workers should be kept on the frontline even when they become managers so that their experience and skills are not lost and that each local authority should designate a Principal Child and Family Social Worker to report the views and experiences of the front line to all levels of management. Professor Munro also states that individual recommendations should not be taken forward in isolation but that change needs to happen across the system
Screening of Food Handlers for Intestinal Parasites and Enteropathogenic Bacteria in a Tertiary Care Hospital.

Background and objectives: Food handlers with poor personal hygiene could be potential sources of infections of many intestinal parasites and enteropathogenic bacteria. Infections in food handlers may pose a real threat to those who are more susceptible to infection like hospitalized patients especially those who suffered from immunodeficient conditions. Hence the present study was undertaken to assess the prevalence of intestinal parasites and bacteria among food handlers working in the dietary section of a tertiary care hospital. Materials and methods: Swabs from both hands and stool samples were collected from 84 food handlers working in dietary section in tertiary care hospital. The stool samples were examined microscopically for parasites by wet mount, iodine mount and modified acid fast staining directly and after the formalin ether concentration technique. All the samples were cultured on blood agar and MacConkey’s agar and organisms were identified according to standard procedure. Result: Apart from commensals, cultures from hand swabs were positive for Staphylococcus aureus (5.9%), Enterococcus fecalis (7%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (22.7%), Escherichia coli (20.5%), Enterobacter species (1.6%) and Citrobacter species (1.1%) . No enteropathogenic bacteria were isolated from the stool samples. Thirty four (40.5%) stool specimens were positive for different intestinal parasites. Conclusion: Screening of food handlers, training for food handling and hand hygiene practices and regular monitoring of the food handling practices should be done in any Health Care Set up in order to avoid diseases that can be acquired through improper food handling like intestinal parasitic and bacterial infections.
How to break bad news : a guide for health care professionals

For many health care professionals and social service providers, the hardest part of the job is breaking bad news. The news may be about a condition that is life-threatening (such as cancer or AIDS), disabling (such as multiple sclerosis or rheumatoid arthritis), or embarrassing (such as genital herpes). To date medical education has done little to train practitioners in coping with such situations. With this guide Robert Buckman and Yvonne Kason provide help. Using plain, intelligible language they outline the basic principles of breaking bad new and present a technique, or protocol, that can be easily learned. It draws on listening and interviewing skills that consider such factors as how much the patient knows and/or wants to know; how to identify the patient's agenda and understanding, and how to respond to his or her feelings about the information. They also discuss reactions of family and friends and of other members of the health care team. Based on Buckman's award-winning training videos and Kason's courses on interviewing skills for medical students, this volume is an indispensable aid for doctors, nurses, psychotherapists, social workers, and all those in related fields.
Administering ketoconazole (25mg/Kg) For 14 Days in male wistar rat provokes testicular damage accompanied by changes in testosterone levels and immune function

L'objectif de cette etude est d'explorer les effets du traitement subchronique des rats mâles Wistar par une forte dose de KTCZ sur les systemes immunitaires et gonadotropes (testicules). Le KTCN (25mg/kg) a ete administre par voie orale a des rats Wistar mâles pendant 14 jours. Le ketoconazole a entraine un changement dans le poids (augmentation du poids relatif du thymus, des glandes surrenales et du cerveau et une diminution du poids des testicules), des dommages au niveau des tissus testiculaires (.)
Appendix to: "How America Graduated from High School, 1910 to 1960", Construction of State-Level Secondary School Data

A new state-level series on secondary-school data demonstrates that graduation and enrollment rates increased greatly in the 1920s and 1930s in most regions. An 18-year old male in 1910 had just a 10% chance of having a high school diploma but by the mid-1930s the median 18-year old male was a high school graduate. This Appendix describes the procedures used to construct the state-level secondary school enrollment and graduation numbers contained in the NBER Working Paper `How America Graduated from High School: 1910 to 1960. '
Pathophysiology of Psoriasis: Current Concepts

The word ‘psoriasis’, is derived from the Greek word “psora” meaning “itch” or “scurf” or “rash”, although most patients suffering from the condition do not complain of itching. It has been known since ancient times and was originally considered a type of leprosy. For quite some time now, it is one of the most common human skin diseases. Up to a few deca‐ des back, psoriasis was considered to be a chronic inflammatory dermatosis with albeit, ge‐ netic factors involved in the pathogenesis.
A Prevalência da Pediculose nas crianças das escolas do primeiro ciclo do ensino básico de uma freguesia da região norte de Portugal

A Pediculose é um problema de saúde pública com impacto mundial e com consequências nefastas para a saúde das crianças e comunidades, desde a dimensão social (discriminação, isolamento social, papel de estudante comprometido) à dimensão física (alterações do sono, infecções oportunistas). O objectivo deste estudo é identificar a prevalência e intensidade da pediculose nas crianças do primeiro ciclo do ensino básico de uma freguesia da região norte de Portugal.
Encouraging patients to talk with a physician about depression : the transition to a print medium

Objective: This study seeks to determine the effectiveness of health promotion posters in waiting room areas on the likelihood that depressed individuals will seek help for this illness from a primary care physician. Methods: Four poster executions were created using messaging strategies developed from the videos used in the original campaign. The effectiveness of this medium was assessed through an online survey (N = 274). Results: The visual elements of the poster were rated poorly; however, the idea of a health poster for depression displayed in a health clinic waiting was well received. Conclusion: A poster encouraging depressed patients to seek advice from a physician could be effective after a redesign of the poster’s aesthetic elements.
Riesgo de aparición de cepas Staphylococcus aureus resistente a vancomicina en pacientes hospitalarios de un hospital del Perú, 2008

Objetivo: Evaluar el riesgo de aparicion de cepas de Staphylococcus aureus resistente a vancomicina (VRSA) a partir de la interaccion de cepas de Staphylococcus aureus resistente a meticilina (MRSA) y cepas de Enterococcus resistente a vancomicina (VRE). Diseno: Analisis bivariado de datos de un estudio descriptivo, transversal y retrospectivo. Lugar: Hospital Nacional Hipolito Unanue de Lima-Peru. Participantes: pacientes hospitalizados durante el ano 2008. Intervenciones: Formato de registro del laboratorio del hospital. Principales medidas de resultados: Frecuencias relativas y absolutas para variables cualitativos, y medianas para variables cuantitativos, grado de asociacion evaluado con odds ratio (OR) con un intervalo de confianza al 95%. Resultados: Se encontro un 82,8% de cepas MRSA, mientras que en la Unidad de Terapia Intensiva (UTI) se encontro un 92,1% de ellas. No se que hallo cepas VRSA. El aislamiento de cepas MRSA se asocio con la procedencia de la UTI (OR=3,38), con la procedencia de Neonatologia (OR=0,19), con ser paciente adulto (OR=2,87) y con la muestra de tipo sanguinea (OR=0,35). El tiempo de permanencia de los pacientes con aislamientos de cepas MRSA fue mayor que en los pacientes con cepas sensibles (p<0,007). Conclusiones: No existe riesgo de aparicion de cepas VRSA a partir de la interaccion de cepas MRSA y VRE en los pacientes hospitalarios de este nosocomio.
Biomasa, estacionalidad y distribución de tres macrófitos: Ruppia cirrhosa, Cymodocea nodosa y Caulerpa prolifera en el Mar Menor (Murcia, SE. de España)

The first data are presented on the ecology of three macrophyte species widely distribuited in the Mar Menor lagoon (SE Spain). The annual cicle. distribution and biomass was studied during an entire year. Twenty sampling stations were selected in a seasonal extensive study by means of dredging. and another sampling station was intented t« study intensively the community (monthly samples). The results show a seasonal development for the three species. The biomass and LA1 followed a similar pattern in the course of the year. with increasing values from spring to summer and a declive in autumm and winter. Caulerpa prolifera seems the dominant species in the Mar Menor; on the contrary, the Cymodocea nodosa beds are suffering a reduction in surface occupied.
Line of duty deaths among U.S. firefighters: an analysis of fatality investigations

Firefighting is a high hazard occupation. In the U.S. alone, over 100 firefighters die in the line-of-duty each year and over 80 000 are injured. In this presentation, we summarise results from an independent analysis of firefighter fatality investigations completed by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) between 2004 and 2008 (N=143). Of the 143 investigation reports reviewed, 80 involved medically related fatalities and 63 involved fatal traumatic injuries. The 143 investigations produced a total of 867 recommendations for improvements or corrective actions: 417 from medical investigations and 450 from trauma investigations. Using spreadsheet and relational data base software, we identified 35 high frequency recommendations. These high frequency recommendations were mapped onto the major components of firefighting operations (personnel, incident command, operations/tactics and equipment) using a fishbone or Ishikawa diagram. The personnel component of the fishbone diagram accounted for 14 high frequency recommendations and three contributing factors: readiness, training and staffing. A total of nine recommendations were classified within the incident command component and arrayed in terms of four contributors: risk assessment, accountability/rescue, role maintenance and standard operating procedures (SOPs). These results point to deficiencies in personnel management and operational supervision, and suggest that many firefighting organisations routinely accept very thin margins of operational safety. The NIOSH investigative protocol, while quite thorough, provides only very limited insight into the organisational and/or cultural forces that give rise to such acceptance. Recommendations for addressing this situation are discussed.
Antiinflammatory activity of Lonicera japonica

As part of our investigations into new antiinflammatory agents based on plant extracts, the n‐butanol (BuOH) fraction of Lonicera japonica was prepared and its antiinflammatory activity was evaluated using several experimental animal models of inflammation. At oral doses of 100–400 mg/kg, the BuOH fraction showed antiinflammatory activity against acute, granulomatic and chronic inflammation models in mice and rats. Although the activity was not potent compared with prednisolone, the results support the traditional use and suggest that this fraction of L. japonica may yield a safe and mild antiinflammatory agent for treating various inflammatory disorders. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Las bases: retinopatía diabética y edema macular

Diabetic retinopathy is a chronic, specific complication of diabetes mellitus that can cause visual loss as a result of microvascular damage that impairs macular function. Vascular leakage caused by the rupture of tight junctions of blood retinal barrier, and increase vascular permeability is an important pathogenic mechanism of retinal edema. The neurovascular unit is the physical and biochemical relationship among neurons, glia, and specialized vasculature of the retina, when it is altered contributes to retinal neurodegeneration. Neural dysfunction of the retina is often overlooked when anatomic abnormalities are evident. The differences of neural function could explain the variable outcomes after the same treatment. The prognostic value of retinal dysfunction requires evaluation, since it could change the physiological basis that support of current therapeutic knowledge.
Processing Face Encoding in Multiple Sclerosis: A fMRI Investigation (P6.134)

OBJECTIVE: We investigated behavioral and functional MRI correlates of face encoding (FE) in patients with relapse-onset multiple sclerosis (MS) and their correlation with clinico-behavioural and structural MRI measures. BACKGROUND: Encoding difficulties are among the causes of memory deficits affecting MS. No study has assessed encoding capability associated to non-verbal and social stimuli as faces in these patients. DESIGN/METHODS: Using a 3.0 Tesla scanner, a block-design episodic FE paradigm was administered to 75 MS patients (11 with clinically isolated syndromes [CIS], 40 with relapsing-remitting [RR] and 24 with secondary progressive [SP]) and 22 healthy controls (HC). A face recognition (FR) test was performed outside the scanner. Patients with abnormal performance at Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test were considered cognitively impaired. Analyses of fMRI data was performed using SPM8. T2 lesions volumes, normalized gray matter (GM) and white matter (WM) volumes were assessed and correlated with fMRI abnormalities. RESULTS: All groups activated areas involved in face perception and encoding tasks, and deactivated areas part of the default-mode network. Compared to HC and RRMS, CIS patients experienced an increased recruitment of posterior-visual areas. The thalami, para-hippocampal gyri and right anterior cingulum were more active in RRMS vs CIS and SPMS patients, while an increased recruitment of frontal areas was observed in SPMS vs RRMS. Significant correlations were found between abnormal activations and clinical, behavioral and structural MRI measures. CONCLUSIONS: Face encoding and recognition abnormalities occur in MS and vary across the different stages of the disease. Early in MS, the higher recruitment of areas typically devoted to face perception and encoding is likely to result in an adaptive response, reflecting a compensatory mechanism of cerebral reorganization. Afterwards, patients with progressive course recruit brain regions designated to higher cognitive functions, likely reflecting a maladaptive and ineffective process to cope with task-related demands. Disclosure: Dr. Vacchi has nothing to disclose. Dr. Rocca has received personal compensation for activities with Novartis, Biogen Idec, and Serono, Inc. as a speaker. Dr. Riccitelli has nothing to disclose. Dr. Rodegher has nothing to disclose. Dr. Martinelli has received personal compensation for activities with Biogen Idec, Merck Serono, Bayer Schering, Teva Neuroscience, and Sanofi-Aventis Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Possa has nothing to disclose. Dr. Falini has nothing to disclose. Dr. Comi has received personal compensation for activities with Teva, Novartis, Genzyme, Merck Serono, Biogen Idec, Bayer, Actelion Pharmaceuticals, Almirall, and Serono. Cure PSP, and the Jacques and Gloria Gossweiler
Quality characteristics of refined wheat flour (maida) based noodles containing chicken meat stored at ambient temperature under aerobic conditions

Purpose – The purpose of this study was to explore the possibilities of utilization of chicken meat in the preparation of chicken meat noodles and subsequent storage at ambient temperature. Design/methodology/approach – Chicken meat was incorporated at the levels, viz., 0 and 40 per cent, replacing refined wheat flour in the formulation. Proximate composition, pH, water activity (aw), free fatty acid (FFA), thio-barbituric acid reacting substances (TBARS), water absorption index (WAI), water solubility index (WSI), textural profile analysis (TPA), microbial quality and sensory evaluation were assessed at 10-day interval up to 30 days. Findings – Moisture, aw, TBARS, FFA, WAI, crispiness, total plate count (TPC) and yeast and mould values increased significantly (p < 0.05), whereas, fibre, ash, pH, WSI, hardness, work of shearing and sensory attributes showed significant (p < 0.05) decrease. However, all these parameter, viz., microbial quality, TBRS, FFA and sensory attributes, were within the acceptable .
Mentoring in professional associations: continuing professional development for librarians

This article argues for the inclusion of mentoring as a form of continuing professional development to be offered by professional associations to their members. It discusses the comparatively recent emergence of formal and facilitated mentoring programmes, which differ from the traditional model. These developments have increased its suitability to being offered as part of structured programmes of continuing professional development. The article also considers that mentoring within a profession has some advantages as a form of continuing professional development that make it particularly suited to meeting the needs of mentors, mentorees and the professional associations that sponsor mentoring programmes.