Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparison of Broth Dilution and Disc Diffusion Method for the Antifungal Susceptibility Testing of Aspergillus flavus

With the discovery of newer antifungal agents, emergence of resistance among Aspergillus, is a major problem. In the present study, 25 different clinical isolates of Aspergillus flavus were screened for their susceptibility against five common antifungal agents by broth dilution and disc diffusion method with the aim to evaluate both the methods for their suitability to adapt in clinical laboratory. All the isolates showed susceptibility to five antifungals by broth dilution after 24 hrs however all isolates showed resistance for 5FC, fluconazole and ketoconazole after 48 hrs. By disc diffusion method, all isolates were sensitive for all antifungals except fluconazole which showed resistance even after 24 hrs. Amphotericin B and itraconazole were in good agreement between both the methods where 100% isolates were sensitive at both time period by broth dilution and 84% to 100% by disc diffusion method. Both the methods are in good agreement and since disc diffusion method is easy to perform, cheap, rapid and same can be adapted easily for the routine susceptibility testing of clinical fungal isolates in medical microbiology laboratory.
The Effect of Rebranding in Firm Performance & Consumers' Perceptions

The visual aspects of a logo are a prominent feature that plays a major role in strengthening brand perceptions and identification for. Hence, changing the logo for companies have a variety of reasons such as reorganization and adopting new strategies for a company, novelty, changing the company name, change of firm activity, or for the complexity of an old logo. As a result of many examples in the global market of the logo change, and the lack of researches in relation to a brand attitude in response to logo redesign. The primary goal of this research is to both selectively highlighting the impact of logo redesign on brand image, it will also investigate consumer response to logo redesign. The methods adopted to satisfy the research objective about firms re-branded (changed their logo) was both questionnaires and interviews analyzed using the (SPSS) software. Finally, this research aims to examine consumer attitude and firm performance towards a product brand after the re-branding. Keywords— logo, brand, firm, organization, consumer behavior, re-
Experimental infection with Streptococcus pneumoniae in mice: correlation of in vitro activity and pharmacokinetic parameters with in vivo effect for 14 cephalosporins.

A mouse model using intraperitoneal inoculation of Streptococcus pneumoniae type 3 was used to compare in vitro and in vivo effects of 14 cephalosporins, selected to encompass a wide range of minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) against the organism. Antibiotics were subcutaneously administered as single doses 1 hr after inoculation of pneumococci, and the effect was measured as the 50% effective dose (ED50). The correlation between log ED50 and log MIC was highly significant (r = .87, P less than .001). Pharmacokinetic properties of the cephalosporins were estimated after a fixed dose of 5 mg per mouse (167 mg/kg) for all drugs. The only correlation that was significant was between log ED50 and the time the serum concentration remained above the MIC for each drug (r = -.90, P less than .001). Ceftriaxone was the most-effective cephalosporin in vivo because of a combination of high in vitro activity and prolonged serum elimination half-life.
Architecture generique et synthese des communications pour la conception conjointe de systemes embarques logiciel/materiel

Les progres technologiques constants dans les domaines des asic et des curs de processeurs permettent d'integrer des systemes embarques de complexite croissante au sein d'un meme circuit. Par ailleurs, depuis quelques annees l'utilisation de systemes embarques devient reguliere dans de nombreux domaines d'application. Leurs implementations necessitent generalement la mise en uvre de composants heterogenes et la verification de contraintes de conception severes (e. G. , surface, performance, consommation). De plus, les exigences des utilisateurs entraine la diminution des durees de vie de ces systemes embarques. Ainsi, l'importance de la conception conjointe logiciel/materiel croit fortement afin d'aider les concepteurs a respecter les contraintes de time to market. La conception des interfaces de communication entre les composants logiciels et materiels de l'architecture garantissant des transferts de donnees et de controle corrects est particulierement longue et difficile. Ainsi, sur la base d'une architecture generique dediee aux applications embarquees de telecommunication et de multimedia, nous proposons une methode de synthese des communications qui realise la caracterisation et l'implementation des communications dans l'architecture finale. Cette methode prend place apres les etapes de partitionnement et d'ordonnancement et peut constituer les fondements d'une approche de conception conduisant a l'integration logiciel et materiel d'applications de traitement du signal.
FIELD‐INDUCED TRANSPORT MECHANISMS IN HYDROXYAPATITE *

Hydroxyapatite (HAP) is the major inorganic microcrystalline constituent of bone. HAP and the essentially isomorphic fluorapatite (FAP) are ionic crystals with the space group P6Jm. The thermodynamic requirement of lowest lattice free energy at equilibrium necessitates the presence of lattice imperfections at temperatures above absolute zero, because these contribute to the entropy of the lattice. For the apatite structure, Schottky defects are favored, and the requirement of charge neutrality suggests that a nonaplet that comprises five calcium, three phosphate, and one hydroxyl (or flouride) ion vacancy will be generated thermodynamically. Vacancies may also be introduced into the ionic lattice to compensate for extra charges that result from the presence of impurities. A case of interest for this paper is the charge compensation of an 02ion situated substitutionally on a flouride ion site in FAP by a flouride ion vacancy. Ionic transport in HAP or FAP occurs via a vacancy mechanism, in which an ion jumps to a vacant lattice site on an appropriate sublattice. In the apatite structure, there are two nonequivalent calcium sites, and the calcium sublattice is therefore best thought of as two interconnected sublattices on which the energies of vacancy formation are different. The low symmetry of the crystal structure results in the jump energy away from a given lattice site being dependent upon the direction of the ion jump, and, hence, vacancy migration on the calcium sublattices will be nonrandom, even in the absence of a perturbing electric field. Consequences of this structurally related nonrandomness have been discussed elsewhere. ' The hydroxyl ion sublattice is of particular interest, because it has a pseudo onedimensional character. Hydroxyl ions are arranged in columns along the hexad axes of the crystal; the interionic spacing between the sites along a given column are approximately 3.4 A compared to about 9.5 A for sites on adjacent columns. Theoretical calculations* indicate that the jump energy for hydroxyl ion motion along the hexad column should be about 2.0 eV compared to more than 10 eV between columns. This large asymmetry in jump energy implies that hydroxyl ion motion is confined to a given column under the influence of both thermodynamic and electrical driving forces. This one-dimensional character has interesting consequences for ionic transport. Since ionic motion occurs by a vacancy mechanism, it is not possible for diffusion to occur on the hydroxyl sublattice. Vacancies can move back and forth along the column but are unable to alter the relative positions of ions within the column. Concentration gradients cannot be changed by this process, and a net uptake of impurity or tracer ions by such a column is only possible if a vacancy flux exists. Such a flux can be provided by the presence of an electric field. Even in the
Prehospital Transfer Pathway and Mortality in Patients Undergoing Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.

BACKGROUND It is recommended that not only door-to-balloon time but also prehospital delay for primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) should be improved. We investigated the effect of prehospital transfer pathway on onset-to-balloon time and prognosis in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) in Japan. METHODSANDRESULTS We analyzed data from 540 consecutive patients with primary PCI for STEMI. Patient clinical data and mortality were compared between patients who visited the family physician or non-PCI-capable hospitals and were then transferred to PCI-capable centers (indirect transfer patients), and those who directly visited PCI-capable centers (direct transfer patients). Onset-to-balloon time was longer in indirect transfer patients than in direct transfer patients (mean, 270 min; range, 180-480 min vs. 180 min, 120-240 min; P<0.001). In addition, patient prognosis was evaluated on Cox proportional regression analysis. Cardiac death and all-cause death were significantly higher in indirect transfer patients (odds ratios [OR], 2.17; 95% confidence intervals [95% CI]: 1.17-4.01, P=0.01; OR, 1.71; 95% CI: 1.09-2.68, P=0.02). These results were confirmed using propensity score matching for adjusted analyses. CONCLUSIONS Patients with indirect transfer to regional emergency departments of PCI centers had longer onset-to-balloon time and worse prognosis than those with direct transfer.
Exemplar-based image inpainting via fast global optimal searching

This paper presents an image inpainting algorithm which relies on the fast global optimal searching. The whole framework of our method is focused on approximating the minimum of the proposed energy function with additional new texture term. We combine four steps in the framework. First, the initialization is carried out layer by layer in a fast way. Second, we use PatchMatch algorithm to realize the search of approximate nearest neighbors for patches in the missing region. Third, a weighted mean based image reconstruction method is implemented iteratively. Last, we use Poisson editing to handle the illumination of missing region to get realistic looking image. In addition, the iterative calculation is embedded in a multi-resolution pyramid. Experimental results show that our algorithm can effectively maintain the texture and structure characteristics of the missing region.
Lidocaine and Bupivacaine Mixtures for Epidural Blockade

In a prospective double-blind clinical study, single-dose lumbar epidural blockade was instituted in 60 healthy patients undergoing lower abdominal surgery. Patients were randomly assigned to one of five groups. Each group received treatment with a different local anesthetic solution containing 1:200,000 epinephrine. Local anesthetic solutions used were 0.5 per cent bupivacaine HCl, 2 per cent lidocaine HCl, and lidocaine-bupivacaine mixtures in the ratios of 1:3, 1:1 or 3:1 by volume. Onset and complete spread of sensory blockade were similar in all five groups. Time to regression to two segments of partial and complete sensory blockade was positively correlated (P < 0.05) with increasing dose of bupivacaine in the solutions and ranged from 84 min (partial) and 70 min (complete) for lidocaine, to 128 min (partial) and 101 min (complete) for bupivacaine. Using skin temperature as a criterion of sympathetic blockade, all three mixtures demonstrated a duration of action intermediate between the two single drugs, lidocaine (124 ± 13 min) and bupivacaine (286 ± 32 min). Onset of complete motor blockade was fastest and the degree of motor blockade was most profound with the mixture containing equal proportions of lidocaine and bupivacaine. Pharmacokinetics of individual drugs were unaltered in any of the mixutres.
In situ investigation of nanoelectrochemical systems

We report an in situ experimental characterization method of nanoelectrochemical systems (NECSs). Experiments were performed using nanorobotic manipulation inside a transmission electron microscope together with an electrochemical work station. The electrochemical behavior of an Mg-MgO-MoS2 heterostructure demonstrated the potential application of Mg as an anode for an ion-battery. Due to the abundant amount of magnesium on the earth, the investigation promises a low-cost anode material for a new generation of batteries. The application of 2D layered MoS2 crystals also provides a solution of using layered nanostructures as high-capacity cathodes. Several key techniques for in situ nanoelectrochemical investigations were also presented in this report.
Associations of metabolic syndrome with inflammation in CKD: results From the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III).

BACKGROUND Although metabolic syndrome is associated with inflammation in the general population, it is unknown whether similar associations exist in patients with chronic kidney disease. METHODS +7 cross-sectional associations of metabolic syndrome and its component conditions (diabetes, hypertension, hypertriglyceridemia, abdominal obesity, and low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level) with inflammation (C-reactive protein level > 3 mg/L) were examined by using logistic regression models in groups with high (>90 mL/min/1.73 m2 [>1.50 mL/s]), moderate (45 to 89 mL/min/1.73 m2 [0.75 to 1.49 mL/s]), and low (<45 mL/min/1.73 m2 [<0.75 mL/s]) creatinine clearances in 15,314 subjects participating in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. RESULTS Adjusted for demographics, smoking, history of myocardial infarction or stroke, exercise level, and use of cholesterol medications, the presence of metabolic syndrome was associated with greater odds for inflammation in the groups with high (odds ratio, 2.55; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.99 to 3.27), moderate (odds ratio, 2.17; 95% CI, 1.81 to 2.60), and low (odds ratio, 1.87; 95% CI, 1.36 to 2.56) creatinine clearances. When all 5 components of metabolic syndrome were included in the same model, only hypertension, abdominal obesity, and low high-density lipoprotein level were associated significantly with inflammation in all 3 groups. There also was a graded association between number of component conditions of metabolic syndrome and inflammation within each creatinine-clearance group. CONCLUSION Metabolic syndrome is associated with inflammation in patients with varying levels of kidney function. Future studies are warranted to determine in patients with chronic kidney disease whether there is a synergistic effect of metabolic syndrome and inflammation on the incidence of atherosclerotic events and whether interventions targeted toward metabolic syndrome might modulate inflammation.
[The value of urinary neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin for early diagnosis of contrast-induced nephropathy].

Objective: To explore the value of urinary neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) for early diagnosis of contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) in patients who underwent percutaneous coronary angiography (CAG) or percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Methods: From May 2015 to January 2016, 506 consecutive patients who underwent CAG or PCI in our hospital were enrolled in this prospective study. Patients were divided into CIN group (n=47) and non-CIN group (n=459). Clinical and interventional data were compared between the two groups. Spearman ranking correlation coefficient was used to define the relation between NGAL and CIN, and multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to identif independent predictors of CIN. Receiver-operator characteristic (ROC) curve was generated, and area under the curve (AUC) was calculated and sensitivity and specificity for CIN diagnosis were analyzed. Results: (1) Basic clinical and interventional data including age, incidence of diabetes, hypertension and chronic heart failure, level of systolic blood pressure, serum creatine before procedure, use of isotonic contrast agent, contrast volume, Mehran score, operation time, treatment number of coronary artery, hydration and medication were all similar between two groups (all P>0.05). (2) Urinary NAGL level at 24 and 48 h after procedure, serum creatinine (Scr) level at 48 h after procedure, and ΔNGAL24-0 h were significantly higher in CIN group than in non-CIN group (all P<0.01), but the differences of urinary NGAL level before procedure, Scr level 24 h after procedure, and ΔNGAL48-24 h were similar between two groups (all P>0.05). (3)The positive correlation was found by Spearman ranking correlation between ΔNGAL24-0 h and CIN (r=0.478, P<0.001). (4) Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that estimated glomerular filtration rate(OR=1.020, 95%CI 1.005-1.035, P=0.007) and ΔNGAL24-0 h (OR=1.020, 95%CI 1.014-1.027, P<0.001) were the independent predictors of CIN. (5) ROC curve showed that the AUC of NGAL with the cutoff value 4.65 was 0.899(0.854, 0.944)for diagnosis of CIN (sensitivity 93.6%, and specificity 0.944). Conclusion: The rise of urinary NGAL level at 24 and 48 hours after CAG or PCI is suggestive of CIN and could be used as a reliable parameter for the early diagnose of CIN.
Glucose metabolism and rate constants in Alzheimer's disease examined with dynamic positron emission tomography scan

ABSTRACT— Glucose metabolic rate constants in patients with Alzheimer's disease were analyzed using dynamic positron emission tomography with [18‐F] fluoro‐2‐deoxyglucose (FDG). The cerebral metabolic rate of glucose (CMRG) was calculated using obtained rate constants, as well as the autoradiographic method. The half‐life and distribution volume of FDG between the blood and the brain tissue were also calculated from obtained metabolic rate constants. The most severely affected metabolic step was the phosphorylation of glucose in the parietotemporal regions. The distribution volume of FDG showed no remarkable deviation from normal controls, while the half‐life of FDG was found to be longer in the parietal and temporal regions. The CMRG from rate constants and that from the autoradiographic method showed no remarkable differences.
When predecessor and successor accounting firms disclose inconsistent reasons for auditor changes

ABSTRACT Since 2011, China has required that both the predecessor and successor auditors of public companies disclose their reasons for auditor changes. However, we observe that for some companies there are significant discrepancies between the reasons reported by their predecessor auditors and those reported by their successor auditors. This phenomenon has attracted attention from regulators such as the Chinese Institute of Certified Public Accountants (CICPA). Therefore, we conduct an exploratory analysis of this phenomenon. First, the results show that investors consider 35% of the reasons disclosed by the predecessor and successor auditors to be inconsistent; second, if neither the predecessor nor the successor is a Big 4 audit firm, the reasons disclosed by the two firms are more likely to be inconsistent; third, as for the inconsistency between the reasons, investors respond negatively in that they are more prone to sell the stocks; and fourth and finally, the inconsistent reasons disclosed are likely to be followed by poorer financial reporting quality in the next year.
Insights on Consumer Online Purchase Decisions of Women’s Footwear

Abstract Shoes are probably one of the most difficult products to sell online due to the high need-for-touch (NFT) displayed: people need to experiment the product before buying it, more than in any other item. On another hand, women are more prone than men to buy fashion and apparel products through the web channel. This paper investigates the factors driving women consumers to shop footwear products online. A qualitative research method was used grounded on semi-structured, in-depth interviews that were conducted to corroborate the constructs defined in the proposed conceptual model namely: convenience, recreation, NFT and social e-shopping. The interviews were focused on the demand side to understand the female consumers’ perspective and on the top managers of women’s shoes companies representing the suppliers’ viewpoint. The results show that women highly appreciate the convenience that shopping shoes online provides as well as its recreational nature. The NFT also stands out in the shoe market context mainly due to the particularities related to shoe size. Additionally, social e-shopping was found not be as important for women as anticipated as they see social networks more as a communication platform for brands, and less as a factor that influences their predisposition to shop shoes online. On the suppliers’ side, the interviews revealed that managers believe in bloggers and social media influence and its consideration as part of the overall marketing strategy.
Human liver‐specific organic anion transporter‐2 is a potent prognostic factor for human breast carcinoma

Human liver‐specific organic anion transporter‐2 (LST‐2/OATP8/SLCO1B3) has been demonstrated to be expressed in various gastrointestinal carcinomas and also to play pivotal roles in the uptake of a wide variety of both endogenous and exogenous anionic compounds, including bile acids, conjugated steroids and hormones, into hepatocytes in the human liver. However, the biological significance of LST‐2 in human carcinomas remains unknown. In the present study, we examined the expression of LST‐2 in 102 cases of breast carcinoma using immunohistochemistry and correlated the findings with various clinicopathological parameters in order to examine the possible biological and clinical significance of LST‐2. LST‐2 immunoreactivity was detected in 51 cases (50.0%); of these 51 positive cases, LST‐2 immunoreactivity was inversely correlated with tumor size (P = 0.0289). In addition, LST‐2 immunoreactivity was significantly associated with a decreased risk of recurrence and improved prognosis by both univariate (P = 0.02 and P = 0.01) and multivariate (P = 0.03 and P = 0.01) analyses. In the estrogen receptor‐positive groups, the LST‐2‐positive patients showed good prognoses. Considering that LST‐2 transports estrone‐3‐sulfate, these results suggest that LST‐2 overexpression is associated with a hormone‐dependent growth mechanism of the breast cancer. The results of our present study demonstrate that LST‐2 immunoreactivity is a potent prognostic factor in human breast cancer. (Cancer Sci 2007; 98: 1570–1576)