Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
In Vitro Effect of Sulfamethoxazole-Trimethoprim against Histoplasma capsulatum var. capsulatum

ABSTRACT This study evaluated the in vitro effect of sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim against Histoplasma capsulatum var. capsulatum isolated from HIV-positive patients. The drugs were tested by microdilution testing in accordance with the CLSI guidelines. All of the strains were inhibited by sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim, with MIC ranges of 0.039 (sulfamethoxazole)/0.0078 (trimethoprim) mg/ml to 0.625/0.125 mg/ml for mycelial forms and 0.0025/0.0005 to 0.02/0.004 mg/ml for yeast-like forms. However, in vivo studies are necessary to evaluate the significance of these results.
Medication Regimen Complexity and Unplanned Hospital Readmissions in Older People

Background: Medication-related problems and adverse drug events are leading causes of preventable hospitalizations. Few previous studies have investigated the possible association between medication regimen complexity and unplanned rehospitalization. Objective: To investigate the association between discharge medication regimen complexity and unplanned rehospitalization over a 12-month period. Method: The prospective study comprised patients aged ≥70 years old consecutively admitted to a Geriatrics Evaluation and Management (GEM) unit between October 2010 and December 2011. Medication regimen complexity at discharge was calculated using the 65-item validated Medication Regimen Complexity Index (MRCI). Cox proportional-hazards regression was used to compute unadjusted and adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% CIs for factors associated with rehospitalization over a 12-month follow-up period. Result: Of 163 eligible patients, 99 patients had one or more unplanned hospital readmissions. When adjusting for age, sex, activities of daily living, depression, comorbidity, cognitive status, and discharge destination, MRCI (HR = 1.01; 95% CI = 0.81-1.26), number of discharge medications (HR = 1.01; 95% CI = 0.94-1.08), and polypharmacy (≥9 medications; HR = 1.12; 95% CI = 0.69-1.80) were not associated with rehospitalization. In patients discharged to nonhome settings, there was an association between rehospitalization and the number of discharge medications (HR = 1.12; 95% CI = 1.01-1.25) and polypharmacy (HR = 2.24; 95% CI = 1.02-4.94) but not between rehospitalization and MRCI (HR = 1.32; 95% CI = 0.98-1.78). Conclusion: Medication regimen complexity was not associated with unplanned hospital readmission in older people. However, in patients discharged to nonhome settings, the number of discharge medications and polypharmacy predicted rehospitalization. A patient’s discharge destination is an important factor in unplanned medication-related readmissions.
Tooth wear prevention: a quantitative and qualitative in vitro study.

BACKGROUND Management of tooth wear from grinding presents a significant clinical challenge. Acrylic nightguards are often used to protect the teeth, but many patients still grind with these appliances. This study aimed to test the effectiveness of three lubricants in reducing enamel wear by using an electro-mechanical machine under controlled conditions, with a view to undertaking a subsequent longitudinal clinical study. METHODS Sectioned tooth specimens were worn against each other under different loads and with the addition of three different lubricants: calcium fluoride (CaF) powder, olive-oil, and a combination of calcium fluoride with olive-oil in the form of a slurry. Wear rates of enamel only were quantified by weighing the specimens, and resin replicas of the worn tooth surfaces were made for examination under a scanning electron microscope. RESULTS All three lubricants reduced the amount of enamel wear significantly compared with wearing specimens without adding lubricants. Wear rate was influenced by the type of lubricant and the load applied. Wear rates were significantly less for olive-oil and the olive-oil/CaF slurry compared with CaF alone. The microwear detail differed between the three lubricants. CONCLUSIONS This study has shown that enamel wear can be reduced using dry or wet lubricants between opposing teeth that are worn under controlled conditions. Further research is required to clarify their possible clinical applications.
Classification de formes avec un noyau sur graphes flexible et robuste au bruit

La squelettisation par axe median etant une transformation homotopique, le squelette d'une forme 2D correspond a un graphe planaire dont les faces codent les trous et les sommets chaque jonction et extremite. Ce graphe n'est pas un graphe simple, car compose de boucles internes et d'aretes multiples a cause des trous. Dans le cadre de la comparaison de formes, celui-ci est souvent transforme en une structure plus simple comme un arbre ou un graphe simple, perdant de ce fait des informations importantes sur la forme. Dans ce papier, nous proposons un noyau sur graphes combinant un noyau sur sacs de chemins et un noyau sur faces. Les chemins sont definis a partir du graphe non simple et le noyau sur chemins est renforce par un processus d'edition. Le noyau sur faces reflete l'importance des trous dans une forme, cette information pouvant etre une caracteristique importante de la forme. Le noyau resultant est un noyau defini positif, competitif avec les noyaux proposes dans l'etat de l'art.
Recent advances in the integrated circuit design of RFID transponder

This paper describes recent advances in the design of RFID transponder. Nine architectures of RFID transponder IC are reviewed and compared. We also performed analysis of the circuit design techniques used for all building blocks on selected architectures, focusing on the advanced optimization techniques employed. Apart from that, future improvements for the transponder chip and other future trends in transponder design are also reviewed.
Functionality or transcriptional noise? Evidence for selection within long noncoding RNAs.

Long transcripts that do not encode protein have only rarely been the subject of experimental scrutiny. Presumably, this is owing to the current lack of evidence of their functionality, thereby leaving an impression that, instead, they represent "transcriptional noise. " Here, we describe an analysis of 3122 long and full-length, noncoding RNAs ("macroRNAs") from the mouse, and compare their sequences and their promoters with orthologous sequence from human and from rat. We considered three independent signatures of purifying selection related to substitutions, sequence insertions and deletions, and splicing. We find that the evolution of the set of noncoding RNAs is not consistent with neutralist explanations. Rather, our results indicate that purifying selection has acted on the macroRNAs' promoters, primary sequence, and consensus splice site motifs. Promoters have experienced the greatest elimination of nucleotide substitutions, insertions, and deletions. The proportion of conserved sequence (4.1%-5.5%) in these macroRNAs is comparable to the density of exons within protein-coding transcripts (5.2%). These macroRNAs, taken together, thus possess the imprint of purifying selection, thereby indicating their functionality. Our findings should now provide an incentive for the experimental investigation of these macroRNAs' functions.
Aflatoxin M 1 contamination in commercial samples of milk and dairy products in Kuwait

As part of the programme on monitoring of environmental contaminants in food stuffs in Kuwait, 54 samples of fresh full cream and skimmed milk, powdered milk, yoghurt, and infant formula were analysed for aflatoxin M1 (AFM 1) by HPLC following sample clean up using immuno-affinity columns. Of samples, 28% were contaminated with AFM 1 with 6% being above the maximum permissible limit of 0.2 μg l -1. Three fresh cow milk samples collected from a private local producer showed the highest level of 0.21 μg l -1 AFM1. There was no contamination with AFM 1 in powdered milk and infant formulas. These results show the necessity of a survey involving a larger number of milk and its products and suggest that presently the contamination of milk and milk products with AFM 1 does not appear to be a serious health problem in Kuwait. Nevertheless, a continuous surveillance programme may be warranted to monitor regularly the occurrence of aflatoxins in the animal feeds responsible for current limited contamination and to note rapidly any worsening in the situation that may depend on market changes or on unfavourable climatic developments.
Application of Control Theory in Modelling Cancer Chemotherapy

Phase specific models for cancer chemotherapy are described as optimal control problems. We review earlier results on scheduling optimal therapies when the controls represent the effectiveness of chemotherapeutic agents, or, equivalently, when the simplifying assumption is made that drugs act instantaneously. In this paper we discuss how to incorporate more realistic medical aspects which hitherto have been neglected in the models. They include pharmacokinetic equations (PK) which model the drug's plasma concentration and various pharmacodynamic models (PD) which describe the effect the concentrations have on cells. We also briefly discuss the important medical issue of drug resistance. resistance
ACUTE KIDNEY INJURY IN PAEDIATRIC BONE MARROW PATIENTS

Abstract Bone marrow transplantation (BMT) is a life-saving intervention that has changed the prognosis of a wide range of haemato-oncologic, immunological and metabolic diseases over the last decades. The incidence of both autologous and allogenic BMT exponentially increased in both the adult and paediatric populations since the 1980s. One of the most frequent complications of BMT is renal failure, with 5% to 15% of all BMT developing acute kidney injury (AKI) and 5% to 20% of the survivors developing chronic renal failure (CRF) (1). From those patients, about 50% will require renal replacement therapy (RRT) (2). Risk factors for BMT-associated AKI are numerous and the pathogenesis is usually complex. Primary diagnosis, drug toxicity, total body irradiation, preexisting kidney dysfunction, veno-occlusive disease,sepsis, relative dehydration, non HLA-identical-related or matched-unrelated donors are risk factors for AKI after BMT. As AKI has been recognized to be predictive of long-term kidney dysfunction (3) , prompt recognition and control of the risk factors are crucial to avoid increased morbidity and mortality due to CRF. With the improvement of BMT techniques, a better recognition of risk factors and aggressive management, there appears to be a steady decline with time in the occurrence of both AKI and CRF (3).
Estimation efficace des caractéristiques de robots parallèles: Extremums des raideurs et des coordonnées, vitesses, forces articulaires et singularités dans un espace de travail en translation

Lors de la conception d'un robot parallele il est necessaire d'evaluer certaines de ses caracteristiques afin de verifier qu'elles sont conformes au cahier des charges. Pour certaines d'entre elles cette evaluation doit se faire sur tout l'espace de travail du robot car la valeur de la caracteristique est dependante de la position et de l'orientation de l'organe terminal. La methode habituelle consiste a discretiser l'espace de travail afin d'etablir approximativement soit les extremums de la caracteristique soit l'existence d'une condition particuliere sur celle-ci. L'espace de travail etant en general de dimension 6, cette methode se releve lourde en temps de calcul. Nous presentons ici des algorithmes permettant d'evaluer efficacement certaines de ces caracteristiques pour tout type d'espace de travail en translation, reduisant ici la necessite de la discretisation a l'espace de travail en orientation. On etablit ainsi les valeurs extremales: \begin{itemize} \item des coordonnees articulaires. \item des vitesses articulaires necessaires a la realisation d'un couple vitesse angulaire et de translation de l'organe terminal \item des raideurs \item des forces articulaires resultant de l'application d'une charge sur la plate-forme mobile \end{itemize} On montrera aussi que l'on peut determiner la presence de singularites dans l'espace de travail ainsi que leur localisation.
Aspects of gene polymorphisms in cardiovascular disease: the renin‐angiotensin system

The renin‐angiotensin system (RAS) plays a central role in cardiovascular homeostasis. Angiotensin is the key peptide of the RAS, and exerts its influence on the heart and blood vessels both through its haemodynamic effects (via its influence on after‐load and pre‐load and determining coronary vasoconstriction) and through its direct cellular effects (via its actions on cell proliferation). Numerous studies in the past 10 years have demonstrated that the pharmacological inhibition of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE), one of the two critical enzymes of the RAS, improves the outcome in patients with several cardiovascular disorders (hypertension, heart failure, ischaemic heart disease). These studies suggest a role of the RAS as a major determinant of cardiovascular risk. Recent data suggest that genetics may in turn contribute to modulating the effects of angiotensin on coronary vascular biology and ischaemia. This paper reviews the physiologic characteristics of the RAS and recent research developments related to angiotensin cell biology and pathobiology in heart disease. In particular, this review will cover the genetic aspects of RAS and their implications in cardiovascular disease.
From here to there; a life based on migration. An interview with Isaiah J. Fidler.

As part of the technological advances of our age, it proved possible to conduct this interview across “the ether” using the medium of email. Not the most satisfactory medium for me and not just because I failed to add to my air miles by foregoing a trip to Houston. It was disappointing for me because, as a former pupil of Josh’s, I was well aware of the warm and generous hospitality I could have expected from him and his wife Margaret had I visited their home. However of greater import for the flavour of this review is the fact that by not going to Houston I am forced back on fairly distant memories that could have done with being refreshed. Josh is one of the great teachers in modern tumour biology and his teaching skills are indivisible from his personality (his larger-than-life personality). Just as people say you have to see great rock bands, like the Rolling Stones, on stage in order to appreciate how good they are, so you need to have seen Josh Fidler lecturing in the flesh in order to really appreciate what an impact he has had on the field of metastasis research. To have “bathed” in that charisma again after a long absence from personal interaction would have helped gel some of the points I would like to get across in this interview. Hopefully though I still will be able to convey the excitement of working under Josh’s direction in the late 70’s and early 80’s; it was a time when Josh made a number of seminal observations and drove the field forward almost by his sheer will-power. Before we leave the analogy drawn to rock musicians though, let me encourage any reader that, should Fidler be playing at a venue near you
Initial Reactions in the Biodegradation of 1-Chloro-4-Nitrobenzene by a Newly Isolated Bacterium, Strain LW1

ABSTRACT Bacterial strain LW1, which belongs to the familyComamonadaceae, utilizes 1-chloro-4-nitrobenzene (1C4NB) as a sole source of carbon, nitrogen, and energy. Suspensions of 1C4NB-grown cells removed 1C4NB from culture fluids, and there was a concomitant release of ammonia and chloride. Under anaerobic conditions LW1 transformed 1C4NB into a product which was identified as 2-amino-5-chlorophenol by 1H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. This transformation indicated that there was partial reduction of the nitro group to the hydroxylamino substituent, followed by Bamberger rearrangement. In the presence of oxygen but in the absence of NAD, fast transformation of 2-amino-5-chlorophenol into a transiently stable yellow product was observed with resting cells and cell extracts. This compound exhibited an absorption maximum at 395 nm and was further converted to a dead-end product with maxima at 226 and 272 nm. The compound formed was subsequently identified by 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry as 5-chloropicolinic acid. In contrast, when NAD was added in the presence of oxygen, only minor amounts of 5-chloropicolinic acid were formed, and a new product, which exhibited an absorption maximum at 306 nm, accumulated.
Antagonism of platelet‐derived growth factor by perivascular gene transfer attenuates adventitial cell migration after vascular injury: new tricks for old dogs?

Migration of adventitial fibroblasts contributes to vascular remodeling after angioplasty. This study has used perivascular gene transfer of a truncated platelet‐derived growth factor PDGF receptor (PDG‐FXR) to investigate whether antagonism of PDGF signaling alters adventitial cell migration after balloon injury in rat carotid arteries. Adenoviruses coordinating expression of β‐galactosidase (LacZ) and PDGFXR or LacZ and green fluorescent protein (GFP) were applied to the perivascular surface of arteries and balloon injury performed 4 days later. Vessels were excised at 3, 7, and 14 days to determine morphology and gene expression. Uninjured arteries only expressed LacZ positive cells in the adventitial compartment; however, after injury in LacZ and GFP transfected arteries, LacZ positive cells contributed to the population of cells within the media and neointima at 7–14 days. Overexpression of PDGFXR and LacZ resulted in a significant reduction in the number of LacZ labeled cells in the neointima after vascular injury, concomitant with reduced remodeling, collagen content, expression of matrix metalloproteinase‐2, and increased levels of tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinase‐1 and ‐2. We provide evidence that perivascular antagonism of PDGF attenuates remodeling and contribution of adventitial fibroblasts to neointima formation after balloon angioplasty. Perivascular gene transfer may represent a therapeutic strategy to reduce the incidence of restenosis. —Mallawaarachchi, C. M. , Weissberg, P. L. , and Siow, R. C. M. Antagonism of platelet‐derived growth factor by perivascular gene transfer attenuates adventitial cell migration after vascular injury: New tricks for old dogs? FASEB J. 20, E942–E949 (2006)
Giardia lamblia RNA Cap Guanine-N2 Methyltransferase (Tgs2)*

Tgs1 is the enzyme responsible for converting 7-methylguanosine RNA caps to the 2,2,7-trimethylguanosine cap structures of small nuclear and small nucleolar RNAs. Whereas budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe encode a single Tgs1 protein, the primitive eukaryote Giardia lamblia encodes two paralogs, Tgs1 and Tgs2. Here we show that purified Tgs2 is a monomeric enzyme that catalyzes methyl transfer from AdoMet (Km of 6 μm) to m7GDP (Km of 65 μm; kcat of 14 min–1) to form m2,7GDP. Tgs2 also methylates m7GTP (Km of 30 μm; kcat of 13 min–1) and m7GpppA (Km of 7 μm; kcat) of 14 min–1 but is unreactive with GDP, GTP, GpppA, ATP, CTP, or UTP. We find that the conserved residues Asp-68, Glu-91, and Trp-143 are essential for Tgs2 methyltransferase activity in vitro. The m2,7GDP product formed by Tgs2 can be converted to m2,2,7GDP by S. pombe Tgs1 in the presence of excess AdoMet. However, Giardia Tgs2 itself is apparently unable to add a second methyl group at guanine-N2. This result implies that 2,2,7-trimethylguanosine caps in Giardia are either synthesized by Tgs1 alone or by the sequential action of Tgs2 and Tgs1. The specificity of Tgs2 raises the prospect that some Giardia mRNAs might contain dimethylguanosine caps.
Epigenomic Views of Innate Lymphoid Cells

The discovery of innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) with selective production of cytokines typically attributed to subsets of T helper cells forces immunologists to reassess the mechanisms by which selective effector functions arise. The parallelism between ILCs and T cells extends beyond these two cell types and comprises other innate-like T lymphocytes. Beyond the recognition of specialized effector functionalities in diverse lymphocytes, features typical of T cells, such as plasticity and memory, are also relevant for innate lymphocytes. Herein, we review what we have learned in terms of the molecular mechanisms underlying these shared functions, focusing on insights provided by next generation sequencing technologies. We review data on the role of lineage-defining- and signal-dependent transcription factors (TFs). ILC regulomes emerge developmentally whereas the much of the open chromatin regions of T cells are generated acutely, in an activation-dependent manner. And yet, these regions of open chromatin in T cells and ILCs have remarkable overlaps, suggesting that though accessibility is acquired by distinct modes, the end result is that convergent signaling pathways may be involved. Although much is left to be learned, substantial progress has been made in understanding how TFs and epigenomic status contribute to ILC biology in terms of differentiation, specification, and plasticity.
Critical Comparison of Multi-objective Optimization Methods: Genetic Algorithms versus Swarm Intelligence

The paper deals with efficiency comparison of two global evolutionary optimization methods implemented in MATLAB. Attention is turned to an elitist Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm (NSGA-II) and a novel multi-objective Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO). The performance of optimizers is compared on three different test functions and on a cavity resonator synthesis. The microwave resonator is modeled using the Finite Element Method (FEM). The hit rate and the quality of the Pareto front distribution are classified.
Cichorin A: a new benzo-isochromene from Cichorium intybus

One new benzo-isochromene, named cichorin A (1), together with three known compounds oleanolic acid, β-sitosterol, and β-sitosterol glucopyranoside, was isolated from Cichorium intybus. The structure of the new compound was elucidated by detailed spectroscopic analysis such as 1H, 13C NMR, COSY, HMQC, HMBC, and HR-EI-MS. Relative configuration of asymmetric centers of cichorin A (1) was determined by the analysis of the 1H NMR coupling constants together with the NOESY experiment.
PARALLEL COMPUTATION OF TWO-DIMENSIONAL LINEARIZED EULER EQUATIONS

Perform numerical analysis of sound generation and propagation with accuracy and with lower computational time are some of the main challenges for Computational Aeroacoustics (CAA), which had experienced some major improvements in the last decade. In the present work it was performed numerical study of two-dimensional propagation of waves by solving LEE equations applied to a Gaussian pulse in pressure and density in an undisturbed mean flow with different Mach numbers. A 4-order 4-steps Runge-Kutta scheme was adopted for time integration. The spatial derivatives were calculated by a 4-order DRP and a 6-order compact finite difference schemes. Additionally, the problem was parallelized adopting MPI using 1-D and 2-D domain decompositions. A speed-up and efficiency analysis showed that the computation time is reduced using this technique, being more effective for the compact finite difference scheme. However, there was a decrease in efficiency probably due time spent in communication and synchronization.