Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Phenotypic and Molecular Detection of Biofilm Formation in Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus Isolated from Different Clinical Sources in Erbil City

Background Staphylococcus aureus is an important causative pathogen. The production of biofilms is an important factor and makes these bacteria resistant to antimicrobial therapy. Objectives the current study aimed to assess the prevalence of resistance to antibacterial agents and to evaluate the phenotypic and genotypic characterization of biofilm formation among S. aureus strains. Methods This study included 50 isolates of Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) and Methicillin-Susceptible S. aureus (MSSA). S. aureus was identified by molecular and conventional methods, and antimicrobial resistance was tested with a disc diffusion method. The biofilm formation was performed through the Microtiter plate method. Strains were subjected to PCR to determine the presence of nuc, mecA, icaA, icaB, icaC, and icaD genes. Results Of the 50 S. aureus isolates, 32(64%) and 18(36%) were MRSA and MSSA, respectively. A large number of MRSA and MSSA isolates showed resistance to Penicillin and Azithromycin, and a lower number of MRSA and MSSA isolates showed resistance to Amikacin Gentamicin. None of the isolates was resistant to Vancomycin. The MRSA strains had significantly higher resistance against antibiotics than MSSA strains (P = 0.0154). All isolates (MRSA and MSSA) were able to produce biofilm with levels ranging from strong (31.25 %), (16.6%) to moderate (53.12%), (50%) to weak (15.6%), (33.3%) respectively. The MRSA strains had a significantly higher biofilm formation ability than the MSSA strains (P = 0.0079). The biofilm-encoding genes were detected among isolates with different frequencies. The majority of S. aureus isolates, 42 (84%), were positive for the icaA. The prevalence rates of the icaB, icaC and icaD genes were found to be 37 (74%), 40 (80%) and 41 (82%), respectively. Conclusions The prevalence of biofilm encoding genes associated with multidrug resistance in S. aureus strains is high. Therefore, identifying epidemiology, molecular characteristics, and biofilm management of S. aureus infection would be helpful.
Adoption of minimally invasive mitral valve surgery in the National Health Service: a blend of science, psychology and human factors

a Edgcumbe Consulting, Bristol, UK b Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, Sheffield, UK c Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, St Mary’s Hospital, London, UK d Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Essex Heart Centre, Basildon, UK e Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Kings College Hospital, London, UK f Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals, London, UK g Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Liverpool Heart and Chest hospital, Liverpool, UK h Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Royal Sussex County Hospital, Brighton, UK i Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Bristol Royal Infirmary, Bristol, UK j Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Royal Papworth Hospital, Cambridge, UK k Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Lancashire Cardiac Centre, Blackpool, UK
Investigation of associations between apolipoprotein A5 and C3 gene polymorphisms with plasma triglyceride and lipid levels

SUMMARY OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine frequency and associations between APOA5 c.56C>G, −1131T>C, c.553G>T, and APOC3 −482C>T and SstI gene polymorphisms with hypertriglyceridemia. METHODS: Under a case-control study model, 135 hypertriglyceridemic and 178 normotriglyceridemic control participants were recruited. Polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism methods were utilized for genotyping. Statistical calculations were performed by comparing allele and genotype frequencies between groups. Clinical characteristics were compared between groups and intra-group genotypes. RESULTS: APOC3 gene −482C>T and SstI polymorphic genotypes and allele frequencies were significantly higher in hypertriglyceridemic group (genotype frequencies, p=0.035, p=0.028, respectively). Regression analysis under unadjusted model confirmed that APOC3 −482C>T and SstI polymorphisms were significantly contributing to have hypertriglyceridemia (p=0.02, odds ratio [OR]=1.831 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.095–3.060); p=0.04, OR=1.812 (1.031–3.183), respectively). APOA5 c.56C>G was in complete linkage disequilibrium with APOA5 c.553G>T polymorphism (D’=1). CONCLUSION: For the first time in a population sample from Turkey, among the five polymorphisms of APOA5 and APOC3 genes investigated, APOC3 −482C>T and SstI polymorphisms were associated with elevated serum TG levels, while APOA5 c.56C>G, −1131T>C, and c.553G>T polymorphisms were not.
REPRODUCIBLE AND CLINICALLY TRANSLATABLE DEEP NEURAL NETWORKS FOR CANCER SCREENING

Cervical cancer is a leading cause of cancer mortality, with approximately 90% of the 250,000 deaths per year occurring in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). Secondary prevention with cervical screening involves detecting and treating precursor lesions; however, scaling screening efforts in LMIC has been hampered by infrastructure and cost constraints. Recent work has supported the development of an artificial intelligence (AI) pipeline on digital images of the cervix to achieve an accurate and reliable diagnosis of treatable precancerous lesions. In particular, WHO guidelines emphasize visual triage of women testing positive for human papillomavirus (HPV) as the primary screen, and AI could assist in this triage task. Published AI reports have exhibited overfitting, lack of portability, and unrealistic, near-perfect performance estimates. To surmount recognized issues, we implemented a comprehensive deep-learning model selection and optimization study on a large, collated, multi-institutional dataset of 9,462 women (17,013 images). We evaluated relative portability, repeatability, and classification performance. The top performing model, when combined with HPV type, achieved an area under the Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) curve (AUC) of 0.89 within our study population of interest, and a limited total extreme misclassification rate of 3.4%, on held-aside test sets. Our work is among the first efforts at designing a robust, repeatable, accurate and clinically translatable deep-learning model for cervical screening.
Epidemiological Features and the Incidence Trend of Brain Cancers in Iran (2004–2008)

Background: The objective of this research is to consider the incidence of brain cancers in Iran during the years 2004–2008 to improve reporting, distribution of the disease. Methods: In this cross-section study, the study population was all brain cancer cases diagnosed in Iran between 2004 and 2008. Age-standardized rate (ASR) per 100,000 persons and crude rate were calculated using direct standardization. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS version 16) and Microsoft Office Excel 2010. Results: During the period 2004–2008, the ASR and crude rate of brain cancers among males were 2.37, 2.46, 2.77, 2.84, 4.16 and 2.13, 2.11, 2.40, 2.49, 3.61, respectively, and among females the ASR and crude rates were (1.64, 1.67, 2.04, 2.17, 3.09) and (1.45, 1.45, 1.76, 1.84, 2.62), respectively. Conclusions: According to the study results, a significant increase in the incidence of brain cancer was observed over a 4-year period in Iran. Hence, screening and early detection programs for this type of cancer are highly recommended.
Proceedings of the Fifth Mediterranean Morphology Meeting

This paper investigates the structure of pronominal participles in Turkish and their implications for the Lexical Integrity Hypothesis (Anderson 1992, Bresnan and Mchombo 1995, Mohanan 1995). I will argue that the expression of grammatical functions in participles is constrained by the formal properties of word structure. This claim is based on the observation that in Turkish the participles of headless relative clauses (pronominal participles) have a fixed size. Grammatical relations are then expressed within the space made available by conditions on word structure. Some interesting aspects of word structure emerge from this. One of these is that although morphological conditions determine the formal properties of words, the interpretation of word internal elements shows partial sensitivity to combinatorial ordering restrictions. The data thus support the weaker version of the Lexical Integrity Hypothesis as discussed by Booij (2005) where syntactic mechanisms have access to word internal elements but cannot manipulate them. Secondly, pronominal participles embody a form-function mismatch whereby the relevant suffixes that occur on pronominal participles belong to the nominal inflectional paradigm, yet they are associated with syntactic functions typical of the verbal paradigm. Finally, these participles allow the marking of non-subject arguments on a form, a phenomenon which is otherwise unattested in Turkish.
Experimental Study on Direct Displacement-Based Seismic Design of RC Columns

For performance-based seismic engineering of buildings, the direct displacement-based seismic design method is different from the coefficient method used in FEMA-273 and the capacity spectrum method adopted in ATC-40. The method not only is a linear static procedure but also is applied to the design of new constructions. This paper concerns with experimental studies on the accuracy of the direct displacement-based design procedure. Experimental results of three reinforced concrete (RC) columns designed by the displacement procedure are presented and discussed through pseudo-dynamic tests and cyclic loading tests. From the tests, it is shown that the stiffness degrading factor of RC columns plays a key role. The direct displacement-based seismic design method can reliably capture the maximum displacement demand of the test RC columns if the stiffness degrading factor adopted in the displacement design method for RC material is adequate.
Existence of control Lyapunov functions and application to state feedback stabilizabilty of nonlinear systems

The asymptotic and practical stabilization for the affine in the control nonlinear systems, which extends the results of Artstein, Sontag, and Tsinias is explored. Sufficient conditions for the existence of control Lyapunov functions are presented guaranteeing stabilization. The corresponding feedback laws are smooth, except possibly at the equilibrium of the system.
Exosomal miR‐21‐5p derived from multiple myeloma cells promote renal epithelial–mesenchymal transition through targeting TGF‐β/SMAD7 signalling pathway

The prognosis of multiple myeloma (MM) patients combined with renal insufficiency is poor. Renal fibrosis is an important pathological cause for MM patients combined with renal insufficiency. It is reported that epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) of renal proximal tubular epithelial cells is an important mechanism in renal fibrosis. We speculated that EMT might play an important role in the renal insufficiency of MM with unclear mechanism. MM cells derived exosomes could affect the function of targeted cells by delivering microRNAs (miRNAs). Literature has shown that the expression of miR‐21 is closely related to EMT. In this research, we found that co‐culture of HK‐2 cells (human renal proximal tubular epithelial cells) and exosomes derived from MM cells promoted the EMT of HK‐2 cells, resulting in the down‐regulation of epithelial‐related marker (E‐cadherin), and up‐regulation of stroma‐related marker (Vimentin). Meanwhile, the expression of SMAD7, one of the downstream targets in the TGF‐β signalling pathway, was suppressed and the expression of TGF‐β was increased. After transfecting the inhibitor of miR‐21 in MM cells, the expression of miR‐21 in exosomes secreted by MM cells was significantly decreased, and the co‐culture of these treated exosomes and HK‐2 cells inhibited the EMT of HK‐2 cells. In conclusion, these findings showed that exosomal miR‐21 derived from MM cells could promote renal EMT through targeting TGF‐β/SMAD7 signalling pathway.
An analysis of coordinate compounding

This paper deals with the analysis of coordinate compound expressions into the phrases that are compounded and the elements that join them together. We call these, respectively, members and connectives. Coordinate compounds are understood as conjunctions or as disjunctions, depending on the connective that links its members. We begin by considering unmixed coordinate compounds, in which disjunctions do not appear as members of conjunctions and conjunctions do not appear as members of disjunctions. Two major classes of unmixed coordinate compounds are distinguished, depending on whether connectives appear in them. Following traditional grammar, coordinate compounds with one or more connectives joining its members are called syndetons; the others are called asyndetons. Asyndetons, unlike syndetons, cannot have coordinate compounds as members. We account for this property by proposing that asyndetons are not constituents of the phrases that contain them. On the other hand, since syndetons can have syndetons as members, their degreee of ambiguity grows exponentially with the number of noncompound members (called ultimate members) in them. We develop several principles which account for why this potential for ambiguity is not generally a problem in language use. We also analyze the use of punctuation in the written expression of unmixed coordinate compounds. The last part of this paper is concerned with mixed coordinate compounds, in which a conjunction has a disjunction as a member, or vice versa. We examine the roles of syntax and punctuation in disambiguating these inherently ambiguous expressions, and analyze the semantic and pragmatic factors that play a major role in the disambiguation process.
Theories and proof systems for PSPACE and the EXP-time hierarchy

This dissertation concerns theories of bounded arithmetic and propositional proof systems associated with PSPACE and classes from the exponential-time hierarchy. The second-order viewpoint of Zambella and Cook associates second-order theories of bounded arithmetic with various complexity classes by studying the definable functions of strings, rather than numbers. This approach simplifies presentation of the theories and their propositional translations, and furthermore is applicable to complexity classes that previously had no corresponding theories. We adapt this viewpoint to large complexity classes from the exponential-time hierarchy by adding a third sort, intended to represent exponentially long strings ("superstrings"), and capable of coding, for example, the computation of an exponential-time Turing machine. Specifically, our main theories Wi1 and TWi1 are associated with PSPACESpi -1 and EXPSpi-1 , respectively. We also develop a model for computation in this third-order setting including a function calculus, and define third-order analogues of ordinary complexity classes. We then obtain recursion-theoretic characterizations of our function classes for FP, FPSPACE and FEXP. We use our characterization of FPSPACE as the basis for an open theory for PSPACE that is a conservative extension of a weak PSPACE theory HW01 . Next we present strong propositional proof systems QBPi , which are based on the Boolean program proof system BPLK but additionally with quantifiers on function symbols. We exhibit a translation of theorems of Wi1 into polynomial-sized proofs in QBPi.
A glomerulus chip with spherically twisted cell-laden hollow fibers as glomerular capillary tufts

Glomerulus-on-a-chip, as a promising alternative for drug nephrotoxicity evaluation, is attracting increasing attention. For glomerulus-on-a-chip, the more biomimetic the chip is, the more convincing the application of the chip is. In this study, we proposed a hollow fiber-based biomimetic glomerulus chip that can regulate filtration in response to blood pressure and hormone levels. On the chip developed here, bundles of hollow fibers were spherically twisted and embedded in designed Bowman’s capsules to form spherical glomerular capillary tufts, with podocytes and endotheliocytes cultured on the outer and inner surfaces of the hollow fibers, respectively. We evaluated the morphology of cells, the viability of cells, and the metabolic function of cells in terms of glucose consumption and urea synthesis by comparing the results obtained under fluidic and static conditions, confirmed the barrier function of the endotheliocyte-fiber membrane-podocyte structure by monitoring the diffusion of fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-labeled inulin, albumin and IgG, and, for the first time, achieved on-chip filtration regulation in response to the hormone atrial natriuretic peptide. In addition, the application of the chip in the evaluation of drug nephrotoxicity was also preliminarily demonstrated. This work offers insights into the design of a more physiologically similar glomerulus on a microfluidic chip.
Clinical practice guidelines for intrapartum cardiotocography interpretation: A systematic review

Clinical practice guidelines on intrapartum cardiotocography (CTG) interpretation provide structured tools to detect fetal hypoxia. Despite frequent use of different guidelines, little is known about their comparable consistency. We sought to appraise guidelines relevant to intrapartum CTG interpretation and summarise consensus and non‐consensus recommendations.
The Influence of Higher-Order Mode Shapes for Reduced-Order Models of Electrostatically Actuated Microbeams

Reduced-order models for micro-electromechanical structures possess several attractive features when compared with computational approaches using, e.g., finite-element packages. However, also within the business of reduced-order modeling, there are different approaches that yield different results. The efficiency of such approaches has to be judged according to, first, the purposes and aims of the model and, second, according to computational expenses and modeling efforts. This paper deals specifically with the frequently asked question of how many modes have to be considered in the discretization procedure to ensure an efficient reduced-order model. A consistent nonlinear continuum model is employed to describe a doubly clamped microbeam subject to two cases of electromechanical actuation. The analysis, confined to the static behavior, concentrates on two discretization techniques and addresses the differences between the final reduced-order models, accordingly. The results show significant differences with respect to the number of implemented linear-undamped mode shape functions, which are used as basis functions in the approximation procedure. This is demonstrated for the two mentioned distinct excitation schemes of the doubly clamped microbeam. The purposes of this paper are twofold. First, it draws attention to the differences between reduced-order models, which have been discretized one way or the other according to investigation goals and purposes. Second, it serves as a guideline for future micro- and nano-electromechanical system modeling by elaborating the advantages and disadvantages of both techniques.
The reliability and validity of the revised Green et al. paranoid thoughts scale in individuals at clinical high‐risk for psychosis

Paranoia is a common and impairing psychosis symptom, which exists along a severity continuum that extends into the general population. Individuals at clinical high‐risk for psychosis (CHR) frequently experience paranoia and this may elevate their risk for developing full psychosis. Nonetheless, limited work has examined the efficient measurement of paranoia in CHR individuals. The present study aimed to validate an often‐used self‐report measure, the revised green paranoid thoughts scale (RGPTS), in this critical population.
Clinical Significance of Plasma Soluble MICB in Children With EBV-associated Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis

Background: Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is a potentially fatal systemic inflammation disease in children. The most common cause is Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection. MHC class I polypeptide-related sequence B (MICB) is a membrane protein inducibly expressed upon cellular stress, viral infection, or malignant transformation, thus marking these cells for clearance through natural killer group 2 member D-positive lymphocytes. MICB can be released into plasma through several mechanisms, reducing NK cell cytotoxicity. Methods: We conducted clinical research on HLH patients and cell research in vitro. In the retrospective clinical part, 112 HLH patients (including EBV-HLH group and non-EBV-HLH group), 7 infectious mononucleosis patients, and 7 chronic active EBV infection patients were treated in Beijing Children’s Hospital, affiliated with Capital Medical University, from January 2014 to December 2020, were enrolled in this study. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction, standard enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay methods, and lactate dehydrogenase release tests were used to examine the expression of MICB mRNA, the soluble MICB (sMICB) levels, and the activity of NK cells in those patients. In vitro research, MICB overexpression-vector virus, MICB knockdown-vector virus, and empty-vector virus were transfected into two kinds of target cells, such as K562 and MCF7. The level of sMICB and NK cell killing activity between other groups was compared. Finally, we compared NK92 cell killing activity in different concentrations of sMICB. Results: In clinical studies, compared with the non-EBV-HLH group, the EBV-HLH group had lower NK cell killing activity (P < 0.05). The level of sMICB in the EBV-HLH group was significantly higher than in non-EBV-HLH, infectious mononucleosis, and chronic active EBV infection patients (P＜0.05). A high level of sMICB was associated with poor treatment response and poor prognosis (P＜0. 05). Cellular studies showed that an increased level of membrane MICB could positively correlate with the killing activity of NK92 cells (P＜0. 05), and a high level of sMICB (1250 to 5000pg/ml) could reduce the killing activity of NK92 cells (P < 0.05). A high level of sMICB (2500pg/ml) could increase the release of cytokines from NK92 cells. Conclusion: The expression level of sMICB in EBV-HLH patients increased, and a high level of sMICB at the initial onset indicated a poor treatment response. The killing activity of NK cells in EBV-HLH patients decreased more significantly. The high level of sMICB may inhibit the killing activity but increase the release of cytokines of NK92 cells.
Engage coaching for caregivers: a pilot trial to reduce loneliness in dementia caregivers

Abstract Objectives There are no evidence-based interventions for reducing loneliness in family caregivers of people with dementia (ADRD caregivers), despite heightened risk. We examined feasibility, acceptability, and potential efficacy of a brief behavioral intervention, Engage Coaching for Caregivers, to reduce loneliness and increase social connection for older ADRD caregivers experiencing stress and loneliness. Methods A single-arm clinical trial of 8 individual sessions of Engage Coaching delivered remotely. Outcomes assessed 3-months post-intervention included loneliness and relationship satisfaction (co-primary) and perceived social isolation (secondary). Results Engage Coaching was feasible to deliver, with n = 25 of 30 enrolled completing at least 80% of sessions. 83% indicated the program met expectations and 100% reported the program was suitable and convenient. Improvements were observed in loneliness (standardized response mean [SRM] = 0.63), relationship satisfaction (SRM = 0.56), and perceived social isolation (SRM = 0.70). Conclusion Engage Coaching is a promising behavioral intervention to enhance social connection for older ADRD caregivers.