bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Prevalence, Influencing Factors, Antibiotic Resistance, Toxin and Molecular Characteristics of Staphylococcus aureus and MRSA Nasal Carriage among Diabetic Population in the United States, 2001–2004
Authors: LIN JIALING , PENG YANG , BAI CHAN , ZHANG TING , ZHENG HAOQU , WANG XIAOJIE , YE JIAPING , YE XIAOHUA , LI YING , YAO ZHENJIANG 
Published: January 2018

Abstract
Diabetic population were reported more likely to suffer carriage and infection with Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) than non-diabetic population. We aim to elucidate the prevalence and characteristics of S. aureus and MRSA nasal carriage among diabetic population in the United States National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2001–2004. Univariate analyses were conducted using Chi-square test, Fisher’s exact probability test or student t test, as appropriate. Multivariate analysis using logistic regression was conducted to assess the association between influencing factors and S. aureus and MRSA nasal carriage. 1010 diabetic participants were included in the study. The prevalence of S. aureus and MRSA nasal carriage were 28.32% and 1.09%, respectively. After the logistic regression, ever had a painful sensation or tingling in hands or feet past three months (Odds Ratio [OR] = 0.359, 95% Confidence Interval [CI], 0.146–0.882) was significant among S. aureus nasal carriage and gender (OR = 3.410, 95% CI, 1.091–10.653) was significant among MRSA nasal carriage. The proportions of staphylococcal enterotoxin (SE) A, SEB, SEC, SED, Toxic-shock syndrome toxin-1, and Panton Valentine Leukocidin toxin among S. aureus strains were 18.75%, 3.13%, 12.50%, 15.63%, 28.13%, and 9.38%, respectively. 63.63% of MRSA strains were community-acquired, 27.27% were hospital-acquired, and 9.09% were non-typeable. Diabetic patients might be more likely to carry S. aureus and MRSA in the United States. Improving hand hygiene compliance, reducing antibiotic overuse, screening for carriers, and decolonization are recommended to reduce the spread of S. aureus and MRSA, especially in community.
The Determination and Correlation of Various Virulence Genes, ESBL, Serum Bactericidal Effect and Biofilm Formation of Clinical Isolated Classical Klebsiella pneumoniae and Hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae from Respiratory Tract Infected Patients
Authors: SHAH RAMBHA K. , NI ZHAO H. , SUN XIAO Y. , WANG GUO Q. , LI FAN 
Published: January 2018

Abstract

Klebsiella pneumoniae strains that are commonly recognized by clinicians and microbiologists are termed as classical K. pneumoniae (cKP). A strain with capsule-associated mucopolysaccharide web is known as hypervirulent K. pneumoniae (hvKP) as it enhances the serum resistant and biofilm production. Aim is to determine and correlate various virulence genes, ESBL, serum bactericidal effect and biofilm formation of clinical isolated cKP and hvKP from respiratory tract infected patients. A total of 96 K. pneumoniae strains were isolated from sputum of respiratory tract infected patients. The isolates were performed string test, AST, ESBL virulence gene, serum bactericidal and biofilm assays. Out of 96 isolates, 39 isolates (40.6%) were identified with hypervirulent phenotypes. The number of cKP exhibiting resistance to the tested antimicrobials and ESBLs were significantly higher than that of the hvKP strains. The virulence genes of K. pneumoniae such as K1, K2, rmpA, uge, kfu and aerobactin were strongly associated with hvKP than cKP. However, no significant difference was found in FIM-1 and MrKD3 genes. ESBL producing cKP and hvKP were significantly associated with strong biofilm formation (both P < 0.05) and highly associated with bactericidal effect of serum (both P < 0.05) than cKP strains. However, neither biofilm formation nor bactericidal effect of serum was found with significant difference in between ESBL producing cKP and ESBL producing hvKP strains (both P > 0.05). Although the hvKP possess more virulence gene, but they didn’t show any significant difference between biofilm formation and bactericidal effect of serum compared with ESBL producing cKP strains.
Study of Patterns and Markers of Human Immune Deficiency Virus -1 (HIV-1) Progression and Unemployment Rate among Patients from Alexandria, Egypt
Authors: GHONEIM FAIKA M. , RAOUF MAY M. , ELSHAER NOHA S. , ABDELHAMID SARAH M. , NOOR ELDEEN REEM A. 
Published: January 2018

Abstract
Middle East and North Africa (MENA) new HIV cases show the highest increase among all regions in the world. Even though Egypt has a low prevalence among the general population (< 0.02%), a national HIV epidemic occurs in certain population risk groups. The current study was conducted to asses clinical and immunological disease progression; following up viral load (VL) and detecting delta-32 CCR5 genotype polymorphism in selected cases, determining unemployment rate and identify predictors of employment for HIV-cases. A cross sectional design was adopted. HIV infected cases attending Alexandria Fever Hospital (AFH) for one year. Interview questionnaire and four CD+4 counts were done for all patients, HIV VL and delta-32 CCR5 polymorphism were done for selected cases. Sexual transmission and drug abuse are the most important risk factors. Infectious comorbidity increases the rate of HIV progression. CD4+ count at the end of the study; CD+4 (4), count was significantly higher than all other CD4+ readings among the whole cohort and among the treated group. Also, VL at the end of the study; VL(2), was significantly higher than VL(1) among the untreated group. Unemployment rate was 40%. Male gender and obtaining vocational training were significant predictors of employment. It can be concluded that having a family member living with HIV and drug abusers are high risk groups for HIV acquisition. Factors responsible for progression of HIV should be further investigated. Antiretroviral therapy is very effective in checking HIV replication rate, delaying the progression of HIV, reconstituting the immune response and should be available for all cases detected.
Inhibition of Multidrug-Resistant Gram-Positive and Gram-Negative Bacteria by a Photoactivated Porphyrin
Authors: BONDI MORENO , MAZZINI ANNA , DE NIEDERHÄUSERN SIMONA , ISEPPI RAMONA , MESSI PATRIZIA 
Published: January 2018

Abstract
The authors studied the in vitro antibacterial activity of the photo-activated porphyrin meso-tri(N-methyl-pyridyl), mono(N-tetradecylpyridyl)porphine (C14) against four multidrug-resistant bacteria: Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis (Gram-positive), Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Gram-negative). Using 10 μg/ml of porphyrin and 60 sec irradiation we observed the remarkable susceptibility of S. aureus and E. faecalis to treatment while, under the same conditions, E. coli and P. aeruginosa showed very low susceptibility. In a later stage, suspensions of Gram-negative bacteria were processed with EDTA before photo-activation, obtaining a significant decrease in viable counts. In view of the results, if the combination of low porphyrin concentrations and short irradiation times will be effective in vivo also, this approach could be a possible alternative to antibiotics, in particular against localized infections due to multidrug-resistant microorganisms.
Seroprevalence of Rubella and Cytomegalia in Young Women from Biała Podlaska District
Authors: PLEWIK DOROTA , TOKARSKA-RODAK MAŁGORZATA , PASZKIEWICZ JUSTYNA , SZEPELUK ADAM 
Published: January 2018

Abstract
The aim of this study was to analyze the seroprevalence of rubella and cytomegalia among young women. The study included 175 healthy women from the Biała Podlaska District, aged 16 to 35 years. Anti-rubella and anti-CMV IgG were determined by ELISA. 172 (98.3%) study subjects tested positive for rubella antibodies, 1 (0.6%) was seroindeterminate and 2 (1.1%) were seronegative. CMV antibodies were detected in 119 (68.0%) participants; the series included also 1 (0.6%) seroindeterminate and 55 (31.4%) seronegative women. The levels of rubella and CMV antibodies were not significantly affected by age, place of residence and educational level of the study subjects.
Molecular Study of Indigenous Bacterial Community Composition on Exposure to Soil Arsenic Concentration Gradient
Authors: BASU SEMANTI , PAUL TANIMA , YADAV PRIYA , DEBNATH ABHIJIT , SARKAR KEKA 
Published: January 2018

Abstract
Community structure of bacteria present in arsenic contaminated agricultural soil was studied with qPCR (quantitative PCR) and DGGE (Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis) as an indicator of extreme stresses. Copy number of six common bacterial taxa (Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria, α-, β- and γ-Proteobacteria, Firmicutes) was calculated using group specific primers of 16S rDNA. It revealed that soil contaminated with low concentration of arsenic was dominated by both Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria but a shift towards Proteo bacteria was observed with increasing arsenic concentration, and number of Actinobacteria eventually decreases. PCA (Principle Component Analysis) plot of bacterial community composition indicated a distinct resemblance among high arsenic content samples, while low arsenic content samples remained separated from others. Cluster analysis of soil parameters identifies three clusters, each of them was related to the arsenic content. Further, cluster analysis of 16S rDNA based DGGE fingerprint markedly distributed the soil bacterial populations into low (< 10 ppm) and high (> 10 ppm) arsenic content subgroups. Following analysis of diversity indices shows significant variation in bacterial community structure. MDS (Multi Dimensional Scaling) plot revealed distinction in the distribution of each sample denoting variation in bacterial diversity. Phylogenetic sequence analysis of fragments excised from DGGE gel revealed the presence of γ-Proteobacteria group across the study sites. Collectively, our experiments indicated that gradient of arsenic contamination affected the shape of the soil bacterial population by significant structural shift.
Safety Evaluation of Enterocin Producer Enterococcus sp. Strains Isolated from Traditional Turkish Cheeses
Authors: AVCI MINE , TUNCER BANU ÖZDEN 
Published: January 2018

Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine the antimicrobial activity and occurrence of bacteriocin structural genes in Enterococcus spp. isolated from different cheeses and also investigate some of their virulence factors. Enterococcus strains were isolated from 33 different cheeses. Enterococcus faecium (6 strains) and Enterococcus faecalis (5 strains) enterocin-producing strains were identified by 16S rDNA analyses. Structural genes entA, entB, entP and entX were detected in some isolates. Multiple enterocin structural genes were found in 7 strains. None of the tested enterococci demonstrated anyβ-haemolytic activity and only one strain had gelatinase activity. Six strains showed multiple antibiotic resistance patterns and in addition, vanA and several virulence genes were detected in many strains. Only E. faecalis MBE1-9 showed tyrosine decarboxylase activity and tdc gene was detected only in this strain.
In vitro Interaction between Fumonisin B1 and the Intestinal Microflora of Pigs
Authors: DANG HUU ANH , ZSOLNAI ATTILA , KOVACS MELINDA , BORS ISTVÁN , BÓNAI ANDRÁS , BÓTA BRIGITTA , SZABÓ-FODOR JUDIT 
Published: January 2018

Abstract
The caecal chyme of pigs was incubated anaerobically in McDougall buffer with and without fumonisin B1 (5 μg/ml) for 0, 24 and 48 h. The plate count agar technique was applied for enumerating the amount of bacteria including aerobic, anaerobic bacteria, coliform, Escherichia coli and Lactobacillus sp. The quantitative polymerase chain reaction was also performed to estimate the number of copies of the total bacteria, Lactobacillus, Bacteroides and Prevotella. No significant differences in the amount of bacterial groups between the experimental (buffer, chyme, and fumonisin B1) and control 1 groups (buffer + chyme) were observed in both methods. Fumonisin B1 and hydrolysed fumonisin B1 concentration were analysed by liquid chromatograghy – mass spectrometry. There was no significant difference in FB1 concentration between the experimental and the control 2 group (buffer and fumonisin B1) at 0 h incubation, 5.185 ± 0.174 μg/ml compared with 6.433 ± 0.076 μg/ml. Fumonisin B1 concentration in the experimental group was reduced to 4.080 ± 0.065 μg/ml at 24 h and to 2.747 ± 0.548 μg/ml at 48 h incubation and was significantly less than that of in the control group. Hydrolysed fumonisin B1 was detected after 24 h incubation (0.012 ± 0 μg/ml). At 48 h incubation time, hydrolysed fumonisin B1 concentration was doubled to 0.024 ± 0.004 μg/ml. These results indicate that fumonisin B1 can be metabolised by caecal microbiota in pigs though the number of studied bacteria did not change.
Early KPC-Producing Klebsiella pneumoniae Bacteremia among Intensive Care Unit Patients Non-Colonized upon Admission
Authors: PAPADIMITRIOU-OLIVGERIS MATTHAIOS , FLIGOU FOTINI , SPILIOPOULOU IRIS , BARTZAVALI CHRISTINA , DODOU VASILIKI , VAMVAKOPOULOU SOPHIA , KOUTSILEOU KYRIAKI , ZOTOU ANASTASIA , ANASTASSIOU EVANGELOS D. , CHRISTOFIDOU MYRTO , MARANGOS MARKOS 
Published: January 2018

Abstract
Among 140 patients colonized by KPC-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae (KPC-Kp) between fourth and seventh day of Intensive Care Unit stay, 24 developed bacteraemia immediately after colonization. Colistin-resistance of the colonizing isolate was the factor significantly associated with early KPC-Kp bacteraemia (P < 0.001; OR 6.6, 95% CI 2.4–18.4), a worrisome finding since infections by colistin-resistant isolates is associated with increased mortality due to limited remaining therapeutic options.
An Improve Protocol for PCR Using LM1 and LM2 Primers for Listeria monocytogenes Detection in Food Matrices
Authors: GODÍNEZ-OVIEDO ANGÉLICA , NAVA GERARDO M. , ARVIZU-MEDRANO SOFÍA M. , HERNÁNDEZ-ITURRIAGA MONTSERRAT 
Published: January 2018

Abstract
Several studies have observed that use of a conventional PCR protocol with primers LM1 and LM2 for the identification of the hlyA gene of Listeria monocytogenes generates non-specific PCR amplifications and false positives. For this reason, in this study we provide a modified PCR protocol that improves the specificity of the results obtained with LM1 and LM2 primers.
Betaine Improves Polymer-Grade D-Lactic Acid Production by Sporolactobacillus inulinus Using Ammonia as Green Neutralizer
Authors: LV GUOPING , CHE CHENGCHUAN , LI LI , XU SHUJING , GUAN WANYI , ZHAO BAOHUA , JU JIANSONG 
Published: January 2018

Abstract
The traditional CaCO3-based fermentation process generates huge amount of insoluble waste. To solve this problem, we have developed an efficient and green D-lactic acid fermentation process by using ammonia as neutralizer. The 106.7 g/l of D-lactic acid production and 0.89 g/g of consumed sugar were obtained by Sporolactobacillus inulinus CASD with a high optical purity of 99.7% by adding 100 mg/l betaine in the simple batch fermentation. The addition of betaine was experimentally proven to protect cells at high concentration of ammonium ion, increase D-lactate dehydrogenase specific activity and thus promote the production of D-lactic acid.
Morphological and Molecular Characterization of Phoma complanata, a New Causal Agent of Archangelica officinalis Hoffm. in Poland
Authors: ZIMOWSKA BEATA , ZALEWSKA EWA DOROTA , DOROTA KRÓL EWA , FURMAŃCZYK AGNIESZKA 
Published: January 2018

Abstract
The paper concerns the fungus Phoma complanata, isolated for the first time in Poland, from the roots and umbels of angelica (Archangelica officinalis) in 2009. The morphology of fungal isolates was tested on standard culture media. Moreover, the sequence analysis of ITS regions was conducted. Morphological similarity of P. complanata Polish isolates to the reference isolate obtained from CBS culture collection was determined and together with the molecular analysis confirmed the affiliation of the fungus to the species.
Morinda citrifolia: fatos e riscos sobre o uso do noni
Authors: Barbosa Andreia Freire , Costa Isabelly Cristina de Matos , Langassner Silvana Zucolotto , Giordani Raquel Brandt 
Published: January 2018

Morinda citrifolia L. (Rubiaceae), popularmente conhecida como noni, é amplamente utilizada, na Polinésia e no Havaí, para tratamento de diversas patologias, como: dislipidemia, diabetes, câncer, hipertensão, cicatrização, dentre outras. Atualmente, observa-se também o uso exacerbado no Brasil, especialmente na região Nordeste, onde a planta se adaptou bem. Porém, ainda não há certeza da sua eficácia, e muitas pesquisas sobre a ação terapêutica do noni estão em desenvolvimento, embora os resultados sejam bastante controversos. O que torna o noni uma planta diferenciada e que requer atenção especial é seu potencial hepatotóxico. A Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária (ANVISA) fundamenta a sua recomendação de não utilizar o noni, também, com base em relatos de toxicidade em humanos. Este trabalho é uma revisão da literatura, com objetivo de avaliar o potencial terapêutico desta planta de acordo com os estudos já desenvolvidos. Dessa forma, é possível realizar uma análise crítica do uso irracional desta planta e contribuir com a divulgação de possíveis riscos à saúde.
El artículo 16 de la Constitución en su concepción y desarrollo: cuarenta años de laicidad y libertad religiosa
Authors: Polo Sabau José Ramón 
Published: January 2018

Resumen:En este trabajo se realiza un balance y examen global del desarrollo que ha experimentado el llamado sistema de relaciones Iglesia-Estado en España en las cuatro décadas de vigencia de la Constitución de 1978, prestando una especial atención a las razones de fondo que llevaron al constituyente a incluir una referencia en él a la cooperación con la Iglesia católica y las demás confesiones así como a la consecuencias que ha tenido el hecho de que las relaciones con aquella estuviesen ya configuradas concordatariamente en el momento en el que fue aprobada la Constitución. En este contexto general, se exponen lasprincipales claves de interpretación del actual régimen de la libertadreligiosa en España, del estatuto de las entidades religiosas y del subsistemaconformado por el contenido de los acuerdos de cooperaciónsuscritos por el Estado con las confesiones religiosas.Summary:I. Introduction. 2. The constitutional framework on Church and State and its historical, political and sociological background. 3. Controversial aspects concerning the legal development of religious freedom and the legal status of religious denominations. 4. Constitution and agreements between the State and religious denominations. 5. Concluding remarks: the unfinished process os disestablishment of religion in Spanish law and the main proposals of reform in this field.Abstract:In this paper the author conducts an overview of the relations between Church and State in Spain and how they have evolved since the promulgation of the 1978 Constitution; to this regard, special consideration is given to the fact that the relations between the Catholic Church and the State were already predetermined by the existence of certain agreements that were elaborated even before the Constitution came into force, a fact that has had significant consequences in the development of this particular field of law. Further consideration is also given to the current legal status of religious freedom in Spain and to the legal position of religious organizations in this country, including some remarks focused on the content of the current agreements signed by the State with some of the so called minority religious denominations.
El derecho-deber de protección del medio ambiente
Authors: Pérez Sola Nicolás 
Published: January 2018

Resumen:El artículo 45 CE incluye el derecho a disfrutar el medio ambiente y, por tanto, la necesidad de proteger el ejercicio del mismo. En este precepto se combinan diversos postulados proteccionistas como la calidad de vida y la utilización racional de los recursos naturales con la consecución de objetivos de progreso y desarrollo. La ausencia de una ley general de medio ambiente que desarrollara el artículo 45 CE ha sido suplida en gran medida por la transposición de normativa ambiental de la Unión europea. La jurisprudencia ha reconocido el carácter dinámico de este derecho pero no su consideración como derecho fundamental. Summary:I. Introduction. II. The right of enjoyment of the environment. III. The duty of protection of the environment. IV. The state of the matter.Abstract:Article 45 of Spanish Constitution foresees the right to enjoy the environment and, therefore, the need to protect the exercise of the environment. This precept combines several protectionist postulates such as the quality of life and the rational use of natural resources with the achievement of goals of progress and development. The absence of a general environmental law in order to develop this constitutional article has been filled, to some extent, by the transposition ofenvironmental legislation of the European Union. Jurisprudence has recognized the dynamic nature of this right, but has denied the status of fundamental right.
An empirical analysis of machine learning models for automated essay grading
Authors: Madala Deva Surya Vivek , Gangal Ayushree , Krishna Shreyash , Goyal Anjali , Sureka Ashish 
Published: January 2018

Background. Automated Essay Scoring (AES) is an area which falls at the intersection of computing and linguistics. AES systems conduct a linguistic analysis of a given essay or prose and then estimates the writing skill or the essay quality in the form a numeric score or a letter grade. AES systems are useful for the school, university and testing company community for efficiently and effectively scaling the task of grading a large number of essays.
Methods. We propose an approach for automatically grading a given essay based on 9 surface level and deep linguistic features, 2 feature selection and ranking techniques and 4 text classification algorithms. We conduct a series of experiments on publicly available manually graded and annotated essay data and demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach. We investigate the performance of two different features selection techniques (1) RELIEF (2) Correlation-based Feature Subset Selection (CFS) with three different machine learning classifiers (kNN, SVM and Linear Regression). We also apply feature normalization and scaling.
Results. Our results indicate that features like world count with respect to the world limit, appropriate use of vocabulary, relevance of the terms in the essay with the given topic and coherency between sentences and paragraphs are good predictors of essay score. Our analysis reveals that not all features are equally important and few features are more relevant and better correlated with respect to the target class. We conduct experiments with k-nearest neighbour, logistic regression and support vector machine based classifiers. Our results on 4075 essays across multiple topics and grade score range are encouraging with an accuracy of 73% to 93%.
Discussion. Our experiments and approach are based on Grade 7 to Grade 10 essays which can be generalized to essays from other grades and level after doing context specific customization. Few features are more relevant and important than other features and it is interplay or combination of multiple feature values which determines the final score. We observe that different classifiers result in difference accuracy.