Human and animal epidemic of Yersinia enterocolitica O:9, 1989-1997, Auvergne, France.

Yersinia enterocolitica O:9 infections were reported in Auvergne in 1988 to 1989, while brucellosis due to Brucella abortus was almost eliminated. The serologic cross-reactions between the two bacteria complicated the diagnosis of brucellosis cases. In 1996, human cases of Yersinia enterocolitica O:9 infection were detected, with a peak incidence of 12 cases. Veterinary surveillance could have predicted the emergence of this disease in humans

Challenges in Representation Learning: A report on three machine learning contests

The ICML 2013 Workshop on Challenges in Representation Learning focused on three challenges: the black box learning challenge, the facial expression recognition challenge, and the multimodal learning challenge. We describe the datasets created for these challenges and summarize the results of the competitions. We provide suggestions for organizers of future challenges and some comments on what kind of knowledge can be gained from machine learning competitions.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figure

Lemierre's syndrome and genetic polymorphisms: a case report

BACKGROUND: Lemierre's syndrome presents a classic clinical picture, the pathophysiology of which remains obscure. Attempts have been made to trace genetic predispositions that modify the host detection of pathogen or the resultant systemic reaction. CASE PRESENTATION: A 17-year old female, with no previous medical history, was admitted to the intensive care unit for septic shock, acute respiratory distress syndrome and Lemierre's syndrome. Her DNA was assayed for single nucleotide polymorphisms previously incriminated in the detection of the pathogen, the inflammatory response and the coagulation cascade. We observed functional variations in her Toll like 5 receptor (TLR 5) gene and two coagulation variations (Tissue Factor (TF) 603 and Plasminogen-Activator-Inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) 4G-4G homozygosity) associated with thrombotic events. CONCLUSION: The innate immune response and the prothrombogenic mutations could explain, at least in part, the symptoms of Lemierre's syndrome. Genomic study of several patients with Lemierre's syndrome may reveal its pathophysiology

The Influence of a Magnetic Field on Vibration Parameters of a Cantilever Sandwich Beam with Embedded MR Fluid

The paper investigates a magnetic field acting on a three-layer sandwich beam filled with MR fluid, the field being generated by an electromagnet. The FEM approach is applied to determine the magnetic field strength and magnetic flux density in the area between the poles and in the MR fluid layer. The results are utilised to establish the relationship between the magnetic flux density and parameters of the assumed model of the MR fluid layer

Parametry drgań belki z cieczami MR o różnej zawartości cząstek ferromagnetycznych

The study presents the results of laboratory studies on free vibrations of sandwich beams filled with magnetorheological (MR) fluids characterised by various proportions of ferromagnetic particles by weight. Based on the obtained results, it was possible to determine the impact of the content of the particles in question on the natural frequency of free vibrations and the dimensionless damping coefficient of beam.W pracy przedstawiono wyniki badań laboratoryjnych drgań swobodnych trójwarstwowych belek wypełnionych cieczami magnetoreologicznymi (MR) o różnej zawartości wagowej cząstek ferromagnetycznych. Na podstawie uzyskanych wyników określono wpływ zawartości tych cząstek na podstawową częstotliwość drgań własnych i bezwymiarowy współczynnik tłumienia belki

Investigation on Vibrations of a Cantilever Beam with Magnetorheological Fluid by Using the Acoustic Signal

The paper presents results of laboratory investigations of a vibrating three-layer cantilever beam with magnetorheological fluid. The goal of the study was to determine changes of the acoustic field around the vibrating beam caused by modifications of the magnetorheological fluid properties. The experimental studies have been carried out on a dedicated measuring stand. The construction of the measuring stand allows fixing one end of the beam in a holder attached to the moving part of the electrodynamic shaker. The magnetic field is produced by an external electromagnet. During the measurements the beam displacements and the acoustic pressure have been simultaneously registered. Frequency analysis of the registered signals has been carried out in 1/12 octave bands near the second natural frequency of the beam. The results reveal that the acoustic signal emitted by the vibrating beam decreases when the magnetic field is applied

Zwyczaje zywieniowe kobiet w okresie okoloporodowym w zakresie spozycia masla i margaryny

The nutritional habits of perinatal women for consumption of butter and margarine were determined. The study was performed on 231 women by collecting the information about both the consumption of fats used as bread spreads or dish and culinary additives, and the amount of margarine consumed regularly for spreading on bread. The correlation between the nutritional habits and selected socio-economical factors such as place of residence, education, occupation and declared economical status, was analysed. Margarines were found to be used commonly for spreading on bread and were more often used for preparing cakes and cake fillings than butter. These two fats were thus recognized as the most important sources of trans fatty acid isomers taken by the studied women. No correlation was found between the intake of margarine as bread spread and examined socio-economical factors. High consumption of margarines by perinatal women should be considered alarming because of the possibility for the incidence of trans fatty acid isomers in breast milk in the amounts that are danger for the health of their children.Określono zwyczaje żywieniowe kobiet w okresie okołoporodowym w zakresie spożycia masła i margaryny. Badaniami objęto 231 kobiet zbierając informacje o spożyciu tłuszczów stosowanych do smarowania pieczywa, dodawanych do potraw i stosowanych w procesach kulinarnych oraz określając ilość zwyczajowo spożywanych margaryn stosowanych do smarowania pieczywa. Analizie poddano współzależność rozpatrywanych cech odżywiania z wybranymi czynnikami socjoekonomicznymi, tj. miejscem zamieszkania, wykształceniem, rodzajem wykonywanej pracy i deklarowaną sytuacją materialną. Stwierdzone powszechne stosowanie margaryn do smarowania pieczywa oraz w porównaniu z masłem ich szersze wykorzystanie do wypieku ciast i przygotowywania kremów pozwoliło uznać te dwa źródła za najistotniejsze w spożyciu trans izomerów kwasów tłuszczowych przez badane kobiety (rys. 1,4,5,6). Nie stwierdzono współzależności pomiędzy spożyciem margaryn do smarowania pieczywa a rozpatrywanymi czynnikami socjoekonomicznymi (tab.1). Wykazano wysokie spożycie margaryn przez badane kobiety w okresie okołoporodowym uznając je za niepokojące z uwagi na możliwość pojawienia się trans izomerów kwasów tłuszczowych w mleku kobiecym w ilościach stwarzających zagrożenie dla zdrowia ich dzieci

AMP deaminase 1 gene polymorphism and heart disease-A genetic association that highlights new treatment

Nucleotide metabolism and signalling is directly linked to myocardial function. Therefore analysis how diversity of genes coding nucleotide metabolism related proteins affects clinical progress of heart disease could provide valuable information for development of new treatments. Several studies identified that polymorphism of AMP deaminase 1 gene (AMPD1), in particular the common C34T variant of this gene was found to benefit patients with heart failure and ischemic heart disease. However, these findings were inconsistent in subsequent studies. This prompted our detailed analysis of heart transplant recipients that revealed diverse effect: improved early postoperative cardiac function associated with C34T mutation in donors, but worse 1-year survival. Our other studies on the metabolic impact of AMPD1 C34T mutation revealed decrease in AMPD activity, increased production of adenosine and de-inhibition of AMP regulated protein kinase. Thus, genetic, clinical and biochemical studies revealed that while long term attenuation of AMPD activity could be deleterious, transient inhibition of AMPD activity before acute cardiac injury is protective. We suggest therefore that pharmacological inhibition of AMP deaminase before transient ischemic event such as during ischemic heart disease or cardiac surgery could provide therapeutic benefit