Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Retinoic Acid Mediates Transcriptional Repression of Ovine Follicle-Stimulating Hormone Receptor Gene via a Pleiotropic Nuclear Receptor Response Element1

Abstract The FSH receptor (FSHR) and retinoid receptors are critical regulators of gonadal function. Unlike the latter, the FSH receptors are expressed exclusively in ovarian granulosa and testicular Sertoli cells in a developmental fashion. Toward understanding the nature of various transcription factors that direct a tissue- and stage-specific expression of the FSHR gene, we have studied FP4, one of the two footprinting regions (FP3 and FP4) mapped at −241 to −269 and −284 to −303, respectively, upstream of the transcription start site of the ovine FSHR gene. Gel mobility shift assays with FP4 probe revealed two sequence-specific DNA-protein complexes in the presence of nuclear extracts from two immortal gonadal cell lines. Antibody supershift assays demonstrated that retinoic acid receptor (RAR) was involved in the complex 1 whereas steroidogenic factor-1 (SF-1) was present in the complex 2. Mutation studies revealed that DNA binding sites for RAR and SF-1 were overlapping each other within a 19-base pair length of nucleotide sequence of FP4, and a mutation in the half RAR binding site seriously affected SF-1 binding. Reporter assays showed that FP4 conferred SF-1 transactivation as well as RAR-mediated, ligand-dependent repression. Overexpression of SF-1 in a transformed Sertoli cell line partially overcame RAR-mediated suppression. For the first time, our studies reveal a direct retinoid modulation of the gonadotropin receptor promoter and suggest a mechanism by which activators and repressors compete for composite elements providing antagonistic pathways that could modulate the expression of FSHR.
Academic and Social Status of Hearing, Deaf, and Hard of Hearing Students Participating in a Co-enrolled Classroom

The researchers examined the communication participation, academic achievement, and social behavior of five Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing (DHH) students, five DHH students with additional disabilities (DHH-D), and 18 nondisabled, hearing peers in a co-enrolled, Grade 3-4-5 combination classroom. DHH students were not significantly different from their hearing peers in communication participation and social behavior. Differences did exist in academic achievement, but DHH students made steady academic progress over 3 years. DHH-D students were significantly different from their hearing peers, but not from their DHH peers in all areas. The finding adds to the data indicating that co-enrollment is a possible model of inclusion for DHH students and also provides initial data about the functioning of DHH-D students.
Still doing what we do: Defining social work in the 21st century

• Summary: Members of the Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Social Workers (ANZASW) were asked to provide their definition of social work. Over 300 responses were analysed thematically in order to determine if practitioner views corresponded to recent shifts in social work education and theory which emphasized the importance of social change, strengths based perspectives and the importance of local and indigenous contexts. • Findings: The findings demonstrate that while there was some recognition of social change and strengths-based perspectives in the definitions of social work provided, that those working in the field remain focused on ‘helping individuals, families and groups’ engage in change. Respondents did not, for the most part, acknowledge local or indigenous perspectives in their definitions. • Applications: Results from this study may be useful for social work professional organizations, and social work educators, students and future researchers who are interested in the definition of social work and its scopes of practice.
Assessment of TTX-s and TTX-r Action Potential Conduction along Neurites of NGF and GDNF Cultured Porcine DRG Somata

Nine isoforms of voltage-gated sodium channels (NaV) have been characterized and in excitable tissues they are responsible for the initiation and conduction of action potentials. For primary afferent neurons residing in dorsal root ganglia (DRG), individual neurons may express multiple NaV isoforms extending the neuron’s functional capabilities. Since expression of NaV isoforms can be differentially regulated by neurotrophic factors we have examined the functional consequences of exposure to either nerve growth factor (NGF) or glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) on action potential conduction in outgrowing cultured porcine neurites of DRG neurons. Calcium signals were recorded using the exogenous intensity based calcium indicator Fluo-8®, AM. In 94 neurons, calcium signals were conducted along neurites in response to electrical stimulation of the soma. At an image acquisition rate of 25 Hz it was possible to discern calcium transients in response to individual electrical stimuli. The peak amplitude of electrically-evoked calcium signals was limited by the ability of the neuron to follow the stimulus frequency. The stimulus frequency required to evoke a half-maximal calcium response was approximately 3 Hz at room temperature. In 13 of 14 (93%) NGF-responsive neurites, TTX-r NaV isoforms alone were sufficient to support propagated signals. In contrast, calcium signals mediated by TTX-r NaVs were evident in only 4 of 11 (36%) neurites from somata cultured in GDNF. This establishes a basis for assessing action potential signaling using calcium imaging techniques in individual cultured neurites and suggests that, in the pig, afferent nociceptor classes relying on the functional properties of TTX-r NaV isoforms, such as cold-nociceptors, most probably derive from NGF-responsive DRG neurons.
Novel Insights into Wound Healing Sequence of Events

Effective wound healing leads to restoration of tissue integrity and occurs through a highly organized multistage process involving various cell types. Currently, methods for wound healing assessment lack a structured system for analysis of quantitative parameters. We have established a unique quantitative assessment strategy of wound healing stages based on histological criteria. Distinctive immunohistochemical parameters including re-epithelialization, epidermal differentiation, cell migration, proliferation, inflammatory response as well as dermal closure, matrix distribution, and skin remodelling were identified and followed during the timeline of wound healing progression. Assessment was based on various defined characteristics and each stage-specific parameter was independently quantified for complete wound closure. This analysis allowed a follow-up of wound healing dynamics and identified the contribution of critical and specific parameters to wound healing physiology and pathology. In this review we demonstrate our assessment strategy of crucial wound healing events and introduce a unique quantification system for each of the processes involved in wound repair. We believe that our unique method can be utilized as a diagnostic platform for standardizing assessment of wound healing progression as well as a screening tool for potential therapies.
Learning Stochastic Reward Distributions in a Speeded Pointing Task

Recent studies have shown that humans effectively take into account task variance caused by intrinsic motor noise when planning fast hand movements. However, previous evidence suggests that humans have greater difficulty accounting for arbitrary forms of stochasticity in their environment, both in economic decision making and sensorimotor tasks. We hypothesized that humans can learn to optimize movement strategies when environmental randomness can be experienced and thus implicitly learned over several trials, especially if it mimics the kinds of randomness for which subjects might have generative models. We tested the hypothesis using a task in which subjects had to rapidly point at a target region partly covered by three stochastic penalty regions introduced as “defenders. ” At movement completion, each defender jumped to a new position drawn randomly from fixed probability distributions. Subjects earned points when they hit the target, unblocked by a defender, and lost points otherwise. Results indicate that after ∼600 trials, subjects approached optimal behavior. We further tested whether subjects simply learned a set of stimulus-contingent motor plans or the statistics of defenders' movements by training subjects with one penalty distribution and then testing them on a new penalty distribution. Subjects immediately changed their strategy to achieve the same average reward as subjects who had trained with the second penalty distribution. These results indicate that subjects learned the parameters of the defenders' jump distributions and used this knowledge to optimally plan their hand movements under conditions involving stochastic rewards and penalties.
Structure-function relationships for inhibitors of beta-amyloid toxicity containing the recognition sequence KLVFF.

Beta-amyloid (Abeta), the primary protein component of Alzheimer's plaques, is neurotoxic when aggregated into fibrils. We have devised a modular strategy for generating compounds that inhibit Abeta toxicity. These compounds contain a recognition element, designed to bind to Abeta, linked to a disrupting element, designed to interfere with Abeta aggregation. On the basis of this strategy, a hybrid peptide was synthesized with the sequence KLVFF (residues 16-20 of Abeta) as the recognition element and a lysine hexamer as the disrupting element; this compound protects cells in vitro from Abeta toxicity [Pallitto, M. M. , et al. (1999) Biochemistry 38, 3570]. To determine if the length of the disrupting element could be reduced, peptides were synthesized that contained the KLVFF recognition element and a sequence of one to six lysines as disrupting elements. All compounds enhanced the rate of aggregation of Abeta, with the magnitude of the effect increasing as the number of lysines in the disrupting element increased. The greatest level of protection against Abeta toxicity was achieved with compounds containing disrupting elements of three or more lysines in sequence. A peptide with an anionic disrupting element, KLVFFEEEE, had activity similar to that of KLVFFKKKK, in both cellular toxicity and biophysical assays, whereas a peptide with a neutral polar disrupting element, KLVFFSSSS, was ineffective. Protective compounds retained activity even at an inhibitor:Abeta molar ratio of 1:100, making these some of the most effective inhibitors of Abeta toxicity reported to date. These results provide critical insight needed to design more potent inhibitors of Abeta toxicity and to elucidate their mechanism of action.
Patient-derived mesenchymal stem cells as delivery vehicles for oncolytic virotherapy: novel state-of-the-art technology

Oncolytic virotherapy is gaining interest in the clinic as a new weapon against cancer. In vivo administration of oncolytic viruses showed important limitations that decrease their effectiveness very significantly: the antiviral immune response causes the elimination of the therapeutic effect, and the poor natural ability of oncolytic viruses to infect micrometastatic lesions significantly minimizes the effective dose of virus. This review will focus on updating the technical and scientific foundations of one of the strategies developed to overcome these limitations, ie, using cells as vehicles for oncolytic viruses. Among many candidates, a special type of adult stem cell, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), have already been used in the clinic as cell vehicles for oncolytic viruses, partly due to the fact that these cells are actively being evaluated for other indications. MSC carrier cells are used as Trojan horses loaded with oncoviruses, are administered systemically, and release their cargos at the right places. MSCs are equipped with an array of molecules involved in cell arrest in the capillaries (integrins and selectins), migration toward specific parenchymal locations within tissues (chemokine receptors), and invasion and degradation of the extracellular matrix (proteases). In addition to anatomical targeting capacity, MSCs have a well-recognized role in modulating immune responses by affecting cells of the innate (antigen-presenting cells, natural killer cells) and adaptive immune system (effector and regulatory lymphocytes). Therefore, carrier MSCs may also modulate the immune responses taking place after therapy, ie, the antiviral and the antitumor immune responses.
Personality traits and health‐risk behaviours in university students

Relations between personality and health‐risk behaviours in university undergraduates were examined using multiple measures of personality across multiple samples (N = 1151). Big Five personality variables, at both factor and facet levels, were used to predict three specific health‐risk behaviours: (a) tobacco consumption, (b) alcohol consumption and (c) speeding in an automobile. Our findings showed that low Conscientiousness and low Agreeableness were uniformly associated with this cluster of potentially health damaging behaviours. Extraversion was additionally associated with alcohol use. Interaction effects were found between Conscientiousness and Agreeableness on smoking and (for men only) on drinking. Other personality variables not centrally related to the Big Five, such as Risk‐Taking (high) and Integrity (low), were also implicated in the present health‐risk behaviours. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Observer Effects of Punishment in a Distribution Network

In a distribution network, a punishment event not only affects the disciplined distributor but also changes the attitudes and behaviors of others in the network (i.e., observers). By moving beyond a dyadic view of punishment, this article considers the effects of punishment on observers and integrates insights from social learning, fairness heuristic, and social network theories. The resulting framework of the observer effects of punishment in a distribution network, empirically tested with a survey in China, reveals two mechanisms through which punishment leads to reduced observer opportunism: (1) a direct deterrence effect and (2) a trust-building process. Moreover, two information-related constructs moderate the observer effects differently. The disciplined distributor's relational embeddedness, which motivates greater information flow to observers, aggravates the problem of information asymmetry against the manufacturer, making punishment less deterrent for observers. In contrast, the manufacturer's monitoring capability, which reduces information asymmetry, strengthens observer effects. The authors discuss both theoretical and managerial implications of using punishment to achieve collaboration from a wide network of channel members.
The protective effect of ticagrelor on renal function in a mouse model of sepsis-induced acute kidney injury

Abstract Platelets are traditionally considered to be essential components of primary hemostasis. Recent investigations have revealed that platelets can be activated in patients with sepsis and are implicated in the development of sepsis and sepsis-induced-acute kidney injury (SAKI). In the present study, ticagrelor was used to induce a mouse model of SAKI by cecal ligation and puncture. It was found that ticagrelor could inhibit platelet activity, decrease the levels of interleukin-1β and serum creatinine, reduce infiltration of neutrophils in renal tissue, and attenuate cell apoptosis in the kidney. The results suggested that ticagrelor could protect renal function by inhibiting inflammation, recruitment of neutrophils into the kidney, and cell apoptosis in renal tissue. Thus, the findings might provide new strategies for preventing SAKI.
Bacteriology of acute obstructive suppurative cholangitis of the aged

Bacteriological examination was performed on bile from 23 patients with acute obstructive suppurative cholangitis. Of 23 bile cultures, 15 yielded aerobic and anaerobic bacteria and 8 yielded aerobic bacteria only. No specimen grew anaerobic bacteria only. A total of 20 cultures yielded a polymicrobial flora, and 3 cultures grew one single aerobic bacterium. Escherichia coli, Klebsiella sp. , enterococci, Bacteroids fragilis, and Clostridium perfringens were the predominant bacterial flora in bile of these patients. Bacteremia was documented in 10 of the 12 patients cultured. All bacteremias involved aerobic bacteria and were polymicrobial in three patients. The frequent presence of anaerobes in bile of patients with acute obstructive suppurative cholangitis suggests that antimicrobial therapy should provide adequate coverage for anaerobic bacteria and enteric organisms.
Compulsive behaviours and levels of belief in obsessive–compulsive disorder: a case‐series analysis of their interrelationships

This study examined interrelationships of changes in compulsive behaviours and two levels of belief over treatment of obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD). Levels were individual-specific obsessive beliefs (termed here manifest beliefs) and OCD-relevant general beliefs. If OCD-relevant general beliefs are functionally linked to manifest beliefs and compulsive behaviours, changes in compulsive behaviours and both belief types should occur mostly in tandem, even if only one or two of these three elements are explicitly targeted. Baselines consisting of time performing compulsive behaviours, strength of manifest belief and strength of OCD-relevant general beliefs were monitored daily by six participants over three phases in an A/B/B + C design. (A = no treatment, B = exposure/response prevention and C = cognitive therapy targeting only OCD-relevant general beliefs.) Changes in compulsive behaviours, manifest beliefs and OCD-relevant general beliefs moved primarily in tandem over treatment phases, suggesting functional links between these elements. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Validity of Measures of Math- and Science-Related Self-Efficacy for African Americans and European Americans

The present study examined the reliability and validity of three measures of investigative (science) self-efficacy, a measure of self- efficacy with respect to scientific/technical fields (STF), and mathematics self-efficacy. Also, it addressed the question of whether or not these measures were psychometrically sound and normatively comparable with African Americans and European Americans. Among other findings, all measures were found to be reliable in both racial groups, and all but the STF were found to be related to each other as well as to a criterion of consideration of majors and careers in the sciences. Although validity was comparable for African Americans and European Americans as groups, there was some tendency for relationships of self-efficacy to science relatedness of choices to be strongest among African American women. There were significant gender differences in math and science self-efficacy (in favor of males), but no significant race differences. The STF, used originally with students who had already tentatively selected majors in science and engineering, yielded nearly bimodal score ranges in these unselected samples (both African Americans and European Americans), suggesting its use may be inappropriate with unselected samples of college students. Recommendations for use of these measures in both further research and to evaluate the effectiveness of efficacy-based interventions are reported.
Evaluation of roll compaction as a preparation method for hydroxypropyl cellulose-based matrix tablets

Roll compaction was applied for the preparation of hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC)-based sustained-release matrix tablets. Matrix tablets made via roll compaction exhibited higher dosage uniformity and faster drug release than direct-compacted tablets. HPC viscosity grade, roll pressure, and milling speed affected tablet properties significantly. Roll compaction seems to be an adequate granulation method for the preparation of HPC-based matrix tablets due to the simplicity of the process, less handling difficulty from HPC tackiness as well as easier particle size targeting. Selecting the optimum ratio of plastic excipients and the particle size of starting materials can however be critical issues in this method.
Psychological Characteristics of Believers in the Paranormal: A Replicative Study

This study attempts to replicate a variety of previous findings pertaining to the psychological characteristic s of believers and disbelievers in the paranormal. The 13-item Australian Sheep-Goat Scale, the 3-item Icelandic Sheep-Goat Scale, and a number of other psychological q uestionnaire measures were administered to 242 undergraduate psychology students at the University of Adelaide. Depending on which measure of the sheep-goat variable was used, believers in the paranormal were found to score significantly higher than disbelievers on the Wilson-Patterson Religion-Puritanism Scale; Haraldsson's 8-item Relig- iosity Scale; the As inventory of experiences predictive of hypnotizability; measures of vivid spiritual experience; and frequency of reading about Eastern religions or theosophy, of dream recall, and of dream interpretation; believers scored significantly lower than disbelievers on Mosher's Sex -Guilt Scale. As expected, believers were no more conservative overall than disbelievers, nor were they more likely to read the Bible or to have been religiously affiliated during their upbringing. Contrary to prediction, believers were no more likely than disbe- lievers to have a religious affiliation at the time of the survey. Scientists in general, and psychologists in particular, have long held certain assumptions concerning both the nature of mental activities (espe- cially wishes) and the scope of th eir operation in relation to the external world. A ccording to Mackenzie and Mackenzie (1980), those assumptions can ultimately be traced back to Galileo. They are, in essence, that men tal activities are nothing but brain activities, and that an organism's interaction with the physical world is mediated only via known and familiar processes in the nervous system. The validity of these assumptions would be challenged, however, by any evidence suggesting that mental activity may occur apart from fa miliar neurological structures (e.g., data supporting the hypothesis of life after death), or by evidence of mind interacting with the world in ways that do not involve familiar and known sensorimotor systems (as is suggested by reports of extrasensory perception and psychokinesis). In each case, men- tal activities allegedly behave in ways that are "impossible," g iven long- standing scientific assumptions. It has thus become customary to describe such phenomena or processes as "paranormal," or "psi. " The existence of paranormal phenomena is the subject of lively and ongoing debate (see Kurtz, 1985; McCrone, 1993; Wolman, 1977). How- ever, regardless of whether or not psi phenomena exist, there are individual differences in belief in their existence and in the ways in which such beliefs are used to explain human experiences. In fact, considerable research has
Student-Identified Exemplary Teachers: Insights From Talented Teachers

What roles do teachers play in the development of talent and in the attitude of students toward school? Research indicates that teacher enthusiasm, feedback, and content knowledge are keys to student motivation, learning, and engagement. Research also reveals the importance of positive and supportive student/teacher relationships. In previous work concerning student attitudes toward school, a handful of teachers emerged, in the eyes of their students, as exemplary. Follow-up study provided insights concerning the characteristics, practices, and qualities of these teachers. What and how they teach, and the ways they relate to individual students distinguish these exemplary and talented teachers. This research reveals quantitative and qualitative findings that help to explain the student-identified exemplary teachers (n = 18) from two samples that included more than 400 teachers. Implications for practice based on findings from these exemplary teachers are highlighted.