Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Protective effect of aqueous extract of Moringa oleifera Lam. stem bark on serum lipids, marker enzymes and heart antioxidants parameters in isoproterenol-induced cardiotoxicity in Wistar rats.

Cardio protective potential of aqueous extract of Moringa oleifera Lam. (Family-Moringaceae) stem bark on serum lipids profiles, myocardial marker enzymes in serum and heart homogenate, antioxidant parameters in heart homogenate and histopathological findings in isoproterenol (ISO)-induced cardiotoxicity in rats was evaluated. Subcutaneous injection of ISO (85 mg/kg) to Wistar rats showed a significant ( P<0.05) increase in the levels of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances along with a significant decrease in the activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione-Stransferase, glutathione reductase and reduced glutathione in the heart. It also significantly increased the level of cholesterol, triglycerides, VLDL and LDL with significant decrease in the level of HDL, increased the level of myocardial marker enzymes CK, LDH, ALT and AST in serum and concomitantly decreased in heart. Oral administration of aqueous extract of M. oleifera (250 and 500 mg/kg) to ISO-induced rats daily for a period of 21 days showed a significant improvement in lipid profile along with marker enzymes in serum and heart homogenate. It also decreased the levels of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances and improved antioxidant status by increasing the activities of antioxidant enzymes. Histopathological findings of the myocardial tissue showed the protective role of M. oleifera in ISO-induced cardiotoxicity in rats. The effect at 500 mg/kg dose was more pronounced.
To Partition or Not to Partition Evaluative Judgments

Attitudinal ambivalence is one of the most widely studied structural properties in the attitudes literature. The current research compared two commonly used measures of structural ambivalence. Both measures separately assess the positive and negative components of ambivalence; however, one approach instructs participants to partition their oppositely valenced evaluative responses whereas the other does not. Using both experimental and nonexperimental designs, four studies revealed that the nonpartitioned measure was more sensitive to manipulations of attitudinal ambivalence (Studies 1 and 2) and was a better predictor of subjective ambivalence (Studies 1– 4). Potential reasons for this distinction are discussed.
Parental Attitude towards Disability and Gender in the Nigerian Context: Implications for Conselling

The study was undertaken to investigate the attitudes of parents towards their children gender and handicap conditions. The purposive, stratified sampling technique was adopted. The samples comprised of 60 parents (30 Fathers and 30 Mothers). A 35 item Parental Attitude Scale Instrument constructed by the researcher was used to assess information from the respondents. The instrument possess a high face and content validity and a test-re-test reliability coefficient of 0.96. The results revealed significant differences related to gender of the children on various domains of the scale: There is a significant difference between the fathers and mothers’ attitudes with father exhibiting more favourable attitudes towards male children. Mothers attitudes were also significant on the domain of over protection and acceptance. Counselling focused specifically towards developing healthy parental attitudes which would in turn result in acceptance of the child disability irrespective of gender were offered. The importance of strengthening the social support network of these children’s families was also reiterated. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014. v5n20p2255
Handle with Care: Self-esteem Influences on Students Undertaking Personal Care Tasks

This paper focuses on social work students' experiences of a placement which entails providing intimate personal care for older people. It is based on data reported in a recent study (Fenton & Walker, 2011) and offers a reinterpretation of those findings. Their study is briefly outlined and the original interpretation, focusing on value-behaviour congruence, is summarised. Students' comments are then revisited, highlighting the potential of self-esteem theory to explain the processes at work. Employing a theoretical framework provided by the two-dimensional model of self-esteem (Mruk, 2006) it is argued that students' concerns about their placement experiences, and their beliefs about its benefits, can be understood in terms of perceptions of self-worth and judgements of self-competence. Links are made between this analysis and the model of value-behaviour congruence employed in the original study. Some implications for practice are considered.
You Can't Homogenize Success in Communication Management: PR Leaders Take Diverse Paths to Top

Interviews were conducted with 97 high-level U.S. communications managers to assess factors related to professional success in public relations. The executives most commonly defined success in managerial and strategic terms and indicated that excellent communication skills and a proactive nature were crucial to success in the field. However, the results suggested that success follows diverse pathways, which appear to be linked by 10 patterns or themes. These include the power of performance, varied experiences, dense networks of relationships, complex communication skill sets, and passion for work and the profession. Some modest gender differences were noted. The study captures perceptions about success among top public relations leaders, a group little represented in the literature on this topic. The research also bears implications for education, practice, and organizations that seek to hire and develop successful communications professionals.
‘They’re the bosses’: feedback in team supervision

Team supervision of PhDs is increasingly the norm in Australian and UK universities; while this model brings many improvements on the traditional one-on-one research supervision, it also introduces new complexities. In particular, many students find the diversity of opinions expressed in teams to be confusing. Such diversity in supervisor feedback is often experienced as unsettling, and the study indicates that students generally seek consensus from their supervisory team. The power dynamics existing in the relations between team members in this situation need to be carefully considered, and supervisors must be alert to the ways in which doctoral students can be effectively and productively inducted into the norms of academic debate and collaborative research projects. The paper explores the implications of diversity in feedback in relation to developing a pedagogy of supervision.
Constitutively Expressed IFITM3 Protein in Human Endothelial Cells Poses an Early Infection Block to Human Influenza Viruses

ABSTRACT A role for pulmonary endothelial cells in the orchestration of cytokine production and leukocyte recruitment during influenza virus infection, leading to severe lung damage, has been recently identified. As the mechanistic pathway for this ability is not fully known, we extended previous studies on influenza virus tropism in cultured human pulmonary endothelial cells. We found that a subset of avian influenza viruses, including potentially pandemic H5N1, H7N9, and H9N2 viruses, could infect human pulmonary endothelial cells (HULEC) with high efficiency compared to human H1N1 or H3N2 viruses. In HULEC, human influenza viruses were capable of binding to host cellular receptors, becoming internalized and initiating hemifusion but failing to uncoat the viral nucleocapsid and to replicate in host nuclei. Unlike numerous cell types, including epithelial cells, we found that pulmonary endothelial cells constitutively express a high level of the restriction protein IFITM3 in endosomal compartments. IFITM3 knockdown by small interfering RNA (siRNA) could partially rescue H1N1 virus infection in HULEC, suggesting IFITM3 proteins were involved in blocking human influenza virus infection in endothelial cells. In contrast, selected avian influenza viruses were able to escape IFITM3 restriction in endothelial cells, possibly by fusing in early endosomes at higher pH or by other, unknown mechanisms. Collectively, our study demonstrates that the human pulmonary endothelium possesses intrinsic immunity to human influenza viruses, in part due to the constitutive expression of IFITM3 proteins. Notably, certain avian influenza viruses have evolved to escape this restriction, possibly contributing to virus-induced pneumonia and severe lung disease in humans. IMPORTANCE Avian influenza viruses, including H5N1 and H7N9, have been associated with severe respiratory disease and fatal outcomes in humans. Although acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and progressive pulmonary endothelial damage are known to be present during severe human infections, the role of pulmonary endothelial cells in the pathogenesis of avian influenza virus infections is largely unknown. By comparing human seasonal influenza strains to avian influenza viruses, we provide greater insight into the interaction of influenza virus with human pulmonary endothelial cells. We show that human influenza virus infection is blocked during the early stages of virus entry, which is likely due to the relatively high expression of the host antiviral factors IFITMs (interferon-induced transmembrane proteins) located in membrane-bound compartments inside cells. Overall, this study provides a mechanism by which human endothelial cells limit replication of human influenza virus strains, whereas avian influenza viruses overcome these restriction factors in this cell type.
Glutathione S-transferase M 1 and T 1 Status and the Risk of Laryngeal Cancer : a Meta-analysis

Carcinoma of the larynx is one of the most commonly occurring carcinomas of the upper respiratory tract (Jaskula-Sztul et al., 1998). The incidence and mortality of laryngeal carcinoma worldwide are 1,50,677 and 81,892, in number, respectively (Globocan, 2008). The use of tobacco and alcohol are considered as important environmental etiological factors that increase the risk of developing laryngeal cancer (Gajecka et al., 2005). Despite many individuals exposed to these environmental factors through tobacco and alcohol consumption, laryngeal cancer develops only in a small group of exposed people, suggesting the existence of inter-individual cancer susceptibility (Tripathy and Roy, 2006). It is hypothesised that part of the susceptibility to laryngeal cancer may be determined by the inter-individual difference in the genetic host factors that contribute to carcinogenic mechanisms. Therefore it is logical to suspect that the genetic defect in the enzymes processing tobacco carcinogens may play a role in determining the individual susceptibility to laryngeal cancer. Various types of chemicals have the potential to induce cancer in a variety of tissues of various hosts, including man. The work of Millers and their colleagues has defined the role of metabolism in carcinogen activation, which indicated commonality between carcinogens in being chemically reactive towards DNA by forming DNA adduct (Miller and Miller, 1966; 1971; Dipple et al., 1968).
Feasibility of Conducting Child Abuse Research with Girls in Juvenile Detention Using Audio-Computer Assisted Self-Interview (ACASI) Technology

This paper presents a feasibility study of audio computer-assisted self-interview (ACASI) technology used to elicit self-reported histories of child maltreatment among detained adolescent girls (N = 35). We focus on methodological, legal, ethical, and administrative challenges to the collection of sensitive information from minors who are wards of the state. We conclude that extensive collaboration with detention center staff was required to address and overcome these challenges. Pending the availability of additional evidence from demographically diverse samples, the extent to which the ACASI method improves the completeness and accuracy of child maltreatment histories reported by adolescent girls in juvenile detention remains unclear. Further research is needed to determine whether the advantages of the ACASI technology contribute to more valid and reliable reporting of maltreatment by detained girls in a setting where an empathetic interviewer, who may facilitate the disclosure process, is absent.
Solute separation in nanofluidic channels: Pressure‐driven or electric field‐driven?

We demonstrate theoretically that solute separation can be accomplished in pressure‐driven flow through nanochannels due to solute–wall interactions. Such pressure‐driven separation is efficient in identifying solutes with variable valences. This function complements exactly the electric field‐driven separation (i.e., electrophoretic separation) in nanofluidic channels that works well for solutes differing in diffusivity. We also demonstrate the enhanced separation of solutes of either different valence or different diffusivity through the combination of a pressure‐driven flow and an electric field‐driven backflow in nanofluidic channels. This combined flow, however, has to be used with caution for solutes varying in both valence and diffusivity.
‘Till Human Voices Wake Us and We Drown’: A Study of Autistic and Encapsulated States in Groups

The title for the paper comes from T. S. Eliot’s ‘The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock’ (Eliot, 1948). In the poem, Prufrock, an isolated person, describes the pain of relating, of miscommunication. ‘That is not it at all, that is not what I meant at all. ’ The possibility of sharing love is not available. He feels defeated. The closing off of the self, either partially or totally, is diametrically opposed to the challenge of group relationships, which require the interaction and interpenetration of many selves. This paper explores the implications for groups.
When Exemplary Gets Blurry: A Descriptive Analysis of Four Exemplary K-3 Spanish Reading Programs in Texas

Abstract This study represents an effort to describe four high-performing Spanish reading programs in Texas at Grade 3. The schools selected represent one non-border urban school and three U.S.-Mexico border schools. The methodologies used were qualitative based on on-site visits, a semi-direct interview protocol, K-3 classroom observations, and document analysis. The four schools shared the following six features: explicit support for Spanish literacy and biliteracy; high expectations; skills-driven reading instruction beginning in kindergarten; shared understanding of the Spanish reading program: alignment between Spanish and English reading programs; and explicit targeting of the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) test. The state mandated Spanish reading curriculum and TAAS Spanish reading measures are discussed in light of the findings, and policy and research implications are offered.
Human IgG1 Monoclonal Antibody against Human Collagen 17 Noncollagenous 16A Domain Induces Blisters via Complement Activation in Experimental Bullous Pemphigoid Model

Bullous pemphigoid (BP) is an autoimmune blistering disease caused by IgG autoantibodies targeting the noncollagenous 16A (NC16A) domain of human collagen 17 (hCOL17), which triggers blister formation via complement activation. Previous in vitro analysis demonstrated that IgG1 autoantibodies showed much stronger pathogenic activity than IgG4 autoantibodies; however, the exact pathogenic role of IgG1 autoantibodies has not been fully demonstrated in vivo. We constructed a recombinant IgG1 mAb against hCOL17 NC16A from BP patients. In COL17-humanized mice, this mAb effectively reproduced a BP phenotype that included subepidermal blisters, deposition of IgG1, C1q and C3, neutrophil infiltration, and mast cell degranulation. Subsequently, alanine substitutions at various C1q binding sites were separately introduced to the Fc region of the IgG1 mAb. Among these mutated mAbs, the one that was mutated at the P331 residue completely failed to activate the complement in vitro and drastically lost pathogenic activity in COL17-humanized mice. These findings indicate that P331 is a key residue required for complement activation and that IgG1-dependent complement activation is essential for blister formation in BP. This study is, to our knowledge, the first direct evidence that IgG1 Abs to hCOL17 NC16A can induce blister formation in vivo, and it raises the possibility that IgG1 mAbs with Fc modification may be used to block pathogenic epitopes in autoimmune diseases.
Virus Load Kinetics and Resistance Development During Oseltamivir Treatment in Infants and Children Infected With Influenza A(H1N1) 2009 and Influenza B Viruses

Background: Infants and small children are the most effective transmitters of influenza, while bearing a high risk of hospitalization and adverse disease outcomes. This study aims to investigate virus load kinetics and resistance development during oseltamivir therapy in infants and children infected with influenza A(H1N1) 2009 and influenza B viruses. Methods: Virus load in nasopharyngeal samples and phenotypic/genotypic neuraminidase inhibitor resistance were determined at baseline, at day 5 and in additional follow-up samples, if available. Patient-specific viral clearance indices CL&ngr;(i) were determined along with estimates of the time required to achieve nondetectable virus load. Results: No evidence of baseline oseltamivir resistance was detected in 36 patients infected with influenza A(H1N1) 2009 (n = 27) or influenza B (Victoria, Yamagata; n = 9) before oseltamivir therapy. On average, viral loads were lower for influenza type B (median = 5.9·103/mL) than for drug-resistant (median = 2.6·106/mL) and sensitive A(H1N1) 2009 (median = 4.8·104/mL), P = 0.04 and P = 0.09, respectively. Time required to achieve nondetectable virus load was significantly longer in drug-resistant A(H1N1) 2009 (median 15.4 days) compared with drug-sensitive A(H1N1) 2009 (P = 0.003; median 7.7 days) and drug-sensitive influenza B (P = 0.001; median 5 days). No evidence of viral rebound was observed once viral clearance was achieved. Conclusions: Our data indicate that influenza subtyping in combination with baseline viral load measurements might help to optimize the duration of antiviral therapy in the individual child. Lower than expected virologic response rates in patients without malabsorption or compliance issues may suggest resistance development.
Quality assessment using data hiding on perceptually important areas

In this paper, we present a no-reference video quality metric that blindly estimates the quality of a video. The proposed approach makes use of a data hiding technique to embed a fragile mark into perceptually important areas of the video frame. To estimate the importance of an area, we take into account three perceptual features that are known to attract visual attention: motion, contrast, and color. At the receiver, the mark is extracted from the perceptually important areas of the decoded video. Then, a quality measure of the video is obtained by computing the degradation of the extracted mark. Simulation results indicate that the proposed video quality metric outperforms standard peak signal to noise ratio (PSNR) in estimating the perceived quality of a video. Additionally, results from a subjective experiment show that the metric output values increase monotonically with the mean annoyance scores gathered from the human observers.
Habitual physical activity and body composition of black township adolescents residing in the North West Province, South Africa

Abstract Objective It is known that stunting and obesity affect a large proportion of children in the world, and these can be affected by the physical activity levels of the children. In the present study, we evaluated the association between physical activity, physical development and body composition in black adolescent children. Design Cross-sectional study. Setting Black township schools in the North West Province, South Africa. Methods Three-hundred and thirteen grade 8 children were included in the Physical Activity in Youth study. Anthropometric measurements, body composition measures and maturity level as assessed by Tanner stages were determined in these children. In addition, Previous Day Physical Activity Recall questionnaires were administered on the children to record the various activities they undertake daily. Results The demographic characteristics of the children showed a high level of homogeneity. A high prevalence of stunting (16.3%) was observed in the children, which was higher in boys than in girls (21.6 vs. 12.3%). Also prevalent was overweight/obesity (8.6%), but this was higher in girls than in boys (13.4 vs. 1.6%). The children also showed a reduction in levels of physical activity with advancement in maturity; furthermore, boys showed a more central form of fat deposition whilst girls showed more gynoid deposition. Conclusions The study revealed that physical activity plays a role in determining body composition, and further indicated that physical activity is associated with favourable body composition measures. Children who were more active were likely to have less fat deposits.
Interactive effects between plant functional types and soil factors on tundra species diversity and community composition

Abstract Plant communities are coupled with abiotic factors, as species diversity and community composition both respond to and influence climate and soil characteristics. Interactions between vegetation and abiotic factors depend on plant functional types (PFT) as different growth forms will have differential responses to and effects on site characteristics. However, despite the importance of different PFT for community assembly and ecosystem functioning, research has mainly focused on vascular plants. Here, we established a set of observational plots in two contrasting habitats in northeastern Siberia in order to assess the relationship between species diversity and community composition with soil variables, as well as the relationship between vegetation cover and species diversity for two PFT (nonvascular and vascular). We found that nonvascular species diversity decreased with soil acidity and moisture and, to a lesser extent, with soil temperature and active layer thickness. In contrast, no such correlation was found for vascular species diversity. Differences in community composition were found mainly along soil acidity and moisture gradients. However, the proportion of variation in composition explained by the measured soil variables was much lower for nonvascular than for vascular species when considering the PFT separately. We also found different relationships between vegetation cover and species diversity according the PFT and habitat. In support of niche differentiation theory, species diversity and community composition were related to edaphic factors. The distinct relationships found for nonvascular and vascular species suggest the importance of considering multiple PFT when assessing species diversity and composition and their interaction with edaphic factors. Synthesis: Identifying vegetation responses to edaphic factors is a first step toward a better understanding of vegetation–soil feedbacks under climate change. Our results suggest that incorporating differential responses of PFT is important for predicting vegetation shifts, primary productivity, and in turn, ecosystem functioning in a changing climate.