Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Influence of lactoferrin feeding and injection against systemic staphylococcal infections in mice

Human and bovine lactoferrins (Lfs) and bovine lactoferrin hydrolysate (LH) were assessed in vitro and in vivo for their antibacterial effects on Staphylococcus aureus. Lactoferrins showed weak in vitro antibacterial activity while Fe‐saturated Lfs and LH showed no activity. Lactoferrin‐treated mice (1 mg, i.v.) when injected i.v. with 106 staphylococci, showed 30–50% reduction in kidney infections, and viable bacterial counts in the kidneys decreased 5–12‐fold. The inhibitory effect was dose‐dependent up to 1 mg Lf. Lactoferrins were effective when given 1 day prior to the bacterial challenge, after which there was no significant effect even at doses up to 5 mg. Apo‐ and Fe‐saturated forms of human and bovine Lfs were all equally effective, while LH was not protective. Human and bovine Lfs with different degrees of iron saturation (9–97%) were found to be equipotent. Feeding mice with 2% bLf in drinking water also reduced the kidney infections by 40–60%, and viable bacterial counts, 5–12‐fold. The results suggest a potential for the use of Lfs as natural antibacterial proteins for preventing bacterial infections.
Reported stigma and discrimination by people with a diagnosis of schizophrenia

Aims. This article examines the extent of stigma and discrimination as reported by people with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. The hypothesis is that when people express in their own words the discrimination they experience such discrimination will be found to be widespread. Methods. Seventy-five people with a diagnosis of schizophrenia from 15 different countries were interviewed with a mixed methods instrument to assess reported discrimination. The data were analysed for frequency counts and then a thematic analysis was performed. A conceptual map is provided. Results. The study was a cross-cultural one but, contrary to expectations, few transnational differences were found. The main hypothesis was supported. Conversely, we found that when participants reported ‘positive discrimination’, this could as easily be conceptualised as being treated similarly to how others in society would expect to be treated. Conclusion. Negative discrimination is ubiquitous and sometimes connotatively very strong, with reports of humiliation and abuse. ‘Positive discrimination’ conversely indicates that people with a mental illness diagnosis expect discrimination and are grateful when it does not occur. The literature on self-stigma is discussed and found wanting. Similarly, the theory that contact with mentally ill people reduces stigma and discrimination is not fully supported by our results.
Methods of anorectal manometry vary widely in clinical practice: Results from an international survey

Ano‐rectal manometry (ARM) is the most commonly performed investigation for assessment of anorectal dysfunction. Its use is supported by expert consensus documents and international guidelines. Variation in technology, data acquisition, and analysis affect results and clinical interpretation. This study examined variation in ARM between institutions to establish the status of current practice.
Infection of the human monocytic cell line Mono Mac6 with human immunodeficiency virus types 1 and 2 results in long-term production of virus variants with increased cytopathogenicity for CD4+ T cells

The recently established human monocytic cell line Mono Mac6 expressing distinct characteristics of mature monocytes/macrophages was tested for its susceptibility to infection with human immunodeficiency virus. Inoculation of the cells with the T-cell-tropic human immunodeficiency virus strains human T-lymphotropic virus type IIIB and lymphadenopathy-associated virus type 2 led to a noncytopathic productive infection becoming apparent only after a latency period of up to 56 days. The infectibility of the Mono Mac6 cells was dependent on low levels of CD4 expression, as demonstrated by blocking experiments with various CD4-specific antibodies. Increasing with time after infection (greater than 200 days), the cultured Mono Mac6 cells released virus variants which showed shortened latency periods when passaged onto uninfected Mono Mac6 cells. Also, cytopathogenicity for several CD4+ T cells of the Mono Mac6-derived virus was drastically increased; thus, the infection of the H9 cell line with low doses of virus (less than 0.1 50% tissue culture infective dose per cell) led to giant syncytium formation within 1 day and subsequent death of all fused cells. We propose Mono Mac6 cells as a new model for the study of human immunodeficiency virus infecting the monocyte/macrophage lineage, particularly with regard to virus-host cell interaction and the influence of cell differentiation and activation on latency and development of virulence. The human immunodeficiency virus-infected Mono Mac6 cell may also serve as a valuable tool for in vitro testing of antiviral therapies.
The Utility of Elazar's Political Culture: A Research Note

Herein Professor Sharkansky attempts to take an impressionistic concept-Daniel Elazar's well-known theory of state political cultures-and find out empirically whether there is anything to it. He finds that, with some modifications, it is an empirically useful concept, and that it makes an "additive" contribution to our store of knowledge about state politics. It is good to learn, occasionally, that traditional observation can be validated.
Predictive Validity of High School Rank and Sat Scores for Minority Students

It has been argued that the Scholastic Aptitude Test is a better predictor of academic success for minority students than is high school achievement. The relative predictive validities were examined for a sample of minority students with typical predictor variable truncations absent. Results confirmed that high school achievement is a less effective predictor for minority students than it is for nonminority students. However, contrary to previous findings for minority students, high school achievement appeared to be a better predictor than was the Scholastic Aptitude Test. The combination of predictors was superior to high school achievement alone as a predictor for both "overachievers" and "underachievers. "
Metacognitive Knowledge about Reading Proficiency: Its Relation to Study Strategies and Task Demands

Ninety-eight average 7th- and 8th-grade readers were assigned to one of four groups based on their own proficiency predictions (high vs. low) under two task demands (reading for essay vs. multiple-choice exams). Subjects read one of two folk tales, took the appropriate exam, retrospectively reported strategies used, and freely recalled the folk tale read. Results indicated that when scores on the essay and free recall measures were adjusted for prior reading achievement, the self-perceived high proficiency group performed significantly better than the self-perceived low proficiency group. There was also some evidence to suggest that students' perceptions of proficiency affected their choice of strategic activity. Implications of these findings for educational practice and research methodology are discussed.
Perception of Mentorship by Graduate and Non-Graduate Primary and Pre-Primary School Teachers in Rivers State, Nigeria

The study was carried out to determine the level of implementation of teacher mentorship and differences in the perception of the graduate and non-graduate teachers towards mentorship progammes . The study whose population was 8577 teachers sampled 843 teachers through the use of simple random sampling techniques. A researcher made questionnaire titled "teacher assessment of mentorship programmes" constitutes the main instrument. The data generated was analyzed using population and independent t-tests. The results revealed that the implementation level of teacher mentorship was not significant and the graduate and non- graduate teachers did not also differ significantly. The study therefore recommended that the government and those in charge of education need to revive or re-embark on teacher mentorship scheme as well as properly communicate the dividends derivable from mentorship retraining programmes to the teachers through the circulation of bulletins via the NUT or LEA offices.
LONG‐TERM RESULTS OF MICROSURGICAL TREATMENT OF LUMBAR SPINAL STENOSIS BY UNILATERAL LAMINOTOMY FOR BILATERAL DECOMPRESSION

OBJECTIVELaminectomy and bilateral laminotomy are the standard procedures for decompression of lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS). With the aim of less invasiveness and better preservation of spinal stability, the technique of unilateral laminotomy for bilateral decompression (ULBD) was developed. However, limited follow-up data exist to determine the efficiency and outcome of ULBD. Therefore, the authors present their 10-year experience with ULBD and postoperative long-term results. METHODSOne hundred thirty-three consecutive patients (73 men and 60 women; mean age, 63 yr) meeting clinical and radiographic criteria for LSS who underwent first-time ULBD between 1994 and 1999 entered the study. The study parameters were set to ensure a follow-up period of at least 4 years. All patients were available for short-term follow-up re-evaluation within 3 months, and 102 (77%) of the 133 patients were available for long-term examination after a mean duration of 5.6 years. The scale of Finneson and Cooper was used for evaluation of the clinical results. RESULTSOne hundred thirty patients (97.7%) improved immediately after surgery. Ninety-four (92.2%) of the 102 patients available for long-term follow-up examination remained improved, and 85.3% had an excellent-to-fair operative result. The incidence of complications was 9.8%. Resurgery for complication was necessary in three patients, for restenosis in seven patients, and for spinal instability in two patients, accounting for a reoperation rate of 11.8%. CONCLUSIONULBD allows achievement of good and long-lasting operative results in patients with LSS. Postoperative deterioration, recurrences, and spinal instability are infrequent. For the authors, ULBD is the preferred technique to treat symptomatic LSS.
Early Positive Information Impacts Final Evaluations: No Deliberation- Without-Attention Effect and a Test of a Dynamic Judgment Model

Evaluation judgments were affected by information order and not by subsequent unconscious versus conscious deliberation. In three experiments, we examined the influence of early positive information on final evaluations of four objects. Based on a task analysis, we predicted primacy effects in judgments in a sequential data acquisition task. Thinking periods following presentation were used to manipulate conscious or unconscious processing. In all three studies, we found no effects of thinking manipulations but instead found reliable order effects. We developed and tested an online judgment model on the basis of the belief updating model of Hogarth and Einhorn. The model accounted for large proportion of the individual level variability, and model comparison tests supported the presence of a primacy effect. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Grid Synchronization Systems of Three-Phase Grid-Connected Power Converters: A Complex-Vector-Filter Perspective

Due to the significance of extracting the grid voltage information, the grid synchronization system plays an important role in the control of grid-connected power converters, and various grid voltage synchronization schemes have been proposed. This paper adopts the complex-vector-filter method (CVFM) to analyze the grid synchronization systems. With this method, the pairs of scalar signals, for example, the α- and β-axis components in the stationary α-β frame, are combined into one complex vector. As a consequence, the grid synchronization systems can be described with the complex transfer functions, which is very convenient to evaluate the steady-state performance, for example, the fundamental and harmonic sequence decoupling/cancellation, and dynamic performance of these systems. Moreover, the CVFM also provides a more generalized perspective to understand and develop the grid synchronization systems. Therefore, some of the representative systems are reanalyzed with the CVFM in this paper. A generalized second-order complex-vector filter and a third-order complex-vector filter are proposed with the CVFM to achieve better dynamic performance or higher harmonic attenuation. Moreover, a brief comparison of the complex-vector filters analyzed in this paper is presented. The effectiveness of the CVFM and the proposed two complex-vector filters are verified by the simulation and experimental results.
Manipulation of Auxin Transport in Plant Roots during Rhizobium Symbiosis and Nematode Parasitism

The plant rhizosphere harbors many different microorganisms, ranging from plant growth–promoting bacteria to devastating plant parasites. Some of these microbes are able to induce de novo organ formation in infected roots. Certain soil bacteria, collectively called rhizobia, form a symbiotic interaction with legumes, leading to the formation of nitrogen-fixing root nodules. Sedentary endoparasitic nematodes, on the other hand, induce highly specialized feeding sites in infected plant roots from which they withdraw nutrients. In order to establish these new root structures, it is thought that these organisms use and manipulate the endogenous molecular and physiological pathways of their hosts. Over the years, evidence has accumulated reliably demonstrating the involvement of the plant hormone auxin. Moreover, the auxin responses during microbe-induced de novo organ formation seem to be dynamic, suggesting that plant-associated microbes can actively modify their host's auxin transport. In this review, we focus on recent findings in auxin transport mechanisms during plant development and on how plant symbionts and parasites have evolved to manipulate these mechanisms for their own purposes.
Multi-layered real-time controllers for humanoid's manipulation and locomotion tasks with emergency stop

This paper describes a practical method to construct real-time controllers to achieve locomotion and manipulation tasks with a humanoid robot. We propose a method to insert emergency stop functionality to each layer to avoid robot's falling down and joint overloads even if recognition and planning error exist. We explain implementation of multi-layered real-time controllers on HRP2 robot and application to several manipulation and locomotion tasks. Finally, we evaluate emergency stop functionality in several manipulation tasks.
Persecutory delusions and the conditioned avoidance paradigm: Towards an integration of the psychology and biology of paranoia

Introduction. Theories of delusions often underplay the role of their content. With respect to persecutory delusions, taking threat as fundamental suggests that models of threat-related, aversive learning, such as the Conditioned Avoidance Response (CAR) task, might offer valid insights into the underlying normal and abnormal processes. In this study, we reappraise the psychological significance of the CAR model of antipsychotic drug action; and we relate this to contemporary psychological theories of paranoia. Methods. Review and synthesis of literature. Results. Anticipation and recall of aversive events are abnormally accentuated in paranoia. Safety (avoidance) behaviours may help perpetuate and fix persecutory ideas by preventing their disconfirmation. In addition, patients may explain negative events in a paranoid way instead of making negative self-attributions (i.e., in an attempt to maintain self-esteem). This defensive function only predominates in the overtly psychotic patients. The “safety behaviours” of paranoid patients, their avoidance of negative self-attributions, and the antiparanoid effect of antipsychotic medication all resonate with aspects of the CAR. Conclusions. The CAR appears to activate some normal psychological and biological processes that are pathologically activated in paranoid psychosis. Paranoid psychological defences may be a result of basic aversive learning mechanisms, which are accentuated during acute psychosis.
Sex differences in anger-related behaviour: Comparing expectancies to actual behaviour

Expectancies about and the reactions of men and women to a provocation were compared to self- and observer ratings of the actual behaviour in response to the provocation. In Study 1, men and women were provoked by the experimenter during a laboratory task. In Study 2, participants were presented with video clips of the provocation and estimated how a man or a woman would likely react to it. The man was expected to react more aggressively than the woman. In their actual behaviour, however, men were more likely to react with humour or by distancing than were women. The woman was expected to react more submissively than the man, which was inaccurate with respect to both the observer ratings and the self-ratings.
Holomorphy of Igusa's and topological zeta functions for homogeneous polynomials

Let F be a number field and f ∈ F [x1, . , xn] \ F . To any completion K of F and any character κ of the group of units of the valuation ring of K one associates Igusa’s local zeta function Z(κ, f, s). The holomorphy conjecture states that for all except a finite number of completions K of F we have that if the order of κ does not divide the order of any eigenvalue of the local monodromy of f at any complex point of f−1{0}, then Z(κ, f, s) is holomorphic on C. The second author already showed that this conjecture is true for curves, i.e., for n = 2. Here we look at the case of an homogeneous polynomial f , so we can consider {f = 0} ⊆ Pn−1. Under the condition that χ(Pn−1 C \ {f = 0}) = 0 we prove the holomorphy conjecture. Together with some results in the case when χ(Pn−1 C \ {f = 0}) = 0, we can conclude that the holomorphy conjecture is true for an arbitrary homogeneous polynomial in three variables. We also prove the so-called monodromy conjecture for a homogeneous polynomial f ∈ F [x1, x2, x3] with χ(PC \ {f = 0}) = 0.
A De Novo Transcriptome and Valid Reference Genes for Quantitative Real-Time PCR in Colaphellus bowringi

Background The cabbage beetle Colaphellus bowringi Baly is a serious insect pest of crucifers and undergoes reproductive diapause in soil. An understanding of the molecular mechanisms of diapause regulation, insecticide resistance, and other physiological processes is helpful for developing new management strategies for this beetle. However, the lack of genomic information and valid reference genes limits knowledge on the molecular bases of these physiological processes in this species. Results Using Illumina sequencing, we obtained more than 57 million sequence reads derived from C. bowringi, which were assembled into 39,390 unique sequences. A Clusters of Orthologous Groups classification was obtained for 9,048 of these sequences, covering 25 categories, and 16,951 were assigned to 255 Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathways. Eleven candidate reference gene sequences from the transcriptome were then identified through reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. Among these candidate genes, EF1α, ACT1, and RPL19 proved to be the most stable reference genes for different reverse transcriptase quantitative polymerase chain reaction experiments in C. bowringi. Conversely, aTUB and GAPDH were the least stable reference genes. Conclusion The abundant putative C. bowringi transcript sequences reported enrich the genomic resources of this beetle. Importantly, the larger number of gene sequences and valid reference genes provide a valuable platform for future gene expression studies, especially with regard to exploring the molecular mechanisms of different physiological processes in this species.
Transformation in intentional programming

Intentional programming is a new paradigm in software engineering that allows programming languages to be implemented in a highly extensible manner. In particular, the programmer can specify new abstractions that are specific to his problem domain, while simultaneously recording any domain specific optimizations that may apply to such new abstractions. This paper describes a system that implements intentional programming, focusing on the facilities for program transformation. The key difference with other approaches lies in the way the order of transformation is controlled: emphasis is placed on specifying that order in a compositional fashion, so that transformations are easily re-used.
Demographic Differences in Organizations: Current Research and Future Directions

Chapter 1 Defining the Problem Chapter 2 Three Approaches to Demographic Analysis in Organizations Chapter 3 Research on Demographic Diversity Chapter 4 The Multiple Meaning of Demography Chapter 5 Understanding Vertical and Horizontal Pairs from a Demographic Point of View Chapter 6 Understanding Demographic Diversity in Groups Chapter 7 Understanding Demographic Diversity in Organizations Chapter 8 Demographic Diversity in the International Arena: The Chinese Case Chapter 9 An Integrative Framework of Demographic Diversity in Organizations Chapter 10 Managing Demographic Diversity Chapter 11 Directions for Future Research Chapter 12 Conclusion
Programming Language/Problem-Solving Research: A Review of Relevant Issues

This article addresses several key issues in the research on the potential relationship between programming language instruction and problem solving. Although the computer has been touted as the technology that will effectively develop both the declarative and procedural knowledge needed to establish good problem solvers, research supporting this claim has been slow to materialize. Several reasons for the lack of significant research findings are discussed. Many studies have not been sufficiently grounded in problem-solving theory. The question of expertise and transfer of training is also addressed. Other issues critical to successfully designing programming language/problem-solving research include (a) treatment-related issues, such as the method and duration of programming instruction; (b) language-related issues—that is, selecting the most beneficial programming language; and (c) selection of an appropriate sample.
The determination of short‐term breast volume changes and the rate of synthesis of human milk using computerized breast measurement

The feasibility of using sequential breast volume measurements as a method of studying short‐term rates of milk synthesis in women has been established. We have developed a rapid Computerized Breast Measurement system for the determination of breast volume, based upon the Shape Measurement System. A circle encompassing all the breast tissue is drawn in black face paint on the subject's skin. Six patterns of sixty‐four horizontal light stripes are projected onto the breast and chest wall surface. A CCD camera relays video images to a computer, which produces a model of the chest by active triangulation. The volume of the breast and the chest wall segment enclosed by the circle is then calculated. The precision of the method was dependent upon the subject repositioning carefully. The coefficient of variation of replicate measurements was 1.6%. The accuracy of the method was established by comparing the change in breast volume before and after a breast‐feed with the amount of milk removed by the infant as determined by test weighing. There was a close relationship between the removal of milk by the infant (x) and the change in breast volume (y), (r = 0.93, n = 73, y = 1.10x ‐ 3.25). The rates of milk synthesis between breast‐feeds, for six women determined on one to eight occasions, varied from 11 to 58 ml/h. The results show that the amount of milk available in the breast is not necessarily an important determinant of the amount of milk removed by the infant at a breast‐feed.